Omaka Rocka to Debut at Seaworld

In 2009, Seaworld introduced a new ride entitled Manta touted as the next generation ride that combined the best of the sky and sea. The ride was completed and opened on schedule and immediately was a big success at a moment when Seaworld needed something big.

This year, Seaworld plans to unveil it's new ride Omaka Rocka, a BMX biker-type ride that will a employ a half-pipe near vertical maneuver producing a extreme sport experience. Seaworld hopes to debut the new ride in March of 2010.

Currently under construction, the ride that will share the Whanau Way tower with produce a sensation of sliding with moments of weightlessness. The same sensation is experienced by snowboarders and skateboarders.

Contrary to erroneous publications, the Omaka Rocka will be the only ride rolled out in 2010.

Not only will the wait times be shorter on this ride but each slide offers a larger capacity with three funnels a piece making it very unique. Essentially this ride will have a smaller footprint with smaller 2-seat tube rafts.

Park guests will definitely enjoy this ride due to the angle of light that permeates the slide from the inside allowing bystander park guests to see all the action.

Is Florida Shrinking?

For the first time since WWII, Florida has experienced a 2% percent drop in growth since the recession began in 2007. A state dependant on the growth of 300,000 anually, is now slowing. In fact, demographers site that the population of Florida has diminished by 60,000 over the last two years.

Some predict that growth of the state may rise between 2015 and 2020 surpassing New York but for now, people can get back to the "why" they enjoyed Florida in the first place, sandy-white beaches, attractions, low-taxes and just a greener Florida.

While thousands are leaving the state, analyst predict as much as 500,000 in the months to come, the state could face a potential calamity because of it's reliance on population growth due to the lack of diversity.

On a good note, leaders now have a hiatus to rethink how the state's structure and dependence on growth affects the budget. Assumptions that huge growth due to sunny beaches, and attractions that in times past invigorated the state's economy may not be certain in the years to come.

Whether leaders want to except it or not the landscape of how the state does business has changed forever. A slowdown in the years to come according to demographers is not necessarily a bad thing but helps people get back to basics of what is really important in life.

Many native Floridians remember how Florida has reinvented itself before when orange groves & ranches transitioned to a fantasyland of retirement, from vacation destinations to the Caribbean vacation spot of the south.

Other states dependent on growth are taking advantage of a slower business by thinking how they can diversify their market place. What's required is economic diversity in areas of health services, shipping ports, information technology and other vital areas. When the depression ends, the state needs to have a proactive plan on how to adjust to slower growth but maintain a healthy economy.

The boomers of the fifties may not retire just yet due to losses in investments and 401(k) retirement plans. One thing is for sure, all the lawsuits dealing with water shortages and arguments over dwindling water-supplies will be mitigated as people move to higher ground.

The question of "what happens if we stop growing" never occurred in the minds of them that viewed Florida as always growth-based and the fastest growing state in the country.

If it's any consolation, not everything is devastating. In fact, many native Floridians who in times past rented, are now able to purchase both finished and unfinished homes due to the economic slowdown. Other benefits may include less crowed schools, reduced lines at the pumps, continued discounts for shoppers, and less stressful commutes to work each morning.

Perhaps slower growth will be the future of Florida, but the state will adjust sooner than later.

Tough days ahead for Disney's new chairman

The entertainment giant that is visited by nearly 118 million guests each year will have a new Chief at the helm namely Tom Staggs.

Now 49 with over 12 years experience as Chief Financial Officer, Disney may be grooming him to eventually replace Bob Iger, CEO and chairman of Disney. These are not easy times to manage a $11 billion entertainment industry sprawling over 3 continents that employs nearly 60,000 in FLorida alone.

Disney's parks & resorts which represent nearly one third of overall revenue will give Staggs opportunity to fill the area of his resume that is lacking. During his early years at just 37 years old, Staggs capitalized on his skills from his experience as a banker with Morgan Stanley to manage mergers and acquisitions for Disney.

Succeeding Jay Rasulo in a swap for the position as Disney's parks chairman, his steady leadership will be tested by many new projects including a new park at Shanghai, Hong Kong, Disneyland, expansions in Orlando, and new cruise ships currently under construction.

Staggs has been praised for several important acquisitions including the purchase of ABC television gaining nearly 80% share in the today's successful ESPN network. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001, he had proven himself to be an invaluable advisor during a financial crisis.

