S
SpottyDog
Guest
DAY 9 Sunder
Lazy day and late night.
Vd found The Fun Spot from last years brochures and checked it out on their website. Four Go-Kart tracks, suitable for ages 8+ with fairground rides and amusement arcades with reasonable prices. An all day wristband was $29.95 so we allocated the day to the kids to ride all day.
The Plan was to go earlyish then come out if/when the kids got bored and do a little browsin on I Drive then take in the Titanic Exhibition. Stay as late as the kids wanted then get a takeaway on our way home.
We got to the Fun Spot at 11 and wondered if it was a good idea to do this on a Sunday as there seemed to be a lot (well two) cars pullin in and maybe itd be full of locals. We neednt have worried. It was busy enough to have atmosphere and quiet enough not to have to wait for rides. You can elect to buy tokens for rides rather than a wristband, so you didnt have to pay to get in. This allowed us to have a quick walk round before deciding if we were gonna stay. The kids faces said it all were stayin and Mam had better buy a wristband coz this is gonna be a long day.
V would only go on the easiest track (and was a bit scared of that) but she enjoyed what she did and had a few goes. What turns she didnt have were more than used up in excess rides me and the kids had. There are seats and a covered mini-grandstand at every track so V could sit and watch.
The foody place was very good and really reasonable. We got lunch around 4ish and were well impressed with the padded garden furniture. V said shed be happy to just sit reading a magazine and watchin the cars go round if we came again. It started to spit-on to rain as we finished lunch so we decided now would be a good time to do Titanic.
Good choice.
As soon as we got onboard Titanic the thunder storm started. If the rain comin down when we got to the shop an hour later was owt to go by, it was a bigun.
To some, Titanic is the rich mans Rodeo borin but more expensive.
Our Julie is fascinated by the story and I love history, so it was always on a winner with us.
Mind, I was expectin to be disappointed but wasnt.
Our guide was Alfred Cunningham, a shipbuilder from Belfast who, along with 7 colleagues, was on that Maiden Voyage as was the custom to see to any little teethin problems that might occur en-route. He told his tale well and with admirable vitriol when talkin about the Chairman, whos choice of finery above safety was to prove fatal for so many.
We were all given a ticket to board bearin the name of a passenger or crew member. The idea bein, that you would find out at the end if you survived or not. When I read about that before we came, I thought it was a little dramatic but, once you got into the exhibit, it gave you something to focus on. In one room, we found a dollar bill which someone had written a note on in one of the lifeboats it was our Julies character. This made us more aware of the item and its importance. I felt a sense of family in that moment too dramatic maybe, but its how it touched me. There were pictures of passengers and crew too so that gave the same interest lookin for yerself and yer family (Julie was there too).
Overall, the Titanic is more storytelling and sense of being there than museum. Alfreds tales were both amusing and informative and delivered with a great sense of respect for the event. In one room, when Alfred had told us, and a computer simulation had shown, how the ship had scraped along the Iceberg, he told us to place our hands on a solid mass of ice that just happened to be juttin out of the wall. He told us to place one hand against the ice and hold it there till we couldnt any longer. Then leave it 5 more seconds and try to imagine how it felt to have plunged into that up to yer neck and have to stay there for hours.
The promenade deck and final room were a tasteful and movin account of how it must have been on those decks at the last moments. The sheer waste of life due to the lack of life boats and the misunderstanding that let them go half empty. And a touching tribute to the men who stood like Men to let the women and children survive.
Alfred told us the next room contained a plaque which bears the names of every person on Titanic that fateful night. The names in bold had survived, those in outline had not.
As he left us, he turned back to a young girl in our party and said..
Rosie,(her ticket name)Im sorry I didnt build you a better ship
It was a very moving end to the tour and brought tears to my eyes as I walked through the final exhibit. Only Julies passenger had survived Albert Weikemann, ships barber. I was more keen to know what had happened to Alfred. He perished, as did his 7 colleagues.
You read lots of negative reports of Titanic and I can see how it caters for a specific market. If yer interested in the story of Titanic or history in general, then Id say go. If yer not , then it might just be a tedious story and good money wasted.
