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Show Review - Mickey and the Magical Map at Disneyland
By M. Ryan Traylor: Disneyland has a brand new stage show, opening on May 25th at the Fantasyland Theatre. In Mickey and the Magical Map, our hero, a mischievous Mickey Mouse, gets into a spot of trouble when he tries to be more than just an apprentice. Show More Summary
A great day to be a theme park fan
By Robert Niles: ORLANDO -- The Memorial Day weekend unofficially kicks off the summer vacation season in the United States, so theme parks often use the weekend to launch new attractions and promotions. But the nation's top theme parks outdid themselves this year, with a fusillade of fun on both coasts. Show More Summary
Universal Orlando confirms new Simpsons land for this summer
By Robert Niles: Universal Orlando today confirmed that it's building a Simpsons-themed Springfield street to open this summer at Universal Studios Florida. From the press release: An all-new Simpsons-themed area will open at Universal Studios Florida this summer ? allowing guests to step into the world of The Simpsons like never before. Show More Summary
Ride review: Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin at SeaWorld Orlando
By Robert Niles: ORLANDO -- Twenty-one years after SeaWorld blended dark rides and live animal exhibits to take visitors to the North Pole with Wild Arctic, SeaWorld Orlando's completed the journey to the other side of the world. Antarctica:...Show More Summary
It's an early, early morning to visit a galaxy far, far away for Disney's Star Wars Weekends
By Amanda Jenkins: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...I went to my first ever Star Wars Weekend at the Disney Hollywood Studios. Our hopes and dreams were to meet the man that made the double lightsaber so awesome. The man who went on to play two more iconic characters in the land of geekdom. Show More Summary
Construction is underway on Orlando's I-Drive Live
By Robert Niles: ORLANDO -- Per your request, here's an update on the I-Drive Live retail and dining project, under construction for a scheduled 2014 opening on the old Mercado site on Orlando's International Drive. The project's icon will be the Orlando Eye, a 425-foot observation wheel. Show More Summary
Let's talk about international theme park travel with Stefan Zwanzger, 'The Theme Park Guy'
By Robert Niles: Theme parks aren't simply an American phenomenon. Some of the most exciting developments in the theme park industry today are happening outside the United States, and few people have witnessed more of what's happening at theme parks around the world than "The Theme Park Guy," Stefan Zwanzger. Show More Summary
Update from Orlando
By Robert Niles: ORLANDO -- I'm in Central Florida this week, mostly cover the opening of Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin at SeaWorld, but I'll be stopping by Walt Disney World during my visit as well (and maybe Universal Orlando -- see below). Show More Summary
Spring ticket price increases begin at the Orlando theme parks
By Robert Niles: Universal Orlando over the weekend kicked off what promises to be the latest round of Orlando-area theme park ticket prices. Universal raised its one-day, one-park base ticket prices from $89 to $92, before tax.
Universal...Show More Summary
Play your day at Walt Disney World's Epcot
By Robert Niles: Third in our series of trip-planning posts, for visits to the world's top theme parks Walt Disney envisioned EPCOT as an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, where people would live, work and play in a new urban community, designed for modern efficiency. Show More Summary
Vote of the week: What's the top animated franchise you want to see in a theme park?
By Robert Niles: Yesterday's opening of the new Madagascar stage show at Busch Gardens Tampa surprised a few readers who hadn't heard the news that Universal no longer holds the rights to use all the DreamWorks Animation characters in its United States theme parks. Show More Summary
Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation debuts at Busch Gardens Tampa
By TH Creative: Busch Gardens Tampa's Stanleyville Theater will be bursting with thermonuclear "tween" energy when the park premieres its newest live stage show Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation on May 18th. Backed by a live bandShow More Summary
Look east -- far east -- for Disney's best response to Harry Potter
By Robert Niles: With all the attention we've paid to Universal's Harry Potter over the past weeks/months/years, let's not overlook a potentially enthralling theme park franchise that rival Disney has started to develop -- one that's far from realizing its immense potential to engage theme park fans. Show More Summary
Expect 'NextGen'-style animation and interactivity in Universal's Diagon Alley
By Robert Niles: The leaks keep on coming from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- Diagon Alley, now under construction at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. We told you in December 2011 about the Gringotts coaster that will provide...Show More Summary
Merida meets 'Murica
By Robert Niles: So Disney gave its newest "princess" a makeover, and that's making some fans mad -- including the person who created Merida. Those are the before and after looks for Merida, the heroine of Disney/Pixar's Academy Award-winning Brave. Show More Summary
More aerial construction photos of Orlando theme parks, including the Hogwarts Express track
By TH Creative: [Editor's note: TH Creative emailed these aerial photos of some of the big new theme park projects under development around the Orlando area.] Universal Studios Florida, with Diagon Alley (upper right) and Springfield...Show More Summary
Plan your day at Disneyland
By Robert Niles: Disneyland revolutionized the theme park industry when it opened on July 17, 1955. Today, Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California remains the nation's second-most visited theme park, behind its younger sibling, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Show More Summary
Gatekeeper opens to the public at Cedar Point
By Jim Koehl: Gatekeeper, the new B & M wing coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, opened Saturday, May 11th with fireworks, the Ohio State University Marching Band, and tens of thousands of excited "ride warriors". This record-breaking...Show More Summary
Vote of the week: Backwards or in the dark -- which coaster thrill do you prefer?
By Robert Niles: We've long offered a couple nuggets of advice to people who say that they're afraid of riding roller coasters. First: Keep your eyes open and focused on the track in front of you. Imagine that you are "driving" the roller coaster and that the track in front of you is the road ahead. Show More Summary
The first Inverted roller coaster is now running backwards
By Anthony Murphy: Before there was Montu, Dragon Challenge, or Alpengeist, Six Flags Great America offered theme park fans the world's very first inverted roller coaster -- Batman: The Ride. But this year, this inverted coaster is offering...Show More Summary
