Villa Southern Dunes

29/07/2024

What's today?

Happy birthday Confused Bear & JB 🥳🎂🎁.

It's raining 🌧️, so stay home, put Lipstick 💄 on your Tiger 🐯 & enjoy a day off Chicken Wings 🍗 and Lasagna

30/05/2024

Get ready for an unforgettable 4th of July!

We are thrilled to announce that this year's 4th of July extravaganza will feature the largest fireworks display in Polk County! Our 4th of July celebration will take place at Lewis Mathews Sports Complex 400 East Palm Street Davenport, FL 33837. Entertainment by Josh Blevins Band.

Throughout the day we have an incredible lineup of entertainment, activites, vendors and more! Please join us honor the spirit of freedom, unity and independence. We invite you to bring your friends, family, and neighbors to share in this incredible experience. Remember to mark your calendars as we light up the sky with the largest fireworks display in Polk County!

30/05/2024

4th of July Celebration

Get ready for an unforgettable 4th of July!

We are thrilled to announce that this year's 4th of July extravaganza will feature the largest fireworks display in Polk County! Our 4th of July celebration will take place at Lewis Mathews Sports Complex 400 East Palm Street Davenport, FL 33837. Entertainment by Josh Blevins Band.

Throughout the day we have an incredible lineup of entertainment, activites, vendors and more! Please join us honor the spirit of freedom, unity and independence. We invite you to bring your friends, family, and neighbors to share in this incredible experience. Remember to mark your calendars as we light up the sky with the largest fireworks display in Polk County!

13/04/2024

Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary Resort

So, a few weeks ago we managed to secure a booking for dinner at Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Hotel at Walt Disney World. I have to say, having read some of the reviews we wondered if we should cancel but we decided, as we only had a few special activities planned, we would go.

For those that don’t know, “we” is a couple of aged humans (56 & 85) and seventeen teddy bears. There are usually only three teddy bears (TourGuideTed, Frank and Theo) but, since the War in Ukraine, we have gained a blended family of 12 refugees. They originated in Odesa and have fled the War. We said that while the War continues they would come with us, to keep Ukraine in our thoughts. They are made by Philomena Kloss. The family is supported by Nanny Ursula, and on this trip, a friend – Wolfie – has joined us as he plans to go to Cologne with us in May.

Anyway…we walked from Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary Hotel – it takes ten to fifteen minutes, but you can also take the Monorail, which has a station inside the hotel. Chef Mickey’s can be found on the fourth floor, along with a couple of retail outlets and other eateries.

We checked in and waited about ten minutes for our wheelchair-accessible table and were shown to a table. It was a bit loud, with fairly basic tables and chairs and we were a bit concerned we’d made a mistake as it’s not as classy as some of the Disney dining options, but we perservered. We were offered soft drinks (included) or alcohol (for an additional charge. As we have a beer-drinking bear, Theo, he got a Kona Longboard, while the humans ordered some Coke and Lemonade. The buffet layout was explained but we were advised the characters were nearby so we should wait on getting our food until they had visited the table.

We were soon joined by each of the five characters. Our humans are not very out-going but we were able to persuade all of the characters that the stuffies were the ones who wanted to be photographed. That said Mickey and Donald both gave the humans a hug and Donald insisted on a selfie with Assistant Di (who is rubbish at selfies and got a good pic of Donald only! It might have been deliberate!)

We met Pluto, Minnie who crouched down to our level. Donald was really friendly and even hugged the Ancient Assistant. Goofy waggled his ears and Mickey came to pose with us all, he also gave the Ancient Assistant a kiss on her hand. Disney characters always surprise us how attentive they are to us bears even though there are no children with us. They were cool with getting us some pictures.

Then it was time for the food. Our humans don’t eat meat so we skipped the central carving station but there seemed to be a choice of meats available. Ours had a selection of salad, pasta and cheese quesedillas. There was plenty of choice even for them and apparently there was pizza they missed. The food, while not hot (it is a buffet) wasn’t cold either. It was better than expected and what they had they enjoyed. There was certainly plenty of choice.

For dessert there were maybe half a dozen alternatives – a Donald cupcake, a Minnie red velvet cupcake, a Mickey chocolate tart, a pink and yellow sponge, a cookies and cream cheesecake cup and more, including a soft-serve ice cream dispenser.

It cost $66 per human, plus tax and tip with extra for the beer. In total for 2 it came to $137.70. This was $132 for the dinner, plus $10.50 for the beer and a $13.50 discount for being an annual passholder (10% discount). Tax was an additional $8.40. A tip on top was about $25 (18%).

Although the Contemporary Hotel is looking a bit tired/dated, the food options at Chef Mickey were a pleasant surprise. Would we rather have table-service, yes, but as the characters came as soon as we arrived, we were able to meet them before focussing on the food. Sometimes the characters can come mid-meal, meaning your not very hot food gets colder or you forego collecting food to make sure you don’t miss the characters. It may have been good timing but we had none of those issues at Chef Mickey.

