Heron House ... parking ??

We are planning to stay at Heron House next november, but we are wondering about the parking issue.-

As far as I saw in the web nothing is mentioned about that.-

Can anyone help me with this issue ?

Thanks

Heron House ... parking ??

Hello,

We stayed at the Heron House this past summer and had a wonderful time! Just give the place a call for parking directions. They are very helpful. There is time limited parking infront of the Heron House to drop off your luggage. They directed us to where public parking was available, only a couple of blocks away. We parked near the Library. We never moved our car during our visit. We rented bikes and had a great time!

Have a great time! Planning our 3rd visit for next year....

good location for teens? good surf/wave action?

Trying to decide between Marriott Harbor Beach or Marco Island for spring break with two 16 year old girls? We like to divide our time between relaxing at the pool and beach, and doing more active things.

Usually my daughter likes to boogie board and I don%26#39;t know if there is much wave action in Fort Lauderdale (I know there is none on the gulf). Also does the water approach that aqua blue color of the caribbean or is it dark like the water furhur north? Thanks!

good location for teens? good surf/wave action?

Better coloring than Marco. Looks totally Caribbean. Not many shells in the sand.

Sorry, USUALLY wave action is similiar to that of Marco or the West Side.. . Since the water here is warmed by the Gulf Stream Current, it will be excellent for swimming.

Waves grow as you go further N.. Usually N past Martin County (Vero Beach area), the waves are big.... but the Gulfstream Current leaves, so the water may be a bit colder.

good location for teens? good surf/wave action?

KenK is correct that the better wave action is further north- as a matter of fact Cocoa Beach or Daytona would be better bets, although definitely colder. The famous RonJon Surf Shop is right on the beach in Cocoa. We have a branch of it in Lauderdale as well, but far out West in Sawgrass Mills. The original one is in Cocoa , which is the closest thing in FL to a surfing mecca.

The only time the waves get exciting down here is when a storm approaches and at that point all the kids I taught would call in sick to take advantage of the rare opportunity to surf.

Thanks for the info on the waves, how about activities for teens, is there much going on? Thanks again

We stayed at the Marriott Marco Island April %26#39;05. We started at Disney World and then went there for 5 nights. After the pool/beach for a day or two-we were bored. Their were no organized pool activities. There were no activities at the resort that brought people together. It was nice property on a nice beach, but little to do. There were some sports activities/rentals. You may want to call the hotel to confirm. Our Dtr. was 13 at the time. She is a shopper- not much in the area. Drove up north to Naples to walk around shops-have lunch. Can take tour of Evergades and boat to Key West as day trips. We have never stayed at the Marriott Harbor Beach, but have friends who have gone several times. Their children are younger.May be more to do in Ft Lauderdale area. We are also in the process of deciding on a resort with a teen lounge/activities for spring break. P.S. Gulf water is warmer-more greenish-blue- but nothing like Carribean water. Hope this helps? Can email me with any further questions.

Hilton Grand Vacations

I am trying again after abject failure to get a response last time.

Has anyone stayed there recently.?

What sort of deal did you get?

Hilton Grand Vacations

I am staying here on my upcoming trip. It was an ok deal, I think. I booked through the Hilton website w/ netdirect rates. 8 nights in a suite for just a few dollars over a thousand. I do know- from other discussion boards that if you sit on a timeshare presentation, you will get so many days for free and the rest at a reduced rate. I think someone said they got to stay a week for about five hundred, which is a great deal.

Hilton Grand Vacations

Hola Vegas

Stayed at HGVC on International Drive in mid August for $850 for the week in a 1 bed apartment. Booked direct with Hilton on the pay in advance and be damned scheme. Also, under advisement, joined the honours club. Expedia were at least 拢200 more for the week.

Have you tried Redweek - it%26#39;s excellent?

libby - you%26#39;ve got the drop on me there.

Is red week like for our Russian Friends to buy timeshare with their oil rubles?

Vegas, Redweeks is a Timeshare rental-buyer-seller site. It is not really pertnant to what you asking. No I have not stayed there, but what it sounds like you are getting is the Timeshare Presentation special. Its the one that tells you come stay her for this price, and all you have to do is listen to a 90 minute info session on the advantages of buying a timeshare. I went to one 2 years ago and spent 3 hours there. This is usually the minumum you will have to spend at one. In the end, it was so fluffed up, it sounded like a good deal, and it was when I went to the reasle market and bought one at a fraction of the price. Most people I would not recommend this to. But you Vegas, by the time you got done with them, they would be begging you to leave the presentation.

