Disney Takes Aim At Hawaii

Disney is planning to build a large resort on the west side of Oahu, according to USA Today.

It won’t be a theme park. Disney calls it a luxury family resort.

I believe Disney excels at creating fantasy places. The faux Europe of the Magic Kingdom at Disney World and all the little countries of Epcot come to mind.

I like them. Even the Hawaiian-themed Polynesian resort at Disney World is kind of fun.

But I have my doubts about what Disney can add to Hawaii, which is a paradise unto itself.

Tired Airline Pilots And Human Error

There are plenty of jobs I would suck at, and in a few cases I’ve had a chance to prove it. I’m completely certain that no amount of training could overcome my total lack of fitness to be an airline pilot.

I’m absent-minded, easily distracted and prone to yelling at the navigator. I have no sense of direction. I’m afraid of heights. I would be a disaster.

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Talking Politics In Foreign Climes

Americans traveling abroad are getting hammered with questions about the presidential election, according to USA Today.

I believe it. The article deals with business travelers, but the same thing happens to leisure travelers. The husband and I had a long, and fortunately cordial, discussion about the election with a Canadian couple on our recent cruise.

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Comparing Three Airlines’ A380s

You must check out this photo gallery from The Los Angeles Times comparing the configurations of the A380s now being flown by Qantas, Emirates and Singapore airlines.

Singapore has the fully enclosed first-class cabins. Qantas has massage seats. But Emirates — it has showers.

Reminds me of a line from the movie “Jerry Maguire:” ” First class … It used to be a better meal. Now it’s a better life.” Which was prophetic, considering that movie came out in 1996.

Burning Those Frequent Flier Miles

I didn’t tell you to cash out of the stock market, but I did tell you to redeem those frequent-flier miles. Were you listening?

No? Oh, well. That’s OK. Nobody listens to me. I only half listen to myself.

The husband and I have burned through 180,000 miles of late, but we’ve got at least that much still hanging around.

The Associated Press reports that we’re not the only ones trying to use up the miles. Passengers are redeeming more miles for more award tickets of late, dodging high fares and scurrying to beat deadlines for newly imposed fees.

Do it now, folks, before it’s too late. Load up your wheelbarrow with those miles and see if you can get a ticket to Duluth.

Mmmmm. Hotel Room Coffeemakers

I just ran across a great post on the Budget Travel Blog, with hilarious diagram, about getting the best coffee out of a drip coffeemaker in a hotel room. Very informative.

No coffeemaker? There’s my low-tech solution.

Photo: Santiago de Compostela, Spain

I took this photo in April 2007 in Santiago de Compostela, in the province of Galicia in northern Spain.

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Unbundling Your Wallet

In a logical world, unbundling airfares, hotel rates and cruise fares ought to be good for consumers. But this is not a logical world.

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Concerns Raised About Pratt Engines

Inspectors have raised questions about the safety of the Pratt & Whitney engines on hundreds of Boeing 757s, the Associated Press reports.

The National Transportation Safety Board found problems in PW2037 engines on a Delta 757 that had an uncontained engine failure — that’s when pieces of the engine go flying off  – Aug. 6 in Las Vegas. An  investigation found that some retaining lugs in the engine were cracked and parts of them were missing.

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Argentina Getting Even On Visa Charges

Argentina is planning to charge American visitors a $131 entry fee to match the amount the United States charges Argentinians to apply for a tourist visa.

Seems fair enough. The United States has a similar policy of reciprocity on visa issuance fees, though it doesn’t count what it considers application fees. (And it considers the $131 an application fee.)

Still, I think Argentina’s fee might be counterproductive.

Argentina has established itself as a budget destination, largely because of a very favorable exchange rate for many currencies, including the U.S. dollar. But Reuters reports that the international financial crisis has caused a sharp drop in tourism in Argentina.

U.S. citizens,  unused to paying visa fees, may balk even more now. And tourists from other countries are under similar pressure.