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In This Newsletter
From the Editor: Dog Days of Summer
My Favorite Attraction: Illuminations: Reflections of Earth
Disney Feature: Surviving Walt Disney World During Peak Season
Updates: What's New and Changed
Tips: Love Those Leftovers, Picnic To Go, PhotoPass Card Back Up
Captain's Corner: Liberty Lanterns
PassPorter PhotoPick: Where the Track Ends
Q and A: Which itinerary do you prefer?
Our Sponsors: We Recommend...
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Updates:
What's New and Changed
Here are a few items of relevant news:
As
of July 16, 2008, no reservations will be taken for dates later than
January 15, 2009. Reservations for January 16, 2009 and beyond can be
made beginning on October 15, 2008. The exceptions to this are
Chef Mickey's, Cinderella's Royal Table and Victoria & Albert's
which will continue to accept reservations at the 180 day mark. Word is
that this move may foreshadow a permanent return to the 90 day ADR
booking window...
Florida residents who are guests of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts and drive to the resort are being given a chance to win back some of their gas money. Now
through September 1, guests who meet these requirements can enter a
weekly drawing to win a check reimbursing them $1 for every mile (round
trip) from their home to the Swan or Dolphin. And if you drive a
hybrid, you're really in for a treat - guests with hybrid cars will
receive complimentary valet parking and "extra pampering" for their
vehicles.
On June 25, YouTube.com premiered The Disney Parks Channel,
sponsored by Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. Disney announced the "My
Favorite Disney Parks Memory" contest as part of the channel's launch. The
Grand Prize is an ultimate Disney dream vacation which will include a
night in the Disneyland Dream Suite. To enter, submit a video that
captures your favorite Disney parks memory by August 5, 2008. The Grand
Prize winner will be chosen from 10 finalists and selected by
YouTube.com voters.
Our thanks to AllEars.net and MousePlanet.com from which we get some of our news leads.
Hear some news? Be a "PassPorter Reporter" and send it to us!
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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:
LOVE THOSE LEFTOVERS
"I always take an empty food container into the parks with me. It never
fails that I'll be unable to finish dessert or a burger and I hate to
waste food. I can't tell you how many times the dessert became a
midnight snack! ( It's vacation after all!)"
-- contributed by Rosalie P.
PICNIC TO GO
"This is an idea that can because used for families, or like in our
case, for couples just wanting to make use of their time alone. If you
are staying in a resort with a beach, go to your resort counter service
restaurant or "food court" and order your meals. Instead of eating
inside, bring a blanket or towel to the "beach" and have a little
picnic. If you are more of a "night owl", grab dinner or some snacks
and sit on the beach watching the sunset, or if it's late enough, the
fireworks from nearby MK or Epcot."
-- contributed by Cristy B.
PHOTOPASS CARD BACK UP
"When you receive your PhotoPass card go ahead and write the numbers in
your PassPorters book. We went on Soarin' and when we got off, our card
was no longer in my pocket. If I had the numbers I could have still
gotten my pictures from the web site! Write those numbers down!"
-- contributed by Alisa N.
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. (Please note:
Players can win once every 3 months.)
Here is this week's journal entry:
"Exiting the Hall of President's I realized
I was famished and set out across the square in pursuit of some
sustenance. I spied an unusual tree with a number of lanterns
hanging from it. I wonder what they represent?"
How many lanterns hang in the tree and what do they represent?
For bonus credit, locate the photographic evidence in the PassPorter Photo Archive and post a comment with the photo!
Send your full answer to jackskatt@passporter.com -- the winner will be notified by e-mail and announced in a future newsletter, along with the correct answer!
Congratulations to Terri H. who was the winner of last week's trivia contest! Terri was the first person to identify the number on the building that houses the Hall of Presidents as 1787 (the year the U.S. constitution was ratified). Bonus credit goes to akleos who was the first person to identify the photo in our PassPorter Photo Archive. 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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PassPorter PhotoPick
Each issue we choose a special photo from the PassPorter Photo Archive
which highlights something beautiful, interesting, humorous, or timely
at Disney or around the world. Here is this issue's PassPorter
PhotoPick:
Where the Tracks End
contributed by tigger1221
(click the photo or link to see a larger photo with details)
You can nominate photos as a PassPorter PhotoPick by giving ratings in the PassPorter Photo Archive
(you'll need to be logged in to do this). If you'd like to contribute
your own photos to the Photo Archive and be considered as a PhotoPick,
please read our Photo Upload Guidelines for details and benefits.
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Q and A: With Jennifer and Dave
mackeymouse asks:
"I am just curious which cruise you think gives you the most bang for the
buck?"
