There are new Tinker Bell and Pinocchio floats and they just blend right in with all the old favorites. New lighting flourishes took nothing away from the nostalgia factor.  In addition, there was a new float with the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs unit, so that was a nice surprise.

Its great to see this parade back. I really missed it!

Many visitors try to stay at the parks all day and finally give up because the kids are too tired. Thus they miss what can be a fantastic end to the day.  When you have a vacation rental in Orlando, you can sleep in and go to the parks later in the day without being disturbed by housekeeping as you might be in a hotel.  Alternatively, you can come back in the afternoon for a nap, avoiding the hottest part of the day!

Off we went down the jetway to join the short queue at the aircraft entrance.  A few moments later we were walking down the aisle as the other passengers seated themselves.  I took a glance at the boarding cards and saw we were assigned 17A and 17B, however, these were not the exit row seats I had been expecting!  Then I realized, reached inside my bag and pulled out the correct set of boarding cards for this flight – the ones with our I-94 forms attached that assigned us to 14A and 14B – an exit row!

Then the alarm bells started ringing. I needed to ensure that the gate agent had our I-94 forms otherwise we would not legally have left the USA which might cause problems when we returned.  The second problem was that we had got on to a flight with the wrong boarding passes.  You see the boarding passes I had handed to the gate agent were the ones for the flight we had just got off – they were sticking out of my book in the same bag!

Being aware of the potential for a security incident, I declared these two things to the flight attendant who immediately assured me that I was mistaken and simply could not have got onto the flight by showing the wrong boarding passes.  The computer wouldn’t let me!  She did, however, agree to take our boarding passes and I-94s to the gate agent so we would be processed correctly.

Some time later, another flight attendant came by and gave me back the boarding passes (less I-94s) without comment.  When I asked what had happened, he told me he didn’t know as it wasn’t his job but the matter was being investigated.

All-in-all, I’m pretty astonished that only hours after the Department of Homeland Security announced even more security measures in the aftermath of the Christmas Day terrorist act, that not one but two people were able to board a flight with the incorrect documentation.  As to why that happened, I do not know but unlike the nonchalant attitude of the airline concerned, I do care.

I care for a whole number of reasons. Firstly I saw the President take the rap for the Christmas Day attempt. Of course, he is the man at the top – where the ‘buck’ stops. However, that does not mean that it was his fault and indeed fault is not what we should be looking for – however, its easy to find a scapegoat and punish him. Personally, I’d rather see those in positions of responsibility freed from the instantaneous attentions of the circling vultures whose only want to feed on whatever has happened.  With that freedom our leaders would have the opportunity to spend more time and effort fixing the problems rather than fending off the spears and arrows of their opponents.  That’s why this story mentions neither the airline or the airport involved and went first to the Department of Homeland Security and subsequently onto my blog.

So what has this to do with Orlando Vacation Rentals?  Well, frankly nothing except to say that the vast majority of our guests this year will arrive and depart for their vacation of a lifetime by aircraft.  Their safety is in all of our hands so lets let everyone involved get on and make it as safe an experience as possible!

This article may be syndicated only with all hyperlinks and attribution intact. John Macrae ©2010.

SeaWorld Orlando is raising the price of its basic theme-park ticket by $5 next month — its third price increase in little more than a year.

The new price of $74.95, announced Friday, places the standard one-day adult SeaWorld ticket just a nickel below similar one-day, one-park tickets sold at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando.

Happily other ticket prices have not been raised so the 2 day ticket is still pretty good value! Take a look at our article on How to Save $1000 on your Disney Vacation for more savings!

Orlando Vacation Homes and Villas

I can’t say I’m too surprised though. I mean with the media tring to tell us that the end of the world is just around the corner, you’d want to take one last vacation to Disney wouldn’t you?? It is the ‘happiest place on earth’ after all!

Not only that, people are finally realising that when they go to Disney, its much more economical to have a vacation home rather than a hotel. Sure, you need to rent a car to get around but gas is cheap again and it means that you are not a ‘Disney prisoner’ limited to the restaurants that the transportation system will take you to.

With vacation rental rates from less that $75 per night for a complete home its not surprising that people are looking seriously at orlando vacation homes for their accommodation needs.

For even more savings on your Orlando Vacation, take a look at How to save $1000 on your Disney vacation.