Our Magical WDW Adventure -24 Days of Food and Fun-Updated 3/8 -Come Join Us

[ariel2007]

Day 0 ~ The One Where We Party At The Hilton


When we got up today we were so excited, I just couldn't wait to get going and start the first part of the journey on our Magical WDW Adventure. We got showered and ready and then spent a bit of time with the cats before we had to leave. About 2pm we said a sad good-bye to the cats (I hated having to leave them for that long even though they were in good hands) and then checked and double checked we had everything. Then it was time to finally leave for our holiday, the one we had been planning for the last 10 months, we were so excited.

Here is us ready to go:

We had a brief stop at McDonald's down the road from our house for lunch then on to Gatwick it was. Unfortunately it was a miserable day, all cloudy and raining, and it’s quite strange how something like that can have such an effect on your mood. However I was determined to get over it, so I put the IPOD on playing Disney tunes and sung along (as did Nick although he wouldn't admit it ). We arrived at Gatwick valet parking just after 4pm, what perfect timing as it is exactly what time we had told them. The valet parking was so simple, we parked the car, filled out some paperwork and within 5 minutes we were done, so much easier than driving to an off-sight parking lot, having to get our 10 million bags into a packed transfer bus, and then drive for half an hour through rush hour traffic (you may think I’m being OTT but this is exactly what happened to us last time and that was after the 4 hour drive to the airport in a cramped car with no air con. in mid Summer heat, but before the 60 minute bus transfer from Heathrow where we left the car, to Gatwick where we were flying from ). We headed straight to departures for the Virgin Twilight Check-in. Check-in was easy, although I was quite unprepared as I tried to pull a suitcase, carry my hand luggage plus an overnight bag and my holiday folder and the zip lock bag I had just picked up, luckily Nick came to my aid as he always does and we were soon done and had our boarding cards in hand. To our amazement we actually got the seats we had booked online, Wahoo. All checked in we went over to Travelex to collect our dollars, although it took a while they let us have the dollars we had ordered for tomorrow too which was a great help. That done we headed to the Hilton to check in. We had a trainee checking us in who told us unfortunately the card we had put against the room had declined. Um, what card? Nick told her we hadn’t given her a card, she looked really confused and looked at the room card she had in her hand, opps . Oh well, she printed us another card and we were soon in our deluxe room. The room was really nice, it was big and the furnishings were modern and we could see the odd plane from our huge great window. We had a brief cup of coffee and then went back to the airport for tea.


This is the only picture I've got of the room. This is Nick in his 'relaxed' pose:

We went to Frankie and Bennys for tea which is our pre-WDW tradition. We were seated straight away and there were plenty of tables but unfortunately the service was rather slow. We waited a while to order and choose the sharing platter to start which consisted of garlic bread, chicken strips and wings, potato skins, onion rings and bread sticks and a bottle of Chardonnay to drink. It took a while to come but was good but very filling, and I knew I would struggle with my meal even though I didn’t each much of it. For mains I had New York Chicken (chicken with cheese, bacon and barbeque sauce) and Nick had chicken and ribs. I have New York chicken nearly every time I go to Frankie and Bennys but its always disappointing in the one near our house. However it was really good here as was Nicks, but I was so full afterwards I could hardly move (God knows how I’m going to cope with American portions). The meal was really good but the service wasn’t great and really slow and it was expensive compared to what we would be paying in America.
Unfortunately I forgot to get any pictures of the food. I had my camera there and ready and told Nick I must not forget but by the time the starter came we were so hungry it slipped our minds. We remembered after we had eaten it and I told him I can't forget to take one of the mains, and what did we do... yep forgot . I did get one from outside though:

After a lovely last dinner in the UK we headed to Krispy Kreme for dessert to take back to the room and then Marks and Spencers for a bottle of wine. It didn’t take long to get back to the Hilton, it’s such a convenient hotel especially if you are doing twilight check-in and planning on eating in the airport, it saved us having to get a bus back. At the Hilton we stopped at Amy’s bar in the lobby for a drink. Nick had a Mojito and I had a Long Island Iced Tea. The person who made the drinks was training and they were both really strong, mine was so strong I had to have more coke added but they remade it again and it was really good, which it should be at £20 for the two.

Back at the room we organized the money we had picked up. Nick had a shower and once he came out there was a gift bag waiting for him on the bed. I had made up a blue gift bag which I had decorated with Mickey stickers, silver stars and red, white and blue ribbon and tissue paper. Inside was a Tigger flannel, some chocolate raisins and peanuts, cashew nuts, $20 and a $20 Starbucks card. Nick was very impressed, especially that he had $20 to spend all to himself.

We then settled down with some wine, watched some TV and then time for bed.

 

[retiredkid]

Off to a great start!!!

Twenty pounds for two drinks??? Yikes. And I thought the airport hotel bar in Toronto was expensive.

Very nice.... beginning with gifts!! WTG

 

[ariel2007]

Day 0 ~ The One Where We Finally Get There

We had both had a restless night, I don’t know if we were too excited but we both kept waking up every hour or so. At 5.45am I just couldn’t sleep anymore so went and had a shower. By the time I had finished Nick was up too. At 7.30am we checked out of the Hilton and made the 5 minute journey over to departures. Getting through security was much quicker and easier than I had thought it would be, although there is always someone who has forgotten to take out liquids and then holds up the line whilst they search through every corner of their bag to find the bottle of water and moisturizer and mascara and lip gloss etc etc. Once through security we had a look around Duty free, I had made a mental note of all the things I wanted to buy beforehand, all of which were either make-up or perfume. We went to the big duty free shop and parted with the first of our cash, I brought a double pack of YSL Touche Eclait, a YSL blusher, a double sided Lancome mascara and Lacoste Dream of Pink perfume.

