Monday 30 September

Sophie en route on Sunday

Sophie has arrived .....

.... and life's good!

Meanwhile two Florida people manage to get their residents' annual Disney passes

Sunday 29 September

Text and photos to come ....

Saturday 27 September

Text and photos to come ....

Friday 27 September

Photos to come ....

We had pencilled this in the planner as a possible second day at Universal but in all truth we were absolutely parked-out and we had guests arriving this afternoon.

Catherine and Chris had a quick trip to Disney Springs for some last-minute shopping (and so Catherine could get her birthday gift in Sephora) and then it was back to the house for tidying up, packing our bags (sob!) and getting some laundry done.

About 6.30 our guests arrived, only Sarah & Chris who were just starting their holiday and had managed to get out here despite Thomas Cook going bust less than a week before they were due to fly out – thank goodness for British Airways!  We were all starving so it was down to Miller’s Ale House for Zingers Mountain Melts all round (Sarah had ribs) and then it was back to the house for our last night.

Again the boys played pool in the games room & Catherine & Sarah watched a bit of Moana.

Thursday 26 September

Photos to come ....

We could feel that our holiday was starting to come to an end (sob!).  Today was our last park day for the trip and we spent it at Animal Kingdom.  It is Disney’s newest park but has been open for 20 years.  Only Catherine has done this one previously and even then there’s always more to see.

Our first fastpass was for Na’vi River Journey in Pandora (based on the James Cameron film Avatar).  The introduction of this section of the park in the last few years has certainly ramped up visitor numbers to it and the wait times for the rides in Pandora can be unreal.  We hadn’t been successful in getting a fastpass for the other ride, Flight of Passage, so would have to take pot luck with the standby queue when the time came.

Na’vi River Journey is pleasant enough and the effects (holograms and animatronics are amazing!) but it is a short ride (too short if you’ve waited an hour to get on it) and if you’re not on the front row of your boat the view is obscured a bit.  We then decided to postpone our Everest fastpass for the afternoon and try our luck with Flight of Passage as the wait time was about an hour.

Wow, just wow!  All of the hype for this ride is definitely worth it.  It uses similar technology to Soarin’ in terms of the graphics but it is 3D as well.  We didn’t have to queue for the full hour and it’s another ride with an immersive queue area.  When you get inside the ride section you sit on what can only be described as a static motorbike, so that you feel like you’re riding on the back of the banshee in flight (you can even feel its breathing motion against your legs).  Visually stunning and you even get the smells.  It’s one that deserves all of the praise that it gets.

Animal Kingdom always feels hot (Andrew’s theory is that it’s because all of the trees and plants in the park keep the air from circulating fully), so once we’d got a few photos in Pandora we decided to go down to the Festival of the Lion King show to cool off.  This truly is a great show, very colourful and has great floats with Simba and Pumbaa on.  However, we were seated towards the back and in front of us was a walkway so our view kept getting blocked with people leaving with crabby little ones.  It didn’t detract from our overall enjoyment though as the show is so fabulous.

Time for another fastpass and it was a biggie.  We hadn’t managed to meet the big cheese (and Mrs Cheese too!) on the whole trip so went to hang out with Mickey and Minnie in their safari outfits.  It’s always magical meeting these two and Minnie took a particular shine to Andrew (Mickey had his eye on him to make sure there wasn’t any funny business!).

Meet and greet done, the boys went to do It’s Tough to be a Bug (a show that gave Catherine a panic attack aged 11 so she sat this one out – bloody insects!).  Catherine renewed her annual pass while she waited for the boys (served by the cutest cast member ever who was so apologetic about everything, even existing as a human being!).

We then went to meet Dug and Russell from Up! which turned out to be the best character meet all holiday.  While we were meeting them Kevin (the massive bird from Up!) went past and they pulled us over to say hello to him – magical!  Russell proudly showed us all of his scout badges and we bonded with Dug about how naughty it is of squirrels to run up trees when you’re trying to chase them.  Andrew gave Dug a good tummy rub which set his foot off tapping.

We then stopped for some food at Flame Tree Barbecue because we’d not had enough pulled pork yet this holiday and it isn’t half bad from here.  There’s also plenty of seating nearby, some of which has a great view of Everest and the lake.

Lunch consumed, we ventured over to Dinoland USA.  This is definitely an area for the little ones in the main but it also has the Dinosaur ride which was a new one for all of us.  It’s a bumpy one and has a bit of a Jurassic Park feel to it so not perhaps the best one to do straight after eating!  The rest of Dinoland is definitely not aimed at us and the boys were getting keener and keener to do Kali river rapids (or rubber dinghy rapids as they’d nicknamed it).

The wait time for this was insane, perhaps because it was a hot afternoon and everyone needed a good soaking to cool off.  They aren’t wrong when they warn you that you will get wet and you may get soaked (they should just shorten it and say you WILL get soaked!).  Another fairly short ride but a great laugh and we came off absolutely dripping wet!  The worst bit is that there is a bit of a wait at the end of the ride to get off the rafts.  While you’re waiting you get drowned by jets of water controlled by sadistic visitors who have just got off the ride and are soaked to the skin themselves and want to inflict the same pain on you!  We had to partake in the same activity once we finally got off the ride, be rude not to!

