Tag: Family Travel
Travel Movie Watch: ‘Where’s Waldo?’
by Eva Holland | 06.03.09 | 2:05 PM ET
No, seriously. The goofy globetrotter with the striped shirt is getting a movie all his own. And it will be live action. Over at Get the Big Picture, Colin Boyd has a scathing look at the project, suggesting that Universal’s decision to pick it up after Paramount gave up on it “might showcase a fairly pronounced stupidity.” I’m inclined to agree.
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Yahoo! BuzzAsia’s Food Vendors: A Plus for Work-Family Balance
by Julia Ross | 05.28.09 | 1:38 PM ET
I’m not a parent, but I’ve sympathized with two sisters and plenty of friends who bemoan the constant time stresses on working parents with young kids. Grocery shopping and cooking rank high among parental time-sucks, of course, so a Thai curator’s recent comment to the New York Times that Bangkok’s ubiquitous food carts “provide a vital support system to people who work, especially couples with children” got me wondering about the benefits of raising kids in Asia.
Goodbye to my Mickey Mouse, Wayne Allwine
by Jenna Schnuer | 05.22.09 | 11:31 AM ET
For so many, the first true travel excitement comes compliments of Mickey Mouse and co.
A few years ago, I talked to my nieces on the phone just before their first trip to Disney World. The little one, just shy of four, didn’t usually have much patience for phone conversations. That day, she just kept talking and talking, offering excited (and rather detailed) explanations of all the things she wanted to see. Both girls were delighted when I told them about my own visits to Disney World as a kid. We all got kind of giddy thinking that, just maybe, there was some slight chance they would end up riding in the same It’s a Small World boat I sat in 30+ years ago.
To Italy, for Family
by Valerie Conners | 05.04.09 | 10:33 AM ET
After unearthing her great-grandmother's bridal gown, Valerie Conners traveled to Puglia to grasp the story of its origins. She found much more.
Eight Great Family Travel Stories
by World Hum | 05.01.09 | 11:33 AM ET
iStockPhoto To mark World Hum's eighth anniversary, we've collected eight favorite travel stories from our archives that explore the family vacation in all its forms
Street Kids in Enzo’s World
by JD Roberto | 04.13.09 | 9:51 AM ET
REUTERS/Desmond Boylan On a trip to Granada, Nicaragua, JD Roberto confronts hungry children and considers how to explain them to his son
Dora the Explorer: Now Packing Lipstick
by Eva Holland | 03.18.09 | 11:09 AM ET
Yup, one of our favorite fictional travelers is all grown up. A “teaser silhouette” of the new Dora, released a couple weeks back, stirred up controversy, with parents worrying about the “sexy” image being projected to their children. Now the final image has been made public—and yes, as we suspected, Dora is now clearly packing makeup, accessories, and some serious hair product for her travels. “If the Dora we knew grew up,” laments one parent’s petition, “she wouldn’t be a fashion icon or a shopaholic. She’d develop her map reading skills and imagine the places she could go.”
What do you think? Is the new Dora too sexy, or is this a tempest in a talking backpack?
Blog to Watch: Cities on the Cheap
by Eva Holland | 03.17.09 | 10:27 AM ET
The site—which got its start simply as Atlanta on the Cheap—now covers the latest bargains and budget shortcuts in 30-plus locations across the U.S. and Canada. The emphasis so far seems to be on the Sunbelt, and on kid-friendly destinations (there’s an entire Disney on the Cheap page), but if those aren’t your bag, don’t despair: Cities on the Cheap is still expanding. (Via Arthur Frommer)
Disney Aims to Go Green
by Joanna Kakissis | 03.13.09 | 10:28 AM ET
The Walt Disney company aims to cut its emissions by 50 percent by 2013 and to use more recycled material to decrease the amount of trash it sends to landfills, Environmental Leader reports.
Disneyland Resort is already using recycled cooking oil in its Disneyland Railroad steam trains—a move that could help save some 200,000 gallons of petroleum diesel per year. Some Disneyland rides also use biodiesel instead of gasoline, though customers have inexplicably complained about the “french-fry smell” emitted by the biodiesel when burned.
Guns, Mom and Guinea
by April Thompson | 03.11.09 | 9:27 AM ET
Photo by Aaron Sharghi April Thompson wanted to show off her new West African home to her mother. Nothing could go wrong, right?
Shanghai Barbie: Tourist Magnet?
by Julia Ross | 03.09.09 | 1:20 PM ET
Every time I visit Chicago, I’m amazed at how the city’s American Girl flagship store continues to draw moms and daughters from across the Midwest; I never fail to see them marching up Michigan Avenue, giant American Girl shopping bags in hand. Hotels in the area have lapped up the phenomenon, offering packages with kitschy extras like “one exclusive American Girl bed for your little doll to keep for future slumber parties” and a “free in-room movie showing of Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front.” Apart from the boost to tourism, the trend is a masterful case study in 360-degree branding.
Now I’m wondering if Shanghai is courting a similar fate with last Saturday’s opening of China’s first Barbie flagship store. The store, which includes 900 different kinds of Barbie dolls, a spa, a bar and a line of Barbie-themed clothing for adults, could well become a tourist mecca for Chinese girls and their mothers, who weren’t able to get their hands on the doll in their (pre-economic boom) childhood years. If the store is a success—and I have a sneaking feeling it will be—we’ll see how long it takes nearby hotels, vendors and restaurants to co-opt a little Barbie magic. The gravity-defying doll hasn’t survived 50 years for nothing, after all.
For full Shanghai Barbie immersion, check out this Yahoo slideshow of the mega-store. It’s certainly in keeping with the brand’s image: six storeys, all glowing pink.
Morning Links: A Surge in Train Travel (Stories), the Truck Stop Dentist and More
by Michael Yessis | 03.09.09 | 7:38 AM ET
- Several airlines are rerouting flights after North Korea said it can’t guarantee the safety of flights near its airspace during joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises scheduled to begin today.
- The Washington Post gave President Obama’s vision for high-speed rail the front-page treatment.
- Andy Isaacson took a slow train across the U.S.—and recorded voices from the rails—for the New York Times.
- Here’s a touching piece by Jeff Greenwald about Nepal and the death of his father.
- Catherine Watson gets lost in Bahrain.
- Meet the truck stop dentist, Dr. Thomas P. Roemer of Exit 284 of Interstate 80.
- The Delta Queen is now a floating hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- Air Asia is apparently giving bloggers the opportunity to be pilots—and some hilarious fodder in this promo video. (via @Marilyn_Res)
- Finally, congrats to the winners of this year’s North American Travel Journalism Association awards, including World Hum contributor Julia Ross.
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Adventure Dad
by Kelsey Timmerman | 03.05.09 | 10:21 AM ET
Photo by Annie Timmerman Not much irks travel writer and new dad Kelsey Timmerman more than the words: "I guess your adventurin' days are over now, huh?"
Morning Links: Michael Lewis Asks About Bjork in Reykjavík, Yoko Ono’s Travel Daydreams and More
by Michael Yessis | 03.05.09 | 8:06 AM ET
- The always compelling Michael Lewis goes to Reykjavík.
- When Yoko Ono daydreams, she daydreams of going to ... Geneva?
- A Canadian traveler refused to turn off his engine, insisting that a U.S. border guard say “please.” The guard didn’t say please. Instead he apparently broke out his pepper spray.
- Frugal Traveler Matt Gross writes about flying with his 6-month-old daughter. Comment madness ensues.
- The Guardian reveals some secret bars around the world.
- Jaunted speaks the five unspoken rules of seatmate etiquette.
- Here’s a Google map of a day of air traffic in the United States. (via Gadling)
- The New Yorker looks at the Van Dykes (abstract), “a roving band of van-driving vegans who shaved their heads, avoided speaking to men, and lived on the highways of North America for several years.”
