UKDEB
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- Jul 7, 2000
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Saturday, 8th November
Im awoken at around 8am by some inconsiderate git yelling at his kids as he passes our room. It quickly registers that in my drunken stupor last night, I failed to put in my ear plugs (anyone whos ever tried to sleep within 3 blocks of Matt, will tell you that theyre essential kit, although it appears that 16 margaritas work equally well). Not only am I feeling extremely fragile, but having only eaten half a burger and half a dozen fries yesterday, Im also ravenously hungry. Matt goes off in search of sustenance and quickly returns with a couple of orange juices, a croissant for me and a pastry for him. Thanks to my bloating issues, I seem to have developed a slight food phobia, so eat just half.
Were both paying the price for our antics last night and take our time getting ready. Its 10:30am before we make our way out of the room headed for Universal Studios. Even by our standards, its a very leisurely stroll across to CityWalk. Matts disappointed not to be reunited with his half-drunk glass of Bourbon at the security checkpoint. Someones clearly made off with it. My moneys on rickshaw boy.
The lines at the turnstiles are short, but they make a real song and dance of getting folks through them. This is one area where Disney is undoubtedly more professional. On the face of it, it seems busier here than at Islands of Adventure yesterday, but the crowds milling around the turnstiles (both inside and out) seem to vaporise as we move further into the park and even now, at 11am, the reported wait times are minimal.
We mosey on in the direction of the new Simpsons ride and take a stroll through the gardens along Sunset Blvd, taking photos of the view across the lake. No matter how busy the parks are, theres always somewhere you can be virtually alone and we enjoy scoping out these areas. The large Cinesphere globes out on the lake are a real blot on the landscape and Im surprised to see them as I thought the show only ran through the summer season.
We havent bought any souvenirs so far this trip and were keen to take a look inside Kwik-E-Mart. We see a couple of things we want, but we dont want to lug them around with us so we make the decision to return later. As we exit the shop, Homer is outside on his lonesome so we take advantage of the photo op. [Unfortunately we forgot all about it until Matt found the ticket later in the trip, so we dont have the evidence. D'oh!]
We spend some time taking in the area around the ride before joining the Express Line. The wait is around 15 minutes although, as its an all new experience for us, it doesnt seem that long and the holding areas do a good job of keeping us entertained. We both enjoy the ride, particularly the Pirates of the Caribbean and Shamu send-ups.
Men in Black is one of Matts favourites, so we head there next. Both Express and Standard lines are walk-ons. As we wander on through Amity Avenue and The Embarcadero, I have the sudden realisation that I've forgotten to put on deodorant this morning. Im not sure whether its the alarming onset of gushing or the overwhelming stench which alerts me first. Actually Im neither sweaty nor smelly, so I really dont know what caused this little truth to pop into my head, but now it has, I can think of nothing else. I become convinced that it can be only a matter of time before I start to honk and so theres nothing for it but to head back to the room. We do take the time on the way out to walk through the Monsters Café as weve never been inside. Total chaos ensues as monsters run screaming through every exit, holding their noses as they go.
Given the potentially disastrous Florida heat/lack of deodorant combo, providence suggests we take the water taxi back to the hotel, but we just miss one and dont want to wait. During the walk back we discuss lunch options. Matt would happily go back to Margaritaville, but there are too many other choices here for me to settle for that. He suggests the Nascar Sports Grille, but Im feeling the need for a deli-style sandwich or something of that nature. However, Im keen to go to a proper restaurant tonight and, knowing I might have a bit of a fight on my hands, a compromise seems in order. Nascar Sports Grille for lunch in exchange for a non-bar-propping experience this evening? Done. We toy with Bice, Emerils and Tchoup Chop, eventually settling on the latter. Despite a less than stellar experience last time we ate there, we both agree that it will be nice to relax and not have too far to go.
A quick wash and deodorise and were back out of the room by 1.15pm. We pop our collective head into Jakes, but it doesnt open until 2pm. We take a look at the menu for Islands which really appeals to me at this moment in time. I quite like the place, but Matt isnt keen. As we pass Tchoup Chop on the way to the boat dock, were surprised to find that its open for lunch. We briefly consider it, but concur that its probably nicer as a dinner venue. We do take the opportunity, though to pop in and make a reservation for 7:30 this evening. They seem to know more about me than I do myself apparently Im still listed in their database. I make a mental note to skip the table-top dance routine this time.
We have an unusually long wait for the water taxi, but were in mega-chill-out mode today and contentedly sit at the dock soaking up our surroundings. Just when it seems the wait is over, the approaching boat moors up on the opposite side of the lake. We watch as the Captain re-fuels before finally making his way over to board us. We sit at the front with Bobby, our Captain, and he regales us with an interesting tale about Richard Branson. [By all accounts, Bobby one day found himself ferrying Sir Dickie from Royal Pacific to CityWalk. He informed Bobby that his father would be following him over shortly and that he was to take good care of him. Sure enough, 30 minutes or so later, a fairly frail octogenarian boarded and told Bobby he was meeting his son at CityWalk. On arrival, though, RB was nowhere to be seen. Bobby made sure that Mr Branson Senior was attended to and he in turn assured Bobby that he would be fine. Another 30 minutes went by and Sir Richard reboarded, demanding to know why Bobby hadnt taken care of his father as hed promised. Naturally, Bobby explained what had happened. RB told him that his mother had also decided to join him and would be making the journey over very soon. Needless to say, Bobby took equally good care of Mrs Branson, but once again RB wasnt there to meet her. Later that day, Sir Richard appeared again and congratulated Bobby on his excellent service standards explaining that, each time, he had actually been transporting RB himself. Apparently, he quite mystery shops Virgin partners and even his own companies in character. I guess being a multi-millionaire must become boring after a while
.]
