Recommend March 2016 - (Page 78)

The Beach House at Playa Largo Resort & Spa. Florida's Going Bonkers with New Choices for Families Paloma Villaverde de Rico Throughout Florida, new attractions, tours and hotels ideal for mom, dad, jr. and princess, not to mention grandma and grandpa, are continuously popping up, cementing Florida as a one-stop family vacation fun shop. When Too Many is Not Nearly Enough There are so many new attractions being introduced in Orlando that your clients will feel like a kid in a candy store with an overload of options. Will they head to Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios to see the new Star Wars-inspired entertainment- Star Wars Launch Bay; Star Wars: Path of the Jedi; and Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple; and more (all a prelude to the 14-acre Star Wars-themed land coming soon to the theme park)-or will it be a detour to Epcot, where the new Frozen Ever After attraction makes its debut this summer, complemented by a spring unveiling at Animal Kingdom of the "Rivers of Light" show, which weaves in live performances, floating lanterns, water 78 march 2016 screens and swirling animal imagery. Over at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure, King Kong has come a-knocking (or screeching and roaring) with the new Skull Island: Reign of Kong, a themed attraction set to open this summer, but tell clients to watch their back because according to press material, they'll encounter "an ancient temple inhabited by hostile natives, a perilous jungle ruled by prehistoric creatures,...and [come] face-to-face with the colossal Kong himself." At SeaWorld Orlando, it's underwater terrors that will have your client's pulse zooming upwards when the curtain opens on Mako this summer. It's a 200-ft.-tall hypercoaster that will reach 73 mph along 4,760 ft. of steel track-SeaWorld press material says it will be Orlando's tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster. Gulp, shark vs. gorilla? All in a day's fun in Orlando. A vacation in St. Petersburg will have families on a treasure hunt at the "Shipwreck: Treasures of the Deep," an exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History running thru May 31. It's an interactive journey replete with stories about a 17th century Spanish galleon, a Civil War steamship, and a WWII merchant vessel. This is also the year to celebrate National Parks, including Florida's very own Everglades, the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. To celebrate the centennial, the National Park Service is offering free entrance to the parks on several days in 2016: April 16-24 (National Park recommend.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend March 2016

Editor’s Notes
Hotel Desk: Growth of Barcelo
Tour Talk: Are We There Yet?
The New All-Inclusives For Families
Onsite Review: Sandals Ochi Beach Resort
New Happenings at All-Inclusives
2016 Delta Air Lines Europe, Middle East, and Africa Travel Guide
Family-Friendly Sailings
Spring into Hawaii’s Family Fun
New Choices for Families in Florida
Onsite Review: Icy Strait Point, Hoonah
What’s New in Alaska
Adventure-Lands Ripe for Family Travel

Recommend March 2016