Category: The Generation Game Tour 2023

Writing about a travel day back to the UK is only marginally less crap than enduring one. In an attempt to make it a little more tolerable on the day we went for a ridiculous breakfast at Hash House A Go Go.

We’d been up at 8, showered, dressed and packed before leaving the room(s) to check out. Thankfully this did not have to entail another half an hour watching someone tap a keyboard at reception.

With the cases split nicely between two cars now we drove the short distance to our date with density.

Juice and coffee all round for the adults and then we ordered.

Me – Snickers Flapjacks

Mum – French Toast of course

Louise – A scramble skillet thing

Tom – Ham and Eggs

Rebecca – Chocolate Chip Flapjacks

Freddie and Dougie both had Pancakes of their own, rather than be sensible and have them share some of ours.

The food here is outstanding and of course huge. I am slightly ashamed to say I did not struggle too much to clear the lot!

The bill was $216.

As tradition dictates, Disney Springs gets a visit on our travel day home for gifts etc. World of Disney took a hammering first and with all gifts literally in the bag we browsed Basin to get clean hands and then Trend D and The Marketplace.

The boys and Tom enjoyed the last ride of the trip.

We left at 2, after inexplicably buying a candle to take across the Atlantic.

With our toll pass in the car Tom was driving, I set our Sat Nav to avoid tolls and it no doubt added a few minutes to the journey but we had plenty of time. The payback was that Rebecca and Tom had to take their car back to Terminal A to return the toll pass whereas we could drop at C.

So we waited quite some time for them to do that and make the arduous trek over to Terminal C. There had clearly been stress involved!

The sooner the toll pass folks get a booth in all terminals the better.

Check-in was quick and easy. One definite sign that you’ve perhaps done too many tips recently is when you recognise the check-in staff.

There was a brief kerfuffle as Tom remembered he’d put Freddie’s Switch in a case where it shouldn’t be but it was soon retrieved and we headed to security. It wasn’t too bad but security with two kids five and under is never easy. We were all glad to get through into the shops and snack up for the flight home. Rebecca had a minor stress-induced incident, but felt better once we’d got through security, found some milk for Dougie in a shop, and settled in until we were called to board.

We all took turns to wander off to the loos to adorn our UK clothing and there dear reader is where I could no longer be arsed taking notes. Nothing springs to mind of any note about the rest of the journey. The plane was fuller alas, than on the way out and the arrival back into the UK was smooth enough for me not to remember anything about it. Ah yes, I do remember we had to wait for our cases for an hour. That is no exaggeration. It was bobbins.

Tom and I were standing next to an American lady, worried about her connecting flight up to Glasgow. She asked if it was always like this in the UK. I told her to refer to my Twitter feed for a good synopsis of the root causes.

And with that, we are done. A complicated trip in many ways, but on the whole successful. Nobody wanted to kill anybody during the whole trip and for a multi-generational party that can only be classed as a win. These trips are tiring, hot and stressful so to get through with no arguments or bickering was a big plus. Let’s not pretend it’s always magical eh?

Mum did brilliantly, coping with the walking and ECVing when required.

We are all very glad she was able to come along and experience everything again, especially with the boys. It can be so easy to forget the details of these trips (unless like an idiot you write about every day in detail) but just skimming back through the photos now, you literally cannot buy that, although of course we did at sizeable expense.

We remembered Dad of course at the appropriate times, with our fireworks viewing in Magic Kingdom being particularly tearful. Ten months on it still doesn’t seem real that he isn’t here. He would have loved this trip!

The boys were great. Freddie was, as ever, incredibly well-behaved. Dougie is “more challenging” but even he, despite his age, the heat, time difference and fairly relentless pace, did well.

As mentioned when we left Daytona, we probably would not return. Vero is always our go-to beach choice but it was full and we chose the familiarity of Daytona rather than risk somewhere new like Clearwater or St. Pete’s. It is looking a bit run down and I fear for its viability in light of all the competition.

