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Welcome to The Genre Traveler! Please sign up using the form to the right so that you'll get all the latest updates to the site. You also might want to sign up for the RSS feed, which you can do via email or your favorite RSS Reader. Yep. With July's release of the new Harry Potter movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the release of the final book in the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Britain is going to see a surge of tourism again. Since 2001, when the first Harry Potter film came out, the U.K. has experienced a tourism phenomenon.

This time, London-based tour operator British Tours Ltd. will be ready. They received their first Harry Potter inquiry in October 2000, before the first film had been released. By 2006, they were conducting more than 200 tours a year.

The Harry Potter films use several of Britain's historic sights as backdrops, and all of them have seen an increase in visitor numbers since the first film came out.

If you're interested in a Harry Potter tour, here are a few options to check out:

British Tours, Ltd.
www.britishtours.com/harry_potter.html

HP Fan Trips
www.hpfantrips.com

Off To London
www.offtolondon.com/hp_tours.html

Lynott Tours
www.lynotttours.com/b-potter.htm

London Country Tours
www.londoncountrytours.co.uk/harrypotter.htm

The Original London Walks
www.walks.com/Homepage/Harry_Potter_Tours/default.aspx

This time Billy Bones won't be giving you the map -- Red Funnel Ferries will.

If you’re going to be in the U.K. between now and the end of July, you might want to participate in the Great Isle of Wight Treasure Hunt. Organized by Red Funnel Ferries, the Isle of Wight specialist, the treasure hunt follows a Castles and Kings theme and can be downloaded from Red Funnel's Treasure Island page in PDF or mp3 format.

Prizes include an iPod Video or a New Year’s self-catering break to the Isle of Wight. All you have to do to be entered in the drawing is visit the Isle of Wight, follow the history-packed tour around the north of the island visiting both historic sites and popular attractions and find the answers to a dozen questions, some of which are, according to Red Funnel Ferries, “mildly cryptic, but nothing that should give you brain-ache.”

You can drive or cycle the 25-mile clue-trail, with some “gentle strolling here and there.” Along the way, you will learn about the Island’s history and see some of its beautiful landscape and scenic coastline. You should be able to stay on track with nothing more than the guide, a pair of sensible shoes and a map of the island.

Answers to the clues should be emailed or sent by post to arrive by July 31, 2006. All correct entries will go into a prize drawing. For more information, visit www.redfunnel.co.uk/treasure.

SUMMARY
What: The Great Isle of Wight Treasure Hunt
Where: Isle of Wight, U.K.
When: Now through July 31, 2006
Send Entries to:
treasure@redfunnel.co.uk
or
Treasure Hunt CC,
Red Funnel Ferries,
12 Bugle Street,
Southampton, SO14 2JZ
United Kingdom

Be sure to include with your entry to contact information.

Don’t know who Billy Bones is? Visit this site and find out: www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/treasure

For more information about pirate activities and things to do, see the January 2006 issue of The Genre
Traveler: http://thegenretraveler.com/JAN2006/TGTJanuary2006.htm.

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Expedition Everest
Disney World's "Expedition Everest" ride, mentioned on page 6 of the January issue of The Genre Traveler, was unveiled for 1,500 travel trade professionals and media last Friday, April 7. The 3.5 minute ride was a collaborative effort between Walt Disney Imagineering, The Discovery Channel and Conservation International.

For more information, visit www.disneyeverest.com/?CMP=KNC-EverestGoogle&HBX_PK=Expedition+Everest&HBX_OU=50

Sci-Fi Fan Trips
More details for the Sci-Fi Fan Trips at Space Camp, mentioned on page 28 of the April issue of The Genre Traveler, have been released. Activities in the package include:

• Laser Weaponry Training
• X-Prize model Rocket Construction and Launch
• Space Missions in actual NASA-patterned vehicles
• Panel discussions by NASA scientists and science fiction authors
• Star gazing with an astronomer, and
• Alien Costume "Part of the Galaxy" and Award Banquet

The party will include a themed menu, award presentations and karaoke.

