Jill Adler, Author at Ski Play Live

Author Archives: Jill Adler

Beyond Theme Parks: 10 Things To Do in Orlando For Under $25

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If you’re heading to Orlando with the kiddos this summer, I’d love to warn you against it. Not because of the recent attack on a nightclub there but because the awesomely crappy weather from May to October is a killer. I know you won’t listen. Now is probably the only time to go and not miss school. Plus, the theme parks have a whole lot of new, exciting attractions to lure you into the sweltering stickiness of Florida.

I’m a HUGE Disney geek and even I wouldn’t take a trip to Orlando in the summer.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan tells it like it is:

Headliners This Summer

Walt Disney World Resort completed a multi-year transformation of Downtown Disney into “Disney Springs”, with double the shops, dining spots and other venues. Epcot guests will be able to visit the kingdom of Arendelle when the highly anticipated attraction “Frozen Ever After” opens in the Norway Pavilion. You’ll be Soarin’ Around The World instead of California. Four new shows debut across the parks: The Force has awakened at Hollywood Studios with a “Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away,” and the nightly “Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular,” fireworks display; Animal Kingdom will feature “The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic” Show; Mickey and friends put on “Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire,” at the Magic Kingdom.

Universal’s Islands of Adventure has a new “Skull Island: Reign of Kong” ride where guests board off-road vehicles in search of King Kong.

SeaWorld Orlando opens Mako, a brand new 200-foot-tall “hypercoaster” is Orlando’s tallest, fastest and longest coaster at 73 mph the centerpiece for their Shark encounter Attraction.

Photo courtesy SeaWord Orlando

Sideshow

What’s worse than a summer trip to Orlando is that you will spend a small fortune just to stand and melt in the hour-long lines. So in between the $100 passes per person per day here are 10 things to do in Orlando for under $25 that families will love.

Central Florida Springs bubble up through the Florida Aquifer, an underground limestone formation north of I-4. Locals flock to the cooler waters for boating, tubing, manatee watching, scuba diving, caving, snorkeling, picnicking, and nature walks.

Take a Wildlife Walk or book a guided educational tour of the Back to Nature wildlife rehabilitation center. More than 30 exotic and non-releasable native species live on the refuge.
Hang out with baby gators, snakes, tarantulas, rare Florida Panthers, Black Bears, Wolves, and more at Jungle Adventures.
Pose in the giant hand of “Muse of Discovery” or stare up at the eye of Centered. The See Art Public Art Project around Lake Eola Park is conucopia for Instagram geeks.
Dollhouse and miniature fans will flip over Ron’s Miniatures and museum- the biggest shop of tiny things in all of Florida.
Everyone seems to have an eye these days but no where else can you catch Disney World’s fireworks from afar (if the night’s clear) than on the 400-foot tall Orlando Eye Ferris wheel.
Caves, waterfalls and feeding gators are part of your mini-golf experience at Congo River Golf– 18 holes of African exploration.
Explore the oceans of the world, take a walk through a sea tunnel, interact with turtles at the Orlando Sealife Aquarium.
Color your world at the Crayola Experience where kids of all ages discover the magic of story, animation and design with 25 hands-on attractions. Starr your own coloring page, see how crayons are made in a live theater show and personalize an authentic crayon label.
Be your own Willy Wonka when you tour through the Chocolate Kingdom. The Factory Adventure Tour is an interactive journey that takes you from the cocoa bean to the birth of the chocolate bar. At the end, you can create your own chocolate bar for an additional cost.

Family

SIA Relocates to Park City, Utah

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SnowSports Industries America (SIA) announced today that they’re moving to Park City. The new Utah headquarters lands in one of North America’s snow sports capitals to be surrounded by likeminded organizations and businesses.

The final location selection was made by a unanimous vote at SIA’s May Board of Directors Meeting after the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) offered up a sweet post-performance Industrial Assistance Fund (IAF) grant where eligible companies may receive up to $500,000 and an incentive range of $1,000 to $3,000 per new job created in the state.

“This relocation is a necessary step to keep SIA at the core of our industry and is a strong indicator of the direction we are taking with the organization’s future,” said SIA President Nick Sargent. “This move allows us the ability to be closer to our members and other industry stakeholders, while leveraging the synergies found in a snow sports community to develop new programs and strategies for positive industry growth. In addition to these significant business benefits, having the opportunity to ski and ride the Greatest Snow On Earth is a nice perk.”

The non-profit trade association takes up residence starting in August, with a small segment of the organization’s employees relocating.

Outdoors Brands Welcome

SIA becomes another outdoors icon for the Beehive State along with Armada Skis, POC, Rossignol, Amer Sports (Salomon, Suunto, Atomic, Arcteryx, Wilson), Descente, Black Diamond Equipment, Kuhl Clothing, RAMP/4Front/Surface Skis, Goal Zero, Gregory Mountain Products, Petzel, Scott, SkullCandy, CampChef, Ogio, Backountry.com, and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association in Park City.

SIA gets a bit closer to Colorado- the home of their annual SnowShow trade convention- by moving to Utah but come on, Folks. Wouldn’t it better to just relocate the whole shebang to Utah?!

