2BoysMum&Dad
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2004
In my hand-written notes I made at the end of Friday 23rd July, I spookily gave the days report the heading The Calm Before The Storm, only because it was the day before we flew out to Florida and didnt think at the time it was really a very good or apt title. I have decided to name all the parts of my trip report The Calm Before The Storm Tour, in honour of the climax of our trip - Hurricane Charley which gave us an extra day in Florida.
Monday 2nd August (The Meeting of Like Minds!)
THE CAST
Sergeant Major Zoe You WILL enjoy yourselves
DH Trevor I am NOT going to like this
Birthday Boy Michael (aged 10 to 11)
Why to everything Piers (aged 8 and a bit)
Its a very special day today, highlight of the whole trip, the DIBB Meet at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. Started the day with a well deserved late rise from our rest-beds and breakfast in the room, finishing off all our food supplies.
We needed to go to Wal-mart for more food and get the next batch of pictures developed from my digital camera. On the way, we saw an IHOP (International House of Pancakes) and decided to have lunch here. This is a chain of restaurants, they all have a pale blue roof and look very similar inside. Piers had been going on about pancakes since arriving in Florida as we had previously told him how the Americans like their pancakes (normally for breakfast). The boys shared a burger and chips (Piers had the burger, Michael had the chips) and plain pancakes for pudding with wedges of lemon to squeeze over them. If you ask for pancakes, you get the small thick type like Scottish pancakes. Michael decided he didnt really like them and Piers just had a couple. Well know for next time to get the crepes which are more like the ones we cook up at home. Trevor and I had pancakes with strawberries and cream for our pudding, very nice!
mmmmmmmmmmm.
Now off to our local Wal-mart, along the 192 (next to Medieval Times). Got our pictures developed and put onto a CD using the Kodak self-service machine. I tried on and bought a swimming costume. And, we bought some more food.
Back to the room at CBR and it was now around 4.30pm. At Wal-mart we had bought a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and I got my camera out to take a picture of it for the DIBB. Unfortunately, my camera was objecting a bit and I tried working out what the problem was. Surely it didnt hate Krispy Kremes!
I then realised it was because the memory card was missing, OH NO! I had left it in the Kodak developing machine in Wal-mart! Immediately I phoned the store to ask if they had seen it. The person on the phone apologised after checking in and around the counter (or a lost property box), nothing of that description had been handed in. I suggested he looked in the Kodak machine ...... and yes, it was still there THANK GOODNESS! All the staff working in the photographic department of Wal-mart always appeared to be a sandwich short of a picnic! If someone phones your shop to say theyd been using the developing machine and now cannot find their memory card, where is the first place youd check? 
They put it in one of their envelopes, put my name on it and put it in the draw of developed pictures for me to collect next time I was in the store. Trevor took the boys swimming in our pool while I beautified myself and had a bath ready for this evening. Not that I needed much attention, I am naturally stunning anyway of course! Trevor and the boys returned, dressed and we set off for DTD.
I knew we had to park down the far end of the car park, the Rainforest Cafe being at the very far end of DTD, but we still managed to misjudge how big the place was! It turned out we were only about half way along and it still took us fifteen to twenty minutes to find the RFC. Got to the restaurant around 6.35pm and still took me a good few minutes to locate the other DIBBers, it was very crowded by the entrance. When nobody knows what anyone else looks like, its very difficult to find each other! I had only met Chris (Earthbound) and his family before and there was no sign of them. After wandering about for a couple of minutes hoping someone would spot my DIBB pin, I decided to accost a RFC employee. The woman at the desk pointed to a group a few feet away and suggested I try them. I heard some English voices and Kipper spotted my DIBB pin, success! We stood chatting while waiting for Earthbound and family who appeared shortly after us.
We were taken across the front of the building and down towards the terrace area. Worried conversations followed for a few minutes while we decided what to do. The original plan (and contract with RFC) was that wed have reserved seating inside the themed restaurant. The terrace area was pleasant and had great views over the water, but it was not themed and the tables were set up for groups of four to six people AND it was not what was arranged very carefully and very particularly by Sue (Suzieq) in several communications with the restaurant in the run up to our visit. There were over 20 of us and there was no way we could talk properly if we were sat at separate small tables in a line against the outside wall of the restaurant! Unfortunately, we were told they couldnt accommodate us inside the restaurant. To say we were not pleased is being far to kind to RFC! :mad2: Enough has been said already on the DIBB about how we felt, so Ill try to restrain myself! I suggested we arranged to get a load of tables put together in a line (which was the only configuration suitable for the terrace). If we stuck to the current table configuration, each family would have ended up sitting on their own and would have made a DIBB Meet totally pointless! We were then moved across to the front of the terrace and had a group of tables pushed together. This was still not ideal, but better.
Id just like to apologise for the quality of these pictures. I didnt bring my digital camera to the Meet because of the embarrassing fact that I left the memory card at Wal-mart. Fortunately, I did have a supply of one-use cameras, so this is what I used this evening.
mad_dog, Earthbound & kipper
Suzieq (in pink), talking to Mrs Earthbound
I sat with Wendy (Flower_44) for most of the meal and had a nice chat about how Phil (mad_dog) had proposed to her in the Virgin departure lounge on the way outlove: luverly! ) It was great to be able to put faces to names. Sue told me all about the episode with her eldest DSs visit to the hospital on their first day and what a shock that was. Chris did his usual great mingling thing and I noticed he was the only one in his family whos face was lobster-like! Gotta keep slapping that cream on Chris!
At the end of the meal, a lot of time was spent pouring over the bill. This probably took as long as the meal itself. The amount of money collected from people didnt add up to enough and this caused endless stress. There are threads elsewhere about this, so I wont go into any more detail here. It was an experience! I jokingly wrote in my notes same again next week Sue! but, dont think she will be organising another DIBB Meet for a while! Despite the problems, we still all did have some fun and it was great having a good chat with fellow DIBBers. I was a bit cross with myself for not bringing the boys Gameboys with us, especially as we ended up not sitting in the interesting part of the restaurant. As it happened, they were relatively well behaved and didnt get bored. Piers popped inside quite a lot to look at the fish tanks and visited the restrooms more often than he needed to, just to have a look around inside.
Off we went, but got delayed quite a bit by the shop as you exit the restaurant. Michael and Piers spotted penny press machines. Further along outside, we spotted Chris and family again by the Worlds Largest Kaleidoscope thing, had another chat and said wed see them again on 5th August at the R&C. On the way to the car we decided wed head for Wal-mart to collect my cameras memory card. Although it was late by now, it would save us bothering to get it tomorrow. It was 11.15pm by the time we arrived and it took what seemed like ages to be served! The service really was quite poor in this department on most occasions we visited.
After getting back to the room, getting the kids to bed and writing up my notes, the time is now 1.45am and I am very tired! Um, time for bed! ZzZzZzZz
Monday 2nd August (The Meeting of Like Minds!)
THE CAST
Sergeant Major Zoe You WILL enjoy yourselves
DH Trevor I am NOT going to like this
Birthday Boy Michael (aged 10 to 11)
Why to everything Piers (aged 8 and a bit)
Its a very special day today, highlight of the whole trip, the DIBB Meet at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. Started the day with a well deserved late rise from our rest-beds and breakfast in the room, finishing off all our food supplies.
We needed to go to Wal-mart for more food and get the next batch of pictures developed from my digital camera. On the way, we saw an IHOP (International House of Pancakes) and decided to have lunch here. This is a chain of restaurants, they all have a pale blue roof and look very similar inside. Piers had been going on about pancakes since arriving in Florida as we had previously told him how the Americans like their pancakes (normally for breakfast). The boys shared a burger and chips (Piers had the burger, Michael had the chips) and plain pancakes for pudding with wedges of lemon to squeeze over them. If you ask for pancakes, you get the small thick type like Scottish pancakes. Michael decided he didnt really like them and Piers just had a couple. Well know for next time to get the crepes which are more like the ones we cook up at home. Trevor and I had pancakes with strawberries and cream for our pudding, very nice!
mmmmmmmmmmm.Now off to our local Wal-mart, along the 192 (next to Medieval Times). Got our pictures developed and put onto a CD using the Kodak self-service machine. I tried on and bought a swimming costume. And, we bought some more food.
Back to the room at CBR and it was now around 4.30pm. At Wal-mart we had bought a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and I got my camera out to take a picture of it for the DIBB. Unfortunately, my camera was objecting a bit and I tried working out what the problem was. Surely it didnt hate Krispy Kremes!
I then realised it was because the memory card was missing, OH NO! I had left it in the Kodak developing machine in Wal-mart! Immediately I phoned the store to ask if they had seen it. The person on the phone apologised after checking in and around the counter (or a lost property box), nothing of that description had been handed in. I suggested he looked in the Kodak machine ...... and yes, it was still there THANK GOODNESS! All the staff working in the photographic department of Wal-mart always appeared to be a sandwich short of a picnic! If someone phones your shop to say theyd been using the developing machine and now cannot find their memory card, where is the first place youd check? They put it in one of their envelopes, put my name on it and put it in the draw of developed pictures for me to collect next time I was in the store. Trevor took the boys swimming in our pool while I beautified myself and had a bath ready for this evening. Not that I needed much attention, I am naturally stunning anyway of course! Trevor and the boys returned, dressed and we set off for DTD.I knew we had to park down the far end of the car park, the Rainforest Cafe being at the very far end of DTD, but we still managed to misjudge how big the place was! It turned out we were only about half way along and it still took us fifteen to twenty minutes to find the RFC. Got to the restaurant around 6.35pm and still took me a good few minutes to locate the other DIBBers, it was very crowded by the entrance. When nobody knows what anyone else looks like, its very difficult to find each other! I had only met Chris (Earthbound) and his family before and there was no sign of them. After wandering about for a couple of minutes hoping someone would spot my DIBB pin, I decided to accost a RFC employee. The woman at the desk pointed to a group a few feet away and suggested I try them. I heard some English voices and Kipper spotted my DIBB pin, success!
We stood chatting while waiting for Earthbound and family who appeared shortly after us.We were taken across the front of the building and down towards the terrace area. Worried conversations followed for a few minutes while we decided what to do. The original plan (and contract with RFC) was that wed have reserved seating inside the themed restaurant. The terrace area was pleasant and had great views over the water, but it was not themed and the tables were set up for groups of four to six people AND it was not what was arranged very carefully and very particularly by Sue (Suzieq) in several communications with the restaurant in the run up to our visit. There were over 20 of us and there was no way we could talk properly if we were sat at separate small tables in a line against the outside wall of the restaurant! Unfortunately, we were told they couldnt accommodate us inside the restaurant. To say we were not pleased is being far to kind to RFC! :mad2: Enough has been said already on the DIBB about how we felt, so Ill try to restrain myself! I suggested we arranged to get a load of tables put together in a line (which was the only configuration suitable for the terrace). If we stuck to the current table configuration, each family would have ended up sitting on their own and would have made a DIBB Meet totally pointless! We were then moved across to the front of the terrace and had a group of tables pushed together. This was still not ideal, but better.
Id just like to apologise for the quality of these pictures. I didnt bring my digital camera to the Meet because of the embarrassing fact that I left the memory card at Wal-mart. Fortunately, I did have a supply of one-use cameras, so this is what I used this evening.
mad_dog, Earthbound & kipper
Suzieq (in pink), talking to Mrs Earthbound
I sat with Wendy (Flower_44) for most of the meal and had a nice chat about how Phil (mad_dog) had proposed to her in the Virgin departure lounge on the way out
love: luverly! ) It was great to be able to put faces to names. Sue told me all about the episode with her eldest DSs visit to the hospital on their first day and what a shock that was. Chris did his usual great mingling thing and I noticed he was the only one in his family whos face was lobster-like! Gotta keep slapping that cream on Chris! At the end of the meal, a lot of time was spent pouring over the bill. This probably took as long as the meal itself. The amount of money collected from people didnt add up to enough and this caused endless stress. There are threads elsewhere about this, so I wont go into any more detail here. It was an experience! I jokingly wrote in my notes same again next week Sue! but, dont think she will be organising another DIBB Meet for a while! Despite the problems, we still all did have some fun and it was great having a good chat with fellow DIBBers. I was a bit cross with myself for not bringing the boys Gameboys with us, especially as we ended up not sitting in the interesting part of the restaurant. As it happened, they were relatively well behaved and didnt get bored. Piers popped inside quite a lot to look at the fish tanks and visited the restrooms more often than he needed to, just to have a look around inside.
Off we went, but got delayed quite a bit by the shop as you exit the restaurant. Michael and Piers spotted penny press machines. Further along outside, we spotted Chris and family again by the Worlds Largest Kaleidoscope thing, had another chat and said wed see them again on 5th August at the R&C. On the way to the car we decided wed head for Wal-mart to collect my cameras memory card. Although it was late by now, it would save us bothering to get it tomorrow. It was 11.15pm by the time we arrived and it took what seemed like ages to be served! The service really was quite poor in this department on most occasions we visited.
After getting back to the room, getting the kids to bed and writing up my notes, the time is now 1.45am and I am very tired! Um, time for bed! ZzZzZzZz
when I am in Orlando in a couple of weeks sounds fun 
