Mike Jones
<font color=993300>....nothing clever to say... ju
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 1,372
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!
DAYS 17 & 18 - SATURDAY 3RD JANUARY - SUNDAY 4TH JANUARY 2004 THE JOURNEY HOME & CONCLUSION
Well, this day looked a long way off when we landed at Tampa on the 18th December. I awake at 600am and make coffee for me and tea for Heather, who gets woken at 615. I have my coffee in the usual station outside, before shaking the kids out of bed around 630- in all fairness, Adam was already awake. We are supposed to be out of the apartment by 10:00am, and as we made a good start on the packing yesterday we reckon weve got time for a last Broken Egg Breakfast! All showered and in the car by 720 theres only one other person at the door of the restaurant before us! We can see the staff inside, finishing off their breakfast! They open smartly at 7:30 - we can pick our table at this time of the day and elect to sit outside, as its quite mild. Now, I know that these things are relative, and Ive taken a bit of stick lately regarding my descriptions of warm and hot days, but honestly it is comfortable, sitting outside at 7:30 am in T shirts! The weather forecast is even suggesting that it might get up to 80°F later, but this just depressed us!
Donna, our server, brings our drinks (coffee for Heather and I, choc milk for Adam and strawberry & banana smoothie for Beth) before taking our last breakfast requests (Right, Jones, thats enough! This is starting to sound like the last Testament of a condemned man. Come on, boy, pull yourself together everyone has to go home at the end of a holiday, even you! Now get it together, stop blubbering and get on with it! These people have better things to do!)
Right, sorry about that. The rest of this report will be upbeat and happy. Honest. Apart from the odd lapse. Or two. To continue: Donna takes our breakfast order Adam knows when hes on to a good thing and orders his usual sampler (in case youve only just joined us, thats a large, homemade pancake, studded with anything you like and Adam likes chocolate chips! topped with an egg, bacon/ham/sausage (sausage for my boy), toast (white chosen from a list of 5 or 6 options) and Hash Browns.... and what do you think you are doing, reading part 17 first? Get back to Part 1 immediately and dont be so silly next time, I mean, honestly, youll be having a bath after youve got dressed next!
Where was I? Oh, yeah, sorry Bethany has a choc chip pancake, but without the savoury topping, Heather settles for a croissant (you might too, if youd seen the size of them) and I start my post-holiday diet early by just having a Broken egg Breakfast with no Danish or nut bread toast to follow! We chat to Donna, who, having served us on an earlier visit, asks how long we are staying..some people really know how to kick you when youre down, dont they! We tell all, and she commiserates and hopes well come back some day. You bet!
Its 8:15 now, and we say goodbye. The bill was for $30 and we leave a $10 tip for Donna for being lovely! Back to the apartment, where we spend the next 1½ hours emptying the apartment into the car. Obviously, this time it needs to be in the cases ( we just chucked everything in loose when transferring from the villa last week) and I keep thinking that Ive done it, just managing to close each case, when someone discovers another pair of shoes they thought Id already packed! Eventually its done, and we leave the apartments at 9:50.
Theres no rush to get back to Tampa airport, as the flight to Philly doesnt leave until 16:40, so we decide to go back via St Petersburg and stop for lunch somewhere pleasant. When we came last weekend, we worked our way to Sarasota from St Petes by taking the road down the keys and islands, but, although scenic, this took quite a lot of time up. So we head straight for I75 north and then exit onto the 275 across the Skyway to the St Petes peninsular. Last week we had lunch at Pass a Grille this time we head for St Petes Beach/Treasure Island, which although pretty enough, doesnt quite live up to our preconceptions. We drive north for a few miles, but the scenery on the road doesnt change significantly, so we do a U turn and end up in a quiet harbour area outside Philthy Phils Waterfront Bar & Grill. Its around 1140 now, and possibly a bit early for lunch, but restrooms are essential! We walk in and are seated immediately in the open fronted dining room, overlooking the harbour with attractive condos opposite and open sea to the left. The bar-dining room area is comfortable and fairly traditional, and there is a sunny rooftop terrace upstairs with hindsight I wish wed gone up there, to grab the last warm sunshine were likely to enjoy for about 5 months! (The weather has been without doubt one of the outstanding components of our vacation we certainly expected reasonable temperatures over Christmas/New Year in Florida, and hoped for a majority of sunny days, but we havent had any rain at all! We have heard locals on Siesta Key discussing the weather this last week, and get the impression that even they have been surprised! Ive kept a pair of zip-offs for the journey home, as I cant stand the thought of covering my legs up yet, but dont really want to land at Manchester in 0°C wearing shorts!!
