Vacations Blog

Orlando Museum of Art welcomes winter

We don’t have snow, ice or frigid temperatures, but even Orlando welcomes the winter holidays.

We hang tiny white lights from our rooftops and set plastic reindeer in our yards next to our pink flamingos.  Our malls are filled with holiday sale signs by Halloween and our children stand for hours for a chance to cry on Santa’s lap.

Yes, even in Florida, we welcome the chance to pay homage to the North Pole.

The Orlando Museum of Art offers a beautiful program to celebrate the winter holidays, although the timing of the event is a little bizarre.  The Orlando Festival of Trees begins and ends before Thanksgiving.

The Orlando Museum of Art’s Festival of Trees exhibit runs from November 14th to November 22nd.  The annual festival dates back to 1986 and strives to provide museum guests with a “winter wonderland” experience.  Room after room is decorated with wreaths and trees and holiday trimmings.

Christmas Trees in Orlando

The exhibit features a Gingerbread Village, Toyland Town and Christmas Village.  There’s also live entertainment provided by local choirs, dance groups and musical groups.  Of course, the holiday atmosphere wouldn’t be complete without a place to shop, so the museum provides a Holiday Boutique and Holiday Garden where they’ll happily feed your need for celebratory consumerism.

The event is open from 10am to 5pm, with extended hours to 8pm on Thursday the 19th and Saturday the 21st.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for children.  Additional information on hours, parking and special events can be found at the Festival of Trees web site.

Orlando Festival of Trees

The Orlando Museum of Art is well north of the infamous amusement park district.  It’s surrounded by other Orlando museums and theaters and offers a more cultural view of Orlando, Florida than the hats with ears version.

Photo Credit:  Orlando Museum of Art

Is Your Vacation Safe From Swine Flu?

It’s not just schools that are thinking about the spread of Swine Flu.

Travelers all over the world are talking about how safe their vacation plans are with the widespread H1N1 virus on the loose.  Theme parks are of particular concern for families as they debate whether or not to cancel their trips to some of the happiest places on earth.

Places like Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida are known for their rides and attractions.  But they are also home to thousands of international tourists, crowds and close encounters with other guests and costumed characters.  In other words, it’s a potential gold mine for germs!

Rest assured, park officials at most major theme parks are taking extraordinary precautions to keep their tourist havens safe.  Disney World has installed over 200,000 individual hand sanitizing stations across the parks.  Employees are being vaccinated and taught to closely monitor whether guests they come in contact with show signs of illness, and how to respond accordingly with things like costume changes.  (If you sneeze on Goofy, he’s going to be changing his shirt.)

Experts at the CDC say that theme parks aren’t necessarily any more dangerous than any place else, pointing out that there are numerous opportunities for people to catch the H1N1 virus during their normal day to day activities.

There are, of course, a few things you can do to help stay health while you travel.

Read More »

Orlando Makes Kids Smile!

Building on the recently ended 67 Days of Smiles promotion, the Orlando/Orange County Convention&Visitors Bureau is offering kids between the ages of 13 and 18 to win an Orlando vacation.

This time Orlando CVB is teaming up with the Florida Film Festival and KIDS FIRST! to give away  an Orlando vacation for four.  The prize includes airfare, lodging for three nights, rental car, theme park tickets and full filmmaker passes for the 19th annual Florida Film Festival in April, in addition to having their short film premiered at the festival.

How do you (or your children) enter?

Make a three minute video that answers the question “Why does Orlando make you smile?”

AND be willing to pay $25 to enter.

Normally I’d warn people to run screaming from a travel contest with an entry fee, but the Orlando CVB is a respected organization that just finished up a successful contest – including awarding an all inclusive trip to Orlando.

In addition to the contest open to 13 to 18 year olds, there is another category for people 19 and over to enter with a short film answering the same question.  Entries for all categories must be received by January 11, 2010, and winners are expected to be announced sometime in February.

Get everything you need to enter the contest at http://www.kidsfirst.org/Orlando.html.

Photo credit: Britt Reints

Orlando Family Vacations

Orlando, Florida is well known as a family vacation destination.  However, one of the common misconceptions I hear from families is that they have to wait until the kids are “old enough to appreciate it” before they can invest in a family trip to the theme park capital of the world.

To a certain extent, I agree.  Places like Universal Studios and even Disney World are not great for kids under five.  They can’t go on roller coasters and a lot of young children are terrified of the rides that are supposed to be made for them.  My daughter was so scared of Magic Kingdom’s Snow White ride that we had to leave through one of the emergency exits.  And don’t even get me started on Universal Studio’s 3D Shrek experience.  (Note to attraction designers: small children are scared of the dark AND graveyards AND ghosts.  Duh.)

It makes sense to avoid these places until your children are old enough to appreciate the hundreds of dollars you’ll be spending in admission prices.

But what if you have one kid who is the perfect age to experience these things and another much younger child?  Can you plan an Orlando vacation that includes activities for younger children?

Absolutely.

Read More »

November 2nd marks the last and 67th Day of Smiles for Kyle and Stacey, two lucky travelers who’ve experienced just about everything Orlando, Florida has to offer – all on someone else’s dime.

Last spring, the Orlando Convention & Visitor’s Bureau announced their 67 Days of Smiles contest and promised two lucky winners the chance to visit Orlando for 67 days.  The idea was that it would take a tourist 67 days to experience everything that the Orlando area has to offer.  Kyle and Stacey were chosen for the job and have been recording their trip on the 67 Days of Smiles blog since August 28, 2009.

As a Central Florida resident, it’s been fun to watch all of the local places and activities that have been featured over the last two months.  Of course the pair hit the area’s most popular attractions, including Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios.  But they’ve also introduced me to things to do in Orlando that I had never heard of, like the Orlando Shakespeare Theater.  I am an avid fan of live theater and had no idea this place even existed!

The 67 Days of Smiles web site has recorded over 67,000 hits and their twitter account has almost 1,000 followers.  The traveling duo has been featured by several media outlets, including the New York Times.  It appears that the promotion has been a success for the Orlando CVB, and the web site is now a great resource for Orlando residents and vacationers!

Photo credit: Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

This is an American Airlines gate in the Seattle-Tacoma airport that was hand-decorated by American Airlines employees on their own time.  The gate is where one child’s dream vacation started earlier this month as they boarded their WishFlight. Read More »

Hey, kids, it’s time for everyone’s favorite chunk of used space! And travel links!

Low-cost airlines are following you (and friending).

Nomadic Matt is giving away an iPod Touch and more!

And the WAEA goes to…

Read More »

Starting January 1, 2010 you can give some magic to someone in need and get some magic in return.  Disney Magic, no less.

The Disney Theme Parks are starting a great new campaign, one that rewards community service with free admission to a Disney Park. Read More »