Daysleeper40
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2007
- Messages
- 526
Links to prequael and previous days can be found here
Thursday 12th May 2011 -
If you have been following this trippie so far you will know that we had planned a shopping day but had also waivered on this a bit the night before. A day at Universal Studios was also on the cards and it really all rested on how tired we were after our two days at Disney where we had visited three parks already. We also had a big Magic Kingdom Day in the plan for Friday and wanted to be in good form for that. As it happens I had woken up at 7am but easily got back to sleep until the alarm went off at 8am. M slept through the alarm so I re-set it for 9am and made the decision that M would be having a more restful day! So I headed into the bathroom and was very suprised to see him up and getting dressed when I re-emerged. We were both ready and on our way by 9am - first stop was the hotel lobby to buy I Ride Trolly passes. We got 14 day ones and I think it was $35 all in. I think the trolly is great value and is probably the main reason we don't feel the need to hire a car in Florida.
We didn't have far to go for our breakfast as we planned on dining at the I-Hop just next door to our hotel. LOVE the I-Hop. Very fairly priced and you've got to love the variety on offer! We settled into a booth and persused the menu. M was all for "trying something new" and ordered Blueberry Waffles and I was very virtuous (after my mound of Lava cake the night before) and opted for one of their healthier plates called a 2x2x2. It had 2x pancakes, 2x turkey rashers and some scrambled egg.
Look how happy M is to be having dessert for breakfast!!
We both had a coffee and M had orange juice while I just opted for iced water. The whole lot was lovely and only cost $30 including tip. REALLY love the I-Hop!!
Having re-fueled I had a date with Walgreens to try to get some makeup that you can't buy in the UK. The brand is Wet n Wild and although it is a pretty cheap drugstore brand it is actually really good quality. I got a few more items too and dropped them back at the hotel as I was concerned some of the cream products would melt if I walked around with them all day. They didn't have one of the palettes that I was after which was a bit disappointing but as it was right next to the hotel I figured I might be able to get it another day. M was very patient as I browsed the makeup but I think he was quite relived once it was over!
We waited for the trolly for a good 15 minutes but we only travelled one stop and we were at the Premium Outlets. M immediately saw the North Face store and got quite over-excited about it. It's funny because he hates shopping at home but is like a machine when he gets to an American outlet mall! We both got some great bargains at North Face - tops for $50 each that would cost a ton more at home. Does feel funny to be buying cold weather gear in Florida but we will definately get the use out of them at home.
Lots more shopping ensued and I think the final list was:
Fi - North Face fleece, 3x tops from Forever 21, 1x pair of Sketchers.
Mark - North Face jacket, 2x Tee shirts from the Nike store (had to go back and get the tag taken off one of them later in the day), 1 Under Armour top, 1x swim shorts, Nike Trainers and a pair of Sketchers.
See - M is actually way better at shopping than me! We were both supposed to be looking for jeans but just couldn't be bothered. M did try a few pairs on but I couldn't even bring myself to do that. I hate jeans shopping - I find it really difficult to find one's that fit well. Neither of us wanted to spoil the day hunting for jeans so we gave up on that pretty early on! We did stop in the food court at some point and got a pop for $2. Last shop of the day was the Reebok store - which is sort of out on it's own which is weird - where M ummed and ahhed over the trainers for ages but didn't actually get any. We'd both had enough of shopping by now and hopped back on the trolly to drop our loot at the hotel:
We then decided to re-live our 2007 "Shopping & Splashing" day by spending a bit of time at Wet n Wild which is just over the road from the Sheraton Studio City (love this hotels location). We arrived at the water park for 3.30pm and it closed at 5pm so we quickly got a small locker for $11 (inc $3 deposit) and ran straight over to Storm which is M's favourite ride. It's just funny - like being flushed down the loo!!
According to M's notes we then went on:
Blast
Brainwash
Disco H20
Black Hole
Flyer
...and then bobbed in the wave pool until it was time to leave. Back in 2007 I had a bad experience on Black Hole where I fell off and cracked my head on the side and I have to admit I was a bit nervous going on it again. We opted out of Bomb Bay or Der Stukka - frankly once in a lifetime is enough for me! We didn't stop to take pictures in Wet n Wild but here is a linky to the website in case anyone wants to have a look: Wet n Wild
Both of us really enjoy this waterpark - there is no theming to speak of but the rides are way better than the offerings at Disney. It is great for bigger kids and thrill junkies - and we fit both of those categories!
Walked back to the hotel in wet shorts which was highly uncomfortable and hopped in the shower straight away. We had a very long conversation about where to have dinner and finally decided on Sizzler. So back we walked past Wet n Wild and got to Sizzler. I swear it looked like it was closed from the outside. I don't know if we were early or just didn't look properly but were really thought it had closed down. Turned out later that it was most definately open so I don't know what was going on there! It was all good though as we carrie don walking and ended up in Chilli's which turned out to be a favourite meal of the holiday.
Firstly they were having buy one get one free on drinks and secondly the dessert we had was to die for! The chips to start and main meals were great too...
Chips and dip to share
M - Chicken Parm with mash & brocolli
F - Taco's
Dessert - Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie (we split one between us)
Drinks - 3 Bud Lights each.
$50 inc tip - fantastic value for money
Definately big enough to share...
Honestly can't say enough good things about Chilli's - really great end to our very relaxing day. I'm glad we didn't go to Universal Studios as I think we would have been way too tired. We were both in bed planning our day at Magic Kingdom together by 9.30pm and asleep by 10pm.
