From the Authors: Down the Rabbit Hole

Travel Feature: Explore Alaska

Disney Feature: Disney Dining Plan: Act II

Updates: What's New and Changed

Tips: The Pin Fairy, Jumbled Jewels, Great Gratuities

Captain's Corner: Pigs in Trees

Q&A: Which Deluxe Resort to choose?
 

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Updates:
What's New and Changed

Here are a few items of relevant news:

The British Columbia Film Commission's official web site had listed "Disney's Canada Circlevision Film" as being filmed September 10 - 15, 2006, however the reference was removed from their web site by the time this newsletter went to press. Finally, possible evidence of a new Canada film!

Rock 'N' Roller Coaster will be closed for rehab from January 7, 2007 through February 10, 2007.

On September 10, 2006 at 10:56 a.m., a 6.0 magnitude earthquake was detected in the Gulf of Mexico. Shockwaves were felt throughout Central Florida including in the Orlando area but no property damage or injuries were reported. Operations at Walt Disney World continued as normal. Earthquakes are relatively rare in the Gulf. This most recent quake was the strongest of only 12 that have been recorded in the last 30 years.


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:

THE PIN FAIRY
"Our son loved trading pins  on our recent cruise, so each night while he was in the kids clubs, we would go to the pin cart and purchase a new pin. We would put the pin on his pillow after the beds were turned down. He would come back to the stateroom each night thinking that "Disney" left him the pin. It really added to the magic of the cruise and he couldn't wait to come back each night to see if the "pin fairy" had left him something special."
-- contributed by Jennifer B. (gregnjen1@...)

JUMBLED JEWELS
"I travel a lot and I like to bring jewelry with me to dress up an outfit. Well, I always had trouble with a lot of the chains and earrings getting tangled with everything else, until I found a solution. I was beading one day when I realized that my little plastic bead case was just the right size to fit into my suitcase and to keep all of my jewelry separate to keep it from tangling. It also works great for other little things like those safety pins or maybe some needle and thread or some cuff links and other little things. Everything is quick and easy to find and not shaking loose in some travel bag. Most containers are clear which makes it easy for a quick pick without opening it up. These containers can be found in any craft stores or craft department of a larger store." -- contributed by Morgan W (Ladyhawk_us@...)

GREAT GRATUITIES
"If you plan on tipping Mousekeeping, always tip daily because your Mousekeeper may change from day to day." -- contributed by Jim  M. 

>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:

"Upon leaving Scat Cat's Club at Port Orleans last week, I fear I must have been more than a few sheets to the wind. I cannot remember very much at all. The first thing I do recall is waking up on a bench in a wooded area. I looked about for some identification, but only saw a rustic sign with the words 'Floody Place' handpainted upon it. Sure enough, nearby was an watering hole. I crossed a little wooden bridge to avoid getting wet. This area seemed to be inhabited by little folk. After some searching for signs of civilization, I found a little house that appeared to belong to a gent by the name of Sanders, or at least that's what the sign above the door said. At this point, I began hallucinating -- I had the daft notion that there was a little pig in the tree. My memory stops at this point. When I woke up later safe and sound in my own bed, I had no idea where I'd been."

Where did Jack Skatt go and who did he see?

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 Joy Jacobs who was the winner of last week's treasure hunt game! Joy correctly identified the club as Scat Cat's Club at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter Resort. 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

NYKELLY asks: "Which Deluxe resort has the least expensive room rate for a family of five? Is a deluxe resort worth the money?"

Jennifer and Dave answer: "Of the Deluxe Resorts, the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge have the lowest regular rates (however, to sleep five, you'll need a higher-priced Deluxe room at either of those resorts). You're most likely to see discounting at Animal Kingdom Lodge because it has the most rooms of any Deluxe. However, even with an Annual Pass discount, Deluxe room rates don't begin to match the rates at the Moderates. You'll get a bit more space at the Deluxes, and you'll have a wider choice of restaurants. Your rooms will probably have real balconies, and you can open the window blinds, because you won't have fellow guests parading past. Then there's location - proximity/view of at least one park, walking/monorail/boat transportation to the park, Animal Kingdom Lodge's animal reserve, a greater variety of organized activities at the resort, true room service ... Is that necessarily worth the higher rates? That depends on your family. You'll be paying for things you may or may not take advantage of. For the same money, you might be able to upgrade your dining choices, or even add several days to your stay. Or not. "

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!

Hi, {{user("firstname")}}! 

