A few things

[UKDEB]

I like to go out in the evening whilst on holiday, with a nice tan & one of my many Tommy Bahama shirts on

You and Matt will have to compare. He's already considering how many to buy this trip (not whether to buy, you note).

 

[AndRu]

Our youngest loved Shrek & Dinosaur when we went in '03 and he had just turned in 5. When we went back in '05 he refused point blank to go on either - even had a tantrum outside Shrek. I guess that's just kids for you!

 

[florida sun]

Good to hear from you again Johnny,

 

[ely3857]

So glad things are perking up a bit for you all It is such a shame that the trip got off to a shaky start, you were looking forward to doing a few different things now Josh is a bit older but maybe next time.



Jodie

 

[Lizzy Lemon]

Glad things are looking brighter for you. If your child is happy you are happy, glad Josh is enjoying himself a bit more. May we see a picture of this tan and your shirts please!!!

 

[ariel75]

glad to hear how things are going(and the tan)

 

[Ware Bears]

Just catching up ~ glad you've recovered from your fall and that Josh is happier.

 

[mandymouse]

Hi Johnny

I can't believe this is the first time I've read this thread, so I apologise for not posting earlier. I'm so sorry that the start of your holiday didn't go quite to plan. I hope that you are all having a nice relaxing holiday and getting a lovely suntan

Enjoy the rest of your trip

Mandy

 

[Netty]

Hi Johnny
sorry to hear things havent gone well at the start of your holiday, hope it all goes well and Josh has a great time.Enjoy the rest of your hols!

we arrived home yesterday(sun) and must agree it has been very hot, hardly any rainfall, i couldnt handle it that well.

 

[wils]

Joining in a little late on!

Glad to hear that the last few days have been more enjoyable. Best wishes to you, your DW and Josh

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi everyone,

Got back home this morning, no problems on return flight as we flew Premium Economy although Joshua still couldn't get fully comfortable in the seats, the portable DVD player again proving invaluable.

Thanks for all the replies, I haven't read many of them yet but will do so later.

Overall it was a relaxing holiday rather than an exciting one, Josh really loved the villa and overall for him that was the highlight. Whilst a villa has always been our 1st preference and Indian Creek an ideal place to stay as I said earlier the main problem was just we couldn't vary the holiday enough, he didn't want to dine out in any restaurants and hence we had to cancel our 3 ADR booking's.
In addition we didn't go out too often in the evening, which personally for me made the 17 night villa stay a bit dull at times. Although the Outback was still very enjoyable when we got take-out, 4 times I think.

Our theme park days early on were affected by the very high temperatures , 95/97 degrees at times and Josh did struggle around the parks overall, having said that later in the holiday when the weather was cloudier and cooler he still didn't seem that interested in many of the rides he has enjoyed so much in the past - which to be honest has us a bit puzzled.
Visited Sea World for the 1st time in a couple of years and really enjoyed it, Josh loved the Penguins & Dolphins.

Our Boardwalk stay was affected by Josh's sleeping pattern being all over the place, but certainly me and Julie enjoyed it there, especially Spoodles and ESPN Club. However, when you are getting up at 2 or 3am in the morning you really don't want people in the room next door!

We have had many many great holidays in Orlando so it's natural that 1 will come along that isn't quite as good and I guess this was it.
There was definitely a feeling of things , especially the parks, being a bit too familiar now especially as we had 2 holidays there last year.
Whilst we have a booking for July 2007 , to be honest we may move it to the following year, I really think we need to look at possibly a 2 centre holiday again (back to the good old days), as 3 weeks in Orlando would be too long for us now....had a look around the Beach Club Villas and Saratoga Springs Resort (which we really liked a lot) - we had the full tour at SSR and think that (Josh's early morning wake up's aside) would be a great place to stay, especially as you can park very close to your room, the long walk at the Boardwalk didn't really suit us.
Would possibly consider a week at the beach with SSR and maybe 7 nights at a villa - we shall see I guess.

There were times, more so on any holiday we have had where Joshua got very upset, sometimes I only had to nip into Publix for 5 minutes and there were tears , even carrying on to Chick Fil A instead of turning onto Formosa Gardens didn't go down well...still we have taken him to Florida since he was 10 months old so we do okay overall.
The fact that he cannot talk or tell us how he is feeling is very frustrating for us all, but we manage the best we can.

Shopping was great, Tommy Bahama shirts, Fossil/Kenneth Cole messenger bags, in fact we had to buy another bag to put all the bags in!

