wilma-bride
<<This space intentionally blank>>
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
- Messages
- 22,681
Me Joh, 33 - chief planner extraordinaire, obsessive and impulsive (Monica has nothing on me), 3rd visit to WDW and Orlando. Having lost 3 stone in preparation for this trip, I have bought loads of shorts and skimpy tops now it just remains to be seen if Ill pluck up the courage to wear them. Most looking forward to meeting up with internet buddies and first ever MNSSHP.
DH Gary, 39 STILL does not get it, STILL doesnt do holidays but STILL really enjoys it when he gets there, also 3rd visit to WDW and Orlando. Most looking forward to 2 weeks off work!
DD1 Sian, 13 mini planner in training, 1st trip to Orlando and WDW. Well into her first year of being a teenager, she can sulk, pout and huff with the best of them. Makes Kevin the Teenager look like an angel. Diagnosed with ADHD when she was 6, she has been on Ritalin ever since. We are hoping to tire her out so much she might actually sleep. Most looking forward to the thrill rides.
DD2 Rhiannon, 12 slightly dumb blonde (you may think this unfair but reserve judgement until youve read all the trippies). Complete opposite of her sister in almost every way imaginable. Can eat for Britain! Most looking forward to Cat in the Hat and 1 Fish, 2 Fish (and I suspect that will be her limit on rides).
Day 2 Leaving on a Jet Plane - Tuesday 10th October
I know, I know not the most original song title. Lets face it though, its the one that sums up and says most succinctly that today is flight day. Today is the day I return to my happy place.
As predicted, none of us slept particularly well. It shouldnt really have come as any surprise to me that my daughter talks in her sleep but for some reason I was not aware of that fact until last night. Anyone who has met Sian, however, will know that she talks incessantly, so the fact that she can hold a full-blown conversation with herself, in her sleep is to be expected really.
I am first up, at about 5.30. Dressing as quietly as I can, I grab the necessities book, cigarettes, diet coke and room key and head down to the bar area, where I spend a peaceful hour or so reading and smoking and just generally watching the world come to life.
Just before 7, I return to the room to see if anyone else has surfaced. They havent so I make a great show of turning on the bathroom light, accidentally-on-purpose slamming a couple of doors and tripping over things until they come to life. I perch on the bed next to Gary and ask if he wants a cup of tea. Groaning, he replies that he feels like crap oh dear, not the best start. I make him a cup of tea anyway and hop in the shower.
Just over an hour later, we are all up, showered and ready to leave. Sian had thoughtfully squirreled away all the lovely Crabtree and Evelyn products from the bathroom (at least she had the intelligence to put them in her hold baggage so we wouldnt have to bin them before we went through security) so we have to make do with one lousy little bar of soap between the four of us. We leave the Hilton at 8.30 and make our way across to the terminal, where I stop by the Airtours desk to pick up our executive lounge passes. The holiday we booked through Airtours was a Prestige holiday and, as such, we get free lounge access (which turns out to be the Servisair lounge) as well as increased baggage allowance and guaranteed seats together (a fact which Gary was secretly disappointed about he was hoping we could lose the girls on the plane). We had also upgraded to Premiair Gold with MyTravel so were really looking forward to flying in relative comfort.
Gary is still feeling unwell so we head through security, which is surprisingly quick, and up to the Servisair lounge. I pop down to Boots to buy cold and flu capsules and lemsips, in the hope that he might be able to knock it on the head before it gets any worse. We spend a pleasant couple of hours in the lounge where we fill up on the free crisps, cakes and biscuits no hot food but to be honest Gary and I dont really do breakfast and the girls are more than happy to be eating crisps and biscuits for breakfast. They phone Grandma on my mobile to gloat about where we are. Its nice to finally see some excitement from them. To be honest, I had started to think neither of them were ever going to summon up any enthusiasm whatsoever for this trip.
Our flight was due to board at 1030 so we head over to the gate at 10.15. Once there, we are herded into a waiting area but there is no sign of our flight boarding.
