Head to Orlando for new rides, shows and more

WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT
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DISNEY EXPENSES
3 FAMILIES TRACK
WHAT THEY SPEND
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Some of Orlando’s theme parks deserve return trips, especially with many set to roll out new family-friendly attractions, such as Epcot’s Frozen Ever After boat ride.
Special to Newsday
N
o matter how many
times you vacation
in Orlando — and
for many families,
it’s an annual
pilgrimage — there are always
new attractions to keep the
place from getting stale.
Disney, Universal and the
rest have crafted new plans in
2016 to reel you back in. Here
is the lowdown on what’s new
and what’s worth a return trip.
SEAWORLD
The house that Shamu built
has something for the pre-K
set as well as teenage thrill
seekers. Check out the
SeaWorld preschool pass for
children 5 and younger,
offering free admission to
SeaWorld Orlando through
Dec. 31. You will need to register online and redeem in-park
by showing your child’s valid
birth certificate by May 27.
For the adrenaline junkies,
grab only your bravest friends
and conquer the Mako —
SeaWorld’s latest roller coaster.
At 200 feet tall and reaching 73
mph along 4,760 feet of steel
track — nearly a mile long —
the ride, opening this summer,
will be Orlando’s tallest, fastest
and longest.
Sea World opens at 9 a.m.
daily; closing times vary.
One-day tickets start at $79 for
ages 3 and older.
INFO nwsdy.li/seaworldfl
LEGOLAND
These days, Legoland is about
much more than just brick-
building fun. In March,
Legoland Water Park opens an
expanded area for children with
a nautical twist. Float along
Build-A-Raft River, get wet on
the Duplo Splash Safari and
Joker Soaker water playground,
enjoy a dip in the Lego Wave
Pool, or speed down the Splash
Out and Twin Chasers slides.
The water park will be open
See ORLANDO on C20
NEWSDAY, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016
BY FRED GONZALEZ
newsday.com
DreamPARKS
Head to Orlando for new
rides, shows and more —
or return to old favorites
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BEST of theme parks
so you don’t miss the animals
before they snooze in the afternoon heat. Now you’ll want to
stay late for the new “Rivers of
Light” nighttime spectacular,
starting in the spring. Set on
the Discovery River, between
Discovery Island and
Expedition Everest, visitors
will witness a dramatic
choreography of water and
light that summons animal
“spirits” to the “Tree of Life,”
Animal Kingdom’s totem symbol. Think of it as a Vegas-style
water fountain and light show,
done the Disney way.
Animal Kingdom hours are
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through
Thursday; 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday; and 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. One-day tickets
start at $97 for ages 10 and
older; $91 for ages 3 to 9. Children younger than 3 are free.
INFO nwsdy.li/kingdom
ORLANDO from C19
on select dates from March 12
through October, with daily
operation in June, July and
August. Complete schedule
and hours available online.
One-day tickets to both
Legoland and the water park
start at $94 for ages 13 and
older; $87 for ages 3-12; $3 for
ages 3 and younger.
INFO florida.legoland.com
DISNEY SPRINGS
EPCOT
GENE DUNCAN
Disney Springs is the new
iteration of what was once
called Downtown Disney — a
retail complex inspired by the
small Florida towns of the
early 20th century. Here you
will find a mix of high-end yet
family-friendly restaurants and
shops that have the Disney
attention to detail. Head to the
Boathouse for waterfront
seafood dining, then jump in
one of the amphibious cars for
a ride around Lake Buena
Vista. Take in a movie at Fork
& Screen, where you can dine
at your seat. Enjoy a cocktail at
Morimoto Asia or Jock
Lindsey’s Hangar Bar. Or head
to STK Orlando (opening this
spring), a modern steakhouse
with lively ambience, great
drinks and a rooftop to catch
the evening fireworks.
Disney Springs is open daily
from 10 a.m. to midnight, but
hours vary per establishment.
INFO disneysprings.com
Downtown Disney is now called Disney Springs, but all the restaurants, shops and attractions remain.
LEGOLAND / EDWARD LINSMIER
They call it Hollywood
Studios, but “Star Wars” is the
big hit here. Don’t let the patrolling Stormtroopers intimidate you once you make your
way inside Disney’s Star Wars
Launch Bay, where fans and
movie geeks will be transported to a galaxy far, far away.
