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In
This Newsletter
From the Authors:
PassPorter's Free-Book
Travel Feature:
Touring With Extended Family
Disney Feature:
DVC's Old Key West Resort
Updates: What's
New and Changed
Tips:
20 Questions, Jazz Up A Jar, Renting Relaxation
Captain's Corner: Mickey-Head
Q&A: Where
to hang out for a group of adults and older teens?
Our Sponsors: We Recommend...
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Updates:
What's
New and Changed
Here are a few items of relevant news:
Disney has announced big changes ahead for Epcot's
Spaceship Earth. Siemens, which became the attraction's sponsor in November
2006, has announced ambitious new plans including a new storyline, extensive
upgrades to existing scenes including lighting, costumes, narration, and score, as
well as new scenes depicting "... how the spirit of innovation has moved people
from the caves to the cosmos," (per a Disney press release). Also, as previously
reported in
PassPorter News, students from Carnegie Mellon University have been working on a
new post-show that will feature interactive exhibits where guests can explore
the future of medicine, transportation, and energy management (not
coincidentally, these represent Siemens' three largest businesses). Spaceship Earth is expected
to close for rehab later this year, although no definite date has been announced.
Beginning May 2007, Air Tran will be joining
the airlines that participate in the Resort Airline Check-In program at Walt
Disney World resorts. The
participating airlines will now be Alaska Airlines, American, Continental,
Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, and United.
Disney's Animal Kingdom celebrates Earth Day
this weekend on Friday and Sunday with a "Party for the Planet." The
event, one of a series of events across the country sponsored by the Association
of Zoos & Aquariums, will take place on Friday, April 20 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm and will feature conservation-themed stations. Each station will have
activities, costumed characters, goodies for children along with a postcard
detailing conservation steps you can take at home. Some activities will be
repeated on Sunday, April 22, which is officially Earth Day. To find an event
near you this weekend, check out the
AZA's web site.
Questions for Tour Guide Mike? Touring Plan expert Mike Hewell from
TourGuideMike.com will be answering
your questions in an upcoming issue of PassPorter News. To submit your question
and possibly have it answered by Mike, send it to
news@passporter.com.
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:
20 QUESTIONS
"Our family has a special version of 20 questions we play at Walt Disney World.
We take turns, starting with the statement, "I'm thinking of something at the
Walt Disney World Resort." The others have 20 questions to come up with the
answer. We've used rides, restaurants, characters, shops, you name it. Usually
the first question asked is, "Is it at a theme park?" My 10-year-old son (with 18
trips under his belt), has only been stumped once! What was it? The Yankee
Trader gift shop. I guess he's not into kitchen stuff!"
-- contributed by Carolyn P.
JAZZ UP A JAR
"To save money for our upcoming Disney trip this year, my husband and I went to
the local 'big box' store and bought a 7-gallon water jug from the camping
department. We found some great Disney scrap-booking stickers and decorated the
jug, and we're using it to save all of our change!"
-- contributed by Angela J.
RENTING RELAXATION
"Consider renting Disney Vacation Club points to stay at a Disney Vacation Club
'Home Away From Home' resort for the price of a moderate resort. This tip saved
us money, and allowed us to stay at a much nicer resort in a much nicer room
than we otherwise would have been able to."
-- contributed by Matt R.
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:
"Oh my, I saw the strangest thing recently. My dear friend Jennifer proudly showed off photos of her two-year-old son Alexander. In the photos, the poor boy had some vibrant blue STUFF on his head! The STUFF (for lack of a better word) was in three globs, one a little bigger than the others. I admit the blue globby stuff did resemble Mickey's head on the head of this little boy. And then to add insult to injury (what will this poor child think of his parents when he grows up?), multi-colored Mickey-shaped confetti was strewn about the boy's head as well. Honestly, it looked like a certain pixie tossed her Mickey-shaped cookies. While I would never allow this highly unusual Mickey head ritual to be performed upon me, of course, Jennifer tells me that one could have this service performed at ... " (rest of text obscured by a big blue blob with several pink and purple Mickey-shaped confettis)
![](http://www.passporter.com/news/mickeyhead.jpg)
Where did Alexander AND the Captain get their "Mickey Head" 'dos done?
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 Erin Blackwell who was the winner of last week's treasure
hunt game! (This is Erin's second win!) Erin correctly identified the doormat as
being on the wall at The Adventurer's Club. 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
Jack 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
tinkspixiedust asks:
"My family and I are going on our first cruise in July. We have a large group
with two sets of parents and 'kids' ages 15, 17, 18, 20, 22 and 24. Will they be
really strict if we are all sitting by the adult pool? Will the 15 and 17 year
olds be asked to leave?"
