I was amazed to see the value for money you get by paying a visit to The Grand China Buffet. Located on US27 this restaurant is set back from the main road next to Perkins. It is an all you can eat restaurant with a wide variety of dishes. The restaurant is generally busy used by both local residents and tourists alike and caters for both takeaways and eat in.

For a very low price you can visit the buffet as many times as you want and can sample soups, noodles, rice, meat and seafood dishes. At the weekend for a dollar or two more you can eat prime rib and crab. They have a choice of both hot and cold starters and there is fruit, salad and icecream available. Everything is laid out on hot plates and the food is replenished throughout the night so does not become cold. The staff are helpful and friendly and are very quick to offer you a free refills of soda as soon as your glass is getting low. There is also wine and a choice of beers available.

You are not rushed at all. One particular night we were one of the last tables to leave. Although the staff were clearing and cleaning and clearly wanting to go home no one was allowed to leave whilst customers were still in the restaurant. The staff meticulously wiped the hot plate down and disinfected everything .The floors are swept by hand.  When you do request the bill it is brought to your table along with with fortune cookies  containing curious statements or amusing messages. If you are a fan of chinese food or simply looking for a night out that wont break the bank give the Grand China Buffet a go, you may be pleasantly suprised.  

Having owned a villa now near Disney for 3 years and just about to buy another on the coast, it’s the most relaxing place with so much to offer.

With Disney, MGM, Epcot, Seaworld, Aquatica, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Kennedy Space Centre, shopping malls, dinner shows, air boat rides, golf, hot air balloon rides, horse riding and many great restaurants, there is something for everyone.

Ideal for all age groups and the sort of place even the adults can get away with acting like children!

Driving here is easy and seems very stress free.  There are some bike trails, so you can explore by bike too.

All over Florida there are fabulous golf courses for those golf lovers out there and you can even get served cold drinks as you go round the course to keep you cool in the heat.

If you are lucky enough to rent a home with a pool and spa, you can relax after a long day at the parks.

People often ask my advice about Florida and where to visit and what to do, once I start on the subject, I can talk for hours!

3401 Hiawassee Road

Orlando, 32835

Tel (407) 299 5581

Fax (407) 299 5594

Admission - $4 per car ($2 for driver only)

Opening Times:

8.00am to 5.00pm November to March

8.00am to 7.00pm April to October

Getting There:              

From I-4, Exit 75 take Kirkman north, turn left onto Conroy then right onto Hiawassee to park entrance.

Situated close to Universal Orlando, this is the City of Orlando’s largest park at over 300 acres. This is a beautifully landscaped and maintained family oriented park, which was originally called Turkey Lake Park when it was created in the 1970’s, but was renamed Bill Frederick Park in 2004 after the former Mayor.

Visitors of all ages will enjoy the seven miles of nature trails or biking along the three-mile bike path, or canoeing on the lake.  You can test your fishing skills in the well stocked lake, from one of the five piers (one fixed, four floating), or you can fish from a bass tracker boat, which can be rented for $15.00, Thursday to Sunday (7.00am to 11.00am).

There are picnic areas close to the lake with shaded tables or picnic pavilions can be rented.  Nearby are children’s playing areas and sandy ‘beaches’, and a large pool overlooks the lake. (Lake swimming in not permitted).  The wooden ‘all-children’ playground area is a huge maze of tunnels, swings and slides, providing hours of fun for the children, whilst the parents shelter from the sun in nearby gazebos.  No eating allowed in this area, as food attracts unwanted wildlife.

Other activities include baseball, softball and volleyball.

There is also an air-conditioned Ecology Center and a Petting Farm, which has pigs, cows, goats, horses, chickens and rabbits – a remnant of the farming era of the property.

There is a fully equipped campground to accommodate most forms of camping from tents to recreational vehicles, at $15 per night, including electricity and water.  Sewer hookup included is $18 per night. Cabins are available to sleep up to 10, for $35 per night.  There is also a primitive camping area available, at $7 per four-person tent.  Camping requires reservations.

1800 Wekiwa Circle

Apopka, Florida 32712

Phone (407) 884 2008

Fax (407) 884 2039

Wekiwa Springs State Park is located at the head of the Wekiva River. It is about 20 minutes North of Orlando/45 minutes North of Kissimmee.  It is located off Interstate 4, taking exit 94 onto Road 434 West to Wekiwa Springs Road.  Turning right onto this road, the entrance is about 4 miles on the right.

Open from 8am to sundown, 365 days a year, Entrance Fees are as follows:

Vehicles with 2 – 8 persons                              $5.00

Single Occupant Vehicles                                  $3.00

Wekiwa Springs State Park opened to visitors in 1970, and covers an area of 7000 acres. The main attraction is the spring itself, which maintains a near-constant 72 degrees, and pumps 42 million gallons of water into the Wekiva River every day.  The swimming area ranges in depth from under 1 foot to 5 feet.  There is a 15 – 20 foot deep cavern at the source of the spring which has been explored to a distance of 50 meters.