We all order burgers of one type or another, with coffee for Heather and sodas for me and the kids. They were fine, but it was too soon after a Broken Egg Breakfast..no one finished! $30.
We sent a few texts home from the harbour wall and then set off for Tampa at 1230. After leaving the beach area, we retraced our steps to the 275 and followed this across Tampa Bay to the airport. We drove into the main terminal area (passing signs of extra security, with lane narrowing and Sheriffs cars at some points) before remembering that I had to return the hire car with a full tank! We turned round and left the airport, hoping there would be a gas station within a few miles!
We find one easily enough, about 2 miles into Tampa, and spend the (still, frankly, to a Brit used to £3.50/gallon petrol, ridiculous ) sum of £13 ($22) to more than half fill the tank. We creep back to the airport with a light foot, and with the air-con turned off to conserve fuel, and hope that the Sheriff doesnt spot us entering for the second time in 15 minutes! (Should be ok have you any idea how many white mini-vans there are out there?!)
The Dollar return procedure is painless we just unload the car and an attendant uses a palm pc to download our mileage etc. No paperwork needed and were good to go. We walk to the nearest entrance point for the terminal building and are pleased to find ourselves right next to the USAirways check-in desks. After a quick restroom stop, we approach the check-in area we are faced with a bank of self-service computer terminals, which appear to require us to put our flight tickets in to receive our boarding passes and baggage tags. Now, Im not usually a technophobe, but I must admit Im daunted by the possibility of cocking this up and ending up in China with our cases in Oslo we stand there for so long that a US assistant takes pity on us and offers to check us in. Hes very friendly, chatting about the holiday with us and asking the kids what their favourite bits were boy am I glad that we didnt try it ourselves the machine spits out seemingly endless bits of paper and tags for this that and the other China and Oslo might have been optimistic! One bit of good news we dont need to collect our bags in Philly if they dont go to Oslo, we should next see them at Manchester tomorrow morning.
We go through security/passport control without incident and get on to the robot shuttle out to Terminal F. The next 2 ½ hours pass quickly enough we are camped near Starbucks and everyone has a snack, while I have a coffee. Everyone mooches off to see if the stock in the bookstore and duty-free has improved since our last airport nope and we move to the vicinity of the gate when we have about an hour to go.
Couple of slightly off-beat sights for us reticent Brits people walking pet dogs around the terminal, obviously in anticipation of them being cabin passengers, and several incidents of father/son and teen/teen football practice sessions in the traffic areas of the lounges and if that %**@# ball hits me again, son, you might need a surgeon to retrieve it! I dont want to get on my soapbox about this (oh, go on then!) but I find this selfish behaviour very irritating. Save it for the park, buddy.
The flight is called, on-time, at 16:10 - we are confused at first as the sign goes up with the right flight number, but indicating Buffalo as the destination. Now, I daresay Buffalo is a lovely place, but Id rather go to Philadelphia if its all the same to you! A patient assistant explains that the aircraft will stop at Philly before going on to Buffalo. We are called at 16:30 and climb the steps of the plane. While waiting in line for earlier passengers to find seats and stow bags, Adam is intrigued by the open flight deck door and peers inside at all the thousands of dials and switches with his mouth hanging open. The two pilots, who are chitchatting with the cabin staff, smile at his interest and ask him if he wants to have a closer look. He doesnt need it in writing, and abandons us instantly! A bit of pressure is building up behind us now, so I move forward with Beth to find our seats and Heather waits at the cockpit for Adam. When they return about 10 minutes later, he happily informs us that the pilots encouraged him to press a few buttons and some of them made funny noises, dad! I made sure that this was entered into my notes, to assist the Accident Investigators in the event of a catastrophe!
We have decent seats again ABC, & D across the aisle, about halfway down the plane. Fairly long taxi out, and airborne by 16:55. The pilot advises that the flight will be 2 hours and 3 minutes. Bye-bye Florida.