Eventually, just before 11, there is a call for pre-boarding for passengers with young children etc. etc. We dont have long to wait before our row number is called and we eagerly head down to the gate. We then have to wait a good 15 minutes while several hundred people pile on to the waiting bus to take us across to the plane. As always, I am stuck under the armpit of the guy who clearly is a stranger to deodorant. Eventually, the bus departs and moves painfully slowly towards its destination. Everybody is craning their necks for a first glimpse of our plane. After an eternity, we spot the bright orange tail and murmurs of excitement pass through the bus.
We hang back for a while as the doors open, allowing the majority of passengers to fight their way off lets face it, the plane isnt going without us. Then were on board and turning left at the top of the stairs. Premiair Gold, at first glance, looks great. Slightly wider aisles, loads of legroom and nice comfy leather seats with seat back TVs. We also have a duvet and shaped neck pillow. As we take our seats (rows 4 and 5, seats G & J) and get settled, a member of the crew starts handing out grape juice and pink champagne lovely!
It doesnt take too long for everyone to board and we begin the taxi to the runway. At 11.55 (30 minutes late) were off the journey has begun.
I wont bother writing too much about the flight one is very much like another unless you are one of the privileged few who can fly Upper Class (Im not jealous or nothin honest). The films were Mission Impossible 3, X-Men 3 and Failure to Launch. I can honestly say I didnt watch any of them. I spent most of the time dozing, reading my book or doing my puzzles. The first couple of hours seemed to fly by, as always, and then the time started to drag. I cant really remember what time the meal was served but it was quite nice my only complaint being that we were told that we would get a menu in PG so as to choose our meal - not only did we not get a menu, we didnt even get a choice! What we did get was a nice, warm bread roll and a box containing a couscous salad, dried fruit, cheese savoury type things, crackers and cheese and a chocolate pudding as well as the usual cutlery and sugar/milk for tea and coffee. We also got a hot meal, which was cottage pie (as I sad before, that was the only choice unless you had pre-ordered a kids or vegetarian meal). Gary and I did the usual food shuffle, which consists of me getting his bread roll and cheese and crackers and him getting my hot meal. He also very kindly offered me his chocolate pudding but I generously let him keep it.
A bit later on, we got a lovely Mars ice-cream - although Ive read about ice creams being served during flights, we had never been given one before. Mars ice cream is one of my favourites too so I greedily gobbled it up. No chance of Gary offering me his.
The time was dragging now and I was starting to get a bit peeved that, whenever you wanted to use the toilet (which was at the front of the plane), the crew got really narky if there was more than 1 person waiting and kept moving you around the galley area, tutting if you got in their way. Seriously poor design on the part of MyTravel, Im afraid and it did lose them a brownie point.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, we began the descent into Sanford. This was to be our first time flying into Sanford and, to be honest, I didnt really know what to expect so I was a bit nervous. I neednt have been, though. Within 30 minutes, we had disembarked, cleared customs and immigration, collected our bags and were outside the terminal waiting for our transfer to the hotel. Gary commented that he would like to fly into Sanford next time (not even here an hour and hes talking about next time things are looking up).
We found our transfer bus and boarded excitedly. The girls, sensing we were in for a bit of a wait for other families, immediately got their puzzle books out and stuck their heads down. I was annoyed, I must admit, that they were in the middle of Orlando on their first ever holiday and neither of them seemed the slightest bit interested in their surroundings however, they were quiet so I was willing to concede while we werent actually going anywhere but warned them that they should put their books away as soon as we departed the airport and were headed for the hotel. Meanwhile, I sat outside and smoked and chatted with the drivers who were congregated around our bus.
After the final family had boarded the bus, we left the airport and were happy to be told that the Renaissance at Sea World would be the first stop. The girls put their books away and away we went, anxious to get to our new home (well, for the next 2 weeks anyway). The journey went quickly and it wasnt long before we pulled up outside the Renaissance. Both Gary and I had been to the hotel last year, to have a look around but the girls, obviously, had only seen pictures. They were quite obviously in awe as they stepped off the bus. Sian just kept repeating Cool and Wow and Rea managed a Its massive isnt it? After tipping the driver, we took our suitcases and headed into the hotel to check in. After giving our name to the receptionist, I asked if there was a Sea World view room available and, as luck would have it, there was. We were allocated room 6007 we eagerly took our room keys and headed up to the 6th floor in the glass elevator (see, I can speak the language!) which was oddly reminiscent of the elevator in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Our room was massive, with 2 queen beds and a fantastic view across the car park and directly over Kraken and Atlantis.
