New, low-fare Volaris has announced the acquisition of a fourth Airbus A320, giving the carrier a fleet of 28 jets. Of these, 24 are A319s. Meanwhile, new, low-fare VivaAerobus announced that it plans to invest $60 million to add 20 jets to its fleet by the end of 2013, giving it a total of 35 planes. As for Mexicana, its future continues to remain in question.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara says that there are now 52 pueblos mágicos, picturesque towns that officially have been designated as magical. Such towns receive federal subsidies in return for improving their appearance. A few that failed to do their part have, in a manner of speaking, been turned back into pumpkins with subsidies withdrawn.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
Four more private hospitals — in addition to the 10 now operating — will be built in Cancun and the neighboring Riviera Maya during the next two years. Servando Acuña, president of Medical Travel Cancun, told a press conference that nearly $50 million will be invested in the new facilities. Goal is to increase medical tourism in the area from 2,200 patients annually to about 10,000. Lower costs compared to the United States are the main appeal.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
During the next two years, Aeroméxico intends to invest $1.3 billion in new aircraft to expand its fleet. The Brazil Foreighn Trade Bank will extend a credit of $348 million to help finance the purchase on 10 Embrear aircraft. The airline also intends to add 10 more Boeing jets to its fleet. This weekend, Aeroméxico shifted its reservations system to Sabre, leading to chaos, canceled flights and some very angry passengers.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
None of the firms that bid on the construction of an airport for the Riviera Maya met the basic conditions, the Transportation Ministry has announced. The airport probably would be built near Tulum, about 100 miles south of Cancun. Currently resorts along the Riviera are served by the Cancun airport, but in some cases more time is spent in ground transportation than in flying. The airport, like the one in Cancun, would be privately operated, but operators of the Cancun airport were not allowed to bid on this new project. They still came out as winners, however, since, for the moment, they will have no competition.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
Addressing the World Travel and Tourism Council in Las Vegas, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said that cities like Washington, Atlanta and New Orleans are more dangerous than any place in his own country. While nearly 35,000 people have died as drug smugglers battle each other, the Mexican military and police, the number of tourists caught up in such battles can be counted on the fingers of one hand, Calderon added.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
The French are on another one of their hate America trips. In the past they have even trashed Disneyland Paris. France’s latest America bashing is over the New York arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn on sexual assault charges. But, Disneyland, c’mon, France, you can’t be serious. How do you trash the happiest place on Earth?
I just returned from 10 days with my wife and 5-year-old granddaughter at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. and on a Disney Dream cruise to the Bahamas.
Walt Disney World is expensive. The cruise on Disney’s newest ship is expensive. Watching the never-ending smile on my granddaughter’s face? Priceless.
Families save up for years in order to spend four or five days or a week at Walt Disney resort. The cost can be anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000. With Disney, however, you know you are going to get a whole lot of bang for your buck.
Disney employees are called cast members. That equates to smiles all around. A tuxedo-clad Mickey Mouse escorted my granddaughter to the stage on our first night at Walt Disney World. She danced with Donald Duck and Pluto, got a noogie from Chip & Dale and was hugged by Cinderella. Best of all, she became part of the “Lion King” cast.
On the cruise, she road the water coaster, known as AquaDuck, four times with her grandfather. She spent long hours at Disney’s amazing Oceaneer Club for children 3 to 10. The venue also includes Disney’s Oceaneer Lab and a Magic PlayFloor, a cruise industry first that blends the latest in gaming technology with Disney’s flair for storytelling.
Dream, which had its maiden voyage in January, also has chill-out zones for tweens and teens. Teens have their own exclusive club with Vibe, a trendy 9,000-square-foot club for ages 14 to 17. The well-supervised club allows teens to create videos, play computer games and try their hand at mixing dance tracks. They even have their own outdoor area for sunbathing, deck games, wading pools and water jets.
“We have 1,500 children a cruise on average,” said Rachel Quinn, Dream cruise director. “Disney knows what to do with families. We know what children like.” Dream has a guest capacity of 4,000 and offers three-, four- and five-day Bahamian cruises departing from Port Canaveral.
Walt Disney World has four parks — Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot Center. That doesn’t even count the water parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach), four superb 18-hile golf courses, miniature golf, Downtown Disney and the Boardwalk. It also has an incredible ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (on 220 acres) where the Atlanta Braves hold their spring training.
Epcot and Animal Kingdom are my two favorite parks, but Magic Kingdom is magic for children. The Magic Kingdom is pretty much a replica of California’s Disneyland on steroids.
Epcot is the adult park. Oh, there are some fun things for children at Epcot such as Spaceship Earth, Innoventions, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Soarin’ (the same one as in California Adventure) and Imagination. For adults, it’s a pub crawl around World Showcase, a group of pavilions that encircles World Showcase Lagoon (a body of water that is the size of several football fields). At each international pavilion you will find the country’s essence. Great cuisine and great libations mark this area of Epcot. The list of countries include Canada, United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, Mexico and the U.S. The UK’s Rose & Crown Pub was my favorite place, with a menu that includes fish & chips that can be washed down with a pint of Guinness.
Hollywood Studios has many of the same attractions as California Adventure, including the ever-popular Tower of Terror.
Animal Kingdom has one of Walt Disney World’s best rides, Expedition Everest, and one of any theme park’s great adventures, World Animal Trek.
Expedition Everest features an old tea train chugging and churning en route up and around snowcapped peaks. The train hurtles through caverns and icy canyons to its thrilling end. If you love thrill rides, you will love Expedition Everest.
Wild Africa Trek is a new Animal Kingdom experience. For $189, you can enjoy a guided expedition into the true-life world of African wildlife. The trek starts in the rain forest and ends with a safari truck ride though the savanna. The best part of the trek is the suspension bridge that rises high above the Nile crocodiles sunning themselves below. Advanced reservations are a must for this popular adventure.
Wherever you go within Walt Disney Resort’s self-contained city, one thing is certain — smiles all around.
If You Go
Low fair airline Southwest flies to Orlando out of most U.S. airports as do most other major airlines. Check with the airlines for prices.
Transportation around WDW
The transportation system at WDW includes boats, buses and the monorail. The monorail runs along a circular route near the Magic Kingdom stopping at the Transportation and Ticket Center, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Magic Kingdom and Contemporary resorts. A separate extension of the monorail system connects the TTC to Epcot. Resort guests can bypass the TTC via direct buses arrive every 20 to 25 minutes.
Park Prices
Base ticket for ages 10 and up is $79 for one day; $68 for ages 3 to 9. Park Hopper tickets are an additional $52. You are going to want to see all four parks, making the Park Hopper ticket worth the additional $52. If you purchase a ticket for more than one day, the price goes down accordingly. For example, if you purchase a 10-day adult base ticket, the cost is $243, which is the equivalent of $24.30 a day.
Where to Stay
Walt Disney World Resort has a number of excellent accommodations — Grand Floridian (one of my favorites), Contemporary (the monorail stops inside the hotel), Polynesian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk and several others. All pricey. Call (407) 934-7639 for reservations. Disney does have a number of family package deals.
For more information about Walt Disney World, go to www.disneyworld.com. For more information about a cruise on Disney Dream, go to www.disneycruise.com.
All information is accurate at the time of publication but prices, dates and other details are all subject to change. Confirm all information before making any travel arrangements.
Cozumel Mayor Joaquin Gonzalez has announced that a firm headed by Donald Trump will invest $60 million to build a 1,000-room resort with a golf course and a marina on Mexico’s largest Caribbean island. Hilton, he added, also will be coming in with a 200-room resort being built at a cost of $5 million. This may be a major change for Cozumel, which was attracting tourists long before anyone had heard of Cancun. Once a favorite with scuba divers, Cozumel lately has become better known as a prime port of call for cruise ships. Almost all resorts on the island now are all-inclusive. What precisely are the plans of The Donald have yet to be announced, but apparently the project will keep him so busy that he cannot run for president.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
Passengers may soon be required to pay airport use fees directly, one more step in the check-in process. This also will drive home what few notice: the fee is $14.90 for domestic flights and $18.34 for international travel. How these odd sums are set and why payment is in dollars, not pesos, has yet to be explained. At the moment, airlines collect these fees when selling tickets, but they have not been passing on what they collect to airport management. Aeroméxico is said to owe 130 million pesos. Financially troubled and grounded Aviacsa, which planned to return to the skies earlier this month, was told that first it must pay the 90 million pesos it collected in fees but never passed on to the Mexico City airport.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
Once again, the question is being raised about allowing the U.S. Border Protection Service to formally admit the United States passengers still at Mexican airports. Pre-clearance, as it is called, is allowed in Canada and several Caribbean countries. It would facilitate direct flights to U. S. cities lacking international airports. Opponents, however, argue that the concept would trample on Mexican sovereignty and that authorization from Congress would be required. Although international travel to Mexico has been declining, observers doubt that Congress — in which no party holds a majority — will do anything to make the current administration look good. However, the airport at Los Cabos announced that next week it will be installing Global Entry kiosks to speed the processing of U. S. passengers who have paid a $100 fee to demonstrate that they are not security risks.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
The number of passengers traveling between Mexico and the United States fell by 5.2 percent compared to 2010, according to government statistics. Two Mexican airlines — Mexicana and Aviacsa — both of which served U. S. markets, no longer are flying. Foreign airlines have attempted to fill the gap and other Mexican airlines have moved in as well. Even so, figures indicate that only 4.7 million passengers flew between the two countries the first quarter of this year compared to 4.9 million in 2010.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
Although Acapulco is still struggling to get back the annual Tianguis Turistico trade show, plans to stage it in different destinations have won wide approval. Acapulco had been the host city since the inception of the event in 1976. Now at least 22 potential hosts have announced their bids. And the winner is…?
