Not only was I awake again at 6.30am, full of snot and loathing for my own body, I was tackling some work emails too. My inability to switch off from work was probably the reason that I had been cursed with illness on my holidays. I only had myself to blame. Nobody likes a kiss ass.
It was only another two hours and ten minutes until everyone was ready to leave. We left the villa for Hollywood Studios at 8.40, yes, it goes without saying, about twenty minutes later than I might have liked to.
It took us that same twenty minutes to get there and park up in Stage 46. We boarded a waiting tram and headed for a day of fun.
I really have no idea why I felt the need to take that last photo.
Today we had two early Fastpasses booked quite close together, so with us running a little behind (my) schedule I was a little stressed and concerned that our first one, Toy Story Mania, would take too long to do and we’d miss our second.
With that in mind I pushed the pace as we made our way into the park.
Still, I had the time and skills to take superb theme park photography on the way.
I know you are impressed with those masterpieces and you are welcome to use them but please, make sure you credit me!
We got to Toy Story at 9.40 and my fears were unfounded. Unlike previous years the FastPass line was, well, Fast and we didn’t have any wait at all. Naturally, I won, easily with a fairly respectable score of 146,000. Everyone else’s score was so far short of that sort of awesomeness that I did not even bother to record it in my notes.
Having triumphed with my fast-moving wrist action, I felt the need to replenish my energy levels and we stopped at a coffee caravan (honestly, it was) for drinks and some of us had a Danish. I’ll leave you to guess whether I had one or not.
We sat outside One Man’s Dream whilst taking calories on board before going in for a quick look around.
We couldn’t stay for the film, which was a shame, as I always enjoy it. We had to leave to get to our next FastPass appointment, this time with Ariel. It was a little odd that upon arriving at our FastPass time of 10.30, we found the next show didn’t start for twenty minutes. As the park didn’t look busy, rather than stand in the pre-show area for that length of time we decided to have a wander around the gift shop instead. Thankfully after just a few minutes we heard music coming from around the corner which turned out to be what I have cleverly captured in my notes as “The Frozen Thing”. We walked over and took up a spot to watch that.
Ah, that’s what it was called….
I tried to Periscope this but the WiFi connection was bobbins and it kept bombing out.
With perfect timing, as this ended we wandered into Ariel and took our seats just as the next show was starting. We were sat on the far right which meant the sound wasn’t the best for this show, but it was as great as ever.
In an unusual twist, the ending seemed to have changed to one where Eric was mauled to death by an Old English Sheepdog.
We left the police to clear up the mess and made our way up to the Great Movie Ride. Louise had a weird leaky eye thing going on so she missed the ride to sort that which allowed me to take photos of a nicely trimmed bush.
We ended up waiting almost twenty-five minutes but it did give us a chance to see the new sequence of film clips. Seeing new things like this always brings mixed emotions. Of course, seeing rides updated and refurbished is great but then you automatically pine for the old stuff and feel sad that it will never be the same again. Or is that just me?
The ride itself isn’t that different once it gets going but Richard Attenborough seems to have returned from the dead to appear in one scene.
It was now time for our third FastPass at the Tower of Terror so we walked over there. Nana wasn’t feeling great today so she declined to ride, instead browsing the shops and carrying everyone’s bags. It is always upsetting to see a small standby queue when you have a FastPass as it restricts one’s ability to gloat. We made the most of sweeping majestically past the ten minute queue.
This is one of my favourite rides. The theming is probably the best on Disney property and the ride itself, now it has the random drop sequences, is just great fun.
The obvious destination after this was Rock n Rollercoaster, where we saw a twenty-minute standby time posted. We were even more delighted to see that this was nonsense and we walked on, straight into the studio pre-show.
This is another superb ride, so good that everyone except Grandad rode again straight away.
It’s the law that this photo must be taken.
We then made the long trek across to Star Tours. The trek was so long that by the time we got there we wanted feeding again so we popped into the Backlot Xpress counter service place next door. We had –
Rebecca, Sarah and Louise – Hot Dog
Me – Chicken Salad
Nana – Burger
Grandad – Chicken Nuggets
We rode Star Tours with full bellies and we got the Darth Vader story. I say that assuming that what I have heard is true and there are a number of options to experience.
After a brief look around the Star Wars gift shop we turned left towards the Muppets.
This too had a small change in the pre-show with the “Evil Kermit” from the most recent film making an appearance. Having not seen that film, it just made it a bit weird. After seeing this show more times than I can remember it was lovely to see and hear Sarah laughing out loud as a first timer.
In what was turning into an excellent theme park day, in terms of the amount of stuff we were getting done, next we trekked all the way back across the park to catch the 3pm Beauty and The Beast show.
It was incredibly hot by now and I lost about a stone in sweat as the show progressed.
It was now time to go and pick Emily up after her work meetings this morning. It was no bad thing as the heat was making the whole theme park thing hard work now.
We drove to The Commons, only to find once connected to their WiFi that Emily was stuck in meetings still, so we decided to drive back to our villa and come back for her once we were all showered and changed.
That turned out to be around 6.30, and with another stop at The Commons to collect a daughter, we then drove on to Kidani Village for our reservation at Sanaa. We self-parked (of course) and made the quite long stroll into reception.
Not surprisingly it is a mini version of Animal Kingdom Lodge. We watched some of the animals from a balcony for a little while, enjoying the place very much.
We checked in at Sanaa and had a ten minute wait for our table. We viewed the extensive menus but the appetiser had been a done deal for months….
One of the main reasons we had booked this restaurant was for the Naan bread appetiser…
I know it looks good on those photos, but there is no camera on the planet that can capture it’s awesomeness. It was incredible.
We then continued with –
Me – Tandoori Chicken
Grandad, Emily, Rebecca and Sarah – Butter Chicken
Nana – Butter Chicken with Steak
Louise – Butter Chicken with Lamb
I took a few photos, but alas, I can’t remember which is which….
Safe to say that everyone was very happy with their choices. Fuller than we had any right to be, we went for it and ordered dessert too.
With plenty of wine, beer and soft drinks the bill was $365.
Frankly, unable to make it all the way to the car in one go, we sat in a lounge off reception for a little while giving our body’s time to adjust to their new weights. Once able we walked, slowly, back to the car, dropped Emily off and headed for home. Having learned nothing from previous visits we stopped at Publix to be reminded that it closes at 10pm. We were in bed twenty minutes later.
Back at the beginning of this report I moaned about how complicated it had been planning this trip. One of the reasons for that was Emily’s work commitments and today saw the first of those as she had to check in. So I apologise in advance that today may not be the most entertaining ever spent in Orlando.
I was awake at 6.45. I had also been awake for most of the hours preceding that as my “I should really be in hospital” cold now had a full grip on my weak and illness filled body. I administered yet more drugs, some of them even legal and added some fuel to fight the disease by eating breakfast too. It doesn’t matter what I had as I couldn’t taste it.
With a check in time of any time after midday for Emily, I was keen to get her packed, out and processed leaving enough time to do some holiday stuff too, as, after all today was also my birthday, which was, quite rightly taking a back seat today. So there was a lot of rushing around getting her organised and ready to go. This wasn’t helped by some apparent drama going on back home with her boyfriend that was distracting her from her own important day and instead of packing and getting ready she was hammering away at her phone with her thumbs.
We left the villa at 10.40 leaving Rebecca and Sarah to relax and rest after a tough few days in the parks. Nana and Grandad came with us and were dropped off at the discount women’s shop Louise and I found the other day. Grandad could not thank me enough.
