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Disney World Resort Hotels: Choosing the Best Hotel For Your Family and Your Pocketbook

Choosing a hotel is the fun part of a disney vacation. It reminds me of picking one dessert from a tray laden with every imaginable, mouth-watering goodie. Some are a bit too "rich," and others not quite "sweet" enough, but there are enough choices left over to make me feel quite spoiled. Sometimes I can't resist and stay at two or more resorts in a single visit. Are you surprised?

The Choices There are twenty "on property" resorts at walt Disney World. Nineteen are open to the general public and one (Shades of Green) is leased by the U.S. military for the benefit of armed services personnel. Of the rest, seventeen are operated directly by walt Disney World, and two (Dolphin and Swan) are operated by other lodging companies. All twenty benefit from walt Disney World's internal transportation system, as well as their proximity to Disney's theme parks and the amenities at the other on property resorts.

Resort Categories walt Disney World groups their accommodations into four categories: Deluxe, Moderate, Value, and disney vacation Club (formerly "Home Away From Home"). Within each grouping disney tries (and succeeds) to offer a variety of experiences, to suit the varied tastes of the public. walt Disney World offers everything from Chief Executive-level villas to tent platforms, and everything in between.

disney vacation Club resorts is an odd category. It groups together those resorts that offer mostly villa or suite accommodations. These facilities work well for families and friends who need room for larger groups and want to cook at least some of their meals in their rooms. Some are quite deluxe, while others are comfortably middle-class. Fort Wilderness offers a wide variety of facilities, from tent and trailer sites to "cabins" for six which are actually well-disguised "manufactured housing".

Some factors to consider beyond price include "theming," proximity to specific theme parks, in-resort dining options, health club and recreational facilities, and on-site childrens programs.

Theming "Theming" is purely a matter of style. Do you want to stay in a grand hotel from the turn of the last century? How about an island resort, a Southern plantation, or a majestic mountain lodge? At times it's hard to tell if you're staying in a hotel or a theme park, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Since you're here to enjoy disney magic, go wild, and see if you can make a fantasy come true.

Proximity The Deluxe resorts enjoy the best proximity to the major parks. From a Deluxe resort you can board either a boat or monorail to the nearby park(s). In some cases you can even walk. With the exception of the Fort Wilderness Campground and Resort, which also offers boat transportation to the Magic Kingdom, the remaining resorts require a bus or car ride to get to the parks.

Dining In-resort dining may not be a factor for you, as you can dine at every disney park and can take easy advantage of the restaurants at other resorts. If you expect to spend a lot of time relaxing at your resort, though, this may be a significant factor. As you may imagine, in-resort dining is most extensive at the Deluxe resorts. The Deluxe resorts all offer a choice of full service sit-down restaurants, along with less formal fare and room service. Most of the Moderate resorts offer a choice between one full service restaurant, a reasonably-priced food court and either room service or pizza delivery (the exception is Port Orleans French Quarter, which does not have a full service restaurant). The Value resorts only offer a food court and pizza delivery. The dining options at the disney vacation Club resorts are varied, as each addresses a very different clientele.

Recreation Health club and recreational facilities vary widely between resorts. Some Deluxe resorts have world-class health spas and extensive health club facilities. Although any disney guest can take advantage of "the World's" 99 holes of golf, you may prefer to be adjacent to the 18th fairway. Most Deluxe and several other resorts are graced by tennis courts, and the majority of resorts have some sort of marina with a variety of water craft available. Every resort has at least one pool, and some have pool complexes reminiscent of a water park. If a soak in a hot tub spa is high on your list of "must" factors, be sure your resort has one. Most do, but there are exceptions.

Childcare Finally, most of the Deluxe resorts offer an (added-cost) evening child care program, which makes it simple for Mom and Dad to take a well-earned evening off at Pleasure Island or Epcot's World Showcase. Guests at other disney resorts can generally also take advantage of the facilities, but you still have to go out of your way to drop the kids off and pick them up again. (Yes, you do have to take them home with you.)

Classifications The Deluxe resorts are: animal Kingdom Lodge, Beach Club, boardwalk Inn, Contemporary, dolphin (managed by Sheraton), Grand floridian, Polynesian, Swan, and Yacht Club. Moderates are: Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans Riverside, and Port Orleans French Quarter. Value resorts are: All-Star movies, All-Star Music, All-Star Sports, and Pop Century. The disney vacation Club resorts are: Beach Club Villas, BoardWalk Villas, Saratoga Springs, Fort Wilderness, Old Key West, and Wilderness Lodge Villas.

