🎄Festive finds 🔎

Happy Friday, everyone!

It’s Landon here coming to you with another newsletter coming into your inbox. 🎄We’re now officially in the final countdown till Christmas – we’re just 10 days out‼️

Hopefully you have everything ready to go. For those of you celebrating Hanukkah – that’s being observed on Monday! 🕎

This week, I figured I would start things off at Universal Orlando. The resort is currently celebrating the holiday season with a number of different offerings. From the nightly Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s to Grinchmas, which celebrates the mean, green one himself, the Grinch – Universal has something for everyone.

About a month ago, while taking in the holiday activities, Universal Orlando creative leaders pointed out some small 🕵️‍♂️ hidden details about the décor that I thought I would share with you this week.

First off, let’s talk about the garland. As you may have noticed, there is a TON of it scattered around the resort. From the resort hotel lobbies to the twisted and wonky light poles in Suess Landing. Universal said it uses roughly 50,000 feet of garland around its parks. 😲 The holiday décor team at Universal Orlando begins decorating for the holidays at Islands of Adventure first. Once Halloween Horror Nights ends, large strike teams come into Universal Studios Florida and get to work.

Next up – let’s talk poinsettias. The festive holiday plant must be ordered months in advance! 👨‍💻📦 We’re talking July! The teams have so many places to put these plants – and they need a lot of them.

Heading over to the entrance gates (this one is my favorite), Universal said décor teams have put so called “ghosts of Christmas past” ornaments in the garland.

“In Port of Entry, they did 3 of our past attractions and at Universal Studios there are 12 different past attraction ornaments hidden all over the décor in the park,” said Lora Sauls, senior manager of entertainment and creative development. “It’s pretty amazing and it’s always great fun if you’re coming back.” Have you spotted some of these? I did it while making a visit out to the park this week. I found the ones at Universal Studios Florida were much harder to find! Some things to look out for include: 🐄 (Twister), 💀 (Terminator) and 🦈 (JAWS).

Finally – let’s talk about those two giant holiday decorations that you can’t miss.

At the entrance gates of Universal Studios Florida is a giant wreath hanging. Turns out, that wreath is made of four different pieces, and as Universal Orlando said … it’s the largest wreath in America! When you enter the park, don’t forget to snag a picture of that giant 72-foot-tall Christmas tree. The star on top is taller than me, with leaders saying the interior-lit star ⭐️ is 8-feet-tall! Pretty impressive, no? Hopefully you enjoyed some of those tidbits as much as I did.

Do any of you have plans to visit Universal Orlando soon? What’s on your agenda❓ Let me know by emailing me at lmcreynolds@wkmg.com

🎊Milestone anniversary 🎈

Heading over to SeaWorld Orlando this morning, the park is quietly celebrating a big milestone! SeaWorld Orlando is officially turning 50 years old today! 🥳

It was way back in 1973 when the park opened. Just a couple years after Walt Disney World opened its doors to guests, SeaWorld Orlando opened to visitors. When the park opened, it didn’t have its vast amount of roller coasters or Sesame Street land. Instead, it focused on what SeaWorld does best – and that’s its animals. It had dolphins, seals and some smaller aquariums. Some opening day shows included “Shamu goes Hollywood” and “Ding-A-Ling Bros. Circus.”

The park’s Sky Tower attraction was the first official ride to open in the summer of 1974. Over the years, the park has evolved and changed. Today, it has six coaster rides, and next year “Penguin Trek” will open. 🐧 To celebrate 50 years, the park is giving its pass members some special gifts. Beginning today, pass members can pick up a 50th anniversary commemorative map at Wild Arctic and a 50th anniversary ornament at Shoppes at Waterfront.

The park tells me it’s also opening a new Rita’s Italian Ice and Frozen Custard stand next to Manta, and 🍕 Dockside Pizza, a new in-park dining option located near Orca stadium.

The park will celebrate SeaWorld Parks 60th anniversary next year. 🎂

And it’s not just SeaWorld celebrating 50 years, something at Disney is too.

Ready to run? 👟

For all my runners out there, we’re just weeks away now from the 2024 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. Yours truly is running again this year (🙏 pray for me). This week, runDisney showed off the finisher medals for the upcoming 2024 Springtime Surprise Weekend. 🥇 This race weekend is taking place next April and features some classic Disney stories as themes. One of my favorite medals for this race weekend has to be the “Lion King“ medal.

For those of you hoping to jump into this race still … unfortunately, the only spots left are the virtual options.

The race weekend also has openings for its early morning yoga session and the all-new Springtime Surprise Splash at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon.

Bon Appétit! 👨‍🍳

Disney Springs has a new restaurant worth checking out very soon. Just days ago, Summer House on the Lake opened its doors to guests on the west side of Disney Springs.

The latest creation by Lettuce Entertain You, the restaurant boasts a California-inspired menu and introduces the brand’s inaugural “Cookie Bar.” 🍪 Umm ... YES PLEASE! The restaurant has something for everyone including Florida favorites like Key West shrimp 🦐 and grouper to seasonal favorites like Wagyu Beef, main course salads and artisan pizzas.

Reservations for Summer House on the Lake are now open on OpenTable!

Festive illusions 📸

Heading over to the Museum of Illusions at ICON Park, this week we learned that the attraction is hosting some unique holiday overlays inside. 🎅 It’s been a while since I have been to this attraction, but from what I can remember it was a lot of fun. Gather some of your closest friends and families and head over there. ICON Park has a deal right now for $37.95, which includes a ticket to the Museum of Illusions and a ride on The Wheel. 🎡 With the weather not looking very great this weekend, indoor attractions are looking really good this weekend.

Don’t forget – SeaLife Orlando Aquarium has its own holiday experiences too, and that’s just steps from the Museum of Illusions. 🫧🐠

Prepare for liftoff 🚀

Heading over to the Space Coast now, we have a new attraction open and a holiday experience worth checking out.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has now opened a new Blue Origin immersive experience. Located inside “Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex,” this experience allows guests to step inside a replica of a Blue Shepard rocket capsule. Guests will feel the rumble of the engines and see zero gravity indicators light up.

This weekend is the perfect time to check out the new experience as the visitor complex is preparing to begin its “Holidays in Space” event. ❄️🧑‍🚀❄️I told you all about this not long ago. It runs through Dec. 30, and features holiday décor, food and drinks and an all-new projection show. Tonight, Dec. 15, is also passholder appreciation night. The complex said passholders will get a special “Holidays in Space” pin and discounts.

Innovative enrichment 🦍

Finally, this week I wanted to take you to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

I was at the park recently to see the troop of gorillas receive some special holiday enrichment. Their habitat was packed with small presents that were packed with some of their favorite foods like hay, alfalfa, currents, oats and popcorn. 🎁 During my time out there, I had the chance to learn how this type of enrichment is good for the animals, teaching them how to forage for things. I also got the chance to hear how Disney Imagineers, engineers and others are getting innovative, and at times, high-tech to enrich the lives of the hundreds of animals at the park. One device enriching the lives of some of the big cats out there included a cheetah ball. 🐆 You can learn more about this story by watching this video here!

I think that will wrap things up from me this week. I hope you all stay dry this weekend and have a safe and fun weekend! I’ll see you all again next week for the final newsletter of the year.

-Landon ✍🏼