Dollywood wins major theme park award

by Leigh Caldwell on

Dolly Parton visited Orlando, Florida, yesterday to accept the Applause Award on behalf of her theme park, Dollywood.

“I love my music, but when you get a chance to do things like this, where you serve so many people in a different way, it makes me proud of something that so many people can enjoy,” Parton said during the ceremony on the opening day of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo.

The Applause Award is bestowed every other year on one park deemed to exhibit overall excellence.

Dollywood was recognized for its originality, cleanliness, friendliness of the staff and family values.

“Of course, Walt Disney became successful because he had Mickey Mouse, who has two big ears. So, I figured I could be successful with Dollywood with my two big partners,” Parton said. She then glanced down at her famously large chest before pointing at Pete and Jack Herschend in the audience.

Parton partnered with their company, Herschend Family Entertainment, to open Dollywood in 1986 on the site of the former Silver Dollar City theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Get inked: Tattoo artist in residence at The Marcel at Gramercy

by Melanie Nayer on

Who said luxury hotels can’t be a little edgy? Renowned LA-based tattoo artist to the stars, Mister Cartoon, is coming to New York City and will be inking New Yorkers as part of the “Tattoo Artist in Residence” series hosted by The Marcel at Gramercy.

Seat yourself in the artist’s chair through Nov. 24 and let Mister Cartoon ink you. The boutique hotel, located on the border of New York City’s Gramercy Park and Murray Hill neighborhoods, will feature a pop-up Ink Suite so you can get tattooed in private.

Not sure what you want? Consult some of his famous clients including various members of the New York Yankees, and celebrities such as Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Eminem, Mena Suvari and Ryan Phillippe.

As part of his time at The Marcel, Mister Cartoon will unveil a one of a kind artwork to be displayed in the hotel lobby, in addition to acting as The Marcel at Gramercy’s “Tattoo Artist in Residence.”

Need some inspiration? Our own Mike Barish offers a list of travel-inspired tattoos and resident globe-trotter Aaron Hotfeider put together a list of travel tattoos you won’t regret when you’re old and wrinkly.

As an added bonus: Hotel guests will have the unique privilege of skipping the one-year waiting list to get “inked” by the master himself.

SeaWorld to open new Shamu show next spring

by Leigh Caldwell on

Shamu will get a new show next spring at the SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego.

The killer whale show will replace “Believe,” which debuted four years ago. There’s no word yet as to whether SeaWorld’s killer whale trainers will be in the water with the orcas in the new show.

The trainers have been out of the water since the February death of Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld Orlando, forcing a hasty rework of “Believe,” a show which focuses on the interaction between killer whales and humans. I have seen the show twice since the rework, and the storyline just doesn’t work now, because the trainers were such a big part of it.

SeaWorld Parks President and CEO Jim Atchison told the Orlando Sentinel that the new show was in the works before Brancheau’s death, but the timetable for launching the new show has been accelerated. Atchison also said the safety review launched in February has influenced the new show’s development.

More details about the show are expected to be released in the next few weeks.

[Image credit: Flickr user Abi Skipp]
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Contest: Steven Slater and Toktumi want your crazy flight stories

by Tom Johansmeyer on


Who would have thought that Steven Slater could actually get another job? The disgraced former flight attendant has even picked up a gig in the travel industry, though he obviously isn’t pushing the beverage cart any more. Rather, the man who may have had close to two decades of flight attendant experience, depending on which of his claims you believe, has landed his first job as a spokesman.

Slater is the public face of Toktumi’s mobile communication app Line2. If you’re on a wifi-equipped plane, you can use Line2 to text while in flight. So, why Slater? Well, Toktumi’s latest contest involves in-flight insanity, so he as a natural fit. And, let’s be realistic – it’s not like he has much else to do. To enter the Mile High Text Club Contest, and see if you have a story that tops Slater’s, text your tale to 222-222-2222. Your contributions will appear on http://www.milehightextclub.com starting today. The deadline is December 3, 2010.

The winners will be decided by a panel of judges, one of which will be Slater. If you can win over the flight attendant who cracked under pressure, you may walk home with the grand prize: a weekend holiday shopping trip for two in New York City. Seven iPod Touch devices are available as second prizes, with 13 third-place winners receiving gift cards for six months of free Line2 service.

%Gallery-99568%”In order to spread the word that Line2 allows airline passengers to text from the sky, we hired one of the most famous guys in the airline business today, Steven Slater,” explains Peter Sisson, Founder and CEO of Toktumi. “After talking with Steven, I realized that despite his dramatic approach – which he regrets – he was making a statement about the need to return civility and common courtesy to flying.” It’s an interesting way to make that statement, I guess, given that Slater was far worse than the passengers he encounters. Sisson adds, “He’s a perfect judge for a contest concerning the current state of air travel.” He was a flight attendant for 20 years, and both his parents had long careers in the airline business.

Line2 has a laudable goal for the “Mile High Text Club” contest: the company wants to make in-flight texting the norm, to keep people from yelling into their phones … and ostensibly from creating another Steven Slater moment.

“Line2’s SMS texting is really useful while in flight,” Sisson says. “You can let people know about delays, make plans for the evening, or just pass the time texting with your friends and family while you fly.”

And, you can let them know when a grumpy flight attendant loses his mind, grabs two cold ones and pops the slide.

100 controversial whole body imaging photos revealed

by Scott Carmichael on

Gadget blog Gizmodo.com has obtained access to 100 images captured by a whole body imaging machine that was installed at a Florida courthouse. We covered the incident back in August, but a Freedom of Information Act request has finally produced the actual photos.

When these machines were installed, we were all told that none of them would actually store photos. As images started leaking out, it became obvious that these claims were of course false. In the video clip created by Gizmodo, you see people occupying the scanner, along with his or her body scan.

There is some good news – as the images clearly show that they don’t reveal all that much. People hoping to see clear images of genitalia will be quite disappointed.

Still, it is quite alarming that the images were stored in the first place – though we do need to point out that this particular scanner was not operated by the TSA – it is a millimeter wave scanner, operated by the U.S. Marshals service. Even though the technology and operation is slightly different from the airport machines, the resulting images are very similar.

Of course it also means that despite all the reassurances, the machines are capable of storing photos, and I am confident that it is just a matter of time till an airport is involved in a similar privacy incident.

What do you think? Do these photos make you more or less afraid to use the whole body scanning machines?

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[Image from Gizmodo.com]
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