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Here’s a great picture of a professional stunt driver taking flight on the set of “Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with the theme park’s iconic “Earffel Tower” standing tall in the background. The new, 30-minute show features cars, motorcycles and high-powered watercraft piloted by highly trained stunt drivers. Later this summer the star of “Cars” and “Cars 2″ will join the cast of high-octane characters.
Exotic cocktails will pair like a tropical daydream with fresh new tastes from more than one island paradise at the 16th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Sept. 30-Nov. 13, 2011, at Walt Disney World Resort. The one-of-a-kind 45-day festival serves up international cuisine, culture and entertainment from six continents, with more than 25 international marketplaces featuring tapas-sized portions paired with beer, wine and inventive new cocktails.
Marketplace tasting menus offer variety and adventure for guests on a mission to tantalize their taste buds during a scenic stroll around the 40-acre World Showcase Lagoon. The adventure can take them to the festival’s first Hawaii marketplace, which will cook up Kalua pork sliders and tuna poke with seaweed salad and lotus root chips to team with a refreshing Seven Tiki Mai Tai or a Kona Longboard or Pipeline beer. A new Caribbean Islands marketplace will serve ropa vieja with rice and jerk-spiced chicken with mango salsa. A beverage menu featuring a frozen Dragon Berry Colada and frozen Rock Coconut Mojito is sure to conjure steel-drum fantasies.
With a swing across the Atlantic, guests will be transported to the new Portugal marketplace, where the Portugal Wine Bar will offer best sips to pair with calamari salad with olives and smoked paprika. The Scandinavia marketplace will return after a hiatus with a fresh new Xante Sunshine cocktail made from Xante pear and cognac liquer. And the Canada marketplace will introduce a sweet treat: apple ice wine.
Disney and celebrity chefs will team with winemakers and brew masters from around the world to get the party started Sept. 30. During the six-week festival, guests will discover:
* Three new tasting marketplaces — Hawaii, Caribbean Islands and Portugal — plus new menu offerings at popular returning marketplaces
* Celebrity chef appearances starring top culinarians like Jeff Henderson, Cat Cora, Alan Wong, Gale Gand, Suvir Saran, Jamie Deen, Rock Harper, Celina Tio, Robert Irvine, Andrew Zimmern, Buddy Valastro, Warren Brown, Art Smith, Keegan Gerhard and more.
* First-ever HGTV home entertaining seminars each Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
* The Cranberry Bog display by Craisins telling the story behind the venerable cranberry’s rich agricultural heritage.
* Daily wine seminars, bottle signings, author events and culinary demonstrations at the Festival Welcome Center.
* Eat to the Beat! concerts three times nightly at America Gardens Theatre.
New Sips, Fresh Bites
Festival guests can make a day of circumnavigating the World Showcase Promenade, grazing and sipping as they go. Tapas-sized portions of regional specialties run $3 to $8 each, and recommended wines, cocktails and beers make perfect pairings at each marketplace. For quicker marketplace visits, guests can purchase a festival-themed mini-Disney Gift Card that can be worn on a wristband and loaded and reloaded at several park locations.
Live daily entertainment showcases many cultures with music, acrobatics and improv performances along the promenade. Evening Eat to the Beat! concerts at America Gardens Theatre feature acts from many musical genres. Appearing for the first time on the Eat to the Beat! stage are The Pointer Sisters, The Orchestra starring former members of ELO and Gin Blossoms. Fan favorite Taylor Dayne kicks off the festival Sept. 30-Oct. 2, and crowd pleaser Big Bad Voodoo Daddy wraps the event Nov. 11-13.
The festival attracts a diverse audience — from wine connoisseurs and epicures to novices wishing to boost their culinary IQs. Special culinary programs showcase a lineup of renowned winemakers, guest chefs and speakers participating in elegant dinners, luncheons, seminars and wine schools.
Festival highlights include:
* The Festival Welcome Center, with a Wine Bar, Authentic Taste Seminars, Authors Without Borders weekend conversations and more.
* More than 270 chefs including Disney chefs and culinary stars from across the country conducting culinary demonstrations and hosting dinners and tasting events.
