mkingdon
Obsessed...and admits it!!
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2002
- Messages
- 408
Cast
Me - Craig, only just 33. Rucksack carrier and stroller pusher.
Louise - Wife, 34, slowly becoming addicted to WDW.
Emily - Aged 8. Moody, full of attitude and daddys girl.
Rebecca - Aged 6. Comedian, Olympic eater and worrier.
The Williams tour of Florida restrooms, sponsored by VISA.
Day Six Tuesday 19th August Then it really rained.
Everyone had benefited from our half day yesterday, and we all arose with smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts!! So much so that I relented on the military style plan and let the kids go in the pool until 8.30.
Dragged them out and showered and dressed them. We had eaten, dressed and arrived at DTD by 10.15, just in time for Disney Quest to open at 10.30. We parked very close, which was good because today was HOT.
Hows Ryan rucksack doing today?
Camcorder
Camera
Two twirly fan spray things
Autograph books
Two sweatshirts (purchased from MGM for when kids are cold indoors)
Suncream
Bobbles
No iced drinks today after the last few days Id rather buy them than carry them around.
We turned the corner of DQ, great no queue, all seems quiet. Thats because its shut. It didnt open until 11.30. Great planning Williams.
So now what? It was unavoidable, we had to look at some shops for an hour. Well , the shops didnt open until 10.30 so we slowly strolled down past the Bongo Cuban place and the cinema. We looked across the water at the new DVC development. It looks very impressive. As we wandered there was a DVC booth with a very friendly chap just waiting to relieve me of several thousand pounds.
I wandered across, secretly hoping hed convince me and Id have no choice but to join. I leafed through the brochures as he chatted away. Louise eventually joined me, stayed for 10 seconds, and then dragged me away. Ok, so we cant afford it..since when did that ever stop her buying anything in the past???
The first shop to open was the Candy shop (forgot the name, but may have been Candy Cauldron). What a shop. The kids had eyes like dinner plates. Similar to the candy man shop in Willy Wonka is how I would describe it.
After five minutes of drooling, we all choose something suitably high in sugar and sat outside to eat them. These things were so sickly even the kids couldnt finish them, and they would eat sugar out of the bag if we let them.
We then continued to browse various shops, including the DQ shop, Cirque shop and lots of others. At 11.15 we joined the already growing queue to enter DQ, and at 11.27, it started to rain. Big, cold drops, most of which were hitting me!!!
The doors opened and the small crowd rushed the CMs in order to stay dry. The CMs were no match and the lobby was a rugby match.
Got into the first lift to leave. Having no idea where anything was (which is unheard of in all the other parks) I panicked when the lift doors opened. Like a rat in a lab experiment, I quickly surveyed the scene and made a decision which way to go. We ended up going on Aladdin first, in fact we were the first on it. I loved it, but thought the kids would struggle to operate the helmets etc. I was wrong, they did better than I did!!!
Then we got on the river paddling thing. The girls didnt want to paddle so it was up to me and Louise (one stroke a minute) Williams to navigate the rapids. We did OK, but when we finished I was exhausted.
Next we queued for POC. The queue didnt look that long, but it took AGES to move. We eventually got on, and Emily was getting all worried about what this ride might entail. As I said she was being a real wuss this trip. She was almost in tears when the CM talked us through it, but like the good parents we are, we told her that she was spoiling the whole holiday and she should buck up. We put her helmet on and threw her into the booth. The gentle touch always works!
Anyway, in the end she loved the ride, and I thought it was really well done. Very clever.
By this time we were starving. You will have noticed the absence of restroom stops so far to day. There was one whilst shopping but I cant think where, and of course we had one now pre-lunch.
We took the elevator (not the lift) up to the Cheesecake Factory. I had been looking forward to this. I LOVE cheesecake. And boy was I hungry.
The place was fairly empty and we ordered our food. At this stage of the holiday we hadnt really remembered how large the portions are in the US. So I ordered myself a chilli hot dog with cheese (and fries), Louise a chicken sandwich thingy and the kids chicken strips with fries.
