Here is an article from one of our owners about Logan’s Roadhouse

We actually stumbled across Logan's Roadhouse the last time we were visiting our villa in Orlando.  I was over with my children and we wanted to find somewhere to eat lunch, before going shopping. We drove to one of our favourite restaurants, Bennigans, on the 192 near to marker 8, but unfortunately it looked very run down, as it had only recently re-opened after financial difficulties.  So we looked around and there, just a few yards down the road was Logan's Roadhouse. Being pretty ravenous by that time we decided to give it a try.

There was a sign outside offering two entrees for $13.99, which seemed an amazing offer - but we thought we had better look inside before making a decision to stay, as it seemed too good to be true. So I parked the car and made our way inside.
Well, what a shock we got! It was nothing like we expected. We walked inside and it was quite dark, and a bit like a barn - and there, in front of us, was a huge barrel of guess what - PEANUTS! We were approached by a very pleasant server who escorted us to a table round the corner, but we had to crunch our way over empty peanut shells which littered the floor. We couldn't believe it!

Anyway, we sat down and noticed a large silver bucket of peanuts on the table - what we used to call 'monkey nuts' - in their shells. Of course we couldn't resist. We were a bit circumspect at first, politely taking a peanut shell and delicately cracking it open before eating the contents. Then, of course, we courteously put the shells on our napkins. But it didn't last long. Looking around we could see that that was NOT the way to behave. Our neighbours were happily shelling nuts and hurling them onto the floor and no-one was batting an eyelid. So, feeling a little like a naughty child I cracked open my next monkey nut and threw it onto the floor. Well, did I get a ticking off from my children! But undeterred I got into my stride and soon I was cracking, hurling and eating peanuts with the best of them. Well, you have to join in don't you?  Isn't it funny that, as you get older, your children start treating YOU as a child.

Anyway, our server came to take our order and there was plenty to choose from. We couldn't believe that it could be so reasonable - we thought there must be a catch in it. On the special menu they were offering a wide range of dishes, including chicken, pork, meatloaf, 6 oz sirloin, tilapia and mesquite grilled salmon, which my daughter ordered. I decided to order the chicken as did my son, and while we were waiting we were brought a large basket of piping hot rolls, coated with a sort of sweet shiny syrup. Absolutely delicious with a nice big blob of butter on them. Well, its no use worrying about the diet when you are on holiday, is it?

The food came quite quickly and we were amazed at how good it was. It was very hot, freshly cooked and quite delicious. My daughter's salmon was particularly good, and a huge portion. We were given a refill of the rolls and our server was most attentive.
Sadly, we didn't have enough room left to try the lovely little desserts that were also on the menu. They actually do three mini desserts for just $5 and they come in a dinky little metal peanut bucket which you can take home. You can choose from Strawberry Cheesecake, Nutter Butter Fudgeslide or Chocolate Brownie. Yummy!

We can certainly recommend Logans Roadhouse. The service was excellent, the food well cooked and piping hot, and the peanuts - well, they are a most unusual addition. Only problem we found is that you get so engrossed in shelling, tossing and eating peanuts that you may well fill yourself up before your meal comes - its just so tempting and such fun, in a naughty kind of way! 

Submitted by "ellie" view her property here:
 http://www.perfectfloridavillas.com/main/prop.aspx?pID=183

Winter Park
Winter Park is a city of about 28,486 residents located just north of Orlando in Orange County, Florida. One of Florida's finest cities, it is famous for its stately trees, abundant parks, brick-lined streets, spectacular homes, museums, vibrant lakes and fine shops along Park Avenue.
Chartered in 1887, the city was originally developed as a winter resort for wealthy Northerners seeking refuge from the harsh winters and a tranquil place to rest and relax. Fortunately, the city has maintained its natural beauty throughout the years.
The city was originally named Lakeview in 1858 and re-named Osceola in 1870. Eleven years later, the name Winter Park was chosen by its founders. Loring Chase and Oliver Chapman, who during an informal discussion, decided they wanted the name to be something about a park in winter - thus the name Winter Park
Tourists came to the city originally to enjoy Winter Park's beautiful lakes, warm temperatures and natural surroundings. Today they can enjoy these same amenities in addition to great restaurants, museums, entertainment, theater, outdoor activities, festivals and much more.

