Sunset Boulevard Rides and Attractions

There are four main rides and attractions within the Sunset Boulevard area of the park: Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage; Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith; The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror; and Fantasmic!. 

Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage is a 25-minute long show, featuring your favourite characters from the Disney movie. It’s performed in the park’s Theater of the Stars, and includes a number of scenes from the movie, together with songs and dance routines. It’s performed several times each day, so pick up one of the leaflets at the park entrance to find out when you can see it.

Image: Kirsten 5400

The Rock  ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is one of the park’s most popular attractions and is a must for adrenaline junkies. You won’t miss the entrance, with its huge guitar and upside-down car. There are normally fairly long queues for this ride, so it’s worth getting there early.

When you enter the ride, you’ll walk through “G-Force Studios”, where you’ll see an introductory video before you jump into your car, and head off on a high-speed ride through Southern California. This indoor coaster covers 3,400 feet of track and travels from 0-60 m.p.h. in just 2.8 seconds.

The only lights within the attraction are the neon signs of Hollywood, so part of your journey will be in darkness. The coaster is fitted with an on-board sound system, so you’ll be entertained by Aerosmith as you travel.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is another popular, high-adrenaline attraction. Take a trip into the 13-storey high Hollywood Tower Hotel to ride in the service elevator which will take you into the Twilight Zone.

You’ll be taken up and down a number of times on this ride, and its programmed to make each ride random, so even if you’ve ridden on it before, you won’t be able to predict which direction you’re going in next!

Be warned – queues tend to be long for this ride, so it’s worth heading to the attraction early and making use of the FastPass system to avoid disappointment.

Image: Alexf

The final attraction in the Sunset Boulevard section of the park is Fantasmic!. This amazing show takes place in the Hollywood Hills Ampitheater on selected evenings (subject to the weather), and features many Disney characters, as well as lights, lasers, pyrotechnics and water effects.

Sunset Boulevard Dining and Shopping

There are a number of food outlets in Sunset Boulevard: Starring Rolls Cafe; Fairfax Fare; Rosie’s All-American Cafe; Catalina Eddie’s; and Toluca Legs Turkey Co.

Starring Rolls Cafe is a counter-service restaurant, serving sandwiches, pastries and drinks, whilst Fairfax Fare offers chicken, ribs, beef brisket, desserts and drinks.

Rosie’s All-American Cafe, Catalina Eddie’s and Toluca Leg Turkey Co. are all quick service outlets. You can buy salads, soups, fries, burgers, desserts and drinks at Rosie’s All American Cafe, whilst Catalina Eddie’s menu includes salads, pizza, chocolate fudge cake and drinks. Toluca Leg Turkey Co. just sells turkey legs and drinks.

There are also a number of shops in Sunset Boulevard, so you can stock up on gifts to take back to your hire car or hotel. Both the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith have their own shops, stocking ride-related merchandise. There are also many other shops selling general Disney merchandise and gifts.

Series Catch-Up

If you want to read the rest of the posts in our series about the Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park, follow the links below:

• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Part 1 – an overview of the Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Part 2 – we take a look at the Hollywood Boulevard area of the park.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Part 3 -we take a look at the Echo Lake area of the park.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Part 4 – we take a look at the Streets of America and Commissary Lane areas of the park.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Part 5 – we take a look at the Pixar Place, Mickey Avenue and Animation Courtyard areas of the park.

The prize consists of two return flights to America with British Airways and car hire for 7 days. The winner will be responsible for paying for all other costs, including accommodation and travel insurance, and will need to provide his or her own spending money.

You can enter the competition by completing and submitting the form (and answering the travel-related question) on Advantage’s website. Entries must be received by 30 June 2010 and the holiday must be taken before 20 December 2010.

