wilma-bride
<<This space intentionally blank>>
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
- Messages
- 22,681
As always happens with me when we are going on holiday, nothing went smoothly in the run up to departure day. You may remember that last year it was the car and a problem with a leaking fuel pipe. Well, this year it was the weather. Unfortunately, two days before we were due to leave for Gatwick, it snowed – pretty heavily. That day, I was due to visit Norma (my ‘leg lady’) for my pre-holiday de-fuzzing session (sorry guys if that’s TMI!) After battling for 2 hours just to get Daniel to nursery 11 miles away, I realised I was not going to make it the additional 10 miles to Norma’s on time and so I phoned and cancelled. This left me with yet one more thing to add to the pre-holiday task list.
I still hadn’t packed when the in-laws arrived on Friday evening, a fact which the FIL found hard to take in. He insisted that MIL (a nurse) take my temperature as I must be sickening for something – he’s such a comedian! He had a point, though – normally I would have been packed at least 2 weeks before. I just was not organised this time.
Saturday February 10th
This is how I found myself, just two hours before we were due to leave for the airport, in the bath trying desperately to get rid of at least 4 or 5 weeks’ ‘growth’ with the aid of a slightly blunt razor and a bar of Mickey Mouse soap. As we still had empty suitcases at this point, I decided to give it up as a bad job, get the packing done and have a long, relaxing bath at the Hilton tonight to finish off my legs. Unfortunately, this meant that I would be spending at least the next 8 or 9 hours with 1 smooth, silky leg and one which resembled the yeti on a bad hair day. Oh well, I just had to hope that I didn’t get run over between here and the Hilton.
2 o’clock saw us packed and ready to leave, tempers slightly frayed but still intact. We loaded up the car – DH thought it was funny to joke that the suitcases wouldn’t fit into the boot of the new car – yep, hilarious love!!! The journey to the Hilton was quick and uneventful – even the M25 was surprisingly empty. We arrived just before 4, pulled up outside and went to check in. Christine and Mark were just returning from having dropped off their car at the Summer Special car park and so were entering the hotel lobby from the opposite direction. They spotted us at much the same time as we saw them and many squeals of delight followed. I tried to calm them down but they were having none of it
I hadn’t seen Christine since her 40th birthday almost a year before so we had a lot of catching up to do.
Now would be a good time to introduce you properly to our group:
Firstly, there’s the guest of honour, the one for whose benefit this whole trip was arranged and without whom we wouldn’t all be here – yep, ME!!! Only kidding, it’s my wonderful DH – Gary. You all know by now what he looks like but I couldn’t resist the chance to post one of my favourite pictures of him and Daniel, taken on our wedding day 3 years ago.
Gary is 39 years old. In a few days he will be 40 (actually, at the time of writing this, he’s already 40 but pretend he’s not, OK!). He is not a great fan of Disney and certainly doesn’t ‘do’ online forums, especially not Disney ones. However, to his credit, he has gone along with my obsession for nearly 3 years now. He indulges my planning obsession even though he doesn’t understand it. He even allowed himself to be subjected to the Disney Vacation Club hard sell a couple of months ago – not by Disney but by certain members of the Disboards, who plied him with alcohol and then took advantage of his weakened state – thanks guys!
The upshot of this hard sell is that he has agreed to take the DVC tour while we are away, although he has already stated that we are definitely NOT buying yet. OK, so we all know different eh???
Next up is me, Joh. You all know what I look like too but have a picture anyway (yummy cake, by the way!)
I am 33 and the youngest of the party (a fact which, obviously, I didn’t rub in at all, in any way, shape or form!) I love Disney World and everything about it. Nothing makes me happier than planning my next trip to my happy place and nothing can depress me faster than not having a trip to plan. Gary calls me a control freak but I would like to use this opportunity to set the record straight. I am NOT a control freak! I am a planner. A planner who likes things to go to plan. OK, a planner who gets a bit frustrated when things don’t go to plan. OK, a planner who loses her temper when everything goes horribly wrong and people don’t do what they’re supposed to do and aren’t where they’re supposed to be WHEN they’re supposed to be there and don’t wear what I’ve told them to wear and….OK, I’m a control freak.
