Mike Jones
<font color=993300>....nothing clever to say... ju
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 1,372
PRE-TRIP STUFF, DAY 0 & DAY 1
The Cast:
Mike, 39, chief organiser, driver and brew maker
Heather, 40, wife and mum
Bethany, 11 (going on 20!), coaster addict, hates getting wet.
Adam, 9, (going on 8!), hates coasters (except BTMRR), LOVES getting wet!
Meg, 3 (our dog.. cameo appearance only!)
This trip evolved out of my despondency at returning to the greyness of spring in Lancashire after our lovely Easter holiday at Indian Creek this (last?) year. The weather had been fantastic and the Jones machine ran with well-oiled efficiency as this was our 3rd consecutive Easter/spring Disney experience.
Anyway in the depths of depression, and with only camping holidays to look forward to over the summer, (we have been camping for years and go for both short and longer breaks from April to September) I felt that I needed a boost for the darker months beyond. We normally spend Christmas at home, as I like a drink on Christmas Day and wont drive anywhere. In recent years my family and their in-laws have swelled the numbers to 15 or so for Christmas lunch (which I cook) and last year they all came again on Boxing Day!! We felt like a change, and, having tried to escape to a Lakes cottage 2 years ago, only to find 6 of them followed us(!) I felt that an overseas option should be considered. Bearing in mind we had just got back from Disney and the bank balance was not great, I started by thinking of Spain etc. Things quickly got out of hand, and I found myself ringing Carole, our Easter villa landlord, ( http://www.crescentvillas.com ) to see if hers was available at Christmas! No, she said, but Ill ring some friends on the same community if you like? I liked! By the end of the day Id found provisional flights for 14 or 16 days, and had a villa available if I wanted it. Hmm.. think it might be a good idea if I mention this to Heather .! Anyway, she loved the idea, and we definitely wanted to see some more of Florida this time. A few more calls the next day and we had the last 7 days booked at Seaspray Apartments in Siesta Key ( http://www.siestakeysuites.com ), the first 9 at Indian Creek through Ross & Helen Worthington ( http://www.worthingtonvilla.com ) and flights with US Airways to Tampa, via Philadelphia. This was not our ideal scenario, as one of our kids is airsick, and multiple landings/take-offs make him worse, but it was £1500 cheaper than any available flights to Sanford or Orlando at the time.
Over the following months I researched the Sarasota area as far as possible, using the boards and the web generally. I also got a guidebook from Amazon (The Sarasota, Sanibel Island & Naples Book, Second Edition: A Complete Guide (Great Destinations Sarasota, Sanibel Island & Naples Book by Chelle Koster Walton). I ordered park Tickets for both Disney (4 day hopper +) and Universal (2 day, 2 park) from Omar at Mapleleaf Tickets in Kissimmee (http://www.mapleleaftickets.com ). These came in 8 days from ordering. We ordered currency from Travelex (http://www.travelex.co.uk/default.asp ) to be collected at Manchester Airport. Job done!
Final decision: we wouldnt tell the kids until as close to Christmas as we could manage, to buy some peace!
(We eventually cracked about 3 weeks before the date, as it was getting hard to hide the signs of imminent travel and we wanted to share the excitement!)
DAY 0 THE DAY BEFORE- WEDNESDAY 17TH DECMBER 2003
Tried for a lie-in (normally a gym day, when I get up at 0600 and to the gym for 0630, before work. I never have the energy or willpower to go after work) but awoke at 0450 worrying whether the 90 minute gap between flights at Philadelphia would be long enough! Couldnt clear these bizarre thoughts, so got up at 0515 and took Meg for a 5 mile walk. Back by 0700 Heather and kids just surfacing. Usual morning stuff and then I dropped the kids at school (own clothes day.. typical! Just perfect when youre trying to keep all their best stuff back for packing! At least their uniforms will be clean for the first day back! (They are very smug, as this is their last day, but not their classmates who finish tomorrow.) Off to work by 0845 found a bottle of Macallan on my desk from the girls in the office! Bless!
Only a couple of appointments so plenty of time for last bit of Dibbing & Dis-ing had a final laugh at the fall-out from jjcollins Saddam wind-up on The Dis! Time dragged. Slight panic in the afternoon when our flight agent rang to speak to me urgently. This cant be good news, can it? Actually it was nothing theyd found a copy of our car voucher on a desk and were just checking that they had sent us one too! They had!
