allie5
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Part 9. I-Drive, Wishes Cruise (Served On The Rocks!).
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Guest Appearances In Todays Report
Karen & Family
Wednesday December 15th 2004
Beep-beep-beepbeep-beep .that, as you should have guessed is the theme tune to Casualty which is what our villa resembles this morning.
After the near arctic conditions beheld at Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party last night both kidlets and Nanny Sylvie awake poorly.
I wander round with my clipboard taking pulses and dispensing kids Tylenol to the wee ones and Nurofen to the elder patient. My charges were not easy to deal with: This medicine tastes HORRIBLE and then is spat straight back out. I would have thought an OAP would know how to behave
.
By now my patience with my patients had worn very thin and I decided they were going out, sick or not. Caring soul, arent I? Not sure even the NHS would want me on their books! Heartless as I am, I dont make them walk around a theme park, we opt for a gentle run up to I-Drive as the kids like looking at the sights.
Before we go, we stick the Weather Channel on and are presented with another of their doom merchants, gleefully predicting lows of 39 tonight. As an added bonus, there is a Freeze watch in Polk and Osceola Counties tonight. To reiterate this, Nanny Sylvies Pinecone is closed tighter than Neils wallet in the DVC open house.
So, what are our plans for this chillsome eve I hear you cry (even If I dont, humour me will ya?)? Nice night in, curled up in front of the telly with a bottle of White Zinfandel and some Doritos with the heating on max? Oh no, not us! We are due out on Seven Seas Lagoon for our Wishes Cruise. How lovely! Im so looking forward to that!
Load the sick into the Jeep, which becomes a temporary Ambulance for the day assorted pills, medicines, hankies and nasal sprays replace the normal car clutter.
Once en route, Im glad to say the trio of wounded soldiers in the back began to perk up as their medicine took effect. Before we had even had a sniff of I-Drive, Nanny Sylvie asked if we could first pop into That big Wal-Mart on Sand Castle road? Translating, we assume she means Sand LAKE road and a detour is made accordingly.
The Sand Lake Road Wal-Mart is considerably bigger than our new ickle one on the US27, so more bargains are found naturally! Buy Christmas Stockings for the kids, more baubles (there was a centimetre square of the villa that DIDNT have something sparkly hanging from it and this needed rectifying), more toys, more clothes, more food, more money spent.
Amazing how sick people can spend 2 hours shopping without one sniff of an ailment, but as soon as we are back in the car they are all on the critical list once more. Give them the options of A. Intensive Care at Celebration General Hospital or B. Lunch at Race Rock on I-Drive. There is a unanimous vote for Option B.
Do a quick run up I-Drive first so the kids can spot the sights Jessie remembers most of them (Upside-down house Wonderworks, wonky house Ripleys, Big Teddy, Ferris Wheel etc etc). Make our way back down to Race Rock and park in the practically empty lot.
We have never eaten here before, but have heard good things about it, so are looking forward to it. Daniel loves the cars on display outside, but its far too cold to linger out here and we head in! There is a big gift shop at the entrance and its stuffed full of racing memorabilia not just cars, but trucks, bikes and even powerboats. Kids are well impressed!
Unsurprisingly, there isnt a wait for a table we are the only ones here (but it did fill up quickly about 5 mins later). Our server is Dale and he looks the part with a droopy moustache and clad in racing overalls, creating the impression he has just wandered in from the pit lane, not the kitchen. I resist the urge to check under his fingernails for motor oil.
We order a portion of Honey Cherry BBQ wings to start, Jessie wants a pizza and Daniel has a hot dog. For my mains I choose the fried chicken with garlic mash and coleslaw, Nanny Sylvie has the chicken pot pie and Neil has a burger.
Kids immediately spot the clever way to extract more cash from their parents in the guise of trillions of arcade games scattered round the restaurant. They are all driving style ones with big seats and steering wheels, pedals and even mirrors. Fortunately, with our little ones being so little, they were happy just to sit in them and play, but those of you with kids a bit older, be warned- they will beg and plead for several hundred dollars worth of rides!
Food is served promptly and we are impressed! The wings are delish, and everyone eats a few, even Daniel and Nanny Sylvie who traditionally, dont do starters! Mains are even better with Nanny declaring her pot pie as one of the best meals she has had!
