Travel in Brief
Jim Beam distillery to add visitors center
CLERMONT, Ky. — Visitors to the Jim Beam distillery in Kentucky are welcomed with bourbon, given a walking tour and shown a brief film, but Beam’s great-grandson wants to give them more.
If plans fall into place, visitors next fall will smell fermenting grains in the mashhouse as they enter through a new road that winds its way to an $18 million interactive visitor center. At the Jim Beam American Stillhouse, they will learn about the history of the world’s top-selling bourbon-maker and how Jim Beam produces its famed spirit. The American Stillhouse also will include a 40-foot-tall distillation column.
Disney will open 2 parks for 24 hours Feb. 29
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Disney plans to celebrate leap year by keeping two of its theme parks open for 24 hours straight.
The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., will open at 6 a.m. local time Feb. 29 and remain open until 6 a.m. March 1.
For details on the “One More Disney Day” schedule, and on package deals and a sweepstakes, see www.one moredisneyday.com.
Survey: Hotel guests ask for fitness help
Business travelers try to eat right and exercise while on the road, says a survey about their habits, but they want a little help from their hotels to keep them on the right track.
Of the travelers surveyed by KRC Research on behalf of Texas-based Omni Hotels Resorts, 56 percent said they indulge in food and drinks when traveling and regret it.
Also, 56 percent said they would like more low-fat options on the hotel restaurant menu. When it comes to in-room refreshments, 73 percent said they want healthful snacks and 70 percent said they want bottled water available. Nearly one-third said they usually pack workout gear but never have time or energy to exercise.
Omni, which has hotels in Los Angeles and San Diego, offers an option for guests who want to exercise in their own rooms. For a $15 fee, the hotel will furnish the guest’s room with a treadmill, two-pound dumbbells, exercise mat, stretch cords, bottle of water and mini radio headset.
Free national park entry on MLK weekend
WASHINGTON — The National Park Service is waiving entrance fees at more than 100 national parks Jan. 14-16 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend.
The list includes parks like Everglades in Florida, as well as parks that offer winter recreation like Yellowstone in Wyoming. For participating parks by state, including Fort Sumter National Monument here, visit www.nps.gov/find apark/feefreeparks.htm.
The National Park Service says the fee waiver includes entrance fees, but other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not covered unless stated.
Other fee-free days scheduled for national parks in 2012 are April 21-29, which is National Park Week; June 9, “Get Outdoors Day”; Sept. 29, National Public Lands Day, and Nov. 10-12, Veterans Day.
Many national parks are free to enter year-round.
Denali National Park charging per person
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The National Park Service is charging per person and not by the vehicle to enter Denali National Park and Preserve, home to the 20,320-foot Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America.
The park service has decided to eliminate a $20-per-vehicle entrance fee and instead will charge a flat $10-per-person fare for visitors 16 and older.
A 2009 audit recommended the park use only the per-individual fee because there is no entrance station to collect the vehicle fee at the park. Most entrance fees are collected when visitors make bus and campsite reservations. Otherwise, visitors voluntarily stop at the Visitor Center or Learning Center to pay the fee.
Money collected in entrance fees has funded new trails, dust abatement, new restrooms and other major projects.
