Want to Omaka Rocka?

You might be wondering what in the world an Omaka Rocka is. Well next year you’ll be able to find out when you head to SeaWorld’s water-themed sister park Aquatica. All of the Orlando theme parks are planning massive expansions to keep things new and exciting for returning and new guests, so we’ll have a lot to talk about next year!

While Universal Orlando Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort’s plans have overshadowed some of the other parks’ new attractions, that doesn’t mean DWTickets.com will leave it out of the picture. If you love water slides and enjoy a day in the sun at the beautiful Aquatica water park, you’ll be happy to know they will be expanding the park with a brand new slide called Omaka Rocka, meaning “rocky river.”

This new water slide will allow people of all ages to ride as long as they follow the rules—no height restrictions here! What you will find with Omaka Rocka is 2 slides with 3 funnels each. These funnels will feature 2-seater tubes that will send riders zooming through colorful fiberglass tubes. Some will be translucent and others will keep riders in the dark for an exciting experience! Even those who are waiting in line will be able to see Omaka Rocka riders zooming overhead in the colorful tubes.

"They're going to slide up one side and get a sensation of near weightlessness. They'll come down that side and back up the other. They'll probably be going backwards, but most definitely going to be screaming," Aquatice VP Rick Beddow told the Orlando Sentinel. "It's going to be a taste of a half-pipe — near vertical thrills experienced only by skateboarders or snowboarders."

The Omaka Rocka will share a tower with Whanau Way and be similar in ride style to both Whanau Way and the Tassie’s Twisters. This will be Aquatica’s first new attraction since it first opened two years ago. While the Omaka Rocka is scheduled to open in 2010 we don’t have a specific date yet. Considering it’s a bit chilly in Orlando right now, springtime seems perfect, and March is the rumored month of completion.

Go See The Princess and the Frog!

If you are looking for something to do indoors this holiday season but don’t want to go to the mall and can’t make it to the Disney theme parks, we highly recommend you head to the movies. We know there’s a lot of buzz about James Cameron’s Avatar, but you can’t call yourself a true Disney fan unless you head out and see The Princess and the Frog. We finally got a chance to go see the movie and we have to agree it was a fantastic feeling to see the work of Disney animators back on the screen again. After years of Pixar flicks like Up! and Toy Story we finally get to see the magic of hand-drawn animation back on the big screen with this lovely tale set in New Orleans.

Like other Disney films that borrow from classic stories (The Little Mermaid, Snow White) The Princess and the Frog is an interpretation of the old story where, instead of the frog becoming a prince after a princess’s kiss, a hard-working New Orleans girl becomes a frog after kissing a frog (formerly a prince!) The movie’s twist is sure to be a hit with the kids as Tiana and Naveen head off on an adventure through the Bayou in their frog forms. They meet Louis, an alligator that wants to play in a jazz band with humans, and Ray, a Cajun firefly in love with a star he calls Evangeline.

When the crew meets Mama Odie, the good Voodoo priestess, we get to hear one of the best, if not the best song of the movie “Dig a Little Deeper” which is catchy and full of gospel influence. The song, along with the rest of the movie’s plot, teaches you that what is most important is who you are inside! Unlike the classic Disney films, Tiana isn’t waiting on her prince to achieve her dreams. She saves up money to open up her own restaurant by working hard. While in the end love conquers all, the viewer will be delighted with the beautiful animation and wonderful story that is a trademark of the Disney name. We only hope The Princess and the Frog is only the beginning of Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation!

Walt Disney Month

Did you know December is officially Walt Disney month? Here at DWTickets.com we thought it would be neat to do a recap of the major Disney-related events that happened this month. Aside from commemorating Walt Disney’s birthday December 5th, December is usually the month where plenty of Disney events occur. This year marked the return to classic animation with The Princess and the Frog and Disney’s first black princess, Princess Tiana. This year also marked the 72nd anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with its release on Disney BluRay and DVD.

The Disney theme parks had their fair share of new events as well. Space Mountain finally re-opened, now being darker and scarier than ever. Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee has a limited run over at the Magic Kingdom to get everyone into the spirit of New Orleans jazz and The Princess and the Frog. Holiday decorations were everywhere to get people into the holiday spirit and the special event Disney fans wait for every year, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, recently wrapped up another successful party!

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios the Osborn Family Spectacle of Lights delighted millions of guests with its music and Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah-themed displays. Epcot featured their wonderful Candlelight Processional, where celebrities came to the parks to read The Christmas Story to guests from around the world all while a gospel choir sings in the background. It has been a great December for the Walt Disney Company and we know next year will only be better. More rides are getting refurbished to bring you great, updated experiences, and we know the Disney animation studios are hard at work on new features coming soon to a theatre near you. There’s Rapunzel, Winnie the Pooh, and Toy Story 3, not to mention plenty of rumors about Disney working on their own version of The Snow Queen! While 2009 has been tough for every one of us, Disney has pulled through and is preparing for a full recovery in 2010. We know there are great events and even better deals waiting in 2010, so keep up with our blog for all the latest news.

Teen Pop Sensation Visits WDW!!

The Orlando theme parks are popular with kids and teens, but the Disney theme parks have one major draw that other parks don’t when it comes to teens and tweens: the Disney pop machine! Just think, there’s Hannah Montana, The Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and much more. You can find the faces of these stars right next to merchandise of High School Musical which launched the careers of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. The Jonas Brothers were recently in town to tape their performance for the Disney Christmas Parade and just this weekend another teen sensation was in Disney world to take part in the fun at the Magic Kingdom along with some recent radio contest winners.

Justin Bieber, who was first discovered on YouTube after his mother would upload Justin’s performances for his scattered family to see, came to Orlando to hang out at the Magic Kingdom with a young girl that won a local radio contest to meet Bieber. If you aren’t familiar with the now 15 year old Bieber’s music, you soon will be. He began his career covering popular hip hop, pop, and r&b songs. He was able to generate enough buzz to catch the attention of Justin Timberlake, Usher and more. The Ontario, Canada native has quickly climbed the Billboard charts, becoming the first artist in Billboard history to have four singles from a debut album in the Top 40 before the album came out! His singles like “One Time”, “One Less Lonely Girl”, and “Favorite Girl” quickly captured the hearts of teenage girls across the US and Canada. When it came time to sign to a record label, Justin Bieber chose to sign with Usher’s label over Timberlake’s, which has been a great success for him.

Bieber was photographed riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and with the Genie from Aladdin. Though he was the biggest teen star in Orlando over the weekend, he wasn’t the only star. Over at Epcot, the very popular Candlelight Processional continues to delight guests from around the world. Whoopi Goldberg was photographed with Minnie Mouse after her reading at the Candlelight Processional. Teen actress Abigail Breslin was also one of the readers at the processional and coming up next we have veteran actor and star of Battlestar Galactica Edward James Olmos. Whether you like the teen scene or talent of all kinds, you can find it all at the Walt Disney World!

In Memoriam: Roy E. Disney

This week the Disney world lost Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney and the only son of Roy O. Disney. He was a shy man who mostly kept away from the public eye while he kept an iron grasp on the inner workings of the Walt Disney Company. Born into one of the most legendary families in the world, Roy grew up visiting the Disney studios and screening featurettes and cartoons before other people did. The animators would use him as a “test subject” to see if, as a young boy, he found the animations funny. At night, many newspapers that wrote about Disney’s passing mentioned how Walt would always tell him amazing bed time stories, never shying away from the creativity all of the Disneys seemed to have in their blood.

As an adult he oversaw many of the executive aspects of the Walt Disney Company and willingly put his shyness aside when he saw company ideals and beliefs at risk of being compromised. During the mid-to late 80’s, Roy didn’t hesitate to fire the head honchos of the time, namely Ron Miller, who was then replaced by Michael Eisner. Eisner would fall out of Roy’s good graces later on in his career after Roy felt Eisner was thinking only of money and sacrificing the quality of the Disney parks and product. See, despite being involved in the financial aspects of Disney, Roy was all about the creativity. He was much more like his Uncle Walt, who dealt with the creative aspects, than his father Roy, who was all about the business side.

"I really credit Roy Disney completely with the renaissance of Disney animation, beginning with 'Little Mermaid' and all the way through that great amazing series of classic Disney films," said John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.