Jennifer and Dave answer:
"I prefer days at sea to visiting ports of call when
I'm cruising, so I prefer the Eastern to the Western for the extra day at sea.
I also far prefer the four-night to the three, because you feel like
you're getting more bang - the three-night seems like it's over before it's
begun - too much to do, far too little time."
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):
MouseEarVacations.com -- Disney Cruise Line Special Offers
Mouse Fan Travel -- Walt Disney World Resort Offer
All Star Vacation Homes -- Choose from more than 150 homes within 4 miles of Disney
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From the Authors: Dog Days of Summer
Hi, {{user("firstname")}}!
Greetings
from hot, humid New England! Jennifer and Dave are on vacation this
week and have left me in charge. (Mwahaha!) I promised no wild parties
but frankly, it's just too hot to do much of anything around here.
Luckily, our town has a beautiful shaded dog park that turns out to be
the coolest spot in town so we've been spending a lot of time there.
Gives new meaning to the term "dog days of summer!"
Fred Block, who runs the very popular MagicMeets event in Pennsylvania every July, asks us to remind you that only pre-registered attendees can
get in (and we're not going to even tell you where or when you'd
have wanted to try to get in). There is no, and we repeat, no, walk-up
registration, so please, don't come in hopes of getting lucky,
especially if you'd be in for a long drive. Please, save gas! However,
if you've got one of the 500 golden tickets, we'll see you there! I'll
be there, most of the time with the team from Mouse Fan Travel, but
also putting in some time at the PassPorter booth. Stop by and say "Hi!"
As we explained in previous newsletters, sales of PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2008 have
been so good that we have none left in the warehouse (although they are
still in stock -- for now -- at book stores around the country). If you
can't wait for October to get a 2009 edition from us, you may purchase a 2008 electronic edition (download only) or get a 2007 edition at a close-out price.
Refer to the 2008 electronic edition for the most up-to-date info, and
print-out the pages you'll need when you travel. Rely on the 2007
edition for all our great planning features, PassPockets, and info
that's still pretty darned accurate and useful.
PassHolder Pouches
are back in stock! Not only that, but we upgraded the printed
PassPorter logo to a full-color version that we think is much more
attractive than the old, all-yellow version. Order at http://www.passporterstore.com/store/0966899437.aspx.
PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line and its Ports of Call 2008 is in stock! All orders of our cruise guide ship the next business day.
What else do we have? PassPorter's Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line is also in stock, and because they're electronic downloads, all our e-books and downloads at PassPorter's Club
can never go out of stock (the Internet may go down, but that's a
different story)! Get yer downloads runnin'! Club membership is just
$4.95 per month, the price of just one e-book download, and $44.95 if
you decide to come on board for a full year. With that first month's
membership you can strip our cupboard bare of great e-books and
interactive worksheets. Then you can cancel, or even better (if you
happen to be us), continue the subscription to maintain all the club
benefits (like a 35% discount on all PassPorter printed books) and
qualify for all the new e-books and worksheets we'll be adding to the
Club.
Will you be joining us for PassPorter's Decade of Dreams Tour? PassPorter is celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2009
in a year-long celebration from coast-to-coast! Everyone is invited and
all are warmly welcome to join us at all or part of our celebration. We
are combining small parties (meets) with grand, multi-day trips,
including a 7-night Disney Cruise, a 4-night stay at Walt Disney World, and a Disneyland visit that includes park time and an Adventures by Disney expedition. See our Tour Schedule for the latest details.
PassPorter's Club Update
More than 1400 vacationers are now enjoying access to all our e-books, e-worksheets, and super-sized photo archive images.Thank you for your continued support!
Our newest e-book, PassPorter's Answer Book
is now available for download. This 85-page e-book is full of the
detailed, up-to-date information on the topics that really matter to
you.
We have a brand new e-worksheet for you to use to plan your next trip (click the link to go directly to it): the Daily Ride and Meal Plans e-worksheet lets you plan the rides, shows, and meals around the park(s) you plan to visit in a single day!
More details at http://www.passporter.com/club
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In this issue,Featured Columnist Cheryl Pendry shares her favorite attraction, Illuminations:Reflections of Earth, with us. Then, Myron Spiwak shares tips on Surviving Walt Disney World During Peak Season. Finally, Jack Skatt is back with a brand-new Walt Disney World Treasure Hunt. Have a great week!
Sara Varney
PassPorter News Editor and Online Coordinator
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My Favorite Attraction:
Illuminations: Reflections of Earth
by Cheryl Pendry, PassPorter Featured Columnist
It’s the question that I’m sure many Disney visitors dread, because it’s
so hard to answer – what’s your favorite attraction? After all, with four theme
parks all providing at least a day’s entertainment each, there are so many to
pick from. How on earth could anyone choose?
