Summer land mini golf

It isn't a trip to Disney without some miniature golf! There are many miniature golf options around Disney World. The choices in Disney World are Fantasia and Winter/Summer Land. 

The Winter/Summer, next to Blizzard Beach, land has two miniature golf courses: Summer Land and Winter Land. Winter Land is fun because it is winter in Florida and is usually the course we select.

This year, we selected Summer Land. Santa Clause is taking a vacation, and you get to golf through sand castles and beaches. 

If you are staying at a Disney Resort, you can take a bus to Blizzard Beach and then take a short walk down the path to the miniature golf.

Mini Golf while on vacation is a must-do. It doesn't matter if you are a good golfer or not  - it is all about having fun and being with your family. If you have some non-park time in your vacation, I highly recommend seeking out a course.

The Disney Rash

You have probably heard of or experienced The Disney Rash, as it is known. This is a red rash that occurs on the lower park of the leg, just above the socks. What is it?

This is known as a leg heat rash, or, Golfer's Vasculitis. All of the Disney walk ways are black asphalt. The sun light hits the black surface and gets reflected back up, striking guest's legs. For a variety of reasons, some guest's legs respond by producing a red rash.

I am not a doctor, and you should be cautious about taking medical advice over the Internet. With that said, this heat rash is temporary. It can be helped with a cool bath, elevating the feet, and applying cool wet towels after a day in the park. While in the park, take walking breaks often and get out of the heat. Keep socks dry and even consider taking an extra pair to change during the day. 

Not everyone gets the rash. From what I have researched, Determining who gets it is often a function of age, condition, exposure, temperature, and what is being warn.

The heat rash is not fun, but luckily it is temporary and usually goes away after a few days.

NASA

We decided to do something a little different for our 2015 Florida trip: NASA!

My wife and I had visited NASA in the early 90's, but have never returned. Our friends recommended we return, so, we decided to make a day out of it.

The entire facility is incredible and we even had a chance to talk with an engineer! A bus took us from one facility to the next. 

The most awesome facility was the Space Shuttle facility. We entered and watched a movie about the Space Shuttle Program. When the movie ends, the Space Shuttle Atlantis is presented, looming in front of us. That was very awesome.

There were many activities to do at the Space Shuttle facility and a lot to learn. There were even parts of destroyed space shuttles. 

If you are really into science and space travel, you'll love this. If you are, on the other hand, more into Sci Fi? You may find that our present state of space travel is a little disappointing and boring. Nevertheless, we had a great trip and will return again perhaps in a few years. 

Boardwalk Bikes

We love to visit the Boardwalk every year we can. The boardwalk has shops, a bakery, several restaurants, and some entertainers. But best of all, the Boardwalk offers free parking and a short walk into the back of Epcot!

We didn't go to Epcot this trip. Instead, we decided to just enjoy the boardwalk. The boardwalk offers a walking area that goes from the boardwalk, over to the Swan and Dolphin hotel, past the back Epcot entrance, and then back to the Boardwalk.

While it is fun to walk the path, we decided to rent the surrey bike to do the lap. It takes most of the 30 minute rental to make it all around the lake - especially with navigating other tourists and not running them over. We found it very difficult to pedal the bike up several steep hills. So, instead, my son jumped out of the bike and pushed us up the hill!

The ride was a lot of fun. Certainly something we will do again. The bikes are very popular and there can be a long wait for one to become available (especially if you want the four seater) so arrive early.

Splendid China Remains

Once upon a time (1993), China opened a $100M theme park outside of Disney World to show case many of the popular locations within China. The park lasted ten years and closed in 2003. All that remains is a white wall at the intersection of Funie Stead and Farmosa Gardens, behind which is an overgrown and vandalizes mess. The land was recently sold to a developer who is in the process of cleaned off for new vacation home development.

Other than a white wall along a street, is there any other evidence that a great theme park once existed in this area? In turns out - there is.

At the corner of Rt. 192 and Formasa Gardens is a plaza that was park of the land owned by Splended Chine. Within the plaza is a grocery store. And if you visit the grocery store, you can see that this store was once connected to the park. The first third of the store (produce and meat department) still have many of the original decorations.

