Seaworld Orlando Announces Major Expansion



Seaworld Orlando's new TurtleTrek

WESH: SeaWorld Orlando announced details Tuesday morning for what representatives call the biggest expansion in the park's history.

Three new attractions will be open at SeaWorld and its Discovery Cove park over the next few years.

At TurtleTrek, which will open at SeaWorld Orlando in spring 2012, parkgoers will go "nose-to-nose" with hundreds of freshwater fish, manatees, and more than a dozen sea turtles.

The second addition is Freshwater Oasis, which opens at Discovery Cove in spring 2012. SeaWorld representatives said it’s an all-new attraction where parkgoers will swim and wade with playful otters and marmosets.

Meanwhile, a total makeover of SeaWorld's penguin attraction, representatives say, will take guests on a journey to Antarctica.

"Empire of the Penguin combines closer-than-ever animal connections with state-of-the-art interactive ride technologies for adventures that are different each time," a SeaWorld statement said.

SeaWorld says the new thrill ride will be the coldest ever.

A New Theme Park for Orlando?

The Mondial Revolution ride at the proposed Orlando Thrill Park

Gather: Orlando, Florida is world renowned as the center of the amusement park world. With the various parks of Disney, Universal Studios, Sea World, the new Legoland and more, this Central Florida locale is a favored destination of amusement enthusiasts from all over the world, but there's one thing that Orlando is lacking and that's about to change pretty soon. For all its thrills, amusements and other entertaining attractions, there are relatively few roller coasters among its parks, and with a recent city council ruling, the area will soon be home to a brand new park with fourteen new thrill rides in all, including eight world-class roller coasters.

Developers of the proposed Orlando Thrill Park have long envisioned adding another theme park to the Orlando area, one that was a little closer to other amusement parks that featured thrill rides as their primary draw for crowds. I-Drive Investors planned their 78-acre park to be built off North International Drive, between a large shopping mall and a residential area, but their plan was turned down in April due to local zoning laws.

Earlier this week, the local city council agreed to make adjustments to allow the site to be used for amusement purposes and a public hearing is scheduled for November 14^th. The decision effectively revives the possibility of the Orlando Thrill Park, much to the delight of roller coaster enthusiasts who have always been hesitant to visit the area for its lack of thrill rides.

Plans for the future park align more with the scream parks that dot the country (like Cedar Fair and Six Flags) rather than the themed playgrounds that already exist in Orlando. Initial visions for the new Orlando Thrill Park were inspired by Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, two parks famous for their extensive collections of roller coasters.

The eight new coasters at the new park are as varied as anywhere, and include inverted, hydraulic-launched, simulated flying, and even a 4th dimension coaster, which is a newer design of coaster that spins on a horizontal axis. Developers have published a slideshow of some of the thrill rides they're proposing, which can be viewed here.

Though there are already some great roller coasters that do reside in the Orlando area, like Universal's Incredible Hulk and Sea World's Manta, and Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa is an hour's drive away, there has never been enough of them to draw the great crowds of thrill ride enthusiasts who travel far and wide for their fun to the area, until now. Orlando Thrill Park will surely be a welcome addition to the Central Florida amusement landscape, especially for roller coaster enthusiasts.

Disney World's Most Endangered Attractions

Disney's Country Bear Jamboree

MyJoy Online: Sometimes, Orlando's Walt Disney World proves to be a little too small, after all.

As the Florida resort battles changing entertainment standards, longstanding classic attractions throughout the resort’s four theme parks -- the Skyway aerial trams, the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarine excursion and the future-predicting Horizons ride to name a few -- are torn down to make way for newer, flashier rides.

The Mickey Mouse Revue, an automated musical tribute to Disney songs that opened with the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World’s flagship theme park, in 1971, was sent to Tokyo's Disneyland in 1980 and was warehoused for good in 2009. Some of the 188 “Audio-Animatronic” figures in Epcot's transportation retrospective World of Motion (1982 to1996) have been re-cast in rides at other Disney theme parks, such as Anaheim's Pirates of the Caribbean and Paris's Phantom Manor.

Despite a fervent fan campaign to save Mr Toad's Wild Ride, the Coney Island-style, runaway car goof was run off the road in 1998 in favour of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. As both a nod and an injury to its defenders, a statue of Mr Toad wound up in the pet cemetery at the Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion.

Given the furore over the Mr Toad closure, Walt Disney World management holds its planned phase-outs close to the vest. But history shows a pattern: when attractions prove too expensive to maintain, score low on guest approval, lose sponsorship or have difficulty churning through high numbers of visitors, they are likely to meet the wrecking ball. Following that pattern, the following beloved Disney World attractions are, or might be, in the crosshairs. See them before it is too late.

