Brit Guide 2009 Blog

Part 15 – Enter, Aquatica!

Flying back into Orlando rather than driving, our schedule necessitated that we hit the ground running (almost literally; OK, driving). Having collected our hire car after a 6.30pm landing at MCO, we had to head straight for the main business of the next 2 days, Aquatica.

SeaWorld’s new water park was having its grand media preview this evening and it was our first real chance to see the finished article (as opposed to touring the site in its part-completed building-site state, on a couple of occasions).

Arriving at the big parking lot was immediately an eye-opening experience – the place was packed at 7.30pm! Admittedly, some of the day guests (as the park had been in ‘soft’ opening for a few weeks) were still there, but there was still quite a gathering in attendance.

Once through the colourful turnstile area, there were South Seas greeters, stilt walkers and ‘butterfly’-costumed characters to provide a suitable level of lively party-style ambience. The immediate impression of the park was therefore a kaleidoscope of vivid, dancing colours and a suitably tropical vibe, enhanced by the feature dolphin lagoon, which you can see from the top as you first enter and then via the huge viewing window once you descend the first set of stairs (on your left).

With an equally colourful drink firmly in hand, we were able to take a quick tour of the park (before attending to the important business of all the food on offer!) and gain a very positive view of this tropical set-up.

We have already covered Aquatica in detail in our May Brit Guide Newsletter, so we won’t repeat that here, but suffice it to say, it looked fabulous under the lights at night and there is a lot here to keep everyone amused (however, it is also drawing some serious crowds in its first summer of operation, hence it is advisable to be here early, i.e. before 9am, or leave it until mid-afternoon, when the crowds are starting to drop off and you can do many of the rides and slides fairly comfortably in the last couple of hours).

With many of the staff also out and about with the various small animal encounters which the park highlights (including the fun Australian kookaburra and a tortoise called Sulcata), there certainly seemed plenty to see and do, and the dolphin viewing area (which hadn’t featured in much of their advance publicity) came as a really pleasant surprise.

It looked very much like the big advance attraction of the dolphin plunge slide was rather more of a gimmick than anything especially substantial (other than just a fun body-slide), as people seemed to whizz through in barely a second, hardly allowing for a glimpse of anything, let alone one of the dolphins (on the off-chance they just happened to be near the tube!). But the viewing area certainly allowed for plenty of chance to see these fun and amusing creatures up close.

Live music featured throughout the park and all the three main dining outlets were fully open to the evening guests, allowing us a good taste of the different food offered in each venue (WaterStone Grill got our vote as the most pleasant of the three as it reminded us most of the dining experience at Discovery Cove, with its array of sandwiches and wraps especially good).

The other highlight was the musician at the Banana Beach Cook-out restaurant, out on the patio terrace, who alternated some excellent guitar-playing with some mean didgeridoo sounds! He even allowed several brave (or foolhardy!) guests to give it a try, one of whom made a particular good effort at it while another, well, let’s just say it turned into more of a didgeri-don’t!!

We called it quits at around 10.30pm, mindful we needed to return at 8.30am the next day for the official opening event and a chance to give everything in the park a full try ourselves…..

Next: Aquatica Opening Day and the (Very) Big Beach; plus, on to Jungala!

Part 14 – The Wonder of Orlando

It’s about time we got back on track here (thanks in large part to recent travels to Alaska, Texas, Michigan, Florida and many points in between!), so we’re going to attempt to bring things properly up to date with a quick overview of several days’ regular book-work.

The last time we left the proper sequence (other than to report on the big opening-ride double-header), we had just completed a half-day up-date tour of the charming Cypress Gardens.

From there, our travels took us back to International Drive for a meeting with the sales & marketing manager of the WonderWorks attraction next to The Pointe Orlando. his wonderful ‘upside-down’ building is certainly eye-catching from the outside but also has plenty to recommend it on the inside, even if it is a bit uneven in its range of hands-on exhibits and other offerings (e.g., Land The Space Shuttle – very challenging; Virtual Sports – rather feeble).

Like virtually everywhere in town, it has added and enhanced many of its components in recent months, and the improvements include a revamped Bubble Lab (great fun with over-sized bubbles), some additional video games and a series of clever visual brain-teasers linking the different levels.

With WonderWorks checked off our agenda, it was on to another meeting, but this time of the more relaxed variety. John Stine is a good friend of ours and someone we have known in the Central Florida attractions business for 10 years or more.

Formerly with the Dixie Stampede dinner show (before it shamelessy upped and left town) and now with the Baker Leisure Group, he is one of the Baker team helping to turn around the management of Cypress Gardens, but he also helps keep us in touch with other developments, as well as being someone we just like to touch base with from time to time.

It also gave us a chance to meet up in our ‘local,’ the Orlando Ale House on Winter Garden-Vineland Road, which serves up their signature Chicken Zingers along some killer nachos (a standard portion of which is roughly the size of the Amway Arena).

Having been on the road since roughly 8.30am, we were finally back home again around 8pm, but still with email and other correspondence to take care of (the bane of our lives in some instances – you wouldn’t believe the number of email queries we get asking questions like ‘Where can I get such-and-such brand clothing?’ or ‘What kind of hire car should I get?’ Has no-one heard of Google? And is the usual first reaction for someone seeking that kind of info to email guidebook authors? We do get a bit miffed at times when people try to use us as free travel agents – that’s what discussion forums are for, people!!).

In fact, with quite a backlog to clear (and other pressing work-related matters, like the weekly View from America column which Simon writes for SkySports.com), we spent much of the next day at home, barely moving from ‘computer’ mode.

The one saving grace was a lunch meeting with our contacts from the Orlando Convention & Visitors Bureau, in fact two new faces to us after a bit of a re-shuffle in the international marketing and PR department. Susan Greer is the new Director of Publicity and Donna Taliercio is the Media Manager for Europe, but both are well versed in the area and the PR biz, hence very easy to deal with.