It was then time to check into the Virgin Club Lounge, something I was really excited about. At the Club Lounge we were greeted at reception and told about the facilities. In the center were chairs and tables and on one side a huge great window overlooking the planes. At one end of there was the bar area which was set up with fruit, cereals, pastries and juice and the other was the salon which did complimentary treatments, and then there was an area with computers and internet access, all of which was included. We got some comfy chairs overlooking the runway, there were lots of big Virgin planes just outside, it was a great view.

The salon:

The bar area:

Our server came and explained the menu to us, Nick got a latte, I had a mimosa and we both had the Frequent Flyer special which was a BLT ciabatta, all of which was very nice.

Piggles inspecting the menu whilst making some important last minute calls:

At 9am I went to the salon and had a pedicure done which was very nice. I joined Nick again and we got a few more drinks, an orange juice for him with a pain au chocolate, and I Bellini and bowl of fruit for me. I did a quick bit of browsing on the net, caught up with my emails and then it was time to head for our departure gate. The Club Lounge was definitely worth the money, it was so much nicer relaxing with a nice quiet breakfast, cocktails and treatments before our long flight rather than the usual scrum of departures.

At the gate we had a short wait, our fault really for being too pessimistic and not waiting for them to call us at the Club Lounge. Before long however we were boarding, our plane was Virginia Plane, the seats seemed a lot smaller this time and unfortunately we had no proper window. We got settled and soon took off a few minutes late, it was slightly bumpy but we were soon in the clouds and on our way to the most magical place on earth :tinkani:. We both settled down to watch some films, I watched St Trinians first which was ok but it kept me entertained none-the-less. Nick watched I Am Legend which he really enjoyed, I really wanted to watch it when it first came out at the cinema but really wasn’t in the mood to concentrate on it on the plane, I was too excited for a start. During the films drinks and snacks were brought round. After the films we both watched a bit of Little Britain and by that time it was time for lunch. It was the usual trays of plane food, Nick had chicken and mushroom and I had steak and ale for our hot dish, mine was good (I really don’t mind plane food), Nick said his was ok. We got the usual bread roll, cheese and crackers, pasta salad and a yummy chocolate pudding (which Nick couldn’t eat cause it was orange flavored which he hates).

The rest of the flight seemed to go quite slow, every time I went to watch something it had already started so I gave up trying and had a quick nap (quite unusual for me to sleep outbound), read my magazine and filled in the visa forms for us both.


At least Piggles kept himself amused:

And enjoyed his mid-afternoon snack:

I did keep checking back regularly at the little checker thing on the TV to see where we were and how long we had left, maybe thats why it seemed to take so long


3/4 the way there:

A little closer:

Almost there:

Of course we were really excited:

Eventually at 3ish we started to fly over Florida and see land, it was so exciting

At 3.30pm (Florida time) we landed, we were both so excited and relieved to finally be here. We were let off the plane pretty quickly but unfortunately there were big queues in immigration and Nick picked the wrong one (I told him to go for the one next to the US line and sure enough the people in that line got called over and went through way before us) – by this point I was just itching to get through and out into the warm Florida air. Finally through immigration we collected our bags and made our way via the monorail to the Budget Car Hire place. The queues for all the other car hire desks were minimal with just a few people at each, however Budget’s queue was huge, there were probably about 30 people in front of us and only 3 people on check-in. After a very long and frustrating wait (about 90minutes) it was finally our turn, only he couldn’t find our booking, and when he finally did it was in the other terminal (which is not what we had booked). Then Nick’s credit card wouldn’t work. I nearly had a heart attack then and there, they tried it again, tried his other card but no luck. By this point I was really panicking as if we couldn’t get the car we would be completely stuck. Then as a last resort we tried my visa electron and sure enough, despite not working hardly anywhere else, it worked, result... Or not. We then hit another wall, there were no Mustang convertibles like we had booked and this is what Nick had been looking forward to most. After explaining that we had specifically called U.S Rent-a-car, the company we had booked it through, to ask if it would definitely be a Mustang, and were told there would be no problem getting one (when in fact it is one of 6 convertibles they use and the bloke said the chance of getting a mustang is very, very small) he upgraded us to a normal mustang. Phew, at least Nick was happy.
We went to Budgets forecourt and found our Mustang, a lovely shiny red one. Nick instantly fell in love with it, he was so excited to drive it and had been one of the things he had most been looking forward to.

We loaded our luggage into the Mustang (which we named Sally for obvious reasons), and then we were on our way out of the airport. Nick loved driving the Mustang instantly, he was smiling from ear to ear the whole way to the villa, it was so cute.

It was great driving past the lakes, seeing all the theme park signs, the restaurants and fast food places, it didn’t seem real at first, we couldn’t believe we were actually here at last. We then passed Seaworld and Aquatica and then DTD, we were literally bouncing off the walls at this point, I had the video camera in one hand and my other camera in the other trying to capture everything as we drove along. It seemed like forever getting to our villa, we seemed to have driven past all the parks and tourist areas and going to the middle of nowhere. Eventually we saw the sign for Glenbrook and after a brief wrong turn or two we found our villa. It had started raining when we had started driving and it still hadn’t stopped so we had to dash inside quickly. We had a look around the villa, it was very spacious and nicely decorated. There was a lobby room with a sofa and table and chairs, then a laundry room. This was all fairly open plan leading to an open plan living room and kitchen with dining table and breakfast bar. In one direction a corridor led to the two double bedrooms (1 Mickey Mouse themed, the other tropical themed), and one of the masters complete with big bathroom. There was also a further toilet. The lounge led out to the pool, as did the second master bedroom, which we choose. It had a lovely big bathroom which also led onto the pool area. We didn’t get chance to go out to the pool at this point as it was raining pretty hard, a bit disappointing after waiting all this time to see it, then again I’m sure we could wait a few more hours.
Some villa pictures (the outside ones weren't from the first night as it was pouring with rain):

Continued below....

