Transformers The Ride Opens at Universal Orlando on June 20

After months of speculation, Universal Orlando today announced an official opening of June 20, 2013 for their new 3-D Transformers attraction. A clone of the popular attraction already operating at the Hollywood and Singapore parks, Transformers brings the iconic 1980s robot toys (as cinematically reinterpreted by director Michael Bay) to life through a 3-D dark ride/simulator similar to Islands of Adventure's acclaimed Spider-Man ride.

Transformers can be found in the Universal Studios Florida park in a newly-constructed building on the site of the old Murder She Wrote and Hercules & Xena shows. The new ride's gift shop is currently open, and meet & greets with the attraction's Autobot and Decepticon stars are being held daily outside the attraction. Look of unannounced soft openings in the weeks before next month's grand opening.

Photo Gallery: Universal Studios Florida April 2013 Construction Update

Here is a look at the latest changes at Universal Orlando's original theme park, taken on Wednesday 4/17/2013.

Weekdays in April after Spring Break ends are a great time to visit with short attraction lines.

You can tell how much construction is going on right now by counting the cranes!

A closer look at what will be the London side of Harry Potter's expansion.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Express Entrance Opens for Busy Spring Break at Universal Orlando

This week I braved the spring break crowds to briefly inspect what's new over at Universal Orlando. With all the construction currently underway in both parks, it's hard to keep up with all the changes!

Photo Gallery: Artist Doug Rhodehamel Makes His 50,000th Mushroom

Last night (3/28/13) at The Venue in Ivanhoe Village, Orlando artist Doug Rhodehamel made his 50,000th paper bag mushroom in front of a cheering audience. Rhodehamel's elaborate installations animals made from recycled materials have been seen locally at the Orlando Science Center, Stardust Video, and Say It Loud!, but he's best known for his Spore Project, which has spread fake fungi to every continent on Earth.

Photo Gallery: Skill Focus Burlesque presents Classic Consoles

The 2013 MegaCon science fiction and comic book convention recently drew record numbers of fanboys (and fangirls) to Orlando's Orange County Convention Center. In fact, there was so much activity that the excitement spilled out into neighboring International Drive venues.

My favorite MegaCon spinoff event this year was Skill Focus: Burlesque's "Classic Consoles" show at Sleuths Mystery Dinner Theatre. The boys and girls of "nerdy burlesque" troupe Skill Focus, led by Ruby Darling, have made a name for themselves in Orlando by showing off their assets in playful spoofs of pop culture characters.

Highlights of the sold-out "Classic Console" show, which was filmed for a future reality television program, included Rosita Sparkles' hula-hooping Sonic the Hedgehog routine, and a ballon-popping tribute to Pac-Man. Other 8- and 16-bit era icons featured included Chun Li from Street Fighter II, Starfox, Pokemon, and Day of the Tentacle.

Photo Gallery: 4th Entertainment Designer Forum

Last Friday night at Orlando's Orange County Regional History Museum, the 4th Entertainment Designer Forum sold out two fascinating Q&A forums with top talent from the theme park design world.

Representatives of Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Ripley's, and several independent companies gave insightful answers to fans' questions about the creation of Orlando's fantasy lands while raising funds for cancer research, all in honor of late local designer Stephanie Girard.

You can read about my favorite moments from the forum in the latest Orlando Weekly's Live Active Cultures column. Here is a photo gallery of the event, highlighting the one-of-a-kind collectors items, many used inside the parks, that sold at the silent auction. I personally took home the rare 2001 publicity photo of Eddie, a chainsaw-wielding maniac (brother to Jack the Clown) who was intended to be the host of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, but was censored post-9/11 and never appeared at that year's event.

Photo Gallery: Autobots Roll Out at Universal Studios Florida

The new Transformers ride doesn't debut at Universal Studios Florida until sometime this summer, but the Autobots have already arrived. On Monday March 4th, walk-around characters Optimus Prime and Bumblebee greeted guests for the first time in front of the NEST Headquarters, which will soon house the heroic Autobot's high-tech 3-D dark ride simulator.

Here are some photos of the "Robots In Disguise" meeting their Floridian fans for the first time, along with images of the new Supply Depot gift shop on its first day of operation. Expect the store and characters to be available on a regular basis from now until the ride debuts in the coming months.

Photo Gallery: Dapper Day at WDW's Magic Kingdom

For 364 days out of each year, Mickey T-shirts and ugly sandals are the standard uniform for most visitors to Disney's theme parks. But for one day on the calendar, some guests aim a bit higher on the sartorial ladder.

If you visited the Magic Kingdoms in Orlando or Anaheim on Saturday (2/24/13) you may have thought you slipped into a time-warped world of 3-piece suits and flapper dresses. Fear not, it was only the 3rd annual Dapper Day, a unofficial bi-coastal gathering of nattily attired theme park fans.