Disney’s Sounds Like Summer Concert Series

The Sounds Like Summer Concert Series remains a popular annual event at Disney’s Epcot theme park throughout June and July. It’s a unique opportunity to enjoy all the fun of Epcot and hear some of your all-time favorite hits from a talented collection of tribute bands. The bands recreate the chart-topping hits of a variety of musical icons.

This summer’s concert events feature tribute bands for U2, the Rolling Stones, Bon Jobi, the Eagles, Chicago and the Bee Gees. These Epcot concerts will take place next to the lagoon at the America Gardens Theatre, an open air theatre adjacent to the American Adventure Pavilion.

Each tribute band performs three times per night, at 5:45 pm, 7 pm and 8:25 pm. For the latest information and updated show times, check the theme park’s Entertainment Guide, available at the Epcot gates.

Sounds Like Summer Concert Series

2010 Performers

June 12 - June 19:    Stayin’ Alive - A Tribute to The Bee Gees

June 20 - June 26:    Hotel California - A Salute to the Eagles

June 27 - July 3:      TBD

July 4 - July 10:       Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones Tribute Band

July 11 - July 17:      Slippery When Wet - The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute

July 18 - July 24:      2U - A Tribute to U2

July 25 - July 31:      Beginnings - CHICAGO Tribute Band

For more information on events at Walt Disney World Resort and discount Orlando vacation packages, visit http://www.disney.go.com/.

There’s a new game in town offering big water fun.

With summer temperatures arriving in Orlando, it’s time to start seeking options to cool off when you need a break from the sun. With four major water parks – Disney’s Blizzard Beach, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, Aquatica by SeaWorld and Wet ‘n’ Wild – the options are plentiful. But now there’s a new water park option in Orlando called the CoCo Key Water Resort located near International Drive and I-4 in the midst of the attractions area.  While the colorful water slides and other water attractions are part of the newly remodeled resort, the water fun is also open to those who are not staying at the resort. The watery attractions at CoCo Key offer wet fun for all ages.

The youngest will enjoy Minnow Lagoon, a zero depth entry pool with mushroom style water fountains, soaker cannons and age appropriate slides. The area is also under a canopy, offering youngsters a respite from the hot Florida sun. Parents can watch from the comfort of the Wet Rooster Tiki Bar.  Older kids will appreciate the Coral Reef Cove which offers up water volleyball and the faster paced, Cyclone slide. There’s also a large arcade area filled with games and fun. Nearby is Parrot’s Perch where you’ll find additional slides, water cannons and a giant bucket that dumps 400 gallons of water every 30 minutes.  For the biggest thrills, check out the biggest slides. Over the Falls is a curve-filled body slide while Surfer Splash offers 1- and 2-person tubes. The Boomerango features 2-person tubes that depart from the top of a 60-foot tower.  Free to resort guests, the park is open to non-guests for $19.95 while Florida residents pay just $14.95.  For more information on all of Orlando’s water parks and attractions, go to www.OrlandoThemeParkVacations.com. 

Looking for a fun night out in Orlando? The award winning “Velvet Sessions” is a rock & roll cocktail party held monthly at the Velvet Bar and Lobby Lounge of the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando. Each “Session” showcases a different type of beverage theme to sip, shoot or guzzle along with fabulous and great live music from legendary rock bands.

Admission (minimum age 21) to these popular concert events is $25 and includes free drinks, finger foods and warm-up tunes, all starting at 6:30pm. There is a cash bar when the featured entertainment begins at 8:00 pm.

Past Velvet Sessions performers include: Brett Michaels, Joan Jett, The Romantics, Eddie Money, The Tubes, The Fixx, ABC, Foreigner, Warrant, and more. The next Session on April 29, 2010 features Asia with John Payne. Popular Asia tunes include Heat of the Moment, Go, Wildest Dreams, Only Time Will Tell, Don’t Cry, and Days Like These.

On May 27, the Psychedelic Furs take the Velvet Sessions stage with songs like: All That Money Wants, Heartbreak Beat, Love My Way, Pretty in Pink, Sister Europe, The Ghost In You.

