Christmas Ads: Have some gone too far?

Spoiler Alert! Have you seen the recent advertisements for Christmas? If your children still believe in Santa, keep the TV off. Various commercials this year imply that there is no need for Santa or suggest there is no such thing as a Santa Claus. 

            Moms do all the shopping!  Didn’t you know your mother puts all the gifts under the tree for you? This is the impression some ads this season are giving. “Game on Santa” is the Best Buy slogan this Christmas. “Santa has elves. You have Target” is Target’s catch phrase. "Another combatant is climbing into the ring for the battle for consumer dollars as the 2011 Christmas shopping season gets under way." NYT In the bad economy, many retailers are using creative advertising to try to encourage people to stay in the stores and shop, shop, shop. Retailers want you to spend your money in their stores. But this year have some retailers gone too far to get you into their stores for Christmas?

            The advertising watchdog has received complaints about one commercial in particular: the retailer Littlewoods suggestion that Father Christmas does not exist. The commercial consists of young children performing what appears to be a Elementary School Christmas Show who are singing about who has brought their presents this year. Not one child says Santa Claus. With so many commercials suggesting the non-existence of Santa, are children confused?

            “The Advertising Standards Authority has received 456 complaints that the ad ruins the tradition that Santa Claus brings presents by revealing that mothers do all the shopping.” The complaints say this commercial should be switched to a later time when the young children will be in bed. I do not think the prime time television slot was the target audience for these commercials. Humbug

            The ASA had to decide if this ad breaches any part of the advertising code that states that Santa Claus or Father Christmas does not exist. "After careful consideration ASA council has decided that, as the ad did not make reference to Father Christmas or suggest Father Christmas did not exist, it was unlikely to cause distress to children and therefore we won't be launching an investigation," the regulator said. The ASA regulates ads that may reveal sensitive information like there is no Santa Claus. ASA

            As of now, this ad will continue to air for the rest of the Holiday Season. Is it appropriate? Make the decision for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INJ5Q16EntU

Christmas Time in Orlando

“HOLIDAY CHEER YOU’LL FIND ONLY HERE”

            A Thanksgiving tradition in my house is to wake up in time to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC. Since I was taking dance classes as a child, my mother thought it was important for me to watch the World Famous Radio City Hall Rockettes. Though I have never been to New York City during Thanksgiving, I have childhood memories getting up to help my mother cook and to watch the parade.

            If you share the same type of memories as I do, Universal Studios Orlando and Macy’s will be re-creating the same parade as you see on TV here in the Orlando area. Macy’s and Universal Studios have teamed up for the last 10 years to bring the floats from the streets of NYC to Orlando. There will be marching bands, clowns, Rockettes, and even Santa Claus! Universal Studios Orlando Mannheim Steamroller will be performing select nights during the month of December to bring holiday cheer throughout the park. There will be other attractions like the Holiday Village where you can find unique gifts, fun crafts, and special holiday treats. Also, this year to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary Macy’s Holiday Parade at Universal Studios, Macy’s and Universal created a special float that was featured in the Thanksgiving Day Parade this past weekend. This float is in transit from NYC to Orlando to be showcased here at Universal Studios Orlando.

            Not only is Macy’s parade festivities visiting Orlando, but the Grinch is coming to town. "Grinchmas" is at Universal’s Islands of Adventure to celebrate the holiday cheer. Seuss Landing will be transformed into a winter wonderland full of Who’s starting this weekend. If you want to get up close and personal with the Grinch, join him for breakfast at the Holiday Character Breakfast on select dates. Grinch

            Last year was my first experience at Universal Holiday festivities. We went to see our friends march in the parade as Rockettes. I enjoyed every minute of it. The Holiday Cheer at Universal will start December 3^rd through January 1^st.

