The Most Anticipated Rides at U.S. Theme Parks

EarthQuest Adventures

Los Angeles Times: At first I thought it was too early to look ahead at the new attractions coming to U.S. theme parks in 2013, but then I realized a number of big rides have already been announced and many more are already in the planning stages.

It already seems like 2013 is shaping up as a good year for ride enthusiasts and theme park fans. Big industry players have announced major projects, and several smaller parks are planning to roll out significant additions.

A few projects delayed by the economic recession have been given a 2013 opening date that might be best described as tentative rather than definitive. Only time will tell. But we won't let that dampen our anticipation.

Since it is still early, I'll update my top 13 over the coming months as new projects are announced. Until then, here's my list of most anticipated rides for 2013:

1) Magic Kingdom - Fantasyland

The final phase of the ambitious Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom in Florida is expected to wrap up in 2013, featuring a Seven Dwarfs mine train coaster, a Little Mermaid dark ride and a dueling Dumbo attraction.

2) Disneyland - Fantasy Faire

The Fantasy Faire medieval village at Disneyland in California will feature princess meet-and-greet areas and stage shows at the current location of the Carnation Plaza Gardens bandstand next door to Sleeping Beauty Castle.

3) Morey's Piers - Wooden roller coaster

The $10-million wooden roller coaster by Great Coasters International will span two piers and dive under the boardwalk at Morey's Piers. The New Jersey seaside amusement park is considering two names for the ride: Wildwoody and Boardwalk Flyer.

4) SeaWorld Orlando - Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin

Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin will transform SeaWorld Orlando's 24-year-old Penguin Encounter habitat into a new winter-themed land with 55-foot-tall glaciers in the shape of nuzzling penguins towering over shops, restaurants and an as-yet-unannounced attraction. SeaWorld remains highly secretive about the new attraction, describing it only as a one-of-a-kind, family-friendly yet thrilling interactive ride offering varied adventures from a penguin's point of view.

5) EarthQuest Adventures - New theme park

The oft-delayed $300-million EarthQuest Adventures theme park outside Houston would feature six themed lands filled with thrill rides, roller coasters and animal exhibits. Long-term plans call for a water park, retail center and hotel.

6) Lake Compounce - Water park expansion

The oft-delayed $15-million water park expansion at Lake Compounce in Connecticut will feature a slide tower, wave pool, lazy river and kiddie pool.

7) American Dream Meadowlands - Indoor amusement park

The stalled $3.8-billion mega-mall project next to the Meadowlands football stadium in New Jersey is scheduled to open in 2013. The completed 3-million-square-foot American Dream Meadowlands mall is expected to include an amusement park, water park, giant Ferris wheel and indoor ski slope.

8) I-Walk Orlando - Orlando Eye

Merlin Entertainment, the parent company of the new Legoland Florida theme park, plans to open a 425-foot-tall observation wheel in 2013. The Orlando Eye, slightly smaller than the landmark London Eye, would be part of new retail complex on International Drive in Orlando, Fla.

9) Skyvue Las Vegas - Giant Ferris wheel

The 500-foot-tall Skyvue giant Ferris wheel, taller than the London Eye, will feature more than 40 gondolas, each holding up to 25 passengers. The mini amusement park on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip across from Mandalay Bay will include several roller coasters.

10) Waldameer - Thrill ride

Waldameer has promised a new thrill ride for the area next to the merry-go-round. The Pennsylvania park last added the Mega Vortex spinning Disk-O thrill ride in 2009.

11) Water Magic - Water attraction

The $40-million Water Magic water-powered funhouse sounds like a cross between a water park and a children's museum where visitors will get wet but won't wear bathing suits (body driers will be available). The 40,000-square-foot water attraction near Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., will feature a walk-on-water illusion, hands-on water symphony, water mirror maze, bubble room, deep-sea diving experience and water sculptures.

12) Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Oktoberfest revamp

The Oktoberfest section of Busch Gardens Williamsburg has undergone a multi-phase renovation over the last couple of years, with the addition of the Mach Tower drop ride (2011) and the Verbolten multi-launch coaster (2012). A third phase of the Oktoberfest renovation is expected to be unveiled by the Virginia park in 2013, according to Screamscape.

