Fly on Friday the 13th?? Yep, we`ll turn superstition into 23 nights of fun!! A Sept/Oct 2024 TR

[schumigirl]

It was boiling hot and my hair never looked worse lol, but it was fun and now it was almost time for the VIP offerings to be served to us at our tables so we headed back to our own little area and it was very busy, I think every seat was filled.

They came round with little wontons and sweet chilli sauce first and they were very nice indeed, I adore anything with sweet chilli sauce anyway, but they were a nice little appetiser.

They also came around with plenty of water which was very welcome in this heat.​

The chefs were introduced and each of them explained how they had come up with the dishes to match the beers on offer and they were all very interesting and it was very humorous too and nice to get to see some of the chefs that usually stay backstage in the restaurants. ​

We stuck to the fruity beer and the first course arrived and it was the Chipotle Salmon with a Kale salad, garlic, roasted pumpkin seeds and the most gorgeous of sour cherry vinaigrettes I had ever tasted.

This was a beautiful dish despite having Kale in it which is something neither Tom or I like, but altogether it went well. I think there was maybe a bulgar wheat base too, but I didn`t write it all down and some of the pictures didn`t turn out as good as they could have, all down to the light I believe. ​

The salmon was beautiful considering it was from an outside station, it stayed moist and full of flavour and we all enjoyed it at the table.

Up next after a little break was the Sous Vide Veal Tenderloin and I have to say I expected this to be a little dry as it been sitting a little time, but it was gorgeous and you could have cut the meat with a spoon.

It came with Chanterelles, roasted corn and fresno salad, a large celeriac chip and a blood orange jus, all of it together was beautiful and a large enough portion you got a good sense of the flavours but not too much on the plate.

I think this dish was both our favourites. ​

Dessert offered was a mix for me reading the description, chocolate desserts are not my thing normally, but I adore cherry anything!!! Tom was thrilled as he adores Black Forrest dishes and I must admit this was beautiful, it was a Black Cherry Roulade with a cherry brandy filling and a thick ganache frosting, wow.....I could have eaten two of those easily!!!

You could have more if you wished, but I think everyone was very satisfied with what they had. ​

Everyone was kind of heading back round to the main stall area, so we thought we would do the same but first we wanted to thank Mr Beiderman again, he was behind us talking to some people and we waited till he wasn`t deep in conversation before we went over.

But he saw us and said he wanted to introduce us to someone and it was Robert Rivers who is the CEO of the new Helios hotel, what a lovely man he is, very friendly and his wife was also as lovely and we had a really good chat with him about Helios and what it would be like, we said we were very excited to spend some time there. He was quite amazed when he heard how many nights we had stayed here over the years.

But, he was so nice and it was a pleasure to meet him and his wife tonight. We again thanked Mr Beiderman and said we were heading round the other side where it was a little cooler, yes, I had the humidity hair at this point!!










The meme above is a little nod to the folks who always tease me for saying "Gosh" as it`s such a British word apparently and I do use it a lot I`m told!!! And tonight I was saying it a lot!!!

​

There were so many beers to try, we liked most of them that were fruity but mainly the sours and when asked what our favourite had been......??????









Edmond`s Oast Brewing from SC.

Their Sour Blackberry and Raspberry Ale and the Apple Cider Doughnut Blonde Ale were outstanding, our kind of flavours, especially the Blackberry one, they were amazing.

We didn`t try the bottle they had brought along, but goodness me, we could have drained them dry of the ones we did sample. He told us they did a Sour Cherry one too which just sounded right up our street and many others all sounding equally nice!! ​

I don`t think we sampled every stall, but we had a good bash at them and there were some lovely beers, wines and ciders there and a good place to sample some you may not think you like. We had been spoiled with choices tonight.

As we were coming in earlier, there was a man dressed as Jake and he chatted away to me asking if we were enjoying our stay and so on......he was very nice and I assumed he was someone they had hired for the evening to play Jake.

Chatting to A later in the evening about the gorgeous guy playing Jake, she smiled and said, but you know him.....I was honestly bemused and said I didn`t have a clue who he was!!!

Oops.








I hadn`t actually met him properly, but he was indeed one of the front office managers!!!!

Doh!!!

I really did think he was an actor for the evening!!

He is very cute!
(Excuse the hair as it was hotter than Hades)

A asked me later if I had any pictures of him in character and would I send her some, which I did and again I apologised for the hair!!! I was truly melting at that point.

I thanked him again for the pictures at the time and I was a little embarrassed later when I found out who he was!!!!

We wandered some more, chatted to some more people and enjoyed the music and a couple of little samples and slowly everyone began dwindling away.

I would say however, this had been a winning night, everything had gone so well, I can only imagine the planning for all this event to go so smoothly and it really had.

The chefs had done an amazing job with the food both in the general area and in the VIP area, we had enjoyed everything we tried. The beer, wine and cider stations were all hosted by very friendly and interesting folks who love what they do and that are brewing so many different types of beers, some I`d never think of trying until tonight.

Sours are making their way over here and I think I`d look out for them and try some more local ones from here now, whereas before I`d probably have dismissed them as just beer which generally speaking I don`t like.

