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The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2009 - by Sehlinger & Testa

With over 4 million copies having been sold this latest edition is sure to be a hit.  The guide is based on evaluations from readers surveys and other research compiled by a group unbiased ”mickey mouse” inspectors. 

From The Publishers:

“A Tourist’s Best Friend!” — Chicago Sun-Times

“Indispensable” — The New York Times

Five Great Features and Benefits offered ONLY by The Unofficial Guide:

1. Exclusively patented, field-tested touring plans that save as much as four hours of standing in line in a single day
2. New color section with practical information for your trip
3. Almost 250 hotels rated and ranked for quality and value, including the top non-Disney hotels for families 
4. A complete Dining Guide with ratings and reviews of all Walt Disney World restaurants, plus extensive alternatives for dining deals outside the World 
5. Attractions rated and ranked for each age group; extensive, objective, head-to-head comparisons of the Disney and Universal theme parks

Your Amazon book purchase helps support this site.

“…Hell, which as every frequent traveler knows, is in Concourse D of O’Hare Airport.”

- Dave Barry / Writer / There is no concourse D at O’Hare.

Read a recent article where a couple flying from Los Angeles to Rome who got cornered into paying $10,000 as their discount tickets went bad.  The American Airlines flight they took from LAX to New York was delayed and the couple missed their Alitalia flight for Rome. 

Due to a lack of communication/partnerships between American and Alitalia they were forced into purchasing one-way seats only to discover after arriving in Rome that their non-refundable return tickets had been voided when they missed their NYC to Rome flight.  They then had to purchase return flights.

How do you avoid such disasters? 

- Find and use a good travel agent.

- Buy trip insurance.

- Book with airline alliance partners.  When a partner sells you a seat on another partner airline they are responsible for resolving problems.

- Fly Non-Stop and avoid congested airports.  And if your trip involves a scheduled cruise or tour, plan on arriving a day early.

On hot muggy days during the 1860’s President Abraham Lincoln headed 3 miles north of the White House to a hilltop Gothic Revival “cottage” retreat.  This 34 room cottage is now open to the public after a $15 million, 7 year long rehab. 

Built in 1842 as a private home it was later used by several Presidents, it was last visited by President Lincoln the day before his assassination in 1865.  The cottage doesn’t have an extensive furniture collection, this is not an major historic display, the nine rooms that have been open are a bit sparse.

Visit the at www.LincolnCottage.org

I know when your on the road, traveling in a new city, seeing an open Wi-FI hot spot after checking into a hotel room can seem like a lucky break.

But be very careful. You must understand that the free hot spot your tapped into may actually be a very “weak spot” when it comes to the security of your computer and personal information. They may also be able to sneak into your companies network on your coat tails.

You must understand that anything you do when connected to a public / Free Wi-Fi connection can be “viewed” by anyone within WiFi range of your computer. Think of it this way… If you using an open connection in pubic your basically SHOUTING your information across the room for anyone with another laptop to listen into. NOTE: if you using a corporate security/networking service you may be protected.

Two ways you can be hacked…. First is the Wi-Fi node you have attached onto titled “LocalFreeInternet”, is actually set up as bait. The criminal becomes a “man in the middle” Everything you do on this connection will be monitored by a criminal waiting for you to type in personal information and data.

Second is while connected to a legitimate Hot-Spot run by a reliable company your Wi-Fi signal can be monitored. As you type away and send your date to the wireless router in your local coffee shop it is very possible that a creep in their car just outside is recording everything everyone in the shop is doing online.

Software is readily available to help hackers setup either of these two scenarios. Collecting credit card numbers, user id’s and passwords. Tools are also available that might allow the hacker to take over your machine and mine your machine for data.

All this happens without your knowledge…..

The only real solution is a VPN, Virtual Private Network, which sets up a very secure “tunnel” effect between your laptop and a secured computer at, for example your office. When you type data into your laptop it is first scrambled and coded by your laptop and then sent over the open Wi-Fi airways. It then travels to the secure computer where your communication is decoded and processed as needed. Many companies require their employees to use such services when working via Wi-Fi connections.

How do you deal with this?

• Stay off of wireless networks.  Use only hardwired Internet connections
• Keep your computers operating system current.  Enable/install firewall, antivirus and antispyware software and turn on the auto update feature. I’m currently using ESet Smart Security on my laptop.
• Do online-banking only while at home or on a hardwired connection you can trust.
• If you use Wi-Fi at home, with security enabled, and make sure your home router has a unique SSID name.  Don’t use the default name like LINKSYS.  Also don’t use an SSID that identifies you like MURRAYWIFI.
• Turn off your laptops WiFi when your not using the Internet.  You will also save battery life. 

If you must use open Wi-Fi connections the only real solution is a reliable VPN service.  HotSpotVPN has been around for a while and they allow you to purchase their service for as little as one day at a time.   Check out their service, it is the only one I would use. www.HotSpotVPN.com

UPDATE: Also check out Witopia’s PersonalVPN

NOTE: These concerns also exist for Wi-Fi equipped cellphones.

For additional information visit Wi-Fi Alliance and OnGuardOnline.gov.

Plenty of vacation rental websites are available online, but www.PickPackGo.com has made it easier than most to locate a place that meets your needs. 

