 | Capone's Dinner & Show |
| Airboat Adventures |
| Opera: La Rondine |
| Medieval Times |
| Universal Studios |
| Cocoa Beach Wildside Tours |
| "Jungle Adventures" Wildlife Show |
| Vacation Village at Parkway in Kissimmee |
| The Resort on Cocoa Beach |
We left home on New Years Day in a cold winter's day (-18C) and sunny. We had a great weather all the way, the pavement was dry and it was sunny.
We arrived at our condo at Vacation Village at Parkway in Kissimmee at 12:30PM and was able to have access to our condo. We have two units A & B which are 1 bedroom each unit. The A unit has a full kitchen and Jacuzzi with a living room and dining area. We also have a washer/dryer combo in each unit. The B unit has a partial kitchen. We have a view of the pool. The A unit is a handicap unit with a walk-in shower.
The weather has been great, sunny and around 27C. Today, January 7th, is cooler and we had high winds and some rain for about 15 min.
January 8th, we went to Capone's Dinner & Show . Supper started at 7:30PM with a buffet and all the drinks you wanted. During the time we were eating, all the characters were walking around, talking loud and creating the atmosphere of the gangster show that we would be seeing shortly. The show started at 8:30PM, all the servers were also in character, our waiter was called Tiny. When we came in, we had the usual photo-op with us against a wall for our mug shots. The characters included Buggs Moran who controlled the north side of Chicago. Also Miss Jewel and Bunny-June Hinklemirth-Salvario who was introducing her sisters Honey and Sunny into the headline act. Bunny-June had just recently married Fingers Salvatorio. Lots of adlibbing, which was very funny.
January 9th, we went on Airboat Tours with Airboat Adventures & More Inc. This is an hour airboat tour of water, wildlife and tropical jungles on Lake Taho. We travelled down Shingle Creek with thousands of cypress knees raising from the water and a large variety of wildlife in there natural habitat. We went to Makinson Island state park which have ancient live oaks and orange groves, inhabited by armadillos, giant turtles and extensive bird life.
January 10th, we went to the Metropolitan Opera HD at an AMC theatre here in Kissimmee. We saw La Rondine, very upbeat music, nice story. We enjoyed it very much. These HD operas are broadcast live from the Met and can be seen all over the world.
January 12th , Medieval Times dinner and tournament was great, we took lots of pictures. The meal consisted of tomato bisque soup, garlic bread, roasted chicken, spare rib, herb-basted potato, pastry of the castle, beverages (Pepsi, coffee). All was eaten without utensils as they were not invented in the 11th century. During the meal, the enchanting demonstrations of classical dressage performed by one of Europe's oldest know horse bread - the Andalusian. We are all divided by colours that match our knights, so we cheer our knight while he engages in hand-to-hand combat, and of course, the joust to see who will be the "First Knight - Champion to the king".
January 14th, Universal Studios, we had the best day, temperature was around 20C or 70F with sun all day, not too many people so we did not have any wait time except for the Simpson's ride, new ride I guess. We did most rides and saw most shows. Still love the Beetlejuice show and love the ET ride.
January 18th, we moved to the Resort at Cocoa Beach. We were able to check in before noon, unpack and grocery shop. Publix is just down the road from here. Our condo has an ocean view with a dune in front, lots of palm trees. It is nice sitting out on our deck and pretending we are cruising (our favourite past time). We have already seen some cruise ships.
January 19th, our tour started on a pontoon boat down Banana River (which not really a river but a lagoon) and Thousand Islands, beverages were served and our captain narrated the tour. We saw lots of different species of birds, one manatee and three dolphins playing around. This tour lasted over 2 hours. You can find more details at www.wildsidetours.com
January 20th, the resort, as part of their activities, had a "Jungle Adventures" Wildlife Show with live alligator of different ages (they grow about a foot per year until they reach 6 years and then they grow at a slower rate) and different snakes. See photos
January 21st, the resort put on a BBQ for all residents for $3.pp. We all got a hamburger, hot dog, cold slaw, potato salad and soft drink. We had live entertainment and door prizes which I won a beach bag.
January 22nd, Shuttle Program Briefing was one of the guides that spoke to us on the Shuttle program, explained how the programmed worked. We also got to taste freeze dried ice cream, that taste like ice cream but not cold.
January 24th, we went to the opera Met HD - Orfeo ed Euridice
The rest of our time we spent relaxing, swimming and enjoying Cocoa Beach. Definitely want to come back to this resort, it is one of the best ones we have been. The resort is very clean, the staff is very helpful, lots of activities which we did some of them and the view of the ocean, can't beat that.
Feb 1st to Feb 3rd, traveling home.
Our trip home went great, dry roads all the way except from Newark, DE to Albany, NY where we had snow showers but not accumulations on the highway.