Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.
It’s understandable that most frequent travellers will instinctively shy away from “ultra low-cost carriers”. With limited service both in terms of the amount of daily flights, and the actual service they offer, they are generally far from the best, nor most reliable ways to travel. But every so often, a deal is too good to…
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Families and Disney fans have a reason to celebrate today, because after two and a half decades of operation, the Disney Cruise Line is finally set to arrive in Australia and New Zealand in late 2023. The only bad news? It’s for a limited time only. In operation since 1998, the Disney Cruise Line has…
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I haven’t flown American Airlines since before the pandemic, but recently I had the chance to jump on their regional “American Eagle” service between DC and Toronto. So what is their in flight offering now? And what Covid-19 precautions remain in place? Here’s a look at the experience on that service. Flight Number: AA 5667…
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Cirque Du Soleil’s first brand new production since the pandemic, Drawn To Life, is also their first official Walt Disney collaboration. This is despite having had a theatre on the Disney Springs grounds in Orlando since 1998. The beautiful space was their first custom built, permanent venue and residency outside of Las Vegas, with the…
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In what became some of the hottest tickets of the year, the first of two concerts celebrating the 25th anniversary of South Park was held tonight just outside of Denver, Colorado, at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The shows are being filmed to air later this week on US network Comedy Central, the home of…
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Many will know the Hard Rock brand for having delivered music themed cafes/restaurants around the world for the last 50 years – including recently closed locations in Sydney* and on the Gold Coast. However, the brand’s true star power these days is found in their hotel & casino brand. With locations from Sentosa Island in…
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It’s no secret that flying out of Toronto Pearson International is currently fraught with issues and delays. In fact, you may have seen the airport make headlines for having the most delays – affecting more than 50% of outbound flights – of any airport in the world. Simply put, due in large part to short…
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Having opened in September 2019, the Moxy East Village sits as one of the newer hotels in the ever-booming Manhattan – and the most recent of the four Moxy by Marriott hotels to open in the city. For those unfamiliar with the Moxy Hotels brand, they are designed around being playful and affordable, with carefully,…
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Pre-pandemic, a long time favourite offering by the U.A.E. carrier Etihad Airways were the free stopovers in their home city, Abu Dhabi. It was one of the many things taken away from us during the pandemic, due to the country’s travel restrictions – but now the airline is returning the offer to service! Known as…
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While Disney try to figure out what went wrong with their highly anticipated, but seemingly disappointing Star Wars Hotel, they are also celebrating a similar concept they have very much gotten right: Space 220. Located at Disney’s Epcot in Orlando, and built above the long running Mission: SPACE attraction that gives guests the experience of…
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With Baz Luhrmann’s anticipated new film Elvis hitting cinemas in Australia and around the world, I flew out to The King’s home city of Memphis, Tennessee, to see the real life locations that Luhrmann and his team re-created when they filmed back in Australia. These are the six essential places to go and things to…
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When Universal Studio Florida’s second gate, Islands of Adventure opened 23 years ago in 1999, it looked destined to be holy ground for roller coasters in Florida. I distinctly remember the TV ads showing The Incredible Hulk coaster weaving its way over the body of water that sits at the centre of the park. It…
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While other theme parks have long focused on making their roller coasters bigger, better and faster, Disney has generally tried to answer the question: what can we do that no one else has tried before? Of course, not ever new addition to the park has ticked this box, but of late, that trend has picked…
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It’s summer 2019. The weather is perfect. The window is down and I am cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway. It’s my first time on this section of the highway, taking me from the south of the US state of Oregon, up to the capital in Portland. It’s by no means the only way to…
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I’ve been lucky enough to be a regular visitor at Disneyland, California, since I was a little kid. For me, the joy of attending it has never waivered; it is the “Happiest Place on Earth” after all, so even without the nostalgia, it’s a place that guarantees a pretty magical time. But for many years,…
