From the Authors: Two Candles on the Cake

Travel Feature: Cruising Alaska

Disney Feature: Traveling to Disney as a Solo Parent

Updates: What's New and Changed

Tips: Charge It, Parent & Child Planning, Check Those Credits

Captain's Corner: Mighty Shark

Q&A: Which restaurant would you recommend for a party of 20?
 

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Updates:
What's New and Changed

Here are a few items of relevant news:

Due to today's revelation of a planned terror attack on airliners featuring the use of explosive liquids carried on board by passengers, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has modified security measures for all domestic and international air travel, and upgraded the threat level for international and domestic travel.

An excerpt from the TSA's statement follows:

"No liquids or gels of any kind will be permitted in CARRY-ON baggage. Such items must be in checked baggage.

This includes all beverages, shampoo, suntan lotion, creams, tooth paste, hair gel, and other items of similar consistency.

Exceptions: Baby formula and medicines, which must be presented for inspection at the checkpoint.

Beverages purchased in the boarding area, beyond the checkpoint, must be consumed before boarding because they will not be permitted onboard the aircraft.

Passengers traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States will be subject to a more extensive screening process."

The full statement is available at http://www.tsa.gov

We encourage you to visit the Transportation Safety Administrations' web site at http://www.tsa.gov for further details.

As you may be aware, this is the top news story throughout the U.S. at the moment. Every city, state and federal governmental leader seems to be making statements, and we expect it will be some time before all the details of local and national air travel procedures and their impact on air travel will be known. If you'll be traveling soon, check with your airline, the TSA and reliable news sources for the latest information.

The Living Seas pavilion will be officially re-named The Seas with Nemo & Friends when the attraction's rehab is finished later this fall (perhaps in November).

Beginning July 30, 2006, the Walt Disney World Resort no longer accepts personal checks as a form of payment at their merchandise locations. 

In a surprise move, many Walt Disney World admission prices increased on August 6. Advance purchase prices for Magic Your Way Base Tickets remain at pre-August 6 rates, making advanced purchase a very good deal again. Some rates that went up include: Magic Your Way Base Tickets (at the ticket booth or upon resort check-in): One-Day Base Ticket  $71.36, up 6% from $67. Four-Day Base Ticket   $215.13, up 3.5% from $208. The Magic Your Way Park Hopper Option is $47.93 at the gate, up 12.5% from $42.60, while the advance purchase price went up to $45.80, a gentler 7.5% boost. Premium Annual Passes are $595.35, up 3.7% from $574, with no advance purchase discount offered. (All prices include sales tax).

The preliminary Disney Dining Plan brochure has been released for 2007. Concerns have been voiced over the rather short list of participating restaurants listed in that handout, but we're confident that, just as last year, most of the "missing" restaurants will be back on the list by the time 2007 arrives. The very extensive list of 2006 restaurants remains in effect for the rest of this year.

Guests at the Hoop De Doo Review and the Spirit of Aloha dinner shows can now reserve higher-priced, premium seats for shows starting on January 1, 2007. three seating categories will be available, with $8 separating the least desirable seats from the best seats in the house. The middle of the road seats are, not surprisingly, $4 more than then the $50.50 cheap seats.


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:

CHARGE IT
"If you're bringing electronics (cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, etc.) along on your trip, don't wait until the night before your departure to charge them! Charge your devices overnight two nights before your departure date (for example, charge them Thursday night if you're leaving on Saturday) so that nothing accidentally gets left behind in the charger the day of your trip!
" -- contributed by Laurie Seubert (LASeubert@...) 

PARENT & CHILD PLANNING
"In order to make my son feel more involved in the planning of our trip, we search the Internet together. He is five and will be in kindergarten this year. He uses the mouse and when he finds something he wants to do, we write it down together. He gets practice with his words and computer usage, and I get to see what he really wants to do. His reading has improved a lot over the  past couple of weeks!" -- contributed by Jaime D. (jamieandchad@...) 