Special Needs An important factor in your choice may be discounts or special needs. Although all resorts accommodate the differently-abled, some resorts have a fairly limited number of wheelchair-accessible rooms. This site gives a good rundown of what to expect.

Saving Money When it comes to saving money, if you hold an Annual Pass, or take advantage of other discount programs, you can make a decision based on what deals are offered. You may have to schedule your vacation based upon availability, but you may also get the opportunity to sample one of the pricier resorts without a major stretch of your budget. This is a great way to make dreams come true!

About the Author: Jennifer Marx is the author of over 40 print books, including the award-winning, best-selling PassPorter Walt Disney World guidebook. She is married to author Dave Marx and mom to two kids who love Disney. Read more of Jennifer's articles on disney and general travel at http://www.passporter.com and ask questions in her popular discussion forums.

posted by 89729 @ 2:50 PM 0 comments

Security Issues - Wireless Banking & Trading

It seems like the world is going wireless these days, including the banking and trading industries. Wireless banking and trading is still in its infancy stage, and one must keep up with new products, new technological breakthroughs, and developmental aids to help with transitions from the old to the new. Standards are changing for APIs (interfaces), gateways, security methods, screens, operating systems, browsers, handheld devices, and different bandwidth requirements. All these changes reveal risks to systems and consumers. Wireless banking and trading can be risky, lengthy, and complicated to develop and use. Interfaces must be able to connect backend systems already in place, and application servers have to accommodate all protocols and devices.

This is a must because manufacturers do not know which device users plan to use. This is true for application servers they must be able to communicate with all gateways like WAP, GSM, two-way pagers, and other devices. Wireless networks function independently, and many devices, especially handheld, utilize their own standards to deliver data over data channels. Users personalize by customizing screens, alerts, notifications, and messaging devices easily. Systems should be capable of sending notices to users as needed regardless of devices types and brands. Platform selection is important and challenging for banking institutions and should not be done independently. Platforms should have the ability to integrate easily and reliably with new gateways to the backend or existing system. Some banking institutions outsource the development, implementation, and hosting of their systems and some may choose to use a third party to implement and host their system. All are viable options.

Security is the most important issue facing financial institutions today. In an age of wireless communications with millions of users, all systems whether wireless or cable run the risk of hackers sometimes resulting in devastating losses. Wireless financial transactions are more attractive targets for the criminally-minded as their gains are greater. Users have worries that personal identifying information - credit card account numbers, identities, and other information - may be stolen. Such fears are confirmed with statistics indicating that more than ninety percent of corporate documentation/financial files have been hacked. data flows through wireless devices are vulnerable with many systems offering little to no security with most security transgressions being carried out by employees working within the institutions or even the service providers themselves.

Individual computing powers of handheld devices limit the ability to customize security, and many facilities that handle financial transactions are using a two-step code verification procedure as a means to protect and verify accessibility. This means that the user must be able to enter the correct codes to gain system entry. These codes must agree in order to authorize any transaction. It should be noted that the use of a two-step code verification procedure has shown a drastic reduction in the number of hacking incidents simply because of the requirement for personal knowledge of the same codes by the user, the service provider, and the financial institution. Another widely used system is the PK1 or Public Key Infrastructure utilized by many personal digital assistants and other similar devices. This system employs the use of two keys public and private to verify and decode data. The bank or other institution then uses the same system to prevent unauthorized system entry.

It is more or less a question of what is better speed or security. Encryptions vary depending on the platform used and the operating system with encryption speeds varying according to software selected. Another aid in security protection is the use of user identifications and individualized unknown passwords.

A pioneer in technology reporting, Julia Hall has published articles about the latest digital devices and gadgets for over ten years. After graduating from MIT with a degree in electrical engineering, Julia turned down huge salaries from some of the most recognized fortune 500 companies in the world to pursue her dream of becoming a leading consumer advocate. Julia uses his expertise to cut through the too good to be true deals offered by high tech companies to reveal the real steals and the real duds that we're bombarded with daily. If you enjoy staying on the cutting edge of technology, whether for business or pleasure, but find yourself occasionally confused by the overwhelming and convoluted information out there let Julia show you the way.

posted by 89729 @ 10:33 AM 0 comments