Category: May 2008

Did you like the photos? You can click on any of them to see the full size. The Lost Continent is in Islands of Adventure and the Kwik-E-Mart is in Universal Studios next to the new Simpson’s Ride (more about that later).

Tuesday we went off to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. Remember we have an annual pass special ticket (valid for 2 years) so we try to take advantage of this by visiting these parks at least once per trip. The ticket includes free parking or reduced rate Valet parking (which we generally opt for now as you park right next to the City Walk entrance).

We arrived just after 1pm and went straight into Islands of Adventure. We only wanted to do 2 rides; Poseidon’s Adventure and the Unicorn Coaster. Poseidon’s Adventure had a 45 minute wait – Ridiculous! – so we moved onto Unicorn which had a 25 minute wait, so we skipped that also and just wandered around the park taking a few photos and some video. Near one of the rides, a water flume, there is an area you can watch the riders just as they finish their ride, generally wiping the water from their faces from the ride they think they have just finished, but as the flumes round the last corner you can fire a water cannon at them. Great fun, it costs 25c per shot and Cindy and I took a few shots whilst we were passing. Even the riders see the funny side, that’s if they can spot you up high pressing the button that soaks them again. Anyway I took consolation in this for not being able to rider the rides I wanted to.

Then it was over to Universal. Because we had seen long queues at Islands of Adventure I enquired about the Express Pass Plus; Universal’s answer to the Fast Pass but you can use it over and over on all rides, jumping the queue. Universal sell this ticket and it is now prices at $20 per person for one park or $26 per person for 2. No wonder Universal are almost giving away tickets as they now charge for anything and everything. When we arrived at the Valet we were offered a $126 car wash! What do they do for $126? Gold plate the stearing wheel? Anyway, if you havn’t been for a while you will notice this next time you visit. I didn’t bother with either the Car Wash nor the Express Pass Plus.

We wandered around the park and went on Twister. There wasn’t much of a queue for twister and infact, other than the Simpson’s 25 minute wait, nothing was particularly a long wait. After twister we walked by the Mummy ride which has 2 white eyed pharoh’s on tall stilts stationed outside. We skipped past Disaster (this used to be Earthquake but has been changed) and went on Jaws. This had been updated with another 1 or 2 instances of the shark attacking the boat, this time from the right hand side, and some additional effects. I thought these were good additions and you should go on this next time you visit.

We then came onto the new Simpson’s ride. This is in the building that was previously occupied by the Back to the Future ride and most of it, apart from new decor and a paint job, is exactly the same. The line is the same, even the ride vehicles are the same (with new decor). The ride is a motion simulator taking you through ‘Krusty Land’ (A kind of mix between Disney and Busch Gardens with really bad management) with Sideshow Bob wreaking havok through the ride. I found the ride, as it often the case with these types of ride, to aggresive, bumping and jolting far too much. There was part of the ride car above my head and every bump made me bang me head into it. It was a good ride and worthwhile doing (as it hasn’t even officially openned yet) but I won’t be riding it again. A good part of the ride was watching Simpson’s clips in the queue.

We then went onto ride ET which had a bigger queue that I ever remember. Mind you I am sure we have skipped this ride a few times due to queue lengths. I guess it took about 10-15 minutes from entering the queue to getting on the ride but it was then I realised that Universal queues are very good. Most Disney queues you get into and they keep moving, albeit some of them very slowely, but ALL of the Universal Queues place you in large groups in holding areas for up to 10 minutes at a time and then open doors for a mass of people to surge into.

Once we had finished with ET we walked back around to Disaster which this time had a much shorter queue, although we suffered from the holding area mentioned above for what seemed like an eternity. This ride was recently changed from Earthquake to Disaster. Whilst a lot of the ride is similar, they have added some really, REALLY, nice additions. Firstly Christopher Walken, in the guise of Frank Kincaid, features in this heavily as a director of a new disaster movie. We had a live host who firstly picks out about 8 people from the audience to ‘star’ in the movie and then we go into the first area where Frank comes to speak to us. Frank appears on stage LIVE! but this is actually a very advanced hologram. He is able to interact with the stage knocking things over and walking in FRONT and behind the table. It was all very clever. Anyway after this area we are moved into the old Earthquake set that has been changed slightly. It is here the audience participate (similar to the way Mum did a few year ago acting on the escalator!). The live director tell people how to act, most against green screen and this is captured on video for later use. Then we move through to the train section and this is EXACTLY the same as it has been other than again audience reaction is out on video. Once this portion of the ride is complete, whilst the train is moving back to the starting station, all the video is hashed together to show a trailer of the forthcoming film ‘Mutha Nature’ (Starring ‘The Rock’) and the audience get to see their participation. I really liked this ‘updated’ ride.