One could argue that without Roy, Disney animation would have never survived the 80’s. The so-called “Disney Renaissance,” which began with The Little Mermaid and ended with The Lion King, can be credited to Roy’s drive to keep with the ideals of his uncle. We’re sure the Disney theme parks will be honoring Roy, who bore a striking resemblance to his uncle, in some way. There is a statue of Walt at the Magic Kingdom and you can see other tributes to the man that started it all in Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Like his uncle, Roy Disney died due to cancer. He was 79 years old, and died the day after the anniversary of Walt Disney’s death, on December 16th, 2009. Roy E. Disney will be missed, but his contribution to the salvation of the animated feature will never be forgotten.

Lines at Disney a Thing of the Past?

Going to the Disney theme parks is always fun no matter what time of year you go. There are so many great activities, parades, fireworks shows and special attractions during holidays like Christmas and Halloween. The Magic Kingdom is one of the most popular parks in the Walt Disney World Resort and there are always changes being made to improve the park for guests year after year.

You might have heard about the enormous Fantasyland expansion coming in 2011 and 2012 over at the Magic Kingdom. Fans of the Disney princesses will love all of the new features. You’ll be able to help plan Sleeping Beauty’s birthday party, learn to ballroom dance with Cinderella, read a story with Belle and even enjoy a ride through the journey of Ariel. For fans of Pixie Hollow, a giant sized replica of the fairy land will be built to make you feel like you’re Tinkerbell’s size yourself.

For fans of Dumbo there will be a new circus-themed area that will do away with the concept of lines. Yes, that’s right. Instead of waiting in line you will be able to play various games to keep yourself entertained in the meantime. It’s all part of Disney’s plan to make your experience at the parks better for you, and they’ve already begun to test it out!

Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios you can enjoy a musical roller coaster adventure like no other with Aerosmith’s Rock N Roller Coaster ride. Recently, the coaster has begun to test a “deli style” waiting system, where you are given a ticket and made part of a group. For example, if you’re group A, you’ll be told to return in 5 minutes and other groups at other times. Disney has set up games like Guitar Hero, benches, even DJ’s and other forms of entertainment outside of the ride for the various groups waiting to come back for their turn on the ride to enjoy (much like Dumbo will be doing). This “queue-less” system is receiving mixed reviews but it’s still in its very early testing stages. Once Disney fine tunes it, a queue-less ride seems like a great addition to the parks and much more fun than standing in a long line for hours and hours! We can’t wait to see what the parks work out.

Chris Isaak Part of Universal Holiday Concert Series

The Orlando theme parks are pulling all the stops for the holidays and the Universal Orlando Resort is doing it with amazing music, a great parade and the always popular Grinchmas! For their Holiday Concert Series, Universal Orlando is converting their Universal Music Plaza into a holiday wonderland lit up with holiday lights perfect for their concert series which began December 5th and will run until January 1st. Manheim Steamroller kicked off the series with their Christmas songs and singer Natalie Cole will close it off, but this weekend we have crooner Chris Isaak performing his hit songs “Wicked Game,” “Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing” and a number of hits from his Christmas album, of course. It’s just one of the many great holiday activities you can do at the Universal Orlando Resort! Make sure you check the dates of the Holiday Concert Series to see of any of your favorite artists are coming to perform soon!

Another great thing you can do at Universal Studios is check out their own version of the Macy’s Holiday Parade. After all, it’s hard to catch the one in New York live, so why not see the next best thing here in Florida? Plus you don’t have to worry about extreme weather or massive crowds—you can watch the parade from the safety of the park! If you’re a kid at heart or have kids with you, you can head over to Islands of Adventure and enjoy Grinchmas!

This even is a must for any Dr. Seuss fan. The entire Seussland area of Islands of Adventure is turned into Grinchmass land. Guests can visit the Whoville Wonky Tree Lot, meet and take pictures with The Grinch, or even enjoy a character breakfast with the Grinch and Friends. All of Seussland is decorated with beautiful holiday decorations that are bright and colorful just like the pictures and art from the books of Dr. Seuss. Grinchmas and the Holiday Concert Series is a great way to enjoy the holidays at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Make sure you go!