Our next fastpass for Everest was now open and there’s no better way to dry off from a water ride by getting wind-blasted on a rollercoaster.  This is a favourite and it also has a single-rider line if you fancy another go on it.  It’s a steep one, does go backwards at one point and a lot of the turns and twists are in the darkness of the inside of the mountain.  Once we’d finished we managed to get a fastpass booked for the safari later on this evening when all the animals would be out due to cooler weather.

To kill time until then we did both of the animal walking trails in the park.  One has tigers, komodo dragons, an aviary and monkeys.  The other has a gorilla troop, meerkats, okapi and zebras.  They’re a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the rides and the cast members that are on hand are so knowledgeable about their charges.  We saw one of the tigers really close up and the animals do seem to have a large space to be in.

We then had a quick coffee stop in Starbucks and then realised that Pocahontas was doing meet and greets nearby so we swung to say Wingapo to her.

Then it was safari time.  Once again, it didn’t disappoint.  We were stalked by a group of curious giraffes, saw the hippos swimming to cool off and were able to see some of the elephants too.  It’s definitely one for a fastpass as the lines for this one can get really long.

The evening show (Rivers of Light) wasn’t until 8pm so the boys managed to fit in another go on Everest while Catherine got some honey chicken to try from Yak and Yeti (yummy!).  The seats we had for the show were really good, although we did have to sit on separate rows due to the family sitting next to us not leaving enough space for their relatives who arrived later!

There are no fireworks at this show due to the animals on site but the light-up floats are beautiful and the projections on the water are fabulous.  The onion ninjas got Catherine again (it’s that song from Tarzan that does it!) and then it was time for home, waving goodbye to Disney for this trip (sobbing again!) – until next time...

Wednesday 25 September

Photos to come ....

Our plan for today was to get both Universal parks done.  However, Catherine had been struggling with a worsening cold since Monday morning and a bad night’s sleep on Tuesday she felt in no shape for another park day.

The boys went up to Universal for 9am and Catherine went back to bed to sleep!  They managed to get on all of the rides they wanted, including the new Hagrid ride with only a 30-minute wait.  Andrew couldn’t be persuaded to go on Fast & the Furious for a 2nd time (once was definitely enough from the Halloween night) and both agreed that Hulk was now their favourite ride of the holiday so far.  They also got drenched on Dudley Do-right’s Rip Saw Falls.  Catherine’s afternoon was saved thanks to Freeform showing back-to-back Disney films in September.

For dinner, we decided to stay in and have another takeaway night from Pizza Hut and the boys had a few games of pool in the games room.  Then an early night ready for a park day again tomorrow.

Tuesday 24 September

Today was another water park day.  This time we tried out Volcano Bay (Universal Orlando Resort’s water park) which has only been open for a few years.  Everything feels very new here still and the slides and rides are more intense than at the Disney parks.

It isn’t possible to park directly at Volcano Bay – you have to park in the Universal multi-storey and then get a bus over.  There was a bus waiting for us to go, but it does add to your journey time and means that you have to queue at the other side to go through airport-style security.

Once inside, we got registered and were given our Taputapu bands.  This is for the unique queuing system in use in the park.  Instead of waiting for a slide in lines you can tap in at the attraction’s entrance and the band will then count down your wait time.  While waiting you can go on the rides and experiences which have no wait time until you’re called for the tapped in attraction.

We tried both lazy rivers first (one is not very lazy at all and you have to wear a flotation vest on it!) and then the boys went to try the aquacoaster.  Some of the raft slides were down so we couldn’t do everything straightaway.  Then we tapped in to try one of the group raft rides which only had a 20 minute wait and while we let the time tick round to ride it the boys tried the long body drop slide contained inside the volcano (Catherine didn’t like the idea of being dropped through a trap-door so passed on this one).

The raft ride (Honu) is exhilarating.  You ride in a large raft which can take a minimum of two and a maximum of five people down steep tubes and soaring up steep banks.  It’s not one for the faint hearted but so much fun!  We then tried the drop slides Ohyah and Ohno which have either a 4 or 6 foot drop into a plunge pool as you exit (definitely one for the stronger swimmers!)  Andrew also tried the other body drop slides and Catherine and Chris ventured inside the volcano where there are colourful water attractions and a talking goddess who sings at you.

It was starting to get hot by 2 and we felt like we’d done everything so we got changed & headed back home.  The changing rooms at Volcano Bay are brilliant and much lighter and more spacious than the ones at Typhoon Lagoon.

For the evening we’d planned another trip to Epcot to get another go at Food & Wine.  We stuffed our faces (personal favourite had to be the Le Cellier Steak!) and also went on the Frozen ride (this time with a fastpass). 

We finished the night by meeting Anna & Elsa in their new(ish) location.  Anna is so chatty and wanted to know all about our Queen and why she wears gloves (we all know it’s because she has ice powers like Elsa).  The snow queen herself was a lot cooler and we practised our ice powers with her.  As we left, Illuminations was starting and we said goodbye to this for the last time as it finishes next week after a 20-year run.

Monday 23 September

No rest for the wicked! After our late night at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party where we didn’t get to sleep until about 2 it was another action packed day today, this time at Hollywood Studios.

For quite a while this has been a mainly show-orientated park with rides kept to the minimum.  However all that changed recently with the opening of Toy Story Land which brought 2 new rides to the park (including Slinky Dog Dash – "He-e-e-e-ere we go"!). 

