March 2018 Update

Well it's been a busy 6 months.  Since Hurricane Irma left town we've been working at getting all the resulting repairs completed. We now have a new roof, new garage door, some screens around the pool were replaced and some minor interior repairs are still ongoing, but luckily no disruption to vacations has occurred!

We took a week this month to head to Florida for a quick trip. As usual we did some refreshing and updating, here's a little overview!

Master bathroom said good-bye to the wallpaper border and the paint got at refresh!

 In addition to the new refrigerator added in the summer, a new microwave joined the team this trip. We also added a new knife block and toaster.

 A new area rug for relaxing in the great room with your family and friends.

 We said good-bye to one of our old umbrella strollers and said hello to this cutie!

 Visiting the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot is one of our favourite things to do. So in keeping with our theme (Mickey's Garden Villa of course), we added this beautiful poster.

As a firm believer in the little touches, we thought positive affirmations for our guests were in order.

Lots of other little things were accomplished as well: new sheets, paint touch ups, and other routine maintenance.  We hope that people continue to visit and enjoy! We look forward to welcoming returning guests and getting to know new ones.

2017 Updates

It's been a long time since we posted and it's time we fixed that!  So lets get right to it. Continuous improvement is the name of the game and here is what has been done this year:

• Games Room overhaul (this is the big one)

• A new larger fridge to make big group vacations easier!

New outdoor clock and thermometer (F and C).

• We added a new clock in our African room that has USB plug to charge your phone.  
• Paint touch ups throughout.
• A new hidden Mickey for our youngest guests to find.
• New pool cues for the table.
• New games, cards and shelf in the games room.
• New linens, mats

June 2016 Update

We love to keep our guests, past and future, updated about our ongoing improvements at the house.  After a week in the Florida sun we are back home and want to share our most recent updates with everyone. Without further ado here they are!

We have a brand new patio table and matching chairs.

A brand new mat to welcome you to your home away from home.

The pool deck has gotten a facelift. Are you ready for a vacation now?

New light fixture in the Queen master bathroom.

Our Alice bedroom has new bedding and some fun drapery.

Quidditch supplies have made an appearance in our Harry Potter room.


Some other minor items also include, new hallway lights, and new clothes hangers in all the bedrooms. Spring cleaning and maintenance items were taken care of as well.  We hope that all the little things make our guests vacations just a little bit more enjoyable.  We welcome all comments!

News from Mickey's Garden Villa-Updates, Updates, Updates!

The month of October brought another trip for our family to the sunny state of Florida.  Prior to our arrival plans for upgrades and improvements to the house were already in progress.  We are always looking for ways to improve things for our guests. I truly enjoy looking for the little things that add that special something to the house.

For quite awhile we've been planning on replacing the carpets in the bedrooms of the house.  It is now done! Brand new carpeting in all the bedrooms and upstairs hallway.  We hope that everyone enjoys it as much as we did.  Along with the carpets we also got some paint touch ups completed to freshen up the house.

Another big item was removing the vertical blinds in the living room.  They did their job but it was time for them to retire. In their place we have put in drapes that not only provide privacy but we think they look nice too!

One of our fun additions is pictured below:

No Harry Potter themed bedroom would be complete without some trunks. Where else would our visiting witch and wizards like to put their things while on vacation.

Here's the list of things we accomplished for our guests on our last visit:

• Main floor Queen bedroom: new TV, new bedding, new blinds
• New carpeting in all bedrooms, upstairs hallway and stairs
• Paint touch ups throughout the house
• New drapes in the living room
• King master bedroom: new lamps, robe hooks in en suite
• Some new Disney touches in the dining room
• Queen Master bedroom: new TV, new shower curtain and rod in en suite
• Bunk Bed room: new ceiling fan, TV stand and blinds
• New nightstand in Harry Potter room
• Towel/swimsuit hooks in lanai/pool bathroom
• Alice in Wonderland room: new Alice pillow cases
• Motion/temperature sensor in upstairs hallway

Well that's it for now, we hope that all of our guests enjoy our ongoing updates. We only have 3 weeks left available in 2015 and we are looking forward to welcoming more guests in 2016. If you have any questions or comments we'd love to hear from you.

Star Wars Weekends

On our most recent trip to Florida we spent a day at Disney's Hollywood Studios and took in Star Wars weekends. We've been once before, so with a little experience under our belt we spent a day with some amazing Star Wars fans and celebrities.

