The Wizarding World of Harry Potter reveals more with its new website

by Scott Carmichael on

Harry Potter fans are going to love this – Universal Orlando just opened the doors to the new website for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Up till now, we didn’t have that many details to work with, other than a few glimpses of Hogwarts (and a teaser video clip for during the Super Bowl).

Thanks to the new site, a huge amount of new details are coming to light – the site describes the shopping, dining and of course, several of the new attractions. Click on the “flying tour” in the top left for a fantastic overview of what to expect in this magical new world.

The site also offers daily news updates (in a true to the movies newspaper layout) as well as a nifty Owl Post service which lets you mail postcards to your friends. Click here for the newly updated Wizarding World of Harry Potter website.

Man allegedly pretends to be U.S. Marshall, kidnaps woman and has her deported to the Philippines

by Scott Carmichael on

Sometimes in the course of a day, you come across a story that is just too weird to ignore.

According to local Hemet, CA police, Gregory R. Denny arrived at the doorstep of a local woman, “arrested” her, and drove her to a local border patrol station asking them to take her into custody.

He apparently did all of this while dressed as a U.S. Marshall wearing a law enforcement uniform, badge and a handgun.

When the border patrol post could not verify the existence of a warrant for the woman, he drove her to the San Diego airport, made her buy her own ticket to the Philippines, then bypassed security to be sure she got on the plane telling the security checkpoint staff that he was deporting her.

Denny has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, false imprisonment, impersonation of a peace officer, burglary, and false arrest.

Meanwhile, the poor lady is still in the Philippines and it is unknown whether she really was illegally in the country. He has been booked, and released on a $50,000 bond awaiting a February 16. court date.

As usual, I’m sure the TSA will start a very serious investigation to figure out how a random stranger can pretend to be with the government, and take a hostage through their checkpoint.

(Photo from KCAL CBS 2 Los Angeles)

Universal Orlando’s top secret Harry Potter Super Bowl ad reveals more mysteries

by Scott Carmichael on

Last week, we let you take yourself on a tour of some of the attractions at the upcoming “Wizarding World of Harry Potter”. If you want to see even more of what this new park has to offer, check out the video above, courtesy of our friends over at WalletPop.

The ad is set to air on Sunday February 7th. In the clip, you see everything you’d expect from a Potter themed ad – broomsticks, dragons, Hogwarts and of course – a roller coaster! Daniel Radcliffe himself makes an appearance, which clearly means Universal put quite a bit of effort into making this a worthy Super Bowl spot.

Head on over to the WalletPop article for more juicy speculation (including a rumored robot-coaster ride).

Spirit Airlines announces another raunchy marketing stunt

by Scott Carmichael on

Ah, Spirit Airlines – the airline equivalent of a Beavis and Butthead episode.

After annoying their own staff with their “MILF” promotion back in 2007, the marketing minds at this low cost carrier have decided to ignore all the previous criticism, and launched yet another raunchy promo.

Dubbed “MUFF DIVING“, the promo promises “Many Unbelievably Fantastic Fares to Diving Destinations”. Yeah, we get the joke (and it made me chuckle).

Still – you can’t blame them for trying; their stunt has already caught the attention of many Internet sites (this one included).

So, even if they don’t sell a single ticket, and even when they’ll make their own staff madder than ever — they have created the kind of buzz only smart marketing people manage to create. Kudos Spirit.

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Austin-Lehman Adventures launches “preserve a park” program

by Kraig Becker on

Upscale adventure travel company Austin-Lehman Adventures has launched a new conservation and education program that will, on a yearly basis, highlight a designated national park and provide financial contributions to an organization that is associated with that park. This new initiative is dubbed the “Preserve A Park” program, with Glacier National Park being the first beneficiary.

2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Glacier being designated as a national park. Located in the state of Montana, along the border with British Columbia, Canada, the park is over 1 million acres of pristine backcountry wilderness. Home to hundreds of species of animals, Glacier is popular with those hoping to catch a glimpse of the amazing wildlife, which includes grizzly bears, mountain goats, elk, moose and much more. Other visitors come to take in some of the 700 miles of hiking trails or paddle the more than 300 mountain lakes, while some are happy to just drive the famous Going to the Sun Road.

Of course, Austin-Lehman is offering their own Glacier Park Vacations giving travelers a chance to explore the park in all of its splendor. And for every person who signs up for one of these trips, the company is donating $100 to the Glacier National Park Fund as part of the Preserve A Park program. There will be three Glacier Park trips for this year, each lasting 6 days and 5 nights, running from August 1-6, August 8-13, and August 15-20, with a cost of $2498 per person.

Austin-Lehman is one of the top adventure travel companies in the world, offering small group travel in North, South, and Central America, as well as Europe and Africa. For more than 35-years, the company has been organizing active excursions around the globe, while still offering an emphasis on culture and history as well.