Fore!

If you fancy playing some golf at Disney then look no further than Oaktrail just on the other side of the entrnace to Magic Kingdom.

Last year we decided to purchse a 5 day Hopper pass for Disney and that gave us Free rounds of Golf at Oak Trail. It is a walking course but is great for a knock around. They do not have too many rules and it is well worth the visit.

If you take the family there is a pool nearby and a small refreshment hut whilst you hits some balls around the course.

Mind you it is not an easy course. Whilst you are there you can check out the Palm Trees and Mgnolia Course which is a bit more expensive.

Even if you do not have a 5 day disney pass giving you free rounds it was only $38. Great Value. So check it out.

Yet again more changes to the Theme Park prices, there are so many packages now it is really difficult to choose the best deal that suits your family requirements.

In readiness for the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando have announced a new ticket pricing structure called “U Select”. It is similar to the Disney “Magic Your Way” ticket system where you buy a base ticket for a number of days with the option to park hop if you wish. Presumably this is to encourage visitors to stay longer than just one or two days during their vacation. Just like Disney they want you in THEIR Parks to spend your money to make up for the smaller crowds.

You can buy either a one, two, three, four or seven day pass to Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme parks (excluding separately ticketed events such as Halloween, Thanks Giving, Christmas Shows). If you wish to visit both parks on the same day, then you can upgrade to the park-to-park access option.

Though the adult one day ticket remains the same price at $79 plus tax, the two day ticket is considerably more expensive than it used to be. By buying three or more days then the “day rate” drops. Tickets are valid for up to 14 consecutive days from the date of first use but there is not a optional “no expiry” charge like the Disney tickets. If you are still not confused to which is the best for YOU there is more!!!

The joint Universal and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment tickets known as Orlando Flex tickets have also gone up in price by $25.

We think everyone needs to get as much information that is going to help them get the best deal and save them some money. Most home owners will do their best to help but it will still come down the the guests prefered choice.

With all of this going on, we still feel the Fun, Entertainment, Shows and the Magic is still worthwhile.

Happy Holidays

Mary & Larry

All the parks have seasonal opening hours so it’s a good idea to check on the website before you go –www.waltdisneyworld.com.  Most people buy their Disney tickets before they leave home but you can also buy them at the entrance to all the parks or from places such as Wal-Mart where there’s a dedicated attraction ticket shop inside the store.

Drive into Disney and follow signs to the Magic Kingdom

You’ll need $14 for the car park and make a note of where you’ve parked! It’s very easy to lose your car!

Take the monorail or the boat into Magic Kingdom (both only go there so you can’t get lost and often the characters are on there)

There’s a bag search at the entrance, then you’re in!

Remember to collect a map with show time guide as this changes daily.

Everyone usually walks up to the castle and turns left so if it’s really busy and you want to avoid all the queues turn right instead.

As with all the Disney parks the most popular rides use a “fast pass” system. You go to the ride put your park entrance ticket into the machine and it will give you a time to go on the ride (this is usually on a sign above the machines). This means you go straight to the front of the queue and can save a lot of time. Whilst you’re waiting for the allotted time you will probably have time to go on other rides, have something to eat or do a bit of shopping. There’s usually a separate entrance to the ride for people with fast passes so be sure to get in the right line. Sometimes there’s a time on the fastpass that tells you when you can get another fast pass for another ride so if you know where you want to go next you can plan ahead.

Must Sees at  Magic Kingdom (lots of other rides too!)

Tomorrowland

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin 
Be a superhero and fire your laser cannon at interactive targets to help Buzz Lightyear, star of Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story,” save the toy galaxy from the Evil Emperor Zurg!

Space Mountain  (height restrictions)
Rocket into another galaxy aboard this rollicking high-speed roller coaster space adventure.

Honey I shrunk the audience

Great show

Star Tours

Simulator –ride through space

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor 
Join Mike Wazowski and his pals in this new interactive comedy showcase inspired by Disney·Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.

Frontierland

Big ThunderMountain Railroad

Great train ride

SplashMountain

Log flume –exciting with good drop

Adventureland

Pirates of the Caribbean

Log flume –very gentle (now based on the film)

Fantasyland

Mickey’s PhilharMagic 
Immerse yourself in a magical 3-D adventure show starring Mickey Mouse and a surprise “con-DUCK-tor”.

It’s a small world

Mad Tea Party

Peter Pan flight

Liberty Square

The Haunted Mansion 
Ride through the most haunted mansion ever with a ghost host, ghouls galore — and some ghastly surprises(Very clever and not too scary)

Wishes Nighttime Spectacular Be dazzled by the biggest, brightest fireworks  - a great end to the day

This is best viewed from Main Street – usually at 9pm

Disney’s Wide World of Sport holds lots of races throughout the year with levels varying from full marathons to fun runs with everything in between. Whichever level race you’re looking at they are all incredibly well organised and all usually start early in the morning before the sun warms up and before the parks open. Routes vary but they always go through some part of Walt Disney World and the meeting place is either Wide World of Sports or the car park at Epcot. As usual Disney’s attention to detail is evident from the start to the finish.

