From the Authors: Happy Holidays

Travel Feature:  Opening Day for Narnia 

Disney Feature: The Never Land Club

Updates: What's New and Changed

Tips: Tripod Tip, Thanks For The Memories, Park Prep 

Captain's Corner: Santa's Flamingos

Q&A: Bar Seating at Raglan Road?
 

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Updates:
What's New and Changed

Here's a few of the new developments at Disney·

The Disney Cruise Line has updated the Castaway Club Members website with exclusive members only e-cards, downloads, coloring pages for kids (and big kids!) and a recipe section so you can recreate your favorite dishes at home. 

Planning a Grand Gathering for your next trip to Walt Disney World? (A Grand Gathering is a group of 8 or more people ages 3 and over staying at a Walt Disney World Resort.) You can now book certain Grand Gathering Experiences taking place after January 1, 2006 using your Magic Your Way Dining Plan. You may book the Grand Gathering Breakfast and the Magical Fireworks Voyage at the Magic Kingdom, the Safari Celebration Dinner at the Animal Kingdom, the International Dinner and Illuminations Dessert Party at Epcot, 190 days in advance of your trip. Separate park admission is required and pricing varies. Book by calling 407-WDW-DINE.

Disney Vacation Club members will get a preview of Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain January 26-29, 2006. The attraction has it's official opening in April. Present your DVC Member ID and bring up to three guests with you on your journey into the Himalayas in search of the infamous "Yeti." 

>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:

TRIPOD TIP
"When we went to Walt Disney World in September of 2002, my husband wanted to videotape Illuminations. Instead of having him hold the camcorder throughout the whole show, he decided to bring the tripod. To make it easier to carry we put the tripod into a canvas bag from a folding camp chair. It made it much easier to carry because he just threw it on his shoulder!"
-- contributed by Cammie N. 

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
"When I took my two-year-old niece and five-year-old nephew to Disney, I made them 'thank you' cards the size of business cards.  It had their pictures, Tinker Bell, and 'Thanks for making our memories magical,' so they could hand them out to any cast members they especially liked."
-- contributed by Cindy P. 

PARK PREP
"Prepare ahead for the rides if you are traveling with a young child. We were able to read our PassPorter and prepare our child for "scary" things. The troll in the Maelstrom ride in Norway became the troll from "Dora the Explorer", for example. Our daughter didn't get the slightest bit scared by knowing what to expect."
-- contributed by Tara S. (aroundthesound@...) 

>Notes: Send us your tips ! You may see them in this newsletter and win a copy of PassPorter!

Want more Disney tips? We've collected 500 of the tips submitted by readers over the past six years -- most have never been published before. All have been edited for accuracy and categorized. The "Disney 500" are available in e-book form for immediate download. For details, visit the PassPorter Store. 

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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 upcoming 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:

Ah... the holiday season is upon us all now. Since my relocation to Florida, I find I reminisce more about Christmas as a child. The gifts, the food, the gifts, the family gatherings, the gifts, and of course, Santa! After my mum had tucked me in for the night, I would creep out of bed and wait by the window for Santa to arrive in his sleigh. I was reminded of this youthful adventure the other day when I spied Santa in his sleigh, only instead of reindeer he was being pulled by flamingos! He was parked on the roof of a building near the park entrance of ... (rest of text obscured by sand and water)"

So at what park will you find flamingos pulling Santa's sleigh?

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 Rob Wilson who was the winner of last newsletter's treasure hunt game last week! Rob correctly identified the "treasure hunter's" club as "Club Cool," the revamped Coca-Cola tasting place at Epcot. To view the original clues, see the last 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. We expect to release the book -- "PassPorter's Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney World" -- in early 2006. Watch this space or http://www.passporter.com for more information!

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Q & A:
With Jennifer and Dave

monorail49 asks: "Is there a bar at Raglan Road where guests can sit and eat?"

