It’s New Year’s Eve, which means you will most likely be celebrating in style. For my family “style” means a night at the Disneyland Resort. Since we’re staying at the Disneyland Hotel (my own dime) we can have a few drinks and not have to worry about driving. Plus, there’s plenty to do for the kids, because, hello, it’s Disneyland.

How do you spend New Year’s Eve with the family?

Whatever your plans are for ringing in the new year, please have fun and be safe! See you next year (that never gets old)!

Sincerely,

Your friends at UpTake (that’s us)

Photo: Lobby of the Disneyland Hotel by W.Honea

Hello, Travel Peeps! It’s time for another stirring and emotionally gratifying version of Travel Around the Internet, what with the links and the news and the stuff.

If you would like to see your travel-related news, stories and deals on UpTake please contact us via the link in the sidebar. Also, the Twitter.

Okay, let’s do this:

National Geographic explores the parks of Canada.

The Disney Blog wants you to know about Rapunzel’s big day in London — and how you can be there!

Cruising the Mississippi is new again! via MSNBC

USA Today warns the west about grizzlies.

Frommer’s finds great green hotel bars.

GQ tells you where to go in Philly.

Lonely Planet dishes on Prague.

A 9/11 museum with terrorists exhibits? Yes, says CNN.

BootsnAll lists 10 places you may not know about in Italy.

Film festival perks at Gadling.

And that’s how you do it, people. Thanks for playing!

Did you miss me? Of course you did. Don’t fret, gentle reader, it’s time to get back on the super information highway and pick up all the travel-related hitchhikers you can carry. Don’t get greedy.

Here’s how this works, over the past week we have “carefully” considered all of the emails (see link in sidebar) and tweets that we have received, and we’ve picked the most interesting (i.e. fewest words for me to type) for you to click on. That, my friends, is how we do it up in here (the virtual here).

And now is the part where we link to the deals and the news and the stuff.

Why travel to the stars when you can travel with them? Lonely Planet drops names.

Hilton has launched the Hilton Huanying program in 13 countries. Did yours make the list?

Travel talk with kids and teens at a Kid’s I View.

Check out the lobby of Disney’s soon to open Aulani Resort in Hawai’i over at Disney by Mark.

Safaris are a trip of a lifetime according to CNN Travel.

Three small towns, three road trips — via Gadling.

Las Vegas has its eye on you, London. And Vegas’s Ferris wheel is even bigger.

Workout in your hotel room! Overhead Bin tells you how.

The Disney Blog gives some good tips on Orlando vacations and weather-related safety.

Real people are sharing real travel stories at TravelerVoice.

Bonjour Paris has news of a hot new vending machine — the heat is from the bread.

Looking for all things cruise-related? Look no further.

There you have it, all of the online travel news that is fit to print (but don’t print it because of the trees and stuff).  Happy travels!

Every year the beaches of California host a number of events, but few are as amazing or family friendly as sand castle competitions and festivals. They can be found from San Diego to Santa Barbara, and they feature sand sculptures that will leave you oohing and ahhing. Also, covered in sand.

If you’re visiting California make sure to ask your hotel concierge about sand castle events in the area. It’s a great, and usually free (except for parking), way to spend the day on the beach — and you can’t beat that.

And that’s not all. There are also jokes. Apparently.

This post is a very wordy Wordless Wednesday entry.

Photo: dsearls via Flickr