Nestled in the hills of the Ozarks is a place where the fun never ends for kids of all ages!  It’s all part of America’s largest Kids Fest at Branson’s popular Silver Dollar City theme park!  The Fest runs now thru August 10, 2008.

New this year is the The Magic of Peter Gossamer.  One of the world’s greatest illusionists, Gossamer offers audiences a variety of mystifying tests of mind over matter, complete with baffling vanishings, mind-boggling levitations and spellbinding feats of awe and wonder.

Also new this season at Silver Dollar City is the Ice Circus.  The greatest show on ice combines all the fun and elements of the circus, from hilarious clowns, unicyclists and elaborate animal costuming to stunning aerialists, shadow juggling and even skaters on stilts with the beauty and grace of precision ice skating. Bring the kids to see this special big top come to life…on ice! 

Another great kid spot at Silver Dollar City is an interactive barn filled with expanded activities and the award-winning Kid Concoctions.  For example, you’ll learn the secret recipe for Gooey Gunk and watch experts create homemade volcanoes. It’s amazing to see the fun you can create with a little imagination and a few common household items!

Silver Dollar City’s square provides over 100 interactive kid-sized experiments, games and creative activities, plus Championship Cloggers, banana split eating contests and over 30 other rides and attractions including The Giant Swing, the high-speed, multi-looping WildFire®, the corkscrew curves of Thunderation. the white river rapids of The Lost River of the Ozarks and PowderKeg® - which launches riders from zero to breathless in 2.8 seconds!   

Younger children can enjoy 10 fun family rides at The Grand Exposition.  Smaller-scale rides are also found in a multi-level play area within Tom Sawyer’s Landing and interactive adventure awaits at the World’s Largest Treehouse at Geyser Gulch and Splash Harbor.

The centerpiece of the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando is the 12,000 square foot pool – complete with a beautiful sandy beach! Hang out at the beach and soak up the sun for the day. Your favorite tunes fill the air, plus the pool features an underwater sound system so you’ll never miss a beat.

The massive pool also features an underwater stereo sound system, interactive play area for children, a 260-foot water slide, 2 Jacuzzis and a sand volleyball court.

Looking for an entertaining start to your day?  How about breakfast with America’s favorite animated family - The Simpsons™!

Join Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie for a fun-filled, all-inclusive breakfast buffet at Universal Studios’ International Food and Film Festival.  Character breakfasts are held each Thursday through Sunday morning from park opening to 10:30 am.  Please note that space is limited and reservations are highly recommended. (Breakfast is not included with theme park admission).

This summer, end a fun-filled day at Universal Studios Florida theme park with the return of the most  explosive, jaw-dropping cinematic adventure you’ve ever seen!  Every night throughout the summer, you can witness this special event - Universal 360 - from just about anywhere around the park’s waterfront. 

The show kicks off at 9:45 pm, offering cutting edge projection technology with lasers and pyrotechnics that bring the power of movies to life.

On July 4, the park offers a special patriotic fireworks finale after the Universal 360 show.

Back by popular demand, Gatlinburg’s 3rd annual run of Smoky Mountain Tunes & Tales^TM began in downtown Gatlinburg on June 13 and will run through August 9. 

Tunes & Tales is a summer-long street performance event featuring costumed musical performers, storytellers and artisans portraying time periods as far back as 1800. A collection of personalities and performers arrive nightly at 5 p.m. via horse-drawn wagon in the center of town. Visitors witness a magical transformation of sidewalk to stage as the characters disperse along the downtown Parkway for an evening of entertainment and storytelling until 10 p.m. 

As many as 14 nightly acts perform throughout the evening. This popular eight-week event truly provides guests with an interactive, educational and entertaining experience the whole family can enjoy.

A rotating cast of acts includes storytellers, musicians, dancers and crafters who share their stories and skills.  Zeno the Gatlinburg Bear also makes nightly appearances during this popular summer special event, dishing out hugs and waving to his new friends.

For the 33rd consecutive year, Gatlinburg will kick off America’s Independence Day celebration with the nation’s first parade, which leads off at 12 a.m. on July 4. More than 100,000 spectators are expected to attend this special patriotic celebration that will feature a special tribute to the US military.

Gatlinburg’s popular River Raft Regatta also takes place at noon on July 4, beginning at the River Terrace bridge on River Road and ending at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies bridge in downtown Gatlinburg. This unmanned river raft race is hosted by the United States Navy and is open to anything floatable except balls and plastic eggs.

In the past, families have entered boats made out of matchsticks, floating rocks, as well as little rubber ducks. Registration begins at 10 a.m., with the race beginning promptly at noon.

An hour after sundown, the Fourth’s Grand Finale occurs on the streets of downtown Gatlinburg with a fireworks extravaganza visible all along the Parkway.

Looking for some little ways to save money on your next trip to Orlando?  Keep in mind that staying at a hotel on property can have its advantages if you’re planning to visit a theme park.  Guests at Universal Orlando’s three hotels enjoy free Universal Express front-of-the-line access which means less waiting in line.  And guests at a Walt Disney World Resort can take advantage of Extra Magic Hours where each day one of the Disney Theme Parks opens an hour early or stays open up to three hours after regular park closing.

Another valuable tip for those hot Florida days is to quench your thirst and take home a souvenir!  Most Walt Disney World resort hotels offer length-of-stay refillable drink mugs for $11.99, good for unlimited free refills of coffee, soda, iced tea and hot chocolate.

At SeaWorld Orlando, kids can bring their own autograph book for Shamu & Crew characters to sign from 9 a.m. to noon near the front gate.

The Trainer-for-the-Day program at Gatorland in Orlando allows visitors the opportunity to get oh-so-close to huge alligators and crocodiles!This fun-for-the-whole-family (kids 12 years or older) experience is an ideal opportunity to get up close and personal with these amazing creatures.  You will work alongside with the Gatorland staff as they feed, train and interact with rare and amazing gators and crocs.

Dress appropriately as you might get a little dirty during this hands-on experience.  And don’t forget to bring your camera!

What’s better than a full day of fun at SeaWorld Orlando?  How about extending your visit with a SeaWorld AfterDark Adventure Tour!

The 5-hour AfterDark Adventure Tours are behind-the-scenes walking tours of the park.  Tours begin early evening (5 pm or 6 pm) and highlights include front-of-line access to the parks two signature thrill rides, Kraken and Journey to Atlantis.  You’ll also enjoy reserved seating at two of SeaWorld’s amazing night shows.

The tour, available only to guests over the age of 21, includes a delicious dinner and a visit to the Brewmaster’s Club within the park’s Hospitality Center to sample the tasty portfolio of Anheuser-Busch beers.

One of the most iconic sites at Disney’s famed theme parks remains the monorail system of transportation.  In fact, June 14, 1959, marked the start of the first urban monorail system in the U.S. when the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System began operations at Disneyland in California.

In Central Florida, the Walt Disney World Resort Monorail System today operates 12 Mark VI monorail trains on three lines of service.  This system opened in 1971 with two routes and expanded to three lines in 1982.

The modern trains that have been in use since 1989 are each 203 feet long (consisting of six cars) and can carry 360 passengers. The trains are driven by eight 113 HP motors which are powered by a 600-volt electrical system.

The Walt Disney World Monorail operates over a span of 14.7 miles and carries about 150,000 guests per day or 50 million Disney guests each year.

The three routes on the Walt Disney World Monorail include:

Express: Express service between the Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC).

Resort: Round-trip local service making stops at the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, the Transportation and Ticket Center, Disney’s Polynesian Resort and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.

Epcot: Service between the Transportation and Ticket Center and Epcot.