Christmas Carol train

Motion capture animated film production techniques are on display juxtaposed with artifacts from Charles Dickens’ times. The result is a series of memorable displays, some interactive.

Traveling to Williams, Arizona, one of 40 stops on the train’s cross country schedule, I was fortunate enough to see the train and not wait more than 40 minutes to get onboard. At the entrance to the line, the sign said 45 minutes, so Disney delivered. (One of the Disney officials, who was walking the queue, confided that the line in Los Angeles had been a five-hour wait. So, we were fortunate. He likened the new movie to “Polar Express on steroids.”)

While in line, children were given activity sheets and “tattoos’ (temporary in a candy cane motif) and carolers sang holiday songs dressed in costumes appropriate to the mid-1800s. Fake snow blew from a disguised brick column and the attitude of everyone seemed to be excited and festive.

Christmas Carolers in Williams, Arizona

When we finally had our turn to enter the four train cars decked out in Christmas Carol décor (both the movie launching in November and items from the original Charles Dickens collection – on loan from the Dickens Museum in London), no one was rushing us to move through the exhibit. We could see period costumes, screens showing different aspects of the movie with interviews of the director and several actors and Dickens artifacts.

Woman's dress, circa mid-1800s

Disney used extremely realistic-looking images of old London to create the backgrounds for the movie.  Dickens would probably have found the locations recognizable.

Of course, there was a lot of space given to the wizardry of Disney’s efforts to morph Jim Carrey and the cast for the new Christmas Carol 3-D film, but the displays were engaging and the self-promotion not overwhelming.

Jim Carrey morphed as a young Scrooge

Carrey morphed as a teenaged Scrooge

(I’m a fan of Dickens’ work and was delighted to see an inkwell, original books and letters in his handwriting. They were in a display case, but were very exciting for a college English major – who studied Dickens for a full course – to examine.)

After reviewing the exhibits and displays, everyone had the opportunity to “morph” themselves into one of three characters in Christmas Carol. My terminal had technical difficulties, so we moved to another one and tried again. The second time, I was able to morph my face into a female, cherubic looking version of Mr. Bob Cratchit, and still look like myself.  Supposedly, we will have the image sent to us via e-mail from Wal-Mart.

After the train

Disney believes in giving great entertainment value.  So, after we finished looking at the train, we joined another line so that we could see “sneak peeks” of cuts of the actual movie using 3-D glasses. If you’ve never experienced 3-D before, it can be a weird feeling, as if things are coming at you off the screen. It was a more satisfying motion capture effort than Polar Express. The story is still the same as the original Dickens work, but Disney worked with great technical expertise to put the film on a new level for animation.

Clay masks - maquettes - of actors Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman

Jim Carrey and the other actors are certainly recognizable, but what we’re seeing is animated versions of the actors who actually performed their roles. Using barebones sets so they would have boundaries that coincided with the filmed sets, the “action” was “captured” and turned into animated film characters. We get to see both young and old versions of Jim Carrey, due to morphing, a fascinating exercise in aging.

Actors performing for motion capture

I’m not sure I would wait in line for 5 hours as they did in LA to see the exhibits, but I enjoyed the experience. If anyone has the chance to see The Christmas Carol train “in a city near you,” I recommend the free experience.

Forty cities will have visits from the train in the months until early November, as the train travels to both coasts and through the heartland of the United States. You can find additional information about the train at:

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/christmascaroltraintour/

Tomorrow, more on our visit to Williams, Arizona.

Last week,  I came across a Web site that focuses on multi-stop itineraries for independent travelers. European Destinations www.europeandestinations.com lets you create your own trip or customize their suggested itineraries. As you add in hotels, car rentals, train passes, etc., the price of your trip upgrades so you know immediately what your costs are.

I tweaked my itinerary and then compared it to the hotel Web sites of those properties I selected as well as with www.hotels.com to see if the prices were in line, or even better.

What I found was the following ($1.46 = £1):LONDON

Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes – 1 Night (Double Superior)

Hotel Website: $149.87

Hotels.com: $150.51

GLASGOW

Jurys Inn – 4 Nights  (Double)

Hotel Website (7 Day Advance Non-Refundable): $362.08

Hotel Website (Event Special) $730.00

Hotels.com: $738.16

AVIEMORE

Macdonald Highlands Hotel – 4 Nights (Standard Double)

Hotel Website: $893.52

Hotels.com: $994.44

EDINBURGH

Apex European – 4 Nights (City Double w/ Breakfast)

Hotel Website: $764.71

Hotels.com: $551.46

HOTEL WEBSITES:
$2,538.10

HOTELS.COM
$2,434.57

The Verdict:

Well, it’s a toss up! There’s no big winner in this contest. I’m sure if I tried other hotel consolidators I might find some cheaper prices for some of the hotels, but possibly more for the others. I could also be doing this for weeks! 

Not my plan!

