WHO YA GONNA CALL" 29 NIGHTS OF GHOSTBUSTERS, MONSTERS & MORE - A 2019 HHN/SFR/RPR TR

Those Pepperidge Farm cakes always make me think of childhood. My mom would buy them from time to time. I still remember the little styrofoam tray they came on. Funny the things you remember! So sorry your calf muscle I was giving you trouble. I hope you are better now!

yep, completely gone now, but did take an age to disappear which was annoying.

My mother, who isn't a baker always bought packet mixes and so on for along time, until she did get the bug for baking. But, we did enjoy this one and honestly, I can see why folks use them.....and can see why it would take you back to your childhood.

For me it`s a certain type of macaroni cheese my mum always made....she doesn`t make it very often when we go home to visit, but when she does.....yep....straight back to childhood!!!
 
I have to admit that as I've been reading your wonderful trip report, with each new day, I am counting down and feeling sad, too! I keep thinking, "Oh no! Their vacation is winding down!"


So strange that one time the guards gave you such a difficult time and yet they've never followed through on that "rule" ever again. So odd.
Glad you had an uninterrupted visit to that beautiful mall this time and were able to take photos in peace! :)


Hooray for little lovely acts of kindness! I'm thrilled you had this chocolately surprise waiting for you, and how kind of your friend to do this for you.


I can just imagine! I'm always thrilled, too, once all the pieces of the vacation puzzle are sorted and settled.
And, completely selfishly, I was happy to read this because it means another Carole and Tom vacation is fully booked and that means another awesome trip report! ;)

Hoping you're well, Carole!

Thanks April.....yes, once those flights were rebooked, we were both ultra happy campers!!! And yes, hopefully another awesome trip will be had!!

The Mall was such a weird one.....and we saw several security officers around as we snapped away......odd. I`m guessing they may have been told to be a little less aggressive.

Oh the chocolate was lovely. Godiva is one of the chocolates we love in America...….yes, it was a treat.

It is getting so close to the end isn`t it......I`m trying to finish it before we leave for the next one.....but not sure I`ll manage it now......Tom says I`m babbling too much, which is true of course.......lol.....

But, thank you as always for your lovely comments......we are doing well thanks, hope you all are too....... :wave2:
 
I'm catching up on another trip report, now that I have my next trip booked. :) I always love your photos of details I've never noticed in the parks, especially in HP and Seuss. I have a couple of questions based on things mentioned several pages ago.

Have you heard anything about how the passholder entrance will work during January 4-31? Is this a test for things to come? I'm curious why they're testing it that month, whether it will be fully staffed and moving faster than the regular entrance (especially since that's when seasonal passes can be used again after the holidays), and whether they will let passholders in through that entrance earlier/later/the same time at IoA, where people are still rushing to get on Hagrid's.

I think you said that you heard poor reviews for Bigfire. My youngest and I want a good steak dinner, and we haven't found one yet on property. The main issue is that she is kind of a foodie and loves a good steak, but she eats (savors) very small portions of certain foods like steak. Bigfire has a 4 oz steak on the kids' menu, which is a huge selling point for us. Most kids' meals have the usual chicken fingers, etc. We won't have a car and I don't want to leave the Universal bubble on this trip. Is there any steak on property that you would recommend, especially somewhere that wouldn't frown on me sharing a steak and dessert with a tall, skinny preteen who literally won't eat more than 4 ounces? Would you recommend Jake's or somewhere else? We had a very bad experience at Lombards -- the steak was the worst cut -- and do not want to try it again, even if we just had bad luck.
 
I'm catching up on another trip report, now that I have my next trip booked. :) I always love your photos of details I've never noticed in the parks, especially in HP and Seuss. I have a couple of questions based on things mentioned several pages ago.

Have you heard anything about how the passholder entrance will work during January 4-31? Is this a test for things to come? I'm curious why they're testing it that month, whether it will be fully staffed and moving faster than the regular entrance (especially since that's when seasonal passes can be used again after the holidays), and whether they will let passholders in through that entrance earlier/later/the same time at IoA, where people are still rushing to get on Hagrid's.

I think you said that you heard poor reviews for Bigfire. My youngest and I want a good steak dinner, and we haven't found one yet on property. The main issue is that she is kind of a foodie and loves a good steak, but she eats (savors) very small portions of certain foods like steak. Bigfire has a 4 oz steak on the kids' menu, which is a huge selling point for us. Most kids' meals have the usual chicken fingers, etc. We won't have a car and I don't want to leave the Universal bubble on this trip. Is there any steak on property that you would recommend, especially somewhere that wouldn't frown on me sharing a steak and dessert with a tall, skinny preteen who literally won't eat more than 4 ounces? Would you recommend Jake's or somewhere else? We had a very bad experience at Lombards -- the steak was the worst cut -- and do not want to try it again, even if we just had bad luck.

:welcome: along Katie Charlotte

Nice to have you here...….

Yes, it absolutely is a test, and with any luck will be a permanent addition to the entrance area...….I have no clue why it`s being tested then. I can imagine it`s to get the full effect of all passes being utilised.

As for steak, onsite I`d thoroughly recommend The Palm in the Hard Rock Hotel. They are very accommodating to guests, so I wouldn`t imagine they`d object to you sharing. We`ve enjoyed some lovely steaks in there over the years.

One place I wouldn`t recommend for steaks is NBC. We sent a steak back twice and it still wasn`t right. We`ve also seen a few people do the same thing. It`s not good.

But, thank you, I`m glad you`re enjoying it and nice to see you :wave2:
 


Sorry you felt ill after the ribs and brisket,what an insult since the food was poor
to begin with. I hate when places take back cold food and you know they just put it in the microwave yuck!
The sushi and bento box look really good, very glad you enjoyed this.
What a nice gift from your Dis friend!
Sorry your calf was giving you grief, it did look like an enjoyable lunch with your friends.
I love all these little Florida towns you are visiting, it is good research for me.
 
Almost ‘our’ day :). Always a joy to break bread with you two. I feel bad reading as to your calf still giving you trouble, had no idea.

I’m curious to see your take on cocoa beach. Can’t say we’ve found any diamonds in the rough there. Even though we sail out of Port Canaveral, have always made a point of driving over in the am as a quick run thru one of the MCO parks always win out for us

.. I did mention it to Kayla, the Concierge manager when we saw her later for a chat! Did I tell you I also told her about your superstar treatment at Cabana Bay......lol......she knew what was coming before I told her........it did seem a bit ridiculous......
Hey, i’ll Take “superstar” no matter the context hahaha
think there has never been any doubt that the replacement for T2 was going to the Bourne Spectacular show......not of any interest to me, but I will go see it as I`m sure it will be spectacular. But, Bourne to me isn`t classic enough to hold a show on it`s own. Many of us wished for something that encompassed the classic horror genre that this store does.....whether it be a permanent year round horror house, or something else........I`m not a creative person, but I`m sure they could come up with something. But as Bourne has officially been announced, that dream is dead.
How did i miss this? Darn it, had really hoped monsters would be the winner. Have lost count of how many times i’ve Viewed the Bourne series of movies. I’m not envisioning how it will translate.
 