Snow White's Scary Adventures, Magic Kingdom
This attraction, one of the last remaining from the Magic Kingdom’s opening four decades ago, will be demolished to make way for the park's reportedly $425 million expansion of Fantasyland, one of the park’s several themed areas. The indoor electric cart ride told from Snow White's perspective will be replaced with a meet-and-greet area for Disney's current banner brand, the Princesses. A closing date has not been announced, but it is expected in early 2012, so now is the last chance to try an insider's secret pleasure: buying smears of glow-in-the-dark hair gel at Main Street's Harmony Barber Shop that will light up under the black lights of the ride. Disney is not evicting its first princess from the grounds entirely, however. It is building a Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster nearby.

Country Bear Jamboree, Magic Kingdom
One of Walt Disney's triumphs was the faithful re-creation of life, first in animated characters and later through "Audio-Animatronic" robotic figures. In 1971, a stage full of 18 robotic bears convincingly singing saloon songs was the cutting edge of amusement technology. Sadly, few of today's computer-reared guests appreciate such true technological prowess and instead, regard the attraction as an opportunity for air-conditioned rest. Citing poor attendance, California's Disneyland shed its version of the attraction in 2001, and with its audiences on the wane, the Orlando version is supported mostly by nostalgia. For the modern Disney, which prefers operating at high capacity, thinning crowds are a sure route to the red-line list.

Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey, Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's rides are known for being among the best in the business, so the opportunity to catch the company slumming is rare indeed. In fact, this Michael Eisner-era misfire has been demoted to that rarest (and most ignoble) attraction status: it operates only on extremely busy days to alleviate crowds. This Hollywood Studios theme park attraction is a vestige of a period of enforced synergy with Disney sister unit, ABC television. The 1999 movie attraction with Drew Carey demonstrates the importance of movie sound effects by shutting off the lights (and needlessly terrifying children) for seven minutes -- convenient for saving a bundle on production costs but patently unimpressive. A Star Wars-themed Jedi Training Academy show squats in its theatre on hot days, and it is reported (but not confirmed) that the Force will evict it full-time at some point.

Universe of Energy/Ellen's Energy Adventure, Epcot
The Epcot Center that opened in 1982 purported to explore the sciences in an intelligent way, and this pavilion was a perfect example of that promise. The roof is crowned with a glittering field of solar panels that partly power a dazzling seating system of six, 97-passenger mobile slabs that turn a theatre into a gliding ride. But as the attraction is sponsored by ExxonMobil, it virtually ignores solar and alternative fuels to pump up the merits of the oil industry. The fact it is narrated by 15-year-old filmed segments featuring Ellen DeGeneres (then an ABC star) and the largely forgotten '90s personality Bill Nye the Science Guy makes it even more dated. Waits of a mere five minutes are the norm. These combined deficits predict a gut renovation in the not-so-distant future.

Swiss Family Treehouse, Magic Kingdom
This ingenious concrete-and-steel walk-through castaway camp was built to impress in 1971 for the opening of the Magic Kingdom, with 300,000 hand-attached vinyl leaves and a working waterwheel system that sends fresh water from room to room. But people no longer recall its movie inspiration, a 1960s smash hit. The 14-story Tree of Life that was built for the opening of Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park in 1998 makes the Swiss Family Robinson's home a sapling in comparison and California's Disneyland converted its own Treehouse to a more relevant Tarzan theme in 1999, so the writing may be on the treehouse wall Further undermining its future, the tree requires refurbishment every three to five years and the design flouts modern accessibility codes by requiring the navigation of 116 stairs and catwalks. It may not be long until this charming but cumbersome attraction ceases to exist in its current form.

Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, Magic Kingdom
This 20-minute lesson about how appliances will rescue the nuclear family from drudgery is a genuine artefact from a period of consumer optimism in American history, having premiered with General Electric sponsorship at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City. The novel show system places the audience on a ring that rotates past four stationary stages stocked with Audio-Animatronic actors, yet people stay away in droves from this misogynistic chestnut. In 1973, it was booted from California's Disneyland for poor attendance, and now this antique spins in Orlando, where waiting more than five minutes is rare. Such low numbers would doom any other attraction, but since Walt is on record as having adored this one, and because it is billed (in a stretch) as the longest-running theatrical show in the United States, it has been permitted to remain in a forlorn corner of Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland -- for now.

Journey into Imagination with Figment, Epcot
Catch it now, because since Epcot's opening, Imagineers have struggled to make this dark ride click. In this third try, the talent is not to blame. Eric Idle appears as a Dr Nigel Channing, a scientist at "The Imagination Institute" while Figment, a fan-favourite, kid-friendly mascot created for the park, serves as the mischievous spoiler. The fault lies in a delivery deemed so low-budget and uninspired that riders can usually walk on without a moment's queueing. Kodak yanked its 28-year sponsorship of the ride in 2010, and any sponsor-to-be is unlikely to take kindly to this albatross of an attraction, sending it into Disney history in favour of Imagination 4.0.

