The week of Halloween is typically spent celebrating Freddie’s birthday. This year was no different. It was inevitable, with Rebecca being his Mum, that Freddie is a huge Halloween fan. Rebecca makes sure the house is fully decorated and when the day itself comes, they are appropriately attired to do some candy gathering.
With the spooky season done, it was then time to move on to his birthday and the serious business of turning six. On the day itself, he was overwhelmed with presents, taken to a play area and the cinema, and then on Saturday, we joined him and his classmates at another play area for his official party.
He’s had a good birthday and a good week! He deserves it as he is just a lovely soul. He’s kind, clever, considerate and really funny. Clearly, my genes run strong!
Our kitchen remains unchanged from this time last week. We are waiting it seems for some drawers to be resized to fit into our island, accommodating our fancy new extractor that is in our hob. I say it seems, as getting any form of reply from our fitter has proven to be a bridge too far since we saw him last. Frustration levels are high as we still sit in the 95% completion zone, not yet able to get things “back to normal”. Hopefully, it’ll all get sorted out next week before we go away or there will be a falling out.
Speaking of which the cases came out this week. A little early, but I was in the outhouse getting a cat carrier out for THE most expensive visit to the vets in recorded history and I thought I’d grab the cases whilst I was in there to save me a further trip a few days later.
We’re taking two large cases as normal, despite only doing ten days as one of these trips I would like to not have to stress for the last few days about how we are going to get everything we have acquired back home.
I’ve also been helping Emily plan a WDW trip for next March. She is going with her boyfriend and a couple they are friends with. As one of their friends is a teacher they have to go at a really expensive and busy time, so finding flights that are not laughable has been a challenge. Emily is now planning out the days and is finally appreciating the high degree of expertise and responsibility involved in doing so!
None of the others have been before, so the pressure is on. They literally could not be in better hands as long as they submit to her will and plans. Right?
So I’ll see you back here next week for a pre-flight post.
I know this is a ridiculous thing to say after the last couple of years, but I need a bloody holiday!
A mixture of our leaky roof saga (now resolved) and our never ending kitchen refit (about 95% done), along with some work stuff that would try the patience of a saint, I am frazzled. It feels like we have been living amidst chaos for far too long.
I know it is physcological, and if I did not have an imminent trip booked I would probably feel less deperate for it, but here we are.
The worst news of last week was discovering that The Cheesecake Factory have stopped using Yelp for their reservations and now they insist on a US phone number to do any table booking. This means I will have to do an actual phone call to the restaurant once we’re in Orlando to book us a table. I know I could do it now, but that would add unacceptable pennies to the bill of thousands for this holiday so I won’t of course.
All this activity, choas and kerfuffle has meant that over the last few weeks and months I haven’t really watched any Florida vlogs. I have managed a couple recently to discover that The Trackers are clearly billionaires now and Mr Morrow has shifted his views per video from the 30,000 bracket to the 100,000 bracket. Good luck to them both.
It did dawn on me whilst watching one showing Mr Morrow spend about $300 in Gideon’s that when we are there in mid-November I think all the Christmas stuff will be up. Not that we will be in a park of course, but it will be nice to see that at Disney Springs and any resorts we go to.
Halloween starts in August and Christmas on November 1st I would assume.
With a flurry of activity late last week in our kitchen we were hoping it would be done. We had multiple trades in the room at the same time on Thursday and Friday and enough got done to get us a functioning kitchen and we can now start to think about putting the house back together again. Maybe by next week it’ll be really finished and in a state fit for some photos that I can share.
My hatred for the disruption of this type of stuff going on in the house only grows deeper every time we do it.
On Saturday we had Dougie stay over with us as Rebecca and Tom took Freddie away to Drayton Manor for an early birthday treat. He is trouble in human form but also a little love and we dutifully spoiled him rotten.
I had a long arranged gig so Louise was on main duty until this morning.
Freddie had a blast too.
Now for some rest before the madness of whatever next week brings starts.
I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on social media this week about the 100th anniversary of Disney. As ever, I like to be at the forefront of these online trends and post about it many days after the event. It is this cutting-edge nature that sees my blog surge in popularity week after week.
Many of these posts seemed to be trying to summarise what Disney means to people, and the effect it has had on their lives. I’m genuinely at a loss as to where to start with that. But of course that will not stop me now from spending the rest of this post trying to do exactly that.
My first ten years on this planet were lived in a normal way, in terms of Disney. I’d watch the films and every bank holiday I would watch the Disney special that was inevitably on the telly, showing clips from all the classic films.
Our holidays were, I am lucky enough to say, regular and wonderful, with the destinations usually being somewhere Balearic.
Then one fateful day in the first half of 1980, our family went into Bolton town centre (when there was one) to go and book our next holiday.
For those under 30, this involved sitting in a shop and watching someone who worked there tap away at some pre-historic-looking green screen VDU if you were lucky. I genuinely can’t remember if by 1980 AT Mays in Bolton had those, but via whatever method our travel agent was looking at stuff, the phrase that would change my life forever was uttered.
“You know, for the same price as Mallorca, I can do you Miami.”
This was mainly due to a dollar rate of 2.20 to the pound. Now, this working-class Bolton family had barely heard of Miami, never mind ever dreamt of going there and I don’t think it took long for that decision to be made.
Of course, zero planning was done. I was nine. I do vividly remember the flight, and that all drinks were free, and I think my Mum probably had one too many Miami Whammies (I’ve no idea either but they were easy to drink it looked like).
Somewhere we still have photos of all the stewardesses on that flight, who to me, at nine and from a northern mill town (whippets optional) they all looked like film stars and I don’t mean Danny DeVito. Obviously, I’ve shared all this previously as I discovered a load of 1980 photos buried deep in a post from years ago.
The holiday itself was mostly like the others. We stayed in a hotel on Miami Beach, and I swam a lot and discovered American food and portion sizes and I have been fat ever since.
Then in the middle of the trip, we drove up to Orlando, stayed in a Howard Johnson (a hotel, not a person), and did Disney.
Now, at that time, Disney was just Magic Kingdom and a very small embryo of Disney Springs called The Disney Village.
Obviously, I fell in love. I turned 10 in America and I remember us going to a mall called Omni that had a merry-go-round in it which blew my mind and my Mum and Dad bought me a birthday cake there.
For years afterward, at family parties and get-togethers, my Dad would tell the same stories over and over about the size of a pizza we got and the number of slices of turkey he got on one particular sandwich, as well as phrases about people not being able to appreciate the scale of the park (there was just one as Epcot would open soon after).
“You get to the entrance and you’re still bloody miles from the turnstiles! You park up, get a tram and a monorail, and only then are you in”. They probably thought us all a bit weird.
I’ve carried on this tradition by regurgitating the same stories here for over a decade.
We even brought home a menu from a restaurant called Pumpernickels in Miami as nobody would believe us when we got home. I remember us being absolutely floored by there being two huge bowls on every table when you were seated, one full of coleslaw and one full of bread.
I have very limited but very vivid memories of this trip as it was a long, long time ago now, to the extent that I question whether they are accurate memories or just some sort of assumed thinking of something we did.
Now, clearly, all of this bred a love for Florida more generally, but the Northern Star in all this, and the tractor beam that has kept pulling us back there was WDW.
We went back several times during my childhood. I’m sad and sorry to say I cannot remember how many times. It’s a long time ago now and no notes were made, and all the photos were analogue.
Once I had my own family, it was my Dad again who re-ignited my passion for the place. He was about to retire and had an endowment policy burning a hole in his pocket. He declared he would be taking us all to Disney. That was him and my Mum, my brother, his wife and their two kids and us four.
I think he booked it over the phone with Travel City Direct, after scrolling through Teletext for hours, but I may be confusing that with other trips. It was £199 each for fly-drive and we had a huge, beautiful villa on Highlands Reserve. Our hire car was more of a bus, and we spent a lot of time one night being lost in Celebration I remember. It was Halloween and the place looked amazing.
Again, no planning was really done but we of course loved it.
The rest as they say is history with our own trips as a four, starting in 2001. An un-reported stay at the All Stars. From then on, pretty much every year we have been back in one way or another. Looking back now I really cannot fathom how we afforded it. Well, sometimes, we didn’t, but I don’t regret any of the trips, memories, experiences, and lovely times we had.
