Disney Cruise Line’s first ship, Disney Magic, will relaunch later this year with new spaces, reimagined areas and exciting additions for the whole family, including a new twist on the popular AquaDuck slide. “Storytelling is at the heart of everything we do,” says Joe Lanzisero, senior creative vice president for Walt Disney Imagineering. “Walt Disney [...]

Hong Kong – On Wednesday, Hong Kong Financial Secretary, John Tsang, announced that Hong Kong Disneyland would expand to include Marvel heroes. The expansion will reportedly cover 17 acres in the currently 68-acre park. This expansion will reportedly be completed around 2017. While details are quite sketchy at this point, the expansion will include Marvel [...]

Hosts Banks Lee and JeniLynn Knopp bring you this week’s theme park and attraction news and more. On this week’s episode: • News In The Queue: New name for the Disney mom’s panel; Tuskegee Airmen at Fantasy of Flight; True Love Week at Magic Kingdom; TNA wrestling leaving Universal Studios; Bands Brew and BBQ and [...]

By Andy Guinigundo Carlsbad, Calif. – Ahead of the April 5, 2013 opening of the first American Legoland Hotel at the Legoland Resort in California, a national search is on for Junior Concierges. Prospective concierges ages 8 to 12 are asked to submit an essay of 50 words or less to Legoland.com/JuniorConcierge by Feb. 14, [...]

By Suzannah Mitchell DiMarzio and Beci Mahnken The holiday decorations may be put away but that’s no reason for the fun to end in Florida. Here are some amazing ways to chase the winter blues away and enjoy some great deals in the process. For something truly unique, head over to Dinosaur World in nearby [...]

SeaWorld Orlando is kicking off an “Epic Voyage” campaign to launch Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, the park’s largest expansion, scheduled to open this spring. The campaign which stops in seven cities, also includes an all-new mobile app, both of which are designed to give families a sneak peek into the upcoming attraction. Antarctica: Empire [...]

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo (IAAPA) is the largest annual conference and trade show of the $24 billion global theme park and attractions industry. This past week, the Orange County Convention Center was converted into a dazzling marketplace of midway-style thrills that may arrive soon at favorite theme park and attractions [...]

By Andy Guinigundo Jacksonville, Florida’s Sally Corporation may not pop into your mind when you think about theme park rides. Chances are, however, you have been on a Sally Corp dark ride. E.T. Adventure at Universal Studios here in Orlando? – Sally. Maybe Legoland is more your style. Perhaps you have been on Legoland’s Lost [...]

By Andy Guinigundo Carlsbad, Calif. – Less than an hour north of San Diego, Calif. is the beach town of Carlsbad. Here resides the original North American Legoland. Open in 1999, its development has somewhat foreshadowed the development of Legoland Florida. For example, California opened a water park in 2010 with Florida’s following two years [...]

Orlando Attractions Magazine – The Show has returned for a new season and we’re back to weekly episodes. Join hosts Banks Lee and J.L. Knopp from Theme Park Connection as they present this week’s theme park and attraction news and much more. On this week’s episode: • Periwinkle joins Tinker Bell at Magic Kingdom • [...]

Walt Disney World is making a number of small but important changes to the way they transport guests around their property. Some changes have been recently completed and some will take a few years to implement. It’s all in the name of growth, efficiency, guest satisfaction and safety. Samuel Lau is the vice president of [...]

San Diego hosts the original SeaWorld park. It shares some attractions with our park in Orlando, but many of these attractions have some interesting differences. Just like in Orlando, there is a One Ocean show featuring Shamu. And San Diego also has a Blue Horizons show featuring dolphins. However, notice how the stadium seating …

It’s hard to think of Orlando without thinking of Walt Disney World and Mickey Mouse. But just outside the gates of Walt Disney World lies what travel writer Kelly Monaghan calls “the Other Orlando.”In the new book After Disney: The Other Orlando, Monaghan and co-author Seth Kubersky set out to chronicle attractions and activities, some well-known, others undiscovered, [...]

The Shanghai Daily News reports that two hotels are in now in design review by the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone. The hotels are currently named Hotel One and Hotel Two. No theming has been announced yet. The plan for Hotel One is seen here. Color has been added to highlight the lodging buildings [...]

Universal Orlando is testing a whole new system to skip the lines at select attractions. Instead of their Universal Express pass, the Universal Ride Reservation System lets guests reserve the time they want to ride using a small interactive pager. The new interactive pager, dubbed the U-Bot, lets guests make a reservation by scrolling up [...]

The Gaylord Palms Resort is one of Central Florida’s largest convention hotels. Here’s a look at one of the other three Gaylord hotels, the Gaylord National. The National resort, seen above, is located on 300 acres just south of Washington D.C. on the Potomac river shore. Signature elements of Gaylord Hotels are the very large [...]

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland is where many spacecraft are designed, built and tested. This is a full size mock up of the Webb telescope. It’s a very different design, designed to capture infrared light. Light is focused from the 18 hexagonal primary mirrors. The five diamond-shaped layers unfurled below the mirror [...]

Busch Gardens Tampa, SeaWorld Orlando and Universal Orlando are currently offering three months extra with a purchase of their one year annual pass. This offer is available for a limited time only so be sure to check out all the details below.  Universal Orlando Resort: Valid only for Florida Residents Must be purchased now through Aug. 31, [...]

Disney Parks and Resorts will be releasing the beta version of their new mobile app dubbed “My Disney Experience” next month. The free app will include park hours, wait times, maps, dining and attraction information and more. The app will be similar to the current Mobile Magic app and will feature all the existing features of the app [...]

Several weeks ago the Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery left the Kennedy Space Center on its final flight. It was carried onboard a 747, and was flown to the Dulles Airport outside Washington DC. Discovery was quickly added to the Smithsonian collection, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i9lg_3WssM This video shows what it is like [...]