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27TH




We had been shattered last night, and both of us slept like babies......I was awake early and got up and showered before Tom had even stirred this morning...….I sent Kyle an email to see if he was free to chat, but he replied back he was busy......lol.....maybe later then. I was glad he was out and about, and I knew he`d be enjoying his week off, well, just over a week really.

My calf felt a little tender if anything today, I popped some ice on it before we left in the hope that would help it.

Once Tom was up and ready, we headed up to the lounge for a leisurely breakfast and chatted a while away again. It really is easy to pass a couple of hours in here while we chatted with everyone.......and we do enjoy it.

Back down to the room we grabbed the car keys and went downstairs where one of the concierge team asked if we had enjoyed the gift Keisha had left the day before yesterday.....we said yes thanks and asked if it was her who had taken it, she said no but had heard about someone dropping something off for us...…..we chatted briefly and then set off.

Tom went to get the car while I chatted to one of the valet team as I waited...….

Today we were going to Cocoa Village and I have a lovely Dis poster called @Tgrgrl to thank for even mentioning it to us as a lovely place to visit. We knew Cocoa Beach of course, but hadn`t ever heard of this part. So, we thought we`d go there, it wasn`t very large a place, then go to Cocoa Beach for a wander before coming home. We hadn`t been to Cocoa Beach itself for a long time.

We put an address in the satnav and it tried to take us a ridiculously long way through E Colonial Drive which is a horrible road that is traffic light city......we realised someone had put "avoid tolls" in the satnav and we hadn`t changed it as we don`t use it a great deal.....so we went our usual way past the airport as if we were going to KSC.

Passing the airport we do get a feeling of despondency knowing next week we`ll be flying out of there again......not looking forward to that at all.


The journey is a nice one, Tom drives today and it was event free...…no idiot drivers, well, maybe the usual random folks, but no one cut us up or slowed us down which was good.

We noticed along the way, and this went on for miles, they were dredging up hundreds and hundreds of trees......looked like they were going to widen the road along this part, and it did go on for miles. Every so often you would see them burning a load of them, which surprised us.







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We really didn`t know where we were going now......Tom thought one way and I thought another.....so we agreed to disagree and put an address in the Satnav now.......and we did find the right way.......it wasn`t difficult, but when somewhere is strange it`s not always obvious.

And I never agree if I think I`m right...…...








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One of my favourite sayings......... :rotfl:






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You couldn`t really get lost though...….but we have got lost in stranger places than this!!!







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We passed the restaurant I had put in the Satnav and we saw we were right next to where we wanted to be, so a car park was found easily and we were glad to say we had arrived.

It looked a beautiful little place. It was cutesy but had some very lovely little stores too, not touristy like this one...….








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As soon as I saw this sign below, I had to buy four. One for me, and the others would be lovely gifts to go in with Christmas presents for friends. Most of us now don`t buy for each other, but we have a core group that still do like to do that for each other......I think I`d win for originality this year!!! Luckily she had five in stock, so I bought the five of them......I knew who to give the other one to.

Tom went back to put them in the car to save us dragging them around with us.







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There were some lovely little places, but as always we wanted to head down to the water where we had to walk through a little park, which afforded us some lovely shade as we walked through a brick walkway.....







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There is a lovely little kids play area in it and a super bandstand where I was sure it had been the centre piece for some lovely events here.







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Looking out to the water, it was beautiful......and so hot!!!! Usually beside the ocean it was a shade or two cooler......but again, not today. It does sound like a complaint, it really isn`t, it was just this September had been so hot which we were loving, so we didn't moan too much.....







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And at this moment I had a very drama queen moment..not like me at all......well......












I thought I saw a crocodile.…..a real live crocodile or alligator feet away from me...........and trying not to draw too much attention to my terrified self, I beckoned Tom over frantically as he had wandered off a little....he knew to come over as quick as he could as there must be something......

My initial panic was short lived though, as I saw within a few seconds it wasn`t one my most dreaded creatures, but a beautiful and very large and graceful manattee.

There was a man close by who did laugh at my initial panic and guessed I was very obviously a tourist.......lol....what gave it away!!!!







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I have to admit to having a quiet admiration for sea life in their natural habitat.....no desire to see them in large tanks or shows, so this was a real treat and I was amazed at the size of these ones.....there were another couple and the man explained they were just there......they saw them all the time and to his shame said he sometimes didn`t even notice them now. I guess you do get used to things you see everyday.







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Looking out to sea, you can see all sorts of things in the water, we even saw what we thought was a dolphin.....although not completely sure it was.

This was another little place that was so quiet.......a little bit like Mount Dora where you want to whisper instead of talking normal...…although we could picture this place a little busier than it is now at night......








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I had found shade again.......and the beetroot face was back with a vengeance...….







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We walked along as far as we could, then turned back for some shade and wander back towards where the shops were......they had air conditioning!!!!







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The memorial and bench we had to get a picture of.







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Back to the shops we found some lovely little places and a centre courtyard area which had shade.........







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Not very clear from the window, but they had some lovely Christmas decorations inside...….







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We were hungry now, and a few places had caught our eye, but we ended up going to a place called Pub Americano...…we had passed it earlier and liked the look of it.......and by the time we arrived, there were already a few folks in which is always good to see.

When we walked in every staff member welcomed us and one took us to a seat by the window.......yes, we liked it in here.








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We had the most enthusiastic and energetic waitress ever, her name was Coco...…she never stopped but at the same time was very attentive. She chatted back and forward about the UK as she had spent some time there with her father as he was in the military...…she knew a lot of places we had been and even lived at times. It`s very strange to meet folks who know where you lived many years ago so well. We had once met a girl who worked in Total Wine a few years ago, and she had spent months living where Tom and I had grown up, albeit a few miles apart......and it was weird she knew some of the best food pubs we always went to when we visited that area.

We each had a lemonade and studied the lunch menu......although i did think we were more thirsty than hungry now. So we didn`t want a huge lunch.








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I went for just the appetiser of Pub Bang Bang which came with a spicy dip, and I asked for a side of jalapenos.......shrimp were very large!!!!







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Tom chose the meat pizza and he also asked for extra jalapenos on that too.......






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Both dishes were excellent....we shared them both and I have to say for a pub, the pizza was rather good...…we had seen folks get burgers, and they looked huge, and very tasty!!! I think if we came back here we may have to get a burger.

We paid the check and thanked Coco and headed back to the car.......we saw the place we had planed to go for lunch just opposite us....another one to consider next time.








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Up next.....Cocoa Beach
Yay, I am so glad you enjoyed Cocoa Village! We are there at least twice a week for kid’s art lessons and play practice at the theatre. Pub Americana was a good choice & don’t bother eating at Norman’s next time, LOL. Several other ones I would recommend instead. All of the felled trees are due to the new VirginTrain being built between Miami & OIA. It is coming up the east coast of FL and makes a turn @ I-95 & 528. Eventually there will be a spur from OIA to Port Canaveral. Progress is great but it makes me sad to see the forest pushed back. I always worry about where the deer, rabbits & wild turkeys will live in that area now.
 


