Just the two of us ~ Gavin & Jodie ~ Orlando 2006 [Archive]

Jodie

08-05-2009, 09:27 AM

Part 1 Pre-Trip

We had decided about a week after returning from a family holiday last August to book for just the two of us to go this year. I was chuffed to bits, I knew Gavin had enjoyed himself but was surprised he was wishing to go again so soon. We quickly agreed that this was the best place for us to get married, no hassle, no fuss, no family. Perfect.

At the end of August we booked with Travel City Direct. We had just flown with them so we weren’t nervous despite all the TCD bashing that can go on. We did look around on the internet and in the Travel Agents for a deal but nothing came close.

We opted to stay onsite at Pop Century, again this was after a lot of research but onsite won out as we hadn’t done it before. We upgraded the car to an Intermediate 4 door but a few months ago this was upgraded to an SUV.

I made 2 ADR’s when my window opened. One for Hollywood & Vine Fantasmic package and one for Concourse Steakhouse.

Gavin played a bigger part in the planning this year. It was a lot more real now he had been, when I was planning last years trip everything was alien to him so he didn’t contribute much.

I asked him what was the one thing he would love to do and his request was the Around the World on a Seqway. This couldn’t be booked until 90 days out but I called asap and booked for the 08.30 tour, I think it was $80.00pp non-refundable and payable upfront.

My wish list consisted of a lot of things but I plumped for Cirque Du Soleil. This was after some encouragement from you lot as Gavin doesn’t ‘do’ circuses so I was taking a risk with the expense and Gavin not enjoying it. I also didn’t tell him until after it had been booked! I have thrown away my receipt for this but am sure it was $70.00pp

A few months ago I booked a one night stay at the Hard Rock Hotel as a surprise for Gavin, hopefully it was going to be on the same day as we got married and the day after we would also have the advantage of Front of the Line Access at Universal Studio’s. This didn’t remain a surprise for long. In between booking and printing off my confirmation Gavin had checked our emails from work and seen the receipt! He didn’t tell me he knew, he just kept on trying to get me to tell him then one evening it was very obvious he knew so the gig was up!

After much debate about how & when we were travelling to Manchester Airport I finally won my battle to stay overnight the day before we flew. We choose Bewleys Hotel £69.00 per room/per night and then added 16 days parking. £35.00 for 14 days then £5.00 per day after. They provided a shuttle to the airport and back.

We are both desperately looking forward to this holiday. It seems an age since we booked and hardly a day has gone by without some planning or research been done.
We, or rather I have also been paying the price for doing what is best for Gavin and Myself. My mother is beyond unimpressed we are getting married abroad. I don’t feel one smidgen of guilt but the remarks etc when I speak to her are really beginning to annoy me and I cant wait to get it done with so they can stop. There have also been several occasions when she, or one of her allies has mentioned the possibility of her ‘popping across for a couple of days’ this was met with a stare from me as I could trust myself to speak. Please don’t think bad of me because I didn’t want my Mother there. Anyone who has read my DLRP report from September 2006 will understand! Gavin’s parents were the complete opposite, happy as Larry we weren’t expecting them to do anything!

So, my ticker has gone from 11 months plus to just a few days and we are soon on our way. I plan to give you lot’s of detail as I have a big notebook to fill and also most of the tips I have picked up have been from reading reports. I hope your not too bored, If you are just look at the pictures!

Jodie

08-05-2009, 09:32 AM

Part 2 Day -1 Wednesday 27th September

I was off work today but Gavin wasn’t so he was up at our usual time of 06.10, been a nice kind soul he turned on every upstairs light and just to make sure I was awake he banged around loads then bounced back on the bed to kiss me goodbye!

I gave up trying to go back to sleep around 07.00 so I got up and vegged on the sofa for 6 hours. Yeap, that’s right, I was going on holiday today but couldn’t do anything else apart from surf as late Monday evening Gavin had decided he needed a spare charger for his PSP. I was going to collect one for him yesterday but I was on a tight schedule and nowhere nearby had one in stock so Gavin ordered it from Amazon and paid for recorded delivery which was guaranteed before 13.00 today.

Now our postman never appears before 11.00 so I wasn’t surprised it hasn’t arrived first thing but by 13.00 I was bored and had loads to do that I had put off as it would take me upstairs to the back of the house where I wouldn’t be able to hear the door. At 13.25 I couldn’t wait any longer so went upstairs to finish packing, had a shower and washed my hair. When I came back downstairs the card through the door said they had tried to deliver at 12.45! I was fuming! It didn’t bother me so much it was late but I can not stand lying! A quick rethink and Gavin could either do without (his own fault for leaving it to the last minute) or we could call for one at the White Rose Centre in Leeds, time and traffic permitting and our way to Manchester.

Gavin came home and while I loaded the car he got changed and we were off at 17.00. First stop was to drop Fred & Mary at the Cattery. They had stayed here when we went to DLRP in December and the owner was excited to see them again as they were now fully grown and she thinks they are both wonderfully well behaved and content. But I bet she says that to all the Cat Mums & Dads.

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Cats in good hands we were off, the last few hours had been rushed and we really didn’t feel in the holiday mood. It didn’t help that we were on the M62, we use this motorway everyday for work so until we were out of West Yorkshire it felt like a normal day.

Got to Leeds and White Rose Centre at 18.40 and I stayed in the car with the suitcases while Gavin ran in to get his charger. Only took him 20 mins so at 19.00 we were off again, this time for real!

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Journey took around another 1.5 hours and when we arrived at Bewleys it was windy, raining and cold. Check in was quick and we were in our room by 20.45. Very spacious with a view of the airport but you couldn’t really see anything taking off, just the noise which finally got us excited!

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Due to the weather we decided to eat at the hotel rather than explore other options at the airport. The atmosphere in the restaurant was relaxed and the waitress superb but the food was on a par with Wetherspoons which wasn’t what you wanted for the price!

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Chicken Curry - £9.95
Chicken & Veg - £13.90
Apple Pie - £2.95
Brownie - £2.95
Fosters - £2.65
Kronenbourg X2 - £5.90

Total - £38.30 plus tip

Straight to bed after dinner with two alarms set for 09.00.

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Jodie

08-05-2009, 09:40 AM

Part 3 Day 0 Thursday 28th September

A great nights sleep overall but neither of us slept much past 07.00 so at 08.00 we put the telly on and made a cup of tea.

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Our flight wasn’t until 13.30 so there wasn’t a rush but we were ready and waiting for the courtesy bus at 09.15.

We had to wait around 15 mins as the bus driver was very busy but we made it to T2 in plenty of time and check in was already open with a couple of people already queuing. Took about 15 mins to get our boarding passes and we got a warning about excess baggage as we were jointly 3 kilo’s over our 20 kilos each allowance.

Went straight through passport control to departures with a minimum sidetracking from a credit card salesman. No thank you. I should mention that a ridiculous amount of people had ignored all the warnings about liquids etc and this really slowed security down so I would leave extra time for this. Then we had breakfast at the food court.

Sausage & Egg sandwich X2 - £9.96
Tea X2 - £3.00
Orange Juice - £3.49
Milk - £0.69
Croissant - £1.69
Cinnamon Swirl - £1.79

Total - £20.62

All full up we had a little wonder then plonked ourselves down to wait.

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I got bored after a bit and went to buy a bag from Accessorize that I had spied earlier (£29.78) and got a couple of magazines from WHSmiths. When I got back around 11.30 we had a drink from Starbucks. After my coffee I went to the loo to put on some of those flight socks. I was really hoping they worked as last year my ankles swelled up on the flight and remained uncomfortable all holiday. Also it was a 20 min struggle to get the damn things on!

When I got back to Gavin the gate we were sat near, Gate 212 was boarding for our flight. We heard many announcements to advertise this over the next 15 mins or so but it never once appeared on the screens.

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As we were almost at the back we boarded early, about 50 mins before take off so by the time the flight set away 15 mins late because the USA were slow in giving clearance to go we were already feeling claustrophobic.

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The flight was completely uneventful there was a nice meal 2 hours in, I had Sausage & Mash and Gavin had Cajun Chicken and there was a snack 2 hours before landing of Tea & Scones. During the interim period I listened to my MP3 player and Gavin played his new F1 game on his PSP.

The only thing worth mentioning is all the crew were very friendly and helpful to everyone and drinks were readily available.

We landed dead on time at 17.30 and strolled into a packed immigration hall. We were literally our officers last check of the day and as such he was a very cheerful chap who waived us through in no time.

At baggage claim our cases were just coming out, they could have been circling for the last hour or so while we were still waiting for immigration, who knows but off we were to Dollar.

Gavin went to collect the SUV at 19.00 in the nice air-conditioned Dollar office while I waited outside in the Orlando humidity.

Gavin was ages collecting the car so despite separating the crowds at immigration they must have all been herded together again waiting at baggage collection.

I did two things while waiting for Gavin. The first was receive a phone call from one of Gavin’s friends. Keith was very upset not to be able to see Gavin get married and had threatened on more than one occasion to turn up (I gave him the same stare I gave my Mother) we hoped he was only joking about gate crashing but Gavin had been deliberately vague with all the details when talking to him. I had a nice chat with Keith and he wished us well.

The second thing I did was build up some hostility towards an SUV I was sat near, this vehicle was in my line of sight and I hated it. It was a horrible colour, horrible shape and I knew Gavin would return with keys for this car. When he did eventually turn up some 60 mins later I grabbed the keys and beep-beep, they worked on the SUV I hated. What did I do, what would any grown woman do? I refused to get in! The endless waiting was really getting to me now and I was in no mood to be messed with. Gavin returned to the Dollar office and the guy who had served him was free so Gavin told him ‘my girlfriend doesn’t like it’ with a sympathetic look he swooped the car in 5 mins flat.

The white Grand Jeep Cherokee was much better so luggage chucked in the back I drove us out of Sanford at 20.00. We decided to use the I4 as rush hour was well over now and found it easily enough.

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We were both starving now and I convinced myself Everything Pop would only have leftovers available so once things started to look familiar we glanced around looking for somewhere to eat and settled on Burger King on International Drive at 21.00.

