Traveling is a real-life education and broadens the overall horizons of the traveler. Mingling with new people and learning more about the language and culture in different parts of the world is extraordinary. The experience is even better when the vacation is with our friends, family or loved ones. We also feel that our kids need to socialize more and get educated on the many different aspects of life that only traveling can provide. We always recommend families to plan a vacation with their kids so that they explore the outer world and spend a few days out of their comfort zone. Sometimes people just want to escape from their daily routines…to just forget their schedule and just have fun and adventure properly. In current times, there are countless apps, portals and booking websites available for the vacationers, as such booking, a package is suggested. Significant Attractions And Surprising Packages That being said, Orlando is one of our favorite destinations for family and kids (in case you couldn’t tell). It is one of the most visited places in the world every year and you should strategically plan your trip if you’re vising Orlando in the future. Walt Disney World attracts millions of tourists every year and it is important to choose the right time to go and the best accommodations possible for your trip. The city boasts so many hotels and resorts to choose from, with a wide range of amenities and features to consider. There are luxurious amenities for tourists with different budgets and needs. Every visitor wants to be in and around the famous attractions and, with that being the case, it’s better to have already set up a prior booking before heading down. Moreover, your kids and family should experience the best of facilities; it’s a vacation, so let them feel like they’re on one by choosing properties like the Westgate Town Center Resort in Orlando. They are a renowned timeshare resort and have established magnificent accommodations and great amenities and activities on-site for their guests. There are package deals being offered on sites like https://www.staypromo.com/ for this resort with packages that have impressive options for travelers on rooms and amenities at surprising savings and the world-class services offered are awe-inspiring, to say the least. Premium Vacation Accommodations Await Westgate Resorts work on the concept of vacation villas and homes. They provide full-service resorts and a whole town center within their resort area. The fun-filled vacations will be even more enjoyable when staying in one of the finest spacious villas in Orlando. How much you get to experience will depend upon the package you choose and the duration of your stay. Smart tourists book their accommodations beforehand with the help of online sites. You’re probably curious to know what onsite amenities to expect here. Below are some of the comforts of the resort: Fully Furnished Villas: You are never away from the comforts of your home when you book with luxurious and spacious accommodations of premium properties like Westgate Resorts. You and your family will have a range of staying options available like well-furnished studios and 1 or 2 bedroom villas. The accommodations include all luxuries like a fully equipped kitchen, dining area, televisions, dishwasher, washers, dryers, DVD players, etc. In general, every little thing you’ll need to have a comfortable stay has been thoughtfully provided by the resort. Onsite Resort Activities: They make sure their guests do not miss out on any form of entertainment. No matter what your age is there is something for everyone on the premises of the resort. The Orlando resort has unbelievable activities and amenities for visitors. To name a few: Shipwreck Island Water Park: It has Pirate Ship, Lazy River and Walk the Plank activities for all ages. Sport Courts: There are courts for the guests in the resort and they can play at any time they desire. The courts are equipped with all the gear needed for various fun and games. There are basketball, volleyball, tennis and shuffleboard courts for the guests. Rentals: Visitors can rent a bicycle and enjoy the beauty of the resort. Take a ride around the property and see the expansive layout. It is a fun-filled exercise for kids and parents alike. Helmets are provided to the guests especially kids. Paddle boats and swan boats are also available to rent and the family can enjoy their time out on the peaceful lake. Life jackets are provided by the resort, too. Isn’t that exciting! Game Room: The guests can play thrilling games in the game room. It is a great way to keep the fun alive. Who doesn’t love a competitive game of air-hockey every now and then? If you’re not into air-hockey there are many other classic games for the whole family to enjoy. The arcade is well-maintained by the staff of the resort. Mini Golf: Orlando is known for golf courses and the resort offers a full mini golf course as well for its guests. There are 18 holes as usual and the golf course is surrounded with prehistoric dinosaurs. Movie Theater: There is a theater on the premises that is free of charge. People can go and watch their most loved Disney movies. Don’t miss your family movie night when you’re staying at this Westgate Resort. Playground: There are many activities of the slide, climb and jump for the kids in the resort’s playground. Pools And Hot Tubs: To multiply the fun, there are a whopping 14 pools and hot tubs for guests to enjoy and a couple even have a nearby bar & grill. Tickets: The host likes to make sure the visitors do not have any difficulty in visiting the different theme parks, water parks, and other local attractions, so they actually provide various attractive tickets and deals to their guests. Dining With The Westgate: There are multiple dining options for the whole family. One can choose any delicious cuisine from poolside bars or room service or multiple cafes and restaurants. This is just a bit of information I found while booking this property for our trip to Orlando and wanted to share. It has so many amazing features I thought I’d go ahead and elaborate here. The resort must have definitely grasped your attention if you’re still reading at this point. You should definitely check it out and maybe book a space for you and your family, too.
