Trip Report 2004 (Days 0 to 2)
It is 21:57 on Friday, 14th May 2004 here in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire. We have come back from our 3-week hectic Orlando trip less than 7 hours ago. I am more jetlagged than a mouse in a moon rocket but what the Dickens! I am going to start my report NOW.
[u]Wednesday, 21st April 2004 (Day 0</u>): The taxi arrived on time and somewhat to my surprise, all 200 of our suitcases (well, closer to 9 actually) fitted in with some difficulty. with room for us to spare. So we ('we' meaning my in-laws, my sister-in-law with her husband and 10 year old daughter, my wife and yours truly) went off to a quaint little B&B in Horley near Gatwick. It was very comfy and add a mealin a nice Indian restaurant locally and we were all set. I was already congratulating myself for my carefully planned campaign.
[u]Thursday, 22nd April 2004 (Day 1):</u> There was a hiccup in the morning when one of the two taxis booked to take us to Gatwick failed to turn up on time. It eventually arrived just as my blood pressure was threatening to come out of my ears and we managed to reach the check-in desks in good time. The Virgin flight was uneventful, but I could not help noticing that the service was rather more indifferent than what I could remember for the airlinr in this sector. The food was also rather spartan and nothing to rave about.
We arrived to a surprisingly cloudy Orlando and were put through the wringer by the US officials. Belive it or not, it took us over 3 hours from the moment we got off the plane to the time I started the hired van. Immigration checks were extensive to the point of hilarity. They checked everything and everywhere that they could think of...for what exactly I am not sure. On the 'Land side' they made us take off our shoes, belts etc and stand with arms akimbo while they ran the detectors over us. My poor, frail 74-year-old mother-in-law was made to strike ridiculous hula hula dance postures while they made themselves certain that the electronic bleeps were really being set off by the fine metallic lining of her sari.
By the time we finished those formalities, found a helpful Skycap and made our way to the lower levels, we were feeling shattered. I nearly hit the roof when I saw a mile-long queue at the Dollar desk but had no option but to wait my turn. This took another hour, but when I finally reached the agent, he was overeffusive to be helpful. So helpful in fact, that when I insisted on being given a proper 8-seater van that we had booked and paid for and not a smaller 7-seater, he beamed and offered a 'free upgrade' to a 12-seater. If I was not so tired, I would probably have checked this deal out before accepting, but in the state I was in, I just managed a dumb nod. As it turned out, this so-called 12-seater was nothing but an 8-seat Ford E-350 with an extra bench seat added to accommodate 12. There went our luggagespace, but we were too tired to complain and somehow managed to load everyone and everything into the van. As I drove out, it occured to me that my suitcase had a better place in the van than I did, but there was nothing that I could do about it.
Thanks to my extensive research, I found the Southern route out of MCO along SR417 fairly easy. We had ready change for the tolls and took Exit 3 into Osceola Parkway as planned. Near Animal Kingdom, I turned into Sherberth Road and then into Black Lake Road before joining US192 West. We joined US27 North properly and found Orange Tree community and our villa easily. Things were definitely improving.
The villa was great, with all the promised facilities and more. No sooner had we begun to settle ourselves in, the caretaker - an English lady, arrived. She gave us good advice on how to go about to make ourselves comfortable. Her support made us feel really better after a hard day. We even managed a spot of shopping in the local Publix before turning in for the night.
[u]Friday, 23rd April 2004 (Day 2): </u> I had originally planned to go to Magic Kingdom on this day, but had to change to ANIMAL KINGDOM on acount of th
