Hi All
I thought I'd write a brief report of our first week here whilst everyone else is either still in bed or dragging themselves round (unfortunately I think I am still on England time)
We left last week - Friday 17th - and spent the night in the Radisson at Manchester airport. We thought this was a fantastic hotel and so much better than the Hilton that we stayed in last year. We had 2 rooms and both of them overlooked the runway - so the little Pegs spent most of the night glued to the windows watching the planes take off and land.
We had already done the Virgin online check so in the morning went straight to DIY and dropped the bags off. I cant believe that not many people have caught onto this yet. The queues for normal check in went all the way back to the entrance - I'm guessing at well over a hundred - and didnt seem to move much due to the fact that the luggage belt kept stopping. That said there was only one family in front of us so we were done in less that 10 minutes and in the restaraunt having breakfast.
The plane took off about 30 minutes late (probably because of the baggage belt) but still landed before 2pm so all in all 8 hours.
Once we landed we got our hire car and went straight for the villa, then out to Walmart and Publix for supplies followed by grabbing a Chinese for tea.
Next day we went to Celebration, after many a suggestion on here, and found that Sunday afternoon is the farmers market so we came away with bag fulls of local goodies. Mrs Pegasus also stopped by the teddy bear shop and came away with a limited edition collection of Boyds bears all dressed as the Wizard of Oz characters. Then it was off to I-Drive for the Titanic exhibition followed by dinner at the Race Rock.
The following day was spent at Universal Studios were the highight was the new 'Meet Donkey' attraction. It's hard to describe but basically it is Donkey and he talks to you in the original voice but answers you as though he were really there (didnt make much sense I know but believe me it is one of the funniest things I have ever seen)
Tuesday was pretty much a pool day although we did go out later on to Old Town where me and my son did the Skycoaster. (I'd bet him something quite substantial that he wouldn't do it - so he had to go and prove me wrong didn't he. We then went for tea at Wild Jacks, where next door had a fire alarm and all the fire trucks (and associated male models) came running to the rescue. As it turned out to be a false alarm my 2 kids grabbed the chance to have a photo opportunity on the fire truck - flashing lights, helmets and everything - so they were chuffed.
Wednesday - Islands of Adventure, but back in time for a couple of hours in the pool and a take away pizza.
Thursday - Had a day out and about were we covered I-Drive (crazy golf amongst other things) and Downtown Disney, finishing off with dinner at Planet Hollywood. The kids loved this place and could hardly eat their dinner because they spent much time just looking around.
Friday - A trip to Gatorland in the day (not my thing but the kids liked it - OK for half a day) and a night at Old Town for the car rally. Its supposed to be classic cars but a lot of modern cars with some serious sound systems in the boot, multiple tv screens in the sun visors and neons under the hood etc seem to be slipping in just to show off - not that my lad was complaining mind you.
Saturday - back to Universal Studios for the Mardi Gras. The parade was fantastic and we managed to get a really good spot, without having to sit by the side of the road a couple of hours before the parade started like a lot of people did. We bought the hats and flashy things to get into the spirit of it but I would say the only bad thing was the scramble for beads. Considering how many they throw out I was surprised at how greedy most people were being. My 2 kids were stood right in the front but kept getting trampled by teenagers and adults from behind - most of whom already had about 30 sets of beads around their necks - as they tried to get some
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