Emerald Island Resort – A beautiful resort, right next to Disney World

Discovery Cove Orlando Florida (Photo: Discovery Cove)

Its not been officially announced by Seaworld but the Orlando Business Journal reports SeaWorld Orlando’s Discovery Cove park is building a new 875,000 gallon salt water reef for 2011.

This attraction will give guests the opportunity to swim amongst sea life including sharks, tropical fish, rays and eels.  Plans also include a new nature trail so that guests can enjoy the reef from above water too.

As soon as we have more information, we will share it with you.

–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.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com

One of the best strategies for visiting the theme parks is to work in some lighter days. Running around theme parks all day for several days in a row gets very tiring. Now you have another lighter day option.

You can get Twilight ticket for Seaworld. This reduced price ticket allows admission after 3pm until park closing. Price is $39.95 for both adults and children and you can order and print e-tickets online at the Seaworld Website.

This special offer is valid until September 6th, 2010

You could spend the morning sleeping in, relaxing at your vacation rental or in the private pool at The Manor on the Emerald Island Resort or enjoying the Emerald Island Resort pool and clubhouse. Then after lunch head over to Seaworld for an evening of fun. Added benefit, the weather should be cooler in the evening!

–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.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com

Seaworld Conservation

100% of the proceeds of that $5 ticket will be donated by Seaworld to a wildlife conservation project. You can even select which project you would like to benefit.

More information can be found at http://www.seaworldcares.com/

–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.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com

A shuttle is available from Emerald Island Resort to take you to the main theme parks and shopping. It is run by Maingate Transportation of Kissimmee and it can cater for all your taxi or shuttle needs.

Where do they go to?

Currently, Maingate Transportation operates the following shuttle stops:

• Universal Studios
• Islands of Adventure
• Wet n’ Wild
• Sea World
• Orlando Premium Outlets
• Disney’s Magic Kingdom
• Disney’s EPCOT
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom

When do they operate?

The regular shuttle service runs to a schedule which changes according to the season and anticipated demand for the service. Typically there is one shuttle run in the morning and one in the evening, however during the busy season, they may run additional times. The latest schedule can be obtained from the Emerald Island Clubhouse or from Maingate Transportation directly.

Where is the shuttle stop at Emerald Island?

At Emerald Island, the shuttle stop is at the clubhouse.

How much does it cost?

At time of writing, the shuttle costs from $10 - $14 per person, return, depending on the destination. (The Disney parks are on the lower end of the scale with Universal/Wet N Wild being on the upper end). Obviously these rates can be subject to change anytime by Maingate Transportation and you can contact them directly for the latest rates. The latest rates are also available at the Emerald Island Clubhouse.

How do I book the shuttle?

Good question! If there are no guests booked on the shuttle, it may not turn up to the community so it is always better to book it at least the day before. This can be done at the Emerald Island Resort Clubhouse or by calling Maingate Transportation directly.

Benefits of a resort shuttle service.

Smaller Groups

This is a great option for smaller groups of perhaps up to 4 people. It can work out cheaper on a daily basis than renting a car and paying for parking at the theme parks.

Larger Family Groups

For larger groups with teenagers who want (or demand) more independence from the rest of the group, the teenagers can go to a different park from the rest of the group.

Disadvantages

For larger groups, the cost for everyone to catch a shuttle can be expensive.

The pick up and drop off times work on a schedule and may not suit your plans.

The shuttle pick up point is the Emerald Island Resort Clubhouse and getting everyone ready and up to the clubhouse on time can be a challenge.

If you have younger children, the flexibility to go back to your vacation home when the children could do with a break is not available.

Its not easy to go out for dinner (outside of the theme park that you are visiting) or purchase groceries.

Other options

Maingate Transportation operate a taxi service and can provide a personal shuttle service to you directly. For larger groups, there may be a good cost savings over the regular shuttle option. A private shuttle / taxi can come and go on your times and pick you up from your vacation home directly for more convenience.

Renting a car is my favorite choice when in Kissimmee. It gives maximum flexibility, we can purchase groceries when we need them, we can travel to the parks on our schedule and we can go out for dinner to local restaurants in the evening. We can also visit the other attractions in the Kissimmee / Orlando area that are not on the shuttle route. We have had good service and rates from LM Car Rental (also known as EZ Car Rental) who are located on airport at Orlando International Airport (MCO).

Contacting Maingate Transportation

Website:
www.maingatetaxi.com

Office Address:
15 South Hoagland Blvd.
Kissimmee, FL 34741
USA

Phone Number:
407.870.5553
Fax:
407.870.1616

–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.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com

Vacation rental home, The Manor on the Emerald Island Resort is a great base for your visit to Seaworld.

Happy February everyone.

Whether you are on vacation in a vacation rental or local to the area, you may be interested in Seaworld’s Seasonal Bands, Brews and BBQ happening Saturdays at Seaworld.  Every Saturday at 4pm, Seaworld Orlando host concerts by several artists.  Here is the line up for this year;

February 6th  - Leann Rimes
February 13th - Montgomery Gentry
February 20th - John Rich of Big and Rich
February 27th - Yes

Regular admission to Seaworld includes access to the concert, however VIP tickets are available.  This VIP ticket offers reserved seating up close on the floor stage at Bayside Stadium during the (featured artist) concert, All You can eat BBQ Buffet at the Sea Harbor Pavilions and Quick Queue front-of-the-line privileges.  Prices are from $49.95 and tickets can be found here: http://bit.ly/aJ47WW

Full details on Bands, Brews & BBQ can be found at http://bit.ly/SeaworldBandsBrewsBBQ

–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.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com

Aquatica, Orlando

Experience the “coolest” event of the year at Aquatica on Saturday, January 16 when we host Special Olympics Florida’s first-ever Polar Plunge!

