South Carolina 2011 - Part 2 and then home :(

4^th October

Today we decided to head to Savannah to see the sights. I had heard good things on the internet about Savannah and it was only about 1 hour from Hilton Head.

We decided not to leave too early as we didn’t want to hit any traffic. I had devised a cunning plan of stopping at a visitor centre to work out how to find somewhere to park! So off we went, I had put the visitor centre address in the sat nav for ease. Well, it turns out I picked a visitor centre inside Savannah airport!

It actually wasn’t that bad – we parked, got directions and then got back on the road….we were in and out so quickly that the car parking at the airport was free!

So, side adventure over, we carried on to Savannah. Finding the car park was actually quite straightforward with our directions and once we had parked we went for a walk around.

I had my Savannah visitor book with me and we searched out a couple of museums to see if they were worth visiting. Unfortunately we found a couple and they seemed quite expensive (to us) so we gave them a miss! We did a bit more wandering and Rob took some photos and then we walked down towards the waterfront.

By the way – special note for Jennifer – the sidewalks in Savannah are extremely bumpy and not at all level – we took a photo especially for you!

Down by the water we looked for a place to have lunch. Rob is not a fan of seafood so that limited our choices a little bit. We decided to eat in this very strange little place that looked like it was about to fall down – and also seemed like it used to be outside and had been built into an inside place!

Lunch was ok, not great. Probably my least favourite meal of this part of the trip. I did have beignets for dessert though which were amazing! Made up for missing out on doughnuts the other morning!

After lunch we did some more wandering. We considered taking a boat ride but decided against it. Got a free trial of some praline in the candy store which was yummy!

Not long after this we decided we were bored with Savannah (please nobody hate me!) and so we got back in the car and went back to Hilton Head!

In fairness to Savannah I probably should have done some more research before we went. If I had found some specific attractions that we wanted to visit we probably would have had more fun. Think I have worked out that me trying to ‘wing it’ isn’t the best idea!

On the way back we stopped at Target and Staples and bought a few little bits – including a T shirt for me with Mickey and Minnie at Halloween!

Dinner tonight was takeaway pizza from Guiseppi’s which was just as good as the other night!

5^th October

We went to a local place this morning for breakfast – Stacks Pancakes. I had heard good things on the internet and so wanted to try it out. We also got a 10% discount voucher to use! I had pancakes with fresh fruit and Rob had an omelette I think. I could only eat about half of my pancakes – very disappointed about that! Didn’t beat brunch from our first morning though!

After that we had booked to go out on a boat trip – in the hope of seeing some dolphins. The boat only holds a maximum of 6 passengers so we were excited about our trip.

We got on the boat and then picked up two other people so only 4 of us plus the Captain of the boat and off we headed. We were out for about 1hr 45mins and we saw a few dolphins – on about 4 separate occasions but I only managed to get one photo!

Having said that Rob would have been happy with just the boat ride – he likes boats and if we ever win the lottery he will probably be getting one!

Back on dry land we went to the pool for the first (and only) time during our trip. Did a little bit of laying in the sun – but forgot my sun cream so got a bit red! Had a go on the water slide as well which was fun!

Did some laundry before packing up all our things for our drive back down to Orlando the next day and then went out for our last dinner in Hilton Head.

Back out towards Sea Pines to a place called One Hot Mamas, another place from the pizza company group. I had a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and Rob had chicken with macaroni and cheese and fries!

Another really good meal and again I think it was less than $30 which is such good value!

Off to bed early as we were trying to leave early again in the morning!

6^th October

We were up and out before 9 this morning and on our way back to Orlando. Journey was uneventful and we stopped to grab lunch at a service station on the way. Think it was again a McDonalds but it was quick and easy. Back on the road again quickly and we were soon in Orlando.

We were spending our last night at the Waldorf Astoria – a complimentary stay due to some issues we had last year when we were at Key West. My only complaint about this place would be that you have no option but to use the valet parking – at $20 per day. If you were staying here and driving to the parks you would be spending $34 a day just on parking!

Checked in quickly and got a room on the 10^th floor. Really nice room – and great views from up here!