To follow this year was the much anticipated Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, with Disney giving the vague opening date of Fall/Autumn 2019.  When we were planning our trip we figured that we would be there too early to see the opening of this new ‘land’.  Then Disney brought the opening date forward to the end of August (well, for an opening of the land and one ride with the 2nd ride to open in December) so we were in. Hurrah!  Well, we were in as long as the queues for it didn’t reach the expected levels of 1 million-billion hours of waiting!

Our late night on Sunday meant that we didn’t get to Hollywood Studios for opening as we’d planned to.  Instead we made it there in time to do our first fastpass for Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster (the Aerosmith ride).  This is the only rollercoaster in WDW that goes upside down so it is on the slightly more intense list.  It also shoots you off at 60mph to start the ride – fun!  We had to queue for about 20 minutes but the standby line was horrendous at nearly an hour so thank goodness for the fastpass.

Hollywood Studios’ new fastpass policy is that you’re allowed 1 fastpass for a ride and then your other 2 pre-booked ones have to be for shows.  Therefore we had to use up our final 2 passes on shows.  Well, what better show to use it up on than Indiana Jones.  

On the way we went to meet Olaf (Andrew’s absolute favourite...or not!) for some warm hugs in the sunshine.  Then, as it was yet another hot, sunny day we went over to the Indiana Jones theatre to get some much needed aircon.

I won’t spoil the surprise for those of you that haven’t seen this show, but it’s great and still really popular with guests - lots of tricks, pyrotechnics, audience participation and laughs.  Cooled down, we had a bit of time to kill before our next reservation.  So we went back over to the Star Wars Launch Bay (which used to be the animation studios in the old days) to hang out with Chewbacca (squeal! – Catherine) and get some wookie hugs.

This also gave us our first experience of our photos being taken with the new photopass machines, rather than a photographer (don’t get me started on this – Catherine).  It did feel strange not having that interaction with a cast member taking the photos and hopefully this is a trick that Disney will realise is a negative for guests (in our opinion).

Now, when the opening date for Galaxy’s Edge was announced they held off on allowing reservations for the restaurants until August.  We’d managed to get a lunchtime drinks booking in Oga’s Cantina so that we could fully experience this.   It meant that we could also guarantee getting in to the land to see it, so not wishing to be late we decided it was time to get over to it.

Well, folks, it’s huuuuuuuge!  It’s also like a completely different world.  All of the cast members are in character, Chewbacca and Rey wander round and try to avoid the clutches of the patrolling storm troopers who challenge guests randomly & ensure they have pledged allegiance to the First Order.

We had a couple of photographs taken and tried to find our way to Oga’s but all the signs are in Batuu’s native language so it’s tricky.  Eventually we found it & joined the queue with other guests who had a reservation.  This also allowed us to get a look at the menu and also be briefed by a local on the etiquette of the cantina (basically, 90% of the cantina is standing room so make sure you don’t move from the spot we put you in or your server won’t find you!).

It seemed to take ages for our names to be called but eventually we were summoned in and shown to our spot (even if you’re standing you do get space at either the bar or high tables so you don’t have to hold your drink/snacks) and our server came & took our order for drinks.  Chris also ordered some cantina bar snacks for us to try.

You are limited to 2 drinks each due to the popularity of the location but our server didn’t rush us through at all.  It is a little bit cramped & you have to share your table with others but it adds to the atmosphere & it does feel like you’re in the films!  The drinks were interesting, from the fairly tame Jabba Juice to the more adventurous Fuzzy Tauntaun which does to your mouth what it says on the tin.

The snacks were basically air-fried vegetable slices with a dip very similar to the sauce in Saag Alloo for those of you that like a curry.  There was even a blue milk cocktail.  Once we’d got through our two drinks each we had to pay our bill, the most expensive drinks bill that we’ve ever paid but that’s Disney for you!  At least we can say we’ve done it once.   Chris got a blue milk to try which wasn’t bad.

Then it was back to the ‘real’ world, the Disney world, for our next fastpass for Frozen Ever After.  If you like panto and Frozen then this is your bag (Andrew really, really loves Frozen and slept through most of the show!).  However, having a fastpass for this really isn’t worth it as it basically means that you get to queue by the doors to the theatre for an extra half an hour with minimal air conditioning.  The little videos that they play in the holding area are amusing (the first time you watch them) but after the 3rd run it gets a bit tedious.

The show is great though, with gags for the kids and also jokes that go straight over their heads to the grown-ups.  It also means you can ‘let it go’ and have a good sing (although the very large lady who sat next to Catherine really didn’t appreciate her singing, just as Catherine didn’t appreciate being squashed by someone who wanted half of her seat in addition to the one allocated to her!).  Going to a frozen Arandelle also means fantastic aircon to cool you down.

While we’d been in the queue for Frozen Chris had managed to book a fastpass for Tower of Terror which the boys then went off & did while Catherine had a seat in the shade & then we had a spot of late lunch/early dinner from the pizza stall near the ride.  The pizzas are a decent size for the money & you get a cup of Caesar salad on the side.  Our plan had then been to see the new Cars show near Rock n Rollercoaster but it was down so we went over to Toy Story Land to queue up for Slinky Dog Dash.