The bathroom had a shower, bath, toilet and double sink and loads of lovely smelly bits and pieces as well as a rubber Shamu toy (which is now proudly sitting on the bath upstairs here). We quickly unpacked, hung clothes up and stuffed things in drawers (oh well, I neednt have bothered with all that ironing anyway), then it was off to Dennys for dinner as is our first night tradition.
As the Renaissance is undergoing some extensive renovations to the main lobby area, we had been informed at check-in that we would get complimentary I-ride passes, which was good news as we usually buy a 14-day I-ride pass anyway. We stopped at guest services to pick up our passes and then exited the hotel, into the bright Florida sunshine feeling like weve arrived home! A short wait for the I-ride trolley which, of course, is packed as its just gone kicking out time at Sea World, we board and travel the short distance to stop 28 and Dennys.
We are seated straight away and its surprisingly empty, but we are quite early for dinner by Orlando standards. The girls order chocolate milkshakes and Gary and I both have our usual diet cokes. We are disappointed to learn that our favourite Dennys meal, the meat lovers skillet, has been taken off the menu so I settle for Chicken strips, as does Rea. Sian has the grilled chicken with fries and Gary orders the fried chicken salad. The meals arrive quickly and we tuck in to be honest, I hadnt realised how hungry I was. I am afraid I was a bit lax today and didn't take pictures of the food in Denny's (let's face it, though, one chicken strip is pretty much like another
). The girls are both getting tired and Rea struggles to finish. We decide against dessert and request the check. We had bought the American Express Travellers Cheque Card for the first time this year and were keen to see how easy it would be to use. It turned out to be surprisingly easy simply hand over the card, receive back 2 printed receipts with a space to write in the amount of gratuity (if required), then write in the total at the bottom and sign, keeping one copy for yourself. So much easier than messing about with paper TCs, and then trying to find the right amount of cash to leave a tip. A definite thumbs up from us!
We leave Dennys, feeling ever so slightly disappointed at out first meal of the trip and realise we probably wont visit again during the next couple of weeks. Still, there are plenty of other places we plan to try. We catch the trolley back to the hotel, stop at the Mears desk to book transport for the next day (again, complimentary) and then its off to the room where the land of nod beckons us all.
DH Gary, 39 STILL does not get it, STILL doesnt do holidays but STILL really enjoys it when he gets there, also 3rd visit to WDW and Orlando. Most looking forward to 2 weeks off work!
DD1 Sian, 13 mini planner in training, 1st trip to Orlando and WDW. Well into her first year of being a teenager, she can sulk, pout and huff with the best of them. Makes Kevin the Teenager look like an angel. Diagnosed with ADHD when she was 6, she has been on Ritalin ever since. We are hoping to tire her out so much she might actually sleep. Most looking forward to the thrill rides.
DD2 Rhiannon, 12 slightly dumb blonde (you may think this unfair but reserve judgement until youve read all the trippies). Complete opposite of her sister in almost every way imaginable. Can eat for Britain! Most looking forward to Cat in the Hat and 1 Fish, 2 Fish (and I suspect that will be her limit on rides).
Day 2 Leaving on a Jet Plane - Tuesday 10th October
I know, I know not the most original song title. Lets face it though, its the one that sums up and says most succinctly that today is flight day. Today is the day I return to my happy place.
As predicted, none of us slept particularly well. It shouldnt really have come as any surprise to me that my daughter talks in her sleep but for some reason I was not aware of that fact until last night. Anyone who has met Sian, however, will know that she talks incessantly, so the fact that she can hold a full-blown conversation with herself, in her sleep is to be expected really.
I am first up, at about 5.30. Dressing as quietly as I can, I grab the necessities book, cigarettes, diet coke and room key and head down to the bar area, where I spend a peaceful hour or so reading and smoking and just generally watching the world come to life.
Just before 7, I return to the room to see if anyone else has surfaced. They havent so I make a great show of turning on the bathroom light, accidentally-on-purpose slamming a couple of doors and tripping over things until they come to life. I perch on the bed next to Gary and ask if he wants a cup of tea. Groaning, he replies that he feels like crap oh dear, not the best start. I make him a cup of tea anyway and hop in the shower.