Final partners meeting at 2:30pm then home 3:45. Managed to catch up with Heather, Beth and Adam walking home from school so picked them up. First job: walk Meg the short mile to Mum & Dads while Heather brings all her food, toys etc by car.. why walk, you ask? (and if you dont care, Im telling you anyway!).. Meg gets car-sick, so we dont drive her unless we absolutely have to! Quick chat and goodbyes, collected Dads JVC video camera, charger etc and back home. Spent the evening doing those final little jobs..( Did you remember the? Wheres the? Whos got my?.. etc etc!) Forced the kids gently to bed early, but they kept re-appearing! Locked them in their rooms (kidding!) and sat on cases for a while to prevent them popping open when picked up! (Wed decided to leave all our cases unlocked for all legs of the trip, choosing to secure them with strong bungee cord, as our cases were searched on both legs of the journey at Easter. I reckon if anyone wants to steal your possessions they will, regardless of flimsy case locks or padlocks.) Popped next door to wish our neighbours a Happy Christmas (and good luck, as Agnes is having to have an operation tomorrow to remove a skin tumour from her face shes being very positive, but we know shes worried as her dad died from a related condition. We hope she will be fine (Editors note: we went round on our return and she looks really well, considering, and the docs think they got rid of everything they needed to). Cracked open my xmas prezzie from the girls to relax. Watched the Soham Verdict analysis on TV gripping, but oh-so sad. Certainly lowered the mood a bit. Finally to bed at 1030pm after a cigar outside.. lovely calm, frosty night with the stars out.
DAY 1 THE JOURNEY THURSDAY 18TH DECEMBER 2003
Finally up at 0545 after a broken night too excited to sleep! Had a proper coffee for breakfast (no appetite!) and looking forward to 2 ½ weeks of decent coffee out there! Adam woke soon after and got up. Heather finally appeared with her Hulk disguise in place (she reckons its a face-pack, but why is it green for heavens sake?). After calming the children down and throwing cereals at them I had a quick look at the news (dominated by Soham again, with tabloids screaming ****-up on police vetting procedures for allowing Huntley to get a school caretakers job). Best mate, Scott, appears 15 minutes early at 0745 to chauffeur us to Manchester Airport. Loaded up, checked the house 17 times and left by 0755. Its about 20 miles to Manchester International, and only takes 30-35 minutes outside rush-hour, but I take after my dad and would rather be VERY early than panicking in a traffic jam so weve allowed 2 hours to get there! LOL! We arrive at 0915, say bye-bye to Scott and enter departures. We had expected to be first in line, but theres already a big queue (line, Mike, its a line for the next 2 weeks!) at the USAirways desks. However, we are very impressed with US as we are processed inside 15 minutes. Off to the Travelex desk to collect Cheques and Dollars, and through to Passport control. No grief, no alarms or body searches, although they had a close look at Adams collection of mooses (toys, not livestock!). sat near WH Smith and had a coffee while various permutations of family members drifted off to the shops in turn. I bought nothing as usual. Funny diversion: big American chap mortally embarrassed by a drug-sniffer dog getting ecstatic over his shoes! Finally dragged off by its handler as it started trying to climb up his leg! Gave Adam his prescription travel sickness meds and crossed fingers hoping theyd work only partially successful at Easter, but better than 2002 when he was aggressively ill for 8 hours!
Wandered to the gate early plane in dock and baggage being loaded (always an encouraging sign, but I had to assume our cases were on, as they were on pallets, covered with a membrane). Plane was a big Airbus 330 or something or other. Boarded on time, 1215, and left on time at 1300. VERY impressed with the cabin (although more impressed with 1st class, or Envoy in US Airways speak why do they rub it in by making you walk past these luxurious leather padded sofa-beds?). Good seat spacing Im 63 and even when the guy in front reclined his seat (GRRRRR!) I still had enough room. Every seat had interactive entertainment system (called p@ssport) with individual screen, choice of movies (Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Matchstick Men, Bruce Almighty, Sea biscuit, The Animatrix, Spy Kids 3, Matrix Reloaded) and 21 different TV programs (Friends, Frasier etc) and music channels. The handset in the armrest pops out like a remote control and allows you to stop and start any program at will. It also has a satellite phone in case you need to get a friend to turn the gas off! Watched POTC then played Monopoly with Bethany. Started with a bit of an allergy thing hope its temporary and sneezed for an hour or two. Food was basic airline fare calories but not much else. I had intended to take a picnic from Selfridges food counter, but forgot to allow time earlier in the week to visit the Trafford Centre. Overall a comfortable 8 hours. Adam not been sick- so far!! Arrived on time and with an exceptionally smooth landing at Philadelphia. Through immigration ok and then to baggage reclaim. Great fun when they realised that the flights bags were coming through on 2 separate carrousels 100 feet apart! LONG queues (lines, lines!) for next security check (after depositing reclaimed bags on another belt for onward transfer) and now Im starting to sweat, as weve only got 5 minutes to get to the next gate. (So much for my fantasy of a coffee and a lazy stroll around the airport shops!) Finally get through, realise that our gate is at the extreme other end of the airport and start to RUN past all the lovely shops, past a striking Christmas tree with a high school choir performing around it, (sorry folks, would have loved to listen!) it was like the Fast Show sketch where the dad whips his kids through various shopping centres Come on, Come on!. Heathers choice of sexy high heels was questioned and she finally gave in and took them off! We made it just in time. Much smaller plane (757) and it was FULL! Gaped at the things Americans consider as cabin baggage! The stewards made us keep coats and smaller bags on our laps to save space in the lockers for peoples chest-freezers etc! They would have fun with easyjets 5kg limit, wouldnt they?!! Non-eventful, 2.5 hour journey. Landed at Tampa at 815pm to 60-degree warmth...and Adam's been fine!
