If you’re a lover of automobiles and you’re in Orlando this weekend then you simply have to pay a visit to the Mecum Auction being held at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee.

The event is a great place to see a variety of late-model luxury and exotic cars as over 1,750 high quality vehicles are being offered for sale. Earlier today I took a quick trip out of the office and visited the site and it simply blew me away with it’s size.

Among the cars scheduled to cross the auction block are a 2003 Jaguar XK8 Convertible (Lot T182), a 1996 Mercedes-Benz 600SL Roadster (Lot F66), a 2004 Rolls-Royce Phantom (Lot S112), a 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera (Lot S113), a 2008 Ferrari F430 Spyder (Lot S132), Bentleys, BMWs and much much more.

Mecum’s Kissimmee Auction has now expanded to five full days to accommodate all the vehicles being offered and it will also be broadcast with four days of live national TV coverage on “Mecum Auto Auction: Muscle Cars & More” on Discovery Communications’ HD Theater. Fans can also watch the auction via live Webcast at www.Mecum.com.

Here’s some photo’s and video:

The 15th annual Epcot Food & Wine Festival begins at Walt Disney World Resort on 1st October and runs through to 14th November this year. The event is always popular and gives guests the chance to sample a unique global food and wine tasting as they wander around World Showcase.

All told, the walk is approximately 1.3 miles and visitors can sample the cuisine, culture and entertainment of more than a dozen countries as they stroll around the 40 acre lagoon. In addition, booths are set up on the way so the dozen countries permanently housed at Epcot quickly becomes 25 international marketplaces where you can enjoy sampling different foods, wines and beers.

In 2010 celebrity chefs will team with winemakers and brew masters from around the world to celebrate the 15th year of the event. There will be three new testing marketplaces in Belgium, South Korea and Singapore as well as new offerings from Argentina, Chile, Poland, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Australia, the US, Spain and several others.  Among the celebrity chefs taking part will be Warren Brown, Cat Cora and Todd English (pictured above).

On the entertainment front you’ll find improv performances along the promenade, acrobatics and joyful music. There will be “Eat to the Beat!” concerts at the America gardens Theatre and scheduled to appear are acts like Sugar Ray, Air Supply, Howard Jones, 38 Special, Roger Hodgson (Supertramp fame), Kool and the Gang, Taylor Hicks, Sister Hazel, Expose, Night Ranger, Billy Ocean (pictured above), Starship, Boys II Men, Jon Secada, Hanson and Rick Springfield. Kicking the festival off on 1st October is Taylor Dayne while bringing the curtain down on 14 November is Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

It promises to be a great time… care to join us?

7 Great Things To Do In Kissimmee

By Nigel G. Worrall

Most visitors to Central Florida only think one thing “Walt Disney World, Orlando”. What most don’t know is that there is another area that makes up the Walt Disney World area and that is the area known as Kissimmee.

More likely than not, most visitors will stay in properties in the Kissimmee area if they don’t stay directly on Walt Disney World property. So with that in mind, here’s the top 7 things you can do while staying in the area that is closest to Disney:

1.      Old Town

Old Town is a great place to visit for all members of the family and is a favorite attraction for shopping, dining, and entertainment in Kissimmee as it features specialty shops, restaurants, and great amusement park rides.

There are over 40 shops featuring an amazing variety of merchandise, around a dozen places to eat and drink and some great rides to blow you away. Rides such as Windstorm Roller Coaster…1,437 feet of steel tracks which twist and turn over 80-degree banks! There’s the colorful & exciting Wave Swinger and you can see Orlando from sixty feet in the air on the Century Ferris Wheel.  If that’s not enough adventure for you then spin your wheels around the Happy Days Family Go-Kart Track or try out Super Shot where you’ll feel like you can touch the stars as you slowly inch up to 150 feet and then get dropped suddenly!

On the lighter side, you can take the little ones on the uniquely painted horses of the Merry-Go-Round, spin on the Tea Cups, leap into fun on the Frog Hopper, and ride the Wacky Worm Kiddie Coaster.

Old Town is also the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights as its “Cruise Night”. The Friday Night Cruise is a car show that features 1975–1987 cars and trucks while The Saturday Night Cruise will bring back memories of your first car, your first date and your first kiss as the “pride and joys” from 1974 and earlier bring back ‘lots of memories’ as an average of 300 classic cars, hot rods, street rods and antiques parade down the brick streets of Old Town. Completing the bill is some fabulous live entertainment as some great bands come to Old Town – Kissimmee to play some great tunes.

2.      Horse World

Blue sky, hundreds of acres to explore and a good horse beneath you are just some of the delights that will greet you when you visit Horse World.  If you love horse riding or enjoying the peaceful Florida countryside then a visit to this trail riding adventure will invigorate your soul. A chance to experience what it was like when life was simple!

