Starting January 1, 2010 you can give some magic to someone in need and get some magic in return. Disney Magic, no less.
The Disney Theme Parks are starting a great new campaign, one that rewards community service with free admission to a Disney Park. Read More »
There’s about to be more magic in Orlando.
Universal Orlando Resort and Warner Bros. have finally revealed the “first-ever details about the incredible scope of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.” Not the least of which is that the land will open in spring 2010. That’s soon!
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be an addition to Universal’s Islands of Adventure park, which is already AWESOME (it’s all Marvel characters though, which leads me to wonder what talks are underway between Universal and Marvel’s new owner Disney). The Spider-Man ride alone is worth the price of admission.
And the Dr. Suess stuff.
Harry Potter’s new land is obviously based upon the stories and characters of J.K. Rowling and promises to remain “faithful to the visual landscapes of the films.” Read More »
While hotels across the nation are adding amenities and facilities for family travelers, the problem in Orlando is that the hotels are too kid-friendly. They’ve grown so used to catering to kids and families that these Orlando hotels have become attractions in their own right.
Who needs Disney World when you have the Nickelodeon Family Suites with bunk beds, video games, and Spongebob Squarepants on the walls to keep you company in-room. The Nick hotel, as it is known, features two massive pool complexes with a 4 story water tower, a 400 gallon dump tank, seven slides, water jets, climbing nets, themed parties, a video arcade, and a host of other kiddie attractions. And the newest thing they recently added is the 4D theate, where wind, water, bubbles, and scents await you with Spongebob for a virtual sliming.
Then there’s Universal’s Hard Rock Hotel, which sits in the middle of Universal’s resort attractions, and also has its own attractions. So that’s further blurring the line between hotels and kiddie attractions. I mean, they have this gigantic 12,000 sq ft palm lined swimming pool (BTW, there was a bear found hanging around the pool area a few weeks back) with its own sand beach and underwater stereo, interactive fountains, and a 260-foot pool slide. What’s more, there’s a water taxi for hotel guests called the Universal Express which takes you straight through to the other attractions and rides, bypassing the lines.
And don’t even get me started on the Walt Disney World Resort hotels. I could go on listing all the major family hotels and the kiddie attractions they offer, but I think you get the drift. Orlando is pied pipering kids, and they get addicted to this fantasyland world that these resorts and theme parks have created. What ever happened to the good old American family roadtrip?
Photo copyrights – Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc.
I attended the travel bloggers meet-up at Blogher on Friday afternoon. The travel meet-up was originally discussed by Pam Mandel at nerdseyeview and on Blogher. It was moderated by Suzanne Reisman at cussandotherrants (who has also written a new book, Off the Beaten Subway Track, more on that later) The majority of our time was spent on introductions, but we did have a few moments to discuss how we could create a more tightly-knit travel blogger community. Delicious Baby collected cards from everyone who is interested in building the community and will be posting the list of bloggers on her site. I captured a few names during the introductions and subsequent discussion of some great travel blogs I want to add to my google reader in addition to the blogs already listed:
Jet Set Girls Blogspot–all about girls getaways
See Jane Fly–for the female road warrior
Mommy Poppins–telling us how to get more out of NY
What A Trip written by Nancy Brown, a contributor to Uptake
Mile High Mamas–(the Denver Post)
KitchenGadgetGirl (and consultant to Uptake) has an idea for creating a page with RSS feeds from all the sites that wish to participate. I think this is the best idea yet, but I may be biased sine I have been working with her for nearly a year.
Uptake also have a travel blog search widget we created in cooperation with the t-list to make it easier to find travel bloggers everywhere. If you are interested in participating, please go here to join the search widget and here for information on the twitter t-list..
A few corporations sent some representatives including SeaWorld, DisneyWorld Orlando, Teleflora, and the Hilton were all there to gain insight into the travel blogger community. They want to reach travel bloggers of all kinds (see Blogher, travel is big business….)
Many of the bloggers were interested in building a more cohesive community and wanted to make ourselves more available to other bloggers, publicists and corporations trying to reach us. Please add to the conversation. Give us your ideas to build a more connected travel community. Next year, we hope Blogher ‘09 will have a panel devoted to travel.
© UpTake Networks, Inc. 2009
