For a text-only version of this newsletter, visit http://www.passporter.com/news/121406text.htm.
PassPorter News Brought to you by PassPorter Guidebooks
  December 14, 2006 * Issue 6.48
 
In This Newsletter

From the Authors: Cruise Guides, Free Shipping, MouseFest, and Laugh Floor Comedy Club

Travel Feature: Oslo, Norway

Disney Feature: Sneak Peek at The Laugh Floor Comedy Club

Updates: What's New and Changed

Tips: TV Trick, Perfect Postcards, Moving On Main Street

Captain's Corner: Science Center

Q&A: Is it acceptable to tip Cast Members?
 


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Updates:
What's New and Changed

Here are a few items of relevant news:

Christmas Day Services will be held on Monday, December 25 in the Fantasia Ballroom of Disney's Contemporary Resort. Catholic Mass will be held at 8:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. with a Protestant Service in between at 9:00 a.m.

The Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club will be open January 19 - 21, 2007 for a special sneak preview for Disney Vacation Club members and their guests. Just present your Member ID to the Cast Member to this attraction housed in the former Timekeeper space in Tomorrowland. (The show is also currently in "Test and Preview" - see Dave's report elsewhere in this newsletter.)

Is a Walt Disney World vacation going to be under the tree this year? Have Mickey call your family and make the announcement! If you've already booked your trip or will be booking by December 27, visit MickeyHolidayCall.com to arrange for the call. Your date of birth, reservation number and the phone number to contact you at on December 25 is required.

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:

TV TRICK
"After experiencing some noise while trying to go to sleep our first night in our resort, we came up with a little trick we used the rest of our trip. we turned our TV on to an inactive channel (we used 999) and turned the volume up to a comfortable level for the "white noise" the static provided. Then we closed the doors to the armoire to hide the light from the TV. If you need a night light, just turn the Lazy Susan under the TV so you can't see the screen, for a soft glow for-middle-of-the-night restroom trips. We all slept soundly until Mickey gave us our wake-up call each morning."
-- contributed by Lisa H.

PERFECT POSTCARDS
"Early in my trip I buy lots of postcards of the characters I like best and of various attractions throughout the park. When we find characters who are giving autographs, I ask them to sign their corresponding postcard. A friend back home loves Tigger the best, so after Tigger signs his postcard, I send it to my friend--as if Tigger is writing to her! I use the postcards of the attractions to keep a "journal" or "trip report" notes. Your PassPockets will be the perfect place to keep those postcards handy throughout the day."
-- contributed by Marnie W.

MOVING ON MAIN STREET
"If it's really crowded on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, a quicker way to walk is through the stores along Main Street. They are all connected and travel all the way to the tip board at the end of Main Street."
-- contributed by Rick 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.

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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 journal entry:

"I had a rousing good time meeting many old and new friends at the Dolphin Resort this past weekend for MouseFest. Between that and my recent stints at the Adventurers Club, I find myself in need of a wee bit of recuperation. I've always heard that laughter is the best medicine, so I'm now on the lookout for a comedy club of some sort. My old pal Roz told me about a new one opening soon in the old Science Center.

Where is the new comedy club opening and what is the full name of the "old science center?"


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 Tammy Rea who was the winner of last week's treasure hunt game! Tammy correctly identified the resort the Captain was looking for as The Walt Disney World Dolphin 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

nanpchef asks: "The last time we were at Walt Disney World, there were several Cast Members that went out of their way to make our trip special. Besides sending a note to Disney saying what a great job they are doing (did this), is there something else we can do for them? I thought I saw something about them not being able to accept monetary tips. What about some kind of relatively inexpensive gift certificate?"

Dave & Jennifer answer:
"
Officially, Cast Members in non-tipping job classifications are required to refuse any kind of gift. Things like pins and similar low-value tokens of esteem aren't likely to get anyone into trouble, but gift cards can have some real cash value and many don't have a denomination printed on them, so supervisors may just choose to think the worst of a Cast Member that accepts one. Most gift cards are worth at least $5. A $5 tip to, say, the Cast Member at a restaurant podium (for assigning a nice table, let's say), would definitely be unacceptable, as would a $5 tip to a bus driver for making an unscheduled stop. That's precisely the kind of thing that Walt wanted to prohibit when he created his no-tipping policy. Magic shouldn't be doled out only to those who look prosperous enough to hand out a big tip in gratitude. People are "guests," not "customers," partly to drive-home to cast that all guests are entitled to the same quality of hospitality ("customers'" value tends to be measured in dollars).

By far, the best "tip" is a letter of commendation to management. Disney keeps track of that sort of thing and rewards Cast Members for it. Other gifts can actually endanger a Cast Member's employment -- not exactly the reward you had in mind."