Our villa was lovely and a very good stand-in for our regular place, but we will return to that as and when it is possible. Royal Pacific, again, very good and we will return there I’m sure.

So with yet another trip documented, what we all need right now is a decent break before any such nonsense happens again right? OK.

See you here next week for a rare non-trip report blog post. What will I find to talk about?

Till the next time…..

Our last full day of what feels like the 17th trip report on the bounce. I have writer’s fatigue so I can’t imagine what you are going through. Probably because today didn’t involve Magic Kingdom, there didn’t seem to be as much emotion attached to it. It’s funny how the different parks affect you.

We decided on a hearty breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, relaxed in the knowledge that our Front of Line would see us right no matter what time we strolled into the park.

There was about a fifteen-minute wait for a table and we all chose to have the buffet. No surprise there. We all made numerous visits and as buffets go it was nothing spectacular but is there such a thing as a bad buffet?

The servers must love it as they basically give you some spiel, point you at food, and then get a tip for topping up your coffee. The bill was $200 and it took longer than I would have liked for the server to reappear and sort the bill so he lost a percentage point or two.

We went directly to the water taxi and headed out to IOA. It was 11.30 by now.

An ECV and a stroller were secured before we made our way in. I also had to buy a new can of sun tan spray which to me was ridiculous with one day to go but apparently, skin cancer doesn’t know that so there goes another $20.

The first ride of the day was Spiderman…

but I had a pressing appointment with stall 3 so I left everyone else to it. With both things completed, I then took Freddie on again so Rebecca and Tom could ride the Hulk which was still above Freddie’s ever-increasing height.

Whilst we waited for them to return we got Freddie’s face painted.

Next, we rode Cat In The Hat in another “Where has the last 20 years gone” moment as it was only last week were taking the girls on this at a similar age to Freddie.

Then we walked all the way over to the Potter stuff. We all rode the ride in Hogwarts (why can I never remember what it’s called?).

I say all, of course, Dougie could not and Mum sat out with him.

We left the ride, happily avoiding the locker carnage having left Mum to mind every bag, and got some butter beers.

It was really, really busy in this part of the park as it always seems to be, and whilst Tom spent a fortune on a wand for Freddie.

The excessive heat and the crowds got a bit much for Rebecca at this point and she had a bit of a wobble and we just needed to get out of there. It was so crowded that Mum insisted I rode her ECV out as it was almost impossible not to mow folks down. We were very glad to emerge out into the seemingly fresh air of the “normal” park.

We made our way over to Velocicoaster and I was delighted to see that you could now use Express passes on it. There was no such delight at the remaining complexity of using lockers. It’s just all a bit stressful with staff shouting instructions at you as you try not to hold anyone else up.

I had a mild panic when I realised I had left my park ticket in my bumbag, now sat with Mum outside, and wondered how I would use a locker without it. Luckily, the Express Pass I was clutching worked too.

We still waited 30 minutes to ride but by Jingo it is worth it. It was Louise’s first time on it and she entertained the park guests and no doubt the staff watching the CCTV with her boobs falling out of her top halfway round with no way to put them back in until the ride ended.

Jurassic Park next and it was an uneventful affair until the wet drop at the end. Freddie was in tears, not due to any fear but because the water had ruined his face paint! He was consoled and wiped clean before we moved on to Kong. Mum, Louise and Dougie sat out in the hot sun like mad folks. The ride was more violent than I remembered, more in terms of the video footage of folks being eaten and Freddie seemed a little taken aback.

As we left someone close by described it as Fast and Furious in the jungle and ruined the ride forever, as F&F is the worst ride ever to exist.

Tom and Freddie invested in ponchos and decided to do the water rides. Everyone else declined/chickened out and sat on a bench with a drink instead. The prospect of sitting all moist in a restaurant in a bit was a deterrent enough.