If you have never been to Star Wars Weekends (SWW) and are a fan of the movies and TV shows it is a blast.  We were lucky to be in town for weekend number 5 and were lucky enough to see some amazing celebrities in the parades and in some shows.  

 Up close and personal with an Ewok during the parade.

 Trading with a Jawa (we traded an elastic hair band for a coin)

 Storm Troppers escorting Darth Vader through out the park

 Chocolate and peanut butter Darth Vader Cupcake (yum!)

 Yoda cupcake which was also amazing!

 Jango Fett posing for pictures.

 Jawas in the parade

 Ray Park (Darth Maul) in the Celebrity Motorcade.

 Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca)

 Tuskan Raidar

 Mace Windu and Kit Fisto

Last but not Least Frank Oz (the voice of Yoda)

We really enjoy the fun atmosphere and the celebrities. Last year we saw Mark Hamill in the parade. This year we had fast passes to see the Celebrity Talk show with James Arnold Taylor (Obi Wan Kenobi in the Clone Wars). We got to experience the fun pre-show with some comical Storm Troopers and listened to both Ray Park and Peter Mayhew talk about their Star Wars experience.  We had a great time. One of our daughters favourite moments was having Ashley Eckstein (the voice of Ashoka Tano in the Clone Wars) speak directly to her during the motorcade.

If you are a Star Wars fan, it's time to start thinking about planning a vacation during  SWW 2016.  If you need a place to stay we can help!

Trader Sam's Grog Grotto - Our 2 Cents!

On every trip we like to try something new. This trip we did a couple of new things but today we'll only talk about one of them. Our first night in Florida we headed over to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort to check out their new restaurant Trader Sam's Grog Grotto.  There is both indoor and outdoor seating.  The drive to the resort is about 10 minutes from the house making it a quick trip.  Trader Sam's opens at 4pm and closes at 12am.  This is great unless you plan to bring your kids along.  The under 21 crowd is only allowed in until 8pm and then they need to find somewhere else to hang out.

The house is so close to Disney that you can feel part of the magic whenever you wish.  With kids in tow we arrived in time to pick up a pager to see if we could get a seat inside but while we were waiting decided to sit out on the patio.  This way we could get our order started so as not to miss out on the chance to partake in the food and drink.

The patio once the rain started!

With thunderstorms looming we got right to business. First up some drinks.  The kids tried a couple of Sam's No-Booze Brews. First up was Polynesian Punch.  This drink came in a souvenir sipper which was the big draw for our daughter and she really liked the drink but found it to sweet.

Next up for our son was Schweitzer Falls.  This had tropical juices and "Gorilla Grog", but the pineapple wedge and umbrella were a favourite.

Now as for Adult drinks, if you don't like rum then you won't find much to your liking.  Toby picked out the HippopotoMai-Tai (Coruba dark rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Bols Orange Curaco, Orgeat, Organic Agave Nectar, and lime juice).   I tried it and thought it was good but a bit strong. The best part is that it came in a souvenir Tiki glass. The drink was expensive around $15, but you could go to one of the stores in the resort and buy and empty glass for the same amount (and it doesn't say Trader Sam's).  

(Tiki glass, and No-booze brew sipper)

I have always wanted to try a Dole Whip (pineapple soft serve) but never wanted to wait in line. There is now the Pineapple Lanai at the Polynesian and I had planned to go there after we ate but instead I ordered the Spikey Pineapple, which is basically a Dole Whip with rum. All I can say is Yum, it was really good.

With drinks out of the way we ordered some food.   It's not a really big menu more like a good selection of appetizers or finger food.  We ordered the Headhunter Sushi roll and the Pan-fried Dumplings.  The sushi was good but I wouldn't rave about it. None of us liked the beet dipping sauce and just stuck with the soy sauce.  The Dumplings were great, tasty and satisfying.  I would definitely order these again.  

Head Hunter sushi (top) and Pan-fried Dumplings

We did enjoy the experience and I'd love to go back and sit inside where I hear lots of Disney magic is at play when you order certain drinks.  Make sure you check it out on your next trip.                                                                 

New at Mickey's Garden Villa-June 2015

We just spent a whirlwind 4 night stay at the house last week.  It was a lot of fun as we surprised the kids with the trip, and that made it even more enjoyable.  Even though we weren't there for very long we managed to fit in some additions to the property.

Some items may not be that glamorous, but they are essential!

• 4 New lounge chairs by the pool. They are very comfortable and they have several positions, even flat.