We hope you don't mind if we keep this week's comments brief. Like the White Rabbit, we're late, we're late, for a very important date!

Just a few words: MouseFest! Will we see you in December? Visit http://www.mousefest.org to learn more.

2007 Walt Disney World pre-orders. The new edition will be here before you know it, and a pre-order ensures you'll be among the first to have it! Remember, you can register any current or previous edition of PassPorter (including e-books) and receive a 30% returning reader discount coupon for use in our online store. Register now at http://www.passporter.com/register.htm

A while back, guest contributor Ann Weber described her family's Alaskan cruise. Now she's back, with the first of several articles on their "land cruise" (RV explorations) of that great state. Anyone planning to rent an RV will find this article fascinating. This week's Disney article continues Dave's coverage of the Disney Dining Plan. As always, our very own treasure hunter Captain Jack Skatt serves up a new treasure hunting game at Walt Disney World. Enjoy! 

Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Authors and Publishers
 

About two years ago my family started thinking about an Alaskan vacation. My dad had always wanted to go to Alaska and my husband jumped on the bandwagon saying he had always thought it would be a great place to go too. Personally, I couldn’t understand going on a summer vacation to a place where it is likely to be 50° Fahrenheit and raining! I quickly changed my mind as I began to research this gorgeous state.

My husband wanted to see the “vast wilderness” of Alaska and I was fascinated by the culture and history. We received an advertisement that told us we could enjoy both! We decided to rent an RV and explore some of the interior of Alaska, then take a southbound cruise. An article about how we selected our cruise appeared in the August 10^th issue of PassPorter News. In this article you will learn the details about renting an RV as well as the campgrounds we stayed in.

We looked at several RV rental companies and quickly decided on Great Alaskan Holidays. Although at first glance their prices were more expensive, I liked the fact that most everything we would need was included in the price - no extra charges for cleaning (they clean it when you bring it back), using the generator, etc. The price includes linens, dishes and common kitchen items, 2 folding chairs, and more. There are extra items that you can pay to add on (like a cooler for fish), but we didn’t need any of these items.

There were options to pay by the mile or for unlimited mileage. Considering the distances we were planning on traveling, we decided unlimited mileage was a better deal for us. We did travel enough miles that the option easily paid for itself. One more rental decision to make is whether to pre-pay for gasoline and propane. We decided it would be easy enough to fill-up the gas tank just down the street from the rental location when we returned the RV. The price to prepay the propane was relatively small, so we decided to do that. We weren’t sure where in Anchorage you could refill propane tanks, but we knew gas stations were everywhere.

Great Alaskan Holidays has a shuttle that will pick you up at and/or take you to the airport. You need to call them and schedule a pick-up time. Someone just walked in when we were there and was sent away with a time later in the day to come back. Everything you need to know (even the fact that you have to call to schedule a pick-up time) is in the paperwork they send you before your vacation. All drivers must watch a safety/driving video before you can fill out the paperwork and be on your way. Plan at least an hour to pick-up your RV. Don’t make significant driving plans for the first day since your pick-up time and how long it will take to get the RV are not guaranteed.

For us, the RV was a great solution. We had a 30’ motor home with 2 slide-outs. We were amazed by the additional space the slide-outs provided. We had 4 adults and 2 teenagers so two hotel rooms would have been needed. Although I have heard people say they have found nice Bed and Breakfast locations for under $100/night, I found most hotels were in the $150 to $250 per night range. Our RV was around $200/day. Some of the stretches of road were long and it was really nice to have a restroom and food always available. We also had much greater flexibility on where we wanted to stop in the evenings with the RV. One thing you definitely need to plan for with an RV is how you will cope with the close to 24 hours a day of sunlight. Our camper had 3 skylights, making it impossible to darken the RV for sleeping.

Our first evening was in Talkeetna, on the way to Denali National Park. We stayed at the Talkeetna Camper Park. Although this campground was nothing extraordinary, it was pretty, clean and well maintained. I did not use the showers as I found the price ridiculous (something like $2 for 5 minutes), but my son and husband used them and said they were clean. We had full hook-ups at this park.

Our second evening was at the Riley Creek Campground in Denali National Park. This campground does not offer hook-ups, but there is a convenient dump station. If you have a National Parks Golden Access Pass or Golden Age Pass you can camp for half price. Although we had a difficult time leveling our trailer here, the campground is beautiful. It was peaceful and really well maintained. In the National Park, your reservation is not for a specific spot. I recommend getting there fairly early in the day so you can pick a good campsite for yourself. We arrived around 5pm and were still able to find a pretty site, but most of the level ones were already gone. Also, book early as it is not unheard of for campgrounds to fill to capacity.