I once had one bite of a chicken sandwich and it tasted funny. I ate the bread around it. Worst food poisoning ever and it turns into an infection. So your bit of ribs may have done it to you. :( Also I hope you figured out the calf problem! Glad you had a good time despite it all! You guys are so positive. <3
 
Sorry you felt ill after the ribs and brisket,what an insult since the food was poor
to begin with. I hate when places take back cold food and you know they just put it in the microwave yuck!
The sushi and bento box look really good, very glad you enjoyed this.
What a nice gift from your Dis friend!
Sorry your calf was giving you grief, it did look like an enjoyable lunch with your friends.
I love all these little Florida towns you are visiting, it is good research for me.

Yes, it was blatantly microwaved. We have very rarely sent food back anywhere, but that’s 3 times at NBC now......but, the manager was very professional and we will go back, but stick to burgers....they are good there.

Oh yes, the gift from Janet was lovely, and so unexpected which was extra nice.......and yes, lunch was so much fun! I know you love your Dis meets too.....they are always fun!

There are so many little places to visit, we are spoiled for choice for sure.......we have lots of places in mind to go, but we still love to visit some places again......so much choice!!!
 
Almost ‘our’ day :). Always a joy to break bread with you two. I feel bad reading as to your calf still giving you trouble, had no idea.

I’m curious to see your take on cocoa beach. Can’t say we’ve found any diamonds in the rough there. Even though we sail out of Port Canaveral, have always made a point of driving over in the am as a quick run thru one of the MCO parks always win out for us


Hey, i’ll Take “superstar” no matter the context hahaha

How did i miss this? Darn it, had really hoped monsters would be the winner. Have lost count of how many times i’ve Viewed the Bourne series of movies. I’m not envisioning how it will translate.

We both enjoyed lunch so much that day.......I do like that picture of all four us too!!

It had been a while since we had gone to Cocoa Beach, 2007 or 08.......we like it, but it’s not somewhere we‘d visit every trip.

lol.....yes.....superstar in any context is always good!

Bourne doesn’t thrill me......Tom and Kyle will like it, but we’d have preferred something classic monster based too! I have watched each Bourne movie once......once was enough for me, and the last one where he spoke only 288 words in the whole movie!!! I used to use T2 as nap time.....will do the same for this I think! However it does sound like it will be quite the show!
 
Yay, I am so glad you enjoyed Cocoa Village! We are there at least twice a week for kid’s art lessons and play practice at the theatre. Pub Americana was a good choice & don’t bother eating at Norman’s next time, LOL. Several other ones I would recommend instead. All of the felled trees are due to the new VirginTrain being built between Miami & OIA. It is coming up the east coast of FL and makes a turn @ I-95 & 528. Eventually there will be a spur from OIA to Port Canaveral. Progress is great but it makes me sad to see the forest pushed back. I always worry about where the deer, rabbits & wild turkeys will live in that area now.

We really did, and I’m so glad you mentioned it as a place to visit......we saw the theatre, it looked like it showed some lovely plays and shows.

I never thought of the new train track......I knew it was happening but didn’t realise that was the route!! It’s a mess!! And yes, that’s a lot of forest to lose there, we were shocked at how disruptive it looked and wondered why on Earth they would widen the road......but train tracks make sense. I didn’t realise it was going as far up, for some reason i had heard all the talk of the MCO connection, but never thought of it reaching up to Port Canaveral.....
 
I once had one bite of a chicken sandwich and it tasted funny. I ate the bread around it. Worst food poisoning ever and it turns into an infection. So your bit of ribs may have done it to you. :( Also I hope you figured out the calf problem! Glad you had a good time despite it all! You guys are so positive. <3

Oh my, that sounds awful........yes, I think it was the ribs.....couldn’t have been anything else......

We didn’t have many issues with my leg next few days......it niggled, but wasn’t bad. And yes, we had the best time!!
 
have watched each Bourne movie once......once was enough for me, and the last one where he spoke only 288 words in the whole movie!!! I used to use T2 as nap time.....will do the same for this I think! However it does sound like it will be quite the show!
I made the mistake of introducing my better half to Mr Bourne years ago. Let’s just say it’s not difficult to find it somewhere on the tube daily if you surf long enough. Same with HP & PoC franchises but they aren’t filled with as much mayhem lol. Conversely, love most. Of the Terminator flicks & the U shows. I’d like to be wow’d but the idea of a quickie eye rest works too.
 
The drive to Cocoa Beach isn't long at all, but the drive is very beautiful and when you actually get near the beach itself, it is one of the most colourful of places.






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When we had come here years ago, we only remembered parking beside a building, and to the side of it was barren land really.......so we didn`t have any idea of where we would park today, so we drove till we saw somewhere we could park close to the water.

Turning off on the chance there was somewhere, we found a little car park and got out to head down to the sand. We had packed beach towels and I had bottles of water in the trunk to wash the sandy feet when we were done.

Heading down I got the strangest feeling of deja vu, but of course we had been here before......that would be it. But, I did feel I had walked down this exact path before.






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The beach is beautiful.....and a little cooler now we were on the sand, it had been 98F before we got out the car, but this felt better now we were on the sand.

I turned around to look at the buildings behind us, and one wasn`t very pretty.....I said to Tom I remember that building from all those years ago, it hadn`t got any nicer. But, I did remember parking beside it.......we had come down the same pathway as all those years ago by some fluke. But, there had been a building put on what was wasteland since then......we had this confirmed by a police officer who was parked beside us when we got back to the car.

I was amazed that all those years apart we had by fluke, parked in almost exactly the same spot.


When Kyle was with us that trip, we parked and walked for miles along the beach to where we could see the Space Centre VAB clear in our pictures......so that`s what we do today...….we walk all the way long to the same spot we threw a frisbee around with Kyle way back in 2007.







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We parked our backsides on the beach towels for a while and soaked up the sun.....we were glad we had put on a lot of sunscreen, but the breeze was now lovely.

Splashing in the water was lovely........we haven`t done that for a long time together.....and the good thing is our clothes dry so quickly of course.







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You could walk for miles and miles here and never get bored with the views.......of course I made the mistake of walking too far, with the old I`m fine talk......…all of a sudden my calf did hurt a little, so I went back to walking with a rather odd limp that must have looked quite fake......but it did ease it a little.........

And we now had all the way back to walk........of course.







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It was a slow walk, but we got back eventually after what seemed like hours, but it didn't hurt too much now.

I sat in the car seat while Tom "bathed" my feet with a few bottles of water and I did his too...…..this was when the police officer came over to talk to us...….we were obvious tourists and he was just chatting.....whether there was a reason I have no idea, but he was very friendly and asked what we thought of Cocoa and Florida in general.....well, he asked the right person!!!!


Chatting to him for 10 minutes or so, we then drove off to head home.







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Passing the ships, I have to say they do look lovely......but that`s as far as it goes for me...…..I couldn't imagine being on one of those out at sea, with all those people......

I have been on boats, not in the same league as these.....cross channel ferries to the Continent on the English Channel and the North Sea too, but that`s a couple of hours and an overnight, sailing on rivers in Europe too.......I just don`t like sailing on water in any circumstance. So, I doubt Tom will ever convince me to go on a cruise.








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You do get a decent view of one of the launch pads and the mahoosive VAB as you come back....we had promised Kyle we wouldn`t go to KSC without him lol....he`s so funny. We cannot wait to go back in December to visit this place......we had loved our visit last year and were excited to be going back soon.







