Well Christmas is here again and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year for 2011. Glad to say that Florida is not having the snow that the UK is having with more than a foot falling. Although I have been told it has been a lot cooler this year than past years…

I hope that everyone who has been lucky enough to go to Florida, this Christmas was able to get there without too much trouble or with any flight delays or cancellations.

 For us - we are here in the UK for the 1st time in 5years – How lovely. Sure I would have much rather been in Florida Never mind.

Let’s just hope that you have your Holiday well planed if it is over the Christmas and New Year time – lots of places such as “Old Town” and Celebration will have free entertainment.

At Celebration they have a band playing which you can sit and listen to or you can walk around the stalls and shops Celebration also has wine bars and restaurants open till late – a good selection of shops with plenty of extra Christmas ideas and that little something special to take back home with you - they have the Snow fall on the hour, which is entertainment in its self. With horse and carts rides - The little train which will take you around Celebration and then there is the water shoots for the children to play in- remember to bring a change of clothes for them or a towel to dry off with. And of course there is Santa to see – he and his helpers will be found down by the lake, a great opportunity to have a fantastic family photo.

If you’re planning to go to the parks be sure to get there early – once the parks are full they will close the gates to you. I have known this to be as early has 10.00am in the morning be prepared for a long day!!   Eat well and drink plenty. All well worth it – the fireworks are fantastic and the atmosphere is thrilling.

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New year to you all!

From November 20th, 2010 to January 2nd, The Gaylord Palms Hotel will be the place to go for a real Christmas Treat. Orlando’s coolest holiday attraction is a wonder world of sculptures, hand carved from nearly TWO MILLION pounds of ice.

Inside the atrium, you can explore a whimsical winter wonderland of larger-than-life, three-dimensional hand-carved ice monuments and sculptures, including fantastic frozen creations, slippery ice slides, and memorable holiday scenes. The theme for 2010 is ‘T’was the Night Before Christmas’.

On our last visit we were amazed at the scenes but this year for the first time, A SNOW  show should make it even better. It’s advertised as a North Pole Extravaganza, fun for kids and adults! Experiencing a snow play area, complete with carnival-style games including “Frosty Ring Toss,” “Elf Bowling,” a snowball throw game and carnival themed food carts with snow cones, cotton candy and their very special “snowberrys.” There’s even a Kiddie Snow Tube Run!

In addition to ICE! and SNOW!, Gaylord Palms offers an entire choice of holiday revelry, including a majestic Christmas tree, live stage entertainment, holiday dining and 4.5 acres of holiday decorations.

The Dining choice is why this is our favourite place to eat. We have never been disappointed with either the food or the price, it is great value and certainly worth a visit for that special occasion. Do not forget to get your receipt for your meal, ”Endorsed” by the waiter, as this is needed for Free Parking.

Wishing you all a Very Special Christmas & Best Wishes for the 2011.

Mary & Larry

Gaylord Plams are now advertising their Christmas Ice & Snow event.

We attended last christmas and it was great. So do not miss out.

We even decided to eat there on the day we visited on the boat on the lake inside the hotel. The food was really good. It is worth considering eating otherwise you have to pay for parking.

Give it a go!

The time flies by and it is already time for the Special “Mickey Nights” over the coming holiday periods. They are so popular with regular visitors and a big hit with first timer’s we would like to bring the event scheduels to you all.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a Halloween-themed special event held on select dates in Magic Kingdom. You have to buy an additional event admission ticket to attend Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. The evenings will be held from 7pm-12am.