There you can see an assortment of unique “behindthe-scenes” movie props,
interactive video games and
life-size costumes from the
film. You can meet and greet
Darth Vader, Chewbacca and
the newest “Star Wars” villain,
Kylo Ren.
Disney plans to continue
rolling out impressive memora-
DISNEY / DAVID ROARK
NEWSDAY, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016
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DISNEY’S
HOLLYWOOD
STUDIOS
Watch out for Stormtroopers at Disney’s
Hollywood Studios with its “Star Wars” theme.
bilia and fan experiences over
the year, as the “Star Wars”
theme is no longer relegated to
a select set of weekends over
the summer.
Hollywood Studios hours
Legoland has the building blocks for a great family
vacation, including its water park, opening soon.
are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and 9 a.m.8:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday. One-day tickets start at
$97 for ages 10 and older; $91
for ages 3 to 9. Children
younger than 3 are free.
INFO nwsdy.li/hstudios
ANIMAL KINGDOM
You always hear the advice
“Get to Animal Kingdom early”
If you still have “Frozen”
fever, then head to Epcot and
experience the Frozen Ever
After boat ride. At the Norway
Pavilion, on the World Showcase, the town of Arendelle
welcomes guests to a
“Frozen”-themed ride full of
signature movie moments and
characters such as Elsa, Anna,
Olaf, Sven and Kristof. Guests
will want to “Let It Go,” even if
just for a moment. The
“Frozen” ride is a welcome
addition to Epcot, which tends
to skew a bit older, thanks to all
the food and beverage options.
The popular “Soarin’ ” ride will
get an update with “Soarin’
Around the World,” where
guests take a journey to the
world’s most beloved and
jaw-dropping sights, such as the
African plains or the Great Wall
of China. Both open in May.
Epcot hours are from 9 a.m. to
9 p.m. daily. One-day tickets
start at $97 for ages 10 and older;
$91 for ages 3 to 9. Children
younger than 3 are free.
INFO nwsdy.li/epcot
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
ISLANDS OF
ADVENTURE
Only two words are needed
to describe the mostanticipated attraction coming
to Orlando: King Kong. This
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WE’ VE MADE YOUR
TRAVEL
WINTER ESCAPE
NBCUNIVERSAL, ORLANDO
HARDER TO RESIST
King Kong awaits at Orlando’s Islands of Adventures by Universal Studios.
Experience over $30 million in recent enhancements, including our state-ofthe-art Ocean Fitness center, acclaimed HMF lounge, magnificent new Spa
and ultra-luxurious Flagler Club—a boutique hotel within The Breakers.
Visit thebreakers.com, call 855-267-8186
or consult your travel professional.
DISNEY
Where winter blues retreat.
Get up early and see Disney’s Animal Kingdom while the creatures are at play.
summer guests at Islands of Adventure
will be the first to embark to Skull
Island with Reign of Kong, a
multisensory, 3-D monster of a ride.
You will find yourself caught in a
clash among prehistoric predators,
man-eating beasts and the most colossal
ape ever to walk the Earth. Opens this
spring.
Universal Studios opens at 9 a.m.
daily; closing times vary. One-day
tickets start at $102 for ages 10 and
older, and $97 for ages 3 to 9.
INFO universalorlando.com
TheSeagateHotel.com
855-713-1555
1000 East Atlantic Avenue,
Delray Beach, Florida 33483
2115226701
NEWSDAY, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016
Take a wild ride on SeaWorld’s new Mako roller coaster, hitting speeds up to 73 mph.
With championship golf, oceanfront dining at our private beach
club, and relaxing treatments at our award-winning spa, only
The Seagate provides all the amenities you expect from a luxury
resort, with the intimate feeling of a private
retreat. Spend your vacation where the
options are endless.
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HOTEL • SPA • BEACH CLUB • COUNTRY CLUB
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Is it a small price after all?
Three families
track expenses
at Disney World
BY SANDRA PEDICINI
Orlando Sentinel (TNS)
C
NEWSDAY, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016
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THE WILTSES
The Wiltses’ seven-day stay
ended on Thanksgiving. They
estimated their cost as $6,052
— $1,210 a person — including
five annual passes.
