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