Most of the queue for this is in the open air so it can get really hot.  The wait time was meant to be an hour but we were off the ride within that time & it’s as good as ever (hang on......here we go!!).  We then went to Alien Swirling Saucers next door as the wait time wasn’t too bad, or so we thought!

While we were queuing half of the ride went down so the line moved very, very slowly.  We persevered though and the ride did come back on stream so we could get on.  Not sure we’d do it again as it’s a bit jolty and although it’s similar to the teacups at Magic Kingdom in format you can’t control the saucer in any way (so the boys couldn’t attempt unconsciousness again from swirling).

Until the opening of Galaxy’s Edge the Toy Story Land only had 1 entry/exit point.  It now flows into one of the entrances to Batuu so isn’t as much of a bottleneck as it used to be.  The queue time for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run was down to under an hour so back into Galaxy’s Edge to ride it.

The line is really engaging for this ride and moves well so it didn’t feel like we were waiting ages to get on.  Once inside a very realistic looking Millennium Falcon (it’s like being on the film set), you are allocated a cockpit (in groups of 6) and assigned a role of either pilots, gunners or engineers.  Andrew & Chris got pilots and Catherine was a gunner.  It’s a simulator ride but the experience very much depends on the quality of your pilots (bad pilots equal a very bumpy ride!).  It’s not one for the easily queasy but so much fun to blast through hyperspace like Han Solo & Chewie do in the films.

When we got out of the ride it was starting to drop dark so we stopped to get a coffee (or at least tried to, it seems they don’t do coffee in Batuu!).   We had to settle with water and Chris tried a green milk.  It was nice to sit and watch the world go by, with Storm troopers harassing passing babies in pushchairs to check their loyalty and then discussing whether they should get one as a pet.

Chris had booked the highlight of his trip, building a lightsaber, for 9pm so we killed a bit of time looking in the different shops and also the droid building workshop (where you could buy a replica R2-D2 for $25,000 – we passed on that one because, let’s face it, how would we get it home?!).  As Chris was only allowed to take 1 guest with him to build his saber, Andrew went with him & Catherine went back to Hollywood Boulevard to have a look in the shops.

With the lightsaber build a success we decided to end the night by watching the Star Wars projection & firework show in front of the Chinese theatre.  This is brilliant and we were really looking forward to it.  When we got there, a lot of the visitors were sitting down (strange, but it can be a long day & people like to rest their legs) but there was no show for another 10 minutes so we assumed that they would stand up when it started.  We stayed standing and then got heckled by a large group behind us telling us to sit down.  

As there was nothing to see yet we pointed out that they weren’t missing anything and that if everyone was still sitting when the show started we would sit down and not block their view.  They were very unpleasant in their response, calling us stupid and swearing at us (in front of their kids, classy!).  However, English clearly wasn’t their first language so we’re not certain they understood all that we’d said.

The show started & almost everyone in front of us stayed sitting down so we obliged and got mock clapped & cheered by the clan behind us.  However, the family a few rows ahead of us stood for the whole show so our view was really restricted.  This put a massive dampener on what had been a really great day.

Back at base, we decided after a couple of late nights t go a bot easier on things tomorrow.  It was meant to be Universal Studios but we switched things round to do that on Wednesday instead.

photos to come ....

Sunday 22 September

After our busy day at Kennedy we were all shattered so had a restful morning in the house.  We were due back at Disney this evening for Mickey’s Not So Scary Hallowe'en Party so we decided to get some lunch on the way.

Today’s choice was Rock and Brews on the 192 at the new Margaritaville resort.  It’s a chain of restaurants owned by Gene Simmonds of KISS fame and, as the name suggests, is a rock and roll bar.  It’s got a really good atmosphere and the food & drink offerings were excellent.  We had starters and main courses which filled us right up!  Then it was a quick drive to Magic Kingdom for the party.

The party officially starts at 7pm but they allow access from 4pm.  We had a fast pass for Haunted Mansion booked for 5.40 but as we arrived at 4 we had a bit of time to kill before we did this.  We picked up our trick or treat bags and first handfuls of sweets.  First stop was the Peoplemover which had a momentary pause midway through & they turned all the lights on in the dark tunnel we were in near Space Mountain (our luck with rides breaking down or pausing mid-way through hasn’t been good on this holiday!) but then we moved off again.

Then it was time for Haunted Mansion to get the night off to a spooky start.  The park was starting to empty a bit when we came out but we decided to grab a drink in Pinocchio’s again while the rest of the non-partygoers left.  Refreshed we went over to Frontierland and rode Big Thunder Mountain again (always good fun!).  The trick or treat spots opened just before 7 so we visited the ones in Frontierland and Adventureland and then joined the queue for the spookified Pirates of the Caribbean.  I won’t spoil the surprise for those that haven’t been on a party night but well worth a visit!

While in Adventureland we also went on Aladdin’s Magic Carpets and got soaked by one of the naughty camels!  Then we realized that Jasmine & Genie were doing a meet & greet nearby.  Catherine was straight in that queue but then the cast members told us that it wasn’t guaranteed that we’d meet Jasmine as she & Aladdin rotated their slots and that Jasmine was going for a break in 10 minutes.

We cancelled that and went back over to Tomorrowland to get some more sweets at the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.  They were also doing shows here so we sat for a bit & watched before going on Space Mountain which also has a Halloween twist!

