Family, travel, mom blog | Theme Park Mom (Leigh Caldwell)

Here’s a theme park concert to respect: Aretha Franklin is singing this weekend at Universal Studios Orlando.

The Queen of Soul performs March 13 as part of Universal Orlando’s Mardi Gras celebration, which runs Saturdays through April 17. Mardi Gras means Cajun cuisine, authentic New Orleans music, concerts, and, of course, a parade with plenty of bead throwing.

The Mardi Gras parade starts at 8 p.m. Saturday night, and Aretha’s concert will begin at 8:30 p.m.

The concert lineup for the rest of the Mardi Gras season includes:

• March 20: Miranda Lambert
• March 27: 3 Doors Down
• April 3: Beach Boys
• April 9: Sheryl Crow
• April 10: Flo Rida
• April 17: Chicago

Universal is running a special hotel package in conjunction with Mardi Gras this spring: Book 3 nights and get 2 more free. You can still book this package online through the end of March.

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You can now book a room at the brand-new Coco Key Water Resort in Orlando, which opens April 15.

The resort has 386 rooms and is built for families, with dozens of options such as two-bedroom suites and rooms that connect side-to-side or back-to-back. Larger families that book adjoining rooms will get a $30 price break over the cost of two individual rooms.

And then there’s the water park! CoCo Key Water Resort will have 8 water slides, children’s play areas, a teen area and a quiet pool zone, all under a canopy.

There’s also a full-service restaurant, food court and grab and go market on the property, so plenty of options for eating.

Here’s how the pricing works: You book your hotel rooms (rates range from $99 to $149 per night), and then pay an additional $19 per day, per room resort fee, which covers unlimited access to the water park for up to four people, as well as your in-room Internet and other children’s activities at the hotel.

This new hotel and water park is centrally located on International Drive in Orlando. Coco Key will offer free transportation to and from Universal Studios Orlando, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica and Wet n’ Wild. It’s about a 20-minute drive away from Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney World has announced a series of new additions at Downtown Disney, a shopping and entertainment complex at the resort.

First up is the new store RIDEMAKERZ, which is opening March 25 on the Downtown Disney West Side. Shoppers can trick out their own remote-controlled car in an interactive environment. This store is open for a limited time, with plans to close it in the fall. The RIDEMAKERZ at Disneyland is apparently a big hit. Sounds like fun!

Another new store, D Street, will sell urban apparel, accessories and Vinylmation figures.  D Street comes after the successful launch of Tren-D on the opposite end of Downtown Disney. Disney says the store will have an industrial look and will showcase Disney-inspired art by local artists. D Street will open in April.

Downtown Disney’s AMC movie theater is also undergoing renovations. One of the theaters is getting a larger, floor-to-ceiling screen and video and audio enhancements to make for better 3D viewing. The changes will be done just in time for Friday’s Alice in Wonderland premiere.

And a new quick-service restaurant – Pollo Campero — will open in the space that was once a McDonalds. Pollo Campero will dish up chicken, yuca fries and sweet plantains, as well as Latin drinks such as horchata and tamarindo. The new restaurant is scheduled to open this fall at Downtown Disney.

Boys Like Girls

The Bamboozle Road Show, a rock and pop festival, will be making stops at five Six Flags theme parks this summer.

The headliners for the shows include Boys Like Girls, All Time Low, Third Eye Blind, LMFAO, Forever the Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte and Simple Plan.

These concert festivals are all-day events with two stages – one featuring a rotation of headline acts and a second featuring up-and-coming performers.

“The Bamboozle Roadshow is one of the hottest tickets in music and we are very excited to be a part of this year’s tour,” said Dan Weinberg, Six Flags VP of Entertainment.

The acts will vary by park — not all headliners will be at every show. Specific artist information has not been released yet.

Here are the dates for the Bamboozle shows at Six Flags:

• May 23: Six Flags over Georgia (Atlanta)
• May 29: Six Flags over Texas (Arlington)
• May 30: Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio)
• June 13: Six Flags St. Louis
• June 24: Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, N.J.)

Tickets are already on sale for Six Flags season passholders. They go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 5 at SixFlags.com.