2014 Holiday Day 7 - Universal's Islands of Adventure & Disney's Magic Kingdom

A reasonably early start to head over for your first visit of the holiday to the Universal parks for the 9am opening of Islands of Adventure. We got there just after 9:15am and the crowds seemed light - even though it was a Saturday morning. This is probably because of the opening of Diagon Alley in the other park (that's another Harry Potter world for the uninitiated) so that's where everyone was heading. We tried to get on to the Spiderman ride, but they were having problems, so we headed for Pterodactyl Fliers, where - ironically - Matthew was too tall! It's a kid's ride - he's only 10 - but he's too tall! I suppose he is an 'adult' according to the Universal pricing structures, but even so...

We decided to head back to Spiderman which Clare and Matthew got on as it was now working (it's not a ride I like so I nosed round the shops and took some pictures). There's too much spinning and jerking for my liking!

Once finished, we met back up and decided to walk up to Hogsmeade - the Harry Potter attraction in this park - and were still surprised at the relative lack of people. Matthew wanted to buy an interactive wand, so we headed into the wand shop (Ollivander's) and he selected one that was something to do with his birthday (and the fact is was shaped like an evil cobra seemed to help too). It comes with a guide on how to do spells and where you can cast them to see their effects. So we spent a little time wandering around Hogsmeade looking for 'spell spots'. Then Matthew had to perform the right 'swishing and flicking' of the wand in order to see the spell work.

There were several of these spots around Hogsmeade. Some seemed to work better than others, which might be Matthew was better at casting the spells of the camera sensors were in better positions on some of them. Whatever, he enjoyed himself, and that was alright.

We decided to take the Hogwarts Express to the Studios park, and with a minimal wait we were soon onboard. You get put into a cabin, similar to an old steam train in the UK, and there is a video wall instead of a window which plays scenes on your journey to Kings Cross. It had a kind-of 3D effect, without the need for glasses, which worked quite well. The Weasley twins advertising their joke shop was done particularly well.

Once our of Kings Cross (which was done very well, even down to the fierce air conditioning making it feel like an English winter!) we had a wander round the rest of 'London'. It was busier in this park for sure, but we were still able to see some of the sights quite well.

We were hungry to headed to our favourite Universal Studios bakery the Beverley Hills Boulangerie. Clare swears their cheesecakes are the best she has ever had, so she went for the New York Vanilla cheescake, whilst I had an oatmeal cookie and Matthew had choc chip. We sat outside, just after a rather noisy band had finished playing, so we could chat rather than be deafened. The Studios seemed very noisy - the volume on everything seemed to have been cranked up making conversations difficult even in the middle of the walkways.

We knew we had a lat night ahead, so decided to leave after our snack and do a bit of shopping. Clare wanted to visit the big Barnes & Noble bookshop near the Florida Mall so she could get a special edition book that only they stocked. We then headed back to the hotel and visited the pool and had a couple of Pepperoni Flatbreads from the Artist's Palette Quick Service restaurant.

About 4:30pm we got in the car and went to the Magic Kingdom as we had reservations at the Ohana restaurant at the Polynesian Resort. We headed to the Transportation Hub, where you can get monorails to resorts and the Magic Kingdom - or a ferry across the lake to the park - and did a short walk to the Polynesian resort. We got to the restaurant and were soon settled in to our seats. They bring a selection of food from a wood stove where they cook different types of meat. It's done in a Hawaiian style and it's done very well. There's entertainment for the kids and the views are great across to the Magic Kingdom and other resorts. The food was pretty good - the banana pudding being a particular favourite of mine.

We then caught the monorail to The Magic Kingdom and once inside found it to be absolutely packed! it was probably the busiest we had seen it, due to there only being a couple of nights where you can see the electric parade and the fireworks and the rest of the week is taken up with Hallowe'en parties (which you have to pay separately for). We were here especially for the parade and fireworks as Clare had really wanted to see them. We had Fast Passess for Jungle Cruise, which we had all wanted to do at night, and found even the Fast Pass line was a 20 minute wait. This was made longer by a boat breaking down and having to be towed back to the dock. Anyway, it wasn't too much longer before we were underway and all agreed that the lighting helped see some of the things that you might miss during the daytime. Well worth doing at night.


