2BoysMum&Dad
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2004
(Alternative Title The Im really only 37½ plus state tax Tour)
Saturday 5th February 2005
The Cast
Chief trip organiser Me
Chauffeur Me
Trip destination research assistant Me
Financial backer and consultant Me
And finally, the holidaymakers Just Me!
Today is the last full day of youth as I know it!
Last night I programmed the room telephone for a wake up call at 7am this morning. At 7am I got a call from Stitch and Mickey which I thought was very cute, but unfortunately I didnt actually manage to make out what they said! I phoned Vicki at around 7.30am and apologised for phoning early this morning but decided 7.30am was better than 9.30pm last night with young children. Said meeting at 4.30pm at Universal would be fine. I told her about my car saga and Id be meeting Elise and her family this morning and that her husband had kindly agreed to pick me up. Vicki said shed met Elise briefly at Cinderellas Royal Table yesterday morning, so it seemed we were all there yesterday!
After showering and getting dressed, I waited on an outside bench at the front of PCR near the main entrance, looking out for a green car. After a few minutes, my mobile phone rang, it was Ian and he asked where I was. I assumed he hadnt found PCR yet, but he was already parked and looking for me inside the building. I got up and started walking towards the other entrance further along and he said turn around, he was behind me!
So, off towards Animal Kingdom Lodge and breakfast at Boma. AKL is very pretty and I would highly recommend it to anybody. Elise and their two children come out of the main entrance to greet me which is great. We all walked back into AKL, it is a stunningly beautiful resort, inside and out.
We gain access to the lovely Boma restaurant via a lift. After we sat down at our table Elise gave me a nice birthday card and Happy Birthday Disney pin. I didnt want to open the card yet, I keep it for tomorrow. Breakfast is a self-service buffet style affair and has everything you could possibly want. After a little while, our waiter brought me a pink smoothy type drink with a layer of thick cream on the top and a single little candle stuck in it! He lit it and got the tables around us to sing happy birthday to me! Another bit of embarrassment to add to my collection!
Our waiter kindly took this picture of us. Id got the camera set not to flash so the picture looks a bit dark. Other than that, it seems to have come out quite well.
When we had finished eating, Elise suggested we go and have a look at some of the wildlife that wanders around the resort. It seemed that a lot of the wildlife hadnt come very close to their room while they were there except for one or two animals occasionally. They seemed to have spent most of their time hiding as far away as possible! We did see some flamingos being fed. Heres a lovely view of the pool area ......
Today, Elise and her family were due to fly home. I had the pleasure of having a look around their room as they went up to collect their luggage for the last time and left the hotel with them. I was stuck without my car and they had kindly agreed to take me back to Disneys Boardwalk to retrieve it as they were heading out in that direction anyway.
Heres a view from their balcony, another wing of the building (as there were no animals in view at the time, I decided just to take a picture of the building instead) ........
And, I took this picture of the foyer on our way out ......
AKL is lovely inside and outside and would recommend it to anybody. It really has a lovely atmosphere.
After arriving at the Boardwalk and saying our goodbyes, I got into my car and drove to the D.Q. end of Downtown Disney. It was currently 10.15am and I had forgotten Disney Quest didnt open til late (11.30am), but I was there with about the right amount of time to look in a few of my favourite DTD shops before a spot of Dibbing in DQ! Unfortunately, a lot of the shops were also closed, but luckily seemed to start opening at 10.30am including my very favourite shop in that area Magnetron!
I buy several silly fridge magnets, a couple which make noises which I know the kids will love - an emergency panic button and an old fashioned type telephone which rings and says operator. I also got a few other fridge magnets - a Garfield one which says Im not overweight, Im undertall, a piece of toast, a cookie, another Garfield one, a fancy drink and a few silly squidgy objects for the kids too. Its time to head towards Disney Quest and a crowd starts forming. I always love the lift in here which is an attraction in itself! For anyone planning a visit to Disney Quest, when you enter one of the lifts and the doors close, watch the glass panel on the wall. I shall say no more, but if you like the voice of Robin Williams, you will like this and I love the bit where he says something like you can use your family members as floatation devices!
