Travel to the Dark Side: The Best Haunts for Jaunts in October

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 1, 2014) - Even Disney has a dark side and travelers can get a deep immersion into Walt's shadows during October when travel to some U.S. destinations begins to take on a very scary air.

Travel-Intel looks at spooky places to travel this month and among those places is Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA, which puts the best "imaginers" in the world to the task of creating the scariest of rides inside the Happiest Place on Earth. Ubiquitous Mickeys turn into big-eared jack-o-lanterns amid brilliantly haunted pumpkin patches and the ghosts come out at night all month long in some very unexpected forms.

Travel-Intel also looks at other Halloween haunts around the U.S., from the legendary Whaley House in Old Town San Diego to a locked up insane asylum, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, dating back the pre-Civil War days. The West Virginia site is some four hours drive from Washington D.C. and remains the quarry of very serious ghost hunters. Most of these destinations are making way for major activity leading up to Halloween.

This latest issue of Travel-Intel, the news channel for Tours.com, also puts the spotlight on the cruise industry, which has been slow to answer the call for fast free Wi-Fi on those long and lumbering cruise itineraries. However, one cruise line, Oceania Cruises, may be bringing a change to all that in what cruise travelers hope will become a trend for this industry.

Not slow to find the right beats at sea is Holland America Line, which has been running "Dancing with the Stars"-themed cruises on its Eastern Caribbean itineraries as the popular television show heads into its 19^th season. The week-long sojourns this year run November 29 and December 7 on the ms Westerdam. Reporting on what it's like to be swept into the dance frenzy onboard is @CruiseGuru David Yeskel.

Two other stories of note include Relais la Corte Dei Papi, which looks at a villa in Tuscany that could easily have been cast in a circa '60s Marcello Mastroianni film. The 15-room grand auberge is in Cortana wine country, less than 100 miles from room, and is a member of the exclusive Kurtz-Ahlers collection of hotels and resorts.

Also, Travel-Intel looks at the romantic side of Las Vegas -- long the wedding capital of the country. The wild and whimsical whirlwind of weddings continues in Las Vegas and Travel-Intel provides an overview and update on the wheres and ways to tie the knot in Sin City.

Travel-Intel is a publication that goes out weekly to more than 130,000 sellers of travel. It is also posted online at Tours.com.

The publication reports from travel conferences and expos, as well as popular hotels, exotic resorts, cruise ships and travel destinations near and far with stories that feature the latest intel on travel. Current features and archives can be viewed at www.travel-intel.com.

"Travelers and those who sell travel need to be updated on what's hot, what's not, what's changed and what's changing in this fast moving industry," says Lark Gould, content director for Travel-Intel and Tours.com.

As a veteran travel journalist who has been covering the travel industry for more than 20 years, Gould puts her incisive perspective into the weekly publication, with features and news updates, and also "packages" issues that detail great travel deals to be found at hotels and resort locations worldwide. Travel-Intel can be viewed as a stand-alone site on Tours.com. Gould publishes travel columns and stories in Larkslist, Barclay's Travel Community, the Washington Times, Travel Market Report and Business Traveler USA.

About Tours.com: Tours.com Since 1995 - The Worldwide Directory of Tours & Vacation is the most comprehensive directory of tour and vacation providers searchable by company name, destination and/or activity. Find a Travel Agent Specialist search feature allows one to find travel agents with in-depth knowledge in their chosen specialty. The Travel Resource section includes all the information a travel professional may need from Passport & Visas, Travel Insurance, Accommodations ( B&B, castles, villas and more, etc) Cruises, Barges, Boats, Yachts & Ferries, Rail & Railroad Vacations just to name a few.