Country singer Willie Nelson and rock bands Heart and Barenaked Ladies have canceled their planned performances at SeaWorld in Florida. This comes after CNN’s documentary “Blackfish” – focused on Tilikum, an orca currently held by SeaWorld and the way the park treats animal in captivity. The film had huge impact and many petitions had started after its premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on 19 January 2013. 
Willie Nelson is the latest act to cancel a concert at Orlando’s SeaWorld in the wake of CNN’s “Blackfish” documentary. The legendary country singer’s decision comes after the Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies pulled the plug on their show at the Florida theme park. SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck confirmed Nelson’s decision not to sing at SeaWorld. But the spokesman said the reasons weren’t tied to the recent documentary on SeaWorld’s captive killer whales and a resulting petition calling on acts not to play SeaWorld. Instead, the Sea World spokesman cited scheduling conflicts in the Nelson cancellation. “I understand there are petitions going around with thousands of people’s names on it, so I had to cancel. Also, I don’t agree with the way they treat their animals. It wasn’t that hard a deal for me,” Nelson is quoted as saying. A posting on Heart’s official Twitter page said the decision was influenced by the recently-released documentary “Blackfish.” “The Sea World show was planned long ago as an Orlando show,” the tweet said.”Had we known, we’d have said no then. We said no today. Love you all.” When the Barenaked Ladies nixed their plans to play at SeaWorld last week, they explained that it was a decision made after viewing “Blackfish.” “This is a complicated issue, and we don’t claim to understand all of it, but we don’t feel comfortable proceeding with the gig at this time,” the band said on a Facebook post. Joan Jett on Monday also joined the list of recording artists distancing themselves from the marine park when she sent a letter to SeaWorld President Jim Atchison asking that the park stop using her song “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” as the opening music for its “Shamu Rocks” show.
Flying magic comes to Orlando
The Canadian airline WestJet introduced its custom-painted aircraft this Monday. The “Magical Plane” comes as result of the collaboration between WestJet, WestJet Vacations and Disney Parks & Resorts. Its first flight between Calgary and Orlando International Airport took off yesterday and brought its passengers for a three-day vacation at Walt Disney World. After that „Magic Plane” will fly on WestJet’s domestic, trans-border and international network, which includes 39 flights per week from various Canadian cities to Orlando. The special livery is designed to tell a story from tail to nose. It starts with Sorcerer Mickey, prominent on the aircraft’s tail, with magic stars coming from his hands. The magic stars swirl around the fuselage and past the wings, culminating with fireworks over the Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World. Inside, the seats are sprinkled with stars and the plane’s crew will pass out Disney-shaped cookies. According to WestJet, to paint the plane took a team of 26 people working around the clock for 24 days. The design, which features Mickey Mouse as Sorcerer Mickey in the Disney classic Fantasia, includes 36 different paint colors. The paintjob also has a little riddle – both side of the plane are mirror images, except for one detail – it left to the viewer to find out what it is exactly. “It’s a flying billboard,” said Gregg Saretsky, president and CEO of WestJet. “I think it just brings our whole partnership to another level.” WestJet and Disney have been working as partners for nearly a decade and the “Magic Plane” is designed to lead the passenger to Disney before the plane has even landed at Orlando. 
“Families and kids, they’ll be in an airport somewhere and they’ll look out and they will see Sorcerer Mickey,” said Marlie Morrison of Walt Disney Company. “That little bit of Disney magic, you know, just might surprise them anywhere they are at any particular airport.”
Bad weather didn’t disrupt Thanksgiving travelers
Winter storm was expected to drench the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states with rain through Thursday morning and to bring snow to the Midwest through New England. That could have caused serious trouble to people traveling for the holidays. Some airlines were even advising customers headed to destinations such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia that they could reschedule their travel without a penalty or receive a refund. Despite the storm Thanksgiving travel started smoothly Wednesday at Orlando International Airport.
