Attraction Tickets – Orlando Attraction Tickets blog

September 24, 2018

10 NEW exciting things to look forward to at Walt Disney World!

Hey Thrill Seekers,

Let’s take a look at what we can expect from Walt Disney World in the next few years!

What? Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Where? Disney’s Hollywood Studios When? 2019

I think this is the most anticipated new addition to Orlando in a good few years! Fly the millennium falcon, interact with Star Wars characters and the possibility of REAL light sabers.. it’s safe to say we cannot wait for this to open!

What? Star Wars Resort Where? south of Hollywood Studios When? 2019/2020

What’t not to absolutely LOVE about this?! A whole hotel themed to Star Wars where you will become part of the galaxy itself in the most immersive hotel ever.

What? Walt Disney World Skyliner Where? Walt Disney World When? 2019

Above is a map of the expected routes for the Skyliner which is a Gondola system that will transport guests to and from the above parks and resorts.

What? New nighttime show Where? Epcot When? 2019

Sadly, IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth is ending in the summer of 2019 but fear not, Disney have promised that we should expect something even better to replace it with more information set to be released soon!

What? Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway Where? Hollywood Studios When? 2019

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will feature a new catchy theme song created especially for the attraction as well as a new experience that defies logic, called 2 ½-D. No glasses required.

What? Lightning McQueen Racing Academy Where? Hollywood Studios When? 2019

Step right into the action in a high-octane first-of-its-kind new show that’ll put you right in the middle of the world of Disney•Pixar’s “Cars.”

What? Guardians of the Galaxy attraction Where? Epcot When? 2021

This one has been confirmed as a coaster and we are soooo happy about that!

What? Tron Lightcycle Power Run Where? Magic Kingdom When? 2021

The Lightcycle ride will momentarily place fans into the world of Tron in a lightening speed roller coaster.

What? Space themed restaurant Where? Future World – Epcot When? TBD

This restaurant will be built in a newly developed area located between the park’s Mission: SPACE and Test Track attractions.

What? Ratatouille attraction Where? Epcot When? TBD

This is going to be in a whole new area just past the Eiffel tower and just like the attraction at DLP.

Which one are you most looking forward to and what else would you like to see Disney add?

Smiles Included

Abby

September 11, 2018

How did Orlando Theme Parks fare in the Golden Ticket Awards

Hey Thrill Seekers,

The winners of the annual Golden Ticket Awards were announced over the weekend so lets take a look at how our beloved Orlando parks done..

The Golden Ticket Awards are presented annually to honor the “Best of the Best” in the amusement industry and are calculated from an international poll conducted by Amusement Today. The prestigious survey asks experienced amusement park voters around the country and world to rate the “bests” in 23 categories.

WINNERS!

Best Marine Life Park – SeaWorld Orlando

YES! It’s great to see SeaWorld win this award as it does some amazing stuff for marine life (and of course has some of the best coasters in Orlando)

Best Halloween Event – Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando

Now that one is an absolute no brainer! Wan’t to go to the most amazing Halloween Event ever? You know where to go

Best Dark Ride – Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Fun & Intense, what more do you want from a dark ride? Oh yeah.. Ghosts

Best Indoor Roller Coaster – Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Orlando

YES YES YES! This ride sometimes doesn’t get the credit it deserves so we’re very happy that it has won this award!

Best New Ride of 2018 – Water Park – Ray Rush, Aquatica, Orlando

Should have also won ‘best name of an attraction’ in Gavin’s opinion but unfortunately that is never going to be a category ‍♂️‍♀️

5 out of 23 awards is not bad at all for the theme park capital of the world

Smiles Included

Abby

January 9, 2018January 9, 2018

Interview with Larry from Eat & Play Card

Hey Thrill Seekers,

It’s that time of the year, where we get to know our suppliers a little better and ask all the important questions that everyone else is too afraid to ask.. 😉

Last year Jamie tried to make ‘Interview Tuesdays’ a thing, it’s not a thing and will never be a thing so here goes the launch of… Tell Me Tuesdays – creative huh?

First up is Larry Raubach from Eat & Play Card.. (this obviously isn’t Larry below but you’ll see why i’ve put this photo later 😉 )

Name: Larry Raubach
Company: Eat and Play Card (Orlando/NYC)
Position: Director

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

What did you want to be when you grew up? The co-founder of a destination pass.

If you could only have one meal for the rest of your life what would it be and why? Tacos. C’mon need I say more?

