You get off the Plane at Orlando International Airport ready to start your week long mical Disney Vacation. You gather the bags.

What is your next step in your vacation? A rental car, a taxi?

Well they are both good choices, but ...

Rental Cars, you drive enough at home and you have to get one that fit the entire family. Plus navigating to and from Disney world. Plus you drive to your onsite Disney Hotel and park the Rental Car for a week. So now your paying hundreds of dollars to pak a car for a week.

A Taxi, to and from the airport, probably $60 maybe more. A little less than the cost of a rental car.

But what about FREE. Free is a great word, and when there are no string attached, free is even better.

Magical Express is just that, Free with no strings attached.

Just stay on Disney property, and when your booking your hotel, or your entire vacation package ask for Magical Express. Your agent will give Disney your flight information. You then get cool Magical Express luggage tags. And when you land, Disney will take your luggage for you to your room (this process does take time). You do not even have to carry your bags. A really cool bus will then take you to your hotel. And when your vacation is over (yes this is the sad part) Disney will take you and your luggage back to the airport.

Simple, fast, superb service. All for FREE.

Now you cannot beat that

Well the long wait is almost over. The Disney Dream is being built right now as we read, and a new announcement the other day gave us a teaser of some of the features the Dream will have when she sails.

How about the First Ever Ship-board water coaster.

Or maybe the Virtual Porthole, all inside staterooms offer a "window" to the world with a real-time view outside the ship using high-definition cameras. Observe the view, or glimpse a magical surprise: animated characters like Mickey Mouse may pop by the Virtual Porthole.

Living Characters - In youth spaces, Disney Characters come to life and interact with children in one-of-a-kind experiences. Crush, the animated sea turtle from the Disney•Pixar motion picture "Finding Nemo," or the mischievous animated alien Stitch make scheduled appearances to chat, play and joke with kids in live, unrehearsed conversations.

And there is a lot more.

I do not know about you, but I cannot wait.

Keep checking back for more.

Dos that get your attention, it should.

Disney has started this trend this year giving away free nights when you but a vacation with them. And it is a really good deal.

This summer Disney introduced a buy 4 get three free. This Disney deal was so popular, Disney had to increase park hours for a few weeks at most of the Florida Parks due to the parks reaching capacity.

For Fall/Winter the deals keep on coming with a new promotion.

7 for 4 Promotion
Buy a non-discounted Walt Disney Travel Company 4-night, 4-day Walt Disney World® Resort room and ticket package at select Disney Moderate, Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resorts, they’ll get three more nights with tickets FREE.

Or on-discounted Walt Disney Travel Company 5-night, 5-day Walt Disney World Resort room and ticket package at select Disney Value Resorts, they’ll get two more nights with tickets FREE.

These Magic Your Way Packages include accommodations for seven nights and a 7-day Magic Your Way Base Ticket.

Booking Window:
Now through Dec. 20, 2009

Travel Window:
This offer is available for stays most nights:

• Nov. 1-24, 2009
• Dec. 8-24, 2009
• Jan. 3 – March 27, 2010

Sample Pricing:

• $1,628 for a family of four (2 adults, 1 junior, 1 child) staying at a select Disney Moderate Resort in a standard room for stays most nights Jan. 3 – Feb. 11, 2010. That’s like paying $59 per person, per day.
• $1,441 for a family of four (2 adults, 1 junior, 1 child) staying at a select Disney Value Resort in a standard room for stays most nights Jan. 3 – Feb. 11, 2010. That’s like paying $52 per person, per day.

As you can see Disney wants you to come to the parks this winter. And they are willing to give you free nights to do so.

Plus the Holidays are one of the most magical times at the parks.

For more information, email me at bonbontravel@bellsouth.net

Happy Travels.

OK the last time I saw Fantasmic was roughly 6 years ago.

My daughter was 2 and she started crying in the middle and we had to leave. So this was my truely first real show.

The Hollywood Hills Amphitheater, holds a lot of people. I though it would be ok to line up 1 hours before show time but I was wrong. The line at 1 hour before showtime stretched all the was back to the villians shop and more and more people were showing up all of the time.