Im awoken at around 8am by some inconsiderate git yelling at his kids as he passes our room. It quickly registers that in my drunken stupor last night, I failed to put in my ear plugs (anyone whos ever tried to sleep within 3 blocks of Matt, will tell you that theyre essential kit, although it appears that 16 margaritas work equally well). Not only am I feeling extremely fragile, but having only eaten half a burger and half a dozen fries yesterday, Im also ravenously hungry. Matt goes off in search of sustenance and quickly returns with a couple of orange juices, a croissant for me and a pastry for him. Thanks to my bloating issues, I seem to have developed a slight food phobia, so eat just half.
Were both paying the price for our antics last night and take our time getting ready. Its 10:30am before we make our way out of the room headed for Universal Studios. Even by our standards, its a very leisurely stroll across to CityWalk. Matts disappointed not to be reunited with his half-drunk glass of Bourbon at the security checkpoint. Someones clearly made off with it. My moneys on rickshaw boy.
The lines at the turnstiles are short, but they make a real song and dance of getting folks through them. This is one area where Disney is undoubtedly more professional. On the face of it, it seems busier here than at Islands of Adventure yesterday, but the crowds milling around the turnstiles (both inside and out) seem to vaporise as we move further into the park and even now, at 11am, the reported wait times are minimal.
We mosey on in the direction of the new Simpsons ride and take a stroll through the gardens along Sunset Blvd, taking photos of the view across the lake. No matter how busy the parks are, theres always somewhere you can be virtually alone and we enjoy scoping out these areas. The large Cinesphere globes out on the lake are a real blot on the landscape and Im surprised to see them as I thought the show only ran through the summer season.
We havent bought any souvenirs so far this trip and were keen to take a look inside Kwik-E-Mart. We see a couple of things we want, but we dont want to lug them around with us so we make the decision to return later. As we exit the shop, Homer is outside on his lonesome so we take advantage of the photo op. [Unfortunately we forgot all about it until Matt found the ticket later in the trip, so we dont have the evidence. D'oh!]
We spend some time taking in the area around the ride before joining the Express Line. The wait is around 15 minutes although, as its an all new experience for us, it doesnt seem that long and the holding areas do a good job of keeping us entertained. We both enjoy the ride, particularly the Pirates of the Caribbean and Shamu send-ups.
Men in Black is one of Matts favourites, so we head there next. Both Express and Standard lines are walk-ons. As we wander on through Amity Avenue and The Embarcadero, I have the sudden realisation that I've forgotten to put on deodorant this morning. Im not sure whether its the alarming onset of gushing or the overwhelming stench which alerts me first. Actually Im neither sweaty nor smelly, so I really dont know what caused this little truth to pop into my head, but now it has, I can think of nothing else. I become convinced that it can be only a matter of time before I start to honk and so theres nothing for it but to head back to the room. We do take the time on the way out to walk through the Monsters Café as weve never been inside. Total chaos ensues as monsters run screaming through every exit, holding their noses as they go.
Given the potentially disastrous Florida heat/lack of deodorant combo, providence suggests we take the water taxi back to the hotel, but we just miss one and dont want to wait. During the walk back we discuss lunch options. Matt would happily go back to Margaritaville, but there are too many other choices here for me to settle for that. He suggests the Nascar Sports Grille, but Im feeling the need for a deli-style sandwich or something of that nature. However, Im keen to go to a proper restaurant tonight and, knowing I might have a bit of a fight on my hands, a compromise seems in order. Nascar Sports Grille for lunch in exchange for a non-bar-propping experience this evening? Done. We toy with Bice, Emerils and Tchoup Chop, eventually settling on the latter. Despite a less than stellar experience last time we ate there, we both agree that it will be nice to relax and not have too far to go.
A quick wash and deodorise and were back out of the room by 1.15pm. We pop our collective head into Jakes, but it doesnt open until 2pm. We take a look at the menu for Islands which really appeals to me at this moment in time. I quite like the place, but Matt isnt keen. As we pass Tchoup Chop on the way to the boat dock, were surprised to find that its open for lunch. We briefly consider it, but concur that its probably nicer as a dinner venue. We do take the opportunity, though to pop in and make a reservation for 7:30 this evening. They seem to know more about me than I do myself apparently Im still listed in their database. I make a mental note to skip the table-top dance routine this time.
We have an unusually long wait for the water taxi, but were in mega-chill-out mode today and contentedly sit at the dock soaking up our surroundings. Just when it seems the wait is over, the approaching boat moors up on the opposite side of the lake. We watch as the Captain re-fuels before finally making his way over to board us. We sit at the front with Bobby, our Captain, and he regales us with an interesting tale about Richard Branson. [By all accounts, Bobby one day found himself ferrying Sir Dickie from Royal Pacific to CityWalk. He informed Bobby that his father would be following him over shortly and that he was to take good care of him. Sure enough, 30 minutes or so later, a fairly frail octogenarian boarded and told Bobby he was meeting his son at CityWalk. On arrival, though, RB was nowhere to be seen. Bobby made sure that Mr Branson Senior was attended to and he in turn assured Bobby that he would be fine. Another 30 minutes went by and Sir Richard reboarded, demanding to know why Bobby hadnt taken care of his father as hed promised. Naturally, Bobby explained what had happened. RB told him that his mother had also decided to join him and would be making the journey over very soon. Needless to say, Bobby took equally good care of Mrs Branson, but once again RB wasnt there to meet her. Later that day, Sir Richard appeared again and congratulated Bobby on his excellent service standards explaining that, each time, he had actually been transporting RB himself. Apparently, he quite mystery shops Virgin partners and even his own companies in character. I guess being a multi-millionaire must become boring after a while
.]
although I'm sure you were just glowing.
