Get ready for parades, fun and beads.  Lots of beads.  Universal Studios Florida has announced its 2009 Mardi Gras concert series performers and there’s plenty of great music for everyone’s taste.

The annual Orlando Mardi Gras celebrations kick off Feb. 7.  Your general admission ticket to Universal Studios also provides all the Mardi Gras fun including the rocking parade and concert.

Universal’s Mardi Gras Concert Series:

Sat. Feb. 7   KC and the Sunshine Band

Sat. Feb. 14   Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

Sun. Feb. 15   Village People

Sat. Feb. 21   Ne-Yo

Sat. Feb. 28   Pat Benetar

Sat. Mar. 7   Barenaked Ladies

Sat. Mar. 14   Montgomery Gentry

Sat. Mar. 21   Collective Soul

Fri. Mar. 27   Boys Like Girls

Sat. Mar. 28   Kelly Clarkson

Sat. Apr. 4   MC Hammer

Sat. Apr. 11   Trace Adkins

Sat. Apr. 18   Nelly

Universal Orlando® Resort is the new official home of the Florida Lottery’s POWERBALL nightly drawings, beginning January 7.

To celebrate, Universal Orlando Resort is hosting a street party that night from 6:00 to 11:00 pm at the Universal CityWalk® Plaza Stage.The street party will feature hourly giveaways sponsored by the Florida Lottery, live music, street performers and other special performances.  It all leads up to the first Powerball Drawing in Florida at 10:59 pm which will be broadcast LIVE throughout CityWalk.

Join the fun for your chance to win fabulous prizes, listen to live entertainment and celebrate the Florida Lottery’s latest game… POWERBALL with POWERPLAY!

You must be 18 or older to play the Lottery. Play responsibly. See participating retailers or visit www.flalottery.com for details.

 A total of 28 hotels in Florida are on the newest list of the 500 Best Hotels in the World, according to Travel & Leisure magazine.  The annual list features seven hotels in Orlando and includes three Disney resorts. 

Orlando hotels on the exclusive Travel & Leisure list are:

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Grand Bohemian Hotel
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando
Ritz-Carlton, Grande Lakes

From fireworks to football, there is sure to be plenty of action in Orlando for New Year’s. 

All of Orlando’s famed theme park attractions are preparing for a festive night of fun and adventure on Dec. 31.  Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Studios Resort and SeaWorld Orlando will all offer extended hours and fabulous fireworks displays to help ring in the New Year.

Then on Jan. 1, 2009, all eyes will be on Orlando’s Citrus Bowl Stadium for the Capital One Bowl pitting the Georgia Bulldogs against the Michigan State University Spartans.

Don’t miss all the excitement that Orlando has to offer. For information on additional activities and attractions, visit www.OrlandoThemeParkVacations.com.

Rock in the New Year with a memorable night of food, fun and entertainment at Universal CityWalk® on December 31 from 8 pm to 2 am!

With live performances by The Doobie Brothers and additional live entertainment at each of the popular CityWalk clubs, this is sure to be one of the hottest New Year’s parties in Orlando.

Besides great music, you’ll also enjoy an all-you-can-eat gourmet feast with a tasty menu featuring filet mignon, jumbo shrimp and lots of desserts.  And as the countdown begins, there will be plenty of party hats and noisemakers, and a midnight champagne toast!

Advance tickets are now on sale for $119.99 plus tax.  Tickets are valid for one-night admission to the New Year’s Eve party at CityWalk between 8 pm and 2 am only.  You must be 21 or older to enter.  Tickets do not include admission to AMC Universal Cineplex 20, the Blue Man Group show, Hard Rock Live or the Universal Orlando theme parks.  Offer is subject to availability.  Restrictions apply.

The holidays are steamrolling into Orlando!  The Grammy-award winning Mannheim Steamroller is scheduled to perform two live holiday concerts at Universal Studios Florida on Dec. 6 to kick off the resort’s annual holiday program.

Mannheim Steamroller is famous for the New Age-jazz spin it adds to Christmas and other holiday seasonal music.  During the concerts, the band will perform songs it specifically composed for the resort’s original holiday stage show, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” as well as new music from its latest album release titled, Christmasville.

The concerts will take place at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the “New York” area of the Universal Studios theme park.  The concerts are included with regular park admission.

The performances are the start of the month-long holiday festivities at Universal Orlando which begin Dec. 6 and run through Jan. 1, 2009.  Other holiday highlights include the resort’s Grinchmas show and Macy’s Holiday Parade.

Central Florida was well represented among the 2008 Golden Ticket Award winners in an annual vote of amusement park aficionados polled by Amusement Today magazine.  The poll gauges the best of the best among all of the nation’s theme parks.