• Deck box for all those pool toys 
• New washing machine (the dryer will follow next month).
• New hallway light leading to the Queen master bedroom.

• The less exciting work done was changing smoke detector batteries, and pressure washing the pool deck and some minor paint touch ups. 
• We also got some new pictures of the pool and some other rooms.  We'll get these up on the website soon.

Regular visit items also included doing an inventory of our linens and putting out new ones as needed. For such a short stay we managed to accomplish quite a bit. We hope that all our guests will enjoy the new additions! 

Harambe Market opens at Animal Kingdom with African-inspired food and th...

Animal Kingdom has some of the best theming at Disney World. This new market area looks amazing. You will need to check it out on your next trip!

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.

Ongoing Updates at Mickey's Garden Villa

As owners we strive to continually improve our property for our guest's enjoyment. This December we continued our commitment and guests will find the following changes at Mickey's Garden Villa:

1. Queen Master Bedroom: new bedding, linens, ceiling fan and window coverings.
2. Queen Guest Room: new African decor, new blackout drapes, new mattress set
3. King Master Bedroom: New faucets in the en-suite
4. Alice in Wonderland bedroom:  New comforters
5. Harry Potter Bedroom: New picture frames, curtain rod and Hogwarts crest
6. Bunk Bedroom:  our movie themeing continues with the addition of a DVD player, movie camera lamp, popcorn pillow and 2 more movie posters (Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars, episodes 4, 5, 6). We also replaced linens in this room as well.
7. Kitchen: we replaced all the pots and pans, added some miscellaneous utensils and added a double Belgium waffle iron.
8. Living area: new table and floor lamps.
9. Outside:  a security camera was installed, some minor paint touch ups, new closures on the screen doors and in October we had the pool heater replaced.
10. Luggage stands in 3 bedrooms.

The Windsor Palms Clubhouse has also undergone some improvements as well.  The gamesroom has gotten new games, carpet and paint.  The Cinema has also been refreshed.

We welcome all questions and comments. Thanks

Checking-In at Mickey's Garden Villa

Planning a vacation is a lot of fun.  If it is your first time staying in a vacation rental you may have a lot of questions.  One thing that is important to understand is what happens on your check-in day.  At least one week prior to your arrival we will send out written instructions that you can print out and keep for reference.

Check-in time is 4:00 pm.  We have guests request early check-in times and if our schedule allows we will accommodate.  During peak vacation times such as summer this may not be possible. 

We have a keyless entry system at the house. We provide all guests with the opportunity to choose their own code. If there is not a preferred code we randomly assign one for the duration of your stay. The code that you use during your stay will work on all doors with an electronic lock. 

When you arrive at Windsor Palms you will need to register your vehicle at the gatehouse. Our resort is a 24hr manned gated community. After the first time you stop at the gate and receive your pass you will not need to stop and register again, just make sure that your permit is visible when you pull up to the gate.

You are almost there!! We have parking for 2 cars in the driveway and if needed one car can be parked on the street.  If you have more vehicles than this we would appreciate if they were parked up at the clubhouse where there is ample parking. Please make sure that no cars are parked on the lawn, the grass and sprinkler system will appreciate it!

Once at the house you can proceed to the front door.  To unlock the door follow the instructions in the video posted below:

Welcome to your vacation! We hope that you have a wonderful time and feel free to contact us with any questions.

It's A Pirate's Life for Me!

Well not really, but it does involve salt water.  We have a BIG change coming to Mickey's Garden Villa. Just this past June we painted the pool deck and updated the lights in our pool to colour changing LEDs. These are not only fun but they are also more energy efficient.

We also upgraded our pool pump to a more efficient unit. The only downside to it was that now our guests have to press 2 buttons to turn on the spa. You are on vacation and we hate to make more work for you!  So in the interest of all our guests we thought we'd go one step further and do one more pool upgrade.

To ensure that all our guest have a relaxing, stress and work free vacation we are putting in new pool controls and will bring back straight forward operation of the spa. Mid October we will have the new system installed and guests will be able to control the spa and pool lights from inside the house. Now you'll be able to turn on the spa and get it up to temperature without setting foot outside.

Now all you land lubbers are still probably wondering what Jack Sparrow, Davey Jones and salt water have to do with new pool controls. While we won't be inviting any pirates to vacation at Mickey's Garden Villa we will soon have a non-chlorine pool. During the installation of the new controls we will be changing the pool over to salt.

