*Concerts begin at 9:30 PM

Spring is in the air, and with it, hotter weather. Cool down at SeaWorld Orlando, where there’s always something for everybody! There’s plenty to do with all of the rides, shows, events, exhibits, and other attractions.

Going on right now is something called ‘Bands, Brews, And BBQ.’ This year, there will be concerts both Saturday AND Sunday, which is an awesome addition. The remaining two concerts are Sara Evans on Saturday, March 3rd,  and Scotty McCreery on Sunday, March 4th. During this time of year, SeaWorld has teamed up with a few favorite local restaurants to bring a plethora of flavor to the BBQ and other grilled items. There is a ‘beer garden’ that offers a variety of about 50 domestic and international brews. All of this is, of course, included with your normal park ticket purchase.

Internationally known zookeeper and wild life expert, Jack Hanna, will be in the park March 24th and 25th for ‘Jack Hanna Weekend,’ a limited time series. Jack is so enthusiastic and passionate about wildlife conservation and he emits that onto his audience during his demonstrations. Families have an opportunity to enjoy a breakfast buffet with ‘Jungle Jack.’ It’s an excellent time for your family to ask him questions, plus you’ll get some special entertainment. To top it all off, you guys will get reserved seats at his first show!

We offer packages for 2 adults for up to a 14 day stay at your choice of selected hotels. Tickets include both SeaWorld and Aquatica, which I will talk more about soon.

The courtyard in the French quarter, located in the New York area, is basically the centerpiece of the Universal Mardi Gras event. There’s lots of traditional cuisine to try like gumbos, red beans and rice, po-boys (subs/hoagies), and jambalaya. There are also performing musicians from New Orleans.

One of the coolest events that you can participate in is the parade. The floats are really awesome and since they’re authentic, it brings a nice touch and a real Cajun feel. The floats you’ll see in Universal’s parade include the King and Queen, the King Gator, the Jester, the Riverboat, the Boeuf Gras, the Universal float, and the title float that tells you the theme of the parade and the name of the krewe. Beads and other novelties are tossed from the floats to the rather decorative crowds lining the way.

Guests can purchase some really fun things at the gift shops during this time of year. Giant sunglasses, jester hats, long beads, masks, feather boas, and t-shirts are everywhere, and there‘s a bit of selection considering the variety they carry.

Quite possibly the most anticipated event of the evening is the concert. Right after the parade, head over to the new Music Plaza and enjoy the show! The artists are usually pretty mainstream and familiar to everyone. Past performers have included Kid Rock, Daughtry, LL Cool J, and Willie Nelson, for example. What a great way of celebrating your Universal Studios vacation!

The best part of it is that it’s all absolutely free with the normal purchase of your Universal ticket! So come join us for some good music, good food, and good times!

The parade is a dazzling event, with beautiful floats, costumes, and entertainers. Catch plenty of colorful beads, just like in New Orleans! Kids can go to the Little Jester’s Parade Viewing Areas by the Terminator attraction to make sure they’ll be able to view the parade. There is also a KidZone Mardi Pardi Krewe in the Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone, which will ensure everyone- no matter how small- will get free beads of their own. There is also a live show just for kids.

Huge musical talents perform after dusk on these special nights. Past performances include Heart, The Beach Boys, Earth, Wind & Fire, and many others. So far it has been confirmed that Kelly Clarkson will be performing on February 18!

Come for the show, stay for the After Party! Anyone with a ticket to Universal during Mardi Gras nights gets free admission to seven clubs and bars at CityWalk. (Some venues are 21 and older; CityWalk is open til 2am.)

There’s still time to make your reservation, so visit our site or call us toll-free at 1.866.882.4720!

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is held in the Magic Kingdom theme park certain nights from November 8 through December 18, 2011. The Magic Kingdom opens from 7pm to midnight just for those attending the party and begins with a magical snowfall on Main Street. And even though the party doesn’t begin until 7pm, you can enter Magic Kingdom with your Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party  starting at 4pm to enjoy some extra time in Magic Kingdom.

The big highlights of this event are the special holiday events, an amazing holiday parade, and even a special holiday version of the nighttime fireworks at Magic Kingdom. Plus, there’s a special show to light up Cinderella’s Castle with the holiday lights (look at the next photo). At Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, there are also holiday stage shows with your favorite Disney characters and places to meet characters. You can also enjoy free cookies and hot cocoa.

This year, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is held on the following dates:

November: 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 27, 29, 30, 2011
December: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 2011
Event time: 7:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

(Note: The December 18, 2011 is sold out, but other upcoming dates are still available.)

Prices for this event range from $60-$67 for adults and $55-$62 for kids ages 3-9.

There are come discounts available for certain dates if you book in advance, so call to find out about possible discounts!

