Raptors on the Loose at Islands of Adventure

This looks like a lot of fun! I can't wait to see what our kids do when this "little" guys gets close. With Jurassic World's premiere just around the corner I wonder what other surprises Universal has in store for us.

Hogwarts Express testing and Wizarding World Diagon Alley update at Univ...

With no official date set for the opening of the new London side of Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando rumours and statements made point to June 2014!  Our family is excited to see it, what about yours?  We have plenty of openings late June and throughout the summer. You could be on the Hogwarts express before you know it!

The above video is from our friends at Orlando Attractions Magazine!

When one Door Closes, Another Opens

We have become experts in extremes.  If you follow us on here, Facebook, Twitter or Pintrest you may have noticed that I've changed some pictures.  We put an offer in on another house last week and the offer was accepted.  While outwardly I don't think I appear excited about this but, both my husband and I are happier with this house than the previous.  It's a nice home that is decorated nicely and really only requires some TLC that is a result of normal wear and tear.

After waiting patiently for the other house to close, almost 16 months it was extremely disappointing to have it end in the way it did. So when we put the offer in on this house so soon after the first, we were prepared to move quickly...our closing date is this Friday. Yup, Friday. It has been a flurry of activity getting everything ready.  It's amazing how quickly a traditional sale can move. The ongoing joke is that if the other house was a short sale, this must be the long one. LOL, crazy isn't it.

Over the coming months we will be trying to make the house a welcoming place for our guests to create vacation memories to last a lifetime. Whether you're visiting Walt Disney World, hoping to catch a glimpse of The Boy who Lived, at Universal Orlando, catching a game of golf at one of Florida's many golf courses, or taking day trip to the beach; Mickey's Garden Villa will be a relaxing place to come home to at the end of the day.

It feels good to be moving in a positive direction. Although this undertaking will require lots of work on our part, we are looking forward to the journey! Have a great day!

How do you Sleep?

I think I might be driving my husband a bit crazy. I'm a little obsessed with mattresses.  I've been looking at options for the house in Florida.  Of course we have to check out what's already there, have a good sleep on all of them.  I personally am not the pickiest when it comes to firmness of the mattress, BUT I do really dislike saggy mattresses. I love my husband but I do not want to be forced into sleeping wedged into the middle of a bed with him. A girls gotta have some space to herself!

So I want to know what YOU like in a mattress!  Firm, medium, pillow top, plush.  I think I'm pickier about my pillow, and I travel with my own so it's not a big issue.  I put a poll up on the right of this post, pick more than one option if it fits your needs. I want some opinions! If the poll doesn't help you describe what you would want to sleep on, leave me a comment!

I am hoping that we are in the home stretch with this purchase. I am itching to go and get things moving. I want to start renting the house, I want to take the kids to a Theme Park, any one of them. We have Canada's Wonderland but it's closed right now and it's just not the same!  For our first visit this year, which will be both business and pleasure I think Legoland will be our goal. We've not been yet and I have a 6 year old who is saving every penny he finds towards his Lego fund! (He's doing pretty amazing, and I've been impressed with both kids saving since last January). 

So as we move towards the one year mark, I'm starting to get down to details.  Mattresses, furniture, paint and even getting my information package ready! But that's for another post.  Enjoy the rest of your week and thanks for stopping by!

The Planning Continues!

Now that the Christmas rush has passed, we've been busy with our preparations and planning for our "could be" purchase. Still no guarantees about anything, so I won't get to excited just yet.  I've had the insurance re-quoted and have talked with some other homeowners to get some advise and suggestions to get things going as smoothly as possible once we have the property.

I've had a lot of fun in this process, getting to know how to use social media. I feel like one of the cool kids who's all connected;)  Some people that I've connected with through twitter and during our property management search have been very helpful in preparing us for renting out our property.  You can read all the information on line in various forums and such, but talking to a real person either in person on via e-mail is so much better.

Hopefully this will progress smoothly (and quickly) and we'll be visiting Florida by February.  I cannot wait to be able to share our home with people. I can't wait to share all that fun with everyone. Whether it's a special picture of you or your children with Tinkerbell or having one of your kids recognised as the "kid who was using his magic wand to make people sweat" the previous day, there is enough  magic for everyone.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and thanks for reading and making this process a lot of fun despite the frustration and set backs.

The Anticipation Begins Again!

I haven't posted in awhile, but here I am back again!  It's been just over 2 weeks since we got any kind of update on the house. We've accepted that we're one of those looong short sales. So yesterday i received a couple of e-mails with some information on our progress since the new lawyers have taken over.  So here's the scoop...The Bank of America uses this equator system for it's short sales, it is supposed to help expedite the short sale process (LOL).  All information from the seller and from us has been submitted and accepted by the bank. I read on-line that we should hear from them within 20 days (we'll believe it when we see it).  Additionally another, BPO (brokers price opinion) or appraisal of the house has been ordered.  What does all this mean? Well from my point of view it means that it's taken a month to get everything in order to start this again. I'm hoping that things will move along now.