To digress slightly, we have had a terrific relationship with the Orlando CVB since the inception of the Brit’s Guide some 14 years ago, and we always enjoy the chance to meet with their thoroughly professional staff at any time.

This meeting had an extra special incentive to it in that it had been arranged for the Capital Grille at The Pointe, one of the area’s more upmarket offerings and somewhere you always feel the movers and shakers of Central Florida are pondering significant deals over lunch and dinner. Therefore, a very pleasant two hours passed over some fine food and much conversation on the subject of ‘Whither Orlando’ in the current push-and-shove of international tourism.

With business concluded, it was time for the return to computerville and another six-hour stint before calling it a day. The 2009 edition is taking shape (albeit it is still a bit haphazard at this stage) but we are pretty good at shifting large amounts of work when deadlines loom, so we are still confident of making sure we get everything done in time (kind of……!).

The following day necessitated the long return drive to Michigan, but we will be back again within the week, with the new park of Aquatica firmly in our sights…..

Part 12 – Another day on the road

Back behind the wheel first thing this morning (well, not quite first thing – it usually takes at least an hour to get up to date with email and other correspondence first before we can even think of going out!), destination Cypress Gardens.

It is almost a year since we last headed out to this delightful attraction at Winter Haven, south-east of Orlando. They have been through a lot more angst and worry since we were last there, having gone up for auction after the owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the wake of their 2004 re-opening on the park. Now under new ownership (the winning bid was $17million) and new management, things are, hopefully, now looking up.

Under the management of theme park experts Baker Leisure Group, Cypress Gardens has more poise and purpose about it once more. You can see the difference as you approach the turnstiles, with a more bustling and lively look; the park (Florida’s oldest, dating back to 1936) feels ready for business again – and there is a LOT here to see.

We meet with Nancy Daley from their special events department. Nancy has been involved with the park for many years and started out in the water-ski show before moving on to the management side (she was also the show director, too). And she is impressed by the vibrant new direction Cypress Gardens is taking.

Attendance has been increasing ever since it re-opened (after an 18-month closure, when it seemed the park was gone for good), but re-construction debts and poor management continued to be a burden, hence the auction late last year.

Now, the word is that Baker Leisure have really got their teeth into the job here and are in the process of laying out a long-term growth plan that will ensure Cypress Gardens continues to have a future in the shadow of Disney and Co.

Its main drawback continues to be that it is a bit of a drive to get here. It takes us about 45 minutes from the Disney area, but, when you consider it can take up to 30 minutes to drive to Disney from some of the more outlying holiday villa communities, that isn’t really too bad (in fact, with the way some of the villa developments are sprawling south on Highway 27, they could end up closer to Cypress Gardens than Disney!).

It’s pretty easy to find, too. Just straight down I-4 to Exit 55, then south on Highway 27 for 20 miles; turn right on SR540, and the park is 4 miles along on the left. It’s a pleasant drive, too, past Haines City and through a more old-fashioned part of Florida (albeit still studded with the occasional Wal-Mart!).

Nancy takes us around and points out the areas that will have most of management’s focus this year – the ice-skating show is currently closed while the theater undergoes long-overdue renovations, and they will then work out what kind of show to put back into the venue; the big open-air concert schedule is being re-evaluated, and the current listing shows things like their Latin Festival (featuring Tito Nieves), Lynyrd Skynyrd (yes, the ‘Freebird’ band!) and Randy Owen (lead singer of 1980s band Alabama); there will be more accent on festivals and weekend events (like the Latin Festival and the recently-concluded Spring Flower Festival); new park tours are being introduced, including a charming backstage visit with the animal department (where you get to meet a friendly ring-tailed lemur and a blind wallaby!); more accent on their Southern Belle programme, with a Junior Belle opportunity for young girls (and much cheaper than Disney’s Princess makeover boutique, too!); the return of wedding ceremonies in the park’s gardens; and enhanced food options, with new menus in many outlets (the food offerings have not been a strong point in the past).

The park still looks fabulous, though, and there is SO much to do here since they added the extensive rides section, which now offers no less than 40 rides and kiddie rides (including six pretty decent medium-sized coasters). You can easily keep the whole family occupied here for a full day, especially when the Splash Island water park is fully open in the summer months (an amazing ‘extra’ as part of regular admission).

Other little bonuses include the free daily guided tours of the botanical gardens, the array of live entertainment (live music in the Jubilee Junction area and three different stage shows around the park, plus their signature water-ski show), the newly-smartened animal enclosures and the big Sunshine Sky Adventure (a huge platform that lifts 160ft into the air and rotates for a magnificent aerial view of the area).

It isn’t Disney (or any of the other big theme parks) but it has an attraction and charm all of its own. And it is arguably Florida’s greatest attraction bargain – an annual pass here costs only $79.95, just $5.95 more than a single-day admission to any of Disney, Universal, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens! There is also a '2nd Day Free' offer if you return within 6 days.

Give it a day of your holiday next time you’re here – we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Part 11 – Back to the grind

After three full days of tours, visits and meetings, it is time to get back behind the computer for a more extended spell of work on the new text for the 2009 edition.

We usually take this in order, starting (naturally enough) with the Foreword and working through Chapters 1, 2 and 3, etc, in order. However, as we’re touring the parks, attractions and hotels, we’re also making direct updates in our master copy of the book, changing things like prices, phone numbers, etc.

Then we sit down and wade through the HUGE pile of press kits and notes we accumulate, plus several hundred emails, and start going through our text on-screen page by page. It is a slow and laborious process, but there are still bits we enjoy (like writing the Foreword each year), and it needs to be pains-taking as, despite our best efforts, we still find things we missed the previous year (like a reference to 2006 when it should have been 2007).

Up-dating the facts and figures is a long-drawn-out process as we need to check various different sources (that never seem to be the same each year!), but we also have to thank a lot of people for providing up-date info that helps to make the job easier.