Whopper
Triple Whooper with cheese
Large Fries
Medium Fries
Large Coke
Medium Coke

Total - $12.76 (no individual prices on receipt)

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Fed and therefore happy we re-joined the I4 for our final leg to Pop Century. Driving onto WDW property was fantastic, for about 3 mins until we realised we had passed signs for every WDW resort expect Pop! We ended up in Epcot’s car park where I nearly ran over a lady in a yellow t-shirt because she believed pedestrians don’t need to look where they are going! We backtracked our steps and once on the I4 again we tried a different WDW exit and after a few tense moments we saw the finishing line.

Parked up and ran to check-in, to say it was 22.00 check-in/out was still very busy but we only waited around 10 mins before we were seen. I asked if they had any king size rooms available but the CM apologised and said they hadn’t. Never mind. We got our lovely Keys to the Kingdom cards and went off to find our room which was 1451 50’s very close the car park, food court and had a quiet car park view and…… A king size bed!!!!! We are unsure whether the CM had deliberately done this so we would be surprised or (and this is the front runner) we had already been allocated this room but the CM was inexperienced and didn’t know king size rooms by number alone. Either way we were very happy.

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Unpacked & showered then over to Everything Pop for refillable mugs, $11.99 each plus tax. I have wanted one of these for ages! Gavin got red and I chose orange. A little stroll around the shop then off the queue at check-in as we had a package to collect. I had ordered Gavin a gift basket ages ago and had managed to keep it a secret but as soon as we got the message on the phone saying something was here for us he knew it was for him from me. He was pleased with his Racer Mickey but even more so with the sweets!

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Back to the room we put the drinks and sweets in the fridge (free with a king size accessible room) arranged a wake-up call for 07.30. Lights out at 00.17

Mug Refills - x1 each
Weather - Warm and a bit humid

Jodie

08-05-2009, 09:52 AM

Part 4 Day 1 Friday 29th September

Other than my middle of the night loo trips we slept very well and didn’t wake up until Stitch and Mickey called at 07.30 to wish us a magical day.

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Up, dressed and out of the door by 08.00 and on our way to Islands of Adventure. After parting with $10.00 for parking we exchanged our vouchers for tickets. I was worried about getting vouchers from Travel City Direct instead of actual tickets as on my first trip this caused me no end of problems getting them replaced but this time it was very easy. Our 7 day Magic your Way tickets were added to our Keys to the Kingdom when we checked in and the CM at IOA was very efficient and dealt with us quickly. We also chatted with her briefly about Halloween and that the US makes a big deal out of it and the UK don’t.

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Tickets in hand we were at the turnstiles by 08.30 and like last year despite the queue not been very large they let us in 15 mins early at 08.45. Straight to Gavin’s favourite ride, Spiderman. We got a car to ourselves and both promised to keep our eyes open. We screamed like 4 year old girls all the way round, great fun! This was the first time I kept my eye’s open all the way round as I hate the bit where you fall down and I didn’t like it today either. That said it was fantastic as ever and we were both buzzing when we came out.

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(^^^^The benefit of getting there early!^^^^)

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Off to Toon Lagoon and Gavin wanted to go on the Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges first ‘cos he’s scared of the drop on Dudley Do-Rights Rip-Saw Falls but he was out of luck as the Barges were roped off so straight onto Rip-Saw Falls. Again we were on our own. I love this ride and have no problems about been drenched at 09.00! After a through soaking we squelched over to Jurassic Park and onto River Adventure. On the way we stopped to take some photo’s and twice a CM jumped over and offered to take one of us together and Gavin commented that this was another perk of getting here early, the CM’s had more time for everyone.

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After escaping the dinosaurs we went into the gift shop to look at the picture and both Gavin & I were ducked down, Gavin in fear and I was trying to hold my hat on that I forgot to remove and the American couple in front of us were laughing hysterically at us, they were very embarrassed when they realised we were just behind them but we didn’t mind, it was funny! I tried to take a picture of it but got told off! I don’t mind buying ride photo’s despite the price but this wasn’t really a keeper once the amusement had worn off.

We went back to Toon Lagoon to see of the Barges were open but they were still closed off. I asked the CM what time they opened if at all and was told 10.00. In hindsight had I asked this the first time we passed I could have saved us the backtrack but never mind.
Off to Seuss landing we ride the new train ride and Carro-seuss-el.

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By now we were very hungry and headed to Confisco Grill but it was only 10.30 and they didn’t open for lunch until 11.00 so in the meantime we returned to Seuss landing and bought gifts for our friends kids birthdays. Kimberly & Natalie love The Cat in the Hat so we got them some pyjama’s each. A Thing 1 top for Kim & a Thing 2 top for Nat then matching shorts. $84.99 inc tax for the 2 sets I also got a couple of postcards here. One Cat in The Hat for Kim and Nat and one Spiderman for my pixie dust offer $1.39 inc tax.

Confisco Grill was open now so we went back for lunch. The food in here was nice but there was too many Nachos to qualify as a starter and my Pizza had too much cheese on it which made it a bit sickly after a while.

Small Nachos - $6.99
Buffalo Stingers - $6.79
Bacon Cheeseburger & Fries - $10.95
Vegetable Pizza - $8.99
Cokes X2 - $4.50
Tax - $2.49

Total - $40.71 plus tip

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Despite been starving I didn’t finish either of my courses but Gavin managed everything but a handful of fries.

After lunch we headed back to Pop for a break. We hadn’t rode the Barges but we will be back!

On the way out Gavin wanted to get a Cinnabon takeout ‘cos he loved it last year and was an easy target for the cashier who suggested he got a box of 6 for $12.77. Bun’s bought we went back to the car and were in our room resting by 12.30.

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After an hour or so we headed out to buy our marriage licence. This didn’t need to be bought in advance but we wanted to double check everything as it all just seemed too easy. On the way to the car we popped into to Everything Pop to refill our mugs and then stopped by the concierge to check all our ADR’s and enquire about internet access. We had to amend Gavin’s Keys to the Kingdom card to have charging privileges but that done we were good to go and left Pop at 14.30. We found Osceola Courthouse easily thanks to the instructions given to me by Karentan and arrived in 20 mins. When we got to the Marriage & Passport office there was no queue which was apparently lucky as they had just had a rush on.

Form filled in, passports & $97.50 handed over we had our licence in 10 mins. We were asked if we wanted to get married today but we declined.

Straight back to Pop as I didn’t want to carry all our id etc around for long, Gavin locked it back in the safe while I refilled our mugs.

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We now ventured out to the Wal*Mart we had noticed on the 535 for some snacks and bum bag. For the first time I wasn’t taking a bag to the parks with me and we had struggled to fit everything into the money belt Gavin was wearing so we needed something a bit larger. The bum bag and snacks came to $30.10 in total.

Shopping done we returned to Pop to write up the two postcards I had bought this morning then bought some stamps and posted them then refilled our mugs at Everything Pop.

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Around 18.30 we headed out the Passage to India on the 192 but when we needed to decide whether to go left or right we chose the wrong way and ½ an hour later admitted defeat and ‘U’ turned to go in the opposite direction. We ended up eating at Wendy’s, but Gavin didn’t get the receipt, as I was desperate for a pee and this was the first place we came to. We did drive a bit further along to ensure we knew where Passage to India was for next time before heading home.

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Back at Pop I had a shower. When I had showered yesterday the head was all over the place, I didn’t want to call maintenance and risk our king size room if it wasn’t easily fixable so Gavin had held it up with a bit of bendy wire (no idea where he found it!) but the maid must have noticed because it was fixed now.

A bit of TV then bed around 22.00 with alarm call set for 08.00

Mug Refills - x3 for me & x4 for Gavin
Weather - Sun, cloud & breeze 86 degrees but very hot around 15.00 when breeze died down, around 92 degrees

Jodie

08-05-2009, 10:03 AM

Part 5 Day 2 Saturday 30th September

Alarm call was set for 08.00 but we were both wide awake at 07.00 so at 07.10 we got dressed and strolled over to Everything Pop for breakfast.

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It was fairly busy but we got our food and paid in about 10 mins.

Adult breakfast platter - $5.59
Chocolate Croissant - $2.99
Half pint of Milk - $1.29
Muffin - $2.29
Tax - $0.80

Total - $12.96

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We both enjoyed our breakfast but commented that in high season Everything Pop must be a nightmare, when you tried to get something to eat or pay it didn’t take long but the overall atmosphere was very chaotic and loud.

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We left Pop for Animal Kingdom at 08.15. AK was loads busier than IOA yesterday, the turnstile queue was 25 deep and about seven across. We were let in at 08.45 but held in the Oasis until Mickey and the gang had opened the park at 09.00.

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Along with everyone else we went straight to Expedition Everest. Once we arrive I became very confused. We joined a queue that I thought was the standby line, then the lady behind me said it was for the fast pass machines, then someone else said it fast pass return queue (which would have been impossible given that the park had only just opened) realising we didn’t have a clue what we were queuing for we ducked under the rope and had a look around. I turned out to be the standby queue. I sat down on a bench to collect my thoughts while Gavin got in the queue for fast passes.

Our return time was 10.05 so we headed over to Dinosaur and despite the 10 min posted time it was a walk on. It also remained quiet for a while, we had a rover of our own and there was no one in the cars behind us.

Just like last year Gavin and I were petrified! The photo was hilarious but we didn’t buy it as an almost empty car looks weird.
Kali River Rapids was next up. I was soooo excited to get a timing tag from the CM at the entrance. I have never had one before and I felt very, very, very important.

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The rapids were another walk on and neither of us got soaked, that privilege went to a young American lad who was thrilled to bits about getting drenched.

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Our Fastpass return time was here so we headed back to Expedition Everest and got in line. Here we became confused again as when I showed my FastPass the CM said I had to return at 10.10, I was actually shocked, the damn thing said 10.05 not three seconds ago! Turns out Gavin’s was 10.05 and mine was 10.10. We were both let in straight away a little bit freaked by the fact for a split second I thought my FastPass ticket had changed times!