The first job was a “big shop” at Target to get her set up with everything she might need in her apartment. Now, you’ll know that I love supermarket shopping, especially when it’s all for someone else. So we spent a long, long time choosing duvets, looking at hair dryers and suitable food stuffs that could be made quickly and easily….with a hair dryer.
At one point I did lose my temper ever so slightly with Emily as she was more concerned with the activities on her phone than the questions we were asking her about the stuff we were buying…for her. Louise played referee and things were calmed down.
After paying the huge bill I needed a coffee and a sit down so we got both in the Starbucks at the entrance to the store. Nana and Grandad met us there and we headed back to the villa to collect Rebecca and Sarah. See, not complicated at all this is it?
On the way to Emily’s check in location, which is close to Crossroads for those interested, we dropped off Rebecca, Sarah, Nana and Grandad at Downtown Disney (it was still called that at this point!). Our need for food saw us make a quick pit stop at a McDonalds and hoover up a burger and fries before finally getting to Vista Way. If you’ve seen Monsters University, it looks a bit like that, but with all different nationalities rather than Monsters wandering about. We parked up and Emily went to do her thing.
She was only gone for ten minutes, returning with a lot of paperwork and news that she had been allocated her first choice accommodation at The Commons. The drive to The Commons took a few minutes and after getting through what is pleasingly tight security we arrived at her building. We dragged her cases up to the door and knocked. We were greeted by a young lady who for the first minute or two we thought was American. However she soon explained that she was Norwegian and we could then start to hear that her accent was not from the US but did have a very distinct American “twang” . Lisse was lovely and we chatted for a while as Emily started to unpack. We got her settled in, said our goodbyes to Lisse and headed off back to Downtown Disney to meet up with everyone.
We parked up in the new Orange multi storey car park. I needed a restroom and had remembered from years gone by just how nice they were at the House of Blues so I made use of those. We walked all the way from House of Blues to World of Disney. Oh look, a photo….
And another…
You wait all trip report for one and then three turn up.
As we met up with everyone we soon discovered that Sarah and Rebecca had spent their time and dollars wisely.
Rebecca informed me that Grandad had paid for lunch so she had used the dollars I had given her to buy a Pandora charm instead. Female logic!
We spent a large amount of time wandering around the huge World of Disney store. Whenever Louise suggested we buy something I expertly dodged the bullet by telling her we should wait until Emily has her Cast Member ID and we can get discount. It worked a charm….which Rebecca should have waited to buy too!
We left around 4.30 passing the Lego shop as we did.
For the second time this trip we were now about to con Disney for which I heartily apologise. I still contest that over the years we’ve paid for a few white lies. We drove to the Beach Club to park up as we were going to Epcot and always prefer to escape through International Gateway after the fireworks.
A quick flash of the pink thing which had been stored in my shorts and the guard simply smiled, nodded appreciatively and told us to park wherever we liked. I don’t suppose he sees too many UK driving licences.
Again, these photos tend to be an annual event but I make no apology. This is one of our most favourite places.
We walked through the lobby, remembering again just how lovely that is and then out the other side, turning left towards Epcot.
Once through the entrance we stopped in the shop there to pick up my birthday badge. Remember, it is my birthday!
Of course, our first stop today had to be the UK pavilion to have a look at Emily’s new work place.
It was beyond warm today and Grandad was very happy to spy a comfy seat in one of the shops.
As was Nana.
Rebecca and Sarah grabbed a Duffy and settled in to do some colouring.
The rest of us wandered around looking at Emily’s colleagues to be and the incredible prices of a Twix.
We left the UK and we were Canada bound.
As we made that long journey it started to rain so our progress was more hurried than it might have been. Our plan was to watch Martin Short in O Canada as frankly it had been far too long since we did. As we got to the theatre we were confused to find it roped off. We crowded together in the entrance trying to keep dry until a Cast Member appeared to let us in. That was just the start of the waiting as we then had to sit in the foyer area for about ten minutes.
Once we were in, the show was slightly spoiled by three young folks stood next to us who had obviously been sampling a few drinkies around the world. The circle vision, standing up and the skin full they were on the wrong end of made them quite disruptive. My main fear was that Grandad would get annoyed enough to do something and we’d have a full scale international incident on our hands.
Having waited so long to see the film we were now bordering on late for our dinner reservation at the Rose and Crown. I hurried off at full man walking pace to book in.
By the time I got to the front of the podium queue everyone else had caught me up. We were given our buzzer thingy and it was going off within a few minutes. We were seated on the patio outside and we were served by Rebecca…but not ours.
I sat there looking there handsome for a while.
We ordered the following –
Me and Nana – Fish and Chips
Emily – Bangers and Mash
Grandad – Chicken Tikka Massala
Louise – Steak
Rebecca – Shepherd’s Pie
Sarah – Chips! Yep, that’s all she wanted after their large lunch at Wolfgang Puck.
As ever, Rebecca left the vegetables and used them to recreate a photo we had seen years ago, at Bahama Breeze.
With it being a special occasion we all had or at least shared a dessert and we all chose the Velvet Cake. Grandad had a very unsubtle word with our server explaining it was my birthday (have I mentioned that yet?) and could they bring something out with a candle in it. All the servers singing Happy Birthday to me around that poor cast member with a candle shoved up their nose was odd.
All of this eating and singing meant that time was pushing on and darkness was falling changing Epcot into that magical place it becomes as the lights come on.
As it was now 8.35 we did consider ordering more food and or drinks so that we could tough it out and watch ROE from our table. Our server second guessed our quandary and solved it for us by offering us a spot on the patio down by the water. We pretty much had the place to ourselves and the rain that had been on and off all afternoon had the decency to stay away too making our ponchos redundant other than to keep our bums dry on the wet chairs.
It’s customary about now, just before the fireworks start that I desperately try all the settings on my camera to try and make these photos not the usual crap blurry nonsense that all the others are.
So, that worked well.
ROE was the usual incredible spectacle that we have to come expect, and any of my birthdays that don’t include it, are poorer for it.
Full of fireworks afterglow we wandered out of the park back towards the car at the Beach Club. The rain was coming back again and everyone was very tired at this point. So just Sarah, Rebecca and I walked all the way to the car leaving everyone else back at the valet point for us to return to pick them up.
For the first time this trip we dropped Emily off home at The Commons and found our way back to the villa via the I4. We were glad to be in bed by 10.20.
Every now and again, I get asked for planning advice for trips to WDW. This is usually from folks I work with as everyone who reads my blog and these reports probably know more about it than I do. These work folks have no idea of the level of my obsession with the whole thing and should they ever find out that I write detailed trip reports about my holidays then my so far stellar career may well be adversely affected. I have long since stopped telling folks about how big a role these holidays have played in my life so far as it is too hard to explain and instead I smile and nod as they tell me they will buy park tickets when they get there and might not do Disney as their kids are all grown up now at 11.
Anyway, the point of all that is to lead into my admission that we are today about to do our third theme park day on the trot and this is, as everyone knows, blasphemy, especially at the start of the holiday. I’m no big fan of rest days but the theme park legs (you know that feeling right?) and jet lag factor make this a very bad idea. Despite us having eighteen days this trip (that’s right, there’s a long way to go yet my dear readers!) for some reason that now escapes me, today had to be Animal Kingdom.
Thankfully this 4am nonsense was over and I didn’t wake until the glorious hour of 7. Breakfasts and showers were had, which doesn’t half make your bagel soggy (not a euphemism). Pleasingly we were out of the villa at around 8.30, the first time, then after someone ran back in to get what they forgot, I reset the alarm, sighed and rolled my eyes a few times, and we left just before 8.40.