13) Six Flags Magic Mountain - New ride

Six Flags Magic Mountain recently shuttered the 1971 Log Jammer water flume to make way for a new ride in 2013. The wooded 6-acre parcel in the center of the California amusement park includes a sizeable man-made lake that could play a role in the new attraction. Will it be another water ride, a terrain coaster or a thrill ride that somehow interacts with the lake?

Waitress Says She Was Fired for Wearing Tea Party Bracelet

Northwest Herald: Tea party members, conservative bloggers and radio hosts are rallying in support of a Woodstock (Illinois) waitress who says she was fired from the Crystal Lake Outback Steakhouse for wearing a political bracelet and admitting tea party sentiments.

Twenty-three-year-old Megan Geller of Woodstock said that a couple dining at the restaurant in early October took offense to a bright yellow bracelet with the words "Don't Tread On Me" imprinted on it.

Outback's Chief Legal Officer Jospeh Kadow said Geller was fired for her inattention to customers that evening.

"Megan Gellar was not let go because of her tea party bracelet," Kadow said in a statement to the Northwest Herald. "On the night in question two separate tables complained about her lack of attention."

When the manager spoke to Geller about these complaints, she responded by yelling at him with a hostile attitude and that led to her termination, Kadow said.

Geller says she told the diners her mother, Tonya Franklin, gave her the bracelet after Franklin received it at a tea party event. Those last three words incensed the couple, who then asked for the manager, Geller said.

Holding signs, and waving American flags and yellow "Don't Tread On Me" banners, a weekend protest outside the restaurant was held against what demonstrators called a violation of Geller's free speech rights.

Conservative bloggers and radio hosts also have spread Geller's story.

"They stirred up the wrong hornet's nest and messed with the wrong mama," Franklin said at the protest Saturday. "When mama's get mad, mama's get to work."

Megan said she feigned ignorance when the customers questioned the bracelet's meaning.

"I didn't want to talk politics at work," she said.

Geller claims she wore the bracelet "for months" with no prior warning from restaurant management and was never asked to remove the bracelet.

"She was not fired because a customer complained about her bracelet," Kadow said. "That would have simply been handled by asking her to take off the bracelet."

Documents from the Illinois Department of Employment Security provided by Geller state that she was fired for misconduct, but she should not have been denied unemployment benefits

"The evidence shows the claimant was discharged from [Outback Steakhouse] because they received a couple complaints from customers since she was wearing a bracelet with a political point of view," according to documents from the state agency. "Since the claimant's action, which resulted in her discharge was not deliberate or willful, the claimant is not ineligible for benefits."

Outback did not challenge Geller's unemployment claim, or submit any information regarding her claim, Kadow said.

New Website Lets Hotel Workers Complain

CNN: With so many means for guests to leave feedback on hotels worldwide, it's easy to take those opportunities for granted. But what would workers in the hospitality industry say if they were asked to comment on their employers?

We'll soon find out, thanks to a new Tumblr page that lets hotel employees share stories of demanding bosses, long shifts and finicky guests.

The inspiration for "Joey Quits" comes from a likely source: Joey DeFrancesco, who became a viral video sensation and working-class hero in October for posting a YouTube video of him resigning from his hotel job accompanied by a marching band.

With more than 2.8 million views in just over a month, the YouTube video generated more than 4,000 comments and even more e-mails, Facebook messages and cell phone texts, DeFrancesco said. Much of the response came from current and former hotel workers who said they related to DeFrancesco's complaints of struggles with management.

"We did not expect to get all this attention. But when we did, we knew we had to do something with it," the 23-year-old Rhode Islander said.

Websites such as Hotel Workers Rising are backed by unions and address conditions from a labor standpoint. But "Joey Quits" appears to be one of few forums dedicated exclusively to letting individuals air grievances.

The site's masthead bears a screen grab from the YouTube video of DeFrancesco's triumphant face next to messages in Spanish and English urging users to submit stories about their hotel workplace.

"Inspired by the success of the 'Joey Quits' video and responses to it from other hotel workers, we created this site to collect stories about unjust working conditions in the hotel industry," the site says, also in Spanish and English.