Well, this fine spread had to be transported to our table on THREE trays. Everything was huge. My chilli dog took up almost one tray, and the girls couldnt be seen behind their mountain of food. It cost almost $50 but we could have easily shared and made it cheaper.
Of course, I polished mine off no problem. It would have been rude not to. Louise did OK, but the girls looked like they hadnt touched their food, and it was coming out of their ears.
I was gutted that we were all too full to have some cheesecake. To be honest, I couldnt find the counter where they sold it anyway (different types of food are at different counters). I didnt try to hard, and thought we may return later to attack the desserts. We didnt, as the next time I felt hungry was a day after landing back in England.
Back to the fun. Next Louise and I did the Fight the Comix game. Great fun, but you dont half look stupid doing it. At one point I got so excited that I knocked my VR helmet off. Its hard to look cool when youve got a pretend light saber in your hand and your helmet is swinging back and forth on its rope about a foot above your head. I managed to very casually put it back on, and continue my battle, and of course I came first in our group. Louise came second, but she was a LONG way back.
We then found our way to Buzz Lightyears Astro Blaster. This is a mix between dodgems and Its a Knockout. Basically, there are two people in each car, one drives and the other fires footballs at everyone else. The driver has to drive over the loose balls to suck them up. You get the idea.
Rebecca was too small to go on, so Louise took her on the video games whilst I took Emily into battle. I drove. It was all a bit frantic, and Im not sure how well we did but Emily enjoyed it. I got a trifle competitive (surely not), and ended up trying to drive and shoot at the same time. It was all over too quickly, and off we got.
I then had a couple of games on the Mighty Ducks game. After one practice run the score of which I will not report, I then won two games on the trot. That is what being a natural athlete does for you.
My pride intact, and my ego fed, we left at around 2.45 (after a restroom stop).
We exited into the shop, and it was raining. Well, no, it wasnt raining, it was a major tropical rainstorm. The shop was jammed with sheltering people, and it looked set for a long time. It was time to admit defeat and purchase those ponchos.
I was quite happy that the adult ones they had were the see through type and the kids got the yellow. If a poncho can look anything other than ridiculous, the see through ones in my view do. They go well with my eyes!!
Protected from the rain by our Neutron Protector Shields (ponchos you can tell Id spent the morning at DQ) we made a run for the car. The water was puddling up to our ankles. The girls all had flip flops on so they just took theirs off. Of course, being the sensible one, I had my park commando trainers on, and these soon turned into sponges, and I looked like someone trying to walk on the moon, they got so heavy.
We made it back to the car, disrobed (ponchos only) and got in. The plan was MGM to make up for the morning we missed yesterday. We were there in 10 minutes, but the rain was really bad.
We paid the parking fee, and I tried to find a parking spot near the front. We did OK, but thought wed just give it a minute until the rain eased off.
Half an hour later, as the rain steadily got worse, and the kids were becoming more bored, and therefore more of a pain, the family looked to me for a PLAN B. I consulted maps, I wracked my brain, I thought back to all the months of planning for an idea of where to go.
We went to the cinema. Brilliant, not original, but brilliant nonetheless. We arrived back at DTD (you mean back where we had come from) and stood outside the cinema hoping for a family film to see. There werent any. We would have watched POC again, but it was a bit much for the kids.
It looked like wed have to watch Seabiscuit (what???) which didnt inspire me to be honest. It was about a horse, until I spotted Freaky Friday, which had a certificate suggesting it would be suitable for my two precious innocents.
So in we went, got the tickets, the film was just starting so we need to hurry said man in kiosk. Of course, everyone (except me) needed the restroom, so I spent a long five minutes waiting for the ladies to powder their noses, thinking how we were missing the film etc etc. They came back. No, no time for popcorn, you had your chance and your bladder came first. Onwards.
