16 May 2012, 4:58 pm
Star Wars Weekends begins Friday at Disneys Hollywood Studios
May the force be with you this Friday as the popular Star Wars Weekends returns to Disney’s Hollywood Studios ™!
Beginning May 18 and running every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through June 10 guests to the Disney ® park will be able to immerse themselves in a world filled with famous Star Wars characters, Star Wars activities, rides and parades, and even interact with real Star Wars actors from all six movies and the animated series. If this will be your first time attending a Star Wars Weekend here are just a few of the top things you’ll experience during your galactic adventure:
The Hosts: James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein – Star Wars Weekends will be hosted by actual Star Wars actors including James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein who provide voices on Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series. Both actors will host a variety of events throughout each day, including a sneak preview trailer for Season Five. James is the Official Celebrity Host of the weekend, and Ashley is Celebrity Host of “Behind the Force,” a show that gives Star Wars fans a behind-the-scenes look at the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.Star Tours – The Adventure Continues – The new and improved ride now takes guests on a 3-D adventure through the Star Wars galaxy where you’ll become a part of the Star Wars films and fly with some of your favorite Star Wars characters including R2-D2, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and more. And you never know where the force might take you on Star Tours as multiple storylines make for an exciting adventure each and every time you ride.
Jedi Training Academy – One of the most popular parts of Star Wars Weekends, Jedi Training Academy lets guests aged 12 and under learn Jedi tricks from a Jedi Master before testing their new skills in a battle against the evil Darth Vader. Each recruit will don Padawan robes and learn how to wield a lightsaber before fighting and hopefully defeating a Sith Lord. The Academy takes place a couple times each hour on the Star Tours side stage.
Star Wars Actors – Along with the hosts of Star Wars Weekends, guests will also be able to mingle and interact with other celebrity guests as they roam the park signing photographs, posing for pictures and even taking part in Q&A appearances. A daily parade will also feature stars from the actual Star Wars movies.
To become a Jedi, take an intergalactic ride through the Star Wars galaxy or just hang out with celebrity guests you can find discounted Walt Disney World ® tickets right here on Orlando Fun Tickets. Star Wars Weekends is included in regular theme park admission.
15 May 2012, 4:27 pm
Universals Superstar Parade Debuts with Awesome Floats
Universal Orlando’s all-new Superstar Parade made its first daily trip through the streets of the Orlando theme park on Saturday, May 5. And while the characters were certainly thrilling to see it was the four amazing and technologically savy floats that guests couldn’t take their eyes off of.
Themed to some of Universal’s biggest television shows and movies including Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer and Diego, Despicable Me, and HOP the four floats are unlike any float you’ve ever seen in a parade before. Their size alone is enough to make you gasp with the largest one over 44’ long and over 23’ tall! And each one features new customized soundtracks including theme songs and character voices that drift along with them on their journey through the park. They are also battery powered and feature energy-efficient LED lighting systems in addition to special effects.
Here’s a quick look at each of Universal’ Orlando’s Superstar Parade’s floats:
SpongeBob SquarePants – Looking like it came straight out of the cartoon, the SpongeBob SquarePants float features SongeBob’s pineapple under the sea along with his Bikini Bottom pals including Mr. Krabs and Squidward. The float is adorned with plenty of underwater life like jellyfish, seashells, coral and all things you’d find living with SpongeBob in the sea. It even boasts six custom-built bubble machines that shoot out bubbles of all sizes for the kids to play with.
Despicable Me – The most varied and detailed of the four floats, the Despicable Me unit features several vehicles and mini floats in addition to the main unit. Gru and his three adopted daughters ride along on the main float, which is designed after Gru’s unmistakable vehicle from the movie complete with the weaponry and machinery he uses to try and steal the moon. And the Despicable Me float wouldn’t be complete without minions! There are plenty of them as they dance ahead of Gru and the girls in the streets of the park.
Hop – The brightest and most cheerful of the floats the “Hop” float shows off vibrant pinks, yellows and tourquoises and is shaped as a huge Candy Factory. EB and the rest of the gang sit atop and just like in the movie, EB is ignoring his Easter duties and instead playing the drums for the crowd. Lollipop girls bring up the rear of the float along with plenty of chicks and even a drum line.
Dora and Diego –Full of outdoor adventures just like the cartoon, the Dora and Diego float offers giant butterflies, palm trees, brightly colored flowers, and even swinging monkeys for a playful depiction of the popular show. It is by far the most energetic of the floats and ends the parade sending people out into the streets to dance along with the characters.
To experience the four Superstar Parade floats you can find discounted Universal Orlando tickets right here on Orlando Fun Tickets.
14 May 2012, 4:54 pm
Inside the Ride Dolphin Plunge at Aquatica
There’s only one place you can go in Orlando that combines the thrills of water park slides and rides with some of the sea’s most beautiful creatures. It’s called Aquatica and this summer Orlando Fun Tickets challenges you to take the plunge and experience the ride that lets you dive deep into the ocean and swim alongside the sea’s most docile creatures in Dolphin Plunge.
Embodying everything Aquatica is about, Dolphin Plunge is by far the park’s most popular ride and it’s not hard to see why. Made up of two side-by-side enclosed tube slides that send guests racing through an underwater world where black-and-white Commerson’s Dolphins roam, swimming alongside, beneath, and over you as you take a twisty slide ride down to the bottom. It’s one of the few rides at the park or anywhere else for that matter that let’s you enjoy the thrills of a water slide while still experiencing dolphins swim next to you.
Like many other water park rides, guests will start at the top of a tube looking down. The ride instructor will then tell you to go and push you off into a tube. And here’s where the fun begins. A few seconds after you’ve been gliding down the slide you’ll enter the dark zone where everything goes black and you have no idea which way you’ll turn next or if you’re about to experience a quick and sudden drop. Once you’re about to give up on ever seeing the light of day again, you’ll enter a new zone where slits on the tube of the slide let a little sunshine in so you can see what’s coming. But don’t get used to it because before you know the slide has gone black again as you re-enter the dark zone.
After not knowing where you are or where you’re going, riders will eventually spot lights at the end of the tunnel, or at least you think it’s the end. At this point you’ll exit the dark tube and enter into a clear one, which submerges you underwater where you’ll finally get the chance to swim with the dolphins. Just as you hit the clear tube you’ll see dolphins swimming and playing in the open water and when they see you plunging by don’t be surprised if they swim right up next to you and even “race” you down to the end of the tube. The clear slide you’re in then turns into a blue one and you’ll end your ride in a splash pool.
For a chance to plunge into the sea and swim with the dolphins look for Aquatica or the SeaWorld & Aquatica combo tickets right here on Orlando Fun Tickets.
