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

There’s no better place to be when the sun sets in Orlando than at Summer Nights at SeaWorld when waves of fun wash over the park with fantastic shows, thrilling coasters under the stars, and a nightly fireworks and fountain finale.

Summer Nights starts tonight, June 18, and runs through August 14 … and even better, SeaWorld is now open until 10 p.m.

Headlining Summer Nights is Shamu Rocks, a larger-than-life experience where guests jam to a rock-n-roll beat; Sea Lions Tonite, an uproarious show featuring Clyde and Seamore that will have everyone in stitches; and Reflections, the sky-filling fireworks and fountains finale that ends the night with a bang.

New this year, Summer Nights Central, located on Bayside pathway, comes alive every night at 6 p.m. Guests dance the night away at this family-friendly, nightly party as a DJ spins the latest tunes and rockin’, live bands perform each weekend. In addition, beer, wine, frozen drinks and plenty of delicious snacks such as soft pretzels, melt-in-your-mouth cotton candy and tasty Blue Bunny® ice cream will be available.

And now, adults pay the kid’s price plus get a second day free at SeaWorld to enjoy the park on their schedule. It’s the best way to experience Summer Nights.

Terry Prather - President of SeaWorld Orlando & Nigel Worrall - Florida Leisure

Oh …and here’s a secret tip… something to look forward to this Christmas…. I was talking to SeaWorld Orlando President Terry Prather recently and he said that this years Christmas as SeaWorld is going to be even more spectacular than before. Now this promises to be something because last Christmas SeaWorld had the best event of all the attractions in my opinion.

A crowd of 4,715 saw two early goals by Lewis Neal and Kevin Molino ensure Orlando City stayed top of the American Division of the United Soccer League as they scored a convincing win over visitors Richmond. The 2-0 win avenges Orlando’s loss to the same opponents on the opening day of the season  and after taking an early lead they rarely looked threatened.

Adrian Heath & Nigel Worrall

“We’ve been talking about this return game against them since the opening day of the season,” said coach Adrian Heath (pictured above with yours truly) . “Our players were really motivated for it, so I knew we would start quickly. Then we got a goal, which always helps.” Neal collected a through pass from Molino (pictured below) and scored in the fourth minute from what appeared to be a slightly deflected shot on goal. Neal said: “It was a magnificent goal. We lost to them in the beginning of the season, so it was a little bit of revenge tonight.”

In the 13th minute City scored again as Molino netted from an assist by Luke Boden although it could be argued the goal was more down to a huge defensive mistake by the Kickers central defence. “Kevin Molino is an awful lot of talent,” Heath said. “We knew that when he came here. We know that if we nurture him, if he works hard at his game and gets a little bit of luck, then we are going to have a really good player on our hands.”

Buddy Dyer & Nigel Worrall

A nice touch came at half time as Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (pictured above)  inducted future soldiers into the various military branches and that topped off the Orlando City sponsored Military Night that saw “The Ruckus”, a group of fans committed to supporting and growing soccer in Orlando, donate $600.57 to Wounded Warriors before the game. The win concludes a testing run of three games in six days for the Lions. A scoreless draw v Rochester 0-0 and a 3-1 victory over Harrisburg City had gone previously and tonight’s victory ensured that Orlando extend their lead at the top of the table. The next home game for Orlando City will be on June 2 against Charlotte with a kick off time set for 7.30 p.m.

Here’s some video and you can see more photos here …

Peter Stokes & Adrian Heath

Nigel Worrall, Arthur Frommer & Rick Steves

I visited the New York Times Travel Show last week and during the visit I was able to get a little time to talk with Arthur and Pauline Frommer of Frommer Travel Guide fame.

For those that aren’t familiar, Frommer’s is a travel guidebook series and is one of the bestselling travel guides in America. The series began in 1957 with the publication of Arthur Frommer’s book, “Europe on $5 a Day.” Frommer’s has since expanded to include over 350 guidebooks across 14 series, as well as other media including the award winning Frommers.com website which covers over 3,500 destinations and in 2007, Frommer’s celebrated its 50th anniversary of guidebook publishing.

