We managed to sneak an extra trip (or two!) to the Villa in December/January to undertake a little bit of tiling. We may have underestimated how little (hence the second trip) but it's done, and we think it looks fabulous!
NEW FOR WINTER 2013/14:
Tiling the Family Lounge and Kitchen
We thought it was time to replace the floor covering in the kitchen and we'd done tiling before in the UK so, after a little research, we planned a trip to tile the kitchen, breakfast area, family lounge and corridor. We were only in the US for two weeks so did some research back in September to maximise our time. The day after we arrived, we ordered supplies and DIY Store Lowes delivered them three days later, during which time we'd done some prep work!
Ted was our Project Manager as time was tight to get 600 square feet of tiling done in just about a week! We removed the baseboards (skirting boards) and tore up the carpet & lino (fortunately Ted brought pals Theo and Frank to help). A sweep and a vacuum around and we were ready to lay the tiles.
When we tile we like to lay all the tiles out and get them cut while still dry. It's not necessarily the official way, but we find it quicker as we can really get the sticking done, without keep stopping to cut another tile. It makes the process less stop and start. We'd hoped the laying and dry cutting would take a single day and in reality it took two so we were behind schedule, but we were getting it done.
Ted does like to get involved, doing the cutting with both the manual and electric tile cutters. He remembered his Batman safety glasses! Have to say, porcelain tiles are heavy! Eventually, all the tiles were cut and ready to stick.
We spent the next day sticking down the tiles...and sticking...and sticking.
Then there was a day of grouting.
It was a lot of work for a little bear and his pals (though he did let us humans do a bit too - under close supervision, of course).
A little buffing and polishing - and a whole lot of mopping and dusting later - we were done!
Six hundred square feet of kitchen, breakfast area, family lounge, corridor and family bathroom. We think it looks fab, but we're pretty biased. Hopefully those arriving soon will like it and those who haven't been for a while, we're still taking bookings! Why not go check it out?
We've put a few photos below of how it now looks, but there are more on the website if you'd like to take a look around.
We were so pleased with how it looks, we snuck back over in a gap between bookings in January and tiled a corridor from the front door through to the kitchen. We'd always planned to do this before Christmas, but ran out of time. So, you can now pull your roller cases into the house on a nice easy surface. We left the more formal lounge and dining area with carpet to give it a slightly warmer, friendly feel. We hope you like it!
While we had the engine out so to speak, we had some time on our hands (and paws) so, we spent a couple of hours tiling the Donald Master bathroom as well! Okay, so maybe we got carried away, but you won't think so when you see it. You are going to go and see it, right?
We do still have the Mickey Master bathroom to do, but that's a little bigger so we need more time than we had to do that justice. Won't be long though - now we know how great it makes the place look!
We didn't have much spare time in December, but in January the pressure was off so we snuck out to try a few new things for you. Feeling sorry for us yet?
WALT DISNEY WORLD
<<< The Dapper Dans
As we walked down Main Street, we bumped into the Dapper Dans who are a barber shop quartet. They did a short set as we watched and it was nice to see them again. Ted sang with them back in 2009 (see here) and, though their line-up has changed a bit, it was nice to see them again.
Be Our Guest Restaurant >>>
Knowing the lines get long, we made the Beast's castle our first stop. Ted loves their cupcakes and he decided to try one with the grey stuff (right) - it really was delicious! It's a great venue, even just for lunch, and you can sometimes pick up dinner reservations for that evening if you get there when they open. A good thing as getting a dinner reservation can be tricky, even 180 days in advance!
<<< Haunted Mansion
The line for this was pretty short so we headed inside. It's a fun ride - if you're not afraid of the dark! Beware of the ghosts though - you might lose your head!
Character Meet and Greets >>>
There are many opportunities around all the Disney parks to meet your favourite Disney characters. Many are scheduled with times provided as you enter the park, though popular characters may have long lines. They are happy to let you take your own photographs or get an autograph (children and adults alike!) There is often an official Disney phtographer who gives you a Disney PhotoPass. You can check the photos online and maybe buy, though they're not cheap! Various packages are available. If you are lousy photographer this is a great option!
<<< Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
This is our favourite coaster in Magic Kingdom, no loops and no bangs to the head. The setting is a gold mine and looks great as the runaway train rides through the mountains. If you want to see what it looks like from the front seat, we took a movie which you can see here.
Jungle Cruise >>>
You float through the jungle seeing wild(ish) animals and hearing the worst puns you'll hear in Disney. We love this ride, but we like dry humour. It can have a long wait, although there are many folks travelling per boat so the lines move fairly quickly.
<<< Liberty Belle Paddle Steamer
We also took a ride on the paddle steamer, the Liberty Belle. They provide a little history as it floats around Tom Sawyer Island. There are great views of Big Thunder Mountain, The Haunted Mansion and - if the timing is right - one of the steam trains.
Peoplemover >>>
Over in Tomorrowland, we headed for this ride. It's fun for all ages and takes you all around this part of the park as well as inside Space Mountain (which is pretty dark!) It's good for orientation as well as giving you an idea of how long the lines are. Again, there are many cars so lines move quickly and there are no height restrictions!
