The 2009 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival will be held from September 25th through November 8th, 2009. A regular Epcot admission ticket will allow you to enjoy this 14th annual park event with over 25 global markets represented. International flavours from six continents including Thai, New Zealand, Moroccan, Chilean, Chinese and American foods. This is always a favourite with Orlando vacation home owners and guests.
Each Epcot world international pavilion features daily beer, wine and food tastings. The food portions are appetizer-sized and run anywhere from $2 to $7. The festival also boasts professional culinary events managed by Disney Chefs along with visiting Guest Chefs as well. This year Cat Cora, Warren Brown, Jeff Henderson, Jacques Torres, Alan Wong and other professional culinarians will be attending. The event welcome center will also showcase book signings, food oriented seminars and wine classes.
Along with great food, one can enjoy music at the themed events (”Eat to the Beat”). The musical performances will be held at the American Gardens Theater at the American Pavilion. Times for the afternoon and evening performances will be 5:45, 7:15 and 8:30 p.m. Scheduled muscical acts for 2009 include Richard Marx, Sister Hazel, Taylor Dayne and Los Lobos. Consult the Disney schedules for specific dates and times.
Book a vacation rental in Orlando to enjoy this great Epcot special event. Consult our extensive community reviews for ratings and reviews of over 80 short term rental subdivisons in Orlando, Davenport and Kissimmee, Florida.
After our recent post on monitoring Orlando vacation home community ratings, we were curious to see how stringent some travel review websites are for evaluating Orlando area vacation home communities.
After evaluating several travel website’s vacation home rating systems, here are our conclusions:
Some sites need to be more comprehensive. We evaluate over 80 communities on our site based on various factors. Other travel review websites typically have less than half that number evaluated.
Some sites could rate vacation home communities much more stringently. Our quality breakdown is roughly 25% Good or Best, 50% Average and 25% Value. Some other review based sites tend to be far more lenient with 35% 4 or 5 star and 65% 3 star on average. None rated communities at the 2 star level or less which seemed unusual.
The other striking takeaway is the fact that some smaller vacation home communities are at a big disadvantage on major vacation home review sites. Many of the best vacation home communities near Disney are some of the smallest, at least in terms of the quality of the facilities. In fact, many of our readers often prefer the smaller communities.
Our conclusion after reviewing some of the travel review websites is a need to be far more comprehensive in terms of the number of communities evaluated, more stringent regarding quality designations, and to be more inclusive of the smaller vacation home community resorts.
We always strive to continuously improve the website, our blog and our evaluation opinions. If you do have any elements or areas you wish to see added, please provide us your feedback and ideas.
After a vacation day at the Orlando area theme parks, you might be looking for a place to sit down and enjoy good food, comraderie and an adult beverage. If that’s the case, there are plenty of places to enjoy within a short drive of the Disney area villas and the major parks. To make our “Best English Pubs in Orlando” list, the establishment must be within minutes of the major theme parks. Here is our British Pubs list in alphabetical order along with an address and contact number:
* Best of British Pub, 8324 International Road, Orlando 407-264-9189
* Cricketers Arms, 8445 International Drive, Orlando 407-354-0686
* Fox and Hound Club, 3514 W. Vine Street, Kissimmee 407-847-9927
* George and Dragon, 6314 International Drive, Orlando 407-351-3578
* Harry Ramsbottom’s, 5260 West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee 407-306-4114
* Murphy’s Arms Pub, 6582 International Drive, Orlando 407-352-0734
* The Pub, 43392 US HWY 27, Davenport 863-424-4242
Vacation homes and rental homes in Fl are an important part of travel to Florida.
In a landmark 2008 study commissioned by the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau, research indicates that vacation home owners and guests spend over $384 million in one county (Osceola) alone.
Vacation home rentals continue to be a more accepted means of accomodations and gain market share, but the industry has no formal organizational means of tracking economic impact statewide.