I am intrigued now bssd. I have begged people to stay away from such presentation but it sounds like a battle of wills. I like the Hilton Organisation they have been brilliant and very accommodating to us in the recent past. I imagine their sales personnel would be a fine opponent for a couple of hours. Perhaps we could bet on how quick I can get out without an argument. I must look for these these deals but 7 days at a hundred a day does not sound like a gimeee

It is a battle of wills. I had mine with the fine folks at Marriott. My preffered hotel. They start with the sales person, and if they can';t hook you, they go see a manager type with the reasons they have wrote down of why you can';t or don';t want to buy. This is when it really gets insulting and hard selling as they will try to hurt your pride by telling you that you are a cheap b@#tard, and you don';t care about your families happyness, which only they can offer. And how you can trade your week anytime , any place in the World! (Yeah, try tradeing your week in july in Orlando for Aruba in Febuary!) And yes Vegas I will bet you that you are at least there for 2 hours, because there is know way you could not wait for that second person to come now!

Oh, by the way Vegas, Don';t know what time of year that is for, but a $100 a night for that place sounds like a gimme. Pretty sweet place from what I hear.

Hmmm

Bet you could sell tickets to see that presentation...Vegas vs the Hard Sell......Deal or No Deal.....

I would like to be a fly on the wall!

Persuasion needed!

I was planning to take my girlfriend to Florida next year but she now refuses to fly to America because of the terrorist issue. How can I persuade her to get on the plane without drugging her like B.A. from The A Team????

Persuasion needed!

I wouldn%26#39;t even try.

If she gets blown up mid air would she ever forgive you?

Persuasion needed!

For me, it was the realization after the bombings in the London Underground and the Madrid train station that terrorism can happen any where at any time. You could choose not to fly again, and your bus or train could be blown up. The office where you work could be blown up. There really aren%26#39;t any guarantees. You could choose to never leave your home again, and an airplane could fall right on it. There is no where to hide.

Then you have to look at the statistics. How much more likely you are to die by any other means than a terrorist attack. That puts it all in perspective.

I try to live each day so there won%26#39;t be any regrets if there%26#39;s no tomorrow. I don%26#39;t take any unnecessary risks, but I don%26#39;t let a remote risk keep me from enjoying life. Life is short enough as it is, so don%26#39;t let fear steal any of that time away.

Thats it cheer everyone up - spread the doom and gloom of terrorism. The Wall is down ooh we need a threat to all mankind to keep them all in their place. America has had this threat for what - 5 years. In the UK we had the ever present threat of the IRA for years until quite recently ( with most funds coming from the States).

Take her on the plane and enjoy. She will love it

Thats it cheer everyone up - spread the doom and gloom of terrorism.

The Wall is down, ooh!!! We need a threat to all mankind to keep the plebs in their place.

America has had this threat for what - 5 years. In the UK we had the ever present threat of the IRA for 30 odd years with the enemy amongst us( with most funds for arms coming from an unconcerned United States).

Tell your girl friend to lighten up. What are the odds of them choosing her TCD or Thomsons plane.Take her and enjoy. She will love it.

Anyway FLA4 I hope I am safe in the little village I live in. The only place they could blow up is the Post Office and the Government are going to close that down anyway. They could target the bench or the cricket changing rooms.

Flippant? Yes but they are not going to make me live in fear even if they are amongst us. I am going to get on with it and not let Governments put that fear into me as they tried to do with the Nuclear threat in the 60s and 70s. No, I am going to fly and enjoy myself as long as the money lasts and at $185 that should be long enough.

Don%26#39;t worry about the terrorist, worry about these trigger happy air mashalls that fly on every single flight from USA to UK...usually in pairs, tweedle dee tweedle dum ..... with their big guns!

At the very worst, if you do get blown up then at least your parents will get millions in compensation....

If you wanna go, go. Just tell your girlfriend, in a nice, polite way that you%26#39;re planning on going, and she can come with you or she can stay home, since you don%26#39;t want to force her into anything she is uncomfortable with.

Tell her it%26#39;s very romantic to die together. Like Romeo and Juliet....