Were veterans of long-haul now, and 2 hours should be a breeze .. but of course there are always other factors at work! We have the great joy of sitting in front of a lovely family mum (English, well spoken), Dad (Italian accent, presumably Italian!) and 3 children. The older two are generally ok, but the youngest, a 4 year old boy, doesnt spend more than about 5 minutes in one seat before he wants to get up and wander about. They barely keep him belted in for take-off, and he bawls loudly at this injustice, before releasing himself and starting a relentless, back forth expedition between his two parents on opposite sides of the plane. His preferred method of peregrination is by hanging off the (our) seats, kicking the backs as he passes and occasionally slapping our heads, or by crawling under his siblings legs and seats. When hes not doing this, hes lying in the aisles, going to the toilet (trump card, played when they finally pen him in used 3 times in first 45 minutes of the flight) or hanging off our armrests. His parents, especially the mother, have that polite, modern, totally ineffectual method of child discipline that never goes beyond dont do that darling. You may recall our joy in Part 1 that Adam, who can be spectacularly airsick, had managed to survive the outward journey without incident. As he has fallen asleep soon after take-off, we are more than keen that he stays that way for as long as possible. The brat behind us makes him stir a few times before finally waking him by pushing his seat back forward with both legs. I have a word with the nearest family member, but it has no effect. PLEASE GOD, DONT LET THEM BE ON OUR ONWARD FLIGHT FOM PHILLY and if they are, put them a lonnnggg way from our seats theres a very real possibility that if I get stuck with Sebastiano for 8 hours youll be reading about my air-rage conviction instead of my trip report.
It either calms down eventually or we filter out all but the worst excesses. We land on schedule, but by the time weve taxied to the stand theres only about 15 minutes before our next flight starts to board. Still, at least we dont need to collect bags here, and we seem to be the right side of security, so we seek out the next gate in a more relaxed (alright, less tense) state than on our arrival. Its MILES away, at virtually the other end of the airport! We dont actually run this time, (no repeat of the Fast Show sketch!) and arrive at the gate just as the last passengers are boarding. I hope our bags catch us up (but as things turn out, I neednt have worried!). The main cabin configuration is 2-4-2 and we have seats in 2 adjacent rows, one behind the other. Adam and I sit behind Heather & Bethany, so that I wont need to worry about anyone reclining in front of me.
Were suppose to take-off at 20:30 (1:30am UK) but are delayed for a full hour due to (1) a missing crewmember (hope its not a pilot) and then (2) because some bags have been loaded belonging to a missing passenger.
Do you remember me singing the praises of the p@ssport interactive entertainment system on the USAirways Airbus 330? Well, have a guess whose isnt working this time? The stewards reset it a couple of times over an hour before it finally starts properly. It turns out well though, as they give me complimentary alcohol to compensate! A bottle of wine and 2 whiskys later, dinner is served: rubber chicken with radioactive core or something, but it contains calories (allegedly) and we are grateful. Adam falls asleep soon after the science experiment, sorry: meal, and I get stuck into Matchstick Men starring Nicholas Cage, which I really enjoy. (Sort of a modern version of The Sting)
Ive got a few dollars left, and given the recent, continuing collapse of the currency against sterling, decide to blow them on duty free. Heather has drawn my attention to a new Estee Lauder fragrance (Beyond Paradise), so I part with $42. (I reckon Im quids in, as Ive had at least $20 worth of free booze so far!). I watch a couple of the magazine programmes on the video and finish off my holiday book (a Stephen King). Its about 7:00am UK time now (I reset my watch as soon as we take off to try to kick-start the re-orientation programme, but Adam perversely keeps his on US time and delights in giving me Florida time updates!) I am now in the zone, when I start to believe that the flight experience will go on for ever and am as always surprised to find that I dont protest the theory too much it must be like prisoners who get so used to jail that they are more afraid of being set free than staying in their (familiar and predictable) cell. ..Im starting to ramble now, sorry
anyway, its 7:00am and I have absolutely no idea of how long is left and I cant summon the necessary passion to raise my hand and ask one of the stewards. It just doesnt seem to matter and while that in itself should bother me, it doesnt! I wonder vaguely if the oxygen levels are high enough?! (I later recall the alcohol Ive had on the flight and it all makes a bit more sense!) At about 7:10 the cabin lights come on and the stewards hand out some kind of weird bun (called a Buttermilk Donut, but unlike any donut Ive ever seen or tasted)..what the heck, you probably need 5 or 6 for a fatal dose, so I eat mine and Adams. Am more grateful for the coffee that accompanies it. My heart rate does rise a bit when the crew announce that non EEC passport holders should fill in a white, immigration, landing card before we land at London London?! #*@$% LONDON?! ..Im halfway out of my seat when they add Oh sorry, I mean Manchester!