More Wizarding World Attractions Planned

Inside The Magic: Following the unprecedented success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park, more Potter attractions appear to be on the way, though no details are available yet.

In an interview with Universal Studios President and COO Ron Meyer, in which the studio chief blasts several of Universal’s recent box office failures, Movieline.com reports that more attractions based on the hugely popular Harry Potter film franchise are in development. The movie web site posed the question to Meyer directly, asking “if there were plans to build additional Harry Potter amusement parks built outside of Orlando.” His response was rather straightforward: “Yes.” He wouldn’t elaborate.

Since the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in June 2010, the Islands of Adventure theme park turned around from a park that was dramatically dropping in attendance to drawing thousands upon thousands of excited tourists and fans to walk through Hogsmeade Village, ride through a Forbidden Journey, and walk away with plenty of Muggle merchandise. Rumors continue to circulate that Universal Orlando plans to expand the relatively small Wizarding World into a much larger Potter-themed area, but no announcements have been made.

It’s not clear where exactly Meyer is asserting that more Potter fun will be built, whether it’s for the other Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood, Calif. and Singapore or elsewhere. But his reply couldn’t be any clearer that there is definitely more theme park excitement in store for Harry Potter fans.

Dueling Dragons Will Never Duel Again

Attractions Magazine: After a couple of incidents, the Dragon Challenge “dueling” coaster (formerly known as Dueling Dragons) located in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park will no longer duel.

The Orlando Sentinel newspaper has been following the story of a change on the way the Dragon Challenge roller coaster is run. The ride has two separate tracks and coaster cars that run on them simultaneously. At one point in the ride, riders on each train come around a loop at the same time, providing them a thrilling moment when they come within a few feet of each other.

After a couple of incidents in which riders reported being injured by something coming off riders on the other train (one person lost an eye), Universal decided to have the coasters run staggered, eliminating the “near-miss” moment while they investigated the issue. The newspaper reported …

It’s a substantial change for an attraction specifically designed with the near-misses in mind. Dragon Challenge is even programmed to calculate the weight of the two coasters after they are loaded with riders to ensure optimal timing.

Universal Orlando said this week it has decided to permanently end the practice of launching the two coasters simultaneously. The resort now bills the attraction as a “high-speed chase between two coasters.”

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our guests and our team members,” Schroder said. “This attraction has been through extensive safety inspections and continues to live up to our high safety standards.”

Although the ride has operated since 1999 as a dueling coaster, the recent incidents are the first to be widely reported.

Legoland Miniland Tour

Miniland is one attraction at Legoland Florida, The model village includes replicas of cities and landmarks made from millions of genuine Lego bricks. In all, Legoland Florida has more than 50 rides, shows and attractions including Lego Kingdoms, Duplo Village, Fun Town, Imagination Zone and Lego City. Legoland Florida opened October 15.

If you want to jump to a specific attraction, here are the sections:

00:00 - Daytona International Speedway
00:45 - Kennedy Space Center
01:45 - Miami Beach
02:25 - Bok Tower
02:35 - St. Augustine
03:28 - Panama City Beach
04:13 - Tampa
04:27 - Everglades & Key West
04:42 - Washington DC
07:35 - Las Vegas
12:31 - New York
14:18 - Hollywood California
14:42 - Chinatown
14:59 - San Francisco
15:52 - Pirates

An 8 Year Old Evaluates Legoland Florida

Merlin's Challenge

Tampa Bay Online: Sure, the new theme park near Winter Haven sounds like a lot of fun. Smaller rides built for kids, a pirate waterskiing show, deep-fried apple strips dunked in sugar.

But what do kids think of the park? We set out to find out the only way possible — with a kid.

Opening day is Saturday, but I purchased tickets for myself and my daughter, Anna, 8, for a preview day. Here's what she thought of it, from a kid's-eye view.

Merlin's Challenge
Our first stop was the Kingdom area, because it has princesses and face painting. ($5 to $10) The small ride is Merlin's Challenge, a merry-go-round that also rolls up and down.

Anna said, "It was pretty fun how it went up and down, and wasn't too scary if you're a little, little kid."

Anna's verdict: 4 blocks out of 5

We try Coastersaurus
Coastersaurus, a wooden roller coaster, was "super, super loud, and it rattles all over," Anna said. "I liked how it was so fast. At the first drop, it feels like you're in midair.

"Not too scary for a kid that's 8."

The cars hold two people, pretty snugly, and there are drop-down bars and seat belts.

