Legoland in Winter Haven, FL

On October 15th, in Winter Haven, Florida, the newest theme park attraction is opening, Legoland!  Legoland is 150 acres on the site of the old Cypress Gardens, which interestingly enough, was Florida’s first them park in 1936.   Cypress Gardens closed in 2009 when after years of financial battering, a hurricane battered the grounds.  Legoland incorporated the Lego structures around the remaining beautiful trees and gardens that remained.  Sixteen mature live oak trees were transplanted to save them and a majestic Banyan tree, planted in 1939, is still there.  Two of the four rollercoasters are in tact including the only wooden coaster at a Legoland park anywhere.   “Island in the Sky,” a 100 foot rotating platform ride that offers a bird’s-eye view of the entire park is still there as well.

“Every Lego model you see in the park is made with standard Lego pieces,” says Bill Vollbrecht, who designed the park. “We don’t have special pieces made; they are standard brick sizes, the standard colors that kids can buy in the kits at the store. We don’t modify, change or do anything different. Because we want to show what you can do with them. This is the ultimate toy box.”  The only difference is that the Lego structures in the park have been glued together to be able to handle children and adults alike climbing on them.

We know we all love Lego’s, but did you know there are actual benefits to playing with Lego’s?  There is a lot of creativity into taking those colorful blocks and building what you can imagine.  There are also problem-solving skills involved trying to get the pieces to match up and look the way you need them to. And then finally, once you have imagined and created your piece, you then get to admire it, show it off and actually play with it.

Legoland is geared towards kids aged 2 to 12  and is 45 minutes from Disney.   A one day pass is $55 for those under 13 and older than 59, and $65 for everybody else.  Bluegreen Corporation resorts are between Legoland and Disney and are a great, economical resort to stay at.  For more information on Legoland, go to MSNBC.

The TSA wants to start shifting airport security screening from treating everyone as if they are a terrorist, to performing security measures based on intelligence and behaviors of passengers.  If it’s successful, the agency says, it plans to expand it to other airlines and airports.

In the future, eligible passengers may be referred to a lane where they will experience expedited screening.  TSA will always perform  random and unpredictable security measures and no individual will be guaranteed expedited screening. TSA’s multi-layered approach to security also includes behavior detection officers, explosives-detection systems, canine teams, and federal air marshals, among other measures both seen and unseen.

Traveling to a Bluegreen Corporation resort, for a vacation or for business, may get a little easier in the not too distant future.  Registering for the “PreCheck” program will be voluntary but even if you choose not to register, because others have registered, the security screening lines will get shorter.  More information should be forthcoming as to what kind of personal information you will be giving to the government so you can decide whether you want to be part of it or not.  For more information on the TSA “PreCheck” pilot program, go to USA Today.

To name just a few events, beginning October 1st, 2011, the Visiting Artist Series will be hosted at Unicoi State Park every Saturday and Sunday until November 13th.  Talented artists and crafts people from Georgia and the surrounding states bring in their work to display and sell to the public.  The price is $5.00 for parking.

In tandem is also the Saturday Evening Music Concert Series each Saturday evening from 8:00-10:00 pm, at the Lodge at Unicoi State Park.   Local musicians, considered to be among the best musicians in the area, will be performing a variety of music from Appalachian Mountain, Bluegrass, and Southern Gospel music.  The concerts are free, however, there is a pass-the-hat donation for the musicians.  For a schedule of musicians, contact the Lodge at Unicoi State Park at 1-800-573-9659 x 305.

Yonah Mountain Vineyards will be hosting their event, Wine Song, an outdoor concert series at the Sautee Village Pavilion for the entire month of October. The event is held every Saturday, from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm and features the best of local music. Bring a blanket, a picnic, and purchase a bottle or glass of wine in the Yonah Mountan Vinyard tasting room.

Another great event is Octoberfest which begins on October 8th, complete with the Miss Octoberfest Pageant.  There are many other events being held in Helen, Georgia for the month of October.  For more information, go to the Helen Convention and Visitors Bureau.  A long weekend vacation at a Bluegreen resort in Georgia could be just the getaway you are looking for.

Tim and Nina Zagat founded the company in 1979 as a way to collect and rate restaurants for local people in New York City.  By 2005, the Zagat survey included 70 cities, with reviews based on the input of 250,000 individuals reporting over the years.  The Zagat guides rate hotels, nightlife, shopping, zoos, music, movies, theaters, golf courses and airlines. You can purchase Zagat as a book,  software for a personal assistant, mobile phone application or by paid subscription on the Web.  The ratings include food, decor, service, and cost and also includes a short descriptive paragraph with reviewers’ comments about each restaurant or service as well as typical pricing and other information.

General Atlantic bought a third of parent company Zagat, LLC for $31 million in February, 2000 and hired a non-Zagat family member Amy B. McIntosh as CEO.  In 2008, the company was up for sale with an asking price of $200 million.  After a long dry spell with no one purchasing the company, on September 8, 2011 Google purchased Zagat for a reported $125 million, a fraction of the asking price in 2008.

