February 1, 2007 * Issue 7.05 |
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In
This Newsletter
From the Authors:
New and Improved Message Boards: Update!
Travel Feature:
Fort Sumter, South Carolina
Disneyland Feature: Yamabuki
Updates: What's
New and Changed
Tips:
Maximize Your Travel Size, Walking Works Wonders, Secure Those Stones
Captain's Corner: Clock
Watching
Q&A: Can
I make Palo reservations for us AND our friends?
.
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Updates:
What's
New and Changed
Here are a few items of relevant news:
Toy Story Mania!, a new attraction at the Disney
MGM Studios and Disneyland, will debut in 2008. Using technology borrowed from
Turtle Talk with Crush and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, guests will be
welcomed by an interactive Mr. Potato Head, then board ride vehicles and don 3D
glasses for a spin through virtual carnival midway complete with games of skill
that adapt the degree of difficulty to the guests ability level. (So the games
automatically become easier or harder based on the guests score. Cool huh?)
As predicted in our
September 14, 2006 issue and now confirmed by Disney, Canada will be
debuting a new CircleVision film later this year in late summer or early fall.
It's winter at Walt Disney World and that means ride and attraction rehabs.
To find out what will be closed during your vacation, check out the
Rehabs and Closings Schedule
at
AllEars.net.
Our thanks to AllEars.net
from which we get some of our news leads.
>Things To Do: Hear some news?
Send it to us at
news@passporter.com
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Disney
Tips:
From Fellow Readers
Our readers deliver a wealth of information! Here
are the winners in this month's tip contest:
MAXIMIZE YOUR TRAVEL SIZE
"Minimus.biz is a GREAT resource for
every travel-size item you can think of -- and a bunch you didn't! It's amazing.
They're always adding new things, and always have items on sale. Even their
regular prices are generally equal, from my experience, to what you can find in
trial sizes at your local discount store but the selection is so much better!"
-- contributed by Gina P. (crazy4disney@...)
WALKING WORKS WONDERS
"While planning my upcoming trip to Walt Disney World, I realized that this
vacation will require quite a bit of walking. Since I’m a little out of shape I
decided to start taking daily walks. and needed ways to keep motivated.
Eventually, I came up with a really neat idea: I cut several pieces of paper in
half (lengthwise), glued them together and drew a long winding road on it. At
the end of the road, I attached a picture of the Cinderella Castle. Now, each
day when I get back from my walk, I draw one pair of footprints onto the road
for every mile I walked. That way, I can see how much effort I’ve already put
into my workout plus I constantly get closer and closer to my destination! As an
additional incentive, I bought a stack of Disney Dollars. For every 10 miles I
walk, I attach a few Disney bucks to my road. When it’s finally time to head to
Florida, I can reward myself with something that will then be extra special
because I’ll know how hard I “earned“ it!"
-- contributed by Sabine F.
SECURE THOSE STONES
"For all the women out there who have diamond rings or other rings with
prong-set stones: Have a professional jeweler check your ring before you go to
Disney to make sure your diamond/stones are firmly set in the prongs and there
isn't a problem with any of the prongs. Many years ago (back in the 1980s), my
mother lost her diamond at Disney World, probably on the Thunder Mountain
Railroad ride, because she didn't know it was loose."
-- contributed by Jennifer M. (CMTS80CM@...)
>Notes: Send
us your tips ! You may see them in this newsletter and win a copy of
PassPorter!
Want more Disney tips? For
Walt Disney World fans, we've collected 500 of the best tips submitted
by readers over the past six years. All have been edited for accuracy and
categorized. For details, visit the PassPorter
Disney 500 info page or the PassPorter store. For Disney Cruise Line
fans, we have an e-book with 250 cruiser tips, as well as a special cruise
line comparison section and seven customized packing lists. For information,
visit the Disney
Cruise Clues info page.
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Captain's
Corner:
Treasure Hunting Game
Play our fun and quirky treasure hunting game, hosted
by Captain Jack Skatt from our book, "PassPorter's
Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney World."
