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ISSUE 124 UPDATES


MA RC H 2014 HOTELS FLIGHTS


THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW TOUR OPERATORS


TRADE SHOWS All aboard the Hogwarts Express


UNIVERSAL Orlando has revealed details of the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley, which will feature The Hogwarts Express, a 'ground- breaking ride', shops and dining when it opens this summer.


Guests will climb aboard the Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade in Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park and, moments later,


arrive at King’s Cross


Station (located in Universal Studios Florida), where the wonders of London and Diagon Alley will unfold before them. There they will find a new, multi- dimensional thrill ride, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, which will place riders in the middle of an adventure as they navigate their way through the perils of the Gringotts vaults.


Diagon Alley’s shops include Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, featuring novelty items, magic jokes, and toys inspired by the books and films, and Quality Quidditch Supplies, offering a wide assortment of apparel and equipment including Quidditch sweaters,


brooms, Golden


Snitches, Bludgers, Bludger bats, Quaffles and more. Developed in association with Warner


Bros. Entertainment, the new ‘themed environment’ will double the size of the area already dedicated to Harry Potter’s adventures at Universal Orlando, expanding it across both Universal theme parks. Visitors will need a ticket that gives them two-park admission. universalorlando.co.uk/harrypotter


Collette falls for New England


COLLETTE – previously Collette


Worldwide Holidays – has an eight-day ‘Autumn in New England’ itinerary that takes in country stores, covered bridges, mountain landscapes and New England’s Old World charm.


Highlights will include visits to Boston, Salem,


Vermont’s Norman Rockwell


Museum, a traditional Vermont farm and Portland Head Light, as well as a chance to sample a famous Maine lobster dinner. Priced from £1,949pp, the tour departs on September 27 and 30 and October 1, 4, 7, 8 and 9 2014.


The deal includes return flights, transfers and transportation, breakfasts and many other meals, accommodation, services of a Collette Tour Manager throughout, and door-to-door pick- up within 100 miles of


UK airport. new


The operator’s website


includes more tour- specific


content


along with testimonials. gocollette.com


departure


Rockford shows teeth SIMON SAYS…GET IN DEEP IN N.C.


SIMON SHOPPING, which operates malls and outlet stores across the USA, has plenty of new reasons to tempt UK travellers this year. For example, Concord Mills,


IN Rockford, Illinois, the largest shark that ever lived is now making its Midwestern debut at Burpee Museum of Natural History. The ‘Megalodon: Largest Shark that


Ever Lived’ exhibit will run until April 29, 2014 highlighting the evolution, biology


and misconceptions of


Megalodon, an enormous prehistoric shark that once swam the world’s oceans. burpee.org


IN BRIEF Kimpton puts fizz into Savannah:


Kimpton Hotels will open a four-star, boutique property, The Brice, in the heart of the historic district in Savannah, Georgia, in May. Originally constructed in 1860, the 145-room hotel is located on the site of the first ever Coca-Cola bottling plant in Savannah. Double rooms start from around $175 (£106). www.bricehotel.com


Michigan a pure triumph for Cellet:


Cellet Marketing and Public Relations is the new UK marketing and PR office for Pure Michigan. The state is blessed with hundreds of miles of freshwater coastline, beaches and sand dunes, expansive lakes, state parks, orchards and lighthouses, small seaside towns, Motown music and motor museums. michigan.org; cellet.co.uk


The style goes on at New York St. Regis: The St. Regis New York has concluded multi-million dollar renovation which has resulted in redesigned guestrooms, suites and public spaces and the debut of the new King Cole Bar & Salon under New York chef and restaurateur, John DeLucie. The hotel has been a Fifth Avenue icon for over a 100 years. www.stregis.com/newyork


North Carolina’s top shopping and entertainment destination, unveiled SEA LIFE Charlotte-Concord last month (February). Merlin’s sixth SEA LIFE Center in the US features 5,000 denizens of the deep, including sharks, stingrays, octopus, seahorses and jellyfi sh. One of the highlights is a ‘journey’ through an underwater tunnel as sharks and rays swim overhead. simon.com


www.sellinglonghaul.com


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