One Annual pass

We are trying an experiment this year. We decided to save some money and get four 10-day Disney passes. We learned we might save even more money if we bought three 10-day passes and one annual. The person with the annual pass pays for everything and takes advantage of the discounts. So, free parking, discounted restaurants, discounts at the gift shop, and more!

Did this approach save us any money?


Annual Pass Cost $740
10 Day Pass Cost  $440
===================
Price Difference  $300

Did we save $300 by getting one annual pass?

ADMISSION
Parking was $20 x 10 = $200

FOOD
ABC Commissary, 20% = $13.34

SOUVENIRS
Sunglasses, 20% = $4
========================
TOTAL SAVED $217.34

If we could have gotten into Disney Quest, it would have save us an additional $150. We couldn't get in... so... I can't count that.

sorry - I didn't finish this blog entry. I planned to provide a detailed account of all the savings but I never got around to it. I can tell you for certain we saved more than enough to pay for the pass.

Board Walk Surrey Bikes

We started a tradition a while back to do an annual bike ride at Board Walk.  The surrey bikes come in two flavors: two seats and four seats. There are no passengers on this ride, everyone pedals.

The rental covers 30 minutes, which is enough time to make two laps around the lake in front of the Board Walk.

The path takes you toward Epcot, then turns past the yacht club, past the Swan and Dolphin hotels, and then back down the boardwalk.

There are three hills you have to go over. The first hill is hardly noticeable. The second hill is a small hill that takes you up onto a bridge. There is plenty of space to build up speed. The third hill goes up on a bridge too, but his larger and there is less area to build up speed.

Watch this video to see hill three: click here. 

And you can watch most of the ride : click here. 

Solanas Resort Review

Solanas is a subdivision of vacation villas located on Rt 27 in Davenport. Depending on your destination, Solanas is 20-40 minutes away from Disney.

 This is a gated poolhouse community. There are a variety of house sizes including one and two story. There are some permanent residents, but most of the properties are rentals, which means the area is usually quiet.

Gaining entry is through a guard house that is loosely controlled. There is always a guard present, but I think they would wave pretty much anyone through.

The community is encircled by Solanas Circle, a one mile road that goes around the perimeter of the property. Streets cross the circle containing pool houses whose back yards back up to each other. The problem with that? It may feel like you are swimming in your private pool with your neighbors because they are very close.

There is a club house that features miniature golf, public pool, and an exercise room. They advertise a pool side bar, but it was usually closed when we visited. The bar contains bottled beverages, chips, and some grill items. We have seen some better pool side bars, however, this doesn't get a lot of business so it isn't going to offer great meals and mixed beverages.

 The clubhouse has an arcade, but most of the games were broken. There is a playground and a sand volleyball court.

 We enjoyed our stay at Solanas. I would stay in this community again if given the opportunity.

Hollywood Studios: Star Wars Galactic Spectacular

The Hollywood Studios Star Wars Spectacular is arguably the best fireworks show on Disney property. I may be a little biased because I am a Star Wars fan. Whether you are a fan or not, you are going to be awed by this show!

Disney converts three large buildings into video screens. They also use columns of fire, lights, smoke projection, and lasers that shoot right over the top of your head!

New for 2017 (at least... I don't remember it in 2016) the viewing area is surrounded by fire effects. And it seems there are more explosions and more lasers.

The best place to watch the show.

There are palm trees blocking the view. I have complained about the palm trees in other forums and have been told the palm trees are where some of the shows lights and lasers are hidden. Well.... I would suggest finding a different way to "hide" lights than to hide them in view obstructing palm trees!

Watch the 2017 video here

Working from Florida

When we visit Florida, we rent a house and I convert one of the bedrooms into an office. Working from this office every day is very important to me. I need to prove to myself and my employer that I can be productive from Florida. This will encourage my employer to continue approving my trips to Florida. It will also help me make the argument that they should let me relocate to Florida someday and keep my current job.