The boys returned a little more than moist having had a lot of fun and by then it was time to head out to City Walk as we had a reservation at Cowfish.

We checked in and sat on the only available bench in the scorching sunshine.

We were seated bang on our reservation time upstairs on the top floor.

I cannot express to you how bloody cold it was in this restaurant. It came close to ruining the whole experience. At one point I was sat with napkins covering my arms to try and fight off hypothermia.

Food-wise, we had appetisers of Fried Pickles and Loaded Truffle Fries.

Shakes for some, which was foolish in that temperature.

Freddie had Tenders…

Tom had a double Elvis Has Left The Building Burger and I had the single version.

Louise had Cheeseburgerooshi

Mum had a Longhorn burger

Rebecca had whatever this was. You can see Mum here trying to get warm with napkins.

The bill was $268 including tip, and the food was glorious. I would have paid double to have the heating on.

After the meal, some shopping happened for gifts etc whilst Tom took Freddie back into the parks for the last rides before home. Once we had finished shopping we sat enjoying the evening warmth for a bit waiting for the boys to return.

Rebecca had removed her trainers to rest her feet and saw a spider walking across one of them. She lovingly threw it at Louise, knowing her mortal fear of spiders and Louise panicked and threw the trainer away, hitting a poor lady who sat not too far away. Louise spent almost as long apologising as Rebecca did laughing.

With no sign of Tom and Freddie, Rebecca said she would walk Dougie in his stroller towards the parks to get him to sleep and the rest of us got the taxi back to the hotel. There was a lengthy wait to do so but we were all tucked up in bed by 10pm.

Till the next time….

I can’t say that I had a bad night’s sleep, as that would mean I actually got some. Anyway, I got up eventually at 10am having got some minutes post-dawn.

Rebecca, Tom and the boys were of course already up and down by the pool at that point and we joined them with our breakfast from Tuk Tuk, the market thing in the hotel. Different hotel, but the same breakfast choices were made. Granola/Parfaits etc.

It was very hot today.

I was a bit unsettled as there was no firm plan for today, a scenario in which I do not thrive. There had been talk of heading to a park in the afternoon, but with our late start, after a chat, we decided to remain by the pool until our meal this evening. With that sorted, I went back up to the room to change into my swimming gear and I multi-tasked, taking Dougie with me in his stroller in the hope he would fall asleep for his nap.

On my return, there was swimming and resting for all.

With our late arrival, shade was tricky to find and Mum retreated over there to snap up a spare bed and umbrella.

Mid-afternoon Rebecca and Tom took the boys back to the room for a break from the heat. They had plans to head over to City Walk but never made it. Instead, we met them at around 4.30 by the water taxi as were headed out to Antojitos for our evening meal.

We sat briefly in reception…

Before being seated.

As we arrived at the table a huge bowl and chips and salsa was deposited and we started to eat too many of those.

For the appetisers we ordered, can you guess? Yes, Nachos and the handmade Guacamole that is created at your table. You get asked how you’d like it and what you may want extra or less of. We guessed at some things and ended up with a bowl of tasty green stuff.

The Nachos were awesome.

Mum had Beef Burrito

I had a Tostada, right there in public.

Tom had Quesedillas

Louise had Steak Fajitas

Freddie whatever this is….

Rebecca a Chicken Burrito

If you think that food looked fab, it was. One of the best meals of our trip and we will return for sure. It was $225 including an already added 18% tip.

After eating we strolled over to Studios as Freddie wanted to ride Mummy to show he wasn’t scared of it anymore.

Once we got into the park I volunteered to stay off with Dougie and my overly full belly. Mum sat out too.

Next, we rode Fallon minus Mum and Dougie.

With Freddie in charge of the plans, we rode Mummy again next and I could not avoid it this time.

I did draw the line at Rip Ride Rockit though and just Rebecca and Tom did that one. We waited on a bench here.

I am almost ashamed to admit that sweet snacks were had. Well, we did not have dessert in the restaurant I suppose. Some of us had pineapple and some a Mango Ice push-up.

