As you walk through Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom these days and encounter all of those construction fences for the Fantasyland expansion project it's kind of hard to imagine what this part of the theme park will look like in just a few years. But me? I can't help but look at the attractions that Fantasyland already has and wonder what this place would have been like if the Imagineers had been allowed to build the dark rides that they had originally designed for this section of the...

There's an old saying that you don't fix what ain't broke. And in the case of "The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man," this Islands of Adventure attraction had received consistently high marks with Universal Orlando Guests since it first opened back in May of 1999. With some folks calling this ambitious 3D / simulator hybrid the best theme park ride that had ever been built. Which should have made Thierry Coup, the Vice President of Development at Universal Creative, happy. After...

If you want to truly get a sense of how different The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is, then why don't you join me outside on the terrace? Copyright 2010 The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. All rights reserved That's right. A terrace. In a town where virtually every other hotel room is sealed up tight and then air conditioned within an inch of its life, the 2995 rooms that will eventually come on line at this brand-new resort & casino will actually allow guests to step outside and then get some...

When you think of it in fairytale terms, a trip to Las Vegas can really like something straight out of "A Thousand and One Arabian Nights." I mean, think about it: You do cross the burning sands (Especially if you're driving in from LA. Which means that you're taking I-15 straight across Death Valley.) And then - in the middle of the desert - you can find this fabled city which is filled with castles & turrets & magic. And when I say "magic," I'm not talking...

Let's be honest here. Every night in Las Vegas is kind of like Halloween. Don't believe me? Then take a stroll up the Strip some evening. And I guarantee you that you'll encounter some interesting-looking characters who are then dressed in some pretty far-out-looking outfits. But if you're headed to Vegas over the next week or so, you'll undoubtedly be looking for a little Las Vegas Halloween fun. The only question then is ... Well, how ghoulish do you want to go? Anthony Crivello...

Dawn Bachers of Orlando Fun Tickets talks up recent improvements to WDW’s retail, dining & entertainment district. Which includes an exciting new performer who just joined the cast of La Nouba...

There are a couple of things that you just have to do while you're in Las Vegas. Drive the Strip and gawk at all the lights Hit a buffet Catch a Cirque du Soleil® show Copyright 2010 Cirque du Soleil. All rights reserved But which of the Cirque shows should you see while you're in town? To be honest, that's kind of a tough question to answer. For " Mystere ," " O ," "Ka," " Zumanity ," " Love ," " Criss Angel Believe " and...

Given that the kids are now back in school and/or just about to go back to school I thought that I'd start this week's column with a math question. How long does it take to fill those 12 huge funnel-shaped tanks that power Typhoon Lagoon's 2.75 million gallon wave pool? Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved And the answer is ... well, that depends on whether you want 5-foot waves (which are ideal for body surfing) or 8-foot waves (which then allows Walt Disney World to...

Most men in their late 50s start to slow down a little bit. But -- then again -- most men aren't Penn Jillette. Best known as the taller, louder half of that eccentric pair of performers (who -- now through September -- will regularly be presenting their acclaimed magic act in the appropriately named Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas ), Jillette has been a very busy guy these past few months. How so? Well, just in the past year, this 57 year-old has: starred...

This Saturday, it's Lucky No. 7 for the Wynn. Seven years ago on April 28, 2005, this $2.7 billion dollar mega-resort opened at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue. And the town has never really been the same. Copyright Wynn Resort Holdings, LLC. All rights reserved Of course, there are some old timers who still miss the Desert Inn, that hotel & casino which previously occupied this spot along the Strip. But when you consider the state-of-the-art facility Steve Wynn built in...

Dawn Bachers of Orlando Fun Tickets walks you through all of the exciting after-dark offerings that the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot will be serving up now through August 14th...

How exactly do you become a Blue Man ? One of those mute musicians who appear in that mind-blowing stage show which is presented nightly in New York, Orlando, Boston, Chicago as well as at the Venetian Hotel, Resort & Casino in Las Vegas . Well, the Blue Man Casting team spends months traveling the globe every year searching for just the right people to play these parts. You see, a Blue Man has a very distinct look (i.e. each performer must have an athletic build and be between 5' 10"...

We're just two weeks out now from the frights that can be found at the 2011 edition of Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights . And while other sites may go on & on about all the scares that await you inside of those eight great new haunted houses that are being built as we speak for this year's event, I'd like to focus instead on the six scare zones that will be featured at HHN 21. To my way of thinking, those scare zones are the real reason that Universal Orlando's...