Had a walk around and found a computer we could use for checking in online for our flight the next day.

Watched some tv in our room and then went to use the computer to do just that. Checked in exactly 24 hours before and got extra leg room seats!

Decided I couldn’t resist a last minute visit to Disney, as we had one day left on our tickets, so we hopped on the shuttle – which left about 10 mins later (Rob actually had to run down our corridor to return our passports to the room!) and we were on our way to Epcot!

We went in and headed onto Spaceship Earth for one last ride and then went over to see if Soarin’ had any fast passes remaining. It didn’t and there was a 60 minute wait…so we decided not to ride. We were heading into the pavilion though to check out food options and a man handed me one Soarin’ fast pass. Rob told me to ride on my own while he got a drink…..so I got one last ride on Soarin’!!!

Couldn’t find anything we wanted to eat in Sunshine Seasons so we headed over to the world showcase to see if we could find anything we wanted to eat here.

Compared to our first Epcot visit at the start of our trip it was now noticeably busier as a result of the food and wine festival, but not as bad as opening day!

We eventually ended up at the America pavilion so grabbed a bite to eat in here. It wasn’t too bad for Disney but I was too full to get the cheese plate from the aptly named ‘cheese’ booth afterwards!

Managed to get one last ride on Maelstrom although Rob refused the Mexico boat ride – poor Donald! Decided not to stick around for Illuminations as the last shuttle wasn’t until 10.05 and we didn’t really want to wait around.

Bought me a couple of extra pins – and a new bag for my pins as I was running out of space and then we hopped on the bus back to the hotel.

7^th October

Got up this morning and reluctantly packed up the remainder of our things – was slightly worried about my hand luggage weight due to the large quantity of candy that was inside!

Had the car brought around and left the hotel at about 10. Our flight was at 5pm and we didn’t want to risk getting to Miami too late. We stopped on the way at an Earl of Sandwich so got one last ‘Disney’ taste before heading home.

Arrived at the car rental centre at about 2.15 – car dropped off no problem and over to the terminal.

Got to the BA bag drop to be told that the flight was delayed by an hour! We could have stayed in bed longer or gone shopping or something!

As we were already at the airport we decided to head on through security as at least that would be out of the way.

We then had the longest wait ever on the other side. No free wifi and nothing much the other side to do, so Rob got a pizza and I had an ice cream sandwich. I then read a book (an actual whole book start to finish) which Rob watched a film on his iPhone!

We eventually boarded and after an uneventful flight, with some annoying passengers behind us, arrived back at Heathrow the next morning about 7am. Through passport control quite quickly and bags didn’t take long either.

We were back at home just before 10am and managed to get to the kennels and get the dog before the extra day charge came in!

South Carolina 2011 - Part 1

1^st October

We were up early this morning to do the last minute packing and to get on the road to South Carolina. I had read online that the journey would take 5-6 hours so we wanted to be gone from Orlando by 10am to ensure we arrived at a reasonable hour.

Gladly we achieved this aim and had left Bay Lake by 10. The drive wasn’t too bad (says she who sat in the passenger seat the whole way – my excuse is that it costs extra to add an extra driver!) but I didn’t realise quite how far up Florida goes! We stopped for lunch at about 12.30 and we were still in Florida….when would we pass through Georgia?! Well as it turned out we headed into Georgia not long after lunch but it took a while!

It seemed to take hardly any time at all to pass through Georgia and before we knew it we were now in South Carolina. The last part of the trip was slower as the speed limits on Hilton Head Island are maximum 55mph and the majority are 45mph.

We eventually arrived at the resort sometime between 3 and 4pm. We checked in, got our keys to our room and went to unpack. We had a little wander around to see what was where and found the little shop which is only open until 6pm – very different from Disney opening hours in Orlando!

We decided to venture out this evening for Pizza and to the Piggly Wiggly to get a few snacks for the room. We got to the pizza place (Guiseppi’s) and there was a 20 minute wait for a table – which seemed to be good news – if it is busy it must be good right? Well, it was good! We had a medium pizza, garlic bread and fries for under $35 including tip which was well worth it and much less expensive than in Disney.