Google has been adding local marketing over the years with Google Offers and now Google’s Android smartphones and tablets are a tool for many mobile subscribers looking for local retailers, restaurants, or deals.  As more and more people use their smart phones as their source of e-mail, internet searches, and phone, Google’s purchase of Zagat makes sense.  It certainly makes it more convenient for the traveler to book a reservation at a Bluegreen Corporation resort, select and make dinner reservations, purchase movie tickets, all from their phone.  When Google perfects their “Flights” search, their domination of travel will begin.

For more on Google’s purchase of Zagat and the new Google “Flights” search, go to IB Times.

Gas price changes are one of the airlines most difficult areas to gauge profit on as even a small change in fuel prices can significantly affect profits.  However, business travel is expected to rise for the fourth quarter of the year which may help stabilize rate prices.  Businesses are flying their employees coach more often than business class, but travel is on the rise.  Bluegreen Corporation resorts are booking their meeting halls, and occupancy is up.

In New York City, highlights include the  Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New Yorker Festival and the opening of the National September 11 Memorial.

In New Jersey, there is the Asbury Park Oysterfest from 9/9 -9/11/2011.

Hershey, Pennsylvania is hosting some events to lift our spirits this month like Restaurant Week from September 11th – 17th.  Nine different restaurants will be participating and for $30.00, you can get a 3 course dinner, or for $15.00, you can get a 2 course lunch.  From September 14th – 18th, Hershey is hosting America’s Largest RV Show featuring more than 900 RVs on display from major manufacturers.  Bluegreen Corporation resort, The Suites at Hershey, is a family oriented resort close to everything Hershey.  While you are there, you will want to check out the Cocoa Train observation tower and watch the trains chug by carrying cocoa beans and sugar to the chocolate factories.

It’s still summer, and there are plenty of activities still happening.  The northeast region of the United States is an area rich in history and cultural events and a great place to be in September.

If you are planning on traveling to a Bluegreen Corporation resort, you may want to consider purchasing travel insurance.  The travel insurance companies will e-mail you the cost along with the coverage benefits before you purchase so you can weigh the benefits against the cost.  Coverage is dependent upon circumstance, so you will want to read the policy before purchasing.

An example of applicable coverage might be if you planned a vacation during the winter months and the airport closed down due to a severe snow storm and there were fees associated with cancelled hotel rooms and flights.   The travel insurance would cover any cancellation fees.  Another example would be if a relative passed away and you had to leave your vacation suddenly causing flight change fees and forfeited hotel nights.  Basically, travel insurance coverage is in place for unforeseen circumstances beyond your control that should you need it, the insurance will cost you less than the fees associated with cancelling your vacation.

There are several different good travel insurance companies out there to choose from.  Travel Guard is one the most popular companies, and they do have 1-800 #’s with live representatives to answer questions.

According to Market Watch, people that travel with family purchase travel insurance the most as the chance of illness or accident requiring hospitalization goes up dramatically.  They say it also depends on the time of the year you are traveling.  If you are traveling during hurricane season, or the dead of winter, the risk of a cancelled flight is greater.

Purchasing travel insurance is a good idea if you are not a risk taker and truly believe something could interfere with your vacation.  Access America and Travel Guard are two reputable insurance companies to look into if you are considering purchasing it.

To get there,  he spent $800.00 on a one way ticket from L.A. to Cairo, then traveled by land across the border into Libya.  His parents did not originally know of his summer vacation plans, but they are probably aware now as he is making headlines.  His decision to go to Libya stemmed from his belief that this is one of the few real revolutions and he wanted to be part of it.

Chris is near the front lines, moving closer to Sirte, which is Quaddafi’s home town.  He is with other young men around his age.  He does not speak Arabic, but communicates with sign language and broken Italian.  Chris plans to head back to California at the end of September, the day before school starts again.  He said he plans on using his credit card to pay for his plane ticket back home.

For more information on this story, go to The Christian Science Monitor.

The next thing American may want to invest in is their response time to customer’s when situations arise such as Hurricane Irene.  According to Stella Service,  American’s ranking for customer service was not impressive under difficult circumstances.  The average call wait time was over an hour, where as US Airways kept the wait time to under three minutes.  According to the Stella Service blog, Delta, Frontier and Jet Blue are also using twitter to keep their customers updated with flight delays or cancellations.

Responsiveness to customer’s inquiries shows respect for their clients whether they are premium customers or coach.  In today’s economic times, airlines are doing what ever they can to promote their airline over another and ticket prices are not the only thing customers look for when choosing a flight.  If you are planning a business trip or a vacation to a Bluegreen Corporation resort, you may want to review the Stella Service report before booking your flight.

The new amenities package offered by American will be offered to their other flights beginning Oct. 1, 2011 on Boeing 777s and 767-300′s and  select flights to and from Europe operated by Boeing 757s.