Our screen was in the next time zone it was that far from the lobby. It was miles away. Eventually we got in, and it was packed and we had to be that annoying family who disturb an entire row to get to their seats. Sorry, sorry, excuse me, so sorry, oh was that your foot, sorry!!
The film was quite good, in fact it was a remake of the film with Jodie Foster from the 70s. Jamie Lee Curtis was in it and was very good. We all enjoyed it, but I must say, the US parts of the audience react very differently to us at home. When a scene was funny, us Brits just smiled or chuckled quietly. The Yanks however, were rolling in the aisles, guffawing and almost having accidents.
Nothing wrong with that, in fact it made the film more enjoyable. It was just one of the subtle differences of culture that I noticed.
After the film we decided to go and eat at the Rainforest Café. I wasnt really hungry, but it was time to eat so I had to!! We drove down towards the Marketplace, it was still raining. We approached the elephant for our adventures to begin.
Not so fast family of wetness. There is an hours wait. Please browse our shop and spend lots of money. We did. Sweatshirts were purchased for Louise and I, they were on the Sale rack at $6 each. Now that's more like it. They wouldnt have been my first choice, but they were cheap, big and warm, and I was wet through. I felt much better once I had it on.
We then had a wander to other shops to try and find the girls some cheap flip flop things as they were barefoot at that time. We couldn't so ended up spending $30 on two pairs of sandals with a Mickey on. I love it when it rains!!!!
The girls had their sweatshirts on now, so the rucksack was down to its original weight. Apart from the addition of the ponchos!!!! Wet ponchos.
Our meal was very good. I know some on these boards have had a bad time here, but we always enjoy it. I was slightly tentative this time after hearing bad reports, but it was fine. Of course, it was pretty rushed, and pricey, but I think you have to expect that.
I had a Stir Fry thing which was lovely, and Louise had Pasta, which was mountainous. The girls ordered something healthy like burger, but by this time they were too tired to eat. They picked at it, and left most of it.
The meal was $61.
We trudged wearily back to the car (it was still raining) and drove home in a damp manner.
We were all safely tucked up in bed by 10.00.
Tomorrow Animal Kingdom
Me - Craig, only just 33. Rucksack carrier and stroller pusher.
Louise - Wife, 34, slowly becoming addicted to WDW.
Emily - Aged 8. Moody, full of attitude and daddys girl.
Rebecca - Aged 6. Comedian, Olympic eater and worrier.
The Williams tour of Florida restrooms, sponsored by VISA.
Day Six Tuesday 19th August Then it really rained.
Everyone had benefited from our half day yesterday, and we all arose with smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts!! So much so that I relented on the military style plan and let the kids go in the pool until 8.30.
Dragged them out and showered and dressed them. We had eaten, dressed and arrived at DTD by 10.15, just in time for Disney Quest to open at 10.30. We parked very close, which was good because today was HOT.
Hows Ryan rucksack doing today?
Camcorder
Camera
Two twirly fan spray things
Autograph books
Two sweatshirts (purchased from MGM for when kids are cold indoors)
Suncream
Bobbles
No iced drinks today after the last few days Id rather buy them than carry them around.
We turned the corner of DQ, great no queue, all seems quiet. Thats because its shut. It didnt open until 11.30. Great planning Williams.
So now what? It was unavoidable, we had to look at some shops for an hour. Well , the shops didnt open until 10.30 so we slowly strolled down past the Bongo Cuban place and the cinema. We looked across the water at the new DVC development. It looks very impressive. As we wandered there was a DVC booth with a very friendly chap just waiting to relieve me of several thousand pounds.
I wandered across, secretly hoping hed convince me and Id have no choice but to join. I leafed through the brochures as he chatted away. Louise eventually joined me, stayed for 10 seconds, and then dragged me away. Ok, so we cant afford it..since when did that ever stop her buying anything in the past???
The first shop to open was the Candy shop (forgot the name, but may have been Candy Cauldron). What a shop. The kids had eyes like dinner plates. Similar to the candy man shop in Willy Wonka is how I would describe it.
