And It's Over....

We had to be up and out of the villa by 10.00am, with our flight from Orlando International to Atlanta, not departing until 14.30pm.

It became evident when finishing packing that we did not have enough space in the suitcases. In fact we had a problem in closing a couple of them.

So like a previous visit to Orlando, on the trip to the airport we had to stop and buy another suitcase. After we had filled the suitcase with our extra luggage we headed for the airport.

Not sure why, but we seemed to take an odd route to the airport, which in hindsight I can only put down to selecting the wrong option, when asked via toll roads or not. I thought I had selected yes to toll roads but reflecting back on the journey I must have chosen the other option.

Anyway, with the car safely dropped off, we headed to check in for our flight to Atlanta. There was some confusion over whether we should head for Delta or Virgin, given we had different flight numbers (but the same time). Something to do with the flight being a code-share...

We plumped for Delta and checked in for our flight to Atlanta, although they had no record of our onward trip to London Heathrow. After seeking assistance they managed to check our bags through to London but were not able to provide boarding passes for the second leg.

The flight into Atlanta was non-eventful and on arrival we went to the Delta desk to query our next flight. After several phone calls they suggested we go straight to the desk and talk to Virgin, which is what we did.

After catching the tram we found the Virgin desk and got checked in, only to be told that our flight time had changed. No one had told us and we were advised that boarding would be taking place in 10 minutes. Thank goodness we hadn't gone shopping in Duty Free or we would have ended up missing our flight home.

Not sure how I feel about indirect flights... Yes it certainly saved us money and that was the main attraction, and yes it does split the flights up. The flight from Orlando to Atlanta was only 1 hour 4 minutes, with the remaining leg being 7 hours 30 minutes. However the transfer times and waiting around... Hmm.. The jury's still out....

Anyway we arrived back at home at 11.40am yesterday morning, having stopped at Fleet for breakfast and coffee. Can't believe how cold and miserable it is... Will have to get planning for next year. And before you all ask, no it will not be going back to Orlando. At least that is the current position.

Farewell Universal

So as mentioned yesterday, there was little surprise where we ended up today. It had to be Universal.

First up was the Minions, a cracker of a ride but whether it is worth the wait time is another question. We were in the park just after 9 and the queue time was already 55 minutes. The actual time was somewhat longer unfortunately - but at least we got to do it.

We ticked off our key rides at Universal, with some multiple attempts before heading to Moe's Tavern in Springfield for lunch.

We then travelled by Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure to continue riding.

Each direction on the train has a different story so well worth riding it twice.

I have some pics that I will add when we get home. The photo below is from inside Gringotts Bank within Universal Studios.

After a swim and a shower we paid a farewell visit to Super Target to buy some items to bring home. Many of them because they are unavailable in the UK.

After shopping we went for a meal at the Outback Steak Restaurant before returning to the villa to complete our packing.

We need to be out of the villa by 10, with our first flight hopefully leaving at 14.30pm US time.

May blog tomorrow depending on WiFi and news.

See you all really soon...

Farewell Disney

For any of you that followed us last year probably already knew the routine. Not to say we are creatures of habit...

Apologies for the lack of photos. This is due to ongoing problems with my phone and the WiFi in the villa. It's definitely time for a new phone.

Anyway this morning we visited Animal Kingdom. I know I keep saying this, but it was a scorcher...

At 10am this morning the temperature was showing as 94... And it only got hotter... Not complaining, just saying.

We completed our 3 fast passes and headed off to our final ADR, which was our first repeat meal, at the Rainforest Cafe.

It's a family fave and the atmosphere is brill.

So that was farewell to Animal Kingdom so there was only one place left as far as Disney is concerned, the Magic Kingdom.

As mentioned yesterday, our first destination was the Snow White Mine Train. The wait time was showing as 80 minutes, which was a bit of an under estimate. In addition we were being given warnings that due to nearby weather conditions the ride may need to close. Not what you want to hear when you have been queuing for an hour.

The bad weather didn't materialise and we got to ride it. It's not a bad ride - very smooth but not worth the wait.

We then queued for Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain, with queue times of 55 minutes and 40 minutes respectively. When it's your last day at Disney and no fast passes left.

So back in the villa exhausted at 9pm. One more full on day before we start our journey home. We've even started packing - very organised this year.

You already know what the plan is for tomorrow but pop back if you're interested.

The Start of Goodbye Part 1

So with only a few days left it was time to ratchet it up a level - 'go hard or go home' - so this morning we headed back to Hollywood Studios.

We rode all the favourites and queued up for Toy Story. We were determined to do this ride regardless of the queue time. When we arrived and started queuing, the wait time was showing as 80 minutes. Thankfully it didn't take that long.

