tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35378160205784058342024-02-20T23:22:37.077-08:00Dreams of Disney...A blog all about my happy place, including trip reports from all of our trips to Walt Disney World in 2009, 2012, 2014 and plans for our 2017 trip.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-52276868314333162222016-06-09T03:25:00.000-07:002016-06-10T03:27:41.663-07:00Planning Update June 2016Just popping in briefly as today was the day! I received an email from Disney holidays this morning and thought I would have a look on the off chance to see if our reservation had linked to MDE, and it was! We are 480 days out for anyone wondering when theirs might be linked. We now have a new booking number too which is completely different to the confirmation number we were assigned when we booked.<br />
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Our resort and ultimate tickets are showing, and at one point was saying we only had quick service dining, but when I went in and changed the kids ages (they were still showing as 14 and 4 from our last trip), it started showing as "UK Package - free dining". For some reason my year of birth is still showing as 1900. I'm pretty sure I'm not 116 years old so will need to call sort that at a later date!<br />
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We went into customise our magic bands too. I really can't decide between red and purple. For now I'm having red, but will probably change my mind a hundred times before we go!<br />
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Paul and I went to Milton Keynes yesterday and I found this pretty cool T-shirt in Primark which I'm going to travel in. I'll probably take a spare vest top in my hand luggage in case it's too hot when we arrive in Orlando.<br />
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I also bought a little strappy top for Amelia with a sort of African print which I thought would be nice when we have dinner at Boma one night, and the bottoms to go with the Alice in Wonderland pyjama top I bought last time (see previous post).<br />
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I have started to think about possible reveals for the kids. Part of me wants to tell them before 1st September 2017, so they have a 4 week countdown, can choose their magic band colours, etc. And the other part of me would love to surprise them on the day that we go! We're thinking of travelling down to Gatwick on Sunday afternoon, so we could get the packing done while they stay at their grandparents on Saturday night maybe, and then tell them on Sunday when we go to pick them up. Lots to think about!<br />
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You might remember me telling you that I was visiting the Emma Bridgewater factory at the end of April. I decorated a half pint mug there in my favourite theme! It arrived a few weeks ago after being glazed and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. I forgot to add some mickeys around the rim how I did at the base, but it's not bad for my first attempt!<br />
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I have some exciting things cut out ready to sew up (already) which I can't wait to show you! All will be revealed in my next installment.<br />
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Well I think that's it for now. Thanks for reading!<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">THINGS TO DO: </span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Book accommodation CHECK! </span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Purchase Ultimate tickets CHECK! </span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Book memory maker CHECK! </span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Request bunk beds in the room CHECK! </span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Link to MDE – CHECK! </span><br />
Renew Oliver and Amelia's passports<br />
Book Flights<br />
Book airport hotel<br />
Book ADR's (5th April 2017)<br />
Book MNSSHP tickets<br />
Book Fast Pass+ (3rd August 2017)<br />
Book travel insurance<br />
Estas<br />
Book Magical Express<br />
PLAN PLAN PLAN!<br />
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From: Fourth Family Floriday October 2017 Pre-Trippy - Page 2 - theDIBB<br />
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=939972&page=2Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0United Kingdom55.378051 -3.4359729999999911.972702499999997 -86.40472299999999 90 79.53277700000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-80636919375384079292016-05-10T13:19:00.000-07:002016-06-10T03:36:04.011-07:00Reserved Bunks and Primani HaulNot much to report, but I thought I'd drop in with a small update.<br />
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I have just got off the phone with Barbara at Disney World! I asked if I could request a bunk room and she tried to sell me an upgraded room with guaranteed bunks which was £1204 more the last time I checked... Err... no Barbara. I'm not bothered about guaranteeing we get them, but I would like to request them. She went off the phone for a minute and came back telling me she's put a request on our booking, but can't guarantee it will be met. That's fine with me, and hopefully we will get them. If not though, it's no big hassle.<br />
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I also asked how long it takes for our booking to show on MDE, and she said it's usually around the 400 day mark, so I am to look back again in about 3 months. I know it's a LONG way off (510 days to be precise!), but I'm excited and I want to see my reservations on there! MDE has been around for a couple of years now. You would have thought they would have ironed it out so that it is all linked seamlessly as soon as it's booked. It's all linked to the same email address after all.<br />
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I had another trip to Primani last week and picked up some more t-shirts as well as a notebook and some erasers for Amelia on the plane. She loves drawing, so it should keep her occupied for an hour. I did consider using the notebook as my travel journal, but I never did use the Moleskine Minnie one I bought last time, so I will use it for sure next year.<br />
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I am ashamed to admit that I have never seen a Star Wars film in my life, and it annoys me that Disney have jumped on the bandwagon so to speak. Everything is blimmin Star Wars at the moment. I was looking for Alex and Ani bangles the other day and the first ones that came up were Star Wars! It seems it will be unavoidable over there, so I pushed the boat out and bought myself a £4 Star Wars T-shirt in Primark for one of our Hollywood Studio days. It is actually a really nice fitting top and looks good on.<br />
The Alice one is actually a pyjama top. They didn't have my size bottoms, so I need to go back again to get those. I love these ones though.<br />
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That's about it for now. I'll be back to show you more purchases when they arise! Haha. I have a basket full on the Disney Store's website so I can use my 15% code. Just need some pennies to check out! Lol<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0United Kingdom55.378051 -3.4359729999999911.972702499999997 -86.40472299999999 90 79.53277700000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-43107075272213270722016-04-23T12:28:00.000-07:002016-06-10T02:30:48.880-07:00We're going back to Disney World!<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Hi! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">It seemed a long time coming, but we finally booked! For the past few weeks I've been checking the Disney website for prices and umming and ahhing over which resort to stay at. We've watched no end of You Tube videos and after getting some advice from friendly Dibbers, we finally narrowed it down to POR and OKW. When I read on the Dibb that Virgin Holidays had exclusive pre-booking for the dining plan offer, Paul and I popped into the Virgin store in our local Tesco. We received two quotes, one for POR and one for a studio at Old Key West. However she then said it was an extra £1300 to upgrade to a 1 bed villa at OKW. Thus making our POR decision final! Their prices were astronomical and was around £2000 more than Disney had quoted us after we'd added flights on. They also said there were no 11:35am flights from Gatwick on our chosen dates and also said she couldn't apply the 7% frequent flying club discount for some reason. I knew straight away that they couldn't do anything for us. So it was back to the drawing board... or rather Disney's website; obsessively getting quotes every day! We watched more videos on POR and were getting excited about staying there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">All the hype on the Dibb and amongst a few of my friends over the dining plan offer was crazy, and I was about to go to bed at half past midnight on Wednesday night when I noticed a thread on the Dibb "Free Dining is up on WDW website!" No one had expected it until Thursday morning, so ignoring the clock, I fired up the laptop and Paul and I sat for the next half an hour looking at prices. We priced up the difference between POR and a 1 bedroom villa at OKW and it was too expensive for our budget unfortunately. Virgin actually weren't that overpriced after all as it was an extra £1386! OUCH! We only paid £800 extra in August 2013 for our November 2014 trip. However OKW still isn't available as I write this and there are many people, no doubt in a queue on the phone to Disney now, trying to pre register for a room. No doubt in the coming months they will have more availability and the price may drop for the 1 beds. Who knows. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">I continued to scroll down and discovered that Animal Kingdom Lodge was actually only £210 more than it would be to book POR and upgrade to the DDP. This sent my mind into overdrive. After finally deciding on POR, I never considered for a second the AKL would be in our budget, so I was laying awake until gone 2am thinking about which resort to stay in! I liked the thought of being able to catch a boat to Disney Springs from POR, how we used to when we stayed at OKW last time, and having use of 6 pools at Port Orleans was appealing. The only thing I didn't like about it was the lack of storage space, and we would have to take one of those canvas folding shelves to hang in the wardrobe to unpack clothing for four of us. Animal Kingdom Lodge looked more roomy and is also one of my dream resorts! I've always wanted to stay there. Using Disney transport from there though worries me. I heard it can take up to an hour to get to DS on a bus! What to do... Such a dilemma. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Thursday morning soon arrived and as soon as the kids went to school I was back on the laptop again, this time on the Dibb. I asked for advice: POR vs AKL and everyone that replied said they would stay in Animal Kingdom Lodge. I looked at a few more videos and decided that it did look perfect, and at that price it would be wrong to turn it down. Paul was working, so we didn't have time to talk about it properly during the day but last night we sat and watched some more videos and vlogs on AKL (and the restaurants!)and came to the decision that we would definitely stay there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">So last night after I put Amelia to bed, Oliver went on his Xbox upstairs and Paul and I sat down and booked! I'm so excited! We're going to keep it a secret from the kids again, although I think we will tell them a the week before we leave this time so we have a bit of a countdown. This will be the first holiday we've ever been on with just the four of us too! In 2012 my parents and sister came with us, and our last trip in 2014, Paul's Brother and his girlfriend and daughter came with us. I'm really looking forward to spending time together as a family. Let's just hope we don't fall out, as we're all in the same room this time! There's no escape! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">So here's the details: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">2 adults and 2 children aged 17 and 7 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Animal Kingdom Lodge standard room. (I will need to call and request bunk beds in the room but will leave it a week or so until the phone lines have calmed down a bit). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Disney tickets (14 days for the price of 7) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Free Disney Dining Plan </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">1 waiter service meal</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">1 self-service meal</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">2 selected snacks</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">Refillable resort mug</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Free Memory Maker and magical extras! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">I'm loving the fact that the dining plan has changed to include 2 snacks instead of a QS dessert, as we rarely ate them on our last trip and only took them because we had to! More often than not, they were put in the fridge and there they stayed until we checked out! Having said that, we ended up with 22 unused snack credits last time... so will we have 44 left over next time? We will see! I think we need to start eating more! More cinnamon rolls you say? Haha! Amelia's classmates may be getting lots of Goofy candy brought back! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Also, I managed to remember to book via Quidco and got 3% cashback which tracked within an hour. £128! Ca-ching! It's the first time i've used it for a big purchase so that was a nice little extra! Saying that, I have £139 tracked now, but it says I have only earned £0.05p. Some of the transactions date back to August 2015, so I'm not sure what i'm doing wrong. I don't want to transfer it to my bank yet or anything. I just want it all to show on there. Anyone know how it works? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">So all I can do now is wait for the flights to be released in November! That time is going to drag! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">In other news... Check out the Disney stuff I picked up in Primark last week! There were some lovely bits in there. Unfortunately our store didn't have any of the jewellery I was after, but I managed to pick up a Hakuna Matata T-shirt, a scarf, colour changing umbrella, two pairs of flip flops and a cute pencil case. I also got Amelia a little Ariel purse for her birthday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">It was mine and Amelia's birthdays on Sunday. She is now a big girl at aged 6 and received enough Lego friends sets to open up her own shop! I got some lovely bits too; lots of Cath Kidston stuff, which I love, and also some Disney themed goodies! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">The make-up bag will come in handy next year so I'm saving that! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">One of my presents from my Sister was a trip to the Emma Bridgewater factory for a tour, afternoon tea and studio decorating time. I've been collecting EB china for just over a year now and it's a massive passion of mine. I mainly collect pinks, but now that we've decided on AKL, I may have to buy Paul and I some Disney planning mugs </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">These are special edition mugs and £10 from each sale goes to TUSK to support their wildlife protection, community development and education programmes in Africa. I'm off to the factory on 29th April and cannot wait! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Well that's all from me for now! I'll be back with more planning updates over the coming weeks and months! Let the planning commence! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">THINGS TO DO: </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Book accommodation CHECK! </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Purchase Ultimate tickets CHECK! </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Book memory maker CHECK! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Request bunk beds in the room </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Renew Oliver and Amelia's passports </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Book Flights </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Book airport hotel </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Book ADR's (5th April 2017) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Book MNSSHP tickets </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Book Fast Pass+ (3rd August 2017) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Book travel insurance </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Estas </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Book Magical Express </span><br />
<span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">PLAN PLAN PLAN!</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0United Kingdom55.378051 -3.4359729999999911.972702499999997 -86.40472299999999 90 79.53277700000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-90763219370510163472016-03-18T12:00:00.000-07:002016-06-10T02:20:38.446-07:00Fourth Family Floriday Pre Trip Plans<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">With my November 2014 trip report finally complete on the Dibb (I still have a few days to copy over to the blog), I thought I had better start on the next leg... a Pre Trippy for 2017! I don't want to break the three year rule after all </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I do need to get some recent photos of us and will update this soon, but for the time being... </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Our family consists of: </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Paul (A.K.A The hubster) </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /></span><br />
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<img height="400" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7652/16905347355_70c3a5dbbe.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="266" /></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Paul is celebrating his 40th birthday this summer so I am organising a weekend away in London for the both of us. We have been together for nine years and married for seven this June and in that time, we've never been away on our own, so we are really looking forward to it. Paul works so hard as a deputy manager for Tesco. He comes home exhausted some nights as he works different shifts. Mostly 2pm until midnight or 5am – 2:30pm. This will be his sixth trip to Florida. Paul is happy for me to take control with the plans for this trip. He's not one for planning, but does like to have plans in place if that makes sense, so he's happy for me to take charge! As long as he gets to eat good food in good restaurants, he’s easily pleased! He does like the flight part of the holiday, which I'm really not bothered about, so he will probably book the flights. He's usually the driver of our trip, but we won't be hiring a car this time around. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Universal used to be Paul's favourite park, but since we went to Disney World in 2012, he has got bitten by the bug and it almost as obsessed with it as I am. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Oliver </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="400" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1482/25249823774_48ee69cd9d.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="266" /></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">My eldest child, aged 16. He will be 17 on our next trip. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">He’s still having his Kevin and Perry-type strops and is your typical lazy teenager, argumentative and obsessed with gaming, eating, and netflix. He is a good big brother to his little sister, Amelia though and loves her to bits. Oliver is in year 11 and is doing his GCSE's this year. It’s scary to think that this time next year, he could be driving! He’s taller than me now and his feet are now the same size as Paul's. Oliver is a proud member of Team Wimp. This will be his fourth trip to Florida. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Amelia </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="400" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1594/26591722385_40fa8fba4f_z.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="266" /></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Our youngest. She turned six in April, and will be 7 when we go to Florida. She loves school and is like a little sponge; she soaks up everything and loves to learn. Amelia loves Lego Friends, watching Youtube videos (especially on One Direction!), reading, drawing and going to Rainbows. She loves Disney, and still says she wants to live in our holiday house at Old Key West forever. I think she's a little bit psychic as she asked to watch a video of Halloween at Disney World yesterday, and we haven't said anything about it in front of her! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Amelia has now been discharged from speech and language therapy, however she does still struggle to pronounce some of her vowels. Apparently it is quite rare to muddle vowel sounds, but they said they're confident she'll grow out of it. We have to take her back in 18 months if she's still experiencing problems. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">And Me!: Aimie ~ Tea drinker, biscuit dunker, dress maker, photographer, mother, chief planner & Imagineer. I’m 35 next month and a self-confessed Disney addict! I love photography (although never said I was any good it it!), sewing, dress-making, days out with my family and planning for holidays! Disney Holidays that is! I run my own business (Little Sugar Plums) where I make and sell designer dolls, children’s clothing and accessories. I love to make Disney inspired dresses for my daughter, Amelia and she usually has a dress themed to the park or restaurant we're visiting each day of our trip! I do love a bit of Disney bounding! I am a collector of Emma Bridgewater and a Cath Kidston addict. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Since returning from Florida, I have lost almost two stone in weight and dropped two dress sizes with Slimming World and have almost reached my second (and final) target weight, so it is my mission to maintain that until our 2017 trip. With all the cinnamon rolls, Mickey waffles and carrot cake cookies I'll be eating there, I will no doubt put on a stone by the time we return! Although the thought of looking like I did in the "before" photo below fills me with dread. It's going to be hard making healthy choices when there is so much delicious food around. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="400" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1696/25761546672_b6bf501d0e.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="400" /></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">This will be my fourth trip to Florida. I will once again be the chief planner for this trip. Head of ADR’s, fast passes, packing, organising and accounting! I already have a spreadsheet set up ready, and my case is half packed with Disney clothing from last time, although most will probably not fit me now! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So we've been back 16 months now and quite a bit has happened. Just after we returned from Florida in 2014, a fantastic opportunity opened up for us, which brought a big change for us all, but for the better. Paul got a new job, within the same company, but in a different area. We decided to move house to be closer to our family and his new place of work, which meant moving to a different town, back to Northampton where we were both born, and where we met back in 2007. We waited until the kids finished the year at school, and we moved in July 2015. This meant the kids both had to start new schools. It was the one part of moving house that I was nervous about, as they would be leaving all of their friends behind, especially Oliver as he was at a crucial age, and was due to start year 11 in September and his new school didn't do the same subjects he'd been learning at his old school. They both settled in so well, and so quickly which really surprised me. They're both doing really well, and both have lots of friends and are really happy which is fantastic. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Well now we're settled in our new home, the Disney blues have really kicked in big time. Paul and I have done nothing but talk about going back and have been watching Vlogs on You Tube for the past couple of months! A 2016 trip was completely off the cards because of Oliver's GCSE's, so we've decided 2017 is the year for us! We will be on a budget and have decided that we will only do the Disney parks this time. We did have a great time at Universal on our last trip, especially with our one night stay at HRH which was amazing, but there’s been so many changes at Disney since we were last there, I think we’ll have plenty to keep us busy. We would like to explore some of the other resorts, and have some quieter pool days, and maybe go horseback riding at Fort Wilderness. We'd also like to do Cirque de Soliel which we've wanted to do since our first trip in 2009! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">After being spoilt last time staying at OKW, we will definitely be staying onsite again. We just loved it so much. Price wise, it just makes sense too. No matter how many times I price up DIY, staying onsite always comes out cheaper, and I don't think you can go wrong with the dining plan, so that's number one on our agenda. So now all we have to do is wait for Disney to release their free dining plan offer next month (fingers crossed). </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So… dates…. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We've been in June/July back in 2009 which was too hot and humid for us. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">May was hot when we went in 2012, but not too unbearable. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">And last year, the beginning of November. Well it was OK the first week, but FREEZING on our second week and I definitely don't want to go that time of year again. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The Easter holidays would be the ideal time, but less time to save, so we're now thinking October time. We love the thought of doing MNSSHP and the kids have mentioned several times that "next time we go" they want to do Halloween there. From what I've seen through reading trip reports, it's still hot that time of year. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">As I said earlier, we've been watching a few Vlogs on You tube, and Paul really wants us to give it a go next time, so I think we will be investing in a GoPro and a few accessories before we go I think they will be mostly for our benefit and I doubt they will be You Tube worthy! I can see a lot of editing required! We are by no means a perfect Disney family, as you'll know if you've read my previous reports, so we'll see how that goes! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So which resort? I have been looking on the Disney website (almost daily ) at the resorts. Because we want the full dining plan, if recent years are anything to go by, we will have to book a deluxe resort. OKW and Saratoga Springs aren't showing yet, although they probably will when the DDP offer comes out. We are a little bit limited because most resorts have two queen beds in their studios, and I don't think it's right that Oliver and Amelia should share a bed (I also think it's illegal isn't it?). So we have shortlisted these three possible resorts... </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I know this is a moderate resort, BUT the newly refurbished rooms have two queen beds and a pull down bed which would be great for the four of us. The only problem is, we would have to ask if we could upgrade to the full dining plan, as the moderate resorts only get quick service dining. We really like the look of this resort. Paul likes the food court, and Amelia would love the pull down bed with Louis the alligator inside. The only downside is having all four of us in one room, with no privacy for Paul and I. I'm not sure if we would be able to manage two weeks without killing each other! Lol. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="266" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1570/25248139154_19375f3eca.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="400" /></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="266" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1483/25760044112_33c325cc37.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="400" /></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Because of the restaurants and the fact the studios have bunk beds in addition to a queen bed. The kids would love this. Like POR though, it would be cramped with the four of us in one room for the duration. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="225" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1628/25580674950_debd3e4455.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="400" /></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">OLD KEY WEST </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Our final and most expensive option would be to have a one bed villa like last time. I keep telling myself we only really use the room for sleeping and getting showered and changed before we go out, so I don't want to spend another £800 to upgrade from a studio to a one bedroom villa. When I think what else we could get for that money... That said, we LOVED staying here last time, and we really were spoilt with this resort. It would solve the sleeping arrangement problem and Paul and I would have privacy with our own bedroom. The rooms here are very spacious too unlike any of the other resorts. The only downside of OKW is the restaurants... We didn't eat at Olivia's last time, because we had so much choice in the parks that we preferred to spend or table service credits on, and Goods to Go wasn't brilliant. We would prefer somewhere with a food court. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="266" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7558/15667164548_0a3c4b18f4.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="400" /></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="266" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7529/15668691299_fdd70684af.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="400" /></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So there's a few things for us to think about, which we can't really do until the end of April when we can see options and prices. If POR offered the full dining plan, I think that would sell it for us. I can't see them doing that though. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Already, I have been thinking about the dresses I will make Amelia. I might even do a bit of Disney bounding myself this time </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">My Sister and her Boyfriend went to Las Vegas for New Year and brought Amelia and I matching Mouseketeer T-shirts back, which I am saving for Florida! I have wanted one of these for years! When we were planning our last trip I tried to get Amelia one on the Disney USA site, but they only had baby sizes, so I was absolutely over the moon with them when she gave them to us! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
<img height="396" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1485/25807179026_c00c023f83.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="400" /></div>
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I am also desperate to get a pair of Disney Birkenstocks and some Vans too. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">MUST DO'S OF THIS TRIP (things we missed last time) </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Ride the Liberty Belle in Magic Kingdom </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Try a Dole Whip ice cream (not a float this time) </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Complete the whole of World Showcase Kidcot Funstop </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Get the kids passports for World Showcase too maybe </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Spend more time at the resort pool </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Campfire stories at the resort in the evening </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Movies around the pool at the resort in the evening </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Peter Pan's Flight – not sure if it's worth it, but we haven't done it before </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">MNSSHP</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Pandora/Avatar land (if it's complete by October) </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Frozen Ever After ride (if we're lucky enough to get FP+ for it). I'm sure the standby times will be extortionate. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Disney Springs – explore all the new areas </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Hoop de Doo Music Revue</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Meet Rapunzel (missed her last time) </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Go horse/pony riding at Fort Wilderness </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Have a domingo sundae at Ghirardelli's </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We have lots of time to think about ADR's and fast passes and things like that. I don't want to plan too much now as I'll have nothing left to do nearer the time! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So I will love you and leave you for now. If anyone has any advice to offer about accommodation onsite that would suit our family, so that Oliver and Amelia have their own beds, I would love to hear it. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Until next time... </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Aimie. x </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0United Kingdom55.378051 -3.4359729999999911.972702499999997 -86.40472299999999 90 79.53277700000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-56559782110701100412016-03-15T06:31:00.002-07:002016-03-15T06:32:43.360-07:00Day 9 - Diagon Alley, Hogsmead, IOA, Mythos, and Ohana.<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">13th November 2014</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I woke up at 5:30am and lay there somewhere between sleep and awake until my alarm went off at 6:45am.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I got in the shower and we all got ready for an action-packed day at IOA .</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Paul packed all our 'stuff' while I did my make-up and got myself and Amelia dressed. She wore the Thing 1 and Thing 2 dress that I made her, and Tiger-Lilly had to come with us today too </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We dumped our bags in the boot and were heading back to the hotel when I spotted a tiny little lizard on the path. We'd seen a lot of them since we'd arrived in Orlando, but they were always too quick to pick up, much to Amelia's annoyance! She was desperate to hold one. I don't know if this one was sleepy, or hung over from a night on City Walk, but it just sat there and let me pick it up! I couldn't believe it! I called the others back and showed them and Amelia had a little hold and then it scurried back into the bushes. It was so cute!</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">By the time we'd arrived at the bag search for US, it had warmed up, and the cardigans went under Amelia's pushchair. We flashed our room keys at the next set of attendants to get in early. Early entry was Diagon alley again this morning. I'm not sure if it ever changes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Amelia spotted a Dora the Explorer back pack when we were waiting for the Star Card yesterday and wouldn't stop going on about it as we passed the shop. I honestly didn't want her spending her money on it, as she's not really into Dora, having only watched it about 3 times in her life. I told her we'd come back later for it if she still had any money left after a day in the park, but I secretly hoped she'd forget about it! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Once we were back in Diagon Alley, our first stop was Ollivanders, which coincidentally, is Oliver's nickname (his surname is Verlander). Just thought I'd throw that in there. A little fact for you </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Paul went off for a sneaky cigarette while I took Oliver to buy his Dumbledore wand. Amelia kept asking for one too, but she's too young yet and was too small to do the spells yesterday, so Oliver told her she could have a few goes of his. She'll have one on our next trip I'm sure! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We all followed the map (which comes with each wand), trying out the spells, some of which worked first time, others were a little harder. We did all them except maybe two or three. The whole time we doing it, Paul still hadn't returned and I was beginning to get a bit worried as we didn't want to spend too long in Diagon Alley and needed to start heading over to Kings Cross Station soon, as well as finding somewhere to have breakfast. Daniel and I both tried calling him but couldn’t get an answer. Then just as we went outside to look for him, he was coming in through the "wall". Apparently he'd got collared by some old boy who was telling him his life story, and then on the way back he ran into one of his customers from work who was there taking her grandchildren to Universal FOR THE WEEKEND! Alright for some!</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We were getting hungry now so we headed back to South Street where we'd passed a Starbucks earlier on. Sam had run in and got herself something when we'd passed earlier as she wasn't feeling too great (writing this now, 9 months later, we now realise why she wasn't feeling well as she's just had another baby girl! ), but the rest of us were just eager to get to Diagon Alley I think. It was 9am now and we were hank marvin! Paul, Oliver and I all opted for bacon breakfasts and Amelia had a sausage breakfast. They were all sooooo good! My mouth is wishing I was back there right now! For the 4 breakfasts, a latte and three vanilla milks, it came to $32.71. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Daniel came in shortly after we sat down and got himself something, and then we all headed over to Kings Cross Station to catch the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmead.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The journey on the Hogwarts Express was amazing. The attention to detail is second to none! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Hogsmead was just as I remember it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We had a few photos taken in front of the train (even though we'd just come off the real moving one - they didn't think that through did they? I'm not sure where Paul and Oliver were in this pic! I took some for Daniel, Sam and Sarah too and then we went to get the kids some Chocolate Frogs from Honeydukes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Sam got Sarah a plate of breakfast from the Three Broomsticks and she sat with us and ate it while she and Daniel put the FOL passes back into action and went on Dragon Challenge. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Have you ever noticed the cheeky little imps in the cauldron in Hogsmeade? It took me a while to work out where the noises were coming from and then I looked up and saw them.. We watched them for quite a while. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Oliver wussed out of Dragon Challenge, so when they got back, just Paul and I rode the blue side (I wussed out on the red side!). He tried to get me to go back on again on red, but I was having none of it!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Forbidden journey was our next ride of the day. This was a first for us as the queue was about 2 hours long when we came in 2012. We did rider swap which seemed a bit unorganised, and the "holding room" was pitch black. I was quite glad to get out. Oliver wussed out again, so Paul and I did it alone. The ride was amazing but made us feel really sick. Paul had to go outside as he thought he was going to throw up! </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Next was Flight of the Hippogriff which Amelia absolutely LOVED. So much so that we rode it twice! Paul and Oliver sat this one out after still feeling queasy (and wussy!). Daniel took Sarah on. I must say, it did feel a little bit joltier the second time around and I nearly crushed Amelia coming round one of the bends as you can't help but slide to the side of the cart. Sarah really felt it though, as she hit her eye and started crying at the end. We spent ages searching for a paper towel and some ice and the CM's seems uninterested when Sam reported it. After about half an hour, we eventually found some restrooms and Sam got a paper towel from inside (and some ice pinched from one of the drinks carts) and applied it to her eye. She did have quite a bruise, bless her, which put her in a sulky mood for the rest of the day. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I had made reservations through opentable.com for lunch at Mythos at 12:15pm in the Lost Continent. So we decided we'd better make our way over there. It didn't occur to us that we were going in the wrong direction when we reached River Adventure...</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I eventually found a map on one of the carts and realised it was right over the other side of the park! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We hurried over there and made it just in time. When I booked, it wouldn't accept a table of 7, so we had to book two separate tables. I told them when we checked in and asked if we could all be seated together and they said it was fine. They gave us a pager and we waited only a couple of minutes before it went off and we were taken through to table 62, right next to the one we'd ate at in 2012!</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">None of us were particularly hungry but I didn't want to cancel our reservation as we had such a nice meal here with my Mum and Dad on our last last trip and had great memories of it.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Paul had the Mythos Burger and Oliver, Amelia and I had kids pizzas! The food was excellent as usual.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /></span><br />
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">After the meal, we stumbled upon the Mystic Fountain who was HILARIOUS! I quickly took Amelia to the restrooms and slipped her swimming dress on as I knew she would be getting wet! The interaction was great. He gave everyone a name. Paul was Smee because he had a stripy top on, Oliver was 'Birthday Boy' because he mistook the Captain America emblem on his T-shirt for a Birthday badge and he sang the Oliver Twist song to him! He said he loves England as his Brother lives here whose name is Stone Henge! I have uploaded a few videos on my You Tube channel if you want you want to have a look. There are a couple on there. The first one can be found below...</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LxC42ojXL94/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LxC42ojXL94?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /></span><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/689/19998910403_8eaee0c13b_z.jpg" /><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Paul wanted to go on Dudley Do Rights Rip Saw Falls so we headed in that direction. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">When we got there, only Paul wanted to go on. He managed to persuade Oliver to go on with him and the rest of us watched from the bottom. We seemed to be waiting forever and I took photos of about 10 boats before I found theirs!</span></span><br />