Matthew hadn't eaten much at dinner, as he had struggled to find things he'd liked, so we headed to a Quick Service restaurant to find him a hot dog. We ended up in Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe more by luck than judgement, as we'd got lost. We were pleasantly surprised as it was done in a diner style and was very large with plenty of seating and places to order. We found a table and whilst Matthew ate his hot dog were entertained by a character singing space songs and telling terrible jokes. Matthew declared the hot dog and fries to be very good.

It was 8:40pm now, so we headed for the Fast Pass are we had booked to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade. Good job we did as it was packed everywhere else. We'd seen people sitting at the side of the road at 7pm and wondered if they were saving a spot for the parade. Well, they definitely had been! We got to the front of our spot right in front of Cinderella's Castle, and I have to say it was well worth getting a Fast Pass for. The parade came by about 9:10pm and it was spectactular. The flights were all very bright and the music and choreography was well done too. Matthew and Clare particularly enjoyed it, although all those lights were very bright!

After the parade, we moved to the Fast Pass area for the fireworks, which was in the Rose Garden. It was nice to sit on the grass and watch the light show projected onto the castle followed by a truly amazing fireworks display. Probably the best I've ever seen. I'm not into fireworks very much, but these I was impressed by.

After the show, we headed for the People Movers - another ride we had wanted to do at night. It was also to allow some of the crowd to leave the park. It was a nice ride round the park, but it broke down for about 10 minutes which was a bit of a bummer. Still, we again saw things we hadn't noticed during the day time...

It was around 10:45pm by this point, so we headed out of the park and took the ferry to the parking lot. I'm sure it's a lovely ride across the lake, but when you are tired and it's pitch black outside it's just a pain to do it. I'd rather a 10 minute walk to the car, I think!

So it was a pretty late night, but at least we did something we hadn't done before. We've been trying to do something new every day, and this one was a biggie - but it was worth it...

2014 Holiday Day 6 - Disney's Typhoon Lagoon & EPCOT

It was a quieter morning that the previous days as the water parks at Disney don't open until 10am. Also, it wasn't forecast to be very warm in the morning - but would get to 78 by midday. So we ate a leisurely breakfast and whilst I was packing up the things for the day, Clare and Matthew went for a walk to the pond that is outside out patio area.

We first headed up to Premium Outlets Orlando to go to the bug Gap store there to pick up some clothes. I always pack light and then buy a few things I need to replace in the States as it is way cheaper - especially in the outlet stores. We then headed to Publix supermarket at the end of Vineland Avenue to get a few essentials we were low on. At the start of the holiday, we have groceries delivered to our hotel by Garden Grocer, but we were low on a few of the breakfast basics. We don't tend to have breakfast out, unless it's for a character meet and greet, we tend to eat in our villa before heading out...

Anyway, it was then back to the hotel to drop everything off, pick up our swimming gear and head for Typhoon Lagoon. We had always been to Blizzard Beach previously, so Matthew wanted to try the other water park. We got there about 11:30 and it was fairly busy - but felt quite warm in the sunshine - so that was good. We started by going to the huge pool in the middle of the park (the Surf Pool) which every so often sends out HUGE waves. And I mean these things must be 10 foot tall at their origin! After watching a couple go by we entered into the pool and were amazed at the force they hit you with. We weren't far from the shore, but it was enough to knock Clare and Matthew off their feet! Unfortunately, I had got water in my ear so I headed back to shore to try and shift it. It was then I noticed a familiar tightness around my right wrist was missing.... The force of the water was so great it must have knocked my Magic Band right off!

