 In
This Newsletter
From the Authors: Server Status
Travel Feature: Hilton
Head
Disney Feature:
Disney
Podcasts
Updates: What's
New and Changed
Tips: Travelers
Checks, Harmless Hooks, Share the Schedule
Captain's Corner: The Tour Company
Q&A: Car
Rentals in St. Maarten?
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Updates:
What's
New and Changed
Here's a few of the new developments at Disney·
Now that Valentine's Day is over, preparations are
under way at Pleasure Island to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! Raglan
Road Irish Pub and Restaurant will, of course, be celebrating with
traditional Irish music and dance. A $15 cover charge will be in effect
between 4:00 pm - 2:00 am on March 17. Pleasure Island will be celebrating March
16 - 18, 2006 by painting the town "green". Watch music videos featuring
Irish music artists on the big screens, and keep an eye out for Leprechauns!
Effective February 26, The Timekeeper at Tomorrowland in
Magic Kingdom will close for good. A new attraction is in development and details
will be announced by Disney at some point in the future. Good bye, Nine-Eye!
The Hotel
Royal Plaza in the Downtown Disney area has re-opened after undergoing
extensive renovations following last year's hurricanes. Virtually the entire
hotel was re-done with new furniture, paint, bedding, etc.
Beginning March 1, 2006 all three Disneyland Hotels
will be "non-smoking" hotels and fines will be assessed to guests found
to be smoking in their rooms. This restriction is in keeping with
California laws that ban smoking from most bars, restaurants, and workplaces.
>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:
TRAVELER'S CHECKS
"Use traveler's checks instead of credit, debit cards,
or cash. Allocate an amount of money to spend each day and only take
that amount with you, leaving the rest in a safe place. That way you never
go over budget. The traveler's checks are better than cash because
of the ability to get replacements if they are lost or stolen."
-- contributed by Mark Zeis
HARMLESS HOOKS
"We have found the '3M Command Hooks with Memory'
to be the perfect answer to a sometimes already crowded hotel room
They come in all sizes and when hung on the wall, one hook will hold up
to five pounds. You can also use them to hang a shower curtain between
the sink area and the sleeping area for a little extra privacy. When removed
they leave no residue nor do they harm the wallpaper."
-- contributed by Jean Berg (alexjaj@...)
SHARE THE SCHEDULE
"When you are planning your trip to Disney with
kids, make sure you find out one activity each one really wants to do and
work it into your schedule. That way everyone is happy!"
-- contributed by Charlene Goodie
>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:
"My adventure to Mt. Everest continued today, despite a rather foggy morning.
After arriving in the quaint village of
Serka Zong, I searched long and hard for a certain tour company that would allow me
to continue my expedition. My good friend Ruthbert had mentioned that this company had obtained
the rights to use the old Anandapur Rail Service, which was once used to transport tea for the Royal Anandapur Tea Company. I inquired
with the good folks at Tashi's General
Store. They pointed me to Norbu and Bob's booking office where I struck gold! It turns out
the name of the tour company was, naturally enough, the ... (text obscured by tea stains)"
So, what is the name of the tour company that takes you
on Expedition Everest?
Congratulations to Terri Daugherty who was the
winner of last newsletter's treasure hunt game last week! Terri correctly
identified the village at the base of Mt. Everest as Serka Zong. To view
the original clues, see
the
last newsletter.
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!
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 will release the book -- "PassPorter's Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney
World" -- in April 2006. You can pre-order the new book today at http://www.passporterstore.com.
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Q
& A:
With Jennifer and Dave
jen_a asks: "Hi! Could anyone recommend a car rental
agency for Saint Maarten? I have looked at many on the internet, but I'm
having a tough time picking out a reputable one. (Or maybe they are all
okay and I'm just pessimistic!) I would like to be able to get a car near
the pier. Should I reserve in advance or just take my chances there? "
Jennifer and Dave answer: "We've used a variety of
agencies over the years. Most offer the same cars and a similar level of
service. Whether major agency or minor, you can't really be sure of the
condition your vehicle may be in -- most cars get beaten into submission
in short order by the island's side roads, beaches, and numerous speed
bumps. All things considered, I'd just shop price and terms.
I strongly recommend you book in advance, using one
of the Internet sites that represents agencies on a number of islands.
They seem to be more concerned about customer service and repeat business
than the agencies they represent. I've found it's hard to use the major
travel sites and agency sites, as you need to specify a pickup at the pier
and many sites simply don't list that as a pickup option.
There can be a huge difference between the book-ahead
rates and the rates offered to walk-up customers. It's also very important
to print-out your reservation form, have it with you when you pick up the
car, and make sure they actually give you the agreed-upon price. The last
agency we used tried to charge us the walk-up rate, even after we showed
them the reservation print-out. They didn't argue or make a scene -- just
corrected their "mistake," and we still got a car in excellent condition
(which isn't all that common, even when you pay top dollar).
There are about a half-dozen agencies with offices
at the pier. There are many more with offices at the airport and/or in
downtown Phillipsburg, but there's no good reason to seek them out. A half-dozen
is enough to choose from, and while frequent visitors (like my parents,
who spend a month there annually) have favorite agencies they deal with,
even those relationships haven't guaranteed flawless results (hence, no
recommendations from me).
For what it's worth, some of the biggest-name agencies
(all the brand-names are franchises) are owned by local families with very
deep roots. They're all involved in local politics, which tends to mean
they manage to get away with all sorts of minor infractions."
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 is now
published weekly. This means we need more articles than ever! We're on the lookout
for guest columnists who want to contribute articles to this newsletter. No professional
writing experience is necessary, just a desire to share your experience
with others! Not only is this a great way to give something back to the
PassPorter community, but you get to see your name in "print" and receive
a $25 gift certificate.
For details and our article submission guidelines,
please e-mail news@passporter.com.
Articles about Disney and general travel are welcomed!
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