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The drive back was weird, we took a wrong turn and instead of passing the airport coming home, we ended up on the dreaded traffic light road....…took us an age to get through it.....but we made it back home eventually.

We chatted to a few people in the lobby and once up in our room, we drank gallons of water....we did need it. And I sent Kyle a message to say we were in the room, and he called on Facetime straight away as he was at home and not busy.......had a lovely chat to him....he`s been so busy and enjoying his days off, so we had a good old catch up and shared some stories which was lovely.....we were looking forward to seeing him again next week.


Once we were showered and changed, apart from feeling much fresher as our clothes were covered in dried salt water......we were ready for a glass of wine...…well, for me......Tom was driving as we were going to Red Lobster........

One of the other supervisors was in the lounge tonight, so we chatted her ear off as we hadn`t seen her much this trip...…and once again time passed before we knew it......


Tonight was Mexican night, always a popular one, but we were good and only had a tiny little plate of cheese to go with wine, I do like the spicy cheese they serve here.

We headed off and drove down the short drive to the Convention Centre Red Lobster, probably the only one we`ll go to in this area now.







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We are seated almost immediately. It`s not full, but most tables are filled, we have never eaten at the bar here for some reason, we always have a booth, but there are always folks sitting there whenever we come in.

Our waiter is over in an instant and I order my usual Strawberry Lobsterita and Tom has a lemonade.....he comes back straight away with a lovely dish of biscuits...…..






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We are very good and only have one each...….well, maybe one and a bit......ok by the time our appetiser appeared we had two each!!!!! They are so tempting.........

I get my lobsterita eventually...….I think he had forgotten it, and we saw him approach with one, look at it and take it back. There had been one sat on the bar for maybe 10 minutes, and it would have melted by now, so I did get a fresh one as we saw him make it up......I love these drinks......







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For a change we had decided to have an appetiser and try their clam chowder and lobster bisque, just the cup not a full bowl.........I am not really a soup person, but chowders and bisques, I do kind of like them, but only over here.......Tom loves soups as well, but I only home make a couple, so he does sometime order soup when we go out........we hoped these would be nice......

I had chosen the chowder.......Tom the bisque........but, somehow...…and I don`t quite know how.....but I ended up with the bisque.....oh yes, that`s right.......I tried the chowder and didn`t like it........sooooooooooo


Tom swapped me his delicious bisque for my very mediocre chowder..... :hug:






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:rotfl:





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The bisque was lovely.......it wasn`t on a par with The Palm, nowhere near, but tasty enough. The least said about the chowder the better...…poor Tom. He did say it wasn`t bad.......I`ve heard worse reviews.

I went with the same entree I had the last time, Tilapia with shrimp in a spicy sauce with pineapple, it comes with rice but I asked them to leave the rice off.....he said did I want fries, I said ok but can I have them on a seperate plate.......when I had this dish in NYC, they had put the fries on the bottom and they were soggy.....he said yep, no problem. And it was gorgeous........nice and spicy with the jalapenos.....the tilapia was cooked beautifully.







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Tom of course went for Endless Shrimp.......although he wouldn`t do this endless thing justice tonight.......he asked for regular shrimp scampi and teriyaki.......and they were lovely......I did steal a few of them and enjoyed them.

Before he had finished another set of regular shrimp and two skewers of teriyaki appeared, and nice as they were.....between us we couldn`t finish them....we had a good try though.







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We had no room for dessert, we very rarely do here...….so paid the check and headed for home.

It was only around 9.30, so although we did plan another early night we didn`t mean this early. So, we popped down to Jake`s for a drink where Tom tried one he hadn`t tasted before......…a vanilla porter......







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He enjoyed it. I`m not a beer or ale drinker in any way, so they don't appeal to me, but they do have a lovely selection of beers here. We haven`t ever done the Beer tasting evening they do here, but it gets good reviews. I enjoyed my wine.

Around 10.30 we headed upstairs but first we stopped off in the lobby to see one of the girls who used to be in the lounge, and is now behind the scenes on the front desk. She only works nights right now, and we had missed her a few times by being too early or it was her night off. We had got a message she would be on tonight and to stop by. So we did.


It was lovely seeing her again, she is such a lovely girl with a beautiful nature and she reminds me of one of my nieces....only she is very dark haired and my niece is very blonde!!! But, we had a good catch up before we set off to bed.

Up in the room, we put the water from the turndown lady in the fridge and had an email from a friend in the UK who said she had read anyone who was with TC wouldn`t be helped back home.......lol.....she had read a click bait story and panicked...…of course it wasn`t true, but we were now starting to check the Civil Aviation Authority website.


The CAA were the ones flying us home. Officially they were "repatriating" us back to the UK. It was easy really, you typed your flight number into the website and your new flight number and time of flight was on there for your to see. But, they were only doing one day ahead so far. So we just had to be patient. We expected our flight to be there on Oct 1st, maybe the 30th..... Some folks were being put on Virgin Flights, some with other airlines we hadn`t heard of. But, we were still relieved we would get home with no extra cost to us after all.

I replied to my friend and told them not to worry it was fine....she is a worrier.


We poured ourselves a glass of wine, watched some tv and not long after we were sound asleep. All of a sudden we were shattered.
 
I made the mistake of introducing my better half to Mr Bourne years ago. Let’s just say it’s not difficult to find it somewhere on the tube daily if you surf long enough. Same with HP & PoC franchises but they aren’t filled with as much mayhem lol. Conversely, love most. Of the Terminator flicks & the U shows. I’d like to be wow’d but the idea of a quickie eye rest works too.

lol.....I hear you.

It`s on in our house too if Tom comes across it.....same with Terminator movies and yes, PoC too.......Pirates I can watch......Terminator not so much.....although I did cry at the end of the second one...….saw this and I was bubbling......



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I`m such a woose!!!

But, will give it a try when it opens......
 
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 28TH





We again slept a little later this morning, we hadn't planned it, I guess we were just a little tired now in general. But, we still woke up with an enthusiasm for getting the day started, so as soon as we woke, I got up first, as usual....I sometimes think there`s an unwritten law I have to Shower first......it`s the same at home funnily enough......guess you have a routine sometime and don`t realise it.

Up in the lounge we saw a family we had met and chatted to in the elevator last night. They were here for a few days from South Florida and had their own law firm. The reason I know this is they gave us their business card and invited us down for a visit next time we were in town. This happened a couple of times this trip. It`s not something we`re used to in the UK.....

Breakfast was nice, and lounge was very busy this morning, it was the weekend of course. There was one very large family in this weekend who we recognised from last year, they stay for one night and all go to HHN together, babies and all. They seemed very pleasant.

Once we had eaten we decided to avoid the parks as it was a Saturday. We had decided to drive to Downtown Sanford this morning, not much there to be honest, but we knew someone who had a boat there and they were selling it, so last chance to see it......it would pass a morning anyway.


We had spent a lot of time travelling on the I4 it seemed this trip for folks who usually avoid it like the plague.....but today it didn't seem as bad, or maybe we were just getting used to it.

It takes less than an hour to get to Downtown Sanford, and we had a quick wander round the little town and market that was on before heading to the waterfront area.







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There really isn`t much to see here, and wouldn`t tell anyone it was worth a visit, but as we were over this way anyway, we wanted to have a look.

