Florida Vacation Blog

Archive for the ‘Orlando’ Category

Orlando remains one of the world’s most popular destinations thanks in large part to the ongoing popularity of the area’s major theme parks and attractions. Based on this year’s recently announced Theme Park Insider Awards, Orlando should remain a tourism hotspot for years to come. 

Orlando area theme parks captured the top spot in three of the four categories in the Theme Park Insider Awards competition. The awards are based on average reader ratings at the website www.themeparkinsider.com over the past 12 months.

Registered users of the theme park insider site are offered an opportunity to rate attractions, restaurants and hotels on a scale from 0 to 10 and may vote once on each location. ThemeParkInsider.com combines those user ratings and computes averages for each location to determine the winners.

2011 Theme Park Insider Awards

Best Theme Park: Universal’s Islands of Adventure - home to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Islands of Adventure won the award for the second consecutive year. One of the runners-up was Busch Gardens in nearby Tampa, Fla.

Best New Attraction: Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (and Disneyland) - one of the runners-up was Cheetah Hunt at nearby Busch Gardens Tampa.

Best Theme Park Restaurant: Epcot’s Bistro de Paris - the popular Bistro won the award for a second consecutive year. Runners-up include Mythos at Islands of Adventure and Via Napoli at Epcot.

Best On-Site Theme Park Hotel: Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim, Calif. - runners-up included Universal’s Portofino Bay and Disney World’s Beach Club Resort.

For information on Orlando’s theme parks and discount Orlando theme park vacation packages, visit www.westgatereservations.com.

Orlando’s theme parks are full of fun and live concerts this weekend. 

At SeaWorld Orlando, Saturday kicks off the start of “Summer Nights at SeaWorld.” Events include the return of the popular killer whale show, Shamu Rocks as well as Reflections, a nightly grand finale fireworks and water fountain show. A new adventure for summer at SeaWorld is a family friendly party zone - Summer Nights Central - that stretches along the path to Bayside Stadium. The area will also feature live music on weekends from now thru August 14.

SeaWorld Orlando also offers extended hours for the summer with the park open until 10 pm.

At Universal Studios, the weekend means another round of the park’s Summer Concert Series. This week’s special musical guest, Nelly, hits the Universal stage at 9 pm on Saturday.

Keeping in step with the other parks, Disney World Resort offers up the Sounds Like Summer Concert Series featuring tribute bands at Epcot. This weekend’s shows on Friday and Saturday feature Hotel California - A Tribute to the Eagles. Beginning Sunday, June 19 and lasting all week, musical performances will feature Stayin’ Alive - A Tribute to the Bee Gees.

Epcot’s Sounds Like Summer concerts are held at 5:45, 7 and 8:15 p.m.

Concerts at all three theme parks are included with regular admission.

The iconic space shuttle Atlantis has landed. Only this time it has landed a new permanent home.

NASA’s 30-year-old space shuttle program is scheduled to come to an end this summer. But one of the retired shuttles will be staying at Kennedy Space Center where it will be put on display for all to see and enjoy.

NASA announced that four museums will be receiving a space shuttle when the long-running shuttle program finally ends in June. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center was one of more than 20 museums that had been hoping to receive one of the retired shuttles.

As the shuttle program’s launch site, Kennedy Space Center in central Florida will be the permanent home to space shuttle Atlantis. The Visitor Center complex is planning to build a special exhibit center to commemorate the legacy of the durable spaceship. 

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum will receive space shuttle Discovery, replacing Enterprise, which is currently on display at the museum. Enterprise, a test model that was not built to fly, will be moved from the Smithsonian to to New York City’s Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Meanwhile, the fleet’s other shuttle, Endeavour will be sent to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

NASA expects that the spaceships could arrive at their new homes within six to nine months after their last flights.

Two space shuttle missions remain on the launch schedule. Endeavour is tentatively slated to launch from Kennedy Space Center at 3:47 pm on April 29, 2011. And the final shuttle launch of Atlantis, STS-135, is tentatively scheduled for 3:40 pm on June 28, 2011.

For additional information on discount tickets to Kennedy Space Center and other Orlando area theme parks, visit www.westgatereservations.com today.

Orlando’s Discovery Cove theme park is set to open an exciting new attraction this summer. An all new million-gallon saltwater lagoon called Grand Reef” will represent the first expansion at the Orlando park since it opened back in 2000.

The 2.5-acre artificial reef will offer approximately 125 different species of sea life, including colorful tropical fish, rays, sharks and urchins. Guests will enjoy a unique opportunity to enter the reef to walk, swim and snorkel for an up-close view.