So, Europeandestinations.com is still the easiest choice to bring all of this together. But, the final price is still about the same, except when it’s not…

Scotland: Fall 2009

Since last week, I have decided to cut back our trip from three to two weeks due to some timing issues that have come up.  So, there needed to be some consolidation.

It was then that I began to wonder if it was any cheaper to find a company that could consolidate all of my independent travel needs.

I searched the Web and found several candidates: Virgin Vacations, Cheaptickets, Expedia, etc. They all talked about “vacation packages.”  But, the inherent problem I found was that most sites would only get you up to two destinations and two hotels.

I could get from Phoenix to London and then on to Glasgow, but that was it.  Any additional cities were impossible to book, let alone return from a third city.

And, my favorite was Virgin Vacations (a division of Virgin Atlantic Airlines.)  Not only could I not do a large multi-destination itinerary…they didn’t even try to book me on a single Virgin Atlantic flight the entire trip!  

About ready to call it a day, I stumbled across a company that actually focuses on multi-stop itineraries for independent travelers. 

A Useful Travel Find

European Destinations, www.europeandestinations.com, is one part of the consumer division of corporate parent, Solar Tours out of Washington, D.C. The parent company has been around since 1984 serving travel agents. 

Their Web site lets you create your own trip or customize their suggested itineraries.  As you add in hotels, car rentals, train passes, etc., the price of your trip upgrades so you know immediately if you are staying within your budget.  

Depending upon what cities you are seeking, the hotel selection can be very large.  Others, such as Aviemore, Scotland are a little more limited.

I am still experimenting with some different itinerary options, but so far, I’m impressed with the ease of operation. 

I did a little research to find out if anyone had experience with the Web site and as with any travel site, there are both happy campers and extremely unhappy campers.  It looked like the happy campers were winning. 

So, over the next few days I am going to continue tweaking an itinerary and then compare it to hotel Web sites of those properties I selected.  We’ll see if the prices really are better.

More next week…

Scotland – - Fall – - 2009

It’s been a week since my first installment of planning a trip to Scotland on my own.  Have I come to my senses and handed it over to a travel agent yet?  Have I scrapped the whole idea and decided to sit on my sofa the entire time talking to people at my office on the company provided cell phone? 

Absolutely not! 

Actually, I’ve been on line looking for a kilt to wear to one of the Whiskey Week dinners!

I know where I want to go: Scotland ?

I know when I want to go: September ?

I’ve checked the weather: Not too bad to iffy by the end of the month ?

I’ve checked the calendar for things to do: Events winding down,  fewer tourists ?

Now I just have to figure out how I am going to get there …

I am going to have to rely on the two most reliable methods of crossing the Atlantic.

SHIP

You betcha! You can still catch the Queen for a six day sail from New York. Quicker than you can say Christopher Columbus discovered Columbus, Ohio you’ll be in Southampton, England. 

Suffice to say, you’ll probably eat better than the Queen herself, and not lack for things to do, but there is the time factor.  But, if you’ve got the time, and of course the extra cash, it’s certainly an option.

Queen Mary 2                        Approx. $1395.00 Per Person (Inside Cabin)

Remember … that’s one-way!

www.cunard.com

** And, for a sign of the times, be sure to read the very fine print about their right to charge you $9.00 per person, per day if oil goes above $70 per barrel … even if you’ve already paid your fare.

AIRLINES

Of course most of us are in a hurry to get places, and flying is the only option.

UK Based Airlines: British Air – Virgin Atlantic – BMI

I’m a big proponent of flying on a carrier that’s actually based out of the country I am going to.  It adds to the cultural experience.

If you live on the east coast you can hop on a British based carrier in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, etc. and not have to connect to London.  But, from the western U.S. there are few options for direct flights to London and vicinity.  That’s why I fell off of my chair when I found out that British Airways (BA) offers a non-stop 747 flight from Phoenix to London Heathrow seven days a week.

At $784 per person coach, I was impressed.  I could drive, or take a shuttle to the airport, hop on the plane in the evening, and step off in London the next afternoon.

Then I saw the catch.  I went on the major airline seat configuration website to check out the plane:  www.seatguru.com

Tips on choosing where you’ll be sitting

Sometimes it’s the little things, especially when you are traveling with someone.  What I saw was not going to add up to a happy conversation, especially after the last flight I was on.

It seems that either configuration of BA’s 747 fleet is a 3-4-3 seat configuration in World Traveller class (economy).  I like to sit by the window and my wife the aisle.  That leaves that pesky middle seat for a single traveler to help balance the load.  And the last flight we were on, they wanted to balance the load!

(The old trick of buying up the window and aisle seat and then hope no one books in between is becoming more difficult with airlines jamming customers into planes while they cut service).

Thus, I was extremely disappointed at the 747 seat choices.