There are three major vacation homes markets in FL. These markets include Orlando, Miami and Destin/Panama City. There are also two secondary markets for rental homes in FL including Tampa/Clearwater and Jacksonville. It is difficult to extrapolate the total number of vacation home visitors statewide, but based on the report mentioned above, Osceola County drew 1.2 million visitors staying in vacation homes alone.
Although awareness of vacation homes for travel to Florida is on the rise, more consumer and economic data and information is needed. Holiday rentals in Orlando are a great way to enjoy the area.
Vacation Rentals in FL
This website focuses specifically on the Orlando vacation homes market to disseminate that needed consumer information. Over 80 resort communities have been independently rated and profiled which should give consumers a greater sense of trust for what they are booking. These vacation reviews are viewable on the main page of this website. The reviews section includes such premium resort communities as Emerald Island Resort and Windsor Hills Resort. Orlando FL is a great destination for theme parks, golf, restaurants and other attractions.
Overseas travel to the United States and Florida is an important component of the Orlando vacation home rental market. The United States States Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI) recently released two companion documents concerning retrospective inbound travel to the United States along with projections for travel out to 2013. A complete link for tourism travel stats to Florida and Orlando is linked here:
According to the OTTI, Florida had a 20.7% market share for all international tourists to the United States. This represents about 5.2 million total travelers. Florida ranks #3 just behind New York and California. Moreover, Florida narrowed the total international visitor gap with California and now only lags California by 50,000 international visitors annually. Of all US cities, Orlando ranks #5 just behind New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami (in that order) for international travel. Of note is the fact that Miami and Orlando combined represent about 95% of all international traffic to Florida with a total volume of approximately 5 million annual global vacationers.
The OTTI also made some forecasts for international visitor volume to the US for 2009 and beyond:
OTTI forecasts international travel volume to decline 6% and 11% for 2009
Europe is projected to decline 9% in 2009, but to resume increases out to 2013
Asia is forecasted to drop 5% in 2009, but rise 21% out to 2013
South America is projected to decline 4% in 2009, and improve by the largest percentage amount out to 2013
As we have blogged about in the past, Brazil is projected to rise significantly longer term and is forecasted to move into the 7th spot for international tourism to the United States.
As we have indicated before, Orlando area vacation rentals represent a significant value for overseas vacation travelers to the United States and to Florida. Most homes have such luxurious amenities as pools, self catering kitchens, community facililities and other great options and most are located near Disney. This website is dedicated to blogging about reliable consumer information that helps sort out all the various communities, resorts and subdivisions for various factors including quality, location, and amenities.
Summer is here and if you have planning flexibility, you can ascertain some nice discounts for golf in Orlando, Florida. For our purposes, we’ll list some of the best golf courses near the Highway 192 vacation home corridor. The good news for vacation rental guests is that there are plenty of courses to choose from within a short 15-20 minute drive from most vacation home communities. Summer greens fees by category in Orlando are:
Premium Group (Summer golf rates in Orlando, Fl for this group tend to run from $40 to $65 depending upon the time of day)
Falcon’s Fire Golf Club 3200 Seralago Boulevard; Kissimmee, Florida 34746 Phone: 407-239-5445
Orange County National Golf Club 16301 Phil Ritson Way; Winter Garden, Florida 34787 Phone: 407-656-2626
Orange Lake Resort and Country Club 8505 W. Orlo Bronson Memorial Highway Kissimmee, Florida 34747 Phone: 407-905-1050
Value Group (Disney area golf rates for this group tend to run from $25 to $40 depending upon the time of day)
Highlands Reserve Golf Club Club 500 Highlands Reserve Boulevard; Davenport, Florida 33897 Phone: 863-420-1724; We profiled this course in a previous post.
Disclaimer: Please call course golf shops for specific rates and tee times for your Orlando golf vacation. This information was gathered from diligently reviewing websites and visiting with golfers in the area. Summer greens fees in Orlando quoted for all courses can change at any time. Always inquire about condition of course greens due to occasional drought and damaging heat conditions.
