As if you needed another excuse!  The Ellis team are SO excited by these great new attractions opening in 2016… it is shaping up to be a Super Spring here in Orlando!  Have you booked your tickets and vacation property yet?

Be among the first to feel the Force in the Star Wars Launch Bay

The Force has awoken at Disney Hollywood Studios!  A handful of new Star Wars experiences premièred in December 2015 in time to herald in the new movie.  We’ve seen it and are huge fans – we expect this to be very big in 2016.

Let it go during your visit to Arendelle”

We’ve already trailed the exciting new Frozen ride coming to Epcot on our blog earlier this year.  We think it is scheduled to open around April time, but exact dates are yet to be confirmed by Disney.  We can’t wait!

See Disney’s Animal Kingdom in a whole new light

In Spring 2016 Disney will be opening the Animal Kingdom Park for longer so that visitors can experience the wonders of the natural world after dark.  The centerpiece of this new experience is an amazing light show based around the park’s tree of life.  Watch the video on the Disney blog here.

There’ll be even more to explore around Disney Springs

The revamp of downtown Disney is already well underway, with some fab new openings recently – there is a whole host of new restaurants, gift and souvenir stores and much-loved names to explore in Disney Springs already, including my personal favourite: the Ganchery.  Throughout 2016 more stores and restaurants will be announced and opened so it looks like they’ll be plenty to explore over the course of the year.

The Orlando Lions get a new home

Just a block away from the Amway Centre, Orlando’s latest sports stadium is set to open its doors to 25,000+ soccer fans from Summer 2016.  Orlando’s already got some great sports venues and teams and now the city’s Lions soccer team can host in style too.  If you’re a visitor to the area and want to get a real taste of local life, then live sports is a great way to do that.  Ellis Exclusive Villas can offer great rates on tickets too – please call us for details.

 Are you brave enough to face the Cobra’s Curse?

Is there such a thing as an ordinary rollercoaster?  If so, Busch Gardens is promising that Cobra’s Curse is not it!  After ascending on a vertical lift, just like an elevator, riders will come face-to-face with an 80-foot snake icon and trek over the park’s Serengeti Plain.   It is scheduled to open at the end of May 2016, but you can get a sneak preview here:

Universal creates Skull Island: The Reign of Kong

Universal is promising a larger than life experience on this hotly anticipated new ride – check out this launch trailer:

Due to open in summer 2016, it’s another exciting reason to book your 2016 trip to Orlando!

SeaWorld promises us Orlando’s fastest coaster

The Mako shark is one of the fastest in the ocean – and it provides the ideal inspiration and name for SeaWorld’s latest coaster which it promises will be Orlando’s fastest.

When it is launched in Spring 2016 it will be taking visitors on rides of up to 73mph.  Hold tight for this one!

And there’s another supercharged thrill on its way

If you are still feeling the need for speed after Mako, then hold tight for another Spring unveiling – this time a 3D experience at Universal Studios, but just as fast and furious:

Fans of the movies should be prepared to be taken along on an immersive chase at speeds of 120mph!

Interact with heroes and legends

Finally, the Kennedy Space Centre is revamping its visitor complex with a view to opening a whole new interactive theatre show towards the end of 2016.  The heroes and legends show will enable visitors to immerse themselves in the experiences of the early pioneers of space flight and learn about real-life superstars: the 91 all-American heroes and legends who’ve gone to space.

Excited?  So are we!  Book your vacation home for 2016 now and beat the January rush!  Get your pick of our properties today for your chosen dates in 2016.

Those of you who read this blog regularly will know I am a huge fan of Epcot and I can’t think of a nicer introduction to the festive season than Holidays Around the World at Epcot.  It runs 1 – 30 December, at Epcot, Disney World and features a candlelight processional, dining experiences, the obligatory firework spectacular and treats and traditions from around the world.

For the little ones, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party runs on selected dates throughout December (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 18) at Magic Kingdom, Disney World.  It does require a separate admission ticket as well as your normal park ticket through, which is worth booking in advance – as always, you can book tickets through Ellis Exclusive Villas.

For something completely different, but totally awe-inspiring and totally Florida, how about witnessing a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral?  There are two this month: Atlas V- Orb-4 Rocket launch on 3 December and Falcon 9 – SpaceX CRS 9 Rocket Launch on 9 December. The Kennedy Space Centre also has a ‘Holidays in Space’ exhibit running from 19 December until 3 January.