There was once a river running to a fountain, and a bridge that went over it. That lead to what is now the magazine area within the store.

If you have an interest in exploring the history of this old park, I recommend visiting this grocery store to see all that remains.

Willis Clan

Our original plan was to leave Florida and go to Lousiana to the home of Duck Dynasty. Lousiana is a long ways from Florida, so, we thought of an alternative plan: go to Tennessee to see TLC's Willis Clan: a family of twelve children who sing, dance, and perform with an Irish themed show. They are probably best known for performances on America's Got Talent.

Unfortunately... The Willis Clan travels a lot during the summer. When I checked their schedule I found they were playing at the Troy Fair in Pennsylvania. We weighed our options for several weeks and then decided to do the Willis Clan show.

The Troy fair is a classic country fair except nearly everyone at the fair has a disgusting cigarette hanging out of their mouth. We really weren't expecting the plume of second hand smoke that hung over the fair grounds.

We left our hotel and arrived at the fair in time to see the Willis Clan's 4:30 show, then stayed to see the 7:30 show too. Inbetween, we got to meet the family and I talked with their mother (who plays guitar in the band). The "kids" (four of the twelve are between 19 and 23 years old) are enthusiastic, friendly, and outgoing when talking with fans. 

When not dealing with fans, they are completely normal. Several times while walking around the fair we would turn to see a Willis Clan member standing or walking near us at the fair as if unaware of their stardom.

The family was exactly as shown on the TLC show. Everyone was easy to identify. We arrived early enough to see them set up the stage: no roadies! The family members do all the heavy lifting.

They played many songs from their new album (something they are shown to be working on during the TLC seven episode series), as well as songs from their other albums and from America's Got Talent.

It was a great time and well worth the trip. We hope the Willis Clan great success.

As an additional bonus, when we left the fair, we turned out of the parking lot and drove right behind their tour bus. That was a great send off for us.

Vacation Villa White Glove Clean

If you are renting a Villa and expecting to find a house that is white glove clean? You will need to adjust your expectations. Management companies are only given a few hours to prepare a house for the next guest. That time is used for repairs, wash, cleaning, and more. Imagine if you needed to fix all the problems in your house in just a few hours - could you do it?

Rather than fight it, we accept it. In addition to the regular activities everyone should do when arriving at their villa, we go through the house and wipe down all surfaces with a cleaner. Sometimes we'll also run the vacuum. And if we are really adventurous, we'll move out the furniture and vacuum under the beds. It is amazing the things we fine (both odd and creepy).

You are probably thinking: I am on vacation, I don't want to clean a house. If you think like that, then you think like most people who rent a villa, and that is fine. 

You should be able to expect a minimum level of cleaning of the villa. There shouldn't be food crumbs on the floor and hair in the shower, etc. There are lines and your comfort level is different from the next persons, but there are some basics for everyone.

If you have higher expectations for cleaning, discuss with the property owner about costs around a more thorough cleaning. Some villa owners might entertain having the cleaning person do a more thorough job if you are willing to pay for it. 

Souvenir Pennies

There are many fun additions to a Disney vacation that can provide some great souvenirs: pin trading, wizard trading cards from the Magic Kingdom firehall, and more.  An old time favorite is Souvenir Penny collecting. 

In almost all the resorts and throughout the parks, you can find the penny making machines. 

Each machine has several difference designs that can be picked.

The system is easy: put two quarters and a shinny penny into the slot, select the design you want, crank the handle, and the machine will squish the penny and apply the new design.

Several gift shops have penny collector books to store and display the pennies.

Participation requires a little planning. Collect as many quarters and shinny pennies as you can before heading to the Magic Kingdom. Them, be on the look out for the machines. 

This can be a fun and relatively cheap collecting souvenir adventure for your children.

Poly Lobby

After a long wait, we finally were able to see the new lobby at the Polynesian. In the past there was always a large water fall. I loved that water fall and was upset when I heard they were going to remove it. The construction walls went up for what seemed like a year. And now, during this trip, we saw the results. And the results are amazing.

