Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2012 Revealed

Prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse

Prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse

The Official Ticket Center Orlando, FL. ~ Ok, the cats out of the bag on this years Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights theme. Universal Studios has teamed up with the biggest hit of this years TV blockbuster series, “The Walking Dead”. Guests will be immersed into a horrifying world of post apocalyptic zombie carnage as only Universal Studios can do. The creative team who produce Halloween Horror Nights have set the stage so that guests will be walking in the same foot steps as the characters of The Walking Dead Series traveled and experienced. It is said that the park will design movie quality sets and mazes that include some of the most iconic locations and scenes from the show. Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights has been a yearly event held at Universal Studios for over 20 years. This event is not for the weak of heart and is a 18 and up event. If you are planning on attending this event and discount Halloween Horror Night tickets, please call our office toll free at 1-877-406-4836 or visit us on the web at www.officialticketcenter.com

2012 © Patrick Pulliam

Epcot Sounds Like Summer Concert Series Brings The Classic Hits 2012

Eat to the Beat at Epcot's Summer Concert Series

Eat to the Beat at Epcot's Summer Concert Series

The Official Ticket Center Orlando, FL. – The good ole days return to Epcot as select summer nights heat up from June to July with the some of the world’s greatest tribute bands. Classic hits from the likes of U2, The Bee Gees, Bon Jovi and many more will rock during Sounds Like Summer concert series. The high-energy performances take place at the open-air American Gardens Theater in World Showcase.

The schedule (entertainment subject to change without notice):

  • June 10-17: Hotel California ~ A Salute to the Eagles
  • June 18 to 23: Mike DelGuidice & Big Shot ~ The Ultimate Billy Joel Show
  • June 24 to 30: Stayin’ Alive ~ A Tribute to the Bee Gees
  • July 1 to 7: Slippery When Wet ~ The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute
  • July 8 to 14: The Police Experience ~ A Tribute to the Police
  • July 15 to 21: SouthBound and Company ~ A Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd
  • July 22 to 28: 2U ~ A Tribute to U2

Show times are 5:45, 7 and 8:15 p.m. – except on July 4 when show times are 5:15, 6:30, 7:45 and 9 p.m. Sounds Like Summer concerts are included with Epcot admission. Additional informatio on purchasing your discount Epcot tickets click here http://www.officialticketcenter.com/epcot-tickets.aspx . For the latest information and updated show times, guests may pick up an Entertainment Guide when entering the park.

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO’S NEWLY-ENHANCED BLUE MAN GROUP SHOW

Blue Man Tickets Orlando

Entertainment Like Never Before

Enhanced Show Features New Stage, New Technology, New Music and
New Experiences

ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 16, 2012) – Universal Orlando’s Blue Man Group show is taking its unique and captivating brand of live entertainment to another level – complete with a new show environment, new music, new technology and new experiences.

Opening to the public on Friday, February 24, the show will take guests on an incredible journey where they’ll join the Blue Men as they discover, engage and explore the world’s obsession with cutting-edge technology.  New sections include Blue Men interacting with “GiPads” (think Gigantic iPads), a funny and perceptive look at contemporary modes of communication; and a pulsating new finale featuring an original Blue Man Group music score that will have guests jumping to their feet.

“The heart of our show is, and always has been, the Blue Man, and his inquisitive, wide-eyed take on the world,” said Chris Wink, who co-founded Blue Man Group with Phil Stanton and Matt Goldman. “Our team of artists at Blue Man Productions has created fun, even astounding new visual aspects of the show, and our music team has given us a great new sound. We are really excited to incorporate these elements into the show at Universal Orlando Resort “

“This show will take one of Universal Orlando’s most popular experiences to a whole new level,” said Alice Norsworthy, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Universal Orlando Resort.  “It’s the perfect complement to the incredible entertainment we offer at our destination.”

Several of the signature moments that have made Blue Man Group one of today’s best-loved theatrical productions will remain in the show, although in most cases, they have also been updated.  And as always, the production will fuse innovative theatrical spectacle with improvisation and vaudeville-inspired comedy, art, science and irresistible music performed by the Blue Man Group live band.

“Many of our audience’s favorite pieces, including ‘Paint Drumming’ and ‘Gum Balls/Marshmallows’ will continue to be a part of the production – and yes, the first few rows will still need to wear ponchos,” added Phil Stanton, Blue Man Group co-founder. “But we have developed some brand new elements of the show that provide a larger-than-life, rousing, interactive experience that I hope will really speak to all cultures and give some of our most devoted fans a new reason to check us out again.”

For more information about Blue Man Group at Universal Orlando Resort – or to purchase tickets – visit http://www.officialticketcenter.com/blue-man-group.aspx

Magic Kingdom Fact Sheet

Having Fun at the Magic Kingdom

Having Fun at the Magic Kingdom

Following the success of Disneyland, which opened in 1955, entertainment pioneer Walt Disney (1901-66) set his sights on what he called his company’s “most exciting and challenging assignment” — the creation of a vast vacation paradise known today as Walt Disney World Resort.

Walt’s dream was realized when Magic Kingdom, the first of four theme parks at the sprawling Florida site, opened Oct. 1, 1971. Walt’s older brother and lifelong business partner, Roy O. Disney, inaugurated the park with a heartfelt dedication that remains today on a bronze plaque in Main Street, U.S.A.:

WALT DISNEY WORLD is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney

… and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney’s dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place … a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn — together.

The Park

Magic Kingdom sits on 142 acres with the towering Cinderella Castle at its center. Similar to Disneyland in California, the park is divided into seven themed lands — Main Street, U.S.A.; Adventureland; Frontierland; Liberty Square; Fantasyland; Mickey’s Toontown Fair; and Tomorrowland.

Popular attractions include Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Stitch’s Great Escape!, Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, “Mickey’s PhilharMagic,” Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, it’s a small world, Jungle Cruise, Hall of Presidents, Mad Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Country Bear Jamboree, Tom Sawyer Island, Peter Pan’s Flight and Dumbo the Flying Elephant.

Cinderella Castle, the park’s icon, stands 189 feet tall and includes 18 towers. Inside its main hall, five glittering mosaics created under the direction of Dorothea Redmond and Hanns-Joachim Scharff tell the story of Cinderella in 500 brilliant hues of glass.

Entertainment

In addition to dozens of Disney characters found at locations throughout the park, Magic Kingdom presents a rich variety of entertainment each day, from colorful parades to visiting marching bands. Major productions include:

“Dream Along with Mickey” — Mickey Mouse and friends show Donald Duck that dreams really do come true in this musical stage show.

“Celebrate a Dream Come True” — Mickey Mouse leads a daily parade celebrating the history of Disney animation.

“SpectroMagic” — Presented on select nights, this energetic parade of Disney characters features floats dotted with millions of twinkling lights.

“Wishes” — Jiminy Cricket narrates the biggest, boldest fireworks show ever presented at Magic Kingdom, a heart-tugging “story in the sky” about making a wish come true, presented most nights.

Food and Beverage

Popcorn to prime rib is available in a variety of unique settings that include everything from elegant table-service restaurants to outdoor refreshment carts. Major eateries include:

  • Tony’s Town Square (Main Street, U.S.A.) — salads, pastas, Italian entrees
  • Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe (Frontierland) — burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, salads
  • Columbia Harbour House (Liberty Square) — clam chowder, fish, chicken, sandwiches
  • Pinocchio Village Haus (Fantasyland) — pizza, Italian sandwiches, salads, soups
  • Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe (Tomorrowland) — burgers, chicken, soups, sandwiches

Guests can dine with Disney characters at Cinderella’s Royal Table (Fantasyland – breakfast and lunch); The Crystal Palace (Main Street, U.S.A. – buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner); Liberty Tree Tavern (Liberty Square – dinner). For dining reservations, call 407/WDW-DINE.

Special Events

  • Grad Nite – Seniors celebrate the end of high school each spring during multiple nights of high-energy fun, which include concerts by popular performers.
  • Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party – Mickey and the gang invite guests to this all-ages celebration of fun frights held on multiple nights each October.
  • Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party – Each holiday season, Mickey and his friends celebrate the season on several special nights with exclusive entertainment and a holiday-themed parade starring Santa Claus

Topiary Fun Facts and Landscape Trivia Thrive At 19th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

Main Enterance Topiary a Few Years Back

Main Enterance Topiary a Few Years Back

19th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival
The largest number of front-entrance topiaries ever, 1,000 brilliantly hued butterflies, 240 floating mini-gardens and 30 million blooms paint a landscape masterpiece at the 19th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival March 7-May 20 at Walt Disney World Resort.

