GOLDFINGER
DAY 3-SATURDAY 6th DEC 2003
MAGIC KINGDOM/EPCOT
DAD-IAN AGE 38 1989/1994/1996/2003
MUM-GILLIAN AGE 35 1994/1996/2003
RACHAEL AGE 10 1994/1996/2003
HANNAH AGE 8 1996/2003
We all wake up at ..3 AM!! Its hard enough to body adjust to the time difference but after the already hard night in Hell,,Sorry I mean the Gatwick Holiday Inn! Or The Trusthouse Forte Post House,Come On Someone must know!!! Anyway we had 4 hours to get showered dressed etc after this we ventured out for the first time WOW!!! Im not saying it was cold but their was penguins in the hotel pool (Better than pigeon poo I suppose!!) and Im sure I saw a polar bear trooping up International Drive . Anyway like troopers we made our way to the car and Im thinking should I have brought my De-Icer..So we got mobile I skidded and slid the mile or so to the lower I Drive Ponderosa,The one on the same block as Tony Romas (Which was on the list of restaurants to visit But Didnt!!)
Breakfast was better than OK it was good bearing in mind it was our first proper meal in 2 days,Great Buffet all the usual Bacon,Sausage etc fruit,cereals cakes,Jello and Ice cream!! The one thing that amazed me was the salad bar,Who would eat onions and cucumber for breakfast!! Gill went the pancake route so did Hannah,Rachael and I had hot but I had some fruit with the full english,Well I say full english The Bacon and sausage was not like we know it,The Bacon was like streaky rashers no piece was longer than 3 inches and was cooked within an millimetre of its life! I know this is how Americans eat Bacon but wed call it off-cuts!,The sausage was skinless little affairs with a spicy little kick,Very tasty,I liked these along with the spanish omellete style stuff,very tasty,
We liked this Ponderosa its a lot quieter than the one further up I Drive towards Universal and dare I say a little cleaner and tidier too!
So we dragged our full bellies out to brave the Cold I felt like Scott of the Antartic,Weve only ever been to Orlando in September and was not expecting this,However I was determined to wear my shorts for the fortnight! Anyway we headed to Maple leaf tickets to pick up our tickets,Gill and the girls stayed in the car while I donned Tennis Raquets on my feet to go and close the deal!
Omar was really nice and friendly and I quoted the gate price to which Omar answered No Thats their price we are cheaper,I read out wrong price from my book and he corrected me,Total Honesty,Impressed!! While Omar went into the hotel for change I got chatting to a nice Irsh woman who apologised to me for the cold weather,shes been in Orlando 30 years,Lucky woman!!On Omars return he bombarded me with maps ,cards,Sheets of papers and pictures for the kids and then gave me directions for Magic Kingdom which I hadnt even asked for!! Great Service! Also whilst waiting I noticed an actual 70s Magic Kingdom poster map which looks like got framed in the 70s Really Kitsch and retro a real collectors item probalbly fetch a few bob on Ebay.
On the way to Disney noticed quite a few places run down/shut up including I Think Medieval Times noticed this a lot round Orlando during our stay It seems quite Blatant Disney and Universal are squeezing the little boys out in fact Splendid China closed the week after we returned home its all a little sad ,Sure seems like a savage industry It may be the entertainment capital of the world but the competition is fierce..
On a happier note we pull in the Car park at Magic Kingdom Me being a muppet thinks its going to get warmer and leave my fleece in car,So we set off on trolley bus me in shorts and long sleeved tshirt ,The Afghans we encountered on the flight knew something we didnt You could honestly see families huddled together to keep warm it was that bad! We depart bus to get on ferry and I remember my camera-Its in the car!! What a knucklehead!! So I sprint back retrieve camera and oh guess what I put my fleece back on!! I then jump back on the shuttle bus and depart where I left the 3 girls and Hannah says Dad instead of walking back why didnt you go on the empty bus My answer Im a Knucklehead!! Finally we get on ferry Oh the CMs that were on the jettys were so wrapped up leggins big coats hats scarves gloves all you could make out were little eye holes What Wusses!! Laughing me head off at them! So off we go and the kids were purely excitable mainly Rachael as Hannah is a bit more reserved, I can never work this lagoon thing out what is the point? Is it man made or was it already here When Walt bought the land?so they decided to put boats on it? Is it to keep The Magic Kingdom in its own private area a kind of Utopia? I must confess though watching the castle getting bigger really adds to the excitement! Plus the hotels that now circle it are very impressive,Love to stay in any of them!! And watching the girls really put a smile on Gill and my face,My main problem with it is after a long day I cant be bothered with getting on a boat or monorail I just want me car!