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As there was no waiting and Gavin had been distracted by the earlier rides he wasn’t anywhere near as nervous as we had both assumed he would be. We both loved our first Expedition Everest experience but I felt a little ill afterwards as I do suffer from motion sickness and I goes backwards for a long time.

Into the giftshop we bought the picture and I got a Mickey Expedition plush. We had to go to separate cashiers for this as there is a specific photo collection point and as we had both sent to our resort (the best onsite perk) it took a while. Photo $18.06 for a 8x10 and Mickey $11.72.

Over to Kilimanjaro Safari’s for a FastPass then Standby for It’s Tough to be a Bug! Which was great as usual and I managed to avoid getting stung in the back. This show is more scary after you have already seen it!

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Onto the Safari and we were very grateful for the FastPass as standby was 30 mins with no a/c!

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We had a great guide for this and both enjoyed our ride. We managed to get some good photo’s but didn’t see any lions.

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Lunch was at Tusker House at 12.30, it was busy but we were lucky to get a seat quickly.

Chicken sandwich - $6.99
Kids Mac ‘n’ Cheese - $3.99 (came with carrots, grapes & apple juice)
Vegetable Sandwich - $7.29
Large Coke - $2.39
Cheesecake - $3.59
Tax - $1.58

Total - $25.83

The vegetable sandwich wasn’t that nice, I didn’t like the sauce in it and the Mac ‘n’ Cheese was salty so I had a bit of both and all of the grapes and carrots. Gavin said his was nice.

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We headed back to Expedition Everest after lunch to try for another FastPass but they were all gone and standby was 50 mins so we looked at Dinosaur but even though it was only 20 mins we decided we weren’t that fussed about anything else as we were a little tired so we headed out of the park.

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On the way out Gavin spotted a couple getting Photopass pictures done and reminded me I had mentioned we were going to do that so we waited until they were done and had a couple taken in front of the Tree of Life then at the exit we had a few more done.

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Jodie

08-05-2009, 10:15 AM

When we got back to Pop at 14.30 we refilled our mugs three times, fully refreshed we went back to our room for a rest and decided where to eat tea later on.

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After browsing the net and writing up notes we headed out to Downtown Disney for tea and as it was still fairly early I figured a visit to Disney Quest wouldn’t hurt seen as we had five plus options on our Disney tickets and only had plans for two of them.
We travelled to Downtown Disney on the bus. This would be our first time using this system and it was a very pleasant one.

The Downtown Disney but pulled up around 16.15, less than 10 mins after we got to the bus top and the driver was a friendly elderly gentleman who chatted to some of the Americans about an American Football game between Florida and Alabama that was on today.

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Upon arriving at The Market Place we strolled over the Disney Quest on the West Side via Disney Pin Traders where I bought five new pins for $41.27 and had them sent to Pop.

We had never been to Disney Quest before and will probably never go again. The first arcade game Gavin tried didn’t work then we went on Virtual Jungle Cruise which has the most appalling graphics and then our final stop was Cyber Space Mountain where we designed a very tame roller coaster as I get ill on simulators, It had a thrill rating of one, But when we went to ride it had been lost by the system! We were offered either someone else’s design or a pre-designed ride but we had deliberately made this one easy and didn’t want a different one. Fed up we left after only around 30 mins. It wasn’t just the disappointing attractions why we didn’t like Disney Quest. The whole thing reminded us of an arcade at any random local bowling alley, very grubby and chucked together to drag a few extra $$ out of your pocket.

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We browsed Virgin Megastore for a while and bought a few cd’s that were on offer. I don’t buy stuff in the US because it’s cheaper as I don’t really think some of the stuff is but if I see something on offer or unavailable in the UK then that’s a different matter altogether! Spent $42.58 on 3 cd’s which with the exchange rate we had gotten worked out at about £7.75 each.

After this we tried to get into Planet Hollywood for tea but the wait was 40 mins. This wouldn’t have been a problem but for some reason we weren’t allowed to the bar area but would have to hang around at the bottom of the stairs outside so we didn’t bother.

After a brief discussion we opted for Raglan Road figuring if there was a wait we could at least have a drink at the bar in the meantime. Turns out as we were happy to sit outside there was no wait. Our server Joe was friendly and efficient and the food was fantastic. Not on the cheap side but worth every cent.

Kronenberg X4 - $26.00
Granny’s Vegetable soup - $5.50
Drunk Chicken - $6.95
Bangers & Mash - $16.95
Sirloin Steak - $22.95
Apple & Strawberry Crumble X2 - $15.98
Tax - $4.44

Total - $98.77

Gavin said his Sirloin was better than at least half of the fillets he has ever had.
Before we left I nipped to the loo and the inside of this place is enormous and very full with everyone eating , outside had filled up considerably since we had arrived and there was a queue at the podium so this place is obviously very popular.

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Left Raglan road about 20.00 and when we got to the bus stops a Pop bus came almost immediately.

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There was a lot of traffic on the way back but we were in our room at 20.30 and dare I say it, ready to crash for the night! I made some more trip notes while Gavin set an alarm call for 07.00 then bed.

Mug Refills - x4 each
Weather - A very sunny and bright 86 degrees but felt warmer than yesterday as no breeze

Jodie

08-05-2009, 10:27 AM

Part 6 Day 3 Sunday 01st October

Up with the alarm call at 07.00. A lot slower getting ready today, too many creaking bones to go too fast!

We had breakfast in the room, a cookie and banana that we had gotten from Wal*Mart we were ready to leave at 07.40.

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After some major wrong turns from Gavin, who took us to Epcot’s restricted parking section earning us a telling off from an attendant who had to jump in a car and drive to us in order to deliver the telling off and also redirect us to the regular parking section, we were at the entrance for 08.10 and we ran through to Guest Relations to ensure we were there the required 15 mins early for our Around the World on a Segway tour.

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I was looking forward to this but Gavin was really excited. We thought we would be disappointed as last month some Segways were recalled due to a few accidents and malfunctioning problems but apparently Disney only stopped them for a couple of days so luckily our tour was to go ahead.

There were 10 people in our group and we were all there at 08.20 so the guide took us to Segway Central to begin our training. After 10 mins of instruction we were on a Segway.

Both Gavin and I were nervous when we first got on but it really is so easy it only took a few moments to get used to it.

We zig-zagged through some cones and had to duck under a stick to ensure we were ok avoiding any low branches, then after about 30 mins practice we were off Around the World Showcase.

The guide gives you information on the way round, he told us stuff about France, Japan, Morocco, China and Germany. He was going to stop in Italy as well but there was a wedding going on so we rode straight past.

All in all the tour was about 2 hours 10 mins and was worth every last penny of the $80.00pp .

Both of us had a blast and Gavin wants to know if I will buy him one for Christmas. At £2000.00 a pop, I don’t think so! We would both do this again in a heartbeat.

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Tour over we took the guides advice a grabbed a Fast Pass for Soarin’ which had a return time of 12.30. Hungry we headed to the Fountain View for a snack but they weren’t serving their regular menu due to the Food & Wine festival so we had lunch at Electric Umbrella but on the way I bought a few postcards at Mouse gear $5.35.

I cant find the receipt for lunch. Gavin must have lost it.

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I dragged Gavin into Character Connection after lunch and we had some Photopass pictures done. We were only in here a few minutes, there was hardly anyone about. It’s a great way to do this as there’s a structured queuing system and kids must get excited that they can see several celebrities at once but it is just too formal. When a Character pops out from behind a random wall or appear from a doorway people nearby gasp in delight. Even though this format stops the inevitable mad rush for autographs and pictures it isn’t my favourite way of seeing a character even if it is the least stressful (and as I have moaned in the past saying a more structured viewing area would be better I shouldn’t really complain, but it does remove a little of the magic).

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We also popped into Mousegear....

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By now it was coming up to our fast pass time for Soarin’ so we went to Test Track to get another fast pass stopping for a Toll House Cookie on the way (yummy!) our FP had a return time of 14.40 and it also gave us a surprise fast pass for Mission Space, I assume this attraction isn’t a success if they have to beg people to ride.

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Over to Soarin’ we had about a 15 min wait but struck gold with middle front row seat’s! Soarin’ was of course excellent, I cant say I noticed the smells last year, they may not have been working when we rode or I was just too distracted by the pictures!

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We now had 1 hr 40 mins before our Test Track time was here but it went quickly. First we took a look at our Leave a Legacy tile. I had intended on taking our co-ordinates with me but I forgot (the only thing I did forget though so I hadn’t done badly!) so we had to ask for them, I am pretty sure the cm I asked isn’t one of Disney’s employee’s of the month, she was a little bit sulky we had interrupted her day dreaming!

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While checking out our tile we spotted a Photopass photographer so had a few more shots taken

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then I dragged Gavin over to Club Cool and gave him some Beverly! He convinced me despite the horrified look in his face it really wasn’t that bad so I tried a sip and it really does taste like cough syrup!

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We had a ride on Spaceship earth as there was no queue

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then a sit down and a coke at Electric Umbrella, I had some fries as I was feeling a little peckish.

Fries - $2.39
Large Coke - $2.39
Regular Coke - $2.09
Tax - $0.45

Total - $7.32

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Refreshed we slowly walked over to Test Track and with only a 5 min wait we were in our car. We love this ride and now you can get your ride photo straight onto your Photopass card which is brilliant. This was the only ride we saw that you could do this at but as Photopass is fairly new I assume if successful more ride photo’s will be added.

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Jodie

08-05-2009, 10:48 AM

We strolled to the park exit and were back at Pop by 15.45. We grabbed a refill & picked up our packages before heading back to our room. Gavin looked up the F1 results and Michael Schumacher is ahead in the championship but we were pleased to see Jenson Button had managed fourth place in the last race.

We also tried to register online for the Photopass pictures but even the ones we had taken yesterday at Animal Kingdom weren’t showing yet.

Fully rested we left for the Boardwalk at 18.00. It was only a couple of minutes drive so we were there quickly we were directed to a car park somewhere in Greater Manchester so it would have been quicker to get the bus to TTC then the Boardwalk. Seriously it was a hike & a half.