 

[ariel2007]

.... Continued from above.

The lobby room (not sure what its proper name is):

The kitchen / living room:

The two single rooms and second master bedroom:

Our bedroom:

Our initial view out to the pool from the lounge:

We freshened up, we needed it after a 9 hour flight. We had originally planned to go to Red Lobster for tea on our first night which we were really excited about. However we had originally planned to take sat nav. but at the last minute couldn’t so had no idea where the nearest Red Lobster was. We were quite tired, it was raining and we seemed to be a lot further out than we thought so we decided to go to Chili’s (which we had on our reserve list as its one of my favorites but one we have done twice before) as it was just down the road and right next to Walmart. When we got there there was a 10 minute wait for a table so we went to the bar for a drink, I had a tropical sunset margarita which was really good and Nick had a Miller Lite.

We were seated before we even got the drinks, there was only one person at the bar and it was pretty busy as there was some sort of game on. We ordered the Awesome Blossom to start as we have heard so many good reviews. We also got a lemonade for me and sprite for Nick. The Awesome Blossom didn’t take long and was really delicious, It is really moorish and the dip it comes with was really good. I’m very glad we tried it, although we couldn't even eat half, and definitely would have it again.

For mains Nick had a Southwest Big Mouth Burger and I had the steak fajitas. Both were delicious although far too much us. I also had a Presidente Margarita which came in a Chili’s margarita shaker, it was really good and there was lots of it, and it was much cheaper than the ones in the Hilton.


My steak fajitas:

Nicks Southwest Big Mouth Burger (the pictures covered with smoke from my fajitas):

And my Presidente Margarita complete with margarita shaker:

The whole meal was lovely and the service was typically great, the best part was the bill, $55 which was so good compared to last night. It was so nice sitting there in Chili’s, as we sipped on our beer and cocktails there was such a nice feeling knowing we were finally there and that our holiday had actually started for real, and the fact we had been on the go all day. This coupled with the great food and price was the perfect way to start our holiday, and hopefully an indication of what was to come.

After we paid the bill we waddled over to Walmart which was just across the road. The rain had now stopped and the air was really warm and had that lovely Florida smell.

Neither of us had much energy left to look around the whole store tonight so we headed straight for the food and drink section after a quick peek at the Disney goodies. We stocked up on ice-cream, cookies, crisps, soda, Starbucks frappes, water and coffee. I also got my first 3 fridge magnets, uh oh, would this be a sign of things to come too.

The result of our Walmart shop, you may be able to tell we got slightly carried away:

Back to the villa, it was now warm and dark outside and all the trees that lined the entrance to Glenbrook were lit up with clear lights and looked really pretty. We got to the villa, put all the shopping away and then I jumped in the pool, well crept in as it was freezing, despite asking for pool heating. I was straight back out again and unpacked my case. I got my stuff ready for Seaworld tomorrow, put the cameras on to charge and Nick had some ice-cream whilst we watched American TV.

It was then time for bed after a very long but very exciting day .

 

[wdwgirl03]

Yay, you started your TR!!! Love the magnets...very cute. I can't wait to hear all about Sea World-we went there too!

 

[stagemomx3]

Whoo hooo the trip report has started! What a long first day. I love all the food porn!

 

[ariel2007]

Day 1 ~ The One With Whales, Dolphins and a Whole Lot of Cheesecake

Yay, today was officially our first full day in Florida and also our first official theme park day. And of course we had chosen one of our favorites to start the holiday off to a high, the wonderful SeaWorld. Our original plan for today was to get up really early and go to IHOP for breakfast and then get to SeaWorld for opening as we really weren’t sure what the crowds were going to be like during our holiday.
However due to being absolutely exhausted from all the previous days traveling and the fact we were planning on an early lunch at Sharks Underwater Grill we skipped IHOP and opted for an extra hour in bed. After a good nights sleep we were up at 7, luckily the time difference doesn’t affect us on the way out as we are always up till late anyway so we slept well until the alarm went off. For a minute as I rolled over and turned the alarm off and snuggled back under the covers I nearly forgot where I was, and then I realized we were finally there and jumped out of bed like a bat out of hell (sorry, that was the only thing that came into my head as it was one of our holiday songs). Well anyway I jumped out of bed, got showered and dressed as quick as I could and had a coffee (and maybe an Oreo or two) before leaving the villa just after 8. After a brief drive in the wrong direction we were soon back on track and heading to SeaWorld. The drive was much quicker and simpler today and we were soon driving past DTD and all the signs to Disney World, it was so exciting seeing it all and knowing we would be surrounded by all this magic for the next 3 weeks.

Just before 9 we got to the park, paid for preferred parking and then went and got our tickets from guest services. We had a booked the Discovery Cove package which included two weeks at SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens and as we were doing Discovery Cove last we had to take the confirmation to guest services to get our tickets every time we went to those parks which was a bit of a pain. Anyway due to skipping IHOP we were both pretty hungry so though we would get some breakfast first. I know that the point of getting to the parks for opening is to ride the big rides before the queues build up but we were both really hungry and I just wanted to take it slow and relax for our first day. The Cypress Bakery was just inside the gates so we got a cinnamon roll and strawberries with chocolate sauce to share, Nick had a coffee and I had a orange juice.

We sat outside and had a nice relaxed breakfast whilst doing a bit of people watching and then strolled over to Kraken. Kraken had virtually no queue so we went for the front row, waiting about 3 minutes to get on. It was officially our first ride and first rollercoaster of the holiday and it was absolutely brilliant, we have done it before but it was so exciting to be doing our first ride and also riding the front. So as soon as we finished we went straight back on, with no queue at all. We then went on Journey to Atlantis, this had even less queue, the boat in front went with just 2 people in and the one before had none at all. We stupidly went in the front of our boat and got drenched. The first big drop just got us a bit wet but the little drop absolutely soaked us, we were both dripping when we came off.

