Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle

One trend that we are seeing in the Florida Leisure Vacation Home office is for more people to want to bring their pet with them on vacation. It can be very traumatic for some people, not to mention their pets, to have to leave a loved one behind when they go on vacation and that’s why we have tried to make available more vacation rental homes for those that want to travel with their dog or cat.

That said, it’s perfectly fine when you are at your vacation home with your pet but what about them and the feelings they have about being alone in a strange place when you visit the theme parks?

Fortunately, there is now a great new solution; Best Friends Pet Care at Walt Disney World.

This facility has recently opened and is close to Magic Kingdom and the other Walt Disney World resort theme parks. The facility has 17,000 sq. ft of air conditioned indoor space as well as 10,000 sq. ft of covered outdoor runs and play areas. It also has a 25,000 sq. ft dog park making in one huge facility that is capable of looking after approximately 250 pets in one day!

Best Friends Pet Care has several different type of boarding facilities from the traditional indoor / outdoor boarding through to vacation villas and VIP luxury suites that have to be seen to be believed. Cats are taken care of at Kitty City while other pets can be housed at the Pocket Pets area.

Dogs are the main focus of attention though and the facility really does excel in this regard. A la carte Doggies provides playgroups, playtime, cuddletime, bottled water, bedtime stories, ice cream breaks, holiday meals and premium beds all for your dog to enjoy.

VIP Luxury Suites

For the ultimate in pampered boarding then check out the four 226 sq. ft. VIP super luxury suites. The suites provide a large bedroom with tile walls, glass doors, a raised platform bed and a flat screen television which can be programmed for your pet’s entertainment. Each suite also has a private covered outdoor play yard and this all inclusive boarding experience includes complimentary activities such as potty walks, playgroup sessions and a bed time story each day.

Vacation Villas

There are 14 72 sq. ft. Vacation Villas complete with raised platform bed and flat panel TV. There is also a private outdoor relief patio attached to the villa and potty walks, play group sessions and turn down service are also included in this unique experience.

Doggy Daycamp
Best Friends Pet Care has two 1100 sq. ft. camp rooms complete with attached outside rooms. This is a great place for your pet to play while you enjoy your time at the theme parks and you can be sure to come back to a happy, relaxed and contended pet when you are done.

Dog Park
The Dog Park is approximately 25,000 sq. ft in size and is the perfect place for owners to visit their pets during the day. You can relax and play with your dog in an unleashed environment and enjoy watching your pet romp, chase balls or Frisbees and then cooling off in the dogs only water fountain!

Best Friends Pet Care is a great facility for peace of mind while you play. It is conveniently located on Bonnet Creek Parkway and has some great services to offer you, the pet owner. Whether it’s boarding or grooming you want for your pet, then Bonnet Creek is a natural choice to complement your stay in a pet friendly Florida Leisure Vacation Home. Feel free to ask our concierge about the services your pet might enjoy.

Two of many family’s favorite holiday events at Walt Disney World begin tomorrow night, 8th November. The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights will brighten Disney’s Hollywood Studios while Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party will transform Magic Kingdom into a winter wonderland.

At 6 p.m. each evening through Jan. 3, guests on the Streets of America can experience more holiday lights than they’ve probably ever seen in one place. Millions decorate the buildings, a large Christmas tree, a twirling carousel, flying angels and reindeer and more as Christmas music is played and “snow flurries” fall.

About every 10 minutes, the lights “dance.” For the last several years, the lights have been synchronized to blink to the upbeat “Mad Russian’s Christmas” by Trans Siberian Orchestra; “Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24″ by Trans Siberian Orchestra; and “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano.

The tradition began two decades ago when Arkansas businessman Jennings Osborne strung 1,000 lights as a Christmas gift to his daughter. After the exhibit grew too large for a private residence, it was brought to Disney World in 1995.

At the Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party takes place from 7 p.m. to midnight Nov. 8, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 28, 30 and Dec. 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17 and 19.

Two of the signature events are the holiday-themed parade and fireworks, which only can be seen at the party. (After the last party, the parade and fireworks are shown in the park with regular admission through New Year’s.)

“Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade” — with dancing gingerbread men, roller-skating snowflakes, marching toy soldiers (my favorite!) and Santa and Mrs. Claus — is performed twice each night. “Holiday Wishes, Celebrate the Spirit of the Season” is a special fireworks show orchestrated to holiday melodies.