The large water fall has been replaced with a much smaller one:

The lobby is lit with glass globes overhead.

The best part is the large amount of seating that has been opened up. The seating is filled with people waiting for their rooms, waiting for a reservation, or just relaxing.

I had heard the waterfall was being removed to make room for a new world famous cafe. There is no cafe in site. Just plenty of comfortable seating.

While I do miss the old water fall, this new change isn't too bad. It is part of a resort renovation that included removing the arcade and removing a creek that ran from outside the lobby to the pool area. I am not sure whether I really like these changes, or I really like the fact that the construction is done. In the end, the changes look nice, are an attractive addition, and I enjoyed having the additional seating available. 

2015 Left Overs

In 2014, I reported on our Grocery Left Overs. How did we do this year? Unfortunately... not as well. We will be able to take most of the food home with us, but, it would have been nice if we didn't purchase it in the first place. Things we'll have to throw away?

Package of hot dogs
Package of sliced ham
Blueberries
two chicken patties
a frozen pizza
a bag and a half of frozen smile french fries
four waffles
1 gallon of water
2 two liter soda

Things we bought that we'll have to take home with us (if we can fit it in the car)
2 bags of potato chips
Tortea chips
Peanuts
Three boxes of cereal
Velvetta cups
two cans of Manwhich
one can of chili
two cans of soup
Bush's Baked Beans
two jars of Spaghetti sauce
One box of spaghetti
Raisens
Croutons
Cinamon
Sesame Seeds

Maybe next time we can be able to refine and improve our grocery list to avoid this problem

Poly Luau

We headed over to the Poly for a last chance to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks for 2015. We wanted to get into Ohana for dinner, but, there were no openings at all. On a whim, we checked at the Luau and were surprised that there was an opening! The Luau is pricey compared to what we had planned to spend, but, we decided to go for it.

It has been years since we have done the Luau. We love it, but it is pricey.

The food is incredible, starting with a salad, rolls, and then the main course arrives.

While eating, we watched a show on stage with dancers telling a Hawaiian story and doing dances of the islands. We had a great time, and afterwards, walked down to the beach to watch the fireworks.

Walking Ten Miles Per Day at Disney

I have written previously about the importance of going to Disney World with a good pair of walking shoes. Flip flops, saddles, shoes and the like might seem cool but will result in sore feet.  If comfortable feet means buying a new pair of sneakers? Make sure you break them in far in advance and are assured the shoes are comfortable.

I have heard Disney guests talk about the health benefits from a day at Disney, but I never really knew how much walking was involved. For this trip, I enabled my iPhone's pedometer and found that walking 8-10 miles per day at Disney is realistic.

A lot of walking requires good shoes. My wife bought a new pair of sneakers, broke them in, but didn't do much walking with them. After a few days at the park, the side of her foot hurt so bad that she developed a limp. 

I thought I was all set with my sneakers. However, New a balance sneaker quality gets worse and worse every year. After a few days at Disney I suffered a blow out: the sole on my heal separated from the rest of the shoe!

A little Crazy Glue to the rescue saved the trip. It is amazing how convenient a little Crazy Glue can be when on a vacation.

When walking ten miles per day around Disney World, it is essential to have a good pair of shoes to avoid sore blistering and hurt feet.

Magnolia Glen Review

I have had several opportunities to walk through Magnolia Glen just off Florence Villa Grove in Davenport Florida.

This is an older neighborhood and the houses are showing their age. I found several yards over grown and most of the shrubs lack attention.

There is a bulletin board for HOA activities that haven't been updated for several months.

I wasn't very impressed with this well lived-in community. I got the impression that the community is all residential 

This community is across the street from the Hill Crest community, another community that I wasn't impressed with.

Given the choice, I would not want to rent or live in this community. There are too many beautiful alternatives in the area.

