Off to Mall at Millennia this morning, just up I-4. We were there at about 10.30, before the shops opened at 11, so had time to stop in at the Panera Bakery for a coffee and a pastry.
The shops were good, and we all came away with something - me a new jumper, Nicky some supplies from Bath and Body works and Jake a Gators baseball cap and a Vita game.
On our way back we stopped in at Walmart, to pick up some further supplies of water, juice, etc, and then at Barnes and Noble for a look around - Jake got a Hobbit movie tie-in book.
Back at our resort we had a late lunch at Olivia's and have been lazing around here, playing pool and table tennis, and relaxing for the rest of the day.
Tomorrow morning we plan an early raid on the Premium Outlets, before the crowds arrive.
Monday 31 December 2012
Sunday 30 December 2012
Day 8
Long day today, so short blog tonight.
This morning we went over to the ESPN Wide World of Sports - a first for us. The facilities are really impressive, and there were lots of games of "soccer" going on. We also watched a little bit of junior baseball in the main stadium, as well as stopping by to see the AS Roma squad in training (the main reason for our visit).
We had lunch at the EPSN Grille, and just managed to catch the end of both the Man United and Norwich games on the big screens (the Norwich game looked rather impressive - a 7 goal thriller).
After lunch we stopped in at Downtown to get some tickets for the cinema this evening. We were hoping to get the Dine In screen but that was pretty fully booked, so went for an ordinary one.
This afternoon was more table tennis and a dip in the pool, and then we tried to go to Premium Outlets - but only managed to do a tour of the car park - the place was absolutely crammed full - they had closed off the entrance to the multi storey car park, and it wasn't even possible to valet park, as they'd run out of spaces as well. So, we gave up on that and went over to Olive Garden for dinner in stead.
It seems like the place is packed out still - we thought it might be a bit quieter by now, but the roads are really busy, and when we got to Downtown, we were way back in car park 5 before we could get a space.
And finally, this evening we have been to the 8.10 showing of part one of The Hobbit, and a good film it was too. Even Nicky enjoyed it, although she has confirmed that she is no fan of the orcs!
This morning we went over to the ESPN Wide World of Sports - a first for us. The facilities are really impressive, and there were lots of games of "soccer" going on. We also watched a little bit of junior baseball in the main stadium, as well as stopping by to see the AS Roma squad in training (the main reason for our visit).
We had lunch at the EPSN Grille, and just managed to catch the end of both the Man United and Norwich games on the big screens (the Norwich game looked rather impressive - a 7 goal thriller).
After lunch we stopped in at Downtown to get some tickets for the cinema this evening. We were hoping to get the Dine In screen but that was pretty fully booked, so went for an ordinary one.
This afternoon was more table tennis and a dip in the pool, and then we tried to go to Premium Outlets - but only managed to do a tour of the car park - the place was absolutely crammed full - they had closed off the entrance to the multi storey car park, and it wasn't even possible to valet park, as they'd run out of spaces as well. So, we gave up on that and went over to Olive Garden for dinner in stead.
It seems like the place is packed out still - we thought it might be a bit quieter by now, but the roads are really busy, and when we got to Downtown, we were way back in car park 5 before we could get a space.
And finally, this evening we have been to the 8.10 showing of part one of The Hobbit, and a good film it was too. Even Nicky enjoyed it, although she has confirmed that she is no fan of the orcs!
Saturday 29 December 2012
Day 7
Busy day today - Jake and I were up and out for our game of golf this morning, leaving Nicky to get the bus to Downtown for a spot of shopping.
Jake and I arrived at the pro shop just after 9am, and only had to pay the bargain price of $38 for our 9 hole round at Oak Trail (green fees included in our Premium Annual Passes).
We collected our bucket of balls and our clubs, and hit a few balls on the range and the starter called us over a few minutes before ten to tee off. We were joined on the first tee by Steve, who was playing by himself, so joined up with us for the round. Steve was very interesting to talk to - he is a Disney employee who now works as a manager on Main Street, having spent a number of years working in their hotel operation. He is also an extremely good golfer, and even turned professional last year, although he did admit that one of the main reasons for doing it was that he can write off (for tax) his golf equipment now, but he will be playing in some tournaments early next year. Anyway, he was very patient with us given the gulf in golfing ability! He even gave Jake a bit of putting coaching on one of the green.
As for Jake, in his first ever trip around a golf course, he did brilliantly, and the difference in our scores when we added up at the end was only one shot.
Once we'd finished up, we texted Nicky and found out that she was already back at our resort, having returned by boat up the Sassagoula, so we came back here and Nicky showed off her purchases from the morning, whilst we told her of our amazing adventures and spectacular shots.
We felt that we'd earned a good lunch, and so went over to the Red Lobster at Crossroads for a feast.
I had some clam chowder!
This afternoon back at OKW we went in the pool and played some table tennis, and then this evening we've been over to Old Town in Kissimmee (which was an experience) and checked out some of the classic cars getting ready for their parade, whilst dodging the rain drops.
A stop at IHOP on our way back, and I think everyone is just about ready for bed.
Jake and I arrived at the pro shop just after 9am, and only had to pay the bargain price of $38 for our 9 hole round at Oak Trail (green fees included in our Premium Annual Passes).
We collected our bucket of balls and our clubs, and hit a few balls on the range and the starter called us over a few minutes before ten to tee off. We were joined on the first tee by Steve, who was playing by himself, so joined up with us for the round. Steve was very interesting to talk to - he is a Disney employee who now works as a manager on Main Street, having spent a number of years working in their hotel operation. He is also an extremely good golfer, and even turned professional last year, although he did admit that one of the main reasons for doing it was that he can write off (for tax) his golf equipment now, but he will be playing in some tournaments early next year. Anyway, he was very patient with us given the gulf in golfing ability! He even gave Jake a bit of putting coaching on one of the green.