Anyway we doart the ferry passed the CM who looks rather like the good year blimp with all his layers on-Spend a winter in the north of England Man,Thats Cold!! Security looked in Gills bag an we were looking at all the Mickeys how long have they been here? Some really good ones, So on we go and we had known today was the taping of The Parade for ABC I think that gets shown on US Television on Christmas day,Main st. was packed! The parade was stopping and starting It did most the day! But Man what a n atmosphere CMS posted everywhere to get people to wave and cheer I did with Gusto,Im in Disneyworld, it was hard work making our way to Fantasyland,But Im not complaining!
Arrive in Fantasyland The Disney magic hadnt got rid of the cold! Restroom stop First I came out and waited for the 3 girls and could hear Aeriel singing from the grotto and I was transfixed with the castle,A Disney moment? Dunno bit It felt good Must be something in the air in this place!We rode winnie the Pooh A first for us and a huge improvement on Mr Toads wild ride,The girls are big Pooh fans so it was Thumbs up,But we never found Mr Toad handing the deeds over to Pooh we looked every time we rode it over the fortnight (8 Times),Even though Main st was packed it was about a 3 minute wait,the only ride here that ever had a longish wait was Peter Pan and that was only about 15-20 mins,everything else was 5 mins max but mostly walk-ons,
Next was Snow Whites Scary adventure,Very enjoyable ride,Then Peter Pan which is Magnificent! We rode it many times over the 2 weeks,It was while waiting for this we saw our first experience of pin trading something we knew very little about,a lady tried to trade for a Beauty and the Beast pin with another lady,but she declined it was a real rare one with a rose in a glass case which datd from early 90s apparently!! The pin trading got us later on in the holiday ,more of later!
We then snaked round to The Haunted Mansion,another walk-on,I really like this The house looks so small from the outside but when you get inside as the ride progresses its Massive!After this we did Pirates of the carribean,Another ride we never tire of ,A Timeless Classic.,thenStraight down to Jungle Cruise,last holiday we went on this a lot,Half way round we saw a Zebra being eaten by what looked Like The AFGHANS!! AAAGGGHHHH!!! Driver put your foot down! In 7 years since we last rode this we noticed one thing..The CMs Script hasnt changed in The slightest! Back side of water-Whats all that about?!
We then meet a few characters,Genie and Jasmine,Another thing we noticed a distinct lack of Princesses at the park The reason why Di$ney wants you to buy the character breakfasts..Talking of which we then decided to get some lunch we went for Tacos at El Piratas,A favourite of Gills,We dont actually take food seriously if were hungry we eat then we decide where to go,We never plan food We eat what we can when we can,As long as its warm .
Then it was time for Splash Mountain A first for any of us,There was some concerns for Gills back with the drop as she suffers with it,So the 2 girls and I rode A walk on- Really Really enjoyed it Big Time!!The theme is great and the ride is surprisingly long and the big drop at the end was ok,So we reported to Gill She then rode with Ravhael While Hannah and I bought Gill a Mexican type Fleecey top $19 Not too bad for Di$ney.After this we took the train on the full perimeter of the park we really enjoy doing this a good way to chillout, we then got off at the same point we embarked,Splash Mountain and made our way out of the park to head over to Epcot,but we were directed through the stores as Maqin Street was total gridlock with the ongoing parade taping,In hindsight we should have got off train at bottom of Main St..
After the hand stamp ritual it was over to Epcot on The Monorail,The giant Mickeys arm on the sde of the giant golf ball is very impressive,I never realised how huge it is,Breathtaking!!Passing through noticed the leave a legacy plinths not sure about these ,Just dont get it,At this point we realised there was going to be no sun today,had hoped it was going to get warmer as the day progressed but it was getting colder if anything! We rode Spaceship Earth ,starting to look a little tired and dated but I still like it,After this I noticed another new thing to us-The massive canopy erected with The pin station underneath,them pins again hmmm!
