you get in the holiday mood

you will do more great stuff during your trip

you are less likely to get home and realise that you missed something that you really wanted to do

Let’s start by stating that this is a holiday, not hard work, so despite your planning be prepared to be flexible - especially if you have young children who are likely to be attracted to the first character that they lay eyes on.

OK, decide which parks and attractions you most want to visit and ‘pencil in’ the days that you might go to them. In the summer allow yourself rest days (or half days) to chill out around the pool, wander around the shopping malls or just have a lie in. If you are from Europe, try to visit parks early in your visit as the jet lag is likely to have the kids waking up early. Arriving at the parks early is one way to make the most of the attraction.

Once you have decided where you plan to go, research what you most want to do in the chosen attraction. There is lots of information about them on the internet including our site www.tigger-woods.com. You might wish to visit the Kennedy Space Centre site to see if they are due to launch a shuttle for instance.

List down your favourite rides/shows etc for each park and then try to picture the best way to go around the park. For instance at EPCOT you might want to go clockwise, heading straight for Testtrack to get a fast track ticket, then ride Mission:Space and after using your fasttrack ticket for Testtrack heading on to Ellens Energy Ride or across to Soaring. You get the idea.

At this stage I feel it right to restate that this is not race or a hike so be prepared to go at the speed of the slowest person in the group. Don’t miss the atmosphere just to join a line for an attraction 2 minutes earlier.

In Disney your tickets will allow you to reserve your ride on certain attractions. Make use of the fast track facility.

Each park will have lots of options for dining. This can be part of your overall experience so include this in your planning. Character dining in the Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom will guarantee a great time for youngsters. At EPCOT the Coral Reef is a very popular restaurant where you dine next to a huge aquarium.

If you would like a template to do your planning then please check out the one on our web-site www.tigger-woods.com.

Enjoy your Florida vacation

The Sharks didn’t get of to a great start in their first season.  They lost their first ever game to the New Jersey Ironmen, 7-4, on October 27, 2007.  They went on to lose the next sixteen matches before finally chalking up a victory against California’s Cougars by an amazing 16-13 score line.  So you can be sure that there will be plenty of goals whoever their opponents.

Their squad of 23 are made up from ten countries including some of the world’s leading football entertainers: Brazil, England, Argentina and Mexico.  Sadly none of the Sharks’ squad has ever played for their national team and most likely never will. 

The season runs from October to March and with home matches being played at the indoor Amway arena you will find it very easy to get to from the Disney Area. It really is a great evening out (weekday games kick-off at 5pm) and to add to the fun there are often themed nights.  The 07/08 season saw the following themed events: Key West Beach Party, Sharks Idol (like the TV show Pop Idol), Luau Night and British Invasion.  The environment is really geared to family entertainment and you won’t find any hostile chanting or aggro. The stadium holds about 10,000 fans and it’s nearly all home fans so very, very safe. 

Getting tickets is very easy too; you can go direct to the Orlando Sharks website http://www.orlandosharks.com/tickets.aspx  and you will find the ticket page operated by Ticket Master.  The tickets are reasonably priced at the bottom end starting at $16 and ranging to almost touchline seats at $75 each. We found the best value seats to be the $20 upper level side areas. Very few matches seem to sell out so you can normally get a ticket whilst out there on vacation.  Tickets are booked online or over the phone and collected from the pick-up windows at the stadium.

Parking is very easy too – just wish a few of the English football teams has parking so well mastered.  Parking zones are colour coded and located all around the stadium with two located on the forecourts directly outside the main South and North entrances.  The stadium is located just off I4, Exit 83B (Amelia Street/Orlando Venues) then take a left onto Livingston Street and the parking lots will be in front of you. 

Inside the stadium you will be able to get a range of foods and drinks including: burgers, Subway sandwiches, Dipping Dots, Starbucks, beers and lots more.  There are often giveaways if you arrive early in the form of banners, sweat bands and tee-shirts.  Worth a visit just to see how the Americans do Soccer!

The first things to catch your eye when you arrive are the (not too scary) baby alligators! They are in a safely fenced off section of the river, but are easy to see and you can buy small amounts of food to drop in for them. There are also koi fish in one section of the river and food for them is available too.

At the ticket booth you are given your score card, pencil, golf club and your own choice of coloured ball (which makes things much easier when there is a group of you playing). This also has advantages when trying to spot which one is your ball at the bottom of the river or water hazards!! As well as playing golf there is a sort of Treasure Hunt for you to complete as you go round the course. You are given a list of artefacts to spot and must write down the number of the hole you were on when you saw them. If you get all the answers correct there is a small prize at the end.