Some time around the time these trips of our own started I discovered the Disboards and then of course The Dibb. These were cutting-edge tools of their day and I learned so much from them and made some good friends too who we met many times over the years.
It is very hard to sum up what Disney has meant to us as I just do not have the writing ability to capture that. I suppose with recent events my Dad is in my thoughts. He loved the place and what he really got a thrill out of on the odd occasion it happened, was, during my Dibb days, we would get approached in a park by fellow Dibbers who recognised us. I think he was quite proud of that tiny bit of recognition, and he certainly enjoyed being in and reading the trip reports.
Now of course, we have started the next generation of trips with Freddie and Dougie, and I doubt they will be as obsessed as I am, and probably will not go as often, but I think, for those who get it, my girls have both summed up what I’m trying to say in different ways.
Firstly, here are the photos Emily posted on her Disney Instagram account last week (go follow her) showing how she feels Disney has touched her life. I think they do it perfectly.
Secondly, I’ll go back to our first trip with Freddie in 2019. It was our first morning and we were of course in Magic Kingdom. We had just entered the park and were standing at the hub looking up at the castle. There was a trolley show on, and I think one of the performers gave Freddie some attention whilst he watched from his stroller. I turned to see Rebecca in floods of tears, and she said…
“I get it now!”.
Of course, she had loved WDW before, but it hits differently as a parent and to see that realisation on her face and her reaction to seeing Freddie in that place, will probably tell you all I want to about 100 years of Disney without me trying to get the words out.
Cynics may say this is all manufactured schmaltz and others may say I should stop regurgitating the same content and photos and they are probably right, but beyond the schmaltz can be a form of magic, a generational bond, formed from memories and happy times that can help to get you through the less happy ones. Ultimately, if that makes you feel “better”, if it supports your mental state and improves your well being then it can’t be a bad thing. It’s better than doing drugs, although a lot more expensive.
It has been a bit of a week. Hectic is how I would describe it, with some chaos thrown in for good measure.
I was in the office on Monday and Tuesday. I don’t think I have done two days in the office in a row since February 2020. It hurt, and if, as The Daily Mail may have you believe, the whole country is working from home now, why did my commute take longer than it did pre-pandemic? I will not be repeating that in a hurry.
Our roofer finally turned up on Monday and got to work stopping our living room wall resembling Niagra Falls. He didn’t come Tuesday as it was raining, but thankfully by then he had found and fixed the bit that was causing all the trouble and we were watertight.
He was back later in the week to do the bulk of the work and said he should finish tomorrow. It will be an (expensive) weight off my mind but “Winter is Coming” (we are currently almost done with a complete rewatch of Game of Thrones, and we had forgotten most of it, so it has been very enjoyable) and I will sleep easier knowing we have sorted what has been a troublesome part of the house since we moved in.
Whilst that went on in one part of the house, the kitchen continued to be a scene of chaos. Our fitter was back for a day, followed by the electrician, and then on Friday, the men came to take away everything that is to be resprayed. We are keeping most of our existing cabinets, adding a few more, and have new worktops. That may have reduced costs slightly, but we seem to have opted for the “longest possible disruption” option.
We have a working hob and oven but still no sink and all our cupboards have no doors. I thrive in this chaos!
Then on Thursday evening, I was out at a Mustard gig, (yes I still do the band thing) and we were playing at the after-party for an awards do in Manchester. It was a star-studded affair if Kris Akabusi presenting the awards fits that description. We did not actually attend the awards ceremony so missed his hurdling-related high jinx (he was a hurdler right?) and we were just celebrity adjacent, knowing he was somewhere in the same venue. It was a building awards event and we had a good night but it was a very late one for a school night!
Then on Friday morning, I had to go to the dentist, just for a check-up but it was lovely to hear that I have gum disease, just to confirm that I am old and decrepit.
Speaking of rubbing shoulders with celebrities, whilst on Facebook the other day I spotted a clip from Phoenix Nights. Whilst nobody other than me and Louise would ever spot it, there in the background in the dressing room at the club (real name, St Gregory’s in Bolton) was Louise’s promo from when she was doing the club circuit in the late 90’s. Acts performing at a club would always leave their photo/promo on dressing room walls. Don’t try to click the arrow to play the video, I just grabbed a screenshot so you could really appreciate the blurry thing that may or may not be what I said it was.
It was a club we regularly visited on the circuit and it is exactly as the show depicts it, as were (and probably still are) most of the other clubs too. That dressing room is as “roomy” as it looks and most were also filled with all the crap the club didn’t have anywhere else to put, such as broken bingo machines, the Play Your Cards Right game, and the Hoover. Endless glamour it was not.
Unrelated to anything else, it’s been a while since I inflicted any photos of our endless pets on you, so here are some from when Emily took Woody to a pumpkin patch yesterday.
He’s almost 18 months old now and I suppose it is safe to say he’s here to stay and part of the family.
I am ever hopeful that by the time I post here again, we may have a fully fixed roof and a kitchen approaching something like normality. It’s this naivety that is both stupid and admirable in equal measure.
We are now less than a month from our Orlando holiday (we’re still not doing any WDW parks!) and I am ready. I did ask Louise if I could get the cases out yesterday as I was going to the outhouse in which they are stored for some other reason but I was denied.
On Facebook, the local community pages just seem to be a load of boomers mooning over photos from the old days when rickets and 10-year-old chimney sweeps were a thing, yearning for a return to those golden times.
“Oh look how full our town centre was and how many great shops there were,” they say before going to the door to collect their 4th Amazon delivery that week.
I can enjoy memories of the past without always thinking that today is bobbins and yesterday was always better because it wasn’t.
Having said that I am a bit of a sucker for some WDW nostalgia and this week some was sent to me that I feel compelled to share. As you know I am on close personal terms with all the high-ups at Disney, and they all read my blogs you know, and every now and again a Disney Imagineer that I know through a friend will send me some good stuff. I don’t know how much I can say about this Imagineer but I will tell you he was heavily involved in the recent project to design and build that real lightsaber you may have seen showcased at a recent D23. It is annoying that he seems to have the job I would like. It’s only a lack of relevant qualifications, experience, and about 4,500 miles that stand in my way.
Anyway, this week I received this gem from him of WDW in 1973.
It’s funny how some things look unchanged and some unrecognisable and that I suppose is the sweet spot for WDW to achieve. I was 3 when this was filmed, and aside from most of the people in the film now being dead of course, I wonder what they would have made of how things are now.
Have a watch if you can spare the time. It’s like being wrapped in a warm blanket.
This video, as lovely as it is, has not altered our intention of not visiting any parks in November. Part of the deal of going back to Orlando was to do so on the same budget as Egypt would have been, and with WDW park ticket prices as they are, they would be a deal breaker. Honestly, though, I have no real desire to do so either. That would change the entire trip’s dynamic and “planner Craig” would kick in and I’d be setting alarms for 6.50 a.m. to secure virtual queues and Lightning Lanes and then dragging Louise from one end of the park to the other because a ride we’ve ridden six dozen times only has a twenty-minute queue.
It’s enough that our entire eating itinerary is laid out already. It’s best not to awaken that beast.
The plan remains unchanged from last week, mainly as the week just gone has been an absolute shitter at work and with the house so I haven’t had the time or mood to be looking at it. It’s probably for the best.
Next week doesn’t look to be shaping up any better. I have to be in the office for two days in a row, which post-pandemic is an absolute insult and horror show and we have (the promise of) multiple workmen being in and on top of our house too. I can’t wait.
That last night of the trip was taunting me in its blankness, sat there on my plan, goading me to book something. What do you mean I could have not booked something and just gone with the flow?
I had thought I’d book somewhere around the Boardwalk but didn’t in the end. The Edison got the nod and that last remaining blank space is filled.
I looked at a few places and really wanted to try somewhere new. The menu and experience look pretty good based on what I read and watched so it’s booked and we’ll see how it goes.
Thanks to those suggesting things last week. Whilst we didn’t book to dine there, I did discover from one suggestion that there is another Jellyrolls style dueling piano bar at City Walk, in Pat O’Briens so we’re going to try and give that a go one night when we have dining planned at City Walk.