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Not far from Grand Central Station in New York City sits a striking, tall and thin 35 floor building with four distinct colour strips on it. This is EVEN Hotel’s New York Midtown East location, one of four IHG have for the growing brand in New York. You enter on the ground floor and are…
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A recently remarried Jack White took to the stage last night in Brooklyn’s Barclay Stadium, as part of his North American tour for the brilliant new album Fear of the Dawn – one of the iconic Detroit musician’s finest to date, and the first of two albums he’s set to release this year. The 2…
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The annual Ohana Festival, a festival born in 2016 on the beaches of California, has dropped its 2022 lineup – and it’s a beauty! Over three days, and as many stages, on a 14,500 capacity beach in Orange County, California, the event is set to feature some of the most iconic names in music, joining…
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One of our favourite international events, Pickathon, which takes place quite literally in the woods outside of Portland, Oregon, has just announced its 2022 lineup. The annual festival takes place at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon, and is such a unique and magnificent event we gave no less than five stars to their last…
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Leading into the pandemic, it had been a pretty busy few years at Disney Parks in the USA, with Pandora – The World of Avatar in 2017 and Toy Story Land in 2018 – both in Orlando – and then the gradual launch of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and its two accompanying rides, in both…
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At the end of the 1980s, Walt Disney World in Orlando was booming; overtaking the swampland they acquired for “The Florida Project” while founder Walt Disney was still alive with no less than three parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and what is now known as Hollywood Studios (on its opening in 1989, it was the Disney-MGM…
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Being the home of so much of the entertainment we enjoy daily, it’s no surprise that Hollywood is filled with experiences made especially for film and TV lovers. And they’re adding new ones all the time. We’re not talking about celebrity house hunting with TMZ or your local movie star maps here. These are experiences…
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When it was announced that the Foo Fighters made a comedy horror movie in lockdown, it didn’t feel much of a surprise to those of us who grew up watching the band make quirky music videos or Devilish cameos in a Tenacious D movie. But a music video this is not – so the question…
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You’d be forgiven for thinking the photo above is taken in the famed blue waters of Lake Louise in Banff, Alberta. It is, after all, one of Canada’s most photographed destinations. Alas, it is not alone in its regal beauty. Sitting three hours or so north of Vancouver, just past Whistler and Pemberton, the Joffre…
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We’ve spoken a lot over the years about the differing experiences flying Canada’s two main airlines – Westjet and Air Canada – as well as the shorter range journeys with Porter. But on a recent trip between Montreal and Toronto, I decided to try one of Canada’s more recently established budget (“Ultra Low Cost”) carriers…
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On the day when Australians are set to celebrate the best music of the last year courtesy of the ARIAs (airing tonight at 7.30pm), one of the night’s big performers has also enjoyed the news that he’s nominated for Best New Artist at the mother-flipping Grammy Awards in the USA. That artist is none other…
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Millions around the world have already experienced Imagine Van Gogh – a reimagining of the way we immerse ourselves in the pieces of an adored artist, usually limited by the finite nature of their work. 3.5 million tickets have been sold in North America alone, and the concept is currently in Brisbane as it tours Australia…
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In Toronto, after enduring the world’s longest continuous COVID-19 lockdown – accumulating almost 400 days by the time indoor dining restrictions came to an end earlier this month – we’re finally coming out of what we hope are the darkest days of the pandemic. Vaccination rates are approaching 80% – placing us amongst the most…
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Earlier this month, Toronto’s central Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport re-opened for the first time to travellers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the airport’s primary commercial carriers, Porter Airlines, resumed domestic services. The airport – which I’ve previously called one of the world’s most convenient – is unique due to its location…
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Three Australian artists today find themselves amongst the 38 international winners of the 2021 US-based Unsigned Only Music Competition. Singer/songwriter Alexander Biggs (Melbourne, VIC) and EDM artist du0 (Brisbane, QLD) have both been awarded First Place in their respective categories. Biggs was awarded First Place for the song “Madeleine” in the Folk/Singer-Songwriter category, while du0…
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