With Orlando being full of adventure and staying in any of the popular resorts in the area, will be a blast. If you have always dreamed of living life like a king and wanted your kids to have a trip of a lifetime, this resort is one of the best. Plan thoughtfully and provide the best recreation for your family.
0 Comments
Ok, so it literally came down to a coin flip and Puerto Rico it is. We figured one last tropical vacation to finish off the year would be our best option and the deals we found online were too good to pass up. So that's that. Now that we've gotten our hotel and flights taken care of for me and my wife's romantic getaway adventure we have our Florida family trip to look forward to first. Needless to say we're all very excited! So, Orlando. Here we come, Get Ready! We've found a few great places to visit that will be great for the whole family. I even got my sister to agree to watch the kids for one night so my wife and I can go enjoy a dinner together. I had to bribe her with a bottle of wine upon our return, but that's totally worth it. One box of wine coming right up! So, the places we're for sure going on our Orlando vacation include: LEGOLAND | Orlando Science Center | Pirate's Dinner Adventure | Titanic Exhibit | The Beach And here's why: LEGOLAND offers a little something for every person in the party. It's got great thrill rides and water park area. We can get the whole theme park experience without the huge price tag. Plus, we haven't been yet, so it'd be something fun and new for everyone. Orlando Science Center is on the list simply for the fact that I want the kids to learn something new on every vacation we go on. This place has SO MANY cool exhibits that it will keep their interest and they'll be learning without even knowing. Many of the activities are interactive. They also have KidsTown and ToddlerTown, which will be great for my niece. And I'm not going to lie, I definitely want to check out their observatory which features the largest telescope offered publicly in Florida. My wife and I have tried the dinner shows before when the kids were a lot younger, specifically Arabian Nights, and we had a genuine good time. We got a bunch of cool photos, one of which features us all grinning with the horses in the background. The youngest, 4 at the time, was missing her two front teeth. So cute! It's actually a photo we have up on our mantel at home. Looking through all the dinner shows Orlando has to offer, Pirate's Dinner Adventure seems like it would be even more fun than Arabian Nights. And it's costs a little less. We're sure to have an even better time now that the kids are older and can really participate. The Titanic Exhibit only made the list at my 15 year old daughter's request. My wife decided that it was time to let her watch the movie and now she's a true Titanic fan. To be fair I did insist that she watch the original 1953 film first before she got to watch Rose and Jack romance bloom in the 1997 one. Heck, I even made her watch the cheesy 2010 Titanic II. Anyway, she's now interested in all things Titanic. We, me and my wife, thought this would be a great way to bond with her. It features tons of real artifacts (and replicas) from the original Titanic. I think we may even spring for the dinner show there, too. And lastly, the beach! You can't go to Florida and not visit at least one of their beaches. If not more. We were thinking St. Augustine - a friend of mine told me about a really cool and creepy ghost tour they went on there - and there are a bunch of cool historical sights to see, too. If not St. Augustine (not sure if I will be able to talk my wife into going on a ghost tour, she's easily creeped out), maybe Cocoa Beach or to the west to Clearwater. With Florida there are plenty of options. We may just jet on down to the Keys and spend a couple nights enjoying Key West and see Hemingway's House. I'll still be doing a bit more research on some things to do while we're there. I like to take the family to some surprise stops while we're vacationing. I saw the new trending attractions there are the escape rooms, but I'm not sure how great an idea that is with a toddler in tow, but we will see. I was also considering a stop at Old Town. A friend of my wife's told her about watching a car show while they were there, that seems pretty cool and fun for the whole family. We'd just have to make sure to visit on a