LOST in Hollywood Studios

What do the Disney theme parks and the hit television series LOST have in common? A lot more than you think! LOST is an ABC show, and ABC is owned by Disney, meaning that opens up a world of possibilities for hints of the mystery show to pop up all over the Walt Disney World Resort. With the release of Season 5 on DVD and Blu Ray this week and the upcoming final season starting February 2, 2010, we wanted to let LOST fans know you can still get your island fix at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Once you head over to the Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror’s gift shop, you might be surprised to find yourself looking at LOST merchandise like DVD’s, action figures, books, and t-shirts. We think that attraction is the perfect place for all of the LOST merchandise to be held, considering the mysterious and spooky nature The Twilight Zone television show was famous for. Any LOST fan with knowledge of the Rod Serling classic could quickly point out references to the sci-fi classic on the current mystery island show. The Blogster has purchased quite a few items at the Tower of Terror gift shop, including a t-shirt with the infamous numbers running across it. If you remember the Disney D23 Expo, there was an entire section devoted to memorabilia from the show there as well. It’s a pretty cool thing for a Disney and LOST fan to explore two things they love at a convention like that.

While you’ve seen the merchandise at the store, many fans have been wondering if LOST will ever come into play as an attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s certainly a rumor that has been around for quite some time, but unfortunately, one we don’t think will happen anytime soon. As much as the LOST fans at DWTickets.com would love an attraction for the show, we’ll just have to settle for DVD marathons for now. Don’t forget to tune in to the final season of LOST this February 2, 2010. The premiere is going to be 2 hours long with a 1 hour “catch-up” show before that. Here’s hoping LOST lives on at the Walt Disney World Resort!

Are You Ready for Princess Tiana?

After many months and many blogs hyping up the movie, the United States will finally be able to see The Princess and the Frog this Friday! While the film is already out in New York and Los Angeles, Friday will be the first time the rest of the country gets to watch Disney history as they return to hand-drawn animation with what’s being hailed as “the best Disney movie since The Lion King.” It’s truly an exciting time for the Disney Company and for Disney fans everywhere. The Disney theme parks have already been in Princess Tiana mode with tons of merchandise and Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee at the Magic Kingdom. Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Princess Tiana, was recently at Epcot’s Candlelight Vigil to tell the story of Christmas to thousands of Disney fans—it’s only the beginning of Tiana mania!

Any newspaper article you read is talking about the importance of this film both socially and historically for Disney. If you know anything about Disney history, their movie Song of the South was locked away in a vault for being racially insensitive and it’s banned in America. Now Disney is taking their films into modern times and showing Tiana, Disney’s first African-American princess, as a heroine for African-American girls and girls of all backgrounds. She isn’t waiting for any prince to come and sweep her off her feet, she takes her life into her own hands and follows her dream of owning her very own restaurant.

Set in the Jazz Age of New Orleans, the film is also being well received by the city which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. They feel the movie has brought back the magic Katrina took away and will hopefully renew the world’s interest in the beautiful city loaded with history. This Friday is going to be big for Disney fans of all ages and backgrounds, it could mean the return of hand-drawn animation to the Disney lineup and the return of the Disney Princess…something we haven’t seen since Mulan back in 1998! Here at DWTickets.com we will definitely be catching The Princess and the Frog on the big screen and we hope you will too!

WDW Names Twin Town

After a long search the Walt Disney World Resort has finally decided on the British city it will be calling its Twin Town! Disney was looking for partnership with a city in the UK because the British make up the highest percentage of foreign visitors to the Magic Kingdom and other Disney theme parks. Always thinking about the spirit of friendship, Disney held a contest asking fans from the UK to send in their videos explaining why their particular town should be the Twin Town of the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom.

20 year old Rebecca Warren, a mortgage advisor from Swindon, Wiltshire, won over the Disney judges with her video comparing her town of Swindon to the Magic Kingdom. She argued that both towns had a love of steam trains, an amazing team spirit and a strong sense of unity. Swindon is friendly and the people mimic the shining spirit of the Walt Disney World community. After impressing judges Angellica Bell and Disney Imagineer Patrick Brennan, Warren’s video won the town of Swindon the honor of being the Walt Disney World’s first ever Twin Town!

