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Big Mack
 United Kingdom
176 Posts
Joined: 27 Feb 2003
Status: offline |  Posted - 06 Oct 2005 : 17:01:49  
| Saturday 10th September
Well here we were folks, after all of the planning and waiting we were finally back in sunny Florida, and when I say sunny I mean it. We awoke to the most beautiful morning you could imagine, there was not a cloud in the sky and even though it was only 8.30 it was el scorchio! After all of our trials and tribulations last year it almost felt kind of odd to be here without even a hint of trouble, I just kept expecting a hurricane to pop out from under the bed at any moment!
Like last year we had not planned much for our first day, bit of chilling out by the pool and then the first of many trips to the wonderful Wal-Mart. Its just as well really because my wife woke up with one of her migraines starting to take root and so she promptly went straight back to bed. As usual the kids were straining at the leash to get into the pool, and no sooner had the toast and jam hit their bellies than they were jumping about like loonies in the water. I am astonished at how many different versions of jumping into a pool my kids can come up with. We had the belly flop, the cannonball, the cliff walk, the star jump, the Irn-Bru and so on and so on. I am sure that once they were finished that day the pool was a bit emptier than when they started.
I spent the morning unpacking with the help of my sister in law. I am not one of these people who can live out of a suitcase on my holidays, oh no. Everything has to come out of the cases and either get hung up in the closets or put away in the drawers. It is a bit of a pain but it just helps me to feel at home for the fortnight. Around ten thirty a nice guy called Adam arrived from the mobility company. My father in law had hired an electric scooter again this year as it had proved to be a real success last year (Well once we got rid of the first one which I was sure ran on coal and gave up the ghost half way around Epcot.) Thankfully this one was all shiny and new and I had no worries that we would end up pushing it at all.
Around 1.30 we all were feeling peckish and so after some quick showers we loaded up the van and headed off to the 192. We are creatures of habit and found ourselves heading for UNO Chicago Grill, which is the first place we ate when we arrived last year. After some lovely UNO burgers washed down with some lovelier Budweiser (I know its early but I just cannot face shopping without at least one beer in me!) we headed off to Wal-Mart on highway 27 to stock up on all of our holiday essentials (Beer, crisps, beer, cereal, beer, bread, beer, milk oh and some beer!)
This was not actually too bad and, dare I say it, I even managed to enjoy it. My daughter and I had a laugh at the enormous containers of tomato ketchup that you can get, she loves ketchup and we reckoned that one of these should just about see her through the fortnight.
About 90 minutes, and a couple of hundred bucks, later we headed off back down the 27 towards Tuscan Ridge. Once all of the provisions were put away it was time for my families ritual crashing out ceremony. One by one they cooried up on the sofas and started to push up the zeds almost instantly. The only ones who did not take part were my kids, who would have thought it sacrilege to waste good pool time with such trivial stuff as sleep, and my mother in law who is from the old school and one of a dying breed. World war three would not stop her from buggering about, I am not sure what she does half the time but trying to get her to sit still for five minutes and relax is quite a task. As for me I lay outside with my book and spent the time awarding my kids marks out of ten for merit as they relentlessly dive-bombed the poor pool. I must say after awhile the scorching heat started to get to me and so with one almighty jump another few gallons were emptied from the pool! (The kids gave me 9 out of ten!)
One by one the dozers started to awaken. No one felt that hungry and so we all stayed in, reading books, colouring in and watching TV. A couple of beers and it was time to hit the hay. Sunday was to be Epcot day, we started with this park last year and thought it was a really good way to begin our holiday and so once again we settled down to dream of Mission Space, Test Track and the wonderful Illuminations.
Sunday 11th September
We were up with the larks this morning and after showers and a light breakfast we loaded up the van and headed off to the magical Walt Disney World. It was yet another wonderful day and so plenty of water and factor forty were packed in the rucksack. We arrived in plenty of time, my father in laws blue badge is brilliant and gets us right up to the gates everywhere we go. If we ever go without him we are going to wonder what’s hit us having to slum it on the tram thingy’s that bring you in from the car parks. We watched Mickey and friends conduct the opening ceremony and then it was time for the fun to begin. Last year I had a meticulous plan for every park and sometimes felt as if I was dragging the rest of my family along with me. I promised myself that this year would be a more relaxed affair, sometimes if your not careful you can be so busy trying to enjoy yourself that you actually don’t get time to enjoy yourself if that makes sense. Anyway this year I was determined to take it easier and make time to “stop and smell the coffee” so to speak!
So as we made our way under spaceship earth and my kids noticed Mickey and chums posing for pics and signing autographs I did not say, “No, we must get to Test Track, you will see them later!” I said, “Of course you can, on you go” see the difference! By the time the characters boarded their double decker bus again my kids had pics and autographs from Mickey, Donald and Chip n Dale. Oh and some of the big kids got in on the act as well!
We headed over to Mission Space next. We did this after two goes on Test Track last year and it had made all of us queasy, so we decided to ride it first this year and get it out of the way. My wife and sister in law bottled it straight away, which only left the kids and me. My daughter was really excited, as she had been too small for this last year and as there was no queue we went straight into the pre flight brief. Before we knew it we were settling into our spaceship and getting ready for blast off. Thankfully I noticed that this year there was more than one sick bag! Minutes later it was all over and we made our way to the exit feeling pretty pleased that no one had lost their light breakfast during the flight. My daughter is up for anything but even she looked a little green around the gills. We then went onto Test Track, this time the girls joined us. I was feeling fine until we got to the last part where they catapult you around the outside of the building at scary speeds, when our car came back in and the attendant said “Do you guys want to go again?” I have to admit to bailing out, one more trip may just have been enough for me to “Blow chunks” as the Americans say. The rest of the gang enjoyed their second trip, cheeky buggers said it went even faster without me in the car!
We then did the Universe of energy, which was good fun and is a ride that my father in law is able to go on, we did not do this last year and so it was a bit of a change. After this it was time for lunch, the gang settled down on a few benches to munch on the sandwiches that we had packed while I went and secured some fast passes for Soarin. After a quick lunch and much water, the heat was incredible at this time of day, we made our way into the earth pavilion to experience Soarin which I am sure you all know is a brand new ride to Epcot this year. I was not sure what to expect and I must say I was very disappointed when they led us into the ride and I realised that it was one of those look at the screen rides. I instantly thought of Back to the Future and Jimmy Neutron from last year, both of which had made me feel sick. However I was very pleasantly surprised, Soarin is absolutely fantastic. The screen is very curved so that once you are lifted up in your glider you cannot really see the edges and you do feel as if you are flying. This ride is not about throwing you from side to side and up and down as fast as they can, I guess the clue is in the name but you really do feel as if you are soaring and some of the views that you see are breathtaking. Look out for the golf course one when you can just make out the guy in the distance swinging his club then suddenly Whoooosh! You think the ball is going to smack you in the face. Yeah we really liked this ride and I wish that we could have done it again.
While in the earth pavilion we took the opportunity to have a go on the riverboat ride, this is good and we especially liked the bit at the end where they take you through all of the greenhouses. They were growing pumpkins in Mickey Mouse shaped moulds so that when they were fully grown they would have good old Mickey’s ears.
After this we headed over to the world showcase and stopped off just before Canada while we sent the girls to get us some McFlurries. These went down a treat in the scorching heat and once they were scoffed we headed over to the Rose and Crown in the UK to see about a table for dinner. The girl taking reservations was from Glasgow and after a bit of a chat with her we secured a table for 6:50. We then continued with a leisurely stroll around the world showcase, stopping off to sample some German beer and to have a go on the Maelstrom at Norway. As we were passing France the waiter was setting up for the balancing chairs act. We had caught the tail end of this last year and so we were very pleased that we had happened to pass by just as it was starting. We were even more pleased when he selected Eleanor (my wife’s sister) to be one of his assistants. She was mortified, especially when he got her to stand up and copy him doing some pretty dodgy dance moves. Oh how we laughed, and every second is on video!
We also tried the El Rio del Tempo at Mexico but we were not all that thrilled, however the restaurant in Mexico looks very nice and it must be good because it was jam packed.
As we were heading out of the World Showcase we had to stop as a drawbridge was lifting up. We were busy wondering what was going when the barge holding the Globe for Illuminations came by closely followed by another three barges packed to the gunnels with fireworks. It amazes me the effort that goes in to this show every single night of the year.
The girls managed some shopping before it was time to head back to the Rose and Crown for our dinner. We arrived a little early and so we had a seat outside and I got us all some drinks. Eventually it was time to take our seats for dinner, we got an excellent table outside with great views over the lake. Our server was Scottish and she went all homesick on us when we told her where we were from, turns out she lives in Troon which is five minutes down the road from me. Needless to say we got excellent service for the rest of our meal. A lovely plate of bangers and mash and a yard of ale (well Stella) later we were ready to find a place to watch Illuminations.
As we were leaving she asked us if we would like a good view of the fireworks, mmm! let me think about that one for a nano second. Of course we would like a good view of the fireworks. So after a quick word with her boss she led us down to their “VIP” area which is really just a roped off section of their outside seating area, however it is right on the waters edge and it gave us the most fantastic view. Illuminations was even better than I remembered, I just cannot do this show justice with words. I have seen it twice now and each time it brings a tear to my eye and leaves me wanting more. If you have been to Epcot and left without seeing Illuminations get yourself down to the head doctor because you need help!!!
We took our time leaving the park, as it is so lovely at night when it is all lit up. Finally we grudgingly got into the van and headed off home. The two girls nearly got us lost last year leaving Epcot and I was taking no chances this year. Even after a yard of ale I still make a damn fine navigator and twenty minutes later we were pulling into Dolcetto Drive. The day’s exertions had taken their toll and everyone was ready to hit the sack. The Budweiser’s were safe for another night! 
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Big Mack Goes Back : Part 2
, keep um coming PLEASE!!!!