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The girls stopped for a splash in Toon Lagoon and we struggled to get them out afterwards…</span></span><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5830/19998624413_c5939f2a27_z.jpg" /><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">While they were soaked, they thought they might as well go on Bilge-Rat Barges next which I had no interest in going on after seeing so many drenched people walking off it. I took Amelia to Toon Popcorn where we got a drink to share and a packet of Lays Chips (walkers crisps!) for Amelia ($6.59) while everyone else went on. There was a pretty long queue and I hoped by the time we'd been served, they would be off. But when we walked over towards the ride exit, they were still at the lockers and hadn't even been on yet! I was getting a bit fed up a bit of hanging around waiting for everyone all the time and not actually going on anything now and I was getting tired and grouchy. Hopefully the drink would help. I took Amelia on Me Ship Me Olive. She loved the slides, but they did make me panic a bit when she ended up on the floor below me each time. I told her when she reached the bottom she had to stand as still as she could and not move until I got down to her! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">When I thought their barge might be round any minute, we stood on the bridge hoping to wave to them/squirt them with water. We waited a while and a few barges passed us, but no sign of them. I said we'd try the other side, and just as we turned around, they were walking towards us, soaked to the bone! Amelia got really upset because she wanted to wave to them while they were on there and started crying. I think she was getting tired too which didn't help. We took Paul on to show him the slides she'd been going on, and then we made our way out with the promise of Dippin' Dots.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We continued through Toon Lagoon, through Marvel Super Hero Island where we checked out a few shops, and then this happened…</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Paul and I went on first and I was absolutely BRICKING it. On every trip we've been on, I've always been too scared to ride this resulting in Paul having to do a single rider. He promised me that it is nothing like Rip Ride Rocket, and I used the same mentality as yesterday… you only live once. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't ever do it again. I tried to get Oliver on with us too but he declined. Amelia however really wanted to go on! Unfortunately though, she was nowhere near tall enough. Maybe next time </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">There was no queue, which I wasn't pleased about on this occasion as I didn’t have time to psyche myself up for it. A queue would have prolonged my fate! I was shaking on the inside and think I may have had a mild panic attack as we neared the front a I couldn't hear or focus on anything Paul was saying. I felt like I was in a black hole on my own with blood rushing around my ears. I could barely swallow as I got strapped into the seat. And then, we were off! Oh My God! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I LOVED IT! Usually I scream on rides, especially when there are drops, but I didn't scream once! Paul thought there was something wrong with me because I didn't make a sound, but I was just enjoying it! It was so smooth!</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Daniel and Sam went on next and loved it too. Then we made our way over to Seuss landing so the kids could go on some rides. We went on the Caro-Seuss-el followed by One Fish Two Fish…</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Paul's photography skills never fail to amaze me…</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Then we all went on the High in the Sky Trolley Train Ride. When we got to the part where it goes through the shop I noticed they sold Dippin' Dots, so we hurried over there as soon as we got off but unfortunately they were just closing. It was only 4pm which I found a bit strange, but hey ho. We did find a little cart that sold them as we left Seuss Landing though in lots of different flavours. We eventually settled on two tubs in banana and 'rainbow' flavours ($10.63 for both tubs). Mmmmmmmm…</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We had a reservation at Ohana tonight for dinner, so decided we'd better head back to HRH to get the car and then go back 'home' to OKW. The "parade" was in full swing as we passed.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So we took the Hogwarts Express back to Diagon Alley. Daniel wanted to get Sarah some robes from Madam Malkin's so we hung around outside waiting for him where I took more photos. Naturally. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We seemed to be waiting a long time and Paul's OCD was beginning to kick in and he was getting very stressed about being late for dinner.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Once he came out we headed for the exit via On Location where Amelia and I ran in and bought that sodding Dora the Explorer back pack (the one that's been in a toy box under her bed since our return). I also snapped this pic of my nemesis RRR which looked pretty cool at dusk.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Once back at OKW, I unpacked and hung up our swimwear that was still wet from yesterday. Somehow Paul managed to bring a HRH towel back with us. Only a washed out floor towel you get out the shower onto. It didn't even have HRH written on it or anything which was disappointing. I hoped we wouldn't get charged for it (we didn't).</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We got showered/bathed and changed, met the others and drove to TTC, parked in Hook 85 and then caught the resort monorail to the Polynesian, arriving just before our 7:10pm reservation. I forgot my camera which I was GUTTED about. The only photo I managed to get tonight was this rubbish poorly lit one on the way in before the battery on my phone died </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Dinner was, as always, LUSH! We had one of the best tables in the restaurant, over-looking Cinderella's castle. We were brought our drinks and then had a bit of a wait for the food to come round. We had pork dumplings (my favourite!), chicken wings, noodles, salad and veggies to start and then they brought round steak and pork and shrimp on the big skewers. There was lots of speculation before we went about them changing the menu, and I can confirm, there was definitely no chicken on the skewers as there had been on our last trip. I did kind of miss this actually.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I wish I had of grabbed something for Amelia from Goods to Go on the way as she hardly touched her dinner and fell asleep on the chair again . Service was slow in between them bringing seconds of everything. But the food great and cooked to perfection. All of us had the giggles tonight which helped with the slow service as I guess it could have been a whole different atmosphere.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We watched the electrical water pageant and then Paul heard the people on the next table ask if they could be moved to our table when we leave so naturally we took as long as possible and ordered more coffee. For the three adult meals, plus Amelia's kids meal, the bill came to $166.78 including tax. Of course it didn't cost us a thing though thanks to the dining plan. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We took the resort monorail back to TTC where we saw Holiday Wishes from it. If only we'd ordered another cup of coffee! We could have watched the fireworks from our table.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We had the best tram driver EVER on the way to the car lot! She was hilarious! Because we were in such a silly mood, everything she said was just hilarious and none of us could stop laughing, which made everyone else on the tram laugh. It was contagious! She spoke really fast in her hick Floridian accent which went something like this…</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"Welcome back aboard the Heroes tram. Now as you listen to this safety message, should you drop anything from the tram, take a cue from our friend Elsa… (sings) Let it go, let it go, then come back and let me know… and we'll get someone to retrieve that item for you. Please make sure you're holding on to everyone and everything, especially hold on to those balloons, we wouldn’t want you going home holding on to expensive bits of string… The speed limit in our parking lot is an roaming, believing … dare I say…. 15 MILES PER HOUR! </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Should you encounter any trouble with your vehicle today, like you can't find it, it won't start, or maybe ya' locked your keys in there for safe keeping, not to worry, head back to the tram that dropped you off and flag down security. They're the white SUV's with blinking green and yellow lights on top and a mickey mouse logo on the side that says Security. They're more than happy to assist you..</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">And to find our one and only exit, please follow the giant white arrows located in every row of our parking lot, they will lead you towards that exit. If you don't follow those arrows, I'll see ya later </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Our first stop tonight will be the heroes of Alladdin. Allabeen, Allagime, Allabino, to your drivers left hand side…</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">As we approach our stop, please remain seated until our tram has come to a full and complete stop. That is when the tram and the ground are moving at exactly the same speed. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">You're going to exit to your drivers left hand side, the drivers left hand side only.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">On behalf of the driver and myself, thank you folks for visiting us today at magic kingdom, we hope you had a magical time and a magical journey in this magical place on this magical day (whispers: magical…)</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We were wetting ourselves laughing (not literally). It probably doesn't sound funny at all when reading this and it's probably a case of you had to be there. But that evening made our holiday and we still talk about it (magical).</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">DISCLAIMER: I most certainly did not in any way shape or form, record that announcement on my phone later on in the holiday when she was on our tram again. And I most certainly did not just sit here playing it over and over again, stopping and starting the video every few seconds so that I could write it down in my trip report. That would just be insane. </span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">When we arrived back at OKW, Mousekeeping hadn't done anything at all in the room. The towels were left on the armchair like she intended on changing them bur forgot. The bed wasn't made and our towels were still in the bath where we'd left them. There was a slightly damp smell when we came in too which I out down to the towels, but it remained for the rest of the trip, although I couldn't find the source. Despite not doing anything, she still took the mousekeeping tip and the cadbury's Freddo bar we left out for her!</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We had a cup of tea on the balcony and then went to bed, exhausted again after our two early mornings.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">UNIVERSAL SUMMARY:</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Great couple of days. The one night stay at Hard Rock Hotel was worth every penny for the FOL passes alone. I wish we could have had more time to use the pool as we had great fun in there, and we also missed all of City Walk completely.</span><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The Star Card/Photo Connect: I wouldn't say this is not worth the money as it was quite inexpensive to book in advance, but in comparison to the Disney parks, there really wasn't that much character interaction at all. I think we only had about 10 photos at the end of our stay. They could make this so much better, just the same as the parades. I just felt there was no spark, no enthusiasm from any of the CM's and certainly no magic. But maybe it's because we have been spoilt for the past 7 days in the Disney Parks. Maybe in future visits we should do the Universal parks on our first two days. </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-12991977989933216642015-09-12T08:38:00.000-07:002015-09-12T08:38:28.451-07:00I Wish I May I Wish WE DID! ~ Day 8 ~ Wizards, Wands and Wet Clothes <div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Day 8 ~ Hard Rock Hotel, Diagon Alley, Universal Studios and Hard Rock Café.<br /><br /> 12th November 2014</strong><br /><br /> I think this is more of a photo report than a trip report as I took soooo many photos (as usual)! But I hope you enjoy it! <br /><br /> Despite the unwelcome alarm wake-up at 5:45am, I woke up feeling happy in anticipation for the next stage of the holiday. Today we will be leaving Old Key West to check in to Hard Rock Hotel for our one night stay, and would be spending the next two days at the Universal parks. <br /><br /> I got up and had a shower as quietly as possible as we didn't want to wake the kids up too early as they would be grumpy for the rest of the day, and they are easy enough to get ready just before we leave anyway. I think they woke up around 6:30am and we all had a quick cuppa before heading out of the door, leaving all our belongings in the room at around 7am. We took our valuables with us, but Sam put a 'do not disturb' sign on their door, which stopped Mousekeeping from entering to change their beds (and ours as we discovered on our return). <br /><br /> We drove to HRH without a hitch (thank the lord for Daniel's directions on his phone!). I think the roads were pretty quiet that morning, being so early, and we arrived#at 7:30am. </div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/x8LG62" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5666/20434995059_f7f68b622f_z.jpg" width="265" /></a><br /><br /><br /> Paul, #Daniel and the kids had to wait outside with the car while Sam and I went inside to check in. Sam went first. When it was my turn to check our lot in, there was a bit of a hitch. Something to do with only having one car between both parties I think. When they asked to hold our credit card details for security, I had to go and get Paul as it was in his name. Whatever the problem was, it was minor and they gave us our room keys and told us they would sort it out while we went and enjoyed the parks. <br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xbgX6E" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/560/20463336796_96d6c07994_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /><br /> We unloaded the car and left our luggage with bell services who locked it away as our rooms wouldn't be ready until later. Then we went and parked up the car and went back in to the lobby to get our photos taken for our Front of Line Passes. After a bit of faffing about trying to find out how to get to the Universal from the hotel (including trudging up and down a huge flight of stairs 2-3 times with pushchairs), we finally found our way and took the short, pleasant walk to US and we were there in around 4-5 minutes.</div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/woT41P" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="265" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5693/19949626803_d9499b1857_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><br /> We went through bag search and flashed our room key at the next set of 'cast members' to get into WWOHP early.<br /> I nipped into the Hollywood Character Zone store to get my Star Card which I had prepaid for before we left the UK. <br /><br /> We stopped for a quick photo using the Star card for the first time…</div>
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Then we continued through the park to Diagon alley. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! This wasn't open on our last visit in 2012, and after so many months following its progress online, it was great to finally be here experiencing it!<br /><br /><br /> <a href="https://flic.kr/p/xy1zD8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/708/20709300845_dfb27ce9b3_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/wAZP95" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5623/20086743864_e5629002a3_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/woTaBe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5784/19949648983_d72b9c2213_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xirGCj" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5784/20544454706_fa458648da_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xvGcqj" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/709/20683081086_ed952a8006_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xmkgZv" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5633/20577150651_42699408eb_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br /> We had a wander around and took in the sights and the amazing attention to detail. Then we decided to get some breakfast as our muggle tummies were starting to rumble. So off to The Leaky Cauldron we went. </div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xyBBwx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5781/20716136111_e75fa4798f_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /> We ordered at the counter and they gave us a candle stick with our number which we took over to a table. </div>
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<br /> We had: x2 American Breakfasts for Paul and I, a Pancake Breakfast with apple juice for Oliver and<br /> Amelia asked for "just pancakes" so we got her a Child's pancake breakfast, but then moaned that she wanted sausage and bacon so had a bit of everyone's in the end I think and left 90% of her pancakes!<br /><br /> Total with tax $64.29<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/whiye2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/290/19875192283_3b2326d681_z.jpg" width="350" /></a><br /><br /> The theming in the Leaky Cauldron was great. Here's a few pics (not mine, although it wasn't much busier than this!)…<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xdoS2m" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="281" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/543/20487318502_a4417183d1_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/wWFb8T" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="224" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/355/20309437289_89ae947090_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><br />Comfortably full, we went and looked around some more. Gringotts was showing a 15 minute wait so Sam and Daniel went on while we looked after Sarah, and then we swapped over when they came off. We had to take the girls into the shop as the sound of the dragon kept scaring them when it snarled! Even the ceiling in here was amazing.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xyBEjB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/768/20716145511_40e8f5c09b_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xy1Hbc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/682/20709326195_91c44daa2f_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xyBBYp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/772/20716137611_a5323bb811_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br /> When Daniel and Sam came out, they said it was brilliant! Oliver was adamant he wasn't going on all morning and no amount of persuading was going to get him on until Sam told him he'd regret it if he didn't, and just like that, he changed his mind! I couldn't believe it! He is such a wuss when it comes to rides. Maybe he was finally going to try some after all this time! We rushed on before he could change his mind again, leaving Amelia with the others. I was gutted that I'd left my camera with Daniel, so didn't get any photos of the queue. I snapped a couple on Paul's phone but they didn't come out too well. We did have a photo connect one taken which they put on our Star card though. When I was reading up on this when I bought it, I was under the impression that photos from Gringotts weren't included, but I was pleased to see this one was on my account when we got home.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/qaCcdK" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7524/15861472671_b1428637f6_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/wB94zc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="355" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/682/20088353313_46328d2d4f_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /> The ride was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! There's no other way of describing it. If you can only do one ride in the Universal parks, do this one! Even Oliver liked it!<br /><br /> We continued around Diagon alley. The Olivander's show was a walk on. An American lady called Laura got picked despite my best efforts shoving our two to the front! Lol.<br /><br /> Oliver went to spend $47.50 on a wand but as soon as I asked him if he was sure if he wanted to spend all of that days money on it, he got upset saying he wasn't allowed one (which of course, he was)! He left it in the end but did exactly what I do and sent the whole day wishing he'd got it. We agreed to go back for it in the morning if he didn't find anything else he wanted. Sarah got one though (Hermione), and we had fun following the map around Diagon Alley to the various magic points and casting spells.<br /><br /> We paid a visit to Knockturn Alley which was so cool. There was lots of merchandise in the shops I could have sent a fortune on. I have a bit of a girl crush on Bellatrix and wanted a T-shirt until I saw the price! All of the HP stuff was soooo over priced!</div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xxc1oG" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5660/20700018732_96cf8884d1_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> We made our way over to Kings Cross Station passing the Knight Bus and Grimmauld Place on the way…<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xgvtHD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/576/20522558739_33f788c841_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/x49Maq" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5622/20382722118_b3f8ce6c39_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<br />We waited for Kreacher to make an appearance… <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xmma2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5741/20577322341_3782b12e01_z.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/woKTwd" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5817/19948229084_1aeb39fd55_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<br />We saved the Hogwarts Express as a surprise for tomorrow, and continued to walk through into Universal Studios. Everyone wanted to go on Men in Black, but it's not really my thing (I don't think I've ever seen any of the films all the way through) and I didn't think Amelia would like it, so I told the others to meet me afterwards and I would take Amelia on Kang and Kodos' Twirl and Hurl. <br /><br /> I was half way over the bridge towards Springfield when Sam and Sarah caught me up as Sarah didn't want to do MIB either, so the four of us rode the twirl n hurl. </div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/woL5hw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5672/19948265294_2db20ece67_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/woUGsk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5654/19949947863_5c3ddb18e1_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xmmHXv" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5753/20577433111_ab01690319_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> It was OK. Typical kids ride really. The view over Diagon Alley was good though. </div>
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<br /><br /> The others met us afterwards and we had a wander around Springfield. There were a lot of changes to the Simpson's area since we were last there in 2012. <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xkQXUT" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5672/20571626695_1286e79f40_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/woPUd5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5727/19949011844_a7372d4bba_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /> Amelia wussed out, so I took Oliver over to meet Krusty and Sideshow Bob. They had fun with him, messing his hair up and going to shake his hand, but pulling away at the last minute. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xkMM8Z" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5657/20571005115_6d8e279f29_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4i538" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5690/20384339779_d35ce15ffa_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br /> Then the kids sat with Milhouse for a few snaps <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/woVUgP" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5636/19950182733_520e32dc64_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/woMsoo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5769/19948534754_2b04ae0390_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> And then, despite being stuffed from breakfast, we just HAD to try the obligatory Lard Lad doughnut! ($4.99)<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xiwEJE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5649/20545423906_39911a8bf3_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4enYY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5661/20383619700_7a6f717b51_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> It was huge and delicious! We all tried a bit of it and then it got stowed under the pushchair for later, although I think Oliver demolished it most of it!<br /><br /> We all rode The Simpsons Ride. Paul and I would have been quite happy to skip this one as we're not good with motion simulators, but we went on because Daniel, Sam, Sarah and Amelia had not done it before. We all came off feeling sick and vowed not to go on any of those types of rides again!<br /><br /> Next up was Animal Actors on Location which was just about to start and had no queue (and the sit down was quite welcome after the Simpsons ordeal!). I don't think Amelia had never done this before, and being such a huge animal lover, I knew she would love it. When they asked for someone to go up on stage I've never seen her put her hand up so high. Unfortunately when she wasn't picked either time, she cried her eyes out! The promise of Curious George Land, coupled with stroking the dogs at the end of the show soon cheered her up though.<br /><br /> We made our way over to Fievel's Playland and let the kids let off some steam for a bit. Oliver took Amelia on this little log boat ride which was unheard of! It was nice to see them both getting on for 5 minutes! She couldn't stop giggling when she got off! <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xkRcwT" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5689/20571672515_4580615028_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> Then we went over to Amelia's favourite part of the park… Curious George Goes to Town (she was, and still is to an extent), a huge George fan! Oliver went off and took the girls inside the play buildings while us adults sat on the benches watching and waiting (hoping) that one of them would get soaked by the huge cascading buckets of water when the bell started chiming! Aren't we cruel?! Lol. Soon enough, the moment we'd been waiting for happened ….<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xgp5uA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/567/20521309938_846d25a17f_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/woQAQN" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5693/19949148534_48ee7947cb_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br />Whilst playing in there, Sarah fell over and scratched her knee, and we waited for what seemed like forever for someone to come over and check her over after Sam reported it. Oliver kept Amelia busy by playing in the water sprinklers while we waited with Daniel and Sam on a bench in front. I had been carrying a travel first aid kit with me in the Disney Parks, but typically had forgotten to pack it for our Universal stay . So we waited…. and waited… Our two had fun in the water sprinklers and I kept nipping behind the benches to check on them and take photos…<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xkRB2P" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5679/20571751565_58cf1b2618_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xmrbY6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5820/20578304421_687a7b7265_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br />I didn't mind them getting a little bit wet, but I was concerned about Amelia's new Skechers that had flashing lights. I didn't want them breaking after only a couple of wears. Oliver took it to extremes though, and they both came over a few minutes later looking like this…</div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4fnEQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5638/20383813760_584937f090_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br />I was not amused!<br /><br /> When a "cast member" finally came over with a paper towel for Sarah, we left Curious George and went and sat down and sorted them out. I went over to 'Kid Zone Cart' (a little cart selling Minion merchandise) and brought Amelia a dress which is made out of swimming costume type fabric. It was $29.95 which hurt a bit, but I thought it would come in handy for future water rides, and it was a bit big on her, so may even last her through to future trips . There was nothing for Oliver's age, so we just had to wring him out and hope he'd dry! Their shoes were the main problem as they were drenched! This unfortunately became a problem as I'd only brought one pair of shoes each for the boys to HRH for the two universal days, and being so cold in the evenings, we couldn't have dried them out on the balcony overnight - and as it happened, we didn't have a balcony in our room anyway!). So a little tip: Pack more than one pair of shoes if you're doing a one nighter at HRH! <br /><br /> We managed to bypass Barney (phew). Then Amelia spotted the Woody Woodpecker rollercoaster and wanted to go on it. We were all going to go on, but Oliver wouldn't ride it (Really?! ). So I took her on on my own. She absolutely LOVED it and screamed all the way around with her hands in the air, and then said she wanted to ride again at the end, which we did another two times! Loving these front of line passes! </div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xk5dnh" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5764/20562895282_78ea84c07b_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> We caught the end of a parade which was pretty lame. Universal just can’t do parades like Disney can!</div>
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<br /> I stopped to take some photos of the kids in front of the Mystery Machine while the others walked on ahead. Then Daniel came back to tell me to go around the other side where we found these guys! Apparently they just opened the side doors and came out! Talk about being in the right place at the right time!<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4fDVU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5661/20383868458_75817944c8_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xk5tU9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5744/20562947532_afbfddf79d_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> Next up was ET. This was Amelia's first time as she was too small last time we were here. Daniel and Sam weren't impressed by the ride, but we like it because it's a classic! The kids had some photos taken at the end which they just didn't get and waited outside. Haha! <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xgoZ6m" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="355" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5769/20521291770_8d2ea40613_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xy1AdV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5810/20709302805_dd5a5fce43_z.jpg" width="355" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xgp7HL" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5700/20521317430_e13bd828ac_z.jpg" width="355" /></a><br /><br /> No one was bothered with The Terminator and Shrek 4D was closed, so we headed over to Minion Mayhem. This opened the week after we left Florida in 2012, so we hadn't ridden it before. I also had no clue what sort of ride it was. The queue was cool. I loved the little drawings on the walls…<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/wp1oaX" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5796/19951057033_003f82caa5_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xk5SRb" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5800/20563024732_fc097ed6b7_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></div>
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We donned our 3D glasses and walked on to what can only be described as hell! I spent the whole ride wishing it was over as I was thrown backwards and forwards and in every direction in between. I came off with the biggest headache. We all vowed AGAIN that that really was the last motion simulator type ride (until tomorrow )! If you don't get motion sickness then you'll probably love it, but unfortunately it wasn't for us. </div>
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<br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/woRYhU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5834/19949415804_64e0a243f6_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xxc9DE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="285" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/751/20700046512_95f7984d0a_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><br /> I spotted a Desicable Me Dippin' Dots cart, so I got a tub so everyone could have a try ($4.99). Oliver and I had tried some in Seaworld last time we were in Florida, but no one else had tried them before, and these were banana flavour. They were sooooo good and everyone was tucking into them. If you've never heard of Dippin' Dots, they are tiny little balls of flavoured ice cream in small tubs. We are now big fans! </div>
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<br /> We decided to take 5 and sat down on the corner of 7th Avenue, debating whether or not any of us were brave enough to attempt Rip Ride Rocket. Paul really wanted to go on and kept badgering Daniel to ride it with him after I flatly refused. But he's not big on coasters and didn't want to go on without knowing what it was like first. In the end I backed down and said I'd go on with him and then we could tell Daniel and Sam what it was like afterwards. You only live once and all that jazz. And I'm sure I would have regretted it later if I didn't go on. Oh what a mistake that was! I regretted saying I'd go on it the whole time we walked up to it! I had heard that you can have Evanescence (my favourite band) playing in your "cart" during the ride, so I focused on that as we made our decent. I was gutted though when there was no option for music and I didn't hear anything all the way around apart from my screams! It was, hand on heart, the worst ride I've ever been on and one I will never do again. The long winding bit behind Despicable Me actually wasn't that bad, but the part straight after the first decent was brutal and at one point I thought I had broken my arm! Paul didn't like it either and when we told Daniel and Sam what it was like, it made it easy for them to decide they wouldn't ride!<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xgp8TG" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5804/20521321370_29c5b7e4f0_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/woSw3N" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5698/19949522634_f4d85ce15f_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/wp7yWV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5753/19952263953_75b2ca969a_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xkZhXM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5748/20573251675_d591e3d0af_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br /> We had all been looking forward to riding The Revenge of the Mummy, so that was where we went next. Daniel and Sam went first while Sarah waited with us and then we swapped kids after. Paul and the girls busied themselves playing a game on Sam's phone and I nipped into the Twister store to look at all the Wizard of Oz merchandise I hoped to own one day! I didn't buy anything though unfortunately. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/wp1ZdT" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5707/19951174943_a7ccfd2bfb_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4nvJ1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5726/20385206640_bdfac986fd_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /><br /> The Mummy was as brilliant as I remembered from last time, if not better. We were at the front this time which pleased Paul immensely! Thanks to the FOL passes we managed to avoid the creepy guys scaring everyone in the line too which was a bonus (they scare the jebeesus out of me!) </div>
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<br /><br /> It was getting on for 3pm now and thanks to the FOL passes, we had done everything that we wanted to do. As we slowly made our way out of the park we got caught up in the Blues Brother's performance. They were really good, and when one of them came down into the crowd, he started dancing with Sarah! She was shaking her tail feather! It was so cute!<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/woYKXE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5676/19950740104_f10e36a175_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xyBBji" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5635/20716135401_c82dbdcee5_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xkd32m" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5808/20564421382_fc181a55f6_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /> Amelia was starting to flag a bit and fell asleep on Paul's shoulder for a little while. </div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xke1Fo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5834/20564611972_910514c351_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /> Sulky face!</div>
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<br /> On the way out we spotted a transformer outside the ride having photos taken. Daniel, Sam, Oliver and Sarah had their photos taken with him. Unfortunately I can't find the pic But here's one on top of the building <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xkdN49" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5807/20564569502_112d23d539_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> We took some obligatory photos in front of the globe. Obviously …</div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/xm2gtF" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5812/20573636905_af5bebec75_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /> …Then took the short walk back to HRH. <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/wpaWyX" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5673/19952922023_217ef30115_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> We were given directions to our room and was told that our bags would be brought up shortly. We were in room 5057 on level 5. It overlooked the roof of the building, but we weren't fussed on a view as it was only for one night and we would literally only be using the room for sleeping, showering and changing. <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/wp2kto" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5801/19951243064_6fb4dd4510_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There was a coffee machine in the room, but unfortunately for me, there were no tea bags. Paul did go down to the lobby that evening to ask for some, but he only came back with two, so I saved them for before bed and one for the morning. I don't function without tea in the morning!</div>
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<br /><br /> There was a sink area with mirror which was handy for applying my make-up whilst someone was in the bathroom. And on the left of that was the door to the bathroom.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4r5UU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5721/20385903620_6e0c06c469_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/qaGN1y" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7492/15862370152_716463d32c_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4rVUf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5736/20386068418_fff396d3d9_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /> The room was great for what we needed. It was so clean and I loved the décor. Although I did think the mirror resembled something from a crime scene! Bell services brought all our bags up but left them in Daniel and Sam's room. So I went and picked it up and then we got changed into our cozzies and hit the pool!<br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4xfz2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5657/20387106779_cdfaa4890f_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /> The pool was really great and the kids had loads of fun on the slide. There was a young guy at the top who kept talking to Oliver about Arrow when he told him his name was Oliver (Oliver Quinn apparently - I haven't seen it). Oliver still talks about it now. <br /><br /> We stayed in the pool for a couple of hours. Sam and I went in the Jacuzzi for a bit which was lovely and warm, like a bath. I could have stayed in there all night. Then it was time to go and get showered and dressed for dinner at Hard Rock Café.<br /><br /> Paul nipped out for cigarettes and was shocked at the price in the hotel… $10.65 for a pack of 5!<br /><br />We headed out at around 6:20pm, checked in at Hard Rock Café and was given a pager which would go off when our table was ready.<br /><br /> I took a few pics to pass the time…<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4su3L" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5632/20386176560_64281f9d07_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/x4ANYp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5810/20387801119_7634edac5b_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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It's scary how tall Oliver is in this photo! <br /><br /> A short while later, the buzzer went off and we were taken to our table. The walk to it seemed to go on forever! HOW BIG IS THIS PLACE? <br /><br /> Our server was Wendi and she took our drinks orders. Paul had a Bud Light, Oliver had a Coke, Amelia had a vanilla milkshake and I had a non alcoholic Mango Strawberry cocktail which was out of this world! Seriously the BEST thing I have ever drank! </div>
