News, Tips & Bargains : Full Speed Ahead in the Northwest

Another high-speed tilt train, this one built in Spain, is chugging into the Pacific Northwest to introduce railroad buffs and regular travelers to its European-built coaches--albeit at normal American speeds.

The 200-seat Talgo train, scheduled to provide daily service from Seattle to Portland for six months beginning April 1, will leave Seattle at 11:30 a.m. and arrive in Portland at 3:25 p.m., then depart Portland at 6 p.m. and return to Seattle at 9:55. Tickets, $34 to $46, are available from travel agents, staffed Amtrak stations or by calling (800) USA-RAIL.

Although able to travel 180 m.p.h., the train will stay below 80 m.p.h. because of track conditions and federal limits.

Ticket Talk at Walt Disney World

Mickey’s getting tough at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

In an effort to stop the resale of multi-day tickets that have already been used by the purchaser, park officials are slapping visitors’ mug shots on four- and five-day passes. The ID pictures are snapped at the gate and the passes assembled in minutes, says spokesman Rod Madden.

The four-day Park Hopper, which costs $107 for kids 3-9 and $134 for others, allows unlimited access to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center and the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park. The five-day World Hopper, $143 for children 3-9, and $179 for others, adds River Country, Typhoon Lagoon, Pleasure Island and Discovery Island.

Got Your Eye on the Oval Office?

If you’re planning a spring or summer trip to Washington, D.C., and you want to take the kids on a guided tour of the White House or Supreme Court, now’s the time to talk to your congressional representative about tickets.

Advance-reservation tours of the ground floor and state floor rooms of the White House, led by the Secret Service, are given Tuesday through Saturday at 8:15, 8:30 and 8:45 a.m.

To obtain the free tickets, visitors should contact their congressional or senatorial representative’s office at least three months before they plan on visiting Washington.

Do-it-yourselfers can bypass the advance tickets, but they may face some formidable lines when they get to the District.

Regular self-guided tours of the White House are available Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the summer, and 10 a.m. to noon in other seasons. During the spring and summer, visitors must obtain same-day tickets--which assign visitors a time in which to stand in line for general entrance--at a booth on the Ellipse grounds. The Washington Convention and Visitors Assn. (202-789-7000) recommends arriving early in the morning to get tickets.

A Fancy for Flowers

The flower fields of Carlsbad are ablaze and are expected to stay in bloom through month’s end. To see the display, take Interstate 5 to the Palomar Airport Road exit, go east on Palomar Airport Road to Paseo del Norte and make a left. For information on things to see and do in the area, call the Carlsbad Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, (800) CARLSBAD.