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A couple of photo’s taken at the Lakeside

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we wondered over to Fantasia Gardens $22.90 inc tax for two with no discounts. I am not a massive fan of mini golf but I really enjoyed this, I guess the themeing helps. Gavin won with 51 strokes, I got round in 62. The course was par 53. Gavin got two hole’s in one but the second was heavily aided by me. He hit the ball too hard and it bounced back off of the barrier, landed on my foot and I kicked it in!

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After Gavin’s victory dance we walked back to the boardwalk and into the queue for ESPN, we were waiting around 35 mins but it went quickly.

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There was an American football game going on between Seattle and Chicago, I have no idea what was going on but crowd participation appeared to be a must!

Coke - $2.19
Fosters X2 - $11.00
Dingers X2 - $17.98
Chilli Dog - $9.99
Roast Beef Sandwich - $11.99
Tax - $3.46

Total - $56.61 plus tip

When our starter arrived we were each given the five biggest pieces of chicken ever. I only ate two and Gavin struggled with four. It wasn’t that we were been naïve to US portion sizes they really were ridiculously large! My Chilli dog was nice but I only managed half of that and some fries.

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Dinner over we headed back home. In at 21.50 I made some note while Gavin checked our Photopass account and the pictures were up. Yippee!

Mug Refills - 2 each
Weather - A very hot 96 degrees with no breeze or cloud

Jodie

08-05-2009, 10:55 AM

Part 7 Day 4 Monday 02nd October

Gavin had set an alarm call today for 09.00 as we were going to Typhoon Lagoon and it didn’t open until 10.00 so there was no rush but we were woken up by housekeeping at 08.40 so decided to get up and have some breakfast before we left.

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Cheese Omelette - $6.49
Chocolate Croissant - $2.79
Cinnamon Roll - $2.59
Cappuccino - $3.19
Tax - $0.98

Total - $16.04

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Set off for Typhoon Lagoon at 09.40 and were at the entrance at 09.55.

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Once inside we had a Photopass picture taken. At the water parks the photographers give you a different photo pass card, It is around ¼ of the size of the other credit card sized one’s and has a wrist band so you can wear it on the slides.

I needed to buy some shorts to wear in the water and found some red ones at Singapore Sals and $34.08 later I was ready for action. Gavin can’t swim and hates getting wet so he was on photo taking/towel carrying duty today.

First up was Keelhaul Falls, I had two goes on this then onto Mayday Falls for one ride. I would have gone on more as there was no queue but the trek up took forever!

Humunga Kowabunga was next, when I got to the top I had seconds thoughts but figured riding was the quickest way down. I was glad of the shorts as they preserved my dignity after the wedgy obtained from this slide!

Storm Slides next, I rode two out of the three but by now my legs were aching from walking up 100’s of stairs and I couldn’t face another hike to go on the third slide.

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All of these slides done we headed home. We were only at Typhoon Lagoon for about an hour but everything was a walk on, in July or August you would struggle to ride six times in a full day! If Gavin didn’t hate this so much I would relax for while reading then after lunch go for another slide run but he had been very patient so off we went.

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Back at Pop I put some washing on, I certainly hadn’t intended on doing any washing but some of the clothes we needed to wear again were a bit grubby.
Sat by the Hippy Dippy pool drinking refills until the washing was done then back to our room where I updated my notes and Gavin played on his PSP.

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Hungry, about 13.00 we headed to Everything Pop for lunch.

Chicken Strips Basket - $6.69
Meatball Sub - $6.19
Side Fries - $1.99
Tax - $0.97

Total - $15.84

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Jodie

08-05-2009, 11:02 AM

As we had a free afternoon we decided to go to Seaworld. This wasn’t in our original plans as it isn’t a priority for us so this afternoon would be our only visit.

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Arrived around 14.00 and went directly to Journey to Atlantis, we hadn’t ridden this last year as the wait time was 90 mins which is way over my max wait time for a ride. This year it was a walk on. So we did, twice!

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After our soaking we went through the Penguin Encounter then walked over to Wild Artic. Lastly we went to the Anheuser-Busch hospitality centre. Gavin was so chuffed with his free beer he bought a Budweiser hat! $21.29.

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With very tired legs we headed back to Pop at 16.30 with a quick stop for petrol (around £20 to fill her up!) and got home around 17.00.

I spent a while looking at our Photopass pictures online, they weren’t all on yet it seems there is about a 36 hour delay. Online you can make enhancements such as signatures and logo’s but these are only for the online pictures and if you have any individual prints made but you cannot get them on the cd anymore. When you look at the buy cd option it tells you this many times and you have to tick a box to say you understand!

At 19.00 we headed back out and went to Passage to India on the 192. We ate here three times last year and we were both looking forward to tonight. Sadly it failed to live up to our expectiations. I forgot to keep the receipt but it was around $65.00 not including tip for Chicken Tikka Massala , Vegetable Mahkri, Onion Bhaji, Poppodoms, Garlic Naan and two soft drinks. I wont put the pictures up as you may never eat curry again. We shouldn’t have stayed, as soon as we walked in we were unimpressed and both ate hardly anything once our food arrived as it looked and smelt disgusting. We could have complained but we really didn’t want to stay any longer than necessary waiting for our food to be replaced.

A little downhearted we drove home and had a couple of drinks at Petals $28.76 for a Mango Margarita and a draft Budweiser X2. Before we went to bed I spent a few dollars on souvenirs, a couple of Pins, a new Lanyard and a Pop Century mug $30.84. Bed around 22.30.

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Mug Refills - 4 Each
Weather - Cloudy early on but after the sun was out it was 89 degrees with a little breeze.

Jodie

08-05-2009, 11:08 AM

Part 8 Day 5 Tuesday 03rd October

Busch Gardens was the plan for today and we had another small lie in as it didn’t open until 10.00.

After only one very minor wrong turn we were at the gates at 10.15 ($9.00 parking) and straight into the queue for Gwazi. It was advertised at 5 mins but was actually 45 mins as there was only one train running.

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We were very hungry when we got off as we had skipped breakfast so off to Zagora Café at 11.15 for an early lunch.

Chicken Platter - $7.69
Chicken Wrap - $7.29
Blueberry Muffin - $2.39
Chocolate Pudding - $2.59
Medium Drink X2 - $4.78
Tax - $1.73

Total - $26.47

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After lunch we strolled through the Edge of Africa attraction and took some photo’s of the very obliging animals.

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Rhino Rally was next, we waited just a few minutes but our queuing time was greatly reduced by us jumping ahead as the CM shouted for a party of two. Our guide was very funny and sarcastic but I think a lot of it got lost on Gavin as he doesn’t watch as much American TV as I do.

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We went on the train ride next. Gavin had just gotten a drink ($2.99 large) which you aren’t allowed to take onboard so I made him bin it. I said the wait for the next train was 40 mins, Gavin claimed 4 mins but I wasn’t going to risk it so he could finish his drink. In the end I was right so *raspberry* to Gavin. You see loads of animals on the train ride so it is well worth doing. We were lucky enough to see a six week old un-named Hippo, Busch Gardens are running a competition to name her.

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Time to get wet now so after we had shared Gavin’s replacement drink ($2.99 large)

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We went on Congo River Rapids twice. We got soaked the first time so why not ride again? Then I spent $2.00 shooting water at people just starting their ride on the rapids. Great fun. We wondered over to Stanley Falls next but the wait time was 30 mins so I looked at the queue for Tankanikya Tidal Wave and it was a walk on so no contest. Again we rode twice.

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Home time now as none of the big coaster’s appealed. Gavin won’t ride and it’s boring queuing alone.

We hit our first spot of rain while on the I4 but it was all over by the time we were back in Orlando.

Jodie

08-05-2009, 11:13 AM

Home around 16.00 while Gavin refilled our mugs I bought a Mickey T-Shirt $25.56 then back to the room. While I updated my notes Gavin emailed the Photopass link to our friends and parents then called Dan who was checking on our house before playing his PSP.

We had decided earlier to go to Chilis for tea and set off for the one on International Drive at 18.00. There is probably several closer to us but we didn’t know for sure so decided to go to the one we knew. Thankfully unlike last nights Indian Chilis was just as good as we remembered.

Shanghai Wings - $6.99
Chips & Salsa - $2.69
Bacon Burger - $7.29
Cajun Chicken Pasta - $9.69
Coke X2 - $4.18
Tax - $2.01

Total - $32.85 plus tip

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Downtown Disney was up next. We wanted to see Talladega Nights but it didn’t start for 70 mins so we wondered over to the Market Place and paid a visit to Goofy’s Candy Co where we both ordered a make you own treat.

Mickey Rice Krispy Treat - $3.00
Marshmallow - $2.12
Tax - $0.34
Total - $5.46

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We both had our treats dipped in Milk Chocolate and Peanuts then I had a Milk chocolate drizzle but Gavin added White Chocolate and Caramel drizzle.

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After a brief look in World of Disney we headed back to AMC and bought our tickets $9.55 each.

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We sat down just as the trailers were starting but Gavin decided he wanted a drink so headed back to the concession stand. He was gone so long I assumed something was wrong and went looking for him. Turns out that despite the queue been only three people deep when he joined it really did take five staff members twenty minutes to serve them coke and popcorn. This isn’t where his refreshment problems ended. Gavin had only been charged for two out of his three items so the cashier called the manager to help him charge Gavin for the third. The Manager then gave Gavin back the money he had already paid and left. Gavin waited for the cashier to charge him correctly but he called next so we headed back to watch what was left of the film with our free snacks. Talladega Nights was very funny! Will Ferrell is hilarious and the seats in the theatre are amazingly comfy.

Back home around 00.00 we were too late for a refill so Gavin paid $2.50 for a drink from the vending machine and we had a few bites of our Goofy’s treats. They were nice but very sickly. Bed at 00.15 with alarm set for 07.15.

Mug Refills - X1 each
Weather - Cloudy with a spot of rain but still very warm at 86 degrees

Jodie

08-05-2009, 11:27 AM

Part 9 Day 6 Wednesday 04th October

Woken up by the Stitch Mickey combo at 07.15 and at Everything Pop by 07.30.

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Banana - $0.99
Cereal with Milk - $2.99
Chocolate Croissant - $2.79
Fruit Cup X2 - $5.98
Milk - $1.29
Tax - $0.91

Total - $14.95

Today was Magic Kingdom day and I was in commando mode to ensure we were there for rope drop.

