Mike - Two and Two Kids ,please Day 8 ..Shopping !! ..and making contact with America

UK Valerie

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Joined
Feb 28, 2002
Two and Two Kids ,please Day 8 ..Shopping !! ..and making contact with Americans
Firstly, my apologies ...been off-line for a couple of weeks courtesy of PC
World......but hey , I've got a new computer!! let's see if my grammar improves?
Day 8 dawned ( well, it was probably nearer lunch than dawn ). We were
definitely feeling the strain of 7 days non-stop park attacks, I bow to the
superior knowledge of all those on the DISUK who recommend a break on
alternative days!!! GOOD ADVICE!!! We 'd decided to take the week-end off
from the parks to avoid the "crowds" and to go shopping on Saturday , but in
truth we should have eased up a couple of days earlier.
It was a strain getting the kids organised , they were well set for a day of
intellectual stimulation courtesy of Cartoon Network and Nickleodeon , by now
Callum had achieved world class status in channel-hopping with his thumb!
Breakfast was a leisurely affair or to be more accurate a semi-comatose affair.
Eventually we were motivated by DW who was fortified by the prospect of her
second shopping trip ( am I a good DH or what ! )...and we duly set off for the
Altamonte Mall at about 11 a.m. This is about 30-35 minutes from Kissimme ,
on Route 436, we used one of our freeby maps ...just as well because it wasn't
the most clearly marked destination to reach. The weather was really gorgeous ,
about 82 degrees by 11 a.m. and nearly caused a mutiny with the kids who
wanted to go to wet'n'Wild...tough!
On reaching the Altamonte mall we were surprised , it looks quite small in
comparison to the other malls we'd seen or visited but once inside it was like the
Tardis! We approached it by the entrance next to Ruby Tuesday.......and
immediately made a not that this seemed like a good place for lunch...the
phrase " All you can eat " must have caught my eye!
We did a 10 minute recce of the place before heading to Customer Services to
get our discount card, this is available to any out-of-towners or tourists and is
worth 10% ( sometimes more ) off prices. All you need is your passport , driving
licence or hotel key.....one guess as to who'd forgotten all three? For some
reason the lady at Customer Services realised we weren't local(?)and gave us
our discount "passport" anyway.....hardly high security checking here! BTW, Yes
, I know you should always carry your licence and passport if you're driving......I
was tired , remember?
First stop was Treats Food Court for a coffee...I forget the name of the main
coffee shop in these malls , is it Barney's ...or something similar? Anyway their
latte is manna from heaven, and both myself and DW had this while the kids
had coke...surprise! We didn't opt for a snack since Ruby T's looked like it
deserved respect later on .
First stop was Kaybee's Toy shop and DD finished up with a teddy
bear...amazing how her urges to cuddle Daddy ( usually it's Dad ! ) coincide with
us passing toy shops. Leaving the shop I could have sworn that a voice similar
to DW's said " Sucker"....but not so , she said, hhmmm.
Oh, what luck , only 3 doors away there's an Electronics Boutique shop...and DS
can't live without looking in......20 minutes and one copy of Lego Rock Raiders
and we were out...to be fair there was $5 off any game so it ONLY cost $14.95
plus tax against £25 back home, then I got 10% off with my "passport". At this
point the kids said they were bored with shopping and wanted to go home, such
optimism for ones so young!! DW hadn't even got out of neutral on the shopping
front! We headed for JC Penney's which is imho much nicer than the one at
Florida Mall, on our way in we were given a little chocolate bar each. "How cute",
we thought then realised the wrapper had a discount %age written on it.
Whatever %age you got would be deducted from the cost of any purchases
made that day! Top bid was Emilia who got a wrapper with 25% written on
it.....this was taken from her with indecent haste by DW whose eyes had glazed
over with the possibilities that lay before her. My credit card screamed
silently........
DW asked the hander out of chocolates if the discount was on everything "Yup",
could we use our discount passport as well "Yup", could I have another
chocolate, please?"Yup"
It's too painful to recall the carnage that ensued but we finished up with several
tops and t-shirts , new trainers for DS, and shoes for DW aka Imelda
Marcos.....along with souvenirs for some close friends. Even with the discounts
my poor card looked mortally wounded!
By now it was nearly 2 p.m. so we decided that lunch was deserved, anything to
stop her spending! The agreed venue was Ruby Tuesdays so off we trotted(sort
of ). The kids went for chicken tenders and a cheeseburger, DW had a warm
chicken salad while I tried to do justice to baby-back ribs and fries. I'd say
Ruby's is about on a par with TGI Friday, our server Elena was bubbly and
interacted well with the kids ...a sure way to get a good tip!.The food was
pleasant without being exciting and in reality a trip to the salad bar could have
kept us for a fortnight! The kids got their ice-cream fix while we shared a Key
Lime pie....excellent. Total cost was just under $ 42 inc. drinks........since we
unlikely to eat again for 3 days this represented very good value! If you visit the
Altamonte mall I'd probably recommend Treats Food Court unless you're really
starving in which case you now know where to go! One thing I must say about
the Altamonte mall is that there are very few tourists there, whether British or
any other nationality......and the mall feels different because of this , that's not
a criticism ,just an observation.
We decided to have a rest after Ruby's..mainly because we were unable to walk
far!...so we sat on the second floor benches watching the world go by.On
regaining the use of our legs we finished up in a sports shop ( Footlocker?)
where I got a pair of Reeboks for $22 ..less 10% of course! Despite being
dragged into Sears and several other shops I managed to prevent DW doing
much more damage other than a couple of small gifts for her
mother.....diplomacy ruled! and we seemed to wind down, tiredness I suppose.
Saying our good-byes to the Altamonte mall we agreed that it was well worth
the visit, even on a Saturday it was quiet and relaxed , and definitely a different
experience to the Florida mall, I still can't put my finger on why.
We arrived back at the villa for 5.30 p.m.....I was to phone Steven(our American
friend ) at 6 p.m. I'd found Steven on the net when I'd put a post up asking if
anybody had room to spare on a pontoon to view Illuminations 2000 between
28/11-6/12. I was astonished when he replied some 8 weeks later to say that
he, his sister and her 3 kids were in Orlando and had 5 seats to spare!!! Even
better , the kids were almost the same age as our two. We'd exchanged
messages for some weeks and it was decided I'd ring them on Saturday when
they arrived from Seattle , they were staying in the Polynesian ...Lagoon View
Rooms!!! Contact was made , it was strange talking to Steven after so many
messages on the net...WEIRD!!??
......and arrangements were made to meet them at 8.30 at the Yacht & Beach
club before our pontoon left at 9 p.m.
I was really buzzing after the phone call , not least because it meant we were
really going to share a pontoon for what all the Dis'ers had told me would be the
highlight of our holidays! I'd no reason to doubt Steven who is a very genuine
and humorous guy but we were reluctant to believe we could be this lucky! We
hadn't even told the kids just in case!
It was unanimously decided to stay in and have a take-away. Two Burger King
Kidsmeals and a pizza were the order of the day and while the kids watched
Nickleodeon DW and myself vegged out by the pool with pizza , beer and the
now-confirmed knowledge we'd be seeing Illumination 2000 from the best seat
in the house.......Life can be ssooo GOOD!!!

Tomorrow..........Kennedy Space Centre
 

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