They let us in 45 minutes prior to show time and it took all 45 minutes to fill the stadium. It was a steamy hot Florida night and after a few Crowd waves rolls, the lights dimmed and we were off.

Now there is bathrooms and consessions in the stadium, along with roaming vendors so if your hungry, thirsty or need to potty (sorry I am a dad after all) wait till you get into the stadium and get settled. Then one person watch the seats while the other goes off. Also bring the DS's or something for the litle ones to do. Sitting for almost an our looking at a dark rock formation is not fun.

I will not go into much of the story because of spoilers, but safe to say it does not disapoint. Fantasmic is worth the hassle and the wait. Princesses, the Fab Five, and a host of other Disney Characters and Villians make appearances. Heck this is Mickey's imagination so you never know who is going to show up.

Fantasmic only runs a few times a week. So check www.waltdisneyworld.com calendar section for what nights it is on and plan accordingly.

Make me a friend on Facebook.

Let me plan your next Disney Vacation. As a grad of the College of Disney Knowledge and a Disney Fanatic of over 15 years, let me knowledge of Orlando make your next vacation special.

Email me for more information.

First, I want to express my sympathy to the family of the Cast Member that was killed in the July 5th Monorail accident.

Next I want to say that this accident is nothing more than that, a freak accident and not a reflection on the Monorail system as a whole. The Walt Disney Monorail System has been running 365 days a year, some days up to 20 hours a day for the past 38 years. This was not the first accident and it probably will not be the last. The accident should in no way discourage Park Guests from using this amazing mode of transport.

It really is the safest most efficient way to get around the parks. And many Disney Fans (my self included) have been dreaming of new Monorail spurs that go to Disney's Hollywood Studios and to Animal Kingdom for years. The bus system is great. And the Monorail system is more efficient, greener (it is electric) and has a greater capacity.

The accident brought down the monorail system for most of Monday. I think it reopened at 3 p.m. The entire time it was closed Disney had to use buses to move people around seven seas lagoon and from the Magic Kingdom to Epcot. And I can tell you from what I have read that it was a nightmare.

So please, do not let this discourage you from using the Monorail System. Disney is looking into what went wrong and I assure you that they will find the problem and fix it.

Lets start to plan your next Disney Vacation, email me at bonbontravel@bellsouth.net, ask me how to get free Dining during your next stay.

Continuing my Blogs about my past Cruise on the Carnival Liberty I will now talk about the food.

There are four basic ways to eat on the ship.
1) The Main Dining room, split into two separate dining areas Gold and Silver.
2) Emile's, Lido Deck buffet area. Four separate buffet lines, plus three extra stations, plus a dessert station.
3) Room Service
4) The Pizza Station, Burrito Bar, Deli Sandwich shop.

First the main dining rooms. We only ate in the main dining rooms for Diner. And each meal was great. They offer the usual cruise menu of appetizers, salads, soup (one cold one hot) main entrees including beef, fish, chicken, vegitarian. They also offer their Carnival Classics, a set menu that is always available. A steak, a pasta. a fish. The menu for the week ranged from Coq au Vin to Prime Rib twice to Lobster. With pastas dishes each night that were real tasty (this is comming from an Italian that is picky about his pasta). There was only a Ceazar salad offered, this is bad because I would have liked a normal salad onece or twice. The soups were real tasty and flavorfull. Carnival is not shy about stretching its culinary wings and getting creative with the spices. Some Cruise lines might not put the spice in their dishes fearin that people will not like it, but not Carnival. And to this I tip my hat at them. The desserts, they only offered two different choices (plus the usual ice cream fare) each night. And they were all great.

Room service, we did not spend much time in the room. So the only time I had room service was for my morning coffee, which was always prompt and hot.

The Lido deck, has great food also. Breakfast had the standard fare each morning, with some twists. Like differently prepared breakfast potatoes and a carving station with fresh ham three timees on the cruise. There is also two omlett stations, but they were always busy so I did not partake. Lunch always had a theme, French, Italian, Indian. And aside from salads and lunchmeats there was five dishes presented in this theme each day, plus a carving station and desserts There is also a stirfry station (the omlett station) and this was also tasty. There is a place called Fish and Chips, but it is upstairs on deck 10 and real out of the way, so I did not visit it.