As for Jake, in his first ever trip around a golf course, he did brilliantly, and the difference in our scores when we added up at the end was only one shot.
Once we'd finished up, we texted Nicky and found out that she was already back at our resort, having returned by boat up the Sassagoula, so we came back here and Nicky showed off her purchases from the morning, whilst we told her of our amazing adventures and spectacular shots.
We felt that we'd earned a good lunch, and so went over to the Red Lobster at Crossroads for a feast.
I had some clam chowder!
This afternoon back at OKW we went in the pool and played some table tennis, and then this evening we've been over to Old Town in Kissimmee (which was an experience) and checked out some of the classic cars getting ready for their parade, whilst dodging the rain drops.
A stop at IHOP on our way back, and I think everyone is just about ready for bed.
Friday 28 December 2012
Day 6
Evening all - here is the day 6 scores from the Florida jury!
We're getting the morning routine down to a fine art, and we were parked up and at the turnstiles at Epcot for exactly 8am this morning. Jake was dispatched to the Land pavilion to pick up fast passes for Soarin' and then we joined the queue for the all new Test Track (the queue which was showing as 5 minutes right up until the point that we walked in, when it changed to 20!),
It is certainly the case that the queue area and the general theming for the ride have been substantially updated, albeit that the ride track remains the same as before. Part way through the queue we were issued with a credit card-sized piece of white plastic which we registered at a design station, and we were able to design our own car, which then featured with us both throughout and after the ride. Here's the car that we designed.
It was a chilly morning today, and it was particularly cold whizzing around the outside part of the ride!
Once we'd had our morning pastry, it was back to the Land for our ride on Soarin'. By the time we got there (about half past nine) the standby queue was already up to 75 minutes. Afterwards we walked straight on to Figment, before testing the Cola drinks from around the world.
We made our way clockwise around World Showcase, doing both of the boat rides (Mexico and Norway) and Jake and I watched the circle-vision film in China, before we made our way to Japan and to Teppan Edo for lunch. The menu was very slightly different than before, but only for the starters, so rather than grilled sushi rolls, Jake had some ribs, Nicky had tempura and I had some miso soup.
After lunch we completed our circuit of the world before wandering back towards the entrance, stopping for a look in Mouse Gear, trading a pin or two, and finding Jake's legacy picture.
We came back home for a little while, and made a very important phone call (Happy Birthday Poppa) and then decided that some practice putting would be in order before tomorrow's game. However, when we arrived at Fantasia Gardens we were told that there was an hour and a half wait, and we didn't fancy that, so got back in the car and went for a look at LBVFS.
Jake did best on that trip, getting some new Nike basketball trainers. The only other purchase (also from the Nike store) was a box of 24 golf balls for the bargain price of $8.97. Hopefully 24 will be enough for Jake and I to play 9 holes at the Oak Trail course tomorrow morning!
Back here, I went out with my camera and the tripod to take some long exposure pictures in the twilight.
Thursday 27 December 2012
Day 5
Early start day today, and we were at Hollywood Studios for just after 8am.
As always we made a beeline for for our favourite ride, and took a turn at the Midway Mania.
Modesty doesn't permit me to record the scores achieved in detail, but let's just say that they went in age order, from oldest to youngest!
Once we'd fired the darts, custard pies, hoops and everything else, we decided that the walk from Pixar Place to the Animation building was long enough for the RSI to wear off, and we took our seats outside the Animation Academy, ready to do our second favourite thing at the Studios - do some drawing!
We were given a choice of three characters to draw - Genie, Donald or Tigger, and the majority vote went to the bouncy flouncy one, and here are our efforts:
Drawing done, we crossed off the one other "must do" we had on our Studios list - a trip on the Star Tours, which was pretty much a walk on when we arrived there at about 9.30. I survived pretty well, despite simulator rides not being my most favourite.
Coming out of Star Tours, we were ready for a morning pastry, and so we stopped in at the Writers' Stop for a drink and cookie / danish.
Having refuelled, we wandered out and noticed a character photo opportunity where there were two dressed up characters, a Disney photographer, and a couple of other staff members, but absolutely no guests, and so we couldn't pass them by without stopping for a snap:
After a trip on the backlot tour (where some of the highlights were in the museum area after getting off the tram - Christopher Reeve's Superman cape, and Gimli's axe) we decided that there wasn't anything else that we were desperate to do, and so we took a stroll through the shops on our way back towards the exit. As always, a stop in the memorabilia store was necessary, and I only just overcame the urge to buy a BTTF photo signed by both Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd.
From the Studios we headed out of the world and had a trip to the Walgreens just down the road from Vistana. (Yes - malty balls were purchased.)
By the way, whilst we are on the road, here is a picture of the car:
And here is a picture of the rain that descended whilst we were in it today.:
Denny's for lunch, and I couldn't resist having something from the special Hobbit-inspired menu. I had the "Hobbit Hole breakfast"! Oh yes, and of course, no trip to Denny's would be complete without this:
Back at home, we played some games of pool and table tennis this afternoon, and then this evening we went out for dinner to the delightfully named "Fudruckers" at the Crossroads.
Enough for now - another early one tomorrow - Epcot beckons - Soarin', Test Trackin' and lunch at Teppan Edo.
Wednesday 26 December 2012
Christmas day
(Regular readers have noticed that the date is wrong on my blogs. Sorry about that - it is caused by me posting after 7pm here and the blog still running on GMT. However, despite what it says above, I can confirm that this was posted on Christmas Day.)
No early start today, and when we were finally all awake a little before nine, we were able to confirm that Santa had indeed made a visit in the night. By happy chance, he'd even managed to bring a few things that Jake had noticed in the shops at Downtown only a few days ago!
(Thanks for the Cadbury's and Thornton's supplies from home!)
In accordance with tradition (well, this year and last year anyway!) we sat down to a home-cooked brunch, and then spent much of the rest of the day at our resort. Jake and I went in the pool for a while, and we caught up with news from home on phone and FaceTime.
This afternoon we went over to the Grand Floridian, stopping off at the Oak Trail pro shop on the way, or at least that was the plan but it had already closed for the day. Will have to call them tomorrow and see if we can book a tee time at the end of the week.
We had a look around the Grand Floridian, and then enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner at Citricos. As is often the case at Disney restaurants, they saved the best until last, and the dessert - "Gingerbread Cheesecake and Chocolate Mouse Timbale Dressed in Holiday Style" was superb.
Off to bed soon - plans for an early start at Hollywood Studios in the morning.
Again, Merry Christmas everyone!!
No early start today, and when we were finally all awake a little before nine, we were able to confirm that Santa had indeed made a visit in the night. By happy chance, he'd even managed to bring a few things that Jake had noticed in the shops at Downtown only a few days ago!
(Thanks for the Cadbury's and Thornton's supplies from home!)
In accordance with tradition (well, this year and last year anyway!) we sat down to a home-cooked brunch, and then spent much of the rest of the day at our resort. Jake and I went in the pool for a while, and we caught up with news from home on phone and FaceTime.
This afternoon we went over to the Grand Floridian, stopping off at the Oak Trail pro shop on the way, or at least that was the plan but it had already closed for the day. Will have to call them tomorrow and see if we can book a tee time at the end of the week.
We had a look around the Grand Floridian, and then enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner at Citricos. As is often the case at Disney restaurants, they saved the best until last, and the dessert - "Gingerbread Cheesecake and Chocolate Mouse Timbale Dressed in Holiday Style" was superb.
Off to bed soon - plans for an early start at Hollywood Studios in the morning.
Again, Merry Christmas everyone!!
Tuesday 25 December 2012
Day 3
An early start today, as we decided that the time had come for a trip to the Magic Kingdom. We were up at 6am, and out the door a little before 7am. We parked only a couple of rows back from the front of the MK parking lot and so didn't need to use the tram, and walked over to the monorail, where we had a compartment to ourselves on the resort monorail (the express monorail hadn't started operating).
We did a good number of rides (Space Ranger Spin, Carousel, Peter Pan, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Under the Sea, and the TTA) but by the time we'd got through all of these it was getting on for 11am and the crowds were starting to get alarmingly large.
We were impressed by the progress with New Fantasyland. We had a pastry at Gaston's Tavern soon after arriving (Nicky and Jake both had the largest cinnamon rolls in the world) and we picked up fast passes for a later ride on Under the Sea (clamshells similar to Nemo at the Living Seas). Looking forward to when the Seven Dwarfs mine train opens, but that won't be until 2014.
We came back home to OKW, which is where we've been for the rest of the day, alternating between relaxing and taking on the various sporting opportunities around the Community Hall (pool, table tennis, shuffleboard and basketball).
We've been getting into the Christmas spirit - not just watching various Santa Claus movies (the Tim Allen ones) on the TV, but enjoying Christmas cookies in the hotel lobby as well as having our photo taken with the man himself.
Merry Christmas everyone!!
We did a good number of rides (Space Ranger Spin, Carousel, Peter Pan, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Under the Sea, and the TTA) but by the time we'd got through all of these it was getting on for 11am and the crowds were starting to get alarmingly large.
We were impressed by the progress with New Fantasyland. We had a pastry at Gaston's Tavern soon after arriving (Nicky and Jake both had the largest cinnamon rolls in the world) and we picked up fast passes for a later ride on Under the Sea (clamshells similar to Nemo at the Living Seas). Looking forward to when the Seven Dwarfs mine train opens, but that won't be until 2014.
We came back home to OKW, which is where we've been for the rest of the day, alternating between relaxing and taking on the various sporting opportunities around the Community Hall (pool, table tennis, shuffleboard and basketball).
We've been getting into the Christmas spirit - not just watching various Santa Claus movies (the Tim Allen ones) on the TV, but enjoying Christmas cookies in the hotel lobby as well as having our photo taken with the man himself.
Merry Christmas everyone!!
Monday 24 December 2012
Day 2
The luxury of another slow start to the day today - we're on holiday, and have no particular place to be!
After breakfast, we decided that a trip to Downtown was in order, and so parked up at the Marketplace end and had a look around the shops. A few things were noted for potential purchase later in the holiday, and a few things were acquired for a certain young man's stocking which is hanging up on our villa.
Two trips to Ghiradelli's - one on the way past for the first time to pick up the free samples, and once on the way back to sit down and have chocolate malts with cookie and brownie.
Jake and I walked over to West side (whilst Nicky did the aforementioned Christmas shopping) and we made a beeline for the new Splitsville to take a look around. It is very nicely arranged, and whilst they have thirty bowling lanes, the aren't arranged in one long line, but rather in groups of four or five, dotted around across two floors, with dining and seating areas, and bars in between.
Upstairs there were a few pool tables, and Jake and I asked whether we could have a game. The staff member we spoke to explained that it was $9 per hour, but I said that we were only going to be there for about 15 mins (before we had to meet up with Nicky) and so they very kindly gave us the balls and let us play for free for a while.
