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Goofy catches a topiary wave while Mickey Mouse and gal pal Minnie chill at the “beach” for the 15th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, March 19th through June 1st, 2008 at Walt Disney World Resort. Last year’s popular 60-day event has sprouted runners and expands to a full 75 days with its first-ever March launch, offering oceans of floral fantasy and gardening fun.
As guests enter the park near Spaceship Earth, they’ll spot a 14-foot Goofy topiary riding a 6-foot wave of flowers and plants. Sandcastles, palm trees and starfish will surround Mickey and Minnie topiaries posed on a floral beach towel spread upon a sandy “beach.” At World Showcase Plaza, Disney topiary specialists will craft a volleyball beach scene starring Donald Duck and Daisy. Nearby, a topiary Pluto will frolic with topiary sand crabs while colorful Stitch from “Lilo and Stitch” keeps watch from a lifeguard stand.
Other new festival fun in store includes:

• Peter Pan’s Neverland Garden, a children’s area, will open along Imagination Walkway from Future World to World Showcase. The pirate ship-themed garden will feature whimsical topiaries of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell and Tic Toc Croc, as well as a shaded play structure.

• The islands of World Showcase Lagoon will sprout gigantic, multi-hued topiary flowers.

• Sweeping Future World flower beds planted on the shores of East and West Lakes will take the shape of nautical flags representing letters (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.) that spell a message to be decoded by guests.

• The zany Three Caballeros — Donald Duck, parrot Jose Carioca and Panchito, the Mexican charro rooster — will come to life as topiaries to celebrate their new Epcot show, “Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros” in the Mexico pavilion. Other beloved Disney characters like Lady and the Tramp and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will make topiary appearances for perfect photo ops in the park.

In all, there will be up to 70 topiaries — plus 30 million blooms, artfully designed floral beds, expertly crafted bonsai trees and lush rose gardens — gracing the 300 acres of Future World and World Showcase. And Minnie’s Magnificent Butterfly Garden returns with hundreds of butterflies in a walk-through screened enclosure featuring a live exhibit showing how caterpillars form a chrysalis and emerge as butterflies.

To keep flowers and plants at their peak, Disney’s horticultural team will plant two crop rotations during the fest, allowing for a more brilliant floral display for the festival’s duration, says Disney horticultural manager Eric Darden.

Beyond the dazzling displays of blooms, the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is known by gardening aficionados for its celebrity guest speakers, hands-on seminars and innovative planting demonstrations and exhibits such as a new Florida-style outdoor living display.

Each evening, Flower Power concerts will rock the park with live entertainment from top acts of the 1960s and ’70s. Featured acts will include The Guess Who, Davy Jones, Jose Feliciano, Petula Clark, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and other crowd pleasers.

More festival highlights include:

• The Festival Center, where guests can find program guides and festival merchandise, attend speaker presentations and demonstrations and ask gardening questions of the experts.

• Themed weekend events such as I Dig Bugs, Art in the Garden, Mother’s Day and Doll and Teddy Bear weekends. More Details

• The popular Great American Gardeners series featuring gardening celebrities and authors from across the country. More Details

• The family-oriented Growing Future Gardeners area, complete with colorful (and tasty) planting ideas for kids and parents.

• A Lift and Sniff Fragrance Garden at the France pavilion showcasing flowers and plants used to create several Guerlain perfumes.

• Disney Gardening at Home presentations during which Disney horticulturists share tips and secrets for at-home gardening.

• Kids’ activities, including the new Peter Pan’s Neverland Garden, Pluto’s Play Zone with climber, Disney character meet-and-greets and daily ladybug releases.

More information about the 15th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is available by calling 407-W-DISNEY (934-7639) or by visiting www.disneyworld.com/flower. The festival is included in regular Epcot admission.