Dale keeps the drinks topped up and as Daniel steals most of my diet coke when Im not looking this is a good thing. Just to add, if I had seen a two year old drinking cola before I became a parent to one, then I would have recoiled in horror. When its the only way to keep your own little human tornado from slipping into yet another meltdown, then I feel only a small twinge of guilt when he downs another pint glass of diet coke. Suffice to say this was a special holiday dispensation, and not one drop has passed his lips since our return to the UK! Honest guv!
Kids share an ice cream for dessert, which is brought up in two separate bowls and I share a Strawberry shortcake with mum. Neil has a chocolate shake. The cheque was a fantastic $94 what a bargain! We will definitely come back here! Great food, very cheap and in a unique setting 10/10!
Extract Jessie from the Harley Davidson she was astride for the last half an hour
and proceed to the gift shop. Nanny Sylvie buys some postcards for her scrapbook and although the kids beg for a motorcycle (yes a real one!) we refuse and leave hastily!
Next door to Race Rock, I had heard that there was a Model Railway and a Thomas The Tank Engine superstore. Jessie had requested about 6 of these wooden Thomas trains for Christmas and they are up to £25 each in the UK, so I was looking for bargains!
This was a quite a find and if you have pre-schoolers its worth a visit. They have about 5 of the Thomas tables laid out with sets containing every train and accessory ever made. It would have been entirely possible for the adults to have left, done 4 hours at the Magic Kingdom, had a leisurely lunch and still get back to happy, contented children playing trains!
Managed to get lots of Christmas presents here, all at vastly reduced prices. Lets just hope the customs man doesnt want a looky see in Jessies case on the way home! In case any parent is interested, the £15 trains from ELC in the UK sell for around $12 here, the £10 ones for $8 and the £25 battery ones for $19. Also, the accessories are about 30/40% cheaper.
Its not easy to extract the little uns away from here, and when asked what they want to do for the next week or so the reply is always The Thomas Shop!! Sigh, you bring them to the amusement capital of the world and they are happy to play with wooden trains!!
Good news on the illness front Nanny Sylvie reports herself much improved and takes herself off the critical list. Unfortunately, the kids are still running temperatures and coughing. We sit in the car and discuss the planned Wishes Cruise tonight. This is a touch of deja vous, as last year a similar thing happened the day of our Illuminations Cruise (Nanny Sylvie and Daniel were poorly and couldnt make it).
As Nanny Sylvie missed the cruise last year, I feel it would be unfair that she misses out again. I also think that the weather tonight is going to be too cold for either of the children, so I offer to stay home and let Neil and mum do the Cruise. We have planned to meet up with Karen and her family tonight, so I dont feel right about cancelling entirely.
Nanny Sylvie has different ideas! She is adamant that she has had enough of the cold and isnt going out on a boat in the icy conditions that are forecast! She insists on staying home with the kids and that Neil and I should do the cruise. I feel terribly guilty about this, but when Nanny Sylvies mind is made up, thats it. Jessie is upset as she was keen to meet Karens two girls again tonight, but I remind her we are meeting for lunch on Sunday and she will see them then.
To calm the seas a bit, we offer to take mum and Jessie to Michaels (the arts and crafts store) and buy them a whole lot of craft stuff to do at the villa tonight whilst we are out. This is deemed a splendid plan and off we go to Michaels.
Stock up with enough glue, glitter, card, crayons, pencils and paper to decorate even the most elaborate of Santas grottos. Nanny also buys more scrap booking supplies and some craft magazines. The check out girl tells us to buy the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday, as there is always a 40% off coupon in it! Nice tip, thanks!
Pop next door into Books a Million and the kids are starting to go downhill again. Buy a bottle of water for them to share and decide to call it a day and head home.
Back to villa at 4pm. Give kids a warm bath and dose them up with more Tylenol. Double check with Nanny Sylvie that she is happy with the arrangement - she is. Her wise words as we get ready to leave are You will freeze your bits off out there tonight. What bits she meant I have no idea, but actually most of my bits were indeed frozen on our return!
I don my silly Santa Mickey hat again tonight it maybe silly, but its warm! Plus a T-shirt, sweater, fleece and coat! Neil bundles up in similar gear, but refuses to borrow Jessies Santa hat and sticks to his usual baseball cap instead!