Delays were concentrated in the Northeast, where the storm brought wet weather to already busy airports and snow to inland areas. By midafternoon Wednesday, Orlando International Airport reported three canceled flights and 65 delays of more than 30 minutes. These are the times when we’re reminded it’s one system,” said MCO spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell. “If planes can’t get out of their point of origin, then there are delays here.” The longest delay was two hours, airport officials said. Southwest Airlines, the busiest carrier at Orlando International, said operations were getting back on track Wednesday afternoon after minor delays because of the storm. Spokesman Dan Landson said about 75 percent of the airline’s system had great weather, which helped things run more smoothly. Allegiant, the primary carrier at Orlando Sanford International Airport, said the airline has only a handful of flights scheduled Wednesday, which is a quieter day for departures from the Seminole County airport. Airline spokeswoman Jessica Wheeler reported no problems at midday Tuesday. Officials at Orlando International predict air traffic will be back to normal by Saturday and Sunday, which are forecast to be the busiest days at OIA during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Orlando International Airport sets a new record
Orlando International Airport ends 2012 – 2013 fiscal year with a record number of international travelers. International traffic increased to 3.9 million travelers, 5.2 percent more than last year. At the same time domestic traffic is down by 2 percent to 23.4 million passengers. “As we continue to set new international travel records year after year, it is imperative that the Authority plans for more international growth by enhancing our infrastructure and maximizing our customer service efforts,” says Frank Kruppenbacher, Chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. The airport authorities approved $1.1 billion expansion plan in October. The project includes four additional international gates, an automated people mover, improvements to the ticket hall and baggage screening areas, and a rail terminal to support All Aboard Florida, a train service between Orlando and Miami that is being backed by private investors. Traffic to MCO comes from the new air services from several airlines this year. GOL Airlines increased service from five to seven days per week to Sao Paulo, Brazil and Southwest Airlines increased service to Minneapolis to seven days per week. Also notable in September, Delta Air Lines celebrated 43 years of service at MCO, Frontier Airlines celebrated 14 years and SunWing 7 years of operations at Orlando International Airport. JetBlue and Spirit Airline added new flights to the airport. Spirit will fly daily from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and JetBlue – from Worcester, Mass. The latest addition is from two days ago. Air Canada rouge will officially began service at Orlando International Airport. Eventually, the airline will provide service from Toronto to Orlando with six flights per day, seven days a week, according to a news release. Air Canada rouge is a component of Air Canada Leisure Group and the A-319 aircraft seats 136 passengers.
A week devoted to attractions in Orlando
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions has chosen Orlando for its annual expo. The Event will take pace at the Orange County Convention Center this week. Over 25,000 people are expected to attend the show coming from more than 100 countries. “We would encourage people to buy tickets early as they may sell out throughout the week,” said Colleen Mangone, manager of media relations for IAAPA.
More about the convention on OrlandoSentinel
A quicker way through security for Southwest Airlines clients
Southwest Airline has joined the TSA PreCheck program at Orlando International Airport . It allows frequent flyers to go through security with minimum effort – without having to take their shoes, jackets or belts off and with their latop in its case. Jerry Henderson, who runs TSA in Orlando, estimates the TSA Pre line is, on average, three times faster than going the usual route.
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Living in Disney World
Disney World is a place which every child wants to visit. And after seeing it – dreams to stay there. And not just every little kid, I mean child-at-heart grownups too. For almost two years now some grownups have a chance to make their dream come true.
The Golden Oak Gated Community is the only place in the world where homeowners actually live on Disney park property. 980 acres have been set aside for the company to build up to 450 homes at Lake Buena Vista – some within eyesight of the famous Cinderella Castle fireworks. Approximately 100 homes are already built and most of them are sold. Owning a place in the „happiest place in the world” does not come cheap. Prices are between $1,7 and 7 million and annual fees of as much as $12K but many would say it is worth it. 
The perks include park passes, door-to-park transportation, extended hours for visiting attractions such as the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and a 17,000-square-foot clubhouse with a restaurant and concierge. Residents also will have access to some of the amenities, including the spa and dining rooms at the $370 million, 444-room Four Seasons resort scheduled to open in Golden Oak next summer. And for some die-hard Disney fans, having a view to Cinderella’s Castle is all they need.
New Florida air services
JetBlue and Spirit Airline added new flight to Florida airports this week. 
Spirit Airlines will start four seasonal direct routes to warm-weather destinations from the Twin Cities. The nonstop daily flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport g Los Angeles (LAX), Orlando (MCO), Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) and Tampa (TPA). “We’re excited to offer Minnesotans even more low fare options to even more warm and sunny destinations with Spirit’s ultra-low fares and optional add-ons for a total price that’s tough to beat!” said Spirit’s Vice President of Network Planning, Mark Kopcza The new JetBlue services will fly from Worcester, Mass. To two Florida destinations – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Orlando. The daily flights to Orlando are scheduled to depart Worcester Regional Airport (ORH) at 7:30 a.m. and arrive at Orlando International (MCO) at 10:33 a.m. They will leave Orlando at 1 p.m. and arrive at Worcester Regional Airport at 3:38 p.m.
New “Cannonball Run” Record
The record for a coast to coast journey (Los Angelis to New York) was shattered on 19-20 October. Ed Bolian – Atlanta Lamborghini dealer – went through the transcontinental trip in 28 hours 50 minutes. The previous record, made by Alex Roy in 2006; he completed the run in 31 hours 4 minutes. Bolian said: “Honestly, I was so shocked at how much we had beat our target and previous record… It was just unbelievable. It was cathartic and amazing. But mostly, I was just shocked.” The origins of the Cannonball Run aren’t entirely clear, but the death defying and hugely illegal race from New York City to Los Angeles is named after Edwin ‘Cannonball’ Baker. In 1933 he went from coast to coast in 53 hours 30 minutes. In the 1970s the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash was created by the Car and Driver editor Brock Yates. Later called the Cannonball Run, the race challenged daring drivers from all over the country to test their limits. A 1981 comedy starring Burt Reynolds and Farrah Fawcett immortalized the name. The run was last completed by Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough in 32 hours 51 minutes behind the wheel of a Jaguar and his time wasn’t bested untill 2006.
The next hero on the list is Ed Bolian. He is a 28 years old Lamborghini dealership sales director. He put a lot of work and money in his Mercedes CL55 AMG to make it ready for the journey. The preparations took him 18 month, but Bolian dreamed of breaking this record since he was in highschool. When he was 18, he had to interview Brock Yates, who organized and won the first Cannonball Run. “I told him, ‘One day I’d like to beat your record,’ ” Bolian recalled. He also says he doesn’t know exactly how much money he invested in his dream. The car was equipped with two additional 22-gallon gas tanks, which add hundreds of pounds of fuel but allow the car to travel 800 miles between stops. To ensure a clear run, free from traffic jams and, perhaps more importantly, traffic cops Bolian, also invested in a police scanner, two GPS units that relay traffic information and iPhone apps such as Trapster. The car was also fitted with two laser jammers and had a truck mounted antenna. Friends were enlisted to travel along the route, about 150 miles ahead of the Mercedes, and check for any potential obstacles. Great organization and technologies did their job and the record was not just broken by a few minutes, but shattered – the time was more than two hours better then Toy’s time. “We were unfathomably fortunate… We had no accidents, no traffic, no weather, no major construction. We wanted this to be a benign use of highway. We didn’t want to hurt anyone, we didn’t want to get hurt and we didn’t want to get arrested.”
Black box in cars to count miles?
Lawmakers are proposing black boxes to be installed in future car models to track mileage. America’s road planners are currently struggling to find cash to mend a crumbling highway system and some are proposing a „tax per mile” as a solution. The device would fit on the dashboard and would track a driver’s mileage, and then the mileage would be tallied up before a tax bill was sent to the driver at the end of the year.
This technology comes to replace the current „gas tax” which has proved to be non-effective. It has not been raised more than 20 years; plus each car could go different miles with the same amount of gas – those are some of the arguments supporting the idea. “This works out as the most logical alternative over the long term” says Lee Munnich, a transportation policy expert at the University of Minnesota. But many are concerned that a device like that would give the government another way of tracking citizens. “Concerns about Big Brother and those sorts of things are a major problem,” said Alauddin Khan, who directs strategic and performance management at the Nevada Department of Transportation. “It was not something people wanted.” There might be a solution. A small California company, called True Mileage has a device that could go in the place of a black box but does show the car’s location. It was originally designed as a way of paying car insurance “per mile”. This technology doesn’t use GPS and only uploads limited amount of information using a modem. “People will be more willing to do this if you do not track their speed and you do not track their location,” said Ryan Morrison, chief executive of True Mileage. The U.S. Senate approved a $90 million pilot project last year that would have involved some 10,000 cars. But the House leadership killed the proposal. Several states are going ahead anyway – Nevada, New York, Oregon and Illinois developed different strategies for testing the technology. The I-95 Coalition, which includes 17 state transportation departments along the Eastern Seaboard (including Florida), is studying how they could go about implementing the change.