Among this year’s fun festival facts:

• 30 million blooms blanket the park throughout the festival, which runs 75 colorful days.
• The festival’s front-entrance Fantasia topiary scene comprises 28 topiaries – more than have been used in any front-entrance display. The 28 include Sorcerer Mickey, three ostriches, two hippos, two alligators, two elephants, nine stars, a spiral and eight mushrooms.
•22,615 plant plugs of 15 plant varieties make up the Fantasia front-entrance topiary. They include reindeer moss for Sorcerer Mickey’s face and red begonias for his hat; creeping fig for Mickey, hippos and gators; Sweet Ayssum, and three shades of Lobelia simulate water spilling over a large topiary rock made up of Black Scallop Ajuga upon which the Sorcerer stands.
•4,000 Blushing Bride air plants from Guatemala color the two hippos’ tutus and 300 Cotton Candy air plants from Peru feather the wings and tails of the three ostrich topiaries. Smaller air plants are used as ostrich slippers.
•1,250 feet of quarter-inch irrigation tubing is woven into the Fantasia front-entrance topiaries.
•Dozens of additional Disney character topiaries represent the largest collection of Disney character topiary in the world and include classic film stars like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Cinderella and Tinker Bell.
•At least 25 different plants, grasses and mosses of various colors, including pink and red begonias, dusty miller, palm fiber, palm seeds, ficus and lichen, are used to create and define features of additional festival topiaries. More color has been added to the topiaries than in any previous topiary presentation.
•1,000 native butterflies represent up to 10 species at the expansive Bambi’s Butterfly House. Among the garden’s two dozen nectar plants are Cape Royal plumbago, passion flower, coral honeysuckle, blazing star, butterfly bush, scarlet milkweed and canna lily.
•More than 500,000 plants, trees and shrubs are planted for the festival; 250,000 of those are annual blossoms installed for the festival.
•Festival plants include 60 different species of trees, 47 types of palms, and 48 varieties of bedding plants.
•150 hands-on gardening demonstrations and seminars will be presented.
•Thirty “flower towers” of impatiens line Innoventions Plaza.
•240 floating mini-gardens, each three feet in diameter, of multi-hued impatiens provide splashes of color on two ponds that border the walkway between Future World and World Showcase.
•700 container gardens of flowers, herbs, plants and vegetables in clay pots, barrels and urns enhance the landscape throughout Epcot.
•400 Walt Disney World horticulturists are needed to install the festival landscape, topiaries and many exhibits; 100 Epcot horticulturists maintain topiaries and other festival displays.
•It takes more than one full year and about 24,000 cast member hours to prepare for the annual festival.
•The festival’s weekend Flower Power concert series includes 11 artists and groups known for more than 100 Top 40 hits. This year’s musical hit-makers from the 1960s and ’70s include Jose Feliciano, Starship starring Mickey Thomas, The Guess Who, The Spinners, Chubby Checker & The Wildcats, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, Chuck Negron formerly of Three Dog Night (NEW!), The Orchestra starring former members of ELO (NEW!), Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone and Davy Jones.

Where to buy discount Legoland tickets for the New Orlando park

Discount Legoland Tickets

Discount Legoland Tickets

The Official Ticket Center ~ Central Florida has a new theme park and with over 50 rides and attractions, it should be on everyone’s to do list while visiting Florida. Legoland, Florida is built on the old Cypress Gardens site and has become one of the most popular stops for young and old alike. Its designed for family fun and is only 45 minutes from Orlando and the Disney attraction area. One great thing is that they kept the gardens from the Cypress Gardens park and has maintained a vast collection of native plants, including azaleas, camellias and a 80 year old Banyan tree. Tickets for Legoland Orlando are pretty steep. Almost as much as the theme parks at Disney, discount Legoland tickets are highly sought after. This is where the Official Ticket Center can help. Please call our office toll free at 1-877-406-4836 and get your discount Legoland tickets today! Click here to view prices and ticket information http://www.officialticketcenter.com/LegoLand-Tickets.aspx

Petty Holdings Adds Exotic Driving Experience

Richard Petty Experience

Richard Petty Experience

The Exotics Course at Walt Disney World® Speedway will be new home to “supercars”
(November 9, 2011) Combine some of the world’s finest automobiles with a track specifically designed for drivers to safely experience their awe-inspiring acceleration, speed and handling and you have “Exotic Driving Experience”, the latest offering from Petty Holdings.

Best known as owner and operator of Richard Petty Driving Experience, the worldwide leader in the stock car ride and drive business, Petty Holdings has applied its expertise in delivering safe, accessible, exciting automotive entertainment to develop an experience allowing anyone with a driver’s license the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a “supercar” – a rarified class of automobile.

Exotic Driving Experience will feature supercars by Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, and Porsche. Future plans include the addition of other exotic models, as well.

It will officially begin on January 16, 2012.

“This exotics business is the most significant new offering from our company since the creation of Richard Petty Driving Experience in 1994″ said Brian Flynn, Petty Holdings Chief Executive Officer. “This was a strategic decision intended to expand our customer base by diversifying our experiential offerings.”

