just arrived

[Paul (tigger fan)]

Enjoying your report ,

Thanks for sharing details of your hols with us , i am fair enjoying reading your adventures live from orlando .

Have a great time.

Paul

 

[dc1964]

Finally slept a bit longer today, so just sitting by the pool enjoying a coffee and watching the balloons fly over the golf course.

Had a nice day yesterday, we drove down to clearwater beach in the Monster truck,

it took about an hour and a half, arrived at 1030, Parked up($2 per hour), watch out for the rotweller parking enforcement officers, they were on the ball. We went straight for a couple of beers. Well 3 buckets to be honest.
It has all been lanscaped down there i noticed, the old straight road that ran at side of the beach is no more and there is a pedestrian area and grassed area, looks nice.
Anyway after a few beers we hit the beach,

unfortuneately it became a bit hazy but still warm, stayed till about 3pm on the beach then walked to the best western for a beer, we stayed there a few years ago but were told that it was going to be demolished and condos built, anyway it is still there, it is just about the last hotel before you drive over the to sand key if anyone knows it, it does have a nice private beach at the back.
On the way back home we stopped at anew shopping complex where the i4 meets the 27, it has a nice JC Penny and a Target , also lots of other shops, useful to know if you want to avoid driving to the Malls.


We had a very pleasant barbecue when we got back to the house, really thick tender, juicy steaks, salad, wine and beer, oh and left over wings and pizza. followed by fresh fruit and lemon drizzle cake.

Finally fell asleep about 10 i think.

Not sure whats happening today, off for a run soon, relax then may head up to IOA, i will wait for DW to inform me.

 

[wicket2005]

sounds a lovely day yesterday, what lovely white sand the beach has.

Hope you have a lovely day today.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Great report - was the shopping at Haines city? DH went there to look at an electrical shop & said it had a target and Pennys. From Windsor Hills that Target is probably nearer time wise - until the new one is built on the 192 west.
Hope you are having another good day

 

[dc1964]

Great report - was the shopping at Haines city? DH went there to look at an electrical shop & said it had a target and Pennys. From Windsor Hills that Target is probably nearer time wise - until the new one is built on the 192 west.
Hope you are having another good day

I think it probably is Haines city, i kn ow i have seen the sign for it, we will check when we go again

 

[Claire L]

Weather looks fab and the villa looks like a great place for an evening in

Claire

 

[LORNA ANN]

Thanks for the report love reading it ,we go in 18 days so nice to know that the weather is ok but will pack some sweaters just incase ! Happy holidays.

 

[Shazzie B]

Sounds like you're having a great time. Thanks for the pictures of Highland Reserve, we're stopping there for a week in Aug. What were travel times like?

 

[dc1964]

Sounds like you're having a great time. Thanks for the pictures of Highland Reserve, we're stopping there for a week in Aug. What were travel times like?

Half hour from the airport using I4 then highway 27, Universal will take about 30 mins depending on traffic, Disney 20 mins. It is a good location also for getting to Clearwater beach, about 1 hour and 20 mins

 

[dc1964]

Woke up to a beautiful warm morning so after our run we lazed at the pool for a few hours.
At 12 we set of for IOA, thinking it might be quieter now New Year was over, which to some extent it was, we wanted to ride the Hulk and luckily there was only a 25 min wait, it would have been less that that but we joined the front of line so in total it took us 30 mins.

After that we just walked round the park as all over rides were 1 hour waits.

Took some pictures of Juraasic park area

We like this area

After park we went to Nascar for beer and Nachos, if evere u order Nachos only order to share, they are huge, we could not eat them all.

Then we met friends at Hooters at Pointe Orlando, I arrived just as a staff meeting was taking place, very pleasant on the eye, anyway we had a cople of Pitchers and 20 hot wings before heading for the house.

We packed for our cruise then off to Applebees, which in all honesty was average, reasonable on price, 5 of us shared a platter to start then all had a steak dish, 4 beers, 4 wines and a coke and the bill was $120.

Anyway we are setting off for Miami in an hour for 4 day cruise, I will post when we return.

 

[wayneg]

After park we went to Nascar for beer and Nachos, if evere u order Nachos only order to share, they are huge, we could not eat them all.

Anyway we are setting off for Miami in an hour for 4 day cruise, I will post when we return.

Never had nachos at Nascar but had them at Orlando ale house, same there 3 of us couldn't eat them. There they cost about $10 or for an extra $2 you can load/layer them with cheese and chicken. 4-6 can make a meal of them for $12.

Have a great cruise.

My 1st day back at work today, -2 degs now and to get down to -6 tonight Brrrrr. Bet you can't wait to get home to it

 

[dc1964]

No cant wait to be back in sunny kirklees as i sit typing round the pool at 7.40 in the morning.

 

[Beep]

No cant wait to be back in sunny kirklees as i sit typing round the pool at 7.40 in the morning.

Typing round the pool? Now you see, that is just plain rude. Woke in Birmingham this morning to snow and it hasn't shifted all day, and is now freezing over.

