Archives for December 2011

Walt Disney World marathon weekend January 5th-8th 2012

Walt Disney World marathon weekend 2012

If you’re a runner, few things are more exciting to you than competing in a marathon. Even better – what if the course runs through the magical world of Disney? If you sign up for Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, you can enjoy this unique experience, along with other great events.

During the weekend of January 5th through the 8th 2012, Walt Disney World in Orlando, along with CIGNA, will be hosting four days of competitions and festivities to appeal to runners and their families.

Events include a marathon, a marathon relay, and a 13.1-mile half-marathon. If you’re up to the challenge, check out Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, where participants complete the 13.1-mile course on Saturday, and then run the full marathon on Sunday – 39.3 miles in all.

The kids won’t be left out of the fun. If they’re under the age of 14, they can join in the Kids’ Dashes or in the Mickey Mile – there’s something for every age! Babies 12 months and younger can compete in the Diaper Dash, and toddlers from one to three years can enter the 100-meter dash.

The 200-meter dash is for kids ages four to six, and the seven and eight-year-olds can run the 400-meter dash. On Friday, any child 13 or under can enter the Mickey Mile event. All participants will receive official tees, goody bags, a special medallion, refreshments, and more.

As a great way to kick off your Marathon Weekend, purchase tickets for Pasta in the Park. This event will be held on Thursday evening, at Epcot’s World ShowPlace Pavilion.

Included will be a buffet dinner with green salad, potato salad, roasted chicken, pasta dishes, bread, fruit, and dessert. Along with the meal, guests can enjoy Disney characters, fireworks, a laser show, and music.

So come out to the Walt Disney World marathon weekend January 5th to 8th 2012. To enter or find out more visit the Disney marathon home page for lots more details. See you there! :)

Happy Holidays from Orlando Inside!

Holiday greetings from Orlando Inside!

Well today is the 25th, so I wanted to say Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! :) I hope those that celebrate today have a good time with your friends and family.

I will be keeping it simple myself. All my family lives up north in Vermont. So I will just go over to a friend’s house, exchange a few gifts, then relax the rest of the day, maybe even do a little work!

Anything Disney and all the theme parks and Orlando attractions will be very, very busy today. Christmas day is a very popular day to spend at a Disney park, the Magic Kingdom being the most popular of all.
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Biggest hot air balloon rides in USA now in Orlando

Biggest hot air balloon rides now in Orlando, Florida

(Photo by George Skene, Orlando Sentinel)

Orlando, Florida is home to many cool and one of a kind types of rides and attractions. Well it now can boast that it’s home to the biggest hot air balloons rides in the USA too!

Orlando Balloon Rides has announced that they now are flying with brand new jumbo sized hot air balloons. These balloons are 112 feet high, 90 feet wide and holds 425,000 cubic feet of hot air.

The baskets of these giant hot air balloons are super sized also and hold up to 24 people at once. Although these are common in Europe, it’s one of the first of this size in the USA.
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Macy’s holiday parade at Universal Studios Youtube video

I’m running behind on lots of things these days due to the holidays. Right now over at Universal Studios they are having their Macy’s holiday parade going on each night until Jan. 1st.

I have not been over there yet to take a video of it, but I will soon. Once I do I will upload it to my youtube channel and share it here. In the meantime I thought you might want to see the one I made from last year.

Here’s a tip. At the end of the parade they have the Christmas tree lighting display. The girls from the Rockettes do a dance right in front of the tree, then at the end the lights come on and confetti comes down.

So if you can get a spot near the tree to watch the parade. The tree will be in the lower part of the park near “The Mummy” ride. This is at the Universal Orlando park, NOT at Islands of Adventure. Enjoy my video! :)

Finding the best deals for your holiday vacation

Best holiday vacation deals

Everyone wants to save money when they book a holiday vacation. These days it’s even more important to get the most for your money and stretch your hard earned dollars. So what is the best way to do that?

Well these days you can find and compare just about everything online, and the same is true for flights, hotels, rental cars and other vacation holiday expenses. There are many useful online tools at your disposal to get the best holiday deals ever.

