November 16, 2006 * Issue 6.44 |
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In
This Newsletter
From the Authors:
Jet Lag
Disney Extras Feature:
Splash Down at Disney's Water Parks
Disney Feature: Pros
& Cons of the Magic Your Way Premium Plan
Updates: What's
New and Changed
Tips:
Magic Mickey Memories, Reality Check, An Envelope Each
Captain's Corner: Free Kittens
Q&A: Any
advice on trip insurance?
.
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Updates:
What's
New and Changed
Here are a few items of relevant news:
El Rio del Tempo, the boat ride in Mexico's
pavilion at the World Showcase, will be closed for refurbishment from January 2,
2007 - April 2, 2007.
The new restaurant set to open in July 2007in Asia at Disney's Animal Kingdom,
has a name: Ying and Yak. The restaurant located near Expedition Everest
will feature both a table service section as well as a counter service location.
Are you an Annual Passholder for Disney or any other Orlando-area theme park?
Between now and December 24, Cypress
Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida is offering free admission to anyone
with a current Annual Pass to theme parks such as Walt Disney World and Universal
Orlando.
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
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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:
MAGIC MICKEY MEMORIES
"I'm always looking for a way to relive the magic of the parks until our
next trip. so this last trip I purchased a bunch of little inexpensive souvenirs
like key chains, magnets, small toys, etc. (A great place to find these is at
"Mickey's Mart: Everything Ten Dollars and Under" in Downtown Disney.) I put
them in small Mickey bags, sealed them shut with the Mickey Mouse stickers that
the cast members hand out, and when I got home I put them in a box in an out of
the way spot. Now when I'm having a bad day or just need a little Disney Magic I
go to the goodie box, pull out a bag, and it takes me right back to my favorite
place in the world. "
-- contributed by Linda W.
REALITY CHECK
"Realize that it's impossible to see everything in one trip and to enjoy the
things you do see. If you worry about trying to cram in everything you possibly
can, you will miss the important stuff, like enjoying this time with your
family." -- contributed by Sharon A.
AN ENVELOPE EACH
"My children each had a good amount of spending money for Disney but were
too young to safely keep track of it. But it can get confusing for us to keep up
with their different running totals. I now make a little envelope for each child
labeled with their name (and some Disney stickers of course!) with their money
in it, and we simply remove the $ from their envelope when they make a purchase
and return the change. Receipts can also be placed in the envelope in case there
is a need to return something before leaving. " -- contributed by
Karen S.
>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 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 journal entry:
"I've been feeling a mite lonely lately. Should I find myself a good and loyal pet? I do recall a notice
announcing free kittens -- I even took a snapshot of it because I thought the sign was quite amusing. The notice indicates
that the kittens are rather large. I wonder if I could teach a kitten to ride on my shoulder like a parrot? Alas, I am probably
doomed never to find out because I cannot remember WHERE I was when I took the snapshot of the sign."
![](http://www.passporter.com/news/freekittenssmall.jpg)
Free Kittens (click for a larger image)
Where is the free kitten sign located?
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 Marsha Bouters who was
the winner of last week's treasure hunt game! Marsha correctly identified
the time machine (the now-defunct Timekeeper attraction) as "the greatest
invention of all time." 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.
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Q
& A:
With Jennifer and Dave
DaleNChip asks: "I
have tried reading the FAQ on
InsureMyTrip.com, but I'm still confused. I don't know what I should be
looking at covering, so I don't know how to compare what I'm seeing. Does that
make sense? I've never used trip insurance before but want to for my just-booked
August 2007 Disney cruise.
Any advice?"
Dave & Jennifer answer: "Everyone
has their own idea of what risks are acceptable, and what are too great to leave
uninsured. However...
You want to be covered in case travel disruptions cause you to miss the boat -
weather, mechanical failures, missed connections, whatever. If you want to join
the ship at its next port of call, you'll be paying rather stiff, same-day
airfares. You may also have to shell out for hotel, ground transportation, etc.
It's also nice to be reimbursed for the full/partial cost of the cruise if you
end up missing some or all of it.
Your medical policy may or may not cover you outside the US. If you are covered,
you'll have to pay the bills up front and put in for reimbursement. Your regular
medical policy will almost undoubtedly NOT cover helicopter transportation from
ship to shore in the case of a serious emergency. It will not cover the
transportation and lodging costs for family/companions who accompany you to the
hospital overseas. If you then need special medical transport from a foreign
hospital back home... If you think there's a significant risk of something
happening (existing medical conditions, or simply an accident-prone teenaged
daredevil), you'll want supplemental medical coverage including evacuation.
While the cost of medical treatments outside the US are almost always lower than
in the States, transportation, lodging, etc. can make serious illness or injury
overseas phenomenally expensive.