What movie title best describes your life? It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

If you were stranded on a Desert Island and could only take 3 items what would they be and why? Sunscreen, sunglasses and an “Eat and Play Card Desert Island.” My mom always says, “protect yourself from too much sun and paying more than you have to.”

Would you rather be able to time travel into the past or the future and why? The past most definitely. I’d like to spend more time with the people who really matter.

How would you describe your theme park / attraction using only 3 words? Saves People Money!

WORK

What was the highlight of 2017 for your company? Welcoming some awesome power brands like Chili’s, Earls and Carrabba’s into the Orlando program.

What are you most looking forward to in 2018? That’s top secret.

Favourite Theme Park ride/attraction of 2017? Pandora! I’m a huge Avatar fan.

What is going to be BIG for your company in 2018? That’s top secret.

Best Theme Park/attraction tip? Eat offsite. The food’s better and so are the prices.

Tell us something we don’t know about Florida… His breakout single “Low” was #1 in the US for 10 weeks back in 2008. 😉

The last answer genuinely made me belly laugh, thanks Larry – some top answers there! Stay tuned for more Tell Me Tuesdays (bigger and better than Interview Tuesdays, I promise)…

Smiles included…

Abby

October 4, 2017October 4, 2017

Top 5 Orlando Holiday Reveals

Hey Thrill Seekers,

Now i’m definitely not a blubber but holiday reveal videos make me do that thing where your eyes get wet when you’re happy? Weird I know..

Holidays to Orlando, the theme park capital of the world, are nothing less than a huge deal and seeing your kids faces when you tell them that this year they’re lucky enough to be going to Orlando must be second to none. Recently, keeping the holiday a secret for as long as possible and then filming the reaction of your littleun’s when you tell them is becoming more and more popular and I love it (although it does make me pretty jealous 🙁 )

The creativity of some families is amazing so i’ve been scouring the internet to put together my top 5 Orlando holiday reveal videos. Personally, my favourite type of reveal videos are treasure hunt ones.

As i’ve previously mentioned, my favourite reveal idea is to do a treasure hunt around the house and this one is Disney themed.. even better 😀

This one is soooo cute and I love the idea of the t-shirts, how grateful the kids are is very sweet.

‘BUT WE HAVEN’T PACKED!!!’

The suitcase races at the beginning of this one made me laugh, also love the Universal props for a brill Universal reveal.

The little girls reaction at the end of this one is just brilliant.

I couldn’t think of a better surprise to receive than being told that i’m going on holiday to Orlando (Gavin should have done a video of when I was told I would be going on the Super FAM trip this year 😉 )

If you’ve got any funny, adorable or emotional reveal videos or ideas send them in to us i’d love to see!!

Smiles Included

Abby

March 7, 2017

Pandora: World of Avatar Ride Requirements

Hey Thrill Seekers,

So on our last Facebook Live we had a couple of questions about Pandora: The World of Avatar and in particular, will the rides be included in Fastpass+ and what d’ya know Disney released this exact information yesterday!

Lets start with Avatar Flight of Passage, Disney’s description of Avatar Flight of Passage is making me so impatient.

“Get a banshee’s-eye view of the beauty and grandeur of Pandora on a rite of passage you won’t soon forget! Deep in the heart of the Valley of Mo’ara, discover Avatar Flight of Passage—an all-new expedition that lets interstellar explorers like you climb atop a mountain banshee for a breathtaking, first-person flight over the moon’s incredible landscape. Bonding with a mountain banshee is a crucial step in the life of a Na’vi hunter—and flying on the back of one of these powerful winged creatures represents an important rite of passage.Now, as a visitor to Pandora, you’ll finally have the chance to test yourself in a similar way! “

The height requirement for this ride is 44 inches which is approximately 3.6 feet. The age interest is kids, tweens, teens and adults. Most importantly, can you use FastPass+ for Avatar Flight of Passage? The answer is yes. Wooo!

Next up is Navi River Journey, Disney’s description on their website gives me goosebumps..

“Glide down a gentle, mysterious river and feel a sense of wonder as the full beauty of Pandora reveals itself. Located within the Valley of Mo’ara, Na’vi River Journey offers explorers an experience that has to be seen—and heard—to be believed! As your expedition begins, climb aboard a reed boat and drift downstream. After coasting through a series of caves, and passing by exotic glowing plants and amazing creatures of the rainforest, you’ll soon find yourself face-to-face with the Na’vi Shaman of Songs. The adventure comes to a conclusion as the Shaman demonstrates her deep connection to the life force of Pandora—and sends positive energy out into the forest through the power of her music!”

