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Awed and Amazed by Fantasy of Flight

January 22, 2012 By 8 Comments

Sometimes I get lucky and have so many fabulous photos of a place I visit that the entire review can be in photos and Fantasy of Flight was breathtakingly photogenic. In Seattle we have The Museum of Flight where we can take all kind of photos of airplanes. It’s walking through a museum. Fantasy of flight takes you on an adventure while showing you all the airplanes over the years. You not only get to see the planes you feel the life they lived. You have to see it to completely understand what I’m saying. You live the fantasy!

Fantasy of Flight is in Polk Florida very close to Kissimmee. It’s worth the drive over to see a unique display of the history of planes. They offer a variety of guided tours including visits to their working restoration and maintenance areas. My favorite part was the tour we took. Walking through areas of war actually made me nervous.

imageimageimageimageimageimageSome of the aircraft we saw has been carefully restored to represent the same dignity they possessed when they ruled the skies. They were beautiful planes. I think because my son has such a fascination with airplanes it gave me a fascination. Seeing everything through the eyes of a child makes me feel young again. This is defiantly a place I want to take Miles to one day.

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One area that we didn’t try was the Fun with Flight Center. There you can take a spin on a state-of-the-art hang glide simulator and climb on board a real B-17 Flying Fortress in a WWII bombing mission.

Travel and Expenses were covered by Kissimmee CVB and Global Resort Homes

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The Fly Girls: Waldo Wright’s Flying Service

January 21, 2012 By 5 Comments

Just outside the Fantasy of Flight in Kissimmee Florida is Waldo Wright’s Flying Service. There you get to fly above Florida in a little bi-plane and relive adventures of the 1930’s.

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That’s what we did back in December of 2011. Thanks to Kissimmee CVB, Fantasy of Flight, Global Resort Homes and Waldo Wright’s Flying Service, I got to dress the part of someone who took a little joy ride in a bi-plane. We heard the history of the plane, as it was used to smuggle alcohol at one time, a fact I found to be really cool. Plus flying through the air in bi-plane was much easier and much more fun that I ever thought it would be.

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I was a bit scared because I’m used to small planes being quite shaky, this wasn’t it was a smooth ride and the weather was perfect for us. I loved the wind in my hair and seeing the water and orange groves below me.

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So here are the fly girls.

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Kas – Southern Bellas Ways To Save

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Crystal – Simply Being Mommy and Becca – Mamabblog

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Jen – The Mom Reviews

Now here are the planes. Waldo Wright’s Flying Service offers a variety of vintage biplane experiences. Travel back to the 1930s to enjoy an authentic barnstorming ride in a New Standard D-25, or the 1940s for a more hands-on WWII adventure at the controls of a Boeing Stearman N2S-3.

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Here’s a little history:

The New Standard airplane was designed specifically for barnstorming at the request of Ivan Gates, the proprietor of the famous Gates Flying Circus. Gates, with Clyde Pangborn, formed and operated one of the largest groups of barnstorming airplanes from the middle 1920s and into the 1930s. Carrying 4 passengers in a large front open cockpit, the airplane was instrumental in introducing hundreds of thousands of people to their first airplane ride, when aviation was in its infancy. Many still remember flying out of a pasture near their hometown when they were young. There are very few of these magnificent airplanes still operating today; in fact, Waldo owns two of the seven presently airworthy and flying.

 

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My husband had told me a while back that he was going to take our son up and I said. NO WAY. You are not taking my son on a bi-plane. Now that I’ve been on one as soon as I know my son can stay in his seat, he’s allowed to fly with his dad and a professional pilot of course. Waldo Wright’s Flying Service is located in Polk City just outside Fantasy of Flight. If you ever are in the Kissimmee area you should consider going up in one of his planes.

 

Travel expenses were covered by Global Resort Homes and Kissimmee CVB.

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Finding Alligators In Florida Wetlands Boggy Creek Airboat Rides

January 20, 2012 By 20 Comments

My adventures in Kissimmee Florida weren’t only holiday excursions, we also had lots of adventure. One of the adventures felt like an episode out of CSI Miami and as we went around every turn in the wetlands, I was expecting to find a body floating in the water. You know what TV does to the imagination right? Happy to report no bodies found, just Florida Wildlife.

