Jetsettersblog

Great Wolf Resorts, Inc., North America’s largest family of indoor water park resorts, unveiled its newest attraction, called “Great Wolf Story Explorers,” a modern-day adaptation of the classic storytelling experience, but using technology that’s undeniably futuristic. The new attraction blends the best of classic storytelling, interactive engagement, and imagination into a fully participatory, high-tech experience that’s the first of its kind.

Great Wolf Story Explorers is being debuted at Great Wolf Lodge — Pocono Mountains, Penn., with plans for future installation at other Great Wolf Lodge locations. Built upon a proprietary software platform developed by Creative Kingdoms, creator of the resort’s popular MagiQuest game, the attraction not only takes its young guests on an adventure throughout the resort, but makes the experience fully interactive by making the players the main characters.

Unlike traditional interactive story-telling, the “explorer” is fully integrated into their chosen story and has the ability to choose their particular course.

The experience begins with the young “explorer” choosing a plush toy, which becomes the child’s companion. Players then pause to strike several pre-determined poses for a camera before becoming the main character in an interactive story which will lead them through a series of video screens.

As they move from location to location, they must scan the RFID wristband worn by their plush toy at the various video screens.

Each time the RFID wristband is scanned, an animated video character comes to life on screen, tells more of the story, and guides players to the next stop.

The story, which was developed in collaboration with Creative Kingdoms, is told entirely by the animated characters in the game’s video screens.

The same characters are the resort’s animal mascots known as the Great Wolf Kids. After completing the entire storybook, players are given a keepsake of their adventure — a personalized storybook which integrates the photos taken at the beginning of their adventure with the actual story illustrations, literally making them the main characters in the story.

The installation of Great Wolf Story Explorers at the company’s Pennsylvania resort is the final phase in a capital project that added over $2.1 million in resort enhancements this year, including a six-lane, scaled-down bowling alley called “Ten Paw Ally,” expanded birthday party space in its Scooops Kid Spa, and the remodel of many existing areas throughout the facility.

For more information, visit www.greatwolf.com/poconos

Hilton Garden Inn launched BizWords, a new interactive iPhone/iPad app, to help business travelers decode and navigate the business speak that has become so common in the workplace. The free app will also serve as a professional social network and a practical tool for on-the-go business travelers.

Once the BizWords app is downloaded from iTunes, users are greeted by the home screen and prompted to create a profile, which becomes their business card, complete with a BizWords job title. Users can “climb the corporate ladder” to more important titles based on additional interactions with the app. The app features a crowd-sourced collection of trending business buzzwords and phrases from across the country, and the hottest local terms — all of which can be viewed on a dynamic virtual heat map of the U.S.

Users can add their favorite business terms and acronyms by simply entering the word and a definition — a leader board tracks business buzz words frequency. The BizWords app also contains a link to the Hilton Garden Inn mobile booking application, which will allow users to easily make hotel reservations while on the go. Other app features include a word detail screen, which offers an entertaining definition and use of the word or acronym. This screen will also be home to a virtual map of the United States that displays areas where the game is being played and how specific words are trending across the country. To encourage friendly competition among users, a leader board will display the top 25 app users, allowing other players to view their business cards. For more information, visit www.hgi.com

Condominium Connection is offering every third night free on Kauai at the Outrigger Lae Nani, Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation and Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort for travel through Dec. 22, 2012.

Rates begin at $289 per night for one-bedroom ocean-view accommodations and $299 nightly for two-bedroom garden-view units at the Outrigger Lae Nani in Kapaa.

At the Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation in Poipu, nightly prices start at $289 for one-bedroom garden-view units and $415 for two-bedroom garden-view units.

The Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort in Kapaa starts at $355 per night for a one-bedroom partial mountain-view unit and $425 nightly for two-bedroom partial mountain-view accommodations.

Each property also offers free parking and a honeymoon amenity.

One-bedroom units accommodate up to four guests, while two bedrooms can take up to six people.

Blackout dates apply during the Christmas/New Year’s period of Dec. 22 through Jan. 5, 2012. Rates do not include tax.

This offer cannot be combined with other discounts or specials.

For more information, call 800-423-2976 or visit www.condoconnection.com

The Red Carnation Hotel Collection, a group of 14 four- and five-star family-run boutique hotels, was included on Condé Nast Traveler’s Best of Business Travel 2011 Reader’s Poll. The Red Carnation Brand ranked in the top 10 among all the hotels for service.

Some of the hotels in the Red Carnation Hotel Collection include The Milestone, 41, The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, Hotel d’Angleterre, and The Egerton House Hotel. For more information, call 877-955-1515 or visit www.redcarnation.com

The Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center (HESC) is inviting guests to participate in a hands-on Cheetah Conservation Training Program, which will be offered Oct. 11 to 31. Participants will have the opportunity to be involved in the preparation of animal food and feeding, the possibility of working with the wildlife vet (darting, capturing and operating on animals), assisting in the hand-rearing of animals as well as local community involvement by visiting schools in rural areas.

Dates for future programs will be announced. To make bookings, call 015 793 1825 or 083 654 2299 or email students@cheetahCenter.co.za

For more information, visit www.hesc.co.za

African Travel Inc. at www.africantravelinc.com has over 35 years of travel planning experience in South Africa and can plan an excellent safari side trip to the Cheetah Centre, or contact your professional travel agent. Read the  Jetsetters Magazine feature about Camp Jabulani.

Caribbean resort company Elite Island Resorts has extended its offer of a free companion airline ticket for travelers who book a stay at one of the company’s three all-inclusive resorts in Antigua. As part of the offer, vacationers at Elite’s Galley Bay Resort & Spa, St. James’s Club & Villas and Verandah Resort & Spa also receive discounts of up to 30 percent.

For reservations or more information, call 800-858-4618 or visit www.eliteislandresorts.com

Hotel Izulu in the resort town of Ballito in Kwazulu-Natal province, South Africa, received Diner’s Club’s Platinum status for its wine list. The hotel strives, according to Grant Pringle, its managing director, to “continuously present guests with exceptional wine experiences paired with a fine, organically inspired menu.” Hotel Izulu presents outstanding food and wine experiences for guests and represents the very best that Kwazulu-Natal has to offer. The hotel offers dining in four venues — Gigi’s Brasserie, the private Chef’s Table in the heart of the working kitchen, the Wine Cellar or poolside in the hotel’s manicured gardens. For more information, visit www.hotelizulu.com

With over 35 years of travel planning experience in South Africa, visit African Travel Inc. at www.africantravelinc.com  or contact your professional travel agent.

In anticipation of reaching the 30 million passengers milestone, Amtrak is providing its Facebook fans the opportunity to win roundtrip tickets for two with the “Sweeps for Our Peeps” promotion.

The sweepstakes provides Amtrak a way to thank fans and encourage them to share the experience of train travel.

Each day through Oct. 15, one winner will be randomly selected to win two roundtrip Amtrak tickets to any of the more than 500 destinations in 46 states and three Canadian provinces that Amtrak serves. Individuals must “like” Amtrak on Facebook to enter. Amtrak is projecting that for the first time ever its annual ridership will exceed 30 million passengers and in the process set a new all-time record when the current fiscal year ends Sept. 30. For more information, call 800-USA-RAIL or visit www.Amtrak.com

Hawaiian Airlines is holding the Great Hawaiian Winter Getaway Sale, with savings on nonstop roundtrips between Hawaii and its 10 U.S. mainland cities.

The special fares are offered through Monday, Oct. 3, for nonstop flights from Nov. 21 through Feb. 9, 2012, with the exception of West Coast departures from Dec. 14 to 26, and Hawaii departures from Dec. 27 to Jan. 4.

Tickets at the special fares must be purchased online at HawaiianAirlines.com and are subject to availability and do not include applicable taxes and fees. The lowest available fares are for weekday travel, with weekend flights an extra $50 roundtrip. The cities include Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Fares start at $338. For more information, visit www.HawaiianAirlines.com

Virgin America is partnering with Loopt, the geo-social network, to offer travelers mobile check-in rewards at various locations at locations in the San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 2. Travelers who virtually “check-in” at T2 using the Loopt iPhone or Android mobile app and watch a short video on T2′s unique design will win real-time digital deals from a number of T2′s vendors and dining locations, discounts on Virgin America flights and special offers on services including SFO’s Green Rental Car program.

Through Dec. 22, smartphone users can check-in on Loopt at T2, watch the video “A Day in the Life of SFO’s T2,” and score a “VX Deal on the Fly,” with offers from T2 vendors delivered direct to their iPhone or Android phone. Travelers can flash their instant reward via their mobile screen at select vendors to claim deals like a free dessert at Cat Cora’s Kitchen, complimentary product samples at Kiehl’s and sweet discounts at Natalie’s Candy Jar. In addition, flyers can score 10 to 20 percent off last-minute travel discounts on Virgin America and even random two-for-one and free flight offers for future trips. The Loopt app is available at the Apple App Store or Android Market. Loopt’s mobile application and website give users the inside scoop wherever they go, tapping into local intelligence about places, making it easy to find friends and track down the best deals. For more information, visit www.virginamerica.com