Drive over the Poly in good time and are waived through the security without a parking permit unusual for a monorail resort. I guess they figured no fools were going to be heading into a park tonight in this weather!
Much to the total amusement of the man in the security hut, Neil manages to stuff up the parking here and ends up driving out of the resort! We did feel like fools driving up again saying Er, yeah, you just let us in but, well we got lost and drove out again. He thought that was a riot and asks if we need a guide this time.
It was weird being at the Poly in such cold temperatures. The usual short sleeved CMs handing out Leis in the lobby were now parka clad and handing out hot cocoa!
We decide to pop up to Ohana first to change our booking from 5 people to 2. We have this booked for after the cruise and are looking forward to some hot food after our nautical adventures! The CM at the podium says it doesnt matter about our party size change so that was a wasted trip!
We still have 45 minutes before we are due at the dock so we use this as good Resort Snooping Time. Neither of us have ever been big fans of the Poly. Its décor reminds me of My Nans Living Room, Circa 1972 and there is that funny musty smell everywhere (again, JUST like my Nans living room in the early seventies
).
I have to say, tonight, we did change our opinion a tad. In fact Neil positively fell in love with the place! Im still not too sure about it, but if I was FORCED to stay here, I guess that would be OK!!
Wander round the gift shops where I find some neat pins that I have to buy. Neil debated whether he would look cool in a lime green Hawaiian print shirt. I tell him a decisive NO. We see some cute baby sized ones that Daniel would look adorable in, but as they were short sleeved and the temperatures for the next week were predicted not to rise out of the 50s we leave it on the rack!
Pop down to browse the menu at the Kona Café. It seems quite an elaborate menu for what appears to be a coffee bar at first glance! Looks tasty, but we are sticking with Ohana tonight.
We decide to check where the boat dock is and make sure everything is in place for the Cruise. As we open the door to the Outside we wince at just how cold it is!
Fortunately, the boat dock isnt far away and we go and check in. There is some confusion over my booking and its a very good job that tonight I have my PS number with me! The CM says our boat is coming over from Fort Wilderness and will be here shortly. He recommends we go and get a hot drink and come back in 10 minutes.
Trying to get in a tropical mood, I buy a bottle of Mango and Guava juice which is tasty, but doesnt improve the temperature very much!
Back outside we start looking for Karen and her family and its not long before we see them on the dock. We explain the lack of numbers and all try to look REALLY happy we are about to go out on a boat, onto a lake when the temperature is dipping near to freezing! Fortunately, we are all troopers and vow to make the best of it!
I go to the window to pay for the boat and hear those words you just dont want to hear I have some bad news. Apparently, the driver of our boat hadnt turned up, and it was still bobbing about at the marina at Fort Wilderness! Obviously, that driver was no fool!
But wait! There was GOOD NEWS! A party had just cancelled another boat and we were to have that instead. Even more of bonus, the cancelled boat was a party boat, complete with cake, drinks and balloons. How jolly!
So, we wait, wait a bit more .Wishes is due to start in about 10 minutes and we are getting a bit antsy! At last, we are taken to our boat! The joy is short lived as the thing wont start and we are left on the dock wondering if this was indeed a very bad omen!!
It appears the driver is the YTS boy :wink: and it takes someone a bit more senior to get it going, but yes, it does eventually start!
Karen is a wise woman, and has come equipped with a plethora of blankets. She also sagely sits her in-laws, children and husband at the front of the craft (you know, the COLD bit!!) while we sit at the back near the cake and the drinks
.
OK, so it was cold out there, and yes I reckon there might have been a close call with a couple of ice bergs at some point, but it was still great fun!! We had to motor over to the front of MK at a great rate of knots as Wishes was due any minute. The boat next to us had the music piped in so we got to hear some of it blown over on the frequent icy blasts of wind over the lake!
It really was a spectacular way to watch the fireworks and I would do it again in an instant!
After Wishes, the driver gave us the option of a tour round the lake or back to the Poly. We agreed to a quick tour but the quick bit was lost in the howling wind I think and we got the deluxe special edition, explore every nook and cranny of both lakes tour.
