The holidays are a big time for Walt Disney World. The parks are transformed into a winter wonderland—well, a fake one as they are in Florida after all—and the guests pour in through the turnstiles. Some days the park has to limit guest access because there are just too many tourists dreaming of a holiday photo with Mickey and friends. All these people are starting to worry some, especially if these people are coughing, sneezing, and leaving their germs all over Space Mountain.

Thankfully, Disney is ready to combat the spread of germs, and is hoping that their efforts will be enough to convince people that their park is safe. After all, the threat of catching that pesky H1N1 flu is kind of a downer and not the stuff dreams are made of. Thus, Disney World has ordered about 200,000 hand sanitizers—although we're wondering why they haven’t always had some.

At this year’s event you will be trapped by “SAW’s” maniacal serial killer Jigsaw, come face-to-fangs with “The Wolfman” and be chased by the twisted “Chucky” doll.    

And that’s just the beginning: All eight haunted houses, six scarezones and two live shows are inspired by blockbuster horror films. Until now, you’ve only been able to watch the action in horror films like “SAW,” “The Wolfman,” and “Chucky.” But at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, these films and more have been transformed into live experiences that put you in the middle of your worst cinematic nightmares.   

Mickey's giving away free one-day passes to Disney's Theme Parks and all you have to do to get one is spend a day volunteering. Beginning on January 1, 2010, you can sign up to volunteer with any participating organization for just one day, and in return you will receive a one-day pass to any Disney park. Disney is hoping to inspire one million people to volunteer (and spend money at Disney World) next year.

If you're not sure how or where to volunteer, Disney has made it easy by teaming up with HandsOn Network, which links volunteers with more than 70,000 nonprofits across the country. Once you've completed your day of service, it will be verified by HandsOn and you will receive a voucher good for one day at any Disney park.

Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling. Do you feel my heart beating, do you understand?

It's always good to see The Bangles are still out there performing their greatest hits from our pre-adolescence. It's even better to see The Bangles performing for such a good cause like Pinktober at the Hard Rock Hotel Orlando.

Pinktober is the Hard Rock's month-long breast cancer awareness program where guests can book special guestrooms that are outfitted with pink sheets (embroidered with little guitars) and pink bathrobes. Twenty-five percent of the room rate will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.

When superstar athletes win big championship games, the TV cameras always (infamously)

Donnie and Marie might be known for their wholesome perkiness, but they've got nothing on Orlando "Smile Ambassadors" Kyle and Stacey. The cheery duo—Kyle, a Broadway actor, and Stacey, who works with children—hail from New York and have been BFFs for a dozen years and counting. They applied and won their coveted position by submitting an audition video and essay to the 67 Days of Smiles contest, and their merry attitude was deemed good enough to represent the city of Orlando.

On their 67-day journey (they're currently 26 days in), the gleeful twosome are experiencing all of Orlando's 100 attractions, with blog entries and constant Twitter updates (@67days) documenting their every step.

As we near the Oct. 1 drop date on Orlando’s mammoth Hilton Bonnet Creek development, we thought we’d zoom in on what we know about arguably the most important element for guests—the rooms. Yes, all 1,000 of them.

Hilton Bonnet Creek will offer four room varieties, with deluxe rooms and three types of suites: parlor, presidential, and executive. Deluxe guest rooms are a whopping 414 square feet, which includes a seating area and marble bathroom. The marketing material also claims a “contemporary sophisticated décor,” but to be honest, that picture isn’t striking us as the most posh aesthetic we’ve ever seen. Contemporary, sure, but is anyone else a little dizzy from pattern overload, from the

It's hard to believe anything good could come out of Draco Malfoy's mouth but today in a media webcast, Draco (aka actor Tom Felton) let us know that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a 20-acre "fully immersive" theme park attraction would be opening at the Universal Studios Orlando in Spring 2010. Muggles and Wizards rejoice!

Tom Williams, chairman and CEO, Universal Parks and Resorts was joined by Harry Potter films production designer Stuart Craig and show producer Alan Gilmore to give out a special sneak peek of the most anticipated theme park attraction since...hmm...maybe since Disney World opened? You all know how nutty HP fans get over the newest books/films. But imagine what they'll do to experience riding a Hippogriff or sending owl mail or exploring forbidden rooms in Hogwarts Castle?

While we wait for Hilton’s mammoth Bonnet Creek development to welcome its first guests Oct. 1, another new Hilton Orlando opened shop last week, which we had forgotten all about. Confusing! (Seriously, who opens two hotels with pretty much the same name, during a recession?)

This Hilton Orlando is the more “serious” property, with a covered open-air walkway to the Orange County Convention Center and a host of supersize features: 1,400 guest rooms (counting 53 suites), 175,000 square feet of meeting space, seven dining options, and rec amenities designed to help weary biz professionals wind down, including a resort pool, quiet pool, whirlpools, cabanas, lazy river, 15,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, jogging track, and

We are already quite aware of the roller coaster delays at Universal Studios in Orlando, but at least we know it’s coming sooner than later. However, that might not be the case for those of us who love the rides from Steven Spielberg movies. See, the movie director extraordinaire is re-negotiating his contract with park officials—he’s got quite the lucrative consulting contract.

Right now, Spielberg gets a flat fee and a percentage of the cash brought in for attractions at the park. He signed the deal about 20 years ago, so you can imagine that his annual check has probably increased significantly. They never set an expiration date to the agreement, but as of June 2010, he does have the right to cut things off.