Since May 2007, Arthur Frommer has been actively blogging about travel on the Frommers.com website and it’s well worth a read no matter where you are traveling in the world as he has some great tips. It also seems that the family legacy will be continued as Arthur’s daughter, Pauline, is also a well recognised travel writer, expert and authority as her book “Pauline Frommer’s London” , amongst others, has been recognized as the best guidebook in 2007 by the North American Travel Journalists Association and 2009 by the Society of American Travel Writers.

Pauline Frommer & Nigel Worrall

Both Arthur and Pauline were scheduled to talk and the subject of their session was “What to Skimp and what to Splurge on when Traveling.” It was an informative and often amusing encounter as both father and daughter offered differing viewpoints on subjects such as flights, rental cars, food and of course, accommodation.

Accommodation is perhaps the most expensive part of any trip so it was particularly interesting to me that Arthur recommended vacation rental homes as one way to save money over a conventional hotel stay. It’s a secret that our guests have known for close on 20 years now and it seems that the rest of the world is finally playing catch up and waking up to the realization that you can actually rent a complete home with 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 bedrooms and have far more space for a better price than you would by staying at a hotel.

Here’s some video of Arthur talking about vacation homes:

I was just reading an article about foreign buyers literally invading the US to buy homes and I thought you’d like to see it if you haven’t already. It’s written by Steve Cook of Real Estate Economy Watch:

The number of American homes bought by foreign nationals has nearly doubled in the past year as falling property values and record numbers of distress sales encouraged immigrants and foreign investors to take advantage of affordable prices. With home purchases by American citizens plummeting in the wake of the tax credit, foreigners are now poised to gain an even larger ownership share of US properties.

Foreign purchases accounted for about four and a half percent of all USA sales between April 2009 and April 2010, according to a new study by the National Association of Realtors. For the twelve months ending April 2010, foreign purchases of U.S. residences totaled $64 billion. This is almost twice the $36 billion in foreign transactions that took place during the twelve months ending April 2009. The percent of dollar volume represented by foreign transactions increased from 4.3% in 2009 to 7.1% in 2010.

About half of foreign bought properties were purchased as primary residences, and the rest as vacation homes and investment properties.  Most bought properties in suburban locales and cities. Only 14 percent of foreign buyers bought in resort areas. Two factors important to international clients when purchasing property in the U.S. are proximity to their home country and the convenience of air transportation. Florida typically attracts European, Canadian and South American buyers while the East Coast draws Europeans. The West Coast brings Asian buyers and the Southwest attracts Mexicans.

The link to the original article is here.

It’s an interesting read and while it somewhat reflects what is happening here in Central Florida, the availability of money for loans and mortgages remains grim. Cash buyers are scoring some great deals at the moment and I expect that trend to continue for quite a while yet.

In my book “What You Must Know About Buying Your Vacation Home” I talk about why vacation properties are still great investments and it’s absolutely true about residential property still being a good way to build wealth providing you buy right.

The one thing I find  interesting is that most lenders have stopped lending to foreign nationals yet they still continue to buy in some volume. Imagine what might happen if one or two of lenders decided to lend again to foreigners instead of retreating into their Government sponsored safe hole. Maybe, just maybe, we’d see more distressed real estate purchased and that would then help values go up and the economy to recover faster? Just a thought.

My new book, “What You Need To Know About Renting A Vacation Home“, should be appearing on Amazon.com and at other leading book sellers any day now. It was officially released yesterday and it goes into depth about how you can protect yourself when renting a vacation home. It covers hot topics like renting a vacation home directly from an owner and has several checklists to make sure you get that perfect vacation home for your next break.

The book comes out hot on the heals of two other books I’ve authored this year “What You Must Know About Buying Your Vacation Home” and “5 Big Mistakes To Avoid When Selecting A Property Management Company.”

It’s a big day….my new book “What You Must Know About Buying Your Vacation Home” has just made it to Amazon. The book took some time to produce and I redrafted it several times as I was keen to make it as concise as possible.

The initial draft was lengthy and after much thought I decided to do away with large sections of it in order to make it a quick and easy read. The book is 52 pages long and you shouldn’t fear I have left anything really valuable out… I haven’t…I’ve just made sure that there are no long ramblings from me!