Sounds beautiful doesn’t it? What’s better is that there is no height requirement for this ride as well as the age interest being for everyone meaning the whole family can enjoy it together. You can also book your Fastpass+ on the Navi River Journey. 🙂

Next is Valley of Mo’ara, this isn’t something that I knew a lot about so looking on the Disney website has really got me excited to have a wander around the valley..

“Walk about through the Valley of Mo’ara and get ready to discover a world like no other! There’s more to Pandora than expeditions like Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey… much more! All around its enormous floating mountains, you’ll quickly uncover the valley’s one-of-a-kind dining and shopping experiences—along with sights, sounds and experiences that include: Exotic plants that come to life with beautiful bioluminescence each night, A Na’vi-built drum circle containing instruments playable by all, Na’vi totems and other cultural items found throughout the land, Brand-new Wilderness Explorers challenges and badges to collect. You may even come across tour guides from Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE), scientists from the Pandora Conservation Initiative (PCI), or even an eclectic expat or two!”

There is no height requirement and the age interest is for everyone. There is no Fastpass+ available for the Valley of Mo’ara as there will be no queue lines.

With the opening of Pandora: World of Avatar on the 27th May getting closer and closer we are loving any information that Disney are releasing about it.

Welcome to Pandora—a world similar to Earth… but distinctly unique in so many ways!

I don’t know about you but I really can’t wait and i’ll definitely be booking my fast passes for the Navi River Journey and Avatar Flight of Passage!!

Smiles Included…

Jess

February 9, 2017

Universal Release More Information On TapuTapu

Hey Thrill Seekers,

Soooo.. Universal have just released some more, exciting news about TapuTapu!

As you probably know by now, Volcano Bay, the new 30 acre home of incredible rides, creative and immersive environments, relaxing scenery and best of all the new technology that ‘eliminates the fuss and maximises the fun’ is now opening on the 25th May (3 months, 16 days, 6 hours, 5mins….. not that i’m counting or anything!)

Universal have just released the first look at the design of the new virtual queuing system that is TapuTapu.. It looks as though the waterproof bracelets will come in a variety of colours – my favourite is the aqua colour ;-P

“It will transform the way guests experience water theme park entertainment at Volcano Bay”

The TapuTapu will give guests to Volcano Bay the freedom to join ‘virtual lines’ and as Jamie described in his last blog about TapuTapu all you will need to do is walk up to the totem in front of the attraction you are wanting to go on and simply waft your wrist (the one with the TapuTapu on it 😉 ) and then a ‘return time’ will let you know when you need to return. This means you can go off and enjoy Volcano Bays four themes area’s while still in the queue. The clever little TapuTapu will then alert you when it’s time to head over to the attraction. – I’m wondering if you can join more than one ‘virtual line’ at once? Hmmmm..

Universal have also let us in on some more information regarding TapuTapu Play experiences.. This is where you can use your TapuTapu wearable to control and play with many things throughout the park. This will include things such as streams of water squirting from whales or being able to shoot water cannons and unsuspecting guests floating down Kopiko Wai Winding River. The coolest one in my opinion has got to be the lights that you can control within the hidden caves!

Universal's Volcano Bay grand opens on May 25, 2017.

Every guest entering the park will receive a TapuTapu Wearable to use for the day – there will be no extra charge for these and you will be required to return them at the end of your day.

“No Long Lines,

Endless Fun.”

I’m sooo excited about Volcano Bay opening and I really don’t enjoy queuing so i’m equally as excited to try out one of the TapuTapu’s and chill out at Waturi Beach while my TapuTapu does all the hard work and queues for Krakatau Aqua Coaster for me! 😀

Don’t forget to buy one of our Universal 3 park Explorer tickets if you’re wanting to visit Volcano Bay!!

Smiles Included,

Jess

January 3, 2017

Do You Really Mean All The Parks?

Hey Thrill Seekers,

A lot of our customers ask for a ticket that includes ‘all of the parks’ without realising how many parks there actually are. Ticket purchasing can become quite complicated when you aren’t aware of all the parks and attractions, especially if you’re a first timer. We have ‘The Big Three’, Disney, Universal and SeaWorld but there is so much more!