We then walked into Ice station cool for a warm up! Man our feet stuck to the floor,Do they not have mops well Mingin! As Hannah would say, we tried I think all the samples where I quickly made the observation the cups are only good for 4 fills max until they disintigrate,What do you mean shouldnt be greedy!! Listen when Di$ney give you take! Then headed over to world showcase and imthinking what are these weird white arches thingies? All was revealed later on. We aim for Canada where brother bear and his vertically challenged chum are signing autographs and meeting the kids,What amazes me at Canada is the la Cellier when your down below at the lagoon it looks absolutely massive but when you go up to it its actually quite small,It must be this forced perspective thing the imagineers are quite good at.
Next we went home not quite true I bet Cumbria was warmer! Nice and quaint which in nothing like the real UK Sadly, into the shop where gill and Rachael bought a big Eeyore and Hannah a Tigger,The plan was to go round World Showcase then head back To the Magic kingdom for the evening for spectromagic but due to the cold and jetlag this was looking very doubtful,We were slowly burning ourselves out and didnt want to blow it at the beginning of our holiday.
Onwards then to France were I noticed something was missing-The Eifell Tower What the it reapearrd the week after!! No I was not drinking!!,Then into Morocco where I was chief photographer and taking pics for people who were asking me! Japan, Architecculary is stunning This is also where the kids started the masks .A really stunning idea they decorate a mask on a stick then in turn visit each country where they get a symbol added and a stamp on the stick with each variation of that particular country and theres no charge!!
We all then shared a choc topped funnel cake absolutely gorgeous,Then observed the Christmas show at America Gardens But for the life of me cant remember what its called now! It would have been nice to see all of this from a seat in the theatre but weve took this holiday every day as it comes and not really planned anything,everything that was planned is maybe tenative at best, into Italy again stunning architecture we were now firmly in my favourite half of the world showcase and I absolutely love Germany its stunning at dusk,Magical?Extremely so supposed to be a good Buffet here but Gill is not a big eater so at this time would have been wasted,me too come to think of it none of us are what you would call foodies. China next where we got talking to a local and I complained to hoim about the weather where he gave me the good news of its forcaste to get warmer after the weekend,he also asked me about the kids and schooling I explained we had special permission 12 months previously to take them out and as the last 2 weeks of the year at school are a bit soft,Videos,school plays coffee mornings etc its wasnt a big deal.
Another fave of mine next Norway, I love The Maelstrom,Side note-Blackpool Pleaseure Beach has a newish ride called Valhalla which is a rip off of Maelstrom but a lot better (Bigger and Grander) ! I go on it a lot! The one thing that still annoys me about Norway even after 7 years is if you dont time the end of the ride right you have to wait for them theatre doors to open before you walk straight through the theatre to get out! Does anyone ever watch the film?
After this it was dawning on us wed done enough Spectromagic was gone wed done enough we were cold and tired,We WERE! That cold we wouldnt have done it justice it was on again wed catch it again,Walking out through that archway we noticed it lights up in elaborate patterns and colours in time to classical music,Very Cool!! Epcot I used to love but now I cant help thinking some of it is starting to look very dated,The trouble with trying to make stuff futuristic they can date easy,They are not timeless like say Fantasyland .But we will return weve got Test track and Mission Space to do!
After crawling onto monorail we get off at Magic Kingdom,Made our way to the car and drove back up I4 to our warm hotel room,Home sweet Home! I then jumped back in car drove up I Drive and pulled into KFC for some food,I Know slumming it but we were too tired to eat out!,I like the KFC here different stuff,Rice Wedges,biscuits etc,Leaving KFC with food I heard some really loud continuous motor sounds,and eyed up behind a huge industrial looking thing which I immediately thought a strange thing for this area,It wasnt until passing a few days later I discovered it was one of those centrifuge things for skydiving,Huge fans thrusting upwards and you jump in the slipstream,Looks Fun.
On the way back noticed a few things like Skull Kingdom that Ive never seen before also a few dare I say tackier things also a few tattooists Never seen them before. And the main thing at times it was eeirly quiet!
Anyway got back to room the 3 girls didnt eat much sleep was higher on the menu than food and I think I fell asleep when I started my 2 nd piece of chicken
A great day ..But a tiring one..We were wasted!
