The excitement just keeps on building at Orlando’s world famous theme parks. It seems you never have to wait long for one of Orlando’s top parks to announce something new. This time it’s Universal Orlando that’s ready to make its next big splash.

The theme park announced a variety of new attractions set to open in 2012, including a new parade, an after-dark show, a new Blue Man Group show and more.

The new attractions should help Universal Studios regain some of the traffic it lost to sister park Islands of Adventure when it opened up the highly popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010.

The new “Universal’s Superstar Parade” becomes the park’s first daily parade event. The interactive parade will stop to allow characters, dancers and performers a chance to engage with spectators. Highlights include large floats, street performers and characters from “Dispicable Me,” “Dora the Explorer,” “SpongeBob Squarepants” and “Hop.”

Universal is also expanding its nighttime fun by adding “Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Moments.” The end of the night event on the theme park’s lagoon offers a salute to Universal Pictures based on a movie history projected on both sides of a series of 30-foot by 30-foot waterfall curtains. The show also includes lasers, pyrotechnics, fountains and a special narration by actor Morgan Freeman.

Other new attractions at Universal include a revised Blue Man Group show and two new miniature golf courses at Universal CityWalk. Later this summer, the park will open a new attraction based on the film “Dispicable Me” called Dispicable Me Minion Mayhem. The park is also introducing new high tech adjustments to its popular Spider-Man ride such as some re-animation and a more vivid high definition projection system.

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One of Disney’s fastest and most popular marquee attractions will soon be re-imagined to ensure its long-term presence at Epcot.

Disney and General Motors recently renewed their longstanding sponsorship agreement for Test Track, a ride that debuted in 1999 and highlights the design, manufacturing and testing of GM vehicles.

As a result, the ride is slated to close in April 2012 when it will be re-imagined and reopen with a new focus on the GM Chevrolet brand. In addition to the redesigned ride, the theme park will add a “Chevrolet Design Center at Epcot” where guests will have an opportunity to custom design their own concept vehicle.

Test Track, a high-speed vehicle-simulation ride, is one of Disney’s longest and fastest rides, reaching speeds of more than 60 miles per hour. Guests strap in and experience the world of automotive testing and each 6-seat vehicle completes the safety and quality tests that GM performs on every prototype it manufactures.

The five-minute, one-mile journey includes a steep ascent followed by a quick downhill ride before the vehicle blasts across a bumpy road and roars through 50-degree banked curves and hair-pin turns that test suspension and brakes. Guests and vehicles also experience the environmental chamber featuring heat and cold tests at temperatures varying by more than 100 degrees, before finally facing the challenge of avoiding a crash barrier.

The attraction’s pre-ride queue area is also filled with auto test lab simulations, crash test dummies as well as real vehicles in various states of production.

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The holiday season remains one of the most popular times to visit Orlando’s world famous theme parks. And to help visitors get the most out of their visit, Disney’s Magic Kingdom offers some extended hours and additional Christmas events.

One of the highlights is the “Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade.” A staple during the extra ticket event, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the parade is currently being run at the 3 pm slot that normally features Disney’s Celebrate a Dream parade. The Christmas parade includes Disney characters in holiday costumes, marching toy soldiers, special floats and prancing reindeer. Visitors can also catch the park’s special Holiday Wishes fireworks show at 10 pm.

Beginning on Christmas Day, the Magic Kingdom will also offer two renditions of the Main Street Electrical Parade.

On Dec. 30 and 31, the park will offer its assortment of parades, plus two sets of fireworks – Holiday Wishes at 10 pm and then “Fantasy in the Sky” fireworks at 11:50 pm.

Of course, Disney’s other Orlando parks also offer holiday events, including theCandlelight Processional at Epcot, Mickey’s Jingle Jungle Parade at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

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The holiday happenings around Orlando’s major theme parks are ready to kick in. At Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Cinderella’s Castle will be more than a focal point for holiday photos. It will also act as a giant canvas for two special holiday shows.

Beginning Nov. 8, the popular Castle Dream Lights will bask the castle in a shimmering display of icicles. Then later in the evening, prior to the nightly fireworks, the park’s new projection show will also incorporate a holiday feel.

