The Manors South at Westridge…imagine the luxury of coming home to the security of your own private home in the Heart of the Most Popular Tourist Destination in the WORLD!

In north Westridge there is a private 2,000 sq- foot clubhouse for guests use
Free Wi-Fi Internet access in the clubhouse for guests use. Designed with holiday makers in mind, it features a pool, lounge, and exercise room, and is for the exclusive use of the owners and guests of the Manors at Westridge!

Furthermore, there is an 18-hole golf course near by, and just minutes away from the Famous champion Gate Golf course.

Attractions

Magic Kingdom - The world renowned theme park. It has 7 different lands. Meet Mickey Mouse and all your favourite Disney characters. Contains over 50 rides and attractions. Save time to watch the Main Street parade.

MGM Studios - The smallest of Disney’s 4 theme parks combines the fun and excitement of thrilling attractions with fascinating behind the scenes tours showing how films and cartoons are made.

Epcot Centre - Take a whistle-stop tour of the 11 different ‘countries’ in World Showcase or take a trip on one of the many futuristic rides. There’s a spectacular laser and fireworks display to end the day.

Animal Kingdom - Disney’s newest theme park, includes such memorable places as DinoLand U.S.A., Camp Mickey-Minnie and Africa. Guests experience high adventure on an authentic African safari, close encounters with ferocious dinosaurs, warm moments with Disney characters and theatres brimming with colourful entertainment.

Disney Quest - An indoor interactive adventure located in Downtown Disney. Explore five floors of virtual fun with over 250 attractions, rides, and games that can only be experienced at DisneyQuest.

Pleasure Island - Disney’s evening entertainment island - seven nightclubs featuring all tastes from rock ‘n’ roll to country and western. Age restrictions apply.

Typhoon Lagoon Water Park - Dive into an exotic, tropical paradise where families can escape to high waves of excitement and cool, relaxing fun. The fun takes place at the foot of Mt. Mayday. Body surf in a 2.75-million-gallon wave pool. Zip down awesome body slides. Feeling brave? You can even swim with real, live sharks!

Blizzard Beach Water Park - Features “icy” slaloms and bobsled runs on 20%-foot-high Mount Gushmore. The park’s “ski jump” is the world’s tallest at 120 feet and the fastest — you free fall up to 60 mph on your backside.

Downtown Disney - Full of entertainment, food, shops and fun for guests of all ages. The area is divided into the West Side, Pleasure Island and the Marketplace. Along with Disney Quest and Cirque du Soleil, Downtown Disney West Side features restaurants, shopping and the AMC 24 Theatres.

Universal Studios Florida - The largest film and TV studio outside Hollywood. Home to many famous rides such as Men in Black, Terminator 2 3D, Twister, ET, Jaws, Back to the Future, Kongfrontation, and Earthquake etc. See Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue and Live the Movies®! Rated by many as the best park in the area.

Universal Studios Islands of Adventure - Your journey begins at the exotic Port of Entry and takes you through five uniquely themed islands featuring some of Orlando’s newest rides. Popular rides include Spiderman, Incredible Hulk Coaster, Duelling Dragons and Popeye’s Bilge Rat Barge Ride.

Universal Studios City Walk - This soul-stirring, 30-acre complex surrounds you with a dazzling array of restaurants, nightclubs, shopping, state-of-the-art cinemas and live entertainment venues inspired by popular culture’s most legendary innovators and originators.

Sea World - Visit the world’s largest marine life theme park. See the killer whale show featuring Shamu and family, walk through a glass tunnel with sharks swimming all around you! Try a ride on Kraken, a recently built 65 mph roller coaster or Journey to Atlantis, a water-coaster ride through the mysterious lost city.

Discovery Cove - For an experience like no other, treat your family to an once-in-a-lifetime adventure at Discovery Cove. Here, you can swim, play and interact with marine animals in a lush, tropical setting. A day of swimming with dolphins, gliding with rays, snorkelling through coral reefs. Admission is limited and by reservation only.

Busch Gardens - Worth the drive to Tampa to experience Busch Gardens - a mix of wildlife, marine shows and funfair. Home of Gwazi the largest and fastest double wooden roller coaster in the area. Feel the ultimate rush on Montu - one of the tallest and longest inverted roller coasters in the world!

Gatorland - Gatorland, known today as “Orlando’s best half-day attraction.” Thousands of crocodilians, a gator nursery, a breeding marsh and a children’s water pool are among Gatorland’s many features, which also include an aviary with lorikeets, a petting zoo with emus, nature walks, bird shows, educational wildlife programs, a restaurant and a gift shop.

