wicket2005
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- Joined
- Mar 31, 2005
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The Last Day – Wednesday, 15th August 2007 – Islands, Universal
I set the alarm for 7 am that morning so I could do the dreaded packing. I didn’t sleep that well because my feet kept sticking to the sheets. By 8.45 am we were all packed up and ready to head down to Downtown Disney. On the way we passed a garage which was handy to know its location.
We checked in straight away at Downtown Disney and were delighted to find our 6.30 pm flight was now at 10.30 pm and we didn’t need to go to the airport till about 8 pm. Class a whole extra day in Orlando.
We went back to the hotel and checked out, then headed to Islands. We went on The Hulk, I got a bit battered this time round but still enjoyed it. Then we had two goes on Dr Doom where I screamed a lot followed by Spiderman. The latter ride broke down right at the end which created a strange effect. I felt sorry for anyone who had lined up for an hour for the ride and for that to happen. We had a final go on Duelling Dragons before leaving the park. Again the weather was red hot and as we were all packed cooling water rides were not allowed.
We headed over to Universal and had a coffee and a bit of a sit down for a while. My feet were still sore which made it difficult walking, making my legs feel shattered so it was nice to put my feet up for a while before hitting Universal. After this break I felt totally regenerated.
We had two goes on The Mummy followed by Twister where the eldest got soaked, then Jaws. On this ride we asked to sit in Row 8 so we didn’t get wet as we couldn’t get changed now the suitcases had been checked in. The CM kindly obliged and we sat in the back row.
Next MiB, we had two goes with the kids before going to retrieve my bag from the locker and for the first time in the holidays we forgot the locker number. We both thought it was the same number till we got to the lockers and saw a woman using the same locker as the one we thought was ours. Panic set in a bit because the bag had our passports and airline tickets in. Usually the hubbie goes with the kids because I say I will never remember it, my brain just goes on slow time in the holidays and usually they or the hubbie never forgets. We had to get one of the CMs, she tried a magic number on the row of lockers but still the hubbie’s fingerprint didn’t work, we then tried another set of lockers and another but still his fingerprint wasn’t opening any door. We were told she would have to get a security guard down and do a sweep of all the lockers, what a nightmare! Whilst we were waiting the hubbie tried another row and a slightly different combination of numbers and it worked! Thank goodness, all sorts of horrible thoughts about missing the flights or the bag being stolen had been flashing through our minds. The relief was incredible once I had my bag back in my possession. Normally the tickets and passports were kept in the hotel safe but as we had checked out we thought the safest place for them was with us. Next year the number will be written down.
With wobbly legs we headed over to ET. Afterwards we tried to go in the Horror Show, Terminator and Shrek but the show times were all wrong so we decided to walk to the Hard Rock Hotel where we are booked up for July 2008. It looked class and was so close to Universal. We are looking forward to staying there.
We caught the water taxi back to City Walk then walked back to the Royal Pacific from where we went to the Mall of Millenia to see if we could buy the oldest a top up card for his American phone. Luckily we found a shop selling one, so he was set up for his return to America (Minneapolis) in 14 days time. We also popped in the Apple Store and had a browse on the internet.
We then headed to the aiport which only took about 15 minutes or so – this was so much easier than driving up to Sanford. We expected to be charged for the car for an extra day but luckily because the plane was late going to Orlando we had not picked the car up till 7.25 pm and we dropped it back off at 7.05 pm – how lucky was that? It was so straight forward getting to the airport, just down the I4, on to the Beachline then on to one other road.
In the airport we picked up the free food vouchers from the Virgin check in desk and counted our blessings that we had checked in at Downtown Disney early and found out about the delay. I would have hated arriving at the airport at 2 ish for a 6.30 flight only to find it was delayed till 10.30, we were so pleased to have the extra day in Orlando which more than made up for the delay when we left.
We had some lovely sandwiches in the food court whilst the hubbie had a Chinese. We didn’t spend long here because there seemed to be a big line going through Security so as soon as we finished we left to line up. Fortunately, it didn’t take very long at all to get through Security so we could have looked round all the shops but there you go.
After Security we looked in the off duty and gift shops. We bought the eldest a coffee whilst I had a wine and the hubbie a beer. The youngest was not happy us sitting in the bar so I quickly downed the wine and went with him to sit in the departure lounge area. We found these seats a lot more comfortable. The hubbie and eldest joined us then I caught up with my trip report. The Virgin plane was in and was Jersey Girl, we were sitting in a row of 4 going home which was a pleasant change. We have not sat together in a row since 1996. We were glad we had that delay.
Whilst we waited I inspected my feet which felt hot and itchy. I was horrified to discover they looked septic, not much I could do till I was back home. The journey home was uneventful, most people slept with it being 10.30 and the lights were dimmed. My feet were not very comfortable so I aired them discretely during the flight, they did look in a right state. (Flip flops had caused the damage after sandals caused blisters to little toes – never had such problems before) I think we all managed to sleep a bit on the plane.
We arrived back to Manchester Airport to be greeted with torrential rain, hello England. We felt like jumping back on the plane and returning to Orlando. We had a short wait for the shuttle to come and take us to the car park and then we headed off home.
Thanks to the delayed flight we arrived back home at about 3 pm and as a result it made it easier to stay up till night time. This meant we didn’t suffer from jet lag at all this time for the very first time which was amazing and made life a whole lot easier.
So there you go, we had a fantastic time and are counting the days till we can next enjoy the fun. Thanks for reading.
(Now I can back to reading the boards).