Let’s take a look at the big three first.

Walt Disney World actually consists of 6 parks in total, 4 theme parks, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and 2 water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. All of our Disney tickets include all 6 of these parks, we do not offer single day or single park tickets.

Disney’s Magic Kingdom is the park to explore lands of endless enchantment, where your fantasy becomes a reality.

Disney’s Epcot allows you to travel around the globe, under the sea, into outer space…and beyond!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom will amaze you, behold the magic of nature with rare animals and world-class entertainment.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios puts you smack bang in the middle of the action, take center stage in the world of movies, television, music and theater.

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon is a storm ravaged tropical bay while Disney’s Blizzard Beach is a melting ski resort.

Moving onto Universal now with their 2 theme parks, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. These 2 parks are joint together using The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Express. You must have a hopper ticket to ride the Hogwarts Express, which is of course, what we offer! 🙂

Tip: Ride the Hogwarts Express both ways to encounter two completely different experiences. 😉

Universal Studios is where you can jump into the action of your favourite movies and TV shows’. At the back of the park you will find yourself in Diagon Alley.

Universal’s Islands of Adventure is where you can live the adventure. Towards the back of this park you will be in Hogsmeade.

Universal’s Volcano Bay is the newest park which is due to open on the 1st June 2017. Water is life. Life is joy.

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment have a total of 4 parks including SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Discovery Cove.

SeaWorld Orlando has a mixture of thrill rides, family rides and animal interactions. SeaWorld rescue a lot of animals from the wild to treat them and then release them back into the wild.

Aquatica is SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment’s water park which is themed to the Southern Pacific and features Australian and New Zealand mascots that you can spot relating to each attraction.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is about an hour out of Orlando but so worth the journey! The 19th century African themed park is also, like SeaWorld, a mixture of the thrill and family rides as well as the animal encounters. All of the SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is suitable for all the family.

Tip: We offer these parks at an amazing 3 parks for the price of 2 offer which entails free parking!

Discovery Cove is an amusement park where guests can completely relax with an all inclusive day and have the choice to ‘talk, touch, play and swim with bottlenose dolphins’.

There are 2 Discovery Cove packages available, 1 including 14 days into SeaWorld and Aquatica and our Ultimate package including 14 days into SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens.

Tip: You can make the most of the free parking with our Ultimate Package as well. 😉

LEGOLAND Florida & Merlin Attractions is next up. LEGOLAND Florida has their theme park and their water park – great fun for all the family. As well as Legoland, Merlin also have I-Drive 360 which is made up of The Orlando Eye, Madame Tussauds and SEALIFE Orlando.

We offer a number of different ticket options for these attractions, so if you don’t necessarily want to visit all of them, you can take your pick!

If you’re looking to visit some of Florida’s more alternative attractions, you won’t be at a loose end as there are so many options!

Kennedy Space Center

Fun Spot

Gatorland

Boggy Creek – 30 minute

Boggy Creek – 1 hour

WonderWorks

Orlando Magic

So if you were stuck for ideas, I hope you’re not anymore! All of these attractions are available on our website and any questions you have, you can contact us to find out more!

Smiles Included…

Louise

December 19, 2016

Epcot’s Top Attractions 2016

Hey Thrill Seekers,

Flying high above the other attractions at Epcot and gliding into a steady 1st place is the extraordinary Soarin’.

Be prepared to embark on a journey of a lifetime visiting some of the worlds coolest places. You’ll literally soar over mountains, waterfalls and many more wonders of the world such as the Great Wall of China and Iguazu Falls. Soarin’ will make you feel as though you are actually hang gliding!

You’ll experience the flight from 40 feet in the air surrounded by beautiful panoramas and a 180 degree, 80 foot IMAX projection dome.

Soarin’ is a very lifelike but at the same time surreal experience at Epcot and as our thrill seekers have voted it as the top attraction you should make sure you don’t miss it on your visit!

Second Place: Test Track – The word ‘cool’ just doesn’t cover this attraction. You get to design your own concept car and then put it to the test. The track is almost a mile long and you’ll reach speeds of up to 65mph!

Third Place: Mission: SPACE – You will get to become part of a astronaut crew, dodging meteors and zooming around the moon in your very own vessel.

Fourth Place: Mission: SPACE Advanced Training Lab – This will add to your astronaut training, take part in 4 different activities such as Mission: SPACE Race, Expedition Mars, Space Base and Postcards from Space.

