Walt Disney World buys Marvel Comics rights

Walt Disney World buys Marvel Comics rights, bad news for Universal

Well in case you have not heard, Walt Disney World has bought the rights to Marvel Comics, at least in some ways. It’s a complex deal with many twist and turns. The biggest and most awkward part of it is the relationship with Disney’s competitor, Universal Studios. You see, Universal already had a contract with Marvel Comics to build theme park rides and market merchandise from the characters of Marvel Comics.

At Universal Studios Islands Of Adventure they have a whole section called Marvel Super Hero Island. It features the Incredible Hulk roller coaster, The Spider Man ride, Dr. Dooms free fall ride and Storm’s Force Accelatron ride. They also have The X men characters running around in costume. Those are all characters from Marvel Comics.

So how is that going to affect Universal Studios? Will they have to shut down their Marvel rides? Well for now the answer is,,, no. It seems that Universal Studio retains some rights from their earlier contract. One of them is that Universal can continue using the Marvel trademarks for as long as the attractions are in operation. It also ensures that no other theme park east of the Mississippi River — including Walt Disney World — can develop attractions based on the same characters.

So if your afraid of your favorite theme park rides at Universal Studios getting shut down by Disney, you can relax. They will stay open and everything will go on as usual. Walt Disney cannot make new rides in their Florida theme parks based on Marvel Comics characters. However they can, and I’m sure they will, at Disneyland in California.

However it is a very interesting deal, with Disney holding rights to some aspects of what Universal Studios can do. I’m sure they don’t like it one bit! Die hard Marvel Comics fans are upset that Disney will come out with movies based on the Marvel Comics characters as more “sissy” than Universal would make them, seeing as Disney is family friendly.

I guess all we can do is wait and see what happens. In the meantime nothing will change much at Disney World or Universal Studios here in Orlando Florida. So all the rides will still be going at Universal, and no new Marvel Comics rides will be going up at Disney. We just have to wait and see if a new movie will be coming out called The Hulk verses Pirates Of The Caribbean!

Disney, Sea World & Universal Studios 4th of July fireworks

Disney, sea world and universal studios fireworks in the 4th of july

Well everyone, soon it will be the 4th of July! As you can imagine Orlando has some major firework displays going on. For tourist most want to know about what types and when to see 4th of July fireworks at the theme parks. Just so you know, anyone can buy fireworks here in Florida, unlike some other states.

So watch out for people letting some loose around you, which they do. Last year it was very dry here in Orlando Florida. Because of that a lot of firework shows were canceled due to the fire hazard. But this year has been wet so everyone will be out shooting off their fireworks! The theme parks have some really good shows scheduled this year too.

The theme parks are always packed on the 4th of July, and some may stop admitting people in once they are full. So get there early and don’t leave the park until your sure your not going to stay anymore that day. Here’s a break down of what the major theme parks have in store for you on the forth of July:
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Orlando Gay Days at Disney a big success

Well this tourist site would not be complete without a recap of Gay Days in Orlando that was this past weekend. Started 9 years ago, Gay Days has grown into a large event with many big name sponsors and theme park activities. My good lesbian friend Ashley and her girlfriend went and stayed at The Regal Sun Resort, which was the place to be for lesbians at Gay Days this year.

They would not let me go with them, some friends huh! 😉 There is always conflicting numbers as to how many come into Orlando each year for Gay Days, but 150,000 is about what they expected. This year there was many pool parties at hotels, Gay Day parties at the local clubs, lots of special events and more.

Of course the big highlight of Gay Days was Saturday, when everyone wears red and goes to Disney! But this year there were plenty in the other theme parks too, like Sea World and Universal Studios. Gay Days pumps in millions of dollars into Orlando, so the parks and attractions are really starting to welcome them more each year. Check out the Gay Days official site for lots more information!

Orlando vacation theme parks and water parks

Well everyone, the title to this post seems pretty simple huh? Theme parks and water parks in Orlando. Heck we all know who they are, don’t we? Well actually maybe not! Orlando is growing very fast, and so are the theme parks. Also the major theme parks keep adding new parks! So it can be confusing to keep track of all the big theme and water parks in Orlando.

So I want to make a nice list of them. Now, when I say theme parks, I mean big ones, and I mean each different park in each complex. Disney World, for instance, is a giant mix of 7 or more parks. Water parks are a mix of ones in the big theme parks and other smaller ones all by themselves. I’ll start with the most popular ones first, shall we! [Read more…]

Disney World Orlando Vacation outlook for 2009

It looks like a friend of mine and his family are coming down for an Orlando vacation sometime in the late spring. Now this friend is not big on going anywhere, they’ve only been down here one other time. But they wanted to go one more time for their kids, who are around 16, 14 and 10. One of the main reasons they are going this year is because of the economy.

Now you might think wait a minute. If things are going so bad, and everyone is hurting for money, then why would they actually want to pick this time to spend their money and go on vacation? Well, not everyone is having a bad time with their jobs. This family happens to be doing okay and has money set aside and so on.

They also look for bargains and ways to save money with everything they do. That’s one of the reasons why they are doing okay! So it’s because this is a bad year that makes it appealing to them to take their last big Orlando vacation. They know prices for everything is low, and that not many will be in the theme parks. So, it makes sense to pick now to come down here. [Read more…]

Disney World Expedition Everest roller coaster youtube video


Well everyone, I’ve had a long day today. So, I’m going to make this a quickie post! That means I’m going to show you a youtube video. This one is a cool one about Walt Disney Worlds animal kingdom roller coaster called Expedition Everest. It’s suppose to be themed that your going up mount Everest, and you get attacked by the Yeti, an ape-like creature.

At first the ride goes a bit slow, and you start to think “is that all”? But it has some surprises, and saves the high speed twist and turns for the last part of the ride. It goes into several dark tunnels, and even goes uphill backward in some spots! It’s at the Animal Kingdom at Disney World, and one of the best rides at that park. So enjoy this youtube video of Expedition Everest roller coaster at Animal Kingdom!

Walt Disney World Christmas holiday fireworks youtube video

I wanted to show you a little bit of the Walt Disney World Christmas fireworks show. I wanted it to be this years, not last. I managed to find one on youtube that someone had put up. It’s the Disney World Christmas fireworks at the magic kingdom park. That one is always cool because of Cinderella’s castle.

They always light it up and use it as part of the fireworks display. Now, no youtube video can come close to really capturing the way the Disney fireworks show looks. You just can’t do it justice on a video. In fact it looks sad compared to the real show. But, if you’ve never seen Disney’s fireworks, it gives you a taste. So enjoy this Walt Disney World Christmas fireworks youtube video of 2008.

So just how big is Walt Disney World?

Well I hope everyone had a great New Year’s eve without getting into too much trouble! I read something the other day that made me laugh, and then made me realize just how little a lot of people know about Walt Disney World. I was reading a personal blog online, and this girl was saying that her and her husband were going to go to Disney World.

Okay, great, nothing wrong with that. But then she went on to say that they wanted to get a Disney hotel. That way, she said, they would be right there at Disney and be able to walk to all the Disney parks! Oh my, I sure hope she sees this post, because if she really goes thinking that, she’s going to be in for a big surprise.

So, just how big is Walt Disney World? Well first lets make sure your talking about Walt Disney World, not Disneyland. Disneyland is the one in California, Walt Disney World is the one in Orlando, Florida. Disneyland is much smaller than Walt Disney World, MUCH smaller! Also when you say Walt Disney World, your talking about the whole complex, not just one of the parks. [Read more…]

New Year’s Eve at Walt Disney World Orlando

Well it’s New Year’s eve, and I’m a little late telling you what’s going on at Walt Disney World Orlando for the big new year’s blow out parties. But what the heck, I’ll tell you anyway in case your trying to figure out what to do. All of Disney World Orlando parks will have fireworks except Animal Kingdom, with some extra parades and shows. The weather is looking great, maybe in the 50’s at night. Bring a sweater or light coat.

I recommend picking just ONE Disney park and staying there all day until you leave. It’s going to be very crowded, and the parks may reach capacity. Once that happens they will not let anyone else in. So it would really suck to leave one park to find you can’t get into the other one after spending 30 minutes getting out of the first one!

At the Magic Kingdom there will be Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas Parade, with Spectromagic shows two times in the early evening. Then at 11:50pm Fantasy in the Sky fireworks will begin, a very big fireworks show shooting up from behind the castle. It’s a great show with many very big firework displays. [Read more…]

More about Orlando Inside, vacation guide

After reading the post I have made so far, I realized I still have not said too much about myself. Why should you take my advice about how to plan your Orlando Disney vacation? What makes me so smart? Why am I doing this, out of the goodness of my heart? Well, let me fill you in some. My name is William, but I really prefer to be called Bill.

I live in Orlando, about 8 miles from Walt Disney World. I’m originally from Vermont, but have been in Florida for 16 years. I’m single and between 30 and 50 yrs. old! Yes, if your a woman and single by all means drop me a note! I love the theme parks and have worked at both Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. I have annual passes to both of those parks, plus Sea World.

The two years I worked at Disney I was a third shift maintenance man. “cast member” is what they call people that work at Disney. Because of my job I got to go into all the buildings, rides, back areas and so on. I worked in secure areas and places most don’t ever see. I worked in all three Disney parks, Disney’s Animal Kingdom was not open yet. [Read more…]

Orlando Disney holiday season still light this year

Well I hope everyone had a great Christmas day! I myself roasted a whole chicken and watched some movies on my computer, fun fun! I also took a drive out to Disney, but I did not actually go into the parks. In hindsight I think I should have, because it was very light crowds, at least for the holiday season.

I took a look at the parking spots and a few other ways I know of to peek into the parks without actually going in. (sorry, can’t tell you how) 😉 It is DEAD around Disney for a holiday season! I see that last month the hotels had only a 53% occupancy according to the local results that keep track of those things.

That pretty much mirrored what I’ve been saying and seeing. So that means the other parks like Universal Studios and Sea World also had light Christmas day crowds. The ones that are here are really having a good time with no crowds and low prices. I have to wonder if they know how lucky they are to be here this year. [Read more…]

Merry Christmas from Orlando, Florida!

Well today is Christmas day, 2008! It’s nice and warm out here in Orlando, Fl. I wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year’s. This year will be one of the more tougher ones for a lot of people. Everyone seems to have cut back and many are having a hard time making ends meet.

Of course the real spirit of Christmas is being with your family and friends, even if the kids think it’s all about the toys! I’ll spend most of my day by myself, then see some friends later today. I’m baking a whole chicken and got some cool videos to watch, so I’m all set! Walt Disney World will have their big Christmas day parade going on, I’m sure I’ll watch that. [Read more…]