Anna's verdict: 5 blocks out of 5

Safari Trek
Safari Trek is a much calmer ride. It has buggies that follow a flat track past huge Lego animals: lions, giraffes and ostriches.

"Kind of boring, because all you did was roll around. I did like the cool animals, like the big giraffe," Anna said.

Anna's verdict: 2 blocks out of 5

The new water show
The waterskiing show attracted lots of fans at the old Cypress Gardens, but this show is different.

The crowd helps the lovely Miranda and her crew of stubby Lego soldiers rescue Pirate's Cove from the dastardly, and stinky, Brickbeard pirate. There's plenty of zipping about on water scooters and a few ski jumps. The show lasts about 20 minutes.

Get there early and you might get to one of three water cannons along the front row to shoot at the actors. Anna warns: If you sit within five rows of the front, you will get soaked.

Anna's verdict: 4 blocks out of 5

Time to nibble
The Legoland signature snack is Granny's Apple Fries, which are strips of apple, fried and rolled in cinnamon sugar, served with thick whipped cream.

"The apple flavor kind of builds up on you, but the whipped cream cuts the flavor," she said. Given the chance, she would pick french fries.

As for the other food, there are the expected fries and cheeseburgers, but they have a variety of healthy food, including fruit sides and unbreaded chicken filets on whole wheat. That was a surprise.

Anna's verdict: 2 blocks out of 5. (Dad says the apple fries rock!)

Wave Racer a blast
For sheer laughs, one of the best rides is the Aquazone Wave Racer.

You ride standing up in a water scooter attached to a merry-go-round, spinning around as water bombs explode around and soak you.

Even waiting in line, you're likely to get soaked, and people walking by can hit buttons to blast the water fountains.

"I really like how it went so fast, but watch out," she said, "there is a bonk at the end!"

Anna's verdict: 5 blocks out of 5

Driving school
Anna tried the driving school, and I nearly had a heart attack.

The wait was at least an hour, and then I nearly passed out watching her blow through red lights. The driving course lasted about three of the longest minutes of my life.

"I was kind of nervous," Anna said. "My legs were kind of wiggly when I was done. The other drivers were kind of crazy."

With the wait so long, make sure your children really want to drive a car or get the plastic driver's license with their picture on it ($15.)

Anna's verdict: 4 blocks out of 5

Flying School coaster
The Flying School coaster is like a mini-SheiKra, where your legs hang in midair. But it rolls rather than dives in one big drop. This is at the far end of the park.

"It went so fast I could barely keep my eyes open. And it felt like if I put my arms out, they would hit the poles," Anna said.

Anna's verdict: 4 blocks out of 5

SeaWorld Orlando Launches Major Expansion

Orlando Sentinal: SeaWorld Orlando has quietly launched a "major redevelopment" that will add several new attractions to the marine park in 2012 and 2013.

The plans, according to government filings and interviews with people familiar with various elements, include transforming a 24-year-old penguin exhibit into a new, possibly Antarctica-themed ride; adding a sea-turtle movie attraction to an existing manatee display; and building a rainforest-themed trail in Discovery Cove, SeaWorld's limited-admission boutique park, that would include a freshwater pool and habitats for primates and otters.

SeaWorld would not discuss details of its plans this week, though it confirmed that it has multiple new attractions in the works.

"We do have plans for incredible new attractions at SeaWorld Orlando, and we're committed to finding amazing new ways to immerse our guests and fans in the mysteries of the sea," SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck said. "It's too early to talk about the plans and details right now, but you can expect us to share the news in the near future."

In a sign of how ambitious its plans are, a delegation of top SeaWorld Orlando executives met two weeks ago with more than a half-dozen senior Orange County planning and growth-management officials to alert them to the coming work. The SeaWorld contingent included SeaWorld Orlando President Terry Prather; park vice presidents in charge of finance, design and engineering, and lobbying; and a corporate engineering and creative-development executive.

The SeaWorld executives, according to those at the meeting, sought assurances that their plans would advance rapidly through the county's permitting process.

"They're going to be doing a major redevelopment. They're looking at spending a significant amount of money," said John Smogor, Orange County's planning administrator, though he said the SeaWorld executives did not discuss specific project details.

The Orlando spending surge is an effort by Orlando-based SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment — and its owner, private-equity giant the Blackstone Group — to revive the biggest and most important of their 10 U.S. theme parks. SeaWorld Orlando alone is responsible for roughly one-third of SeaWorld Parks' total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to a recent report by the ratings firm Standard & Poor's.

But SeaWorld Orlando has also struggled during the past 18 months, losing visitors to Universal Orlando and its year-old Wizarding World of Harry Potter themed area. More challenges are looming, with Merlin Entertainments Group preparing to open a nearby Legoland Florida theme park later this month and Walt Disney World in the midst of expanding two of its four parks — including Disney's Animal Kingdom, which, like SeaWorld, is themed around wildlife and conservation.