I’m now in that countdown hinterland, where no further planning is needed and it isn’t time to go to the airport yet. This feeling is probably why the plan will change before we go but it’s all part of the experience, right?
Away from holidays, our roof is still leaky, but now we know what it may cost for it not to be so. The figure is so large I cannot speak its name. Where we live, on the edge of the moors, where rain only happens 23 hours out of every 24, and when it comes, it comes sideways, we cannot risk not having a waterproof roof. We now sacrifice things at the altar of Sarah Beeny in the hopes of bringing the roofer to our property to actually do the work. There are rumours he may be with us “mid next week”. We shall see.
Our kitchen is more battlefield/bomb site than kitchen, and we spend our days working around the carnage and trying to tempt workmen back into the house to get it progressed. If someone were to condemn me to my own personal hell this would be it.
Oh and for good measure yesterday the washing machine broke so I had to find another workman to come into my house and relieve me of some money. Of course, despite not even being two years old, it is unfixable and we have to get a new one. Kerching!
Emily had her own troubles last week, finally catching Covid after all this time. There’s a lot of it around. She’s been quite poorly with it and is only now starting to feel anywhere close to normal again, but still testing positive almost a week later. Last weekend she attended two Busted gigs in Liverpool and Manchester arenas plus the work event I told you about down in Cardiff, which was attended by around 2,000 people, so it’s almost certain she got it at one of those. She’s been too ill to leave her bedroom for most of the week so protecting Louise and me from infection has been fairly easy.
Writing about trip planning and Covid takes me right back a couple of years to when all I did was plan trips that got canceled and moan about the handling of the pandemic.
Louise and I went to see Busted with her last Sunday too in Manchester and it was very enjoyable. We got Hanson included in the price of the ticket and here they all are performing one of my favourite songs.
All is well with Rebecca, Tom and the boys. Freddie is excited about his upcoming sixth birthday to which he has invited his whole school class. Sensibly, it will be held at a local play area. Dougie, who is 18 months old now, is starting to walk which only adds to the fun of daily life for Rebecca. He is a little bit more of a handful than Freddie was!
We are off out for tea with them later, along with my Mum who is doing OK, despite feeling a bit lonely at times. Adjusting to life without your husband after so many decades together must be difficult.
So there ends a post with a nice mixture of trip planning and life updates. I feel really out of practice in writing non trip report blogs so let’s hope something (good and not expensive) happens in the next seven days to give me something to droan on about.
I did chuckle at the comments and reaction to last week’s post. I wondered how many of you might get halfway through it really believing we were heading to Egypt.
To be fair, we came very, very close.
With an upcoming trip, I would usually be telling you all about all the planning I am doing, but as we aren’t doing a “WDW” holiday, although we will be in Florida and actually technically staying within the WDW resort area, I have nothing to do.
Yeah, right.
I have been booking “a few” ADRs and meals. I told you last week that I got Sanaa sorted for our first night (Day 2) there and I have done some more.
I didn’t book them in this order, but let’s go in the order we’ll do them on the trip.
Day 3 I have booked The Boathouse. It was strongly recommended to me by a regular reader/online friend (Thanks Matt) and a quick look around the internet sees many vloggers call it the best restaurant at Disney Springs, so we’re in.
Day 4, we plan to go and see Yeeha Bob at Port Orleans so we’ll probably just eat in the bar there before enjoying too many cocktails and some piano-based rowdy fun.
Day 5, (and this pledge to eat off-site isn’t going very well is it) I have booked Il Mulino at The Swan as a stomach liner before heading over to Jellyrolls. We’ve done this restaurant three times. Twice it has been outstanding and once it was just good, so we’re giving it another try.
Day 6 sees us head over to City Walk and I have booked us into The Hard Rock Cafe. We’ve been meaning to go back for about a decade. On a trip many years ago, with my Mum and Dad, we had a very memorable meal there that is one of our fondest memories of our trips. I remember the Nachos were insanely good (let’s face it, this trip is going to be a tour of the best Nachos in the Orlando area….we love a Nacho) and my Dad was blown away by the servers doing the Thriller dance routine. Anyway, for those mainly nostalgic reasons, we’re giving it a try again. It’s a Saturday so City Walk should be buzzing as we walk through it to the car park to go home to bed by 10pm!
Day 7 I have us penciled in for Romano’s Macaroni Grill at Lake Buena Vista. I always feel this place doesn’t get the love it deserves but it is one of our favourites.
Day 8, another absolute off-site fave, with us dining at The Cheesecake Factory. I think we’ve eaten here more than any other restaurant in recent visits. It really is outstanding.
Day 9 and we’re back to City Walk, for a second visit to Antojitos. We tried this Mexican for the first time in May and it was probably the best meal of our trip. Again, we do love a nacho so this should be no surprise.
Day 10, our last night and I have nothing planned just yet. I don’t know where to pick for our finale! I suspect it may be somewhere around the Boardwalk area as we do love the place and just being able to soak it in on our last night will be lovely.
Day 11 sees us come home and visit a heart and diet specialist as an emergency case.
All of this planning has been a welcome distraction (and isn’t that the whole point of these trips?) from the stressful reality of real life, which has been especially busy recently. Work is silly, and even involved working yesterday, in Cardiff! Life sometimes feels like you’re spending so much time doing stuff you’d rather not and in turn feeling guilty about all the stuff it stops you doing.
We’re having work done to the kitchen and you all know how much I love a workman in the house, alongside a very badly leaking roof timed perfectly for the worst rain we’ve seen in years. It’s made a right mess, as will the roofer’s quote to our finances, should he ever find time to relieve us of most of our earthly wealth. Nothing makes me more anxious/upset/depressed than a leaky roof. I can’t explain it, just hate water getting where it shouldn’t.
Anyway, I am holding off booking that last meal for our last evening as I am hopeful to perhaps find or have recommended that new fantastic, ideally off-site restaurant close to the Boardwalk. So, that is your mission this week. I await your suggestions!
As I fired up WordPress to write this week’s post, I instinctively reached for my trip report note-taking book. What do you mean you don’t have one of those?
For inexplicable reasons, I am currently using one bought on The Disney Wish for more money than I care to confess.
However, I find myself in the unusual position of not having any such notes to write from. We have been fortunate/irresponsible enough of late that I have had many trips to write up and having to go free form this week is all a bit alien.
I know many of you may be thinking I’ll be telling you about the next trip we have booked in this post. I’d hate to be so predictable.
Well, a few months ago we were discussing when we may get away again and the need for a short winter break somewhere warm. So yes, in November Louise and I are heading off for a 10-day sunshine break that will definitely not involve WDW parks!
It’s trickier than you might imagine finding somewhere to go that will be warm at that time of year that doesn’t involve a stupidly long flight for just 10 days away and doesn’t cost the earth.
Many hours were spent on the internet, researching and planning, dismissing the obvious Mediterranean spots as the temperatures were just too low and unreliable in November. The Caribbean was pricey, as of course were far-flung spots that we can only really dream of affording such as The Maldives.
Eventually, it looked like Egypt would be the winner and specifically Sharm El Sheik. I knew nothing about the place but gradually got to know the lay of the land and almost every detail of every hotel in our price range. I won’t admit to how much time I invested on Google Street View “wandering” the local area. Once you are a holiday-obsessed planner there is no turning back regardless of the destination. It seemed to have all we needed.
• Hot weather • All-inclusive resort • Some nightlife suitable for two tired 50-somethings
Louise would have liked to see the Pyramids but we quickly discovered they were a 5-hour drive away!
A hotel was pretty much decided upon and much time was spent obsessing over the reviews and the 1% of them that were not great, naturally ignoring the 99% that were.
This is the thing when going somewhere unfamiliar, especially on All Inclusive, as if something isn’t right you are stuck there for the duration. Due to this uncertainty, my finger continued to hover over the “Book” button rather than commit, terrified of throwing a chunk of cash at something we may have to endure rather than enjoy.
Anyway, Louise and I chatted and we went ahead and booked.
We’ll be arriving in Florida on November 13th.
