Orlando is leading the way again as our friends at Orlando Balloon Rides has now introduced its new jumbo 24 person hot-air balloon. The balloon is designated as the largest hot-air balloon flying in the United States and stands at 112 feet high, about the size of an 11-story building, and 90 feet wide when fully inflated. It holds 425,000 cubic feet of hot air and that’s more than four times the size of a standard four-person balloon.
The big balloon was custom-ordered from Ultramagic Balloons of Spain and although this size balloon is common in Europe, it is the first of its kind in the U.S. The balloon isn’t exactly light either, as the basket weighs 1,600 pounds and the envelope (the balloon), is 1,000 pounds.
The basket, or gondola, also sports higher-than-average walls, which are made of aircraft-grade stainless steel that’s wrapped in wicker, and they have partitions that divide the standing space.
“These are like the Bentley of hot-air balloons with these partition baskets,” said Jason Schulke, CEO of Orlando Balloon Rides, “The cost of the new balloon and related expenses was about $275,000.”
A large part of the thinking that went into making the purchase was simply a numbers game. Orlando Balloon Rides annually carries 18,000 to 20,000 people and when you consider over 50 million people visit Orlando, there simply wasn’t enough capacity to take everyone who wants to do a balloon ride.
Today marked the first time the balloon had been fully inflated since leaving Spain and the first passengers on its maiden voyage were made up of contest winners and combat veterans. The balloons traveled west from a spot on the edge of a golf course for Reunion Resort and Club on County Road 532, then crossed above Interstate 4.
Rides cost $175 per person for a four-hour experience. The experience includes a champagne breakfast, inflation time and packing time and about an hour of air time, depending on flight conditions.
Don’t know if you feel like us but the ongoing saga fiasco re: Dwight Howard is starting to really annoy us. Not content with having the season start later than it should, this over-hyped and overrated so called mega star of the Orlando Magic is now asking to leave… although he claims he loves the city!
Frankly, it’s embarrassing how the media is bending over to accommodate this guy. They’re now calling him “Superman” for heavens sake. Watching him bleat on about the Magic not signing the players he suggested is almost as pathetic as watching politicians take the glory because employment rates have dropped slightly. It’s not often we get on our soap box about a subject but when the nation is already suffering from enough fools pretending they know what to do, to now have to listen to this nonsense in the media really does take the mickey.
Go Dwight… shut the door on the way out. We won’t miss you or your ego.
SeaWorld has got in on the “Hidden Mickey” game… confused?
Over at Walt Disney World guests often spend hours looking for “Hidden Mickey” images and they find them in all kinds of weird and wonderful places. A “Hidden Mickey” is a representation of Mickey Mouse that has been inserted subtly into the design of a ride, attraction, or other location in a Disney theme park or elsewhere on Disney properties. The most common Hidden Mickey is a formation of three circles that may be perceived as the silhouette of the head and ears of Mickey Mouse
Now SeaWorld has got in on the act with their Christmas Celebration snowflake. You’ll probably miss it to start with but take another look at the image above and take a look at just one individual spoke of the flake. It’s a silhouette of a whale.
SeaWorld has cleverly put six of them together in a circle to form a snowflake in kind of a kaleidoscope fashion. Cool eh?
The Christmas period is a very special time to be in Orlando. So many great events fill the calendar from SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration, the Candelight Procession at Epcot, Mickey’s Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom, the Osborne family lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Universal Orlando’s Macy’s Parade to mention but a few, but perhaps the best, and one you don’t hear much about might well be The Singing Christmas Trees.
One of Orlando’s best kept secrets sees over 300 members of the First Baptist Choir combine their singing talents alongside a full orchestra with a backdrop of two astonishingly gigantic Christmas trees. The amazing trees host the choir as well as feature over 250,000 lights that dance to the music and create a one-of-a-kind spectacle that really has to be seen to be believed.
The Singing Christmas Trees has been staged in Orlando since 1980 although there was a two year break from 2006 to 2007. The Singing Christmas Trees were brought back in 2008 because of public demand and we simply can’t imagine the Orlando Christmas scene without them.
