| October 01, 2009 * Issue 9.40 |
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 In This Newsletter
From the Authors: We're So Excited About the 2010 Edition!
Travel Feature: Chincoteague, Virginia
Disney Feature: Disney's Contemporary Resort
Updates: What's New and Changed
Tips: Disneyland ART, Zip-A-Dee-Ziploc, Charm-ing Souvenirs
Captain's Corner: All started by a mouse ... and a man
PassPorter PhotoPick: Disneys Hollywood Studios - Ariel in Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Q and A: Does Disney Cruise Line pre-board passengers in wheelchairs?
Our
Sponsors: We Recommend...
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Updates:
What's New and Changed
This week we have 3 news bulletins:
Give A Day, Get A Disney Day Free In order to inspire guests to donate a day of service to volunteer for a participating organization in their community, Disney will give each qualifying participant a free one-day pass to either Disneyland or Walt Disney World. If you already have admission for your trip such as an Annual Pass, you can also choose a special FASTPASS, collectible figurine, or better yet -- donate your pass to a participating non-profit organization! Disney will also continue to "celebrate" special occasions but the free admission is reserved for volunteers. Click here for details.
Comments: 49
This updates page 117 of PassPorter's Walt Disney World guidebook
The Crystal Palace to close for rehab The Crystal Palace Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom will be closed January 3 - February 13, 2010.
Comments: 49
This updates page 205 of PassPorter's Walt Disney World guidebook
Astronauts to appear in Magic Kingdom Parade Astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Mike Fincke will join Buzz Lightyear for a special ticker tape parade at 2:30, prior to the 3:00 Celebrate a Dream Come True parade on October 2, 2009 in the Magic Kingdom. Buzz Lightyear recently returned from a record-setting 15-month stay aboard the International Space Station. Buzz's time in orbit was part of an educational program Disney developed with NASA.
Comments: 49
This updates page 122 of PassPorter's Walt Disney World guidebook
Tip: Need more news? Read, sort, and search all the PassPorter news bulletins at the PassPorter News Desk!
Our thanks to AllEars.net and MousePlanet.com from which we get some of our news leads.
Hear some news? Be a 'PassPorter Reporter' and send it to us!
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Disney Tips:
From Fellow
Readers
Our readers deliver a wealth of information! Send us your tips! You may see them in this newsletter and win a copy of PassPorter! And you never know -- your tip could even appear in a future edition of a PassPorter guidebook.
DISNEYLAND ART
'When you stay at a non-Disney hotel in the Disneyland area, the Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) trolleys are great for getting to and from the parks. Travelers need to be aware, though, that the ART drops you off on the east side of the entrance plaza and does not stop at any of the Disney hotels. This can make getting to the hotel restaurants for the character meals a challenge if you are not staying on-property. We stayed at a non-Disney hotel on our recent trip to Anaheim, and we had an early lunchtime reservation for Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel. We first considered driving our car to the hotel, but here's how we solved the transportation problem instead: We rode the ART to Disneyland and spent a few hours in the Disneyland Park (as opposed to California Adventure). Then when it came time to head to our character meal, we hopped on the monorail in Tomorrowland for a quick trip to Downtown Disney. The Disneyland Hotel was then only a short walk away.'
-- contributed by Brad
 Save This Tip
ZIP-A-DEE-ZIPLOC
'Ziploc gallon plastic bags were invaluable to us on our trip this year. We stored our autograph books, extra clothes and camcorder each in one and found everything easy to find and dry in our backpack. It made getting autographs quick and easy because everything was together and accessible when we ran into our favorite characters.'
-- contributed by Kim
Save This Tip
CHARM-ING SOUVENIRS
'I just returned from Disney with my sister and niece, and we wanted to do something souvenir-wise that was affordable and would last. At many of its shops, Disney offers a "make your own charm bracelet," and this allows you to make a great souvenir within whatever budget you've got planned. The bracelet itself, which comes with a diamond mouse charm already attached, costs $6.00; each additional, removable charm (handy for building on years to come) is $3.50. What we found? It's a ball to get off an attraction or visit a World in Epcot, go to a souvenir shop, and buy a corresponding charm! The "souvenir shopping" lasted all week, and when we left, we had each spent approximately $20 -- and had a tailored, inexpensive souvenir we'll keep and wear forever!'
-- contributed by Kristi
Save This Tip
Want more Disney
tips? Look for the concierge bell icon in future newsletters and throughout the PassPorter.com site. When you see the bell, tap it to view and save the tip to your personal tip collection!
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 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. (Please note: Players can win once every three months.)
Here is this week's journal entry:
"I love quotes. I collect them. So I was delighted when I came across this quote at the park today, "Walt Disney once said, 'I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.' But for the Walt Disney Company, we know it was really all started by a man." Isn't that just so true? The quote was at the bottom of a portait of the man himself, Walt Disney."
Where at Walt Disney World will you find the item mentioned above?
For bonus credit, locate the photo in the PassPorter Photo Archive and post a comment with the photo!
Congratulations to who was the winner of last week's trivia contest! was the first person to
identify the answer to last week's clue as Pocky in Mitsukoshi Department Store in the Japan pavilion. Bonus credit goes to as the first person to locate the photo in our PassPorter Photo Archive. To view the original clue, see last week's newsletter.
Send your full answer to jackskatt@passporter.com -- the winner will be notified by e-mail and announced in a future
newsletter, along with the correct answer!
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PassPorter PhotoPick
Each issue we choose a special photo from the PassPorter Photo Archive which highlights something beautiful, interesting,
humorous, or timely at Disney or around the world. Here is this issue's PassPorter PhotoPick:
Disneys Hollywood Studios - Ariel in Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Photo by home4us123
(click the photo or link to see a larger photo with details)
You can nominate photos as a PassPorter PhotoPick by giving ratings in the PassPorter Photo Archive (you'll need to be logged in to do this). If you'd like to contribute your own photos to the Photo Archive and be considered as a PhotoPick, please read our Photo Upload Guidelines for details and benefits.
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. . . . . . . | Q and A: With Jennifer and
Dave
MaryEl8775 asks: "I know that on airplanes they allow people in wheelchairs to board first. However, I was wondering if people in wheelchairs get let onto the ship first? Or do they still go in order of arrival?"
Dave answers:Ê"They may indeed offer some pre-boarding, but I've also seen plenty of guests in wheelchairs and ECVs 'mainstreamed' with the rest of the passengers.
A cruise ship doesn't have the same challenges an airline has when boarding wheelchair-bound passengers, so unless a passenger has specific health requirements, pre-boarding is more of a courtesy than a logistical requirement."
Did our message board members agree with Dave? To see other answers that mooshcat received, check out the rest of the thread on the PassPorter Message Boards..
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!
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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! | . . . . . . . . . . .
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Our Sponsors:
We Recommend...
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| | | From the Authors: We're So Excited About the 2010 Edition!
Hi, {{user('firstname')}}!
You might remember that a while back we were gushing over the printing proofs of PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2010, but you'll just have to put up with us again, because we recently received the "printed sheets" of the book from our printer in Hong Kong. "What's the difference between proofs and printed sheets," you may ask? The proofs came out of a high quality color laser printer, but the printed sheets are right off the printing press. What we see is what you'll get, and we think you're going to be blown away! As you may recall, we decided to go to all-glossy paper for the new edition (the 2009 edition had one special section on that paper). Color glossies look a whole lot better than color printed on matte paper stock (if you have a color ink jet printer, you should know what we mean!). Now, we knew this was going to look good, but until you see it for real, it doesn't quite sink in. This is just so fabulous! The color is richer and more vibrant, the photos are sharper and more detailed, and even the plain black text is easier to read! The glossy paper can also be a bit thinner without bleed-through to the other side of the page, so we also added 32 more pages without making the book any thicker! We took advantage of all this to add lots of really great photos, and we had the space to make them larger than they were in the past. We think you are just going to love it! Speaking of which, have you put in your pre-order?
