Another 18 nights RPR, just the two of us & HHN (2015 Trip)

[schumigirl]

SATURDAY 19TH SEPT

Even though this was going to be a lazy relaxing couple of days, we still got up early every day. I think when you`re used to getting up at a certain time it doesn`t really leave you. And more honestly.....we didn`t want to miss a second.......so we were up just after 7 and showered and dressed we headed up to Club Lounge for breakfast. Didn`t feel hungry till I got there though. It was fairly quiet again, despite it being a Saturday.....I expected it would get busier later with HHN.

We had lovely breakfast of toast, fruit and cinnamon bun.....so delicious and coffee. The continental meats, I think there were 2 of those along with other meats looked nice, would try them another day. So when we were done and after chatting as usual we headed back down to our room to Skype Kyle. We had now upgraded to the better wifi.......so hoped that would work better, It did! We connected in seconds and had fantastic connection. It was so lovely and a bit weird talking to him like this over 4000 miles away. He looked great and told us what he had been doing......since yesterday......lol.......we told him our plans for the day and we arranged to talk later or tomorrow depending on what we were doing.

We said goodbye and we put some sun cream on but not much as this was going to be a shopping day......kind of. We were going to buy my birthday IPad but wanted some other bits too, so we headed to Walmart on John Young Parkway for a change. Not as nice a Walmart but they had a charger we needed in stock. So wandered around there for a bit then headed to Mall at Millenia. We went straight to the Apple store.....with being a Saturday it was mobbed. I grabbed first person we saw and told him exact one we wanted and we wanted it in grey. He disappeared and came back with it, we paid and was out of shop within 5 minutes. Happy Birthday to me.....again!! Must have been our quickest purchase ever, and his easiest sale. We wandered around for a bit, then decided we were bit hungry. Where had we not eaten for a long time as we thought it wasn`t brilliant? Cheesecake Factory. We would give it a try again.

Got a table in 2 minutes and just before we were seated a girl behind the cheesecake counter came up and tapped me on the arm.......Hi she said.......I had no idea who she was....until she said.....where`s your son for his chocolate cake!! I was stunned.......she had remembered him last year from buying so many slices last few years........it was so funny she recognised us.......we chatted briefly and told us say hi to him for her......we would. How funny. Anyway we got a table and perused the huge.....huge menu......

We thought in our wisdom we would just have a sandwich........yes, we had forgotten just how big the portions are in here.......we again, should really just have shared one, but.....we both wanted something different. I decided on Southwest Chicken with sweet potato fries and Tom decided on the California Cheesesteak..........they were both lovely but far too big for two people who only wanted a small lunch today...........

We didn't finish most of it but it was delicious. Sweet potato fries were so nice.......we most definitely have no room for dessert even to take out. Not a huge fan of very sweet desserts now, well, I do like them but can`t eat them a lot. So it`s just after 1pm now so we head back to hotel, wow it is lovely and hot again today. We decide we will have a couple of hours by the pool and chill out before dinner tonight.

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks for the update - maybe the club rooms will be done by the time we return.

Great pictures!

You`re welcome.........they should be. They stopped halfway through T2 to get T3 done......and it started week before last......should be lovely all finished....I can`t wait to see it all done.

Thanks, glad you like the "huge" pics.......lol......

 

[tink1957]

Congrats on the new iPad Carole...happy birthday to you indeed

Those sandwiches look yummy...may have to give CF a try next time.

Keep up the good work...it's helping me get over my post trip blues

 

[schumigirl]

Congrats on the new iPad Carole...happy birthday to you indeed

Those sandwiches look yummy...may have to give CF a try next time.

Keep up the good work...it's helping me get over my post trip blues

Glad to help Vicki.........we had stopped going to CF, apart from Kyle's chocolate cake........years ago.....thought it was bla.......but we did enjoy those sandwiches.......I used to get the Chinese chicken salad....lunch portion.....and it was massive! Glad we went back, but would only go for a lunch.........

Will carry on report tomorrow..........

 

[Kivara]

Loving your trip report. I'm so happy the WiFi was better, Skype can be a God-send or the most frustrating thing...glad it worked well for you (at least so far.)

 

[schumigirl]

Loving your trip report. I'm so happy the WiFi was better, Skype can be a God-send or the most frustrating thing...glad it worked well for you (at least so far.)

Thanks!!! Skype was amazing......can`t actually believe I have never used it before........

Glad you`re enjoying reading along........

