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Universal Studios' theme parks are full of strange & wondrous things. State-of-the-art rides, shows & attractions based on super-popular film & television franchises like " Fast & The Furious " and " The Simpsons ." Not to mention fun things to eat & drink...

When it comes to successfully marketing your motion picture, it helps to know where your target audience actually is / will be. Which is why - when Warner Bros. wanted to get comic book fans excited about " Wonder Woman " earlier this year - it worked with over 2,000 comic retailers, bookstores...

Everyone has a bad hair day every now and then. Well, imagine what Ashley Priselac - the studio manager for Madame Tussauds Orlando - has to deal with. Especially on those mornings when she arrives at this I-Drive attraction to do her usual 6:30 a.m. walk-thru and then discovers that a good percentage...

Sure, for some folks, the Fourth of July is all about fireworks. But for the 75% of all Americans who own a grill or a smoker, the Fourth is our Nation's No. 1 holiday when it comes to grilling. Which is why 3 out of 4 of those folks will spend some time outside today working over a fire. But here's...

The Hall of Presidents at WDW's Magic Kingdom is renown for a lot of reasons: Its earnest, respectful and almost painfully balanced look back at our nation's history. Not to mention being a technological marvel that - thanks to the magic of Audio Animatronics - manages to create the illusion...

Head's up to all you baby boomers out there: Tonight's your last chance to catch the "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" during its annual network airing ( NBC will be running this Chuck-Jones -produced holiday special this evening starting at 8 p.m. ET/ PT). Copyright Warner...

One hour. 60 measly minutes. That's all the time that Show Director Lora Wallace and her team are given to transform the streets of Universal Studios Florida . Change these highly themed but family-friendly thoroughfares into a setting better suited for the hundreds of scareactors who work the nation's...

Tomorrow night, "The Simpsons" kicks off its 27th season on Fox with an episode entitled "Every Man's Dream." Coincidentally, West Coast-based fans of this animated Fox animated comedy have been dreaming for decades now about getting the chance to visit Springfield (i.e., that...

For the past six months or so, guests staying at Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort have been looking their windows and watching as a mysterious mound of dirt grew ... Universal's Volcano Bay construction site in December of 2014. Photo by Jim Hill ... and grew. Universal's Volcano Bay construction...

Every year, after Santa's 60 foot-long sleigh float rolls up in front of Macy's Herald Square store on Thanksgiving morning, 50 million television viewers turn off their sets and say "Well, that's it for this year's parade." Not exactly. Though NBC's broadcast of this NYC...

With everyone else looking forward to tomorrow's grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley , it might seem kind of strange that Tom Williams -- the Chairman and CEO of Universal Parks & Resorts -- is using this exact same moment to look backwards. "But you have...

After having dealt with those record low temperatures that this past Winter's Polar Vortex whipped up, I have to admit that I am genuinely enjoying this year's belated (but much appreciated) Spring. But that said, I recognize that late 2013 / early 2014 wasn't the only time that things got...

Back when our grandparents used to visit the Sunshine State, there was always one place that they had to visit. And that was Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida . Started back in 1936 by Dick Pope Sr. and his wife Julie, this 170-acre park quickly became world-famous for its lush botanical gardens...

There has long been this legend about the importance the 1964 New York World's Fair played in the history of the Walt Disney Company. How the Fair was supposed to be this vital stepping-stone in the creation of Walt Disney World. How Walt had to see if his theme park rides and attractions would meet...

It was twenty years ago yesterday that I was standing in the Adventurers Club surrounded by some very incredulous WDW cast members. "Let me get this straight," said the woman who was playing Pamelia Perkins that evening. "Your wife is in a hospital, in labor right now ... And yet you're...

It seems kind of counte-rintuitive to use a plane to promote a train. But that's exactly what the Universal Orlando Resort did earlier this week. They jetted James & Oliver Phelps (AKA the two talented Brits who played Fred & George Weasley in the "Harry Potter" film series ) all...

Nancy and I drove down to Massachusetts yesterday to tour the 2014 Boston Globe Travel Show . And it was pretty easy to see most people from around here have already had their fill of ice & snow. Given that there were absolutely no takers at the Alaska Land & Cruise Adventures booth ... Photo...

"If you build it, they will come." No, that's not just a phrase that gets whispered to Kevin Costner as he wanders through a cornfield. That's also the dream of would-be entertainment entrepreneuers everywhere. They sincerely believe if they build a state-of-the-art soundstage somewhere...

Let me take you back to March of 1994. I'm in the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children . And because my then-wife Michelle had just begun having contractions, the staff in Maternity had quickly admitted her. And since I wanted to keep both sets of would-be grandparents aware of what was going on in...

Pauline S. dropped me a note the other day to ask: I've read lots of stories lately about all the testing that's being done at Disney World for MagicBands . And while there's been a lot written online about how everyone's WDW vacation experience will supposedly be changed forever once...