Some other kinds of coverage - lost luggage, "traveler's aid", etc. are often
covered in other ways (such as credit card benefits), and the travel policies
often stipulate that claims must be made to all other insurers/airline/etc.
before you can claim a loss on the travel policy... that coverage is generally
not as essential as the other sorts I mentioned, but it also is almost
impossible to find a policy that doesn't include it."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!
.
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Future
Newsletters:
Want
To See Your Name in Print?
PassPorter News is now published
weekly, and 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!
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From
the Authors: Jet Lag
Hi, {{user("firstname")}}!
We had a delightful and exhausting
research trip to Southern California. In the span of a few days we were on hand
for record-setting high temperatures and record-setting lows. But hey, we
live in Michigan, and travel frequently to Orlando and the Caribbean, so for us,
those SoCal "extremes" seemed quite manageable. Jet lag, on the other hand...
We've been back home for nearly four days, and we're still on West Coast time.
While not all that much has been changed or added
since we last visited Disneyland, Alexander has come a long way, so much of our
park time was spent exploring Disneyland (and LEGOLAND) through a toddler's
eyes. He had a blast, and so did we!
While
at Disneyland we held a PassPorter meet near Haunted Mansion. Well, it started
at Disneyland, but Veterans Day weekend crowds were so thick we abandoned all
intentions to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday and Pirates of the Caribbean. We
crossed the Esplanade to Disney's California Adventure and spent the afternoon
experiencing Monsters Inc: Mike and Sulley to the Rescue, Turtle Talk with
Crush, Aladdin at the Hyperion Theater, and wrapping up (for those remaining)
with Block Party Bash, Disneyland's evening "parade." A great time was had by
all! I'd like to thank everyone who joined us: Iris, Carol, Sean, Pamela,
PassPorter Guide Laurabelle, Stacy, Dana, Samantha, Robert, Jody, Bradley and
Andrea.
We also had a fabulous time
at
MouseAdventure, MousePlanet.com's all-day scavenger-style hunt throughout
Disneyland park. As first-timers we participated in the "open" category, and our
two-member team (plus Alexander, who tagged along like the trooper he is) placed
29th out of 104 teams. Not at all bad! Of course, nearly every other team
finishing ahead of us had three or four adult members and didn't have to attend
to the needs of a toddler. (Spin-meister? Moi?) Watch out, MousePlanet. Next
time, Alexander will be older and we'll recruit a couple of extra team
members. Woo, woo, woo!!!! Go, team! (Sorry, the excitement over the impending
Michigan - Ohio State game is getting to us).
Just before we headed home, we hooked-up with the
folks from MiceChat.com at their weekly
meet at Disneyland's Hub. We met a whole bunch of wonderful folks, and ran into
our old buddy, Judimouse. Maybe we can talk them into joining MouseFest next
year?
Announcer: Jennifer and Dave, you've
finished your research trip to Disneyland. What are you going to do next?
J&D: We're going to
MouseFest!
(Oy, will we ever get a day off?)
In other happy news,
PassPorter Walt Disney
World 2007 is in stock and orders from the PassPorter Store are shipping on the next
business day. That means there is still some time to order a new PassPorter if
you are planning to attend MouseFest!
Place your order today at
http://www.passporterstore.com/store/2007.aspx. And don't forget to use the 20% off coupon code at
the bottom of this issue of PassPorter News!
PassPorter Public Appearance Calendar
Here's an update on where you can see/hear/meet PassPorter's
authors in the upcoming months:
Coming soon:
12/3 - 12/11/2006
MouseFest 2006
See the MouseFest
web site for the full schedule
http://www.mousefest.org
Appearing:
Jennifer, Dave and Alexander Marx, Deb Wills
Be sure to bring
your books for autographing
Books will also be
available for sale at the MegaMouseMeet, Saturday 12/9, at 1:00 pm. |
In this issue of the newsletter first-time
newsletter contributor Jean Cotting takes us for a dip at
Disney's Water Parks,
and PassPorter Guide Dawn Erickson analyzes Disney's Magic
Your Way Premium vacation package. Enjoy!
Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Authors |
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Did You Know?
Great Cruise Rates are available at
MouseEarVacations.com!
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Disney
"Extras"
Feature:
Splash Down at Disney's Water Parks by
Jean Cotting, Guest Contributor
Your feet have
swollen to twice their normal size, the "Stand By" lines are all 90 minutes, you
can’t get the "its a small world" song out of your head, and you're convinced
that Chip and Dale are stalking you. Now what? Well, let me tell you about one
of the best ways to spend a day away from the major theme parks when visiting
the Walt Disney World Resort - water parks! Before I get too far into this
article I have to post a disclaimer - I am a wimp! I will not be able to
enlighten you with any first-hand accounts of the more intense water park
experiences. I love gently curving water slides and tube rides. I am fond of
bouncing around in wave pools. I am too big a coward to go on any of the
death-defying-ninety-degree-straight-down-drop-to-certain-peril sort of water
slides. Also, I have my eight year old son in tow, who is not a very strong
swimmer. There are many fine books and web sites that can give you those details
(like PassPorter, for instance).
