Janice
Super Shopper
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
Here We Go Again
DAY 11 Another visit to the shops!
Okay so were a sad bunch, we decide to go shopping again. We are all up fairly early due to having a restful day yesterday and decide to have breakfast at the Ponderosa along the 192. We were sitting next to another British family and their little son was so excited because he was swimming in the ice today. They told us that they were going to spend the day at Blizzard Beach! Now, my lot turn on me and say, But you said it was closed Well, according to my research before the holiday, BB was closing on Christmas Eve for repairs or whatever, River Country was also closed and the only Disney water park that was open was Typhoon Lagoon. Anyway, with promises to check this out later, we left the restaurant. A couple of telephone calls later that day confirmed that the other family we had spoken to must have been disappointed. Blizzard Beach was closed until February. We checked the weather reports and Tuesday was forecast as a scorcher, so we pencilled in a visit to Typhoon Lagoon for that day.
Back to today. We make away along the 192 to the Harley Davison Shop for Emma. No luck still closed. We must check out and see if there is another location we can try. We then head down the Orange Blossom Trail (I love that name) to the area just before Florida Mall. We know that there is a bookstore here and Katie needs to look for some more books for college. We found Barnes & Noble and, if you have never been into a bookshop in the US before, take time to have a look around one. They are so huge. This one is bigger than our main library, but what really amazes me is that the staff are so friendly and helpful. Nothing is too much trouble.
We spend far too much time here, but we all enjoyed looking around. James found a really fascinating book about Roller Coasters and all the comparisons; facts and figures were mind boggling. It was a pity it was so huge and heavy otherwise he would have bought it. Katie managed (via Mums credit card) to locate quite a few books that were going to be of great use to her studies, so she was really, really pleased that we had stopped here. We had a coffee and pastry before moving on. See, they even have coffee shops in their bookstores.
We then head next door into the Best Buy Store, which sells CDs, videos etc. We all picked up some bargains here. I manage to get George Michaels Faith CD for just under £8.00 and we also bought some Personal CD Players. Now, we had one of these that we use at home but just before Christmas it had broke. We paid about £60 for this a few years ago so had had our moneys worth. Anyway, we saw the same players for $19.97 yep, less than £13.00! We realise that the power adapter will be no good back home but they are fine using batteries for train travel etc. So we got a couple, James got one and Ian bought a couple for presents for his friends. In fact, Chris has adapted one of ours so that we can use it on the mains at home, but then he is trained as an Electrical Engineer.
Anyway, we press on and after a quick visit to Linens and Things which is next door to the book shop on the other side we make our way to Pointe Orlando. Now, for the uninitiated, Linens and Things is an excellent store for Towels, Bed Linens etc. The prices are so cheap, yet good quality. As it was Sale time, I picked up a couple of hair swirleys for the girls and a wraparound bath towel for Katie. I just wished that we could bring home some of the beautiful comforters they have, but you just dont have the room in the cases.
We head back to I/Drive now as James want to re-visit Armani. He had bought a Jacket in the shop on the previous Sunday, and they had said that it might go into the Sale. If it did they would refund the difference to him, within 7 days. As he paid quite a lot for this Jacket, it was worth popping back. BIG MISTAKE. I hope you notice here that I relented and did not even mention getting to the Florida Mall, or Beltz. Such a Martyr!
The jacket had not been reduced, but boy o boy so much other stuff had. Chris and I re-acquainted ourselves with the fountain and sat patiently waiting while they perused for a further hour. Of course, we could not leave without a quick visit to GAP again, could we?
I think we almost matched the amount of shopping we had the first time! We decided at about 3-30 to have an early dinner and then head for Sea World.
Perkins it was. Not very adventurous when it comes to eating my lot but they like Perkins. We had a really nice meal and the waitress was very friendly. She chatted to us for ages about her family and life in Florida and made us feel as if we were very special guests. We had, 1 Large portion of Jacket Potato Skins, with cheese & bacon (12 in all), 1 Large portion of Onion Rings (unbelievable amount), and 1 Large portion of Cheese Sticks (about 15) as starters, which we shared between the 6 of us. James and Ian both had 8 ozs steaks with Jacket Potatoes and Corn. Emma had Chicken Pie, which was huge, Katie had an Omelette and fries, Chris had Meatloaf with Mash Potatoes and Corn and I had Pot Roast Pie with Mash & Corn. All had come with soup or salad and Emma had opted for the Cheese & Broccoli Soup, which she said, was delicious the rest of us had salad. We could not manage any desserts. 3 Beers, 1 Coffee, 2 Sodas and a Hot Chocolate and it all came to $110.00 which is about £70.00. Not bad at just over £11 a head is it and this is why these chains of restaurants are so popular. I must say here that we always tipped our waitress/waiter and worked on a rule of thumb between 20 & 25%. Never once did we not want to leave a tip. The service was always top notch.
Right to Sea World. Not too far down International Drive so only a short journey. We arrived there at about 5-30, ready to go and see the Dolphin Show, Shamu Rocks America, go up in the tower, Terrors of the Deep and finally, The Coral Reef. WRONG.
As we pulled into the parking plaza the sign says, Tonight, we close at 6pm. What a blow. Well, there was nothing for it but to go home. We thought about going to Wonderworks or maybe the cinema, but - going home and maybe having a swim, won the day. We were disappointed but decided that tomorrow before we go to Islands of Adventure, we will call in on Sea World if only so Emma could see the Dolphins.
With that as our plan of action, we went home, relaxed our weary bones and had another early night in preparation for tomorrow. I phoned and checked the times of IOA and they close at 8pm so we can have a long day tomorrow.