Fifth Place: The Seas With Nemo And Friends – You’ll be joining Marlin and Dory on their search for Nemo. Jump on board your “clamobile” and along the way you will meet characters such as Mr.Ray, Bruce and Crush.

Smiles Included..

Jess

November 21, 2016January 11, 2017

Pandora – The World Of Avatar Opening Summer 2017!

Hey Thrill Seekers,

The highly anticipated addition to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Pandora – The World of Avatar has been confirmed to be opening this summer! Eeeekk!!

Check out this video update: 10/01/2017

Back in 2011 Disney had begun plans to build the first Avatar themed land at Walt Disney World – with its main emphasis being all about living in harmony with nature – Animal Kingdom was the perfect location. James Cameron, the filmmaker for the Avatar films has previously stated:

“I’m chomping at the bit to start work with Disney’s legendary Imagineers to bring our AVATAR universe to life. Our goal is to go beyond current boundaries of technical innovation and experiential storytelling, and give park goers the chance to see, hear, and touch the world of AVATAR with an unprecedented sense of reality.”

As well as recently learning that this land is opening in the summer of 2017 Disney have also released a few very intriguing images relating to the new land. My favourite being of the bridge that will connect Pandora – The World of Avatar with the rest of Animal Kingdom. The scaffolding has been removed from around the bridge!! (no i’m not crazy and i’m not excited over scaffolding) The chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Bob Chapek has actually released a photograph of the bridge in all its glory! Bam.

The storyline developed by Walt Disney Imagineering and Lightstorm Entertainment has given the idea that the bridge was built during the time when a ‘destructive company called the RDA’ entered Pandora and now that they’re long gone nature has begun to break down all evidence of their unwanted presence.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a park that “honours animals and natural environments real, ancient and imagined.” The story behind the bridge appears to be the first glimpse we have of how out of this world the new land is actually going to be. There will be loads of cool, realistic details throughout the whole adventure such as Na’vi artifacts that you should look out for during your visit.

Disney have also released images of what some of the restaurants, shops and attractions the land is looking to entail.

Pandora – The World of Avatar is said to include a flight simulator based banshee attraction as well as a boat ride through the landscape of Pandora. Disney want guests to be able to experience two new excursions that will take ‘adventure’ to a whole new level. Na’vi River Journey is a family friendly ride which will enable visitors to travel down a sacred river which is hidden within a bioluminescent rainforest. The journey will end in an encounter with a Na’vi Shaman. The Avatar Flight of Passage excursion will allow guests to experience the incredible feeling of riding on a Banshee over the world of Pandora. Sound amazing doesn’t it?!

At night the land will take on a whole new image with ‘bioluminescent flora and special nighttime immersive programming.’ (now if all of those long words went straight over your head like they did mine then just take a look at the picture below to see how unreal it is going to be) Basically the ground is set to literally glow beneath your feet!

Imagineer Joe Rohde stated:

“We want the world of Pandora to be believable,” Jon said. “When visitors come to Pandora they’ll experience and they’ll believe — and they’ll look at the world a little bit differently.”

So if you’re like me and physically cannot wait for this magical land to open then the good news is there’s not long to wait now! Summer just can’t come quick enough. The whole land when it opens is set to ‘transport guests to a visually stunning world complete with floating mountains and bioluminescent plants.’ How unreal does that sound?!

Smiles Included..

Jess

April 7, 2014

We’ve Just Hit 500 Posts On The Attraction Tickets Blog

Morning Thrill Seekers,

We’ve just hit another major milestone here on the blog! On Friday we posted our 500th unique theme park article. Today’s offering will document the top 10 most read this year based purely on views. When we hit 400 posts I documented the all time top 10 so felt there was no need to go over that again.

The blog was started in 2010 and on initial launch covered theme parks across the globe. When we became part of Orlando Attraction Tickets and Theme Park Tickets Direct we switched our focus to Florida and mainly the Orlando parks. At present we’ve had 6 different writers producing work, of that myself, Rachel and Karl have turned over the most articles. Not to blow my own trumpet, but I’m going too…. I have posted over 400 of them. 😉 #justsayin

Top 10 post of 2014

Not a Harry Potter or Furious Falcon insight, our most read articles tend to be the more practical posts. We recently recorded our busiest day ever, on April 1st (no joke) and we’ve got plans to expand the content size of the website and how its used.

Smiles included…

Jamie