"SeaWorld desperately needs to keep up with the competition inOrlando, and both Universal and Disney are just throwing money at stuff right now," said Robert Niles, publisher of ThemeParkInsider.com. "If SeaWorld doesn't do anything, it's going to get left behind."

Although SeaWorld won't reveal its plans yet, some details have trickled out.

One of the biggest projects, expected to be completed in 2013, involves Penguin Encounter, a walk-through exhibit that opened in 1987 and displays several different species of penguins, as well as puffins and murres.

SeaWorld employees have been told the exhibit will close in December for an 18-month refurbishment, and one county official said he expects SeaWorld to demolish the building entirely. SeaWorld is currently renovating a back-area avian-research building to make room for the penguins that will be displaced by the construction.

What exactly will replace the penguin exhibit is less clear. There are persistent rumors, first reported by the industry news site ScreamScape.com, that SeaWorld plans to build an indoor "dark ride" in its place. Since August, SeaWorld Orlando has also trademarked a trio of names that could be associated with the project: "Antarctica" and "Empire of the Penguins," both for use as themed areas in an amusement park, and "SnowWorld," for use as an amusement-park attraction.

Separately, SeaWorld is also planning to redevelop its Manatee Rescue attraction, a project expected to debut in 2012. According to a person familiar with details, the plans include renovating a circular theater and using it for an upgraded, sea-turtle movie that will likely be tied in with a theatrical documentary that was released this past summer through SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment's new SeaWorld Pictures film unit.

Documents filed with the South Florida Water Management District confirm that SeaWorld plans to convert the manatee exhibit into a "combination manatee/sea turtle exhibit." SeaWorld last month also trademarked the name "Turtlesphere 360" for use in a theme-park attraction.

Discovery Cove, the high-end boutique park next door to SeaWorld, is also a part of the expansion efforts. Documents filed with the water district and Orange County show that SeaWorld intends to convert a now-closed saltwater reef into a freshwater environment referred to both as the "Flooded Rainforest Trail" and as "Flooded Forest River Trails."

According to the documents, its features will include a "primate island" and an otter-viewing area.

Ford Rolls Out Life-Size Lego Explorer

Daily Mail: To celebrate the opening of Legoland in Florida on October 15, Ford has built a very special car as a token of goodwill towards the amusement park.

The Michigan-based car company made a life-size Ford Explorer out of Lego bricks - 382,858 Lego bricks to be exact. A team of Ford engineers at the Chicago assembly plant designed and constructed the toy car which took them more than 2,500 hours to complete.

Ford Motor Company is one of Legoland's sponsors and a company statement said they provided the car as part of a 'long-term alliance between Ford and Legoland Florida theme park'. The Lego Explorer will be an exhibit at the park once it opens, featured in front of one of the park's attractions, the Ford Driving School for children.

Kids as young as three can attend, where they will learn 'the difference between the accelerator and the brake — and move on to stop lights and stop signs,' said Ford in a statement.

'Children then have the opportunity to drive in their own electric vehicles on curbed roads with maximum speed limits of three mph,' said the car giant.

According to Jalopnik.com, while the Ford Explorer is made with 2,500 parts, the Legoland Florida Explorer is made with 382,858 Legos. Also, the Ford Explorer was built by 2,500 employees at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant, while the Legoland Florida Explorer was made in Connecticut by 22 employees over about 2,500 hours. The Lego Explorer weighs in at 2,654 lbs, while a real one weight almost double that at 4,503 lbs.

Ford said the vehicle will be loaded on to a trailer with transparent sides so motorists can see the Lego Explorer on its road trip to Florida.

Legoland Florida General Manager Adrian Jones said in a press release: 'We're less than a month from opening and the anticipation level is incredibly high. This is the only park of its kind in the world built exclusively for kids ages two to 12, and it will be a total departure from anything families with young children have seen before. It's a completely immersive experience, engaging kids' imaginations and their sense of adventure through interactive play.'

Legoland Florida Ready for Soft Opening

Orlando Sentinel: The rides at Legoland Florida are up and ready to roll, as Central Florida's newest theme park prepares for its first guests this weekend — the contractors who built the park and the families of the park's 1,000 employees.

Legoland doesn't open to the public until Oct. 15., but the Winter Haven park is nearly ready, with rides in working order, landscaping all but complete, and hundreds of Lego sculptures scattered throughout the property, waiting to be discovered by eager eyes.

"We're in full training mode. Our merchandise people are filling in the stores, our food people are practicing food preparation," Jill Swidler, the park's marketing director, said Wednesday. "So we'll be ready to go Oct. 15."