 

[jump00]

 

[schumigirl]

SAT 19TH continued.......

We got back to the hotel and chatted to a friend we met in the lobby for a while, then went upstairs and put IPad on charge and decided we wouldn`t bother with pool time as it looked......HOT!! So Tom went to sleep for an hour or so and I mooched on other IPad for a while......I must have dropped off myself at some point, next thing it was 4pm. We weren`t going out till 7.30 so we headed up to lounge and had a coffee and chatted, then at 4.30 we had a couple of glasses of wine each. We were using the cars outside the hotel tonight so no worries about having a drink. We sat till around 6pm.......got to know new guy Anthony a bit more tonight and one of the newer girls too.

The Club Lounge is so welcoming.....they are so kind and considerate to everyone who walks through the doors, and that includes the whole hotel staff....everyone is made to feel so special.......

The lounge itself is due a refurb, but it has a lovely warm feeling when you are in it......outside of food service hours, it`s usually very quiet, and we always enjoy some time when it is like that chatting and passing an hour or so, especially if we have some laundry running downstairs.

Evening appetisers are served from 4.30pm - 6.30pm and buffet style is the order of the day here.

Alcohol is available too between these hours. Wine and beers are complimentary, you can purchase hard liquor at $5 a shot. Measures are good!!!

But headed back down to room to get showered and changed.......went downstairs and got car immediately. They are so handy and I think it was only $20 plus tip of course to take us where we were going.

Although my birthday was 13th Sept this was going to be my birthday dinner tonight. We had decided on Ocean Prime in Dr Phillips area.......we had heard some very good reviews of it and wanted to give it a try. It only took just over 5 minutes to get there, guy gave us his card to call him back when we wanted picked up, although we ended up not calling him back.

The entrance is nice, but is almost understated........

We were welcomed by Lori, who was so lovely......we were a bit early so she asked if we wanted to go have a drink in the bar area till our table was ready.......no problem. Bar area is lovely too. There is a guy singing and plays the piano......not too loud and not intrusive at all. Really nice atmosphere in here.........Tom orders a glass of wine and I order my much awaited Berries and Bubbles cocktail........I love dry ice effects......lol.......

I had seen this on the cocktail menu and knew I would have it and was sure I would love it.......it really was tasty..........we sat for another 10 minutes or so before going back to see Lori for our table.

The manager Michael was there and introduced himself and offered to carry my drink for me through to the table.......how nice......I`m not used to high heels so was glad of this kind gesture.....lol......he was such a nice man and told us he hoped we would enjoy our evening. I knew we would. The restaurant is romantically lit, not dark but just right....perfect lighting.

Our table was a nice on and immediately a youngish guy came over and asked what type of water we would like......ordinary filtered is fine for us.......this was topped up almost without us noticing all evening. Then our waiter Dan came over and introduced himself......I swear this guy was the nicest most down to earth guy we ever had take care of us.......he wasn`t stuffy, he was funny and just added a bit more to our evening. And he was a Dr Who fan which pleased Tom no end........I immediately told him of my allergies and he said he would check with everything........he went off and came back and told me what not to order and what accommodations they could make with other choices........the menu was so lovely we knew it would take a while to choose.....although we had studied menu before hand!! Dan brought us some lovely bread and we tried not to eat too much of it......but it was so nice.

Tom eventually chose Surf and Turf as an appetiser.......braised shortrib and two huge scallops on some creamed potato and I had just the scallops as there was ingredients in the surf and turf that wouldn`t agree with me....they were gorgeous though....

I can`t post my scallops for some reason, but they were gorgeous!!!

We didn`t feel like a whole bottle of wine tonight, so I had another cocktail.....same one as it was so lush and Tom had another glass of wine.........for our mains we decided on Twin Lobster tail for me and Tom had the Kansas City Strip served medium.......as sides we shared jalapeno au gratin and honeyed carrots......oh my I could have made a meal of the carrots!! They were so sweet and tasty and sides were big enough to share between us. There was a good space between dishes and we felt the whole evening was so relaxed and we were so comfortable in this restaurant.