5150 WILL RETURN IN THUNDERBALL
DAY 3-SATURDAY 6th DEC 2003
MAGIC KINGDOM/EPCOT
DAD-IAN AGE 38 1989/1994/1996/2003
MUM-GILLIAN AGE 35 1994/1996/2003
RACHAEL AGE 10 1994/1996/2003
HANNAH AGE 8 1996/2003
We all wake up at ..3 AM!! Its hard enough to body adjust to the time difference but after the already hard night in Hell,,Sorry I mean the Gatwick Holiday Inn! Or The Trusthouse Forte Post House,Come On Someone must know!!! Anyway we had 4 hours to get showered dressed etc after this we ventured out for the first time WOW!!! Im not saying it was cold but their was penguins in the hotel pool (Better than pigeon poo I suppose!!) and Im sure I saw a polar bear trooping up International Drive . Anyway like troopers we made our way to the car and Im thinking should I have brought my De-Icer..So we got mobile I skidded and slid the mile or so to the lower I Drive Ponderosa,The one on the same block as Tony Romas (Which was on the list of restaurants to visit But Didnt!!)
Breakfast was better than OK it was good bearing in mind it was our first proper meal in 2 days,Great Buffet all the usual Bacon,Sausage etc fruit,cereals cakes,Jello and Ice cream!! The one thing that amazed me was the salad bar,Who would eat onions and cucumber for breakfast!! Gill went the pancake route so did Hannah,Rachael and I had hot but I had some fruit with the full english,Well I say full english The Bacon and sausage was not like we know it,The Bacon was like streaky rashers no piece was longer than 3 inches and was cooked within an millimetre of its life! I know this is how Americans eat Bacon but wed call it off-cuts!,The sausage was skinless little affairs with a spicy little kick,Very tasty,I liked these along with the spanish omellete style stuff,very tasty,
We liked this Ponderosa its a lot quieter than the one further up I Drive towards Universal and dare I say a little cleaner and tidier too!
So we dragged our full bellies out to brave the Cold I felt like Scott of the Antartic,Weve only ever been to Orlando in September and was not expecting this,However I was determined to wear my shorts for the fortnight! Anyway we headed to Maple leaf tickets to pick up our tickets,Gill and the girls stayed in the car while I donned Tennis Raquets on my feet to go and close the deal!
Omar was really nice and friendly and I quoted the gate price to which Omar answered No Thats their price we are cheaper,I read out wrong price from my book and he corrected me,Total Honesty,Impressed!! While Omar went into the hotel for change I got chatting to a nice Irsh woman who apologised to me for the cold weather,shes been in Orlando 30 years,Lucky woman!!On Omars return he bombarded me with maps ,cards,Sheets of papers and pictures for the kids and then gave me directions for Magic Kingdom which I hadnt even asked for!! Great Service! Also whilst waiting I noticed an actual 70s Magic Kingdom poster map which looks like got framed in the 70s Really Kitsch and retro a real collectors item probalbly fetch a few bob on Ebay.
On the way to Disney noticed quite a few places run down/shut up including I Think Medieval Times noticed this a lot round Orlando during our stay It seems quite Blatant Disney and Universal are squeezing the little boys out in fact Splendid China closed the week after we returned home its all a little sad ,Sure seems like a savage industry It may be the entertainment capital of the world but the competition is fierce..
On a happier note we pull in the Car park at Magic Kingdom Me being a muppet thinks its going to get warmer and leave my fleece in car,So we set off on trolley bus me in shorts and long sleeved tshirt ,The Afghans we encountered on the flight knew something we didnt You could honestly see families huddled together to keep warm it was that bad! We depart bus to get on ferry and I remember my camera-Its in the car!! What a knucklehead!! So I sprint back retrieve camera and oh guess what I put my fleece back on!! I then jump back on the shuttle bus and depart where I left the 3 girls and Hannah says Dad instead of walking back why didnt you go on the empty bus My answer Im a Knucklehead!! Finally we get on ferry Oh the CMs that were on the jettys were so wrapped up leggins big coats hats scarves gloves all you could make out were little eye holes What Wusses!! Laughing me head off at them! So off we go and the kids were purely excitable mainly Rachael as Hannah is a bit more reserved, I can never work this lagoon thing out what is the point? Is it man made or was it already here When Walt bought the land?so they decided to put boats on it? Is it to keep The Magic Kingdom in its own private area a kind of Utopia? I must confess though watching the castle getting bigger really adds to the excitement! Plus the hotels that now circle it are very impressive,Love to stay in any of them!! And watching the girls really put a smile on Gill and my face,My main problem with it is after a long day I cant be bothered with getting on a boat or monorail I just want me car!