If its a toss up between The Rodeo or Titanic the Im sure you know where Id go.
It was still thunderin and lightning when we got to the shop and the rain came down heavier if anything. It looked like it was in for the night but then eased as Orlando storms tend to do. Still rainin, but lightly (well, compared to the storm), we headed back towards Fun Spot. As it was still rainin we decided to go do Belz for a while to give it time to stop altogether. But, bein Sunday, they were just closing as it was now 6 o clock.
[Memo to brain shops close early on Sundays. Do yer shoppin THEN tours and stuff on Sundays in future]
We went back to Fun Spot and the rain stopped. It took the guys a while to brush most of the rainwater off the tracks but they let us go again fairly quickly. Since we were the only ones there, they just let us race round and round and round for about 15 minutes, till someone else came to play. We were soaked and pitted with the spray and grit off the track. I think the kids enjoyed it all the more for that.
It drizzled a couple of times after that but not enough to stop racin we were wet and black enough by now anyway. V sat with her elegant Mickey poncho on glad to have it see action for only the second time since we bought it on our last day in 99 (not that its not rained before just the first time weve actually had them with us when it has!).
I did the scenic video bit from the Ferris Wheel and we left around 9:30.
I think we had our moneys worth.
Got a Kentucky bucket on the way home and had a nice family meal round the table watchin a documentary about Aerosmith. We were enjoyin it till I went to put the trash out. I opened the door and summat fused. Everything but the emergency lights went out.
Found the torch where Daves instructions had said it would be and found the fusebox. Nowt tripped there. Looked all over for the main trip switch but couldnt find it. Was 11:10 now, and figured Dave wouldnt appreciate a call at 4 in the mornin. Didnt want to call Daves US partner either as it was 11:10 Sunday night. Wed done everything we needed to do tonight fortunately, me and the kids had showered as soon as we got in to get the grit and stuff off us before we sat down on Daves sumptious gear.
I ushered the bairns to bed by torchlight and me and V sat in the glow of the emergency light finishin our beers. V doesnt drink too fast so I managed to rescue me last Sam out the fridge before he became warm. We agreed it had been great day and probably better on all fronts than wed expected. Shame we missed the end of the Aerosmith Docu, but yer cant have everything.
www.fun-spot.com
www.titanicshipofdreams.com
www.titanic.com
FAMILY SUMMARY
Fun Spot D9 V8 G8 J10
Titanic D9 V8 G10 J6
Julies Bit at the end
Now I know I have said this a lot but this time I mean it, this was the best day of the holiday. Because of the amount of times we have been to WDW everything to me is becoming been there, done that not that I dont love Disney but it was nice to do something different.
At first I was dreading it because the last time mam and dad suggested doing something new we ended up at the rodeo and David Lee Roth.
When we got there my first impression was that it was a bit small with not much to keep me and gaz amused as there was only 4 go-kart tracks.
We all went on the green track, which was slow and only had one small ramp but mam seemed to like it. We then tried the yellow and mam decided it was a bit out of her league. So only me, gaz and dad went to the blue. This was good while we waited in the queue there was a little lass on who looked about 9 years old. And she was vicious, she sped down the track hit into the side of a lad and spun his car round and just carried on driving without looking back.
Anyway, we got on to the blue track and everyone sped away from me and I was left just enjoying the ride.
When we went on the yellow track we were happy to see the lass from the blue track was just leaving. This was my favourite track and for the first time didnt come last.
It started to rain so we went to Titanic and just made it in time, the tour guy was really funny and dad was a bit of a swot because everytime the guy asked a question dad would answer straight away. In the end out of all four of us I was the only one who survived and that really put everything into perspective.
I hate thunder and lightening so when we came out of the exhibit we stood in the gift shop for about 10 minutes until it stopped.
We went back to fun-spot and it was great driving around in the dark with the flood lights.
It was funny when the electricity went off coz mam and dad were running around trying to get it back on and me and gaz were wondering whether we should eat the icecream before it melted. In the end we went to bed and the icecream was left in the freezer.