Negotiation Tips

Once interested in going to school for psychology and now moving my interest to attending law school, I sat down with a mediator to discuss her business experience. Dealing with an assortment of clients and situations, she discussed her problem solving tactics:

      As a big Yankee fan, she used baseball to explain how she always dealt with clients over the years. She stated simply “you have to play the game” it can be your game or their game, either way you have to play. If it is their game, she said, you should learn it and learn it quickly so you can use it to your advantage. Listen. To be able to adapt to the situation or negotiation at hand, you have to listen to what the other person is saying. You also have to read between the lines. She said this is the best way to learn their game. If you’re playing your game, stay confident. If you are sitting down to negotiate, it’s probably because you are already doing something right. As long as you stay confident and listen to what the other person has to say, play ball. I found her baseball analogies ironic.

     Most importantly, she said, keep things simple. People tend to get caught up in the details and then lose focus on the actual problem at hand. This can be due to people not separating the people from the problem. People will have the tendency to take things personally, especially when dealing with their work. If you lead with what is most important, not only to you but also the other person, you will avoid negative emotions.

     Suggesting focusing on mutual benefit is the best way to play the game.  Yes we are back on the baseball analogies. If I’m happy and you’re happy, then everyone is happy and the negotiation went well. Sometimes it is important to help convince the other person the conclusion of the negotiation was a mutual benefit.  As I was listening to her explain about her opinion on mutual benefit, I found it difficult to imagine trying to convince someone of mutual benefit. Though I greatly appreciated her trying to use baseball to explain her experiences with negotiations, I remembered is there not only one winner at the end of a game?  
 

A Little A&A

As we are coming upon the last 3-weeks of Halloween Horror Nights, there is a few things you may want to know. How early to arrive? Where to go first? What day should I pick?

Lets start with the last question: What day should I pick?

Starting this week, HHN opens on Wednesday night. Obviously, going on a Wednesday or Thursday night will be the least crowded. However, the park does not stay open as late on these nights: 6:30pm-12am. On Friday the park hours are 6:30pm-1am and on Saturday 6:30pm-2am. Even though the park is open later on Saturday, that does not mean you will get to do more. Saturday is the busiest night and the lines can get to be over 1hr long for houses like The In Between or Saws n’ Screams- Into the Machine. The last two weekends I have attended, these houses had the longest wait time. 

Even if some of the houses have long lines, when you are in big groups amongst friends, the wait does not drag on. Another option is to get HHN Express pass for an additional fee. If you can only go one night and want to experience all the houses and attractions within this event, I strongly suggest you get this. The Express pass will cut your wait times from 1hr to 15minutes. 

How early should I get there?

As early as possible. Most of the houses have 10 minute wait times at 6:30pm. You can knock out at least 3 houses before 7:30pm. Also, some would wait until 8pm to arrive to try and get out of paying for parking. This year you still have to pay no matter the time you arrive. Before 8pm, parking is $15. After 8pm it goes to $3. My suggestion is to hitch a ride with a friend who has a Preferred or Premier Annual Pass to Universal Orlando. They get free parking. 

Where should I go first?

If you decide to arrive at this event when it opens, head straight to the back of the park. Everyone else will try to do the houses in order starting with the houses near the entrance by the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster, which includes Winter’s Night, Nightingales, and The Thing. These houses will have shorter wait times further into the night. Houses like Saw n’ Screams, by Jaws, wait time will get longer as the night goes on.  

If you do not get to HHN21 as early as you planned, text 64646 and you will receive wait times for all the houses every hour. 

If you can not do all the houses, let me suggest my personal favorites:

Saw n’ Screams    Winter’s Night       Nevermore       The Foresaken      H.R. Bloodengutz

Do not forget to attend Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure. They will meet you at the 69.

http://www.orlandoinformer.com/universal/nevermore-madness-of-poe-haunted-house-hhn-21/#axzz1axTeo8Ik

http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/florida_residents_tickets.html

HHN21: Opening Night

This past weekend was the grand opening of the 21^st annual Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. With 8 houses and 6 scare zones, this year’s Halloween event leaves much to be desired.