Its gradually getting light outside now and we land in overcast Manchester at 8:50am. At least its not raining. We inhale the familiar, damp and unhealthy scent of our local airport and disembark. The baggage reclaim and passport control procedures are surprisingly quick our bags are all off in the first wave and by 9:30 we are in the arrivals hall. Oh damn forgot to phone Scott do so to find him already en-route, having tracked the flight in on tinternet. Hell, its cold! He arrives within a few minutes and soon whisks us back to our house for about 10:15. He hangs around for a coffee and a chat before leaving us to the depressing prospect of unpacking 85 cases (ok, 4) full of dirty washing. I make a tactical decision to let Heather deal with this, as shes so much better at it than me, and, accompanied by the kids (who cant wait to see their grandparents) I walk down the mile or so to my mum and dads to collect our mutt, Meg (whos gratifyingly delighted to see us!) The rest of the day passes in a dopey haze, as we try valiantly to stay awake until our normal bedtime, as this has served us well in previous years. (The first time at Disney, we all went to sleep in the middle of the first day home, and it took ages before our sleep patterns got back to normal.)
CONCLUSION:
WEATHER
We have been soooo lucky, both in Orlando and at Siesta Key. I realise that its all relative to what you are used to, but, by northern UK standards, 17 days averaging 9 or 10 hours of sunshine, with not a single drop of rain, and temperatures from the 60s to 80°F, would constitute a heat wave in a typical summer. In December.. well, we couldnt have asked for more.
CHRISTMAS
Without question, the best Christmas weve ever had. Epcot on Christmas Day was wonderful, and the rest of the 9 days in Orlando were just as exceptional. Its a special time of year anyway for families, and when you add in the Disney (& Universal) factor, I cant imagine how you create an atmosphere more conducive to enjoyment. The parks and the resorts were decorated superbly and we had very few negative experiences over the period.
The villa was perfect. Given that we had stayed in an identical property on the same community 7 months earlier, we anticipated this, and were not disappointed. It is my firm opinion that a villa is the best way for a family to enjoy the theme parks, as it affords sanctuary unequalled by even the best hotels, but having seen the best hotels this time . it is quite likely that we will experiment with an on-site base at some point in the future, probably when the kids are old enough to do their own thing and not require constant supervision, or, ideally, when we manage to get to Florida without them! I would personally love to spend a few days at the Wilderness Lodge, followed by some time at the Celebration Hotel.
SIESTA KEY
Difficult to summarise our second week, as Ive flogged the superlatives to death already. We loved it. It was the perfect counter to the pace of the parks, and such a pretty place. Understated and simple. As with the weather, I think we fell lucky in our choice of resort: we passed through several of the alternatives, albeit briefly, and I am sure that Siesta Key is superior to many of them, particular toward the northern end of the coast. I will reserve final judgement until Ive seen something of the lower coasts, particularly around Sanibel!
The beaches were fantastic, and as I said in one of the later posts, we were very grateful to be able to walk across the road to the best of them, without the need to drive or deal with the hassles of parking once we arrived. The afternoons we spent watching the pelicans and the occasional dolphin family, whilst waiting for the glorious sunsets will stay with us for ever, I suspect and weve got hours of video in case our minds start to slip! The village area of the island had just about everything we needed or wanted, and, again, we were lucky that, in ignorance, we managed to secure accommodation within easy walking distance of the centre, with its bars and shops.
NEXT TRIP?
Ah, thats a tricky one. Of course well be back, but when? hmm. We really need to spend some time (and ££s) on our house weve neglected it shamefully for a few years now, since our first Florida experience, and we have to decide whether to move on to a bigger place this year or extend and upgrade the current one. Im determined not to make any big holiday plans until this has been dealt with.
I also believe that weve allowed our children to become too complacent about Florida they take the annual (or twice annual!) experience very much for granted now, and they were becoming very blasé about it this time. They enjoyed themselves, certainly, but there were too many times when they squabbled and whinged without any justification and could not understand why their parents were so appalled! Back to basics time, kids! I am self-employed and blessed with the freedom to take a substantial amount of time off - we have always gone camping between April and September the UK has some gorgeous countryside and we live within a few miles of the best of it, (IMO!) being virtually equidistant from the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Peak District and Snowdonia some nice, cheap holidays coming up for the next year or so! We also harbour a not-so-secret desire to have a week or so in Orlando without the children (shock, horror, child-abuse!LOL)..half the price and none of the whinging! We might just manage that before we come back with the full platoon.
In any event, any future, family holidays to Florida will certainly be two-centre we honestly think wed struggle to fill 2 weeks solely in Orlando now, and we love the coast but I couldnt fly to Florida without at least an Epcot fix!
Well, thats it, folks! Thanks for staying with me over the last 40,000 words or so Ive really enjoyed my first Trip Report and get the impression from some of the feedback that at least a few of you have too. No apologies for the amount of detail, as this mirrors the reports from my peers that Ive had the most pleasure from. Im hooked now although they may not get posted, I think Ill probably do similar reports for non-Disney vacations in the future, plus of course, any revisits to Florida, which Ill share!
