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| Opening tomorrow night in conjunction with Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, Dead Coconut Club Harvest Edition begins its run at Red Coconut Club in CityWalk. |
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| They will be open on 35 different nights during this year's HHN run. Admission to the club is free; admission to HHN is not and there is a parking charge in the Universal garages. |
And just like that, eight months down, four months to go!
THU 27AUG VANGUARD DJ Avello (USA)
FRI 28AUG FAIRGROUNDS Metamorphosis Music Festival - Day 1
FRI 28AUG PALM TREE CLUB DJ Mark Knight (GB)
FRI 28AUG LIL' INDIES Michael vs Janet Jackson w/ DJ BMF (USA)
FRI 28AUG ALFIE'S HIFI DJ Sean Samaroo (USA)
FRI 28AUG ELIXIR BAR New Free Ladies Night
FRI 28AUG BULLITT BAR DJ RZRKT (USA)
FRI 28AUG KALI ULTRALOUNGE DJ Ferra Black (USA)
SAT 29AUG FAIRGROUNDS Metamorphosis Music Festival - Day 2
SAT 29AUG BIKKURI LOUNGE DJ M.I.K.E. Push (B)
SAT 29AUG MCQUEENS DJ BUKU (USA)
SAT 29AUG ALFIE'S HIFI DJ Dave Allison (CDN)
SUN 30AUG HARD ROCK LIVE Electronic Band DEVO (USA)
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| Does anyone else remember back in the 80's & 90's when Birkenstock shoes first became popular in the American market that they were nicknamed "German Birth Control"? |
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| No news from Pleasure Island today so we're posting this explanation of the state road system in Florida instead. This explains why most state roads in the Orlando area begin with the number 4 when they're north of State Road 50 (Colonial Drive) or the number 5 south of Sate Road 50. There are plenty of exceptions within the grid but most fall within this alignment. |
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| The legendary DJ Sasha (GB) was playing last night at The Vanguard and sister website Orlando Entertainment News was there. The pics are posted HERE. |
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| Alfie's HiFi has become the darling of Orlando nightlife and it was our final stop last night where we found guest DJ Darren Simonson (USA) and resident DJ Frankmatik (USA). All the pics can be found on sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE. |
It's great to be back in Orlando and checking out some of these events:
FRI 21AUG CELINE DJ Will Clarke (GB)
FRI 21AUG ALFIE'S HIFI DJ Frankmatik (USA)
SAT 22AUG PERLA'S PIZZA Pizza & House w/ DJ Chino (USA) 11am-5pm
SAT 22AUG VANGUARD DJ Sasha (GB)
SAT 22AUG BROKEN STRINGS DJ duo Flintstonerz (USA)
SAT 22AUG ELIXIR BAR DJ Andruss (MEX)
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| A couple weeks ago we published a photo of the Ghiradelli temporary location in Disney Springs Town Center. It's located in the former Sprinkles building adjacent the No. 2 Bridge to Pleasure Island. This is their permanent location in Disney Springs Marketplace where their building is under heavy renovations. And that is why they are operating from the temporary spot. We don't think they will be back here until sometime in 2027. |
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| Time for one more party on Pride of America, led by DJ Tidal Wave (USA). The pics are on sister website Orlando Entertainment News HERE. |
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| We're sailing on NCL ship Pride of America. The sailing was supposed to end today in Honolulu but the port is closed due to Hurricane Lala's approach. Instead, the ship is spending the day at sea north of the Hawaiian islands. Before heading out to sea, we passed the north coast of Kaua'i, home to these amazing cliffs. |
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| This is known as the Na Pali Coast, home to the world's tallest sea cliffs. |
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| Some cliffs extend 4000' above sea level. We had sun, drizzle, fog during the pass-by. |
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| Aloha! A good time was had by all. |
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| Departing from the cruise ship from sea level on the island of Maui, we traveled to our first volcano of the trip via Hawaii State Road 37. That's Haleaukala straight ahead but you can't see it here because of the cloud cover. |
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| Switching to State Road 378, just 22 more miles to go up a steep, winding road climbing ultimately up to over 14,000 ft elevation. Reservations are required between 3AM and 7AM because of the popularity of being at that elevation to watch sunrise. |
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| No need to worry about those clouds because eventually the road takes us above them! |
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| There's a Haleakala National Park visitor center near the entry toll booth and another up there near the peak where there are numerous weather stations and astronomical observatories. |
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| Take care of the Nene, the state bird which is a protected species. Because it is generally fearless, it does not know to run away from approaching cars. |
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| The trade winds bring in moisture and clouds mostly from the northeast side of each Hawaiian island. The famous "Road to Hana" down below can be a rainy drive because it traverses the northeast side of Maui. |