* A complimentary Marketplace Discovery Passport to be stamped at each international marketplace visited for the perfect scrapbook souvenir.
* Popular returning events that include First Bites Opening Reception on Sept. 29; Kitchen Memories (formerly Celebrating Family and Friends in the Kitchen); Mixology Seminar; and “3D” Disney Dessert Discovery.
* The weekly Party for the Senses grand tasting event beginning Oct. 8 and with a new Saturday evening time of 7:30-10 p.m. featuring tempting bites from eminent chefs, more than 50 wines and beers and live entertainment presented by Cirque du Soleil.
Festival guests can enjoy fresh Epcot experiences including the latest Future World high-tech fun at Innoventions and the celebrated return of “Captain EO,” the classic musical 3-D production starring Michael Jackson in a rare big-screen performance. In World Showcase, new and recently updated restaurants welcome guests at the Italy, Japan, Mexico and China pavilions.
What’s Included with Epcot Admission:
Authentic Taste seminars and Authors Without Borders programs with special book signings at the Festival Center, Eat to the Beat! concerts, cultural adventures, Marketplace Discovery Passport and all attractions and park entertainment are included with regular Epcot admission.
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Showing no signs of slipping, let alone melting down, Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open by eight-shots in a mesmerizing performance. Jason Day came second on -8 while Lee Westwood, Y.E. Yang, Robert Garrigus and Kevin Chappell shared third place in a field that trailed so far behind that you could only sit back and enjoy the sheer brilliance of the young man from Northern Ireland. Coming on the back of his disappointing final round at The Masters you could sense this was a young man on a mission for his first major win.
The 22-year-old never came close to a repeat of the Masters, where he blew a four-shot lead on the final day. He made his third birdie of the day on No. 10 to get to 17 under but gave a stroke back after driving into a bunker on No. 12. It was only the third over-par score he’d posted over nearly four days at Congressional.
His score for the four days was 268 and broke the U.S. Open scoring record of 272, held by four players, including Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
“Heck of a performance,” Woods said, in a statement read by NBC’s Dan Hicks during the final nine holes. “Looks pretty comfortable that Rory will raise the U.S. Open trophy. Congrats and well done. Enjoy it. This was an impressive performance.”
McIlroy has also earned himself a big fan in Jack Nicklaus, the career leader in major victories. McIlroy and Nicklaus had lunch shortly after his Masters meltdown, with McIlroy seeking advice on how to finish out tournaments.
“I think he’s going to have a great career and be great for the game,” Nicklaus said in a telephone interview with NBC during the final round. “He’s a nice kid. He’s humble when he needs to be humble and he’s confident when he needs to be confident. He wants to learn and he wants to get better. That’s everything you need.”
Praise indeed.
Congratulations Rory. Fantastic performance.
June 17th marked the first anniversary of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park. The new attraction has established a loyal theme park following and in a lot of ways the books and films featuring a boy wizard created by author J. K. Rowling have transformed the Orlando area.
In May 2011, Universal Orlando announced that attendance rose by 1.1 million visitors January through March, from 1.7 million a year earlier to 2.8 million and that the overall park’s revenue nearly doubled for the quarter, to $309 million. IOA saw 5.9 million guests in 2010, a boost of 30 percent more than the previous year, according to estimates by AECOM, a Los Angeles consulting company, and the Themed Entertainment Association. Further, in 2010, Orlando welcomed more than 51 million visitors, up 10.5 percent from 2009 and that officially makes the city the first destination in the country to top 50 million visitors. It’s some achievement and it speaks volumes for what the right product in the right place can do to transform an economy even in a recession.
From a visitor point of view, there is a lot to see and do at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Visitors can go inside Hogwarts castle, swig two kinds of butterbeer while soaking in the atmosphere of the “real-life” Hogsmeade village as well as purchase all kinds of Potter memorabilia that includes a series of magic wands. Some guests take their devotion to an extreme and we’ve heard of guests who have ridden the rides over 600 times in a year!
So all in all it’s been a fantastic year for Universal Orlando and for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter… it’ll be interesting to see how things develop in the next year.
