Gatorland is an attraction in south Orlando featuring thousands of alligators and crocodiles. They have reptile shows, a petting zoo, train rides and more. If you are a Florida resident, price for a day’s admission is only $9.99 through June 30. Normal price is $21.99 ($13.99 ages 3-12), so this is a great deal. It doesn’t matter what your age, if you are a Florida resident, you get this special price. Guests can pay an additional fee for the Screamin’ Gator Zip Line experience.

If you are a Florida resident, and you own a non-Florida (non-native) pet, you can bring it to Gatorland this Saturday, May 19 and the Florida Wildlife Commission will accept the pet with no questions asked or fines. Only exotic reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds, invertebrates and mammals will be accepted. Domestic pets, including dogs, cats, ferrets, etc. will not be accepted.

It is Gatorland’s hope that you will not release a non-native animal into the wild. Florida is already home to more than 400 non-native species. This amnesty day is free and open to the public. Go to the attraction’s south parking lot entrance at 14501 S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. this Saturday. While you’re there, you might as well enjoy the Florida resident deal!

For more information, go to www.gatorland.com or call 1-800-393-5297.

Bring the entire gang over and feast on our all-you-can-eat dinner buffet. Drinks are included and dessert too! By having the show early, everyone can get home and off to school or work the next day bright and early.

A big thank you to all the moms here and gone. We love you and appreciate everything you have done. Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

• NASA speaker series
• Space-based demonstrations
• Solar and Nighttime viewings
• Planetarium Shows
• Exhibits: “Our Planet, Our Universe” and “Science on a Sphere”

NASA speakers will provide interesting information about unmanned spacecraft, launch systems, Mars and more. Catch their presentations on select Saturdays. Astronomy and light-themed experiments will be held in Dr. Dare’s lab and will delight both adults and kids. Also included are SunWatch sessions (on select Saturdays and Sundays) where you can view the sun through a telescope without hurting your eyes. Take a peek at the sun’s surface to see if it is placid and serene or boiling with sunspots and solar flares.

Also offered during this event is “Orlando By Night.” This is a live planetarium show from 1pm to 5pm. Night sky observations are held from 7pm to 9pm with astronomers on hand to answer questions. The “Science on a Sphere” exhibit in the Dr. Phillips CineDome is also highlighted in this event with its Kinesthetic Astronomy program. There is a lot to see and experience!

These additional events are included in the regular admission to the Orlando Science Center which is $17 for adults and $12 for children ages 3-11. If you only want to attend the night viewing after 5pm this Saturday, May 12, you can purchase tickets for that by calling (407) 514-2000. The rest of the science center, with the exception of the planetarium, will be closed at this time. For more information, visit their website at www.osc.org.

There are a lot of buffets in Orlando to choose from, but few offer a cabaret show with comedy and action to go along with the entree. Capone’s Dinner & Show offers an all-you-can-eat Mother’s Day dinner buffet filled with American/Italian favorites, such as spaghetti and meatballs, pot roast, loads of vegetables and salad. Did you know? The drinks are unlimited and included in the ticket price! This even includes alcoholic beverages. Wow! Not many Orlando dinner shows can say that!

This Mother’s Day, Al and the gang are giving each mother a flower pop (candy lollipop) and some special recognition during the show. It’ll make Mom feel special. After all, you really do owe your mother. Remember this post? “I Owe My Mother.” The best part will be spending time with the mother in your life, whether it is your own mom, someone else’s mom, your aunt or even a future mother. Everyone loves Capone’s – even the kids will have a blast.

Purchase your tickets online and save 50%, but you need to hurry! Seats are filling up fast, and the sooner you make your reservation, the better seats you’ll have. Although Mother’s Day is only a few days away, there are still some great seats available. There is a special show time of 5:00pm so everyone can enjoy the show and still get to bed early for school, work or being a mom. Click here to order your tickets!

Make Mom a happy dame this Sunday. Spend some time with her and the rest of your gang in a little joint with ‘the family.’ It’ll be the best Mother’s Day present ever.

The second addition to Universal Orlando’s entertainment line-up is the “Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular: 100 years of Movie Memories.” This new nighttime lagoon show celebrates the most powerful and emotional moments from Universal Pictures’ most iconic films. It all happens on waterfall screens with colorful fountains and pyrotechnics synchronized with a powerful musical score. As you watch the show, you’ll be taken on a journey through epic cinematic moments filled with heroes, horror, laughter, good vs. evil and triumph. Morgan Freeman narrates the new show which features scenes from about 200 films. Tip: Get comfortable before the show begins. It lasts around 20 minutes and there are a few “splash zones” to avoid (or not).

