 | |  In
This Newsletter
From the Authors:
E-Books!
Travel Feature: Leeds Castle
Disney Feature: My Three Sons: Walt Disney World with Pre-teen Boys
Updates: What's
New and Changed
Tips:
PhotoPass Plan, Pass On A Park, Better Backings
Captain's Corner: In Triplicate
Q&A: How do you manage MouseFest?
Our Sponsors: We Recommend...
| .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
Updates:
What's
New and Changed
Here are a few items of relevant news:
Chef Mickey's
will add lunch to its meal schedule August 28 - September 8, 2007 to
help accommodate the many guests taking advantage of the Free
Dining plan promotion.
Richard Petty
will be throwing out the first pitch of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays vs.
Texas Rangers game on May 16 at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex.
He will also be signing autographs before the game in the concourse
area along the first base line from 5:45 pm - 6:45 pm. Tickets
are available by visiting http://www.ticketmaster.com or http://www.devilrays.com. Quinceañera
parties, the traditional Latin coming-of-age celebration for
15-year-old girls, are now available at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Disney
offers a choice of three pre-designed themes or a fully
customized party. For more information, check out:
http://www.disneyworld.com/
quinceanera
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
| . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . |
Disney
Tips:
From Fellow Readers
Our readers deliver a wealth of information! Here
are the winners in this month's tip contest:
PHOTOPASS PLAN
"PhotoPass is great when traveling solo! I used it during MouseFest
2006. I called home and gave my husband my PhotoPass code number, he
set up an account online and then checked daily to see how my photos
had turned out. Sometimes the photos would get uploaded to the
PhotoPass site the same day. It was a good way for them to feel some of
the magic back home while Mom had fun with her MouseFest friends. Also,
if traveling with a large group like at MouseFest, write your name on
your PhotoPass card with a sharpie pen. Mine got mixed up with someone
else's and when the PhotoPass was handed back to me, I got someone
else's card!"
-- contributed by Janice P.
PASS ON A PARK
"We are planners in the extreme - the PassPorter was tailor-made for
us! Still, we know that there has to be wiggle-room in every trip. To
take the pressure off, we always designate one day during the week as a
non-park day. It might be spent in the resort pool, at Downtown Disney,
or just exploring the property. Whatever we do, we're not worried about
"wasting" a day of park admission, and we never fail to discover
aspects of Disney that we would have missed with our usual relentless
pace. This is a great way to let everyone rejuvenate and just
appreciate the fantastic details that surround you everywhere in Walt
Disney World."
-- contributed by Bob K.
BETTER BACKINGS
"I always am looking for ways to display some of the great pins that
I've collected at Disney over the years. On a recent trip I found
magnetic pin backings at many of the stores throughout Disney World.
You can replace your pin's regular backing with these magnetic backs
and turn your pin into a magnet. My refrigerator never looked so
good!"
-- contributed by Holli G.
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.
| . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . |
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:
"After
last week's run-in with a certain 'porcine diva' I couldn't get pigs
off my my mind. As an attempted cure, I headed to Magic Kingdom for a
spin in the Mad Hatter's tea cups. Something I ate must have disagreed
with me. Perhaps it was the cookie labeled 'Eat Me?' As I spun out of
control I began thinking about pigs again... the Three Little Pigs,
then those piggies morphed magically into the Three Caballeros, then
Huey, Dewey, and Louie... I clearly had 'three' on the brain! All
became a blur, and I felt I was rising, spinning, falling,
spinning, and rising again. When it all stopped, I wasn't
even in Magic Kingdom anymore ... in fact it seemed I was in prehistoric times, atop a dinosaur with three horns! I staggered off the ride, looked across
the plaza, spied yet another spinning ride, and nearly tossed
that cookie!"
On what "three" ride did Jack
end his spin, and what other attraction did he spy? For bonus points,
what sandwich (supplied by a nearby eatery) might have helped him
revenge himself on his piggy nemesis?