After five minutes of drooling, we all choose something suitably high in sugar and sat outside to eat them. These things were so sickly even the kids couldnt finish them, and they would eat sugar out of the bag if we let them.
We then continued to browse various shops, including the DQ shop, Cirque shop and lots of others. At 11.15 we joined the already growing queue to enter DQ, and at 11.27, it started to rain. Big, cold drops, most of which were hitting me!!!
The doors opened and the small crowd rushed the CMs in order to stay dry. The CMs were no match and the lobby was a rugby match.
Got into the first lift to leave. Having no idea where anything was (which is unheard of in all the other parks) I panicked when the lift doors opened. Like a rat in a lab experiment, I quickly surveyed the scene and made a decision which way to go. We ended up going on Aladdin first, in fact we were the first on it. I loved it, but thought the kids would struggle to operate the helmets etc. I was wrong, they did better than I did!!!
Then we got on the river paddling thing. The girls didnt want to paddle so it was up to me and Louise (one stroke a minute) Williams to navigate the rapids. We did OK, but when we finished I was exhausted.
Next we queued for POC. The queue didnt look that long, but it took AGES to move. We eventually got on, and Emily was getting all worried about what this ride might entail. As I said she was being a real wuss this trip. She was almost in tears when the CM talked us through it, but like the good parents we are, we told her that she was spoiling the whole holiday and she should buck up. We put her helmet on and threw her into the booth. The gentle touch always works!
Anyway, in the end she loved the ride, and I thought it was really well done. Very clever.
By this time we were starving. You will have noticed the absence of restroom stops so far to day. There was one whilst shopping but I cant think where, and of course we had one now pre-lunch.
We took the elevator (not the lift) up to the Cheesecake Factory. I had been looking forward to this. I LOVE cheesecake. And boy was I hungry.
The place was fairly empty and we ordered our food. At this stage of the holiday we hadnt really remembered how large the portions are in the US. So I ordered myself a chilli hot dog with cheese (and fries), Louise a chicken sandwich thingy and the kids chicken strips with fries.
Well, this fine spread had to be transported to our table on THREE trays. Everything was huge. My chilli dog took up almost one tray, and the girls couldnt be seen behind their mountain of food. It cost almost $50 but we could have easily shared and made it cheaper.
Of course, I polished mine off no problem. It would have been rude not to. Louise did OK, but the girls looked like they hadnt touched their food, and it was coming out of their ears.
I was gutted that we were all too full to have some cheesecake. To be honest, I couldnt find the counter where they sold it anyway (different types of food are at different counters). I didnt try to hard, and thought we may return later to attack the desserts. We didnt, as the next time I felt hungry was a day after landing back in England.
Back to the fun. Next Louise and I did the Fight the Comix game. Great fun, but you dont half look stupid doing it. At one point I got so excited that I knocked my VR helmet off. Its hard to look cool when youve got a pretend light saber in your hand and your helmet is swinging back and forth on its rope about a foot above your head. I managed to very casually put it back on, and continue my battle, and of course I came first in our group. Louise came second, but she was a LONG way back.
We then found our way to Buzz Lightyears Astro Blaster. This is a mix between dodgems and Its a Knockout. Basically, there are two people in each car, one drives and the other fires footballs at everyone else. The driver has to drive over the loose balls to suck them up. You get the idea.
Rebecca was too small to go on, so Louise took her on the video games whilst I took Emily into battle. I drove. It was all a bit frantic, and Im not sure how well we did but Emily enjoyed it. I got a trifle competitive (surely not), and ended up trying to drive and shoot at the same time. It was all over too quickly, and off we got.
I then had a couple of games on the Mighty Ducks game. After one practice run the score of which I will not report, I then won two games on the trot. That is what being a natural athlete does for you.
My pride intact, and my ego fed, we left at around 2.45 (after a restroom stop).
We exited into the shop, and it was raining. Well, no, it wasnt raining, it was a major tropical rainstorm. The shop was jammed with sheltering people, and it looked set for a long time. It was time to admit defeat and purchase those ponchos.
