phgannon
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2008
- Messages
- 82
UPDATE and APOLOGY - 14th Sept '09
If you're wondering where the photos have gone it's because they were on my website which has since been updated and, in the process, the links to the photos have been deleted! Sorry.
However, if you click here then you can read the trip report on the new version of my site complete with photos and video. I hope this helps.
For those of you who just want to watch the video then you can find it here: http://www.haighgannon.com/videos/orlando_nov07_video.html
The Cast
Me - Patrick - just turned 40 - designated driver, planner, holder-of-purse-strings, gets easily excited and lover of holidays... especially Disney
DW- Fe - 33 - lover of dolphins, Eeyore, Pooh Bear and all things Disney. Mainly just wants to be told what we're doing and when we're doing it
Preamble
I had decided a long time ago that, when the time came, I was going to celebrate my 40th birthday in style... and I'm now satisfied that I did! I wanted to go away somewhere with DW, just my wife and I, and spend some time together. Everybody needs that once in a while and being a self confessed Americophile I wanted to go to the USA and so I narrowed my choice down to either Las Vegas , New York or Orlando. I'd already been to Vegas as part of a road trip with a friend of mine and his family when I was 19 or so and I'd been to Orlando twice before - once with my Dad and brother when I was 14 and another time with my own family in 2004. Therefore New York was the top contender for quite a while but, to be honest, I didn't feel grown up enough and I wanted some serious fun! So, you'll be glad to read, Orlando was the winner... or there wouldn't be much point to this post now would there?!!
Once I'd got the destination sorted out (which, by the way, DW wholeheartedly approved of!) it was time to get down to some serious planning. Firstly we planned to go in November so as to avoid the heat and the crowds of the summer because October and November are considered to be the best combination of weather and lack of crowds - but you already knew that didn't you? DW's mum very kindly agreed to come and look after the kids for us and, to make it easier for her, we decided to go during term time and wait until the kids had settled into their new school year baring in mind that our DD only started school at the beginning of September.
It probably sounds mean and selfish to you for DW and I to go to Orlando without the kids but we really wanted to do all the things that we couldn't do if we had the kids with us and that became the mission statement for the holiday. It goes without saying that we didn't tell the kids where we were going (and they didn't ask) so as to not upset them and, to this day, we still haven't officially told them where we went!
It was also going to be an action packed, no-time-to-sit-down, going-to-cram-everything-in kind of a holiday. Did we succeed? Well, let's see...
Day 1 - Friday 2nd November - traveling to Orlando
Grandma Dee (DW's mum) arrived just after 10pm last night to come and look after the kids while we're away. This was the earliest that she could get here because she had a rehearsal for a show that she was in. Shortly after Dee's arrival I went to bed - this isn't a reflection on Dee but we just had a really early start in the morning.
I woke at 4am but couldn't get back off to sleep again because there was only another hour to go before it was time to get up and I started to get excited! The kids got up at 7am and there was just enough time for a kiss and a cuddle good bye with the kids before the taxi turned up to take us to the airport. Both kids were perfectly fine with us going and staying behind with Grandma. In fact they were both waving enthusiastically at the window as we drove away... it was almost as if they were happy to see us go!
We checked in at Manchester airport okay and skipped the queue for security by being invited to go in the Fast Lane (we're not even in Orlando yet and we've got our first Fastpass!) courtesy of Virgin. On the other side of security we went straight into the Escape Lounge (another courtesy of Virgin) and had some tea. To pass the time we played a game of Scrabble on our phones - the wonders of technology!
The flight was called on time, we boarded and found our lovely seats in the Upper Class section. We were flying with Virgin Atlantic and our seats were directly opposite each other with just one seat away from the nose of the plane. The flight was mostly okay but a little bumpy at times. I think DW regretted having chosen soup for lunch because that's when we hit some turbulence! At least she didn't spill any. I, on the other hand, had to have my meal tray changed because my orange juice went everywhere. After lunch we both had a snooze and soon enough we arrived in Orlando where it was very warm (26°C) and sunny. We passed quickly through immigration, security, customs and baggage reclaim - everything was very slick - and then collected our 2 seater black convertible Chrysler complete with Sat Nav (which wouldn't stick to the dash board so DW has to hold it every time we used it!) and off we went!
The guy at the Dollar car rental counter had pre-programmed the Sat Nav to find the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal and we managed to find our way okay once we got used to the Sat Nav which gives instructions in a slightly different way to ours at home. The Hard Rock Hotel is an impressive looking building with a very long sweeping driveway and a guitar themed fountain out the front. We pulled up at the front and had the car valet parked. The check in was very smooth and quick with no queue. The only problem was that we didn't get a room with a King bed that I requested - instead it had 2 Queen beds. It was a Club Room and the only perk of note was access to the small Club Lounge on the Club floor (access using the room key card) where they had a continental breakfast in the morning, hors d'oeuvres in the evening and “evening sweets” each night. This sounds lovely but there aren't enough tables to go around at breakfast so it's really busy. You also get a DVD player in the room but it's not multi-regional so we ended up using our own DVD player.
Other than this the room was nice but I'd leave it at that! The bed was a bit too soft, the room always seemed a little too cool and the temperature control system didn't seem to either cool or warm the room! The safe was pathetically small with only just enough room for the laptop (and we've got a very dinky laptop) and a few other small bits and pieces but only if the laptop was taken out of it's case first and stood upright! Very bizarre. There was a well stocked mini-bar, heaps of TV channels with good clear reception and excellent in-room on demand (movies and TV). There was no bedside table on my side of the bed so I had to use the arm of a comfy chair... but the bathroom was nice! Oh, and the windows in the room didn't open and there wasn't much of a view. However, on the plus side our room was right at the end of the corridor so it was nice and quiet.
Anyway, we settled in and semi-unpacked because we were only going to be here for 3 nights. At about 6pm we were starving so we went to The Kitchen restaurant for something to eat. I had Maccaroni Cheese and DW had a burger. Both were nice and filled us up and afterwards we went back to the room. I did some organising / tidying while DW went straight to bed.
Day 2 - Saturday 3rd November - Discovery Cove
We both woke at 5am which was a wee bit too early even though we needed an early start. I called room service when they opened at 6am and had breakfast brought to the room before setting off to Discovery Cove. We got horribly lost a couple of times but eventually the Sat Nav pulled through and we got there just a little bit late. The weather was gorgeous all day without a cloud in the sky even though it was a little cool especially that early in the morning although later on it warmed up to about 24°C.
We were both being a Trainer For A Day which entailed getting treated incredibly well all day. This package, which was booked well in advance, included the regular 30-minute dolphin interaction in the morning, an "enhanced" deep-water dolphin interaction in the afternoon with only the Trainer For A Day group in the lagoon, a double-foot push where you're pushed through the lagoon by a dolphin on each foot, a private individual photo session with two dolphins, a behind-the-scenes tour of the restricted access areas, special meet and greets with tropical birds, sloths and anteaters and you get to spend the whole day with a trainer to learn what it's like to work with the animals. You also get a Discovery Cove gift bag with waterproof camera and Trainer t-shirt.
When we arrived we were introduced to the other 4 people in our group who were going to be trainers for the day and our trainer, Hillary, who was very sweet and very funny. Hillary did a great job of looking after us all day and our every need was taken care of. The first thing she did was take us to breakfast where we had tea and fruit (we were both still full from all the pastries at the hotel!). Then we got fitted out with our shortie wet suits... very snug!! Once suited up our first stop was the Aviary. Hillary did ask if there was anyone in the group who didn't like birds and my hand shot up straight away but I went in all the same. The aviary is split into 3 sections with different birds in each. You could get a little cup of food so the birds would swoop down and feed from it - I gave this a very wide berth especially as the birds had a tendency to land on your head.
By the time we'd moved into the 3rd section of the aviary I'd had enough and needed to leave.. now! Hillary was nowhere to be found and DW was engrossed in the birds and I was panicking. The only way out that I knew of was back the way we came but that meant going through the first two sections again. So I headed towards an unmarked door but the guy dishing out the bird food wanted a conversation about why I wanted to get out but I, frankly speaking, wasn't in the mood! In the end he said that the door lead to the pool. That doesn't sound too bad I thought. On the other side of the door I was out of the aviary but there was just a set of steps to a river and nothing else... nowhere else to go but in the river which was something you were supposed to get in a float all the way round but I had my camera in my hand. So I held my precious camera up high and waded in. I could see a way to the beach on the other side but it was upstream. One or two other people floated past me as I waded up stream but it was getting deeper and deeper. After about a minute a life guard, who'd been watching me from the other side of the river bank, shouted over to me. I explained that I'd had a panic attack in the aviary - he seemed to understand. He took my camera off me so I could swim the 15 meters to the steps because he was above me stood on some rocks. I got out and he handed me my camera. As luck would have it I'd found myself at the entrance to the aviary but it was in the shade and I was now getting very cold! It took about 10 minutes for the rest of the group to come out of the aviary but I was the hero for the rest of the day because I'd swum upstream with my sandals on!
After the excitement of the aviary we had a meet and greet with a Turtle, a Two Toed Sloth and a Kookaburra before going behind the scenes where we saw the engineering, water tanks, purification and the food preparation area. Then it was time for the first dolphin encounter. This was a regular dolphin interaction that everyone gets and it lasts about 30 minutes with quite a number of other groups in the lagoon at the same time as you. Our dolphin was Diego. We got to stroke, kiss and feed Diego but it was all a little staged for my liking and all done on cues and prompts.
The best bit turned out to be when the trainer (not Hillary but another girl) was giving this very intense and serious talk about Diego's anatomy. Diego was on his back in the water so we could see his belly and the trainer was explaining that his genitals were tucked up inside him at which I instantly remarked "he's not the only one". This completely flawed Hillary whose shoulders were going as she tried to choke back the laughter. The rest of the group were equally amused and the trainer doing the talking did a stalwart job in carrying on with the talk and ignoring my comment despite the laughter from everyone else. The finale of this interaction is when Diego takes you for a ride down the length of the lagoon while you have one hand on his dorsal and another on his right flipper. I was the last to go here and I got what they call the "turbo ride".
I'd like to say that the whole interaction really did something for me like everyone else who's done it but it didn't really. It was good but I didn't feel "at one" with the dolphin as so many people seem to.