Villas at Seven Dwarfs Lane Vacation Homes - Orlando Kissimmee
Villas at Seven Dwarfs is a newer community of townhomes that is both gated and guarded (at the time of review). Seven Dwarfs also offers a large pool, game room and play area all in a clean and well maintained vacation setting. Internet access and wifi is also available as well as tennis, volley ball and basket ball.
Villas at Seven Dwarfs Lane is located a little further away (approximately 7.5 miles) from the Walt Disney World ® property than some communities, but is still within a short drive of restaurant and shops.
The Villas at Seven Dwarfs provides for a great resort type community in a clean, well maintained and pleasant setting.
Review the location on our interactive map below. Also review the video of the Villas at Seven Dwarfs Lane below.
When evaluating your choices for Orlando vacation home rates, options and accommmodations, keep in mind that size does matter. Let’s look at some Orlando vacation rental options when compared to a hotel room.
A typical hotel hotel room runs approximately 325 square feet in size. The average nightly rate in Orlando for that hotel room runs around $80 per night depending on the time of year or .25 cents per square foot if you are evaluating a cost average based on size. Two hotel rooms could tightly accomodate eight people for a total of $160 per night.
For a three bedroom vacation villa/home that will sleep eight to ten persons, it will run around the same amount ($160/night) depending on time of year, amenities and subdivision. Such a vacation home/villa will be roughly 1,800 square foot on average. Therefore, for a much larger home, your per square foot cost is .09 cents per square foot, plus you get the use many amenities that typical Orlando hotels do not have such as a fully equipped kitchen, private garage and private pool.
In summary, Orlando vacation homes/villas represent significantly better value than hotels if you are traveling with 4 or more persons. Based on our caluclations, hotel rental rates run around .25 cents per square foot while vacation homes are in the .09 cents per square foot range on average.
Why would you book a hotel in Orlando? Please consult our blog postings for helpful tips, consumer information and community reviews.
If you are planning on coming to Orlando on a vacation package in 2009, staying on-site in the major parks makes a lot of sense. These hotels have become as competitive as staying off-site. However, if you are in need of more than one room for your vacation in Orlando, privacy and some extra space, an Orlando vacation home rental is a logical alternative offering tremendous value.
The Walt Disney World Resorts ® in Orlando, as we mentioned before, have rolled out some stellar promotions for 2009 to attract guests.
Historically some of the big parks in Orlando have been slow to react to economic swings, but expert MBAs in the revenue management departments and seasoned sales teams are now getting it right.
The Walt Disney World ® parks and sunny weather are the main reasons tourists flock to Orlando. Universal Studios® , SeaWorld ® and the Orlando Convention Center all run a close second.
As a large theme park, Disney ® is able to offer promotions that make it very difficult for regular off-site hotels to compete. Programs that have been recently introduced include “buy 4 days/nights, get 3 free“ with spendable gift cards, various dining programs, free transportation and park tickets that make the on-site hotel experience extra appealing.
One realm that has yet to be explored by the major Orlando parks is the vacation home concept. This remains the domain of the individual and professional management companies.
If you are booking a hotel, take a serious look at staying on-site, but if you are in need of more than a room, some extra space and privacy, an Orlando vacation home makes great sense. For the benefits of staying in a nearby vacation home, check out a professional Orlando vacation home management company today.
Vacation homes in Orlando have become a cheaper commodity. It is estimated there are 35,000 +/- vacation homes in the area. Many of these vacation homes are often unoccupied.
Expect the Orlando vacation home rental rates to drop further for the following reasons:
Many current owners are now cash strapped and are willing to rent their homes for less
As the recession sets in, less people are visiting driving demand down to rent these homes for their Orlando vacation. Please see our POST on this topic.
There are large amounts of these vacation villas entering foreclosure and are being picked up for a fraction of their original price, thus the new owners can rent them out more affordably.
Many of these expansive villas can now be rented at a lesser price than most cramped hotel rooms.
Don’t be afraid to shop around for vacation villas in Orlando, and feel free to ask a lot of questions. Remember, all vacation villas and vacation home management companies are not created equal, so do your homework.