Legoland conducted a brief, technical rehearsal Wednesday of part of its water-ski show, the first time the show has been done in full costume. Dubbed "The Battle for Brickbeard's Bounty," the show includes a boxy Lego pirate named Brickbeard and the "spicy and brave" heroine, Ms. Miranda, who defends Legoland's happy harbor with her Lego soldiers and a pirate-eating shark named Sawtooth. The show set comes complete with a large-scale model of a Lego pirate ship.

"We actually have a Lego ship that we modeled this after," said Marc Kish, project manager for Nassal, the Orlando company that built the set piece. "We had to make sure every line and every seam and every placement is true."

The park also gave members of the media a sneak peek of Lego City, with its Boating School, Ford Driving School and Lego City Rescue Academy — a firefighter-inspired race that pits family against family in a bid to battle a burning building.

"The rides at Legoland are really special rides in that, instead of being a passive participant, you're an active participant," said Bill Vollbrecht, the park's senior project designer. "Everything they do, it's hands on. They drive the car — there's no track. They drive the boat on open water."

The park's Lego Technic Test Track was also ready Wednesday. The steel roller coaster offers a high-rise view of the park before riders plunge down a 45-foot drop.

Legoland said it will soon begin selling discount tickets at area Publix Super Markets. At $60 for adults and $50 for children, the tickets cost $15 less than those purchased at the gate and $5 less than pre-opening prices available online.

Park officials also expressed confidence in their annual-pass sales, saying area residents are already clamoring to get into the attraction.

"Our pass sales are going through the roof, totally exceeding our expectations," Swidler said. "We know the locals are totally excited to get in here."

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Disney Announces 'Avatar' Attractions

Orlando Sentinel: The Walt Disney Co. will build a theme-park "land" based on the movie "Avatar" in Disney's Animal Kingdom as the first step in a broader licensing deal that will lead to similar attractions in Disney parks worldwide.

The deal announced Tuesday gives Disney exclusive theme-park rights to use elements from the 2009 blockbuster and from sequels due out in 2014 and 2015. "Avatar," which was directed by James Cameron and grossed nearly $2.8 billion in worldwide box-office receipts, is widely considered one of the most valuable intellectual properties not already tied up by a theme park.

Disney said it plans to build multiple-attraction lands based on the film's fictional world of "Pandora," including themed food and merchandise, rides and entertainment. It's the same approach Universal Orlando has taken with its wildly popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which has fueled huge attendance and guest-spending gains since opening in Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park last year.

"Avatar is just a set of worlds that is really rich and offers so much to explore, we thought that offering a land-based approach gives us a much better opportunity to explore," Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs said in an interview following the announcement.

Disney said it would begin construction of Animal Kingdom's Avatar land in 2013 and expects to open it to guests about five years from now. A company executive indicated that the price tag would be approximately $500 million.

Cameron said he initially thought Disney would want to build only an individual ride based on his film.

"I quickly realized that their vision for this thing is far beyond what I imagined," he told reporters. "It was kind of thrilling that they wanted to do a land and really bring the world of Pandora to life."

More Avatar lands would follow down the road. Disney currently has five theme-park resorts worldwide and is building a sixth in Shanghai, China.

"We obviously appreciate that this was a film that was enjoyed by millions globally. So it's now a global product," Disney Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said. "We can clearly leverage the global interest in this property in multiple places, although we don't have any plans at the moment or specifics to announce to you."

Disney will license the rights from Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment studio and Fox Filmed Entertainment.

The Avatar land should provide a huge jolt in the arm for the 13-year-old Animal Kingdom theme park. The youngest of Walt Disney World's four theme parks has been criticized by some park fans for lacking attractions and not amounting to a full-day experience on par with the Magic Kingdom or Epcot.

The last major new ride added to Animal Kingdom was the Expedition Everest roller coaster, which opened in 2006. That ride cost more than $100 million.

A precise date hasn't been set for completion of the Avatar attractions in Animal Kingdom, but an opening sometime in 2016 could allow Disney to capitalize on a fresh wave of fan interest in the 'Avatar' film franchise from the two sequels currently in development. Cameron said the tentative plan is to release the first sequel around Christmas 2014 and the second around Christmas 2015.

"The timing seems to work out well in terms of the sequels," Cameron said. "Really, what we need to resolve is how much of the elements of the second and third films are incorporated into the Avatar land."

Construction Begins on 'Despicable Me' Attraction

Orlando Sentinel: Work has begun on the Despicable Me attraction planned for Universal Studios theme park. A construction wall (above) has blocked off the building that housed Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast, which was permanently closed by Universal Orlando earlier this month. Also gone is the signage, Jimmy’s gigantic image that was on the side of the building along with the trademark paint splatter of Nickelodeon.