After the interaction we had lunch sat outside in the blazing sunshine (lovely!) and then we saw their sharks (up close and personal) and we each had a turn to stroke one (very rough skin like sandpaper).
Then we were put in a pool with about 20 stingray (I didn't like this at all and soon got out!) and then a pool of big fish (this was better but not much!). The idea behind these two sessions was we were supposed to hand feed them but the stingray have teeth (like molars) and the fish suck the food from your hand. Hmmm... not for me. DW fared slightly better than me and I was really proud of how long she stayed in the water for despite having her toe sucked by one of the big fish.
Then we had 30 minutes on our own. DW and I elected to go in the river (the one that I swam in earlier while escaping from the aviary!) which is much, much, much warmer than the dolphin pools. We went all the way round but it really is an artificial river with some very deep bits, shallow bits, fast and slow currents and waterfalls. It was quite exhausting because, without a life vest on, you have to swim to keep afloat and it's a long way round!
And finally it was time for our second dolphin interaction. This time we had one of the three dolphin pools to ourselves. Excellent! They use two dolphins for this interaction and we were introduced to Capricorn who's their oldest and biggest dolphin. Capricorn is also the dolphin that DW had when she had her interaction here at Christmas 2004 with her mum, Dee. DW went nuts for Capricorn to the point of gushing! More stroking and feeding and tricks. To finish off you take it in turns to swim to the deepest part of the pool where you meet another trainer. You're told to lie on your stomach, lock your knees, don't point your toes and keep your hands by your side. Then, out of nowhere, two dolphins swim up behind you and push you through the water at high speed by putting their noses to the soles of your feet. It's not the most comfortable of experiences but great fun and totally exhilarating.
After this we showered and got dressed, collected our goodies (Trainer T Shirt, photos, photo CD and DVD) and then we set off back to the hotel with the car roof down! Very blowy.
Back at the hotel we both feel asleep on the bed at 5pm totally exhausted. The intention was to wake at 6:30pm and go and have supper in The Kitchen but, instead, we slept through to 9pm, ordered room service and watched Die Hard 4.0 on the In Room Movie Channel. DW fell asleep again as soon as she'd finished her meal but I managed to see all but the last 5 minutes of the movie... doh!
Day 3 - Sunday 4th November - Universal Studios
We managed to sleep through until about 7am even though the clocks went back here at 2am. We tried to have breakfast in the Club Lounge but it was heaving. Instead we just got what we wanted and took it back to the room and ate at the table in the corner. Before we left to come here we had built into our itinerary times to talk to the kids and Dee on the video phone using Skype on my laptop so, after breakfast, we called them on Skype at 9am (2pm in the UK). Both kids were happy and smiley and did things like blow kisses, pull faces, "hug" the camera, etc. It was so good to see that they're ok. We also spoke to Dee on her own for a bit too and she said that everything was okay. That gave us a huge sense of relief.
The video call over we headed off to Universal Studios. It was another beautiful day and even warmer so we walked the short walk from the hotel to the Studios. At the turnstiles we presented our key cards only to be told that they don't get us into the parks - oh, I thought they did! The confusion arose because the room cards do act as Priority Passes for the rides once you're inside the parks and they'll get you on a ride whenever you want and however many times you want - no restrictions (Disney World please take note!).
So, we walked back to the hotel room to search for our park tickets that the turnstile assistant said may have been given to us when we checked in but we couldn't find them or remember them being given to us. So we went to the Concierge desk who said that you don't get park tickets with the room - they need to be purchased separately. Fortunately I had got a voucher for a couple of Flex Tickets but the hotel couldn't, for some reason, convert them into actual tickets. They suggested that we go to the Group Sales Counter at the park entrance and try and convert the voucher there. This we did (we didn't walk this time - went by bicycle rickshaw instead) and a very helpful chap managed to change the voucher into tickets with no waiting! Phew.
Once inside the park we did Shrek 4D, the Horror Make Up Show (we didn't learn anything but it was hysterical), Terminator 2 3D (it seems bit dated now!), Twister (surprisingly good), E.T. Adventure (cute but good), Jaws (excellent!), Men In Black Alien Attack (good fun) and Animal Actors (rubbish!). We also saw the Blues Brothers Revue again which was very good but much shorter than last time. We had lunch at Mel's Drive In Diner while a rock n roll band played (very cool) and on our way out of the park we heard them playing again so we stopped by. When they started doing the Hand Jive, DW started doing all the actions and this was noticed by the band so they wanted her up on stage for their "participation" bit. The only way DW would go up was if I went with her so... in for a penny and all that. It was a good laugh especially when the band kept playing faster and faster. It was very hard to keep up with all the actions but very funny.
On the way out of the Studios DW suggested that we check out City Walk and get a pizza. Well, we checked out City Walk and there wasn't a pizza in sight! The only glimmer was a place that was shut! But we did have a laugh going round.
Back at the hotel we asked the Concierge about pizza and he gave us a few numbers of places that deliver pizza to the hotel and among them was Pizza Hut - things were looking up at this stage. In the room I called Pizza Hut but it would be a 90 minute wait. Scrap that. In the end we called room service and both had grilled salmon which was nice but a little cool.
Day 4 - Monday 5th November - Islands of Adventure and Magic Kingdom
We both got up at about 7am and went to pickup some breakfast things from the Club Lounge to take back to the room but it was much quieter in there today and we managed to get a table so we stayed until it got too noisy! Went back to the room, packed and by 10:30am we were downstairs in the lobby checking out. We left our baggage in the hotel luggage store and went off to Islands Of Adventure (IOA) by water taxi which was waiting at the dock.
I wasn't too sure what to plan to do today seeing as how we were checking out of the Hard Rock but IOA turned out to be a really good choice even though we only went on a few things. The weather was really good again too - very hot and very sunny. Gosh there are some really extreme rides here (like The Hulk, Fearfall and Dueling Dragons) that are not for the faint hearted and that sort of includes us. But we did go on Spiderman which is a cross between 3D and a ride. It was truly excellent - especially the 400 foot sensory drop off the skyscraper as you really do start to believe that you're falling. So much so that we rode it again after lunch. We also did the Jurassic Park River Ride which was good - especially the T Rex at the end before you get soaked.
We also saw the Sinbad Stunt Show which was really lame with some very hammy acting! By 3pm we'd had enough and went back to the hotel to collect the bags and the car and off we went to Disney!
We drove straight to the Grand Floridian Hotel which was our home now for the rest of the stay. The hotel is incredibly similar in style and theme to the Disneyland Hotel in Paris so we were immediately at home having stayed there 4 times. On check in our room was ready and we were taken there by a porter in a buggy along with our luggage. Our room was in building number 9 (Big Pine Key) just across the way from the main building on the shore of The Seven Seas Lagoon and, best of all, we had a view of the Magic Kingdom which was pre-booked. The room was a regular room but it was fabulous! It was really homely and big. It had one firm king bed with bedside tables on both sides of the bed (Hard Rock Hotel please note!), sofa, comfy chair with footstool, coffee table, a sensible sized safe in the closet (Hard Rock Hotel also please note!), a desk, plenty of power points, a fridge, a large LG flat screen TV, a lovely bathroom and a balcony complete with furniture. Fabulous.
Once I'd tipped the porter and he'd gone we literally ditched our stuff and headed straight to the monorail and one stop later we were walking into the Magic Kingdom. Both Universal Studios yesterday and IOA this morning were pretty quiet but the Magic Kingdom was quite busy at 5pm in the afternoon.
We saw the Dream Along With Mickey show that was in full swing on the stage in front of Cinderella's Castle (it being the "Year Of A Millions Dreams") and the show featured a full cast of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald (who was the hero), Peter Pan, Captain Hook, etc.
After the show we headed into Fronteirland to go on Big Thunder Mountain but it was quite a queue so we got a couple of Fast Passes and went and watched the Big Bear Jamboree which I've not seen in 26 years! It was pretty funny and exactly how I remembered it.
By this time it was dark, the temperature had dropped and DW was getting cold so we hunted the shops for a fleece for DW. We eventually found a nice Tinkerbelle one in a shop on Main Street USA. We then went back to Fronteirland and rode Big Thunder in the dark. Great fun. We then went on the Phantom Manor which has been updated and much improved. We then decided to call it a day but on the way out the Spectromagic Parade was in motion so we stopped and watched the rest of it. We actually got a good view. We were then in the mood again for pizza like we were last night so we jumped on the monorail and had a look in the Contemporary Hotel for a place that sells pizza without luck so we got back on the monorail and went back to the Floridian to find that their 24 hour food court sells pizza so we stopped by for supper. The pizza, when eventually it came, was huge (16 inches!) and we could only manage half of it. It wasn't that great but we were starving.
We went back to the room, unpacked and flaked out in our gorgeous room.
Day 5 - Tuesday 6th November - Disney Studios
Just after I got dressed this morning I went out onto our balcony and took some photos and videos of our view of the Magic Kingdom along with the early morning sunshine and mist on the lake. It was so beautiful.
Afterwards we had breakfast at the Floridian Café and whilst we were seated and ordered straight away our food took about 30 minutes to materialise. DW had French Toast and I had a Mickey shaped waffle, they were delicious but just took too long to arrive. Breakfast was washed down with Twinings English Breakfast Tea (a little piece of home) and fresh orange juice. I also had a mango smoothie which was fabulous.
We went back to the room to kill some time before our next Skype video call to the kids. While waiting I went out on the balcony to take some more photos of the view now that the mist had lifted and the sun was higher.
The kids had just got back from school and were fine and happy to see us. After the video call we went to the Disney Studios by catching the bus at the front of the hotel.
My little toe, that started to hurt yesterday, gave me a lot of trouble today so much so that I hobbled all round the Studios!
We ate in the Sci Fi Dine In Theater Restaurant which is really cool. It's a mock drive in movie theater and the tables are inside cars that all face a massive movie screen onto which is projected newsreels and movie trailers from the 50s while the waitresses whiz around on roller skates. I ordered ribs and DW had a chicken burger. Once again the food took ages to come and when it did my ribs were so cold that I had to send them back although they were much better second time around. After lunch we saw the Muppet 3D show which was really funny and has, what is arguably, the best pre show entertainment in the whole of Orlando.
