Jury's

A while has gone by since my last blog, and I guess that the first task is to finish off the holiday story:

Day 14

We were up at a reasonable time, having deliberately chosen not to start any packing the night before, and despite initial concerns, it all fitted into the bags that we had brought with us (although when we got to the airport a while later we did discover that they had just about doubled in weight!).

Once packed, we went over and enjoyed a final breakfast at Olivia's, before a final go on the table tennis table. The weather had turned rather British to encourage us that it was time to go home, and so we had to dry the table with towels before it was ready for play.

And then, due to the earlier flight times than normal - due to the connecting flights - it was time to wave goodbye to WDW and head for the airport. There had been stories on the news of accidents of I-4, and so we avoided it on the way back, approaching the airport from the south.

The check-in line at the Air Canada desks was pretty short - certainly much shorter than we were used to at the Virgin desks, and the good news was that it wouldn't be necessary to handle our bags or to go through immigration when we got to Toronto.

Once checked in we did the usual wander around the airport shops before going through security (worst part of the airport) and heading to the gate. A bit of confusion and stress at the gate as there had been a problem with the previous flight and we ended up with a changed gate and a late-departing flight - again.

However, once we got to Toronto, we were able to get off, hand in our landing card, and leg it to the gate for our onward flight in time to discover that whilst they had started boarding, they hadn't got to our row yet. Phew!

Flight home uneventful, and being a couple of hours shorter than the direct one from MCO made a noticeable difference. Air Canada customer service nothing to write home about - favourite moment was when I was told that the dinner choice was pasta or chicken and I made the mistake of asking what sort of pasta it was - to which I received the reply - "don't know, but it looks like this!".

Anyway, we won't be using Air Canada again any time soon, and only for trips to Canada. It has been decreed that from now on, all trips to Orlando will involve direct flights to MCO.

We landed back in Blighty on time, and our chauffeur (Grandad) was there waiting for us when we emerged in arrivals.

And that was the tale of our Christmas holiday!

Since then we've been busy in our new house, and every day and in every way we're gradually continuing to get it just how we want it. It'll take quite a while to get it just so, but we're enjoying the journey - even the little things.

Since getting home we've:

• unpacked a few more boxes in the games room;
• got a new light for Nicky's study;
• taken delivery of the new sofas for the lounge (happy days - a sofa big enough to lay down and fall asleep on!!) and moved the old ones into the conservatory;
• had the removals firm come back and take away a couple of huge stacks of moving boxes;
• put up a few more pictures around the place;
• played lots of games of pool on our inherited pool table (I know this doesn't count as sorting out, but it's still fun!);
• bought a cheap and cheerful freeview box and been pleasantly surprised when it worked really well in our bedroom (despite the fact that all the houses around us have huge poles on their roofs with aerials on);
• made emergencies repairs to the dishwasher;
• had a trip to Ikea for Billys and Poangs;
• continued to sort out in Nicky's study now that it has some more bookcases in it;
• ordered an ottoman (which should be delivered this week and will either end up in the hall or our bedroom); and
• bought some new lights for the conservatory.

And then there is the minor matter of work - I am catching up from blogging from my hotel in Brighton, at the start of another one of those weeks!

Day 13

And so, the end is near ...

Our last full day and we are still taking it easy - no need to rush around - it'll all still be here when we come back next time - whenever that turns out to be!

Up late, and out and over to Epcot (parking at Beach Club as yesterday) in time to wander over to the Coral Reef restaurant for our lunch reservation. Food was nice and the view of the aquarium was fun. We were stopped by a researcher when we came out to ask us some questions about what we thought of Coral Reef. We told her that we were disappointed there was no DVC or annual pass discount, that the food was nice, that the servers could have been a bit more chatty, and that we might choose to go back to a World Showcase restaurant again before a revisit to the Coral Reef.