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!




From the Authors: Cruise Guides, Free Shipping, MouseFest, and Laugh Floor Comedy Club

Hi, {{user("firstname")}}! 

We're bursting with news this week:

1. The new edition of PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line guidebook is now available for pre-order and is expected to arrive around January 22, 2007. The new edition is 320 pages (our longest yet!) with in-depth information on all 2007 ports, including the new Mediterranean ports. As an added bonus, readers who pre-order the guidebook through us will receive the Mediterranean cruise sections (over 70 pages) in a preview PDF file as an immediate download.

2. We're offering FREE SHIPPING for orders over $10 in the PassPorter Store at http://www.passporterstore.com/store from now to Monday, Dec. 18 at midnight Eastern Time. This offer is only available for orders placed online through this store or through our toll-free number 877-929-3273 (open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm). Orders qualifying for free shipping will ship via first class mail (for orders under 1 lb.) or Priority Mail/UPS Ground (for orders over 1 lb.) which is what we estimate are the best domestic shipping methods for arrival in time for Christmas. If you need expedited shipping, please indicate that in the comments section and we will contact you with the extra charges.

3. MouseFest 2006--It was more than a year in the making, and all of a sudden, it's all over! MouseFest 2006 - the four-night cruise on the Disney Wonder, the five days of meets and merriment at Walt Disney World - has come to a close. It'll take us a while to sort out all our wonderful memories and share some of them with you. The great news is that this was definitely the best MouseFest yet (practice makes perfect). Everyone we met was having a wonderful time, all the events went smoothly, and despite the largest turn-out yet, everyone was able to get up-close and personal with all the many notables in attendance. We had a great turn-out from the PassPorter community, and gave out oodles of our new "PassPorter Pal" cloisonné pins to folks we met carrying PassPorters and/or wearing PassPorter Pouches, pins, buttons, lanyards... or attending PassPorter-hosted meets.

While we have so many people to thank -- the many communities, web sites, authors, podcasters, sponsors, and exhibitors who put so much time into making this event a huge success -- we want to make special notice here of several members of the PassPorter community who made a special mark. First and foremost, we want to thank this newsletter's editor, Sara Varney, who put in sterling service as Volunteer Coordinator for the Mega Mouse Meet. PassPorter Guide Debbie Wright (Debe) not only thought-up and hosted the first annual Christmas Ornament Exchange, she also made stained glass ornaments for each person that attended! LauraBelle Hime volunteered her time as a greeter during Mega Mouse Meet. And finally, special thanks to PassPorter Guide Carol Ray (ripkensnana), who volunteered to slip each day's MouseFest Navigator under the doors of MouseFest cruisers and manned the PassPorter table to help answer questions about PassPorter and the PassPorter community. Our thanks to all!

4. We were fortunate enough to be passing through Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom when a special preview showing of Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club opened up! See Dave's report of our sneak peek later in this newsletter!

In other happy news,  PassPorter Walt Disney World 2007 is in stock and orders from the PassPorter Store are shipping on the next business day. Place your order today at our online store. And don't forget to use the 20% off coupon code at the bottom of this issue of PassPorter News!

In this issue of the newsletter veteran contributor Cheryl Pendry takes us on a delightful tour of Oslo, Norway while and PassPorter Author Dave Marx gives you a taste of the new Monsters Inc Laugh Floor Comedy Club. Enjoy!

Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Authors
 

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  Travel Feature: 

Oslo, Norway
by Cheryl Pendry, Guest Contributor and PassPorter Message Board Guide

Norway is a country that Walt Disney World fans will already be familiar with from visits to Epcot's World Showcase and that's exactly where my fascination with Norway started.

As we walked around the pavilion on our honeymoon, marvelling at the beautiful replica buildings of a fishing village outside and enjoying Maelstrom with its journey into a world of trolls, Vikings, polar bears and oil exploration, I knew this was somewhere we had to visit.

Norway is a huge country, with so much to see. It stretches more than 1,000 miles from the Arctic circle, making it one of the largest countries in Europe. Bordered by the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and even the Arctic Sea; it's also home to breathtaking fjords, long and narrow ocean inlets that can be just as deep as the mountains surrounding them. They were created in the last Ice Age by glaciers that gouged out steep crevices in the landscape. When the ice finally receded, water burst in and filled the space left behind.

Of the four and a half million Norwegians, around 500,000 live in the capital city of Oslo towards the south end of the country, and that's where we decided to head. Apart from the height of winter, Oslo shares fairly similar temperatures with Britain, hitting highs in the summer that are into the 70's and getting up into the 50's in spring and autumn. Tempting though it was to go in mid-winter and see the Norway at its coldest, we opted for the height of summer and managed to hit a heat wave, which regularly saw temperatures up in the 90's. Wandering around Oslo in shorts was not an experience I ever thought we'd enjoy, but it was a very pleasant surprise!

One of the beauties of visiting Oslo in the summer is the daylight. Because it's so far north, it doesn't start to get dark until around 9pm at night and even in the early hours of the morning, it's never pitch black, which gives you lots of time to be out and about, getting all the photos you could ever want of the city.

There is certainly plenty to see, although much of it is outside the city itself. The two biggest attractions in Oslo are in Bygdoy, which means the inhabited island. It's across the harbour from Oslo and ferries take you there during the summer months, while a bus service runs year round. The place is home to the Vikingskipshuset (Viking Ship Museum), which is where you will be able to see some of the original Viking ships, dating from the ninth century, which have been excavated from farmland. These ships were used to transport the bodies of high-ranking Vikings on their last journey to the kingdom of the dead and it's amazing how much of these boats have been preserved. Considering that they're over 1,000 years old, about 90% of the Oseberg ship is still original wood!

Nearby is the Norsk Folkesmuseum, Europe's largest open-air museum, which celebrates Norwegian life. As you walk around this massive site, you'll see more than 150 buildings that have been reconstructed from all over Norway, showing you how life used to be in towns, farming and fishing communities. The most striking exhibit here is the Gol Stave Church, originally built in 1200 and is immediately familiar to Disney visitors, as this was the model for the Stave Church in Epcot's World Showcase.

To the north of the city is the striking Vigelandsparken, Oslo's largest park, named after the sculptor Gustav Vigeland and packed with 212 of his sculptures. It's a stunning sight and well worth the tram or train ride out there. Public transport in Oslo is not only reliable; it's also very easy to use.

In the city itself, star attractions include another part of Norwegian life from Epcot, Akershus castle. OK, so in Oslo, the Disney Princesses don't dine here, but you will be able to explore a castle that has a history of more than 700 years and is still used today for state functions. It also offers some breathtaking views across the harbour.

The City Hall (Radhuset) is also well worth a visit. It's where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented every December and although this was only opened in 1950, it's hard to remember that when you walk around, as it's so richly decorated. It's like stepping into a castle or a Royal residence.

Close by is the beautiful harbor-side development of Aker Brygge. But be warned -- this is Oslo and Norway's downfall. It's an exceptionally expensive country to visit. I had been warned by friends about how pricey food and drink would be and I thought they were joking. Unfortunately for us, they weren't. It's very difficult to eat cheaply here and any visitor needs to budget accordingly.

One other thing that should go into your budget is a cruise into the fjords. We took an evening cruise from Oslo, which included a seafood buffet, and within a few minutes of leaving Oslo harbour, it was as if we had entered another world -- peaceful and beautiful. By the end of the evening I could understand why so many cruise ships offer trips along the Norwegian fjords. It really is one of the world's most amazing sights.

There is so much to see and do in Oslo that it's hard to pack it all in. We had three days here and we came away feeling that wasn't quite enough time. But then again, it's a place that has a history dating back more than 1,000 years to the time of the Vikings, so perhaps it's no surprise that today it's a city packed with opportunities for visitors.


About the Author:
Cheryl and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to America and around Europe. They aim to visit a capital city of a different country every year and of the Scandinavian countries, have so far visited Oslo, Stockholm in Sweden and Helsinki in Finland.

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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. 

 



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Disney Feature: 

Sneak Peek at The Laugh Floor Comedy Club
by Dave Marx, PassPorter Author

Walt Disney World's newest attraction, The Laugh Floor Comedy Club at Magic Kingdom, is scheduled to open in early 2007. That doesn't stop folks from hoping to get a sneak peek at the attraction now (see our Updates). On our recently concluded visit to Walt Disney World for MouseFest, we learned that the show is in active rehearsal, and is occasionally opening for public "tests." Since MouseFest had wrapped up on Monday evening, we had scheduled one "off" day for ourselves on Tuesday before heading home, and because we wanted to spend that day in Magic Kingdom, we decided to swing through Tomorrowland to see if we might get a lucky look at Imagineering's latest.