In particular, the Kissimmee CVB is excellent at providing good up-dates, while the Orlando Sanford Airport people are also very on the ball. Other updates which come in and need little work from us include the Kennedy Space Center, Sky Venture, the Holy Land Experience, Silver Springs, Orlando Balloons, Gatorland and several of the major shopping centres.

It’s hard to say exactly how long goes into the re-write process each year, but, between us, it is probably around 720 man (and woman!)-hours (which explains why we often look as if we haven’t slept for a week!).

Despite all that, it is still a labour of love as we thoroughly enjoy our work and we count ourselves as fairly privileged to be surrounded by all this fun and enjoyment on a regular basis (Susan always says she can feel the energy levels rising whenever we return to Orlando after a period away).

Anyway, we take a break from the computers for a while to discuss the more mundane matter of our 2007 tax returns with our accountant (always a scary time, as our official company, Veness Travel Media Inc is still finding its feet, and we rely heavily on the accountant’s advice to stay solvent. Happily, Sonu explains everything in terms we can understand and makes sure the forms we don’t understand get filled in properly!).

Just as a quick aside, our weekly workload includes the occasional American sports story (mainly on David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy at the moment) for The Sun; a weekly ‘View From America’ sports column for SkySports.com; various magazine work (which can include Orlando Attractions Magazine, RCI Holiday mag, Overseas Property TV magazine, World of Cruising magazine, brochure writing for Travel City Direct and Essentially America magazine); the occasional travel feature for the Daily Express and The Sun; and a new commission for the Travel section of Sky.com. Plus, of course, our various postings on the discussion boards like www.attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk and www.disboards.com.

It sounds like a lot (actually, it IS a lot!), but it does all come fairly naturally and we like to think we’re probably among the most prolific travel writers in the world (we need to be, as it doesn’t pay that well!!), doing something we really enjoy and in an area that truly inspires us.

The Brit Guide to Orlando and Walt Disney World is now in its 13^th edition and we have sold more than 250,000 copies to date, so we're fairly sure we know what we're doing by now.

(OK, that’s enough self-promotion for this issue – Editor.)

To finish off the day, we jump in the car and head down to the Disney-inspired town of Celebration (which is always a pleasant retreat) and look up our friends Mark and Penny Thornhill at Sherlocks restaurant.

Also from the UK, they bought an ailing business about 8 years ago and have turned it into a thriving little boutique tea shop and eatery that is quickly becoming a local franchise, with their second outlet opening at the Cagan Crossings area (on Highway 27) a few months back, and a third due to open next to Orlando Premium Outlets this summer. Mark and Penny are always a joy to spend time with and they are SO hard-working they really deserve all the success that comes their way with such a thoughtful and well-presented business.

At the end of a busy week, we’re able to relax with a (very) good glass of wine and just have a bit of a natter. Cheers, all………..!

Leaving one dinner show behind, it was time to catch up with another, and we had a meeting scheduled with Jessica Zuniga, the marketing manager for Medieval Times further along the 192 in Kissimmee.

We had been told Medieval Times had introduced a whole new story for this show that features knights on horseback, jousting, swordfights and much more besides, and we were keen to refresh our memory of the Castle’s rebuilt entrance.

Jessica met us at the main entrance and took us off for a tour of the companion Medieval Life exhibit, their clever 12^th century recreation of a village of the period. Of the nine Medieval Times locations in North America, Orlando is the only one to have the Village element, and it is well worth taking the time to explore.

In the company of Medieval Life’s resident expert, Stefanis, we looked through all eight of the specially-built structures which provide glimpses into such essential elements of everyday life c. 1150 as basket-making, weaving, pottery and metalwork, including replica pieces that Stefanis turns out himself, plus genuine artifacts that are hundreds of years old.

There is also the ‘dungeon’ exhibit, which is definitely NOT for the squeamish (there are times when you are really glad you live in the 21^st century!), but the whole ‘village’ provides such a detailed and vivid look into this period of history, it is easy to understand why Stefanis takes such pride in his work.

Back in the castle, we just had time for a drink with bar manager Mike (another expat Brit!) before it was time to take our seats in the main arena. Medieval Times is arranged in a big double-sided auditorium, with the audience arranged in rows on either side to cheer on the ‘Knight’ for their section.

It is a touch corny (not to mention raucous at times, when there are a couple of high schools in attendance!), but it makes for great fun, and the main action is certainly extremely high-powered and credible. The main storyline has certainly taken a turn for the sharper (a king betrayed; a prince imprisoned; a royal tournament; a traitor unmasked; and a happy ending!), but the basic action hasn’t changed too much.

There are exhibitions of clever horsemanship, dressage and falconry, but the main action centres around the knights’ duel to be the king’s champion, with plenty of hefty derring-do, chivalry and hand-to-hand combat (which is extremely well choreographed and very muscular – the actors in the show have to train every day and it is highly physical work).

The truly superb original score is provided by the Czech Film Orchestra and provides a stirring background to all the battle mayhem. You can Czech it out (Czech/check; geddit?!) on the website on this link: http://www.medievaltimes.com/music.aspx.

It is all served up with a hearty meal (by ‘hearty’ we mean there is tons of it! We always leave here feeling like we’ve eaten enough for the whole Village!) by hard-working servers who thoroughly deserve their $5/head tip at the end of the evening.

We even got to try their new vegetarian meal offering, which came as quite a surprise and was extremely tasty – a large Portobello mushroom stuffed with a rice-and-bean mixture, a vegetable kebab (courgette, onion and bell peppers) and pita chips with hoummus, in addition to the regular tomato bisque soup, garlic bread, dessert pastry and beverages (NB: vegetarian meals must be requested when you book).

Therefore it was with distinctly tight waistlines that we headed home at the end of the

evening. Just time to check email, keep up with correspondence and check our diary for the next day: a meeting with our accountant (gulp!), a trip down to Celebration to catch up with our friends Mark and Penny Thornhill at Sherlock’s restaurant, and then the 6-hour drive up to Atlanta for a flight back to Detroit (don’t ask, it’s too complicated!). More soon……..!

