Author: Brian Glenn

The Holidays at Universal Orlando kicks off this weekend, and guests will be able to experience the all-new Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s. The parade will feature some of guests’ favorite characters from some of the world’s most iconic franchises, including 15 intricately-detailed floats themed to popular characters from Illumination’s Despicable Me and Minions and DreamWorks Madagascar and Shrek. 16 larger-than-life balloons, with 13 of them created exclusively for Universal by Macy’s, will be featured – including Bob from Minions; the Dronkeys and Gingy from Shrek; and “a special gift that DreamWorks’ King Julien from Madagascar has gifted to…himself!” In addition, more than 100 colorful, choreographed holiday performers and characters will dance…

SeaWorld Orlando revealed the first-look at Infinity Falls rapids attraction’s new rafts at the IAAPA Expo 2017. The 8-passenger raft – designed by Intamin – features custom themeing and decor resembling supplies found on real white-water rafting expeditions. Aboard the raft, riders will embark on an adventure through a lush rainforest environment inspired by some of the world’s most incredible freshwater ecosystems. The new attraction will feature the world’s tallest drop on a river raft ride and allow visitors to experience the feel of exhilarating rapids. The ride will also feature an innovative elevator lift designed to transport the rafts…

This holiday season, Gaylord Palms Resort will introduce ICE! featuring Christmas Around the World for the first time in Orlando, showcasing different cultures and their wintertime festivities. In addition to this new ICE! attraction theme, other celebrations of the holidays will join to create the resort’s “Everything Christmas in One Extraordinary Place” event, Christmas at Gaylord Palms presented by FUJIFILM INSTAX. Celebrating the 15th season in Orlando, ICE! presented by Pepsi returns to Gaylord Palms to deliver frozen fun to everyone! This year’s ICE! featuring Christmas Around the World celebrates the world’s diverse holiday traditions, representing United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany and…

Blue Man Group at Universal CityWalk and Autism Speaks have teamed up to announce their third annual collaborative Blue Man Group performance on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. Slight modifications will be made to the show including reducing sound and light levels at various moments during the performance and making headphones available upon request. The Blue Men will limit the amount of direct audience interaction and keep their approach to the audience more subdued. Blue Man Group will also create calming environments in the theater’s lobby for families seeking a break from the excitement. Tickets for children and adults are priced…

by Brian Glenn It’s over, dudes. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure has officially ended, seeing the duo “go back to 1991” to go on and become the “Great Ones”. After months of dreading the moment, it came and went with one hell of an emotional roller coaster on a bittersweet Saturday night. Fans lined up as early as park opening to ensure a spot to see the much-anticipated final show. As for the show itself, it was all a fan could ever ask for. Besides the countless improv moments – which has been a staple of the final show…

Universal Orlando Resort has announced two high-value hotel options that is expected to list prices starting at less than $100 per night. Set to begin opening in the summer of 2019, the hotels will feature a combined 2,800 guest rooms, including 1,450 two-bedroom suites. The 750-room and 2,050-room hotels will be located on the former Wet’n’Wild plot, a 64-acre site at the intersection of Universal Blvd. and International Drive, and will offer complimentary transportation across the destination. Amenities will include a combined three pools with poolside bars, two food courts with nearby coffee bars, plus poolside bars, fitness rooms, car rental facilities, resort-wide…

Universal Orlando has revealed more information on the new Fast & Furious – Supercharged attraction – opening Spring 2018 – including a look at the queue & ride vehicle. Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) will join the cast of the attraction, which includes Dom (Vin Diesel), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and the villain, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), in all-new setting and story. The attraction is based in “underground headquarters of the “Fast family.” Inside the queue, guests will see familiar places inspired by the films, like the Family Room – complete with photos of…

Universal Orlando has purchased 100 more acres of land off of Sand Lake Road, adding more land to their already-acquired 475 acres for future expansion. Universal has not provided any news on what plans for the land include, but speculation points to more theme parks and hotels. With the new purchase, Universal now has 570 acres of land in total for future growth, which is several times larger than their current Resort property. The map below shows what Universal currently owns, and what was recently purchased. The blue shaded area is the new 100 acre purchase; which is located adjacent…

Emeril’s Tchoup Chop will be closing on Dec. 31, 2017 at the Royal Pacific Resort. “With great gratitude to our loyal customers, hardworking staff and colleagues at the Loews Royal Pacific, it’s been an incredible 15 years,” said Emeril Lagasse. The restaurant was chef Emeril Lagasse’s second restaurant in Orlando, and opened with the resort in 2002. The restaurant will maintain its regular hours of operations (lunch from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., dinner from 5-10 p.m. and happy hour from 5-8 p.m.) until Dec. 31, 2017. Guests may continue making reservations by calling (407) 503-2467. A replacement for the restaurant has not been…

In a new series on the Universal Orlando blog – “Behind the Design” – Universal shared a few more details about the room design for the Aventura Hotel, which opens August 2018. From the blog: We selected light wood and white furniture pieces with black trim to anchor the room and added rich pops of eggplant and burnt orange to bring the design together. The floor to ceiling decorative glass panels provide not only a really cool visual element, but also privacy at the vanity. We included floor to ceiling windows in the design to make the rooms feel bright and…