But we had loved tonight, we were so glad we had made it.

Once we said goodnight to a few people we headed to the elevator, through the lobby and to the elevator in T3 before realising we were staying at Sapphire!!!! Another Doh moment!!

We had once this trip pulled into the RP parking lot instead of Sapphire`s parking lot, only once though which isn`t bad considering how much time we spend between both hotels on each trip! You do feel a bit silly though lol....

We put the tv on and poured a glass of wine, we really hadn`t drank that much at all, the samples were a reasonable size and we spread them out, so we didn`t feel at all as though we`d had a drink and we really needed to finish this wine anyway!!! We watched some tv and thought about starting to pack, but somehow we decided to postpone that task.

I think we sat up till around midnight chatting, not really watching the movie, neither of us really wanting to think tomorrow was our last full day of this trip.





​

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Wow! The VIP dishes were divine, and the black cherry roulade would have had me swooning.
I love that they had someone dressed as Jake, and of course, you assumed it was an actor -- that's the norm for sure.
What a wonderful event! If I note it's happening the next time we are at RPR, I will definitely look into it!

I am surprised you don't confuse where you are more often. I love that you are able to enjoy both of these resorts, but remembering where you are after a long day...you do a great job!

It's easy to not really consume as much as you think you are at events like those. Just the design of wandering for nibbles can leave you a bit peckish at the end -- or a bit overfull; it does work both ways LOL

Another wonderful evening for you both!

 

[I-4Bound]

Our daughter is turning 21 this week, and she picked out an Edmunds Oast cranberry sour at Total Wine as one of her first drinks! If you like sours, you might also like a Gose. Very sour beer with a bit of saltiness.

 

[schumigirl]

Our daughter is turning 21 this week, and she picked out an Edmunds Oast cranberry sour at Total Wine as one of her first drinks! If you like sours, you might also like a Gose. Very sour beer with a bit of saltiness.

Apologies for the late reply Andrea, I came down with the flu or maybe a three day bug that was identical to flu!!! But, much better now.

to your daughter this week!!!! How lovely and sounds like a gorgeous drink to celebrate with.

I never look at beers in Total Wine or ABC but will look for those and see if we can find them, they`ll be nice to have in the room as a treat. I`ll look out for Gose too, never heard of that, thank you for the tips and hope your daughter has a lovely birthday too

 

[schumigirl]

SATURDAY OCTOBER 5TH






We were up early this morning, usually on our last day we spend some time in the parks and really take it easy, but "someone" who shall remain nameless decided we needed to do some more shopping!!!!

After nagging me about the amount of purchases we had made and limited luggage space (even with four suitcases) we were now going to buy more. He had a sneaky smile though so I did wonder what he was up to, but I was very good and didn`t bring up the nagging, even if it was done in jest over our previous shopping expeditions....

First we headed over for breakfast to the Club Lounge which was very nice as always, we met one of the new girls up there, well she was just helping out and she was lovely, and it turned out we met her parents last night. Tom recognised her from the picture her mum showed him, lovely girl who will absolutely go far as she has the perfect nature for the business. We chatted and she said she knew who we were as our picture is still up on the wall lol...she told us she would be downstairs tomorrow and pop by to say goodbye, we said we absolutely would and were glad we had the chance to meet her.

Samuel came up to say goodbye with Nicky the Concierge manager, both wouldn`t be around tomorrow so they wanted to say goodbye today, so again we had a good catch up with them and although we keep in touch with Samuel we do miss him a lot between trips.

After we had said goodbye for now, we headed down to walk to the park, we fancied a quick blast on Velocicoaster before we left this trip behind.

We cut through the pool and it was beautiful, it is always lovely to go down on a morning before it gets too busy and too sunny, we are like vampires who stay mainly in the shade and retreat as the sun completely shrouds the pool in glorious sunshine which most folks look for but us West of Scotland folks have skin that doesn`t appreciate all the sun with no sunscreen on!

But, it is nice to be in the pool early before it gets too busy.

We do like the pool at RP and it is our favourite along with Sapphire Falls, for us they mean we don`t need to go pool hopping anywhere else.​

It was beautiful this morning and that little breeze was pleasant enough to make walking even nicer than usual as it can be very overpowering at times, the shade helps too of course.

The park didn`t seem too busy considering it was a Saturday, but it was quite early.

We kept walking and went straight for Velocicoaster where it was a little busier, but we always appreciate this ride having EP as the line was long this morning, I forget exactly what it was but we wouldn`t have waited if we didn`t have EP.

And we were glad we did come to do this today, we got on 3 times before my head said enough was enough. Our first two rides were the back row which is our favourite and then we did the front row which I admit still terrifies me a little during the day as I can see how high it is going over the Top Hat, you don`t notice the height as much as night but it was amazing and although Hagrid`s is an incredible ride with amazing theming, I think VC is absolutely our favourite ride in the parks.

We did have a bottle of water each before we headed back and we stopped into the main store before leaving as I wanted to pick up a proper Slytherin scarf for my nephew`s wife as part of her Christmas gifts, I fervently hoped she didn`t already have one which she could have as she is Harry Potter crazy!! But, I was glad to hear on Christmas Day that she didn`t have one and she loved it.

