The story lines are set between the third and fourth movies but the big differences from the old Star Tours ride are firstly it is in 3D and secondly there are multiple destinations.

When you board the Starspeeder 1000 spacecraft you will not know which of the six destinations you are bound for; Naboo, a Death Star, Tattooine, Coruscant, Kashyyyk or Hoth.

In total there are 54 different story combinations involving multiple planets so you can take the ride many times and experience a different story each time. It sounds awesome!!

The original pilot is an AC-38 droid called Ace but owning to a mishap, the Starspeeder is eventually piloted by C-3PO (aided by R2-D2), again voiced by Anthony Daniels who has appeared in every Star Wars film to date.

Along the way you may encounter both friends and foes including a galactic bounty hunter who is after you, Darth Vader, legions of Imperial Stormtroopers, Yoda, Admiral Ackbar, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and Boba Fett. Amongst the story lines you may join in a podrace on Tattooine, meet Wookiees in the forests of Kashyyyk, race through a partially completed Death Star, visit Coruscant the busiest planet in the Universe, battle blizzards and AT-ATs on snow covered Hoth or dive underwater on Naboo.

As part of the run up to the official opening, Disney have been promoting the new ride at various malls in Florida so you will be able to pick up full details while shopping. (to keep Mum Happy!!)

There is an extra plus factor as you can also print out a personalised Star Tours Galactic Passport to take with you and get stamped as you leave the ride, just visit startourspassport.com and choose from four different characters; a rebel pilot, a pod racer, a Jedi or a princess. Upload your own photo and print out your passport.

It all seems Out of this World so Beam yourselves along to Holllywood Studios & enjoy the ride.

Happy Trekking

Mary & Larry

Theme parks are made to make you scream and shout. Any person in the world would love the opportunity to visit this amazing place.

Walt Disney World is one of the most outstanding places ever.  It is filled with spine-tingling rollercoaster’s and if you don’t like big rides, don’t worry there are smaller ones too.

Theme parks are probably the main attraction of Florida as Disney and Universal are probably the most famous ever. Because of this it has high ratings. It has some spectacular rides that go extremely fast and some that bend and bend until you’re so dizzy you want to go on again, but the highest one of them all is Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket. You go up 180 degrease and just drops you helplessly from the sky and you plummet around a bendy, loopy track, you even get to listen to music whilst going around. The Mummy is another great ride at Universal as it was one of the first there. It takes you on a journey into a Mummies Sarcophagus and then into a dark room where it throws you around. There are many amazing rides at Universal and these two are the scariest there but that is for you to decide!!!

Disney has some fantastic rides like Tower of Terror and Rocking Rollercoaster and many more. But it is not just the rides that are awesome but also it is the people and the sights. Disney has some amazing things to see and people to meet. You can meet your favourite Disney characters and you can have a photo with them. Disney rides are made for people big and small, thin and wide so you can ride no matter what size you are.

Another amazing attraction is Air boating. You cruise across lakes and lands in the fields but do be careful as a huge alligator could come and eat you but only if you’re a child!!! There are two types of airboat trips one with a guide and one with no guide. The one with the guide is a bigger boat and he takes you slowly around the river. If you are on your own you can go as fast as you want without anyone to stop you.

While you are taking your vacation in one of the many Disney villas, Florida villas, Orlando villas, Florida vacation rentals and villas near Disney that are available to rent, why not visit the theme parks and have a great time on the following wildest rides around.  We can guarantee some spectacular fun !!!

Universal Islands of Adventure - The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.  On this 3D simulation ride you are taken into the world of the comic book hero Spider Man.  The ride has quite a few twists and turns and a fantastic virtual 400 foot freefall experience. As Spider Man swings high above the city, riders will see, hear, and feel the action unfolding around them.