On the Brightside, it was nice to see the hotels from the lake at night. I really like the Wilderness Lodge as it is designed to look like a bear with the lighted windows its eyes. That was something I hadnt seen before.
Quite happy when we are heading back to the Poly at last, the thought of warm food and a cocktail or three high on my mind! Karen is great company and we laugh our way through the whole trip, in spite of the adverse conditions!
Back at the dock, we are told to help ourselves to the drinks, but we leave the cake for the boat crews. Say hasty goodbyes to Karen, Jon and family as we are late for our Ohana PS!
Check in and are told its a 15 minute wait, so order a couple of much needed cocktails!
Not long before we are seated and our seater asks a few questions to ascertain if we are regulars. We pass with flying colours and get quite a nice seat overlooking the castle.
The starter here is one of our old faves and its as yummy as we remember it! The won tons dont last long and we soon finish most of the platter!
Unfortunately, the meat here this time seemed a bit second best. The steak was too rare to eat. I usually eat my steak medium and like it pink, but this was raw. Neil nearly passed out as he only eats meat that has been incinerated! Last year, we were asked if we wanted the meat cooked more, but they didnt this time. Neither of us felt like eating, as cutting into the steak had left about a pint of blood on our plates yuk .
The prawns were yummy, but I found the pork a bit fatty and the turkey dry. I guess its hard to get a consistent run of meat here, but I admit to being disappointed.
We enjoyed the complimentary dessert of pineapple and caramel sauce Yum and the service was impeccable. Rating this year 5/10.
Had a quick look round for Karen before we left as we felt bad about rushing off so quickly after the cruise, but they were no where to be seen! Possibly hiding from us before I could rope them into another fun thing to do in the icy cold . Never mind, we are meeting for lunch on Sunday at the Rose & Crown, so we can catch up then!
Drive back home for around 9.40pm. Nanny Sylvie is watching her new man in her life Ty, from Extreme Makeovers, and is most relieved she spent the evening with Ty and not us! We show off our frost bitten fingers, wind burnt faces, polar bear bites and missing toes. Exaggerate, moi?
Tomorrow: Premium Outlets (AT LAST!!), Whispering Canyon Café, Sleigh Ride.
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Guest Appearances In Todays Report
Karen & Family
Wednesday December 15th 2004
Beep-beep-beepbeep-beep .that, as you should have guessed is the theme tune to Casualty which is what our villa resembles this morning.
After the near arctic conditions beheld at Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party last night both kidlets and Nanny Sylvie awake poorly.
I wander round with my clipboard taking pulses and dispensing kids Tylenol to the wee ones and Nurofen to the elder patient. My charges were not easy to deal with: This medicine tastes HORRIBLE and then is spat straight back out. I would have thought an OAP would know how to behave
. By now my patience with my patients had worn very thin and I decided they were going out, sick or not. Caring soul, arent I? Not sure even the NHS would want me on their books! Heartless as I am, I dont make them walk around a theme park, we opt for a gentle run up to I-Drive as the kids like looking at the sights.
Before we go, we stick the Weather Channel on and are presented with another of their doom merchants, gleefully predicting lows of 39 tonight. As an added bonus, there is a Freeze watch in Polk and Osceola Counties tonight. To reiterate this, Nanny Sylvies Pinecone is closed tighter than Neils wallet in the DVC open house.
So, what are our plans for this chillsome eve I hear you cry (even If I dont, humour me will ya?)? Nice night in, curled up in front of the telly with a bottle of White Zinfandel and some Doritos with the heating on max? Oh no, not us! We are due out on Seven Seas Lagoon for our Wishes Cruise. How lovely! Im so looking forward to that!
Load the sick into the Jeep, which becomes a temporary Ambulance for the day assorted pills, medicines, hankies and nasal sprays replace the normal car clutter.
Once en route, Im glad to say the trio of wounded soldiers in the back began to perk up as their medicine took effect. Before we had even had a sniff of I-Drive, Nanny Sylvie asked if we could first pop into That big Wal-Mart on Sand Castle road? Translating, we assume she means Sand LAKE road and a detour is made accordingly.
The Sand Lake Road Wal-Mart is considerably bigger than our new ickle one on the US27, so more bargains are found naturally! Buy Christmas Stockings for the kids, more baubles (there was a centimetre square of the villa that DIDNT have something sparkly hanging from it and this needed rectifying), more toys, more clothes, more food, more money spent.