Next saga only 2 of our 3 cases have arrived. US Airways said theyd probably find it on the next flight in about 3 hours and theyd send it to the villa either overnight, if I didnt object (I didnt) or next day, and dont worry, it happens a lot and it will turn up, blah-blah. Left for the Dollar desk. Shortish line. Kids and Heather are tired now and slump in chairs while I organise upgrade to a Dodge Caravan (same as my own Chrysler Grand Voyager at home). Bit congested getting away from Tampa but easy enough route finding 275 to I4 then 50 minutes or so to Kissimmee exit came off near the big golf course at the bottom of Old Lake Wilson Road and intended to cut across to Indian Creek before hitting the 192 but missed the turning in the dark. No problem. Indian Creek is very easy to find from the 192, as its 1 mile past Splendid China along Formosa Gardens. Unpacked basics (and Heather was mildly smug that her tactic of mixing everyones stuff up in all the cases has finally paid off, although her Teva sandals are in the missing case), made a coffee (brought my own from UK thought thered be some filters at the villa, as we always leave a couple of hundred behind us each trip, but no joy!), had a quick look at the pool and all to bed by 1230am.
Mike
The Cast:
Mike, 39, chief organiser, driver and brew maker
Heather, 40, wife and mum
Bethany, 11 (going on 20!), coaster addict, hates getting wet.
Adam, 9, (going on 8!), hates coasters (except BTMRR), LOVES getting wet!
Meg, 3 (our dog.. cameo appearance only!)
This trip evolved out of my despondency at returning to the greyness of spring in Lancashire after our lovely Easter holiday at Indian Creek this (last?) year. The weather had been fantastic and the Jones machine ran with well-oiled efficiency as this was our 3rd consecutive Easter/spring Disney experience.
Anyway in the depths of depression, and with only camping holidays to look forward to over the summer, (we have been camping for years and go for both short and longer breaks from April to September) I felt that I needed a boost for the darker months beyond. We normally spend Christmas at home, as I like a drink on Christmas Day and wont drive anywhere. In recent years my family and their in-laws have swelled the numbers to 15 or so for Christmas lunch (which I cook) and last year they all came again on Boxing Day!! We felt like a change, and, having tried to escape to a Lakes cottage 2 years ago, only to find 6 of them followed us(!) I felt that an overseas option should be considered. Bearing in mind we had just got back from Disney and the bank balance was not great, I started by thinking of Spain etc. Things quickly got out of hand, and I found myself ringing Carole, our Easter villa landlord, ( http://www.crescentvillas.com ) to see if hers was available at Christmas! No, she said, but Ill ring some friends on the same community if you like? I liked! By the end of the day Id found provisional flights for 14 or 16 days, and had a villa available if I wanted it. Hmm.. think it might be a good idea if I mention this to Heather .! Anyway, she loved the idea, and we definitely wanted to see some more of Florida this time. A few more calls the next day and we had the last 7 days booked at Seaspray Apartments in Siesta Key ( http://www.siestakeysuites.com ), the first 9 at Indian Creek through Ross & Helen Worthington ( http://www.worthingtonvilla.com ) and flights with US Airways to Tampa, via Philadelphia. This was not our ideal scenario, as one of our kids is airsick, and multiple landings/take-offs make him worse, but it was £1500 cheaper than any available flights to Sanford or Orlando at the time.