Universal Islands of Adventure – The Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster – on this ride you loop the loop several times.  You need to be at least 54 inches tall to take this hair raising and thrilling ride.  After you have been on it you will see why you need to be able to fit into the seat and harness comfortably.  At take off, you are launched from 0 to 40 mph in two seconds flat. The Incredible Hulk ride has a total of seven inversions and two subterranean trenches during the 2 minute, 15-second ride.   This is one that our children just adore.

Universal Islands of Adventure - Dueling Dragons – this is another ride (in fact there are two rides), where you have to be 54 inches tall to ride.  Dueling Dragons are the world’s first inverted, dueling roller-coasters. Locked in mortal combat (and coming as close as 18″ of each other) each dragon’s 2 minute and 25 second ride includes several inversions, including a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, two corkscrews, and two vertical loops.  My wife went on Fire and then Ice immediately after and came off feeling rather sick.  The boys loved it and wanted to do it again.

Walt Disney world Epcot - Mission Space – is definitely not for the faint hearted.  The ride was designed with help from NASA to simulate what astronauts experience during a launch and spaceflight. Riders can choose between the heavy-duty g-forces of the original Mission: Space or a slightly milder version of this ride.  You are very close to the screen and it can become quite claustrophobic.  To be truthful, I came off feeling quite ill.  However, once again our boys loved it.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom - Expedition Everest – is a roller coaster that takes riders speeding towards the top of Mount Everest.  If the forward motion of the ride is not enough for you, it also goes backwards as well.  There are also a few surprises, including the fearsome Yeti, which lurks in the Himalayan mountain range.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios - Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – is for both roller coaster lovers and fans of Aerosmith.  This fantastic ride takes you from 0 to 60 mph with the force of a supersonic F-14.  There are high speed loops and turns as you travel along the Los Angeles freeway.  The entire ride is all synchronized to a specially recorded Aerosmith soundtrack.  Another ride we all love.

Sea World – Kraken – is always ranked as one of the top ten rides by coaster enthusiasts.  You can see Kraken from all over Sea world as it is so large and high.  It is the tallest, fastest, and only floorless steel roller coaster in the whole of Orlando.

Walt Disney world Epcot - Test Track.  In this ride you can see what it takes to be a crash test dummy.  You enter the car and then go through a series of exercises on the track where you test the brakes, swerve around hair pin bends, test the ABS (Antilock Braking System), and also experience extreme weather conditions from freezing cold to very, very hot, just like the desert.  Toward the end of the ride you career on to a 50 degree banked curves at around 60 miles an hour.

Universal Studios - Men in Black Alien Attack – is based on the smash hit movies “Men in Black”.  The ride provides you with laser guns with which you hunt down deadly aliens through the streets of New York City. If you score enough points you can earn the title of “MIB agent”.  Even if you don’t, its great fun playing against friends and family.

Universal Studios - Revenge of the Mummy – is an indoor rollercoaster that goes both backwards and forwards (mainly forwards).  This frightening ride is set and goes inside a very dark Mummy’s tomb.  There are fireballs, scarab beetles, and even an army of warrior mummies.  A really great ride and very, very fast so hold on to your hats – I lost mine once !!

When I think of Harry Potter—once I push past the death of my favorite character, and the unsatisfactory conclusion—I remember what I fell in love with when I first began the series.  Hogwarts and its many quirks., Hogsmeade, butterbeer, Zonko’s, and Honeyduke’s.  Then there are the dragons and hippogriffs., the Triwizard Tournament,  the Ministry of Magic, Quidditch, the Golden Trio, Draco Malfoy, Sirius Black, Professor Dumbledore and the list could go on, but that is where I usually start. 

I am pleased to say that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter successfully captured all the elements of the series that drew in the fans in the first place, while avoiding all the unpleasantness that popped up starting in book five. 