CHECK THOSE CREDITS
"You are right on about checking your credits periodically on your dining plan. We purposely saved up coupons to dine at the Brown Derby only to find that were we short and had to charge to cost to our room. Fortunately we were able to get it straightened out when we returned to our resort, but it meant time spent taking care of that when we could have been doing something else like relaxing in the pool after that great meal." -- contributed by Becky S. (dasibeth@...) 

>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 treasure from Captain Skatt's Journal:

"Despite my best attempts at humility, I cannot resist showing every person I meet a photo of my latest CATCH! Here is the snapshot of the great and mighty shark I conquered. It is my little secret that I had some help from a red-haired lass. I wanted to go after the flounder and crab I spied nearby, but my friend convinced me otherwise. Just as well. I've loaned the shark to my friend to display at her house, but I wonder where she'll put it."

Where is this shark, and where in the "house" is it displayed?

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 Kim Brock who was the winner of last week's treasure hunt game! Kim correctly identified Papa's Den as being at Disney's Old Key West Resort. She also answered the bonus question correctly - a swordfish hangs above the fireplace in the den!  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

luvgoofy asks: "My sister is looking for somewhere for us to eat dinner the night after her wedding. We may have up to 20 people. The planner suggested California Grill but we weren't crazy about the menu. I suggested the luau at the Poly. She wanted the Alfredo's at Epcot but would like to avoid somewhere that requires park admission. What other suggestions do you guys have? Will they let us make reservations for 20 people?"

Jennifer and Dave answer: "Which restaurants allow reservations for 20? Through your Disney wedding planner, just about any will (which doesn't help with your choices, we know). The real trick is the requirements they'll place on the reservation. Buffet/family style places like 'Ohana, Boma, Cape May Clambake, etc. are easy - they won't have any special requirements. At other locations you may have to commit to a private dining room, where you'll encounter special menus, minimum charges for the use of the room, and per-person food and beverage minimum charges. In between that, there are places that simply need a "firm reservation" for a group that size, with a pre-paid, non-refundable deposit.

When we planned our own wedding dinner, we wanted a private room for 16. Because of the various minimum charges, the larger rooms (like the Wine Room at California Grill and the private room at Jiko) were way too expensive, since we weren't going to need the room's full capacity, but we had to pay as if we were going to fill every seat. In the end, our 16 fit perfectly into the Fireplace Room at Victoria and Albert's. While we did have to pay the typical Victoria and Albert prices, we didn't have to pay for more than the actual number of guests we had coming (and we got Victoria and Albert's food and service - you can't beat that with a stick!). In the end, that was actually cheaper than taking the larger rooms at restaurants with (normally) lower prices. Unfortunately for your group, I don't think they can take a party of 20 (but it never hurts to ask).

The most economical choice will be one of the buffet/family style restaurants at the resorts. For non-character meals, I'd put 'Ohana at the top of the list, because the family-style serving and laid-back atmosphere is great for a group party. For the best buffet food, Boma, but it is noisy and crowded, and folks will be constantly leaving the table for the buffet line. The Cape May Cafe clambake at Beach Club is a decent second choice. For a character dinner, 1900 Park Fare, with Chef Mickey's as a decent alternative. I wouldn't do either the luau (Spirit of Aloha Dinner) or Hoop De Doo, because neither is about the food (especially the luau), and the focus won't be on the family, but on the entertainment. However, Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness is not only cheaper, but leaves lots of room for family fun.

If your sister would still like to do something like l'Originale Alfredo di Roma's at Epcot, a very good alternative outside the park gates is Palio at the Swan. The food is the same style and at least as good Alfredo's, the Swan and Dolphin's "requirements" are generally much less odious than Disney's, and you won't need park admission. Another fun place on the Disney list might be Spoodle's. I love their tapas sampler plate. Get a bunch of those for the table, wine all around, and let everyone choose their own entrees. It can be a great party."

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 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!

