In blender, I know of no there is no difference between curves and paths. I believe that a few things could be happening.

1. Make sure that the orbs are children of the curve
   
2. See that Data > Path Animation is checked
   
3. You might also want the Frames value under Data > Path Animation to be equal to the length of your animation.

If all of these are done, and it is still not working, please upload your .blend file.

In blender, I know of no difference between curves and paths. I believe that a few things could be happening.

1. Make sure that the orbs are children of the curve
   
2. See that Data > Path Animation is checked
   
3. You might also want the Frames value under Data > Path Animation to be equal to the length of your animation.

If all of these are done, and it is still not working, please upload your .blend file.