Over the following months I researched the Sarasota area as far as possible, using the boards and the web generally. I also got a guidebook from Amazon (The Sarasota, Sanibel Island & Naples Book, Second Edition: A Complete Guide (Great Destinations Sarasota, Sanibel Island & Naples Book by Chelle Koster Walton). I ordered park Tickets for both Disney (4 day hopper +) and Universal (2 day, 2 park) from Omar at Mapleleaf Tickets in Kissimmee (http://www.mapleleaftickets.com ). These came in 8 days from ordering. We ordered currency from Travelex (http://www.travelex.co.uk/default.asp ) to be collected at Manchester Airport. Job done!
Final decision: we wouldnt tell the kids until as close to Christmas as we could manage, to buy some peace!
(We eventually cracked about 3 weeks before the date, as it was getting hard to hide the signs of imminent travel and we wanted to share the excitement!)
DAY 0 THE DAY BEFORE- WEDNESDAY 17TH DECMBER 2003
Tried for a lie-in (normally a gym day, when I get up at 0600 and to the gym for 0630, before work. I never have the energy or willpower to go after work) but awoke at 0450 worrying whether the 90 minute gap between flights at Philadelphia would be long enough! Couldnt clear these bizarre thoughts, so got up at 0515 and took Meg for a 5 mile walk. Back by 0700 Heather and kids just surfacing. Usual morning stuff and then I dropped the kids at school (own clothes day.. typical! Just perfect when youre trying to keep all their best stuff back for packing! At least their uniforms will be clean for the first day back! (They are very smug, as this is their last day, but not their classmates who finish tomorrow.) Off to work by 0845 found a bottle of Macallan on my desk from the girls in the office! Bless!
Only a couple of appointments so plenty of time for last bit of Dibbing & Dis-ing had a final laugh at the fall-out from jjcollins Saddam wind-up on The Dis! Time dragged. Slight panic in the afternoon when our flight agent rang to speak to me urgently. This cant be good news, can it? Actually it was nothing theyd found a copy of our car voucher on a desk and were just checking that they had sent us one too! They had!
Final partners meeting at 2:30pm then home 3:45. Managed to catch up with Heather, Beth and Adam walking home from school so picked them up. First job: walk Meg the short mile to Mum & Dads while Heather brings all her food, toys etc by car.. why walk, you ask? (and if you dont care, Im telling you anyway!).. Meg gets car-sick, so we dont drive her unless we absolutely have to! Quick chat and goodbyes, collected Dads JVC video camera, charger etc and back home. Spent the evening doing those final little jobs..( Did you remember the? Wheres the? Whos got my?.. etc etc!) Forced the kids gently to bed early, but they kept re-appearing! Locked them in their rooms (kidding!) and sat on cases for a while to prevent them popping open when picked up! (Wed decided to leave all our cases unlocked for all legs of the trip, choosing to secure them with strong bungee cord, as our cases were searched on both legs of the journey at Easter. I reckon if anyone wants to steal your possessions they will, regardless of flimsy case locks or padlocks.) Popped next door to wish our neighbours a Happy Christmas (and good luck, as Agnes is having to have an operation tomorrow to remove a skin tumour from her face shes being very positive, but we know shes worried as her dad died from a related condition. We hope she will be fine (Editors note: we went round on our return and she looks really well, considering, and the docs think they got rid of everything they needed to). Cracked open my xmas prezzie from the girls to relax. Watched the Soham Verdict analysis on TV gripping, but oh-so sad. Certainly lowered the mood a bit. Finally to bed at 1030pm after a cigar outside.. lovely calm, frosty night with the stars out.
DAY 1 THE JOURNEY THURSDAY 18TH DECEMBER 2003
Finally up at 0545 after a broken night too excited to sleep! Had a proper coffee for breakfast (no appetite!) and looking forward to 2 ½ weeks of decent coffee out there! Adam woke soon after and got up. Heather finally appeared with her Hulk disguise in place (she reckons its a face-pack, but why is it green for heavens sake?). After calming the children down and throwing cereals at them I had a quick look at the news (dominated by Soham again, with tabloids screaming ****-up on police vetting procedures for allowing Huntley to get a school caretakers job). Best mate, Scott, appears 15 minutes early at 0745 to chauffeur us to Manchester Airport. Loaded up, checked the house 17 times and left by 0755. Its about 20 miles to Manchester International, and only takes 30-35 minutes outside rush-hour, but I take after my dad and would rather be VERY early than panicking in a traffic jam so weve allowed 2 hours to get there! LOL! We arrive at 0915, say bye-bye to Scott and enter departures. We had expected to be first in line, but theres already a big queue (line, Mike, its a line for the next 2 weeks!) at the USAirways desks. However, we are very impressed with US as we are processed inside 15 minutes. Off to the Travelex desk to collect Cheques and Dollars, and through to Passport control. No grief, no alarms or body searches, although they had a close look at Adams collection of mooses (toys, not livestock!). sat near WH Smith and had a coffee while various permutations of family members drifted off to the shops in turn. I bought nothing as usual. Funny diversion: big American chap mortally embarrassed by a drug-sniffer dog getting ecstatic over his shoes! Finally dragged off by its handler as it started trying to climb up his leg! Gave Adam his prescription travel sickness meds and crossed fingers hoping theyd work only partially successful at Easter, but better than 2002 when he was aggressively ill for 8 hours!