Hi, {{user("firstname")}}! 

Wow! Our son Alexander turned two years old this past Sunday. He'll be off to college in just 16 more years (sob)! Jennifer wrote a great report on the big event, with lots of photos. Check it out!

No sooner did we send the manuscript for PassPorter Walt Disney World 2007 off to our printer in Hong Kong, than all sorts of changes went down at Walt Disney World (see Updates, on the left). Never fear! In this day of electronic everything, the updated page files will arrive in Hong Kong via the Internet in time to make it into the new book.

As we announced last week, we've opened up pre-orders for PassPorter Walt Disney World 2007. The official release date is currently November 27, 2006 -- but there's a good chance we'll be able to ship it earlier, and if we can we'll make an announcement. You'll find the details and pre-order links at PassPorter Walt Disney World 2007 Pre-Order Center. Remember, the earlier you pre-order, the sooner you get your copy! And if you're leaving for Disney in December, please note that in the comments box when you place your order.

Now, we're really getting excited about our impending Mediterranean cruise at the end of September. We'll be tracing much the same route that the Disney Magic will ply next summer, and we'll apply all our experiences to the next edition of PassPorter's Field Guide to the Disney Cruise Line, due out in January. If you're cruising the Med with Disney next year (or you know someone who is), the new edition belongs on your shopping list. In the meantime, check out our special Mediterranean Cruise page for our scouting reports!

In our last newsletter, we mentioned that we recently added a discount code just for you -- our wonderful newsletter subscribers! We claimed that you could find the 20% discount code at the very bottom of your E-MAILED copy of the newsletter, but it turns out the code only appeared to those subscribers who received text versions of the newsletter, not HTML versions. The good news is that we've fixed this problem and your code is now at the bottom of this e-mail (look for the words "NEWSLETTER COUPON CODE"). This code won't won't show up in the online newsletter copies (if you're reading this online, sign up for our free weekly newsletter!). The code does appear in your subscription confirmation e-mail if you subscribed after 8/1/06. The 20% discount code should be entered during checkout at our Online Store to receive 20% off the list price of PassPorter guidebooks.

We're hearing that staterooms are going fast for the MouseFest Cruise 2006 (Disney Wonder, December 3-7). If you've been considering this cruise, we urge you to look into booking very soon.

In this edition of the newsletter, Ann Weber takes us far from Florida's summer swelter, cruising up north, to Alaska, and Lisa Carder shares priceless advice for  Traveling to Disney as a Solo Parent (actually, it works for families of any kind). As always, Captain Jack Skatt returns with a new treasure hunting game. Enjoy! 

Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Authors and Publishers
 

Great Disney cruise rates are available from MouseEarVacations.com

Cruising Alaska
by Ann Weber, Guest Contributor

Just about everywhere you go, even Walt Disney World, you will find people who love the place and you will find people who don’t care for it as much. In all the reviews I have read, I have not found one where the people did not love cruising to Alaska. Yes, weather can be cold and rainy, customer service problems may arise, but overall the scenery and atmosphere in Alaska overcomes any possible issues.

When you first start planning your own Alaskan cruise, I would recommend you look at the locations visited on the different itineraries. Although some places like Juneau seem to be on most itineraries, others vary greatly. Glacier Bay National Park only permits two large cruise ships to enter Glacier Bay on any day, so many cruise ships visit other glacier locations instead. For me, Glacier Bay was a critical part of our trip, so this helped us eliminate some of the many options available. After having seen Glacier Bay and College Fjord, I can say that I am very glad we were able to see Glacier Bay. Although I have heard some of the other glacier areas are also spectacular, I would still recommend trying to see Glacier Bay if it works in your overall plans.