Rainforest

The rain Forest Cafe is a jungle themed restaurant that leaves the impression you are dining in the middle of a rainforest. Throughout the restaurant are animatronic animals (monkeys, elephants, etc) who wake up, take some action, and then turn back to silence. Then once every so often, the entire rainforest wakes up with a storm of activity.

There are two Rainforest Cafe at Disney World: Downtown Disney and Animal Kingdom. The Animal Kingdom cafe has been open since the park opened. Back in those days we could see the water falls towering to the side of the entrance. 

Today, the restaurant is hidden behind an overgrowth of trees to the left of the park's entrance gates. You don't need to have an Animal Kingdom park pass to dine - there are two entrances, one from inside the park and one just after the security check point before the park entrance.

We arrived at park closure with no reservations and with a large party of nine. We were prepared to wait longer than an hour to get a seat. Instead, we got right in with almost no wait!

The restaurant cost is within expectations for a table service restaurant at Disney.

I had the Chicken Parmasean, which was an interesting and odd twist on the classic. The chicken breading had Parmasean in it, and small pieces of cheese melted over it. It was served with linguini, and the sauce wasn't to my liking, but I managed to eat my fill.

The Rain Forest Cafe at Animal Kingdom can be a nice break from the traditional Disney fare. While we were lucky and able to walk-up and get seated, I do recommend calling for reservations.

Vista Park Review

I took a walk through Vista Park just off Florence Villa Grove near Davenport Florida. This is a gated community with a guard house, but I found the gates wide open and had no problem accessing the neighborhood.

This is a fairly small neighborhood compared to most, but what it lacks in size it makes up in other ways. Houses on the north east side rest on a hill (one of the few natural hills in Florida) overlooking an impressive portion of Kissimmee and Disney World beyond. 

Many of the houses have second floor balconies to further enjoy the views. I can just imagine sitting on that belcony and watching the Disney fireworks off in the distance.

The houses are very large, around 3300 sqft with six bedrooms and feature very large pool areas - larger than the cost moon villas found throughout the area.

All of the yards and landscaping was well maintained. The road was good. The driveways were all brick. A drawback, though, is the lack of sidewalks.

The guard house is large enough to also serve as a club house. There was no playground, but I did see a lot that could be used for parking.  It looked like the neighborhood once had a volleyball court and a small basketball court, but those are long gone. This neighborhood looked very nice. 

I couldn't tell if there were very many vacation rental opportunities, but if there were, I would love to stay in one of those houses.

Disney Quest will close in 2016

I am sitting at Disney Quest writing about the announcement that Disney Quest will close in 2016.

Disney quest is a five floor arcade with food, bumper cars, simulators, and more. 

This news hit my family hard. We spend 4 or 5 days at Disney Quest every year and the place is always packed! It can be difficult to find a vacated game to play and the place is full. The place brings back great memories: we first came after it opened and remember sitting at an Internet cafe style table overlooking the lobby below. Since then, Disney Quest has been a favored stop and we always find it packed. How can a disney take a thriving business and shut its doors?

I suspect the answer lies in business math. They are making money, but can they make more money doing an NBA experience? Could there be some synergies with an NBA experience, such as drawing husbands to Disney? Husbands could go the the NBA Experience while their wives shop at Disney Springs. Perhaps they envision a thriving NBA sovenier business as well?

It is possible that Disney Quest doesn't make much money at all. At $45 per person per day, it is very expensive. I couldn't afford to go as much as I do if it weren't park of my annual pass. Perhaps the Disney Quest portion of annual passes doesn't offset its expenses? These answers are a mystery to me!

Disney originally had plans to put a Quest  in 24 major cities. But when the second Quest flopped in Chicago in 2001, disney pulled back all investment. And it is too bad. Disney quest should have been updated over the years with laser tag, ropes course, and a coffee shop for parents. Others, such as Magiquest and Wonder Works, are eating the lunch that could have been Disney's.

They will replace Disney Quest with an MBa experience: interactive, video, restaurant, and store. The NBA boats nearly 20 million fans. I don't know whether or not that is true. And I don't know if the basketball demographic adequately covers the Disney Fan demographic. But I can understand a synergy occurring with Disney's ownership of ESPN and the Wide Wolrd of Sports at Disney World. I just know that an NBA experience will carry no interest for me.