I take this very seriously. My goal every year is to make it so my global colleagues have no idea that I am in Florida. As far as they know I am still in New York because I am providing the same level of dedication and effort while in Florida that I provide everyday.

While I work? The family plays. Video games, pool, club house, mini golf - whatever they want! Most years we get the annual Disney pass so they can go to Disney while I work, and I catch up with them in the evening.

I have a very important criteria for when we rent a house. I require the house to have a street facing bedroom with a palm tree in the front yard. While I am working all day, I want to look out the window and see Florida. This year is perhaps one of the best views I have ever had. The window looks out onto a garden of three palm trees and a variety of plants.

I usually like to see some kind of activity out the window: people walking their dogs, joggers, baby strollers, etc. There is some activity in the morning, but for the most part - the street is very quiet.

When we return back to dreary New York, I won't have the palm trees and blue skies. I like to set up a video camera and record several hours of video out the office window. Back in my office in New York I have a "digital window" where I loop the Florida shots and it is almost as if I work from a Florida office all year long!

Hollywood Studios: ABC Commissary Review

It has been years since we last ate at the ABC Commissary. We always found the menu too fancy (lacking pizza or hamburgers) for our kids, and way too crowded. You can imagine our surprise when we looked at the menu and found.... hamburgers and french fries! But not only kid fare, but some nice adult options too. We decided to give the ABC Commissary a try in hope it could be an air conditioned destination that would make everyone in the family happy.

The boys got a pile of kid burgers and fries. My wife got the BBQ burger and I got the ribs and chicken.

The kids burgers came with cheese, even though we asked for no cheese. Luckily it didn't melt, so, we were able to remove it. My wife gave her fries to the boys, ate half of the giant BBQ burger and said she was full. The ribs were fantastic. The half chicken was good, but, it is a lot of messy work to get chicken off the bone. Half way through the chicken I wished for some BBQ sauce or something to use with the chicken. Nevertheless, I would definitely get this again!

We also ordered the Olaf Cupcake: a chocolate cupcake with a marshmallow frosting topping. The chocolate cupcake had no chocolate flavor. All the flavor came from the delicious frosting. Unfortunately, the frosting is sweet and 'gets to you' by the end. A little more chocolate flavor would have been nice.

The best part of the experience was after our order, we sat down and they brought the food to us! The restaurant was not crowded at all - there was ample room between the tables. When we were done we could just walk away and they clean the tables for you.

When they delivered the food, they also delivered plastic silverware that looked like it was made with metal, wet ones to cleanup afterwards, and hard candy.

The cost (after our annual pass discount) was around $14 per person. If that sounds like a lot of money for dinner in Disney World? You may need to adjust your expectations because $14 is not a bad price for an adult dinner (teenage boys eat more than adults do).

Disney Springs: Deluxe Burger

We decided to see what the long lines were all about and eat dinner at Deluxe Burger in Disney Springs.

Deluxe Burger is a walk up counter service. After your order they bring the food to your table.
First thing you have to know: they keep selling burgers regardless of whether there is available tables. If the line is out the door? You may want to scope out a table first.
Cost was around $15 per person for large burgers, ample fries, and a drink.
The dinning area is rustic with additional seating on the porch (there is probably more seating outside than in).

We ordered our burgers "well" and they were a little dry, but that was fixed with some ketchup. I ordered the BBQ Burger that was topped with lettuce, bacon, onion rings, and BBQ sauce.

Conclusion: downtown Disney was filled with sit down restaurants and was sparse on affordable (affordable in Disney terms) family dinning options. For my family, Deluxe Burger is a welcomed addition to Disney Springs.

Bonanza MiniGolf on Rt 192

Bonanza is a mining themed mini golf on Rt 192 in Kissimme.

The theming of this miniature was excellent, but we visited after a rain shower and several of the holes were flooded.

 We got into the evening and the large flood lights attracted swarms of  bugs that attacked us.

 The bugs were so bad that we decided to skip some holes and end the game early.

 Therefore, I would recommend two things if you visit this miniature golf. (1) don't visit at night ad (2) don't visit after a rain storm.

