Holidays in Florida

We are addicted to Groupon coupons....but having said that, we have managed to see a number of things and enjoy the area with the discounts we get from them. 

As Thanksgiving approached, we found a Groupon coupon for a dinner cruise on Tampa Bay.  Not having anyone to share the holiday with, we bought the dinner and it turned out to be a fun evening with good food and great views of Tampa. 

December arrived and the temperatures are warm......we still laugh when the weather reporters talk of a cold front coming.  The average temperature in December here in the Central part of Florida is 72...so when it drops below that, they call it a cold front.  Here 68 is cold!  Reminds us of Arizona.

So while my 'uniform' each day is shorts, carpi's and flip flops, the native Floridian's are in long pants during the cold spells.

 

 

RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS

Did you know that the winter home for the original Ringling Brothers Circus is here in Sarasota Florida in the 1920's?  The circus would travel spring, summer and fall and return to Florida for the Winter.
 


Mansion

John Ringling died in 1936, and had willed his property and art collection, plus a $1.2 million endowment to the State of Florida. Because Ringling was nearly bankrupt at his death, it took until 2000 for the State to transfer responsibility of the property to Florida State University and in 2007 the grounds and building renovations were completed and opened to the public.

inside mansion

miniature circus

Within one of the museums on the grounds is the worlds largest miniature replica of the entire circus from 1919-1938 that includes cycling lights taking it from daybreak to evening.  The entire miniature display is the passion of one man, Howard Tibbals, that has been creating and adding to it for over 50 years.

ALAFIA RIVER BOAT PARADE

Wanting to participate in some local holiday events this December, we headed out to the Alafia River lighted boat parade one Saturday night in early December.  Expectations on my side were something akin to the boat parade on the Willamette River through Portland.  We made our way to the local park on the River where the organizers had arranged for a chili cook-off competition, a local DJ playing holiday songs, and a silent auction while we waited for it to get dark and the boats to parade by.  As it finally got dark, we all took our places on the lawn as all 8 of the boats floated by.  Sadly, there were 9, but his lights would not stay lit, and he pulled out.  Even though the parade was a bit disappointing, the chili cook-off was quite good.  Though this little local event was a bit disappointing to us, we did manage to have a good time people watching.


BUSH GARDENS

Our next seasonal event was a bit bigger and more fun.  Busch Gardens amusement park here in Tampa transforms the park into Christmas Town during the weekend nights in December.  They open the park after dark for those who purchase special tickets and give you access to the park decorated with Christmas lights, holiday music,  a singing train ride, shows through out the park, and three of their roller coasters running. 

Wandering through the beautifully decorated park when the temps are in the upper 70's, makes it a bit difficult to get into the full spirit of the season.  We managed to enjoyed the shows,  riding one of the largest coasters I have ever been on and getting into the spirit of the holiday season.

DISNEY LAND

This Christmas we opted not to exchange gifts with each other and instead, spent four days in Disney World being kids again.  Disney has changed.... or I should say our perspective and expectations have changed.  There are four parks you can visit, Hollywood, Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom.  Of the three we went to, the one thing we were most surprised at were the number of small children under the age of 5, especially all of the little girls dressed up as princesses!  Hollywood and Magic Kingdom seemed to be geared to adults and young children under the age of 10.  Epcot was directed  more towards older children and adults.

The new rides in the parks were a bit of a surprise as well.  Most of the new 'thrill' rides are simulations and the creativity of those who programs those rides comes as close to reality as I think you can get. We rode a spaceship to Mars and felt not  only the G forces of takeoff,  but weightlessness as we circled the moon. 

Food is not cheap here in the parks.... be prepared to spend a minimum of $15 for just a basic hot dog, fries and soda.  If there are special shows the time you are there, you can either wait in line for 90+ minutes, or purchase a dinner plan that will guarantee you seating within  the first 5 rows.  We had two great meals, one in Hollywood at the Brown Derby Restaurant and the other at a German Restaurant in Germany in Epcot.  The German dinner was part of the Christmas show being presented that evening.



