Its that time of year again and not a moment too soon – Universal’s Mardi Gras 2011 at Universal Studios is sure to be one of their best line-ups yet. Expect to see several Global Team members attending Mardi Gras this year. With acts such as  Franki Valli to Lynard Skynyrd to NE-YO – there is sure to be at least one show that interests you.

Getting to the show early is important  if you expect to be near the stage. While some fans line up hours beforehand, 90 minutes before showtime should be good enough to get close enough to the Music Plaza stage. Performances take place in the shadow of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Roller Coaster and it can get tight so you should decide if seeing the performers up-close is that important. There are large screens towards the back of the courtyard which helps to entertain fans who might want to make a quick exit once the performance is over. Most of the food/drink stands are also on the fringe or at the back of the courtyard so it can be convenient to stand back a little.

Just one caution for those attending Universals Mardi Gras, while not an absolute, the performances are usually very good and suitable for fans of all ages. I did see Kid Rock a few years back and all I can say is that his language wouldn’t have been put up with a few miles down I-4 in Disney World.

The complete line-up:

• Feb. 12: Frankie Valli & the Four Season
• Feb. 19: The B-52s
• Feb. 20 (Sunday): KC & the Sunshine Band
• Feb. 26: Pitbull
• March 5: Lynyrd Skynyrd
• March 12: Foreigner
• March 18 (Friday): Neon Trees
• March 19: The Roots
• March 25 (Friday): OneRepublic
• March 26: Blake Shelton
• April 1 (Friday): Sean Kingston
• April 2: Ne-Yo
• April 9: Lifehouse
• April 16: The Beach Boys
• April 23: Thirty Seconds to Mars

If you’re a Global guest and at one of the shows, please send us a picture – we would love to feature you on our website!

For more information and up to date show times, please visit the Universal Orlando Mardi Gras 2011 website.

Kennedy Space Center – just a quick trip to the east coast

The space program never ceases to amaze me. Living in Central Florida, you forget sometimes that not everyone can just walk outside and see the fire from a rocket or space shuttle from their backyard on a clear day or even better, during a night launch.

As fun and exciting as that may be, actually visiting the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) gives you a wonderful experience of the history of space travel. Just under an hour away from the Kissimmee/Orlando area, this is a Florida attraction that shouldn’t be overlooked. I was reminded of this on my trip to KSC last week.

Upon arrival, we entered the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex which has more of a small theme park feel than a place where rocket scientists do their thing; I appreciated this option for the vacationer that wants to do more than the big theme parks. It definitely has automatic appeal to all ages. There are real NASA rockets, exhibits that show the history of the space program bringing you to where it is today, and an IMAX film that is full of great information and fun to watch.

Want a little bit of adventure? A fun thing to try is the Shuttle Launch Experience, which is a simulation ride that puts you aboard a space shuttle and it launches you into space where you orbit the Earth. All of your senses will feel, hear and see what it could be like during an actual launch. Pretty cool thing to do. My 10 year old absolutely loved this and it was the highlight of her day!

There is also a bus tour that will take you onto the secured part of the property where the Space Center is located. There is an observation tower that gives you a 360 degree view over several launch sites where the shuttles take off. It also makes a stop a stop at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Here you will find artifacts (including a REAL moon rock), photos, films, interactive exhibits, and the most powerful rocket ever launched by the United State, the Saturn V.

The last stop of the day for us was the gift shop, which I couldn’t not begin to imagine going to the KSC and not have Astronaut Ice Cream. It’s a staple item that you just have to buy…for where else would you expect such a thing? KSC is open daily from 9am-6pm and is located SR 405, Kennedy Space Center, FL, 32899. For tickets and park specials, please visit www.kennedyspacecenter.com .

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In the late 1940’s the beginning of what is now Gatorland began being a wildlife exhibit with gators and snakes and today it still has that Florida feel, yet it’s not a little exhibit, but a true attraction with several shows featuring gators and other reptiles.

Entering into the famous Gator mouth isn’t the same as it was years ago.  Due to a fire a few years back, the mouth is still there, but it is no longer the main entrance.  Still, it’s one of those photo opportunities you don’t want to miss!

Once entering the park, you walk into a swamp filled with gators.  And these aren’t some tiny little things that you see at most theme parks.  These reptiles are HUGE!  Very impressive and very exciting.

Gatorland: Big GATORS!

