- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
Tuesday 18th March
After the disappointing weather of the previous day, this morning dawned bright and beautiful. Absolutely typical!
Determined to make the most of our last day, we finished the packing and called bell services to collect out luggage and the Owners Locker, then made our way down to the boat dock. We were headed to Hollywood Studios.
We arrived just before 10.30 and went straight to Tower of Terror. Standby times were already massive over 45 minutes but luckily we had FP+. After riding, we had to have one last snack stop at our favourite, Starring Rolls. Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcake for Sian and Apple Danish for me.
We wandered the Streets of New York for a while, enjoying the sunshine and taking in the atmosphere, savouring every moment of our last day.
Our next FP+ window (Toy Story Mania) had opened up - guess who won?
I dont know why but I have never noticed this before.
The green soldiers were out and were marching a bemused group down the street.
After our final ride of the trip, Rock n Roller Coaster, it was time to grab one last picture of the hat and exit the park.
Back in October, when wed stayed at the Swan/Dolphin, The Fountain had been our favourite place to go for a late night ice-cream but we hadnt had a chance to try lunch or dinner there. Originally, wed planned to visit Beaches and Cream for our final lunch but we both decided it might be nice to revisit The Fountain. We caught the boat and alighted at the Swolphin boat dock, making our way over to the Dolphin.
Our waitress was phenomenal. She was so friendly and we loved chatting with her. She said how much she would love to go to England one day so I told her she should go home in my place and I would stay and do her job. We were all set until I mentioned my husband and she said she didnt really want one of those. We both ordered Diet Cokes and a chicken sandwich. We obviously had to have ice-cream that was the reason for coming here and chose the make-your-own sundaes. Strawberry with marshmallow topping and sprinkles for Sian, Mint Choc Chip with hot fudge and Peppermint Patty Cookies for me. The chicken sandwich was delicious but the sundaes were out of this world. A wonderful last meal at Disney World.
After lunch, we were stuffed so took a slow walk around the lake. It was such a gorgeous afternoon and I remembered how much I loved this location. I was desperately hoping that we would be able to get a room at the Boardwalk for our stay with the in-laws in October (which we did, by the way).
With a heavy heart, we made our way back to the resort to collect our luggage and wait for the Magical Express (or Unmagical Depress, as my friend Paula calls it). We just had time for a final drink at the pool bar before we left.
The driver pulled up to the resort a few minutes late and collected in our transportation letters. When he saw mine, he said to me you fly American Airlines, right? I told him, no, we were flying British Airways and he kept repeating No, American. I insisted it was BA and he told me Not British Airways, they dont fly to Orlando. You get off at American Airlines terminal he told us. Thanking him, we climbed onto the bus where I quickly googled the correct terminal for BA and we were set. We stopped at Caribbean Beach Resort to pick up some more travellers funny how nobody looks as happy on the bus back to the airport as they did on the way to WDW.
Not long after we left Caribbean Beach, I smelled Mexican food. I wondered if the guy a few seats in front of us had smuggled a burrito on board. The smell was getting stronger and was now decidedly off. I suddenly realised that the guy in front was actually throwing up all over the floor. I nudged Sian and we moved a few rows back.
When we arrived at Terminal A, the young lad in front got off the bus and, to my amazement, just walked away without even speaking to the driver. Another family, who wed been talking to back at the resort, told us they would mention it to the driver when they got off and they did. I could see them pointing to where the guy had been sat and the driver nodding. Unbelievably, the driver got back onto the bus and just drove away without even making any attempt to clean up the mess or anything. The smell, by now, was unbearable. I couldnt wait to get off the bus.
Arriving at Terminal B, we quickly climbed down and waited for the driver to unload the luggage. I had a $5 in my hand, ready to give to him and as he came past us, I attempted to tell him about the young lad, just in case he hadnt quite got the message. He brushed off my attempt, rudely interrupting me with Ill get your bags, OK? I was completely stunned that he would be so dismissive. Needless to say, the $5 went back into my purse.
Inside the terminal, we did bag drop and went through to departures. After a little bit of shopping, we decided we would get something to eat, knowing neither of us was that keen on the plane food. We headed upstairs to Chilis, where we got a couple of diet cokes and shared an entrée of chicken crispers.
All too soon it was time to board. Having pre-booked our seats at the front of the World Traveller Plus section, we had plenty of leg room.
The flight home was long and boring. There was minor excitement at one point when a member of the cabin crew approached a gentleman sitting across the aisle from us. Apparently he was a doctor and somebody at the back of the plane was having an anaphylactic reaction. There was talk of a possible diversion but, luckily, this didnt happen and we landed on time.
We were through passport control fairly quickly and, after collecting our luggage, realised we were far too early for our train. We decided to have a quick breakfast (nothing to write home about) and then see if we could blag our way onto an earlier train. In the end, no blagging was required as nobody checked our tickets. By 12.30 we were back in Chippenham and my Dad kindly collected us from the train station and dropped us home.
Thanks to everybody for reading along. I had a fabulous trip with my baby girl and now, apparently, I need to be saving up to take Daniel for his 21st.