Look, it was Louise’s fault. We discussed the Egypt thing and the risk of it being not all we may wish for, especially the food and potentially getting bored of the same menu every night and having to go out and eat in unknown places. At this point, Louise suggested Las Vegas, and that was the slippery slope to Florida as we were already in the right country at that point. Vegas was too far, and too expensive for what was a short winter break and that led me to pitch the idea of Florida. I wouldn’t class myself as a natural salesperson, although, inexplicably, I did support the family as one many years ago. The pitching was not too arduous before agreement was reached.
Bear with me. What we wanted was nice weather, great food, and guaranteed quality of resort and restaurants. We had no need (or real desire to be honest) to venture near any theme parks, we could just sit by a pool and then at night choose from limitless eateries, many of which we knew would be excellent. There is also suitable nightlife for us in the shape of Jellyrolls, Yeeha Bob, City Walk, Disney Springs, etc and we know where everything is. It took all the risk and worry out of what is intended to be a relaxing respite from the winter back home.
See, it made perfect sense.
Cost-wise, it would be no different from the Egypt option we were looking at. It is out of any school holiday period which keeps costs down and cheapo flights are booked in Economy with Aer Lingus. A sensible car, (and car hire prices seem to be settling finally as we got a Compact SUV for £380 for 10 days), and hotel-wise we have been very practical and pragmatic, avoiding Disney resorts despite our love of all things Yacht and Beach Club.
After a decent amount of research, I decided on the Drury Plaza Hotel near Disney Springs.
This was for a few reasons.
• Location – We can walk to Disney Springs and it is central to anywhere we may want to drive to. • Price – It was very reasonable, especially as the price has no add-ons like resort fees and your room cost includes a free buffet breakfast and a form of happy hour in the evening where you get three free drinks per guest and some complimentary food (I suspect we won’t use the latter too much). • Reviews – Almost all good across the board and the place is pretty new so everything should be in good condition.
So I apologise for the predictability of this post. We really did try to go somewhere else, honest! I can honestly say I have no desire to go to a WDW park on this trip. However, should we encounter a chillier day or two and not be able to sunbathe by the pool, we may go to Bush Gardens for the first time in years or even Sea World, who knows, but they don’t count!
With perfect timing for this week’s post, our ADR window opened last week and I have booked our first at Sanaa on the evening of our first full day. There is no distance too great for that bread service.
There won’t be too many ADRs made as we love so many off-site places, but we may try a few new eateries at Disney Springs with it being walkable from our hotel. If anyone has any “must-dos” there I’m all ears.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Well, this weather was showing no signs of improving. Inexplicably I was awake at 6. Mind you, with the bar closing at 10 we did get an early night.
I rested and pottered for quite sometime before the need for breakfast became too hard to resist. Louise couldn’t be arsed getting up (she hadn’t slept very well at all) so Mum and I went down to Constant Grind again.
We Facetimed Emily back home over our usuals of Granola, toast and today a Danish for me, as what is breakfast without cake, before we headed out to the pool area. The forecast was pretty grim.
It was not a struggle to find beds by the pool with the weather how it was.
Weather for ducks indeed.
It was so windy that umbrellas were not permitted to be erect.
Louise joined us and as Mum nipped back up to her room to get something we chatted and quickly decided that an early return to Orlando may be in order. This was our last day/night in Daytona but there seemed little point if the beach and pool were not going to be enjoyable.
We consulted Mum who didn’t mind either way, and after deciding at 10.30, we were packed, checked out and in the car by 11.30.
As if to confirm our decision was correct, the drive “home” was a wet one. I kept it simple and stuck to the I4 all the way and it was painless enough apart from a slight delay around downtown Orlando.
Our time in Daytona had not been what we had hoped. Much of it had been enjoyable, the hotel was absolutely fine, the time we were able to enjoy the sun was very welcome and the baseball is always a treat, but ultimately I think we were all a little disappointed. The weather played a large part in that of course but beyond that, our impression of Daytona this time was that it was a resort in decline. It was very quiet almost everywhere and outside of the handful of very nice hotels along the beach, it was, to be frank quite run down and in places felt a little unsafe. I don’t think we would return.
Having left the villa a few days ago, assuming we would never return, we had stripped our beds and left all the sheets for Rebecca to wash when they checked out in the utility room. That had, in light of current events been a poor decision, as we now needed to wash and dry them before putting them back on our bed for tonight.
So we got to the villa, stuck a wash on and then went out for some lunch. Rebecca, Tom and the boys were out at Epcot.
Wanting the closest possible eatery we chose the little cafe thing at the clubhouse on the villa development, called Tu Casa. We were a little gutted we had not found the clubhouse before now. The boys would have loved the pool and its slides.
We ordered –
Louise – Nachos (of course)
Mum – Caesar Wrap
Me – Loaded Fries
Once we were done we drove back to the villa, shoved the sheets in the dryer ad set off for Epcot, parking in Crush 205.
We walked in due to another complete absence of trams.
It was nice to be back for an unexpected bonus park half day.
We did Spaceship Earth immediately having let Rebecca know where we were.
This was a source of immense pride.
They were riding Journey Into Imagination so after our ride we walked over there to meet them. Once they appeared we spent a little while watching the boys enjoy the fountains.
And experienced a large Pooh.
We noticed Soarin’ at just 25 minutes on the app (we were Genie+ less of course today) so we headed there and joined the queue. Louise sat out with Dougie.
As we left the ride, it was timed perfectly for Rebecca, Tom and the boys to check in for their ADR at Garden Grill at 5.55 so we left them to it.
We walked up to World Showcase for a wander and started at Canada.
Mum sat out in the sun whilst Louise and I enjoyed the show and of course the song especially.
As we continued through the UK, I had to restroom and all I will say is that it was Florida’s problem now. Into France and I tried to lead us up to the bakery but Louise insisted that we eat proper food instead so I was denied.
We ended up in the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco, I think for the first time ever and had some lamb kebabs and Hummus (nobody knows how to spell Hummus). It was absolutely delicious. It was so tasty I almost whipped my phone out and booked us a holiday there.
Having ticked the “proper food” box, I led us astray at the Funnel Cake stand in America.
It was awesome.
That was one of the two we shared.
We had a message from Rebecca that we were done eating and had a virtual queue return time about now for Guardians. I walked down to meet them to collect Dougie so they didn’t have to baby swap. That would have worked off all the funnel cake I am sure.
We continued our journey through the countries, including a ride in Mexico.
And some trolling in Norway.
It was now that lovely dusky time around World Showcase.
And soon it was dark….
I got us some frozen Margaritas from Mexico for the watching of fireworks and we took up a position opposite the America Pavillion with our backs to Spaceship Earth ready for a quick-ish getaway.
Mum wandered off into the nearby shop to look at stuff at 8.55, falling foul of the “we close the shops bang on 9pm” rule and getting herself locked in and missing the start of the fireworks!
Epcot Forever seemed better than the last time we saw it, somehow, unlike my photography. It’s still no Reflections of Earth.
We started our final exit from Disney for this trip with all the usual emotions and feelings. It had been quite some years since we had done the slow walk out to the main entrance as we always tend to find a way to be able to go via International Gateway.
Many of the emotions I feel at this time are based on never assuming we will return. You never know. Now, based on our track record, that’s unlikely but I reserve the right to feel all melancholy if I want to.
It was a long old walk back to the car and as if to reinforce the return to reality from the Disney bubble we stopped at the 7-11 to get some bin bags.
Now we are in the rinse and repeat of beach days, so the content may not be the most original. Yeah, OK, not a situation unique to beach days, I hear you.
It was a civilised start again, with Mum and I venturing down to Constant Grind for breakfast around 9.30. Louise stayed in bed, frankly, sulking at the crap weather which was playing havoc with her very highly desired time at the beach.
Mum had Toast and Jam again, but in her mid-eighties she sampled Granola and Yoghurt for the first time and she’s been eating it for breakfast ever since. It’s never too late I suppose.
I also had Granola and another large muffin. I just don’t understand why I keep putting weight on!?
The forecast today was for showers but we took our place by the pool like the optimistic milky white things we were. We picked some beds overlooking the beach.
We looked at that for some time whilst lying down.
Louise joined us with her breakfast and she did the same. You can’t beat trip report content like this.
Louise and I ventured into the pool at some point and Mum took herself off for a wander down the beach.