I also picked up the purple mug with the Always triangle on it, it is a very nice mug to drink out of, and with that bought we were done with the parks for this trip and it is always quite sad to leave for that last time but I think we had done all we wanted to do this time around.



​

Even outside of POE is incredibly well themed before you even get into the parks, it is full of colour and detail you don`t normally expect in buildings that all serve a normal function behind the facade. ​

I do love these little love birds that adorn the exterior and always makes us smile as they are the reason one year I decided I really might need glasses as I thought they might possibly be real!!! But to be fair, a lot of folks when they see them first think they might be real......that`s my story and I`m sticking to it!!!!

Even the lighthouse is incredibly detailed.

I was glad we were leaving about now as the heat seemed to have ramped up, it was still gorgeous but yes, I looked forward to getting back into the suite to get showered before we headed out again today.

I think this is one of my favourite views over the whole of UOR especially when the boats are coming and going, it is so pretty.

We do stand here for a time and just take it in, then head for the boat back to Sapphire to first chat to Kyle on Facetime and then get showered and changed where apparently, we were going shopping!!!! ​

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I loved the pineapple cider and had it twice from the club lounge. I am a big fan of pineapple sodas, and this was a perfect combo of that and a good beer. Do you know of any places to buy it? I don't think it is available anywhere near where I live in the midwest, but I will be back to Universal for a short trip and won't be staying at a club level.

 

[schumigirl]

I loved the pineapple cider and had it twice from the club lounge. I am a big fan of pineapple sodas, and this was a perfect combo of that and a good beer. Do you know of any places to buy it? I don't think it is available anywhere near where I live in the midwest, but I will be back to Universal for a short trip and won't be staying at a club level.

I have no clue as we only buy wine, tequila or rum usually for the suite, but I would imagine ABC Wines and Spirits will carry it, or Total Wine. We never look at beers or ciders usually but if anywhere has it, ABC will I think.

I admit, I do enjoy that Pineapple Cider too One of my favourite non alcoholic drinks is Pineapple juice topped up with fizzy lemonade, very spritzy and refreshing.

 

[schumigirl]

We got the boat back and again it was almost empty, it was fairly early I admit as we hadn`t spent a lot of time in the park today, but it was enough. Once back in the suite we both showered and changed and Tom said did I fancy going to the Mall at Millenia today....on a Saturday?????

Surely he was joking, but apparently not, so we got in the car and headed to the I-4 and hopefully there wasn`t going to be a long line to just get into the parking lot which if you know the area you know the line can be back to almost onto the I-4. It wasn`t too bad being honest and I still thought this was crazy, but the man had a plan.

We got lucky with a parking spot right at the top nearest the main entrance and gleefully parked in a spot that meant we didn`t have to walk too far in the blazing sunshine as we had no sunscreen on. And as it was almost lunchtime we thought about where we wanted to eat and we knew we would be having a lovely meal tonight so decided to go to Johnny Rockets, Tom likes their burgers and we both love the milkshakes, so that`s where we went first and it was almost empty so we got a little booth and ordered.

I went for the strawberry and Tom opted for the vanilla shake and you do get a lot, inside the can is another almost full shake, so it is quite filling, but they are gorgeous!!


​

I think he ordered the Route 66 which had swiss cheese, mushrooms and onions with mayo and it did look good if a little small but he didn`t want a huge burger today.
​

I had the grilled chicken club salad with honey mustard and we ordered some tots to share which were just ok, nothing special, but we ate around half of them. My chicken was probably a little dry and the salad was as described, but maybe a little lacklustre, I wouldn`t order it again, but maybe opt for a burger as they are so good.

But, I was really here for the milkshake!

I enjoyed the shake, Tom enjoyed the burger and mentally had decided to get something to eat from Dutch Trading when we got back as a small snack as I didn`t feel full at all from the salad, but for now we headed out into the stores where I picked up another Olaplex gift box, it was such a good price at $55, some items from Bath & Body, for me this time and then when I thought we were done, Tom asked me if I fancied a new ipad!!!

There is a story here, I had three ipads, one is tucked away somewhere so safe I forget where it is, and the two more recent ones, I tend to flick between them, one is charging while I use the other and it`s a joke my ipad charger is the hardest working thing in our home!!!!

(How rude)


He might have a point actually

But, yep, I `m always up for a new ipad, I "kindly" tell him he can use the 3rd one and I`ll stick to the two newest ones, sounded like a plan to me.

I do like ipads, I don`t want an Apple phone, I still have android and my phone is no different to iphones and my camera is better than most of my friend`s camera`s on their iphones, but ipads I do like. Although I still use a trusty laptop for a lot of things too, wouldn`t be without either of them though.

Ambling down to the Apple store, I`m constantly amazed at how busy these places are and now, you have to go stand in an area and wait for one of the sales staff to come get you when the next one is available! So, we stood for a few moments and I`m fussy about who serves me, if I don`t like someone I won`t buy anything, but the guy who came over was lovely, not pushy and not one of these guys who want to share what they think is relevant to you but it really isn`t.