Hope you had a great cruise. If we tried that here at the mo we'd need one of those ice-breaker ships!

 

[dc1964]

Hi everyone, just back from Miami, sitting round the pool having a cold beer..

Had a great cruise with Carnival, not strictly anything to do with Disney but worth talking about as an option for people visiting who want to get away for a while.

The ship wqas Carnival imagination which we boarded at 1230 after 3 and a half hour drive on the Turnpike. $15 in tolls, but hardly any traffic.
$80 to park at the port, which is a bit strong i think.

Boarding was very easy and we were very quickly sitting on deck drinking cocktails.

Cabin was one of the the cheaper ones but was still very comfy and spacious.



ship left at 4pm and arrived at 7am the next day in Keywest, after vvisiting the gym and having breakfast we wandered into Keywest and commenced our litltle tour, which was reall6y a bar crawl, weather was fantastic, very warm and a little humid.

Boarded at 1.30pm and headed for Cozumel.

Food in the restaurant was first class, we were on a shared table with 2 american couples who clearly understood the need for some sort of dress code in a nice restaurant, however the chinese couple next to me did not nor did they have particularly nice table manners, however we come from different cultures so who am i to judge.

Anyway we ate on the restaurant for the the first 2 nights but then came Cozumel.

Cozumel is a beautiful place and we arrived at 1pm on the 3rd day, we only planned to visit the local shops and bars, we discovered a bar selling buckets of Corona, 6 for $5, considering they were $5 each on the ship this was too goo a bargain to miss, so we took advantage. think we had 8 beers and 8cocktails and a meal of corn chips, Guacamole and salsa, it was delicious, final bill was $26. Waiter got a good tip.
We were going to go straight back to the ship but stopped at T shirt shop, bought some offensive t shirts for people but then made the nistake of stopping at another bar, this one was called Senor Frogs, i think there is one in every cruise port in the Caribbean, you know as you go in that u are about to be ripped off.....and we were.. 2 vodka and tonics....large ones in souvenir yard long glasses, $28. Go Figure!
Mind u the atmosphere was good, Dancing on the tables, party Music etc.so it was ok.
After that it was back to the ship and we made the mistake of lying down on the bed for a bit before Dinner, this was at half past 8. Next thing i knew it was 2.30 in the morning, so back to sleep.
Still got up for the gym at 8 though, then we had a full day and night at sea before we docked back in miami.
They are good fun cruises and i would recommend them.
Drove back to Florida Mall and Costco and bougfht some steaks for tea.
Universal and IOA for the weekend before back home Monday.
I will post some pictures if anyone is interested

Views from ship as it leaves miami

south beach

The ship

 

[wayneg]

Glad you had a good cruise. We have done 4 nighters with RCCL from Port Canaveral, they are great to get away from the busy parks. Paid £600 for last August for outside cabin for 3 of us.

Everyone has their own ideas for the 3/4 night cruise dress code. Personally I wear trousers and polo shirt. For 7 night cruises I take shirts & ties.

Good to hear good review about Carnival though, friends went on about 3 years ago said it was all drinking and gambling and not enjoyable. Thats why we like Disney cruises better, no gambling and not the same drinking environment as RCCL.

Parking has gone upto $15/day now at PC, this August we are dropping at Budget and getting another car after the cruise, saving about £200 on the week.
Enjoy your last weekend, then back to winter woolies.
Off course we are interested in photos, post ASAP.

 

[dc1964]

Hi Wayne, photos added ot my original message.

To be fair it is a bit of a booze cruise, but that sort of suits us, we have sailed the QM2 and that was superb and the dress code was adhered to.

One thing that let the cruise down a bit was the younger americans, mainly women, why do they like to whoop and scream like banshees.

I would like to try RCCL one day.,

 

[wayneg]

Pics not showing for some reason, maybe you are doing something with them?

Cruising from Florida I believe is a lot more relaxed/informal than from anywhere else. In my experience Americans tend to be more casual and UK/European travellers like myself won't trail clothes half way around the world just to wear a few hours on a cruise. Even formal nights on the 7 nighters I am not out of place with a shirt and tie, about half don't wear a suit/tux.

Now it sounds like friends had it right about Carnival
I like a drink or I like to eat, I can't do both, on a cruise I love the food so 1-2 drinks in the evening is more than enough for me. I once took 12 bottles of Bud on Disney Magic, brought 10 back off after the week, drank 2 bottles.

 

[dc1964]

photos should be on now, i had moved a folder on photo bucket so they would not show.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Great photos from the cruise

Sounds like you won't want to come home!

 

[dc1964]

Back to the real world on Tuesday i am afraid, but for now it is the weekend in Orlando and i am still on Holiday, Universal and IOA today followed by a beer in City walk, weather is sunny and clear today, just been for a run.
Bit of a struggle today, spent the evening in an english run bar up by Publix next to regal palms, had a good night, bed at 1am, finally got the body clock working.