CitySurfing Orlando

It was a nice late fall day out, so my family and I went to CoCo Key Water Resort today, to check out their water park.

A while back, we had spotted them on Groupon. The offer was for day passes to their outdoor water park, so I bought 2 for us at “buy 1 get 1 free” for a day pass. We have been driving by it every Sunday on our way to church since it opened and the kids have been dying to go.

It’s nice that a hotel has realized that locals can provide revenue, too. It’s a small park, but that is not necessarily a bad thing with small kids. They have a good variety of slides for all ages. Our 6 yr old could ride all but 2 slides, and our 40″ 3 yr old could ride all but 3 slides. There are lots of slides and play things for very small kids too. And at 85 degrees, the pools were nice to just be in.

The fall/winter single day ticket price is $14.95 per ticket which makes it more affordable than other water parks. Florida resident discounts bring that price down to $9.95 per pass. But with the winter hours, I would recommend getting there as it opens.

We will go back, there is no doubt about that. But I may wait for another Groupon or other special with the winter hours (Thurs-Sat 11am-7pm; Sun 11am-5pm; closed Mon-Wed). And I did not get any pictures as I was too busy playing, too.

Day passes to CoCo Key Water Resort are available based on water park capacity with certain restrictions and blackout dates. Admission to the water park is only guaranteed to guests of the resort.

[Image courtesy of CoCo Key Water Resort]

Every month, except November and December, the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando hosts a live concert called Velvet Sessions. It’s a 21 and over event that features classic rock and pop artists performing in an intimate club-like atmosphere.

For January 2012, the band tapped to play is The Fixx, which had a string of hit singles in the 1980s including “Saved By Zero,” “One Thing Leads to Another,” and “Red Skies.”

This month’s Velvet Sessions takes place on January 26, 2012.

Tickets are $29 in advance online or $35 at the door. This not only gets you in the door, but free specialty drinks, finger foods and warm-up tunes from 6:30 pm until show time. Complimentary valet parking is also included.

For $50, you can upgrade to VIP, which in addition to the above perks, gives you access to a special viewing area with a private bar serving those free specialty drinks all night.

Here’s a video of one of their hit tunes to prepare you for the show:

How’s this for an unusual crossover? Actress Ginnifer Goodwin, currently starring in ABC’s hit TV series “Once Upon A TIme,” was recently in Orlando. While she was here, she took time out to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando.

On her show, Goodwin plays dual roles, one of which is Snow White.. Shhh! Nobody tell the Evil Queen where she is.

[Photos courtesy Universal Orlando]

2012 is a leap year, meaning we get one extra day on the calendar. This year that extra day is going to be when a special promotion takes place at Walt Disney World.

On February 29, 2012 – for the first time ever – WDW will keep the Magic Kingdom park open a full 24 hours. From 6am on Feb 29 through 6am on March 1, guests will be able to enjoy playing in the Magic Kingdom non-stop.

To make things even better, this is not a special ticket event. Any regular Disney admission from single park tickets to annual passes will get you in for this.

I’m already making plans to be out there for the overnight. Anybody else planning on taking advantage of this special promotion?

[Image courtesy of Walt Disney World]

We have had a hard time finding decent Mexican food here in South Orlando, so we were pleased to see that Habaneros Mexican Grill had moved in where the old Village Inn used to be.

We ordered kids meals for my 3 and 6 year old, and they loved the chicken fingers and quesadilla. My daughter also got an enchilada, but it was not much more than ground beef wrapped in a tortilla, covered with chili sauce… needed some more flavoring and perhaps some sauce inside the meat mixture.

My husband, Kirk, got the chicken soup, which was VERY tasty and just what he had hoped it would be – in addition to a side tamale, which was good, but nothing extraordinary.

I got the fried chimichangas, one each beef and chicken, and they both were very flavorful. I especially liked the chicken seasoning.

I ordered a sangria, which was decent, and Kirk’s margarita was also acceptable, without being too fancy. The kids appreciated that they had horchata, one of their favorite drinks.

Overall, we were very pleased with the meal, and the service was good as well. We will be back! We would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

This review is for the Hunters Creek location. They have several other locations in Orlando, all listed on their website.