Home for the Holidays-Wizards-Grinches and Sparkles. 14 nights @Royal Pacific Resort, Nov/Dec 2021

[schumigirl]

Carole as always your trip report is awesome. The camera man Tom’s pictures are beautiful.

Sitting up and reading the report has been a true healing balm to my soul. I love Universal as I know you both do and seeing the pictures and reading your well written thoughts on your trip have been wonderful.

The food looks delicious.

I chuckled at your comments on the infamous rodent Earl the Squirrel. I was glad to finally see your picture of him in the tree. I had heard all the fuss about the tree squirrel.......LOL

Your response to the young lady who witnessed the cringe worthy rudeness of the guy snapping his fingers at the valet was kind and honest. Your response was full of grace and mercy. I’am sure the young lady will never forget it and remember your words forever. It was a teaching opportunity that only someone her senior (a classy lady) could give her about what she had just witnessed (a rude insecure man trying to make someone else feel small and insignificant).

Your trip reports are amazing. They are always well written and full of fun places to eat, shop and visit.

Don’t ever stop writing.

Thank you Robbie.....I so appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.

Everything was just as it should be on a trip for sure......we had no complaints and it was just a joy from beginning to end. And yes, I am thankful for Tom taking the time to take them all for me.....he has a good eye.

Yes, the squirrel!!! I expected so much more after hearing all the build up.......not impressed at all!

I know what I would have preferred to call the utter *******, but polite company just doesn`t. I think belittling people for some, seems to come as second nature. I have never seen anyone snap their fingers at anyone in my life, but to do it to someone who is providing you with a service was shocking. The valet guy was a pure gentleman about it too. I hope he muttered a few choice words under his breath.

Robbie, I know I already wished you well, but again, sending you lots of love and all our best wishes for your lovely husband to get well very soon and I`m sure he will. I know he`s getting the best of care and will be the same when he gets home to you......xxx

 

[dez1978]

Oh that is ridiculous isn`t it!! Common sense seems to have gone out of the window altogether......fingers crossed they don`t mess up again and they have to go back after a trip, that must have hurt........

It would be lovely to say hello to you......we arrive May 2nd till May 25th and we`ll be a Sapphire for that trip. So, definitely shout out if you see us.......

We are at HRH May 21-25! Then we go to St Pete's area for 3 days. I'm trying very hard for this to be a relaxing vacation instead of our normal crazy Disney trips. Hopefully with EP we can hit up every thing we want to in 3 days. I plan to do VB on Sunday then the parks on Mon & Tues. But who knows what we'll end up with by then lol. Seems like the only ride we need to worry about is Hagrids so I don't have a plan for that yet. I want us to not have to worry about "rope drop" every day. But I will def keep an eye out for you guys!

 

[schumigirl]

We are at HRH May 21-25! Then we go to St Pete's area for 3 days. I'm trying very hard for this to be a relaxing vacation instead of our normal crazy Disney trips. Hopefully with EP we can hit up every thing we want to in 3 days. I plan to do VB on Sunday then the parks on Mon & Tues. But who knows what we'll end up with by then lol. Seems like the only ride we need to worry about is Hagrids so I don't have a plan for that yet. I want us to not have to worry about "rope drop" every day. But I will def keep an eye out for you guys!

Ideal then!! We`re usually guaranteed to be in the parks last few days of our trips as we soak up the last of our time there till next time. We`ll definitely be able to meet for a hello for sure then.......

We`re thinking of going to St Pete`s this trip for a day. Usually we go to Dunedin, but thought we might get down there this time. Oh you should be able to make it relaxing, hopefully. With EP you`ll be fine, well yes, Hagrids is the one to think about.

We`ve never once made EE in all our visits!! We never miss anything though, so I don`t think we will anytime soon. You`ll be just fine though

 

[schumigirl]

We slept like rocks again last night and that`s one of the things we do love about Royal Pacific and Sapphire Falls, the beds are incredibly comfortable. I like the pillows, but Tom woud prefer them to be slightly firmer than they are. But, no complaints from us.

Once we had showered and dressed I checked my ipad and I had no emails again this morning......now, unless all my friends had abandoned me over the last few days.....there had to be something wrong. I saw a message on the facetime thingy from Kyle saying he had sent me an email and I hadn`t replied. Sugar lumps!!!

Our email, or rather my email does this a few times, especially when we are in America......friends had the phone number for us thankfully and we had been using that more this time, but no emails was rubbish!! I might be missing something important and wouldn`t know it........but not much I could do about it.

So, we planned a day in the parks today.......usually our last two days we focus more on the parks and enjoy both of them, so that was our plan today......we didn`t plan to go offsite at all today, so we could both have a glass or three of morning sparkles as neither of us was driving anywhere today.

We walked into the lounge, and most knew by now we liked our mimosa orange juice free.........and were promptly handed one each as we wandered by the desk......

Yes, indeed it is!!!!

We had the laziest of breakfasts this morning and yes, I think it`s safe to say we enjoyed our fair share of sparkly this morning, and again I thanked the young lady who introduced the idea of having this on offer in the first place......long overdue!

We chatted for such a long time, I put the thoughts of emails out of my head for now..........we were about to leave when one of the ladies asked if we`d like another as she had just opened a new bottle.......I did say no and then smiled........who was I kidding........did I really say no.......

​

We did eventually leave the lounge, and I wasn`t even swaying a little from the prosecco which was a good thing and headed for the path to the parks.

We cut through the pool, and to be honest we never bring costumes for the Christmas trip as it`s too cold for me, I`m a wimp.....but this visit we did wish we had brought them as it was warm enough, and the pool is beautiful here.

This is our favourite of all the pools between the hotels......it`s just perfect for us and this time of the morning it`s ideal as there`s hardly anyone here. And we do look out the window in the morning to see if the lifeguards are wearing long clothes or shorts, usually a good guage of the temps outside.

And it was as gloriously hot as it had been so far this trip.....this was going to be another beautiful day.

The pathway is lovely, and very shaded for most of it. It doesn`t take long to get to the parks from the pool exit.......and a very pretty walk it is too.

We remember the year these red plants were being put in. We did ask if we could plant one, the older man said he couldn`t let us do that in case we hurt ourselves, but said if turned his back slightly there was one sitting to just be put in it`s new place......so Kyle popped it in and patted it down as the younger guy looked bemused as to why we`d want to do that.......but now we can say, we planted one of them.......and we can`t remember which one though!

There were lines going in again this morning and I was reminded by one of the TM`s we spoke to once through the gates that there was a large cheerleading event going on this past week.......well, we must have missed it as apart from this morning when we saw four girls with mothers who were obviously cheerleaders, we had no idea there was anything going on. The TM said we`d know if we were at their hotel which was a different story! But, as for the parks, we saw nothing.