As we were going to Animal Kingdom today we used Sherberth Road noting that those dodgy looking apartments just as you turn off the 192 have finally been knocked down. We arrived at the parking booth just before 9, just in time to sit behind some arse that was asking for directions to Disneyland or trying to sing to the cast member to avoid paying the charge, causing me to undertake the traditional ill-tempered scathing rant about idiots who take an age to pay for their parking. It’s all part of the magic.
We parked in Peacock 4 which was close enough for us to walk in rather than tram. Of course, any distance is close enough to walk, but you know what I mean. Rebecca risked being sent home (and I mean to the UK not the villa) by needing a wee before we went through the turnstiles. I’d already lost several vital minutes by, as ever, choosing the wrong line at bag check and waiting for that one guard who is swabbing everyone’s bag for traces of anything you bought at Universal.
With Rebecca’s empty bladder we finally entered the park and started the march over to Everest.
We had a FastPass+ of course and we all went on apart from Nana who is not a big fan of the going backwards thing.
Now, I know I am not in the strongest of positions to comment on anyone’s choice of hair style, however, whilst waiting to board I had to capture this.
Twice.
Even the lady at the front of the queue stared in disbelief.
In case you were wondering, my trainers were still looking fresh!
This ride is a firm favourite of ours and we always take this photo of course.
Minus Grandad this time, we rode again via the now ten minute standby line. If it were possible, it was better the second time.
We left the ride full of smiles and pumping adrenaline and headed over to the Rapids so that we could get wet as early as possible. As we made our way over, we partook in what is a bit of a traditional game. It started years ago, and it entails Nana trying to get ice cubes stolen from a drinks cart down the back of the girl’s T-shirts.
Everyone joined in and in an over-zealous moment Sarah tried to get Rebecca who quickly spun round causing Sarah to land a perfect left hook on her nose. There were a few tears but thankfully no blood or recriminations. Again, Nana declined to ride as she had just dried out after her last ride of this in 2005.
Another tradition is that on all and every water ride the one person you do not want to be anywhere near is Emily. She always gets drenched. Louise foolishly gambled that this time would be different based on the law of averages. She was wrong. They got absolutely soaked.
Not satisfied with our level of wetness, Grandad, Emily, Sarah and I re-rode immediately with everyone getting their fair share of moistness. After two rides it was inevitable that I’d have a damp snake to photograph.
It was at least 11.30 by now and everyone wanted to eat but were afraid to admit it. I solved the issue by saying I was starving as we passed the Yak and Yeti counter service and we were probably the first customers of the day.
We had –
6 Honey Chickens with rice for everyone but Rebecca
1 BBQ Chicken Stir Fry for Rebecca
Some egg rolls were involved, and I even managed to remember to order my own food this time.
It was very tasty and we’d be full for at least twenty minutes.
Safari time now, so we made our way in that direction.
Having eaten Chinese food we of course had to stop for water about seventeen seconds later. Louise had borrowed Emily’s sunglasses as she couldn’t find her own!
We didn’t have a FastPass so we joined the alleged twenty minute queue. I am still awaiting my day in court with Disney as that twenty minute wait was closer to thirty. Despite the hour of the day, the safari was a good one and produced the usual collection of blurry shots of animals in the middle distance.
That last one is my only celebrity photo of the holiday. You don’t recognise him? It’s Neal….Rhino Neal.
We had a 1pm FastPass for the Festival of The Lion King and time was tight so we set off at a good pace to get to Camp Minnie Mickey. Thankfully we realised that doesn’t exist anymore and that the Lion King is about a five minute walk from the Safari before we’d walked all the way over there.
We were all still a little moist and it was a bit chilly inside the theatre as a result. Louise was fine though. After twenty years with me she is used to being perpetually moist.
The show was as incredible as ever. We always *know* it’s going to be good, but always leave somehow surprised at how good it actually is.
How this was the only photo I took during the show I do not know. I think I was Periscoping (not a euphemism), so that was probably to blame.
Keen to see Sarah’s reaction to the ending of It’s Tough To Be a Bug we headed there next.
As ever, there were birds hanging around wherever I went.
Sarah’s reaction did not disappoint and made the whole thing more enjoyable in a sadistic kind of way.
With three theme park days in our legs we were now ready to not do any more theme parking today. We left the park at 2.30 and headed back to the villa. It was so nice to sit on the lanai, drinking, snacking and reading with intermittent swimming.
A few hours later it was time to get ready for our evening’s plans. Later we would be creating shock and awe at Applebees with our eating exploits, but first we’d arranged to meet up with Beryl York and her family at the villa they were staying in at Clear Song. We’ve been Facebook friends with Beryl for years and we are past masters at meeting folks off of the internet in Florida but there’s always that nagging worry that they may be axe murderers who wear their victim’s skins as a coat.
With those thoughts in our heads and Sarah wondering why she had come on holiday with such weirdos who meet random strangers for no apparent reason we drove the short distance to Beryl’s villa.
Of course, within seconds we knew everything was fine and we were welcomed warmly into the huge villa they were renting. I think it was housing about 635 people as they kept coming out of rooms and saying hello. We had a tour of the villa and then sat and chatted for a couple of hours, stupidly forgetting to take any photos whatsoever. Beryl was lovely as were her entire family and their happiness at being in Florida with all of their families was more than obvious. We have met some lovely, lovely people through our Disney holidays and tonight was no exception. Beryl, thank you to you and your family for making us feel so welcome.
We made our way to the 192 to Applebees, stopping at our villa on the way for urgent wees from a couple of females who forgot to go at Beryl’s, apparently.
There was a twenty minute wait for a table at the restaurant so we studied the menu.
Once seated we ordered some Mozzarella sticks and some shrimp thing as appetisers. They didn’t last very long at all and soon we were on to the main event, some of which I even took photos of.
Grandad – Steak and Shrimp
Me – Something called a Hog Dare Ya which was pulled pork related
Louise – Nachos
Nana – Some Shrimp Salad thing
Sarah, Emily and Rebecca – Burgers
The bill was $155. The service wasn’t brilliant tonight, in fact the worst we’d had at an Applebees, which was reflected in the tip. Around this point in the proceedings I developed a cold which would remain with me for the rest of the trip. I battled on like a trooper of course, but as you read every day of the trip from here on in, set aside a minute or so to appreciate my struggle and applaud my selfless determination to not moan about it.
We stopped at the Publix ten minutes after it closed so whatever it was we wanted would have to wait until tomorrow. Bed soon followed as I battled with the severe illness, silently, selflessly and without mention of it for several seconds at a time.
The novelty of the 4am wake up had worn off at this point. I’m all for it on the first morning as the excitement of getting to a park for the first time numbs the pain of the lack of sleep, but by now, to be honest, I’d rather be sleeping.
Having said that, I was asleep by about 7pm last night so it was to be expected I suppose.
I tossed and turned until about 5am, which made a right mess of the bed sheets. I booted up the villa’s PC, made a brew and a bagel and came back to see it still trying its best. Once online I started doing what every male at a PC does when alone in the wee small hours. I tried to locate a shop that sold trainers. It’s an odd fetish, sure, but I’m not doing anyone any harm.
Louise had “forgotten” her trainers. When I was charging around the house on the day we left at another ungodly hour, before nipping out to pick Sarah up and ensuring that everyone who had been incapable of setting an alarm was actually awake, Louise had casually mentioned that her trainers were in the coat cupboard in the kitchen and could I put them in the case. I forgot/didn’t have time and now it was my fault that she had none and we had to go shopping this morning to get some.