We walked over to Sharks Underwater Grill and booked a table for lunch, this is one of the restaurants I had most been looking forward to as it was one of my top three last time we went. With our table booked for 12pm we went and visited Pacific Point to see the sea lions something we hadn’t done before. I brought some food and fed them, boy does that fish stink and those birds that hand around there are quite scary.

We went over to the 11am Blue Horizons and despite arriving just after 10.30 the place was already packed and we ended up right at the top in the left corner behind a post, not a great view. Despite the rubbish view the show was very good, better than we both remembered and even Nick really enjoyed it. The show is so colorful, it is quite amazing how they combine acrobatics, whales, dolphins, birds and a whole lot of color, even if the story is a little bit tacky.

Some pictures from Blue Horizon's:

The strange whales - we never really noticed these last time :confused2

When it had finished we didn’t have much time to do anything before our lunch reservation so we went to the Shark Encounter. As we walked through we saw the cage that you go in for the shark dive, Nick was beginning to get really nervous as he is really scared of sharks but really wanted to do the dive. The shark tunnel was cool, although we hardly saw the Sawfish which were very active last time.

Uh Oh... Do we think someone is nervous Nick...?

We checked in for our lunch reservation and after a 20 minute wait we were seated right next to the tank on a great table. I love Sharks Underwater Grill, the cave theming is great and I love the atmosphere in there.


Outside Sharks:

Our server took our order and brought us some yummy warm bread rolls, they were kind of spicy and different to last time but were really good. To drink Nick had a sprite and I had a Sharks Fin cocktail which was bud, blue curaco and sweet and sours, it was nice but very strong and had a slightly weird taste, I probably wouldn’t chose it again. For mains Nick had the Crab Cakes with wasabi slaw and I had the filet mignon in demi-glace with gouda cheese, fried yucca cake and vegetables. Both were the same as we had last time and both were as good as we remembered, the steak was cooked perfectly and the yucca cake was really tasty, even the vegetables were good. We both loved it all.

Our food:

Nick's crab cakes:

My steak:

Some pictures from our table:

Continued below...

 

[ariel2007]

... Continued from above.

The shark dive tank with some poor, unsuspecting bait...I mean passengers:

After a very nice meal and the purchase of a sharks tooth pin we strolled over to the Hospitality centre where we both got a free Rolling Rock and sat outside in the sun. We sat overlooking the waterfalls and flowers, it felt kind of tropical and was so nice to relax in the sun after all those weeks of rushing around, it is always these little unplanned moments of relaxation that help make holidays perfect.

So after our little rest we went to the Shamu Stadium, brought a frozen lemonade and went to get some seats for Believe. Unfortunately due to forgetting to bring the waterproof case for the camera we couldn’t sit in the splash zone so had to sit in the second section, which despite having just opened was already nearly full so it was the back for us again. Whilst we waited I wrote my diary and by the time I finished the show was starting. The show was very good, I love the Shamu show, it is always so amazing to see the killer whales and all the amazing things they can do.

Some Believe pictures:

After Believe we wondered over the boardwalk, did a bit of shopping and then made our way out of SeaWorld.

We drove back to the villa where the maintenance guy was trying to get the pool heating working, except it was missing a part and they only found that out now. By the time he left we were very hot so we grabbed a pepsi and went to go for a swim. Unfortunately the pool was just too cold without the heating so we got ourselves ready and headed out to Mall at Millenia for some shopping.

The mall was pretty easy to find, it was quite far from our villa, just past Universal. I had been here before the first time I came with Mum but Nick hadn’t and he loves going to malls - he is like Dad in the fact that whenever we go on holiday he gets this weird fascination with shopping and wants to go to any mall or shopping center there is, and when we get there does he buy anything, nope not one thing.

Well we had a look around, they have some really good shops here, Macys, Bloomingdales, a good surf shop and gadget shop (Nick loves gadgets), and lots of upmarket shops like Tiffanys, Gucci etc. I brought some make-up in Macy’s, a Benefit mascara and a Clinique eyeliner, unfortunately the YSL Radiant Touch foundation I use was no cheaper here so I left that for duty free on the way back. We went into the Sunglass Hut, something we did a million times on this holiday, Nick brought us both some Oakleys, something he does every holiday we go on. We then went to Tiffany’s and I got a gorgeous necklace which I had been looking at beforehand on the internet. Nick also brought me a ring but I had to wait till our anniversary to have it, I’m sure I could wait a few more days if it meant getting a gorgeous Tiffany’s ring. It was really nice walking out of Tiffany’s carrying that lovely little blue bag containing two lovely little blue boxes, I could really get used to this.
After a few hours shopping we were getting really hungry so we went to the Cheesecake Factory for tea. This was another meal we were really excited about as it was another favorite from last time, and of course to get some of that delicious cheesecake. We were seated pretty quickly and our server was very friendly. I had a mango daiquiri to drink and Nick had a sprite, and we shared the Thai lettuce wraps to start which were ‘Chicken Strips, Carrots, Bean Sprouts, Coconut Curry Noodles and Lettuce Leaves with Three Delicious Spicy Thai Sauces — Peanut, Sweet Red Chili and Tamarind-Cashew’. The wraps were delicious, the chicken, sauces and all the bits went really well together, the peanut sauce was especially nice, it was a very good choice and definitely something I would choose again.

I forgot to take a picture of the wraps, we were too hungry, but this is what they looked like

For mains we shared beef ribs and a double bacon cheeseburger both came with fries and onion rings. Both meals were delicious, the ribs were so tender they fell off the bone and they had no fat on at all but lots of meat, they were especially delicious. I also had a pomegranate margarita which was so yummy, I love margaritas and the pomegranate flavoring gave it extra flavor.