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary ... Copyright Universal Orlando Resort. All rights reserved If you experience this year's edition of Halloween Horror Nights at the Universal Orlando Resort, you'll definitely feel a bit weak and weary as you wander towards the exits around the stroke of midnight. Not because you'll have been pouring over some "... quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore." But rather because you'll have just spent an evening...

Here in the States, it's kind of a tradition that - whenever Father's Day rolls around - we invariably gift Dad with a tie. Which - as far as Father's Day presents go - is nice & safe & boring. This year, why don't you try giving Dad a different sort of tie? Not the fabric kind, mind you. But the sort of tie where things are just too close to call. Where it'll then be difficult for your Father to make his final choice. And if you're looking for a city which offers...

For most people, a trip to Las Vegas is a chance to step away from their everyday lives for a little while. A chance to go someplace exciting. Where the lights are bright and the music's loud and there's lots & lots of people. Where you just feed off of all of that energy & excitement. But the downside of this scenario is - if you're spending an entire week in Vegas - by around Day 3, you start to get sensory overload. Which is why it sometimes makes sense to step away from the...

So what's your favorite aspect of summer? Me personally, I enjoy those extra hours of daylight that you usually get in June, July and August. Which then makes it that much easier to cram an extra hour or two of fun into a summer night. And speaking of fun summer nights, both SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay have recently rolled out special Summer Nights promotions. Which - through extended operating hours, brand-new shows & extra entertainment opportunities - now allow Guests...

When you're in Las Vegas, access is always an issue. The Venetian Las Vegas Whether it's trying to decide which end of the Strip you should stay on (so that you can then have easy access to your favorite resorts & casinos) or what type of room you should book for your stay (Staying at the concierge level is admittedly a bit pricier. But on the other hand, it will then make it that much easier for you to score reservations & seats for some of Las Vegas' hottest restaurants and...

Life can really throw you some curves sometimes. Which is why - as 2010 draws to a close - a lot of us are probably looking for a spectacular way to put this bad old year behind us. Start the New Year off right by kicking up your heels and/or shaking your booty at some spectacularly exclusive party . Copyright 2010 The Venetian. All rights reserved And if that's really what you're looking to do this year, have your 2010 end well ... Well, has Best of Vegas got a deal for you? This New Year's...

Care to guess which creatures are the most popular at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park? The answer may surprise you. It's not those real lions, elephants and giraffes that you can see while rolling across the faux-African savanna aboard Kilimanjaro Safaris. But - rather - those all-too-human animals who sing & dance daily in Camp Minnie-Mickey at the "Festival of the Lion King" show. Mind you, what's kind of ironic about all this is that - when The Walt Disney Company...

Okay. We're a few days past Halloween at this point. And you've finished off the last of that leftover trick-or-treat candy. You've even packed away most of the scary stuff that you use to decorate the house this time of year. But for some reason or other, you're finding that you feel a little bit blue right about now, don't you? Well, don't listen to your friends & family. They'll just tell you that you're coming down off of your sugar high, which is what happens...

You wouldn't think that - given that Walt Disney World has been staging Halloween events at the Magic Kingdom for nearly 40 years now - that Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party would be still a work-in-progress. But given that Disney World's most popular theme park is right now in the middle of its biggest expansion in three decades (Look for Phase One of the Fantasyland Forest project to come online in the last Spring / early summer of 2012), the Mouse has taken this opportunity to...

Twas the week before Thanksgiving and all through the house, Would-be Scrooges were starting to grouse. "What's with these ads that are on my TV Hyping Christmas crud that I'm s'posed to see? Am I really the only one here who remembers That this holiday isn't 'til the 25 th of December?" Are you someone who has difficulty when it comes to holiday transitions? Do you get genuinely upset when you see all of the stores pulling down their Halloween decorations on November...

Here's a fun factoid for all of you Michael Jackson fans out there: Following the success of "Captain EO," Michael Jackson and the Imagineers actually spent about six months in the late 1980s developing a follow-up attraction. One that would have reimagined the King of Pop as a three-armed outer-space impresario called P.T. Quantum. The "crash-landed" version of the retooled exterior of Carousel of Progress theater-go- round show building. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc...

Okay. We're T-minus country now when it comes to the holidays. And with just a handful of days between now and you-know-when, it always helps to have a list. So that you don't wind up forgetting anything when you next head out for the Mall. "And what's on your list, Leslie?," you ask. Oh, you know. The usual stuff. I need a couple of cans of Who Pudding. And it'd be nice I had a few tringlers & dafflers & fuzzles & wuzzles to place under the tree. And then -...