Amazing how sick people can spend 2 hours shopping without one sniff of an ailment, but as soon as we are back in the car they are all on the critical list once more. Give them the options of A. Intensive Care at Celebration General Hospital or B. Lunch at Race Rock on I-Drive. There is a unanimous vote for Option B.
Do a quick run up I-Drive first so the kids can spot the sights Jessie remembers most of them (Upside-down house Wonderworks, wonky house Ripleys, Big Teddy, Ferris Wheel etc etc). Make our way back down to Race Rock and park in the practically empty lot.
We have never eaten here before, but have heard good things about it, so are looking forward to it. Daniel loves the cars on display outside, but its far too cold to linger out here and we head in! There is a big gift shop at the entrance and its stuffed full of racing memorabilia not just cars, but trucks, bikes and even powerboats. Kids are well impressed!
Unsurprisingly, there isnt a wait for a table we are the only ones here (but it did fill up quickly about 5 mins later). Our server is Dale and he looks the part with a droopy moustache and clad in racing overalls, creating the impression he has just wandered in from the pit lane, not the kitchen. I resist the urge to check under his fingernails for motor oil
.We order a portion of Honey Cherry BBQ wings to start, Jessie wants a pizza and Daniel has a hot dog. For my mains I choose the fried chicken with garlic mash and coleslaw, Nanny Sylvie has the chicken pot pie and Neil has a burger.
Kids immediately spot the clever way to extract more cash from their parents in the guise of trillions of arcade games scattered round the restaurant. They are all driving style ones with big seats and steering wheels, pedals and even mirrors. Fortunately, with our little ones being so little, they were happy just to sit in them and play, but those of you with kids a bit older, be warned- they will beg and plead for several hundred dollars worth of rides!
Food is served promptly and we are impressed! The wings are delish, and everyone eats a few, even Daniel and Nanny Sylvie who traditionally, dont do starters! Mains are even better with Nanny declaring her pot pie as one of the best meals she has had!
Dale keeps the drinks topped up and as Daniel steals most of my diet coke when Im not looking this is a good thing. Just to add, if I had seen a two year old drinking cola before I became a parent to one, then I would have recoiled in horror. When its the only way to keep your own little human tornado from slipping into yet another meltdown, then I feel only a small twinge of guilt when he downs another pint glass of diet coke. Suffice to say this was a special holiday dispensation, and not one drop has passed his lips since our return to the UK! Honest guv!
Kids share an ice cream for dessert, which is brought up in two separate bowls and I share a Strawberry shortcake with mum. Neil has a chocolate shake. The cheque was a fantastic $94 what a bargain! We will definitely come back here! Great food, very cheap and in a unique setting 10/10!
Extract Jessie from the Harley Davidson she was astride for the last half an hour
and proceed to the gift shop. Nanny Sylvie buys some postcards for her scrapbook and although the kids beg for a motorcycle (yes a real one!) we refuse and leave hastily!Next door to Race Rock, I had heard that there was a Model Railway and a Thomas The Tank Engine superstore. Jessie had requested about 6 of these wooden Thomas trains for Christmas and they are up to £25 each in the UK, so I was looking for bargains!
This was a quite a find and if you have pre-schoolers its worth a visit. They have about 5 of the Thomas tables laid out with sets containing every train and accessory ever made. It would have been entirely possible for the adults to have left, done 4 hours at the Magic Kingdom, had a leisurely lunch and still get back to happy, contented children playing trains!
Managed to get lots of Christmas presents here, all at vastly reduced prices. Lets just hope the customs man doesnt want a looky see in Jessies case on the way home! In case any parent is interested, the £15 trains from ELC in the UK sell for around $12 here, the £10 ones for $8 and the £25 battery ones for $19. Also, the accessories are about 30/40% cheaper.
Its not easy to extract the little uns away from here, and when asked what they want to do for the next week or so the reply is always The Thomas Shop!! Sigh, you bring them to the amusement capital of the world and they are happy to play with wooden trains!!
