Even the Brits are picking up on the slightly slower traffic we all experienced over Thanksgiving. This article in the Daily Telegraph claims travel was down a third this year as the effects of the economic downturn continue to be felt.
The number of people traveling for Thanksgiving in America has fallen by more than a third since four years ago with the downturn in the economy blamed for the stay-at-home trend.
In 2005, around 58 million people made journeys to see family or friends for the holiday but this year the figure is expected to be 38 million, according to research by AAA. The number of people taking flights has fallen by 6.7 per cent since last year as those that do travel opt for the cheaper option of going by train or car.
Amtrak said it expected the day before Thanksgiving to be its busiest of the year with around 125,000 passengers. On an average Wednesday it carries 74,000 passengers. Most people have decided that car travel makes the most financial sense and about 33 million are expected to drive.
Thanksgiving journeys fell by 25 per cent between 2007 and 2008 and there is not likely to be a reverse of that trend this year, AAA said.
Well, actually it still seemed pretty busy here on Anna Maria Island. Perhaps we should count ourselves lucky...
Visit www.annamaria.com for the very best in vacation rentals on this paradise island
Friday, 27 November 2009
Friday, 20 November 2009
Work, work, work on Anna Maria Island
Just in case you were wondering what those orange barricades, barrels and road-construction signs were doing cluttering up the roads on Anna Maria Island and nearby Longboat Key, get used to them, they’re going to be around for a while.
According to the Bradenton Herald, the Florida Department of Transportation has planned almost two dozen projects spread out over 18 months, possibly the heaviest construction schedule the islands have ever seen.
Some residents who attended the open house meeting where the work was unveiled opposed plans to build a sidewalk along a portion of North Bay Boulevard in Anna Maria. They question whether the $48,416 project, funded entirely by federal economic stimulus money, is justified.
Other projects include rehabilitating bridges on Crescent Avenue and North Bay Boulevard in Anna Maria; resurfacing parts of Pine Avenue and Gulf Drive in Anna Maria; installing sidewalks along Gulf Front Park; and upgrading the traffic signal at East Bay Drive and Gulf Drive.
I'm sure it will all look lovely when it's all done, but, well, y'know, it's a shame they can just swoop in at night and then disappear by daybreak.
Come to Anna Maria Island and stay with us at www.annamaria.com for the very best in vacation rental property this side of heaven
According to the Bradenton Herald, the Florida Department of Transportation has planned almost two dozen projects spread out over 18 months, possibly the heaviest construction schedule the islands have ever seen.
Some residents who attended the open house meeting where the work was unveiled opposed plans to build a sidewalk along a portion of North Bay Boulevard in Anna Maria. They question whether the $48,416 project, funded entirely by federal economic stimulus money, is justified.
Other projects include rehabilitating bridges on Crescent Avenue and North Bay Boulevard in Anna Maria; resurfacing parts of Pine Avenue and Gulf Drive in Anna Maria; installing sidewalks along Gulf Front Park; and upgrading the traffic signal at East Bay Drive and Gulf Drive.
I'm sure it will all look lovely when it's all done, but, well, y'know, it's a shame they can just swoop in at night and then disappear by daybreak.
Come to Anna Maria Island and stay with us at www.annamaria.com for the very best in vacation rental property this side of heaven
Friday, 9 October 2009
Join Mickey's club
If you're Canadian, you can give a little, get a lot – of Mickey Mouse.
The new "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" promotion from Disney Parks offers a free one-day admission to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida or Disneyland in California in return for one day of volunteering, reports thestar.com
Through Volunteer Canada, you can sign up for work at volunteer centres and more than 160,000 non-profit agencies.
Many of the projects are family-friendly, and the only stipulation for "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" says helpers must be at least six years old. The program starts Jan. 1 and a list of available volunteer projects can be found at www.disneyparks.ca. You must pre-register and ticket quantities are limited. Disney is looking for 1 million volunteers for this promotion.
So get out there and get volunteering.
The new "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" promotion from Disney Parks offers a free one-day admission to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida or Disneyland in California in return for one day of volunteering, reports thestar.com
Through Volunteer Canada, you can sign up for work at volunteer centres and more than 160,000 non-profit agencies.
Many of the projects are family-friendly, and the only stipulation for "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" says helpers must be at least six years old. The program starts Jan. 1 and a list of available volunteer projects can be found at www.disneyparks.ca. You must pre-register and ticket quantities are limited. Disney is looking for 1 million volunteers for this promotion.
So get out there and get volunteering.
Monday, 14 September 2009
Disney spending Fantasy money
This from the Associated Press wires...
Disney executives have announced the largest expansion in the history of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in central Florida. The new development will nearly double the size of Fantasyland and include a new ride based on the Little Mermaid movie.
Disney will be hoping that analysts who predict it will re-ignite travel to Orlando, which has lagged in the global recession, have got it right. Disney's parks contribute about a third of the giant entertainment company's entire revenue - so it's a fair bet that they see any money spent on this development will be worth it.
The Fantasyland overhaul will be complete by 2013. Disney declined to say how much it will spend on the projects.
Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com
Disney executives have announced the largest expansion in the history of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in central Florida. The new development will nearly double the size of Fantasyland and include a new ride based on the Little Mermaid movie.
Disney will be hoping that analysts who predict it will re-ignite travel to Orlando, which has lagged in the global recession, have got it right. Disney's parks contribute about a third of the giant entertainment company's entire revenue - so it's a fair bet that they see any money spent on this development will be worth it.
The Fantasyland overhaul will be complete by 2013. Disney declined to say how much it will spend on the projects.
Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Fewer planes, fewer seats
Here is something to consider if you are thinking of traveling by air between now and December this year. According to Rob Lovitt, writing on CSNBC.com, there will be approximately 307 million seats available on U.S. airlines during the period, a drop of 3.6 percent from the year before. He writes: 'Although smaller than the cut between 2007 and 2008 (8.1 per cent), the cumulative effect is still substantial'.
The states get more telling: only two of the 10 largest U.S. carriers increased their fourth-quarter capacity over the last two years, and the other eight all posted significant drops, with American (down 12.5 per cent), United (down 14.2 per cent) and Frontier (down 16.2 per cent) leading the plunge.
Rob continues: 'The impact on airports has been equally severe. All 67 of the FAA’s “Large” and “Medium” hubs, says ATA, have lost some scheduled service over the last two years. Based on scheduled departures, the hardest hit have been Cincinnati/North Kentucky (down 41.6 percent), Ontario (down 36.3) and Oakland (down 34.2 percent). Other painful cuts include Orlando (25.9 percent), LAX (17.2 percent), O’Hare (9.6 percent) and DFW (5.3 percent).
For passengers, of course, the contraction means fewer choices and less flexibility, but it’s seen by industry analysts as the only viable response to the recession and years of billion-dollar losses. “By the end of the year, capacity will probably be down 12 percent,” says Mike Boyd of Boyd Group International. “The airlines have finally begun to cut capacity faster than the recession has been killing demand.”
The upshot is fewer seats on fewer flights, which is fine if you don't mind a crowded plane, but could lead to some more travel-related headaches before you have even left the ground.
There really is only one company to trust with your Anna Maria Island vacation, and only one website you need to visit. Click on www.annamarianetwork.com for the very best in vacation rentals on the island. From two-bed cottages, to huge homes for the whole family, waterside, gulf front, secluded, we have it all.
The states get more telling: only two of the 10 largest U.S. carriers increased their fourth-quarter capacity over the last two years, and the other eight all posted significant drops, with American (down 12.5 per cent), United (down 14.2 per cent) and Frontier (down 16.2 per cent) leading the plunge.
Rob continues: 'The impact on airports has been equally severe. All 67 of the FAA’s “Large” and “Medium” hubs, says ATA, have lost some scheduled service over the last two years. Based on scheduled departures, the hardest hit have been Cincinnati/North Kentucky (down 41.6 percent), Ontario (down 36.3) and Oakland (down 34.2 percent). Other painful cuts include Orlando (25.9 percent), LAX (17.2 percent), O’Hare (9.6 percent) and DFW (5.3 percent).