This truly was one of the most beautiful meals we ate in Orlando this year.........steak and lobster were beyond perfect and both cooked perfectly..........add in the service from everyone and it truly was a perfect evening......Dan was checking on us but never intrusive....he had it exactly right.

we had no room for dessert at all.......the dessert menu looked gorgeous but we would have burst I think........Dan came back over and asked if he could take our picture as he saw the camera on the table.....of course.......lol

We were ready to leave so we got settled up and went out to the front, but Michael the manager came back to check if everything had been ok and we told him it was absolutely perfect and told him how nice his staff were, although I`m sure he knows. He thanked us for coming to his restaurant and said he hoped to see us again........we would definitely come back here. Lori greeted us at the entrance and offered to call us one of her cars they use.....so we took her up on her offer and waited a few minutes for one. We chatted while we waited and she really is a very nice lady. This is one of those restaurants that just has it just right. Food, service and ambiance in abundance. We said our goodbyes and got the car to the hotel.

We weren't ready to go to bed just yet so went into the lounge for a drink. Laura immediately remembered us and said she would be with us in a second. I knew what I was having anyway.......a Waikiki blackberry cocktail and Tom had a UFO beer??

He enjoyed it....and I remembered to ask for it without mint this time......we sat for a while and just relaxed and reflected over such a nice evening......we certainly planned to go back another evening to Ocean Prime for dinner. But we would think about that another time. Eventually we headed up to bed and as usual......we were asleep before we knew it.

 

[tink1957]

That cocktail does look lush...what's in it?

Love the pic of you and Tom...you both look so happy.

I may have to add Ocean Prime to my list of places to try next time. At this rate you're gonna have al my meals planned for me

 

[schumigirl]

SUNDAY 20TH SEPT........

We slept so well last night.......we thought with it being Saturday night it might be busier and therefore slightly more noise.....but if there was anything we never heard it. Today was going to be another lazy lounging day but were up early again as the Singapore Grand Prix was on at 8am US time.......we showered and headed up to lounge and asked the lovely Thomas if we could turn one of the tv`s to the GP......absolutely he would. So we sat and watched this while eating breakfast. Kyle skyped us half way through.....lol....so we were talking to him while watching race.....it was a good result as our guy won....yay.....we chatted to Thomas while we were watching and caught up with him when it was over......again, we could chat to him all day.

Today we took a drive to Winter Park. Not much to see or do, but it`s a lovely little place to mooch around in for an hour or so. We used to go up to Mount Dora a few years back, but hadn`t gotten around to it last few years.......we stopped at the little stores and went into a little park. Not much but it was just nice and relaxing. We chatted to a few people in the park who were so nice and friendly. We never took any pictures up here at all. It was nice to just not think about anything.

We decided not to eat up here and head back to IDrive and go to Friendlys.......lol....opposite end of the price chain from last night. But Tom loves the sandwiches from here so Friendlys it was. Only took 15 minutes or so to get back and we were there before we knew it. I love the look a place that will open soon on IDrive.....Mangos Café......looks like a fun place to go.

Friendly`s wasn't busy at all and we have had friendlier service elsewhere I have to say..........but it was fine. We both ordered Fanta and I ordered honey bbq melt and Tom ordered a sweet chilli one both with waffle fries......we shared half of each others and they were both lovely even though we waited quite a time for them.....but we were in no rush to go anywhere

Have to say not the most appetising of images, they were almost identical looking so only posted one pic, but they were tasty and one of the cheapest meals imaginable........we again had no room for ice cream......and some of the desserts look lovely in there, but we haven`t managed it yet......maybe one day.

We drove straight to Total Wine, a huge wine and liquor store opposite Millenia Mall. I swear if we had this place at home with same prices we would be alcoholics!!! The prices are ridiculously cheap and so much more choice of flavors of vodkas for example than we get.....cotton candy.......just for one!! Anyway we were there for a gift for someone special....so we got them and a big decorative box to put it in....they looked lovely actually wrapped up when I did it later. We deliberately never purchased anything for ourselves all though we could have easily spent $1000 without even trying to hard. We told the girl how much we pay for much smaller bottles of what we had bought....she was amazed.......not sure she believed us actually.....lol......

But we headed back to hotel and got present wrapped then waited for macraven to call. We had arranged to be in room today so we could chat......now our phone calls to each other are legendary and Tom said he would go to sleep and just to wake him when we were chatted out.........lol........so we were chatting for quite a while when Kyle skyped us......so Tom chatted till I came off the phone. Said my goodbye to mac and went and chatted to Kyle.........we could have chatted all day we had so much to talk about.....it was so lovely to talk to him......we were missing him loads already but being able to see him and talk to him was lovely.