The next night we did not have reservations. We decided we would stop when we were too tired to continue. I decided at the Denali North Viewpoint campground that I didn’t want to go any farther. This is more of a parking lot than a campground, but we knew this ahead of time. We wanted to see if we would get lucky and have Mt. McKinley be visible in the morning when we awoke. The view of the mountains from here is beautiful. There were no facilities here other than public toilets and a few picnic tables. There is a small shelter with forms that you fill out and leave in a box with your check and the site (parking place) number you chose.

The following evening was also a stop-when-we-feel- like-it evening. Although not having reservations gave us more flexibility with our schedule, having reservations was less stressful as we knew we had a place to camp.

We ended up near Anchorage, so we stayed at the Anchorage RV Park, where we also had reservations for our final evening in the RV. Although this was one of the more expensive parks, it was beautiful. There was abundant wildlife and trees in the park and yet it had many amenities including wireless Internet and a nice Laundromat.

For our next two nights, we had reservations at the Stoney Creek RV Park near Seward. We were disappointed in this campground, especially after the other beautiful locations we had found. The road into the campground was very rough and it was a difficult turn on and off of the Seward Highway. The entire campground was a large gravel parking lot. There were full hook-ups and large pull through sites, but I felt like I was staying in a Wal-Mart parking lot. This was also a fairly expensive campground. Both this campground and the Anchorage RV Park had free showers. I took a picture to show how disappointing the campground was, but now looking back, all I notice is the beautiful scenery around it and not the campground itself.


(Ann’s Alaskan RV adventure will continue in an upcoming edition of PassPorter News!)

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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.

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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. 

Did You Know?  MouseEarVacations.com is offering special Disney Cruise Line deals! Disney Cruise Line® Special Offer February 3, 2007 - 7 night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Save up to $734* per cabin compared to current Disney pricing. Other dates available. Click here to get a quote for February 3, 2007 *Savings based on double occupancy. Ships' Registry: The Bahamas CST2058090-40 www.MouseEarVacations.com 800-886-8601