DAY 11 Another visit to the shops!
Okay so were a sad bunch, we decide to go shopping again. We are all up fairly early due to having a restful day yesterday and decide to have breakfast at the Ponderosa along the 192. We were sitting next to another British family and their little son was so excited because he was swimming in the ice today. They told us that they were going to spend the day at Blizzard Beach! Now, my lot turn on me and say, But you said it was closed Well, according to my research before the holiday, BB was closing on Christmas Eve for repairs or whatever, River Country was also closed and the only Disney water park that was open was Typhoon Lagoon. Anyway, with promises to check this out later, we left the restaurant. A couple of telephone calls later that day confirmed that the other family we had spoken to must have been disappointed. Blizzard Beach was closed until February. We checked the weather reports and Tuesday was forecast as a scorcher, so we pencilled in a visit to Typhoon Lagoon for that day.
Back to today. We make away along the 192 to the Harley Davison Shop for Emma. No luck still closed. We must check out and see if there is another location we can try. We then head down the Orange Blossom Trail (I love that name) to the area just before Florida Mall. We know that there is a bookstore here and Katie needs to look for some more books for college. We found Barnes & Noble and, if you have never been into a bookshop in the US before, take time to have a look around one. They are so huge. This one is bigger than our main library, but what really amazes me is that the staff are so friendly and helpful. Nothing is too much trouble.
We spend far too much time here, but we all enjoyed looking around. James found a really fascinating book about Roller Coasters and all the comparisons; facts and figures were mind boggling. It was a pity it was so huge and heavy otherwise he would have bought it. Katie managed (via Mums credit card) to locate quite a few books that were going to be of great use to her studies, so she was really, really pleased that we had stopped here. We had a coffee and pastry before moving on. See, they even have coffee shops in their bookstores.
We then head next door into the Best Buy Store, which sells CDs, videos etc. We all picked up some bargains here. I manage to get George Michaels Faith CD for just under £8.00 and we also bought some Personal CD Players. Now, we had one of these that we use at home but just before Christmas it had broke. We paid about £60 for this a few years ago so had had our moneys worth. Anyway, we saw the same players for $19.97 yep, less than £13.00! We realise that the power adapter will be no good back home but they are fine using batteries for train travel etc. So we got a couple, James got one and Ian bought a couple for presents for his friends. In fact, Chris has adapted one of ours so that we can use it on the mains at home, but then he is trained as an Electrical Engineer.
Anyway, we press on and after a quick visit to Linens and Things which is next door to the book shop on the other side we make our way to Pointe Orlando. Now, for the uninitiated, Linens and Things is an excellent store for Towels, Bed Linens etc. The prices are so cheap, yet good quality. As it was Sale time, I picked up a couple of hair swirleys for the girls and a wraparound bath towel for Katie. I just wished that we could bring home some of the beautiful comforters they have, but you just dont have the room in the cases.
We head back to I/Drive now as James want to re-visit Armani. He had bought a Jacket in the shop on the previous Sunday, and they had said that it might go into the Sale. If it did they would refund the difference to him, within 7 days. As he paid quite a lot for this Jacket, it was worth popping back. BIG MISTAKE. I hope you notice here that I relented and did not even mention getting to the Florida Mall, or Beltz. Such a Martyr!
The jacket had not been reduced, but boy o boy so much other stuff had. Chris and I re-acquainted ourselves with the fountain and sat patiently waiting while they perused for a further hour. Of course, we could not leave without a quick visit to GAP again, could we?
I think we almost matched the amount of shopping we had the first time! We decided at about 3-30 to have an early dinner and then head for Sea World.
Perkins it was. Not very adventurous when it comes to eating my lot but they like Perkins. We had a really nice meal and the waitress was very friendly. She chatted to us for ages about her family and life in Florida and made us feel as if we were very special guests. We had, 1 Large portion of Jacket Potato Skins, with cheese & bacon (12 in all), 1 Large portion of Onion Rings (unbelievable amount), and 1 Large portion of Cheese Sticks (about 15) as starters, which we shared between the 6 of us. James and Ian both had 8 ozs steaks with Jacket Potatoes and Corn. Emma had Chicken Pie, which was huge, Katie had an Omelette and fries, Chris had Meatloaf with Mash Potatoes and Corn and I had Pot Roast Pie with Mash & Corn. All had come with soup or salad and Emma had opted for the Cheese & Broccoli Soup, which she said, was delicious the rest of us had salad. We could not manage any desserts. 3 Beers, 1 Coffee, 2 Sodas and a Hot Chocolate and it all came to $110.00 which is about £70.00. Not bad at just over £11 a head is it and this is why these chains of restaurants are so popular. I must say here that we always tipped our waitress/waiter and worked on a rule of thumb between 20 & 25%. Never once did we not want to leave a tip. The service was always top notch.
Right to Sea World. Not too far down International Drive so only a short journey. We arrived there at about 5-30, ready to go and see the Dolphin Show, Shamu Rocks America, go up in the tower, Terrors of the Deep and finally, The Coral Reef. WRONG.
As we pulled into the parking plaza the sign says, Tonight, we close at 6pm. What a blow. Well, there was nothing for it but to go home. We thought about going to Wonderworks or maybe the cinema, but - going home and maybe having a swim, won the day. We were disappointed but decided that tomorrow before we go to Islands of Adventure, we will call in on Sea World if only so Emma could see the Dolphins.
With that as our plan of action, we went home, relaxed our weary bones and had another early night in preparation for tomorrow. I phoned and checked the times of IOA and they close at 8pm so we can have a long day tomorrow.