Having gone off track to bring you the up-to-the-minute story of the Animal Kingdom’s 10^th anniversary, we’ll back-track now to our original schedule, and the story of our day checking out the Cricketers Arms (and others)…..

We left the Florida Dolphin Tours offices and headed south again back to Kissimmee for a meeting with the head of PR for the Arabian Nights dinner-show, Billy Seay, who we met for the first time last year (it’s amazing how often some of the attractions change their PR personnel, while others stay the same for years).

The one thing that always strikes us about driving around the Greater Orlando area is how many ways there are to get anywhere. In this instance, we could have just headed down I-4 to Highway 192 and gone east for half a mile; or have taken Universal Boulevard to I-Drive and continued south all the way on I-Drive (via the ‘kink’ at the junction of Epcot Drive and 535); or we could have picked up John Young Parkway south to Osceola Parkway and then gone west to Kissimmee, or…well, you get the idea.

In this instance, we wanted to take a look at the growing Village of Imagine on Universal Boulevard (behind the newer part of the Convention Center) so we took a minor detour to view the latest stage of building (this seems to have been under construction forever), and this high-profile development still seems to be some way off.

(The Westin-badged convention hotel was due to open in early April, but a local story up-date suggests the other two hotels and the mass of shopping and restaurants associated with them are lagging way behind and much of the area is still a building site)

We carried on down I-Drive, marvelling at the continued building going on at the Fountains Resort and Floridays (the former a huge timeshare development and the latter one of our favourite condo-hotels, below right), before finally reaching the 192 and turning into Arabian Nights Boulevard.

We had to find the ‘back door’ to the big dinner show to navigate our way up to the marketing offices and meet with Billy. This time last year we were talking about the new pre-show entertainment and their upgraded menu, and this year they are continuing to add to the pre-show while also introducing new acts to the main show itself.

But the main news is that this is Arabian Nights’ 20^th Anniversary (from Feb 29 2008), hence there are some added festivities this year (and into next). This is how they phrase it:

“When owner and CEO Mark Miller decided to share his passion for horses with the travelers and residents of central Florida, he opened a one of a kind attraction to display equestrian entertainment. Miller wanted Arabian Nights to be a home for equestrians and horses, whose place in worldwide entertainment dwindles each year. He has done that, and more.

Some changes that are in store are sure to excite visitors during the 20^th anniversary celebration. A new Latin act, featuring an exciting style of riding called Garrocha, will be coming this summer. In this style, the rider and horse dance around a 13-foot pole that is braced between the rider’s shoulder and the ground. The horse pivots around this pole in a series of difficult maneuvers. The act will feature the exciting music of Rodrigo y Gabriela. There will also be a new opening, with a ‘Princess Processional’, and a new finale to the show.

Arabian Nights brings a cast of 40 performers and 60 talented horses of 14 different breeds to center stage each night for thousands of visitors to the Orlando area to experience. Guests enjoy a scrumptious 3-course meal while viewing the 22 dazzling horse acts featured in the Arabian Nights show, all choreographed to music with special effects and stunning costumes in a performance that is “The World’s Greatest Show… On Horses!”

Their magic-act pre-show is now refined to one of three performers: illusionist Michael Barron is the main act (i.e. you will see him on most nights), with a young, hip style, that includes some of the following effects – The Dove Act, The Fire Cage, The Cube Zag (a new take on cutting a girl in half!) and The Crystal Casket; Glen Foster replaces Michael on his nights off with a mixture of magic and comedy; and physical comedian Kirk Marsh is another occasional performer, with an eccentric mix of dance, juggling and magic.

The main arena will also benefit from new lighting and special effects, plus some extra Latina musical pizzaz. They also now feature a full vegetarian and vegan offering with dinner. And, although it is not on the menu, they will serve tea instead of coffee, if asked! Meeting concluded, we headed out further along Highway 192…..

Part 8 - A Wild Experience

OK, this is completely out of sequence in the grand scheme of things, but we felt it was worth messing up our carefully-arranged system to bring you the story of a truly wonderful and memorable day at Disney's Animal Kingdom as soon as possible (i.e. it just happened!); the kind of day that makes all the hard work and long hours worthwhile and really brings home the essential excitement and inspiration of being in a Disney park.

Basically, today was the 10th anniversary of Disney's Animal Kingdom, and we were there is a supporting, or sponsor's role, to the WDWCelebration.com group, an excellent fan-based organisation to bring people together for just such a special occasion as this. With some 400 registered attendees, it promised to be an exceptional day (set off by superb weather), and we weren't disappointed.

The WDWCelebrations group (below, left) were well organised and well drilled, getting everyone registered and with all their necessary badges and lanyards (plus free bags and other loot!) ready for the 8.30am opening (30 minutes ahead of the regular schedule to accommodate the special Re-Dedication Ceremony). We then all trooped through en masse and quickly found a huge gathering of people in Discovery Island, facing the Tree of Life.

With the TV cameras in attendance, there was then a well-scripted 15-minute Ceremony featuring Erin Wallace (Senior Vice-President of Operations for WDW), Dr Jane Goodall (the renowned primate conservationist), and Joe Rohde, the executive designer of the park and senior VP of Walt Disney Imagineering. With stilt-walkers, flag-wavers, an appearance from Mickey at the base of the Tree and some vibrant music in best 'Circle of Life' style, we were welcomed in to this beautiful park 10 years on from its official debut, and with a chance to enjoy a whole range of festivities, including group rides of Expedition Everest and Dinosaur, a specially-arranged meal at the Flame Tree Barbecue and the chance to see the Finding Nemo musical show.

We also got to meet up and have a highly worthwhile chat with Deb Wills from the AllEars website, which is highly recommended for any number of reasons, not least for its advice for guests with disabilities and its excellent Disney restaurant guides. A lovely lady and another example of how the Disney parks have brought out a whole range of people who really invest themselves whole-heartedly in the ethos Walt projected.