For passengers, of course, the contraction means fewer choices and less flexibility, but it’s seen by industry analysts as the only viable response to the recession and years of billion-dollar losses. “By the end of the year, capacity will probably be down 12 percent,” says Mike Boyd of Boyd Group International. “The airlines have finally begun to cut capacity faster than the recession has been killing demand.”
The upshot is fewer seats on fewer flights, which is fine if you don't mind a crowded plane, but could lead to some more travel-related headaches before you have even left the ground.
There really is only one company to trust with your Anna Maria Island vacation, and only one website you need to visit. Click on www.annamarianetwork.com for the very best in vacation rentals on the island. From two-bed cottages, to huge homes for the whole family, waterside, gulf front, secluded, we have it all.
Friday, 7 August 2009
Be a Viva Diva
Check out this press release from Viator, which offers families advice on getting the best deals from days out in Florida and beyond.
It reads:
Viator.com the leading resource for researching and booking more than 5,500 trip activities and experiences in 75 countries at the best prices, is continuing its summer series, Viva La Viator, aimed at inspiring every traveler to explore as they never have before in any destination they choose. This week the team at Viator has selected a theme rather than a destination to highlight - Family Friendly Experiences. Viator features a "Family Friendly" category of tours and activities in top cities so families can easily find and book the best things to do in the destination they are visiting.
Check out the full details here
There really is only one company to trust with your Anna Maria Island vacation, and only one website you need to visit. Click on www.annamariavacations.com for the very best in vacation rentals on the island. From two-bed cottages, to huge homes for the whole family, waterside, gulf front, secluded, we have it all.
It reads:
Viator.com the leading resource for researching and booking more than 5,500 trip activities and experiences in 75 countries at the best prices, is continuing its summer series, Viva La Viator, aimed at inspiring every traveler to explore as they never have before in any destination they choose. This week the team at Viator has selected a theme rather than a destination to highlight - Family Friendly Experiences. Viator features a "Family Friendly" category of tours and activities in top cities so families can easily find and book the best things to do in the destination they are visiting.
Check out the full details here
There really is only one company to trust with your Anna Maria Island vacation, and only one website you need to visit. Click on www.annamariavacations.com for the very best in vacation rentals on the island. From two-bed cottages, to huge homes for the whole family, waterside, gulf front, secluded, we have it all.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Wake up and smell the coffee
Flying in to Orlando? Smell coffee? You must be on a Southwest Airlines plane...
Here's the tale from the Telegraph newspaper, London, England.
Flight 693 departed from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut at 7.21 on Sunday morning, bound for Orlando, when a flight attendant reported an electrical smell.
But after the 131 passengers and five crew members were safely evacuated after the plane made an emergency landing at Long Island Islip MacArthur Airport at 8am, it emerged that the odour had been caused by a coffee maker in the back of the aircraft, a company spokesman said on Monday.
The aircraft was examined and the smell was determined to be from a coffee maker in the back galley of the Boeing 737. The aeroplane was put back into service by 12.30 pm on Sunday, said Chris Mainz, a Southwest spokesman.
Read the full story here
There really is only one company to trust with your Anna Maria Island vacation, and only one website you need to visit. Click on www.annamariavacations.com for the very best in vacation rentals on the island. From two-bed cottages, to huge homes for the whole family, waterside, gulf front, secluded, we have it all.
Here's the tale from the Telegraph newspaper, London, England.
Flight 693 departed from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut at 7.21 on Sunday morning, bound for Orlando, when a flight attendant reported an electrical smell.
But after the 131 passengers and five crew members were safely evacuated after the plane made an emergency landing at Long Island Islip MacArthur Airport at 8am, it emerged that the odour had been caused by a coffee maker in the back of the aircraft, a company spokesman said on Monday.
The aircraft was examined and the smell was determined to be from a coffee maker in the back galley of the Boeing 737. The aeroplane was put back into service by 12.30 pm on Sunday, said Chris Mainz, a Southwest spokesman.
Read the full story here
There really is only one company to trust with your Anna Maria Island vacation, and only one website you need to visit. Click on www.annamariavacations.com for the very best in vacation rentals on the island. From two-bed cottages, to huge homes for the whole family, waterside, gulf front, secluded, we have it all.
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