There was Hogwarts, albeit a bit small, standing in all its glory and containing the enthralling ride “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,”  during which you experience all of the castles familiar characteristics, the Trio, Draco, Dumbledore, the Fat Lady, and a few other characters.  When you first cross into this section of Islands of Adventure, a sign greets you that reads, “Welcome to Hogsmeade.”  And what a welcome it is.  The village is complete with all of our favorite shops; Honeyduke’s, Zonko’s, the Three Broomsticks, and several more.  Even Ollivander’s is represented, successfully transplanted from Diagon Alley (this didn’t really seem to bother anyone, I think we were all just happy to see it).  There are several artful touches scattered around that subtly complete the scene.   

All around are the normal signs and warnings found in amusement parks, but these are all embellished with Ministry of Magic symbols and predicated by phrases such as “A notice from the Department of Magical Games and Sports” or “the Department of Magical Transportation” or “the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.”  The list of Departments goes on, and every time I read one of those names, it brought a smile to my face.    

Two adorable shows, one featuring the infamous Hogwarts Choir complete with toads (funny I missed that in the books) and the other ladies from Beauxbatons and gentlemen from Durmstrang complete the mood, and support the Hogwarts ride and a Triwizard Tournament roller coaster respectively.

There is even a kiddie roller coaster called Flight of the Hippogriff that takes off outside Hagrid’s hut for those who won’t like the loops and dives of the previously mentioned Dragon Challenge Triwizard Tournament coaster (which is a phenomenal coaster, by the way). 

All in all, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is very well done and highlights all of the things that one usually thinks of when Harry Potter is mentioned.  For a slightly disillusioned fan, it was exactly what was needed to bring the magic of Harry roaring back to life!

Written By: Gabriella Bensur

Unfortunately, I did not receive my green-inked letter, and to my utter astonishment and very real disappointment, I have never met anyone who has. 

So when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened and I heard that Universal was planning on building Hogwarts, I decided I would have to settle for the amusement park experience of our favorite magical school.  A visit to the park is considerably shorter than seven years of Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and History of Magic, so I suppose that’s a plus. 

What I was not expecting was Hogwarts to be presented to the hoards of Potter fans as a ride entitled Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

Gee, J.K. Rowling, why didn’t you name one of your seven highly acclaimed books that?  I can’t for the life of me see why. 

Anyway, so Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey;  first you walk through the dungeons, which are pretty artfully done, and then you proceed through a line that meanders about the Herbology greenhouses.  When you finally enter the castle, you find yourself in rooms that incorporate one of the best features of Hogwarts—talking portraits!

The paintings are adorable.  They bring to life several characters that you will surely remember from the books, and the magic starts to come to life.  They are followed by various statues, the entrance to Dumbledore’s office, the Fat Lady, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and several other artful touches that will enchant the true fan and the casual movie watcher alike. 

The Trio makes their appearance before the ride begins of course,  and when you board the ride you are hoisted into the air by one of Hermione’s spells—because nothing is complete without the genius witch’s wandwork!

What then follows is an absolutely ingenious conglomeration of the first four Harry Potter books which includes the Chamber of Secrets, a dragon, Aragog, dementors, Quidditch, and the stunning usage of bubbled screens that truly make you feel like you are flying with Harry himself. 

It was unlike any ride I have ever been on, and it was an absolute thrill.  My sister and I described it as crazy amazing—it was a bit crazy in that neither of us really knew what was going on, but amazing in its effects and ability to bring the series and the grounds of Hogwarts into stunning clarity before the awed visitor. 

So, despite my skepticism, it was a bloody brilliant ride.  It avoided all the elements of the series that I disliked (the entirety of the last three books) and rejoiced in the bright and exciting adventures of Harry in his early years.   Is Hogwarts finally accessible at Universal Orlando? Of course not.  But the Forbidden Journey offers us Muggles a superb taste of the magic that will always be just beyond our reach.

Busch Gardens have now opened the new Sesame Street Safari of Fun. It is more for the little ones, which we believe, is needed as there are limited kiddies rides at a lot of the Parks. The height restrictions imposed at the parks can spoil the family day as the great disappointment for the little ones when they are turned away brings the whole family down.