Some food and drink pictures:

We were really stuffed after our meal, I knew after we had had the lettuce wraps that I was going to struggle but it was all so good. But we couldn’t miss the main part, the cheesecake. We brought 2 bits of cheesecake to go, one strawberry and one key lime, last time we brought really fussy ones and although they were delicious they kind of took the cheesecake taste away so we wanted ones that were a bit plainer this time.


Ready for this... Cheesecake pictures :grin::

Continued below...

 

[ariel2007]

.... Continued from above.

We then brought our first Starbucks of the holiday as it was right opposite and we just couldn’t resist, 2 caramel lattes to go please.
As we left Mall at Millenia it looked really nice, it was all lit up outside and they had a lighting feature in the entrance bit by the fountains. It still felt weird stepping outside into the dark and it being so warm, it was so nice.

We stopped at Walmart on the way back to the villa, this time to have a proper look around. This store is so huge, they literally sell everything. We were quite good today though and limited ourselves to 2 Disney thermos cups which we brought so we could take coffee on-the-go in the mornings, Tink Spirit body butter and body lotion which had a delicious smell of mangos, a really cool Tinkerbell pen for Sophie (its a light-up pen with a Tinkerbell stamp on the top and a bubble blower in the middle) and some other essentials.

Back at the villa we chilled out for a while, Nick played pool as I wrote my diary and sorted our money and things ready for the next day. Then it was time for bed.

Todays purchases:

 

[retiredkid]

Ariel, I've been posting and you've been updating!!
What a lot of writing you've done today. This is a wonderful TR and I'm in for the long haul.

I'm tired just reading about everything you guys did.
P.S. hope the pool heater gets turned on.

 

[ariel2007]

Ok as you might see I haven't quite got the hang of taking pictures of food yet. I forgot completely with the lettuce wraps at The Cheesecake Factory and as you saw I only remembered half way through with lunch at Sharks. It became a regular occurence on our holiday for us to start our meal only for me to shout at Nick to "Stop eating now, put that down" so I could take those all important pictures. He was not impressed as I did it for the hundreth time, luckily he has the patience of a saint

 

[ariel2007]

The One With Sheikra, The Scaredy Cat and The Sheriff

We had an early start today as we were going to Busch Gardens and wanted to be there for opening at 9.30am. We were up at 6.45am, showered and dressed and managed to be on the road just after 7.45am. The journey to Tampa was pretty straight forward, until Nick got pulled over by the sheriff that was . At first we didn’t know who the sheriff was pulling over, us or the car in front. The car in front pulled over and so we carried on, but then the policeman pointed at us with a very scary glare and told us to pull over. The policeman was speaking to the other driver whilst Nick and I sat there trying to work out what we had done wrong. He then came over and asked if Nick knew what “Yield to the flashing lights meant”, What? It turned out he had pulled us over cause he had been trying to pull the car in front over for speeding and Nick didn’t slow down quick enough after he cut right in front of us, apparently obstructing him from his job .
Well with that drama over we carried on to Tampa, arriving just before 9am which was great timing. We hadn’t had breakfast as we didn’t want anything big due to the big rollercoasters which lay ahead for us. There was a McDonalds nearby so we stopped there and got 2 sausage and egg Mcmuffin meals for breakfast and then drove over to Busch Gardens and ate them in the car park. By the time we had finished it was opening time so we walked straight into the park with no queues.

Busch Gardens entrance:

We got a locker as we had some spare clothes for after the water rides, last time we did them we got absolutely soaked and didn’t know if we would be going straight for dinner after the park. We headed straight to Montu and walked straight on the ride. Montu is such a brilliant coaster although I always come off a little dizzy, it’s definitely one of the best, second only to Sheikra at Busch Gardens. It was then time for the dreaded Sheikra, something I had really been looking forward to doing. However Nick refused to go on it last time, the only rollercoaster he wouldn’t do as he doesn’t particularly like heights and hates the fact it hangs over the edge. But since Paul wasn’t there to go on with me (we did it 3 times in a row last time we loved it so much), Nick, being the amazing boyfriend he is had agreed before the holiday that he would do it so I could ride (I’m too much of a wimp to do it alone). He had been absolutely dreading it since he agreed and kept going on about how scared he was, although this became a regular occurrence with quite a few of the thing we had booked or planned. Well he managed to conquer his fear and rode, although he was very quiet and slightly pale. We did have to sit in the back row which was a shame as I love the front row but I did get to sit on the end which is great. I would have loved to ride again, Nick was not convinced and for the next hour still complained about the ride even when I reminded him we had done it and it was over.

Sheikra:

Will he do it???

Tidal Wave was close by and despite originally planning to do the water rides last we thought we may as well since we were right next to it. There was not a single person on the ride or anywhere near the ride for that matter, so we got a boat to ourselves. The ride hasn’t got much to look at, the odd hut and skull, the theming is quite good but there is no story or nothing really happens until the drop. Despite this it was nice just sitting there in the sun chilling out... and then we came to the drop. Did we get wet? Wet is the understatement of the year, we got absolutely soaked. We thought we may as well get the Congo River Rapids done as well since we were so wet already so we walked there via Jungla. I had been looking forward to seeing Jungla, its always great when there is something new. However I’ve got to admit I thought it was a bit of a disappointment, I was expecting there to be lots to see, lots of colour and new exhibits but it was quite small and not that jungley. There was a white tiger and tiger exhibit (just moved from where it was before), a small orangatan enclosure and then a small area with some rope bridges, climbing bits, water fountains and 2 small rides.

Some Jungla pictures:

We rode the Wild Surge ride there but the rest was more for children so we moved on to the river rapids. Again we were straight on, typically with an English family, and again we got absolutely soaked, Nick and I definitely came off the wettest.
Slightly uncomfortable with how wet we now were, we made our way to Kumba and rode. This ride is good and very, very fast but it banged my head around slightly. We then grabbed a frozen lemonade and a spot in the sun and tried to dry off a bit.

We were getting hungry so we walked back to our locker, we planned to get the Sky train but it was having technical difficulties. I got changed in to some nice dry clothes and then we went to Crown Colony for lunch. We were seated straight away in a nice spot overlooking Montu and the Serengeti, very different to the long wait we had last time. We both ordered the Colonial Feast which is chicken or fish, mash or fries (we had both of each), vegetables, coleslaw, dressing (like cornbread), tartar sauce, relish and gravy. Our drinks (lemonade for me and pepsi for Nick) and bread rolls were brought out straight away and the rest shortly after. The food was delicious, I especially liked the coleslaw, and Nick the dressing (he ate about 2 bowls of it) but all of it was really good and tasty. We got seconds of the fish and chicken and we were absolutely stuffed when we finished.

Crown Colony:

The view from our table:

And the food:

After paying the bill, which was so reasonable for the amount and quality of the food and the lovely setting, we made our way out and over to Rhino Rally. This ride always gives me strong memories of our first trip with Mum when I was picked to be the navigator. It was quite a funny ride as I am quite shy and hate being picked on so the driver kept asking me questions and I kept whispering answers and then looking out the window in hopes he wouldn’t ask me anything else... which of course he did. It was so funny and then American’s on the back of the bus kept cheering my name as I took the wrong turning and got everyone lost, uh oh. This time however the water part of the ride was down unfortunately but it was still good. The driver was quite funny and again there was absolutely no queue, probably a good thing as the ride was over really quickly without the water part.


Rhino Rally:

Some Busch Gardens pictures:

Continued below...

 

[ariel2007]

...Continued from above.

We had now done everything we wanted to do, it was really hot so we decided to head back to the villa for a rest and swim. We had a quick look round the gift shops, there wasn’t very much we wanted (which is strange) but we brought a few things and then headed out.

On the drive back to the villa we spotted a 24hour Starbucks off one of the exits. We of course made a slight detour for our second Starbucks in 3 days. Nick got a coffee frappuccino and I had a caramel one which we had as we sat outside in the sun.

We also spotted this which we thought was really cool:

Back at the villa we had a rest. Nick caught up on the football and I phoned home and the company we booked our manatee swim with to find out our pick-up details. Our pool heating still hadn’t been fixed but we decided to take a dip anyway. We only stayed in for about 10 minutes because it was really cold, even during the hottest part of the day with the sun shining on us. We had a shower and got dressed and then headed out for dinner.
We had planned to go to Texas de Brazil which is on I-Drive, right past Wet n’ Wild and next to Prime Outlets. However when we got there we were told they were fully booked, we hadn’t realised how popular it was. We had passed a Red Lobster up the road so knew instantly where to go instead. We were seated straight away although it did take a while to get served. Nick had a pepsi and I had a Lobsterita cocktail. When it came we were both amazed, it was huge, and really delicious. Neither of us could manage a starter so we both went straight for mains. We both chose the Create Your Own Feast, Nick had garlic jumbo shrimp and crab linguini with fries and I had garlic jumbo shrimp and coconut shrimp with baked potato which was topped with butter and sour cream. We were also brought really nice cheese biscuits to start, they were so yummy but also very filling. The meal was very nice, the garlic shrimp was delicious, as was the baked potato, the coconut shrimp was good too but not quite what I was expecting. Nick was also impressed with his so overall a very good meal. The meal was also very reasonable, especially the cocktail at only $8, I would have had more if I had known.

Cheddar cheese biscuits:

Nicks:

Mine:

And my delicious Lobsterita:

Full to the brim we drove back to the villa. We drove along I-drive and got to see all the attractions, Wet n’ Wild, Universal, all the restaurants and gift shops, Wonderworks, Orange County Convention Centre, Disney, it was great to see it all lit up at night.
Back at the villa we chilled out for half an hour then had a well needed early night.


Some of todays purchases:

 

[TrueEeyore]

LOVE LOVE LOVE the updates!!!!! I just want to keep on reading but there isn't anything else yet! I love your writing and all of your pictures, they're fabulous. Great food pictures too!

I'm like this > waiting for the next installment.

 

[SnoopyDancer]

I just found your trip report and have gotten caught up. I enjoyed reading it and loved your pictures...especially those taken in England. I have always wanted to visit, and one of these days I will.

I was intrigued by a book you bought your boyfriend for his birthday (or that was packed in his suitcase) about ants. It looked like a fun read. I would assume the answer to the title question is yes, but then you know what they say about assumptions... Sorry, that was lame...

Anyhow, I can't wait to read more about your adventures. It won't be much longer until you're on your next trip to NYC.

Since your sister likes Hannah Montana, I thought I would share a story. My friend and her eight-year-old daughter were shopping at the Cool Springs Galleria in Tennessee when they saw Miley hanging out with a couple of her friends. The eight-year-old went up to say hi and was disappointed because Miley blew her off. In fairness to Miley, she was there with a boy. Perhaps, Miley wished she had an alter ego, so she could hang out without being noticed. Nevertheless, the eight-year-old still enjoys watching her show.

 

[MissMichelle]

this trippie is AWESOME!!! you have so much going on in each of your trips and the pictures are so much fun to see!

Can't wait to read more

 

[lmillercrew]

FANTASTIC TR!!! I am so excited and happy to be reading your report. I've been waiting a very long time. You are doing a great job and can't wait to read more. Can you explain Duty Free to me and how it work? We have traveled to Mexico and I've seen the duty free shops, but I thought it was only for alcohol and don't really get it. Anyway, hope to read more soon.

 

[ariel2007]

Thanks everyone for your kind words, glad your enjoying it

FANTASTIC TR!!! I am so excited and happy to be reading your report. I've been waiting a very long time. You are doing a great job and can't wait to read more. Can you explain Duty Free to me and how it work? We have traveled to Mexico and I've seen the duty free shops, but I thought it was only for alcohol and don't really get it. Anyway, hope to read more soon.