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 Carol Vandiver who was the
winner of last week's treasure hunt game! Carol correctly identified
the location of the kitchens as The Muppet Vision 3D Headquarters and
the cost of a bowl of soup as $2.95. Great job on getting the bonus
points Carol! 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.
| . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . |
Q
& A:
With Jennifer and Dave
Kylerayner asks:
"To those who have gone to MouseFest in the past, is it very expensive? Have you
done both the Cruise and the trip to WDW? It sounds like lots of fun and I would
love to go one year but it sounds it would cost a lot of money for flight,
cruise, Disney resort, park tickets, meals, etc."
Dave and Jennifer answer: "The costs for MouseFest are comparable to the cost of any Disney vacation. Most
MouseFest events are free-of-charge, and you pay whatever rate you can get for
the cruise, lodging, etc. MouseFest intentionally takes place during Value
Season so that folks get affordable rates. The travel agents block-book rooms at
early-booking savings and pass them along to their customers, so you may find
you can't get as good a deal on the cruise directly from Disney. Still, there's
no requirement to book with the travel agents offering MouseFest travel - you
can book it all yourself if you wish, but you'll find that because the agencies
understand this, they work hard to deliver the best pricing available. Further,
the agencies typically include "value-added" inducements to book with them -
private parties and the like to encourage you to book with them rather than pay
the same rates directly to Disney (they pay for the extras out of their
commission from Disney). Specific costs? That depends if you stay off-property,
at All-Stars or Pop, or at the Grand Floridian - there are no "official"
MouseFest hotels. Airfare naturally depends on where you're flying from. Meals?
Your choice of counter service, snacks brought from home, table service, etc. at
regular Disney rates (or Disney Dining Plan, if you want to purchase it) -
MouseFest does not provide a meal plan, although there are meal meets you can
attend where you'll pay your fair share of the bill.
Relatively few
people do "all" of MouseFest. Of course, as a founder and Chairman, I do it all,
but it's hardly the same for me as it is for most folks. Some folks only go on
the cruise, others only go for the land portion and sometimes for just a part of
the land portion. They do what their budget allows."
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!
| .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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! | .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
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 -- Magic Your Way with FREE Dining Specials
ALL STAR Vacation Homes -- Choose from more than 150 homes within 4 miles of Disney World
Thank you, sponsors!
| |
| |
|
From the Authors:
E-Books
Hi, {{user("firstname")}}!
After 20 candidates and nearly three months, we've finally chosen the new PassPorter Lead E-Book Editor: Carrie Hayward! Carrie has ten years of editorial experience and loves Disney and PassPorter. In addition, Thomas Cackler will be our "on-call" editor and consultant. You may know Thomas from his PassPorter newsletter articles -- he's very experienced in web writing, editing, and coordination. Both are excellent editors and great people and we are proud to have them on the PassPorter team! A big thank you to all our candidates, whom we hope to introduce as e-book authors in the future.
Speaking of e-books, in our last newsletter we announced our next e-book would be a Disney Character Yearbook with tips on finding, meeting, photographing, and autographing; a full page on each character found at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line; and customizable autograph book pages to print. We hope to release it the week of June 25-30. We have plenty of other ideas for new e-books, but we want more ... and we want e-book authors! We've just opened our "Greenhouse" where folks can post their ideas for future e-books and even learn how to become an e-book author. To learn more, visit http://www.passporterboards.com/forums/greenhouse
2008 Pre-Order Reminder: Our rollback prices for pre-orders of PassPorter Walt Disney World 2008 are ending soon, on Monday, May 14. With the rollback price, our spiral edition of PassPorter's
Walt Disney World is a mere $19.95 "list" price, and you can apply any
discounts or coupons you may have. So a 2008 spiral edition is just
$15.96 (with a 20% newsletter subscriber coupon -- see bottom of this
newsletter) or $13.96 (with a 30% coupon for registered readers and message board members). Deluxes are an even better deal. These rollback prices apply to all editions of PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2008 (spiral, deluxe, refill, and looseleaf). Pre-order at these prices -- they may never be this low again! Get more details and pre-order at:
http://www.passporterstore.com/store/2008.aspx
Meet us in person: Will you be at July's
MagicMeets event in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania? We sure will! We'll be on hand to meet, greet, and maybe put on a
presentation or two.
