Want a free day at Disney? Go out and volunteer

For my Boston Globe essay on visiting Disney world with my grandson, click here.

Disney Parks recently launched its “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program that rewards volunteer service with a free day at Disney. And this week, Walt Disney World is doing even more for some superstar volunteer families, flying them to the park to celebrate their good deeds. Among thosee celebrants is the Glidden family of Lynn, Mass.

You see, when it comes to volunteering, 11-year-old Victoria Glidden is always game, bringing her own “team” – her family – to help in her philanthropy. In 2008, Victoria was elected a Red Sox Kid Nation Captain. As a captain, she organized a winter coat drive, and with the help of friends and family collected 350 coats for children in need. Through the Red Sox Kid Nation program, the Glidden family also participated in a backpack drive to benefit underprivileged students attending Boston schools. In addition to collecting more than 4,000 school supplies for the packs, the family spent the day at Fenway Park filling and handing out backpacks. The family is also involved with Blanket the Globe, a project led by children to increase environmental awareness for youth around the world.

Disney hopes to inspire such deeds this year through this first-of-its-kind program. One million people who perform volunteer service for a participating organization will receive a free one-day admission ticket to a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme park. To learn more about the program, visit http://www.disneyparks.com/(for the United States and Puerto Rico) or http://www.disneyparks.ca/ (for Canada).

Missy Piggy and Kermit the Frog lead a "VoluntEars" parade. (Photo/Walt Disney Co.)

Food, fun and murder at a Maine inn

The Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, Maine, is offering an intriguing Murder by Shopping package March 7-9. The mystery begins on Sunday evening and develops through Monday, but there will be enough free time to take advantage of the inn's restaurants and an indoor pool, or go shopping at over 170 designer outlets just blocks away. Tuesday breakfast is when the murderer will be revealed. The cost is $348 per person double occupancy, including two nights' lodging, many meals, taxes and tips, and, of course, participation in the mystery.

For reservations, call 800-342-6423. For information, click here.

Fascinating fact

The country of Tonga once issued a stamp shaped like a banana.

Did anyone notice the lodge?

The Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa in Chile’s Atacama Desert plays a significant role in Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue, now on the stands, The Atacama, the driest desert in the world, gave photographer Raphael Mazzucco the chance to work with an array of one-of-a-kind Andean backdrops to showcase the swimwear and the models. Likewise, the models posed for thousands of photos in the lodge's guestroom terraces and against the dusty orange hills that surround the property, at turquoise-colored salt flats, sand dunes and oases.

For information on the lodge, visit http://www.altoatacama.com/. For behind-the-scenes photos of the models at the Alto Atacama, visit www.si.com/swimsuit.

But hold on -- Portugal also claims a significant role in the photo shoot. The S.I. models and crew were also photographed in the Lisbon region, and stayed at the Ritz Lisbon Four Seasons.

Amazing questions -- and equally amazing answers

Not long ago, we looked at some, er,  dopey questions asked by visitors to Walt Disney World in Florida. Now let's cross the country and look not only at questions asked at Disneyland in California but also the clever (or is it sarcastic?)  answers that employees have been known to give. Information is from the book "Mouse Tales" by David Koenig.

Q. (During a downpour). Is that real rain?

A. It's not real.  Mr. Disney has arranged to have an artificial rainstorm in the park every day at 3.

Q.  Is that actual water in the Submarine Lagoon?

A. No, that's cellophane with blowers underneath.

Q. Are the ducks in the Rivers of America real?

A. No, the birds have to be wound up every morning.

Q. (While staring at a large trash can) What ride is this?

A. It's the Can Ride.

Q. How long is the submarine ride?

A. Two days. (So, the book reports, the couple went back to their hotel, packed their bags and returned with suitcases in hand.)

Discount book may cut the cost of NYC visit

New York CityPass contains tickets to the Empire State Building Observatory, the Museum of Modern Art, Statue of Liberty from Liberty Island or from a Circle Line Cruise, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History and the Guggenheim Museum. New York CityPass is $79  for adults, a savings of $61 over Individual ticket prices, and $59 for ages 13-17, a $42 savings. Booklets are valid for nine days.

