25 Şubat 2013 Pazartesi

Disney's Hollywood Studios: Private Events, Closures

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Please, be aware of the following area and attraction closures that will happen at Disney's Hollywood Studios in the next few days in preparation of a few special events that will take place on February 26-28, 2013:
Several areas of Disney's Hollywood Studios will be affected by private events. Here's the detailed schedule:
Tuesday, February 26:  The Great Movie Ride will close to park Guests at 6 p.m.
Wednesday, February 27:  The following areas will close at 5 p.m. to park Guests:
  • Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure
  • Streets of America
  • The Studio Backlot Tour
Thursday, February 28:
Streets of America will close to park Guests at 6 p.m.
Thank you very much for taking note of this important advisory, and see you a little later with more updates.
Copyright of Orlando Theme Park News.

LEGOLAND's 2013 Expansion: Back to Pirates?

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LEGOLAND Florida is not denying the fact that a new themed area will open later this year. After all, the current park maps all feature a quite big note that states: "NEW LAND OPENING 2013." In addition to that, the park's official Twitter page has been giving out hints regarding a possible announcement that should be coming very, very soon. That being said, the theme of this new area is still unknown, or at least until now.
Many sites speculated about the possibility of a new Splash Battle-type ride that was to be themed after pirates, but then things changed. LEGOLAND Florida's General Manager denied the fact that a pirates-themed land was considered for the park (he said that he knew nothing about that, even though permits for this expansion had been filed a few weeks before...). At this point, other fan sites thought that the new area might be themed after one of the newest LEGO themes, "Legends of Chima." That sounds very credible, especially since the park's new 4D movie (also centered around the new "Legends of Chima" series) has not been announced yet, so we personally thought they were just waiting to make an announcement that would encompass both additions (the new movie and the new area), since they would share the same theme.
Today, while visiting the park for the first time after a couple of months, we saw something that almost confirms the fact that LEGOLAND Florida's new themed area will actually be themed after... pirates. This means that the original speculation may have been the correct answer to our questions. Why? Let's take a look:

While riding The Dragon Coaster, we noticed this themed flag attached outside the modular building located right next to the expansion plot (probably a temporary office space to supervise the work being done):

As you can see, it is clearly a pirates' flag (sorry for the blurriness of some photos, but we were riding a coaster):





While we are talking about this expansion project, here you are some aerial views of this section of the park:






A few more, from the Island in the Sky:













Finally, this photo shows how the park is referring the new themed area on the current park map:



After having seen these photos, what do you think? Is LEGOLAND obviously hinting at what's coming, or is the park just trying to lead us in the wrong direction? Share your comments with us! Oh, one more thing: we will post a complete LEGOLAND Florida photo-report in the next few days, so remember to stay tuned!
Copyright of Orlando Theme Park News.

Steam Room Refurbishment at the Grand Floridian

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Please, take note of the following advisory regarding the Spa at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort:
The steam rooms in the men’s and women’s lounges at Senses – A Disney Spa at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort are scheduled for routine maintenance and will be out of service in the coming weeks. The women’s steam room will be out of service February 26-March 2, 2013. The men’s steam room will be out of service March 5-March 9, 2013. During the respective steam room refurbishments, day passes to the lounges will not be sold. February 26-March 2 (during the women's steam room refurbishment), only men's day passes will be sold. March 5-March 9 (during the men's steam room refurbishment), only women's day passes will be sold.
Thank you very much for your attention. See you in a little while with a new photo-update.
Copyright of Orlando Theme Park News.

Fun Spot America Update: SkyCoaster News & More

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The Creative Director of Fun Spot America, Mr. Tuten, has once again shared with us some of the latest official photos taken around the huge expansion plot of Fun Spot America. Take a look, and be prepared to be surprised by seeing how fast the SkyCoaster was installed! Enjoy: _________________________________________________________________________
We finished installing the 250’ SkyCoaster on Sunday and we were fortunate that it never rained, everything went smoothly. The SkyCoaster is up and the safety lights are on. There is some painting left to do, but not much. The SkyCoaster up-lighting is also installed, it will have a very intense green glow at night when connected. I've included a few shots from areas that the public can't access. We think this really changes the landscape of north I-Drive and will be a wonderful landmark to help promote the area.
















In about a week, the GCI wood/steel hybrid coaster (White Lightning) will begin a rapid installation process. Many completed bents are now on the ground waiting to go up.

The last two main supports for the figure 8 of the Chance/Vekoma suspended family coaster (Freedom Flyer) will also be installed soon.






The groundwork is nearing completion and the pavers will begin to be installed very soon. _________________________________________________________________________
Definitely a lot of progress! A big thank you to Mr. Tuten for sharing these photos with us!
ALL PHOTOS: Copyright © 2013 Fun Spot Attractions. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright of Orlando Theme Park News.