Anyway we doart the ferry passed the CM who looks rather like the good year blimp with all his layers on-Spend a winter in the north of England Man,Thats Cold!! Security looked in Gills bag an we were looking at all the Mickeys how long have they been here? Some really good ones, So on we go and we had known today was the taping of The Parade for ABC I think that gets shown on US Television on Christmas day,Main st. was packed! The parade was stopping and starting It did most the day! But Man what a n atmosphere CMS posted everywhere to get people to wave and cheer I did with Gusto,Im in Disneyworld, it was hard work making our way to Fantasyland,But Im not complaining!
Arrive in Fantasyland The Disney magic hadnt got rid of the cold! Restroom stop First I came out and waited for the 3 girls and could hear Aeriel singing from the grotto and I was transfixed with the castle,A Disney moment? Dunno bit It felt good Must be something in the air in this place!We rode winnie the Pooh A first for us and a huge improvement on Mr Toads wild ride,The girls are big Pooh fans so it was Thumbs up,But we never found Mr Toad handing the deeds over to Pooh we looked every time we rode it over the fortnight (8 Times),Even though Main st was packed it was about a 3 minute wait,the only ride here that ever had a longish wait was Peter Pan and that was only about 15-20 mins,everything else was 5 mins max but mostly walk-ons,
Next was Snow Whites Scary adventure,Very enjoyable ride,Then Peter Pan which is Magnificent! We rode it many times over the 2 weeks,It was while waiting for this we saw our first experience of pin trading something we knew very little about,a lady tried to trade for a Beauty and the Beast pin with another lady,but she declined it was a real rare one with a rose in a glass case which datd from early 90s apparently!! The pin trading got us later on in the holiday ,more of later!
We then snaked round to The Haunted Mansion,another walk-on,I really like this The house looks so small from the outside but when you get inside as the ride progresses its Massive!After this we did Pirates of the carribean,Another ride we never tire of ,A Timeless Classic.,thenStraight down to Jungle Cruise,last holiday we went on this a lot,Half way round we saw a Zebra being eaten by what looked Like The AFGHANS!! AAAGGGHHHH!!! Driver put your foot down! In 7 years since we last rode this we noticed one thing..The CMs Script hasnt changed in The slightest! Back side of water-Whats all that about?!
We then meet a few characters,Genie and Jasmine,Another thing we noticed a distinct lack of Princesses at the park The reason why Di$ney wants you to buy the character breakfasts..Talking of which we then decided to get some lunch we went for Tacos at El Piratas,A favourite of Gills,We dont actually take food seriously if were hungry we eat then we decide where to go,We never plan food We eat what we can when we can,As long as its warm .
Then it was time for Splash Mountain A first for any of us,There was some concerns for Gills back with the drop as she suffers with it,So the 2 girls and I rode A walk on- Really Really enjoyed it Big Time!!The theme is great and the ride is surprisingly long and the big drop at the end was ok,So we reported to Gill She then rode with Ravhael While Hannah and I bought Gill a Mexican type Fleecey top $19 Not too bad for Di$ney.After this we took the train on the full perimeter of the park we really enjoy doing this a good way to chillout, we then got off at the same point we embarked,Splash Mountain and made our way out of the park to head over to Epcot,but we were directed through the stores as Maqin Street was total gridlock with the ongoing parade taping,In hindsight we should have got off train at bottom of Main St..
After the hand stamp ritual it was over to Epcot on The Monorail,The giant Mickeys arm on the sde of the giant golf ball is very impressive,I never realised how huge it is,Breathtaking!!Passing through noticed the leave a legacy plinths not sure about these ,Just dont get it,At this point we realised there was going to be no sun today,had hoped it was going to get warmer as the day progressed but it was getting colder if anything! We rode Spaceship Earth ,starting to look a little tired and dated but I still like it,After this I noticed another new thing to us-The massive canopy erected with The pin station underneath,them pins again hmmm!
