Here are a few ideas :

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights-
Very scary, recommended for ages 13 and up.
Select dates Sept 28 – Oct 31, 2009.
If you want to be scared out of your mind, this is for you!
Special ticket for this event. Please go to their website for more information.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Disney’s Magic Kingdom-
Select dates in Sept, Oct – Nov 1, 2009 from 7 pm -12 am. Special ticket required for this event. Very fun for all ages, events included are:

• *Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade- with the Headless Horseman and characters from the Haunted Mansion attraction
• *Happy Hallowishes Fireworks display
• *Disney characters & villains in special Halloween costumes

I would really like to get my family there this year to experience the Halloween magic that only Disney can provide!

Sea Worlds Halloween Spooktacular - special dates from Oct 4-31. starts at 12 noon, included in park admission. Trick-or-treat for ghoulish goodies, meet amazing sea creatures, catch silly & spooky shows and more.  Sounds like a great time for all ages and enjoy all Sea World has to offer!

Green Meadows Petting Farm - milk a cow, kid pony rides, train ride, tractor-drawn hay rides,  Free Pumpkin in the Fall, and see & touch many farm animals. Very cute daytime fun for children of all ages.

Forever Florida Eco Tours- Howling Halloween Oct, 23, 24, 30 & 31, 2009. Special events include spooky hay rides for the whole family, a not-so-scary kid zone, costume contest and get as scared as you want at the intensely frightening haunted safaris. Starts at 7 pm.  See their website for more information.  

As you can see, there is plenty of Fall activities in and around Orlando, so come and enjoy all the festivities!

Most people don’t think of Orlando as a great town for music, but it is.  Many people do not think of seeing a live concert while on a family Orlando vacation, but they should. 

Orlando has the House of Blues & the Hard Rock Live with great music acts from top performers every week.  The variety of act ranges from Hip Hop, Rock, Country, Latin and everything in between.

Many people staying in our Disney area vacation homes come with extended family such as grand parents and others.  Parents should take advantage of this and get some grown up time in Orlando.  Having dinner and drinks at the House of Blues or The Hard Rock Hotel before a show is a great way to start off the night.  Both the House of Blues and Hard Rock Live are smaller venues that offer great sound and concert experience.  You can see many performers up close and personal rather than at a large sporting arena.

Tomorrow night my wife and a few of our friends are off to see Rob Thomas at Hard Rock live.  My wife is a huge fan of his and Match Box Twenty.  We will start the night at Universal Studios Portofino Bay Hotel for a great dinner and some pre-show drinks.  By going to the hotel for dinner we can valet park and not have to deal with the crowds of Universal Studios parking lots.  We than will take the water taxi to the Hard Rock Live Theater.  The water taxi again gets you around the crowds of the park and City Walk area.  The boat ride is also a really easy escape route after the show to get back to the car.

If you are coming to Orlando and want information about upcoming special events please contact our guest services staff for assistance.

Brought to you by Florida Spirit Vacation Homes Orlando

Wow!  Disney is redesigning Fantasyland!!  This will be the largest overhaul in the theme parks 36-year history!

Here are some highlights of what is to come:

- New ride based on ‘The Little Mermaid’- an enclosed ride that will carry guests through Ariel’s underwater realm.
- New meet-and-greet Pixie Hollow, home to Tinker Bell and fairies!!  My daughter can’t wait for this one!
- Expansion of ‘Dumbo’ attraction- double the size with a circus atmosphere and interactive queue to entertain children waiting in line.
- Greater focus on princesses, such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty & Belle- dances with Cinderella and play a role with Belle in a performance!!
- Update with 3-D effects of Star Tours attraction (this is at Disney Hollywood Studios)

These all sound like awesome plans and  will take some time to complete. The overhaul will be finished by 2013.  The refurbished Star Tours will debut in 2011 at Disney Hollywood Studios.

I have a 6 year old daughter who has grown up going to Disney parks and I know any advances Disney makes to the parks will be as exciting to her

as any child going to Disney for the first time!!  Disney also said they will incorporate some villains from some of the movies to appeal more to boys.

We will be anxiously awaiting these new upgrades to Magic Kingdom and we hope you and your family will come see the magic that is going on

right now at all of the theme parks around Orlando!

Disney\’s Fantasyland

I know what you are thinking: “Vacation is about unplugging my kids from their video games”!  I agree with you completely.  The only problem is the fact that video game consoles, next to wireless internet service are one of the most popular amenities we offer in the vacation rentals besides the private heated pool. 

Many of our Orlando vacation home rentals  offer a video game system such as Sony Play station, Xbox 360 or the Wii system.  Since all the homes are individually owned it is the choice of each property owner which game system they put in the home.  Many parents like the kids to have something to do while they have some down time.  When reserving one of our vacation rentals it is listed if a home has a game system and if so what kind.  We do recommend the following tips for everyone to get the most enjoyment out of them:

1. Confirm what kind of game system is in the home
2. Bring your own games.  Most of the homes may have a few games, but most likely not the hip game of the month.
3. You can rent games from a local Blockbuster rental store or through www.Netflix.com.
4. Parents beware of what your kids are playing. Some families do not have a game system at home and may not be aware that video games have ratings just like movies.  E is for everyone, T is for teens and M is for mature.  Some game systems even have online capability to play live online over the internet.  Parents need to be very cautious of who they are playing with online.
5. Limit how much time children can play video games .

It has been our experience that most families are out enjoying the theme parks and our great weather in Florida, rather than over playing video games.  We find most parents have more trouble getting kids out of the pool rather than turning off the television while staying in one of our beautiful vacation rental homes in Orlando.

Brought to you by Florida Spirit Vacation Homes

The fact that Disney is buying the Marvel Super Hero name will not affect any rides at Universal Studios. All attractions such as Hulk coaster, Spider Man, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, Storm Force Accelatron as well as Marvel Super Hero Island will remain the same.

However, Disney does have the legal right to build their own attractions using the super hero characters and name.  Bob Iger, CEO of Disney did say that “using the Marvel characters will help them grow their theme park business and better entertain people”.

Maybe Disney will start something new and exciting to all teenagers out there that have outgrown the “classical Disney characters”… We will keep an eye on it and keep you up to date on any news about Orlando attractions!

Provided by Florida Spirit Vacation Homes