Tag: birthday

Cautious Countdown

by mkingdon, posted in Walt Disney World

Firstly, thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes last week. They were all read and appreciated. The day was spent at work, so it will not rank in my all-time top 10 birthdays, but I got to spend the evening with these dudes and eat some pizza, so all was not lost.

Present wise, recognising I am a bugger to buy for, I did very well. A new iWatch (my other broke a few weeks ago), a huge pack of Pick n Mix, some cash, clothes, a very posh neck pillow for the plane and some dollars for spending on our (hopefully) upcoming trip.

On that note, having endured most of 2020 and 2021 reading these posts each week where I would prattle on about a trip to Florida that wasn’t certain and usually did not happen, I can only imagine your delight that we are back there again now. At least it can only last for a few weeks this time and relies on the health of some parents and not some global pandemic inflicting grief, misery and destitution on the world.

My Dad is home from the hospital as of Friday, and Mary carries on carrying on. As we stand, the trip is on but excitement levels are low, to avoid what could be likely disappointment.

Having talked about how I was going to go with the flow and not plan anything, last week, with all of you already knowing that I was lying, I caved and booked an ADR. I would have booked two had there been any availability on any evening of our entire trip for O’hana, (what’s going on with that?) but there was not and so we just have the one, so far, at Sanaa. That bread service is like a tractor beam.

For those times when we may wish to eat on site, I have been doing some “same day booking” tests with the app. For several days I have fired it up and looked for places to eat that evening and there has been plenty to choose from. So I am trying to hold firm and not tie us to specific times if I can help it, so we can just make plans once we know when we want to eat. Then I can give Louise three hours to get ready, having lied about the actual time of a booking by at least half an hour so that we may only set off half an hour late.

You know we have many off-site places we have to go to, so our on-site culinary adventures may be limited. Having had a quick look at some options around the Swan & Dolphin and noticed that Shula’s steakhouse has a $155 steak on the menu, then it could be McDonalds for many meals!

Our off-site list, as if you haven’t seen it a million times before, will probably include…..

  • Bahama Breeze
  • Olive Garden
  • Romano’s Macaroni Grill
  • Teak
  • Applebees
  • Cowfish
  • Cheesecake Factory

The last of those probably being the standout of our January trip. We have declared them the server of the world’s best Nachos and I will not be taking questions or entering into a debate about that. As Louise is the world’s biggest lover of Nachos, it stands to reason that we return to let her sample what she missed earlier this year.

I had a number of very understandable comments on last week’s post doubting my ability to resist going to the WDW parks, particularly Epcot, as we will be staying so close for half of the trip. My resolve is strong, but of course, all I have seen in my Disney social feeds since booking this trip is how empty the WDW parks are right now and folks are being paid to go on the rides….well, not quite.

There are no plans to change our plans, as we need a relaxing break and the extra cost and complexity of us attempting the Disney stuff is just not compatible with that. I’m not saying my brain is 100% comfortable with that stance, but it’s what we’re doing!

It does feel like everything park related is going to take a good few years to settle down. Perhaps by then, we’ll have been able to ride Remy and Rise?

I was delighted to realise that many of the hoops we had to jump through in January to get on a plane are no longer a thing. Using the VeriFly app this time was much easier, simply uploading our vaccination QR codes and attesting that we had a passport and that was it.

So we’re two weeks away, don’t know if we’re going and doing much of the prep to do so at the same time. It’s the Schrodinger’s Cat of a holiday.

And of course, the work in the garden isn’t finished.

Till the next time…..

Big Bricks and Birthdays.

by mkingdon, posted in mkingdon

Ah holidays. Lounging around, with no work to worry about. Recharging the batteries, taking it easy, de-stressing. Yes, that would have been lovely. My week “off work” has been one of the hardest weeks I have known. I have spent it up and down a ladder, atop some scaffolding, dismantling this bloody chimney with my Dad.

I don’t think either of us appreciated how big a job this was going to be until we’d gone too far to go back. The chimney stack was inconveniently made from huge blocks of stone and not lovely light modern house bricks. Knocking it down, and then more crucially getting the buggers down to ground level and into a skip has broken my body in all sorts of ways.

We have endured wind, rain, sunshine, and a lack of a will to live when the job seemed never-ending. Luckily, I was the unskilled labourer to my Dad, who has spent most of his working life in he roofing business, from time served apprentice to Director, he’s done the lot. I have become an expert in passing him stuff, carrying things up and down ladders and humping huge chunks of stone into a skip. It took us pretty much all week, with an odd day off for my Dad to go golfing, and we finally finished on Saturday afternoon.

There used to be a huge chimney stack there!!

As hard as it has been, there is an undeniable sense of satisfaction and pride at having completed such a huge job successfully. Knowing that something I have been a small part of has improved our house is great. My back and muscles will currently disagree, but I’m sure that pain will fade by Christmas.