On 4 December downtown Orlando begins its holiday celebrations as the lights get turned on.  The Holiday Lights celebration takes place at Lake Eola Amphitheatre, Orlando.

I’m really excited about one of the latest launches at Disney Springs: on 15 December a new Disney Chocolatier or ‘Ganachery’ opens.  Designed to celebrate the most beautiful product in the world, it’s the perfect excuse to stock up with some mouth-watering chocolate treats just in time for Christmas!

That’s assuming you didn’t pick up enough chocolate at the Lakeridge Winery’s Wine & Chocolate Festival the previous weekend, 12 & 13 December, at the Lakeridge Winery, Clermont.  As well as tours and tastings over the weekend, there will be performances by local bands and local crafters displaying their wares.

After all that chocolate why not head on over to this year’s Light up UCF?   It’s running throughout the month, Florida University’s CFE Arena, Orlando.  There’s lots going on besides the ice rink, so you really need to check out the online calendar for details of all the events that are running over the 50 nights of wintery wonderland magic.

Talking about a little bit of magic, The Nutcracker returns to Orlando Ballet 17 – 20 December.  You can purchase tickets for the performances at Orlando Ballet, Dr Phillips Centre for the Performing Arts, Orlando through Ellis Exclusive Villas’ ticket service.

My final pre-Christmas tip to really get you in the mood for Christmas is to make a visit to Celebration.  This town is picture perfect all year round, but throughout December it is just a little bit more special with nightly snowfalls at 6, 7, 8 and 9pm, photos with Santa, strolling Holiday carollers, and an Ice Rink.  The perfect warm-up (or should that be cool-up?) to Christmas.

At the end of the month, there’s just time to squeeze in one more unmissable event: the Orlando Citrus Parade on 30th December.

You can find additional details of events listed on our new events page on our website.

Has this whetted your appetite for a Florida Christmas 2016?  We are already taking bookings for the 2016 Holiday period – so now’s a great time to beat the post-Christmas rush and book yourself somewhere lovely for 2016.  Call me on  (from the USA): 321 710 8779 or (from the UK): 0333 332 1411

One of the best parts of my job is speaking with all the lovely Ellis Exclusive Villas home owners and guests on a daily basis.  I love to hear about it when my guests have enjoyed a wonderful holiday.

The story I’m going to share with you now is a really exciting success story.

Casa Amoré is a new vacation home we have recently taken on, located on the attractive and amenity-rich gated resort of Watersong in Davenport.

It was bought by a lovely British couple in July this year, after having been left to fall into a little disrepair.

Sue and Mark had a really clear vision for their home and the kind of quality environment they wanted to create for their guests, but they also knew that as first-time Florida property owners there was a lot they needed to learn.

They approached us to manage their home for them and together we devised a plan which would help the couple prioritise the work that needed to be done on the property to get it ready for rental.

In July, when the property became theirs, Mark and Sue kindly honoured the booking that the previous owner had taken and then got to work!  They spent three weeks at their vacation home this September and did a huge amount of work.

Every carpet has been deep cleaned, every bed has been replaced and new linens have been purchased for all the bedrooms and bathrooms.  The couple also invested in TVs for all the bedrooms, which is something that many guests expect now and also helps to widen the property’s appeal to groups, not only families.

The couple also redecorated some of the rooms, including the family room where they have installed a fabulous 65” TV.  Mark says: “We wanted to create a vacation home where our family would love to stay; the sort of place where we would go in and say ‘wow’.”

I think you’ll agree the couple have certainly achieved that!  And it has been an absolute delight to get to this point!

And the best news?  In the four weeks since the Orlando vacation home has been actively marketed the couple have already taken 27 weeks of bookings.

I couldn’t have wished more for them and they thoroughly deserve it.  I wish them every success.

To see more pictures of the new renovations or to book this vacation home, please click here.

The Orlando amusement parks are not known for sitting still… and there are some amazing attractions opening soon that I’m really excited about… the new Frozen ride, the King Kong ride, Skyplex… my family is looking forward to them all!

But none more so that the Orlando Eye.

The 400-foot tall giant observation wheel has been scheduled to open in late spring 2015 for some time. But last week the new visitor attraction announced a May 4th Grand Opening and Early Bird tickets are now on sale.