It did look busy, but we were purely heading to the VC this morning, but of course on the way we always have to snap some images along the way........we adore the parks. They are so beautiful and some of the sights are just stunning.

We did head down to the VC and it looked busy, but it wasn`t. I wouldn`t say it was a walk on, but we more or less kept walking through the line all the way to the loading area.

We had a lady behind us with her husband and it was a little odd. They looked as if they weren`t speaking to each other, well, they weren`t in the end.......but they never said one word to each other and she looked seriously annoyed at something. And in lines we always chat to folks, but have to say this woman seriously had her barricades up........and then of course Tom turned and noticed them for the first time. Usually I`d indicate if there was something for him to notice.....all couples have their unspoken language where they can indicate to each other something worth noticing.......but this woman had steadfastly glared forward the whole time........so I didn`t get the chance

Tom then smiled and asked if they had been on the ride before and I inwardly waited for the backlash as this woman looked ready to explode.......but instead she smiled and answered him quite sweetly.....and she began to chat in quite a friendly way, but then the husband looked annoyed......I couldn`t quite work out what was going on........we got to the loading area and she then turned to her husband and said, well I guess you`re taking the chicken exit again hero.........

Er. ok. And he did just walk through and not do the ride......I`m guessing that`s what she was annoyed about.......we never saw them after that, but sure hope they made up.

We got the 3rd row which was really good......and my goodness it had been a few days since we were on it, but we hadn`t forgot how freaking awesome this ride is!!

And even with the gallon of prosecco we had this morning at breakfast, no effects whatsoever.......we were loving this ride!! I had however forgotten to put on the lock and loaders.....so I buttoned my blouse right up to the top button so my lanyard didn`t escape, and nothing else either.........

We went on again and this time got second from back row which was almost as good for airtime as the back row......we still can`t decide whether we prefer the front or the back....and it has been discussed many, many times since we got home. I think any seat on that ride is out of this world, but there are some that are better than others.

Hogsmeade was just a place to linger for a short time today, we did look at Hagrid`s but it was around 90 minutes and looked a genuine 90 minutes and not much shorter. It`s a good ride, but never in a million years would we wait that long....we did look forward to the day it has EP.

One of our favourite places was and very much still is the eating area outside the back of the 3B`s.....you get the best views of the VC and you are so close to the track....you can see the whites of the riders eyes.....well, if they have them open......lol.......

It`s one of the best places to see and hear this amazing and wondrous ride in action as it flashes past you in an instant and you`re left with the sounds of the excited riders screams in your ears.....it is fabulous and we just love spending time round here to see and hear it.

Everyone has smiles on their faces while they eat or just have a drink and are also watching and listening. One woman asked if we had been on it, Tom said yes, many times.....she said her family were on it right now and she was too scared.....what a shame, but coasters aren`t for everyone I guess.

And this part.....once you let go and not have your hands grasping on for dear life, it is simply the best!!!

Tom wanted to do FJ now. I`m not as fussed on doing it, it is good, but to be honest the VC has wiped everything else off the map.....but we`d it today as we really hadn`t spent a lot of time riding it this trip.

I did this once and waited for Tom as he went on again.....once was enough for me today. It can feel a little too much some days, once or twice is my maximum on this one. But, such a good ride and not to be missed even if you`re not so good with coasters as this one kinda swooshes you around more than anything...and you don`t go upside down. You do at one point almost lay flat, but no upside down which does bother some folks.

And the line is the best one in the parks. Full of detail that you can appreciate whether you know the films or not.

Hogsmeade was fairly busy now, for a Monday......quiet days just don`t seem to be a thing anymore.

We did notice there are far more strollers and ECV`s than ever before and a personal note that annoyed me was so many strollers were being used to carry stuff for the day and not the kids themselves!! I mean, some of those strollers were packed like they were running away to go into witness protection and grabbed just anything they could!!

And ECV`s that had grandma sitting with one or two grandkids on her knees or one fully grown adult hitching a lift too. And the ones that will not stop for anyone or anything. We did see TM`s on several occasions speak to some due to their "driving" skills or lack of them.

Today we were taking the Hogwarts Express over to the Studios. We had barely spent anytime in that park this trip, so we would remedy this today and tomorrow where we planned to spend our last full day doing the same as today.......best laid plans and all that!!

One train pulled away as we lined up for the next one, and it doesn`t take long.....it amazes me folks still think there`s one train that just goes back and forwards......and they will not hear there are two and the track splits.......sometimes there`s no point......

I still think the train is pretty impressive and the nicer way to travel between parks, especially in the hot weather!

Many get the park hopper to ride the train, but many folks like us have been park hopping for years and this although nice, is a bonus, not the main reason for park hopping. There are a few differences in both journey`s so everyone should ride both ways, but it`s not an essential, unless you are a Potter fanatic then it is a must do. We do like it though.

I have no memory of who we shared our carriage with today, but it`s a ride that doesn`t take very long at all and then you`re in the Studios.

Our plan was just to wander and see what we felt like doing today, and as we exited the Station, the blast of heat hit us, this was almost September like, without the humidity........

Our first stop was Chez Alcatraz......right beside Jaws and a nice little bar with a few seats around.......we opted for the bar, it is basic though, but they do decent cocktails and Murph has been there a long time, or so it seems. They always have very good staff here that are just right for that casual feel this little bar has.

The stopped doing food a couple of years ago, but we do like their cocktails.......and you get a good rumble with the bar staff here.......

I chose the Bay Breeze and Tom went for the The Alcatraz, and both were lovely and very refreshing, and you could taste the alcohol in them which helps!

It`s such a cute little bar, and very busy.....folks were lining up for drinks and carrying them off to the tables and beyond, but we like to just sit and enjoy it and again, we could feel that heat build up around us. Loving it!!!

And of course a beautiful place to pass the time away.......

More to come....

 

[Gr8t Fan]

I am so LOVING your trip report. Your pictures and attention to detail are amazing! We've been visiting the parks since the 90's and I'm always surprised by the details we've missed.

 

[schumigirl]

I am so LOVING your trip report. Your pictures and attention to detail are amazing! We've been visiting the parks since the 90's and I'm always surprised by the details we've missed.

Awww.....I`m so happy to hear that!!

I think everyone knows I love writing them and always glad to hear that. I`m also amazed every single visit we still find something new we haven`t noticed before.

Being honest, I would be embarrassed to admit how many years we had visited and never noticed the huge balloon in the store at the entrance to IOA......it`s huge!!! One year I just looked and said to Tom and Kyle.....when did they add that.......lol.......

They both looked at me a though I`d just appeared from Mars!

But, we`re always impressed by the amount of detail that is around the parks, in every area.

