jcrouse

That park looks great! I love that the sky ride goes through the Bandit coaster. It's great for photos! And I want some of that Wild Grape Coke - that sounds amazing!

Great update! Palo Brunch is my favorite! We made sure to book it every time we cruised. The kid spaces look fantastic! Maybe even Sarah would have gone to that teen club. Looking forward to the next update!

This looks fantastic! Those fish extenders are crazy!! I love that people really get into that. I've always been a huge fan of Disney Cruises and these photos show why. The ship is gorgeous. Can't wait to see the next update and some of the Marvel stuff!

Beautiful photos. I love the nighttime and fireworks shots!!

A few days ago, we were invited out to attend a preview event for the 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. This is the 21st year for the Festival and Disney is making this year’s event bigger and better than ever. The 62 day long Festival starts on September 14 (That’s less than 80 days away if you’re counting!) and will run through November 14. To keep things fresh, about 47% of this year’s menu items are new or reimagined. New marketplaces include Chocolate Studio, Wine & Dine Studio, Hops and Barley, The Chew Collective, Islands of the Caribbean, and one more to be announc

Space Mountain!

Thanks Tom! This game really looks pretty good! I'm excited for RCT again.

Love the photos, Hanno! Thanks for sharing them. Can't believe the face I'm making on Blue Fall.

Thanks for the comments! It was amazing! As far as the bug spray goes, it was highly recommended by our tour guides that we use the spray. In fact, we stopped in mid-tour to reapply. Our tour guides were very knowledgable and protective of the environment, so I feel pretty confident that they would not recommend its use if it was damaging.

Last night, Jacqi and I had the opportunity to check out a Bioluminescent Kayak tour over on Florida’s Space Coast. We had heard about this phenomenon and were very anxious to see it in person. The tour takes place about an hour east of Orlando, on the Indian River Lagoon, just next to the Kennedy Space Center complex. Once we arrived, we were given our safety gear and our safety talk and we paired up and boarded our kayaks. The staff was incredibly helpful and very knowledgeable about the kayaks, the environment and the area wildlife. All participants wore glow sticks so that the staff could

Great Report! I'm very excited to see all this in a few days. I've never seen World of Color, so I had no idea they projected onto the Mickey wheel for the show. Is that new to this version? Looking forward to the other parts of the report!

Love this trip report Craig. It was a blast hanging out with you and seeing some of these parks through the eyes of a first time visitor. We can sometimes forget how awesome some of these rides are here in our backyard. Glad you liked Busch Gardens and its great to hear a first timer agree that they have a kick ass collection of coasters. And Falcon's Fury is worth the trip alone.

Legoland 2015 Media Event Legoland Florida invited us out on Thursday to attend their 2015 Press Announcement. As the Legoland hotel gets closer to opening, Legoland Florida is rebranding itself as Legoland Florida Resort. The hotel opens to guests on May 15, 2015. Many of the features are similar to existing Legoland Hotels - but this one will have a few exclusive amenities. This 152-room hotel will be the first to feature VIP Suites that will allow guests the option of upgrading to an in-room character dining experience. Also exclusive to this property, the Master Model Builders Workshop

We had an awesome day too. I can't believe we did a full open to close day at the Studios - and we really didn't ride anything. I think the guests are going to love this event. It was just the right mix of celebrating the phenomenon that is Frozen with a bit of humor poking fun at is as well. It's is practically a park-wide overlay that will definitely create some new energy this summer. It was a very fun day and Robb captured it perfectly in his report. It's not for everyone - but most will find Frozen Summer Fun a blast. Plus there were cupcakes!!

