We’re off to see the Wizard…..

Posted by Becky

With the Wizard of Oz previewing throughout February everyone is getting excited about Dorothy and her slippers. Those of you planning London theatre breaks can enjoy the whole story of Oz from the witches’ humble beginnings in Wicked through to the sparkle and wonder of the Yellow Brink Road. The eagerly anticipated stage adaptation will feature songs from the famed 1939 film including ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’, ‘Follow the Yellow Brick Road’ and ‘We’re off to see the Wizard’.

The new production of the Wizard of Oz will star award winning actor Michael Crawford as the Wizard and winner of TV show ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ Danielle Hope as Dorothy. The appointment of an unknown for the lead role follows on from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s previous success with reality TV to find lead stars for Oliver, Sound of Music and Joseph.

With a recent trend in theatre to adapt screen to stage what could be next? Already the Broadway previews of Spiderman the musical are not going down well and are receiving an array of unfavourable reviews.

However within the past few years there have been a considerable number of stories making the leap from screen to stage, many which have great success. Legally Blonde has been nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for best new musical while this year sees the arrival of the eagerly awaited Shrek and Ghost.

What film would you like to see on stage? Do you think it is a good thing or are you worried about the originality of theatre falling away?

Award Winning Films….

Posted by Becky

With the BAFTA nominees announced all eyes will turn to London’s Royal Opera House on 13^th February for the celebrated night of award winning film. While many fans will be heading down to see if they can catch a glimpse of their favourite actor or director, I’m still trying to work out which of these films I’d like to see.

The regal Kings Speech has had huge coverage on the news and is tipped to win several awards, with Colin Firth already claiming the best actor at the Golden Globes in Beverly Hills. Though for something a bit more exciting I might try the New York thriller Black Swan set within the ballet community or for edge of the seat entertainment the true story of a rock climber trapped, in Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. So far only a few of these films are actually out at the cinema so it’s hard to judge which will be good. I’m just as likely to visit the National Media Museum in Bradford or the London Film Museum as to loitering by the red carpet.

Hot on the tail of the BAFTAs comes the highly prestigious Oscar’s. Broadcast live from Hollywood on the 27^th February these awards offer the highest praise within the film industry, often causing controversy with underdogs stealing the show.

Which film do you think will pick up the most awards, are you looking forward to them when they hit the cinemas or will you be avoiding all the hype. Does it even matter to you if a film has won an award?

House on the Rock plans a Halloween spectacular

I’ve just found out there’s an even greater incentive to visit one of my long-desired attractions this year, as the legendary House on the Rock in Wisconsin is staging a whole host of magical events this Halloween – including a rare chance to ride the world’s biggest carousel.

I first heard of this incredible attraction when I read the novel American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which features the real-life complex in Wisconsin’s Spring Green as a portal to another world. But even accounting for artistic license, from the pictures and reports I’ve seen online, the House on the Rock does seem like something that’s truly out of this world!

With so many diverse rooms and streets lovingly decorated and bewilderingly designed, including a dizzying ‘infinity room,’ this is sure to be one of those few special places on the planet that really does have to be seen to be believed. In fact, the author even said he was forced to leave out some of the attraction’s more bizarre features when writing the book because his publishers thought readers wouldn’t believe him

The famous carousel. Photo: Wikipedia

A cross between a museum, a fairground and a vivid dream, the House on the Rock sits on top of Deer Shelter Rock and was originally opened in 1959, though there’s been much expansion since then. Unsurprisingly, the already well-known attraction has benefited from even more visitors since the best-selling book brought it to a wider audience, and it seems its owners have finally taken notice by announcing a dedicated American Gods themed weekend over the spooky season.

These events on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 October 2010 will feature a special appearance from author Neil Gaiman talking about his work, as well as panels, presentations, a costume party and of course, the chance to explore the weird and wonderful house itself.

As I’ve said before, I’m always tempted to head over to the USA for Halloween because no one celebrates it like the Americans. And with one of my favourite writers teaming up with one of the attractions I most want to visit in the world, just try and stop me!

Orlando’s Harry Potter theme park opening soon

It’s been whispered about for several years, but it seems the time has nearly arrived for the grand unveiling of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the new theme park dedicated to the boy wizard at the Universal resort in Orlando.

News has been sketchy up until now, but the Orlando Sentinel just revealed that Universal has started offering holiday packages to its new attraction starting on 28 May, with an opening expected sometime earlier that month – so it’s probably best to book your United States break now if you’re hoping to get a look at the new attractions this summer!

So what does Universal have in store for visitors at its new park? Well, anyone who’s been to Islands of Adventure before can expect to see new life breathed into a couple of old rides like the Dueling Dragons rollercoaster, which will now be a Potter-themed Dragon Challenge, alongside brand new attractions that are sure to take your breath away – whether you’re a fan of the series or not.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the only theme park licensed by the franchise’s creator J. K. Rowling, meaning there are no cheap imitations out there, and visitors are naturally expecting the best. With a huge recreation of Hogwarts Castle, an interactive Ollivander’s wand shop where “the wand chooses the wizard” and a Post Office featuring owls, it certainly seems like Universal has thought of everything!