Here’s how Orlando’s theme parks fared in the voting by category:

Best Overall Park

#5      Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Best Waterpark

#3      Disney’s Blizzard Beach

#5      Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon

Best Marine Park

#1      SeaWorld Orlando

#4      SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove

Cleanest Park

#4      Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park

Best Shows

#3      Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Best Food

#3      Epcot

Best Water Ride in Theme Park

#1      Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls at Universal’s Islands of Adventure

#3      Splash Mountain at Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park

#4      Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-rat Barges at Universal’s  Islands of Adventure

#5      Journey to Atlantis at SeaWorld Orlando

Best Kid’s Area

#2      Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Best Landscaping

#5      Epcot

Best Outdoor Show Production

#1      Epcot

#5      Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Best Dark Ride

#1      Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man at Universal’s Islands of Adventure

#2      Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

#5      Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park

Best Halloween Event

#1      Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida

Best Christmas Event

#2      Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park

Best Carousel

#4      Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Best Indoor Coaster

#1      Revenge of the Mummy at Universal’s Islands of Adventure

#2 Rock ‘N Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

 The Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort welcomes Eddie Money as the featured performer in the hotel’s monthly rock n’ roll cocktail party, Velvet Sessions. 

The Velvet Sessions party is held the last Thursday of every month and combines creative cocktails with live music from some of the world’s hottest rock bands and performers.

Eddie Money is best known for hits like, Two Tickets to Paradise, Shakin’, Take Me Home Tonight, Walk On Water, Think I’m In Love, Baby Hold On, and I Wanna Go Back.

Admission for Velvet Sessions with Eddie Money is $50 and includes FREE drinks, hors de oeuvres, and warm up tunes from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. There will be a cash bar and additional rock music from 8:30 pm on.

To attend a Velvet Sessions event, you must request an invitation online at http://www.universalorlando.com/.  Please note that Velvet Sessions is restricted to those age 21 and older.

Top Chef is coming to CityWalk at Universal Orlando Resort on September 23 and 24.  Come enjoy live cooking demonstrations with your favorite cheftestants from Bravo’s Top Chef television show.  Daily showtimes: 10:30am, 12:00pm, 1:30pm.

You can also shop for Top Chef gear, get autographs, sign up for a raffle, and check out interactive kiosks during this total Top Chef experience!

Admission is free, but tickets are limited.  Get your free tickets one hour before each show in front of the Plaza Stage.

Halloween comes early to Orlando.  All of central Florida’s major theme park players offer frightening or fun Halloween activities.  From Disney’s fun-filled event to Universal’s annual fright-fest, there are plenty of Halloween happenings for everyone!

DISNEY:  Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

Celebrate a most magical Halloween at Disney’s Magic Kingdom! Come in costume and trick-or-treat for candy and goodies with all of your favorite Disney Characters, all dressed in their finest Halloween outfits. With special entertainment, this not-so-scary party is no trick - it’s a real treat!

Event Highlights:

• Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade
• Trick-or-treating throughout Magic Kingdom® Park at numerous locations.
• Happy HalloWishes fireworks spectacular - where the Disney Villains go trick-or-treating in the sky!
• Characters decked out in their favorite costumes - so wear yours, too.
• Some of the most popular Magic Kingdom attractions.

Event Dates:

September 19, 23, 26, 28, 30

October 2, 4, 7, 9, 13, 16, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30 (Oct. 31 sold out)
SEAWORLD ORLANDO:  Halloween Spooktacular

Enjoy an underwater fantasea at SeaWorld Orlando, where you can trick-or-treat with friendly sea witches, octopuses, mermaids, pumpkin fish and more.  Come in costume and play with sea fairies, learn from a “school” of fish or dance with an ice witch.

Event Highlights:

• Festivities are included with park admission and begin at 11 am
• Enjoy 15 “treasure stations” with treats galore
• Sesame Street “Countdown to Halloween” live musical stage show with Elmo, The Count and other Sesame Street pals
• Strolling Entertainment

Event Dates:

October 4-5, 11-12, 18-10, 24-26, 31

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA: Halloween Horror Nights

Nowhere to turn. Nowhere to hide.

On select nights in September, October, and November, come face to face with your deepest fears as Bloody Mary brings history’s most terrifying urban legends to life. Inside the haunted houses or on the darkened streets, there’s nowhere you’re safe in the most immersive horror experience ever. If you survive, you can experience it all - only at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, the country’s premier Halloween event.

Event Highlights:

• More Scare Zones
• More Scare Actors
• More haunted houses
• All new live shows

Event Dates:

September 26-27

October 2-5, 9-12, 16-19, 22-26, 29-31

November 1