So this was our last day of holiday. We'd done most of the packing the previous evening, and so there wasn't too much to do in the morning at the hotel before putting our bags in the back of the car and heading off.
First stop was Downtown to check in and drop off the bags. We were there after the rush so didn't have to wait and we got the seats (upstairs!) that we'd requested on the phone the previous day.
We didn't stop off at Downtown any longer (as there is no Virgin shop to browse around any more) and we made a move for I-Drive and brunch at Denny's, encountering our first traffic jam of the day with people queueing to get to the sales at the Premium Outlets.
Denny's breakfasts were enjoyed by all. The carafe was in use, so Nicky and John had to make do with glasses of orange juice, but they got through about a gallon each anyway! Next stop Walgreens to pick up some flight pillows and then back to the I-Drive queue going all the way up to the Prime Outlets. We stopped off part way up and walked the rest of the way to the Congo River Crazy Golf, where Jake won on the Stanley course.
On our way to the airport we stopped off at Borders and at the Hess petrol station to fill up the car, and then we dropped off the car, had our usual mooch around the airport and something to eat, before taking off at about half past nine.
England is really cold!
Monday, 28 December 2009
Saturday, 26 December 2009
Day 9 - Christmas Day
So today started with presents. Santa had still managed to find Jake, even in Florida.
Once we were up and about we decided to head to Downtown on the bus. Jake got a how to draw Disney characters book (which both he and I had a go at later in the day) and we bought some new drinks cups for home.
We met up with Nanny and Grandad at Ghiradelli's and had malts and cookies, before they headed off on the boat to Port Orleans. They'd kindly decided to buy us some Mickey cutlery but they were out of stock in the World of Disney store. We headed back on the bus (second one to arrive at the Downtown stops was ours!) and we chilled out at the hotel this afternoon.
Jake and I had a quick swim before dinner at the Captain's Grille at the Yacht Club. Buffet was yummy - clam chowder to start, roast to follow, and as always the best bit was the scrummy desserts, especially the choc, vanilla and mint gelato.
After dinner Nanny and Grandad took the boat to Epcot whilst we went round to the Boardwalk so that Jake could have a quick play. Then it was Illuminations for one last time before coming back to start putting things in bags.
Once we were up and about we decided to head to Downtown on the bus. Jake got a how to draw Disney characters book (which both he and I had a go at later in the day) and we bought some new drinks cups for home.
We met up with Nanny and Grandad at Ghiradelli's and had malts and cookies, before they headed off on the boat to Port Orleans. They'd kindly decided to buy us some Mickey cutlery but they were out of stock in the World of Disney store. We headed back on the bus (second one to arrive at the Downtown stops was ours!) and we chilled out at the hotel this afternoon.
Jake and I had a quick swim before dinner at the Captain's Grille at the Yacht Club. Buffet was yummy - clam chowder to start, roast to follow, and as always the best bit was the scrummy desserts, especially the choc, vanilla and mint gelato.
After dinner Nanny and Grandad took the boat to Epcot whilst we went round to the Boardwalk so that Jake could have a quick play. Then it was Illuminations for one last time before coming back to start putting things in bags.
Friday, 25 December 2009
Day 8 - Christmas Eve
Catching up on posting on Christmas Day!
We started off the day in a very similar way to yesterday with a trip into Epcot and heading straight for Soarin' to use up another one of our fastpasses. Then it was over to see Nemo and to enjoy Turtle Talk with Crush.
After the Seas pavilion we went our separate ways. John and Margaret headed off back towards the hotel, whilst we stopped at a cart for an ice cream. Nicky and I shared on of the Mickey ice cream sandwiches.
Then Nicky went to do some last minute shopping for Christmas whilst I took Jake over to Japan so that he could spend the rest of his holiday money on a Bakagan set that he'd had his eye on.
We met up back at the hotel and Jake and I had a quick dip in the Stormalong Bay pool before Nicky and I went back over to the Yacht Club convention centre to see Nikki again and to sign up for some BLT points.
Back at the hotel Jake had just got back from the pool with Nanny and Grandad. Nicky and I headed out to go to Publix - mostly to stock up on Mac 'n' cheese to take home! We also popped in to Downtown for a quick browse on our way home. Nicky got a new Mickey handbag from the TrenD store.
Jake had been in the pool again by the time that we got back, as well as playing volleyball with some other English kids.