Universal Studios has promoted 2012 as the “Year to be Here,” and with these new features, it is well on its way to offering their theme park guests a great day of thrills and memories. Later this summer a new attraction, “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” will open, about a year before the motion picture Despicable Me 2 arrives in theaters July 3, 2013. For tickets or information to the Universal Orlando theme park, visit their website at www.universalorlando.com.

The cabarets include:

1. It Was A Very Good Year: 1962
   Fifty years ago John F Kennedy was in the White House, man was in space and the Cold War had begun. This cabaret features the music of popular culture and Broadway of 1962.
2. A Gay Night for Singing
   Long before Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the prospect of same sex marriages, gay culture had a dynamic presence throughout the world of entertainment. This newest cabaret show embraces gay culture from some of the most exciting Broadway shows.
3. An Animated Night of Cabaret
   Get your palate ready for a colorful journey through some of the best songs from animated musicals. Revisit new and old classic tunes made famous by some of the most beloved animated films of all time from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to The Yellow Submarine, Shrek, and more!
4. And the Tony Goes to…
   Every year the Broadway community gathers to acknowledge the best of theatrical achievements – the Tony Awards! This cabaret revisits the best of the best from legendary musicals including Kiss Me Kate, Damn Yankees, The Wiz, How To Succeed in Business without Really Trying, The Sound of Music, Bye Bye Birdie, Fiddler on the Roof, Sweeney Todd, Billy Elliot, and The Book of Mormon.

Mad Cow Theatre located at 105 S. Magnolia Avenue in Orlando, FL 32801 plays host to this yearly festival. Their 2-theatre complex provides an intimate setting in downtown Orlando. This centralized location is perfect for the lunchtime performances. Monday through Friday of next week you can catch a 45 minute show. Bring your lunch along, or order a box lunch from the theatre, and be back to work within an hour! Have a unique lunch with your friends and co-workers. Groups are welcome.

Weekend shows are held in the evening or on Sundays as a matinee. Tickets to the Orlando Cabaret Festival range from $11 to $32 depending upon the date/time and show. Purchase them by visiting their website at orlandocabaret.com. You may also call (407) 297-8788 for more information.

Proud mom and dad. Photo by Busch Gardens

If your vacation has landed you here in Central Florida and not on the Comoros Islands between Madagascar and Africa, you can still see mongoose lemurs. Not out in the wild, but at a much closer view. Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida recently witnessed an uncommon event with the birth of mongoose lemur twins.

This vulnerable species is indigenous to the islands of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. These little ones, however, can be seen living right here in Florida. See them at Curiosity Caverns, located near the Nairobi Train Station (Jambo Junction) at Busch Gardens.

In a few months, the Central Florida theme park will know if the little ones are girls or boys. If male, they will develop red beards and cheeks. If they are female, their faces will have darker hair and white beards.

Look closely and you'll see one of the babies tucked in close to momma's tummy with its head peeking out near her back leg.

The babies are parented by 17-year-old mother Rosalita and 18-year-old father Guillermo. Captive mongoose lemurs can live up to 26 years, while wild specimens live 18–20 years. The offspring usually stay with their parents until three years of age, when they have reached full maturity. Rosalita’s first baby – a male named Duggan – was also born at Busch Gardens and moved to another zoo for breeding.  If you listen closely, you can hear their unique vocalizations, which sound like pigs oinking!

Enjoy your vacation in Central Florida and experience a little Madagascar wild life at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. Congratulations to the theme park’s animal handlers in protecting this cute species. Best wishes to all.

Winter Park Paint Out

The Winter Park Paint Out is held at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens located at 633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789. This is the fourth year for this event and the weather couldn’t be more perfect! You see, plein air – a French term mean­ing “in the open air” – describes art works painted out­doors with the sub­ject directly in view rather than in a stu­dio. So this Thursday, Friday & Saturday, you’ll have the opportunity to witness twenty-six pro­fes­sion­ally acclaimed plein air artists who will be roaming across Winter Park cap­tur­ing many favorite land­scapes and land­marks with oils, water­col­ors and pastels.