- New Mexico pueblos to train travelers: No photos, please. (via The Morning News)
- Finally, there goes another piece of our childhoods: The View-Master, with its “iconic reels of tourist attractions,” is being discontinued.
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Morning Links: JetBlue Fare Refunds, America’s Emptiest Cities and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.18.09 | 8:31 AM ET
- It happened again: Another cruise ship ran aground in Antarctica.
- Las Vegas and Detroit finished 1-2 in a Forbes list of America’s emptiest cities.
- Inside the hardened, restless lives of business-travel nomads.
- Here’s a scathing takedown of the idea of Dubai. (via Kottke)
- Here’s another dancing guy. He doesn’t go around the world, though. Just to hallways and stairwells and such.
- Teresa Watanabe looks at African Americans who are being “called back to Africa by DNA.”
- JetBlue promises fare refunds if you lose your job—with some fine print.
- “Afghan Model” is coming to Emrooz TV.
- The Yankees are building a new vacation stadium in the Hamptons, complete with on-deck gazebos and yacht parking for the players. The Onion has exclusive video.
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An Open Window on a Winter’s Night
by Beth Harpaz | 02.17.09 | 9:40 AM ET
iStockPhoto Beth Harpaz and her 10-year-old son went to Alaska to see the Northern Lights -- and to hold on to his childhood for a few more minutes
Sailor Girl
by Cullen Thomas | 02.05.09 | 8:54 AM ET
Photo by Edie Platt Cullen Thomas considered his mission -- joining his mother on a perilous sea -- a noble one. But he presumed too much.
Morning Links: Weird Hotels, Flight 1549: The Game and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.03.09 | 8:24 AM ET
- Marketplace looks at U.S. efforts to lure Chinese travelers.
- More than one million people have already played Flight 1549: The online game.
- Flight 1549 pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III won’t have to pay fees on the library book that’s still in the plane’s cargo hold.
- At the Window Seat, World Hum contributor Rolf Potts recommends five travel experiences in his home state, Kansas.
- AP Travel Editor Beth Harpaz has a new book out about parenting teenagers, 13 Is the New 18.
- Now we know what the penalty is for smoking on a no smoking flight in Saudi Arabia: 30 lashes.
- Rome’s traditional delis are facing extinction.
- More and more, Mexican singers of narco corridos are becoming victims of the drug-related violence that’s the subject of their songs.
- The Telegraph’s slideshow of the world’s weirdest hotels includes Idaho’s Dog Bark Park Inn.
- It’s the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, and fans are paying tribute in Holly’s hometown of Lubbock, Texas and elsewhere. Eva
will havehas more in her blog. - Video: Overzealous Amtrak police arrested a man for taking pictures of trains for an Amtrak photography contest. Stephen Colbert has the hilarious story.
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Walking in a Winter Wonderland
by Sophia Dembling | 01.16.09 | 10:36 AM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling I live in Texas and every now and then I get nostalgic for real winters. “I miss snow,” I’ll say to my husband, who grew up in Illinois and knows from snow.
And he always says the same thing: “That’s because you never had to shovel a driveway.”
Yes, OK. I grew up in a New York City apartment and now live where snow is here today, gone today. We do get it once or twice a year, but it rarely sticks more than a few hours. Snowmen in Dallas are a tragic sight, as much mud and leaves as snow. Still, hard as it may be to believe during this cold snap we’re having, I like traveling to where I can enjoy real snow. I’m no skier, but I like watching snow fall, walking in it, and sitting inside being warm on a snowy day. (I’m always game for an excuse to sit on a couch.)
More Family Lanes Coming to Airport Security Lines
by Jim Benning | 11.13.08 | 1:36 PM ET
They’ll be in every airport security checkpoint in the nation by Thanksgiving. Oh, if the pilgrims could see us now.