I don't believe it was over 30 minutes so result, plus I high scored :)

Lunch was at Pizza Planet as requested by Miss B. Its become a bit of a tradition that we tried to break today, but failed.

After lunch and a quick Great Movie Ride, we headed to Epcot to explore the World Showcase.

We spent an enjoyable 4 hours exploring the worlds before heading back to the villa for a swim.

Mrs J and I popped to the shops whilst the girls showered and then we headed out for tea.

We arrived at the Outback Steak House around 8pm to be told it was an hour wait. Thankfully it was nowhere near this.

It's 10.15 as I type this, so apologies that this is short today.

You can probably guess what we are up to tomorrow, so pop back to see if you are correct...

It's Universal...

The plan for today was to head back to Universal for the day. We were parked up by 9.30am and heading for the park.

Which one I hear you ask? It had to be Isle of Adventures as Miss B and Miss H wanted to ride the Hulk. I'm not going to list all the rides, suffice to say we rode all the favourites.

We had lunch at Mythos, which is a restaurant in IoA. It has won the best theme park restaurant for the last 6 years. Don't ask me who else was judged, I just know it is always busy and the food is fab.

After lunch we boarded the Hogwarts Express to take us to Kings Cross in Universal Studios.

Again we did the key rides and left the park before heading out to eat. The thunderstorms were rolling in.

We headed out to International Drive, very close to where we stayed when we first brought the girls to the States. A lot has changed but at the same time we recognised some familiar sights.

Tea was at Coopers Hawk Winery and Restaurant. A very nice eatery, but well priced. On the way home we were treated to an amazing lightning show.

I liken driving along International Drive akin to driving in Central London - absolute carnage.

We arrived home over 12 hours after we left this morning. A great day but very exhausting.

I will leave you with a picture I took this morning as I waited for everyone to get ready.

That's all for today... Pop back tomorrow if you feel inclined for an update.

Off on Safari

So today we returned to Animal Kingdom. We had our fast passes booked. First up was Kali River Rapids. Miss B sat this one out. Before we left the villa we offered Miss H a poncho but she declined.

She seriously regretted that decision... The people to the left of us escaped virtually dry but not Miss H. I think she suffered by sitting next to me and getting the run off from my poncho.

It really does depend where the raft is positioned when it goes over the drop.

The rest of the raft who weren't wearing ponchos were drenched. After removing my poncho I allowed myself a smug smile at those who ridiculed my attire.

Next up was our favourite ride of the park - Expedition Everest. Even Mrs J is enjoying it now and in the photos can be seen smiling.

We then sneaked in a quick ride on Dinosaur. We had also planned to ride Prime Evil Whirl but this has now closed. We are all really glad we rode it earlier in the holiday. I know it's more of a fairground ride but it is really fun.

Our final Fast Pass was the Safari. When we did this previously we didn't see any giraffes but this time was different and we got to see 5 giraffes, including 3 young ones.

It was now lunch time and we had booked an ADR (advanced dinner reservation) at...

The food was great, essentially Chinese, which made a refreshing change from chips - sorry I mean fries, as chips are crisps here. A single language?

Next was the inevitable question... What are we going to do now? After a lengthy discussion the majority decision was more shopping.

We headed for the other Premium Outlet at Vineland. We hadn't been here before but knew that it was fairly similar to its sister mall.

After a few hours it was time to head back to the villa. It was now raining so that ruled out a swim.

We headed out to Publix for essentials and filled up the car with gas...

We will review the plans for our remaining days to make sure we do everything that we want to.

Who knows where we will be tomorrow? I don't... Pop back and find out...

Off to Celebrate...

So one place we had promised ourselves we would visit was Celebration. It's a community town that Disney established - think Prince Charles and Poundbury. You get the idea.

It's a very charming, picturesque and tranquil place. We spent a couple of hours wandering around and taking in the town. As well as quaint artisan stores it has a Starbucks which we frequented for my daily coffee fix.

After this we had ice cream in a cup. Sea salted caramel, cookis and cream and chocolate fudge brownie in case you are interested.

We also tried and bought some home made macaroons. Not sure they will remain on my 'keep' list.

With the time rushing by we headed off to the Magic Kingdom as Mr J had booked Fast Passes.

The temperature soared again today to circa 40 with a 40% chance of thunderstorms around 3pm.

We had passes for Splash and Thunder Mountain, which both had wait times well over an hour.

After watching the parade we used our final pass, which was a meet and photo opportunity with Mickey Mouse.

It was then time to head home for a swim. As we travelled back it started to rain, so that worked out OK.

By the time we arrived home the rain had stopped.

We headed out after our swim to go gift shopping before heading to Publix.

We are eating in tonight ahead of our next day out.

Check back tomorrow...