Louise sat with a sleeping Dougie whilst the rest of us walked over to ride The Simpsons. Freddie enjoyed that one and by the time we exited it was going dark.

With the it now being a few minutes before park close we walked briskly over to ET to squeeze that in.

It is of course very dated now and I’m not sure what five-year-old Freddie made of it all.

We walked back to Louise and Dougie and slowly made our way over to the water taxi. It was a fifteen-minute wait for one to fit us on and get us back to the hotel. Louise and I went to the Sushi Bar place fo a couple of drinks and I tried a couple of cocktails.

No idea what that one was…

But this Espresso Martini was delicious

We grabbed some waters from Tuk Tuk and were in bed by 12.

Till the next time…..

Moving day, again.

I was up and about around 8.30 and for Louise and I there was little packing to do as we did all that yesterday. It was a different matter for Rebecca of course. Anyone with young kids will know and understand the horrors of packing for a day out, never mind a two-week holiday, so they had a lot on this morning.

I did Dad things like emptying the bin and the fridge before playing with the boys so Rebecca and Tom could literally get their shit together.

We successfully left the villa bang on 10am and got into the car. It was then Louise realised she had left her phone inside so it was 10.01 before we left, for a second time.

Breakfast was required so we headed up to the 192 and a Perkins. It was a weekend so it was busy. I ran in to make sure we could get a table before everyone else went to the trouble of leaving their vehicles and we were in luck. We were seated immediately and literally just beat a rush of folks coming in who then had to watch us order and eat for quite some time before they were seated.

Whilst we browsed the menu a balloon artist approached the table and we commissioned a piece of his art. I don’t know how we do it, but not one of us had any cash to tip him, but we somehow found a few dollars to avoid embarrassment.

I had Brioche French Toast.

Louise, quite some distance away, had Omelette and Pancakes.

I think Tom and Rebecca had the same thing. I just don’t know what it was called.

Mum had a strawberry pancake thing which seems to have escaped my camera, as did Freddie’s Rainbow Pancakes.

Here’s Dougie basking in the afterglow of Tom’s sunburn.

The service was a bit slow and surly but the food was great and a reasonable $113 plus tip.

We dragged our fullness back to the car and set off towards the Royal Pacific at Universal. The I4 was busy and about ten minutes out from our destination, Louise informed us that this would be about 9 minutes and 30 seconds too late for her to find a toilet. Somehow she managed to contain herself and I managed to get us there a bit quicker, but she had to roll out from our moving vehicle as we approached the hotel entrance and sprint for a restroom.

The rest of us drove off to self-park and managed all the cases without her.

I like this hotel a lot, but check-in always takes an age. I don’t know why, as every piece of information they could possibly want or need is provided by me when I book. Regardless, Tom and I stood at the desk for over twenty minutes whilst the receptionist tapped away at endless stuff on their computer.

On the plus side, our rooms were ready and next to each other so we headed up to 2611 and 2613.

As you will see, I splurged to upgrade to the “tree view” option.

After just a few minutes of dumping cases, we were out again and heading to the water taxi.

Not the first turtle head that had been experienced today of course.

Technically these may be terrapins, but that wouldn’t work as well for attempted comedic effect.

We needed to head to Guest Services to sort out tickets for Louise and me. We had to redeem our Hurricane Ian affected tickets rolled over from last time.

We queued up for a bit before getting to a window and being sorted relatively painlessly.

As we were already there we decided to do Studios first.

Getting in was a bit faff filled. With our tickets split between my phone and physical ones for Louise and me, I had to stand at the gate and call folks forward when I swiped to their ticket. Some worked the first time and some didn’t. Anyway, we finally got in…nope, then Tom was stopped for a survey.

Ok, now we can start.

We selected the first thing we saw as our first ride.

I fell on my sword and stayed out with Dougie. A move my Mum would curse me for as she did not enjoy the shaking about she took on Minions.

