DAY 18 - SUNDAY
Wake at 8.00am and there's still no sign of Francis! The TV channels are all showing video pictures of coastal damage as the hurricane hits land on the East coast. It's quite wet and windy outside and there is a medium sized branch broken off from the tree outside our bedroom. Other than that - nothing to report!
Disney has laid on "breakfast bags" this morning. These are $3.00 each and contain Cereal, Danish pastry, fruit and a drink. There are also hundreds of boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts that we can help ourselves to (yummy!).
The hotel lobby is lively again today with the characters roaming around, the band playing and the African drummers giving impromptu shows throughout the day. There are a number of people who have been sleeping on the sofa's in the lobby - I guess they just couldn't get rooms and it's too dangerous to stay outside.
Over the course of today - I walk all of the corridors of the hotel - taking in the views from every exit point and overlook. It passes the time and gives me a bit of exercise. We are all going a little "stir crazy" by being cooped up in a room together. I hadn't planned on spending a great deal of time in the room - just a place to sleep and bath really.
The Disney TV channel is showing videos all day - Nemo, Monsters Inc, Brother Bear, Roger Rabbit and Peter Pan. This helps keep DD amused while DS "lap's" on his laptop.
DW phones DS1 to make sure they are OK. No real damage up where he is apart from the Quality Inn sign across the road that has blown over. We keep in touch throughout the day and report what is going on in each others area.
We skip lunch in favour of picking at the food which we purchased at Wal-Mart in the room. Glad of the fridge now!
We venture down to the lobby and find that Boma is doing dinner today at a reduced price ($14.99 Adults & $7.00 for Kids) - can't resist a bargain so we book a time slot for later tonight.
DW phones home and assures DMIL that we are all OK.
I phone work and get a much more sympathetic reaction this time - the news channels at home in the UK are now showing Francis and telling people not to attempt to even try to get out here at the moment.
Then I decide to phone my other work colleague at the Enclave Suites - he probably thinks that we are home in the UK as we were due to leave on Friday. I call the hotel and get put straight through to his room. He is shocked to hear the phone ringing and answers with a very tentative "hellooo". I put on my best American accent and drawl - "Hi there - I understand that you are a qualified plumber back in the UK and was wondering if you could help us out with a little problem we have". "Erm......yeah......I suppose so" he replied nervously. "Great - it's just a small leak in Shamu's tank - you can scuba dive can't you?" - There is a stunned silence - "don't worry - we have a guy on guard with a tranquilizer gun just in case - but these sharks don't attack unless you make a sudden movement". There is a long pause before he tentatively asks "Who is this? I can't keep it up and burst out laughing. I won't tell you what he called me but let's just say he was questioning my parentage!
We chat and swap stories for a while - he slept in the living room last night with the mattresses standing up against the windows - scary!
We stuff ourselves in Boma this evening - great food - fantastic desserts - especially those little pineapple cheesecakes with the white chocolate base (have I mentioned these?). There are a few people complaining to the managers that this food should be provided free of charge because it's not their fault that they are stuck here! Actually - it's not Disney's fault either but I put this down to stress and resist the urge to say something that I may regret later! I guess it is very disappointing for those people who have come here for the Labour Day weekend - only to spend it inside a hotel with all the parks closed. If you purchased tickets in advance and can't use them then it has been a very costly and frustrating trip.
The day simply consists of watching the weather reports on TV and comparing it to the actual weather outside the room - with walking the various hotel "Trails" and eating a variety of sweets and crisps slotted in between. To be honest - it is raining very hard and there is a strong wind gusting (inside the room as well - all that food and no exercise!) but nothing to get too worried about. We are quite sheltered here though - so I suspect that there will be some damage in the more exposed areas of the county.
I realise that we have been so lucky. I'm writing these trip notes while laying in a hot bubble bath with a very full stomach!
The TV weather channels are saying that Sanford airport will not re-open tomorrow so it looks like we will have to book 1 x more night in the AKL.
A letter comes under the door from Disney saying that they hope to reopen all the parks tomorrow. Well - we have got 1 x day left on our 10 day pass so - maybe we will get one more visit to Magic Kingdom after all!
The tropical storm Ivan which is tracking a similar course as Francis has now been upgraded to a hurricane! Surely not a third one? Apparently Ivan has broken all previous records to become the biggest hurricane to form in such a short space of time. Are they just trying to scare us now? (Its working!)
We have lazed around so much today that I find it difficult to get to sleep.
Eventually I manage to nod off.
Night all -
I dream of fine weather - I will never complain about the British weather again!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Foot Note:
OI ! WAKE UP ..Only 3 x more to go .