We told him what we wanted, paid before we got it and then waited a few moments for him to bring it, quick as a flash. We did chat to him about Europe as he was headed over this way and as he asked for suggestions, we gave him a few he hadn`t considered, but nice guy and glad we got that guy.

We headed out of the Mall and boy was it busy, there wasn`t a space to be seen in the whole lot, and eventually we got on the I-4 again and Tom said we were heading to ABC Wines....what!!

Er, remind me why again???








Ah, ok. That makes sense, we`re already short on luggage space so we`ll go buy two giant bottles of Tequila on top of everything else....and I`m the shopper!!!!



He is my kinda guy really!!!!

Seems we also bought a Private Reserve rum that he had promised my sister he`d get her as part of her Christmas gifts, so this was our purchases today by someone who said we had no more room!!

Tom took the picture of our purchases today so I`m not sure why the honey is in there as we bought that a couple of weeks ago!!

I was pleased with the new ipad though.

I heard the Facetime ring on the ipad and knew it was Kyle, we had missed him and would be glad to see him in a few days, he planned to come straight from his office which is a 10 minute drive from us for dinner on the day we came home, well it would be takeout, but we looked forward to it. He did have some good stories and constantly amazes me with his running, him and some friends had run 15 miles today and tomorrow he was planning a 22 mile run!! He had another marathon coming up so training was well in hand.

We had a good chat and caught up before he was heading out, well it is Saturday night there!!

I was about to head down to Dutch Trading for a snack when the doorbell rang and I opened it to someone from room service with a trolley filled with goodies, it could not have arrived at a better time!!!

There was a lovely card to go with it with some lovely words from M & A and it was quite emotional to read what they had written and so very kind of them, they are so thoughtful

As there is a rule of "it`s five o`clock somewhere" we had a glass of wine and tucked into a rather lovely board of snacks which would hold us till dinner later.

I also hadn`t noticed at first there was a separate card with a voucher for us to have breakfast in Amatista tomorrow morning which was also very kind of them, we had mentioned it vaguely last week we planned to eat there on our last morning, but they had remembered and wanted us to have our breakfast as a treat from them, again, such thoughtfulness and kindness.

The amenity tray had been lovely, we kept a glass of wine for later when we came back to the room after dinner, but for now we headed over to the lounge for our last evening there and again, had some folks to say goodbye to that we wouldn`t see tomorrow and some not at all due to career changes. ​

 

[schumigirl]

We walked slowly over to the club lounge and it was very quiet again tonight and it was well into service at this point, but most tables were free so we got our semi usual table and enjoyed some prosecco and plenty of chats with the TM`s who were on tonight and it always a little sad to know you won`t see some of them again as you do form an attachment to some of them, some more than others.

But, we soon headed back over to Sapphire as we had a dinner reservation at 8pm in Strong Water Bar and we were really looking forward to that.

We met A on the way over, told her thank you for the amenity tray and the voucher for breakfast in the morning, she said no problem and said she would make us a reservation as it would be busy considering the weather looked awful for the whole day, we thanked her again and she said she`d see us tomorrow before we left.

The adorable Abdel was there to welcome everyone tonight, he is a star and very personable, we like him a lot, but I don`t think there is anyone we don`t like in Strong Water, they have an amazing team and I`m sure it will continue after Fernando leaves.

We have our usual table in the corner, we really don`t have a favourite table in here but we always get this one when they book it for us and tonight the place is nice and busy but not too loud and we know the couple will be on singing tonight, they are very, very good and incredibly popular, everyone seems to enjoy their show on a Saturday night.

Tom asks again, for something of a surprise in a drink and I ask for a Spicy Margarita and Demi says she`ll make sure it is extra spicy and Sattina comes over to check it`s fine which it is, and Tom`s was a very fruity and strong drink which he really enjoyed.

Fernando joined us at this point and said we didn`t need menu`s tonight as Chef Carlos was preparing us something special, now we were excited as we know everything he prepares is exceptional, I was glad we were hungry!!!
​

And he did us proud.......


Chef Carlos appeared as always with a huge smile on his face with a large sharing plate of Wagyu Steak served medium rare with a Chimichurri sauce, a beautiful yukka mash with Chihuahua Cheese and gorgeous Enoki Mushrooms.

It looked amazing and we made sure we got some pictures of this dish as some loving care had gone into it, and it was gorgeous!!!

​

The steak was like butter, you didn`t need a knife and it was so full of flavour, it was one of those meals you didn`t want to end, the yukka mash we had never tried before and it was beautiful, incredibly filling though but we managed to make a good dent in it as it was so tasty and we loved the mushrooms.

It was almost a lick the plate moment when we were done

We cleared the plate and Chef came out so we could thank him again for such a special meal on our last night, he has never disappointed us in any dish, they are all amazing and he said he hoped we had room for dessert.....er, not sure we really did as that was a large portion, but we said maybe a little break would be nice, he just smiled and headed back into the kitchen letting us know he`d be back!

Demi brought us over another drink and it was lovely just chatting with all the staff that popped over to say hello and in some cases goodbye too.

Fernando had sat down with us at this point and it was lovely with the soft music playing and we just chatted about old times and new times to come which was lovely, it must be very exciting for the ones moving to be looking forward to the new Helios Hotel Bar.

I think about half an hour later Fernando got up and brought out dessert which was a very large portion of Vanilla Bread and Butter Pudding, a rum `n` raisin ice cream for Tom and a portion of Dulce de Leche for me which was delicious along side the pudding.

It wouldn`t normally be my first choice for dessert but it was lovely, I think Tom ate more of it than I did, but we almost have a clean plate tonight, I did finish my ice cream though.

It was one of those evenings, like the meal, we didn`t want it to end, we chatted the evening away with everyone and drinks kept appearing on our table including this gorgeous Rum Dream which is condensed milk based and very, very easy to drink.

It was getting late by now and getting closer to saying goodbye to much loved faces, I know we`ll see them again in Helios, but it`s like the end of an era, all we have ever known in Strong Water is Fernando and his team, now it`ll be different, but still wonderful I`m sure.

Fernando had given us a lovely gift and then it really was time to leave and of course we did manage to get a picture of some of our favourite people again.

I admit, this was taken before the goodbyes and there were a few tears, but we wish only the best for Fernando and all the team who are going to Helios.

I`ll gloss over the goodbye`s and thank you`s but they were heartfelt and of course we`ll keep in touch and can`t wait to see Fernando in his new Bar this year, he will make it an amazing place to visit.

Back in our room we admired the lovely bottle of rum Fernando had gifted us, it was a special one and we knew we`d enjoy that as a treat once we were home and very kind of him as always.

We had a glass of wine, I did online check in for our flight tomorrow which was showing on time, always a bonus and then attempted to start packing, but we had little motivation tonight, however we did bubble wrap most of the alcohol and pack one suitcase which was something, we did however have plenty of time in the morning to pack properly, so we weren`t too concerned.

I think we both looked out of the window and took the night view in for one last time this trip before deciding at almost midnight it was time to climb into bed.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

​

 

[macraven]

Your food pictures really wowed me!
It all looks delicious….

 

[schumigirl]

Your food pictures really wowed me!
It all looks delicious….

I can give Tom that credit as he does take most of the food pics, if they`re blurry, chances are that`s one I took lol....

Thank you, I`ll pass it on to him

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Well that was a surprising turn to your day and a wonderful shopping trip!

I love that Tom is always thinking of wonderful ways to surprise you; he’s a keeper!

It’s a great day so far

 

[schumigirl]

SUNDAY OCTOBER 6TH











Last day is always a mix of emotions for us, feeling sorry we`re leaving but excited to get home and get back to normality for a time. It helps we already have next years trips sorted already which is something we liked to do, certainly in the past.

Coming from the UK our Virgin Atlantic flights are released 11 months from our return date, so we did like to get booked as soon as we can if we know we have no clashes of dates for anything like weddings or other major celebrations, so knowing we are booked makes it easier to leave. It`s not as easy to come from the UK as it is to jump on a 2 hr flight or drive a few hours which is lovely of course for those that can.

It`s always funny when folks tell us they get return flights for around $100!!!! I wish!!!!

But, back to this morning, they weren`t kidding when they said the weather was turning bad and it was going to be awful. Outside was miserable and nothing but rain however there were still folks heading for the boats and walking too.

I got up first while Sleeping Beauty had an extra snooze as I watched the rain bounce down over the lagoon before wondering should I start packing before breakfast or wait till we`re done eating, I decided to wait as I was feeling quite hungry, so jumped in the shower and got dressed as my very own sleeping beauty came to life and then he hit the shower and we were both a little quiet today.

Our breakfast had been booked for 8.15, I will say Amatista usually don`t take reservations for breakfast but A had booked it especially for us, so we went downstairs and it was busy, folks were waiting so we went to the desk and said we had a reservation and of course the lady said immediately they don`t take reservations, but a little too sharply.

I explained it had been made for us and she didn`t look as though she believed us, however another lady appeared and she said yes, they do have a reservation and took us over to our table. It was a little uncomfortable but we had a table and we looked forward to our breakfast.

We had a lovely window seat admittedly looking out at heavy rain and overcast skies, however it is still a lovely restaurant and the outlook is very nice regardless.

Our waiter was not the best, which is a shame as usually the staff are all amazing, but this guy was a little underwhelming and seemed a little put out when I asked for a teapot instead of individual cups of tea which get cold quickly, but I never felt he was happy about it.

One of the ladies who we have known for years dropped by to say hello and asked if everything was ok, I`m guessing she saw the conversations over a teapot of all things!!!

We headed up to get some food and there are so many choices for everyone, there really is something for everyone.

I admit I don`t think we did the buffet justice as we didn`t take pictures of everything, but we were hungry and wanted to tuck in, but we never took pictures of the egg station which gives you the option of any kind of egg you want and they do them so well.