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/qaGQzm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7529/15862378782_92d3af3fdd_z.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><br /> The menu was vast, but we were all in the mood for big fat burgers! We had been snacking on a few small things throughout the day, but we hadn't eaten properly since breakfast at the Leaky cauldron, so we were all looking forward to this. It didn't disappoint! Paul and I had Legendary Burgers, Oliver had the hickory burger and Amelia had a kids cheeseburger which came on a little guitar plate. They gave her and Sarah a little activity book and some crayons which kept them occupied until our food arrived. <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/q97ZcA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/15844457492_cb838a6230_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/xxDg4b" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/608/20705140972_726ba8874f_z.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><br /> We went upstairs to use the restrooms before we left which were up a HUGE spiral staircase to discover a whole other floor of empty tables! It was the biggest restaurant I'd ever been in! I can only imagine how busy they must get in high season.<br /><br /> To leave the restaurant you have to walk through an over-priced gift shop which is a bit sneaky. We didn't buy anything and headed straight back to the hotel, got ready for bed and fell in straight away. I was annoyed to find this huge dirty mark on the sheet as I got into bed but was too shattered to do anything about it and slept on top of the bed. Had it been noticed when we first got in the room I would have most certainly complained. I mean, how could housekeeping NOT notice this? <br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/pRNtdq" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8677/15659780668_89945f29e2_z.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><br /> We were all asleep by 10pm, absolutely exhausted after such a long day, but ready to do it all again in the morning! </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-29446023021139222082015-05-11T10:38:00.001-07:002015-11-13T08:54:51.272-08:00Dressing Up Disney<br />
One of the things I love most about planning a Disney trip, is making clothes for my Daughter. We do love a bit Disney bounding and I love making her dresses themed to each of the theme parks, or a particular character meal we might be having. <br />
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Here's the ones I made her last year for our November 2014 trip.<br />
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I made this Cinderella inspired dress for her to wear for her Bibbidi Bobbodi Boutique experience at Magic Kingdom. The dresses they sell in the parks are known for being itchy and uncomfortable, so I wanted her to have something practical, but pretty at the same time. We would also be visiting Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch afterwards, so this style was just perfect.<br />
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I added some ric rac to the bodice. The skirt was extra full for twirling and I also added a cute carriage applique which also coordinated with the matching drawstring bag I made her to keep her hair brush in. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJV8WWdIJyBaxb0HS40lLnioNer1mAUoBrUrw0dIbODCbiE4DrmRDkmyImagnDp_lrJR3bXSnV20PW_2lOSHxJrydsw61jNoRJF_C546pe_dHegcY6R8NXNMWprXAiPiv5hJj9NFNDL0/s1600/IMG_9484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJV8WWdIJyBaxb0HS40lLnioNer1mAUoBrUrw0dIbODCbiE4DrmRDkmyImagnDp_lrJR3bXSnV20PW_2lOSHxJrydsw61jNoRJF_C546pe_dHegcY6R8NXNMWprXAiPiv5hJj9NFNDL0/s1600/IMG_9484.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captivated by Cinderella</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgos8JfUjxtfjcOsBClQYsgG3JHq88bPBf0PE_Mb4aYB4qwJ9Axr6sJLN_EyJ46dtJA3uuPCxjypwrMZXG0G0zhpdRMSzgzVlWeYM1froM43va7VpiXY_8clLjEhtcEy8GMzZz-u_EeWFU/s1600/IMG_9489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgos8JfUjxtfjcOsBClQYsgG3JHq88bPBf0PE_Mb4aYB4qwJ9Axr6sJLN_EyJ46dtJA3uuPCxjypwrMZXG0G0zhpdRMSzgzVlWeYM1froM43va7VpiXY_8clLjEhtcEy8GMzZz-u_EeWFU/s1600/IMG_9489.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just love the flutter sleeves on this style</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of Mum points earnt today!</td></tr>
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I actually made this Rapunzel dress for a birthday party that we were invited to, but we also took it t Disney with us. This is the same style as the Cinderella one with the flutter sleeves again, but this time I created flutters in alternating pink/lilac stripes to imitate Rapunzel's puff sleeves. The pink fabric has a gorgeous shimmer to it.</div>
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I added some ribbon detail to the bodice and ric rac on the skirt to accentuate the two fabric types and then finished off with a Pascal applique. I did also add some white lace just underneath the bodice after taking this photo which really finished it nicely.</div>
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As you can see, I just love this pattern! But for the Snow White dress, I made it with a not-so-full skirt. Again, I added ric rac to the bodice, some striped flutter sleeves again and some nice lace detail on the hem. My favourite thing about this dress though is the apple buttons at the back! My Daughter wore this for our ADR at Akershus in Epcot. Snow White loved it!</div>
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This was one of the first dresses I made; inspired by Minnie mouse, this shirred dress is perfect for the hot Floridian weather. The tie straps are adjustable which makes them great for two more years. I added a Minnie applique and some ric rac to the contrasting hem.</div>
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One of my favourites is this shirred dress, inspired by Animal Kingdom. It certainly wins the competition for longest time taken to sew! It is made up of over 20 individual panels in various animal prints which I sewed together. I added a contrasting zebra print hem, a mouse head applique and some cute leopard print buttons at the bottom of the fixed straps. We received so many lovely comments about it in the park.</div>
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Another favourite of mine is this shirred chevron dress inpsired by Duffy Bear. We just love him and couldn't wait to see him in Epcot again. The cast members loved it and showed it to Duffy who stroked the applique of himself and gave her a hug. So cute!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmTR7ucfk3V4A3BH1yYq5PbP91a2jGGOHhU-Uyvqsy5ZCa74LdZjDup7UxaPC4Lh8ucV6St4W4ovdvPG8ZLlQLzaelnvhycrwM_gRucehWpx_z9txqfuD6hz4alRMgPH016ujwjNQC_k/s1600/10291062_891070427575696_6017641748330459352_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmTR7ucfk3V4A3BH1yYq5PbP91a2jGGOHhU-Uyvqsy5ZCa74LdZjDup7UxaPC4Lh8ucV6St4W4ovdvPG8ZLlQLzaelnvhycrwM_gRucehWpx_z9txqfuD6hz4alRMgPH016ujwjNQC_k/s1600/10291062_891070427575696_6017641748330459352_n.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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We had an ADR at Hollywood and Vine for our second morning in Disney World, so I made another shirred dress with flutter sleeves with this lovely Doc McStuffins print. It went down very well in the park.<br />
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I had some of this fabric left over, so I also made these cute ruched shorts with ribbon ties and a coordinating T-shirt.</div>
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Another cute set I made her was this Cinderella print skirt with shimmery pink contrasting hem and a matching top with applique heart.</div>
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We were very fortunate to be visiting when Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was on, so of course, she had to have a Christmas dress! I had this print imported from the USA and she received soooo many comments about it!</div>
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I know these next two aren't Disney, but we also visited Univeral Studios and Island of Adventure, so Thing One and Thing Two and Minions were a must!</div>
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I think I need to book another trip so I can make her more! I have lots of ideas bursting out of my sketch book!<br />
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All images copyright Little Sugar Plums 2014.<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/prettyplumsboutique">www.facebook.com/prettyplumsboutique</a><br />
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Lots of photos again today. I'm not apologising though as I know you all like to see other people's holiday photos really! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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My back was in agony when I woke this morning and I barely slept a wink all night due to my inability to turn over. I managed to get up and take 2 ibuprofen and 2 Paracetamol in the hope that the pain would subside.<br />
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We all had showers and Amelia had a big jaccuzzi bubble bath. Hair washing was essential this morning. Although her BBB hair style was still in place, there were a few stubborn strands sticking out, and I thought she must be uncomfortable with it still up (I know how feel if I've had my hair in a ponytail all day!) So despite her protests, we washed it all out and got her dressed into her Animal Kingdom top and shorts. I made this as a dress for her for our 2012 trip and I couldn't believe it still fit her!<br />
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We had an <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR</a> at Tusker House this morning with Dan, Sam and Sarah, so no need for breakfast. Sarah knocked on our adjoining door when they were all ready, and we were pulling away from Old Key West at 8:30am.<br />
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In the car on the way, we continued our new "thing". You know those things most families do on holiday, a word or phrase or something that just makes everyone laugh, like the Wizards sleeve on our 2012 trip.. Well this year it was the word "Squirrel!" (said in the voice of Dug from Up) and everyone had to stop dead in their tracks and do a silly pose. It was funny the first 5 or 6 times but it kept the kids entertained. Even more so when Amelia shouted it out in the back of the car as she couldn't pronounce it properly so it was "SKIWAL" all the way to Animal Kingdom.<br />
No getting lost this morning (phew), and we parked up in Unicorn 26 and walked to the entrance.<br />
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Once we were in, there were a few people standing around looking up at something. On closer inspection, I realised it was DiVine they were all looking at. I'm so pleased we got to see her as we missed her on our last trip.<br />
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Our first stop was Kilimanjaro safari. We had a FP slot between 9am - 10am and it was already 9:30am, so we hot-footed it over to Africa, taking an obligatory Tree of Life pic on the way…<br />
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The line for the safari wasn't too bad. I think there was one truck in front of us, and then it was our turn. I was so glad we picked the earlier safari and there were lots of animals out this morning. Brace yourselves… the non-animal-lovers among you may want to skip this bit and come back later. Here come the boring animal pics.… <br />
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We saw Rhinoceroseseseseses…<br />
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Hippopotomuseseseses <br />
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These guys.. (insert name if you know it)<br />
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Giraffes…<br />
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Elephants…<br />
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Flamingos…<br />
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Lions…<br />
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Zebra…<br />
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And this pretty cool tree…<br />
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There were tonnes of other animals too but I won't upload them all here. For the animal enthusiasts though, feel free to check out my Flickr album.<br />
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Our <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR</a> for Tusker House was at 10:10am, so we made our way over, parked up the strollers and waited to have our memory maker photo taken. Cue disappointment… Where's Donald? Has he stopped doing the photos now or was it just our bad luck on the particular day? Maybe he had bird flu?<br />
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We sat outside in the 'holding area' while we waited to be seated inside. Two CM's came over and asked the girls if they wanted to play an animal game, so they went off and did that. I think there was a bit of a language barrier with their strong accents, and Amelia's speech is not great (she's currently seeing a speech and language therapist), so it was a bit awkward. Thankfully we were called a few minutes later! We thanked them and said our goodbyes. They were really nice and so happy. Who wouldn't be though working in Disney? <br />
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I never realised just how big Tusker House is. After a trek through the restaurant we got shown to table 523 in the centre of a little room. Table 523! Jeees. I dread to think how many servers they employ in that place. <br />
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Look at Oliver with his autograph book at the ready… I know he secretly loves meeting those characters!<br />
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Our server, Sylvia filled our glasses with jungle juice (Mmmmmmm) and told us the characters would be around shortly, and to hurry and fill our plates before they got to our table if we wanted to. So we went up to the buffet and filled our plates with delicious carved ham, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, mickey waffles, potatoes, etc. <br />
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As soon as we got back, Goofy made an appearance. Amelia was in her element. He still remains her favourite character since our 2012 trip.<br />
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Next up was Donald. It appears he just likes to stay inside in the air conditioning now then?<br />
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I do love Donald. He kept hitting me with his tail when he was with the family behind us. Hehe.<br />
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Next was Daisy…<br />
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And then the big man…<br />
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After lots more food, tea, coffee and jungle juice, we paid the bill which of course was zero to pay, apart from the gratuity which was $19.25 and left Tusker House at 11am.<br />
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Daniel, Sam and Sarah went off to do their own thing but we would be meeting up with them again later on. <br />
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We watched these guys for a bit…<br />
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And just took a leisurely pace around the park, did the discovery Island trails, looked in the shops, and I took lots of photos. We also had some memory maker ones taken. <br />
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We spent a bit of time looking at the Tree of Life, spotting all the animal engravings.<br />
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Amelia spotted a plush cheetah on one of the little carts they have dotted around the park and decided that was what she was going to spend her money on today. We promised her we could come back and get it later so we didn't have to carry it all day. ALL DAY, all she spoke about was that blimmin cheetah!<br />
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We headed over to Asia as our Expedition Everest fast pass was between 12:10- 13:10pm. I love the scenery here.<br />
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We did the Maharajah Jungle Trek which we all enjoyed. Amelia loved the bats.<br />
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More photos were taken …<br />
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And then it was time to ride this bad boy…<br />
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We got the kids some ice creams and they waited at the exit while Paul and I rode after receiving strict instructions not to move from that spot.<br />
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Up until now, my back hadn't been too bad, but as soon as I sat down on EE, it felt like I slipped a disc or something. So painful! Despite that, EE was as brilliant as I remembered. The ride photo is less than flattering though, so I'm not uploading it!<br />
We wanted to ride again, but we felt guilty enough leaving the kids and by this time, the line was huge so we said we'd go back later on and see what the wait time was like.<br />
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Next was Tough to be a Bug which was showing a 5 min wait but closed for technical difficulties just as we got in line. Typical. We went back again at 2pm and it was still only a 5 min wait. I could really see why afterwards.<br />
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Amelia was all happy in the line… <br />
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…Until I stupidly told her something which JoJo88 told her boys on their last trip (It was you wasn't it Jo?); "If there's any parts you don't like, just shut your eyes". I wish I'd shut my mouth, as from then on she played on being scared. I may sound like I'm being harsh, but I know what she's like. And if I hadn't said anything, I'm sure she would have enjoyed it and found it funny. But she moaned and whinged through the whole thing. By the end she was on my lap with her head buried in my shoulder, refusing to watch. In a way it was a good job she wasn't in her seat for the finale. Those of you who have been on will know what I mean. I'll save the surprise for the rest of you though. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> <br />
I thought it was quite good, but couldn't enjoy it because she was so scared. I probably wouldn't go on it again. <br />
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To console her, we decided we'd go and find her plush cheetah. We found one cart but they didn't have any, so we carried on walking and found it. However it wasn't the same cart from this morning and she knew! God knows how. Despite us explaining to her that the cheetah's are all the same, it was no use. She wanted the one from this morning and no amount of bartering with her was going to change her mind. So we ended up traipsing over to Asia to try and find it. As soon as the cart was in sight she yelled "there it is!" and ran over to it. She picked up the cheetah but then couldn't stop looking at all the other plush toys on the stall. Baby Simba's, baby gorillas… you name it. After 10 minutes she finally decided she was going to get a baby tiger wrapped in a leaf blanket instead and named it Lilly (Tiger Lilly) and she didn't let it go from that moment on. It came everywhere with us. According to the receipt it was at the Kali Cart and it was $25.51 with tax.<br />
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Oliver was still saving his money, but he did part with $9.54 for some star wars bandits for his magic band at Disney Outfitters.<br />
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The next showing of Festival of the Lion King was at 3pm, so we plodded over to the Harambe Theatre and got in the queue. Only a few minutes later, this happened…<br />
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She was sparko, and even through all the noise, walking through the queue system and finding our seat, she never woke up. I was worried she was going to miss the entire show. As we were waiting for everyone to enter the theatre, we saw Daniel, Sam and Sarah and they were sat a few rows down in front of us! If we hadn't have gone back to Africa for Tiger Lilly, we probably would have missed them! Such a small world.<br />
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As the lights went down Amelia woke up and she couldn't stop smiling. Obviously a little nap was just what she needed. <br />
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The show was as amazing as ever and still remains one of my favourite shows in Disney.<br />
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We met up with the others outside and decided we'd all go on Kali River Rapids together. Sarah was doing the Wilderness Explorer challenge so we stopped at a few places on the way.<br />
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When we arrived at KRR, Amelia was JUST tall enough to ride. She was given a special card that she had to hand to the CM at the raft station so they would know to seat her in a special seat with a seat belt. The wait time stated 20 minutes, but it was more like 10. <br />
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I think I was the only one who didn't get that wet. Oliver was soaked and Amelia was just in hysterics with laughter around the whole course every time someone got wet, and loved getting wet herself. Lol. <br />
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When we got around to Expedition Everest again, the wait time was only 10 minutes, so Oliver waited with the girls again and kept them amused while we rode one last time, this time with Daniel and Sam. They had never been on before and loved it!<br />
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We made our way around to DinoLand USA and rode the Triceratop Spin. We were all in agreement that this area needs to be removed! The whole area is just a waste of park space. <br />
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About three times throughout the day we saw a strange man wearing a long cloak and sorcerers hat with a big sign around his neck saying "free hugs". He looked very odd and not the sort person I would feel comfortable approaching. He didn't look like a cast member. Has anyone else seen him before? I vaguely remember reading something or seeing him before - maybe it was on our last trip. I don't know. But I definitely had a twinge that I'd seen him before. Kind of like de-ja-vu! <br />
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We were all a bit hungry by now so we decided to go to Flame tree BBQ for a quick service meal. I read on a trip report to sit away from the restaurant at the tables over-looking the lake, so that's what I did - much to the others annoyance having to walk so far. We had:<br />
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Me: 1/2 rack ribs and chocolate mousse. It was lovely! I couldn't finish mousse though as it was so filling!<br />
Paul: Ribs and chicken combo and key lime mousse - He said it was really nice and chicken was lovely!<br />
Oliver: Turkey sandwich and choc mousse<br />
Amelia: hotdog, grapes and strawberry yoghurt.<br />
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I was glad we sat where we did. It was very quiet and such a beautiful view of Everest as the sun was setting. There was lots of construction work going on though which spoilt the photos a bit.<br />
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We made our way back to the car park after dinner. The sky was beautiful.<br />
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We went back to OKW via the general store where we bought half a gallon of milk ($3.49), a box of Entermanns cookies ($3.79) and two mouse head key covers ($5.95 each).<br />
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We went back to the room and I packed for our one night stay at Hard Rock Hotel and then had tea and cookies on our balcony with Daniel and Sam while the girls played and Oliver face-timed his mates back home on his phone. <br />
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I had a shower and we went to bed at 11pm, very excited about tomorrow, but panicking I'd forgotten to pack something!<br />
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Tomorrow: Hard Rock Hotel, Diagon Alley and Universal Studios.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-77675379238198637822015-04-14T02:35:00.002-07:002015-04-14T02:38:53.863-07:00Day 6 - Amelia's Unbirthday With the Princesses ~ November 210410th November 2014<br />
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My alarm went off at 8am this morning and I logged in to YouTube ready to play "A very Merry Unbirthday" to wake Amelia up. She was fast asleep when we went into the lounge area of the villa where the kids were sleeping. I turned the volume up full blast and she eventually started stirring and then a huge grin appeared on her face! I had wrapped up the dress and drawstring bag I made her last night, so she opened that and loved it! <br />
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Then she went over to the front door to see if an invitation had been "delivered". Cinderella had been! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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Paul got the kids some cereal and toast for breakfast and then we all showered and dressed. I gave Amelia a bath and put her dress on and pinned the "Future princess" badge on her. Sarah was also having her BBB today just after Amelia and she was dressed in her Rapunzel dress. So much girliness. I loved it!<br />
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Obligatory pre-park day balcony pics were taken…<br />
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And then we were off. We were so busy that Paul and I realised when we got in the car that we hadn't had any breakfast. As we pulled out of our parking bay, I spotted a maid balancing a HUGE stack of towels on her head all the way up the flights of stairs to one of the studios at the top. No hands or anything!<br />
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Despite being here 5 whole days now, the roads to Disney were still confusing us. I knew from yesterday that once we'd turned left out of OKW, at the next junction we needed to go straight over, but Sam told Paul to turn left which took us god knows where, and well over an hour to get back to Magic Kingdom. I declared I'm never getting in the car again. I was so angry and sick of wasting my holiday driving around being lost. I was taught as a child that if I had nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. So I sat in the front in silence. Paul was so annoyed and hungry which makes him 10x worse… It wasn't a pleasant environment. I wanted today to be special and it was ruined before it had even begun. And then, to make matters worse, Sarah threw up in the back of the car and the nearest vessel to contain it in happened to be my empty resort mug. I was not happy. I just wanted to jump out of the car and get on a bus. <br />
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When we eventually arrived at the TTC we had 20 minutes to get to Amelia's BBB reservation! I was praying there wasn't going to be a huge line at the gates. Daniel told us to go ahead without them so they could get Sarah cleaned up. Thankfully none of the sick had gone on her dress or the car. <br />
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Our luck was obviously out that morning as there was a huge queue for monorail and the ferry was already there, so we hot footed it down to the dock. Big mistake! It took forever as we had to wait for clearance half way over. We arrived at MK at 11:25am and our BBB reservation was at 11:30am!<br />
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Amelia and I left Paul and Oliver with the pushchair and the bags, hopped through the bag less line at bag check. At the entrance, the CM commented on Amelia's "button" (badge) and said he'd never seen one like it before. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> We swiped our bands and did my fingerprint and ran up Main Street and around the back of the castle. No time to take in the sights, the music or the sweet, delicious popcorn scent this morning!<br />
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Thankfully we got in with no trouble and took a seat to wait. Amelia could not stop smiling. One of the fairy godmother's in training was speaking to her and kept calling her Princess and told her how beautiful her hair and her dress was. Everyone was looking at her. Such a proud mummy moment! I was welling up already and I had to look down at a leaflet I'd picked up on the check in desk to stop myself from turning into a blubbering wreck! <br />
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Paul and Oliver turned up 10 minutes later and went and parked the stroller. Meanwhile "Princess Amelia" was called and taken to a chair at the back on the right of the Boutique. Her Fairy Godmother in training, Maggie, was lovely. She made her comfortable in the chair and asked her to choose the style she wanted. Thank heavens she picked a nice one! Then she picked out her tiara, make-up and body jewel. <br />
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Maggie put a gown on her and proceeded to do her hair. We weren't asked for her own hair brush, despite being told on the phone to bring one when I booked 180 days ago!<br />
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Paul and Oliver came over and sat on the bench in the middle. Oliver said he was hungry so we said he could go and get a snack if he wanted to. He had his own pin number set up for his magic band. He didn't need telling twice! <br />
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Half way through doing Amelia's hair, another lady came over and did her make-up. She was asked to choose a nail polish although it wasn't applied. Not sure if they forgot or if it wasn't part of the coach package.<br />
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She loved every second. I could see Paul welling up which set me off. It was so magical. All the while, a photo pass photographer kept coming over and taking photos. I don't know how Maggie did her hair but it was perfect! Not one strand out of place and it stayed in until the following day!<br />
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Oliver came back grinning. He had walked all the way through Adventureland to find a hotdog! <br />
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When Maggie was finished she put a pink sash on Amelia…<br />
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And then gave her a face shield and sprinkled some magic pixie dust on her hair.<br />
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And then she was allowed to look in the mirror<br />
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The whole experience was just perfect from start to finish and I am SO glad we booked it. It was worth every penny.<br />
Amelia had the coach package which included hair and make-up styling, face jewel, tiara, barrette, then the makeup palette and jewels that they used, a tail comb (I've pinched this and it's the best one I've ever had! It's really strong!), a BBB sash and a big pink drawstring bag to keep everything in with the BBB logo on. We also got asked if we wanted a BBB T-shirt ($18.95) as we were paying. I was totally caught up in the magic and said yes, but to this day she hasn't worn it! We were in there for about 40 minutes and the total for everything was $78.71. I don't think that's too bad at all for such a magical experience. <br />
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The package also included a "Fairytale bundle disc" - or at least that's what it says on my receipt. I'm assuming this is the photo shoot that we had next. We were told to go to Castle Couture where there is a little studio. The photographer had Amelia doing all kinds of cute princess poses. All of the photos were scanned onto our magic band at the end, but I think if we hadn't have had Memory Maker, we would have probably been given a disc of all the photos. They were really nice. There are loads, so I won't bore you with all of them. Here's a couple though… <br />
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While she was having her photos taken, Paul bought another autograph book as Amelia's was full already! He got her a Tinkerbell one this time ($12.73 including tax).<br />
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We had a little while before our lunch <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR</a> at Cinderella's Royal Table (CRT) so we went on to Main Street and watched the parade..<br />
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And had a few memory maker photos taken...<br />
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...And then before long it was time to make our way to CRT. <br />
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We checked in with a CM as we went in and waited a few minutes for our turn to meet Cinderella. Oliver sat this one out again (Princesses aren't his thing apparently Lol), but Amelia was in awe of her. She signed her autograph book and had some photos taken… They let me take some first and then the photographer took some for our memory maker. <br />
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We sat down afterwards in the little waiting area until we were called. While we waited, Sam, Daniel and Sarah came in. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> Unfortunately when we booked this <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR</a>, we couldn't get a table for all seven of us, so we had to book separately. <br />
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When my name was called, we made our way up the spiral staircase. The theming was amazing. It's the little details that really make Disney. I particularly liked the stained glass window. <br />
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We entered the dining room which was amazing. It really felt as though we were in a castle. We were seated at a table by the window (table 15) over-looking Fantasyland. I couldn't have been happier!<br />
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Our server, Carl, bought over a "Chef's Tasting plate" (for the life of me I can't remember what was on this. I think it may have been salad as only Paul touched it and it was almost full when they took it away), a wishing star and a magic wand for Amelia, and a sword for Oliver and then took our order. <br />
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Paul and I had the Slow braised rib which looked something like this if I remember rightly (I didn't take any food pics apart from dessert I'm afraid). It was sooo delicious and just melted in the mouth.. <br />
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Oliver didn't like the look of anything on the adults menu and threw a teenage strop. Not wanting to create a scene, I asked 'Carl' if he could have something from the children's menu. He wanted the kids chicken pot pie so he said that was fine and he would make him up a larger portion which was good of him. He wasn't impressed when it arrived though. He said it was nice, but like a bowl of soup with two biscuits in (and that's exactly what it looked like!)! He said he wished he'd ordered the same as Paul and I when he saw ours. "I told you so" sprang to mind. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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Amelia had chicken tenders but barely touched them. (I won't bore you with pics of chicken nuggets, I'm sure you've all seen them before. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> I'm sure they brought her a little pot of cheese and grapes to eat prior to the entrees being brought out too. <br />
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Everyone applauded when the princesses came out. One by one they all came round to our table. Amelia was in her element! I apologise in advance for yet another photo of Amelia, but out of all the memory maker ones we had taken today, this one is my favourite. And I took it myself! Lol. (If you look closely, in the background, you can also see Sarah - they were seated right behind us). <br />
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First to come round was Snow White…<br />
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Followed by Aurora…<br />
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…. Then Ariel…<br />
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And jasmine. When Jasmine came over she told Amelia she loved her hair and asked if she used camel spit in it to make it stay up!<br />
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We all had desserts. Paul, Oliver and I had The Clock Strikes 12. Oh my god. This was divine! <br />
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I think Amelia had ice cream, but my notes fail me. <br />
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This meal would have cost $200 had we paid out of pocket, but as we had the dining plan it was free. This restaurant does take up 2 table credits per person, but in my opinion, it was well worth it! I wouldn't hesitate to book again.<br />
Included in the cost was also a lovely photo in a decorative cardboard frame with 4 smaller photos. <br />
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Daniel, Sam and Sarah were still eating and had different fast passes to us for the afternoon, so we said our goodbyes and left for some park action. <br />
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Our first fast pass was for Anna and Elsa in the Princess Fairytale Hall. There was one other family in front of us, and when they let we were the only ones in the room with them. Anna was absolutely BRILLIANT! She was so much fun and spoke to Amelia about how at princess school, they teach you everything... even how you shouldn't blow bubbles in chocolate milk! I asked her if Amelia could see the A on the back of her boots as Amelia's name begins with the letter A too and she showed us, giving us a twirl and told us it actually stands for Arendale.<br />
She signed her autograph book and gave her a hug and then we moved over to Elsa who was a lot less fun! She signed her book and did the love and shove, but that was about it. And what is going on with her wig? Surely you can do better than that Disney? <br />
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As we were leaving Anna started jumping up and down across the room shouting "Bye Amelia! It was lovely to meet you!" <br />
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Next, Mickey's Philarmagic was showing a 5 minute wait, so we went on that which we all enjoyed. Amelia kept jumping and trying to grab the air in front of her. Hehe She loved the bit at the end - I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't done it. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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Our next fast pass was for Ariel's grotto. Great interaction here and Amelia loved it. <br />
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It was 4:30pm now and the kids were feeling a bit peckish. We went to the Pretzel Wagon where they had a churro each and I got a pretzel (1 snack credit each). I'd been seeing people walk around eating these Mickey pretzels for a few days now and they looked delicious. Unfortunately looks were very deceiving. It was disgusting and after a couple of bites, I threw it away. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> I did end up eating half of Amelia's churro though when she got bored of it. It was really nice. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/tounge_smile.gif" title="tongue" /><br />
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Our next fast pass was for Goofy's barnstormer. Oliver refused to go on it (wuss) But Amelia loved it! She put her hands up and screamed the whole way around and when it finished she said she wanted to go on again and ride it all day! The queue was showing a 10 minute wait, so we got in line and rode again. She wanted to go a third time but evil mummy said no and tried to console her crying her eyes out with a promise of more Ariel. We made our way over to the Little mermaid Journey under the sea which was showing a 10 minute wait, but was a walk on. I sat with Oliver and Paul and Amelia were behind us. Amelia loved it, and I think secretly Oliver did too <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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We paid a visit to Fantasy Faire where Oliver bought a Marvel Thor Pez and I bought something that was $21.95 but I have no recollection of what it was! The receipt says XM/HB/MN/NEWHOLLY so make of that what you will! Lol. <br />
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By 6pm we started to flag a bit. The kids and I went on the Carousel, and then we decided to call it a day. #We wandered out of the park at a leisurely pace. We'd had such a lovely, magical day. One of the best days of my life in fact.<br />
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Paul text Daniel to see where they were and as we got half way down main street I spotted him in the huge crowds looking down at his phone, texting Paul! What are the odds?! They wanted to stay a bit longer, so we gave them the car keys and took a bus back to OKW via Goods To Go where we all got a QS meal each. By the time we walked back to our villa though it was barely luke warm. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /><br />
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My back was still in a lot of pain and was getting even worse by the evening. As I lay in bed that night I couldn't move because I was in so much agony. <br />
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A totally magical day and lots of lovely memories to cherish today. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-3982344213801616132015-03-26T02:51:00.000-07:002015-03-26T03:05:34.141-07:00I wish I May I Wish WE DID! - Day 5 - Shops, Shirts & Shrimp9th November 2014<br />
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I woke up at 4am to the sound of rain and forced myself to go back to sleep, hoping that it would be gone by the morning. Today was to be Oliver's Unbirthday, and a day I had been planning since last year; a day of swimming at Blizzard Beach and dinner at Chef Mickey's in the evening. If there was one day I didn't want rain, It was today. <br />
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I woke again at 7am and could still hear the superfluous sound of pattering on palm leaves and the dins as it hit the guttering outside of our room. I went out onto the balcony with my fingers crossed, hoping it was lawnmowers or something else, but my heart sank when I saw the heavy rain through the still-darkness. <br />
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We got up, showered and dressed and Daniel, Sam and Sarah came into our room for breakfast of tea, coffee, cereals and toast. We looked at our itinerary and decided that we would just swap day 5 with day 9 which was to be a shopping day. The rain did die down a bit and the kids were playing out on the balcony. I went out with them to take some photos and spotted a turtle in the lake. They all had fun throwing bits of toast for him until I told them to stop in case it attracted alligators! Paul also said that he saw a huge rat behind the bushes out the front the previous night when he went out for a cigarette. No more toast for the turtle girls! This really made me uneasy and I said he should have reported it, but I'm not sure if he ever did. <br />
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We all left the villa at about 9:30am. I'm not sure if I mentioned on Day 1 (it's so long since I wrote it and I haven't got time to go back and look so apologies if I'm repeating myself again!), but when I had my package delivery from Carrie, there was a mix up and I received someone else parcel by mistake. It was quickly rectified with a few emails and Carrie told me to leave it at Hospitality House for her to pick up that afternoon, so that was our first port of call this morning. <br />
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We managed to find our way Premium outlets on International Drive with the help of the map on Daniel's phone. We'd given up with the Sat Nav at this point. I don't think there were too many wrong turns. If there was, I didn't make a note of them so it can't have been that bad <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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We visited Disney Character Warehouse where I bought:<br />
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A car window decal for Paul (my other car is a monorail) $2.99<br />
A 4x6 wooden photo frame $9.99<br />
A photo album (the same as I bought in 2012) $12.99<br />
and I donated a dollar to the wildlife trust for $1 - how can you say no to those sweet old ladies who work in there? <br />