I head straight up the nearest flight of stairs and turn right into the internet cafe sort of area. Absolutely delighted that all the other people who entered at the same time as me werent heading there too and virtually all the computers are free. Need the restrooms first, so head for the ladies and then settle myself down at the first terminal on the left. I posted a couple of new threads on the DIBB and a message in the shout box. I then decide the temptation of a lovely DQ strawberry cheesecake is too much to resist and also buy myself a lovely hot chocolate. Back to the computer and ask if anyone else wants some! (Click here). Enough time spent on computers (I can do that at home any old time) and besides which, the computers at DQ never like me very much! I need to get some serious park visiting done.
I head back to the car and drive back to Pop Century. Yes, believe it or not, I went all the way to Downtown Disney, only bought a few fridge magnets and posted a few messages from DQ and I leave the area again! I try phoning Lisag to see if she can meet us (Vicki and me) at 4.30pm instead of 5.30pm but there is no answer. She was probably already at Universal Studios anyway. I collect my Universal Studios ticket and hit the road again. It took me a long time to get to Universal Studios and I put this down to my decision to avoid the I-4. Should have been an easy enough journey but I had real trouble getting there! Anyway, eventually got there along the scenic route
. As I drove up to the entrance to U.S., it suddenly occurs to me that I might be able to avoid paying to park my car as I have an annual pass. I ask the chappie in the kiosk if my ticket entitles me to free parking as I am unsure. He asks for my name and fiddles with his computer. He then issues me with a free parking ticket, it saves me several Dollars and I know Trevor would be very proud of me!
I get to the agreed meeting point where Im due to meet Vicki (opticalhazer) and family. I was a little worried as it is now obvious there are several similar looking seating areas around trees just inside (and outside) the ticket gates of Universal Studios. Luckily, they are waiting for me exactly where I had in mind. Despite my best efforts to arrive with plenty of time to do a few rides before meeting up with them, I only arrive with five minutes to spare! As with Elise this morning, it was great meeting up with someone in the flesh after communicating with them via the DIBB for so long.
I then explain I have to find Guest Services and swap my standard looking entrance ticket for a plastic annual pass and hope this will not hold us up too much. Yet again, I managed to leave my room earlier without an essential bit of paperwork (photo ID). I was worried they would not issue me with my annual pass. Luckily, they were perfectly happy with a credit card as ID. My picture was taken using a webcam type camera and I am now the proud owner of a Universal Studios plastic credit card sized photo annual pass card! I suppose I could now use this as an acceptable form of photo ID instead of my passport or photocopied page of my passport (maybe?).
Next job, Paul (Vickis DH) needed a cashpoint machine and there was apparently one on the other side of the park. As we walked along, I told them the story of the Ghirardelli building in Universal when I was here last year with my family. We had just done something like Men in Black and while walking across a bridge, we saw Ghirardelli written in large letters across the front of a large building further up the park. I could really do with a nice cold ice cream right now I tell the family and they all agree. We traipse off over there and are rather surprised to find the building very quiet with nobody entering or leaving the building, even the doors appeared locked! Someone then tells us its part of a movie set!
Anyhow, Paul finds a cashpoint and we are now close to the Earthquake ride. I tell them that this is something I chickened out of last time but have subsequently learnt that its the sort of attraction I would actually quite like. We all queue up for it and takes us at least 15 or 20 minutes to get in. This really is good. My DS Michael and I didnt do it last time, but my DH Trevor and other DS Piers did do it. What amazes me most about this attraction is how they manage to get the place looking normal again so quickly before the next load of visitors enter the underground train carriage.
It was now 5.30pm and I have to dash off to the entrance to meet Lisag. I was a few minutes late, but luckily found her with no problem. She was there with her three boys and mother. Meanwhile, Vicki and family are heading towards Mels Diner and I agree to meet her there with Lisag and family. This is turning into a great DIBB day for me, having met Elise and family this morning and now seeing Vicki and Lisa and their families too! It was nice that Vicki had met Elise yesterday morning at the castle in the Magic Kingdom as she could then visualise who I was talking about when I told her about my breakfast this morning.
Vicki and family were just finishing their meal when Lisa and her family and I turned up at Mels Diner. Lisa and her family had just eaten before meeting me at the entrance. I was very hungry as I hadnt had anything to eat since the cheesecake in DQ at around 11.45am so ordered chicken strips and fries and a diet coke. Lisa took a picture of me with Vicki & her family .........
Lisas boys were getting a bit tired and they had already been in the park for a while. They decided to head off out now and I headed off with Vicki towards the Mardi Gras music stage to listen to some of the music. It was good but a bit loud for the likes of me! Listened for a short while and then I said to Vicki I would be off now too. I would have a quick look at a couple of things on my way out, see if I could do Shrek maybe and then head out of U.S. I would be back here another day, now that I have my annual pass I could come and go as I please.