The most famous of the Gatorland shows would have to be the gator wrestling.  This is an arena where a Gator Wrangler goes in and pulls out a gator from a moat like water pit around a concrete island filled with sand.  The Wrangler then gets on top of the gator, and as fun as it is to watch, at this time is a great lesson about the alligators.  At the end of the show, they take out a gator with its mouth taped shut for a photo opportunity for the general public.  FUN!!  And something you probably won’t find anywhere else.

Another fun show is the Gator Jumparoo Show!! My mouth hung open in awe as some of the largest alligators in the world actually jump four to five feet out of the water to retrieve meat from a trainer’s hand!  Shamu is supposed to do tricks, not gators!!  I love this show, and I love to see the reaction of the crowd as the gators do their thing.

Gatorland has many other great things to see and do, including a kids water park area, petting zoo, bird aviary, an array of different gators from all over the world, including a very special area for a few white alligators.  Rare and very cool to see.

Gatorland: Gator Nuggets

It may be wrong, but I have to say, eating gator bites (yes, real gator tail) should probably make me feel guilty, but I am Florida girl, and I love me some gator!  The Gator Chow has other food on the menu, and overall it’s very reasonable. In fact, tickets are as low as $22.99 per adult and $14.99 per child.  Their website has a coupon you can download for $2.50 off per person.  There is a special Florida resident rate until the end of the year for $9.99 per person and if you are in the military, your ticket is free.

Tara from Global at Gatorland with a little baby gator

The Forbidden Journey combines animatronics and motion simulation (comparable to Soarin’ at Disney’s Epcot) perfectly. Riding  ”enchanted benches”, you follow Harry and Ron through a Quidditch match while dodging Dementors, spitting Spiders and Hargrids misbehaving dragon. This ‘robocoaster’  swings you through several dome projections and real sets that look straight out of the movies. It will take a few rides for you to notice everything and the projections do tend to blur a bit due to the speed at which you are moving but all in all, the Forbidden Journey is the next step in ride technology.

Look for a more detailed review coming soon but I should mention that if you feel queasy on motion simulation rides, the Forbidden Journey might not be for you. Also, even if you have no intention of riding, the queue is amazing and worthy of a walkthrough. The talking portraits are very well done along with the holograms of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Professor Dumbledoor.

For fans of the books/movies, or even casual fans like myself, the Forbidden Journey is a ‘must experience’ attraction while in Orlando. I rate rides on if I would stand in line for 60 minutes to ride it a second time. I just completed my 4th ride this past weekend.

Link to Universals video

A few weeks ago, Travis (Global I.T. specialist) and I set off to visit Hard Knocks Orlando, a urban themed indoor laser tag (sort of and I’ll get to that) gaming facility. Located just a few minutes from University of Central Florida, it’s a 30-40 minute drive from most of our resorts. After all is said and done, it’s well worth the drive and the money. This isn’t your father’s laser tag!

Once we arrived , we joined a group of six other friends and kept the same 4 man teams throughout the two hour session. After all, we had to keep score for bragging rights! Who won? Keep reading.

So how is Hard Knocks NOT like your ‘father’s laser tag’? Simple, you use real (looking) guns and run around in realistic themed environments completing several team based missions. The ‘weapons’ are replica metal electronic devices with a similar weight and feel of the real thing. Ammo is limited and the quantity of available ammo is tied to the type of gun your using at the time. You have to remember to ‘reload’ by hitting a button when your ammo count is low. Then you must wait a few LONG seconds for the gun to become live again as it completes the reload sequence. All in all, very realistic. Also, only ‘killing’ shots made to your opponents sensors (three in total) will cost them a life. Once all your available lives are gone, your dead and have to take the walk of shame back to the staging area. Remember, no talking to your teammates on the way out – dead man tell no tales. Pirate rules!

I haven’t played laser tag for over a decade and honestly never got into it. Too much of people running up to you and rapidly pulling the trigger in your general direction. Not very realistic! Hard Knocks is much different, teams must work together to advance (and stay alive) or they won’t last long. Strategy actually counts for something at Hard Knocks and the combinations of realistic feeling weapons and the fast pace of game play (missions rarely last over ten minutes) makes for a quick and fun team building experience for all involved. The two available formats (Warehouse and Office Building) are played back to back with over 30 missions or scenarios to choose from.

If I had to list one thing that makes Hard Knocks worth your time, it’s the realism. The environments and weapons are so realistic that local SWAT teams practice in their facilities. With over 30,000 square feet of air conditioned  space available, it’s a great place for team building, birthday parties, pickup games or any sort of group team experience. You’ll also get a great workout! Even though the AC is blasting, running (actually running isn’t allowed – let’s call it ‘aggressive walking’) around for two hours gets the blood moving. I had a hard time climbing stairs for three days after Hard Knocks!

