Orlando Informer Weekly Dispatch: April 28

OI Universal Center updates: April 28 – May 4, 2013

Greetings, vacation planners! Prepare to UPGRADE YOUR ADVENTURE to Universal Orlando with our Weekly Dispatch. This is a summary of all the latest Universal news and activity on our site. Please note that these updates are listed from newest to oldest:

5/4 – We continue to update our Transformers page with the very latest information. Recent news includes Universal’s confirmation that Passholders will be offered “exclusive ride times” to experience the new attraction. In addition, we’re super excited to announce that Orlando Informer is giving away a $300 Universal Orlando gift card on June 20, the grand opening day of Transformers! You can Learn all about Transformers or, if you want that gift card, head straight to our gift card entry form.

5/4 – Special event: Universal CityWalk invites guests to celebrate Cinco de Mayo north of the border at Latin Quarter, with festive live entertainment — including the driving rhythms of the live band, The Fuego, and the beats of DJ Leony — great drink specials, and authentic Mexican food! Visit our Universal Snapshot page to find out more.

5/4 – The full lineup for Universal’s Summer Concert Series 2013 has been announced: NE-YO, Big Time Rush, Gavin DeGraw, Earth Wind & Fire, Adam Lambert, and Kip Moore. See our Summer Concert Series page for more information about the bands and how to get the best seats for each performance.

5/3 – Orlando Informer was invited by WESH News, our local NBC affiliate, to discuss Universal’s plan to expand Harry Potter at their parks. While our phone interview was 15 minutes long, just a few quotes made it into the final piece. Nevertheless it is a great report, and we assume they got most of their info from our interview and our incredibly detailed page dedicated to the Harry Potter expansion at Universal!

5/3 – Crowd calendar update: The grand opening of Transformers: The Ride has been set for June 20, and we have updated our crowd predictions to reflect the additional guests that will certainly be drawn to the park for technical rehearsals and the official opening. Also, since it is the start of the new month, we’ve added April 2014. See it all

5/2 – It is official: Transformers will celebrate its grand opening at Universal Studios Florida on June 20. To make the announcement, Universal updated the 80-foot tall ad appearing on the side of the Fairwinds Credit Union tower in downtown Orlando — take a look. To learn about technical rehearsals and everything else there is to know, visit our Transformer: The Ride page.

5/1 – Universal ScreenPlay, the new augmented reality entertainment app that Universal released about a month ago, is now available in the UK stores for Android and iPhone. And remember, Universal activated free public wifi in part of Universal Studios Florida to encourage you to use the app — visit this OI Blog post to learn more.

4/30 – I’m very excited to announce that April is officially our site’s busiest month ever with over 400,000 pageviews by more than 125,000 unique visitors. We look forward to helping so many more families plan the perfect vacation to to Universal Orlando Resort — and just in time for Transformers to open! Learn how you can start using our FREE online guide to Universal’s theme parks right now.

Transformers grand opening announced in downtown Orlando. — Transformers are coming. Win a $300 Universal gift card and prepare for battle.

New on the Orlando Informer Blog

Along with our encyclopedia of Universal Orlando vacation planning information, our weekly blog posts also provide you with an entertaining and informative way to learn more about everything there is to do in Orlando. Here are our new posts:

The TODAY Show to film live at Universal Orlando May 23 as part of their Great American Adventure

OI Share: How to make the most of Early Park Admission to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Brits Guide: Why Sanford International Airport is our arrival point of choice

FastPasses at Walt Disney World: Top 10 things to know before you go

THE BIG 5: Top five Extreme Eats at Universal Orlando

Star Wars Weekends returns to Disney’s Hollywood Studios May 17 – June 9; Ray Park, Warwick Davis among celebrity guests scheduled to appear

Rumor round-up for May 3, 2013: Hogwarts Express tracks revealed, MagicBands delayed, Tangled charging stations closed, Captain EO quits