I`m so glad you`re enjoying it though, thank you

 

[musika]

Oh what a cute story about the bushes! Even when we had a stroller, they drove us bonkers. That's the only good thing to come out of us staying in Canada - kids are old enough now to not need one anymore! We're hoping to go to Canada's Wonderland this summer (far cry from USF but wayyy less testing). Our little guy is measuring himself every week waiting to get to that magical 48inch mark LOL.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

We slept like rocks again last night and that`s one of the things we do love about Royal Pacific and Sapphire Falls, the beds are incredibly comfortable. I like the pillows, but Tom woud prefer them to be slightly firmer than they are. But, no complaints from us.

Once we had showered and dressed I checked my ipad and I had no emails again this morning......now, unless all my friends had abandoned me over the last few days.....there had to be something wrong. I saw a message on the facetime thingy from Kyle saying he had sent me an email and I hadn`t replied. Sugar lumps!!!

Our email, or rather my email does this a few times, especially when we are in America......friends had the phone number for us thankfully and we had been using that more this time, but no emails was rubbish!! I might be missing something important and wouldn`t know it........but not much I could do about it.

So, we planned a day in the parks today.......usually our last two days we focus more on the parks and enjoy both of them, so that was our plan today......we didn`t plan to go offsite at all today, so we could both have a glass or three of morning sparkles as neither of us was driving anywhere today.

We walked into the lounge, and most knew by now we liked our mimosa orange juice free.........and were promptly handed one each as we wandered by the desk......

Yes, indeed it is!!!!

We had the laziest of breakfasts this morning and yes, I think it`s safe to say we enjoyed our fair share of sparkly this morning, and again I thanked the young lady who introduced the idea of having this on offer in the first place......long overdue!

We chatted for such a long time, I put the thoughts of emails out of my head for now..........we were about to leave when one of the ladies asked if we`d like another as she had just opened a new bottle.......I did say no and then smiled........who was I kidding........did I really say no.......

​

We did eventually leave the lounge, and I wasn`t even swaying a little from the prosecco which was a good thing and headed for the path to the parks.

We cut through the pool, and to be honest we never bring costumes for the Christmas trip as it`s too cold for me, I`m a wimp.....but this visit we did wish we had brought them as it was warm enough, and the pool is beautiful here.

This is our favourite of all the pools between the hotels......it`s just perfect for us and this time of the morning it`s ideal as there`s hardly anyone here. And we do look out the window in the morning to see if the lifeguards are wearing long clothes or shorts, usually a good guage of the temps outside.

And it was as gloriously hot as it had been so far this trip.....this was going to be another beautiful day.

The pathway is lovely, and very shaded for most of it. It doesn`t take long to get to the parks from the pool exit.......and a very pretty walk it is too.

We remember the year these red plants were being put in. We did ask if we could plant one, the older man said he couldn`t let us do that in case we hurt ourselves, but said if turned his back slightly there was one sitting to just be put in it`s new place......so Kyle popped it in and patted it down as the younger guy looked bemused as to why we`d want to do that.......but now we can say, we planted one of them.......and we can`t remember which one though!

There were lines going in again this morning and I was reminded by one of the TM`s we spoke to once through the gates that there was a large cheerleading event going on this past week.......well, we must have missed it as apart from this morning when we saw four girls with mothers who were obviously cheerleaders, we had no idea there was anything going on. The TM said we`d know if we were at their hotel which was a different story! But, as for the parks, we saw nothing.

It did look busy, but we were purely heading to the VC this morning, but of course on the way we always have to snap some images along the way........we adore the parks. They are so beautiful and some of the sights are just stunning.

We did head down to the VC and it looked busy, but it wasn`t. I wouldn`t say it was a walk on, but we more or less kept walking through the line all the way to the loading area.

We had a lady behind us with her husband and it was a little odd. They looked as if they weren`t speaking to each other, well, they weren`t in the end.......but they never said one word to each other and she looked seriously annoyed at something. And in lines we always chat to folks, but have to say this woman seriously had her barricades up........and then of course Tom turned and noticed them for the first time. Usually I`d indicate if there was something for him to notice.....all couples have their unspoken language where they can indicate to each other something worth noticing.......but this woman had steadfastly glared forward the whole time........so I didn`t get the chance

Tom then smiled and asked if they had been on the ride before and I inwardly waited for the backlash as this woman looked ready to explode.......but instead she smiled and answered him quite sweetly.....and she began to chat in quite a friendly way, but then the husband looked annoyed......I couldn`t quite work out what was going on........we got to the loading area and she then turned to her husband and said, well I guess you`re taking the chicken exit again hero.........

Er. ok. And he did just walk through and not do the ride......I`m guessing that`s what she was annoyed about.......we never saw them after that, but sure hope they made up.

We got the 3rd row which was really good......and my goodness it had been a few days since we were on it, but we hadn`t forgot how freaking awesome this ride is!!

And even with the gallon of prosecco we had this morning at breakfast, no effects whatsoever.......we were loving this ride!! I had however forgotten to put on the lock and loaders.....so I buttoned my blouse right up to the top button so my lanyard didn`t escape, and nothing else either.........

We went on again and this time got second from back row which was almost as good for airtime as the back row......we still can`t decide whether we prefer the front or the back....and it has been discussed many, many times since we got home. I think any seat on that ride is out of this world, but there are some that are better than others.

Hogsmeade was just a place to linger for a short time today, we did look at Hagrid`s but it was around 90 minutes and looked a genuine 90 minutes and not much shorter. It`s a good ride, but never in a million years would we wait that long....we did look forward to the day it has EP.

One of our favourite places was and very much still is the eating area outside the back of the 3B`s.....you get the best views of the VC and you are so close to the track....you can see the whites of the riders eyes.....well, if they have them open......lol.......

It`s one of the best places to see and hear this amazing and wondrous ride in action as it flashes past you in an instant and you`re left with the sounds of the excited riders screams in your ears.....it is fabulous and we just love spending time round here to see and hear it.

Everyone has smiles on their faces while they eat or just have a drink and are also watching and listening. One woman asked if we had been on it, Tom said yes, many times.....she said her family were on it right now and she was too scared.....what a shame, but coasters aren`t for everyone I guess.

And this part.....once you let go and not have your hands grasping on for dear life, it is simply the best!!!

Tom wanted to do FJ now. I`m not as fussed on doing it, it is good, but to be honest the VC has wiped everything else off the map.....but we`d it today as we really hadn`t spent a lot of time riding it this trip.

I did this once and waited for Tom as he went on again.....once was enough for me today. It can feel a little too much some days, once or twice is my maximum on this one. But, such a good ride and not to be missed even if you`re not so good with coasters as this one kinda swooshes you around more than anything...and you don`t go upside down. You do at one point almost lay flat, but no upside down which does bother some folks.

And the line is the best one in the parks. Full of detail that you can appreciate whether you know the films or not.

Hogsmeade was fairly busy now, for a Monday......quiet days just don`t seem to be a thing anymore.