It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time. At different times,
I’ve chosen the Kilimanjaro Safaris in Animal Kingdom (after all, the only
other way to enjoy an experience like that is to visit Africa for a real
safari), Spaceship Earth and Test Track in Epcot. But somehow, with each of
those choices, I didn’t feel 100% convinced that they were actually my favorites – and surely your favorite shouldn’t change?
I guess it was probably two or three years ago that I finally realized
that my favorite attraction at Disney wasn’t
actually a ride, it was a show. But it is hands down my favorite and it’s
something that’s always been dear to my heart.
Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is held nightly at Epcot and usually
marks the closing of the park, except on nights when it’s hosting evening Extra
Magic Hours. It’s a superb ending to the day’s activities and, to us, is not
only “not to be missed”, it’s something that we try and catch as many times as
we can while we’re in Disney.
I think my appreciation of this nightly show on the World Showcase
Lagoon has grown with my understanding of it. At first, like many people, I
just enjoyed it for its display. I mean, you’re not going to find fireworks
like that in very many places around the world. The first few times you watch
Illuminations, your jaw just drops at how many big bangs and explosions are
included and you can’t help but wonder how much it costs Disney to put this
extravaganza on every night.
Then, after a few viewings, a sudden realization – there are images on
that globe in the middle of the lake. Hmm … knowing Disney, those images
probably mean something. That means there’s got to be a storyline in there that
explains and links together all those big bangs and explosions. And of course
there is.
The introduction before Illuminations begins every evening gives you a
good idea of what it’s all about, inviting us to gather around the fire “as
people of all lands have gathered for thousands and thousands of years before
us, to share the light and to share a story, an amazing story, as old as time
itself, but still being written.” That gives you the first clue that, over the
next 12 or so minutes, you’ll be taken on a journey through the earth’s progress
over the last few thousand years.
All those huge explosions at the beginning that you thought were just
there because we all like to enjoy amazing fireworks are actually representing
the chaos as the earth was formed all that time ago. Suddenly the music reaches
a crescendo and then it all goes quiet. Your eyes adjust to the darkness,
following all the light from the amazing fireworks you’ve just seen and, before
long, four sets of fountains spring to life and suddenly you notice there’s
something making its way out on to the middle of the lagoon – the globe with
images of mankind’s progression through the years beamed on to it. If you’ve
never seen those images before, try watching this section of Illuminations
through a video camera, camera or even a pair of binoculars and zoom right up
on it and you’ll be able to pick it all out. It’s something well worth doing.
Then, before you know it, you’re heading for the finale of the show and
the globe opens up to reveal its secret – an additional torch burning bright.
For ages, we had never fully understood the significance of this, until it was
explained to us. Look carefully around World Showcase Lagoon and you’ll see
twenty of these flames burning in the various different countries. The one that
opens before your eyes is the 21st, welcoming you to the new
century. Appropriate, as Illuminations originally started in its current form
for the Millennium celebrations.
Finally, it all ends and the usual way Illuminations finishes for me is
with tears in my eyes. There is just something about the way that all the
different elements of the show – the music, the fireworks, the fountains, the
lasers, the globe and the flaming torches all come together so beautifully
through the storyline that just moves me every time.
These days, having seen Illuminations so many times, we don’t
necessarily feel the need to stake out a spot hours beforehand, as much of the
show can easily be seen even when the crowds are three or four deep – trust me,
we’ve been there and done that! The bits you will miss if you don’t have a
clear view across the lagoon are the globe and the fountains, so if you do want
to see the whole thing, it is worth getting a place at least half an hour or so
before the show starts or maybe an hour or so when the parks are busy.
We’ve got a number of viewing spots that we enjoy. Obviously the bridge
between the UK and France is a popular one, as is the garden just below on the
French side, but we also love the perspective of watching this show from Italy,
as you can get photos with the gondola poles in shot and, on occasions, we’ve
even been lucky enough to glimpse the nightly showing of Wishes from the Magic
Kingdom from this spot.
A couple of things we always double check now when seeking out a spot to
watch Illuminations is whether there are any trees is the way that will block
our view of the show and also which way the wind is blowing. This is an
important consideration, especially if it is a windy day, as Illuminations can
generate a lot of firework debris and smoke and you don’t want to be in its
path. We’ve learned from experience that it’s not a pleasant way to end your
evening at Epcot.
There is another wonderful way to experience
Illuminations and that’s on a specialty fireworks cruise, which I’ve covered in
a previous
article.
About the Author: Cheryl and
husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to
America. They are in the process of visiting every Disney theme park
around the world, having already spent a day in Disneyland Resort Paris
and Hong Kong Disneyland so far this year. They are looking forward to
returning to America in October to visit both Walt Disney World and
Disneyland in California.