Why keep waiting you ask? Well I've said it before the house meets our needs and wants and I really love Mickey Mouse and just about everything else Disney! 

There's lots of things to do in the next few months in the Orlando area and we'd be happy to participate in any of them! Disney's  Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is on right now and if you're into scaring yourself then a visit to Universal's Halloween Horror nights might be in order! Many of the other theme parks also have stuff going on for Halloween as well so if you're going to be in the neighbourhood check it out.

Coming up next is Epcot's Food and Wine Festival. A must do and see if you love to eat and drink I would highly recommend it! Cuisine from all around the world in one place and tons of special events. Many on line sites including Disney's own can fill you in on the details.  And once the frights of Halloween fade away all the sights and sounds of Christmas will start to fill the air.  I wouldn't mind taking in any of these events so fingers crossed that we can get this house closed so we can take a trip and start renting this darn place!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

What Else is there to do when You go to Florida?

We are approaching 6 months since our offer was accepted by the seller on the house. While I patiently wait for an update this week I thought I'd put down some of the great things to do in Florida. We missed getting to see Star Wars weekends (maybe next year), so I need to have a list of other things we can do this time we visit.  Just about everyone knows about Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, Busch Gardens and more recently LEGOland Florida but what else can you do to fill some time while on vacation. Below I'll list some things I've come across or know of through friends and family.

1. Gatorland (www.gatorland.com)
    My nephews had a blast here and where else can you sit on a gator and get your picture taken?
    They also have a nice water play area for the kids.
    It's about 17 miles and 25-30 mins from Windsor Palms.

2. Lets go to the BEACH
    Coco Beach (www.cityofcocobeach.com), about 90 minutes (75 miles) from Windsor Palms. This
    beach is very near NASA (another great destination) and Cape Canaveral.
    Clearwater Beach (www.clearwaterflorida.com), beautiful white sand beach and among other
    things, you can visit the Clearwater aquarium to visit Winter the dolpin -of Dolphin     Tale fame
    (www.seewinter.com). About 90 minutes and 87 miles from Windsor Palms.

3.  One of my favourite things to do is MINI GOLF.
     Florida has some of the most amazing mini-golf courses I've ever seen (although I'm sure there
     others elsewhere). Here are a few to check out: Winter Summerland and Fantasia at Disney
     www.disneyworld.com, Hollywood Drive-in golf at Universal Orlando,                                           
     www.universalorlando.com;  Pirates Island Golf in Kissimmee is fun with 2 different courses, find
     them at www.piratesislandgolf.com; finally there is Congo River Golf, www.congoriver.com.

4.  OLD TOWN (www.myoldtownusa.com)
     Kind of like a year round amusement park there is quite a bit to do. There is a ferris wheel and one
     amazing looking go-kart track. A good way to spend a couple of hours if you want to get out but
     don't want to make a whole day of it. About 15 mins and 8 miles from Windsor Palms.

5.  ECO Safaris (www.floridaecosafaris.com)
     I think I've mentioned this one before, but I think it looks like a lot of fun. (About an hour away
     from Windsor Palms.

I think that gives you a few more things to mull over when planning your trip.  There are tons of things you can do. I remember as a teenager going to Sarasota and visiting the Barnum and Bailey museum....maybe you'd see Nick Wallenda while you're there! 

Hopefully I'll have another entry later this week with an update on the house. Until then have a great week!

Update, update, update!

So finally we get an update that actually tells us something!  I can't help but feeling bad about calling our agent or his assistant and asking what is going on.  It's kind of asking them to get water from a stone. They can't tell us anything if the seller doesn't tell them!  So through the miracles of modern technology (mainly *67), our agent spoke with the seller. So here's the scoop...

The 2nd bank has come back to the seller and requested some additional information (3 things, don't ask me what they are, just that there are 3!).  It sounds like the bank is going to approve the sale, you'd think I'd be jumping up and down right? Not so fast.  Once the bank approves the deal there may be things for the seller to consider. The bank may not forgive her the total amount owning after the sale, if that's the case then she can back out and we're left with nothing and she gets to start the process again.  The bank could in theory forgive her the whole amount or part of it. It sounds like to me that if it's true and the bank is going to accept, we'll be at the mercy of the seller and whatever decision she makes. I hope that all makes sense (or at least as much sense as it makes to me[:)]. At this point, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope the bank is nice to us and forgives most or all of what the seller owes (we have no idea what she owes so it could only be $10 000.00 or as much as $100 000.00, who knows).

In order to makes sure we have ourselves covered we're doing an addendum to our contract to extend the short sale (lol) approval date for an extra month from today and this pushes out the closing date as well.  Of course if we are indeed close to an answer this could be just an exercise in paperwork. But better safe than sorry!