The wall is decorated with imagery from “Despicable Me,” a 2010 animated film from Universal. Although there’s mention of the Minions, there’s no sign yet of the goggled yellow beings. The attraction is scheduled to open next year, although Universal has not yet given a more specific time frame.

Another visible change: Renaming of the adjacent street within the theme park. New signage indicates “Minion Way” (just past the Universal Studios Store) instead of the old “Nickelodeon Way.”

Although the construction wall goes down Minion Way, there’s still foot traffic that can go under Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, to the Blue Man Group’s Aquos Theater and the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal CityWalk.

Orlando Theme Parks Eye Weak Economy

Orlando Sentinel: The sudden deterioration of the global economy in recent weeks is prompting fears of a slowdown at Orlando's big theme parks, which have been one of the few bright spots this year in an otherwise moribund local economy.

Although Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando have all reported promising trends during the first half of this year, analysts say they could face a much tougher slog this fall if falling stock markets and rising concerns about unsustainable government-debt loads in the U.S. and Europe undermine an already sluggish recovery from the 2007-09 recession.

“The ongoing weakness in U.S. employment could cause further softness in park demand and possibly more discounting," analysts at Goldman Sachs said this week as they cut their rating on shares of the Walt Disney Co. from "buy" to "neutral." The downgrade followed a quarterly earnings report from Disney that topped Wall Street estimates but which failed to soothe concerns about Disney's most economically sensitive businesses: theme parks and television advertising.

"A weaker economy could slow theme park traffic, which is a key risk in our opinion," Disney Co. analysts at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. said in a separate research note.

Theme-park executives say it is too early to tell whether the recent economic turmoil will deter consumers from traveling. Disney says visitors to its theme parks typically book about 14 weeks in advance.

Jim Atchison, president and chief executive officer of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, said Thursday that there have been some promising signs even amid the recent dour headlines. Atchison cited a report released Thursday that showed the number of people claiming jobless benefits fell slightly last week, and the fact that corporate earnings remain strong.

"I think the biggest drivers of the unrest really come down to political problems more so than economic problems," Atchison said. "The bigger problem would be if corporate earnings and jobless claims were awful; those are things that are harder to fix."

Atchison said he is still optimistic about the next six months, both for SeaWorld and the broader Central Florida tourism market, though he added he was "probably a bit more guarded today than I would have been a month ago."

Any slowdown at the area's theme parks would obviously be a blow to Orlando's economy. Already the region's dominant industry, the tourism sector has been among the few sources of growth in a weak jobs market.

Leisure-and-hospitality businesses in Metro Orlando added 11,500 jobs in June when compared with a year ago, far more than any other industry. The next strongest sector — professional and business services — added just 2,100 jobs in the same 12 months. The four-county metro area as a whole had a net gain of only 8,000 jobs.

Universal Orlando, reveling in record crowds and profits since opening the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in June 2010, has led the way locally. The two-park resort announced earlier this month that second-quarter attendance jumped 41 percent and in-park spending rose 15 percent. That followed a 68 percent attendance gain during the first three months of the year.

"We are still seeing significant interest in our destination," Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said. "We are obviously keeping close watch on the economy, but it's too soon to talk specifics."

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment doesn't publicly report financial data, but Atchison said the company's 2011 attendance has experienced "high single-digit" percentage growth so far compared with the same period last year. He also said per-capita spending in the company's theme parks is up from a year ago.

"We're up over last year both at SeaWorld Orlando and as an enterprise as a whole," he said. He added that future reservations for SeaWorld's limited-admission park, Discovery Cove, remain "robust."

Attendance at Disney World appeared to shrink somewhat during Disney's most recent fiscal quarter, which ended July 2. Disney Co. no longer releases specific figures for the Orlando resort, but the company said combined attendance between Disney World and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., inched up 1 percent during the quarter from a comparable period last year — and that was with Disneyland achieving an attendance record for the period.

But Disney World, unlike Universal and SeaWorld, didn't suffer steep attendance drops in 2009 or 2010, as it was able to use price promotions to prop up attendance then. And Disney says it is now making progress weaning consumers from those discounts: Spending in its U.S. parks climbed 8 percent during the quarter, while spending in its hotels — the vast majority of which are in Orlando — leapt 14 percent.

U.S. hotel bookings for Disney's current fiscal quarter are running 2 percent behind last year's pace, though the rates Disney is charging are up by a mid-single-digit percentage.

Disney says the pace of those bookings has not slowed in recent weeks. But President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said the company is prepared to resume discounting if the economy deteriorates sufficiently.

"So far, over the last few days, we really haven't seen that much of a change," Iger said Tuesday. "Now, we're currently selling a shoulder period mostly, which is the fall, where there is some discounting anyway. We'll take a look at holiday bookings as the year progresses."

