October 31, 2008 Pack the Place Pink
 Magic is coming to Susan G. Komen with the first ever Komen Magic game when the Orlando Magic host the Philadelphia 76ers on November 6th. $10 from every lower bowl PINK ticket and $5 from every upper bowl PINK ticket purchased through the special Komen magic internet site will be donated to Susan G. Komen Central Florida. Get a team, challenge your co-workers, bring your friends and let’s see who has the most Komen/Magic spirit!! Remember, the password is PINK. www.komenmagic.com
The Orlando Puppet Festival
The Orlando Puppet Festival (November 7-9) is sponsored in part by IBEX Puppetry and Mad Cow Theatre. OPF brings puppetry to the forefront in Orlando and the Central Florida area, featuring local, regional, and national talent in the art of puppetry. www.orlandopuppetfestival.com
2008 Orlando Veterans Day Parade
Join Mayor Buddy Dyer in honoring our local veterans during the City of Orlando’s 2008 Veteran’s Day Parade which will be held on Saturday November 8th at 10 am in downtown Orlando. Bring the family, enjoy marching bands, floats (including 15 floats that have been featured in the Gasparilla parade in Tampa) and salute the men and women from over 150 central Florida veterans’ organizations. Immediately following the parade, join us for our post event on Robinson Street. The event will include a classic car show, float display, music and more! www.cityoforlando.net
Aerial Stage to Roar at Second Annual Space & Air Show at Kennedy Space Center
 Aeronautics will soar to new heights as an expanded roster of aviation stars will take to the skies for the second annual Space & Air Show at Kennedy Space Center featuring the Blue Angels November 8 and 9, 2008. With the backdrop of America’s launch facilities, the air show continues to expand, complementing the always spectacular Blue Angels Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. Newly announced acts set to take the aerial stage include the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division Parachute Demonstration Team, the Air Force Heritage Flight Program, the “Panchito” B-25J Mitchell Bomber and the C-130T Hercules Aircraft, “Fat Albert.” Tickets for the Space & Air Show at Kennedy Space Center are available online at www.KennedySpaceCenter.com or by calling 321-449-4400 with special savings for advance purchase.
Everything you always wanted to know about ‘Sesame Street’ but didn’t know who to ask
The Orange County Regional History Center with IBEX Puppetry and the Orlando Puppet Festival present a Sunday brunch event with Fran Brill, principal puppeteer of Prairie Dawn and Zoe from “Sesame Street” on November 9, 2008, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Orange County Regional History Center. Fran Brill is an acclaimed actress and puppeteer and was the first female Muppet performer to be hired by Jim Henson on “Sesame Street.” Brill answers the “how’d they do that” questions you’ve always wanted to ask, gives a peek behind the scenes of “Sesame Street,” and tells what it was like to work with Jim Henson. Using video clips, Brill tells how she broke into the “boys club,” and how she develops characters like Prairie Dawn and Zoe. Zoe will make a special appearance and a question and answer session and photograph signing will follow the presentation. www.thehistorycenter.org/
“Bold Hype” to host local group art exhibition
Bold Hype, gallery and shop, brings the best artists from Central Florida together for a group art show called “SURROUNDED” from Nov 14th till December 31st. Bold Hype’s goals are to bring the best pop-surrealist and lowbrow art from around the world to Central Florida, and to be a creative hub for the amazing talent that’s right here in the Orlando area. The artists included in this exhibition are Cake, Dolla, Patrick Fatica, Dennis Hansbury, David Hoskins, Charles Marklin, Phil Noto, Johannah O’Donnell, Dustin Orlando, Scott Scheidly, Andrew Spear, and Pam Treadwell. The opening reception is on November 14th, 6pm - 11pm. It will be at Bold Hype, 1844 East Winter Park Road, Orlando, FL 32803. www.boldhype.com
Fall Jazz Stroll at Leu Gardens
Harry P. Leu Gardens’ annual romantic tradition is almost here, the Fall Jazz Stroll held on Saturday, November 15, 2008, from 7 – 10 pm. Enjoy an evening inside Central Florida’s most beautiful garden with candlelit paths leading to some Central Florida’s very best jazz performers: Saxophonist Erly Thornton, (back by popular demand) Dr. Otto Gomez and Cornucopia Trio featuring Matt “the saxman.” Each band will feature favorite songs as well as originals. Pack a dinner picnic basket full of your favorite foods/drinks and bring chairs or blanket for this outdoor event. Tickets on sale November 3, 2008. Cost: $17 General Admission plus tax, $13 Garden Members plus tax (members may purchase up to 4 tickets at member prices per membership). Tickets are nonrefundable and nontransferable to other garden activities. Garden vendors will be selling libations, coffee and desserts. Tickets may be purchased at Leu Gardens Gift Shop or by phone 407.246.2620. www.leugardens.org
October 30, 2008 Here’s our final installment in this series on dining with teenagers, t’weens, and older kids at the Walt Disney World Resort.