	Disney Feature:  Disney Dining Plan: Act II by Dave Marx, PassPorter Author and Publisher   Back in July we published an article about the Disney Dining Plan. The article generated so much interest and so many comments that we just couldn’t help but revisit the topic. Not long after the article was published, the web was abuzz with a big Disney Dining Plan story. As most folks put it, Disney “cut back” on the number of restaurants that would be offering the Dining Plan in 2007. This was deduced by comparing the preliminary Disney Dining Plan brochure for 2007 (a PDF download from Disney), with the current 2006 brochure. The list of restaurants “missing” was quite dramatic, including nearly all the restaurants around Epcot’s World Showcase. As soon as I read the reports, I recalled the same thing happened in 2005 at around this time – the new list came out, restaurants were missing, folks were concerned, but eventually, all the missing restaurants were returned to the list. I also noticed that nearly all the missing restaurants were managed by independent companies, including Epcot’s L’Originale Alfredo di Roma and Chefs de France, and the restaurants at Coronado Springs Resort. My guess was that those organizations simply needed a bit more time to make a decision. Others wisely noted that, with Advance Dining Reservations now available 180 days prior, Disney needed to get some sort of list out to the public, pronto, even if it wasn’t complete. As it turns out, this seems to be exactly what happened. Disney has revised the brochure several times, and now the 2007 Disney Dining list is virtually identical to the 2006 list. Crisis averted. All’s well that ends well!  Some people wonder just how long Disney will continue offering the Dining Plan. After all, anything this good can’t last. I’m here to predict that the Disney Dining Plan will last a very, very long time. I had one of those “Ah ha!” moments a while back, and realized the Dining Plan is very similar to Disney’s pay-one-price theme park admission policy. Although we all still talk about “E-Ticket” rides, the days of individually-ticketed rides will never return to Disney, and I suspect the Dining Plan will follow the same path.  Why does pay-one-price work so well for Disney? Just like gamblers who believe they’ve got a system that will beat the house, many vacationers feel they’ll be able to extract greater value from a pay-one-price ticket than they can by purchasing individual ride tickets (or ordering meals a la carte). We often calculate, “I can buy 10 ride tickets for the price of that pay-one-price park pass, so if I ride 11 or 12 rides, I’m ahead!” What we often don’t realize is that according to the averages, we might have only ridden 8 rides under pay-as-you-go. The park operator just lured us into paying for two more rides than we usually enjoy and staying in the park longer than we might have (buying more stuff as a result)! Other vacationers are happy to pay a fixed price because we know that our expenses are “capped.” Nothing is more painful to Moms and Dads than reaching into our pockets for yet another strip of ride tickets. Pay it up front, and get the pain out of the way! Fortunately for all of us, theme parks and restaurants aren’t controlled by the same irrevocable mathematical odds as roulette wheels. With some study and planning, anyone can manage to ride a couple more rides or eat a grander meal than the average vacationer – there are no mathematical formulas (or casino goons) standing in the way.   But as casino owners know, long-term, nobody can beat the odds. I am quite confident that Disney has analyzed their costs very carefully, and on average Disney is not losing money with the pay-one-price dining plan. They’ve probably succeeded in encouraging most families to spend more on dining with Disney than they would have otherwise. There are definitely more people eating at table-service restaurants, as anyone who has tried to get dining reservations lately can attest. Disney’s free Dining Plan deal offered for September vacations was so popular that they temporarily converted several counter-service establishments to table-service buffets to absorb the added demand. This is in September, one of the slowest months of the Disney year. Disney managers reported that demand for reservations was greater than during peak holiday periods! So, we’re eating more grandly and feeling like we’re getting more than our money’s worth. As we get better at extracting value from our dining experience, I’m sure the price for the Dining Plan will simply ratchet-up, just like park admission. (Have you noticed that the added park-going “efficiency” provided by FASTPASS has resulted in higher park admission prices?) As perceived value increases, prices increase to bring that perceived value back into line. From Disney’s perspective, “great value” is too generous, “fair value” is just right.  Now, here is some news, some great tips from our readers in response to the previous Dining Plan article, and one correction.  Everyone wonders whether Advance Dining Reservations (407-WDW-DINE) are really necessary during “slow” periods. Thanks to the demand generated by the dining plan, the answer is a firm, “Definitely!” Walk-up seating at the most popular spots, like Epcot’s Le Cellier, is nearly impossible to get. So even if you want to keep your plans loose, make sure you have a reservation in your back pocket just in case, or plan to phone a few hours prior to meal time. DVC Members can now purchase the Dining Plan when they are staying “on points.” Contact DVC for the details. There are rumors that Annual Passholders will also be able to purchase the Dining Plan. Keep your eyes on Mickey Monitor, the Annual Passholder newsletter. Correction: In the original article, I noted that all dining credits are encoded on a single Key to the World card. Actually, any card can be used to access the dining credits. Your party can split up, and everybody will still be able to eat. Disney keeps track of your credits on its central computers, so it doesn’t matter which card you use – all credits will be available and accounted for. You can request a print-out of where the credits were consumed at any time, by asking your resort lobby concierge. We recommend you do this several times during your stay, as we have encountered computer errors.  Tips: Snack credits can be used to purchase packaged Disney cookies (and other items) in resort gift shops. They’re a great take-home gift item. Since you must buy the plan for every day of your resort stay, folks who arrive in the late evening and depart in the morning may have some excess credits to use. Reader Holly H. even treated strangers to a meal, rather than let the credits go to waste. It’s a great way to spread some magic! Tanya B. suggested an alternate strategy for dining at Signature Restaurants. She and her husband spent two credits on a single adult meal, and supplemented it with a cash purchase of one entrée (the cheaper one, of course). They split appetizer and dessert, stayed "on budget" for the Dining Plan, and certainly got a much better value than if they had used four credits for two full meals.  Reader S.G. reports seeing dessert coupons at counter service restaurants so that folks who wanted to get their Dining Plan dessert later had an easy way to do it. So, keep your eyes open at the cashier, and be sure to ask. With Epcot's Food and Wine Festival nearly upon us, it’s good to know that snack credits can be used for many of the snack items offered around the World Showcase. Look for the DDP icon on the menus. Many people have asked whether sharing meals on the Dining Plan is allowed. For counter-service and a la carte restaurants, definitely yes. You cannot share buffet or family-style meals, though. Meal sharing frees-up credits that can be used to pay for Signature Dining experiences, a third meal during the day, or a treat for friends/relatives that are not on the dining plan. And the big tip for the day… Be sure to visit the Feasting and Snacking forum at the PassPorter message boards. Disney Dining Plan is a hot topic there, so you’ll find more tips and lots of expert advice. - - - - - - - - - - - - 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.