If you’re travelling to Epcot by hire car or arriving from another Disney theme park or hotel by shuttle bus or the Disney monorail, Future World will be the first area of the park that you see when you get through the entrance. If you’re arriving at the park by one of the Disney boats, you will enter the park via another entrance, which will take you into the World Showcase section of the park, so if you want to explore Future World first, you will need to head back through the park towards the main entrance.

The Spaceship Earth Pavilion

The first section of Future World that you’ll come to when you’ve gone through the entrance gates is the Spaceship Earth pavilion, the huge golf ball-like structure for which Epcot has become known throughout the world. Inside the pavilion, you’ll find the Spaceship Earth ride. This 13 minute long ride takes you on a journey through history which highlights the difference that developments in technology have made to our lives. You’ll see scenes from different periods featuring audio-animatronic characters and then, in the interactive final section of the ride, be able to imagine how your life would be in the future. The Spaceship Earth pavilion also includes an interactive area called “Project Tomorrow – Inventing the World of Tomorrow”.

There are several gift shops near the Spaceship Earth pavilion, but you may want to come back to these when you leave the park so that you can take any purchase straight back to your hire car or hotel.

The Universe of Energy Pavilion

To the left of the Spaceship Earth pavilion, you’ll find the Universe of Energy pavilion. This houses the Ellen’s Energy Adventure ride. On this ride, you join Ellen DeGeneres on a trip back to the beginning of universe, through history and into the future to find out about how energy is created. The ride features audio-animatronic dinosaurs and lasts for 45 minutes.

The Mission: Space Pavilion

The Mission: Space pavilion is next to the Universe of Energy pavilion and houses one of Epcot’s most popular rides, Mission: Space.

Mission: Space is a thrill ride which gives you the chance to feel what it’s like to be an astronaut blasting off into space. There are two different versions of the ride – the Orange version will provide you with the full Mission: Space experience, whereas the Green version will give you a gentler experience, as it skips a section involving intense spinning action. You travel in a 4-seater vehicle and each member of your team will be given a job to do during your mission.

Whilst Mission: Space is an excellent ride, it’s important to take the health and safety warnings seriously – it can cause motion sickness and you should not ride on it if you are pregnant, suffer from high blood pressure, have a heart condition, have existing neck or back conditions, or suffer from any of the other conditions listed on the signs near the ride’s entrance.

Queues for Mission: Space can be long at peak times, but you can skip the queues by using the park’s FastPass system.

The Mission: Space pavilion also contains the Advanced Training Lab, where you can take part in a range of interactive space-themed games, including Mission: Space Race and Expedition Mars.

The Test Track Pavilion

The Test Track pavilion is on the other side of the Mission: Space pavilion from the Universe of Energy pavilion. The main attraction within this pavillion is the Test Track ride.

Test Track allows you to become a “crash test dummy”. You’ll travel around the track in a 6-seater vehicle whilst it undergoes a series of “tests”, including suspension tests, which involve travelling over different surfaces, and brake tests, in which your car will come to a sudden stop. The highlight of the ride is the “crash test”, in which you’ll hurtle towards a wall!

There are usually long queues for this ride, so make sure that you take advantage of the FastPass system.

The Test Track pavilion also houses the Driver’s Technology Laboratories, where you can see GM cars on display and a shop where you can be Test Track merchandise.

In the next post in this series, we’ll take a look at some of the other attractions in the Future World area of Epcot.

Image: UpstateNYer

The name Epcot stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and the theme park, which opened in 1982, was originally designed to showcase the possible future development of technology. Although Epcot doesn’t look particularly futuristic today, it’s still a great place to visit. It covers a huge area and is packed with attractions, so ideally you should plan to spend at least a day, possibly two days there if you want to explore it properly.

Epcot is divided into two main sections: Future World and World Showcase. Future World is the first section of the park that you’ll see if you go into the park using the main entrance, and it is here that you will find the rides and attractions based on technology and science.

