Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA -- A blooming bounty of festival firsts will welcome Disney guests to the 20th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival presented by HGTV March 6-May 19, 2013 at Walt Disney World Resort.New this year:
- Epcot chefs will cook up first-time festival food and beverage fun, with special cooking stations offering exclusive-to-the-festival bites along the park’s World Showcase promenade.
- A new circus-like “Land of Oz Play Area,” based on the Disney fantastical film adventure “Oz: The Great and Powerful” to be released in March 2013, will debut a kaleidoscope of interactive fun.
- Disney topiary experts will grow, shape and manicure a Fab Five Disney character topiary with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck (with Daisy Duck in a cameo) featured in a celebratory floral cookout scene in living topiary color at the park’s front entrance.
- New illuminated gardens in the park’s Future World and World Showcase will cast a colorful glow over each festival evening.
Every Friday through Sunday, HGTV design celebrities will host Festival Center seminars. During opening weekend, March 8-10, Chris Lambton of “Going Yard” will appear; other designers scheduled to take the stage include Brandon Johnson of “My Yard Goes Disney” and Meg Caswell of “Meg’s Great Rooms.”
Festival Highlights:
- Festival-themed flavors: Guests will discover culinary creations and refreshing libations at multiple festival-themed food and beverage locations. Chefs are tweaking the menu to include backyard barbecue and a variety of garden-inspired and global tastes. Around the World Showcase promenade
- Fab Five topiary barbecue: 14-foot-tall topiary Goofy will bobble an anniversary cake while Donald and Daisy play badminton, Mickey fires up the grill, Pluto swipes a link of hot dogs and Minnie chills out on a colorful blanket of blossoms. At Epcot Front Entrance
- Land of Oz Play Area: This interactive new children’s play zone will feature play systems adorned with giant flowers and designed to stretch kids’ imaginations and muscles. Midway-style games, red-and-white circus-themed tents and the “Oz Movie Garden” of intriguing plants will capture the spirit of the upcoming “Oz: The Great and Powerful.” Also on tap: fun games, photo opportunities, the “great and powerful Oz’s” crashed hot-air balloon and lush plants inspired by the movie. On the Imagination Walkway
- Illuminated Gardens: Every night when the sun sets, many of the festival’s world-famous Disney topiaries and gardens will twinkle and shine in a new light. Throughout World Showcase and Future World
- “Monsters University” topiary: Floral representations of Mike and Sully from the hit Disney-Pixar film “Monsters, Inc.” and stars of Disney-Pixar’s June 2013 release, “Monsters University,” will join the festivities as new topiary family members. On the Future World Walkway
- Phineas and Ferb topiary: The popular Disney Channel animated celebs limit their shenanigans to go green for a family photo-op. Behind Spaceship Earth
- “Radiator Springs” interactive play zone: Race car Lightning McQueen and tow truck “Mater” of the Disney-Pixar film “Cars 2″ will be the well-maintained topiary stars of this play area. On the Test Track Walkway
- Flower Power Firsts: 1970s top disco band The Village People (April 19-21) and 1960s singer-songwriter Tommy Roe (May 3-5) bring on the Flower Power beat when they take the concert stage. At America Gardens Theatre
- Fawn’s Butterfly House: Eight fanciful fairy topiaries of Pixie Hollow, including Tinker Bell, Fawn, Vidia and Terrence, take over the Butterfly House this year where hundreds of colorful winged beauties flit to life. On the Imagination Walkway
The Flower Power concert series kicks off March 6-10 with Micky Dolenz (“I’m a Believer”) and continues each weekend with pop favorites including:
March 15-17: Chubby Checker & The Wildcats
March 22-24: The Guess Who
March 29-31: Nelson
April 5-7: The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie
April 12-14: Paul Revere & the Raiders
April 19-21: The Village People (new!)
April 26-28: The Orchestra, Featuring Former Members of ELO and ELO II
May 3-5: Tommy Roe (new!)
May 10-12: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
May 17-19: Starship starring Mickey Thomas.
While Disney guests celebrate spring during their festival visit, they also can explore the reimagined, design-centric Test Track Presented by Chevrolet, the hang-gliding sensation of Soarin’ and other high-tech Future World marvels. In World Showcase, where the spotlight will shine on topiaries of Disney princesses, storybook characters and even pandas and trolls, guests will discover the attractions, shops and restaurants that represent cultures and cuisine of 11 countries.
For more information about the 20th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, call 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639). The festival, including all gardening programs and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.
Orlando, FL, USA (November 27, 2012) – SeaWorld Orlando announces the concert lineup for its Bands, Brew & BBQ Festival, Saturdays and Sundays, February 9 – March 17. This year’s event will be bigger and better with two additional weekends of authentic sizzling BBQ and concerts.
Angeles, CA, USA (November 28, 2012) -- Electrosonic is pleased to announce that it has taken part in five projects that have captured Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement. Presented by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), the Thea Awards recognize and honor excellence and breakthrough innovation in visitor experiences, attractions, exhibits and places.
Areas of focus will includesound design and audio, cross-platforming from fulldome to giantscreen and vice versa, designing a fulldome curriculum in schools,scripting and story for fulldome shows, and setting up fulldometheaters as multipurpose spaces. There will be a series of curatedscreenings, a Fulldome Innovation Salon for networking, productdemonstrations and content sharing, a Creative Video Lab and theIMERSA Fulldome Standards Committee will address audio as the nextphase of its work. Workshops will range from beginner to advancedlevels.
Las Vegas, NV, USA (November 15, 2012) -- Skyline and Fremont Street Experience announce the creation of SlotZilla – the world's first powered-launch zipline attraction – to be built in downtown Las Vegas. SlotZilla combines innovative technology with a dynamic themed concept to transcend a traditional zipline ride into a ground-breaking attraction for the amusement industry.
Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA -- PrimeTime Amusements, a global operator, seller and event renter of video arcade machines and simulators, is proud to congratulate its President and Founder David Goldfarb and winning the inaugural South Florida Sun-Sentinel Top Workplaces for People on the Move awards, which recognized business leaders from around South Florida. The awards were launched in June 2012, included an interview with the nominees and judging panel, and culminated in an awards gala celebration at the W Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, November 15, 2012.
Philadelphia, PA, USA (November 26, 2012) -- The Rodin Museum is one of Philadelphia's prized museums, and has been run by the Philadelphia Museum of Art since 1929. The museum, which contains a priceless collection of 'the father of modern sculpture' Aguste Rodin including "The Thinker," attracts tens of thousands of visitors per year and is not only a landmark in Philadelphia, but also a major international tourist attraction. Recently, the museum enhanced its visitor experience by installing a K-array audio system, distributed by Sennheiser.
GSCA Film Expo & Digital Symposium
TEA Summit & Thea Awards Gala
AAM Annual Conference & Museum Expo
Orlando, FL, USA (November 20, 2012) /PRNewswire/ -- SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the Orlando-based owner of 10 U.S. theme parks, has acquired Knott's Soak City -- San Diego, a standalone Southern California waterpark, from Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.