The last is the pizza bar which is always open and has fresh hot pizza all day. A grill that serves hamburgers, fries and nachos poolside. A Burriot bar where they will fill a wrap with whatever you want. And the Deli that has fresh hot and cold sandwiches. And they also have a Suchi bar on deck 5 open also.

Overall I was real pleased with the food. Very constitant and good. If you have bland taste buds you might want to watch what you eat. But if you like flavorfull food , you will be in for a treat.

No I do not mean we should all go to Rio. But that would be cool.

I am talking about Carnival Cruise Lines.

It is weird that this is my first Carnival Cruise. Living 1 hour from the number two and number one ports in the world you think that I would have gone on a Carnival Cruise before. I just never had the opportunity.

Well let me say that I am hooked. The Carnival Cruise Line experience was am amazing one. Now not all of the cruise was good there were some faults. And I will address some of those in the future posts.

But for now let me say that The Carnival Liberty is a great Ship, with one of the best Crews I have seen in a long while. The food was excellent and the party non-stop.

I ust read a trip report from a guy that just got back from Walt Disney World. He was saying how Future world looks dead, all of these walls everywhere. Well with Space mountain down till Christmas, and the TTA out too, there is two big attractions gone from this busy section of the park.

Here is some advice on how to plan your stay so that you do not miss those special attractions.

1) The Internet. Surf on over to www.WDWmagic.com; or www.wdwnt.com, both of these sites have great, extensive forums about all things Disney. From trip reports, to rumors to ride rehab dates. Sometimes you will even find the dates to a rehab that has not been announced yet. Regulars to the parks, cast members and people who know people who know people, frequent these sites and are willing to share all the news they can muster.

2) The Disney Website, lists all of the current ride rehabs, on the web pages of the parks. This way you can see what is open and what is closed right now.

3) Call Disney (407-WDISNEY). The people on the phone will be happy to ewither get you the information or get you to someone who knows.

Remember it is not the end of the world if a ride is down for rehab. Or if a ride you think was going to be open isn't. Just smile, your in Orlando and move on to the next ride. Disney is not going to close down to much at any one time. So while Space Mountainan the TTA seem like a lot thats closed in Tomorrowland. You still have Buzz, the Carosel of Progress, Tommorowland Speedway, Monsters Inc, and Stitch.


Just have fun.

No this is not some political rally, it is a cute little way to tell you all that change is coming or has already came.

Wat I am talking about is my website www.bonbontravel.com.

I have recently changed host agencies, and the new company I am with (along with being a great bunch of guys and gals) affords me more tols in which to sell great travel to everyone. They have given me the ability to on the fly send out quotes and get pricing for anything and from anyone. And I could not be happier.

It has taken me some time to make the change, but everything is finalized and I am back in business. So you should be hearing a lot from me in the coming weeks.

So if you have a few seconds take a click on over to www.bonbontravel.com and see the new digs.


As always I can be reached at bonbontravel@bellsouth.net.

Now lets get out there and roam a bit.

I love to cruise, and Princess Cruise lines knows it.

They send me all of these amazing emails and tempt me to spend my every last dime cruising.

I just received the 2010-2011 Exotics overview and there are some real great cruises here.

• TAHITI & HAWAII. An extended season of sailings in Tahiti and Polynesia onboard Royal Princess, with cruises available from September to April, including the popular 10-day Tahiti & Polynesia cruise and our 12-day Hawaii & Tahiti itineraries. Plus, the 14-day Hawaiian Islands cruise returns, sailing roundtrip from Los Angeles onboard Golden Princess

• ASIA. Diamond Princess and Ocean Princess® return, featuring two new Ocean Princess itineraries, plus new ports on the 16-day South China Sea sailing over the holidays – including Manila, Philippines and Xiamen, China.
• WORLD CRUISE. New routing for the 2011 World Cruise, a 107-day voyage sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome and visiting exotic locales like Bali, Bangkok, Dubai and Mozambique, as well as Togo, Ghana and Senegal.

• SOUTH AMERICA. Popular cruises return, including our thrilling small-ship Amazon voyages on Pacific Princess, and the newly renovated Star Princess sails Cape Horn and Antarctica.

• AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND. Three ships visit Australia & New Zealand in 2010-2011, offering several opportunities to explore the region with sailings between 12 and 28 days.

• CANADA & NEW ENGLAND. Caribbean Princess and Crown Princess return for Fall 2010 sailings to Canada & New England spanning 7-13 days.

• THE 2-DAY EXPERIENCE. Princess' signature 2-day Experience on three itineraries including the World Cruise cities of Hong Kong, Sydney and Cape Town.

• CRUISETOURS Eleven cruisetours – providing in-depth land and sea vacations throughout all regions.

As you can see they sail to some pretty amazing places. And most of these itineraries and on Princesses small ships. Smaller more intimate settings that make you feel like your a king. I personally would love to do the 107 day world voyage.

Email me and lets see if one of these cruises is right for you.

My daughter, wife and I went to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral today. I have not been in like 12 years and a lot has changed.

For one the visitors center is huge now, with lots of shows and activities. Like the New Shuttle Launch Experience. It is a simulator of a Shuttle launch. Really well done. Now you might be thinking that it was scary. But not so much, it was more Star Tours than Mission Space. Really there are no G-Forces, a little but not to many. Mission Space with its 4 G's is way more intense. But This sim was not designed to knock your socks off, it was designed to teach you about the Shuttle and how it works.

Also they have a bunch of show as, like a Robot Show Showcasing the Mars Lander and other robotic that NASA is developing.

We also saw an astronaut, who was on 2 Shuttle missions and was on hand for a lecture, autographs, photos and questions.

There is also the bus tour. Now if you have been to KSC in the past, you might rewcall that the bus tour was this three hour tour that took you all around the facilities. The tour showed you many things that NASA was working on. Now the bus tour shuttles you from the Visitors Center, to three stops. With a little naration along the way.

The first stop is a gangway that over looks the two Shuttle launch pads. Since there is a launch in a few weeks we got to see a shuttle on the pad which is cool. Gift shop, cafe, small museum.

The second stops is the Saturn V rocket. The largest rocket in the world. The one that took all those Appolo missions up to space. It is in this huge hangar with lots of interesting displays around it. A lunar lander, the lunar rover, and others. Gift Shop Cafe ...

The last stop I did not have time for, is the Space Station Processing Center. This is supposed to be the place that they get all of the components for the Space Station ready. And you can see the people working.

Over all a wonderfull experience. And only an hour or so from Disney, so if you have an extra day give it a whirl. But one word of caution. This is a men/boys place. You see I went with my daughters girl scout troop. And the girls lost interest every step of the way. Science and space do not mix with little girls. So if your little ones are not interested in rockets and space, be prepared to have a lot of whining and not to much interest.

The Alaskan Season is about the begin. Many of the sailings are close to being full as we speak.

One travel reporter I read this week said, "If unemployment if 8% nationwide, that means 92% of the nation is working and ready to travel."

But that might not be the case with you or your family. So why not look to next year.

A job will come, there will be light at the end of the tunnel, It always is. So unless you see four horsemen riding past your home, things will get better. So lets look to next year.

Many of the cruise lines have begun releasing their 2010 line up. They have added a bunch of interesting things. New ships, new routes, new fun for all.

So if your like my family and like to shop around and do a little planning, look to next year. Take some time to look at the different offerings around the seven seas. You will be surprised.


Drop me an email at bonbontravel@bellsouth.net, and lets start a little chatter about where you like to go and what you like to do. Maybe, just maybe I can help you plan that "end of the recession" magical cruise you deserve. And just think, you will get the best choice of cabins, and ships if you put a deposit early, and you will have a year to save for the rest of the trip.

The Sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that .... you know the rest

I love Disney, and 10 yeas ago when the Disney Wonder and Magic cruise ships debuted I had to go.

Well I have been back several times and have to say that The Disney wonder is an amazing ship.

Well it is sad to see her go.

No she is not going far, just over to the West Coast. Los Angeles to be exact. A new 2 year deals with a three year extension has been signed and the Wonder will be sailing out of the Port of Los Angeles. The exact times and itineraries have not been released yet, but I an sure you will see 3, 4 and 7 day cruises.