The music filled area with the African dance tunes keeping everyone’s feet tapping while the kids can enjoy the kid size rides, water fun and lots of surprises waiting!!

Elmo’s Tree House is great climbing fun and Grover’s desert ride has the children all screaming with joy. They have now introduced the Dine with the Characters experience, this added with all of the Bigger rides helps keep all of the family well and truly entertained.

Aquatica’s Omaka Rocka ride has brought lots of comments from the guests at our villa and they are all GOOD!! Evidently, you get the same experience of snowboarding and skateboarding as you speed down the water slides into massive funnels, experiencing weightlessness as you can ride the curves up and down and even go backwards. Everyone can join in and enjoy the ride without being professional, even a Granddad has improved his ”Street Cred” with his family!! which he couldn’t help but mention in our guest book.

Larry & I are certainly looking forward to taking our grandchildren ( he needs some “Brownie Points of late!!) 

Have fun

Mary & larry

The countries the park has are:

Mexico

Norway

China

Germany

Italy

American adventure

Japan

Morocco

France

United Kingdom

Canada

In these little outlet’s children and adults can learn about different foods and cultures that other countries have to offer.

There also something for the kids to do….they can collect stamps while they are walking around the different countries (the world) once they have collected them they can then exchange these for a free poster making it more likely that the will remember more about EPCOT.

Every ride and attraction helps to teach the audience visitors and guest’s something, whether it is about energy and the “pros” and “cons” of all energy sources as seen in Ellen Degenrees “Universe of Energy” ride, or a historical summary of Man’s achievements on Earth as depicted on the “Spaceship Earth” ride, otherwise known as the giant golf ball ride. This ride is customized for the passenger, allowing you to choose your home country via a computer onboard the ride along with an opportunity to select answers from a series of questions and then creating a future world for the passenger based on your responses.

Overall EPCOT is an educational theme park that goes about furthering this objective in entertaining ways. Many rides are supportive on respectable goals such as conservation, respect for our environment and cultural understanding.

The only ride which I can say I did not like very much was, “The Mission Space simulator” that was only because afterwards I felt quite sick and fuzzy headed.

EPCOT is a great theme park, which I thought was quite a bit larger than Magic Kingdom, and one which offers their guests a truly unique experience; you might even come away learning something new about our world that we live in!

The ever popular STAR WARS Weekends started last Friday (21st. May and run through until June 11 - 13

Held at Disneys Hollywood Studios, it unbelievably celebrates it’s 30th. year getting more and more popular as the years go by. The  Jedi Knights, Sith Lords and Star Wars are all there for special shows, presentations and photo opportunities. There is no need for you to travel to another Universe or Galaxy to come face to face with droids, alien creatures and Star Wars characters.

The young ones can have fights with their lightsabers (naturallly on sale!!!) and prepare to do battle with Darth Vader. There are prize giveaways, rides on a Starspeeder and a parade of distant Worlds.Plus, there are plenty of conversations, autograph sessions and motorcades with the celebrities and creators.

 This year’s celebrity hosts for all 4 weekends are Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) and Ashley Eckstein (voice of Ahsoka) where you can choose from either the Light Side or the Dark Side of the Force to hear a special message from a Star Wars character inviting you to be a part of this special event!

This is a must for all STAR WAR Fans. A good tip is to grab a FASTPASS before the Park opens to ensure your place in line for celebrity autographs.You will see the autograph FASTPASS kiosk outside the Front Gate entrance, be early as they will go fast and ther numbers are limited.

Each day ends with the Hyperspace Hoopla! show, where many favorites let loose with music, comedy, dancing and more. With Ewoks, Wookiees, stormtroopers, Jawas and more invading all yoiu young Padawan Learners and their parents would be wise to have your  cameras ready.It all sounds great to us old Grandparents, just wish we were over there.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

Mary & Larry