As we were playing I texted Nicky to ask her to meet us there, which she did, so we actually ended up with rather a lot more than 15 minutes of free play. Once Nicky had arrived I went and spoke to our friend at the desk and explained that we going to be playing for a bit longer, and we should really start paying, and so they took our $9 and only started the hour clock then.
Nicky got the drinks in (two cokes and one long island iced tea) and Jake and I carried on enjoying the game. We ordered lunch (three pulled pork sandwiches) and whilst we ate we let a couple of American youngsters have a game on our table (they were polite as always seems to be the case when we meet American children).
After lunch we walked back over to the car and went to LBVFS where Nicky and I went in to Old Navy (Jake stayed in the car and played on his Vita). We got a fleece and some flip flops for me, and a fleece, cardigan and scarf for Nicky (total $42).
Back at OKW we've been hanging out at our villa. Jake and I went to go for a swim, but the pool was closed, so we played table tennis for a while.
Rumour has it that we might go to a park in the morning.
After breakfast, we decided that a trip to Downtown was in order, and so parked up at the Marketplace end and had a look around the shops. A few things were noted for potential purchase later in the holiday, and a few things were acquired for a certain young man's stocking which is hanging up on our villa.
Two trips to Ghiradelli's - one on the way past for the first time to pick up the free samples, and once on the way back to sit down and have chocolate malts with cookie and brownie.
Jake and I walked over to West side (whilst Nicky did the aforementioned Christmas shopping) and we made a beeline for the new Splitsville to take a look around. It is very nicely arranged, and whilst they have thirty bowling lanes, the aren't arranged in one long line, but rather in groups of four or five, dotted around across two floors, with dining and seating areas, and bars in between.
Upstairs there were a few pool tables, and Jake and I asked whether we could have a game. The staff member we spoke to explained that it was $9 per hour, but I said that we were only going to be there for about 15 mins (before we had to meet up with Nicky) and so they very kindly gave us the balls and let us play for free for a while.
As we were playing I texted Nicky to ask her to meet us there, which she did, so we actually ended up with rather a lot more than 15 minutes of free play. Once Nicky had arrived I went and spoke to our friend at the desk and explained that we going to be playing for a bit longer, and we should really start paying, and so they took our $9 and only started the hour clock then.
Nicky got the drinks in (two cokes and one long island iced tea) and Jake and I carried on enjoying the game. We ordered lunch (three pulled pork sandwiches) and whilst we ate we let a couple of American youngsters have a game on our table (they were polite as always seems to be the case when we meet American children).
After lunch we walked back over to the car and went to LBVFS where Nicky and I went in to Old Navy (Jake stayed in the car and played on his Vita). We got a fleece and some flip flops for me, and a fleece, cardigan and scarf for Nicky (total $42).
Back at OKW we've been hanging out at our villa. Jake and I went to go for a swim, but the pool was closed, so we played table tennis for a while.
Rumour has it that we might go to a park in the morning.
Sunday 23 December 2012
Day 1
By the time I came to this morning, Nicky had been awake for a while, and by the time I'd woken up properly, she'd done the unpacking!
We didn't rush to get out the door, and when we were ready we stepped over the road to Olivia's - a new experience for Nicky and me, but not for Jake (he'd been there a year and a day ago). Once breakfasted (during which Nicky discovered that she likes biscuits with sausage gravy), we went along to the Community Hall, and Jake and I played some pool and some table tennis. Nicky took a few photos, and then came back to our room.
By the time Jake and I got back here, Nicky was particularly excited as our next door neighbours, who were going home today, had given us the Christmas lights that they had used to decorate their patio. Nicky asked if they collected pins, and as the answer was yes, gave them one of the Olympic pins we'd brought with us as a thank you. Apparently, they were very chuffed.
Once we'd wound the lights around our patio railing, we set off on our first outing of the holiday - Publix obviously, and have stocked up on all of the expected things (Florida OJ, Pop Tarts, egg nog, Chips Ahoy, Folgers ...!).
Back at OKW we relaxed here for a while, and Jake and I played a bit more table tennis - he is getting alarmingly good! This evening we went along to Boardwalk and then acquired our special officer DVC discount Premium Annual Passes at the ticket booth at the International Gateway.
We didn't stay long in Epcot - had a wander around a little bit of World Showcase, and had tea at the fast food restaurant at Japan (teriyaki chicken and beef, and shrimp udon noodles).
We had a look at the shops at the Boardwalk on our way back, and Nicky and Jake won a soft toy at the boardwalk games. (We went into the Wyland Galleries - quality as always!).
Now we're back at our villa and I've just been out to pick up three hot chocolates.
Early night tonight, gradually getting lined up with the time difference.
(A couple of changes to report - room cards now have contactless - presumably RFID - technology, and the wifi seems much better and more wide-ranging.)
We didn't rush to get out the door, and when we were ready we stepped over the road to Olivia's - a new experience for Nicky and me, but not for Jake (he'd been there a year and a day ago). Once breakfasted (during which Nicky discovered that she likes biscuits with sausage gravy), we went along to the Community Hall, and Jake and I played some pool and some table tennis. Nicky took a few photos, and then came back to our room.
By the time Jake and I got back here, Nicky was particularly excited as our next door neighbours, who were going home today, had given us the Christmas lights that they had used to decorate their patio. Nicky asked if they collected pins, and as the answer was yes, gave them one of the Olympic pins we'd brought with us as a thank you. Apparently, they were very chuffed.
Once we'd wound the lights around our patio railing, we set off on our first outing of the holiday - Publix obviously, and have stocked up on all of the expected things (Florida OJ, Pop Tarts, egg nog, Chips Ahoy, Folgers ...!).
Back at OKW we relaxed here for a while, and Jake and I played a bit more table tennis - he is getting alarmingly good! This evening we went along to Boardwalk and then acquired our special officer DVC discount Premium Annual Passes at the ticket booth at the International Gateway.
We didn't stay long in Epcot - had a wander around a little bit of World Showcase, and had tea at the fast food restaurant at Japan (teriyaki chicken and beef, and shrimp udon noodles).
We had a look at the shops at the Boardwalk on our way back, and Nicky and Jake won a soft toy at the boardwalk games. (We went into the Wyland Galleries - quality as always!).
Now we're back at our villa and I've just been out to pick up three hot chocolates.
Early night tonight, gradually getting lined up with the time difference.
(A couple of changes to report - room cards now have contactless - presumably RFID - technology, and the wifi seems much better and more wide-ranging.)
Saturday 22 December 2012
The Journey
OK, let's start with the good news - we are here in Florida, settled in to our villa at Old Key West, the sun is shining, and we'll be here for the next couple of weeks.
Now, for the story of the journey here - yesterday was a long day!
We started off with a lift to the airport (thanks Grandad), leaving home just after 6am, and having a smooth run to Heathrow, where there was no queue for checking in with United, and we deposited our bags, and picked up our boarding cards for both our flight to Washington and the onward connection to Orlando.
Security only took 10 or 15 minutes, and once airside, we checked out what Terminal 1 had to offer before settling in to a diner for sausage sandwiches and juice for breakfast. Our flight was showing as having a small, 45 minute delay, so we had a fairly long time to wait in the departure area. Still, this wasn't a problem, and we took our time over breakfast, before setting up camp in the departure area and taking turns to go for a wander in the shops. Jake got a new game for his Vita (Lord of the Rings Lego), Nicky got a magazine, and I picked up a couple of books from the WHS Bookstore.
Our gate opened as expected at 11.45, and we boarded pretty quickly. The flight to Washington was uneventful, and we made up a little bit of our lost time. We all had a little doze at some point - I read a couple of books, and the food was ok - Lasagne for lunch and a cheese and ham roll for tea.
We landed at 4pm local time, meaning that we had an hour to get our connecting flight, which was due to depart at 5.04pm. Lots of the people around us on the plane also had connecting flights, some earlier than ours, and it seemed like we were going to be ok. We were off the plane fairly quickly, and likes lots of others followed the "transit" signs to where we would be able to get our connection.
Down a few escalators, along a corridor, around the corner - and then we saw the immigration queue!
It was long, and we were at the back of it. Stress levels started to rise, and not just ours - there were lots of people in the queue who were looking to make connections, and a number of people started to get a little agitated. The staff made announcements to the whole queue to say that we were all in the same boat, and that no-one would be jumping the line.
There were about 20 immigration desks, and the majority of them were set up for US passport holders, and we watched as the line for US nationals moved quickly whilst ours crawled along. We took 20 minutes to do the first length of it before turning 180 degrees and moving onto the second part of the zig zag. Things were not looking good.
Around now the US line emptied out completely, and the immigration staff did at least start using all of the open desks for our queue, so progress was a little faster, and hopes for making connections rose and fell as we shuffled forward, stopped, and then shuffled forward a bit more again.
We made it to a desk at 5pm. Our only hope by this time was that there might be a delay in our flight to Orlando. Hugely frustratingly there were no flight information screens in the immigration hall, so we had no idea what the situation was (and our mobiles would not connect up to let us look online either).
After the faffing about with fingerprints and photos, we legged it along to where our bags were waiting for us, and moved them along about 100 yards, through the bag check, to where we put them on another conveyor to be sent on to our next flight, still not knowing whether it had actually gone already, which it would have done by now if it was running on time.
Round another corner, and lo and behold, another ******* queue, this time to go back through security screening once again. Stress levels go up a bit more. We make it through, put our shoes back on, go back up another escalator, and finally see our first flight information screen. By now it is about 5.30pm, and sure enough, it says that our flight has closed. A member of staff says that we need to go down to the United customer services desk, where they will sort us out.
We make the hike to customer services, and when we get there, we discover that it has a long queue already formed. Stress levels go through the roof!
Nicky and I stand in line and Jake has a sit down. The queue doesn't move - at all. We watch the people at the front talking to the desk staff, for a very long time, and contemplate the fact that with 50 or so people in front of us, this could be a very long wait. We know that there is one more United flight to Orlando tonight, leaving at 9.50pm but looking at how busy things are, don't rate our chances of getting on it.
Realising that things are looking a little bleak, I go off in search of the United staff member who was at the information board to ask them about whether we can at least get our bags back. But when I hike back up to that end of the terminal, no-one is there, and there is nobody around to talk to. So back I go with no news.
Whilst Nicky is standing in line, Jake and I go off to Wendy's to get burger / nuggets. Nicky decides she doesn't want anything, but Jake and I have some food. By the time we are back, Nicky has moved forward in the line a little way, but when I look, I'm sure it's still some of the same people talking at the desk, and people have just shuffled forward in line a little to close up gaps. You can cut the tension in the air with a knife. There are lots and lots of people here who aren't going to be getting where they want to go today, and due to the time of year with everyone travelling for the holidays, very little sign of open spaces on other flights. By now it is about 6.30pm.
