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.

Did you know that on June 11, 1929, Walt Disney filed a trademark application with the United States Patent Office for the image of Mickey Mouse!

Save the date and your appetite because Orlando Magical Dining Month returns September 2008 for another season of low cost dining!    Beginning September 1, some of Orlando’s finest restaurants will offer $29 or $19 prix fixe three-course dinner menus sure to delight your palate and your wallet. The third annual Orlando Magical Dining Month features a wide range of popular restaurants and cuisines, including:  Emeril’s Tchoup Chop – One of the world’s most celebrated chefs, Emeril Lagasse, blends flavors of Asian and Polynesian cuisine incorporated with his signature bold “kick” of spice in an exotic Pacific Seas environment.

Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant – Roy’s has become well-known throughout the world for its Hawaiian Fusion cuisine, featuring the freshest local ingredients, European sauces and bold Asian spices with a focus on seafood.
 

Graze Restaurant – Familiar American classics take on global tastes at this hot new restaurant in trendy Thornton Park. The modern bistro features such favorites as sea scallops, elk rack, filet mignon, Maine lobster and braised buffalo short ribs.

The Oceanaire Seafood Room –This 1930s supper club-style restaurant features more than 25 types of seafood and shellfish flown in daily from around the world.  

Other participating restaurants are BICE Ristorante, Le Coq au Vin, Fifi’s, The Beacon, Jeffery’s Restaurant, Vines Grille & Wine Bar, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and A Land Remembered.

Flitting around like Tinker Bell, virtual visitors can now explore  Walt Disney World Resort from the comfort of their own home!  It’s all part of a new online re-creation of Disney World available on Google Earth called “Walt Disney World Resort in 3D.”  From the Magic Kingdom to Epcot and much of the rest of Disney World, you can now fly around, taking a closer look a the attractions and scenery through close-up pictures, descriptions and even videos – all while never leaving your computer! The program offers an Internet-based, computer-animated tour of the four theme parks and 22 hotel resorts at Disney World, all organized geographically on Google Earth’s virtual world map platform.To create the virtual tour, Disney photographers shot 100,000 photographs which were turned into 1,500 three-dimensional models of everything from Cinderella Castle to park benches. Google also added another 216 Disney World pictures, renderings and descriptions to further enhance the Disney World virtual exploration.

The largest package of user-generated content and the most sophisticated 3-D content posted on Google Earth, this program allows you to casually wander through this virtual Disney World with a ground level view.  While touring, you can click on any of the 276 icons embedded in the map at Disney attractions and hotels, bringing up more pictures, more video and more information.  Or you can link back to Disney’s associated Web sites.

Summer is here and it’s never too early to beat the heat at SeaWorld’s exciting new water park, Aquatica!

Stated summer hours at Aquatica at 9 am til 10 pm for the general public.  However, effective immediately, guests arriving with pre-purchased tickets will be guaranteed entrance as early at 8 am - providing an extra hour of wet and wonderful fun.

Both kiosks and ticket windows will be open at 8 am to transfer vouchers for admission.

Aquatica, conveniently located adjacent to SeaWorld Orlando,  is Central Florida’s newest adventure water park…offering guests a variety of up close animal experiences, high speed thrills, sandy beaches and waters from the  serene to the extreme!  With 36 water slides, six rivers and lagoons, and more than 80,000 square feet of beach area, Aquatic provides myriad attractions that zoom, float and splash guests through amazing animal habitats and undersea adventures!

Winding rivers throughout Aquatica offer two different journeys.  One river carries guests through gentle waterfalls, past exotic birds and into an undersea grotto with thousands of colorful fish.  The other river offers more intense thrills, jetting riders through rolling rapids, rushing geysers and racing waters!