Some of the best ones let you compare different popular airlines, hotels and more to get the best prices for a cheap vacation package. Flight checker tool comparison charts for instance can give you the best prices for an airline flight between several popular airlines. Hotel deal websites work the same way, showing you what each one will cost in a particular area.
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New years eve almost here for theme park fireworks

Get your theme park plans ready for new years eve

I know Christmas has not even gotten here yet but I thought it was a good time to remind you to get your tickets and plans finalized if your going to go to a theme park here in Orlando for New Years Eve.

The big 3 theme parks; Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld will all have their own unique New Years eve parties and shows. Most will have midnight fireworks, but not all of them. I have articles about them all.

For what’s going on at Walt Disney World, check out my Disney New Years events page to see what’s going on. The Magic Kingdom will be the best place for New Years parades, shows and fireworks.
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Great Florida holiday vacations for everyone

Find Florida holiday vacations now

Florida is one of the top holiday vacation destinations in the world. There is so much to see and do in this sub-tropical state, more than most people know. The entire state of Florida is tourist friendly with different parts catering to different taste.

Take the beaches for instance. Florida has miles of beautiful white sand beaches, both on the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the most well known beaches are here, like Daytona beach, Miami beach, Cocoa beach and many more. Florida beaches are a top destination for spring breakers from College.

Because Florida is such a popular vacation spot, you can find great prices on holiday packages and transportation deals. Find holidays to Florida from many great vacation deal websites that can give you the best vacation packages around. Florida vacations are one of the best places to stretch your money and get the most bang for your buck.
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Universal Studios to expand Harry Potter land at theme parks

Universal Studios to expand Harry Potter land!

More news from Universal Studios folks! They have just announced their plans to expand Harry Potter land, otherwise known as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Actually their contract demanded that they expand it at a later time when they began building it.

However the big buzz is if they will make another part of Harry Potter in the “old” park, Universal Orlando, and not just expand the current land at Islands of Adventure. It’s interesting to note that they just announced plans to close down the Jaws ride Jan 2nd.

It’s all just speculation at this time, and park officials are not saying anything at all as to what the new plans will be. However it makes sense to convert the Jaws ride space into another Harry Potter land.
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Flying to Orlando for your Disney vacation

Flying to Orlando for a Disney vacation

Millions of people every year fly to Orlando, Florida for a Disney or other type of vacation. Most of them come to see Disney, but there are many other things to do and see in Orlando. The two main airports that serve the Orlando area are the Orlando International airport and the Sanford International airport.

Both are popular airports for both domestic and International flights. You will find that all the major airlines service both airports. So if your looking for popular flights to Orlando chances are good it will include one of these two airports. Here is some information about each one to help you out.

The Orlando International airport is the biggest one, busier and a bit closer to most of the theme parks, including Disney. A unique feature of this airport is that all airline gates are at satellite terminals separate from the main airport terminal.
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Car driving tips and advice for Orlando, Florida

Car driving tips in the Orlando, Florida area

Visiting Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is a popular vacation for many. However driving in a strange city and even a different country if your from outside the USA can present challenges. Here’s some driving advice for the Orlando, Florida area.

If you decide to get a USA car hire and do your own driving on your Disney vacation there are some things you should know. First of course is that everyone drives on the right hand side of the road. If your from a place where you drive on the left it will take a little getting use to, however you quickly learn it.

Remember that you will be in a tourist area, which means many other people are driving around on vacation and don’t know where they are going. Watch for other cars making sudden lane changes and turns as they come up to exits too fast. Or cars braking suddenly as they see their exit and they are in the wrong lane.
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Universal Studios Orlando Jaws ride to close Jan. 2nd 2012

Universal will close their Jaws ride in Jan. 2012

It is with some sadness that I tell you Universal Studios Orlando Jaws ride will be closing forever on Jan. 2nd, 2012. I guess it’s another one of those rides that is so old that the current young people just can’t relate to it.

When the Jaws ride first opened years ago it was one of the most high tech rides around. However pushing a giant robotic shark through the water was very demanding and it had frequent break downs at first.

But over time they got it right and the ride was glitch free most of the time. Jaws told the story of a giant great white shark terrorizing a small New England seaside town. It was a hit movie that had several sequels.
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