For more information on Hard Knocks Orlando, including prices, requirements and training videos – visit Hard Knocks Orlando and Hard Knock Training Videos for details on the rules of game play. Your Regulator “Athena” will walk you though it.

So who won? Well the fact that this blog post exists should give you some idea. Travis and I were on the winning team with yours truly winning the final mission – “The Highlander”. As I walked out of the Office arena, our Regulator gave me a thumbs up and said, “Congratulations, your the Highlander!”. I can think of no higher compliment.

If you’re traveling to Orlando, make sure you chceck out www.globalresorthomes.com for your lodging needs.

A bit of full disclosure: I am in the process of getting a hot-air balloon pilots license so my views are slightly skewed.

I wouldn’t call the ride ‘thrilling’ (see disclosure above) but it’s certainly interesting. While the roof of Bongos isn’t the most fascinating view to be had, you do get good picture opportunities of the Marketplace (Rainforest Cafe, etc.) and the  surrounding lake. I haven’t had the opportunity to ride the balloon at night but people I’ve asked say it’s a little more interesting looking down at the lights. If you time it right, you can even see the fireworks from Epcot and the Magic Kingdom (far away) when they launch.

The only real tip for this ride is to be among the first to board the 30 person gondola. The gondola is surrounded by netting and while you can fit a camera lens through the holes, the balloon does not really spin. The best views seem to be had by those who get on first and stand facing the Marketplace. If you’re going up while Epcot’s fireworks are going off, boarding around the middle of the pack should afford the best view in the general direction of the Epcot ball – a.k.a. Space Ship Earth.

The ride is suitable for all ages 3 and up ($16 per adult – $10 per child 3-9) and lasts 10-15 minutes in total. It’s a generally sedate ride (landing can be a little bumpy) that might bore your average teenager looking to ride something more thrilling. All in all, it’s a good family experience to be had for those so inclined.

P.S. If your looking for a balloon ride with a little more adventure, I recommend Orlando Balloon Adventures. You might even see me out there on the weekends helping out.

Happy flying!

All I can say is WOW.  The entrance to the ride is pretty cool, literally, as much of it is indoors and nicely air conditioned.  There are aquariums along the route for viewing – nice for taking your mind off the long wait.  Fortunately for us, the wait was only 10 minutes.

You enter the ride and sit in a seat, very similar to Kraken (SeaWorld’s other roller coaster).  However, before you take off, the seat tilts forward so you are parallel to the ground.  The ride is called Manta because it mimics a manta swimming and gliding through the water.  However, this ride is a bit extreme – defiantly not for people who do not like roller coasters.  The g-force is pretty intense, especially the second drop where you roll through a full frontal loop – very extreme.  There are many twists, rolls and loops.  One part that is especially fun is where you drop down towards the water, nearly skimming it with your body.  We went on the ride 3 times, once in the front, once in the middle and once in the back.  The front has the best view while the back has the most g-force.

Huge kudos to SeaWorld as this is an awesome ride.  If you’re traveling to Orlando, make sure you check out.www.globalresorthomes.com for your lodging needs.

For Global guests, it is true, that good things are still available to those who wait.  But don’t wait too long,  these deals are for a limited time only.

I’ve been to SeaWorld in the past, and have always loved this theme park.  I love the interactive aspect of SeaWorld.  The opportunity to feed dolphins and stingrays.   Children and adults alike experience such a thrill having  a hands-on-approach with nature.   The shows at SeaWorld are a combination of Broadway-meets-Cirque de Soliel–meets-Animal Kingdom.  We have always been enthralled by the acrobatic skills of the performers, as they dive from platforms high above our heads, and by dolphins that jump, flip, and spin to music,  while watching beautiful tropical birds in harmonious synchronized flight  all at the command of their trainers.

The Spooktacular event was just as enthralling .  The park was filled with children dressed as pirates,  superheros,  princesses, I even saw one child dressed as a cloud with rain!! The performers were a colorful array of customed mermaids,  sea fairies, octopuses , giant fish, and other sea creatures.  The children picked up candy bags at the park and could trick-or-treat at designated locations.  My 3 and 4 year old daughters were in complete awe with all the music and dancing, and of course, the unlimited candy.  My 10 and 12 year old, had just as much fun, filling their bags with candy and joining in the dances with the cast members.  At the end of the day,  we decided, that the SeaWorld Spooktacular would be part of our family’s Halloween tradition. 

For more information visit Seaworld’s Spooktacular Halloween page!