Tough weather and tough luck lead to a 1-1 draw in Orlando City’s first ever nationally televised game against the Wilmington Hammerheads. 6,923 fans braved the nearly 30 mile per hour winds to see the third largest crowd of the season, one that surpassed Major League Soccer’s New England/Toronto match on Wednesday night.
Orlando City kicked off the match hesitant in their play due to severe winds but settled after the opening 10 minutes. The Lions were also playing with an altered line-up as they were missing several key starters due to suspensions and visa issues. This gave reserves Charlie Campbell, Wes Allen, and Dennis Chin a chance for playing time with the rest of the regular starters. Allen’s time was unfortunately short-lived as he suffered a leg injury in the 36th minute, opening up an opportunity for fellow reserve defender Kieron Bernard.
The Lions attacked hard but came up short trying to send the ball to Max Griffin and Devorn Jorsling. The wind continued to cause havoc with City’s play style, knocking the ball around in unpredictable ways. The two forwards demonstrated strong passion to score, but were continuously shut down by the wind and Wilmington defense.
The Lions appeared to be one touch shy of a goal as the offense became frustrated in their attack. Max Griffin, Devorn Jorsling, Kevin Molino, and Erik Ustruck all took shots on goal that flew just wide or soared barely over the crossbar. Orlando and Wilmington battled back and forth for the remainder of the half and demonstrated aggressive play that resulted in a collection of fouls for each team. The half concluded scoreless.
The Lions sprang to life to start the second half and really began to threaten the Hammerhead defense. Celebration erupted in the 54th minute as Orlando City forward Devorn Jorsling scored his first goal of the regular season (pictured above…click to enlarge). Jorsling struck a powerful shot from about 25 yards outside the goal, capitalizing on the momentum from his two-goal performance in Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup match.
The Lions continued to ignite in their attack as they gained momentum from Jorsling’s spectacular goal. Campbell, Yordany Alvarez, and Lawrence Olum controlled the midfield while Griffin and Jorsling worked together with them on the attack. In the 74th minute, Orlando City substituted Max Griffin for Dennis Chin. Chin’s fresh energy and enthusiasm created a new spark for the Orlando offense.
Unfortunately, the Hammerheads were not settling for a shutout as forward Andriy Budnyy scored a goal in the 84th minute. Luke Mulholland’s cross was deflected by Lion defender Kieron Bernard and into the air. Budnyy received the ball in the 18-yard box and had barely enough time to set up for the shot as he blasted the ball through the legs of Orlando City defender Jack Traynor and the diving hands of Miguel Gallardo. Both sides fought hard for a go-ahead goal, but could not find the final ball. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
“I think we played well but we got too comfortable with the lead at the end of the game,” said Charlie Campbell. “We had a couple mental lapses at the end and broke down defensively and I think that’s what cost us the goal and cost us the two points for that game. I’m disappointed that we lost the other point due to mental errors. There’s always going to be adversity in the season and it’s how you overcome that adversity. It takes a whole team effort.”
Next up for the Lions is the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. City travels to Charleston to face fellow USL PRO side Charleston Battery. A win will advance the Lions to the final 16 of the Open Cup. They will face FC Dallas in the third round.
Team 1st 2nd Final
Orlando City 0 1 1
Wilmington Hammerheads 0 1 1
Scoring Summary
54th Minute – Orlando: Devorn Jorsling
84th Minute – Wilmington: Andriy Budnyy (Luke Mulholland)
Orlando City Line-up
GK: Miguel Gallardo
D: Jack Traynor, Demar Stewart, Wes Allen (36’ – Kieron Bernard), Erik Ustruck
M: Yordany Alvarez, Lawerence Olum, Charlie Campbell, Kevin Molino
F: Devorn Jorsling, Max Griffin (74’ – Dennis Chin)
There’s no better place to be when the sun sets in Orlando than at Summer Nights at SeaWorld when waves of fun wash over the park with fantastic shows, thrilling coasters under the stars, and a nightly fireworks and fountain finale.
Summer Nights starts tonight, June 18, and runs through August 14 … and even better, SeaWorld is now open until 10 p.m.
Headlining Summer Nights is Shamu Rocks, a larger-than-life experience where guests jam to a rock-n-roll beat; Sea Lions Tonite, an uproarious show featuring Clyde and Seamore that will have everyone in stitches; and Reflections, the sky-filling fireworks and fountains finale that ends the night with a bang.