The highlight is an underwater walking tour titled a “SeaVenture.” Guests wearing a 75-pound dive helmet (which weighs just 15 pounds when underwater), can follow a themed trail through the reef while encountering schools of fish.

The SeaVenture experience will be limited to guests age 10 or older and groups of no more than six people at a time. However, the attraction also comes at a cost of $59 per person in addition to regular park admission.

According to the park’s plans, the Grand Reef lagoon will also include an area to view approximately 60 lion fish. The venomous lion fish is native to the Pacific Ocean; however, the Discovery Cove lion fish were collected and removed from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico where they are considered an invasive species.

Discovery Cove maintains a limited capacity of approximately 1,000 each day, so reservations are recommended. Other park features include pristine beaches, lazy river, snorkeling with rays and tropical fish, a free-flight aviary, and at an added cost, the park’s signature dolphin swim experience. Guests also enjoy lockers, snorkel gear, breakfast, lunch, plus unlimited snacks, drinks and select alcoholic beverages.

For more information on Discovery Cove and discount tickets to Orlando’s other theme parks and attractions, go to www.westgatereservations.com.

Looking for a little musical entertainment this weekend? You’ll have plenty of options at Orlando’s major theme parks, including Epcot, SeaWorld and Universal Studios. In all, you can choose from four different featured artists and all the concerts are included with your regular theme park admission ticket!

At Universal Studios’ you can again enjoy a two event weekend with Mardi Gras celebrations both Friday and Saturday nights. On Friday, March 25, OneRepublic takes the Mardi Gras stage. Then on Saturday, March 26, there will be another Mardi Gras concert featuring Blake Shelton. On both nights, the music starts at 8:30 pm immediately following the festive 8 pm Mardi Gras parade filled with beads!

At SeaWorld Orlando, Jerry Rivera hits the stage at 3 pm Saturday, March 26 as part of the park’s Viva La Musica celebration of Latin culture. Meanwhile, over at Disney’s Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, you can find Melissa Manchester performing at 5:15, 6:30 and 7:45 pm March 25-27 at the America Gardens Theatre.

For details on discount theme park tickets and discount lodging including 5-Star Westgate Resort properties, visit www.westgatereservations.com today.

Already known for its wealth of world famous theme parks and attractions, Central Florida also continues to grow as one of the world’s premier cruise ship departure points.

While Orlando, FL remains one of the world’s most popular vacation destinations, nearby Port Canaveral sits just an hour’s drive from the gates of Disney World. And now, the Port has again expanded its lineup of world class cruise ships.

Carnival Cruise Lines announced the addition of a third ship to its Port Canaveral fleet. The 20-year-old Carnival Ecstasy, currently based in Galveston, TX, will move to Port Canaveral and begin sailing from Central Florida on Nov. 7, 2011.

The 2,052-passenger ship will operate four- and five-day cruises to The Bahamas. Ecstasy will depart Thursdays on four-day ‘long weekend’ cruises visiting Nassau and Half Moon Cay or Freeport. The five-day cruises will depart Mondays and Saturdays offering ports of call at Nassau, Freeport and Half Moon Cay or Key West.

The Ecstasy joins the Carnival Sensation and Carnival Dream at Port Canaveral. The Port also acts as the home base for the Disney Magic and Disney’s extraordinary new ship, Disney Dream. Rounding out the cruise ship lineup in Port Canaveral are two Royal Caribbean ships, the Freedom of the Seas and Monarch of the Seas.

For details regarding discount Orlando vacation packages and discount cruises, please go to www.WestgateReservations.com.

Boy Genius fans beware.

Universal Orlando® Resort is preparing to close the Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast attraction at Universal Studios Florida,® effective April 1, 2011.

Universal will immediately begin work on an all-new theme park experience, however, the Jimmy Neutron ride will be re-opened for limited periods throughuot the spring and summer. The attraction is slated to close permanently on August 11.

Universal states the the replacement attraction will be based on an amazing concept and be a natural fit for Universal Orlando. However, additional details are not yet available.

It is high season for fresh strawberry picking in central Florida and that means it’s also time for the annual Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City, located just west of Orlando.

The annual funfest began March 3 and runs through March 13. Highlights of the festival include a Midway filled with rides, games and attractions designed to keep your adrenaline pumping. Another favorite is the comical pig racing. With a number of races throughout the day, there’s plenty of opportunity to grab a seat and cheer on your favorite porker.

The Strawberry Festival’s Neighborhood Village is dedicated to showcasing homemade and handcrafted items created by central Florida locals. Judged categories include cake decorating, baking, food preservation, home decoration items, jewelry & beading, knitting 7 crocheting, needlepoint, quilting, scrap booking, toys & porcelain dolls, and wearing apparel & accessories.

Of course, there will also be plenty of delicious strawberries and strawberry dishes to taste, not to mention a wide variety of free and ticketed musical entertainment.

Upcoming Strawberry Festival Concerts:

Wednesday - March 9

Tanya Tucker (3:30 PM - $15 & $20)

Rick Springfield (7:30 PM - $20 & $25)

Thursday - March 10

The Guy Lombardo Band (10:30 AM - FREE)

George Jones - 3:30 PM - $15 & $20

The Doobie Brothers (7:30 PM - $25 & $30)

Friday, March 11

Ray Price (3:30 PM - $10 & $15)

Josh Thompson/Justin Moore (7:30 PM - $15 & $20)

Saturday - March 12

Allstar Weekend & Jennette McCurdy (3:30 PM - $10 & $15)

Billy Ray Cyrus (7:30 PM - $20 & $25)

Sunday - March 13

Easton Corbin (3:30 PM - $15 & $20)

Lady Antebellum (7:30 PM - $45)

The stars will be out at the upcoming Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival as a variety of HGTV personalities will be on hand as guest design and landscape experts. The annual festival at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando begins March 2 and runs through May 15, 2011.

As a key sponsor of the Flower and Garden Festival, HGTV will also present Bambi’s Butterfly House located along the Future World Imagination Walkway.

Hosts from the popular HGTV channel will appear in the Festival Center on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival on the HGTV Stage. The Center is open every day and will feature other presentations Monday through Thursday. Presentations will occur twice daily, at noon and 3 pm.

HGTV celebrity schedule at Epcot:

March 4-6: The Art of Sculpting Space with Genevieve Gorder (”HGTV Design Star” and “Dear Genevieve”)

March 11-13: Design It Yourself: Easy-to-Follow Tips for Designing Your Favorite Room with Lisa LaPorta (”Designed to Sell”)

March 18-20: The 5 DIY Secrets That Can Transform Any Space with Kim Myles (”Myles of Style”)

March 25-27: Mobile Gardens with Brian Patrick Flynn (”Design Happens”)

April 1-3: Adding Value to Your Home Without Breaking the Bank with Taniya Naya (”Designed to Sell” and “Destination Design”)

April 8-10: Life, Love and Landscaping with Ahmed Hassan (”Yard Crashers”)

April 15-17: Gardening with Kids: Fun Seed Starting Projects with Patti Moreno (”Garden Girl”)

April 22-24: When Nature Calls: Creative, Back-to-Basics Style for All Things Natural and Decorative with Michele Beschen (”B. Original”)

April 29-May 1: The Design Process: Curb Appeal Projects from Concept to Construction with John Gidding (”Curb Appeal: The Block”)

May 6-8: Beautiful on a Budget: High Style, Low-Cost Secrets to Bringing Indoor Styling Outside with Frank Fontana (”Design on a Dime”)

May 13-15: Top Design Trends Made Affordable and Accessible with Vern Yip (”HGTV Design Star”)

In NASCAR, they definitely save the best for first!

With most sports, champions are crowned at the end of the season. But the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series annually kicks off its auto racing season with its biggest, richest and most prestigious event - the Daytona 500.

Forty-three of the world’s best stock car drivers will tour the 2.5-mile track at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL in search of the season’s top prize. The winner will receive the year’s biggest purse while garnering the season’s first Sprint Cup championship points.

The Speedway was recently repaved for only the second time in history, offering drivers an entirely new racing experience than what they have become familiar with over the years. The only previous repaving came in 1987.

The winner of the Daytona 500 is presented with the Harley J. Earl Trophy and the winning car is displayed, in race-winning condition, for one year at the Daytona 500 Experience, a special museum and gallery located adjacent to the Speedway.

Of course, Daytona Beach also sits less than an hour’s drive from Orlando. Speed enthusiasts can head to the theme park capital of the world to enjoy a different kind of thrill aboard one of the many high flying roller coasters found in Orlando.

From SeaWorld Orlando to Universal Studios to Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando offers myriad coasters to satisfy the most ardent speed fans.

This year’s Daytona 500 is scheduled to be held Feb. 20, 2011, weather permitting.

For more information on central Florida discount vacation packages and discount theme park tickets, go to www.westgatereservations or visit www.orlandothemeparkvacations.com.