We did notice there are far more strollers and ECV`s than ever before and a personal note that annoyed me was so many strollers were being used to carry stuff for the day and not the kids themselves!! I mean, some of those strollers were packed like they were running away to go into witness protection and grabbed just anything they could!!

And ECV`s that had grandma sitting with one or two grandkids on her knees or one fully grown adult hitching a lift too. And the ones that will not stop for anyone or anything. We did see TM`s on several occasions speak to some due to their "driving" skills or lack of them.

Today we were taking the Hogwarts Express over to the Studios. We had barely spent anytime in that park this trip, so we would remedy this today and tomorrow where we planned to spend our last full day doing the same as today.......best laid plans and all that!!

One train pulled away as we lined up for the next one, and it doesn`t take long.....it amazes me folks still think there`s one train that just goes back and forwards......and they will not hear there are two and the track splits.......sometimes there`s no point......

I still think the train is pretty impressive and the nicer way to travel between parks, especially in the hot weather!

Many get the park hopper to ride the train, but many folks like us have been park hopping for years and this although nice, is a bonus, not the main reason for park hopping. There are a few differences in both journey`s so everyone should ride both ways, but it`s not an essential, unless you are a Potter fanatic then it is a must do. We do like it though.

I have no memory of who we shared our carriage with today, but it`s a ride that doesn`t take very long at all and then you`re in the Studios.

Our plan was just to wander and see what we felt like doing today, and as we exited the Station, the blast of heat hit us, this was almost September like, without the humidity........

Our first stop was Chez Alcatraz......right beside Jaws and a nice little bar with a few seats around.......we opted for the bar, it is basic though, but they do decent cocktails and Murph has been there a long time, or so it seems. They always have very good staff here that are just right for that casual feel this little bar has.

The stopped doing food a couple of years ago, but we do like their cocktails.......and you get a good rumble with the bar staff here.......

I chose the Bay Breeze and Tom went for the The Alcatraz, and both were lovely and very refreshing, and you could taste the alcohol in them which helps!

It`s such a cute little bar, and very busy.....folks were lining up for drinks and carrying them off to the tables and beyond, but we like to just sit and enjoy it and again, we could feel that heat build up around us. Loving it!!!

And of course a beautiful place to pass the time away.......

More to come....

Well this is quite the lovely day so far! Starting with mimosas is brilliant, what a great addition to the Club Lounge. The pool at RPR seemed to be calling, but I'm glad you resisted and wandered over to IOA. I'm not surprised you spent most of your riding time on VC, you are both coaster fiends! I have never stopped at Chez Alcatraz but now I want to. Great idea to pause as you enter the Studios and relax for a bit. Such a nice area to take in with all the people wandering by. No food could be an issue but I guess it would be pretty easy to nab a jacket potato or something from a food truck...looking forward to reading more!

 

[schumigirl]

I was now fairly hungry by now, nothing unusual there of course, but with having the cocktail, my appetite had been awakened....if it was ever asleep of course!!! There`s something about being on vacation and of course so many lovely options that just make us want to eat more than we would ever have at home......but, we were loving this!!

We decided to snack our way through lunch today rather than sit down somewhere for a change. We were just going to share a few items and see what we thought, if we got hungry, we`d have something else later.

I have to admit to not enjoying CS places that don`t have designated seating. I hate scrambling to find somewhere to sit and eat food, especially if it`s hot, but we really wanted to try this food truck near Richter Burger. We thought these were a fabulous addition to the parks, well they were new to us.

They were offering Nashville hot chicken skewer and it came with coleslaw, pickles and weirdly to us.....a slice of bread. There was another option of having it with mac n cheese which did not appeal. You had hot honey or golden bbq options with the chicken....can`t remember which we opted for, but it was lovely.

It was delicious. Nowhere near as spicy as we would have liked, but the chicken was tender and we really enjoyed the coleslaw too.....I think if we hadn`t planned on some other nibbly bits, we`d have ordered another.....next time though, one each!

We sat on the seats beside Richter Burger, thankfully under some shade as it was ridiculously hot for this time of year today.......but again we were lucky there were some empty seats.

For years we always visited Louie`s for pizza and always enjoyed it, but then a few years ago they changed the base, sauce and meat on them and they weren`t as nice. The base was very doughy, sauce tasted artificial and the pepperoni was excessively greasy, so we never went back.

That was maybe in 2017 or maybe 18, can`t quite remember, I do know we never visited once in 2019.

But, things change and we wanted to give it another try, so we decided to share a slice as they are large......they are bigger than they used to be, now getting a quarter instead of a sixth of the whole pizza you used to.

It was very busy when we went in, but there were plenty of seats available inside and there are also outside seats available at the side and behind the restaurant.

We decided to have the pepperoni and opted to try the breadsticks only because we had never tried them before, and they came with marinara sauce.

Tom got a beer and I tried one of their dreadful red wines......yes, they are dreadful.

I have to say, we were delighted the pizza was back to it`s original standard of many years ago.......base was crispy, but still had some chew and the meat wasn`t too greasy, sauce was just sauce.....nothing special but no artificial aftertaste.

The breadsticks however......we just didn`t get them........they were doughy, bland and slightly greasy too......sauce was nice enough, but nothing special.

I think we ate half of one, that was enough.

We sat for a while and pondered where to go next......I knew where we planned to end up, but we thought we might go and get a cocktail in Finnegans.....not a big fan of their food or theme, but they do very good cocktails. Well Jim that used to work there and had done for years was a master of them......he was so laid back but could mix you up anything you asked for without even thinking. Then he retired a couple of years back and the place is dimmer without him.......he had the best dead pan face I have ever seen, but cracking sense of humour.

But, it was mobbed..........far too busy for us, so we headed round the park towards the lagoon and passed another new food option for the holidays......nothing appealed to us here though......well, the Holiday leftover sandwich did, but we thought it would be too filling for us even to share, so we passed it by and headed further round.

This crepe place was the one we were really looking forward to trying........

Right next to the entrance to Central Park area, is quite a new addition to the parks and it serves crepes in a variety of options. We had read and heard so much about these since they had opened and we were so keen to finally try them.

They did have a Holiday option but we already knew we wanted to try the smoked brisket (sounded glorious) and the lemon blueberry (sounded even better)

We both love American brisket and coleslaw.....classic mix, as is lemon and blueberry. I adore lemon anything and lemon curd, preferably home made is one of my favourite things in life.......so these were designed for us.....almost as if they knew........lol.......

Again, no designated seating so Tom went over and sat in the shade while I waited for the crepes......I had ordered a glass of the red wine......should have known better as we don`t drink French wines.....but I thought how bad could it be.......???

She gave me the wine after I had put in our order and I burst out laughing as the woman behind me nudged me and asked where the rest of the wine was......lol......I never took a picture but it was a regular water cup and it was only half filled......made the large glass from JB Fish Camp look like a gallon!!! The woman who was serving me snarkily and fairly loudly made a comment of you don`t get large portions here......she wasn`t kidding!!!

