Budget Travel reports a surprising development at Walt Disney World. Something free from Disney? Cool.
For the last few years, Walt Disney World has offered free dining plans in September to entice visitors during a notoriously slow month. Well, Disney announced yesterday that the Disney Dining Plan will once again be offered free with select vacation packages. If you stay at one of Disney’s “value” or “moderate” category resorts—or at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa—between Aug. 24 and Sept. 20, 2008, and you book a 5-night “Magic Your Way” package (at a starting price of about $1,300 for a family of four), then they’ll throw in the dining plan for free. The plan ordinarily costs $38 per day per adult.
It seems like each day when I open my news reader, newspaper or email I see more information about additional fees that the airlines are charging their customers. Rarely this this a change in the ticket price itself. All of these fees are also additional to the taxes and airport fees that get added onto a ticket. When all is said and done a $300 airline ticket can easily cost $450.
Air Canada said passengers who opt to pay an additional $25 one-way on short-haul flights and an extra $35 one-way on long-haul routes within North America will receive “speedy” access to “specially-trained” customer service agents who will help rebook flights on Air Canada or other airlines, as well as pay for hotel stays and meals, if necessary.
Delta matched earlier moves by United and USAirways to charge $25 for a second checked bag. This fee ” will not apply to first-class or business-class customers or members of Delta’s frequent-flier program who log at least 25,000 qualifying miles of travel per year.”
JetBlue also announced a fee for seats with more legroom, a practice used by United for many years.
Delta Airlines boosted its unaccompanied-minor fee — the charge to transport a child between the ages of 5-14 flying alone — from $50 to $100 each way on a nonstop flight, the same it has been charging for connecting flights.
Frequent fliers will be charged a $25 “handling fee” for award tickets booked over the phone with a Delta representative that include a segment on a partner airline, such as Alaska or Northwest. That’s on top of an increase from $20 to $25 for booking any type of ticket on the telephone.
Delta, based in Atlanta, also said it will boost the charge from $75 to $100 for taking a pet in the cabin, and will raise the cost of taking an oversized bag from $100 to $150.
Northwest’s fee for children traveling alone on connecting flights also goes up to $100 for tickets issued after today.
Part of what is starting to drive passengers crazy is the unpredictable nature of the fees. My boss and another co-worker recently took a weekend trip from London to Estonia. There was no extra fee for luggage on the way to Estonia but $300 in fees for the return flight which was more than the cost of the tickets.
In these days of rising jet fuel we have seen ATA and Aloha airlines cease flights recently and Alitalia is reported to be close behind them. Fees like this are likely to continue to increase until passengers start complaining or more importantly traveling less. So what can you do?
Pack lighter
Pack your lunch
Dress warmer (you may not have a blanket and it takes bulkier clothes out of your luggage
Pack your own headset
Don’t call the airline if you can use their website instead
Aloha Airlines, the Hawaiian inter-island carrier, has stopped all flights and is going out of business. The airline is a victim of the rising price of jet fuel and a fierce price war. Hawaiian Airlines willaccommodate passengers who already hold tickets on Aloha Airlines, but only through tomorrow. Both Aloha and Hawaiian Air have been posting losses since the launch in 2006 of discount airline Go!.
When a friend was in town recently and we drove up to San Francisco. When we strolled around Chinatown we stopped at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. Now factory may bring up the wrong picture in your head. This small business located off an alley in Chinatown is not for the claustrophobic. It has room for two fortune cookie making stations, a woman who takes the money for cookies or pictures (taking a picture costs $1) and about 6 customers. It is interesting watching the process of the cookies being made. A machine creates and backs a series of circular cookies. A worker then grabs a fortune and folds the still warm cookie over a metal bar.
The factory is between Grant and Stockton. Grant Avenue is where most people go to in Chinatown, but the heart of the real Chinatown is a block to the west on Stockton Street. On Stockton you will find food markets selling live turtles, live fish, and vegetables that you might not normally see at your local corner grocery. So next time you are in Chinatown get off the beaten path. Try a fresh cookie or a bean pastry filled pasty from a local bakery. We all enjoyed the experience although there were some differences of opinion between my wife and I about how how good a fortune “a new pair of shoes will do you a world of good” is.
This week Motel 6, an economy hotel chain in the United States, announced a its first new prototype property in twelve years.