We walked through Innoventions, stopping off to play an interactive game with a piggy bank (!) before a few final (ish) pin choices at the pin station and then back through the International Gateway to the Beach Club, and having decided against dessert at the Coral Reef, a trip to Beaches 'n' Cream (no - we didn't have a Kitchen Sink - we decided that it would be just a bit too much for the three of us!).

We bought a nice DVC backpack at the Beach Club shop, which had a better DVC selection than the OKW store, and then got back in the car to head to CVS for a few purchases to take home (mostly enough cherry twizzlers to last until next time). We went via the Western Way, just to try it out as we'd not been down there before.

Shopping completed we came back home (we've settled in to calling OKW home whilst we've been here, not surprising given that we've spent almost twice as long here as we have in our own house!), and then spent the rest of the day here, with obviously a bit of table tennis thrown in for good measure.

Plans for the morning are: packing, breakfast at Olivia's and then off to the airport for our 2.20 flight to Toronto, and fingers crossed for making our connecting flight!

See you all soon.

Day 12

So, time for some catching up on the blog - been a bit too busy enjoying the holiday over the last couple of days to be blogging.

Starting with New Year's Eve - we were up at a reasonable time and headed for the Premium Outlets. This time (because we got there before it opened) we were able not only to get into the car park, but to actually park the car as well! We arrived at the Tommy Hilfiger store for opening time at 10am, and Jake was able to get a zip up jacket - he'd been determined to get one since looking around the store at LBVFS earlier in the holiday.

Overall, we all did well out of the trip - Jake got a load of new clothes in American Eagle (as well as a couple of hats in Lids, of course), I did well in the Polo shop, and Nicky got some new Sketchers.

Once we were all shopped out, we went over the road from the stores to the Outback Steakhouse for lunch - our first visit there, and very nice it was too.

After a bit of a relax back at OKW, we were off to Epcot for the evening. The park was absolutely packed. We were there in time for the 6.30 illuminations, which we watched from a grassy area over in Future World (so didn't see any of the globe). We then made our way through to World Showcase where the crowds had to be seen to be believed. Walking through the UK pavilion, we ended up in a human traffic jam, and it took at least 10 fairly unpleasant minutes to move about 100 yards.

We eventually made it around to Japan where we had a reservation at Tokyo Dining, and checked in early for our meal, although we still waited until about 8.45 before we were called in.

The meal was very nice, but we decided that we wouldn't be able to survive the crowds through to the 11.30 illuminations, and so went back through Future World and back to our bus stop to come back home.

Once we were back here we stopped in at the Conch Flats store to pick up a bottle of wine, and Nicky and I saw the New Year in over near the hospitality house, sipping wine from our plastic cups!

Yesterday we were up fairly late, and decided to get the boat over to Downtown where we did a bit more shopping (stocked up at Ghiradelli's!) and had lunch at Earl of Sandwich. Then later in the afternoon we got the bus to the Magic Kingdom. First stop was City Hall, where we said hello to our new friend Steve (our golfing partner from last week) and he very kindly set us up with three fast passes. Jake and I used the first one on Space Mountain, and once we'd done that it was time for our dinner at the new Be Our Guest restaurant.

After dinner we watched parades and fireworks, and used up the rest of our fast passes (on Buzz and Thunder Mountain) before coming home.

Today, again we were up fairly late, but then headed out for our first ever trip to Blizzard Beach, which was lots of fun. We enjoyed the lazy river and the Teamboat Springs raft ride, and Jake and I had a couple of rides together on the "Runoff Rapids".

(There's a story to be told here about some temporarily lost glasses, but as it is rather embarrassing for the writer, I think I'll skip over it for now!)

After getting back from the water park, there was time for showers and for Jake and I to pop across for a game of table tennis, and then it was off to Epcot to watch illuminations properly! We staked out a bench next to the lagoon in China and once in position sent out delegations to get chinese takeaway, margarita and hot chocolates, and a very nice time was had by all!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone.

Far too late to blog properly - more tomorrow!

Day 9

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.

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!

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.