They bought a package
costing $3,990 that included a
stay in a family suite at the
All-Star Music Resort, two
park hopper tickets and the
dining plan. They paid extra to
upgrade their quick-service
dining plan that was offered
for free at budget resorts to
one that included sit-down
meals.
The family then used $1,260
credit from the two park
hopper tickets toward five
annual passes.
The Wiltses were able to
renew four annual passes at
the old rates, paying $590
apiece for four people. A
brand-new pass for their
3-year-old daughter cost $797.
TNS / JOE BURBANK
an you still get a deal
on a Disney vacation?
Three families who
traveled to Disney
World in November
of last year tracked and
reported their spending.
Lynn and Daniel Wiltse of
Hilton Head, South Carolina,
are passholders who try to
keep costs down because they
visit a few times a year. They
have three kids, ages 3 to 11.
Elaine and Michael
Carpenter of Pearl River, New
York, made their first trip to
Disney. They have two children, ages 7 and 5.
Kim and Blair LaCour of
Avon Lake, Ohio, have taken
several Disney trips and
cruises over the past few years.
They have three children, 5 to
9 years old.
One thing the families had in
common: They visited during a
time when they could get the
Disney Dining Plan for free.
That deal — often offered
during the slower fall months
— erases hundreds or
potentially more than $1,000
from a trip’s cost.
Calum Carpenter, 7, and his sister Eden, 5, read a guide map while visiting from New York with their parents, Mike and Elaine Carpenter.
“It definitely can be frustrating
when you see the price
increase,” said Lynn. “I try to
look at the bigger picture, of
what you get in the Disney
experience with your annual
pass and how many times we
come a year.”
The family limited extra
purchases, just a $15 stuffed
animal, and kept travel costs to
a minimum. They paid $150 for
two tanks of gas and two
meals, one on the way down
and one on the way home.
THE CARPENTERS
For the Carpenters, the trip
from Nov. 13 to 20 was a
once-in-a-lifetime deal. They
signed up for credit cards that
provided them with a perk:
$400 in gift cards that offset
their cost.
Once in the parks, “we really
didn’t spend a whole lot of
money there,” Elaine said.
“Everything was obviously
very overpriced.”
The Carpenters reported
their total cost at $5,200, or
$1,300 a person. That included
the gift cards they applied and
$1,070 for plane fare.
Lodging at the moderate
Caribbean Beach Resort and
theme-park admission cost
$3,085. To avoid buying extra
food in the parks, the family
spent $90 for extra food
delivered from a service called
Garden Grocer.
Gifts and souvenirs came to
$145, including a $17 autograph
book for 7-year-old Calum and a
$20 stuffed animal for 5-year-old
Eden. The Carpenters also
sprang for Mickey’s Very Merry
Christmas Party tickets, another
$300.
“No regrets; no need to rush
back,” Elaine said of the trip.
“The free dining was a huge
factor for us, so we felt we got
a good enough deal.”
THE LACOURS
Kim LaCour does not try to
do Disney on a budget. “When
we do it, we want to do it right.
We like to be right by the
monorail and have that
top-notch service and special
touches.”
The LaCours spent $7,250 —
$1,450 a person during their
stay that ended the day before
Thanksgiving. The bulk of that
cost was a $5,257.58 package
that included six nights of a
standard room at the
Polynesian and five days of
theme-park admission. Kim
said she received no discounts
but earned a booking
commission of $477.20.
The LaCours spent $300 on
tips, alcohol, sodas and coffee,
and a few extra quick-service
meals.
Expenses included $34 for
boat rental at the Polynesian, $55
for stroller rental and $169 for
advance purchase of a Memory
Maker package of digital photos
taken on rides and by Disney’s
photographers. (Advance
purchase since has dropped to
$149.)
The standard dining plan the
LaCours got as part of their
package ordinarily would have
cost $1,066 for their six-night
stay.
“It’s a supply-and-demand
thing,” LaCour said of the
increasing expense of a Disney
vacation. “For the experience
that Disney gives, it does cost.
. . . They have to make sure
they price it appropriately. That
means the prices do go up.”
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Crystal Cruises is moving into the European
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TOURS
Go-today is offering its Taste of Italy
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INFO 800-928-7898,
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(Hotel city taxes of about $24 are extra.)
Book at least seven days in advance.
INFO 800-227-3235, go-today.com
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