Let me enthuse you about this fantastic attraction. First of all, the actual stadium is wonderful, with ranged seating giving everyone a clear view: all the action in the pool area is displayed on huge TV screens behind the stage area: there are special seats for those unwary of how wet it can get when a killer whale swishes its tail across the pool!
It is a wonderful sight to see a tiny girl emerge from the depths of the pool standing on the very nose of a whale – she looks like the warhead of a missile fired from a nuclear submarine. The level of training is impressive to think that these huge sea creatures will respond to the will of tiny, puny humans.
On one visit to Seaworld, show time arrived and went by. Something was amiss. Sure enough, the trainer came on and announced that the whales were not responding to their normal routines (“they are being naughtyâ€) and it would sent all the wrong messages to the whales if they were allowed to get away with it, so would everyone be understanding that the show was being cancelled and would everyone leave and return for the next scheduled performance. And do you know, everyone got up with no moaning and filed out, perhaps realising that you don’t mess with killer whales.
You must see this show. On the way out my day was made a bit special when I won a stuffed model of “Shamu†for my grandson by shooting a basketball through a ring.
This review was submitted by one of our villa visitors
My Magic Kingdom – Love It
As far as I am concerned, this is Disney! Each time I have been to Florida the first thing we have always done is go to Magic Kingdom. This always gets us into the perfect mood and gets you ready for what must be your best holiday! Where else can you arrive at a park and on arrival to get to the gate you can either go by mono-rail or paddle steamer! We have yet to go on the monorail as ‘It Has To Be The Steamer’. On arriving at getting through the gates you arrive in the square at the bottom of Main Street. If you have ever seen the photos of a friend that has been to Florida, there is a picture of main street and the mighty castle at the far end, I still look at the photo from the first time I ever went there and remember the buzz and enjoyment of finally being there! You can even sit on a bench with Walt and Mickey mouse for a photo, albeit a bronze version (Mickey is busy after all).
This square is the start of the Magic Kingdom and the location for hiring pushchairs and the like for your day, you can of course take you own or hire them. At the far end of Main street in the mighty castle. This plays as centre point of the park with the 4 lands of Magic Kingdom as paths from this point. The 4 lands are .. Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland. Each land has its own themes and ideas of things to do and I have tried to summarise them below for you
Fantasyland
This is where you are to forget about reality and the restrictions there are and let the mind wonder and enjoy the surroundings. In Fantasy land you have things like ‘it’s a small world’, this ride is a very sedate calm ride, works well after lunch or when you want to escape the sun. It is a cruise around the world and seeing different cultures., this ride seems to always have quite a long queue but it moves quickly. There is also Peter Pan’s Flight, this is an indoors ride (or experience), this is generally code for simulator but gives you a birds eye view as if you were with Peter Pan.
Here you also have one of our favourites for the kids ‘Dumbo The Flying Elephant’, the most recent time I went to Florida it wwas with my wife, our 3 year old son and 2 grand parents. As soon as the grandparents confirmed they were coming, Nanny made it quite clear she was taking her grandson on Dumbo – And She Did! This is the roundabout with a difference as you sit on Dumbo’s back and can control going high in the sky and back.
There are many more rides but these are the 2 that jump to mind
Frontierland
Here is one of the classic roller coasters ‘Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’, a firm family favourite as fast enough to thrill the children but not too manic that the adults will not go on and so a solid family favourite. There is of course the obligatory photo that you probably need to buy afterwards of you screaming along the ride but a real one for the scrap book.
Once you have recovered you the have to go on Splash Mountain, I would find it hard to believe that anybody that has heard of Disney in Florida has not heard of Splash mountain. A 5 storey downhill slide (in a log) before splashing down at the bottom with the threat of getting wet, it’s brilliant!
Adventureland
One of the slightly quieter lands, this is the location of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse that you can explore, but also the location of the ‘Magic Carpets Of Aladin’, this is a simulator where you can fly through the skies of Agrabah on a magic carpet. You can also take the ‘Jungle Cruise’ as well as go on the ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ ride to sail through the Spanish Main with Captain Jack Sparrow.
