[u]Monday, 3rd May 2004 (Day 12):</u> We had kept this day aside for a lot of 'bits & pieces' activities, moslty involving water. Originally, we planned to leave the seniors to rest at home and take my niece with the 4 of us. As it was, the two women backed out, pleading exhaustion after 2 previous days at Epcot. The kid decided to stay back with her mother and so we ended up with just the two men, my brother-in-law and I. We were determined to make the best of it and despite an overcast sky and dodgy weather forecast, set out at 9am with our swimming gear in tow.
Our first stop was at Dave's Ski School of Buena Vista Watersports at Lake Bryan. We had booked the full 'Watesports Adventure' session involving Waterskiing, Jetski water scooters and 'inner tube' riding. We both had done a bit of Jet Ski before, but during my last attempt at Waterskiing (at Phuket in Thailand in 2002), I had spent more time in the water than above it. So, neither of us were feeling all that confident as we parked and got out at Lake Bryan.
It started to drizzle as we reached the office and the man there told us it was touch and go if there would be a session at all that morning. But Dave turned up promptly at 10am and proceeded to act as though everything was normal. We were the only customers who had braved the weather and turned-up and Dave assured us that we would get more than our money's worth. He turned out to be a fantastic coach and in the space of 20 minutes of dry land tutoring, had managed to dispel all our misgivings and make us wonder why we had not tried all this before.
We had a go at Waterskiing first. This involved 3 separate circuits around the larger Lake Bryan, with Dave supporting the rider's left ski with his own right one. After a few wobbles, we both got the hang of it and persuaded him to let us go 'solo' on the final run. It was absolutely exhilarating and by now it had stopped raining as well. I fell off my skis just the once, but my stubborn bro-in-law somehow managed to hang on for dear life.
Jet Ski scooters were not a problem and after a couple of circuits with Dave's assistant, we rented one of our own for half-an-hour and went on several hairy rides around the lake. It started raining with hail in the last run and since I was driving, the hail felt like thousands of needlepricks on my face. Fortunately, the drizzle did not last long enough to spoil our fun.
What I thought would be the least exciting of the trio of rides provided at the school turned out to be the best. 'Tube riding' really involves a circular 2 or 4 person inflated raft that is hooked up to a speedboat; the riders lie prone on the raft while the boat makes fast twists and turns all over the lake. Dave let his assistant drive the speedboat and went indoors for some tasks and we tried to cajole the young man to drive the boat as fast and as twistily as he was allowed. Whether he did this or not, the ride was superb. The boat's twists and turns created a backwash that threw us about the raft, necessitating us holding on grimly to the handles. Somehow we hung on without falling over and after it was over agreed that it was more exhilarating than any rollercoaster ride thar we had experienced so far. I thoroughly recommend Dave's Ski School for anyone interested in watersports. You can be an absolute novice and still have a great time.
It was 12:30 by the time we finished and changed, returned to the van and drove to Disney's Contemporary Resort. We had a lunch table booked at the Concourse Steakhouse after which, we had a parasailing session at Sammy Duvall's Watersports based at the Resort's lake. I want to mention here that I have a soft corner for the Contemporary Resort with its pseudo-futuristic design reflected in almost everything, including the chairs in the lobby. I know that a hotel like that would probably be very out of place in a lot of other locations, but in Orlando it is just right. I think the Contemporary Resort reflects the Di
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