<b>Total $28.66 incl. tax.</b><br />
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Paul bought a nice coffee mug $5.99 and Oliver got some sour cherry balls for $4.95.<br />
<b>Total with tax: $11.66</b><br />
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Next up was Skechers where we took advantage of the Buy one get one half price offer. We bought <br />
Go walk 2 trainers for me<br />
Twinkletoes Shuffles for Amelia <br />
Lite Dreamz for Amelia<br />
And some Citywalk's for Paul<br />
<b>TOTAL including tax: $155.98</b><br />
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Unfortunately Oliver was at a difficult size (6.5 UK) and they didn't stock it in the boys or mens section! How pants is that? I went in Journeys to see if they had anything for him but there was nothing he liked and I also wanted some Uggs, but they weren't that much cheaper than over here so I ended up leaving them. We looked in a few other places but didn't buy anything. Sam bought a nice handbag, but I think that was about it. <br />
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We were getting hungry now go we went back to the car and drove to Mall at Millenia. There was about an hours wait for a table and the kids were getting grouchy, so we decided to get take out cheesecake and have something more substantial to eat at the food court. I was a bit overwhelmed with so many choices and really couldn't decide which one to have, so I said I'd just have a bit of Oliver and Paul's. Oliver had a slice of Oreo Dream Extreme ($7.95) and Paul had a slice of Vanilla Bean ($7.50). We paid and then had to wait on the other side for them to be packaged up to take away. In which time I did what most women do and changed my mind! I ordered a slice of Fresh Strawberry ($7.95). <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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We waked through the mall towards the food court. The decorations were all up and it looked very festive and twinkly. <br />
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We settled on Gourmet Grill to eat.<br />
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Paul and I both had bacon cheese burgers, Oliver had a hot dog combo and Amelia had a kids hotdog with extra cheese (sorry, no pics!). Total: $34.06 including tax. It was quite nice. Nothing to write home about, just a typical burger place. My back was in agony though and I was glad of the sit down.<br />
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We didn't particularly want to buy anything but Dan and Sam wanted to look for the new Surface in the Microsoft store, so we arranged to meet them outside at 2:30pm. We had a look around Macy's but didn't buy anything. My Mum asked me to get her the big box of Estee Lauder make-up that you get cheap when you buy a fragrance if it was cheaper in Florida than it is in the UK. I couldn't get a signal on my phone to call her so I took some snaps for her to see if she wanted it and we would come back another day if she did. For those of you ladies interested <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" />….<br />
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We sat outside on the wall and waited for the others for ages. Paul didn't want to walk down one end of the mall only to come back again, and I was in so much pain now with my back that I was quite happy to do this! I was feeling pretty fed up. The kids had fun running about and actually played nicely together with no arguing which made a pleasant change <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /><br />
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With the arrival of Sam and Daniel, we made our way back to OKW and chilled out for a bit. I took some painkillers and unpacked all of our shopping haul…<br />
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…and Oliver proceeded to tell us all about the "anaconda" he'd just left in the toilet! Such a disgusting boy! I'm sure you all wanted to know about that <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> <br />
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We had tea and a bit of our cheesecakes. It was sooooo nice, but very filling. Oliver and I put the rest of ours in the fridge while Paul polished his off. This was Oliver's…<br />
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We got changed and ready to go out. We still had our <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR</a> at Chef Mickey's despite the rest of Oliver's Unbirthday being put on hold. Finally it was time to get out the matching Mickey shirts! Paul had been waiting for this day for months! Lol. Amelia couldn't stop laughing when she realised she was wearing the same as daddy and Oliver and I think Oliver was slightly mortified when he saw Paul come out the bedroom wearing the same shirt. Lol. I don’t think Daniel and Sam saw the funny side though. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/whatchutalkingabout_smile.gif" title="erm" /><br />
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We all got in the car and drove to the Transportation and Ticket Centre (TTC) and then caught a smelly resort monorail to the Contemporary. The whole time we were in Disney, the monorails stank of pee. Not sure what it was. I hope they sort it out though! <br />
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We checked in at Chef mickeys and was given a pager so we sat down for a bit by the window. I know people rave about the Contemporary, but I just wasn't feeling it. The monorail coming and going every few minutes was really noisy and kind of vibrated in my head if that makes sense. It would put me off of staying there. I'm hoping they have sound-proof rooms otherwise I'd never get any sleep!<br />
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We were called after a few minutes and went up and had a memory maker photo taken.<br />
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We were then shown to our table and ordered drinks. We were told the characters would be here very soon, so we quickly grabbed some food for the kids and got back to the table just in time for Mickey.<br />
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The rest of us each went up and got food from the buffet. There was carved beef and turkey, mashed potatoes, delicious bread rolls, a salad bar where I filled up on shrimp ( I looooove shrimp!), loads of stuff really. I would say it was 'just OK'. Not memorable enough for me to actually remember what else I ate. It was nice enough but I'm not in a hurry to go back. The characters were good though and they all had their chef outfits on. After Mickey came Goofy..<br />
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…and then Minnie…<br />
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Excellent photography there Paul! Well done!<br />
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Next was Donald…<br />
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And lastly Pluto…<br />
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When we'd finished dinner we all had desserts. I'm pretty sure the kids all had ice cream with lots of toppings. Paul and I just had a few of these...<br />
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The two at the back were delicious!<br />
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Paul scanned his magic band to pay the bill which would have been $205.00! Thank heavens for the dining plan! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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Just as we got up to leave, all the characters came out and started dancing about and twirling their napkins around. The kids loved it (Oliver sat it out <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> )<br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/5URR2zQI0Ig" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">Video here</a> </div>
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We made our way out and caught the monorail to Magic Kingdom. <br />
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It looked very festive and the castle looked beautiful all lit up. My photos don’t do it justice. I couldn't capture it properly.<br />
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The electrical parade was due to start soon, so we got in position outside the gates by the Harmony Barber shop where the floats would come out. Paul asked Daniel if he would mind if the kids watched it with them while we quickly went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as our freebie fast passes from when Splash Mountain broke down were going to expire tonight. Amelia had fallen asleep in her pushchair and slept through whole thing! <br />
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Paul and I speed-walked up main street via the Emporium where I bought a hooded top I had my eye on. It was freezing tonight and I had forgotten my cardigan. It didn't really go with the dress I was wearing but at least I was warm! <br />
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We went in BTMRR. Just as it did the first little drop I felt something go in my back. I was terrified I was going to end up paralysed or something. I've never had it happen to me before. Despite that though, BTMRR was amazing! A totally different ride experience in the dark. We practically ran back as the parade had started and we wanted to catch some of it, but by the time we got back to the entrance it was over <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/cry_smile.gif" title="cry" /><br />
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We retraced our steps back up Main street again, having a few memory maker photos taken on the way. <br />
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Me and my boys <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /><br />
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Paul got a coffee and two hot chocolates for Oliver and I from main St bakery (aka Starbucks). We were unsure where the Wishes preferred seating was now that they'd changed it to a FP+ attraction. For some reason I thought it had moved. We asked a CM on the bridge to Tomorrowland who didn't have a clue, so we walked back towards the rose garden and asked there and they ushered us in quickly after scanning our bands. They were very official looking I thought, like security guards in dark uniforms and there were loads of them! <br />
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The rose garden had a fantastic view, despite the tree being a little obstructive.<br />
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Amelia was still fast asleep in her pushchair and didn't even stir when Paul took her out. We all sat on the grass together and it was just so lovely being out of the crowds in our own little secluded area. There were only a handful of other people in there. <br />
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Amelia woke up just before Celebrate the Magic started. She really enjoyed it, although she kept saying it was really loud.<br />
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And then one of highlights of the holiday happened. As the Wishes music started and the little girl started singing "Starlight, Starbright…", Amelia said to Paul "That's what Mummy sings to me at bedtime". He nearly cried and I did as soon as he told me! It was such a magical moment being there with my family in the rose garden watching my favourite show. I'm not ashamed to admit always cry watching wishes and tonight was no exception (I'm such a loser! Lol)!<br />
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Pretty poor on the photo department I'm afraid.<br />
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As we were sitting there watching the fireworks, half way through, several people tried to climb the fence into the garden! Now I realised why the official looking CM's were there. One of them went over and moved them along straight away. <br />
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Sarah was asleep afterwards and had slept through the whole thing. She and Amelia must have been on a nap rota! We took the shuttle back to the TTC. We arrived at the car park and as I stepped off and put my foot down on the tarmac, my back felt like it was breaking. Like a disc in my spine had slipped again. If I was on my own I would have cried It was the most excruciating pain. I practically tip toed back to the car holding back the tears as it hurt so much to walk.<br />
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We got back to the resort, I took some painkillers, got the kids to bed and went straight to bed ourselves. <br />
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<a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=10218915#post10218915" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"></a>TOMORROW: A Perfectly Princess Day<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-83396290100774096752015-03-24T00:58:00.000-07:002015-03-24T00:58:13.002-07:00Day 4 - Crowds, Characters and Chaos - Epcot, We didn't have any breakfast plans this morning. Daniel and Sam had an <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR</a> at Ohana at 8am, and were off out first thing. We took a more leisurely approach, but were still up, showered/bathed and dressed and outside the villa at 8:54am just as the bus to Epcot drove away from the bus stop. Ah crap! I took a couple of snaps of the kids outside of our block and we took a slow walk over and waited for the next one. <br /><br />
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<br /> Paul wanted to leave Amelia's pushchair behind today as she had become lazy and wanted to sit in it all the time. We had been waiting a few minutes when I suggested to him that we had better take it as we were going to be out until this evening, and would be doing a LOT of waking today. There were a few people waiting for the bus, so he quickly ran back to our villa, grabbed it and got back just as the next bus pulled up. I don't think we ever waited more than 10 minutes for a bus all holiday and the bus stop was right by our block on Old Turtle pond Road which was very convenient. <br /><br /> We arrived at Epcot, went through bag check and then up to the entrance where we scanned our magic bands and went in. I think Oliver's worked first time today! <br /><br /> We went straight to Fountain View (AKA Starbucks) which was very busy. We queued for absolutely ages. Artisan breakfast sandwiches were our breakfast of choice this morning - Bon Gouda (cheese and ham) all round with tea, coffee, milk and apple juice for Oliver and Amelia. They were delicious! I thought it was going to be too big for Amelia, but she ate every bit! It was 9:51am now (going by the date on my photos!) and we were all really hungry at this point, so they went down very well. We sat on a bench under Spaceship Earth and it was nice just chilling out, eating without rushing around to be anywhere. I'm afraid I can't remember how much this came to as the receipt just has zeros as the price, but we used 4 QS credits. <br /><br />
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<br /> Excuse the bite mark! I couldn't wait! <br /><br /> Our first Fast pass was for Soarin' between 10:10 - 11:10am so we made our way over there after breakfast. I absolutely loved it! But the others didn't share my enthusiasm unfortunately. Amelia cried and kept saying she was falling, Oliver kept saying afterwards that he was petrified he was going to fall (it's not real kids!) And Paul said he didn't get it and was expecting it to be better. So I guess I'll be riding solo next time! <br /><br /> Next up was The Seas with Nemo which we all enjoyed, and we spent some time afterwards looking at the fish, turtles, dolphins, etc.<br /><br />
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<br /> We left the fishes and made our way to the Character Spot and arrived outside at 11:50 just as Daniel, Sam and Sarah were going in! Talk about a small world! We all went in and met the gang together..<br /><br />
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<br /> As we got to Minnie, Mickey came over holding a plush Mickey and Minnie wedding toy and gave it to Minnie and they shared a kiss and a cuddle. It was so sweet!<br /><br />
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<br /> I seem to remember there being a lot more characters on our last trip in 2012, and the location had changed this time too. Now it's just Mickey, Goofy and Minnie at the Character Spot. <br /><br /> We all had <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR's</a> this evening at different restaurants, so we arranged a time and place to meet up afterwards, then went our separate ways. Daniel and Sam went for their next fast pass and we made our way towards World showcase via Mouse Gear where Amelia spent her daily allowance on:<br /><br /> Duffy bandits for her magic band $6.96 <br /> A Princess Pin $9.95<br /> and a postcard. $1.95 <br /><b>TOTAL $20.08 including tax. </b> <br /><br /> I also bought:<br /> A 2014 postcard $1.95<br /> A polka dot converse shoe pin $9.95<br /> A Tinkerbell 2014 pin for my Mum $9.95<br /> Minnie Pow! Pin $7.95<br /><b>TOTAL $31.74 INCL TAX</b>. <br /><br /> Oliver hadn't bought anything so far. I think he wanted to save it.<br /><br /> The Food and Wine Festival was in full swing and it was SO busy. <br /><br />
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<br /> The plan was to walk over to International Gateway, through to the Boardwalk and then on to Fantasia Gardens mini golf. But before we'd even got to Canada, Paul started moaning about where we were going to eat. I was happy to just eat wherever we happened to be around 1pm, but Paul needed a plan, so we decided we'd do a detour to France via Canada…<br /><br />
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<br />And the United Kingdom…<br /><br />
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<br />The kids started the Kidcot Funstop, but never did collect all the countries.<br /><br />
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<br /> We had some lovely photopass photos taken here. I love the ones of the kids. <br /><br />
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<br /> I never anticipated just how busy Epcot would be during the food and Wine Festival but boy were we in for a shock! It was heaving! It was horrible not being able to walk without brushing arms with strangers and it took forever to get over to France! I was relieved when we reached Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie a lot later than planned at 2pm. The queue was long, but went quite quickly and we all ordered baguettes - ham and cheese for the kids and I, and Paul had chicken salad.<br /><br /> Unfortunately there were no tables and chairs left, so we had to stand at one of those high tables which I detest. Who invented them? They're rubbish for families with small children. Amelia couldn't reach, so she had to sit in her pushchair (thank goodness we brought it!), but she seemed quite happy sitting there eating her way through a whole baguette! She certainly had an appetite today! My back was killing me, and I kept having to bend over to relieve it a bit. I would have killed for a chair! Paul finished his lunch and took Amelia to the toilet. I think he must have queued for about 30 minutes! It was so chaotic and busy that I didn't take any photos I'm afraid, but the baguettes were really nice. We will definitely go back again on future trips when it's not as busy. <br /><br /> Had to get a photo of Paul outside "his" restaurant!<br /><br />
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<br /> This is how busy it was!<br /><br />
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<br /> We made our way out of the chaos and went to get a boat to the Boardwalk but it was just pulling away. I spoke to a CM who told us that Fantasia Gardens wasn't that far so we walked … and walked….and walked. It was bit of a trek! It was a good job there were some nice views. And it was so quiet! So nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of Epcot. I love the Boardwalk..<br /><br />
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<br /> We passed the swan and Dolphin too which looked lovely. It was even quieter there and we only saw one other person.<br /><br />
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<br /> We passed a play park which Amelia wanted to go in, but we told her we'd go on the way back. It felt like we'd walked miles and my back was in agony by this point. As we reached the road I found a bench and just had to sit down. I was doubled over. I have a curved spine and usually suffer after prolonged walking/standing. Usually if I bend forward it stops the pain. But it didn't this time. We were so close and I could see Fantasia Gardens across the road. After 2 minutes we carried on. There was another family two in front of us who were taking forever. I don't know what they were talking about, but I think they were having some kind of problem. The lady behind them, and in front of us turned around and told us she couldn't wait any longer and gave us a family pass for a free game. We thanked her and about 10 more minutes later someone else came and served us - only to tell us there was a 55 minute wait! It was getting on a bit for time now and we had an <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR</a> at Garden Grill booked for 5:15pm, so we gave it a miss. We were all so disappointed. We'd walked all that way for nothing. As we back walked out, we spotted the lady who gave us the pass, so I gave it back to her. We decided as we'd came so far, Paul would take Oliver in the arcade for a bit, and I said I'd take Amelia to the park we'd passed on the way. So that's what we did.<br /><br /> Amelia enjoyed the park. There were some great slides… all except this one which makes absolutely no sense! Her legs just butted each section on the way down! Obviously designed by the same person who invented tall tables with no chairs <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br /><br />
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<br /> The static on the slide on the end was great! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" /><br /><br />
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<br /> Paul and Oliver came back and Oliver took advantage of the empty hammock. <br /><br />
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<br /> We headed back to Epcot - this time on a friendship boat from the Boardwalk. We couldn't walk anymore!<br /><br /> We went round to the right, past Morrocco and Japan and watched this for a while…<br /><br />
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<br />And then we fought our way through this lot until we reached Germany.<br /><br />
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<br /> With so much further to go, we decided to catch the boat from Germany to Mexico. As we sailed across, they were opening the drawbridge ready to bring out the illuminations floats.<br /><br /> As we walked towards the Showcase Plaza we saw Duffy in his meet and greet area and just had to wait to see him as Amelia was wearing the Duffy dress that I made her <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> The queue wasn't too long, but we'd only waited a couple of minutes before he decided to go on his 'wonder break' and it was another 10 minutes before he came back. It was worth the wait though. Duffy was full of love. He stroked Amelia's dress and told her he loved her by drawing a big heart in the air with his paws. Here's a video Paul took on his phone. I don't know what Facebook does to iPhone videos but the quality is shocking. Paul says to ignore his voice at the end!<br /><br />
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Our 5:15pm <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR</a> at Garden Grill was fast approaching, so we hot-footed it over to The Land and checked in at the desk.<br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> They gave us a pager and I took Amelia to the restrooms while Paul and Oliver waited with it. It was going off just as we came out. Not long to wait at all! We were shown to a table on the outside, facing the viewing windows. Our server, Barry, was lovely and explained how the restaurant revolves, and how it was all we could eat - he would bring out our food, but we could ask for more at any time if we wanted anything. <br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> We had barely sat down before Mickey came round. It was a bit of a rush to get our autograph books out! Amelia was just getting hers ready when Mickey came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She got the surprise of her life when she turned around! I wish I had videoed it! Our server was at the table taking our drinks orders and Amelia couldn't decide what she wanted to drink so the server asked mickey to decide for her <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> <br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> Next up was Chip who also came up behind Amelia and flicked her pigtails! She loved him.<br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> Then soon after Dale came over…<br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br />And then Pluto which was a nice surprise as I didn't realise he was at the Garden Grill.<br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> I think pretty much all of the characters came over before our food was brought out which was good as we could eat without being interrupted half way through.<br /><br /> The food was delicious. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos, so you'll have to make do with a few stock ones I borrowed…<br /><br />First up was a basket of warm bread with orange blossom honey butter. It was delicious! I could have eaten the whole basket <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" />. This came with a bowl of "Living with the Land" farmers salad. <br /> Then came a long plate filed with char-grilled fillet of beef, roasted turkey breast, salmon, garden vegetables, buttermilk mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. <br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> Amelia was given a plate of chicken tenders, with a bowl of macaroni cheese, fries and broccoli florets on the side. She didn't really like any of it, and just picked at ours. I think Oliver ate most of hers which our server found amusing and asked if he wanted him to bring him his own plate to which he declined.<br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> Everything was cooked to perfection. It was soooo nice and made a nice change to the usual theme park menus. For dessert we had a skillet of berry cobbler with vanilla bean whipped cream which was amazing, but we couldn't eat much as we were so full.<br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> Amelia was brought out some of these cupcake cones with crisp pearls and he gave us extras for Oliver. She didn't want these either though which was unlike her! She usually takes after me with her sweet tooth.<br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> We got the bill which came to $155.45 including tax, but not including tip. But of course, we used 4 TS credits making it free <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> On the bill it says 3 adult Harvest Feasts $125.97 and 1 KM combo platter $19.99 - I'm assuming that was Amelia's chicken tenders, fries and macaroni cheese. $20 is an awful lot for that and if I had paid out of pocket for it, I would have been most upset. Especially as she didn't touch it! <br /><br /> Just as we got up to leave, Pluto was doing the rounds again and he waved goodbye and gave Oliver a high five. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /><br /><br /> Sam, Daniel and Sarah were eating at Coral Reef tonight so we arranged to meet them at The Land sign after dinner. Sam text me to say they were almost finished just as the heavens opened and it started pouring down. We ran down the path a bit and stood under the monorail track and waited for them. They arrived shortly after and w decided we'd take a drive up to Premium Outlets.<br /><br /> Oliver bought two Vinylmations from the character warehouse ($3.99 and $7.98) and donated $1 and received a Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund Button as a thank you, I bought a wooden photo frame ($7.99). And Amelia bought a goofy and a splash mountain pin for $3.99 each.<br /><br /> The girls were getting tired so we headed back to OKW via Walgreens. Sam had a really nasty cold sore so needed something for it. We also bought some bread, orange juice, water, milk, some yellow note pads for my dad (he bought loads in 2012 and uses them for work. You can't get them in the UK and he had just run out before we came on holiday), some after bite for all the mosquito bites we were getting and some S'mores goldfish! (my favourite! )<br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> We went back and got the kids to bed and had a look at all of our purchases, and had tea and goldfish on the balcony and went to bed around 11pm.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-76576340555450760502015-03-21T15:58:00.001-07:002015-03-21T15:58:07.857-07:00NOVEMBER 2014 TRIP REPORT - Day 3 - Hollywood Studios & DTDI was woken up at 6am by Amelia who burst into our bedroom grinning from ear to ear! She clambered into our bed and we talked about what we were going to do today when she quickly proclaimed: "I'm not going on splash mountain or the horrible one." <br /> I thought she meant BTMR, but when we were talking about it when we got home (see, I already refer to the resort as 'home') she said she meant "the one with stitch" (Stitch's Great Escape)! I confirmed that we would not be going on that ride again. Ever. <br /><br /> I got up and made tea and sneakily put the kids invitation to breakfast under the door. I did this every morning that we had a character <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR</a>.<br /><br /> Today was moving day for Daniel, Sam and Sarah, so everything from their room had to be brought up into ours as the change-over wasn't until 11am and we didn't want to hang around. I faffed about getting our park essentials into our bags and helped Amelia get dressed into her Doc McStuffins dress that I made her while Paul helped Daniel bring everything upstairs. Then we got in the car and made our way to Hollywood Studios… At least that was the plan. But the Sat Nav had other ideas. It thought it would be good to send us on a little (a long) detour. I'm getting frustrated at this point. A lot. <br /><br /> Eventually we found where we should be going with the help of the map on Daniel's phone and we were hot footing it from Television 39 up to the entrance at 8:05am, which coincidentally was the time of our dining reservation at Hollywood and Vine.<br /><br /> Oliver had a glitch with his magic band at the entrance, something which became a regular occurrence throughout the holiday, but eventually the mickey ball turned from blue to green and he was allowed in. <br /><br /> We had a quick obligatory photo as the park was empty. I now realise that this would be one of the last family photos we'll ever have in front of the Sorcerer's Hat which is quite sad.<br /><br />
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<br /> Let us take a few minutes to remember the hat….<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /><br />Anyway…… So due to my excellent Disney-map-memorising skills (or as Paul calls it, OCD <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> ), I knew exactly where to go <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> We marched up Hollywood boulevard and made a left to Hollywood and Vine and we checked in with the campest cast member I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. We sat down only for a few minutes before we were called and seated at a table by the window just on the right hand side of the door. As we went in we saw Sofia the First with another family. We went up and got food. Amelia just wanted croissants and after feeling uncomfortable all day after eating so much at crystal palace yesterday, I followed suit with some pastries, fruit, a mickey waffle and some french toast, thinking it would be the same as the puffed ones at Crystal Palace. It wasn't. It tasted deep fried and greasy and unfortunately that was only the start of the food disappointment. Paul couldn't even finish his first plate as it was so horrible and Paul not finishing food is just unheard of! It must have been bad! I tried one of the sausages he left and it was rank! He said later that it was chicken… All I know is it was a greyish white, spicy and disgusting.. <br /><br /> On the upside, the characters were great! Amelia was really excited and kept telling me that she was brave and met them without going shy! She couldn't stop giggling. It was so lovely. First up was Doc. Paul had to pick her up in order her for to be brave… Doc pointed to Amelia's dress and clapped and then listened to her heart with her stethoscope. <br />
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<br /> Next was Handy Manny. Amelia was REALLY brave now and touched him! <br /><br />
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<br /> Then Sofia paid us a visit and she gave her first proper character hug! I could have cried!<br /><br />
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<br /> By the time Jake came around, she was in her element! She had a permanent grin etched across her face now. Jake was really funny and kept taking things off the other characters an running through the restaurant with them. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" /><br /><br />
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<br /> You may notice there are no photos of Oliver with the characters. At nearly 15 years of age, he declared he was too old to meet them and busied himself eating! <br /><br />
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<br /> Before we settled the bill, I went back up to the food station and grabbed some apples and bananas and snuck them into my bag for later <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> Then Oliver realised he had lost his wallet. Great. The first time I let him look after it, rather than put it in my bag, and within the space of an hour he'd lost it. He asked at the podium out the front and a server inside, but no one had handed it in so we waited outside with Sam and Sarah while Paul retraced our steps back to the car park and Daniel visited the restrooms. <br /><br /> I took a couple of pictures of the kids who were having fun jumping up and down the steps. Then discretely changed Amelia behind the pushchair into shorts and a t-shirt so she could move around a bit better. <br /><br />
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<br /> Daniel came back and he, Sam and Sarah left us and went off to do some rides. We hung around a bit longer and I decided we'd take a slow walk up Hollywood Boulevard and text Paul to tell him to meet us in front of the Sorcerer's hat. I took more photos and then we had a photopass one taken too….<br /><br />
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<br />As soon as we finished Paul called asking where we were and I could see him wondering around looking for us which was amusing. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" /> Amelia ran up and jumped on him from behind. As luck would have it, he found the wallet it in the car. Phew. At last we could start our day.<br /><br /> We made our way over to Toy story mania but realised we were a bit early for our fastpass, so we had a look around One Man's Dream and watched the show. Paul and I found it really interesting, but the kids found it a bit boring and Amelia started to play up towards the end. I wanted to take her outside but all the doors were shut and there wasn't a CM in sight. <br /><br /> Our window for TSM was open when we came out, so we scanned our magic bands once again and went straight to the front of the line, after a few attempts of scanning Oliver's. The queue theming was brilliant, as was the ride. Paul went on with Oliver and Amelia and I were behind them. She LOVED it and didn't stop shooting! This was our score… Don't laugh! We are first timers after all! It broke down in 2012 so we never got to go on it.<br /><br />
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<br /> We had a walk down Pixar Place and met a green army man…<br /><br />
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<br /> …And then we just walked around taking in the sights. I bought a car window decal of a cat wearing mouse ears to go with the rest of our family ones on the rear window of our car (we've been back 4 months and I still haven't put it on!). We looked in the shop at Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Amelia fell in love with an Ariel and Prince Eric dress-up set in a little carry case ($23.33 with tax). We had set a limit of $20 a day each for the kids, so we had to try and explain to her that if she bought it, that would be it for the whole day, but she was adamant that she wanted it, so she paid for it and we had it sent to Oscar's Super Service (package pick up) so we didn't have to carry it around all day. I was a little wary of leaving it under the pushchair while we went on rides. It was money well spent and she played with it for the entire holiday whenever we were at the resort. <br /><br /> Next we went in the Wandering Oaken's Frozen Snowground. I'm not too sure if this is a permanent attraction, but it did seem like it was thrown together at the last minute overnight. Not much Imagineering went into it, put it that way. The kids enjoyed it though and make a few snow bricks before their time was up (yes they were timed!). I wouldn't be in a hurry to go in there again. <br /><br />
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<br /> We had a photo taken on the way out which looked a bit naff, but when we got home I discovered it was actually a magic shot which turned out like this…<br /><br />
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<br />We headed down Sunset Boulevard for our next fastpass at 12pm. It was time to ride this bad boy…<br /><br />
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<br />I don't know what I was more nervous about; going on ToT, or Oliver looking after Amelia for 10 minutes while we rode it. We sat them down close to the ride in some shade and instructed them not to move or talk to anyone, and left them with the promise of ice cream when we got back.<br /><br /> Then we walked up to the 'hotel' feeling a mixture of guilt and pure terror of the thought of entering the queue. To say I was petrified was an understatement. But you only live once, so I got on with it and it went a little something like this…<br /><br />
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VIDEO: <a href="https://flic.kr/p/rCBRLU" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">Aimie and Paul on Tower of Terror</a><br /><br /><a href="https://flic.kr/p/rEHWa5" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7588/16847127822_9c2148f544.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /> It was pretty horrible. But if it came to it, I would ride it again, so it can't be that bad. Daniel and sam took Sarah on during their day. I don't think she's forgiven them yet!<br /><br /> A "We did it" shot! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" /><br /><br />
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<br /> On the way out of the exit we noticed Rock n roller coaster closed down which we were a bit gutted about as we both really wanted to ride it.<br /><br /> The kids were still in one piece when we got back just a few minutes after we left them. Not one to break a promise, we got ice creams from a little cart near Rosie's. Oliver and Amelia both had Mickey ice creams..<br /><br />
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<br /> And Paul had a Mickey ice cream sandwich. <br /><br />
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<br /> I really wanted one too after tying a bit, but I decided not to have anything as I was saving myself for something else. After reading so many good things on the Dibb about carrot cake cookies, I was determined to pay a visit to Writer's Stop to get one before we left.<br /><br /> Next up was Beauty and the Beast live on stage. We were sat quite far back, but we found see OK. Amelia was consumed and loved every second. She really loved the shows and parades on this trip. I tested out the zoom on my new lens and got a few shots, but they're not great.<br /><br />
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<br /> We had a FP for Star tours between 3pm - 4pm but we didn't really enjoy it that much last time so decided to skip it. We took a wander back over to Commissary Lane taking a picture of this little guy as we passed.<br /><br />
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<br /> We found Writers Stop and ordered a carrot cake cookie for me, a white chocolate macadamia cookie for Oliver, a Mickey red shorts man for Amelia and just a Coffee for Paul which used 4 snack credits.<br /><br />
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<br /> The carrot cake cookie exceeded my expectations and was as delicious as I'd read. Oh what I would do for one now!<br /><br /> It was really hot and we were starting to flag a bit. There wasn't really anything else we wanted to do and we decided to head back to OKW. We called Daniel who said they would get a bus back if we wanted to take the car as there was still a lot they wanted to do.<br /><br /> We took a few last photos and saw where the Osbourne Lights were going to be as we really wanted to see them at some point on this trip, however, sadly we never did get there. One of my biggest regrets of the holiday.<br /><br />
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<br /> We collected Amelia's Ariel set from package Pick up and went back to the car and you guessed it. The Sat nav took us the wrong way again. Oh how we laughed. Not. A huge row ensued. Apparently it was my fault for not reading the sat nav properly? ! ( I was under the impression that it was the device that gave out the directions and not the person holding it - why was I given it to hold anyway? Shouldn't it be mounted in front of the driver on the dashboard?). For the next an HOUR AND A HALF (yes you read correctly. That is how long I took us to get from HS to OKW <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> ) I sat looking out the window in silence after suggesting somewhere he could shove his sat nav. I was raging. <br /><br /> We went back to the villa for a bit and calmed down. Then got our swim gear and got back in the car and parked at Hospitality House to go for a swim. We had a look around first and took advantage of the deserted area behind the pool where the hammock was. <br /><br />
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<br /> Then they went for a swim while I watched from the side. Paul said although the water was warm, it was freezing when they got out. I hate being cold so I sat this one out. They seemed to enjoy themselves though.<br /><br />
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<br /> I had a wander around the pool area and took some photos of the grounds. It is such a lovely resort.<br /><br />
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<br /> I also spotted this in the sky…<br /><br />
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Amelia wanted to get out as she was getting cold and tired so I got her dried and changed while Paul had a quick swim on his own and played with Oliver. I thought she was going to fall asleep on a sun lounger at one point, so I hauled them out of the pool and took her to play in the playground while the boys got changed. They came and found us after and the kids played in the giant bucket and spade. There was no one else around and the sun was setting. It was so quiet and tranquil. Writing this is making me want to go back! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/cry_smile.gif" title="cry" /><br /><br /><div align="center">