It was only a few minute drive to the waterfront and it is quite pretty here, the water was weirdly black as tar in some areas, in others it looked normal, and we didn't see any marine life today at all.








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The boats vary from very small...…I mean tiny, to rather large-ish......how anyone would go out to sea in some of those tiny little vessels and expect to survive......is beyond me...if ever I ventured out in a boat...….I`m always of the mindset...…...







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We couldn`t see the couple we know at first, then spotted them way in the back. Now, they`re boat was kind of decent......I`d feel comfy sitting on it, as long as we didn`t move...….which we did! Briefly. I felt bad as they were going to miss the boat, but health issues meant they could no longer manage it, they`re young enough, but I think we agreed it was best. They`d had boats all their life, growing up in Tampa it was a way of life.

We spent an hour or so chatting and then we left to head back for lunch somewhere.

Many years ago we had eaten in Cracker Barrel and really enjoyed it, but that was 2007. We had gone back once a few years later, and left after a few minutes.....won`t elaborate, but our waitress put us off slightly. So, we had long put that thought out of our heads, and decided we wanted to try it again. When we saw there was one in Sanford we wanted to give it a try.

This one was hard to find.......but after a series of turn backs and U turns we finally weaved our way into their car park, almost hidden by a smallish hotel. Car park was full. But, we eventually found what seemed to be the last space and got parked.








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It was busy. We had around a 15 minute and they`d shout us over the loudspeaker when a table was ready.....well, it was around 12.45 on a busy Saturday lunchtime. We expected a wait.

If you know Cracker Barrel, you know they have the best little store to wander around and see all sorts of gorgeous products to buy and some cute little displays.








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We didn`t have 15 minutes to wait, it was maybe just over 5 minutes, but there was a huge line of people waiting to get a table behind us....doubt we could have picked a busier time if we`d tried.

We got seated and had a lovely waitress today, we both ordered raspberry lemonades and said we may be a while deciding what to have!!! The menu is so tempting......very wholesome and hearty food and we were both torn with what to order...….








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I eventually went for the chicken fried chicken with white gravy....we only really have one colour of gravy in our country, so I looked forward to trying this. I asked for cornbread and coleslaw only, but she insisted I get another side, so went for mac n cheese to try it.







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Tom opted for the Roast Beef sandwich which came with mashed potatoes and coleslaw.....






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The food was beautiful. The mac n cheese was a little cool, so I didn't really eat that, but the chicken!!!!!! Oh my goodness it was divine......







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The chicken was phenomenal...….even today, we both still go on about how delicious it was.......I was full...….but kept eating the chicken......even left the cornbread!!! And I loved the gravy.......

Tom didn`t want to share the beef. That`s when I know he is enjoying something so much......he did give me a little taste, but it wasn`t my favourite dish. And I love roast beef!!!

But, for $30 it was one heck of a bargain lunch once again......as we paid the check the waitress asked us where we were from as they didn't ever get many tourists in this store......so we chatted for a few minutes about Orlando and RP, she knew of it but had never been to their or Disney. Guess it`s really not for everyone.


This had been a lovely lunch and very filling. I think we had a new found love for Cracker Barrel.

Driving home on the I-4 we saw on the satnav there was something up ahead......big red line on the road...….but, by the time we saw it, there was nowhere to turn off.

We were stuck. For a while.


There had been a car turned over on it`s roof when we did eventually move forward, looked nasty. Some people were standing beside it, so hopefully there were no serious injuries.

We turned off at The Mall at Millenia exit and wanted to pop into the Porsche Garage there to again see if they had any unique little items that were different than what was available in the UK.

The staff in here are lovely.…..they know we are not there to buy anything, but still very accommodating in letting us sit in a few and chat about different specs that are in the US model of our car. Not many differences, but a couple. We joked with them about the way folks pronounce Porsche......it`s a family name not just a brand, and is usually pronounced with an A sound at the end, of course not everyone does say it that way.......but if people want to pronounce it anyway they like, no issues.....I think you would sound like a pretentious boob if you did point it out to someone, the way we overheard a salesman in the UK do to a couple close to us when we were looking for ours in one of their showrooms.....not cool.

We did see a different keyfob and some little items, but we didn't like them enough to buy them.......so we thanked them for their time and headed home. We did notice the building going up next to it was going to be a Ferrari and Maserati showroom...….we were excited about that!!!! And I`m sure we`ll pop in at one point...…..maybe have a test drive........








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It had been a longer journey home than planned, took us almost two hours from when we left Cracker Barrel with a little stop in to the Porsche Showroom......but we eventually made it pulled into the parking lot, which wasn`t too busy considering it was the weekend.

As we walked up to the entrance we saw this little beauty just sitting looking stunningly gorgeous...….

A Ferrari F8.......710 BHP......it is a monster of a car.......how we wished we could have a drive of that little gem!!!







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It had been 88F today, so a little bit cooler which had been lovely, but it felt like rain......and no sooner had we got inside when the heavens opened.......it was torrential and I was so glad we weren't driving still.

The pool was cleared of course, and we chilled out for half an hour. We had planned to have some pool time before deciding what to do tonight....

Tom went for a snooze.......I sat on my ipad for a while and watched some tv show for a while......but as Tom seemed to be sleeping a little longer, I got showered and changed and headed up to the lounge while he still slept. He`d know where to find me when he woke up.

Lounge was busy.......everyone seemed to be in there before heading out to HHN.......we had thought of going for an hour or so, but to be honest, we didn`t really feel the need. I think we had seen it all and done it all this trip. But, if Tom wanted to go when he came up I`d happily go for a while.

I checked the CAA website, but our flight details had been added yet, so we had no clue who we were flying with yet, and now we were just keen to find out as it was getting closer. There was another family from the UK who were also waiting to find out about flights, they were the ones who had come in on the last flight, and they flew out on the last day the CAA and Government were repatriating people, so they were keen to find out too. And grateful they just made the cut to get home with no added costs.

I had a red wine, and sat and chatted with staff and Kayla too was in tonight, so I chatted to her while I waited on sleeping beauty...….eventually Tom appeared looking refreshed and ready for an evening going somewhere. I suggested why didn`t we go to Strong Water for the evening.......sit at the bar, have some wine and some good food...and he was delighted at this suggestion.....I think he was glad not to be driving tonight after our journey home today.

We sat for a while, then wandered over to Sapphire first stopping off in our room for a large bag of British chocolate bars as a thank you for them all taking such good care of us.......

We did expect it to be busier......Saturday night and it was lovely and quiet.......are we really getting that old we are walking in to bars and glad it`s quiet!!!!

But, the couple who sing there every Saturday night, were just setting up and they are fabulous and not too loud which we like. But the pair of them are lovely singers, and it`s all songs everyone knows.


Our two favourites are both working tonight, which is lovely.....Lenny and Ashley are both lovely people and so much fun behind the bar, they take such good care of everyone and work the bar amazingly well.

We hand over the copious amount of chocolate and they put it through the back to nibble on as they please...…..it was well received.







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We order our favourite wine from in here......The Count. This was the special wine they had for the Bellhop Bars that popped up last year in the four main hotels for a limited time...….but they had kept this very special wine as it was so nice. Rather strangely for such a wine, it also contained Chardonnay........honestly, if you want a lovely bottle of wine in here instead of rum I`d recommend this one.







