Monday, December 23, 2013

Rumor: Planet Hollywood Hotel to I-Drive..PHABULOUS!!

2010 was the year that Planet Hollywood announced that it would be opening more (the first and only one is in LasVegas), Planet Hollywood Hotels. The end of 2014 is here and no hotels have opened or have even been rumored heavily until now.

Filing for new trademarks to be used in the city of Orlando, Planet Hollywood Int. has now made it un-official that it is looking to do something in the Resort and Resort services realm of the hospitality industry here in O-Town! The words phabulous and phamous are both used at the Planet Hollywood Las Vegas location and now are being trademarked for use here in connection with a new project.

Phabulous!!
The owner of the trademark is listed as Planet Hollywood Orlando and not Caesars Entertainment which operates and owns the property in Vegas. The filing sounds promising and this combined with the Wyndham Hotel announcement of plans to renovate the Wyndham Orlando Resort connected to the new Orlando Eye project (the new name for I-Drive Live) it looks as if the rumor we posted last year may be finally working toward a solid project.  The Orlando Business Journal quoted a well-known developer earlier this year as stating a new PH Hotel would be going up on the I-Drive area, and the statement seems to be true.

Wyndham Orlando Resort on I-Drive
Wyndham has announced that it will be turning an area of the resort rooms into shops, renovating all the guest rooms, and building a new high rise tower, all centered around a central theme.  I also have been told by inside sources that the current Planet Hollywood's future at the new Disney Springs location has still not been finalized.  So that being said I think that Planet Hollywood's move to the I-Drive location would be a logical one and a nice addition to the Orlando Eye line up!

Once again this is just rumor and until the official announcement but I would say paperwork and moves by Orlando's Planet Hollywood International seem to indicate we could be seeing that type of announcement soon!


Sunday, December 8, 2013

Rumor: Jekyll and Hyde soon to be at CityWalk?

Universal may be soon adding one of the hottest concepts from Times Square in New York to its CityWalk line up.  The word on the street is the new club/restaurant that is taking the place of the Latin Quarters old stomping grounds is going to be a new Jekyll and Hyde Club location!!

I for one am looking forward to this, and hope that the rumor mill is true.  This would be a perfect addition to the Orlando themed restaurant scene, providing a more adult oriented environment for eating and drinking during the evening hours, yet be a new lunch venue for the entire family.

The tarp covering the old Latin Quarter location started coming down this week revealing a very Gothic looking structure that would be perfect for The Jekyll and Hyde Clubs second location here in the U.S.

Twitter Photo
Details should be released this week,  but all indications are we are about to get a great new themed club to the CityWalk scene....Check out the link below for more information on the Times Square location.

Enjoy!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Are you Naughty or Nice?

Universal Orlando has the answer to that age old question we get asked at this time of year: Are you Naughty or Nice? Starting the weekend of December 6th 2013 Universal will help us celebrate the most festive time of year by allowing us to be both!!

Universals holiday happenings include floats from the Macy's Day Parade direct from New York, the tale of a heartless Grinch that is changed by finding the true meaning of Christmas, and free concerts by the number one selling Christmas group of all time Manhiem Steamroller!!

Be sure to head over to Universal and see these amazing events. Crowds will be large so plan accordingly, but hey its the Holidays, enjoy the cheer with your family and a few thousand of your closest friends!!

+UOR Orlando

Happy Birthday Mr. Disney!!

On this day 112 years ago, December 5th 1901 to be exact, a little boy was born in Chicago and was named Walter Elias Disney.

The small child's greatness would not be seen for years to come, but in the end Walt Disney would change forever the way we are entertained. He would form many of our ideas of right and wrong, warm our hearts, and make us smile through animated characters that would stay with us for a lifetime.

Walt would grow into adulthood by joining the military at 16, and after his service to his country would pack up all of his belongings in a suitcase and with 40 dollars in his pocket head to a town known as Hollywood.

Walter Elias Disney
He was a man that was driven by perfection, demanded only the best from his team, worked many long hours and was generous sometimes to a fault.  He created a lucky rabbit named Oswald to which he lost the rights, and then on a train ride home created a cartoon mouse named Mortimer who, at the request of his wife, would later be renamed to a little mouse known to the world as Mickey.

Walt Disney driving his children to school
He was a man that drove his children to school every day, cherished the family dog and loved the meals his wife would cook for him. Once while sitting on a park bench watching his children and other families reactions to different rides at a small dirty carnival, Walt envisioned a place that would exist where parents and children could enjoy time together,  a place that was always clean and the staff was always smiling, this place would be called Disneyland.

Disneyland 1957 Park Map



Mr. Disney would start an entertainment mammoth that would change the face of one city called Anaheim, and on the other side of the country be the backbone to make another city, Orlando, the number one tourist destination on planet Earth.

Disney comes to Florida

Walt Disney would continue in life winning more academy awards and nominations than any other person in history, walking home 22 Academy Awards and 59 nominations. He was a die hard American, creating most of the animated war propaganda films for the U.S. Government during his career, and he aided a small government operation known as NASA develop documentaries about space programs.

Walt Disney was a visionary, an innovator, and a catalyst for virtually all projects of the Disney company even to this day. His legacy is one that still brings joy, amazement, and memories to this little rock we call home.

Happy Birthday Walt!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Arabian Nights Dinner Show to Close

The owners of Arabian Nights Dinner show have announced that the last performance of their long running dinner show will take place on December 31st of 2013. The show is one of the longest running in Orlando having reached the 25 year mark in 2013.

Arabian Nights 


Mark Miller stated that changes in business are the reason for the closure adding, "the marketplace is demanding a cheaper product than we can provide".

I feel it is important to note that the growth of the major parks, and their ability to keep guests on property at night, probably means we can expect to see a decline in nighttime dinner shows that are not part of the resort experience provided by Disney and Universal.

The show was a wonderful display of talent, acrobatics, and some of the most beautiful equine to ever be displayed in a show of this nature. Best of luck to the staff and team that helped to put on this production through the years, you will be missed.

During the month of December Florida Residents receive half price admission.