Dave & Jennifer answer: "One nice thing about a cruise is
that a family group such as yours doesn't have to stay together every minute of
the day. There may be times when all the kids want to hang out together, and
others when you'll want to split up.
Rather than plan to have your "everyone together" hangouts by the adult pool,
pick someplace where you don't run the risk of having the party broken up.
Every situation is a bit different, and everyone's estimation of peoples' ages
is different, too. The group you describe, where only two members are underaged,
could still look like a "gang of rowdy kids" to some people, and a "nice, polite
group of young people" to someone else. The adult pool area is very quiet. They
don't even pipe-in music as they do at the other pools. If your siblings and
cousins are anything like mine back when we were growing up (and even
now, when we've all got some gray hairs), there's going to be a lot of laughter
and loud voices, even though everyone is behaving in an adult manner. Your best
bet is to choose someplace to hang out where you can do that without running the
risk of disturbing someone else. Fortunately, the ship is full of them."
Have a question? 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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Our Sponsors:
We Recommend...
PassPorter only accepts advertising from services of the highest quality -- we recommend these companies because we use them ourselves. Please support our sponsors and, in turn, support this
newsletter! This week's sponsors are (in order of appearance):
Mouse Fan Travel -- Magic Your Way with FREE Dining
MouseEarVacations.com -- Disney Cruise Line special offers
Quicksilver Tours & Transportation -- Save $5 off airport round-trip transportation in a town car
Thank you, sponsors!
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From
the Authors:
PassPorter's Free-Book
Hi, {{user("firstname")}}!
Well, it's done, and it's ready for download! What's done? Our latest e-book, "PassPorter's Free-Book: A Guide to Free and Low-Cost Activities at Walt Disney World" by Jennifer Marx, Chad Larner, and Nicole Larner. The new e-book debuted
on April 15 for PassPorter's Club passholders (who can download it at no extra cost) and
it is now available to all at the PassPorter Store. Initial reviews are
very enthusiastic -- it's a very useful, fun e-book loaded with imaginative ways to spend little-to-no money for Disney magic. To get more details, visit:
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/free-book.asp
Hot Money-Saving Tip: A one-month
subscription to our new PassPorter's
Club costs the same as just this one e-book ($4.95), and you get a whole lot
more -- download all five of our wonderful e-books, choose from a huge library of
interactive e-worksheets that you can fill-in and print-out to make your
vacation planning and park time even more effective and enjoyable, score a 35%
discount on printed PassPorter books at our online store, and more! You can save
even more with an annual membership at $44.95, which gets you every e-book we
release and e-worksheet we create for a full year plus the right to
invent and commission a customized e-worksheet for the e-worksheet library, all
at no extra charge! Nearly 400 folks have joined PassPorter's Club since it
debuted a month ago, and more are joining every day. If you're one of them,
thank you! Get all the details at:
http://www.passporter.com/club
Meet us in person: Will you be at July's
MagicMeets event in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania? We sure will! We'll be on hand to meet, greet, and maybe put on a
presentation or two. Alas, if you aren't already registered for MagicMeets, you
won't be able to join us there. The event sold-out in ten short days (before we
could even announce our participation). But if you did sign-up, surprise! We'll
be seeing you there!
Hear us on the radio: Dave Marx makes a return visit to KGNO 1370 AM
in Dodge City, Kansas on May 8. Tune into "Live & Local" with Keith Tallent, at
8:05 am Central time. Be ready with your Disney questions -- we will be taking
call-ins.
In this issue, returning guest columnist
and message board regular Thomas Cackler shares his advice for planning
Travels With an Extended Family, and
Featured Columnist Cheryl Pendry takes us for a tour of
Disney's Old Key West resort. Enjoy!
Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Publishers and Authors |
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As to Disney artwork: ©Disney |
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Travel
Feature:
Traveling With Extended Family
(Or Any Group!)
by Thomas Cackler, PassPorter Guest
Columnist
Ask anyone what the most relaxing thing is and chances are good they'll tell you
it's a vacation. Ask anyone what the most stressful thing in the world is and
there is a good chance they will tell you it is vacationing with extended
family. Planning a vacation when you have to consider the needs of more than
just your immediate family (often a job in and of itself) can stress even the
most patient and dedicated of trip planners.
