Webb’s Candy Factory Has Had The Sweets For Central Florida

Posted on June 1, 2014 by floridatraveler

florida traveler WEBBS CANDYA few miles south of I-4 on US27 in Davenport stands Webb’s Candy Shop and Ice Cream. It is a real candy factory, featuring products that tourists were enjoying eighty years ago.

The store is actually the result of the merger of two enterprises: the original Florida firm started in 1932 as the Sun Dial Citrus Candies Company. In 1968 Paul Webb of Mayville, New York, obtained the candy store in Davenport.

Mr. Webb had operated a candy business since 1942 with his famous Goat’s Milk Fudge Bars the most popular selection. Today goat milk fudge and citrus candies are still the big attractions.

The shop has added an ice cream shop with outdoor seating. You can also buy some exotic Florida fruit wines. But the real reason for a detour off I-4 is to buy candy from Central Florida’s oldest candy store.

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Uncle Charlie’s Ghost Still Working For Florida’s Oldest Saloon

Posted on May 25, 2014 by floridatraveler

Uncle Charlie's Ghost Still Working For Florida's Oldest Saloon

It is appropriate that the Fernandina Beach’s Palace Saloon, the oldest continuous bar in Florida, should be haunted. It seems most of Florida’s oldest buildings have their ghost stories and guiding tourists on nightly spook walks has become a profitable Florida enterprise in every Florida town with any old properties..

But Uncle Charlie’s Ghost just seems to want to keep on serving those who operate his old hangout. Charlie Beresford served as a bartender at the Palace from 1906 to 1960, and in those 54 years there were few drinkers on Amelia Island who didn’t know Charlie.
Charlie’s demise evidently did not mean his retirement. Uncle Charlie loved to bet patrons they couldn’t toss a coin on the narrow rim of some busts placed behind the bar. Few were successful so Charlie picked up a lot of change to add to his tips. After his death when a new bartender tried to continue the game, a cold chill pressed the man’s shoulders and he called off the game.

People started seeing strange human shapes at night at closing. Charlie was said to check the day’s receipts. In 1999 the Palace Saloon was gutted by a fire but Charlie’s room in back was barely burnt.

The Palace was returned soon to its old glory, but Charlie’s fame led to new benefits for the building. At the north end of the building Uncle Charlie’s Heavenly Pizza opened to “glowing” reviews. A sport’s bar is another feature to use Charlie’s name.

Is the Palace upset by Uncle Charlie’s “rising fame” and popularity? If you go online to the new website of the Palace Saloon, you’ll see Uncle Charlie is a featured person on a tour of the property.

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Bill Kitchen Florida’s Thrill-Master Robbed By Three Ninjas

Posted on May 18, 2014 by floridatraveler

Bill Kitchen Florida's Thrill-Master Robbed By Three Ninjas

Bill Kitchen, founder of U.S. Thrills of Windermere, Florida, has given millions of people the thrills of their lives with his amusement rides, but two weeks ago he had his own surprise when three men dressed as Ninjas robbed Kitchen and his wife at their mansion.

Last week the robbers might have been caught as the men were captured robbing the estate of former ‘N SYNC member Joey Fatone. The incident will probably be just a small bump in Kitchen’s life of activities.

The booming Florida amusement industry attracted many engineers and creators to Central Florida, but few as successful as Bill Kitchen. Just three years after debuting his Sky Coaster, an alternative to the bungee boom, it became the world’s best selling new park ride.

His SkyCenture was the first virtual skydiving simulator, now popular in 35 American parks. His Unicoaster was a wild circular roller coaster that fit very nicely into urban or indoor spots like the Mall of America. Over 350 of his rides dot amusement parks.

Presently he is completing work on a unique SkyView Ferris wheel. And Bill Kitchen has lots of tall dreams for his home town of Orlando.

One he proposed was to build a 500-foot coaster near bustling International Drive near Walt Disney World. It would be the world’s tallest coaster. Even if that project doesn’t develop, his firm has a bunch of other plans.

There is unlikely nothing that will slow Bill Kitchen from innovating the thrill ride business across America – certainly not a gang of ninjas.

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Florida Folk Festival Serves Up The Best of Sunshine State Culture

Posted on May 12, 2014 by floridatraveler

Florida Folk Festival Serves Up The Best of Sunshine State Culture

Every Memorial Day weekend thousands of people head to the Stephen Folk Center State Park in White Springs, Florida, just off I-75.

