![](dot.gif) |
|
In
This Newsletter
From the Authors: Dining @ Disney
Travel Feature:
San
Diego
Disney Feature: Disney
Survey Marks
Updates: What's
New and Changed
Tips: Decide
Ahead Dinners, Car Communication, Coloring Countdown
Captain's Corner: Museum
in Morocco
Q&A: Can
we upgrade two Counter Service credits for one Table Service credit?
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
Updates:
What's
New and Changed
Here are a few of the new developments at Disney:
Disney announced The
Year of a Million Dreams, a new celebration beginning October 1,
2006. Cast Members will be given the power to help make Guests dreams come
true both big and small -- a million dreams in all. Guests will be selected
via a "random" process and could win a Dream Come True overnight stay in
Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World! Other prizes include Golden
FastPasses that allow special entrance to certain attractions, unique vacation
packages and private character meetings. To begin The Year of a Million
Dreams, one lucky family will win "The
Keys to the Magic Kingdom" - a VIP tour on October 1, 2006 through
the entire Magic Kingdom ALL BY THEMSELVES! The individual lands will open
to all Guests once the winning family has completed their tour through
that land.
Disney has also confirmed rumors of a Monsters Inc.-themed
attraction at the Magic Kingdom. The "Laugh Floor Comedy Club" will
feature Mike Wazowski and friends doing their best to make you laugh so
you can help power Monstropolis. This attraction is scheduled to open in
early 2007.
The 2006 Dismeets.com
Fan Meet in Allentown, PA on July 15, 2006 is SOLD OUT! 350 people
will be attending and get to meet such luminaries as PassPorter author Deb Wills from AllEarsNet.com,
Mike Scopa from MousePlanet.com,
Steve Barrett, Author of "Hidden Mickeys,
A Field Guide to Walt Disney World's Best
Kept Secrets" and our very own Jennifer and Dave Marx (along with Allie and Alexander),
plus many other leaders of the Disney Internet community. If you
are one of the lucky 350, stop by and say "Hi!"
Our thanks to AllEarsNet.com
from which we get some of our 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:
DECIDE AHEAD DINNER
"Here's my tip for picky eaters and its a great
time saver. A few weeks before we leave for "The World," I go online
to AllEarsNet.com and print out the menus for the restaurants that we have
reservations for. Then I place them in the PassPorter's PassPockets for the day of each
reservation. Before we get to the restaurant or while we are waiting to
be seated everyone has a chance to look at the menu and decide what they
want! We ask the server to take our orders and we're back in the parks
in no time!" -- contributed by Tracy Pezzuto (tntpezzuto@...)
CAR COMMUNICATION
"Traveling tip for those of you (like us) who are
traveling to Walt Disney World by car. Driving is an excellent opportunity
to spend some quality time getting to know your kids, especially since
they have nowhere to run! Talk to them, sing with them, join them in seeing
how miserable you can make the other parent, etc. My girls and I got into
a game on one trip of counting down mile markers -- loudly. Hollering out
"135 miles to Georgia" and so on can really bring you together and has
the added amusement of driving the hubby insane. They are only kids for
so long and a long ride in the car can be an excellent way to let them
know you are really interested in them." -- contributed by Christy Collins
COLORING COUNTDOWN
"When it gets down to the last week or so before
a Disney trip, here's a tip for counting down the days for your little
ones! Find a coloring book page of a favorite Disney character, and cut
it into evenly square pieces for the amount of days you want to count down.
Place a white piece of paper on the refrigerator or wall, and every day
let your child pick another piece from an envelope to put together the
"puzzle." They can color the pieces as they pick each one. If you number
the pieces and the corresponding spots on the paper, the child can match
them up! When the character is complete, the child will know that it's
time to go!" -- contributed by Ellen G.
>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.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . |
Captain's
Corner:
Treasure Hunting Game
Play our fun and quirky treasure hunting game, hosted
by Captain Jack Skatt from our new 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:
"I say, that Dr. Jones leads quite the exciting
life! Inspired by his adventures in a bazaar, I decided to indulge my love
of Middle Eastern antiquities by paying a visit to a lovely little museum
in Morocco. While entering the museum, I spied some unique little glass
panes on the door which were a lovely shade of ... (a large fingerprint
obscures the rest of the text)"
What color are the glass panes on the doors to
the Batha Museum in Morocco?