Plans call for Exotic Driving Experience to operate approximately 150 days annually on The Exotics Course at Walt Disney World Speedway, a new track configuration (see below) at the motorsports complex located on the grounds of the world-famous theme park.

Be Petty Disney

Be Petty Disney

Driving Experiences will start at $189 for six laps around the circuit. Thrill Rides with a professional driver at the wheel will be available for $99.

The Exotics Course at Walt Disney World Speedway®
Built in 1994, the one-mile oval at Walt Disney World Speedway® has been home to Indy Racing League (IRL), NASCAR Truck series and United States Auto Club (USAC) sanctioned races. Since 2000, it has been operated year-round exclusively by Richard Petty Driving Experience, which has seen more than 250,000 people drive or ride in one of its NASCAR race cars.

Petty Holdings recently completed an interior road course-style section at the track, specifically for Exotic Driving Experience, which features a series of quick, challenging right and left-hand turns, known as “switch backs.” Complete with barriers and rumble strips, this section replaces the frontstretch of the oval when the supercars are on track and, together with the backstretch, comprises another one-mile layout which has been named The Exotics Course at Walt Disney World Speedway®.

“We needed a circuit that would allow customers to really get a sense of what these incredible cars are capable of” said Rick Fedrizzi, President and Chief Operating Officer, who designed the new interior section. “Drivers can rapidly accelerate to high speeds on the backstretch of the oval and, when they come into the interior section, feel the incredible braking and handling characteristics of whichever exotic they’ve selected.”

“It is an absolute blast to drive this course in any one of these cars,” Fedrizzi said.

About Petty Holdings:

Petty Holdings, LLC owns Richard Petty Driving Experience, the worldwide leader in NASCAR-style stock car drive and ride entertainment, which operated at 25 race tracks in the United States and Canada in 2011. It markets other Petty and Richard Petty branded and licensed ventures including Petty Safe Driving and Richard Petty’s Fantasy Racing Camp. It also provides motorsports support services to the commercial and film industries, mobile marketing event services and designs and executes ride and drive events for automobile manufacturers

Headquartered in Concord, NC, Petty Holdings is a portfolio company of BV Investment Partners, a leading middle-market private equity firm, investing in the information and business services, communications, and media sectors.

Making the Most of Your Orlando Vacation With Kids

Navigating the theme parks without stress

Navigating the theme parks without stress

Many people plan years in advance for their Orlando vacation and many only see a few mentionable things. Their biggest mistake people make is to try and cram as much into their days as possible and then wonder why they need a vacation from their vacation at the end of their trip. Many even go as far as to say that they didn’t have a good time on their much needed getaway. My advice is to research as much as possible and make the right choice for you and your family. Think about who is in your party and what special needs they may require. What I mean is, do you have little ones or is it just adults coming. If you have children, then think about nap times and dragging them all around the theme parks. This is the biggest cause of stress to the traveling parents that I have witnessed in my years in the theme park business. Continue reading

Universal Orlando Tickets

Universal Studios Orlando ~ If you have any vacation time to burn, now is the time to use it up at Universal Orlando Resort. This time of year is slower than summer time and now there is a very nice addition to Universal Studios, their Halloween Horror Nights event held on select nights from now until Halloween. The hot Florida air is getting considerably cooler and the evenings are taking on more of a Caribbean feel, so many travelers choose this time of year to come down to Orlando for a few days or even weeks to enjoy the peace and quit that only Central Florida can provide during the off tourism season. Many of our summer specials for Universal Orlando tickets are still in effect so make sure to take the time to check them out and save time and money. Make your Universal Studios experience a full one by adding the Universal Studios Halloween Horror Night tickets to your itinerary. Universal Studios Orlando closes down at about 6pm. on the nights that the Halloween Horror Nights event is taking place, so why not stay and make a full day out of it. If you are up for Orlando fun, tickets are your next step. Please call our office toll free at 1-877-406-4836 or just click here for pricing http://www.officialticketcenter.com/

Florida Halloween Events Start Early and Here’s a List of When & Where

Florida scares up spooktacular — and early — Halloween festivities

Whether you like your Halloween festivities to be super-spooky or perhaps not so scary, chances are very good that Florida has you covered with all manner of both ghostly — and ghastly — fun. And what is more: in Florida many of the Halloween happenings start weeks ahead of Oct. 31. Here are some events, arranged chronologically by beginning date, to get your Halloween revelry off to a good start this year. Some Halloween happenings are family-friendly; some may not be suitable for young children: some the organizers themselves say are not recommended for youngsters. Continue reading