Perhaps fueled by a sense that the economy is improving, millions of Americans are gearing up to travel this summer. And when it comes to summer travel, Americans are nothing if not decisive about where we want to go.
Orlando ranks highest among the trips that agents are booking – 17.7% say the theme-park capital is this summer’s Number One destination. No doubt, that’s due in some part to the buzz building over the June 18 opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort.
Las Vegas is Number Two at 16.2%.
“There are a lot of discounts and deals right now for those cities,” explains Melissa Teates, director of research at ASTA in Alexandria, Va. “But, generally, most people just know they’ll have a good time in these cities. Orlando and Vegas really exist as vacation destinations.”Also among the top 10 major destinations this summer are San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, and Honolulu.
Another hot spot, New York City, is hotter than it’s been in some time.
It zoomed up the chart from Number Ten in 2009 — with 1.4% of ASTA members saying it was their top booking — to Number Six this year at 2.8%.
Teates says people are eager to travel after having put it off during the recession. But, she notes, many travelers are still holding down expenses. One way to do that is by staying relatively close to home.
“People want to travel more, but they’re being careful with costs,” she says. “A city like New York looks good. If you live on the East Coast, you can take a train. If you’re in the Midwest, it’s a short flight.”
Yes, those are French fries. Real, freshly cut French fries. And they’re awesome.
What’s more awesome is that you can get those French fries, and the accompanying double bacon cheeseburger for $5.99 at the new CoCo Key Hotel and Water Resort in Orlando. And you can wash it down with a $1.50 large soda.
Oh, and that cheeseburger? Freshly grilled right in front of you and put on a bun that was baked in-house that morning.
A bargain on a hotel room is not hard to come by in Orlando these days, but if you have to pay $18 for a sandwich and $3.99 for a soda at the hotel, is it really a bargain in the end?
That’s why I was so impressed with the food prices at this new resort. Besides the aforementioned burger and fries at lunchtime, CoCo Key offers up an amazing full breakfast buffet, complete with an omelet bar, for $11.99 ($5.99 for kids). There’s also a reasonably priced full-service restaurant open for dinner.
CoCo Key is the latest renovation of the original hotel built on Orlando’s International Drive – which opened as the Hilton Inn South in May 1970, 17 months before the ribbon was cut at Walt Disney World.
The big attraction here is the 54,000-square-foot water park on property, which has three big water slides and plenty of splash play areas and shallow pools for little kids.
The hotel partners with Universal Orlando Resort to offer vacation packages and free transportation to the park. (You can also get shuttles to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica and Walt Disney World.) Regular rates start at $99 per night. Resort execs say they are booking packages like crazy in conjunction with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening in June.
Just eat at the hotel before you go to the park, because I can pretty much guarantee you that Hogwart’s food will be more expensive.
Each week, Gadling is taking a look at our favorite festivals around the world. From music festivals to cultural showcases to the just plain bizarre, we hope to inspire you to do some festival exploring of your own. Come back each Wednesday for our picks or find them all HERE.
No matter what part of the country you live in, chances are you can roll your way to one of many cities that hosting an annual Lebowski Fest this year. The festival(s) celebrate the Coen Brother’s 1998 film “The Big Lebowski” starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, and Steve Buscemi. Organizers Scott Shuffitt and Will Russell started the first Lebowski fest in 2002 in Louisville, Kentucky. It was such a success that there are now multiple festivals a year in select cities across the country. (If you’ve never seen the movie, I recommend reading this quick synopsis to familiarize yourself with how the below activities cleverly tie the film and festival together.)
I became a huge fan of the film in college, so I made the two hour trip from Nashville to the Louisville festival last July. I followed the advice on the Lebowski Fest site and rented a discounted room at the suggested hotel, which is within walking distance to the bowling alley where all festivities take place. Make sure you book your reservation early as the rooms tend to go quickly.
The first night’s events include a screening of the film, followed by live music or a special appearance from a comedian or actor. The organizers try to bring in a well-known act and you will be pleasantly surprised with whom they are able to round up.