Visit www.citypass.com.

Friday's trivia answer: the Caspian Sea

We asked for the name of the world's largest sea, and it is the Caspian.  The sea,  which some term a lake, has a surface area of 143,244 square miles.

Write an essay and win a $780,000 home

Roscoe, a comical Jack Russell Terrier – and his owners – will be awarding their $780,000, fully furnished North Conway, N.H., resort home to the winner of a creative essay contest, to benefit the Conway Area Humane Society. The 3,100-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home is in the planned community of Hale’s Location, and abuts the first fairway of the golf course. Hiking and cross-country ski trails can be accessed directly from the community, and Echo Lake Park is a five- minute walk from the house. The entry fee is $50.

For details, visit www.newenglandhomecontest.com.

The most popular attractions in New England

According to the AARP Bulletin, these are the top attractions in the six New England states, along with the annual number of visitors: Maine, L.L. Bean's flagship store, Freeport, 3.5 million; New Hampshire, White Mountain National Forest, 5 million; Vermont, Ben & Jerry's factory, Waterbury, 293,000; Massachusetts, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, 20 million; Connecticut, Hammonasset Beach State Park, 1.9 million; and Rhode Island, Roger Williams Zoo, Providence, 505,409.

Little things mean a lot

When I stayed at the Hampton Inn in Smithfield, R.I., over the weekend, I was delighted to find that the included breakfast buffet had a choice of regular coffee or dark, robust coffee. As I sipped my coffee (the dark, robust kind), I pondered how little things like that can add greatly to a hotel stay.

Fascinating fact

In Japan, tipping is largely viewed as an insult.

Wednesday's trivia answer

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, encompassing 814 square miles, is the most-visited national park in the United States. The park, located in Tennessee and North Carolina, drew more than 9 million visitors in 2008, compared with 4.4 million for Arizona's Grand Canyon and 3.4 million for California's Yosemite. (Source: National Parks Conservation Association.)

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Fun at the pier with this Chicago hotel package

A Day of Fun in the Sun package from Affinia Chicago hotel starts at $229 per night and includes overnight accommodations, four tickets to the IMAX Theater at Navy Pier, four tickets for the Ferris wheel, four tickets for the carousel, four tickets for the Wave Swinger, four tickets for miniature golf and a Navy Pier discount coupon book. Guests staying at the hotel on Saturday will also get a free trolley ride to the pier by showing a hotel keycard. The offer, which Affinia says represents an added value of $144, is good until Aug. 31.

Click here or call 866-246-2203 and mention the code PIER.

Socko slogan

The Week magazine had a tongue-in-cheek contest to come up with a new slogan for Canada. The winner: "Canada: It's Almost Like a Foreign Country!"

Let's not forget dear old Dad

Father's Day at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C., is designed for golf-loving fathers to share their weekend withtheir children. For $750 per person, golfers get three nights' accommodations at the Carolina Hotel, two rounds of golf (including one with caddies on famed Pinehurst No. 2), breakfasts, dinners and an opening night reception with author James Dodson. Golfers can also experience third- and final-round U.S. Open coverage on big-screen TVs.

Click here or call 800-ITS-GOLF (487-4653).

The biggest bargain at Disneyland

In the penny arcade on Main Street in Disneyland's Magic Kingdom, you can peer into an old-fashioned music machine to watch the antics of Charlie Chaplin and many other actors of old. The cost is still one cent, as it was at the turn of the 20th century.

All the Toronto you could possibly want

The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto is offering a Much More Toronto package, available until Sept. 7 and starting at about $118 U.S. Participants will get a booklet good for discounts at more than 20 attractions, dining experiences and touring activities. Included are tours of a brewery and a rooftop garden; two stage productions; three restaurants; four museums and galleries; and five Toronto landmark attractions.

Click here or call 800-441-1414.