Friday or Saturday, so we'll have to see if it'll fit into our schedule. If not, I think it would still be cool to check out the shops and race my kids on the go carts. So, as you can see, our Florida trip is really shaping up. The rest will fill in while we're there I guess. I will sit down with the kids and my wife and sister and see if they have any other things of interest to suggest. Staying at Westgate, we could just spend any spare time at the resort enjoying their amenities, lounge at the pool, and dine at the onsite eateries. Traveling with multiple women, if all else fails, To The Outlet Malls we go! I just hope the weather is nice while we're there. Early November isn't usually too busy in Orlando, from what I've heard and it shouldn't be too cold to enjoy the pool and beach. And of course I still have to find a place for me and my wife's night out. I'm thinking CityWalk. They've opened a bunch of new restaurants and shops since the last time we were there and I may even be able to convince my sister to watch the kids long enough for us to squeeze in dinner AND a movie. Wish me luck!
So I talked it over with my wife. At the end of the day I just could not pick and instead opted to just tell her my plans and let her help me decide and book it. It's not that I didn't try. I kept dropping hints, like when we were watching the basketball game and they were talking about the Vegas odds and the over/under I made a comment about going and trying out our luck with some Roulette or slots in Sin City, but all I got was a distracted shoulder shrug and a "maybe some time". To be fair, she was working on a project for work that was due the following day. And then, when I talked into taking a dip in the pool one night after the kids were in bed I made a comment about how nice it'd be to get away and spend some time far away in the hot sun and beach. She smiled and did chuckle a little, but that was about it. I think she thought it'd be impossible to plan a parent's escape. Little did she know that I already secured the babysitter. Anyway, I told her about my plans and my attempts to surprise her. That did get her attention. She was thrilled and, just like I thought, preferred the sun and tropical destination over Vegas. We can do that some other time she had said, and she was right, it's not like Vegas is going anywhere. So, the next step was to figure out which sunny oasis to visit. So, we narrowed it down to Puerto Rico and Cancun. After doing a bit of research we found that Puerto Rico would definitely be the more economical option. It'd be considered domestic, so a lot cheaper for the airfare. However, we also had to factor in the food and lodging. We did find a really good deal on an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, but once we added the airfare it ended up making it not such a great deal. Overall, the prices for PR were a little cheaper, but all things considered they ended up being just about the same no matter the option. Now, since that's the case, I guess it boils down to convenience. I think, overall, we should do Puerto Rico. Just the fact that we won't have to go through customs or lug our passports around was a relief. Also, when checking into the budget and rates, I think we may have overestimated some of the costs. I mean, we could skip a meal here and there, or Heaven forbid a cocktail, and probably save a bunch. There were also a few different hotels, like the Embassy Suites in El Dorado that offered a nice perk - cocktail hour(s) with free beer and mixed drinks - and free breakfast, too. That would definitely help us save. The room rates weren't even bad, either. And they had a golf course onsite AND a casino, so if we wanted to do a little gambling we could pretend we were in Vegas. The beaches there in Puerto Rico are gorgeous, too, and it's not nearly as popular a location as Cancun, so it wouldn't be anywhere near as crowded. We're still debating, but I think we're both leaning towards Puerto Rico. Of course, Cancun has it's perks, too. The culture is amazing, the resorts are luxurious and the food.....I love Mexican food. I mean, who doesn't like tacos? I have also always wanted to go swimming in the cenotes. We might decide to do Cancun since it'd just be us and maybe visit PR in a couple of years with the whole family. It does seem like a great family-friendly destination after all. Ahhh...so many choices!!