 My goal in this whole thing is to try and close the house while Star Wars Weekends are happening at Disney Hollywood Studios.  The last Star Wars Weekend is featuring bounty hunters and I think my 5 year old would be thrilled to see Jango, Boba, Zam, and Greedo, just to name a few.  I guess that getting the house would be good as well but for the kids this would be a highlight. But in the event that we go down before or after the 4 weekends of intergalactic fun they'll be none the wiser, I've managed to keep that fact under my hat!

Have a great weekend!  If you would like more information on any up coming events at Disney, Universal or Legoland, check out some of the links listed below!

Travel Planning

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that everyone had a nice weekend and that anyone celebrating a holiday was able to do so with family or friends. 

I've not posted anything in awhile so I had to think about what I should share with everyone.  We're still waiting on the final bank decision and I'm hoping it's soon. Plans are still moving along though and you can find us at www.mickeysgardenvilla.com as well.

Whenever I start thinking about travelling to Florida I get into planning mode. I'm not a rigid traveller once I'm at my destination but I like to know what I can do or want to do when I get there. Over the years I've used a few sources quite a bit. It's amazing what you can find on the Internet these days and I'm often searching for new sources of information. I'll break down my favourites for you below.

Books

For Disney my favourite is The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World

If you'd like a souvenir when you're done PassPorter has the following:

PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2012: The Unique Travel Guide, Planner, Organizer, Journal, and Keepsake! by Jennifer Marx, Dave Marx and Allison Cerel Marx (Spiral-bound - Dec 13 2011)

Frommer's also has an excellent guide to Florida that we have purchased and it shows all the different areas in the state and where to go, see, do in each place.

Web

I personally love having a book to flip through when planning but using the Internet to do your research is amazing. The information you can find is great.  From dedicated websites of the place you are visiting, to discussion boards and blogs you can find professional opinions and feedback from travellers just like yourself. I've listed some of my favourites below.

www.mousesavers.com  (you'll find some info about other attractions as well, but mostly about Disney)

www.undercovertourist.com (Great prices on tickets, even better if you sign up for the mousesavers newsletter. And I think their apps for iPhone and android, and on facebook are great planning tools)

www.orlandoinformer.com (this one if for Universal Orlando and they also have a crowd calender to help with planning, as well as great information on the parks)

www.chipandco.com (for park news, planning and more)

www.allears.net

www.visitkissimmee.com

These are just some. We follow some great resources on twitter, so look us up (@mickeygrdnvilla). And we follow some amazing pages on Facebook (so check us out and LIKE our page).  We would love to answer any vacation questions or point you in the right direction.  Thanks again for taking the time to read.

When is the best time to go to Disney?

This is a question that everyone asks when they make the decision to go to Florida.  It is a much discussed question. We've been during a few different times of the year and I must admit that I really didn't like going in the summer.  We went last year in July and while we still has a ton of fun it was 2 things... really hot and humid and busy.  Now I think it's fair to say that Disney World is always busy but there are definitely times of the year that are worse.

My favourite resources for picking times of the year (and more specifically which days of your vacation to attend each park) are The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (by Bob Sehlinger & Len Testa ) and it's website touringplans.com; and undercovertourist.com. Undercover tourist has an excellent app for both Disney and Universal (available on both iphone and android operating systems). You can also find Undercover Tourist on Facebook.

I had the 2009 Unofficial Guide and it was well used up until this summer and I just recently replaced it with the 2012 edition.  (Our local Costco has it right now for a good price).  Before this summer we had gone in the spring, both times after Easter break in the U.S. was over and the crowns were manageable as was the heat! My only complaint with early April was that at night the temperatures we only in the low 20s, which for me is to cold to jump in a pool and go swimming once the sun is down (my kids on the other hand had no problem with this!).  The biggest problem we had with going in July was the Brazilian tourists. Now I'm not talking about a few, I'm talking groups of over a hundred and they seemed to follow us where ever we went.  I think a staff member took pity on us at Universal Studios and let us go in the express pass lane when we arrived at the Men in Black ride just after a hundred or so of them.

My personal opinions aside, I'm going to give you the quick list of best and worst times to go according to The Unofficial Guide!  These guys have done an amazing job making trips to Disney easier and it's well worth the money to pick up the book. So here it goes!

Busiest times at Disney:
1. Christmas through to New Years (although from what I've seen and heard the decorations are amazing, so you need to know what you want to see/do)
2. US thanksgiving weekend, week of President's day and 1st full week of November
3. Spring Breaks for Colleges and late March until about the 3rd week of April (other sources say this depends somewhat on when Easter falls)

Least Busy times:
1. Labour day until the beginning of October (keep in mind Hurricane season, if that is an issue for you)
2. Second full week of November until the weekend before Thanksgiving, and the week after Thanksgiving until the week before Christmas
3. Early January until the beginning of February also looks good but be aware of any special events or holidays as it will affect crowds.

I would think that a lot of the same logic would apply to crowd levels at Universal Orlando as well!  The other thing to consider is the weather and what your preference is.  I hope this helps everyone with their planning, feel free to ask a question or leave a comment. Have a great day!