We were taking an adventure with Boggy Creek Airboat Rides. On this adventure with Boggy Creek Airboat Rides we took a tour through the wetlands looking for alligators, can you guess how many we found. I only expected to see one, and thought we’d be lucky if we saw one. instead we found 18. Most of them were itty bitty babies but it was still so much fun finding and counting them up. The tours started with a leisure idle down a natural canal viewing exotic birds,

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turtles

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and the 18 Florida alligators we found in their own natural environment.

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Ok, we found them as we went along our 30 minute tour of the wetlands, not all in one spot. We found babies in groups and as the alligators got larger they were found in smaller numbers.

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We flew down into the wetlands experiencing the wind and water whisping our faces as we traveled on the airboat reaching up to 45 miles per hour. Boggy Creek Airboat Rides is the best way to experience the beautiful Central Florida Everglades. Our tour guide was great at finding the wildlife and explaining everything to us. We saw and eagle and I have to warn you there are a few spiders here and there and even though I’m terrified of them I would ride the airboat again in a heart beat. I had a great time. I’d never seen a collection of shells like this before.

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The Boggy Creek Airboat Rides offer 4 airboat tour choices. A 30 minute or a 1 hour scenic airboat ride on 17 passenger airboat, 45 minute airboat tour on 6 passenger boat & the 1 hour night airboat ride. They suggest that In the warm seasons the best time to see alligators is at night. If you are not able to go at night they suggest coming first thing in the morning. Our tour took place in the morning.

I got to drive too, ok, I’m just pretending to drive, I would have run over something I’m sure or tipped the boat over.

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And at the end of the tour we had a lesson on alligators and all had the chance to hold one. I gave him a kiss. I guess Alligators don’t turn into princes like frogs do.

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This tour was made possible by Global Resort Homes and Kissimmee CVB.

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Ten Reasons Why You Should Choose Global Resort Homes

January 2, 2012 By 15 Comments

My family is so looking forward to going on a vacation of some sort this year. We’re working on paying off some debt and when that’s done we’re going to Disney World in Florida. We’ll be staying in Kissimmee in Global Resort Homes because my stay with them in December was fabulous. The house we stayed in was a 6 bedroom 4 bath 3500 sq. ft. home and my family doesn’t need that much space, so we’ll probably be looking at something a little smaller even though my kids would ADORE this house. Look they could each have their own room with two beds to choose from and Zoe would get her purple Disney Princesses Room

Disney Purple Princess room

and Miles would have red Mickey Mouse room.

Red Mickey Mouse Room

Based on my five day stay at the Kissimmee Vacation Homes I came up with 10 reasons you can’t go wrong by choosing to stay in Kissimmee Vacation Homes.

1 Fully Furnished – It’s nice to stay somewhere that has everything you need. All the furniture is there and they are beautifully decorated homes. This house in particular was decorated for a family a very large family. Two kids rooms in bright colors and the other bedrooms were decorated very grandly and plush pillows and plenty of dressers and closet space. We didn’t have any time to watch TV but every room included a television.

Master Bedroom

 

2 Multiple bedrooms – When I go on vacation with my children and we stay in a hotel most of the time we get a one bedroom room and it’s impossible to put the children to bed early because they keep talking playing and goofing off. My husband and I usually conquer and divide and sleep in separate beds with the kids and that’s no fun. Sometimes we are lucky enough to find an affordable suite but we’re still in really close quarters making it very difficult to get any time alone or anything done other than take care of the kids and try to keep them in bed. So I love the idea of staying in a house while on vacation thrills me to no end.

3 Great Bang For Your Buck – thinking of all the amenities combined and the prices of hotels in Kissimmee, staying in a Kissimmee vacation home would be the same price if not even cheaper than staying in a hotel. You can save on food, and get better sleep. Hotels are noisy. I just did a search for a three bedroom house for seven nights in October, came up with a house for $138 a night. That’s an amazing price for that location. Plus you know you get a kitchen, washer and dryer and possibly a pool; which are all reasons on their own.

4 Washer & Dryer – Since suitcases cost so much it would be great to take half of the clothing you need and wash it and wear it again. Or you know when you have kids messes are going to happen and extra changes of clothes won’t be needed if you can wash the clothes. Or you could even wash everything before you pack to go home and get home with clean clothes. I hate getting home from a vacation exhausted just to have to do laundry.

5 In House Cook – With Kissimmee Vacation Homes, aka Orlando Vacation Homes you have the option of getting an in house cook. He/She (we had a she, Dinner at the house by Chef Linda was divine) will come in and cook for you. You tell her in advance what kind of needs your family has and she’ll cook a few meals. Of course it’s an extra fee, but her cooking was amazing. She made us breakfast dinner and dessert and her home made croutons were exquisite.

6 Game Room – Some of the houses like the one I stayed in had a game room. Sometimes on vacation you just want to stay in for a day and rest. This way you can rest and the kids still have things to do.

Global Game Room

 

7 Gated Pool

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8 Great Location – the homes are centrally located and you’re not far at all from the attractions just minutes from Walt Disney World.

9 Full Kitchen – It’s so much cheaper to be able to cook your own food and drink a pot of coffee rather than going out for every drink and meal. Also, the kitchen facilities in these homes are worth bragging about. They come stocked with plates and cooking necessities. Some even have basic spices salt and pepper. And if you don’t want to cook, just remember the in home chef option.

10 Because I said so!

All of these photos belong to Global Resort who also allowed me to stay in the home for free. Kissimmee CVB also paid for part of my stay and events that I attended while being in Kissimmee.

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Celebration Dinner Snow & Ice Skating In Florida

December 20, 2011 By 20 Comments

As part of our exploration of Kissimmee and Central Florida we visited the town of Celebration. Celebration looks like a quaint little town right out of a movie. The buildings are all colorful and as they look different they all blend in to each other having the same picket fence appeal. First off we had dinner at Columbia Restaurant.

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Columbia serves a taste of Columbia, which is something I’ve never experienced before. I tried the sangria and I had an excellent dinner with rice, sausage, beef and pork, it was called Paella “Campesina”. The flavors were fantastic. I had a hard time stopping because it was delicious. I was actually full before it even arrived because we had the original “1905: salad. YUM. My friend didn’t like what she ordered and since the serving sizes were huge I had plenty to share with her. I also tried the Sangria and we had  a fabulous lime dessert. After dinner we hurried over to Celebration for the SNOW! It snows in central Florida and they have an ice rink. (although the ice rink looks like it’s made plastic.)

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The Snow comes down at different scheduled times and it’s actually soapy bubbles. Somehow even as bubbles the snow captivated all the people there and feel as magically as real snow does. Watching all the people gave me joy. You could see people in the streets just lifting up their arms looking straight up into the sky with their arms outstretched. I had a great time.

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I recommend visiting the picturesque town of Celebration built by Disney. They know how to do food and fun!

 

All travel and expenses were paid for by Global Resort Homes And Kissimmee CVB.

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Capone’s Dinner Theater Kissimmee Florida: Holiday Edition

December 20, 2011 By 4 Comments

On my trip to Kissimmee Florida I experience a lot of things I wouldn’t normally do on my own but now that I’ve tried them I can’t wait to do them again. Dinner theater, I’ve heard so many mixed reviews on people having a good experience at a dinner theater. Yeah they’re fun but the food isn’t usually very good. Capone’s was fun from the minute we entered the place. Their gift shop has cute “cheap junk” as they even referred to during the show. We’re all wearing the hats from the gift shop.

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pictured Crystal from SimplyBeingMommy, Me, Tara from Global Resort Homes, Becca from Mamablog , Jen from The Mom Reviews, Kas from SouthernBellasWaystosave.

At Capone’s Dinner Theater the mashed potatoes are to die for and the rum runners are even more deadly. We were seated at the VIP table and Vido was our waiter, he promised to fill our drinks if they were ever empty, umm they never were empty because he kept filling them if they went an inch below full so I actually have no idea how much I had to drink that night.