So, I tried Virgin Atlantic … same problem with their 747 fleet, plus we needed to catch a ride to Las Vegas, or Chicago, or …

BMI … same problems, smaller plane, and an even weirder connection in Sanford, Florida (try getting there from … anywhere). 

www.virgin.com

www.ba.com

www.flybmi.com 

Am I going to have to give up on my cultural experience?  I reluctantly went online to see what the consolidators would dig up for me.  At www.cheapseats.com,  I found a one-stop US Air flight to London’s Gatwick airport.  The first thing I did was look at the seat configuration.  We would have to put up with an Airbus 3-3 configuration to Charlotte, but then it was an Airbus 2-4-2 setup to London!  That was great, at least 60% great!

Then I looked at the US Air price … and then the price of the BA flight again from the quote I had printed out.  I couldn’t believe it! US Air would save me a whopping $7.00 for my trouble!

$1562.00 US Air vs. $1569.00 British Airways

So, it was no longer about the price, it was about the convenience. Non-stop vs. one-stop & a plane change.  The seat configurations might have to be dealt with by a really good pair of noise canceling headphones …

So I am holding off on the decision.  In the meantime, I am going to see if either carrier can give me some type of a package deal … air/hotels … air/car, or both. 

Next time: Are independent traveler’s packages really worth it? 

What I have in mind – Scotland in Fall 2009

Am I out of my mind?

Yes, it’s 2009…the stock market is in roller coaster mode…businesses are shutting down faster than a speeding bullet…every news show says the world is in a financial collapse… airlines are on the verge of the “B” word…the dollar is worth diddly…

So, why am I planning a trip to Scotland in the fall? Haven’t I heard the news…it’s the 1930s all over again!!!! I should be scared, I should be in panic mode, I should be petrified to travel out of my driveway!

I have my reasons:

My ancestors are Scottish ?

I’ve never been to Scotland ?

I watch a lot of British shows on BBC America and PBS ?

I think the British version of Life On Mars was far superior to the American knock off! ?

All of my kids have been to Scotland except me! ?

The last reason alone is worth the money….

Is it scary that I am going to hop on a plane and leave the country? No!

The scariest thing is that I am planning it all myself!

What? I’m nuts you say?

Haven’t I heard of travel agents, or tour groups? They do it all! Your entire itinerary is all planned out to the umpteenth second. They are experts who take the stress out of your vacation.

And aren’t vacations stressful enough?

The entire time you’re gone you wonder if you are going to have a job when you get back. Your spouse, or traveling companion, is giving you dirty looks whenever you check your phone or that pesky PDA for messages (hey, give me a break you say, you’re just checking to see whether you still have your job because you haven’t checked into the office in the last five minutes!)

And the ultimate stress…Did I leave the stove on?

Who needs that?

So, why am I dumb enough to plan my own overseas vacation?

Actually, it’s not as difficult for me. In one of my other lives I was actually a travel agent and luxury hotel broker’s representative. So, I know some of the tricks. But more importantly…

I’ve got the Internet!—

Yes, that wonderful invention where people give away information for free! Especially the tourist agencies from those countries, regional areas, and cities that you are planning to visit. Wouldn’t it be nice to speak with someone who actually lives in Glasgow instead of one who visited it once several years ago or someone who answers the phone at a tour broker who’s never been out of their own state?

Don’t get me wrong, if you can find a specialist for the area in which you are traveling, then by all means, check them out. Do a little homework, then ask questions, find out if they sound knowledgeable.

Who needs a specialist? Doing the planning on your own

You don’t have to go to Scotland for this to work. But you do need to decide where you are going., Then, it’s time to decide when to travel.

A) Check the weather

The following samples are for UK/Scotland:

Generic Weather Sites

http://uk.weather.com/

http://uk.weather.yahoo.com/Europe/United_Kingdom/Scotland/

Scottish Weather Web sites

BBC Weather Centre (this links to Edinburgh)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/5

The Met Office (Meteorological Office)

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/gr/gr_forecast_weather.html

REMEMBER:

You haven’t actually gone anywhere yet, so you might want to check the weather from last year. Most weather sites have historical data.

B) Check for special events that might cause you some grief when trying to book a room.

2009 is Homecoming Scotland celebrating the 250^th anniversary of Robert Burns birth.

www.homecomingscotland2009.com

Within this website is the 2009 What’s On? calendar of events

http://www.homecomingscotland2009.com/whats-on/default.html

Select a month, then any or all types of events, and regions

I decided that even though the slew of August festivals would be fun, booking a hotel room as much as a year in advance didn’t really fit into my plans, especially if they changed. So, we are going in September.

The 2009 What’s On calendar is where I found out that September includes Whiskey Week celebrations!!!!

As Robert Burns would have written ...You can’t beat that with a stick!

So, check the weather and the events calendar and you are on your way to putting together your own trip.

STAYED TUNED

In the upcoming weeks I will be telling you about:

Getting a US passport

Deciding what airlines are available, other than U.S. carriers

Some itinerary possibilities

What to do in London for an obscenely short stop over

How to get from London to Glasgow and back without walking

Looking at UK and European based hotel chains vs. the American chains