Guests also will see the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights, stage shows, special character meet-and-greets and shorter lines for popular rides. Snowflakes are always forecast for Main Street, U.S.A. and complimentary cookies, apple slices and hot cocoa are served.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party requires a separate ticket and costs $59.95 for adults ($53.95 for ages 3-9) on the day of the party. Advance tickets are available with $6 savings for most dates at Disneyworld.com/christmasparty.

Do you have what it takes to be a dolphin trainer? Do you want to find out?

Earlier this week I decided to find out for myself what it’s like to work with some of nature’s most amazing creatures and I was luck y enough to be able to participate in one of SeaWorld’s Dolphin VIP Up-Close tours.  The tour is a 60-minute walking tour as you get to go backstage at the Whale and Dolphin stadium to find out what it takes to care for, and train, the stars of the visually stunning Blue Horizons show.

You also get to go behind the scenes and see part of the animal rescue area before  participating in a real training session with the animal care staff at Dolphin Cove. You get to be up close and personal with the dolphins and  touching and petting is sometimes allowed.  It’s an amazing experience and it really is a must do if you have any love or affection for dolphins.

Sea World crafts their tours extremely well. Not only do you get treated as a VIP, but you get to learn along the way. The tour guides are extremely knowledgeable and only too willing and happy to share their knowledge and answer all your questions. Here at Florida Leisure, we’d be more than happy to make your next Orlando vacation that extra bit special so make sure you ask our concierge about setting up a Dolphin VIP Up-Close Tour for you and your family on your next visit. Here’s some video to get you by until then…

It’s not often that you’ll find me thinking Disney has got things wrong but their recent agreement to list their hotels on cut rate price negotiator “Priceline” has me thinking exactly that. I’ll even stick my neck out and say this is nothing more than sheer stupidity. A brilliant way to devalue the product. So the face of Disney is no longer a mouse… but Captain Kirk… “to boldly go”… well, it can now be said, Disney is guilty of following instead of leading. I can’t help but wonder what Walt would make of it?

If you haven’t heard much about it then let me fill you in. Just recently Disney announced that Walt Disney World hotel rooms will become part of Priceline’s inventory in November. Disney rooms will only be available through the site’s conventional booking engine they state and  guests looking to use Priceline’s “Name Your Own Price,” will need to stay elsewhere.  “We are not participating in Priceline.com’s ‘Name Your Own’ service,” said Disney spokesperson Andrea Finger, “and we have no plans to do so.”

The move represents a strategic shift in attitude by Disney, which has always claimed it has refused to utilize Priceline for room sales, even while making inventory available on other online travel sites.  Guests have been able to search for Disney rooms on Expedia and Travelocity, for instance, since 2002.

However, it now turns out that Disney has experimented with the “Name Your Own Price” option in the past.  During 2006, Disney briefly made rooms at the All-Star Sports and All-Star Music, both value resorts, available through Priceline’s auction engine…something they’d like to keep pretty quiet.   The rooms sold for as low as $35 per night, less than half the price of Disney’s cheapest rate for the resort rooms.

It is also interesting to note that the Disney-Priceline agreement does not include making rooms available on Booking.com, Priceline’s European subsidiary.  The detail is significant, because Booking.com is Europe’s biggest online travel site, and as such, has obviously contributed heavily to Priceline’s growth.

The concern for Disney seems to be about image; that listing hotel rooms on Priceline would then cheapen the company’s premium-brand reputation, which allows it to command higher rates than competitors with similar rooms.  But, in the current economy, it’s clear that Disney has been rethinking their approach.  Average occupancy in Disney hotels fell 8.8 percent from the same period last year, to 83 percent during the company’s fiscal third quarter, which ended July 3.

To me this is a ridiculous and stupid move by Disney and one that will ultimately harm them in the long term. This is nothing more than short term thinking and a great company selling themselves short. If you go back 100 years and find a list of the top 100 companies around then, you’ll find that today very few exist and that speaks volumes about some of the thinking going on inside the Boardroom. It seems that these corporate executives never learn. Like lemmings they line up to cut prices and give their product away. For a short time the guests benefit but slowly but surely these companies start cutting back in areas they shouldn’t…areas that interact with the customer and affect that customers experience.