It was now getting dark and we wanted to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train again so we went over to Fantasyland to see if we could get on.  The wait time wasn’t too bad and it was great to experience it in the dark.  We then made our way back to the castle to get a spot for the fireworks.  The fireworks show is new for this year and much improved.  They use the castle projections a lot more and it seemed like it was a longer show.

We then stuck around to see the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular show which features the Sanderson Sisters (from Hocus Pocus) and other Disney villains.  Next was the later outing of the Boo To You parade which we also watched next to the castle.  This hasn’t changed much from last year’s version in all honesty but it’s a good parade to see a variety of characters as well as the Headless Horseman, grave diggers and the characters from the Haunted Mansion.

The party officially finished at 12 so once the parade had gone through we only had about half an hour left to get more things done.  We made a quick trip over to do the Alice in Wonderland teacups which was another ride that had been spooked up for Halloween.  The boys tried to spin themselves into a state of unconsciousness which was partially successful and Andrew needed a hand getting out of his teacup at the end.  With only 10 minutes of the party remaining we joined the queue to meet Alice by the teacups but the cast member told us that she wasn’t seeing anymore visitors tonight.  So what could we do with the time left?  Well, the answer was to leg it back over to Seven Dwarfs to close out the night.  We made the queue with 1 minute to spare but got through the queue and the ride within 30 minutes.

Sadly, all good things come to an end.  The party was over and we headed out of the park with the intention of getting the monorail back to the car park.  Not a chance!  The queue was mad again so we took a chance that the buses would be running back to the car park.  They were (hurrah!) and we were able to get on a bus without queuing at all.

With another action packed day in store tomorrow it was straight to bed!

Saturday 21 September

Well, it’s been a while since Catherine & Andrew have been to Kennedy Space Center and Chris had never visited.  We had a pain free drive over to Cape Canaveral and got parked up near to the entrance.  It’s definitely changed in the past few years.

After getting our tickets validated we visited the Heroes & Legends show which is a 3D experience taking you through some of the space missions that left from Kennedy over the years and supposedly into the minds of those astronauts & crew that worked on them.  Very impressive show and used similar technology to Soarin’ at Epcot to make you feel like you were flying through the minds of the astronauts.

We then decided to do the main tour of the day which is the bus tour to the launch pads and then to the Saturn V rocket exhibit.  This takes you on a 40-minute bus tour of the various launch pads and also past the vehicle assembly building (VAB) where NASA built their rockets.  We were lucky as one of the humungous doors was open as we drove past so we could catch a glimpse of the inside & it is truly massive!  We were able to see the launch sites that SpaceX are currently using to send rockets up to the International Space Station.

It was then on to the main exhibit, the Saturn V rocket experience.  This is truly breathtaking.  There are various exhibition rooms in this area but the main hall houses a full-size Saturn V rocket overhead.  Walking underneath it is amazing and you feel so small!  There are also shows which look at Apollo 11 (with particular focus on the landing of the Eagle module on the moon) and a tribute to the 3 astronauts lost in Apollo 1, Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee.

By now it was getting on for a late lunch so we caught the bus back to the main centre and stopped for a quick snack and a drink before tackling the next major exhibit – Atlantis.  This has only been open since 2013 and houses the retired space shuttle Atlantis.  This is another breathtaking experience, seeing the space shuttle up close.

There are also fun things to do like the slides where you come into land in the same way as the shuttle and also the launch experience where you can play the astronaut & experience what it’s like to blast off into space.

Time today really ran away with us and before we knew it, it was nearly closing time.  We were all starving so found a local Olive Garden restaurant for dinner.  Another one that doesn’t disappoint, we had a fantastic server who gave us extra salad, bread sticks and also kept our drinks topped up.  We left feeling absolutely stuffed!  

Then it was home via Publix for milk and the gas station for fuel.

Catherine, Andrew and Chris - Friday 20 September

As the boys had a late night we moved our plans around and decided that we’d do Typhoon Lagoon this morning and then get some lunch/dinner at Disney Springs afterwards.

This was our first time visiting for everyone and our first proper water park (Discovery Cove didn’t have any thrill slides & doesn’t really count itself as a water park).  The boys already had admission included with their Disney ticket but Catherine needed to buy a 1-day ticket to get access.

Surprisingly though, even if you don’t have a water  parks annual pass Disney will still give you a Florida resident discount on the 1-day entry which means 20% off the standard price – winner!

Typhoon Lagoon’s central feature is a large pool that sets off a large wave at regular intervals.  First of all, we came across some of the racing slides (Humbunga Kowabunga) which we decided to have a go on.  These are enclosed slides so you can’t judge where you are until the very end.  We then tried out the slightly tamer Storm Slides which are open to the air in parts and a bit more sedate.  We then decided to lounge about on the lazy river & get our bearings as to what else was around for us to try.  This meant several hilarious attempts at launching ourselves onto the rubber rings so that we could travel around the river in the most comfortable fashion.

As we made our way around we noticed the Miss Adventure Falls which is a group raft ride and thought that we’d try this next.  It proved to be a good move as we went on it twice back to back.  It’s a really fun ride and you don’t get dunked underwater at the end.  We then tried a few round on Crush n Gusher, described as a water roller coaster you can attempt mostly in pairs but there is 1 run out of the 3 that you can do solo.  Each route is different & some are more intense than others.