“We are excited to have received such positive reactions from our customers about the “Phoenix” design, and are confident that our future guests will also appreciate the fresh, modern design look and welcoming appeal of the new rooms,” said Olivier Poirot, CEO of Motel 6 and Studio 6.
Phoenix prototype include a new building exterior designed by BOKA Powell, a spacious lobby with a new 24-hour food and beverage vending market place, and a modern (Pictures) guestroom design that features bright accent colors. The room includes ambient lighting, wood-effect flooring rather than carpet, and a 32-inch flat-screen TV. The flat screen TV is displayed on the entertainment unit which conceals the door-less wardrobe behind it, thus combining two needs into one unit. Also included on the entertainment unit is a cubby for personal items and a multi-media panel allowing guests to plug in their mp3 players, CD players and laptop computers – this feature allows guests to listen to their favorite tunes or use the flat-screen TV as their computer monitor while enjoying Wi-Fi internet access in their room. The room also features pedestal beds with a new taupe-colored coverlet and pillow-top platform mattress. Guests will also notice the clean style and the upscale touch of the colored bed scarf that matches the accent wall color.
The United States is opening a new website which is the “Official Travel and Tourism Website of the United States.” The site, which is set to go live some times this month, will provide information on U.S. destinations, attractions, and official travel information.
Although before the site opens those in charge may want to consult a map of California, because last i checked Monterey is not north of San Francisco, nor is Anaheim north of Los Angeles.
One of the things that I have always liked about the Hilo side of the big island of Hawaii is that it gets more rain so it is more lush than the Kona side of the island. Unfortunately, Hilo has apparently been getting quite a lot of rain recently as is evident from this video.
Odd things have been know to happen in New York Subway trains, but I’ll bet you never expected this. According to a story in the Gothamist:
In March, four limber women took to the subway in a quest to win $10,000 from DareJunkies.com. The website offered the prize to the best public pole dance. The video features Laura Lee Anderson, Jessica Wu, Marissa Lupp, Isis Masoud, and regular subway riders as the four grind their way to the $10,000 prize. The scantily clad women were hogging the poles for twirls and using the overhead handles for other dance tricks - one of them even did a split on the subway floor! While there was at least one rider unhappy with the stunt, several other riders seem pleased with the dancing, especially one male rider who received a lap dance. Some riders even missed their stops by six stations to continue watching the show!
The funniest moment in the video is the two guys who (who sound like British tourists) who missed their stop because they did not want to miss the end of the show.
The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the United States. It is the earliest standing brick building in Boston. For more then 250 years it has stood sturdily on Union Street as a major local landmark. In 1742 the building housed importer Hopestill Capen ’s fancy dress goods business, known colorfully as “At the Sign of the Cornfields.” In 1771, from this site the painter Isaiah Thomas published his newspaper “The Massachusetts Spy,” long known as the oldest newspaper in the United States. In 1775 Capesn ’s silk and dry Goods store became headquarters fro Ebenezer Handcock, and Federal Troops received their “War Wages” in this official pay station. In 1796 the future King of France, Louis Philippe, lived on the second floor. Exiled from his country, he earned his living by teaching French to many of Boston ’s fashionable young ladies. 1862 marked the end of Capesn ’s silk and dry Goods store and the beginning of Atwood and Bacon’s establishment. The new owners installed the now world renowned semi-circular Oyster Bar where Daniel Webster was a constant customer. Another first for the Union Oyster House is it has the honor of being the first place in the United States that a tooth pick was used. Enterprising Charles Foster of Maine imported the picks from South America. To promote his new business, he hired Harvard boys to dine at the Oyster House and ask for toothpicks. President Kennedy and other members of his family have dined at the Oyster house for years. J.F.K. favorite spot was a booth in the upstairs dinning room. This booth has been dedicated in his honor. In 2003 the Union Oyster House was designated a National Historic landmark. This is a double designation. Not only is it the oldest continually operated restaurant in the United States, it is also the earliest standing brick building in Boston’s Georgian architecture. Read the rest of this entry »
Aloha Airlines, the Hawaiian inter-island carrier, has stopped all flights and is going out of business. The airline is a victim of the rising price of jet fuel and a fierce price war. Hawaiian Airlines will
When a friend was in town recently and we drove up to San Francisco. When we strolled around Chinatown we stopped at the 
The United States is opening a new website which is the “Official Travel and Tourism Website of the United States.” The site, which is set to go live some times this month, will provide information on U.S. destinations, attractions, and official travel information.