Today, Legoland Florida had us out for the grand opening of their brand new Duplo Valley. This area is an expansion of the toddler area near the front of the park. The theming was bright and colorful - perfect for Legoland Florida's younger guests. The new attractions include 2 train like rides, a kiddie splash zone, and play areas that complimented the existing Duplo Barn indoor (air-conditioned!) playground. Congratulations to Legoland on this wonderful addition. The kids on hand seemed to love it. Here is the complete press release... LEGOLAND® Florida Celebrates Opening of DUPLO ®

That was amazing! Thank you for the report. It was very funny and entertaining. Wonder why they didn't allow photos in so many places... Safe travels to you both!

Final Update from our preview of Universal Orlando's Cabana Bay Beach Resort. This update covers the pool area: Bowling Alley Entrance - lobby 2nd floor Pool bar - Atomic Tonic Retro Rocket theming - complete with Monkey Astronaut, Ham Drinky drinks. Vintage directional signage And the picnic areas are themed to old roadside rest stops Food Trucks! Cabana Bay plans to have a different truck each day from 11am - 3pm The Bus Stop Cool custom busses for Cabana Bay And the busses have neat surfboards painted on top (only visible from Citywalk Hub) Constr

Continuing on with our report from Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort. The room was fantastic. There were 2 flat panel TVs, a privacy screen that separated the living area from the bedroom. The suite had split bathrooms to accommodate families and the living area had a mini-fridge and microwave. Here are photos from our family suite... The bedroom Our toiletry package with retro brands Zest and Alberto VO5 The split bathroom - shower and vanity on the left, another vanity in the center, and toilet in a separate room on the right. Analog alarm clock - anyone have any idea how t

On Monday, Jacqi and I got the chance to check out Universal Orlando's newest resort hotel, Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Its an immersive throwback to the roadside motels of the 50s and 60s. When complete in June, the resort will feature 900 family suites and 900 standard guest rooms. We think this will be a big hit for Universal. The resort has a great variety of amenities - bowling alley, food trucks, fitness center, beach activities, fire pits, lazy river (opening in the summer) - and has a very attractive price point. The attention to detail is spot-on. There are little touches everywhere

On Friday, March 21, Jacqi and I attended SeaWorld's 50th Anniversary Media Event -which was the kick off for their 18-month "Sea of Surprises" campaign. The campaign is centered around random, unscheduled events throughout the park that will include animal encounters, entertainment experiences and prizes from the "Surprise Squad" - and bubbles, lots and lots of bubbles. To experience elements that are a bit more regularly scheduled, SeaWorld has overhauled the SEA Garden (just outside of the old Hospitality House) - there are additional animal encounters here as well as larger than life sculp

The Condé Nast Traveler Readers poll just listed their 20 favorite large cruise ships. DCL and RCCL were both well represented. All 4 of DCL's ships were in the top 5 in the Large Ship class and 8 of the top 20 were RCCL. (Spoiler Alert) Not a single Carnival ship made the top 20. All 20 were Disney, Royal, Celebrity or Princess.

I prefer option #2 - and that opinion is wholly based on the visuals. I love a large featured image and I think its a cleaner approach. From a functional standpoint - I understand having the Twitter ticker. And while I think #1 looks a bit busier, its not to the point of feeling cluttered. I think both layouts work great - but if the question is which looks better - I prefer #2.

A few more photos from the show... This gaucho was doing the Macarena on a horse. Yeehaw! - time for a little Country at Arabian Nights. Fire makes everything better.

On Tuesday, Aug. 6, Jacqi and I went to the Arabian Nights Dinner Theater to catch the Media Preview of their newest show "The Royal Celebration". Arabian Nights is in Kissimmee, Florida - just minutes from the main Walt Disney World entrance. And to make the event even more special, this year Arabian Nights is celebrating their 25th Anniversary. I've lived in Orlando for over 25 years and I've never seen the show - so I was excited to finally experience it. This is the first new show in 14 years and owner/show writer, Mark Miller describes it as a "greatest hits" of some of their more popular

Here's my info: Jack Crouse Name: SpecialTed FC: 2707-1618-3587 AC Name: DoughBoy Town Name: TwinPeak Fruit: Cherries