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There were a few other people at the bar tonight, and all were chatty which was nice. We have always been lucky and met some lovely folks sitting at bars.

This wine was going down so well.








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After we had almost finished the wine, we decided to order some food to share between us.....there are so many choices on this menu.......and so many we love. Tonight was maybe the last evening we`d be here this trip, although, maybe not, so we wanted to make it a couple of memorable dishes to us........

First up was the meatballs........which were delicious......warm and slightly spicy which worked well with the sour cream on the bottom of the sauce with the meatballs. Very moreish...…..








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And again, the seafood tostada which we had only recently tried as takeout food, not sure how that one evaded us for so long. It was very fresh and chilled to perfection with just the right amount of spice for such delicate seafood.







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And the camarones, minus the extra cilantro......think I`ve mentioned it before...Tom and I are both part of the 40% of the population for which cilantro tastes and smells like soap! Horrible stuff. Chef Carlos had explained to us the shrimp are marinated in a few things and cilantro is one of them, but the sauce is made up fresh and we could easily omit the cilantro from that which we do whenever we order this dish now.

It is a beautiful dish.








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All the dishes were wonderful...….and by now we were ready to order another bottle of our favourite wine...…..we were having such a lovely evening with amazing company and good banter with everyone. And the chocolate had gone down well!!!!

The second bottle of wine, we drank slowly...….we were tempted by dessert, but we had no room as the food had been so good.

It was around midnight when we finally decided it was time to go......Strong Water is open till around 2am, I was guessing we`d never close the bar with them.......we are not usually late night party animals.....and never likely to be........







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Yep, a few late nights takes us longer to recover from now!!!! Although on vacation, we do tend to burn the candle at both ends...…but it`s so much fun!!!!!

We said our goodnights to the guys and gals, we were sorry Fernando wasn't in tonight but we`d see him either on Tuesday night, or our Christmas trip.

The walk back was fine, we had drank a lot of water tonight also, and we were surprised to pass more than a few people walking back and forwards from each hotel. It was almost busy.


Back in our room we went almost immediately to bed, I had a quick look out the window at how lovely it was out there...….I was glad the rain had gone off for HHN.….it is miserable when you have to wander around in the pouring rain and we had known of a few people who were there tonight and it was their only night.

But, we were completely shattered now and sleep was quick to hit us tonight.
 
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I don’t well up often but the oddest things can trigger my waterworks too

Cracker B & Red L sites really do vary, all about the cooks. The ones outside of WDW main entrance are just ok & that’s on a good day lol. Trying to imagine where that RL is you mention. Surely, we’ve passed it at one point or another.

Snagging a metered parking spot on the weekend @ cocoa beach can be daunting. It’s funny you home’d in on the same spot as years prior. Have observed they have a prominent police presence in the beach tourist area there, always a good thing.
 
I don’t well up often but the oddest things can trigger my waterworks too

Cracker B & Red L sites really do vary, all about the cooks. The ones outside of WDW main entrance are just ok & that’s on a good day lol. Trying to imagine where that RL is you mention. Surely, we’ve passed it at one point or another.

Snagging a metered parking spot on the weekend @ cocoa beach can be daunting. It’s funny you home’d in on the same spot as years prior. Have observed they have a prominent police presence in the beach tourist area there, always a good thing.

Oh I can be a blubbering wreck at the simplest of things!

That RL is right the way down at the Convention Centre, the huge Rosen Centre is beside it. There’s not much else beyond it. It’s very popular with the convention crowd apparently. With CB I think we’d try it again, just away from tourist areas. Yes, I agree they can vary so much in quality. I think we stood out like sore thumbs in that Cracker Barrel.....::yes::

It was so weird......I did feel as though I had walked down that particular path before.......yes, there was a high police presence......it is absolutely reassuring seeing so many officers around.
 
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 29TH






Neither of us woke up with a headache this morning, which is always good news, and the sign of a good wine! We do like good wines, we`re not wine experts, but we do like a nicer wine than just buying the cheap stuff to quaff down.....not us at all.

But, on to this morning.....

We watched some of the Russian Grand Prix before going up for breakfast and I checked the CAA website again, although it was silly as we didn`t expect to see anything till Monday at the very earliest. I was getting a ridiculous amounts of emails from friends back home concerned at what was happening, not from all friends though as most knew we`d be over the moon to stay longer if we had to and know that we just go with the flow on things like this........

Breakfast was nice, and much longer than we planned.......as always!!! When we chat, we forget to stop......lol......


Today we thought we`d go to the Studios for a while, and it was late by the time we got in the park, which was unusual for us.

When we stepped outside, it was back to being baking hot again, this did not bode well for hair staying reasonable today again. We must have been late as we had the boat to ourselves this morning.....this was unusual. But, the boat Capt chatted away to us as we knew him vaguely......even he commented on how hot it was today after a slightly cooler evening.







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Despite the later time at going in, we still had a line at the gates, but as usual it takes no time at all to get through and we head straight into the store this morning to cool down a little, before avoiding minions and going straight to RRR. We realised we hadn't done Shrek this visit again, but it`s not one we have to do every time, and last time the screen was a little off, so it wasn't as much fun. We`ll do it in December with Kyle as he likes it.

RRR was a short line for EP, there were around 3 people in front of us and rather surprisingly they asked if they could sit on the back rows????? I have never heard anyone ask for the back rows before!!!! We asked for the front and we got the front row which we do love.....and today, weirdly just before we started the climb I got a weird twinge of fear......and all I could think of was the Final Destination movie....the one with the coaster!!!!!! But, once we got up to the top and heading back down, it all went out my mind and just enjoyed the ride.....and it is a good ride.

I saw the folks who had asked for the back as we got off...…..one of them didn't look good.......so we made sure we moved away quickly...just in case......

We very rarely buy a ride picture anymore, maybe now and again when the three of us are here, but we always go look at them on this ride.....yes, it was quite funny...….but not as funny as the woman behind us who looked like this lady below in the famous Splash Mountain image...…..I often wondered if she was playing a part, or genuinely cheesed off with something......she certainly doesn't look like she`s playing!!!!








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We wandered back round to where T2 was this morning, and just took it easy and took our time today. And we barely took any pictures.....I think we were pictured out generally, although we did take some tomorrow, but compared to our usual amount of images, we were sorely lacking today.

Did I mention it was hot today!!!!

This is such a good photo op for HHN with a Killer Klown or two...….not that we actually did it, but they were good pictures.







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This new Bourne Stuntacular building does look a little better now, but it hadn't quite been completed while we were there.







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Not the biggest of parades, but it is cute and kids love it as their interaction is always impressive.







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The Viking zone is nice to see during the day as they did go overboard with the fog some nights.......it was a well done zone and some good characters roaming around, but we did still miss the pumpkins above.







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We sat down for a little bit and enjoyed the quiet this area usually enjoys during the day......very few people come around here, but we do move when five smokers appear and light up close to us.......time to leave as the smoking area is close to where we are standing.








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ET was so cute.......we love going on this ride, although, rather strangely I find this very loud as you go through.....before you fly, I always put my fingers in my ears......it must be me......But, we did have a bike to oursleves today which was nice.