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
While tourism around the world increased by 5 percent during the first quarter of 2011, in Mexico it declined 9 percent compared to last year. Earnings, according to figures released by the central bank, fell by 3.2 percent. The bank did not attempt to explain the decline, but it seems safe to assume that the image of the country as being violent and crime-ridden is to blame.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
Concerns about violence have sent vacation property values tumbling. Ana Laura Acevedo of RCI and David Fuentes of a major consulting firm told an audience at the Luxury Markets Symposium that prices have fallen by an average of 20 percent and are not expected to recover lost ground for at least another five years. The symposium took place at the St. Regis, newest luxury hotel in Mexico City.
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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers
Extended-family vacations are one of the fastest-growing segments of the travel industry. Where better to gather the clan than a national park? With more than 70 national parks, there are plenty of options. Choose adventures that include geology, wildlife, geothermal features, history, culture, architecture and more than a few colorful characters. Choose canyons, mountains, deserts or geysers.“When three or more generations travel together, it enhances and enriches the experience for everyone,” said Dave Hartvigsen, vice president of sales & marketing for Xanterra Parks & Resorts. “Grandkids get to know their grandparents better, and vice versa. Mom and Dad get to enjoy both older and younger generations — and occasionally get a break from both.”
As the leading concessioner operating rooms, restaurants, gift stores and activities in national parks, Xanterra offers its ideas for families traveling this summer. Here are some things to experience and enjoy that can encompass all ages:
Yellowstone National Park has always been a place where all ages can find fun and experience some of nature’s wonders. Geysers, like Old Faithful, spout off to everyone’s delight. Mud pots bubble and streams steam, sometimes creating new geological features. Easy walking trails take visitors to the best viewpoints. Or visitors can see it on horseback or take a guided motor-coach tour — perfect for older and very young guests, as well as those who consider a walk to the mailbox a “hike.” Yellowstone’s nine lodges offer a variety of budget options in locations throughout the park.
A particularly good activity for families is the Old West Cookout at the Roosevelt Lodge. Catch a wagon ride to this cowboy cuisine experience, especially if there are very young children or folks not comfortable on horseback. With cowboy entertainment and Western-style food, this activity is fun for all ages.
Grand Canyon National Park features majestic views everywhere you look, and only requires an easy walk along the South Rim to enjoy them. For those who just want the highlights, the South Rim park shuttle will ferry them from one great viewpoint to another. Visitors of every age will enjoy arriving at the park aboard the Grand Canyon Railway, a daily train from Williams, Ariz. that travels 62 miles across the Colorado Plateau. There is live musical entertainment and a kid-pleasing old-fashioned Western shootout. It is easy, fun and appropriate for the whole family. Upon arrival, relax at the historic El Tovar Hotel, enjoying its architecture and its perch on the canyon’s edge. Take a self-guided tour of Grand Canyon Village and see more historic buildings and learn about some of the area’s most interesting characters. And more adventurous and fit members of the group can take a day hike into the canyon.
Zion National Park offers visitors the opportunity to explore the bottomland of a lush valley with soaring red sandstone walls. A stream runs through it and wildlife comes here to drink. For those who prefer not to hike, there’s a six-mile scenic drive loop through the park, or visitors can hop on a guided shuttle tour. Again, hikes here can be easy or hard, depending on your ability level, enthusiasm and age. Be cautious of climbing on the slick-rock, especially if it gets wet. Wade in streamside pools and do a little bird-watching. Zion Lodge, designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, offers overnight accommodations.
Death Valley National Park (see my story on Death Valley in the Travel with Stan archives) in California features spectacular desert scenery that anyone can appreciate. Older folks might remember a TV show, “Death Valley Days,” that transported them to this spot every week. Little ones may just see a giant sandbox. Either way, it’s a fascinating place. Those who don’t want to hike, bike or otherwise explore this vast desert landscape can lounge by and play in the pool at the Inn at Furnace Creek or Ranch at Furnace Creek. While the kids splash in the pool, some adults may prefer a visit to the Harmony Borax Museum or to Scotty’s Castle, a Spanish hacienda complete with period furnishings and artistic tile work.
Crater Lake National Park in Oregon features the deepest lake in the nation (at nearly 2,000 feet deep), dramatically surrounded by lava walls that soar equally high in some places. In addition to the usual park activities, there is a narrated boat tour of the lake accessible to all ages and abilities. Crater Lake Lodge is the base camp for whatever level of adventure a visitor chooses.
Petrified Forest National Park is easy to see by car. A 28-mile road takes visitors close to some of its best sights and offers stepping-off points for hikers. Hikes range from short and easy to longer and more strenuous, but give everyone a chance to get out of the car and stretch their legs.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is an iconic American destination. Who hasn’t seen the post cards? There are convenient viewpoints for examining the faces of four famous presidents, and those who don’t mind a moderate hike can get even closer. This master work of artist Gutzon Borglum is always ranked as one of America’s top family attractions.
