The Official Ticket Center

Attention Orlando, Florida Theme Park Visitors: New deal could have sweeping implications for SeaWorld and Universal Studios.

Worlds of Discovery Florida - SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, Discovery Cove Orlando, and Busch Gardens Tampa

After months of negotiations, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) announced Wednesday October 7th that it will sell Busch Entertainment Corp. (BEC) to The Blackstone Group for as up to $2.7 billion.  According to the Orlando Sentinel, the NY-based private-equity giant, Blackstone, “will pay $2.3 billion in cash plus give AB InBev the right to participate in up to $400 million of its initial returns”, with Blackstone owning 100% of BEC. Read more »

When Fighting Fraudulent Ticket Sales In Orlando, It’s the Commitment to Tourists that Really Counts; The Official Ticket Center Has Responded to the Problems.

It’s well-known that discount Walt Disney World tickets can be difficult to find at the best of times. Fraudulent ticket sales from off-site theme park vendors have been a problem. Most visitors to Walt Disney World in Orlando can only hope that the availability of cheap Disney tickets exists, when they want them, and at the right price. Read more »

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a Halloween-themed special event held select dates in September, October and November in Magic Kingdom theme park that requires a separate ticket to attend.

The event will be held from 7pm–12am on the following dates in 2009:
September 4, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29
October 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31
November 1

The Official Ticket Center is offering discounted ticket prices for the September event dates. To purchase tickets, or for more information, click here or call us toll-free at 1-877-406-4836. Read more »

2009 Epcot Candlelight Processional

Changes in Epcot’s Candlelight Processional lineup include Angela Bassett, Courtney Vance

Actors Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance have joined the lineup of narrators for Candlelight Processional, the part of Epcot’s holiday offerings. The couple, who have been married since 1997, will read during the performances of Dec. 28-30, according to www.disneyworld.com. Bassett is lending her voice to the upcoming Walt Disney Pictures animated project, The Princess and the Frog, currently set to be released Dec. 25, 2009. Read more »

Disney's Unveils New Plans 2009

Walt Disney World is about to embark on a sweeping facelift for the Fantasyland section of the Magic Kingdom, in what the resort calls the biggest overhaul in the theme park’s 38-year history. Read more »

Epcot Wine and Food Festival 2009

Celebrating its 14th year, the 2009 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will be held from September 25 – November 8th.  Your Epcot admission is all that’s needed to participate in this popular venue. Read more »

Cirque du Soleil LaNouba

Cirque du Soleil is now offering Florida Residents a ticket special to see La Nouba in celebration of the company’s 25th Anniversary. Just purchase a regular priced Category 2 Ticket at $83 and you can buy a second ticket for just $25. The tickets are only good for show-dates between August 18th and October 3, and just went on sale starting August 4th.

You can book now at Official Ticket Center.

Experiencing Orlando on a Budget with, “The Official Ticket Center”

In my last post, I discussed the, “In’s and Out’s”, of buying the best tickets possible, to see the most of our world famous theme parks here in central Florida. I went over the best Disney tickets to purchase, along with the best Sea World tickets and Universal Studios tickets as well. If you would like to learn about these specials, please read my last posts or see them for yourself at www.officialticketcenter.com . Today I am going to show you the best ways to save money on your meals, along with a few of where the locals dine hidden eateries. First I would like to say that I have been all around the world and I myself am a cheap traveler. Cheap, in the sense of saving my money for the big events, but cheap in the smaller events like eating! I always hear my guests say that they don’t have any money left for eating after they buy their attraction tickets. They are kidding of course, but not far from the truth of the matter. I being an owner of a small business, like to steer my guest to other small businesses for anything they may need. For eating, I tell many of my guests who do not want to spend $120 a day on meals at the big theme parks to go buy a collapsible cooler and a freezer pack at the Publix food market and load it with sandwiches, chips, juice boxes and anything else they may crave for a day at the parks. (The local Dollar stores are a great place to pick up food supplies as well!) Many people do not realize that they can take in something like this,” NOT A BEACH COOLER” but a small collapsible cooler and then rent a locker at the front of the parks and leave it along with anything else that they do not want to carry around all day. Then you can come back whenever you want to grab a bite to eat. This alone will save the average family $500 for a 5 day trip. When you get hungry, go back and grab the cooler and find a nice shaded area to sit and eat and people watch while you relax and enjoy you homemade lunch. Remember, you cannot bring in a large sized cooler and you cannot bring in alcoholic beverages as well. Remember to pack extra snacks for the ride home. I have 3 kids and I know at the end of the day, they are still hungry. So bring a little extra to hold them over until dinner time.

Next, let’s talk about dinner time. I love to grill out anytime and even more so on vacation. The smell of an outdoor BBQ just sets the mood for that relaxing evening here in Florida. Most hotels have an outdoor BBQ area and this tip alone can save you big bucks with your dinning budget. I know this is not an every nigh thing, but it can be done at least 2 nights during your stay. If you are renting a vacation home rental, ask the management company if they have a BBQ grill at the house. If they do not, just find the closest Home Depot or Lowes and buy the old dad style portable grill for $20 and then pick up a bag or two of charcoal while your are buying the BBQ groceries at the Publix shopping mart. If you are staying at a vacation home rental, they will normally have everything that you would have at home, so there is no need to buy plates, sporks or anything else for that matter. I will discuss vacation home rentals in my next post. But the bottom line here is to be self sufficient as much as possible when it comes to eating while here on your trip.

 If you do wish to let someone else do the cooking while you are here and still do not want to break the bank, I recommend a few places. The first is Golden Coral. This is a buffet style smorgasbord that has just about everything you could imagine. I recommend the one location up in the Lake Buena Vista area and the newest one at mile marker 8 on Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy (S.R.192). For the price, you can’t beat it. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The next is, Sweet Tomatoes. This is my personal favorite and Sweet Tomatoes also caters to the vegetarian traveler as well. There are two locations here in the attractions area and my favorite location is the one on International Dr. It is located at the corner of Kirkman Rd. and International Dr. The second newest location is located in Lake Buena Vista, in the Crossroads shopping center. For the price, this is defiantly my favorite place to recommend a family too on a budget. If you go online and do a search for their savings coupon, this coupon can also save you at least 20% off of your bill.

Many travels like to come down here to Florida and have that all you can eat Lobster dinner and they soon find themselves packed into one of the many all you can eat joints along the tourist strip along with everybody else and their brother! I recommend that if you have to have that dinner of dinners on your vacation, go try a place where the locals go to eat like the Miller’s Orlando Ale House in Lake Buena Vista or BJ’s Brew House at the Loop, on Osceola Parkway. Both are within 10 minutes of Walt Disney World and the Sea World resort areas and serve up delicious sea food meals. If money is not an option and you wish to experience the finer side of Orlando dinning, then just drop me a line and I will be more than happy to give you the low down on the inside areas of interest! In my next post, I will go over the best way to save money on your accommodations. Remember to read over my last posts concerning Disney tickets, Universal Studios tickets, Sea World tickets and Kennedy Space Center tickets. These posts will save you valuable time and money on your next Orlando Florida vacation! Until next time, this is Patrick Pulliam, writing for, “The Official Ticket Center”.

If you have any questions or comments concerning the content of this post, please contact Patrick Pulliam at 1-877-406-4836 or email him at patrickp@officialticketcenter.com

Walt Disney World

As Orlando’s most recommended discount ticket agency, Official Ticket Center welcomes you to our new blog. Expect to see the latest news about all of the wonderful attractions Orlando has to offer. Best of all, you’ll be the first to know about great insider deals from OTC. Visit us often. We’re looking forward to your visit.