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 In This Newsletter
From the Authors: Open Mouse!
Travel Feature: Busch Gardens Coaster Review: SheiKra
Disney Feature: Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba
Updates: What's New and Changed
Tips: Mind Those Maps, Put Up A Poster, Plan To Pack
Captain's Corner: Prisoner Transport Center
Q&A: How long does it take to dine at Palo?
Our Sponsors: We Recommend...
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Updates:
What's New and Changed
Here are a few items of relevant news:
US Airways
is now a participating airline with Disney's Magical Express. The
participating airlines are AirTran, Alaska, American, Continental,
Delta, JetBlue. Northwest, United and US Airways.
RUMOR: Screamscape.com is reporting that Epcot will return to using the old EPCOT Center logo that was retired in 1999. Merchandise bearing the logo has already been spotted in Epcot shops.
Parking Fees have increased
at Walt Disney World by $1. Cars (including taxis, limos, shuttles and
motorcycles) are now $11/day, campers/trailers are $12/day and
buses/tractor trailers are $15/day.
The main, themed pool at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
will be closed for an extended refurbishment from January 7, 2008
through mid-September 2008. Small water slides (appropriate for
children)
will be added to the "quiet" pools in the Jamaica and Barbados sections
of the resort to help keep the fun going during construction.
Our thanks to AllEars.net and MousePlanet.com 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:
MIND THOSE MAPS
"As a former Cast Member, my best tip is for guests to familiarize
themselves with the park maps. Make sure you know where you want to go
and how to get there. Do a little research, that way when you get home
you won't say,'Geez we missed this!'"
-- contributed by Fred H.
PUT UP A POSTER
"Last year when we went to Walt Disney World both my husband and I as
well as the grandkids stopped at the wrong hotel door trying to open it
with our key card and stood there puzzled because it certainly looked
like our room. (We were on the wrong floor one time and took one corner
instead of two another time.) This year when we went we bought two Disney
posters with us and posted it facing out on the windows of the two
rooms we had. Needless to say we always found our room despite all the
similar looking rooms and our grandchildren had fun finding the pirate
and princess poster on the way back from the parks and pool when they
frequently ran ahead of the adults. Even the two year old easily
identified our room."
-- contributed by Donna O.
PLAN TO PACK
"Plan and pack sooner than you think you need to! I packed our
suitcases two weeks before we were to leave for Walt Disney World (much
to the amusement of my family). Boy was I glad I did! 10 days
before we left, our computer died and we spent the next 10 days
frantically trying to buy and restore our business computer and data so
that we had a business to return to! Had I not already packed for all
of us, I would have been even more stressed!"
-- contributed by Barbara P.
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:
"A pal of mine has sent me an urgent communication, asking me to meet him at the Prisoner Transport Center tomorrow morning. I've searched my journals and dredged my mind for some reference to a Prisoner Transport Center, but it escapes me."
Where is the Prisoner Transport Center?
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 Melissa Potter who was the
winner
of last week's trivia contest! Melissa was the first person to
identify the 'living avatar' as belonging to community member "Authors"
(otherwise known as Jennifer & Dave) and for extra credit, the post was located in a MouseFest related thread in The Backyard forum. 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
DougPeterson asks: "Ok
all you Palo fans out there. How long does it really take to dine at
Palo? They schedule you for two hours - does it really take that long?
Can we make it through in an hour or hour and a half?"
Dave and Jennifer answer: "I wouldn't have trouble spending three
hours at Palo, so the notion of spending a little more than an hour just
wouldn't work for me. For that matter, it's hard to get me out of the regular
dining rooms in less than 90 minutes, two hours if we've got a bottle of wine (a
bottle of wine, perhaps cocktails and/or after dinner drinks also contribute to
a very long visit to Palo). Some dining experiences are as much about the experience as they are about the food. You can manage to
consume the food in a bit more than an hour if you tell your server you want it
that way, but you do miss half the fun."
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 -- Exclusive Onboard Credit Offer
Mouse Fan Travel -- Walt Disney World & Cruise Special Offers
ALL STAR Vacation Homes -- Choose from more than 150 homes within 4 miles of Disney World
Thank you, sponsors!
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From the Authors: Open Mouse!
Hi, {{user("firstname")}}!
The latest PassPorter guidebook is hot off the presses and now available! PassPorter's Open Mouse for
Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line
is in our warehouse and pre-order shipments are on their way as we
speak (or write). Give us a day or two, and we'll be ready to ship new
orders the next business day! And, we also have a free Sneak Peek PDF with more than 40 pages available, if you'd like an advanced peek inside!