First, a history of water parks at Disney. The
original water park, River Country, closed a few years ago. You can still see
remnants of the slides if you take the boat from the Magic Kingdom to Fort Wilderness. Some of my fondest
recollections of childhood trips to Disney involved barreling down the flumes at
River Country. Compared to modern water parks, River Country would probably be
considered rather quaint - a few water flumes, a tube ride, and not much else.
However, for the late 70s / early 80s it was state of the art. Every so often
rumors circulate about Disney using the space for something new, but nothing has
come to fruition so far.
Of the two water parks
currently in operation, Typhoon Lagoon is the older. As you drive into the entrance
of the park there are a series of driftwood signs explaining the story behind
the Lagoon. I don't want to include any spoilers, but basically it explains
just exactly how that boat, the Miss Tilly, got stranded on top of Mount Mayday that far inland. (Hint: It
involves a typhoon.) There are all sorts of cute references to the story in terms
of the theming. The general feel of the place is sort of tropical island, sort
of Gulf Coast. The central area of the park is the wave pool and it is a
fantastic pool. The pool alternates in half-hour long shifts between gentle bobbing
waves and heavy duty body-surf quality big waves. The big waves are pretty intense and my
son generally prefers to wear a life vest when the big waves come. After a shift
of big waves we are usually sufficiently fatigued to either go lounge in our
lounge chairs or go off in search of the wimpy slides. We are very partial to
Keelhaul Falls and May
Day Falls, which are
twisty-turning tube flumes. There is also a very entertaining family tube ride,
Gang Plank
Falls. For those of you looking
for more exciting thrills there are plenty - the Crush-n-Gusher (a
roller-coaster style slide), Humunga Kowabunga, and the Storm Slides. I've
never been on them but have heard the shrieks of terror. (Just kidding ... kind
of.)
Blizzard
Beach is the newer of the two
parks, and I have a confession. I visited it for the first time only a week ago.
I had heard that it was the more dare-devil of the two parks and had decided to
defer visiting until my son was a bit older. I have to admit that I was
pleasantly surprised. There are plenty of the drop-to-your-death variety of
slide but there are many diversions for the less adventurous souls. As the
name would imply, there is a blizzard theme. Again there is a story behind the theming -- a freak blizzard in Florida, resulting in a ski resort. The
landscaping is sort of Swiss Alps; I kept expecting to see a lonely yodeling
goatherd. It's worth going just for the background music alone: Beach Boys and
other surfin' music alternating with polka music and Christmas carols. We went
this year on the last day of the season before it closed for rehab. It had been
chilly and rained in the morning, so we practically had the entire place to
ourselves. My absolute favorite thing about this park is the chair lift which
takes you to the slides. You can pack in a lot more runs down the mountain when
don't have to climb to the top each time. The chair lift gives you a lovely view
of the last split second before those poor masochistic fools descend down Summit Plummet. We rode the family tube ride several times, Team Boat Springs,
which we enjoyed immensely. This is a very long slide and I think you pick up a
lot more speed and spinning than one generally does on a group ride. This is
still not a slide I would call scary. The Toboggan Racers are also delightful.
They are very, very fast, and at a few points I was convinced I was airborne.
It's a double hump racing slide, no twists or turns, sufficient run-off at the
end so that you've stopped before hitting the end, and it's only a few inches of
water so it's good choice for timid swimmers. There is also a lovely wave pool.
It does not have the rotation of really big waves like Typhoon Lagoon, just
continuous, gentle, bobbing waves.
I have been to Typhoon Lagoon a number of times and Blizzard Beach only once, but
based on my experience so far I would say I have a slight preference for Blizzard
Beach. Here is some general advice for both water parks: Get there early if you
want a chair. They go early. There are plenty of counter service dining
opportunities, beverage stations, and of course, souvenir shops. I strongly
recommend renting a locker. The parks are huge and you won't want to leave your
belongings unattended. The refillable mug program is a fairly good deal. Up
until last year one had to wait in line at counter service restaurants to get
refills and it really wasn't worth the aggravation. They now have sticker on the
mugs which you scan at beverage stations, no waiting, which is a much more efficient
arrangement. Each of the parks does close down for a month or so in the winter,
but they stagger it so at least one of the parks is always open. The water is
heated and one can use a Plus Option for admission on the premium park admission
tickets. Even paying for a ticket out of pocket I think it's one of the best
values for your dollars.
So grab your towel
and water-wings, I'll see you on the slopes!
About the Author:
Jean Cotting is a first-time contributor to PassPorter News. She is looking
forward to planning her next trip to Walt Disney World and perhaps working up
the courage to try Humunga Kowabunga! (Ok, not really...)