The specific Park City office location is currently under review and will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tahoe’s Alpenglow Mountain Festival

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If you ever wanted to have a fully immersive mountain adventure experience look no further than Lake Tahoe and their 4th annual Alpenglow Mountain Festival. This nine-day summer party starts June 18 as an ode to human power. Events, clinics, presentations and more geared toward the beginner and intermediate mountain sports enthusiasts showcase some of the best activities the Northshore has to offer.

What You Can Do

Trail running, hiking, yoga, standup paddleboarding, rock climbing, overnight backpacking trips, natural history workshops are designed to inspire you and propel you into the mountain lifestyle. The festival offers an array of cultural activities too like daily tours, presentations, and natural history excursions for outdoor enthusiasts. Most of the activities are free and open to all ages, from professional athletes to beginners.

An exciting new addition for 2016 is the Broken Arrow Skyrace, a three-distance trail running event held at Squaw Valley Resort.

The complete events schedule and map of locations can be found www.alpenglowsports.com.

Events

When We Were Knights- A Story of Best Friends

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How can you express everything that you want to somebody you love, knowing that if you don’t, that might be the last opportunity that you have? That is a reality that we all face, but for BASE jumpers, the risk of death sometimes results in something amazing and unexpected – love. this mesmerizing short film makes you smile; it makes you cry and it makes you appreciate the bond athletes share as they risk their lives for things we grounded folk scratch our heads at.

When We Were Knights, the story of Matt Blank and Ian Flanders’ friendship, is as unapologetic as it is magical and charming. As the narrator puts it, “You either live a genuine life that’s true to who you are, or you don’t. Our genuine life was one that was full of risk. So that’s the life we lived.”

This is the real story of a pure love between two friends in the face of risk and tragedy.

A GoPro / Camp4 Collective Production

Directed and Edited by Anson Fogel
Primary Footage by Matt Blank and Ian Flanders
Produced by GoPro and Camp4 Collective
Music by Keith Kenniff / Unseen-Music.com
Sound Mix by Jeffrey Yellen / RidgelineSound.com
Color by Anson Fogel

Additional Footage Courtesy of: Sean Chuma, Renan Ozturk, Joey Schusler, Kevin Bennett, Donald Schulz, Mike Naddor, Dan Dupuis

Also appearing:
Brenden Weinstein, Matthew Kenney, Cengiz Cocak, Jill Kuzman, Domonique LaFleur, Charles Kurlinkus, Dan Dupuis

All words written and spoken by Matt Blank are solely his without other authorship.

Family Friendly

Official Disneyland App Is A Must For Your Summer Visit

Jill Adler One comment

If you’re like me- a Disney geek who’s constantly playing with her smartphone- you’ll appreciate the effort Disneyland is making to keep us all connected. There are a zillion third-party Disneyland apps but now there’s something from the horse’s mouth.

Pros

Find the fun faster with maps of attractions, restaurants and shops. Check attraction wait times, most Character appearance schedules and entertainment show times. My fave is that you can find the closest bathroom and drinking fountain with the Disneyland app. The wait times seem to be quite accurate so if you’d rather not aimlessly wander throughout the park you’ll be checking the app frequently for effective time management.

You can even purchase park tickets instantly from your phone or mobile device. Simply show the barcode at the gate for admission when you first arrive — no ticket booth lines to stand in or e-tickets to print out. but then you won’t have a cute Mickey ticket for a souvenir.

Annual Passholders can also link their Annual Passports to the Disneyland App to check Blockout Dates and use the app’s virtual Pass feature to enter the parks (actual Annual Passport must be presented to obtain Disney FASTPASS tickets or to receive Passholder discounts).

CONS

The app isn’t without a few drawbacks. Maybe imagineers planned to put the FastPass on the backburner but users grumble about the lack of details in that department. As much as I’d like the convenience of being able to get a FP directly from the app, all of the passes would be gone in seconds if that was an option. There’s something to be said for legwork.

If you click a particular ride in the app it will say whether it offers a FP option but you have to hunt for the actual FP tab. It’s under the Guest Services tab and then the ‘list’ button on the right. That’s a lot of clicking. A dedicated FP tab could also give current return times, which machines are in service and for what attractions. That would be sweet. When I was at Disney Paris more than half of the FastPass machines were shuttered and you wouldn’t know until you jogged over to them. The CMs would tell you they’re out of order and check back. You would go back two or three times to see and they would still be down. Total waste of valuable ride time.

The Disney app is also missing dining wait times and the ability to make and modify reservations. When you click for reservations it takes you to the Disney website but that is obviously something that can be handled within the app.

But really the BIGGEST PROBLEM OF ALL doesn’t have to do with the app itself. Cell reception is spotty in most areas of the park. Management needs to boost the towers so the app is more effective or at least make it so that the app can be used offline. It works that way for the Disney Cruise app, why not for the Parks app?

All in all, however, if you’re planning a trip to Disneyland this summer it’s something you’ll want on the tips of your fingers every minute of your trip.

Download the official Disneyland App at disneyland.com/magic or from the App Store and on Google Play.

*Mobile app ticket sales are available for U.S. and Japan Residents only.

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