Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle

Darth Vader was on loan from California, but hopefully he will emigrate here permanently

The “worst kept secret in Central Florida” was confirmed today when LEGOLAND Florida’s General Manager Adrian Jones announced the Miniland area of the park is to undergo a huge expansion to include scenes from all 6 of the Star Wars movies and The Clone Wars cartoon that is about to start it’s 5th season on The Cartoon Network.

Media trucks from all over Central Florida are a testament to how quickly LEGOLAND has been embraced by the area.

Opening in November 2012, the LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Cluster will be built in 1:20 scale and created from more than 1.5 million LEGO bricks. There will be 2,000 LEGO models, including some 6ft tall lifesize characters.  Interactive buttons will allow children (and many adults) to activate animations as they follow a chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the Saga.

Media interviews in front of the fenced off construction site

The LEGO Star Wars Miniland Cluster experience will be included with park admission and will be similar to the one already in LEGOLAND California.

California already has a Star Wars Miniland

The Star Wars store at LEGOLAND

“Today, less than a year after our grand opening and only four months after opening the all-new water park, we are thrilled to announce yet another expansion this November. This new LEGO Star Wars Miniland Cluster will add to our 150-acre family theme park with more than 50 rides, shows and interactive attractions,” said Jones.

The Expansion Map: Located in the area behind Miniland on the way to Land of Adventure

It is not known exactly when the expansion will be open, or what events are planned to accompany it. Last year when California unveiled theirs, Carrie Fisher who played Princess Leia was the guest of honor and in June they hosted their first LEGO® Star Wars Days.

Carrie Fisher opened LEGOLAND California's Star Wars attraction

Here a short video from the event as Adrian Jones makes the announcement and introduces Darth Vader as well as comments about the expansion from LEGOLAND Spokesperson Kim Isemann.

There is a close up look of the Millennium Falcon and Darth Maul that will be part of Star Wars Miniland Cluster.

You won't find this version of the Millennium Falcon in your local LEGO store

Han and Chewie make the jump to lightspeed ... eventually

The detail is so amazing it is easy to forget this is made of bricks

The Force just got a lot stronger in Central Florida as we are rapidly becoming the center of the Star Wars Universe.

Return of the Sith: Darth Maul is enjoying a new lease of life in The Clone Wars television series

Busch Gardens’ Summer Nights amps up the excitement year after year, and 2012 promises to offer even more after-dark entertainment and fun for the whole family with a new Latin-infused show at the Desert Grill and—for the first time ever—an amazing fireworks finale every night of the event.

From June 9 through Aug. 12, guests will experience extended park hours, special entertainment, high-energy DJs, and the thrill of riding world-class coasters in the dark, including Busch Gardens’ new triple-launch coaster, Cheetah Hunt.

The award-winning Kinetix show returns to Summer Nights with nightly performances of its rock-fueled blast of music and acrobatics. Kinetix’s energizing performances include live musicians, singers, dancers and artists from around the world. Their thrilling performance – along with modern music and pyrotechnic effects – will pump up the crowd every night in Gwazi Park at 9 p.m. Gates open at 8 p.m., so arrive early to ensure a good spot and enjoy the Party Starters’ pre-show interactive games and dancing.

NEW Fireworks Light Up the Sky Every Night

Celebrate the perfect end to the evening with an amazing fireworks finale. Busch Gardens lights up the sky every night of the event with an incredible aerial display set to popular music. The best views are in Gwazi Park, right after the nightly Kinetix show, but the fireworks are visible from all over the park.

NEW “Let’s Get Loud” Takes the Stage in the Desert Grill

Singers, dancers and musicians heat up Summer Nights with popular contemporary music and dance, incorporating the Latin flair of Miami’s South Beach. “Let’s Get Loud,” a Miami Dance Party, opens June 9 and will feature music and dance infused with Hispanic heat from well-known artists like Gloria Estefan, Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin.

On Fridays and Saturdays, the Party Starters will host dance challenges all day throughout the park and pick the most outgoing guests to compete in the Dance-Off competition that evening. The Dance-Off will be a three-round competition starting at 7 p.m. in the Desert Grill. The audience picks the winner with “the best moves” by applause, and first prize is four tickets to come back to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

Don’t forget that Busch Gardens is the place to be this summer ­– both day AND night – with brand-new attractions that offer exciting entertainment for everyone. Busch Gardens just opened its biggest ice show ever, Iceploration, bringing to life an all-new adventure filled with world-class skaters, original costumes, amazing aerial performances, master puppetry and live animal stars. The park’s new Animal Care Center welcomes guests to closely observe and even take part in the animal care experience in this new state-of-the-art facility. And the park’s newest mega-attraction and Florida’s first triple-launch coaster, Cheetah Hunt, launches riders from 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds. If going from zero to cheetah is not your speed, guests can watch as Busch Gardens’ cheetahs sprint several times a day in Cheetah Run.

Park hours for Summer Nights are extended until 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and until 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Summer Nights is included with a day’s paid admission or any annual pass.

For more information on Summer Nights and Busch Gardens, visit FloridaLeisureTickets.com or call
1-800-760-1114.

Love is in the air and with a romantic overlay for Valentine’s month, a new segment of the “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” projection show on Cinderella Castle is debuting for Walt Disney World Resort guests. For the first half of Valentine’s month, until Feb. 15, some of the most romantic moments in Disney animation will inspire the special show. The iconic castle in Magic Kingdom will be covered in red roses for one sequence and turned into a beautiful, star-filled sky for another. During part of the show, spectacular stained-glass windows will grace the façades, depicting the stories of Cinderella, Snow White and Belle. “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” is a part of Disney’s “Let the Memories Begin” in 2012.

