The Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has a new guest star - Lightning McQueen.

The hero of the movies Cars and Cars 2 now makes a special appearance in the middle of the Disney World theme park’s fast and fun auto stunt show. In the segment, a full size, real life version of Lightning McQueen joins a video version of his movie sidekick Mader in a search for a suspicious, evil car.

A host of other stunt cars, motorcycles, jet skis and stunt actors are also featured in this stunt show filled with high flying action, revving engines, squealing tires and lots of explosions and fire.

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The Independence Day weekend has arrived and Walt Disney World Resort is ready to light up the sky with fireworks to celebrate.

At Magic Kingdom, guests can get ready for a double dose of patriotic fun with a special nightly celebration on both July 3 and July 4. The fireworks extravaganza, “Disney’s Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky” will be presented at 9 p.m. both nights.

The show will be just as spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on July 4 with the park’s “Rockin 4^th of July Celebration” beginning at 9:45 pm. The presentation includes fireworks, special effects and music. The park will also offer two productions of the popular special effects show, Fantasmic, at 9 and 10:30 pm.

Over at Epcot, Disney will present the Voices of Liberty in concert at 12:30, 1:45 and 3 pm on July 4 as well as a special holiday version of IllumiNations, the park’s fireworks, laser and water show at 10 pm. Epcot guests will also enjoy meet and greet sessions with Disney Characters in colonial clothing and other Independence Day heroes like Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross.

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The Memorial Day weekend is upon us and that means summer can’t be far behind! It also means there are plenty of great entertainment options throughout the Orlando and central Florida area.

You can even get an early jump on the weekend events by attending the monthly concert series, Velvet Sessions, at Universal’s Hard Rock Hotel. The unique rock ‘n’ roll cocktail party and lobby concert features musical guest is Live’s Ed Kowalczyk. The event kicks off at 6:30 pm with food and themed drinks. The musical guest is Live’s Ed Kowalczyk. For tickets and additional details, visit www.velvetsessions.com.

Star Wars fans can get ready for the second of four Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The annual Star Wars celebration features dozens of your favorite Star Wars characters, special motorcades and events and more. This weekend’s special guests include actor Anthony Daniels who portrayed C-3PO, Bruce Spence who played Tion Medon and Dee Bradley, the voice of Captain Rex in the animated television show Clone Wars.

Star Wars fans will also want to be sure and ride the newly revamped Star Tours ride, featuring new 3-D film and multiple missions.

Meanwhile, just a short drive from Orlando, you’ll also find some new excitement at Busch Gardens Tampa where the theme park’s newest roller coaster, Cheetah Hunt, is scheduled to open on Friday. The park’s longest coaster, the Cheetah Hunt attraction also includes an adjacent cheetah habitat called Cheetah Run.

For more information about Orlando area theme parks and attractions, visit www.westgatereservations.com.

The force is with you so grab your lightsaber and head to Walt Disney World Resort where you’ll find droids, aliens, Darth Vader, Sith Lords, Jedi warriors and other Star Wars creatures.

There’s no need to travel to a galaxy far, far away when Star Wars Weekends have returned to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. The annual summer celebration of the Star Wars space fantasy series started last weekend and continues May 27-29, June 3-5 and June 10-12. Regular Disney park admission is all you need to experience the Star Wars celebrities, special shows, presentations, motorcades and memorabilia.

Children can attend the Jedi Training Academy to work on their lightsaber skills and prepare to do battle with the one and only Darth Vader. The Academy’s 30-minute live show features music and amazing lightsaber duels. Kids can train to become a junior Jedi Knight and might even be selected from the audience to put on a brown robe and learn battle skills from a Jedi Master before the arrival of Darth Vader.

Star Wars Weekends also include trivia contests, autograph sessions and motorcades filled with celebrities and visitors from Naboo, Endor and other planets. Everywhere you look you’ll find Ewoks, Wookiees, Stormtroopers and Jawas.

You can also blast into the universe of Star Wars aboard the newly enhanced Star Tours attraction. The ride now features an all-new 3-D adventure offering a variety of possible missions.

At the end of each day, you find all your favorite Star Wars characters at Hyperspace Hoopla, a party filled with music, comedy and dancing.

May the Force be with you at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during Star Wars Weekends. For information on these or other special Disney World events, go to http://www.orlandothemeparkvacations.com/ or http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

Freshly revamped, the long-awaited re-opening of Disney’s Star Tours attraction is scheduled for Friday, May 20, at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Guests will enjoy a variety of all new scenes, in a vivid 3-D adventure full of surprises.  And with 54 different combinations of scenes, there will be plenty of reason for Star Wars fans to ride the motion simulated attraction again and again. The film length for each ride is 4 minutes and 20 seconds and range from launch scenes with Darth Vader using the Force to a pod race on Tatooine to high intensity, dramatic endings.

Each ride sequence is filled with Star Wars characters, from the most popular to some of the most obscure. In addition, each ride will have one passenger singled out, on the screen, as a rebel spy. For added fun, in the security area of the refurbished queue, a robot called G290 will scan luggage and interact with guests. Meanwhile, G240 will be scanning humans so guests will see a thermal-scan version of themselves on screen.

The former Playhouse Disney live stage show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been updated and is now called, Disney Junior - Live on Stage!

While some of the popular interactive stage show remains the same, including segments starring Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins and Handy Manny, a new crew has been added. Jake and the Never Land Pirates can now be seen battling the villains, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee.

As part of the show, children are asked to help get rid of Hook and Smee by making “crocodile arms.” Then, when the Never Land Pirates finally succeed in fighting off the villains and defending their treasure, gold coins are released from the rafters. It’s all part of the interactive fun that also includes children clapping, dancing and catching bubbles, as well as character meet & greets in the Animation Courtyard following each show.

For more information on Disney’s Hollywood Studios, visit http://www.orlandothemeparkvacations.com/. Or go to http://www.westgatereservations.com/ for information on Disney and Orlando vacation packages and discount Orlando accommodations such as the beautiful Westgate Lakes Resort & Spa.

The new year is bringing a new parade adventure to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The popular, high-energy Block Party Bash made its farewell performance at the Disney theme park on Jan. 1, 2011. The parade featuring dance routines with synchronized choreography and acrobatics, plus scooter riders, pogo jumpers and trampoline artists had been running at Hollywood Studios since spring 2008.

Park guests can now look forward to a new parade experience: The Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun! parade is scheduled to begin Jan. 16.

For more information on Disney’s Hollywood Studios and disount Disney vacation packages, go to http://www.orlandothemeparkvacations.com/ or visit http://www.westgatereservations.com/.

Two attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park in Orlando are scheduled to close temporarily for refurbishment in the near future.

The first is Jim Henson’s MuppetVision 3-D which will close from April 24 through May 14, 2010. The second is the popular Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: Starring Aerosmith. That ride is slated to close briefly for refurbishment from May 15 through May 20.

The Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, which opened in July 1999, puts riders into an immediate thrill with initial acceleration from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 2.8 seconds. Each of the coaster trains feature a different Aerosmith song and those songs contain some new lyrics written specifically for the attraction. For example, “Love in an Elevator” is sung as “Love in a roller coaster.”

For additional information about Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or any of the other Disney World parks in Orlando, FL, visit www.OrlandoThemeParkVacations.com. Or go to www.WestgateReservations.com for details on discount Disney vacation packages and hotel or resort accommodations.

ESPN’s annual fan-fest continues this weekend (Feb. 26-27-28) at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, FL.

 With 35 superstar athletes, two dozen sportscasters, live shows, special motorcades, interactive sports zone and more, it’s sure to be a fun-filled weekend for sports fans of all ages.

Don’t miss your chance to get up close and personal with stars from the NBA, NFL, major league baseball, golf and more. Plus look for all of your favorite ESPN personalities.

Of course, you’ll also enjoy a full day of fun at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park which offers a wide range of thrill rides, shows and other attractions.

For information on Disney’s Hollywood Studios, discount Orlando vacation packages and discount Orlando theme park tickets, visit www.OrlandoThemeParkVacations.com. Or for discount Orlando resort and hotel accommodations, go to www.WestgateReservations.com/sweepstakes.cfm.

Walt Disney World in Orlando is one of the most visited destinations in the country. It has a lot of fun activities for the entire family. Disney World in Orlando offers a variety of theme park options, including Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Epcot. Each of these theme parks offer a different experience and each is big enough that you can spend a full day or more to cover it completely. So, it makes sense to buy your Disney vacation packages which covers multiple park options. You can get packages online to save a lot time that you would otherwise spend waiting in the long lines at the ticket counter.