Plan Your Florida Vacation
The aim of this blog is to provide as much information about things to see and do whilst you are on the holiday of a lifetime in the vacation capital of the world - The Sunshine State of Florida.
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The Best Things For Free!
Posted on February 20th, 2009 3 commentsWritten by: Sharon Wilmshurst
Authors WebsiteWhile it is usually the case that ‘you get what you pay for,’ there are a handful of things which don’t cost you a penny in Orlando, which may be worth building into your holiday plan as a little ‘extra’ when you need a breather from the parks (or you simply want to stop spending money for a while!).
Peabody Duck March: at 11am or 5pm, the Peabody Hotel on International Drive puts out the red carpet for their resident ducks as they arrive or leave their lobby fountain ‘home’.
Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards: try a free wine-tasting tour at Lakeridge, in nearby Clermont, from10am-5pm Mon–Sat, or 11am-5pm Sun. http://www.lakeridgewinery.com/
Disney’s Boardwalk Resort: free nightly entertainment includes jugglers, comedy skits and live music. You can also see much of the 9pm IllumiNations fireworks from nearby Epcot.
Morse Museum: this superb little museum in Winter Park (just to the north of Orlando) features American paintings, ceramics and representative arts from the 19th and 20th centuries and is free from 4-8pm every Friday Sept-May.
SkyVenture: in the heart of the International Drive tourist strip is this huge blue and yellow tower where people pay to go ‘skydiving’ (which is actually great fun). However, if you just want to watch (which can be VERY entertaining), there is no entry fee.
Lake Eola Park: in the heart of downtown Orlando, the kids can play or feed the swans, and there is live musical entertainment in summer at the Disney Amphitheater.
Fort Christmas Historical Park: 20 miles (32km) east of Orlando in the town of Christmas is this replica of an 1837 US Army fort, with exhibits, video presentations and restored homes, and special events at some weekends.
Leu Gardens: again, just north of downtown Orlando, these lovely gardens, with wildlife, nature trails and the 1880s’ Leu House Museum, are free every Monday from 9am-noon.
Sanford Museum: for some quaint history of central Florida, this town to the north of Orlando (where many UK charter flights arrive) has a well-presented local museum from the personal collections of founder Henry S Sanford (11am-4pm Tue–Fri).
Old Town, Kissimmee: www.old-town.com/classic_shows.shtml Car buffs should definitely attend the biggest weekly vintage car parade in the US, with a parade at 8.30pm every Saturday.
Downtown Disney: Downtown Disney Marketplace is where you can pass the hours away shopping, and where you can find the biggest Disney Store on earth. It is free to enter all day and all night long. Downtown Disney Pleasure Island really comes alive at night, with clubs to suit most tastes. West Side is a mixture of restaurants and shops, which are always free to enter. Also the home of AMC Theatre, Cirque du Soleil and Disney Quest.
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Character breakfasts & Eating out.
Posted on February 20th, 2009 No commentsWritten by: Lynn Whitworth
Authors WebsiteWhat a great experience for all ages!!!
We last went to the Disney Polynesian resort for the Lilo & Stitch breakfast. Each family is seated at their own table and the characters come round each table during the course of your meal. As well as lilo & stitch there was also Mickey & Pluto. Its really great for photos wthout the queues!
The kids then did a conga round the room following the characters. I have to say it was one of the best breakfasts we have had in Orlando. You are served at the table with juice, pastries and bread,mickey waffles and american type breakfast food.
Another fun experience is the Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney & in The Animal Kingdom. Where else can you eat with a forest full of realistic plastic animals and experiance a tropical thunder storm with great food. TIP best to reserve table as it gets very busy or try a lunch time.
Why not try Toni Romas on international drive, the best ribs we have ever tasted (honey baby back -to die for!!)
Olive garden is great for a reasonable Italien meal.
Outback steakhouses great for steaks but can be a bit more expensive.
Another favourite for breakfast if you like waffles and pancakes is IHop quite reasonable on price as well.
If you want to eat really cheap try Ponderosa and golden corall both buffet type eateries as much as you can eat.
If you want to sample food from around the world the restaurants in world showcase in Epcot are great you can get Chinese, good old fish & chips,mexican to name but a few.
Another tip if you want to get reserved seating for the Fantasmic show at MGM if you eat in one of their restaraunts prior to the show you get a reserved seat for the show.It can be quite expensive but worth it to avoid the queues.
If all else fails you have of course got your BIG chains Mcdonalds, Hard rock cafe, Planet Hollywood, Pizza hut,KFC,Wendys to name but a few.
One last note don’t forget everything is much bigger in America including the size of your food portions, so order with care and Enjoy, start the diet next week!!!
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Harry Potter theme park to open in Orlando in 2009!
Posted on February 20th, 2009 No commentsWritten by: Jonathan Bryant
Authors WebsiteExciting news for Harry Potter fans across the world, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Universal Orlando Resort plan to open The Wizarding World of Harry Potter within Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park in 2009.. The “theme park within a theme park” is the first fully immersive Harry Potter themed environment based on the best-selling books by J.K. Rowling.
‘Authentic world’
Visitors will be able to stroll about Hogsmeade, discover the mysteries of the Forbidden Forest and explore Hogwarts castle.
Visitors will be able to sense the sights, the sound, the touch and the feel, the smells and really immerse themselves in this authentic world,” Williams said.
Stuart Craig, the Academy-Award winning production designer who has worked on the Harry Potter movies, is leading the creative design on the park to ensure it remains true to the look and feel of the films.
The Wizarding World will feature rides, shops and restaurants all based on the fictional world of Harry Potter.