The next thing for us was to pick a cruise line. We were a multi-generational group and we are relaxed and conservative in our tastes. My parents had never cruised before and didn’t have an opinion on the cruise line. We had been on a three day cruise on the Disney Wonder and so our kids, now 12 and 14, had high expectations for the kids club. My husband and I didn’t want to feel like total outcasts if we didn’t want to dress up for the whole evening and I wanted to see shows that were more along a Broadway tradition than a Las Vegas tradition. We ended up choosing Princess Cruise lines and it worked very well for us.

In my opinion, the shows were not up to Disney standards and there were some that were not family-oriented even early in the evening, but my husband and I enjoyed most of the shows we went to. The kids loved the teen and pre-teen club. On the Sapphire Princess the age groups can change. Princess does not have anything official at http://www.princess.com about how this decision is made. On our cruise there was an 11-13 year old pre-teen group and a 14-18 year old teen group. They had many activities scheduled but were willing to change the agenda if no one was interested in the scheduled activity. They did Karaoke, had a spa night, a movie night, an ice cream party and more. We heard from two different families we met on the trip that young adults between 18 and 21 seemed to have a hard time finding where they fit in on the ship.

The next step for us was picking between the itineraries offered. Between the cruise lines we researched we found one-way northbound or southbound cruises between Anchorage (actual ports are Whittier or Seward) and Vancouver as well as round-trip cruises out of Seattle or San Francisco. Because we wanted to spend time exploring Alaska’s interior before our cruise, we wanted a southbound cruise. We felt that Norwegian Cruise Line would have also fit our family well, but they only offered round-trip itineraries. Some ships and itineraries offer better hours in port than others. One thing I was disappointed in when we actually sailed was that the all-aboard time was somewhere between 30-60 minutes earlier than what was listed in the promotional itineraries. It turned out that the brochure listed the ship's actual departure time, not the all-aboard time for passengers.

The next step is to pick the actual ship. We loved the beautiful Sapphire Princess. I did feel she was a little crowded at some times. Many times it was extremely hard to find an open table at the buffet, even when we thought we were eating at odd hours. We were turned away from a show about 10 minutes before it started because the theatre was already completely full. Since the next show was at 10:15 pm, we had to opt-out - we had early shore excursions the next day.

One thing I would recommend when picking a ship is to look at other ship's itineraries and learn how many other ships will be in port on the same days. (You can see what ships are in port on certain days this year by going to http://www.claalaska.com and looking at the schedules for the individual towns.)  For example, the Sapphire Princess and Diamond Princess sailed on Saturdays in opposite directions (i.e. The Sapphire sailed north while the Diamond Princess sailed south and vice versa.) The Island Princess and the Coral Princess sailed on Mondays following the same pattern. The Island Princess and the Coral Princess seemed to be competing with fewer other ships when in port. I believe this is due to most cruises sailing on weekends rather than weekdays. We heard from several people who wanted to walk the town and shop that the crowds made this difficult or unpleasant.

The final step is to pick your room category. Princess does not make this easy, as they offer over 30 categories. Look carefully - sometimes an obstructed ocean view cabin can be less expensive than an interior cabin. We booked an interior cabin for the 4 of us, and my parents had a handicapped-accessible balcony cabin. Both cabins were very nice. Ours was a little tight, especially when the bunks were down, but it worked for us. My parent’s room was amazing. I was really glad we were able to share the balcony with them. Because it was a handicapped-accessible room, the balcony was almost twice the size of the other staterooms in their category. Plus, there is so much beautiful scenery in Alaska to enjoy. In Glacier Bay and College Fjord, the public decks were very crowded and it was difficult to get a railing spot to take pictures from. The balcony rooms tend to be very expensive on Alaskan cruises, but if you are going to splurge someplace, this would probably be the place to do it. Several times we missed a great sight because we were in our room changing or resting. We entered College Fjord at 6:00 am. It is much nicer to head out and watch it from your balcony rather than having to head to a public area to see the sights.

But at the end of the day, I definitely feel it was better to have had a cheaper, interior room than to give up our shore excursions or the week we spent in an RV in Central Alaska before embarking on our cruise. All in all, it was money well spent!