Good news on the illness front Nanny Sylvie reports herself much improved and takes herself off the critical list. Unfortunately, the kids are still running temperatures and coughing. We sit in the car and discuss the planned Wishes Cruise tonight. This is a touch of deja vous, as last year a similar thing happened the day of our Illuminations Cruise (Nanny Sylvie and Daniel were poorly and couldnt make it).
As Nanny Sylvie missed the cruise last year, I feel it would be unfair that she misses out again. I also think that the weather tonight is going to be too cold for either of the children, so I offer to stay home and let Neil and mum do the Cruise. We have planned to meet up with Karen and her family tonight, so I dont feel right about cancelling entirely.
Nanny Sylvie has different ideas! She is adamant that she has had enough of the cold and isnt going out on a boat in the icy conditions that are forecast! She insists on staying home with the kids and that Neil and I should do the cruise. I feel terribly guilty about this, but when Nanny Sylvies mind is made up, thats it. Jessie is upset as she was keen to meet Karens two girls again tonight, but I remind her we are meeting for lunch on Sunday and she will see them then.
To calm the seas a bit, we offer to take mum and Jessie to Michaels (the arts and crafts store) and buy them a whole lot of craft stuff to do at the villa tonight whilst we are out. This is deemed a splendid plan and off we go to Michaels.
Stock up with enough glue, glitter, card, crayons, pencils and paper to decorate even the most elaborate of Santas grottos. Nanny also buys more scrap booking supplies and some craft magazines. The check out girl tells us to buy the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday, as there is always a 40% off coupon in it! Nice tip, thanks!
Pop next door into Books a Million and the kids are starting to go downhill again. Buy a bottle of water for them to share and decide to call it a day and head home.
Back to villa at 4pm. Give kids a warm bath and dose them up with more Tylenol. Double check with Nanny Sylvie that she is happy with the arrangement - she is. Her wise words as we get ready to leave are You will freeze your bits off out there tonight. What bits she meant I have no idea, but actually most of my bits were indeed frozen on our return!
I don my silly Santa Mickey hat again tonight it maybe silly, but its warm! Plus a T-shirt, sweater, fleece and coat! Neil bundles up in similar gear, but refuses to borrow Jessies Santa hat and sticks to his usual baseball cap instead!
Drive over the Poly in good time and are waived through the security without a parking permit unusual for a monorail resort. I guess they figured no fools were going to be heading into a park tonight in this weather!
Much to the total amusement of the man in the security hut, Neil manages to stuff up the parking here and ends up driving out of the resort! We did feel like fools driving up again saying Er, yeah, you just let us in but, well we got lost and drove out again. He thought that was a riot and asks if we need a guide this time.
It was weird being at the Poly in such cold temperatures. The usual short sleeved CMs handing out Leis in the lobby were now parka clad and handing out hot cocoa!
We decide to pop up to Ohana first to change our booking from 5 people to 2. We have this booked for after the cruise and are looking forward to some hot food after our nautical adventures! The CM at the podium says it doesnt matter about our party size change so that was a wasted trip!
We still have 45 minutes before we are due at the dock so we use this as good Resort Snooping Time. Neither of us have ever been big fans of the Poly. Its décor reminds me of My Nans Living Room, Circa 1972 and there is that funny musty smell everywhere (again, JUST like my Nans living room in the early seventies
). I have to say, tonight, we did change our opinion a tad. In fact Neil positively fell in love with the place! Im still not too sure about it, but if I was FORCED to stay here, I guess that would be OK!!
Wander round the gift shops where I find some neat pins that I have to buy. Neil debated whether he would look cool in a lime green Hawaiian print shirt. I tell him a decisive NO. We see some cute baby sized ones that Daniel would look adorable in, but as they were short sleeved and the temperatures for the next week were predicted not to rise out of the 50s we leave it on the rack!
Pop down to browse the menu at the Kona Café. It seems quite an elaborate menu for what appears to be a coffee bar at first glance! Looks tasty, but we are sticking with Ohana tonight.
We decide to check where the boat dock is and make sure everything is in place for the Cruise. As we open the door to the Outside we wince at just how cold it is!
Fortunately, the boat dock isnt far away and we go and check in. There is some confusion over my booking and its a very good job that tonight I have my PS number with me! The CM says our boat is coming over from Fort Wilderness and will be here shortly. He recommends we go and get a hot drink and come back in 10 minutes.