With the days counting down for our great Orlando trip we've already booked, I'm afraid to admit that I've been bit by the travel bug. I'm now in the process of trying to squeeze in one more trip, besides Orlando, before the end of the year. I know that I want it to be a romantic trip for me and my wife, and I've already secured a babysitter for whenever it is (thanks Mom!), but I'm just not entirely sure yet on where to go. There are so many different choices to pick from and there is something unique offered at every different location. I think I have it narrowed down to two (or maybe three...ok ok four) options. Option #1: Vegas My wife has mentioned numerous times how she'd like to visit Las Vegas. I'm not entirely sure where the desire stems from. We've been to Atlantic City and she found that she abhorred gambling. She lost $50 bucks in a matter or mere minutes. She is not huge on shows, musical, magical, or otherwise. My only guess at to why she'd want to go there is to just have the ability to say she's been. Vegas is definitely one of those "bucket list" locations after all. I guess they do also have a few other attractions like the Hoover Dam and the Neon Museum, etc. I'm sure if I surprised her with a trip to Vegas she'd be thrilled, but I'm thinking that there's probably somewhere else that we'd both enjoy a little bit better. Not to mention, $50 bucks in a few minutes can rack up pretty quick and good luck staying clear of casinos in Vegas. I guess we could just spend most of the time at the pool with some nice cocktails or some wine. Option#2: Mexico My next idea was to treat my wife to a stay in Mexico. There are so many great locations to choose from like Cancun, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Lareto, etc, and we both absolutely love the beach. Any beach really. As long as there's sun, water to swim in, and a lounge chair, we're in. My only concern is the fact that international locations obviously take a bit more planning, too. And the airfare will be a little higher. I have found some really good deals online for some all-inclusive resorts in Cancun, but I'm just not entirely sold on it yet, at least not enough to pull the trigger on it. We've been to St. Lucia and St. Croix, but I know she's never been to Mexico. They have so many historical sights and other fun things to do like the various cenotes and different adventure parks. I know we'd have a blast and would definitely enjoy this one more than Vegas, but we do also have to keep in mind that the costs will probably be about double what it'd cost to hightail it to Nevada on a whim. Option #3: Puerto Rico My last idea is kind of a combination of the two, Puerto Rico. It's a part of the United States, so I know it'll be cheaper to fly there than Cancun, and we'd have the beach to enjoy, along with a few other great highlights, like the bioluminescent bays that glow a gorgeous blue during the night, great whale watching, and of course the world famous Bacardi Factory. Who doesn't like a nice rum and coke every now and then?
I thought of this one because while we have not been there yet we did have a talk about it a few years ago. We decided against only because we were traveling with the kids and decided to do something that didn't require a long flight. I have already researched it a little, to. I picked a random date and searched for hotel rates and found them to be quite reasonable. There were a lot of very nice beachfront properties to choose from all around the same price. It's also convenient that we would not have to go through customs or exchange any currency. I'm thinking it may be this one, just based on the overall convenience, the fact that the price wouldn't be too much, and lastly that we'll both enjoy a nice relaxing vacation at the beach over the loudness and hustle and bustle of Vegas. Of course if all else fails, I can just go with option #4. Drop the kids off with the grandparents and spend a few days just lounging around the house. A Staycation doesn't sound too bad and it's economical, too. I guess I still have some pre-planning to do and other things to check out though, so I will keep you informed here. According to Mark Paterson, “The best education you will ever get is traveling. Nothing teaches you more than exploring the world and accumulating experiences.” Well, it's been a long time since we've vacationed with a little one. Our youngest being 8, I feel a little unprepared to bring a one year old to Orlando. I need to brush up and look for some things to do in Orlando with toddlers. As the dad, husband, vacation provider, and event planner, I feel that it is my responsibility to make sure the vacation goes right. That nothing is forgotten, no one is left out, and everyone is happy. And like I said before, my sister has not been on a vacation in a long time, so obviously I want this trip to be perfect for her. I want her to be able to relax and I also want my one year old niece to be able to have fun. Although she may be too young to remember it, it should still be a great learning experience for her. I can't wait to see her cure little face light up when she sees all there is to see in Orlando. My niece, although still just a baby, loves butterflies, so I was thinking maybe we could spend a day at Butterfly World or some of the botanical gardens, like Azalea Park or maybe the Bok Tower. I also remember when we came down to Orlando before, about 6 years ago, we went to a park in the downtown area where they were hosting a family movie