Guests of all ages are encouraged to dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes but buy these at Walmart before you go into Disney as they are much much cheaper. Also you should load up with your Trick or Treat goodies before you go. It really is a Great Family night. There are special entertainment features at certain Disney attractions. Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade—including Disney Characters and the stars of the Haunted Mansion. The parade begins with a spook-tacular ride by the Headless Horseman.    Happy HalloWishes, a spectacular fireworks show where the Disney Villains go trick-or-treating in the sky. Many favorite Disney Characters and Disney Villains in special Halloween costumes. The special lighting, music and theming effects transforms special areas of Magic Kingdom theme park into happy haunted hollows. However, typical Disneylike the tone of the event is, well, “Not-So-Scary” and is appropriate for children of all ages. Dates:- Monday October 11,

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Friday, October 22, 2010

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Friday, October 29, 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is probably the most popular and the most spectactular, also at The Magic Kingdom. Again, there is an extra charge for the Special nights. The Christmas festive celebration is filled with extra live entertainment, spectacular fireworks and an extra special holiday parade. The enchanted Castle Dream Lights on Cinderella’s Castle are absolutely breathtaking, make sure you camera batteries are charged. Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade, complete with a special appearance by Santa Claus himself. Live entertainment featuring Disney Characters and more chances to meet and greet your own favourites. Make the most of a rare Dieney Freebie with Complimentary cookies and hot cocoa before the  magical snow fall on Main Street.

Dates Monday, November 8, 2010

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Friday, November 12, 2010

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Friday, November 19, 2010

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Friday, December 3, 2010

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Friday, December 10, 2010

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Friday, December 17, 2010

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Both Specials are good fun and value but because of Cinderella’s Castle and the Snow on Main Street, Mickey’s Christmas nights are our favourite and not to be missed.

Happy Holidays

Mary & Larry 

Every Christmas for the last few years there has been a spectacular event held at Gaylord Palms, called Ice. This features spectacular ice sculptures and lasts around 7 weeks – from November to just after Christmas.  My family and I went there recently and had a really memorable visit.

To create the displays, Gaylord Palms selects around 40 Chinese artisans, who are chosen from the participants in the International Ice and Snow Festival which takes place in China every year. It takes around one month for them to complete the wonderful display.

The walkways are carpeted and both wheelchairs and strollers can be accommodated. There are a limited number of wheelchairs available for rent if you prefer not to bring one of your own.

They do have a pre show before you actually get into the exhibit with entertainment.  You can also meet Santa.  They have a computer outside the exhibit where you can send an email to him if you don’t want to see him. 

Some interesting trivia they provided us:

48,000 pounds is the weight of the ice used to create the giant Santa Claus.

They have special programs where you can propose to your girlfriend or actually have a wedding at ICE!

5000 blocks of ice that are hand carved to create the exhibit. They come in a dozen different colors.

1500 specially designed LED tube lights that are frozen in the ice.

More than 18,000 square feet of space is used for the ICE! Exhibit.

The unique structure housing “Ice”, is also known as the “Florida Fridge.”  It is believed to be the first of its kind in North America.

In all they use a staggering two million pounds of ice to create the displays which are kept at a chilly nine degrees Fahrenheit.

Three kinds of ice are needed to make the sculptures. White ice has the appearance of compacted snow and this effect is created by freezing the water very quickly which lends an opaque appearance to the ice.

Crystal Ice is made from de-ionized water that has been multi filtered. Each 400 pound ice block uses 45 gallons of water and takes around 72 hours to freeze.

Colored Ice is made by simply adding a bright colorant that makes a nice contrast to the brilliant white of the un-dyed ice.

Threaded among the displays are thousands of twinkling lights that add sparkle to the snow.

There is a wall where you can touch the ice to see how cold it is, but you are politely requested not to touch the exhibits as all those warm hands will obviously eventually melt away parts of them away. 

There are incredible photo opportunities throughout the entire exhibition.  There is a 13 foot Santa carved out of ice.  You can pose for a picture with Santa.  There is a larger than life Gingerbread house which is another picture taking spot. Just be aware that the lens on your camera can fog up because of the cold temperatures. Be sure your camera batteries are charged because they drain quicker in colder temperatures.

Outside there is a skating rink and you will be pleased to learn that they supply you with skates for this.

You may be wondering if you can take all the cold when you are dressed in shorts and t-shirts? Well they have thought of that too and supply you with very warm clothing. The oversized parkas they give you kept my family and I very warm.  It is still a good idea to wear trainers or similar to keep the feet warm, and perhaps gloves as well.  There are no pockets in the parkas, and so ensure you have somewhere to put your car keys, wallet etc.