For more information, vis www.sci-fi-fantrips.com

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The Genre Traveler Trip to Toronto to See Lord of the Rings Moved to October

NOTE: The May trip to Toronto has been pushed back to October. Details on this Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Tour of World Premiere Lord of the Rings Musical Available Only from The Genre Traveler and Beyond Boundaries Travel will be available at thegenretraveler.0catch.com/LOTRTour.htm soon.

A Kevin Wallace Limited production. Based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Written & produced under license from The Saul Zaentz Co. (SZC). ™and ®SZC under license. All rights reserved. ©Kevin Wallace Limited 2005.

Warner Home Video has announced the launch of the online "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Giveaway" contest, timed to today’s DVD release. If you win the contest, you and three friends will take a trip to the UK for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie set and a chance to meet members of the cast.

Other prizes in the contest -- more than 250 of them -- include Harry Potter PS2 video games, movie collectibles, movie soundtracks, portable digital media players and more. You can also collect trading cards, send e-cards, vote for your friends for "Champion" (which gets you more chances to win), and -- this is a marketing stunt, ya know -- preview and order the Goblet of Fire DVD.

To register, go online at:

http://warnerbros.eprize.net/harrypotter4/index.tbapp?page=coppa_age_form&email=&session_id=pbfew4tel2hqj0b9

You enter your birthday, then it will take a little while as the preveiw for the movie loads. But you can skip it, if you want. Then you get to the registration screen. It will require you to enter your mobile phone number. After registering, your registration form will be whisked into the virtual Goblet of Fire and you'll receive a text message. I don't know what it is because I don't want to pay the money to view it (OK, I'm cheap.)

The other option for registering is text messaging "GOBLET" to 65579 on your mobile phone. I can't tell you what happens next.

Once entered, you can see if you have instantly won one of the prizes. Every Friday, a select number of participants will instantly win the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire soundtrack and a portable digital media player.

The promotion is open to people aged 6 and older in the United States and Canada, except Quebec. Mobile entry is restricted to those over 13 years of age. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix opens next year.

The Genre Traveler and Beyond Boundaries Travel Team Up
for Special Weekend Package to See the Lord of the Rings Musical in Toronto

On Memorial Day Weekend, not only can you get to see the World Premiere musical in Toronto – already receiving rave reviews from theatre goers – but will also get the chance to meet the producer and cast in a private Q&A session.

This one-of-a-kind tour, offered only by Beyond Boundaries Travel in cooperation with The Genre Traveler, features three nights accommodations at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, a luxury hotel in the heart of downtown Toronto; a private Q&A session with producer Kevin Wallace and the cast, exclusively arranged for travelers on this tour; an intensive, behind-the-scenes workshop with actors and crew; a Gala Lord of the Rings Costume Party; and, of course, tickets to see the musical.

“We strive to make our tours as fun and interactive as possible,” says Jeannie Barresi, co-founder of Beyond Boundaries Travel. “That’s why we worked so hard to arrange the Q&A session with the producer and cast, as well as the intensive, hands-on workshop.”

“What’s so special about these kinds of tours,” says C.S. Pothitt, editor of The Genre Traveler, “is the opportunity to meet interesting, intelligent people who share an interest with you, in this case, an appreciation for J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic work.”

Details will be posted here soon, so keep coming back! However, if you can't wait to book your space for this once-in-a-lifetime tour, feel free to contact Beyond Boundaries travel at (800) 487-1136 or (719) 471-0222, or visit lotrfantrips.com.

Previews of Lord of the Rings, directed by Matthew Warchus, opened on February 4 at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto and will run until March 22. Fans who have seen the preview said it was worth the wait. One even said, “It was unlike reading or watching Middle Earth, it was like being there!” The official Gala opening is scheduled for March 23. Toronto will be the only place to see this production for at least nine months, when it is scheduled to open in London.