The projection show - The Magic, The Memories and You - debuted in January, 2011 and features up to 500 images of park guests who were captured by Disney PhotoPass photographers that day. Those photos are projected on Cinderella’s Castle while accompanied by special effects and animation. For the holidays, there will also be a special segment where the castle is projected with colorful bows and boughs, gift paper, ribbons, ornaments, candy stripes, multicolored strands of lights and even gingerbread.

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One small step for NASA. One giant leap for Kennedy Space Center guests.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will soon be offering something special to guests - access to NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building.

Other than NASA personnel and astronauts, few people have been inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, the structure where space shuttles were assembled and readied for launch.

However, the VAB will be part of a new Kennedy Space Center Up-Close tour to be offered eight times daily for a limited time beginning Nov. 1.  Also, for a very limited time, tour guests may actually see a space shuttle inside the VAB. Shuttles are being prepared for future display in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Florida.

Space shuttle Atlantis will be permanently displayed at Kennedy Space Center beginning in 2013.

Other stops on the two-hour Up-Close tour will include glimpse of the following:

• NASA’s KSC Headquarters.
• Operations & Checkout building - the astronaut crew quarters before each launch and where they boarded the Astrovan to ride to the launch pad.
• NASA Causeway and its panoramic view of the area and the coast.
• Crawlerway - the wide route that led shuttles to the launch platform
• Orbiter Processing Facilities - where orbiters were processed and maintained between flights.
• Solid Rocket Booster Storage Areas.
• Famed countdown clock.

Admission to the KSC visitor center is $43 for adults and $33 for ages 3-11. Admission for the Up-Close tour will be an additional $25 adults and $19 ages 3-11. Please note that the VAB stop is not part of the regular KSC bus tour that’s included with the regular admission.

For more information or to make reservations for the new tour, go to http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/. For details on discount attraction tickets and discount Orlando vacation packages, go to http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

While other theme parks are trying their best to scare the daylights out of guests with their Halloween themed events, Disney’s Magic Kingdom offers up Mickey’s No-So-Scary Halloween Party that’s appropriate for children of all ages.

A separate ticket event, this Halloween bash also encourages guests to dress up in their favorite costume and trick-or-treat around the Magic Kingdom.  Many of Disney’s most popular Characters and Villains will also be decked out in their Halloween costumes as the park is transformed into a kid-friendly “Spooky” Party, thanks to special lighting, music and themed effects.

Guests can enjoy many of the park’s rides and attractions in addition to special entertainment such as Mickey’s “Boo-to-you” Halloween parade, which begins with a ride by the Headless Horseman.

The evening concludes with Happy HalloWishes, a spectacular fireworks show featuring Disney Villains trick-or-treating in the sky.

Trick-or-Treating - Guests receive Trick-or-Treat Bags and candy stations are located throughout the Magic Kingdom. There’s no limit to how many times you can go back to the same location for more!

Alice & Mad Hatter’s Treat Trail, which started in Toontown and ended by Space Mountain in Tomorrowland, has been re-imagined as Br’er Rabbit’s Candy Patch and will be near Splash Mountain in Frontierland.

Mickey’s Boo-to-You Halloween Parade - See your favorite Characters dressed up in their Halloween costumes. Floats feature Disney Villains and Disney friends. Times:  8:15 pm and 10:30 pm.

Happy HalloWishes Fireworks - The Haunted Mansion’s Grim Grinning Ghosts Come Out to Socialize with a party in the sky during this spectacular t fireworks show. Time: 9:30 pm.

Halloween Dance Parties - Dance the night away with Disney Character friends at two park locations: “Rock it Out…Stitch’s Club 626″ takes place at the Rocket Tower Plaza Stage in Tomorrowland, and “Woody’s Happy Harvest Roundup” happens at the Diamond Horseshoe Review in Liberty Square.

Disney Villains Mix & Mingle - Classic Disney villains perform in a special show at the Castle Forecourt Stage. Times:  7:45, 8:50, 10:05, 11:15 pm.

Meet & Greets - Disney characters appear in Halloween costumes. The main site will be in the Town Square Theater where Mickey and Minnie relocated when their houses were removed from Toontown. The Disney Princesses will be in the theater as well, and Duffy the Disney Bear and Winnie the Pooh and friends will be outside by the flagpole. Other Characters can be found throughout the Magic Kingdom, including Snow White and her Seven Dwarfs in Frontierland.