All done! Wheres the whisky, Heather?
Mike
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!
DAYS 17 & 18 - SATURDAY 3RD JANUARY - SUNDAY 4TH JANUARY 2004 THE JOURNEY HOME & CONCLUSION
Well, this day looked a long way off when we landed at Tampa on the 18th December. I awake at 600am and make coffee for me and tea for Heather, who gets woken at 615. I have my coffee in the usual station outside, before shaking the kids out of bed around 630- in all fairness, Adam was already awake. We are supposed to be out of the apartment by 10:00am, and as we made a good start on the packing yesterday we reckon weve got time for a last Broken Egg Breakfast! All showered and in the car by 720 theres only one other person at the door of the restaurant before us! We can see the staff inside, finishing off their breakfast! They open smartly at 7:30 - we can pick our table at this time of the day and elect to sit outside, as its quite mild. Now, I know that these things are relative, and Ive taken a bit of stick lately regarding my descriptions of warm and hot days, but honestly it is comfortable, sitting outside at 7:30 am in T shirts! The weather forecast is even suggesting that it might get up to 80°F later, but this just depressed us!
Donna, our server, brings our drinks (coffee for Heather and I, choc milk for Adam and strawberry & banana smoothie for Beth) before taking our last breakfast requests (Right, Jones, thats enough! This is starting to sound like the last Testament of a condemned man. Come on, boy, pull yourself together everyone has to go home at the end of a holiday, even you! Now get it together, stop blubbering and get on with it! These people have better things to do!)
Right, sorry about that. The rest of this report will be upbeat and happy. Honest. Apart from the odd lapse. Or two. To continue: Donna takes our breakfast order Adam knows when hes on to a good thing and orders his usual sampler (in case youve only just joined us, thats a large, homemade pancake, studded with anything you like and Adam likes chocolate chips! topped with an egg, bacon/ham/sausage (sausage for my boy), toast (white chosen from a list of 5 or 6 options) and Hash Browns.... and what do you think you are doing, reading part 17 first? Get back to Part 1 immediately and dont be so silly next time, I mean, honestly, youll be having a bath after youve got dressed next!
Where was I? Oh, yeah, sorry Bethany has a choc chip pancake, but without the savoury topping, Heather settles for a croissant (you might too, if youd seen the size of them) and I start my post-holiday diet early by just having a Broken egg Breakfast with no Danish or nut bread toast to follow! We chat to Donna, who, having served us on an earlier visit, asks how long we are staying..some people really know how to kick you when youre down, dont they! We tell all, and she commiserates and hopes well come back some day. You bet!
Its 8:15 now, and we say goodbye. The bill was for $30 and we leave a $10 tip for Donna for being lovely! Back to the apartment, where we spend the next 1½ hours emptying the apartment into the car. Obviously, this time it needs to be in the cases ( we just chucked everything in loose when transferring from the villa last week) and I keep thinking that Ive done it, just managing to close each case, when someone discovers another pair of shoes they thought Id already packed! Eventually its done, and we leave the apartments at 9:50.
Theres no rush to get back to Tampa airport, as the flight to Philly doesnt leave until 16:40, so we decide to go back via St Petersburg and stop for lunch somewhere pleasant. When we came last weekend, we worked our way to Sarasota from St Petes by taking the road down the keys and islands, but, although scenic, this took quite a lot of time up. So we head straight for I75 north and then exit onto the 275 across the Skyway to the St Petes peninsular. Last week we had lunch at Pass a Grille this time we head for St Petes Beach/Treasure Island, which although pretty enough, doesnt quite live up to our preconceptions. We drive north for a few miles, but the scenery on the road doesnt change significantly, so we do a U turn and end up in a quiet harbour area outside Philthy Phils Waterfront Bar & Grill. Its around 1140 now, and possibly a bit early for lunch, but restrooms are essential! We walk in and are seated immediately in the open fronted dining room, overlooking the harbour with attractive condos opposite and open sea to the left. The bar-dining room area is comfortable and fairly traditional, and there is a sunny rooftop terrace upstairs with hindsight I wish wed gone up there, to grab the last warm sunshine were likely to enjoy for about 5 months! (The weather has been without doubt one of the outstanding components of our vacation we certainly expected reasonable temperatures over Christmas/New Year in Florida, and hoped for a majority of sunny days, but we havent had any rain at all! We have heard locals on Siesta Key discussing the weather this last week, and get the impression that even they have been surprised! Ive kept a pair of zip-offs for the journey home, as I cant stand the thought of covering my legs up yet, but dont really want to land at Manchester in 0°C wearing shorts!!