Eventually we said goodbye.......we got ready and headed up to club lounge as it was just after 5 by now.......we sat here for a while I had some wine and Tom had sprite as he was driving later.........we were eating at Longhorn tonight, the one at LBV which is a favourite of ours. We always enjoy the food from here and it never disappoints......good steak at very reasonable prices........

Always take a picture or two of the rental cars we have. We generally enjoy driving in Orlando, despite the manic traffic at times.......and the Chrysler 200 was alright.....nothing special but comfy.

Our waiter Jason was lovely and I immediately asked him if they did a cocktail like the giant Lobsterita that Red Lobster did......he said he would ask the bar staff while he brought Tom`s raspberry lemonade and my blackberry lemonade......he came back and said they had a discussion and think it was the perfect margarita but with strawberry added.........he said I could try and if I didn`t like it we wouldn`t pay and he would bring something else........it was nice!!

So now I had my cocktail sorted we turned to food.......we were going to share firecracker wraps which was a mistake......they were lovely but with the bread that they bring......well, we tried not to eat too much of that.......

The replacement strawberry flavoured cocktail was delicious!!!

They were so lovely.....not spicy as I would have liked, but I do like a lot of spice......but they were tasty and quite filling.....we had salad also.....but salad is salad.........for mains Tom had ordered Porterhouse, served medium and I had Filet and asked for medium rare, Tom had the garlic potatoes so I wouldn`t be able to steal any as Jason told us it had real garlic in it.......oh well, fries for me......

I think that`s butter on top of Tom`s steak......they were both lush!!! Cooked exactly as we asked and sides were boiling hot....I hate when you get cold sides.......we thoroughly enjoyed our meal here and it was a pleasure to have Jason take care of us. Again we had no room for dessert so when he brought the check we noticed the lemonades were not on the check, So we told him and he said they were complimentary!!! How nice of him......so we paid and said thank you to Jason, he then brought over two of the flavoured lemonades we each had to take away......nice touch and they were gorgeous.... and then we headed back to hotel. It was fairly early still.......so when we got back we went up to lounge for dessert hour.....something we never usually did as we were either not around or doing something else. It was nice though, fairly quiet and although I don`t really eat desserts I had a little bit of a mini cheesecake thingy.......

There wasn`t a massive selection but enough that most people could pick something.....there were some very nice looking cookies too......but best bit was how quiet it was.......we had a coffee and just sat back for a while.......

We sat for a while and chatted to the one member of staff we knew tonight.....when the lounge is quiet it`s almost like your own personal space......we left well before they closed and went down to our room. Kyle would be asleep so we couldn`t Skype him so we put tv on and watched some junk type programme and fell asleep with the tv on.

Tomorrow we would finally hit the parks for rides...........

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks!!!! Even though it was belated it was nice.....Tom says I`m like the Queen.....have my official birthday and many others too.......lol.......

That cocktail does look lush...what's in it?

Love the pic of you and Tom...you both look so happy.

I may have to add Ocean Prime to my list of places to try next time. At this rate you're gonna have al my meals planned for me

Thanks Vicki.....we really did have an amazing time and I like that picture too......Ocean Prime is perfect....you`ll have to eat there next time you visit...... Here is the link to the cocktail recipe direct from Ocean Prime website......it was gorgeous and yes I did have to have two.........

http://www.ocean-prime.com/table-talk/view/articleid/201/berries-bubbles-recipe

Glad you`re enjoying reading along.......

 

[SCDizFan]

Have y'all thought of buying a place in Florida? You would certainly get a lot of use out of it!

 

[schumigirl]

Have y'all thought of buying a place in Florida? You would certainly get a lot of use out of it!

lol.....we nearly bought a place In Dunedin near Clearwater in 08.......changed our minds at last minute.......glad we didn`t now.......

Much prefer being taken care of in a hotel........

 

[schumigirl]

MONDAY 21ST SEPT............

Today was the day we finally hit the parks.......yay.......Our park tickets are a 14 day park to park from the UK. so, as we like to always do the parks on our last day, we cannot activate them till today, which is why we have a few days mooching around outside the parks. It`s nice really although one year we did give in and pay for two extra days on the gate as we couldn`t wait to get in........Kyle was with us though and he could get bored just shopping and stuff.

So we were up extra early today.......we had slept brilliantly again so felt quite alert today. First stop was lounge for breakfast.....has some lovely continental meats, fruit and toast.......Tom had his usual croissant with honey then some fruit and meats........so nice first thing in the morning not having to do anything for ourselves. Again lounge was fairly quiet and we had our usual chat to staff.