I was still suffering with jet-lag, had a busy day and was very tired. The first thing I did was grab a map from the main entrance as I had forgotten to pick one up on the way in. Had a quick check of what I might like to do before leaving. It was half an hour before the next performance of Terminator and I didnt want to wait that long for anything. Head back towards the car park and spot one of those vendors selling bright flashing lights and broaches. Decide to get a small flower shaped one that attaches by magnet which costs $5, probably a waste of money but I like it! Got to the car (top floor of car park on the right, row 667) and was determined not to get lost on the way back to the WDW area! I study the map carefully, I need the I-4 westbound or find International Drive. Both, theoretically, unmissable! I decided the I-4 was probably the best idea, but I still managed to miss the turning for it and decide I would just have to make do with I-Drive instead! There was quite a bad traffic jam all the way down International Drive, but for some reason this didnt bother me in the slightest. It gave me the great opportunity to have a good look at attractions and landmarks on the way.
I even managed to take a few photographs. This is one of those bungee things where you have two long poles with a capsule in the middle with two seats suspended on bungee ropes. If you look carefully at the picture, you will see a little light near the top in between the two poles which is the victims after they have been catapulted from ground level! You wont catch me doing that in a hurry!
It actually took me over an hour to get back to the Pop Century Resort, but I enjoyed the drive, even though I was tired. I had a quick look around the resort shop, I often enjoyed browsing here without buying anything. Went to the food court and got some stuff for tomorrows breakfast but couldnt find my room card to pay for it so had to use my credit card (no particular problem). I sat at an outside table to look for my room card and noticed my Universal Studios annual pass card was also missing. PANIC! Then I remembered I had left then on the little shelf bit on the dashboard of my car and went to retrieve them. Off to my room and the d*** door wouldnt open with the room card! Aarrgghh! I was desperate to start writing my trip report notes and I couldnt even get into my room! Back to the main building again and I was given a new room card. Finally in my room, exhausted and feeling hungry again (well, it was several hours since I last ate) and I ended up eating my breakfast!
I got ready for bed and ate while writing my notes, cleaned my teeth and hit the pillow like a log! See you tomorrow when I will officially be old!
Saturday 5th February 2005
The Cast
Chief trip organiser Me
Chauffeur Me
Trip destination research assistant Me
Financial backer and consultant Me
And finally, the holidaymakers Just Me!
Today is the last full day of youth as I know it!
Last night I programmed the room telephone for a wake up call at 7am this morning. At 7am I got a call from Stitch and Mickey which I thought was very cute, but unfortunately I didnt actually manage to make out what they said! I phoned Vicki at around 7.30am and apologised for phoning early this morning but decided 7.30am was better than 9.30pm last night with young children. Said meeting at 4.30pm at Universal would be fine. I told her about my car saga and Id be meeting Elise and her family this morning and that her husband had kindly agreed to pick me up. Vicki said shed met Elise briefly at Cinderellas Royal Table yesterday morning, so it seemed we were all there yesterday!After showering and getting dressed, I waited on an outside bench at the front of PCR near the main entrance, looking out for a green car. After a few minutes, my mobile phone rang, it was Ian and he asked where I was. I assumed he hadnt found PCR yet, but he was already parked and looking for me inside the building. I got up and started walking towards the other entrance further along and he said turn around, he was behind me!
So, off towards Animal Kingdom Lodge and breakfast at Boma. AKL is very pretty and I would highly recommend it to anybody. Elise and their two children come out of the main entrance to greet me which is great. We all walked back into AKL, it is a stunningly beautiful resort, inside and out.
We gain access to the lovely Boma restaurant via a lift. After we sat down at our table Elise gave me a nice birthday card and Happy Birthday Disney pin. I didnt want to open the card yet, I keep it for tomorrow. Breakfast is a self-service buffet style affair and has everything you could possibly want. After a little while, our waiter brought me a pink smoothy type drink with a layer of thick cream on the top and a single little candle stuck in it! He lit it and got the tables around us to sing happy birthday to me! Another bit of embarrassment to add to my collection!
Our waiter kindly took this picture of us. Id got the camera set not to flash so the picture looks a bit dark. Other than that, it seems to have come out quite well.
