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

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.

Turns out butterbeer is just as popular with Muggles as with witches and wizards…not to mention Orlando area vacationers!

Universal Orlando officials said yesterday that the one-millionth mug of the delicious frothy, butterscotchy libation was sold over the holidays inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction… which is some feat considering it has only been open since last June!

The nonalcoholic drink, served cold or frozen, was inspired by the Harry Potter stories of J. K. Rowling,  whose characters regularly enjoyed a pint or two. Rowling approved the secret recipe for the butterbeer now served at the park.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, situated inside Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park, has a been a sensation, boosting park attendance 36 percent in its first three months and regular two hour lines just to get into the section.

Here’s some video from the day I tried it out…

I decided to wander along to Islands of Adventure recently to see how things were going over at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Remember, it officially opened to amazing scenes from Potter fans on June 18,  so I went along as I wanted to see how things were going.

And… I’m happy to report that it seems to be extremely popular…in fact, it’s still the busiest part of the Islands of Adventure theme park. I went on a relatively quiet day and still had to line up for the most popular attractions, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and the interactive Ollivanders wand shop!

The lines for Dragon Challenge and Flight of the Hippogriff weren’t too long but I’m not a fan of being thrown upside down and being scared out of your wits so I refrained from those rides and instead found more gentle pastimes..such as in the Hogs Head Pub!

For those that haven’t visited yet, the area is made up of several attractions as you wander through Hogsmeade Village. As has already been reported, the village really is a work of art with a great deal of attention to detail being displayed and it really does give you the feeling you are some place special.

As you wander through Hogsmeade you are enticed by the shops selling all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff. Places like Honeydukes Sweet Shop, Zonko’s joke shop, The Dervish and Banges magical instruments and equipment shop, Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods and the Owl Post. You can get your picture taken by the Hogwart’s Express and just take in the unique atmosphere.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is the signature attraction and is located inside Hogwarts Castle. On the way to the simply amazing rides, guests are maneuvered through scenes inspired by the Potter books and films.

Dragon Challenge, the world’s first dueling inverted roller coasters and previously known as Dueling Dragons before Potter came along and the Flight of the Hippogriff which is a Vekoma junior roller coaster, formerly known as the Flying Unicorn take care of those looking for a thrill ride.

As I already mentioned, Ollivanders, an interactive experience based on the Harry Potter location Ollivanders is simply a “must do” and it’s extremely well presented. A lot of fun!

I also stopped by “The Three Broomsticks Inn,” which is a restaurant serving typical British dishes and “The Hog’s Head Pub” where you can sip on spirits and drinks inspired by those in the Harry Potter stories. I tried the “butterbeer” for the first time… not sure I could drink too much mind! Find out why, try it for yourself on your next Orlando visit!

Here’s a video…

PS. Just recently we celebrated posting our 100th video …and this was supposed to have been it! However, it took a while to get here (2 weeks late!) and other stuff cropped up in between time. If you enjoy our videos do take the time to let us know and leave a comment or two. We’d love to hear from you.

Had a lot of fun last night as I attended the AARP Orlando@50+ event at City Walk, Universal Orlando. No..I’m not quite at that mark yet but I’m not far away and it was good to get out and meet so many folks at the “Meet & Greet” evening.

The day began earlier as AARP members explored the theme parks at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. For many, it was the first time in Orlando and from what I heard, everyone really enjoyed their time. Of course, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was one of the main attractions and naturally I took some time to visit it myself.

I’ll not say anything about it for now, because I have a very special blog coming up soon as we have something to celebrate but all I’ll say is that it was terrific. Terrific is a word that could also be used to explain tonight’s event; plenty of food…and I mean plenty, lots of great people and some fabulous entertainment at the all the bars and clubs at CityWalk set the Orlando@50+ off to the right start.

I’m looking forward to the weekend…and here’s a quick video I filmed earlier…

It’s that time of year again. Central Florida schools will be back in session starting tomorrow, 23rd August and there’s a good side and a bad side to this.

If you’re dashing off to a theme park them you might get delayed a little by the yellow school buses that will be sure to be clogging the highways. On the other hand, the theme parks will be quieter.

It’s this time of year that international visitors love the most. Orlando’s kids are back in school and that means anyone flying in from around the globe to enjoy Central Florida’s attractions are going to have an easier time. Lines will less and getting around the theme parks is so much nicer. It’s certainly a great time to visit Orlando’s newest attraction “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” for example but you can also expect fewer people at all the area’s favorites; Disney World, Sea World, Gatorland, Discovery Cove, etc.

Wow… that really was an exciting weekend. It all started with the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and ended late last night with Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell clinching his first major… the US Open. Sandwiched in between was some great action from the World Cup … so where to begin?

The main news story in Orlando simply has to be the massive crowds that were at Universal’s Islands of Adventure on Friday. I updated this blog extensively as the day went on here but I couldn’t let today pass without saying what a fantastic success the opening has been. Sure, Universal could have made it more dramatic and could have done it better but everyone I have talked to has simply loved the experience. And that is all that matters.

From the time Potter fans lined up overnight to walk the cobblestone streets of Hogsmeade on Friday morning and then queued in their thousands through the weekend to see the new attraction, it has been nothing but a huge success.

The opening on Friday was broadcast live on the Today show, and featured fireworks, drinks of Butterbeer and a chance for some lucky schoolkids  from Virginia, Denver, Oklahoma and Texas to shake hands and even go on a ride with British actor Daniel Radcliffe, who played the young wizard in the Harry Potter movies.

Radcliffe was joined by other actors from the films, including Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley). J.K. Rowling, the amazing author, even put in an appearance at the event… and here’s what Radcliffe had to say:

“What Universal Orlando has done with Harry Potter is really, really fantastic. We’re all kind of very grateful that the next part of the Harry Potter legacy has been so well done and so well made.”

The twenty acre Wizarding World cost an estimated $265 million to build and involved more than three years of planning and construction but it has so been worth it. Everyone simply must see it and we decided to do our bit by offering two FREE tickets to anyone that booked a vacation home with us last week… and now we have even more exciting news… we’re extending the offer.

Yes, that’s right….we’re now extending the offer for a further week! So that means anyone making a reservation this week for one of our fabulous vacation homes will get TWO tickets to Islands of Adventure and the chance to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for FREE!

So be quick… you’ve got one more week left to make your reservation and get your TWO FREE tickets. Call 1-800-760-1114 right now or visit the Florida Leisure web site www.FloridaLeisure.com to make your reservation online.

Just 15 minutes to go until the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter…and the excitement is building… here’s a couple of photo’s … the first shows the line at around 5.30am this morning and then the second is a photo of the line leading to the Wizarding World…

We’re one day from the official opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter but the stars were out in force last night as they attended Universal Orlando’s grand opening celebration last night.  The theme park doesn’t officially open to the public until tomorrow, but Universal brought in the stars of the film and conductor/composer John Williams to kick start things and make sure the new attraction sets off with a bang.

Though many of the stars of the “Harry Potter” films have come to see the park over the past several months, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, James and Oliver Phelps, Bonnie Wright, Matthew Lewis and Warwick Davis were given a special tour of Wizarding World’s many attractions on Wednesday so they would be primed to speak about them.

“It’s not even odd,” Radcliffe said about seeing the world he spent the past decade working on in film represented as a real place in hot and humid Orlando. “It’s absolutely fantastic. I couldn’t be more impressed.”

The group had some disagreements about which was the best ride however. Radcliffe and Grint said the twin roller coasters in Dragon Challenge were their favorite, while Lewis, Wright and the Phelps loved Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey the most.

Like everyone who has seen the new park, the stars seemed most impressed by the amount of detail making Hogwarts and Hogsmeade come to life, creating an experience they couldn’t even have on the movie set.

“It’s just total immersion into the world,” Lewis said. “In 100 years, it’s still going to be here. It’s a little weird for me.”

The actors said they loved the rides, which include two roller coasters (Flight of the Hippogriffs and Dragon Challenge) and a visual experience (Forbidden Journey). It was the first roller-coaster ride for Davis. Grint shared that his coaster-riding technique was to hold on for dear life, while Felton said that he keeps his hands in the air, screaming for his life. Radcliffe had a very specific procedure: Make sure the harness is extra tight; try to keep his eyes open for as long as possible, and make the longest, most prolonged scream possible. When he gets off, his experience isn’t complete unless all his hair is swept to one side.

Though she did not speak to the press and was kept well hidden at the event, “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling did make an appearance at the grand opening. Williams conducted the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in a special presentation of the various themes he had written for the “Harry Potter” film series. In the end, the stars seemed to think Universal had left no magical stone unturned in the creation of the Wizarding World. So that’s their verdict… it’s now over to you…

The soft opening at Islands of Adventure new attraction “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” is underway and we’re starting to get some very mixed reports. Most guests are absolutely “wowed” by the additional 20 acre section of the theme park but there are reports of some glitches that are annoying those folks who have purchased certain vacation package holders or are staying as hotel guests at Universal property.

The good includes the technological marvel called “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,” which notches theme park rides up another  level, 600 new products for legions of Potter fans to enjoy including tasty butterbeer and chocolate frogs not to mention some extremely enthusiastic Team Members (staff members). The bad included a stampede at opening time one morning this week and Forbidden Journey, housed in Hogwarts Castle, opening late due to technical problems only for it then to break down completely for several hours at a time…fortunately, things have improved and the ride seems to be working more times than not as I write.