My kids love the nonstop all day video game experience. There are the old classic video games and many current ones. And we play until they kick us out!

What has been the impact to Disney Quest? It is difficult to tell because our last visit was seven months ago, but some things are obvious.

- no longer selling the annual pass. If you don't hane an annual pass? Your only way to get in is to pay $45 per person.

- classic video games are in disrepair. In one room I counted three games that were hung, and one game I played had a bad joystick. All together I found ten games I wanted to play that had problems.

- several games are missing, leaving empty places in the arcade. The games have been removed and not replaced.

- some decorations are missing. Some of the items that use to hang on the walls have been removed and not replaced.

This degradation is being reported just weeks after the announcement! So I can only imagine an increase decline is the establishment as its closure date nears. It is very unfortunate.

While I am upset about the closure, many others aren't. They complain that a 90's style arcade doesn't fit today. The games are too outdated compared to what kids have at home. Parents are board and often found sleeping in the corners. Many children are board too and you'll find them on benches playing games on their phone. If all of this is true (and most of it is) then why is this place packed with people?

So, we are here at Disney Quest today to give it one last good bye. I don't expect it to be here when we return.

Dealing with Florida Heat is all about Attitude

It gets very hot in the summer in Florida. Feels like 100+ degrees, clothes soaked in sweat, sun roasting like an oven, leaving a trail of sweat drops on the sidewalk behind you. I love it! It is perfect to me.

I've had to deal with some pretty bad winters in New York. Standing in feet of snow shoveling until my hands and feet are numb and my face is frozen from the whipping wind. Car stuck in a snow bank, pushing and shoving trying to get it free. Thick layers of ice that have to be chiseled off. A cold drafty house that never warms. Winter nights where there can never be enough blankets. Winter months that stretch on for what feels like half the year. It was during one of those times when I was freezing that I took a pledged never to complain about the heat ever again. Would I rather freeze or sweat? The answer for me is I would rather sweat.

I do take precautions: sunscreen, plenty to drink, rest often, use air-conditioners, and blow a fan on myself. Regardless, the heat does not stop me from going on a 5 mile walk or a 3 mile run during the hottest part of the afternoon

I believe the difference in excepting the heat is that it is my decision. I have chosen head and it is what I want. Others are unwillingly subjected to the heat and despise it. I love it.

When people ask me about the difference between New York and Florida, I remind them "You don't have to shovel humidity". Hours of back breaking freezing shoveling of snow can be replaced by a lazy afternoon floating in a swimming pool. Why not?

Yes Florida is hot during the summer. And that's fine with me.

Taquitos Jalisco

We decided to take a trip out to Winter Garden in Florida to eat at Taquitos Jalisco on South Dillard Street.

The last time we visited was in 2013. At that time, they had children every Thursday playing in a mariachi band. They would go table to table and play songs for tips. I was really looking forward to seeing this again, but, our waiter explained that the kids have grown and are busy now and no longer have time for it. That is too bad because it was something that made us want to return.

The outside of the restaurant is in a shopping plaza. That isn't very appealing, but, I have to tell you - some of the best restaurants I've been to have been in shopping plazas. The location is interesting: in both 2013 and this trip we saw what appeared to be homeless in the parking lot. But I always felt safe.

The inside has a bar in the back and tables throughout the dinning room. Mexican music plays overhead and the place is nicely decorated. The waiter and waitress were incredible. They were always there. Even when there was nothing to do, they were standing near by waiting for an opportunity to serve. They were awesome. In fact, I suspect our waiter detected my disappointment about the mariachi and I could hear him pass our table singing whatever song was playing. Maybe he always does that? But it was cool.

Finally, the restroom test. You can usually tell everything you need to know about a restaurant by visiting its restroom. I took a deep breath of anticipation before entering because I had low expectations. Those low expectations were dashed - the restroom was well decorated, clean, and taken care of. Kudos for passing this test - I was very impressed!