In this issue, Newsletter Feature Columnist Cheryl Pendry takes us for a tour of England's very picturesque Leeds Castle, and Rose Colson and her three (count them, three) pre-teen sons share their tips for enjoying Walt Disney World with Pre-Teen Boys. Enjoy!
Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Publishers and Authors
|
|
| | Travel
Feature:
The World's Loveliest Castle: Leeds Castle
by Cheryl Pendry, PassPorter Feature Columnist
The world's loveliest castle. It's a bold claim to make, but that's how Leeds Castle in the southeast of England has been known for many years and with good reason.
Built nearly 1,000 years ago in the heart of Kent, about 40 miles
away from London, the Castle sits
on an island in the River Len and it really is everything you ever imagined a
castle to be. As you drive up to the car park, you wonder when you'll catch a
glimpse of the castle. The answer is not until you're well inside the grounds,
which just adds to the sense of anticipation.
The first area you come to along the visitor route through the grounds
is the Duckery. If you're lucky, you might spot some of the black
swans that make their home here. They're not the only wildlife that makes
for some beautiful photos, with peacocks also strutting around the castle
grounds. As you continue to wander down towards the castle, you'll pass the
Cedar Lawn and Pavilion Lawn and it is here that you get your first
view of the castle itself. Even now, after many visits, the sight of Leeds Castle still stops me in
my tracks. It's been said that "breathtaking" is a word that's used too often
nowadays, but it certainly applies in this case.
So what's the history of this magnificent building? The castle was built
in 1119 and then moved into royal hands just over a hundred years later.
Perhaps the most famous visitor was King Henry VIII, famed for his six wives.
He was a regular visitor, once arriving with his then Queen, Catherine of Aragon, and their entire
court on the way to a tournament in France. Now, that must
have been a sight! When he died, his son, King Edward VI, granted the castle to
one of Henry's courtiers in return for his service. Since being in private
ownership, Leeds Castle has had something of a checkered past, having been used as a
garrison, prison and even a convalescent home.
A lot of what you see when you visit today is due to the work of one
woman, Olive Wilson Filmer, who later became Lady Baillie. She took ownership
of the castle in 1926 and had big ambitions for it, wanting to see it restored
to its former glory. As you wander through the castle, many of the furnishings
you see are due to Lady Baillie. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed
inside the castle, but take a leisurely pace on your walk through the castle
and the memories of the beautiful rooms will stay with you for a long time.
As you come out of the castle itself and pass back through the Gate, don't miss what
must be one of the most unusual museums in the world, dedicated to dog collars.
Yes, you did read that right! Although it doesn't sound that interesting, it's
a fascinating collection, spanning more than five centuries, and is well worth
a look.
Once work inside the castle was completed, Lady Baillie turned her
attention to the grounds. Under her direction a golf course, tennis courts, and
a swimming pool were added. It must have been quite some family home!
Today the golf course remains, as does the aviary she founded in the
1950s. Originally home to a few Australian finches, today you'll see toucans,
parrots and even kookaburras. It's quite a collection and one that certainly
keeps children's interest, but there's nothing more appealing at Leeds Castle than one of the
final areas you come to.
The maze is about as far away from the entrance to the castle grounds as
possible. No doubt that's been done on purpose to make sure that it's the final
thing visitors come across. Made from more than 2,000 yew trees, it looks
deceptively simple from the outside, but once inside, it's only minutes before
you're lost and desperately struggling to find your way to the center of the maze. Once you do -- and it can take some
time -- it's worth it, as you descend into a shell grotto, a suitable reward for
all the running around you have to do to get here.
