MY Last Trip........

[sandie]

25th August - Shopping and Disney Studios.

We had a bit of a sleep in and ate some fruit in the room for breakfast. We planned a shopping expedition today and you know how essential it is to have a high energy breakfast before shopping with your husband and kids!

First stop was the Florida Mall. This huge shopping centre had the closest Build a Bear to Disneyworld and both kids were demanding a visit. We made Build a Bear our first stop. After much consideration Eloise chose a bear and John got a penquin. We went through the hour long process of building, loving, fluffing and dressing before heading to the computer to name our new babies. True to her form at Babyland General, Eloise spent more on accessories than the bear cost!!

We spent a considerable amount of time in Macy’s whilst Peter tried on clothes and investigated M and M World. We also found a cool shop for Eloise – Limited Too. I have ethical issues with the clothing available for little girls. Once they reach ten you have two clothing options – dorky or whore. This shop sold clothing that was cool but didn’t bare navels or non existant cleavage. It was however also very expensive! A skirt, singlet, cardigan, pair of shoes and a summer dress set me back $240!!!!!!

We had lunch in the Mall food court which was an experience. Eloise and I just staright away bought what we wanted and sat down to eat. The boys however browsed each stall getting bite size samples of so much food that they didn’t end up needed to buy anything!

We left the Mall at about 2pm and headed to a nearby Publix to buy some essentials for the room – fruit, juice, chocolate and hair conditioner. Now I bought the same brand that I buy at home, Herbal Essences, but a litre bottle was half the price I pay for a tiny bottle here. What’s up with that?

We got back in the car and headed to the Disney Studios arriving at 4pm. We had time for two trips with Aerosmith and the kids and I went on teh Tower of Terror. Eloise, who hates coasters this trip loved it and John who loved the Hulk hated it and would not get on it again the whole trip. We also went on the Great Movie Ride. When we came out it was raining so hard the rain bounced off the pavement and hit you in the face. We had a priority seating at the Brown Derby so we raced over there. We had not planned to eat at the Brown Derby as the menu didn’t look like it would appeal to us. However we needed to check out and back in the next morning to take advantage of our free dining and we had two dinner credits left each so we decided to give this two credit restaurant a try. I am glad we did.

It is a quiet place to eat and was a great respite from the hurry, hurry mood that WDW seems to inspire. It was also the first place that we had eaten that gave John an appetizer on the dining plan. Children under ten only get a main meal and a dessert normally. He took advantage of this by having chicken noodle soup followed by a hot dog and a dessert called hidden treasure. This involved mounds of ice cream with candy treasures hidden in it. Eloise had the same soup followed by steamed fish and the hidden treasure dessert. Peter and I shared the signature Cobb Salad which Peter followed up with pork chops and a crème brulee. I went for pan fried grouper and banana fosters for dessert. I really think that we would eat here again in the future.

When we were finished most of the park was closed. It was still raining and Peter spent some time photography the lights of the empty park reflected in the puddles. The kids and I spent some time talking to a lady who worked in custodial services. She was 22 and had been employed by Disney for two months. She was one of the only castmembers who we meet who felt it was a honour to be working for Disney and aspired to be a character handler. We gave her a koala and would see her again in a few days time when we returned to the Studios.

The kiosk at the entrance to the park was still open and both kids decided to leap into pin trading. Each of them bought a lanyard and five pins. We headed back to the resort and Peter dropped me off at the reception area before taking the kids back to the room. We still had 21 snack credits to use before tomorrow morning so I got carrot sticks, 6 bags of chips, juice, rice crispie treats and yogurt to keep in our in room fridge. I do not see how you could possibly eat all the food included on the dining plan without exploding!

When I got back to the room the kids were asleep so Peter and I had a bit of a doona picnic before turning in for the night.

[sandie]

26th August John Bober’s House

This morning we were going to spend a day with a man Peter met through the internet when he first got interested in buying a Super Bee. John Bober owns two Bees and had been chatting with Peter and sending him information in the mail for two years and Peter was looking forward to finally getting to meet him.

We had breakfast and left the hotel about 10 am and had an uneventful drive to his house. Both John and his wife Ramona were very welcoming and we found out that other people had been invited too. They had a very nice house which overlooked a lake to the rear. They also had an in ground pool which was inside a completely screen in room. We asked if this was because of mosquitos but were told it was to keep alligators and bob cats out!

Four other families were invited to come along and meet us and share in some boy talk. John and Ramona had ordered a huge bbq feast of ribs and chicken and salad and potato and bread and lots more so we all ate too much.

After lunch the big boys disappeared for three hours. I found out later that they had taken the Super bees (all 6 of them) to a deserted road and played burn outs and took arty photos. Meanwhile I was educated on what it is like to live in Florida including seeing a bob cat on your way to school, the death penalty and what your neighbours do to your house with a rifle if they don’t happen to like where you have parked your new campervan!