Today, Staggs, an accomplished trumpet player, now holds the keys to a multibillion-dollar industry during one of the most challenging times in our nations economy. Some including Disney's former chief Michael Eisner think he will do a phenomenal job.

The day after Christmas

Retailers across Florida exclaimed that sales were slightly higher compared to the same time last year although it did not compare with black Friday.

Shoppers raced to the malls the day after Christmas looking for discounted deals from 50-75% off albeit most have cut back on spending. Because the popular gift received during Christmas were gift-cards, bargain hunters hit the malls with a vengence the day after.

Some families celebrated Christmas without gifts and then went shopping on the following day. Retail stores have not finished offering bargains the day after Christmas but intend to continue deep discounts into the week.

National Retail Federation commented that the week after Christmas can account for at least 15% of the years sales. Many foreigners learned of the traditional shopping sprees drawing them to shop instead of visit the theme parks.

Long lines to purchase electronics were seen at Best Buy stores while scores of people hit the Florida malls. It seems that even during a recession, shoppers can not pass up a good bargain.

Some of the biggest lines generated at stores like Walmart were due to returns and exchanges. Unlike traditional shopping, some people exchange gifts on Christmas and then shop for theme selves the following week.

Grinchmas at Islands of Adventure

We got tickets to go to Universal’s Grinchmas, it’s at Islands of adventure and wow it was amazing! Lets just start by saying that the entire place is decorated to look like the movie. All the areas are Dr. Seuss buildings and tons of snow. Not always actual snow but there is actual snow there! Now the whole deal is more of a story, but you pay for a day at the park so we went and road rides first. We reaaally like the Dueling Dragons, because well, they roller-coasters, who doesn’t like roller-coasters?

Most of our time was spent on Marvel-Island, where we went on the Hulk, a really unique roller-coaster. You go half way up the rise and then it stops, counts down from 3 to 1 and then sky rockets you at a really fast speed. Also we really enjoyed the Spider Man simulator, the thing was so fun! You get attacked by all Spider Mans enemies and it’s in 3D!

When the time finally came around for the Grinchmas show, we went and stood awhile to make sure we were up close. The show started and it was amazing, truly amazing. The dancers and singers were professional, and it all looked like it was right out of a Dr. Seuss book. They had the entire story of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas reenacted right before our eyes. It was awesome, and the comedy was great. It took about an hour, but wow, I would have paid just to see it. I cant really describe it, its would be like trying to explain an entire movie to you, I mine as well right a book. If you get a chance to get out to Islands of Adventure do it, this event wont last all year and I wouldn’t want to wait a whole year to see it!

Standard and Poors rate Disney with "A"

Credit rating agencies affirm that during tough times, Disney is able to meet it's debt payments.

Albeit, Disney has propped up it's park attendance, the sluggish economy tends to put a negative light on the entertainment giant.

While Disney has a strong capacity to pay debts within 14 to 18 months, Standard & Poors gives the sprawling theme-park an "A" industry rating because of vulnerability during economic downturns. A rating of "AAA" would be normal for an exceptionally strong company.

Fortunately, the Disney Co. meets the rating in this August based on earnings and cash flow despite the acquisition of Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion combining stocks and cash.

Cost of Disney shares fell another 9 cents closing at $32.31 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.

With a lower rating, generally it results in higher interest rates making it more difficult to borrow cash. In days past, Disney has experienced some weakness in it's production films and could resume additional acquisitions increasing the difficulty to payoff debt.

In order to continue being competitive, analysts believe that Disney will continue to cut expenses in 2010.

Blue Man Group

So we went and saw the Blue Man Group! We have been exited about this ever since we bought the tickets a couple weeks back, and we finally found a night where we were relaxed and free enough to go enjoy it. We got there and pretty much just walked in; the place isn’t really that large which is nice. They have screens telling you about the show, and you couldn’t help but laugh when the screen said, “No cell phones, pagers or portable fax machines.”

When the show started there was a lot of clapping and then the stage went black. Three windows appeared and a light came on behind each, showing the shadows of the three Blue Men. Now if you have never heard much about these guys their percussionists, meaning they play music on all kinds of instruments and even objects. Whatever they can find that makes the noise they want to here is what they will play. They open up with them playing music behind windows, and they make some really cool music. Then a light comes on and one of the blue men is eating and playing at the same time, first it was a drink, then a banana and finally cereal. His talent really shows when you realize he is keeping up with the tempo just as well as the others with only one hand, while eating with the other.

