we3peas

Wow and I thought the numbers were rather low. Just think if they catch and kill 83 a year how many Don't they catch?  Being an Orlando native I know they are everywhere, just wish stupid people would quit feeding them and bothering them.

We have a certified stupid person in our neighborhood who feeds the gator hot dogs when they cook on the grill outside right next to the pond it lives in. It is just a matter of time before it attacks to get food from someone. And it will be their fault. Someone will be hurt or dead and the gator will die too, because they Don't move them to a new home the trappers kill them.

I live in one of those districts and it seems it is going quite well. It is called Lake Nona and is South of OIA. It was originally designed as a Medical City with Nemours being the base, now we have UCF Medical School and Florida Hospital as well as the Vets Center here. There are lots of stores and places to shop and more being built all the time. The only thing it is missing is religious houses of worship. The land is too expensive for most churches to build here.

Both parks are great and have lines waiting to get in for swimming since the water is a cool 72 degrees year round. The pancakes are great even if you have to cook them yourself. They are stone ground so not what you would get at a Dennys. 

There's also a cook your own (or least there used to be) at Hillsborough River State Park in Thonotosassa. They only have 2 grills but we cooked our own there as well.

Another great park in the same area near Apopka is an Orange county park called Kelly Park. It has Rock Springs where you can tube a 20 minute run and has a large swimming area. RV/tent camping available too. Also lines out the door but never for the campers (they have a separate entrance). Wekiva Springs State Park is next door with another set of springs as well.

Dave pictures aren't showing.

Another shout out to AAA. They have a dead battery service that a coworker told my husband about. Lucky he did because just a couple of weeks later I had a dead battery at home and went online to get AAA to bring me a new battery. Awesome within an hour (they said it was going to be 90 min) I had a  new battery installed in my car while I sat at home enjoying my coffee. Price wasn't bad either, comparable to getting a new one at a dealership. We made sure our dd has the app on her phone so if she ever has any problems she can take care of it herself.

My dd was recently in Winnie Palmer (ORMC) hospital and we overheard 3 nurses talking in the elevator about the best free place to take the kids to the pool. You guessed it The Fort! They also discussed how much harder it was to get into the other resorts and Fort Wilderness was always open.

Chip has a black nose like a chocolate chip and Dale's is red. That's how someone once told me to remember which was which.

Thanks for telling us how the program works both in FL and CA. My dd is going to be a JR in college next year and is looking into the program.

Where do your girls live will they are in CA? Does DL provide housing like WDW does or are they on their own to find housing? How does all that work?

DO NOT store your RV anywhere on Oak Ridge Rd or near John Young Pkwy. Super high crime area. Lots of section 8 housing units and people wandering around all times of night and day. We used Park Bark and Fly just north of MCO on Semoran Blvd when we had our RV. They watch the lots like hawks. They follow cars in when parking in their minibuses so they know who is going to storage area and they will wait to see you open the RV door before leaving. They are open 24 hours and charge by length of RV. They have minibus service to MCO so if you need to fly out they take you right to the airport departure area. Never had any problems and we stored for 5 years there.

I read in the Orlando Sentinel that NOJ will be held at ESPN next year with buses providing transportation to MK for those who want to do rides/attractions. Just wondering since my dd's church group usually goes is this because it does not draw enough of a crowd on its own to shut down the park? I will guess that they will keep MK open to everyone instead of making it a private party and hope most people will stay at ESPN to hear the concerts. My dd will be out because she goes to ride the rides when the crowds are lower not necessarily for the concerts (too loud for her).

I've lived here my whole life and love to leave Central FL. We do national parks, cruises, snow ski and everything except visit family (in-laws live nearby and my dad and 1 brother live nearby). Disney is what others do for vacation. I read travel journals and am amazed at all the work put into seeing everything. We recently gave up our annual passes and have no plans on going for a few years. Not interested in Star Wars or Avatar stuff so except for the Mine Train there's been nothing I've missed yet. If I really need to go I'll wait for a party (Night of Joy, Halloween or Christmas-but early in the season). We love nature and traveling to new locations and I really don't get going back to the same place over and over again. We love to try new things and experiences.

Not dissing those who do this this but different strokes for different folks.

I agree. I live here in Central FL and roses can bloom anytime so where are they...and we all know Disney can force roses to bloom anytime they want. I guess it should be called the Former Rose Garden pathway

I think children same as parents means that they pay the same thing-no kids meal prices there!

Weird it wouldn't post and then did it 3 times....

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Not sure about where you live but in Orlando we have loads of dandelions. Maybe they don't grow near saltwater?

We've let our yard go "au natural" that's French for weeds. And we have them big time!

Wish more cruise lines would only board you after the rooms are available. Maybe that's why I like Princess, I don't have to cart my crap around while touring the ship. They let you on only when rooms are ready.

Boy that room looks small. I thought they held 5 people yours doesn't look big enough. We took a Disney cruise because we thought we would get some alone time from our 5 yo at the time, turned out she hated the Disney cruise, so that plan was a big fail for us. Shame because it cost almost 2x more than any other cruise we looked at.

Thanks!

 

 

You got your mouse turds.  Hope you enjoyed them.  No need to complain to the management.  

 

 

Thank you for reading!

 

 

You got it.  

 

 

There is a thread covering that now.  

Where is it? I can't find it....

The yellow trees are tabebuias- they come in yellow, a bright pink and a lavender color. They are only pretty for 3 weeks then they lose all the flowers which look like slime on the driveways and sidewalks and then grow huge seed pods that are ugly. Then the rest of the year they are just a boring green color. I'll take a crepe myrtle over them anyday.

Last time we camped at Grayton was July 2012. The loop was closed off then and they were supposed to upgrade the bathhouse because it was OLD (did they get it done?). Sites 3, 13, 26, 32, 52, and 57 are non-reservable. Sometimes they are used for host sites other times they are walk ins. The rule is the FL state parks must have 10% of their sites as non-reservable. The one thing I dislike was the gravel sites, I always preferred just dirt as the gravel hides the anthills and they get into everything. With dirt I can put Borax on the mound and control them in our site. The alcohol rule was in effect in July 2012 as well. I've always had alcohol (wine) at my site, never walk around with it or party. I think that's what gets you into trouble with the rangers and hosts.

While waiting for the ferris wheel (I chose stationary my dd chose sliding) her side had a big delay because someone got sick in the car. The CMs said it happened often. Glad I chose the non sliding side. My dd said she fell off the seat when it slid.  The rollercoaster fooled me. I thought it was a wooden one that didn't go upside down. We got in and it took off and we turned over and I couldn't stop screaming. I hate upside down rides which is why I sit and read when dd wants to go on those at WDW.

Stay out of DL on Sunday. Local AP's don't get to go on Saturdays so they all descend on Sundays. It is a madhouse probably worse near the holidays.

Thanks Fiends. We live in Orlando and go see the displays usually every year. My concern was having to drive between each resort if the monorail wasn't running. We're having dinner at the beach club then touring so it will be great!

Thanks so it would seem doable.