Give Kids The World Village — Night of A Million Lights

Give Kids The World Village is an 89-acre, nonprofit “storybook” resort in Central Florida. Here, children with critical illnesses and their families are treated to weeklong, cost-free vacations.

But what could the Wish Families’ favorite Florida destination do when a global pandemic shut its doors temporarily to a) safely celebrate the holidays despite Covid-19; b) raise awareness of their life-affirming mission to grant wishes to families facing medical uncertainty; and c) raise much-needed funds to ensure the doors re-open once it’s safe to do so?!

They imagined and made possible Night of a Million Lights! Click —>here to see the magical holiday display.

Thousands upon thousands of volunteer hours, over 3 million lights donated by Walt Disney World, and contributions provided by community sponsors made Night of a Million Lights become a reality.

For the first time ever, guests can experience the childlike wonder of a magical, whimsical Village during a walk-through, fully immersive holiday light spectacular. Stroll the Avenue of Angels, aglow with more than three million lights; savor delicious treats; and enjoy the accessible rides and storybook attractions that have brought happiness and hope to critically ill children and their families from around the world for 34 years.

Our family has volunteered at GKTW for a number of years. It’s truly been a joy working alongside some of our family members, blogging buddies and friends. We consider ourselves blessed that we “can” be at Give Kids The World Village with our child, but we don’t “have” to be there. We don’t take for granted the fact that we have a healthy child.

On one of our Night of a Million Lights volunteer days we met Mike Esmonde, Universal Studios AVLP team member, who shared the reasons why he is proud to volunteer (and has been for close to two decades!).

Click —>here to see the Dino Putt Holiday transformation & to hear Mike’s encouraging words.

Give Kids The World Village has created an experience unlike any I’ve seen. It’s a whole lot of holiday happiness that’s an unexpected positive wrap up of 2020.

Tickets are available through this link. Your purchase brings hopes to wishes.

Thank you, Sponsors. Your generosity brought the magic to “light.”

Advent Health 
American Airlines 
Barcana 
Bob’s Space Racers 
Boston Market 
Boston Whaler 
Buca di Beppo
Crayola Experience
Don CeSar 
Dreams Unlimited Travel
Enterprise 
Fun Spot 
Hasbro 
HNTB 
Holiday Bright Lights 
Holiday Inn Club Vacations 
IAAPA
IHGOA
ITEC 
Kennedy Space Center  
LandCare 
LEGOLAND
Lost Bros
LoTemp 
Margaritaville 
Mattress Firm 
Mears 
Mix 105.1 
Orlando City Soccer 
Pepsi 
Perkins 
PGA Tour 
Planet Hollywood 
Ripley’s 
S4 
SeaWorld 
Servalli Foundation 
Sunbelt Rentals 
Synergy Equipment 
Unilever 
Wheaton 
Winterland, Inc.
WonderWorks
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Gaylord Palms ICE! Welcomes Gigi’s Cupcakes Founder

Gigi with Nutmeg
Photo courtesy Gigi Butler

Gigi’s Cupcakes founder and culinary creator, Gigi Butler, will be on hand for a special appearance at ICE! at Gaylord Palms on Monday, December 7, 2015 from 6– 8 p.m. Patrons can meet Gigi herself, and enjoy the festivities before or after visiting this years’ ICE! featuring ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

The first 50 people to enter will receive a complimentary Gigi’s Cupcakes Sugar Vanilla candle, and everyone attending will be entered to win a pink Kitchen-Aid mixer valued at $369.00. Patrons will also be able to purchase Gigi’s original gourmet cupcakes and enjoy Gigi’s holiday themed desserts including mini cupcakes and stuffed cookies from Gigi’s cupcakes of Orlando. Twenty percent of cupcake sales during the evening will be donated to UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital and Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, the local Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.

“I am thrilled to join Gaylord Palms Christmas tradition,” said Gigi Butler. “Christmas is absolutely my favorite time of year and Gaylord Palms does such an incredible job with lights, decorations and music. It’s a privilege to be at ICE! because it’s a wonderful opportunity to bring families together to do something fun with their kids and celebrate the season.  I hope the community will come join us for this magical event.”

ICE! at Gaylord Palms featuring ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas is a walk-through holiday attraction that is kept at a chilly 9 degrees. Attendees will experience two million pounds of hand-carved ice sculptures, four slides, six individual rooms depicting the story of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, the Frostbite Factory – a live carving zone and a full Nativity in stunning, crystal clear ice.

ICE! tickets can be purchased online, by phone or at the box office.  For more information about the event, call 1-407-586-4423 or visit www.ChristmasAtGaylordPalms.com

The “B” in B Resort Orlando MUST Stand for BBQ!

Talk about your innovative restaurant choice. In a sleek, contemporary resort hotel… put in an upscale BBQ joint. And, in the vein of naming things with one letter highlighted, call it American Q.

I had the pleasure of tasting my way through the menu with other local food/restaurant/travel bloggers last week, and may I just say… if you’ve a “hankering” for southern flavors set in style, give it a try.

When you walk in, you kind of get the feeling you’re not in a run-of-the-mill restaurant. Smack dab in the front is an old ’51 Ford F1 red pick up and on the back is the bed. Not just ANY bed, but the “Flat Bed Bar,” an all-you-can-eat assortment including an incredibly tender chili con carne, a potato bar, peel-and-eat shrimp, assorted salads, soups, and other seasonal favorites. It’s $34.95 for adults and $10 for kids age 7 and under. Oh, and did I mention it includes “Cowboy Carvings”? Nine different items are brought right to your table. Save room for Brisket Of Beef with Texas Bark and Picanha Of Beef. Fans of chiaroscuro will be in heaven. (Say… with these options, the paleo diet seems doable.)