The show has a ton of special effects, from strobe lights to real life animation. Or kinda, it is really hard to explain what they do, but it is awesome. The entire show is hilarious; they do this act at a table where they get someone from the crowd to eat with them. They take out Twinkies and have a very hard time opening them. They have the person from the crowd open it and then one of them actually pulls out a power saw and cuts the packaging. When one of them lights a candle the other whips out a fire extinguisher and shoots it out. Then their chests start spitting out chewed food all over the table, and one of them scoops it into a takeout box and hands it to their crowd participant.

The entire show is hilarious and amazing. I don’t know how to describe it, its just something every person should experience. The acts are so funny and the show isn’t short, you get all your money’s worth!

Disney's Magic Kingdom

Last week on Monday the 14th, I went to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. This is the park that they are most well known for. Featuring the latest Disney princesses and super heros in costumes and rides. Magic Kingdom is usually the most crowded park of the four, but unusually it was not. Unfortunately one of my favorite rides, Space Mountain, was closed due to remodeling. After I got fast passes I was able to zip through all the lines with no problem. Without those passes I would have been standing in the 85 degree weather; even if it was December. First, I went through the four sit down rides, where it tells the story while you are sitting in a themed vehicle of some type. These rides are Snow White, It’s A Small World, Peter Pan, and Winnie The Pooh. They are located in Fantasyland. Then I went to The Haunted House, which is awesome. After it was remodeled a few years back, it is now able to capture the theme and story more effectively. It may seem scary for small children, but after going through the ride they can understand that it is comical and fun. As I went through Frontierland I made my way over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It is personally not my favorite ride because the line is always terribly long and the actual ride is so short, but it is still a good one to experience. Then I settled my way onto the curb and watched the parade and it lasted approximately 20 minutes. As it traveled through Main Street USA, Liberty Square, and Frontierland it captures the main characters of Disney and make the show a magical moment that is a necessity to see. It is showed four times a day, but you should check your brochure to check on the times because they could possibly change because of those beautiful Florida rain showers. After seeing the beautiful parade, I made my way to the Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin in Tomorrow Land. This is a very competitive ride and you try to get as many points as possible by hitting all the targets with you lazier gun. Then I went to the Monster’s Inc. Comedy Club, which is full of laughs and fun. While you are in the hot sun for a day, it is nice to go inside an air conditioned building and being able to relax and laugh. In following I made my way to Stitch’s Great Escape, which used to be Alien vs Predator many years back. Shortly after, I made my way over to Adventureland. As you begin to walk into the land you are walking through parts of the Swiss Family Treehouse. Personally, I would get fast passes for Pirates of the Caribbean ride because it is a popular ride that has a terrible long line, but if you are not able to get them do not worry because this is in air conditioning. While I am waiting I went over to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. This ride is very similar to Dumbo in Fantasyland, just it is a magic carpet you are on instead on Dumbo the elephant. I then went across the park to Mickey’s Toontown Fair, where you can go through a tour of Minnie and Mickey’s house. Also, there is ride called Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm. It is a roller coaster for younger children. On my way out of the park I waited for the show that lights up Cinderella's castle. Then I made my way out of the park, walking through Main Street USA as snow fell. Looking back the castle look beautiful as it sparkled in the night and is a picture that is needed to be captured.

Universal raises ticket prices

Universal Orlando resort is a place where you can explore two amazing theme park for one great price.

Starting Dec 19th, '09, prices at Universal Studios front gate for the 1-Day 2-Park Hopper ticket increased from $106.49 Adult / $95.84 Child to $109.00 / $105.44 respectively.

With this pass you can move between two theme-parks Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure on the same day.

Monorail power outage at Disney

After nearly 38 years of operation, the last sequence of monorail incidents is fueling questions about the reliability of 20 year-old trains.

The district staff has been instructed to prepare a verbose brief regarding emergency response procedures in light of the power outage that caused the resorts monorail train to stop between the Magic Kingdom and the Contemporary Resort last Sunday.

Quite an embarrassment, the incident became public both on the Internet and television when some one hundred passengers were guided down from a 22-foot elevation using fire trucks. When the scissor-lift, one of Reedy Creek's most effective tools failed, the semi-autonomous government resorted to other options.