We then decided it was time to have a splash about in the wave pool.  A great experience but you have to expect to get dunked underwater when the big waves hit you!  The boys swam out to the nearest point to the wave machine and enjoyed getting bumped about as the first waves took them.

Then it was time for a snack and something that we’ve wanted to try since the holiday started – a large Disney pretzel.  Not at all like the crunchy snack ones that you get at parties, these are soft, doughy & slightly salty.  They also come with a cheese dipping sauce and aren’t badly priced for the size of them.  After this and a quick pit-stop for reapplying sun cream we were back in the water.

For the afternoon’s activities we first tried out the Mayday & Keelhaul Falls rides.  These are solo raft rides with Mayday Falls being the more intense (read as Catherine really liked the Keelhaul Falls ride but found Mayday a bit juddery!).  We also tried the Gangplank Falls which is another group raft ride but we didn’t enjoy it as much as the other slides (it was a bit too short compared to the others).  This then meant that we’d done everything once so focused the rest of our time re-doing the slides we’d enjoyed most (including a few more trips on Crush n Gusher and Miss Adventure Falls).  By now it was getting on for 3pm so we got changed and drove over to Disney Springs for a very late lunch.

When we visited on Tuesday we had looked in the shop at House of Blues & also perused the menu.  It looked good so we decided to come back & try the food today.  It didn’t disappoint with good BBQ food offerings.  Our server was really attentive and we didn’t have to wait long to get our order.  We then had a quick trip into the shop where Catherine & one of the ladies on the tills bonded over how amazing Primark were for Disney t-shirts.

Our final plan for today had been kept under wraps as it was a surprise for Chris.  We took him to Player 1 arcade bar (near Disney Springs) for an evening playing arcade & computer games with a bit of beer (for the boys) mixed in.  It was a nice change from the theme parks (thanks for the recommendation Chris D) and the group favourite had to be Guitar Hero!  We ended up having a lovely chat with a local guy who had lived everywhere from Tennessee to Ohio to Florida to Ohio and then back to Florida.  He’d never left the US but had visited 37 states due to his work fitting new systems at various Cracker Barrel restaurants throughout the country.

Then it was back home & off to bed ready for another full day on Saturday at Kennedy Space Center.

Sarah and Chris Set Off

After a hectic last day of work and getting pets to their own holiday destinations (plus picking up some absolute necessities from Graeme to take out in their largely empty suitcases - e.g Marmite!)  Sarah and Chris made their way to Gatwick Airport, stopping off at the family's now favourite en route watering hole aka McDonald's at Watford Gap services!

A restful night in their hotel was followed by an excited getting up on Friday to discover that breakfast was included in their hotel price!

As they prepared to board they were given a snack box, apparently BA is trying to mend fences with passengers on their flight, many of who had to re-book because of the recent pilots' strike.

The plane seems to be ready to leave on time (don't they always?!) and the last we heard was that they were indeed boarding.

Don't forget to track their flight using the link on the right.  See https://flightaware.com/live/flight/BAW2037

Thursday 19 September

We slowed the pace down again today as the boys were booked to go to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights in the evening.

Plans for the morning were to visit the Premium Outlet Mall at Vineland and get there for opening so that we didn’t have to fight for a space in the car park.  Mission achieved on that score we had a mooch around for a few hours here.

There didn’t seem to be the usual discounts in such as American Eagle but maybe part of that is due to the rubbish exchange rate at the moment.  Andrew managed to pick up some good deals in the Under Armor & Nike outlets for some workout gear and new trainers and Catherine finally managed to settle on some Vans that she liked the look of.  We were also amazed at the queue for the Disney Warehouse store (it isn’t normally like this!)

For lunch we drove down the I-4 to Davenport’s Ale House.  Somehow this didn’t feel up to usual standards on the boneless wings front (maybe I should’ve specified that I wanted them breaded! – CBC), but the boys enjoyed their lunch and Chris tried some of their new beers.  It is definitely still somewhere to go when you’re really hungry so the boys were set up for their evening of scares.

Back to the house and Catherine settled down for a chilled night with the TV and some sewing.  Andrew & Chris left for Universal at about 4.30 and had a brilliant night.  Halloween Horror Nights is definitely not one for the faint hearted (which is why Catherine didn’t go).

There are several themed houses that you can visit and also a few scare zones where devilish creatures will give you a fright.  The boys managed to get on several rides before the night officially started, including Rip Ride Rocket (the one that Alan Carr went on last summer & the footage of his reactions went viral).

They managed to visit 7 of the houses, including the Stranger Things house, Ghostbusters, Us, Depths of Fear & Universal Monsters, experienced all 3 scream zones & saw both shows which they said were fantastic.  It was a late night but a very enjoyable one.

Wednesday 18 September

The day dawned & we were ready to set off to Catherine & Andrew’s favourite park, Epcot.  This is very unlike the other Disney parks – it’s one more for the grown-ups than the kids.  Maybe that’s why we love it so much.  What makes it even better is that the Food & Wine festival is on from September now through to nearly the end of November so there’s different offerings to try by the bucket load.  The park is split into 2 sections – FutureWorld and then World Showcase.  Most of FutureWorld seems to be boarded off at the moment as construction work starts in preparation for the 50th birthday of Walt Disney World in 2021.

