High-speed trains slated for Florida

Two new trains will be slated to come online by 2014, though many think that they will be filled with empty seats.

Operating over 60 miles of tracts, SunRail, a $1.2 billion system will run from Volusia County to Deland, from Winter Park to downtown Orlando, then to Poinciana. By Later 2014, a second of two trains will traverse from International Airport through Lakeland with it's final arrival at Tampa.

According to some critics, the Amtrak high-speed Acela train that is sitting outside the Barre, Vt., factory, can run between Boston and Washington at speeds of up to 150mph.

But some critics say that most people want the convenience of a car when heading out to urban destinations. Some people object to the fact that Tampa gets their own station but Osceola has to drive to the airport.

But trains like Tri-Rail have been successful when pitted against I-95 that passes through densely populated areas of Miami. People waiting in traffic during rush hour see the trains rolling by at top speeds get convinced that there is a quicker way to travel to their destinations.

Perhaps if gas prices rise to $4 a gallon, ridership on mass transit will increase exponentially. But for now, as Obama puts it, people hate high gas prices but they love their cars.

Commuters may save some time on a trip from Tampa to OIA on these high speed trains, but its doubtful that they will save money with the cost of a boarding pass at $29 for a one way trip. Accessibility & availability will be the determinant factors of the success of high-speed rail.

Shuttle Endeavor's last night flight

Amidst shock & awe, it was a bitter-sweet moment for many contractors and space-agency employees.

At about 4:14 a.m., with a picture-perfect textbook launch, Endeavour punched a hole in the dark sky over cape Canaveral. Roaring cheers were heard from residents that lined the streets from Cocoa beach to Titusville.

Low cloud cover almost scrubbed the first of five launches scheduled this year. Six crew members will be part of a mission to add a new addition called tranquillity to the space station.

Mean while, back at the white house, a blue ribbon panel determined that the projected Ares rockets Constellation program was too expensive. Instead, Barak Obama release a budget of $19 billion that would extend the space station's life until 2020

The Constellation program boosted by the Ares rockets was suppose to return man back to the moon. But what was the cost? According to a blog written by Jeff Hanley, the program manager for the Constellation, “The development cost for achieving the first crewed flight today is roughly $30 billion, far short of estimates which have been recently bandied about”.

While cuts were made to the Constellation program that may cost Floridians some 7,000 jobs, some say that the real figures for the national stimulus package was more like $850 billion which was suppose to hold unemployment at 8% but the national statistics indicate that the level is more like 10%.

But for now, Launch director mike Leinback first concerned was not the budget, but that this morning's launch would be stellar. Crew members aboard the space station have been anticipating the repair of the station's water recycling system.

The space agency is hoping that this new module called the Cupola, will change the quality of life for astronauts providing breathtaking views of their new world. The new tranquility wing will also provide astronauts with additional facilities including a toilet, exercise gear, and life support equipment.

Disney's Aulani Resort 10'

Disney has currently been making a lot of progress in its new project. The location of this project is bound to surprise a majority of people. Disney said “aloha” to its California Hotels and Orlando Hotels and made a huge jump down to O’ahu, Hawaii. This hotel is mainly focused on the rich and exotic history of the island, rather than the rich history of the Disney Company. The location of the hotel sits on the western side of the island where more the historic and memorable acts have taken place. Sitting on a 21 acre ocean front property there is great room for everything Disney could ever have to offer.

The hotel is planned to have 260 hotel rooms and 481 Disney Vacation Club villas, that are usually 2-bedrooms. The best part of this hotel is that they specifically designed nearly everything to be completely family oriented for every member of the family which makes everyone’s vacation. Among all of the rooms available for the people, there are many pools, hot tubs and more. For the thrill seekers there is a snorkeling lagoon and a river that tubers will have a great time floating a long. For the children, there are a variety of children play rooms and child activities that will keep them occupied throughout the entire vacation.

One feature that hotels have that is not always family oriented is the spa. Disney switched it up a little with an 18,000 square foot spa that was designed to bring the entire family. The best part of a family vacation is always the dining, eating is one of the best social things that families do and Disney makes sure it will be a magical experience with the two restaurants on the location. For the business minded professional there was a 12,545 sq. ft. conference room and for the play minded there is nearly 50,000 sq ft of outdoor activities.

Though the resort is not fully completed, Disney has launched its website with exclusive pictures and more information.

Star Wars begin between rival resorts

Anti-trust violations over Spider Man could create legal problems for Universal and Disney.

When Disney purchased Marvel for $4 billion, problems were bound to occur between rivals that have had some bitter exchanges in the past. For years, Marvel has licensed it's Super Heroes exclusively to Universal theme-parks, but now that has all changed.

Some of the best-known characters including X-Men, Incredible Hulk, and Spider-Man have been under a licensing agreement with Universal for over 15 years. With this new awkward marriage between the rivals, Disney can verify the amount of royalties payed by Universal, audit Universals accounting, and to critique promotional material featuring Super Heroes.

Between the two giants, they command roughly 90% of the theme park business in Orlando. That said, certain scenarios of anti competitive behavior could create vulnerability resulting in price-fixing.