New this year, Summer Nights Central, located on Bayside pathway, comes alive every night at 6 p.m. Guests dance the night away at this family-friendly, nightly party as a DJ spins the latest tunes and rockin’, live bands perform each weekend. In addition, beer, wine, frozen drinks and plenty of delicious snacks such as soft pretzels, melt-in-your-mouth cotton candy and tasty Blue Bunny® ice cream will be available.
And now, adults pay the kid’s price plus get a second day free at SeaWorld to enjoy the park on their schedule. It’s the best way to experience Summer Nights.
Terry Prather - President of SeaWorld Orlando & Nigel Worrall - Florida Leisure
Oh …and here’s a secret tip… something to look forward to this Christmas…. I was talking to SeaWorld Orlando President Terry Prather recently and he said that this years Christmas as SeaWorld is going to be even more spectacular than before. Now this promises to be something because last Christmas SeaWorld had the best event of all the attractions in my opinion.
This Saturday’s match for Orlando City vs. the Wilmington Hammerheads is the club’s first ever nationally televised game. FOX Soccer Channel has chosen this game as the USL PRO Game of the Week and calling all the action will be the voice of USL, Kenn Tomasch, alongside USL National Technical Director Peter Mellor, who will provide color commentary. Tomasch is a veteran of many USL broadcasts in previous years, and also serves as host of “USL Breakaway Magazine,” a monthly 30-minute highlight and feature show also seen on FOX Soccer. The first episode of this season’s edition of Breakaway will precede the match broadcast.
Mellor has been a staff coach with the United States Soccer Federation since 1992 and was a professional goalkeeper for two decades, primarily in the English Premier League. He manages the technical aspects of USL’s player development programs and combines, and assists USL teams in scouting, development and advancement of players.
The match itself promises to be an exciting one. Orlando and Wilmington met just two weeks ago in Wilmington. After falling behind 2-1 in the first half, Orlando City roared back with three second-half goals to earn a 4-2 victory. Both teams won their U.S. Open Cup matches last night by a 4-0 scoreline.
There’s some bad news for Orlando though as the USL has handed down discipline for the physical altercation at midfield in last week’s match against Antigua Barracuda FC. Two Orlando City players have been suspended for their role in the incident that started when City defender Rob Valentino was taken down from behind by Lawson Robinson. Valentino popped up and confronted Robinson, only to take a punch. Valentino retaliated, resulting in both teams rushing to defend their teammates. Valentino and Lawson were sent off for the altercation, as were Akeem Thomas (Antigua) and a Barracudas assistant coach.
Further video review by the USL has discovered other players, mostly from the Barracudas, were involved. The additional players have also been suspended and because Antigua has not and will not play another match before City’s visit on June 24th, the Caribbean side will be without several starters for the rematch series.
For City, the two suspended players are Rob Valentino and Jamie Watson. Valentino’s suspension comes as a direct result of his red card. Watson received a two match suspension for joining in the fracas. He will miss the Wilmington match and the first match in Antigua but both players will be available for U.S. Open Cup matches as league suspensions have no effect on the tournament.
Below is the full list of suspensions for both teams and I’ve also added a video showing the action from the Antigua game:
Player Team Suspension
Lawson Robinson ANT 6/24 vs. Orlando
George Dublin ANT 6/24 vs. Orlando, 6/26 vs. Orlando
Quinton Griffith ANT 6/24 vs. Orlando, 6/26 vs. Orlando
Carl Casey (coach) ANT 6/24 vs. Orlando, 6/26 vs. Orlando
Akeem Thomas ANT 6/24 vs. Orlando, 6/26 vs. Orlando
Rob Valentino ORL 6/18 vs. Wilmington
Jamie Watson ORL 6/18 vs. Wilmington, 6/24 @ Antigua
Tickets for the match are still available, starting at just $12. For more information or to order tickets, call 407-536-5368 or visit www.orlandocitysoccer.com today!
Well, I can safely say this was one of the longest games of soccer I have attended! It started at 7.30pm and finished shortly after 11pm thanks to a one hour and twenty four minute rain and lightning delay.