You can watch us play a little of the game by clicking here.

Sand Gets Everywhere

I have decided that I prefer pools to beaches. I prefer to look at a beach - I could look at waves crashing on the beach for hours and hours. But when it comes to recreation and play time? I prefer the clean smell of chlorine and red burning eyes to sand any day.

We have been taking the beach chairs to the shore and letting the waves run over our feet this week. That is a lot of fun. As the tide comes in, the warm waves start at my feet and work their way up to my knees. Before I know it the waves are at my waist! The sandchair is buried in the sand! And I have become part of the beach, buried as well.

It is time to leave and we take half the beach in our bathing suites and the other half of the beach stuck to our skin. Luckily, there are showers at the pool to wash the sand off. But all that does is just move the sand to other parts of my body.

Back at the condo I can shower to get the sand off. But every shower in the US has a water restricter built into it, which means all I get is a drizzle coming out of the shower head. The water pressure isn't enough to move the sand, much less take it off my body. And sand gets everyone - and in places I am sure it is not supposed to be!

Even after scrubbing and scrubbing to get all the sand off, I still fill itchy as if there remains sand on me. For the night and into the next day, I continue to find sand in the oddest places that I know for a fact that I cleaned. The itching is probably justified - do you know how dirty sea water is? Dead fish, fish poop, crabs, rotting sea weed, and who knows what else might be bathing you. Sea shells that litter the beach are the dead remains of sea creatures. Sitting in the sand at the beach is not very sanitary.

I don't like sand. I know that without sand there would be no beach, but the sand takes away the fun of going to the beach.

I think I'm going to stay a pool boy. I'll watch the beach. I might even walk on the beach. But my goal is to make sure nothing more than the bottoms of my feet ever get sandy. You'll find me at the pool.

Coconuts on the Beach Review

We had lunch at Coconuts on the Beach on Cocoa Beach.

Coconuts on the Beach is literally right on the beach. If you step off the deck we were on you were walking on sand. There was a constant flow of people heading to and from the beach passing by the deck. The restaurant offers showers along the side of the building, so, it was a popular stop for people washing off sand before heading back to their car.

 At first it was a little odd to see a waitress in a bikini head out to the beach to deliver drinks, and the security guard (bouncer) walking around in a bathing suit... but we were really on the beach. And people were coming up on the deck to order a drink at the bar or a snack and then heading right back out to the ocean.

 The beach in front of our condo is, for the most part, deserted. There is rarely anyone one it. So, it was a departure for us to see all the people on Cocoa Beach It reminded me of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina with wall to wall people.

It was lunch, so, we ordered fairly tame food. I ordered a grilled chicken Caesar salad, my wife ordered the chicken Caesar wrap, and the boys had hamburgers and fries. Everything arrived quickly and was very good.

It was ninety-five degrees in the afternoon, and even with the slight ocean breeze the heat was oppressive. My oldest son abandoned us to go inside the restaurant where it was air conditioned.  We stayed outside and enjoyed the beach scenes before finally leaving.

I thought Coconuts on the Beach was excellent and I wouldn't hesitate to return. I might suggest returning on a slightly cooler day, but return nonetheless.

Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral

We visited the Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral for the purpose of getting an excellent view of the cruise ships leaving port. I had incorrectly read the cost of admittance was $2.50. It was $6.50, which is a total rip off considering how small the tower actually is.

There are six floors and an observation deck on the seventh floor. Each floor provides an excellent view of the port. 

The first floor is the gift shop. Second floor talks about history of the area. Third floor shows a 20 minute movie about the port. 

It also has a surf board photo op

Fourth floor is just for meetings. Fifth talks about the boats in the harbor.  It has a simulator that allows you to try your luck at navigating the port.

The tiny sixth floor talks about NASA. But the real reason we went was for the seventh floor: the observation deck.  From the observation deck you can see NASA off in the distance and I am told it is one of the best places to see a rocket launch. You can see the beaches southward down the coast. And you can see the entire port.

We watched two massive cruise ships leave port and go out to sea. One of the ships was the Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world! It is five times larger than the Titanic was. There are cruise ships leaving the port every day (one to three of them) and they usually leave between 4pm and 5pm. 

The tower is small and there isn't much to do. The tower's main focus is to promote tourism and there is evidence of corporate sponsorship around the building. I could understand if window space might be a premium during rocket launches (which do not happen very often), but we were the only people at the tower.  Therefore I do not understand why it is so expensive to visit the tower.  

I do not recommend the Exploration Tower. If you want to see a cruise ship up close and leaving the port? Just go to one of the many bars and restaurants along the port's shore. Drive past Exploration Tower and keep going to the water's edge and you'll see an entire line of restaurants.

My Florida Office 2017

Our exploration of Florida is to see what it would be like to live here, not just vacation here. I work, pay bills,  grocery shop, do laundry,  deal with pests, do light house repairs, and many of the things we would have to do if we lived in Florida.

An important aspect for me (since I work from home) is what I see when I look up from my computer screen and look out the window.

I am expected to put in a full day's worth of work whether I am poolside, on the balcony, or wherever. My work is demanding and I need to be at the top of my game. At times, work is stressful. Inbetween the demands and the stress, I get moments of relaxing peace when I can gaze out the window.

Where ever we rent, I like to take one of the rooms and convert it into my office.

 I try to set things up so that when I look out the window I see Florida. 2017 was the best because I looked out my office window to a garden with three palm frees and flowering plants.

Now that we are on the east coast, I look up from my desk and I see the ocean.

 

Some people who lack work discipline would be too distracted and would rather lay on the beach instead of take that ringing phone call. I guess I'm different. I am driven. And I find these scenes and experiences engages me and I am actually more productive during the Florida trips. What would you rather be? Stuck in a cubical maze lit by failing florescent lights? Or have your office lit by Florida sun shine?

Further Away from Disney

Part of this year's theme was to try life further away from Disney. Sure, it sounds like a great idea to live the Disney life just minutes away from The World. But those who have tried it have reported frustrations with traffic and tourists. And I must admit, those two issues do become annoying even with our relatively short stays near Disney.

Our first villa was in Davenport. This was close enough to Disney (30-45 minutes to be almost anywhere) but was far enough away so that trips to the less touristy Haines City was possible. The second part of our trip was to go even further away. He had heard and seen wonderful things about the Melbourne area. In fact, several years ago we spent a couple of days at the beach. We decided to rent a condo at the beach just north of Melbourne.

Beach real-estate is much more expensive than the Kissimmee area, so, our dollars didn't go as far. We gave up a five bedroom pool house for a 1200sqft two bedroom condo with a shared pool. However, what this place lacks in space, it makes up for in views and outside enjoyment!

From this location we can see cruise ships and rocket launches from Cape Canaveral.

 And we are approximately 90 minutes away from Disney - far enough to make daily trips impractical, but not so far that we couldn't go whenever we wanted to.

The Rt. 192 area near Disney is very commercialized with all kinds of chain restaurants. The beach area still has a local flavor with many local restaurants, yet is a short drive to some of our favorite chains. We grocery shopped at a Publix and were blow away by how expensive everything was! We have been shopping at Walmart (and probably should have done so again) which has prices that we are used to seeing at home.

For the rest of this trip it is sand, surf, and relaxation. Check out the video here.

Lord of the Flies

Most Florida rentals keep the garbage cans either in the driveway (next to the garage door) or just around the front corner of the garage. At the Solanas Resort, the garbage cans are in the driveway. The garbage gets picked up every Thursday morning, so, there is never more than a week's worth of garbage.

On Sunday we noticed a horrible smell in front of the house. At first I thought something had died in the garden. A swarm of flies told us the real story: it was one of the two garbage cans. This is Florida, the cans are sitting in the sun during high 90 degree days, who knows what chemical experiments might be occurring in those cans.

