Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
390
Universal theme parks, and SeaWorld parks
can be found on their respective websites, as
well as at the theme parks themselves.
NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES
The
Orlando Sentinel
is the major local newspa-
per, but you can also purchase the Sunday
editions of other papers (most notably, the
New York Times
) in some hotel gift shops or
bookstores such as Barnes & Noble or Bor-
ders. Don't count on finding daily editions
of West Coast papers, such as the
Los Ange-
les Times,
without making special arrange-
ments. The Friday edition of the
Sentinel
includes extensive entertainment and din-
ing listings, as does the
Sentinel
's website,
www.orlandosentinel.com
.
Orlando
Weekly
is a free, alternative paper that has a
lot of entertainment and art listings focused
on events outside tourist areas.
PASSPORTS
See
www.frommers.com/
planning
for information on how to
obtain a passport. See “Embassies & Con-
sulates,” above, for whom to contact if you
lose yours while traveling in the U.S. For
other information, please contact the fol-
lowing agencies:
For Residents of Australia
Contact the
Australian Passport Information Service
at
&
131-232,
or visit the government
website at www.passports.gov.au.
For Residents of Canada
Contact the
central
Passport Office,
Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (
&
800/567-
6868;
www.ppt.gc.ca).
For Residents of Ireland
Contact the
Passport Office,
Setanta Centre, Moles-
worth Street, Dublin 2 (
&
01/671-1633;
www.irlgov.ie/iveagh).
For Residents of New Zealand
Contact
the
Passports Office
at
&
0800/225-050
in New Zealand or 04/474-8100, or log
on to
www.passports.govt.nz
.
For Residents of the United King-
dom
Visit your nearest passport office,
major post office, or travel agency; or
contact the
United Kingdom Passport
Service
at
&
0870/521-0410
or search its
website at
www.ukpa.gov.uk
.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Orlando is a magnet
for shutterbugs. If you're still shooting film,
2-hour film processing is available at all
major parks. Look for the photo express
signs. You can buy film, batteries, and dis-
posable cameras in all of the theme parks,
but you'll save money on almost everything
if you shop at drugstores such as Walgreens
or local grocery stores. These places often
run specials for discounted processing or
free double prints, saving you a significant
amount of money. They're listed in the Yel-
low Pages under “Photo Finishing.” The
parks carry only a small selection of mem-
ory chips for digital cameras; if you need
rechargeable batteries, you will have to go
to one of the many camera shops found just
off of park property.
POLICE
Call
&
911
in an emergency.
SMOKING
If you're a smoker, light up
where and when you can. Smoking is pro-
hibited in many of Florida's public places.
While some bars have smoking areas and
most hotels have smoking rooms, many
are eliminating them. You're still permit-
ted to inhale in most outdoor areas, but
the Disney parks restrict where.
Note:
Don't expect to light up during dinner. In
2002, Florida voters approved a constitu-
tional amendment that bans smoking in
public work places, including restaurants
and bars that serve food. Stand-alone bars
that serve virtually no food and designated
smoking rooms in hotels are exempt.
TAXES
The United States has no value-
added tax (VAT) or other indirect tax at
the national level. Every state, county, and
city may levy its own local tax on all pur-
chases, including hotel and restaurant
checks and airline tickets. These taxes will
not appear on price tags.
In Orlando a 6% to 7.5% sales tax
(depends on the local county you happen to
be in) is charged on all goods with the excep-
tion of most edible grocery-store items and
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