Last Minute Villas

Last minute vacation home owner, Terry Gale, sent in some fascinating facts about the origins of Orlando and Disney.

Orlando, Florida, the world’s biggest playground, was named in honour of Orlando Reeves, an army sentry killed during the first Seminole War.

In early 60s, Walt Disney’s secretly and anonymously bought thousands of acres of farmland, orange groves, and swamp marshes to build a theme park where he envisioned an oasis where travellers could take their families and live out the kind of fantasies he had as a child.

Today his dreams draw more than forty million visitors a year.

Read the complete article on the origins of Orlando and Disney.

Vacation home owner, Christine Creasey, sent in this article about Cypress Gardens Adventure Park, which is well worth a visit and not only for the beautifully manicured gardens.

There are currently 38 rides to enjoy, as well as Splash Island Water Park (June 2005), Nature’s Way, Jubilee Junction, shows and concerts. There are also plans to introduce some interesting animals!

More than fifty all-star concerts will take place annually at Star Haven Amphitheater. General seating is included in the admission price.

Mango Bay features spectacular daily water ski shows as well as “Pirates of Cypress Cove” – a comedy show depicting life on the high seas.

Admission price provides access to all activities in the park including rides, shows, attractions and concerts. Also included is a second day free, up to six days following the park visit.

Read her Florida vacation tips and check out some beautiful photos here.

Last Minute Villa owner, Geoff Leach, a self-proclaimed Disney fanatic, sent in this article about extra attractions you may not know at Walt Disney World.

They include -

The Electrical Water Pageant - a nightly display that makes its circuit around Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake.

‘Wishes’ fireworks at Magic Kingdom - a display that can be seen nightly from the beach at Disney’s Polynesian Resort.

Disney’s Boardwalk - home to a wide range of entertainment.

Disney’s Miniature Golf - including has four courses in two separate locations each having 18 holes.

Read more about them here.

Last Minute vacation home owner, Christine Creasey, sent in this article about a unique tourist attraction in Florida called Fantasy of Flight.

If you are interested in aircraft and aviation, this is a fascinating place to visit. The world’s largest privately held vintage aircraft collection.

Fantasy of Flight is an attraction that takes visitors back to Early Flight, World War I, World War II and beyond. Many of the aircraft on display are rare pieces of aviation history. There are fascinating themed exhibits and displays, moments from aviation’s storied past.

The founder of Fantasy of Flight, Kermit Weeks, opened his aviation-themed attraction as a natural extension of a lifelong, unbounded enthusiasm for aviation and aircraft. Weeks has been involved in aviation since his childhood and is a skilled aerobatics competitor and aircraft designer.

Read more about Fantasy of Flight here.

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.

Read the rest of the article, Tips for First Timers to Orlando, by vacation home owner Suzanne Evans.

We received this wonderful testimonial from a happy customer, so I thought I’d post it here.

Here’s what she says.

Your website was recommended to me and I made an enquiry about a villa near Disneyworld for the last week of July. I received numerous replies. I was spoiled for choice. Three villa owners actually telephoned me. One from England!

I liked the fact that a shopper could click onto the villa to see various rooms for comparison purposes. I also found that the rental prices listed were negotiable. I ended up choosing a 4 bedroom, 2 bath villa with a swimming pool in Sunset Lake for 6 nights for only $595 including all taxes and fees.

Each bedroom had a TV with DVD player. There was also a Playstation 2 in the lounge with a Dvd player. There was also a game room with Air Hockey and FoosBall and it was within 5 miles of Disneyworld. This should keep the teenagers entertained.

I also liked the fact that it was a gated community. I have never rented a villa before and it was less expensive to rent a villa than a hotel room. There are 4 of us traveling. Myself, my adult daughter and two 14 year old grandchildren (a girl and a boy). Each of us will have our own bedroom.

I did check various hotels. The least expensive room that I could find near Disneyworld was a 1 bedroom suite with a King bed and a hideaway sofa for $109 a night plus a rollaway bed would have been an additional $20 a night not including taxes. A medium range room with two double beds at a Disney resort would have been $149 a night not including taxes and I still needed a rollaway bed.

If we had rented a hotel, we would have all been in the same room with one bathroom and one television. It would have been a little crowded. Needless to say, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and a private swimming pool in a villa vs all of us in one room at $46-$68 per night cheaper! No brainer!

I also liked the fact that there was a grocery store nearby so that we could have most of our meals at the villa thus avoiding the high costs of eating in restaurants or at the amusement parks. We can go to the parks, come back to the Villa during the heat of the day and have lunch, swim, maybe nap and then return to the park later in the day.

We travel next week so I’ll know more then. I’m sure that I will be satisfied. The villa owner e-mailed me most of the information and booking the villa was easy. I know that if we have a nice holiday that I’ll always book a villa vs a hotel room in the future. Thank you for your website.

Every villa owner that contacted me was gracious. I really had a lot of choices. It was a joy shopping for a villa on your website. Thanks again!

Mary Osborne

Author Dave Leonhardt outlines his top ten list of why a family should pick a vacation rental (and 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.

Read the complete article here

Private villas and bed and breakfasts are top choices for business travelers, according to Dave Leonhardt who notes in his article that

Private vacation homes, 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 Florida vacation villas rental agent Stewart Granville. “It’s private. It’s comfortable. It’s like a home away from home.”

Mr. Granville 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.”

Mr. Granville specializes in renting America’s vacation heartland: Orlando, Florida, vacation homes. 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.

Read the rest of the article Alternatives for Business Travelers

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

Don’t forget to take in some of the secret treasures of central Florida, says David Leonhardt in his article where he writes

Orlando is one of the top tourism destinations in the world. It features Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World. People come from every continent to take in these famous theme parks, and especially to meet Big Mickey.

But there is another Orlando, a city full of unexpected smaller attractions, that you might want to take in when you want something a little different or just a break from the crowds at Disney World.

Read the rest of the article There’s More to Orlando than Disney