Wet ‘n’ Wild - Wet ‘n Wild, the world’s premier water park, features a full-day of fun for the entire family. Offering the best water rides in Orlando from the gentle to the exhilarating. All pools are heated seasonally. All-day lockers and shower facilities are available, as well as rental tubes and towels.

Belz Factory Outlet - Buy direct from the manufacturer at 170 outlets. Savings are on some of America’s favourite names. Inside you will discover fashions, footwear and jewellery for the entire family.

Travel Insurance – For peace of mind for anyone with an existing medical condition or even if taking regular medication, it is advisable to take travel insurance with a company that has a ‘health-check’ service, so that exact details of your conditions, and medication can be specifically noted on their records.   It is well worth shopping around as premiums vary greatly.  Moneysupermarket.com can be helpful – and often supermarkets, or various other banks and building societies can offer good rates.

Age can be a factor, with premiums rising greatly for travellers aged 70 or over.

We have found Nationwide to be very good.  The health-check service can involve quite a lengthy telephone call, but often banks and building societies have a freephone number for general enquiries, and you can sometimes get put through that way.  

Medications -  Always ensure that your medications are carried in your hand-luggage. Prescribed drugs in liquid form exceeding 100ml are allowed if you have your prescription details on headed paper from your GP’s surgery.  It can also be advisable to get your GP or hospital specialist to issue a covering letter if you are taking any medication that must not be stored below a certain temperature (I am thinking back to a recent security alert when holidaymakers had to repack most of their hand luggage into their check-in luggage and carry minimum items in a plastic bag – hopefully this won’t happen again).

Gatwick Airport – I am really only familiar with Gatwick South Terminal.  Since the Glasgow security incident, taxis and private cars are only allowed to drop passengers off at the level used by courtesy coaches.  There is an elevator, but this only goes half-way up.  There are still slopes to negotiate before getting to the moving walkway that takes you to the check-in desks.  If, for instance, two people are travelling alone, and one of them is in a wheelchair, it will be impossible for one person to cope with pushing a wheelchair as well as luggage.  Gatwick airport tell me that there is a telephone by the elevator, but to obtain assistance (wheelchair pusher) you must have registered with your airline beforehand that you need special assistance to get to the plane.  Virgin tell me the airline only provides assistance from the check-in desk onwards, and that BAA need to check the airline passenger information that you have special needs, otherwise you will encounter problems.

When you return to the UK,  you will be able to get to the airport taxi rank without having to negotiate ‘the sloping walkways’ –  although the courtesy coach & car pick-up point will be at the original level encountered on your outward journey.  There is generally a long walk from the plane to passport control and baggage reclaim, but there are some elevators en-route.  If you need help, the airline will request a porter to assist you.  Ideally you need to make this request when checking in for your return flight home.

Florida Airports – You should find plenty of porters willing to help upon arrival, and there are ‘Disabled’ lanes for getting through Immigration more quickly – this is always the right hand lane.

Hire of Special Items –   Mobility scooters and wheelchairs can be hired from Randy’s Mobility Centre.  They are based at Eagle Ridge Mall on the 27.  Their website is www.randysmobility.com  Tel 863-679-8570  They will deliver a mobility scooter to your villa if you make arrangements beforehand.  Other medical supplies can be obtained from Four Corners Medical Supply at 1050 US27, Suite 20.

Clermont, Florida 34714.  Tel Toll Free 866-319-4CMS or Local 352-243-7477

Disabled Parking.  Whilst the UK Blue Badge has been recognised, I have heard that now  a temporary disabled parking permit should be purchased, from any of the Tag Offices.  UK residents are advised to take their blue badge and passport along to obtain one – cost $15.  There is a Tag Office at Haines City opposite Walmart on US27.

Disney hire out manual wheelchairs and mobility scooters.  If you need one, it is advisable to get to the park as early as possible.

Many of the large stores i.e. Publix, Walmart, Target etc supply electric ‘buggies’ (shopping carts) for their customers free use.

Several examples are as follows:-

Please don’t walk on the pavement, as this is the road and could be dangerous, use the sidewalk instead.

Don’t trying asking for plasters, in the event of a minor injury, as I did in Sea World.  It took us several minutes to arrive at Bandaid, which we both understood.  Also if you have difficulty finding Paracetemol ask for Tylenol

When asked how long you are staying on vacation (holiday) say two weeks as a fortnight leaves them looking perplexed

When entering any multi-storey building, remember that the ground floor is the 1st floor because to us the 1st floor is really their 2nd!  To get to the 2nd or subsequent floors take the elevator and not a lift.

Their hypermarkets are fantastic and sell everything from food to guns (WalMart).  In the food department, my most confusing moment was looking for jam which turned out to be jelly.  What we know as jelly is actually jello.  Some things are obvious, like cookies for biscuits, candy bar for a chocolate bar and candy for sweets.  For babies, dummies are pacifiers and nappies are diapers.  You will be pushing your small child around in a stroller.

The restaurants are usually really good value but remember when ordering your food if it says chips then you’ll actually receive crisps. (French) fries are chips. If you want brown bread ask for wheat.  Also don’t ask for the bill – it’s the check. Your money will not be in your purse as this is your handbag but in your wallet.  A man’s wallet is a billfold.

For the motorists, your car, sorry automobile, has a hood, trunk and windshield instead of a bonnet, boot and a windscreen.  Remember to put gas in your tank and not petrol. The main road is a highway, motorway is a freeway, a toll motorway is a turnpike and a ring road is a beltway.

Also bear in mind when looking through the villa’s information pack to see what days the bin men come that the Americans put out the trash.

Fanny packs are bum bags and whatever you do, do not ask for a fag instead of a cigarette as you might get some very funny looks!  

And you thought we spoke the same language!

A Little More Information For The New Attractions For 2008.

The opening of the new Waterpark/Aquatica by SeaWorld (there are also a number of new rides, shows and attractions). Seaworld Plan To Open Their New Aquatica On March 1st. 2008.

The Universal Orlando Resort Will Be Opening A New “Simpson’s” Ride In The Presently Closed “Back To The Future” Ride, Hoping to be open In The Spring.

Busch Gardens Are Planning To Open A New Jungle Village Called “Jungala” This Year In Place Of The Old Python Roller Coaster Ride.

The Disney-MGM Studios Is Now Renamed “Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Along With The  New Shows Previously Mentioned There Will Be A New Outdoor Show “Block Party Bash”. Also New Characters For The “Playhouse Disney-Live OnStage” Show, Not Forgetting The Brand New “High School Musical” Street Show.

Downtown Disney Will Have A New Restaurant In Early 2008 Called “T-REX” A Prehistoric Family Adventure, A Place To Eat, Explore And Shop.

NASA had planned to launch five space shuttle missions to the International Space Station in 2007 but a combination of a fluke hail storm and faulty components meant that only three missions were flown in the end. This puts even more pressure on NASA to complete the International Space Station before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010.

NASA hope to launch five shuttles in 2008 in January, February, April, August and September. The first launch is of the Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-122) no earlier than January 10, which will deliver the Columbus European Laboratory Module to the International Space Station.

I Hope All These New Attractions Whet Your Appetite Even More. Happy Holidays.

Mary

If you haven’t managed down to the Everglades for the day what about an Airboat Ride.

Boggy Creek Airboats on Boggy Creek Road is only 15 minutes drive from Orlando International Airport on SR436. Using the 417 Toll Road to get to the airport exit at junction 17, turn right at the lights for Boggy Creek and left for the Airport. As you go down Boggy Creek Road it bends slightly to the left and the Airboat Rides are to the right, sharing the location with East Lake Fish Camp and RV ground.

I only mention the directions as I failed to pick up the Airboat Ride sign on the road, drove past and had to turn round.

The 18 seater airboats are superb, and look every bit the part, with the big fan at the back and elevated seat for the Captain. The day trips are just under $20 plus tax with discounts for children under 12, and last for 30 minutes and they run every half hour. This makes them ideal for just turning up, as we did, and going out onto East Lake Tohopekaliga.

Once you leave the docking area the boats are soon opened up to their top speed of 45mph. The Captains know how to thrill you sending the boat sideways at full speed. Like Rally Cars going sideways, it is an effective braking method and great fun. It really lives up to all those images you see on television. Compared to the ride I had on the Everglades, I was very impressed and it saved all that travel in the coach.

Whilst the Captain does his best to locate wildlife for you Alligators are few and far between during daylight hours. If you want to get up close on water to a Gator then they do 1 hour night tours, which for $10 + tax more seem well worth trying. Because the night tours are so popular they have to be pre booked, usually three days in advance. (tel 407 344 9550).

If you want an even bigger thrill then they also offer Parasailing

Depending on your check time you really should allow sufficient time not to miss this ride, one of the highlights of my holiday, and still make the airport. If you are flying from Sanford you obviously need to allow that little bit more time. But it is only 5 minutes off route.

More details can be obtained by visiting the www.bcairboats.com web site.