Now do not be sad, this is not happening till 2011, and guess what, we here on the East Coast will be getting a NEW Disney Cruise line ship here. With another one comming in 2012.

It is a fun time to love Cruising.

Email me for more information, or to begin your vacation exploration: bonbontravel@bellsouth.net.

Buy a 5-night, 6 day non-discounted vacation package at any of that U.S. Disney parks and get the Dining plan for free.

You package must include tickets and hotel.

For more information, please email me: bonbontravel@bellsouth.net

Happy 50th Birthday Alaska.

Well, I am sure it is older than that, but it was just some land back before we took over.

In a month (May) Alaska season opens. And that means all of the cruise lines are sending their summer Alaskan ships up there for some sweet Alaskan cruising. And with the economy the way it is, there are deals to be had.


NCL, Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, they will all be up there.

Can you afford to miss all of the Hot Chocolate, drinkin, Gold Panning, Amazing Scenery viewing fun?

I make an effort to keep up with all of the deals coming down from the cruise companies. If you interested in, thinking about, or wanna book a trip, lets see if I can save you some money.

Trust me, I have been to Alaska three times so far, you do not want to miss it. And Cruising is the way to go.

Email me to get started: bonbontravel@bellsouth.net

No this is not some weird Shakesphere spin off. I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about cruises and balcony's.

I have bee wrestling with the idea or balcony's for some time. Some of my clients swear by them. They hate the inner confines of a ship and need to be able to open a glass door and step out into the salty ocean breeze.

Then there are people I know (me included) that do not spend that much time in the room to justify the extra cost of a balcony.

So lets take Princess Cruise Line for example. They are on the high end of the cruise line industry, boardering on luxury, while still being main stream. Great Cruise Line, one of my favorites.

Standard room on a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean $799
Balcony $1,299

A $500 per person difference. So a couple on this cruise has to pay $1,000 just for a window with a view.

Is it worth it? Well it is all a matter of personal taste. I went on an Alaskan repositioning cruise that left the Port of Los Angeles and before Alaska, stopped in San Fran. Let me say that going under the Goldenb Gate Bridge and having a balcony was great. But I could have walked up on deck and saw the same thing.

$1,000 is a lot of money, even when we are not in a recession. $1,000 could be your entire state room bill on the cruise. Or that bracelet you just have to have on that shore excursion.

So I guess what I am saying is take your time and think about, the Ship, the Desinations and what kind of Cruisers you are. If you like lounging in your room most of the time then spring for the Balcony, or the Suite even. If you do not like the confines of your state room, then grab a deck chair on the Lido deck and have fun. Both are great.

Email me and we can talk more about this, or if you want to plan your next vacation. Bonbontravel@bellsouth.net

Well after my last post about Disney Naming there two new ships I did some Travel Agent Digging. And it seems like there are a ton (bad pun there sorry) of new ships being built out there.

Disney has two ships coming before 2012
Holland America has a new ship planned for this year.
Royal Caribbean has there Oasis Class launching this year. The largest cruise ship in the world.

And there are plenty more to come. Wow so many choices. From Ice Skating to Fireworks at Sea to Intimate alternative dining, it is a great time to love cruising.

Email me and lets get started on your next vacation.

bonbontravel@bellsouth.net

No this is not a post about the Octuplets.

Disney yesterday has named the two ships they are building for an 2011 and 2012 release.

Welcome the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy. These two new ships will join their sisters the Magic and Wonder and bring the Disney fleet up to four amazing ships.

I have heard that Disney has some real innovative, fun things on deck (sorry for the pun) for these two. I cannot wait to sail on them.

2011 is shaping up to be one hell of a year. New ships, a new DCA, new rides in Orlando. WOW

Great, great names, good work Disney.

For more information see this article.

To book your next vacation, let me help, email me at bonbontravel@bellsouth.net.

Jambo! Welcome to Disney's fourth Central Florida gate Animal Kingdom.

At this huge, well designed park you will find what I think is the best attraction in the park, the Kilimanjaro Safaris.