I answer with a straight face and told her she misunderstood and I had said I wasn`t sure I`d be able to finish such a large amount of wine........

​

I think I had came across my first experience of a rude employee here Not bad for visiting all these years many times.

You order at one window, then pick them up at the other and thankfully the other was in the shade and you can watch them being made and I have to say they looked lovely......

I did pick up some of the plastic cutlery......we had a table at least, but one of my pet hates is standing to eat or not having correct cutlery or napkins......and these looked messy.

We do genuinely prefer table service for food.

Tom held the lemon blueberry one as we kind of tried to share the brisket one....

I was looking for the filling.

I`m not quite sure how best to describe them that would do them adequate justice.....suffice to say.........

They were disgusting.

Completely and utterly rank beyond belief.......so bad I don`t know where to begin. Will come back to the crepe itself.......

No filling for the brisket and a slight taste of coleslaw........we really had to search for this meat, and failed miserably, the bit we did get was fatty and slimy....I asked Tom to go check if it had dropped the rest of the meat on the way over!!!

The lemon one was the most artificial tasting lemon I had ever came across in my life.....it was just sweet, nothing else, cream was ok and the pound cake when we got to it with a fork was nice too, especially with the cream if you could ignore the rancid lemon taste that I argue was not lemon at all. I have no clue what it was though......

The crepes themselves were like eating sponges.......

The most disgusting thing I have ever attempted to eat.....bar none!!!

They were floopy which is worse than floppy, flaccid, soggy, squidgy and lacked any flavour whatsoever......I was chewing forever with this first bite and it was horrible. I ended up surreptitiously hiding it in a napkin and it went in the trash along with most of the other crepe too.

And the wine was rank......

This had been the most awaited for snack we wanted to try and ultimately the most disappointing. Haven`t been so disappointed since Shrek 2 came out!!!

Apologies if you are among the folks that do like them (I do know you`re out there ) but eeeewwww........they are something we will not repeat. But, we were genuinely so disappointed.

We cleared everything into the trash bin and wiped our hands down and headed off........Tom was teasing me as I had been tempting him for over a year about those and they were just awful......lol......never praise anything too much until you`ve had it was the lesson I learned today.

We set off round to ET and went on that for the last time this trip.....we don`t do it often, but maybe twice a visit and there was quite a line for it today, EP was short though and we more or less go through it together.

I did get a giggle though as someone I know through others, but have never met personally saw me and immediately put their head down.......I guess they didn`t want to say hello then.....lol......I wasn`t too traumatised by that and not surprised.........

ET is a lot of fun and such a simple ride, complete classic of course but another one where you wonder what kind of substance they were on to come up with the final scenes........

We headed to Duff Bar as I wanted something to take the taste away of the few morsels I had tried with the crepes, so we managed to get a seat in the shade.....my goodness it was hot now!!

Matt is a good server here.......and he guessed what we were going to order before we asked and he got it right.......Tom was a beer and I was the strawberry cocktail with the Myers rum......and he guessed a double shot too......lol....I am nothing if not obvious at times. Well, I don`t look like the kind of gal to drink single measures of anything!!!

I think the pour can be very light here at times, I did wonder last time if there was any alcohol in it at all....but this was nice, not too heavy but you could taste the rum.

I actually don`t like this picture below, but I could feel the strain of the changes now and was worried about getting everything in place, and I think it shows. My mum always said whatever emotion I was experiencing was always written all over my face, and I think it was showing here.

You do get a lovely view over the lagoon from here and over towards Potter looked busy......we did plan to get back over there tomorrow and spend some time rooting about to see some of the things we had missed so far this trip. We were always busy, but had missed a lot this time around for some reason.

We enjoyed sitting here for a little while, but we heard a British couple exclaim some horror at something they had read on the internet and we physically paled as we wondered what the heck had changed now.....and unless they were telling us we had to stay in America for a month we really didn`t want to hear it.

I said lets get back home and we`ll find out what`s happening.

So we cut short our day and trundled reluctantly back home where we read up that really not much had changed but we discovered we had to create a Government account to add the PLF (passenger locator form). I had wrongly assumed we did that on the Virgin Atlantic website......I had read it somewhere.......but here it was now and we couldn`t do it till after we had our Antingen test results which we were now going to book this afternoon.

So, first thing first......we looked and saw there was a place on Turkey Lake Road where we could book for the next morning at 8am, as far as we knew, as info was vague, this was enough to satisfy the UK Government although it wasn`t on the list of accepted suppliers.......

We were reading that as long as it was antigen and the result was negative it would be fine. We were also reading there were places that would do it for free, tips were accepted though, and that would be fine.

But, the cynic in me and Tom too decided this was too new.....no one had yet turned up at the airport with these free results in hand, and we just wouldn`t take the risk.....

I made the appointments online for the afternoon (stupidly) thinking we could spend most of the day in the parks and then go late afternoon. But someone made a comment online to someone else, what if it`s positive or there is a delay in the result.......right, I`m going to change it.

Couldn`t do it online.....so I called the number.....no answer. Heck!!! Called a different number and spoke to a young guy called Luiz......who very casually and in the most laid back way said nah don`t worry just turn up......I said could I please cancel the appointment in the afternoon......nah....no need just turn up......er, ok then. This just didn`t sound very professional at all. We knew it was going to be $75 each which was fine and I said I was glad we hadn`t paid this already for some reason.

I felt sick.

We went up to the lounge where we readily accepted very large red wines as I was a little panic stricken at this point at just how stressful this was going to be tomorrow.

I sat reading other boards and absorbed as many details as I could from folks who were being really helpful to folks who were asking the questions we needed answers to as well. It turned out we needed the fillowing info to fill out the PLF.....full personal details, contact details including phone, email and address, passport details, flight details, test details and proof of vaccination which needed to be uploaded as a file or screenshot. Holy crap!! We had one working email between us and one phone!! I felt sick again.

At this point we went down to meet our friend and I was almost in tears as I said how worried we were about all this. He said first, calm down. Which as he is the most calming person, I did......lol.......he reminded us we had full use of the business centre which had a lady there who would help us out with anything she could. I had forgotten about that to be honest. He took my hand and commented I was freezing.....I do get cold hands when I`m scared/worried.....lol......he couldn`t quite believe we were being challenged like this to leave the USA....we chatted some more before saying we`d catch up again.

We came back up to the lounge and Alaina handed us another large red each.....lol they knew us so well!!!

I was still glued to my ipad and at that point a lady came over who was from England as she had heard us chat to the staff about it and asked if we could tell her what she needed to do. She was here on her own and had no car, so we filled her in on the requirements and watched as her face fell too at the prospect....we told her she was welcome to come along with us in the morning, we would happily take her, and assured her we were honest folks and it would be fine......she said she`d be delighted and we told her what she needed for the test, we had an appointment but they said you could just walk up, so we would do that. We said we`d grab a quick coffee in the morning and then head off around 7.30 to get there before it opened, she said she`d be on time.

