March 21, 2017
Ep 98 – @JLBNerdy Visits Orlando & Ken Tries to Talk Nintendo
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One of OTR’s oldest and most dedicated fans stops by the studio as part of a grand non-Disney weekend she planned with Ken. News involves confirmation of two rumors from the previous week’s show and Ken gives exclusive new details on what Nintendo at UOR will look like.
Hosts
- Ken Storey
- Robert
- Ed
- Brian of Orlando Park Pass
- Jim of WildGravity Travels
- Andy of Theme Parks and Travels
- Jakeof Orlando Park Pass
- Hotel Correspondent – Kyle
- Show Researcher – Jay
- Show Historian – Kevin Yee
Special Guest- Jenny (@JLBNerdy)
Recording Date- March 10, 2017 on WPRK 91.5 Winter Park (10AM-Noon)
Punch List
Osceola leaders: Smart sensors, resorts and training programs to generate more jobs
Omni Orlando Resort execs foresee big payoff from expansion set to open in May
GOAA’s Kruppenbacher, Villages’ Lester among Scott’s picks for constitution panel
Omni Orlando Resort execs foresee big payoff from expansion set to open in May
Orlando airport contractors helped fund board member’s campaign
La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil Will Host Its Final Disney Springs Performance This December
Taste of the Nation Becomes Taste! Central Florida and Sets a 2017 Date
Caribbean Carnaval Coming to Loews Sapphire Falls Resort
Bike Week set to roll into Daytona Beach
Florida Mall unveiling high-tech children’s ‘Play Park’ in spring
Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge names firm to design new building
Creative City Project renames annual event
Amendments governing heights of airport-adjacent developments to change
Give Kids The World gets Intergalactic makeover and pays tribute to Founder
Miami’s SkyRise unveils crown jewel attraction with Skyway observation pods @SkyRiseMiami
Mayor Buddy Dyer unveils giant WrestleMania title belt at Lake Eola
Brightline installs new CEO, reveals 2.5-year delay on Orlando leg
March 21, 2017
Ep 97 – Nick Ilasi Talks Disney & Callers talk Fallon
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Nick Ilasi (@DadonDisney) stops by the studio to talk about his Florida Plunge story, what excites him the most in the next few years at WDW, and how he began podcasting. Callers join the show to talk about Fallon and SeaWorld’s Food & Wine Fest. And during the news the guys discuss the latest rumors coming out of Disney Springs.
Hosts
- Ken Storey
- Robert
- Ed
- Brian of Orlando Park Pass
- Jim of WildGravity Travels
- Andy of Theme Parks and Travels
- Jake of Orlando Park Pass
- Hotel Correspondent – Kyle
- Show Researcher – Jay
- Show Historian – Kevin Yee
Special Guest- Nick (@DadOnDisney)
Recording Date- March 3, 2017 on WPRK 91.5 Winter Park (10AM-Noon)
Punch List
Disney
- Cars 3 Extended Look Debuts at Daytona 500 (Will we see a Florida version of Cars Land themed to Daytona Beach? PLEASE!!!)
- RUMOR: Cirque Du Soleil – La Nouba Coming to an End at Disney Springs (is a West End remodel about to happen?)
- Second Fort Wilderness Food Truck Coming to Disney
(On the local food truck front, there has been a major backlog for truck build-outs as one of the main food truck builders has a supposed mystery client who has rush ordered 10 highly themed food trucks. The new trucks will be ready by mid-summer)
- RUMOR: 10-Story Tower, Waterfront Dining, and More Changes Coming to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Miss Adventure Falls opening at TL on March 12
- ‘Avatar’ merchandise available at Disney World
SeaWorld
- SeaWorld attendance, revenue dip in fourth quarter(When will we see positive numbers coming out of SEAS?)
- Blue Horizons is confirmed to be ending, more educational show starting next month
- Busch Gardens new president faces headwinds in amusement park industry
- New Book Chronicles Busch Gardens Tampa History
Universal
- Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon opens at USF and the reviews aren’t good
I-Drive/Tourist District
- O’Connor Capital updates 69-acre retail center plans on Daryl Carter Pkwy
- Gaylord Palms Resort finishes water park improvements
- Large hotels planned for construction will break Orlando’s current growth plan (Sentinel seems to indicate that iSq is still happening)
- 100-plus permits for local commercial projects pulled in past 3 weeks
- Osceola’s W192 Development Authority ups grant money to $3M in 2018 budge
- DeBartolo Development to build new apartments in Reunion Resort (Is the coalesce between the tourist and non-tourist distinctions finally coming to an end?)