It all made for plenty to see and do for a full, absorbing day in the park under any circumstances. However, those circumstances were also heightened by the chance to enjoy a special 45-minute talk from the park's principal Imagineering guiding light, none other than Joe Rohde himself. Now, for anyone who hasn't had the chance to see or hear Joe in the flesh, he is one of Disney's most captivating characters, with the look of some intrepid explorer coupled with the soul of a great artist, plus some eye-catching ear-rings!

There is no-one quite like Joe in the Disney Imagineering pantheon, and having the chance to hear him talk is one of the greatest treats any Disney-goer can possibly enjoy (OK, we had retired legend Marty Sklar at Celebration 25 last year, but Joe is genuinely the modern and highly charismatic face of WDI), and this presentation into the history and creation of the Animal Kingdom was worth the entrance money alone.

Coupled with a series of slides from his own archives, including some utterly unforgettable images of early drawings of various park concepts which also showcase the actual artistic talents of Rohde and his team, we learned the full 10-year creative process that brought the Animal Kingdom to life, and many of the original design intentions behind it. Along the way, we saw such discarded concepts as The Ark icon, the 'hippy' version of the park, and a vast gorge-like entrance facade that would have required "all the concrete in Florida!"

Joe was keen to underline the importance of imbuing the park with an intrinsic natural value, of keeping it truly 'themed' all the way through, and providing a story that is fundamental to our understanding of nature and the delicate balance of man's relationship with it.

It was deep and heady stuff, culminating in Joe thanking the many Cast Members present for their whole-hearted support and commitment to their work in the park, without which all the best efforts of the Imagineers would fall short of the overall aims. Extremely nice to hear, and we're sure those present would have felt suitably uplifted and inspired by those sentiments.

The truly best part, though? We got to meet Joe afterwards (albeit only briefly at his hour-long signing session), and we re-emerged with a couple of highly valuable signed items (which will stay well within the confines of Veness Towers!), and a renewed sense of the vision and inspiration which drives the great Disney empire. For all the corporate elements which are part and parcel of the theme park division, the likes of Joe and his Imagineers bring things to life in a way few can imagine, but many can enjoy.

And of which the founding father would surely be highly approving.

After such a busy day, we needed to spend some time catching up on email, notes and Planner business,
so it was almost 1pm before we ventured forth on our next update mission.

First stop was at the new-look Cricketers Arms at Festival Bay, which finally managed to 'move house' last summer from the now under-demolition Mercado to this eight-year-old shopping-cum-entertainment centre at the top of International Drive.

Now, Festival Bay has a lot to recommend it (of which more in a future blog), but we were perturbed to notice the Dixie Crossroads restaurant, which was right up front next to the Cricketers, has closed and now leaves a very blank space in the main entrance plaza. This can't be good for business overall and we are just baffled as to why this mall seems to find it so hard to keep tenants.

However, the good news for the Cricketers when we get to sit down with owner Phil Coppen (who has now been running this extremely Brit-friendly enterprise for almost 20 years) is that business there continues to be good, despite the move to the furthest end of I-Drive and the long battle to complete all the necessary planning permissions, which we know had given Phil conniptions at times.

There is a good crowd sat outside enjoying lunch on a very pleasant spring day, while inside there are a number of families enjoying some typical pub grub (cottage pie, bangers and mash and gammon and chips are all Cricketers staples, along with fish and chips and a goold old Ploughmans) as well as the selection of 11 draft beers! We settle for a French Dip sandwich and a good chat with Phil, who is always fun to talk to as his experience of Orlando even pre-dates ours (he first came over in 1981).

After a good natter and some other local up-dates, we head on to our next appointment, which is to touch base with our friends at Florida Dolphin Tours, another British-run business who have found a really busy niche for themselves in the excursions business. We have had a partnership deal with FDT for the last 2 years (offering Brit Guide readers 12.5% off all their tours) and we need to find out how things are going and what's new in their particular world.

Owner Andy James brings us up to speed with the full array of their offerings, highlighting two of their latest tours, which are a revamped 2-day trip to Miami and the Everglades, with an optional day visit to the Bahamas (on a local cruise ship), and a new excursion combining a beach trip with a night-time visit to Boggy Creek Airboats, which sounds a great combo in our book.

Part 6 - Dinner with Al

To finish up the day, we had a date with Al; Capone that is, as in the Capone's dinner show down on Highway 192 in Kissimmee. It is several years since we were last year (actually, it was Susan's first visit) and the last visit was so poor we actually took it out of the book altogether

. So we were both intrigued to see if the new show was the upgrade which we felt it urgently needed and anxious to see if the overall standard had improved. The main auditorium is still largely the same, a big theatre type hall with dinner tables set in front of the stage, and an upstairs bar for pre-dinner drinks. Their entrance lobby/gift shop is pretty small, and you marvel at how they manage to stay in business year in, year out with such apparently limited resources.

The food is buffet-style (although this is likely to be changing in the near future - of which, more in a future episode) and is not the highlight of the evening. It is basic, sound Italian fare, but the fact it is a buffet leads to fairly long lines when the place is full and the usual problem of keeping food decently warm on the buffet serveries. Our food varied from lukewarm to passably hot (when a new tray of food was added), but there is masses of it and you can probably manage at least two visits in the time allowed (if you don't mind queueing up each time). Hopefully, the changes in store will take care of this drawback.

But the show itself has been transformed entirely and is the big reason to call in at Capone's. Out has gone the horribly cheesy (and mis-matched) 1920s song-and dance act and, instead, there is a fairly non-stop comedy routine that works really well, from the waiters to the stage performers and features some excellent running gags (watch out for the waiter called 'Tiny' - he's hard to miss as he must be at least 6ft 6in!!).

Some of the old characters have been retained but, instead of the old premise of drinking in a Speakeasy in imminent danger of a raid from the Feds, now you just sit back, relax and enjoy the fun of a well-scripted and well-performed comedy act, with a couple of song-and-dance numbers thrown in.