We then saw the Indiana Jones Stunt Show which really put the Universal Stunt Show to shame! We finished off with the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. There were no Fast Passes left so we got in the regular queue which stated the the wait time was 45 minutes. I said to Fe "well, we haven't got anywhere else to be!". As it happened it only took about 20 minutes to get onto the ride which, as usual, is fabulous.
We were intending to go and see Fantasmic but neither of us were that fussed about seeing it again (please don't shoot us!) when the time came and my toe was really sore by this point so we caught the waiting bus and came straight back to our room in time watch Wishes from our balcony. It was really something else with the reflections in the Seven Seas Lagoon.
DW then had a look at my troublesome little toe and declared the problem to be a blister so big that if it were any bigger then it would grow arms and legs. I'm so glad that I wasn't just being a wimp by hobbling round all day! DW suggested popping the blister to relieve the pressure, cleaning it with an antiseptic wipe and then putting on a plaster. We didn't have the last two things so DW kindly offered to go to the hotel shop and get them along with some pudding for us both. I must admit that the toe felt much better after it had been operated on and it didn't give me any more trouble for the rest of the trip.
Day 6 - Wednesday 7th November - Busch Gardens and La Nouba
After the experience of having breakfast in Floridian Café yesterday we decided to "play it safe" and have breakfast in bed today and it was lovely. We had a great assortment of fresh pastries, a fruit cup each, Twinings English Breakfast Tea, fresh Orange Juice - fabulous stuff and just what you need to set you up for a busy day.
We got the car from the valet and set off to Busch Gardens which took just over an hour to get there driving down the I4. It was a beautiful day again but a bit cooler to the point that I wore my jeans and took my fleece. We were going to Busch Gardens for the sole purpose of going on the Animal Adventure Tour that I'd pre-booked quite some time ago.
Once at Busch Gardens we checked in for the tour which was due to start in a couple of hours. It had now warmed up quite dramatically so I rented a locker and left my fleece in it. We started off by having a stroll around and saw the Alligators, the magnificent Gorillas, the Elephants and the Giant Tortoises.
We had lunch outside and then went off to find the Animal Adventure Tour meeting point. Apparently there's usually a group of 12 for the tour but today there were only 8 of us (including DW and me). Most of the bunch on the tour were okay (all Americans of course) but there was this couple who were big, loud and always seemed to be in the way when trying to take a photo! The woman was something else in her leopard print top, matching sun visor, flabby arms and oversized sun glasses. She also called each animal on the tour "baby". Urgh!
Anyway, the 2 hour tour was in 2 parts - the first hour was on foot and the second hour in an open back safari truck. On the walk around section of the tour we were introduced to a Clydesdale horse which was huge. Everyone had an opportunity and plenty of time to stroke the horse and ask questions to the keeper. Next stop was two Hippos - a mum and her baby. Once again there was plenty of time to ask questions while the keepers feed them. Both the Clydesdale and the Hippos were in restricted areas behind the scenes which was really cool. While we were fairly close to the Hippos you're not allowed to get too close because they can be quite vicious. Then it was off to see the Lions, Hyenas and Limas from the public viewing areas.
Now it was time to board a flatbed truck that had been adapted for use in the safari. It had a mesh fence all around the flat bed. There wasn't any seating so you had to stand and hold onto the rail as they drove. First stop was the Giraffes and we stayed here for about 15 minutes and we were handed greenery to feed them. Their long necks craned well into the open top enclosure on the back of the truck in search of food - they could sense it from a good distance away. They certainly weren't "backwards at coming forwards" for their snack! Giraffes up close and personal! We all got to stroke, hug and get slobbered on. I was just glad that I took an anti-allergy tablet before setting out for the day!
Next stop was the Black Rhino enclosure and we all got a turn to hand feed him too with a carrot this time. Just awesome. I certainly didn't think that I was going to hand feed a Giraffe and a Rhino today when I got up this morning. After the Black Rhino we went behind the scenes again to see the Orangutans. There wasn't a feeding opportunity here but a long talk from the keepers who use this time to do their various checkups and tests on them e.g. take their temperature, check their fingers and toes, let them play the harmonica, etc. And then it was all over. The tour was much better than I imagined it to be and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have to say that whenever we've been to zoos or safari parks anywhere else the animals have been motionless (the one notable exception was at Knowlsley Safari park when the lions surrounded our car on DD's birthday!) but here has been a real exception. All the animals delighted us with quite a lot of moving around and being really animated.
We didn't do any of the rides at Busch... we were too busy looking at the animals and by 4:15pm we decided to go. The valet brought the car round and off we went back to Disney World. We got back to the hotel at about 5:30pm and another valet took the car off us on arrival and we went back to the room... totally exhausted!
We had supper in our room and then headed out again at 8pm to go and see Cirque Du Soleil's La Nouba in Downtown Disney. We caught the bus from the front of the hotel but it took ages to get there and, to cap it all, it dropped us off at the wrong end of Downtown Disney! So we had to run (quite literally) the entire length of a busy Downtown Disney to the Cirque tent. We arrived panting at 8:40pm, we both had a pee and just caught the last 15 minutes of the 30 minute pre-show. I have to say, personally speaking, that the show was better first time around but it was still excellent all the same. I also have to admit to nodding off for a minute or so about two thirds of the way through the show. I know, I know!
The show finished at 10:30pm and we dashed out and caught one of the few remaining taxis from the rank outside the Cirque tent. It was worth the $20 to get a quick and warm ride straight back to the hotel.
Day 7 - Thursday 8th November - Animal Kingdom and Dinner at Victoria & Albert's
Breakfast in bed again this morning - I could really get used to this! Another video call to the kids after breakfast during which DD burst into tears while she was explaining about Grandma putting plaits in her hair that morning when DD had just wanted one pony tail. This was very hard especially as, through her sobs, she said that she missed us. There were various attempts to pacify her but none worked. Grandma Dee asked DS to get a tissue for DD and as he came back with one I shouted out "I've got one here!" and produced one from my pocket, waved it in front of the camera and told DD to "blow!". DD thought this was very funny and then the tears were gone as quickly as they'd arrived but it was still a tough start to the day.
After the video call we caught the bus from the hotel to the Animal Kingdom and once inside we headed straight into Asia to check out Expedition Everest - gosh isn't it huge?! It's now the tallest Disney landmark. It really does look like they've plonked the Himalayas in the middle of Florida! I was determined to ride it even though it looks pretty scary (bare in mind that it's not that long since I overcame my fear of roller coasters!). DW really wasn't sure about this one either but we both got Fast Passes and then went off to do something else while we waited for our allotted time. We tried the Kilimanjaro Safaris but it was an hour wait time and they'd already run out of Fast Passes. So, instead, we went into Dinoland USA (a bit we'd not been into before like much of the rest of this park!). We found a ride called Dinosaur and jumped on - only a 10 minute wait and no Fast Pass required. It was pretty cool as you were sent back in time to grab a dinosaur and bring it back. Dark and quite fast. Afterwards we had lunch outside. We also did It's Tough To Be A Bug and managed to see it all the way through - we had to make a sharp exit when we saw it with the kids in 2004.
Then it was time to do Everest! Up until the point at which we arrived at the ride DW was undecided as to whether she was going to go on it or not but as we headed for the Fast Pass Return entrance she stayed with me. Respect! There was no waiting at all in the FP line and, before we knew it, we were pulling away on the ride with the lap bar down. I have to say that it looks worse than it is - even the massive drop from the summit to the base. What a rush! I even managed to video quite a bit of it.
After Everest we tried to do a couple of other things but no luck. The queues were just too long so, instead, we hopped on the bus and went back to the hotel. When we were walking through the lobby we asked if they were serving Afternoon Tea and yes they were! We had a table pretty much straight away. We had sandwiches, fresh fluffy scones, jam tarts and strawberries and cream washed down with the best cup of tea since our arrival in Orlando.
Just outside the tea room they were finishing the making of a full sized Gingerbread House made with real Gingerbread... only in Disney! It had taken a full team of bakers 3 days to make the house and the finishing touches were being added while we had tea.
Back in the room we chilled out for a bit and watched TV before getting ready for dinner at Victoria and Albert's. This restaurant has gained high honours from prestigious American fine-dining reviewers, including the AAA 5-Diamond Award. This was a truly amazing 7 course meal. Now, I know what you're thinking because we thought it too... there's no way you can possibly get though seven courses but we did. Each one is really rather wee but sensational. We had a light Bisque served as an "Amuse Bouche" to start with to awaken the taste buds and then the courses began with a White Shaved Truffle, then Seared Duck, then Minnesota Elk Tenderloin, followed by Alaskan Red King Salmon, then Australian Kobe Beef Tenderloin, then a Spiced Apple Gelato and, for pudding, a Tanzanian Chocolate Pyramid with a Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Souffle and a Peruvian Chocolate Ice Cream all washed down with a 1998 Dom Perignon. Yes, we managed to get all the way through but we did regret having the Afternoon Tea!
Day 8 - Friday 9th November - EPCOT
We got up early this morning in order to have a character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare Restaurant in the hotel at 8am which I booked it yesterday afternoon while enquiring about Afternoon Tea. The restaurant was really quiet when we arrived but within 15 minutes it was heaving and really noisy. There was a huge buffet to choose from and the choice was quite overwhelming. Pooh Bear, Tigger, The Mad Hatter and Mary Poppins were doing the rounds and we managed to get a hug and a photo with Pooh but Tigger was taking a lot longer to come round to our table and as soon as we'd got our hug and photo with him we did a runner! It wasn't a calm or relaxed experienced at all in fact it was the complete opposite but at least we'd had one character meal which is one more than we intended to have!
We went straight from the restaurant to the monorail and got off at the Ticket and Transportation Centre where we changed train to go to EPCOT. There was an EPCOT train already at the station but I wanted to sit up front on the monorail which we'd never done before. The front of this train was already occupied so we waited for the next train. In the meantime I did a sprint to the toilets underneath the station because I was hopping from foot to foot! The next monorail train came along and we managed to ride up front which was definitely worth doing even though we had a learner driver who had an instructor stood over him - it just added to the experience!
It was another gorgeous day and I was back in my shorts. Hoorah!
