Entries by Karen Kuzsel

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –DECEMBER 2024

December 4, 2024 in /by

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry opens May 22, 2025 at Universal Epic Universe.

 I confess. I have read all the Harry Potter books twice and have seen all the movies more often. I have traveled on the Hogwarts Express between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventures in Orlando, FL and I’ve peered in all the shops at Diagon Alley, so you can just imagine how excited I am that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, will be one of the themed worlds when Universal Orlando Resort opens its fourth theme park – Universal Epic Universe, on May 22, 2025.

NOTHIN’ COULD BE FINER THAN OUR MEALS IN THE CAROLINAS

November 21, 2024 /0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

No food pictures this time. This was going to be a leisurely few days getaway… and then we discovered restaurants worthy of your attention if in Greenville or Franklin (North Carolina) or Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Originally, my husband Russ and I booked a flight and hotel in Asheville, NC. When Hurricane Helene drove forceful winds and powerful floods throughout the artsy mountain community, we ended up staying

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –NOVEMBER 2024

November 10, 2024 /0 Comments/in /by

Universal Epic Universe Opens May 22 2025

Universal Orlando Resort’s fourth theme park – Universal Epic Universe – officially opens May 22, 2025. More than 50 incredible experiences, Epic Universe will present a level of theme park immersion and innovation unmatched across five themed worlds: Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk and Dark Universe. Anchoring the park is Universal Helios Grand Hotel, a Loews Hotel – a majestic 500-room property with one-of-a-kind views of the park and will feature

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –OCTOBER 2024

October 7, 2024 /0 Comments/in , /by

NO CAR, BUT HOTEL CHARGED MANDATORY VALET PARKING FEE!

No car, but parking fee charged anyway.

Robert Kraus, travel professional, event planner, and owner of Small Conferences LLC took an “expensive van service from the airport to a Florida hotel for a three-day educational conference aimed at meeting planners,” he explains. In his LinkedIn post, Kraus said the property was “near a beach that literally brags about how most of the properties there do not charge a “resort fee” and even offer free parking. The actual town I stayed in offers a surplus of complimentary parking along the main strip with no parking restrictions – welcoming guests to drive and stay there (as they are an hour away from the closest regional airport).” Along with his key and information about the complimentary breakfast

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –SEPTEMBER 2024

September 10, 2024 in /by

Gran Acuario Mazatlán (Mazatlán, Mexico) became the largest aquarium in Latin America, and the only one in the world dedicated to the Sea of Cortéz, when it opened in May, 2023. Now the tourist attraction and research institute has added snorkeling and diving experiences.  (September 4, 2024) – The recent debut of snorkeling and diving experiences at the world-class add an exciting new interactive dimension to the already popular tourist attraction and research institute. The minimum age to snorkel is 12 years old and to scuba dive, a patron must be a certified diver. The Gran Acuario Mazatlánanchors Mazatlán’s 75-acre Central Park. The facility houses some 260 marine species, including 36 species of mammals, 31 cetaceans, five of the seven global species of sea turtles as well as sharks, jellyfish, and manta rays. Overall, its exhibition tanks hold more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –AUGUST 2024

August 10, 2024 /0 Comments/in /by

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic is coming in 2025

I am a huge Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts fan. Excited for the Universal Epic Universe (Orlando, FL) opening in 2025. Debuting in 2025 with the new park will be The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Ministry of Magic™. Beyond the world’s ornate portal, guests will first journey from a Muggle park in Paris into the breathtaking spectacle of 1920’s Place Cachée, a hidden, bustling shopping district in wizarding Paris lined with  aussmannian buildings, shops, sidewalk cafés, and historic Parisian domes rising in the distance. A new ride will

MPI SBO: Holistic Harmony- Discovering the Wellness Within

July 19, 2024 in , , , /by

Wellness. What does it mean to you and how does having it benefit you both personally and professionally?

What it is, what to do about it, and what steps can be taken to improve an individual’s wellness are topics discussed in seminars, meetings, publications, and in the latest SBO Connects July 17 session. Claire Caldwell, a New York-based small business owner who specializes in Sales & Marketing Training, and who co-chairs

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –JULY 2024

July 15, 2024 in /by

Monsters are coming to Orlando, FL and let’s just say it will be Epic! In fact, five new immersive worlds inhabited by legendary resident such as Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Bride of Frankenstein will provide an appropriate measure of screams, thrills, and chills when Universal Epic Universe debuts in 2025. Created by the award-winning Universal Creative

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS –JUNE 2024

June 17, 2024 /0 Comments/in , /by

Just one of the extraordinary inflatables by Disco Designer.

Occasionally, I see event props and décor that are over-the-top incredible. I have worked functions with enormous inflatables that enhance a theme but the ones from Peter Yordanov’s Disco Designer group soar to new levels of creativity, vivid colors, imagination, and yes, size. While there are many enormous inflatables on his FaceBook and LinkedIn