So start planning your trip to Florida in 2009 and be the first to visit what sounds to be a fantastic new theme park in Orlando!
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It’s snowing in Celebration
Posted on February 20th, 2009 No commentsWritten by: Jonathan Bryant
Authors WebsiteIf you are lucky enough to be staying in the Orlando area between Thanksgiving (end of November) and Christmas why not get into the spirit of Christmas with a visit to Celebration.
Celebration is a small village like community just off the Highway 192, quite close to Disney. The homes area all built in traditional old American colonial style and it its worth a drive around to look at the fabulous Christmas decorations that many of the owners put up outside their homes.
The main centre of Celebration is Market Street. This is a small road lined with exquisite individual shops which at this time of year are also seasonally decorated.
At the end of Market Street is the lake which is a feature of Celebration. At this time of year Santa’s grotto is set up along side the lake and Santa is either to be found inside to delight the children or sometimes walking around outside. There are also horse drawn carriages departing for rides along side the lake.
The highlight at this time of year has to be the snow!
For those of us who know snow in our home countries, it does seem very bizarre to see a sign saying ’snowing nightly from 6pm’!
In Market Street, from 6pm, every hour on the hour, it snows!
The snow falls from the quaint lamp posts lining Market Street and lasts for about 10 to 15 minutes per session. Stand back and it looks like a real snowstorm! Watch the children’s faces - they are a real picture of wonderment and excitement! Some have clearly never seen snow before and just believe it is real! Many are scooping it up to throw - others are catching it as it falls or sliding in it as it hits the ground.
The accompanying Christmas music helps to complete the magic!If you want to make an evening of it - why not have a meal there too. We can thoroughly recommend Café Antonio which is an Italian on the corner of Market Street, by the lake. You do need to either get there early at this time of year, or book in advance though. If you time it right you can eat first and then finish your meal in time for one of the ’snow sessions’.
Celebration is an interesting place at any time of year and is certainly worth a visit in the summer months too. However - the Christmas festivities there are well worth and evening of your vacation.
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Disney Photo CD
Posted on February 20th, 2009 No commentsWritten by: John BRADBURNE
Authors WebsiteWe ordered the photo cd on line for $99.00. When you go to any Disney Theme Park find a photographer and have your first photo or photo’s taken you will be given a PhotoPass Card that has a 16 digit number on the reverse. You should make a note of it, just in case you lose the card. My card fell out of my pocket but I went to the photo display store which was situated in Toontown. They asked me the approx time and the last place we had photos taken and they found them and put them all on a new card. The photos display centres are in all parks. Every time you get your photograph taken present the card to the photographer, they will swipe the card. If you have forgotten your card just get another card from the photographer. You can combine as many different PhotoPass cards as you wish. If you have a number of children you can get individually photos of them with the characters as well as a group photo. Some photographers are better then others, they will take a lot some only click one or two photos. Some of the photos where blurred. Go back at night or different time of the day and have another set taken. We noticed sometimes the sun was directly in front of us and we had are eyes closed on some of the photos. If you order the Photo CD from the Parks you can not edit the photos, the cost was $124.00, however if you order the CD online you can spend your time cropping, editing, adding borders and enhancements like character signatures before you order the CD. It is easy to do. To view your photos online you will need to create an account at the following site: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/. Your photos are only available online for a limited time. You have 30 days to add the card number to your account and then 30 days from that point before they are deleted. Once we had cropped and put signatures and borders on, we ordered the cd. It was delivered to England within 10 days. We had over 400 photos on 2 cds. and that was only with 4 adults and 1 child.
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When Should We Go, Where Should We Stay?
Posted on February 20th, 2009 No commentsWritten by: Mary Phillips
Authors WebsiteWHEN SHOULD WE GO? Ideally, you want to go when the weather is moderate and the crowds are low. Unfortunately between vacation schedules and school-age kids, your options might be limited. There might be special activities at Walt Disney World that you would like see and do, so obviously you need to take a look at the Yearly Events Schedule.
Our favorite times of the year are in January/early February (beautiful weather and low crowds), April and May (Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival), October and November (Epcot Food and Wine Festival), and December (Holidays Around the World).
WHERE SHOULD I STAY?
Where to stay is a major decision. There are hotels to fit all budgets, and they offer special perks to their guests (like complimentary Disney Transportation).
Staying in your Own Rented Villa is likely to cost less and definetly be more “Home From Home” but then you’ll probably want a rental car. Only you can decide what is best for YOUR Family. We certainly believe the “Having Your Own Villa Experience” is not to be missed. We ended up buying a Villa for ourselves once we had taken “The Experience”, as we could never imagine going back into a Hotel room.
These are the Advantages that we feel make all the difference for having your own Villa for your Vacation.
- Generally better/larger but most of all Homely accommodation.
- Private Pool
- Your own space to relax during your time away from The Parks
- No timetable to keep up to
- Much better Value for money (per Head).
- Villas offer Larger family groups to be able to stay together–as a family.
- Starting at 3 Bedrooms upwards the choice is yours
- For examples a 4 Bed/3Bath, 2 Master Bedrooms, 2 Twin Bedrooms is ideal for 2 Families to share or 1 Family to have more space.7 bedroom pool home which will sleep up to 16 is ideal for Family Reunions. All will have several televisions with VCRs, DVD player, stereo, fully equipped kitchen, private pool, telephone service, washer and dryer, dishwasher, two car garage or games room and much more.
- Better access to restaurants, shopping and other non-Disney attractions. NOT immersed in Disney Magic 24 hours a day.
As you can tell, we’re SOLD on renting your own Villa. Go on try it for yourselves, we are sure you will not regret it and will never go back to a Room in a hotel.