Sunset Vista Calabay

09/11/2026

Today we remember the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC and the heroes of Flight 93 who sacrificed their lives to prevent more deaths in the Capitol, the intended target.
We remember the lives lost and those who still suffer today.
25 years on, it still feels like yesterday.

Never forget. 💔

09/09/2026

More Christmas chat 😂 Epcot has its annual Festival of the Holidays leading up to the big day, it's a lovely event. The Candlelight Processional is held 3 times each day (after Thanksgiving), with some well known faces narrating the Christmas story and a chance to listen to an amazing choir and orchestra playing Christmas carols and songs, definitely gets you in the the spirit of the season.

If you fancy a little bit of Christmas, Disney-style, we have dates right up to December 14th so drop us a line 🎅

09/08/2026

Apologies for using the "C" word so early but it is on the horizon now 🎅 🎄

Christmas starts early in the Orlando area, as soon as Halloween is done, the elves swing into action. There is so much to see and do, the list is endless.

Here is our top 5 "non-park" activities within easy reach of the villa.

🎅 Celebration - this is possibly the number one Christmas destination outside of the parks. It gets very busy so best to arrive early. Around 20 minutes from the villa, this town is centred around a large lake and has beautiful trails, a weekend market, shops and restaurants. At Christmas the locals compete to have the best decorations and in the main Market Street there is a Christmas tree, ice rink and "snowfall" every night. One not to miss!

🎅 Disney resorts - you can visit any of the Disney resorts although they usually don't like you parking there unless you have a dining reservation. It’s best to park at Hollywood Studios or Magic Kingdom parking lots and then use Monorail, Skyliner, boats and buses to get around, all the Disney transport is free as well. Each resort will have at least one massive tree and many other events and goodies. Our favourites are Wilderness Lodge (in the pic!), Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's worth a look on YouTube for some of these in advance to help with planning, I have put a couple of favourite routes in the comments.

🎅 Winter Garden – this is a small town about 30-40 minutes drive from the villa, has a lovely vibe, some really nice boutique style shops and is beautifully decorated, there’s a very cool food hall off Plant Street with a micro-brewery. The shores of Lake Apopka are just north of the town centre and it’s stunning, definitely a good spot to see wild ‘gators.

🎅 Ga***rd Palms Resort – this has an annual ICE festival which is different every year https://www.christmasatgaylordpalms.com/ it's a paid ticket but it is stunning, some parts of the building are kept well below freezing so you’ll need something warm at least for a little while, it’s beautiful and worth the price of the tickets.

🎅 Disney Springs – it's very Christmassy, loads of festive treats and a Christmas Tree Trail with themed trees based on Disney characters, movies and stories. A good (and mostly free) day out.

09/07/2026

It's nearly time for our trip over to the villa. So let's talk about eSIMs.

Daily charges from UK phone networks can be a considerable expense so it's a great idea to put an eSIM on your phone (if compatible).

There are lots of apps available, Saily, Holafly, Hubby etc which you can download to your phone and buy data.

I like to have a US phone number as well, this is really useful for things like restaurant waitlists to ensure your "table is ready" text arrives instantly and also for any deliveries I need to set up at Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart etc.

For each trip I buy an eSIM from Amazon - it's a cinch to install, it activates as soon as your phone sniffs a US cell signal on landing and you then get a text with your US phone number.

Here's the one I buy £26.89 for 18 days (make sure to include both travel days) of unlimited data, calls and texts, just about £1.50 a day. Bargain!

Unlimited 5G eSIM for the USA! Activation process Phone Compatibility

09/04/2026

It's Friday! Another week done, is it time to start planning your next trip to Florida? (The answer is always YES!)

The new year period 2026/27 is now sold so I have updated the cover photo with latest availability.

It's Labor Day in the US on Monday so enjoy the extra day of rest if you're there. 🇺🇸

Have a great weekend 🔅🔅🔅🔅🔅

08/28/2026

Happy Friday! We are getting ever closer to our next trip, can't wait to sample some Food and Wine at Epcot. Our favourite savory treat is below, description in the comments.

Meanwhile we have another 3 week booking in for June next year - the first half of the year is nearly full!

Our availability is as follows, don't miss out!

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
October 6th to 14th (Halloween Parties, HHN, Food and Wine dates!)
October 25th to December 15th (Halloween, HHN, Christmas Party, Food and Wine dates)
December 29th to January 15th 2027

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳
May 17th to 25th
June 30th to July 11th
July 25th to August 10th
August 20th to October 27th
November 12th onward