Jan 17th, 2011 at 8:30AM:
Thirty Seconds to Mars, Ne-Yo and Blake Shelton are among the headliners just announced for Universal Orlando's Mardi Gras this spring.
The 2011 Mardi Gras celebration happens on weekend nights Feb. 12 through April 23 at the Universal Studios Florida theme park in Orlando, Florida.
Here's the concert lineup:
Feb. 12: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Feb. 19: The ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
UniversalOrlando posts
Universal Orlando announces Mardi Gras concert lineup
Jan 17th, 2011 at 8:30AM:
Thirty Seconds to Mars, Ne-Yo and Blake Shelton are among the headliners just announced for Universal Orlando's Mardi Gras this spring.
The 2011 Mardi Gras celebration happens on weekend nights Feb. 12 through April 23 at the Universal Studios Florida theme park in Orlando, Florida.
Here's the concert lineup:
Feb. 12: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Feb. 19: The ...Harry Potter park serves up 1 millionth Butterbeer
Jan 6th, 2011 at 4:30PM:
It's not just a beverage, it's an experience. That's the word from Universal Orlando Resort, which said today that the company has sold 1 million Butterbeers in its Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The creamy-smooth concoction is a favorite drink in the Harry Potter books and movies, and it's also a favorite at the theme park, where guests will wait in ride-sized lines to buy a cup. Last ...Universal ride that caught fire will be closed for weeks
Jan 3rd, 2011 at 2:00PM: Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls water ride will be closed for several weeks following a fire at Islands of Adventure on Saturday night.
The Universal Orlando ride will be closed to repair the damage, and to undergo seasonal maintenance, according to Universal. Ripsaw Falls had already been scheduled to be closed for maintenance in a couple of weeks.
About 5:30 Saturday evening, the ride and ...Fire erupts at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure
Jan 1st, 2011 at 7:59PM: A ride - a water ride, of all things - caught fire at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure on New Year's Day, causing the evacuation of a section of the theme park.
The fire happened around 5:30 p.m., according to Central Florida News 13. No injuries have been reported.
Universal Orlando officials evacuted the ride, Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, as well as the surrounding Toon Lagoon ...Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster reopens at Universal Studios Florida
Oct 28th, 2010 at 2:30PM:
The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster is open once again at Universal Studios Florida, after being closed for maintenance on Sept. 15.
Universal has been mum on exactly what maintenance was being performed. The coaster's German manufacturer - Maurer Sohne - issued a memo on Sept. 2, advising that all coasters similar to the Rip Ride Rockit be shut down immediately because of a flaw ...Top ten Halloween theme park events
Oct 25th, 2010 at 3:00PM:
Theme parks around the United States are getting in on the Halloween fun this week, with special events featuring everything from horror-filled haunted houses to magic shows to trick-or-treating for kids. Here's a look at our top 10 Halloween theme park events:
1. Halloween Horror Nights: Universal Studios Florida, Orlando, Florida
Universal's Halloween scarefest, which tops lists of ...Halloween Horror Nights XX: Becoming a scareactor
Oct 11th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
Creepiness is all about eye contact.
That's what I learned after a night spent as a Halloween Horror Nights "scareactor" (rhymes with character). Universal Orlando invited me behind the scenes to see what it is like to be one of the nearly 1,000 employees hired each year to scare up guests during the theme park's Halloween festivities.
And what I found after two shifts on the streets of ...Couple to wed at Halloween Horror Nights
Oct 7th, 2010 at 2:30PM: April Richardson and Adam Cohen (that's the blood-drenched, happy couple in the picture at right) are the winners of a wedding package at Halloween Horror Nights.
The Vermont couple, who describe themselves as "lifelong fans of Halloween," will wed on the steps of a haunted house at Universal Orlando on Oct. 15.
April, a graphic designer, and Adam, a pharmacist, met six years ago and got ...Universal Orlando offering new wedding packages during Halloween Horror Nights
Sep 16th, 2010 at 11:30AM: If your idea of the perfect wedding involves his and hers coffins, chainsaws and a ride in a hearse, then you're in luck, because Universal Orlando is now offering wedding packages during Halloween Horror Nights.
The new horror-filled wedding packages include options such as having a "chainsaw drill team" at your nuptials, and taking a post-ceremony hearse ride through the fog-filled streets of ...Harry Potter ride seats modified for larger riders
Sep 13th, 2010 at 8:30AM:
Universal Orlando has modified some seats on ride cars for the new Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and many people who couldn't ride the centerpiece attraction at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter should be able to now.