Back to the room where we watched some American football – as it had been on the TV while we were eating pizza and Rob decided he wanted to see what happened!

2^nd October

We had picked up some information about places to eat in Hilton Head while out last night and found a place which was part of the same group as the pizza restaurant which did a Sunday brunch.

So, as the pizza had been good we thought we would give brunch a try…..we put the address into the sat nav and off we went. We got to where the sat nav told us to go and couldn’t find anything that looked like a restaurant – until eventually we realised that the restaurant was behind a boathouse. I must admit it looked a bit ‘dodgy’ from the road but we decided to go ahead and try it and again it was great! Another thumbs up for good quality food at a relatively low price.

After brunch we decided to go and find the beach house – this is a couple of miles from the main resort so we drove there on our way back. The resort does run a shuttle during the day but there is plenty of parking so taking your own car is a good option if you don’t want to be reliant on the shuttle.

The beach was quite quiet, you can tell that this was not a peak time at Hilton Head, but it was nice and quiet which makes a change from Disney!

We had a relaxing afternoon and evening – not doing very much at all. I think we had dinner at the Outback this evening but I cannot be 100% and I am away from home again so cannot check my receipts!

If it was the outback we had a great meal again tonight – Rob had a steak and I had some chicken sandwich (I think!). We also had an amazing chocolate brownie dessert with ice cream.

3^rd October

We went out this morning looking for a local doughnut shop – but failed miserably to find it and so instead went to Sea Pines to look around. This is some kind of resort/community which you have to pay to access – costs $5 per day which isn’t too bad.

We drove in and found a coffee shop/bakery so stopped to have coffee and a pastry to make up for the lack of doughnuts!

We then took a wander around and did a little window shopping. There is a lighthouse at Sea Pines which is apparently famous as it features in one of the golf courses on the island which is used as part of a major tournament?! I will upload a picture – let me know if you recognise it!

So, we paid the $3.50 each to go up the lighthouse and then climbed the 114 steps to the top. We got some nice photos from up here and then got some change so that I could squash lots of pennies on my way down!

We then went over to a different part of the community and had lunch in a restaurant/café called The Salty Dog. We had chicken strips and fries and they were amazing as well. So much good food in Hilton Head – I wonder if it was the sea air?

We did a bit of shopping – got a towel with a Jack Russell on it and a sign which says ‘welcome’ with a piccy of a Jack. Anybody guess what kind of dog Zac is?!

We had seen a shopping centre so went to take a look around – and almost every shop was closed – talk about off-season!

So, we left Sea Pines and went back to the resort. We generally were a lot more relaxed on this part of the trip – so if it seems like we spent a lot of time doing nothing……well it’s because we did!

I think we were terrible this evening and got McDonalds for tea – we had so many nice meals that I think we got a bit bored of proper food – so I got myself a McFlurry for dessert!

Photos 2011 :)

I have finally managed to upload my photos to photobucket and so can now link to some of my favourites (although I am in them which makes them less great!)

Many more photos are in my album here: Photos

Florida 2011 - Last day at Disney :(

30^th September

This was our last day at Bay Lake Tower before we head to South Carolina. We were going to go to Epcot for the first day of the food and wine festival. As we knew the park would be really busy we decided not to go for the whole day but just to go for the afternoon and evening.

We went over to Downtown Disney to pick up some gifts and to get another sandwich from the Earl of Sandwich – I just love this place! Really wanted to get a dessert from Ghiradelli but they just looked too big and I didn’t want to waste it. One of these days I will remember and skip lunch and go right for dessert!

Back to the resort to do some more laundry and get some of our stuff packed up before heading over to Epcot.

We took the monorail over which is one of the big attractions of Bay Lake Tower for me. We can walk/monorail to the Magic Kingdom and monorail to Epcot – my two favourite parks!

Just after we walked through the entrance we saw Daisy doing a meet and greet and she had no line! So I went to meet her and Rob was taking my picture, then the photopass photographer offered to take one of both of us with her. Rob didn’t really want a photo but he got one anyway!