Dougie and I strolled the shop enjoying the AC for about 30 minutes whilst the others Expressed and rode.

Between crowds coming out of the ride, I snuck us in for a quick meet and greet.

Next, we intended to ride Rip Ride Rockit without upsetting Freddie further who was gutted he could not do so. Good old bribery was our plan, but could not find an ice cream with which to do so anywhere. Anyway, Louise and Mum did not want to ride so they took the boys off whilst the rest of us did.

See how the weather is now glorious as soon as we leave the beach?

This is one heck of a ride, but now, at my age, it’s just pain and screaming. Thankfully it was over quickly and we returned to the others. We were heading for The Mummy, a ride Freddie was very keen to try.

We finally found ice cream in the shape of a Haagen Dazs shop and we all had too much.

Everyone apart from Mum and Dougie went off to ride, and to confirm the locker thing is still a confusing mess. Eventually, we figured it out. I of course locked my theme park ticket inside the locker, which was in my bum bag, but thankfully I had taken photos of them and had retained my phone in my zipped pocket (a must for any visit to Universal – Pro-Tip!) so would use those to unlock it once we had ridden. Pro-tip number 2!

We went through the blurry Express queue reasonably quickly.

Freddie was not too sure about it as we exited. I think it had taken him by surprise, but after giving it some thought over the next few hours, he wanted to and did ride it again and loved it.

We found Mum and Dougie on a bench watching some dancing.

We watched the end of that whilst Rebecca and Tom took the boys off to the loo/nappy change.

Transformers next.

A firm Freddie favourite. For me, it’s one of too many simulators at Universal and as I always say, it’s Spiderman with a different film. I know that’s dismissive of what was no doubt millions of dollars of development, but it is!

Over to Diagon Alley now. In all the years we’ve done Diagon Alley we’ve never really been able to have a good look around the shops as they are just too busy. This year was no different, especially with a stroller.

So we found Mum somewhere shady to sit and headed into Gringott’s.

Ross Kemp has let himself go.

There’s still a fair amount of queue even with Express.

But eventually, we got there.

Again, at the risk of dismissing an incredible feat of engineering. The ride is thrilling but can anyone hear what any of the characters are saying? The entire storyline is lost on me other than some things are trying to get us and the good guys save us (spoiler alert). Maybe that’s just me as I am too busy bracing my entire body against the painful jolts.

We took a moment after this ride and got some drinks. We found a bench and rested.

Most of us then walked around to Men in Black.

It was Freddie and me in the front row and with a spare seat next to me, I did what any competitive Dad/Grandad would do and grabbed two guns. It didn’t make the impact I may have hoped for on the scores but our car won at least.

Returning to those not riding, we decided we were all knackered and should head out for food. There were zero plans for dining this evening so we were now searching out dining options on a busy Saturday night at City Walk. Easy right?

I was walking and app surfing to no avail. I walked ahead of the group, stopping off at restaurants hoping to snag a walk-up for seven. What could possibly go wrong?

The only place that could take us was the Bob Marley place. Somewhere we have never considered, but any port in a hungry storm. I told everyone where I was and waited for them to catch up before we were seated.

Christ, the music was loud. I know, by definition this is a music-centric venue but they had a proper DJ on and the volume was rattling my teeth and preventing any kind of conversation.

I had Beef Patties, but it was probably just chaffing from all the walking.

Tom and Rebecca – Jerk Chicken Sandwich

Louise – Stuffed Peppers

Mum – Jerk Chicken Salad

Freddie had Tenders.

It was all very nice. Not somewhere we would choose again as the menu was pretty limited and it did make us deaf. It was £169 including an 18% tip.

We strolled back to the water taxi and waited 15 minutes for one to turn up.

We were back in our rooms soon after and I was to suffer a horrendous night of heartburn/acid reflux, with no sleep until about 5am. I blame that DJ.

Till the next time….