Tropical Palms Blog: RV Resort, Cottages, Vacation Home Rentals in Orlando, Florida near Disney

With so much to do at Disney World®, you might miss Crazy Bob Jackson at the Port Orleans Hotel in Disney. Don’t! Entertainer, comedian, and pianist, Crazy Bob is a terrific Disney delight. There’s no charge to see the show, it’s family-friendly, and they serve drinks and appetizers. More abut Bob at http://www.facebook.com/yehaabob.

Valentine’s Day will be a weekend long event, starting with a sweetheart breakfast at the Toucan Cafe and continuing on Sunday with a “Sickey Sweet” Valentine Confection Contest. We top it off with a Italian Valentine dinner event poolside with live entertainment. Bring your sweetie and win her heart!

Getting on a diet and a treadmill, cleaning out the garage or attic, spending more time with family and friends: we all make New Year’s resolutions. That’s why we thought it might be fun to see what some Tropical Palms families and team members have resolved to do this coming season.

Janet and Bill Eastman
Though this is only the second season that Janet and Bill Eastman have spent at Tropical Palms, but they’ve very much become a part of the Resort’s life. And they’ve made a New Years resolution to continue to be.

The couple, from Nashville, Michigan, does a lot of the cooking at the poolside Toucan Cafe. It’s a natural spot for them since they owned an Italian restaurant that featured pizza in their hometown. And Janet, who loves to bake, has been making more and more pies and cakes for the cafe, special events, and those families that have had the good fortune to sample her special culinary skills. Janet is also a whiz around a sewing machine and is planning to do more costumes for special events like last year’s Flintstone Weekend, when she made many of the costumes.

In addition to working the kitchen at the cafe, Bill has been upgrading our electrical systems and redoing lampposts around the pool. It’s work he’s familiar with from his days as an electrical linesman with CMS Energy in Michigan. It’s a lot of work for a couple that’s supposed to be retired.

That’s why this year they’ve signed up for a cruise through the Caribbean that will take them to the Grand Caymans, Cozumel, Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula. But perhaps their most important resolution for the coming year is to return next season.

Jill and Roger Urban
Jill and Roger travel with their dog, Max, and their cat, Kit Carson. There’s nothing unusual about that and there’s nothing unusual about the fact that the two get along just fine. What is remarkable is that Kit Carson has six toes and it makes her paw look like the couple’s home state of Michigan. The Urbans are a couple with a great sense of humor.

Their first year at Tropical Palms the couple rented a cottage. They enjoyed their stay so much, Roger, who’d always had pop-ups and trailers, decided to fulfill a life-long dream and purchase a thirty-four foot RV. The following year the Urbans drove down in their new thirty-four foot motor home and stayed for three months. This year, they’ve extended their time here to six months.

They enjoy going out for lunch with a group of friends they’ve made here and exploring new restaurants. Jill can’t pick a favorite, there are just too many she’s enjoyed and the couple plans to keep exploring. They also enjoy joining other long-termers and homeowners at Tropical’s monthly dinners.

They’ve gotten out to see lots of the local attractions like Disney World, where they visited the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted House – Jill tells us it didn’t scare her a bit – and they enjoyed visits to Sea World, Gatorland and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal.

Roger has resolved to get out and about and explore more of Florida in the family’s new RV this year. He and Jill are hoping to make a visit Sarasota and our sister resort, Sun-N-Fun. They’re also talking about a possible trip to Miami and perhaps even to the Florida Keys. Wherever the Four Winds – and Kit Carson’s six toes – take them.

Pam and Alan Kelly
Newlyweds Pam and Alan Kelly call their just-purchased vacation cottage at Tropical Palms their “love shack”.  The new couple’s New Years resolution is to spend a lot of time during their planned one-year honeymoon enjoying it.

“The cottage is just four hundred square feet of perfection. And it’s all done in fun colors. It’s like Tropical Palms, when you’re there, you just feel good about everything,” is how Pam explains it. “It’s all fun.”