Recently, Universal and Disney signed corporate agreements not to share information with it's theme parks creating a type of firewall between the two rivals. It appears that the two companies are trying to stem off any possibility of antitrust behavior before it becomes a problem.

With price collusion, two parties can agree on a price increases on particular brands while eliminating price competition ultimately creating a financial burden for the customer who can't negotiate a better deal between similar products.

Albeit last year when regulators signed off on the Marvel acquisition, signing an agreement may have been part of the justice departments push to mitigate avenues of communication between competitors in the theme-park market.

Who knows if Universal had some concern whether it's new competitor had access to their financial information.

It will be left to be seen just how tricky this complicated relationship between arch-rivals will pan-out over the next couple of years.

Mcdonalds to close it's doors at Disney

Albeit, McDonalds packs in more than 47 million customers a year, the joint relationship of ten years with Disney is finally ending.

While the store may close relocating all of it's employees to other stores, McDonald's spokeswomen Danya Proud indicated that "we will continue to work with Disney on mutually beneficial opportunities" in the future.

The resturant that featured the clown Ronald McDonald located in the shopping & dining district of Disney is scheduled to close April 30, 2010. In it's place, the highly successful competitor Pollo Campero that boasts a whopping 85 million in customers annually will try to fill the vacuum.

It's not easy to compete with a legacy company like McDonald's that has been in the business since 1940 when brothers Dick and Mac McDonald first opened their restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

As part of the many changes that are coming in 2010, the dynamic nature of the sponsorship business at Disney world can be ever-changing as evidenced by the sudden exit of this world-class icon.

Busch Gardens Sesame Street

We have some friends up in Virginia who just emailed us some information concerning the Sesame Street expansion that’s do to come to the park on April 3rd. We are so exited about the whole deal that we are actually ready to plan a visit to Virginia to visit with our friends when this thing opens. It’s the news we have always wanted to hear, while Busch Gardens has been primarily dedicated to adult entertainment they are now throwing something in for the kids.

We visit Busch Gardens on a yearly bases but we have been leaving the kids behind because of all the great rides that they are to young to ride. Now we have the opportunity to bring them along so that they can enjoy the Sesame Street part of the theme park. This is a great way to get the kids involved in the parks entertainment while letting us continue to enjoy the parks entertainment.

There are going to be so many cool new rides, this is going to be a rival with Disney Worlds Fantasy Land Expansion. Come to think of it Islands of Adventure is putting in the Harry Potter zone also, all the theme parks are expanding; it’s a great year to look forward to.

The Dine with Elmo is supposed to be a hit restaurant in the theme park. Kids are going to have the opportunity to enjoy well… kid food whole being entertained by Elmo. The Sesame Street themed restaurant is supposed to feature all the main characters in costume. There is also supposed to be a new 4-D movie called “Lights, Camera, Imagination.” This is supposed to be a fun filled adventure with the characters from Sesame Street, and should be much like the Shrek 4-D at Universal. The Forest of Fun is going to be a full sized forest full of Sesame Street characters, holding true to the “Gardens” part of Busch Gardens.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Sesame Street expansion, and are planning a visit. I’m not sure we will make opening day but you can bet well be there.

Orange County hotel tax recovery in sight

After an 18-month streak of declines, hotel revenues have begun to look promising in December.

Since 2008, the county plagued by a period of monthly declines, collected some $12.4 million or a 0.3% increase in taxes from short-term rentals and hotels. Some constituents from Orange County viewed the small increase as a new beginning for 2010.

But many optimists warn not to pop the cork on the bottle just yet since the county is still behind in collections compared with the same time last year. Ringing in roughly $34.8 million, collections fell by about $2.1 million from just one year ago.

Projects such as the Citrus Bowl, Performing Arts Center, and other civic building projects are all threatened by the low "resort tax" collection. But the country still maintains a ray of hope.

Just below 2%, hotels including Disney World and other hoteliers reserved more than 60% on the average of their rooms in December. Although this should not be called a trend, it is more like a "feel good" experience for the industry as a whole.

Bands Brew and Barbeque at Seaworld

For the past month the only thing we have been hearing about is this massive event that’s going to begin in February or a few days ago in Sea World. The Bands Brew and Barbeque is going to take place all month long, this is such an awesome opportunity!

It costs just the same as a normal Sea World ticket, you get in the park and you can enjoy the whole day. The twist? Well Sea World has called in some of the biggest names in the business to put the rock in the atmosphere. With names such as Leann Rimes, Montgomery Gentry, John Rich and the band “Yes” were quickly getting exited! All month long there will be constant music for us to listen to, it’s just awesome!

So where does the barbeque come in? Every day they have a picnic at lunch time, for an affordable price to! It’s an all you can eat buffet of southern style barbeque. It’s a fun little way to enjoy your meal at Sea World. Even better is the cold beer served all day long, yes!

The best part about all this is that you still get to enjoy all the attractions at the park. You get to walk around and watch Shamu’s show, or Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island, a personal favorite. Sea World is just teaming with fun attractions and they just added more to it. For the month of February we can enjoy it all. You will definitely see us making a few visits, this whole thing sounds awesome.