At some point in the afternoon, there was a need for a snack. It will astound you to discover that I over-ordered magnificently. I flagged down the wandering waitress and ordered 2 x Mozzarella Stick Portions (just that would have been sufficient for our needs) but like the tub-shaped buffoon I am, we also got a Chicken Sandwich. Everything was huge of course and it took some effort to get the majority of it eaten despite not really wanting to.
There was then more lying down.
At around 4pm all that lying down had caused me a numb bum and I went for a walk up the beach to get rid. I walked all the way up to the Hilton hotel, and surely all that exercise would have burned off all the crap I’d eaten and would eat for the rest of the trip. Right?
There’s something lovely about a beach walk though. On the way back I was walking into a force ten head-wind which made the return feel like running a marathon. It may amaze you to learn that I have never run a marathon, so that is an assumption.
I flopped, exhausted, back onto my sun lounger and rested a while before returning to our room at 5.30 to get ready to go and get some more food. Showers were had and Louise and I managed to squeeze in a Breaking Bad (not a euphemism) before meeting Mum in the lobby.
We left at 8 and had chosen to drive out to Applebees.
Due to them being crap for Vegetarians, it had been some time since we visited one, for which we will be resentful of Emily for all time.
We arrived to find another place in Daytona spookily empty. We were of course immediately seated. Inexplicably they had a DJ/Karaoke on who was setting up as we ordered.
We had Pretzel Dippers to start.
I had Steak & Shrimp, heavily featuring the broccoli in the photo
Mum had Riblets, whatever a Riblet is.
Louise had steak
It was all very nice.
We finished off by sharing some Donut Dippers.
With a few wines and a good tip, it was a very acceptable $125.
We left, mercifully, just as the karaoke was starting. I’m sure the four other people in the place were about to rock out in fine style.
With no change on hand to tip the valet driver back at the hotel (I do worry about and pre-plan these things) we stopped off at a gas station nearby. It felt like we were in Beirut. The whole front of the place was boarded up and we were pretty sure there was some sort of drug deal going down on the forecourt. Pre-payment for fuel was of course insisted upon and inside some character from Trainspotting was playing the coin drop machine. I have felt more safe it has to be said.
To top it off the owner had a glass eye. I am not making any of this up.
I was very relieved to get back in the car and back to the artificial bubble of our hotel.
Needing a drink after the gas station experience we went to the hotel bar. It was 10.05 and it had closed at 10pm. Yes, the Hard Rock Hotel apparently did not rock at all post-10 pm.
After our crazy night of drinking and watching men play with their balls, we understandably had a later start. It was a decadent 9.30 before we were down for breakfast. The weather, which was quickly becoming an obsession, was forecast to be crap but looked OK for now.
We decided to have a sit-down breakfast at Sessions and even made the crazy decision to sit outside. We ordered coffee and juices and looked over the menu before choosing –
Mum – French Toast
Louise – Eggs Benedict
I went all hipster artisanal and had Avo & Eggs on Toast
The weather, seeing that we had plans to be outside today, did this.
We had to drag our table further undercover to finish eating in a dry state. Rather than obsess over the My Disney Experience app, I was now constantly checking the weather one. It looked, to be blunt, shite for the rest of the day.
We finished eating, paid the $90 including tip bill and went back up to our rooms. I’d arranged to pick up our hire car today at 12 and arranged for a Lyft to take me there. After hanging around the room for a bit, watching the weather not get better, I headed down to reception and got picked up by my driver. That sounds more showbiz than it was.
It was a delightfully silent ten-minute drive to Enterprise in, let’s be honest, a less glamorous part of Daytona, but we were getting the idea that aside from a few posh-ish hotels on the beach, much of it was.
Enterprise was a hut in a car park and I waited to be served as the staff undertook daylight robbery of all the customers in front of me. I was not looking forward to this.
I was eventually served and he vaguely pointed at some red car in the far distance, behind the rain-streaked window and asked if that would be OK. It could have been a Ford Kia or a Bentley, the visibility was that bad, and I initially said OK.
As he went to seek out the keys, I wandered up to the window and looked out at a car that was smaller than some things that have left my backside after a heavy meal. I think it was a Matiz.
I informed him that he was taking the piss and having booked an Intermediate vehicle I wanted something I couldn’t fit in my pocket. He inspected his inventory, which was basically him rifling through sets of keys in a drawer and offered me a sizeable Nissan thing. I think it was a Rogue. That was much more like it.
I left Dodge City, still a homeowner, and drove back to the hotel, fairly pleased with the car which turned out to be a lovely drive and certainly roomy enough for the three of us. Bearing in mind the horror show upon arrival at the airport I had extended this booking till the end of the holiday so that we would have two cars to get us back to MCO.
It had been decided that, in light of the rain, we would go to a mall. Super. So I picked up Louise and Mum and headed straight out to Volusia Mall. It was about a ten-minute drive.
Granted this was a wet Wednesday, but the whole place had a definite Walking Dead vibe to it. It was as if there had been an apocalyptic event in the early 2000s and the whole place had been deserted and preserved in that state. The sight of shops such as Lids and Hot Topic kicked off large amounts of nostalgia.
Louise had to undertake her mid-holiday ritual of buying new trainers because whatever shoes she had brought with her, assuring everyone they would be fine, were not, resulting in her wearing flip-flops around the parks and then almost becoming lame.
We stopped in the US arm of JD Sports and gave them their one sale that week. Whilst Louise selected the shoes that would never touch her feet again once back home, I walked the entire length of the mall in search of a wee, only to spot a restroom ten yards the other way when returning to the shop.
We wandered around, unbothered by fellow humans, buying the odd thing here and there. We popped into Hot Topic, mainly for nostalgic vibes, but ended up buying Emily a couple of T-Shirts. (Upon getting home, being the very cool Dad I am, I had indeed chosen/guessed at the perfect band T-shirts).
Mum got some joggers (pants, not athletes) and I got a tub of Cinnamon Pretzel things from Aunt Annie’s. They were awesome.
We left once we’d done a full loop, and I thought I’d take a photo of our new car to share with you all.
Some of the sharper amongst you will have noticed what I did not. That isn’t a Nissan, wasn’t our car and I had been taking photos of some random car.
Once I was next to the relevant car, I captured it.
I’ll be honest, I took a lot of photos like this, half expecting to be hit with a load of damage charges at drop-off from Jessie James and Dick Turpin at Enterprise. It had not been a good trip in relation to the hire car experience.
You will be wondering why we had not been to a CVS in some time, so we remedied that next and had a wander up and down a very weird row of shops opposite the baseball ground.
Let’s call them eclectic. And mostly closed.
We drove back to the hotel and the rain was clearing, so we headed down to the pool.
We got about two hours of lying in the sun before heading up to change for dinner around 6.30.
In what research I had found time to do pre-trip, I had identified some eateries we might try and had planned Sloppy Joe’s for this evening. We drove down to the area around the Hilton hotel, where we have stayed previously and parked up in the multi-storey opposite. There’s a walkway over the road, across to the shops and restaurants.
I was expecting a sort of independent version of “TGI Fridays”, but Sloppy Joe’s was a bit more “FFS It’s Monday”. It was empty but so was much of Daytona it seemed and not the most plush eatery you might imagine. Undeterred, although Mum was not too keen on the place, we ordered the obligatory Nachos to start.
The place may not have been much to look at, but the Chilli on those Nachos and on my Sliders was one of the tastiest we have ever had.
Mum had a burger
Louise had Blackened Chicken Fettucine Alfredo.
We felt a little rushed by the staff, no doubt as we were the only ones in and as soon as we were done we saw them all bolt for the exit. The bill was $120 including a 20% tip and we headed back to the car.
We could not do two crazy nights in a row, so instead we watched an episode of Breaking Bad in bed (we were repeat-watching it many years after the first time) and were asleep around 11pm.
I slept in until a crazy 7.30am, had some breakfast and then started to pack for our move to Daytona. It was nice not to have to worry about Genie+ and LLs at 7am.
Everyone was going to Daytona today, but only me, Louise and Mum would be leaving the villa for good. Rebecca, Tom and the boys would be returning in a couple of days.
So packing the car wasn’t as stressful as it had been at the airport with fewer cases and we were off around 10.30. Annoyingly the weather was forecast to be a bit shit, but we had little choice but to press on with our beach plans as best we could.