Next, allow me to introduce Christine. You don’t know what she looks like so here’s a picture to whet your appetite (you’ll be seeing plenty more of her in the next few days).
Christine is the second of our group to have a birthday this week. She will be the grand old age of 41 on Friday 16th. She doesn’t look a day over…40!!! She’s my best friend in the whole wide world. As I mentioned before, she’s a northerner and speaks as she finds, I say, she speaks as she finds! She calls a spade a spade and, God help you, if you dare to call it a shovel. Mother to three boys, she’s got the patience of a saint and the ability to stun a child into submission with one look. She has been to Disney World once before – a long, long time ago – and is looking forward to a nice week away from the kids. She’s a postie so is used to getting up early but she definitely likes her sleep too (see below – and, yes, that’s Mark she’s sleeping with so that’s OK).
Last but most definitely not least is Mark. You’ve seen a picture of him above but let’s show you what he looks like awake.
OK, awake but not sober – I’m afraid I don’t have that many pictures of Mark – at least not without Christine in them too and you’ve seen plenty of her for one day. Mark is the oldest of the group (a fact which none of us let him forget) at 41. He, as I said before, is one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. He is a true gentleman in every sense of the word and a genuinely lovely guy. He is also, as I have briefly hinted at, a real game for a laugh. Check out the trip report from Universal Studios for more of that (coming in about 3 or 4 trip reports’ time!) Mark has also been to Disney World once, also a long time ago (pre-Christine) and is also looking forward to a child-free week.
Anyway, back to the report and our happy reunion. All checked in to the Hilton, we went up to the room to drop off the cases, then took the car over to the long term car park. On returning, we found Christine and Mark in the bar (is this the shape of things to come – I certainly hope so!) so joined them for a drink or two.
It would have been all too easy to stay in the bar all afternoon and night, drinking ourselves into a pre-holiday stupor but that would have defeated the object of paying over £300 for us all to stay at the airport the night before, to take advantage of twilight check-in (not to mention the fact that it probably would have cost us an extra £300 at the prices the Hilton charge for drinks). So, shortly after 6, we grabbed our cases from the rooms and made our way over to the terminal to check in for our flight.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
At this point, I feel it is only fair to warn all prospective travellers of a horrendous monster we encountered on this trip. To this day, I do not know where it came from or how it got there and, having made 3 previous trips to Orlando myself, I have never encountered it before. I have read copious trip reports and never heard mention of it but, let me tell you all, this monster was real and it followed our every move on this trip. When we least expected it, it was there. Morning, afternoon and night, it was waiting for us – lying in wait and ready to catch us. ‘What is this terrible beast’ I hear you all cry? Let me put you out of your misery. Although we didn’t see it with our own eyes, we know it was there. Everywhere we went, we found evidence that it had been there before us. I’m talking about the Fluff Monster!!! This creature pre-empted our every move and was always one step ahead of us, spreading his invisible balls of fluff in our path. Christine and I fell victim to this fiend more often than the guys but we all knew he was there, just waiting to trip us up and make complete idiots of ourselves. You have been warned!
Putting the dire seriousness of the situation to one side for a second, it really was highly amusing that we weren’t able to walk more than a hundred yards or so without one or other of us stumbling or tripping. By the end of the week, whenever it happened, we would just shrug, point behind us and warn the unsuspecting, saying ‘Mind that fluff!’ or ‘Bleedin’ fluff again’. We decided that the fluff monster had followed us to Disney World with the express intention of making fools of us. Let’s face it, he had a fairly easy job really! All that’s left to say on that matter is ‘Watch out, you never know when he may strike again!’
After showing the Virgin attendant my receipt for the £80 APD, I was given four vouchers for £20 each off the next flight booked with Virgin. I must admit, I haven’t yet had a good look at them so I don’t know whether they’re worth having or not. There was a small line of people waiting but we were soon at the front and being checked in by a very nice young lady, who didn’t ask us whether we’d packed the bags ourselves or if anyone had given us anything to carry. I don’t know if she forgot or couldn’t care less but, either way, we were all sorted quickly and painlessly. After collecting our pre-ordered currency from Travelex, we went upstairs to Frankie and Benny’s for dinner.