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pictured Vido and Bill from Global Resort Homes

Entertainment starts as soon as you’re seated as the talent walks around and talks to you. They tell you their names and part f their storyline. Everyone gets dinner from the buffet line and then after everyone has a chance to eat the real entertainment on the stage begins.

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As the curtains go back be prepared to be included in the show and be prepared to laugh out loud. The comedians on the stage are quick witted and kept me laughing and no it wasn’t the alcohol. I was impressed with the ability they had to make up jokes as they gathered information from the audience. Since it’s Christmas time our show had lots of Christmas songs and a holiday theme.

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We had a blast and I would do this again with my husband. I would not take my children as many of the jokes were not appropriate for little ears.

All travel and expenses were paid for by Global Resort Homes And Kissimmee CVB.

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Shrek The Halls ICE at Gaylord Palms Kissimmee Florida

December 19, 2011 By 11 Comments

Christmas in Florida is a nice balmy 80 degrees more or less, and I’m quite happy with that kind of weather so I love visiting Florida in the winter time. But if you’re a Kissimmee native and in need of some cooler weather you can find it inside the Gaylord Palms ICE exhibit

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Christmas at Gaylord Palms is super cold I wanted out as soon as I got in, but I hate being cold and 9 degrees is cold. So bundle up, bring gloves and wear your coat.

imageThey do provide parkas but you might want even more, I did. Inside the ICE exhibit is Shrek The Halls, where you’ll see 4.5 acres of carved ice Shrek sculptures.

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As you enter the exhibit you can watch a quick introduction and informational video on where ICE came from. I found it fascinating that ICE is over 10 years old and that the blocks of ice are colored. I would have thought that lights gave the colored effect but nope, the ice is dyed and carved and pieced together to make such a fun exhibit.

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My kids, Zoe and Miles both would have loved this exhibit. They wouldn’t have felt cold at all. Kids are so much more weather resistant than us sappy adults. Ok, I was the only pansy in the group. Everyone else made it all the way through!

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I forgot to mention that you also get to watch the Shrek The Halls short before you enter the ICE exhibit and there are slides for everyone to go down inside the exhibit. I didn’t go down the slide because I was worried about getting my butt wet on the ice. I didn’t want to get any colder than I already was.

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I was amazed at the talent displayed in the exhibit.

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And for the final portion was the manger scene made out of white ice. It was beautiful

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Ice at Gaylord Palms lasts until January 2.

All travel and expenses were paid for by Global Resort Homes And Kissimmee CVB.

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Funny Story about Kissimmee

June 23, 2010 By 7 Comments

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Kissimmee Tourism. All opinions are 100% mine.

Pool_Dad_Kids_main A while back, shortly after I got married I purchased a whole bunch of cute t-shirts from Old Navy. One of them had the saying on it that said, “If you Kissimmee, I’ll Kiss You”. I loved it and didn’t think much about it. Nor do I really know much about Kissimmee, FL except that it is one of the largest Tourist Locations in FL with more attractions than I could ever count. So I was at Disneyland, which is in California, and standing in line with my husband wearing this t-shirt. Some guy smiles at me and says, you know, it’s not pronounced that way. But it is a cute shirt. I’m just grateful he didn’t do what the shirt says. I think by the way he smiled at me made me not want to wear that shirt in such a public place again. Even though, I did think it was an incredibly cute shirt.

Kissimmee is huge when it comes to attractions. Being close to Orlando, it is so close to everything. All kinds of choices are within reach and I can’t wait to go. I’ve been begging my husband for the chance to visit Disney World with the kids. He said they both have to be three. Well next year Miles turns three.

airBoat_main So, planning out my trip, I know that I could spend every day at Disney World, Epcott and everything Disney, but looking over the Kissimmee website I see that I could stay there for a year and not do everything.

I love to be outdoors and love that the beaches are fairly close. I hope I could be adventurous and ride on an airboat. My uncle has one and I’ve been wanting to ride his but every time something gets in the way and I never get to ride on it.  So beaches, swamps, hiking, and beautiful lakes would all go on the list. I think I would wear the kids out in no time at all going on a vacation like this. I would need to bring a nanny just so I could have a night out on the town with my husband too! I can’t wait!

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