night. You can bring a blanket and snacks and just lounge as you watch a movie on a huge inflatable screen outdoors. I definitely need to look into that because everyone would enjoy an outdoor movie, even the toddler. Orlando just has so many different things to do and see, it's hard to pick and pinpoint the best ones that'll make everyone happy. I know one thing for sure, LEGOLAND is still a definite outing, even with a toddler. They have their own land inside the park for the little ones, with safe slow rides and everything. I think it'll be a totally picture perfect experience for my sister and he daughter. I also know I still have plenty of time to find things to do once we get to Orlando since we still have a couple of months before we're due to go down, but planning is essential on any family vacation. If you don't have a plan you can end up spending half of your vacation wandering around aimlessly and the other half arguing about who wants to do what. If you have a precise (or even a rough) list of things to do, it makes it a lot easier. And of course, if you have something spontaneously come up that you want to do, by all means, do it. It is a vacation after all, and what's a vacation without a little adventure and spontaneity? I think it's lucky that we've already secured a room at one of the best resorts in the area, Westgate Town Center. The resort itself has plenty of activities to keep us busy, including the baby. We just need to make sure to bring the sunblock. We don't want to come back with a sun burn from hanging out at the onsite water park or any of the 14 pools! Maybe I'm stressing out too much about it, but I just want to make sure everything goes great for everyone because I know if anything messes up or gets left out, I will feel like I should take the blame. I should just plan, plan, plan, and make sure to have it as prepared as possible and not worry about until we get there.
I guess, if I do get overwhelmed, I could also ask my wife and sister to help with the research and ask for some suggestions of what else we should make sure to do while we're in Orlando. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed with the planning of the trip. Luckily the weekend is upon us and I still have plenty of time to get everything together. I spent my entire last post getting wrapped up in where we were going and the new rules that'll be imposed for our next trip to Orlando that I completely forgot to mention the best part. We secured a room at the Westgate Town Center Resort in Orlando! As you can see I'm really happy about this. I've had a couple of people at work stay at this resort and come back from their vacation Raving (with a capital R) about what a great place it is and how much fun their kids had there. I'd tried booking there in the past, but it was either completely booked or too expensive to justify staying there instead of somewhere comparable that was way cheaper. This resort really has it all. Mini Golf (check), Water park (check), Multiple Restaurants (check), Free shuttles (check), Shopping (check), Private Lake with Paddle boats (check)...see it has it all. It's a huge property, too, with fourteen, yes 14, heated pools. It's only a mile from Disney and the accommodations are top of the line. The room has a washer/dryer, a full kitchen, private balcony, jetted tub and plenty of space for the whole family. Need I say more? Well, I think I will. Definitely looking forward to this trip. We've saved and saved for it and we've already got quite a list of things we plan on doing while we're there. I know one thing, this resort will have everything we'll need while we're on our vacation that I really don't even think my 2 bag rule is going to much of a problem. We could probably spend the entire time onsite, maybe only leaving to go to the grocery store to stock up the fridge and pantry, and not ever get bored. The kids, I know, are going to be WOWed when we get there and they see everything there is to do there. The best part is that this resort literally caters to all families, with kids of all ages. They even have a movie theater onsite. What resort do you know that has a movie theater and 14 pools? None that I can think of. Besides taking the kids to Disney and Universal while we're in town, we've decided that we definitely have to take advantage of all these amenities. It would really be doing a disservice to my family if we don't. I've been hearing about this resort and been wanting to stay here for so long that I know once we step foot on the property I've going to feel overwhelmed and not even know where to start. So, I told my wife to make a list and schedule. She's really good at that and I told her to make sure that we squeeze in at much and many activities as possible. Luckily, we still have plenty of time to figure it out. Oh, and my sister and little niece will be joining us. She's just over 1, my niece, not my sister. My sister hasn't had a chance to vacation since before she was pregnant, so it's definitely been a while. This will be her first time out with the baby and away from her husband. Needless to say she's a bit nervous and upset that her husband can't join. He has to work and they won't give him the time off. With a baby coming with us it adds a whole other level of caution and planning for the trip. I reassured her that it'll be fine and fun to get out of the house for a few days. I can already see that this family vacation is going to be one that we're all going to remember for a very long time.