The Living Avatars
we added to our message board last week are a big hit, and Jennifer has
been having a great time adding new backgrounds, costumes, and
accessories to enhance the fun.
PassPorter Community members can now build their own, personal
"character" that will be
displayed alongside each post they make (you can see Jennifer's avatar above). Members can select background
images, characters, hair styles, clothing and other accessories and
combine them into a unique expression of their personality. And, since
this is a Disney-focused community, we've added backgrounds and
accessory items that will help folks express their particular Disney
passions (Mickey Bar, anyone?). We've even begun to roll-out exclusive items for our PassPorter's Club passholders, such as a mermaid costume.
For those of you interested in our upcoming 2008 edition of
PassPorter's Walt Disney World, you can get a downloadable file with 34 pages from the 2008 edition ... FREE!
The file includes a page from each of our chapters, including several maps and worksheets, plus a closer look at
a PassPocket. There's also a discount coupon code included! To download your Sneak Peek file, visit
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/guidebook.asp -- and don't forget
to place your pre-order to ensure you're among the first to get a copy!
MouseFest News: Registration is now open for MouseFest!
We've got an all-new registration program this year that offers a host
of new benefits and gives folks a chance to support this great event. Read all about it! Special MouseFest room rates available!
MouseFest has arranged for a special discounted rate at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort for MouseFest!
Stay near the heart of MouseFest action within walking distance of Epcot(r), Disney-MGM Studios, Disney's BoardWalk
entertainment district, Disney's Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf courses, and Saturday's MouseFest's Mega Mouse Meet
at the Walt Disney World Dolphin. To learn more, visit http://www.mousefest.org.
And check out the MouseFest event schedule , also at the MouseFest.org web site.
New meets are being added to the schedule on a regular basis, and the
list of people attending just keeps growing! At least ten of our
PassPorter Guides (moderators) are attending,
as are more than 100 PassPorter community members and readers! Stay tuned for more
MouseFest announcements in the weeks and months to
come.
On the Air: Radio
listeners in the western part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and nearby
northeast Wisconsin can hear Dave Friday morning, September 14 sometime
between 6:00 am and 10:00am Central Time on "Sam in the Morning" on WJMS
590AM.
In this issue, guest contributor and coaster enthusiast Barry Horn takes us for a ride on Busch Gardens Africa's SheiKra,
and Feature Columnist Cheryl Pendry takes a (stationary) seat at Cirque du Soliel's La Nouba at Orlando's Downtown Disney. Finally, Jack Skatt is back with a brand-new Walt Disney World Treasure Hunt. Enjoy!
Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Publishers and Authors
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Travel Feature:
Coaster Review: Busch Garden Africa's SheiKra
by Barry Hom, PassPorter Guest Contributor
2005 marked the opening of Busch Gardens Africa's SheiKra roller coaster, in Tampa, Florida. SheiKra was noteworthy as the first dive coaster in the United States. I found it to be a smooth roller coaster with many exciting moments, a great addition to Busch Gardens Africa's thrill arsenal. On June 16, 2007, the park made a notable change to SheiKra: it went floorless. I tried to play devil's advocate and looked at the change as a gimmick. Rather than building a new ride or attraction, Busch Gardens Africa made a small change to an existing ride to bring guests through the gates. Would making SheiKra floorless actually make the ride better? I decided to find out.
First, for those who are not roller coaster enthusiasts, what is a "dive coaster?" With many other roller coasters, the lift hill pulls you up and you're dropped at an angle. A dive coaster still has a lift hill, but it drops you vertically at a 90-degree angle. That means you're going down face first! Only three other roller coasters in the world are like SheiKra. The other three are Oblivion at Alton Towers in the United Kingdom, Diving Machine G5 at Janfusun Fancyworld in Taiwan, and Griffon at Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, Virginia. Roller coaster designers Bolliger and Mabillard (B & M to coaster enthusiasts) built SheiKra, and have made such other famous coasters as The Incredible Hulk Coaster and Dueling Dragons at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida.
For those who have never ridden SheiKra, what is the experience like? Each train on SheiKra has three rows that hold eight passengers each, for a total of 24 riders. The ride has a dual loading station (two trains are loaded at the same time). As the train heads up the lift hill, look to the left to see downtown Tampa. Look to the right and you can see another train plummeting down the first vertical drop. Soon, you will be dropping, too! At the top of the lift hill, the train turns around and heads toward the first vertical drop. Before the train drops, it stops and hangs for a few seconds. This will seem like eternity to many guests. Then the train plummets down the vertical drop at about 70 mph. According the SheiKra's statistics on the website Roller Coaster database (http://www.rcdb.com), this drop is 200 feet, making it the tallest roller coaster in Florida.