We went to see if there were any Soarin’ fastpasses left for later and surprisingly there were but the time clashed with our dinner reservation and we wanted to watch Illuminations after so we didn’t bother getting one. Instead we headed over to the world showcase as I wanted to squash some more pennies – we had run out of pennies the other day and I wanted a penny from each country.

We went into the UK pavilion and right at the back found Tigger and Pooh again! As I had Rob with me I decided I should meet them this time! So I got my photo taken with them as well!

We wandered around the world showcase for a bit and then took the boat from Germany to Mexico – a bit lazy but I was wearing new shoes and didn’t want to hurt my feet! In Mexico we rode the little boat ride which is always fun.

Around in Norway the queue for Maelstrom was over 30 minutes so I got a fastpass for later. We did a bit more wandering before coming back a short while later to ride with no wait thanks to the fastpass!

We had a dinner reservation at Via Napoli for 7.45 so we checked in and were seated a few minutes later. We had pizza and salad and it was quite nice to eat with proper knives and forks for a change!

Once we were done we had to trek back around the world showcase so that I could get a chocolate lava cake from the Ireland stand for dessert and then find a spot to watch the fireworks.

It was busy so there were no great spots but we found one that was reasonable and so stopped there. Illuminations were great as always – although I do wish the globe thing took less time!

Once the fireworks were over we headed back to the monorail. We got back to the resort and went to bed as we had an early start the next day.

Florida 2011 - Missed out a bit!

27^th September update

How rubbish am I? I completely forgot the best part of the trip (for Rob!) so while I remember I am updating my blog with it.

After we had breakfast and a wander around Rob wanted to go and look around at the Walt Disney Speedway. He had pondered doing one of the driving experiences on previous trips but never actually did it. So we drove over and had a quick look and then asked if they had any available slots for a ride-along– they were at lunch but we were told that when they came back they had plenty of availability.

So, Rob decided that he would do the ride-along and maybe do a driving experience on a later trip. It costs $99 and you get 3 laps of the track. We waited by the track until the drivers came back from lunch. Then Rob went and put on a race suit and got kitted out with his helmet and other safety equipment.

The 3 laps went by in a flash but Rob got out of the car with a huge grin on his face. Think he had more fun in those few minutes than in all of the rest of the trip!

After he was done we chatted with the drivers before getting a picture of Rob in the car (and ordering the DVD) and then headed back to the resort.

29^th September

Today we were heading back to the Magic Kingdom and I really wanted to get there for park opening as I wanted to see the ‘show’ that they perform before opening the park. There were extra magic hours this morning so we had to be at the park by 8am.

We started the day with a ride on Buzz Lightyear – and somehow I managed to score an amazing 412,300! No idea how that happened – I just aimed randomly at stuff and the score kept jumping up by 100,000 each time!

After Buzz we rode the following rides:

· Space Mountain
· Winnie the Pooh – First time
· Mickey’s Philharmagic – First time
· Peter Pan – First time
· Snow White – First time
· Splash Mountain x 3
· Big Thunder Mountain
· Liberty Belle
· Disney World Railroad

We also took a trip over to Tom Sawyers Island – another first – amazing the amount of attractions we haven’t done in the past!

We also grabbed lunch at Pecos Bills at some point during all of these rides!
Around 3 we decided to take a break and walked back to the resort – that is the great part about Bay Lake Tower, not only do you have the monorail but you can also walk to the Magic Kingdom!

After our little break we headed back over to the Magic Kingdom as there were a few rides I still wanted to do and a couple of gifts to buy.

We rode the following:

· Astro Orbiter
· Carousel of Progress – yet another first!
· Peoplemover
· Space Mountain
· Buzz Lightyear – no amazing score this time

We got a bite to eat at Cosmic Rays before heading back to the resort. I have decided that I prefer watching the fireworks from my balcony and not have to deal with the crowds leaving at the end of the night!

Rob had joked to his mum before we left that we could skype her so she could see the fireworks. Little did we know she took us seriously so we had to call her so that she could watch with us too. Not forgetting that the fireworks take place at 2am UK time!