She was a nice lady and anything you can do to help a fellow traveller you will of course do what you can.

Tonight we could do no more. I decided the ipad was being turned off. I had my phone for texts and so on which we were so glad we had bought this trip after all.

Tom took a quick snap of the view down to the Orlando Eye area where they had built the new drop tower which looked completely terrifying and we wouldn`t be going on for a billion dollars!!! That area is so lovely all lit up at night, and we hadn`t managed to get down there at all this visit either.......

We felt a little more relaxed after a very stressful couple of hours, thank you Alaina and the other ladies for helping to mellow us tonight!!!

It was almost time for dinner and after getting freshened up and changing we headed down to Orchids. Maria had reserved us our favourite table again and would beautifully decant our wine for us in the nicest of wine decanters.......it`s always so good to see her, she really is the nicest young lady.

To be honest we never even felt as though we had any wine as I think nervous energy was taking over....thank goodness!!!

We ordered our food as we knew what we wanted to try.

We had seen the Dragon Long Boats being served the last night we were in here and always wondered if it was just a little too much food for the two of us.....but Maria said, it was just enough.....not too much but you wouldn`t leave hungry.....sold!!!

As always we start with their beautiful miso soup, which we really enjoy and I even eat the mushrooms again which I don`t normally have but we both enjoy this and the salad, even though the salad comes with a ginger dressing that he isn`t fond of, but he did quite like it.

Maria came over several times to chat which we always enjoy and of course took a picture......that is quite the busy table!!!

I do really need to stop wearing my favourite HHN lanyard all the time, especially when wearing a dress!

Tonight we had indeed ordered the long boats, the first one was the Bora Bora Boat which included the Chef's selection of six nigiri pieces, nine sashimi pieces, a rainbow, California and spicy tuna roll, salmon hosomaki and of course the wasabi and pickled ginger which I adore.

The other one was the Tahitian Long Boat which I think was my favourite of the two......it had chef`s choice of 12 nigiri pieces, 12 sashimi pieces, a rainbow, California, dynamite and Mexican roll, salmon hosomaki and we added a portion of smoked salmon too for good measure........

Visually they were beautiful and can I say, they tasted divine!! We both adore sushi and this place does it so well. It blows other places out of the water for sushi. Folks ask what we think of Cowfish for sushi.....we always tell them, well we do like the burgers and that`s it. Putting fries in a Bento Box is just not sushi. We`ll stick to here or Nagoya Sushi.

The quality of produce shows and it`s not filled with fancy gimmicks just purely good solid food that has been produced here by Chef Dan and his team for many years.

We ate slowly and deliberately enjoying every piece we could eat.....I slightly overdid the nigiri and Tom felt a little cheated.......lol.....but it is so good, we both commented on it many times throughout the meal just how delicious it was.

I think we managed most of it, only leaving a few of the plainer choices, but what a meal it had been........again, we were so glad we had come here tonight, it had done us the world of good after the last few hours and Maria had been a complete tonic chatting along the way.

We hadn`t planned on dessert to be honest......well, not until she mentioned she had specifically checked and got me some coconut ice cream......well, couldn`t turn that down could I!!! And she guessed Tom would have the flourless chocolate cake again.......yes, they know us well.

I wasn`t sure I had room, but once I started to eat it and Tom said the same thing, it went down a treat!!! It`s so sweet and a perfect finish after the taste of the ocean for our dinner experience tonight. And needless to say, Tom loved the flourless chocolate cake.

This had been up there as one of our best meals of the trip too.

I wandered to the bathroom and on the way back I saw Erica and her husband sitting at the bar, she was the lady who had recognised us in the walkway to the parks.......I stopped and we had a nice little chat, they were leaving the next day so we wouldn`t see them again. I was so glad to have met them though.

It was late and we were shattered now. But, we were so enjoying chatting to Maria....and we didn`t forget to exchange emails and we do now keep in touch. But, it was time for us to leave and we said a sad farewell to her for this trip, we felt lucky we had been able to spend some time getting to know her again, but after a last hug we headed up to bed and wondered exactly what awaited us the next day.

 

[schumigirl]

Oh what a cute story about the bushes! Even when we had a stroller, they drove us bonkers. That's the only good thing to come out of us staying in Canada - kids are old enough now to not need one anymore! We're hoping to go to Canada's Wonderland this summer (far cry from USF but wayyy less testing). Our little guy is measuring himself every week waiting to get to that magical 48inch mark LOL.

It is nice to have watched our plant grow over the years......

Oh will keep my fingers crossed he gets to the height he needs to be by then, it`s so disappointing for them if they don`t get to do the rides they want to. I`ve never heard of Canada`s Wonderland before.

I think when they are younger, as long as they`re in a different environment, it`s a vacation for them! One of my aunts and uncle used to take their younger kids to a holiday camp only about 20 minutes away from them at one point......kids loved it.

 

[schumigirl]

Well this is quite the lovely day so far! Starting with mimosas is brilliant, what a great addition to the Club Lounge. The pool at RPR seemed to be calling, but I'm glad you resisted and wandered over to IOA. I'm not surprised you spent most of your riding time on VC, you are both coaster fiends! I have never stopped at Chez Alcatraz but now I want to. Great idea to pause as you enter the Studios and relax for a bit. Such a nice area to take in with all the people wandering by. No food could be an issue but I guess it would be pretty easy to nab a jacket potato or something from a food truck...looking forward to reading more!

I love starting the day with orange juice free mimosas.......lol.......

Oh that VC is a beast for sure.....it`s one of the rides we are very much looking forward to getting back on.....it`ll be first park day for sure!

Chez Alcatraz is vastly overlooked at times, it`s not much especially since they don`t do snack foods anymore, but it`s a great place to sit and people watch and enjoy their rather nice cocktails. And with that fodd truck so close.....ideal!!

 

[Minnie17]

Oh my! The sushi boats look divine! Hopefully they made up for the “crepes”? I do envy your travel but not all the testing requirements. Oh how I do hope traveling is easier for your next trip.

 

[schumigirl]

Oh my! The sushi boats look divine! Hopefully they made up for the “crepes”? I do envy your travel but not all the testing requirements. Oh how I do hope traveling is easier for your next trip.

Thank you, they were divine!!! We do love a good selection of food and this was perfect.....lol....oh yes they more than made up for those crepes!!! It might just have been us of course as so many seem to have loved them.

I think this was just a nightmare as it had been thrown at us so last minute. No one seemed to know for sure what was right and wrong, so it would feel as though we were winging it for a while. It wasn`t just us of course, everyone was scrambling to find the right info and thank goodness for some very helpful folks on message boards who seemed to just know!!

It`s already changed again since we got home and no doubt something else will change by the time May comes around. We now no longer need to be tested, but America is still insisting on testing for arrivals. Our Government has admitted testing for travel made not one ounce of difference. But, I`d do it all again tomorrow if we had to.....anything to travel

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I don't even care for sushi and those boats look amazing! I am really sorry about the crepes. We had those same flavors back in May, and they were nothing like what you were presented. The lemon had fresh curd, and the barbecue was bursting out of the crepe, it was quite plentiful and both were delicious. I'm kind of glad now we didn't make it back there in December as I would have been so disappointed. It seems like in-Park food was very hit or miss.

I can't even imagine how agitated you were with the changing Covid travel requirements. It's like they expected you to do nothing but decipher their cryptic messages, which were changing daily. I'm glad you obviously made it through, but you'd think there would have been better organization and communication.

I'm really glad the day ended with you able to relax with a lovely meal and good company!

 

[schumigirl]

I don't even care for sushi and those boats look amazing! I am really sorry about the crepes. We had those same flavors back in May, and they were nothing like what you were presented. The lemon had fresh curd, and the barbecue was bursting out of the crepe, it was quite plentiful and both were delicious. I'm kind of glad now we didn't make it back there in December as I would have been so disappointed. It seems like in-Park food was very hit or miss.

I can't even imagine how agitated you were with the changing Covid travel requirements. It's like they expected you to do nothing but decipher their cryptic messages, which were changing daily. I'm glad you obviously made it through, but you'd think there would have been better organization and communication.

I'm really glad the day ended with you able to relax with a lovely meal and good company!

lol....yes, so many love those crepes and I remember you enjoyed them so I`m glad you never tried them again as I`m sure you`d have been disappointed. The two ladies sat at the table beside us had the Holiday one and put that in the trash too after we put ours in, citing artificial taste, so whether they have changed their ingredients over time, quite possible. There was just no filling at all in the brisket one and yes, the lemon tasted artificial. You know how much we were looking forward to them too......but yes, the sushi was phenomenal, we`ll definitely order those longboats again.

It was a lovely evening in the end, thankfully!! I forget the number of changes someone posted there had been in a very short space of time......an lo and behold they`ve changed again.......lol.......

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Now i am a little relieved I didn't try those crepes! And I must disagree about Shrek 2-i LOVE it. One of the best sequels out there!


Also I know you make it home but the suspense is starting to take its toll haha! (That being said I am happy you made it home safe and sound)

 

[schumigirl]

Now i am a little relieved I didn't try those crepes! And I must disagree about Shrek 2-i LOVE it. One of the best sequels out there!


Also I know you make it home but the suspense is starting to take its toll haha! (That being said I am happy you made it home safe and sound)

lol....we often joke it`s the worst sequel ever!! But, not as bad as the 3rd movie......

It`s so funny, we really thought we`d love the crepes, but eating a shower sponge is exactly what it was like.

Yes, conclusion coming soon.....meant to do it today, but it was one of those days where I was distracted all day....had a few friends drop in one after the other, which was lovely I have to say, but meant I didn`t get any TR done.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

So sorry that you had a bad experience with the crepes. It sounds like they were quite stingy with the beef brisket filling, which is exactly the opposite of what we experienced. We had the exact crepes you tried (lemon blueberry and beef brisket) when we were there in mid-December and they were DIVINE! We also tried the seasonal cookie butter one and that was a bit too sweet for us, so we didn't finish it. They were definitely hard to eat but my brilliant husband figured out that if we used a fork to pull it up from the cardboard holder, we could simply fold and roll the holder from the bottom (similar to a tube of toothpaste) and that made it a little easier.

 

[schumigirl]

So sorry that you had a bad experience with the crepes. It sounds like they were quite stingy with the beef brisket filling, which is exactly the opposite of what we experienced. We had the exact crepes you tried (lemon blueberry and beef brisket) when we were there in mid-December and they were DIVINE! We also tried the seasonal cookie butter one and that was a bit too sweet for us, so we didn't finish it. They were definitely hard to eat but my brilliant husband figured out that if we used a fork to pull it up from the cardboard holder, we could simply fold and roll the holder from the bottom (similar to a tube of toothpaste) and that made it a little easier.

Oh I`m glad you enjoyed them and they were as good as they`re supposed to be!

It was mainly how chewy and sponge like the actual crepe was that was the biggest disappointment, other than no brisket or coleslaw of course......lol......

I`m glad we had forks as I mangaged to scoop some of the pound cake that was quite nice......but, hugely disappointed in them overall......especially as we had heard so many folks rave about them.

I think I oversold them to Tom........lol......

 

[schumigirl]

TUESDAY DECEMBER 7TH



​

To be honest we thought we may not sleep well, last night, but we did although I was awake around 5am and never really got back to sleep....my mind was already in overdrive. I thought, once we get back from the test this morning, get the YouGov account set up and everything printed off we needed, we`d head to the park, have lunch in the park or Citywalk then late afternoon head to Walmart to buy a 4th suitcase for the plethora of purchases we had made this trip.

I was struggling with where we had actually bought everything as we hadn`t made it to Yankee Candle, Bath & Body Works or BB&B.......but we had items stuffed into the two closet areas and there was not much room for anything else now! So, a new suitcase would be helpful. In my head I had our last full day planned out.

It was around 5.30 I just got up and showered, we wanted to be in the Club Lounge for opening, something that is rarer than Halley`s Comet, but I wanted a cup of tea and maybe a doughnut before we set off for the appointment at 8am.

When we walked in there was an audible gasp from one of the ladies who knew us from previous trips.......lol.....yes, we don`t ever do EE so no need to be there at this time of day. Last time had been when we were heading to KSC for the day in 2019.

Julie was there right behind us, we were glad she was there and we wouldn`t have to wait for her, we like reliability for time.........she said she`d grab a coffee and come back in time to go for the test. She said she had her passport which we were about to remind her of......and at just after 7.30 we walked down to the car for the very short drive.

There is a medical centre on Turkey Lake Road opposite Volcano Bay, but that one hadn`t been on th elist of approved places.......well, it actually would have been fine in the end, but we weren`t sure, so we drove further down to where this place was. I had Googled it and it seemed to be behind a building we knew and couldn`t quite work out which building it actually was in. We were a little confused.

Pulled up behind the said building and there was no one around, and the building was actually being ripped out inside and all we could see was piles of rubble....there was a sign on the door saying Vaccination staff only????? To say we were concerned was an understatement.

There was a large open white tent in the opposite end but again, completely deserted except for some wooden tables and a couple of chairs.......my hands at this point began to sweat and were freezing cold as I had an awful feeling this was all wrong. At that point a woman pulled up, sat a few minutes and left....then another car arrived, parked and they seemed to be waiting too. It was now 8am when we were supposed to be being tested.

