LEGOLAND Water Park to follow 6th year of growth

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The first looks at the world’s first LEGO® water park were revealed recently at LEGOLAND California Resort. So far, it’s only an artist’s rendering of the new water park, but that’s the first step toward getting drenched.

This new initiative follows the park’s successes with the new Bob the Builder™ 4-D movie and the presidential inauguration scene in Miniland U.S.A. These new developments come on the heels of a sixth consecutive year of growth for the California resort, with 2009 turning in a 6 percent increase … and guest satisfaction ratings in the high 90s.

“2009 was a record year here at LEGOLAND California Resort,” said the resort’s general manager, Peter Ronchetti, during the press conference. This comes, he continues, as “Many theme parks across the country have reported difficult trading and necessary cost control actions as a result of the challenging economic climate over recent months. So we feel very fortunate with all of the expansion here at LEGOLAND California Resort, to be able to report that our attendance continues to grow.”

The trajectory is expected to run through 2010, with more than $15 million invested in the park. The LEGOLAND Water Park is set to open in June (behind Fun Town) and will be ideal for families with children aged 2 to 12. “LEGOLAND Water Park will be lots of fun, constructive play including slides, LEGO friends and, the feature I am personally the most excited about – the Build-a-Raft concept where kids customize their own raft made of soft LEGO bricks before floating down a lazy river,” said Ronchetti.%Gallery-73517%

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Disney offers free park admission to volunteers

by Katie Hammel on

Volunteer one day of your time next year, and you could receive a free day of admission at a Walt Disney theme park in return. The Disney company has announced that one million people who volunteer with the HandsOn Network can get into any Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, or into Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, for free in 2010 through the “Give a Day, Get a Disney” promotion.

The HandsOn Network works with 70,000 agencies across the country, including Habitat for Humanity and local food banks and churches. After volunteers gets their service verified with the agency, they get a voucher for free admission. The work must be done in 2010 and the voucher needs to be used by December 15 of that year. Volunteers must be 18 or older to sign up, but kids ages 6-17 who complete volunteer work with their parents can also get into the park free.

Those who have multi-day annual passes can use their free-day voucher for up to six FASTPASS tickets that will get them to the front of the line for certain rides. Only residents of the US, Canada and Puerto Rico are eligible to redeem the free admission vouchers.

This isn’t the only deal Disney has offered recently. All of the US Disney parks offered visitors free admission on their birthday this year, and many Disney resorts offered “stay two nights, get a third free” promotions as well.

NYC duo gets tapped for Orlando smile assignment

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Orlando has spoken! A pair of New Yorkers rose above hundreds of applicants to become Orlando’s Smile Ambassadors. For 67 days, they will experience more than 100 attractions offered … which includes a hell of a lot more than just a dance with the Mouse. Alligators will be involved, for example. Along the way, they’ll blog and their experiences, giving the rest of the world an “in the trenches” view of what Orlando has to offer.

The final test for Kyle Post, a Broadway performer and Stacey Doornbos, a childcare worker in Harlem, was a 67-hour “boot camp” that ended on July 29, 2009. The candidates went hang gliding, did some indoor skydiving and checked out downtown Orlando, blogging and tweeting as though it were the real deal.

“Every member of the selection committee agrees that selecting one pair from our ten finalists was one of the toughest career decisions we have each faced,” said Gary C. Sain, president and CEO of the Orlando CVB. “Each pair demonstrated tremendous creativity, desire and commitment. We thank all of the finalists for making us smile and ultimately look forward to Kyle and Stacey bringing the complete Orlando experience to life for a worldwide audience starting Aug. 27.”

Kyle and Stacey have been frends since childhood, growing up together in Holland, Michigan. They have taken more than 30 amusement park trips together and say they’ve been on 618 rides. Kyle moved to New York and was cast in RENT, and Stacey wound up in the city after experiencing seven countries in three months.

The duo took a “friendship honeymoon” (how it pains me to use that expression … it’s worse than “staycation”) to Orlando shortly after they finished college, so it’s easy to see why Kyle says, “We feel like everything we have done in our lives so far has led to this moment.” He continues that they “chose to apply for this position because Orlando embodies everything we are – passionate, charismatic and adventurous. We can’t wait to start our 67 days in Orlando to share everything we learn about what this amazing destination has to offer.”

Fun to get more expensive at Disney World

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Prices are about to go up at Disney World, but the company is keeping the increases reasonable. Theme park multi-day admission prices will increase by 2.5 percent to 5.3 percent, depending on the nature of the passes. In 2006, when the economy was strong, the park hiked prices 16 percent.

The money has to come from somewhere. Hotel bookings are down 7 percent for Disney’s domestic parks this quarter, and the discounts used to bring more people in the door are hitting the company’s bottom line, as well. Park attendance was up last quarter, but revenue fell 9 percent, thanks to aggressive hotel room pricing.

What’s this all mean? Disney CEO Bob Iger doesn’t expect the economy to recover anytime soon, so he’s got to keep Mickey’s pockets full. He does make the point, however, that a $79 ticket to the Orlando park compares favorably to sporting events, ski lift tickets and other forms of entertainment – not a bad point.

Disney World monorail driver killed in crash

by Tom Johansmeyer on

One monorail crashed into the back of another at Walt Disney World early this morning, killing one driver and shaking up a family of six. According to the park’s statement, “Today we mourn the loss of our fellow cast member. Our hearts go out to his family and to those who have lost a friend and co-worker.”

The monorail, according to a report by CNN, was shut down, as the park works with law enforcement to figure out just what happens … and what comes next.

As this story develops, we’ll keep you posted.

[Via @Mashable, Photo via @weathermanfsu]