Duty free is generally shops, usually in the departure areas of airports, where national taxes are not applied to goods sold. Therefore things can be quite a bit cheaper. Most airport duty free shops sell brand name make-up, alcohol, perfume, sunglasses and jewelery. Bigger airports, like London Gatwick and Heathrow, have lots of shops like designer ones and surf shops which also sell duty free.

 

[ariel2007]

Day 4 ~ The One Where We Celebrate With Sharks

Today was our 4 1/2 year dating anniversary so we wanted to make it extra special and had a great day planned. We had decided last night to switch our plans a little bit and go to IHOP for breakfast instead of Golden Corral. So we had a bit of a lie-in and didn’t get up till 9am. We felt much better for the extra hour or so in bed and got ready quickly and were out by 10am. We went to IHOP on the 192 for breakfast, we thought it would be quieter than the one on I-Drive, turns out we were wrong. It was pretty busy and we were met by 2 grumpy ladies who were quite abrupt and rude. Our server wasn’t any better, he seemed like he couldn’t be bothered and wasn’t at all friendly to us apart from when he brought us the bill. We had been looking forward to IHOP. Usually if we had breakfast out we would go to a buffet but thought it would be nice to try one with a menu and had driven past and heard about IHOP many times. I had looked up the menu on the internet and the breakfasts looked really good, I couldn’t wait to try it. We ordered our breakfast and were brought a pot of coffee to the table, always a great way to start the day. Our food took a bit longer than normal but luckily was very good. We both had the breakfast sampler which was 2 eggs, 2 bacon, 2 sausage links, 2 ham strips and hash browns. Nick had his with the regular pancakes and I had mine with stuffed French toast with strawberry topping. The food was very good, both the sampler and the French toast were really yummy but very filling. The breakfast was a nice start to the day but suffered a bit due to the service, and it was quite expensive in comparison to the buffet breakfasts we usually had.

Waiting for breakfast:

Nicks 'Breakfast sampler with pancakes:

My Breakfast sampler with french toast and strawberry topping:

After breakfast we headed to I-drive to play Congo River Golf. We had never played mini-golf in Orlando before and had seen so many course whilst driving along I-Drive and the 192. I had read about Congo River Golf though and it sounded really good, particularly the course next to The Sheraton. Round the front of the course near the front desk there are alligators which you can feed. The course itself is very well themed, there were palms trees and waterfalls everywhere so it felt really tropical and there were also crashed planes and trucks. The golf was really fun, and it was actually much closer than we thought it would be considering Nick’s a golfer and I have only played mini-golf about twice in my life. It was really nice chilling out playing, it was really sunny and hot which worked great with the tropical theme and the location is brilliant, you can see Wet n’ Wild, lots of restaurants and stores along I-Drive and IOA in the distance. They also have basketball hoops which you can play, there were some kids having great fun there.

Once we finished our round of golf we grabbed a lemonade and headed to Seaworld. Once parked we went and checked in for our Shark Dive and the Makahiki Luau. We were given some paperwork to look over and sign and then the girl told us where to go for both our reservations. We browsed the shops and then headed over to Wild Arctic where we had to meet our guide. We had 30 minutes to spare so looked in the Wild Arctic shop and then sat in the sun and waited. We were soon met by our guide Lee and as he walked us to the prepping room he explained that he used to be a diver and SeaWorld had approached him and another guy some years ago and asked them to write a programme so guests could swim with the sharks. They thought SeaWorld were mad putting people with sharks but they designed the programme and now they have the Shark Deep Dive programme. Lee took us to a little classroom which had pictures of sharks all over the walls. He spent some time explaining everything about the programme to us including the tanks structure, how the helmets worked exactly and what we would be doing. He then showed us some pictures of the sharks we would be with and told us a little about them. He made sure we had no unanswered questions and made sure we were both excited, he also reassured us and told us they have a 100% safety record, phew. He showed us round the changing facilities which had showers, toilets, lockers and towels and then fitted us with wet suits, boots and gloves. We got changed and put our things in the lockers and then Lee gave us a bottle of water each. He then took us to the shark facility on a cart, we drove round the backstage areas, and although there wasn’t much to see it was still pretty cool. Once there we were both pretty nervous but really excited too, Lee had made sure we knew everything we needed to know about the programme and the sharks which made us much more relaxed. Lee then introduced us to Nicola, she would be in the water at the top, keeping an eye on us, along with Lee and another girl, Julie. Julie and Nicola were both shark experts and were in charge of looking after the sharks at Seaworld so they could answer any questions we had about the sharks and fish in the tank. Lee showed us the tank itself, where we would be going and gave us some facts about it, pointing out some of the sharks and what they were. There was a shallow pool at the top of the tank which is mainly for medical reasons, its where all the sharks get there yearly physicals and also where Julie and Nicola would be throughout our dive. It was then time to enter the pool, the water was really cold, good job we had wetsuits on. We had some pictures taken and then Nicola showed us the helmets, showed us how to communicate with each other and them, explained how we would get in the tank and what to do in emergencies. She asked who would go first, and Nick said me, yes thanks Nick. At this point I was really nervous and didn’t fancy being in the tank alone but knew Nick had been really scared beforehand so thought I would be nice to him. The helmet was lowered on to my shoulders, it was so heavy, it weighed 75lbs out of the water but is much lighter once you are under the water. I then had to kneel down at the edge of the shallow pool and then step down into the tank which was quite a bit lower in the water. At first I felt a bit wobbly and worried I wouldn’t be able to stay still but it was quite easy to stay down once I got used to it. Nick then entered and once he was in they shut the gate and we were off. The tank runs along a wire from one end of the tank to the other and then back again. The sharks, fish and sawfish swam all around, at first it was a bit scary but then it was really cool. I had been worried about getting water in the helmet as if you lean forward or turn your head it will fill with water, which will then empty when you move again. However I had no water in it and no ear pressure, everything was good. It was quite strange though as the handles on the tank were quite hard to actually reach, they looked closer than they were. The two small toothed sawfish they have in the tank were both on the bottom to begin which is why we probably couldn’t see them from Sharks Underwater Grill the other day. However they were soon swimming around together, Lee said this is very uncommon and we were lucky to see it. He had also told us before they are really endangered and there were only 1000 left, SeaWorld are trying to help save them and hope to have babies soon. Nick couldn’t really hear when I spoke to him but the girls at the top checked in every now and then to see if we were ok and they gave us information on the fish if we needed it. The water was pretty cold as my wetsuit was too big and the helmet was so heavy (15lb in the water) but it was truly an amazing experience and one I would love to do again. It was also cool to see all the people in the shark tunnel and Sharks Underwater Grill. It was kind of scary not looking behind the tank as the sharks kept disappearing back there and in some places it was quite dark, but it was good to sit on our knees and see everything swim past.
Eventually it was time for our dive to finish, it felt like we had been in the water for ages, we had lots of time to look around and see all the sharks and fish. Nick was pulled out to the shallow pool first and then me and they took our helmets off. They asked if we enjoyed it and had any questions and then we said thanks to the girls and Lee took us back to the prep room. He was really glad to hear we had a good time and gave us some more information about the dive, the sharks and the park.
We got showered and dressed, there was a woman from Canada in the changing room getting ready to do the dive. She asked me all about the dive and about Coronation Street which is apparently really popular in Canada!?! Once ready Lee gave us a Shark Deep Dive t-shirt and a really good shark book each. He kept chatting to us, making sure we had a good time and had no other questions. We were then back at Wild Artic and it was time to say goodbye to Lee. We are both really glad we did this tour as it was great. Lee was brilliant and gave us so much information about the programme, how it began, how it works, the sharks and fish, the park etc. The dive itself was really amazing, such a once in a lifetime experience. SeaWorld have done such a good job putting this programme together, everything was really good and the so professionally run, we would both definitely recommend it.