Lazy day and late night.
Vd found The Fun Spot from last years brochures and checked it out on their website. Four Go-Kart tracks, suitable for ages 8+ with fairground rides and amusement arcades with reasonable prices. An all day wristband was $29.95 so we allocated the day to the kids to ride all day.
The Plan was to go earlyish then come out if/when the kids got bored and do a little browsin on I Drive then take in the Titanic Exhibition. Stay as late as the kids wanted then get a takeaway on our way home.
We got to the Fun Spot at 11 and wondered if it was a good idea to do this on a Sunday as there seemed to be a lot (well two) cars pullin in and maybe itd be full of locals. We neednt have worried. It was busy enough to have atmosphere and quiet enough not to have to wait for rides. You can elect to buy tokens for rides rather than a wristband, so you didnt have to pay to get in. This allowed us to have a quick walk round before deciding if we were gonna stay. The kids faces said it all were stayin and Mam had better buy a wristband coz this is gonna be a long day.
V would only go on the easiest track (and was a bit scared of that) but she enjoyed what she did and had a few goes. What turns she didnt have were more than used up in excess rides me and the kids had. There are seats and a covered mini-grandstand at every track so V could sit and watch.
The foody place was very good and really reasonable. We got lunch around 4ish and were well impressed with the padded garden furniture. V said shed be happy to just sit reading a magazine and watchin the cars go round if we came again. It started to spit-on to rain as we finished lunch so we decided now would be a good time to do Titanic.
Good choice.
As soon as we got onboard Titanic the thunder storm started. If the rain comin down when we got to the shop an hour later was owt to go by, it was a bigun.
To some, Titanic is the rich mans Rodeo borin but more expensive.
Our Julie is fascinated by the story and I love history, so it was always on a winner with us.
Mind, I was expectin to be disappointed but wasnt.
Our guide was Alfred Cunningham, a shipbuilder from Belfast who, along with 7 colleagues, was on that Maiden Voyage as was the custom to see to any little teethin problems that might occur en-route. He told his tale well and with admirable vitriol when talkin about the Chairman, whos choice of finery above safety was to prove fatal for so many.
We were all given a ticket to board bearin the name of a passenger or crew member. The idea bein, that you would find out at the end if you survived or not. When I read about that before we came, I thought it was a little dramatic but, once you got into the exhibit, it gave you something to focus on. In one room, we found a dollar bill which someone had written a note on in one of the lifeboats it was our Julies character. This made us more aware of the item and its importance. I felt a sense of family in that moment too dramatic maybe, but its how it touched me. There were pictures of passengers and crew too so that gave the same interest lookin for yerself and yer family (Julie was there too).
Overall, the Titanic is more storytelling and sense of being there than museum. Alfreds tales were both amusing and informative and delivered with a great sense of respect for the event. In one room, when Alfred had told us, and a computer simulation had shown, how the ship had scraped along the Iceberg, he told us to place our hands on a solid mass of ice that just happened to be juttin out of the wall. He told us to place one hand against the ice and hold it there till we couldnt any longer. Then leave it 5 more seconds and try to imagine how it felt to have plunged into that up to yer neck and have to stay there for hours.
The promenade deck and final room were a tasteful and movin account of how it must have been on those decks at the last moments. The sheer waste of life due to the lack of life boats and the misunderstanding that let them go half empty. And a touching tribute to the men who stood like Men to let the women and children survive.
Alfred told us the next room contained a plaque which bears the names of every person on Titanic that fateful night. The names in bold had survived, those in outline had not.
As he left us, he turned back to a young girl in our party and said..
Rosie,(her ticket name)Im sorry I didnt build you a better ship
It was a very moving end to the tour and brought tears to my eyes as I walked through the final exhibit. Only Julies passenger had survived Albert Weikemann, ships barber. I was more keen to know what had happened to Alfred. He perished, as did his 7 colleagues.
You read lots of negative reports of Titanic and I can see how it caters for a specific market. If yer interested in the story of Titanic or history in general, then Id say go. If yer not , then it might just be a tedious story and good money wasted.