We all order burgers of one type or another, with coffee for Heather and sodas for me and the kids. They were fine, but it was too soon after a Broken Egg Breakfast..no one finished! $30.
We sent a few texts home from the harbour wall and then set off for Tampa at 1230. After leaving the beach area, we retraced our steps to the 275 and followed this across Tampa Bay to the airport. We drove into the main terminal area (passing signs of extra security, with lane narrowing and Sheriffs cars at some points) before remembering that I had to return the hire car with a full tank! We turned round and left the airport, hoping there would be a gas station within a few miles!
We find one easily enough, about 2 miles into Tampa, and spend the (still, frankly, to a Brit used to £3.50/gallon petrol, ridiculous ) sum of £13 ($22) to more than half fill the tank. We creep back to the airport with a light foot, and with the air-con turned off to conserve fuel, and hope that the Sheriff doesnt spot us entering for the second time in 15 minutes! (Should be ok have you any idea how many white mini-vans there are out there?!)
The Dollar return procedure is painless we just unload the car and an attendant uses a palm pc to download our mileage etc. No paperwork needed and were good to go. We walk to the nearest entrance point for the terminal building and are pleased to find ourselves right next to the USAirways check-in desks. After a quick restroom stop, we approach the check-in area we are faced with a bank of self-service computer terminals, which appear to require us to put our flight tickets in to receive our boarding passes and baggage tags. Now, Im not usually a technophobe, but I must admit Im daunted by the possibility of cocking this up and ending up in China with our cases in Oslo we stand there for so long that a US assistant takes pity on us and offers to check us in. Hes very friendly, chatting about the holiday with us and asking the kids what their favourite bits were boy am I glad that we didnt try it ourselves the machine spits out seemingly endless bits of paper and tags for this that and the other China and Oslo might have been optimistic! One bit of good news we dont need to collect our bags in Philly if they dont go to Oslo, we should next see them at Manchester tomorrow morning.
We go through security/passport control without incident and get on to the robot shuttle out to Terminal F. The next 2 ½ hours pass quickly enough we are camped near Starbucks and everyone has a snack, while I have a coffee. Everyone mooches off to see if the stock in the bookstore and duty-free has improved since our last airport nope and we move to the vicinity of the gate when we have about an hour to go.
Couple of slightly off-beat sights for us reticent Brits people walking pet dogs around the terminal, obviously in anticipation of them being cabin passengers, and several incidents of father/son and teen/teen football practice sessions in the traffic areas of the lounges and if that %**@# ball hits me again, son, you might need a surgeon to retrieve it! I dont want to get on my soapbox about this (oh, go on then!) but I find this selfish behaviour very irritating. Save it for the park, buddy.
The flight is called, on-time, at 16:10 - we are confused at first as the sign goes up with the right flight number, but indicating Buffalo as the destination. Now, I daresay Buffalo is a lovely place, but Id rather go to Philadelphia if its all the same to you! A patient assistant explains that the aircraft will stop at Philly before going on to Buffalo. We are called at 16:30 and climb the steps of the plane. While waiting in line for earlier passengers to find seats and stow bags, Adam is intrigued by the open flight deck door and peers inside at all the thousands of dials and switches with his mouth hanging open. The two pilots, who are chitchatting with the cabin staff, smile at his interest and ask him if he wants to have a closer look. He doesnt need it in writing, and abandons us instantly! A bit of pressure is building up behind us now, so I move forward with Beth to find our seats and Heather waits at the cockpit for Adam. When they return about 10 minutes later, he happily informs us that the pilots encouraged him to press a few buttons and some of them made funny noises, dad! I made sure that this was entered into my notes, to assist the Accident Investigators in the event of a catastrophe!
We have decent seats again ABC, & D across the aisle, about halfway down the plane. Fairly long taxi out, and airborne by 16:55. The pilot advises that the flight will be 2 hours and 3 minutes. Bye-bye Florida.
