Earlier this month, we covered the Orange Carpet arrivals at the third annual Nickelodeon Kids Choice Sports Awards. Held at the UCLA Pauley Pavilion, the show was hosted by NFL quarterback Russell Wilson.
Before the stars made it into the venue, each of them walked down the Orange Carpet, which featured many fun activities.
Zendaya walks the orange carpet.
Raini Rodriguez and Rico Rodriguez walk the orange carpet.
Check out our playlist of celebrity arrivals and interviews.
LEGOLAND California Resort kicked off the Fourth of July weekend with the unveiling of their newly renovated New York Miniland, including a 26-foot model of the One World Trade Center.
Weighing more than 1,000 pounds, the One World Trade Center took Master Model Builders 1,200 hours to build.
With the power of technology, guests can look through a unique LEGO tower viewer. It shows them a video live feed from the top of the LEGO Freedom Tower.
At night, the structure is illuminated by red, white and blue.
Aside from the One World Trade Center, also new is the 9/11 reflecting pools.
Universal Studios just announced their third park in their lineup for their Orlando resort. Meet Volcano Bay, a tropical oasis with multiple water attractions like huge slides, lazy rivers, beaches, and multiple pools. It is the perfect place to relax and have fun in, with two story cabanas surrounding the pools. In the middle of all this is a colossal volcano that rises up to touch the sky. It boasts waterfalls by day and blazing orange lava by night.
Volcano Bay also makes the experience of the guest easier than most water parks, Guests do not have to carry their own rafts up the stairs to the top of the slide. There will be 18 unique attractions ranging from daring to serene. They will be divided into the 4 areas of the park. The attractions will include a wave pool with a multi-directional system of wave making and sandy beaches. Peaceful lazy rivers and exciting raft rides made for multiple people provide great family experiences. Racing slides that go for 100 feet or more make a race more exciting for anyone. Also, a state of the art marquee attraction will be revealed at a later date.
There will be multiple themed restaurants and bars throughout the park for guests who need some refreshment. All of the attractions, restaurants, and bars will have at least some view of the volcano.
Stay tuned for Geek Central Blog for more updates on this in the future.
LEGOLAND Florida just unveiled their newest Miniland USA model, the Daytona International speedway. Sounds of roaring engines and cheering fans greet guests as they look at the massive model. The model is 1/20th the scale of the actual track. Created by Merlin Magic, it is made of 300,000 bricks and stretches 31 feet across, making it the largest model in Miniland USA.
Veteran NASCAR Racer Casey Mears came to the park to celebrate the grand opening of this model. He also raced against Layla Popoff, whose dream race with this Nacaar legend was fulfilled by The Make-a-Wish foundation. As a crowd of fans gathered around the Miniland 400 racetrack, Mears climbed into his vehicle, a car resembling his No. 13 Geico race car.
With the wave of a green flag, the race was off to a "fast" start, with Mears and Layla zipping past LEGO monuments like the Statue of Liberty and the U.S. Capitol. They stayed neck and neck as they rode through the New York skyline and the Las Vegas Strip. Mears suddenly crashed into a wall of LEGO bricks while Layla zoomed past and across the finish line.
Posing next to Mears, she accepted a giant LEGO trophy. After the race, Mears greeted eager fans in the park's Imagination Zone, where kids use their imaginations in a variety of building activities. Mears helped kids build Lego cars before they sent them down timed ramps in the racing-themed Wheels Zone.
LEGOLAND California Resort is one of the fastest expanding theme parks in all of Southern California. Especially in the last couple of years, expansion has been immense. They opened up North's Americas first LEGOLAND Hotel in 2013, the Legends of Chima Water Park in 2014, and Heartlake City in 2015. This year is no different. NINJAGO World opened up to the public on May 5th.
Based off of the popular series of "LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitsu," this new area covers an area of three acres of space inside LEGOLAND California. With 5 attractions, a shopping venue and dining, you can step into the world of Ninjago!
The entire area is themed as if you were inside the Ninjago universe. 4 smaller attractions allow you to test your balance, speed, agility and creativity. Once you master those, you can begin your training on NINJAGO The Ride, which is center of the entire new land.