When I saw the Wizarding World of Harry Potter during an early preview in May, the ride was not in operation, but the "test seats" outside the ride were working. ...Universal Orlando announces Halloween Horror Nights details
Aug 26th, 2010 at 9:00AM: It's the 20th year for Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights, a scarefest that routinely sells out the park on weekends in September and October.
Now in its 20th year of the horror-filled celebration, Universal is personifying fear:
Halloween Horror Nights XX is about Fear himself. He is the Master of everything Halloween Horror Nights has ever been and will become. His weapons: Chaos, ...Harry Potter ride hits 1 million riders
Aug 17th, 2010 at 12:15PM: It has been just 60 days since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter threw open the gates of Hogsmeade at Universal Orlando Resort, and already, more than 1 million people have ridden the theme park's centerpiece attraction.
Universal says the ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, has set a new record. The 1 million riders claim follows second quarter numbers released last week that ...To quell crowds, Universal halts liquor sales at Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Jul 12th, 2010 at 3:00PM:
It's been almost a month since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened, and folks are still waiting, and waiting, and waiting to see the new attractions at Universal Orlando Resort.
In fact, more than 500,000 people have ridden the Wizarding World's centerpiece ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. (But rest assured, none of them were obese.)
As the Orlando Sentinel reported, ...Wizarding World of Harry Potter souvenirs now available online
Jul 9th, 2010 at 12:00PM: Universal Orlando's online store is now selling some of the exclusive Harry Potter merchandise available in the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme-park stores.
Seven categories of Harry Potter merchandise are available: accessories (including this Gryffindor backpack - one of my faves - for $39.95), apparel, collectibles, headwear, home decorations, souvenirs and toys.
I've talked ...Win an exclusive Wizarding World of Harry Potter magic wand!
Jun 17th, 2010 at 11:30AM:
On Friday, the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens it doors to the public. As part of the opening celebration, we received a gorgeous boxed wand, along with a few other goodies.
To celebrate the opening, we are giving one lucky reader the chance to win the wand - you'll need to be a die-hard Harry Potter fan, because this is a very special limited edition prize.
To enter, just tell ...London mayor rails against Wizarding World of Harry Potter's Florida location
Jun 9th, 2010 at 11:30AM: London's mayor wants a piece of the Harry Potter pie.
With the Wizarding World of Harry Potter set to open at Universal Orlando next week, Boris Johnson is appealing to British children and their "Potter-fiend parents" to writ to Potter movie studio Warner Bros, Universal and Potter author J.K. Rowling to "bring Harry home to Britain."
In a column in the London Telegraph, Johnson points out ...Inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. No, really. I got inside.
May 18th, 2010 at 10:30AM:
This is all I can show you of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida.
Monday night, I was a guest at private party thrown by Universal Orlando Resort to show off their newest theme park addition, which, for the most part, has been kept tightly under wraps. The Wizarding World opens one month from today, and after my walk-through last ...Disney's new Animation-themed resort reflects success of two recent hotel trends
May 13th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
A 35-foot-tall model of King Triton, the patriarch in Disney's "The Little Mermaid," will be the centerpiece of the new Disney's Art of Animation Resort at Walt Disney World.
The 2,000-room hotel will have four wings, themed around four Disney movies that have become new classics over the past 20 years: "The Little Mermaid," "The Lion King." Finding Nemo," and "Cars."
The Art of ...Universal Orlando announces summer concert series
May 6th, 2010 at 5:00PM: Train ("Drops of Jupiter"), Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20) and Counting Crows ("Round Here") will perform on Saturday nights this summer at Universal Orlando Resort.
It's the second year for the Summer Concert Series, with seven concerts planned on Saturday nights between June 12 and July 17.
The concerts happen inside the Universal Studios Florida theme park, and they are free with theme park ...Rare find: Cheap, tasty hotel food in Orlando
Apr 23rd, 2010 at 10:00AM: Yes, those are French fries. Real, freshly cut French fries. And they're awesome.
What's more awesome is that you can get those French fries, and the accompanying double bacon cheeseburger for $5.99 at the new CoCo Key Hotel and Water Resort in Orlando. And you can wash it down with a $1.50 large soda.
Oh, and that cheeseburger? Freshly grilled right in front of you and put on a bun that was ...