Beyond the tourist district
- Drive Shack leases Lake Nona land, awaits permits to break ground on golf facility
- Orange County tourist tax collection up in January
- Groundbreaking Ceremony for the 1,700 Seat Acoustical Hall Set for Next Week
- Orlando Museum of Art acquires more art for their collection
- First of Four New Trains at Orlando International Airport is Installed and Running
- (OW) Art31 sets Maitland aglow for the month of March
- Spooky Empire Mid-Season Convention announces Malcolm McDowell, Dee Snyder, and other ‘retro’ guests
Beyond Orlando
- 44 Florida hotels land Forbes Travel Guide ratings
- Tourists to the U.S. Set a New Spending Record Last Year ($247.1 billion international travelers spent in the U.S. last year is a 0.4 percent increase from the $246.2 billion they spent in 2015)
- Hard Rock Hotel Malta Announced for 2020
- Downtown Miami Site for 1700-room Convention Center Hotel Expected to Close in Weeks, Per Report (1700-room hotel with 600,000 square feet of convention space)
March 9, 2017
Ep 96 – Kings Bowl, Florida Sports Expo contest, and James Gray in the closest
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This episode we start off with announcing a new contest we’re running over the next 24 hrs. Then we sit down with Robert Morris of Kings Bowl to discuss bowling in Orlando, managing an attraction on I-Drive, and the future of local tourism. After Morris leaves we have an extended Punch List where we go through a ton of local news including new details on Volcano Bay, info on Avatar, and a State Senator shares the latest on gondolas in Orlando.
Hosts
- Ken Storey
- Robert
- Ed
- Brian of Orlando Park Pass
- Jim of WildGravity Travels
- Andy of Theme Parks and Travels
- Jake of Orlando Park Pass
- Hotel Correspondent – Kyle
- Show Researcher – Jay
- Show Historian – Kevin Yee
Special Guest- Robert Morris, Director of Sales & Guest Systems Development at Kings Bowl
Recording Date- Feb 24, 2017 on WPRK 91.5 Winter Park
Punch List
Universal-
- Mark Woodbury Becomes Vice-Chairman of Universal’s Parks
- Universal Parks and Resorts Launch National Advertising and Brand Campaign
- Halloween Horror Nights 27 Vacation Package On Sale Now
- ProSlide teases new ride, could this be the one Ken announced in May of 2016?
Disney-
- Celebration at the Top with Fireworks Viewing at California Grill
- Shutters, Old Port Royale, and More Closing in 2017 at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- PI Update: Edison Blueprints
- Price increase for the 2017 Disney Dining Plan
- New D-Tech On Demand Station in ESPN Wide World of Sports (more coming to Pandora)
- Walt Disney World adds retro RV food truck to Fort Wilderness Resort with new takes on campground grub
- Dusty on MiceChat brings up the old rumor of $2 billion in new investments in MK/Epcot including Brazil coming to World Showcase
SEAS-
Other Attractions
- KSC to give visitors 6 seconds to Mars…err, weightless
- LEGOLAND Florida to Host Batman Movie Days in March 2017
- Breaking: Skyplex adds another heart-stopping thrill to ride portfolio
- Florida Mall adds 3 first-to-market specialty concepts
News
- American Maglev tells us new news within 90 days
- After last week’s show Florida State Senator told Ken that she “I still like the idea for going east and west hook up to sunrail” (with gondolas).
- After 52 years Cocoa cancels the Easter Day Surf Competition
- Senate pushes gaming deal
- Rick Scott fumes as House tourism bill moves ahead
- Florida’s Siesta Beach named best beach in the U.S. by TripAdvisor
- 138th Silver Spurs Rodeo brings out families, critics (20,000 to 25,000 people showed up)
- Phillips Center’s second phase to break ground next month
- Bank to take over Fashion Square Mall on Thursday
- Orlando to vote on $975M in OIA bonds and debt to build new terminal, more
- Metro Orlando hotels see increase in room rate, slight dip in January occupancy
- National tour operator seeks tax incentives to make Orlando its co-headquarters
- Chicago investor pays $6M for 26-acre resort on W192
- ContraVest buys land on Universal Blvd for second-phase apartments
- Madame Tussauds London getting its own giant-sized King Kong animatronic in new “Skull Island” experience
- Merged economic development/chamber group announces new name
- Jimmy Buffett community coming to Daytona
- iFly reveals opening date for new I-Drive location(two all-glass wind tunnels on April 27) What happened to the Skydiving museum that was announced for next door?
