New budget hotels for Universal Orlando

UNIVERSAL Orlando has revealed plans for two new budget resort hotels as well as a new Fast & Furious attraction opening in Spring 2018.  The hotels will be located close to the three theme parks and Universal CityWalk's dining and entertainment district. Amenities include a combined three pools, two food courts, coffee bars, poolside bars, fitness rooms and car rental facilities.

The developments will be the destination's seventh and eighth hotels and will bring the total number of rooms up to 9,000 when combined with Universal's 600-room Aventura Hotel, opening in August 2018.

This spring will also see the opening of the Fast & Furious - Supercharged attraction at Universal Orlando.

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Universal Eruption

VOLCANO Bay, Universal Orlando’s third theme park, opened on May 25. The South Pacific-themed park welcomed its first guests to much fanfare and a ceremony featuring performances by an array of Maori water dancers and ‘Haka’ war dancers.

Spanning 25 acres Volcano Bay is being billed as the ‘next-level’ water theme park and combines storytelling and immersive guest experiences with innovative technology.

It features more than 30 experiences including 18 separate attractions such as a multi-directional wave pool with sandy beaches, a peaceful winding river, twisting multi-rider raft rides, speeding body slides that drop from the top of the volcano into the waters below and more.

Among its many features are the ability for guests to enjoy many 'TapTu Play' experiences throughout the park - like controlling streams of water spurting from whales in Tot Tiki Reef, shooting water cannons at guests snaking down Kopiko Wai Winding River or illuminating images in the volcano’s hidden caves. Guests can make purchases throughout the entire park with their TapuTapu wearable, eliminating the need to carry cash, credit cards or a wallet throughout the park.

Over the last seven years, 25 new experiences – entire themed areas, attractions, restaurants, and hotels – have been added across #Universal #Orlando and the theme park now has 5,600 rooms across its five (soon to be six) on-site hotels.

universalorlando.com

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New in Orlando

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT – At Universal's Islands of Adventure "Skull Island: Reign of Kong" will honour one of the most monumental figures in movie history, King Kong. Guests will board off-road vehicles and explore ancient temple structures while encountering hostile natives and fending off unspeakable terrors. 

WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT – Epcot guests can cool off in the kingdom of Arendelle when the "Frozen Ever After" attraction opens in the Norway Pavilion. The family adventure set in the magical world of "Frozen" will feature the popular story of the royal sisters, hit songs, and new technology for an icy trek.

 

SEAWORLD ORLANDO – Thrill-seekers have a new challenge: "#Mako," a 200-foot-tall coaster. Named for one of the ocean's fastest known sharks, it will be Orlando's tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster, reaching speeds of 73 mph along 4,760 feet of track.

LEGOLAND FLORIDA RESORT – As Central #Florida heats up, guests can cool off at Creative Cove at LEGOLAND Water Park, where young visitors can build and race their own LEGO boats. 

www.VisitOrlando.com

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Florida leads world’s top 10 attractions league

ONLINE ticket specialist for attractions around the world, AttractionTix.co.uk, rates Universal Studios in Orlando as the planet’s most popular attraction.

Disneyland Paris has jumped to the second most popular attraction in the world, and two English attractions – the Tower of London and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! London – come in at seventh and ninth.

Top 10 global attractions of 2015:

1. Universal Studios – Orlando, Florida

2. Disneyland Paris – France

3. Walt Disney World Resort – Orlando

4. Siam Park – Tenerife

5. Discovery Cove – Orlando

6. PortAventura – Salou, Spain

7. Tower of London, England

8. Kennedy Space Centre – Merritt Island, Florida

9. Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! London, England

10. Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida

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Metal detectors go up at the Magic Kingdom

ALL three major #Orlando #themeparks have installed metal detectors at their entry gates, the Orlando Sentinel reports. 

Walt Disney World would not say how long its metal detectors would be in place. SeaWorld said it had installed the devices as part of improved security for the holidays. Universal Orlando said it was testing them as guests approach the theme parks.

Security in general has been a major concern following the recent terrorist murders attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. At #Disney, last weekend a man was arrested by police officers who said he had attempted to take a gun into the Magic Kingdom.

Disney World is also discontinuing the sale of toy guns and banning people 14 and older from wearing costumes – even at Halloween parties. More deputies and security guards have been visible at the resort, and guard dogs have been seen in key areas. 

Disneyland in California, too, will get the devices.

‘We continually review our comprehensive approach to security and are implementing additional security measures as appropriate,’ Disney said in a statement.

Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said in an e-mail: ‘We want our guests to feel safe when they come here. We've long used metal detection for special events, such as Halloween Horror Nights. This test is a natural progression for us as we study best practices for security in today's world.’ 

SeaWorld said in an e-mail it would be ‘enhancing security measures for the busy holiday season, including increased security presence both inside and outside the parks’.
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Universal to open King Kong attraction

A LARGE-SCALE King Kong attraction has been announced for Universal Orlando Resort. Skull Island: Reign of Kong will open next summer at the Islands of Adventure park.

The attraction is described by Universal as ‘an intense, all-new adventure brought to life in a dramatically-themed environment’.

Skull Island: Reign of Kong will see guests board a wagon before being transported around an area immersed in the story of the gigantic ape: hostile natives, a perilous jungle ruled by prehistoric creatures, an underworld of caves, and Kong himself.

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Picture Credit: King Kong by Beata Bilska-Zaleska - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons, "UniversalOrlandoResort" by own work - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons