Travel Wires: A magic vacation

Almost a quarter of Kiwi parents (24 per cent) admitted they probably wouldn't invite grandparents, aunties or uncles if it wasn't for the free babysitting. Photo / iStock

Best to steer clear of the Butter Beer before you jump on the new Harry Potter Wizarding World rides at Universal Studios Hollywood. According to reports, employees have been left rather sick by the vigorous ride during testing. Set to open in the coming weeks, the 3D rides promise to "transport you into the world of magic and excitement". We hope the engineers sort the situation; no one wants spew on the sorting hat.

A holiday to die for

Think the Harry Potter ride sounds hardcore? Check out Universal Studios' zombie apocalypse-themed ride. The Walking Dead's creative team has worked with the studio to curate a walk-through maze jam-packed with hungry walkers keen to gnaw on human flesh. Sounds like a bit of us.

A family affair

Expedia.co.nz says there's been a 55 per cent year-on-year increase in searches for family hotel rooms. The online booking agency's annual State of the Nation report also found that 40 per cent of Kiwi travellers had been on holiday with more than one generation of their family in the past two years.

A family affair II

But who foots the bill? Expedia found 41 per cent of Kiwi parents taking multi-generational breaks said the older generation paid the tab for the trip. Women liked the extra sets of hands - 84 per cent saying multi-generational travel makes their holidays more relaxing, versus 70 per cent of men.

A family affair III

Almost a quarter of Kiwi parents (24 per cent) admitted they probably wouldn't invite grandparents, aunties or uncles if it wasn't for the free babysitting. For the record, the whole team here at Travel Wires love all grandparents.

Royal appointment

Royal Caribbean has appointed Australasian chief Gavin Smith to the role of senior vice president international with responsibility for all sales, marketing and commercial operations for the cruise company's brands in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Australasia. Smith opened Royal Caribbean's first Australian office in 2008 and has overseen spectacular growth of the company in this region. Adam Armstrong will replace Smith as Australasian head.

Departure Lounge

We like...

The robot duty-free dispensing machine at the collections point for the Aelia shop at Auckland Airport. If the Terminator-style rise of the machines means that bottles of gin get delivered to humans more efficiently, we say: bring it on!

We don't like...

Trying to buy a cheap data package via Spark in Australia. Here's the procedure:

Click here. Go to this link. Follow this website. Send a text to this number. No! Not that number, dummy. Send another text. Click here again. And click over here for good measure. Give up. Incur massive roaming charges.

Tell us what you like and don't like in the world of travel. Email TRAVEL@NZHERALD.CO.NZ