The feed, which launched this week, had 10 entries as of Tuesday morning, including videos of DeFrancesco and other former employees of the Renaissance Providence, the site of DeFrancesco's famous resignation. The rest are anonymous or come from users claiming to be former hotel industry employees. CNN could not verify their claims.

The goal is not to encourage boycotts of the accused hotels but to hold them accountable by raising awareness of undesirable conditions, hopefully paving the way to stronger labor laws, DeFrancesco said.

"The site is intended for workers so they can read it and know they're not alone, that others are experiencing the same things as them, creating a sense of working-class identity and hotel worker identity that's crucial to transforming the industry and forming unions," he said.

"The other audience is the public that's visiting the hotels, so they know how bad conditions are and let their disapproval be known with their wallets until things change."

New York To Have 90,000 Hotels Rooms by 2012

NY Daily News:  New York is on its way to having a record number of hotel rooms this year — and a good many of them will be in the outer boroughs.

The city will have 90,000 rooms by the end of 2011, Mayor Bloomberg said Monday, as tourism continues to grow despite a weak economy. The number of rooms in the city has grown 24% since 2006, according to City Hall. New York is also set to surpass last year’s record of 48.8 million visitors.

Speaking at the opening of the Z NYC Hotel in Long Island City, Queens, Bloomberg said the record number of rooms show how the city’s tourist trade is expanding beyond Manhattan.

“Our tourism sector employs 323,000 people, and those jobs are now increasingly located outside Manhattan as tourists want to visit all of the city’s great neighborhoods,” Bloomberg said.

About 40% of new hotel openings will be in outer-borough areas including trendy hotel-hotspot Long Island City, which now boasts 17 properties and has another five on the way.

Miami Touirism Hiring Rebounds -- Still Soft in Las Vegas

Miami Herald: The recession hit South Florida hard, but Las Vegas got clobbered.

By many measures, Sin City’s economy sunk deeper than Miami’s did. Among all of the major metropolitan areas in the country, Vegas has the highest unemployment rate: 13.6 percent. Property values sunk 58 percent from their peak in the housing crash, compared to the 49 percent drop in South Florida. Vegas also leads the nation in foreclosures.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that Miami’s tourism industry bounced back much faster from the recession than did the tourism industry in Vegas.

Vegas relies much more heavily on conventions than South Florida does, and the meetings industry got hammered in the recession as corporations scaled back on anything that looked lavish. Spending on gambling also took a dive during the recession.

These Vegas-Miami comparisons, of course, are taking on new importance as Florida considers allowing a law that would bring mega casinos to South Florida.

While Vegas is essentially a one-industry town, South Florida thrives on economic activity from tourism and construction — two Vegas staples — it also can count on international finance, trade, and a sizeable professional services industry to provide jobs and spending power.

Gambling opponents point the region’s tourism statistics as proof South Florida doesn’t need gambling, since the hospitality industry appears to be strong without it. But gambling supporters also point to the region’s economic diversity as an argument for bringing in casinos, since they would serve as an extra outlet for hiring and development — not the only one.

Getting Wet and Wild in Las Vegas

Splash Canyon Water Park

Vegas Chatter: Back in the day, it wasn't a Vegas vacation without a stop at Wet N' Wild on The Strip. Right next to the Sahara and before the reign of the Vegas day pool scene, the mega-waterpark was the cool place to get cool... at least until it turned off the spigots for good back in 2004.

Now, a new water attraction is about to make a splash, but don't look for it on Las Vegas Boulevard. Splash Canyon will keep the wet and wild times about 15 miles southwest of The Strip. Scheduled to open next Memorial Day Weekend, the H₂O complex will feature the requisite wave pool with 3-foot-high waves and Lazy River as well as 20 slides, a kids play zone, cabanas, picnic areas, restaurants, and probably a gift shop ready to teach us a lesson about forgetting sunscreen, our sunglasses, or Chapstick in the hotel room.