You aren’t limited to restaurants in the parks - Disney has several great choices at the various resort hotels and you don’t need a park ticket to access these locations. Anyone is welcome to dine at these restaurants whether you’re staying at the resort or not.
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge ~ Boma. This buffet features African influenced foods in a unique setting. We consider this restaurant the perfect way to end a day at the Animal Kingdom Theme Park because the hotel is so beautifully decorated and has its own Savannah area with animals.
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort ~ Beaches & Cream. This is a tiny restaurant designed to resemble and old fashioned soda shop. They mostly serve burgers but the ice-cream desserts (Banana Splits, Sundaes, Milkshakes etc) are the selling point here. The whole family may want to dive into the Kitchen Sink (about $22) which has scoops of many different flavors of ice cream with every topping imaginable. It is served in a sink shaped bowl and has even been featured on the Travel Channel.
- Disney’s Boardwalk Hotel ~ ESPN Club. This is a sports bar type setting with soups, salads, and sandwiches on the menu. The décor and memorabilia will appeal to sports fans. No advance reservations available.
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort ~ California Grill. This is an upscale choice with entrees ranging from $20 - $36. This is definitely a “special occasion” location and it has a “Resort Casual” dress code (no tank tops etc.). The California Grill is at the top of the Contemporary hotel and offers fantastic views of the Magic Kingdom. We list this on the “Dining for Teens” page because the restaurant has its own observation deck which makes dinner during the Magic Kingdom fireworks very special.
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground ~ Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. I really debated about adding this location to the list because the Western themed dinner show will make many teens roll their eyes. Teens can have very strong opinions about their music but this is an incredibly popular dinner show that is a lot of fun. Use your best judgment about your own teen.
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort ~ Garden View Tea Room. Tea is served from 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. and can be a memorable and elegant experience for girls who enjoy this type of experience. Tea & Scones will cost about $11 but other more elaborate options are available and you can spend up to $25.50 per person (plus tax & gratuity).
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort ~ Grand Floridian Café. Here’s another location that almost did not make this list. However, this restaurant can be a great choice for girls who enjoy lovely settings. The hotel is beautiful and the restaurant is elegant without being pretentious. Taking the monorail over from the Magic Kingdom makes the arrival special too. This is a great choice for Grandmother / Granddaughter or Mother/Daughter lunches.
- Disney’s Polynesian Resort ~ ‘Ohana. Dinner at ‘Ohana is one of our family favorites. The meal has a fixed menu served family style. Pork, beef, and chicken are cooked over fires and brought to the table on long skewers. The food gets mixed reviews and some teens might be put off by the activities geared towards little kids (hula hoop contests, limbo contest) etc. This is one of those locations that you either love or hate, there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground.
- Disney’s Polynesian Resort ~ Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at Luau Cove. The Disney Luau makes the list because it is very popular. In our opinion, you should skip this if you ever plan to go to Hawaii. Do a luau there instead. But this dinner show is worth seeing if you don’t know when you might get to Hawaii and if you think your teen will enjoy Hawaiian music and dance.
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge ~ Whispering Canyon Café. This is a rambunctious restaurant with a western theme that is always popular. The food is hearty and good and the waiters are obnoxiously fun. There will be hobby horse races for little kids but most older kids will have fun with the theme. We consider this an “Arrival Night” or Water Park Day option because the rowdy atmosphere can be overwhelming after a day at the theme parks.
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge ~ Dinner with an Imagineer at Artist Point. We’ve already mentioned Lunch with an Imagineer offered at Disney-Hollywood Studios. Like lunch, this is a very expensive experience and completely worth every penny. “Imagineers” are the men and women who innovate and invent all the wonders you see around you and the chance to have dinner with one and hear about how the parks and attractions were created is an amazing experience. Dinner is at the Artist Point restaurant which is very good. Dinner is only offered at 5:30, every other Thursday. Because there is room for up to eight guests per table, you might be seated with other parties. Although young children aren’t prohibited, this experience is really only recommended for ages 14 and up. It can only be booked 30 days in advance. The meal is $99 for guest aged 10 and older or $120 with wine parings for adults. Each guest will receive a special souvenir to commemorate the occasion.