Once we had completed that ride we decided to call it a day and left the park around 6:30 and headed over to Applebees for something to eat. Later we decided we would jump in the spa but the water was a little cold so we decided to turn the pool heat back on.

Wednesday we had planned to go over to Market Place cafe for some brunch but decided that neither of us were really keen on the menu so decided to try somewhere else. We wanted to have something light to eat (as we planned to go to Longhorn that evening) and outdoors. Since we were planning to go to the Cinema we went over to Downtown Disney and took a look at the options. It is worth noting that almost ALL of the eateries there have outdoor seating, but in the end we opted for the ‘Earl of Sandwich’ which is kind of like Subway. We ordered a Ham and Swiss and a Tuna Melt. They are made freshly whilst you wait and are hot. I thought the Ham and Swiss was really good (it was served with Honey Mustard) and Cindy enjoyed here Tuna melt, although she thought there was a little too much. We also shared a bag of ‘Miss Vickies’ BBQ kettle chips.

We had a quick wander around Downtown Disney before going to see 21 at the Cinema. 21 is the film about MIT students who used card counting to make hundreds of thousands of dollars and apparently based on a true story. Film was good and after another quick walk around Downtown Disney we came home, got changed and went to Longhorn. I was going to order a steak (as usual) but they had a special on of battered garlic and chilli shrimp with ranch dipping sauce so I had this (which was great, although WAY too much).

After the meal we went back over to Disney to see the Fireworks again, this time with the iPod. Instead of the Grand Floridian we went to the Polynesian. The view from there was almost perfect and it is obviously popular. There is a beach you can sit on to watch the fireworks and there were a LOT of people there with the same idea. I tried to syncronise the fireworks to the music but I was out by about 10 seconds (there isn’t really a cue to start) but if we do it again I would give it another go. I thought the music was better than watching it without.

So we are back over to the Disney Parks again today. Epcot and Miagic Kingdom. I think we will spend most of the day at Magic Kingdom (I say day but we won’t get there until around 1pm). We have dinner reservations at the Japanese Steakhouse at Epcot’s Japan pavilion at 8pm after which the plan is to head back to Magic Kingdom to see the fireworks (again) but this time close up and with the music!.

When I got up this morning it was pretty cloudy, but since I have been typing this it has cleared up nicely and is set to be another hot one.

We fly back on Sunday evening so only another 4 days including today and Sunday left.

I will post again in a day or two.

Paul

Firstly I forgot to answer some questions you asked, so here are the answers to those.

Sunshine on A/C Controller:- I haven’t done anything on this yet. I think I like the option of adding a reflective tint onto the windows but as you say the problem is getting it fitted. I will enquire to see what options are available. Having looked at the AC pattern, it doesn’t seem to affect the overall temperature for long, if at all.

Sunpass:- No I wasn’t offered this. I had heard they were offering this. How much was it? My Sunpass is a godsend. I just phone the callcentre from the airport and stick the sunpass on the screen and drive. Twice when leaving Disney this week there have been bad traffic jams so I have used the toll road. It just means I don’t have to think about whether or not I have change on me for the toll.

So Sunday we went over to Millenia. Neiman Marcus had a small designer shoe sale on (that’s a small sale not a sale of small shoes) but there was nothing there that caught Cindy’s eye so we went on to Jimmy Choo where a few pairs caught her eye. She bough a pair of bronze coloured shoes with a very high heal.

Then it was over to Tiffany’s. I gave our wedding rings in to be cleaned (we always try to do this when we are there as it is a free service) but they came back looking like they hadn’t been cleaned the same way and were lacking the sparkle we normally see when we get them back. I spotted a pink stoned silver (as I thought) crab pendant that I thought Cindy may like (as it is her star sign), but it turned out to be platinum and cost over $2000 so that was quickly dismissed (for now anyway). I bought Cindy a silver hearts bracelet (as an early birthday pressie) and she bought herself a pair of earrings and a silver and blue/turquoise ring. We stopped off in L’Occitane for some Cherry Blossum perfume and moisturiser before leaving.

We had to make a stop back in a Florida Mall as Cindy had bought some Prescriptives product the day before. Although they had given her the right box, the product inside was different. Anyway, they didn’t have any problems with changing it over for her.

I went for another swim when I got back to house and later we went to Kobe for Dinner. It was REALLY busy, but luckily they sat us down as soon as we arrived with a table with a spare 2 places at it. I had the Chicken and Shrimp and CIndy had the Fillet. It was as nice as usual. You could see the cut of meat Cindy had didn’t have an ounce of fat on it and our chef cooked it perfectly for her.

