Today's travel news is all about places where you might find bigger than normal crowds this summer—the Scottish Highlands, Northern Italy's lakes, and the make-believe kingdom of Arendelle. Let's start there . . .
* DISNEY OPENS FROZEN RIDE AT EPCOT (Orlando Sentinel). Do you want to build a snowman? You might want to hug one after standing in the hot Florida sun to get into Walt Disney World's new Frozen ride, which opened this week in Epcot and became an immediate hit. Based on the 2013 animated film, the ride features the sort of sophisticated animatronics, high-tech audiovisual effects, and gentle thrills familiar from Disney kiddie rides featuring beloved characters such as the Seven Dwarfs and Winnie the Pooh. For those lining up to see princesses Anna and Elsa, snowman sidekick Olaf, and the rest of the gang from Frozen, posted wait times at Epcot have been as high as 300 minutes this week.
While you wait, you could watch the entire movie three times in a row.
* WALKING-ON-WATER ARTWORK HUGELY POPULAR IN ITALY (New York Times). The latest large-scale installation by conceptual artist Christo is a 2-mile long walkway covered in saffron-colored fabric and connecting two islands in Northern Italy's Lake Iseo to each other and the mainland. Called "The Floating Piers," it's designed to make you feel like you're walking on water. Attracted by this prospect as well as the fact that the temporary installation is free to the public, visitors have descended on the area by the hundreds of thousands since it opened last Saturday. Organizers had planned on about 40,000 people a day; instead, they've sometimes gotten more than double that, for a total of more than 350,000 water walkers so far.
* WALKING-ON-WATER ARTWORK HUGELY POPULAR IN ITALY (New York Times). The latest large-scale installation by conceptual artist Christo is a 2-mile long walkway covered in saffron-colored fabric and connecting two islands in Northern Italy's Lake Iseo to each other and the mainland. Called "The Floating Piers," it's designed to make you feel like you're walking on water. Attracted by this prospect as well as the fact that the temporary installation is free to the public, visitors have descended on the area by the hundreds of thousands since it opened last Saturday. Organizers had planned on about 40,000 people a day; instead, they've sometimes gotten more than double that, for a total of more than 350,000 water walkers so far.
The influx of tourists has put a strain on the surrounding towns, as well as a strain on the walkway itself, which will now be closed every morning from midnight to 6 a.m. so that maintenance workers can clean and repair the unexpected wear and tear sustained by the saffron fabric. The piece will only be around for a short while; it's scheduled for dismantling on July 3.
* SCOTLAND GETS TOURISM BOOST FROM TV SHOW (Herald Scotland). Tourism in Scotland has grown for the fourth year in a row, and experts think the Starz TV drama Outlander—about a 20th-century British woman who travels in time to the 18th-century Scottish Highlands—has something to do with the increase. The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions credits the lush period romance for boosting interest in sites such as Culloden Battlefield and Doune Castle, both of which have served as locations on the show. Many travel companies in Scotland now offer Outlander-themed tours of the pertinent sites as well.
Unfortunately, none of them guarantees that you'll be swept off your feet by a brawny lad in kilts.
That's all we've got for now. Check back next week for fresh updates.
* SCOTLAND GETS TOURISM BOOST FROM TV SHOW (Herald Scotland). Tourism in Scotland has grown for the fourth year in a row, and experts think the Starz TV drama Outlander—about a 20th-century British woman who travels in time to the 18th-century Scottish Highlands—has something to do with the increase. The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions credits the lush period romance for boosting interest in sites such as Culloden Battlefield and Doune Castle, both of which have served as locations on the show. Many travel companies in Scotland now offer Outlander-themed tours of the pertinent sites as well.
Unfortunately, none of them guarantees that you'll be swept off your feet by a brawny lad in kilts.
That's all we've got for now. Check back next week for fresh updates.