These days, a visit to Leeds Castle is about much more than just the
castle, but there's no denying it's still the main draw and rightly so. It's
certainly one of the finest examples you'll find of a medieval castle. To see
it sitting on its own island, surrounded by water, perhaps even with a black
swan floating past - you really can imagine King Henry VIII setting up court
here all those centuries ago. After nearly 1,000 years of history, the castle
still looks to be in perfect condition and resembles a picture postcard. I challenge
you not to come here and take a lot of photos! Yes, it's a bold claim to say
it's the world's loveliest castle, but you know, I don't think they're that far
off the mark.
Leeds Castle is open throughout the year, except on Christmas Day
and is closed to day visitors during the major classical concert in early July
and the fireworks displays during the first weekend in November. Entry to Leeds Castle and its grounds costs £14 for adults and £11 for senior
citizens, students, visitors with disabilities, and children between the ages
of four and fifteen. Children under four get in for free. All entry tickets are
valid for a year. For more information, visit http://www.leeds-castle.com
About the Authors: Cheryl
and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to America. They're regular
visitors to London and are now looking
forward to setting sail on Disney's first cruise around the Mediterranean in May.
-
- - - - - - - - - - -
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!
| |
|
Did
You Know?
At Mouse Fan Travel you get our
Signature Services & No agency fees!
Magic
Your Way with FREE
Dining
Walt Disney
World® Resort
5 nights from $455* - Book by 6/24/07
Valid most nights
8/26/07-9/22/07 Visit us
at:
www.MouseFanTravel.com *Per person/double occupancy, subject
to availability - CST207807440
Click
for full details. As to Disney artwork:
©Disney |
|
Disney Feature:
My Three Sons: Walt Disney World with Pre-teen Boys
by
Rose Colson, PassPorter Guest Contributor
Visiting Walt Disney World is such a treat, isn't it?
Visiting Disney with my three boys makes it even more special. We've been
vacationing in "the World" since summer 2000; through the years, as the boys have
gotten older, we've learned some tricks that may help other families with
pre-teen boys. Think Walt Disney World is all Princesses and Fairy Tales? Think
again!
Before we get started, let me make some introductions. We
are: Mom (that's me, obviously), Avery (13 and quiet), Bailey (11 and
thrill-seeking), and Clayton (10 and mischief-making). You'll see occasional
interjections from them during the course of this article. We hail from rural
northwest Pennsylvania, and I'm a teacher, hence
the summer trips.
The first thing we consider, of course, is where to
stay. We've stayed off-property, on-property, in a house, cabin, cottage, hotel
room, and a tent. Our favorite resort by far, which we've stayed at four out of
the eight years we've been going to Walt Disney World, is Fort Wilderness.
Three out of those four stays have been in a tent. Tenting at Fort Wildernessin the summer isn't as bad
as some might think, but that's another article.
There are so many things for the boys to do at the
Fort. Of course, there's swimming and games at the pool; there's the campfire,
complete with s'mores, and the movie every night. There are the playgrounds and
wide open fields for running around; but the hands-down favorite, and what puts
Fort Wilderness ahead of the other resorts we've stayed at, is catching (and
releasing, thanks!) the little lizards that seem to be everywhere. ("Salamanders,
Mom!") For all of these reasons and more, we love Fort Wilderness and are looking forward to
returning this August.
The next thing we discuss is which park to visit first.
Epcot usually gets the vote due to Test Track being our unanimous favorite
Walt Disney World attraction. Even the quiet guy loves this ride! No trip to Disney is complete
without at least four or five rides on Test Track. There's just something about
that last few minutes...
Rounding out Epcot's "Big Three" are Mission: Space and Soarin'. They
both run a close second behind Test Track. The other "must-dos" include Ellen's
Energy Adventure (my favorite because it's dark and cool inside), Spaceship
Earth, Living with the Land, and The Seas with Nemo & Friends. This year
we're also excited about riding the new "Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three
Caballeros!" in Mexico.
The next park is usually the Magic Kingdom and its "Big Three" are Space, Splash, and Big Thunder Mountains. The darkness of Space Mountain, the last drop of Splash Mountain, and the craziness of Big Thunder Mountain make all three of these the highest priority for us. Pirates of the Caribbean is right up there (I can't tell you how many times they've seen the movies), as is The Jungle Cruise. In Fantasyland there isn't much to hold the boys' attention except Mickey's PhilharMagic. That has become our favorite 3-D movie in "the World."