When we had finished eating, Elise suggested we go and have a look at some of the wildlife that wanders around the resort. It seemed that a lot of the wildlife hadnt come very close to their room while they were there except for one or two animals occasionally. They seemed to have spent most of their time hiding as far away as possible! We did see some flamingos being fed. Heres a lovely view of the pool area ......
Today, Elise and her family were due to fly home. I had the pleasure of having a look around their room as they went up to collect their luggage for the last time and left the hotel with them. I was stuck without my car and they had kindly agreed to take me back to Disneys Boardwalk to retrieve it as they were heading out in that direction anyway.
Heres a view from their balcony, another wing of the building (as there were no animals in view at the time, I decided just to take a picture of the building instead) ........
And, I took this picture of the foyer on our way out ......
AKL is lovely inside and outside and would recommend it to anybody. It really has a lovely atmosphere.
After arriving at the Boardwalk and saying our goodbyes, I got into my car and drove to the D.Q. end of Downtown Disney. It was currently 10.15am and I had forgotten Disney Quest didnt open til late (11.30am), but I was there with about the right amount of time to look in a few of my favourite DTD shops before a spot of Dibbing in DQ! Unfortunately, a lot of the shops were also closed, but luckily seemed to start opening at 10.30am including my very favourite shop in that area Magnetron!
I buy several silly fridge magnets, a couple which make noises which I know the kids will love - an emergency panic button and an old fashioned type telephone which rings and says operator. I also got a few other fridge magnets - a Garfield one which says Im not overweight, Im undertall, a piece of toast, a cookie, another Garfield one, a fancy drink and a few silly squidgy objects for the kids too. Its time to head towards Disney Quest and a crowd starts forming. I always love the lift in here which is an attraction in itself! For anyone planning a visit to Disney Quest, when you enter one of the lifts and the doors close, watch the glass panel on the wall. I shall say no more, but if you like the voice of Robin Williams, you will like this and I love the bit where he says something like you can use your family members as floatation devices!I head straight up the nearest flight of stairs and turn right into the internet cafe sort of area. Absolutely delighted that all the other people who entered at the same time as me werent heading there too and virtually all the computers are free. Need the restrooms first, so head for the ladies and then settle myself down at the first terminal on the left. I posted a couple of new threads on the DIBB and a message in the shout box. I then decide the temptation of a lovely DQ strawberry cheesecake is too much to resist and also buy myself a lovely hot chocolate. Back to the computer and ask if anyone else wants some! (Click here). Enough time spent on computers (I can do that at home any old time) and besides which, the computers at DQ never like me very much! I need to get some serious park visiting done.
I head back to the car and drive back to Pop Century. Yes, believe it or not, I went all the way to Downtown Disney, only bought a few fridge magnets and posted a few messages from DQ and I leave the area again! I try phoning Lisag to see if she can meet us (Vicki and me) at 4.30pm instead of 5.30pm but there is no answer. She was probably already at Universal Studios anyway. I collect my Universal Studios ticket and hit the road again. It took me a long time to get to Universal Studios and I put this down to my decision to avoid the I-4. Should have been an easy enough journey but I had real trouble getting there! Anyway, eventually got there along the scenic route
. As I drove up to the entrance to U.S., it suddenly occurs to me that I might be able to avoid paying to park my car as I have an annual pass. I ask the chappie in the kiosk if my ticket entitles me to free parking as I am unsure. He asks for my name and fiddles with his computer. He then issues me with a free parking ticket, it saves me several Dollars and I know Trevor would be very proud of me!I get to the agreed meeting point where Im due to meet Vicki (opticalhazer) and family. I was a little worried as it is now obvious there are several similar looking seating areas around trees just inside (and outside) the ticket gates of Universal Studios. Luckily, they are waiting for me exactly where I had in mind. Despite my best efforts to arrive with plenty of time to do a few rides before meeting up with them, I only arrive with five minutes to spare! As with Elise this morning, it was great meeting up with someone in the flesh after communicating with them via the DIBB for so long.
I then explain I have to find Guest Services and swap my standard looking entrance ticket for a plastic annual pass and hope this will not hold us up too much. Yet again, I managed to leave my room earlier without an essential bit of paperwork (photo ID). I was worried they would not issue me with my annual pass. Luckily, they were perfectly happy with a credit card as ID. My picture was taken using a webcam type camera and I am now the proud owner of a Universal Studios plastic credit card sized photo annual pass card! I suppose I could now use this as an acceptable form of photo ID instead of my passport or photocopied page of my passport (maybe?).
Next job, Paul (Vickis DH) needed a cashpoint machine and there was apparently one on the other side of the park. As we walked along, I told them the story of the Ghirardelli building in Universal when I was here last year with my family. We had just done something like Men in Black and while walking across a bridge, we saw Ghirardelli written in large letters across the front of a large building further up the park. I could really do with a nice cold ice cream right now I tell the family and they all agree. We traipse off over there and are rather surprised to find the building very quiet with nobody entering or leaving the building, even the doors appeared locked! Someone then tells us its part of a movie set!
Anyhow, Paul finds a cashpoint and we are now close to the Earthquake ride. I tell them that this is something I chickened out of last time but have subsequently learnt that its the sort of attraction I would actually quite like. We all queue up for it and takes us at least 15 or 20 minutes to get in. This really is good. My DS Michael and I didnt do it last time, but my DH Trevor and other DS Piers did do it. What amazes me most about this attraction is how they manage to get the place looking normal again so quickly before the next load of visitors enter the underground train carriage.
It was now 5.30pm and I have to dash off to the entrance to meet Lisag. I was a few minutes late, but luckily found her with no problem. She was there with her three boys and mother. Meanwhile, Vicki and family are heading towards Mels Diner and I agree to meet her there with Lisag and family. This is turning into a great DIBB day for me, having met Elise and family this morning and now seeing Vicki and Lisa and their families too! It was nice that Vicki had met Elise yesterday morning at the castle in the Magic Kingdom as she could then visualise who I was talking about when I told her about my breakfast this morning.
Vicki and family were just finishing their meal when Lisa and her family and I turned up at Mels Diner. Lisa and her family had just eaten before meeting me at the entrance. I was very hungry as I hadnt had anything to eat since the cheesecake in DQ at around 11.45am so ordered chicken strips and fries and a diet coke. Lisa took a picture of me with Vicki & her family .........
Lisas boys were getting a bit tired and they had already been in the park for a while. They decided to head off out now and I headed off with Vicki towards the Mardi Gras music stage to listen to some of the music. It was good but a bit loud for the likes of me! Listened for a short while and then I said to Vicki I would be off now too. I would have a quick look at a couple of things on my way out, see if I could do Shrek maybe and then head out of U.S. I would be back here another day, now that I have my annual pass I could come and go as I please.
I was still suffering with jet-lag, had a busy day and was very tired. The first thing I did was grab a map from the main entrance as I had forgotten to pick one up on the way in. Had a quick check of what I might like to do before leaving. It was half an hour before the next performance of Terminator and I didnt want to wait that long for anything. Head back towards the car park and spot one of those vendors selling bright flashing lights and broaches. Decide to get a small flower shaped one that attaches by magnet which costs $5, probably a waste of money but I like it! Got to the car (top floor of car park on the right, row 667) and was determined not to get lost on the way back to the WDW area! I study the map carefully, I need the I-4 westbound or find International Drive. Both, theoretically, unmissable! I decided the I-4 was probably the best idea, but I still managed to miss the turning for it and decide I would just have to make do with I-Drive instead! There was quite a bad traffic jam all the way down International Drive, but for some reason this didnt bother me in the slightest. It gave me the great opportunity to have a good look at attractions and landmarks on the way.
I even managed to take a few photographs. This is one of those bungee things where you have two long poles with a capsule in the middle with two seats suspended on bungee ropes. If you look carefully at the picture, you will see a little light near the top in between the two poles which is the victims after they have been catapulted from ground level! You wont catch me doing that in a hurry!
It actually took me over an hour to get back to the Pop Century Resort, but I enjoyed the drive, even though I was tired. I had a quick look around the resort shop, I often enjoyed browsing here without buying anything. Went to the food court and got some stuff for tomorrows breakfast but couldnt find my room card to pay for it so had to use my credit card (no particular problem). I sat at an outside table to look for my room card and noticed my Universal Studios annual pass card was also missing. PANIC! Then I remembered I had left then on the little shelf bit on the dashboard of my car and went to retrieve them. Off to my room and the d*** door wouldnt open with the room card! Aarrgghh! I was desperate to start writing my trip report notes and I couldnt even get into my room! Back to the main building again and I was given a new room card. Finally in my room, exhausted and feeling hungry again (well, it was several hours since I last ate) and I ended up eating my breakfast!
I got ready for bed and ate while writing my notes, cleaned my teeth and hit the pillow like a log! See you tomorrow when I will officially be old!