We started with chips and salsa. The salsa appears to be something house made. It is liquidy, not chunky, which makes it difficult to get a good favorable dip. The salsa is just something to make the chips taste a little different.

Regardless of the entertainment, the restaurant has excellent food. I started with the Tortilla Soup. It came out boiling hot, was not too spicy, and was loaded with shredded chicken. It came with an avocado (missing from the picture). I'm not an avocado fan, but I tried it. It was mushy and not strong flavored - if not for my aversion, I could have brought myself to eat it.

The next dish was the burritos. It comes with rice and beans. The rice is the standard recipe that I find at most Mexican restaurants, and I love it. I could eat (and have done in the past) an entire dish of that rice for dinner. I'm not a big fan of refried beans, but these beans were perfect. The burrito was awesome.

Next is the Enchilada combination: Beef, Chicken, and Cheese. It is served with the same rice and beans. The enchiladas have a thick layer of cheese melted over the top and the some sour cream. The beef was very tasty. The cheese enchilada with cheese melted over the top was too much cheese (something I never thought I'd see me write!). The chicken was OK, but the beef was the true winner. The Enchilada shell was OK, but left me thinking the dish would have been better in a flour tortilla. I have had outstanding enchilada shells, and this one was just OK. 

There was no room for desert and we left satisfied. The bill arrived and it was under $30! 

I give this place a high rating and look forward to returning someday. I just hope they bring back the kids doing the mariachi band. The kids really made this place stand out from the rest.

Out of Control Magic Comedy Show

We like to come to the Disney area for extended stays during the summer so that we can experience what it might be like to be a resident: to have to work, pay bills, grocery shop, deal with the heat, etc. It is one thing to vacation at Disney, it is something else to live here.

For the 2015 trip, we decided to take our experiment to the next level.

It stands to reason that if we lived near Disney we might get tired of it and not want to do Disney every day. To simulate that, we let our annual pass expire part of the way through the trip. What would happen?

As feared, we spent many evening looking at each other and asking "what do you want to do?" Luckily there is plenty of things to do in the area, so, we could always find an answer.

One things we decided to try was the Out Of Control Magic and Comedy Show, located inside Wonder Works. The dinner show includes all you can eat and drink!

Almost every show sells out, so, you want to get tickets in advance. Also, you will need to park at the mall's parking stage (right next to Wonder Works). They don't validate parking, and it cost me $7.

Buying the tickets online was a challenge because they require the tickets to be printed. Who on vacation has a printer? Luckily, they have a computer available where you can print your tickets at the box office.

The next thing that was odd about buying the tickets - the web site defaulted to using http instead of https. Http is not secure and means anyone on the Internet can steal your credit card number!  Luckily, we knew the difference and switched over to https.

If you want to go to the show, arrive at least 30 minutes early so you can pick your seat and assure your group can all sit together.

The auditorium easily holds 100 people. Long tables run perpendicular to the stage. Half of your party will sit on one side of the table and the rest will be across from you. Each side of the table sits probably 12 people, so, chances are you'll have other families to your right and left.

The  doors opened on time and we entered to find salad and popcorn waiting for us. Both salad and popcorn was unlimited and incredible. Next was the drink orders (soda, beer, or wine). Then the pizza came rolling out: half pepperoni, half cheese. As one pizza is finished, it gets replaced with another! And another! Our waitress suffered an injury so we didn't get very much pizza, but a waiter for a different table tried to help as much as he could. The pizza was thin crust and OK (I am not a picky pizza eater so I can't judge it), but I have read reviews who thought the pizza was horrible. Certainly that wasn't my experience.

Later, a small slice of pound cake with a raspberry sauce was delivered for desert.

The real gem was the show. The magic was incredible and funny - I laughed very hard. I don't want to say too much about the show and give any of it away. I will just say - young or old, magic fan or not, comedy fan or not, you will love this show. Great audience participation. Huge fun. Tony Brent is incredible. 

The entire experience lasted around 90 minutes. But Tony was so great, the time flew by. I could have watched him perform for a two hour show!

Would I do this show again? Yes! It was that good.