It was a painless drive, with the sat nav taking us down the 429, which apparently saved us 8 minutes! About half an hour out from the hotel Freddie needed a poo so a pit stop was required. With no real clue where we were, I had to just come off at the next exit and hope there would be somewhere suitable very quickly as he could not wait very long.
We quickly found a gas station, so whilst Tom took Freddie to be emptied, I filled up with gas and Tom returned with a much happier Freddie and some snacks. Off we went, and as we entered Deltona, the rain came. The skies were depressingly grey and it didn’t seem that there would be much chance of pool time today. With that in mind, we were in no rush to get to the hotel and we stopped off for lunch at an Outback on the outskirts of Daytona.
It wasn’t busy (much like almost all of Daytona, as we would discover) and we were quickly seated and ordering –
Rebecca – Chicken Caesar Salad
Tom – Steak and Chicken
With my beach body in mind, I had the Aussie Cobb Salad
Louise – Bloomin’ Burger
Freddie – Steak from the KId’s menu
Mum – Burger
It was all very nice and the bill was $125.
With the weather still a bit drizzly and grey we undertook the short last leg of the journey to the Hard Rock Hotel at Daytona.
Mum’s room wasn’t ready which was a bit of a pain, so she came up to ours as we started to unpack. After a while, I went for a wander and called in at reception to ask if the room was ready and indeed it was not.
So we all went to explore the surroundings, having a sit by the pool and then walking down to the beach.
To be fair, it was warmer than it looks in that photo.
The braver youngsters had a swim.
and a paddle…
The kids loved it but I felt a bit unsettled due to the lack of room for Mum and the weather not being great. My persecution complex was in full swing, noting how the weather had been hotter than the sun for days and now as we moved into our weather-dependent part of the trip, it was bobbins. Well, not great anyway.
In an attempt to get into the swing of things I got a round of cocktails from the bar and a beer for me and we sat in the blustery but not cold conditions by the pool. Is it me or are all US bartenders a bit surly? They seem to look at me as if I am something unwelcome they discovered on their shoe and react with disdain at anything I order. Maybe the accent suggests they aren’t going to get tipped?
The rain came again so we retreated to our rooms (Mum’s now being ready) and rested for a bit before dinner. I had vague plans for us to head out somewhere to eat but the weather was crap, with torrential rain happening as we looked out of the front doors of the lobby and the kids were tired, so we opted to eat in the hotel instead. We were immediately seated in the Sessions restaurant and served by the excellent Fabian.
Freddie had Corn Dog
Tom started with Chicken Wings
Me and Mum shared Onion Rings
Louise and Rebecca both had blurry Mozzarella Sticks
I had Pasta for my Entree…
Tom. Mum and Rebecca all had the burger.
Louise, a Caesar salad
A very nice meal, if not spectacular. The bill was $285.
The kids needed bed immediately so they said goodnight and Louise, Mum and I stayed and settled up and were then not far behind them, getting to bed at a very Rock n Roll 9.30.
When first-timers ask for advice on going to Florida, those of us who have been a few times will offer many different tips, but I think the most common recommendation I see given is, don’t try to do it all, and take some rest days. This was, is and always will be good advice.
These holidays can be tiring. The long-haul flight, the heat and the walking are a lot. It’s understandable that first-timers want to book everything, do every park and fill every day, but down that road, unhappiness lies.
This is all just a preamble to justify us having another rest morning. Yes, we were tired but we also wanted to make it all the way to the fireworks tonight as it would be the last day in the parks for Me, Louise and Mum this trip and for Mum maybe ever.
Sadly I missed the 7am virtual queue window due to actually getting some sleep and waking at 7.15. How foolish of me to do so when on holiday and Disney is absolutely correct to enforce a pre-7am wake-up on your holidays. Whilst others played in the pool there was an episode in our bathroom that was more biblical event than ablution. I felt both worse and better for it in equal measure.
After pool time, thoughts turned to it being food time and we opted for a good old-fashioned Dennys breakfast. This place has been a staple of our visits since I first went in 1980. We trusted Google Maps to guide us to one and we ended up at Lake Magic.
Being a Sunday it was busy and we waited about fifteen minutes for a table. Other smaller parties were seated more quickly.
I had a Grand Slamwich.
Louise had a South West Eggs Benedict
Tenders for Freddie
Rebecca, Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Tom had a Crepe, which was brave in a public restroom.
Mum had a French Toast Slam. You can see I just told her off for thinking about touching her food before I had taken the photo.
Our server was delightful. So with a very good tip all that was $137. It was now 1pm and we were off to Magic Kingdom. I had to amend the first LL I had made earlier as we were behind schedule!
We parked in Scar 423 and got a tram in. We were lucky enough to get on a tram that was pretty full and therefore was just about to depart. However, we sat there for ten minutes (there is zero exaggeration in that number) as a guest couldn’t collapse their stroller and despite endless requests from the Cast Member at the back of the tram, would not stop trying and move away behind the yellow line. Finally, he managed it and everyone was so happy for him, honest.
Rebecca delayed us further with a wee at the TTC.
We monorailed…
and made it into Magic Kingdom.
On our way up Main Street, we took advantage of Photopass, which we hardly ever do. I was mindful that this may be Mum’s last time at MK and wanted to record the moment despite all of our aversions to being photographed.
We won’t be doing that again in a hurry.
Our first LL was Small World and we caught the end of a show as we passed the castle.
As we made our way to the ride, I spotted some work underway around the castle so felt the need to capture it.
Our first ride of the day happened…
Next, we headed to Big Thunder for the LL I had booked whilst everyone else wasn’t having to worry about stuff like that. It was a hot walk and we broke it up by watching some of the passing parade.
Freddie, Tom, Rebecca and I rode Big Thunder.
Look, after all these years I need to try and find new things to take photos of ok?
It was now time for our no-expense spared ride on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Louise and I watched Dougie whilst everyone else rode. Tom’s pose was intentional, Mum’s not so much.
Around this time I got a text to tell me that an ECV had become available for Mum. So that Louise and I could ride, Tom “volunteered” to walk back to the entrance to pick it up. As you can see he had a whale of a time riding it back.
Space Mountain now for those brave enough to ride it. I got allocated the back seat in the rocket and noticed a considerable difference in comfort levels compared to the front. It was almost tolerable. As we exited I made a LL for Buzz. Today, all the Genie+ LLs were pretty much available for “now”. The park wasn’t that busy and maybe Genie+ could have been avoided, but again, this was a last-day situation so maximising our ride activity was good. Before we went onto Buzz, the boys met him.
That took a while and by the time they were done, I had to change the LL for the ride, but again, it was immediately available. I rode with Freddie and somehow he got 112,000.
Next, we wandered over to Jungle Cruise. I had booked this LL at 8am this morning. If ever a ride’s popularity was inexplicable. I guess it’s more the slow loading of this one that causes the wait times. Tom didn’t ride, instead, he took Dougie off for a walk to get him to sleep.
We don’t ride this one very often so I did chuckle at the jokes a fair bit.
Another immediate LL for Pirates was secured.
Louise stayed off with the now-sleeping Douigie.
Having no ADR booked for dinner and wanting to stay in the park for fireworks I scanned the app for options. Pickings were slim and we ended up with The Liberty Tree Tavern. It has been many decades since we dined there and expectations were not that high.
We did Philharmagic first. I sat out with Dougie.
Upon arriving at the restaurant we were seated as soon as those weak bladdered amongst us had restroomed.
Freddie took up the camera.
It was a set menu which saved us from choosing and meant the food arrived quickly. It was a salad and bread to start then a Thanksgiving dinner. We ended with Ooey Gooey pudding and the whole thing was a lot better than we had expected. We all really enjoyed it.
The bill was an “on-site, theme park eatery” level of $312.
We left and made our way down to Main Street, stopping off in the Christmas Shop.
We took up our usual spot here…
Happily Ever After started at 9.20.
All I will say is that there were lots of tears by the end of it. This was a special place for my Dad and everyone was affected by watching the fireworks and especially the music of course. I miss him.
We left via the normal monorail and caught a tram back to the car. It was a quiet drive home.
We were still waking early. Tom and Freddie were in the pool again at 6.30 making good use of the various inflatables we bought last night. Tiredness is just a state of mind, so I was up and ready to go and do a twelve-hour park day, but I could sense others feeling it a bit.