Flower & Garden Festival in 2013: Fun Facts

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The 20th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is definitely going to be one of the most popular events of the year thanks to the many additions that are in store. As a reminder, the 2013 event will take place from March 6 to May 19. To prepare for this event, enjoy some very cool (and official!) festival facts:
  • 30 million blooms blanket the park throughout the festival, which runs 75 colorful days.
  • One dozen brand-new garden marketplaces surround the World Showcase Lagoon offering festival taste treats ranging from shrimp and grits with fresh Florida veggies to barbecue and brew. Each marketplace will feature a produce and  herb garden to represent the more than 50 marketplace beverage choices and more than 30 food items featured at the marketplaces.
  • The festival’s front-entrance Party with Mickey & Friends topiary scene comprises six topiaries – Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and Goofy – and more than 15 varieties of flowers, plants, and other garden materials.
  • The Land of Oz Garden is the largest festival garden ever created for the festival at nearly one-third acre. The garden’s own “yellow brick road” is 160 feet long and includes 40 feet of  “yellow brick” decal, 40 feet of ForeverLawn yellow turf and an 80-foot-long floral path planted with 1,200 yellow viola plants, to be replaced by tropical duranta plants when the weather heats up later in April. Dozens of additional Disney character topiaries represent the largest collection of Disney character topiary in the world and include Disney and Pixar film and TV stars Mike and Sulley (new!) plus Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Cinderella, Belle and Beast, and Phineas and Ferb. At least 25 different plants, grasses and mosses of various colors, including pink and red begonias, dusty miller, palm fiber, palm seeds, ficus and lichen, are used to create and define features of additional festival topiaries.
  • 1,000 native butterflies represent up to 10 species at the expansive Tinker Bell’s Butterfly House. Among the garden’s two dozen nectar plants are Cape Royal plumbago, passion flower, coral honeysuckle, blazing star, butterfly bush, scarlet milkweed and canna lily.
  • More than 500,000 plants, trees and shrubs are planted for the festival; 250,000 of those are annual blossoms installed for the festival.
  • Festival plants include 60 different species of trees, 47 types of palms, and 48 varieties of bedding plants.
  • 150 hands-on gardening demonstrations and seminars will be presented.
  • 30 “flower towers” of of several varieties of blooms and plants line Innoventions Plaza.
  • 225 floating mini-gardens, each three feet in diameter, of multi-hued impatiens provide splashes of color on two ponds that border the walkway between Future World and World Showcase.
  • 700 container gardens of flowers, herbs, plants and vegetables in clay pots, barrels and urns enhance the landscape throughout Epcot.
  • 400 Walt Disney World horticulturists are needed to install the festival landscape, topiaries and many exhibits; 100 Epcot horticulturists maintain topiaries and other festival displays.
  • It takes more than one full year and about 24,000 cast member hours to prepare for the annual festival.
  • The festival’s weekend Flower Power concert series includes 11 artists and groups known for their Top 40 hits. This year’s musical hit-makers from the 1960s and ’70s include The Monkees Lead Singer Micky Dolenz, The Village People (new!), Tommy Roe (new!), Starship starring Mickey Thomas, The Guess Who, Chubby Checker & The Wildcats, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Nelson, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, The Orchestra starring former members of ELO, Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone.
Want to know more about this year's Flower & Garden Festival? Then head over to EpcotInSpring.com.
Copyright of Orlando Theme Park News.

24 Şubat 2013 Pazar

We're still here!

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I am finding that chasing a toddler and carrying a camera are easier said that done!
My priorities have been in line with keeping her out of the street or keeping her head above the water while in the ocean. Pictures have been few and far between!
But tonight, since we were having a nice, lazy Friday evening I pulled out the camera.
I braved the paint.
I braved the water hose.
It turned out well :)
 Check out the freckles coming up on her little nose!

 She actually did paint on some paper for a few minutes...not as long as she painted on herself obviously.



 And then she stripped down to wash it all off...except for that splotch on her forehead. She is now asleep and I'm pretty sure that spot is still there...

 OH! And remember the pineapples I was growing? Check out the before (left) picture and the current (right). They are getting HUGE! I swear, those are the same pineapples! Maybe in a year or so I'll actually have a pineapple. I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've kept anything alive...other than my child. I'm doing pretty good with her still too :-)

Hawaii Children's Discovery Center

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Sage and I joined a friend at the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center today. We have been once before, but Sage enjoyed it so much that we went again!
The center is three stories, and each story has different themed play areas for kids. In each area everything is little kid sized and the kids can touch and play with all of it.
It's such a nice change for the kids since in most places they go they can't touch anything :)

Here she is learning about the rainforest:

And this is a giant, talking jack-in-the-box. Sage was fascinated. She just kept saying, "Look Momma! Look!"
 That's her little friend beside her playing with the light board. We've known this little girl since she was born. The picture is very deceptive.This room was just about pitch dark except for this light-up board. They put colored pegs into the light board and it made them glow all pretty:
 This is Sage comparing her foot size to a sumo-wrestler's foot:
 There was a little room that was a similar replica to a doctor's office/hospital room. All of the things in the room were about half-sizes so they were perfect for Sage. It was complete with scales, medical equipment, x-rays, and bassinets for all the little sick baby dolls. Regardless of all of the amenities, Sage chose to see her patients on the floor:
 Sage is driving her friend somewhere (I swear her friend didn't have red hair until we came to Hawaii, then it just miraculously started to change colors!):
 This was an area that was supposed to look like a police station. There were a few phones to let the kids practice dialing 911. Sage obviously was having a hard time figuring the phone out...she always listened in the wrong end :)
 This was at the mini post office. She drew a stamp:
 And now she's a judge. Order in the court!
 In the reading room on the hugest couch ever!
 Rocking by a fire place:
 Driving her friend around in a bus. Sage always gets to drive:
 Picking veggies out of the garden:
 I didn't get too many pictures on this floor but there were lots of different rooms that were to mimic a families home in multiple different countries. In each room there was a phone you could listen to and someone from that country would explain some of the customs and traditions. Those marks on her arm are tattoos.One of the countries had an area where they made fancy patterns on fabric but Sage chose to put the fancy patterns on herself:
 Sage's favorite area! The grocery store. She could fill that little cart up 100 times:
 And now she is forecasting the weather just like Uncle Brandon!
 First carousel ride!