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We were there but there was nothing to see. No characters were out anywhere, I had believed that the train came into Main Street station with them and they opened the park but all that happened was some terrible recording that was set of accidentally several times prior to 09.00 announced the park was open then we were allowed in. We had a few Photopass pictures taken at different locations in front of the Castle then as Adventureland and Frontierland weren’t open until 10.00 (why, oh why do they do this?) we, along with those who didn’t have small children headed to Tommorrowland.

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Buzz Lightyear first. Gavin scored very badly at 2800 but I fared better with 24600. I would have done even better had the gun been detachable!

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Onto Space Mountain next. Major wuss Gavin decided this was his maximum limit for a roller coaster wereas I just giggled all the way round at how pathetic this version was compared to DLRP. Gavin has been on the DLRP Space Mountain once (and has yet to forgive me for talking him into it) and he wonders what the Americans think of that version having been raised on this baby ride.

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Almost 10.00 now so we walked over to Frontierland. Splash Mountain was a walk on so after getting Fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad we rode Splash Mountain twice then our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad time was up.

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Hungry we got to Pecos Bills dead on opening at 11.00.

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Cheeseburger & Fries - $5.89
Chilli Cheese Fries - $3.49
Chicken Wrap - £7.59
Large Coke - $4.78
Tax - $1.42

Total - $23.17

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After lunch we headed to Adventureland, spotted Captain Jack outside Pirates of the Caribbean but we didn’t stop to see the show, there was already a crowd built up so couldn’t see much and the walk on for Pirates was too good to ignore. The additions after the re-furb are superb but it could have done with one bigger drop at the end.

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Onto Jungle Cruise next. This was a first for us and the 20 min wait went quickly. We had a good skipper, very animated but again I think Gavin missed out on some stuff due to his lack of knowledge on American Pop Culture.

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Spotted Aloha Isle on exiting Jungle Cruise so I had to have a Pineapple Float $3.99, Gavin had a Vanilla Soft Serve but didn’t really enjoy it $2.89.

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Walked over to Fantasyland next and straight onto Mickey’s Phillharmagic - Brilliant. Then waited around five mins for It’s A Small World. This version is way longer than the ride at DLRP and really started to get on my nerves after a while.

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Out of Fantasyland and straight onto Haunted Mansion then got a Fastpass for Splash Mountain. While waiting for our window to open we rode the train around Magic Kingdom then had a Sprite in the shade.

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Splash Mountain time came round and we bought the ride picture this time ($21.25 X2 5x7), primarily to compare with last years photo once we got home to see whether Gavin looked braver or not! We also bought a frame for the photo $25.56.

Caught the Ferry back to TTC and back at Pop for 16.30. Went straight to the food court for refills and snacks.

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Cheetos - $2.35
Chips - $2.39
Tie-Dye Cheesecake - $3.59
Muffin - $2.29
Tax - $0.70

Total - $11.32

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Then back to our room around 17.00 for a rest.

Jodie

08-05-2009, 11:32 AM

We had a 20.00 adr at Concourse Steakhouse and decided to go on the bus. We left Pop around 18.40 after buying stamps and posting our postcards.

The bus to Magic Kingdom was available immediately and the monorail was quick aswell so we were at the Contempary for 19.30. We browsed to gift shops for a while and Gavin couldn’t resist some Jelly beans ($7.94) then we checked on for our adr at 19.45.

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We were given a pager and told it would be around 20.20 when our table would be ready so we went to Outer Rim for a drink but just as we were about to order our pager went off. Assuming it was an error I left Gavin and went to check but it wasn’t an error our table was ready about 45 seconds after we were told 35 mins.

Budweiser Lite X4 - $20.00
Honey Wings - $7.99
Onion Rings - $4.99
NY Strip - $22.99
Filet - $26.99
Cheesecake - $5.49
Key Lime Tart - $4.99
Tax - $6.08

Total - $99.52 plus tip

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This was a very nice meal but I am unsure whether it justifies it’s $100 price tag, The meal we had at Raglan Road was about the same price with much nicer food, But we both left happy and full.

Very bad timing here as we were back on the Monorail just as Wishes ended, We got to see the finale from a distance which was nice but it also meant everyone was leaving the park and getting on the bus.

It wasn’t too bad. We sat down on a bench near our stop and waited for the crowds to disperse, this took around 30 mins but ensured we had a seat on the bus. We arrived home at 22.20.

Gavin uploaded some more of our photo’s onto the laptop and after updating my notes I packed us an overnight bag as tomorrow we are spending the day & night at the Hard Rock Hotel. Oh yes, were getting married aswell.

Mug Refills - 2 each
Weather - Lot’s of cloud and breeze but still 86 degrees

Jodie

08-05-2009, 11:43 AM

Part 10 Day 7 Thursday 05th October

Woken up the alarm at 07.30 we dressed quickly and were out by 07.55.

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With one wrong turn, I hadn’t thought to take directions as we had already been there, we were at the Courthouse at 08.50. There was another couple in front of us and one already been married so after checking in and paying $30.00 we had to wait around 25 mins.

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At 09.30 it was time for us and at 09.37 we were done! Gavin said that for a split second before I said ‘I will’ he wondered if I was having second thoughts as I hesitated. I was about to marry my best friend, why would I have second thoughts?, In reality I was quietly clearing my throat so the words came out nice and clear!

The clerk took a couple of photo’s during and after the ceremony but the ones during didn’t come out too good.

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Onto the Hard Rock Hotel now. When we got there at 10.30 our room was ready which was a big bonus but the key card printing system was down so a Bellperson took us up and let us in. The room was fantastic but at $405.00 for the night it should have been! It was a King Size deluxe room (newly refurbed) but for anyone wondering the King Size bed at Pop was bigger.

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The mini-bar was well stocked and at first glance appeared not too expensive, Gavin even had two bottles of water during the night. But when you read the small print, you had to pay tax (we were expecting that) and an 18% service charge for getting the stuff out of the fridge yourself! I complained about that in my email response too their questionnaire.

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About 30 mins later we had a call to say the Key system was working and we could collect ours anytime. We went down to collect it straight away then relaxed by the pool with a drink and had some lunch.

Cokes X2 - $4.52
Coors Lite X2 - $9.00
Chicken Strips & Fries - $12.95
Pizza - $11.95
Fries - $4.95
Tax - $3.33
Auto 18% Service - $7.81
Total - $54.51

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Around 14.00 we headed back up for a rest. Played around on the internet for a while then emailed our parents to tell them we were married (it wasn’t a surprise for them, they knew we were getting married today!) and listened to the Chris Moyles Show on listen again. During our rest I headed downstairs and picked us up a Starbucks each and myself a Hard Rock Hotel T-Shirt (lost receipts).

Jodie

08-05-2009, 11:47 AM

For tea we headed out at 19.00 to the Hard Rock Café via the water taxi’s and were seated immediately.

Texas Chilli - $6.00
Chicken Strips - $9.00
Chicken and Mac ‘n’ Cheese - $15.00
Chicken Fajitas - $15.00
Cokes X2 - $5.38
Apple Cobbler - $6.00
Tax - $3.67

Total - $60.05 plus tip.

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They brought Gavin out the wrong starter but he got to keep the Onion Rings for free so he was happy.

Stuffed we strolled back to the water taxi’s via the Universal shop were Gavin bought his second souvenir a Universal Studio’s Florida T-Shirt and I got a bright red Thing 1 T-Shirt $42.50.

Water Taxi came straight away and we were back in our King Size Deluxe, Very expensive room by 22.00.

Mug Refills - 0
Weather - Cloudy & Breezy 82 degrees

Jodie

08-05-2009, 11:54 AM

Part 11 Day 8 Friday 06th October

Alarm was set for 10.00, no rush to get up as we had Front of the Line access today.

Express checked out of the Hard Rock Hotel , left our overnight bags at luggage storage then onto the Kitchen for Breakfast. At $33.97 for two this isn’t the cheapest buffet in town but it was very nice.

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Travelled to Universal Studio’s via the Water Taxi again. It is a nice way to get around but not the quickest.

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Through the turnstiles at 11.40 and flashed our Front of the Line cards to get into Shrek 4-D. We just missed been let into this showing so had to wait 10 mins but better than the 30 mins advertised.

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Onto Men in Black now. We hadn’t done this before as last year when we returned for our Universal Express time of 19.00 it had shut! We bought the photo on this one ($23.38 inc frame) and unlike Buzz Lightyear this photo has your score on it, I now have proof that I am better than Gavin!! The two teenage lads in our car wiped the floor with all of us but Gavin wasn’t all bad, he beat the really old guy.

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ET was another first for us but we certainly weren’t missing much. Gavin believes the reason ET doesn’t say anyone’s name right is because the people inputting your name don’t put them in right, for Gavin he pressed exactly two keys on his keyboard before scanning the passport.

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After a brief stop for a rest and a Sprite (large $3.19) we went to Terminater2-3D, The next show was at 14.00 which was half an hour away so we amused ourselves in the gift shops. Terminator2-3D is a brilliant show, see it!

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We had another pit stop at Starbucks but Gavin’s Muffin was stale and he didn’t like his Frappuccino as it was coffee based not cream based as the Caramel ones over here are so he went and got a slice of pizza and a coke (no receipt)

Strawberry Frappuccino - $4.25
Caramel Frappuccino - $4.25
Lemon Pound Cake - $1.95
Blueberry Muffin - $2.25
Tax - $0.83

Total - $13.53

Jaws would be our last ride of the day, flashed our passes for the last time to jump ahead of a 30 min queue. Only Shrek and Jaws had longish queues, everywhere else was 5-10 mins.

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This is definitely better after the refurb. Universal done we headed back to the Hard Rock Hotel to collect our bags and car via the Garden walkway.

We enjoyed our stay here but even a standard room is pricey. I wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t special occasion. Even the lure of Front f the Line access doesn’t appeal. Even though we skipped lines at the rides at midday the park was busy and very hot. We would have usually been done and gone by now. Also as we had been using Fastpass with some skill at Disney Front of the Line access felt normal not ‘I’ve paid a flaming fortune for this key and I will enjoy using it’

Two observations about Universal Studios. It is looking very old and tired. Despite refurbed rides and a state of the art coaster it looks grubby. Also wherever we turned there we reps trying to sell us a timeshare. At Disney the DVC programme is advertised heavily and the booths/reps noticeable but they wait for you to approach them. At Universal we were pestered many times to ’just have a chat with us‘, at one stage we ’u’ turned and went to our destination an alternative way to avoid them. This sort of thing is guest harassment. Since returned home I have thought strongly about not returning to Universal for some time because of these issues, primarily the timeshare one. Islands of Adventure is not included in these comments.

Back at Pop at 16.30 and Gavin refilled our mugs (yeah! Free drinks again) while I unpacked our overnight bags.

Gavin went online and emailed some of the pictures the clerk had taken yesterday when we got married to our parents.

We had tea at Chilis on International Drive again tonight.

Shanghai Wings X2 - $13.98
Chicken Fajitas X2 - $21.29
Coke - $2.09
Tea - $2.09
Tax - $2.57

Total $42.02 plus tip

The Shanghai wings are gorgeous but you get too many for a starter and I would have felt ill if I had eaten them all as they are a bit sweet. The a/c in here is ridiculous, always on -10. I wish I had taken a jumper with me!

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Back to Pop and bed around 22.00

Mug Refills - 1 each
Weather - No breeze, no cloud and a very hot 92 degrees

daveann

08-05-2009, 12:00 PM

absolutly fantastic lovved your reports its taken me ages to plough through it but wow what good trippee :)

Jodie

08-05-2009, 12:06 PM

Part 12 Day 9 Saturday 07th October

Up with the sun again at 07.30. After another yummy breakfast at Pop we headed out to Epcot.

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Chocolate Croissant - $2.79
Cinnamon Roll - $2.59
Sausage & Egg Croissant - $5.79
Side of Breakfast Potatoes - $1.99
Milk - $1.29
Tax - $0.94

Total - $15.39

We were at Epcot for rope drop, another disappointment as all that happens here is the cm’s count from 10 to 1 then remove the rope.

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Went straight to Soarin’ for a Fastpass along with 97% of the early risers. Seriously had you not wanted to go to Soarin’ you would do yourself an injury going against the crowd.

Fastpasses obtained for 09.45 we went to Test Track and walked on twice.

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Before we used our Fastpasses for Soarin’ we got another for 10.40 which by the time we had ridden the first time was only half an hour away so we had a snack at Sunshine Seasons while waiting.

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Blueberry Muffin - $1.79
Strawberry Shortcake - $3.49
Milk X2 - $2.58
Hot Chocolate - $1.89
Tax - $0.64

Total - $10.39

On the way to our second Fastpass ride we got another one. This time with a return of 13.15.

During the couple of hours between Soarin’ rides we toured the World Showcase stopping to watch O’Canada (18 mins I will never get back)

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and buying a certificate from the UK with our surname details on $28.76 unframed.

When we got to Mexico I got a Fiesta Margarita. The Mango one I had at Pop was delicious but this one wasn’t. I binned it and Gavin was appalled I could throw away $8.26 worth of alcohol! Part of the reason I didn’t like it is because it melted straight away and as the cup had been overfilled I felt forced into drinking it quickly so it didn’t drip all over me. It was easier to bin than make a mess of my clothes and myself sick.

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Had lunch at the Electric Umbrella at 13.00

Chicken Strip & Fries - $6.69
Double Cheeseburger & Fries - $6.89
Coke - $2.09
Water - $2.00
Tax - $1.02

Total - $18.69

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After lunch we had our third ride on Soarin’ which, as I am sure you can tell is our favourite attraction.

After riding I bought a Soarin’ pin from a cart at the bottom of the escalators $9.53 and convinced Gavin to get a T-Shirt which was sky blue with the logo on the front $21.25.

Before heading out we had a couple more Photopass pictures done then we did a loop on the monorail before driving home.

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After grabbing a refill we were updating notes and browsing the internet at 15.30. Gavin spent most of the afternoon sleeping while I filled up a suitcase with laundry and souvenirs to save time later.

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At 17.30 we ventured out to Downtown Disney . We wanted to see Employee of the Month and picked up tickets for the 22.05 showing $9.55 each.

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We spent a while browsing the shops. I bought another Mickey T-Shirt in World of Disney along with a couple of other things but I cant decipher the receipt, I would guess one of the items is a photo frame. The total for World of Disney was $64.86. We got six more cd’s from Virgin Megastore they were mostly on sale $88.36 for them all. We popped into Disney Tails and bought a couple of cat toys for Fred and Mary $12.78 and also a few magnets from Magnetron for my Mum and Gavin found one for his Mum ‘They haven’t left the nest until they move their stuff out of the Garage’ We, and Gavin’s Sister store tons of stuff in his parents Garage. They have two! $13.83 for all the magnets.

We were going to eat at the Rainforest Café but they had a two hour waiting list so we went back to Raglan Road and waited around five minutes for a table inside. We both ate exactly the same but skipped dessert.

Guinness - $6.50
Drunk Chicken - $6.95
Granny’s Vegetable Soup - $5.50
Sirloin - $22.95
Bangers & Mash - $16.95
Tax - $3.40

Total - $62.25 plus tip.

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We enjoyed our meal as much as last time but we realised we had chosen the same again as there wasn’t really anything else on the menu that we liked. Nothing else really appealed.

We whiled away the final hour before our film sitting across from Saratoga Springs watching the lake and enjoying the view. Once our dinner had settled we got an ice-cream( Gavin misplaced the receipt, I really shouldn’t let him have them). I got Mint Choc Chip which was yummy but Gavin didn’t like his Vanilla so we swooped halfway through. I became unpopular when I dropped the camera while eating my ice-cream but after a quick inspection it was working fine with a minor scratch.

We went into the theatre about 20 mins before the film started and got a drink together before sitting down, didn’t want Gavin going missing again. Employee of the Month was very funny, apparently it has been getting bad reviews so obviously my sense of humour isn’t very sophisticated.

Home at 00.10 and straight to bed.

Mug Refills - 2 each
Weather - Very hot during the day 92 degrees but a lot cooler after dark

Jodie

08-05-2009, 12:08 PM

absolutly fantastic lovved your reports its taken me ages to plough through it but wow what good trippee :)

Awwww jeez, your making me blush :hug2:

Jodie

08-05-2009, 12:20 PM

Part 13 Day 10 Sunday 08th October

Alarm call at 07.45 and I bounced out of bed as cheerful and energetic as the day we arrived, Gavin did not.

Breakfast at Pop again

Bagel - $2.29
Chocolate Croissant - $2.79
Cinnamon Roll - $2.59
Croissant - $2.29
Mile - $1.29
Water - $1.25
Tax - $0.74

Total - $13.24

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Then off to Disney’s/MGM Studio’s for opening. There is more of a fanfare at rope drop here with street actors announcing your all part of the crowd for their filming today. Far more entertaining than Magic Kingdom or Epcot.

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First I got one Fastpass for Tower of Terror then one for Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster. I would be riding both of these alone as Gavin’s a scaredy cat. A big 6ft 2” scaredy cat.

After a couple of Photopass pictures and one with the lastest star we went on the Great Movie Ride (I hid behind Gavin during the Indiana Jones scene).

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My fastpass windpw was open now. I hadn’t gone on either of these last year and the pre-show film on Tower of Terror really got my knees trembling but it was fun. It felt more like the lift was bouncing up and down the dropping dramatically then dragging you back to the top to do it again. Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster was good but almost exactly the same as DLRP, but not as jerky, so I knew what to expect.

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Onto Muppets 3D now and when we left here I spotted Woody with no queue so dragged Gavin over for a Photopass picture.

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Hungry we went to Pizza Planet for lunch.

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Cheese Pizza - $5.59
Pepperoni Pizza - $5.89
Coke - $2.09
Sprite - $2.09
Chocolate Chip Cookie X2 - $3.78
Tax - $1.27

Total - $20.71

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After lunch we headed over to the Backlot Tour and joined the un-air-conditioned queue. Only waited around 15 mins though. This is good but not a must see every year. After the tour I had a photo taken with Fantasia Mickey then we went into One Mans Dream. The narration is so much better now Julie Andrews does it. I could look at the stuff in here for ages but other places to be.

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We just had time to grab a drink ($2.09) before heading to the 14.00 showing of Indiana Jones Stunt Show. I had seen this before but Gavin hadn’t, we had skipped it last year in favour of Lights, Motors, Action.

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Once the show was over I convinced Gavin to hang around a while and watch the Stars and Motor Cars parade. We waited near a fountain but it was very hot and some obnoxious ‘I want, I deserve, I need, I must have’ guests camped out near us so we escaped to the other side of the street and stood in an air-conditioned doorway.

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Jodie

08-05-2009, 12:24 PM

Our plans changed now. We did have a 16.00 adr at Hollywood and Vine for the Fantasmic package but I needed to shuffle a couple of things around as we wanted to visit Animal Kingdom and Epcot again before we left. I pencilled in Epcot for the day we flew, it would be a first for us, doing something on our very last day but we didn’t fly until 20.30 so it worked out well. In order to fit in Animal Kingdom I sacrificed Fantasmic as if we went to Magic Kingdom’s Extra Magic Hours tonight we could replace our Magic Kingdom day with Animal Kingdom. We weren’t really missing out on anything, just re-prioritising. I didn’t really want to do Magic Kingdom then Animal Kingdom on the same day as the first few hours in the day really are the best ones for park touring.

Back to Pop at 16.00 for refills and a snack then we rested until we left for Magic Kingdom.

Grapes - $3.29
Chips - $2.99
Twix - $1.25
Muffin - $2.29
Milk X3 - $3.87
Tax - $0.90

Total - $14.59

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We managed two hours of uninterrupted sleep before leaving for Magic Kingdom at 19.30, I hadn’t realised we were so tired. Most of our rest time had been spent watching TV, browsing the internet, making up notes or playing with the PSP rather than sleeping but it must be catching up with us now.