We arrived for park opening as our first fast pass was at 9.15 for Spaceship Earth.  Magic Kingdom has its cult rides & Epcot is no different.  This is top of the cult ride list for Epcot – a journey through man’s evolution narrated by our very own Dame Judi Dench (it’s the one in the ball too).  The ride is due to close at the end of the year for a 2-year refurbishment (Catherine is already wailing & wondering how she’ll cope without it for that long!) but it does need an update as at the moment the furthest they go is Bill Gates developing the PC in his garage with a brief mention of the invention of the internet.

Next stop was Test Track where you get to design your own car and then ‘test’ it for real on the track.  The boys loved designing their vehicle and then were thrilled that we topped the speed test at the end.  Girls, this is definitely a ride to tie your hair back on!

The boys then wanted to try Mission Space so they went to do this while Catherine went to get her pass holder magnet for this year’s food & wine festival & then have a look in Mouse Gear which is Epcot’s main merchandise location.  Mission Space is a simulated ride about a mission to Mars.  You have 2 options to ride, either the calmer green route or the vomit-inducing orange one (the boys chose orange).  They very much enjoyed it though & said it didn’t make them feel ill at all.

By now our 2nd fast pass window had opened up and we headed over to the Land pavilion to complete it – Soarin’.  This is a new favourite for Catherine & she wanted to convert Andrew & Chris too.  Another simulator ride, this is a gentle flight over world landmarks such as Sydney Harbor, the Great Wall of China, Fiji and of course, Epcot.  The boys were converted (thank goodness!).

Our 3rd fast pass was booked for Living with the Land but we had half an hour to kill before our fast pass window opened so we stopped in the Sunshine Seasons Café to get a drink & re-apply sun cream.  The time ticked by quickly & we got on the ride (with Chris managing to book our next fast pass for Nemo in the short time we had to queue).  This is an informative water journey about how man can work well with the land to produce the food it needs.  It also wends its way through the greenhouses and fish farm that Disney uses to produce the food for Epcot.  At this time of year (Food & Wine time), they link a lot of the produce to the dishes for the festival.  Looking at all of these dishes started to make us feel very peckish.

As we were then due to ride Nemo we walked down to the Seas pavilion and got on the ride.  It’s definitely one for the kids this one and very similar in style to the Little Mermaid ride at Magic Kingdom (in that you sit in a large clam shell while riding!).  The premise of the ride is that Nemo has got lost (again) and the other characters are trying to find him.  Did they find him you ask?  Well, we never actually found out!

Both on Monday & today we’ve had momentary pauses on the rides that move continuously.  Not unusual as sometimes they have to do this to allow wheelchair users to get on & off the ride.  This happened with Nemo and we expected that we’d get moving again in due course.  We waited, listening to the same 10 seconds of dialogue between Nemo, Crush and Squirt about the ‘EAC’ (that’s the East Australian Current if you haven’t seen the film) over and over and over again.  We contemplated whether drowning ourselves in the EAC might be more preferable than this.  Then, the audio & graphics went off, the big lights went on & the emergency exits opened.  We were being evacuated from the ride as they couldn’t resume it.  Cast members came to free us from our shells & then we had to walk our way back through to the start of the ride.  It was weird to see the ride in full light & not really operating but very interesting at the same time.  The cast members kept in character the whole time, telling us to ‘just keep swimming’ as we walked back through.  We were given an additional fast pass for our troubles, but only for the tier 2 attractions (so no opportunity to get one for Frozen Ever After which by now was an hour wait).  We decided to use it on Journey into your Imagination (with Figment), a new ride for everyone.

Definitely not a ride to write home about, we thought, but pleasant enough.  Our next stop was a break in the Magic Eye Theater to check out some of the films in the Disney & Pixar short film festival.  This allowed us to watch 3 short films from the various Disney animation studios & featured 3D visuals & some 4DX technology which made you feel like you were moving.  The films were all excellent and a little tear-jerking for some (Catherine…).  

After that it was back into the bright daylight & finally over to World Showcase for some food.  On the way we stopped to purchase & fill up a gift card ready to spend on snacks.  This is a tip Catherine had seen on Disney forums & proved to be an easier way to buy stuff from the festival without having to deal with cash.  The cards can be topped up at any of the food outlets rather than buying a new one each time.

We had our first food at the ‘Eats’ section just before you go into World Showcase.  Catherine picked the baked scallop & shrimp scampi dip with toasted bread (yum) and the boys both picked an Impossible burger.  This is completely vegan but the taste & texture is very like real beef.  With our tummies slightly filled we headed down to World Showcase.

Now with World Showcase you’re either a Mexico person or a Canada person when starting with the country that you visit first.  Having been a Canada person for most of her childhood Catherine is now firmly in the Mexico first clan as it’s her favourite pavilion in the whole of the World Showcase.  It mimics a Mexican market at night and also features another Epcot classic ride – The Three Caballeros.  Similar to It’s a Small World in parts, the premise of the ride is that Donald Duck has gone missing around Mexico and it’s up to the other 2 caballeros to locate him ready for their performance at the end of the ride.  With the catchiest of all catchy tunes at the end it’s a good one.  Rumour is that it will eventually be changed to a Coco themed attraction (noooooooo, what about the song? – CBC), so get your fill while it lasts.