After Epcot and Magic Kingdom, it's the Disney-MGM Studios. There, the "Big Three" for us are Tower of Terror, Rock 'N' Roller Coaster, and Star Tours -- always in the last row for an extra-wild ride. The boys are divided over their favorite shows at Disney-MGM. It's Indiana Jones for one of them and Lights, Motors, Action! for the other two (although we all HATED waiting in the blazing hot sun to get into the stadium). Finally, we take the Backlot Tour for Catastrophe Canyon, and the Great Movie Ride for all of the awesome movie scenes. ("And the gangster, Mom!")
The last major park is Animal Kingdom. It's "Big Three" are Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, and Kilimanjaro Safaris. We rode Everest for the first time last summer and loved it. Be warned, though, that riding it more than two or three times in a row is not advised! The thrill of getting a good soaking on Kali keeps the boys wanting more, and the excitement of seeing so many different animals on Safari makes us want to ride again and again.
The favorite show at Animal Kingdom is Festival of the Lion King, followed by It's Tough to be a Bug. And we always take the short train ride and hike to Rafiki's Planet Watch because the boys enjoy seeing some behind-the-scenes magic. ("And don't forget the sound booth, Mom!") At Rafiki's we never fail to pop into one of the Song of the Rainforest booths for a little sound thrill in the dark.
Okay, so that takes care of the four major parks. Their most important advice to other guys - always do the Big Three at each park!
Which leads us to the water parks. This is a bit more difficult for the boys to agree on because their tastes are so different. They like Typhoon Lagoon for this and Blizzard Beach for that, but we narrowed it down to just a couple of favorites for each park for the sake of my sanity and the length of the article.
At Typhoon Lagoon, the boys are all agreed on the wave pool being the best part, but Crush-n-Gusher was awesome, too. The two younger guys are a bit more adventurous than the oldest, so they rode it over and over during the Extra Magic Hour one morning last summer. Shark Reef is very exciting, albeit a tad cold, and the lazy river is fun for playing around in.
The favorite attraction at Blizzard Beach is the Toboggan Racers. The youngest guy likes it best because some lifeguard always takes pity on him and shoves him off well ahead of the rest of us. I still win, though! ("Because you're bigger than me, Mom!") Teamboat Springs is a hoot because we all get to experience it together and we spin around like a top. The boys enjoy the Ski Patrol Training area, too, although they get restless there pretty quickly, preferring the bigger, more exciting slides.
The last thing to take into consideration, for me, is where to eat so that I can afford to feed these boys for two weeks at Walt Disney World. It's almost always counter service, except for one character meal, which is usually Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. We eat breakfast at the campsite or on the way to the park. In earlier years, I could get away with the boys sharing a meal and being satisfied. Not so now, my friends! Adolescence has kicked in and the appetite with it. Sometimes even an adult meal - burger, fries, and water- doesn't always fill the boys up so I'm coughing out extra cash for another burger or two. I also make sure the boys eat something besides burgers or chicken, so the occasional salad gets added to the rotation, much to their dismay.
I think that covers the basics. There is so much to do and see in the World, and it always changes. Walt Disney World is, without a doubt, our most favorite place to vacation, and with the three boys, there's never a trip that's not exciting for all of us.
About
the Author: Rose is a teacher and the mother of three sons. They are
looking forward to their next Walt Disney World vacation this
summer.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
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! |
|
|
Did
You Know?
ALL STAR Vacation Homes -
Experience the ALL STAR Difference
Choose from more than 150 homes within 4 miles of Disney World.
Game Rooms, Home Theatres, Multiple Master Bedrooms, Computers, Kitchens and
More. All for the same price or less than staying in a hotel! PLUS free heated
pool & Disney ticket specials with every reservation!!
Special for PassPorter News readers:
http://www.allstarvacationhomes.com/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