(Can you tell we're pleased to see each other???)
We ordered beer first and then tried to decide what we wanted to eat. Christine and Mark really wanted starters so they persuaded us to order the Sampler Platter. It was absolutely huge and, to be honest, by the time we’d finished it, I really didn’t want the main course I’d ordered. The others were pretty stuffed too but we still managed to make a fair size dent in:
Mark – Cod & fries (7 out of 10)
Christine – Steak & fries (9 out of 10)
Gary – Lamb shank (8 out of 10)
Me – New York Spicy Platter (9 out of 10)
Christine would also like me to add that she wanted to score our server out of 10 as well but Mark wouldn't let her. I don't know what the problem was, she was only gonna give him one
The meal was lovely and enjoyed by everybody but we were all far too stuffed for dessert. Mark and Christine paid the bill, which was £63.40 (not including tip). We headed back to the Hilton, via WHSmith where I bought a notebook to write my trip report notes. Of course, back at the Hilton, we had to stop in the bar for another couple of drinks. I tried to whisper to Chrsitine that I really needed to go up to the room, get a bath and shave my legs but I could tell she wasn’t convinced. She needed to see the evidence, witness for herself the direness of the situation so I showed her my legs. I do believe she was genuinely shocked but she did promise that if I got run over or needed to go to hospital for any reason before I’d made it into the bath, she wouldn’t let them take off my jeans. That’s what best friends are for!
By this time, I was feeling decidedly tipsy as I really am not much of a drinker. I told Gary I was going to the toilet, then we would have just one more drink and then go up to the room. When I got into the toilet, something looked out of place but I couldn’t work out what it was. It was only when I got into the cubicle and locked the door that I realised what it was – ladies toilets aren’t supposed to have urinals on the wall, are they? Yep, I was in the wrong toilet. I quickly legged it, muttering something about not having my glasses on to the unsuspecting chap who was coming in. Back at the table, I decided that perhaps I shouldn’t have just one more drink after all!
Up in the room at 10 o’clock, I soaked in a nice bath while Gary watched telly, then fell into a deep sleep. A truly lovely way to spend the day/evening before a flight – I wonder why we don’t do this every time.
I still hadn’t packed when the in-laws arrived on Friday evening, a fact which the FIL found hard to take in. He insisted that MIL (a nurse) take my temperature as I must be sickening for something – he’s such a comedian! He had a point, though – normally I would have been packed at least 2 weeks before. I just was not organised this time.
Saturday February 10th
This is how I found myself, just two hours before we were due to leave for the airport, in the bath trying desperately to get rid of at least 4 or 5 weeks’ ‘growth’ with the aid of a slightly blunt razor and a bar of Mickey Mouse soap. As we still had empty suitcases at this point, I decided to give it up as a bad job, get the packing done and have a long, relaxing bath at the Hilton tonight to finish off my legs. Unfortunately, this meant that I would be spending at least the next 8 or 9 hours with 1 smooth, silky leg and one which resembled the yeti on a bad hair day. Oh well, I just had to hope that I didn’t get run over between here and the Hilton.
2 o’clock saw us packed and ready to leave, tempers slightly frayed but still intact. We loaded up the car – DH thought it was funny to joke that the suitcases wouldn’t fit into the boot of the new car – yep, hilarious love!!! The journey to the Hilton was quick and uneventful – even the M25 was surprisingly empty. We arrived just before 4, pulled up outside and went to check in. Christine and Mark were just returning from having dropped off their car at the Summer Special car park and so were entering the hotel lobby from the opposite direction. They spotted us at much the same time as we saw them and many squeals of delight followed. I tried to calm them down but they were having none of it
I hadn’t seen Christine since her 40th birthday almost a year before so we had a lot of catching up to do.Now would be a good time to introduce you properly to our group:
Firstly, there’s the guest of honour, the one for whose benefit this whole trip was arranged and without whom we wouldn’t all be here – yep, ME!!! Only kidding, it’s my wonderful DH – Gary. You all know by now what he looks like but I couldn’t resist the chance to post one of my favourite pictures of him and Daniel, taken on our wedding day 3 years ago.