If its a toss up between The Rodeo or Titanic the Im sure you know where Id go.
It was still thunderin and lightning when we got to the shop and the rain came down heavier if anything. It looked like it was in for the night but then eased as Orlando storms tend to do. Still rainin, but lightly (well, compared to the storm), we headed back towards Fun Spot. As it was still rainin we decided to go do Belz for a while to give it time to stop altogether. But, bein Sunday, they were just closing as it was now 6 o clock.
[Memo to brain shops close early on Sundays. Do yer shoppin THEN tours and stuff on Sundays in future]
We went back to Fun Spot and the rain stopped. It took the guys a while to brush most of the rainwater off the tracks but they let us go again fairly quickly. Since we were the only ones there, they just let us race round and round and round for about 15 minutes, till someone else came to play. We were soaked and pitted with the spray and grit off the track. I think the kids enjoyed it all the more for that.
It drizzled a couple of times after that but not enough to stop racin we were wet and black enough by now anyway. V sat with her elegant Mickey poncho on glad to have it see action for only the second time since we bought it on our last day in 99 (not that its not rained before just the first time weve actually had them with us when it has!).
I did the scenic video bit from the Ferris Wheel and we left around 9:30.
I think we had our moneys worth.
Got a Kentucky bucket on the way home and had a nice family meal round the table watchin a documentary about Aerosmith. We were enjoyin it till I went to put the trash out. I opened the door and summat fused. Everything but the emergency lights went out.
Found the torch where Daves instructions had said it would be and found the fusebox. Nowt tripped there. Looked all over for the main trip switch but couldnt find it. Was 11:10 now, and figured Dave wouldnt appreciate a call at 4 in the mornin. Didnt want to call Daves US partner either as it was 11:10 Sunday night. Wed done everything we needed to do tonight fortunately, me and the kids had showered as soon as we got in to get the grit and stuff off us before we sat down on Daves sumptious gear.
I ushered the bairns to bed by torchlight and me and V sat in the glow of the emergency light finishin our beers. V doesnt drink too fast so I managed to rescue me last Sam out the fridge before he became warm. We agreed it had been great day and probably better on all fronts than wed expected. Shame we missed the end of the Aerosmith Docu, but yer cant have everything.
www.fun-spot.com
www.titanicshipofdreams.com
www.titanic.com
FAMILY SUMMARY
Fun Spot D9 V8 G8 J10
Titanic D9 V8 G10 J6
Julies Bit at the end
Now I know I have said this a lot but this time I mean it, this was the best day of the holiday. Because of the amount of times we have been to WDW everything to me is becoming been there, done that not that I dont love Disney but it was nice to do something different.
At first I was dreading it because the last time mam and dad suggested doing something new we ended up at the rodeo and David Lee Roth.
When we got there my first impression was that it was a bit small with not much to keep me and gaz amused as there was only 4 go-kart tracks.
We all went on the green track, which was slow and only had one small ramp but mam seemed to like it. We then tried the yellow and mam decided it was a bit out of her league. So only me, gaz and dad went to the blue. This was good while we waited in the queue there was a little lass on who looked about 9 years old. And she was vicious, she sped down the track hit into the side of a lad and spun his car round and just carried on driving without looking back.
Anyway, we got on to the blue track and everyone sped away from me and I was left just enjoying the ride.
When we went on the yellow track we were happy to see the lass from the blue track was just leaving. This was my favourite track and for the first time didnt come last.
It started to rain so we went to Titanic and just made it in time, the tour guy was really funny and dad was a bit of a swot because everytime the guy asked a question dad would answer straight away. In the end out of all four of us I was the only one who survived and that really put everything into perspective.
I hate thunder and lightening so when we came out of the exhibit we stood in the gift shop for about 10 minutes until it stopped.
We went back to fun-spot and it was great driving around in the dark with the flood lights.
It was funny when the electricity went off coz mam and dad were running around trying to get it back on and me and gaz were wondering whether we should eat the icecream before it melted. In the end we went to bed and the icecream was left in the freezer.
).