The Captain makes a study of the delightful details
-- sometimes hidden, sometimes in plain sight but often overlooked -- at
Walt Disney World and aboard the Disney Cruise Line. Using notes from his
journals, he will lead you to this "treasure" at Disney with clues, questions,
photos, or riddles. Your challenge is to discover the answer by searching
your memory, visiting Disney, or even just looking really hard on the Internet.
If you think you've found the answer, e-mail it to jackskatt@passporter.com
-- the first person to correctly submit the FULL answer will receive a
free PassPorter enamel pin or PassPorter name badge pin.
Here is this week's journal entry:
"I must have lost track of time wandering the piazzas of Italy
because when I finally exhausted my film supply, I was famished. I went in
search of a timepiece and discovered the most charming replica of Munich's
famous Glockenspiel. As the clock struck one..."
What happens when the clocktower in Germany strikes the top of the hour?
Send your full answer to jackskatt@passporter.com
-- the winner will be notified by e-mail and announced in the next newsletter,
along with the correct answer!
Congratulations to Debbie who was the winner of
last week's treasure hunt game! Debbie correctly located the palace in last
week's clue as the Doge's Palace in Italy at the World Showcase. To view the original clue, see
last
week's newsletter.
If you enjoy treasure
hunts, we've got an entire book with over 100 distinct treasure hunts and
over 1500 questions, complete with clues and contributions from Captain
Skatt. Get more details on "PassPorter's Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney World" book
at http://www.passporterstore.com.
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Q
& A:
With Jennifer and Dave
Mulan2 asks: "We
will be going on our third Disney cruise next January. The family that we
convinced to come along will be taking their first Disney cruise. We want to
make reservations for Palo and know that as Castaway Club members that I could
make them 90 days in advance. My friends would have to wait 75 days. What are
the chances that we could be seated together or link our reservations together
for dinner and the Champagne Brunch (my favorite!)?
"
Dave & Jennifer answer: "Are your friends linked with you
for your regular dining room assignment? If so, then the Disney Cruise Line will
assume that the Palo table for four that you book online will be shared by your
friends. If your friends then try to make a Palo reservation of their own
(online), they'll be told they can't. This isn't a problem if indeed your
friends are dining with you, but if you're planning to dine with a different
couple, that can put a kink in any reservation attempt by the other couple."
Have a question? Check out our new "Ask PassPorter" Q & A blog at
http://ask.passporter.com. We're still working on getting the blog ready
for prime time, but we welcome your comments and questions! You can also post questions at
http://www.passporterboards.com
-- and if you're lucky, you may find that folks have already asked and
answered the same question that's on your mind!
.
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Future
Newsletters:
Want
To See Your Name in Print?
PassPorter News is published
weekly, and this means we're always in need of articles! We're on the lookout
for guest columnists who want to contribute articles to this newsletter.
No professional writing experience is necessary, just a desire to share
your experience with others! Not only is this a great way to give something
back to the PassPorter community, but you get to see your name in "print"
and receive a $25 gift certificate for use at
www.passporter.com.
For details and our article submission guidelines,
please e-mail news@passporter.com.
Articles about Disney and general travel are welcomed!
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From
the Authors: New and Improved Message Boards: Update!
Hi, {{user("firstname")}}!
Message Board Upgrade Update: Well, it's
just over a week now since we made a major upgrade to the
PassPorter message boards community
and we're starting to settle in to our new home! We've got all-new software (the
popular vBulletin message board platform), which comes with all sorts of new,
cool features, such as:
Faster page loading
Enhanced posting with choices in fonts, colors, and sizes
WYSIWYG post creation (what you see is what you get)
Improved private messages (pop-up notification, folders, bcc, signatures,
tracking)
Separate buddy list window you can keep open
And brand new this week is three, count 'em THREE, new forums:
Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure,
Central Florida Attractions: SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens, and
Space Coast and Other Florida: Kennedy Space Center, The Florida Keys. So
come join in the fun, there's more to discuss than ever!