She should know. She’s been coming here for eighteen years and can’t wait to introduce Alan to the Resort and all her favorite nearby places. And, they’ve made a resolution to discover new ones they can call “their own,”  like Celebration, where they recently spent a day strolling hand-in-hand, stopping in shops and just soaking up the atmosphere, romance and charm of the small town. They also have plans to visit Universal and Epcot, and to explore local restaurants like Medieval Times and Macaroni Grill.

Getting around is no problem for the couple. Both are motorcycle enthusiasts – they have an Ultra-classic Harley Davidson as well as a three-wheeler Ultra-classic Roadsmith – and plan to spend a lot of time shuttling back between here and their home in Port St. Lucie.

When asked what their most important resolutions were, Pam told us that she wanted her and her new husband “to stay healthy, be active, and keep their love strong.” Alan said “I want to be the one guy in the whole world more in love with his wife than any other guy in the whole world.”

When Pam heard that, she sighed and said the interview was over. She and her new husband had to hurry back to their Tropical Palms “love shack.”

Jetty Park
Jekyll Island and Bubba’s Barbeque are just two of Sandcastle owner, Joe Rossi’s hidden gem discoveries. This month he turns up another, nearby Jetty Park, where you can watch the large cruise ships sail by, then enjoy lunch at any of a half dozen wonderful seafood restaurants. Learn more at Jettypark.com

We hope your holidays were happy and that you got to spend time with family and friends. We’re excited about the New Year and all of our preparations for a great 2011 season. So here’s a big welcome to all our returning homeowners, long time RVers, and new friends visiting for the first time.

Ask Tropical Palms General Manager Christine Wasilewski about plans for the holiday season and she lights up like a kid about to unwrap all her presents.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make everyone feel like they’re at home and they’re celebrating the season with family and friends,” she says. “And they will be!”

For Chris and the team at Tropical, the season really starts with helping others, so the annual food bank and Toys for Tots drives are under way. “We’re encouraging everyone to bring either some canned and/or dry food items, or a toy to the front lobby and put it under the tree to benefit deserving families in the community. The Toys for Tots collection is being done in conjunction with the Daytona Beach Campaign and the food drive is with the Osceola Co. Fire Department.

“Anyone who brings in a donation will be eligible for a weekly drawing we’re doing for a 2-night free stay here they can use themselves or give to a friend or family member. It’s our way of thanking everyone for their kindness and thoughtfulness.

“Of course, we have a month filled with special events for our guests. Santa and his elves will be taking folks for hayrides on his ’sleigh.’ We’ll do caroling on the ride, visit all the decorated vacation cottages, and serve cocoa and cider.” Chris says with a twinkle in her eye. “Every Friday and Saturday night, our dive-in movies at the pool will have a holiday theme, like Fred Claus and Christmas Vacation. Sundays will feature Sunday Night Football tailgate parties. Folks are encouraged to come out, watch the game with friends and enjoy tailgate themed foods like nachos platters, subs, chili, and beer and drink specials.”

Of course, the holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without great food – lots and lots of great food. “We’ll have two seatings for Christmas at noon and 1:30 and we’ve got a mouthwatering menu planned with glazed ham, au gratin potatoes, carrots, green bean casserole, garden salad and home made dinner rolls. Don’t worry, if you’ve still got room, we’ve got dessert.”

The Toucan Cafe will extend its normal hours of operation and be open for all through the holidays with big hearty breakfasts on Saturday mornings from 9AM to 1PM and on Monday nights from 5 to 7 for holiday comfort food dinners.

“We’ll also be having our annual New Year’s Eve party. It will start at 8:30PM and there will be dancing, big screen TVs to watch the ball drop in Times Square, and a complimentary champagne toast at the stroke of midnight. It’s going to be a great party to ring in the New Year!”

Chris suggests getting your tickets for Christmas dinner and the New Year’s Eve party now, before these popular events are sold out.