Bacon of course was first on our list to pick up, I had some pancakes and maple syrup which is gorgeous, the syrup comes in little pots now instead of being poured from one large container. ​

This is maybe not the best picture of these little sausages as they were just about to refill it, but they are so gorgeous, we do like they are quite peppery, not low calorie at all, but they are so nice!!! ​

One of my favourite foods is smoked salmon, preferably Scottish but the stuff they have here is lovely too and it is hard not to eat the whole tray by myself!!! ​

Tom sampled the cinnamon bun and said it was really nice, we do miss the Club Lounge having the cinnamon bun they used to have up there, it was on at breakfast and much missed by many who remember those days long ago. ​

Their pastries are lovely, fresh and they do have plenty of options as well as mini muffins and cookies and a huge selection of breads available with considerations for those with allergies or intolerences.

Cereals are not my thing at all!!!! I loathe them all and don`t like seeing folks eating them, family aside of course, but they have a few and plenty of milk options again, something for everyone.

The restaurant is very nice, we do like it here for all meals, lunch has some excellent choices and dinner has never disappointed either. They also have a lovely regular breakfast menu to choose from if you don`t opt for the buffet which we have done before when we were here with friends in the past.

When we were finished we headed back upstairs and started on the one task we had been postponing for fear of having to leave a lot behind!!!!

We got the cases out and looked at each other with a nervous smile and began to try and organise what would go into which suitcase and what could we manage in hand luggage which is a decent allowance at 22lbs each and we don`t normally utilise that weight as we prefer to have hand luggage as light as possible, but I think this time we`d have to.

Once we started it was easier than we thought, the bottles although much thicker with bubble wrap on them still fitted in around clothes and anything liquid we were taking back as gifts fitted too, anything heavy that wasn`t a liquid we did put in hand luggage and it wasn`t too bad.










I did admit to Tom, yes, maybe, just maybe I do bring too many clothes on our trips......he smiled and asked hopefully if I was planning on bringing less dresses on our next trips









He did laugh and said no surprises there, he does get me!!!
I would much rather have more clothes with me than I need than not to have them and need them, my kinda logic!

And we did it!!!









Everything fitted and all the cases (we hoped) were either right on the limit or just under, but just under was maybe pushing the truth a little!!! We hoped for the best at the airport.

M had asked us if we needed a later checkout but we said till midday would be fine, then we could go sit in the Club Lounge till we had to leave for the airport, and the only reason we had to leave early was to get the rental car back by 4.30. But it`s not so bad as we do enjoy sitting in the Hyatt having a drink and a meal before our flight, that passes some time easily.

It is always a little sad leaving our lovely suite but all good things come to an end and we had loved every second of our time here, but we managed to hoist our cases down to the front desk and we said goodbye to a few folks here then Tom went for the car and the guys loaded it up for us, although we weren`t going far, it is a short drive to RP!!

The weather was foul, the rain was incessant and today we were to use the Valet for the car, it was just too dreadful to park then walk up, so we left the car with one of the guys and headed into RP where we ran into Rob who has worked for RP since it opened and another who is leaving for Helios and listening to him talk of the whole experience guests will have there is very exciting indeed!!

I was glad we saw him today and got to say goodbye to him, he is the nicest of men, very genuine and what he doesn`t know about the parks and hotels, well, it`s not worth knowing.

We then ran into the lovely Raphael who was checking in for the storm with his partner who we had never met before, but we had both heard a lot about each other, it was lovely to meet him at last.

We headed upstairs for the Club Lounge and passed a couple of hours up there, it was very quiet as it usually is at this time of day. Sometimes when the weather is as bad as today it can get busy, there are plenty of things to pass the time including board games and of course the kids have movies on most of the day.

The Lounge used to have hundreds of DVD`s and a player where guests could watch them anytime the lounge was open, but that stopped many, many years ago now, but it was nice if we had some spare time, I think all three of us sat watching a movie once or twice.

​

The weather wasn`t getting any better and we were glad we were leaving before Hurricane Milton hit, as it would.

Taking off in bad weather doesn`t bother us, we once took off from Orlando during a tropical storm, and the only difference was planes were taking off with more time between them and it was maybe a little bit of a steeper than normal climb, but this was nothing compared to that year we left. ​

People always ask if it`s worth it to come back for the lunchtime options in the lounge and I always answer no, it`s not worth leaving the parks to come back as it is only snack items, nice as they are, we wouldn`t do it.

But, if you`re in the hotel and have some time to pass, it`s a nice place to be and usually very quiet.

We make ourselves a cuppa and do indulge in a cookie and pop some chips in our hand luggage in case we get peckish during the night on the flight, you can help yourself to snacks and drinks on the plane, but it saves us getting up.​

The time passed quickly, we had a few people come up and say goodbye to us, but someone reminded us the airport might be crazy today with folks leaving before the hurricane, good thinking, so, we headed down to the lobby where A was meeting us to see us off and a few other people too which was lovely of them to take the time to come say goodbye.

Once A came over we chatted for a time and then decided to head off for the airport and again we thanked her numerous times for everything she and M do for us throughout our trips and we keep in touch between them too which is always lovely.

But, it was time to leave and we headed out where one of the Valet guys, bless him, got drenched retrieving our car quickly and we were on our way with a quick glance back and a thought of, see you soon.

Airport here we come and I keep telling myself.......