Book printing lesson of the day: We think printed sheets are pretty cool -- in this case, the sheet is 24" x 38," with 16 pages printed on each side of that poster-sized sheet. Some pages are printed upside down, some rightside up, and they're arrayed in such a way that when sheet is folded and the edges trimmed, it'll make a 32-page section, or "signature."
New e-Book!
Well, the information isn't new or revised, but for the benefit of folks planning to sail the Mediterranean next year with DCL, we've re-packaged the port-of-call information from our 2007 (5th Edition) of PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line and its Ports of Call as an e-book for your reference. If you don't have a copy of that edition on your shelf, this should help take the "edge" off your curiosity while you wait for the 2010 edition of our DCL guide (due out in early 2010), which will have new/fully-updated info on all the ports DCL will be visiting. The new e-book is available at "retail" in the PassPorter store, and is also available to members of PassPorter's Club as a no-extra-charge benefit of club membership!
Decade of Dreams Disneyland Event!
Our Decade of Dreams 10th anniversary is taking PassPorter to Disneyland over the weekend of October 16-18, 2009! Everyone is welcome to join us for our festivities, which tentatively include a Mickey's Trick or Treat Party, Disneyland Quest Afternoon, and breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe (limited seating -- only 3 seats left now!). To learn more, check out our meet schedule and let us know if you can attend! We promise a great time for all. See you there!
PassPorter's Disney Weddings & Honeymoons E-Book Updated
A fourth revision of PassPorter's Disney Weddings & Honeymoons: Dream Days at Disney World and on Disney Cruises e-book is ready for download. Changes include new ceremony and reception venues (including a scuba wedding!), new venue pricing, new requirements for the complimentary room night, and the discontinuation of printed save-the-dates for the Wishes Collection. If you purchased the e-book from our online store, you can download the revised version by going to the PassPorter Store, logging into your account, locating the e-book in your Order History, and clicking the download link. If you're a member of PassPorter's Club, just head over to the Club and download from The Reading Room, as always.
Contribute To Our 2010 Disneyland Edition
We're working new Disneyland edition of PassPorter for 2010! And, as always, YOUR input is very important -- it's one of the things that makes PassPorter unique and valuable. We encourage you to take some time to contribute a tip, story, photo, and/or rating -- it really makes a difference! To learn how to contribute, please view the details on our message boards. We look forward to seeing your contributions!
PassPorter's Club
Update
- More than 1500 vacationers are now enjoying access to all our e-books, e-worksheets, and super-sized photo archive images. Thank you for your continued support!
- PassPorter's Mediterranean Port Guides are now available to you as an e-book -- download it free of extra charges in the Reading Room!
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In this issue, PassPorter Featured Columnist Sue Kulick shares information on Chincoteague, Virginia. Then PassPorter Featured Columnist Cheryl Pendry gives us a glimpse into Disney's Contemporary Resort. Finally, Jack Skatt is back with a brand-new Walt Disney World Treasure Hunt.
Jennifer and Dave Marx
PassPorter Founders and
Authors
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Travel
Feature:
Chincoteague, Virginia: A Peaceful Island
Sue Kulick, PassPorter Featured Columnist
This summer, we had the good fortune to spend a few days on Chincoteague Island, Virginia.
Our adventure began with the decision to visit Assateague Island, home of the wild ponies and the fulfillment of a childhood dream for me. Chincoteague, the central area in Marguerite Henry's beloved book "Misty of Chincoteague" was the natural place to stay. We knew we would enjoy our time there. What we didn't realize is how much we would come to love the area!
Chincoteague Island is a peaceful, quaint island off the Virginia coastline. As soon as you get close to the island, you know you are in for something special. The causeway leading to the island takes you through beautiful marsh country. You cross a drawbridge spanning the Chincoteague Canal, and you land squarely in the center of town. This is where your adventure truly begins.