2011 Event Dates / Times:
September: 20, 23, 27, 30
October: 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31
November: 1
Hours: 7:00 pm - midnight

After 20 years of terrifying thrills, Universal Orlando is set to begin creating a new decade of nightmares for guests with its chilling 2011 edition of Halloween Horror Nights 21.

A multiple winner of Amusement Today’s coveted Golden Ticket Award for Best Halloween Event, Halloween Horror Nights wants you to face the odds and see if you have a chance to survive. You can take your chances with a full deck of all new haunted houses, electrifying scare zones and outrageous live shows. Match your wits against a stacked hand mutants, monsters and maniacs as they roam the darkened studio streets.

One of the haunted houses for this year’s HHN event will be themed around “The Thing,” a film by Universal Pictures scheduled to open in October. The movie, a remake of a 1982 film by the same name, is set in a research site in Antarctica and features a terrifying alien with the ability to turn itself into an exact replica of any living being.

The house will feature elaborate sets and disturbingly real alien creatures to create an authentic fright experience based on the new thriller film.

Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed event that runs for 25 select nights between Sept. 23 and Oct. 31. Due to its intensity, the event is not recommended for children under the age of 13. For more information, visit the Halloween Horror Nights website at www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando. Just remember, at Halloween Horror Nights 21, the house always wins!

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Orlando’s theme parks are full of Halloween entertainment. From the very scary at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights to the kid’s fun at SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular, there’s something for everyone.

At Disney’s Magic Kingdom, you’ll find Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party already in full swing. The annual, separate ticket event allows guests an opportunity to dress up in their costumes and trick-or-treat alongside favorite Disney Characters and Villains.

The Villians Mix and Mingle show has been restyled for this year and now features Dr. Facilier, the voodoo doctor from Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” movie. The main musical number for this highly choreographed show is “Friends on the Other Side” from the same movie. The song offers up visual highlights like black-light effects and illuminations. As in the past, the show is followed by a fun meet-and-greet with the Disney Villains.

This year’s event at Magic Kingdom also offers a new trick-or-treat zone, Br’er Rabbit’s Laughin’ Place Candy Patch. The new candy patch area is located adjacent to Splash Mountain in Frontierland and replaces the former Alice & Mad Hatter’s Treat Trail that was formerly located in the old Mickey’s Toontown Fair.

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Disney World’s Enchanted Tiki Room attraction is set to reopen in the Magic Kingdom on August 15. The attraction has been closed since January when the building was damaged by a fire.

The Tiki birds have been a tradition at Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland since the park opened in 1971. Revamped in 1998, the show was called The Enchanted Tiki Room - Under New Construction. Now with new enhancements, the show will again receive a name change for the Aug. 15 reopening.

The show features more than 200 birds, flowers and tikis. The flock of animatronic birds will be led by four parrot hosts named Fritz, Jose, Michael and Pierre.

Enhancements to the show include remastered audio, a state of the art control system and new energy-efficient lighting.

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Another weekend of fun lies ahead in Orlando.At Universal Studios, the Summer Concert Series takes center stage again on Saturday night with a live concert featuring Third Eye Blind at 9 p.m.

The music also rolls on at Disney’s Epcot where the annual Sounds Like Summer concert series features Stayin’ Alive, a Tribute to the Bee Gees tonight and Slippery When Wet - The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute on Saturday. Concerts are scheduled for 5:45, 7 and 8:15 p.m. both evenings.

Meanwhile, at SeaWorld Orlando, guests can stay late as the park’s Summer  Nights at SeaWorld keeps the park open til 10 pm from now through August 14. The Summer Nights fun includes the popular shows Shamu Rocks, Sea Lions Tonite and Reflections, a fireworks and fountains grand finale. There’s also the new Summer Nights Central, a family gathering and party area that stretches along the pathway to Bayside Stadium at opens at 6 pm nightly.

Those interested in next week’s music can get an early start on the weekend with the Thursday, June 30 appearance of Psychedelic Furs at Velvet Sessions, the monthly rock and roll party at Universal’s Hard Rock Hotel.

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