Arrived at Magic Kingdom during Spectromagic so Main Street USA was packed. We waited until the parade was over then moved very slowly down Main Street avoiding the ECV lady who thought it was her job to carve a path for her family. We found a spot for Wishes outside the Plaza Restaurant and held tight until it was over. We both enjoyed this but Gavin was most impressed with Tinkerbell and asked if she was coming back! From where we were you got a very good view of her.

After the show we had some tea at Cosmic Rays it came to $22.00 but the server behind the counter took my receipt after he gave me my tray.
Hamburger & Fries, Chili-Cheese Fries, Double Cheeseburger & Fries, Coke & large Sprite.

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It was 22.00 now and the start of Extra Magic Hours. I hadn’t expected the park to empty but it was still very crowded with most not wearing a wristband, we had gotten ours just after the turnstiles.

We went on the TTA, another first for us and a nice rest for tired legs.

Walked through Fantasyland but it was packed 30 mins for everything. Haunted Mansion was a walk on then we rode the following in this order with 10 mins or less wait on each. Everyone we saw now had a wrist band on.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Splash Mountain
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jungle Cruise
Buzz Lightyear
Space Mountain

Gavin was chuffed to bits on Buzz ‘cos he scored better than me. He must have found a mega points target, one minute he was on a rubbish 2000 then he has a whopping score of 240000! I only got 47000. We bought the Buzz photo as Gavin was on a high and wanted a reminder even though it didn’t have the score on it $26.58 inc frame.

We got a few Photopass pictures done at various places in front of the castle again although this time in the dark then it was almost 01.00 so time to head for home.

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Mug Refills - 2 for me and 1 for Gavin who has taken to drinking Milk
Weather - Breezy and cloudy 87 degrees

Jodie

08-05-2009, 12:32 PM

Part 14 Day 11 Monday 09th October

Had a major lie in today, didn’t get up until almost noon! We had been scheduled to re-visit Islands of Adventure but as I knew we would be tired I had delayed that and brought forward Blizzard Beach and Mini Golf.

Before we set off to WinterSummerland we had lunch at Everything Pop

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Cheeseburger & Fries - $5.89
Chicken Strips & Fries - $6.69
Nachos - $6.59
Cookies X2 - $3.78
Tax - $1.50

Total - $24.45

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When we got to the mini golf course the Winter side was busy so we opted for Summer ($22.90 for two with no discounts). We were playfully competitive and I only lost by one stroke! Gavin 47 Me 48 on a par 56 course. We didn’t get the magic hole in one so no free drink. Gavin bought a pink lemonade instead $2.44.

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A quick stop at Pop to get my swimming costume and at Blizzard Beach for 15.15.

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I rode the Toboggans and Snow Stormers twice then Runoff Rapids once, I would have gone on the rapids again but the steps were killing me.

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On the way out of Blizzard Beach we stopped for a drink and donuts.

12 Mini Donuts - $3.25
Hot Chocolate - $2.50
Sprite - $2.50

Total - $8.25, doesn’t appear to be any tax added to this receipt

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Back at Pop around 17.00. I refilled our mugs while Gavin queued to get a package and he spotted some ‘Cars’ matchbox type cars and with a little encouragement from me he bought one of each type available $93.72. Gavin loves cars and has tons of them on display in our house, he also races remote control cars. At Pop there was only about ½ of the ‘Cars’ available so every shop we went in we had to look. We managed to get quite a few before we left but Gavin had to buy the last few on eBay.

At 19.30 we headed out for tea. We had decided on Race Rock on iternational Drive.

Vegetarian Pizza - $8.50
Blackened Chicken Sandwich - $8.95
Vanilla Milkshake - $5.25
Coffee - $1.75
Tax - $1.59

Total - $26.04 plus tip

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Race Rock was ok but despite our server been friendly and pleasant he was clearly overworked. I am sure Gavin had a soft drink which we don’t appear to have been charged for and he made the biggest mistake of all. Not offering us a dessert menu! We were given the bill as soon as our knives and forks were pushed together and Gavin had to ask for a refill then wait ages to get it. We would return though, like I said he seemed very overworked and certainly wasn’t rude just distracted.

We drive to Wal*Mart next to buy some sweets for work and get Gavin some milk (I cant stand the stuff) I also managed to find a case for my mp3 player. I have a Sony Walkman and all the accessories are usually for the Ipod. We were in Wal*Mart for ages, the place is massive and one or the other of us would wonder off and get lost. We left at 23.00 having spent $33.19.

Before heading home we checked out Lake Buena Vista Factory Store to ensure we knew where to go for Free Time check in, last year we had just followed Gavin’s dad here and not paid much attention. We found it easily enough but when I checked my voucher back at Pop I was supposed to have gone to the Travel City Direct welcome meeting to exchange it for a Free Time check in voucher, this is of course exactly what I thought I had, me thinks this is a ploy to get people to their crummy welcome meetings. After a quick look at our Photopass pictures online we were in bed at 00.00

Mug Refills - 2 Each
Weather - A cool but sunny 82 degree’s

Jodie

08-05-2009, 12:39 PM

Part 15 Day 12 Tuesday 10th October

Up at 07.30 thanks to Mickey and Stitch we had breakfast at Pop before heading out to Islands of Adventure.

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Bread - $0.69
Cereal with Milk - $2.99
Cinnamon Roll - $2.59
Muffin - $2.29
Milk - $1.99
Tax - $0.69

Total - $11.24

We arrived at the turnstiles for Islands of Adventure at 08.50 and they were already letting people in but as only three were open it took ages for the cm’s to check everyone’s tickets and ask for signatures or finger prints.

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Spiderman was first again, this has definitely changed since last week. There is a very obvious Halloween addition but we both thought there were a few other changes aswell.

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Dudley Do-Rights Ripsaw Falls twice as it was a walk on then onto Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges three times because they are fun! Jurassic Park River Adventure was our last ride and the picture was good so we bought it $23.38 including frame.

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Before we left we had lunch at Circus McGurkus

Spaghetti & Meatballs - $7.69
Pepperoni Pizza - $6.79
Chocolate Cake - $2.79
Jelly - $1.99
Milk - $1.99
Orange Juice - $1.89
Tax - $1.51

Total - $24.65

You know your eating in a restaurant aimed at kids when your eating spaghetti from a plastic plate with a yellow fork and a red knife!

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Walked back to the car slowly to try and dry off but no such luck so back to Pop for a change of clothes before heading out to swoop our Free time check in voucher for a Free time check in voucher at the Travel City Direct office. It really was just a scam to get people to the welcome meeting. All the lady did was attach another scrap of paper to my voucher with her initials on it. Before we left we popped into the Old Navy store to see if there were any bargains for Gavin, he wouldn’t try on any jeans so we stuck to t-shirts and he ended up with four all on offer at $21.26 for the lot which with our exchange rate was £2.90 a t-shirt which even a self confessed shopping hater like me can see it’s worth a quick browse.

Back to Pop at 13.30 we rested doing the usual stuff, internet, PSP. TV and writing up some trip notes.

Out again at 16.00, we were going to see Cirque Du Soleil at 18.00 but had some souvenir shopping to do first.

At World of Disney we spent ages looking for a Cars display and eventually found one of Gavin’s missing Cars but having spent so long on this we only just had time to squeeze in an ice-cream on the way to Cirque Du Soleil.

Cookies & Cream $4.98
Mint Choc Chip - $4.98
Fanta - $2.29 reg
Fanta - $2.99 lrg
Tax - $0.99

Total - $16.23

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I was still feeling a little apprehensive about the show as Gavin hadn’t really come round. When we were seated I mentioned I had a mild headache and Gavin said he was happy to leave if I didn’t feel up to it! We stayed, we saw and we loved. The show is amazing and if you haven’t seen it, please do I guarantee you will not leave disappointed .

Show over we headed to Planet Hollywood for tea. There was a 40 min wait but this time we were allowed to wait inside at the bar.

Chicken Crunch - $8.45
Bruschetta - $8.45
BBQ Chicken Burger - $11.95
Chicken Fajita - $16.95
Miller Lite - $4.00
Coke - $2.75
Tax - $3.43

Total - $55.98 plus tip

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After tea we browsed some more both at World of Disney and at Everything Pop. I bought a couple of pins and a Mickey Plush $24.39 and Gavin found two more cars at Pop that hadn’t been there yesterday $21.32. He is now only eight cars down so is on a mission to find some more before we head home to avoid the price hikes on eBay. All of these cars will remain boxed and in pristine condition until he passes them on to a younger family member or we cant afford to pay the gas bill.

Back at the room I pack some more stuff, I have been doing this steadily for the last few days so there isn’t much room left in the cases but I do have loads of unpacked stuff. Bed around 11.30.

Mug Refills - 1 each
Weather - No breeze, no cloud, a sunny 84 degrees

Jodie

08-05-2009, 12:48 PM

Part 16 Day 13 Wednesday 11th October

Another early rise for our last full day.

After breakfast in the food court we set off for Animal Kingdom.

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Bread - $0.69
Chocolate Croissant - $2.79
Grapes - $3.29
Orange Juice - $1.69
Milk - $1.99
Muffin - $2.29
Tax - $0.83

Total - $13.57

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Arrived just as rope drop was finishing and headed straight for Expedition Everest for a Fastpass.

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We tried to get on Kali River Rapids next but they didn’t open until 10.00 so we walked to Africa and joined the 30 min queue for Kilimanjaro Safari’s. Our guide was the best one I have ever had, the truck was moving very slowly as there was lots of traffic and he pointed out loads of stuff we wouldn’t have noticed otherwise and gave us tons of information on the animals. He was definitely someone who loved his job.

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Expedition Everest time was here so back to Asia. Gavin loved his second ride, me I’m not so sure. I cant disagree with the themeing but the thrill element, in particular the backwards section makes me feel sick. This time was worse than last time but we had been sat near the front so I hoped it was that that had made me feel so bad as we were going on again in less than an hour as before we rode we had gotten more Fastpasses.

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To calm my stomach we sat down for a while and I had a Toll House Cookie and Gavin got an Orange ice-lolly and a sprite (no receipt) we sat here for a while resting an people watching.

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Fully recovered we went on Dinosaur, there was a 30 min wait but it passed quickly. I am sure they can alter the intensity of this ride depending who’s at the controls! We bought the picture for this as we both look petrified! $40.42, X2 5x7 and one Animal Kingdom frame.

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Expedition Everest Fastpass time was up again , I just about stopped myself from vomiting so I guess this ride isn’t for me. As Gavin loved it so much I will go on again in the future but will limit him to one ride a day, I may use this as a bargaining tool to get him back on The Mummy!

We had lunch at Restaurantosaurus, it seemed very busy but we found a table easily.

Cheeseburger & Fries - $5.89
McNugget X10 & Fries - £5.49
Cookies - $0.99
Strawberry Shortcake - $3.59
Hot Chocolate - $1.69
Water - $2.00
Tax - $1.15

Total - $20.80

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It’s Tough to b a Bug next,

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I didn’t move out of the way in time and got stung in the back. We wondered over the Kali River Rapids again but there was a 40 mins wait so we headed out via some gift shops. I bought a four pin set, one of each park $11.72 and a Mickey plush $14.91. We got home around 15.00.

After a rest and squashing as much stuff as possible into already full suitcases we headed back out to Wintersummerland for a final round of miniature golf. $22.90 for two adults with no discounts.

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We played the Winter course this time and…….. I won!!!!!! Gavin scored 54 and I trashed him with just 48! The winter course is a par 56 so we both did really well.

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Downtown Disney again for tea, this time at the Rainforest Café, There was some ridiculous waiting time but you could go away and come back 15 mins before so it wasn’t too bad. We spent our time shopping again. Still on the lookout for those missing cars! We bought a couple of gifts for Dan and Dominique who are checking on our house, a Dumbo soft toy $13.24 and a Mickey golf mug with a Mickey golf ball and a Tigger golf ball $18.30 I also picked up a couple of photo frames although I have no idea where I am going to pack them. $36.02

Time for tea we headed back to Rainforest Café and waited about 20 mins to be seated. This meal, for me rated second worst of our trip. Our server was far too chatty, so much so that after several minutes of hearing about all the fish specials they had on tonight I had to interrupt and ask for a drink, the café was freezing cold and the food, at least my food was horrid. Chicken was very greasy and the ‘vegetable of the day’ was lettuce and raison salad (with Chicken and Mash?)

Coke X2 - $5.58
Chicken Strips - $8.99
Bruschetta - $8.99
Fried Chicken - $16.99
RFC Burger - $9.99 (Bacon - $0.99 Cheese - $0.50 Fries - $1.49)
Tax - $3.48

Total - $57.00 plus tip

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W left here very under whelmed at 22.00 and on our way back to the car spotted a everything $5.00 or less shop round the back of Goofy’s Candy store, we had a look and bought a couple of things. It was mainly discontinued stuff like photo frames reduced from $12.00 to $4.99 but there were some stuff that was genuinely less than $5.00 all over WDW aswell.

Back to Pop and bed at 23.00

Mug Refills - 0
Weather - A very nice and sunny 87 degrees

Jodie

08-05-2009, 12:53 PM

Part 17 Day 14 Thursday 12th October

Up at 06.30 as I wanted to be first in queue at Free Time check in which I thought opened at 07.00 but it actually opened at 07.30 so we were there early but they let us in at 07.15 as they were ready.

Last year our cases hadn’t been weighed when we did Free Time check in and even though I knew this would have been because of a technical hitch I had my fingers crossed the scales would be broken again, no such look we were jointly 16 kilos over. The check in lady asked if we had paid for double baggage allowance, which we hadn’t and told us the fee was $14.00 per kilo which was $224.00 or go to the Travel City Direct office over the road and pay $29.00 each to increase our baggage allowance.

I refused to go to the Travel City Direct office as it didn’t open until 08.00 and I wanted to check in now. I said I was prepared to pay the fee at which Gavin went pale but my reasoning was I wanted to get to Epcot at opening or there was no point and any delay here was going to reduce the chances of that happening. I also offered to take some stuff out and buy a small carry on suitcase but Gavin said 16 Kilos was a lot of stuff. In the end the lady said she couldn’t take the $224.00 from us as we could only pay this by credit card and she couldn’t do that yet, unsure why. I refused to move so eventually she charged us $29.00 each in cash and let us go. I don’t care if she pocketed the money, we were checked in and on our way.

First stop was McDonalds for breakfast.

Sausage & Egg McMuffin meals X2 - $12.17
Tax - $0.79

Total - $12.96

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We got to Epcot at about 08.30 and waited in the boiling sun for 15 mins before they let people through the turnstiles then Gavin went to wait for rope drop and to get Fastpasses for Soarin’ while I went to the Camera Centre to buy our Photopass cd.

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Buying the cd took quite a while. The lady made me look at each photo individually even though I said I had looked at them all online. Also I had deleted loads from our online account, most that we didn’t want and three that were somebody else but all of these were still on the Photopass card and the lady didn’t know, nor did her colleague how to delete any unwanted. This wasn’t a massive problem as I was well below the 300 limit but had I had more than 300 taken I wouldn’t buy two cd’s when I didn’t want most of the photo’s anyway. It is a new system though so lot’s teething problems but our Photopass experience was overall very good. Cd was $106.45.

I met Gavin at the fountain as arranged and we headed over to Test Track and rode it twice before our Soarin’ time came up. Before Soarin’ we grabbed another Fastpass to ride again, the park was fairly quiet today and the second Fastpass time was only an hour away.

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Our first ride on Soarin’ wasn’t a massive success. An American lady of around 50 took on her elderly father who clearly didn’t want to be there and sat him next to me. She yelled at him constantly throughout the ride (assume he was hard of hearing) ‘look dad a river’ ‘don’t worry dad, it’s just a movie screen’ ‘look dad it’s night’ and after that I couldn’t wait to get out of the theatre and I left our camera in the basket underneath. I went back to get it while Gavin got us a drink from Sunshine Seasons. When I went back to the exit a cm asked me what I wanted and I mentioned my camera was in the basket and…..she slammed the door in my face! I was fuming! I knew I wouldn’t be able to go in and get it but I did not for one second think a cm would actually slam a door in a guest’s face.

While I was waiting for the ride to be over so I could rescue my precious camera and possible kick the rude cm in the shins another American lady started talking to me, asking me what Soarin’ was like etc. I explained it was wonderful but when she asked me to convince her kids, perhaps five and seven to ride I refused. I explained my last ride had been ruined by someone who had been forced to ride and I wasn’t going to encourage her kids to go on if they didn’t want to. I don’t think that was the answer she was looking for. I’m not sure if her kids did ride but when her husband and youngest child came out they had loved it so perhaps they convinced the other two kids. I grabbed my camera and ran, didn’t see the horrible cm so no kicking involved.

Gavin said I was very nasty to the lady outside Soarin’ but I don’t care. My ride, and probably everyone’s as she was very loud, had been ruined by all the woman’s shouting so anybody who had waited 60 mins to ride should thank me those two kids weren’t forced on and screaming all the way through.

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After all of this we only had 20 mins until our next ride time was here so we just had time to drink our drinks before heading back.

Hot Chocolate - $1.89
Coke - $2.09
Chips X2 - $3.29
Tax - $0.48

Total - $7.75

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Second ride was much better, nobody forced to ride and I remembered to remove all of my luggage from the under seat storage facility.

Before we left we got another Fastpass as a souvenir.

A quick browse around Mousegear where I bought a pin $7.41 then we headed out. It started to rain as we left the park.

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We had lunch at Wendy’s en-route to Sanford Airport but no receipt. It was a scary place though. Full of locals who looked very streetwise and the ladies loo had been flooded so having a pee was difficult.

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Arrived at Sanford at 14.00 we dropped the car off and went through security.

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We had several problems getting through security. First I had put away our boarding passes when I shouldn’t so got told to ‘stand still ma’am’ while my stuff came out the other side of the scanning machine and I could tell them where they were then I had liquid in my carryon, I knew this was allowed but you are supposed to tell them before they scan it, and it is supposed to be in a clear plastic bag. When my bag was searched she let me keep the little bottles of shampoo etc as they were in a plastic bag just not a clear one but she must have liked me because while we were then waiting for our laptop to be checked she wouldn’t let another lady take her lipstick through.

Security took about half an hour so I am glad we were early and it was quiet or we would have been even longer.

Straight to buy some magazines then into the guest house section. As soon as we were seated the display screen showed our flight delayed from 20.30 until 22.00. People who arrived at the airport later we told by the rep it was because of fog at Manchester which would prevent landing if we set of on time so the delay was tactical to try and stop us been diverted to Glasgow.

The delay didn’t bother us, we were nice and comfy at the guest house and settled down to watch the second half of the England match.

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After a while we had some tea from the International Food Court

Bacon Cheesburger $5.75
Burger - $4.75
Fries X2 - $5.50
Tax - $1.12

Total - $17.12

Over the next few hours we watched tv, browsed the internet, read magazines and had our two free alcoholic drinks along with several non alcoholic ones and some cookies.

We boarded around 21.15 and had an ok flight home. The fella alongside me spent the whole flight digging his elbow in my ribs causing me to yell in pain when he leaned against me to move as I was sleeping but I didn’t get an apology. I managed to get a lot of sleep on the way back but Gavin didn’t get any at all. Before sleeping I watched X-Men 3 and we both ate Chicken for tea/midnight snack. They showed Cars on the way back aswell but I was long gone by then.

We landed at 11.00 and it was very traumatic! It was still very foggy in Manchester and we dropped the last 20 feet or so onto the runway and most of the Oxygen masks came down! Made everyone jump a bit.

On the way to immigration I nipped to the loo and Gavin said the captain walked past telling the crew that it was the smallest window he could have landed in and had he not been able to manage it we would have been on our way to Glasgow.

Luggage claim took forever but the courtesy bus for Bewleys came quickly. Gavin drove most of the way home then admitted he was shattered and we swopped. Home at 14.00 I let Gavin sleep until 16.30 while I unpacked then wake him up so he didn’t feel too bad tonight.