So we gave her a call and we all watched the fireworks together! She was pretty excited – it is kind of fascinating to her that she can watch fireworks live over the internet!

Florida 2011 - 28th September

28^th September

We were really tired from the party last night and so we didn’t get up until gone 10 this morning. Once we were ready we headed over to Hollywood Studios and went straight over to Toy Story Mania to grab a fast pass for later – they were already being distributed for 7pm that night! We then rode the following in no particular order:

· Tower of Terror x 3
· Rock n Rollercoaster
· Star Tours
· The Great Movie Ride

We also got lunch at the Backlot Express in between rides; as we wanted to watch Fantasmic! later on we headed back to the resort for a while to rest and cool off. When we went back we finally got to ride Toy Story and also watched the Voyage of the Little Mermaid which we had never seen before.

At about 7.30 we went and got a seat for Fantasmic right in the centre of the theatre. I got some nachos and cheese to snack on while we waited. Fantasmic was delayed slightly due to thunder threatening but eventually got under way. This is a really fun show – the mixture of water, fire and fireworks is great. What puzzles me though is why people leave when ¾ of the show is over? I guess they are probably trying to beat the crowds but I would rather see the whole show and not worry about the crowds – we are on holiday right?!

Back at the resort Rob got a flatbread and a beer for a late dinner and then we headed home for the night.

Florida 2011 - 26th September

26^th September

Today was our first day at Epcot; we headed out quite early and took the monorail from the hotel. We arrived at about 9.30 and headed straight for Soarin’ we rode the standby line and got fast passes for later. Then we grabbed some breakfast in Sunshine Seasons before walking onto Living with the Land.

Time for Soarin’ again with our fast passes before heading over to Test Track. We grabbed fast passes and then Rob went to look at the cars. We popped over to Club Cool to try out some Coke products before our fast pass window opened. After our ride on Test Track we decided to take a stroll around the world showcase.

As we were just entering the world showcase we saw a character greet getting ready to open. It turned out to be Duffy Bear and as there was no queue I decided to go meet him. I got a hug and Rob took my picture – which I will eventually upload when I have faster internet!

We did the obligatory boat rides in Mexico and Norway and then took some time to explore the other countries. It is amazing that despite the number of times we have been here there are still loads of things that we haven’t seen or done!

We stopped for a drink in China and then carried on around. We spotted Marie in France and I was going to meet her but the queue got real long really fast so we took a quick picture from afar and moved on. There is a new band in the UK pavilion and they are quite good. Rob stopped to watch while I went in one of the shops. I found Tigger and Pooh doing a character meet at the back and took a quick picture of them.

We then headed back to our hotel and got to the monorail station just as it started to rain. It was a pretty impressive storm and we got a little wet when we changed to the resort loop but not too bad. We were going to head back to Epcot for Illuminations but the storm kept going for most of the evening so we stayed at the resort and watched Wishes from the balcony instead!

27^th September

This morning I had to set an alarm as we had a breakfast reservation which couldn’t be missed – at Chef Mickey’s!

We walked across to the Contemporary and checked in at the desk. We were quickly shown to our table and then our server took our drinks order. We headed over to the buffet and got some food. We started eating and then along came Goofy! We both had photos and shook hands with him. We started eating again and then along came the main man – Mickey! More piccys with Rob and I.

A little while later and Minnie appeared, she posed for a picture with me but disappeared before Rob could get one…. While we were eating we pondered how difficult it must be to get children to eat breakfast with all the characters wandering around!

Donald was the next character to visit with us, we both got pictures again which was good. We were almost done with our food at this point but were waiting for the last of the Fab Five – Pluto. We then heard that Pluto is always last so got some fruit whilst we waited for him.

Finally Pluto appeared and I got a photo with him, but again he ran off before Rob could get a photo. Then just before we left the characters did the napkin dance – which is fun for the kids and great to watch as an adult!

So, breakfast over (and at $72 not a cheap experience – but well worth it) we went back to the resort to do some laundry and explore a little bit. We weren’t going to a park until later as we had tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

We lazed around at the resort and just chilled for a while before heading over to the Magic Kingdom just after 4pm.