But, we know what you really want to hear about is the rides -- and if you'll be taken for one to get in. The water slides will include two 7-story Speed Slides, a six-lane, head-first Mat Racer, and a three-slide, multi-rider Tube Complex where 2 to 3 people can get drenched at once. Unlike Wet n' Wild, the inner tubes will be free here. We can't remember how much we forked over to get in back then, but Splash Canyon will charge us a top ticket price of $29.99 for adults or really tall kids. Tykes under 48 inches will get in for eight bucks less as will seniors and the military. Children under two will be free.

If you come to Vegas a lot, the best option, though, is a special $99 season pass available "while supplies last." Once those are gone, they'll go up by $40 bucks. Of course, tourists will need to factor in a rental car, too, or a really expensive cab ride for a day of fun in the sun off The Strip.

Delta In-Flight Ad Spurs Backlash

ABC News: A video commercial (since removed from YouTube) sponsored by a non-profit, anti-vaccine organization now playing on Delta flights has come under fire by a pediatrician organization, prompting the airlines to review its approval process for in-flight programming.

The nearly three-minute public service announcement put on by the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) describes alternative methods to preventing the flu besides getting the flu shot.

The video also includes a statement by the president and co-founder of NVIC, Barbara Loe Fisher, saying the flu shot doesn't effectively protect against nearly 80 percent of flu cases.

In a letter to Delta, the American Academy of Pediatrics president, Robert Block, urged the airline company to consider removing the ads. Displaying NVIC's message on Delta flights is, "putting the lives of children at risk, leaving them unprotected from vaccine-preventable diseases," Block wrote.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 49,000 Americans die from flu-related complications each year. According to ABC News' chief health and medical editor, Dr Richard Besser, the ad leaves out the importance of the flu vaccine.

"Flu vaccination is the most effective way to prevent the flu," said Besser. "This was not made clear in the ads from the National Vaccine Information Center."

In a response to the AAP, Delta conceded that the video does not point to vaccines as the primary source for flu prevention.

"Therefore, we have changed our internal review processes and procedures to help ensure that submitted content is vetted differently going forward," Delta's general manager of occupational health, Barbara Martin, wrote in response.

Delta declined to comment to ABC News on specific changes it plans to make to its review process. Fisher told ABC News she was shocked to hear that Delta is reviewing its approval method.

"This is the first time I've heard about it, it's a little concerning to me," said Lowe, who added that the airline initially approached her organization about creating the PSA for its flights.

"I really feel that when you see this video, it doesn't tell people not to vaccinate," said Lowe. "It talks about becoming educated."

The video led to an online petition calling for removal of the ads. The petition has received more than 2,000 signatures.

According to the petition, "Putting travelers onto an airplane, where they are put in close proximity, if not direct contact, with other travelers for extended periods of time while discouraging them to do everything possible to protect themselves and each other is simply irresponsible at best, and downright dangerous at worst."

The paid commercial will run on Delta flights through November, which complies with the two parties' contract.

This is not the first time NVIC has come under fire for its public service announcements. In March 2011, the AAP wrote a letter asking CBS to remove NVIC's video ad that played on the station's Jumbotron in Times Square.  In December, the vaccine advocacy group Every Child by Two will display its PSA on Delta flights calling for everyone 6 months and older to get the flu shot.

"What concerns me is that there's an attempt to demonize consumer advocates and to isolate and eliminate us from the public conversation about an important public health topic," said Lowe.

Qantas Airlines Celebrates 'Mo'vember

MSNBC: Even the smoothest flights will be plenty hairy for passengers on one Qantas Airways plane through the rest of the month.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, is being decorated with a nose-cone mustache to spread the word that it’s not November.

It’s Movember!

“Mo” is Australian slang for mustache and the designated vehicle for what four Melbourne men admit is the laziest way to raise money and awareness in the battle against deadly prostate cancer.

It’s like a 5K for couch potatoes.

“We call it the hairy ribbon,” Adam Garone, Movember CEO and one of four co-founders, told msnbc.com. “Our motto is, ‘Changing the face of men’s health. We want to use growing a mustache to get men talking about prostate cancer, and this is a fun way to do it.”

It all started at a 2003 backyard party when Garone and his mates were talking about how every fashion eventually recycles and becomes popular again.

All but one.

“We talked about mustaches and how popular they were in the 1970s and ‘80s,” he said. “But they never came back. There were 30 of us, and we decided to devote the month to growing mustaches.”

Expecting support, they received revulsion. Garone said his girlfriend hated it and his bosses at Vodofone forbid him from making sales calls, reactions that only added to the fun.

So the next year they decided to do it again — only this time for a good cause.

They marched into the local headquarters of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The organization said they’d welcome any funds they raised but, no, they were reluctant to affiliate with such silliness.

Little did they know the men had tapped into a perfectly manly way to reach men about an area they’re often reluctant to discuss. And it isn’t their funny bones.

In that first year, 450 friends raised $55,000 and the organization began sensing the so-called “Mo Bros” and “Mo Sistas” were onto something that would soon take off in ways that had nothing to do with Australia’s iconic airline.

In addition to the mo-plane, Qantas spokeswoman Emma Kearns said the airline placed a giant mo on its Sydney terminal building. "We're proud to support Movember and are encouraging our team to 'grow a mo' for Movember," she said, adding that prizes for best mo will be given. Females are encouraged to add to the mo-mentum by sporting fakes.

The disease is personal at Qantas, where CEO Alan Joyce was treated for an aggressive form of prostate cancer earlier this year. Early detection, however, led to a successful operation and a return to work within a few weeks.

“My doctor told me that there was an 80 percent chance that I would have been dead within 10 years if it hadn’t been detected when it was,” the 45-year-old Joyce said in July.

Movember swooped into North America in 2007, and Garone said the mustache and nearly 500,000 global participants, including affiliates at Livestrong and the Prostate Cancer Foundation, have helped raise $174 million.

The stunt with Qantas thrills the group, who want to make facial hair to November what pink and breast cancer awareness are to October. They are optimistic more promotional stunts will ensue.

“I wouldn’t advocate vandalism over works of art, but the Mona Lisa would look great with a Photoshopped mustache,” he said.

Will Missiles Make 2012 Olympics Safer?

Surface-to-air missiles may be used to help provide security for the London Olympics next year. Defense secretary Philip Hammond says “all necessary measures” will be taken to ensure security at the games, including “appropriate ground to air defenses”, if such action is recommended by the military.

The announcement came as it emerged that America has repeatedly raised concerns about security at the Games and was preparing to send 1,000 agents to protect American citizens.

Video:

Woman Feaks Out Over McDonald's Breakfast Menu

The Smoking Gun: When Shanaya Edgell arrived early yesterday morning at a McDonald’s in Janesville, Wisconsin, she was expecting to order from the fast food joint’s regular menu--Big Macs, french fries, Chicken McNuggets, and the like.

Except it was around 3 AM and the restaurant had already switched over to its breakfast menu--hash browns, Egg McMuffins, hotcakes, and the like.

This enraged Edgell, according to Janesville Police Department officers.

The 22-year-old--for some unexplained reason--turned on her boyfriend, biting him on the lip and tearing off his shirt. At some point during her meltdown, Edgell climbed atop the roof of her 40-year-old beau’s car and launched into a loud diatribe about McDonald’s.

After Edgell dismounted from the vehicle, she was collared for disorderly conduct. Danny Davis, deputy chief of the Janesville police, told TSG that Edgell and her boyfriend had been at a bar prior to heading to McDonald’s. When questioned by an officer about her behavior, Davis said, Edgell copped to “freaking out” in the wake of the menu changeover, adding that she was “acting crazy.”

Edgell, pictured in the above mug shot, is being held in the Rock County jail in lieu of $150 bond. She is scheduled for a court appearance later this afternoon.

Couple Sue Airline Over Cockroaches on Flight

WCNC: A North Carolina couple is suing Air Tran Airways, alleging they were sickened by cockroaches coming out of air vents and storage areas on a recent flight. They say flight attendants ignored their concerns.

WCNC-TV reports that Charlotte attorney Harry Marsh and his fiancée, Kaitlin Rush, saw the cockroaches soon after takeoff on a Sept. 15 flight from Charlotte to Houston with a stop-over in Atlanta. They say flight attendants were too busy to investigate the problem. Marsh said Rush became nauseous and now doesn't want to fly.

