Monthly Archives: June 2009

The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World

“The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World” will give you a renewed appreciation of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Susan Veness’ new Disney book “The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World” is reviewed by Jim Hill Media, a website that is one of THE most authoritative voices on Disney and all things to do with the House of Mouse anywhere in the world.

It is read by Disney execs and fans alike. It is a glorious, glowing review from one of the most knowledgeable people in the business and it is a superb testament to all Susan’s work on this.

“The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World” will give you a renewed appreciation of the WDW Resort…Jim Hill reviews Susan Veness’ new paperback, which features over 600 seldom-told tales about the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom .

“30 years ago this month, I made my very first trip to Walt Disney World. And for 25 years now, I’ve been writing about Central Florida’s Vacation Kingdom.”

“I offer this info up not because I want to impress JHM readers with my advanced age. But – rather – to give you some idea of how long I’ve actually been studying the history of WDW. The decades that I’ve devoted to talking with the Imagineers who actually designed the Resort’s theme parks and hotels, the many longtime cast members that I’ve quizzed over the years to get a sense of how this place really runs.”

“And over these past three decades, I have literally collected tens of thousands of tales about the Walt Disney World Resort. I mean, I thought that I had heard and read it all. Which is why Susan Veness’ “The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World: Over 600 Secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom ” (Adams Media, June 2009) is such a delightful surprise.”

Read the full review…
 
LINK: http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2009/06/10/the-hidden-magic-of-walt-disney-world-allows-you-to-see-the-resort-through-a-new-set-of-eyes.aspx

Susan also helps co-author the very popular ‘A British Guide to Orlando’.

Congratulations Susan!

Orlando Home Sales Up, Prices Down

Orlando Realtors sold more homes in May, but more than half were bank owned or distressed sales, according to the latest report from Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

Association members sold 1,854 existing homes last month, or 38 percent more than April and 44 percent more than the same month last year. Of the homes sold in May, 795 were bank-repossessed properties and another 150 were distressed.

Those sales have driven down the median home price in May to $130,000, a 38.5 percent decrease. The median price for a traditional home resale was $165,000, $82,000 for bank-owned resales and $140,000 for distressed sales.

Meanwhile, sales of existing homes in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties was up 44 percent last month. There were 2,400 home resales in the Orlando area, compared to the 1,662 sold in May 2008.

Through May, 10,005 homes have be sold, 51.7 percent more than the 6,595 sold during the same period last year.

Along with increased sales, more than double the number of homes awaited closings in May, an indicator of an improving market, the report said. There were 6,603 pending contracts last month, which compares with 3,225 in the same month last year and 3,455 homes came under contract in May 2009.

Orlando area condo resales was 369 in May, more than double May 2008’s 142 unit sales. The majority of those sales, 198 units, were priced at $50,000 or less.

The report said 156 duplex, townhome, and villa units sold in May, a nearly 36 percent increase from May 2008’s 115. Most of those sales, 29 units, sold in the $100,000-$120,000 price category.

Orlando’s affordability index is at nearly 198, which means that buyers earning the state-reported median income of $52,364 can qualify to purchase homes priced up to $256,939.

The first-time homebuyer affordability in Orlando is 140.6 percent, which means first-time homebuyers who earn the reported median income of $35,608 can qualify to purchase a home listed for $155,306 or less.

All homes were on the market for an average of 104 days before selling in May 2009. The average home sold for 94 percent of its listing price.

There were 19,123 homes for sale through the Multiple Listing Service last month, down 1,071 homes from April 2009. The May inventory level is nearly 24 percent lower than 25,015 available in May 2008. The May 2009 inventory reflects a 10.31-month supply at the current sales pace.

U.K. House Prices Unexpectedly Jumped by 2.6% in May 2009

U.K. house prices unexpectedly jumped in May by the most since 2002, adding to signs the worst of the recession is over, a report by Halifax showed.

Home values rose 2.6 percent from the previous month to an average of £158,565 pounds ($260,000), the division of Lloyds Banking Group Plc said in a statement in London today. Economists predicted a 1 percent drop, according to the median of 12 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. From a year earlier, prices fell 13.7 percent.

Services industries expanded for the first time in a year in May and consumer confidence rose to a six-month high, reports yesterday showed, in further evidence the economy is emerging from its slump. The Bank of England said today it will continue spending 125 billion pounds in newly printed money to bolster lending as it kept the benchmark interest rate at a record low.

“The Halifax data are bound to heighten speculation that the housing market is turning,” said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight in London. “We believe that the pickup in actual house purchases is likely to be gradual and fitful for some time to come given ongoing tight credit conditions.”

The monthly increase was the first in four months, Halifax said. In the three months through May, prices fell 16.3 percent from a year earlier.

“There are some tentative indications of a possible stabilization in activity, albeit at a low level,” Nitesh Patel, an economist at Halifax, said in the statement. “House sales remain substantially below their long term average and market conditions are expected to remain difficult.”

The Bank of England today left the benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent at its monthly decision and said they would keep the total amount of money that they want to spend on assets to aid the economy under review.

Foreign travelers boost Orlando’s 2008 head count

Despite a year long recession in 2008, more than 48 million people visited Orlando last year to give the area its second-best year on record, according to an official head count released Wednesday.

The visitor total reported by the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc. — 48.9 million — was three-tenths of a percent better than the 2007 head count of 48.7 million and the best year since 2005, when a record 49.3 million visitors came to town.

“We knew the first part of ’08 was sensational for us, and we led the U.S. in a lot of different metrics,” said Gary Sain, president and chief executive of the visitors bureau. “And then, of course, the last six months of the year were very challenging.”

The slight increase last year was due to an 18.9 percent jump in international visitors, who constitute a small but lucrative segment of Orlando’s tourism market. The number of U.S. visitors, who constitute about 93 percent of all travelers to Orlando, actually fell last year by nine-tenths of a percent.

Sain attributed the international growth to more targeted marketing in countries such as Brazil and Canada, as well as the addition of international air service by carriers such as Germany’s Lufthansa, Ireland’s Aer Lingus and Brazil’s TAM.

“We’re just making it easier for people to travel to Orlando,” he said.

The number of domestic leisure travelers last year generally held steady when compared with 2007, but the number of domestic business travelers fell 3.2 percent as the recession prompted corporations to trim their travel budgets. Overnight group meetings fell 7.8 percent compared with a year earlier, the visitors bureau said.