Orlando Tops NYC as Tourist Destination

Orlando Sentinel: Metro Orlando took a bite out of the Big Apple on Tuesday when the City Beautiful announced it had become the first U.S. travel destination to draw more than 50 million visitors in a single year.

With a record-breaking visitor tally of 51.5 million in 2010, Orlando easily beat New York City in the unofficial race to the 50 million mark. New York announced earlier this year that it was host last year to an estimated 48.7 million people, making it the only other U.S. city to approach the 50 million milestone.

"What great news to lead the entire nation," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said during a midday news conference. "Last year, everybody was still talking doom and gloom and [saying] it might be three or four years before the tourism economy comes back." Orlando's tourist-based economy rebounded faster than expected: Last year's visitor count was up 10.5 percent from 2009.

New York, which said it doesn't consider Orlando a rival, acknowledged the city's accomplishment Tuesday. "If these numbers are true for Orlando, I'm proud of them," said George Fertitta, chief executive officer of NYC & Co., New York's destination-marketing organization. "It's good for the entire travel industry."

New York set a goal back in 2007 to reach 50 million visitors by 2012, and Fertitta said that's now well within reach. In its official statement Tuesday, New York did take issue with Orlando's head count, noting that it includes visitors to areas outside city limits.

"Visit Orlando counts travelers to three counties and 36 different cities and towns in the greater Orlando area," Fertitta said. "That's almost like us counting pilgrims to Woodstock in New York City's total." Woodstock, however, is 105 miles — or a two-hour drive — from New York City, according to Mapquest.com, while Walt Disney World — which straddles two counties — is 16 miles, or 22 minutes by car, from downtown Orlando.

From Orlando's point of view, the not-so-intense rivalry started in January 2010, when New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his city had surpassed Orlando as the nation's No. 1 tourist destination, based on 2009 visitor counts. Media from the New York area called Orlando's marketing agency to see what it thought of coming in second. But Orlando didn't cede the crown: Its visitor count at that point was an estimate, and when the final numbers emerged a few months later, they outstripped New York's by a million visitors.

The competition is rife with issues: Each destination has its own way of counting visitors, for starters, and comparisons aren't always on an even playing field. Orlando relies on numbers provided by the research firm D.K. Shifflet & Associates and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Travel & Tourism Industries. Its count includes all overnight visitors and any day-trippers who travel more than 50 miles to visit.

New York also counts day-trippers, as long as they're not commuters. But its visitors have to be in the city to see an attraction, likely ruling out a lot of business travelers. The two destinations can both revel in one thing: When it comes to topping the 50 million mark, no other U.S. city comes even close: Chicago, for example, ranked third in 2009 with fewer than 40 million visitors.

Coming This Summer: Harry Potter vs. Star Wars

Orlando Sentinal: After a year in which Universal Orlando rode the popularity of Harry Potter to record heights, Walt Disney World is pinning its fortunes this summer on the one intellectual property with which the boy wizard is most often compared: Star Wars.
Disney next month will reopen Star Tours, the Reagan-era simulator ride that is undergoing its first major upgrade since it debuted in Disney's Hollywood Studios in 1989 — six years after the third film in the original Star Wars trilogy had arrived in movie theaters.

The revamped attraction — which Disney is also rebuilding at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. — will feature state-of-the-art 3D technology, new film scenes shot by Star Wars creator George Lucas' movie studio, and more than 50 different ride variations. It is the sole big-ticket addition at Disney World in 2011.

But Disney is banking on Star Tours to do more than deliver crowds this summer. It also hopes the ride will stoke renewed interest in a long line of Star Wars merchandise — from Goofy-as-Darth-Vader figurines to build-it-yourself light sabers — much the way that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter has fueled record souvenir sales at Universal. Disney says it will have more than 400 Star Wars-themed items for sale in its parks following the reopening of Star Tours — nearly twice as many as it had three years ago.

If Disney can replicate even a fraction of the merchandise success that Universal has had with Harry Potter, executives will be thrilled. Disney licenses the rights to Star Wars from Lucasfilm, while Universal licenses Potter from Warner Bros. and author J.K. Rowling.

There is a downside for the theme parks: While Star Wars and Harry Potter souvenirs are very popular, they're not necessarily as profitable as other park merchandise because of the hefty royalties Disney and Universal must pay for rights to the properties. That's a particular drawback for Disney, which has a vast library of popular, internal content — from Mickey Mouse to Buzz Lightyear — and which licenses comparatively less content overall than Universal does for its theme parks.

Although both companies closely guard the financial terms of their licensing deals, regulatory filings show that Universal's minimum annual payments for intellectual-property licenses has more than doubled, from $4.6 million to $10.8 million, since 2007, the year it struck its deal for Harry Potter. And those payments do not include volume-based fees.

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