Were veterans of long-haul now, and 2 hours should be a breeze .. but of course there are always other factors at work! We have the great joy of sitting in front of a lovely family mum (English, well spoken), Dad (Italian accent, presumably Italian!) and 3 children. The older two are generally ok, but the youngest, a 4 year old boy, doesnt spend more than about 5 minutes in one seat before he wants to get up and wander about. They barely keep him belted in for take-off, and he bawls loudly at this injustice, before releasing himself and starting a relentless, back forth expedition between his two parents on opposite sides of the plane. His preferred method of peregrination is by hanging off the (our) seats, kicking the backs as he passes and occasionally slapping our heads, or by crawling under his siblings legs and seats. When hes not doing this, hes lying in the aisles, going to the toilet (trump card, played when they finally pen him in used 3 times in first 45 minutes of the flight) or hanging off our armrests. His parents, especially the mother, have that polite, modern, totally ineffectual method of child discipline that never goes beyond dont do that darling. You may recall our joy in Part 1 that Adam, who can be spectacularly airsick, had managed to survive the outward journey without incident. As he has fallen asleep soon after take-off, we are more than keen that he stays that way for as long as possible. The brat behind us makes him stir a few times before finally waking him by pushing his seat back forward with both legs. I have a word with the nearest family member, but it has no effect. PLEASE GOD, DONT LET THEM BE ON OUR ONWARD FLIGHT FOM PHILLY and if they are, put them a lonnnggg way from our seats theres a very real possibility that if I get stuck with Sebastiano for 8 hours youll be reading about my air-rage conviction instead of my trip report.
It either calms down eventually or we filter out all but the worst excesses. We land on schedule, but by the time weve taxied to the stand theres only about 15 minutes before our next flight starts to board. Still, at least we dont need to collect bags here, and we seem to be the right side of security, so we seek out the next gate in a more relaxed (alright, less tense) state than on our arrival. Its MILES away, at virtually the other end of the airport! We dont actually run this time, (no repeat of the Fast Show sketch!) and arrive at the gate just as the last passengers are boarding. I hope our bags catch us up (but as things turn out, I neednt have worried!). The main cabin configuration is 2-4-2 and we have seats in 2 adjacent rows, one behind the other. Adam and I sit behind Heather & Bethany, so that I wont need to worry about anyone reclining in front of me.
Were suppose to take-off at 20:30 (1:30am UK) but are delayed for a full hour due to (1) a missing crewmember (hope its not a pilot) and then (2) because some bags have been loaded belonging to a missing passenger.
Do you remember me singing the praises of the p@ssport interactive entertainment system on the USAirways Airbus 330? Well, have a guess whose isnt working this time? The stewards reset it a couple of times over an hour before it finally starts properly. It turns out well though, as they give me complimentary alcohol to compensate! A bottle of wine and 2 whiskys later, dinner is served: rubber chicken with radioactive core or something, but it contains calories (allegedly) and we are grateful. Adam falls asleep soon after the science experiment, sorry: meal, and I get stuck into Matchstick Men starring Nicholas Cage, which I really enjoy. (Sort of a modern version of The Sting)
Ive got a few dollars left, and given the recent, continuing collapse of the currency against sterling, decide to blow them on duty free. Heather has drawn my attention to a new Estee Lauder fragrance (Beyond Paradise), so I part with $42. (I reckon Im quids in, as Ive had at least $20 worth of free booze so far!). I watch a couple of the magazine programmes on the video and finish off my holiday book (a Stephen King). Its about 7:00am UK time now (I reset my watch as soon as we take off to try to kick-start the re-orientation programme, but Adam perversely keeps his on US time and delights in giving me Florida time updates!) I am now in the zone, when I start to believe that the flight experience will go on for ever and am as always surprised to find that I dont protest the theory too much it must be like prisoners who get so used to jail that they are more afraid of being set free than staying in their (familiar and predictable) cell. ..Im starting to ramble now, sorry
anyway, its 7:00am and I have absolutely no idea of how long is left and I cant summon the necessary passion to raise my hand and ask one of the stewards. It just doesnt seem to matter and while that in itself should bother me, it doesnt! I wonder vaguely if the oxygen levels are high enough?! (I later recall the alcohol Ive had on the flight and it all makes a bit more sense!) At about 7:10 the cabin lights come on and the stewards hand out some kind of weird bun (called a Buttermilk Donut, but unlike any donut Ive ever seen or tasted)..what the heck, you probably need 5 or 6 for a fatal dose, so I eat mine and Adams. Am more grateful for the coffee that accompanies it. My heart rate does rise a bit when the crew announce that non EEC passport holders should fill in a white, immigration, landing card before we land at London London?! #*@$% LONDON?! ..Im halfway out of my seat when they add Oh sorry, I mean Manchester!
Its gradually getting light outside now and we land in overcast Manchester at 8:50am. At least its not raining. We inhale the familiar, damp and unhealthy scent of our local airport and disembark. The baggage reclaim and passport control procedures are surprisingly quick our bags are all off in the first wave and by 9:30 we are in the arrivals hall. Oh damn forgot to phone Scott do so to find him already en-route, having tracked the flight in on tinternet. Hell, its cold! He arrives within a few minutes and soon whisks us back to our house for about 10:15. He hangs around for a coffee and a chat before leaving us to the depressing prospect of unpacking 85 cases (ok, 4) full of dirty washing. I make a tactical decision to let Heather deal with this, as shes so much better at it than me, and, accompanied by the kids (who cant wait to see their grandparents) I walk down the mile or so to my mum and dads to collect our mutt, Meg (whos gratifyingly delighted to see us!) The rest of the day passes in a dopey haze, as we try valiantly to stay awake until our normal bedtime, as this has served us well in previous years. (The first time at Disney, we all went to sleep in the middle of the first day home, and it took ages before our sleep patterns got back to normal.)