From what we’ve seen of the pre-publicity, it looks spectacular.  On its website it is promising breathtaking views of Central Florida in all directions, with sights of downtown Orlando’s skyline, theme parks, lakes and lush landscape and, on a clear day, views of Cape Canaveral on the east coast.

Although tickets will be on sale onsite at the ticket office, we highly recommend that you purchase tickets before you go wherever possible (who wants to spend their vacation queueing in line, right?) and given the anticipation surrounding this latest addition to Central Florida’s many attractions, we think you can’t really book this one early enough!

The Orlando Eye is located on International Drive and is part of the new i-Drive 360 complex, which will have a series of staged openings throughout 2015.  The complex will eventually include shops, restaurants, a Madame Tussauds Orlando Wax Museum and Sea Life centre.

And if that doesn’t whet your appetite, check out this video of the view of the Orlando Eye location from a helicopter – which should give you a good idea of what you’ll be able to see from the top of the wheel:

What do you think?  Is this one for you?

Do you fancy drinking champagne together 400 feet above International Drive as the sun goes down?

Or taking the kids on the wheel for a spectacular view over Central Florida?

I can’t quite believe it is February already!  Just where did January go?  For me, it disappeared under a flurry of bookings.

Having just come out of a busy festive period, we are now almost fully booked for Christmas and New Year 2015.

So I hope this post works as a rallying cry for all my regular guests – please, if you want to spend the holidays in Florida in 2015, please get in touch to book soon!

Especially if you are a returning guest and you have a specific property in mind, it’s worth making that call to me today.

I know some property managers in Orlando will hold properties back until the festive period is nearly upon us and then release them at the last minute, when they know they can command astronomical rates from late bookers.

I’m personally not comfortable with that approach and that’s why Ellis Exclusive Villas don’t hold villas back.

At least, I’ve never done it before.  But after what happened this Christmas I am seriously considering holding a couple of villas back just for a personal insurance policy.  Not to command the astronomical rates; just to save myself paying them!

We had a – rare – last minute problem this year and I had to move a guest.  If you know me, you’ll know I will never let down a guest.  I think this makes me a bit of a rarity in the Florida rentals market.  I’ve taken so many last minute reservations over the years – even from people who were travelling with the big tour operators!

And if there is ever an issue with a property I’ve taken a booking for, I’ll always find a property of better spec for my guests in order to make up for the inconvenience of a last-minute change.

This Christmas – when something did happen – finding that other property turned out to be not only expensive, but almost impossible!

The trials and tribulations of a property manager, I suppose.  I did eventually locate a beautiful villa on the Champions Gate resort in the end.  But it did make me think about having an insurance policy this year… let’s hope that I won’t need it, but if I do, at least I will have planned ahead!

And I guess that’s what I’d like all my guests to do too: please start planning those 2015 Christmas and New Year breaks now and hopefully we can all avoid any festive disappointments!

With thanks & best wishes,

Universal Mardi Gras is a 16-night party featuring a dazzling parade, Cajun food and live concerts from some of music’s biggest names.

If you’re going to be in Orlando between February 7 and April 18, it’ll be well worth checking out Universal Orlando for some extra-special Mardi Gras party atmosphere on selected nights between these dates…

Sign up here to get first notice about the acts who’ll be playing across these special 16 nights.

And to really put you in the party mood we’re pleased to announce a fantastic SPECIAL OFFER TO GET AN EXTRA FREE DAY when you buy a two-day ticket to Universal Orlando thanks to one of our Guest Services partners.

Ellis Exclusive Villas work with some great Orlando businesses to secure fantastic deals on all kinds of great days out and holiday extras for our guests.  And one of our partners is Kissimmee Guest Services, an attraction ticket booking agent based in Kissimmee.

Kissimmee Guest Services is now running a special offer on Universal Orlando tickets which Ellis Exclusive Villas Guests can benefit from: simply purchase a 2-day ticket for Universal in advance and you can qualify for a third day for free!  This can be applied to any 3 days within a 14-day period.  During the special Mardi Gras period, day tickets on the special Mardi Gras celebration dates will include access to the evening’s Mardi Gras celebrations at Universal Studios Florida.

You can find full details of all the terms and conditions on the Kissimmee Guest Services website, which you can reach via our ‘Attraction Tickets’ page.

