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PassPorter News
News, Announcements, Updates, and Tips
* Happy Valentine's Day*
February 2003 - Issue 3.3
PassPorter.com -
http://www.passporter.com
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Welcome to PassPorter News, an online newsletter
about PassPorter travel guidebooks and the
Walt Disney World Resort!
PassPorter News is available by free subscription
to all readers and friends of our labor of love --
PassPorter Walt Disney World: The unique travel
guide, planner, organizer, journal, and keepsake!
Learn all about at:
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/about.htm
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In This Newsletter:
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* From the Authors: New PassPorters Are Shipping!
* Travel Feature: Luggage Tips and Reminders
* Disney Feature: The Making of PassPorter
* Updates: What's New and Changed at Walt Disney World
* Tips: Costumes, Highlighting, and Lost Passes
* Q&A: Priority Seating for Appetizers and Drinks
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DID YOU KNOW?
PassPorter now has its own collectible pin! We introduced our first, limited edition cloisonne pin just recently. It features our "hidden family" logo and says "World-Class Trip Planner" (that's you!) and "PassPorter 2003" around the perimeter. You can purchase them separately, or as a part of our Goodie Bag. Learn more and see the pin up close at:
http://www.passporter.com/online-store/enamelpin.htm
And don't forget that we're still giving away free bottle straps with every order! Our thanks to MouseEarVacations.com for making this possible for our readers!
Learn more and place an order at:
http://www.passporter.com/store/
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FROM THE AUTHORS: New PassPorters Are Shipping!
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Hi, friends!
Finally ... we get to say "the books arrived ahead of schedule!" That's right -- our new cruise guide, "PassPorter's Field Guide to the Disney Cruise Line," arrived five days before we expected it. So we're delighted to report that all of the new 2003 PassPorter editions have arrived and are now shipping!
If you pre-ordered a 2003 edition of PassPorter Walt Disney World, you should either have received it or received an e-mail notifying you of when your package was sent -- if you have not, please contact us. Those who pre-ordered the Disney Cruise Line guide should receive an e-mail before the weekend. New orders placed today will be shipped within a day or two! And some bookstores have already received their spiral editions of PassPorter Walt Disney World 2003 -- most notably Books-A-Million. It'll still be 1-3 weeks before bookstores get the other new editions.
This newsletter includes two articles -- one on luggage and packing tips, another on how we make (research, write, design, print, and distribute) PassPorter! While our PassPorter article isn't strictly a Disney feature, it does have lots of Disney in it! We hope you enjoy them!
Thanks,
Jennifer and Dave
PassPorter Travel Press
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TRAVEL FEATURE: Luggage Tips and Reminders
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by Dave Marx
Call it luggage; call it baggage -- suitcases, duffels, trunks, carryons, checkthroughs -- every traveler has bags to lug around. Here are some tips for happy toting, no matter where your journey leads.
Too many bags, or too few? The more items of luggage you have (and the smaller they are), the easier it is to lose track of one or more if them. On the other hand, if you jam everything into a couple of huge bags they'll be impossible to lift, and the loss of one bag could put a big dent in your vacation. Try to find a happy medium.
Carryon luggage. Even though your carryon may fit the scanner at the security checkpoint, it still may not fit in the overhead or under seat storage areas. Check with your airline before you fly for specific maximum dimensions -- some aircraft fit larger bags than others. You are usually allowed one carryon bag plus one personal item such as a purse or briefcase, and shopping bags do count towards your allowance. The Federal Aviation Agency has useful information on this and other related topics at
http://www2.faa.gov/index.cfm/apa/1079
Stowing strollers. Parents often ask about checking strollers before they fly. Strollers and infant carriers can be taken to the gate, and checked as you board the plane. The item(s) will be waiting for you when you disembark.
Visibility at the carousel. Sometimes it seems that everyone buys their luggage at the same store, and half a dozen people scramble for the same bag when it emerges at baggage claim. Distinctive luggage tags, stripes of colored adhesive tape, and/or colored baggage straps (available at all luggage stores) all help make your bags unmistakable.
Label your luggage inside and out. Every bag should have a luggage tag. The airline will supply a paper tag if you need it. Include some form of identification inside the bag, too, in case you lose the outer tag. You can make a personalized luggage tag at
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/luggagelog.htm
Checked baggage inspection. As we mentioned in a recent article, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) now inspects all checked airline luggage. In many cases, the luggage goes through a scanning device, but at some airports all luggage must be hand-inspected. The TSA asks that you not lock your bags, as the locks will be removed if they have to inspect your luggage by hand. If you just want to hold the zippers closed, even a simple twist-tie will work. To reduce the possibility of casual theft, buy plastic cable ties at the hardware store -- you'll need a stout scissors or clipper to open them, though (round-nosed scissors are now allowed in carryon luggage). To read more, visit the TSA's consumer web site, at
http://www.tsa.dot.gov/public/theme_home1.jsp
Split your contents between several bags. If you lose a bag, the airline usually returns it to you within 24 hours, but what happens if your cruise ship departs a few hours after you land? Divide your belongings between several bags, so if one bag is lost, everyone still has at least a few items to wear when your ship sails.