NINJAGO The Ride was created in partnership with Triotech. LEGOLAND has been able to eliminate the use of "guns," replacing it with hand gestures. With this, you are able to throw elements of fire, ice and lighting to defeat the invaders. Heat, wind and smoke are used in this ride.
For NINJAGO The Ride, LEGOLAND thought farther outside the box than ever before. The technology built into this ride is changing the industry of attraction making.
"We've really taken LEGOLAND California's principle of 'hands on, minds on' to a whole new level," said General Manager of LEGOLAND California Resort Peter Ronchetti. "We're firing the imagination to another degree taking the idea of using gestures to propel fire, ice, etc... it hs never been done before and its bridging the gap between the old way of using physical props, bricks and the like, with the new world of virtual technology."
This is the idea. With originality at its finest, NINJAGO The Ride has the highest price tag than any other attraction in the park.
LEGOLAND California debuted NINJAGO World on May 5th, perfect timing for summer. Be sure to visit our YouTube channel for videos on the new area.
By Zach
The Ninja's are almost ready for the public to experience NINJAGO! LEGOLAND California announced their opening date of NINJAGO World during a hard hat tour for members of the media.
General Manager Peter Ronchetti broke the news that May 5th, 2016 will be the official opening date for the park's highest priced land.
Master Model Builder Rob McCarthy showcased several models for NINJAGO World. This is only a small fraction of the 22 models going into the new land. The largest model is of ninjas Nya and Zane and is made out of more than 73,00 LEGO bricks. It took four master model builders 550 hours to construct.
Led by Project Manager Chris Brzezicki, media were toured inside the show building of NINJAGO The Ride, a technology innovative attraction.
At you make your way through the temple, Master Wu teaches guests how to shoot fire balls, shockwaves, lighting and ice using the power of their hands.
To make this attraction a reality, LEGOLAND Parks brought on popular theme-park attraction manufacturer Triotech.
Through a number of different scenes your powers are tested as you fight villains.
The attraction ends with an epic battle involving numerous ride vehicles.
Since the beginning of the "The Walking Dead, " the AMC series have been somewhat of a pop culture icon. Now 6 years after the original premiere, Universal Studios Hollywood will be opening a new year-round attraction based on the walking walkers walking walks while walking walkers walking walkers' walks...
...I mean Walking Dead.
All jokes aside, The Walking Dead Attraction is coming Summer 2016 which is amazing considering that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is opening a few months prior in April of 2016.
*Video and Information courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood.
By Zach
The stars of The LEGO Movie are back in another adventure, this time, exclusively at LEGOLAND Parks and Discovery Centers. "The LEGO Movie 4D A New Adventure" is a 12.5 minute short film directed by Rob Schrab, who will be making his directional debut in 2018 for "The LEGO Movie Sequel."
Returning to the big screen in the film includes the voices of Elizabeth Banks (Wildstyle), Nick Offerman (MetalBeard), Charlie Day (Benny) and Alison Brie (Unikitty). New to the lineup is actor Patton Oswalt, playing the antagonist of the film: Risky Business, brother of President Business.
LEGOLAND California Resort kicked off their premiere of the 4D Adventure on Friday, February 5th with dozens of celebrities in attendance. Before making their way inside, they were treated to a Hollywood style red carpet, along with food and other amenities.
Before the showing, celebrities and special guests gathered inside the LEGO Show Place Theater for a special opening ceremony, introducing two new Park costume characters: Unikitty and Benny.
The day before the premiere, the park hosted a smaller screening of the 4D show, including a Q&A session with the films producers: Jill Wilfret and Joshua Wexler.
The film was action packed, including many special effects such as water, smoke and light. There is also one part in the show that involves the audience helping Emmet and Wildstyle to complete their mission.
"The LEGO Movie 4D A New Adventure" is a show for the entire family. Be sure to check it out on your next trip to LEGOLAND California.
LEGOLAND California Resort is hosting an exclusive preview to its newest attraction “The Lego Movie 4D A New Adventure” on February 4, 2016 for media, special guests, and one lucky family! Enter the video contest “A New Adventure” between January 11 – January 28, 2016 for your chance to be part of the red carpet excitement!
To enter, you submit a one minute or less video of you trying something new and adventurous somewhere. To submit the video, you can do two things. First, you can submit the video by going to the LEGOLAND California Facebook page and "Like" the page if you haven't already. Then, you compose a new Facebook Timeline post on the page and include the video that shows you and your child doing the things explained earlier.
The second way you can enter the contest is to go to LEGOLAND California's Twitter page and "Follow" them if you haven't already. Then, compose a new tweet tagged with @LEGOLAND_CA and include the video explained earlier. Make sure to also use the hashtag #My4DAdventure or your entry will not be accepted.
The first Back to the Future film debuted in 1985. Nearly 30 years later, the films trilogy continues flying off store shelves and inspires the imagination for the young and young at heart.
With the help of backers from around the world on Kickstarter, Jason Aron's documentary, "Back in Time," explores the history of these great films, including many stories never heard before. The documentary includes exclusive interviews with Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Michael J. Fox, Huey Lewis and more.
The 94-minute documentary also includes content like restoring the original Delorian for Universal Studios Hollywood and more about a fake product of the film inspiring kids and inventors alike.
"Back in Time" is a documentary unlike any other and deserves a spot next to the Back to the Future films themselves. For any fan of the movie, it is certainly worth the viewing.
How can you can a hold of the documentary? You can get it by purchasing a DVD on Amazon or digitally on Vimeo.
From the time the horns started to play that all so familiar song with the opening crawl scrolling upward, chills began to form on my arms and I got that feeling that this movie will be nothing like that of Episodes I-III but more so of Episodes IV-VI. This was the start of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film is being brought to the screen after The Walt Disney Company's acquiring of Lucasfilm. George Lucas turned over the task of directing to JJ Abrams. George Lucas has built an empire on Episodes IV-VI, but at the same time has received much negative criticism for Episodes I-III when he brought the series back in 1999. Once revealed that JJ Abrams signed on to direct the film, all I knew, for me personally, is that JJ had my trust.
Abrams, if you aren’t familiar with him, is the same director that brought one of my personal favorite shows Lost. As well, he also helped me to actually enjoy Star Trek with his 2009 edition of the film. Abrams had the difficult task going into this film of gaining fans trust back in the series as well as gaining new fans with this movie. I’ll sum this up with a spoiler free summary of the film.Star Wars: The Force Awakens,stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o and Domnhall Gleeson and returning cast members Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. Even though there is nothing mentioned about Luke Skywalker in the trailers, I assure you he is indeed in this movie (shhh…). This movie managed to set its own trend rather than follow in the shoes of the past ones, with characters like Kylo Ren, Rey and Finn, as well as the feisty BB-8 droid. Going into this film at 2am on December 18th, I had such high expectations for Kylo and Finn. Believe me they did not disappoint. Yet it was Daisy Ridley’s Rey that stole my attention and heart in this film, leaving me to no longer care for Katniss as a female tough girl in films these days. I ended this film and had one word to describe it and that is brilliant. The vision Abrams brought, the new cast and characters that I have already grown to love. As well as how beautifully the cinematography was for this movie. I already made plans to see it again, and I’m sure a third time. This film is my everything right now when it comes to entertainment and I promise you I’m just like the millions of other die hards that say “I can’t wait two years for Episode VIII”, but I suppose it’s better than waiting 16 long years for the nonsense that was Phantom Menace (with the exception of Darth Maul). The journey was short, yet the force will live on in a few years and my inner nerd will be waiting in line anticipating. Sources: -Movie trailer embedded from YouTube channel "Star Wars".
On Monday, November 30th, Golden Globe Award winner Jenna Elfman and her two sons took part in the Official Tree Lighting Ceremony, a tradition held annually at LEGOLAND California Resort. Every year, the ceremony kicks off the holiday season for the Resort, which includes Holiday Snow Days and Winter Nights.
This was the thirteenth year of the Official Tree Lighting Ceremony. Past celebrity participants include Tony Hawk, Thomas Gibson, Elizabeth Banks & Sarah Michelle Gellar.
This year, Jenna Elfman, known for her role in "Dharma & Greg," took the stage to light the tree.
On behalf of Jenna Elfman, LEGOLAND California presented a check to Youth for Human Rights International for 10,000 dollars. The nonprofit organization has been committed to helping educate youth on their own human rights to help them become strong advocates of peace. Executive Director of Youth for Human Rights Ruslan Khusainov was present during the ceremony to receive the check, as well as say a few words about the organization.
Executive Director Ruslan Khusainov talks about Youth for Human Rights International.
Also during the ceremony, LEGOLAND California Resort General Manager Peter Ronchetti took the stage to share some of the exciting plans for 2016, including a look at new animated footage for NINJAGO The Ride and a screenshot for "The LEGO Movie A New Adventure," set to premiere in the park February 6th, 2016.
LEGOLAND California Resort General Manager Peter Ronchetti shares exciting plans for 2016.
The ceremony ended Jenna Elfman, her two sons and Santa flipping the switch to officially light the Park's LEGO Christmas Tree, which towers 30-feet high in Fun Town, and built out of more than 245,000 LEGO bricks.
Following the ceremony, we spoke to Elfman to learn more about Youth for Human Rights and her day at LEGOLAND California Resort.
YouTube, as we all know, is a video-sharing website that was founded back in 2005 and was later acquired by Google in 2006. YouTube Red which was launched on October 28, 2015 is a paid subscription service which, among other things, removes advertisements for $10/month. Since the launch of YouTube Red, YouTube has been pushing creators to release more professional content and for movie studios (ie. Paramount) to release their content onto YouTube. This push has led YouTube to have exclusive content that you can only access by paying a fee or having a YouTube Red membership. This exclusive content also puts YouTube into competition with the likes of Netflix and Hulu, only to name a few. All that said, we will have to wait to see if anything comes out of this or if YouTube will abandon this endeavor in favor of another source of revenue. *Video courtesy of the YouTube channel "YouTube Spotlight."
On November 29, 2015, Amazon released their own video, in which Jeremy Clarkson (The former Top Gear presenter) tells a story "from the not-so distant future." The overarching purpose of the video is to explain how Amazon's drone delivery service ("Amazon Prime Air") will work once implemented. Amazon originally announced this service all the back in 2013 but now it seems to have made some serious progress; Amazon has changed almost everything about the drone (except the fact that it is an autonomous VTOL aircraft) that they will be delivering certain small and lightweight packages to customers in a claimed, "30 minutes or less!"
This delivery system has caused some debate about how Amazon will protect their drones from being stolen or tampered with, but these concerns have yet to be addressed so one must wonder what will happen when the first drone crashes, is stolen, runs out of battery, etc. I personally am not worried about my safety as much as I am about the package that I paid Amazon to deliver to me.
*Video and Information courtesy of Amazon.com Inc.
As some of you reading this already know the cult-classic Back to the Future was released on July 3, 1985. It told the story of Marty McFly and Doc Brown as they traveled through time in their infamous Delorean DMC-12. The movie was praised by the masses for its Science-Fiction predictions of the then future, October 21, 2015. We can all tell that the writers thought that we would have made more progress technologically with inventions such as hover-boards and self-lacing shoes already being available to the public during the movie's interpretation of today. so just think that 30 years ago people thought that today was going to have flying cars and hover-boards (we kinda do).
An example of our current version of the hover-board by Lexus (Yes it is real, and yes it does work as you see it.):
By Zach Cooper
Since the acquiring of Lucasfilm in 2012, it is no secret that the Walt Disney Company has been in major works of a new Star Wars episode. The official trailer has just been released. Clearly present in the trailer is the mix of past characters with a future generation of Jedi's and characters.
The Force Awakens comes to theaters December 18th, 2015.
By Adam Carver
Based off of the critically acclaimed "The Lego Movie," this new attraction will open on January 29th, 2015 at LEGOLAND Florida Resort and at LEGOLAND California Resort on February 6th. It will also be followed by other LEGOLAND Parks and the LEGOLAND Discovery Centers in North America, Asia, and Europe in the future.
LEGOLAND states, " 'The LEGO Movie 4D A New Adventure' follows a new journey for Emmet, Wyldstyle, Unikitty, Benny and MetalBeard after they receive a mysterious invitation leading them to a new theme park where all of the rides are based on the characters’ adventures in “The LEGO Movie.” But not all is as it seems as the heroes are once again thrust into the middle of an evil secret plot, only this time, it will be up to the audience to use their Master Builder skills to help save them! Using elements such as wind, water, smoke and special lighting effects, the larger-than-life experience brings the film’s main characters, Emmet and Wyldstyle, back together with their friends for another awesome adventure."
*Photos and information courtesy of Merlin Entertainments Group Inc.
By Zach
On Friday, August 14th, a new set of Disney Legends were awarded during the 2015 D23 Expo. The expo ran from Friday, August 14th to the 16th at the Anaheim Convention Center.
With an award once held annually with a small private ceremony is now one of the major highlights of the D23 Expo.
That morning, fans packed inside Hall D23, seating 7,500. Unlike previous years (in the D23 Arena), the Hall was completely leveled seating, but luckily had a much higher capacity. Several screens allowed the best viewing throughout the ceremony.
Before the ceremony began, spotted in the audience were many celebrities including Disney Legend Tony Baxter.
Disney Legend Marty Sklar was also spotted taking his seat.
The ceremony opened with Bob Iger, Chairman & CEO of the Walt Disney Company, welcoming fans to the 2015 D23 Expo. Iger went on as host of the ceremony.
First on the list of receivers was Julie Reihm Casaletto. Julie was the first Disneyland Ambassador, working alongside Walt Disney in representing outside of the park.
After a great speech by Julie, Bob Iger welcomed Disney songwriter Richard Sherman to the stage. To the crowd, Sherman talked of a special song he had written last year, inspired by a story of Walt Disney's enjoyment of fireworks as a young child.
With a couple of versus song by Sherman on the piano, he invited up the original Mary Poppins on Broadway Ashley Brown to the stage to sing it. The song "Kiss Goodnight" can be heard during the end of the Disneyland Forever fireworks nightly.
Next on the list was the awarding to ESPN's George Bodenheimer.
Dancing to the 'Sleeping Beauty Waltz' was "Dancing with the Stars" Valentin Cherkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd. This was in honor of the late Eyvind Earle.
In honor of Eyvind Earle, his daughter Kristin Thompson came up to receive the award.
Television actress Susan Lucci (All My Children) received her award after.
Next, artist Carson Van Osten took the stage to receive his award.
After, a couple minutes of video played, recognizing all of the Disney Legends, who had most recently passed away, including Robin Williams.
The video immediately led to a special performance of "You'll Be In My Heart" with Josh Strickland. Strickland played Tarzan on the Disney Broadway stage.
Next, Iger welcomed up Grammy artist Ne-Yo to preform the song "Never Had a Friend Like Me", a special tribute to Robin Williams.
After, Iger welcomed up animator Andreas Deja as the next recipient of the Disney Legend award.
Before the next recipient, Tony Award winning actor James Monroe Iglehart took the stage to preform the Oogie Boogie song. (In honor of Danny Elfman)
Next, composer Danny Elfman (Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice in Wonderland...) received his award.
What we thought was the last, George Lucas received his award with a roar of applause from the crowd. He was also greeted by R2-D2 & C-3PO.
Which we thought was a closing became an opening. Bob Iger mentioned that he knows D23 fans love surprises. Lights went out and clips of Johnny Depp, in different movie roles, appeared on screen. Fans went wild.
Minutes later, Johnny Depp walked out, just finishing Pirates of the Carribbean 5: Dead Man Tell No Tales weeks earlier.
Excitement among the crowds was high during Depp's speech. After a fan shouted out "palay", Johnny went into "Pirates of the Caribbean" mode, which was great to see.
After Depp's speech, Bob Iger closed the ceremony with a goodbye.
It was an incredible Disney Legends Ceremony. I throughly enjoyed every part of it. The Musical performances were spot on and great to watch. Depp's surprise appearance was very unexpected and great! It was a great start to the D23 Expo!
By Kyle Waterworld California is truly an amazing place to go and relax. It is located just 30 minutes East of San Francisco. There is so much to offer such as rides, drinks, stores, and food. The staff is very friendly as well. You can easily get help with anything. During most of the summer, and other select dates, Waterworld California is bustling with families and other waterpark seekers.
The Park rents out private Cabanas for the day to provide protection from the sun. You also get private restaurant style waiting while in the cabana. Cabanas can be reserved directly from their website. They have two different kinds: a Calypso Cabana and a Poolside Tiki Calypso Cabana. There is a variety of rides to explore for all ages and thrill levels. For your younger kids there is a tide pool and a kids play area. For the older kids who want a heart pounding thrill slides, there is the Big Kahuna, the Break Point Plunge, and many more.
COMPLETE LIST OF ATTRACTIONS: (Information copied directly from the park's official website)
-The Big Kahuna:Enjoy major "wall time" with the whole family on the largest slide of it's kind in the entire Bay Area!
-Honolulu Halfpipe:Shoot the curl on four-and-a-half stories of a mammoth curved slide both forward and backward!
-Cliffhanger:Plummet 70 feet in under three seconds on the Park's signature speed slides!
-Hurricane Slide Complex:It's a category five... of fun! Choose either an open or enclosed slide on this surprisingly twisted four slide complex. -Diablo Falls:Free fall six feet into a 10-foot deep catch pool on these "demonic" drop slides! Choose your poison between a dark tunnel or open air drop. -Tornado:This six-story funnel of wet and wild excitement swirls riders 75 feet in the air. It's the only one of its kind in Northern California.
-Dragon Tails:Once kids have traversed along the Wild Water Bridge, they will splish, splash and slide to their heart's content on these twisted family slides dropping into Diablo Lagoon.
-Typhoon Slide Complex:Swirl through the darkness on our double tube slide complex that provides four different ride experiences. Requires two riders, totaling under 400 lbs.
-Breaker Beach Wave Pool:Catch a wave in our gigantic wave pool! No height restriction. Children and young adults under 48" are required to wear a coast guard approved life vest. Complimentary vests provided at the beach.
-Wild Water Kingdom:Splash, play and explore in 20,000 gallons of fun designed for the younger set! Three sets of family slides dump into Diablo Lagoon (next to Lili Pad walk). The entire area is approved for all ages.
-Kaanapali Kooler:Hop in and go with the flow on Northern California's longest lazy river! In the center of the park, surrounding Coco Island, this is the perfect spot to relax, enjoy the views, and float through the geyser waterfalls.
-Treasure Island:A large, interactive water-powered playground built just for kids! Kids find hours of entertainment in tunnels, slides and interactive water obstacles.
-Lil' Kahuna's Waterworks:This exciting "spray ground" features more than 15 wet-and-wild elements complete with giant waterfall archways, fountains, geysers, waterpower seesaws and swings, tipping buckets and pint-sized water slides. It's the perfect way for kids to 'splish and splash' to their heart's content!
Break Point Plunge is Waterworld California’s newest ride. It also happens to be the worlds steepest body slide. Break Point Plunge opened in the Summer of 2014 and has been the most popular ride there since. In this ride, you stand in a capsule 6 stories high and wait for the ride attendant to countdown from 3. From there you fall almost straight down and go through a sequence of loops until you reach the bottom. This is all in 270 feet of slide.
Looking for a great deal? Waterworld California has a special promotional code, valid until September 27th, 2015!
Discount: Save $13.00 on single-day General Admission!
-Regular Price: $35.99
-Discounted Price: $22.99 Use the promo code "20FamilyFun" on their website when purchasing General Admission tickets.
This is an amazing park to go to with your family and have an adventure you will not soon forget. Be sure to visit www.waterworldcalifornia.com for more details.