Just over an hour later, we are all up, showered and ready to leave. Sian had thoughtfully squirreled away all the lovely Crabtree and Evelyn products from the bathroom (at least she had the intelligence to put them in her hold baggage so we wouldnt have to bin them before we went through security) so we have to make do with one lousy little bar of soap between the four of us. We leave the Hilton at 8.30 and make our way across to the terminal, where I stop by the Airtours desk to pick up our executive lounge passes. The holiday we booked through Airtours was a Prestige holiday and, as such, we get free lounge access (which turns out to be the Servisair lounge) as well as increased baggage allowance and guaranteed seats together (a fact which Gary was secretly disappointed about he was hoping we could lose the girls on the plane). We had also upgraded to Premiair Gold with MyTravel so were really looking forward to flying in relative comfort.
Gary is still feeling unwell so we head through security, which is surprisingly quick, and up to the Servisair lounge. I pop down to Boots to buy cold and flu capsules and lemsips, in the hope that he might be able to knock it on the head before it gets any worse. We spend a pleasant couple of hours in the lounge where we fill up on the free crisps, cakes and biscuits no hot food but to be honest Gary and I dont really do breakfast and the girls are more than happy to be eating crisps and biscuits for breakfast. They phone Grandma on my mobile to gloat about where we are. Its nice to finally see some excitement from them. To be honest, I had started to think neither of them were ever going to summon up any enthusiasm whatsoever for this trip.
Our flight was due to board at 1030 so we head over to the gate at 10.15. Once there, we are herded into a waiting area but there is no sign of our flight boarding.
Eventually, just before 11, there is a call for pre-boarding for passengers with young children etc. etc. We dont have long to wait before our row number is called and we eagerly head down to the gate. We then have to wait a good 15 minutes while several hundred people pile on to the waiting bus to take us across to the plane. As always, I am stuck under the armpit of the guy who clearly is a stranger to deodorant. Eventually, the bus departs and moves painfully slowly towards its destination. Everybody is craning their necks for a first glimpse of our plane. After an eternity, we spot the bright orange tail and murmurs of excitement pass through the bus.
We hang back for a while as the doors open, allowing the majority of passengers to fight their way off lets face it, the plane isnt going without us. Then were on board and turning left at the top of the stairs. Premiair Gold, at first glance, looks great. Slightly wider aisles, loads of legroom and nice comfy leather seats with seat back TVs. We also have a duvet and shaped neck pillow. As we take our seats (rows 4 and 5, seats G & J) and get settled, a member of the crew starts handing out grape juice and pink champagne lovely!
It doesnt take too long for everyone to board and we begin the taxi to the runway. At 11.55 (30 minutes late) were off the journey has begun.
I wont bother writing too much about the flight one is very much like another unless you are one of the privileged few who can fly Upper Class (Im not jealous or nothin honest). The films were Mission Impossible 3, X-Men 3 and Failure to Launch. I can honestly say I didnt watch any of them. I spent most of the time dozing, reading my book or doing my puzzles. The first couple of hours seemed to fly by, as always, and then the time started to drag. I cant really remember what time the meal was served but it was quite nice my only complaint being that we were told that we would get a menu in PG so as to choose our meal - not only did we not get a menu, we didnt even get a choice! What we did get was a nice, warm bread roll and a box containing a couscous salad, dried fruit, cheese savoury type things, crackers and cheese and a chocolate pudding as well as the usual cutlery and sugar/milk for tea and coffee. We also got a hot meal, which was cottage pie (as I sad before, that was the only choice unless you had pre-ordered a kids or vegetarian meal). Gary and I did the usual food shuffle, which consists of me getting his bread roll and cheese and crackers and him getting my hot meal. He also very kindly offered me his chocolate pudding but I generously let him keep it.
A bit later on, we got a lovely Mars ice-cream - although Ive read about ice creams being served during flights, we had never been given one before. Mars ice cream is one of my favourites too so I greedily gobbled it up. No chance of Gary offering me his.