Get ready to rock the universe at Universal Studios theme park in sunny Orlando.Rock the Universe, the Christian-music event held annually each fall at Universal Studios, has announced its 2010 lineup for the two-day, separate ticket event.

The performers tentatively scheduled to appear on Friday, Sept. 10 include Newsboys, Skillet, Jars of Clay, Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down and Kutless. The Saturday, Sept. 11 lineup includes Jeremy Camp, Relient K, tobyMac, Needtobreathe, Fireflight and Grits.

The concert event is slated to run from 4 pm til 1 am on both days. For more information on this popular event, go to www.rocktheuniverse.com.

For more on Universal Studios and the other Orlando theme parks, go to www.OrlandoThemeParkVacations.com. Or find discount Orlando family vacation packages and hotel information at www.WestgateReservations.com.

Branson may be best known for reeling in visitors to Silver Dollar City theme park and the area’s many theatres and live entertainment venues. Yet it’s the Branson area’s spectacular lakes that continue to capture outdoor enthusiasts by hook, line and sinker. In fact, the Branson Lakes provide some of the very best trout fishing in the world.The popular Branson Landing shopping and dining attraction in historic Branson sits on the lakefront of scenic Lake Taneycomo. You’ll also find lake excursions and boat rentals along a mile-long lighted boardwalk. But get away from the boardwalk and you’ll also find more than 2,000 acres of lake surface and over 40 miles of shoreline.

The lake is actually a section of the White River. The lake was formed back in 1913 with the completion of the Powersite Dam. But when the Table Rock Dam was completed at Taneycomo’s headwaters in 1958, the entire nature of the lake changed.  The lake’s water now comes directly from the bottom of Table Rock Lake, making it a cold water lake, perfect for trout anglers.

The cold, clear water offers an average water temperature of 58 degrees and is stocked each year with 750,000 10″-12″ rainbow and brown trout. The upper portion of the lake is reserved for artificial lures only and the area is perfect for fly fishing. Flies that imitate freshwater shrimp as well as drifting salmon eggs or angleworms offer the best options for catching the trout.

Lower Lake Taneycomo, on the other hand, offers a downstream area closer to Powersite that has considerably warmer water and different species of fish.

For more information on Branson’s lakes and outdoor recreation or the theme parks and shows, go to http://www.ticket2branson.com/. Or visit http://www.westgatereservations.com/ if you’d like information on discount Branson family vacation packages and lodging, including the Westgate Branson Woods Resort.

Ricky Nelson Remembered.

It’s been 25 years since the passing of singer-songwriter Ricky Nelson, one of teh nation’s original teen idols. Today, Nelson’s identical twin sons, Matthew and Gunnar, help honor his memory with a concert featuring their father’s greatest hits.

The duo hits the stage for the eighth consecutive year at Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival this weekend, performing as part of the Flower Power Concert series.  The show features Rick Nelson favorites such as ”Travelin Man,” “Hello Mary Lou” and “Garden Party.”

The brothers also had their own hit called “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” under the band name of Nelson.  They will perform Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Epcot.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay recently welcomed a new baby. The little one weighed in at a mere 147 pounds.

The baby was actually a reticulated giraffe born to mother, Teesa, and father, Sterling. The addition now brings the theme park’s giraffe population to 15. Mother and baby are doing fine and are currently being housed in a private area where they can be monitored by zoo staff to ensure the little one is nursing and growing properly. In a matter of months, the pair will be ready to join the rest of the giraffe herd on the Serengeti Plain at Busch Gardens for all visitors to see.

The park’s 65-acre Serengeti Plain is a naturalistic habitat featuring a diverse population of free-roaming African animals including giraffe, zebra, white rhinoceros, eland antelope and additional species of hoof stock and birds. All of the animals can be seen up close via several different Busch Gardens attractions, including the Serengeti Express, the Skyride and the Serengeti Safari. The Safari offers an open truck tour of the plain during which you may have an opportunity to hand-feed the giraffe.