For me, it gives folks even more of a reason not to stay at Disney when they visit Orlando. Why take the risk of staying at a place that’s cutting corners and costs in every conceivable place ? And, more to the point, and this may be controversial, why stay at a place that now becomes more attractive to the wrong type of people?

Personally, when I go on vacation, I like it to feel special. I don’t want party goers or, putting it frankly, yobs, ruining my vacation. Vegas has spent years trying to overcome their reputation for seediness before finally giving in and embracing “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” and all that Disney is doing is cheapening what was once a great vacation experience at their resorts.

For me, this move is one that should see Disney CEO Robert Iger fired. It’s a clear indication the man is dealing in short term-ism and worrying about his next quarter numbers. It’s everything that’s wrong with America today.

What do you think? Leave me your comments…

The 4,000-passenger Disney Dream has made its public debut as thousands of spectators were on hand to cheer the “Float Out”, despite rain and chill in Papenburg, Germany.

A Float Out is basically when a ship leaves its indoor construction area for outfitting and testing in the open-air. In Northern Germany, the event is somewhat akin to a shuttle launch in Florida. In just under two weeks the Disney Dream will make its first voyage, traveling about 35 miles down the River Ems to the North Sea, where engineers will put the ship through its paces.

With the 128,000-ton Disney Dream the largest ship ever built in Germany, and, given the world-wide allure of Mickey, there was additional attention. By some counts, close to 15,000 people came to witness the Float Out. More than a hundred campers could be seen parked alongside the shipyard, and the festive atmosphere even included a carnival complete with carousel and bratwurst stands.

The crowd watched in awe as the 128,000-ton ship was slowly pulled outdoors by tugs, a process that takes nearly an hour. Many in the crowd carried both umbrellas and plastic Mickey hands provided by the shipyard. Bundled up kids could be seen clutching Mickey dolls and other favorite Disney characters.

They were rewarded for the wait. As always, Disney did things dramatically.

“Presenting the latest jewel in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, the Disney Dream,” said a pre-recorded American-accented announcer when the ship was fully in view. Then there was a recorded sample of the ship’s horn blasting the first few notes of Cinderella’s “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” with the full song playing over speakers as fireworks surrounded the ship from both the sky and ground.

With its classic 1930s-inspired pointy bow and deep blue hull topped by white decks and red smokestacks, the ship cuts an elegant figure. A sculpture of Sorcerer Mickey clinging from the stern is a big hint at the fun inside.The ship will debut several unique Disney attractions, including the first water coaster a sea and a brand new show production, Disney Believe.

The Dream is 50% bigger than Disney’s other two ships, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, and is the line’s first new build in more than 10 years.

“It’s exciting,” Karl Holz, president of Disney Cruise Line, “It’s the first time our guests, our fans, get a chance to see the entire ship.”

Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft, says the event is an “emotional moment” and a source of pride for the shipyard and the thousands who have worked on the ship’s construction.

The concept for the ship started nearly five years ago, Holz says. With the exterior complete, the focus now is final touches inside.

“It’s getting to be ready,” Holz says. “I couldn’t be more pleased.” He says his excitement has been so much his adult daughter asked what was more exciting, her birth or the birth of the ship? “I told her she was, but this was very special,” Holz says.

Bahamas cruises on the Disney Dream launch January 26, 2011 from Port Canaveral and enjoying a cruise for a few days is the perfect way to complement an extended stay in an Orlando vacation home.

Here’s some video of the event:

The Disney Dream™ is the majestic third ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Boasting 14 towering decks, a ship length of 1,115 feet and a maximum width of 125 feet, the 128,000-ton vessel includes 1,250 staterooms and has the capacity to comfortably accommodate 4,000 passengers—along with the over 1,458 Crew Members who tend to the needs of every cruise Guest each and every day.

Building on the classic style of the previous 2 ships, the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder, the Disney Dream is a valiant vessel distinguished for its classic early 20th-century design—which harkens back to the golden age of cruising—and state-of-the-art technology. As can be expected from Disney, the cruise liner was specially designed with families in mind, combining sleek style and convenient facilities with splashes of magic and cruise-industry firsts—like the splashtacular AquaDuck,  the very first water coaster at sea.