3.      Lake Lizzie Nature Preserve

This 950-acre nature preserve is one of Florida’s best sites for hiking, horseback riding and nature viewing. The preserve offers marked trails through a variety of habitats leading to the shores of Lake Lizzie and Trout Lake.

4.      Boggy Creek Airboat Ride

An airboat ride offers you the chance to glide through the beautiful Florida wetlands and get up close and personal with exotic birds, turtles and of course, the Florida alligator in their own natural environment. You’ll also get the chance to fly like the wind into the swamps experiencing the awesome feel of an airboat ride traveling up to 45 miles per hour.

5.      Green Meadows Petting Farm

“Everyone milks a cow” at Green Meadows Petting Farm, where you can interact with more than 300 animals during a two-hour guided tour throughout the farm. Everyone is encouraged to have a “hands on” experience during the tour by petting a variety of pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, donkeys, and more as tour leaders teach kids about the farm and its animals. Kids can also take a pony ride and experience a tractor-drawn hayride.

6.      Forever Florida

This 4700-acre eco-ranch and wildlife conservation area offers approximately 10 miles of hiking trails and a chance to step into Florida’s past. The Florida National Scenic Trail runs through this property and you’ll experience natural streams, forests, pastures, wetlands and learn about the wide array of Forever Florida’s wildlife including alligators, black bears, white-tail deer and the endangered Florida panther.

You can visit the Crescent J, a picturesque Florida ranch featuring a living museum of Spanish Colonial Cattle and Florida’s unique Cracker Horses and enjoy three fully guided adventures that are offered through Florida EcoSafaris: Coach Safari, Horseback Safari and, Florida’s first and only Zipline Safari. The Zipline Safari will take you on a two and a half hour adventure like no other, reaching heights of 55 feet and speeds up to 25 mph as you sail above it all on this breathtaking aerial nature tour.

7.    Take in a Dinner Show

Kissimmee is home to three of the best Dinner Show’s you’ll ever see. Capone’s Dinner Show is a cheerful mishmash of Broadway Show, nightclub cabaret, sketch comedy revue and an all you can eat Italian buffet set during the prohibition era while Medieval Times Dinner Show is a dinner show set in the times of lords and ladies. Sit down and enjoy a royal four course meal as you watch six brave knights compete and battle for your favor. With daring exhibits of valor, metal to metal sword fighting, and high speed jousting, you will be on the edge of your seat. Over at Arabian Nights Dinner Show you’ll experience a “Storybook Tale of Romance and Adventure” as the Broadway-style production featuring over 60 of the world’s most beautiful horses pulls off amazing stunts, state-of-the-art special effects and a delicious prime rib feast.

There’s a lot to do in Kissimmee…go do it!

Kissimmee Vacation Homes in Orlando

By Nigel G. Worrall

One of the most popular vacation destinations in the world is Orlando, Florida. A huge reason why so many people visit this part of the world is because of the Walt Disney World resort and its theme parks. Walt Disney World resort is the world’s largest recreational resort and is located in both Lake Buena Vista and Kissimmee.

Kissimmee is located on the southern part of the Disney complex and it’s here that you’ll find most of the areas vacation rental homes.  There are many advantages for renting a vacation home in Kissimmee but number one amongst them is the ability to enjoy a luxurious yet affordable vacation. The second reason is the fact that you are just moments away from enjoying the Disney experience as well as all the other local theme parks such as Sea World and Universal Orlando, not to mention all the other attractions that the area has to offer.

A stay in a vacation home is simply a far more luxurious vacation than compared to staying in a hotel. The home is far more inviting and has much more space than the typical hotel room or suite. You can relax in private without worrying about noisy neighbors, you have your own private pool to splash around in and you have an element of privacy that you just can’t get at a hotel.

Most vacation rental homes are conveniently located in quiet residential communities but just moments from the main area theme parks.  A Kissimmee vacation home offers many perks that a hotel simply cannot. Things such as large screen TV’s, separate bedrooms, games rooms, home theaters, and two or maybe three large living areas top the list.

Cost is also a major consideration and if you are traveling with a large family then putting them up in several hotel rooms can get very expensive.  Depending on the size of your family, you can rent a house with three bedrooms, or more, for around the same price of one hotel room and it is certainly a far better option than trying to cram everyone in to one hotel room. Just imagine the convenience of not having to wait for your turn to use the bathroom or watching what someone else wants to watch on TV as vacation homes usually have TV’s in each bedroom.

One major drawback of hotels is the fact that most hotel pools are situated outside in the open air and that means you may soon be the target of annoying insects or bugs. Each vacation rental house comes with a screened in lanai and pool area that prevents annoying pests from attacking you and this means all the family can enjoy relaxing and unwinding in comfort.