Get back down to our room and try to Skype Kyle.....cannot get connected at all......try numerous times but will not work. We can leave a message on Skype for him, so he knows we have tried........it is so frustrating. So rather annoyingly we sun cream up and head out planning on trying later.

We walk as its just so beautiful, and we are fairly early......we always seem to do IOA first every trip.......The walk is lovely as always and we take our time as it`s hot and want to save our energy.......but we get to the gates and they haven`t even opened yet.....never been this early before. One thing we don`t do is EE ever.....we have so much time to do everything it`s not necessary. We always say one day we`ll do it.......but never do! Anyway, we have to sit for 15 minutes or so till they open the gates, we saw the family of the day open the park which was new to us.......then we join the rather short queues........I know the queue is not huge.....but why do we always get stuck behind the family that have a sheet of A4 paper as tickets that don`t work, or the families that haven`t signed their tickets.....just takes extra time and it seems to happen every time we go through.......early morning grumble!

But we get through and I never tire of seeing and hearing Port of Entry for the first time. This is so well themed and so pretty......

I love it!!!!

We actually go through the shop as I had forgotten I didn`t have a hat. I quickly choose one from the many choices, just one that says Universal on it and pay. Guy cuts the tag off which is helpful and we head back out into the sunshine. It is so odd not hearing the whooshing of the Hulk as you come through PoE........very strange, everything seems so silent. And as we turn to walk towards it we see the barricaded ride......so many people disappointed not getting to ride, but this ride did need an upgrade. We used to be able to ride over 10 times in a row, last 4 or 5 years it`s a head rattler unless you get the front which seems better.

So no complaints from us about it being closed, we do miss it though. So straight to Dr Doom then........we love this ride and ride it time after time usually. It`s a walk on with only a 10 minute regular wait, but with EP we get on immediately.......just before it takes off is the best bit!!!! This time the guy did a fake countdown.....we expected to go at around 4.....but he didn`t......he got to 1 and we still waited........then all of a sudden we were off.........love it!!!! That surge of being propelled so high is just amazing.......the view is always good too and when you are propelled out of your seat at the top.......brilliant!!! That`s the bit Tom hates......he loves it really, but it`s the only ride that fills him with a bit of trepidation. I assure him he`ll be fine....lol........And we`re down.......

head straight back round to go on again......get buckled in and we see her wander round again.....we`re going nowhere I think......the guy on the ride with us is a Dr Doom TM having a few rides before he starts his shift, tells us a door won`t close......so sure enough in a few minutes we are offloaded till it`s checked over. We`ll come back later for rest of our rides. It`s not overly busy at all today, in fact it`s fairly quiet in this area

So we do Spiderman once and then head back to Doom.....it`s back working. So we ride that about 5 or 6 times and we don`t have to keep going around to get scanned as there`s no-one there.....nice!!! We walk around and buy some water from the stall opposite Spiderman.....it`s refreshing and ultra cold........then it`s a walk around to Toon Lagoon........so colourful but not much going on at the moment........

We take some pics and head to see if anyone is on the bilge barge ride that we can surprise with a sudden shower.....lol....Kyle and I love to do this while Tom normally walks away pretending he doesn`t know the cackling hyenas that we turn into when we get a good hit on people.......well, we think it`s fun!!! But there`s hardly anyone on the boats....just a few people with ponchos......yeah like that's gonna help on that ride!!! We decide not to waste time here today, we`ll do it another day....we want to see how Kong is getting one. We are so psyched to see this ride open next year. We have seen some pics but are curious to see it for ourselves......it is impressive.....

It is going to be something else!!!! Universal are doing an amazing job on everything they touched last few years......only downside is the parks are so much busier....we kinda miss the days in 07/08 when the parks were so quiet and some Disney folk would never dream of going "there"......but, it`s fabulous to see anyway.

Now we head to another favourite ride....JP. There is no one here.....we get on the boat and get a row to ourselves and only a few others on it. Only managed boat to ourselves once or twice over the years...but this was quiet enough......this is a lovely site to come around a see

Love this ride........usually when Kyle rides with us he is the one the water is attracted to like a magnet.....he is always drenched even if we are dry....lol......so this time we go around and await the drop that we love......and it`s a good one.......we come out and we are bone dry this time....the two in front row are drenched though...they turn and ask how the heck we are dry....lol. We go again and it`s slightly busier this time, about 20 people altogether.......this time we are soaked, just heads and shoulders though this time. Such a fun ride and fantastic drop.

