Magic Kingdom to Serve Alcohol for the First Time

It's never too early to start planning for Halloween. We've got the inside scoop on Halloween events happening this year at Universal Studios, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, and Six Flags theme parks. HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS In addition to annually updated shows like Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure, this year the parks are home to The Walking Dead: The Living and the Dead, a terrifying attraction inspired by season four of the hit zombie t.v. show, The Walking Dead. Additional creepy maze attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood include Insidious, Michael Myers' Halloween, This Is the End, Crimson Peak, and Alien v. Predator. Still not scared? Try the Survive the Purge Terror Tram, a terrifying tram ride through Universal's Backlot. Universal Orlando will feature many of the same attractions (in haunted house form rather than being giant mazes) as well as haunted houses like Freddy vs. Jason, Insidious, The Purge, An American Werewolf in London, 25 Years of Monsters & Mayhem, Run: Blood Sweat and Fears, Body Collectors: Recollections, and Asylum in Wonderland: 3D. Universal Studios Hollywood Dates: Oct. 1-4, 8-11, 15-18, 22-25, 29-Nov. 1st. Event is 7 p.m. thru 2 a.m. each night. Prices: General admission prices start at $60 per person plus tax (and range to $85 per person plus tax) when purchased online depending on which day you go—they're from $85 per person plus tax at the gate. To enjoy time at the park during the day and during the event at night, you can buy the Day/Night Combo ticket for from $99-$130 per person plus tax. Click here for additional ticket options. Universal Studios Orlando Dates: Park is open til 1 a.m. Oct. 1, 7, 14, 21, 28-31, and Nov. 1st; park is open til 2 a.m. Oct. 2-4, 8-11, 15-18, 22-25. Prices: Tickets start at $101.99 per person plus tax for one night—Florida resident rates range from $49.99 to $76.99 (depending on which day you go) when ordered online. You can also add-on a Halloween Horror Nights ticket to the price of your regular daytime park ticket for from $49.99-$76.99 more per person depending on which day you go. Stay at one of the Universal Orlando Resort's on-site properties and be close to all the action—Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort is the property's newest hotel, includes a free shuttle to and from the parks, and has packages starting from $165 per person per night. Additional Halloween Horror Nights packages are also available at the resort's other on-site hotels as well as participating partner hotels. HOWL-O-SCREAM AT BUSCH GARDENS AND SEAWORLD Among this year's collection, take on haunted houses like The Basement, Zombie Mortuary, Death Water Bayou, Unearthed: Scarlett's Revenge, Zombie Containment Unit 15: Moving Targets, Circus of Superstition, Dead Fall, or get your nerve up for one of several creepy attractions including Cut Throat Cove, Catacombs, Deadline, Cornered, Lumberhack, or Bitten at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Dates: Oct. 1-3, 8-10, 15-18, 22-25, and 29-31. Gates open at 7:30 p.m. and the event runs until 1 a.m. each night. Prices: Tickets online range from $60 to $70 per person plus tax depending on which night you go. Groups of four or more can save by ordering 4-Packs online for Thursday nights starting at $35 per ticket and $50 per ticket on Friday nights. Try the Wild & Wicked Weekend Ticket, starting at $90 per person, to visit Busch Gardens Tampa Bay during the day and experience Howl-O-Scream at night. Click here to view additional ticket options. Busch Gardens Williamsburg Dates: The park is open until 10 p.m. Oct. 2-4, 11, 18, 21, and Nov. 1st. and until 11 p.m. Oct. 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, and 31st. Gates open at 6 p.m. Prices: Busch Gardens Williamsburg offers the Fall Fun Card, allowing you to pay for one day's admission and come back anytime thru Nov. 1st. The card costs $77 per person plus tax (the same as a regular single–day park ticket, and gives you unlimited admission during the day and at night for Howl-O-Scream. Seaworld San Antonio Dates: The park is open til 11 p.m. Oct. 3, 4, 10, 11, 16-18, 23-25, 20, and 31st. How-O-Scream festivities start at 7 p.m. each night. Prices: The SeaWorld Fall Fun Card starts at $69 per adult plus tax (from $60 per child ages 3-9) and gives you unlimited admission to SeaWorld thru Jan. 3, 2016, including admission to Howl-O-Scream events. FRIGHTFEST AT SIX FLAGS Halloween events takes place at various Six Flags theme parks around the country. Events, dates, and prices vary by theme park so check the Six Flags park's website for more details.

If you haven't heard already, prices at Walt Disney World in Orlando have risen as of Sunday, June 3rd. This follows a similar increase at the Disneyland California parks on May 20, changes that may impact upcoming family vacation plans. Here's the breakdown of current prices. WALT DISNEY WORLD, ORLANDO, FL A one–day Magic Your Way base ticket now costs $89 for adults ages 10 and up, or $83 for children ages 3–9. Add $35 for the park hopper option that lets you enter more than one park—choose from The Magic Kindgom, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Epcot, or Disney's Hollywood Studios—or $57 to add more options for Disney's water parks and other attractions like DisneyQuest, the ESPN Wide World of Sports, and Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course among others. Those planning to purchase annual passes should be aware of a $55 increase—be prepared to pay $574 for the standard annual pass, or $699 for the premium annual pass (prices are the same for adults and children and do not include taxes). Additional ticketing options are listed here. Also, keep in mind that parking on the Walt Disney World complex costs $14 per car. DISNEYLAND, ANAHEIM, CA A one–day one–park ticket will now cost $87 for adults ages 10 and up, or $81 for children ages 3–9. For a one–day park–hopper ticket that gives you access to both the Disneyland park and Disney's California Adventure, prices start at $125 for ages 10 and up, and $119 for children ages 3–9. The premium annual passport, which gives a full year of access to both parks, no black–out dates, and free parking, will now cost $649 per person without taxes (price is the same for adults and children), up from $499 per person last year. Click here for additional ticketing options. Please also be aware that parking at the Disneyland property costs $15 per car. I don't know about you, but that seems a bit much for my family to be spending right now. Perhaps a good ole' American road trip would be a better family vacation option for the time being, or better yet, one of these U.S. theme parks under $50. *All prices are current according to the Disney Parks website as of June 7, 2012, and do not include taxes. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL The Completely Obsessive Absolutely Indispensable Guide to Disney World Trip Coach: Share Your Theme Park Survival Tips 12 Family Trips Budget Travel Editors Love

It's been roughly 2,000 years since ancient Rome reached its glorious zenith, which can still imagined thanks to enduring monuments like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Ara Pacis Altar. Yet perhaps it's time to look past the ancient ruins and build a 600-acre theme park that recreates the empire's best attractions in full detail. That is the plan, anyway, of Mayor Gianni Alemanno, who wants to build a 600-acre theme park to pay homage to the Italian capital's glorious past. Expect chariot races and gladiators doing battle, that sort of thing. The ancient city of Rome may be born again as an amusement park because The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, is interested in investing in the idea, says the Times of London. The mayor has also been bolstered by a new survey of 1,300 tourists which found that one out of three of them would return to see "Romaland" if it were built. The project is one of several initiatives the mayor is seeking investors for and which are listed on a the city's official tourism promotion website on the Second Tourist Centre page. Would you go to Rome to visit a theme park based on ancient Rome? Or should the city focus on its existing architectural heritage? Or both? Let us know in the comments. SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL France Proposes a Napoleonland Theme Park SeaWorld's Expanding … to Antarctica? Rome: A Cool Restaurant and Art Space in San Lorenzo

"Habit Heroes," an interactive exhibit at EPCOT that features overweight villains with names like "Snacker" and "Lead Bottom," was supposed to open on March 5. Head over to HabitHeroes.com, the website Disney created specifically for the exhibit that was expected to open in early March, and you'll encounter a message stating that the site is "Down for Maintenance." As for the exhibit itself, Disney has decided to postpone its opening indefinitely. You can probably guess the reason why. Last month, the exhibit had a "soft opening," during which EPCOT and the exhibit's partner, insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield, could get feedback from the public. The point of the interactive exhibit was supposedly to help children and other park guests develop good habits while fighting off the bad ones. To dramatize the battle, exhibit designers created characters: good, healthy ones, such as Will Power and Callie Stenics, and bad ones, including the oversized Snacker, The Glutton, and Lead Bottom, as well as villains such as Drama Queen, Control Freak, and Sweet Tooth. Their names should give a pretty good indication of what their powers (weaknesses?) are. After word of the exhibit spread, the complaints started coming in. Per the Orlando Sentinel: "We're appalled to learn that Disney, a traditional hallmark of childhood happiness and joy, has fallen under the shadow of negativity and discrimination," came a heated response from the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. "It appears that Disney now believes that using the tool of shame, favored so much by today's healthcare corporations, is the best way to communicate with children." The association said, based on the exhibit, both Disney and Blue Cross have sided with "bullies" who mock, insult, and vilify the obese. At the website WeightyMatters, Yani Freedhoff, a physician based in Ottawa, wrote: So thanks for being so helpful Disney - I mean if your kid's not overweight or obese, here's to Disney reinforcing society's most hateful negative obesity stereotyping, and if they are overweight or obese - what kid doesn't want to be made to feel like a personal failure while on a Disney family vacation? Ouch. Apparently, Disney got the word and has kicked the "Habit," so to speak. There is no word yet, on the other hand, regarding what if anything may come of the "Habit Heroes." MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: Confessions of a Disney Cast Member Disney Worker Beard Ban Finally Gets Clipped The Completely Obsessive, Absolutely Indispensable Guide to Disney World