The Singing Christmas Tree’s are 40 feet tall, made up of 15 tiers, and house approximately 150 choir members per tree. This magnificent production was the result of a vision by former Pastor Jim Henry. It was in 1978 that Henry confronted Ragan Vandegriff, the then Minister of Music, recalling that it would take “a step faith” to launch this project. Henry said he wanted a “signature event with the priceless treasure and message of Jesus Christ.”
The first production of the Singing Trees debuted in 1980 at First Baptist Orlando’s downtown location, opening with “Do You Hear What I Hear,” directed by Vandegriff.
While the first five years featured a single tree, the church moved to its current campus on John Young Parkway in 1985 and they realized that it would be necessary to further expand the production to accommodate the larger stage. “One tree would have appeared “diminuendo,” according to Vandegriff so the task of writing music for two trees began. This often involved having “one tree call and the other one answer,” according to Deric Johnson, the music arranger at the time.
The trees were designed and structurally engineered by Walter G. Keller, who passed away in September of this year. “You can put a Mack truck on each tree and it would withstand the weight,” Keller explained sometime before his death and considering the average American weight, both trees combined contain almost 50,000 pounds of these live, vocalized ornaments.
The entire program consists of church members, under the direction of the church staff, that volunteer their time and talent to bring to the audience this celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In all, around 1,000 people donate their time and they come from all professions, industries and backgrounds. You’ll find doctors, secretaries, sales persons, office clerks, lawyers, homemakers, warehouse workers and students all coming together to lend their individual talents to produce one of the best Christmas shows you’ll ever have the privilege to see.
The trees are erected in November by weekday volunteers and staff members and after the structures are set in place, pre-wired panels containing the 250,000 lights are secured. Miles of wires and cables are then connected to computers that synchronize the brilliant display to the music. Each tree contains about 60 panels and they all must be independently tested after they are attached to the tree structure. This is performed by plugging each color of each panel into a power source and checking each and every bulb. If an individual bulb is burned out, it can be replaced, however, there are times when an entire string of lights need to be restrung. It is these meticulous efforts that help to create this spectacular event.
The choir, under the direction of Jon Marks, Worship Pastor, then met every Sunday afternoon and Wednesday evening to learn and practice the songs. At the onset of the practices, the choir room was set up into designated areas where the altos, basses, baritones, sopranos and tenors would sit according to their voice range. On designated Sunday afternoon practices, the various vocal ranges would initially meet in separate rooms, then they would all gather back in the main choir room to bring it all together with the full choral effect.
Robert Elkins, Musical Director &Arranger, leads the 70 piece orchestra and some of these musicians are professionals, while others volunteer their services as they take time off from Walt Disney World and other local attractions where they hold regular jobs.
Another important set of volunteers are the “Tree Rats.” Primarily they are young and nimble and they need to be. Behind the scenes, the “rats” play a crucial role as they crawl through the maze of pipes and platforms to help make the choir feel comfortable and safe. They will tap on a choir member’s foot and massage their legs to keep blood circulating during the 90 minute performance. Along with a tag pasted on the member’s ankle that indicates the position number and name, they may also choose to tape a tasty piece of candy for the tree rat in appreciation. One year, however, a choir member taped a bag of M&Ms to her leg and when the rat opened the bag, the candy pieces dropped several rows bouncing and pinging off the pipes on the descent. That form of reward was subsequently banned.
The tree “rats” also move the wooden boxes into place before each choir member assumes his or her standing position. These boxes are custom made and allow the appearance of a more uniform height for each member. For example, if a member is five-foot three, the box would be nine inches tall making the appeared height as six feet.
The trees are loaded from a series or ramps and ladders that cannot be seen by the audience. Some choir members take their positions from the ground level while those in the higher section load from the second level behind the trees. This process is engineered to keep the weight properly distributed filling the lower levels first. The final position, the “star” of the tree, is the last one to assume her post hovering forty-five feet over the Worship Center stage.
This years performance sees a Grandfather telling his Grandson Max the Christmas story. The performance begins with “The Joy of Christmas Overture Carol Medley” and as the performance develops other Christmas favorites like Emmanuel, O Holy Night, and I’ll Be Home For Christmas can be heard. One favorite is a revamped version of Jingle Bells that has been adapted to a more modern and fun version. The Singing Christmas Trees is a fantastic production and it all comes to an end rather too soon as the Hallelujah Chorus rings out to bring the celebration to an end.