...Or Bonnie and Clyde.

or Butch Cassidy %26amp; the Sundance Kid

Hi CRUMB,

Hope I don%26#39;t get zapped, but if so...oh well.

Not a good idea to ';take anyone'; on a plane. Ask her if she would like to go. If her answer is no, respect it. She will love you for respecting her decision. If you really want to go, perhaps a friend or 2 ?

If you do come over..have a wonderful time. No charge for this consult.

beauty

networking

Beach Club concierge level

I am staying at The Beach Club over Christmas week and am considering staying in a concierge level room. Can any one comment if they have stayed on this level and the value associated with the extra cost?

Beach Club concierge level

Hello mcdmass,

I%26#39;ve stayed at the Beach Club but never on the concierge level. However, if your on the dining plan I know for sure it wouldn%26#39;t be worth the extra cost as you get plenty of food and drink on the plan. Check out www.allearsnet.com for photos and more reviews.

Beach Club concierge level

The offerings as far as food and drink don%26#39;t really make up much of the extra cost. It%26#39;s not like you could eat three meals a day in the lounge! It%26#39;s also not a priority location, or with a better view (for example, some of the concierge rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge don%26#39;t even face the savannah!). What you are mainly paying for is service: a higher staff to guest ratio, special check in, special concierge to arrange anything you need as far as dining or recreation, basically having someone at your beck and call anytime for anything. If you can afford it, and you will use their services, then go for it. I usually don%26#39;t stay concierge because I don%26#39;t use enough of their services to make it worthwhile to me (although I have stayed in concierge at Disney hotels a couple of times just because that%26#39;s the only rooms they had left!).

Eating in Disney

We are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge for seven days in just over a weeks time. Its our first ever trip to Disney and are taking our two kids (10 %26amp; 8). We can%26#39;t book the dining plan as not booked through Disney. What options do we have for breakfast- being from the UK we%26#39;re not in to pancakes etc (although the kids would be). Also, do you need to have reservations for dinner in the parks this time of year if so I find it very hard to plan where we are- does everyone put together a touring plan or just an outline of what parks on what days.

Thanks

Eating in Disney

You are going to be there during a pretty busy week, next week, so yes, the dining reservations are going to be a good idea. It%26#39;s the main ';fall break'; week for U.S. kids and the parks are going to be moderately crowded.

Especially if you intend to do a character meal, you need to book your dining reservations before you go. Otherwise, plan on being very flexible when you get there as to where you eat and at what time.

I was there three weeks ago, in a very uncrowded time, but the dining reservations we made were necessary. We would have had lots of waiting otherwise. You might find some venues not available at all to walk-ups, and you also may be relegated to counter service as well.

Concerning breakfast, there%26#39;s usually more than just pancakes. Most breakfast places also have eggs, bacon, sausage, muffins, etc.

Eating in Disney

If you%26#39;ve got a car, get off Disney property and get breakfast elsewhere, especially in those wierd first few days when you%26#39;ll be waking at 4.30am. There are plenty of nicer places to eat at much cheaper prices, breakfast buffets where the kids can have their pancakes, muffins and chocolate sauce and you can have the whole bacon, sausage thing or even o/d on fresh fruit and cereals.

And you%26#39;ll get enough teeth-rottingly sweet stuff in Disney parks to last anyone a lifetime - and I%26#39;m not talking about the food!

Even the chains - Dennys, IHOP, Brannigans, Western Sizzlin will all do you breakfasts of a ludicrously high standard when compared to Britain.

Alternatively if you%26#39;re not into huge stodgy American breakfasts I would think the hotel will have a %26#39;snack%26#39; restaurant where you can pick up juice/cereals/muffins/yogurts - or you may find it worth your while asking if they will supply a fridge to keep milk/juice etc in and pop out to buy breakfast provisions to last you the week. We did this last month (staying at the Dolphin). There was supposed to be a charge for the fridge but the nice receptionist comped it.

Hi

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom lodge this summer and loved it. All the rooms have a fridge, so we went of site and bought cerial and milk, bagels etc and grabbed something quickly before we left the hotel. We wanted to get to the parks early as we found you could do so much more just after opening.

We had dinned in both Boma and Jiko, both were great but i prefered Jiko. You do need to book.

Don%26#39;t know what type of room you have booked but we had the basic package. we asked on arrival if there was any possiblity of getting a savannah view (rather than car park) and they upgraded us for free.