I’ve never been to Orlando, but I do love a good rollercoaster, and from the sounds of it there’s a lot to look forward to at this park. Although apparently the developers of the main attraction – a ride called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – have said that it’s about as far away from a traditional rollercoaster as you can get!

This ride uses the latest robo-arm technology to take riders on a guided tour of scenes from all the Harry Potter books and films, and sounds like it’s worth the entry price alone – which naturally included access to all the other attractions included in the Islands of Adventure park, including popular rides based on Jurassic Park and other Hollywood blockbusters.

With all the talk about Universal’s new attractions, you can also be sure to see some tough competition coming from Orlando’s other big players like Walt Disney World in the near future. Watch this space!

Sundance 2010 draws film fans to the USA

Movie buffs are making the pilgrimage to the biggest independent film festival in the United States this week, as today sees the opening of this year’s much-anticipated Sundance Film Festival. And I don’t mind saying that I can’t help wishing I was with them for their trek.

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s events, which take place at venues across Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and the Sundance Resort itself from 21 to 31 January. As ever, the event’s organisers have gone above and beyond in selecting 200 new films for exhibition – the cream of the crop from more than 9,000 hopeful submissions (can you imagine? You’d surely never see the light of day again if you sat down with a pile of DVDs that big). But there’s more to the Sundance experience than just film screenings, as venues are brought to life with parties, live music performances and panel discussions from leading figures in the industry, giving revealing insights into their works.

If you’ve ever moaned about the lack of originality in the films shown at your local cinema, I recommend you should definitely check out film festivals like this one, which give you the perfect chance to see some truly groundbreaking filmmaking that could otherwise pass you by. The Sundance Film Festival may be only one of many prestigious film festivals that take place all over the world – including next month’s Berlin Film Festival – but when it comes to the USA, it’s certainly the biggest and loudest. That’s not to mention the fact that it gives travellers an excuse to take in some of the breathtaking Southern landscape like the Grand Canyon!

Checking out this year’s programme of events, it looks like festival-goers are in for some real treats, from short and dramatic films to original documentaries. This year’s featured documentary is apparently so mind-blowing, all details are being kept strictly top secret. A clever marketing strategy maybe, but certainly something to whet the appetite of even the most casual film fan! If anyone has the inside scoop be sure to drop me a line…

New York is top for New Year breaks

If you’re struggling to decide where to spend your New Year, your quest may be at an end – New York has topped the list of this year’s most popular destinations to see in 2010.

In the Big Apple they don’t do anything small, and the New Year celebrations are no exception, making it the perfect place for a lively New Year break – as long as you don’t mind the crowds!

Times Square has been one of the world’s major sites for New Year celebrations for over 100 years now, and according to Beat the Brochure.com, this year over a million people are expected to pack into the public square. That’s so many people I find it hard to even imagine what it must be like!

More staggering is that around a billion more are expected to watch the New York celebrations unfold live on TV, which will include a dazzling fireworks display and, of course, the lowering of the famous iron ball that descends the flagpole to count down to the New Year. Apparently, the iron ball was only introduced as an alternative after fireworks were banned from the city in 1907, but it’s now become as much a part of the celebrations as Auld Lang Syne in Scotland.

So, while many will be content to see in the New Year with friends and family at home, or maybe take in some of the New Year celebrations in the UK’s own big cities, it looks like many more Brits will be flying out to the United States to see in the ‘teens’ – especially now the pound is gaining strength against the dollar and folks are keen to make the most of the exchange rate while they can.

While I don’t think I’ll be making the trip to the Big Apple this year, I still haven’t decided whether to spend my own New Year break visiting friends in Edinburgh or London – though I have to admit, the five day celebrations of Hogmanay 2010 may end up swaying me towards the former! Not much of a surprise to you all I’m sure, after all I’ve hardly hidden my bias to the Scottish capital on here have I?

Dream break competition results

Well folks, it’s finally over. Our Build Your Own Dream Break competition had the Superbreak office in a tizz for some weeks, and I have to say we’re glad to have a little bit of time to relax after the rush to collect all of the entries and decide on a winner.

And guess what? The effort was fantastic. We got hundreds of entries ranging from the sweet and romantic to the downright bizarre, with a surprising amount of you choosing to build your dream break right here at home. There were plenty of entries looking to enjoy a break in Edinburgh, London, Liverpool, the Lake District, Inverness and here in York

We also discovered dreams involving Spain, Italy, France, Norway and Germany, with many of you hoping to take advantage of the cold weather by heading off on New Year or Christmas breaks, filled with romance, snow and walks through idyllic city settings. Some of you, however, wanted nothing more than to jet off for a holiday in the sun in destinations like Hawaii, Sydney, the Caribbean, New Zealand and a host of South American destinations like Peru and Mexico. It was clear our entrants really got their imaginations going and ran wild with their dreams – especially one fellow who included the presence of Angelina Jolie in his!

Unfortunately, there’s only so much Superbreak can do – and that isn’t one of them. One thing we did do, however, was pick a winner. And it was tough. There were heaps of fantastic dreams and cutting them down to end up with only one was a truly nightmarish task. But we managed, and our congratulations go to Paul Marshall for his poignant entry, which we hope he can make true with the £1000 prize which can be used to tailor make a break on our website.