In March this year I attended the Princess races which ranged from a half marathon (13 miles) to a 3k fun run. The registration process was very simple to complete on line and then we had to collect the registration pack from Disney Wide World of Sports the night before the race. This contained your number for the race, directions to the start plus some goodies from the sponsors. My husband took part in the 5k race and he ran through Epcot past lots of characters including Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. The race was started by Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella and Prince Charming waited on the finish line to cheer the runners in. There was lots of ticker tape and a DJ playing very loud and uplifting music at the start and finish. The atmosphere was exciting with spectators cheering on the competitors at the finish line. There were stations for water and fruit and breakfast muffins were handed to the competitors when they finished the race. Coffee tents sold refreshments for the spectators too.

If you’re interested in finding out more or when the next races are please go to www.disneyworldsports.disney.go.com

Since those early days Celebration has grown in size with several new property phases being added, each with their own individuality and style. Names such as North Village, West Village and Evalyn Lake enrich the community with homes ranging from small condominiums to great mansions. Whether Disney’s original values still hold good is, I guess, a question for today’s residents to answer.

At first glance the Disney influence is very apparent, a hotel very much in the Floridian style, an Art Deco cinema that could easily have been transported from Hollywood Studios and a lake with walking trails reminiscent of Disney’s Boardwalk area. It is hard to come to terms with the fact that this is a working community with its own infrastructure including all emergency services and local amenities including schools, libraries and leisure facilities.

At the far end of Water Street, along a beautiful tree lined avenue is the entrance to Celebration’s very own championship golf course and back in downtown, just a ten-minute stroll away are the chic boutiques and elegant restaurants that can be found dotted around the lake.

Try Sherlock’s, which is a quintessential English teashop that also specialises in fine wines, or sit outside in the evening sunshine and enjoy Spanish tapas at the Colombia restaurant.  A tad cheaper is the Market Street Café, which does ‘the best breakfast’ in Celebration according to many reviewers. The Front Porch is an ice cream parlour with pavement seating, and is an ideal place to rest on a hot summer’s day with your favourite ice cream concoction in hand.

The visitor can be forgiven for thinking they have stumbled upon a perpetual movie set as Celebration is so far removed from the ‘real world’ yet only minutes from hustle and bustle of the US192 corridor. There are no chain stores or recognisable fast food outlets here and Disney has been clever enough to link Celebration Boulevard to World Drive so that residents can reach the theme parks and return home without having to venture on to any other major roads or thoroughfares.

So can the visitors…but don’t tell everyone!!

More & more good news keeps coming for us Villa Owners and Holiday makers alike.

With Universal Studios confirming the first Phase of Harry Potter’s Theme Park opening in Spring 2010, both Disney and Busch Gardens have followed with announcements of their latest offerings in the pipeline. Neither dare be left behind but they have welcomed Universal’s lead as they know it will continue to bring in the visitors until their own Parks are up dated.

Disney’s Night’s of Joy will be moving back from Hollywood Studios to The Magic Kingdom in 2010 where they originally started.

The Princess Area to be created is now being cleared at Magic Kingdom. It is their biggest change which will allow guests to Interact with some of Disney’s most famous Princesses including Cinderella, Aurora and Belle.

The existing Dumbo Flying Elephant ride will be doubled in size (not before time, with those long queues) and be included in a Circus Big Top Interactive queing area to entertain all of us during our wait. There will also be a new Pixie Hollow Greeting Area to meet all of the Disney Fairies. The 1st. Phase including The Mermaid ride and the Princess Area will open in 2012 and Pixie Hollow by 2013.

Busch Gardens are also getting in on the act and will be bringing The Sesame Street Safari to life on the Land of Dragons site. The Sesame Street-themed play area will feature Elmo, Big Bird and many other popular Sesame Street characters.

The only downside, sadly is the closure, again, of Cypress Gardens which unfortunately falls way behind the other Parks pulling Power.

Hope the new owners of Seaworld also respond to all of the proposed changes, it can only good for us all.

Regards,

Mary & Larry

Universal & Busch Gardens actually employ THOUSANDS of extra staff to dress up and SCARE the visitors as they make there way around the Parks. Their costumes are absolutely brilliant and with all of the Scarey bits there are lots & lots of laughs.

Seaworld include their nights in with the price but Disney, Universal & Busch have special ticketed nights so it is best to check the nights & prices out.

Universal have a Special Themed event each year & this year it is from The Silver Screen –CHUCKY & THE WOOLFMAN.

REMEMBER some Halloween Events are NOT suitable for young children. We have this chart below which will give you a good idea of the shows but again it is best to check everything out for your own family.

Halloween 2009 At a Glance

The events really do Blow the Socks off our shows here in the UK and are well worth visiting—IF YOU DARE!!!!!!

Have fun - we are over there so we certainly will

Mary & Larry

You’d be hard-pressed to find a small child who is not a big fan of going to the zoo.  Animal Kingdom is like no other animal park your child has ever seen and amidst the animal exhibits are the wonderful attractions characteristic only of Disney. 

