December 26, 2009
Aquatica, Orlando
2010 sees an expansion for Aquatica with the addition of a new ride; Omaka Rocka. Originating from the South Seas, Omaka Rocka means rocking river, and it should be welcoming its first riders in March 2010.
Omaka Rocka consists of two slides each with 3 funnels providing half pipe style maneuvers and a feeling of near weightlessness. Guests will ride in two-seater floats and there will be no height restriction, although you must be able to hold onto the grips and maintain the riding position.
Portions of the tubing will be semi-transparent, allowing more light and allowing waiting riders to see through.
Omaka Rocka will share a platform with Whanau Way on the wave-pool side of the park. The Whanau Way tower was built with expansion in mind.
Construction is already underway and guests should see the tubing go up during January.
–Kay
- Providing special vacation home rentals and advice for over 5 years to families and friends wanting to make the most of their time and money while visiting Walt Disney World.
December 2, 2009
A cool place
When you think of Kissimmee or Orlando, you think of hot, humid, tropical. You think of Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney World, Universal and Sea World. In the words or Monty Python “and now for something completely different…” lets transport you to a bar made entirely of ice. Yes, you read correctly. ICE. Frozen water. Yup, cold. Welcome to the wonderful, frozen world of ICEBAR. This bar is carved from more than fifty tons of ice and is kept at a frost 27 degrees farenheit. Ice carved seating is draped with faux furs. Pop in, sip a frosty concoction, and enjoy a respite from the usual heat of the area. Entrance to icebar is $19.95, but you can often find a discount for an online pre-purchase. Entrance includes use of some unique gear to help keep you warm in the frozen zone! http://www.icebarorlando.com/ice/ Afterward, you can retire to their Fire lounge to warm up and have a few drinks.
So if you are looking for something a little bit different during your stay at The Manor located on the Emerald Island Resort, you might want to check out the Icebar.
October 7, 2008
Fall is upon us and soon it will be Halloween. But in Orlando, Halloween goes on for most of October (and for a little of September as well).
What kind of Halloween do you and your family like? If you have teenagers, then you may be interested in Universal Studio’s offering “Halloween Horror Nights“. As the name suggests, Halloween Horror Nights is not for the feint of heart, but if you like to be scared witless, then you will probably enjoy it. It is a separate ticketed event held on certain nights in October (usually Thursday - Sunday) and is promoted as “the best in the business” “the ultimate halloween horror experience”. Universal Studios is open for business as usual during the day so you can still plan your regular day visit to Universal, but you will see the sets and decorations for the Halloween Horror Nights. Regular tickets are $69.99 plus tax, but Universal are offering a frequent fear pass - 13 nights for the price of on which may work out better value for you if you are staying in the area a while.
Obviously that is not an option if you have younger children. Thankfully there are other altenatives.
For Disney fans, you have “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party” also known as “MNSSHP”. Again, this is an after hours ticketed event. It is held at the Magic Kingdom and is halloween with a sprinkle of pixie dust! There is a special parade, fireworks, costumed characters. Trick or Treats stations are set up around the park as well as some craft activities. Most of the rides are open and on most days there is usually little wait for the rides. Kids and adults are encouraged to dress up. There are very few times that the whole family can dress up and wander round The Magic Kingdom - get into the spirit of it and enjoy! We did!
Just a few things of note.
- If you plan to visit The Magic Kingdom on a day that MHSSHP is scheduled, the park is closed early to guests without event tickets. Take that into account when planning your day.
- Prepare for a late night! MNSSHP finishes at midnight. By the time you get back to Emerald Island, it will be at least half an hour later, if not more. I recommend planning a lazy day for the next day - no early morning starts for the parks!
- MNSSHP is scheduled to start at 7.00 p.m. but in previous years other guests have reported being able to get into The Magic Kingdom at 4pm - this essentially allows you to have an extra few hours of Disney fun. Its worth checking with Disney if this is still available.
We took our two children and our neice and nephew one year and had a great time. We walked on to almost all of the rides with no more than a 5 minute wait. Yes, we did dress up, and it was great fun. The kids had a great time and all managed to stay awake until midnight (with the exception of our youngest daughter who was only 5 weeks old at the time!). I just wish I had known about being able to get in earlier than 7pm when we went.
Find out more about MNSSHP here and here.
Our last spooky park is Seaworld’ During October, they hold their Halloween Spooktacular. Unlike the other two offerings, Seaworld’s Halloween Spooktacular is included in your regular park entry ticket.
They also offer Count Von Count’s Spooktacular Breakfast - a character breakfast with your favorite Sesame Street Characters.
September 22, 2008
If you have stayed at Emerald Island before, you will almost certainly have driven past the Splendid China Theme Park, but perhaps didn’t realize it.
Splendid China was a recreation of some of China’s landmarks in Kissimmee. The park unfortunately closed a few years ago and the site has been sold a couple of times since. The first time I drove past the junction of Funnie Steed Road and the 192 after the artifacts had been sold I was saddened. The landmark dragon had gone. OK, it was past its prime, but it really made a nice feature of the junction.
The location is prime for development and rumors are that it is one of 3 sites being considered for a sports complex in the area. Time will tell what will eventually happen to the land. My hope and wish is that it is something to benefit the thousands of visitors to the area.
During 2009, Walt Disney World is offering free admission on your birthday. You will need to provide proof of the birthday to get the free admission (even for children). Full details are available on Disney’s website.
So you are thinking “I have an annual pass, so I can’t take advantage of this offer” or “Oops, I already have a multi day ticket for my upcoming trip” Don’t worry, Disney have a couple of other offers for you including a birthday fastpass.
Even better, they have allowed you to register in advance to save time filling out paperwork at the gate - but you still have to bring your proof of birthday with you. To register for your birthday trip to Walt Disney World go here.
We hope that you can take advantage of this special offer on during your stay at The Manor at Emerald Island. A luxury 7 bedroom home that is perfect for family re-unions, birthday gatherings and multi-generational vacations.
August 25, 2008
Winnie the Pooh has a thoughtful spot, I have a rambling spot! This is the first post in my blog relating to our home at Emerald Island Resort in Kissimmee.
My husband, Neil, and I have owned The Manor since 2003. For us this home is a really special place. We got to choose the location, all the upgrades, the furniture and more. We put all the things in this home that we believed that large family groups would benefit from. We love the home, we love the location and we love the magical memories that are created at our home, not just for our family, but for others too.
In this blog, I hope to pass on useful information to everyone, about our home, about the community, about the attractions in the area, about things that I think may be interesting to read. I hope you enjoy my rambling spot.
–Kay