I suggested we abandon the plan for today, no matter the many hours I had spent pre-trip putting it all together. Ultimately, the consensus was that we would do half a day at Animal Kingdom and spend the morning recharging the batteries.
I went onto the app and got a LL for Flights Of Passage for late afternoon and booked us Genie+ to lessen the impact of our late arrival. We were rested, ready and out by 11.30. After a brief drive, via Sherberth Road and that dodgy U-Turn to the car park and we left the car in Butterfly 119 and were delighted to take our first tram of the holiday.
Tom had to walk it to the park as Dougie had fallen asleep and Tom didn’t want to take him out of the stroller to collapse it for the tram. He got there first.
At this late hour, there were no ECVs left for Mum but Freddie got a stroller again. We went on the wait list but were never contacted today.
We watched Divine for a little while…
before making our way in.
I had secured us Everest as our first LL whilst back at the villa and had booked Mum on too so she had little choice but to ride. Rebecca, Tom, Freddie and Mum rode first whilst Louise and I watched a sleeping Dougie.
Mum’s face upon their return suggested she was in no rush to do it again, but Freddie and Tom joined the standby which was only about twenty minutes whilst Louise and I rode via LL. We were front row baby.
One of the best rides on property and always a good way to start your day no matter what time you get to the park. You can’t beat a good old shot of adrenaline to wash away the lingering jet lag and theme park-induced weariness.
Dougie had woken up by now. As you can perhaps spot, it was incredibly hot.
Having got a grand total of one ride under our belts, clearly, it was time to eat. To be fair we had all eaten breakfast at some stupid early hour.
As we made our inevitable journey to the Yak and Yeti quick service, I booked us onto the Safari at 1.25. We undertook some effort, moving once, to secure a table in the shade. The heat today was incredible.
Rather than list out what we all had, it looked like this and cost $115.
Look, more salads!
We walked straight over to our Safari booking now, worked out the overly complex system for stroller parking and made it to the front in a few minutes. There was then some delay that we couldn’t fathom but nothing moved for a good ten minutes.
Freddie demonstrated the expected levels of patience for a five-year-old.
We waited so long that Mum had to make an exit for a loo visit that would wait no longer. Eventually, we were on.
Louise and I had a row to ourselves, which was handy as the family in front of us had some serious body odour issues going on so I slid to the other end of the row.
I of course took my usual array of magnificent photos. I shall let you marvel at them mostly uninterrupted by words.
Which one is called Neal?
The heat kept many animals hidden as expected at this time of day.
But these Rhinos were being very familiar.
There was no camera zoom involved here.
Obviously, the truck stopped with them being so close, which is why you are getting endless Rhino photos.
As we left the ride and picked up the stroller, restrooms, drinks, ice cream and shade were needed.
I had planned to get us into It’s Tough To Be A Bug before the next Lion King show, but with all our restrooming and snacking there was no time.
We had LL so we got pretty decent seats. Spot the member of our group who had a nap.
Dougie had clearly seen the standard of my safari photography and wanted no part of it.
I somehow resisted the urge to video the show. I have done so countless times, but the quality is so high I feel it is a waste not to. You were spared a Facebook live.
Freddie hadn’t been sold on the idea of watching a show before we went in, as it was not a “fast ride” but he loved it, clapping along and singing.
I’d secured a LL for the Navi River ride just before our FOP one so we just had a little time to kill before both of those. Not that we were hot and tired today, but we stopped for another drink and a sit-down.
We all had one of those fancy Slush things, with Louise opting for the one with alcohol.
Despite what it looks like, Freddie didn’t have the one with alcohol!
He was obsessed with the poppable things on top.
Off we went to ride the river. Everybody rode.
The Russell Brand animatronic at the end needs work.
Finally, it was time for Flights Of Passage and Freddie was excited.
We were on within about ten minutes, or at least into all the pre-ride pre-amble. It was great as ever, but Freddie’s 3D glasses kept slipping off so Louise and I, on either side of him, spent a good deal of time putting them back on and trying to hold them in place for him. They could do with different-sized ones for smaller flyers.
It was 6.20 now and we needed to head out of the park and head over to our booking at the Cheesecake Factory. Booking ahead is almost always wise as the wait without a booking was horrible.
First, the bread service. I am a big fan of bread. I just felt it important to let you know. Any restaurant that starts my meal with warm bread and butter is going to have to do a lot wrong after that for me not to return.
Louise and I of course shared the Nachos as our Entree. In recent trips, we have declared the Nachos here the best ever. Tonight’s were not. They were still very, very good and were cleared without any struggle but we hoped this was an one-off blip and when (if!) we ever return to Florida we shall of course give them the chance to redeem themselves.
Tom had Steak Tacos.
Mum had a Turkey Sandwich.
Rebecca, a salad. It only had 2,000 calories in it according to the menu.
Freddie had Spaghetti and Meatballs and Dougie, some Pasta.
Tom had two milkshakes, but to be fair that was because Dougie had most of the first. Dougie then proceeded to entertain the tables around us by smiling and waving at everybody for a bit. Chocolate milkshakes have that effect on most people.
We forced ourselves to order cheesecakes and not that it gave us a complex or anything, but the waiter sounded amazed when we said they were to eat now and not to take home.
I think my safari photos were better!
With wines for Louise, the bill was $300 with a good tip.
Dangerously full, we ambled out to the car and I struggled to operate it without regularly sighing and telling everyone how full I was. Forget your turning water into wine. The biggest miracle on God’s earth is performed by fat gets like me, by being hungry again by the next morning, despite fearing and hoping for imminent death to put me out of the misery of my gluttony.
We were in bed by 10. CVS called to make sure we were OK and I reassured them that we would no doubt see them very soon.
What do you mean we are creatures of habit and we nearly always do the parks in the order in which they were built? Surely everyone does that? As law dictates then, it would be Epcot today, but first, we had to wake up early and prepare some fine dining options for breakfast in the form of bagels, cereal and toast, as suited to everyone’s desires.
Yes, technically, yesterday we went to Hollywood Studios, but that was a tactical insertion just to see Fantasmic and does not count as a proper theme park day!
At 7am, I went to work on the app and secured Genie+, a LL for Ratatouille and a boarding group for Guardians. I regularly have less productive 8-hour days at work.
Tom drove again and got us safely to the Rocket area of Epcot’s car park, which was a new one to me. It left us with a long walk in and both Mum and Freddie got ambulatory aides today in the form of an ECV and a stroller.
We were headed for Soarin’ first and it was a walk-on, once we had parked up all our vehicles and decided on a sitter for Dougie, which this time was Louise.
Mum rode this one as it is her absolute favourite ride in WDW. Once we had collected all the vehicles and Louise and Dougie, we moved on to Journey Into Imagination.
It’s an odd day when you queue longer for this than Soarin’. Everybody rode.
It was 11.30 now and as Rebecca and Tom hadn’t had time for breakfast whilst getting the boys up and ready, they were in need of food now, so we opted for an early lunch. We decided to head to the new Creations place.
Epcot was looking very nice…
I found Mum a decent spot to park up her ride and waited whilst she did. It was up against one of the large windows of Creations, and the souls of the family eating on the other side of it almost left their bodies as Mum hit that window at full speed. She was still getting used to it, it is fair to say. Once inside, we found and dragged together a couple of tables and mobile ordered. It was burgers, chicken sandwiches and pizza for most and a salad for the odd folks.
Dougie, looking ready for a nap, had some milk.
I was one of the odd folks, with this “salad”.
It all came to about $120.
After lunch, Rebecca and Tom got a Joffreys coffee and a doughnut.
It was now time for our LL for Ratatouille so we had a long old walk up to France. It was incredibly hot which helped.
Once we finally arrived, Louise stayed off with Dougie whilst we rode. It was a first ride for Rebecca, Tom and Freddie and my second. A clever ride and a great addition to World Showcase. I just wish it had been closer to Future World today as we now had to walk all the way back down there.
At a kiosk along the way, Louise and Tom got themselves an alcoholic drink, which was strong enough to put us all in bed.
Mainly to benefit from the AC, we made a stop in the Creations shop, which, I’m afraid will never be as iconic as Mousegear. Still, it has some good stuff in it, and Freddie was treated to some awesomely expensive plastic tat.