Jennifer and Dave answer: "Yes, there's a bar. Actually, there are three bars - two indoors and one outdoors (weather permitting), and you can dine at them. They also have high tables near the main, horseshoe-shaped bar that are clearly suitable for solo dining. They have a separate bar menu (not currently posted at allearsnet.com) that consists of the dinner menu's appetizers plus a couple of simple main course-type items (burgers, fish and chips, etc.). I'm not completely sure whether they'll offer you the full dinner menu if you sit at the bar - you may have to ask for it - but I saw several people eating main course items, so it's certainly a possibility. "
 

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?

Big News! PassPorter News will be going weekly beginning early next year. Which means we need more articles than ever! We're on the lookout for guest columnists to contribute articles to this newsletter. No professional writing experience 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 details and our article submission guidelines, please e-mail news@passporter.com. Articles about Disney and general travel are welcomed!

Opening Day for Narnia at Disney-MGM Studios
by Dave Marx, PassPorter Author
 

While it wasn't quite intentional, we did manage to be at Disney-MGM Studios on December 9, opening day for the new Disney film, "The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," and also opening day for the new theme park attraction created in its honor, "Journey into Narnia - Creating The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe."

We stopped by Stage 4 on Mickey Avenue several times during the day, wondering when the attraction would open. The cast members on hand couldn't be sure. Imagineers were still putting some finishing touches on the attraction, and as it turns out, Disney was holding a rather private opening ceremony. By around 3:00 pm they were finally ready for the public, and started to let people into the queue. Jennifer decided to spare toddler Alexander the wait and a boring, grownup attraction. They headed off to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground, and I agreed to meet them for the 5:00 pm Playhouse Disney. Good move on Jennifer's part! It was nearly 4:00 pm before the Narnia doors opened and the first group of guests entered the sound stage. Two more groups entered, at about 15 minute intervals, before it was my turn. I did manage to make it over to Playhouse Disney, but I wasn't able to hook-up with the family - I had to stand at the back. Anyway, back to Narnia...

The crowd gathers on Mickey Avenue, between Millionaire and Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, before being ushered inside Stage 4. We find ourselves in a cramped little corner of the sound stage, facing the rich, wooden doors of The Wardrobe (ok, The Wardrobe is a bit wider than it is in the movie, in the interest of crowd flow). Following a few introductory words from our cast member guide, the doors of the wardrobe swing open onto a wintery scene that will be even more refreshing during warmer seasons (if the attraction stays open that long).

Snow-dusted pine trees, a snow-white carpeted floor (how long will that last?), the famous lamp post, and a filmed, snowy landscape featuring the far-off castle of the White Witch greet us. A deep, rich voice begins to tell the Narnia tale and introduces the Witch Queen, who makes a live appearance from atop a high, snowy ledge. Then it's off into movieland, with a 10 minute montage of clips from the film.

When the film ends and summer returns to the green pine forest (a bit of Disney magic having transpired), the crowd shuffles past a small exhibit of movie costumes, props, and models. Then, pow, it's back into the bright sunlight of Mickey Avenue. Despite the Florida weather, you may also encounter a light snow flurry when you return to the street. At least, that was the case on opening day, and other visitors since have reported a few of the faux-flakes, too.

 Tips and Notes:

Attraction duration is 15 minutes. Queue is outdoors and sun-shaded (the same queue area that has been used for the Millionaire standby, between the two sound stages).

The queue moves slowly, as only a hundred or so guests can enter at a time, at 15 minute intervals.

ECVs/scooters can enter separately. Ask a cast member for assistance.

If you wish to linger to view the props and costumes be sure you visit at a quiet time, or dawdle at the back of the crowd. Otherwise, the rest of the exiting crowd will sweep you right out onto the street.

This is not what I'd call a major attraction - B- or C-Ticket at most.

While the attraction's name suggests a peek behind the scenes at movie-making magic, other than for the brief display of props at the exit, the goal is really to immerse you in the magic of the film and its story. That's all for the better, as far as I'm concerned. If you've seen the film, you might prefer to call this attraction "Return to Narnia."