They're claiming mental and emotional distress and seeking more than $100,000, plus the price of their tickets.

Air Tran said it can't comment on pending litigation, but it denies several allegations. The airline says cleanliness is important and that planes are regularly and professionally treated for bugs.

VIdeo:

An American Airlines Ad Staring Kevin Spacey

Jaunted: Get ready for another airline ad to hit your television screen, as American Airlines is ready to interrupt your weeknights on the couch with new spots featuring Kevin Spacey. That's the good news. The bad news is that technically they’re only going to be run in the United Kingdom — because we all know actors hate selling stuff in their own backyard when they can do it overseas instead. Sure he’s an Academy Award winner, but can he put butts in AA's First and Business Class seats? 

In total there’s a few new ads kicking around showing off how American Airlines caters to the individual in all of us. If you take the time to check out the one we stuck (below), you’ll see Spacey doing his thing as several different types of people — from dad to designer — all getting ready to head off to the airport. As the ad winds down, Kevin Spacey tells us he loves American Airlines, while saying hello to himself as his other personalities seated in first class.

The other ads show different ways to check-in — again different strokes for different folks — along with the various dining options aboard an American Airlines flight. Like we said earlier, the only downer is that these are only hitting the airwaves across the pond. That means no Spacey commercials for us here in the nifty fifty. We say that’s okay, because we really don’t think these ads are that catchy or creative — although we do like us some Spacey.

Video:

Hilton Announces Soap Recycling

Business Green: Many of us may feel a twinge of guilt at swiping soap from hotels, but it turns out that this petty theft may be the greener option.

US hotels throw out an estimated 2.6 million bars of soap every year, most of which ends up in landfill. But unused soap represents a waste mountain that global hotel chain Hilton Worldwide is now committed to tackling.

The company has agreed to collect used soap to donate to the Global Soap Project, a non-profit organization that reprocesses used soap from hotels into new bars that can then be distributed to vulnerable populations in developing countries at risk of disease related to poor sanitation and hygiene.

Hand washing with soap is among the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent diarrhea and pneumonia, which together are responsible for more than 3.5 million child deaths each year.

The Global Soap Project was founded by Derreck Kayongo and his wife Sarah in 2009, and has distributed more than 25 tons of soap to communities in 20 countries across four continents. Kayongo had the idea when he was a refugee in Kenya and found that access to soap was extremely limited.

"Even when available, those living on less than $1 a day had to choose between buying food or soap," he said. "People were suffering from illness simply because they couldn't wash their hands."

Hilton Worldwide said that the new partnership will produce more than a million new soap bars for the Atlanta-based project, and that the company will take a seat on the board to help guide its growth.

"We are proud to invest in the Global Soap Project and are excited to leverage our expertise to support their organization, while simultaneously solving critical social needs," said Christopher Corpuel, vice president of sustainability at Hilton Worldwide.

Adding to the Travel Lexicon

Cuddle Class?

Economic Times: Here are some terms that capture the changing trends and concepts, says Sushmita Choudhury Agarwal.

Austerication
This is what you get when you combine austerity with vacation. The word was coined to describe the growing trend of swapping hot travel destinations for something cheaper, closer home. Think downgrading from Maldivian shores to Goan ones, or skiing in Auli instead of the Alps. Given that the problems in Europe are far from over and inflation is still soaring at home, austerication is the word of the year.

Bleisure
It blurs the old divide between business trips and pleasure. Here's how it works: if you are being sent on a two-day business trip, you can invite your spouse to tag along. If your office has booked you in a double room, why not make the most of it and shell out extra only for the air fare? After all, the post-work hours can be put to good use. 
 

Cuddle class

You've heard of, and probably experienced, the cattle class enough number of times. Now Air New Zealand has introduced a new way of flying, and so revolutionary is the idea that it may well force other airlines to follow suit. Basically the airline has designed the economy seats in its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a way that a row of three seats can be converted into a couch at the touch of a button. You get to fly flat without paying first class rates.

Extrava-gappers
A relatively new breed of high-yielding corporate slaves, who choose to take a sabbatical or an extended break when their careers hit a rough patch, like a recession, or job apathy. The agenda includes sampling never-before travel experiences while the economy recovers or as they sort out career aims and return to work life when things are clearer. What sets this group apart from the between-college-and-a-job breed is wallet size: the former have earned fat pay cheques and aren't into shoestring backpacking.

