Latte Lover
<font color=green> in charge of the credit cards a
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2003
- Messages
- 1,335
We are:
Tony, (DH Tony64) age 44 - in charge of driving, collecting coffee and doughnuts for breakfast, running to get fast passes and generally stressing. This is his ninth trip.
Theresa (me), age 43 - in charge of the credit cards and plotting quickest routes to the shopping malls. This is my tenth trip.
Maddie (DD), age 19 - jointly in charge of where we eat, shop and play this trip. This is her seventh trip.
Callum (DS) age 18 - in charge of himself. This is his seventh trip
Saturday 6th September 2008
Our last day!
We finished our packing. Everything went in the cases ok and then we weighed them! We were relieved to find they were all under 20kg and our hand luggage was all under 5kg each.
We cleared out the fridge and freezer and ate up loads of bits and bobs for breakfast. We watched Groundhog Day as we packed. Its one of our favourite movies and it was a shame we had to vacate the condo by ten am as we missed the end. We said goodbye to Terrace Ridge and were soon on our way, stopping briefly at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and donuts.
Its tradition on our last day to play mini-golf and this time we decided to take advantage of the generous Disney annual pass discount and go to Winter Summerland. ($25 after the discount).
A hole in one.
A tricky shot.
After the golf, we were feeling a few hunger pangs, so dropped in at the IHOP on the 535 for lunch. However, the place was completely packed with a long wait for a table, so we decided to go straight to the airport as we didnt have much time left and everywhere seemed busy.
At Sanford, we took the car back to Alamo and were stunned when the lady told us we had done 952 miles!
We were pleased to find our flight was on time and there were no problems this time.
We had a few snacks (lemon meringue pie!) and drinks and were soon boarding. The flight was fine and we landed at Gatwick on time. All was going well until we went to pick up our luggage. We waited and waited, and soon realised that people from previous flights were still waiting too. At one stage, a notice was being passed around stating that there was a possibility that all the luggage from our flight was still sitting at Sanford! Maddie was horrified at the thought of all her precious shopping being left behind! However, after 90 minutes it was announced that the luggage was actually here and would be arriving on the carousel shortly. It was very slow though and one of our cases must have been the last one off the plane! We breezed through customs (though one couple on our flight was pulled out of the green channel and they had to open their cases for the customs men), and within five minutes, Maple Manor were there with our car and we were home an hour later.
Our thoughts on the trip:
The weather was excellent the best we have had in the summer months, only a few rain storms, the hurricanes all missed us and the heat wasnt too oppressive. (Although, admittedly, I do like it really hot!).
The crowd levels in the parks in the second week were excellent, and were manageable the first week so long as you got to the parks early.
We loved the shopping (obviously!) and even with a small luggage allowance its possible to buy plenty (so long as you dont take much stuff out with you).
We really enjoyed doing the two things we hadnt done before Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party and Blue Man Group.
We loved the condo at Terrace Ridge, although next time we would take a laptop as the children missed the internet and being able to contact their friends.
We would fly with Monarch again, despite the delay going out, as they were fine otherwise and the price was good.
For those who are interested, the 952 miles we drove cost us a total of $180
All in all in was a great trip and we consider ourselves extremely fortunate to be able to have such a fabulous holiday.
Thanks for reading.
Tony, (DH Tony64) age 44 - in charge of driving, collecting coffee and doughnuts for breakfast, running to get fast passes and generally stressing. This is his ninth trip.
Theresa (me), age 43 - in charge of the credit cards and plotting quickest routes to the shopping malls. This is my tenth trip.
Maddie (DD), age 19 - jointly in charge of where we eat, shop and play this trip. This is her seventh trip.
Callum (DS) age 18 - in charge of himself. This is his seventh trip
Saturday 6th September 2008
Our last day!
We finished our packing. Everything went in the cases ok and then we weighed them! We were relieved to find they were all under 20kg and our hand luggage was all under 5kg each.
We cleared out the fridge and freezer and ate up loads of bits and bobs for breakfast. We watched Groundhog Day as we packed. Its one of our favourite movies and it was a shame we had to vacate the condo by ten am as we missed the end. We said goodbye to Terrace Ridge and were soon on our way, stopping briefly at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and donuts.
Its tradition on our last day to play mini-golf and this time we decided to take advantage of the generous Disney annual pass discount and go to Winter Summerland. ($25 after the discount).
A hole in one.
A tricky shot.
After the golf, we were feeling a few hunger pangs, so dropped in at the IHOP on the 535 for lunch. However, the place was completely packed with a long wait for a table, so we decided to go straight to the airport as we didnt have much time left and everywhere seemed busy.
At Sanford, we took the car back to Alamo and were stunned when the lady told us we had done 952 miles!
We were pleased to find our flight was on time and there were no problems this time.
We had a few snacks (lemon meringue pie!) and drinks and were soon boarding. The flight was fine and we landed at Gatwick on time. All was going well until we went to pick up our luggage. We waited and waited, and soon realised that people from previous flights were still waiting too. At one stage, a notice was being passed around stating that there was a possibility that all the luggage from our flight was still sitting at Sanford! Maddie was horrified at the thought of all her precious shopping being left behind! However, after 90 minutes it was announced that the luggage was actually here and would be arriving on the carousel shortly. It was very slow though and one of our cases must have been the last one off the plane! We breezed through customs (though one couple on our flight was pulled out of the green channel and they had to open their cases for the customs men), and within five minutes, Maple Manor were there with our car and we were home an hour later.
Our thoughts on the trip:
The weather was excellent the best we have had in the summer months, only a few rain storms, the hurricanes all missed us and the heat wasnt too oppressive. (Although, admittedly, I do like it really hot!).
The crowd levels in the parks in the second week were excellent, and were manageable the first week so long as you got to the parks early.
We loved the shopping (obviously!) and even with a small luggage allowance its possible to buy plenty (so long as you dont take much stuff out with you).
We really enjoyed doing the two things we hadnt done before Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party and Blue Man Group.
We loved the condo at Terrace Ridge, although next time we would take a laptop as the children missed the internet and being able to contact their friends.
We would fly with Monarch again, despite the delay going out, as they were fine otherwise and the price was good.
For those who are interested, the 952 miles we drove cost us a total of $180
All in all in was a great trip and we consider ourselves extremely fortunate to be able to have such a fabulous holiday.
Thanks for reading.
