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Disney brings back Play 4 Days offer

Compiled from staff and wire reports
Published August 1, 2004

Walt Disney World Resort is again offering its discounted, multipark pass to Florida residents, through Nov. 21. The Play 4 Days pass allows unlimited visits to all four theme parks on all four days, which do not have to be consecutive.

The price is $119 per person, plus tax, or $126.74. Compared with buying four one-day, one-park tickets at $54.75 plus tax, the discount is about $100 per pass.

Proof of Florida residency is required for each pass, which can be purchased at the theme parks, Florida AAA offices and Florida Disney Stores.

Among the special events accessible with the pass or regular tickets is the ABC Super Soap Weekend on Nov. 13-14 at Disney-MGM Studios; more than 30 soap opera actors will appear. Also, Epcot's World Showcase opens its sixth art gallery, American Heritage Gallery, with "Echoes of Africa."

Call (407) 939-43297; disneyworld.com/play4days.

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SUMMER CLOSEOUT: Many InterContinental Hotels worldwide will have Luxury Escape rates available through Sept. 5, with breakfast included. The Grand Hotel InterContinental in Paris is charging $357 standard rate: $530. In Vienna, the rate is $182 (vs. $370), and in London, it's $313 ($442). Call toll-free 1-800-424-6835; www.intercontinental.com/luxuryescapes

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BREAKFAST BY THE BEACH: Through Sept. 30, the 66-room Wave Hotel on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach has rooms for $89 a night at least $20 off rates listed on the hotel's Web site Monday to Thursday. Tax is extra, but the price includes Champagne and a continental breakfast. The Wave opened in 1941 and was renovated in 1999. Call toll-free 1-800-501-0401; www.wavehotel.com

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DISCOUNTS HERE, THERE: The upscale Sofitel chain has announced Summer Getaway Invitations with savings of up to 40 percent, plus complimentary breakfast, at some properties around the world. The packages are valid through Sept. 6, with rates based on double occupancy. Children younger than 12 stay free.

Sample rates, excluding local taxes, include: $79 a night at the Sofitel Salvador Bahia, Brazil; $160 at the Sofitel Buenos Aires; $221 at the Sofitel Le Mediterranean Cannes, France; $89 or $109 at the Sofitel San Francisco Bay; $152 at the Sofitel Montreal; $159 at the Sofitel Philadelphia.

Guests enrolled in the frequent flyer programs of Air France, Alitalia, Delta and American Airlines may receive miles. Call toll-free 1-800-763-4835; www.sofitel.com

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HOT AND COLD: Take advantage of both these deals and you have dessert. First, the Super 8 chain, with almost 2,100 motels in North America, promises unlimited coffee refills for anyone who stops by with one of its stainless-steel travel mugs. You have to buy the mug at one of the motels ($5).

Then you might be able to stay at one of the Kimpton Hotels in the Washington, D.C., area for the Endless Summer deal: A pint of Haagen-Dazs is included with room rates of $119 to $149 a night, plus tax, through Sept. 6. The hotels and their toll-free numbers are Hotel Monaco 1-800-649-1202, Hotel George (1-800-576-8331) and Hotel Madera (1-800-368-5691). Or go to www.kimptongroup.com

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NUTMEG STATE: Another Second Penny in Stonington, Conn., offers a package that includes seven nights' accommodation; dinner for two for five nights, including an evening lobster cruise; a full breakfast each morning; admission for two to Mystic Seaport, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, the Nautilus Submarine Museum, the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat, and several more museums, and an evening cruise aboard the steamboat Sabino. There is even a roll of quarters if you decide to head for the slot machines at nearby Foxwoods Resorts or the Mohegan Sun casino. The cost is $1,600 a couple, tax included.

Call 860 535-1710; www.secondpenny.com

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PUB TOUR: CIE Tours International offers nine-day escorted pub tours of Ireland almost year-round, but the price drops to $1,112 per person the weeks of Nov. 7 and 14, compared with $1,882 in August. In addition to air fare from Boston and stays in first-class hotels, the bus tour has dinner and music at the Abbey Tavern, visits to the Old Jameson Distillery and the Guinness Brewery, a Kinsale walking tour and brewery visit, a stop at the Rock of Cashel, a Dingle Peninsula tour, and a look at the towering Cliffs of Moher.

Call toll-free 1-800-243-8687; www.cietours.com

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JOIE DE VIVRE: A 10-day fall tour of Provence, beginning Nov. 3, will include wine tasting and a cooking class, and visit villages and cities, museums and palaces. There will be stops in Arles, Avignon, Vaison-la-Romaine and Aix-en-Provence. Tour members will taste the wines of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and chocolates from De Castelain. They will take a cooking class in Provencal cuisine.

The cost is $3,900 per person, based on double occupancy (the surcharge for traveling solo is $600). The price includes accommodations with first and last night in Paris, most meals, tour leader and museum fees. Round-trip airfare is not included.

Contact Enchanted France in Los Angeles, toll-free 1-866-313-2856, www.enchanted-france.com

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TOUR BRAZIL: Picture yourself in the Amazon jungle on a 19-day cultural tour of Brazil led by a photography instructor. The Sept. 14 trip will begin in Manaus and move into the Amazon on a chartered riverboat. Highlights include visits to the former Brazilian capital of Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and Iguacu Falls.

Atlanta photographer Stephen Grote will lead the tour. Cost is $3,990 per person, based on double occupancy (the single surcharge is $880). That includes round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, accommodations, most meals, ground transportation and an English-speaking tour guide.

Contact University Educational Travel, toll-free 1-800-525-0525, www.uet.com/brazil.html

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