In the book you will find extremely valuable information on

• Why Vacation Homes Are Still Great Investments
• Financial Leverage and Tax Advantages
• Renting Short Term v Long Term
• Maintaining Your Home
• Marketing Your Home For Rentals

There’s also a ton more and plenty of helpful tips on buying and owning a vacation home. Even if I say so myself, it’s a must read if you ever are planning on purchasing a vacation home in the future.

The book is available from Amazon.com and is priced at $12.95. The link to it is http://amzn.to/9arkqd

ORLANDO VACATION ON A REDUCED BUDGET

by Nigel G. Worrall

Do you want to take a vacation in Orlando but are worried about the cost? Well, an Orlando Vacation on a reduced budget is not such the unobtainable goal that you might think. Want to know why? Read on.

A vacation in Orlando always seems like a perfect dream come true. Unfortunately so many times in our lives our dreams do seem completely dependent on money which then makes the dream vacation not quite so perfect. Of course, a perfect dream would be an Orlando vacation where money wasn’t always an issue but even so, it is possible to have a great time in Orlando even if you are on a reduced budget. To have an Orlando vacation on a reduced budget takes a lot of planning and here are a few tips on how to get more for less.

Orlando Vacation on a Reduced Budget – Tip #1.

Walt Disney World is the major attraction in Orlando and the best time to visit happens twice a year, in May and September. The reason is simple; fewer folks travel in those two months and that means it is easier to get really good deals at those times of year.

Orlando vacation on a reduced budget – Tip #2.

Instead of staying in an expensive hotel room try a vacation home rental instead. You get far more for your money and you’ll enjoy the extra space. Vacation rental homes have nice sized living rooms, several bedrooms, a full sized kitchen, and a private swimming pool. You can save money by buying groceries from a local store rather than dining out every meal time and you’ll also save because you won’t feel the need to go out all the time like you do in a cramped hotel room. 

Orlando vacation on a reduced budget – Tip #3.

Go as a larger group. Yes, if you team up with your friends and family you can save big style. Large vacation homes and villas are available for rental at low costs. If you travel in a large group, with friends, relatives and family, costs definitely come down giving the phrase “the more the merrier” a very pertinent meaning.

Orlando vacation on a reduced budget – Tip #4.

One thing that hinders the concept of an Orlando vacation on a reduced budget is the expense incurred visiting the various attraction parks. The theme parks can prove to be very expensive and the savings you made in the accommodation will be spent here if you’re not careful. Orlando is not just about the Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World theme parks,  there are many other parks, lakes, camping and hiking spots to enjoy, completely free of cost. Of course, you should enjoy a great day at one of the major attractions but mix in a few of these low or no cost attractions and you’ll soon see how you can save on your budget.

Orlando vacation on a reduced budget – Tip #5.

Travel is always a major cost so make sure you check out the major travel web sites to get the best flight prices. Check out the low fare airlines such as Jet Blue, Southwest, Air Tran, Spirit and Frontier to get the lowest prices. Renting a car is the cheapest way to get around and this makes it much easier to get to those great low or no cost places.

Orlando is the place to go for the most fun per square foot and if you follow these simple steps you will get the biggest bang for your buck. An Orlando vacation on a reduced budget is very attainable and you can have the time of your life while saving money. It can indeed be the vacation you always dreamed of.

About Nigel G. Worrall:

Nigel Worrall is President / CEO of Florida Leisure Vacation Homes & Total Real Estate Solutions. He is regularly sought by the media as a vacation home and real estate expert and has featured on NBC, ABC, Fox, CBS. He has also featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, Newsweek, Chicago Sun Times, Washington Post, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando Business Journal and several other publications. Nigel is also the best selling author of “Big Ideas For Your Business” (Advantage Media)

Nigel serves many clients around the world as a Realtor®, Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Investor, Mortgage Broker and Real Estate Trainer.

About Florida Leisure:

Florida Leisure Vacation Homes is the leading vacation home company in the Orlando, Fla. – Disney area, offering 3-7 bedroom private vacation homes near to all the Orlando area attractions. Each home has it’s own fully equipped kitchen, 3-7 bedrooms, lounge, dining room, laundry, 2 car garage and best of all, private swimming pool. http://www.FloridaLeisure.com

Yesterday morning I was invited to be a guest on the ESPN 1080 AM Orlando Weekend Morning Show with Richard Charman and Dennis Stelling.