A Few Final Thoughts
One of the great things about having older kids is that they can help with the planning - ask them to look over this series and to tell you what types of meals interest them. It’ll be a lot easier than trying to guess what they will enjoy.
Keep in mind that these articles don’t include every restaurant on Disney property; we’ve focused on the ones that are fun or a neat dining experience. There are other restaurants that are simply good WDW restaurants; for example, your family may love a nice seafood meal when on vacation - we didn’t included Narcoosees on this list but that might be the best choice for you. Narcoosees is upscale and very good; it just isn’t an obvious first choice when feeding teens.
Bon Appétit!
     
Just a short note that if you live on the southwest side of town, it seems the new Whole Foods Market at the corner of Sand Lake Rd and Turkey Lake Rd is starting up a new farmer’s market.
According to the flyer, the first Sand Lake Farmer’s Market kicks off this Saturday, November 1, and it will run every Saturday after from 9am until 2pm at that Whole Foods location.
Not sure what the market will offer, but I think it’ll be a nice weekend companion to the Lake Eola Farmer’s Market. If anyone goes on Saturday, drop us your thoughts in comments section.
October 29, 2008
October 28, 2008 Any post on this site about finding a cheap Orlando hotel is obviously and admittedly going to carry a little bias. We of course believe we have the best travel bargains around; although we will certainly admit if we are wrong. Therefore we wanted to give everyone a little advice when searching for a discount hotel or package near the SeaWorld and Disney areas of FL.
One key suggestion is to shop around. Take a look at a few of the major booking engines such as Expedia or Orbitz. While it is not typically in our best interest to point out competitors taking a look at these sites might result in savings on your hotel. That said we’ve combed through both these sites ourselves and know that we offer some of the most competitive rates available and Orlando Vacation Hotels is usually the best place to find an inexpensive place to stay.
However, this article is not about shamelessly plugging the benefits of our website. Rather we wanted to offer you some nice tips to go ahead and book a cheap Orlando Hotel. Ask your friends who they’ve used in the past this is oftentimes a nice starting point. You may also wish to do a search on the internet to look for the lowest rates and best values.
The best suggestion we can offer any guest considering a vacation to Orlando is to stay just outside of Disney World. Those who stay within the theme park can easily pay three times as much as those guests who choose to stay at a hotel outside the resort. Another tip is to book a package in two places. It is possible to save by booking a hotel and purchasing theme park tickets separately, but many times a cheaper alternative is to buy these two pieces of your trip together. Generally, Orlando Vacation Hotels also finds it is less expensive to book airline tickets as a separate transaction directly through the airlines after first conducting a search on Expedia and then going directly to the respective airline’s website.
October 27, 2008
Epcot
November 28 - December 30, 2008
What better way to celebrate all around the globe the joyous holiday season than at the Holidays Around the World event at Epcot? Among the shows featured is a nightly Candlelight Processional, where an invited celebrity narrates the Christmas story accompanied by a fine 50-piece orchestra and a fantastic choir. Another excellent show is the “Illuminations” Reflections of Earth,” which showcases more than 1,000 fireworks, an amazing floating Earth Globe that has state-of-the-art LED screens and losts of great music. Holiday stories from all over the world are told by special invitees, including France’s Pere Noel, Italy’s LaBefana and America’s Santa Claus. Other not-to-be-missed events at Holidays Around the World are Holidays Storytellers and Lights of Winter.
Posted in Orlando Tagged: Candlelight Processional, Christmas, Epcot, Holidays Around the World, LaBefana, Pere Noel, Santa Claus      
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Disney is expected to announce the discontinuation of the Pal Mickey doll at all of their parks, including Walt Disney World. The doll, introduced in 2003, contains technology that activates when in proximity of senors found all over the parks. The sensors trigger the doll to deliver information about upcoming parades, wait times and trivia about rides close to where Pal Mickey, and his guests, is currently located. Once Pal Mickey travels back home with his new family, he hosts a number of games that don’t require him to be inside a park.
The Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World will close forever on November 1, 2008…..
A gunman hid in the bathroom of a Disney Magical Express bus on Saturday. Once the bus was rolling, he exited his cave and hijacked the bus, demanding to be taken to Downtown Disney at the Walt Disney World Resort. Once he arrived, he left the bus and disappeared into the crowds of the shopping complex. Investigators have not yet released any more relevant information.