The Future World area of the park is divided into a number of “pavilions”, including the Mission: Space Pavilion, the Land Pavilion and the Spaceship Earth Pavilion (the large golf-ball style structure which dominates the park). Popular rides within the Future World section of Epcot include Mission: Space, Test Track, Soarin’ and The Seas with Nemo and Friends.

The second part of Epcot, World Showcase, is set around the huge lake and features eleven “pavilions”, each of which is themed on a different country: the Mexico Pavilion, the Norway Pavilion, the China Pavilion, the Germany Pavilion, the Italy Pavilion, the American Adventure Pavilion, the Japan Pavilion, the Morocco Pavilion, the France Pavilion, the United Kingdom Pavilion and the Canada Pavilion. These pavilions feature restaurants, gift shops and attractions based on the culture of the countries upon which they are themed.

There is a large car park outside of the main entrance to Epcot, so if you are travelling by hire car, you can park there. If you are staying in one of the resort’s hotels, you can take a shuttle bus to the park and Epcot is also accessible by boat from several of the hotels, Disney’s BoardWalk and Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park, and by monorail from the Magic Kingdom. However, Disney transportation can be very busy during peak hours, so travelling by rental car may be the easiest option.

Make sure that you pick up a park map as you enter Epcot, as the theme park is huge and can be disorientating.

In the next post in this series, we will take a closer look at some of the attractions that you can see in the Future World section of Epcot.

Image: Quinn Norton

The prize includes: return economy flights from London to New York for four people ( two adults and two children aged 16 or under); 6 nights’ accommodation in a 3-star hotel; a family meal in an authentic Chinese restaurant; and $500 spending money.

The prize winner must be able to take the holiday before the 31 August 2010 (it can’t be taken over a Bank Holiday weekend).

You can enter the competition via the Morrisons website. Just answer the simple question, complete the online form and submit it. Entries must be received before 11.59p.m. on 14th February 2010.

The Walt Disney World Resort covers a huge area and consists of four theme parks, two water parks and a number of other attractions. It’s located in Lake Buena Vista, which is about 30 minutes’ drive from Orlando International Airport and about an hour’s drive from Orlando Sanford International Airport.

The resort’s theme parks are as follows:

• The Magic Kingdom – the home of the iconic Cinderella Castle, this park offers many attractions for young children, including rides such as Peter Pan’s Flight and the Mad Tea Party.
• Epcot – this theme park is set around a large lake and can be divided into two sections: the science-based area, which includes rides such as Mission: Space, and the pavillions, where you can get a taste of different parts of the world.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios – this theme park is packed with attractions based on the silver screen and world of television. It has thrill rides, such as the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and live shows, such as the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park – part zoo, part theme park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom includes attractions such as the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and the Expedition Everest thrill ride.

The Walt Disney World Resort’s water parks are as follows:

• Disney’s Blizzard Beach – this water park has a ski resort theme and rides include the Summit Plummet freefall body slide, the Runoff Rapids and a chairlift.
• Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon – attractions in this water park include the Mayday Falls, Castaway Creek and the Crush ‘n’ Gusher water coaster.

The resort also includes two shopping and entertainment areas:

• Downtown Disney – this section of the resort contains a wide range of shops and restaurants, as well as being home to entertainment venues such as the House of Blues and Cirque du Soleil’s Orlando show.
• Disney’s BoardWalk -this waterside shopping and entertainment area is the perfect place for a stroll during the day or evening, and there are also a number of restaurants here.

Other attractions within the Walt Disney World Resort include Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex and a number of golf courses. There are also many hotels within the resort.

A number of airlines operate flights between the U.K. and Orlando. Once in Orlando, car hire is a must. Although many of the hotels provide free shuttle bus services to the parks, these can be extremely busy and usually travel by a relatively indirect route, so the journey can be frustrating after a long day in the parks.

Luckily, many car hire operators, including easyCar, provide cheap Orlando car hire deals, and you can book your hire car online before you fly and pick it up at the airport.

