BONZO
<font color=660066>Has been known to go off topic!
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2001
- Messages
- 2,100
The Hopping Mad Easter Tour - 2004
Shaun - 40 something If its high fat, high sugar Ill eat it
Alison - 30 something 'If its not Atkins I wont eat it
Alexandra - 10 Can we play mini-golf? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?
Laura - 8 'If Im tall enough Ill ride it'
Wednesday 7th April 2004
Here we go again its moving day and this time its our first experience of a villa.
Up at about 08:45 and off to Golden Corral for breakfast. This really is THE best buffet place around for choice and quality. I usually have a full cooked breakfast and then a cinnamon bun or two, Alexandra starts off with some hot items then moves onto pancakes and maple syrup, Laura picks at a few bits and pieces, and Alison usually has a freshly made omelette. Excellent!
We drove back to CSR (forgot to say that wed phoned to arrange a late check out the previous evening so we were in no great hurry to leave the room. We had a last wander around the resort, taking some photos and just soaking up the atmosphere. Then it was back to the room to pack up the last few items and chucked the rest in the car.
While we were at the main CSR building we phoned the Villa management company to ask if we could get into the villa early (we werent supposed to have access until 4pm) and they said that we could go to the villa any time we wanted! We drove straight there, which only took about 15/20 mins along the Osceola Parkway. This route really worked for us - we were probably closer to the 192 rather than Osceola Parkway, but couldnt face the 192 into Disney every day! So we avoided the 192 and used the Osceola Parkway instead. Although it cost about $1.50 each trip in tolls it was never busy and cut travelling time down significantly.
The villa was fine and as described - a reasonably sized but fairly basic 2 bed villa, we thought fairly similar to Center Parcs style. The villa had all the amenities like dishwasher, large fridge/freezer, washer, dryer, small garden / patio area and large shared pool about 100yds away. It was in a residential area (funny to see the school buses dropping off and picking up!) The residents were all very friendly and stopped and chatted etc. All in all it was perfect for what we wanted - a 2 bed villa for over the busy Easter weekend - and it was an absolute bargain at only £250 for the week - at one of the busiest times of year!
We did some basic unpacking and went to the pool for a refreshing swim and sunbathe (we were the only people in the pool!) before going off to Wal-Mart for some supplies.
After we dropped our shopping off we went back to the villa where Mandy and Mark were staying to collect Alexandras cap that shed left there previously. Being a bit peckish by now we stopped in The Taste of China Restaurant (we were going to try the Outback but there were loads of people outside waiting for tables - so we didnt even try!) The food at the Chinese was nothing to particularly write home about but the portions were huge.
Between us we had: -
1 x Chicken fried rice
1 x Vegetable fried rice
1 x Sweet and Sour Chicken
1 x Schezwan beef
1 x Crispy duck
1 x Prawn crackers
4 x soft drinks
Total cost $55
I always feel that Chinese food in Florida is never as good as Im expecting it to be and I always leave feeling disappointed. It never stops us trying it though!
As we left I noticed a small car hire company renting out Hummers, convertibles and old cars. I stopped and picked up a leaflet but the Hummer weighed in at about $250 per day how Id love to take one of these on the school run or park in Tescos at the weekend! LOL
We drove to WDW via the Sherberth Road route and we discussed whether to do Spectro, Wishes or Fantasmic tonight. We decided to do Fantasmic as weve never done it before and arrived at MGM at around 8.15pm.
Grabbed Fastpasses for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and then ran and just sneaked in to the last Indiana Jones show of the night (which was quite spectacular in the dark!)
With time to kill we went to the One Mans Dream film another first for us as wed visited the exhibition before but never the film. This was much better than expected and the CM at the end explained the relationship with Ray Croc (founder of McDonalds) and Disney hence the reason why McDonalds fries are available for sale in certain parks.
Into WWTBAM for the last show of the night and its half empty! After some frantic finger work I manage to get to second place on the leaderboard as the show closes. So near yet so far!
As time was moving on we crept out of the show minutes before the end to beat the rush to Fantasmic although it was 9:50 at this stage.
After some nifty footwork we managed to get in and bag a good spot on the bleachers in the middle section. The show was good and Im glad that we experienced it but it didnt live up the "hype" IMHO, maybe my expectations were a little high. We thought that it was quite intense in places and many parents with younger children in floods of tears were leaving throughout the show. We were pleased we hadnt queued for two hours to get in! As an aside here - we find that at the busy times of year when there are 2 shows/parades etc on un the evening we always prefer to go the second one as its MUCH less crowded! Works for our family!
As we walked back to the car we overheard some CMs saying that both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon had shut by 11am today!
We drove back to the villa, had a couple of beers and we all crashed out.
Weather: Mostly sunny with a few cloudy patches but very warm.
Plan for tomorrow: - Blizzard Beach (if we can get up early enough) , onto to Epcot at Lunchtime and Ice Cream Social at 3pm with the Hunts. Must try for an early night or purchase Pro-Plus and Red Bull!