While I'm not sure seeing the attraction prior to see the film would make you want to see the film, I think you'll itch to see the film a second (or third) time after viewing the attraction. Maybe you'll want to check the schedule at the AMC Pleasure Island 24.

I suspect that the film montage was made before the film's special effects were finalized. For example, while Aslan looked pretty good in the film clips, he still looked like a computer-generated character. Having now seen the film, I know just how amazing Aslan really appears (just possibly the most realistic CG character to date).
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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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The Never Land Club - Child Care at Walt Disney World
by Mary Albright, Guest Contributor

“The best part was when you left. That was my 9-year old son’s response when I asked him what the best part of his time at the Never Land Club was on October 30.

This was our family’s first time using any of Disney’s Kids Clubs - facilities where your kids can go for a fun, supervised night out while the parents have an evening to themselves. We never really had much use for the kids’ clubs as we felt a family vacation was to be spent with family. And we never were quite sure how our kids would do since the only baby-sitters that they have had since birth have been relatives.  

But October 30 was my birthday and my husband, Bryan, and I were going to have an adults-only meal at Artist Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. We were looking forward to a meal where the kids didn’t inhale their food and were ready to go on to the next activity in the space of two breaths. So off we went to drop off Stefan, age 9 and Caitlin, age 8.

We arrived at the Never Land Club building at Disney’s Polynesian Resort around 5:00pm, which was our Advanced Reservation time. As you walk in, there is a small check-in desk where we were greeted by one of the staff. Stefan and Caitlin received their name tags and promptly were invited to “fly off to Never Land” while Mom and Dad finished filling out the paperwork. I have to say that the staff was very thorough in having multiple ways to get a hold of parents. We gave them our cell numbers, were given a pager, and our resort room information was also taken down. We were also given a receipt and had to bring that particular sheet back to claim our children. We felt very confident that everything was under control and our children would be very safe.

I wanted to fly off to Never Land and check this place out myself! You enter Never Land by walking up three steps and going through a window ~ just like Wendy, Michael and John did when they flew out their window to Never Land. Just inside that window was what I would call a craft and reading area. There were a couple rocking chairs, a table with chairs sized just for kids with crayons, markers and craft stuff. On the wall were drawings and creations from what I guessed were previous visitors to Never Land Club.  

Around the corner, you could see the tree, beneath which should have been Peter Pan’s hideout, but instead housed a plethora of arcade games that the kids could play to their hearts content. In the largest area was a big screen TV showing a Disney movie, but there were also Legos and other types of toys and activities spread throughout this room. I was impressed with the large area and how there was plenty of room to roam around. We felt that the needs of active kids as well as kids that preferred a little more quiet time would be met.

When we walked in to pick up the kids, we showed our receipt and a staff member went to corral our children.  They didn’t want to leave! When we finally got them out, they were able to select 2 prizes from a giant treasure chest. They each chose a Mickey straw and a little treasure chest to bring home.

I asked them how dinner was. They had chicken fingers, pizza, macaroni and cheese, plus milk and apple juice to drink. Not the healthiest of meals, but its popular kid food that pleases just about everything that walks in their door.  

The kids enjoyed it immensely! To quote my daughter, Caitlin, “Can you and Dad go on more dates at Disney World so we can come back here?” So I have to say that we had a wonderful experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to take my children there again.

Disney also operates several other Kids Club facilities on-property. The Sandcastle Club is located at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Mouseketeer Club is at the Grand Floridian, Cub's Den at Wilderness Lodge, and Simba’s Cubhouse at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. So depending on where you are staying, or where your adult plans are located, there are several options for you.

The cost is $10 per child, per hour.  Hours are generally 4pm-12am. The dinner buffet is usually served at 6pm, but ask about the hours when you make your reservation. Reservations are required and a 24 hour cancellation policy applies. Make your reservations with Disney Dining by calling 407-WDW-DINE.  You may make your reservations up to 6 months in advance.
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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 vacation plans.