If you have any questions or you would like to book this offer, you can also call Ellis Exclusive Villas on our main UK number: 0044 (0) 333 332 1411

We host some amazing and inspiring people in our villas.  Not least this group of college friends who now reconnect regularly – thanks to the power of Facebook and the Central Florida Tough Mudder events.

If you’re not familiar with the Tough Mudder concept it’s an opportunity to raise funds for the Wounded Warriors charity through 12 miles of teamwork and running with military-style obstacles thrown in.  And when we say military-style obstacles we’re talking barbed wire, dangling live wires and Berlin walls… Let’s just say it puts the Ellis Exclusive Villas team’s New Year’s resolutions about a health kick to shame!

The six members of the ‘Fear the Beard’ team pictured here (above) before embarking on the race are (back row, left to right) Ed, Conrad, Michael; (front row, left to right) Jason, Bryan and Mike.  Another three college buddies completed the team (and the Tough Mudder course), most of whom stayed at the Ellis Exclusive Villas holiday home “Jasmine” in Kissimmee.

Michael found us via Flipkey and said staying in a villa was much better than their previous year’s approach of all staying in hotels:  “Last year we all stayed in different hotels and meeting up after the race was more difficult.  This year we were all in the one spot.  The villa was just three miles from the race site so it was easy to head back there, take a shower, get the mud off, and then all play by the pool.”

If you’re wondering where the Fear the Beard team name comes from it was inspired by San Francisco Giants baseball star Brian Wilson, who sports a rather impressive beard of his own. Michael says it was just a bit of fun and an excuse not to shave for five weeks!  And it gave an extra dimension to washing the mud off after, we guess!

Although we have to say the boys really looked after our property and left not a trace of mud behind them.  It really was a pleasure to host them.

Happily, the feeling seems to be mutual because Michael told us: “We really appreciated the convenience of booking a villa, the great location, and the way the Ellis team took care of us.  They said they would give us a welcome pack, but we weren’t expecting the beer to be thrown in too!  We’d book again with Ellis Exclusive Villas in a heartbeat!”

Team Fear the Beard: congrats guys and we look forward to hosting you again this year!

We’re at peak season for pool heat at the moment.  Here’s 5 hacks to help you get the most out of it during your stay at an Ellis Exclusive Villas holiday home.

1. Book before you go

With any Ellis Exclusive Villa, pool heat is ALWAYS charged as an extra.  It’s worth thinking about whether you want it before you go because it takes a little while for the pool heat to heat up to the desired temperature.  If you book in advance we can make sure the pool is heated for your arrival.

Booking in advance also saves you a bit of money; if you don’t arrange it in advance, but do request pool heat during your stay we’ll charge you a call out fee in order to set it up for you.  So if you think you’ll need it, it is always better to book it in advance.

We recommend you do this for any holiday booked between October and March

2. Get the timings right

The pool heat pump can operate for a maximum of 8 to 10 hours per day.  We usually set it to operate from around noon to 9pm. If you would like us to adjust the settings to be more in line with your routine, then please let us know in advance.

3. Remember it is a swimming pool – not a bathtub

Pool heat won’t heat the pool up to the temperature of a warm bath!  It is designed to take the chill off the water not to provide a tropical heat.  All pool heat is set between 83°F – 85°F.  If, when you arrive, you decide this temperature is not comfortable for you, then we can turn the pool heat off and will give you a refund for the unused days.

4. Be aware that a sudden chill will switch it off

A sudden drop in climate temperature will affect the pool heat.  This is because the pumps will automatically shut off if the temperature drops below 50°F (10°C).  Please be aware that the local property management team cannot override this as it is a security measure to prevent breaking the pool pump and refunds will not be given if this occurs.

5. Think carefully when deciding whether you need to call us out

If pool heat is not working correctly, please contact our onsite management team.  If the pool heater is broken then a refund will be given for the number of days you are without the service.  But to provide this refund we need to be informed of this issue as soon as it occurs.  We can’t give refunds when pool heat issues are brought to our attention AFTER your stay – so please let us know as soon as you can.

However, if you do call us out about a problem with the pool heat and it is working correctly, then you will be charged a ‘false call out’ fee.

We, therefore, do encourage you to know what pool heat can realistically be expected to deliver (83°F – 85°F for about 8 to 10 hours per day) and assess whether this is what is being delivered… you would be surprised about the number of call outs we get asking for bath-warm water!