Just how lucky were we? Soon after we arrived outside the theater (new signs for the attraction proclaim that it's coming soon) the doors opened and a throng of guests issued forth including, as it turned out, several old friends from the RADP online community. They gave us a brief, enthusiastic review of the new attraction, and someone managed to learn that another public test would take place in about 45 minutes! We took care of our rumbling tummies and returned about 35 minutes later, prepared to camp out on the doorstep. After about 15 minutes without a hint of activity, Jennifer headed off with Alexander and his Grandma Carolyn to try to get him a haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop on Main Street. I stayed behind, and about ten minutes later was rewarded for my sloth when the doors opened and Cast Members emerged to invite nearby guests to try out the attraction. A minute later my cell phone rang - Jennifer wanted an update. I told her I had just gone inside, and she must have had some help from Tinker Bell, because within a few minutes we were reunited in the pre-show area.

The Laugh Floor Comedy Club is based on Disney-Pixar's Monsters, Inc. Located in the same space occupied by Timekeeper in the Tomorrowland Metropolis Science Center, hosts Mike Wazowski and the always-sour Roz are on hand to generate the laughs that now power the city of Monstropolis. Mike introduces three would-be comedians (four, if you count heads, three if you count bodies), who take their turn trying to tickle our funny bones and fill the canister full of laugh energy. The attraction is the latest evolution of the concept found in Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot's The Seas with Nemo and Friends (and at Disney California Adventure's Disney Animation attraction).

The new show's pre-show area has been redecorated, but still resembles the pre-show area for Timekeeper. On the walls, in place of the technical diagrams of Nine-Eye and the time machine are technical diagrams that explain the laugh energy-capture process. A bulletin board on the left-hand wall includes reviews of past comedy acts (definitely take the time to read this). Video screens play animated messages that set the stage for the attraction, including an invitation to guests to "text" jokes to Mike and Roz via cell phone (text to 42319, start your text with MIKE or ROZ and include your name and hometown; normal text messaging charges apply). Your joke may not be included in the show you view (or at all). The guest-supplied jokes we heard came from people in places like Glendale (California), suggesting that Imagineers were submitting some or most of the "texted" jokes.

The theater doors opened, and we entered a totally-revamped theater. At the front of the theater is a large, central screen flanked by two smaller screens. In place of the level, seat-less Circlevision theater setup from Timekeeper, we found a traditional theater with a sloping floor and row upon row of bench-style seats facing the stage. The grating voice of Roz "encourages" guests to move all the way down to the end of the row. This is one case where nobody would dare disobey! The seats are less than comfy, made of plastic with no body-accommodating curves, just flat slab seat bottoms and seat backs with barely-rounded curves at the corners. The seat bottoms are also a bit higher than normal for no apparent reason, so your legs are more likely to dangle than stretch out. Perhaps it's just that monsters need slightly different seating than the humans that will be present for most shows?

Like Turtle Talk with Crush and the early prototype "Talk to Stitch" at Disneyland's Innoventions, the attraction is a combination of live performance and real-time, computer-generated animation. Live performers back stage provide the voices (two actors provide all six voices, according to our sources), and the on-screen movements of the computer-generated characters are influenced by the live performer's own actions, especially their lip movements (getting a computer-generated character to move its lips convincingly while an actor ad-libs dialog is no mean feat). As with Crush, a cast member circulates about the audience with a microphone and the characters on screen interview the guests. Another twist is added to this show, as there are now video cameras trained on the audience so we can see the guests being interviewed or otherwise incorporated into the act.

The show moves along briskly, with Mike Wazowski introducing comedy acts, Roz dropping them down a trap door if/when they bomb, and the acts themselves doing their best to get laughs. This is live comedy folks, and Disney has drawn upon its extensive experience with live, improvisational comedy to make things work. Cast members have been recruited from Pleasure Island's Adventurers Club and Comedy Warehouse, and no doubt from among the many "Streetmosphere" performers in the parks. Based on our preview, though, the cast has been given an especially tough job. The entire show runs about ten minutes, which is precious little time for any comedian to warm-up and amuse an audience. Clearly, Disney's show producers and writers recognize this. Following the show, an Imagineer came out and asked several questions regarding the various comedy acts - which did we like best, which needed the most work, etc. There was also a small army of Imagineers at the back of the theater throughout the show, taking notes.

All in all, I'm cautiously optimistic about this show. Yes, as with any live comedy show, there will be times when none of the jokes connect, and other times when folks will be rolling in the aisles. Speaking as a long-time fan of the Adventurers Club, where they've been putting on essentially the same show with only gradual evolutionary changes for many years, I'm sure Disney's cast members can pull it off. Repeat visitors will learn the show nearly by heart, and will savor the subtle and not-so-subtle changes that come with each new, live performance. I'm looking forward to seeing this again, the next time we're down at Walt Disney World!

About the Author: Dave Marx is the co-author of many PassPorter travel guides, including the bestselling, award-winning "PassPorter Walt Disney World."

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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.

 

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