- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
Fred and Wilmas Honeymoon 7-21 Sep 04
CAST
Me Joh (31) Slightly neurotic (DH would say very), VERY impatient and extremely over-excitable
DH Gary (37) Pretty laid back, a bit of a Peter Pan, mad about Tigger!
Day 15 Tues 21st Sep
A sad day today our last day in Orlando. We were quite subdued while we were packing up the last of our things and getting ready. Yet again, the weather was on the chilly side but this was handy as it meant we could both wear trousers and wouldnt have to worry about carrying extra clothes to change into later.
We checked out of the Quality Inn no charges for the phone calls wed made from the room, which I was impressed with (they were all local calls though). There was no sign of our transport to DTD and the Grand Floridian. We waited and waited and waited. Finally, at 7.15 on the dot, a man pulled up in a minibus. Apparently, he was not late Virgin had told us the incorrect time charming. The guy loaded our cases into the van and we were off. We picked up some others on the way one family joined us from the Peabody Hotel, which looked fabulous.
We arrived at the Grand Floridian just after 8. DH and I were absolutely gobsmacked by the sheer splendour of the place. We wandered around like typical tourists, taking pictures of everything in sight and marvelling at the luxurious surroundings. How the other half live, eh? Maybe one day we can but dream! We were taken in to our table, for breakfast, and told to help ourselves. The buffet was absolutely outstanding. There was so much food and it was absolutely delicious. I had some crispy bacon, a plain omelette (cooked to order) and several Mickey pancakes. DH just had a bit of everything, I think. The characters arrived in dribs and drabs first Tigger and Pooh, then Alice and the Mad Hatter. They did their best to get round to everybody but we didnt hold them too long as wed already got autographs from them all and we could see that the kids (and adults!) at the other tables were dying to spend time with them. As I glanced up towards the door, I noticed a few people gathered outside so I told DH I was going for a nosey. Out in the lobby, I encountered none other than Mary Poppins. I was so excited, I ran back in to tell DH and grab my autograph book and camera. We joined the group of people waiting patiently and when it got to our turn, nobody else had joined the queue behind us. We had a lovely chat, she told me she could tell I was from England and explained that Bert wasnt with her as he had a prior engagement. She was so proper and so like the real Mary Poppins, I was absolutely enthralled. She kindly posed for a few photos and then said she had to go. I thought DH might cry (as thats what he usually does when she leaves in the film) but he seemed to cope well with her departure
Then it was time for us to say farewell too. Our driver told us he was going to fetch the minibus and to wait outside for him. We went out and wandered around the front of the hotel, taking pictures of the gorgeous car and coach.
The driver turned up and we all piled in for the short drive to DTD. Check-in went relatively smoothly and we reluctantly left our cases, muttering a little prayer to help them get to MCO safely. Because we had so much stuff, both DH and I had a rucksack to carry but we really wanted to go shopping, so we asked if there were any lockers available. No, apparently not. OK, so we have to carry them then. Off we went to the Market Place it was quite a trek from the DTD check-in area. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours walking around the shops and managed to part with the majority of spending money we had left. We bought a lovely picture frame, a couple of tee-shirts, pens and things for distant relatives, fridge magnets galore and loads of sweets and biscuits for work colleagues. Deciding we couldnt possibly carry anything else and, knowing that we still had almost 7 hours before we were being picked up to go to the airport, we decided to go and see if Disney Quest was open. We were in luck and it was. Not only that but they had a bag check facility so we gratefully offloaded our hand luggage and copious shopping bags.
Disney Quest was great. I have read mixed reports about it but DH and I really liked it. Some of the virtual reality games were fantastic. My favourite things were:
The lift (with the genie)
Pirates of the Caribbean
River Adventure (rowing thing that I cant remember the exact name of)
The Cheesecake!!!
The old arcade games, which were free to play, like Pacman, Donkey Kong etc
Build and ride your own rollercoaster although ours was quite tame when we actually rode it
Halfway through the day, we decided we fancied a break, so we got our hands stamped and went off to the cinema. We couldnt decide what to see but I had heard that Open Water was very good so we settled for that. Well, I wish I could remember who it was that told me it was a good film because Id wring their neck! The film was absolutely terrible one of the worst films Ive seen since Vanilla Sky. On the plus side, the seats were very comfortable, which was good because both DH and I dozed off for a little while.
When the film finished, we strolled around for a while and then went back to Disney Quest. Before we knew it, it was almost 6 pm and time to go to catch our transport to the airport. We were the only people waiting in the bus area, which I was a little concerned about but, having said that, we had hardly seen another soul all day so DTD was obviously not that busy. After a few minutes, another couple joined us, who were also waiting for the airport transfer. All too soon, the bus had arrived and we were on our way to the airport.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur I think because we were both tired and just wanted to get home by this stage. The prospect of a 5 hour drive at the other end wasnt particularly appealing either.
We landed on time about 6:45 and got our luggage quick enough, waited almost an hour for a taxi to the Gatwick Manor, to collect our car and then we were off for the long drive back to Norfolk to pick up DS.
The end
PS Stay tuned for the next in the series Fred and Wilma Second Time Around, coming soon to a DISboard near you.
CAST
Me Joh (31) Slightly neurotic (DH would say very), VERY impatient and extremely over-excitable
DH Gary (37) Pretty laid back, a bit of a Peter Pan, mad about Tigger!
Day 15 Tues 21st Sep
A sad day today our last day in Orlando. We were quite subdued while we were packing up the last of our things and getting ready. Yet again, the weather was on the chilly side but this was handy as it meant we could both wear trousers and wouldnt have to worry about carrying extra clothes to change into later.
We checked out of the Quality Inn no charges for the phone calls wed made from the room, which I was impressed with (they were all local calls though). There was no sign of our transport to DTD and the Grand Floridian. We waited and waited and waited. Finally, at 7.15 on the dot, a man pulled up in a minibus. Apparently, he was not late Virgin had told us the incorrect time charming. The guy loaded our cases into the van and we were off. We picked up some others on the way one family joined us from the Peabody Hotel, which looked fabulous.
We arrived at the Grand Floridian just after 8. DH and I were absolutely gobsmacked by the sheer splendour of the place. We wandered around like typical tourists, taking pictures of everything in sight and marvelling at the luxurious surroundings. How the other half live, eh? Maybe one day we can but dream! We were taken in to our table, for breakfast, and told to help ourselves. The buffet was absolutely outstanding. There was so much food and it was absolutely delicious. I had some crispy bacon, a plain omelette (cooked to order) and several Mickey pancakes. DH just had a bit of everything, I think. The characters arrived in dribs and drabs first Tigger and Pooh, then Alice and the Mad Hatter. They did their best to get round to everybody but we didnt hold them too long as wed already got autographs from them all and we could see that the kids (and adults!) at the other tables were dying to spend time with them. As I glanced up towards the door, I noticed a few people gathered outside so I told DH I was going for a nosey. Out in the lobby, I encountered none other than Mary Poppins. I was so excited, I ran back in to tell DH and grab my autograph book and camera. We joined the group of people waiting patiently and when it got to our turn, nobody else had joined the queue behind us. We had a lovely chat, she told me she could tell I was from England and explained that Bert wasnt with her as he had a prior engagement. She was so proper and so like the real Mary Poppins, I was absolutely enthralled. She kindly posed for a few photos and then said she had to go. I thought DH might cry (as thats what he usually does when she leaves in the film) but he seemed to cope well with her departure
Then it was time for us to say farewell too. Our driver told us he was going to fetch the minibus and to wait outside for him. We went out and wandered around the front of the hotel, taking pictures of the gorgeous car and coach.
The driver turned up and we all piled in for the short drive to DTD. Check-in went relatively smoothly and we reluctantly left our cases, muttering a little prayer to help them get to MCO safely. Because we had so much stuff, both DH and I had a rucksack to carry but we really wanted to go shopping, so we asked if there were any lockers available. No, apparently not. OK, so we have to carry them then. Off we went to the Market Place it was quite a trek from the DTD check-in area. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours walking around the shops and managed to part with the majority of spending money we had left. We bought a lovely picture frame, a couple of tee-shirts, pens and things for distant relatives, fridge magnets galore and loads of sweets and biscuits for work colleagues. Deciding we couldnt possibly carry anything else and, knowing that we still had almost 7 hours before we were being picked up to go to the airport, we decided to go and see if Disney Quest was open. We were in luck and it was. Not only that but they had a bag check facility so we gratefully offloaded our hand luggage and copious shopping bags.
Disney Quest was great. I have read mixed reports about it but DH and I really liked it. Some of the virtual reality games were fantastic. My favourite things were:
The lift (with the genie)
Pirates of the Caribbean
River Adventure (rowing thing that I cant remember the exact name of)
The Cheesecake!!!
The old arcade games, which were free to play, like Pacman, Donkey Kong etc
Build and ride your own rollercoaster although ours was quite tame when we actually rode it
Halfway through the day, we decided we fancied a break, so we got our hands stamped and went off to the cinema. We couldnt decide what to see but I had heard that Open Water was very good so we settled for that. Well, I wish I could remember who it was that told me it was a good film because Id wring their neck! The film was absolutely terrible one of the worst films Ive seen since Vanilla Sky. On the plus side, the seats were very comfortable, which was good because both DH and I dozed off for a little while.
When the film finished, we strolled around for a while and then went back to Disney Quest. Before we knew it, it was almost 6 pm and time to go to catch our transport to the airport. We were the only people waiting in the bus area, which I was a little concerned about but, having said that, we had hardly seen another soul all day so DTD was obviously not that busy. After a few minutes, another couple joined us, who were also waiting for the airport transfer. All too soon, the bus had arrived and we were on our way to the airport.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur I think because we were both tired and just wanted to get home by this stage. The prospect of a 5 hour drive at the other end wasnt particularly appealing either.
We landed on time about 6:45 and got our luggage quick enough, waited almost an hour for a taxi to the Gatwick Manor, to collect our car and then we were off for the long drive back to Norfolk to pick up DS.
The end
PS Stay tuned for the next in the series Fred and Wilma Second Time Around, coming soon to a DISboard near you.