We are back safe and sound which is the main thing, ....Petrol, cheapest we say was $2.78 & $2.79 at Chevron and Hess on the 535, opposite LBV Factory Stores.
Driving, standards getting worse I am afraid - never seen so many idiots, on the last day a lady driver in the middle lane nearly crashed into me, fortunatley I was alert enough - she was driving whilst filiming with a Camcorder! also saw someone else on the phone (left hand) feeding baby with a bottle (right hand), whilst driving too....it is easier driving out there as we all know, but frequently found cars pulling out in front of me and the road-friendliness is dissapearing fast.

 

[Minniespal]

Glad you are all home safe and sound Johnny and that you managed to enjoy most of your time away.

 

[saratogagirl]

Glad to hear you are home safely ....

 

[carolfoy]

Glad you're home safe Johnny, sounds like a break from Florida could be an ideal thing, perhaps give some where else a go next year? or would that be a problem with Josh?

 

[Soprano]

Seems like you had a bit of a mixed bag there, a bit hit and miss overall? Do I sense a touch or Florida fatigue?

I admire anyone who can visit a theme park in those temps! I'm not a lover of the heat or crowds. Being that high would turn me into the Hulk. I think y'all did well.

Be sure to post a few pics!

 

[angel659]

Hi

I am glad your back safe and sound. It must be hard when you can not communicate with your lo. I admire the way you both are with him and its lovely to hear the way you talk about your son.

I hope if you do choose somewhere else it works out well for you,

 

[florida sun]

Welcome back Johnny, so glad you are back safe and sound

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Seems like you had a bit of a mixed bag there, a bit hit and miss overall? Do I sense a touch or Florida fatigue?

I admire anyone who can visit a theme park in those temps! I'm not a lover of the heat or crowds. Being that high would turn me into the Hulk. I think y'all did well.

Be sure to post a few pics!

Yes, I think possibly 'Florida fatigue' sums it up.
Or certainly Orlando fatigue, we did originally plan a few days at the coast but changed our minds for Joshua's sake, however that could be the next possibility.
I guess it was more of the fact we were restricted from doing many of the things we wanted to, especially the ADRs and therefore the holiday was very similar to last year's August one.

It's hard going any other time of the year with Julie being a teacher.

Thanks to everyone who responded and like I say, I have a tan, some good memories so I am certainly not downhearted, Josh is always the main priority.

 

[Ali and boyz]

He is enjoying the villa a lot - just not quite having as good a time when we go off to the parks or somewhere, Saratoga Springs Resort looks awesome and he seemed to like it there, he seemed to think we were staying there bless him.
At least it being a relaxing holiday means I have a fantastic tan, never been as brown - see you all soon, bye for now.

Hi Johnny, just wanted to say SSR was brilliant for us what with David's needs . The quiet pool was quiet which might suit Josh and you could walk to DTD which would be good for you at night if Josh had to go to bed. We have always went to a villa right up until David's accident went back last year to a villa which would have been the first time since his accident and like you we were bored at night because of the situation we are now in. This year we found to be so relaxing and SSR for the needs David now has was second to non. Even if we had to go back to the room early we could sit and have something to watch from the balcony.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi Johnny, just wanted to say SSR was brilliant for us what with David's needs . The quiet pool was quiet which might suit Josh and you could walk to DTD which would be good for you at night if Josh had to go to bed. We have always went to a villa right up until David's accident went back last year to a villa which would have been the first time since his accident and like you we were bored at night because of the situation we are now in. This year we found to be so relaxing and SSR for the needs David now has was second to non. Even if we had to go back to the room early we could sit and have something to watch from the balcony.

Hi Ali - thanks for the info.
We did have a full tour of SSR and really liked it there, lots to do, great room & pools plus the advantage of being able to park fairly close to the room and DTD a walk away.
To be honest for me and Julie it's a great option, the only problems are Joshua a private villa is perfect for him, private pool, secluded, no worries about the neighbours when he gets up at 5am every morning, VCR/DVD available (I know you get a DVD at SSR)...but less so for us (well me - especially the evenings). Having said that a 5 or 7 night stay should be a decent compromise.

A split stay between SSR/ a beach resort and maybe 7 nights in a villa seems perfect - we have to get away from Orlando for part of the holiday as I really don't think we will visit the parks much at all.

I appreciate the info and I really think SSR would be a great place to stay, just need to think on it for a while really, I guess all that I say here is irrelevant at the moment as unfortunatley as I said earlier Joshua really didn't cope with the long flight this year so I am really not sure what the future holds at the moment for Florida holidays. It has scarred us I am afraid.