Farmers Market
The Winter Park Farmers’ Market is held at the old train depot, located at 200 West New England Avenue that has been restored into an historical landmark that hosts this NUMBER ONE produce and plant market in Central Florida. The market takes place every Saturday morning from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is a popular community gathering place that provides fine produce, plants, baked goods and so much more.

Note: The Winter Park Farmers’ Market is closed each year on the third Saturday in March due to the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
We go every year on the first Saturday after we arrive in Florida, it’s such a lovely morning out. They sell freshly baked goods, lots of fruit and veg and unique stalls with quirky bits & pieces. Also there are lots of stalls selling plants, we purchased some for the pool deck and they are a bargain compared to the big stores. There’s an outside area where you can sit with a coffee and piece of cake and enjoy the ambience.

Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour

Adventuresome for the first time visitors seeking flora and fauna or savvy Orlando travellers
seeking an off-the-beaten-path vacation experience  won´t be disappointed when they discover the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour.
Located on Lake Osceola in the quiet suburb less than 10 minutes from downtown Orlando, the boat tour offers hour-long, guided cruises through three of the seven lakes and two, narrow manmade canals on the tranquil Winter Park chain.
On any given tour, participants may observe large cranes swooping waterside to snag a large fish or a lazy alligator languishing on a nearby bank. An occasional water skier or racing shell full of crew members from the areas private liberal arts college, Rollins, are also enjoyable sideshows for tour goers
For over 50 years, Winter Park´s world famous Scenic Boat Tour has given enjoyment to thousands. The relaxing, narrated, one hour cruise through the beautiful lakes and canals of historic Winter Park makes it a must on every person´s list. It´s really the only way to see the true beauty of Winter Park which includes Rollins College, Kraft Azalea Gardens, Isle of Sicily, tropical birds, plants, flowers and magnificent mansions.
Climb aboard an excursion boat and let your "Skipper" fascinate you for one hour as you cruise through beautiful lakes and canals for 12 miles. Scenic Boat Tour is not to be missed!.
Every tour, however, guarantees plenty of swaying palms, towering cypress trees, lush ferns and a variety of flourishing sub-tropical flowers. Breathtaking views of opulent private homes and exquisite estates sprawling along the shores are also a key feature of the scenic cruise.
The dock, less than 5 minutes from Park Avenue, Central Florida´s popular, upscale shopping district, is conveniently located on the East end of Morse Boulevard on Lake Osceola
The Scenic Boat Tour offers a fleet of six 18 passenger pontoon boats. Admission is $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for children (ages 2 through 11) under 2 are free. Operating hours are 10am to 4pm daily except Christmas.
In the height of summer it gets very hot on the boats and there is no shade at all, this is because during the tour you are taken under a very low bridge – so low in fact that everyone has to duck their heads!!
The guide tells you all about the history of Rollins College and the benefactors who made it what it is today. I believe, from memory, it’s $58,000 a year to be a student at the college although they do offer scholarships ….
The houses that back onto the lake are superb - one of them was built by the family who own Walgreens and as the name suggests they wintered in the warm climates to escape the harsh weather.

Submitted by Sandra, you can view her property here:
http://www.perfectfloridavillas.com/main/prop.aspx?pID=349

Mrs McCullum and her husband, Ian from Edinburgh, Scotland had long dreamed of taking their family to Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. She states that “Having 3 children, I had always thought that it would be too expensive” Then she started looking into doing the trip in an independent way instead of using a package holiday. “ I started searching for flights and found that they were much more expensive during the kids school holidays, so we managed to work it so that they would only miss one week of school, the prices were much better" By this time Ian’s Mother and Father had also indicated that they would love to go along too.

So the next step was to find somewhere to stay when she was getting prices for hotel rooms the cost started to get quite high. To be comfortable she didn’t want to cram her and her husband and 3 kids into a hotel room. “The youngest Chloe was 5, Joe was 12 and Janine was 14, so it would have been a bit cramped. This meant looking at 2 rooms for us and one for my in-laws. It was then that my mother-in-law suggested that we rent a villa. I did a search on Google and found Orlando Villas from Perfect Florida Villas. I am so glad that I did, I was able to browse through the large selection homes on offer, able to choose the location and amenities etc. We narrowed it down to a short list and ended up choosing a gorgeous villa on Calabay Parc. We had some great chats with the owner and she gave us tons of advice that proved very useful. It had a games room, PC and free international phone calls. The pool was marvellous and we had the sun most of the day. The kids loved it. The cost of the villa for the 2 weeks was much less than the hotels we were looking at working out to £900 for all 7 of us and we loved the comfort and freedom.