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<br /> We headed back to the car, with a plan of going to DTD to get something to eat at the other Wolfgang Puck that we tried to find on our first night and buy some Pandora. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br /><br /> On the way back Paul said he felt sick and as soon as we reached the villa he saw everything he'd eaten for the past two days again! I was in the bedroom while he was in the bathroom and I kept thinking, there can't be anything else let to throw up, but then he'd vomit more and more. It was never ending!<br /><br /> He said he felt a bit better afterwards, although I said we'd stay in and get some toast, or walk up to Goods Food to Go, but he insisted that we go to DTD. There was still no sign of Daniel and sam, so we drove to HH and got water taxi to DTD. It dropped us at the boat dock and we had to walk around to marketplace. It seemed as though we were walking through miles and miles of hoarding. There was so much construction going on. We were shattered when we got to Wolfgang Puck Express and was gutted to find a queue outside the door to get in. We sucked it up and got in line. Paul left for the restrooms just as we got to the door. He was gone ages bless him. He came back just as we neared the front of the queue and I suggested going home, but again, he insisted we get something to eat as we hadn't had a proper meal today.<br /><br /> So finally, after waiting around 30-40 minutes in line, we ordered <br /><br /> Me: meatballs and spaghetti $16.00<br /> Oliver: pepperoni pizza again $13.00<br /> Amelia: Kids chicken tenders $8.00<br /> Plus 1 cheesecake $6.00<br /> 1 brownie $3.00<br /> 1 choc chip cookie $2.00<br /> 2 adult fountain drinks $5.90<br /> 1 child's fountain drink $1.25<br /><br /> Unsurprisingly, Paul didn't have anything. <br /><br /> TOTAL £58.74 with tax… Or it would have been. But all of this was classed as a quick service on the dining plan so it was free <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" /><br /> The thing I love most about this WPE is that it feels more like table service. They give you a table number and then bring the food over to you when it's ready. The servers are really friendly and funny. There's so much choice on the menu. We came back here several times this trip and had something different every time. <br /><br /> The food was great, but the atmosphere on our table, not so much. Paul looked pale and just awful (although he said he felt OK), Amelia was nearly falling asleep and barely touched anything, which is why I didn't take any food photos tonight (sorry). We pocketed the desserts for later (I had a few mouthfuls of cheesecake but couldn't finish it) and headed for the bus stop via a couple of shops for browsing. No Pandora, but I didn't mind. I just wanted us all to get home to bed at this point.<br /><br /> A mixture of smiles and stresses, but a pretty good day at Hollywood Studios. <br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-40488822720256113222014-11-06T09:58:00.000-08:002015-03-18T10:01:24.824-07:00NOVEMBER 2014 TRIP REPORT - Day 2 - Magic Kingdom and Downtown DisneyI woke up at 3am this morning and lay there trying to go back to sleep. I don't think I managed to get back off properly; you know that state somewhere between sleep and awake... well I was there. When I looked at the clock again it was 5:53am. I admitted defeat and decided to get up and the kids followed shortly after. Amelia couldn't stop smiling. We were in Disney World! <br />
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Paul made tea while I showered and got dressed and then I dressed Amelia in the Minnie dress I made her <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> I took a first look on the balcony in the daylight as soon as the sun came up. Not a bad view... <br />
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I packed some bottles of water into the bag I had put together the night before which contained sun cream, wet wipes, a bottle of Robinson's Squash'd, autograph books, pens, plasters, etc and we were all ready for a day of magic <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> <br />
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We met up with Daniel, Sam and Sarah and all scrambled into the car at 7:25 ready for a day at Magic Kingdom. We used the Sat Nav that we hired from eBay in the hope that we wouldn't have a repeat of Paul's 2012 Orlando driving (i.e. getting lost EVERY TIME we went out). Unfortunately, it was destined to be. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> The Sat Nav completely contradicted the signs. Had we followed the signs, we would have made our 8:05am reservation at Crystal Palace on time. However we ended up around the back side of Disney and saw a bit of behind the scenes action... Disney university, the animation buildings, etc. In the end we used directions on Daniel's phone to get there. <br />
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We eventually arrived at the Transportation and Ticket centre (TTC) at around 8am and parked in Villians. We weren't parked far from the entrance, so we walked it. The monorail wasn't open yet, so we caught the ferry over. Amelia and Sarah both held hands in their strollers. It was so sweet. <br />
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And then at last... that truly magical sight came into view... <br />
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We exited the ferry as it came to dock and we raced to bag check. It was 8:30am now. We were so late! It was extra morning hours at MK today, and it was already really busy. So much for photos on an empty main street <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> <br />
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Bag check done, we hit our magic bands on the Mickey balls for the first time, did our finger prints and we were in! We entered through the right entrance, grabbing some maps on the way. Then I ran with Amelia to catch our first proper glimpse of Main street. Eeeek. This is my favourite moment. <br />
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We hot-footed it to Crystal palace, gutted by the sight of all the construction work surrounding it and went round to check in. Luckily they hadn't cancelled our reservation and gave us a pager and asked us to wait until we were called. We sat on the benches for a few minutes until it started buzzing and flashing and we were shown to our table. <br />
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Although we were late, we couldn't have timed it better with the characters. They started coming around to our table minutes after we sat down. We were told if we wanted to get food first we had better hurry, so I took Oliver and Amelia and filled our plates. <br />
Mine was a bit of a mis-mash of sausage, bacon, biscuit, strawberries, Mickey waffle and maple syrup. I apologise for the rubbish photo. I was still getting used to my new camera lens at this point. My Mickey waffle is all of a blur! <br />
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I was in such a hurry that I forgot my scrambled egg and pooh puffed french toast so naturally, I had to go up again when the characters had been. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> <br />
First to come and see us was Tigger. Amelia shied away from him, like she did on her first trip. Tigger was great though and gave us both a massive hug. Unfortunately Paul was behind the camera, and what could have been a great photo ended up like this... <br />
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This one is slightly better... apart from the drunk look I appear to be sporting. Oh dear. My Dad was complaining while we were away that I hadn't taken any photos of me... This is why Dad! <br />
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Next up was Piglet. Amelia really didn't like him. She wouldn't look at him OR the camera. <br />
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But by the time Eeyore and Pooh came over, she seemed to come out of herself a bit more... I think seeing Sarah cuddle them must have helped. <br />
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Amelia needed the toilet after her breakfast, so I took her to the other side of the restaurant to the restroom where I experienced our first queue for a toilet. This happened frequently this year. I thought November was supposed to be a quiet month? I suppose it was extra magic hours this morning, and the Dibb <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/busy-day-guide.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">busy day guide</a> was showing red for magic Kingdom today. I think it was also Jersey week. <br />
When we come out of the restrooms, Winnie the Pooh and chums were doing a little parade of the restaurant so we quickly jumped in the line of people, only for it to end about 10 seconds later. I did feel a bit silly haha. <br />
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After a few more bits and pieces of food for me, and a few more platefuls for Oliver and Paul, we were feeling as stuffed as the characters and asked for the bill. The food here was really nice and the best breakfast we had of the holiday, as was the case in 2012 too. It will definitely be a tradition of ours for our first morning breakfast for future trips. The service was better this time and refills were continuously given throughout the meal, however it did become a little slow towards the end of the meal. This didn't affect us so much, but poor Sam and Daniel... when we first arrived, Sam asked for an autograph book for Sarah which they said they would bring over to the table for her. They had to ask for this again later on and by the time all the characters had come round, they still hadn't brought it over. When the server eventually made it back over to our table and they asked again, he went and got one and told them he would get all the characters to sign it before they left. We asked for the bill and because we were on the dining plan, we only had the gratuity to pay. He came over and swiped our bands and then asked if we wanted the gratuity charged to our room or pay now in cash. We chose the cash option so he went away to get another receipt for us that we had to sign. We waited... and waited... but he just seemed to have disappeared. Our fast pass for Mickey was fast approaching. Paul went off to look for him but had no joy, so we just had to leave it. I'm sure it would be charged to our room when he finally came back. (Upon getting home and checking our room bill, it was indeed charged to our room - $17.29). <br />
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We said goodbye to Daniel and Sam as they headed towards Fantasyland and made our way to the Town Square Theatre to use our Fast pass for Mickey Mouse. I love that he talks now. We walked straight through and there was one family having photos taken with him as we got there. I heard the photographer tell the family to say cheese and Mickey started saying "chedaaaar", "parmesaaaaaaan". Hehe. <br />
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Then it was our turn and I managed to capture it on video (and download it onto my laptop without deleting it first! Go me! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> ) <br />
Excuse the first part. Oliver decided to stand right in front of me when I was filming so I had to quickly move. Lol. Amelia had become a right lazy bones since we brought her stroller with us. She wanted to sit in it all the time, and when she wasn't in it, she wanted picking up. At the beginning of the video she keeps asking Paul to pick her up. I think this was a mixture between being lazy and nervous of meeting Mickey. Lol. The CM in there spoke to her and told her not to be afraid. You can hear her at the beginning... <br />
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What a cheat! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> <br />
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From there we went back up Main street and had our first Memory Maker photos taken. I was hoping to have these done on an empty main street but sadly it wasn't meant to be. Maybe next time... <br />
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I wanted to have some of Amelia taken with the doll I made her too, and although they came out nice, I'm gutted that the photographer had something on his lens as there's a black mark on every one of these photos that I have on various parts of her face. I won't upload the one that looks like a bogey! Lol. I need to get Photoshop I think <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /><br />
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I also took this one myself which I LOVE. Paul has it set as his profile picture on Facebook <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> <br />
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We caught the 10:30am Move it! Shake it! Dance & Play it! Street party parade. Why they changed the name I don't know. Amelia loved it, and I have to say, even though she met some amazing characters this holiday, I think her absolute favourite things to do/watch were the parades and shows. Goofy still remains her favourite character. <br />
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I won't bore you with too many of these as I'm sure you've seen them all before, but if you want to see more, feel free you take a look on my Flickr. One of the ladies on stilts came right over to me and bent over for me to take a photo of her... <br />
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We took a left off Main Street and headed into Adventureland, bypassing Aloha Isle as I was too stuffed with breakfast to squeeze in a dole whip just yet. Our first ride of the holiday was The Magic Carpets of Aladdin which showed a 15 minute wait. Oliver and Amelia sat together in front of us which was lovely. It's not often that they get on like that I can tell you. I love this picture of them both.<br />
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It was really hot now and we were all thirsty, so we took a pit stop at Sunshine Tree Terrace where Oliver got a coke float, Amelia had an ice cream and Paul and I had a coke and an orange juice. All paid using snack credits. <br />
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POTC had a 50 minute wait and I don't know how, but we completely missed the Jungle Cruise. Our next fast pass was at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMR) between 11:50am - 12:50pm, so we made our way over to Frontierland. <br />
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All the stretching we had been doing over the past six months must have worked, as Amelia was finally tall enough to ride Splash Mountain (just kidding about the stretching <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" />). It only had a 25 minute wait, so to get out of the sun for a bit, we decided we would get in the stand by line, and then we could go on again later using our fast passes. Oliver has been on his before, so he knew what to expect, but Amelia hadn't. She didn't like the dark areas of the queue especially when we got to the picture of Breer Fox with all his teeth showing. But we all stayed happy for her sake and made jokes about him which got her laughing. Well we were almost down to the front of the line, about to be asked the number in our party before being allocated our boat and guess what? It broke down. Cue tears from Amelia. All that build up and she couldn't go on it. I couldn't believe our bad luck. However that changed as we came down the exit line as we were given four fast pass tickets to use on any ride. Whoop! <br />
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We tried to get on BTMR now, but we were 5 minutes too early and they wouldn't let us on. So we stopped off in Briar Patch where Amelia brought herself a big lollypop using a snack credit. Or so we thought. When we got our bill on the last day, it turns out they had charged it to our room. Numpties. According to the receipt I have in front of me, it cost $4.75. <br />
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It was now 12:05pm, so lollypop stowed safely under the stroller and parked up, we made our way over to BTMR where we could finally use our fast passes and walked straight to the front of the line. Again, Amelia wasn't keen on the dark bits and Oliver was apprehensive having never been on it before - none of us had. But when we got off he loved it! So did I, and it's made my top three rides in the park. Amelia on the other hand wasn't so keen - it was just the dark bits she didn't like. She liked the actual ride. <br />
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Next up was Splash Mountain which was now open again and so was our FP+ slot. Unfortunately Amelia was adamant that she wasn't going on this time. She moaned and whinged and cried. The man in front of us kept turning around looking at us like we were terrible parents for making her go on. But we KNEW she would love it when we were on there. She loved watching the video on you tube with me before we came (without knowing she would soon be riding it <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> ) and every time we go down a hill in the car she puts her arms in the air and says she's on Splash Mountain. With a lot of encouragement and bribery, we managed to get her on. She sat with Paul in front of Oliver and I, and although she pretended she didn't like it whilst on it, she really did love it! She would NOT stop laughing afterwards and was telling everyone who would listen that she got a wet bum on Splash Mountain before doubling over with laughter. It was so funny. <br />
I really need to stop screaming on rides... <br />
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We decided we'd see what the wait time for seven dwarfs mine train was like. Even though I booked FP+ 60 days in advance, and 7DMT was the first ride I tried to get times for, I couldn't get a FP for it until our last day. So we took a walk over to Fantasyland. <br />
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Unfortunately, like POTC, it was 50 minutes which was over my 30 minute wait time limit. I wasn't going to waste valuable holiday time waiting in a line when there was so much other stuff to see. Yes Barr Humbug! Lol. <br />
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It was 12:35pm now and we were getting thirsty again, so Cheshire café was our next stop. I saw the cupcake that I wrote about in my pre-trippy, but unfortunately we were still too full from breakfast to try one. So we just got a lemonade slush for Oliver, orange juice for me and 2 bottles of water for Paul and Amelia - $8.29. We paid out of pocket as we were worried we would spend all our snack credits on the first week and have nothing left at the end of the holiday. Oh how wrong were we? Lol <br />
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We passed the Sword in the Stone so the kids had a go. They weren't lucky this time. <br />
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We had a look around Fantasy Faire where Amelia bought a lanyard and her first pin - a Disney Princesses one. <br />
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When we came out she wanted to go on the Carousel, so Paul took her on while Oliver and I watched.<br />
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My memory is a bit hazy from here and so are my notes, so I'm having to go by the timestamps on my photos. The next photos I took are these.. <br />
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Rapunzel's tower. So I guess we walked past here and through to liberty Square as I have this photo of the beautiful Liberty Belle, which unfortunately I still haven't got around to going on. Another one to add to the list of next times. <br />
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From there we crossed the bridge and I took the photo of the castle that I had on my list of things to do... <br />
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As we neared the castle, we realised the Dream Along with Mickey show was in full swing, so we stopped to watch it. <br />
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Amelia was in it! I think she would have watched it again if she could. <br />
We crossed the bridge to Tomorrowland and had some Memory Maker photos taken.<br />
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Next, for some unexplained reason we decided we would inflict a bit of torture upon ourselves and go on Stitch's great escape. I had heard people say it was rubbish. But being the first time we had ever been on it, we didn't really know what to expect. Now I have, I will sum it up in three words - Painful. Boring and Awful. Just awful! There. I could have chosen three different words but I think the Dibb would have censored them out. It was dark a lot of the time and Amelia was in tears. But that was only mild compared the pain of the shoulder restraints. I just couldn't wait for it to end. <br />
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The kids had been collecting pressed pennies all day, so we stopped by the Merchant of Venus and picked up some pressed penny books. Amelia got a Tinkerbell one and Oliver got a standard Disney World one with Mickey and Pals on it. They were $8.95 each.<br />
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More photos were taken... <br />
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And then it was time for The Festival of Fantasy Parade to begin. We weren't in a very good position as we were in the central hub with loads of people in front of us. But I managed to snap these... Love my new lens! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> <br />
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I did warn you there would be a lot of photos today! <br />
This was another first for us as it wasn't in operation when we were here in 2012. We thought it was amazing. Especially the dragon. So much attention to detail. <br />
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After the parade we fought our way down Main Street and found Daniel, Sam and Sarah! What are the odds?! I popped in to the Emporium where I bought myself a lanyard ($9.95) and a tin of mints for Neil (Gingermoonman) ($4.45) while Paul went outside and bought Amelia and I a balloon each. Oliver declared himself too old for a balloon (yet at 33, I am not too old <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> ), which was a good job as they were $12 each! <br />
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I loved all the decorations that were up in Magic Kingdom today. It felt so festive, but strange because it was hot. <br />
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We made our way back to the car and arrived at Old Key West a while later after following the signs this time. <br />
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As we approached Daniel and Sam 's front door, Sarah's Birthday surprise had arrived from Disney Floral and Gifts. It was amazing, the attention to detail that they put into it. I was tearing up for them! <br />
They all came upstairs to our room for a bit and we had tea and coffee on our balcony and looked through todays Memory Maker photos on the Surface. I got bitten twice on my foot - my first EVER mosquito bites! They were blimmin' itchy! <br />
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At around 6pm I got changed and we all drove to hospitality house and took a water taxi to Downtown Disney which took us to West Side. Wow. What a mess it is down there. Just miles and miles of hoarding. From what the water taxi driver told us, DTD will be unrecognisable once it has been reimagined and turned into Disney Springs. Even Planet Hollywood is getting a refurb inside and out. <br />
From the trip reports I had read on the Dibb, I knew there were two Wolfgang Puck Express', and each one had a different menu, but I couldn't remember which one was the one with the meatballs which is what we fancied tonight. We ended up going to the first one we came to, which is attached to Wolfgang Puck Café. Unfortunately it wasn't the one we wanted, so we all just had pizzas which were delicious. Amelia and I both had margarita, Oliver had pepperoni and Paul had barbeque chicken. We also had a mixture of desserts; key lime pie, carrot cake a fruit pot and a cookie. The food was lovely, although would have been expensive if we weren't on the dining plan. The tiny little key lime pies in plastic containers would have been $9 each (and they weren't that good)! Thank heavens for the dining plan! <br />
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<i>Wolfgang Puck at West Side</i></div>
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I'm afraid I didn't get any photos tonight, but here's a couple courtesy of Google...<br />
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<i>Wood stone fired margherita pizza </i><br />
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<i>Barbeque chicken pizza</i></div>
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The Wolfgang Puck Express at Marketplace was supposed to be the better one with the more extensive menu. We sample this one later on in the holiday (several times <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> ) and it comes highly recommended from us. It's much better value for money if you're on the dining plan as they have huge portions and only uses one quick service credit, despite it being served on proper china plates, and the servers bring it over. You can get half a rotisserie chicken, meatballs and spaghetti, Ravioli, bacon wrapped meatloaf, as well as salads, club sandwiches, etc and the same wood stone oven pizzas that we had tonight. The full menu can be found here. (I don't have shares in Wolfgang Puck honest). Seriously though, Check it out! <br />
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We had a little wander around after dinner. It was incredibly busy and Amelia fell asleep on Paul. We left her pushchair in the boot of the car so he had to carry her. We looked in D Street (where have all the Vinylmations gone? <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> ), the Lego store and World of Disney before taking the water taxi back to OKW. Sarah was now asleep too so Paul got off at HH and picked up the car while the rest of us stayed on the bus and met him back at the villa. <br />
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It was Daniel and Sam's moving day tomorrow, so Paul helped Dan up the stairs with their luggage and kept it in our villa overnight as they have to be checked out by 11am and we all have an early ADR at Hollywood and Vine in the morning. <br />
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I got ready for bed, uploaded todays photos onto Facebook and we were both in bed just after 11:30pm feeling shattered but happy after our first day in our happy place. <br />
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<a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=843143" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"></a><br /></div>
<a href="http://youtu.be/fjtSKg-1HMw" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"></a><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-79462164047622158712014-11-05T09:43:00.000-08:002015-03-18T09:45:59.719-07:00NOVEMBER 2014 TRIPPY - Day 1 - Play Doh, Planes and ParcelsI woke up at 5:45am and desperately wanted to get out of bed and have a shower, but I didn't want to wake the kids. The nightmare of yesterday was still going over in my mind. I am a worrier, but I was determined to forget about it... we're going to Disney World today! Life is too good to worry about the little things. <br />
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I turned over to find Paul awake too, and we sat there whispering for a while until the alarm went off at 6am. Even then the kids didn't stir. They are both heavy sleepers like me. Paul got up and filled the kettle and then little murmurs could be heard coming from Amelia's side of the room. Soon a sleepy Amelia sporting the bed head look was creeping into our bed with Minnie doll in hand, still very much half asleep, but very excited! Oliver woke a little while after. We had tea/coffee and the remaining Mickey biscuits and we were all soon bouncing around the room, showering, getting dressed and sorting the bags. We disposed of our old clothes and toothbrushes so we only had to carry the minimum, and once I'd finished straightening my hair, we left the bags in the room and took the short walk down the corridor to the restaurant where we filled up on scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, etc. <br />
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<i>My breakfast</i> <br />
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Amelia just wanted a croissant, but ate very little of it. She had a few mouthfuls of yoghurt before declaring she was full up. She is normally a big eater at home. In fact, the past few weeks before we came away, she wouldn't stop eating! <br />
I pinched a couple of packets of Weetabix to take with us (ssshhhhh, don't tell anyone <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> ) and then we headed back to the room to get the bags. <br />
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Paul and the kids went to the front desk to check out while I used the bathroom, and when I went back down two minutes later, they were all sat on the sofa; Paul with another cup coffee in hand and Amelia sitting at one end of the table eating another yoghurt! I was a little miffed as I wanted to get going but I figured, if I can't beat them, join them, so I grabbed another quick cup of tea and then we walked to north terminal which looked a lot different in the daylight! <br />
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We met Daniel and Sam outside their Premier Inn and at 8:36am we were on the monorail over to south terminal. The girls were very excited! <br />
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We went through security which would have gone smoothly, IF Paul had listened to me. I had packed our liquids, pastes and gels into clear plastic bags back in the hotel room, and put them in the end of Paul's bag to make it easier to get the out when we needed to. I heard a security officer telling some people in front of us to take liquids out of their bags and place separately in the trays on the conveyor belt. When I relayed the message to Paul, he chose to ignore it, so when all of our bags went through, guess which ones got picked out for checking? Yes, you guessed it, Paul's. And surprisingly, Amelia's Trunki. <br />
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We moved to the end of the desk and waited for someone to come over with them. The kids sat down with Daniel and Sam at the end of the room and eventually someone came over. He was really nice and understanding and it was just because of the liquids that the first bag got pulled out. Quickly rectified, and re-packed, he then went on to Amelia's Trunki. He and Paul both had difficulty opening it, so I had to step in and help. <br />
Everything came out until he found what he was looking for... Amelia's playdoh! I hadn't even thought of that! I guess it is kind of like a paste. He looked at it suspiciously and took it away to be swabbed. He seemed to be gone for ages. <br />
He appeared a little while later and we were pleased to hear that it was clear of any narcotics and were free to go. He was really nice and friendly. Whilst I squeezed everything back into the Trunki, Amelia came over and asked for some change for a poppy, but we didn't have any on us, so the security guy gave her 1p off the top of his computer and told her to get one. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> <br />
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Checking the boards, we discovered the boarding time for VS027 wouldn't be available until 09:40am. We made a swift exit through Duty free, stopping once so Oliver could look at something or other. Then we found a kids lounge area... If you could call it that. It was just a load of red matting put together with some soft chairs around the outside. There was a TV playing CBeebies and a few big soft shapes and that was it. OK for little ones, but it was certainly no V room. The girls had fun though. <br />
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We all sat down for a while and then Paul and Daniel went off to have a beer. Oliver played on his phone for a bit while Sam and I watched the girls. Amelia made friends with a little girl who must have been about 15 months old. She LOVES babies and once she gave her a cuddle, that was it, she was smitten and followed her everywhere as she toddled about. Very sweet. I took Amelia to the loo several times. Something that continued throughout the holiday. Why are little girls so fascinated with public toilets? Amelia always has to pick the cubicle she wants, and apparently washing your hands with soap from a dispenser and using a hand dryer provides endless hours of fun. Not. <br />
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Paul and Daniel were gone for ages. Sam tried texting them but got no reply. I've just looked on my phone and found a text I sent to Paul at 09:55am: "Hurry Up, we're gasping for a drink!" We really were, and Paul had all our money on him. About 10 minutes later they appeared, so Sam and I went off to Costa. Amelia had raspberry and apple juice and Oliver and I both had hot chocolates which Paul proceeded to spill all over the floor and my camera case when he got up to get a coffee a bit later. Baby wipes to the rescue! I also got an apple and mango juice for us for later if we got thirsty. The total came to £7.35, but she undercharged me as she entered two coffees into the till instead of hot chocolates. She told me not to worry though as the coffees were cheaper. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> <br />
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I don't seem to have a time in my notes, but if memory serves me correctly, we could start boarding at 11am. We were right down the bottom at gate 21, and as we approached, we caught a glimpse of our plane... <br />
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Jersey Girl <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> <br />
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I gave Amelia half a travel sickness tablet just in case. Last thing I wanted is to be covered on sick when we arrived in Orlando. <br />
The kids were given the free Virgin bag which has changed a bit since 2012. They no longer get a canvas messenger bag. It's now a little drawstring bag and they get a choice of red or black, despite the contents being the same; an eye mask, Where's Wally book and a multi-coloured stacking crayon. Oliver chose black, while Amelia chose red. She couldn't stop grinning when the lady called her Princess. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> <br />
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We grabbed some free newspapers and magazines (which never got read), took pics of the plane, and then we were soon called to board right after premium economy as we were in the bubble <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" /> <br />
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We got chatting to one of the flight attendants who spoke to the kids about where they were going and asked if they were excited. I told him about our reveal and how they only found out yesterday. He was lovely. <br />
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We found our seats and sat where we wanted without an issue, despite my mix up of family members when booking them. Nobody checked or said anything which was good. The compartments next to the windows were very handy and I stowed Amelia's Trunki liner in there while the Trunki itself went in the overhead compartment. <br />
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Being 5'1", I never have any problems with economy leg room... The one time I'm actually glad I'm short! <br />
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Amelia threw a tantrum just as we took off because she wanted her play doh out. Me obviously being the terrible mum that I am, made her wait until the plane was on an even level and not at a 40 degree angle. I didn't think the people behind us would appreciate play doh flying into their faces as we soared down the runway. Colouring books and stickers kept her occupied for half an hour at most. She made some little cards with this cute sticker book I got her from Asda and passed one to Sarah in the seat behind her, but she got upset when she gave it back to her, saying she didn't want it, and didn't want to make them anymore. For the next 15 minutes or so, all I got was this: <br />
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Can I have my play doh now?<br />
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Mummy please can I have my play doh <br />
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I want my play doh now <br />
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Pleeeeeeeeease can I have my play doh? <br />
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I want my play doh <br />
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Mummy pleeeeease (crying now) <br />
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Angry eyes from Paul asking me why she couldn't have it <br />
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Angrier eyes from me - am I the only sensible parent here? Can he not see what a mess she'll get into early on into the flight? I only wanted to use it as a back up in case she got bored of colouring books or the TV. Maybe he would like to swap seats with me? No?<br />
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I began to wish I had never brought it as that's all she wanted to do for the entire flight when I got it out. I bought her a mini Mr Potato head play doh plunger thing from Amazon which made play doh squirt out of his mouth and head to make a tongue and hair, but it was too hard for her to do. So guess who got given the job as plunger pusher. Every. Two. Minutes. The mess on the floor was horrendous. I felt so bad. Luckily it hoovers up unlike that dreadful moon dough. So those of you with little ones who were thinking of taking play doh on the plane. For the sake of your sanity, don't. Just don't! Or if you do, hide it in your handbag and don't tell them you have it unless you have to! <br />
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Once up in the air we were given menus, and at 12:35pm drinks and nibbles were brought round so the play doh had to go away . Nobody liked them except Amelia. I think she ate three bags! Obviously making up for the lack of breakfast! <br />
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The flight was uneventful. It was quite turbulent at times, but the food was surprisingly nice. Especially the kids meals. For those of you who may not know, celebrity chef, Lorraine Pascal designed a new menu for virgin. I'm not sure if she had anything to do with the adult economy menu, but I know she developed the ones for kids and other classes. Amelia's was macaroni cheese which I was dreading opening, expecting to find some sort of illuminous sloppy goo under the foil, but I was pleasantly surprised when it looked like this... <br />
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Proper pasta and chunks of ham and not a trace of illuminous sauce in sight <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" />. I tired a piece and it was lovely. In fact, I wished I could have had it <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> It also came with carrot sticks and hummus and a roll and butter. Well done Lorraine! <br />
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10 minutes later my lasagne came round. It was quite nice, especially considering we were thousands of feet in the air. I've had worse lasagnes. <br />
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It also came with a roll and butter and a pot of salad. <br />
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Oliver had the same as me and across the aisle, Paul had the chicken (sorry no pic). <br />
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Amelia's GU Choc banoffee pot came with her dinner, but ours came around afterwards with tea. I think ours was just plain chocolate but I honestly can't remember <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> <br />
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Throughout the flight I tried to watch a few films, Maleficent being the first. I had already seen it at the cinema, so knew I wouldn't miss much through my play doh plunging duties. I ended up turning it off half way through and succumbed to the fact that playing with play doh was all I was going to be doing. She did become obsessed with aeroplane toilets though, and thankfully, Paul took her as he was on the aisle seat. I lost count of how many times she went. (Hehe <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" />)<br />
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Ice creams were brought round later... Mini Fab lollies which I declined, but everyone else ate them. Amelia did have a sleep eventually and I watched The Inbetweeners 2 which wasn't as funny as I had anticipated, but it did have a couple of laugh out loud bits. Then I watched the Fault in our Stars which was lovely. I managed to hold back the tears at the end. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> Amelia woke up at 20:45pm UK time - about 45 minutes before we were due to land and I switched places with her so she could talk to Sarah behind her whilst sitting on the baggage compartment. It made me feel really uneasy with her sitting on there and I was having kittens the whole time. I know she couldn't possibly fall out of the window but that's all I could keep thinking about! <br />
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I didn't have time to watch another film so I watched two episodes of Big Bang Theory and Amelia and I sent messages to Paul through the inflight messenger. We were almost there! <br />
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Afternoon tea was brought round which consisted of 2 cheese and sun dried tomato fingers ( I hate cheese, but ate them as I was so hungry and they were actually lovely! The mayonnaise took over the cheese taste - there was not enough of them though! They were tiny!), Tyrells plane crisps and a Broderick's Caramental which was as delicious as advertised on the menu <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> Kids got given the same as the adults, but 10 minutes earlier. <br />
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The flight was good. It went fairly quickly considering it was 9 and a half hours. The kids were fairly well behaved, apart from a few arguments over whose elbows should be on the arm rest. That was only because Amelia was tired though. <br />
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I was pleased to feel the heat on my skin as we walked off the plane through the tunnel as the temperature had dropped a week before we flew out. It certainly made a nice change to UK weather! <br />
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We collected the luggage, car seats and strollers (see, I've only been in the US for a few minutes and I'm already picking up the lingo <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> ) and made our way over to the Alamo garage minus trollies again. For those interested, to get a trolley you have to insert payment in the machine at the end of the trolley row. It's $5 per trolley and you get 35c back when you return it. Hence why we coped without them. (Because we're tight <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> ) We picked a white Dodge Grand Caravan and loaded her up with luggage. Then Sam and I took the kids back into the airport to catch the Magical Express while Paul and Daniel made their way to OKW with the cases, under instruction to pick up a few cases of water, bread, butter and milk on the way <br />
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Finding the Magical Express was easier said than done. I had written notes on the location of where to catch it from which I had left in my bag with Paul in the car. DOH! We asked one lady who spoke really fast with such a broad accent that we could barely understand her. We followed the parts we did catch and took a lift upstairs and to cut a long story short... after getting lost, and very stressed, half and hour later, we eventually found it with only one person in the queue. We both checked in our families, minus Paul and Daniel which wasn't a problem, and boarded the motor coach to Old Key West. Then waited about 20 minutes for it to actually move. It was dark now so couldn't see any of the US scenery from the window, so we watched the video that they played. Amelia fell asleep and woke up as everyone did a countdown as we passed under Disney's main gate. Very exciting! <br />