I set the alarm for 7 am that morning so I could do the dreaded packing. I didn’t sleep that well because my feet kept sticking to the sheets. By 8.45 am we were all packed up and ready to head down to Downtown Disney. On the way we passed a garage which was handy to know its location.


We checked in straight away at Downtown Disney and were delighted to find our 6.30 pm flight was now at 10.30 pm and we didn’t need to go to the airport till about 8 pm. Class a whole extra day in Orlando.

We went back to the hotel and checked out, then headed to Islands. We went on The Hulk, I got a bit battered this time round but still enjoyed it. Then we had two goes on Dr Doom where I screamed a lot followed by Spiderman. The latter ride broke down right at the end which created a strange effect. I felt sorry for anyone who had lined up for an hour for the ride and for that to happen. We had a final go on Duelling Dragons before leaving the park. Again the weather was red hot and as we were all packed cooling water rides were not allowed.

We headed over to Universal and had a coffee and a bit of a sit down for a while. My feet were still sore which made it difficult walking, making my legs feel shattered so it was nice to put my feet up for a while before hitting Universal. After this break I felt totally regenerated.

We had two goes on The Mummy followed by Twister where the eldest got soaked, then Jaws. On this ride we asked to sit in Row 8 so we didn’t get wet as we couldn’t get changed now the suitcases had been checked in. The CM kindly obliged and we sat in the back row.

Next MiB, we had two goes with the kids before going to retrieve my bag from the locker and for the first time in the holidays we forgot the locker number. We both thought it was the same number till we got to the lockers and saw a woman using the same locker as the one we thought was ours. Panic set in a bit because the bag had our passports and airline tickets in. Usually the hubbie goes with the kids because I say I will never remember it, my brain just goes on slow time in the holidays and usually they or the hubbie never forgets. We had to get one of the CMs, she tried a magic number on the row of lockers but still the hubbie’s fingerprint didn’t work, we then tried another set of lockers and another but still his fingerprint wasn’t opening any door. We were told she would have to get a security guard down and do a sweep of all the lockers, what a nightmare! Whilst we were waiting the hubbie tried another row and a slightly different combination of numbers and it worked! Thank goodness, all sorts of horrible thoughts about missing the flights or the bag being stolen had been flashing through our minds. The relief was incredible once I had my bag back in my possession. Normally the tickets and passports were kept in the hotel safe but as we had checked out we thought the safest place for them was with us. Next year the number will be written down.

With wobbly legs we headed over to ET. Afterwards we tried to go in the Horror Show, Terminator and Shrek but the show times were all wrong so we decided to walk to the Hard Rock Hotel where we are booked up for July 2008. It looked class and was so close to Universal. We are looking forward to staying there.

We caught the water taxi back to City Walk then walked back to the Royal Pacific from where we went to the Mall of Millenia to see if we could buy the oldest a top up card for his American phone. Luckily we found a shop selling one, so he was set up for his return to America (Minneapolis) in 14 days time. We also popped in the Apple Store and had a browse on the internet.

We then headed to the aiport which only took about 15 minutes or so – this was so much easier than driving up to Sanford. We expected to be charged for the car for an extra day but luckily because the plane was late going to Orlando we had not picked the car up till 7.25 pm and we dropped it back off at 7.05 pm – how lucky was that? It was so straight forward getting to the airport, just down the I4, on to the Beachline then on to one other road.

In the airport we picked up the free food vouchers from the Virgin check in desk and counted our blessings that we had checked in at Downtown Disney early and found out about the delay. I would have hated arriving at the airport at 2 ish for a 6.30 flight only to find it was delayed till 10.30, we were so pleased to have the extra day in Orlando which more than made up for the delay when we left.

We had some lovely sandwiches in the food court whilst the hubbie had a Chinese. We didn’t spend long here because there seemed to be a big line going through Security so as soon as we finished we left to line up. Fortunately, it didn’t take very long at all to get through Security so we could have looked round all the shops but there you go.

After Security we looked in the off duty and gift shops. We bought the eldest a coffee whilst I had a wine and the hubbie a beer. The youngest was not happy us sitting in the bar so I quickly downed the wine and went with him to sit in the departure lounge area. We found these seats a lot more comfortable. The hubbie and eldest joined us then I caught up with my trip report. The Virgin plane was in and was Jersey Girl, we were sitting in a row of 4 going home which was a pleasant change. We have not sat together in a row since 1996. We were glad we had that delay.

Whilst we waited I inspected my feet which felt hot and itchy. I was horrified to discover they looked septic, not much I could do till I was back home. The journey home was uneventful, most people slept with it being 10.30 and the lights were dimmed. My feet were not very comfortable so I aired them discretely during the flight, they did look in a right state. (Flip flops had caused the damage after sandals caused blisters to little toes – never had such problems before) I think we all managed to sleep a bit on the plane.

We arrived back to Manchester Airport to be greeted with torrential rain, hello England. We felt like jumping back on the plane and returning to Orlando. We had a short wait for the shuttle to come and take us to the car park and then we headed off home.

Thanks to the delayed flight we arrived back home at about 3 pm and as a result it made it easier to stay up till night time. This meant we didn’t suffer from jet lag at all this time for the very first time which was amazing and made life a whole lot easier.

So there you go, we had a fantastic time and are counting the days till we can next enjoy the fun. Thanks for reading.