Having located a shop that looked to stock cheap trainers, other folks started to rise around 6am. Rebecca and Sarah took a dip in the pool, which was allowed as we were not due to leave the villa till mid-morning. Traditionally day two is a rest day, but as we’d only been able to get a Be Our Guest reservation today, for lunch, we had to return to the Magic Kingdom, like it or not. The plan was to arrive just before lunch, do BOG and then pick up whatever rides we could despite the crowds.
Just the four and half short hours after I was awake, Louise and I left for the trainer shop. It was about a ten minute drive and after a similar amount of time we realised that the Payless Store was named such as it stocked shite I wouldn’t set on fire to keep warm, much less wear on my feet. Having been foiled in our quest for trainers we went to the next shop along. As the name of the Payless Store had been very honest about the stuff it sold, imagine my concern as we entered this next shop which was called Dicks! Thankfully, it was a sport shop. I did note a subtle difference to JD Sports in that a sign on the door requested that all guns should be left at Customer Services.
Louise tried on a few pairs of trainers, chose the most expensive ones available and we were on our way. But no, Louise spotted a discount women’s clothes shop and we ended up in there for the best part of an hour looking at bras. This morning was not as much fun as you might imagine it to be if you were told you’d be spending your time with Dicks and bras. To top off the fun, we trotted round Target to for more “bits” which included (for some reason I wrote this down) sugar and another bra.
We got back to the villa at 10.45. Amazingly everyone was ready. I walked out again, convinced I’d walked into the wrong villa.
We left at 11.15 and parked in Hook 77. Upon boarding the tram Emily shared her pleasure with the concept of mornings.
Others seemed more awake.
As we left the tram Rebecca had to restroom but at least she had the decency to know how wrong this was and apologise for her weakness. This did mean that we missed the ferry boat that had been docked invitingly for us as we left the tram. So we had a ten minute wait for the next one.
This allowed me ample opportunity to take some photos of the new cabin things at the Poly.
You may, I will admit, find better photographs of these elsewhere on the internet.
Running out of things to photograph, I was pleased that the boat turned up and we boarded.
We waved at folks on the other boat, and soon enough completed the crossing.
Main Street never gets old and I feel compelled to take (the same) photos whenever I set foot on it.
However, I do like the last two, with both the girls with Minnie Ears in front of the castle. I told you my photos were vert artsy.
Our first stop was at a FastPass+ kiosk outside Stitch. This is the closest you will ever find me to this “ride” as it is an abomination and should be killed with fire. I was trying to see if we could add/swap any of our FastPasses for today as they weren’t our ideal selections. Nothing was available so we were advised to come back once we’d used one of our currently booked ones.
We then made our way over to Be Our Guest for our lunch reservation. I’m pretty sure this was meant to be a photo of the Mine Train ride and not a very poor attempt at photographing Louise.
I checked in with a flash of my Magic Band and we were told to join the queue. Surely, the definition of a reservation was to not have to, but hey ho, join we did. Now, the last time we dined here was for dinner and it was truly one of the best experiences we have had at WDW. The theming was incredible, the service great and the food as good as can be expected in a theme park. After we had eaten we had left to an empty (closed) Magic Kingdom and had a lovely stroll out to the exit taking loads of photos and enjoying the peace and quiet.
Often when you try to recreate something like that it is doomed to failure, but Sarah and Nana and Grandad hadn’t been and we felt we should give it a go for them. However, a lack of knowledge on my part with some stupidity thrown in for good measure was to lead to what was a bit of a disappointment.
So this queue went on for an age and I had no idea why. We were given a menu in the queue and eventually once at the front, realised that there were a set of kiosks at which we were to enter our order before we found a table. I honestly had no clue lunch service was like this, so that’s my own lack of research, but I didn’t feel great about it.
Ordering in this manner for seven people is not the easiest task in the world, plus, as we’ve established over the years, I’m stupid. So as we got to our table and our sandwiches (that’s pretty much all you can get) arrived, we were missing one…mine. Yep, I had been so intent on making sure everyone had ordered theirs, I forgot to do my own. So I had to go back to a kiosk and ask the CM if I could sneak in and order one more, which of course they let me do.
The theming of course was still lovely…
However, by the time I had ordered mine and got back to the table everyone else had finished. Again, I know this is my own fault!! Drinks were obtained from a McDonalds style dispenser and the whole thing was a bit like eating a football match. Had I known lunch was done in this way we probably would not have bothered. My own incompetence apart with the ordering cock up the whole thing felt incredibly mass market (yes, I know I’m in a theme park, but I know it can be done better than this….cos Disney do it!).
Add to all this that Louise’s beef sandwich arrived still mooing and had to be sent back, and we can declare this not to be our favourite dining experience to date.
I can however confirm that this stuff is indeed delicious.
We did a few photos as we left…
and headed over to Jungle Cruise for our first FastPass. It was very, very hot which meant that Louise declined the ride in favour of sitting in the sun. The rest of us boarded our second boat of the day.
I had to record the back side of water of course.
Our captain was good, but not the best we’ve had. It got a bit wet, but luckily I had some trunks to hand.
As we had done Small World yesterday we changed our FastPass for it now to Buzz. Yes, we did that one yesterday too, but Small World is a labour of love and need not be repeated. Plus, I had pride and revenge to seek out score wise.
Our next FastPass was for Peter Pan. Alas we were too early to ride so we went to get a drink at Pinocchio’s place. We sat outside under some brollies in the incredible heat letting our sweat run freely wherever it wanted to.
Soon enough, we could do Peter Pan, which funnily enough was something often heard when Jim Davison was in pantomime.
Next, we wandered over to Tomorrowland, with some clouds threatening to add to our moistness. It was so humid that frankly I was willing the heavens to open.
In need of some air con and a sit down we decided to go into Carousel Of Progress for both.
Grandad was asleep in seconds but the rest of us sang along like all normal folks are compelled to.
We had a look around the Merchant of Venus shop next and Emily got some sunglasses to avoid her looking so squinty in every photograph. At this point Grandad’s God Shoes (he meant to say Jesus Sandals but once he’d called them God Shoes once, the name stuck) broke. The strap at the back was hanging off and he was now hobbling around trying not to lose it! In an attempt to take his mind off that we went into the Laugh Club.
Rebecca was featured in the pre-show where they show audience members on the screen which delighted her almost as much as it pleased Emily, as it meant it wasn’t her up there. How two daughters raised identically by the same parents can be so different is mind blowing.
After another enjoyable show here we went next door for our recently acquired FastPass for Buzz. I scored a much more respectable 293,000. Louise left claiming something around 500,000, which frankly I didn’t believe.
Space Mountain had a wait beyond our tolerance, so we decided to step out of the crippling heat for a little while by venturing over to a monorail resort for a drink and a sit down. The Contemporary was the nearest so we ended up there, up in the Outer Rim bar.
We were all glad of the cool and the comfort.
I contemplated important things like the meaning of life, why I have more than one chin and why I gave Louise the camera.
The girls sat a suitable distance away from us so as not to be linked in any way to Grandad’s broken God Shoes.
We had a couple of rounds of drinks including beers and cocktails as the promised rain came down in some style. After two hours and a growing bar bill there was no sign of it stopping so we ditched the plans we had to go back into the park and headed for food and home in that order.