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland offers the probably most famous ride ‘Space Mountain’! This inside rollercoaster is not a big bare knuckle ride and so could be ok for a sturdy smaller shild although it is in the dark inside the Mountain that you see from outside.
For all those star ranger out there, there is ‘Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin’. This was a massive favourite with my 3 year old and a few rides were required on this. It is a slow speed ride where you can try and shoot as many aliens to try and get a high enough score to become a Space Ranger.
Here you will also find Stitch’s Great Escape and also Monster Inc Laugh Floor.
On top of the main rides there are many smaller rides and of course the parades and most important characters meetings. My sons first meeting was with Pooh bear, and I have never seen him smile so wide and be amazed all at once. THIS is what Disney is all about to me! I wish I could go every day and ideally that everyday was the first day!
We also do always stay in a villa so why wouldnt you (in my opinion the only way you would do this type of holiday) and by booking the villa direct you know exactly where you will be staying. What other holidays involve glorious weather, a villa with a pool and the most excellent entertainment in the world!
Florida is not a destination for planning ‘Shall We Go’ it is a ‘When Shall We Go’ – Awesome
Florida IS Disney in my eyes and so whilst looking at Florida there is so much more to do around the Orlando, Florida area I though it would be good to come up with a Top Ten Disney Parks Florida Attractions. There are so many parts that are Disney and to see everything would pretty much take you the full 2 week holiday on its own and there is so much more to do, in this article I am concentrating only on the 4 main parks (Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot, Disney’s Holywood Studios and Disneys Animal Kingdom Theme Park) and will cover other areas suchas downtown disney etc,… in another post. Here therefore is my Florida Disney Top Ten Attractions and Rides that are a must
Cocoa Beach Florida some may say is not an attraction. I disagree with this statement as it is very much an attraction as much as the next place as it has its definate benefits and well worth looking at. Florida offers some of the best consistent weather as a vacation location and as such, beaches such as Cocoa Beach, offer a great chance for people to have a great day out.
When spending time in Florida people often only think about the parks and main attractions however it is also important to think about having quiet days otherwise people come back exhausted, the advantage of Cocoa Beach is that it is a great way to have a family beach day in Florida so that you can have some relax time, sunbathing and check out the sea as this is the closest beach to the Orlando area.
In addition to being the closest beach Cocoa Beach is also located close to the Kennedy Space Centre Orlando, therefore if you feel you are not wanting to spend a whole day on the beach then you could go to Kennedy Space centre in the morning (one of my Top 10 Florida Vacation Musts) .
Cocoa Beach also offers other things to do of course, for example this is the location of the first Ron Jon Surf Shop. Ron Jon Surf Shop (if you have not heard of it) is one of the most famous shops for all things surfing, you are able to buy all things surf including swim wear, Men and womens Surf Apparel, sunglasses and more. The shop is the Ron Jon flagship location with over 52000 sqaure feet making it a massive shop and worth a look.
Getting over to Ron Jon Surf Shop, Cocoa beach and Kennedy Space centre from the main location where most of the villas are located near Orland Florida. To get there depending on where you are you can get the I4 to the 528 which is known as the Florida Expressway but used to be called the Beeline expressway. This is a Toll road and therefore you will have to pay some dollars to use it but it is a direct, straight road that is perfect as traffic is quite light and the journey quick. From memory the speed limit was 70 which is slightly higher then interstates but as it is a long straight smooth road it is a nice drive in your american air conditioned car or van.
I have a strong memory from Cocoa beach as the time we went there is was where I went down on bended knee and proposed to my now wife as we are such Florida Fans. The slight problem I had after planning this for so long was to manage to leave the ring I had taken with me at the villa we were staying in and so had to buy a temporary ring at Ron Jon Surf Shop for the actual proposal and then repeat the moment back at the villa with the correct ring!
Having been to Florida a number of times and staying in villas everytime my family and I have found a number of things that we have done in Florida that may not have been thought of or even heard of and and so I thought we would share them with other to help make the most of your florida vacation holiday
Well, I hope that you have found this interesting. If anyone agrees or disagrees then note it here and we could make a revised version with others people opinion!!!
