Of course anyone visiting this area know all about the theme parks, Disney World, Pandora (Avatar), Sea World, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, MGM. Universal and Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the newly opened Legoland, Infinity falls  at SeaWorld open 2018. Disney Springs is well worth a visit as it's had a major re-vamp over recent times, the atmosphere is fabulous.

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With so many additions and changes to the parks, it is difficult to keep abreast of what is new and what is planned for the future. Some things that we know are in the pipeline are Star Wars Galaxy's Edge which is due to open late Autumn 2019. A great addition for all the Star Wars fans, young and not so young. Harry Potter rollercoaster for 2019. Space themed restaurant in Epcot in 2019. Toy Story land in Hollywood Studios 2018.

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Well how far to the parks?

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The answer is of course dependent on traffic, but under normal circumstances the travel time is between 15 - 35 minutes, depending on which attraction you wish to visit. We have not visited the new Legoland yet, but with it being around 35 miles away, we would expect the journey time to be 45mins to an hour. There are a couple of short cuts to get to the Disney area which can bypass a lot of the associated traffic and decrease the travel time.

 

As you can see we are ideally situated for you to enjoy all the parks if you wish.

 

Of course if you wish to travel further afield, why not visit Busch Gardens which is located at Tampa on the west coast of Florida.

 

Busch Gardens is about a 60 - 75 minute drive and can easily be done in a day. 

Here you can enjoy both the wonderful animals, and some seriously scary rides as you can see above. 

 

Also on this coast you could take a trip to the fabulous beach at Clearwater which is about another half an hour drive west. The beach here is wonderful, with beautiful white sand.

 

Key West is a 9 to 10 hour drive, but with the fantastic US roads, and two drivers, it proves to be a interesting drive passing through the many different 'Keys' on route . Hemmingway's house is well worth a visit where you can meet the many cat descendants with 6 toes that have total freedom of his wonderful home. Also a  slice of Key Lime pie is a must at Kermit's shoppe. Key West has a laid back feel and beautiful wooden houses painted in pastel colours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the keen golfer, this area has so many great courses on offer. With so many to choose from it would be too great a task to list them here. I can however obtain information if you wish. Or you may want to take in a Basketball game.

 

Lake Louisa is a short drive away where you can go fishing, canoeing, and kayaking. Anglers can fish in four of the park's six lakes 

 

SHOPPING

 

For all you shoppers, like us, there are an abundance of excellent Malls within the local area. If you are a fan of Macy’s department store, you will welcome their ‘visitor’ discount card which is valid for 30 days. Just visit their customer services desk within their store with ID and they will issue the card there and then. You will be able to enjoy discounts even on sale items which can be incredible value.

 

We now have a new PUBLIX food store complete with Pharmacy within a couple of minutes which opened in May 2011.This is close enough  for you to walk to if you are brave enough to walk in the Florida heat. Also close by we have a huge Walmart which is open 24 hours, 365 days which sells almost anything and everything.

 

Being close to the US 192, you have virtually every type of restaurant available plus there are several closer to the villa with the closest being under a five minute drive away.

 

Should you wish to take a day off from the parks why not partake in a game of tennis. Orange Tree has its own tennis court literally a few minutes walk from our villa.

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Orange Tree is nicely positioned away from all the hustle and bustle, but close enough to enjoy all that the area offers.