Gary is 39 years old. In a few days he will be 40 (actually, at the time of writing this, he’s already 40 but pretend he’s not, OK!). He is not a great fan of Disney and certainly doesn’t ‘do’ online forums, especially not Disney ones. However, to his credit, he has gone along with my obsession for nearly 3 years now. He indulges my planning obsession even though he doesn’t understand it. He even allowed himself to be subjected to the Disney Vacation Club hard sell a couple of months ago – not by Disney but by certain members of the Disboards, who plied him with alcohol and then took advantage of his weakened state – thanks guys!
The upshot of this hard sell is that he has agreed to take the DVC tour while we are away, although he has already stated that we are definitely NOT buying yet. OK, so we all know different eh???Next up is me, Joh. You all know what I look like too but have a picture anyway (yummy cake, by the way!)
I am 33 and the youngest of the party (a fact which, obviously, I didn’t rub in at all, in any way, shape or form!) I love Disney World and everything about it. Nothing makes me happier than planning my next trip to my happy place and nothing can depress me faster than not having a trip to plan. Gary calls me a control freak but I would like to use this opportunity to set the record straight. I am NOT a control freak! I am a planner. A planner who likes things to go to plan. OK, a planner who gets a bit frustrated when things don’t go to plan. OK, a planner who loses her temper when everything goes horribly wrong and people don’t do what they’re supposed to do and aren’t where they’re supposed to be WHEN they’re supposed to be there and don’t wear what I’ve told them to wear and….OK, I’m a control freak.
Next, allow me to introduce Christine. You don’t know what she looks like so here’s a picture to whet your appetite (you’ll be seeing plenty more of her in the next few days).
Christine is the second of our group to have a birthday this week. She will be the grand old age of 41 on Friday 16th. She doesn’t look a day over…40!!! She’s my best friend in the whole wide world. As I mentioned before, she’s a northerner and speaks as she finds, I say, she speaks as she finds! She calls a spade a spade and, God help you, if you dare to call it a shovel. Mother to three boys, she’s got the patience of a saint and the ability to stun a child into submission with one look. She has been to Disney World once before – a long, long time ago – and is looking forward to a nice week away from the kids. She’s a postie so is used to getting up early but she definitely likes her sleep too (see below – and, yes, that’s Mark she’s sleeping with so that’s OK).
Last but most definitely not least is Mark. You’ve seen a picture of him above but let’s show you what he looks like awake.
OK, awake but not sober – I’m afraid I don’t have that many pictures of Mark – at least not without Christine in them too and you’ve seen plenty of her for one day. Mark is the oldest of the group (a fact which none of us let him forget) at 41. He, as I said before, is one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. He is a true gentleman in every sense of the word and a genuinely lovely guy. He is also, as I have briefly hinted at, a real game for a laugh. Check out the trip report from Universal Studios for more of that (coming in about 3 or 4 trip reports’ time!) Mark has also been to Disney World once, also a long time ago (pre-Christine) and is also looking forward to a child-free week.
Anyway, back to the report and our happy reunion. All checked in to the Hilton, we went up to the room to drop off the cases, then took the car over to the long term car park. On returning, we found Christine and Mark in the bar (is this the shape of things to come – I certainly hope so!) so joined them for a drink or two.