After the disappointing weather of the previous day, this morning dawned bright and beautiful. Absolutely typical!
Determined to make the most of our last day, we finished the packing and called bell services to collect out luggage and the Owners Locker, then made our way down to the boat dock. We were headed to Hollywood Studios.
We arrived just before 10.30 and went straight to Tower of Terror. Standby times were already massive over 45 minutes but luckily we had FP+. After riding, we had to have one last snack stop at our favourite, Starring Rolls. Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcake for Sian and Apple Danish for me.
We wandered the Streets of New York for a while, enjoying the sunshine and taking in the atmosphere, savouring every moment of our last day.
Our next FP+ window (Toy Story Mania) had opened up - guess who won?
I dont know why but I have never noticed this before.
The green soldiers were out and were marching a bemused group down the street.
After our final ride of the trip, Rock n Roller Coaster, it was time to grab one last picture of the hat and exit the park.
Back in October, when wed stayed at the Swan/Dolphin, The Fountain had been our favourite place to go for a late night ice-cream but we hadnt had a chance to try lunch or dinner there. Originally, wed planned to visit Beaches and Cream for our final lunch but we both decided it might be nice to revisit The Fountain. We caught the boat and alighted at the Swolphin boat dock, making our way over to the Dolphin.
Our waitress was phenomenal. She was so friendly and we loved chatting with her. She said how much she would love to go to England one day so I told her she should go home in my place and I would stay and do her job. We were all set until I mentioned my husband and she said she didnt really want one of those. We both ordered Diet Cokes and a chicken sandwich. We obviously had to have ice-cream that was the reason for coming here and chose the make-your-own sundaes. Strawberry with marshmallow topping and sprinkles for Sian, Mint Choc Chip with hot fudge and Peppermint Patty Cookies for me. The chicken sandwich was delicious but the sundaes were out of this world. A wonderful last meal at Disney World.
After lunch, we were stuffed so took a slow walk around the lake. It was such a gorgeous afternoon and I remembered how much I loved this location. I was desperately hoping that we would be able to get a room at the Boardwalk for our stay with the in-laws in October (which we did, by the way).
With a heavy heart, we made our way back to the resort to collect our luggage and wait for the Magical Express (or Unmagical Depress, as my friend Paula calls it). We just had time for a final drink at the pool bar before we left.
The driver pulled up to the resort a few minutes late and collected in our transportation letters. When he saw mine, he said to me you fly American Airlines, right? I told him, no, we were flying British Airways and he kept repeating No, American. I insisted it was BA and he told me Not British Airways, they dont fly to Orlando. You get off at American Airlines terminal he told us. Thanking him, we climbed onto the bus where I quickly googled the correct terminal for BA and we were set. We stopped at Caribbean Beach Resort to pick up some more travellers funny how nobody looks as happy on the bus back to the airport as they did on the way to WDW.
Not long after we left Caribbean Beach, I smelled Mexican food. I wondered if the guy a few seats in front of us had smuggled a burrito on board. The smell was getting stronger and was now decidedly off. I suddenly realised that the guy in front was actually throwing up all over the floor. I nudged Sian and we moved a few rows back.
When we arrived at Terminal A, the young lad in front got off the bus and, to my amazement, just walked away without even speaking to the driver. Another family, who wed been talking to back at the resort, told us they would mention it to the driver when they got off and they did. I could see them pointing to where the guy had been sat and the driver nodding. Unbelievably, the driver got back onto the bus and just drove away without even making any attempt to clean up the mess or anything. The smell, by now, was unbearable. I couldnt wait to get off the bus.
Arriving at Terminal B, we quickly climbed down and waited for the driver to unload the luggage. I had a $5 in my hand, ready to give to him and as he came past us, I attempted to tell him about the young lad, just in case he hadnt quite got the message. He brushed off my attempt, rudely interrupting me with Ill get your bags, OK? I was completely stunned that he would be so dismissive. Needless to say, the $5 went back into my purse.
Inside the terminal, we did bag drop and went through to departures. After a little bit of shopping, we decided we would get something to eat, knowing neither of us was that keen on the plane food. We headed upstairs to Chilis, where we got a couple of diet cokes and shared an entrée of chicken crispers.
All too soon it was time to board. Having pre-booked our seats at the front of the World Traveller Plus section, we had plenty of leg room.
The flight home was long and boring. There was minor excitement at one point when a member of the cabin crew approached a gentleman sitting across the aisle from us. Apparently he was a doctor and somebody at the back of the plane was having an anaphylactic reaction. There was talk of a possible diversion but, luckily, this didnt happen and we landed on time.
We were through passport control fairly quickly and, after collecting our luggage, realised we were far too early for our train. We decided to have a quick breakfast (nothing to write home about) and then see if we could blag our way onto an earlier train. In the end, no blagging was required as nobody checked our tickets. By 12.30 we were back in Chippenham and my Dad kindly collected us from the train station and dropped us home.
Thanks to everybody for reading along. I had a fabulous trip with my baby girl and now, apparently, I need to be saving up to take Daniel for his 21st.