Nowadays SCUBA diving and cave diving are strictly prohibited.  However, fishing, canoeing and snorkelling are permitted. Canoes and kayaks are available to rent at the nature centre.

There are also thirteen miles of trails for hiking, bicycling, wildlife observation and horseback riding, to suit all ages. The 5.3 miles Volksmarch trail is marked with orange diamonds.  Among the wildlife to be spotted are raccoon, bobcat, possum, coyote, rabbit, deer, gray fox and black bear. 

There is a fully equipped campground to accommodate most forms of camping from tents to recreational vehicles. There are also primitive camping areas available, should you wish to follow in the footsteps of the Timucuan Indians that fished and hunted these areas, but do be watchful of the black bears roaming around.  There are also two campsites that can only be accessed by canoe or kayak.

Camping Fees

Family campground sites                       $20.00 plus tax per site, per night.
Primitive camping                                  $4.00 plus tax per person, per night.

If camping over weekends or holidays, arrive early as the park is closed once carrying capacity is reached.

Under Age 16 must wear helmets if biking.

Skateboarding and Rollerblading/Skating are prohibited.

Non-licensed scoters (motorised & non-motorised) are prohibited.

Pets are allowed, but must be leashed.

So Universal CityWalk was created to provide evening entertainment for visitors to Universal Studios and Islands Of Adventure.  Many visitors walk through CityWalk, as it is situated between the car parks and theme park entrances, and provides facilities which rival those at Downtown Disney.

Entertainment
Regular live concerts are scheduled at Hard Rock Live, featuring local, national and international artists.  This is one of the major venues for live music, along with The House of Blues at Downtown Disney.  There are also options for jazz music (at Cityjazz), reggae (Bob Marley - A Tribute to Freedom), dance (The Groove) - so plenty of choice, whatever your taste in music.  Check out what is on in the local newspapers.

To supplement live entertainment, there is also a multi-screen cinema (or theater).  Take your choice from 20 screens to catch the latest blockbuster - for European visitors some of these films may not yet have been released at home. A combination ticket is offered, to include a visit to the cinema and a meal at one of the many restaurants.  Talking of which…..

Restaurants
We have already mentioned Bob Marley’s and the Hard Rock - but the list doesn’t stop there.  Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville is themed around the songs by the singer of the same name, whilst sports fans are not forgotten - at the NBA City and NASCAR restaurants.  NBA features films and the story of basketball, whilst NASACR is themed around the motor racing sport of the same name.

Shopping
There are also plenty of opportunities to spend a few dollars whilst walking through CityWalk.  Several stores offer Universal-related merchandise, whilst there are also surfwear stores, Fossil - and an entire store dedicated to merchandise relating to endangered species.

Car Parking
It is necessary to pay to park in the huge Universal car parks if arriving during the day - although parking is free during the evenings.  As most of the entertainment is geared towards evenings, this doesn’t present a problem.  It is situated close to International Drive, so a brisk walk is also an option.

CityWalk or Downtown Disney
It will come as no surprise to discover that both of these companies present their entertainment offering superbly. We recommend having a look during the day when visiting the other parks, and deciding which appeals more to you.  The likelihood is you will wish to visit both - as you would expect, additional charges are made for some of the entertainment on offer.

 We arrived in Orlando around 2:00 p.m. and since this restaurant serves all day long unlike many that we enjoy going to, it seemed like a good time.  There were very few people when we arrived and judging from our experience, if we had gone later, we would have waited in line down the street!  This was confirmed during our chat with my husband’s colleague and his wife who were very hospitable I might add!

Being that we aren’t drinkers, I can’t really comment on the beverage selection, but I did browse the list and saw that the choices were many and some very unusual.  I can see why this tavern is a popular night spot. 

I can comment on the food, though! We asked the waitress what the specialties were and she told us that the Clam Chowder was rated #1 and was supposed to be even better than what you would have in Boston (which is where the owners are from).  I’m not a big fan of clam chowder, but the other 4 members of my family are and so they all ordered it and they all agreed that it was the best they ever had!  The other recommendation was the onion rings so we had those as an appetizer and they were great!

The menu was varied with a nice selection of salads, burgers, pastas, seafood and steaks.  My husband and I split the Pasta Primavera which was very good.  My son ordered Boston Scrod baked with a bread crumb topping.  This is one of his favorite dishes at home and he told me that this was almost as good as mine (that’s high praise if I do say so myself)!  My son’s favorite thing about this place is that he got to watch the college football games on the big screen while he ate. One of my daughters had a burger which she loved and my other daughter ordered a seafood platter with scallops and clam strips – very fresh.

The desserts were all home-made and choosing wasn’t easy.  We opted for Boston Crème Pie and it was delicious.  I look forward to visiting the Celebration Town Tavern again very soon!