Shaun - 40 something If its high fat, high sugar Ill eat it
Alison - 30 something 'If its not Atkins I wont eat it
Alexandra - 10 Can we play mini-golf? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?
Laura - 8 'If Im tall enough Ill ride it'
Wednesday 7th April 2004
Here we go again its moving day and this time its our first experience of a villa.
Up at about 08:45 and off to Golden Corral for breakfast. This really is THE best buffet place around for choice and quality. I usually have a full cooked breakfast and then a cinnamon bun or two, Alexandra starts off with some hot items then moves onto pancakes and maple syrup, Laura picks at a few bits and pieces, and Alison usually has a freshly made omelette. Excellent!
We drove back to CSR (forgot to say that wed phoned to arrange a late check out the previous evening so we were in no great hurry to leave the room. We had a last wander around the resort, taking some photos and just soaking up the atmosphere. Then it was back to the room to pack up the last few items and chucked the rest in the car.
While we were at the main CSR building we phoned the Villa management company to ask if we could get into the villa early (we werent supposed to have access until 4pm) and they said that we could go to the villa any time we wanted! We drove straight there, which only took about 15/20 mins along the Osceola Parkway. This route really worked for us - we were probably closer to the 192 rather than Osceola Parkway, but couldnt face the 192 into Disney every day! So we avoided the 192 and used the Osceola Parkway instead. Although it cost about $1.50 each trip in tolls it was never busy and cut travelling time down significantly.
The villa was fine and as described - a reasonably sized but fairly basic 2 bed villa, we thought fairly similar to Center Parcs style. The villa had all the amenities like dishwasher, large fridge/freezer, washer, dryer, small garden / patio area and large shared pool about 100yds away. It was in a residential area (funny to see the school buses dropping off and picking up!) The residents were all very friendly and stopped and chatted etc. All in all it was perfect for what we wanted - a 2 bed villa for over the busy Easter weekend - and it was an absolute bargain at only £250 for the week - at one of the busiest times of year!
We did some basic unpacking and went to the pool for a refreshing swim and sunbathe (we were the only people in the pool!) before going off to Wal-Mart for some supplies.
After we dropped our shopping off we went back to the villa where Mandy and Mark were staying to collect Alexandras cap that shed left there previously. Being a bit peckish by now we stopped in The Taste of China Restaurant (we were going to try the Outback but there were loads of people outside waiting for tables - so we didnt even try!) The food at the Chinese was nothing to particularly write home about but the portions were huge.
Between us we had: -
1 x Chicken fried rice
1 x Vegetable fried rice
1 x Sweet and Sour Chicken
1 x Schezwan beef
1 x Crispy duck
1 x Prawn crackers
4 x soft drinks
Total cost $55
I always feel that Chinese food in Florida is never as good as Im expecting it to be and I always leave feeling disappointed. It never stops us trying it though!
As we left I noticed a small car hire company renting out Hummers, convertibles and old cars. I stopped and picked up a leaflet but the Hummer weighed in at about $250 per day how Id love to take one of these on the school run or park in Tescos at the weekend! LOL
We drove to WDW via the Sherberth Road route and we discussed whether to do Spectro, Wishes or Fantasmic tonight. We decided to do Fantasmic as weve never done it before and arrived at MGM at around 8.15pm.
Grabbed Fastpasses for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and then ran and just sneaked in to the last Indiana Jones show of the night (which was quite spectacular in the dark!)
With time to kill we went to the One Mans Dream film another first for us as wed visited the exhibition before but never the film. This was much better than expected and the CM at the end explained the relationship with Ray Croc (founder of McDonalds) and Disney hence the reason why McDonalds fries are available for sale in certain parks.
Into WWTBAM for the last show of the night and its half empty! After some frantic finger work I manage to get to second place on the leaderboard as the show closes. So near yet so far!
As time was moving on we crept out of the show minutes before the end to beat the rush to Fantasmic although it was 9:50 at this stage.
After some nifty footwork we managed to get in and bag a good spot on the bleachers in the middle section. The show was good and Im glad that we experienced it but it didnt live up the "hype" IMHO, maybe my expectations were a little high. We thought that it was quite intense in places and many parents with younger children in floods of tears were leaving throughout the show. We were pleased we hadnt queued for two hours to get in! As an aside here - we find that at the busy times of year when there are 2 shows/parades etc on un the evening we always prefer to go the second one as its MUCH less crowded! Works for our family!
As we walked back to the car we overheard some CMs saying that both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon had shut by 11am today!
We drove back to the villa, had a couple of beers and we all crashed out.
Weather: Mostly sunny with a few cloudy patches but very warm.
Plan for tomorrow: - Blizzard Beach (if we can get up early enough) , onto to Epcot at Lunchtime and Ice Cream Social at 3pm with the Hunts. Must try for an early night or purchase Pro-Plus and Red Bull!
I haven't done Fantasmic yet either, hope to do it on our next trip.
??!!