<<< Dream Along With Mickey
We caught the end of the Dream Along With Mickey show at Cinderella's Castle as we made our way to the Peter Pan ride. The show stars Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald as well as several princesses. It's a fun little show with an amazing backdrop.
SEAWORLD
As annual passholders with included parking, we can just drop into SeaWorld for an hour or two, so after a hard morning's tiling the Donald bathroom, we set out to try the Antarctica exhibit. It was newly opened last year and the line was too long during our last visit for us to fit it in, between our tour and Dine with Shamu.
Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin
It starts with an introductory movie, where we meet newly-hatched chick Puck. There is an option for a Wild or Mild ride so we chose the wild version - and it really wasn't very! You sit in a car and pass through an icy landscape, viewing moments of Pucks growth on screen (in the mild version, the cars don't rock!)
The ride ends with real penguins, behind a glass wall, but then you get out of the car and into the penguin exhibit. It's not the greatest ride ever, but once it's over, the exhibit is fantastic.
They've dropped the glass walls to about four-five feet high so now you can photograph the penguins without trying to go through the glass into the badly lit exhibit. From here you can see swimming penguins in the water below and penguins on the rocks and they are not far away! There are SeaWorld staff around to stop people dropping stuff in the water or hanging over the glass wall, but otherwise you are free to stand and watch as long as you like. It's pretty cold though (which will be worth it for that alone in the summer!)
One of the SeaWorld staff mentioned to Ted that Puck would be outside in about ten minutes for photographs. We weren't quite sure what it meant but went to check it out and, it's another character meet and greet opportunity (we've seen Shamu before in SeaWorld doing this too!) So, we sent Ted to go meet him - Puck was very friendly.
In the Antarctica area, there's an awesome wall of penguins with a number of places offering photo opportunities - or the whole wall if the park is quiet and you're lucky (and quick!) To the right of Puck and Ted is a little part of the wall. We love the new penguin exhibit, but, like Turtle Trek the lead up (ride in this case) is a little weak. Still fun though, and definitely worth the wait to see the penguins. Penguins are awesome.
Disney's New FastPass+
Disney's paper FastPass system is gone! Effective January 2014, they are using FastPass+ (or FP+, pronounced FastPassPlus. For guests staying on Disney property it works a little differently but here's a brief overview of how it works for guests staying off-Disney. That'd be you, if you're reading this! Smart choice, by the way!
Your plastic entrance ticket is now the key to FP+ as it contains a chip which stores the information. Don't lose it! As we drove into the park, we were given a leaflet about the new system but it wasn't hugely informative! To set up your maximum of THREE FP+ rides, you need to find a FP+ kiosk. Each person can set up their own three rides, or you can set up the FP+ as a group. Each ticket must be available for update when setting up the group FP+ so don't let anyone wander off. A timeslot of about an hour is allocated to your ticket for each of your chosen rides, spread out across the day, subject to availability. You can attempt to change these timeslots either on allocation, or later in the day at any FP+ kiosk, if the timeslot is available. Alternatively, if you have set up the My Disney Experience App or account on your smartphone, you can make amendments within the account. You cannot set them up before you get to the park! If you don't have the app, or a good memory, try taking a photograph of the times so you have something to which to refer.
Once your timeslot arrives, you enter the ride in the FP+ lane scanning your ticket against the reader (it turns green when verified) and proceed to the back of the shorter FP+ ride line. Just before you get on the ride, there will be another scanner to verify your ticket again. Both times we rode Big Thunder Mountain people were turned back at the second scanner, so people had clearly missed the first one. There was some confusion about having the wrong time or not having FP+ at all. It should settle down once people (and staff!) are more used to it.
The benefit of the FP+ system is that - if you are organised and know what you want to FP+ - you can set it up early and have better time options (and more opportunity to change them). If one of your group doesn't want to do a particular ride (nor anything else), another member of the group can ride with their ticket, but don't get the tickets confused (they have different Disney characters on the front)!
Please note! Your three FP+ rides must be in the same park. If you have a Park Hopper ticket, make sure the FP+ rides are in the park you want them in, you can hop parks but your FP+ cannot hop, so make sure you plan accordingly. We're sure the whole FP+ system will change as it is used, but we wanted to share our experience. It's a little complicated - or seems to be - and it will be a real pain unless they increase the number of kiosks, but at the moment it is working. It helped we weren't that bothered over which rides we wanted to do. If you have a demanding family, you might want to do some research before arrival. If you have any questions, we're happy to help if we can!
If you want to read more about this, click here for an article from Orlando Informer.
What should you listen to in the car? When we first visited the USA it was tricky to find a decent radio station. There were a lot of commercials and the movies aren't joking about Crazy Larry's Car Lot Sale being on every two minutes. Or so we thought. However, having bought the house in Florida, and visiting more regularly, the first thing we do when we get in the hire car at the airport is to switch the radio to 98.9FM - Radio WMMO.