When the outage occurred at roughly 1 a.m. due to a hard drive failure, about three hundred passengers found themselves stranded aloft the monorail beam. As tractors towed the trains back to the station one particular train would not budge along the 22-foot high beam.

As the $250,000 scissor-lift was deployed, it fell about 10 feet short of reaching the passengers making it useful for about 50% of the monorail track.

In the aftermath of the incident, Reedy Creek will be retrofitting an extension to the scissor-lift enabling it to reach roughly 75% of the track during future evacuations.

The monorail system is operating the way it was designed when properly maintained according to Disney.

Heroe's promotion extended by SeaWorld

Beginning in 2005, Anheuser-Busch sponsored a heroe's promotion offering service men and their families free tickets to SeaWorld parks.

Today, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is pleased to announce an extension to the previous offer including a free single-day admission to any one of it's theme parks.

Through a contract with Anheuser-Busch InBev, members of a serviceman and up to 3 dependants may receive a 1-day admission to either Adventure Island, water Country USA, Sesame Place, Busch Gardens, or Seaworld parks through 2010.

God Bless our men and women in uniform.

AirTran sport their new paint job

Replacing JetBlue, AirTran's Boeing 717 added Magic 1 to it's stable of custom planes in order to continue building a relationship with Orlando.

Sporting on it's tail is the new blue and white iconic paint job honouring the Orlando Magic sports team. The Magic tail or "liveries" is one of many such arrangements sponsored by the other airlines including Colts 1 for Indianapolis, Ravens 1 for Baltimore and Falcons 1 for Atlanta.

Painting themes on the tail of an aircraft is part of a trend that has gained popularity over the years with other airlines showcasing Shamu on Southwest, heritage on U.S. Airways and breast cancer on Delta airlines.

Becoming the official airlines for the Magic headquartered in Orlando, Magic customers wil be endeared to the relatively low-cost custom paint job. The incentive to connect with local sports team just makes a lot of sense.

Magic fans will feel proud of their team when hopping aboard an AirTran Jet in the days to come.

SkyVenture 09'

Skydiving is something that I’ve always wanted to do, even when I was a little kid I used to jump off of our couch with a pillow case and pretend it was a parachute! For a while I forgot all about sky diving until I randomly woke up on Saturday morning and decided to go, after calling a few places a friend and I found out that there was a weather hold in Florida which basically meant no one was allowed to skydive on that day. The urge to skydive grew stronger and stronger so I just decided to check out one of Orlando’s most popular attractions – SkyVenture. SkyVenture is an indoor skydiving simulator, you are in a room with a mesh floor and winds up to 145 mph blow up which allow you to float in mid-air! At first it looked so easy but once you get into the room its so much harder until you get the hang of it, then its pretty simple. With the package I purchased I got to go in the room for two minutes, now I know that doesn’t sound like a long time but once you’re in the room and floating in mid air with wind underneath blowing at over 145 mph 2 minutes goes a lot slower than you think. We started off at SkyVenture waiting for our instructor, he walked into the room and instructed us to go up to the gear room where we would learn how to “fly” and get our gear on. The instructor gave us the flight instruction which were basically to keep our chins up and relax, that is basically what helped us keep flight the whole time instead of falling or loosing balance. We got suited up in these weird dark blue suits; we also got goggles, ear plugs and a helmet. For the tourists that didn’t know any better they were offered shoes as well. When we made our way to the room and the jet engine started up the first person to go up was a little kid. The kid ignored all of the instructions and started freaking out when he began to life, he was kicking and swimming and not able to fly. My friend went second and he didn’t have the complete hang of it until after a good 20 seconds, after that he was floating pretty high, I was next in line and started right away, at first I was floating with no problem until I kicked off of a wall and fell! Apparently when you make a sudden movement like that it throws you off balance and you fall, luckily it wasn’t real skydiving or I probably wouldn’t be typing this out right now! After everyone did their two minutes the instructor did his own little show which was breathtaking- it looked like he was born with the ability to fly! He was performing tricks that looked like they were impossible! Overall we left happy it was a great experience, in fact I wish I would have done the real thing now just because of that experience!

Disney plans to go forward with Shanghai Disneyland

After negotiations that lasted for several years, China's central government finally gave Disney the approval to begin breaking ground.