Wake at 8.00am and there's still no sign of Francis! The TV channels are all showing video pictures of coastal damage as the hurricane hits land on the East coast. It's quite wet and windy outside and there is a medium sized branch broken off from the tree outside our bedroom. Other than that - nothing to report!
Disney has laid on "breakfast bags" this morning. These are $3.00 each and contain Cereal, Danish pastry, fruit and a drink. There are also hundreds of boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts that we can help ourselves to (yummy!).
The hotel lobby is lively again today with the characters roaming around, the band playing and the African drummers giving impromptu shows throughout the day. There are a number of people who have been sleeping on the sofa's in the lobby - I guess they just couldn't get rooms and it's too dangerous to stay outside.
Over the course of today - I walk all of the corridors of the hotel - taking in the views from every exit point and overlook. It passes the time and gives me a bit of exercise. We are all going a little "stir crazy" by being cooped up in a room together. I hadn't planned on spending a great deal of time in the room - just a place to sleep and bath really.
The Disney TV channel is showing videos all day - Nemo, Monsters Inc, Brother Bear, Roger Rabbit and Peter Pan. This helps keep DD amused while DS "lap's" on his laptop.
DW phones DS1 to make sure they are OK. No real damage up where he is apart from the Quality Inn sign across the road that has blown over. We keep in touch throughout the day and report what is going on in each others area.
We skip lunch in favour of picking at the food which we purchased at Wal-Mart in the room. Glad of the fridge now!
We venture down to the lobby and find that Boma is doing dinner today at a reduced price ($14.99 Adults & $7.00 for Kids) - can't resist a bargain so we book a time slot for later tonight.
DW phones home and assures DMIL that we are all OK.
I phone work and get a much more sympathetic reaction this time - the news channels at home in the UK are now showing Francis and telling people not to attempt to even try to get out here at the moment.
Then I decide to phone my other work colleague at the Enclave Suites - he probably thinks that we are home in the UK as we were due to leave on Friday. I call the hotel and get put straight through to his room. He is shocked to hear the phone ringing and answers with a very tentative "hellooo". I put on my best American accent and drawl - "Hi there - I understand that you are a qualified plumber back in the UK and was wondering if you could help us out with a little problem we have". "Erm......yeah......I suppose so" he replied nervously. "Great - it's just a small leak in Shamu's tank - you can scuba dive can't you?" - There is a stunned silence - "don't worry - we have a guy on guard with a tranquilizer gun just in case - but these sharks don't attack unless you make a sudden movement". There is a long pause before he tentatively asks "Who is this? I can't keep it up and burst out laughing. I won't tell you what he called me but let's just say he was questioning my parentage!
We chat and swap stories for a while - he slept in the living room last night with the mattresses standing up against the windows - scary!
We stuff ourselves in Boma this evening - great food - fantastic desserts - especially those little pineapple cheesecakes with the white chocolate base (have I mentioned these?). There are a few people complaining to the managers that this food should be provided free of charge because it's not their fault that they are stuck here! Actually - it's not Disney's fault either but I put this down to stress and resist the urge to say something that I may regret later! I guess it is very disappointing for those people who have come here for the Labour Day weekend - only to spend it inside a hotel with all the parks closed. If you purchased tickets in advance and can't use them then it has been a very costly and frustrating trip.
The day simply consists of watching the weather reports on TV and comparing it to the actual weather outside the room - with walking the various hotel "Trails" and eating a variety of sweets and crisps slotted in between. To be honest - it is raining very hard and there is a strong wind gusting (inside the room as well - all that food and no exercise!) but nothing to get too worried about. We are quite sheltered here though - so I suspect that there will be some damage in the more exposed areas of the county.
I realise that we have been so lucky. I'm writing these trip notes while laying in a hot bubble bath with a very full stomach!
The TV weather channels are saying that Sanford airport will not re-open tomorrow so it looks like we will have to book 1 x more night in the AKL.
A letter comes under the door from Disney saying that they hope to reopen all the parks tomorrow. Well - we have got 1 x day left on our 10 day pass so - maybe we will get one more visit to Magic Kingdom after all!
The tropical storm Ivan which is tracking a similar course as Francis has now been upgraded to a hurricane! Surely not a third one? Apparently Ivan has broken all previous records to become the biggest hurricane to form in such a short space of time. Are they just trying to scare us now? (Its working!)
We have lazed around so much today that I find it difficult to get to sleep.
Eventually I manage to nod off.
Night all -
I dream of fine weather - I will never complain about the British weather again!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Foot Note:
OI ! WAKE UP ..Only 3 x more to go .