You board huge jeeps for this 2 week trek into Harambe Reserve (well it really is only 30 minutes or so not two weeks, but we can imagine right). This ride is not on a track and not automated, your drive/tour guide/lion tamer actually drives the jeep trough this 100 acre attraction.

100 acres, you can fit the entire Magic Kingdom into the Kilimanjaro Safari with room to spare, that is how big this attraction is.

Your driver will point out various wildlife around every turn, from Rhinos, to Giraffes to Thomson Gazelle. All right there to for you to see. You pass by pride rock where you can steal a glimpse of the King and Queen of the jungle the Kopje Lions.

But there is a story in this ride also. The ranger of the Reserve is worried about poachers and needs your help finding them. Part of this ride will take you over rickety bridges, and zoomin g past pools filled with Crocks, and not to spoil it, but you save the day!

Do not miss this what ever you do. It is worth admission just to see this very well done attraction. You really feel like your in Africa, and you feel like the animals have the run of the place. But the only downfall is that the Lions are hard to see, because they spend 23 hours of the day sleeping. So ride it a few times and maybe you will get lucky. Many times people are just happy to see a tail wagging or a foot sticking up.

I know all of the discounts, and all of the ins and outs of Disney World, so let me help you plan your next Disney Vacation. Email me at bonbontravel@bellsouth.net, and lets plan a magical vacation for you.

I have to say to you all that I am sorry.

I have been so busy at work and have neglected this blog.

I have some amazing posts coming up so stay tuned.

Thank you,
Angelo

I know the economy is hanging over all of our head right now. But We should be thinking about our summer trips, before all of the good cabins, berths, hotel rooms are gone.

So lets get started.

Email me and together we can make a trip for you this summer that will not put a deent in your wallet.

I have to say that I have not seen Kim Possible in quite some time. My daughter loved her when she was 5-6, but her interest dropped off when the Show's time changed on Summer. We then started watching a little yellow sponge and have not looked back. But putting that aside, I have always thought that Kim Possible was well drawn, written and voice acted. She is a strong teen ager, a girl and a role model. Smart, funny, strong and talented. Just what girls need these days. Now she comes to Epcot Center.

You can search Google all you want and you will see a lot of Disney Fans putting this attraction down, why you say because they cannot stand Characters in Epcot. Epcot was supposed to be the park that Disney built, and also the one that they did not thrust all of the characters in your face all of the time. Circe 1985 till 1990 you could not find a Disney character in Epcot, except for a few meet and greets.

Times change. And Epcot is all about change isn't it. Things evolve and we have to embrace the change right?

I have to tell you that I heard the same Critisism about Epcot that we all did. It is boring, If I wanted to learn I would have gone to school on my vacation. Been there done that. I for one have always loved this park and will always love it. And The Kim Possible World Showcase Challenge entertains and teaches us, plus it uses state of the art tech, something Epcot is famous for.

So here is the deal. You go to a recruitment center, right now there is one in Inoventions, one on the Walkway from the Fountain of Nations to World Showcase. You go up to a screen and swipe you ticket. You will then get a fast pass like ticket that will tell you when and where to muster for your next mission.

You will then get a flip type cell phone and some instructions from a cast member. Then your off. The mission me and my daughter did was France. I think there is 8 in total right now (France, UK, Mexico, China, Germany, Norway, Italy, and Morroco). It is simple. The phone will come on and Wade (Kim's tech buddy) will tell you where to go, sometimes he will even give you a photo to where you should go. You go there and your phone will activate a set piece. Like an attenta will pop up out of a light in a window, or you see a monkey rise out of a lagoon. You figure out what is going on and how to complete your mission, there is a finale, usually something unique, and your done. Each mission can take from 20-30 minutes. You then drop the cell phone in cleverly discized drop boxes in the country your doing the mission in.

All in all it was fun and my daughter loved it. This is pure Disney Magic. An attraction that moves at your own pace, that you control, that you participate in. Not something you ride or shoot at, but something that you live (sort-of). Anything that gets kids interested in Epcot is good in my book.

So the next time your in Epcot, give Kim a chance, she will not disapoint.

Email me for more information or to book a fabulous Disney trip of your own. bonbontravel@bellsouth.net

I have to tell you something about my family. My wife, and I are both 6'2", so flying most airlines in coach is a drag. And our knees are battered even after the shortest of flights.