The museum, sculp­ture gar­dens and gallery will be open FREE to the pub­lic through this week-long event. There will be FREE paint­ing demon­stra­tions and other activ­i­ties. If you miss the artists in action, check out the ‘Wet Room’ where com­pleted paint­ings will be hung.

For more infor­ma­tion about the Win­ter Park Paint Out, please call the museum at (407) 647-6294 or go to www.winterparkpaintout.org for tickets and a complete schedule of events.

Leesburg Bikefest

This is the 16th annual Leesburg Bikefest and it promises to be a great one. This 3-day motorcycle rally and music event fills the streets of Leesburg, primarily downtown, at Gator Harley Davidson, Marina del Rey (Mission Inn) and Jesse Black Saloon. Most of the action is downtown Leesburg where hundreds of vendors, 8 stages and over 50 bands will be set up. The streets are only open to motorcycles but a bike is not required to take full advantage of all the great things to see and do. You can take a shuttle service located throughout Lake County including Mount Dora, Eustis, Tavares and The Villages for just $1 or $3 for an all-day pass.

While the riding is great in Lake County, the music is a big draw for bikers and this year promises to have a lot of entertainment. Fire House performs Friday night along with Lit Up performing their new hit single “Full Throttle,” Seven Mary Three headlines on Saturday with the Greg Billings Band and many other local favorites (Big Engine, Bobby Blackmon Band, Bobby Friss Band and others) will be on stage throughout the weekend.

If you want to get in on a charity ride, you have 2 to choose from. Friday’s Rolling Thunder Poker Run and Saturday’s Gamblers MC Poker Run. Proceeds to help American Veterans, the American Cancer Society and Happy Hills Ministries. For more information about the Leesburg Bikefest, go to leesburgbikefest.com.

Whatever you do this weekend, it is sure to be great weather, so get out and enjoy! Remember, after a full day of painting, riding, or whatever, Capone’s Dinner & Show is just down the road on Highway 192. Open every night with an all-you-can-eat buffet and unlimited drink selection included in your ticket. The show is full of entertainment and laughter – a great way to end a perfect day in Central Florida.

Entering into the dome, you may not even notice that you’re walking into a theater as the lighting will be at a minimum. You’ll move towards the ‘beach’ where you’ll be introduced to the hero of the film. The little turtle has hatched from her egg and life has begun. The story is told from her perspective and the audience will follow the 25-year span of her life including friend and foe.

The new Orlando attraction will hold about 200 guests who stand on a center platform to watch the film, which is just under 7 minutes. You don’t have to worry about whether your ‘seat’ is a good spot or not to watch. Action happens on all sides and you’ll rotate and move during the film. While at TurtleTrek, you can view a variety of adult and juvenile sea turtles, including hawksbill and green sea turtles. Watch these exquisite creatures gliding past from above, or through a below-water window.

Get ready to experience life as a tiny little turtle being attacked by a giant ghost crab. You’ll also get caught in a fishing net and experience everything the ocean (and man) offers – good and bad. Get ready, also, to fall in love with a turtle sporting orange markings in a pattern of sunshine!

We want to know if you’ll be experiencing this new attraction. Please ‘vote’ in our poll below. Feel free to comment after you’ve visited TurtleTrek, and let us know what you thought!

The film took more than four years to make, due to the dense forest and chimpanzees being difficult to capture on camera. It is narrated by Tim Allen and directed by Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergill who are well-known for the first Disneynature branded film, ‘Earth’ and the popular ‘Planet Earth’ television series. As with these other films, Chimpanzee brings you breathtaking footage in the forests and is a must-see for any nature-lover.

Chimpanzee is a story of a young chimpanzee named Oscar. It captures his life full of curiosity, play and trouble. When a rival band of chimps move in, Oscar’s mother goes missing and he is left to fend for himself. When Oscar was orphaned, the film makers thought the movie wouldn’t be able to be completed. Oscar is taken in by an unexpected ally and the story couldn’t be more touching. Like most Disney productions, this film will touch on a wide range of emotions.

The movie is rated G (although it contains some intense scenes for young children to view) and opened in theaters Friday, April 20, 2012 and will run for several weeks. For more information on the film go to disney.go.com. It is a breathtaking film, and the donation your ticket will help make this week, will ensure these types of projects can continue to be shared with the entire earth. Make every day Earth Day.