As for the rest of you who didn’t manage next time, keep your eyes peeled. We had so much fun with this competition that we’re already brainstorming the next – so good luck and keep dreaming!

Time is running out to win a dream break!

Many of you will be aware that Superbreak is currently running a build your dream break competition, where you have to tell us what your idea of the perfect break would be. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, we want you to do it in twenty words or less – and that’s where the fun begins. Trying to pack your idea of the perfect holiday into just twenty words has clearly been proving to be something of a difficult task, but keep them coming and you never know your luck!

We’ve had heaps of entries so far, from the nice-but-normal romantic city break style choices to some really wacky and adventurous ones. It’s been a pleasure reading them so far, and the competition has had all of the Superbreak office buzzing over the last few weeks – I think there’s more than a few of us who have been eyeing up our last days of annual leave after being inspired by your suggestions.

So go ahead and tell us what your dream break would be. Don’t worry, you can be as imaginative as you like – after all, we’re looking for an eye-catching winner whose dreams we can turn into reality. That’s not to say we don’t adore the slightly more usual ones too, meaning that you’ve got a great chance no matter what your ideal break would be.

And time is running out – the competition closes on Halloween, October 31, which is just a little over a week away – now there’s a scary thought! Keep the entries coming and you can also add me to Twitter to stay up to date on how the competition is going. Good luck!

Give an amazing gift for Christmas this year – a holiday

Every year in the run up to Christmas, we get a lot of interest on the phones about our Superbreak gift vouchers as they’re such a handy gift to give your friends and family at Christmas. Superbreak gift vouchers are versatile and can be used to book trips away through the Superbreak website, meaning your loved ones can choose the holiday and gift they want most of all.

I thought I’d do a blog post about them, seeing as it seems that the Christmas spirit is already in the air – if the number of people Christmas shopping in town is anything to go by. The vouchers offer a way for you to buy thoughtful gifts for loved ones without having to spend hours and hours in town at its busiest times – and means that you’ll be guaranteed to give them the gift they really want. A lot of people think it’s a little impersonal to buy someone vouchers at Christmas, but let’s face it – there’s a good chance that when you make the selection of what particular CD, piece of clothing or even short break a person might like, you could be wrong. By giving a voucher, you get to be as generous as you like while ensuring the recipient has the freedom to choose to spend it on what they really want.

This could be anything, from an amazing romantic trip to Paris, a historic trek along the Great Wall of China or a short break in Berlin to feel the buzz of a city brimming with life. Maybe you think your parents would like a trip to a big city when all they want is to relax on a seaside break, or you think your best friends would adore visiting Prague when they’d love nothing more than to check out London in style – by giving Superbreak vouchers, you can make sure that your friends and family will be able to go on the short break they want to.

There’s a huge amount of amazing breaks to choose from theatre breaks and concerts at the O2 to spa breaks, speciality breaks and even airport products can be purchased with our vouchers.

You can find out more about Superbreak gift vouchers and, conveniently, order them online in various denominations. Don’t forget that you’ve still got the opportunity to score a great break for yourself, too! Our win a dream break competition is still in full swing and you could win your dream break by entering our simple, fun competition.

Halloween is coming; the ghost is getting fat…

Already, people are beginning to chat around the Superbreak office about what their plans are for Halloween this year. It sounds like there could be a party coming up soon, so I’d better start thinking about what I’m going to wear now so I can plan how to win the best costume prize!

Halloween is an exciting tradition in the UK, but from what I’ve heard nobody does it like the US. I know several people who have visited the States during autumn and come back raving about how America does Halloween – so I thought I’d do some searching and find out just what I might expect if I headed there on a short break around the end of October.

Let’s just say that Americans do exactly the same as what the British do – but bigger. From suburban displays of fiendish pumpkins in New York City, where stacked apartments proudly show off their carving skills with ghoulish faces present in windows all the way up the building, to the fear-behind-the-picket-fence of New England towns, where gardens become graveyards and cobwebs are created rather than dusted away, it’s clear that Americans know how to celebrate the holidays.

I also read about some fantastic sounding haunted house parties in Los Angeles where costumed revellers turn up to a spooky mansion and explore inside its walls, with various things jumping out at them before they manage to find the hidden party room, where all sorts of food and drink are available – like eyeballs in a bowl, jellied brains (fake, presumably!) and plenty of ghoulish drinks.

Even just trick or treating is bigger in America. A co-worker used to live in Chicago in the Great Lakes and he told me that in the suburbs it’s not strange for people to hide candies in their front gardens and invite local kids to search for them – though you need to have a big supply on standby as they’re very good at finding things!

And if you’re really wanting to check out a large scale Halloween celebration, I found out about an event in Texas called Boo at the Zoo. Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville opens its doors to visitors with a vast amount of carnival games to entertain, as well as a huge haunted house to explore making it a definite tempting location for a Halloween break.

I love Halloween and I can’t wait for it to come around this year – but it looks like my enthusiasm could be beaten by that of many Americans!