After the drop, you head into an Immelman (a c-shaped inversion that flips you near the top) and the train turns into the second vertical drop. There is no stopping here - the train keeps on rolling into the second vertical drop. Then the train travels along a banked curve that splashes down right into the water. If you are watching from the sideline, you can see a huge flume of water rise from the back of the train. The train then turns around into the station and then you disembark.
After riding SheiKra for the first time in 2005, my overall impression was "Wow!" SheiKra's drops are really amazing. The drops are the best parts of the coaster. You have a short time to catch your breath before the second drop, and your breath is snatched away as soon as you catch it. The Immelman (SheiKra's only inversion) was fun, but I hardly knew I was inverted during my first ride. Ride in the first row for the best view. If you want airtime, ride in the last row. For a more intense ride, ride on the right side.
Now two years have passed, and Busch Gardens Africa removed the floor from SheiKra. However, even when SheiKra did have a floor, the second and third row had a "floorless" element. The second and third row had raised seating, so unless you had long legs, your feet never touched the ground. Now with no floor, nobody's feet touch the ground!
The floorless element of SheiKra draw fresh attention to a relatively new roller coaster. The ride layout hasn't changed - you still have the Immelman and the two drops. You still have the great view from the front row, the airtime in the back row, and the intense ride on the right hand side seats. The big change comes in the "scary factor" when you sit in the front row. When SheiKra had a floor, the front row had a small upraised bar that I call "the bar of protection." This bar obstructed the view as you stared down into 90 degrees of oblivion. It gave you a sense of comfort (albeit a false one) that if your restraints inexplicably failed, you would be saved from falling to your doom by "the bar of protection."
With the floor gone, the bar is gone as well. When you hang there at the first drop, all you see is the 90-degree drop and your shoes dangling. Nothing stands between you and oblivion! When I was in the front row and saw the first drop, I remember nothing but what seemed like a bottomless pit and my feet dangling. As my butt slipped down the seat a little, I had thoughts that my restraint would indeed fail and I would plunge to my death. In that moment of sheer terror a string of obscenities left my mouth. Keep in mind I've been on many roller coasters all over the world. I've been on the 420 foot tall Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. However, I've only ridden two coasters that gave me a potty mouth: Top Thrill Dragster and floorless SheiKra! If a ride gave me a PG-13 vocabulary, then it must have been a good ride! The same sensation came to me during the second drop. I looked down and saw nothing but my sneakers and a seemingly never ending drop! Terror and curse words struck again!
I decided to ride the second row after my first row experience. It was a good ride, but it was not as exciting as the front row. When riding in the second row, the front row became a "protective row." It gave the same false sense of comfort "the bar of protection" once did.
Yes, pulling the floor out of SheiKra gives the park attention. I recall it getting a lot of press and advertisements the weeks leading up to it's re-opening. Making SheiKra floorless also makes it more a thrilling ride in the front seats. Don't be scared off by the long line either. Even when the regular queue is over 80 to 90 percent full, the wait is generally no longer than 30 minutes. If you want to be scared out of your pants, sit in the front row and look down during the first drop. You won't forget the terror you will experience as you're face first and staring down from 200 feet above!
For more information on Busch Gardens Africa:
http://www.buschgardens.com
My video of SheiKra in action from 2005:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOoZZ1K6jpg
About the Author: Barry
is a roller coaster and theme/amusement park enthusiast. So far, he has ridden 386 roller coasters and
visited over 80 theme and amusement parks in many U.S. states, France, United Kingdom, Norway, and Sweden. He is also a columnist and a moderator for
the website IOA Central (www.ioacentral.com). He is looking forward to a group trip with
the website Theme Park Review (www.themeparkreview.com)
to Japan in September and a side trip to SoCal shortly afterwards.
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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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Disney Feature:
Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba
by Cheryl Pendry, PassPorter Featured Columnist
Ever wondered what that great big silvery-white tent is at the West Side end of Downtown Disney? It's home to Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba.
If you're one of those who've been inside to see the show, you'll know exactly what goes on in there, but I bet if someone asked you, you'd struggle to describe it. I always think of Cirque du Soleil (literally translated into English, it means Circus of the Sun) as being the next generation of circus performance. That's not to say that it's like anything you've seen before, because it's not.