Something had to be done! We decided we could clean the cans by dumping bleach in them and then we would spray to kill the flies. We picked up the bleach and fly spray on Monday night.

I decided on Tuesday morning to take care of this problem. How bad could it be to clean a smelly garbage can? I decided to do the worse can first. With the bleach in my hand, I lifted the cover. I found the can was nearly empty except it was wall to wall a swarm of flies. I have never seen so many flies in my entire life! The black cloud of flies was so thick that I couldn't see the contents of the can.

And then suddenly the most putrid and disgusting smell hit me. The smell burned into my nose to a degree that would cause me to continue smelling it the rest of the day. The smell hit my head and my stomach and I could feel breakfast rising up. I dropped the can cover and backed away gagging. The rotting smell brought me the heaving in the bushes, but I swore not to puke.

With burning tears running down my face, I decided to attack the flies first. I approached the can and lifted the lid just enough to flood the can with a long spray of fly killer. I dropped the lid and sprayed the outside of the can and was amazed at how the flies dropped dead at first contact.

With the flies addressed, I approached the first can, lifted the lid, and dumped the bottle of bleach in - hitting the sides of the can and all around. As I did so, I noticed the bottom of the trash can has a thick back layer of dead flies. What had attracted so many flies and such a horrible smell? A cup of half eaten soft ice cream at the bottom of the can.

With the first trash can addressed, the second was easy to deal with: spray the flies and dump in the chlorine.

I have never encountered anything as disgusting as that garbage can. Garbage and Florida heat are not a good combination.

I Love NY Pizza

We were hungry for some pizza and when we travel we like to go places that we can't go to when home. We found I Love NY Pizza in a plaza off Rt 27.

We arrived and there was no one to greet us. We didn't know if we should be seated or if we could sit anywhere we wanted. We noticed a pick up counter, which is where we encountered "the waitress".  In every restaurant review I have read, horrible experiences are had at the hands of the waitress. If you get the waitress, my recommendation is to ask for someone else to serve you. If no one else is available, leave. It won't be worth the frustration. 

The waitress was working the takeout counter and was annoyed by our question and told us to sit anywhere we wanted.

We made the mistake of sitting next to the window, although most of the seats were flooded by sunlight. If it is a sunny day? Bring your sun glasses.

Our waiter greeted us and was very excellent. He checked on us regularly, kept the drinks filled, kept asking if everything was good, and was the perfect kind of waiter anyone would ever want. The boys ordered the pizza and reported it was one of the best pizzas they had ever eaten. They rated it a 9 out of 10.

We ordered mozzarella sticks for an appetizer, which were excellent. Our meals came with a salad that was very fresh. The dressing was from a packet, which considering they do a lot of take-out, packaged dressing makes sense.

I ordered the Chicken Parmesan, which arrived as a huge ample portion. It came with two garlic knots that had the consistency of a soft pretzel and were good dunked in the spaghetti sauce. The breading on the chicken was outstanding. The chicken itself was paper thin, which isn't completely uncommon for chicken Parmesan.  However, because it was so thin the chicken was overcooked almost to the consistency of leather. More on the spaghetti wit the next dish.

My wife ordered the spaghetti and meatballs, which arrived as a huge portion. The meatballs had an aftertaste that tasted like they had been freezer burnt. I'm not saying they were ever frozen or ever freezer burnt, but that is what the after taste reminded me of. Both dishes were served with ample sauce. The spaghetti sauce was a marinara with no noticeable seasoning. It isn't uncommon for some marinara to not be very seasoned, but this had nothing noticeable. Some reviews have called the sauce "cheap tasting". 

 As I mentioned, the portions were huge and a little deceiving how large they were. I ate so much I actually left with a stomach ache from eating too much!

Conclusion? Excellent service, excellent appetizer, excellent pizza, and Italian dishes that weren't so good. My recommendation? Order the pizza shop items. Stick to the pizza, it was outstanding. Pass on the Italian dishes and you'll have a really good meal. Also, remember your sun glasses, and avoid "the waitress".