Thousands of eager residents came out to the Winter Haven Orange Dome one night last week to see what Legoland Florida will bring to Central Florida upon opening in fall 2011. Legoland Model Citizens, the company’s affectionate term for its employees, revealed renderings of what the new theme park will look like, and how the [...]

After the Miami Heat gained two megastar free-agents (LeBron James and Chris Bosh), guard Dwyane Wade celebrated with a vacation to Disney World where he stopped by ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex to play a fun 3-on-3 game with Mickey Mouse and AAU girls basketball players from South Florida and Louisiana. The youth teams [...]

By Don Gworek It’s fun to compare signs and architecture in sister theme parks. I recently had a chance to visit the new Universal Studios in Singapore and thought I’d take a look at some of the similarities and differences. It’s sort of like recognizing old friends you see all the time, and some of [...]

During the three-day opening ceremonies for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we had a chance to interview most of the film stars, Universal creative designers and directors from the films who helped create the new area in Islands of Adventure. Here’s a wrap-up of all our video interviews. Some members of the press were [...]

We heard the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure would be open all day for the first time, so we headed over around dinner time. This was the first night the new area was open to regular park guests. Before we get to the night shots, let’s look at some of the [...]

By Don Gworek What began with controversy 20 years ago is now one of Orlando’s top events each year, with attendance larger than many of the biggest convention groups. It started as just one day at the Magic Kingdom and has expanded to a multi-day event at multiple parks. It’s estimated that 150,000 people attended [...]

Warning! If you like to experience new attractions for yourself without knowing much about them, and you’re planning a trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, stop reading now. But if you want to know all about what guests will find in the new area of Universal’s Islands of Adventure, read on …

Today was the opening day for Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Crowds were lined up early this morning to get their exclusive merchandise and Fastpasses to meet the visiting celebrities. The Star Wars celebrities joined characters from the entire Star Wars saga in a grand motorcade at 11:40 a.m. The parade included young [...]

A new character made his debut this week at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Lots-o-Huggin’ Bear (AKA Lotso) from the upcoming Toy Story 3 movie is now meeting guests in the Magic of Disney Animation and dancing in the Block Party Bash parade daily. As the sign says, he’s a hugger, and the guests I saw meeting [...]

We were able to talk with Alan Gilmore, the art director for two Harry Potter films and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, during the Entertainment Designers Forum last night. As you’ll hear in our video below, he tells a few tidbits about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure that [...]

Major League Gaming’s (MLG) Pro Circuit tournament opened its 2010 season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World this past weekend with an intense three day competition full of unexpected twists and upsets. Ultimately fourth-seeded Instinct prevailed over the rest of the 200 team field, taking home $20,000 and its first [...]

It was a grand opening befitting Disney’s new D Street store at Downtown Disney mixing music, art and pyro. Disney describes D Street as where urban-inspired product “intersects” with a Disney creative edge. The store’s main focus is on the collectable Mickey Mouse Vinylmation figures. First up, speed painter Rock Demarco created his version of [...]

Universal just released a new video in which the film makers and actors discuss the challenges and attention to detail needed to bring Harry Potter’s world to life at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. In the video below you’ll hear from Production Designer Stuart Craig, actress Emma Watson, Producer David Heyman, Producer David Barron and actor [...]

Universal has released a new video featuring Mark Woodbury, president of Universal creative, talking about and showing off parts of the queue for the new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal’s Islands of Adventure. You’ll see the Portrait Gallery room with the first ever look [...]

An authentic replica from the Harry Potter films, guests will pass by Hagrid’s hut on their way to the Flight of the Hippogriff family-friendly roller coaster. Just before they board, Hagrid instructs guests on how to properly approach and fly on a Hippogriff. Hagrid’s hut will be seen as part of a feature about The [...]

The Hard Rock Cafe in Universal CityWalk has a cool new high-tech way to check out their rock and roll memorabilia. The new interactive touch-screen Rock Wall not only lets you inspect some of the archives at the Hard Rock in Orlando, but you can view more than 1,300 pieces from the company’s 162 venues [...]

MegaCon 2010 was held this past weekend at the Orange County Convention Center and it was huge. The actual space the event took up in the convention center didn’t seem any smaller or larger than past years, but the crowds seemed at record levels on Saturday. We were told they almost reached capacity and were [...]

For this February 2010 update, we take a peek above the construction walls – way above. Come fly with us to check out the progress of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. No, we didn’t use a magical broomstick. Thanks go to Air Florida Helicopter Charters on International Drive. …

Against the backdrop of a world-record sculpture of canned goods at Epcot last Thursday, Disney Parks officials announced a major milestone with its Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program. Since the program’s launch only six weeks ago, more than 600,000 people in …

By Andy Guinigundo As I was scouring the Internet for stories for the recently released Winter issue of Orlando Attractions Magazine, I came across a press release announcing the closing of a fan favorite at Bush Gardens in Williamsburg, Va., the Big Bad Wolf. The press release was a few months old, July 24, 2009, [...]