It’s also a good idea to buy your Disney theme park tickets in advance. You can often get good deals online and buy tickets which are valid for a set number of days and allow you to visit all of the parks as and when you choose. This means that you can visit more than one park in a day or choose to spend an extra day in a particular park if you don’t manage to see everything that you want to in one day.

In future posts in this series, we’ll be looking at each of the parks and shopping areas in more detail, providing you with information about some of the hotels within the Walt Disney World Resort, and providing you with some hints and tips to help you to make the most of your trip to Orlando.

Image: The GreatGlobetrotter

1. Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach is only about an hour’s drive from Orlando, so it’s the perfect place to visit as part of an Orlando car hire holiday. Daytona Beach has more than 23 miles of white sandy beach and in the early history of motorsports, cars would be tested and raced on the sands here. Some parts of the beach are still accessible by car today, but it’s also a great place to go for a stroll.

Daytona Beach still has strong links with motorsports. It’s home to the Daytona International Speedway and hosts many motorsports events throughout the year. Other attractions in Daytona Beach include museums and galleries, several golf courses and some excellent shopping malls.

2. The John F. Kennedy Space Center

The Kennedy Space Center is one of America’s most famous tourist attractions. It will only take you about an hour and a half to drive there from Orlando in your hire car, but make sure that you head off early, as it will take you a full day to really explore the centre.

Attractions at the Kennedy Space Center include: the Shuttle Launch Experience, in which you can experience what a launch feels like for astronauts; Space Shuttle Plaza, where you can see a full-sized replica of the NASA Explorer space shuttle; the NASA Rocket Garden; the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where you can see a real rocket from Saturn V; and the U.S Astronaut Hall of Fame.

You can also take a guided tour of the space center and, if there is a shuttle launch taking place during your holiday, you can book tickets to watch it (the next shuttle launch is due to take place on the 7 February 2010).

3. St. Petersburg

It will take you less than 2 hours to drive to the city of St. Petersburg in your Orlando hire car. St. Petersburg is situated on the coast, on the Tampa Bay peninsula, and the area is known for its white, sandy beaches.

Whilst in St. Petersbug, you can feed pelicans from the pier, visit the Salvador Dali Museum, explore the city’s Sunken Gardens or spend some time in the Great Explorations Children’s Museum. You can also take a boat trip or use your hire car to drive to the beautiful Fort DeSoto Park.

USA Car Hire Holidays

• Route 66 – find out more about this legendary American highway.
• California Highway 1 – learn about one of America’s most scenic roads.
• The Florida Keys – explore U.S Highway 1 on a trip from Miami to Key West.
• The Blue Ridge Parkway – learn more about one of the most beautiful drives in the U.S.A.
• The Seward Highway – find out more about this National Scenic Byway in Alaska.

You can also read about Florida’s famous A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway and the adjoining Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail in our in-depth series of posts:

• Florida’s A1A – Orlando to Ponte Vedra Beach
• Florida’s A1A – St. Augustine
• Florida’s A1A – St. Augustine to Flagler Beach
• Florida’s A1A – Flagler Beach
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail – Part 1
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail – Part 2
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail – Part 3

The prize includes return flights from London to Salt Lake City, airport transfers in Salt Lake City,  a night’s accommodation in Salt Lake City, hire of a luxury motor home for five days, insurance, a fuel allowance and entry to Yellowstone National Park.

You can enter the competition via the ASDA website – just complete the online entry form and answer a question about “Imagine That”. Entries must be received by 30 September 2009.

Borders UK is marking the release of the new romantic comedy, Marley and Me, which stars Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, with a competition in which you could win a trip for two to Miami.

The prize consists of two return flights from London to Miami, five nights’ bed and breakfast accommodation in a 3-star hotel in Miami, return transfers from the airport to your hotel, travel insurance and spending money.

You can enter the competition via the Borders UK website. Simply complete your details and answer a simple question about the film. Entries must be received by the 3rd of April, 2009.

Image by: Ixitixel