Make sure you plan a trip to The Singing Christmas Trees in 2012. For now, you can enjoy the video below and more pictures at Facebook.com/FloridaLeisure
You can also order a DVD copy of the performance from First Baptist Orlando here.
LEGOLAND® Florida is celebrating its first Christmas since opening in October with its first annual Christmas Bricktacular! Last Monday USA Olympic hurdler David Oliver and Legoland Florida general manager Adrian Jones lit the 30 foot tall LEGO 270,000-brick Christmas tree to jump-start LEGOLAND Florida’s Inaugural Christmas Bricktacular.
Festive decorations and sounds of the season fill the park through the holidays and a Kids’ New Year’s Eve will be held December 31, 2011 to ring in the new year pint-size-style. Further, every evening a special family will be chosen to help light the Bricktacular tree and families can capture their holiday memories with Santa Claus as he’ll be making special daily appearances in the historical gardens (previously Cypress Gardens).
Ticket Information
Holiday events are included in regular LEGOLAND® Florida admission. Tickets are available at www.FloridaLeisure.com.
Miles of garland, ribbon, twinkling lights and glitter transform Walt Disney World Resort into a winter wonderland during the holiday season. Here’s a sample of what guests will experience throughout the Vacation Kingdom:
1,300 decorated trees throughout property
A wreath 25 feet in diameter adorning the Cirque du Soleil building at Downtown Disney West Side
10 miles of twinkling rope lights in the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
150 tractor-trailer truckloads of decorations for 24 resorts, 4 theme parks, Downtown Disney and other locations
15 miles of garland strung and 1,314 wreaths hung throughout the Vacation Kingdom
300,000 yards of ribbon and bows draping over Christmas trees across property
8.5 million lights strung throughout Walt Disney World Resort
100 percent of the lighting used for holiday décor is LED
11 countries dressed for Holidays Around the World at Epcot World Showcase
More than 800 performers each night during Candlelight Processional at Epcot
More than 200 guest choirs during the entire run of Candlelight Processional
A Christmas tree in Magic Kingdom with a base 25 feet wide
One 70-foot-tall tree takes center stage in Disney’s Contemporary Resort entrance lobby featuring nearly 35,800 white LED lights
6 life-sized creations cooked up by Walt Disney World pastry chefs, including:
One 16-foot-tall gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa baked with 1,050 pounds of honey and involving more than 160 hours of decorating
One life-size gingerbread carousel at Disney’s Beach Club Resort featuring ponies made of chocolate and fondant, giant candy cane poles, handcrafted poinsettias and hand-painted portraits of famous Disney characters
100 percent chance of snow flurries during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, taking place on select holiday evenings in Magic Kingdom
365 days of the year that guests can shop for holiday merchandise at the Disney’s Days of Christmas shop in Downtown Disney Marketplace
Kennedy Space Center is celebrating the holiday sights, sounds and tastes of ISS partner countries as it presents its first-ever “Holidays in Space” now through to 1st January 2012. It’s a chance to learn as well as celebrate the holiday traditions of each of the ISS international partners: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States.
While weightlessness is difficult to simulate on Earth, the invigorating rush of ice skating is easy for even non-astronauts to enjoy. Throughout the Holidays in Space celebration, a section of the Rocket Garden will be transformed into a Space Skating Rink with a synthetic, all-weather polymer surface. Guests may rent ice skates, $10 for adults and $8 for children ages 3-11 and enjoy a 20-minute session around the 40′ x 40′ rink with new sessions beginning on the hour and half hour.
Santa Claus will also be visiting and greeting guests, hearing wish lists and posing for photos in Santa’s Launch Control Center. Onsite elves, i.e., Kodak representatives, will snap the perfect family photo and provide prints for sale, or guests may capture the moment with their own cameras. Mrs. Claus will be on hand for some special space-themed story times for kids of all ages, including “The Cat in the Hat – There’s No Place Like Space” and “What the Moon is Like.” Wherever Santa goes, cookies are a requirement. The Cookie Space Station will feature holiday cookies from around the world for a nominal fee with a different “Cookie of the Day” showcased daily. Due to their busy holiday schedules, Santa and Mrs. Claus will be available five times daily through Dec. 24.