We were also rather disorganised and hadn%26#39;t booked any character meals. The staff at the hotel were very helpful and managed to get us the princess story book lunch andbreakfast in cinderellas castle.

I%26#39;m sure you will have a great trip. We are planning our second trip for next year.

L

If you hve a car,,yes,leave the property for breakfast. If not,make a side trip to a grocery store and pick up cereal,milk,juice,rolls,whatever and eat in your room. It saves a lot of money and it%26#39;s much more pleasant not to have to hustle somewhere to get the kids fed. You%26#39;ll have a fridge and a coffee maker in the room. If you want table service meals at Disney,you will need to make your reservations right away and be somewhat flexible-but you can also pick up perfectly adequate meals at the counter service restaurants or again,the grocery stores nearby all have prepared meals ready to go.

We stayed at AK Lodge and all rooms have fridges. I would definitely buy your supplies off site, they do have a quick grab and go cafe but this was very expensive and quite poor quality, The Boma buffet restaurant is excellent for dinner and breakfast but your bill will probably be about 50-60 dollars just for breakfast. There are some excellent places to eat in disney but it does depend on your budget and how adventerous the kids are at eating (even though most restaurants do offer a kid friendly menu). If you are planning on going to Epcot we always eat at around 7:00 pm just before the fireworks. We have been to the French, Norwegian, Italian and Mexcian restaurants and all have been very good. In Magic Kingdom one of the best buffets is at the Crystal Palace Restaurant which has a Winne the Pooh charachter dinner and is good value. I must admit after going to Disney World every year almost for the last 10 years we are a bit ';Disney-out'; but I think we have ate in almost every american-chain restaurant i.e Red Lobster, TGi, Bennigans and given most of the disney restaurants a go. Outside of disney one of the best chain-restaurants, and I think, most people would agree, is ';Bahama Breeze'; at Lake Beuna Vista and International Drive. I can%26#39;t offer much advice on breakfast because most places are very similar and I tend to only eat fruit and perhaps a muffin for breakfast.

You%26#39;ve gotten alot of good advice Rans,

Here are our favorite lunch and dinner Disney dining options at the parks:

The Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner at the Magic Kingdom

The Garden Grill or LeCellier in Canada at Epcot

50%26#39;s Prime Time Cafe or Sci-Fi Dine in Theater for lunch or dinner at MGM Studios

I also recommend making advance dining reservations.

Make sure and utilize your fast pass options for popular attractions such as ';Soarin'; at Epcot, Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom, Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom, Twilight Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones Stunt show. If you find the parks to be very crowded its best to grab your fast pass as soon as you walk in the park.

Thanks for all the replies.- never used a forum befor but will in future!!! I probably have loads of questions but sure will all become clear when we get there!. Booked all the restaurants last night and got all the times we wanted- hopefully means 16th- 22nd October will be not too busy. One last question- what time can you go into the parks if you are staying in Disney when they open early - says Epcot opens at 9am on the 17th- is this for everyone or just those staying in the resort.

Any other tips would be much appreciate as want this to be a holiday for my kids to remember- my dad passed away earlier this year, two years after losing my mum and wanted us to go so feel I should do all I can to plan in advance- spent 6 months getting all the info and now beginning to panic!!. Also going to Sea World, Discovery Cove, Space Centre, Bush Gardens, plus a week on Marco Island - will three weeks be long enough!!!

Thanks

Hello Rans,

If it%26#39;s a EMH day all Disney resort guests can arrive one hour early, don%26#39;t forget to bring you Key to The Kingdom Card with you which is your room card to prove you are indeed staying at a Disney resort. Three weeks should be plenty of time, don%26#39;t forget to schedule relaxing pool or shopping days in between running around to the parks!

Hello again Rans,

I also want to say I%26#39;m sorry to read about the loss of your mum. I know how tough that is.

Small Boat Sailing Around Miami

Can anyone provide me with some advice regarding where I might be able to rent a small sailboat similar to a Flying Scot (19 feet long) around the Miami area?

Thanks!

Small Boat Sailing Around Miami

Ahoy Sandbarman!%26gt;

Try this site:

http://www.arcmiami.com/

Smaller boats - good rates...

AG

Small Boat Sailing Around Miami

AG, you%26#39;re the best!!!! Thanks!!