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 Tracy McGee who was the winner
of last week's treasure hunt game! Tracy correctly identified the boat
that houses Min & Bill's Dockside Diner as the S.S. Down the Hatch.
To view the original clues, 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. The new "PassPorter's Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney World" book
is now available! You can order the book today at http://www.passporterstore.com.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . |
Q
& A:
With Jennifer and Dave
Melissa1214 asks: "We are using Disney's Dining Plan during
our next trip. I've received conflicting information on whether or not
you can combine two Counter Service credits and use them instead of one
Table Service credit. Is this possible?"
Jennifer and Dave answer: "It's incredibly unlikely
that Disney policy would permit two Counter Service (CS) credits to be
exchanged for one Table Service (TS) credit. While folks may hope they
get lucky, please don't plan your vacation around it.
It's basic arithmetic. The meal cost averages we
list for each restaurant in PassPorter Walt Disney World show the typical
counter service meal as costing in the $11-$13 dollar range (same as
a CS credit: entree, dessert, soft drink, tax). The typical full service
dinner is far more than double that, especially because you have to factor-in
something that's not present in CS -- the 18% gratuity. Again, our full-service
average dinner price calculation is identical to Disney's Dining Plan - appetizer,
entree, dessert, soft drink, tax, and 18% tip. You can get a meal worth
$45 or more for a single TS credit -- four times the value of a single CS
credit. Yes, there are some TS meals that are worth far less than $45 (which
is why it's often wise to use cash to pay for your typical character breakfast).
However, our lunch today at Le Cellier was valued at over $46/person on
Disney's print-out (we're "experimenting" with the Dining Plan on this
research trip). Overall, if guests could trade in two CS credits for lunch
or dinner at Le Cellier, it would be a hotter reservation than Cindy's,
don'tcha think?"
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!
|
![](dot.gif) |
|
![](dot.gif) |
![](dot.gif) |
From
the Authors: Dining @ Disney
Hi, {{user("firstname")}}!
Whew! We're back from our 10-day "Kids Commando Trip" with 13-year-old Allie, her 15-year-old cousin Melanie,
and almost 2-year-old toddler Alexander. We did every attraction in the four major parks -- this was
quite a feat considering the age range of the kids (teens and toddlers have such different needs),
the summer crowds, and the heat! It feels like we ran a marathon and after five days at home
we're still not quite recovered. But we got lots done -- nearly 2000 photos, plenty of research on the new
and up and coming things, and the perspectives of three kids.
During our trip we also tried out Disney's Dining Plan
for the full ten days so we could report on it accurately in our next edition of
PassPorter Walt Disney World. Look for two brand new pages on the Dining Plan, as well
as indicators in each eatery's review on whether it participates in the plan. Our impressions
of the Dining Plan are very favorable -- we ate very well for less than we'd normally have spent.
Figuring out what to order and where had a bit of a learning curve (which we hope to dispel for
you in our next edition), but once we got the hang of it things went smoothly. We really enjoyed
not having to worry about gratuities (they are built in). And whenever we weren't sure about how
many credits had been spent, we could stop at Lobby Concierge of our Disney hotel and get a print-out
that showed what was spent and where. We came up with lots of useful tips and ideas for getting
the most out of the Dining Plan, which we'll put into the next edition. In the meantime,
here's a tip we found very useful: when purchasing a meal at our hotel's food court, we didn't want to
get our dessert at the same time as our entree because we wanted ice cream and it might melt by the
time we got to it. We inquired with the cast member and we were told that we could order the dessert
at the time we purchased our meal with the Dining Plan, but then return later to pick up the dessert
itself. The cast member simply made a notation on the receipt, which we showed later when we
claimed our ice cream. This worked great at the food court!
This edition of the
newsletter features first-time contributor and PassPorter
Message Board Guide Sarah Mudd, who shares her hometown of San
Diego with us and return contributor Patty Winter who explores the
secret of Disney Survey Marks. Finally Captain Jack
Skatt returns with a new treasure hunting game. Enjoy!
Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Authors and Publishers |
![](dot.gif)
|
Did
You Know?
PassPorter 2006 Garners
Great Reviews!