I have been to Florida 4 times and am the advocate for Florida Villa Holidays and I find it hard to find a reason why anyone would want to stay in a hotel. I therefore thought it would be good to come up with the only a Top 10 Reasons For A Florida Villa rather then a hotel. There is the obvious response that it is because I run a website whos purpose is to help hire out villas, BUT, I say to you, why do you think I set up this site in the first place !!! I truly believe a villa holiday is much better then a hotel holiday. I appreciate that for many a Florida Vacation holiday is a once in a lifetime expensive holiday and I want to help these people make the most of their trip!!
I hope that people read this and see the benefits. I am not saying hotel stays are not correct for some people but I am DEFINATELY not one of those people
Driving in Florida or indeed America I believe is easier then driving in the UK. As with doing anything in a different land you have to allow for differences. Here is my top 10 list of differences in the driving experience in the US of A from my 6 or 7 times driving in America
I hope that you find this useful. I prefer driving in the US rather then the UK for lots of reasons but one is probably that you tend to end up with a car that is much nicer then my own, sometimes with a soft top or a 4 x 4.
This is a stunning 6 Bedroom Florida Vacation Villa close near Orlando and located less than 4 miles from the Magic of Disney Land Florida in the estate community of Sunset Lakes . This villa boasts a 3,000+ sq ft home that is both modern and luxurious.
A stunning king master suite with private balcony overlooks the conservation area there are then 2 queen bedrooms, 1 triple bedroom and 2 further twin bedrooms. The villa also has a family room, fully equipped kitchen with breakfast bar, formal lounge, a breakfast nook, games room and utility room completes a layout that gives the ability for combined families or larger parties to holiday together, or those just requiring lots of space.
The villa boasts a wonderful private, south facing pool, extended deck and lanai with stunning views over the conservation area, enjoy the tranquility and watch the wildlife whilst relaxing in the fabulous hot tub/spa.
Finally there is a  fully equipped games room with Pool and Foosball tables, a Dart board, Punch Dummy, Tomb Raider Slot Machine and a selection of childrens toys. There is also a seperate utility room which has a separate large washer and dryer, iron and ironing board – no need to take all that dirty washing home.
With all this available in this large villa ensure that you check out the Penny from heaven photo gallery and fact sheet where you can even see its own JUKE BOX
Ashley Lodge Vacation 5 bedroom Villa is a spacious, light and airy, luxury accommodation that offers a superb location in the Florida Community of Ashley Manor with a large 0.3 acre plot, overlooking a lake. This Vacation Villa offers a a large (32ft x15ft)sun-drenched, private pool which is not overlooked. It also boasts a superb 6 seater Hot Tub/Jacuzzi with coloured waterfall.
As Ashley Lodge Villa is located in Ashely Manor this means that it is close to Disney, Universal Studios + golf courses. Ashley Lodge Villa boasts 2 master bedrooms plus 3 other bedrooms, a superb games room and Play Station 2 also free wireless internet access and PC .
Here you are able to view the Ashley Lodge Vacation Villa Photo Album and Facility Sheet
The rental villa has a large, private, southfacing, walled garden and there are shops and restaurants within minutes, there has also been thought for those travelling with infants as it offers complimentary baby equipment they also offer free national + international telephone calls with a friendly and responsive management company to look after you.
This luxurious and spacious, 3 bed/ 2bath pool home is nestled in the beautiful and popular golf community of Esprit, away from the crowds, but minutes from the action. This villa has MANY upgrades, and has been furnished, to a very exacting standard. That is why the villa is popular and gets booked quickly.
The pool boasts gas heating which is optional and only recommended October to March (this is charged at a small additional cost)Â it has a large deck area with luxury padded furniture Comfortable lanai with table and chairs to cool off or enjoy a meal al fresco ! Just think you take a sip from a tall glass by your side. Florida sun warms your tanned skin. The only sounds you can hear are the gentle lapping of the water in the pool, and the distant sound of excitement as the children are playing happily; your better half is relaxing in the cool, watching a good movie. Your thoughts drift to the evening….a short drive to a nice restaurant for dinner or just stay in, take a walk to the lake in the evening sun, and make it an early night?
Have a look at the Fun In The Sun Photos and Facilities
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