The most amazing part of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the level of detail found throughout Hogsmeade Village, in its shops, and its surrounding areas. Ollivander’s Wand Shop is the highlight of all of the shop-based experiences according to many. Although it is not required to enter through the shop to buy a wand, as you can simply enter through the Owlry or Dervish & Banges, be warned,  if you skip doing so, you’ll be missing a fabulous magical show. Note: It is true that only 20-25 people are let in at once and only 1 out of that group is chosen to try out a magic wand as part of the show.

Other interesting sights including Zonko’s Joke Shop, Honeydukes, Hog’s Head Pub, Owlry, Dervish & Banges (including the Monster Book of Monsters) and Filch’s Emporium. I’ll not say much about about them, as I really don’t want to spoil your enjoyment when you visit, but within the shop area, you will encounter owls that subtly come to life, moving props hanging from the ceiling, directed sound effects as you pass through tight areas, and so much more.

Another very entertaining side of the Harry Potter section of Islands of Adventure are the performances that take place every so often in the streets between Hogsmeade Village and Hogwarts Castle. One of these is part of the Triwizard Tournament in which the girls from Beauxbatons dance with ribbons and guys from Durmstrang show off their staff-wielding skills. There’s also another street performance that occasionally takes place when the Hogwarts frog choir sings an assortment of Potter-related songs a capella.

Also look out for the former Dueling Dragons roller coaster which has now been remade into Dragon Challenge for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The ride brings guests into the Triwizard Tournament and the queue begins in the champions’ tent, continuing past the Triwizard cup.

Finally, be warned, when you enter the bathrooms of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, you’ll hear a familiar voice. Moaning Myrtle haunts the restrooms, wailing her familiar whines… just what you need when you need to hear at this point in time!

June is always a busy month in Florida and this year is no exception. Of course, the big news is that on 18^th June The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is due to open to the public at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure and it promises to be both exhilarating and exciting as it will enable you to personally experience some of the best scenes from the books and movies. The 20-acre island will also feature attractions, shops and restaurants set inside such locations as the Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade Village and the iconic Hogwarts castle.

Over at Walt Disney World is an event, or rather a series of events, that will enchant theme park guests when glittering light magic, high adventure, dance fever, thrills and chills set the after-dark scene. From June 6 through Aug. 14, “Summer Nightastic!” will light up the entertainment experience with a megawatt parade, a fireworks extravaganza, a rockin’ dance party, concerts and other surprises.

Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot will all present special events designed to add summertime energy to the after-dark theme-park experience.  At Magic Kingdom, thousands of tiny lights illuminate the return of the beloved “Main Street Electrical Parade,” and the elaborate new “Summer Nightastic! Fireworks Spectacular” paints the night sky more brightly than ever.

Downtown Disney has also been getting something of a makeover as new places like D-Street, a new apparel store where urban inspired product “intersects” with a Disney creative edge and RIDEMAKERZ have sprung up. The RIDEMAKERZ experience invites guests into the ultimate car customizing shop where they can build a one-of-a-kind radio control car or “RIDE”. Between bodystyles and colors, tires and wheels, lights and sounds, accessories and decals, RIDEMAKERZ estimates there are more than 649 million possible build combinations, not including individual decal placement! Downtown Disney has also welcomed several other additions as part of its overall revitalization plan including two new stores, a quick-service restaurant and 3-D technology to the AMC Pleasure Island 24 Theatre Complex.

Debuting  at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex this Summer is STAR TREK LIVE. This new interactive stage show begins on June 11, 2010 and is based on the popular science-fiction franchise. The show takes audiences on an exhilarating 30 minute journey offering an unforgettable live theatrical experience for fans of all ages. The show combines fun special effects, audience interaction and an exploration of real space-age technology.

At SeaWorld, the nights will be cooler and the atmosphere even hotter! SeaWorld AfterDark is transforming daytime favorites into nighttime spectacles.

SeaWorld AfterDark is showcasing the park in a whole new light, with a nighttime rock n’ roll extravaganza, a high-energy Shamu show, a hilarious sea lion show and a mystifying fireworks finale. That’s in addition to being able to experience all that’s awesome day and night, like Manta, up-close animal encounters and spectacular shows.

Busch Gardens is amping up the fun in 2010 during Summer Nights with MORE contemporary entertainment, MORE special effects and MORE reasons to stay and play each night from June 11 through Aug. 15. This year, the rides are even wilder and, each night, Busch Gardens goes out with a big, rock-style bang when Kinetix explodes onto the stage in Gwazi Park at 9 p.m.

Kinetix brings together live musicians, singers, dancers and artists from around the world for an original, non-stop 30-minute contemporary rock experience that delivers awesome lighting effects, modern music and high-energy performances.

Also in June, Busch Gardens’ world-class rides are amplified with pulsating sights and sounds to intensify each experience. Thrill rides, such as SheiKra, incorporate strobe lights, black lights, music and other special effects for an even bigger thrill. Even the carousel is amped up with a disco ball, and the Serengeti Express is aglow as it chugs around the park.

So, as you can see, it’s a great time to be in the Orlando area.