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| Climb, Climb! For the most part, we've left vegetation behind in favor of volcanic rocks and cinder cones. |
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| The rare Silversword (Ahinahina) only grows on the slopes of Haleakala. A related plant only grows on the slopes of Mauna Kea on Hawaii, the big island. |
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| The caldera of Haleakala. While not currently active, the volcano is considered to be Hazard Category 3 and thus very much alive. They believe it last erupted around 400 years ago. |
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| Those clouds kept creeping closer. |
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| Signs remind you to take it easy at this elevation! The air is thin here and you don't want to experience altitude sickness which can impact people above 8,000 ft. |
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| A small observation building at the peak. Definitely worth the drive. |
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| While we went to Haleakala National Park via a rental car from Maui Airport, our journey from Hilo to Hawaii Volcanos National Park on the island of Hawaii was via a ship's excursion. (Rental cars are much-cheaper.) |
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| The route to this National Park is via Hawaii State Road 11. And from the moment you depart Hilo, the road is a mostly straight climb slowly uphill with no curves or switchbacks like the previous national park. You're going from sea level to only about 4,000 ft. to this park. |
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| From a distance, you can see this volcano is much lower. |
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| But the caldera is far more interesting. This is the Kilauea Volcano that was erupting just a few years ago, spewing lava upwards and down towards the ocean and destroying entire neighborhoods of homes such as the Leilani Estates. You may have seen it on the news. |
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| Cinder cones scattered everywhere. This is a Hazard Zone 1 volcano and she's active! UPDATE: The day after our visit there was an eruption here with a lava plume shooting up around 50' into the air. |
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| That's steam coming out of the ground. Sadly, no sulphur smell. |
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| This is called Hawaii Volcanos National Park (plural) because there's a second volcano too. That's Mauna Loa over there which is 13,679 ft. tall. There's no road to the top but there is a hiking trail. It too is a Hazard Zone 1 volcano. Active. |
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| Further off in the distance is Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano at 13,803 ft. and not part of the national park. There is a road to drive up there as there and it's a great place to view stars at night. Both Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea had 10" of snow on them this past January. It doesn't typically snow here at Kilauea. Both national parks are excellent and a good time was had by all. |
We're in Hawaii but you don't have to miss these events:
FRI 14AUG CELINE DJ Wax Motif (AUS)
FRI 14AUG BROKEN STRINGS DJ Sandy (USA)
FRI 14AUG IRON COW DJ Quivver (GB)
FRI 14AUG ALFIE'S HIFI DJ Just Jason (USA)
SAT 15AUG ABBEY Gimme Gimme Disco Night
SAT 15AUG ALTIRA POOL DJ Frankmatik (USA) 2:30p - 8:30p
SAT 15AUG ALFIE'S HIFI DJ Byrd (USA)
SAT 15AUG TACO KAT DJ Oscar P (USA)
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| It was 70's night last night on cruise ship Pride of America and sister website Orlando Entertainment News was there. The ship's band "The Wave" opened the night before the DJ took over later. We're doing 7-nights around Hawaii. You can find ship pics on OEN here. |
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| Ten years ago this month we reviewed the resident DJ's that played each week at The Groove in Universal CityWalk. The Groove closed during the pandemic and never reopened, the space being repurposed as an escape room. Wednesday nights: DJ Rincon (USA) |
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| Thursday nights: DJ Poproxxx (USA) |
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| Friday nights: DJ Chino (USA) |
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| Saturday nights: DJ M-Squared (USA) |
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| During our most recent visit to Disney Springs we saw that Vuori is coming to this retail spot in the Town Center section. We had no clue what Vuori is and we wondered, what was in that spot? Something was missing. So we had to check our older Disney Springs Guidemap to learn that Sarasota-based Shore was previously in that spot! We recall how excited they were back in 2015 when they prematurely announced this new location. Sorry to see they didn't make it. We still don't know what Vuori is though. |
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Looking for DJ's this summer at Disney Springs? Waterside Stage: Saturday & Sunday Interactive Fountain next to Earl Of Sandwich/Marketplace:
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