            Without the host house this year, what’s the point of even having a theme? The only glimpse of Lady Luck is in the scare zone “Your luck has run out” where she hides behind crates in a darkened alleyway.  Previous years, the host house has been one of the most popular and is usually my personal favorite. Halloween Horror Nights 20 where fear itself was the host, the host house was the best rooms from houses over the last 20 years. Here Universal Orlando had the ability to fall back on their legacy and the host house is still involved their theme. But with HHN21 starts a new decade and a new standard. This year the advertisements says, “the house always wins,” but where’s the house?

            Moving past the fact there is no host house featuring Lady Luck, some of the house themes do not make any sense. For example, Nightingales: Blood Prey. This house takes you through trenches of WWI where “nightingales” hunt the weak and wounded. The nightingales are supposed to be bloodthirsty banshees dressed as British nurses. Though the trenches are quite impressive in design, the story behind this one is a little far fetched. I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember having banshees in my history WWI book. Two houses this year that have historical reference are Nevermore: the madness of Poe and The Forsaken. Watch out while your in The Forsaken, it’s extremely dark in there and the ground changes often.

            The best house in my opinion was the Winter’s Night. It was very similar to the Catacombs house last year. The entire house is bone chilling. Literally, the a/c in there must be on at least 60 degrees. The temperature change enhances your experience in the house. The design includes a recreation of an old gothic cemetery with statues that move and doors to coffins that shake. The website states Winter’s Night is the recreation of “the haunting of the hawthorn cemetery.”

            The two shows at HHN21, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure & Death Drums where both excellent. Bill & Ted’s was much better and funnier than last year’s show. Come and join them at the 69. Death Drums, HHN newest show, was very entertaining. To see this show you need to be in the appropriate roped area. It does get crowded so get there early for both shows. 

http://www.facebook.com/halloweenhorrornightsorlando

http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/attractions.html

Raghava KK: Five lives of an artist received from ted.com

Beginning as a child cartooning his teachers during class to becoming an internationally known artist, Raghava KK separates his varies stages of his artwork through his changes in art styles.

“With endearing honesty and vulnerability, Raghava KK tells the colorful tale of how art has taken his life to new places, and how life experiences in turn have driven his multiple reincarnations as an artist -- from cartoonist to painter, media darling to social outcast, and son to father.”

           Every stage of artwork is a life. Like many artists, he has separated his works into different progressions, or as he states it, five lives:  1life = cartoonists, 2life = performance painter, 3life = realist painter, 4life = abstract expressionism, 5life = abstract expressionism with humor. As his life changed so did his work. But sometimes his work changed his life.

            His speech was more personal compared to other artist lectures I have attended. He was humorous, personable, and honest about what he has created. He was very forthcoming about how his cartoonist days ended by making a politically incorrect cartoon related to 9/11 shortly after the Twin Towers fell. He also discussed how he allowed himself to be open to discover new things. A painter in Italy inspired him to become a painter being his 2nd artist life. He explained how there are “100” different brushes used for painting; and how he, as a person who drew, was overwhelmed. Instead of using brushes he started to paint with his hands and feet, which evolved into painting dancers into paintings being performed by dancers. The same painter also inspired him to be reborn on a daily basis.  This is maybe where the “5 lives of an artist” come from and one of the reasons he was so daring as an artist.

           I appreciated him letting you into his lives. I sat through a lecture my senior year of college which an artist made the statement that she hated how other artists always felt the need to categorize their work making their lectures long and boring. Instead she critiqued her favorite works in no particular order or progression; but in the end, her lecture was still long and boring. Though this was a timed speech, I still think Raghava KK's approach was better than others I have seen. He did not stay highly academic nor did he try to be something he is not. He spoke from the heart about what he has done as an artist, a person, a son, a husband, and now a father. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/raghava_kk_five_lives_of_an_artist.html

http://raghavakk.com/

Little A&A: Full List of HHN21 Houses, Scare Zones, and Shows

EIGHT HAUNTED HOUSES

Nevermore: The Madness of Poe
The madness of Edgar Allen Poe’s greatest works has come to life.  Step into the mind of the iconic writer, where every turn of the page takes you closer to the brink of insanity. 

The Forsaken
Four ships began Columbus’s fateful voyage, only three became legend. Condemned to a watery grave, the mutinous and cursed crew of that 4th ship has returned with a vengeance.  For within the walls of a Spanish fort, a maelstrom has brought from the depths....death itself.

HHN21

Have you heard? Lady Luck is seeking you out to try your luck at Halloween Horror Nights 21 at Universal Studios Orlando. “Try your luck” is this year’s coined phrase to go along with HHN21 blackjack themed event with Lady Luck being your host. Be advised when testing your luck, Lady Luck has some tricks. She can turn into a bloodthirsty beast at the blink of the eye. 

            Tuesday at midnight, Universal Orlando announced the house themes, shows, and scare zones for this year’s Halloween Event. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure will continue this year and will be joined by a new show called Death Drums. A new addition to the haunted house experience, Universal Orlando will be a featuring a three-dimensional house called The In-Between. You can see Patrick Braillard, the show director for HHN, tell about this new addition on the HHN website. Some historical figures will be hosting their own house this year, which includes Edgar Allen Poe and Christopher Columbus. Universal announced earlier this month a house based on the upcoming film The Thing.  The other 4 houses include: Saws n’ Steam: Into the Machine, Winter’s Night: the Haunting of Hawthorn Cemetery; H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: Holidays of Horrors; Nightingales: Blood Prey.

            HHN has been one of the most successful Halloween Events in theme park history. In 2004, Universal Studios flexed their muscles and showed their teeth at the IAAPA demonstrating why they have been so successful over the last few years. This year Universal is bringing their Halloween Event to Universal Singapore to try their luck in Asia.  Universal is expecting for HHN Singapore to become the largest Halloween event in Southeast Asia.

            "Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Singapore will build on Universal’s decades of experience in creating entertaining, intense and fun Halloween events.  Halloween Horror Nights began 21 years ago at Universal Studios Florida and is now a global sensation, with spectacular events at Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore.”   etravelblackboardasia

           The host of this event will be the Filmmaker who truly brings the movies to life. Universal has pride itself on this concept of bringing the movies from the silver screen to the streets of their theme parks. Now they are bringing a different type of movie experience to Southeast Asia- horror film. As you may recall, the Filmmaker was the host of Universal Orlando's HHN13 back in 2003 and is my personal favorite. 

            What I found interesting about bringing HHN to Asia is there was not a large discussion about the differences in culture? I know many other events at theme parks, like at Disney Tokyo, have translated from the American culture to Asian culture; but I feel like when speaking of ghosts, ghouls, vampires, taboo, and scary tales some themes may be lost in translation. I would be interested to find out more about the details of the differences in the houses and themes between HHN Orlando and HHN Singapore. Is there differences on association regulation, like from the IAAPA, on how intense this Halloween experience can be? Will HHN be more thrilling in Singapore?

Reference:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_orlando/2011/08/universal-studios-halloween-horror-nights-haunted-houses-revealed.html/comment-page-1#comment-5447

All four Disney Parks. One Day.

Can you really do all 4 parks in one day? Realistically, it’s not possible to do everything; however, you can do the Disney Park Hopper option to do the specific events that you or the people in your group want to do. The key is to plan, plan, plan. 

            The place to start your day is Animal Kingdom. One of the most popular attractions is the Kilimanjaro Safaris, which is an open-air safari ride that takes you through the jungles of Africa. The key to this ride to go first thing in the morning when the park opens at 8am so that you have the opportunity to see the animals. If you wait and go later in the day, the lions and elephants will be sleeping in the shade where they can’t be seen. The other attraction in this park that is critical to do in the morning is the Maharajah Jungle Trek where you can see giant fruit bats and tigers up close. If it is important to your group to be able to see all the exotic animals that Animal Kingdom has to show, this is the place to start your day.

