Thursday May 15th:
The alarm awoke Richard and I at 7.30am. I padded around to Sophie's room and knocked at her door. She was up already and in the bathroom - good girl! Richard swiftly showered, shaved and shoved off in search of proper coffee from Cove Cafe. My turn to get ready and enjoy the exquisite en-suite for a final time...
By 8.30am, all three of us were gathered in the living area and taking a moment to give the suite one last lingering look around. Everything leftover from packing had been shoved in a large holdall and we really were ready to bid Roy a final goodbye...
Outside, I realised the door was still decorated with my magnetic masterpieces so I slipped them into a side pocket of the holdall as Richard closed the door for the last time and we walked towards the stairs on our way to disembark...
There was quite a queue to leave the Wonder and we stood in line for the best part of fifteen minutes before starting to shuffle forwards. We let a porter collect our Tinkerbell-tagged luggage as we stood in another line for immigration back into the USA. It didn't take long and once we were through, we headed for the car and a few minutes later were back on the road, returning to Orlando. So there we were, with the Wonder behind us, and a few hours to kill before returning the car and ourselves to Orlando International. Fortunately we had a plan. First stop IHOP and a slap-up brekkie! In less than an hour, we were pulling into the car park of one of the International House of Pancakes emporiums. There was a short wait to be seated but we didn't mind - DH and I knew the pancakes were worth it! Sophie and I both chose omelettes with side orders of pancakes. Richard had a more traditional breakfast platter with swedish crepes. And the coffee kept coming! Our food was fresh, flavoursome, fantastic and I wish I was there right now!!! This was Sophie's first IHOP experience and, suffice to say, it won't be her last! But we didn't want to dally as it was time to put the next part of our plan into action - a last minute shopping spree at Florida Mall! As we had our cases in the car, we decided to take advantage of valet parking which, it turned out, was free that day! What a great omen!
Sophie and I had previously put together a shopping list and we were raring to go... We walked through the Saks 5th Avenue entrance and headed straight for the Creme de la Mer counter as we both needed to stock up. Today Saks were doing a cool cashback offer - spend a certain amount and receive a voucher redeemable against future purchases. So I spent $500 and gave Sophie the $75 voucher for her to use against her la Mer purchases - brilliant!
Off to a flying start, it was time to split up - Richard and I were double teaming around the Mall whilst Sophie shopped solo! First stop for us - Abercrombie & Fitch as eldest DS Matty had requested a new hoodie. We successfully ticked the item off and swiftly acquired new work shoes for Richard, DVD box sets, the just-released Death Cab For Cutie album and promo T shirt, more Oakley sunnies, an MTV t-shirt for youngest DS Samuel before meeting up with Sophie at Sephora. We browsed the cosmetics whilst Richard sat outside on the phone to work - he was easing himself back in ready for his return the following morning...
Once the spend-fest was finished we picked up the car from the valet and drove to quieter area where we parked up and re-packed the cases with our purchases. It was a very smooth operation and an excellent use of our time on that last day - there's every chance we'll be doing that again.
But for now we had to move on to MCO! The car return was smooth and speedy. The hardest part was transporting our many cases to Virgin Atlantic's check-in but we managed it without too many slip ups. The queue was long but the Upper Class line was empty so we staggered forward, glad to get rid of our cumbersome cases... We were quickly checked in and received our pre-booked seats of 6A/K and 7A - yay!
I love that moment when, having deposited your luggage, you turn away from check-in, with just hand luggage and boarding passes in hand - I always feel so liberated!
Now it was time to run amok in the airport shops before braving security and settling down in the Delta Lounge with a glass of wine and a good book. Which is exactly what we did! The lounge was PACKED but after a short while an internal US flight to Chicago was called and the throng thinned somewhat. We snagged a sofa and comfy chair towards the back of the lounge and relaxed for a couple of hours, just chatting, reading and people watching - it was a wonderful way to wind down before the flight. Which was delayed as usual. Eventually we were called and gathered our bags together before strolling to the gate. We boarded quickly and were soon sitting in our seats, sipping a Bellini or two and toasting the fabulous holiday that was so nearly over. Richard and Sophie changed into their sleepsuits and snuggled down soon after the meal. They wanted to catch as much shut eye as possible before going to work once we landed. I read my book before feeling a little tired and converted the bed intending just to rest my eyes for a while. I awoke to the sounds of breakfast - seems I'd been in the land of Nod for over 5 hours and we were now about to begin our descent! I quickly quaffed a couple of cups of tea, freshened up in the bathroom and felt ready for a day back in Britain...
Landing was uneventful and immigration was deserted. So far, so good. The baggage claim carousel number popped up and we were soon taking possession of a couple of our cases. Then we waited... And we waited... Oh how we waited!!! Slowly, piece by piece, our remaining bags trickled through and I could tell Sophie was getting more than a little stressed as one of the reasons she and DH like to fly Upper Class is the speed of baggage reclaim. Eventually, all the cases were accounted for and we pushed a couple of laden trolleys through to the car park. I like to park in short stay if possible and have discovered that, by pre-booking/pre-paying well in advance, you can do this for around half price!
So DH's monster truck was nearby and we were soon on the road, hitting rush hour on the M23! What a welcome home!
As Richard had forgotten to pre-book a car to take him to work, he decided to drop me home, freshen up, then drive himself and Sophie up to Canary Wharf. And that's just what they did! I know they arrived just before 10.30am and spent the day getting back into the swing of things. In fact, Sophie went on to go out with her friends that evening whilst DH returned home looking no more tired than usual for a Friday...
So our holiday was well and truly over but the memories remain. One of the reasons I love writing a trip report is it gives me the opportunity re-live so many of the magical moments that make our family time together so special. This particular WDW/
DCL party will stay will us for a long time. It was fab to be solely Sophie's Ma & Pa for once - she may be a 25 year old grown woman with a mortgage who left home six years ago but she's still our delightful daughter and we adore her!
And now it's time to terminate another Taylor travelogue. Goodbye, dear reader. Hope to hang out with you again soon...
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say i aint so !!!!
it all looked amazing.
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, you don't tend to spend much time in your room... I hope you are doing a trippie for the girlie weekend LOL!!!
its been a great read Karen x x