Now, not everyone likes the same kind of music. We're getting old(!) and the music of the 1970s and 1980s is our kind of stuff. That's what we love about WMMO - their playlist is full of The Police, Phil Collins, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Queen, U2, A-ha and the like. Okay, so that's not to everyone's taste we understand. But if that's your kind of music, you might want to try 98.9FM. They don't seem to have so many ads as other stations and the ones they do have aren't Crazy Larry ones!
If those aren't your type of artists, you're on your own - since we found WMMO, we don't listen to anyone else!
Despite the heavy tiling schedule, we did take time out to meet up with Ted's Twitter pals (and their humans) for a meal. We went to Fulton's Crabhouse which was new to us. To be honest, with a vegetarian and a shellfish allergy amongst us we don't generally go to seafood restaurants! That said, it was a great evening.
We'd made a reservation over the phone. Some of our group met up in the bar, before gathering everyone together for our reservation time. It's a pretty noisy restaurant, and it was busy, though it was 7pm on Saturday night. The waiter was helpul in getting us a high chair for the bears to sit on but was slower to take our drinks order. There was more delay but that was because we had to wait for the chef to discuss various allergies amongst the group, but, once that was taken care of, we ordered and the food didn't take that long - though we were talking a lot!
We didn't have room for dessert but weren't rushed at all to leave the restaurant even though there were people still waiting when we left. It's quite pricey and a bit noisy for a special quiet occasion but for a nice family or group meal it was good.
Note: Disney's dining reservation system now requires a credit card hold and charge $10/head for no shows and late cancellations. However, if you call some of the restaurants direct, even at Downtown Disney, they just make the reservation free of charge. We know this works here and at Rainforest Cafe, so probably others too, but maybe not at specifically Disney-owned locations. If you can make a reservation do so - we've seen 90 minute waits at Rainforest Cafe on several occasions. Even with a reservation you can wait a while!
Samsung All-in-One Laser Printer
We have now added an all-in-one mono laser printer, scanner and copier, for guest use. Laser tends to be more reliable than ink jet machines as we are not there regularly to top up cartridges, paper or fix paper jams. It is black and white for boarding passes, tickets or directions, rather than printing off your photos for the day.
Our Management Company are unable to provide technical support for installation or other problems so we advise that the the printer does not have a guarantee of availability for your stay. We hope it will be. If you believe you will need a printer for work during your stay, we recommend you make your own arrangements - printers at Walmart generally start at about $30. We cannot guarantee there will always be paper or toner - we leave supplies during our own stays, as a courtesy, but cannot control how much is printed during anyone's stay.
The printer can be used wirelessly (though a USB cable is supplied) and also supports mobile printing using the Samsung Mobile Printer app for Android or iOS. Windows update should contain the necessary drivers or you can download them via the internet, or from the appropriate app store. We hope this works - we have avoided it until now because of the potential problems, however we've now taken the plunge. We hope you find it useful - it's great for printing boarding passes!
Google/Bing Translate
You might have noticed - if you've looked at the website recently - that there is now a Translate button on most of our web pages. We have had a number of guests from around the world and thought it would be helpful if we can offer a translation of our site.
We'll be the first to admit that Google and Bing Translators have limitations (and our language skills beyond French and Spanish are pretty limited) but hopefully those of you who would like a localised version are able to get the gist of things.
If any of our non-English speaking readers spot any glaringly bad translations, please let us know and we can override the Google/Bing standard offering.
Wedding Bells!
In conversations with our Christmas guests it seems we had an engagement!
Congratulations Ashlee and Joseph!
That wasn't our first either - we had another back September! Two (that we know of) in one year!
So, is marriage in your plans? Or how about a honeymoon?
But don't panic, it's not compulsory!
Thinking of what to ask for for your birthday? Or even Christmas? Why not try a Villa Southern Dunes Gift Voucher!
We continue to offer Villa Southern Dunes Gift Vouchers. Perhaps you can get your friends and family to pay for your vacation? Ask them for Villa Southern Dunes vouchers! We can send a PDF file for any occasion, by email to the person who contacts us or we can email it directly to the recipient. We offer any amount in US Dollars or GB Pounds, which must be paid for using PayPal (including credit cards) or by bank transfer. Credit card/PayPal payments will incur a 2% administration charge and vouchers will not be sent until payment has cleared but we will endeavour to issue the voucher within 24 hours of receiving cleared payment. If you need a voucher for a particular occasion, or to include a photo of your choice, just ask us at villasoutherndunes@gmail.com
The voucher can be used towards an existing booking (the name on the voucher must be a Named Guest), or towards a deposit, if not yet booked. The name on the voucher may be changed, but this instruction must come from the person whose name is on the voucher. If this is impossible, please contact us at villasoutherndunes@gmail.com
For more information, email villasoutherndunes@gmail.com or call 07952 408964 from the UK (011 44 7952 408964 from the US).
If you'd like to submit a short review of an attraction or restaurant you visited while staying at Villa Southern Dunes, or send some photos of your stay, please email it to villasoutherndunes@gmail.com Please supply your name, email address, dates of stay and age (if under 18). We'll try and include it if we can.
Thinking of what to ask for for your birthday? Or even Christmas? Why not try a 