With that horror done, on Sunday, I celebrated my birthday. I haven’t done so in the UK since 2008, when we went to Florida in July for Emily’s birthday. Whilst nothing can top having a birthday in WDW, I had a lovely day.

I started it in bed with three beautiful women and an Old English Sheepdog. That sounds like a chapter from Oliver Reed’s autobiography, but it was just lovely to have the family gather on our bed for the giving of presents and cards and a few hugs. These days, the girls actually buy me presents which is a pleasant side effect of them growing up. However, their shopping skills still have some way to go as the stuff they had ordered hadn’t arrived in time. So I got sweets and stuff as a holding pattern until they do…

pressies

 

Then, I was treated to a breakfast of kings, courtesy of Louise.

brekkieIt was mighty fine. Then, I played my new Xbox game for a while until the footy came on, when I watched my team play superbly and win comfortably. The day was off to a good start.

After the footy, we had been invited to a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at my brother’s house. He and his wife, Paula, were hosting it to raise some funds for her chosen charity for her London to Paris bike ride next year. It didn’t matter. They said there would be cake and so we would be there.

cakesIt was mighty fine cakeage and I had a lot. After a few hours there I waddled home and collapsed in front of the telly. So the day didn’t involve a Kitchen Sink from Beaches and Cream, or a wander around World Showcase at Epcot, but it was a lovely one all the same. I didn’t even sulk about the lack of a Disney location.

I had the forethought to tag and extra day onto my holiday so I didn’t have work to dread on Monday either. What’s not to like?

I am not saying that I plan to repeat many more birthdays on UK soil, but as much as I like to moan and whinge, I cannot about yesterday.

Last week also saw a little bit of drama on Thursday. I was two and half hours into my hair cut (honest) when  my phone rang. Louise was on her way up to the restaurant where Emily works as she had “blacked out” at work. She had been taken to A&E in an ambulance and we of course speedily followed all full of panic and worry. As we arrived she was clearly OK, if not a little embarrassed at passing out. She had given her head a bit of a whack, so we are keeping a close eye on her, and she is going for some tests tomorrow at the GP’s, but the folks at hospital could find no underlying issues so a few blood tests should put out minds at rest.

Emily, being off work, is having a Disney day on the sofa today. She is having one of those “I’m really missing Disney days” and all I can hear from her phone are blasts of parade music, and just now, that 80’s sounding retro music that plays as you walk through the gates at Epcot. I sympathise!

Today I have had a lie in, bathed Oli, bought a new spot light for our security light outside, and now written this. So I now need to leave you. I have lots of sweets and stuff to eat, TV to watch and nothing to do lots of.

Till the next time…..

 

 

Breaking my own rule.

by mkingdon, posted in Walt Disney World

This Friday (tomorrow as I write this) it is Rebecca’s birthday.  Over the years, having exhausted every single birthday option from McDonalds, to Wacky Warehouses, petting zoos, and in latter years, discos (don’t I sound groovy) in scout huts, and house parties, we have struggled to find something cool enough for Rebecca this year.

She is turning thirteen, so a happy meal and a stroke of a sheep isn’t really in order.

Her decision/preference was Alton Towers.  Now, you may or may not know that I am allergic to UK theme parks due to my over exposure to the abject excellence of US theme parks.  I have tried in the past to appreciate them in Blighty, and failed.

However, for the sake of my youngest I had a look at the web site.  How much??????

It turns out that on Saturday, when we plan to go, there is an event on at Alton Towers, which will see thousands of young Christians attending the park.  So, a UK theme park, at weekend, with an inflated crowd.  I think not.

A little bit of googling later and she decides on Drayton Manor instead.  We are taking one of her friends too, so I have had to sell a kidney to fund the day.  I am full of trepidation about the outing to be honest, partly because the weather forecast looks “changeable” to say the least, with strong winds and rain predicted.  Can anyone say Kagool?  I am also trepidated (I say it is a word!) as I always leave a UK theme park feeling bereft of pleasure, money and a sense of well being.

UK Theme parks are more often than not

  • Dirty
  • Cold
  • Staffed by ASBO holding teens
  • Cheap in terms of quality
  • Expensive in terms of admittance
  • Full of horrible food at Five Star prices

Now I appreciate that my opinions may affect my ability to enjoy said UK outings, but I’m hoping that anyone with experience of a theme park on the other side of the pond will understand the sentiment?  If you haven’t been to likes of Walt Disney World Resort or Universal Resort, my embittered ramblings here may not resonate.

I do hope for a good day out, for Rebecca’s sake though.  She certainly enjoys the large rides these days, and hopefully, as her birthday “do” it will tick the boxes for her.  I shall try my bestest not to stand around tutting all day, as the wintry winds and icy rain pour onto my £50 lunch.

Please, if you feel the same, feel free to back me up.  Also, anyone with experience of an excellent day out at Drayton Manor can also reassure me I would not be better burning the cash and watching the videos of our previous Florida trips instead.

Till the next time…..