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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.
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Disney Feature:
Pros and Cons of the Magic Your Way
Premium Plan by
Dawn Erickson, Guest Contributor and PassPorter Message Board Guide
There
are so many decisions that are made when planning a Walt Disney World vacation.
How you are going to get there? Where you are going to stay? Where you are going
to eat? When planning my most recent trip with my husband to "the World," we
decided to go all out and chose the Magic Your Way Premium Plan.
The Premium Plan includes your resort accommodations, Magic Your Way park passes
with Park hopping and the Water Parks and Fun Option for the length of your
stay, and breakfast, lunch and dinner at over 100 Walt Disney World restaurants.
The recreation options available on the Premium plan are spectacular. You could
play 18 holes on one of the many championship golf courses or participate in
water sports, including parasailing and water-skiing. Some of the other options
include a round of golf at one of the two miniature golf courses, watercraft
rentals, bike rentals, horseback trail rides, guided fishing excursions, and
tickets to Cirque de
Soleil's
La
Nouba.
For those with
children, there is unlimited use of the Children's Activity Centers.
Reservations are required for all recreation activities. Last but not least, you
can book as many tours as you want throughout your package stay. Choose from a
wide variety of options like the Keys to the Kingdom tour at the Magic Kingdom,
Disney's Backstage Safari at the Animal Kingdom, and the Undiscovered Future
World tour at Epcot.
The main reason we chose the Premium Plan was for the dining options. We wanted
to leave for this trip knowing we did not have to pay for any meals out of
pocket. With the plan, we received breakfast, lunch, and dinner at over 100
restaurants on Walt Disney World property. Just like under the regular Dining
Plan, alcoholic beverages, souvenir mugs, glow cubes, and in-room mini bars are
excluded from the plan. A nice feature is that many of the restaurants that are
two (2) dining credits on the Magic Your Way Dining Plan, like Hollywood Brown
Derby and Cinderella's Royal Feast, only used one (1) credit on the Premium
Plan. We also were able to dine at Fulton's Crab House in Downtown Disney, which
is not offered on the Magic Your Way Dining Plan. We were able to dine at
restaurants we normally overlooked for one reason or another and took advantage
of seven character meals. Since the meals were paid for, we also enjoyed
appetizers and desserts at most table service meals.
As far as dining goes, I found two cons with the plan. The first con is that
this is a lot of food. Even my husband, who is a big eater, thought the amount of
food was too much. There were a couple of days where we cancelled our
reservations as we just were not hungry. The second con is in regard to the lack
of snack credits that are normally offered on the regular Magic Your Way Dining
Plan. The snack credits are a plus for those bottles of water in the park, those
Mickey Bar cravings, and during the Food and Wine Festival, those tasty
offerings at all the booths throughout the World Showcase. We were unable to
exchange any of our credits for what are considered "snacks" under the Magic
Your Way Dining Plan, so we did incur some out-of-pocket expenses because we
enjoyed the offerings during the Food and Wine Festival.
Of all the extra amenities included on the Premium Plan, we only took advantage
of three on our trip. We took the Keys to the Kingdom tour at the Magic Kingdom
($120.00 value for both). This is a spectacular tour and one of the highlights of our
trip. We also reserved tickets for a showing of La
Nouba
in Downtown Disney ($162.00 value for both). We had excellent seats in section 202,
row AA, seats 1 and 2. Finally, we played a round of golf at Fantasia Gardens
near the Swan/Dolphin resorts. The total value was $21.50 for both of us.
We booked our vacation package through AAA and received the AAA discount. The
prices I am giving to you are based on that information. It will differ for each
individual or family. To give you an idea on the cost of the Premium Plan, we
calculated what the cost was per day for each of us and compared it to the total
cost of our meals and extras. Based on our cost, it was approximately an extra
$161.66 per day for the both of us ($969.96 for 6 nights). On our dining alone,
we would have spent $984.14. The extras would have cost us $303.50. Grand total:
$1287.64. Difference: $317.68 to our advantage.
Overall, the Magic Your Way Premium Plan worked well for us on this trip. We
were unable to experience everything it had to offer but it truly made this trip
something to remember. We did not have to worry about out-of-pocket expenses
except for snacks and souvenirs. I recommend if you are considering the Premium
Plan to do some research and see if you can fully take advantage of everything
it offers and weigh the cost.
A full breakdown of all the amenities available on the 2007 Premium Plan, as
well as the participating restaurants, can be found on the
Walt Disney World web site.
About the Author:
Dawn Erickson is a Co-Guide in the
Disneyland: Making More Magic and Office Forums on the PassPorter message
boards. She is currently planning a trip with some fellow PassPorters to
Disneyland in February 2007.- - - - - - - - - - - -
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.
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