​

 

[schumigirl]

Well that was a surprising turn to your day and a wonderful shopping trip!

I love that Tom is always thinking of wonderful ways to surprise you; he’s a keeper!

It’s a great day so far

He absolutely is!!! I don`t know what I did to deserve him

I admit he is very good at surprises, he does put me to shame there as I always think I`m a little too predictable lol....

Glad you`re still along, not long to go now, I should have had this finished ages ago!!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I’m glad you enjoyed not the best weather day, starting with that lovely buffet and then some time to relax in the club lounge. When the weather is Blech, it’s really nice to have a place to just be — well unless the library police want absolute quiet

I feel like actually making yourself leave for the airport is just the saddest thing. You were very brave, and with your perhaps perfectly-weighed suitcases

 

[schumigirl]

I’m glad you enjoyed not the best weather day, starting with that lovely buffet and then some time to relax in the club lounge. When the weather is Blech, it’s really nice to have a place to just be — well unless the library police want absolute quiet

I feel like actually making yourself leave for the airport is just the saddest thing. You were very brave, and with your perhaps perfectly-weighed suitcases

Finally catching up after our few days in Scotland, surprise trip from my lovely husband, early Valentine’s getaway

It’s easier somehow to leave when the weather is so miserable! Yes, the Club Lounge is always welcoming and we can sit and chat the day away easily, oh I was glad the shooshy couple weren’t there as we did have a few laughs that day.

It’s never fun heading for the airport, but always nice to get home

 

[schumigirl]

Again, apologies for the seemingly dragging out of this TR, but my lovely husband surprised me with a few nights in Scotland for no other reason than he felt like it and thought the last few months had been a little stressful, with the death of my brother in law and concerns over family health issues and it was a lovely break away.

Weather was very Scottish and appropriate for the time of year, cold, damp and miserable but the hotel was lovely and very cosy, we did manage some visits out, but overall we had a fabulous time and I felt very, very spoiled




But, back to our last day in Orlando.

The drive to the airport was miserable, not just because of our mood, the weather was dreadful and thankfully no issues on the road and we were glad to see there were no huge lines into the rental car return, we found Sixt easily and didn`t expect any issues from them.

The young man inspected the car and appeared with a magnifying mirror thing and said we might get a charge for the dent in the door?????? What dent. We told him it was the same dent that was in the door when we picked it up, he said they might say it`s bigger and there could be a charge.

I don`t bliddy think so!!!

I will say, that young man at Sixt quite possibly had the best teeth I have ever seen! Yes, quite random but I do notice nice teeth and his were among the best!! And all his own, I was quite envious of them, Tom thinks it`s funny I always comment on folks teeth being so nice, well, not always, but his were perfect!!

Apart from that, we got our receipt and headed down dropping our Visitor Toll Pass into the box on the way past and then crossed the road taking our usual last gulps of Floridian air before heading into the terminal.

Virgin Atlantic are easy to find and we headed to the Premium check in which was deserted and a very nice lady was working, we handed over our passports, made pleasantries and popped our suitcases on to get weighed!!








Weirdly the one that was showing lighter at the hotel, weighed heavy and I immediately said there must be something wrong with their scales as that one was absolutely under the desired weight. She must have believed me as she didn`t charge us, it was showing around 6KG heavier than it should be and no way were any of our cases ever that heavy!!!

They were all ok and glad not to get $100 charge for one being overweight!!

Before she handed us our boarding cards she apologised and explained we were being moved as one of our pre booked seats was broken. We were being moved to two front row seats in Premium which have even better legroom, so we were happy. Being fair, there really isn`t a bad row in Premium as they all have good legroom and space but she did check again we were happy to move and we said of course, no issues for us.

We did then check our Global Entry number had shown up which gives us TSA Pre check, sometimes they have to manually enter the numbers but today had shown up and TSA Pre check was on the boarding card. There are times we have been very glad of it, other times it wouldn`t make much difference, but not having to remove electronics and shoes is so much easier.

With just our hand luggage now to carry, we headed through to the centre of the airport which was busy as there were so many people wanting to head home before the latest storm hit. I think we would be glad of the pre check today even though we wouldn`t be heading through till later.



​

We like to pass our time in the Hyatt lounge bar, they have a very nice menu where later we`ll either eat here or go through to McCoy`s restaurant, but for now, we order a glass of wine each and we have a chill out time, although I do bimble around taking some pictures. ​

The Hyatt lounge is nice, it used to be people could sit and pass some time up here, but now they seem to make sure you order food and drinks which is fine by us and we always did anyway, it is much more civilised than sitting in the food court downstairs, and almost relaxing.

We are at that stage now, once we are at the airport we just want to get away and wish we could teleport home. The flight coming here is so much nicer when it`s all in front of you.
​

I could see Tom fiddling with the phone and when I came back he had a smile on his face, he had been on and blocked Sixt from taking any surprise charges out and we were sure they would try to say we had damaged the car, but now it wouldn`t be so easy for them. The CC we use for rental cars would be blocked to them for a month. Nice.

As it turned out, they didn`t charge us anything, but made me realise from now on we`ll video almost every inch of any rental car before we take it.