To prevent us getting drenched on the way I handed out the ponchos I had stuffed into Ryan earlier. It was a nice touch to find these in the garage at the villa saving us multiple dollars! What I didn’t know was that one of them was a child’s size and Sarah got that one. What followed was a hilarious few minutes as she tried to put it on only to have it stuck over her head for about two minutes whilst the rest of us laughed supportively.
Here she is, once again, able to breathe.
We got the monorail out to the TTC where it was as damp as we had expected.
We headed towards the villa not knowing where we would eat. I spotted a Black Angus at the junction of the 192 and our turning onto Old Lake Wilson Road and suggested that. We had a great meal at one of these back in 2004 or 2005, so of course that guaranteed the same tonight!
I did the gentlemanly thing and pulled the car right up to the door to let everyone out before I went off to park, knowing I would be soaked by the time I sat down to eat. As everyone was piling out I felt a bump and the whole car rocked. It turned out a chap reversing out of the disabled spot by the door had hit us. He was very apologetic and as no damage could be seen at all and more to the point it was absolutely pissing it down, we didn’t feel the need to get his details and we let him drive off, with him expressing his thanks.
My notes on what everyone had are patchy, but here goes.
Me and Emily – Southern Fried Chicken and Mash
Grandad – Steak (detailed, I know).
Nana – Burger
I have no clue what was had by everyone else but it all seemed to go down pretty well. Rebecca was struggling a bit with women problems so she didn’t eat that much and was a bit quiet and grumpy. With that in mind and our dampness this meal won’t go down in the history books as one to remember but it was fine.
We paid $160 and ventured out again into the rain. I ran to get the car and avoided any further collisions as everyone boarded at the door. The rain intensified as we drove home and the lightning was incredible. We were home and in bed by 10.
Ah, the traditional first day ritual of waking up at a time nobody should know about, especially those on their holidays. Imagine my delight at being so only because somebody phoned me at 4.23am. Who knows how long I may have slept on for….maybe even all the way until half past!
I ignored the call of course, but then saw a voicemail had been left, so I thought I’d better see what it was in case I’d won the lottery or the UK’s sexiest male again. The call was from my bank. It would seem that I had gone overdrawn, and several payments presented were about to be refused and they suggested I got in touch. This did seem odd to me as today was pay day, and as pricey as the airport breakfast was, my wage should be covering most of that.
I got online and found that my account was sadly missing any form of salary payment for me which was, as you can imagine, a mild concern. Eventually I called the bank and explained that, as I had discovered with a bit of googling, HSBC were having all sorts of trouble sending payments and my employers happened to bank with them. It would appear that my salary payment was stuck in some HSBC pipe somewhere and would be in my account in due course.
The bank chap said he knew about the HSBC issue. So that was all sorted then surely? I had been with my bank since 1987 and never missed a payment to anyone and he could see right in front of him how much I got paid each month and from whom it came. Imagine my chagrin as he went on to say that if I did not pay in that day then all the payments presented would be returned and I would be charged.
Put it down to the lack of sleep if you like, but the next couple of minutes were a bit like the clip from Pulp Fiction…you know the Samuel L Jackson soliloquy? I pointed out that I was overseas and therefore unable to “nip into a branch” to pay in. I also outlined my disgust at his lack of understanding of one of their “black” customers. This was not a racial comment. I have a “special” account with them reserved for those with enough stupidity to pay a monthly fee for it to supposedly get some sort of personal service.
Bollocking somebody at a whisper, so as not to wake anyone else up, from 4000 miles away is a new skill, but I mastered it quite quickly. The call ended with a promise of paying everything and no charges being made. It turns out my salary hit my account later that day and all this nonsense was for naught. Sigh. OK, on with the holiday.
With zero chance of getting back to sleep I got some orange juice from the fridge and settled down to watch some adverts on the telly.
Around 6am I began the task of waking everyone else up. There was no way I was going to be up from 4.20 and not be at a park for opening. I started with the girls, predicting them to be the most painful but when I went back into my bedroom, Louise let off a tirade of abuse not seen since my call with the bank. Having woken her I retreated to the lounge once again, leaving her to come around. When I ventured back in some minutes later the reason for her foul mood was that the clock next to her side of the bed was wrong and it read 4.30am rather than the now 6.30am. How we laughed!
It took until 7.38 (precisely) to be out of the villa. I took up, what would become my customary position by the alarm panel waiting for everyone else to get out so I could set it. The really funny part of this EVERY DAY was just as I thought everyone was finally out on the drive and I pressed the button to set the alarm, someone would come back in, apologising that they had forgotten something. Again, how we laughed…each and every time.
Still, this was not a bad time to be out and heading for the Magic Kingdom. We breezed out of the villa development and onto the main road up to the 192. We turned right and we were immediately greeted with stationery traffic and this….
I have to admit to having a slight mood on at this point. The world was conspiring against me at every turn in my quest to have some fun. I will not have it be said that there are greater problems in the world! With the bank stress and now this I had half a mind to set the sat nav for the airport and give it up as a bad job.
A long ten minutes of not getting very far passed and the traffic then eased. Whilst sat in the queue a large wasp had attached itself to Louise’s window. She loves wasps and did not jump about three feet into the air when she saw it.
Once calm again she grabbed the camera and took too many photos of it as our speed increased and it continued to hold on defiantly.
Louise’s ability to focus on entirely the wrong thing in a photo is impressive.
The wasp left us at the junction of the 192 and we took a right in the direction of World Drive. For many years, having stayed around Formosa and Lindfields we have usually taken the Sherberth Road route into the parks so entering the official opening was a novelty and something I vowed to continue in other areas of my life.
With Sarah with us, as a first timer, there was something quite correct about going under this sign on the way in.
We arrived at the Ticket and Transportation Centre at 8.10. This pleased me and offered some reward for the ridiculous speeds I was doing up World Drive. “But officer, it’s our first morning, I’m all excited and we were stuck behind a truck for ten minutes!”
Emily had a voucher for her short term park ticket (to cover the few days until she got her Cast Member one) so she and I went to a ticket window to swap that. I also collected a First Visit badge (they are NOT buttons) for Sarah and a Birthday one for Rebecca. Sure, her birthday was back in May, but this trip was part of her present and so celebrate we would.
No sane person takes the ferry boat on their first day, so a monorail journey and the first poking of my sack (Hello Ryan!) saw us stood outside the Magic Kingdom in time for the opening ceremony.
See, that phone is still there.
With the show done, the large crowd moved slowly into the park with us right in the middle of it. Eventually we got to the Holy Grail that is Main Street and took in the sights and sounds and the realisation that we were finally home again. It had been too long!
I expertly walked backwards taking snaps as we went. Stopping is for amateurs.
I think I have one of these shots from every year we’ve been!
The new hub looked lovely.
With Pirates closed, our natural left turn meant that we would be heading for either some Splash or some Thunder. This is pretty typical for me after air line food and it may take a few days to sort itself out.
As we passed Pirates we saw a group of new cast members on a tour of the park. It was funny to think Emily would be doing that in a few short days.
Splash it was.
It was a walk on and this first ride is always a special time. The endless possibilities of the holiday to come in your mind, the very real magic of one of the best rides in WDW and the near euphoria of finally being there after months of planning and anticipation.
As we left the ride Grandad declared that he needed the loo. This, frankly, was unacceptable behaviour after just one ride and I made my feelings clear on the matter. We would have to make those minutes up later from his own time.
Naturally, Thunder was next.
Nana declined to ride and again it was a walk on. Always fun and surprisingly fast.
Our natural Disney navigation systems took us down towards the Haunted Mansion now and as we arrived we saw a thirteen minute wait posted which we guessed meant a walk on.
