Pucker your lips for Kissimmee

TravelMole’s Graham Mckenzie feels the love in Florida.

‘How do you like your eggs in the morning? I like mine with a Kissimmee’ so goes the song or certainly a Floridian version of it. I, having visited recently to play some golf,  am not surprised as my experience was not what I was expecting.

Just a few Mickey miles from Orlando but it’s not all about the mouse, it’s a great place to promote for couples and families who may not wish to overdose on theme parks. Kissimmee has a lot to offer and benefits from competitive hotel rates and airfares.

I flew in the relatively new Virgin Premium Economy and you have to admit that air travel has a come a blooming long way in the last ten to fifteen years. Passengers travelling to destinations including Orlando now enjoy new seats, a wicked new cutting edge IFE technology system that gives you almost endless hours of entertainment and more modern fresh feel to the cabins. For a man that remembers sitting and waiting for the hostess to pull down the screen at the front of the cabin for the one film on a ten hour flight it’s a huge improvement. The rest of the rubbish like queuing up for security at both ends of the journey persists but at least the bit in between is more than comfortable.

So what does Kissimmee have to offer other than a quick route to space mountain. Well as I mentioned I played golf and there a multitude of courses to choose from for all levels of skill and for all budgets. The weather, even in October, is very pleasant and ideal for shooting a net 64!!!

But that’s not all. Some of the dining options in the Celebration village has a relaxed feel as it’s set on the edge of a lake and home to some of the Floridian wildlife, and giving you lots of outdoor  options which in many parts of America is unusual. We Brits love it of course and our desire to get outside at the drop of a hat is more than satisfied.  The big plus for me is that these restaurant areas are as strictly non-smoking as indoors.

Kissimmee can also offer horse riding, nature walks , Nascar driving experience, a heritage trail , zip-lining and hot air ballooning and of course plenty of evening shows , such as Arabian Nights, Medieval Times, and Silver Spurs Rodeo event that takes place annually – I would have loved to have seen this in the middle of Kissimmee. Cowboys in Florida… interesting.

Personally I like Dave and Busters which for those of you that don’t know is like a big kid’s amusement arcade that serves food and alcohol (in fairness just a bit outside Kissimmee) . You can of course go visit very easily all the major theme parks if you want but I didn’t. Been there done that .

One of the big allures is to go out on the airboats and look for alligators. We did this as a group one evening (the best time to do it) and sped around the swamp area with Boggy Creek tours. It was exhilarating, and very very good. Not only do you get to see quite a few gators but also bird life, frogs and other aquatic based creatures.

So if you’re looking for a warm climate , cost effective, active, comfortable break rethink the Kissimmee area – it’s not Mickey Mouse.

For more information on Kissimmee, visit the website