I then got an email from Kyle to say he had been over to our home and popped in some milk and bread if we fancied a cuppa and a slice of toast when we got in, I knew he would and bless him, he knows his mum so well, he also turned the heating up a little as it was going to be cold when we got back!! Not fun.

And Kyle said he was going to come to us straight from work tomorrow night, so that was something for us to look forward to!

We passed some time then decided we were indeed hungry now and ordered a bottle of wine, Tom ordered their BLT with fries and I rather boringly ordered the same dish I usually get here, their Nashville Hot chicken sandwich but with side salad and some honey mustard which were all very nice albeit the chicken could have been hotter in it`s spice level.

Maybe not the best meal from here, but it was nice enough and not much left to be fair, but it`s a means to an end eating here, the plane food from this end can be a real miss or not so bad, it depends, we had already ordered our meal from an email a few days ago, so we knew what we were having, but if it was inedible, we had already been fed. I will say the wine was very nice

The weather didn`t look to be getting any better outside and someone said the lines now for returning rental cars were much longer than usual, we were glad we went early.

It was time to head downstairs and we headed for the Pre check line which only had a few folks in it and we got another very friendly officer tonight then wandered through and put our bags through and within a few moments we were heading for the most depressing journey ever, the little fake monorail down to where our plane was waiting.

We fly from Gate 86 or one of the ones closest to that and I again lament about missing the days of the old Jumbo Jet, seeing three or four of them here waiting for passengers to load before jetting us home, they were quite the sight, but sadly no more.

The hub we fly from is decent for food options, we never really bother eating airside as everywhere is always busy, but one of these days we`ll try the wine place beside Bahama Breeze.

It is however fairly quiet tonight, we knew there were three other flights heading back to the UK around this time but some had boarded so it did seem not to be as busy.

We had a wander into Duty Free, it is a shadow of what it used to be a few years back, perfume and make up are decent with plenty of choices, but for the alcohol options, it`s quite limited and not the bargains it used to be for us. So, once again we leave without buying anything, we did have a few bottles in our cases purchased in America so we weren`t going home empty handed.

With that done, we bought some water and fruit sweets (candy) for the landing just in case we needed it. Sometimes the pilots come down quite abruptly and it does affect one`s ears, Tom`s more than mine, but sweeties do help. Then we visited the bathrooms and headed down to gate 86, found a seat and waited for boarding to begin hoping it wouldn`t be too long and hopefully no delays to us taking off!!! ​

 

[keishashadow]

I had three ipads, one is tucked away somewhere so safe I forget where it is,

Lolololol

Tom took the picture of our purchases today

A treasure trove there!

constantly amazes me with his running, him and some friends had run 15 miles today and tomorrow he was planning a 22 mile run!!

He really did take to it, good for him

large sharing plate of Wagyu Steak

Enormous comes to mind

It`s always funny when folks tell us they get return flights for around $100!!!! I wish!!!!

Sadly, those days appear to be over even for those under 2 hour flights to MCO. Most airlines have cut back on the flights, planes are running filled to the gills. Ugh

overall we had a fabulous time and I felt very, very spoiled

Well deserved

We were being moved to two front row seats in Premium which have even better legroom

Score!

I then got an email from Kyle to say he had been over to our home and popped in some milk and bread if we fancied a cuppa and a slice of toast when we got in

What a lovely gesture. I usually have a small grocery order set to be delivered but, that is so nice

 

[SCDizFan]

What a great report and thank you for taking the time to write such detailed reports!

In my opinion, it is always easier on North Americans going East to Europe because even though we have those miserable overnight flights, even in FC you aren't getting much sleep, the adrenaline hit when you land usually keeps you going through the day until at least early evening.

Loved every bit of your report and I love seeing things in Orlando we never knew existed! We definitely have your oyster restaurant on our list.

The hubs wants annual passes again for his birthday in July so there's that. Also, we will be in Disney the week of September 8th and over Thanksgiving week. Hopefully our paths will eventually cross.

Looking forward to your next trip report because that usually coincides with my annual Europe trip!

 

[schumigirl]

Lolololol

A treasure trove there!

He really did take to it, good for him

Enormous comes to mind

Sadly, those days appear to be over even for those under 2 hour flights to MCO. Most airlines have cut back on the flights, planes are running filled to the gills. Ugh

Well deserved

Score!

What a lovely gesture. I usually have a small grocery order set to be delivered but, that is so nice

Yes, we have a good friend in Orlando that has often told us his flights to Vegas have been around $28...return.....are no more, or very hard to find anymore. Our flights are so expensive, and they won`t go back down either!

I don`t know how they do it, running is a passion for those that take it up, but they all love it and some of the weather they run in is downright crazy!!! But, my goodness the fitness level he has is incredible, I do admire him for his commitment

That was a big plate of meat, and so tender, we really could have eaten it with a spoon.

We had an online delivery coming the next day to save us going out. Didn`t need it that day as Kyle was coming and it was takeout food, he knows we cancel our milk unless we have a housesitter so milk was appreciated for that much needed first cup of decent tea in weeks lol.....

Glad you`re caught up, not long to go now...finally!!!