It would have been all too easy to stay in the bar all afternoon and night, drinking ourselves into a pre-holiday stupor but that would have defeated the object of paying over £300 for us all to stay at the airport the night before, to take advantage of twilight check-in (not to mention the fact that it probably would have cost us an extra £300 at the prices the Hilton charge for drinks). So, shortly after 6, we grabbed our cases from the rooms and made our way over to the terminal to check in for our flight.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
At this point, I feel it is only fair to warn all prospective travellers of a horrendous monster we encountered on this trip. To this day, I do not know where it came from or how it got there and, having made 3 previous trips to Orlando myself, I have never encountered it before. I have read copious trip reports and never heard mention of it but, let me tell you all, this monster was real and it followed our every move on this trip. When we least expected it, it was there. Morning, afternoon and night, it was waiting for us – lying in wait and ready to catch us. ‘What is this terrible beast’ I hear you all cry? Let me put you out of your misery. Although we didn’t see it with our own eyes, we know it was there. Everywhere we went, we found evidence that it had been there before us. I’m talking about the Fluff Monster!!! This creature pre-empted our every move and was always one step ahead of us, spreading his invisible balls of fluff in our path. Christine and I fell victim to this fiend more often than the guys but we all knew he was there, just waiting to trip us up and make complete idiots of ourselves. You have been warned!
Putting the dire seriousness of the situation to one side for a second, it really was highly amusing that we weren’t able to walk more than a hundred yards or so without one or other of us stumbling or tripping. By the end of the week, whenever it happened, we would just shrug, point behind us and warn the unsuspecting, saying ‘Mind that fluff!’ or ‘Bleedin’ fluff again’. We decided that the fluff monster had followed us to Disney World with the express intention of making fools of us. Let’s face it, he had a fairly easy job really! All that’s left to say on that matter is ‘Watch out, you never know when he may strike again!’
After showing the Virgin attendant my receipt for the £80 APD, I was given four vouchers for £20 each off the next flight booked with Virgin. I must admit, I haven’t yet had a good look at them so I don’t know whether they’re worth having or not. There was a small line of people waiting but we were soon at the front and being checked in by a very nice young lady, who didn’t ask us whether we’d packed the bags ourselves or if anyone had given us anything to carry. I don’t know if she forgot or couldn’t care less but, either way, we were all sorted quickly and painlessly. After collecting our pre-ordered currency from Travelex, we went upstairs to Frankie and Benny’s for dinner.
(Can you tell we're pleased to see each other???)
We ordered beer first and then tried to decide what we wanted to eat. Christine and Mark really wanted starters so they persuaded us to order the Sampler Platter. It was absolutely huge and, to be honest, by the time we’d finished it, I really didn’t want the main course I’d ordered. The others were pretty stuffed too but we still managed to make a fair size dent in:
Mark – Cod & fries (7 out of 10)
Christine – Steak & fries (9 out of 10)
Gary – Lamb shank (8 out of 10)
Me – New York Spicy Platter (9 out of 10)
Christine would also like me to add that she wanted to score our server out of 10 as well but Mark wouldn't let her. I don't know what the problem was, she was only gonna give him one
The meal was lovely and enjoyed by everybody but we were all far too stuffed for dessert. Mark and Christine paid the bill, which was £63.40 (not including tip). We headed back to the Hilton, via WHSmith where I bought a notebook to write my trip report notes. Of course, back at the Hilton, we had to stop in the bar for another couple of drinks. I tried to whisper to Chrsitine that I really needed to go up to the room, get a bath and shave my legs but I could tell she wasn’t convinced. She needed to see the evidence, witness for herself the direness of the situation so I showed her my legs. I do believe she was genuinely shocked but she did promise that if I got run over or needed to go to hospital for any reason before I’d made it into the bath, she wouldn’t let them take off my jeans. That’s what best friends are for! By this time, I was feeling decidedly tipsy as I really am not much of a drinker. I told Gary I was going to the toilet, then we would have just one more drink and then go up to the room. When I got into the toilet, something looked out of place but I couldn’t work out what it was. It was only when I got into the cubicle and locked the door that I realised what it was – ladies toilets aren’t supposed to have urinals on the wall, are they? Yep, I was in the wrong toilet. I quickly legged it, muttering something about not having my glasses on to the unsuspecting chap who was coming in. Back at the table, I decided that perhaps I shouldn’t have just one more drink after all!
Up in the room at 10 o’clock, I soaked in a nice bath while Gary watched telly, then fell into a deep sleep. A truly lovely way to spend the day/evening before a flight – I wonder why we don’t do this every time.
keep um coming
that's as too much info as Joh 