About the Author: Ann Weber is an avid vacation planner. Now that the two years of planning the Alaska adventure is behind her, Ann is diving into plans for her family's upcoming Disney Christmas vacation.

Tips for Traveling as a Solo Parent
by Lisa Carder, Guest Contributor


Traveling to Walt Disney World as a solo parent can be a challenging but rewarding experience. I have been taking my kids to Walt Disney World solo since 1999, including driving from Ohio most years. As I am writing this we are getting ready to head off for our 8^th family trip to the “World.” Here are my top ten tips for traveling to Walt Disney World as an only parent.

1.   Go at your children's pace. While this is a good idea for all parents, it is especially important as the solo adult. After all, there's no one to hand off a cranky child to.

2.   Act like a kid and let your hair down! Being a single parent has many everyday stresses, so use your vacation to relax and be playful. Besides, it does your kids good to see you stress-free and acting silly. I love to sing to the park music and skip and dance through the parks. My kids pretend to be embarrassed, but then they join in the fun.

3.   Take care of yourself. Going commando and neglecting your own care makes for a miserable vacation. Afternoon breaks are a godsend for both parents and kids. Even if the kids are too old to nap, 30 minutes of down time in the hotel room lets everyone rejuvenate. I know I need a rest most days, so when we take a break the kids can either read or watch TV quietly while I try to get my second wind. After all, If Momma is tired; no one's going to have a good time!

4.   Swim with your kids. No one cares what you look like in a bathing suit, and you will never see your fellow vacationers again. Even I will show my pasty white northern legs at the pool. My kids love it when I get in the pool with them and act like a kid.

5.   Let people serve you. Single parents do so much for everyone else, so let cast members take care of you on vacation. Eat at a table service restaurant at least once a day and enjoy not having to juggle your food and the kids. I have a hard time not doing everything myself in my daily life, but when I am on vacation I accept help when it is offered. Smile and say thank you and offer to help someone else if you are able.

6.   Get in the picture. Use Disney's professional photographers and PhotoPass to get pictures of your family together. You can ask cast members or even complete strangers to take a picture of all of you with your own camera, too. Some of my favorite pictures are ones where we are all together. I also offer to take pictures of families in return.

7.   Talk to people. While vacationing with your kids is wonderful, sometimes you need a conversation that doesn't begin with “Why?” All those lines you can't avoid are more fun when you are meeting other people. I seem to find every fellow teacher on vacation, and it is fun learning where people are from.

8.   Let your kids have some responsibility. On our first trip to Walt Disney World my kids were 4 and 6. I learned a lot on that vacation! One afternoon I was pushing the stroller, trying to keep track of my 6 year-old, and juggling a tray full of food while trying to find an empty table at Columbia Harbor House. I bet you can guess what happened next. Between the counter and the table my juggling act failed and our drinks toppled to the floor. I was mortified, but I realized that my kids could help out, even as young as they were. From then on the 6 year-old was in charge of the stroller, while I carried the food and found a table. They loved to help and our vacation was much smoother after that.

9.   Take advantage of Disney transportation. With Disney’s Magical Express there is no need to rent a car, no need to try and navigate. Buses can take you anywhere you want to go and taxis are plentiful if you want a faster or more direct route. The years we drove to Orlando my car stayed parked in the resort parking lot 99% of the time.

10. Bond. I know it sounds corny, but vacations are a great time to have uninterrupted time with your kids. There are so many funny and unique things that only happen on vacation. These shared experiences carry over into our daily lives and connect us. Kids grow up too soon, and I want to treasure the time I get with them. Even this year, when my kids are old enough to go off on their own, they both told me they would rather spend time together. I couldn't ask for a better reward.

Vacations anywhere can be special, but vacations at Walt Disney World are truly magical for our family.

About The Authors: Lisa (aka bobcat on the Disboards) is a Middle School teacher and is headed to Walt Disney World with her kids as this newsletter goes to print.

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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.