The game itself was an entertaining affair as Orlando ran out comfortable 4-0 winners in the US Open Cup 1st round. The first goal came after 28 mins as Dennis Chin supplied a sublime cross that found a diving Devorn Jorsling (pictured above) who guided his header past the despairing ASC keeper to give City the 1-0 lead .
Orlando continued to dominate the play and it was no surprise when the lively Chin was chopped down in the penalty area to give Orlando the chance to make it 2-0 from the penalty spot. Jamie Watson (pictured above) stepped up… beat the keeper….and saw his shot rebound off the post. Chance gone.
Orlando were undeterred by this gaffe though and a second goal duly came as Chin supplied a superb through ball to Kevin Molino (pictured above) who kept his cool to slip the ball past the helpless keeper in the 42nd minute. HT : 2-0
The second half began and was promptly halted on the 57 minute mark because of a severe rain and lightning warning. It wasn’t until 84 minutes later that the game was able to recommence and it wasn’t too long before Orlando was celebrating a third goal as man of the match, Chin, netted for a well deserved goal himself on the 69th minute mark.
Orlando then wrapped up the night’s scoring in 77th minute as Jorsling scored his second goal of the night from a Charlie Campbell cross.
FT: 4:0
More photo’s from the game here.
Orlando City Line-up
GK: Sean Kelley
D: Mechack Jerome, Wes Allen, Kieron Bernard, Jack Traynor
M: Jamie Watson (71’ – Lawrence Olum), Justin Fojo, Charlie Campbell, Kevin Molino
F: Devorn Jorsling, Dennis Chin
Attendance: 1,139
Orlando is home to three of the World’s most famous theme parks, with many wonderful and thrilling rides and attractions, but one of the smaller and oldest of the attractions has possibly unveiled the most thrilling ride of all. For over 50 years, Gatorland in South Orlando has been a family friendly, affordable natural attraction featuring thousands of alligators in an environment that is equal parts education and entertainment. That all changes on June 16, 2011 when they open their all-new Screamin’ Gator Zip Line Experience to the general public.
Florida Leisure were invited to have an early preview of this experience so we sent along our intrepid reporter, Colin Bowman, who sent in a great report and he says his heart is still pounding from the expeirence! Here’s his report:
Gator Zip Line Experience
by Colin Bowman
This 2½ hour experience begins with you meeting your guides for the trip, an orientation video with the hilarious and inept “Bubba” and “Cooter” and then time to truss you up in your safety gear. With all the harnesses on and your helmet you feel pretty good and invincible, a feeling that lasts right up until you arrive at the first tower and look up.
Tower one stands over six stories and has what feels like 100 stairs (it’s probably less, but believe me, counting steps was the last thing on my mind). If that fact takes your breath away, try and find it once you have actually climbed to the top. Your guide then informs you that the launch platform is over fifty feet above the ground and of course you are compelled to look down. He’s right … above the ground … concrete below and lots of people looking up at you, video cameras in hand … and you know what they want to have happen.. Having never ziplined before, it was a big test of intestinal fortitude to step off that platform and believe me I prayed that all these harnesses, which now seem extremely flimsy, are going to hold you in place as you travel almost 250ft at about fifteen miles per hour through the tree tops. Anyway, away we go …
And we land at tower two which is slightly bigger, standing at 56ft tall, but the launch platform is only 46ft off the ground. The line itself is only 265ft in length , so traveling at twenty miles per hour should be a doddle … except that this time you are going over a pool with about 30 alligators below you … oh joy … here we go again … backwards, because the cute little girl with the camera says she can get a better photo and of course you have to impress her … but stepping off a platform backwards wearing a piece of material and a couple of lanyards is an daunting experience for sure … whoosh … see you later gators …
This is getting easy … now for tower three. It stands at 65ft and has a launch platform 56ft off the ground. We will be traveling 230ft at over twenty five miles per hour. Wait a minute, that’s getting higher and faster … dammit … “Try running off this one,” says my guide … “Oops I can’t hear you,” I reply as I grab everything and use my trusty sit-down take off method … Then I hear drums … only to discover that it is actually my heart, because straight ahead I see an even bigger tower and with that I arrive at …