            The next park to head towards is Hollywood Studios. The best way to travel to this park is by bus from Animal Kingdom. You want to be in this park in the afternoon to catch the new Star War Tours show and new ride attraction. For all of your Star Wars fans, this ride changes every time you ride it so feel free to stay all day if that is what your heart desires. If Star Wars is not your thing, another reason to be in this park in the afternoon is to see one of the last live theater shows in Disney, Beauty and the Beast. This show plays through the afternoon until about 5:45 everyday. Make sure you check out Tower of Terror before you leave. A true Disney classic.

            Next up is to take the boat to Epcot just in time to have dinner in Morocco, Italy, or maybe even France. This is the location of the seasonal Food and Wine Festival where you can eat around the world. Every country has merchandise, food, and alcohol from its native land. Disney also has an international internship program where they bring international students in to work in Epcot in the country they are from. For example, when we ate in Germany, our waitress was from Berlin and the man who creates Venetian masks in Italy is from Venice.

            From Epcot, hop onto the monorail heading towards Magic Kingdom. You want to do this park last because it is open the latest. Also, you do not want to miss the Mainstreet Electrical Parade that goes on at 9pm and then again at 11pm every night keeping the park open until midnight. There is also an excellent firework display called the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular that goes at 10pm. While in Magic Kingdom you want to fit in the three mountains: Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, & Splash Mountain.

            When you are done with your long Disney fun filled adventure, you can take the bus back to wherever you started your day.  The key to make the Park Hopper option worth the extra money is to plan out what is most important to you to do in each park and what times they happen. I strongly suggest using Disney transportation. It is the easiest way to get around. 

To get your vacation planning started http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/planning-dvd/

Fantasy Land Expansions

So when I was visiting Walt Disney World a couple of weeks ago, I noticed lots of construction. Not to mention the Belle and the Beast taking photographs with guest members in front of a sign that looks similar to the one above. And I thought what is this all about?
Changes have been made since the first announcement of the new Fantasy Land Expansion in September 2009. There have been concerns that some of the new additions may be too girly to the point were boys would be embarrassed to participate; however, Disney presses on with their plans to expand the area with Princess related attractions. The new expansion will almost double of the size of Fantasy Land. You can see aerial photos of the construction underway.

The first announcement of expansion included continuing to market classic Princesses through new attractions. The Princesses include: Ariel, Snow White, and Belle. There will a new attraction added to Cinderella’s castle where your little princess can interact with her favorite Princess.

Rides that will be no longer: Mickey's Toontown Fair & Snow White's Scary Adventures 

New and Up-coming rides:

 Coming all the way from Disney’s California Adventure, is the new ride Under the Sea-the Journey of the Little Mermaid featuring the characters from the movie like Ariel, Sebastian, and more. This ride will resemble the clamshell you sit in the The Seas with Nemo and Friends ride at Epcot.

 The Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train ride will be a roller costar through the dwarf’s mine where the train will feel as if it is coming off the track while making sharp twist and turns. What I like about this ride is it takes a classic scene from the movie and brings it to life for the viewer. I can sit in the theater watching movies like Monster’s Inc. or Snow White imaging scenes becoming roller coasters. I think this one will be a good one.

 But what I am most excited about is new themed restaurant Be Our Guest from Beauty and Beast. I have always watched this “Be our Guest” scene preformed live at Hollywood Studios, at the time it was MGM Studios, amazed by the dancing utensils.  This will be a quick place to eat during the day, but will become a full table service dinning experience at night. It will hold 550-guests in the new and magnificent dining hall inside of the Beast’s Castle. 

