Tag: History

Breathing New Life Into An Historic Central Florida Landmark Attraction

When people think of what to do in Central Florida, the big, modern theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal usually come to mind first. After that might be the smaller parks like Sea World and Gatorland. And after that? Well, some people might consider the outlets. Or maybe a dinner show. Or the touristy goodness of International Drive or Route 192.

But there’s also an attraction that’s one of the the granddaddies of them all. It’s been in Central Florida for close to 65 years and thanks to new ownership, it’s about to become better than ever!

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Our Trip On The Only Paddlewheel Steamboat In New Orleans

While in New Orleans, you have your pick of paddlewheel boats to go on a trip down the Mississippi River. However, only one of those boats will be a honest to goodness steamboat, like the ones from the days of Tom Sawyer and Mark Twain.

The Steamboat Natchez departs for several two-hour tours daily from its dock right behind the Jax Brewery building on Decatur St.

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The History of What May Be Disney’s #1 Favorite Snack, Dole Whips

Dole Whips. If you’ve ever been to Disneyland or Walt Disney World, the mere thought of them might make your mouth water. #amiright?

For the uninitiated, Dole Whip (also known as Dole Soft Serve) is a soft serve, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan frozen dessert created by Dole Food Company. It was introduced to the Disney parks soon after Dole became the official sponsor of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room (an attraction inside the Adventureland area of Disneyland) in 1986. It’s always been popular but in the past few years has gotten something of a cult following, along the lines of some snacks at another popular Disney park…

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“Disney Snubs History & Art”: When They Altered An Historic Magic Kingdom Icon

Seth Kubersky, Arts Journalist of the Orlando Weekly, posted a link to an article regarding Disney’s “snub to history and art” by altering an attraction that, not only has been a staple at Walt Disney World since its opening day in 1971, but is over 100 years old and has an historic past in its own right, including being the only WDW attraction Walt Disney saw before his death in 1966. Written by the person who worked on refurbishing the attraction in the mid-1990s to early 2000s, you can read the article if you click on
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#TBT: Great Adventure Theme Park, Before It Was Six Flags

In the mid-1970s, a brand-new full-sized theme park opened just off Exit 7A on the New Jersey Turnpike. It was (and is) located in Jackson, New Jersey, mid-way between New York and Philadelphia. Great Adventure. Back then it wasn’t Six Flags Great Adventure, as it’s known today. Nope, it was just “Great Adventure.”

Developed by businessman Warner LeRoy (he later bought and renovated Tavern on the Green and the Russian Tea Room), the original plan was for the single park to develop into a multi-park resort, just as Walt Disney World (which had only opened 3 years before Great Adventure) eventually would do. Over time this just didn’t happen and only the original park and safari were developed and Hurricane Harbor, the park’s water park, opened about 25 years later.

The original Great Adventure opened to the public on July 1, 1974 with the following attractions:

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