Why is this big news you ask? Salt water pools are great for several reasons:

• They are gentle on skin and eyes
• The water feels softer
• Safer, no harsh chemicals

We hope that all the improvements that we made to the pool will make all our guest's vacation even more relaxing. 

That's it for updates for now.  Please visit our Orlando area events page for information on upcoming events at all the theme parks. Don't hesitate to ask us any questions or leave a comment. Have a great weekend.

P.S. Today was also National Talk Like a Pirate day, matey!

Updates at Mickey's Garden Villa and Windsor Palms

It's taken a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things but I've finally gotten it together to write a new post on our most recent updates.

We had some great weather while we were visiting and that helped us to complete our biggest task. We painted the outside of the house and the pool deck.  You can check out the exterior in the above picture or check out our website  www.mickeysgardenvilla.com.

Our other changes are not so dramatic but fun none the less!

• New Alice in Wonderland Poster
• Pocket watch clock (shhh, don't tell the white rabbit)
• Gryffindor and Slytherin are now represented in our Harry Potter room
• New Hogwarts bedding and new linens
• Owl lamp for late night spell reading.
• Our bunk bed room now has a movie influence, some cool new movie posters.
• New drapes in the bunk room as well.
• Griddle in the kitchen
• Some new kitchen utensils 
• New stainless steel bowls
• New sink and faucet in Queen Master bathroom
• New sink in the pool bathroom
• New BBQ
• Safe in the King master bedroom closet to store your valuables.
• Outdoor clock/thermometer
• New dining room chandelier
• New phones and answering machine
• New pool lights

Windsor Palms has also been doing some upgrades. This month they have resurfaced our basketball and tennis courts. Check out the pictures below.

A stormy day when this picture was taken.

A sunnier day for the basketball courts.

So while the Orlando area has lots of attractions and shopping to keep you busy. If you decide that a day lounging by the pool or checking out the community is in order,  you are sure to find lots to do in the neighbourhood.

5 Things You Should Know when Renting a Vacation Home

So after all the drama of actually purchasing our vacation home we've settled into the routine of answering inquiries, general questions and sending out rental contracts.  We've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't.  I think that from all of my pre-purchase preparation and on the job training I've learned that being a responsive owner is important and that it is important to market the house you actually have.  When we first bought the house we had guests staying in the home the day after we closed for 3 weeks solid.  These bookings had been transferred from the previous owners.  The house that they saw online was not the house that they arrived at. It needed some TLC and unfortunately were unable to remedy the situation until there was a break in bookings and then once we could actually go to the house ourselves.
After a lot of elbow grease and some important purchases we can now be proud of the home we are offering people for their vacations.  After having a good number of guests through the home and based on my obsessive research into what people liked about their vacations and what they didn't, I've got 5 things that are important for people looking to rent a home for their vacation.

1. Ask questions when inquiring about the home you are thinking of renting.  No question is silly.  Most owners will be happy to answer questions about the property or the area where it's located.
2. Please make sure you have adequate travel insurance and check to see if you are covered under you home owners insurance for any lost or stolen personal possessions.
3. When you arrive at the property or during your stay, if you notice a problem let the owner or the property manager know. For example if you think the pool isn't working right tell someone, It's easier to fix it early on, we had the pool go green when someone thought they'd wait a couple of days before telling us and then it took twice as long to fix the problem.
4. If something breaks let the owners or property managers know, accidents happen.
5. Think about what your family/party needs or wants.  Do you plan to spend all your time at the parks?, are you going to stay at the property for some down time? Do you want to have a pool to lounge around? Keep all those things in mind and pick the property that suits you best!

The most important thing to remember is to have fun!

So What's New at Mickey's Garden Villa

It's been awhile since I put up a new post and thought why not update everyone on what's new at the house.  A quick 5 day stay at the house last month resulted in some further additions to the home. There was not a lot of distractions, since I think we managed to go when it was the coldest week in central Florida. (Although I cannot lie my Mom and I took a day to visit Universal Orlando, lots of fun that day!)  So here's a run down of what's new...

• New mattresses in both master bedrooms
• New bedding in the King master bedroom
• New shelving in the kids bunk room
• Area rug in the living room and new pillows
• Blu-ray player and Netflix in the living room
• Keurig coffee maker to compliment the existing drip coffee maker.
• Queen bedroom has some new decor!
• And this month we replaced the air handler and air conditioner (furnace and a/c for us Canadians)

While all of these things are great additions the biggest change was in one of the twin bedrooms. After some thoughtful consultation with our daughter we decided to invite Alice to visit Mickey's Garden Villa. We hope that we've managed to create a fun whimsical room for the young and young at heart to enjoy.