There are many wonderful places to stay on the island. There are hotels with waterfront views, and townhouse villas for rent. You can camp, or stay in a lovely cottage. And the area abounds with bed and breakfasts. We chose Miss Molly's, a bed and breakfast located on Main Street, and lovingly restored to its original glory by Innkeepers Sam and Lin Mazza. Miss Molly's was the house where Ms. Henry actually wrote "Misty," and we stayed in the room where the book was penned!
Once you make your decision about where to stay, you will need to decide what you would like to do. Naturally, the theme of the island centers around the ponies, but Chincoteague is so much more! For shoppers, the island is a funky little town of eclectic shops and souvenir emporiums. You can purchase everything from a hand drawn map of the island, to a coffee mug with Misty on it, to a hand baked treat for your four-legged friend back home. And don't overlook the purchase of a native conch shell or driftwood. These are available on tables outside of resident's homes, left there to be purchased on the honor system.
Chincoteague naturally has a big maritime business. You can charter a fishing boat, or go clamming or crabbing. You can fish either the Atlantic Ocean or the inland waterways, and you can surf fish on Assateague Island!
If fishing is not your style, relax on one of the many island scenic cruises. We chose to take a pony cruise on the Assateague Explorer. There are many other cruises available, including sunset cruises and dolphin cruises. All take you up close and personal with the abundant wildlife of Chincoteague and Assateague Island.
You can get a glimpse into Chincoteague history by visiting one of the local museums. The Beebe Ranch is the home of the original Misty, and houses many items from that wonderful book. The Oyster and Maritime Museum highlights local fishing history and culture, while just down the road, the NASA Wallops Island Flight Center showcases NASA's test flight facility.
If all that activity has made you hungry, you are in luck! Chincoteague has some wonderful choices. Of course, the seafood is fresh and abundant. Try AJ's on the Creek, Etta's Channel Side Restaurant, or Steamer's. We had incredible prime rib at Don's Seafood. For quick sandwiches, try the Sea Shell Cafe. And top it off with ice cream from Muller's. Don't be surprised if you see some Pennsylvania touches at Muller's...the family that owns it are transplanted from Philadelphia!
If you are lucky enough to be here in July, you will see the annual pony penning hosted by the Chincoteague Fire Company. Each year, the wild ponies are rounded up on the Island of Assateague and swim over to the island of Chincoteague. There, the fire company hosts the annual pony sale, where the foals are sold at auction. After the week, the adults and some of the foals swim back to Assateague Island. The money raised supports the totally volunteer fire company, and also goes for the horses' upkeep.
One of our favorite things to do in a small local town is just to walk around and enjoy the sights. We strolled down to Memorial Park, where we listened to a local musician play. We walked over to the Chincoteague Pony Center, where we got to see some of Misty's descendants. We shopped at several local stores, including Egret Moon Artworks and the Chincoteague Pet Boutique. We picked up some 45's in a little used record store. And we had a nightcap at Chattie's Lounge.
Chincoteague Island is a wonderful way to spend a weekend, or a week! There is so much to see and do, you will not run out of ideas. And you will take home a lifetime full of memories!
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About the Author: Sue Kulick is a resident of the Pocono Mountains and an avid Disney fan. She and her husband, Steve, live in a log home with their Golden Retrievers, Cody and Belle and their cat Tigger.
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Disney Feature:
Disney's Contemporary Resort: A Review
Cheryl Pendry, PassPorter Featured Columnist
Disney's Contemporary Resort is perhaps the best known resort to any visitor to the Walt Disney World Resort. It's the hotel that we've all zoomed through on the monorail, either on our way to or coming back from the Magic Kingdom.
No doubt, many of you have wondered what it would be like to stay there. I know I certainly did and couldn't help but wish that one day I could stay there with a monorail station right beneath us. That dream came true earlier this year, with a five night stay in a tower room with a Magic Kingdom view. We were on the eighth floor and literally just a few steps from the elevator. Our room's location couldn't have been more convenient, and it was so easy to get to and from the monorail station. Indeed, once I was able to run back to the room, drop something off and then head back down in time to catch the very next monorail just a few minutes later!