We went to the picture desk by Guest services to have a look at our photos. We brought a package with a few big ones and 2 keyrings as well as a shark mousemat which oyu can put photos in. They don’t really take many photos though, just a few with the helmets before we did the dive. We also filled out a questionnaire about the tour and Nick took our stuff back to the car whilst I looked in the shop.
We did some shopping and got a nice shark frame for our pictures and then went and visited the rays.

Some SeaWorld pictures:

It was now 5.30pm so we headed to the Seafire Inn in the Waterfront for the Makahiki Luau. Whilst we waited 3 men came along and did a short sketch with some boxes and a trolley cart, it was quite funny and kept us entertained whilst we waited.

The Waterfront:

Seafire Inn:

We were then let in to the first part of the Seafire Inn, we were greeted with a ley, had a photo taken and then given a mai tai to drink whilst we sat outside in the sun. Just after 6pm we were taken into the theatre which was decorated like a seafront village with dolphin shadows on the walls and little lights hanging around the room. Our seats were great, right at the front in the middle, we were seated with a Dutch couple and an American family. There was a plate of salad with sweet bread for each person and jugs of iced tea and water on the tables. Our server came round and offered us other drinks, pepsi products were included but anything else was extra. I got a blue lagoon cocktail, I’m not sure what was in it but it was very good and came in a souvenir glass. Nick ordered a pepsi, along with most other people on our table but the server forgot to bring his. When she came back about 10 minutes later Nick mentioned it and she said she would get it, but then we didn’t see her until after she brought our dinner, minus Nicks drink again. Finally he got it about 40 minutes in to the show, not a great start. The show itself started with a woman telling a story and then some Polynesian dancing. There were some fire jugglers which were very good and a few dances before dinner was brought out. Dinner was ribs, chicken in sweet and sour sauce, mahi mahi in pina colada sauce, chicken fried rice and vegetables. The food was good, but nothing was amazing, the ribs were tasty but had hardly any meat on, the chicken was a bit dry and although I was glad I tried the mahi mahi it wasn’t to my taste. It was also a bit awkward sharing with the other couple. When we finished dinner there was some audience participation and then back to the dancing. Whilst the dancing was on a dessert of sponge with chocolate and peanut butter sauce was brought out which was very, very good. The show finished with more audience participation which was really funny and then it was time to go.

Some dinner show pictures:

The theatre:

The salad and sweet bread:

My Blue Lagoon:

The food (sorry its not a great picture I got embarrassed taking it and wouldn't put the flash on):

Continued below...

 

[ariel2007]

... Continued from above.


The delicious dessert:

The fire juggler:

Some of the dancing:

This little girl was so cute, she shock her bottom like Beyonce:

The dinner show was good although the service lacked a little and the food wasn’t amazing. Nick wasn’t very impressed, he much preferred the Disney one (as did I) and the Dutch couple were not impressed at all. We were given review cards at the end and I saw they had rated it very poor. When she came to the table she would stand at the end by the American family and primarily address them. She would, as an afterthought talk to us but the Dutch couple were pretty much ignored, never offered more drinks, asked if they were ok etc. Despite this I enjoyed myself, I am glad we tried it although it wouldn’t be one we would go back to in the near future.


It was then time to say goodbye to SeaWorld which was very sad, we had had such a lovely day today and on our last visit, I couldn’t believe we wouldn’t be coming back again.

We headed back to the car and on the way back to the villa we stopped at one of those massive gift shops. We were not impressed though, it was all overpriced and pretty rubbish. Nick was still hungry as we didn’t eat very much so we grabbed a pizza from Domino's and headed back to the villa.

We had some pizza whilst we watched some TV and then it was time for bed after a lovely day.

Oh and as promised a picture of the gorgeous Tiffany's ring Nick brought me: