Universal Orlando opens their newest hotel, Cabana Bay Beach Resort
Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, the latest place to stay at Universal Orlando, officially welcomed its first guests on March 31, 2014.
Ron Schneider tells of being the Dreamfinder and other theme park tales in his autobiography
Long-time theme park performer and show developer Ron Scheider has released an autobiography. Entitled, From Dreamer to Dreamfinder: A Life and Lessons Learned in 40 Years Behind a Name Tag, the book is currently available in paperback and ebook formats from all major retailers.
Amusement Musings: Of theme parks, mortality, and resonance
By Marc N. Kleinhenz In my youth, in-between visions of being an astronaut or a writer, there was a brief time that I entertained being an Imagineer. Like most flights of fancy, unfortunately, it turned out to be a short-lived dream, but only recently have I discovered that it has contained another quality, even after all…
Amusement Musings: Discovering neutral ground at Six Flags
EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to the first of many guest columns highlighting theme park memories. This column started out as Retro Orlando by Audrey Brown, but we’ve renamed it and expanded it to include theme park and attraction memories outside the Orlando area. This first Amusement Musings is by Audrey’s sister and her experiences with little…
Retro Orlando: Conquering young fears at Disney’s Haunted Mansion
By Joe Moody I was in fifth grade, which would have made me about 10 or 11, and for some reason, at that time I lived in a constant state of fear. I think it was a product of an overactive imagination, but anything remotely scary would freak me out for days. My brother talked…
Retro Orlando: Revisiting Busch Gardens after 20 Years
Column by Audrey Brown I went back to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this month, for the first time in more than 20 years. One of my recent columns was dedicated to the patchwork quilt of memory that was my distant recollection of Busch Gardens. I remembered the pale pinks of stucco walls, the animal habitats…
Resorts | Theme Parks | Travel
Retro Orlando: The 1986 way to get to an Orlando tourist attraction
Column by Audrey Brown Not that I want to hone in on Andy Rooney’s territory, but there was once a time when getting to an Orlando tourist attraction was half the fun. At risk of having to start a sentence with the phrase, “You know, in my day…” I do want to say that in…
Retro Orlando: New column takes a look at Disney's Monster Sound Show
By Audrey M. Brown For the first Retro Orlando column, let’s take a look back at “Monster Sound Show,” an attraction that no longer exists at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In fact, when it did exist (1989-1997), Disney’s Hollywood Studios was still Disney-MGM Studios. Theme parks are mysterious organisms that usually have good reasons for making…