If you’ve ever tried to find a holiday rental you’ll usually ended up searching for a location on Google and then sifting through several different websites that cover a specific region.  PickPackGo has consolidated thousands of rentals across the United States into their site. 

This site is much more user-friendly than others and makes the reservation process pretty easy.  The clean simple layout of each property page make evaluating and comparing rentals very easy.

Felix Lin, PickPackGo CEO, indicates the site will soon allow confirmed guests of properties to comment on their experiences. He also stated that the site now represents over 70,000 rentals in the US (45%) and abroad (55%).

I have not personally used the system but it seems pretty solid. Check it out at www.PickPackGo.com.

The Milepost - by Kris Valencia

Since 1949 The Milepost guides have been considered the Bible for those traveling the Alcan Highway linking the lower 48 states with Alaska. The Milepost is an annual publication that was founded in 1949 by William Wallace when the Alcan highway was just a gravel-packed road. My parents used this guide several times as they drove from Durango Colorado to Alaska.

The guide also contains a vast amount of details for driving the highways and by-ways of our 49th state. It consists of a mile-by-mile resource of the driver that wants to know. It is updated every year and now includes GPS coordinates for many locations. This years issue has 800 pages and over 500 photographs. You will never miss an important or interesting point if you have The Milepost in hand while driving in or to Alaska.
 

Your Amazon Purchase Help Support MurrayOnTravel.com.

“The airport runway is the most important main street in any town.”

- Norm Crabtree / Former Aviation Director  Ohio

Only in Vegas would you find a Irish Pub that was built in Ireland, shipped to Las Vegas Nevada, and then installed in a New York inspired hotel.  Nine Fine Irishmen is just such a pub.  Located on the strip in the New York-New York Hotel & Casino.

If your interested in what the name is all about click here for a bit of history on the nine fine Irishmen and the rising in 1848.

I was able to check out the place during a recent trip to Las Vegas.  The atmosphere of the main room was what I would expect from an Irish pub.  Beautiful dark woods and a variety of paintings and artifacts.  I’ve never been to Ireland so I guess in the spirit of the Hollywood back-lot environment that is Vegas, if it appears to be authentic, based on our expectations and stereotypes, then it is authentic.

As I said the main room was really nice, we were seated in a upstairs side room that was very small, and maybe “pub like”.  A room just large enough for four tables, it would have been great for a group of 10-12 people, but for four separate groups it was a bit uncomfortable.

The food was also right on point.  The Nine Fine Irishmen pub serves both Irish and American food, I enjoyed my fish and chips and a pint.  The bar offers a great selection of Irish beers and whiskeys.

Food is available 11am - 11pm daily.  Bar is open till 2:30am.  On the Strip at 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. (702) 740-6463.  Website at: www.NineFineIrishmen.com

To maybe get a more authentic pub feel, and to reduce the tourists influence, check out these other off the strip Irish pubs in Vegas:

• McMullan’s Irish Pub, West of the Strip at 4650 W. Tropicana Ave
• J.C. Wooloughan’s in the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort, 221 North Rampart Blvd,  (702) 869-7725.

Photo Credits: Exterior Courtesy MGM Mirage / Fish & Chips © John Ormond.

If you are a tiger in Las Vegas and you decide to bite your master’s face off, a word of caution….they will turn your cage / habitat into a restaurant, a pretty good one at that.

In fact, I think I’ll enjoy the new BLT Burger restaurant in the Las Vegas Mirage Hotel and Casino more often than I ever did the famous white tiger show of Siegfried and Roy. You can only really enjoy a stage show once, a good restaurant you can review and enjoy over and over.

The new BLT Burger in the Mirage has a modern decor with subtle references to classic diners of the past. The white and chrome of a traditional diner have been replaced with warm earth tones and bright accents.

The long hours (open till 2am on Sun and Tue-Wed, and till 4am Mon and Thu-Sat) will make this a favorite for those leaving the Mirage’s shows or night clubs.

Created by Laurent Tourondel; a top chef known for his previous work in Vegas at the Palace Court Restaurant in Caesars and several New York eateries including the original BLT Burger location.

And as you would expect the burgers here are top rate. Made from certified Angus beef ground fresh daily, the same used at the chef’s BLT Steak restaurants. Add some Jalapeno poppers, fried pickles and mozzarella sticks and you’ve got something more than just a burger joint review, you’ve got a great meal.

In step with it’s location BLT Burger offers some burgers you won’t find in their other locations. The Stripper Burger is served naked, without a bun that is…. The spicy buffalo chicken burger is covered with hot sauce cooled a bit by Maytag blue cheese and buttermilk dressing. And for a back to basics test I tried a simple cheese burger and was delighted. It was cooked perfectly and was full of flavor. What I thought was a small piece of aged cheddar cheese on top packed a delicious punch.

For a change of pace I tried the salmon burger and was very impressed.  Cooked perfectly and with all the fixins I requests.

But what would a burger be without a creamy milkshake? BLT Burger has 20 different flavors to choose from. Beyond the expected flavors are the more unusual. How about a Twinkie Boy? It’s a milkshake from Twinkies, ice cream, and caramel syrup. Adult drinkers can add a shot or two of something like Kahlua or Bailey’s.

You can check out BLT Burger on the web.

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