Immersing guests in the sounds of the holidays, a team of international carolers clad in astronaut flight suits will perform traditional holiday songs including favorites like “Silver Bells,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Let it Snow,” “Feliz Navidad,” and many more.
Holidays in Space wouldn’t be complete without festive space-themed décor. A towering, 42′ ISS-themed Christmas tree located in the Rocket Garden will be adorned with colorful bulbs and 600 miniature flags from the 15 ISS partner countries. The International Space Station mural just outside the Rocket Garden will be swathed in holiday candlelight and supplemented with information about the holiday customs of each partner country. Decorative wreaths and garland throughout the Visitor Complex add to the international holiday vibe.
To help guests enjoy all that Holidays in Space has to offer, a special Guest Holiday Guide will provide a schedule of activities and information about each of the ISS partner countries. Prior to every IMAX film, guests will have the chance to see actual images of ISS crews celebrating the holidays in space. Making the celebration truly meaningful, guests will be invited to e-mail the current crew of the International Space Station to send them a holiday greeting. Those who want to remember their international holiday experience at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex may purchase a commemorative “2011 Holidays in Space” ornament from the Space Shop.
With the exclusion of ice skating, cookies and photo prints, all activities for Holidays in Space are included in admission to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, which is $43 + tax for adults and $33 + tax for children ages 3-11. Tickets are available from FloridaLeisure.com
Warner Bros. Entertainment and Universal Parks and Resorts today announced a partnership to bring The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – the enormously popular themed entertainment environment which debuted in Orlando in June 2010 – to Universal Studios Hollywood.
The two companies also announced their plans to significantly expand The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood will be as impressive as what has been created in Orlando – and is expected to transform tourism in Los Angeles for decades to come. It will be a fully immersive environment for the entire family that brings the stories of Harry Potter to life and is faithful to the visual landscape of the films, including a majestic Hogwarts castle to serve as the centerpiece of the themed environment. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood will be created with the same commitment to authenticity and the same level of talent and resources as its Orlando counterpart.
“I am delighted that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has been so popular with fans since the opening in Orlando last year and I am sure that the teams at Universal and Warner Bros. will bring their expertise and attention to detail to Hollywood to make this new experience equally as exciting,” said J.K. Rowling.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort opened in June 2010 and immediately captured global attention. It is a spectacularly themed land that includes Hogwarts castle, Hogsmeade and multiple themed attractions. Specific details of its expansion will be announced over time.
“The announcement of our partnership with Universal to bring The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Hollywood and expand what already exists in Orlando is probably the best holiday gift we could give to the legions of Harry Potter fans worldwide,” said Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. “Everyone involved with these projects is committed to continuing the enchantment of J.K. Rowling’s masterful books as they were brought to life on screen in our eight films and dedicated to extending the magic of the experience for generations of fans to come.”
“This is an incredible moment for Universal Studios and the millions of guests who visit our theme parks,” said Ron Meyer, President & COO, Universal Studios. “The Harry Potter stories are some of the most powerful of our time and we are honored to expand our Orlando experience and bring The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to Hollywood, forever changing family tourism in Los Angeles.”
“The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an entirely new level of themed entertainment that brings the stories of Harry Potter to life in incredible ways,” said Tom Williams, Chairman and CEO, Universal Parks and Resorts. “We are thrilled to be able to share this experience with our guests in Hollywood. And we are thrilled to take what has been created in Orlando to even greater levels.”
Thanks to everyone who entered our “Disney Sweepstakes” to win 2 x Disney theme park tickets. The winner is announced in the video below…. and we also have a special announcement…. so check it out…
To celebrate Walt Disney’s 110 birthday, we’re running a sweepstakes to celebrate our partnership with Walt Disney World and the Vacation Rental Home Connection. We’re offering you a chance to win 2 FREE tickets to any Walt Disney World theme park.
The sweepstakes started last week and will close tonight at 9pm 5th December 2011. All you have to do to enter and to stand a chance of winning the tickets is click “LIKE” on our Facebook.com/FloridaLeisure page and then submit your details on the entry form. It couldn’t be simpler. DO IT NOW!