The nice thing about the party nights is that the lines for rides are really short. We rode the following rides during the party with little or no wait:

· Splash Mountain x 2

· Big Thunder Mountain

· Jungle Cruise
· Haunted Mansion
· It’s a small world
· Space Mountain

I was originally planning on trying to meet the seven dwarfs during the party but the line to meet them was really long all night so I gave up on that idea and decided instead to focus on the fireworks, the parade and gathering lots of candy to take home with me!

The party seemed more crowded than last year but we still had a great evening and got lots of candy!

Florida 2011

As some of you may know I am quite the fan of Florida, so it should come as no surprise that I am on my way again on my latest holiday! Trying to branch out a little bit though so we are also going to South Carolina for 5 days before coming home. I have just written up the first few days below, and will update every few days. I have photos but will add them later as I need to upload them first :)

23^rd September

After going to work early I finally managed to convince my boss that it was time for me to leave at about 12.30! Rob had already dropped Zac off at the kennels and done online check-in for our flight so once I got back we grabbed some lunch, got my car cleaned and then went home to finish packing and tidy the house.

All tidying done, and the bed made ready for our return, we headed off to the airport. We had to stop briefly to give granddad his birthday card – he just turned 92 and I had sent his birthday present directly to the house.

So off we went, traffic was good until we hit the M25 which was barely moving….! Luckily we only had a couple of junctions to go until we could turn off. We arrived at the Sofitel at Terminal 5 at about 8pm and got a room with an outside view – not that we’d know as you couldn’t hear anything at all. This is the second time we had stayed at the hotel and we would definitely go back.

24^th September

Big travel day today. We got up and headed to bag drop at about 8.30. We went through security quickly and then grabbed breakfast. We then boarded our BA flight to Miami. The flight was uninteresting – we had 3 seats between the two of us which allowed us to spread out a little.

On arrival at Miami the queue for immigration was the longest I have ever seen! It took us close to an hour to get through and then we also had to queue at customs! We took the Miami Mover to the car hire centre which was quick and easy. We picked up our car (a Lincoln Town Car which was not what Rob was hoping for!) and headed out on our way to Disney World.

4 hours later and we were almost there and a huge rain storm hit. We could barely see out of the windows! However, we managed to make it to our hotel safely and thankfully the storm had passed and we could unload our baggage without getting wet!

We are staying at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in a Magic Kingdom view studio. We checked in and were allocated a room on the 6^th floor. I would have preferred a little higher but we will be back so it isn’t a problem.

We grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to bed as it was now 10pm US time and we were super tired!

25^th September

We managed to stay in bed until about 7am which was quite the achievement as Rob woke at 5 for the first time!

I had planned a visit to the Animal Kingdom today so we went to get breakfast at the Contempo Café and then popped to reception as we had a key issue we were trying to resolve. We took our mugs back to the room and then quickly used skype to contact Rob’s parents and let them know we had arrived ok. We gave them a tour of the room via video and then headed out to the park.

Once we got to AK we headed to Expedition Everest and picked up a fast pass before riding for the first time. It was really hot today and so we went over to ride Kali River Rapids without worrying if we were going to get wet!

We survived relatively unscathed – although one guy that rode with us did get absolutely soaked! We picked up a fast pass for later and then headed back to Everest. After another quick ride we decided to go to Dinoland and ride Dinosaur. The wait was less than 20 mins which was good – also it gave me a chance to get out of the heat!

We then went back and rode the rapids again – it’s funny that when you don’t want to get wet you do and when you are happy to get wet you don’t!

We then got our first soft serve ice cream of the trip before taking another ride on Everest before calling it a day and heading back to our room.

I had planned for this to be a short day as we would get tired pretty quickly and the Animal Kingdom is my least favourite park.

We popped over to Downtown Disney to grab a bite to eat at one of my favourites – Earl of Sandwich. I had then planned to watch Wishes from the Top of the World Lounge but in the end we were both tired so we watched from our balcony instead! So nice to be able to watch the fireworks without crowds of people!