Now we go around to Potter, we pass the new dinosaur experience, wish we had done it then as it was so quiet, every other time after that there was too big a queue but it looked so much fun!!

Love this view.........

It is just so beautiful to see this view. Not too many people around again, but I guess Hogsmeade will be busier as it usually is. We take some people`s pictures here. There was a photographer but he had momentarily disappeared. So we were headed to FJ.

Yes we had found where everyone was. Even then it wasn`t that busy as we had seen it previous years. We did single rider here and walked straight on the ride, the queue was around 30 minutes I think by now so single rider was ideal. We didn`t plan on getting a picture together so it didn`t really matter we sat together or not.....as it happened we did this time. Lucky coincidence. This is such a good ride but it gets me with motion sickness from time to time, so I only did this once, Tom didn`t bother riding again either and we headed round to Duelling Dragons stopping in first to the 3 B`s and the candy store........

 

[schumigirl]

CONTINUED.......

We head into do DD.......and actually take a few seconds to just look around us.......it is so beautifully done and spectacular really......and some people still ask why we love Universal so much!!! It`s right in front of us every time we enter the parks!!

Anyway, we go on DD twice both sides......this is so smooth...this is what Hulk should be like.......we get the front twice then the second row which is almost as good. Come off and wander round the Hogshead and the candy shop.....we see the conducter and realise we haven`t had a picture with him in a few years so we stop and join the queue of 2 people......lol.......he was good, although they are all so good and fully immerse themselves in their character with vigour.

Now it`s into one of the nicest places in the park....where the Fountain lives..........this is so funny and I could sit for hours listening to him, or the different people that play the fountain.......they are so funny and very clever with their jokes sometimes.....goes right over the little ones heads.......usually I sat while Tom and Kyle rode DD till they were woozy, but today we just stood for a few minutes......

This is such a pretty area, and we sit for a few minutes as it`s just after 11.15......we are going to eat in Mythos today, but hate going on so early for lunch......but soon we see a stream of people going in.....well, a few......so we pop over and are seated immediately. One thing about this place is.....it`s so cold. Anyone that knows me knows I love heat......that`s why I get the nickname the Lizard from my husband and son.......as soon as the sun shines I`m outside absorbing the rays.....sun goes down.....I`m inside...lol......it`s true. So although it`s cold I do like it in here. Food was amazing last year, so we were looking forward to eating again in here.

We did think service was a bit slow, but she explained they were two servers down right now......no problem.....we weren't in a hurry.....but we ordered a non alcoholic strawberry daiquiri for me and a vanilla milkshake for Tom while we decided what to eat.

Drinks and bread were lovely......but that bread is so hard!!!! I have to break it before I eat it........always worrying about crowns. Anyway, we decide on Pad Thai for me and Tom asks what the pizza is today, yuk....its a veggie one....so she says he can make one up himself.....so he opts for chicken and pepperoni and asks if they have jalapenos which they don't but they`ll put on a pepper that is kinda spicy.....it`s not we`ve had it before........but sounds nice.........and then we wait, and wait some more.......by now I`m shivering I`m so cold. Tom is laughing his socks off how anyone can be so cold, but I am. But after about 20 minutes our food arrives.

I had to search Tom`s pizza for the chicken he ordered.......we could see the pepperoni, but there was a couple of tiny pieces of chicken and plenty of pepperoni......what annoyed me later was she had added $4 for the chicken and only $2 for the pepperoni....that was on top of the regular price for the pizza.....I don`t mind paying for anything if it`s worth it, but we just couldn`t see any chicken. But, he enjoyed it........mine looked lovely and first few bites were.......the chicken you see is all there was....and 2 shrimp. Once I got through the top it was all congealed noodles and not much sauce. It filled a hole, that was all I could say about it. Definitely not the usual standard of last year. I just wanted to go, so we told her no it wasn`t great but we weren't looking for anything, just letting them know it was not the greatest Pad Thai.......they gave us our drinks for free which is nice, but we wouldn`t rush back this year to eat again.

We walked around to Zeuss area and did the train, it`s so cute and I get surprisingly nervous as we glide over the water bit.....it`s quite high!!! But we always do it. After that we missed out CiTH.......that is one weird ride!!