Once in EPCOT we tackled Future World first and walked past Space Ship Earth which was sadly closed for refurbishment so our first task was to get a Fast Pass for Test Track. In the meantime we went on Mission: SPACE on the less intense version (minus the spinning effect during take off). The queue was only about 10 minutes and passed quite quickly through the pre-ride area which was done out like a space training area. For the ride you step into a simulator vehicle and there's a pull out bin to put your belongings in. You pull down your over the shoulder harness and then the console slides towards you - it's quite a snug fit but there's loads of flashing buttons and a joystick for everyone. You're flying to Mars and to do so everyone assumes roles that they were given during the pre-flight briefing, I was the Flight Engineer. This means that you have to press the relevant buttons when told by Mission Command on the Video Com. The take off and landing sequences were superb. Of course the ride wouldn't be complete without something going wrong and this was an opportunity for the buttons to flash red, an alarm to sound and the ride to get very bumpy. The experience was very elaborate and, even though it was the less intense version, you still got shaken about. Totally immersed and very thrilling.
After Mission: SPACE we went on Soarin' which I was a little unsure about because of my fear of heights. Soarin' is a flight simulator ride where you glide over various parts of the USA including the Golden Gate Bridge, a red wood forest, some rapids and Disneyland in California. The queue to get on took about 40 minutes but we were kept entertained by interactive video walls where you have to do various tasks like toss tumble weeds, grow flowers, etc. In the ride area you get strapped into a seat with a seatbelt and the bench that you're sat on rises up (about 15 feet off the ground) and moves towards a massive wrap around screen onto which is projected the various scenes. To complete the experience they blow air over you to give a wind sensation and waft in various scents, they also tilt the seats as you corner. It's excellent and once the ride was going I was fine and my fear of heights didn't kick in as they was enough evidence to show that it was fake!
We had lunch of burgers and Coke at the Electric Umbrella fast food restaurant before getting a Fast Pass for Honey, I Shrunk The Audience. Then we headed across the park towards Test Track but on the way we encountered the Year Of A Million Dreams Team who handed us special Year Of A Million Dreams Pin Lanyards complete with a couple of Year Of A Million Dreams Pins. You couldn't buy these lanyards or pins in the Disney shops. I must admit that up until this point I never really got the whole Disney Pin thing but having been given the lanyards and pins we were instant addicts and spent every opportunity in the shops and Pin Stations looking for pins - we must have spent a fortune on them! It did feel good to get something from the Year Of A Million Dreams Team and really added something special to the holiday.
Then we went on Test Track (but not before I spilled Coke down my new white polo shirt!) which more than lived up to its expectations. The first part of the ride is going round a test track inside where your open top "car" experiences various different driving conditions like a very bumpy road, heat, cold, etc and then they test maneuverability round sharp corners and then they test the brakes with and without ABS. The final brake test is a run up to a brick wall but you just keep going to the point that you think you're crash and then, at the last second, the wall disappears and you're outside doing speed tests at 65 mph round a circuit complete with high bank corners. This is Disney's longest and fastest ride. Just brilliant and very exhilarating.
Then we headed over to Honey, I Shrank The Audience which is exactly the same as that in Disneyland Paris with the obvious exception... that every show is in English! This 3D show never fails to amuse us.
Afterwards we went on what was undoubtedly the weirdest ride we have ever experienced anywhere! It's called Ellen's Energy Experience and it's a 45 minute journey with Ellen DeGeneres as she discovers energy with Bill Nye "the science guy". The discovery goes right back to the Big Bang and the start of the Universe. It's a mixture of wrap around cinema and a ride through prehistoric Earth and throughout you're sat in massive 96 person solar powered cars. We were left very bewildered by the whole experience despite the over enthusiasm of some of our fellow passengers!
Finally we decided to have a wander round the World Showcase but, to be brutally honest, we didn't really get it and, yet again, we were fairly bewildered by it all. It's very pretty and well done but we were left fairly uninspired.
By this stage we'd had enough primarily because we'd walked so much and we just ached. We decided not to stay for IllumiNations and, instead, go back to the hotel and pack which is exactly what we did. I'm glad we visited EPCOT because it was another first for us but the park left us a bit exasperated as nothing's easy to get to because of the layout. However, it does have some excellent attractions that are well worth experiencing.
We had supper in our hotel room and we got to watch Wishes once more from our balcony. While we were packing we started to panic because it looked like we'd bought too much stuff to fit in our suitcases. It was a seriously big pile. So we dashed over to the hotel's main building and trawled the shops for a kids sized suitcase but they were fresh out. They only had really large cases but an assistant did call the shop at the Contemporary hotel for us and they had some. Before we went we decided to finish off packing to see how much extra space we needed but, as it happened, we were okay and no extra cases were required.
Back home tomorrow!
Day 9 - Saturday 10th November - Downtown Disney and going home
We were awake even earlier this morning although I wasn't quite ready to wake at 6am because I had already been woken up at 5am by a rehearsal in the Magic Kingdom and a very loud one at that! I suppose that's the flip side to staying so close to the Magic Kingdom. At least our very noisy neighbours were good last night. I know that I haven't mentioned them before now but they've always been there in the background... making a lot of noise!
Breakfast arrived at 6:30am and then we did the last bit of packing before calling the kids on the video phone using Skype but the Internet connection in the room wouldn't work! It had worked perfectly well all week and last night too. After an hour of messing about including a call to Disney's Tech Support line (who said it was a bug with Windows Vista!) it still wasn't working. In the end, we called on DW's mobile but the line was engaged! DW sent a text message to her mum telling her that we were trying to call and a minute or so later we were chatting away on DW's mobile using the speakerphone. DD told us that she was missing us but she quickly added "but you are having a good time!" in a very chirpy voice.
The call over I then called the bell hop to ask for someone to collect our cases and have the car brought out of valet parking. Once our cases had been collected we went down to reception to settle the bill. When we checked in I had said that I wanted to pay the bill using Travellers Cheques and for them not to charge it to my Credit Card, "no problem sir" was the reply. Well, what had they done? Yes, they'd charged pretty much everything to my card yesterday and all that was left to pay was $150 while I had $800 worth of Travellers Cheques that I wanted to get rid off. I was most annoyed. They did offer to refund the card but I said "no, it's ok" in a humphy kind of voice.
We loaded up the car and set off to Downtown Disney and the Virgin Check In Desk. The plan was to get rid of the suitcases and spend the rest of the day in the Magic Kingdom before leaving to go to the airport at 3pm. However, by the time we'd checked in it was just after 11am and neither of us thought it was worth going all the way back to the Magic Kingdom and besides, neither of us had properly explored Downtown Disney before. This is a decision that I now regret because we didn't really enjoy Downtown Disney! There were loads of people and not that much to do or inspire. We went in loads of shops, had a pleasant lunch at Cap'n Jack's and I bought a sweat top, sweat pants and polo shirt but that's about it.
By 2pm we just wanted to go some place where there weren't any people! We were totally Disney'd out!! At least if we'd made the effort to go to the Magic Kingdom we'd have gone on a ride or two and seen some characters. I never did get to go on Space Mountain which I've not been on. Ho hum.
I told DW that we would be given passes to the lounge at the airport because we're flying Upper Class and that was all that needed to be said. So, we did a runner. We got in the car and headed straight to the airport. Once there I completely missed where I was supposed to drop the car off and parked it in a bay. As we were walking out of the garage we were accosted by a woman who made us drive the car round to the drop off point. "Can't I just leave it there?" I protested. "No, you can't" was her abrupt reply. Having dropped the car off at the proper place (there were big signs that I just missed!) we went through security (big queues) and then straight into the lounge which was quite nice but I still haven't been in a lounge that's as nice as the British Airways lounges in the UK. They ran out of tea after our first cup and there wasn't anything of note to eat but we did find a nice comfy sofa.
Soon enough our flight was called and we pretty much boarded straight away. This time DW and I had the foremost seats which are right in the nose of the 747. We both declined to have supper and just went straight to bed once the seat belt sign went off so that we could get as much sleep as possible. I managed to sleep really well and was only disturbed a couple of times. I was woken by DW (who, at first, I thought was a stewardess!) saying that it was breakfast time. We both had a bacon sandwich, orange juice and tea. Gosh the cold hit us when we got off the plane!
We went home in a very rickety old black cab which was the only one of the Taxi rank. Both kids were very excited to see us - they'd even made a "welcome back" card for us and Dee had bought a chocolate cake all of which was waiting for us in the kitchen.
Both kids have been super for their Grandma and DW and I are truly indebted to Dee for looking after the kids while we were away. We're just so pleased that they were so good for her.
Just time for a cup of tea, a shower and a quick turn around on the suitcases because tomorrow we're all off to stay on a sheep farm for 5 days while we have a new bathroom put in and a new ceiling in DD's bedroom.
So... in summary
We had a truly amazing time and we loved spending all that time together which was, by far, the single best thing about this trip. I can also honestly say that, without a shadow of a doubt, I relished every moment of being there... except maybe when I got that massive blister on my little toe! But quite a few times I was so elated that I just span around with my arms open wide!
This trip to Orlando, my third and DW's second, was, however, one of many firsts:
Disney World could really learn a lesson here from Disneyland Paris or from Universal because if you stay in a Castle Club room or suite at Disneyland Paris then you get a VIP Fast Pass and if you stay at Universal your room key card acts as a Priority Pass. Both of these passes do the same thing in that they let you into the Fast Pass lane at any time without having to first book a time slot and you can go round as many times as you like... no restrictions. I, for one, would pay the extra to stay in a Concierge room at Disney World if it meant getting a VIP Fast Pass... we do at Disneyland Paris. Those little tickets are worth your body weight in gold! It would make such a difference.
I think the highlight for me (apart from spending all that wonderful time with my wife) was the Animal Adventure Tour at Busch Gardens and Expedition Everest.
Next time we will take the kids but that won't be until DD is over 10 so that will be in 2013! Maybe, in the intervening time, someone from Disney World will read this and introduce a VIP Fast Pass for their Concierge guests. That'd be nice.
So was it the action packed, no-time-to-sit-down, going-to-cram-everything-in kind of a holiday that we expected...? Yes, it most definitely was!
To see more photos and a video montage have a look at the trip report on my website: http://www.haighgannon.com/videos/orlando_nov07_video.html
The end!
If you're wondering where the photos have gone it's because they were on my website which has since been updated and, in the process, the links to the photos have been deleted! Sorry.
However, if you click here then you can read the trip report on the new version of my site complete with photos and video. I hope this helps.
