BeTraveler

The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing." ~Daniel J. Boorstin

Everybody knows about the Wonderful World of Disney. Here are some travel tips to help you decide which theme park is perfect for you.

Walt Disney World Parks include theme parks such as Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. Water Parks include Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. In Magicland, there's Adventureland where there's Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Swiss Family, Treehouse, Enchanted Tiki, Shrunken Ned's, Junior Jungle Boats and Magic Carpets of Aladdin. There are many magical Disney Resorts around the globe.

Disneyworld is a place where storybook fantasy comes to life for children of all ages. At Magic Kingdom, the big thrills include Splash Mountain. Sports and Recreation includes Frontierland Shooting Arcade. Fun For Little Ones includes Monsters Inc. Comedy Club, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Donald's Boat, Peter Pan's Flight etc. Other attractions at Walt Disney World are Cindrella Castle, Jungle Cruise, The Haunted Mansion, Tom Sawyer Island, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. The Mild But Wild Thrills include Astro Orbiter, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mad Tea Party, Snow White's Scary Advetures etc.

At Epcot, there are Big Thrills like Mission: SPACE, Test Track etc. Fun For Little Ones includes visit to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Journey Into Imagination With Figment, Kidcot Fun Stops, The Living Seas etc. Mild But Wild Thrills include "Honey, I Shrunk The Audience", Maelstrom and Body Wars. Other attractions include Circle of Life, EL Rio del Tiempo, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Living With the Land etc.

Disney MGM Studios has Big Thrills like Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and Star Tours - the ultimate Star Wars thrill ride. Live Entertainment includes Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show etc. Mild But Wild Thrills include Disney-MGM Studios Backlot Tour. Other Attractions include ATAS Hall of Fame Plaza, Muppet Vision 3-D and The Magic of Disney Animation.

Disney Animal Kingdom attractions include Animal Encounters such as Affection Section, Conservation Station, Maharajah Jungle Trek, The Oasis Exhibits etc. Mild But Wild Thrills include Kilimanjaro Safaris, Primeval Whirl and Kali River Rapids. Big Thrills includes Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain. Mild But Wild Thrills include It's Tough to be a Bug, Kali River Rapids, Primeval Whirl etc.

Water Parks such as Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon have loads of adventure in store for everybody.

Vicky Baker is on her way through South America, putting different Hospitality Exchange and Travel networks to the test.

Today we publish an excerpt of her stay with Felicita and Pierre in Caracas, Venezuela.

Back in Pierre's towerblock apartment, we cook up some cheap student fare - plantain chips and pumpkin soup. The place is not unlike any student flat the world over, with its mishmash of furniture, piles of washing-up, brightly painted walls and the odd political poster, plus budget artistic touches such as the seashells that hang from the bathroom ceiling. The place houses far more people than the four bedrooms would imply, but, like Pierre, all are easy-going and no one bats an eyelid at having a stranger stay for almost a week.

Pierre is a true believer in hospitality tourism and claims to have opened his home to "hundreds and hundreds" of travellers, both here and in France. He was once an active volunteer for hospitalityclub, devoting around 10 hours a week to administrative tasks. However, in 2005, after a disagreement with the site's German founder, Pierre and fellow volunteers decided to launch their own alternative site, bewelcome.org.

The site went live last year, and has just reached the 3,000-members point. It still has a long way to go if it wants to rival Hospitality Club (with 300,000 plus), but Pierre insists they would rather take their time to build up the right sort of membership. The aim is to open up the project to people from all social backgrounds, people like Felicia. "I know I can offer tourists a new experience, and they can offer me one too," she tells me, as we share a few beers with her neighbours in her front room.

My first experience with bewelcome.org certainly does what it says on the tin, with Pierre and Felicia making me feel quite at home. Will my next host show me a different side of Venezuelan life? Javier, from the coastal town of Barcelona, is just back from a 10-month travel-networking trip around Europe, so is sure to have some stories.

One of my favourite travel songs is Broken Wing by the Dutch group The Nits. The lyrics remind me of a trip I took to Turku and Helsinki, and it is nice to think that we all have a guardian angel who travels with us. I can assure you that my guardian angel has saved my ass on numerous occassions.

BROKEN WING

If you've been to Quito, Ecuador, there's a good chance you were heading to the Galápagos. But Quito, the colonial capital perched 9,200 feet up in the Andes, is no longer just a whistle stop. The city's crumbling historic center, one of Latin America's least altered, has been reborn after a seven-year, $200 million renovation. And a crop of upscale hotels has arrived, including a JW Marriott, making Quito a glorious new center in the so-called Middle of the World.

Info about Quito can be found in Wikipedia