Just back, any questions?

Elaine Guidi

Elaine
Joined
Mar 1, 2002
Messages
173
Been there 7 - 21 Feb. Stayed at La Quinta (formerly Sheraton 4 Points Lakeside, Kissimmee). Went to MK Epcot.MGM. AK, US IOA, TL, W'n'W and KSC. Flew Virgin. Loads of info, fire away
 
Welcome back Elaine :) !! But you didn't tell us........... did you have a wonderful trip :teeth: ???
 
Welcome back Elaine, hope you had a great trip.

How was the KSC, is much of it still closed for public access? I'd guess it was a little subdued with the recent tragedy?
 
Hi Elaine

Welcome home. Hope you had a great time too.

My question is how did you find Virgin? We are due to fly with them for the first time in Dec and would like to know your thoughts on them.

Thanks
 

Hi Elaine,
We are off to Florida in just 4 weeks time. We too are staying at La Quinta, so can you tell me what you thought of it? Where was your room located and what were the facilities like? Did you eat in the hotel resturants? What were the pools and pool areas like? Anything else we should know about?!!
Thanks
Ali
 
Sorry, missed the most important bit, had an absolutely brilliant time, can't wait to go back, but I will have to.

As for KSC, we filled our day doing the normal programme so I don't know if any of the tours were affected by the recent tragedy. There were a few touching moments though namely when the visiting astronaut did his speach, he knew all of the members of Columbia but had actually spent some time on a mission with one in particular and admitted that this was the first time he had been able to talk openly about the tragedy. One of the females had a dominant role in the 3D film show which they dedicated to her memory, and also there is a memorial area which was decked in flowers/tributes, all very touching.

ali5on:
can you tell me what you thought of it? Where was your room located and what were the facilities like? Did you eat in the hotel resturants? What were the pools and pool areas like? Anything else we should know about?!!

We were happy with La Quinta. Our room was standard, double beds, bathroom/shower with toilet with a separate "vanity area with wash hand basin. The room had a fridge, iron and ironing board and hairdryer as standard If I had any commplaints it was the size of the bathroom, it was a slight squeeze, but considering we only used for a very small time of the day, we had few complaints. We had maid service everyday who made an excellent job. We stayed in room 518, which was directly by the pool(s) which were heated and used frequently, we were about 30 seconds from the fitness room. I'd say the majority of their rooms have pool/garden view and some unfortunately have view of nothing or car parks! We only used the hotel Pizza Hut and were happy with this, can't comment on the rest as we didn't get the opportunity to use them. We used the laundrette which cost to do one wash and dry $3 for which you can buy tokens in the laundry. We were less than 5 minutes drive away from a Publix (supermarket) which we used almost daily, 5 minute walk from McD's, 24 Hr Walgreens, Ponderossa - great value and Sizzlers the same. If you want anything specifically answered feel free to reply as I learned most of what I knew there from these boards to I definately owe it something, otherwise have a great vacation.
 
Hi

Hope you had a great time - I bet it was over too soon:(

What's security like now at Orlando International in arrivals. Are there still huge queues after immigration, to go through the metal detetctors?

The last time we went (although it was a year ago) we stood in line for 1 hour. Despite the tragedy of Sept 11th, I still had difficulty understanding why this was necessary getting off the plane - On yes, but perhaps I missed soemthing.


Maxine
 
We didn't feel security was very strict and possibly waited only 30 minutes from leaving the plane till we were collecting bags and leaving to collect our car, not bad really but still in force.
 
Hi Elaine

What was the weather like during your stay? Was it warm enough to enjoy the water parks? And what about the evenings, did it go chilly?

Thanks

Ali
 
Really sorry that I havn;t got back until now. We have been moving house from Wolvehampton to the North of Scotland and we have had loads to do with the house to get to the stage of using the computer. However, I can say that yes the weather was really good, apart from one day Sunday 9 Feb 03 when it rained pretty much all day. The rest of the time it was nice and sunny, hot enough for shorts and t-shirts with maybe a thin, long sleeved top in the evenings. We went to Typhoon Lagoon and Wet and Wild and felt comfortably warm the whole time. I suppose someone from Florida may have a different opinion but us Brits would surely have found it very acceptable. As we are now semi-organised, any more questions should be answered in a shorter time-scale.
 
Hi Elaine,

I hope you are now settled in your new home.
Thanks for your reply, the weather sounds just right for us. We shall be flying to Orlando on Saturday so I shall soon be able to find out for myself!

Ali :wave:
 
ali5on
Have a great time. I expect the weather will be even warmer by the time you get there. Awaiting your 'trip report' on your return.
 
Elaine
I've just been reading the desciption of the Four Points Lakeside (La Quinta) hotel in the Virgin brochure and it has prompted me to ask a few more questions. I hope you don't mind.
The brochure states that there is a $3.50 a day resort fee to pay (subject to change). Were you charged this amount?
Did you attend the welcome meeting and if so was it worthwhile?
And finally, did you make use of the kids club ? (I don't know if you have children).
Ali
 
No problem
$3.50 a day resort fee to pay (subject to change). Were you charged this amount?
No, although I was half expecting to be charged it as like yourself I had read this in the brochure and because we had a fridge and a safe in the room I thought it may apply, but I think it was mainly to cover cost of the transport to the parks if you used this facility.

Did you attend the welcome meeting and if so was it worthwhile?
Yes we did go and actually before we got there we weren't going to but the rep at the airport said it was only 15 minutes, and it was. The fact that it didn't take up much time was a bonus but actually I wouldn't say it was a must unless you want to speak about anything in particular and the fact that you have been using these boards means you possibly know everything you want to. We did purchase the Children Eat Free ticket for $15 which meant for every paying adult one child ate free, we used it in Ponderosa and Sizzlers which were 5 minutes away and got our moneys worth.

did you make use of the kids club ?
No, but for no other reason than the fact we didn't have time. When we were there it was on Thurs - Sun I think from 5 - 9 pm with dinner for the kids included. I think I would like to have tried it once as it seems like a good idea if you want a few hours to yourself for a meal for example.

Hope this has helped, feel free to ask anything else.
 
What is the problem with security ? At Gatwick we were all checked about 4 times. We even had to remove our shoes ! When we arrived we had the same checks. Why, well that beats me too. On the flight back from Orlando the check were non-existent. Weren't the planes used on September 11th internal flights, ie taking off from US airports ? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind being checked thoroughly if it ensures our safety, but the least the "authorities" could do is ensure that it's rigidly enforced everywhere.

When we were retrieving our luggage at Gatwick loads of suitcases had been opened in the USA (for security reasons, stickers everywhere) and some had their loacks broken. I don't know if it's a standard check, so it may be worth asking whether you should leave your suitcases unlocked.
 
Yes you should leave your suitcases unlocked as they will take bolt cutters to them if they aren't.Try to make sure any liquids are in plastic bags(preferably in their original bottles) so they can be seen easily and all at once and if you have to take a large amount of medication with you for any reason get a medical note to go with it to avoid any problems.
- Avoid packing radios, compact disc players, pagers, or laptop computers, especially in carry-on luggage. These often set off screening machines and may cause a hand search of luggage. If you bring electronics with you, keep them separate from your luggage until you pass through security, and be prepared to demonstrate that they work so make sure they are charged up.
 












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