The evening's entertainment was at Port Orleans Riverside, and we bagged a table early in the River Roost bar, taking turns to go to get takeaway dinner from the Riverside Mill food court. Bob the piano man was as entertaining as ever, and I'm sure that the photos of me mucking about in the Twelve Days of Christmas singalong will embarrass me for years to come!
We started off the day in a very similar way to yesterday with a trip into Epcot and heading straight for Soarin' to use up another one of our fastpasses. Then it was over to see Nemo and to enjoy Turtle Talk with Crush.
After the Seas pavilion we went our separate ways. John and Margaret headed off back towards the hotel, whilst we stopped at a cart for an ice cream. Nicky and I shared on of the Mickey ice cream sandwiches.
Then Nicky went to do some last minute shopping for Christmas whilst I took Jake over to Japan so that he could spend the rest of his holiday money on a Bakagan set that he'd had his eye on.
We met up back at the hotel and Jake and I had a quick dip in the Stormalong Bay pool before Nicky and I went back over to the Yacht Club convention centre to see Nikki again and to sign up for some BLT points.
Back at the hotel Jake had just got back from the pool with Nanny and Grandad. Nicky and I headed out to go to Publix - mostly to stock up on Mac 'n' cheese to take home! We also popped in to Downtown for a quick browse on our way home. Nicky got a new Mickey handbag from the TrenD store.
Jake had been in the pool again by the time that we got back, as well as playing volleyball with some other English kids.
The evening's entertainment was at Port Orleans Riverside, and we bagged a table early in the River Roost bar, taking turns to go to get takeaway dinner from the Riverside Mill food court. Bob the piano man was as entertaining as ever, and I'm sure that the photos of me mucking about in the Twelve Days of Christmas singalong will embarrass me for years to come!
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Day 7 - Epcot and Kitchen Sink
Slow start today, and we didn't head out until about 11 after having some pastries from the marketplace for breakfast.
Our fastpasses from Nicky had arrived so we headed into Epcot and went on Soarin' and Test Track. It was satisfying to see both the late return times for regular fastpasses and also the long standby lines that we were able to bypass.
Then we headed into the World Showcase and Nicky, Margaret and I had a chinese takeaway whilst John and Jake went to the Liberty Inn at the American pavilion.
After lunch Nicky and Jake went to the UK to do their Kim Possible mission and the rest of us stayed in America to listen to the Voices of Liberty followed by the American pipers.
Meeting up in the UK we grabbed some drinks and then settled in to watch Off Kilter. Almost makes bagpipes acceptable!!
Coming back to the hotel we plucked up courage and headed off to Beaches 'n' Cream to tackle the Kitchen Sink (with a whole can of whipped cream!) We gave a good account of ourselves and certainly were full afterwards.
John and Margaret fancied a shopping trip so I took them over to the Premium Outlets, and then came back here to find Jake settling in to watch a George Lopez double bill. Once that had finished it was about time to do the shopping pickup and while I was doing that Nicky and Jake went in the Stormalong Bay pool.
They'd got out and Jake had had a hot dog by the time we got back. My turn to have a go in the pool tomorrow.
Our fastpasses from Nicky had arrived so we headed into Epcot and went on Soarin' and Test Track. It was satisfying to see both the late return times for regular fastpasses and also the long standby lines that we were able to bypass.
Then we headed into the World Showcase and Nicky, Margaret and I had a chinese takeaway whilst John and Jake went to the Liberty Inn at the American pavilion.
After lunch Nicky and Jake went to the UK to do their Kim Possible mission and the rest of us stayed in America to listen to the Voices of Liberty followed by the American pipers.
Meeting up in the UK we grabbed some drinks and then settled in to watch Off Kilter. Almost makes bagpipes acceptable!!
Coming back to the hotel we plucked up courage and headed off to Beaches 'n' Cream to tackle the Kitchen Sink (with a whole can of whipped cream!) We gave a good account of ourselves and certainly were full afterwards.
John and Margaret fancied a shopping trip so I took them over to the Premium Outlets, and then came back here to find Jake settling in to watch a George Lopez double bill. Once that had finished it was about time to do the shopping pickup and while I was doing that Nicky and Jake went in the Stormalong Bay pool.
They'd got out and Jake had had a hot dog by the time we got back. My turn to have a go in the pool tomorrow.
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Day 6 - Kennedy
So we decided that rather than waiting until Christmas Eve, today would be the Kennedy day. The plan was to set off from here at 8:30, but unfortunately we only woke up about then, so we were a little delayed in getting on the road.