After the attraction, the hot chocolate is very welcoming as well.

There is the usual gift shop to visit and we feel it is always nice to take home a Christmas decoration that will remind you of your visit to ‘ Ice at Gaylord Palms’.

Prices are approximately $20 for an adult and $10 for a child.

Our flight arrived early at JFK airport and it then took 2 hours in a crowded and stuffy immigration hall to get through. We had a booked a shuttle bus to get to our hotel in Manhattan that was easy enough but by the time he had set off, come back to the airport to pick up more customers and picked up more on the way it was rush hour and it took another 2 hours to get to the city, 15 miles away! So an inauspicious start but once we got there it was fantastic.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on W 45th Street which couldn’t have been better placed for Times Square and 5th Avenue. The rooms were a little smaller than usual so with four of us in there it was a bit of a crush but we only slept there so it was fine.

We had 2 great days sightseeing both on the open top bus and on foot. We went to the Top of the Rock which was amazing, you could see the whole city for miles around, we also went on a boat trip around the island so we could see it from the East River and the Hudson River. It was very, very cold! You really do need thermal underclothes. The Christmas decorations and shop window displays were awesome, very impressive.

We also visited Central Park and watched the ice skating. Then on the Saturday before Christmas it was time for the Orlando part of our holiday and we were all ready for some sunshine. Unfortunately when we got to JFK all flights had been cancelled due to the incoming bad weather, there wasn’t a flake of snow at that point. Again we stood in line for 2 hours to be told we had been allocated a flight on Monday morning. Bad news but at least we weren’t on standby.

We then had to find a hotel and it really was a case of there being no room at the Inn. The only room we could get was at La Guardia airport 6 miles away which we took. Another 2 nights of sharing a room, eating takeaway food as there was nowhere to go and just kicking our heels in Queens! Actually there was a shuttle bus to a shopping mall so at least we got out for a while, by that time the snow had arrived and it was bad everywhere.

We finally got to our villa in Florida on Monday afternoon, greatly relieved to have actually got there and to feel the warm sunshine. Although the weather in Florida this winter has been colder than usual, for us at was positively balmy!

We bought our tickets in advance and printed them off at home. That saved some time at the gates.

We entered the park to be met with different street zones that were not only scary but amusing as well. There were also six haunted houses to visit. Meet Cleaver was our favourite.

My wife has never screamed so much - she nearly lost her voice. The ticket also let us visit on two nights so we did not have to worry too much about getting in all the houses on one night as there was some queuing.

All in all a scary halloween in the heat of Florida at 80 degrees.

Well worth the trip

ICE! at Gaylord Palms

This is a truly memorable place to visit and one you will never forget.  We visited this atttraction a couple of years ago with my two young children and it was spectacular.  It very different to anything that we had visited before and the children really enjoyed themselves. 

ICE is an attraction made entirely out of “Ice”.  The attraction’s main scene is a life-size Nativity carved completely of crystal-clear ice.  There are sleighs and reindeers where you can sit in the sleigh and have your photo taken.  There are also great slides which the children (or even the parents) can go down, all made out of ice!

Be prepared though it gets extremely cold in the attraction and you are supplied with Parka coats - do wear them as I have never experienced cold like that before.  Also wear closed in shoes/trainers. 

ICE! is open daily, including holidays.  Event hours vary throughout “ICE! season.”  For further information visit the website http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-palms/best-of-florida-christmas/index.html?source=http://www.gaylordpalms.com/ice

SeaWorld The Polar Express Experience

Guests are invited to jump aboard The Polar Express Experience at SeaWorld for a magical trip to the North Pole.  SeaWorld’s Wild Arctic transforms into a thrilling expedition to the fabled Santa Town. The Polar Express Experience is based on the film from Warner Bros.  The Polar Express Experience provides guests with lighting, scent, sound and motion to transport them to the North Pole … and into the spirit of the season.

