You will be pleased to read that although there are hundreds of restaurants and fast food outlets in this area Bahama Bay Resort has it's own restaurants and pizza delivery service. Ideal when the crowds get too much at the attractions and you just want to get away and have an enjoyable meal.

Tradewinds is the main restaurant situated overlooking the beach and Lake Davenport. It can best be described as casually elegant. The menu is typically family orientated and for the older members of the family there is a cocktail lounge for that pre-meal drink and a leisurely look at the menu.

It offers breakfast buffets daily, casual lunches and a full dinner menu.

Breakfast is from 8.00a.m.to 11.00 a.m. Lunch from 11.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. and Dinner from 5.00 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.

Happy hour is from 5.00 p.m. in the cocktail lounge.

Mambo's is the pool side grill at the Clubhouse. It offers homemade pizza's, burgers and snacks from 10.00 a.m. to 6 00 p.m. (winter) and 12.00 midnight (summer). As always the service is friendly and relaxed so it makes the ideal venue for sunbathing, lunch and that all important drink from the bar to cool you down.

An additional service to all guest's is Bahama Bay's own pizza express. Just make the order from the comfort of your apartment and your pizza will be made on site and delivered to your door. There is a vast selection and the service is quick and friendly.

If you just want a snack within your apartment then no problem as everyday items can be purchased from the on site Marketplace within the Clubhouse.

So there is a good selection of dining alternatives on your doorstep at Bahama Bay Resort if you do not wish to travel out.

The Christmas tree has been put up in the Clubhouse and it looks great again this year. The tree stretches from the first floor and you can see it also from the balcony area on the second floor. I should explain that the Clubhouse is on two floors and the second floor has a square gallery area where you can look down to the first floor.

The Tradewinds Restaurant on the Resort is again offering a Special Christmas Day Menu serving between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. The cost is $29.95 plus tax The menu gives a good choice and there are the Christmas favourites Roast Turkey, Christmas Pudding and Brandy Sauce.

There is a non refundable deposit of $15 per adult and $10 per child.

Bahama Bay Resort is ideally placed for access to all the attractions in the area. The best mode of transport is obviously your own vehicle and it is recommended that a vehicle is a requirement at Bahama Bay Resort. Hire cars can easily be arranged and if necessary picked up and dropped off at the airports.

However there are times when some other method is required. To this end a shuttle service is available from the Resort to the attractions and provided by Good Times Transport. You do have to make the arrangements yourself however.

The cost is based on up to seven traveling and more if necessary at an extra cost per additional person and they also include Gate Fees for the Parks and tax. Unfortunately their rate sheet is very complicated so I will not try to precis it here but it is available through the Concierge and the Front Desk at the Resort.

Good Times Transport also has a Taxi Service so that is another alternative.

Check them out with the concierge at Bahama Bay Resort.

For those of you into horses and riding Bahama Bay Resort is conveniently located to at least two stables that offer Western style trail riding and horse riding lessons in general.

The first of these is on the Grand Cypress property at Lake Buena Vista and is called the Grand Cypress Equestrian Center.Various types of trail ride are available and range in price from $45 to $65 depending what the horse is expected to do and probably what your capabilities are on the horse. I mean here how experienced a rider you are. A guide also accompanies each group of riders.

From Bahama Bay it is about thirty minutes by car along I.4 to exit 68 and if you keep a look out for the Hyatt Grand Cypress Hotel and enter there the center is only a short drive away along internal roads. There are great directions on their website at www.grandcypress.com and click on Equestrian Center.

For those that are not riders but are golfers there are also a number of courses around the center and the Hyatt Hotel has a small pitch and putt course where you can hone your skills.

So perhaps it may be riding in the morning followed by a round of golf after lunch.

Another experience they offer is the riding party what a great idea for that youngster who is into horses and riding.

The other Center is out towards Poinciana and offers much the same as the Grand Cypress Center. I suppose it would be about 30 to 40 minutes from Bahama Bay. For directions check out their website at www.horseworldstables.com . This is a good informative site.

During my travels around the area I also noticed some new stables being erected on the Reunion Complex at Champions Gate so I will keep an eye on these and report again shortly. The good thing about these is that they are located much closer to Bahama Bay Resort.