Mum bought some Crocs and on the way to the till, almost killed a small child who crossed the path of her death machine at the wrong moment.
Enough shopping now and time for Mission Space and some idiot let Freddie choose which side to go for. It was of course Orange, whereas, after my salad, my vomit would be green.
Louise once again chose the sun over the ride and sat out with Mum, who still hasn’t forgiven me for getting her on Mission Space about a decade ago. She still feels queasy she says.
We had a LL but there was no standby queue to speak of.
As we emerged, with me feeling surprisingly OK, we found Dougie in the splash pad. Louise and Mum were there too. He had not been abandoned.
As you can see, he loved it. Freddie joined him for a bit.
Due to the incredible heat and being burned, amazingly from being exposed to the sun at every opportunity, Louise had stolen my cap. As a man with little protection in that area, I cannot afford to be capless for long so I wandered off to get myself a new one and whilst I was there I got Freddie a pair of Crocs to replace his now very wet trainers.
Next over to the Seas. Another walk-on for the Nemo ride.
We started to have a look around the Manatees and the various tanks…
I was fending off typical Freddie questions like “Why are there Manatees?”…he meant in the world, not so much the tank in front of us, when I was relieved to get a notification that our Guardians boarding group was called.
Another crossing of the park was made all the harder by the continued work in the middle of the park and we encountered about a half an hour wait to ride.
It is still awesome and I would say, this is the best ride on property. Again, a first for Rebecca, Tom and Freddie and they were all blown away by it. Our music this time was Tears for Fears.
Checking in on Mum and Dougie as we passed, we went straight onto Test Track for which I had secured a LL earlier.
This was Freddie’s car.
Louise and I did not manage to build one as our screen froze as my design skills clearly blew its mind. A ride enjoyed by all but especially Freddie and of course on the way out we stood beside some cars.
Dougie had fallen asleep whilst we rode, so we decided against doing Spaceship Earth on the way out of the park, which was where we were headed now. We dropped off the stroller and ECV and endured the long walk back to the car.
For tea tonight we were taking everyone to Ford’s Garage as Louise, Emily and I had enjoyed it on our last trip in January. We were seated immediately out on the patio. Freddie had some time with the camera.
Louise and Mum, not being overly hungry, just ordered the kettle chips.
Tom had a Chipotle Chicken Sandwich and Freddie a Cheeseburger with Tots
I, eventually, had Nachos. I think they forgot them to be honest and I had to wait a good ten minutes after everyone else got their food. They were worth the wait. Yes, they were large but I did only have that “light salad” for lunch remember.
Rebecca had an un-photographed Chicken Nachos.
Freddie went back to the camera.
The bill was….
On the way home we called in at Publix to get some pool toys and some “bits” that we needed. On one of these trips, at some point, we may be able to go a full day without the need for medial supplies or supermarket bits. We were back at the villa and in bed before 10pm.
Many years ago, we adopted a strategy of always having some rest planned for this day during a trip. After the mammoth effort of getting across the Atlantic, an early start the next day due to the time difference and a full-ish theme park day, by about now, it’s all catching up and attempting another theme park day can lead to unpleasantness.
Oh, yes, and I remembered after posting Day Two that I left out a celeb-spotting event. As we were leaving Big Thunder on one of the times we rode it, as we walked down the hill back past the entrance, walking up towards the exit I noticed a young girl and thought, “She looked a bit like Millie Bobby Brown”. Once we had all got back to Louise and Mum who had been waiting for us, Rebecca said “Did you see Millie Bobby Brown just then?”. Look, I know nothing will ever surpass my Mum and Dad chatting to Kevin Webster in Epcot but I thought it noteworthy.
There was nothing on her social media to confirm she was in Disney that day, but we did see Jon Bon Jovi on Instagram, posing in front of the Universal ball a few days later, so we assumed some sort of Bon Jovi family outing was going on. For those who don’t know or care, his son is engaged to Millie Bobby Brown, and for those who don’t have a clue who she is, her dad was married to Whitney Houston.
So without the pressure of having to be up to book anything I had a long lie-in, till about 5.45am. We breakfasted and then like Hobbits, went out for a second breakfast once Rebecca had suggested we go somewhere around 7.30. Freddie and Tom had been in the pool since about 6am, so they had that post-swimming hunger that only a vending machine kit kat and hot chocolate could satisfy when I was a kid.
Once we were all fit to venture outside, a momentous thing happened. I handed Tom the keys to the Kia and told him he’d be driving us this morning. This would be his first time. I thought it best he got used to it before having to drive back from Daytona later in the trip.
Here he is about to reverse off the drive, secretly thinking why is this idiot taking photos of me.
I had selected First Watch as our destination, as we had never done it and it often gets favourable mentions for breakfasts. The sat nav was set and it took us off down some back country roads that I had never seen in 40+ years of visiting Orlando. To his credit, Tom managed the wrong side of the road plus the twisty-turny nature of the journey very well. It was surprisingly rural being so close to lots of villa communities and there were many incredibly large houses.
It was all very delicious and much better than the first breakfast I had that day. With juices and coffees all round, it was $125 including a good tip.
It had been many hours since we had seen the inside of a pharmacy so off we went across the road, with Tom still piloting, to get whatever it was we apparently needed. Another $75 CVS have had off me.
On the drive home, I captured some of the country road I was talking about earlier.
Yes, Tom was driving, don’t worry.
Back at the villa we had some pool time for a few hours.
We all swam, read, relaxed and just chilled out a bit until about 2.30. Yes, there were plans to be adhered to. You don’t think I would allow a full rest day, do you??
I had booked a Fantasmic Dinner Package at the 50’s Prime Time. We were out by 3.15 with Tom navigating us to a park for the first time. Parking in Mickey 305, it did hurt a little to still have to pay $25 at 3.30 in the afternoon.
It was a scorcher today so we slowly walked in from the car park and then used the shops to have a cooler walk up to the restaurant. We checked in and were immediately called.
Many of the “old school classic” Disney experiences such as here and Whispering Canyon have been a bit watered down during and since Covid. Today, there were definite signs that Prime Time was returning to form. Much of this was down to our server, who despite being older than Yoda was hilarious. All around us, we could the servers really interacting with their guests as we all remember it, and it was great to see. Really good fun.
Our FDP gave us two courses and a soda each in the price, however, Tom and I ordered an extra “dessert” in the form of a milkshake which was worth every penny.
Not the best photo I have ever taken.
Luckily we hadn’t eaten much today so we had plenty of room for what was some surprisingly tasty fare.
Me & Mum – The sampler
Louise – Chicken Pot Pie
Tom – Fried Chicken
Freddie – Tenders
Rebecca – Chicken Caesar Salad
Dougie had Salmon from the kid’s menu which you can just make out in the photo above.
Most of us joined the club.
Having paid for one, we were all forced to have a dessert. Rebecca had something I can’t remember the name of.
Lemon Meringue Pie for the rest of us. My word it was sweet.
This was an excellent meal and experience, but the bill was an eye-watering £392, including an already-added 18% tip. Still, at least we had reserved seating for Fantasmic. What could go wrong?
As we left, Rise was showing just a 35-minute wait so we headed over there.
Louise, Mum and Dougie sat out whilst the rest of us joined the queue. As the wait crept up to the hour mark, I suspected it had been down and we caught it just after re-opening and of course, most of the park joined the queue at that point, plus all the LLs returned too. Still, it was good to ride it for “free”.
We reunited with the others somewhere around the Frozen sing-a-long and walked down to Tower of Terror which only had a twenty-minute wait posted.
We emerged to the rain we’d been expecting for a while. Hey, when we book a Fantasmic Dinner Package, rain is guaranteed. It was pretty heavy so we loitered in a restroom entrance, George Michael-like, for a while. When it slowed a bit we dashed to the shops to find Mum and Louise. We left them there again to go and do Star Tours which had no wait at all.
As we were walking back, announcements were being made about the weather and Fantasmic being delayed. We all knew what was coming, but as soon as we heard thunder and saw some lightning we knew it was game over and we left, once again having wasted a FDP. This was very upsetting indeed.
We endured a moist drive home and were all in bed by 10pm.
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