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We had just walked past the parade when a lady popped out in front of us and said Carole.......I guessed it was a Dis person, and when she said who she was I immediately knew and remembered she was visiting here now......it was Flyg1rl, or Joy as she is known as......I felt bad for not recognising her immediately, but it was so nice to finally meet her!!! Of course I looked like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards, and she looked great!!!! We had a nice little chat, Joy and her husband were about to go into the Horror Make up Show and we were heading out of the park to go get lunch.....but it was lovely to chat to her and again, we should have got a picture!!! But with my hair and red face.....maybe not......lol...…..we said our goodbye`s and set off for lunch.

We hadn`t completely decided where to have lunch today, but we decided on Bread Box eventually...….a long and fruitful 40 second conversation decided that one!!! Who needs to plan...….

Walking out to Bread Box we were boiled, it was so hot......there was no real breeze today at all......so walking in to the beautifully chilled air conditioned building was bliss.......

We like it in here.....sandwiches are good and it`s a nice place. It`s not my favourite place, but you do get good food for what seems to be pretty low prices. It did take us a while to decide today again.....I did know I wanted an ice cold fanta before I melted completely.......and there are a lot of options. I did think about the chicken and waffles, but then thought I`d have the brie and ham before changing my mind again...….too much choice!!!!!








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I have a very patient husband. :hug:

When you order, you pay and take your drinks to the table, they usually bring it over to you, but some have said you usually have your buzzer go and go up to get your food, I`m guessing when they`re busy. But, it`s fairly quiet today.

I love having Tabasco as a table condiment.







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The swing style tables are very popular and they do have plenty of seating in here, we hadn`t seen it busy at all whenever we had come in.







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Tom had chosen the Beef Brisket sandwich on white with tator tots and it did look delicious......loaded high with beef too.







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I, eventually chose the hot turkey platter and went for potato salad instead of fries or tots.







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The sandwiches were both delicious, meats were juicy and full of flavour and the potato salad was one of the nicest I had tried....I didn`t expect it to be so nice. So, we were very happy with lunch today.

Strolling back it was unbelievably hot......we passed a couple of folks on the path who were heading in and already looked beat!!! I was glad we were going this way and not back into the park...…..

This afternoon we had a quick shower as we just felt we didnt want to go into the pool straight from the parks, had a short snooze, checked the CAA website again......and then went down to the pool for a couple of hours. To be honest, it was probably too hot for the pool, and although I had sunscreen on, I didn`t venture more than once from under our umbrellas and into the water......but it was a lovely afternoon. There is a fabulous atmosphere round the pool, so much fun, but never too rowdy, which suits us down to the ground.

At 4pm we collected our things and headed back up to have a proper shower and get the hair done again.

We went up to the lounge and sat on ipads and chatted a couple of hours away in the lounge. The food tonight was my favourite potato salad and the chicken mac n cheese......but we again, only had a taster as we were dining at Nagoya Sushi tonight.

Tom drove again tonight and it is only a ten minute drive away. It was a little busier than lunchtime had been the previous visit, but they are such friendly people who welcome you and take care of you.


Our usual table......

Tom had a lemonade and I had white wine and we sat for a while and decided what to eat.......we knew it would be Miso soup whatever else we chose.






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We shared an appetiser of spicy short ribs which were different to usual ribs, but very nice.......while not fall off the bone types, they were full of flavour.







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Tom opted for the Teppan Shrimp, Scallop & Sirloin Steak which was served with 2 kinds of dipping sauce, and like me he opted for the fried rice.







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I already knew what I was going to have. The spicy chicken Tom had enjoyed in the bento box the previous visit, but the full entrée dish, with fried rice.







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The portions are large. And we struggled to finish both dishes, but they were incredibly beautiful and so well cooked.

Again, this was somewhere I was annoyed we hadn't come to before this visit. It was a gorgeous little place with a phenomenal menu. And we were full. It had been gorgeous and we were so glad we had came here tonight again.

We paid the check and got back into the car heading for home...…sitting at the lights at the junction of Sand Lake/Turkey Lake Road, we wondered how long we had sat at these lights over the years......it`s one of those junctions if you just miss the lights, you seem to wait forever for your turn again.

Back in the hotel, I wait for Tom to walk up from the car park as he has dropped me off again. And I do take a few snaps, some weren't brilliant and look a little skewed to the side...….that's me of course, and I only had two glasses of wine!!!!








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We pop up to the lounge and had one or two of these watermelon desserts......staff were surprised when we walk in as it`s not like us to make it. The desserts were very nice and we did have two each. It`s not like us to ever make dessert hour, we just don't seem to be around for it. But we did want some more water too as we were running low in the room, so wanted to make sure we didn't run out. We have the bottles from the Turndown service, but they soon disappear too.







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It was only around 8.30pm, no way did I feel ready to go to bed, so I suggested we get changed and head into HHN for a wander......Tom didn`t look very sure at first, but then thought, why not. And I did tell him to leave the camera behind tonight...…..he is so good at taking pictures, but it was getting to the end of the trip, and I thought we should have a night where we just enjoy it without seeing picture opportunities everywhere........of course chance are this would be the night we`d miss something amazing!!!!

Yes, as we walked down for the boat, we passed some folks coming off the boat....and then we heard this yelping in agony scream coming from a woman.......she had stood on something as she walked in bare feet......our first thought was.....that's a lego scream!!!!!

Who hasn't agonisingly stepped on a well disguised piece of devil plastic over the years!!!! However meticulously you clean up after your child who has lovingly played with it for hours, there is occasionally one little piece that is lurking in the shadows and waiting for you to wander in to the dimly lit room and forcefully step on!!!!







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Yes, that`s the look!!!!!

We get on a boat with the shortest of waits and yes, we sing our way there again tonight.......Rock the Boat is the current favourite of the Captains.


We get in the park, using the regular entrance as the hotel guest entrance is closed by now, and it`s not too bad at the gate......then we walk in and its busy......like busy busy.......which didn't go well with how hot it was.

Ghostbusters and Yeti were around 5-10 minutes waits with EP.....we didn`t pay attention to regular waits tonight, just wandered into the line and enjoyed the houses....which were very good tonight...….but my goodness it was busy. Well, certainly busier than we are used to.

The Yeti house was absolutely the best we have ever seen......I`m not exactly sure but I`d hazard a guess we copped every single scare going tonight.

US was a little longer of a wait tonight, maybe 10-15 minutes, but certainly nothing to complain about......and the house tonight......yes, I think I finally saw what other folks were seeing all the other nights....it was downright creepy and the SA were brilliant. The little girl especially was quite something.

We enjoyed a couple of scares in scare zone tonight, but really we just wandered around and enjoyed it. If it hadn't been as hot, we would have wandered down to Classic Monsters and Graveyard Games, but we didn`t have the energy if I`m honest. We had done all the houses plenty of times, and I was quite sad that this would be our last visit this year. But, we had got our monies worth out of our ticket. We didn't doubt that......so we left knowing we had done all we wanted to do with HHN this trip.


On the boat back we again, sang and yes, the boat rocked again...

Back in our room we had left the drapes open after the Turndown lady had opened them, and we did love this view.......