The time was dragging now and I was starting to get a bit peeved that, whenever you wanted to use the toilet (which was at the front of the plane), the crew got really narky if there was more than 1 person waiting and kept moving you around the galley area, tutting if you got in their way. Seriously poor design on the part of MyTravel, Im afraid and it did lose them a brownie point.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, we began the descent into Sanford. This was to be our first time flying into Sanford and, to be honest, I didnt really know what to expect so I was a bit nervous. I neednt have been, though. Within 30 minutes, we had disembarked, cleared customs and immigration, collected our bags and were outside the terminal waiting for our transfer to the hotel. Gary commented that he would like to fly into Sanford next time (not even here an hour and hes talking about next time things are looking up).
We found our transfer bus and boarded excitedly. The girls, sensing we were in for a bit of a wait for other families, immediately got their puzzle books out and stuck their heads down. I was annoyed, I must admit, that they were in the middle of Orlando on their first ever holiday and neither of them seemed the slightest bit interested in their surroundings however, they were quiet so I was willing to concede while we werent actually going anywhere but warned them that they should put their books away as soon as we departed the airport and were headed for the hotel. Meanwhile, I sat outside and smoked and chatted with the drivers who were congregated around our bus.
After the final family had boarded the bus, we left the airport and were happy to be told that the Renaissance at Sea World would be the first stop. The girls put their books away and away we went, anxious to get to our new home (well, for the next 2 weeks anyway). The journey went quickly and it wasnt long before we pulled up outside the Renaissance. Both Gary and I had been to the hotel last year, to have a look around but the girls, obviously, had only seen pictures. They were quite obviously in awe as they stepped off the bus. Sian just kept repeating Cool and Wow and Rea managed a Its massive isnt it? After tipping the driver, we took our suitcases and headed into the hotel to check in. After giving our name to the receptionist, I asked if there was a Sea World view room available and, as luck would have it, there was. We were allocated room 6007 we eagerly took our room keys and headed up to the 6th floor in the glass elevator (see, I can speak the language!) which was oddly reminiscent of the elevator in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Our room was massive, with 2 queen beds and a fantastic view across the car park and directly over Kraken and Atlantis.
The bathroom had a shower, bath, toilet and double sink and loads of lovely smelly bits and pieces as well as a rubber Shamu toy (which is now proudly sitting on the bath upstairs here). We quickly unpacked, hung clothes up and stuffed things in drawers (oh well, I neednt have bothered with all that ironing anyway), then it was off to Dennys for dinner as is our first night tradition.
As the Renaissance is undergoing some extensive renovations to the main lobby area, we had been informed at check-in that we would get complimentary I-ride passes, which was good news as we usually buy a 14-day I-ride pass anyway. We stopped at guest services to pick up our passes and then exited the hotel, into the bright Florida sunshine feeling like weve arrived home! A short wait for the I-ride trolley which, of course, is packed as its just gone kicking out time at Sea World, we board and travel the short distance to stop 28 and Dennys.
We are seated straight away and its surprisingly empty, but we are quite early for dinner by Orlando standards. The girls order chocolate milkshakes and Gary and I both have our usual diet cokes. We are disappointed to learn that our favourite Dennys meal, the meat lovers skillet, has been taken off the menu so I settle for Chicken strips, as does Rea. Sian has the grilled chicken with fries and Gary orders the fried chicken salad. The meals arrive quickly and we tuck in to be honest, I hadnt realised how hungry I was. I am afraid I was a bit lax today and didn't take pictures of the food in Denny's (let's face it, though, one chicken strip is pretty much like another
). The girls are both getting tired and Rea struggles to finish. We decide against dessert and request the check. We had bought the American Express Travellers Cheque Card for the first time this year and were keen to see how easy it would be to use. It turned out to be surprisingly easy simply hand over the card, receive back 2 printed receipts with a space to write in the amount of gratuity (if required), then write in the total at the bottom and sign, keeping one copy for yourself. So much easier than messing about with paper TCs, and then trying to find the right amount of cash to leave a tip. A definite thumbs up from us!We leave Dennys, feeling ever so slightly disappointed at out first meal of the trip and realise we probably wont visit again during the next couple of weeks. Still, there are plenty of other places we plan to try. We catch the trolley back to the hotel, stop at the Mears desk to book transport for the next day (again, complimentary) and then its off to the room where the land of nod beckons us all.
!
loving the song titles 
keep it coming,