Create an inventory. Make a complete list of the contents of each bag and carry the list on your person as you travel. If a bag is lost or items are missing, the list will make a loss claim much easier. To be even safer, leave a copy of the list at home, too. You can also make a list of your luggage contents at
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/luggagelog.htm
Rolling; rolling; rolling. How did we travel before the days of wheeled luggage? A new set of wheeled bags may be one of your most savvy investments. Tall people should beware of short wheeled bags with short handles, though -- they can be murder on your back.
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DISNEY FEATURE: The Making of PassPorter: A "Text" Ed Course
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by Jennifer Watson
If you've been to Walt Disney World, you may remember Martin Short's friendly introduction to sex education in "The Making of Me" film in the Wonders of Life pavilion at Epcot. It's recently inspired me to tell our own story of how we make PassPorter. I don't have any cute graphics or highly paid actors to aid my story, but I hope you find my "text" educational (and insightful) anyway!
The Beginning: A new PassPorter begins the day the previous edition goes to press. (OK, maybe a few days later -- we usually collapse from exhaustion first.) Disney changes everyday, and so we begin compiling a list of changes for the new edition. Once the previous edition is actually published, we keep a copy of it on our desks to mark up with changes for our next edition -- simple but effective. We continue to monitor news, changes, and additions right up to the day we go to press with the new edition.
The Fresh DNA: Reader feedback and suggestions work like an infusion of fresh DNA -- it's the stuff of life for PassPorter. We read and review the registrations, surveys, e-mails, and message board posts regarding the previous edition to find out what our readers want to see added or changed in PassPorter. We also monitor the message boards for questions and issues we haven't addressed. Without feedback, and the ability to act upon it, PassPorter would be like so many other books that seem to exist in a vacuum, hermetically sealed from the reactions of the readers.
The Quest: We continually quest for new and updated information on each trip we take in the year leading up to the new edition. We carry PDAs on our trips, which we use to record the information and then synchronize with one of several databases that we designed. Two of the trips are usually designated specifically for our quest -- a trip with Allie (to get her fresh opinions, reactions, and tips) and a trip just before we go to press (to catch any last-minute changes). On each of these trips we're also snapping lots and lots of photos -- we take somewhere between 4000-5000 photos each year, primarily for research and some for possible publication.
The Moment of Creation: About nine months (surprise, surprise!) before the book is actually published, we create the electronic files for the new edition. The book files are created in Adobe PageMaker 7.0 on a Mac G4 Cube -- they tend to start out small, but then blossom up to 500 MB by the time we go to press. Photo files are created in Adobe Photoshop, and map files are created in Adobe Illustrator.
The First Three Months: Once the files are created, we go through all the text and identify those sections we want to expand and add. We make room for the new stuff by adding or reformatting pages, and/or clearing outdated items. This is also our most intense period of research.
The Second Three Months: This is when we move from collecting information to actually adding it to the book files -- our most intense period of creation. We will spend 8-12 hours a day, for weeks and weeks on end, writing new text, placing photos, rearranging things to fit, collecting tips and stories, etc. In the middle of the fifth month we finish with the bulk of the additions, and send it off to our expert review team for their comments and suggestions. While we wait for their reviews to come back, we create new covers (this year we even had readers vote on the cover they liked best -- we used the one they chose). We also use this time to work with other Disney-related services to create coupons for the back of the book. Once the reviews start coming in, we incorporate the changes and suggestions. At this point, we're in the middle of the sixth month, and the proofreading process is in the full swing. The text gets proofed about 4-5 times before we finally wrap it up.
The Third Three Months: This is mostly a lot of wait, wait, wait. This period kicks off when we put all the book files onto a CD and FedEx it to the printer in Hong Kong. Then we wait for our pre-press "bluelines" (proofs) to arrive for checking. If there are pre-press mistakes, we send in the corrections and wait again for more proofs. Once the final approval is given, it's up to the printer to print... (wait) ... assemble... (wait) ... package... (wait) ... and deliver (wait wait wait) ... the books. While we're waiting, we're taking lots of pre-orders from individuals and bookstores, and working with our publicist to get the word out. This is also when we send out announcement postcards to those readers who requested one, and put up the free pages to download off the Web site. And this year, we were working on our new cruise guide during this time as well.
The Arrival of a New Bundle of Joy: And what a bundle it is ... this year our Walt Disney World guidebooks arrived at our warehouse on over 20 pallets, each weighing over 1000 pounds. As soon as we receive word that they've arrived, we check the condition of the books. Of course, we have to stop a moment to ooh and ahh over the new book, too!
Of course, the REAL work begins once the books arrive. First, we have thousands of pre-orders to fill in a matter of days. While we don't do most of the packing (can you even imagine?), we do need to tell the warehouse what to pack and where it goes, and we do send out some time-sensitive packages from the office. New orders are streaming in now, too, and the books need to be promoted through radio interviews, magazine and newspaper articles, and so on. The Web site needs updating, the trade shows need attending, the bookstores need contacting -- the list is endless. And, of course, the whole cycle is beginning again ... there's always another new book (or two or three) on the horizon for us!
Yet, in the midst of all this, it's nice to just pick up a book, admire it, appreciate the smell of the ink and paper, and feel good about our "little" creation. What was it Walt said? "I hope we never lose sight of one thing ... that it was all started by a mouse." And in our case, it was all started by a mouse and a little text.
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UPDATES: What's New and Changed
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Tapestry of Dreams -- Epcot's Tapestry of Dreams Parade will take its last steps on March 1. This popular parade was a revised version of the Tapestry of Nations Parade that debuted in 1999 as part of Disney's Millennium Celebration. There's no official word of a replacement at this time. However, during a recent interview in the New York Times, Anne Hamburger, Disney's executive in charge of theme park entertainment, did mention that a new parade was in development.
New Poly Luau -- The long-running Polynesian Luau Dinner Show at the Polynesian Resort is emerging from its recent hiatus with a revamped show and revised menu. The show will run on a limited schedule starting February 19, with a return to its full schedule the following week, on February 25.
Renamed "Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show," the show begins, as always, when guests gather on the lush grounds outside the Luau Cove dinner theater. "Aunt Wini" will then invite everyone inside for "a celebration featuring the music and dances of the cultures of Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand and Hawaii."
Guests will feast on an all-you-care-to-eat menu that includes coconut pineapple bread, salad, Lanai roast chicken, barbecued pork ribs, Polynesian rice, fresh veggies, and a new, "Volcano" dessert. A children's menu with popular kid favorites will also be offered. Soft drinks are included for all. Beer and house wine will be included for the adults. Specialty drinks will be extra.
Pricing and show schedules are unchanged. Dinner is $49.01 for adults, and $24.81 for children 3-11. Shows are held Tuesday through Saturday, at 5:15 and 8:00 pm. Reservations at 407-WDW-DINE (407-939-3463).
From the information currently available, it's hard to tell just how "new" the new Luau will be -- the description provided by Disney could just as easily have applied to the old show. We'll just have to see for ourselves!
(Our thanks to All Ears Newsletter for alerting us to this news. Be sure to subscribe to their excellent newsletter at
http://www.allearsnet.com)
>Things To Do: Hear some news? Send it to us at
news@passporter.com.
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DISNEY TIPS FROM FELLOW READERS
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DRESS UP FOR THE PARKS
Let your child wear a costume to the parks. Our almost 4-year-old son wore his pirate costume and received a lot of special attention (also helped that we had on our PassPorter name badges -- he was often called by name and we were often asked what the pins meant). He had much fun playing with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. He was also given a 'magical moment' in Tinkerbell's Treasures shop when a cast member asked him to wake up Tinkerbell by tapping on her box with a sword. We loved the extra "pixie dust" my son received because he was a little pirate!" -- contributed by Candace H.
HIGHLIGHT YOUR INTERESTS
"My husband and I are taking turns going through the PassPorter. I use one color highlighter, and he uses another. That way we can see what each other is most interested in and saves long discussions later [Like: 'I didn't realize you were so interested in (you name it!). Why didn't you tell me?']. Remember you are here for fun, not headaches. Keep in mind that everything is not going to be perfect, you CANNOT do it all. Also remember why you came here -- to make special memories with your loved ones!" -- contributed by Jennifer S.
FINDING YOUR LOST PASS
"If you lose your park hopper pass while in the park, go directly to Guest Relations at the park's entrance. We lost a pass while riding Test Track. In a panic we rushed to Guest Relations -- the pass made it there before we did!" -- contributed by Jean Alexander (alexjaj@aol.com)
>Notes: Send us your tips! You may see them in this newsletter and win a copy of PassPorter! Visit:
http://www.passporter.com/customs/contest.htm
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Q &A WITH JENNIFER & DAVE
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In this column we answer your frequently asked PassPorter and Disney questions.
Ariel1966 asks:
"Is it 'fair' or frowned upon to make priority seating for table service places in Epcot if we only want to get a quick appetizer and drinks?"
Dave replies:
"Get the priority seating and don't worry about it. There's no need to divulge your plan when you make the priority seating - they don't assign tables then, you're just put on the list. At some restaurants it does help to tell the folks at the podium, as they may have some seating alternatives that could make sense for your lighter meal (lounge seating at California Grill, counter seating at Jiko, etc.) It's always courteous to let your host/hostess know, and to advise your server as soon as you're greeted.
You should not be discriminated against for your lighter meal. Your table will turn-over much faster, so on an hourly basis your server will probably do just as well, and should be just as courteous to you as anyone else. If not, you have every right to complain."
>Send us your questions about PassPorter, Walt Disney World, and Disney Cruise Line and we'll do our best to answer them!
E-mail:
questions@passporter.com
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