The new 2006
edition of our PassPorter Walt Disney World guidebook now features
a full-color interior along with the most up-to-date text, new TeenTips
and ToddlerTips, and new photos and magical memories. We've heard back
from folks who've received their new books -- here are a few of our favorite
comments:
"I just wanted to let you know how much I love
the new PassPorter! Thanks for adding the toddler tips! I have a 2 year
old and a 9 month old. This is a great feature. Thanks for including pictures
of yourselves as well. It keeps it "real" in my opinion." -- Andria
"I love the pockets and your personal experiences
and advice about making the trip the best experience possible. Thank you
so much for this wonderful tool." -- Bari
"I love the color, the pictures, and the new magical
memories. The tips on the rides have given us great guidelines." -- Lisa
Everything! I am a planner and this book really
helped me plan my first ever Disney trip in 2004. We are going back and
I don't need to plan as much, but the book is a must! I loved the map,
the meal worksheet, the priority seating worksheet. -- Jennifer
Learn more and order today at:
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/guidebook.htm |
|
Travel
Feature:
Discovering "America's Finest City": San Diego
by Sarah Mudd,
PassPorter Message Board Guide and Guest Contributor
When a lot of folks hear the word California
the first thing that pops into their mind is Los Angeles, movie stars .
. . maybe even Disneyland. But how many think of the beautiful jewel of
a city just 90 miles away from Hollywood? San Diego is nicknamed “America’s
Finest City," and for good reason.
Bordered in the south by Mexico, the west
by the Pacific Ocean and the east by the Anza-Borrego Desert and Laguna
Mountains, San Diego has something
for everyone.
San Diego is California’s second largest
city and the seventh largest in the United States with a population of
over 1.3 million. Originally inhabited by the Kumeyaay people, the area
was “discovered” by explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542, then named
“San Diego” by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602, when the California coastline
was first mapped. The first colonists settled in the city in late 1774.
Mission
San Diego de Alcala, the first of 21 missions to be established on
the California coast, was founded in 1769 on Presidio Hill, which overlooks
Old Town. In 1774, it was relocated to its current location and is one
of the most beautiful buildings in the city. It is also an active Catholic
parish in the Diocese of San Diego.
Old
Town San Diego State Historic Park recreates Mexican and American life
from 1821 to 1872. There are many shops, restaurants, museums, historic
buildings (including San Diego’s first newspaper office) and the Whaley
House, which is the most haunted house in America! Some of the tastiest
authentic Mexican food can be found in Old Town at the Old
Town Mexican Café!
Balboa
Park is a museum lover’s dream. In total, there are 15 museums in Balboa
Park, including the Reuben H. Fleet Science
Center, San Diego Aerospace
Museum and San Diego Art Museum.
In addition, there are over 85 performing arts and international culture
organizations, hiking and biking trails, restaurants and the World-Famous
San Diego Zoo. There are so many
things to do in Balboa Park alone; it could take you days to see everything!
In the Downtown area you will find the
Gaslamp Quarter, which is one of
southern California’s premier dining, shopping and entertainment districts.
Horton Plaza is an open-air mall, which looks similar to a European marketplace
with elements of an amusement park and touches of historical San Diego.
Seaport Village is an intimate
waterfront shopping village with some great shops and restaurants. Some
favorites at Seaport Village are the carousel and the shop that makes homemade
fudge while you watch.
The San
Diego Bay has 34 total miles of shoreline with hotels, parks, shopping
and museums, including the San Diego
Maritime Museum (aboard the Star of India) and the San
Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum (aboard the USS Midway). There are quite
a few ways to tour the bay area - PediCab, the Old Town Trolley Tours and
horse-drawn carriages will take you around the area on shore and there
are a handful of options for harbor cruises.
San Diego beaches
can often be found packed with surfers. Some of the best beaches for surfing
are Pacific Beach, La Jolla,
Mission Beach and Ocean Beach.
At Ocean Beach, there is even a section of beach just for dogs called,
what else but Dog Beach. “OB” is a laid-back beach town and it is likely
you will find mostly locally owned and operated shops and restaurants.
At Mission Beach, you will find Belmont
Park, a historic amusement park with the Giant Dipper, a wooden roller
coaster built in 1925.
Whenever someone mentions they are heading
on a trip to San Diego, and I am asked for tips, one of the first things
I mention is where they should eat. My recommendations are that, at least
once, you need to experience authentic Mexican food. My favorite place
is Old Town Mexican Café in Old Town. I also recommend a trip to
In-N-Out Burger, as well as a trip
to Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill. Rubio’s
is the home of the fish taco, as well as other tasty creations. It is a
favorite food stop in our family.
If sports are your thing, you are in luck!