We hope that our guests will have fun discovering all the little details. On our next visit we will be adding more fun in all the upstairs bedrooms.  

140-Disney-Character 'Ultimate Tweet' Announces All-Night Disney Side Pa...

Disney has announced another 24 hr kick off to summer! I was excited to realize that we will be at the house for this amazing event. I asked our kids if they wanted to spend 24 hrs at the Magic Kingdom and received a very definite YES. We will try and post some live updates from the park on our Twitter account and put an event report here on the blog. Now do I dress up as a hero or a villain?

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!

Holiday Fun!

It is our first Holiday Season as vacation home owners. To help spread some holiday cheer (and a little exposure doesn't hurt) we are participating in a giveaway with some other fabulous bloggers, and facebook pages! It's the "12 Days of Christmas" Giveaway. There are 14 prizes in all, and they are fabulous! Starting December first you can visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/MickeysGardenVilla and follow the rafflecopter tab. Here is a sneak peek at the prizes. More to follow!

 

 

Make sure that you enter! Happy Holidays from our family to yours.

What's New at Windsor Palms?

It has been way to long since I put up a new post and thought it was about time, so here I am.  Things are moving along well down in the land of sunshine.  Since my last update we've made a few more improvements.  We have replace the child safety fence by the pool,  the blinds going out to the pool and purchased some additional pool cues for family fun.  Not big changes but every little bit helps.
Some big changes have arrived at Windsor Palms thought.  Just this month the new Tiki Bar has opened by the pool at the clubhouse.  The sundry shop has also been enlarged and totally renovated, it looks amazing. 

 

The sundry shop has basic food items, souvenir items and even popcorn for the movies.  Right now the Tiki Bar is serving food and non-alcoholic beverages. The liquor license should be in place anytime now. Check out the menu below, pretty reasonable and some nice options for a nice snack or meal by the pool. 

 

 

 

I think that this is a great addition to the community and we can't wait to check it out on our next visit!  What do you think, is this a good addition to the resort? Would you take advantage of it if you were vacationing? Thanks for stopping by. 



Time Flies When You're Having Fun...Right?

Whew! 2weeks in Florida can certainly fly by when you're busy.  With 5 sets of guests already having stayed in the house since we took possession it was our turn to head down to sunny Florida and attempt to make some of the changes we were planning a reality.  It was certainly an eye opening experience, one that I'm glad we won't have to tackle again any time soon.  At one point our kids had dubbed it one of the worst vacations ever!

Prior to our arrival we had arranged for some contractors to come in our first full day to quote for us the big kitchen reno. That went as planned and by the second day we had made our decision and moved forward with other tasks.  What we hadn't anticipated was the amount of clearing out we had to do.  The previous owners had kept all the old TVs, damaged linens and even personal items from the owners prior to them. We threw out a lot of stuff. The carpets had been cleaned prior to our arrival and next the tile floors had to be tackled.  We are happy to report that the floors are very clean and look great.

It is amazing how little tasks can take up so much time and energy. We truly wanted to have the house feel comfortable and welcoming to anyone renting it. This way everyone can enjoy their vacation in their own home away from home. For the benefit of our kids we had to squeeze in some fun activities, this trip was not the usual busy take the theme parks by storm vacation that they are used to.  As reported before we went to LEGOLAND, we tackled a mini golf course (that also had some gators the kids could feed, lots of fun!), Downtown Disney and on our last day after checking out of the house we went to Disney. 

We left the house in the capable hands of our property managers, who are great people and crossed our fingers that the guests arriving later that day would appreciate our efforts.  The kitchen looks so much different than it did before.  In addition to changing the counters and adding a back splash we have new dishes and cutlery, glassware and small appliances. We hope if someone needs something it will be in a drawer or a cupboard.

In other areas of the house we put all new linens and towels, 3 bedrooms got new paint and the hallways which have seen a lot of traffic got a new coat of paint as well.  Outside we cleaned and scrubbed the pool deck, cleaned the sides of the house and scrubbed the tile on the pool.  It was like spring cleaning in July.  We replaced the front door which had been badly mistreated over the years and installed a new deadbolt, handle and event a matching door bell.

It is hard to believe that all of those things took up so much of our time. I'm sure there was other things we did that I am missing in my list, but this will have to do for now.  Next post I think I will focus on the fun stuff we managed to squeeze in while in the Sunny South!