Kinkajou at Busch GardensBusch Gardens have announced the return of their excellent Busch Babies experience, a series of three educational sessions specially designed for pre-schoolers aged 2-5, accompanied by either a parent, grand-parent or carer.

Each 45 minute session is hosted at the Mzinga Lodge on the north side of the park and will give your child the opportunity to get up-close with an animal such as the kinkajou (or more cutely known as the honey bear), as well as getting involved in activities such as creating seasonal crafts. The series of three visits cost a reasonable $50 for the first child/carer with each additional child or adult costing an extra $30 per person.

To find out more about this event give the park a call on 1-877-248-2267, or visit seaworld.org.

Flamingo at Busch GardensTAMPA, Fla. (October 2010) —  Busch Gardens brings back its popular, affordable Busch Babies series this fall. The three-part series offers hands-on and interactive fun for parents and kids, this time with a seasonal celebrations theme.

The series meets once in October, once in November and once in December. Choose to attend Thursdays or Saturdays; all sessions at 10:30 a.m. Dates are Oct. 28 or 30, Nov. 18 or 20 and Dec. 16 or 18. The cost is $50 per child/adult pair for the 3-program series. Admission to Busch Gardens is not required.

The Busch Babies series is designed for ages 2 to 5 and a parent, grandparent or caregiver. Each session meets for 45 minutes in Mzinga Lodge, on the north side of the park with the convenience of accessible parking. At each session you’ll meet an animal that is getting ready for cooler weather, and create seasonal crafts.

Each additional adult or child is $30. Pass members receive a 10 percent discount. For this series only, you can choose to attend just a single session for $25 per adult/child pair. Park admission is not included nor required.

To register for a series, call 1-877-248-2267. Registrants will receive an informational packet including information on where to park and where to enter after registering.

10:30 a.m. Dates are Oct. 28 or 30, Nov. 18 or 20 and Dec. 16 or 18.

Universal Studios Rip Ride Rockit Closed

By admin on 25:09:10 | Universal Orlando, Universal Studios | Permalink | No comments yet

Already one of Universal Studios mail draws, the park’s Rip Ride Rockit coaster that can reach speeds of 65 mph closed on September 15th with no official date for re-opening. Universal have announced that

No reason for the closure was given, but Universal spokesman Tom Schroder stated, “We added annual maintenance to the work schedule for efficiency,” further adding “The ride has been operating for about a year and had a busy summer season. For us, it makes sense to take advantage of the fact that it is already closed for maintenance and perform additional annual maintenance.”

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue

By admin on 22:08:10 | Disney's Hollywood Studios | Permalink | No comments yet

Just a quick “heads-up” that Star Tours will soon be making its final flight 0n September 7th 2010. The popular Star Wars themed ride has been rumored to be having an over-haul for a few years now. Having been first opened in 1989 in what was then MGM Studio’s, it’s fair to say that technology has moved on somewhat and the popular SW ride was starting to show it’s age.

Make your ADR’s Online at Walt Disney World

By admin on 23:06:09 | Dining, Walt Disney World | Permalink | No comments yet

If you find that it’s a bit of a pain phoning WDW-DINE to make your ADR’s then there’s some good news for you. Walt Disney World now have a site that lets you search online and book your favourite restaurants online.

Simply visit http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/restaurants/ and search for your favorite restaurant.

If you are in the UK you have to do a little bit of a fudge. First visit http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/?forceDomestic=true followed by http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/restaurants/

It appears that special event dining such as the Fantasmic Dinner Show can’t be booked online yet, and you can only book a couple of months in advance. That said, you can pretty much search for any of the Restaurants in WDW such as the T-Rex Cafe and complete the bookings online.

Star Wars Weekends 2009 Lineup Announced

By admin on 14:04:09 | Disney's Hollywood Studios | Permalink | No comments yet

It’s that time of year again when I want to do my best Wookie impression. Disney’s Hollywood Studios have announced the preliminary lineup for this years Star Wars Weekends (don’t time fly). Obviously more news will come out closer to the event, but the lineup looks pretty solid to me. Anyhow here goes…

The celebrity host for each weekend will be Jay Laga’aia (Captain Typho) while Clone Wars: Behind the Force will be hosted by Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka).