I was quite happy that the adult ones they had were the see through type and the kids got the yellow. If a poncho can look anything other than ridiculous, the see through ones in my view do. They go well with my eyes!!
Protected from the rain by our Neutron Protector Shields (ponchos you can tell Id spent the morning at DQ) we made a run for the car. The water was puddling up to our ankles. The girls all had flip flops on so they just took theirs off. Of course, being the sensible one, I had my park commando trainers on, and these soon turned into sponges, and I looked like someone trying to walk on the moon, they got so heavy.
We made it back to the car, disrobed (ponchos only) and got in. The plan was MGM to make up for the morning we missed yesterday. We were there in 10 minutes, but the rain was really bad.
We paid the parking fee, and I tried to find a parking spot near the front. We did OK, but thought wed just give it a minute until the rain eased off.
Half an hour later, as the rain steadily got worse, and the kids were becoming more bored, and therefore more of a pain, the family looked to me for a PLAN B. I consulted maps, I wracked my brain, I thought back to all the months of planning for an idea of where to go.
We went to the cinema. Brilliant, not original, but brilliant nonetheless. We arrived back at DTD (you mean back where we had come from) and stood outside the cinema hoping for a family film to see. There werent any. We would have watched POC again, but it was a bit much for the kids.
It looked like wed have to watch Seabiscuit (what???) which didnt inspire me to be honest. It was about a horse, until I spotted Freaky Friday, which had a certificate suggesting it would be suitable for my two precious innocents.
So in we went, got the tickets, the film was just starting so we need to hurry said man in kiosk. Of course, everyone (except me) needed the restroom, so I spent a long five minutes waiting for the ladies to powder their noses, thinking how we were missing the film etc etc. They came back. No, no time for popcorn, you had your chance and your bladder came first. Onwards.
Our screen was in the next time zone it was that far from the lobby. It was miles away. Eventually we got in, and it was packed and we had to be that annoying family who disturb an entire row to get to their seats. Sorry, sorry, excuse me, so sorry, oh was that your foot, sorry!!
The film was quite good, in fact it was a remake of the film with Jodie Foster from the 70s. Jamie Lee Curtis was in it and was very good. We all enjoyed it, but I must say, the US parts of the audience react very differently to us at home. When a scene was funny, us Brits just smiled or chuckled quietly. The Yanks however, were rolling in the aisles, guffawing and almost having accidents.
Nothing wrong with that, in fact it made the film more enjoyable. It was just one of the subtle differences of culture that I noticed.
After the film we decided to go and eat at the Rainforest Café. I wasnt really hungry, but it was time to eat so I had to!! We drove down towards the Marketplace, it was still raining. We approached the elephant for our adventures to begin.
Not so fast family of wetness. There is an hours wait. Please browse our shop and spend lots of money. We did. Sweatshirts were purchased for Louise and I, they were on the Sale rack at $6 each. Now that's more like it. They wouldnt have been my first choice, but they were cheap, big and warm, and I was wet through. I felt much better once I had it on.
We then had a wander to other shops to try and find the girls some cheap flip flop things as they were barefoot at that time. We couldn't so ended up spending $30 on two pairs of sandals with a Mickey on. I love it when it rains!!!!
The girls had their sweatshirts on now, so the rucksack was down to its original weight. Apart from the addition of the ponchos!!!! Wet ponchos.
Our meal was very good. I know some on these boards have had a bad time here, but we always enjoy it. I was slightly tentative this time after hearing bad reports, but it was fine. Of course, it was pretty rushed, and pricey, but I think you have to expect that.
I had a Stir Fry thing which was lovely, and Louise had Pasta, which was mountainous. The girls ordered something healthy like burger, but by this time they were too tired to eat. They picked at it, and left most of it.
The meal was $61.
We trudged wearily back to the car (it was still raining) and drove home in a damp manner.
We were all safely tucked up in bed by 10.00.
Tomorrow Animal Kingdom
They are so funny