“I still cannot believe that my entry has been selected - it’s fantastic!" Warren told the Telegraph. ”What a great opportunity for Swindon, we’ll definitely welcome the Disney magic. It will be so exciting to see Swindon’s name alongside Walt Disney World on the sign in Florida. My wish was always to be Cinderella with a beautiful ball gown, so I’m really looking forward to dressing the part for the twinning ceremony in January!”

Not only will Mickey, Donald, and Goofy fly to Swindon to present the town with a bit of Disney magic, but Warren and her niece and nephew Amy and Aaron will come down for a special celebration in their honor and Swindon’s honor. In January the Magic Kingdom will unveil the official plaque declaring Swindon as their Twin Town. This should be great for strengthening Disney relations with tourists from the UK and open up a whole new world of possibilities for the guests. Congratulations to Swindon and to Rebecca Warren!

Happy Birthday Uncle Walt

This week is very special in Disney history and in the history of animation in general. On December 5th we will be commemorating the birth of Walter Elias Disney, the man responsible for bringing us the wonderful world of Disney Animation. The native Chicagoan began his industry in Kansas City where he began with small animated shorts that became so popular within the city that he earned enough money to create his own studio. From there he hired animators that would soon earn the name of the “9 Old Men,” animators that would help Walt create some of the animated classics that would make him a legend.

Walt first began his career with the Alice Comedies (not Wonderland Alice) and the animated cartoon of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. But it wasn’t until Disney lost the rights to Oswald and had to come up with a brand new character that a very familiar character we all know and love was born. Walt used to own a pet mouse as a child, and one of his animators drew inspiration from that to create Mortimer Mouse. But Walt’s wife Lily suggested Mickey was a much friendlier name, and thus Mickey Mouse was born.

Now seen all over the Disney theme parks and considered a classic American icon, Mickey Mouse made his first appearance in a musical cartoon in the black and white Steamboat Willie. Mickey Mouse soon took off, and with the addition of Snow White, Disney’s first princess, the Disney Animation Studio became a staple in American animation and movie making. Though there were set backs throughout the years regarding the animated films the Disney studio, we have the Magic Kingdom, Disneyland and all of the other parks of the Walt Disney World Resort to prove that the Disney Company overcame all of their adversity to become perhaps the most recognized name in the world.

There is so much that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for “Uncle Walt” paving the way that a simple blog couldn’t capture all of it. But we do know that we have the theme parks, the movies, and an entire legion of loyal Disney fans that above all remember the main message of the Disney ideal; that hard work does make dreams come true. The next time you visit the Disney parks, just remember, it was all started because of a mouse. Happy Birthday, Uncle Walt!

Holiday Sweets at the Disney Resorts

Everyone loves to eat during the holidays. Why do you think gym memberships soar in January? After Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and other parties people usually find their pants a bit tighter than they would like. But we’re still in 2009 and there is plenty of holiday fun to be had, especially here at the Orlando theme parks. We’ve been blogging about the various holiday events going on at the parks, but in this post we’re going to let you in on some of the sweet treats you can see if you visit some of the hotels in the Walt Disney World Resort.

Over at the Contemporary, one of the hotels closest to the Magic Kingdom, you can see a holiday tree inspired by Disney Legend Mary Blair. The tree is located on the 4th floor of the hotel and measures in at 17 feet high, made completely with gingerbread shingles. Disney has plenty of traditional sweet sculptures during the holiday season, and one of them is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Over at the Beach Club Resort, the life-size edible carousel is celebrating 10 years of pleasing guests from all over the world. The carousel is made of gingerbread, chocolate, and sugar paste. You can buy your own gingerbread house from the marketplace to take home with you. If you’re a fan of Hidden Mickeys, we hear the carousel has 10 of them.

For you Disney pin traders, make sure you head over to the Board Walk for their walk-through Holiday Gazebo. It also has Hidden Mickeys, but you can also purchase a limited edition Stitch pin featuring the gingerbread display. But the most popular sweet sculpture in the Disney resort world is housed at the beautiful Grand Floridian. Here you will find their enormous gingerbread house created from a traditional Austrian recipe. This house has been featured on a variety of travel show specials and is a highlight of the Grand Floridian hotel during the holiday season. It takes 400 chefs to bake everything needed for the house and 160 hours to assemble it. Make sure you explore some of these great edible sculptures during your visit to Walt Disney World.