There are a lot of entertainment choices available to you
if you are vacationing in Orlando. For example, you can go
to the night clubs at Universal and Disney or take in one
of the many dinner shows on Orlando's International Drive.
However, if you appreciate top-flight theater, then you
should definitely plan to spend one evening at the Mad Cow
Theater.

The Mad Cow Theater started in 1997, housed in a former
blueprint studio in Maitland, Florida. Starting with a
simple two-show format, the theater began to attract the
attention of both critics and audiences alike.

After an initial period, where it was housed in other
Florida institutions, the theater put down roots in
downtown Orlando where it has become an important of the
city-center' s cultural scene. In this location, the theater
has maintained a high level of performance and was
acclaimed as the Best Theater in Orlando two years in a row
by Orlando Magazine.

The Mad Cow Theater has treated audiences in Orlando to
classic works as well as some of the best contemporary
plays. With a repertoire encompassing both American works
and world literature, plays by Chekhov, Williams, Pinter,
Shaw, Brecht, Ionesco and Pinter have been performed during
the last 12 years.

These plays have been produced by Central Florida's best
actors, designers and directors. Working in process that
combines in-depth rehearsal with fertile collaboration, the
theater company has been the recipient of many prestigious
awards such as Arts Innovator of the Year by United Arts of
Central Florida and Umbrella Awards at The Orlando
International Fringe Festival.

It is not only critics that have embraced the Mad Cow
Theater, the public has given the theater a consistent
"thumbs up" and ticket sales have increased steadily over
the past years.

In addition to presenting works in downtown Orlando, the
theater company also offers a touring program aimed a young
people, performing original works for students in Florida's
elementary schools. Mad Cow maintains an active education
department and offers theater classes for young people and
adults as well as a summer internship program for high
school students and puts on performances in high school
drama classes.

What's on the bill right now? You will have to check their
website or call them at 407.297.8788 to find out exactly
what will be showing when you are in Orlando. I took a peek
at the schedule for the summer of 2009 and saw that three
plays will be featured: The Matchmaker, I Am My Own Wife
and Forbidden Broadway. During the year there are also
some special events such as a Christmas program, a cabaret
festival and other special performances.

Ticket prices currently range from $15 to $28 and there are
discounts for senior citizens. The Theater is located at
105 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801

So there you have it, world-class theater awaits you in
Orlando, Florida. All you have to do is reserve some time
for it on one of your evenings. Do it and you won't be
disappointed

The late Walt Disney took pride in imagination and
innovation, and his successors are trying to live up to
that legacy. That's why you can expect to find something
new at Disney World each year. If you are planning a visit
to Orlando, Central Florida and Disney World this summer,
then read on and find out about some new additions to the
famed the theme park.

The first thing that might catch your eye this summer is
the reopening of the Hall of the Presidents. There will be
a new addition, President Barrack Obama whose
Audio-Animatronics replica will join those of the previous
43 presidents. This high-tech trip through American
history has been part of Disney World since its opening in
1971 and the Disney "imagineers" are hard at work adding
new elements (besides President Obama) to the current show.

Are you ready to join the Pirates League? Well, beginning
in late June you will be able to get your chance in
Adventureland where a "recruiting office" for the Pirates
League will be set up. Recruits will get a pirate name,
beard, eye patch, scarves, earrings, and even gold teeth.
Once you take the pirate oath you will be sent out on an
adventure in Adventureland. Pirates League packages start
at $49.95 plus tax.

Speaking of pirates, Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort now
offers pirate-themed accommodations. More than 300 rooms
now have ship-themed beds and pirate décor.

This year (2009) there is also a new dining option at
Disney's Animal Kingdom. It is Picnic in the Park al fresco
dining. The "take-out" meal includes sandwiches or chicken
and includes side dishes, dessert and bottled water for
each guest. A meal for three costs $24.99. The picnic meals
can be ordered near the park entrance and picked up (within
two hours at the Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery located
within the park).

At the close of the day's activities you can also take park
in a party. Cast members, such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie
Mouse and Goofy, gather near the entrance of Disney's
Kindom each evening as the park closes. It's called the
Adventurers' Celebration Gathering and it is a street party
where guest join in conga line dancing as the Disney
characters drum out the beat from their safari vehicle.

Another new sight in the skies over Disney World is
Characters in Flight. This is a tethered hot air balloon
that is decorated with images of Disney characters such as
Tinkerbell, Dumbo and Peter Pan. The red and yellow balloon
reaches heights of 400 feet above Downtown Disney providing
guests with a panoramic view. Tickets for the balloon ride
are $16 for age 10 and up, and $10 for children between 3
and 9. The balloon's gondola holds 30 people at a time and
the duration of the trip is six minutes. Tickets are sold
on a first-come, first-served basis.

When you touch down from your balloon ride you might also
want to check out a new restaurant in Downtown Disney.
Located on Pleasure Island, Paradiso 37 features the
cuisine of 37 different countries of North, Central and
South America. The new restaurant is open from 11:00 AM
till the late night and also features nightly entertainment.

When you visit Disney World take a look at the new features
and make your visit a bit different from the last time.

If you want to enjoy your Disney vacation to its maximum,
consider Orlando vacation villas as your choice of
accommodation rather than a hotel. This is particularly
true if you have a few children with you and you would like
a bit of peace and quiet now and again.

In order to explain that, just consider a hotel for a
while. You have booked yourself, your partner and the kids
into a lovely hotel for a couple of weeks, and are looking
forward to a great holiday in Orlando, visiting Disney and
also many of the other attractions that this part of
Florida has to offer.

