Trip report part 1

Hi

Arrived back yesterday morning, totally knackered, but managed to stay awake until 8pm last night, slept all night and feel like a different person today.Anyway here goes, i will try and keep it so only relevant things are mentioned.

Flew TCD for the first and only time, will do a different posting to say reasons why, flight left on time from Manchester and flight time was only 8 hours instead of the expected 9. Arrived at Sanford at 5.15 us time,there was a problem getting the stairs attatched to the plane which delayed us getting off by 20 mins. Quite a queue at immigration, it took us 25 mins to be seen, then 1 of our party, ( there was me,, my wife our 16 y.o. son and his friend) was sent to a room to be questioned, people are chosen at ramdon according to the immigration official, who, by the way, was very helpful, this delayed us by a further 20 mins. Went to pick the car up from the Dollar office and because of previous delay, was at the back of a long slow moving queue.I don%26#39;t want to dwell on this too long, but Dollar charged $70 for a tank of fuel, which is outrageous, Also there is something called Roadsafe, which is optional,where they will come out to you free of charge, if you lock yourself out of your car or if you get a puncture or run out of fuel, this cost $5 per day, this, until last month (according to the lady that delt with us) used to be included in the rental cost, we also rented a sat nav system for $168 for the 2 weeks. we left the rental office at 8pm,we spent almost 3 hours at the airport,

We stayed at the Caribbean beach resort, which is beautiful, ( see hotel review ) check in took a few minutes, we found our room and after unloading the car, went to bed without unpacking, it was 10 pm us time, 3am uk time.

Monday 6th Aug: The lads went off exploring while we unpacked, grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel, then had a drive to walmarts on the 192 to buy some phones ( to keep in touch with the lads ) and other stuff like water, sun cream and beer! If you plan to buy a water spray fan they were $5 here, at the hotel they were $17. Returned the stuff to our room, picked the lads up and went to Downtown Disney for the evening.

Tues: Went to Seaworld today and must admit we struggled in the heat, but still really enjoyed the place. Stayed till 3ish, then went back to hotel to chill out for a while,freshened up, went for tea on I drive, then returned to Seaworld for Shamu Rocks, which I would recommend.

Wed: The lads wanted a pool day, so Mrs C and I went to the Magic Kingdom, if you have young children this is a fantastic place, but we have done it several times before and it isn%26#39;t quite the same as it used to be. Still enjoyed it and am still impressed by the animatronics in the Hall of Presidents. Left the park mid afternoon to chill back at the hotel, freshen up, had tea on the 192 and returned to the Magic Kingdom for 8pm to watch the Sectromagic parade and the wishes fireworks, which are spectacular.

Thurs: The hottest day so far,made a mistake and had a late start, got to the park for 11.15, went to IOA, queued for 75 minutes to get on Spiderman, then a further 40 minutes to get on The Hulk, had a walk around the park and the queues were big for everything. Left the park at 3ish, intending to go back later when it was ';cooler'; but we didn%26#39;t .Went back to hotel to cool off, got changed and went to I drive for tea and a game of crazy golf at the pirates cove. Dropped the lads off at the hotel, then visited the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a look around and a drink, was quite impressed by it and would consider it for any future visit.

Fri: My birthday, I couldn%26#39;t imagine anywhere better to spend it than in Orlando. Picked up my birthday badge at reception before going to Typhoon Lagoon, where we got our towels free of charge because it was my bday.spent a lot of time in the water trying to cool off. We all much prefer this waterpark to BB, it was very busy, but managed to find sun loungers OK. Had a reservation at the California Grill in the Contemporary Resort in the evening at 9.20 so we could see the wishes fireworks at the Magic Kingdom while dining. It was a perfect evening, with the setting the food and the company being perfect. also I was beaming when the server brought out a surprise birthday cake, complete with candle .

Sat: Went to MGM studios today, first stop was to get a fastpass for Tower of Terror then strait over to rock n rollercoaster. We arrived early and there were virtually no queues for anything so we rode both a couple of times. Left the park mid afternoon, went back to hotel to cool off and get changed. A nice surprise was a couple of Happy Birthday balloons and a birthday card, signed by Mickey etc tied onto the room handle. Went onto i drive for tea, then onto the cinema at Downtown Disney.

This completed our first week,

I would highly recommend The Olive Garden if you like Italian food,

If you rent a car try and get one that includes a full tank of fuel.

Only rent a sat nav if you cannot read a map or road signs, I only needed to use mine 3 times the whole holiday.

Trip report part 1

Hi,

happy to hear you had such a fun packed holiday and a great birthday. Enjoyed reading your TR, looking forward to TR 2.

Must get round to doing mine.

Trip report part 1

HI Ilovejimmychoo

I look forward to your TR as well as we were there at the same time. Hows the jetlag?

Where did you pin your birthday badge?

Lol jenni,, it was on my shirt before getting changed. ( I presume you mean at TL ).

Yes, just what I meant. My eyes were watering just imagining it!

Thanks for the report. I really liked the Olive Garden too. We went to the one in Tampa but they probably are all much the same.

Stesuec,

the jetlag is killing me, didnt sleep much at all last night on account of me waking up at 2 panicking that we had missed our fast pass return time for one of the rides. lol.

Didnt get back to sleep till 7 then back up at 9.!!!

We were at IOA on the same day as you...................it was the day of my dueling dragons dare.....................

Thanks for the report. Where was your favourite place to eat ? Is it far to the 192 from your resort ? What kind of placess are there ? We are staying in pop which is next to where you stayed.

Thanks

Susan

Hi,

glad you enjoyed the Caribbean Beach Resort. We stayed there last year and loved it.

Can%26#39;t wait for your report of TCD, we were almost considering them for next year. It%26#39;s a bit like Croc%26#39;s the temptation is there, but other things look better!! ;-)

Hi

spadolphin

It took us about 10 mins to drive to highway 192,it%26#39;s the main highway that runs through Kissimmee. We always took the eastbound turnoff which takes you past the old town which has shops etc and some extreme rides. Along the east 192 are plenty of shops, mainly souvineer type of supermarkets, there is a Nike factory outlet store, lots of bargains here, a giant Walmart ( between mile marker 14 %26amp; 15 ) loads of restaraunts our favourite being The Olive Garden. The Arabian nights show is along here as well, though we didn%26#39;t do any shows and a lot of hotels / motels. We only drove between mile marker 8 and 15.

cheers for that, I%26#39;m sure we can manage that drive ! Will try the olive garden too, we haven%26#39;t been before but love italian.