In addition to all of these special events, we’ll be doing something every night of the week in December: Mondays it’s Open Game Night in the newly renovated Cypress Room; Tuesday’s are Tropical Palms Community Residents BYO Hot Dog Roast poolside at the fire pits; Wednesday it’s BINGO in the Cypress Room; and Thursday nights it’s Wii bowling poolside on the big screen. Chris is hoping everyone will join in and help to make the spirits bright.

When we asked Tropical Palm’s Santa what she’ll be doing if she gets a spare moment in this busy month, she gave us a ho, ho, ho and said, “wrapping gifts for my 2-year old grandson Anthony Edward.”

Barn Antiques »

Ask anyone he works with about Jack Sowers and you get pretty much the same answer that Marci Martinez our front desk manager offered when we started to research this article about Tropical Palms’ most iconic figure.

“We just love him. He’s always smiling. Everyday he wishes everyone a great day and he does whatever he can to make it one.”

That may be because the one-time football coach knows something about teamwork and getting the best from everyone he works with.

“My most important job is to make everyone that comes to stay here and everyone on the team that works here feel important and welcome at the resort,” Jack says.

It’s a lesson he learned at his first career, teaching and coaching, back in Ohio, where he was born. “I grew up in southeastern Ohio, the rocky part. That’s what first got me interested in geology.”

So interested that after graduating from Ohio University he went west, visiting several mountain ranges and National Parks including the Rockies, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Mt. Hood, and more. Jack spent only a few months on that first trip, but its effect has lasted a lifetime.

He returned to Ohio, got a second Bachelor’s degree in education to go along with his degree in geology and, with the desire to share his passion for the earth sciences, settled into teaching. He soon took on the job coaching football at Nelsonville High and then Nelsonville/York when the schools merged. It was a small school in a small town, but Jack turned it into a state football powerhouse, a tradition that continues today.

In 1985, after 28 years in the classroom, Jack married his lovely bride, Patricia and the newly weds decided to relocate to Florida.
“We just decided that being faced with new challenges would be invigorating and give us something new to look forward to. And that’s exactly what it’s been,” Jack says.

The couple relocated to Central Florida and Jack went back to the classroom at Gateway High School and Valencia Community College. He hadn’t lost any of his enthusiasm or gift with students. In 1988 and ’89 he was named Teacher of the Year at Gateway and in 1990 Osceola County Teacher of the Year. When he finally retired in 1996 he had spent 39 years in the classroom and 30 years as a coach.

“The highlight of those years, the highlight of my life was when the Nelsonville/York Buckeyes won the Ohio High School State Football Championship in 1981. It was a real example of what can be accomplished when you work together as a team,” Jack says with obvious pride.

He came to Tropical in 2005 and he brought his passion for teamwork here with him. Starting as a site consultant matching motor homes with the most appropriate site, his role has evolved into that of resort ambassador. He brings his warm smile and upbeat spirit to everything he does, from greeting visitors when they arrive to showing them around the resort and making sure they’re comfortably settled. There’s also the sense of team spirit he helps engender in everyone on the team, encouraging everyone by his example to always do their best.

“Making sure every guest is treated like they’re special is a challenge and it takes teamwork to accomplish that,” Jack explains. “One of the most important things I can do to meet that challenge is to make everyone on the team feel they’re important and contributing and to make our guests feel important and wanted here at Tropical Palms.”

Still teaching and coaching, Jack has helped turned Tropical Palms into one of Florida’s powerhouse RV parks and vacation home resorts.

Looking for the perfect family fun adventure this Thanksgiving holiday? Try making your way through the six-acre Corn Maze, the half-acre Mini Maze, the Mist Maze, or the Labyrinth. It’s a fun and games experience for the whole family that’s perfect holiday fare. And it’s happening at Scott’s Maze Adventure at the Long & Scott’s Farm in Zellwood, just 30 miles northwest of Orlando.

Learn more at the website »