Date(s):
2008 Mar: 19-31
2008 Apr: 1-30
2008 May: 1-31
2008 Jun: 1

Location: Disney

Venue: Epcot

Contact Phone: 407-824-4321 or 407-934-7639

Time Info: Regular Park Hours - Call for Details

Price Info: Regular - $71.00 (ages 10 & up), $60.00 (ages 3-9); Florida Residents - $63.90 (ages 10 & up), $54.00 (ages 3-9)

The new Shuttle Launch Experience is an incredible journey of launching into space and orbiting Earth aboard the Space Shuttle. Guest “crew members” strap in for this all-too-real simulation, which immerses visitors in the sights, sounds and feelings of a Space Shuttle launch, designed under the guidance of NASA and veteran Space Shuttle astronauts. The launch experience in the one-of-a-kind custom-designed crew cabin culminates with a breath-taking view of Earth from space.

The journey begins as crew members enter the Shuttle Launch Simulation Facility, an ominous structure architecturally consistent with Space Shuttle facilities at Kennedy Space Center. As crew members ascend along the gantry, astronaut testimonials set the stage for what is to come.

Entering the heart of Space Shuttle operations for the pre-launch briefing, crew members are guided by veteran Space Shuttle Commander Charlie Bolden as he takes them step-by-step through the launch sequence. Passengers then enter the crew cabin in the Space Shuttle’s payload bay and strap in for launch.

For the next five minutes, the cabin’s 44 passengers see, feel and live the powerful journey to 17,500 mph. The payload bay doors open, to reveal a breathtaking view of Earth seldom seen in the first person. After this experience, visitors will never view a launch in the same way.

The culmination of three years of development by veteran Space Shuttle astronauts, renowned attraction experts and a design team under the guidance of NASA, Shuttle Launch Experience sends visitors through a simulation of launching into Earth’s orbit from Kennedy Space Center , the birthplace of American space exploration, minutes from Orlando .

Through sophisticated motion technology, special effects seats and high fidelity presentations, the unique experience immerses visitors in the sensations of launching into space - going fully vertical in the process.
Date(s):
2008 Mar: 5-31
2008 Apr: 1-30
2008 May: 1-31
2008 Jun: 1-30
2008 Jul: 1-31
2008 Aug: 1-31
2008 Sep: 1-30
2008 Oct: 1-31
2008 Nov: 1-30
2008 Dec: 1-31

Location: Cape Canaveral

Venue: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Contact Email: kscinfo@dncinc.com

Contact Phone: 321-449-4444

Time Info: 9:00am - 6:00pm (Closed Christmas and Certain Launch Days)

Price Info: $38.00 (adults), $28.00 (ages 3-11); Astronaut Hall of Fame ONLY - $17.00 (adults), $13.00 (ages 3-11)

Titanic - The Experience, the world-famous exhibition, is coming to Orlando Science Center, opening Saturday, December 15th, 2007 for an extended stay through 2008.

Featuring full-scale recreations of the ship’s most famous locales along with historians in period costume portraying the ship’s designers, officers, crew and passengers; Titanic - The Experience will offer a rich interactive examination of the history and science behind the “ship of dreams.” The exhibition will be on display at Orlando Science Center through 2008.
 
“Orlando Science Center sees the potential of using Titanic - Experience as an engaging platform from which to promote education opportunities, including the science behind ocean exploration,” said Dr. Brian Tonner, president and CEO of Orlando Science Center. “The Science Center is also examining the interactive and theatrical nature of Titanic as a template for future programming. It is a tremendous opportunity to have this exhibition join us at this time.”

The Science Center is working closely with G. Michael Harris, the President of Titanic - The Experience, and his team to adapt their original content for its audience. In addition to presenting the historical elements of the exhibition, plans are being developed to further emphasize sections on ocean exploration. “We are excited to be working with Brian and his team to bring a new and redesigned Titanic experience to Orlando Science Center. This partnership also gives the opportunity to demonstrate the science behind Titanic and deep sea exploration,” said Harris.