The drive out to Kennedy was as uneventful and dull as ever, miles of dead straight road! We got there at about 11am, and we headed straight for the bus tour.
This was Jake's first visit to the Space Centre since he was six months old, so it was amusing to show him the plastic pushchairs that he enjoyed riding around in last time, and to get him to try space dots again (which he liked again!)
As before, the most impressive thing for me was the Saturn V rocket - it is truly enormous. Second up is the astronaut memorial, which is a touching reminder of the people who have given their lives to the cause of space exploration. It was just noticeable on the main memorial where two of the panels were slightly newer than the others, recording the names of the crew on board Columbia in 2003.
We finished at Kennedy at about 4 o'clock, and then headed back along towards Orlando before cutting down the John Young Parkway to the Loop and to Johnny Rockets for tea. Food was yummy, but atmosphere didn't quite match being on board Independence.
After dinner we had a little look at some of the shops - new things for Barley at Petco, and a new memory stick for my camera at Best Buy. By this time we were all fairly tired, and so it was back to the Beach Club Villas for an early night.
Our fastpasses from Nikki should have arrived today, but no sign of them yet - hopefully they will be here in the morning.
The drive out to Kennedy was as uneventful and dull as ever, miles of dead straight road! We got there at about 11am, and we headed straight for the bus tour.
This was Jake's first visit to the Space Centre since he was six months old, so it was amusing to show him the plastic pushchairs that he enjoyed riding around in last time, and to get him to try space dots again (which he liked again!)
As before, the most impressive thing for me was the Saturn V rocket - it is truly enormous. Second up is the astronaut memorial, which is a touching reminder of the people who have given their lives to the cause of space exploration. It was just noticeable on the main memorial where two of the panels were slightly newer than the others, recording the names of the crew on board Columbia in 2003.
We finished at Kennedy at about 4 o'clock, and then headed back along towards Orlando before cutting down the John Young Parkway to the Loop and to Johnny Rockets for tea. Food was yummy, but atmosphere didn't quite match being on board Independence.
After dinner we had a little look at some of the shops - new things for Barley at Petco, and a new memory stick for my camera at Best Buy. By this time we were all fairly tired, and so it was back to the Beach Club Villas for an early night.
Our fastpasses from Nikki should have arrived today, but no sign of them yet - hopefully they will be here in the morning.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Day 5 - Anniversary
Being the romantics that we are, we decided to go shopping on our anniversary! So, mid morning we left the rest of the tour party here at the Beach Club and headed up to I-Drive. We stopped off for brunch at Denny's before going to the Prime Outlets. We had a jolly good shop, and I ended up doing very well with new trousers, shirts, jumper, fleece .... Nicky got a few things as well, but says that there is still enough time left in the holiday to catch up!
We got back here at about 4-ish, just after Jake, Nanny and Grandad had got back as well. They'd been to Downtown (Jake did rather well in the Lego store) and had taken the boat to Port Orleans Riverside for lunch.
We got changed and headed back up to Universal for dinner at Bice at the Portofino Bay Resort. The hotel looks very nice and the restaurant was great. I had butternut squash soup followed by beef ravioli followed by chocolate souffle, whilst Nicky had a prawn starter followed by risotto followed by creme brulee.
After dinner we got the boat to City Walk and had a (cold) wander around there, but we both agreed that we really didn't feel like sticking around for long as City Walk just doesn't do it for us in the same way as Downtown Disney does! So, we got the boat back to the hotel, picked up our car, and came home where we belong!
Jake, Nanny and Grandad have just got back from Epcot and Illuminations.
We got back here at about 4-ish, just after Jake, Nanny and Grandad had got back as well. They'd been to Downtown (Jake did rather well in the Lego store) and had taken the boat to Port Orleans Riverside for lunch.
We got changed and headed back up to Universal for dinner at Bice at the Portofino Bay Resort. The hotel looks very nice and the restaurant was great. I had butternut squash soup followed by beef ravioli followed by chocolate souffle, whilst Nicky had a prawn starter followed by risotto followed by creme brulee.
After dinner we got the boat to City Walk and had a (cold) wander around there, but we both agreed that we really didn't feel like sticking around for long as City Walk just doesn't do it for us in the same way as Downtown Disney does! So, we got the boat back to the hotel, picked up our car, and came home where we belong!
Jake, Nanny and Grandad have just got back from Epcot and Illuminations.