Within a few months, evidently, Disney Co. intends to finalize agreements with China and complete the construction of a resort in 6 years. The fact that over three hundred million within a two hour distance suddenly will have access to the Disney brand pleases Disney's top CEO Bob Iger.

Although there will be some differences due to the culture, Walt Disney Co. intends on building a Magic Kingom-type theme-park including shopping, dining, and hotel accommodations.

With China's 1.3 billion residents, building brand awareness will be similar to that of Burbanks Cal. Disneyland park that was built in 1955. When construction begins, high levels of demand for consumer products, TV shows, and movies are expected by Disney.

Fantasyland's new face-lift by 2013

After 38 years, announcements revealed that imagineers plan to overhaul fans beloved Fantasyland, one of seven theme-parks in the Magic Kingdom.

Beginning this spring, the 4-year expansion project has been farmed-out to the Ala-based Hoar Construction Co. from Birmingham.

Upgrades are planned for Star Tours, Ariel's underwater realm, Journey of the Little Mermaid, Beast's castle, Dumbo the Flying elephant, new homes for Minnie & Mickey, Barnstormer at Goofy's Wisearcre Farm, and Star Tours.

In the past, the demographic appeal for Disney's princess was limited to young girls, but villains from some of the princess movies will be introduced in order to attract boys as well.

Rumor has it that some of these upgrades may be in response to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter based on the British novelist J.K. Rowling debuting at Universal Studios. Collection of attractions built by rival Universal may threaten to siphon off attendance from Disney.

Since tourism is common problem between entertainment giants, maybe changes at both competitors parks will make the difference with Harry Potter fans that are waffling over the expense of a trip to Orlando.

Without a doubt, Disney will capitalize on it's lucrative and enduring princesses, one of Disney's greatest strengths, including Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White and the newest princess Tiana.

Canada poised to take lead in international travel

At one time, the British invasion of tourism was over the top reaching levels of over 1 million in former years while falling sharply this year.

Today, growth is coming from our friends to the North with similar choices, tastes, and spending habits. Canadians purchasing power has been very strong during tough economic times.

Like the British, Canadians spend an average of 8 days on vacation, love low-end shopping, and hit the parks with a vengeance. Recently, the County Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc. has been fueling growth with marketing campaigns targeting Canadian vacationers.

Campaigns included an avalanche of sales material dropped on Toronto's Union Station, freebie palm trees, and citrus scent from Orlando.

Every 3 minutes, Toronto's Dundas Square aired promotional stunts on morning TV shows, TV commercials, and nearly a million inserts for newspapers were delivered to Canadians. During the campaign, the iconic sunshine state of Florida was quite ubiquitous.

While air-fares continue to hinder British travel, Orlando officials hope that Canada's excellent currency-exchange, strong dollar, will continue to stoke the flames of an insatiable feeding frenzy for entertainment.

Candlelight Processional at Disney

For thirty four days, The Candlelight Procession will be performing until Dec 30, 2009. At it's inception, the first Processional began in 1955 featuring a Choir Festival that performed under a gazebo close to the Jungle Cruise. During these years, various choirs participated and quickly grew to 800 members.

Today, the choir members procession begins at the gate of the Firehouse, down Main Street USA, meanders through Small World Mall and culminates at Fantasyland Theater.

In years past, Disney, the largest employer of musicians in the world, employed an estimated thirty five trumpeters to perform in three shows a night until the end of December.

Musicians are drawn from a pool from the local Musicians Union Central Florida Musicians Association No. 389. Each Candlelight Processional performance employs an amazing fifty-two-member orchestra to accompany the choir.

A bit counter intuitive, the arrangements for these performances are fast, and require the ability to sight-read with little or no practice. Most of the musicians have memorized their parts and are accustom to a standard presentation of music which rarely changes.

Sometimes backstage can be a nightmare trying to move 800 musicians in the space of 45 minutes. It's tough to imagine how 150 regular musicians punch the clock full-time while nearly 400 professional substitute for positions that become available.

According to Walt Disney's cast director who coordinates thousands of bookings, the musicians are of the highest caliber producing the quality music that fans are accustom to hearing.

Sometimes new members of an orchestra are a bit intimidated because then need to rehearse the piece, sound checks and then exit the stage in a timely fashion. Timing is critical as well as artistically challenging for some musicians including the famed herald trumpeter that plays a great distance from the conductor.