Eventually our men folk returned and we had to head back to Orlando. We decided to once again eat at Cracker Barrell before heading to Downtown Disney for a night of serious window shopping and snack eating. We had a fairly early night and were all tucked up in bed by 11 pm.

[churros]

After lunch the big boys disappeared for three hours. I found out later that they had taken the Super bees (all 6 of them) to a deserted road and played burn outs and took arty photos. Meanwhile I was educated on what it is like to live in Florida including seeing a bob cat on your way to school, the death penalty and what your neighbours do to your house with a rifle if they don’t happen to like where you have parked your new campervan!

Boy howdy them good ol boys sure know how to show you a good time!

[calisota]

Am I going to look like too much of a girl if I have to ask what a super bee is?

Greg

[churros]

Am I going to look like too much of a girl if I have to ask what a super bee is?

Greg

D'oh! It's a large winged insect!

[mushu mama]

Well, its a great big yellow and black thing that makes a buzzing sound when it drives off and is really sweeeeeeeet.....

Actually I've had a ride in a Super Bee... I'm rarely impressed by a car, but that one rocks.

this is what they look like....




Lisa. -/

[calisota]

Is this what could be described as a muscle car?

In my new job working in a service station I have people coming in and saying "The fuel in the *********" and I have to ask them what colour it is so I know which one they mean.

Greg

[mushu mama]

Yep, I think its a muscle car...

I only know about 5 cars... the rest are all the same to me.

Super Bees ( Cos I got a ride in Peters when I was staying with Sandie),Hummers ( cos they're massive), Lincoln Navigators ( cos if I were rich thats what I'd want), commodores ( cos I am surrounded by them ) and Jackaroos ( cos I have one).
Thats it....
sum total of my car knowledge.

Lisa.

[sandie]

Peter is happy to know of your awe Lisa!!! Ours has a white vinyl roof and white stripes which makes it look faster!!! Tell me where you work Greg and when we are up there is a few months I will send Peter and his best mate who collect cars like most of us collect undies in to visit and educate you!

Sandie

[mushu mama]

Peter is happy to know of your awe Lisa!!! Ours has a white vinyl roof and white stripes which makes it look faster!!!

Of course...

And it rumbles, burbles and (dare I say it) vibrates....thats part of the attraction, don't forget that bit....

Peter and his best mate who collect cars like most of us collect undies
Sandie

Lisa.

[KeithS]

Am I going to look like too much of a girl if I have to ask what a super bee is?

Here's another picture Greg, courtesy of the World Wide Web!

[calisota]

I have a feeling I may be a little too old to own one.

Greg

[churros]

like most of us collect undies

Sandie

[sandie]

27th August – SeaWorld

I love Seaworld! We grabbed breakfast from the food court and jumped in the car for the short drive to a day of fun. We arrived just before opening and went straight to guest relations to get our 7 day entry pass that came with our Discovery Cove tickets.

We got straight into the park and spent some time with the stingrays before heading over to the dolphin pool. Now these dolphins are clever suckers they make you think they are going to come close enough for you to pet them and then they swerve away! We spent a good thirty minutes trying to pat them before we gave up and went to the underground viewing area to watch them.

The kids and I went on Atlantis before we headed over to Shamu Stadium to see the big guy. The first two times we came to Florida this was a great show but last trip and again this time it was a bit too preachy about the environment. Now I am all for being green, recycling and participating in carbon reducing activities but when I am at a theme park I have paid $60 to see the whale jump not lie around while the large screen tv tells me I am killing penguins!

We had time before lunch to see the sea lion and otter show which was hilarious. For lunch we all had a burger and shared some strawberries and water melon. After lunch Eloise and went back on Atlantis and then we took in the sharks, penguins and manatees. John loves penguins so we had to pick him up to carry him out of there!

We stood and watched Kraken for a while and finally John decided he wanted to go on it so off we went. This is a scary looking coaster but the slow climb up the first drop hill is so worth it – we could clearly see the slides being built over at Aquatica and before you know it we were zooming down under the ground and looping all over the place.

We headed over to the dolphin show and this was so much better than Shamu. It was like a water ballet with aerialists and dolphins and small whales. It made us all feel calm and serene.

We had time to visit the Artic so we headed over to the simulator that would get us there. It was lovely and cold in the Artic and we stayed to watch the belugas and walrus and to play in the ice caves for quite some time! When we headed back to the heat we decided ice creams were in order and whilst the three kids ate them I headed over to the closest shop and got both kids a t-shirt to remember the day. John’s had a penguin on it off course!