Traveling with extended
family doesn't have to become a giant tug-of-war match. I know from first hand
experience, as recently I traveled to Walt Disney World and sailed on the Disney
Cruise Line with not only my wife's parents but her brother and his family as
well. As frightening as this might sound to some, we had a fantastic time. It is
important to know that no matter how well you get along with the other families,
choppy water lies ahead if you don't set the proper course. By familiarizing
yourself with the potential pitfalls and devising strategies to avoid them,
traveling with another family can be a lot of fun.
Most travel experts will
tell you that planning is crucial for any trip, but I tell you that it is even
more necessary for traveling with another family. Most people will stop at
cooperatively planning dates
and locations, leaving the detailed planning to each individual family. This is
a recipe for disaster. It is important to ask questions about everyone's
expectations regarding how much time you will spend together and what activities
you will do on your own. While you may believe this is common sense, it is
important for everyone to share in the group planning. By asking these
questions, you will have a clearer picture of everyone's expectations and will
help everyone buy into those expectations of the trip.
We did this in different
ways. First, we used the upcoming trip as an excuse to have each other over for
dinner. During the meal, we discussed our plans and decided who would take each
planning task. Second, we loaned them planning materials (namely our older
copies of PassPorter's Walt Disney World) so they could get a better feel for
what was to come. Although some of the information was slightly out of date,
their ability to select activities they were interested in gave the Walt Disney
World veterans the information we needed to better chart our course.
This planning stage helped
us keep realistic goals in mind. Any group dynamic involves give and take and
traveling with another family requires even more. It is unrealistic to expect
your family or friends to do everything exactly the way you would want them to
in real life, much less on vacation. We found it helpful to remember that if
someone took on a planning or touring task, we agreed to rely on his or her
judgment. This allowed the planner to venture forward without worrying about
backlash from the group.
Vacationers should be
prepared to change their preferred way of vacation to accommodate the other
travelers. Just like at home, compromise and communication goes a long way in
ensuring harmony. However, this does not mean the group should consistently
yield to one person. It is important to remember that everyone should enjoy the
vacation. However, groups should lean on those who have extensive knowledge of a
given area. If you have a particular area of expertise, don't be afraid to
assert that knowledge, especially if that knowledge will make the trip more
enjoyable.
For example, my brother-in-law is used to not needing dining reservations while vacationing. I cautioned
that certain restaurants at Walt Disney World not only require reservations, but
also require them months in advance. My sister-in-law enjoys not having a set
schedule on vacation, especially when it comes to dining. Again, we compromised
by planning meals on certain days while allowing for spontaneity on others. By
discussing the trip as a group, we were able to better satisfy everyone's
desires.
It is important to remember
you don't need to do everything together. Splitting up allows the members of the
group to experience more of what they enjoy while not forcing the rest of the
group to participate in something they may not. Many times throughout our trip
we would break into smaller groups based on what we wanted to do at a given
moment. In fact, by having a larger group, we gained flexibility that allowed us
to do things we might otherwise have skipped. One evening on our trip, for
example, my 17-year-old nephew and I headed to DisneyQuest while the rest of the
group remained at the resort. Had our individual families traveled alone,
chances are that neither one of us would have had the opportunity to enjoy
DisneyQuest.
Certainly traveling with another family, especially relatives, is not for
everyone. There is more work involved in this type of trip than a single-family
vacation and that can cause unnecessary stress on the key planners. However, if
you have friends or relatives you enjoy spending time with; the rewards for such
a trip are tremendous. I enjoyed traveling with my wife's family and I would
gladly join them again on vacation. With proper planning and realistic
expectations, you too can create magical memories that span generations.
About the Author: Thomas is a web site coordinator and freelance
web designer. A veteran of five trips to Walt Disney World and one Disney Cruise
since 2002, Thomas is a member of several online Disney communities including
the PassPorter forums where he shares his knowledge and love of the Disney Parks
with anyone who will listen. He lives in Iowa with his wife Julie and nephew
Joey.
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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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Did
You Know?
Great Cruise Rates are available at
MouseEarVacations.com!
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Disney Feature:
Disney
Vacation Club's Old Key
West Resort
by
Cheryl Pendry, PassPorter News Feature Columnist
I'm a Beach
Club girl through and through. Let's just get that little fact out of the way
first. Wherever we stay in Disney, no other resort will ever better my beloved
Beach Club.