The latter won't win any awards but the overall zest and pizazz of the comic capers certainly should. There are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, and, while they occasionally stray towards borderline risque territory, it all remains thoroughly family-friendly.

The star of the show is undoubtedy the ditzy Bunny-June - her voice alone is worth coming along to hear! - but she is ably supported by Fingers Salvatorio and the slightly-less-than-evil Bugs Moran. All the cast work hard - not least the waiters who interact with the stage performers - and you are expertly drawn into the proceedings from the moment you arrive until the moment you leave.

Now, if they can just tidy up the fringes of the theatre to make sure you don't see their cleaning equipment en route to the loos (!) and replace that buffet, they will be well on the way to a much higher place in the Orlando dinner-show pantheon.

Part 5 - A Shopping Sensation!

Our next stop for the day was Orlando Premium Outlets, the hugely popular shopping centre that lies between I-4 and International Drive, accessed by winding Vineland Avenue. This has been a HUGE hit with the British market almost since the day it opened in 2000 and we always joke that they should just turn it into a big hotel and the Brits could just stay here for a fortnight!

It really is an astonishing success story (to the extent that Prime Outlets at the north end of I-Drive have copied the Premium formula pretty closely with their new development), hence it's important for us to catch up with developments here, which usually means meeting with the centre's charming assistant manager Leigh Jones.

We at the Brit Guide series have been fortunate to develop a good relationship with the Chelsea Group (who are now owned by the even more massive Simon Group - no relation, sadly! - who also own the Florida Mall), hence we can always count on a warm welcome here. And Leigh has a lot to tell us.

Not only have OPO bought the site of the former Dixie Stampede dinner show (which stunned much of the market earlier this year when Dolly Parton's grand venture practically upped sticks and left almost overnight), they are now well under way with a major expansion at the back of the centre.

More importantly, they also now have their new multi-storey car park (left) up and running to take up the slack of increased demand and the loss of one of their car park areas during the construction period. This is vital as, even at quieter times of the week, it can be tough to park here. And, at the weekends, it can be a nightmare. Now, however, the new multi-storey structure, with space for 1600 cars, makes things much easier.

Of course, the Outlets still have to go through some growing pains while the expansion is under way. A footbridge takes people across from the new car park but they then have to negotiate a temporary entrance through the building site that brings them into the shops via an access corridor. Functional at best.

But, Leigh tells, us, once it is all finished later this year (slated for November 13) the new part of the centre will add a further 39 shops to the existing line-up, plus a new coach arrivals area, a splash fountain area for the kids to play in and even (probably) a welcome centre featuring TVs and a bar (especially with UK visitors in mind!).

The actual line-up of new shops has not been confirmed yet, but it is sure to be an extra range of stylish, big-name bargains, further accentuating Premium Outlets' appeal to the transatlantic shopper!

Then once that is all finished, the company will switch its focus to all that extra land they prised out of Dolly's fingers (in exchange for large wads of cash) back in January. The whole of the Dixie Stampede building will be demolished and the new land will be developed into a new range of more upmarket brands (Leigh mentioned such names as Prada, Cartier, etc, but nothing will be confirmed for quite a while), with something like 60 more stores and another parking deck.

This new expansion will open in early 2010, so it is something for us to keep an eye on in future. In the meantime, there will be more new names to look out for hereabouts, adding to the existing 110 stores which prove such a draw - and which make this one of the most successful shopping centres (per square foot) in America.

Other developments which Leigh told us about were their new Personal Shopper packages (which provide your own assistant to tour you around the centre and find all those perfect bargains which are just right for you); their new free shuttle bus tour for surrounding hotels, with 2 pick-ups daily and 2 return trips (operated by Maingate Transportation - call 407 390 0000 to make a reservation, which is highly recommended as it is likely to be a popular service); and the Deals Around Town feature on the VIP Shopper Club (which is free to enroll in and well worthwhile).

We finished up with a slow tour around to check on the few other changes which Leigh mentioned. The Little Me and Mikasa stores have both closed (part of a corporate change, apparently - no-one in their right mind would close a store here otherwise!), with Coach taking over the large Mikasa space and Donna Karan expanding into the former Coach shop space. Italian clothing store Etro will be the new tenant in the former Little Me store.

Simon also can't leave Premium Outlets without a trip to Fuzziwigs Candy Factory - for the best pick 'n mix in town! And, burdened down with about five pounds of all kinds of chewy sweets, it was time to move on to our next appointment.

Sylvia and Chris had a big file of updates for us and we discussed such interesting new developments as the all-suite Mona Lisa Hotel in Celebration (right on the 192); the opening of the Kissimmee Air Museum on Hoagland Boulevard (replacing the former Warbird Air Museum here, which closed after the hurricanes of 2004) by the Warbird Adventures company, who fly 2-seater Harvard fighter trainers (easily the best ride in town, although they are no longer operating their M*A*S*H helicopter); O’Doherty’s Irish Pub in downtown St Cloud (apparently well worth investigating – which we will probably do sometime soon!); the change of Marion’s restaurant at Old Town, replaced by Kool Katz Grill & Pub (which is more in keeping with Old Town’s classic car theme); the ongoing expansion of Fun Spot USA (home of the unfeasibly tall and terrifying SkyCoaster!) next to Old Town, where they seem to add new rides and attractions almost every week; and the continuing enhancement of downtown Kissimmee, with its new website for Main Street and some other scenic touches (still something of a work in progress, we feel, but worth a look round all the same). Tarantino’s Italian Restaurant hereabouts also comes highly recommended. This historic district (dating back to the 19^th century) is a mixture of shops and businesses and tends to be very quiet at weekends, but is quite fun during the week with more people around.

Returning to the car, we re-negotiated the rather uneven brick streets that characterise much of Thornton Park and drove back into the main Orlando downtown area via Robinson Street and Orange Avenue again.

