New Resorts at Disney World

Walt Disney World is putting the finishing touches on its All-Star Music Resort, which is scheduled to open in November alongside its All-Star Sports Resort which opened this spring.

The resorts have 1,920 rooms each and are on a 246-acre site southwest of the Disney-MGM Studios, just outside of Orlando, Fla. Free bus transportation from the resorts to all themed Disney attractions is provided.

Lodging prices at the new resorts are the lowest of all Disney on-site accommodations: $69 and $79. Rates vary with the view. Rooms accommodate up to four people (two adults and two children, 17 years and younger), but are smaller than other on-site accommodations.

The small print may be the same at both resorts, but when it comes to decor, there’s no mistaking one for the other. At All-Star Sports, travelers are lodged in the Home Run, Hoops, Center Court, Touchdown and Surf Inn hotels, eat at the End Zone food court and swim in a free-form pool called Surf’s Up. Gigantic football helmets, baseball bats designed for giants and a play diagram big enough to sit on dot the grounds.

At All-Star Music, the decor centers around five themes: Broadway, Calypso, Jazz, Country and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Huge banjos, guitars, trombones and conga drums greet guests who stay in the Rock Inn, among others, eat at the Intermission food court and swim in a piano-shaped pool. For reservations, call (407) W-DISNEY or a travel agent.

Deadline for Yosemite Lottery

Applications are now available for the mid-December lottery to reserve summer space at one of Yosemite’s High Sierra camps. Applications must be turned in by Nov. 30.

The lottery was established in 1992 to allocate the limited number of spaces that are available at the High Sierra camps, which are six to 10 miles apart and are set up in June and dismantled in September.

Anyone wishing to reserve space in a tent cabin, make meal reservations or participate in one of several trips, including four- or six-day saddle trips or seven-day guided loop trips with a naturalist, must submit an application to the lottery.

Applications are available from Yosemite High Sierra Camp Reservations, 5410 E. Home Ave., Fresno, Calif. 93727. Only one application may be submitted per party.

Calling All Airborne Travelers

There’s no more escaping the phone, not even 35,000 feet.

Thanks to technology unveiled this month, airline passengers can not only make calls from their seats, they can receive them, too.

The service is now available on Delta Shuttle and USAir Shuttle flights between Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. and on United Airlines transcontinental flights. By month’s end, it is scheduled to be offered on 400 aircraft and by year’s end, on 600, including some international carriers. Information: (800) AIRFONE.

Festival of Arts in Hong Kong

More than 650 performers from China, Japan, Korean, the Philippines, Vietnam and Mongolia, among others, will gather in Hong Kong for the 15th “Festival of Asian Arts” from Friday through Nov. 12. Events will include stage performances, lectures, exhibits, conferences, video shows and talks. Performances will take place at the Hong Kong cultural Center and City Hall, while fringe activities will be held at the Hong Kong Science Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art and Urban Council public libraries.

Ticket range from $4 to $26 and are available from Urbtix in Hong Kong, 011-852-734-9009.

Double-Decker Amtrak Service

Amtrak is adding double-decker Superliner service on its daily Capitol Limited run between Chicago and Washington.

Beginning Oct. 30, the sleek bi-level cars will add another dimension to the trip, with coach, sleeping, dining (with Culinary Institute of America-trained chefs) and lounge cars (with floor-to-ceiling windows).

The round-trip coach fare starts at $128 from Washington to Chicago. (Sleepers cost extra and range from economy to deluxe, with special bedrooms available for disabled travelers.) Reservations: (800) 872-7245.

Pan American Highway Hitch

A 70-year dream to join the Americas, from Alaska to Argentina, by highway, has hit yet another roadblock.

Builders have only to carve a road through an 85-mile stretch of the Darien Gap jungle to complete the last link of the Pan American Highway between Colombia and Panama. But a new environmental report released last week in Bogata, Colombia, says the construction will cause serious environmental damage, according to the Associated Press.