Having
said that, we don't spend our entire life at Disney at the Beach Club. (Much as
I'd love to.) Firstly, I believe that variety is the spice of life and let's be
honest, how do you know if one resort is the best and perfect for you if you
don't try the others out? Secondly -- and, let's be honest, more importantly -- sometimes your first choice of resort isn't always available. That's exactly
what happened to us as we planned for our fall vacation last year.
So faced with the news that we couldn’t get into the Beach Club
Villas for the last five nights of our stay, what were we going to do? The
Disney Vacation Club was able to offer us Saratoga Springs or Old Key West. It
didn’t take long for me to decide. Not only would Old Key West cost us fewer DVC points, it would be new to
us and I had been hearing good things about the resort for some time from those
who'd already stayed there. So choice made, what did we make of the place?
The first
thing you notice when you arrive here is that the resort is well hidden away.
You can't really see it as you drive along and the only way you'll get a glimpse
of it, without actually entering the resort, is by renting a boat from Downtown
Disney. As soon as you get into the grounds, you notice how spread out
everything is and it quickly becomes clear why that is the Lake Buena Vista
golf course sprawls its way throughout the resort. Holes three to eight see
golfers make their way around Old Key West and if you're lucky, you may even get
a room overlooking the course.
Set against
the golf course and Trumbo Canal that cuts through the resort are a total of 64 buildings, all in beautiful
pastel colors. As with all Disney's resorts, there are superb photo opportunities all
around this resort. The buildings make for some great shots, as does the
Hospitality House area. This is where you'll find check-in and the resort's
dining options. While they're not as plentiful as at some other DVC resorts, you can still
enjoy a great meal at the resort's table service restaurant, Olivia's Café, get
hamburgers or ice cream at Good's to Go or get some drinks at the Gurgling
Suitcase. Many people choose to eat in their rooms, especially as every room,
except for the studios, comes with fully-equipped kitchens. It's no surprise
then that the Conch Flats General Store has a great range of items, including
food, drink, Disney souvenirs and Disney Vacation Club and Old Key West
merchandise.
Walk a little
further and you'll find the recreation area, including Hank's Rent-n-Return.
This is the place to either rent a boat (a great way to spend a couple of hours)
or if you're feeling more energetic, you can rent bicycles here and set off on
two wheels to explore the resort. Nearby you'll find a children's playground,
tennis, basketball and volleyball courts and there's also a jogging trail that
runs all around the resort.
If the weather doesn't inspire you to do any of those things,
then there's also the Electric Game room or you can rent DVDs and games from Conch Flats
Community Hall. The Hall is also home to various activities for youngsters -- it's worth checking it out to see what's going on while you're there.
The main
swimming pool in the recreation area has recently undergone some major
improvements, including the addition of a new slide. If the main pool is busy,
there are three other quiet pools scattered around the resort, meaning you
should never be too far from one.
As this is a
sprawling resort, if you don't have a car, you may need to catch one of the many
buses to get around Old Key West. As rental car drivers though, one of the
things we most enjoyed here was being able to park right by the building we were
staying in. Trust me; it's a big bonus when you come back from a long day at the
parks. Instead of having to park and then walk for what seems like miles back to
your room, you can pull up just outside.
And the rooms
at Old Key West are perhaps the biggest draw. If you want space, this is the
place to head for. This was the first Disney Vacation Club resort to
open on Walt Disney World property, and rooms were built a lot bigger in those days.
We were really impressed with the extra space we had in our studio, especially
with the amount of luggage we were carrying with us! The pastel continues inside the rooms and we found that very relaxing.
But let's not
forget, Old Key West is designed to be relaxing. That's the beauty of the place.
It's laid back and has a wonderful community feel to it. We really felt as if we
were part of a big family during our stay here and that's not something we've
encountered to that degree at any other Disney resort.
So if you're
looking for somewhere that will offer a complete break after a long day at the
parks, then it's worth considering Old Key West. Although my heart remains
firmly with the Beach Club, I can now say that Old Key West is an excellent
alternative if our number one choice isn't available!
About the Author: Cheryl and husband Mark live in England and love to
travel, particularly to America. On their most recent trip to Disney World, they
stayed at Disney's Old Key West for the first time. They're now looking forward
to setting sail on Disney's first cruise around the Mediterranean in May.
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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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Did
You Know?
You Can Arrive at Walt Disney World in Style!
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Airport Meet & Greet, luggage help, free car seat
Free 30-minute grocery stop with airport round-trip
Special! $5.00 off airport round-trip
Use Discount Code: "PassPorter News"
Call 888-GO TO WDW or visit quicksilver-tours.com
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