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When we arrived, the boys were nowhere to be seen, so we went straight to reception to see if they were in there. Nope. I took our paperwork up to the desk and the CM said it looked as though somebody had checked in already and said she would call up to the room to see if Paul was in there. She passed me the phone but he didn't pick up. She continued to give me our magic bands, map of the resort, leaflets, what's on guide, etc which I thought was strange... surely If Paul had checked in already, he would have taken his magic band to get into the room. She also said there was a package for me which was quite large and she said she would have it sent up to our room. It was all the stuff I had had delivered to Carrie. <br />
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We went outside and asked bell services if a cart would take us over to our room which was 3225 in building 32 on Old Turtle Pond Road. <br />
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We sat on a bench, constantly keeping an eye out for the others, and also a cart. Buses came and went, but no white cars. We waited and waited and still no cart showed up. Then all of a sudden, who should swing in but Paul and Daniel! We assumed they had taken all the cases to the room and were coming back to pick us up, but they had only just arrived from the airport! We arranged for them to drive back to the room and dump the luggage, then come and pick us up. I told bell services we wouldn't need the cart anymore. We didn't know how much longer it would be and by the time we got there, Paul and Daniel could have come back and we would miss them. I don't know what happened, but there was some confusion with Sam and bell services, and what was happening, but after about 30 minutes the boys turned up and we all drove back to the room. It was sooooo nice! I couldn't get over how big it was and lost my bearings coming out of the laundry room! It was perfect. Here's some photos (although they weren't taken on this night <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" />)<br />
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The package from Carrie had already been brought up and I had a quick peek inside at all the goodies I had brought - some of which from July! It was like Christmas!<br />
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We freshened up, donned our magic bands and went back down to hospitality house. Daniel, Sam and Sarah were put in the room downstairs from us which they weren't happy with, so they asked to be moved next door to us. Luckily the occupant of the room next door was leaving on the 7th, two days later. So they didn't fully unpack right away. While we were waiting, we asked for a tea kettle as there was only a coffee machine in the room. They said it was no problem, and it was put in our room before we got back. <br />
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Here's our magic bands. Apologies for the poor quality of todays photos. They were all taken on my iPhone and Amelia actually took this one. They do get better honest! <br />
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We were all too tired to go to Downtown Disney as I had originally planned for us all to do, so we bought the kids autograph books from the general store at OKW and then got some food from Goods to Go. Ordering quick service was a bit confusing as it was our first time, but we got it sorted in the end and the CM was laughing with us. Bloody newbies! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> We didn't realise we had to take our desserts up to the counter when ordering the entrée. Then we had to get our refillable resort mugs. Amelia and I don't drink fizzy drinks and the only thing available was pomegranate lemonade which was still. It tasted pretty grim though. We found a table over by the water and could finally relax. We were here! <br />
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After dinner we went back to our rooms and put the sofa beds up which the kids got into and fell asleep immediately which wasn't surprising, considering it was about 3:30am back home in the UK. <br />
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Paul and I unpacked everything and went to bed about an hour after them. I didn't want to move this little guy off the bed... <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-75648965977100280372014-11-04T09:38:00.000-08:002015-03-18T09:45:32.516-07:00NOVEMBER 2014 TRIP REPORT - Day 0 - I'M STUCK IN A BUSH! - Travel day from hell!We had told the kids that we were going to Tenerife on 18th November. I had made them countdowns which they were excitedly ticking off each day, and we went about our lives as usual, hiding the fact that we were actually going to Florida on 5th November! My mum and dad had them for the weekend before we went away so that I could pack in secret, and they never said anything about the cases when they got back. They just assumed we were getting ready for Tenerife <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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So after listening to our Bonvoyagee on the Dibbcast the night before (1st November episode), my excitement was at an all-time high as Paul and I carried out our last minute preparations. <br />
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I woke up at 6:30am and jumped out of bed like it was Christmas morning! After 15 months of planning, the day had finally arrived!<br />
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One more day to Disney!<br />
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We woke up the kids and got them fed and watered and ready for school just like any other day. Oliver left first. So I quickly took this photo of Amelia. She was so excited about going to school she didn't even ask why I was taking a photo of her holding a piece of paper or what it said! <br />
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The second Paul left to take her to school, I was in full stealth mode. I showered and got dressed in minutes, did my hair and make-up before packing it and my hair straighteners in the hand luggage ready for the following morning and packed a few last minute clothes, toiletries, and stuff for the journey that I had bought in Tesco the night before. Then I wrote out the card for their reveal and wrapped the Mickey Messenger plush in tissue paper and put it in a gift bag. Then I set up my camera in the living room on my tripod in front of the sofa where they would open it.<br />
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Paul cleaned the kitchen, emptied the bins and cleaned the fridge out ready for any burglars that might pay us a visit. Then "nipped out" to get our dollars but was gone for aaages. The first of many set backs today. <br />
If you read my pre-trip report, you'll know I did a market night in my Etsy store on the Friday. I don't know if many of you are familiar with how Etsy works, but for sellers, when somebody buys something and pays using a credit card, the money goes into an Etsy account before being released into your bank account on the next working day.… my market night was on a Friday and by Monday afternoon the money was still not in my account which was to be part of our spending money. Great. My sheer dumb luck, on Monday night at 11pm I received an email to say the money was on its way, but it could take 3-5 working days to appear in my account. In the past it usually shows up at the same time as the email, but of course they must have known I was going on holiday and needed it and decided not to give it to me. So all day Monday I was refreshing my online banking app and again all morning on Tuesday. By 10:30am, we had to give up and just exchange the other half of the money we had saved. Paul went into town to do that while I stayed home and got the cases down the stairs (no mean feat when you're 5'1", suffer with a bad back and all on your own I can tell you!) and did online check in. Another set back…<br />
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Yes you guessed it, Virgin's website was down for maintenance so that would have to wait.<br />
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I continued cleaning for the burglars, made some rolls and put them in the fridge and set out some cat food for the neighbours (to feed our cats with, not to eat themselves<img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> ) and before long it was it was almost time to collect the kids from school. I was starting to panic as Paul was still not back from town. At 11:45am he called to say he was on his way to get Oliver which was actually perfect timing. I made sure everything was ready; luggage hidden in the kitchen…<br />
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and reveal set-up hidden in the living room…<br />
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and at 11:55am, left to collect Amelia from school which is just a 2 minute walk from our house.<br />
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I waited a little while for the receptionist to collect her for me. Apparently the teacher forgot she was leaving early and she found Amelia in the queue about to get her dinner!<br />
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With her little tiny innocent hand in mine, I had to fight the urge to skip out the school gates with her as we were only "going to the dentist". <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> Little did she know!<br />
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Just as we rounded the corner, Paul and Oliver were driving down the road. We couldn't have timed it better if we tried! He swung in to pick us up, we hopped in the car and were soon on the driveway. I told the kids a parcel arrived for them but they had to take their shoes off before coming into the living room to open it. While they were doing that, I snuck in and set my camera to record.<br />
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Unfortunately somehow the video got deleted on my SD card. I am trying it recover it but not having much luck at the moment <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> I was in tears when I realised ;'(<br />
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I was welling up as Oliver read out the card to Amelia. As soon as I find it, I will upload it here. <br />
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I put the reveal DVD in the blu ray player and they watched it while we had a quick lunch of ham rolls and crisps, chatting excitedly about our plans and how we'd been hiding it so long. Oliver said he had no clue at all but had said to Paul in the car as a joke that we weren't really going to the dentist, we were going to Florida really. He must be psychic like his mum <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> We could finally talk about it which felt great and wrong at the same time which was a weird feeling. I kept thinking of saying "Sssshhhhhh" every time the word Florida was spoken!<br />
<br />
Paul loaded the car up while the kids got changed and re-read their card once more. I gave Amelia half a Kwells Kids travel sickness tablet as she suffers in the car sometimes (especially on long journeys and after eating) and we were eventually on our way at 1:25pm.. Only 25 minutes behind schedule but Paul was getting tense. He HATES being late for anything. In his eyes, being on time is late. The way I see it… what's the rush? Twilight check in doesn't open for another 3 and a half hours. <br />
<br />
We pulled over a few yards down the road after setting off because the Sat Nav wasn't working. While I tried to get directions on my phone a message came through from Sam to say they had just left too. We live a 30-40 minute drive away from them so they would probably arrive first.<br />
<br />
The journey to Gatwick wasn't too eventful. DVD's were watched in the back, a bag of Starburst were eaten and up until the first service station stop for Amelia to have a wee, it was OK. Then the heavens opened and we could barely see the road markings, the rain storm was that bad. The following pic is rubbish, and the sky looks brown. I couldn't capture just how black it actually was. It was horrible.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/pTjP66" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8587/15677017379_8c3d936c0a.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Amelia slept most of the journey and woke up to say she needed a poo. Great. 6 miles away from the nearest service station. She wouldn't stop going on about it. She was "prairie dogging" and needed to go NOW!<br />
<br />
While we drove to the service station, Paul and I were both indecisive about what to do next… should we <br />
<br />
a) Go straight to Premier Inn at north terminal, drop our hand luggage off and then go and park the car, then take the shuttle to south terminal to do twilight check in<br />
b) Go and park the car, go to premier Inn at north terminal, dump the hand luggage and then do twilight check in at south terminal<br />
c) Park the car, go to south terminal, do twilight check in, meet daniel and sam and have dinner - but then we'd have our hand luggage with us….. You name it, every combination of things to do came up and we just couldn't decide what was best so in the end I made the decision. A bad one, but a decision all the same. We went with B. <br />
<br />
We swung in to the service station when it eventually appeared through the rain, I took Amelia to "do her business" while Paul put the car park postcode into the Sat Nav, and off we set again.<br />
<br />
Soon enough the rain stopped, but the sky was still black. We rocked up at Purple Parking at 4:30pm, pulled into lane 4, Paul went inside with the paperwork while I struggled to unload the luggage with little help from Oliver (did I mention he's a lazy teenager?). Paul came back with a ticket and left the keys in the ignition as instructed and then he moved all the cases over to the shuttle stop while I packed Amelia's car seat into a case I bought from Kiddicare for our last trip 2 years ago but never used! Thankfully the rain held off for us enough to do this! Amelia was sat in the back of the car watching planes take off and was desperate to get out.<br />
<br />
We said goodbye to the car, and as luck would have it, a shuttle was ready and waiting. We loaded it up with our luggage and soon enough we arrived at North Terminal. I loaded it all back onto two trollies while Paul went off somewhere (I can't remember where) and we went about looking for Premier Inn. <br />
<br />
I seem to remember taking a lift here and walking over to Premier Inn in the pouring rain. Paul waited outside with the two trollies while the kids and I searched for reception. We eventually found it, and we took the stairs as there was a queue for the lift. The reception area was buzzing with people - most of which worked there. Slightly over-staffed me thinks. We were pounced on by an evil lady intent on ruining my day. When I showed her my email confirmation my heart and everything within me sank as the following conversation ensued…<br />
<br />
Evil lady: "Oh you're at the wrong hotel."<br />
Me: "I'm sorry? This is Premier in at North Terminal. That's what it says on the email."<br />
Evil lady: "I can tell from the email header that you have the wrong hotel as we don't use <a class="skimlinks-unlinked" data-skim-creative="500005" data-skimwords-word="Booking.com" href="http://booking.com/" sl-processed="1" title="">Booking.com</a>"<br />
Me: "So which hotel am I supposed to be at?"<br />
Evil lady: "You want the other Premier Inn over the road. It's not far. A 5 minute walk, or you can take the G2 bus. Here I'll show you…"<br />
<br />
She frog-marched me across the room and pulled the curtain back from a window to show me the very large and busy roundabout just about visible through the rain and Premier Inn lit up somewhere in the background. To be fair, it didn't look far. Just very awkward to get to.<br />
<br />
I bid her farewell, took Amelia for yet another wee and traipsed back downstairs to Paul. He left us with the luggage and went back in only to be told exactly what I had just told him. I told you so sprang to mind. He decided we'd walk as we had no idea where to catch a G2 bus. Evil lady had failed to mention that bit. <br />
<br />
I was SO fed up. It was dark, pouring down with rain, I was extremely tired and my back was killing me. As we walked to the corner of the building it became apparent that there was no walkway. At least not one we could see in the dark. So I followed Paul as he directed us back the way we came, across the road and around the building on the opposite side. We then had to cross a very busy road where we almost got run over as two lanes of traffic filtered through at quite a speed. When we managed to get across that one in one piece, there was another quieter road to cross. This is where I lost it a little bit. Paul took the lighter of the two trollies of luggage over the road with Amelia while Oliver and I tried to get across; me with a trolley of three heavy cases and hand luggage and Oliver just about coped with a backpack on his back and Amelia's trunki. My front wheel got stuck in a bush as I was about to get down the kerb and would not move no matter how hard I tried. Paul couldn't get back over to help me as he had Amelia and Oliver is about as much use as a chocolate teapot when it comes to moving luggage. I was trying to shout across the road to Paul to try to do something to help (i.e swap over with Oliver) through the rain and traffic noise but he just kept shouting back that he can't. More like won't. Oliver attempted to help and ended up pushing one of the cases off into the road. I am shamed to say I snapped. I told him to get out the way and just leave me to it. Honestly, I could have just sat down and cried my eyes out at that point. Oliver crossed the road just as three old people came up behind me and I had to pull myself together a bit. When I looked back, the rest of my so-called family had disappeared around the corner, leaving me to deal with it. These poor old people must have been in their 80's and managed to dislodge the bushes from the wheels and between the four of us we got down and back up the kerb with it. <br />
I must have said thank you a million times and tried to catch up with the others who were waiting around the corner. Paul stood for a second and then suddenly said "Why are we taking all the luggage with us?". Call it insanity, or tiredness, but not one of us had thought about this. We didn't need the big cases, just the hand luggage to take to Premier Inn. I was at boiling point now. All that stress for nothing. He decided that he would stay with the luggage while the kids and I continued the journey in the dark with all the hand luggage. Such a gentleman. I've never been so relieved to find the hotel. We must have looked like drowned rats. There was a bit of a wait while one of the receptionists flirted with a customer while the other one checked someone else out. Then it was our turn. We checked in no problem, until she asked for a copy of my passport because I was paying in cash. The same passport that was in my bag on the trolley with Paul. Luckily she said it was fine, but said to make sure I bring it down when we come back to the hotel after dinner. Phew. Our room was in a very handy location, just to the left of the check in desk, down a short corridor on the ground floor. Room 8. Amelia had fun running down looking for the number 8, and as soon as I had put the luggage down I felt a rush of relief. The ordeal was finally over. The room looked nice and comfy and I could quite easily have fell into the bed and gone to sleep. But we still had lots to do. <br />
<br />
Amelia and I waited for Oliver to put his shoes back on. For some reason he thought we were staying there? ! Does the boy not listen to anything?<br />
<br />
Shoes on and camera in hand (I didn't want to risk leaving it in the room), we left the room and trudged through the rain once again, passing an abandoned trolley I suspected once belonged to us. <br />
We found Paul back outside the first Premier inn with just the one trolley. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /> and continued over to get the shuttle to South terminal. <br />
<br />
While we were gone, Daniel had been past twice and spoken to Paul. They had already checked in to Premier Inn (the correct one!) and were waiting for us at South terminal for the second part of the kids surprise. They still had no idea that Daniel, Sam and Sarah were coming with us. They had left their passports in a bag in the room though, so Dan had ran back to get them, bumping into Paul on route.<br />
<br />
We took the shuttle over and I saw Sam's bright suitcases poking out around the corner, then Daniel sitting down next to them. Unfortunately Sam was taking Sarah to the loo. The kids' faces were a picture. They were both speechless and Amelia couldn't stop grinning and cuddling him. She ran across the room when she saw Sarah and gave her a massive cuddle. They were dancing about, giggling excitedly.<br />
<br />
We joined the queue for Twilight check in which wasn't as busy as I thought it would be. I was so thirsty and had to crack open the bag of jelly babies I had bought for the flight which I shared out to help pass the time. We only queued for about 20 minutes. We were next in line when suddenly Amelia announced to everyone that she needed another wee. She couldn't hold it, so we ran the short distance to the ladies, and as we got back, our family were just being called over. Excellent timing. The whole check in process was over quickly. Very smooth and stress free after the last experience we had of twilight check in. Our car seat and two pushchairs had to go over to oversized baggage, so we dropped them off, and finally we were free. We headed up the escalators to Giraffe at 5:45pm and got a table in the back corner of the restaurant. We ordered drinks. Amelia was in awe of hers when it arrived as it had a giraffe drinking out of her straw! She loved it.<br />
<br />
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<br />
We all ordered food.. <br />
Paul and I both had a Giraffe burger - £9.95 each<br />
Oliver had the All-day breakfast - £10.25<br />
and Amelia had the kids cheeseburger meal £4.35<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://flic.kr/p/qaLRjx" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7534/15863161735_88a0cb7a90.jpg" /></a><br />
<i>The Giraffe burger</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://flic.kr/p/pe227D" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7487/15243518973_6828e18ed5.jpg" /></a><br />
<i>All Day Breakfast</i></div>
<br />
I noticed on the menu that they aim to have your food on the table within 15 minutes of ordering, but if you're in a hurry, let them know and they'll see if they can cook it quicker! The service certainly didn't disappoint. The servers were very attentive and cracked jokes with us, and the food did indeed arrive within 15 minutes and was lovely, although the kids didn't make a dent in theirs. A pattern that would repeat throughout the holiday.<br />
<br />
We all agreed that we felt better after eating. We skipped desserts as we were all comfortably stuffed after our mains and got the bill. Ours came to £41 with drinks.<br />
<br />
We headed back to north terminal, said our goodbyes to Daniel and Sam and arranged to meet up with them at 8:30am the following morning, then took a walk back to our hotel across the roads again. A little less stressful that the last time! <br />
<br />
I searched the hotel for some shampoo but couldn't find any bottles anywhere. Paul said he would see if the garage next door had any when he went to find a smoking area while I gave Amelia a quick bath. While she was in there I found it - It wasn't in bottles, but was in a dispenser on the wall. He had left his phone in the room on charge so I couldn't text him to tell him not to worry.<br />
<br />
He came back a little while later stinking of cigarettes. I hate smoking, and in the 7 years I've known him, I've never seen him smoke. He only has one or two a day, but at home he usually has chewing gum and washes his hands straight away to mask the smell, but being in a tiny room I really noticed it. He told me he'd got me some shampoo- a tiny bottle of Head and shoulders which cost over £4! When I looked at it, it wasn't shampoo, it was conditioner. Not much use darling.<br />
He said that while he was in the lobby, loads of people were coming in saying they had booked the other premier inn and not this one. I definitely feel it should be better advertised. We weren't the only disappointed families that night. <br />
<br />
The kids got ready for bed and picked the bed they wanted to sleep in, and then ended up swapping. I gave Oliver the little folder I made him a few months back with all of our plans, <a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php" rel="nofollow" sl-processed="1" target="_blank">ADR's</a> and FP's in which he couldn't stop reading. They both had a quick look in their bags and Amelia put the Minnie doll I made her to bed. We all had tea and Mickey biscuits, I face timed my mum and dad. My mum had tears in her eyes and said she was going to miss us which nearly set me off. I really wished they were coming with us.<br />
<br />
I went on facebook for a bit, charged up my phone and my Surface ready for the flight, and we went to sleep. Oliver was tossing and turning for ages saying he was too excited. I don't think any of us got much sleep to be honest.<br />
<br />
Such a stressful and tiring day. I was glad to be in bed at last.<br />
<br />
One more sleep!<br />
<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-2516612787441961932013-01-01T08:21:00.003-08:002013-01-01T08:23:40.464-08:00Another competition win!I can't believe I did it again! I won another Disney competition! Considering I've never won anything in my life, I'm getting pretty lucky with the Disney ones!<br />
<br />
This competition was for a Doc McStuffins goody bag which included a personalised Big Book of Boo Boos! It was run by Disney through Netmums. All I had to do was upload a picture of my Daughter playing doctor to one of her toys onto Netmums. I had made a Doc McStuffins <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LittleSugarPlums" target="_blank">Little Sugar Plum</a> doll for Amelia for Christmas as she loved the show so much when we were in Florida, and more so now that it has been aired in the UK. I let her take a sneak peek at it before I wrapped it up while she was playing dress-up and quickly snapped a photo... which luckily for her, was the winning photo they chose!<br />
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Her prize arrived just in time for Christmas in a lovely Disney Junior bag and included the Big Book of Boo Boos, a stethoscope, a height chart, badge, rubber stamp, door hanger, paint pad and a reward chart... although this slightly confused me as it came printed with someone elses name on and printed with "stickers" already in place... like a picture of what it shoud look like when completed... except she never actually received her own one! Very confusing :(</div>
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She loved it all on Christmas morning!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-23884821701675773222012-09-19T05:25:00.003-07:002012-09-19T05:30:51.905-07:00Oz the Great and PowerfulI was very excited to see the trailer for new Disney film Oz the Great and Powerful this morning. The Wizard of Oz is my all time favourite film so this is a definate 'must see' for me.<br />
<br />
<strong>Synopsis</strong><br />
<br />
When Oscar Diggs (<span itemprop="name">James Franco</span>), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (<span itemprop="name">Mila Kunis</span>), Evanora (<span itemprop="name">Rachel Weisz</span>)and Glinda (<span itemprop="name">Michelle Williams</span>), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz™ but into a better man as well.<br />
<br />
Set for release on 8th March 2013, the film is from the producers of Alice in Wonderland and the visionary director of the Spiderman Trilogy, so it is sure to be a blockbuster. I for one cannot wait to see it.<br />
<br />
You can see a trailer by clicking <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyywumlnhdw" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></span></a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" id="il_fi" src="http://more.crunchybeachmama.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/oz.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="400" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><img height="199" id="il_fi" src="http://7films.me.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/oz_the_great_and_powerful_21.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="400" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-29686977702056000092012-09-17T10:44:00.001-07:002012-09-17T10:46:16.050-07:00Warm Cinnamon Roll Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3gcGLESm6RQcU14okKsbT32XCxnacjyv7Xr-3Qg6jfVH7lTbv6uhiO578jgH3AIQ53X3FZCi64KaowYPydqquhveswaseXEO6ig9zWYxeB1XWOnx6j9gJKtgh94c4_lk3_PEjnP0SM0/s1600/Cinnamon+Roll.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3gcGLESm6RQcU14okKsbT32XCxnacjyv7Xr-3Qg6jfVH7lTbv6uhiO578jgH3AIQ53X3FZCi64KaowYPydqquhveswaseXEO6ig9zWYxeB1XWOnx6j9gJKtgh94c4_lk3_PEjnP0SM0/s320/Cinnamon+Roll.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Main Street Bakery's Warm Cinnamon Roll</b></span></div><br />
After craving a Main Street Bakery warm cinnamon roll for the past 3 months, I decided to make them for my Mum and Dad when I went to stay with them this weekend. I didn't have much time and did mine in a bread maker (see at the bottom of this post for instructions).<br />
<br />
This was the first time I had made them and I was so pleased with how they turned out. Not quite as good as the Magic Kingdom's (nothing will ever compare to Disney's), but still very sweet and tasty.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #990000;"><b>You will need:</b></div><br />
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{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style> <![endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">120 ml Warm milk </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">5 g dried yeast<br />
1 Beaten egg, room temperature<br />
310 g Bread flour<br />
50 g White sugar<br />
35 g Butter<br />
3 g Salt<br />
</span><br />
<div style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Filling:</span></b></div><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
110 g Brown sugar<br />
9 g Ground cinnamon<br />
40 g Butter, softened<br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: #990000;">Glaze:</b><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">75 g<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Icing sugar</span><br style="font-family: inherit;" /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 3 tsp water</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> o<span style="font-family: inherit;">r enough for it to be thick, but runny.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="color: #990000;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Method </span></span></b></span></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Version>12.00</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:DoNotShowRevisions/> <w:DoNotPrintRevisions/> <w:DoNotShowMarkup/> <w:DoNotShowComments/> <w:DoNotShowInsertionsAndDeletions/> <w:DoNotShowPropertyChanges/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">1. Add yeast to warm milk with 1 teaspoon of the sugar & leave in a warm place for 10 mins (yeast should start to foam in the milk)<br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">2. Put the flour in a large bowl with the rest of the sugar and the salt. Add the butter and rub into the flour to make fine crumbs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">3. Add the milk & yeast mix and the beaten egg to the dry ingredients and mix well with your hand.<br />
Turn onto a lightly floured worktop (the mixture will be very wet & sticky, don’t be tempted to add more flour as this would make the rolls heavy) and knead for 5 – 10 mins until the dough becomes less sticky. <br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">4. Pop into a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 – 2 hrs</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
5. Make the filling by mixing the brown sugar & cinnamon into the butter (it should be like damp sand)<br />
<br />
6. Roll dough into a large rectangle. Sprinkle the dough with the butter, sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough into a swiss roll shape and cut into 6 rolls. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">7. Place rolls in a lightly greased baking dish and cover with cling wrap.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE60oKKqbStzDcHQQKlVycY3xMec688AJqKqRNveY7evAPKG3bYXrEirRtsuPbjZUUb3JWdicqTfBaLQ_Qr9RQjKV-tzZg3hSFQeS2Y2bpItullzSnhYD0JQlrfcOboMHLa3JJLGiWyAY/s1600/photo(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE60oKKqbStzDcHQQKlVycY3xMec688AJqKqRNveY7evAPKG3bYXrEirRtsuPbjZUUb3JWdicqTfBaLQ_Qr9RQjKV-tzZg3hSFQeS2Y2bpItullzSnhYD0JQlrfcOboMHLa3JJLGiWyAY/s320/photo(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">8. Let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. (At this stage you can pop the rolls in the fridge overnight if you wanted to cook them for breakfast)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">9. Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas mark 6 then pop the rolls in the oven for 18 – 20 mins.<br />
<br />
10. Once cooked, remove from the oven then invert the dish onto a plate, this makes sure the buns stay sticky & moist. Take the dish off and leave to cool for 10 mins.<br />
<br />
11. Make the glaze by mixing the icing sugar with the water then drizzle over the buns.<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">If using a Bread Maker</span></b></span> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Waltograph; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></b><br style="font-family: inherit;" /> Add </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">the milk,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> yeast, egg, flour, sugar, butter and salt to your bread maker and set it onto the dough setting. Depending on your machine, this should take between 45 minutes - an hour. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Once it is ready, take out the dough and continue with method above from step 4.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span> <span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Enjoy!</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span> <span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is how mine came out...</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IM7I_YyMKpIwEk0F2PcZuF8ujIN_W02zKULswur5SSj5MnHzaZ0txvzvZFk7jfmBuI42S7nwb_EOZNpep8k4HBOt-mNgrJ6WrGlIoFbFdxEAwqd9FguyvQKHcXEWYca-AVBu2lL9F0k/s1600/photo(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IM7I_YyMKpIwEk0F2PcZuF8ujIN_W02zKULswur5SSj5MnHzaZ0txvzvZFk7jfmBuI42S7nwb_EOZNpep8k4HBOt-mNgrJ6WrGlIoFbFdxEAwqd9FguyvQKHcXEWYca-AVBu2lL9F0k/s320/photo(3).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span> <span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Not a patch on the real McCoy! However I was very impatient and put the glazing on moments after they came out of the oven. I should have waited a bit longer really. I also should have done them in a rectangular tin to get the squared effect like Disney's. They were still very very good though!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSc1TkxNe5KFLpM9zLVPG3yRxdAXim2XHo79KOxFED55ULNGkGIVMkl8GND0tz_idBVs6GIGnNFZaFRv-sXKQO2-K7ytNjNmYhmBmwsADR6KBiRKxsCnKCFjTYBsf_r3X7LWbw-hPkb_0/s1600/IMG_2932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSc1TkxNe5KFLpM9zLVPG3yRxdAXim2XHo79KOxFED55ULNGkGIVMkl8GND0tz_idBVs6GIGnNFZaFRv-sXKQO2-K7ytNjNmYhmBmwsADR6KBiRKxsCnKCFjTYBsf_r3X7LWbw-hPkb_0/s320/IMG_2932.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Magic Kingdom's warm cinnamon roll. Photo from the <a href="http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2010/05/14/disney-cinnamon-roll/" target="_blank">Disney Food Blog</a></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-45765177603672885562012-09-06T03:36:00.005-07:002012-09-19T05:08:16.455-07:00Disney Movie RewardsI had an email from Disney a couple of weeks ago to say that I had won the Disney Brave competition. You can imagine my surprise when I read what I had won;<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">An Xbox 360, Kinect sensor and the new Brave game!</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't even remember entering the competition so I was over the moon! I never win anything!</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">We already have an Xbox and Kinect, but it's pretty old and it sounds like a jet taking off after it's been switched on for 5 minutes, so it did need replacing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> I was so excited when it finally arrived this morning with a lovely letter from Disney Movie Rewards!</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvycVj0VHvwT0VdoGgVpnzzoTdgvSWBhyphenhyphenTa0Lcc_ACC5sNYAjfGPlNFJ7gYbzQcpNeNAsR2PnSGWuRLSN4Wf5p1cmXM54aJ37u7WVxlsDiHzHuvI5JsSYFpCPP5_Lfkmbygwhc100AIcU/s1600/193353_10150997454591895_468362178_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvycVj0VHvwT0VdoGgVpnzzoTdgvSWBhyphenhyphenTa0Lcc_ACC5sNYAjfGPlNFJ7gYbzQcpNeNAsR2PnSGWuRLSN4Wf5p1cmXM54aJ37u7WVxlsDiHzHuvI5JsSYFpCPP5_Lfkmbygwhc100AIcU/s640/193353_10150997454591895_468362178_o.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGYuQWnuJseXz6zOVlYGaE-2VR76kLlF_1au7WGJ4rq0fgpaYku6JCcDgr_Ul_XXgHaEeQ3slU58uLWxJ6kDgg0CIFXK3BewX2LSPh1Csq4l_-S6NAXPKM7cWu9OmduqEuzSMcyg3SMY/s1600/205016_10150997454076895_223207438_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGYuQWnuJseXz6zOVlYGaE-2VR76kLlF_1au7WGJ4rq0fgpaYku6JCcDgr_Ul_XXgHaEeQ3slU58uLWxJ6kDgg0CIFXK3BewX2LSPh1Csq4l_-S6NAXPKM7cWu9OmduqEuzSMcyg3SMY/s400/205016_10150997454076895_223207438_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I haven't had a chance to play on it yet, but I can see it being invaluable in the cold winter months :-)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Disney Movie Reward scheme is fantastic. I have been trying to build my Disney collection and have been replacing many of the DVD's we have with Blu Rays. I've also bought a few of the Disney movies that we didn't have recently as I want Amelia to grow up with Disney as my Sister and I did when we were young. I also instilled Disney in Oliver from a young age too. He was obsessed with Toy Story and Cars when he was younger and still enjoys the classics.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's the ones I bought a couple of weeks ago...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLrAueyBn1aSGmXMxyHoqK-iQLsao5b-lz23r5x0A0VPWYwbBuUKb1QmLKuOU_FMGqF6EWzJ-jw-TL_xwIuK28PQ1af3Gs4WSBUM5HW8gNPwfJOMaz5CnWClql_URSYDSB-w_SLCzD4Y/s1600/IMG_3852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLrAueyBn1aSGmXMxyHoqK-iQLsao5b-lz23r5x0A0VPWYwbBuUKb1QmLKuOU_FMGqF6EWzJ-jw-TL_xwIuK28PQ1af3Gs4WSBUM5HW8gNPwfJOMaz5CnWClql_URSYDSB-w_SLCzD4Y/s400/IMG_3852.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Inside each blu ray case was a Disney movie rewards code, so I have accumulated quite a few points. I also entered the code from the Brave Xbox game onto the site and was surprised to see I had saved up 2500 points!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The points can be used for DVD's, Blu Rays and Blu Ray 3D and there are lots of eligible titles to choose from. I have ordered Chicken Little, Up and the Fox and the Hound on Blu ray with my points and I still have 250 points left over. Shamefully I have never seen Up or the Fox and the Hound! I will have more codes in the new Blu Rays so will hopefully have enough to purchase the Lady and the Tramp on Blu Ray as it is one of my favourites. Amelia loves it too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next on my Blu ray wish list (when they become available) is:</div><ul><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">101 Dalmations</div></li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lady and the Tramp</div></li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Beauty and the Beast</div></li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pirates of the Carribbean box set</div></li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Aladdin </div></li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Little Mermaid </div></li>
<li>The Aristocats</li>
<li>Pete's Dragon </li>
<li>Fantasia</li>
<li>Brave </li>
<li>Finding Nemo </li>
<li>The Rescuers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-42368723032268580302012-09-02T08:19:00.000-07:002012-09-02T08:19:57.524-07:00I NEED to go back!I am nearing the end of my 2012 trip report and it is making me extremely broody for Disney! I am missing the smell of popcorn and cinnamon rolls, the sight of the castle, the fireworks, and the magic of everything!<br />
<br />
I can't stop looking at villas and Disney hotels, and although when we got back I said I would never stay in a hotel after staying in a villa, I kind of want to stay onsite next time and make full use of the Disney Dining Plan and all the other little extras you get. Especially the preferred seating for Wishes!<br />
<br />
I have vowed to do everything in my power to get back there in 2014 and will save as hard as I can to make my dream come true. Watch this space. The Clifton's are going back!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07BJm3xE-5J-vLwP_m75Ux6Q2Onk8w3XQwPIjch13T2ix3dL6CgimR43w9aI1RroHm9fCf8lSK__InYX6UJHrHp9ahLTNYsYfHEo-EcZmgXX_fBQECNDpJGWIyJuc_YqS2y29mQqMFYs/s1600/318825_10150926342086895_1033142025_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07BJm3xE-5J-vLwP_m75Ux6Q2Onk8w3XQwPIjch13T2ix3dL6CgimR43w9aI1RroHm9fCf8lSK__InYX6UJHrHp9ahLTNYsYfHEo-EcZmgXX_fBQECNDpJGWIyJuc_YqS2y29mQqMFYs/s320/318825_10150926342086895_1033142025_n.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-67132985879080910482012-07-18T13:45:00.000-07:002012-07-18T13:45:40.625-07:00New Facebook PageI'm so sorry I have still not updated day 6 of my trip report. I have had a lot on recently and am still working on it. Please bear with me, it will be here soon!<br />
<br />
One of the reasons for my absence is that I have been putting together a web page and facebook page for my Disney dresses, and my new venture; handmade dolls and softies. If you would like to take a look, please visit <a href="http://www.facebook.com/littlesugarplums">www.facebook.com/littlesugarplums</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-81321433128979679972012-06-02T09:16:00.000-07:002012-09-25T09:32:03.651-07:00Day 15 ~ Magic Kingdom & Homeward Bound Mum was up at 6am and was knocking on our door telling us to get up
before our alarm had even gone off. Why couldn’t she have been that
enthusiastic about getting up and out throughout the holiday? Despite
our best efforts to get out of the villa and make it to the parks for
rope drop, we had only managed it on our first day.<br />
<br />
We showered and dressed, packed outr nightwear, toiletries and make-up,
cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen and wheeled the luggage out to the car
and tetris-ized it all into the boot and in various other parts of the
car. Tracy wrote in the villa’s guest book and left a nice message for
Joanne, we said a sad farewell to the villa and was pulling off of the
drive at 8:30am, an hour later than planned.<br />
<br />
As we booked our Flydrive and tickets through Virgin holidays, we got
free Downtown Disney check in. When we used it last time in 2009, by
9am the queue was snaking down the road, so we wanted to get there for
when it opened ideally. I was expecting a huge queue when we arrived,
but to my amazement there was only 2 families queuing already!<br />
<br />
We jumped out of the car, unloaded the luggage and jumped in line,
passports at the ready. We were all asked to fill out a questionnaire
which we did, and gave it back to the rep and we were then next in line.
We all held our breath while the cases were weighed. Mum’s was
slightly over at 29kg, but she wasn’t charged any extra money. Phew.<br />
<br />
There was another slight mix up with Amelia’s ticket, but thankfully
they sorted it out there and then and we were walking away from the
Virgin Check-in desk, free of cases and boarding passes in hand at
9:15am.<br />
<br />
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<br />
It was Cars Weekend this weekend so we had a look around at all the
different... erm...cars! I’m assuming they were all from films? But I
am sorry to say I have no idea. My knowledge of cars is “a blue one”
and that’s about the extent of it. But there were some pretty cool
ones...<br />
<br />
A red one with flames on...<br />
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<br />
A black and gold one... This one was all signed in the boot...<br />
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<br />
Painted ones...<br />
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<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/P1020917_zps2e02137a.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/IMG_2080_zps10bf4224.jpg" /></div>
<br />
Oooh oooh, I know this one... Herbie!!<br />
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<b>Oh what I would do for one of those badges!</b></div>
<br />
The Cars gang were there too..<br />
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<br />
OK, enough cars. I’m boring myself so I hate to think what it’s doing
to you! For anyone who is interested though, I do have tonnes of photos
which can be found <a href="http://s1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE</a> <br />
<br />
We made our way up to D-Street as Oliver was pestering me for a Perry
Vinylmation. I told him not to get his hopes up as most of the shops
didn’t open until 10am. But to my surprise, it was open and I endured
several smug comments from Oliver proving that I was wrong. Pfft. <br />
I told him he could have the Perry one he wanted but then he started
looking at the other ones; fell in love with a star wars one (which was
boxed so you didn’t know which one you got until you got home) and then
couldn’t make his mind up. He continued umming and ahhring over them
for about 20 minutes until I told him we were going and if he didn’t
make his mind up he wouldn’t have any. Then came the waterworks because
he wanted both. My dad told him to stop being silly and make a
decision and then he cried more because apparently we were all ganging
up on him.... grrr. In the end I made the decision for him. I went and
bought the Perry one, which I told him I would buy in the first place
as it was the one he originally asked for. I think he was hoping that if
he cried long enough he would get both but I wasn’t going to let that
happen. It works on his grandparents, but not me. I gave him the bag
and off we went.<br />
<br />
We headed back to the car and on the way I noticed that the whole of the
other side of the car park was full of cars for Cars weekend. Their
owners were so proud and were continuously polishing and buffing them.
Each to their own <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
<br />
It was absolutely scorching now and the car’s thermometer told us it was
97°. After all the rain we had yesterday, why did it have to be a
gorgeously hot and sunny day on the day we were going home? <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /><br />
We drove to Magic Kingdom and used our car park pass for the last time.
We decided to use the ferry one last time. I found it odd that so many
people were wearing red T-shirts today and then I remembered reading
somewhere online before we came to Florida that it was the Gay Days
weekend this weekend. <br />
<br />
As we got off the ferry we were behind this HUMONGOUS guy in a red
T-shirt with “Hello Gay Florida” on his back who was with a really
skinny bloke. They couldn’t have been more opposite to each other. I
couldn’t get over just how big he was, and we saw some pretty big people
in Florida. Dad was trying to hang back to see how he would fit
through the turnstile but he was walking so slow that we had to overtake
him as we were missing valuable last-day park time!<br />
<br />
Not my photo, but this is kind of what it looked like...<br />
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<br />
I think Gay Days is so good. It was such a great atmosphere to almost
be a part of and I kind of wished I was gay so I could join in! There
were some really funny slogan’s amongst the sea of red T-shirts. Some
were in the style of the Universal Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3
T-shirts, only these ones said things like Dick 1, dick 2 and dick 3 and
Bear 1, Bear 2 and Bear 3. I didn’t know what this meant until I read
ahrimaniac’s fantastic trip report on the Dibb (<a href="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=479125&highlight=otter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The big gay 4 week honeymoon</a>) where he gives a great explanation into the animal names certain members of the gay community tag themselves as! His trip report has had me in hysterics many times and it's well worth a read!<br />
<br />
As we arrived the Move It Shake It Celebrate It parade was just starting, so we watched it go past...<br />
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<br />
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<br />
... and then headed straight to the Main Street Bakery where we all had
cinnamon rolls, a cherry Danish, crumb cakes, coffee, apple juice and
chocolate milk.<br />
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<b></b><br />
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<b>What I would do for one of these right now!</b></div>
<b>
</b>
<br />
We then walked up Main Street and had some Photo Pass photos done. <br />
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<br />
Only on the last day did it occur to me that we hadn’t had any magic
shots taken! I asked the CM if he had any and he said yes and told me
and Amelia to look at my hand. <br />
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<br />
Oliver did the same. I was amazed how good they came out when I saw
them when we got home! It was a bit unfortunate that Oliver was stuck
with Tinkerbell though! We tried to ‘man it up a bit’ by adding a
border!<br />
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<br />
We walked up Main Street via the restrooms where I used the baby care
centre to change Amelia. It has just occurred to me that I haven’t
mentioned these throughout my report; for those of you who haven’t been
yet, there is a baby care centre in each park and they are FANTASTIC! If
you need to feed and change your baby/toddler or just want to get them
out of the sun for a bit, the baby care centres are invaluable. <br />
<br />
The Baby Care Centre at the Magic Kingdom is located near the First Aid
Station between Casey’s and Crystal Palace. You enter through a small
waiting room that contains a small sofa, an arm chair and a cabinet
which displays items that are available to purchase. If you need to buy
any baby care items, you can do so in the kitchen. The centre offers
baby formulas, baby foods and juices, nappies and wipes, bottles, teats,
baby lotions, sunscreen, and some children’s over-the-counter
medicines. <br />
<br />
There are four rooms dedicated to the many different needs of your baby;
The kitchen is equipped with a microwave, plenty of counter space and a
small sink. <br />
<br />
There is a private nursing room that can accommodate up to four mothers
at a time. It has 4 wooden rocking chairs, a few side tables and there
are electrical outlets available for mummies needing to use a breast
pump. <br />
<br />
The changing room includes 5 large changing tables and a unisex
restroom. The feeding area has several wooden highchairs, as well as
other chairs for parents to use whilst bottle feeding. There is a TV,
small table and chairs for older children to use and lots of toys so you
can just chill out and take the weight off for a bit.<br />
It is one of the busier centres and they require guests to park their strollers outside of the main entrance.<br />
<br />
The room where we changed Amelia was huge and the changing tables were
clean. There were tissue rolls for place on the tops for that extra bit
of hygiene. <br />
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<br />
I have done a bit of research for those of you travelling with babies and have come up with a list of baby care centres in WDW:<br />
<br />
• Magic Kingdom - Next to the First Aid centre in between Casey’s and The Crystal Palace restaurant on Main Street.<br />
• Epcot - Inside the Future World Odyssey Centre.<br />
• Hollywood Studios - In the Guest Services Building inside the Main Entrance.<br />
• Animal Kingdom - Behind the Creature Comforts store in the Discovery Island area.<br />
• Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach Water Parks - The water parks do
not have a dedicated Baby Care Centre, but the restrooms do have baby
changing stations.<br />
• Downtown Disney does not have a baby care centre, but there are changing stations in the restrooms.<br />
<br />
Amelia played in the fountain again when we come out and then we made
our way towards the castle and saw the statue of Walt and Mickey and the
bronze statues of some of the characters. I can’t believe we missed
this on our first day and the other two evening visits we had done here!
How did we miss it??!<br />
<br />
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<br />
I really wanted to get a picture of the castle from the bridge into
Tomorrowland, so Paul and I walked over there while the others took
photos by the castle. <br />
<br />
I got my photo and then we asked a Photo Pass photographer to take a
picture of the two of us. She got us doing some silly poses. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> <br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
We met up with the others and walked up the path to go through the
castle... I hadn’t even realised you could go through the castle! I
can’t believe that after 18 months of planning, I hadn’t heard of this.
I knew there was a restaurant inside, but didn’t realise you could walk
through! How did we miss this on our first day? </div>
<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/P1020956_zps4dc6819d.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/IMG_2139_zps2a72d23b.jpg" /></div>
<br />
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The mosaic murals on the walls of the castle entrance were amazing.
Apparently they’re made of Italian glass, silver and 14 carat gold!</div>
<br />
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<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/IMG_2142_zps383c7626.jpg" /><br />
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<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/P1020960_zpsa9ecf044.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/P1020959_zps5b2e1fda.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
When we went through to the other side I realised we were in
Fantastyland. We had seen Dumbo on our first day but hadn’t seen any of
Fantasyland other than that. We obviously entered from a different
direction.<br />
<br />
We took some photos of the castle... </div>
<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/229967_10150891371671892_246795732_n_zps7aa2bd4a.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/599536_10150891369681892_882160049_n_zps2e048d05.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/599705_10150891372076892_857798508_n_zpsa8957b6d.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/196182_10150891371876892_234630913_n_zps64f5211b.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<br />
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Amelia played with the water in Cinderella’s fountain...</div>
<br />
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<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/IMG_2145_zps2d0b4a25.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
And we had a look around...</div>
<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Paul went off to get some drinks which took FOREVER and I was getting a
bit peeved as Mickey’s PhilharMagic was about to start and I really
wanted to see it. He eventually showed up and we just got in in time.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
The show was brilliant; much like Universal’s Shrek 4D, with a Disney twist! Amelia loved it and was clapping along. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We came out of there and I declared to everyone that I would not go home
until we had done It’s a Small World. I had heard so many poor reviews
of it, but as I understood it, it was a traditional ride that MUST be
done... so we did it. The queue seemed to go on forever, but we
eventually got on our little boat and were taken off around the world
where the music got drummed into our heads and that’s where it stayed
for the rest of the day!<br />
<br />
Yes it was lame.... but I enjoyed it, as did the kids. Amelia was in
awe. Mum loved it and my dad and Tracy amused us by pretending it was
good while Paul held his head in shame most of the way around and
occupied himself with the taking of photos while I held Amelia.<br />
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<br />
His photography skills are almost as good as his driving ability!<br />
I knew time was getting on now and begrudgingly we queued for a ride for
the last time. It’s funny how throughout the holiday I refused to
queue for anything longer than 20 minutes, but now I would have gladly
queued for 3 hours if it meant we didn’t have to get on the flight home.
<img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /><br />
<br />
As our luck would have it, there was no queue at all and Paul, Amelia
and I walked on to the Carousel while the others all went to the
restrooms. We took it in turns taking her on and went on twice before
the others arrived back to meet us. She loved it and I got some
beautiful photos. I want to get this one blown up, but I’m undecided
whether to have it done in colour or black and white...<br />
<br />
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<br />
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<br />
I thought Oliver would be too big to want to ride this, but he REALLY wanted to go on, so we all went on for a third time!<br />
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<br />
We exited the ride and looked around one last shop where I bought another photo album and a matching WDW bag for life!<br />
<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/7509002521477.jpg" /><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Magic%20Kingdom%20and%20Homeward%20Bound/KGrHqRgwE8rwc28hcBPQzV3Duw60_35.jpg" /></div>
<br />
It was almost 3pm, and we quickly headed to Aloha Isle in Adventureland
to get a dole whip before we had to leave. However the queue was just a
massive long snake of red T-shirts stretching right around the corner.
I couldn’t wait in the heat for that long. We were already melting and
we were running out of time. It would have to be another one of those
things that I would have to save for our next trip <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/cry_smile.gif" title="cry" /><br />
<br />
Dad also wanted to get a turkey leg. He still hadn’t managed to get one,
and like my dole whip, it was his mission to get one before we went
home. Every time we had seen one throughout the holiday he hadn’t been
hungry, we’d just eaten or were about to go somewhere to eat so he’s
missed it. We looked all around Adventureland for a cart selling them
but we couldn’t find one anywhere. He admitted defeat and with heavy
hearts we said a sad farewell to the castle and headed towards the exit.
<br />
<br />
The others waited for me while I quickly ran into Town Square and asked
to merge both of my photopass cards onto one. Sarah (Brummymummy) sent
me a message on Facebook asking me to do this as apparently they only
allow a maximum of 20 cards to be uploaded onto Photo Pass accounts and
she was a little worried that with 11 people in our share, we might all
have too many cards. The queue to the counter took longer than it did
for the CM to transfer the photos and after 10-15 minutes, I was outside
in the scorching sun again.<br />
<br />
As I met the others outside the gates I suddenly remembered that I
wanted to get the kids one Disney dollar each to put in their scrap book
when we got home. I remember someone telling me you could get them at
Guest Services, so I ran over and asked the CM but she said I couldn’t
get them from there and I would have to get them in the park. I was
gutted. I guess it’s my own fault for leaving it until the last minute.
<img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /><br />
<br />
I took one last photo of the most wonderful place on earth as the train
pulled into the station. The others yelled after me and I ran with them
to catch a monorail back to the car.<br />
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<br />
Now we had to get to the airport without any sat nav help, and we also
had no map. Paul said he read in the villa’s guide that we should go
through Celebration, which we found with no trouble. I could REALLY move
here. The houses are all so beautiful; it’s such a quaint little town.
I highly recommend going here. We went in 2009 and we had dinner at
the Columbia Restaurant and it was such a lovely evening. It was such a
shame that we had run out of time to come here this year as I had
planned to in my itinerary. <br />
<br />
As we drove through, everyone was in awe as we marvelled at all the
stunning houses and picturesque views and we all joked about which house
we’d buy when we win the lottery. Paul was so preoccupied looking at
them that he failed to remember that he was driving and as I looked up
we were hurtling towards the back of a car that had stopped at a
junction. I screamed and shouted, and everyone else did the same. I
think all of us had our life flash before our eyes. I’ve never been
that close to death! Paul was braking as hard as he could but we
weren’t slowing down. I was preparing for the huge crunch, but as he
released the brake and threw his foot down again, the car screeched to a
halt millimetres away from the trunk of the car in front. Honestly,
you could have got a Rizler between us. None of us could speak and I
was literally shaking. I think my Dad said something to him about having
the whole of our family in the car and it must have hit home, as for
the first time Paul actually started to drive sensibly after that. We
got lost for a bit and I think we had to ask for directions, but we
eventually pulled up to Orlando International airport.<br />
<br />
There was a bit of kerfuffle when we reached the Alamo car return. The
guy must have been in his 70’s and couldn’t make his mind up where he
wanted us to park it. In the end Paul made the decision for him, we
parked up, unloaded our hand luggage, shopping bags and Amelia’s
pushchair and headed for the entrance.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately I don’t have any photos from here on...Apparently it’s
forbidden to take photos on government property or something (as they
announced on the tanoy when we first arrived) but I remember we went to
the food court and got a McDonalds to eat and one of their hideously
disgusting strawberry milk shakes (I was not a fan!).<br />
The kids played with their happy meal toys and we had a mooch around the
shops. I was devastated to find they had my size Go Walks in the
Sketchers store, but they were now full price and we didn’t have enough
money left. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/cry_smile.gif" title="cry" /><br />
<br />
I spent the last $22 that was on our travel money card on some caramel Ghirardelli squares. I got myself and my Nan a bag each.<br />
It was then time to board and we headed over to the gate. I took Amelia
into the restrooms and changed her into leggings, a top and a cardigan.
She did some colouring and played with a few bits from her Trunki.
Again, she was really well behaved and I had to remind myself how lucky
we were with her. Even when our flight was delayed twice! First they
delayed it until 7:35 and then they said 7:50pm. We eventually boarded
at about 8:15pm. There was an announcement asking if anyone wanted to
upgrade to PE for $50 but sadly we had to decline.<br />
<br />
As we entered the aircraft there was the most disgusting smell. I
couldn’t describe it but it got right down my throat and I could hardly
breathe. I don’t know if maybe they spray everything with something
between flights? Whatever it was it was making me heave.<br />
<br />
It was so depressing as we took off and I could have cried. Amelia sat
on my lap and looked out of the window as we took off. No crew told me
off this time! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" /><br />
<br />
The flight went quite quickly, I think mainly because Amelia and I slept
the entire flight home! Oliver sat with Mum and Dad again and he
managed to get 4 hours sleep.<br />
<br />
Paul watched Sitter and Sherlock Holmes and woke me up when the food
came round which I wasn’t happy about. He didn’t sleep at all for the
entire flight.<br />
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I had the beef and mash and Paul had the Korma. I couldn’t face it and
had one mouthful before I went back to sleep again. It was very
uncomfortable. I constantly had the arm rest digging in my back and was
getting tangled up in the mass of blankets that Amelia had wanted on
her. She was also really heavy and wouldn’t sleep on her own seat, she
had to be on me the whole flight. We were right next to the galley too
and the flight attendants kept leaving the curtain open so that the
bright lights shone in our eyes.<br />
<br />
We landed at Gatwick at 8:15am UK time to this miserable weather...<br />
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<br />
As we retrieved the luggage I realised Paul had left my Ghirardelli
chocolates in the pocket in the back of the seat in front of him on the
plane (apparently it was my fault because I didn’t remind him!). Mum
went over to the missing baggage desk to see if she could get them back
for me while I went to change Amelia’s nappy. I met her back at the
desk and someone had brought a bag out but it was full of Silk Cut
cigarettes, so she had got back in the queue and returned them and the
guy said he would get someone to have another look. We must have waited
35 minutes before we went up and asked again, thinking they had
forgotten about us. He phoned through again and he was told nothing had
been found. So either a flight attendant or one of the passengers had
obviously taken them. I was so upset.<br />
<br />
As we exited into the main airport, I phoned Cophall Farm to tell them
that we were on our way out of the terminal and the lady on the other
end said he was already there! Fantastic service! I ran ahead to meet
him while the others followed behind. Mum was trying to get hold of the
car company they had booked with who turned up 2 minutes later. We
couldn’t have planned it any better! The bloke was really nice and
chatty, handed over the keys and went on his way. Paul said he was
probably waiting for a tip but it didn’t even occur to me! <br />
<br />
With our car loaded with cases and Mum’s car loaded with kids, we drove a
short distance to the services where we all got a McDonalds happy meal
each! Dad and Paul filled up on coffee and we set off on what should
have been a two hour drive back to Northampton. Unfortunately there had
been an accident between junction 17 and 18 on the M25 and we had to do a
detour on the M40. From landing at Gatwick to arriving at Mum and
Dad’s took 5 hours! Paul was dead on his feet as he hadn’t slept all
night. Oliver and Amelia slept the whole journey in the car.<br />
<br />
We had a cup of tea at Mum and dad’s, unloaded the luggage and Mum
phoned Nan to say we had arrived safely. Apparently she was sitting
with her coat on waiting for one of us to take her to Tesco to do her
big shop! Pfft. What is it with old people? Don’t mind us, we’ve only
been travelling for over 14 hours!<br />
<br />
We arrived back at our house at 3:15pm. Jacob was so excited to see us,
I thought his bum was going to fall off, his tail was wagging so much!
I wasn’t pleased to find he had worked out how to open Amelia’s bedroom
door and he and the cat had been sleeping on her bed for the past two
weeks! It was covered in hair and I had to strip her whole bed off and
wash it all.<br />
<br />
Paul slept for a few hours while I unpacked and we just had some
spaghetti on toast for dinner as none of us felt particularly hungry. I
had an hour’s sleep, uploaded some photos and we just watched TV and
had a lazy evening. The kids went to bed at 8:30pm and Paul and I
turned in at 11pm.<br />
<br />
And that’s it. The end of a fantastic fun-filled family floriday! We’ve
had our ups and downs, but all in all we had the BEST time ever
imaginable. And I’ve managed to convert everyone into Disney fanatics!