Wandered to the gate early plane in dock and baggage being loaded (always an encouraging sign, but I had to assume our cases were on, as they were on pallets, covered with a membrane). Plane was a big Airbus 330 or something or other. Boarded on time, 1215, and left on time at 1300. VERY impressed with the cabin (although more impressed with 1st class, or Envoy in US Airways speak why do they rub it in by making you walk past these luxurious leather padded sofa-beds?). Good seat spacing Im 63 and even when the guy in front reclined his seat (GRRRRR!) I still had enough room. Every seat had interactive entertainment system (called p@ssport) with individual screen, choice of movies (Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Matchstick Men, Bruce Almighty, Sea biscuit, The Animatrix, Spy Kids 3, Matrix Reloaded) and 21 different TV programs (Friends, Frasier etc) and music channels. The handset in the armrest pops out like a remote control and allows you to stop and start any program at will. It also has a satellite phone in case you need to get a friend to turn the gas off! Watched POTC then played Monopoly with Bethany. Started with a bit of an allergy thing hope its temporary and sneezed for an hour or two. Food was basic airline fare calories but not much else. I had intended to take a picnic from Selfridges food counter, but forgot to allow time earlier in the week to visit the Trafford Centre. Overall a comfortable 8 hours. Adam not been sick- so far!! Arrived on time and with an exceptionally smooth landing at Philadelphia. Through immigration ok and then to baggage reclaim. Great fun when they realised that the flights bags were coming through on 2 separate carrousels 100 feet apart! LONG queues (lines, lines!) for next security check (after depositing reclaimed bags on another belt for onward transfer) and now Im starting to sweat, as weve only got 5 minutes to get to the next gate. (So much for my fantasy of a coffee and a lazy stroll around the airport shops!) Finally get through, realise that our gate is at the extreme other end of the airport and start to RUN past all the lovely shops, past a striking Christmas tree with a high school choir performing around it, (sorry folks, would have loved to listen!) it was like the Fast Show sketch where the dad whips his kids through various shopping centres Come on, Come on!. Heathers choice of sexy high heels was questioned and she finally gave in and took them off! We made it just in time. Much smaller plane (757) and it was FULL! Gaped at the things Americans consider as cabin baggage! The stewards made us keep coats and smaller bags on our laps to save space in the lockers for peoples chest-freezers etc! They would have fun with easyjets 5kg limit, wouldnt they?!! Non-eventful, 2.5 hour journey. Landed at Tampa at 815pm to 60-degree warmth...and Adam's been fine!
Next saga only 2 of our 3 cases have arrived. US Airways said theyd probably find it on the next flight in about 3 hours and theyd send it to the villa either overnight, if I didnt object (I didnt) or next day, and dont worry, it happens a lot and it will turn up, blah-blah. Left for the Dollar desk. Shortish line. Kids and Heather are tired now and slump in chairs while I organise upgrade to a Dodge Caravan (same as my own Chrysler Grand Voyager at home). Bit congested getting away from Tampa but easy enough route finding 275 to I4 then 50 minutes or so to Kissimmee exit came off near the big golf course at the bottom of Old Lake Wilson Road and intended to cut across to Indian Creek before hitting the 192 but missed the turning in the dark. No problem. Indian Creek is very easy to find from the 192, as its 1 mile past Splendid China along Formosa Gardens. Unpacked basics (and Heather was mildly smug that her tactic of mixing everyones stuff up in all the cases has finally paid off, although her Teva sandals are in the missing case), made a coffee (brought my own from UK thought thered be some filters at the villa, as we always leave a couple of hundred behind us each trip, but no joy!), had a quick look at the pool and all to bed by 1230am.
Mike
well done for getting it online - if that were me it'd take several hours and several chocolate bars....and several cups of tea for whoever I dragged in to get it working hehe 