After checking in comes the first problem. Who sleeps
where? Unless you have booked a family room, with everybody
spending the vacation in the same room, either the children
have to be given their own room, or you and your partner
have to split, each sharing the children between you. A lot
depends upon how many you have.

However, in the final analysis it doesn't matter if you
have two children or four or even six. You either enjoy
your vacation with just the two of you in your own room,
and the children in theirs or you don't. Even now, you can
see where Orlando vacation villas are suddenly beginning to
look attractive.

No matter how well behaved your kids are, you will always
be wondering what they are getting up to, and that isn't
your only problem with a hotel. If your children have
reached that age when they must have their own bedrooms,
particularly if you have boys and girls, then the hotel
costs are going to be pretty steep.

There are more problems, but let's forget them all, because
Disney vacation should not involve problems of any kind.
Let's stop for a minute and look at how a Disney vacation
villa can solve all of these problems.

First the rooms: you can rent an Orlando vacation villa
with up to six bedrooms, and you need to have an awful lot
of kids to fill that. Likely a three bedroom villa would
suit you, where two children can have their own rooms, or
up to two boys and two girls can share, each of the four
having their own bed. They share rooms, but no need to
share beds.

Each has its own TV and DVD player and is also en suite.
Some even have a games console in the rooms, so nobody is
going to get bored. A family of six can live in one of
these vacation villas in Orlando vary comfortably, with its
own pool for just a little extra, spa, games room and even
the kitchen where you can rustle up some breakfast or
supper, and still eat out for lunch and dinner if your
prefer - you can't cook in a hotel!

But that must cost a fortune, mustn't it! No way can you
afford that. Well, yes, there is way you can do that.
Consider the relative costs. First the hotel. What do you
need? A room for you two, one for the boys and one for the
girls. Three hotel rooms close to Disney World. Cheap?
Absolutely - not!!

Now check the three-bedroom Orlando villa rental. Set in a
great resort with a private pool and spa, you pay $160 a
night. That's for all of you! That equates to three
double hotel rooms at $54 a night. It's a no-brainer.
It's £27 a person! You won't find a hotel anywhere
for that price unless you take your own bedbug catcher. But
that's not all: you can get a four bedroom villa with more
amenities for just under $200 a night - that's $50 a room.
There is nothing a hotel can offer that you won't get
either in your own villa or offered in one of the many
restaurants and amenity centers that are everywhere in
Orlando. And you are only 15 minutes from Disney! You have
your own DVD player to play your own videos, or rent one
for the night. That will be a lot less expensive that
watching hotel movies!

Your kids can go to bed any time they like, and watch the
movies they want to watch, or view their own TV programs.
Perhaps play with the Playstation, but the main thing is
that you know they are safe in the same house as you.

Compare that to a hotel: you are continually worried about
your children in the rooms next door - are they slipping
out without you knowing, are they breaking anything, are
the movies suitable. In fact, how much are they running up
on the bill by watching these late-night TV movies?

If it has a pool it is shared with the entire hotel, you
can't cook your own food if you feel like it and your
drinks will be at hotel bar prices compared to drinking
your own home-made cocktails by your own private pool while
you cook up some steaks and mushrooms. That's a vacation!

There are many possibilities for night time entertainment
in Orlando. Over the years dinner shows have proven to be
very popular with Orlando vacationers, and one of the best
is Sleuths Mystery Dinner Shows which provides two and a
half hours of scripted mystery, improvisation, audience
participation and dinner. Let's take a look at what you can
expect to experience at these shows.

Comedy and mystery are the themes that run through the
shows presented at Sleuths. The website for the theater
lists 14 different shows, which are rotated with about five
different shows being performed on different nights each
week.

What are the shows all about? Without revealing "who did
it," here are some of the plots of the shows. In "Iron
Mansfield's Fox Hunt Banquet" you and other nobles are
invited by Lord Mansfield for a fox hunt banquet in his
mansion. The butler brings you into a lavish banquet room
and amidst the "feast" one of the characters meets a sad
fate, and it is your job to solve the mystery.

In "Squires Inn" you are in a bus that has been touring in
the north of England but your bus breaks down in a remote
country village. You enter the Squires Inn for food and
lodging and get involved in a mystery that involves an old
pensioner who is hiding a treasure. It is done in a
hilarious way and once again you have to use your skills of
deduction to solve the crime. The other shows combine the
same ingredients, a far away place, funny characters,
mayhem and a mystery that must be solved. After you
witness the "crime" you get to enjoy you dinner with
unlimited drinks. While you are dining you can think about
the evidence, analyze and then ask questions to the
suspects and finally you can make your "accusation. " If you
successfully find the culprit you will be given a prize. It
is a format that is a lot of fun and has proven popular
with theater goers for close to thirty years.

For your dinner you will be served hors d'oeuvres, green
salad, dinner rolls and crackers with a special cheese
spread. The menu choices include prime ribs, Cornish hen
and cheese lasagna. There is also a vegetarian meal
available, and all of the meals are served with unlimited
wine, beer and soft drinks.

Dinner shows in general and Sleuths in particular are good
places for group outings. Sleuths offers special group
rates for parties of 15 or more. Sleuths also offers
birthday parties for kids with a special show designed for
children aged 6-12. The kids become the investigators in
their own detective agency. The detective agency is named
for the birthday child and they are all treated to a dinner
of pizza, ice cream and unlimited drinks.

The restaurant is handicapped accessible. If you need to
make a reservation you or find out about show times then
call 407-363-1985 or 800-393-1985. Sleuths is located at
8267 International Drive right next to "Ripley's Believe It
or Not."