Other Disney Attractions

Did you know that there are lots of other Disney attractions apart from the theme parks?

Of course, if this is your first visit you will probably want to spend most of your time at the parks with a bit of rest and relaxation in between. After your second or third visit we found it was nice to do something a little different.

Here are just a few Disney treats, some of which will not cost you a penny:

1. The Electrical Water Pageant is a nightly display that makes its circuit around Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. It is best to check at a Guest Services desk either at Magic Kingdom or one of the resorts for the times but as a general rule it starts at 9pm. We find one of the best places to watch it from is the beach at the Disney’s Polynesian Resort. The pageant consists of two strings of seven barges, each carrying a 25-foot-tall screen of lights. The pageant features King Triton and creatures from under the sea (turtles, whales, seahorses, even a sea monster) set to music. The pageant concludes with a salute to America, with Flags and Stars set to a musical medley of God Bless America, Yankee Doodle, and You're a Grand Old Flag.

2. ‘Wishes’ fireworks at Magic Kingdom can be seen nightly from the beach at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. We usually grab ourselves a beach chair, sit back and relax (beats being squashed by the crowds standing up in Main Street, USA). Unfortunately, you can’t hear the narration or the music or see Tinkerbell flying through the sky but if you have already seen it for real and have used up all your days on your Disney tickets this is the next best thing!

3. Disney’s Boardwalk is home to a wide range of entertainment. Jugglers, magic shows, a pianist playing the piano whilst riding a bicycle and a whole host of other activities. These can differ from day to day but are usually in the afternoons or early evenings. One of our favourite things to do at Boardwalk is to rent a Surrey Bike. Two, four and six-seater bikes are available and a pedal around the picturesque promenade is great fun.

4. Disney’s Miniature Golf. Disney has four courses in two separate locations each having 18 holes. Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf Courses are in the Epcot Resort area on Buena Vista Drive just across from the WDW Swan Resort. You can choose from the fun ‘Fantasia Gardens’ course (dancing hippos, leaping fountains and marching broomsticks complete with music and interactive obstacles) which is more suitable for adults with young children or the ‘Fantasia Fairways’ (par-three and par-four holes ranging from 40 to 75 feet long) for the more experienced golfers. The Winter Summerland Mini Golf Courses are adjacent to Disney's Blizzard Beach water park. The Winter course is covered in snow with ice castles and snowmen and a trip to the ‘North Hole’ whilst the Summer course consists of sandcastles, surfboards and a visit with Santa on the Winternet.

Disney provides lots of activities not only for their resort guests but also for anyone to enjoy. Try horse riding at Fort Wilderness, fishing excursions on Bay Lake or the Seven Seas Lagoon, or rent a tandem bike from the Bike Barn at Fort Wilderness. You’ll never been short of something to do at Disney.

Have fun!

Vacation In Comfort With Kids

Author Dave Leonhardt provides three ways to reduce the stress and relax while travelling with kids.

It takes a special person to travel with kids – a parent. Children have their own needs. Their idea of a vacation is more “adventurous” than a parent’s. They need constant stimulation and they can get as tired as they are tiring.

There are many top ten type lists of tips for traveling with children: how to ensure they eat well and drink enough, how to dress them for weather variances, how to provide the stimulation they need, how to make sure they don’t drive off with the family car and leave you stranded in the Mojave Desert, etc.

This list is how to travel in comfort – without tying the children to the roof rack — which hopefully will reduce your stress.

Read the complete article: Vacation In Comfort With Kids

Alternatives for Business Travelers

Private villas and bed and breakfasts are top choices for business travelers known also as holiday homes or villas are essentially houses that rent on a weekly basis. They are not much help for fly-in meetings. For those, only an airport hotel will do.

But if you plan to be in town for the better part of the week, there is nothing like kicking back in your own private home – a rental home, of course. “Hotel rooms are cramped; a villa is spacious with room to walk about. Hotel rooms have a TV and desk in the bedroom; a villa has surround sound TV and stereo with comfortable couches and chairs in various parts of the home. A hotel has a public pool; a villa has a private pool,” says Robert Miller from Houston, Texas. “It’s private. It’s comfortable. It’s like a home away from home.”

Mr. Miller notes that a vacation home rental also serves as an office away from home, with one room dedicated to the office. “In a villa, you don’t have to sit on your bed when you type those memos. And what a great way to entertain business contacts.”

Business travelers often bring their family along to enjoy Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and other famous theme parks. The family plays while the business traveler works. When the meetings are over, they all head for Disney together, perhaps for another week. With family in tow, a private rental home makes much more sense than a crowded hotel room.

Ten Great Reasons to pick a Florida Vacation Villa

Top ten list of why a family should pick a vacation rental (specifically a vacation rental home):

1. Not toiling to find ideal, adjoining rooms.

2. Everybody gets privacy, without having to worry about where the kids are.

3. In private vacation rentals, you don’t have to share the common area with strangers, but you can still lounge around together.

4. More than one bathroom. Need I say more?

5. Lots and lots and lots of more room. This is usually the main selling feature.

6. Florida vacation rentals include a private pool, in most cases. “Great to swim with the sound of insects….fortunately outside the ‘cage’”, wrote one visitor in the guestbook of Our Dream Villa.

7. Usually cost less than hotels. Florida vacation rentals often cost less than motels on the Kissimmee strip, for example.

8. Store cold drinks, ice creams, fresh fruit or any other snacks you fancy, which is a huge cost saver, suggests Florida Golf and Disney Villa owner Christine Creasy. And a great convenience, too.

9. Barbecue any time you want. You can still eat out, but you don’t HAVE to.

10. You don’t have to take home several weeks’ supply of dirty laundry.

Orlando Vacation Tips for First Timers

As for the things to do in Orlando, the list is endless. For older children and adults, Universal Studios is usually the most popular. There are lots of thrill rides there and the rides are based on films they will have seen such as ET, Terminator, Spiderman, The Hulk, The Mummy, Back to the Future, Jaws etc.

Universal is split into 2 parks and you can get special tickets to cover it plus other parks. This is called a Flexi ticket. It allows 14 days access from day of first use to: Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Sea World and Wet and Wild Water Park).

You should also visit Universal in the evening as the City Walk, is full of restaurants, bars with live music and shops, and is great fun to walk around in the warm evenings. If you are visiting in October, Universal does the best Halloween Fright Night I have ever seen. It is worth travelling in October just to go to this.

Disney has 4 main parks, which are Magic Kingdom, Epcot Centre, MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom. The best option for Disney is definitely the ticket that allows you to hop from park to park on the same day and gives you entrance to one of the water parks which are excellent.
The Water Parks are called Blizzard Beach and Typhoon lagoon. My kids tended to like Typhoon Lagoon the best because of the wave machine but this may be a bit powerful for smaller children and non- swimmers.

Disney tickets are cheaper for kids, but they have to be under 10 yrs, and most younger children like The Magic Kingdom the best as they get to see the great day and evening parades with all their favourite disney characters. The evening Light Parade is also very popular, but make sure that it is on on the day you go.

Management Company Mistakes

In the 4 years that I have owned a Florida villa, I have had 3 local management companies. Now, while I am thrilled with my current management company, there are several mistakes that I see management companies making:

1. Pay the bills - don't ask questions - Several times I would get the "invoice" from my management company and they would not send a copy of the original invoice so that I could confirm that what they paid was the amount charged by the local vendor. Also, several times there were mistakes on the account that I had to call the vendor and get corrected. Why didn't the management company catch it?

2. Who cares what the property looks like - who's going to know? They are in England! - I am continuously surprised at some of the neighbor villas around me that are not kept up when I know the owner is paying someone to do it. The lawn isn't mowed or weeded. The house needs to be painted. The roof still has a blue tarp on it even when the other houses have been repaired.

What issues have you had with management companies that you can share?

Welcome to our Florida Villa Blog

Welcome to our Florida Villa blog. The goal is to help villa owners and travlers discuss their experiences and to help travelers save money on their next trip to Orlando. We do own a villa in the Davenport area that is a wonderful place to relax and use as a "home base" when visiting the local attractions. We hope you will check us out. But that is not the purpose of this blog. It is to discuss renting villas overall and the experiences people have had. Check us out and enjoy your stay. Kris Meier