Monday, 21 December 2009
Day 4 - Studios and Skillets
Picking up where we left off yesterday, I wandered out to Epcot in the evening whilst Nicky and Jake stayed in the apartment, and went round to the American pavilion. Queued a long time for a burger at the Liberty Inn, and by the time I came out the final Candlelight Processional of the evening was under way. I stopped to listen at the back of the crowd for a little while and managed to get a few (probably blurry) photos of Whoopi Goldberg doing the narration.
John and Margaret had staked out a spot in the Rose and Crown garden for Illuminations, so I went round there, dropped of the tripod and grabbed us some coffees before we watched the show. The garden is a good place to watch from and I managed to get a few decent bits of video on the camera, particularly of the globe opening up.
We came back to the room afterwards and called it a night.
This morning we were up and out to Hollywood Studios just in time for opening, and we joined the march with the rest of the crowd towards Toy Story Mania. Nicky came top again - she seems to be winning the shoot 'em up rides this time around. After Toy Story we went over to the animation area and after getting a picture with Sorceror Mickey we waited for the animation session. We managed to sneak in at the end of the line, but unfortunately only Jake and I had space to draw, sat in the overflow section at the front.
We had a vote of which character to draw, and Eeyore came out on top. Jake did an excellent job, and I'm kind of proud of my picture as well!
Next up Jake decided that he fancied going to see Muppets 3D so we wandered back over to the other side of the park, and went almost straight in to a show. Afterwards Jake fancied the Great Movie Ride but we decided that we didn't really have time so we headed back out of the park. We'd brought the car (even though the park isn't far from our hotel) so that we could drive over to the Wilderness Lodge as we had a lunch reservation at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.
Skillets all round, and I think that John has decided that he may not need to eat again all holiday. I love their yummy ribs! Despite making a fairly good impression on a second four person skillet, we still managed desserts - J&M shared apple pie and Nicky and I shared a s'mores cheesecake.
After lunch we had a wander around the hotel -we found the arcade and Jake had a few games of hover hockey whilst I had a go on the balancing lights - getting all the way to the top and then missing out on the prize line! We walked down to the beach and Jake and I played on a football / volleyball swingball game.
Next up it was back to the Beach Club where we have been ever since, apart from Nicky and I going out for a wander to have a look at the Swan and Dolphin and to have a quick play on the Boardwalk (new cuddly toy won on the water squirt game).
Just having some macaroni and cheese for tea, and make try to persuade Nicky to come to EMH at the Magic Kingdom later on.
John and Margaret had staked out a spot in the Rose and Crown garden for Illuminations, so I went round there, dropped of the tripod and grabbed us some coffees before we watched the show. The garden is a good place to watch from and I managed to get a few decent bits of video on the camera, particularly of the globe opening up.
We came back to the room afterwards and called it a night.
This morning we were up and out to Hollywood Studios just in time for opening, and we joined the march with the rest of the crowd towards Toy Story Mania. Nicky came top again - she seems to be winning the shoot 'em up rides this time around. After Toy Story we went over to the animation area and after getting a picture with Sorceror Mickey we waited for the animation session. We managed to sneak in at the end of the line, but unfortunately only Jake and I had space to draw, sat in the overflow section at the front.
We had a vote of which character to draw, and Eeyore came out on top. Jake did an excellent job, and I'm kind of proud of my picture as well!
Next up Jake decided that he fancied going to see Muppets 3D so we wandered back over to the other side of the park, and went almost straight in to a show. Afterwards Jake fancied the Great Movie Ride but we decided that we didn't really have time so we headed back out of the park. We'd brought the car (even though the park isn't far from our hotel) so that we could drive over to the Wilderness Lodge as we had a lunch reservation at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.
Skillets all round, and I think that John has decided that he may not need to eat again all holiday. I love their yummy ribs! Despite making a fairly good impression on a second four person skillet, we still managed desserts - J&M shared apple pie and Nicky and I shared a s'mores cheesecake.
After lunch we had a wander around the hotel -we found the arcade and Jake had a few games of hover hockey whilst I had a go on the balancing lights - getting all the way to the top and then missing out on the prize line! We walked down to the beach and Jake and I played on a football / volleyball swingball game.
Next up it was back to the Beach Club where we have been ever since, apart from Nicky and I going out for a wander to have a look at the Swan and Dolphin and to have a quick play on the Boardwalk (new cuddly toy won on the water squirt game).
Just having some macaroni and cheese for tea, and make try to persuade Nicky to come to EMH at the Magic Kingdom later on.
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