CONCLUSION:
WEATHER
We have been soooo lucky, both in Orlando and at Siesta Key. I realise that its all relative to what you are used to, but, by northern UK standards, 17 days averaging 9 or 10 hours of sunshine, with not a single drop of rain, and temperatures from the 60s to 80°F, would constitute a heat wave in a typical summer. In December.. well, we couldnt have asked for more.
CHRISTMAS
Without question, the best Christmas weve ever had. Epcot on Christmas Day was wonderful, and the rest of the 9 days in Orlando were just as exceptional. Its a special time of year anyway for families, and when you add in the Disney (& Universal) factor, I cant imagine how you create an atmosphere more conducive to enjoyment. The parks and the resorts were decorated superbly and we had very few negative experiences over the period.
The villa was perfect. Given that we had stayed in an identical property on the same community 7 months earlier, we anticipated this, and were not disappointed. It is my firm opinion that a villa is the best way for a family to enjoy the theme parks, as it affords sanctuary unequalled by even the best hotels, but having seen the best hotels this time . it is quite likely that we will experiment with an on-site base at some point in the future, probably when the kids are old enough to do their own thing and not require constant supervision, or, ideally, when we manage to get to Florida without them! I would personally love to spend a few days at the Wilderness Lodge, followed by some time at the Celebration Hotel.
SIESTA KEY
Difficult to summarise our second week, as Ive flogged the superlatives to death already. We loved it. It was the perfect counter to the pace of the parks, and such a pretty place. Understated and simple. As with the weather, I think we fell lucky in our choice of resort: we passed through several of the alternatives, albeit briefly, and I am sure that Siesta Key is superior to many of them, particular toward the northern end of the coast. I will reserve final judgement until Ive seen something of the lower coasts, particularly around Sanibel!
The beaches were fantastic, and as I said in one of the later posts, we were very grateful to be able to walk across the road to the best of them, without the need to drive or deal with the hassles of parking once we arrived. The afternoons we spent watching the pelicans and the occasional dolphin family, whilst waiting for the glorious sunsets will stay with us for ever, I suspect and weve got hours of video in case our minds start to slip! The village area of the island had just about everything we needed or wanted, and, again, we were lucky that, in ignorance, we managed to secure accommodation within easy walking distance of the centre, with its bars and shops.
NEXT TRIP?
Ah, thats a tricky one. Of course well be back, but when? hmm. We really need to spend some time (and ££s) on our house weve neglected it shamefully for a few years now, since our first Florida experience, and we have to decide whether to move on to a bigger place this year or extend and upgrade the current one. Im determined not to make any big holiday plans until this has been dealt with.
I also believe that weve allowed our children to become too complacent about Florida they take the annual (or twice annual!) experience very much for granted now, and they were becoming very blasé about it this time. They enjoyed themselves, certainly, but there were too many times when they squabbled and whinged without any justification and could not understand why their parents were so appalled! Back to basics time, kids! I am self-employed and blessed with the freedom to take a substantial amount of time off - we have always gone camping between April and September the UK has some gorgeous countryside and we live within a few miles of the best of it, (IMO!) being virtually equidistant from the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Peak District and Snowdonia some nice, cheap holidays coming up for the next year or so! We also harbour a not-so-secret desire to have a week or so in Orlando without the children (shock, horror, child-abuse!LOL)..half the price and none of the whinging! We might just manage that before we come back with the full platoon.
In any event, any future, family holidays to Florida will certainly be two-centre we honestly think wed struggle to fill 2 weeks solely in Orlando now, and we love the coast but I couldnt fly to Florida without at least an Epcot fix!
Well, thats it, folks! Thanks for staying with me over the last 40,000 words or so Ive really enjoyed my first Trip Report and get the impression from some of the feedback that at least a few of you have too. No apologies for the amount of detail, as this mirrors the reports from my peers that Ive had the most pleasure from. Im hooked now although they may not get posted, I think Ill probably do similar reports for non-Disney vacations in the future, plus of course, any revisits to Florida, which Ill share!
All done! Wheres the whisky, Heather?
Mike