The giraffe birth at Busch Gardens is part of a successful long-term breeding program. A giraffe’s gestation period is approximately 15 months and the new baby will nurse for about a year. A second baby reticulated giraffe is expected to be born later this spring. The term “reticulated” refers to the giraffe’s net-like pattern of spots.

Visit the Web site www.OrlandoThemeParkVacations.com for information on tickets for Busch Gardens as well as all the other Orlando and central Florida theme parks and attractions.

Walk the world famous Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada and you’ll quickly be overwhelmed by the immense grandeur of the resorts and casinos. Each building represents an awe-inspiring work of art.

Yet, for all of the amazing architecture in Las Vegas, one of the world’s most intriguing architectural wonders is located about 30 miles southeast of Vegas. Hoover Dam, a massive concrete arch-gravity dam sits in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between Arizona and Nevada.

When completed in 1936 after 5 years of construction, the dam was the world’s largest hydroelectric power generating station and the world’s largest concrete structure. Today it remains a working masterpiece of technology and architecture while also being a National Historic Landmark.

Named after Herbert Hoover for his role in the dam’s construction, first as Secretary of Commerce and later as the 31^st President of the United States, the dam created a huge reservoir called Lake Mead which has become a popular recreational area and the nation’s largest man-made lake.

Hoover Dam, considered one of the Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20^th Century, is now also one of the Las Vegas area’s biggest draws and attracts more than one million visitors per year.

The historical dam sits in stark contrast to one of the most recent architectural wonders back on the Las Vegas strip, the 52-story Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate. The area’s newest luxury resort sits adjacent to the existing Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino and offers guests exceptional shopping, dining, gaming and entertainment options plus an exotic tropical pool surrounded by white sand.

For more information about Hoover Dam and other Vegas attractions, go online at www.VegasVacationStore.com. Or for the latest discount Las Vegas vacation packages and hotel and resort accommodations, visit www.WestgateReservations.com.

Chicago… Welcome to Orlando!

Universal Orlando’s 2010 Mardi Gras celebration wraps up this weekend with special musical guest Chicago coming to Orlando on Sat. April 17 at 8:30 pm. Chicago remains one of the most popular and successful American rock bands of all time and one of the top ten best-selling U.S. groups ever. In fact, Chicago has hit the Billboard chart with hit albums in five consecutive decades. 

While Chicago brings 30 years worth of hits to the Universal stage, the annual Mardi Gras party wraps up another successful season in 2010 with its famous bead-filled parade, street performers, fantastic Cajun foods and more. And it’s all part of your regular Universal Studios admission.

 Meanwhile, the excitement continues to build toward the June official grand opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s sister park, Islands of Adventure. For more information on all of Orlando’s fun-filled theme parks and attractions, visit www.OrlandoThemeParkVacations.com or check out www.WestgateReservations.com for discount Orlando hotel and resort packages.

Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and all of your favorite Sesame Street characters can now be found at Sesame Street Safari of Fun within Busch Gardens Tampa.

The new area for children features some new elements along with some repurposed attractions from Land of Dragons.  Safari of Fun fits perfectly with the theme park’s overall African theme. One of the most popular new rides is the all new Air Grover, a mini-sized roller coaster that allows children and parents to ride side-by-side. The coaster is like a “flight” over the Saraha Desert, with captain Grover in the front seat in full aviator gear.

Designed as a child’s first roller coaster experience, Air Grover isn’t quite like the park’s signature coaster ShieKra, but it does include a 23-foot lift hill and two gentle loops that offer plenty of thrill for the little ones.

Another fun new adventure is Bert & Ernie’s Watering Hole, a colorful water-play area and the perfect spot to cool off on a warm day.

You’ll also find two new Sesame Street shows at Busch Gardens. “A is for Africa” is a high energy stage show while “Lights, Camera, Imagination” is a 4-D movie with special effects.

Sesame Street Safari of Fun is included with regular Busch Gardens park admission. And children aged 3-5 can get in FREE throughout 2010 if they first register at www.SesameStreetSafariofFun.com.

Go to www.OrlandoThemeParkVacations.com for more information on central Florida theme parks and Orlando family discount vacation packages.