Nigel Worrall and Richard Charman

It was a lot of fun as we talked about business and life in general. Of course, we talked about vacation rental homes and my best selling book “Big Ideas For Your Business” as well.

Here’s a short video clip:

And here’s the full radio interview:

Nigel Worrall, CEO of Florida Leisure Vacation Homes, was recently inducted into the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™ for the performance of his latest book, “Big Idea’s For Your Business.”

Orlando, Fla. – February 2, 2010 – Nigel Worrall, CEO of Florida Leisure Vacation Homes, was recently inducted into The National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™ after releasing the book, Big Ideas For Your Business:  America’s PremierExperts® Show You How to Make Your Business More Fun & More Profitable. The book was written in collaboration with America’s PremierExperts®, a group of America’s leading experts in various fields of business.  They are celebrity experts who are dedicated to spreading knowledge and awareness in their field of expertise and making significant contributions to their industry and the marketplace as a whole.

Big Ideas For Your Business was released on July 23rd, 2009.  On the day of release, the book reached the best-seller list in two categories, the Management and Leadership – Systems and Planning category, and the Business Management category.

Nigel Worrall authored a chapter in the book titled, “Customers: The Lifeblood of Any Company.” Nigel was chosen as one of America’s PremierExperts® based on his expertise and success in the real estate and vacation home industry.

The National Academy of Best Selling Authors™ was founded by two attorneys, JW Dicks, Esq. and Nick Nation, Esq. who are also best selling authors and represent authors and experts nationwide.  Both of the attorneys are members of multiple organizations, associations and academies that recognize and honor the best in the business, and they thought a similar organization should be created for Best Selling authors who don’t always get recognition for their accomplishment.  Authors themselves, they recognized that only a very limited number of books made the major New York Times Best Seller list and just like the awards shows put on by the entertainment-based organizations, they wanted to have more categories for authors to be accepted and recognized for their accomplishment. The National Academy of Best Selling Authors™ now honors authors from many of the leading independent best-seller lists.

To order your copy of Big Ideas For Your Business please visit http://www.amazon.com/Ideas-Your-Business-Nick-Nanton/dp/1599321076

For more information on Nigel Worrall and Florida Leisure Homes, please visit http://www.floridaleisure.com.

To find out more about The National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™ visit http://www.academyofauthors.org/

About Nigel Worrall:

Nigel Worrall is President / CEO of Florida Leisure Vacation Homes & Total Real Estate Solutions. He is regularly sought by the media as a vacation home and real estate expert and has featured on NBC, ABC, Fox, CBS. He has also featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, Newsweek, Chicago Sun Times, Washington Post, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando Business Journal and several other publications. Nigel is also the best selling author of “Big Ideas For Your Business” (Advantage Media)

Nigel serves many clients around the world as a Realtor®, Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Investor, Mortgage Broker and Real Estate Trainer. Nigel has been heavily involved with helping the local chapter of the Investors Resource Center of America in Orlando and has recently been appointed as a National Real Estate Investment Coach with Real Mentor™.

Florida Leisure Vacation Homes is the leading vacation home company in the Orlando, Fla. – Disney area, offering 3-7 bedroom private vacation homes near to all the Orlando area attractions. Each home has it’s own fully equipped kitchen, 3-7 bedrooms, lounge, dining room, laundry, 2 car garage and best of all, private swimming pool.

For more information, please visit http://www.floridaleisure.com

The National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™:

The National Academy of Best Selling Authors™ was founded by two attorneys, JW Dicks, Esq. and Nick Nation, Esq. who are also best selling authors and represent authors and experts nationwide.  Both of the attorneys are members of multiple organizations, associations and academies that recognize and honor the best in the business, and they thought a similar organization should be created for Best Selling authors who don’t always get recognition for their accomplishment. Authors themselves, they recognized that only a very limited number of books made the major New York Times Best Seller list and just like the awards shows put on by the entertainment-based organizations, they wanted to have more categories for authors to be accepted and recognized for their accomplishment. The National Academy of Best Selling Authors™ now honors authors from many of the leading independent best-seller lists.

To find out more about The National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™ visit http://www.academyofauthors.org/