And here it is obvious that one of the real drawbacks to visiting this area is the parking or, rather, the lack of it. Just going up and down Orange Ave (the main thoroughfare) the only real sign we noticed was for Valet Parking in Church Street. There were signs for office parking in some of the tower blocks, but none seemed terribly appealing on a quiet evening with few people around.

We eventually settled on a spot on the kerb of E Church Street but didn’t feel particularly safe doing so. However, it seemed the best option at the time for a quick tour, so we headed off.

Rounding the corner of Orange Ave brought us first to the corner of The Plaza, the smart new office/condo block. Right on the corner of Orange and Pine is a new restaurant, unfamiliar to us, so we approached the girl at the podium outside with a cheery ‘Hello! What’s this?’ Her reply was a rather desultory ‘Urban Flats.’ We waited for some kind of follow-up or explanation. We waited in vain.

In the end, with the lack of anything more enlightening, we settled on taking away a copy of their menu and strolled on. Fortunately, the Urban Flats website was a bit more forthcoming:

“Urban Flats is a casual dining destination featuring an eclectic fusion of ancient world-style flatbread in a modern urban setting, using the freshest ingredients inspired by the region and season along with tastefully selected wines from around the world. Our focus is on the Flatbread, which dates back centuries ago, being the first creation of bread. Grains were put into a pot over the fire and cooked into porridge. Ultimately this grain mixture was spread on a rock next to the fire and thus the first flatcakes were made. We’ll be leading the way to a new casual dining experience serving as Central Florida’s leader of creative restaurant concepts, with 24 wines by the glass all dispensed by a unique temperature-controlled cruvinet system.”

Sounds interesting, hey? Shame the girl outside didn’t seem to think so. Anyway, we wandered on, discovering the rather tucked away Bento Café (a sushi lounge, offering live music several times a week) and the Corona Cigar Bar (an upmarket cigar store and bar, featuring a vast array of cigars and fine coffee, wines and brandies to go with them).

The Plaza looks as if it has other units waiting to come in, so this may be worth keeping an eye on in future. We were pleased to see The Social still looked busy (downtown’s premier live music venue, usually with a wide and attractive list of bands – definitely one of our favourites), even on a very quiet evening (there was hardly anyone about on the streets), but even the usually lively corner of Wall Street (with the likes of the Wall Street Cantina, One Eyed Jack’s, Slingapour’s and Loaded Hog bars) seemed desperately half-hearted.

Turning back towards Church Street we were immediately struck by the awful impact of the massive construction project that makes it look like the whole place is closed. Happily, long-term residents such as Antigua, Chillers, Big Belly (a wonderful little second-floor brew-pub) and Latitudes (the roof-top loung-bar) are all still there, but the rather blank façade of Kres Chophouse (MUCH better inside than out) and the downright seedy exterior of the Dragon Room (more strip-club than ‘cocktail boutique’) make it less than inviting even to venture into the street.

We imagine it may appeal to the young singles scene, but tourist territory it certainly ain’t!

However, being the intrepid, adventuring souls that we are, we pushed on past the visual battering the construction obstacles and finally found our way past the old Church Street Exchange (which used to be a happening mini-venue in its own right and is now just the home for a couple of takeaway-type diners) to the heart of Church Street, and the former Church Street Station.

Now, from 1974 to its effective closing in 2001, this was the heart of Orlando entertainment, a multi-club venue offering live music, bars, shops, restaurants and discos, all in a fabulous setting of the beautifully-restored old railroad station hotel. At its height, it drew almost 2 million visitors a year; by 1999, it was less than 500,000 and, afflicted by a sequence of bad management, all the main clubs closed their doors.

Ever since then, various owners and landlords have tried to revive the Station, and it is now in a curious state of Tween-ness; neither restored nor out for the count.

An Improv comedy club has come and gone, as has the truly awful Club Paris nightclub and the ill-conceived Pearl Steakhouse. In their place are a handful of bars and restaurants, the Bliss Ultra Lounge (an upmarket lounge-nightclub), two more restaurants under heavy construction and, lo and behold!, the return of the Cheyenne Saloon.

This latter was one of the Station’s original marquee venues, an old Opry-style country & western saloon with fabulous décor and furnishings and a really lively, friendly ambience (those who remember the 1994 World Cup here fondly remember it as the HQ of Irish and Dutch fans who practically drank the place dry every night!).

Now open 4pm-2am Tue-Sat as a live music venue, bar and restaurant, it has a $5 general admission charge (free during Happy Hour – 5-7pm. Tue-Thur), while special feature concerts cost $15-$20. House band the Cheyenne Stampede play whenever there are no special acts on stage.

Other ‘specials’ are Two Bit Tuesdays (25¢ Wings, 50¢ Drafts, 75¢ Mini-BBQ Sandwiches, $1 long-neck beers); Nickel Beer Night Wednesdays (5¢ Beer!); and
$1 Long Neck Night Thursdays ($1 Bud & Bud Light Long Necks). There is also free validated parking at the Church Street Garage. Hopefully, the Cheyenne Saloon can survive the current construction carnage and re-emerge as a great place to visit for a beer and live music.

Elsewhere, Church Street Station is a curious mix of restaurants. The Dessert Lady is an excellent-looking option for decadent desserts and fine wines (exceedingly pleasant bar area, too), and Brick & Fire Pizza Company is another tenant seemingly holding on by its finger-tips. Across the road is the highly-rated (among locals) Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant (in the former Lili Marlene’s Restaurant, for old Church Street Station fans!), which was the one bustling, busy venue.

An upscale steakhouse, Rustic Steak, is due to open later this spring, and an upscale burger diner next to the Dessert Lady. But we think a lot hinges on whether the Cheyenne Saloon can pull a lot of people back into the downtown area.

If it can’t, there may be a whole new round of businesses closing again before there’s anything significant to report.

Part 2: Thornton Park Sparkle

Driving back from the Orlando Science Center, we decided to take the ‘scenic route’ by turning left on Orange Avenue and coming in through north downtown to get a look at the full extent of the massive construction and re-development projects that are still the trademark of this area.

