The owners of Cypress Gardens announced today that the park and Splash Island Waterpark have closed. The park closed last fall for five months then reopened earlier this year without its many amusement rides. Since the end of March, it has operated with just its water park, gardens and ski show. Here’s the owner’s statement…
The annual MegaCon comic and toy convention spun off into the first-ever Mini MegaCon, which took place at the Orlando Convention Center on Aug. 22-23, 2009. Here is a video recap of the costume contest that included attendees showing up as the Terminator and John Connor, Indiana Jones, Silver Surfer, and more: [smugmug url=”https://photos.attractiondev.wpengine.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=9371648_FihoN&format=rss200″ title=”Photos%20from%20Mini%20MegaCon%202009″…
We recently had a chance to take a look behind-the-scenes at Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival. Disney is gearing up for the festival’s 14th year and is producing an impressive new menu of foods from around the world, with 60 to 70 new items this year. In today’s sneak peek, we spoke with Epcot Executive Chef…
We recently had the chance to follow two young girls as they ventured into the Magic Kingdom for makeovers. One wanted to become a princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique inside Cinderella Castle and the other made her way into Adventureland to join the scallywags at the Pirates League. You can read about their journeys…
By Andy Guinigundo First off, I would like to thank my colleagues for bringing such complete coverage of Disney’s D23 Expo from Anaheim. Out of the Loop took a mini hiatus during this time since much of the coverage was news from outside of Orlando, which is this column’s focus. While, I was unable to…
The Fall 2009 issue of Orlando Attractions Magazine features a story on Disney’s new Bay Lake Tower hotel at their Contemporary Resort. The new 15-story tower is part of Disney’s Vacation Club and combines modern design with an ideal location, just minutes away from the Magic Kingdom. Below is a video tour of Bay Lake…
Every year, Universal Orlando sends creative invitations to the press to inform them of a Halloween Horror Nights media event. This year, we received a package from the Universal Palace Theater, the setting for Halloween Horror Nights 19. Inside were a few bloody items, including a popcorn box complete with old popcorn, as well as…
The above image, released by Disney as part of the long-awaited Star Tours update announcement, may offer some clues as to what destinations guests will be traveling to when the popular Star Wars-based ride is updated in 2011. Seated at a table in front of boards of concept art are Walt Disney Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald (left), Industrial…
The D23 Expo was truly the ultimate Disney fan experience, bringing together tens of thousands of fans from all over the world with celebrities, executives, and even a few robots. It has been five days since the Expo concluded and while we still have a few more bits of video to upload, we thought a…
After roughly a month of soft openings, Kouzzina by Cat Cora held its grand opening today (Sept. 17, 2009) at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. The restaurant’s menu features Greek and Mediterranean cuisine inspired by Cora’s own Greek heritage. Cora is best known for her role as one of the Iron Chefs on Food Network’s “Iron Chef…