A fully functioning kitchen is also another benefit of vacationing in a rental home. Going out for every meal soon gets tiring not to mention very expensive. Vacation homes give you far more options than a hotel with a solitary restaurant that opens when the hotel says it will open.  Naturally, you might fancy a lie in one morning and a kitchen allows you to eat what you want, when you want to eat it so there’s no missing breakfast. In fact, it’s just like being at home as you can get groceries from local stores and enjoy the feeling of being home away from home.

Vacation homes are also great places to come home to after a busy day at a theme park or visiting some local attraction. Sometimes you might just fancy a quiet night in and nothing can be better than ordering a pizza or cooking a sumptuous meal for the ones you love at the end of a busy day.  Each vacation home is usually equipped with everything you might need for cooking and baking and preparing a meal on vacation is just one way to involve the whole family and have some fun.

Talking of family fun, most vacation homes also have a whole host of amenities that include cable TV, DVD players, broadband internet, video game systems, pool tables and a whole lot more for all the family to enjoy. Sometimes you may find that you’ll just not want to go out and that you just want to enjoy a day at home. Vacation home rentals really do give you lots of space to move around and live in and it’s not uncommon to feel like a King or Queen in a palace when you take a vacation in a rental home.

In fact, those that choose to vacation this way rarely go back to hotels afterwards so if you haven’t stayed in a vacation home before, this really is something you need to look into before your next trip.

It’s a MAGICal time to be in Orlando … the sky is blue, the sun is out and the Orlando Magic are in the NBA Finals.

To celebrate this great achievement we are going to let Dwight & Kobe help you pay for your next Florida Leisure vacation … that’s right … we are going to let these two superstars determine how much you should pay next time you stay in one of our superb vacation homes.

All you have to do is e-mail us at GoMagic@FloridaLeisure.com and tell us in how many games you think it will take the Magic to dispose of the Lakers. I pick 4 … but then I may be a shade biased. But this is no time to be modest … sure we’re facing the Mighty Lakers and their 15 Championships, 30 Conference Titles and 31 Divisional titles … but so what? They’ve been around for about 1000 years.

 

Kobe … You’re NEXT!!!!!!

  

 

Anyway, back to this great competition … e-mail me at GoMagic@FloridaLeisure.com and tell me how many games (Best of 7) you think the finals will go to … also let me know who will be the MVP for the series and 5 (that’s right … FIVE) lucky winning entrants will be drawn out of the hat and will receive 5% per game discount off of their next stay in a Florida Leisure vacation home … that’s a MINIMUM of 20% just for sending me an e-mail.

Make sure I get your entry before Game 4 which will take place on June 11, 2009 and remember GO MAGIC … let’s make Kobe and his gang BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

We’re almost there… MLB Spring training that is!

At least five teams are hosting their Spring training within a short drive of Orlando this year and the action begins on February 24th and runs through to April 2nd. If you’re a fan of Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies or Washington Nationals you’re going to want to be in Florida before long!

Not only is the weather great at the moment but there’s so much for you to do, see and enjoy. The team schedules are posted and you can see them here. If you’d like to know where is each team is going to be located here’s a full breakdown:

Atlanta Braves – Disney’s Wide World of Sports, Lake Buena Vista

Houston Astros – Osceola County Stadium, Kissimmee

New York Yankees – Steinbrenner Field, Tampa

Detroit Tigers – Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland

Philadelphia Phillies – Bright House Networks Field, Clearwater

Washington Nationals – Space Coast Stadium, Viera

Boston Red Sox – City of Palms Park, Fort Myers

New York Mets – Tradition Field, Port St Lucie

St Louis Cardinals – Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter

Toronto Blue Jays – Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin

Baltimore Orioles – Fort Lauderdale Stadium, Ft. Lauderdale

Cincinnati Reds – Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota

Florida Marlins – Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter

Minnesota Twins – Hammond Stadium, Fort Myers

Tampa Bay Rays – Charlotte County Sports Park, Port Charlotte

Pittsburgh Pirates – McKechnie Field, Bradenton

Orlando is the perfect place to stay if you fancy taking in a few games and our vacation homes are perfectly located to get you there and back in good time. You can also enjoy the theme parks, the beaches, the shopping, the dining and best of all, your own home away from home. Orlando is the place where everyone is going this year… so don’t miss out!

The city of Kissimmee will hold its Festival of Lights parade on December 13th at 6pm. The theme this year is a “Storybook Christmas”.

The parade, featuring a line of illuminated displays from area businesses and youth groups, will begin at the Osceola County Courthouse and eventually make its way down Broadway Avenue. Before this, the city will have a Santa Social at Toho Square from 4pm to 6pm. If you are in town, feel free to take your children along to meet with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Food booths will also be available.