Latte Lover
09-23-2008, 02:23 PM
We are:
Tony, (DH – Tony64) age 44 - in charge of driving, collecting coffee and doughnuts for breakfast, running to get fast passes and generally stressing. This is his ninth trip.
Theresa (me), age 43 - in charge of the credit cards and plotting quickest routes to the shopping malls. This is my tenth trip.
Maddie (DD), age 19 - jointly in charge of where we eat, shop and play this trip. This is her seventh trip.
Callum (DS) age 18 - in charge of himself. This is his seventh trip.
Thursday 28th August 2008
Today we were up early and away by 8am. We arrived at Disney’s Hollywood Studios by 8.30. Super early! Parked in Stage 41 and walked to the entrance as it was so close. We were so early, the CM’s were arriving at the same time!
We were allowed into the park just before nine, then were held at the end of Sunset Boulevard until “rope drop”. There was an opening ceremony which took about 10 minutes and by then there were hundreds of people waiting. When the rope was dropped virtually everyone stampeded the same way – to Toy Story Mania. Tony queued for fast passes for later as we were sure we would want to ride again, while the rest of us went straight on the ride. The idea was for Tony to catch up with us in the queue, (lots of other dads were doing this – the CM’s were fine with it), but he never caught us up! Apparently the fast pass machine he had chosen wasn’t working properly and by the time he had got the passes he didn’t like to push through the whole queue to get to us.
He did manage to get to the exit of the ride, though, and caught us getting off the ride.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony252.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony251.jpg
The ride is a 3d shooting game and is a lot of fun. We decided we liked it better than Buzz Lightyear in the Magic Kingdom. It’s better for young children too, as the targets are really close and it’s obvious when you hit one.
From there Maddie, Cal and I went on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Maddie was keen to do this as she went on an upside-down coaster for the first time at Thorpe Park this year, and couldn’t wait to try out the Florida ones. We rode it twice; the second time using the single rider line which had almost no queue at all.
Tony did Tower of Terror while we were on R n R, and then we all did Muppetvision, Star Tours and then Toy Story again.
We stopped for lunch at the Backlot Express (chosen by the children). Burgers for everyone except me – I had grilled cheese and turkey sandwich.
We did a few more rides, had a wander through the shops, bought ice-creams and then decided to go back to the condo for a swim and a rest as it was getting very hot.
For dinner, we chose Smokey Bones on the 192. This is a place we have passed many times and always said we must try but never had. I had chicken salad with pecans, strawberries and cranberries, which I really enjoyed.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony387.jpg
Tony had two types of ribs and enjoyed his.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony385.jpg
Cal had ribs and chicken strips – the ribs were good but the chicken was a bit over-cooked.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony383.jpg
Maddie had fish and chips and didn’t like it at all. The fish was watery, over-seasoned and tasted a bit odd!
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony386.jpg
For dessert, I had Pecan Pie (lovely), Tony had Peanut Butter Pie (very rich – he couldn’t finish it) and Maddie had 7 layer chocolate cake, which was so big, she brought half of it back in a box.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony391.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony390.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony389.jpg
Cal, of course, didin’t have a dessert. This is how he stays so slim! The rest of us just can’t resist. The bill was $82 before tip. Not sure if we would go back again. I think we like other places more.
After dinner, we called in to Publix for a few groceries, and then Blockbusters where Maddie, Cal and Tony all bought a vast amount of cheap ex-rental DVDs. (4 for $20, I think, and some of them were really recent ones).
Tomorrow, we have another early start for Universal Studios.
Tony, (DH – Tony64) age 44 - in charge of driving, collecting coffee and doughnuts for breakfast, running to get fast passes and generally stressing. This is his ninth trip.
Theresa (me), age 43 - in charge of the credit cards and plotting quickest routes to the shopping malls. This is my tenth trip.
Maddie (DD), age 19 - jointly in charge of where we eat, shop and play this trip. This is her seventh trip.
Callum (DS) age 18 - in charge of himself. This is his seventh trip.
Thursday 28th August 2008
Today we were up early and away by 8am. We arrived at Disney’s Hollywood Studios by 8.30. Super early! Parked in Stage 41 and walked to the entrance as it was so close. We were so early, the CM’s were arriving at the same time!
We were allowed into the park just before nine, then were held at the end of Sunset Boulevard until “rope drop”. There was an opening ceremony which took about 10 minutes and by then there were hundreds of people waiting. When the rope was dropped virtually everyone stampeded the same way – to Toy Story Mania. Tony queued for fast passes for later as we were sure we would want to ride again, while the rest of us went straight on the ride. The idea was for Tony to catch up with us in the queue, (lots of other dads were doing this – the CM’s were fine with it), but he never caught us up! Apparently the fast pass machine he had chosen wasn’t working properly and by the time he had got the passes he didn’t like to push through the whole queue to get to us.
He did manage to get to the exit of the ride, though, and caught us getting off the ride.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony252.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony251.jpg
The ride is a 3d shooting game and is a lot of fun. We decided we liked it better than Buzz Lightyear in the Magic Kingdom. It’s better for young children too, as the targets are really close and it’s obvious when you hit one.
From there Maddie, Cal and I went on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Maddie was keen to do this as she went on an upside-down coaster for the first time at Thorpe Park this year, and couldn’t wait to try out the Florida ones. We rode it twice; the second time using the single rider line which had almost no queue at all.
Tony did Tower of Terror while we were on R n R, and then we all did Muppetvision, Star Tours and then Toy Story again.
We stopped for lunch at the Backlot Express (chosen by the children). Burgers for everyone except me – I had grilled cheese and turkey sandwich.
We did a few more rides, had a wander through the shops, bought ice-creams and then decided to go back to the condo for a swim and a rest as it was getting very hot.
For dinner, we chose Smokey Bones on the 192. This is a place we have passed many times and always said we must try but never had. I had chicken salad with pecans, strawberries and cranberries, which I really enjoyed.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony387.jpg
Tony had two types of ribs and enjoyed his.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony385.jpg
Cal had ribs and chicken strips – the ribs were good but the chicken was a bit over-cooked.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony383.jpg
Maddie had fish and chips and didn’t like it at all. The fish was watery, over-seasoned and tasted a bit odd!
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony386.jpg
For dessert, I had Pecan Pie (lovely), Tony had Peanut Butter Pie (very rich – he couldn’t finish it) and Maddie had 7 layer chocolate cake, which was so big, she brought half of it back in a box.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony391.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony390.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/tony1964/FloridaAug2008tony389.jpg
Cal, of course, didin’t have a dessert. This is how he stays so slim! The rest of us just can’t resist. The bill was $82 before tip. Not sure if we would go back again. I think we like other places more.
After dinner, we called in to Publix for a few groceries, and then Blockbusters where Maddie, Cal and Tony all bought a vast amount of cheap ex-rental DVDs. (4 for $20, I think, and some of them were really recent ones).
Tomorrow, we have another early start for Universal Studios.