It was a joy to see Sarah’s reaction to the stretching room and all the theming that is done so well. There had been a few changes in a recent refurb which were nice to see and the traditional stops during the ride of course happened too. I can hear the voice now telling me to remain in my buggy.
As we left the Mansion some weaker folks spoke of their need of a drink and sit down. There was clearly some form of mutiny happening but in the interests of cordiality I agreed. We went over to the snack place in Liberty Square and got a variety of stuff that I couldn’t be bothered writing down. I had a drink and a banana anyway. As we chatted an elderly Cast Member approached us and started to chat. He was called Fred and we spent a good ten minutes talking to him about all sorts of stuff. He asked how many times we’d been, which was a few more than him and he’d worked there for thirty-two years!
We spoke about Emily starting work and it being Sarah’s first time and he quizzed us a little too much it seemed on the make-up of our party. He seemed delighted when he learned that we were three generations of the same family, plus Sarah, a first timer. As we were making to leave (I’m sorry Fred, no matter how charming you are I can feel the queues getting longer) he said he had a question for us. Anywhere but a Disney park and I’d have been listening for banjo music and squealing pigs.
Would we like to take part in the parade this afternoon as Grand Marshalls?
Well, my smile gave him the answer immediately. Of course we would!! We were shocked, delighted and excited in equal measure. He told us where to be and when and said he would see us there later. We wandered off not quite sure what to make of the whole thing. In my dazed state even I went for a wee and then we somehow ended up in It’s a Small World.
Clearly Louise had the camera again.
Still a bit dazed we left the ride and someone else went for a wee. If we can’t co-ordinate our bladders better than this, it could be a frustrating holiday.
Philharmagic was next and we timed it perfectly, entering the holding area just as the doors opened. The show wasn’t full but this did not stop me having to be restrained by Louise as I went for those stopping half way down a row like some drunk outside a nightclub who has had his kebab knocked from his hands.
About half way through the show, starting to regather myself a little I suddenly remembered all this FastPass+ stuff I’d done many weeks ago. I checked my app and sure enough we had a FastPass for Buzz in a few minutes. I spent the last minutes of Philharmagic trying to calculate the distance to Buzz and the speed at which I’d have to get everyone moving to get there in time. We did our best but we arrived as a collective sweaty mess five minutes after our FastPass slot had ended. Looking at the forty minute standby queue I gave everyone a slap for not walking quickly enough. With our newly gained Grand Marshall status I figured it was worth trying to use the FastPass anyway and strode confidently to the pole thingy. I waved my ticket at it (we had not yet had time to get bands of magic) and it lit up and turned green. If your pole does that, see a doctor immediately.
Six more waves of tickets and we were all in.
The score on this ride is not the point at all. It is merely the fun of riding that counts.
As my planning skills are awesome, just as we left Buzz, with me scalding Emily for poor sportsmanship and gloating, our slot for Space Mountain rolled around. We made our way over and again minus a Nana, entered. This is me with the camera, but this is artsy and intentional, not out of focus.
My notes tell me someone else restroomed prior to Space. My disgust at that time did not allow me to document who.
This was a great ride. Having Sarah along meant that finally someone on it screamed louder than I did.
As we left the ride we took the chance to get our Magic Bands in the shop at the exit. It was painless yet expensive.
To allow some form of resting without actually resting, we boarded the people mover thing.
As ever, this was a nice breezy sit down.
There had been a disgusting lack of food so far today so we were due to remedy that right now with a buffet attack at the Crystal Palace. We wandered over past the castle, through the new hub area.
We were a little early, for probably the first and last time this trip, but I figured if they added together our lateness for Buzz and our earliness for lunch we’d be about right. We were. I checked in and more or less as soon as I had that thing in my hand it went off and we were taken to our table.
I was pretty restrained food wise to be honest. A little salad to start and just the one visit for “mains”, with no dessert. Listen, we’re here for eighteen days and if I go off at full tilt I’ll have to be winched out of the front of the villa by a reality TV show.
One clear disadvantage of a large touring party is that when characters appear, there are often multiple cameras in use. The girls want one for their phone(s) plus my Dad has his camera out and they are all competing with my official record of the event with the real camera. So what happens is this…
After all that food, a large Pooh was inevitable.
Then, back to the food.
Emily likes to look her best for the camera.
A rare shot of me and a rarer shot that is actually in focus from Louise.
Our server had fallen for our dastardly plan of pretending it was Rebecca’s birthday and brought her a nice cup cake. We all sang to her and were immediately condemned to eternal damnation for our evil deceit.
She also got a lovely card signed by the characters.
Eeyore turned up suitably late.
I’ve taken better photos. The one on Rebecca’s phone was no doubt great.
As an aside, here are the girls from way back in 2004 in more or less the same spot. Time does indeed fly.
The bill was as sizeable as expected at $304. I was left all alone at the table to settle the bill whist everyone else buggered off to the shops. Once relieved of my wealth I caught them up during a traditional silly hat try on session.
By this time we had to make our way to meet Fred for our appointment with the parade. We wandered all the way back to Splash Mountain to the gate where the parade starts and ends from (either, not both). We were a little early and met Brian, our official photographer…I kid you not. He took some shots whilst we waited for Fred and started what would be the royal treatment from start to end.
Once Fred arrived we were given Mickey hats to wear and told that we’d have some free photos from Brian’s work to collect on Main Street later. We also got certificates to confirm our Grand Marshall status. He took us backstage to where our car was waiting for us and we climbed in.
We chatted with Fred and the driver until the other Cast Member with us shouted “Thirty Seconds” whilst touching her ear piece which was clearly just for effect! We were told to “smile and wave boys” for the duration and look out for Brian taking photos as we went.
Here we are doing as we were told.
A Dibber/blog reader had just spotted us and shouted “Where’s Ryan?” so I did the decent thing and showed them my sack. It was hard work smiling and waving for that amount of time but the whole thing was surreal and bloody marvellous. During the parade we had a few shouts from people who lived in Bolton or thereabouts. We were announced across the park as the Williams family and Sarah Prince from Bolton at regular intervals.
As we pulled into the backstage area at the side of City Hall we thanked everyone in a two-mile radius about twenty times.
We were then escorted to a roped off area right at the end of the parade route and we were told that Brian would continue to take photos as we watched the parade pass by. So we waited for the parade to arrive.
And here we are watching the parade. Thanks Hilary for pointing me at this vlog which captured us. We appear from around 5m 30 seconds in.
Be warned, there are a lot of parade photos.
We got up close and personal with some of the characters…sometimes a little too close.
See how Ariel delights in seeing me all sweaty in my tight T-shirt and attractive baggy shorts.
When it was over, we wandered, still shell shocked by the whole thing, to the photo shop. We viewed all the ones Brian had taken and choose our freebies to have printed there and then. We linked to rest to my MDE for viewing later.
Not sure how we’d top what had just happened, either today or ever again we made our way out of the park. This being Sarah’s first ever day in a Disney park, it may have set the bar a little too high!
We monorailed to the tram stop and we left our parking spot in Aladdin to make our way to the Publix supermarket close to our villa for yet more shopping. We got back to the villa at 5.15 and right on cue the rain came down. To be honest, we were beyond spent for today and we all just collapsed in various places of rest and I think I was asleep at about 7pm. What a day!
I just wanted to do a quick post to let you know that the latest trippy, Mkingdon’s Going Limp in Orlando Tour 2013, is now available in hard copy, as an actual, real life book.