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But, for now, bed called and we couldn't wait to climb in tonight. We were shattered. Who`s idea had it been to go in again tonight...... :rolleyes1




More park time tomorrow..…..
 
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 30TH





Up with the larks this morning........and I had an email from Kyle to say our flights had been posted on the CAA website.......so I checked it and saw we were flying with a company called Atlas Air? We had never heard of them, but it didn`t matter.....as long as we got home safely, we were happy enough with that. I replied to Kyle we had seen it......

I contacted our car service straight away. We had previously cancelled them when our flights had disappered, as we had no idea whether we were going to even land at the same airport, some folks on previous days had landed in Glasgow or London and been bussed back to their original airport......I wouldn't have let the car service down like that, so had to cancel them. But, now we knew we would be getting in around the same time and at our departure airport, we would ask if they could still pick us up.


However, they had a pick up at 5pm that day so couldn't make the journey twice, she asked if we wanted to wait till then she knew the lady wouldn't mind sharing......we said no thank you, it was too long to spend the whole day in the airport.

I went on the train website and guesstimated when we would arrive and booked the train we thought we would make and booked it. There were first class seats on both, so that was something sorted, we would be able to get home. We couldn't do anything else now.


Once we were showered and dressed, we headed up for breakfast and spoke to the family who were leaving on the 6th, their flight would be up on the website tomorrow, so they were relieved too. They were a little more concerned than us, as were many people, but we couldn't complain about the way the Government and the CAA were dealing with this issue. So far we were impressed.

Once we had eaten and chatted for a little while to Kayla we headed off to walk to IOA. As soon as we walked out, the heat hit us like a brick......everyone who is local commented it didn`t usually stay as hot so late in September, this was a little unusual, but we were enjoying it all the same, we knew as soon as we were home it would be completely different.


Again, it was blazing hot, there was to be no respite from the heat, but again, we would make the most of it while we could.

The walk is so peaceful, and although we do like the walk a lot, the boats are nice at times too. It`s nice to be able to vary your ways of getting into the parks. The shade is nice, but we guessed it was going to be ultra hot today again.

Into the parks we go and again, straight through the store to cool down a little......before wandering out and heading to the lagoon area before going on the rides......it was at this point, Tom said he had left his room key in the hotel. Of course the room key is the EP for onsite guests......I was surprised as he never takes it out of the lanyard except to use it if he is opening the door, then it goes straight back in...….well, I wasn`t going to walk back.....I said I`d do the regular lines instead.....but at that point he found it......he`d put it in his pocket for some reason!!! Relief. I would have gone through the regular line, but would have moaned about it too of course........lol......


We love love love POE!!! And this morning folks are paddling past us like their life depended on it......oh I couldn't have mustered the energy to rush this morning!!!







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After our usual check on how the works for the new coaster are going, we head and do the Hulk, which had a short line for both EP and regular.....but folks still like to complain about EP lines moving faster....I don`t think some understand that is the point of EP lines.....Hulk was phenomenal. I usually ask for the double harness on this ride, it is a little more comfortable and as always they do it so discreetly, not that it would bother me to be seen going on the bigger seat, but it does make some people incredibly embarrassed and I do think the TM do an excellent job of not making an issue out of it. I can squeeze into the regular seats, but as we were at the end of the trip......ahem.....I thought it might be just a little (a lot) tight......but this one was fine and very comfy as nothing was getting too squished!!!!!

This was a one and done again today...….


I always love and hate our last park day in equal measure......well, maybe love it a bit more....but I do get incredibly sad at going home and leaving all this......but it would only be around 8 weeks till we come back.

Dr Doom is out......along with the naughty Green Goblin...…..Dr Doom has very piercing eyes.......they are very good characters to interact with, all the superheroes are good, but we have a weakness for Doom, Green Goblin and Spider-Man........






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We go on Doom twice and it is always fun.....yes, it`s short, but fun.....then we go on the ever popular Spider-Man...….and the facial recognition again, doesn`t recognise Tom, but a glance at him and the screen the TM says he`s good to go.......we don`t get a car to ourselves today, but near enough. And for an older ride, this one is still phenomenal.......gotta love Spider-Man!!

Wandering around, we hit Toon Lagoon and as we go to take our usual image of Tom under the need a vacation from this vacation sign to see it has been removed.......I was glad we had taken it earlier in the trip.


The walk around the parks is lovely.......we stop and watch Jurassic Park for a while, go on it once and we don't really get wet this time.....maybe a slight sprinkling, but the people in front of us again get drenched......they saw the funny side and laughed at how wet they were.....and they were drenched!!!

We have a bathroom stop and Tom gets a few images of inside......not a place we would spend a lot of time and don`t eat in Burger Digs, but it is nice for a cool pit stop!







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The bridge was busy in front of the Castle, everyone seemed to want to be there at the one time today...….Tom took a few images, but we could both feel the slight despondency wave over us today......it`s funny one minute you feel ok, then sad as this was our last park day this trip.......







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We had a quick ride of FJ and the EP line was so quick this morning which is nice......and the ride today made me a little woozy......I think it was the heat to be honest.......some days I am completely fine on this ride, other times as you swoop in towards the Castle, it hits me and knocks me funny.

Another one and done today, we wander down to Hogsmeade and have a look in the candy store to see if we can pick up some last minute gifts to take back home, and we do get some jelly beans and hard candy. I know who they`ll go to......

I do love the look of some of their cakes, but we never buy them, as they are just too sweet.....but they do look good and sell well......






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Although we don`t like Butterbeer, we do like the ice cream and the fudge.....which is odd as I usually don't like fudge, but it is nice and easy to nibble on it slowly. It doesn't seem as sweet as the others.

The store is not too busy considering how busy it is outside, and it`s nice to be able to wander slowly without worrying about getting in someone`s way.....







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I had tasted a friend`s no melt ice cream.......not for me! And a lady and her friend were today looking at it and aske me if i`d tried it.........so I told her it was basically a very sweet icing......nothing thrilling, but it does look good.......she was glad I had told her as she didn`t like the sound of it......guess I`d never make saleswoman of the year in here!!!!







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It was so beautiful outside......and we love Hogsmeade, you`d never know you were so close to such a main road just on the other side......







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Wandering out we saw the Fountain was in good form today......he was so funny and quite sharp in a funny way by a man who came to wash his hands in the water........lol......







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Poseidon`s Fury is one we haven't been on for years, and not likely to either......some like it, some love it, some, like us don`t rate it at all.....but the building is beautiful and so impressive.







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The store is worth a walk through too, some very lovely little treasures and artifacts......







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Walking out of the park makes me sad to leave, but you can`t be sad for long as it is so pretty.....and most unique mail box I`ve ever seen.







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They have the lost and found and stroller rentals here as well as a large set of lockers you can rent for the day of differing sizes. And all in the most colourful of buildings...…..

Who says Universal isn`t beautifully themed!!!







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Below is the pick up window you`ll go to if you have made purchases to be picked up at the end of your day...….we`ve never used it as all our items go back to our room, but I believe it`s after a certain time you can pick them up.






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We had seen these guys a lot the last few days, going backwards and forwards...it moves quite quickly too!






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We were heading back to the room to get showered, changed and out for lunch.........
 

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