After 10 minutes or so the man got out the car and asked us if we were there for the test, Tom said yes but there`s no one here....he explained they were German and were flying out that afternoon!!!! Now, that is last minute....they had tried all day yesterday and couldn`t get a test anywhere, so apart from the airport, this was their last hope.

Julie said she`d call the number I had....but her phone had no service, so I tried with mine and called the number and got the same guy from yesterday who when I asked where the folks were, he said just turn up.....I almost yelled.....we are here and no one else is......he went quiet and said he`d call me back. And he did call about a minute later saying the "nurse" would be there in about 15 minutes she was stuck in traffic.....well, that was something.

Tom stopped the German couple from leaving as they were about to drive off and told them the folks were on their way.......and about 10 minutes later a woman did pull up with a few boxes of things, some bags and a small laptop. This must be the nurse.

We got out and told the German couple to go first as they were heading to the airport, then it was our turn and we could get the results sent to one email which was fine and we waited 10-15 minutes and the results were negative as expected. julie had some issues with her wifi so she took a little longer, but eventually got her negative result and we set off very relieved back home. Instead of being around 8.30 we got back, it was now 9.30ish.

Julie thanked us for helping her out, it wasn`t a problem at all, we were happy to do it.

We went up to our room to await the fit to fly email come through and for some reason Tom had brought his laptop with him this trip, something he never does, he usually just brings one of my other ipads......so with this we could download everything and send it to the business centre to print off.......how easy was this!!!

My fit to fly came through and Tom uploaded it to the computer ready to print off later.....until his fit to fly came through we couldn`t do the Government site, so I started mine.

Holy cajoly.....this was going to take a while......meanwhile Tom`s still hadn`t come through so we called Luiz again who said it`ll come.....I explained we needed it right now.....he said yeah yeah......call me back if it`s not there in 10 minutes......our stomachs were churning at this point and I was thinking we were never going to see a park today at all at this rate......but a few seconds later we got his through and a txt to luiz to say thank you.

Ok, onto the form......we needed almost everything from our name to what we ate for dinner 3 years ago.......and it needed an email address and a phone number......and we realised we couldn`t use the same email or phone number. I had a brain wave, I`d use my phone that was with us but not switched on......so I wrote than number in with a different email I use very occasionally.....this would work.....until after I typed the phone number in and it wouldn`t accept it. Wrote in every format I could think of until it miraculously accepted it.......and promptly told me it had sent a code to that phone I needed to proceed further...it was down in the safety deposit box behind the front desk!!!!

Yes, there was cursing. Lots of cursing.

Tom ran down to the front desk....there was a line, luckily he saw someone we know very well and begged a favour to jump the line to get into the box, which we were very grateful for....opened the box and it wasn`t there.......it was in one of the drawers in the room. oops.

Switched it on and there was the code, but the screen had timed out........cue head exploding again.......started again and meticulously filled in every detail....added the phone number only for it to tell me that phone number already exists in another account. At this point I burst into tears. Frustration and tiredness aren`t a good mix.

Started again and this time used the phone we have for America, Tom said he`d use his phone which he had with him....somewhere. We had thought we`d need to use the same phone numbers registered on our previous details stored on file.....but I popped in the US phone number and it accepted it with the other email. We were getting there. But, it wouldn`t accept the downloads. This was crazy.

We carried on and did Tom`s form next and used his UK phone number and again, didn`t want to accept it......we tried every format and eventually again, it finally accepted it and his email was fine thankfully. Again, we could upload it to the computer, but it didn`t want to send.

The lady in the business centre (amazing) said upload it to his phone and bring the phone down and we could do it that way......so after painstakingly filling out Tom`s Government PLF we headed down to the Business centre....at this point I was so upset and worried we wouldn`t be able to do it and the airline wouldn`t accept any of this. Mini meltdown ensued......

Got down and the lady said she hadn`t received the second things we needed for some reason......she said sometimes to get the reception needed he would have to walk right out of the hotel towards where Tchoup Chop had been sometimes further.....and he did have to go all the way round to where Islands is......this was getting ridiculous. I waited in the business centre and a woman came in and asked me something technical.......in my fuddled state it took me a few seconds to realise she thought I worked there.......I apologised and said the lady would be back in a minute......she had gone to make sure Tom walked far enough......and then they came back and it had worked. At this point we saw our friend walk past as he heade over to his other office in Sapphire....he was on the phone and gestured he`d catch up with us later.......I merely nodded as I was just about done for the day......

We got the pages printed and I almost sobbed with relief, we had printed out our proof of being negative for covid, our completed Passenger Locator Forms, the code for the test we had ordered before we left the UK which we wouldn`t get on the plane without having that and something else that has completely gone out of my head now...........and bless her she said she wasn`t going to charge us which was nice of her. We had been so grateful for all the help she gave us.

It was now 1pm and we both felt we had been shredded and shredded again.

Neither of us felt even the slightest inkling of going to a park.......it all sounds so dramatic to say we felt exhausted and drained, but we did. So Tom suggested we walk over to Sapphire and have lunch in Amatista.....sounded good to me.

We went in and as is usual at lunch, it is fairly quiet, so we got a booth and we both ordered a very large glass of Cabernet.........I think I broke all records downing that glass........

Amatista is nice, it`s not somewhere we go very often as we much prefer Strong Water, but we do like it and the menu although small, is varied and something for most people.

Tom ordered a meat flatbread and I went for the chilli BBQ chicken sandwich minus the cheese and another very large red wine........I don`t care who judges me here......I was so stressed and this would certainly level that stress somewhat.....and very nice it was too.......

We did wait quite a while for the food which was surprising as there were only maybe another 4 tables filled up. Tom took a bite of his flatbread was cold, so we caught Erin`s attention and she apologised and said they`d make another....Tom said, no he`d be happy to just have it reheated.......

And it was fine like that.....both meals were lovely and I was surprised how hungry I was when I began eating. The chicken was very nicely cooked and although not as spicy as I`d have liked, it was lovely.

At around 2.30 there was no way we`d make any park today.

I was annoyed at that point as our last days are always filled with park time, but seems we had experienced that yesterday after all.

We paid and walked back over to RP and got a txt from our friend asking how everything went and he was back over there so we could go meet him in a little while. That always makes me smile.

Back in the room, I fell asleep almost straight away for an hour. We did think about maybe starting to pack, but neither of us felt like it. The thought of going to buy another suitcase had completely gone out of our head at this point.

If you`ve got this far.......well done!!! It`s very long winded and I`m sure I haven`t conveyed half the stress we were going through over all of this. Looking back it didn`t seem as convoluted and confusing as it was at the time, but my goodness they didn`t make it easy and the issue with the laptop not sending documents and everything else just completely knocked me sideways.

And I`m usually so calm.......lol.....