We then walked into Ice station cool for a warm up! Man our feet stuck to the floor,Do they not have mops well Mingin! As Hannah would say, we tried I think all the samples where I quickly made the observation the cups are only good for 4 fills max until they disintigrate,What do you mean shouldnt be greedy!! Listen when Di$ney give you take! Then headed over to world showcase and imthinking what are these weird white arches thingies? All was revealed later on. We aim for Canada where brother bear and his vertically challenged chum are signing autographs and meeting the kids,What amazes me at Canada is the la Cellier when your down below at the lagoon it looks absolutely massive but when you go up to it its actually quite small,It must be this forced perspective thing the imagineers are quite good at.
Next we went home not quite true I bet Cumbria was warmer! Nice and quaint which in nothing like the real UK Sadly, into the shop where gill and Rachael bought a big Eeyore and Hannah a Tigger,The plan was to go round World Showcase then head back To the Magic kingdom for the evening for spectromagic but due to the cold and jetlag this was looking very doubtful,We were slowly burning ourselves out and didnt want to blow it at the beginning of our holiday.
Onwards then to France were I noticed something was missing-The Eifell Tower What the it reapearrd the week after!! No I was not drinking!!,Then into Morocco where I was chief photographer and taking pics for people who were asking me! Japan, Architecculary is stunning This is also where the kids started the masks .A really stunning idea they decorate a mask on a stick then in turn visit each country where they get a symbol added and a stamp on the stick with each variation of that particular country and theres no charge!!
We all then shared a choc topped funnel cake absolutely gorgeous,Then observed the Christmas show at America Gardens But for the life of me cant remember what its called now! It would have been nice to see all of this from a seat in the theatre but weve took this holiday every day as it comes and not really planned anything,everything that was planned is maybe tenative at best, into Italy again stunning architecture we were now firmly in my favourite half of the world showcase and I absolutely love Germany its stunning at dusk,Magical?Extremely so supposed to be a good Buffet here but Gill is not a big eater so at this time would have been wasted,me too come to think of it none of us are what you would call foodies. China next where we got talking to a local and I complained to hoim about the weather where he gave me the good news of its forcaste to get warmer after the weekend,he also asked me about the kids and schooling I explained we had special permission 12 months previously to take them out and as the last 2 weeks of the year at school are a bit soft,Videos,school plays coffee mornings etc its wasnt a big deal.
Another fave of mine next Norway, I love The Maelstrom,Side note-Blackpool Pleaseure Beach has a newish ride called Valhalla which is a rip off of Maelstrom but a lot better (Bigger and Grander) ! I go on it a lot! The one thing that still annoys me about Norway even after 7 years is if you dont time the end of the ride right you have to wait for them theatre doors to open before you walk straight through the theatre to get out! Does anyone ever watch the film?
After this it was dawning on us wed done enough Spectromagic was gone wed done enough we were cold and tired,We WERE! That cold we wouldnt have done it justice it was on again wed catch it again,Walking out through that archway we noticed it lights up in elaborate patterns and colours in time to classical music,Very Cool!! Epcot I used to love but now I cant help thinking some of it is starting to look very dated,The trouble with trying to make stuff futuristic they can date easy,They are not timeless like say Fantasyland .But we will return weve got Test track and Mission Space to do!
After crawling onto monorail we get off at Magic Kingdom,Made our way to the car and drove back up I4 to our warm hotel room,Home sweet Home! I then jumped back in car drove up I Drive and pulled into KFC for some food,I Know slumming it but we were too tired to eat out!,I like the KFC here different stuff,Rice Wedges,biscuits etc,Leaving KFC with food I heard some really loud continuous motor sounds,and eyed up behind a huge industrial looking thing which I immediately thought a strange thing for this area,It wasnt until passing a few days later I discovered it was one of those centrifuge things for skydiving,Huge fans thrusting upwards and you jump in the slipstream,Looks Fun.
On the way back noticed a few things like Skull Kingdom that Ive never seen before also a few dare I say tackier things also a few tattooists Never seen them before. And the main thing at times it was eeirly quiet!
Anyway got back to room the 3 girls didnt eat much sleep was higher on the menu than food and I think I fell asleep when I started my 2 nd piece of chicken
A great day ..But a tiring one..We were wasted!
5150 WILL RETURN IN THUNDERBALL