So while browsing the web today I found this article by Yahoo Travel about making Coach feel like first class. It has a lot of great tips in it from which seats to select to the best headphones. So before your next flight take a look.

Happy Travels.

www.BonBonTravel.com

Well a few hours ago we pulled back into our home after that 3 hour drive to Walt Disney world. We had a great time, light to moderate crowds, good weather, My best friends family came along and we had a lot of laughs ( I hope I did not bore them with to much Disney trivia).

A couple of highlights:
• Epcot's Kim Possible World Showcase Challenge, really cool you have to do this one.
• The World had a lot of construction walls up everywhere, and there are a lot of attractions getting some TLC. It is good to see WDI did not cut alot out of the budget due to the economy.
• Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside. These two sister properties in Walt Disney World are my favorites to stay at and I have not been there in some time. I just love the ambiance of the place.

There is a lot more I will be talking about so check back soon.

Plus, Disney has some drop dead great deals going on, from buy 4 get 3 free, to free gift cards for multiple night stays. You have to act quick and get some of these great deals. Email me at bonbontravel@bellsouth.net to find out more.

Congratulations to our New President.

For those of you who did not make it to Washington yesterday, do not worry. But you should get there some time soon. It is an amazing place. The Smithsonian, the Capital Building the White House, The Lincoln Memorial, they are all sights to be seen.

Remember that some of these attractions require advanced ticketing (The White House is usually booked up well in advance) so make your plans now. Spring in DC is amazing.

Get out there and Travel.

bonbontravel@bellsouth.net

Yes, I know what your saying "This guy is writing a travel blog about the cold and he lives in Ft Lauderdale!" Well your right, but I did do some research before my past New York trip and here is what I found out.

Layer. My wife up in NYC, had on thermal underwear under her jeans, boots, a shirt, a sweater, a double layered jacket, gloves and a hat. Now when we went into a store for any length of time, she could take off the gloves hat and jacket and still be warm, but not sweating. So you might have to pay extra for that second suitcase, but all of those layers will work out there in the cold.

Jackets. Go to Landsend.com they have a great assortment of jackets and fleece. Most of their products comewith a rating on hold cold it should be for you to wear the jacket. This is great so you do not buy to little or to much.

Know your locale. If your coming down to Florida, in Orlando you will find 50-60's, but just three hours south in Miami and Ft Lauderdale, you will find 70's and 80's. Check the weather sits and weather.com for historic temps.

Just play it safe if your going to a locale that your unfamiliar with. Poeple used to hot climates will be miserable in the cold weather without some planning.

Now go out there and have your self a chilly time. :)

www.bonbontravel.com

Manhattan is a big place. Vertically, horizontally, above ground and below. So you need to know a few things before you go for the first time or for a return trip. So this installment I have put together some tips to make your trip better.

1) A Book. Do yourself a favor and god to the book store and get a book. I choose Fodors "See It New York." It was a real good information source. Will you use everything in the book? No, but as long as when you flip though the book at the store and you find a good number of tips buy it. It is worth it for the maps alone.

2) Maps. Now a days these come in all shapes and sizes. From the standard fold out maps you can get anywhere. Or use your portable device (IPhone or Itouch) to have your maps always with you. Trust me, having an Iphone with you walking around is a great idea. From just fining your way around to finding a place to eat.

3) Bathrooms: I live in Boca Raton Florida. And around here there are plenty of Public Bathrooms. Anywhere you go you can find a clean bathroom. I can tell you that my family has NEVER waited to go to the bathroom around here, except at a Dolphin game. Well in New York here are no bathrooms. So keep a watchful eye open while your walking around. I have a 8 year old daughter, so it was real hard finding a restroom. And when we did it was usually a 20 minute wait. There were a few accidents, but it was not her fault. So to avoid any unpleasentries please watch for the bathrooms.

4) Weather. It seems that the weather could change on a dime. So keep an umbrella handy and in the winter layer.

5) Know the subway and bus system. Cabs can get expensive, and the subways are real efficient and fast. But all of the different lines and stops can get confusing, for us non New yorkers.