It’s time for the annual Florida Folk Festival featuring three days of music, dance, folk tales, arts and crafts, and food of all types. The Seminoles will be there in force for they have a Seminole Camp and every one who can play a fiddle will hit the stage.

Since its start in 1952, the Florida Folk Festival has been the place to recognize the diversity of Florida’s people and culture. Stephen Foster whose song about the nearby Suwannee River NEVER got to Florida, but dozens of Southern artists and entertainers do show up for some down home action.

Advance admission tickets are available from the Festival website and while there are some large nearby towns (Gainesville, Lake City), a lot of people like to look at the rustic hotels and lodges around White Spring and other Suwannee Valley villages.

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Triton Subs Puts Florida On The Underwater Map

Posted on April 25, 2014 by floridatraveler

Triton Subs Puts Florida On The Underwater Map

Who cares about powerboats and kayaks when you can cruise the oceans with your own personal submarine. Better yet, place it on your big yacht and cruise the world’s oceans both above and below.

TRITON SUBMARINES (http://tritonsubs.com), located at 90015 17th Place in Vero Beach is the manufacturer of some of the top personal submersibles in the world. A subsidiary of U. S. Submarine, Triton makes eleven different submersibles and seven support boats to travel the oceans with your sub.

The Triton 1000/2 is the “family vehicle”: a 450 pound submersible that can take a crew of two to a depth of 1000 feet. (see picture) But you can get the incredible Triton 3600/6 that can descend 36,000 feet into the ocean, or the snappy five seat Triton 3300/6.

These people take the underseas world as seriously as Jules Verne. In fact, they beat Verne at his own sci-fi game for they own the Poseidon Undersea Resort, a real underwater hotel located on a private 225 acre Mystery Island in Fiji. Reservations for its opening were so great, they are already looking for a location for Poseidon II.

My suggestion is to put it over in Bimini so in my future (dream) I can sail my submersible from the Florida East Coast over to the Bahamas.

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The Redneck Yacht Club – No Boats Allowed

Posted on April 21, 2014 by floridatraveler

The Redneck Yacht Club - No Boats Allowed

When my father was Sports Editor of the newspaper in Punta Gorda – it was fishing, hunting, and football …. then fishing, hunting, and football. Not anymore.

Charlotte County has the Redneck Yacht Club – one of the largest and wildest off-road parks in the world. It is a Mud Park with three lakes, one larger than most similar parks.

Danny Kelly grew up in the Southwest Florida area and started Kelly Brothers, a marine contracting firm. He found enough room in massive Charlotte Harbor for his boating interests, but the area lacked a place to race his multi-terrain vehicles.

So in 2007 he obtained a lot of land 17 miles out CR74 (44570 Bermont Road), 3 miles past Bermont (which was the real Boonies of Charlotte County). In a few years, he created a weekend monster of a destination.

Bring your ATV, your Jeep, and any Rugged Terrain Vehicle and Swamp Buggy, but don’t bring your boat! There is always events going on from races to music festivals to wild holiday celebrations.

The Redneck Yacht Club has 227,000+ Likes on Facebook. So many people show up, the park has put out a call for more vendor food trucks. If you are visiting Southwest Florida, here is a fun place to look up on the Internet.

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Disney FastPass+ Causing Lots Of Controversy

Posted on April 11, 2014 by floridatraveler

Disney FastPass+ Causing Lots Of Controversy

Unlike a lot of Disneyphiles the idea of being able to book a FastPass+ in advance and sticking my “blue MagicBand” into the system doesn’t bother me. I’m an old cuss and I hate rushing across Disney parks to book a trip on a five minute ride. But there are issues.

The stated reason WDW developed this system was so people would not have to stand in a long line (#1 complaint at WDW since it opened). That may be partially true, but the average Disney visitor comes every four years and only 25% used the old FastPass.

Let’s look at some of the new rules:

(1) You can only reserve book three FastPass+ choices a day and they must be in the same park. With $100 a day tickets this will ruffle a lot of feathers.

(2) FP+ does include some small kid stuff like character meetings and Fantasmic and slow kid rides. This is the BEST addition to FP+ as far as I can tell!

(3) FP+ choices can be changed at a kiosk during your visit to the park. Not an issue and the kiosks are good for non-techies as long as kiosks have staff members in attendance.