Now, before you all rush off and buy a dozen copies each, I need to add some caveats. I didn’t get this done in hard copy to sell really. Instead, there were two main reasons,
I wanted to test out getting a book printed like this, as I plan to do it with “the book” when it is done.
I thought it would be nice to give Emily a physical copy so she would always have it to remember her 18th birthday trip
So, those caveats….
It is quite expensive, perhaps not surprisingly. It is being sold at the absolute minimum allowed by the supplier…I promise….I don’t need another yacht!
The pictures in it are in black and white and the quality of them is average at best
You probably own it on Kindle already.
Anyway, when I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was trying out getting a physical book done, a few folks asked me to let them know when it was done. So I am!
If you want to have a look…..click the picture below…
This time, it is hard.
As time allows, I will try to do the other trippy book in the same way.
Clearly a blog post from me on a Saturday can only mean one thing.
I have a book out!!
(If you go back through my post history and find one on a Saturday when I didn’t have a book out, then I reserve the right to be wrong and to declare you sad).
This (probably) replaces your normal Sunday dose of blog.
Finally, after the most tedious teaser marketing campaign in the history of teasing, I am pleased to announce that the latest trip report is ready.
If you do not own such technical frippery as a Kindle, then fear not. There is probably an app for that. If you own a smartphone, laptop, tablet or even PC, you can get a FREE Kindle app from your relevant App Store, and use that to download and read this thing.
As ever, I need to thank Louise, Emily and Rebecca for allowing me to flaunt their holiday all over the place and I especially need to apologise to Louise for the chocolate hostage situation. All will become clear in the book.
I also need to thank my volunteer proof reader, Janine (@disneynine on Twitter) for taking the time to flag up seemingly endless spelling mistakes and other errors.
No matter how often I read my own stuff, I still miss glaring stupidness, so having someone check this before release should make your reading a less frustrating experience. Proof reading has little effect on the actual quality or originality so that will be all my own fault.
I am also thankful that anyone gives enough of a toss to want to read this thing. I’d love to get your feedback if you do read it, either here as Comments, via Twitter (what do you mean you don’t follow me???) or the Facebook page.
If you feel inclined, any (nice) reviews will be very welcome on Amazon itself too! Any nasty reviews can be sent to me at donotwanttoknow@mkingdon.com.
If you aren’t sure what all this is about, and you want to try a bit before you download, then you can sample Day One here, to get a feel for the tone.
It has been very different writing this trip report in this way. Normally there is a mad rush to get each day posted as quickly as possible which of course led to the enormous number of typos in the other book which I then had to go through and correct after it “went live”. I only spotted them when I read it on my own Kindle, having been blind to them in Word or on the internet. I don’t do detail very well, and I suspect I didn’t correct them all.
Being able to write it all in one go has hopefully meant a more consistent standard (consistently poor) and a cleaner read (I don’t mean less smut). Of course, on that topic, not being subject to forum moderation (yet), I have not had to worry about rude words and close to the knuckle innuendo as much. Whether that is a good or bad thing I don’t know.
I hope those of you kind enough to download it enjoy “Going Limp” as much as we did. First to finish gets a prize. The glow of self satisfaction.
We are nearing the end folks. I committed to getting two days done this weekend and I did. Eleven and twelve are in the can (barring grammar corrections and tidying), and I only have one more full theme park day to do in Epcot. The last day of travelling is always a brief blur of angst, anger and airline food so it shouldn’t take long.
With a following wind, of which I have an endless supply we could be ready to roll in a week or two. So I am hoping not to drag out this tedious teaser campaign much longer and that is something we shall all be grateful for.
Day Eleven was a long one, as it covered probably the most memorable day of the trip as we did the Keys to the Kingdom tour and Be Our Guest. Day Twelve gave some balance as it was a rest day and so was quite brief. It ended as most of our rest days do, arriving home from a theme park at almost midnight!
Writing up these last few days is bitter-sweet. Going back there, on paper at least, is glorious, but the last few days of any trip are always a series of goodbyes as we visit parks for the final time, never knowing when we might return.
Saying Goodbye to MK
Yes, I know I always say we are not going next year. It is a tradition. All I can say is that I always believe that when I say it, and this year more than most I cannot see a way in which we will be booking again.
Work just gets busier, which in one way is good, but in another bad, as it interrupts my trippie time. The good element is that it shows that what I’m up to is going OK, and folks want more of it. Did I tell you I was a gigolo these days?
It must be how I am wired, but even when things are going well, the praise is flowing, and I’m being asked to do more, I still have this unshakable feeling that I am about to be found out at any moment. I shall retire with that feeling intact I am sure.
Louise is finishing her latest placement in A&E in style with a series of twelve-hour night shifts. This is undoubtedly hard work. Pretty much all she is doing is going to work of an evening, completing multiple hours of gruesome tasks and then coming home and snatching a few hours kip.
We will both be very glad when she finishes on Monday morning and returns to Uni until January. The student life of this being a nurse business is much easier than actually doing the nursing bit. By Monday evening, her hair will be in dreadlocks and she’ll be listening to The Smiths in a baggy jumper. Bloody students.
At least when Louise is working nights and sleeping during the day it puts an immediate end to any DIY that I may have to do. Anyone making any sound in our house at times such as these shall be subject to one of Louise’s nasty stares.
With Louise out at work last night and Rebecca at her boyfriend’s for a party, Emily got her way with the remote and we watched the X Factor. It is interesting, like rubber necking at a crash on the motorway, to see this thing wriggle and squirm as it dies a long painful death.
The contestants this year seem to be competing in a forgettability contest that makes me yearn for Jedward. The desperate tweaks to the format, and the final desperate attempts to make the final few million from it are so obvious it is an embarrassment.
Samsung devices everywhere, you know because all these singers just happened to be carrying the latest devices all from the same manufacturer, and the entire show now being constructed as a device to support the adverts that come up every six minutes. An 80’s night? Really. Based on what rationale?
Well I spotted a few, and that was all the 80s compilation albums being pushed in the breaks. The whole thing stinks of the tail wagging the dog, and I find it insulting.
As a form of antidote, straight after this shambles Jonathan Ross interviewed Tom Hanks. He is the absolute definition of class, talent, star quality and being a down right nice bloke. Long may he continue, and if Emily gets any more excited about watching Saving Mr Banks, she might not make it until its release.
Of course Mr Hanks has a head start for us, having voiced Woody, and been a huge part of the girls childhoods, and now about to play Walt Disney, he would have to do something really bad to make us not like him. Like be Simon Cowell.
A ruddy nice bloke
Damn it, just one live X Factor show and it has drawn a rant from me already. Never mind, I feel better for it even if you don’t.
It has been head down and keep typing this week. It has been as ever interrupted by work, as I was away in Marlow again for a couple of days, but having now completed day eight of the new trip report I am fairly satisfied with the progress.
Bearing in mind the inconvenience of having to work for a living and our Breaking Bad addiction, that is fairly impressive progress! Whether the quality matches the quantity, we’ll see I suppose.
At the risk of becoming a dental bore (in addition to being a bore in general), thankfully on Thursday my current teethy troubles came to an end. Another hour in the chair saw me sweating like a single man at a Barrymore pool party, but at last it was complete.
I do not want to darken their door again for at least six months.
It has been an odd weekend as Louise has been working some crazy shifts in A&E. She was off for three days last week, but has then worked Friday, and yesterday had to endure an 8 till 10 shift. Yes, that is 8 in the morning until 10 at night. She’s in again today from 2 until 10, with similar tomorrow until a well-earned day off on Tuesday.