For those of you who just want to watch the video then you can find it here: http://www.haighgannon.com/videos/orlando_nov07_video.html
The Cast
Me - Patrick - just turned 40 - designated driver, planner, holder-of-purse-strings, gets easily excited and lover of holidays... especially Disney
DW- Fe - 33 - lover of dolphins, Eeyore, Pooh Bear and all things Disney. Mainly just wants to be told what we're doing and when we're doing it
Preamble
I had decided a long time ago that, when the time came, I was going to celebrate my 40th birthday in style... and I'm now satisfied that I did! I wanted to go away somewhere with DW, just my wife and I, and spend some time together. Everybody needs that once in a while and being a self confessed Americophile I wanted to go to the USA and so I narrowed my choice down to either Las Vegas , New York or Orlando. I'd already been to Vegas as part of a road trip with a friend of mine and his family when I was 19 or so and I'd been to Orlando twice before - once with my Dad and brother when I was 14 and another time with my own family in 2004. Therefore New York was the top contender for quite a while but, to be honest, I didn't feel grown up enough and I wanted some serious fun! So, you'll be glad to read, Orlando was the winner... or there wouldn't be much point to this post now would there?!!
Once I'd got the destination sorted out (which, by the way, DW wholeheartedly approved of!) it was time to get down to some serious planning. Firstly we planned to go in November so as to avoid the heat and the crowds of the summer because October and November are considered to be the best combination of weather and lack of crowds - but you already knew that didn't you? DW's mum very kindly agreed to come and look after the kids for us and, to make it easier for her, we decided to go during term time and wait until the kids had settled into their new school year baring in mind that our DD only started school at the beginning of September.
It probably sounds mean and selfish to you for DW and I to go to Orlando without the kids but we really wanted to do all the things that we couldn't do if we had the kids with us and that became the mission statement for the holiday. It goes without saying that we didn't tell the kids where we were going (and they didn't ask) so as to not upset them and, to this day, we still haven't officially told them where we went!
It was also going to be an action packed, no-time-to-sit-down, going-to-cram-everything-in kind of a holiday. Did we succeed? Well, let's see...
Day 1 - Friday 2nd November - traveling to Orlando
Grandma Dee (DW's mum) arrived just after 10pm last night to come and look after the kids while we're away. This was the earliest that she could get here because she had a rehearsal for a show that she was in. Shortly after Dee's arrival I went to bed - this isn't a reflection on Dee but we just had a really early start in the morning.
I woke at 4am but couldn't get back off to sleep again because there was only another hour to go before it was time to get up and I started to get excited! The kids got up at 7am and there was just enough time for a kiss and a cuddle good bye with the kids before the taxi turned up to take us to the airport. Both kids were perfectly fine with us going and staying behind with Grandma. In fact they were both waving enthusiastically at the window as we drove away... it was almost as if they were happy to see us go!
We checked in at Manchester airport okay and skipped the queue for security by being invited to go in the Fast Lane (we're not even in Orlando yet and we've got our first Fastpass!) courtesy of Virgin. On the other side of security we went straight into the Escape Lounge (another courtesy of Virgin) and had some tea. To pass the time we played a game of Scrabble on our phones - the wonders of technology!
The flight was called on time, we boarded and found our lovely seats in the Upper Class section. We were flying with Virgin Atlantic and our seats were directly opposite each other with just one seat away from the nose of the plane. The flight was mostly okay but a little bumpy at times. I think DW regretted having chosen soup for lunch because that's when we hit some turbulence! At least she didn't spill any. I, on the other hand, had to have my meal tray changed because my orange juice went everywhere. After lunch we both had a snooze and soon enough we arrived in Orlando where it was very warm (26°C) and sunny. We passed quickly through immigration, security, customs and baggage reclaim - everything was very slick - and then collected our 2 seater black convertible Chrysler complete with Sat Nav (which wouldn't stick to the dash board so DW has to hold it every time we used it!) and off we went!
The guy at the Dollar car rental counter had pre-programmed the Sat Nav to find the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal and we managed to find our way okay once we got used to the Sat Nav which gives instructions in a slightly different way to ours at home. The Hard Rock Hotel is an impressive looking building with a very long sweeping driveway and a guitar themed fountain out the front. We pulled up at the front and had the car valet parked. The check in was very smooth and quick with no queue. The only problem was that we didn't get a room with a King bed that I requested - instead it had 2 Queen beds. It was a Club Room and the only perk of note was access to the small Club Lounge on the Club floor (access using the room key card) where they had a continental breakfast in the morning, hors d'oeuvres in the evening and “evening sweets” each night. This sounds lovely but there aren't enough tables to go around at breakfast so it's really busy. You also get a DVD player in the room but it's not multi-regional so we ended up using our own DVD player.
Other than this the room was nice but I'd leave it at that! The bed was a bit too soft, the room always seemed a little too cool and the temperature control system didn't seem to either cool or warm the room! The safe was pathetically small with only just enough room for the laptop (and we've got a very dinky laptop) and a few other small bits and pieces but only if the laptop was taken out of it's case first and stood upright! Very bizarre. There was a well stocked mini-bar, heaps of TV channels with good clear reception and excellent in-room on demand (movies and TV). There was no bedside table on my side of the bed so I had to use the arm of a comfy chair... but the bathroom was nice! Oh, and the windows in the room didn't open and there wasn't much of a view. However, on the plus side our room was right at the end of the corridor so it was nice and quiet.
Anyway, we settled in and semi-unpacked because we were only going to be here for 3 nights. At about 6pm we were starving so we went to The Kitchen restaurant for something to eat. I had Maccaroni Cheese and DW had a burger. Both were nice and filled us up and afterwards we went back to the room. I did some organising / tidying while DW went straight to bed.
Day 2 - Saturday 3rd November - Discovery Cove
We both woke at 5am which was a wee bit too early even though we needed an early start. I called room service when they opened at 6am and had breakfast brought to the room before setting off to Discovery Cove. We got horribly lost a couple of times but eventually the Sat Nav pulled through and we got there just a little bit late. The weather was gorgeous all day without a cloud in the sky even though it was a little cool especially that early in the morning although later on it warmed up to about 24°C.
We were both being a Trainer For A Day which entailed getting treated incredibly well all day. This package, which was booked well in advance, included the regular 30-minute dolphin interaction in the morning, an "enhanced" deep-water dolphin interaction in the afternoon with only the Trainer For A Day group in the lagoon, a double-foot push where you're pushed through the lagoon by a dolphin on each foot, a private individual photo session with two dolphins, a behind-the-scenes tour of the restricted access areas, special meet and greets with tropical birds, sloths and anteaters and you get to spend the whole day with a trainer to learn what it's like to work with the animals. You also get a Discovery Cove gift bag with waterproof camera and Trainer t-shirt.
When we arrived we were introduced to the other 4 people in our group who were going to be trainers for the day and our trainer, Hillary, who was very sweet and very funny. Hillary did a great job of looking after us all day and our every need was taken care of. The first thing she did was take us to breakfast where we had tea and fruit (we were both still full from all the pastries at the hotel!). Then we got fitted out with our shortie wet suits... very snug!! Once suited up our first stop was the Aviary. Hillary did ask if there was anyone in the group who didn't like birds and my hand shot up straight away but I went in all the same. The aviary is split into 3 sections with different birds in each. You could get a little cup of food so the birds would swoop down and feed from it - I gave this a very wide berth especially as the birds had a tendency to land on your head.
By the time we'd moved into the 3rd section of the aviary I'd had enough and needed to leave.. now! Hillary was nowhere to be found and DW was engrossed in the birds and I was panicking. The only way out that I knew of was back the way we came but that meant going through the first two sections again. So I headed towards an unmarked door but the guy dishing out the bird food wanted a conversation about why I wanted to get out but I, frankly speaking, wasn't in the mood! In the end he said that the door lead to the pool. That doesn't sound too bad I thought. On the other side of the door I was out of the aviary but there was just a set of steps to a river and nothing else... nowhere else to go but in the river which was something you were supposed to get in a float all the way round but I had my camera in my hand. So I held my precious camera up high and waded in. I could see a way to the beach on the other side but it was upstream. One or two other people floated past me as I waded up stream but it was getting deeper and deeper. After about a minute a life guard, who'd been watching me from the other side of the river bank, shouted over to me. I explained that I'd had a panic attack in the aviary - he seemed to understand. He took my camera off me so I could swim the 15 meters to the steps because he was above me stood on some rocks. I got out and he handed me my camera. As luck would have it I'd found myself at the entrance to the aviary but it was in the shade and I was now getting very cold! It took about 10 minutes for the rest of the group to come out of the aviary but I was the hero for the rest of the day because I'd swum upstream with my sandals on!
After the excitement of the aviary we had a meet and greet with a Turtle, a Two Toed Sloth and a Kookaburra before going behind the scenes where we saw the engineering, water tanks, purification and the food preparation area. Then it was time for the first dolphin encounter. This was a regular dolphin interaction that everyone gets and it lasts about 30 minutes with quite a number of other groups in the lagoon at the same time as you. Our dolphin was Diego. We got to stroke, kiss and feed Diego but it was all a little staged for my liking and all done on cues and prompts.
The best bit turned out to be when the trainer (not Hillary but another girl) was giving this very intense and serious talk about Diego's anatomy. Diego was on his back in the water so we could see his belly and the trainer was explaining that his genitals were tucked up inside him at which I instantly remarked "he's not the only one". This completely flawed Hillary whose shoulders were going as she tried to choke back the laughter. The rest of the group were equally amused and the trainer doing the talking did a stalwart job in carrying on with the talk and ignoring my comment despite the laughter from everyone else. The finale of this interaction is when Diego takes you for a ride down the length of the lagoon while you have one hand on his dorsal and another on his right flipper. I was the last to go here and I got what they call the "turbo ride".
I'd like to say that the whole interaction really did something for me like everyone else who's done it but it didn't really. It was good but I didn't feel "at one" with the dolphin as so many people seem to.
After the interaction we had lunch sat outside in the blazing sunshine (lovely!) and then we saw their sharks (up close and personal) and we each had a turn to stroke one (very rough skin like sandpaper).
Then we were put in a pool with about 20 stingray (I didn't like this at all and soon got out!) and then a pool of big fish (this was better but not much!). The idea behind these two sessions was we were supposed to hand feed them but the stingray have teeth (like molars) and the fish suck the food from your hand. Hmmm... not for me. DW fared slightly better than me and I was really proud of how long she stayed in the water for despite having her toe sucked by one of the big fish.
Then we had 30 minutes on our own. DW and I elected to go in the river (the one that I swam in earlier while escaping from the aviary!) which is much, much, much warmer than the dolphin pools. We went all the way round but it really is an artificial river with some very deep bits, shallow bits, fast and slow currents and waterfalls. It was quite exhausting because, without a life vest on, you have to swim to keep afloat and it's a long way round!
And finally it was time for our second dolphin interaction. This time we had one of the three dolphin pools to ourselves. Excellent! They use two dolphins for this interaction and we were introduced to Capricorn who's their oldest and biggest dolphin. Capricorn is also the dolphin that DW had when she had her interaction here at Christmas 2004 with her mum, Dee. DW went nuts for Capricorn to the point of gushing! More stroking and feeding and tricks. To finish off you take it in turns to swim to the deepest part of the pool where you meet another trainer. You're told to lie on your stomach, lock your knees, don't point your toes and keep your hands by your side. Then, out of nowhere, two dolphins swim up behind you and push you through the water at high speed by putting their noses to the soles of your feet. It's not the most comfortable of experiences but great fun and totally exhilarating.
After this we showered and got dressed, collected our goodies (Trainer T Shirt, photos, photo CD and DVD) and then we set off back to the hotel with the car roof down! Very blowy.
Back at the hotel we both feel asleep on the bed at 5pm totally exhausted. The intention was to wake at 6:30pm and go and have supper in The Kitchen but, instead, we slept through to 9pm, ordered room service and watched Die Hard 4.0 on the In Room Movie Channel. DW fell asleep again as soon as she'd finished her meal but I managed to see all but the last 5 minutes of the movie... doh!
Day 3 - Sunday 4th November - Universal Studios
We managed to sleep through until about 7am even though the clocks went back here at 2am. We tried to have breakfast in the Club Lounge but it was heaving. Instead we just got what we wanted and took it back to the room and ate at the table in the corner. Before we left to come here we had built into our itinerary times to talk to the kids and Dee on the video phone using Skype on my laptop so, after breakfast, we called them on Skype at 9am (2pm in the UK). Both kids were happy and smiley and did things like blow kisses, pull faces, "hug" the camera, etc. It was so good to see that they're ok. We also spoke to Dee on her own for a bit too and she said that everything was okay. That gave us a huge sense of relief.
The video call over we headed off to Universal Studios. It was another beautiful day and even warmer so we walked the short walk from the hotel to the Studios. At the turnstiles we presented our key cards only to be told that they don't get us into the parks - oh, I thought they did! The confusion arose because the room cards do act as Priority Passes for the rides once you're inside the parks and they'll get you on a ride whenever you want and however many times you want - no restrictions (Disney World please take note!).
So, we walked back to the hotel room to search for our park tickets that the turnstile assistant said may have been given to us when we checked in but we couldn't find them or remember them being given to us. So we went to the Concierge desk who said that you don't get park tickets with the room - they need to be purchased separately. Fortunately I had got a voucher for a couple of Flex Tickets but the hotel couldn't, for some reason, convert them into actual tickets. They suggested that we go to the Group Sales Counter at the park entrance and try and convert the voucher there. This we did (we didn't walk this time - went by bicycle rickshaw instead) and a very helpful chap managed to change the voucher into tickets with no waiting! Phew.
Once inside the park we did Shrek 4D, the Horror Make Up Show (we didn't learn anything but it was hysterical), Terminator 2 3D (it seems bit dated now!), Twister (surprisingly good), E.T. Adventure (cute but good), Jaws (excellent!), Men In Black Alien Attack (good fun) and Animal Actors (rubbish!). We also saw the Blues Brothers Revue again which was very good but much shorter than last time. We had lunch at Mel's Drive In Diner while a rock n roll band played (very cool) and on our way out of the park we heard them playing again so we stopped by. When they started doing the Hand Jive, DW started doing all the actions and this was noticed by the band so they wanted her up on stage for their "participation" bit. The only way DW would go up was if I went with her so... in for a penny and all that. It was a good laugh especially when the band kept playing faster and faster. It was very hard to keep up with all the actions but very funny.
On the way out of the Studios DW suggested that we check out City Walk and get a pizza. Well, we checked out City Walk and there wasn't a pizza in sight! The only glimmer was a place that was shut! But we did have a laugh going round.
Back at the hotel we asked the Concierge about pizza and he gave us a few numbers of places that deliver pizza to the hotel and among them was Pizza Hut - things were looking up at this stage. In the room I called Pizza Hut but it would be a 90 minute wait. Scrap that. In the end we called room service and both had grilled salmon which was nice but a little cool.
Day 4 - Monday 5th November - Islands of Adventure and Magic Kingdom
We both got up at about 7am and went to pickup some breakfast things from the Club Lounge to take back to the room but it was much quieter in there today and we managed to get a table so we stayed until it got too noisy! Went back to the room, packed and by 10:30am we were downstairs in the lobby checking out. We left our baggage in the hotel luggage store and went off to Islands Of Adventure (IOA) by water taxi which was waiting at the dock.
I wasn't too sure what to plan to do today seeing as how we were checking out of the Hard Rock but IOA turned out to be a really good choice even though we only went on a few things. The weather was really good again too - very hot and very sunny. Gosh there are some really extreme rides here (like The Hulk, Fearfall and Dueling Dragons) that are not for the faint hearted and that sort of includes us. But we did go on Spiderman which is a cross between 3D and a ride. It was truly excellent - especially the 400 foot sensory drop off the skyscraper as you really do start to believe that you're falling. So much so that we rode it again after lunch. We also did the Jurassic Park River Ride which was good - especially the T Rex at the end before you get soaked.
We also saw the Sinbad Stunt Show which was really lame with some very hammy acting! By 3pm we'd had enough and went back to the hotel to collect the bags and the car and off we went to Disney!
We drove straight to the Grand Floridian Hotel which was our home now for the rest of the stay. The hotel is incredibly similar in style and theme to the Disneyland Hotel in Paris so we were immediately at home having stayed there 4 times. On check in our room was ready and we were taken there by a porter in a buggy along with our luggage. Our room was in building number 9 (Big Pine Key) just across the way from the main building on the shore of The Seven Seas Lagoon and, best of all, we had a view of the Magic Kingdom which was pre-booked. The room was a regular room but it was fabulous! It was really homely and big. It had one firm king bed with bedside tables on both sides of the bed (Hard Rock Hotel please note!), sofa, comfy chair with footstool, coffee table, a sensible sized safe in the closet (Hard Rock Hotel also please note!), a desk, plenty of power points, a fridge, a large LG flat screen TV, a lovely bathroom and a balcony complete with furniture. Fabulous.
Once I'd tipped the porter and he'd gone we literally ditched our stuff and headed straight to the monorail and one stop later we were walking into the Magic Kingdom. Both Universal Studios yesterday and IOA this morning were pretty quiet but the Magic Kingdom was quite busy at 5pm in the afternoon.
We saw the Dream Along With Mickey show that was in full swing on the stage in front of Cinderella's Castle (it being the "Year Of A Millions Dreams") and the show featured a full cast of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald (who was the hero), Peter Pan, Captain Hook, etc.
After the show we headed into Fronteirland to go on Big Thunder Mountain but it was quite a queue so we got a couple of Fast Passes and went and watched the Big Bear Jamboree which I've not seen in 26 years! It was pretty funny and exactly how I remembered it.
By this time it was dark, the temperature had dropped and DW was getting cold so we hunted the shops for a fleece for DW. We eventually found a nice Tinkerbelle one in a shop on Main Street USA. We then went back to Fronteirland and rode Big Thunder in the dark. Great fun. We then went on the Phantom Manor which has been updated and much improved. We then decided to call it a day but on the way out the Spectromagic Parade was in motion so we stopped and watched the rest of it. We actually got a good view. We were then in the mood again for pizza like we were last night so we jumped on the monorail and had a look in the Contemporary Hotel for a place that sells pizza without luck so we got back on the monorail and went back to the Floridian to find that their 24 hour food court sells pizza so we stopped by for supper. The pizza, when eventually it came, was huge (16 inches!) and we could only manage half of it. It wasn't that great but we were starving.
We went back to the room, unpacked and flaked out in our gorgeous room.
Day 5 - Tuesday 6th November - Disney Studios
Just after I got dressed this morning I went out onto our balcony and took some photos and videos of our view of the Magic Kingdom along with the early morning sunshine and mist on the lake. It was so beautiful.
Afterwards we had breakfast at the Floridian Café and whilst we were seated and ordered straight away our food took about 30 minutes to materialise. DW had French Toast and I had a Mickey shaped waffle, they were delicious but just took too long to arrive. Breakfast was washed down with Twinings English Breakfast Tea (a little piece of home) and fresh orange juice. I also had a mango smoothie which was fabulous.
We went back to the room to kill some time before our next Skype video call to the kids. While waiting I went out on the balcony to take some more photos of the view now that the mist had lifted and the sun was higher.
The kids had just got back from school and were fine and happy to see us. After the video call we went to the Disney Studios by catching the bus at the front of the hotel.
My little toe, that started to hurt yesterday, gave me a lot of trouble today so much so that I hobbled all round the Studios!
We ate in the Sci Fi Dine In Theater Restaurant which is really cool. It's a mock drive in movie theater and the tables are inside cars that all face a massive movie screen onto which is projected newsreels and movie trailers from the 50s while the waitresses whiz around on roller skates. I ordered ribs and DW had a chicken burger. Once again the food took ages to come and when it did my ribs were so cold that I had to send them back although they were much better second time around. After lunch we saw the Muppet 3D show which was really funny and has, what is arguably, the best pre show entertainment in the whole of Orlando.
We then saw the Indiana Jones Stunt Show which really put the Universal Stunt Show to shame! We finished off with the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. There were no Fast Passes left so we got in the regular queue which stated the the wait time was 45 minutes. I said to Fe "well, we haven't got anywhere else to be!". As it happened it only took about 20 minutes to get onto the ride which, as usual, is fabulous.
We were intending to go and see Fantasmic but neither of us were that fussed about seeing it again (please don't shoot us!) when the time came and my toe was really sore by this point so we caught the waiting bus and came straight back to our room in time watch Wishes from our balcony. It was really something else with the reflections in the Seven Seas Lagoon.
DW then had a look at my troublesome little toe and declared the problem to be a blister so big that if it were any bigger then it would grow arms and legs. I'm so glad that I wasn't just being a wimp by hobbling round all day! DW suggested popping the blister to relieve the pressure, cleaning it with an antiseptic wipe and then putting on a plaster. We didn't have the last two things so DW kindly offered to go to the hotel shop and get them along with some pudding for us both. I must admit that the toe felt much better after it had been operated on and it didn't give me any more trouble for the rest of the trip.
Day 6 - Wednesday 7th November - Busch Gardens and La Nouba
After the experience of having breakfast in Floridian Café yesterday we decided to "play it safe" and have breakfast in bed today and it was lovely. We had a great assortment of fresh pastries, a fruit cup each, Twinings English Breakfast Tea, fresh Orange Juice - fabulous stuff and just what you need to set you up for a busy day.
We got the car from the valet and set off to Busch Gardens which took just over an hour to get there driving down the I4. It was a beautiful day again but a bit cooler to the point that I wore my jeans and took my fleece. We were going to Busch Gardens for the sole purpose of going on the Animal Adventure Tour that I'd pre-booked quite some time ago.
Once at Busch Gardens we checked in for the tour which was due to start in a couple of hours. It had now warmed up quite dramatically so I rented a locker and left my fleece in it. We started off by having a stroll around and saw the Alligators, the magnificent Gorillas, the Elephants and the Giant Tortoises.
We had lunch outside and then went off to find the Animal Adventure Tour meeting point. Apparently there's usually a group of 12 for the tour but today there were only 8 of us (including DW and me). Most of the bunch on the tour were okay (all Americans of course) but there was this couple who were big, loud and always seemed to be in the way when trying to take a photo! The woman was something else in her leopard print top, matching sun visor, flabby arms and oversized sun glasses. She also called each animal on the tour "baby". Urgh!
Anyway, the 2 hour tour was in 2 parts - the first hour was on foot and the second hour in an open back safari truck. On the walk around section of the tour we were introduced to a Clydesdale horse which was huge. Everyone had an opportunity and plenty of time to stroke the horse and ask questions to the keeper. Next stop was two Hippos - a mum and her baby. Once again there was plenty of time to ask questions while the keepers feed them. Both the Clydesdale and the Hippos were in restricted areas behind the scenes which was really cool. While we were fairly close to the Hippos you're not allowed to get too close because they can be quite vicious. Then it was off to see the Lions, Hyenas and Limas from the public viewing areas.
Now it was time to board a flatbed truck that had been adapted for use in the safari. It had a mesh fence all around the flat bed. There wasn't any seating so you had to stand and hold onto the rail as they drove. First stop was the Giraffes and we stayed here for about 15 minutes and we were handed greenery to feed them. Their long necks craned well into the open top enclosure on the back of the truck in search of food - they could sense it from a good distance away. They certainly weren't "backwards at coming forwards" for their snack! Giraffes up close and personal! We all got to stroke, hug and get slobbered on. I was just glad that I took an anti-allergy tablet before setting out for the day!
Next stop was the Black Rhino enclosure and we all got a turn to hand feed him too with a carrot this time. Just awesome. I certainly didn't think that I was going to hand feed a Giraffe and a Rhino today when I got up this morning. After the Black Rhino we went behind the scenes again to see the Orangutans. There wasn't a feeding opportunity here but a long talk from the keepers who use this time to do their various checkups and tests on them e.g. take their temperature, check their fingers and toes, let them play the harmonica, etc. And then it was all over. The tour was much better than I imagined it to be and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have to say that whenever we've been to zoos or safari parks anywhere else the animals have been motionless (the one notable exception was at Knowlsley Safari park when the lions surrounded our car on DD's birthday!) but here has been a real exception. All the animals delighted us with quite a lot of moving around and being really animated.
We didn't do any of the rides at Busch... we were too busy looking at the animals and by 4:15pm we decided to go. The valet brought the car round and off we went back to Disney World. We got back to the hotel at about 5:30pm and another valet took the car off us on arrival and we went back to the room... totally exhausted!
We had supper in our room and then headed out again at 8pm to go and see Cirque Du Soleil's La Nouba in Downtown Disney. We caught the bus from the front of the hotel but it took ages to get there and, to cap it all, it dropped us off at the wrong end of Downtown Disney! So we had to run (quite literally) the entire length of a busy Downtown Disney to the Cirque tent. We arrived panting at 8:40pm, we both had a pee and just caught the last 15 minutes of the 30 minute pre-show. I have to say, personally speaking, that the show was better first time around but it was still excellent all the same. I also have to admit to nodding off for a minute or so about two thirds of the way through the show. I know, I know!
The show finished at 10:30pm and we dashed out and caught one of the few remaining taxis from the rank outside the Cirque tent. It was worth the $20 to get a quick and warm ride straight back to the hotel.
Day 7 - Thursday 8th November - Animal Kingdom and Dinner at Victoria & Albert's
Breakfast in bed again this morning - I could really get used to this! Another video call to the kids after breakfast during which DD burst into tears while she was explaining about Grandma putting plaits in her hair that morning when DD had just wanted one pony tail. This was very hard especially as, through her sobs, she said that she missed us. There were various attempts to pacify her but none worked. Grandma Dee asked DS to get a tissue for DD and as he came back with one I shouted out "I've got one here!" and produced one from my pocket, waved it in front of the camera and told DD to "blow!". DD thought this was very funny and then the tears were gone as quickly as they'd arrived but it was still a tough start to the day.
After the video call we caught the bus from the hotel to the Animal Kingdom and once inside we headed straight into Asia to check out Expedition Everest - gosh isn't it huge?! It's now the tallest Disney landmark. It really does look like they've plonked the Himalayas in the middle of Florida! I was determined to ride it even though it looks pretty scary (bare in mind that it's not that long since I overcame my fear of roller coasters!). DW really wasn't sure about this one either but we both got Fast Passes and then went off to do something else while we waited for our allotted time. We tried the Kilimanjaro Safaris but it was an hour wait time and they'd already run out of Fast Passes. So, instead, we went into Dinoland USA (a bit we'd not been into before like much of the rest of this park!). We found a ride called Dinosaur and jumped on - only a 10 minute wait and no Fast Pass required. It was pretty cool as you were sent back in time to grab a dinosaur and bring it back. Dark and quite fast. Afterwards we had lunch outside. We also did It's Tough To Be A Bug and managed to see it all the way through - we had to make a sharp exit when we saw it with the kids in 2004.
Then it was time to do Everest! Up until the point at which we arrived at the ride DW was undecided as to whether she was going to go on it or not but as we headed for the Fast Pass Return entrance she stayed with me. Respect! There was no waiting at all in the FP line and, before we knew it, we were pulling away on the ride with the lap bar down. I have to say that it looks worse than it is - even the massive drop from the summit to the base. What a rush! I even managed to video quite a bit of it.
After Everest we tried to do a couple of other things but no luck. The queues were just too long so, instead, we hopped on the bus and went back to the hotel. When we were walking through the lobby we asked if they were serving Afternoon Tea and yes they were! We had a table pretty much straight away. We had sandwiches, fresh fluffy scones, jam tarts and strawberries and cream washed down with the best cup of tea since our arrival in Orlando.
Just outside the tea room they were finishing the making of a full sized Gingerbread House made with real Gingerbread... only in Disney! It had taken a full team of bakers 3 days to make the house and the finishing touches were being added while we had tea.
Back in the room we chilled out for a bit and watched TV before getting ready for dinner at Victoria and Albert's. This restaurant has gained high honours from prestigious American fine-dining reviewers, including the AAA 5-Diamond Award. This was a truly amazing 7 course meal. Now, I know what you're thinking because we thought it too... there's no way you can possibly get though seven courses but we did. Each one is really rather wee but sensational. We had a light Bisque served as an "Amuse Bouche" to start with to awaken the taste buds and then the courses began with a White Shaved Truffle, then Seared Duck, then Minnesota Elk Tenderloin, followed by Alaskan Red King Salmon, then Australian Kobe Beef Tenderloin, then a Spiced Apple Gelato and, for pudding, a Tanzanian Chocolate Pyramid with a Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Souffle and a Peruvian Chocolate Ice Cream all washed down with a 1998 Dom Perignon. Yes, we managed to get all the way through but we did regret having the Afternoon Tea!
Day 8 - Friday 9th November - EPCOT
We got up early this morning in order to have a character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare Restaurant in the hotel at 8am which I booked it yesterday afternoon while enquiring about Afternoon Tea. The restaurant was really quiet when we arrived but within 15 minutes it was heaving and really noisy. There was a huge buffet to choose from and the choice was quite overwhelming. Pooh Bear, Tigger, The Mad Hatter and Mary Poppins were doing the rounds and we managed to get a hug and a photo with Pooh but Tigger was taking a lot longer to come round to our table and as soon as we'd got our hug and photo with him we did a runner! It wasn't a calm or relaxed experienced at all in fact it was the complete opposite but at least we'd had one character meal which is one more than we intended to have!
We went straight from the restaurant to the monorail and got off at the Ticket and Transportation Centre where we changed train to go to EPCOT. There was an EPCOT train already at the station but I wanted to sit up front on the monorail which we'd never done before. The front of this train was already occupied so we waited for the next train. In the meantime I did a sprint to the toilets underneath the station because I was hopping from foot to foot! The next monorail train came along and we managed to ride up front which was definitely worth doing even though we had a learner driver who had an instructor stood over him - it just added to the experience!
It was another gorgeous day and I was back in my shorts. Hoorah!
Once in EPCOT we tackled Future World first and walked past Space Ship Earth which was sadly closed for refurbishment so our first task was to get a Fast Pass for Test Track. In the meantime we went on Mission: SPACE on the less intense version (minus the spinning effect during take off). The queue was only about 10 minutes and passed quite quickly through the pre-ride area which was done out like a space training area. For the ride you step into a simulator vehicle and there's a pull out bin to put your belongings in. You pull down your over the shoulder harness and then the console slides towards you - it's quite a snug fit but there's loads of flashing buttons and a joystick for everyone. You're flying to Mars and to do so everyone assumes roles that they were given during the pre-flight briefing, I was the Flight Engineer. This means that you have to press the relevant buttons when told by Mission Command on the Video Com. The take off and landing sequences were superb. Of course the ride wouldn't be complete without something going wrong and this was an opportunity for the buttons to flash red, an alarm to sound and the ride to get very bumpy. The experience was very elaborate and, even though it was the less intense version, you still got shaken about. Totally immersed and very thrilling.
After Mission: SPACE we went on Soarin' which I was a little unsure about because of my fear of heights. Soarin' is a flight simulator ride where you glide over various parts of the USA including the Golden Gate Bridge, a red wood forest, some rapids and Disneyland in California. The queue to get on took about 40 minutes but we were kept entertained by interactive video walls where you have to do various tasks like toss tumble weeds, grow flowers, etc. In the ride area you get strapped into a seat with a seatbelt and the bench that you're sat on rises up (about 15 feet off the ground) and moves towards a massive wrap around screen onto which is projected the various scenes. To complete the experience they blow air over you to give a wind sensation and waft in various scents, they also tilt the seats as you corner. It's excellent and once the ride was going I was fine and my fear of heights didn't kick in as they was enough evidence to show that it was fake!
We had lunch of burgers and Coke at the Electric Umbrella fast food restaurant before getting a Fast Pass for Honey, I Shrunk The Audience. Then we headed across the park towards Test Track but on the way we encountered the Year Of A Million Dreams Team who handed us special Year Of A Million Dreams Pin Lanyards complete with a couple of Year Of A Million Dreams Pins. You couldn't buy these lanyards or pins in the Disney shops. I must admit that up until this point I never really got the whole Disney Pin thing but having been given the lanyards and pins we were instant addicts and spent every opportunity in the shops and Pin Stations looking for pins - we must have spent a fortune on them! It did feel good to get something from the Year Of A Million Dreams Team and really added something special to the holiday.
Then we went on Test Track (but not before I spilled Coke down my new white polo shirt!) which more than lived up to its expectations. The first part of the ride is going round a test track inside where your open top "car" experiences various different driving conditions like a very bumpy road, heat, cold, etc and then they test maneuverability round sharp corners and then they test the brakes with and without ABS. The final brake test is a run up to a brick wall but you just keep going to the point that you think you're crash and then, at the last second, the wall disappears and you're outside doing speed tests at 65 mph round a circuit complete with high bank corners. This is Disney's longest and fastest ride. Just brilliant and very exhilarating.
Then we headed over to Honey, I Shrank The Audience which is exactly the same as that in Disneyland Paris with the obvious exception... that every show is in English! This 3D show never fails to amuse us.
Afterwards we went on what was undoubtedly the weirdest ride we have ever experienced anywhere! It's called Ellen's Energy Experience and it's a 45 minute journey with Ellen DeGeneres as she discovers energy with Bill Nye "the science guy". The discovery goes right back to the Big Bang and the start of the Universe. It's a mixture of wrap around cinema and a ride through prehistoric Earth and throughout you're sat in massive 96 person solar powered cars. We were left very bewildered by the whole experience despite the over enthusiasm of some of our fellow passengers!
Finally we decided to have a wander round the World Showcase but, to be brutally honest, we didn't really get it and, yet again, we were fairly bewildered by it all. It's very pretty and well done but we were left fairly uninspired.
By this stage we'd had enough primarily because we'd walked so much and we just ached. We decided not to stay for IllumiNations and, instead, go back to the hotel and pack which is exactly what we did. I'm glad we visited EPCOT because it was another first for us but the park left us a bit exasperated as nothing's easy to get to because of the layout. However, it does have some excellent attractions that are well worth experiencing.
We had supper in our hotel room and we got to watch Wishes once more from our balcony. While we were packing we started to panic because it looked like we'd bought too much stuff to fit in our suitcases. It was a seriously big pile. So we dashed over to the hotel's main building and trawled the shops for a kids sized suitcase but they were fresh out. They only had really large cases but an assistant did call the shop at the Contemporary hotel for us and they had some. Before we went we decided to finish off packing to see how much extra space we needed but, as it happened, we were okay and no extra cases were required.
Back home tomorrow!
Day 9 - Saturday 10th November - Downtown Disney and going home
We were awake even earlier this morning although I wasn't quite ready to wake at 6am because I had already been woken up at 5am by a rehearsal in the Magic Kingdom and a very loud one at that! I suppose that's the flip side to staying so close to the Magic Kingdom. At least our very noisy neighbours were good last night. I know that I haven't mentioned them before now but they've always been there in the background... making a lot of noise!
Breakfast arrived at 6:30am and then we did the last bit of packing before calling the kids on the video phone using Skype but the Internet connection in the room wouldn't work! It had worked perfectly well all week and last night too. After an hour of messing about including a call to Disney's Tech Support line (who said it was a bug with Windows Vista!) it still wasn't working. In the end, we called on DW's mobile but the line was engaged! DW sent a text message to her mum telling her that we were trying to call and a minute or so later we were chatting away on DW's mobile using the speakerphone. DD told us that she was missing us but she quickly added "but you are having a good time!" in a very chirpy voice.
The call over I then called the bell hop to ask for someone to collect our cases and have the car brought out of valet parking. Once our cases had been collected we went down to reception to settle the bill. When we checked in I had said that I wanted to pay the bill using Travellers Cheques and for them not to charge it to my Credit Card, "no problem sir" was the reply. Well, what had they done? Yes, they'd charged pretty much everything to my card yesterday and all that was left to pay was $150 while I had $800 worth of Travellers Cheques that I wanted to get rid off. I was most annoyed. They did offer to refund the card but I said "no, it's ok" in a humphy kind of voice.
We loaded up the car and set off to Downtown Disney and the Virgin Check In Desk. The plan was to get rid of the suitcases and spend the rest of the day in the Magic Kingdom before leaving to go to the airport at 3pm. However, by the time we'd checked in it was just after 11am and neither of us thought it was worth going all the way back to the Magic Kingdom and besides, neither of us had properly explored Downtown Disney before. This is a decision that I now regret because we didn't really enjoy Downtown Disney! There were loads of people and not that much to do or inspire. We went in loads of shops, had a pleasant lunch at Cap'n Jack's and I bought a sweat top, sweat pants and polo shirt but that's about it.
By 2pm we just wanted to go some place where there weren't any people! We were totally Disney'd out!! At least if we'd made the effort to go to the Magic Kingdom we'd have gone on a ride or two and seen some characters. I never did get to go on Space Mountain which I've not been on. Ho hum.
I told DW that we would be given passes to the lounge at the airport because we're flying Upper Class and that was all that needed to be said. So, we did a runner. We got in the car and headed straight to the airport. Once there I completely missed where I was supposed to drop the car off and parked it in a bay. As we were walking out of the garage we were accosted by a woman who made us drive the car round to the drop off point. "Can't I just leave it there?" I protested. "No, you can't" was her abrupt reply. Having dropped the car off at the proper place (there were big signs that I just missed!) we went through security (big queues) and then straight into the lounge which was quite nice but I still haven't been in a lounge that's as nice as the British Airways lounges in the UK. They ran out of tea after our first cup and there wasn't anything of note to eat but we did find a nice comfy sofa.
Soon enough our flight was called and we pretty much boarded straight away. This time DW and I had the foremost seats which are right in the nose of the 747. We both declined to have supper and just went straight to bed once the seat belt sign went off so that we could get as much sleep as possible. I managed to sleep really well and was only disturbed a couple of times. I was woken by DW (who, at first, I thought was a stewardess!) saying that it was breakfast time. We both had a bacon sandwich, orange juice and tea. Gosh the cold hit us when we got off the plane!
We went home in a very rickety old black cab which was the only one of the Taxi rank. Both kids were very excited to see us - they'd even made a "welcome back" card for us and Dee had bought a chocolate cake all of which was waiting for us in the kitchen.
Both kids have been super for their Grandma and DW and I are truly indebted to Dee for looking after the kids while we were away. We're just so pleased that they were so good for her.
Just time for a cup of tea, a shower and a quick turn around on the suitcases because tomorrow we're all off to stay on a sheep farm for 5 days while we have a new bathroom put in and a new ceiling in DD's bedroom.
So... in summary
We had a truly amazing time and we loved spending all that time together which was, by far, the single best thing about this trip. I can also honestly say that, without a shadow of a doubt, I relished every moment of being there... except maybe when I got that massive blister on my little toe! But quite a few times I was so elated that I just span around with my arms open wide!
This trip to Orlando, my third and DW's second, was, however, one of many firsts:
- Flying there and back in Upper Class - we've only ever flown UC on the way back from the Caribbean
- Staying at the Hard Rock Hotel
- Swimming with a Dolphin - DW had done this before but I hadn't
- Getting into a lagoon full of Stingray
- Stroking a Shark
- City Walk
- Islands of Adventure
- Staying at Disney's Grand Floridian
- Busch Gardens
- Driving an open top convertible down the freeway
- Feeding a Giraffe
- Feeding a Black Rhino
- Expedition Everest!
- Eating a seven course meal
- EPCOT
- Riding upfront in the monorail
Disney World could really learn a lesson here from Disneyland Paris or from Universal because if you stay in a Castle Club room or suite at Disneyland Paris then you get a VIP Fast Pass and if you stay at Universal your room key card acts as a Priority Pass. Both of these passes do the same thing in that they let you into the Fast Pass lane at any time without having to first book a time slot and you can go round as many times as you like... no restrictions. I, for one, would pay the extra to stay in a Concierge room at Disney World if it meant getting a VIP Fast Pass... we do at Disneyland Paris. Those little tickets are worth your body weight in gold! It would make such a difference.
I think the highlight for me (apart from spending all that wonderful time with my wife) was the Animal Adventure Tour at Busch Gardens and Expedition Everest.
Next time we will take the kids but that won't be until DD is over 10 so that will be in 2013! Maybe, in the intervening time, someone from Disney World will read this and introduce a VIP Fast Pass for their Concierge guests. That'd be nice.
So was it the action packed, no-time-to-sit-down, going-to-cram-everything-in kind of a holiday that we expected...? Yes, it most definitely was!
To see more photos and a video montage have a look at the trip report on my website: http://www.haighgannon.com/videos/orlando_nov07_video.html
The end!
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OMG - you kept your video going on Aerosmith...I have trouble keeping my eyes open let alone holding onto something!!!
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