Looking for
contributors: Have you ever wanted to see your name in print and have your
words read by over 27000 people? PassPorter News is on the look-out for guest
columnists to contribute articles on both Disney and general travel!
Contributors receive a $25 gift certificate for use at
our online store
and, of course, our undying gratitude. No professional writing experience
necessary, just a desire to share your experiences!
The 5th Edition of the Disney Cruise Guide:
This edition of
PassPorter's Field
Guide to the Disney Cruise Line is our biggest yet! With more than 70
brand-new pages, most of them dedicated to this summer's Mediterranean
itineraries, this is a great addition to your trip-planning library. New orders
are shipping on the next business day so yours could be in your hands within
days! Order now at the
PassPorter Store.
(And just think, if you contribute an article, you could use your gift
certificate to buy it!)
PassPorter Public Appearance Calendar Here's an update on where you can see/hear/meet PassPorter's
authors in the upcoming months:
Coming soon:
Friday, February 9, 2007 at 9:00 am Central, Dave will be
appearing in the St. Louis, Missouri area, on Live Wire with Mike Thomas, on
KWRE, 720 AM.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 at 7:30 am Eastern - Dave
will return for another appearance on Health Beat of America with Rochelle Herman on WIBQ 1220 AM in Sarasota,
Florida. |
In this issue
of the newsletter, regular columnist Cheryl Pendry continues her exploration of
the American South and takes us to Fort Sumter, and Terry
Dagdagan shares with us the wonders if a peaceful lunch at
Disneyland's Yamabuki Restaurant. Enjoy!
Jennifer and Dave PassPorter Authors |
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Travel
Feature:
Fort Sumter, South Carolina
by
Cheryl Pendry, PassPorter Message Board Guide and Guest Contributor
Some places in the
world are best known for certain historic events – and not all of them good.
Mention Pearl Harbor
to most people and immediately they’ll think of the terrible attack that brought
America into World War II.
Fort
Sumter is somewhere else that’s most famous for its role in a different war.
Built on a pentagon shaped island in Charleston
harbor,
South Carolina, the fort was the place where the very first shots of the Civil
War were fired at 3:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861. That historic first shot wasn’t
exactly a success though. The 10 inch mortar shell didn’t hit anything, but when
it exploded over the fort, it was a signal for the Confederate artillery to open
fire on the fort, which was then in Union hands.
Once that
signal went up, it didn’t take long for the Confederates to get their hands on
the fort. The Union soldiers evacuated and surrendered the very next day, even
though by that point, not a single life had been lost on either side. The
Confederates held on to the fort for the next four years, despite repeated
attempts to take it back. During that time, it is estimated that a stunning
seven million pounds of artillery were shot at the fort, yet despite that, only
52 lives were lost.
Today you can
see some of the shells that were fired at the fort in the small museum there and
it’s a testament to the way the fort was built, that so little blood was shed.
Some of the mortar shells are huge and even the flag that flew on the island
during those years is still pretty much intact and on show today in the museum.
The museum takes you through the fort’s history, with fascinating information,
not only on the Civil War, but also on what happened before and since then.
To give you
an idea, the fort was originally built after the War of 1812, as one of a series
of forts along the southern American coast. With walls five feet thick and
standing up to 50 feet tall, it was designed to house up to 650 men and more
than 100 guns, although during its time, it was never home to anywhere near that
many soldiers or guns.
Unless you’re
rich enough to be able to charter a private yacht, the only way to reach the
Fort is to take the concession-operated ferry from either the Fort Sumter
Visitor Education Center
in Liberty Square, Charleston or from Patriot’s Point Naval Maritime Museum on
the other side of the harbor.
The boat ride offers you the chance to get some superb views of Charleston and
the beautiful historic homes lining the Battery and looking out to sea.
Boats run at
least twice daily from Liberty Square and at least once a day from Patriot’s
Point, with more services at busier times of the year. The ride takes about
thirty minutes. Both places are great starting points for your visit. The Fort
Sumter Visitor Education Center
gives you an excellent introduction to the lead up to that first shot being
fired, taking you through the growing problems between the North and South and
how they finally erupted into Civil War.
A more
appealing departure point for families is the Patriot Point Naval and Maritime
Museum, whose star attraction is the USS Yorktown, a World War II aircraft
carrier, which later went on to serve in Vietnam and even picked up the
astronauts from Apollo 8 when they returned from their moon orbit in 1968. You
can also explore the World War II submarine Clamagore, the Destroyer Laffey, and
Ingham, a Coast Guard Cutter.
Now back to
the fort itself. Fort Sumter is a US National Monument and is looked after by
the US National Park Service. As you’d expect from any of the National Park
Service sites, it’s beautifully maintained and all the questions you could ever
want to ask will be answered during your visit. Once you step off the boat,
you’re strongly encouraged to stop and listen to a talk by a park ranger about
the history of the fort, although we chose to bypass this, having heard a great
deal of information on the way over in the boat.
As for the
rest of the site, there aren’t many “activities” but there’s plenty to explore.
Since nearly everything is outside, this is somewhere you ideally want to head
for on a dry day! You can take a walking tour around the site and see the ruins
of the barracks and officers’ quarters, along with the casements. It’s a very
peaceful place and somewhere that we could have easily have spent more time at
in spite of the fact that neither of us are Civil War enthusiasts. This is a
place that will appeal to everyone.
As you leave
the fort though and the island fades away in the distance, you can start to
imagine how isolated the soldiers must have felt during the four years they were
serving here. Wonderful though it is to visit for an hour or so, the prospect of
spending all that time here isn’t one that inspires me!
Fort Sumter is
closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Entry into the fort is
free, but tickets for the ferry service cost $14 for adults, $12.50 for seniors
over the age of 62 and $8 for children aged between six and eleven. Children
under six are admitted free. It’s worth remembering that there are no
restaurants or even snack machines on Fort Sumter, although snacks are available
on the boat. (Bear in mind if you’re vegetarian, you won’t find much you can eat
so consider bringing snacks!)
About the Author:
Cheryl and
husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to America.
They’ve recently returned from a two week visit to Walt Disney World and Hilton
Head Island, during which they visited Charleston and Savannah.
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Did you enjoy this article?
Have questions? E-mail us at news@passporter.com or visit http://www.passporterboards.com
to discuss your travel plans. Also check out our
Article Collection for more great information!
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Disneyland Feature:
Yamabuki by
Terry Dagdagan, Guest Contributor
Wondering where to go for
a restful mid-day break without leaving the
Disneyland
property? Yamabuki is a hidden gem in the far corner of the Disneyland Resort in
Anaheim.
This Japanese restaurant
is found in Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. It is a bit of a walk, but well worth
the trek if some peace and quiet and incredible food are what you crave. My
family and I have eaten there on our last three visits, and we were never
disappointed!
The peaceful Japanese
setting and low crowds make it the perfect respite in the middle of the day. The
majority of our fellow diners were dressed in business attire, so their purpose
at the Disneyland Resort may not have been to visit the parks. For this reason,
if you have toddlers that do not do well with a regular sit-down meal, you may
want to skip this restaurant for now.
If your children are a bit
older, however, they may enjoy this cultural dining experience. While the menu
is complete with freshly rolled sushi and traditional Japanese dishes for
adults, there is also a children’s menu. The children’s menu offers items like
chicken or beef teriyaki, shrimp tempura, and udon soup (which my children
consider to be a Japanese version of chicken noodle soup). The children’s menu
also comes complete with coloring activities on the menu itself, as well as
covered cups for beverages. Covered cups are always a plus in my book!
Now if the thought of
chasing your food around the plate while attempting to capture it with a pair of
pointy sticks brings visions of starvation to mind, don’t be put off. While this
is a traditional Japanese restaurant right down to the chop sticks and green
tea, they do offer Western cutlery when requested. You might even try your hand
at a pair of training chops sticks, which involves a rubber band and rolled up
bit of paper. The waitress offered these to my children, who were nine- and
ten-years-old at the time. They declined (without being too insulted) since they
were already old pros at the whole chopstick thing.
The menu selections are
nothing short of delicious! Both my husband and I prefer the Bento Box lunch.
This is a traditional Japanese meal which includes miso soup, a salad consisting
of lettuce with ginger dressing, steamed white rice and your choice of meat or
seafood. The meat and seafood choices include teriyaki and tempura. There are
also selections of freshly rolled sushi on the menu. If you want to be up close
to the chefs in action, you might enjoy a seat at the sushi bar.
In keeping with the Disney
tradition, the service at Yamabuki is excellent. On one visit my daughter
ordered teriyaki chicken from the children’s menu. As with most kids, dunking
food is a sport when it comes to enjoying her meal. She quickly finished the
sauce but still had meat. The waitress noticed this and promptly brought her two
more bowls of dipping sauce so she could dunk to her heart’s content.
Another plus to remember
is that this restaurant does offer discounts from time to time for various
members such as Disney Visa Card holders and Annual
Pass
holders. On our first visit when we went to pay for our meal with our Disney
Visa card, the waitress saw this and reminded us of the ten percent discount
offered. She was more than happy to redo the bill to reflect our discount.
There are a couple of
different routes you can take from the parks to get to Yamabuki. If you are
leaving from the Disneyland theme park, you can turn right as you exit the park
and walk through Downtown Disney. Another option if you are a guest of a
Disneyland resort would be to take the
monorail to the Downtown Disney stop. Once again you would still turn right upon
exiting the monorail station.
At the end of Downtown
Disney, you will turn left before entering the Disneyland Hotel. As you continue
on the sidewalk, you will arrive at the back entrance to Disney’s Paradise Pier
Hotel. Simply walk through the hotel and its lobby, and go out the front
entrance. Turn right and you will come to Yamabuki’s door.
Another possible route
would be from Disney’s California
Adventure Park.
You may use the park exit across from the Grizzly Rapids ride that leads into
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel. (You may also go this way from the Disneyland
Park
if you have a Park Hopper Ticket or Annual
Pass
that allows you entrance to both parks on the same day.) This way is my favorite
because it takes you through the lobby of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel,
which is nothing short of amazing.
Once through the park
exit, you will go to the end of the walkway and turn right. At the end of this
short walkway you will turn left and head toward the lobby. Along here you will
see the Storytellers Café on your right and the pool area on your left.
Enter the lobby of
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and walk straight through to the front
entrance. Once outside you simply follow the sidewalk to the left until you
reach Disney Way. Cross the street and turn left. Go past the front entrance of
Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel, and you will find Yamabuki.
This restaurant does
accept Priority Seatings up to 60 days in advance (Disney Dining 714-781-3463),
so you may make a reservation if you wish. We used Priority Seating two out of
the three times we went there, but found it wasn’t necessary for lunch. Yamabuki
only serves lunch Monday through Friday, so plan accordingly. The lunch hours
are 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. If you decide to try Yamabuki for dinner, Priority
Seating reservations are recommended. The dinner hours are 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
every day.
Overall this is a
delightful and relaxing option for a lunch away from the parks. So be a little
adventurous - grab those chopsticks and enjoy!
About the Author:
Terry and her husband Gene
live in Las Vegas with their two daughters. They were excited to be aboard the
Disney Wonder for its first 10-night Southern Caribbean Cruise last September,
and look forward to their next stay at the Disneyland Resort this summer.
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Did you enjoy this article? Have
questions? E-mail us at news@passporter.com or visit http://www.passporterboards.com
to discuss your Disney vacation plans. Also check out our
Article Collection for more great information!
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