Yep, that’s the “Harry Potter Forbidden Journey” ride at Universal in Florida. Buckle up and pull down your harness, for a virtual roller coaster ride on Green in Amusement Parks. Smart Green Travel, hears from America’s biggest Amusement Parks and their Green steps to sustainability in the most wild places.

From Walt Disney World’s 30 tons of food grown at Epcot each month, to Sea Worlds  OSHA Whale Trainer accident investigation, to  Six Flags new baby dolphins in Vallejo, and the beautiful story of what happened to Mom, and one of her baby boy dolphins, when he was born.

Male Penguins, have got it rough! When you visit the newly updated Penguin exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, visit the Penguins for more than ten minutes. Witness the relentless testing of the females during the creation of her nest, insisting that he help her build the nest on her complicated terms. The male penguin, tirelessly, works each long day, hauling twigs and eggs up the mountain, drops them in front of her, and awaits her approval.  She often declines and forces him to leave, once again, down the mountain, to then return to the nest, with something more to her liking. They are monogamous, and the female is testing her mates endurance, as husband, and father, as he spends all day, for many weeks, climbing a small mountain, in the exhibit, pushing wooden eggs and twigs, up to the Mother’s nest,  only to have her reject his efforts repeatedly. Back down the hill he goes, to start the process all over again.  Male Penguins repeat this pattern countless times a day, and have the most exhausting schedule  I’ve ever witnessed of any animals in captivity. Watch them right now LIVE on the PenguinCAM

The Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco is also dazzling. Nearly 10 years and $500 million dollars in the making, it’s finally here. The new Academy is a masterpiece in sustainable architecture, blends seamlessly into the park’s natural setting, and is filled with hundreds of innovative exhibits and thousands of extraordinary plants and animals.

A  Smart Green Trip down memory lane leads you to memories on the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. One of the last standing Boardwalks in California, still exists, because of the “Green mindset and pride and unity amongst the staff, mixed with a deep conviction and passion, that sustains and attracts millions of us, to this Bay Area time capsule again and again.  The fun is hearing about the new Haunted Castle, the cool Surfer lighthouse museum, that’s open to the public, and just the simplicity, of our historical and nostalgic  Boardwalk

What’s Green?, and what’s new for the entire family at Green Amusement Parks in America,

How bout that “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” at Universal Studios? What aspect of the Wizarding World are you most excited for? What do you hope they include in the park from the books or movies?

Part 1 run time 26 minutes

Smart Green Travel with Jerry Hart

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Part 2 run time 26 minutes

Smart Green Travel with Jerry Hart

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Guests:

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Director of Community Relations
Kris Reyes

Walt Disney World
Lead Environmental Green Director
Tammy Brister

Six Flags
Communications Director
Nancy Chan

Monterey Bay Aquarium
Allison Barrett Community Association
Director

San Francisco Green Drinks
Generation Green
Founder
Missi Hurt

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