It is amazing to see the place sprouting condos and other high-rise developments practically on every block – with all the resultant building detritus that goes with it. Where the construction is fully furnished, there are some wonderfully smart and stylish buildings that drastically change how the downtown looked just a few years ago. But, where it is still in full swing (like the Church Street district – see next Blog!), it is a mess, pure and simple.

Continuing down Orange Avenue gave us our first glimpse of The Plaza, a new 18-storey office and condo high-rise featuring a range of shops and restaurants on ground level, as well as a 12-screen cinema complex. Turning left on to E Church St, we carried over into Thornton Park (via E Central Boulevard), which is Orlando’s equivalent of South Beach in Miami – i.e. expensive and the place to be seen.

Thornton Park effectively stretches east of downtown for around seven blocks and is possibly the most enhanced part of the city – a succession of modern condos that all seem to have their own signature restaurant (or cluster of restaurants, as we discovered in one instance).

After cris-crossing the area for about half an hour, we decided to park up and sample one of the restaurants. From reading some of the local reviews, it is hard to go wrong for a good choice, while several of them go well beyond merely ‘good.’

We opted for the rather rustic Wildside BBQ & Grill right on the corner of N Summerlin and E Washington Ave, as it features some inviting outdoor patio seating and a good view of the locals parading along the street (it’s not quite Ocean Drive, but a decent people-watching spot nonetheless).

It was a beautifully mild Florida spring evening, ideal for sitting out at 7 in the evening, and we enjoyed a couple of well-earned beers (their speciality Orange Blossom Pilsner – just ideal!) as well as some Gator Nuggets (well, you have to sample the local delicacy, don’t you) and their Barbecue Sampler platter – a huge plateful for $17.99 which both of us struggled to contemplate being a single-person serving.

Portion sizes apart (and this would easily feed most couples), we felt the chicken was excellent but the pulled pork and ribs only par for the course; nothing special in this instance (although their two signature sauces, one sweet, the other spicy, were both pretty tasty).

Having distinctly stretched our waistbands as a result of this generous repast (did we mention they served up rather a lot of food?), a stroll around the area seemed like a sensible option from every point of view, so we put our best research shoes on and hoofed it around each of the other restaurants we had passed in the car, collecting menus and talking to the staff en route.

The assistant at Hue won our prize for the most personable and helpful person of the evening, talking us through their menu (which looks absolutely gorgeous – methinks we will be back there in the not-too-distant!) and then taking us down the street to their sister restaurant Cityfish to do the same.

The former is a very smart, contemporary choice, totally suiting the all-pervading über-chic of the new-look Thornton Park, while the latter is more informal and bar-like; a great choice for a casual drink and meal as opposed to the more formal restaurant style. In between is Shari, a renowned local sushi specialist, which, our Hue companion insisted, offered the best sushi in town (quite an achievement, if substantiated, as there are now half a dozen genuine contenders for this title hereabouts; our local ‘tour guide’ also offered the recommendation that Ceviche on Church Street also features the best tapas).

The biggest surprise was the amazing cluster of three restaurants on the corner of Pine Ave and S Eola Drive, which are set in an upscale, 18-storey condo development called The Sanctuary. We were bowled over by the choice of The Beacon, Fifi’s, and Graze. Clearly, there must be some serious money downtown these days to support this stunning array of new dining choice. Certainly none are cheap and The Beacon in particular is a distinctly upmarket option, with entrees from $16 to $35.

Back-tracking slightly, we peered into Anthony’s Pizzeria back on N Summerlin (an excellent-looking choice for fresh pizza, judging by its popularity on a Tuesday evening and some mouth-watering dishes coming out of the kitchen!), then wandered along E Washington Street to make enquiries of Dexter’s Wine Bar and Midnight Blue, two more stylish, slightly eclectic individual restaurants which I’m sure we’ll check out more fully before too long. The latter also boasts an excellent-sounding Saturday and Sunday brunch from 11am-3pm each weekend.

It was a beautiful evening, slowly darkening from clear blue skies with temperatures around 75F, and we were loathe to tear ourselves away, but our exploration of the area was still far from over, and we had plenty more territory to cover before we could call it a day.

Part One: First Meetings

The Orlando Science Center – the 2009 edition officially starts with a visit to Loch Haven, just north of downtown Orlando, to catch up with the latest developments at the Science Center, which is an often-overlooked treasure in this area (especially for families).

Our meeting here is with the Center’s public relations director Jeff Stanford, who highlights the newest elements within this excellent four-storey building. They include three temporary exhibitions which will be on display variously until September, May and April (which means we won’t be including them in our re-write, but they are worth checking out if you get the chance).

They are: Giant Worlds (a fascinating look at the largest planets of the Solar System; on display until Sep 1); Robots (using the animated movie of the same name to highlight various robot achievements and landmarks; until May 11); and Team Up (a series of hands-on activities that show many scientific principles of athletics; until April 27).

The most important thing from our point of view was seeing the new temporary home for

Titanic – The Experience, the former stand-alone attraction at The Mercado on International Drive which had to find a new home when The Mercado effectively closed down last year for re-building.

This show-and-tell exhibit is a walk-through experience in the company of a costumed actor who relates the full story of the ill-fated ship, with the help of many reproductions sets, photos and artefacts. We find it a very moving and well-paced attraction, and it has not suffered overmuch from its enforced relocation.

It will continue to be here until January 4, 2009, when the owners of the Experience hope to have their own home for it elsewhere in Orlando.

It costs $23 per adults ($18 for 3-11s and $21 for seniors and students) and that includes the Titanic experience, entry to all four levels of the exhibit halls, the large-screen films and Planetarium shows (currently Lions Of The Kalahari and The Alps), live science presentations and Observatory viewing on Fridays and Saturdays. The Science Center is also open 9am-6pm Mon-Sat.

In all, we spent around 2½ hours at the Center, and then headed back to the downtown area for a good look around……