I think the artwork looks amazing and I can’t wait to see it in person. The Scenic shop we see in this video, and where they are painting the mural, is in the back of Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park. If you have ever been on The Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios, you actually pass this building and can see in through giant windows that you pass by. Next time you visit Walt Disney World, hop on the ride and see if you can see the mural or other Disney World art displays for yourself. You never know what Disney magic you might see being made while on the ride, maybe you’ll see designs for new Disney rides!

When you approach one of the popular attractions that does have FASTPASS, you will see three different signs around the entrance area. One is the FASTPASS distribution line (where you will find the machines you can get your FASTPASS), the FASTPASS return line (where you return with your FASTPASS ticket during the time printed on it), and then the Standby line is the line you go to if you do not have a FASTPASS.

At the FASTPASS distribution line, there is a clock above that shows what time FASTPASS tickets are currently being issued for. Above the FASTPASS return line, there is a clock showing the current time which is the official clock to determine when you can start using your FASTPASS ticket. And above the standby time, there is a number posted which shows the current wait in minutes for the regular line.

Let’s see how this all works. It’s 11:00am and you want to go on Kali River Rapids but there’s a 60 minutes wait posted outside the Standby line. You take a look at the FASTPASS distribution and see that passes are being issued with a return time of 1:00 – 2:00pm. You get your FASTPASS and instead of waiting on a one hour line, you have two free hours before coming back, bypassing the standby line and getting on Kali with little or no wait.

For the attractions, the assigned time will give you a 1 hour window to return, so you don’t have to run back to be there the minute it goes into effect. With the theater attractions, you’ll have a FASTPASS for a specific performance.

One thing to keep in mind, there are restrictions as to how many passes you can have at once. Your FASTPASS will have the time that you can get your next FASTPASS printed on it. (Usually this is when your current FASTPASS can be used or after two hours have elapsed.) Don’t plan on going from one FASTPASS attraction to another gathering up slips. These machines are smart and won’t issue another until your current pass allows it.

Every one in your party will be expected to turn in a FASTPASS at the attraction. And please don’t return before your scheduled time because you will not be allowed to enter. There’s nothing like weaving through a crowd of guests who are blocking the FASTPASS entrance because they’re too early. Another no-no is trying to use a FASTPASS that wasn’t issued that day. Don’t bother, they can’t accept it. Jumping off the standby line into the FASTPASS line isn’t cool. There will be a Cast Member waiting for you to turn in your non-existent pass who will send you right back to where the Standby line begins.

FASTPASS is available to everyone and works with all admission media. There’s no charge for using it.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Disney’s Boardwalk Resort
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort
Disney’s Yacht Club

Most of the hotels now offering free wireless internet are Disney Deluxe Resort hotels, but there is one Disney Moderate Resort hotel also offering free wireless internet, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. No word yet if Disney will expand free wireless “in-room” internet to other hotels, but this is a big step in the right direction for Disney hotels.

I’m very glad to see Disney has finally added free wireless internet to many of their hotels. Many travelers really need or want internet when they travel, and now they can get it when they visit Disney. This was considered a downside to staying in a Disney hotel because it used to cost approximately $15 for 24 hours of internet access. Now it’s free and makes staying at one of these Disney hotels even better.

And now we want to congratulate the two winners from our 2011 Halloween Facebook Photo Contest: Carla and Coral!

Carla is the winner of our Halloween Horror Nights contest category and has won 2 tickets to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida!

Coral is the winner of our Disney Halloween contest category and has won 3 tickets to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort!

Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who participated. Missed your chance to enter this contest? Entered this one, but want another chance to win? Stay tuned for our next contest: a holiday photo contest will begin next week! Join The Orlando Vacation Store on Facebook to enter our contest when it opens and for more details as they’re released.

Avatar was a worldwide hit in movie theaters and topped box office charts. The new land in Animal Kingdom will be designed so that guests feel as though they are exploring the planet of Pandora that they saw in the movie. According to Disney, this land will feature new attractions, entertainment, merchandise and restaurants. It sounds as though they are designing this to be a truly detailed environment for guests to be submerged in.

I’ll admit, when I first heard this news, I was skeptical about it and even against it. How is this Disney how in the world will this fit into Animal Kingdom? Some people have even asked how a PG-13 movie works with the family-friendly Walt Disney World parks. Disney has assured everyone that even though the film is PG-13, the Avatar land at Animal Kingdom will be family-friendly.

To many, it also seems like this is Disney’s attempt to steal attention from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park. And maybe it is. Avatar was an extremely popular movie all around the world and maybe it will generate more visitors to Walt Disney World’s often overlooked park (by the way, Animal Kingdom is definitely worth visiting on your next Disney trip). The new Fantasyland expansion will start opening in early 2012 and will be finished in 2013, when construction on the Avatar land is set to begin. This will mean lots of new attractions will be coming to Disney, meaning lots more to do on your family vacation to Walt Disney World.