There is no way on earth I could be a nurse. Even forgetting some of the horrific encounters with bodily fluids, which invariably are someone else’s, those shift patterns are not for me. I tip my proverbial hat to them, and yet reserve the right to moan about my own job whenever I feel like it!
It would appear that it is once again the season for an endless litany of stuff breaking and going wrong. This week alone has seen us spring for a new tumble dryer and for a chap to come and sort some problems out on our roof. We are also waiting for a plumber to come and attend to some boiler issues, and yesterday the electrics in the bathroom seem to have gone all temperamental. Of course I rise above these minor irritations with grace and good humour as usual.
In no way do I adopt a woe is me persecution complex and look for the nearest cat to take it out on. I think they recognise the signs of broken stuff now and make themselves very scarce.
But really, either we have bought a house which is the English equivalent of the Money Pit, or everyone has the same problems. To allow me to wang on about it, I refuse to believe the second option.
A typical day
Earlier today my Mum came round with some photos she’s found whilst doing a clear out. It was great to see some from our early WDW trips, not only to prove that I once had a fringe but also to see how things have changed. There were also a number of the girls that just show how time flies.
Taken yesterday
This one shows Emily and two cousins. Emily is sporting a Phoenix Nights style painted face, but luckily hers came off.
This one is from the first time we took the girls in 1999.
Party like it’s 1999
Sarah, the blonde girl nearest the camera is now in her early twenties, lives with her boyfriend and is studying to be a teacher. Sigh.
At some point my Dad is going to scan in all these old photos to make sure they are safe, and hopefully then I’ll post a few more and you can marvel at my hairline and short shorts in some Disney photos from the late 80’s. Steady yourselves ladies.
There are even some “promo shots” from when I was in a band. It is all pouts and cheekbones. Yes, even I had some.
Right, I am on tea making duty, and there are teenagers faking death to pressure me into giving them food. Clearly they can’t locate the kitchen.
It feels like a long time since I did my last proper blog. Some might argue that I have indeed never done a proper blog, and I for one would not be one to argue. However, I of course mean that it has been a good few weeks since one of these regular Sunday evening things.
The return to work was truly awful. I don’t mean that there was anything particularly bad this week, rather that it was just soul destroyingly boring and such a jarring contrast to the previous two weeks. It was about mid afternoon on my first day back when I sent Louise a text to tell her I wasn’t sure I could make it until the end of the day, never mind the next week, year or till retirement.
I did of course, as I have to. I’ve hated other jobs and companies far more than I do this one. In fact it is hard to fault where I am now, but of course it is still work, and I do still have to go.
Louise had her own challenges, being straight into irregular shifts at her new placement, this time in A&E. The highlight of the week for Louise has been to watch the removal of a couple of eyes for donation. She’s strange like that.
To make matters worse, after the first week back at work, I have been weekendless, as it just so happened that I had to go away with work. There was a launch event at Celtic Manor in Wales for our whole company, so from early Saturday morning until my about 3pm today that’s where I’ve been.
To the Manor driven…on a coach
It’s a lovely venue, although I only got to see the inside of a conference room and my bedroom, but still it looked nice. Oh and Wales, let me know when you have a mobile phone signal and 3G and I may come back.
So life feels busy at the moment, and it is stopping me from cracking on with the trip report. I have started, and I think I got up to the part where we take off. So not very impressive progress.
Next week, I’m down in Marlow at head office for a couple of days, so getting anything done next week isn’t looking too good either. Real life does always seem to get in the way.
So far, I have been dodging a few questions about when I’ll post it and where. This is because I don’t know. Or at least I didn’t. Without even realising it, I seem to have sub consciously decided that it is going to be a book. This is because the format in which I started to write it is that, rather than for any forum. As I say, a decision made without me realising it.
This isn’t some attempt to make more millions of pounds from book sales (NOTE: I haven’t actually made millions of pounds from book sales). I think it will force me to do a better job, certainly in terms of spelling and grammar.
I don’t plan to charge for this book. However, Amazon do charge me for “delivering” the book, and as it will contain many photos, so I’ll just have to cover that. This does of course mean that it won’t be ready for a while.
What I might do is post Day One here when it is done. I hope that is OK?
In other news this week, Emily submitted her application for the Disney Cultural Representative Programme. For those that don’t know, this is the people you see in World Showcase in each of the pavilions. Emily has had this in her mind since about the age of 15, so it is a bit of a big deal.
CRP People
Competition is fierce no doubt, but all she can do is give it her best shot and see what happens.
Rebecca starts her college course next week too. She will be studying Media Make Up and Hair at Bolton College. She has small ambitions to end up in Hollywood doing the make up for major movies and stars. Fingers crossed.
Based on my feelings about my last week at work, as ever, I just want them to find something to do that they enjoy and are passionate about. If you don’t, it sure ain’t fun.
So with a following wind and a bit of effort I should be able to get Day One posted at some point next week. If you read it one word a day, it might keep you going until I get the whole thing finished! Consider it the perfect stocking filler for that relative you don’t really like!
What is this madness? A blog from me on a Saturday? Crazy I know, but these are not normal times we live in. For a start, it feels like a Sunday due to the Goodness of the Friday I just had.
What is the reason for this earth shattering deviation from the comforting grip of routine and normality? Well, I’ll tell you.
Some weeks ago, I undertook a detailed and extensive teaser marketing campaign, as I said…
“As some sort of teaser marketing campaign, I shall …..erm…tease you by letting you know that I am working on a “secret project” at the moment and at some point soon I may reveal it to you. As an added bonus one or two of you might even give a toss.”
All none of you picked up on this, and I was inundated with absolutely no enquiries as to what I was up to. As teaser marketing campaigns go, it may not have been the most successful in the history of advertising.
Weighed down by the massive sense of expectation this campaign created, I have been working hard on this project, and can now reveal all to you.
As I said at the time, sadly it is not the annual booking of our holiday. If it were that would be the least surprising reveal since Duncan from Blue announced he was gay. It is holiday related, and is in fact the news that I am now a published author!
That sounds grander than it actually is, as frankly anyone can be a published author as long as you can figure out the labyrinth of complexity involved in Amazon’s self publishing programme. But still, published I is.
Don’t worry, I’m not trying to fund our next trip with the sales of this book. Believe me, once Amazon and the tax man have had their share I would need the population of China to buy a couple each to be able to fund more than the taxi to the airport!
It is more that I have been meaning to do this for a while now, mainly to preserve them forever on somewhere other than a certain Disney forum. Who knows when that might blow up or self-destruct in a fire-ball of reclining seats, tipping and right-wing views? If it did, all the work I had put into these would be lost and I couldn’t have that. I spend less and less time on there now, so felt that I needed to reclaim them for myself, and of course if I sell a couple (I have already bought one copy, so just one more sale to reach my target) at the same time then that would of course be lovely.
It’s a big book, and should represent decent value for the (random) price. (Amazon’s pricing engine is slightly more complex than space travel). With ten year’s worth of holidays in it, the page count is as impressive as the photo quality isn’t. Amazon’s file size restrictions mean they have to be a thumbnail of a thumbnail!
Some of the grammar and spelling will not win any awards. I have tidied them up a little, but you will still find typos and the like, but hey, that all adds to the charm, doesn’t it??
So, please tell your friends, and even your enemies that such a thing exists, and if any of you are kind enough to invest in a copy, that in itself would be incredible, but should you even enjoy it, then that is what the review system is for on Amazon so don’t be shy to add one!
So there we go, I finally got my arse in gear and created a book from stuff what I wrote. Enjoy! We all enjoyed making the holidays that are in it.
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