The idea of spending the next couple of days at the airport hanging around on standby for flights fills us with dread, and we start to talk seriously about hiring a car and driving it down to Florida. Looking at google maps, it is about 850 miles and a 13 hour drive.
Nicky gets talking to a young chap in line who is also travelling to Orlando and should have been on the 5.04pm plane (we never did find out his name, but he was a really nice guy, and for the purposes of this story I'm going to call him Fred!). We all agree that if we could just get our bags back, we could check in to a hotel, get some sleep, and reassess / set of in a car, in the morning. There are lots of people from our London flight in the line.
Next thing I know, Nicky and Fred are moving up to the front of the line. Someone at the desk has asked if anyone just wants their bags back, and so we take that option. The staff start calling the gate and seeing if they can establish where our bags are. It seems unlikely that they would have made it through in time to get onto the 5.04pm plane, and the normal approach is to send them on the next available flight, so they are probably waiting to be loaded onto the next available flight - the 9.50pm (it seems like they don't seem to care about making sure that bags and people travel together on internal flights).
By now it is about 7.30pm, and we notice that our 5.04pm flight has just reappeared on the departure board, saying that it has returned to the gate. We have no idea why. I wander off and have a chat with a staff member at another nearby gate, and they phone down to D23 (the gate for our flight) to find out what is going on. It sounds like our flight has returned with a mechanical problem, but the flight remains "closed", i.e. they are not letting any new passengers on board.
We make a fuss about this at the desk, and the staff are utterly useless! They can't tell us what is going on with our original flight, and they can't give us any clear answers about where our bags are. Stress levels are up in the stratosphere.
Fred decides that as there is a slim possibility of getting on to the original flight, he is going to go down to the gate and see what is happening there, but he says that he will come back and let us know what is going on. We continue trying to get some idea of where our bags are. More time passes and it is now about 8pm and despair is setting in.
After a while, Fred reappears, completely out of breath, having sprinted back from the Gate D23 (which it turns out is about a kilometre away at the other end of the terminal). He tells us that he thinks he might be getting on the original flight and that it may be worth our while to go down to the gate.
We try to get the attention of the staff member who currently has our bag check tickets, eventually get them from her, and set off at a jog to the gate. We arrive there and there are a number of people milling around who had previously been on the flight but who've got off to stretch their legs whilst the mechanical (brakes) issue is being sorted out. We go up to the desk and tell them we have been sent down by customer services, and present our original boarding cards that we had been given what seems like many days ago in London!
The staff member we are dealing with (Oscar) explains that whilst some people have got off to stretch their legs, the flight is still closed, and is full. We should not have come down here, and he calls the customer services desk and starts telling them off and telling them not so send anyone else down.
We basically refuse to move, start brandishing our boarding cards, and declare that we have a right to be on that plane, and that they should not have given away our seats to anyone else. There is much confusion.
By now the youngest member of our party is in tears, and frankly we all feel pretty terrible.
There is much scratching of heads and consultation between the staff members at the gate.
After a while, Oscar comes over to us and hands us a scrap of paper with three seat numbers (spread around the plane) dotted on it. He tells us to get on the plane and go and sit in those seats.
Before anyone can change their mind, we are off down the walkway.
Just as we head towards the plane, we see Fred and the desk, still deep in conversation with a United staff member. We all think the same thing - oh no - we are getting the last three seats, and Fred, who helped us out - is going to be stranded. ****.
We get on the plane, and some of the seat numbers we have been given are already occupied.
Again - ****.
Still, we are on the plane, and there is no way they are getting us off now!
We present ourselves to one of the cabin staff, and explain that we have been sent by Oscar, but that we can't sit in the seats that he has told us to. We are sent to the galley at the rear of the plane, and told to stand there whilst they try to sort things out. We watch as all the other passengers start getting on, and the plane fills up.
Once everyone is on, one of the cabin crew comes to the back and tells us to walk forward and grab any available seats. We see one about 6 or 7 rows from the back, and so get Jake to sit down. Then about half way through the plane there is another one, and Nicky tells me to claim it and she continues forward. But there are no more seats. More panic. But, one of the stewards calls her to the back, and a seat is found (I spend the flight thinking that she is on one of the crew jump seats in the back galley, but it turns out that another seat was available in the second row from the back - Nicky thinks that a staff member who was travelling got moved into one of the jump seats.)
An announcement comes over the PA system to say that the doors are closed, and we will be departing as soon as refuelling has finished.
We are on board and we are going to Orlando - thank the Lord!! We're not sure if our luggage is coming with us on the same flight, but at least we are getting there!
We finally take off at about 9pm, and land in Orlando at about 10.50pm.
No need to do immigration again in Orlando (be grateful for small mercies), and so we are straight on the connecting monorail to the main terminal and to baggage claim. Nicky waits in the hope that our bags might appear whilst Jake and I head off to the Dollar car hire desk.
There is no wait at the car hire, so we are done fairly quickly. The staff member gives us the hard sell on upgrading the car, and by this time my defences against this are at zero, so I sign away another couple of hundred dollars, but at this point am past caring. He had me when he said that our "economy" car could be a Fiat 500! We upgrade to a "standard" and have actually ended up with a Ford 4x4 which we are happy with. (I also think he probably did us over, on the basis that when we got to the garage we couldn't see any economy cars at all - we think they had probably rented them all earlier in the day and so would have had to give us an upgrade anyway. Oh well - never mind!!)
Paperwork done, we went up to baggage reclaim where Nicky was still waiting with no bags. But she was chatting with our friend Fred. To our great relief, he'd made it as well (I'd seen him as we'd disembarked the plane, so had told Nicky this whilst we were on the monorail.) I turns out that Fred owed his good fortune to a nervous flyer who once the plane had developed a mechanical problem with the brakes had refused to get back on even after they were fixed, and so Fred got her seat!
