Author: Adventures by Anne

Universal Summer Opening Dates Announced

Universal Studios Florida just announced the opening date for two new attractions and a whole new land! Drumroll….  June 14, 2024! Plan your visit now!

DreamWorks Land

DreamWorks Land

Trollcoaster

Hop onto the caterpillar Caterbus on the Trolls Trollercoaster family-friendly coaster.

Po Village

Talk to Po on a digital animated screen, and he’ll train you in the ways of kung fu and cook some delicious snacks.

Shrek cottage

Meet Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey outside Shrek’s cottage and splash in his swamp.

Hogwarts Always Nighttime Show

Hogwarts™ Always

Delight in the nighttime extravaganza, Hogwarts™ Always, an incredible new projection show. Enjoy a journey through iconic moments of a year at the beloved school of witchcraft and wizardry, all set against the majestic background of Hogwarts™ castle in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade™, on select nights.

CineSational

Cinematic Splendor

This new lagoon show will feature water fountains, projections, and drones. Movie music comes alive in a cinematic journey with stirring soundtracks evoking the mystery and magic of Harry Potter™, the pulse-pounding thrills of Jurassic World, and the gripping suspense of Jaws, on select nights.

Mega Movie Parade

Bonus opening: July 3, 2024

Universal Mega Movie Parade

High-energy excitement as your favorite characters leap off the screen onto the streets for a daytime parade. Feel the roar of the T. rex, enjoy the adventure of E.T., embrace your true colors with Trolls, and more, on select days.

Are you excited about Universal Studios’ new offerings? Contact me if you want me to help you plan your next Universal trip.

AdventuresByAnne.com

© Universal Studios

Yellowstone National Park

National Park Week 2024:

To cap off my 2024 National Park Week series, we’re going to the very first United States National Park – Yellowstone!

Yellowstone National Park

It is known for its wildlife and many geothermal features, such as the Old Faithful Geyser. It turns out that this is another park related to volcanos, the source of heat that vents out in the many colorful hot springs, mud pots, and geysers around the park. Somehow, we coincidentally visited a lot of volcanic parks recently. This is an awe-inspiring park!

Come with us to explore Yellowstone National Park!

I hope this series inspired you to visit our amazing national parks. I’ll continue to post as we visit more of them.

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.
AdventuresByAnne.com

National Park Week

Grand Teton National Park

National Park Week 2024: Day 6

Next on my 2024 National Park Week series, we’re going to one of the most majestic parks I’ve been to so far – Grand Teton National Park!

Grand Teton National Park

All of the national parks are beautiful in their own way. I’m not sure I can truly pick a favorite, but Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming is way up there on the stunningly beautiful scale! These mountains are so majestic and stunning!

Come explore Grand Teton National Park with us!

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.
AdventuresByAnne.com

National Park Week

2024 Disneyland Pixar Fest

Disneyland Pixar Fest

Pixar Fest at Disneyland Park in California starts tomorrow, April 26, 2024, and will go through August 4, 2024.

Celebrate friendship and beyond with exciting entertainment, Pixar pals, and more. There will be a new daytime parade, an exciting nighttime spectacular, fun Pixar character encounters, and delicious Pixar-inspired foods at festival marketplaces.

Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration

The “Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!”  daytime parade will have dynamic, colorful floats and more than 2 dozen favorite characters from Pixar Animation Studios films.

Together Forever - A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular

The “Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular” fireworks show will feature immersive projections, colorful lasers and memorable music on select nights.

Pixar character experiences

Club Pixar and the Pixar Pals Playtime Party will be fun character experiences with dance parties, photo opportunities, screenings of Pixar shorts and more.

Pixar festival foods

Enjoy 6 festival marketplaces in Disney California Adventure Park with tasty menus inspired by Pixar stories.

Pixar Fest merchandise

Of course, there will be limited-time merchandise and novelties, too.

Downtown Disney will join the fun, too, with Pixar-themed foods, merchandise, entertainment, and decor.