Trying to get in a tropical mood, I buy a bottle of Mango and Guava juice which is tasty, but doesnt improve the temperature very much!
Back outside we start looking for Karen and her family and its not long before we see them on the dock. We explain the lack of numbers and all try to look REALLY happy we are about to go out on a boat, onto a lake when the temperature is dipping near to freezing! Fortunately, we are all troopers and vow to make the best of it!
I go to the window to pay for the boat and hear those words you just dont want to hear I have some bad news. Apparently, the driver of our boat hadnt turned up, and it was still bobbing about at the marina at Fort Wilderness! Obviously, that driver was no fool!
But wait! There was GOOD NEWS! A party had just cancelled another boat and we were to have that instead. Even more of bonus, the cancelled boat was a party boat, complete with cake, drinks and balloons. How jolly!
So, we wait, wait a bit more .Wishes is due to start in about 10 minutes and we are getting a bit antsy! At last, we are taken to our boat! The joy is short lived as the thing wont start and we are left on the dock wondering if this was indeed a very bad omen!!
It appears the driver is the YTS boy :wink: and it takes someone a bit more senior to get it going, but yes, it does eventually start!
Karen is a wise woman, and has come equipped with a plethora of blankets. She also sagely sits her in-laws, children and husband at the front of the craft (you know, the COLD bit!!) while we sit at the back near the cake and the drinks
. OK, so it was cold out there, and yes I reckon there might have been a close call with a couple of ice bergs at some point, but it was still great fun!! We had to motor over to the front of MK at a great rate of knots as Wishes was due any minute. The boat next to us had the music piped in so we got to hear some of it blown over on the frequent icy blasts of wind over the lake!
It really was a spectacular way to watch the fireworks and I would do it again in an instant!
After Wishes, the driver gave us the option of a tour round the lake or back to the Poly. We agreed to a quick tour but the quick bit was lost in the howling wind I think and we got the deluxe special edition, explore every nook and cranny of both lakes tour.
On the Brightside, it was nice to see the hotels from the lake at night. I really like the Wilderness Lodge as it is designed to look like a bear with the lighted windows its eyes. That was something I hadnt seen before.
Quite happy when we are heading back to the Poly at last, the thought of warm food and a cocktail or three high on my mind! Karen is great company and we laugh our way through the whole trip, in spite of the adverse conditions!
Back at the dock, we are told to help ourselves to the drinks, but we leave the cake for the boat crews. Say hasty goodbyes to Karen, Jon and family as we are late for our Ohana PS!
Check in and are told its a 15 minute wait, so order a couple of much needed cocktails!
Not long before we are seated and our seater asks a few questions to ascertain if we are regulars. We pass with flying colours and get quite a nice seat overlooking the castle.
The starter here is one of our old faves and its as yummy as we remember it! The won tons dont last long and we soon finish most of the platter!
Unfortunately, the meat here this time seemed a bit second best. The steak was too rare to eat. I usually eat my steak medium and like it pink, but this was raw. Neil nearly passed out as he only eats meat that has been incinerated! Last year, we were asked if we wanted the meat cooked more, but they didnt this time. Neither of us felt like eating, as cutting into the steak had left about a pint of blood on our plates yuk .
The prawns were yummy, but I found the pork a bit fatty and the turkey dry. I guess its hard to get a consistent run of meat here, but I admit to being disappointed.
We enjoyed the complimentary dessert of pineapple and caramel sauce Yum and the service was impeccable. Rating this year 5/10.
Had a quick look round for Karen before we left as we felt bad about rushing off so quickly after the cruise, but they were no where to be seen! Possibly hiding from us before I could rope them into another fun thing to do in the icy cold
. Never mind, we are meeting for lunch on Sunday at the Rose & Crown, so we can catch up then!Drive back home for around 9.40pm. Nanny Sylvie is watching her new man in her life Ty, from Extreme Makeovers, and is most relieved she spent the evening with Ty and not us! We show off our frost bitten fingers, wind burnt faces, polar bear bites and missing toes. Exaggerate, moi?
Tomorrow: Premium Outlets (AT LAST!!), Whispering Canyon Café, Sleigh Ride.
I am having a Birthday Wishes Cruise this year 