As fun as the official events can be, don’t forget to check out the pre-fest activities are also good fun. Upon arriving to the field outside the bowling alley, you can try your hand at the “ringer toss” where participants throw a suitcase full of the dirty white laundry over the Dude’s car to hit a target on the other side. This is your chance to meet other die-hard Lebowski fans, strike up conversations, and make new friends over a few oat sodas. Some festival-goers even dress the part, donning costumes and personifying their favorite characters from the film. These costumes serve a greater purpose later on in the festival, so be sure to bring a camera.The second night is when the real magic happens. If you’ve purchased your festival tickets in advance and arrive to the bowling alley early you can reserve a lane for unlimited bowling. Lanes are given up on a first come, first served basis.
Even if you don’t get a chance to bowl, this night serves as a social hour and you might even run into certain actors from the film who played minor roles. For a Lebowski fan, this is still an exciting run-in. Sharing a White Russian (or a caucasian) with Malibu’s Chief of Police is something to write home about!
The highlight of the festival is the costume contest which takes place in the bowling alley. Participants are judged by the audience based on originality and quality of costume. There are so many “Dudes” they have to award a prize just for the best Jeffrey Lebowski look-a-like. If you feel confident and can whip out your best Walter Sobchak aviator shades, I say enter that contest and go for it.
Overall, the best part of any Lebowski Fest is meeting new people and interacting with fans from all corners of the world. Sure, you might wake up the next morning with a headache from all the White Russians, but sharing a few laughs, and a few burgers with like-minded people really ties the whole thing together.
In 2010, Little Lebowski Urban Achievers can spend two days in Orlando (May 21-22), Louisville (July 16-17), Chicago (September 17-18), Seattle (October 15-16) or one in New York (November 4). Los Angeles already celebrated this year on April 2-3. Ticket prices can vary from city to city so check The Lebowski Fest website for updated pricing info.
Walt Disney World is offering free one-day park hopper tickets to travelers stuck in the Orlando area because of the air travel disruption in Europe.
The tickets will be available today and Wednesday and are good for admission to the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT (to see the spring Flower and Garden Festival, perhaps), Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. These passes also include admission to Disney World’s two water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon.
To get a free Disney World ticket, you must show a canceled airline ticket or expired boarding pass for a European flight, as well as a passport or other photo ID. You can also get reimbursed for Disney’s $14-per-day parking fees if you have to pay them to get to the parks.
Walt Disney World has long touted its comprehensive bus system in a long list of reasons while staying at a Disney resort is a great value. When you stay “on property” at Disney World, you get free transportation to all the Disney resorts, theme parks and other recreation areas.
But three bus crashes in a two-week span, including one that killed a 9-year-old boy, have critics saying a computer system inside Disney’s buses could be too much of a distraction.
The “Magic in Motion” system routes buses in real-time, rather than scheduling all the routes in advance of a shift. The system requires bus drivers to input a 5-digit code into a computer on the bus before they arrive at their destination. It’s a feat Disney says is easily accomplished while waiting at a stoplight or parking gate.
But some Disney bus drivers and a local union leader told the Orlando Sentinel that the system is distracting and requires drivers to take their eyes off the road.
For its part, Disney says it is developing software to further automate the system so that drivers don’t need to enter anything into the on-board computers.
And that’s great. Disney, and any other travel company for that matter, should be continually innovating to improve safety. But for what it’s worth, authorities say that distracted driving did not contribute to any of the three recent Disney bus crashes.
Anytime there is an accident at Walt Disney World, people panic and seem to overlook the fact that tens of thousands of people ride on these buses every day, at a 40-square mile resort dotted with 4- and 6-lane highways. The bus system is as complex as many cities. In fact, its fleet is larger than the city bus systems in Tampa and Orlando.
There are going to be accidents.
Personally, I’m more worried about a scene I see nearly every time I drive on Walt Disney World property: A family driving a rental car 60 miles per hour in unfamiliar territory, while mom takes pictures out the window and dad talks on his cell phone and messes with the GPS.