hadrian
30-08-2004, 19:52
Day 9 (Sunday)
A full day at Epcot had been planned for weeks. Again, we had an early start and managed to do Mission Space before the waiting time became too long. After more attractions (Spaceship Earth and Honey I shrunk the Audience) we started our walk around the world showcase and arrived in Germany just in time for our priority seating at the Biergarten Restaurant where there was a live show. We had a great meal, which we had to walk off during the rest of the afternoon until our priority seating at the Rose & Crown where we had a table booked for 6pm.
As luck would have it, we had to wait an extra 30 minutes for an outside table and finally sat down at almost 6.45pm on the veranda overlooking the lake. We didn’t even have to take our time over our meal in order to remain seated for illuminations. It was a truly memorable day and the evening meal with excellent seating for illuminations was a perfect end to a perfect day.
Day 10 (Monday)
Our second trip to Kennedy Space Centre (this time is daylight). We arrived by mid morning as we felt it would not be crowded. On arrival we decided to book for a NASA up close tour which was very interesting. After the tour we arrived back at the Space Centre just in time for an astronaut encounter and I managed to shake hands with Colonel Bob Springer who was on STS-29 & 38.
Day 11 (Tuesday)
Busch Gardens was for today. It was a one and a half hour drive but it was certainly worth it. We found Busch Gardens to be not as clean and tidy as the Disney Parks, but it was certainly less crowded. I managed to take some nice photos.
Day 12 (Wednesday)
A well deserved rest day after the previous three days. We all slept in late and had a whole day by the pool with an evening BBQ.
Day 13 (Thursday)
We had planned a full day at Disney MGM but were surprised how much smaller this park was compared to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. After an early start we had seen all we wanted to see by mid afternoon. We had booked a Fantasmic dinner package at Hollywood & Vine, and as our table was not until 6.30pm, we decided to head back to the villa for a few hours nap by the pool and then head back in.
The “all you could eat” buffet was magnificent. After the meal we headed for our VIP seating and had an hour or so to wait for Fantasmic. We thoroughly enjoyed Fantasmic, and even now we can’t decide which was best; Wishes, Illuminations or Fantasmic.
Day 14 (Friday the 13th)
What a day! We had been watching the weather channel coverage of Hurricane Charley and knew it would pass “close” to us by that evening. Dad and I had a rebooked Warbirds flight at 9am and we took off side by side in Harvard T6 trainers and had a wonderful 45 minute flight, complete with acrobatics.
We were back at the villa by midday and had decided days before to have a Boggy Creek airboat ride that afternoon. I phoned first to confirm they were still operating and at 1.30 we were skimming across the water.
We headed back to the villa by 3pm and it was obvious the wind was getting up. On the way back we were enveloped by a storm which made driving very difficult but were safely back at the villa by 4pm. We were then glued to the TV watching the devastation that Hurricane Charley was bringing and realised it was actually heading for our area.
We lost power and the telephone at about 7.20pm and over the next hour the wind became stronger and stronger. It was also getting dark, but as we only had two torches we decided to all pile into two bedrooms which had the smallest windows and await the hurricane. I think it passed us by between nine and ten pm. It was a scary hour and when the wind had died down we ventured outside to find a tree by the front door. There were local people about with torches at about 10.30pm checking if everyone was OK.
Day 15 (Saturday)
We were up early on Saturday morning and were relieved to find our villa was undamaged. The villa owners phoned us at about 9am to see if we were OK, which was really nice of them.
I spent about 3 hours on the phone trying to contact Orlan
A full day at Epcot had been planned for weeks. Again, we had an early start and managed to do Mission Space before the waiting time became too long. After more attractions (Spaceship Earth and Honey I shrunk the Audience) we started our walk around the world showcase and arrived in Germany just in time for our priority seating at the Biergarten Restaurant where there was a live show. We had a great meal, which we had to walk off during the rest of the afternoon until our priority seating at the Rose & Crown where we had a table booked for 6pm.
As luck would have it, we had to wait an extra 30 minutes for an outside table and finally sat down at almost 6.45pm on the veranda overlooking the lake. We didn’t even have to take our time over our meal in order to remain seated for illuminations. It was a truly memorable day and the evening meal with excellent seating for illuminations was a perfect end to a perfect day.
Day 10 (Monday)
Our second trip to Kennedy Space Centre (this time is daylight). We arrived by mid morning as we felt it would not be crowded. On arrival we decided to book for a NASA up close tour which was very interesting. After the tour we arrived back at the Space Centre just in time for an astronaut encounter and I managed to shake hands with Colonel Bob Springer who was on STS-29 & 38.
Day 11 (Tuesday)
Busch Gardens was for today. It was a one and a half hour drive but it was certainly worth it. We found Busch Gardens to be not as clean and tidy as the Disney Parks, but it was certainly less crowded. I managed to take some nice photos.
Day 12 (Wednesday)
A well deserved rest day after the previous three days. We all slept in late and had a whole day by the pool with an evening BBQ.
Day 13 (Thursday)
We had planned a full day at Disney MGM but were surprised how much smaller this park was compared to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. After an early start we had seen all we wanted to see by mid afternoon. We had booked a Fantasmic dinner package at Hollywood & Vine, and as our table was not until 6.30pm, we decided to head back to the villa for a few hours nap by the pool and then head back in.
The “all you could eat” buffet was magnificent. After the meal we headed for our VIP seating and had an hour or so to wait for Fantasmic. We thoroughly enjoyed Fantasmic, and even now we can’t decide which was best; Wishes, Illuminations or Fantasmic.
Day 14 (Friday the 13th)
What a day! We had been watching the weather channel coverage of Hurricane Charley and knew it would pass “close” to us by that evening. Dad and I had a rebooked Warbirds flight at 9am and we took off side by side in Harvard T6 trainers and had a wonderful 45 minute flight, complete with acrobatics.
We were back at the villa by midday and had decided days before to have a Boggy Creek airboat ride that afternoon. I phoned first to confirm they were still operating and at 1.30 we were skimming across the water.
We headed back to the villa by 3pm and it was obvious the wind was getting up. On the way back we were enveloped by a storm which made driving very difficult but were safely back at the villa by 4pm. We were then glued to the TV watching the devastation that Hurricane Charley was bringing and realised it was actually heading for our area.
We lost power and the telephone at about 7.20pm and over the next hour the wind became stronger and stronger. It was also getting dark, but as we only had two torches we decided to all pile into two bedrooms which had the smallest windows and await the hurricane. I think it passed us by between nine and ten pm. It was a scary hour and when the wind had died down we ventured outside to find a tree by the front door. There were local people about with torches at about 10.30pm checking if everyone was OK.
Day 15 (Saturday)
We were up early on Saturday morning and were relieved to find our villa was undamaged. The villa owners phoned us at about 9am to see if we were OK, which was really nice of them.
I spent about 3 hours on the phone trying to contact Orlan