We pass Confisco`s and wish we had gone in there for lunch instead.......but a quick pop into the Christmas store......always nice to wander round.....the smell is always so gorgeous in here.......

We headed out of the park now and walked back to hotel as we planned to do a Mall visit this afternoon as we realised Tom had no swim trunks!!!

 

[schumigirl]

We walked back to the hotel but always stop and admire this view....it is beautiful.

So beautiful. It was only just around 12ish by now, so we quickly walked back to the hotel and headed out not to the Mall but just to WalMart as we had decided to have a pool afternoon. It only takes a few minutes for us to do that, and when we got back to the hotel we remembered we could have just went down the the store by the pool and got some and saved some time!! Doh!! Anway, we got him swim trunks and got back and went to room to change.

There was a flashing on our phone, so listened to message and it was from our friend asking us to pop down to front lobby when suitable. So we went straight down. Turns out he had a room for us in T1 that had been revamped and would we like to go see it and move over to it for the rest of our trip!!!! I said how about 10 minutes....lol. He took us over to see the room and we were blown away how lovely it was, we said we would be so happy to move to this one, we were so grateful to him.......so, we arranged to be back in lobby at 5.30 to swap rooms over. We were so looking forward to moving into the new room. We thanked him profusely for the kindness and went back up to get packed up for later......took no time at all........so meantime we went down for couple of hours by the pool.

We are not the biggest pool people in the world, but we love this one. It is never rowdy, sometimes there`s a fabulous atmosphere with games they do poolside but it`s never intrusive if you are not involved. But days like today it is so peaceful. We managed to grab two parasols, as we never usually sit and sunbathe, but with a bit of shade we could sit for hours. We got settled and ordered a couple of non alcoholic drinks from Bula Bar......I had a cocktail that was so fruity and Tom had a sprite or a coke. We always say we`re going to have cocktails at lunch......but it`s usually too hot and would knock us out for rest of the day, so it`s not worth it. But, we have a nice couple of hours just relaxing and even wander in to the water for a while. It was so hot, but not a complaint......it was just lovely lying in the heat and enjoying the occasional splash in the water. We should do this more often when we are there, but there always seems to be something else to do during the days.

But, soon it`s time to get freshened up and meet in the lobby. We are a bit early so we head up to the lounge for a coffee before going down. Chat and mention we are changing rooms to T1......a lady overhears us and says she wouldn`t do that trek every day to the lounge.....lol.......it takes minutes. She shook her head anyway. So we go down to meet our friend again and long story short head up to see it on the 7th floor.

Going to love this room!!!!

We really were happy bunnies. The beds were even more comfortable than previous room, Tom was thrilled with bigger tv and everything just looked so much better not having the coffee machine or ice bucket sat on top. So much tidier. Fridge was lovely too, we used it for water and that was about it. But it was nice to have. There was nothing about this room I disliked. I loved the bright open shower, despite the huge mirror when you stepped out.......lol......but everything was just so new and fresh. And I love purple so I was happy. We didn't have to wait too long for our luggage to be sent over from new room, so as soon as it arrived we just got on with getting everything unpacked there and then rather than wait till later. Thing is once all our stuff was out......it didn`t look just as tidy....we don`t have a huge amount of stuff out but it just felt as though we were messing up a lovely room.

And a slightly different view from the window than we are used to......

Once we were all unpacked again we headed out to Citywalk. We were going to eat at the long awaited for Cowfish.

 

[BagOLaughs]

I've not been keeping up to date very well! I just sat down and read everything in one big slug and i'm loving the updates.

even Tom mentioned how beautiful the façade was and eerily quite authentic

It was amazing and I think the best part about this house.

but it can creep up on you sometimes

I totally get what you mean. Its just the feeling of being wrapped in a heated blanked all day while walking... it can get to you at the end of the day.

We thought in our wisdom we would just have a sandwich

My face when I saw those photos was That is one ginormous sandwich! But it looks soooooo tasty!

although they are all so good and fully immerse themselves in their character with vigour.

I noticed that too! I think when the team members feel particularly proud of an area, they can draw their motivation from it.

Great updates, I can't wait for more

 

[schumigirl]

Continued......again!!

Before we switched rooms we had tried to Skype Kyle again and it wouldn`t work. The internet was super fast so we couldn`t work out what the issue was. We found out later there was a worldwide problem with it and it wasn`t just us, Kyle told us it had made the news as the second headline.....lol......still, we were happy it wasn`t something we had done wrong. We would catch him tomorrow.