As far as the industry goes, there is no lack for work as a musician. Tian's Showboat Jubilee is a good example of how Florida's largest employer continues to provide opportunity for musicians during tough times in entertainment.

Spending drops at Disney after nearly ten years

From the opening of the Magic Kingdom in 1971, Disney World offering world-class entertainment for the whole family, boasting nearly 47 million visitors a year, faces challenges of a new era of economic decline.

Squeezed by the global recession, merchandise, tickets and food sales experienced a drop in almost 10 years. As resilient as the company has been heretofore, guests spent nearly 4% less at the theme-parks according to reports filed by Disney during the 2009 fiscal year.

Employing nearly 66,000 cast-members alone as the single-most largest employer in the United States, Disney appears to feel the impact of the weakest economy since the theme-park opened in Burbank Cal. in 1955.

Due to falling sales, Disney has continued to promote it's popular buy 4 nights, get 3 nights free at Disney Moderate, Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resorts, first introduced in 2008. Since then, average costs for timeshare & Disney World Resorts declined 8% from $223 to $205 representing the lowest level since 2005.

With hotel occupancy sliding a meager 3% in Orlando, Disney attempted to sustain attendance during fiscal year 2008. While spending fell some 9% at Disney World, Disneyland experience an increase in local attendance up 7%.

Across the board, lower guest spending was the culprit for diminished international revenues at Disneyland Paris down $308 million due to strong dollar vis-a-vis the Euro.

Perhaps the most telltale sign of a weak economy was the drop in Disney Parks/Resorts operating profits by nearly 25% to $1.4 billion.

Harry Potter starting to sell

As Television commercials air on networks owned by corporate parent NBC Universal, fans are excited about the highly anticipated adventure The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Although Universal can not discuss the details of it's advertising campaign, the Potter marketing campaign shows real-life scenes of the book that morph into images of the theme-park itself opening in the spring of 2010.

Some of the leveraging used by co-owner Blackstone Group includes a promotional spot on an episode of The Celebrity Apprentice reality show. Even sponsorship deals splashing Harry Potter over the cover of sales brochures have been negotiated with Virgin Holidays that carries tourist from United Kingdom. Perks offer complimentary breakfast and early access to the theme parks.

While displacing previous brochures featuring Disney World, British tourist coming to Orlando may be lured by the cover of Virgin Holidays since the novels writer is based in England.

Rumor has it that many graduates of 2010 may be able to strap into the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter on April 23, 2010 sponsored by Universals 3-day Grad Bash according to some sales materials.

Universal will probably pump up the volume of sales advertising just after Jan 1st, 2010.

Busch Garden has a new name

After five decades of world-class entertainment, Busch Gardens theme-park was replaced with the new name Seaworld Parks & Entertainment.

As the nation's #2 theme-park, boasting nearly 24 million visitors a year, the old park was purchased for $2.7 billion by private equity group The Blackstone Group.

It's new moniker comes from it's flagship theme-park Seaworld in Orlando, San Antonio, and San Diego. After the 50-year association, Seaworld Parks & Entertainment were anxious to move forward with the name change.

It's quite amazing when you think of the brewer Anheuser-Buschs humble beginnings that grew to the entertainment giant that it is today.

Things to do in Orlando.

Orlando is home to alot of things. Disney World. Universal Studios. Sea World. Busch Gardens. The Worlds Largest McDonalds? Absolutely. Located on the tourism super street International Drive, this Mcdonalds towers over 5 stories tall with the giant Mcdonalds arches reached 7 stories high! This Mcdonalds includes a 600 square foot play place, a four floor arcade, and some gourmet Mcdonalds Cuisine. No, this is not Sarcasm. This McDonalds has a "McDonalds Bistro" in the menu. This is Mcdonalds Italian branch. Including foods like Chicken Alfredo, Pizza, and Spaghetti. But classic McDonalds Goers, don't fret; This mcdonalds also includes a full menu of classic McDonalds products. Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, Fries, Breakfasts, Ice Cream, and soda to name a few. This place is a must see for anyone in the area.

Their breakfasts are the best. They have a Full array of breakfast foods. Hot Cakes (Pancakes). Eggs (Yes, they are real). Biscuits and Grits. Hash Browns (Best you'll ever have). And their Syrup. Or S-irp if your from around here. Its probably the best i've ever tasted. Its the perfect mix of buttered sweetness that will make even the most experienced Breakfast eaters melt from the inside. Their Coffee is also a good blend. Not to strong, not to weak, always hot, and never stale.