Disneyland Hotel

This sounds like a really fun festival! Please contact me if you want to chat about planning your Disneyland trip.

AdventuresByAnne.com

Pics ©Disney

Crater Lake National Park

National Park Week 2024: Day 5

Next on my 2024 National Park Week series, we’re going to another park formed by a volcano – Crater Lake National Park!

Crater Lake National Park

To say the lake is stunning is even an understatement. As we walked to the overlook behind the Visitor’s Center, we caught our first glimpse of the brightest, bluest water we’ve ever seen! It was a perfectly still, almost glass-like, huge round lake. It was amazing!

Take a look at Crater Lake National Park!

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.
AdventuresByAnne.com

National Park Week

Craters of the Moon National Monument

National Park Week 2024: Day 4

Next on my 2024 National Park Week series, we will jump up to Idaho to visit another very remote National Park Service property – Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve!

Craters of the Moon National Monument

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a unique area of volcanic cinder cones, lava rock, and sagebrush, located in southern Idaho. Visitors can explore miles of trails, caves, and scenic byways along the park’s 9-mile loop road.  The astronauts from Apollo 14 even visited in 1969!

Come check out this unique park with us – Craters of the Moon National Monument.

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.
AdventuresByAnne.com

National Park Week

Great Basin National Park

National Park Week 2024: Day 3

Continuing with the cave theme on my 2024 National Park Week series, we will tour another major cave park and one of the most remote parks – Great Basin National Park!

Except, we didn’t get to see the caves…

See what happened on our trip to Great Basin National Park.

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.
AdventuresByAnne.com

National Park Week

Mammoth Cave National Park

National Park Week 2024: Day 2

Next on my 2024 National Park Week series, we’re going underground to Mammoth Cave National Park!

Mammoth Cave National Park

If you like caves, you have to visit Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky! Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system that has been explored at over 400 miles, but who knows how much more is yet to be discovered. There are several different tours of varying lengths and difficulties to explore different areas of the cave system.

Come join us on a tour of Mammoth Cave National Park!

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.
AdventuresByAnne.com

National Park Week

Hot Springs National Park

National Park Week 2024: Day 1

To kick off my 2024 National Park Week series, we’re going to a very unique park – Hot Springs National Park!

Hot Springs National Park

Instead of just one natural park-like location, Hot Springs National Park bleeds into the town of Hot Springs, Arkansas, all of which should be a part of your Hot Springs National Park visit. The rivers of mineral water that flow from the hot springs stream into various spas, hotels, restaurants, and other locations in town.

Come join us at Hot Springs National Park!

Please contact me if you would like to chat about planning a National Park trip.
AdventuresByAnne.com

National Park Week

National Park Week 2024

National Park Week

To celebrate National Park Week last year, I started a series featuring a different national park each day. I’ve always loved the national parks around the country, so I want to share more of them with you and hope you can visit them too. 

For this year’s National Park Week, I’ll be featuring more parks that we’ve visited. Follow along on my Park Visits page for a new post each day featuring a new park. Also, subscribe to my mailing list to follow along with emails.

This year, National Park Week is celebrated from April 20 – 28th. To kick it off, the parks that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission on Saturday, April 20, 2024. The National Park Service parks and related entities will host activities all week.

We love the national parks! We’ve been to just over half of the major U.S. ones so far, and honestly, we cannot name one that we didn’t like. It’s hard to pick a favorite. Each one is so different and so cool in its own way. Hopefully, you can learn more about each park and explore them yourself, too.

Visit this NPS page for detailed information on all of the events to celebrate National Park Week. #NationalParkWeek

Monday, April 22nd, is also Earth Day, so check out the Earth Day page for activities to commemorate this. #EarthDay

Visit the NPS site to learn more about the national parks and to plan your visit. Note that some parks require timed entry tickets, so plan ahead.

If you can’t travel to them in person, you can visit the parks virtually! There are many virtual events as well.

Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about a national park trip. Hopefully, we’ll see you out there!

Earth Day

Pics ©National Park Service