Next pavilion is Norway, which used to be at the bottom of the list of interesting countries here until Disney released the mega hit that is Frozen.  When Andrew was last here in 2014 much of the space here was taken up with lines of giddy children waiting for up to 6 hours to meet the film’s famous sisters.  Luckily it’s calmed down a bit now & Anna & Elsa have their own indoor meet & greet (with the option to fast pass). There is also a ride, Frozen Ever After, which replaced the more mature ride about trolls & Norway that came before the Frozen hysteria began.  We had planned to visit this next but the ride lines were still nearly an hour so we gave it a miss with the hope that we might be able to ride it later on in the evening.

China was next and time for another food stop.  Catherine & Chris both chose the black pepper shrimp with noodles and Andrew opted for the chicken dumpling.  Both options were favourably reviewed and so we moved on to the next pavilion, Germany.

Now then, what’s in Germany?  Well, beer for one thing so the boys tried the beer flight from here.  They liked the beer overall but the darker pomegranate beer was described as being very similar to Vimto…

We had a quick trip through Italy but we could feel the humidity increasing and hear the thunder in the background so pushed on to the America pavilion to seek some cover & cool.

Another reason for rushing over to America was that Catherine desperately wanted to see the last performance for the day of Voices of Liberty.  This is a mixed acapella group which dress in traditional costume & sing well-known American songs (sometimes with some Disney tunes thrown in).  Fantastic to listen to, Catherine has missed them on her last couple of trips so definitely wanted to see them this time.  Outside the rain was falling happily so we stayed inside and went to see the American Adventure show.  Similar to the Hall of Presidents in Magic Kingdom this is the story of the United States as told by an animatronic Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain.

The rain had now passed on which had made the humidity and temperature much more bearable for the evening.  We stayed in the American pavilion to try some more food & drink offerings.  Catherine chose the lobster roll (amazing) and the boys both had a beer which they raved about.  Chris also liked the look of the lobster roll so got one for himself.  The shop in America is usually pretty good & Catherine purchased a spirit jersey (it’s grey!!) that she took a fancy to.

Japan was next and we managed to see the end of the drummers’ performance before going for a look in Mitsukosi which is the shop in these parts.  Featuring Japan’s famous exports the boys loved looking through the Nintendo merchandise & nearly bought an umbrella that looked like a samurai sword but then decided against it!  Catherine also purchased the teriyaki chicken bun to eat as we moved on to the next pavilion.

We walked through Morocco next but the rain was threatening again so we kept moving on to France and took shelter in the shop there while the shower passed.  Then it was over the International Gateway & back home to the UK pavilion.  Catherine was thirsty so nipped to the fish & chips stand to get some free iced water (UK pavilion serves the largest iced waters in Epcot if you’re thirsty).  

All of the staff that work in World Showcase are sourced from the country concerned and they each wear an ID badge with their name and also where in that country they are from.  Now usually the cast members in the UK have badges that say things like London and Birmingham so imagine Catherine’s shock when she realized that her server was from Worksop.  After a quick scream of ‘oh my god you’re from the same town as me!’ the server (Matt) decided to shut his station & come & have a quick chat with us.  Not only was he from Worksop but he lived in Gateford very near to Catherine & Andrew and also went to Portland School at the same time that Andrew was also there.  So there you have it, it really is a ‘small world after all’.  Water consumed, we had a look around the UK shops so that we could see what they believe are the things that tourists want to buy from Britain!  With 2 beer lovers in tow, Catherine suggested a quick peek in the Rose & Crown pub (which is normally heaving) but we found a table with no problems & the boys had a Guinness each. (But that's Irish! - Ed)

By now it was getting dark but we realized that the wait time for Frozen had gone down to around 30 minutes.  With 1 pavilion left (Canada) we decided to keep walking and go back round to Norway to ride it before the fireworks started.  Canada seemed to be having a lot of work done to it & even in its normal state it isn’t the largest or most exciting pavilion, so our stop here was short.  We had a quick look at the menu for the steak restaurant here but decided that $50 for a main meal was a bit much!

So back round the lake to Norway via Mexico & we were in the queue for Frozen Ever After.  The queue area for this ride is really pretty (if a little dark) but we didn’t wait for too long.  Another great ride, the animatronics are fantastic and even Andrew declared it the best ride of the day (overtaking their previous favourite Mission Space) despite the ‘annoying snowman who adds nothing to the story’ (lies I tell you, all lies – CBC).

We were now within half an hour of the fireworks so it was time to find a spot to watch Illuminations – Reflections of Earth for the last time (& first time for some).  This show is nearly 20 years old now and starting to look dated when compared with newer fireworks shows at the other parks.  It finishes at the end of the month with an interim show prepared until the permanent replacement starts at some point in 2020 or 2021.  Before the fireworks started Catherine disappeared off to get the food & wine spirit jersey & also a pass holder merchandise mug for the collection.  The show is shorter than the Magic Kingdom at less than 15 minutes but the fireworks are large & loud & you can generally get a good view of the show at any location around the central lake.

As the mass exodus from the park started, we decided to come back to Epcot for an evening next week to do much more eating & drinking.  Chris is now a true convert to Epcot’s laid back atmosphere.