Thursday 12th May 2011 -
If you have been following this trippie so far you will know that we had planned a shopping day but had also waivered on this a bit the night before. A day at Universal Studios was also on the cards and it really all rested on how tired we were after our two days at Disney where we had visited three parks already. We also had a big Magic Kingdom Day in the plan for Friday and wanted to be in good form for that. As it happens I had woken up at 7am but easily got back to sleep until the alarm went off at 8am. M slept through the alarm so I re-set it for 9am and made the decision that M would be having a more restful day! So I headed into the bathroom and was very suprised to see him up and getting dressed when I re-emerged. We were both ready and on our way by 9am - first stop was the hotel lobby to buy I Ride Trolly passes. We got 14 day ones and I think it was $35 all in. I think the trolly is great value and is probably the main reason we don't feel the need to hire a car in Florida.
We didn't have far to go for our breakfast as we planned on dining at the I-Hop just next door to our hotel. LOVE the I-Hop. Very fairly priced and you've got to love the variety on offer! We settled into a booth and persused the menu. M was all for "trying something new" and ordered Blueberry Waffles and I was very virtuous (after my mound of Lava cake the night before) and opted for one of their healthier plates called a 2x2x2. It had 2x pancakes, 2x turkey rashers and some scrambled egg.
Look how happy M is to be having dessert for breakfast!!
We both had a coffee and M had orange juice while I just opted for iced water. The whole lot was lovely and only cost $30 including tip. REALLY love the I-Hop!!
Having re-fueled I had a date with Walgreens to try to get some makeup that you can't buy in the UK. The brand is Wet n Wild and although it is a pretty cheap drugstore brand it is actually really good quality. I got a few more items too and dropped them back at the hotel as I was concerned some of the cream products would melt if I walked around with them all day. They didn't have one of the palettes that I was after which was a bit disappointing but as it was right next to the hotel I figured I might be able to get it another day. M was very patient as I browsed the makeup but I think he was quite relived once it was over!
We waited for the trolly for a good 15 minutes but we only travelled one stop and we were at the Premium Outlets. M immediately saw the North Face store and got quite over-excited about it. It's funny because he hates shopping at home but is like a machine when he gets to an American outlet mall! We both got some great bargains at North Face - tops for $50 each that would cost a ton more at home. Does feel funny to be buying cold weather gear in Florida but we will definately get the use out of them at home.
Lots more shopping ensued and I think the final list was:
Fi - North Face fleece, 3x tops from Forever 21, 1x pair of Sketchers.
Mark - North Face jacket, 2x Tee shirts from the Nike store (had to go back and get the tag taken off one of them later in the day), 1 Under Armour top, 1x swim shorts, Nike Trainers and a pair of Sketchers.
See - M is actually way better at shopping than me! We were both supposed to be looking for jeans but just couldn't be bothered. M did try a few pairs on but I couldn't even bring myself to do that. I hate jeans shopping - I find it really difficult to find one's that fit well. Neither of us wanted to spoil the day hunting for jeans so we gave up on that pretty early on! We did stop in the food court at some point and got a pop for $2. Last shop of the day was the Reebok store - which is sort of out on it's own which is weird - where M ummed and ahhed over the trainers for ages but didn't actually get any. We'd both had enough of shopping by now and hopped back on the trolly to drop our loot at the hotel:
We then decided to re-live our 2007 "Shopping & Splashing" day by spending a bit of time at Wet n Wild which is just over the road from the Sheraton Studio City (love this hotels location). We arrived at the water park for 3.30pm and it closed at 5pm so we quickly got a small locker for $11 (inc $3 deposit) and ran straight over to Storm which is M's favourite ride. It's just funny - like being flushed down the loo!!
According to M's notes we then went on:
Blast
Brainwash
Disco H20
Black Hole
Flyer
...and then bobbed in the wave pool until it was time to leave. Back in 2007 I had a bad experience on Black Hole where I fell off and cracked my head on the side and I have to admit I was a bit nervous going on it again. We opted out of Bomb Bay or Der Stukka - frankly once in a lifetime is enough for me! We didn't stop to take pictures in Wet n Wild but here is a linky to the website in case anyone wants to have a look: Wet n Wild
Both of us really enjoy this waterpark - there is no theming to speak of but the rides are way better than the offerings at Disney. It is great for bigger kids and thrill junkies - and we fit both of those categories!
Walked back to the hotel in wet shorts which was highly uncomfortable and hopped in the shower straight away. We had a very long conversation about where to have dinner and finally decided on Sizzler. So back we walked past Wet n Wild and got to Sizzler. I swear it looked like it was closed from the outside. I don't know if we were early or just didn't look properly but were really thought it had closed down. Turned out later that it was most definately open so I don't know what was going on there! It was all good though as we carrie don walking and ended up in Chilli's which turned out to be a favourite meal of the holiday.
Firstly they were having buy one get one free on drinks and secondly the dessert we had was to die for! The chips to start and main meals were great too...
Chips and dip to share
M - Chicken Parm with mash & brocolli
F - Taco's
Dessert - Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie (we split one between us)
Drinks - 3 Bud Lights each.
$50 inc tip - fantastic value for money
Definately big enough to share...
Honestly can't say enough good things about Chilli's - really great end to our very relaxing day. I'm glad we didn't go to Universal Studios as I think we would have been way too tired. We were both in bed planning our day at Magic Kingdom together by 9.30pm and asleep by 10pm.
