From the Authors: Vacation's End!

Travel Feature: Pin Trading: Not Just For Disney

Disney Feature: Animal Kingdom Lodge 

Updates: What's New and Changed

Tips: Address Labels, Flag Family, Rest Stops

Captain's Corner: A Wee Bit of Hunt

Q&A: What type of luggage locks can I use on our Disney cruise?
 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Updates:
What's New and Changed

Here are a few of the new developments at Disney·

Finally! After months of hints and rumors, the Disney Cruise Line has announced the schedule for the Disney Magic during the summer of 2007: 10 - and 11 night Mediterranean cruises departing from Barcelona, Spain with stops in Italy and France. In addition to the Mediterranean cruise, there will be two 14 night trans-Atlantic repositioning cruises. The eastbound cruise departs from Port Canaveral on May 12, 2007 and the westbound cruise departs from Barcelona, Spain on August 18, 2007. Disney will start accepting reservations for these voyages on April 4. For pricing and more information on ports of call, check out the Disney Cruise Line's web site or contact your travel agent. 

DING!, SouthWest's Airlines low airfare finder, is now available for Macintosh users. The programs runs in the background on your computer and alerts you to fare sales and special offers just for DING! users. DING! is available to download at http://www.southwest.com. 

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has extended it's contract with Disney to allow Walt Disney World to continue providing Magical Express shuttle service between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World resorts through 2011. Magical Express service was originally schedule to end in December 2006 at the end of the "Happiest Celebration On Earth." 
 

Our thanks to AllEarsNet.com for some of these news leads! 

>Things To Do: Hear some news? Send it to us at
news@passporter.com

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Disney Tips:
From Fellow Readers

Our readers deliver a wealth of information! Here are the winners in this month's tip contest:

ADDRESS LABELS
"Print out address labels before you leave, that way you you can send postcards without lugging around an address book. You won't risk leaving anyone out and all your friends and family love you for sharing the magic!"
-- contributed by Paula L. 

FLAG FAMILY
"If you are staying at the Wilderness Lodge, ask at check in about being the "Flag Family" of the day. You and your family may get to help the Lodge's Ranger rise or lower the flags that fly over the resort. It's a great treat for the kids and don't forget your camera- the views are amazing!"
-- contributed by Jeffrey Grodzicki (grodzi9@...)

REST STOPS
"Remember that this is a vacation, not a marathon. Plan for an exciting vacation, but also PLAN for rest. Be prepared to take time away from the parks on an extended visit. Kids who are tired can't remember to have a great time - they only remember that they are tired."
-- contributed by Jessica

>Notes: Send us your tips ! You may see them in this newsletter and win a copy of PassPorter!

Want more Disney tips? We've collected 500 of the tips submitted by readers over the past six years -- most have never been published before. All have been edited for accuracy and categorized. The "Disney 500" are available in e-book form for immediate download. For details, visit the PassPorter Store.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Captain's Corner:
Treasure Hunting Game

Play our fun and quirky treasure hunting game, hosted by Captain Jack Skatt from our upcoming 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 treasure from Captain Skatt's Journal:

"My most recent adventure was at a keyboard rather than tooling about the parks. I was asked to write a wee bit of a treasure hunt for the upcoming 'PassPorter's Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney World' guidebook information site online. It's just three questions long and not terribly difficult, but the last question could be a stumper. Let's hope those who undertake my hunt read the entire information site -- I've hidden the answer in ... (rest of text garbled by computer)'

What is the answer to the third question in the "Captain's Coupon Hunt" at the guidebook information site? 

Congratulations to Ben Benavidez who was the winner of last week's treasure hunt game! Ben correctly identified the price of the carousel in Downtown Disney as $2. To view the original clues, see the last newsletter.
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!

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. We will release the book -- "PassPorter's Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney World" -- in April 2006. You can pre-order the new book today at http://www.passporterstore.com.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Q & A:
With Jennifer and Dave

Flik asks: "When going on a Disney Cruise, are we able to lock our bags before boarding and when we put them outside our room on the last night for luggage pick-up? Also, are TSA (Transportation Security Administration) approved locks acceptable for the Disney Cruise Line?"