May 22-24 – Ray Park, Warwick Davis, and James Arnold Taylor

Ray Park thrilled audiences as the unforgettable Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, and will be joined by Warwick Davis, who played Wicket in Return of the Jedi as well as Anakin’s young friend Wald in The Phantom Menace. James Arnold Taylor, who voices Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Clone Wars, will appear as a guest in Behind the Force.

May 29-31 – Peter Mayhew & Matthew Wood

Peter Mayhew has of course appeared in four of the six Star Wars movies as the mighty Chewbacca. Also appearing will be Matthew Wood, Supervising Sound Editor for the Star Wars Prequels and The Clone Wars as well as the voice of General Grievous and the battle droids.

June 5-7 — Jeremy Bulloch, David Prowse, and Matt Lanter

Jeremy Bulloch is best known for his role as Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and also made a brief cameo in Revenge of the Sith as Captain Colton. David Prowse played ultimate villain Darth Vader throughout the original trilogy as the man behind the mask. Matt Lanter, the voice of Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars, appears as a guest in Behind the Force.

June 12-14 — Dave Filoni & Temuera Morrison

The creative force behind The Clone Wars, Supervising Director Dave Filoni is also a die-hard Star Wars fan! Filoni will be joined by Temuera Morrison, who plays Jango Fett as well as the unmasked clones of Episodes II and III!

ESPN The Weekend 2009 Details Announced

By admin on 21:12:08 | Disney's Hollywood Studios | Permalink | No comments yet

The 2009 “ESPN The Weekend” details have been announced, and will take place at Disney’s Hollywood Studios over the Feb 27 – Mar 01 weekend.

Events include ESPN Live Telecasts and Taping, ESPN Radio Live Broadcasts and the ESPN Sportszone.

Athletes at the ESPN Weekend include:

Tedy Bruschi
Jason Campbell
Joba Chamberlain
Dennis Eckersley
Donnie Edwards
John Franco
Matt Garza
Steven Jackson
Brandon Jacobs
Shawn Johnson
Jim Kelly
Rick Mahorn
Mist May-Treanor
Warren Moon
Jim Palmer
Aaron Rodgers
Charles Tillman
Hines Ward
Kurt Warner
Brian Westbrook
Roy E. Williams
Adam Vinatieri

There is also a host of ESPN Personalities at the weekend, including:

Skip Bayless
Colin Cowherd
Jay Crawford
Peter Gammons
Mike Golic
Mike Greenberg
Dana Jocobsen
Al Jaffe
John Kruk
Steve Phillips
Karl Ravech
Howie Schwab
Trey Wingo

ESPN The Weekend have their own website with more details about what is happening at the event.

For the more athletic visitor, you can sign up for the “ESPN The Weekend 5k”, a fun-run around Disney’s Hollywood Studios benifiting the V Foundation for Cancer Research. More details about signing up for the event can be found here.

Stitch’s SuperSonic Celebration coming in April 2009

By admin on 27:11:08 | Magic Kingdom | Permalink | No comments yet

Stich fans everywhere, get ready for Stitch’s SuperSonic Celebration due to hit the Tomorrowland area of Magic Kingdom in April 2009.

News of the new show came via a notice for auditions for the new show.

“Disney Auditions is seeking male vocalists and comedic actors for a brand new show in the Magic Kingdom® Park at the Walt Disney World® Resort near Orlando, FL opening in April, 2009! Stitch’s SuperSonic Celebration will incorporate cutting edge technology, comedic improvisation, and dynamic choreography all set to energetic, stylized music that will make this party out of this world!”


Courtesy of thecrystalskull, flickr

As this is to be held in Tomorrowland, I guess the obvious venue would be the Galaxy Palace Theater, although it had been rumored that this would be replaced with cast member parking.