When guests arrive at their destination, they step off the train and into the movie itself. Temperatures drop and holiday spirits soar as the travelers arrive at the frozen North Pole, complete with towering Christmas tree, gift-laden sleigh, village decor and Santa himself. The journey continues as guests also encounter other inhabitants of the North Pole — the animals themselves — including graceful beluga whales, powerful polar bears and giant walruses.

Visit http://www.seaworld.com/ for further information.

Christmas in Magic Kingdom

We have visited Magic Kingdom during a many trips to Orlando, but I do love going there during Christmas time.  You get lots of Christmas sprit along Main Street, where you will find Disney elves have decked the halls with towering Christmas trees, colourful lights, bows and garland. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, toy soldiers, and giant gingerbread men greet guests during special daytime runs of “Mickey’s Once Upon a ChristmastimeParade.” The parade is included in regular park admission on select dates.  Pls visit the website for further details.

This is only a few ideas of what to do. Just enter “Christmas in Orlando” on the Interet and you will find plenty of information. 

Happy Holiday!!! 

But one thing we reckon is better than shopping at great prices - is shopping at even lower prices!

Thanksgiving

European visitors to Florida may not be too familiar with Thanksgiving.  It is a major celebration for Americans, and is the fourth Thursday in November.  A few shops continue trading for the day, but the majority of shops and many restaurants close for the day.

The Thanksgiving sales traditionally start on the Friday following Thanksgiving.  But be prepared for an early start - the best bargains are to be had at 5am (yes, really, 5am - that’s 5 o’clock in the morning.  The middle of the night!).

But is it worth an early start?  Many Americans certainly think so, as the shops are busy from the start.

Where to shop

The choice of where to shop for bargains is overwhelming.  The best way to find out where the best offers are is to buy the local newspaper ‘The Orlando Sentinel’ during the week before Thanksgiving.  The Sunday edition is packed with adverts for all the local stores, and makes great reading over a cold drink, lazing by the pool at your villa.  Examples of shops which have fabulous discounts are Wal-Mart, Super Target, Michaels, Best Buy……and many others.

What to buy

Villa owners are often to be found buying electronic goods.  Brand name televisions, video and DVD players enable them to provide extra luxury for guests.  We were delighted to pick up an additional DVD and video combination unit for just $48 (typical price in the UK at the time £75 or much higher).  But these may not be so attractive to visitors from overseas, who have different voltage to contend with.  European visitors may look for portable items such as laptop computers, MP3 players - but do check the voltage required to recharge the batteries.

To avoid concern about voltages, there are bargains to be had on toys, crafts (40% off any one item, or 20% off total bills are typical offers) etc.  DVDs and music are often on offer (the Shrek 2 DVD for $5 was a welcome addition to our choice of films - usual cost of Blockbuster films around $14, which is still great value) - but don’t forget to check if your DVD player at home plays Region 1 discs.

Getting up early

These bargains require a very early start - numbers are limited (but still there are often many hundreds of each item).  We recommend shopping, and then catching up with breakfast at one of the excellent offerings, such as the I-HOP (International House of Pancakes)

During the holiday period at Epcot, from November 27th - December 30th. the Park is transformed into an International Celebration of Christmas traditions from throughtout the World. It is highlighted by the Candlelight Procession with the live entertainment and decorations a sight to not to be missed.

Candlelight processional is held on Selected Nights at The American Gardens Theatre, telling Christmas stories narrated by Celebrity Speakers, accompanied by a 50 piece orchestra and a Full Mass Choir. Whoopi Goldberg is one of the narrators this year. It is very popular, as you can imagine and fills up very quickly, so you need to get there early. You can pre book with a meal package which guarantees your seat at the show and the fireworks. (We didn’t and took our chance by getting there early). 

It is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit and to see and share the magic feelings with people from all over the world but most importantly, your own family. It is truely an amazing atmosphere which we will share again when our next visit takes in Christmas.

Add this to you “Must Do” list, not forgetting The Osborne Lights.

Have a great Christmas at Disney

Mary & Larry