Cast - Me, DW, DS
Cast Members arriving today DM, Sis1 and Sis2.
Day 2 22/2/03
DS awoke at 5.40am. It was quickly determined that he was fully awake and was not to be persuaded to go back to sleep, so we got up, unpacked and showered etc. In the light of day, it was clear that our accommodation was not the newest, but it was clean and adequate, although some of the décor was questionable. We had a 2 bedroom unit, and it was a good size the master bedroom was huge, but the jacuzzi bath was looking a bit old. A quick wander outside revealed a terrific childrens play area, and a huge main pool, with separate paddling pool for kids. At this time we were surprised to note that the pool was open until 1am we were soon to learn that this could mean a fair amount of noise being generated late at night.
We jumped in the minivan, and headed off to Wal-Mart on 192 for supplies. En-route we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast (Big M as DS likes to call it!!) Arriving at Wal-Mart, we stocked up on all the coupon booklets that may save a few dollars here and there. We hadnt packed much toiletries etc so this was the main purpose of our visit along with snacks, drinks etc. You cant help but browse though, and DW picked up a couple of pairs of shorts to start her obligatory shopping escapade. $160 lighter and we left Wal-mart armed primarily with junk certainly nothing you could make meal out of. Oh well!!
As we got back to the van, we were approached by a well dressed man claiming he had lost his wallet and his car had run out of gas. Now where have I heard that before? We politely declined his invitation to give him some cash, and headed back to the Vistana to unload our purchases. We only had a couple of hours before we had to go to the airport so it was back to McDs for lunch and then a quick visit to the Premium Outlets. I was searching for a tracksuit top type thing to help with those cooler mornings at this time of year. Visited the Nike, Adidas and Puma outlets but came up empty handed. They had plenty of the shell-type but I was after something with a more substantial lining. Amazingly, an hour in the Premium Outlets and no purchases miracles do happen!!
We headed off to MCO to meet the incoming family at 3pm. Based on our immigration experiences the previous day, we were convinced they would miss their connection at Miami, and as such we were pleasantly surprised when they wandered through the gate only 20 mins late. Orlando Airport parking is a bargain at only $1 per 30 mins, so we paid our $2 and headed back to the resort, incurring the $1.25 of toll charges which is something less of a bargain in my book.
With our guests settled in, we headed off to Chilis on 535 for dinner. We ate and drank well, used our coupon to good advantage, and were well satisfied with a bill of just over $50. As we paid up, the heavens opened big style. Unfortunately, when arriving at Chilis, I had picked the wrong turn, so we had parked in Shoneys car park. This was now to my dismay as I had to do the 100 yard dash in torrential rain to retrieve the van, and drive it round for the others to get in. I was soaked, they were not. The things I have to do ..
Got back to our apartment at about 8pm watched Gone in 60 seconds on cable and then crashed out (Actually, I think most of us crashed out about half way through!!). Tomorrow, the Disney fun begins .
Cast Members arriving today DM, Sis1 and Sis2.
Day 2 22/2/03
DS awoke at 5.40am. It was quickly determined that he was fully awake and was not to be persuaded to go back to sleep, so we got up, unpacked and showered etc. In the light of day, it was clear that our accommodation was not the newest, but it was clean and adequate, although some of the décor was questionable. We had a 2 bedroom unit, and it was a good size the master bedroom was huge, but the jacuzzi bath was looking a bit old. A quick wander outside revealed a terrific childrens play area, and a huge main pool, with separate paddling pool for kids. At this time we were surprised to note that the pool was open until 1am we were soon to learn that this could mean a fair amount of noise being generated late at night.
We jumped in the minivan, and headed off to Wal-Mart on 192 for supplies. En-route we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast (Big M as DS likes to call it!!) Arriving at Wal-Mart, we stocked up on all the coupon booklets that may save a few dollars here and there. We hadnt packed much toiletries etc so this was the main purpose of our visit along with snacks, drinks etc. You cant help but browse though, and DW picked up a couple of pairs of shorts to start her obligatory shopping escapade. $160 lighter and we left Wal-mart armed primarily with junk certainly nothing you could make meal out of. Oh well!!
As we got back to the van, we were approached by a well dressed man claiming he had lost his wallet and his car had run out of gas. Now where have I heard that before? We politely declined his invitation to give him some cash, and headed back to the Vistana to unload our purchases. We only had a couple of hours before we had to go to the airport so it was back to McDs for lunch and then a quick visit to the Premium Outlets. I was searching for a tracksuit top type thing to help with those cooler mornings at this time of year. Visited the Nike, Adidas and Puma outlets but came up empty handed. They had plenty of the shell-type but I was after something with a more substantial lining. Amazingly, an hour in the Premium Outlets and no purchases miracles do happen!!
We headed off to MCO to meet the incoming family at 3pm. Based on our immigration experiences the previous day, we were convinced they would miss their connection at Miami, and as such we were pleasantly surprised when they wandered through the gate only 20 mins late. Orlando Airport parking is a bargain at only $1 per 30 mins, so we paid our $2 and headed back to the resort, incurring the $1.25 of toll charges which is something less of a bargain in my book.
With our guests settled in, we headed off to Chilis on 535 for dinner. We ate and drank well, used our coupon to good advantage, and were well satisfied with a bill of just over $50. As we paid up, the heavens opened big style. Unfortunately, when arriving at Chilis, I had picked the wrong turn, so we had parked in Shoneys car park. This was now to my dismay as I had to do the 100 yard dash in torrential rain to retrieve the van, and drive it round for the others to get in. I was soaked, they were not. The things I have to do ..
Got back to our apartment at about 8pm watched Gone in 60 seconds on cable and then crashed out (Actually, I think most of us crashed out about half way through!!). Tomorrow, the Disney fun begins .