It was a great holiday and we hope to repeat it again next year and would not consider staying in a hotel room. Thank you Perfect Florida Villas!”

It’s been a very cold winter in Florida this year with some quite frosty mornings. They haven’t had one as cold as this for many years. The result is many dead or dying plants and lawns, however some new shoots are starting to show through now.

If it is your Birthday when you visit Walt Disney World in Florida next Year, you will get to celebrate your big day for free, yes, that's right you will be given free entry to the park. According to Fox news as long as you show a valid form of id there will be no charge for you.

 Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said that he hoped visitors would make the most of the opportunity. "Our goal is to mark the special moments in your life in a way that your family will remember forever," he added.

If you have already bought your ticket, you can either get a ticket for next year, get a fast pass for up to 6 people or spend the ticket equivalent on merchandise. So it seems worthwhile letting them know if you are visiting on your birthday

So the time is finally just about here when we set off for our next visit to Orlando Florida. I know most UK visitors go for 2 weeks and many US visitors for less but this is our first time for so short a visit. Well 15 days to be precise. It is niggling away at me that the time will just fly by. Circumstances are such that it is only possible to visit for this amount of time so we will have to make the most of it and cram everything in.

 We didn't visit last year instead we went to Jamaica which was a nice change but I must confess to missing my "Florida Fix". If we had been going for more time we probably would have gone to our favourite haunt of Ft Myers for some chill out time. Maybe next time. 

As it has been two years since visiting Orlando I expect to see quite a lot of changes as things move so fast there. We fly out on Tuesday with Virgin Atlantic. I am pleased we always fly Virgin and that they are one of the more stable airlines with a lot of cash behind them. I feel so sorry for those that have recently suffered losses through the collapse of the XL group.

Anyway when we get back I will write a trip report.

So you have decided to rent an Orlando villa for this year's vacation. So what do you do next? First visit a site such as Orlando Villas by Perfect Florida Villas or Florida Villas Elite and take a look at what is on offer. Browse or search the villas to find the perfect villa for your trip. Check to see the distances from the theme parks if this is one of your reasons to visit. Most all of the villas listed are within 10 -15 mins of Walt Disney World. If you have any questions you can ask the owner directly and they will only be too happy to help. Once you have selected the villa or villas you are interested in send out your enquiry. Be sure to list any preferences that you would like, such as, games room or South facing pool etc.

Next you will receive replies form owners meeting your requirements. They will confirm that they have availability and give you a total price for the period. You will see just what good value it represents especially for larger families and groups. Once again, if you have any questions feel free to ask. Once your mind is made up and you have chosen your dream villa contact the owner and let them know. They will ask you to send a deposit to secure the booking. There will be nothing else to pay until the final balance is due. This could be anywhere from 8 - 12 weeks prior to you arriving in Orlando. With the final balance a security deposit is normally required, some owners take a swipe of a credit card to cover this. The security deposit is like a damage bond and if there is no damage the owner will return it shortly after your departure from the villa. The security deposit amount is around $300/£200 for the stay. 

Shortly before you arrive at your chosen villa you will be given the details of how to get to it and how to gain access. Almost all of the villas have a lock box on the outside or an electronic door lock that has a code to allow access. Inside the lock box you will find the door keys after entering a code. This eliminates the need to have to travel to a central point to pick up keys which is great especially after a long flight.

I'm sure you will be sad to leave your new found home and will not be able to wait till you can return. If you do wish to come back in future years contact the owner and ask if they would give you a discount, most owners do give a discount to repeat visitors.

 That's about all there is to it. If you would like to rent the property above visit Orlando Villas.

If you are like me and have fond memories of Pleasure Island in Orlando. You will no doubt be sad to hear the news of its demise. Disney has annonuced that they will be closing the entertainment theme park as from 27th September this year.

They have not come out directly and said what will be there in place of it but it sounds like it will be much more retail outlets along the lines of the West Side area.

I have had some great times there over the years including some real New Years Eve's! I have seen artists such as Little Richard, Robert Palmer, Blondie, the B52's and many more. I don't see the chance to do that anymore in such a relaxed venue.