Aquatica is usually warm and tropical, but for one day only we’re icing down our Cutback Cove wave pool so you can experience the “thrill of the chill” while supporting a great cause!

Why Plunge? You’ll be freezin’ for a reason! All proceeds support Special Olympics Florida, which provides year-round sports training and competition to children and adults with intellectual disabilities at no cost to the athlete or their caregiver as a means to achieve physical fitness, self-esteem and life skills necessary to be productive, respected and contributing members of their communities.

Event date: January 16, 2010.
Registration begins at 9:30AM.
Opening Ceremony and Plunge at 11:00AM.
Those who Plunge will get to stay and play at Aquatica all day!

Who can Plunge? Those who raise or donate a minimum $50 may come to Aquatica and take the Plunge. Plungers receive official commemorative Plunge gear and bragging rights. The incentives and prizes increase based on the amount of money raised. Minimum age to Plunge is 15.

For full details and to register, visit
www.specialolympicsflorida.org/polarplunge

Aquatica is proud to support the athletes of Special Olympics!

–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.
- Windsor Palms Resort Vacation Rental http://www.windsorpalmsorlando.com
- Emerald Island Resort Vacation Rental http://www.emeraldislandorlando.com

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.

Staying at Emerald Island Resort? MNSSHP is a great family event.

If you are visiting the Emerald Island Resort in October. Its a great time to visit with cooler temperatures and smaller crowds than in summer time.

Throughout the month of October, there are plenty of events to get you in the mood for Halloween.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at The Magic Kingdom is open select evenings during October. Join Mickey, Minnie and friends for some family friendly Halloween fun, special Halloween fireworks and parade. Come dressed in costume (or not) and join in the fun. This event has a separate entry ticket.

Seaworld’s Halloween Spooktacular is another family friendly Halloween event that runs weekends in October. Kids are welcome to come dressed in costume and trick or treat for ghoulish goodies, catch spooky shows and meet amazing sea creatures. Seaworld’s Halloween Spooktacular is included with park admission. Take a look at their spooktacular website for some ghoulish crafts and games.

Not for the feint of heart are Halloween Horror Nights at Universal. On select nights Universal Studios Florida theme park is transformed into a nightmarish labyrinth of haunted houses, outrageous live shows, and electrifying scare zones while an army of mutants, monsters and maniacs roam the darkened studio streets.

From professional to passionate! Located in the town of Davenport, about 30 minutes from Emerald Island / Orlando finds The Bludzwurth Casket & Urn Company. This is a family passion and not a huge corporation event fueled by profits. For a modest donation, you can walk through the The Bludzwurth Casket & Urn Company on the 30^th and 31^st of October when the Doctor is in!

What about All Hallow’s eve itself? If visiting the area and you want to go trick or treating on October 31^st, try the town of Celebration. Its a real treat! From traditional door to door trick or treating to a haunted walking trail, Celebration has something to offer the whole family.  The Trail of Nightmares haunted walking trail is new to Celebration this year. The proceeds benefit a local charity.

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.

Seaworld Orlando today received a Golden Ticket Award from Amusement Today for Best Marine Life Park.  The Golden Ticket Awards are issued annually by the magazine and are a sought after award.  Amusement Today surveys amusement park afficianadoes from around the world and asks for their opinions.  From those survey’s the award winners are calculated.

Congratulations to Seaworld Orlando.

If you are staying at The Manor at Emerald Island, Seaworld Orlando is a short and easy 15 mins drive away.  It is a great attraction, especially for those families with younger children.  In recent years, Seaworld Orlando has expanded their children’s play area to include several new rides and attractions especially for the younger set.  Don’t miss their varied and interesting shows.  Seaworld Orlando is now more than a single day attraction.  I recommend allowing at least 1.5 - 2 days to fully experience Seaworld.

Watch out for 2009 when Seaworld Orlando launches their newest rollercoaster  - The Manta.  It looks to be awesome! I can’t wait.

Other winners of the Golden Ticket Awards are:-

Best Amusement Park
Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Best Waterpark
Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas

Best Children’s Park
Legoland California, Carlsbad, Calif.

Best Marine Life Park
SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, Fla.

Best Seaside Park
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, Calif.

Best Wooden Coaster
The Voyage at Holiday World, Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Steel Coaster
Superman Ride of Steel
at Six Flags New England, Agawam, Mass.

Best Kids’ Area
Kings Island, Kings Mills, Ohio

Friendliest Staff
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.

Cleanest Park
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Halloween Event
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando, Orlando, Fla..

Best Landscaping
Busch Gardens Europe, Williamsburg, Va.

Best Christmas Event
Smoky Mountain Christmas at Dollywood,
Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Best Food
Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pa.

Best Shows
Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio

Best Outdoor Night Show Production
IllumiNations: Reflections of the Earth
at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center, Orlando, Fla.

Best Water Ride
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.

Best Waterpark Ride
Master Blaster at Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort,
New Braunfels, Texas

Best Dark Ride
Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.

Best New Ride of 2008 - Amusement Park
Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Park, Erie, Pa.

Best New Ride of 2008 - Waterpark
Dragon’s Revenge at Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort,
New Braunfels, Texas.

Best Carousel
Grand Carousel at Knoebels Amusement Resort,
Elysburg, Pa.

Best Indoor Roller Coaster
Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Orlando,
Orlando, Fla.

Best Indoor Waterpark
Schlitterbahn Galveston Island, Galveston, Texas

Best Funhouse/Walk-Through Attraction
Frankenstein’s Castle at Indiana Beach, Monticello, Ind.