HOLLYWOOD PARK:  This park is set up to explore all of the Pixar and Disney movies, with rides to the 'back lot' to see how explosions and rainstorms are done.  We took a recommendation from one of the Rangers here and got reservations for dinner at the Brown Derby. It was an incredible meal!  I started off with a flight of martini's (yum!), and then had one of the best fillet Mignon steaks I have ever eaten.  Deane had a cioppino (seafood like stew) that he enjoyed as well.

Brown Derby Restaurant

Martini flight

MAGIC KINGDOM:  We were lucky enough to visit here just a week after Disney reopened Fantasy Land.  Again, we were inundated with small little princesses throughout the park but they seemed to hover mostly in Fantasy Land. 




stroller parking area

Young parents have discovered how to have their young children enjoy 10+ hours of over stimulation......they all have strollers!  Children from under 1 year of age to those around 7 or 8, are pushed around in strollers from one photo opportunity with Prince Charming to another with Ariel.  And then there were the adults, who managed to rent 'adult' strollers.  These are a menace in my opinion when you have thousands of people trying to exit an area, and the adult strollers feel they can just barrel through!

Tomorrow Land, Frontier Land and Adventure land seemed not to have changed too much from what we remember of about 35 years ago.  Again, all new rides are simulations and some of the older rides are gone.

Castle in Fantasy Land



Frontier Land



Adventure Land

EPCOT:  I think we enjoyed Epcot more than the other parks.  The big 'golf ball' in Epcot is full of hands on games and toys.  We both likened it to a really big Science Museum, but with things that are more futuristic and fun.  Since every game had someone playing, you wanted to wait your turn behind the kids so you could play too. 


We rode a couple of really great simulated rides, one called 'Soar'n' was a simulated hand gliding ride that takes you on a tour of California.  We flew over the Golden Gate Bridge, Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, the wine country of Napa,  and over the ocean where it felt like we were really going to dip our toes in the water.  I hated for this ride to end.

The other ride was a simulated launch  of a rocket ride to Mars. This is one ride you do not do if you have a fear of small enclosed spaces or motion sickness.  You sit in the seat of a rocket the control panel moves in close to you, the unit rolls backwards so you are on your back staring straight up at the launch rails.  When the rocket launches, you feel the G-force as it takes you into space, through a field of meteorites, around the moon where you get a sensation of weightlessness, through other 'danger' areas where you must use the joy stick to turn the ship to the right and the left until you finally land on Mars. 

This ride was definitely the one that most affected me......since I am very prone to motion sickness.   I followed their instructions to look straight ahead at all times and keep my head back.  Even though I did, I was still queasy when we exited the ride a mere 90 seconds later.





Terra Cotta soldiers - China

Mexico

The other half of Epcot is the area of countries.  You can walk from Mexico, through Germany, England, France, China, Norway and more.  One the of the more interesting countries was China where they show a 360 degree film.  The show takes you on a tour of the country where you are in complete awe of the beauty, history and some of the  most modern technology in the world.





German Dinner show

Candlelight choir Show

While in Epcot, we  had a wonderful German dinner, resplendent with all food German and a show.  We purchased the dinner to insure our seating at the show of the evening, a  Strolling Candle Choir.  After the show, Epcot has a laser and firework display over the lake.  A show not to be missed.



Fountains in Italy





 

 

LIGHTED BOAT PARADE TAMPA BAY

 

Just before Christmas, we did another dinner cruise on Tampa bay with our friends Joe and Irene.  This cruise was part of the Lighted Boat Parade where we joined about 20 other decorated boats and toured the bay and the Hillsboro River through  downtown Tampa.



 

 

 

 CHRISTMAS DINNER AND GOOD FRIENDS

Joe and Irene Morrison

Christmas dinner was also spent with Joe and Irene Morrison.  Irene is Italian and treated us to an authentic Italian dinner of antipasto, lasagna and a wonderful apple pie.  We ate and drank until we could  not move.



The year is coming to an end.... it is hard to believe we only have 3 more months left here.  Will be a busy time, as D'enne and family are coming in January, Jayden and Joshua coming the end of February and we will be visiting with my cousin from Daytona Beach.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEARS.