Macka's trip days 1 to 6 (I think)
Hiya !!
Trip report, better late than never..(techno problems!![msnembarrased])
Leicestershire 0400 Hours Thursday 16th. March.
Get up, get everyone else up, throw up. (It’s a tradition). Check the passports, shower, coffee, laugh hysterically with excitement. Check Passports.
Load the hire car. Check passports, and after one final passport check……WERE OFF. Florida 2006 adventure is finally under way! (after one more passport check)
By way of introduction, There’s me, Paul, my lovely wife Beverley, Worlds best Mum Joan, and her new hubby and all round nice guy Eddie. Now Eddie has never been to the USA before while the rest of us have been many times and so we all want this to go really well for his sake. We’re sure he’ll be knocked out by it but I’m definitely feeling a bit of pressure to make sure everything goes well this year.
Anyway, we’re off, and it’s a good few hours drive to Gatwick from Leicestershire (Mum and Eddie came down from Liverpool yesterday). On the way I can’t help looking up into the sky at the aircraft and contrails. All year I look up and wish I was on one of them going somewhere interesting or exciting, but today it gives me butterflies because this time, we are.
We make Gatwick in around two hours or so, dump the hire car which is “in terminal” and shimmy up for check in. Check in is mercifully quick and so we make our way into the terminal for breakfast and of course some duty free shopping (an activity that were it an Olympic event, Beverley would undoubtedly be a Gold medallist).
We paid for a VIP lounge here at Gatwick and at 18 quid each, I can recommend this one, very relaxed and a nice atmosphere.
BA2037 Departs on time at 11:40.
Our aircraft is a BA Boeing 777. Not as nice as a 747 in my humble opinion but it’s got all the twiddly bits, seat back TV, games etc. We’re in World traveller plus, (premium economy) and it’s very nice indeed.
Got in safely almost an hour ahead of schedule. It’s 5pm and nicely warm. Publix for essentials on the way to the villa, then Perkins for a light snack before bed at 11 pm.
I’m up first at 4:30am writing this report, and within an hour we’re all up, Jetlag eh?
Day one taken up entirely by lazing around the pool, day two, Magic Kingdom.
I love Magic Kingdom, Sadly, Pirates of the Caribbean is closed but everything else is still there and open. Eddie is knocked out by it all and a little overwhelmed as I’d hoped. He’s had a quad heart bypass less than a year ago so coasters and some rides are out of the question but at MK there’s a lot of alternatives. Even did the Tikki birds. Spectromagic is still as good as ever but we didn’t stay for “wishes”, as it was at 10 o-clock that day and we were so tired we decided to watch it from The California grill the following night. This is exactly what we did, and wow this was a really great night. I thinkit was Liz who suggested it, thanks Liz! If anyone cares to spend £250 bucks for four folks (well, worth it, this included wine) then do so. Our meal was fantastic, one of the best we’ve had in Florida, Seabass cooked perfectly, scallops again perfect and medallions of excellent beef. Slurp, yummy indeed with delicious sweets to finish. Then out onto the balcony to watch wishes. This was really a fine, fine way to punctuate the end of a really super evening. This show is excellent, so much better than the old fireworks and the view from the California Grillis perfect, as most of the fireworks go off over Space mountain which is very close to the Contemporary resort. Yes, indeed, a memorable night.,
SHOPPING ALERT!
Well had to happen, two days of Belz (it’s called something else now and it’s going to close so a little bird told me), other assorted Malls, Target, Wallmart and Dress barns. The ladies did well, and I got a couple of small items.
Day 6 or seven, lost count now, we did animal kingdom, not my favourite park but Eddie enjoyed it, the wait for Expedition Everest was 90 minutes so sorry, can’t report on it because I just couldn’t be bothered with the wait. It d