Even my Mum who was apprehensive about going because (in her words)
“Disney is for kids!” is now a fully fledged Disney fan and regularly
wears her lanyard whilst doing her housework i’m sure! <br />
Tracy laid out all the bits she bought in Florida and took a photo of it
all. She actually has a shelf in her bedroom dedicated to Disney
now... the sacred Milk Duds and goldfish have yet to be opened.<br />
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<br />
We are all craving the magic and hope to return again in 2014-2015. I’m
sure I will keep you all posted when we decide to go back. We’re
thinking maybe Halloween or Christmas next time, although I worry it
won’t be the same without so much sun!<br />
<br />
Thank you all for your kind words and replies to my trip reports. They
have been really encouraging and have kept me going when at times I’ve
felt like giving up on it. I’m so glad I carried on. I think I might
print it all off and bind it like a book for Amelia to read when she’s
older.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading,<br />
<br />
Aimie. xxx</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-89378936111817486192012-06-01T12:36:00.002-07:002012-09-18T12:41:42.030-07:00Day 14 ~ Last Minute Shopping ~Well today will most likely be a boring read for most people as there are only one or two photos and not really that much to report.<br />
<br />
We were all feeling rather depressed as we got up this morning knowing that it was to be our last full day in the sunshine state. We all loved Aquatica on day 5, so the plan was to go back there again today to get our last fix of Roa’s rapids, but unfortunately the weather man informed us that the tropical storm was due to hit at 11am, so that was Aquatica out of the window.<br />
<br />
I had in my itinerary that I wanted to go shopping at Joann’s and Michaels (craft shops, much like Hobbycraft, only I’d heard they were a 1000 times better!). We still hadn’t managed to get there, so I suggested it to the others. Only Mum was keen, but we all agreed we would go to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and see what the weather was doing afterwards.<br />
<br />
We all got showered and dressed and Mum, Tracy and I started packing a few bits. It’s amazing how much stuff had been strewn all over the villa. Paul went and deflated the pool toys that we bought with us and packed them in an airtight bag and sucked the air out with the hoover. I made sure I zipped up all the suitcases before we went out as I didn’t fancy a cockroach climbing in while we were out and giving us a surprise when we got back to the UK!<br />
We were all ready by 11am and as we went outside to get in the car, we were amazed to find that Dennis was still outside! He had moved onto the pillar now. Amelia was mesmerised.<br />
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As we pulled out of Lindfields at 11:11am the sky was black and full of rain.<br />
<br />
We went to Cracker Barrel and our server, Smitty, brought us our breakfast. This time I had Momma’s Pancake Breakfast; eggs over easy with sausage patties and buttermilk pancakes and maple syrup on the side. They were delicious, but so filling. I couldn’t finish them all. I really wanted to take some of the maple syrup home but was afraid the glass bottle would smash in my suitcase.<br />
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<div align="center"><b>My pancakes</b></div><br />
<br />
We all had a good fill of breakfast and it came to $63.40 including tax for the seven of us. <br />
<br />
We looked around the shop for a while and I cooed over the butterfly dolls again. I wished I could take them all home. And their little tables and chairs. They were so sweet. Mum and Tracy bought a few bits; some sticks of rock and some bits for my Nan I think. There is a lovely English lady who works there. She married an American man and moved over there about 6 years ago I think she said. She gave us directions to Joann’s as the sat nav wouldn’t let us put in an address or zip code. Not very helpful!<br />
<br />
The rain was now absolutely lashing it down. We just about saw Joann’s through the rain drenched windscreen and we legged it from the car getting soaked on the way. It had only been raining for 5 or 10 minutes but the car park was like a lake already. We had a good look around. I think Dad, Paul and Oliver were losing the will to live a bit and Amelia was getting grouchy as she didn’t want to sit in the trolley. There were tonnes of lovely fabrics, although I didn’t buy anything as I didn’t have much room at all in our suitcases now. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t much in the way of card making stuff. I have a sizzix eclips machine and was hoping to find some cartridges for it but there were no Sizzix products in there at all. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> <br />
<br />
My mum got a few bits and Tracy got some cupcake cases and decorations and a really cute birdie ‘bag for life’ which I wish I had seen as it was really lovely (yes I like carrier bags. Don’t judge me!).<br />
As we came out I clocked the sketchers store a few doors down and went in to see if they have any go walks. Sadly there were none in my size. Maybe they don’t do midget size shoes in America? Paul’s always teasing me about my tiny size 4 feet. Even Oliver has bigger feet than me!<br />
<br />
From there we went to Mall at Millenia. We went in 2009 and really liked it there. However we were sadly disappointed when we got there. The mall now consists of a nail bar, a book store, a cinema, a churro stand, a Ron Jon Surf shop and a shed load of hoarding covering the rest of the closed down shop fronts. That’s it. The recession must have hit it pretty hard. It’s such a shame.<br />
<br />
We decided to go back to Florida Mall again to get out of the rain but Mum had a grump on because she wanted to go back to the villa and pack <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/omg_smile.gif" title="omg" /> and Oliver was sulking because he wanted to go back to Japan at Epcot and buy the second in the series of Japanese-style Pokemon books from the shop underneath Teppan Edo with his imaginary money (he didn’t have anything left as he spent all of his money on a wand at the WWOHP and when I gave him $50 at the beginning of the second week he spent it all on Vinylmations, a busch gardens pin and something else I can’t recall). <br />
The rain was still torrential so we donned our ponchos and took the walk of shame through Macy’s looking like drowned rats. How embarrassing. I’ve never felt so pitiable in my life! – NOTE: We did take the ponchos off BEFORE walking through the department store. But it still didn’t do much for our street-cred! <br />
<br />
Oliver continued whining about Epcot throughout the mall and I couldn’t get it through to him that he’d spent all of his money and that was it. We would not be returning to Epcot as we didn’t have time. He started crying and making a scene in a game shop and I had to walk away. I left him with Mum and in the end she bought him a Lego Harry Potter DSi case which annoyed me as now he’ll think he can turn on the waterworks and get whatever he wants. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/angry_smile.gif" title="angry" /> Why do grandparents do that?! <br />
<br />
I got some more money out the cash point as we were running low on spends and we grabbed something to eat from the food courts which induced more moaning as Mum and Oliver didn’t get what they had asked for (they didn’t have any cakes or pastries!). We all got fed up of them moaning so we went back to the villa at 4pm to pack! Dennis was still on the pillar sheltering from the rain.<br />
<br />
Non eventful packing took place. I took the last of the clean clothes out of the dryer (no washing for us when we get home!) and squashed the Curious George and several Duffy bears into our cases along with all the Carters clothes, souvenir popcorn buckets and R2D2 snack caddies and enough Vinylmations to open our own store when we got home. Dad and Paul hovered and cleaned everywhere. Oliver played on his DSi and Lego and Amelia watched Doc McStuffin and played with the toy’s from the villa cupboard.<br />
<br />
After we’d finished packing, we all showered and washed our hair and got dressed up to go out for dinner for the last time. We arrived at Red Lobster on the 192 at 8pm. I went up to the counter and asked how long it would be for a table and she said it would be between 35-45 minutes. We all felt a bit deflated as we had been looking forward to eating here. Then another server came over and said we could use her table and we were seated straight away. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" /><br />
<br />
I’m so sorry I didn’t take any photos tonight as I left my camera at the villa but I can tell you it was one of the best meals of the holiday; Utterly delicious. I had the seaside shrimp trio; Paul had ‘shrimp your way’ with popcorn shrimp and scampi; Oliver had grilled chicken; Amelia had child’s chicken fingers; Mum had Seaport lobster and shrimp; Dad had the Ultimate feast and Tracy had the Island BBQ salmon. We also had onion rings to share as well as rounds of Mojitos and Mango Mai Tai cocktails, soft drinks and tea and coffee afterwards. The bill came to $180. I would definitely come back here again next time without a doubt.<br />
<br />
We paid the bill and headed back to the villa at 9:45pm. Dennis was still there!<br />
<br />
Now do you remember me saying about the T-shirt I wanted in Downtown Disney with the girl holding the Mickey and Minnie balloons on? Well I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it all holiday and I was determined to get it before we went home. Paul said he would take me to DTD to get it so we rushed down there thinking it closed at 10pm. We got there with only 5 minutes to spare and we still had to walk to the end to find Tren-D. However when we got there, everything was still in full swing and we found out everywhere shut at 11pm, so we took a more leisurely walk there reminiscing about the holiday and how much we wished we could stay for another week or two. There were so many things we wanted to do but had run out of time. We arrived at Tren-D, I grabbed the top I wanted and went to the desk to pay for it. Paul nearly had a heart attack when I handed over the $30 for it. I had the usual ‘happy with my purchase/guilty for spending money on myself’ feeling as we headed over to D-Street to pick up the last two cupcake Vinylmations from the Bakery collection for Tracy. She had given me the money and asked us to pick them up for her.<br />
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<div align="center"><b>My top</b></div></div><br />
We then went to World of Disney where I picked up a picture frame and a photo album that I had had on my wish list of things to bring back. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the wooden picture frame I wanted (I had had several cast members searching the shops for me in the Disney parks but we couldn’t find it <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/cry_smile.gif" title="cry" />) but I got a similar one.<br />
<br />
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<b>The frame I wanted</b><br />
<br />
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<b>The one I got</b><br />
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<div align="center"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/400000060972.jpg" width="400" /></div><b>The photo album I bought</b></div><br />
For anyone interested, the album was $26.95 and the picture frame was $17.95. I have since tracked down the frame I wanted online, but it’s an American site and the shipping costs more than the photo frame!<br />
<br />
So with heavy hearts, we took a slow walk back to the car. I was actually close to tears. I so didn’t want to go home tomorrow. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/cry_smile.gif" title="cry" /> <br />
<br />
I packed the album and the picture frame in the cases when we got back to the villa and hung my T-shirt up to wear tomorrow. We had a cup of tea and went to bed for what would be our last sleep in Florida in the comfiest bed in the world. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-19728158925905327902012-05-31T08:54:00.000-07:002012-09-17T12:08:54.870-07:00Day 13 ~ Busch GardensWe woke up at 7am this morning and all got showered and dressed ready for a day at Busch Gardens. We decided to do the all day dining plan as we had done in 2009 and worked out quite well. So we skipped breakfast hoping to have our fill when we got there.<br />
<br />
With the sat nav plugged in and my fingers tugging the wire over to the left to get it to turn on, it directed us there with more or less no problem. When we went in 2009 we must have taken a different route as it was all little back roads and we saw a bit more of Florida “behind the scenes” if you like. But today it was just one straight road along the I4 and I75. The traffic getting on to the I4 this morning was a nightmare. It was obviously rush hour as we were sitting on the slip road (or ‘ramp’) for ages. <br />
<br />
The drive was pretty boring, but didn’t take too long. Just over an hour I think. The sat nav took us right into the service entrance when we arrived which took us on a slight detour into the slums of Tampa, but we turned around and found the entrance soon enough. We arrived just after 10am.<br />
<br />
We got on a little tram to the entrance. It was REALLY hot today. Stifling actually. As we went through bag check the lady made me take the straw off of a carton of juice that I had brought with us for Amelia, as apparently they’re a danger to the animals. She threw it in a bin and let us through.<br />
<br />
We bought All Day Dining tickets from a row of machines which came to $211.80 with tax for the 6 of us (Amelia was free). Then I went to the main ticketing booth to purchase tickets for the Serengeti Safari. Mum, Dad and Tracy weren’t bothered about doing it and Amelia was too young. So I just got tickets for Paul, Oliver and I. I had my pick of what time we wanted to have our tour and I chose 11:45am. Oliver was classed as an adult so I paid the $33.95 each, plus tax and it came to $108.99.<br />
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I met up with the others and we went to find somewhere to have breakfast. I found it a little annoying that you couldn’t just get a drink from one of the counter service places. We had to go to one of the restaurants listed on the tickets. We decided upon Zagore Cafe. <br />
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There was an American woman in the queue, probably in her mid 20’s and I could see her looking at me out the corner of my eye. She was really pretty. She started talking to me, saying how she thought Amelia was gorgeous and kept hinting to her boyfriend that she wanted a little girl even more now! Her accent was lovely. She then told me that she loved my accent and could listen to me talk all day! I said the same to her and we laughed and spoke for a while until it was our turn to order.<br />
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There were no breakfast items on the menu as it had finished at 10am. I didn’t really fancy a slab of cake at 10:45 in the morning, so we all decided on grilled chicken sandwiches and fruit. Still not my preferred breakfast choice but we made the best of it. It was pandemonium in there and somehow we ended up with a spare plate of food where they had given us one extra. I paid a small amount for a child sized refillable cup for Amelia which strangely had a plastic straw in it. Funny that their straws aren’t harmful to animals but mine was! We were given wrist bands which allowed us to get food all day.<br />
<br />
We found a table outside and tucked in. We watched as a white ibis bird flew over the top of the table next to ours and stole a guy’s burger right off his plate! There were birds everywhere which was a bit off putting. Someone came out and got the bloke another burger. I’m guessing this is a problem they have to deal with a lot.<br />
We finished up and realised we had better get moving as it was 11:25am now and we had to be at the Serengeti Safari tent for 11:45am. Mum, Dad and Tracy said they would meet us back here afterwards and we ran to find where we had to go. We all went one way, following Paul and then I asked him to go back and get the map off the table (typical man thinking he would get us there without a map when he had no idea where we were going. Oliver chased after him, leaving me standing there waiting for what seemed like an eternity. I was down some steps and couldn’t see where they were. I decided to go back to the table to see what the hold -up was to find they were marching off in the other direction. They hadn’t even bothered to tell me it was that way! I was so annoyed. <br />
It was really hot and I was getting more and more annoyed as we followed Paul on a wild goose chase. Seriously... what is wrong with that man’s sense of direction?? I decided to take charge and used my woman’s intuition to guide us in the right direction. Plus the signs helped which Paul had failed to notice! We arrived in the nick of time and were taken behind the building to a little covered area with comfy armchairs. We were asked to wait while more people arrived. I was still annoyed with Paul, plus hot and bothered and sat in silence while we waited, being stubborn!<br />
<br />
We were called over and some people put their things in lockers before we were taken to our truck. It was quite bumpy as we started off and our guide ran through the safety instructions. She was brilliant and told us so many things about animals. We stopped and looked at the zebras, wildebeest, rhinos and gazelles and I quickly took some photos before we started off again It was so bumpy that it was impossible to take photos on the move. <br />
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As our truck drove around the safari we saw the train go past and I thought to myself ‘wouldn’t it be funny if Mum, Dad, Tracy and Amelia were on there?’ Just as I thought it we saw a load of people waving and there they were!! <br />
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Soon enough we arrived at the giraffes and a couple wondered over to us. I know it’s stating the obvious, but I couldn’t get over how tall they were!<br />
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We were taught some interesting facts about them and were allowed to stroke them, just not on their face which was understandable. I know I wouldn’t like a stranger patting my face!<br />
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They felt a bit like a short haired dog, like a staffy, only much more solid! And their fur moulted tiny little hairs as we stroked it.<br />
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Then we were allowed to feed them and were given some lettuce leaves to give to them. We had to hold it over our heads so they could take it out of our hands.<br />
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Excuse the next couple of photos; the sun was in my eyes and I look like a Chinese pumpkin in the first one and my hair’s a state in the second one. It was so hot I couldn’t be bothered to do anything with it, so just scraped it back in a pony tail.<br />
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There was a photographer on the truck with us who had been taking pictures of everyone on the way round. We all had individual photos taken whilst feeding the giraffes too. When all the lettuce was gone, the giraffes wandered off and our truck continued round, taking in the sights of the gazelles and ostriches before heading back to the mainland. The tour lasted about 30 minutes.<br />
<br />
We were given some hand sanitizer to use afterwards, but this just made the little moulted giraffe hairs stick to your hands, so not that effective!<br />
<br />
The Serengeti Safari was brilliant and I highly recommend it.<br />
<div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_13" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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</tbody></table><img alt="" border="0" height="396" id="ncode_imageresizer_container_13" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Busch%20Gardens%202012/IMG_1852.jpg" width="595" /><br />
<table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_23" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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</tbody></table></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><img alt="" border="0" height="396" id="ncode_imageresizer_container_23" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Busch%20Gardens%202012/IMG_1859.jpg" width="595" /> </div><div align="center"><div style="text-align: left;">When we were back in the park we went to have a look at the photos. There were a couple of nice ones, but I looked a mess in most of them and the price was extortionate. We decided that I had got enough photos on my camera, so we didn’t buy their ones.</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_14" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">The next hour or so was spent searching for the others. They were nowhere to be found and I was getting more and more annoyed. We went back to Zagore Cafe twice and they weren’t there. We went back to the safari thinking they might be waiting for us to come off, but no such luck. After wondering aimlessly in the 90° heat and Paul ranting on about having to wait around for people and missing park time, we went back to Zagore Cafe for a third time to find Mum, Tracy and Amelia sitting at a table. Dad was getting drinks so we went off to get some too. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After we had calmed down and hydrated we went off to see the animals. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Gorillas, hippos, alligators, and this big beastie!</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_20" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">Tracy found a new boyfriend...</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_21" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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</tbody></table><img alt="" border="0" height="793" id="ncode_imageresizer_container_21" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Busch%20Gardens%202012/SAM_2788.jpg" width="595" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">And had some cousins for Oliver and Amelia...</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_32" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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</tbody></table><img alt="" border="0" height="396" id="ncode_imageresizer_container_32" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Busch%20Gardens%202012/IMG_1921.jpg" width="595" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Tracy also found a new best friend; a squirrel. It kept walking behind her head as she sat on a bench and took some banana out of her hand. Mum and Dad have a pet hate of squirrels since they have gnawed through the rafters in their loft and have been nesting in their roof for the past 8 years, causing no end of problems. Dad tries to shoot them with Oliver’s Nerf gun in their garden back home (don’t worry, no squirrels have ever been harmed!), in an attempt to make them stay away from the house, but it never works. They dig up my mum’s bulbs and nick bits from the garden to make their nests. This one was pretty cute though and I got a great photo...</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_28" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Amelia loved looking at the animals. We took her to Woburn Safari park when she was a baby, but other than that, this if the first time she’s been up close to big animals. We didn’t really see any animals at Animal Kingdom.</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_22" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">We headed over to the Cheetah area and saw these beauties. I love their markings...</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_25" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">And then it was time for this!</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_27" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">Mum, Dad and Oliver we too chicken, so just Paul, Tracy and I went on it. We queued for about 20 minutes and decided that Tracy and I would ride in a car together and Paul would go in the one in front. When there was one car of people in front of us, some guy threw up in the one that we would be riding on so we had to wait a further 20 minutes or so for it so be cleaned and sanitised. It was then sent off empty and several more ‘trains’ came through and went off again before we could ride. The group of American lads in front of us offered to swap with us, saying we could go first. I said “Why are you chickening out?” to which they replied “no, we just don’t wanna ride in the barf cart!” We declined their lovely offer and when it was our turn to finally ride, we were lucky enough to get a clean dry one!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Cheetah Hunt was absolutely amazing. When it finished Paul said he was surprised I hadn’t lost my voice from screaming so much. I was actually surprised the sound was coming out of me at the time! It’s just those weightlessness parts that I hate. I was absolutely petrified! </div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">We met the others in the shop afterwards and watched our ride video which was hilarious! It was a bit out of our budget, otherwise we would have bought it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">We were a bit peckish now so Paul, Oliver and I went and got a slice of pizza from Crown Colony Cafe. Everyone else just wanted drinks. It was really nice in there and so quiet! Unfortunately we couldn’t go on the third floor with our wrist bands, but the pizza was delicious. When we got to the bottom of the stairs and Dad saw our pizza, he decided he wanted some too, so went back and got himself a slice. We all sat on the rocks and waited for him.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> When we had finished eating/drinking, Mum, Dad ,Tracy and Oliver went to find the congo river rapids via the skyride while Paul and I took Amelia by foot through Timbuktu to see the elephants and some more animals.<br />
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Look at the size of this bad boy’s teeth!</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_30" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">She loved the meerkats</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_31" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">But the elephants were definitely her favourite</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_34" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">We eventually found the others in the tiger bit in Jungala. There were some beautiful white tigers; one of which came right up to the glass. I really wish it had of been clean so the photos would have come out better!</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_38" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">Dad and Tracy took Oliver on the Stanley Falls Flume and Mum said she would wait outside Zambia Smokehouse as her blisters were killing her. We all agreed to meet back there at 5:30pm. Paul and I took Amelia to see the birds at Lory Landing. I had remembered this from 2009 and have some brilliant pictures of Oliver with some birds on his shoulder shortly before he freaked out! Unfortunately the nectar hut wasn’t open and it was only us and another 2 couples in there. The birds were still quite tame though and Amelia had one on her arm for a few seconds before it flew off. That was it then. She was determined to get another one on her and kept going up to them all and patting her arms.</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_36" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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</tbody></table><img alt="" border="0" height="396" id="ncode_imageresizer_container_36" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/Busch%20Gardens%202012/IMG_2032.jpg" width="595" /></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">There were some really big birds walking around and a little boy kept chasing it and roaring at it. The poor thing didn’t know what to do and looked absolutely petrified. His parents did nothing though. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /><br />
I loved this bird but Paul thought it was ugly!</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_45" style="width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">We came out of there and had a bit more time, so we walked over to the Sesame Street Safari of fun area. We just managed to catch the end of A is for Africa so Amelia got to see Elmo and Zoe <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">We made our way back and got to Mum at exactly the same time as Dad, Tracy and Oliver at 5:20pm. The park closed at 6pm tonight so we thought we’d grab a quick bite to eat at Zambia Smokehouse before they closed. We were just in time. I had a really bad headache so didn’t really fancy anything (probably heat exhaustion. It was so hot today), but I picked up some chicken salad wraps to share with Amelia. Everyone else had BBQ chicken and ribs which looked delicious, but I just couldn’t face it.<br />
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The second we went outside and sat down at a table, they shut the shutters so we couldn’t even go back in for napkins or condiments which was annoying. I had a bite out of one wrap but it made me feel worse. I took some paracetamol and had some more apple juice to drink.<br />
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There was this huge woman emptying the bins with a face that looked like she was sucking dog wee off of stinging nettles (putting it politely) and shorts so tight she had a permanent ‘hungry bum’ (A.K.A a wedgy!) and she kept looking over at us, huffing and tutting. The park didn’t close until 6pm. We still had half an hour, we had paid for our food and our ticket and there was no way we were going to rush our meals just so she could wipe our table down before her shift finished. So we took our time eating until she gave up and went to clean another area.<br />
When Paul was finished eating, he said he really wanted to go and ride SheiKra so he went and got in line and we said we’d meet him at the ride exit afterwards. I had no intention of going on, headache or no headache!<br />
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He said it was a walk on and really enjoyed it!<br />
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When we headed to the exit it was chaos with everyone waiting to get on a tram back to the car cark. I couldn’t believe it when they said there would only be one more tram after the next one! <br />
I know there’s no comparison between Disney and the other parks, but really, Busch Gardens had been such a let-down today. We all agreed it had gone downhill since our last visit. It was dirty in places, the service was extremely poor, the staff were rude and just couldn’t be bothered and now the trams... I don’t think we will be in a hurry to go back again.<br />
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Luckily we did manage to get on a tram, so no walking back to the car park in the heat for us. I felt sorry for the people who had to though. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">We took the long drive ‘home’ and popped into Walgreens on the way for some nappies. Whilst browsing all the things we can’t get back at home (as you do), I ran across this which I found hilarious!</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_39" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; text-align: left; width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<div style="text-align: left;">We picked up some donut holes and Maria biscuits too. These were supposed to be as close to Rich Tea as you could get, but were sadly much worse. When we got back to the villa, we tried them out with a brew and discovered they weren’t even ‘one dips’. These were barely even a half dip! <br />
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I got Amelia ready for bed and to sleep, then Dad ,Tracy Paul and I nipped into Premium Outlets to see if they had gotten my Sketchers Go Walks in on their delivery. Unfortunately they were not to be as they still didn’t have my size. I nipped into Carters and bought another little T-shirt for Amelia, and the Disney Character Warehouse for some sweets for Oliver’s friends back home. I picked up 3 bags of Goofy’s gummy candy thinking they would be cheaper in here than in the Disney parks. There was no price on them. I was shocked when they came to $14.95! I should have got them a bag of goldfish smores instead! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/wink_smile.gif" title="wink2" /><br />
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Oh, and I also bought myself a Disney dress! I had been looking at it in all the Disney Clothing shops in the parks since we arrived but it was quite expensive so I never bought it. But now the exact same dress was in here for $9.99 (or 2 for $15!). Unfortunately they only had size XL which was too big for me, but I bought it anyway with the view of altering it when I got home (It’s now stuck in my wardrobe and I haven’t touched it!). We also saw some HUGE Duffy bears reduced from about $70 down to $20. I wished I had a suitcase big enough to take him home. He was so lovely. The Character Warehouse is well worth a look. There were so many new things in here that were not in there 2 days previously. Lots of bargains t be had!<br />
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When we arrived back home we got the stuff in from the car and I was sitting in the living room when something on the front door caught my eye. It was outside on the glass at the top and looked like a humongous spider. I told Dad who opened the door slowly to see what it was and I was astonished to see such a massive grasshopper! It had the most beautiful markings. I’ve never seen anything like it!</div><div align="center"><table class="ncode_imageresizer_warning" id="ncode_imageresizer_warning_42" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; text-align: left; width: 595px;"><tbody>
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<b>Just to give you an idea of its size against Paul’s hand...</b><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Tracy named him Dennis (Dennis Hopper!).<br />
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We watched a bit of TV and the weather. The forecast for tomorrow didn’t look too good as a tropical storm was due to hit. There had been a lot of damage caused in Oklahoma by hail stones the size of baseballs and it was moving over the country in Florida’s direction. Just what we needed; especially as we planned on going to Aquatica again tomorrow. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> We decided to hit the hay and would decide what to do in the morning.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537816020578405834.post-8259916447950453572012-05-30T05:42:00.001-07:002012-09-02T05:59:52.442-07:00Day 12 ~ Premium Outlets, Pool and Magic KingdomDad was already up when I went into the kitchen at 8am this morning. He told me he had woken up at 5am to a scuttling sound coming from the bedside table. When he looked over to the clock there was a cockroach sitting there looking at him! He jumped up, caught it and put it outside and couldn’t sleep very well afterwards. He told me not to tell my mum. I think she would have gone home if she’d known! The downside of yesterday’s rain meant that cockroaches wanted to take shelter. And in our villa it seemed!<br />
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We all had some cereal and toast, got showered and dressed and headed to Premium Outlets at the top of International Drive.<br />
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We had a good look around and split up from the others for a bit. Mum, Dad, Tracy and Oliver were looking in the Bose store. Paul, Amelia and I went in the Carter’s outlet store and I was gutted to find that the exact same outfits that I had bought Amelia on day 10 were all here for just $6 each. Many of the items had 70% off too. I bought Amelia a couple of T-shirts and also a little romper suit and a bib for my friends baby. <br />
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We went in Sketchers to see if they had my Go Walks, but alas, no size 7’s (UK 4) in navy. I was beginning to think I would never get a pair <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/sad_smile.gif" title="sad" /> The lady told us that they would have a delivery in the following day so I said we would come back tomorrow evening.<br />
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Next we went into the Disney Character Warehouse and I was also gutted to see they had Duffy bears in there for just £9.99!!! I had spent $30 on Amelia’s in Epcot on day 6! I was pleased that I could buy a second one to use as a Travelling Ted for my Childminding setting after all <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/regular_smile.gif" title="Smilie" /> They didn’t have the 2012 hoodies on like Amelia’s had, but they were still cute, and the hoodies came off anyway. They had lots of different Duffy’s... birthday ones, St Patrick’s Day... I decided on one with a navy 40th Anniversary WDW hoodie and walked around the stand to find the one with the cutest face. I was chuffed to find that the one I had picked out had $5.99 on his tag. Even better! I had another look around the shop, picked up some WDW colouring books for the children I look after back home and went to the cashier, paid up and we left to meet the others in the food court.<br />
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The others had not arrived yet so Paul and I got a table and sat down. As I thought about what I had just bought, I was sure I had been charged wrong. When I checked the receipt I realised that they had charged me $9.99 for the Duffy. I said I would nip back get a refund while Paul waited for the others. The lady behind the counter was not impressed and acted as though it was my fault! She asked someone to go and check all the other Duffy’s and said to me “I’ll give you a refund, but just so you know, you were charged the correct price”. Pfft. I’m so glad Paul wasn’t with me as he would have argued with her. But I just smiled sweetly and took the money I was owed. As I stood there waiting for the girl to come back I noticed in the glass cabinet under the checkout this gorgeous mouse head necklace. It was marked down from $54 to $21.99. I decided I would treat myself and asked if I could have it. After all I had saved $4 on the duffy! I was so pleased with my little purchase and went off to show Mum and Tracy who were now at the table. Paul wasn’t impressed that I had gone back to get money back and ended up spending more!<br />
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We all wanted different things to eat. I love how you can just go around and get given free samples of food! Mum and I had some Teriyaki Chicken, noodles and rice from Japan Cafe Grill. It was delicious Dad and Paul had a burger from Five Guys. Paul loves their fries. I think they fry them in peanut oil or something. Oliver had a meatball sub from Subway. I think Tracy had a sub too, although I can’t remember what she had in it. And for Amelia I found a place that had pasta. I asked if they did child-sized portions but she said no so I asked for a small portion and explained it was only for a 2 year old and the lady was really nice; she made me a little dish up and charged me half price. She put a little bit of tomato sauce on it and gave her a free piece of garlic bread. Amelia loved it.<br />
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After lunch I showed Mum and Tracy what I had bought and Tracy fell in love with Duffy and said she wanted one. She had thought about buying one in Epcot too but refused to pay $30 for one! So off we all went to the Disney Character Warehouse for a third time! Tracy and Oliver were drawn to the Vinylmations and each bought another 3 or 4 each! Mum and Dad bought a Duffy for my Aunt who collects teddy bears and an Epcot wine carrier for 50c!<br />
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While we were in there one of the older lady’s that worked there came up to Oliver and asked if he would like to be in the parade that they were having at 2pm. He came and asked me and I said yes, and then they asked Amelia too. It was 1:45pm and they were looking for more kids to ask, but to be honest, it was dead in there and it was only us and 2 other couples browsing the store. By the time 2pm came, they had managed to gather up a few other children and it had gotten a bit busier. They gave us all a Mickey Mouse light saber-type things and we had to walk around the shop 3 or for times to music. A little boy walked in the shop half way through and wanted to join in so I gave him my lightsaber. Then all the kids got a pin afterwards. They were told that they could ask any member of staff with a lanyard to swap their pin with them. Oliver was really shy and wouldn’t ask, but eventually he plucked up the courage and asked a man in a lanyard if he would swap it for a Mickey Mouse pin that he was wearing... Is this just the stores that do this or do all Cast Member’s in the parks do this as well? I thought it was a really nice thing to do.<br />
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We came out laden with bags, continued to look around a few more shops and then went back to the villa for a swim.<br />
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We were getting a bit peckish now, although we didn’t want dinner as the lunch we had eaten at Premium Outlets had filled us up. We had some tea and Dunkin Donuts that were left from last night and Amelia had some toast. We decided to go to Magic Kingdom to watch the Electrical Parade and Wishes and get some pastries and cakes from the Main Street Bakery. I had been dying to try a Cinnamon Roll since we first arrived after reading so many people’s reviews on them on The Dibb and I couldn’t wait for Mum, Dad, Tracy and the kids to see what Paul and I had seen a few nights ago on our date night.<br />
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We all got showered and changed to go out again and drove to Magic Kingdom. We decided we would catch a boat tonight for the first time.<br />
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The boat sailed past the Polynesian Resort where we went to Ohana on day 8. The sun was setting and it made a lovely back drop to the Grand Floridian Resort.<br />
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The four firework blasts from the castle signified the end of the Dream Along with Mickey show.<br />
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We also saw the Avengers monorail. <br />
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We arrived at the entrance and had some photos taken by a Photopass photographer<br />
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The crowds were heaving when we entered the park. We had some more photos taken and walked to the top of Main Street in an attempt to get a good spot for the parade. There was hoarding all up the right hand side covering the main street bakery which we had to walk under. We found a spot near the bridge to Tomorrowland and parked ourselves there. It was really starting to get dark now. It amazes me in Florida how it gets dark so quickly and you don’t seem to notice it happening. <br />
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Dad, Oliver and I went back to Main Street Bakery to get everyone some drinks and something to eat. And this was the first time I tried a cinnamon roll! Oh my god! How delicious are they??? Dad also had one. Paul had an apple turnover, Tracy had a muffin and Mum and Oliver had carrot cake. Amelia shared a bit of everyone’s but didn’t really want any. We also got coffees for Mum, Dad and Paul and some chocolate milk for me, Tracy and the kids. As I walked through the crowds back to Paul, Mum and Tracy with the tray laden with cakes, everyone was looking at them commenting on how good they looked! They smelt gorgeous too. <br />
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We ate up the deliciousness and drank our coffee and milkshakes and soon after the electrical parade began. Amelia was in awe. We all loved it. It was fantastic! It was even better having a decent view and it was as though we were watching it for the first time. Before we went I was showing Paul videos of it that I’d found on YouTube and he wasn’t too bothered about going because he thought he music would irritate him, but he loved it! When Alice in Wonderland came round on top of her mushroom Amelia kept pointing at her and then pointing at my T-shirt. She’s so clever! She’s never even seen her before!<br />
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When it was over, Dad and Oliver went to take the trays back to the bakery while we stayed where we were to keep our spot. Quite a few people were leaving now, but their spaces were soon filled by more guests wanting to watch Wishes and we ended up with people standing right in front of us.<br />
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Then the Magic the Memories and You started and I was gob-smacked again for a second time as we watched it. I kept turning around hoping that Dad and Oliver would come back as they were missing it but unfortunately they didn’t make it back in time. They found it impossible fighting through the crowds. <br />
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This is the best photo I could get unfortunately. You really do have to see it to believe it. It’s so clever.<br />
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Dad and Oliver turned up a few minutes before Wishes started and we were all blown away. Standing in front of the castle watching it was so magical. <br />
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Amelia liked it more than when we watched it on the beach at the poly and the noise didn’t seem to bother her so much now. She especially like it when Tinkerbell flew down from the castle. My Dad couldn’t believe that it was actually a real person!<br />
It was the end to a perfect evening. <br />
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When Wishes was over it was pandemonium trying to make our way back to the exit, so we decided to hang back and look in the shops while we waited for the crowd to die down. We went in Arribas Brothers where Mum and Dad bought Oliver and Amelia a glass each and had their names etched on to them. My mum and her brother used to have similar ones when they were growing up and she wanted them to carry on the tradition. Oliver has Mickey and Cinderella’s castle on his and Amelia has Tinkerbell. There was a bit of a delay so Dad asked if they could pay for them and pick them up on Saturday (our last day). The lady said it was fine and gave him a receipt.<br />
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The second Wishes show started at 11pm and unfortunately we got caught up in the crowd that followed it, so it didn’t make any difference waiting in the shops really!<br />
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We caught the monorail back and saw the flags and stars in the water which I assumed was the electric water pageant. <br />
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I couldn’t believe Amelia was still awake the whole time and it wasn’t until we got in the car and drove back to the villa that she finally drifted off. We really are incredibly lucky with her. She has to be the best behaved toddler I’ve ever known!<br />
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We got back to the villa, had a quick brew and fell into our beds and drifted off to sleep.<br />
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TOMORROW: Busch Gardens <br />
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More photos from today can be viewed <a href="http://s1188.beta.photobucket.com/user/Pixie1704/library/Day%2012%20-%20Premium%20Outlets" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<strong>UPDATE:</strong> Since we’ve been back, the children in my Childminding setting love Duffy. He now has his own Facebook page and has been on an outing to Newquay with one of the little girls I look after and her family. Here he is with his travel journal that I made for him!<br />
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<div align="center"><img alt="" border="0" height="396" id="ncode_imageresizer_container_22" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z420/Pixie1704/IMG_2403.jpg" width="595" /></div><!-- / message --><!-- sig --><br />
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