We then took a drive over to The Grand Floridian and got a Hot Chocolate (although you don’t really need hot drinks at night as it is still so warm). We sat outside the cafe we sat at before and watched the fireworks at Magic Kingdom go off at 10pm. It is a good view from there and doesn’t cost anything! It was missing the music, but as I have the music on my iPod we may do it again and listen along this time.

We got home around 11pm missing a huge traffic jam leaving Disney.

Monday we had a lazy morning sitting around the pool, I went for a swim. We left the house around 12:30 and went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios (What used to be MGM) and got there just before 1pm. it was almost time to arrive as we got to see the 1pm Highschool Musical 2 show, then we did the 2pm Indiana Jones, caught the 3pm Parade, did the Animation Tour and then Ariel’s Grotto and got into see the 4:30 Lights Motors Action show. We then went and had a quick bite to eat (Hot Dog, Fries and a Drink) before going on the Great Movie Ride. Then we went over to the Backlot Tour and at the end of this it was around 7pm. We walked pretty much straight into the Muppets Show and popped into Walt’s Dream Tour before walking down to Fantasmic. We got into the arena just after 8:30 for a 9pm show and were told it was standing room only. We had seen the day had been busy, there were a lot of people around but we had managed to steer clear of a lot of queues more by luck than anything else. But we couldn’t believe how many people were in the Fantasmic arena. We think as it was ‘Cinco de Mayo’, a spanish fiesta, it was busier than usual. Anyway, we walked to the standing area and were directed to one of the last remaining seats so got a seat for the entire show. It was right around of the right hand side so we got to see parts of the show we had never seen before and as a bonus we could also see the fireworks going off at EPCOT.

We got out of the studios around 9:45 and I saw another huge traffic jam leaving Disney so avoided this by using the toll road again and got home for just after 10pm. When we arrived home there was a parcel on the doorstep and a card from George. When I was here in January and bought the PS3 I sent of for 5 free blu-ray discs they were offering. This was the parcel. I had thought they just hadn’t turned up.

So sitting by the pool again now, weather is still fantastic, not a cloud in the sky and apparently it will be like this until after we leave now – This has the be the best weather we have ever had. I have switched off the pool heat as it was just too hot – I need to look into a way of controlling this better, perhaps using another thermostat like the one in the house – I have tried the water this morning and it is still warm! We are going off to Universal Today, apparently the new Simpsons ride has just opened so will let you know what that is like. I don’t expect today to be a long day out. We will leave the house about 12:30 again and will probably be home before 7. I think we will go to applebees for dinner tonight.

I will write again in another couple of days

Paul

Ruth’s Chris on Friday was really nice. The restaurant was busy and they have made changes inside to fit more people in. Had the usual Filet Steak with those huge chunky chips.

Yesterday was really nice. We went on a trek looking for some network cards for work that aren’t available in the UK yet. We firstly went down to Posner Park (I4 and 27 junction that used to be Boardwalk and Baseball) and went to the newly opened Best Buy. They seemed a little shocked when I cleared their shelves of 3 different type of card.

Cindy also bought herself a new tiny camcorder. It is a Panasonic and records straight to SD Card. The Camera itself was $279 but it didn’t come with any cards, so we also bought an 8gb card which is enough to do nearly 2 hours on the highest quality. The camera is so small it fits into her handbag and isn’t much bigger than a packet of cigerettes. We will have to show it to you when we next meet up. Off course it records in NTSC (The US TV Format) but everything else is multinational so the charger will work in the UK and my MAC will deal with NTSC without any worries.

We also went into Target at Posner which is only a standard Target (not a Super Target) but I noticed they are building a Super Target on 192 around milemarker 2 or 3 so that will be handy.

Then we went over to the Walt Disney Dolphin Hotel and had a really nice lunch in the Cabana Pool Bar and Grill. Nice contemporary surroundings with music playing right next to the pool (which we couldn’t use – guests only) and in sight of their man made beach. Both Cindy and I thought you would all love it there. The food was good and middling on the price range. We had 8ox burger with waffle fries (which was really good) and a BBQ Chicken Flat Bread and Waffle Fries (which is like a pizza which was good also),a frozen non alcholic daiquiri and a 2 cokes. All of that came to around $38 so when you work it back it was about £9 or £10 a head.

As we drove out of the car parking lot, expecting to have to pay $9 to park, the attendant just opened the barrier and waved us through. Result! I am not sure if that is just standard the prices are there to deter people from parking.

We then went over to Florida Mall area and picked up some MORE network cards from Circuit City and Best Buy (again, emptying the shelves in both shops) before hitting one last Circuit City at the Loop (Osceala Park Way near John Young Parkway). I finally got enough cards (about 35 in total).