Was it good value? Well, we had a little personal time with each of the characters (they will hug, take photographs, do autographs) and they even came back around as the Cast Member assistants would check you’d seen all the characters you should have (which we appreciated). The food was adequate and there was a lot of choice. The environment was a little noisy but you didn’t feel crammed in at your table at all.

On the way out of the venue, there’s a final photo stop – standing in front of Chef Mickey’s plate. They were very accommodating and used a table to give our bears height to show up in the photo. You can choose to hold a Chef Mickey or Happy Birthday plaque (or both).

See photos of the food and our character interactions. We enjoyed it and were glad we’d made the effort to go.

04/04/2024

We've received these photos from our current guest! The resident stuffies have been having a great time being entertained, cuddled and have even had stories read to them! They say they've never had so much fun. Thanks for keeping them entertained!

09/02/2024

What I didn't do when I mentioned updating the guestbook recently was to add a link to the page of reviews (silly me!)

So, feel free to take a look at our reviews - all sent to us or added to our in-house guestbook, and dated

Guestbook testimonials Villa Southern Dunes - Disney vacation rental villa on Southern Dunes Golf Course in Orlando Florida

03/02/2024

Just spent the evening updating our online guestbook - sheesh, I hadn't done it since December 2022 (oops!) - well, we are up to date now, well, up to our last visit anyway. Such lovely comments.

Apparently, we've thought of everything! Yet I still keep finding things to add... like the new table mats?

Take a look here
https://www.villasoutherndunes.com/guestbook.html

(Which reminds me, I must update the Donald bathroom on the website too...got our new fancy walk-in shower!)

03/02/2024

This looks fun! Will have to take the Ancient one next time we go :-)

We are ecstatic about our ALL-TERRAIN TRACK CHAIR (ATC) at Blue Spring State Park, thanks to Friends of Blue Spring State Park! The ATC allows mobility-challenged guests to enjoy Blue Spring's rough terrain trails.
Please share to spread the word!

More info:
https://friendsofbluespringstatepark.org/pages/tracked-chair

15/01/2024

So, on this day in 2012, we had Ted out painting the pool deck... it's been done a few more times since then, but, wish we were here...though the current guests may not appreciate us turning up ;-)

14/01/2024

We do like a meal at the Celebration Town Tavern - recommended

We’ve recently expanded our Sunday brunch menu! Check back each Sunday to see some of our featured dishes.

Pictured here is Lobster n Waffles- a waffle with a fried lobster tail & topped with a maple honey drizzle, served with a side of home fries.

Brunch is available every Sunday from 11am-1pm!
We also offer adult brunch beverages, $6 mimosas & $6 bloody jack

15/12/2023

Golfers - Southern Dunes special rates this Christmas

07/12/2023

30/11/2023

We just visited in November and while the trip had some ups and downs the main goal was to switch out the old bath with shower over and replace with a walk in shower. Have to admit we started out by getting a man in to rip out the old bath unit and do the prep work for the tiling. Then, under Ted's close supervision, we set to work!

24/10/2023

Worried about the tolls in Orlando (and Florida!) Check out the Visitor Toll Pass...

It’s ! 🚗🛣🌴

Visitor Toll Pass is a FREE temporary toll pass for rental car customers traveling roundtrip through Orlando International Airport (MCO).

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Learn more at VisitorTollPass.com.

16/10/2023

More than 50 "suggested for you" posts on my timeline this morning... In that ONE post of someone I follow, and that was my own page so I'd already read it 🤷🏼‍♂️

I know it's about the advertising but can't I see ANY posts of people I follow. NEVER had it this bad before

11/10/2023

If you are planning on visiting Discovery Cove during a trip to Florida they have some good prices (for some dates!) Starting at $114.60 plus tax for non-swim and $135.60 including dolphin swim. These seem like Black Friday style prices to me. We paid $120 in 2019 for a dolphin swim on Black Friday. Dates are available up to December 2024 so worth a look. Peak times prices are obviously higher but I found $114.60 the week after Easter so worth checking if you are planning to go.

https://discoverycove.com/orlando/pricing/

https://discoverycove.com/orlando/pricing/

Find the perfect Discovery Cove vacation package for you and your family! Book your vacation to our all-inclusive paradise resort in Orlando today.

21/09/2023

09/09/2023

So...our latest guests arrived last night...this is the email I woke up to this morning :-)

Hi Di
Sorry it’s late but this can’t wait til morning! Oh my actual god!! The villa!!!!!! We’re are just bowled over! It’s absolutely beautiful and there’s nothing you’ve forgotten! The attention to detail is outstanding!!! We’ve only been here an hour and we never want to leave🤩🤩🤩. I wish we had our grandchildren here to enjoy all the fabulous costumes and toys!
Just want to say thankyou so very much!
Lots of love
Jo ###x

Thanks Jo - enjoy your stay! :-)