Antoine de St. Exupery, a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator, once said , “He who would travel happily must travel light", but Antoine didn't know me. Or my family of 5 with a teenager, a preteen, and an 8 year old. We have the largest SUV out there, the Chevy Suburban, and we still cannot take a family vacation without filling up the back and loading up the top. We have an average of about 3 bags per person. Our next vacation, coming up in a couple of months, will be to Orlando to take the kids to Disney. My 8 year old is thrilled, the other two kids like to act like they are too big for such nonsense. My wife and I know better than that. We have decided for this trip to limit it to just 2 bags max per person. We haven't told the kids yet about this new rule, but I know that my wife has already started making her own list of essentials so she can figure out what she HAS to bring and what she might be able to leave behind for a week. Let's just say she's not thrilled about my new rule for this trip. Anyway, I just thought that if we could just keep it basic for this vacation we'd be able to focus on more important things like spending quality time together, instead of material things. Everyday my teenage daughter seems to become a little more independent and it makes me feel older by the minute. She's not getting any younger and neither am I or my other kids, so we need to make sure we're taking advantage of the time we have to spend together. We can't be worrying if we brought enough hair accessories or enough video games, but I digress. So, yeah, new 2 bag rule for the week long stay in Orlando. This won't be a problem for me. I usually only need one bag for myself. It's the others that'll have a hard time. I already have my going to Disney packing list and it includes just 3 things. This is just for when we got to the parks, mind you. 1.) Refillable Water Bottle, 2.) Travel Wallet, and 3.) Poncho. I have always been a big advocate on making sure to always stay hydrated. I'm not a health nut by any means, but I have suffered heat stroke a few times in my life, and I always try to make sure to have water handy at all times. Also, my travel wallet is a MUST anytime we vacation anywhere. It holds all my essentials and it has never let me down. I ordered it online about 3 years ago and it holds all of my essentials, and even some of the kids' things. Park tickets, IDs, credit cards, phone, keys, and much more. It's actually a lot bigger than you'd think looking at it. Lastly, the poncho, this is more of a gag item. I know know it rains often in Florida and they are usually they are short storms. I just thought, what better way to embarrass my kids than be walking around wearing a bright yellow poncho in the middle of a little rainstorm. I'm keeping this one in my pocket until the time comes.
We will have a lot of fun activities to do and places to checkout in Orlando when we go. Really looking forward to spending a day at LEGOLAND. That's like a dream come true to an old man that grew up playing with LEGOs as a kid. And I know my 8 year old will enjoy it. The other two won't be complaining any when we take them to see Universal Studios and they get to ride Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. They'll all be smiling then, me and my wife, too. So yeah, we have a nice trip to Orlando to look forward to in the next couple of months. I'll be posting updates on our upcoming trips and more travel ideas as I get them. I'm not too big on this whole online thing, but I'm really looking forward to ranting and raving about our vacations and everything that happens. There's an old proverb I like to remember, it says, "No matter what happens, travel gives you a story to tell", and it's so true. Whether it's a couple of nights at the nearby beach or a week in Orlando at Disney World, when you get back home you're fully relaxed (well maybe not fully) and ready to start showing off your vacation pictures and telling anyone who will listen about your trip. So, get out there, write a short story and a huge novel, and share it with the World. What are you waiting for?
|
About Marie:
Just a travel nut that enjoys encouraging others to take advantage when they get bit by the "Travel Bug". |