This is not the only Beauty and the Beast themed addition, there will also be a reenactment of “the tale as old as time” with Belle and friends. “In Enchanted Tales with Belle, the adventure begins at Maurice’s cottage, where you’ll step through an enchanted mirror that magically transports you to Beast’s library for an interactive storytelling session with Belle.” There will also be Gaston’s Tavern and Bonjour! Village Gifts added to this area.

There are more additions and changes being made which will be announced in more detail hopefully soon. 

To find out more:

http://themeparks.about.com/od/disneyparks/a/MKFantasylan

http://themeparks.about.com/od/disneyparks/a/MKFantasylandExp.htm

A little A&A: more about CoraNation Room

The CoraNation Room at Kouzzina in Disney’s Boardwalk is an intimate dinning experience on every Friday and Saturday night starting at 6:30pm. This experience allows you to have Cat Cora’s personal favorites of Mediterranean food with a Southern cooking spin. As each course comes to the table, you have the opportunity to discuss the food with the Chef. “Amid flickering candlelight, delight in fresh seafood and oak-grilled specialties prepared with creative Greek touches that celebrate the chef's heritage. As the perfect complement to each course, enjoy optional wine pairings that include selections from Chef Cat Cora's private label.” kouzzina Disney suggests that you make reservations before, but we did not and had to issue getting in. Also, note is this expensive: $60+ per person BUT definitely worth it.

If this is not for you, you can other options with Kouzzina.

            If the 5-course dining experience is a little too fancy for you, you can also experience the same food in a more casual dining experience. Meals here can be anywhere from $15-35 per person. If you go this route, I would suggest to get the Trio because it lets you sample some of Cat Cora’s best dishes. My favorite was the Greek Lasagna, very yummy, out of everything I tasted. 

Street Performers at the Boardwalk

How to do Disney without ever setting foot inside a park? That’s easy. Just step foot onto Disney property and follow the Mickey Ears. There are three “downtown” areas: Downtown Disney, the West Side, and the Boardwalk. Most already know about Downtown Disney and the West Side, however the Boardwalk is one of Disney’s best kept secrets. Entertainment ranges “from a dance hall to piano bar to sports-themed club Specialty Cruises. There is no admission to Disney's BoardWalk area—where live evening entertainment can usually be found— but some venues may have a cover charge.” BoardWalk I spent a Saturday night at Disney’s Boardwalk and this is what I discovered.

            Like the other downtown areas, Disney has added street performers to their array of little shops, excellent restaurants, food venders, and dance clubs. Unlike some of the other entertainment, these performers are here free of charge and do not hassle you for tips or donations. Each performer has their own vaudeville type act that rotates throughout the area. The first act I saw that night was a magician who used the children in the crowd to help him to complete his corny magic tricks with the audience he had generated. I quickly realized how popular these street performers really are.  I stood there and watched the magician’s 15 minute show and was thoroughly entertained because he did not try to make his magic tricks seem more spectacular than they actually were nor did he disappoint the crowd.

The second act I watched was a clown who did not talk only squeaked and had a love for his many hats. He played with presents, had audience participation from all different ages, and shot a very small basketball into a very small hoop from the pole he balanced on his head from 30 feet high. I was amazed by the spectacle he created, but I also thought his act was quite humorous like most clowns should be. I was finding myself laughing with the very large crowd surrounding me.

            The last act we saw was my favorite: Carlo. Carlo was a Hungarian sword balancing, throwing, and swallowing expert. He continuously got the children in the crowd to repeat, do not try this at home, to emphasize the danger of his act. He was humble, humorous, ad held my attention the entire time. After watching Carlo, I went to sit and watch Epcot’s fireworks show on the beach store just in time to eat at the new Greek restaurant CoraNation Room Kouzzina by famous chef Cat Cora. CoraNation Room Overall a very enjoyable night. And the best part was the only expense was dinner. 

Drake at Universal Studios has been cancelled for this Saturday night, 7/15, due to a death in his family. There will be no replacement concert for Summer Concert Series.