Kissimmee, Florida- Arabian Nights Dinner Attraction presents the Grand Opening of new pre-show entertainment for both general admission and VIP guests on March 1, 2011. The new pre-show includes new entertainment and upgrades in both the Great Hall waiting area and the arena.

Through months of evaluation and planning, the Executive Team at Arabian Nights developed a plan to give all guests a more informative look at the horses, provide a broader range of pre-show entertainment and allow guests to be seated and served dinner earlier.

The changes begin in the Great Hall, where a free appetizer buffet is offered to all guests and colorful booths are set up for caricature and henna tattoo artists to perform their services for an additional fee. Guests are greeted by an enthusiastic belly dancer that guides guests in belly dancing and provides a colorful overview of the evening’s events.

After enjoying the activities in the Great Hall, the arena opens approximately 1 hour before show time and the entertainment continues in both the arena and Great Hall.

When the arena opens, VIP guests are invited to partake in the Sneak Peek stable tour as part of their upgraded experience. This allows them to see and interact with many of the beautiful horses in the Arabian Nights stables. Children under the age of 18 are also invited to sit on one of the large draft horses for a perfect photo opportunity.  To ensure that guests arrive in time for the Sneak Peek, VIP guests are strongly encouraged to check in no later than 30 minutes prior to the arena opening.

The youngest members of the audience are also in for a new treat during this time, as all children are invited down into the arena to choose a stick horse and play a variety of games while the Sneak Peek tours are going on.

At approximately 30 minutes prior to show time the Sneak Peek tours and the stick horse games will conclude and guests are asked to return to their seats to place dinner orders and enjoy a new special pre-show performance featuring the horses of Arabian Nights.

In this new pre-show performance, guests are introduced to several of horses that live and work at Arabian Nights. First, guests will see an Arabian Stallion demonstrate his beauty and his kind demeanor, as a special audience member is selected to meet him in the arena. Then guests will learn what it takes to prepare one of the large draft horses for the nightly show. Guests will also see how the Arabian Nights staff works with horses of all sizes to teach them a variety of tricks for the show. Finally, Einstein the talented Mustang will demonstrate a day in the life of an Arabian Nights horse.

At the conclusion of this new pre-show, all guests will be served their dinners, allowing them time to get settled and enjoy their meal before the lights go down for the main event.

For those guests looking for an even more up close and personal experience with the horses a new upgrade option is also available, the Horse Lover Package. This package includes both the VIP Experience and the Backstage Tour following the show, where guests receive a specialty drink in a souvenir cup, a souvenir program and a poster for autographs as well as a guided tour of the backstage and stable area. This package is offered for $40 per person through the Arabian Nights Box Office.

For more information on new upgrades and the pre-show experience, please visit us online at www.Arabian-Nights.com/Upgrades.

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We know this week’s blog was supposed to be about our heroic server but have no fear – that will be next week’s blog topic. On to Melissa! Melissa Royce has been the Director of Human Resources for the past two years – keeping everyone in line and updated is no easy job! Let’s hear how Melissa does it all….

Right before coming to Arabian Nights Melissa was MOD (Manager on Duty) for City Walk, a tough job as you can imagine! Thankfully, she knew an employee here who referred her to Arabian Nights. This isn’t the first time Melissa has been in an HR position for a dinner attraction but we dare say we are her favorite.

Time my day started: Everyday before 6:00a.m. that’s when the kids start leaving for school and they wake me up!

I got into work today around: I would say this is a Monday-Friday 9-5 kinda thing.

First thing I do when I get here is: I always go check the mail box from the night before to make sure there have not been any accidents…..

My “Lunch of Champions”: On most days I have lunch with my “lunch buddies” in the Skybox while we watch the riders practice. (Another perk of working here!) It mostly contains grease and a lot of something fried. We tell ourselves we are going to start walking during lunch but that has yet to happen……

Highlights of my day: With HR you never can tell what the day may hold. Some days are just your normal paper mover days but other days it is a non-stop, never ending dealing with employees issues till you drop thing..

My day usually ends around: I will head out around 5:00p.m. but after making my way out it is more like 5:30 or 6:00-ish.

After work I usually: Call the kids on my way home to make sure the house is still standing..

My favorite part of working here is: THE PEOPLE! (Aww shucks)

Signing of thoughts/comments: I don’t get a lot of contact with our guests.. in the HR world your guests are the people working here and I love each of them in their own ways. Some are a little more “needy” than others but they are each so different and bring such a special blend to our team it is a joy to be a part of such a unique mix of people.

Couldn’t have said it better myself Melissa! Hope you enjoyed getting to know more about our Director of Human Resources as well as all of our other Day in the Life of employees. Remember next week we’ll talk to our life-saving server so be sure to check back with us then!

** More pictures to come for this blog.

Heather has been an integral part of our Reservations team since May 2009. Through her continued dedication to customer service and guest satisfaction she became Reservations Supervisor in August 2010. I think we can all agree that having a caring and efficient Reservations department is a key element in any good attraction. Let’s hear more about Heather and how she achieves this….

Before Arabian Nights, Heather ran the office-side of her father’s home remodeling company. After having her son, she became a stay at home mom for two years then started working again as a pool side server at a few local resorts. Looking for something more stable, Heather stumbled upon our listing and thought it would be a great place to work while in school for Early Childhood Education. Now she is our Reservations Supervisor and never has a dull day!

Time my day started: 6:00 a.m. I get breakfast and coffee ready for my husband before he heads out for school =)

My “Breakfast of Champions”: Scrambled eggs with turkey bacon usually, or when I’m in a rush – Carnation Instant Breakfast Shake.

I got into work today around: 8:30 a.m.

First thing I do when I get here is: I say hello to anyone who is here (usually just a few of us), log into my e-mail and answer any guest questions, do the phone recording for show times and show counts, and input the internet reservations.

Highlights of my day: My favorite times of the day include morning tickle time with my 5-year old son, watching the horses and performers practice for the show during my lunch break, watching late night TV with my husband (some A&E Pawn Stars or Storage Wars anyone?), and taking our little ninja to Tae-Kwon-Do classes. Really anytime I get with my boys is a highlight for me.

My day usually ends around: 5:00 (as long as my line doesn’t ring)

After work I usually: Make dinner, do homework, and play some sonic racing with my little man. Just be a mommy and a wife.

My favorite part of working here is: My employees, they make me laugh and drive me crazy all in the matter of 8 hours but I love them!

Signing off thoughts/

comments: My life is centered around my family and my success. As long as life keeps them with me I’m here for the ride, no matter how hard it is! We should all strive to better ourselves, and make a goal to teach something new to someone everyday……

That’s some good advice Heather!! We can definitely see you take pride in your job and that home is where the heart is. Check out next week’s blog where you’ll get to meet a heroic server and here the story of how she saved someone’s life!