And they're off! Live trip report

[pampat]

Really enjoying your trip. The alligator at Celebration is called Charlie! He sunbathes at the back of the Celebration Hotel most afternoons. He is not at all bothered by people looking at him, although wisely, no one gets very close!

Pam

 

[juliebro]

Hope you get it sorted quickly.

Alamo were very good and we just took the car to their location by Magic Kingdom (although we could have opted to let them come and collect it) where they quickly exchanged it for another car.

DH is rather pleased with the black 2-door Dodge Challenger they have given us. I think Jeremy Clarkson would describe it as a 'muscle car'.

We decided to go to SeaWorld after we got the new car and went in the new Antarctica attraction, but both DH and I were not that impressed. Sorry, SeaWorld, but we preferred the old penguin encounter.

It was late afternoon before we tried to get on Manta, Atlantis and Kraken, but then only Atlantis was operating, so we agreed we would wait and go on those another day.

As we left the park, the storm clouds were gathering and the sky was getting darker by the minute. Soon after we got in the car the lightning flashed and the rain came down in torrents.

It poured down for well over an hour, during which we went to eat in Texas Roadhouse, which we again enjoyed and thought great value. I even managed to order a margarita just 1 minute before the end of happy hour!

Hollywood Studios is the plan for tomorrow. We have booked our 3 fastpasses, but hope to be able to have at least one more due to the new changes effective yesterday.

Still no wifi in the townhouse so will update this thread as and when I can.

 

[wayneg]

Alamo were very good and we just took the car to their location by Magic Kingdom (although we could have opted to let them come and collect it) where they quickly exchanged it for another car.

DH is rather pleased with the black 2-door Dodge Challenger they have given us. I think Jeremy Clarkson would describe it as a 'muscle car'.

We decided to go to SeaWorld after we got the new car and went in the new Antarctica attraction, but both DH and I were not that impressed. Sorry, SeaWorld, but we preferred the old penguin encounter.

Never had a Challenger, always had 4 door cars, enjoy.

I far prefer the new penguin place although I wouldn't queue more that 10 mins to go in(saying that the older I get no ride is worth much more than 10-15 mins) We got there for opening twice & straight in. Other time had a fastpass we were given.

 

[pickers1982]

Was not impressed with the new penguin ride either!

 

[wayneg]

Was not impressed with the new penguin ride either!

Not bothered about the ride part myself but prefer the new penguin area.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

We ate at Texas Roadhouse a few times last holiday, also the Ale House is not much further down the 192

 

[juliebro]

Went to Hollywood Studios today. We were there for opening and were able to walk on to RnRC and then on to ToT. Our fastpasses were for late morning and early afternoon but weren't really necessary except for Toy Story Mania and even then the wait times were down around 30 minutes.

The weather deteriorated late afternoon and the India Jones show was cut short.

Storms again tonight. Dinner at Longhorn steakhouse was good but we still prefer Mannys and Texas Roadhouse.

Just planning out tomorrow but have tickets for Bruce Springsteen in Tampa tomorrow night!

 

[juliebro]

Wifi now working again at the townhouse (we had been planning to take it all apart and reconnect it last night, but it's configured with the phone and tv so were reluctant to touch it earlier). It seems to have righted itself while we were out. Bizarre.

Disappointing breakfast at Cracker Barrel this morning. Just going shopping now.

 

[dixonsontour]

Enjoying all your updates

 

[juliebro]

Amazing concert last night! Great venue at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and our seats were in an excellent position directly facing centre-stage.

Took over an hour to get off the car park after the show, though.

Weather forecast not too good for today, so we are heading out to SeaWorld this morning rather than Aquatica.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Bet the concert was amazing, were you "dancing in the dark"

 

[juliebro]

Bet the concert was amazing, were you "dancing in the dark"

It was and we were, but not on stage with Bruce like Courtney Cox in the video!

The first time we went to see him was almost 30 years ago on the Born in the USA tour.

 

[juliebro]

Went to Manny's again today. We went early, arriving before they opened.

Here's some photos of the food - and as it was Happy Hour there were 2 fir 1 margaritas so it would have been rude not to!

Boneless chicken wings to share to start

Mannys 12oz sirloin

Endless salad

 

[juliebro]

Due to the poor weather forecast, we went to SeaWorld today rather than Aquatica.

When we bought our DC tickets we paid for the 2 week parking pass and it was fine when we used it to park for free on Tuesday at SW. However,on trying to use it today, the gate attendant told us that it wasn't valid on the system. Fortunately, she just gave us complimentary parking and allowed us through. We decided to go straight to Guest Services to try to sort out the issue.

The agent on the desk checked our pass on the system and told us it had expired on Tuesday, the first day we had used it. We explained that that could not be correct but the agent seemed confused and had to seek assistance from the back office. After about 20 minutes a manager appeared and was very apologetic. He could offer no explanation as to why our pass had expired but gave us a replacement one to use on future visits. He thanked us for our patience and then gave us complimentary fastpasses for today and tomorrow. These allowed us to walk straight onto Manta, Atlantis and into Antarctica. Queues for Kraken were very light today so we were able to walk on anyway.

The rain started around 11.30 and by noon was torrential. Most rides were stopped for periods of time and the sea lion and otter show we attended was abandoned part way through and the mime artist didn't even appear. We had ponchos but decided to leave the park at around 2.30 pm. It's not stopped raining yet (now almost 10 pm). Forecast for tomorrow is rain for most of the day. We had been planing to go to Smokin Bikes, Blues and BBQs at St Cloud and/or the Jazz Festival at Lakeridge Winery tomorrow but will have to see how the weather is.

 

[Nubbedy]

Shame the weather is upsetting your plans.

 

[juliebro]

Shame the weather is upsetting your plans.

We regularly come at this time of year and have never known it to rain as much as this before. However, we have been lucky in that it hasn't impacted one-off events that we have had tickets for.

The forecast for today is for more rain and thunderstorms all day, but then tomorrow is set to be better and from Monday should be wall to wall sunshine till we leave next Saturday!

 

[edinburghlass]

I've been following the weather this week as we leave on Monday, relieved to hear we are bringing the sunshine!

 

[juliebro]

I'm a fan of the admittedly tacky CocoaBeach pier and especially the Mai Tiki bar at the end of it, and was very sad to hear that it is to be changed beyond recognition.


http://www.clickorlando.com/news/new-cocoa-beach-pier-owners-promise-renovations/25754520

The media here are describing it as a positive move but it seems destined to become yet another soulless corporate target. Such a shame it will lose its unique charm.

We are now hoping to get over there next week and see it one last time before it changes for ever.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Hope the rain stops soon so you can get on with your plans Are you enjoying being there for longer this time?

 

[wayneg]

Not been early May but once went mid to late May and we saw lots of rain that trip. It can happen, worst we had was late July into August one year, torrential storms 8-9 hours every day for the whole 2 weeks.