We decided to head back to the resort before dinner for a change of sweaty clothes and a rest. At 5.30 we headed over to the Polynesian for our dinner at Ohana. We spent some time playing with the tiki statues and yelling at John for climbing them. I also had a look at the Weyland gallery and picked about 80 prints I wanted. The one of Ariel swimming with the Weyland style fish. Peter bought each kid a pin to add to their growing collections. Eventually it was time to head up to Ohana and meet our server. He was the friendliest server we had all trip. He was high fiveing and doing that hawaiin thing with his thumb and fore finger all night.

Ohana’s menu had changed since our last visit but we still had a great time (I missed the won tons though). Peter and I had virgin pina coladas in coconut shells with straws and monkeys etc – love them! After dinner we headed down to the beach and staked out some hammocks. The kids ran around like idiots while Peter and I swang in a hammock for two. We did have a bad moment when Eli lost the pin Peter had bought her but we calmed her down eventually. After a while Peter got up to take photos of the fireworks and I almost swung myself to sleep. We got back to our home resort early, about ten, so I got to spend some time shopping before we hit the sack.

[sandie]

28th August – Discovery Cove
We woke up quickly this morning. Both Peter and Eloise had been to Discovery Cove before but today would be the first visit for John and I. We grabbed some fruit and jumped in the car for the short drive to……the internet café. Eloise had to send an email to her class so we thought we would get it over and done with. We got to Discovery Cove just after opening and straight away they took us through to make our id badges and to book us in for our dolphin swim.

The Discovery Cove is an awesome place and not expensive at all when you see what you get. Other than a swim with the dolphins you can spend all day swimming and snorkling with other creatures. There are food stands and bars all over the place. You just walk up and get what you want – its all included. Feel like a slurpie and a bag of chips? They are yours! Want a beer? Its yours! What to choose form the 60 or so different types of snacks? Go right ahead!!!! You can also visit the restaurant for lunch – as often as you like. The food was so yummy.

We started off getting our snorkels which were ours to keep and being fitted for goggles, vests and in Johns case a floatation vest. Some of the water is 6 metres deep. I was happy with just a wet suit type vest but Peter went for the full suit. The entire park is surrounded by a lazy river. You float around and perfect your snorkling. There are interesting things to look at under the water and photographers are everywhere. When they take your photo they scan your id – a bit like photo pass. After ninety minutes of this we were ready to hit the deep water. The lagoon contains many fish, sting rays as well as sharks and barracudas (the dangerous ones are cleverly behind glass). This area is very, very deep and even though both kids are good swimmers we had to keep an eye on them.. The water is also very cold – about 8 degrees. There is no feeling in the world like swimming with large fish and sting rays. They come right up to you and swim through your hands. After another hour of this we decided it was time for lunch.

We had a bounty of food from the restaurant – burgers, foccacias, steak, pasta, chocolate cake, cheesecake, fruit salad. You just walked in and said I want…… and you got. After lunch Peter and I sat on the beach for a while watching the kids in the large swimming lagoon before we decided to split up for an hour and meet back at our dolphin swim. I took John and we swam in the river for a while before going into the aviary and hand feeding some birds and then we got to give some sting rays lunch. You hold the fish between you fingers and the sting ray swims over your hand and takes it.

When it was time to meet up we headed for our dolphin cabana. We watched a short video on dolphins and had to remove all our watches and ear rings etc. Our group of eight got to touch, kiss and hug our dolphin before each of us got to go out deeper and swim with him and then he dragged us back in one by one. I have never been a huge dolphin person, I prefer whales, but this changed my mind it was the coolest thing I did all trip! It was now late afternoon so we went to look at our photos. There were so many cool ones that I decided to but the cd for $99 so I got them all.

We headed back to the resort for a shower before we headed back to the Polynesian Resort. I had booked the kids into the Neverland Club for the evening so we checked them in. It was so cool. They entered their area of the centre by climbing through Wendy’s bedroom window. On the other side there were play stations, toys, games, large screen tvs and craft stuff. We filled in some forms on what they would like for dinner and they gave us a pager that would work anywhere on Disney property in case they needed to contact us.

We headed upstairs and had a nice quiet adult dinner at the Kona Café. The meals here were delicious but the best was the show kitchen just for the desserts. After you have finished your main meal you are encouraged to go up and have a look at what you would like. It was so hard to choose! After dinner we headed to Pleasure Island. This was our first visit so we started with eth Comedy Club. We had a good laugh before heading over to the Adventurers Club. I had high expectations for this which were sadly misplaced. We both found the Adventurers Club to be annoying. We left after a while and spent some time wandering around the island. At about 11.30 our pager went off so we headed back to get the kids. Eloise had a great time and wanted to go back the next night and John said if we ever sent him there again he was leaving us!