Then, after a few minutes, to our great delight and surprise, the first our our bags appeared, fairly quickly followed by the other two. We loaded up onto a trolley and made our way to the garage where we chose our car, flung things in the boot, and drove to OKW.
We arrived here at about 12.30am, and after checking in, we unloaded our bags into the room, and fell into bed after a journey of only just under 24 hours.
But as I said at the start, we are here now, and I'm just off to have a game of table tennis with Jake.
More later on day 1 proper!
Now, for the story of the journey here - yesterday was a long day!
We started off with a lift to the airport (thanks Grandad), leaving home just after 6am, and having a smooth run to Heathrow, where there was no queue for checking in with United, and we deposited our bags, and picked up our boarding cards for both our flight to Washington and the onward connection to Orlando.
Security only took 10 or 15 minutes, and once airside, we checked out what Terminal 1 had to offer before settling in to a diner for sausage sandwiches and juice for breakfast. Our flight was showing as having a small, 45 minute delay, so we had a fairly long time to wait in the departure area. Still, this wasn't a problem, and we took our time over breakfast, before setting up camp in the departure area and taking turns to go for a wander in the shops. Jake got a new game for his Vita (Lord of the Rings Lego), Nicky got a magazine, and I picked up a couple of books from the WHS Bookstore.
Our gate opened as expected at 11.45, and we boarded pretty quickly. The flight to Washington was uneventful, and we made up a little bit of our lost time. We all had a little doze at some point - I read a couple of books, and the food was ok - Lasagne for lunch and a cheese and ham roll for tea.
We landed at 4pm local time, meaning that we had an hour to get our connecting flight, which was due to depart at 5.04pm. Lots of the people around us on the plane also had connecting flights, some earlier than ours, and it seemed like we were going to be ok. We were off the plane fairly quickly, and likes lots of others followed the "transit" signs to where we would be able to get our connection.
Down a few escalators, along a corridor, around the corner - and then we saw the immigration queue!
It was long, and we were at the back of it. Stress levels started to rise, and not just ours - there were lots of people in the queue who were looking to make connections, and a number of people started to get a little agitated. The staff made announcements to the whole queue to say that we were all in the same boat, and that no-one would be jumping the line.
There were about 20 immigration desks, and the majority of them were set up for US passport holders, and we watched as the line for US nationals moved quickly whilst ours crawled along. We took 20 minutes to do the first length of it before turning 180 degrees and moving onto the second part of the zig zag. Things were not looking good.
Around now the US line emptied out completely, and the immigration staff did at least start using all of the open desks for our queue, so progress was a little faster, and hopes for making connections rose and fell as we shuffled forward, stopped, and then shuffled forward a bit more again.
We made it to a desk at 5pm. Our only hope by this time was that there might be a delay in our flight to Orlando. Hugely frustratingly there were no flight information screens in the immigration hall, so we had no idea what the situation was (and our mobiles would not connect up to let us look online either).
After the faffing about with fingerprints and photos, we legged it along to where our bags were waiting for us, and moved them along about 100 yards, through the bag check, to where we put them on another conveyor to be sent on to our next flight, still not knowing whether it had actually gone already, which it would have done by now if it was running on time.
Round another corner, and lo and behold, another ******* queue, this time to go back through security screening once again. Stress levels go up a bit more. We make it through, put our shoes back on, go back up another escalator, and finally see our first flight information screen. By now it is about 5.30pm, and sure enough, it says that our flight has closed. A member of staff says that we need to go down to the United customer services desk, where they will sort us out.
We make the hike to customer services, and when we get there, we discover that it has a long queue already formed. Stress levels go through the roof!
Nicky and I stand in line and Jake has a sit down. The queue doesn't move - at all. We watch the people at the front talking to the desk staff, for a very long time, and contemplate the fact that with 50 or so people in front of us, this could be a very long wait. We know that there is one more United flight to Orlando tonight, leaving at 9.50pm but looking at how busy things are, don't rate our chances of getting on it.
Realising that things are looking a little bleak, I go off in search of the United staff member who was at the information board to ask them about whether we can at least get our bags back. But when I hike back up to that end of the terminal, no-one is there, and there is nobody around to talk to. So back I go with no news.
Whilst Nicky is standing in line, Jake and I go off to Wendy's to get burger / nuggets. Nicky decides she doesn't want anything, but Jake and I have some food. By the time we are back, Nicky has moved forward in the line a little way, but when I look, I'm sure it's still some of the same people talking at the desk, and people have just shuffled forward in line a little to close up gaps. You can cut the tension in the air with a knife. There are lots and lots of people here who aren't going to be getting where they want to go today, and due to the time of year with everyone travelling for the holidays, very little sign of open spaces on other flights. By now it is about 6.30pm.
The idea of spending the next couple of days at the airport hanging around on standby for flights fills us with dread, and we start to talk seriously about hiring a car and driving it down to Florida. Looking at google maps, it is about 850 miles and a 13 hour drive.
Nicky gets talking to a young chap in line who is also travelling to Orlando and should have been on the 5.04pm plane (we never did find out his name, but he was a really nice guy, and for the purposes of this story I'm going to call him Fred!). We all agree that if we could just get our bags back, we could check in to a hotel, get some sleep, and reassess / set of in a car, in the morning. There are lots of people from our London flight in the line.
Next thing I know, Nicky and Fred are moving up to the front of the line. Someone at the desk has asked if anyone just wants their bags back, and so we take that option. The staff start calling the gate and seeing if they can establish where our bags are. It seems unlikely that they would have made it through in time to get onto the 5.04pm plane, and the normal approach is to send them on the next available flight, so they are probably waiting to be loaded onto the next available flight - the 9.50pm (it seems like they don't seem to care about making sure that bags and people travel together on internal flights).
By now it is about 7.30pm, and we notice that our 5.04pm flight has just reappeared on the departure board, saying that it has returned to the gate. We have no idea why. I wander off and have a chat with a staff member at another nearby gate, and they phone down to D23 (the gate for our flight) to find out what is going on. It sounds like our flight has returned with a mechanical problem, but the flight remains "closed", i.e. they are not letting any new passengers on board.
We make a fuss about this at the desk, and the staff are utterly useless! They can't tell us what is going on with our original flight, and they can't give us any clear answers about where our bags are. Stress levels are up in the stratosphere.
Fred decides that as there is a slim possibility of getting on to the original flight, he is going to go down to the gate and see what is happening there, but he says that he will come back and let us know what is going on. We continue trying to get some idea of where our bags are. More time passes and it is now about 8pm and despair is setting in.
After a while, Fred reappears, completely out of breath, having sprinted back from the Gate D23 (which it turns out is about a kilometre away at the other end of the terminal). He tells us that he thinks he might be getting on the original flight and that it may be worth our while to go down to the gate.
We try to get the attention of the staff member who currently has our bag check tickets, eventually get them from her, and set off at a jog to the gate. We arrive there and there are a number of people milling around who had previously been on the flight but who've got off to stretch their legs whilst the mechanical (brakes) issue is being sorted out. We go up to the desk and tell them we have been sent down by customer services, and present our original boarding cards that we had been given what seems like many days ago in London!
The staff member we are dealing with (Oscar) explains that whilst some people have got off to stretch their legs, the flight is still closed, and is full. We should not have come down here, and he calls the customer services desk and starts telling them off and telling them not so send anyone else down.
We basically refuse to move, start brandishing our boarding cards, and declare that we have a right to be on that plane, and that they should not have given away our seats to anyone else. There is much confusion.
By now the youngest member of our party is in tears, and frankly we all feel pretty terrible.
There is much scratching of heads and consultation between the staff members at the gate.
After a while, Oscar comes over to us and hands us a scrap of paper with three seat numbers (spread around the plane) dotted on it. He tells us to get on the plane and go and sit in those seats.
Before anyone can change their mind, we are off down the walkway.
Just as we head towards the plane, we see Fred and the desk, still deep in conversation with a United staff member. We all think the same thing - oh no - we are getting the last three seats, and Fred, who helped us out - is going to be stranded. ****.
We get on the plane, and some of the seat numbers we have been given are already occupied.
Again - ****.
Still, we are on the plane, and there is no way they are getting us off now!
We present ourselves to one of the cabin staff, and explain that we have been sent by Oscar, but that we can't sit in the seats that he has told us to. We are sent to the galley at the rear of the plane, and told to stand there whilst they try to sort things out. We watch as all the other passengers start getting on, and the plane fills up.
Once everyone is on, one of the cabin crew comes to the back and tells us to walk forward and grab any available seats. We see one about 6 or 7 rows from the back, and so get Jake to sit down. Then about half way through the plane there is another one, and Nicky tells me to claim it and she continues forward. But there are no more seats. More panic. But, one of the stewards calls her to the back, and a seat is found (I spend the flight thinking that she is on one of the crew jump seats in the back galley, but it turns out that another seat was available in the second row from the back - Nicky thinks that a staff member who was travelling got moved into one of the jump seats.)
An announcement comes over the PA system to say that the doors are closed, and we will be departing as soon as refuelling has finished.
We are on board and we are going to Orlando - thank the Lord!! We're not sure if our luggage is coming with us on the same flight, but at least we are getting there!
We finally take off at about 9pm, and land in Orlando at about 10.50pm.
No need to do immigration again in Orlando (be grateful for small mercies), and so we are straight on the connecting monorail to the main terminal and to baggage claim. Nicky waits in the hope that our bags might appear whilst Jake and I head off to the Dollar car hire desk.
There is no wait at the car hire, so we are done fairly quickly. The staff member gives us the hard sell on upgrading the car, and by this time my defences against this are at zero, so I sign away another couple of hundred dollars, but at this point am past caring. He had me when he said that our "economy" car could be a Fiat 500! We upgrade to a "standard" and have actually ended up with a Ford 4x4 which we are happy with. (I also think he probably did us over, on the basis that when we got to the garage we couldn't see any economy cars at all - we think they had probably rented them all earlier in the day and so would have had to give us an upgrade anyway. Oh well - never mind!!)
Paperwork done, we went up to baggage reclaim where Nicky was still waiting with no bags. But she was chatting with our friend Fred. To our great relief, he'd made it as well (I'd seen him as we'd disembarked the plane, so had told Nicky this whilst we were on the monorail.) I turns out that Fred owed his good fortune to a nervous flyer who once the plane had developed a mechanical problem with the brakes had refused to get back on even after they were fixed, and so Fred got her seat!
Then, after a few minutes, to our great delight and surprise, the first our our bags appeared, fairly quickly followed by the other two. We loaded up onto a trolley and made our way to the garage where we chose our car, flung things in the boot, and drove to OKW.
We arrived here at about 12.30am, and after checking in, we unloaded our bags into the room, and fell into bed after a journey of only just under 24 hours.
But as I said at the start, we are here now, and I'm just off to have a game of table tennis with Jake.
More later on day 1 proper!
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