Animal Kingdom is the smallest of the Disney parks and allows families with small children ample time to cover  the park at a toddler’s pace.  Your children will enjoy seeing some unusual animals that they may have never seen before like Komodo dragons, anteaters, and the Flying Fox (the largest bat in the world with a wing-span of 6 feet)!

The attractions that you will need to avoid with your small children are Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, It’s Tough to be a Bug and Primevil Whirl.

The rest of the park is totally suitable for all ages including Kilimanjaro Safaris which is a pleasant ride in an open-air safari jeep across the “African Savannah” where riders can view giraffes, zebras, lions and more in their natural habitat.

Your small children will enjoy the Wildlife Express Train or a ride on the TriceraTop Spin which is similar to Dumbo in Magic Kingdom (and always a family favorite) as well as playing in the Boneyard which is a play maze built around dinosaur fossils but don’t miss the fabulous performances.  Our favorite is The Festival of the Lion King.  The colorful costumes, incredible imagery including giant floats with all your favorite Lion King characters, stilt walkers, acrobats, trapeze artists, and talented singers rival the Broadway performance of The Lion King we saw a few years back in New York City!  

Finding Nemo – the Musical is not to be missed by little Nemo fans!  This colorful live performance with actors and puppetry is a shortened  re-telling of the movie only with original music numbers added in.

Flights of Wonder is an interesting program but may not be interesting enough for young children.  And if your children have a fear of birds, then this may a good one to avoid as some of the birds will be flying over the audience.

Have you ever thought of taking a cruise. Then look no further than Disney Cruise line in Florida. Their Disney wonder Ship leaves from Port Canaveral to head for the Bahamas and their own private island - Castaway Cay.

Over the last couple of years we have been lucky enough to travel on this ship on their 3 day 4 night cruise to the Bahamas.

As we boarded the ship we were announced by the staff and made really welcome. All food is included but not your alcoholic drinks.

Each night you will be seated in a different restaurant and sometimes with other guests. This is nice as you can get to know people from all over the world. You also have the opportunity to book a table at Palo’s a fantastic a la carte restaurant on the top deck. The chocolate souffles are to die for.

There are lots of different bars for the adults that provide different entertainment into the early hours.

During the day there are three seaparate pools - one for the little ones, one for families and an adults only pool. Sit by the pool and order your bucket of Buds.

There is entertainment during the day as well.

You will be astounded by the amount of food that is available. They even lay on a late night buffet following their pirates party.

During the cruise you will visit Nassau in the Bahamas and have the opportunity to go on tours of the island to see the different sights. Then you will move on to Castaway Cay Island - this is just out of this world. White sandy beaches, gloriously blue clear seas and barbecues. Get some bikes and explore the island or participate in beach games of sea activities.

It is just fantastic try it!

We exited the elevator and entered “The Zone”! (Actually there are four “Zones”, the Explore Zone, the Score Zone, the Replay Zone and the Create Zone)!   Our first encounter was with Buzz Lightyear’s Astroblasters.  This was pretty cool, though it took me awhile to figure it out.  Of course, my 10-year old son, on the other hand, was a pro in seconds!  You ride in these bumper car spaceship type vehicles and battle with the other vehicles by scooping up cannon balls and firing them at each other. 

Next, we tried Invasion which is a virtual reality ride where you have to try to rescue people who were captured by aliens.  I wasn’t much use to those poor people, but fortunately for the captives, I had my 13-year old daughter as co-pilot. She was the hero!

The Comix was interesting to watch – my husband and kids did this one without me.  You put on a virtual reality helmet and enter into a cyber battle with your laser sword.  They looked pretty goofy swinging their swords through the air at nothing!  Well, it looked that way to me, of course, but they were thoroughly engaged in their encounters with comic book villains!

I never thought I could draw! Well, in the Animation Academy, I found out that I had some hidden talent!  This was great – an instructor took us through the process of drawing a Disney character!

The Virtual Jungle Cruise was great fun.  We climbed aboard a raft and plunged down a raging river back in the age of the dinosaurs!  It was quite an adventure as we dodged some scary obstacles along the way.

The Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam was where I shined!  You stand on a moving platform that you maneuver with your feet and you control a pinball up on the screen trying to get the most points possible to beat out the other players.  I totally impressed my kids when I won by a landslide!  What – no prize?

It was about now that I discovered the Replay Zone and well, I was hooked!  I thoroughly enjoyed playing all my favorite arcade games from my university days.  Only this was way better because no tokens needed and I could keep playing to my heart’s content.  I enjoyed revisiting many classics including Pacman, Frogger, Space Invaders, and Centipede.  I never made it to the remaining virtual reality rides, but maybe next time!

Here’s what’s left for me to try when we go back:

Cyber Space Mountain allows you to design your own roller coaster on a computer.  When you’re finished with your creation, you get to take a ride.

Pirates of the Carribean – Battle for Buccaneer Gold must be very good as there was a VERY long line for this one.  You put on a head piece and enter the world of pirates in a race for gold.

Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride is another virtual reality ride where you put on your helmet and enter Agrabah and go for a ride with the characters from the beloved film Aladdin.

Our entire family really enjoyed our day at Disney Quest.  There’s definitely something for all ages!  Give it a try on your next trip!