Arms Up! Enjoy the Ride!

Many of our brides are opting for a Fairytale Honeymoon-- Mickey Mouse Style.  They're headed to Disney. When I came across this article on Newsweek's BudgetTravel page, I immediately thought of them. Take a look at this article.  Where are you headed on your honeymoon?

How many rides do you ride on a day at Disney?

Posted by: Brad Tuttle, Wednesday, Dec 29, 2010, 3:36 PM

The number of rides enjoyed by the average Disney park visitor may seem surprisingly low.

So what's the average? Nine rides. In a whole day. Considering that a one-day adult ticket costs $87 and change, and entrance for a child age 3 to 9 is $78.81, this means typical visitors are paying roughly $9 or $10 per ride.

[+] Enlarge photo

Cinderella's Castle at Disney World(Courtesy jcronier/myBudgetTravel)

A recent New York Times storyhighlights Disney's secret strategies for shortening the lines at park rides, and these efforts -- which include starting parades to draw park goers into less crowded areas, and sending out a Jack Sparrow actor to amuse folks in line at Pirates of the Caribbean—have sometimes been able to inch the average number of rides to 10 per person per day.

Though some Disney enthusiasts enjoy shopping, parades, and other aspects of the experience just as much as the rides, the cost-per-ride ratio still strikes us as pretty excessive. What do you think? Is a three-minute Disney ride worth the equivalent of $9 or $10 a pop?

For that matter, if you're an avid Disney visitor, do you tend to hit more or less than 10 rides in a typical day? If so, would you care to offer tips for newbies who are trying to get the most ride-age for their dollars? 

Original article found here: http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2010/12/how_many_rides_do_you_ride_on.html

Headed to a Non-English Speaking Country for Your Honeymoon?

Have you and your fiance, discussed who will be the Driver and who will be the Map Reader on your honeymoon travels overseas? 

image from Google Images

Look like a SuperStar on your honeymoon with this app: http://questvisual.com/. 

Instant translations of street signs with your cell phone camera

What if you could point your cell phone video camera at a foreign-language sign and see an instant translation of the words on it? Word Lens allows just that. The iPhone/iPod Touch-only app, released mid-December, uses your camera to perform Spanish-to-English translations, without making a single keystroke on your phone.

Want to know what "las salchichas a la parrilla" means on a restaurant sign in front of you? Just point your camera and Word Lens pulls up the relevant English translation ("grilled sausages") immediately and displays itwithin the image, replacing the Spanish words. So you don't have to go to another screen or wait for more than a half-second.

Another huge plus for travelers: Word Lens works with a built-in dictionary. It does not need to connect to the Internet, and your phone is not hit with data charges while roaming in a foreign country.

Being offline makes it different to Google Goggles, a straightforward translation app for Android and iPhone devices that provides more accurate translations because it pulls results from the Web.

Downsides: Word Lens translations are far from perfect so far, and the tool doesn't recognize handwriting yet. Translations for other languages are in the works, and the focus on Apple products is just the beginning.

Word Lens is "free" to download but you have to pay about $5 for each language you want to translated. The tool is available via iTunes. Find more info about the tool at questvisual.com.

Posted by: Sean O'Neill, Thursday, Dec 30, 2010, 10:03 AM on Budget Traveler: http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2010/12/instant_translations_of_street.html