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Illuminations is Cheryl's favorite attraction. What's yours? Write to
us at news@passporter.com if you would like to submit an article about
your favorite and maybe it will be published!
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?
*Offer is limited, subject to availability and restrictions apply - CST207807440
Click for full details. As to Disney artwork: ©Disney Ships' registry: The Bahamas
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Disney Feature:
Surviving Walt Disney World During Peak Season
by Myron Spiwak, PassPorter Guest Contributor
Chances are if you travel to Walt Disney World with
children, you are forced to visit when they are on school break, whether it be
spring break or summer vacation. I know our family has gone three times since
2004, each time during the last week of March.
So if you must go during peak season, is there anything you
can do to beat the crowds and still have a great time without going crazy? It’s
taken a lot of trial and error, but I’ve come up with some sure fire tips to
maximize your enjoyment if you must visit at these peak times.
The first step is quite basic but I’m amazed by how many
people I talk to don’t bother to do this. If real estate is all about location,
location, location, then having an enjoyable Disney experience is all about
planning, planning, planning. As Elton John sang in The Circle of Life, “there’s
more to be seen than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done.” The
need for planning doubles when you’re attempting to navigate the parks and Advance
Dining Reservations during the busy seasons. Some might say that planning every
day from start to finish takes the fun out of a vacation. This may be true for
a long weekend in the Wisconsin Dells, but trying to wing it at Walt Disney World
will only lead to frustration and missed experiences.
If one thing has really saved us on each of our spring break
trips, it has been the FASTPASS ticket.
First and foremost, you should always be holding fastpasses for your
group. Walking around from ride to ride without a pass is really a missed
opportunity. What has always worked for our family is having me run ahead to
the fast pass attraction of our choice while the rest of the group proceeds to
a different ride. Once I have the fast passes, I quickly head over to the other
ride where we all get in line. By the time we get off of that ride, it is often
just about time for our FASTPASS return window.
A key thing to note is what time you can get another FASTPASS.
This is shown on the pass and is not always the same. You should always be
thinking about what ride you want to get your next ticket for and be near that
attraction at the available time, or at least have your runner there. It is
very possible to have two different passes at once. As a matter of fact, this
past spring we achieved the trifecta and had three valid passes in our hands at
one time! If the FASTPASS return time is much later in the day, I would grab
passes anyway even if you don’t think you’ll be at the park for that time. You
can always spread some magic and give them to someone just entering the park,
or you may decide to return on a whim after dinner if your resort or Advance Dining
restaurant is nearby.
An absolute must during peak seasons is getting to the parks
before they open. I know it’s tough to set an alarm on vacation (my girls routinely
sleep to 10:00 am on weekends), but the relatively light crowds for the first
two or three hours the park is open are well worth climbing out if bed. This
past March we arrived at the Magic Kingdom for the Extra Magic Hours 7:00 am
opening and managed to get on ten rides before 10:00 am. Don’t forget to ask for a wake up
call so Mickey can at least wake you up in a good mood!
If you do get the early start, another time saver is to
simply eat something very light in your room or on the way to the bus. We
always pack granola bars so we can eat on the go. This will also allow you to
have an early lunch right when the foods services open around 11:00, which will offer short lines and
plenty of places to sit and eat. The same holds true for dinner, where we book an
Advance Reservation between 5:00 – 6:00. The restaurants aren’t packed yet,
and you get the added after dinner bonus of riding attractions or just walking
around the parks while many people are seated for dinner.
As your days wind down, you’re probably gearing up for the
SpectroMagic parade, Wishes, or Illuminations. Finding a good viewing spot is
always a challenge, but it can be particularly tough on the days where the
crowds are at their largest. Aside from the obvious advice to find a spot early
and camp out, I’d offer two additional tips. For Wishes, especially if you have
seen it before from the ideal in front of the castle area, consider grabbing a
spot on the other side, just past the carousel, facing the Pinocchio Village
Haus. You’ll still have a great sight of the fireworks, and you’ll get an extra
thrill with many of the loud charges going off from the roof top very close to you (this may be
too intense for very young children). The other tip would be to make sure you
don’t try to see Illuminations on any night there are Extra Magic Hours at
Epcot. This will guarantee extra large crowds and longer camping out times for
quality viewing spots.
Someday we hope to experience Walt Disney World when
the crowds are small and the lines are short.
Until then, we’ll be using these tips to squeeze all the fun we can into
our trips. Hopefully you will as well!
About the Author: Myron and his family live in the Chicago suburbs. They are
trying to decide between returning to Walt Disney World in 2010 or taking a
Disney cruise.
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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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