Cirque du Soleil's first performance was in Quebec in 1984 and founder Guy Laliberte originally set it up so he and his friends would have, "...a way to travel, have fun, and make audiences happy," according to Cirque du Soleil - 20 Years Under The Sun, a beautiful book that celebrates the first two decades of this amazing organization.
Since then, Cirque has grown and grown, with its repertoire now encompassing seven resident shows: Orlando's La Nouba, five in Las Vegas, and their newest New York-based show, Wintuk, which will perform for ten weeks each winter over the next four years. There are also six touring shows, which are currently performing in North and South America, Australia, Asia and Europe, along with two arena shows.
La Nouba was the first resident show outside of Las Vegas and premiered in 1998, following around ten years of negotiation between Cirque du Soleil and Disney. That's perhaps no surprise, as the two companies are exceptionally similar - both are creative organizations that know exactly what they want to achieve and the impact they want to have on their audiences.
So what's the show all about? Well, despite what I said about it being very hard to describe, let's give it a go. The first thing you should know is that it's a 90 minute show with no intermission and, although it may sound unusual not to have any break during a show, it's a format that really works, mainly because you become completely immersed in La Nouba. The first time we saw the show, we couldn't believe how quickly the time flew by. Before we knew it, everyone was applauding and it was all over. It surely couldn't have finished, but a quick look at my watch confirmed that it had. Since then, we've been hooked on seeing this show.
The name comes from the French phrase "faire la nouba", which means to party or live it up, and that's essentially what you'll see in this show - lots of characters enjoying themselves. There is a storyline, not that you'll ever be aware of it while you're watching La Nouba. The idea is that two groups of characters are featured in the show - the colorful Cirques, circus people who clash with the world of the Urbains (urbanites).
La Nouba was heavily influenced by the idea of fairy tales, which is appropriate, considering how much Disney has been the teller of such tales over the years. If you watch closely, you'll see the story of a frog turning into a beautiful prince within it. But the story is a very small part of the production. The majority of it is the amazing performances you'll see.
What I love about each performance is that you can't believe what you're seeing when it starts, and it just get more and more dramatic, until your jaw is hanging on the floor and you begin to wonder if what you're seeing is real or not. More than 70 artists from around the world take part in La Nouba and amongst the acts. You'll see trapeze artists, dancers, acrobats and of course, the obligatory clowns, who have a great way of interjecting light relief amidst the amazement conjured by their fellow performers.
The highlight for me, every time we've seen La Nouba, is the aerial ballet in silk, which looks absolutely stunning as the acrobats soar around the stage on red silk ribbons. The strength in their bodies is quite something, but you can't help but marvel at the expression they put into their performance as well. The German wheels are another favorite of mine and are not easy to explain! The best description I can manage is that the performers are inside giant wheels that spin and turn. I fully accept that it doesn't sound that exciting - it's something you need to see for yourself. Another act involving wheels that always gets the crowd going is the bikes, with their BMX maneuvers and their "walk" down the steps into the audience.
Another high energy act - and sadly one that signals the end of the whole show - is what's called the power track/trampoline, where you'll see people bouncing off the walls and through the windows of a three-dimensional building. It's a spectacular finale and you'll find yourself wondering how on earth they manage to miss colliding with each other.
Invariably though, the greatest applause of the night is reserved for the four tiny Chinese acrobats and the diabolos. It may be a name you've never heard, but you might have seen these, as they're found in specialist shops and in the shop outside La Nouba. The diabolo is a wooden spool that dances on a string connected to two sticks - and you won't believe the acrobatics these girls can perform while keeping the diabolo moving.
It's an incredible show and, although there are some who don't enjoy it, for the main part, most people walk out with their jaws hanging open, unable to fully comprehend what they've just seen. In fact, we've seen the show four or five times now and we still spot new elements every time we view it. In that respect, I guess La Nouba is a little like Walt Disney World...
La Nouba is performed twice nightly Tuesday through Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. (There are no performances Sunday and Monday.) It's not a cheap show. The top price seats, front and center to the stage, are $112 plus tax for adults and $90 for ages 3 - 9. Category 1 tickets are $97 plus tax/adults and $78/children, category 2 tickets are $79 plus tax/adults and $63/children, and category 3 seats are $63 plus tax/adults and $50/children. We usually go for category 1 tickets, as we like to be close to the stage and fairly central, but we don't feel the need to go for the top-priced tickets. To purchase tickets call 407 939-7600 or visit http://www.cirquedusoleil.com . Tickets go on sale six months in advance.
About the Author: Cheryl and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to America. They were on the first 11 night sailing of the Disney Magic around the Mediterranean and are now looking forward to returning to Walt Disney World in December.
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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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