We came back to the house and just rested for a while and then popped out to grab a drive through as we were both really tired. Then it was back and to bed.

We are off to Millenia today and to Kobe for dinner this evening; lookingforward to that. Weather is still really good, managing to get a swim every morning and most evenings. Pool is even a little warm at times.

I haven’t sorted out the window tints yet (Dave asked), but still want to. I am not going to try fitting myself so I need to get Carol and George on the case.

I will mail again in a couple of days.

See ya

Paul

Well we are here. Yay! We got stuck in an over an hour long traffic jam on the way down to Gatwick on Wednesday night. It just goes to show that living in the midlands leaves you will little choice other than to travel down the night before or leave 7 hours before the flight if travelling the same day to ensure we have enough time.

We stayed at the premier inn which was OK. Cheap enough at £70. They also do a parking package and are close enough to the airport to work to the North Terminal. I already had booked parking with Maple Manor.

Dropped the car off t 8:30 on Thursday morning and went and checked in. The standard queues for check in were long, the airport was pretty busy but we checked in at the club desks pretty quick and then went and got a McDonalds breakfast. We weren’t able to change our seats so we checked-in two rear facing seats right in the middle of the first row. Not ideal but at least they were together.

After we had breakfast we went through security. Although we had fast track passes we didn’t need it as security was well manned and not busy. After security we went to the Duty Free as I wanted to buy some new G2 (Jean Paul Gautier) aftershave. Well it was all a bit of a palaver. There was a freebie offer on but the terms of the offer weren’t clear (it said by one alcoholic purchase and one complimentary product, but the alcoholic purchase referred to Perfume). Anyway, we cleared it up and I picked up a bottle of G2 which the woman helping us said they had priced up incorrectly (it was priced at £26 instead of £39). After some to and fro (and without me asking) she said I could take the aftershave at the price on the box. So I thought we wouldn’t get our freebie due to this but she insisted we did have that also but couldn’t find it. After about 10 minutes they gave us the one of show and then, if that wasn’t enough she gave us another freebie Coffret for messing us around. Now I know you will all be thinking that I kicked up a fuss, but I didn’t say anything. I would have paid full price for the aftershave (I didn’t even notice it had been priced wrong) and we weren’t that bothered about the freebies either, but we ended up with 80ml of G2, plus 60ml of womens JPG (for Cindy) plus a free spray and the other free coffret for about £60. Bargain!

After we spent time in the duty free and a quick glance around the othershops it was time to board so we went straight down to the gate and go on within a few minutes.

Flight was amazingly quick at 8 hours and 15 minutes. I am sure we have had flights home take longer than that. And apart from a bumpy take off and a very bumpy landing there were just a few bumps along the flight.. Food on the flight was pretty poor. Sausages and Mash sounded OK but the sausages were undercooked and tasted odd. Cindy had a Chicken Tikka which again sounded nice, but when it turned up it looked awful.

Got off the flight and had a really officious immigration office. He wouldn’t take the passports barking, REMOVE them from the holders. I gave them back to him and he asked what the purpose of the visit was, to which I said pleasure. He then asked to see the return flight tickets (which were in the case). I was able to show him my itinerary which showed the return flight.

Cases didn’t get any priority off-loading but we only had the one case to look out for. Straight through customs and on the monorail and to an almost empty National car rental stand (all the other were heaving). It still took them about 5 minutes to serve the guy in front (why does that take so long?)

As the flight had got in early we drove straight to the Villa, which looks lovely. A few marks here and there, generally to the floor tiles, but other than that it was really welcoming. We unpacked and then went out for food at TGIs. They have changed their menu and taken off items that Cindy and I really like which was disappointing. Then went to Publix to pick up a few items and back to the House just before 7pm.

We unpacked the shopping and then I went for my first swim. It was heaven. Lovely and warm, it was still light and warm (although not hot and no humidity) we sat outside until about 9 when it was pitch black (sunset was sometime just after 7 but it stayed light until about 8:30) There is still no sign of building out the back (or at Vista Park!).

Went to bed around 10 and got woken up just before midnight by a Police helicopter circling for around 30 minutes. Kept going directly overhead which was really noisy. Got back off to sleep and woke up around 6am this morning.

We are off to Downtown this morning for a quick look around and the customary breakfast at McDonalds. Then we are going to Florida Mall this afternoon and I have booked a table at Ruth’s Chris for 7:30 tonight. Nothing on the schedule for tomorrow as yet so need to think about what to do.

Whether is set to lovely for the next week apart from some possible thunder showers over the weekend.

That’s all for now.

Paul