If, however, you want to have a couple of courses, start with some down-home appetizers and bar treats. First, make sure you try the crab deviled eggs. Not too “crabby.” Not too “plain ‘ol” egg flavor. They’re just the right combination of creamy egg goodness with the unmistakable texture and flavor of blue crab and rémoulade. Unusual, yes. Delicious? (Yes, please. I’ll have another!) Make sure you also give the Swine Candy a try. It’s bacon: spiced and candied with molasses. Bacon lovers: You’re welcome. You could also try the alligator boudin with roasted tomatoes, peppers & okra. Yeah, you read that right!

Entree selections include every kind of ribs you can think of, house-made sausage, Texas Bark Beef Ribs, chicken, salmon, and a Gulf Shrimp, Blue Crab & House Made Andouille Sausage Cajun Boil. Executive Chef Justin Leo and staff have created quite the varied selection. Sauces include Kansas City, Carolina, Texas Mustard, and Mango Heat. Try ’em all and pick your favorite. Did I mention you should arrive hungry?

Crafted cocktails should not be missed, either, especially the thyme cucumber martini. It’s light and refreshing. Just what the doctor ordered to balance the meal, though the lavender margarita was a good fit, too. How ever will I decide? (I guess I’ll have to go back again!)

If you’re in the mood for BBQ and want to up the anti on ambiance and quality, check out American Q. It’s the place to B for down home, and up town all in one.

Heart Your Family Vacation at Orange Lake

It’s no wonder why families flock to Central Florida for vacation. We have no shortage of excursions, activities, and fun all wrapped up in golden sunshine. The trick is figuring out where to stay and when to visit that ensures your family’s holiday goals are met. If that wish list includes a condo-like setting, plenty of on-property activities, free WiFi, and proximity to both the theme parks and major arteries to the rest the area has to offer, then Orange Lake by Holiday Inn Club Vacations may just fit the bill.

Recently our family had the pleasure of being hosted for a 3-day visit to Orange Lake in Kissimmee (and we’re already planning a trip back!). We got to see first-hand the amenities and activities that keep families coming back year after year.

Never one to shy away from introducing myself to strangers to find out how they really feel about a property, restaurant or attraction, I made a point to talk with fellow guests about their likes, suggestions, and thoughts and found the common thread was “loyalty.” Of the dozen families I spoke with, all but one had visited before, some had been “more than a few times”, and one family had been coming back since their now adult daughter with kids of her own was a child herself. That kind of devotion means a lot in the travel industry!

Orange Lake is a time share, but can also be booked like a “regular” hotel if you’re not ready to commit to pre-booking your vacations for years to come. Upon returning home I went through their website to check out the process and, as expected, it’s easy to book your stay in a unit that’s the right size for your group. (We’re thinking of getting some other friends and family involved for a joint trip, so all the kiddos can hang out together while the adults take turns having a little golf time or other time “alone,” and so we can have some great “all together” times with everyone participating.)

Speaking of golf, they have 4 distinct courses including the only Arnold Palmer Signature course in Central Florida open to the public (click here for more information or to book your tee time or call 407-239-1050). We didn’t get a chance to do the courses, but did enjoy shooting our bucket of balls on the driving range. Our son hits surprisingly far, for the record! He’s also pretty good at mini-golf, and Orange Lake has two courses, each with two sets of 18 holes. We putted on each and every one of them, a couple more than once! Guests can buy rounds on the mini courses “as you go” or through a multi-day Play Pass that can also include the Giant Hippo Slide. If you’re not doing the theme parks every day, I highly recommend getting a two-or three-day activity pass. We wore ours out on the mini golf and of course the Slide! (I kid you not: My son went down it no less than 30 times in one day alone!) Side note: The resort is a cashless environment. Everything from food to activities is charged through your room which really makes it easy!

Other activities include water sport rentals (we did the paddle boat), and others such as powered boats and jet skis.

Click to open a video that shows the unit’s amenities. (The quote you hear is an excited little boy shouting, “This is the biggest bathroom I’ve EVER seen.”)

The unit we stayed in featured two bedrooms, two baths, and a full kitchen. Plates, dishes and all the basics are provided. On our next visit I’ll remember to bring prep helps like cooking spray, spices, etc., but when you’re used to hotel rooms with only a mini-fridge and microwave at most, a kitchen is great selling point for budget-minded families or those like friends of mine who have a laundry list of food allergies and home prep is a must. And on the subject of laundry, there’s a washer/dryer set in the unit, too, so it’s easy to stay on top of things while you’re there so mama (or dad, as the case may be) doesn’t have tons to do the moment you get back home. And if you don’t feel like cooking, there are 9 dining options on property.

The pools were, by far, the biggest “lets-go-back” factor for us. There are 6 to choose from with choices ranging from mild and relaxing to slip-sliding fun! (One guess on which ones my little man voted on!) There’s a winding “lazy river” one (with inner tubes available for rent) where we spent an inordinate amount of time, and ones with big slides, and twin kiddo slides. There was no shortage of group activities, and water volleyball games seemed to pop up all day long.

It was at the pool area where we said goodbye to Orange Lake. After checkout, we decided on one last swim that ended with one member of our party with a wet face not from the pool, but from tears shed for having to leave.

Click on “Book a Stay” at http://orangelake.com/ and plan your next fun-packed vacation in Central Florida.

Disclosure: My trip was sponsored by Holiday Inn Club Vacations, who provided a two-night stay in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.