Born in Clearwater, Florida, Harris is the son of acclaimed documentary filmmaker and explorer, D. Michael Harris, who led the first three expeditions in search of Titanic during the early 1980’s. Harris himself has spent the last 25 years cultivating his research, knowledge and exploration of Titanic. He led the largest expedition to the wreck site to date, making more than 8 dives at a depth of over 12,500 feet. In the summer of 2005, Harris led a return expedition with his 13 year-old son, Sebastian, who set the Guinness World Record as the Youngest Person to Dive to Titanic. Another dive is planned for Summer 2008. Discussions are underway regarding potential Science Center programming around that upcoming mission.

A native Floridian, Michael brings a valuable local perspective to Titanic,” said Tonner. “His family’s relationship with Titanic spans three generations. Michael’s passion has motivated his team to create a very personal experience for each guest and we intend to continue that tradition.”

“People continue to be fascinated by Titanic, but the real story is the people,” said Harris. “That’s why I continue to share this journey with my family, and now relish the opportunity to share it with others”.

Titanic: The Experience will be a partnership between Orlando Science Center and Harris’s WLM, Inc., parent company of Titanic: The Experience. There will be an added charge for the exhibition, which will also include access to the Science Center’s exhibits and giant screen films. Adults will pay $23.00 and children, ages 3 to 11, will pay $18.00. Science Center members will pay a significantly reduced rate of $7.00 and $5.00 respectively.

 For more information visit www.titanictheexperience.com

 For more information visit www.osc.org
Date(s):
2008 Feb: 4-29
2008 Mar: 1-31
2008 Apr: 1-30
2008 May: 1-31
2008 Jun: 1-30
2008 Jul: 1-31
2008 Aug: 1-31
2008 Sep: 1-30
2008 Oct: 1-31
2008 Nov: 1-30
2008 Dec: 1-31

Location: Orlando

Venue: Orlando Science Center

Contact Phone: 407-514-2000

Time Info: Fri-Sat, 10:00am-9:00pm; Sun-Thu, 10:00am-6:00pm

Price Info: $23.00 (general), $21.00 (students & seniors), $18.00 (ages 3-11) - Includes Admission to OSC Exhibits & Films

Exotic bird owners and their fine-feathered friends flock to the Eola Sunday Market, on the first Sunday of each month, for Parrots in the Park. Parrots in the Park is a parrot community support group that promotes responsible bird ownership and bird socialization. While we are primarily parrots, we have all types of birds including budgies and finches so come on out! The get-togethers typically run from 11:00am until 2:00pm.

This is a great opportunity for bird owners to meet, mingle and discuss their shared interests. It’s also a great opportunity for anyone who loves birds to get an up-close look at some of the most beautiful, intriguing and magnificent creatures on Earth.

Currently we meet once a month, generally on the first Sunday at Lake Eola Park in Orlanfo Fl. We meet in the Southwest corner of the park close to the corner of E. Central Blvd. and S. Osceola Ave. There is a parking garage almost on the corner on Osceola that offers all day parking for $2.00. The date is subject to change, so please check the calendar prior to coming out.

 For more information visit www.parrotsinthepark.com

Date(s):
2008 Feb: 3
2008 Mar: 2
2008 Apr: 6
2008 May: 4
2008 Jun: 1
2008 Jul: 6
2008 Aug: 3
2008 Sep: 7
2008 Oct: 5
2008 Nov: 2
2008 Dec: 7

Location: Downtown Orlando

Venue: Lake Eola Park

Contact Email: beaktwobeak@aol.com

Contact Phone: 407-325-7835

Time Info: 11:00am - 2:00pm

Price Info: Free

Blue Man Group, the wildly successful live entertainment experience, now performing at Universal CityWalk.

Blue Man Group - which occupies the state-of-the-art Sharp AQUOS Theatre - adds an entirely new dimension in live entertainment for Universal Orlando guests and Florida residents.
The new show combines music, comedy and multimedia theatrics to create the blissful party atmosphere that is a Blue Man Group trademark. The production has been custom-designed for Universal Orlando and includes elements of the group’s existing shows as well as newly created material exclusive to this production.

Blue Man Group performs continuously throughout the week from Universal Orlando Resort’s Sharp AQUOS Theatre. The 1,000-seat theater, complete with a 30-foot-tall Blue Man façade, is accessible from both Universal CityWalk and Universal Studios theme park. The façade’s large size makes Blue Man visible from nearly everywhere in CityWalk, adding to the distinct variety offered by the already established hotels, restaurants, clubs, theaters, shops, and theme parks.

“We are thrilled to offer this exciting new show to our guests,” said Bill Davis, President and Chief Operating Officer for Universal Orlando Resort. “Blue Man Group is a natural partner for us and complements the incredible offerings already in place at Universal Orlando Resort.”

“Because Universal Orlando is known for its cool, stimulating experiences, we feel it’s the perfect place for a Blue Man show,” said Blue Man Group Co-founder Chris Wink.

The Blue Man Group show is a separately ticketed event with tickets starting at $59.00 for adults and $49.00 for children ages 3-9, combination theme park admission and show tickets from $112.00 for adults and $101.00 for children. For more information or to purchase tickets, guests may call the Universal ticket line at 888-340-5476 or visit www.universalorlando.com.

Contact the Universal ticket line at 1-888-340-5476 or visit www.universalorlando.com for more information.

Date(s):
2008 Jan: 17-31
2008 Feb: 1-29
2008 Mar: 1-31
2008 Apr: 1-30
2008 May: 1-31
2008 Jun: 1-30
2008 Jul: 1-31
2008 Aug: 1-31
2008 Sep: 1-30
2008 Oct: 1-31
2008 Nov: 1-30
2008 Dec: 1-31

Location: Universal Orlando® Resort

Venue: Sharp AQUOS Theater

Contact Phone: 1-888-340-5476

Time Info: Afternoon Show & Evening Show

Price Info: $59.00-$69.00 (adult), $49.00-$59.00 (ages 3-9)

Orlando airport, now ranked as the 11th busiest in the nation and 21’st globally, is addressing the long security queues which have become all too common.

In the West hall, three security lanes are being added to the fifteen currently in use. In the East hall, there will be between four to nine lanes opened in addition to the fifteen existing lanes.

In February, over three million travelers came through the airport, an 11% increase over 2007. It was the third consecutive month as well as the first time that this airport recorded this level of consistent passenger traffic.

Other security measures include the expansion of the canine unit as well as additional behavior specialists and “bomb appraisal experts” who are able to assess suspicious luggage.

Viva La Música Hispanic Culture & Music Festival
Latin flavor sizzles with twice the entertainment and double the parks during Viva La Música at SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The concert series features live performances from award-winning Latin artists, delicious Hispanic food and the fiery flair of Hispanic heritage.

Guests can enjoy a red-hot lineup every weekend in March including Saturdays at SeaWorld on April 19th and 26th and May 3rd and 10th, and Sundays at Busch Gardens, April 20th and 27th and May 4th and 11th, 2008. Viva La Música is included with each park’s daily admission.

ORLANDO — As lawmakers in Tallahassee continued to debate commuter rail, LYNX and Disney teamed up with another way to get drivers off of Central Florida’s congested roads.

A multi-million dollar agreement between the two companies was signed Thursday.

The Florida Department of Transportation and Walt Disney World are putting up nearly $5 million in grants to the transportation agency, and Disney is adding another $1.25 million on top of that to match a separate grant.

The money will be used to add new routes.

“At Disney, we travel by train, submarine, space ship, teacup and even elephant. And those are just fine when you live in a fantasy land. But when it comes to solving real life transportation issues in an area as large as Central Florida, we’re happy to have such as LYNX and FDOT involved,” said Mark Rucker, a vice president for Walt Disney World.

Universal Studios is about to build a new signature ride: a high-tech roller coaster full of lights, music, loops, twists and turns — and a quick trip over the heads of people walking through the nearby CityWalk entertainment district.

The Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit is planned to be big, bright and brash enough to become the new visual symbol for the theme park when the coaster opens in about a year. Universal Orlando officials said Tuesday that it also will feature enough digital technology to appeal directly to what they refer to as the “YouTube culture.”

Universal Orlando officials said the coaster will rise 167 feet into the air and feature numerous loops and corkscrew turns. Rockit — the first big, outdoor thrill ride for Universal Studios — is set to open in spring 2009.

It will provide another link in Universal Orlando’s recent chain of big new attractions. An overhauled version of an old ride, renamed Disaster!, opened in January. The Simpsons Ride, a 3-D fantasy-simulation ride replacing the old Back to the Future, is set to open in a few weeks. And several still-undisclosed attractions are to open together in late 2009 as the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in Universal Studios’ sister park, Islands of Adventure.

The flurry of activity follows a dormant period of nearly three years during which Universal offered no big new rides.

Although it will be the tallest coaster in Central Florida and one of the fastest in the state, the Rockit will be nowhere near the tallest or fastest in the amusement-park business. But like the Incredible Hulk in Islands of Adventure and several other Florida coasters, it aims to use innovation and novelty to make up for any lack of record-setting height or speed.

“We like to go for the best,” said Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Parks & Resorts’ creative division — though Universal would not comment on the project’s cost.

Rockit will offer high-energy video displays in the waiting line; high-intensity, color-changing LED lighting and digital audio and video effects during the ride; and various engineering innovations.
‘A whole new level’

And unlike any of the other big roller coasters in Central Florida, Rockit will loom over its park’s entrance and beyond. Universal plans to squeeze its track between the Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast ride and the Sharp Aquos Theatre, which houses the Blue Man Group show. From there the track would run along the boundary between Universal Studios and Universal’s sound stages, then rise over the fence to twist over the sidewalks of CityWalk, outside the theme park — a brightly lit, scream-filled advertisement for the park.

“We like to look at this as taking the thrill ride to a whole new level, both physically and figuratively,” Woodbury said. “It’s iconographic in its position. It’s going to do some things no ride has done before. And it combines entry into the digital age with the ability to customize and personalize the ride for each rider.”

That particular digital-age feature will allow riders to select their own music and create a music video of the ride. Afterward, a rider could download the video and use it on personal Web pages or video-sharing sites.

But the ride — which Universal officials had referred to for months by the code name “Project Rumble” — still draws principally on the basic thrills of a roller coaster: speed, height, loops, corkscrews, twists, turns and drops. Universal officials said Rockit would have several signature moves and a record-breaking loop, though they would not elaborate. The artist’s rendering that they released shows the track climbing a 167-foot-tall peak, then corkscrewing downward, twisting eight times.
‘It’s a natural for us’

The ride’s Internet-based theme digresses a bit from Universal Studios’ original theme, which was all about “riding” the movies. But Universal officials insisted that the coaster will justify the inclusion of the word “Hollywood” in its name — a term also adopted earlier this year by Walt Disney World when it renamed its rival movie-studio theme park.

“We’ve always fancied ourselves as embedded into the Hollywood culture with Universal. It’s part of our essence. It’s a natural for us,” Woodbury said. “The name is very specific to the attributes of the ride. It combines creating your own movie, to customize it; that’s the ‘rip’ part. You can download it to your personal site. And you ride it, of course. You have the ‘Rockit’ part, which combines the thrill and the music.”

BREVARD COUNTY — Dozens of Brevard County economic leaders gathered Wednesday to discuss closing the so-called “Space Gap,” and saving thousands of jobs when the shuttle program ends in 2010.

Approximately 3,500 high-tech jobs are on the chopping block surrounding the soon to be non-existent orbiter program.

The end of the shuttle program also begins a nearly five year gap of the U.S.’s inability to put astronauts in space on its own.

The Space Coast Economic Development Commission has already successfully saved some jobs, but said the group needs to be aggressive to get even more.

“It was highly competitive, highly sought after. Those other states didn’t sit around and want to give away this opportunity, cause that’s the thin edge of the wedge. And once you bring that assembly work in here, there’s other work that can be tied to it,” said Lynda Weatherman from the Space Coast Economic Development Commission.

Leaders are working to get private companies to work out of the Kennedy Space Center, bringing jobs for at-risk space program workers.