(4) There is a tier system at Epcot and Hollywood Studios that may be called “spreading the wealth” but imposes real crisis actions. You have three boys: they want to reserve Test Track, but your wife wants to reserve Soarin’. Both are Tier I rides and you can only reserve online one Tier I per day.

(5) You can’t use FP+ for multiple parks in one day. This might even change ticket buying choices. As an annual passholders, my wife and I visit at least two parks every trip, but only like one or two rides in each park.

(6) This I find is an area that is less publicized. If you are staying at a Disney hotel, you can reserve FP+ rides up to 60 days in advance. If you are NOT staying at a Disney hotel (even the Dolphin or Swan), you must use the kiosks. Annual passholders like me get 30 days advance reservations. Is this “spreading the wealth or something else?”

As an experiment last week I went at 11 o’clock to a kiosk to book Soarin’ at Epcot; the earliest I could get on the ride was 5:45 pm. The wait at the non-FP+ line at noon was 80 minutes long. It will be interesting to see what changes Disney will make this year regarding the FastPass+ system.

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Fantasy of Flight Attraction Is Closing

Posted on March 29, 2014 by floridatraveler

Fantasy of Flight Attraction Is Closing

Fantasy of Flight, the attraction at Polk City off I-4, is closing its main facilities after 18 years of service. It is another of the “real things” attractions that haven’t been able to attract enough business from the gigantic “fantasy” parks at nearby Orlando..

Fantasy of Flight owner Kermit Weeks noted, “We have a great product, but people have a mis-perception of what we offer.”

Fantasy of Flights has one of the world’s greatest collections of authentic airplanes, dating from the beginnings of the twentieth century. The airplanes are presented in realistic scenes and visitors can take rides in some airplanes at added costs.

Fortunately for airplane loves, the center will continue to be a restoration and maintenance facility for amazing historical aircraft. The reputation of the site with its airfield facilities will also mean there will be gatherings of old planes and special events.

Mr. Weeks plans to reopen the facility in a reduced capacity, probably with an emphasis on the aircraft collections and the rides. As a niche site with a smaller staff, a new Fantasy of Flight will hopefully emerge.

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The Meanest Golf Hole In Florida

Posted on March 24, 2014 by floridatraveler

The Meanest Golf Hole In Florida

What is the meanest golf hole in Florida? Is it the 18th hole at the TPC Blue Monster? Or perhaps the 8th hole at the PGA National Champions Course?

They may be tough on the professional players on the tour, but the meanest hole in Florida for weekend golfers is one of the most photographed holes in the United States. It is the par-3 Sixth Hole at Walt Disney World’s Magnolia course.

This hole at the longest golf course at WDW starts with an elevated tee where you get a wonderful view of the large tranquil water hazard and the even more elevated green. And there it is – staring you in the face – a Mickey Mouse shaped bunker.

Sure, every other golfer takes out the cellphone and snaps sandy old Mickey – but you realize that if your ball lands in that bunker, your friends will have a field day photographing you. You and Mickey will be on the billboard of every office wall, not counting the social media from Boston to Tokyo.

Yes – the Magnolia course at WDW has a dangerous hole. To avoid Mickey, golfers hit bad shots all over the woods and into the water.

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Bollywood’s Film Awards Come To Tampa, Florida

Posted on March 14, 2014 by floridatraveler

Bollywood's Film Awards Come To Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida, may seem an unlikely destination for the 15th International India Film Academy show, but unlike the Oscars the IIFA Awards have been given out in Toronto, Macao, Dubai, Singapore, and Amsterdam. This will be the first IIFA convention in the USA.

Unlike the Oscars, the Indian film showcase is a weekend convention of events topped by an award show where the general public is invited.

Will Bollywood fans come to Florida to see their favorites? Before the events and guests were even announced, 15,000 tickets were sold. Don’t worry – there’s plenty of seats for the public since the show (televised globally) is at Raymond James football Stadium.

Most of the events are taking place April 24th and 25th at the downtown Tampa Convention Center, but there are numerous banquets, music concerts, fashion shows, and even IIFA Master Class Panels available to the public. I’m interested in a Panel hosted by American actor Kevin Spacey and Indian star Vidya Balan.

This is the first time that the massive Indian film industry will present their product directly to American audiences as well as the gigantic worldwide Indian audience. One thing is certain. It will be an interesting time in Tampa.

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