There’s a sports team for everyone! Like baseball? Catch the Major League
Baseball San
Diego Padres at PETCO Park between April and October. Is football more
your thing? The NFL’s San Diego Chargers
play in the fall and winter! There are teams representing nearly everything
from Major League Baseball to the National Premier Soccer League to the
Women’s Professional Football League!
Cross the Coronado
Bay Bridge from downtown San Diego and you’ll find one of the jewels
of the San Diego area . . . the Hotel
del Coronado. “The Del” was built in 1888 on Coronado
Island and was the inspiration for the Grand Floridian resort at Walt
Disney World! Further to the north of the city, in Escondido, is the San
Diego Wild Animal Park. There, most animals are kept in their “natural”
habitat and guests are brought through the “Serengeti” on safari trains.
There are also walk-through exhibits and shows to check out. Also north
of San Diego, in Carlsbad is Legoland
California, with rides, attractions and shows for people of all ages all
themed to Lego building bricks!
Head up Point Loma and you will find Fort
Rosecrans National Cemetery and, further up the Point, Cabrillo
National Monument. Cabrillo National Monument celebrates the 1542 landing
of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo on the land that became San Diego. The monument
was dedicated in 1913 and includes the Old Point Loma Lighthouse and a
visitor’s center with historical displays and a gift shop/bookstore. The
monument offers gorgeous views of the city of San Diego as well as the
San Diego Bay, Coronado and Naval Air Station North Island. On the sea-side
of the Point, gray whales can be seen migrating off the coast during the
winter time and there is also a small stretch of rocky coastline and tide
pools that can be seen during low tide. The entrance fee for the park is
$5 per car (or $3 if you are on a bicycle, motorcycle or come up on foot
or bus) and that is good for 7 days of access to the park! An excellent
bargain for some fantastic views and peace and quiet!
Other attractions in the Point Loma area
include Sea World
San Diego and the iPayOne Center,
where you’ll often find shows, concerts and, on weekends, the Kobey’s
Swap Meet. The Swap Meet is my favorite place to find odds and ends
as well as San Diego souvenir tee shirts! Most vendors sell their souvenir
tees for 3 adult tees for $10 and kids’ tees for 3 for $9. Some a bit more,
some a bit less, but all great deals for great shirts!
San Diego truly is a melting pot of people
and cultures with something for everyone. Beaches, mountains, museums,
great food and fantastic weather year-round make this a wonderful vacation
destination where you will never be without something to do. I am proud
to call it my hometown and enjoy exploring the city whenever I am able
to get back there. I know you will enjoy exploring as well!
Tip: You'll find more information and tips on San Diego in our new guidebook,
"PassPorter's Disneyland Resort and
Southern California Attractions.".
Sarah Mudd is the Guide
for the Disneyland: Getting There (and Back!) forum on the PassPorter Message
Boards. She is a stay-at-home mom, Navy wife, and displaced San Diego
native who looks forward to the day when she can move back to her beautiful
hometown!
- - - -
- - - - - - - -
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.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
|
|
|
|
Disney
Feature:
Survey Marks: The Hidden
Mickeys Beneath Your Feets
by Patty Winter,
Guest Contributor
During your visits to Walt Disney World or
Disneyland, you’ve probably searched for subtle images of Mickey Mouse’s
head in wrought-iron railings, chandeliers, and wallpaper. But have you
ever thought to look right beneath your feet?
Survey marks are small disks (usually about 3" in
diameter) placed by surveyors to mark specific locations. At Disneyland
and Walt Disney World, disks with Disney-related etched images have been
placed during the construction of theme parks, hotels, and other structures.
Millions of people walk right over them every year without noticing them.
That means they can make a fun new treasure hunt for you and your family
during your Disney vacations.
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a presentation
by current and past chief surveyors of Walt Disney World. They showed striking
pictures of the conditions under which surveying is done in the 47-square-
miles of swampland that is Walt Disney World. There were photos of surveyors
waist-deep in swamps, of 15-foot alligators and 8-foot cottonmouth snakes.
On a lighter note, they also talked about some of
the unusual, “only at Disney” assignments they’ve been given over the years,
such as determining the precise coordinates of the track inside Spaceship
Earth, or the proper placement of the air lines to the seats in Honey,
I Shrunk the Audience. Another time, the pyrotechnics folks at the Magic
Kingdom were concerned that their fireworks weren’t going up as far as
they wanted, so they asked the surveyors to determine their height. Not
typical tasks for professional surveyors, but then, Walt Disney World isn’t
a typical place to work. Besides, such assignments are a pleasant change
from wading through a swamp full of poisonous snakes!
Walt Disney World only began using survey disks a
little over 20 years ago. Originally, the surveyors marked specific locations
with survey nails, or with "X"s scribed in concrete. But in the early 1980s,
an enterprising salesman at a survey monument manufacturing company had
an idea: Wouldn’t it be fun to install unique Disney-themed disks instead
of boring old nails?
The salesman approached the Disney World survey department
with a disk
design that featured the familiar three-circle Mickey Mouse symbol.
The largest circle had latitude and longitude lines, making Mickey’s head
look like the Earth. It was a design that combined Disney whimsy with a
representation of the coordinate system that underlies all surveying. Disney’s
surveyors loved it, knowing that Disney World visitors would enjoy the
Mickey-themed disks.
Subsequently, survey disks were added to construction
projects at Disneyland. For many years, the design was based on the Disneyland
logotype rather than a graphic. But when Disney’s California Adventure
was being built, a new
disk was developed that depicts each park’s signature object: Sleeping
Beauty’s Castle from Disneyland, and Grizzly Peak from California Adventure.
That style is now used throughout the Disneyland Resort.
“Okay,” I hear you saying, “but where the heck are
these things? I’ve never seen one!” Believe it or not, most of them are
right under your feet, in the concrete walkways between buildings. Others
can be found in the curbs that line walkways, parking lots, roads, or bodies
of water.
For example, at Epcot, there’s one near the dinosaur
topiary outside Universe of Energy. Two were recently installed behind
the Main Street railroad station at the Magic Kingdom. At California Adventure,
you can find one in the runway markings outside of Soarin’. Next door at
Disneyland, there’s one near Rivers of America, outside the entrance to
Pirates of the Caribbean.
Not all the disks are inside the theme parks. There
are a couple at the Animal Kingdom bus stops, one at Downtown Disney in
Anaheim, three between the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian, one at Disney’s
Wide World of Sports, and some at Typhoon Lagoon, just to name a few locations.
So, are you ready to look for some Disney survey
marks yourself? Here are a few ways to get started:
1. Study photos of known disk locations. Once you’ve
seen where they are, you can keep your eyes open for those locations when
you visit Disneyland or Disney World. There are two main Web sites that
have Disney survey mark photos: mine at http://www.wintertime.com/disneymarks,
and the Disney
World and Disneyland
categories on http://www.waymarking.com.
(Waymarking is a new hobby that’s a spin-off from geocaching. See my article
about Disney geocaching in the May
2, 2005 issue of PassPorter News.
2. Use a GPS receiver. On both my site and the Waymarking
site, you can get latitude and longitude information for all the known
survey marks. Simply enter those coordinates into your GPS receiver and
use it to zero in on each disk.
3. Just keep your eyes open! I know it’s hard to
remember to look at the ground when your attention is constantly being
drawn to castles and five foot high mice and screaming coaster riders.
But look for survey disks whenever you think of it, and you just might
spot some! One family recently told me that they promised their six year-old
daughter a Disney Dollar for each mark she found. She found six during
their trip—including a new one at Epcot that no one had ever reported to
me before!
What should you do if you find a mark? If it’s one
already listed on Waymarking.com,
you can log your find there. (See the Disneyland
and Disney
World waymarking categories for logging requirements.) If it isn’t
included there yet, you can create a new waymark for it. And of course,
if you come across one that isn’t listed on my Disney benchmarks page,
please let me know about it! (Benchmark is another word for survey marks.)
Are there other Disney survey marks waiting to be
found? You bet! As I was working on this article, I got reports of two
newly discovered marks at Walt Disney World: the one I mentioned at Epcot,
and another at the Shades of Green hotel. And you never know when more
might appear. As Walt Disney World’s chief surveyor told me, “We’re slapping
them in wherever we see wet concrete.”
What about Disney sites in other countries? From
what I’ve been told, the surveyors who worked on Disneyland Paris and Tokyo
Disneyland chose not to install disks. But a Disney engineer has said that
there are 11 marks at Hong Kong Disneyland, none of which have been reported
publicly yet. Will you be the first to find one?
Happy hunting!
Patty Winter is a freelance
marketing writer in Silicon Valley. She recently traveled to Orlando for
a week to attend a presentation by the Walt Disney World surveyors and
to confront the yeti on Expedition Everest.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
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. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|