The lay out is amazingly imaginative and exciting as well as challenging, with two eighteen hole ‘courses’ which run alongside each other. You can opt to play both courses, or just one of them. The theme is exploration and the courses are named after the famous African explorers Dr Livingstone (the harder course) and Henry Stanley (the easier one). There are waterfalls crashing into pools, hills, paddle boats, mine shafts, mysterious caves, rocks and streams all set amongst lush tropical vegetation and beautifully manicured ‘greens’. The eighteen holes on each course are varied; some are fairly straightforward with a simple bend, some have just a few rocks to get round, some have bumps, dips and tunnels to negotiate, and there are others which have all of these and are uphill! As you make your way around the two courses, you will discover spears, dug-out canoes, masks, mud huts and totem poles. With the accompaniment of piped calypso music, the overall ambience and atmosphere is terrific.

When you have completed the golf you can cool off with a drink and then test your skills further by challenging the family to a high-tech competition in the electronic games arcade.

There are two Congo River Adventure Golf locations – International Drive and Hwy 192.

There are a wide range of options just for accommodation, but many people end up choosing between a cheap motel or a Florida villa.

A cheap motel often appears the cheapest option. However it may end up costing you more that you think. For the ‘bargain’ price your family will often have to spend the week living in one room, sharing 1 bathroom and taking it in turns to choose the channel on the TV. You may find yourself eating out more often, or seeking extra entertainment just to escape from your hotel room. This may end up costing you more than a luxury villa, which can provide more enjoyment.

By renting a villa the right size for your group the per person per night cost can be very low. This is particularly true if you are a family/group of more than 4. There are plenty of bedrooms, bathrooms and living space, not to mention the outdoors areas. Most have their own private pools, which can be heated in winter, together with toys for the children, DVDs, numerous TVs, Playstation and even their own games room.

You may find you family enjoys chilling out by the pool. We certainly find the time just flies doing nothing in particular, and in the villa everyone can find something to suit them, rather than everyone having to do the same thing. Remember it is a holiday – not an endurance test!

Families with young children will enjoy a rest day every so often between theme park visits. It’s not only the children that get tired!. We always visit the parks early in the morning, come home to the villa for the afternoon (Yes – it really does feel like home after just a day or two!), and then return to the parks refreshed for the evening. With so much entertainment on your own doorstep, you will find you pay much less for entertainment elsewhere.

Just because you have a fully equipped kitchen, you don’t need to cook every night – or even any night. Most villas are located with easy access to the main tourist areas in Orlando, so you can visit a local restaurant, or eat in the parks. Alternatively you could dial a take-away, rustle up a very simple meal at home or enjoy a pool side barbecue. You can even prepare a packed lunch to take to the parks, saving on food bills there. At the very least you can take drinks and snacks straight from your refrigerator, or take them with you into the parks. Without having to pay to eat out all the time, or to pay for meals you just don’t fancy, you may find you have saved considerably on your overall holiday food bills.

So when you choose your type of accommodation, be sure to look at the overall cost your holiday – taking into account the food cost savings and the entertainment cost saving when staying in a villa.

Of course it doesn’t all come down to cost. A villa can feel like home, offer you a place of tranquillity away from the hubbub of the parks, a time to spend quality time as a family and the opportunity to truly relax.

The choice is yours so make it the right one for you – but there’s no going back for us and indeed we own two villas in Florida so we are spoilt for choice!

We were looking for a better alternative to the likes of Ponderosa and Sizzler style buffets and having now been to Golden Corral, I’m not sure I would go anywhere else again.

They are really busy places and although you may need to stand in line for a short while, it is certainly worth the wait. They pack you in as quick as possible but don’t let that deter you. The service is fairly standard for this type of place but it is truly a “eat as much as you like” sort of restaurant.

This alone may not appeal to all but Golden Corral stands out because it includes all the steak, chicken, ham and other hot carved meats.

The steak is cooked on an open fire grill in front of you & its done to perfection. The reason its to perfection? Well you can pick the steak you want (rare, medium, well done or any combination) and then go back for another! Not only are they really tasty but they are decent quality meat and almost melt in the mouth.

And like the other similar restaurants, there is a large variety on the buffet, which includes salads, pizza, soup, food for the kids and some really tempting sweets.

As you will come to expect in Florida, you also get free refills on soft drinks, which is ideal when you have thirsty kids in your party!

Value for money couldn’t be beaten. Last time we were there it was about $11 per adult (before any coupon discounts) and I challenge you to find the variety, quality and quantity anywhere else for less.

There are a number of restaurants, spread through the main Orlando tourist areas. Obviously we haven’t tried them all but I can sure recommend the ones on US192 and at Lake Buena Vista.

Look out for the 10% discount coupons, and for the ‘oldies’ in the party, you get a free coffee with your meal!