The first thing that struck me when we first entered the room was how modern it looked, but also how welcoming the décor was. I'm a great fan of using browns and beiges in rooms, as I think they add a warm feeling, and that's very much what Disney achieved here. I had seen photos of the interior of the rooms here before, so I had an idea what to expect, but I was still pleasantly surprised. Somehow, with the look of the exterior of the resort, you half expect the rooms here to be steel grey – at least I did!
The rooms are very well sized, as you'd expect from one of Disney's deluxe resorts. Even with two queen-sized beds in the room, there was still lots of space, with a desk providing a good amount of workspace and a fold out sofa bed, which was certainly very comfortable to sit on, although neither of us sampled actually sleeping on it! There was plenty of storage here and we found the bathroom to be very spacious, although our only complaint was the design of the sinks in there. We found that it was all too easy to splash water everywhere, because they're quite shallow.
But the real treat was saved for the moment that we first stepped out on to balcony. Our Magic Kingdom view was exactly how I'd imagined it, with Space Mountain nearest to us and Cinderella Castle and the various lands laid out around it. Across Seven Seas Lagoon, we had a perfect view of the Grand Floridian, with the Polynesian to the left. What we didn't notice for the first day or so was that we could also see Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom way in the distance. It was amazing how much we noticed as the days wore on.
We spent a fair bit of our time exploring the Contemporary and, despite my many previous visits to Walt Disney World, I was amazed that we were still able to find new things to see. For example, I'd never seen the swimming pool at the Contemporary before, but I have to admit this was one of the least impressive aspects to the resort. The main pool didn't do much for me, although the pool nearest to Bay Lake was much more appealing. Still, considering I'm used to the Beach Club's beautiful Stormalong Bay, it's understandable that this was never going to compare.
Something that does compare very much is the shopping on offer here on the fourth floor's "Grand Canyon Concourse." I loved the stores and found a number of items that didn't seem to be available elsewhere on Disney property (and that's not the first time I've had that experience). Also on the fourth floor is an outdoor seating area, facing the Magic Kingdom. It's a great spot to watch Wishes from, but we also enjoyed just sitting out there during the day and watching the monorails glide past.
One of our other great discoveries was the Contemporary's new counter service offering, the Contempo Cafe. It offers a superb selection of items, with all the usual hot food that you'd expect for breakfast, along with some delicious pastries, while lunch and dinner is the territory of flatbreads and sandwiches and a few other treats. The cheese flatbread was very good, but the real star on the menu here was the Spice Crusted Mahi sandwich. It's so lovely to see such diverse choices at quick service places at Disney these days.
Of course, the Contemporary is also home to some superb table service restaurants. Let's be honest, it's hard to find a more fun way to start your day than breakfast at Chef Mickey's, and dinner here is excellent as well. Then there's the Wave, the newest addition, which I enjoyed for breakfast and I'm looking forward to sampling dinner there in due course. And of course, let's leave the best until last – the California Grill on the resort's 15th floor. Offering superb views, similar to those that we had from our room and with the bonus of prime viewing spots for Wishes each night, it's in a premium location. As for the food, well, I can't fault it and it's been my selection for a number of birthday meals and one Christmas dinner, which probably gives you a good idea of how much we love it there.
Not only is the Contemporary full of wonderful amenities and some excellent rooms, its location was a definite bonus as well. Being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom is a real treat and there's nothing like just popping downstairs to pick up a monorail over to Epcot (you must change trains at the next stop) or the Magic Kingdom.
I loved my first stay at the Contemporary and, although I know it will be a bit different, I can't wait to go back and sample their newest addition, Bay Lake Tower, on our next Disney visit.
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About the Author: Cheryl and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to Disney, and they have made numerous visits to destinations across America and Europe. They recently completed their tour of every Disney theme park around the world, which culminated in their visit to Japan, including the Tokyo Disney Resort. Cheryl is the co-author of PassPorter's Disney Vacation Club Guide and is a regular featured columnist for PassPorter news.
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corrections about this article, or just want to give kudos to the author? Share a comment here or e-mail
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