Also in town today was entertainer Paula Abdul who posed with Minnie Mouse at Disney’s Hollywood Studios park . For the day, Minnie Mouse wore her special “Valentine’s Day” dress, with white hearts replacing her usual white polka dots.

Meanwhile over at SeaWorld, there was some love at the Shamu show….

For more than five decades, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has set the industry’s standard for delivering unforgettable entertainment experiences, with Broadway-style stage spectaculars like KaTonga: Musical Tales From the Jungle and innovative ice shows like World Rhythms on Ice. Yesterday, we got the chance to preview the new Iceploration show that Busch hopes will build on that tradition and introduce audiences to the next generation of ice shows.

Starting today, February 2, a cast of 20 brings to life an all-new adventure filled with world-class skaters, more than 75 original costumes, amazing aerial performances, master puppetry and live animal stars.

“The grand scale of this show sets a new standard of entertainment that further solidifies Busch Gardens as one of Florida’s premier theme parks,” said Busch Gardens Park President Jim Dean. “Iceploration reintroduces the ice show to our most loyal fans while bringing together the things Busch Gardens stage productions do best: world-class entertainment with top-notch skaters, amazing costumes, original music, larger-than-life puppets and even animal stars.”

Iceploration, with shows daily in the Moroccan Palace, inspires audiences to “explore the world” on a 30-minute journey to the four corners of the earth. This multi-sensory story, told through theatrical skating and an all-new original score, is the collaboration of an award-winning creative team with Broadway credentials, including Tony Award-winning costume designer Gregg Barnes (The Drowsy Chaperone, Best Costume Design Tony winner 2007; Legally Blonde the Musical, Best Costume Design Tony nominee 2007).

The 30-minute show opens with Austin, a digitally savvy preteen, who believes that technology has made his generation more connected to the world than ever before. But his grandfather, an old-world explorer, argues that the boy is more disconnected than he realizes, and takes him on an adventure around the globe. Through their travels they visit the African Serengeti, Great Barrier Reef, the Arctic and the Amazon rainforest.

The adventure unfolds as they arrive in the African Serengeti. Here, larger-than-life puppets and spectacular set design bring elephants and other awe-inspiring animals to life at a watering hole. Solo and chorus skating performances accompanied by acrobatics tell an anecdote of an agile cheetah stalking graceful gazelles and meerkats.

Austin and Grandpa then dive into the Great Barrier Reef to explore the harmony of life on the ocean floor. An amazing black light transition and never-before-seen helium-filled puppets immerse the audience in the wonders of the sea, filled with parrotfish and lionfish, sea urchins, turtles and a moray eel.

In the Arctic, majestic skaters become striking snow flurries as a winter storm threatens the travelers. Austin and Grandpa witness even more beauty as they encounter the Aurora Borealis phenomenon, represented with theatrical lighting and projections. Then, they share the stage with amazing live animal stars, including a Siberian lynx and a sled of Siberian huskies as they continue to traverse the tundra.

Austin and Grandpa wrap up their adventure around the globe immersed in the lush, tropical Amazon Rainforest. Squirrel monkeys, sun conures and colorful macaws fill the air as playful frogs and a graceful dragonfly skate into the grand finale: a new signature song called “Meet the World.”

Iceploration performances are included with any daily park admission. More photos at www.Facebook.com/FloridaLeisure and here’s some video:

Seven popular HGTV celebrities will offer the inside scoop on home entertaining at weekend seminars during the 45-day 16th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival running Sept. 30-Nov. 13. Each Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival a top HGTV personality will appear at The Festival Center in Future World to share his or her own secrets to throwing a perfect party.

“Design stars from the network will talk about home entertaining,” said Michael Jenner, festival manager. “Think about the way interior decorators design a room … and imagine that same creative process brought to the dinner table. It’ll be a great way to get ready for all the holidays coming up.”

Here’s the lineup (subject to change):

* Sept. 30-Oct. 2 – Vern Yip, “HGTV Design Star” and “HGTV Urban Oasis”
* Oct. 7-9 – Monica Pedersen, “Designed to Sell”
* Oct. 14-16 – Erin Loechner, “Design Happens”
* Oct. 21-23 – Taniya Nayak, “Designed to Sell”
* Oct. 28-30 – Kim Stoegbauer, “On-line Party Inspiration”
* Nov. 4-6 – Lisa LaPorta, “Designed to Sell”
* Nov. 11-13 – Emily Henderson, “Secrets From a Stylist” and “HGTV Design Star,” winner Season 5 “Design Star”

The appearances are included with Epcot admission.

Today marks the day that leaves Legoland Orlando on a 100 day countdown until the Grand Opening on October 15.  LEGOLAND® Florida has released a new batch of photographs as rides begin to appear at the park. Shown below are the Duplo Farm (left) and Grand Central Station, NY (right)

From the Safari Trek (below left) to the  LEGO® Technic Test Track Coaster, (Below right), construction crews are hard at work transforming the property into the interactive theme park geared toward families with children ages 2-12.

LEGO TECHNIC® Test Track  is a “wild mouse-style roller coaster where brave guests feel the power of acceleration, braking and maneuverability as they race a life-size LEGO TECHNIC vehicle along a wildly twisting track.

The Royal Joust, (pictured above) where kids ride LEGO-themed horses through a number of medieval scenes where they encounter other riders in a simulated joust.

The Banyan Tree located at the botanical gardens area of the park.