Flashpacking
This is evolved backpacking, padded up with a lot more moolah. Flashpackers retain the essence of backpacking-no fixed itinerary, travelling light, going beyond the done-to-death destinations-but in more comfort. So you trade the youth hostel for a glamping (glamorous camping) site, backpack for a strolley, throw in your iPod, iPad and DSLR camera, and look beyond the low-cost carriers. In a nutshell, flashpacking is what an extrava-gapper would do.

Greycation
Originally, a holiday exclusively for the silver-haired pack. After the recession and amid fears of another one looming large, the word has broadened its scope to mean holidays with elderly people. There is a growing trend of cheaper multi-generational vacations across the globe.

Galveston Hopes for Tourism Magic

Carnival Magic

Houston Chronicle: Galveston loves magic — especially the kind that promises to float millions of tourism dollars into the local economy.

The 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic made its debut over the weekend and embarks Monday on an inaugural trip from Galveston, marking the third new cruise ship in the southern port this year. Island officials hope the ship will bring the island more tourism dollars, as Galveston marked a milestone in its decade-long efforts to market the port city as a cruising destination.

"It shows the major cruise lines understand the appeal of Galveston and are choosing to invest in it over other popular markets," said Leah Cast, a spokeswoman for the Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The 130,000-ton ship boasts a WaterWorks aqua park with a 312-foot-long spiral water slide, a ropes course, as well as numerous other amenities.

Rates for a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise itinerary, departing from Galveston, range from $529 to more than $1,000 per person, depending on travel dates, for a standard inside stateroom based on double occupancy, according to Carnival's website.

Sue Schmitt, a Houston travel agent, says the cruise line is usually more economical and has already booked about 20 cabins for clients.

"Most of them are excited because it's brand new," she said. "For many of them, the ship is the destination."

Steady bookings

While the prolonged economic downturn has put a squeeze on tourism, Schmitt says her business has been surprisingly steady this year.

The addition of Carnival Magic adds to Galveston's cruising cachet, she said.

"Obviously Carnival feels that way or they wouldn't put a brand new ship here," she said, adding that she and her husband are booked to sail on the inaugural trip Monday. "I have clients going on it in two weeks, and they are so anxious for me to get back and report."

John Heald, Carnival's senior cruise director, said bringing the new ship to the Lone Star State was an easy decision.

"Florida was upset, but Galveston is a great revenue market for us," he said.

His only concern so far was the lack of a drugstore close to the terminal so the crew wouldn't have to travel far to buy toiletries.

The Magic arrived about one month after 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph began voyages from the island. Together, the ships have the potential to bring about 100,000 more visitors to Galveston and at least $10 million in direct economic impact to the island's tourism industry, according to the visitors bureau.

The potential tourism dollars had island officials wining and dining national media, travel agents and other industry players throughout the weekend, many of whom toured the ship and the island Sunday and spent the night aboard.

Selling Galveston

The visitors bureau handed out free passes to local attractions and gave a presentation about the island to Carnival's sales representatives over the weekend as part of an effort to have the cruise line pitch the city as a destination.

Sunday afternoon, pop band Maroon 5 performed for the crowd.

The port recently completed $12.5 million in renovations of the terminal designed specifically to accommodate more passengers and the larger Carnival Magic vessel.

Carnival's parent company helped finance improvements in 2004, a partnership that helped the port grow and raise the money it needed for the recent renovations, which included a new gangway and expanded passenger waiting areas, said Galveston port director Steve Cernak.

"We couldn't have done it without them," he said.

Other ships sharing the port with Carnival Magic include the Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, which started sailing out of Galveston last week, replacing similarly sized Voyager of the Seas. The 2,400-passenger Disney Magic is expected to start sailing from the port next September, followed by the 3,080-passenger Crown Princess in December 2012.

Troubled Bayport

Meanwhile, the Port of Houston Authority's $71 million Bayport Cruise Terminal remains without a ship regularly calling on the facility that was built in 2009.