New York was real fun and I cannot wait to go back. I saw a lot and there is still so much to see.

So get out there and travel.

bonbontravel@bellsouth.net

For this next installment, I will touch on one of the highlights of my trip The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).

On Central Park West and 79th Street this massive museum is a sight to behold. Personally I spent 7 hours there one day and it was well worth it. I did not see everything there is to see, I just scratched the surface. But if you like good museums that really get down and teach you something, then this is the one for you.

Five floors with over 40 grand exhibition halls. Some of my favorite things to see were, the Dioramas with life like animals frozen in time, it feels like your really there. The two huge Dinosaur halls, with A Stegosaurus and a T-rex, is also a sight to be seen. Some of the other intertesting exhibits were the Halls of people. Like Asian, Mexican and Southern American. These halls take you through these ancient cultures and show you how they lived, traded and worked. From the artifacts like pottery and statues to the minitures of the villages. Amazing.

Also there is the newest addition to the Museum the Rose Center for Earth and Space. Four story, glass enclosed space houses a 30 minutes virtual ride through the Milky way, Walk the Spiral Cosmic OPathway from the big bang till present time. Plus moon rocks and metorites, do not miss this.

Now for some tips. I got to the museum at opening and it took us almost 30 minutes just to get into the place. While it is huge there are lots of people that come here, and if you visit on a school day, you might get caught up in a field trip. So go early and plan on staying a while. I also recommend keeping your entrance tickets and visiting the street vendors outside for lunch. The Museum has a cafe, buit it gets real crowded, so finding food will take you a while. You also might want to purchase one of NYC's Passes. They have these multi admision passes that save you time and money. Opt for all of the extra exhibits, it is worth the extra money.

Go and have fun. Fun can be educational.

www.onbontravel.com

In this first of many blogs about my trip to New York City, I will touch on some of the good and some of the bad things about traveling to Manhattan. Trust me even though there are some negatives, my experience was 99% good and I cannot wait to go back.

The Good things ...
1) Walking. Everything is withing a good walks distance. Yes if you go from uptown to low Manhattan you will be real tired, but usually everything is within distance. Get a hotel in or near Times Square, it is very centrally located and provides good access to Macy's, Downtown and also the American Museum of Natural History Near Central Park.

2) The Food. Street vendors selling hot dogs, Shish Kabobs, Bagels, Soda, or Gyros. The national chains like Fridays, Applebees, etc that we are all familiar with. The unforgettable dining experiences, food made by chefs that takes your breath away. And those NYC staples, those small mom and pop restaurants that have everything you have ever wanted.

3) NBC, I have to admit I get what they Mean now by 30 Rock. Funny thing, we always seemed to end up at Rockerfeller plaza. We would be exploring and bam you look up and there is that christmas tree. Amazing

4) Flagship Stores. I have to admit that I like things big. I am not one for that small out ofthe way bookstore. I want the multi level Barnes and Noble with 100,000 square feet of space. New York City has them all. From FAO Schwartz to Toys r Us to Disny to Apple. All of the biggest, best stores are in NYC.

5) History. NYC was the center of our government for over a year. George Washington was sworn in, in New york City. From The Stock Market, to 9-11. there is so much history here.

6) Times Square, you have to stand there in the middle of it to belive it. TV does not do it Justice, trust me.

Some of the bad ...
1) Expensive. Yes your gonna pay and pay and pay. NYC is an expensive place if your not carefull. So do a little research before you go.

2) Dirty. New York has ben around for a long time (in USA Standards) so thereis a little grime here and there, and there is also some not so pleasent people on the streets. Sometimes your htoels can be a little out of sorts and dirty also. So be careful.

3) Crowded. Yes we went at the busyest time and it was crowded. You have not seen a crowd until your shoulder to shoulder with 10,000 people walking through Times Square.

4) The Potty. I have a seven, excuse me she just had a birthday sorry J., 8 year old that knows the exact time when not to go to the bathroom. They are scarse, tough to find and always a line. Remember that this is the biggest city in the world, there are lots of people her. I just wish they would build more bathrooms.

I know there is more but that is for another Blog. Check back again when I go deeper into this trip of mine. Happy New Year.