Orlando - Next Weekend, so what have I forgotten?
Discussion
cat220 said:
A villa with a boat really appeals. If you don't mind me asking, who did you rent that from?
There are loads of places to rent them from. We rented the villa and the boat seperately. Just make sure that the Villa has its own dock and isn't too far from the sea, we found out the hard way that if it is, it takes ages to get to the sea on the boat. eg.
For Villas and boats
http://www.vacationhit.com/
For Villas which include a boat (most of them)
http://ospreyvillas.com/rentals
We're still to pick somewhere for our Gulf Coast part of the trip....nothing like leaving it last minute! Sanibel area is high on the list - when you were there was there any major works going? Heard from someone that was over a month or so back that there was going to be dredging round the Sanibel area but that it would prob be finished now?
Goa'uld said:
We're still to pick somewhere for our Gulf Coast part of the trip....nothing like leaving it last minute! Sanibel area is high on the list - when you were there was there any major works going? Heard from someone that was over a month or so back that there was going to be dredging round the Sanibel area but that it would prob be finished now?
Nothing major at all, just one small dredger working a small spot between Sanibel and Captiva, I wouldn't even call it disruptive, you hardly notice it 
Goa'uld]denauer said:
A little taster for you, Goa'uld 
From a very wet and grey Scotland - thanks for that! Will look at the pics to remind myself what a blue sky looks like so that I'm not startled when we land over there!
Can you fly straight into Fort Myers? We did, and it was a complete doddle From a very wet and grey Scotland - thanks for that! Will look at the pics to remind myself what a blue sky looks like so that I'm not startled when we land over there!
Adenauer said:
Can you fly straight into Fort Myers? We did, and it was a complete doddle
We're flying into Orlando - 8 crazy park fuelled nights there, then 5 on the Gulf Coast [we are taking way too long to pick somewhere!], then 3 in Miami and fly home to the cold and the wet again. Will have a mahoosive SUV for the whole thing, the worse the MPG the better was put on my request.Would you say the beaches and stuff to do on Sanibel would keep us occupied or would it be better to be on the 'mainland' a bit more like Fort Myers beach or Sarasota etc?
Goa'uld said:
Adenauer said:
Can you fly straight into Fort Myers? We did, and it was a complete doddle
We're flying into Orlando - 8 crazy park fuelled nights there, then 5 on the Gulf Coast [we are taking way too long to pick somewhere!], then 3 in Miami and fly home to the cold and the wet again. Will have a mahoosive SUV for the whole thing, the worse the MPG the better was put on my request.Would you say the beaches and stuff to do on Sanibel would keep us occupied or would it be better to be on the 'mainland' a bit more like Fort Myers beach or Sarasota etc?
When you drive from Orlando to Cape Coral or the others on the Gulf, don't go cross country unless you have the time to spare, we did that on the way to Orlando and it was a long old slog. Better to take the Motorway from Orlando towards Tampa and then down. Still a boring drive but at least you can get going.
From the Cape to Miami is also a bloody long slog. We drove down on the 41 (the Timiami Trail) but there are loads of roadworks going on along that road, added nearly an hour to our trip), so you'd be better off going along the Alligator Alley Motorway, boring, but a doddle.
If you haven't booked anywhere in Miami, we stayed here, which I would recommend, Miami Grand Beach Hotel, directly on South Beach. We had a nice suite with sea view.
The hotel
The view in reception
The view from the room
Thanks muchly for that - lmao at the reception view.
Will try and pick something tonight but I think you could be right in Sanibel etc being a little too quite, will maybe treat it as a day trip.
We've booked http://theanglersresort.com/ for Miami, picked by the gf, but thanks for the recommendation.
Now, onto the more serious issue - what was your best meal/restaurant/food over there? Haha
Will try and pick something tonight but I think you could be right in Sanibel etc being a little too quite, will maybe treat it as a day trip.
We've booked http://theanglersresort.com/ for Miami, picked by the gf, but thanks for the recommendation.
Now, onto the more serious issue - what was your best meal/restaurant/food over there? Haha
I'm not much of a food snob so I tend to breakfast in Perkins, not really high brow enough if you're a powerfully built company director, but it hits the spot with me and doesn't cost and arm and a leg. A breakfast for 4 of us leaving us all feeling like Homer Simpson is no more than about 50 dollars, tops.
I am however a bit of a hobby cook so tended to do the evening meals, or BBQ at the Villa myself in the evenings.
Dinner in the Art Deco area of Miami on the other hand, set me back one testicle, an eye, three fingers, and a kidney, because I only had 200 dollars left in cash in my pocket at the time
I am however a bit of a hobby cook so tended to do the evening meals, or BBQ at the Villa myself in the evenings.
Dinner in the Art Deco area of Miami on the other hand, set me back one testicle, an eye, three fingers, and a kidney, because I only had 200 dollars left in cash in my pocket at the time
I'm taking the family out to Orlando on Thursday, we are really looking forward to it. One thing I have on my mind is that I would like to take my laptop with me so we can check the internet in the evenings for info and plan the next days activities, and to look at Google Maps etc.
What are the feelings about taking a laptop to the hotel? Is it likely to "disappear" while we are out during the day? Are room safes big enough to take a 17" laptop, or are they just for cash / wallets?
I know this is likely to depend on the hotel, we are staying at the Best Western Plus, 5618 Vineland Road for reference.
Cheers,
Steve
What are the feelings about taking a laptop to the hotel? Is it likely to "disappear" while we are out during the day? Are room safes big enough to take a 17" laptop, or are they just for cash / wallets?
I know this is likely to depend on the hotel, we are staying at the Best Western Plus, 5618 Vineland Road for reference.
Cheers,
Steve
bass2rez said:
What are the feelings about taking a laptop to the hotel? Is it likely to "disappear" while we are out during the day? Are room safes big enough to take a 17" laptop, or are they just for cash / wallets?
I don't think it would fit in the standard size of safe that most hotels have - my 14" non-widescreen ThinkPad fits easily but a 17" widescreen laptop is a lot wider.I have to take mine everywhere for work so I'm used to it. In Orlando we stay in Disney hotels and they only have small wall safes. I put my laptop in a desk drawer and hide everything laptop related so it's not obvious, however I've seen into rooms being cleaned and a laptop has just been left out on the desk. I suppose you could buy a Kensington lock and secure it to something if you were really bothered.
Make sure you back up anything vital before you go!
Deva Link said:
I suppose you could buy a Kensington lock and secure it to something if you were really bothered.
Make sure you back up anything vital before you go!
Thats a fabulous idea Deva Link, thank you Make sure you back up anything vital before you go!
I dont know why I didnt think of that. I can borrow one from work.Cheers,
Steve
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