The view we did like, and the construction of Sapphire Falls would obscure most of Cabana Bay, that we didn`t like anyway. So it was fine.

So we headed out to the boat and were looking forward to eating at Cowfish. We had missed it opening last year by not very much, so had anticipated a good evening. There was a boat already there so we hopped on and we had the fun captain.....always nice and friendly as most of them are. And in no time we were in Citywalk. We love it here. Always such a good atmosphere and just a fun place to hang around for a while. We go straight over to Cowfish where they tell us it`s about a 20 minute wait. We say that's fine and we`ll go up to the bar at the top to wait. It`s a busy place and quite noisy but everyone`s food looks so good!! We sit outside and chat while we wait on our table.

We went back through at exactly 20 minutes and our table was indeed ready.....wow it was busy!! But we get seated and immediately Alexandria is asking what we would like to drink......tonight we fancy a bottle of wine. Now, it doesn`t have a massive wine selection in here, but most people could find something......we weren't there for fine wines. But I chose a bottle of white and off she went to get it while we again soaked up the huge choice on this menu. All we knew tonight was we wanted burgers.

We had only heard positive about this restaurant so we knew anything we ordered would be good. Even with a bottle of wine this place was one of our cheapest dinners over the whole trip.....prices are not expensive at all. But eventually we decided on a Longhorn Burger for Tom which had cheese, jalapeno bacon, onion strings, tangy bbq sauce and a brioche bun with fries, and I ordered the Jalapeno Popper show stopper burger, after she checked on the ingredients for me and told me it was fine for me.......it had jalapeno infused cream cheese, jalapeno bacon, fried jalapenos, jalapeno aioli and on a brioche bun and I had sweet potato fries on the side....she asked if I was sure I wanted it as it was hot......told her I`d be a disappointed bunny if it wasn`t hot!! She said yes ma`am!!!

Oh my goodness!!!! They were both delicious!! Despite all that was on them you could still taste the meat through it all. We had them cooked medium to well as we don`t usually eat burgers undercooked in any way, but we were so glad we did......they were so nice. She asked how they were and was it spicy enough for me.....told her I could do with a few more jalapenos......lol......she laughed and said did I want some more......told her no I was almost done by that time. Tom`s burger was one of the nicest he had eaten too......loved the bbq flavour through it and again, so well cooked.

This really is a nice place to eat, yes it`s a little noisy and brash but so much fun and food is excellent and such good value too. We knew we would want to eat here again before going home......so much for not eating anywhere twice!!!

We had no room for dessert, we very rarely do actually.....it was only when Kyle was with us as he always had room for dessert as long as it was chocolate of some kind.......lol......I sometimes wondered where he put it!!

We paid and thanked Alexandria and headed out. We went into Margaritaville just for a cocktail, sat at the bar but it really is noisy in there tonight. So we just had one......I had 5 o`clock somewhere and Tom had a Landshark, one of his favourite beers. We only had the one and then we walked back to the hotel......we were ready for bed now, think it was around 11pm.......late for us......lol......the walk back was nice as it was still so warm........found out it was still 82f that night.......gorgeous. So we went straight to room, and we remembered not to head to T3........

I did like the touch of your door number being a little luggage tag. Little touches like this were so cute, and I did like the elevator area too......although again, not everyone does

And finally back in or room for the night.......it looked so cosy in the room......turndown had been earlier and left the room with our two bottles of water, drapes were pulled and lights on....yep, very cosy looking....we knew we would sleep well tonight.

 

[Kivara]

Loving this! We enjoyed the new rooms as well; and that purple flower is gorgeous!

 

[schumigirl]

I've not been keeping up to date very well! I just sat down and read everything in one big slug and i'm loving the updates.



It was amazing and I think the best part about this house.



I totally get what you mean. Its just the feeling of being wrapped in a heated blanked all day while walking... it can get to you at the end of the day.



My face when I saw those photos was That is one ginormous sandwich! But it looks soooooo tasty!



I noticed that too! I think when the team members feel particularly proud of an area, they can draw their motivation from it.

Great updates, I can't wait for more

Thanks Rachel........glad you`re enjoying reading along .........yes the sandwich was huge......we didn`t even finish half of what we had....but yes it was so tasty...... And yes......the heat....I`m not allowed to complain as I love it so much....but the days the humidity was high it was tough!! Thankfully we didn`t have many like that........