- Bass Pro opens in Daytona, more of the One Daytona project open this year
Comments and End of Show Notes-
February 21, 2017
Ep 95 – Seven Seas Food and Wine with a side of Flavortown
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In this food heavy episode of #OTRonFM Jim and Ed talk about their recent media review of Planet Hollywood. SeaWorld’s new Seven Seas Food and Wine Festival is reviewed by everyone, including Kevin Yee, who adds some context to this new food and wine festival in his Bigger Picture segment. We also react to the news coming out of Coronado Springs, Jim reviews Rivers of Light, and Ken goes in-depth with what’s happening regarding these rumors of a gondola transit system coming to WDW. It’s a Disney heavy episode but that’s where the news was this week!
Hosts
- Ken Storey
- Robert
- Ed
- Brian of Orlando Park Pass
- Jim of WildGravity Travels
- Andy of Theme Parks and Travels
- Jake of Orlando Park Pass
- Hotel Correspondent – Kyle
- Show Researcher – Jay
- Show Historian – Kevin Yee
Recording Date- Feb 17, 2017 on WPRK 91.5 Winter Park
Important Links
- Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs getting updates
- Disney blogoverse goes gondola crazy
- Geyser Point opens at Wilderness Lodge
- Rick Scott rallies to save Visit Florida. (He calls it “all politics,” asks “Why wouldn’t you market yourself? You don’t stop marketing yourself.”) More info here
- Florida welcomed nearly 113 million tourists in 2016
- 8th annual Entertainment Designers Forum scheduled for March 3
- Feb 25th– 3nd Annual “Be My Neighbor Day” Comes to Winter Park
- Jimmy Buffett community coming to Daytona
- Bass Pro opens in Daytona, more of the One Daytona project open this year
- BB-8 meet a Radio Shack robot meet and greet coming to DHS
- iFly reveals opening date for new I-Drive location (two all-glass wind tunnels on April 27) What happened to the Skydiving museum that was announced for next door?
- Excelsior Capital preps 38 acres on Palm Parkway for retail/commercial
- New Chefs, New Menu at Jiko—The Cooking Place at DAK Lodge
- In age of giant cruise ships Norwegian orders line of smaller boats, plans to use them to go to less traveled ports
- Revive is the name of the coffee stand at MK TL, special More S’mores Latte drink to be offered exclusively at kiosk
- Universal reveals ticket prices for its new VB water park in info packet to UK travel agents and it’s the same as a day at MK! ($126)
- Cuba isn’t as popular for tourists as many had thought it would be
- Disney Closes Side Entrance for Hollywood Studios Guests
February 18, 2017
Ep 94 – Dark Nights at CityWalk and a Roadtrip to Hogan’s Beach Shop
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In this episode of #OTRonFM we have a news roundup with news from nearly every single corner of Central Florida. We’re extra energetic this week after SoFlo Energy Drinks drops off some drinks for us. We chug the caffeine and dive into the news. We talk with someone who was at CityWalk when the power went out. Jim calls in with a review of Paddlefish. Ken gives a trip report from Hogan’s Beach Shop in Clearwater. We discuss the name of Fun Spot Kissimmee’s new coaster. And we ask if SeaWorld is properly training their employees these days.
Hosts
- Ken Storey
- Robert
- Ed
- Brian of Orlando Park Pass
- Jim of WildGravity Travels
- Andy of Theme Parks and Travels
- Jake of Orlando Park Pass
- Hotel Correspondent – Kyle
- Show Researcher – Jay
- Show Historian – Kevin Yee
Recording Date- Feb 10, 2017 on WPRK 91.5 Winter Park
Important Links
Fun Spot names its’ new coaster
Hulk Hogan partners with Joshua Wallack for new I-Drive beach shop
Is there an issue with employee training at SeaWorld? We debate if there’s been a recent decline in quality at the park.
Paddlefish is reviewed by Jim
Happily Ever After fireworks announced for Magic Kingdom
Bonnet Creek expands convention center
Is Grand Flo getting a major overhaul? Ken says no.
IAAPA announces new location for Orlando HQ
Holy Land Experience gives details and numbers for this year’s free day
New food association launches in Central Florida
The I-4 Eyesore tower could be finished by end of the year
DisneyQuest is confirmed to be closing, NBA Experience on the way