Next on the list of perfection is Mcdonalds Sweet Tea. A Giant cup, for a single George Washington. And to top that off, FREE refills. Its a college students dream liquid. Not to mention the fact that every time you take a sip, an angel sings Journey songs adding to the plethora of pleasure caused by a single taste. I even heard Chuck Norris occasionally chooses it as the beverage of choice instead of Nails and Jet fuel.

And parents dont worry, there is a giant play place complete with three story slide and ball pit for the little ones to play in while you eat your food. Heck, if you want to, join them. They wont stop you.

There are tons of places in central Florida to eat, but none that are quite like this. With a feel like Chuckie Cheese (If your from up north, you know what this is) and a classic Mcdonalds taste, this place is perfect for everyone. Make sure that you and your family and friends take an afternoon out of your day to swing by the Worlds Largest McDonalds. Even if you arent a fast food fan, this place will have something that you will be able to enjoy. Try it, you wont regret it.

The Land of Milk And Honey

Holy Land is one of Orlando's "minor" parks. Similar to the style of Gatorland and Funspot, this religious milestone has been here in Orlando for multiple years now. This central Florida gem started out as a museum of sorts. This included a conference center rented by Bible Translation giants such as Wycliffe Bible translators (Who have donated hundreds of antique and ancient biblical artifacts and documents) and Campus Crusade for Christ (CCFC), and also a mini scale Jerusalem and Bethlehem (Still standing today). This included over 15,000 miniature figures, and trinkets that expanded over an entire room. This exhibit weighed almost a ton, and mutiple "tours" were done daily. A small gift and coffee shop were built later on that included "BC Delicacies" and stone age beverages. This was a neat little cafe that you wouldnt be able to pass up.

Construction on the park itself started ten years after the museum was open, and a year and a half later, Solomons temple was built. This isn't quite to full scale, as the real one was over 500 x 550 cubit squares (About 20.75 inches per square cubit). The puts the real temple at about 951 feet wide and 836 feet high. Holy Land's replica isn't quite to scale, but its breathtaking none the less. With multiple performances on the steps each day, guests are invited to watch re-enactments of such biblical stories as Jesus' birth, and the passover celebration. This is certainly the center piece of this park, and it certainly shows. Located on the side of the building is the Theater of Life. This is a movie theater style movie chronicling the life of Jesus and the History of his miracles. Truly a touching film.

The Holy Land Experience just finished contruction on the childrens place. This includes a Noah's ark Replica, a Rock Climbing Experience, and a Jonah and the Whale animatronic. This is one of their cooler exibits since its fun to see for everyone. Kids and Adults alike. Everything is miniature sized, and its like walking into a whole new world. Kids could spend hours in here under supervision from Holy Land staff while the parents can go visit exhibits and shows that may not be appealing to the younger crowd.

The Scriptorium is another landmark of the park. This includes hundreds of artifacts and documents from over 2000 years ago. Bibles and letters from Martin Luther's era. Scrolls from 128 BC. Weapons and Armor from the Roman Era. A guided tour is available for this location if the guest is willing. There are helpful staff located throughout the building that are both knowledgable and friendly and willing to answer any questions you have about any of the artifacts.

Another cool thing about this park is the food. There are multiple places around the park that offer food that was eaten pre-AD. The main restaurant is located in the center of the park, and it offers pita rolls, salads, and meats cooked over open fire instead of on a barbecue or grill. One of the main treats this park offers is the ice cream. Since honey was a huge sweet back then, their Honey Ice Treat is one of the best things i personally have tasted. Mixing a Vanilla ice cream with all natural honey sounds simple and tastes incredible. I never miss my chance at this delight, sometimes twice in the same visit. You definately dont want to miss this part of the park.

While Disney and universal Studios may have a much larger budget, Holy Land has a sense of familiarity and comfort that you may not experience at the Major Theme Parks. And This time of the year is the perfect time. Since the majority of the park is outdoors, it can get hot and sticky sitting and watching the shows. From October - March is prime time for the Holy Land Experience. Not alot of people are there, and its nice and cool outside. Make sure, if your visiting Orlando this season, to include The Holy Land Experience one of your days.