Tower four which looms over the park like King Kong. It stands over seventy five feet tall, the launch platform is sixty five feet off the ground and the line is 520ft long. This means I will be traveling at almost thirty miles per hour. Did I mention the breeding marsh below with 130 of the biggest alligators that you have ever seen plus one particularly angry crocodile. At this point, I also became aware of the fact that these towers rock and sway a lot in the wind. My mouth is also very dry and I am very grateful for the water provided at this station, although I am just praying that the contents of my bladder will remain there. “Don’t forget the photo op,” says my cheerful guide … I am just praying I am not going to become the latest YouTube sensation for all the wrong reasons … GERONIMO (I wish I had shouted something brave) …
And a few seconds later … touchdown … I feel like I have won the SuperBowl … one to go. “Just cross over the rickety bridge to get to the last zipline. “RICKETY BRIDGE?” How did I miss that? Bridges, why did it have to be bridges. I hate them. I hate rickety ones in the wind even more and being clipped to the safety line 31ft up in the air crossing this 150ft long bridge was not my idea of fun … even less when my companion decided it would be fun to start her crossing when I was halfway across and started bouncing … fortunately she weighs about the same as a bag of flour, so the effect wasn’t as great as she hoped … but still, the people below obviously thought it was funny. I am sure the smiles would’ve been wiped from their faces if I had used them as a landing mat.
Finally, after a nerve-wracking eternity I made it over to tower six (five is where the bridge starts). This is my favorite, side-by-side ziplines so you can drag race and attempt a measure of revenge on any companions who may have slighted you, by smoking them over the 340ft line traveling at speeds up to thirty miles per hour … or not!!!! Even though I did attempt to run off the platform, there was a definite stutter step at the end when I realized that is I didn’t reach the other side, I would be dangling over another lake chocked full of alligators … hopefully they haven’t mastered the art of acrobatic pyramids, but for some reason I couldn’t get Fantasia out of my head (the Disney movie, not the American Idol).
But I survived and this really was so much fun and should be added to your bucket list of things to do next time you vacation in Orlando and if you are fortunate enough to live here, what are you waiting for.
Known internationally as the “Alligator Capital of the World,” you can find out more about this experience and Gatorland in general at http://www.gatorland.com/ScreaminGator.php
Tuesday marks yet another first for the Orlando City history books as the club begins its first season of US Open Cup play against USASA Region II side ASC New Stars. The Lions are now a part of an American soccer tradition that dates back to 1914. The match will be played at the UCF Soccer and Track Complex.
City’s first opponent represents what makes the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup unique. ASC New Stars are an amateur team from the Houston area. They qualified for the tournament through the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) regional tournament. Much like the FA Cup in England, the Open Cup allows all amateur and professional teams the opportunity to qualify for the tournament.
The New Stars come into the match as the champions of Region II of the USASA. They defeated fellow Houston area club Regals FC 2-1 in overtime in the Region II final over Memorial Day weekend. Regals FC also qualified for the tournament and stand to be Orlando City’s next opponent should both Regals and the Lions advance.
The Lions will bring a new look line-up into the match. Several players are being rested ahead of the Lions national television debut on Saturday. This opens up opportunities for local products Justin Fojo (Lake Mary) and Dennis Chin (Oviedo) to get their first starts of the season. Recent signing Charlie Campbell and reserve goalkeeper Sean Kelley will also be receiving their first starts of the season.
A victory in the match advances the Lions to the second round of the tournament. They will face the winner of the Charleston Battery/Regals FC match. If Charleston wins, the Lions will travel to Charleston. Regals will travel to Orlando should they emerge victorious. If the match is played in Orlando, it will take place at UCF.
Tickets for the match are $15 and are general admission. For more information, visit www.orlandocitysoccer.com or call 407-536-5368
Proposed Line-up (unofficial):
GK: Sean Kelley
DF: Mechack Jerome, Wes Allen, Kieron Bernard, Jack Traynor
MF: Kevin Molino, Charlie Campbell, Justin Fojo, Jamie Watson
FW: Devorn Jorsling, Dennis Chin
Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle
