I'm at the Fullerton now - looking forward to my day in the city tomorrow.
Friday 27 February 2009
Thursday 26 February 2009
Jakarta
Just a quick post before heading off to start the day - my colleagues from the local firm will be picking me up shortly to take me to the client offices for a day of meetings.
I got on OK yesterday, and didn't suffer too much with the jet lag. I had meetings from about 2:30 until 5:30 and was certainly glad to get back to the hotel. I ordered room service (pizza) and then feel into bed at about 8 o'clock with the sleep timer on the TV. I have no memory at all of the TV going off, and I slept like a baby until just before 4am. I was then awake for about an hour and a half (and watched TV for a while - golf show going on about Tiger's return!), but managed to doze off again for another hour or two of sleep before the alarms went off.
The Jakarta roads continue to be as "interesting" as ever - I got a taxi between hotel and office yesterday. Road lanes - ha - what are they! On the way to the office we were squeezed out so much that the taxi wing mirror scraped all along the side of another car, leaving a little row of dents. On the way back, due to the weird road system that this city has we have to go a couple of miles past the hotel as it is on the wrong side of the road, and then finally find a roundabout to turn around at and come back on the right side. I remembered this from previous visits, so wasn't too concerned when we went past. My taxi driver obviously felt the need to explain this in detail to me as it happened, but as we didn't exactly share a language it was rather comical!
A couple of other things that have struck me whilst I've been here. The first was on the way back in the taxi yesterday. There are little motorbikes and scooters everywhere on the roads, adding to the chaos and weaving in and out of the traffic and the queues, and as we sat at some lights, a moped pulled up in front of us carrying a cargo of three. The adult in the front was wearing a helmet, but wedged in behind him were two little boys, just in their shorts and t-shirts, and no sign of any helmets or any other protective gear. They looked like twins, wearing matching T-shirts - different colours but the same logo on the sleeves. They looked like they were about seven or eight years old.
The second was the sad news that David Cameron's son Ivan died yesterday. He was only six years old, and clearly had suffered during his short life.
It all puts me in need of a hug from my JJ !
I got on OK yesterday, and didn't suffer too much with the jet lag. I had meetings from about 2:30 until 5:30 and was certainly glad to get back to the hotel. I ordered room service (pizza) and then feel into bed at about 8 o'clock with the sleep timer on the TV. I have no memory at all of the TV going off, and I slept like a baby until just before 4am. I was then awake for about an hour and a half (and watched TV for a while - golf show going on about Tiger's return!), but managed to doze off again for another hour or two of sleep before the alarms went off.
The Jakarta roads continue to be as "interesting" as ever - I got a taxi between hotel and office yesterday. Road lanes - ha - what are they! On the way to the office we were squeezed out so much that the taxi wing mirror scraped all along the side of another car, leaving a little row of dents. On the way back, due to the weird road system that this city has we have to go a couple of miles past the hotel as it is on the wrong side of the road, and then finally find a roundabout to turn around at and come back on the right side. I remembered this from previous visits, so wasn't too concerned when we went past. My taxi driver obviously felt the need to explain this in detail to me as it happened, but as we didn't exactly share a language it was rather comical!
A couple of other things that have struck me whilst I've been here. The first was on the way back in the taxi yesterday. There are little motorbikes and scooters everywhere on the roads, adding to the chaos and weaving in and out of the traffic and the queues, and as we sat at some lights, a moped pulled up in front of us carrying a cargo of three. The adult in the front was wearing a helmet, but wedged in behind him were two little boys, just in their shorts and t-shirts, and no sign of any helmets or any other protective gear. They looked like twins, wearing matching T-shirts - different colours but the same logo on the sleeves. They looked like they were about seven or eight years old.
The second was the sad news that David Cameron's son Ivan died yesterday. He was only six years old, and clearly had suffered during his short life.
It all puts me in need of a hug from my JJ !
Wednesday 25 February 2009
At Changi lounge
Well I have arrived at Singapore and am in the lounge awaiting my connecting flight through to Jakarta which is due to leave in a couple of hours. The flight over from Heathrow went smoothly. The A380 is certainly an impressive aircraft. As can be seen from the picture on the previous post the seats in Business Class are enormous, and it would be possible to sit two people next to each other on one seat. The plane is configured so that there are only 4 seats across in business class, in an area that seems about the same width as the main deck of the 747 we flew back from the US with Virgin on, where they fit 10 economy seats across!
The back of the seat folds down to reveal the bed, which then extends out to a full length flat bed. I managed to doze for a few hours, but gave up on trying to have a proper night's sleep when I had been tossing and turning for a while, and so I listened to an audio book to kill the time. (I listened to a Kathy Reichs book called "Break no bones" and was just getting towards the end when they turned the entertainment system off as we were coming in to land! I think that the case had essentially been solved, so to speak, but no doubt with books like this there will be a few final twists and turns at the end. I'll have to listen to the last couple of chapters on the way home!)
The on board entertainment system is impressive - with hundreds of movies, TV shows, albums, radio stations and so on available to listen to on demand. I watched a couple of episodes of some US comedy series that I haven't watched much up to now - 30 Rock, and the on with Kelsey Grammar as a news anchor, that he went on to do after Frasier finished. I don't think in lasted too many series, but it's quite funny, and his co-star is Raymond's wife from Everybody Loves Raymond!
I also listened to some of our Virgin Megastore album purchases on the train on the way to the airport - in particular the $5 bargain one - certainly brought back some memories!
I'm already looking forward to getting back to Changi on Friday! Hopefully the next couple of days will go ok - the plan is to spend this afternoon in the office (provided that I'm granted a visa on arrival and allowed into the country!) and then at least some of tomorrow and Friday with the client before heading back to the airport on Friday afternoon. Then I will get a full day in Singapore on Saturday before flying home on Sunday, and will get to enjoy a couple of nights at the Fullerton. The key thing that I have to remember is "Mint Mark". Nicky knows why!
Right I'm off to get a drink and then I might have a little wander around the shops downstairs before heading to gate F60.
The back of the seat folds down to reveal the bed, which then extends out to a full length flat bed. I managed to doze for a few hours, but gave up on trying to have a proper night's sleep when I had been tossing and turning for a while, and so I listened to an audio book to kill the time. (I listened to a Kathy Reichs book called "Break no bones" and was just getting towards the end when they turned the entertainment system off as we were coming in to land! I think that the case had essentially been solved, so to speak, but no doubt with books like this there will be a few final twists and turns at the end. I'll have to listen to the last couple of chapters on the way home!)
The on board entertainment system is impressive - with hundreds of movies, TV shows, albums, radio stations and so on available to listen to on demand. I watched a couple of episodes of some US comedy series that I haven't watched much up to now - 30 Rock, and the on with Kelsey Grammar as a news anchor, that he went on to do after Frasier finished. I don't think in lasted too many series, but it's quite funny, and his co-star is Raymond's wife from Everybody Loves Raymond!
I also listened to some of our Virgin Megastore album purchases on the train on the way to the airport - in particular the $5 bargain one - certainly brought back some memories!
I'm already looking forward to getting back to Changi on Friday! Hopefully the next couple of days will go ok - the plan is to spend this afternoon in the office (provided that I'm granted a visa on arrival and allowed into the country!) and then at least some of tomorrow and Friday with the client before heading back to the airport on Friday afternoon. Then I will get a full day in Singapore on Saturday before flying home on Sunday, and will get to enjoy a couple of nights at the Fullerton. The key thing that I have to remember is "Mint Mark". Nicky knows why!
Right I'm off to get a drink and then I might have a little wander around the shops downstairs before heading to gate F60.
Tuesday 24 February 2009
Sunday 22 February 2009
Day 7 - AK, West Side and Wonderworks
Our last day today, but we've still had lots of fun! We took our time this morning finishing off our packing and having breakfast before leaving "home" at about ten o'clock. We'd done pretty well with our Publix shop at the start of the week, and didn't leave very much behind us - a little bit of bottled water, some of the least favourites from the cereal selection pack, and some butter and sugar (just because they didn't make packs small enough for us!).
Checking out is easy, in that there is nothing at all to do! The bill was hung on the door knob first thing in the morning, and there was no need to go back to the front desk - just pack up the car and get on our way.
We decided to head to Animal Kingdom first, as it was the only park we hadn't been to so far during the week. The car park looked fairly busy, and there was a full tram taking us to the front gates. Sure enough it was pretty crowded inside, but we still managed to walk straight into our first attraction of the day - It's Tough to be a Bug. Jake wasn't keen on coming - we think that Grandad must have spooked him! - but we enjoyed it anyway, although it did seem a little chaotic and noisy inside. We carefully felt the back of the seats as we sat down, and convinced ourselves that the back prodders must have been discontinued, as the seats felt smooth, but sure enough part way through - we got stung!
One of the best bits of going to the show is getting the chance to walk around close up to the Tree of Life, and admire some of the carvings. I managed to take one or two photos, but it's a bit difficult as you are constantly shuffling along. Still I managed to take a few more pictures later with the benefit of my new zoom lens camera.
(By the way, if I stop suddenly it's because we're boarding at Gate 84, and our row will hopefully be called soon.)
Anyway, after It's tough to be a Bug, we headed to Dinoland USA and went into the Theatre in the Wild for the 11:30 Nemo show. Top quality stuff as before, only slightly spoilt by the constant chatter from the row behind ours. After the show, we couldn't leave Dinoland without a go on the fairground games. They've changed the system for these, and it is now necessary to find someone to buy vouchers ($1 per voucher and 2 vouchers per game) rather than paying in cash. Nicky and Jake both tried the ball rolling and the water shooting, but this time to no avail. Jake was disappointed at first, but soon got over it.
Next up we wandered through to the Asia section, stopping briefly for a drink and a pastry, and then enjoyed the Pangani trail where we saw lots of animals, including a kimodo dragon, tapirs, bats and tigers. Hopefully I've got some good photos - they look promising on the small screen on the camera, but haven't had a chance to look at them on a bigger screen, as the card reader is in the checked in luggage!
By now we'd had enough of AK, so made our way back through the Oasis to the exit, onto the tram and back to the car. Next stop was West Side (noting down extremely carefully where we left the car!!) and a visit to the Virgin store (DVC discount good for 15% of non sale items, and Annual Pass gets 10% off everything). We bought 3 CDs (Boy Meets Girl - one of those albums we've only ever had on tape up to now, a Disney Mania CD, and a new Disney Hits CD) and Jake got a Bart Simpson book.
We walked through West Side, and Jake and I stopped in at Starabilia - the most expensive thing spotted this time being a little card (in several large frames) signed by Abraham Lincoln - $120,000! Through to the other side of Pleasure Island and we tried out the Raglan Road takeaway for lunch - very good fish 'n' chips.
Back to the car and we stopped off at the Hess petrol station opposite Downtown to fill up the car before bringing it back. We'd only managed to use $13.50 of petrol in a week - we love American petrol prices. We also managed to pay at the pump with the credit card without incident this time!
A quick stop on I-Drive to go to Wonderworks (which the youngest member of the party enjoyed) and back to the airport. So far so good with the checking in, dropping off bags, and getting through security. Hopefully we'll take off on time this time, but I don't want to speak too soon!
Nearly time for our row to be called. Apparently the plane is full, so doesn't look like we'll be getting an upgrade this time.
Checking out is easy, in that there is nothing at all to do! The bill was hung on the door knob first thing in the morning, and there was no need to go back to the front desk - just pack up the car and get on our way.
We decided to head to Animal Kingdom first, as it was the only park we hadn't been to so far during the week. The car park looked fairly busy, and there was a full tram taking us to the front gates. Sure enough it was pretty crowded inside, but we still managed to walk straight into our first attraction of the day - It's Tough to be a Bug. Jake wasn't keen on coming - we think that Grandad must have spooked him! - but we enjoyed it anyway, although it did seem a little chaotic and noisy inside. We carefully felt the back of the seats as we sat down, and convinced ourselves that the back prodders must have been discontinued, as the seats felt smooth, but sure enough part way through - we got stung!
One of the best bits of going to the show is getting the chance to walk around close up to the Tree of Life, and admire some of the carvings. I managed to take one or two photos, but it's a bit difficult as you are constantly shuffling along. Still I managed to take a few more pictures later with the benefit of my new zoom lens camera.
(By the way, if I stop suddenly it's because we're boarding at Gate 84, and our row will hopefully be called soon.)
Anyway, after It's tough to be a Bug, we headed to Dinoland USA and went into the Theatre in the Wild for the 11:30 Nemo show. Top quality stuff as before, only slightly spoilt by the constant chatter from the row behind ours. After the show, we couldn't leave Dinoland without a go on the fairground games. They've changed the system for these, and it is now necessary to find someone to buy vouchers ($1 per voucher and 2 vouchers per game) rather than paying in cash. Nicky and Jake both tried the ball rolling and the water shooting, but this time to no avail. Jake was disappointed at first, but soon got over it.
Next up we wandered through to the Asia section, stopping briefly for a drink and a pastry, and then enjoyed the Pangani trail where we saw lots of animals, including a kimodo dragon, tapirs, bats and tigers. Hopefully I've got some good photos - they look promising on the small screen on the camera, but haven't had a chance to look at them on a bigger screen, as the card reader is in the checked in luggage!
By now we'd had enough of AK, so made our way back through the Oasis to the exit, onto the tram and back to the car. Next stop was West Side (noting down extremely carefully where we left the car!!) and a visit to the Virgin store (DVC discount good for 15% of non sale items, and Annual Pass gets 10% off everything). We bought 3 CDs (Boy Meets Girl - one of those albums we've only ever had on tape up to now, a Disney Mania CD, and a new Disney Hits CD) and Jake got a Bart Simpson book.
We walked through West Side, and Jake and I stopped in at Starabilia - the most expensive thing spotted this time being a little card (in several large frames) signed by Abraham Lincoln - $120,000! Through to the other side of Pleasure Island and we tried out the Raglan Road takeaway for lunch - very good fish 'n' chips.
Back to the car and we stopped off at the Hess petrol station opposite Downtown to fill up the car before bringing it back. We'd only managed to use $13.50 of petrol in a week - we love American petrol prices. We also managed to pay at the pump with the credit card without incident this time!
A quick stop on I-Drive to go to Wonderworks (which the youngest member of the party enjoyed) and back to the airport. So far so good with the checking in, dropping off bags, and getting through security. Hopefully we'll take off on time this time, but I don't want to speak too soon!
Nearly time for our row to be called. Apparently the plane is full, so doesn't look like we'll be getting an upgrade this time.
Day 6 - Epcot and Downtown
Our last full day today, and we had breakfast here before heading off to Epcot just after ten. We decided to park at Boardwalk and have a look around there before going in through the International Gateway. We had a look in the Boardwalk store, and Nicky was particularly excited to discover the lead that she wanted to get for Barley (and at the bargain price of $3.99). We'd bought the lead back in October, but had foolishly bought the large size, whereas our dainty dog clearly only needs a medium!
It was just before eleven when we arrived at Epcot, and our first stop was at one of the Kim Possible carts, the one on the way through to the UK pavilion, where we were allocated an assignment time of 11:45. This gave us time to wander over to Mexico and enjoy a boat ride, and also to pop in to Club Cool for some Coke drinks again. Just to confirm - Kinley Lemon and Smart Watermelon - both good. Beverly - definitely bad!
Back at the Kim Possible stand we were given our Kimmunicator and informed that our assignment would be in France, just over the bridge, and so once again we managed to save the world! It was just as well, as if we hadn't managed it, who knows whether we would have been able to go to the Japan pavilion to buy more Pokemon cards!
Back to Canada and to Le Cellier for lunch. We all had the cheddar cheese soup for starter, which Nicky and I both enjoyed, but Jake decided that the flavour was a bit too strong for him and stuck with enjoying the breadsticks. Nicky and I both had the prime rib sandwich for main course and Jake had the steak, and for dessert Nicky had the maple creme brulee, Jake had ice cream, and I had campfire s'mores (marshmallows, and ice cream between to chocolate biscuits). Overall a nice meal, but we weren't raving about it in the same way that we did last time.
Leaving Epcot we caught the boat from the International Gateway back to the Boardwalk and collected the car (have to take advantage of the free valet parking whenever we can!) and came back to Saratoga for a quick pit stop at home before getting the boat from here to Downtown. First stop was the Lego Store where the Power Miners sets seem to be the favourites of the moment, and then to World of Disney for a bit more gift buying. Again we were able to get 20% off as AP holders, and get two more free pins!
Ready for a drink we stopped off at Earl of Sandwich for refreshment and had a look at Once Upon a Toy before getting the boat back home. The boat service seems to be impressively efficient - more so than we remember it from before, and they either have a new flag coding scheme, or again we've just failed to notice it before. Red flag boats go between Marketplace and West Side, yellow flags are for Port Orleans, and green flags go to Saratoga and OKW.
Back at Saratoga, Nicky treated me to a DVC Member fleece. Pleasingly, the cashier asked to see a DVC membership card before letting us have it! For the rest of the day we've been chilling out at home, and have been back over to the Artists Palette food court for tea. We've checked in on line for our flight home tomorrow. We tried calling Virgin to see about upgrading again, but it doesn't look too promising as apparently our flight is fully booked. We'll just have to get comfortably wedged in and get off to sleep!
As I type, packing is happening around me - boo hoo!
It was just before eleven when we arrived at Epcot, and our first stop was at one of the Kim Possible carts, the one on the way through to the UK pavilion, where we were allocated an assignment time of 11:45. This gave us time to wander over to Mexico and enjoy a boat ride, and also to pop in to Club Cool for some Coke drinks again. Just to confirm - Kinley Lemon and Smart Watermelon - both good. Beverly - definitely bad!
Back at the Kim Possible stand we were given our Kimmunicator and informed that our assignment would be in France, just over the bridge, and so once again we managed to save the world! It was just as well, as if we hadn't managed it, who knows whether we would have been able to go to the Japan pavilion to buy more Pokemon cards!
Back to Canada and to Le Cellier for lunch. We all had the cheddar cheese soup for starter, which Nicky and I both enjoyed, but Jake decided that the flavour was a bit too strong for him and stuck with enjoying the breadsticks. Nicky and I both had the prime rib sandwich for main course and Jake had the steak, and for dessert Nicky had the maple creme brulee, Jake had ice cream, and I had campfire s'mores (marshmallows, and ice cream between to chocolate biscuits). Overall a nice meal, but we weren't raving about it in the same way that we did last time.
Leaving Epcot we caught the boat from the International Gateway back to the Boardwalk and collected the car (have to take advantage of the free valet parking whenever we can!) and came back to Saratoga for a quick pit stop at home before getting the boat from here to Downtown. First stop was the Lego Store where the Power Miners sets seem to be the favourites of the moment, and then to World of Disney for a bit more gift buying. Again we were able to get 20% off as AP holders, and get two more free pins!
Ready for a drink we stopped off at Earl of Sandwich for refreshment and had a look at Once Upon a Toy before getting the boat back home. The boat service seems to be impressively efficient - more so than we remember it from before, and they either have a new flag coding scheme, or again we've just failed to notice it before. Red flag boats go between Marketplace and West Side, yellow flags are for Port Orleans, and green flags go to Saratoga and OKW.
Back at Saratoga, Nicky treated me to a DVC Member fleece. Pleasingly, the cashier asked to see a DVC membership card before letting us have it! For the rest of the day we've been chilling out at home, and have been back over to the Artists Palette food court for tea. We've checked in on line for our flight home tomorrow. We tried calling Virgin to see about upgrading again, but it doesn't look too promising as apparently our flight is fully booked. We'll just have to get comfortably wedged in and get off to sleep!
As I type, packing is happening around me - boo hoo!
Saturday 21 February 2009
Day 5 - shopping and Downtown
A slow start to the day today, and we bimbled around at home until nearly midday, which was very welcome after our busy day at the Magic Kingdom yesterday. When we headed out, it was to the Walmart supercenter on Sand Lake Road (with a stop at Petsmart first!) and then to the shiny Denny's for lunch.
We stopped off at LBVFS on the way home, as we couldn't go through the entire holiday without a trip to Old Navy! Having failed at Osh Kosh we were pleased to get Jake a new fleece. We bought it to last, and let's just say that it is currently "roomy"! I got a couple of T-shirts for $10 and Nicky got a new scarf.
Back at Saratoga, Jake settled in with the TV and the DS, and Nicky and I took a stroll to Downtown - we were able to stay in contact all the way by walkie talkie. We had a look around World of Disney and Once Upon a Toy. It's clear that Disney is feeling the pinch given the promotions that they currently have on their merchandise. There were a number of special offers in the WoD store, and we got 20% off as Annual Passholders rather than our regular 10% (as well as receiving a couple of free pins). In the toy shop, all toys were 35% off.
We had tea at the Artists Palette which is the food court here, and to our surprise they took the Tables in Wonderland card, so we got 20% of our dinner as well. After dinner I went for another stroll around the resort, but remembered to take my camera with me this time and took a few night shots using the tripod.
Today I've had some success in uploading photos so here are a few pictures. They're from earlier in the week, as I'm still behind in getting them all to Flickr - I took more than 100 on our MK day!
By the way, Nicky says to enjoy the pictures (as well as the posts) as we can't be bothered with sending postcards - she'd much rather be shopping than writing!!
We stopped off at LBVFS on the way home, as we couldn't go through the entire holiday without a trip to Old Navy! Having failed at Osh Kosh we were pleased to get Jake a new fleece. We bought it to last, and let's just say that it is currently "roomy"! I got a couple of T-shirts for $10 and Nicky got a new scarf.
Back at Saratoga, Jake settled in with the TV and the DS, and Nicky and I took a stroll to Downtown - we were able to stay in contact all the way by walkie talkie. We had a look around World of Disney and Once Upon a Toy. It's clear that Disney is feeling the pinch given the promotions that they currently have on their merchandise. There were a number of special offers in the WoD store, and we got 20% off as Annual Passholders rather than our regular 10% (as well as receiving a couple of free pins). In the toy shop, all toys were 35% off.
We had tea at the Artists Palette which is the food court here, and to our surprise they took the Tables in Wonderland card, so we got 20% of our dinner as well. After dinner I went for another stroll around the resort, but remembered to take my camera with me this time and took a few night shots using the tripod.
Today I've had some success in uploading photos so here are a few pictures. They're from earlier in the week, as I'm still behind in getting them all to Flickr - I took more than 100 on our MK day!
By the way, Nicky says to enjoy the pictures (as well as the posts) as we can't be bothered with sending postcards - she'd much rather be shopping than writing!!
Friday 20 February 2009
Day 4 - Magic Kingdom
As planned we were up and out by 7:15 this morning, and parked on the front row of the MK parking lot along with the other resort guests heading to the Extra Magic Hour at the Magic Kingdom. We walked to the TTC and then to the monorail where we waited on extra train to be seated up front with the driver.
One of the attendants told us that we were going to be "first family" today, and at first I thought that this might mean something major like special privileges or appearing in the parade, but it turned out to be a little certificate plus some stickers and cards!
We arrived at the front gates at a few minutes to eight, in time to see the opening ceremony before we joined in the Main Street march. Tomorrowland was our first destination and we were on Buzz Lightyear by five past. Nicky was the winner by a thousand but we were all pretty close (63 v 62 v 57). Second on the list was the Indy Speedway, where after Jake's successes from last time he had decided that he would have a car all to himself, so we processed around - Nicky at the front, Jake in the middle and me at the back. Carrying on anticlockwise we went to Fantasyland and to Philharmagic, which was as much fun as always. By the time we were out of the show it was just about nine, but we were still able to walk straight on to the Haunted Mansion ride.
Having collected fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain (which we didn't actually use later) we decided that food was in order, having only had a quick snack of granola bars on our way out the door earlier, so it was back to Main Street for a trip to the bakery for hot chocolate and pastries. Then back to Tomorrowland and the Laughter Floor. Once again I proved to be a magnet for the cameras, and to my great joy I appeared on screen with the caption "Feels an irresistible urge to get up and dance", and it appeared again part way through the show. I thought that I acquitted myself very well, but the rest of my family may wish to tell a different story!
We had a ride on TTA, as we can always rely on there being no line there before heading back to Main Street to see the new parade go by. A couple of quick Adventureland attractions, Tiki Birds and Pirates of the Caribbean and then it was time to make our way out of the park and get the boat to Wilderness Lodge for lunch. Unfortunately we just missed a boat and had to wait ten minutes or so for the next one, which made us a few minutes late arriving at the Whispering Canyon Cafe, but it didn't seem to matter. It was skillet lunches all around, and we over indulged in ribs, mash, cornbread, corn, chicken and beans. Very yummy!
Whilst we were eating lunch the forecasted rain arrived, but by the time we had finished and had a look around it had stopped, so we got the boat back over to the Magic Kingdom, and had a look around in the shops before settling down to watch the new parade. Once we'd finished off our look in the shops, our only other ride of the day was a circuit on the train, and by this time we were ready to head back to the hotel. Nicky and Jake challenged me to a race, and took the bus, whilst I took the ferry to go and collect the car. They walked straight on to a bus and beat me back here by 25 minutes!
We've taken it easy for the rest of the day. I've just been out for a wander and to get my hot chocolate, and now it's time for bed.
One of the attendants told us that we were going to be "first family" today, and at first I thought that this might mean something major like special privileges or appearing in the parade, but it turned out to be a little certificate plus some stickers and cards!
We arrived at the front gates at a few minutes to eight, in time to see the opening ceremony before we joined in the Main Street march. Tomorrowland was our first destination and we were on Buzz Lightyear by five past. Nicky was the winner by a thousand but we were all pretty close (63 v 62 v 57). Second on the list was the Indy Speedway, where after Jake's successes from last time he had decided that he would have a car all to himself, so we processed around - Nicky at the front, Jake in the middle and me at the back. Carrying on anticlockwise we went to Fantasyland and to Philharmagic, which was as much fun as always. By the time we were out of the show it was just about nine, but we were still able to walk straight on to the Haunted Mansion ride.
Having collected fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain (which we didn't actually use later) we decided that food was in order, having only had a quick snack of granola bars on our way out the door earlier, so it was back to Main Street for a trip to the bakery for hot chocolate and pastries. Then back to Tomorrowland and the Laughter Floor. Once again I proved to be a magnet for the cameras, and to my great joy I appeared on screen with the caption "Feels an irresistible urge to get up and dance", and it appeared again part way through the show. I thought that I acquitted myself very well, but the rest of my family may wish to tell a different story!
We had a ride on TTA, as we can always rely on there being no line there before heading back to Main Street to see the new parade go by. A couple of quick Adventureland attractions, Tiki Birds and Pirates of the Caribbean and then it was time to make our way out of the park and get the boat to Wilderness Lodge for lunch. Unfortunately we just missed a boat and had to wait ten minutes or so for the next one, which made us a few minutes late arriving at the Whispering Canyon Cafe, but it didn't seem to matter. It was skillet lunches all around, and we over indulged in ribs, mash, cornbread, corn, chicken and beans. Very yummy!
Whilst we were eating lunch the forecasted rain arrived, but by the time we had finished and had a look around it had stopped, so we got the boat back over to the Magic Kingdom, and had a look around in the shops before settling down to watch the new parade. Once we'd finished off our look in the shops, our only other ride of the day was a circuit on the train, and by this time we were ready to head back to the hotel. Nicky and Jake challenged me to a race, and took the bus, whilst I took the ferry to go and collect the car. They walked straight on to a bus and beat me back here by 25 minutes!
We've taken it easy for the rest of the day. I've just been out for a wander and to get my hot chocolate, and now it's time for bed.
Thursday 19 February 2009
Day 3 - shopping, swimming and more
What a busy day today, and I can't blog for too long as the alarm will be going off early in the morning to make sure we're up in time to get to the extra magic hour at the Magic Kingdom!
After a slowish start to the day, including Jake having a good soak in the jacuzzi bath, we went up I-Drive to the Prime (formerly Belz) Outlet. We arrived just before ten o'clock, which I remember because we discovered that nothing opened until ten! First up was the Character Outlet, and then the Osh Kosh store, where alarmingly Jake is now wearing their largest size. We bought him a couple of pairs of shorts, and a pair of trousers that turns into a pair of shorts! No luck with any fleece jackets, as the spring/summer clothes were in!
Nicky bought some more hair straighteners (as the ones acquired yesterday turn out to be rubbish!) and having done our shopping we stopped off at Starbucks for a drink and a cake.
Next we went all the way from the top to the bottom of I-Drive and back into WDW to Fantasia Gardens for some crazy golf. It was the first time that Nicky had played that course, whereas Jake and I are veterans, having been there once before when Nicky was at the spa. Surprise surprise, Jake was declared to be the winner.
As we were close by, we went to the Beach Club and to Beaches and Cream for lunch. We were intending to indulge in a kitchen sink pudding, but chickened out after our main course, and were glad that we did when we saw one being delivered to the next table. We'll have to go back there another time and skip straight to dessert!
Back to Saratoga and after a rest we were off to the pool for a dip and a play with the water squirters. Jake spent most of his time under the water!
Finally for today we made our way over to Epcot (parking at the Beach Club again) and Nicky and Jake did another Kim Possible assignment whilst I played with my new camera and tripod to see if I could get some good night shots. We set up camp for Illuminations over by Norway and thoroughly enjoyed a take away tea from the Cantina at Mexico. Illuminations was excellent as ever, and I managed to get a few good pictures.
Time for bed now as it we'll be off to MK early in the morning.
After a slowish start to the day, including Jake having a good soak in the jacuzzi bath, we went up I-Drive to the Prime (formerly Belz) Outlet. We arrived just before ten o'clock, which I remember because we discovered that nothing opened until ten! First up was the Character Outlet, and then the Osh Kosh store, where alarmingly Jake is now wearing their largest size. We bought him a couple of pairs of shorts, and a pair of trousers that turns into a pair of shorts! No luck with any fleece jackets, as the spring/summer clothes were in!
Nicky bought some more hair straighteners (as the ones acquired yesterday turn out to be rubbish!) and having done our shopping we stopped off at Starbucks for a drink and a cake.
Next we went all the way from the top to the bottom of I-Drive and back into WDW to Fantasia Gardens for some crazy golf. It was the first time that Nicky had played that course, whereas Jake and I are veterans, having been there once before when Nicky was at the spa. Surprise surprise, Jake was declared to be the winner.
As we were close by, we went to the Beach Club and to Beaches and Cream for lunch. We were intending to indulge in a kitchen sink pudding, but chickened out after our main course, and were glad that we did when we saw one being delivered to the next table. We'll have to go back there another time and skip straight to dessert!
Back to Saratoga and after a rest we were off to the pool for a dip and a play with the water squirters. Jake spent most of his time under the water!
Finally for today we made our way over to Epcot (parking at the Beach Club again) and Nicky and Jake did another Kim Possible assignment whilst I played with my new camera and tripod to see if I could get some good night shots. We set up camp for Illuminations over by Norway and thoroughly enjoyed a take away tea from the Cantina at Mexico. Illuminations was excellent as ever, and I managed to get a few good pictures.
Time for bed now as it we'll be off to MK early in the morning.
Wednesday 18 February 2009
Day 2 - Epcot
A slower start today as we get used to the time difference, and we enjoyed breakfast here before heading out to Epcot at about half past nine. There was quite a queue for the car park payment booths, but I think that this was just a factor of us arriving at a fairly peak time for arrivals. Once we were in we parked in Journey 9, and we were close enough to walk to the park.
Our first stop inside the park was to arrange a Kim Possible adventure, and we were allocated am 11:15 start, and were told to report to the Norway pavilion then, when further instructions would be given. So, we spent a bit of time in Future World first - I was sent to the Land to collect Soarin' fastpasses whilst Nicky and Jake went to Club Cool to try the drinks. I joined them there, and we agreed that the Smart Watermelon is very nice, and unfortunately Jake insisted that I try the Beverly, and it hasn't got any better!
Over to the other side of Futre World and we collected some Test Track fastpasses as well. (Nicky mentioned that it was possible to have more than one fastpass at a time these days. The machine at the end where we were waiting wasn't working so a cast member asked us how many passes we needed and handed them over. Looking at the passes later, I think that you are supposed to wait a couple of hours between getting passes, and so we were a bit lucky there!) Having done this we had a play in Innoventions, and Jake made a piece of paper at one of the stands.
Then we made our way into the World Showcase and clockwise around to Norway where we collected our communicator (modified mobile phone!) to do our assignment. They are a bit of fun, and send you around a fairly small area, and your communicator causes various things to happen around the Norway pavilion, including getting voice messages, seeing smoke signals from a chimney, raising a flag, and even getting our photo taken, and then shown on the screen on the phone! We had completed our mission after about twenty minutes and so carried on around World Showcase, making our way slowly to Japan where we had a reservation for lunch at Teppan Edo.
We waited for about ten minutes before our pager went off, and we were seated around a large table with two other groups. There were two American ladies who were sisters in law (one from Atlanta and one from Boston) and then a couple at the end of the table who worked at Disney, one was a guest relations manager at AK, and the other designed and built rides - cool !! He said that he had been involved in the development of the Rock 'n' Roller coaster as well as lots of rides at AK including Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, and Expedition Everest.
Our chef was Tom from Hawaii and the food was lovely. I started with miso soup, and Nicky had beef roll sushi. For main course Jake and I both had shrimp and Nicky had chicken. It was lots of fun watching it being cooked, and it tasted scrummy.
After lunch we completed our circuit of World Showcase before going to the Imagination pavilion for a ride with Figment. By this time it was about time for our Test Tract fastpasses, but Jake decided that he didn't fancy it, so whilst Jake and I went into Mouse Gear Nicky took great delight in handing them to some people in the queue. Apparently there was a Dad with two young children who were right at the back and very disappointed to discover that there were no more fastpasses to be had and that the standby line was over an hour long. She made their day when handing over the fastpasses, and I think that she even got a kiss for her trouble! Spreading the Magic!
After a look around Mouse Gear we stopped for a quick drink before going to the Living Seas and riding on the Nemo ride. As we came out we stumbled across a diving demonstration which we stopped to watch before going over to the Land to use our Soarin' fastpasses. Fantastic ride as always and we were top centre (row 1 of middle group). Marvellous!
By now it was almost five and so we decided that was enough park for one day and we made our way back to the car park, pausing briefly to look at the Leave a Legacy displays - must remember to write down the code for the location of Jake's picture for next time.
On our way back to the hotel we stopped off at Walgreens for a few supplies. Nicky bought herself some hair straighteners (having failed to find any travel ones at the airport) and I bought some sunglasses covers that fit nicely over my ordinary glasses (that way I don't have to choose between either shading my eyes or being able to see properly - now I can have both!!). Also John will be pleased to know that I found some chocolate maltey balls!!
Back to the hotel where we've mooched about and had some tea in our apartment. Nicky and I have just been over to the shop and have bought a Saratoga pin for Jake and a new baseball cap for me. We also bought a new refillable mug. We remembered to bring the ones from last time, but turns out that they have changed the design!
Our first stop inside the park was to arrange a Kim Possible adventure, and we were allocated am 11:15 start, and were told to report to the Norway pavilion then, when further instructions would be given. So, we spent a bit of time in Future World first - I was sent to the Land to collect Soarin' fastpasses whilst Nicky and Jake went to Club Cool to try the drinks. I joined them there, and we agreed that the Smart Watermelon is very nice, and unfortunately Jake insisted that I try the Beverly, and it hasn't got any better!
Over to the other side of Futre World and we collected some Test Track fastpasses as well. (Nicky mentioned that it was possible to have more than one fastpass at a time these days. The machine at the end where we were waiting wasn't working so a cast member asked us how many passes we needed and handed them over. Looking at the passes later, I think that you are supposed to wait a couple of hours between getting passes, and so we were a bit lucky there!) Having done this we had a play in Innoventions, and Jake made a piece of paper at one of the stands.
Then we made our way into the World Showcase and clockwise around to Norway where we collected our communicator (modified mobile phone!) to do our assignment. They are a bit of fun, and send you around a fairly small area, and your communicator causes various things to happen around the Norway pavilion, including getting voice messages, seeing smoke signals from a chimney, raising a flag, and even getting our photo taken, and then shown on the screen on the phone! We had completed our mission after about twenty minutes and so carried on around World Showcase, making our way slowly to Japan where we had a reservation for lunch at Teppan Edo.
We waited for about ten minutes before our pager went off, and we were seated around a large table with two other groups. There were two American ladies who were sisters in law (one from Atlanta and one from Boston) and then a couple at the end of the table who worked at Disney, one was a guest relations manager at AK, and the other designed and built rides - cool !! He said that he had been involved in the development of the Rock 'n' Roller coaster as well as lots of rides at AK including Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, and Expedition Everest.
Our chef was Tom from Hawaii and the food was lovely. I started with miso soup, and Nicky had beef roll sushi. For main course Jake and I both had shrimp and Nicky had chicken. It was lots of fun watching it being cooked, and it tasted scrummy.
After lunch we completed our circuit of World Showcase before going to the Imagination pavilion for a ride with Figment. By this time it was about time for our Test Tract fastpasses, but Jake decided that he didn't fancy it, so whilst Jake and I went into Mouse Gear Nicky took great delight in handing them to some people in the queue. Apparently there was a Dad with two young children who were right at the back and very disappointed to discover that there were no more fastpasses to be had and that the standby line was over an hour long. She made their day when handing over the fastpasses, and I think that she even got a kiss for her trouble! Spreading the Magic!
After a look around Mouse Gear we stopped for a quick drink before going to the Living Seas and riding on the Nemo ride. As we came out we stumbled across a diving demonstration which we stopped to watch before going over to the Land to use our Soarin' fastpasses. Fantastic ride as always and we were top centre (row 1 of middle group). Marvellous!
By now it was almost five and so we decided that was enough park for one day and we made our way back to the car park, pausing briefly to look at the Leave a Legacy displays - must remember to write down the code for the location of Jake's picture for next time.
On our way back to the hotel we stopped off at Walgreens for a few supplies. Nicky bought herself some hair straighteners (having failed to find any travel ones at the airport) and I bought some sunglasses covers that fit nicely over my ordinary glasses (that way I don't have to choose between either shading my eyes or being able to see properly - now I can have both!!). Also John will be pleased to know that I found some chocolate maltey balls!!
Back to the hotel where we've mooched about and had some tea in our apartment. Nicky and I have just been over to the shop and have bought a Saratoga pin for Jake and a new baseball cap for me. We also bought a new refillable mug. We remembered to bring the ones from last time, but turns out that they have changed the design!
Tuesday 17 February 2009
Day 1 - Studios and Downtown
(Sorry for the lack of pictures so far - having a bit of trouble with uploading to Flickr!)
The day started fairly early, due to the time difference, and we were up, breakfasted and out by eight o'clock, by which time I'd also had a little wander around our resort - makes me want to get some golf lessons so that I can enjoy courses that are as nice as the one that we are staying on!
We decided to go to the Studios this morning, as we'll be at Epcot tomorrow (Japan lunch reservation). We arrived there with plenty of time to spare, and we were slightly surprised that we had to wait behind the turnstiles until very nearly nine o'clock, at which time we joined the stampede towards Toy Story Mania. We decided not to stop off for fastpasses and we were on the ride by quarter past. Nicky was the winner with a score of 137,000. When we went back past the ride at about lunchtime we were glad that we had gone there first - there were no fastpasses left, and the standby line was an hour and a half.
After Toy Story we wandered around towards Muppets 3D - had a look in the store near it - Nicky bought a little cuddly Fozzy Bear and a Kermit aerial topper before we went in to watch the show. Afterwards we went straight back to the same store so as Jake had decided that he would get the Muppet Star Wars figures!
We thought that Jake was going to be up for a ride on Star Tours (not that I would have been!) but he changed his mind, so we went over to the Great Movie Ride, and when we came out of there we had a quick photo opportunity with Stitch and then with Pluto and Goofy. Nicky got some great shots of the characters with my new camera.
We had an early lunch at the Studio Catering Company (pulled pork sandwiches) before having a look in the shops and heading out of the park and back to the hotel.
After a brief rest at our room we had a bit more of a look around the resort. Jake found the arcade, and had a few goes on the usual arcade games - Outrun, basketball, hover hockey ...
Then we got the boat to Downtown (via Old Key West, which really does look worthy of a stay some time soon). We had a pleasant mooch around Downtown - highlights being Ghiradelli's for chocolate malts, new Lego for Jake, and tea at the Wolfgang Puck Express restaurant, before getting the bus back to Saratoga.
Off to Epoct tomorrow.
The day started fairly early, due to the time difference, and we were up, breakfasted and out by eight o'clock, by which time I'd also had a little wander around our resort - makes me want to get some golf lessons so that I can enjoy courses that are as nice as the one that we are staying on!
We decided to go to the Studios this morning, as we'll be at Epcot tomorrow (Japan lunch reservation). We arrived there with plenty of time to spare, and we were slightly surprised that we had to wait behind the turnstiles until very nearly nine o'clock, at which time we joined the stampede towards Toy Story Mania. We decided not to stop off for fastpasses and we were on the ride by quarter past. Nicky was the winner with a score of 137,000. When we went back past the ride at about lunchtime we were glad that we had gone there first - there were no fastpasses left, and the standby line was an hour and a half.
After Toy Story we wandered around towards Muppets 3D - had a look in the store near it - Nicky bought a little cuddly Fozzy Bear and a Kermit aerial topper before we went in to watch the show. Afterwards we went straight back to the same store so as Jake had decided that he would get the Muppet Star Wars figures!
We thought that Jake was going to be up for a ride on Star Tours (not that I would have been!) but he changed his mind, so we went over to the Great Movie Ride, and when we came out of there we had a quick photo opportunity with Stitch and then with Pluto and Goofy. Nicky got some great shots of the characters with my new camera.
We had an early lunch at the Studio Catering Company (pulled pork sandwiches) before having a look in the shops and heading out of the park and back to the hotel.
After a brief rest at our room we had a bit more of a look around the resort. Jake found the arcade, and had a few goes on the usual arcade games - Outrun, basketball, hover hockey ...
Then we got the boat to Downtown (via Old Key West, which really does look worthy of a stay some time soon). We had a pleasant mooch around Downtown - highlights being Ghiradelli's for chocolate malts, new Lego for Jake, and tea at the Wolfgang Puck Express restaurant, before getting the bus back to Saratoga.
Off to Epoct tomorrow.
Monday 16 February 2009
Arrived at Saratoga
Well I obviously spoke too soon when I said that it was looking like our flight was going to get away on time! There was a problem with one of the engines which meant that we needed to get a part replaced, and this cost us a couple of hours of delay. Still, the rather enormous silver lining was the fact that by this time we had discovered that we had been upgraded to Premium Economy, which only became clear when we handed in our boarding cards at the gate and the attendant changed our seat numbers.
Now that we've done it, will we ever be able to go back!
Anyway, once we were airborne the flight went smoothly, and we thoroughly enjoyed the extra space. We did our usual trick at the airport of me getting the car organised whilst Nicky got the bags, and then stopped in for provisions at Publix at the Loop before checking in at our hotel.
All rather worn out now, so heading off to bed soon - after all it is 3:30am UK time!
More tomorrow ...
Now that we've done it, will we ever be able to go back!
Anyway, once we were airborne the flight went smoothly, and we thoroughly enjoyed the extra space. We did our usual trick at the airport of me getting the car organised whilst Nicky got the bags, and then stopped in for provisions at Publix at the Loop before checking in at our hotel.
All rather worn out now, so heading off to bed soon - after all it is 3:30am UK time!
More tomorrow ...
Sunday 15 February 2009
Airport report
We're about to board at gate 31. All gone smoothly at the airport and flight should be on time!
Tuesday 10 February 2009
Tuesday 3 February 2009
Snow days
So we've had a couple of snow days here. Jake's school was closed yesterday, so he was at home. Truth be told he was going to be at home anyway as he'd been rather unwell in the night and really wasn't feeling the ticket. I was supposed to be having meetings around the county, but we managed to do the first one by conference call and postpone the second until later in the week. It was just as well really given that the snow started coming down hard again in the afternoon, and this was the scene along our road:
We didn't get any more snow after yesterday afternoon, but there hasn't exactly been a big thaw so far! Jake's school was open today, but we set off with him and only made it a little way before it was clear that he wasn't going to manage the walk to school, coughing and getting short of breath. So, I turned around and brought him home whilst Nicky carried on with Barley so that she got a decent walk. Nicky called school to explain Jake's absence. Not sure they were convinced by us saying that he was unwell - no doubt they think that we have been playing in the snow all day, but actually Jake spent the morning in bed and has been taking it easy. Hopefully he will be OK for school tomorrow morning - he certainly will be if we are able to get a car out and drive him there!
I was supposed to be in Reading today, but as it was an internal meeting we decided that it was best to postpone it. It is going to be a real challenge to reschedule as there were quite a few people coming, but that's just one of those things. I've actually managed to get a fairly large amount of work done over the last couple of days, with the joys of telecommunications and broadband, but I think that I will try to brave the office (and a visit to Tunbridge Wells) tomorrow.
I've been discovering that we now have loads of ways of taking decent photos and getting them onto the computer (and Flickr). My new phone came with a USB lead, which is extremely useful as I can download photos directly to the laptop, and also it fits Nicky's Sony phone as well, so we can download hers as well. Unfortunately it turns out that she's been on a fairly low res setting for a while, but both phones seem to take decent pictures when they are set up right. Here's one taken by Nicky just after she got the phone in November, as well as one from my phone taken today as I was walking down to the village to get a few provisions.
We didn't get any more snow after yesterday afternoon, but there hasn't exactly been a big thaw so far! Jake's school was open today, but we set off with him and only made it a little way before it was clear that he wasn't going to manage the walk to school, coughing and getting short of breath. So, I turned around and brought him home whilst Nicky carried on with Barley so that she got a decent walk. Nicky called school to explain Jake's absence. Not sure they were convinced by us saying that he was unwell - no doubt they think that we have been playing in the snow all day, but actually Jake spent the morning in bed and has been taking it easy. Hopefully he will be OK for school tomorrow morning - he certainly will be if we are able to get a car out and drive him there!
I was supposed to be in Reading today, but as it was an internal meeting we decided that it was best to postpone it. It is going to be a real challenge to reschedule as there were quite a few people coming, but that's just one of those things. I've actually managed to get a fairly large amount of work done over the last couple of days, with the joys of telecommunications and broadband, but I think that I will try to brave the office (and a visit to Tunbridge Wells) tomorrow.
I've been discovering that we now have loads of ways of taking decent photos and getting them onto the computer (and Flickr). My new phone came with a USB lead, which is extremely useful as I can download photos directly to the laptop, and also it fits Nicky's Sony phone as well, so we can download hers as well. Unfortunately it turns out that she's been on a fairly low res setting for a while, but both phones seem to take decent pictures when they are set up right. Here's one taken by Nicky just after she got the phone in November, as well as one from my phone taken today as I was walking down to the village to get a few provisions.
Sunday 1 February 2009
Cold
I hate the cold. I don't think it's a sign of my advancing years - I always have. I'm gradually working Nicky round to my way of thinking! We're definitely going to have to retire to Florida (provided the exchange rate picks up between now and then). On the way to swimming the car was telling us that the temperature was zero degrees, and the forecasters tell us that it is going to get colder and may well snow tonight. At least in a couple of weeks we will hopefully be getting some warm sunshine. The Orlando forecast over the next ten days seems to range between about 16 and 23: maybe not quite as warm as we would have chosen but considerably better than here.
Looking at DVCNews yesterday and I see that the 2010 points charts have been released. Hopefully we'll be getting a new book soon. There are points charts now for the Treehouse Villas and the Grand Californian, so they will be worth studying. There has been a point reallocation for next year with weekdays costing more and weekends less. Seems to have caused much consternation in the forum (particularly for people who have enjoyed going Sunday to Thursday to take advantage of the current system). I don't think it will make much difference to us as we go for at least a week at a time, but may have to put together a spreadsheet to check!
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