Jennifer and Dave answer: "Disney Cruise Line doesn't explicitly forbid locking your bags, but they will be inspected. If X-ray inspection suggests they need to open your bags, they'll do that, by hook or by crook. It's not a TSA inspection, though, so I can't be certain that TSA-approved locks will be helpful.

Leaving the ship, feel free to lock your bags. The only time they'd be inspected at debarkation will be in your presence. Of course, if you're then catching a plane, you're back to the TSA requirements (you could remove non-TSA locks before you check them at the airport). "

Have a question? Post it 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!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Future Newsletters:
Want To See Your Name in Print?

Big News! PassPorter News is now published weekly. This means we need more articles than ever! 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!

Pin Trading: Not Just At Disney
by Justine Fellows, Guest Contributor
 

Pin trading has taken off at Disney but it's not where I got hooked. My husband was the Bobsled Track Operations Manager for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He worked almost 6 years to get the track ready for the Games and during that time the Salt Lake Olympic Committee would frequently give him pins marking significant countdown dates, events, and milestones. He would bring them home and I would tuck them away in a drawer, as they didn't quite fit in with my fashion sense. As the Games drew closer more pins arrived and though I was grateful, I still didn't get it -- until the Games began. 

With my husband occupied with work, I bundled up my three year old daughter and decided to give this whole Olympics thing a try. We hopped on a bus and headed up to Main Street, Park City (only a few miles from our home at the time). The Olympic mascots were parading up and down the street, everyone was decked out in Roots gear, and there were jugglers, live music, food, even people carrying hot chocolate dispensers on their backs! Not the Main Street I had frequented for the last 10 years. I was soon drawn to a colorful, lively display outside an enormous tent put together by Coca-Cola. Inside, little groups gathered around tables, a nice place to have a Coke but it didn't seem there was much else to it, until we looked closer. Everyone was carrying or wearing felt squares, bandanas, hats, scarves -– all filled with pins. My daughter and I moved in to get a feel for what was going on. Ah ha! Pin trading! 

On our next trip up to Main Street our pins were neatly organized, tucked away in the fanny pack and ready to trade. First step, learning the etiquette:

Though the treasure hunt to find the best pins, especially security ones, was an absolute addiction, I was mostly attracted to trading as a conversation starter. Both children and adults, especially those from many different cultures, were now meeting and exchanging stories. This is what the Olympic Games are all about!

Of course, there is the commercial aspect to pin trading both at the Olympics and Disney. Pins are expensive and starting even a small collection can cost big bucks. I recommend purchasing some pins on eBay before you leave for your Disney trip. It's best to buy pins that your kids won't necessarily become attached to (like those of their favorite character) and make sure that they are official Disney pins so that you can trade with park employees. (Look for the Disney logo on the back of the pin.) You don't need many; our total collection consists of about 15 pins. What differs from the Olympics is that Disney park employees always say yes to a trade as long as you are trading an official Disney pin. If your child wants one of the pins on a cast member's lanyard it will always be exchanged for whatever Disney pin you offer, no haggling. One park employee searched for a pin for my daughter because he knew she was looking for Simba. He tracked us down in the parade crowd to give it to her! Magic!

Each year we choose a theme. On our last visit it was The Incredibles and our quest was to collect all of the characters. This year my now seven year old has decided to change the theme and trade out The Incredibles for anything to do with horses or dinosaurs. That should be a challenge! It may be hard for me to give up Edna Mode but I can always get her back next year. I encourage my children to go beyond a quick trade and start a conversation with the park employee or fellow trader -- it's a wonderful way for kids to learn the art of conversation, manners and as an added bonus the ability to recognize who to go to if they are ever lost. Pin trading also gets the whole gang to slow down and look beyond the next ride and explore more of the magic of Disney! 

Did you enjoy this article? Have questions? E-mail us at news@passporter.com or visit http://www.passporterboards.com to discuss your Disney travel plans.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
by Dawn Dobson, Guest Contributor
 

Turning the corner into the Animal Kingdom Lodge drive is like beginning a journey to a far off land. The vision of the thatched roofs and massive carved wood structure invites you to explore this phenomenal deluxe resort even further. Step through the doors and you are greeted with an intoxicating fragrance of smoky woods, coriander, and other exotic spices that are delicately used in the resort’s restaurants, Boma, Jiko, and the Mara. As you lift your eyes to take in the massive lobby, you may even gasp at the rich beauty that awaits you. But this is only the beginning. If you take your time and look to your feet, you will see beautiful, intricate floors, inset with medallions. The lobby is filled with comfortable furniture that invites you to relax and enjoy the peaceful retreat from the frenetic pace of the parks.

As you pass through the lobby, take note of the works of art, including the Igbo mask, the only one of its kind to leave Africa. Pass down the stairs at the far end of the lobby and even more surprises await you as you enter another world…the world of the savanna. giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, Tommies (Thomson’s Gazelles), and more await you as you step out onto Arusha Rock. Pass the fire pit and explore the habitats of these fascinating creatures. Along the way, make sure to take time to visit with the cast members. They love to talk about their homes in Africa and you will see their faces light up as they tell you stories and share their customs. Even if you are just visiting, it is worthwhile to come in the evening, around 10:00 pm (check with the resort for times) and experience the savannah through night vision goggles. It is astonishing what can be seen in the dark.

We have always been fortunate to have a savannah view room and one of my fondest memories is sitting on our balcony, rocking my youngest child to sleep to the sound of a wildebeest just at our feet, grazing and chewing the grass. It was so quiet and peaceful; we could actually hear the grass tearing and its teeth chewing. Where else in America, but at the Animal Kingdom Lodge? Even if you are in a standard or pool view room, there are ample viewing areas for the savannas. Sometimes, after my children and husband are asleep, I will sneak out into the corridor with my laptop or journal to record my thoughts for the day, sitting on a bench by the window watching the zebra graze or the Ankole cattle nuzzle their young.

The zero-entry pool is a pleasure for everyone. My children can play and slide while I wade, and babies giggle as the water gently laps their toes. The lush landscaping and surrounding kraal (corral) construction of the resort makes you feel a world away. Take time to experience the programs the resort offers as well. My children both participated in “bead activities” where they learned about flamingos, animal tracking, music, and more while earning beads for a necklace. At the conclusion of the final activity, they were allowed to choose a “totem” bead and to talk with a cast member from Africa about what the children could do to make our planet a better place. How exciting to watch them enjoy learning from people whose homes are half a world away! Even a full weekend of just resort time wasn’t enough to experience all the Animal Kingdom Lodge has to offer.

There are three dining options and we have enjoyed two -- Boma (buffet) and the Mara (counter service). We find the food to be fresh, tasty, and reasonably priced. I now make many of our favorites at home to remind us of the scents and flavors we experienced. We have not yet had the pleasure of dining at Jiko, but plan to remedy that on our next visit. Often, after our meals, we wander into Zawadi Marketplace, the Lodge’s shop that is so much more than just a gift shop. Items here range from the traditional stuffed Mickey to traditional African-carved stone eggs. Beautiful wooden giraffes and intricate masks can be purchased for much less than you would expect. There is so much to see that we usually have to make several trips just to enjoy the craftsmanship of the African people. The selection is so diverse that I have had no trouble finding beautiful souvenirs for my African-inspired office-on-a-budget.

Many people express concern that the resort is “too far” or “inconvenient”, and it is fairly distant from all theme parks but Disney's Animal Kingdom. That, however, is also the beauty of it. An advantage is that buses are not shared with another resort, so transportation is quite easy. There is nothing quite as relaxing as passing through the doors and being greeted with that marvelous aroma after a long day in the parks. Quiet, peaceful, exotic, and beautiful... Animal Kingdom Lodge is our Walt Disney World home.

Dawn is a scrapbook and tie dye designer who homeschools two of her four daughters and is always looking for an excuse to talk about Walt Disney World!

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Did you enjoy this article? Have questions? E-mail us at news@passporter.com or visit http://www.passporterboards.com to discuss your vacation plans.