I told Clare and Matthew to go and enjoy some of the slides whilst I simultaneously tried to shift the water from my ear (which was getting painful) and look for my Magic Band. After about 10 minutes I gave up on both activities, and decided to head for Guest Services to report the loss. This is where Disney customer service really kicks in... I figured I would need to buy a new one, but the nice lady first told me to not worry as my details were all safe as they are protected by a fingerprint and a PIN (I knew this, but figured it was standard practice to remind panicing guests!) She then asked me to check back at the end of our visit to see if it got handed in - if it hadn't my resort would replace it for free! I wasn't hugely worried about the loss, but it was nice the staff were focused more on me and my holiday experience rather than their bit of technology I had "misplaced". I hadn't been back at the 'camp' we had made from sun loungers when Clare and Matthew arrived back saying they'd had a good time on the slides.

We decided to then hit the Castaway Creek Lazy River. We grabbed our rings and headed for a slow poottle around the circular river. However, this is where it was designed for the Florida heat of the summer, not cool of the autumn as it was chilly down there. There's also water guns where kids get to soak you as you float round. After a couple of soakings, we were quite cold, so got out to find our towels and dry off.

It was about 1:30pm, so we headed for Leaning Palms to get some food. It was the standard hot dogs, burgers and chicken nuggets that are usually on offer in the water parks (you don't go there for l'eaut cuisine!). We went for a couple of chicken nuggets meals, but had to wait AGES for the food to arrive. Not like Disney to be so long in getting the food to you, but once we had it there were not complaints as it was cooked well and was hot and tasty. We shared the two portions between the three of us and there was plenty. Matthew had a choc chip cookie, which he declared to be delicious, and Clare and I shared a so-so Key Lime Pie.

We then packed up our things, got changed and headed back to Guest Services where my Magic Band hadn't turned up. We drove back to the hotel, and the Front Desk replaced the Magic Band as promised. This one actually fitted much better than the previous one - the strap is much more secure.

We had a rest in the room before heading back out to EPCOT. We had booked Fast Passes for Test Track at night as we wanted to see if it was different under the lights. First of all, we queued for a short time to get on the perennial Brewer favourite Spaceship Earth.

We then headed down to the Port Of Entry area of World Showcase to grab some more 'snacks' from the Food & Wine festival stalls.

We started in Canada, where we had a delicious fillet mignon steak with mushrooms (mine was almost the size of a regular steak I'd say!). Then it was a short walk to Scotland (I know that sounds weird, but that's EPCOT!) where Clare went for the vegetarian haggis and I had the potato cake with smoked salmon. Both were declared to be delicious. Last, but not least, we went to the Desserts & Champagne stall where Clare had the "Trio" of Passion Fruit Creamsicle, Blueberry Lime cheescake roll and chocolate espresso opera cake. We both sampled all three and declared the passion fruit the winner! I got some Guylian Belgian chocolate seashell truffles that Matthew and I shared (if you are wondering what Matthew ate, he'd already had a sandwich and crisps before we came out).

Clare decided she wanted a beer to wash it all down (I couldn't, I was driving) so we went to the Craft Beers pavillion where she had a Magic Hat Dream Machine IPL. She declared it most agreeable! Matthew wanted to go to Club Cool as he hadn't tried all the drinks from around the world - which he now has!

We had a Fast Pass for the character meet and greet, so went to meet Mickey, Pluto and Minnie before heading over to Test Track. It was definitely worth doing at night. You don't get blinded by the sun as you come out in the test car and EPCOT lit up looks amazing.

As we left, I took a picture of Spaceship Earth all lit up...

2014 Holiday Day 5 - Disney's EPCOT

Last night I was literally asleep when my head hit the pillow. I didn't even manage to pull the covers over me so when I woke up my covers were still down near my feet! I think it's fair to say that I slept pretty well, as did everyone else!

After breakfast in the villa (Pilsbury Toaster Pastries are SO nice) it was into the car and the short journey over to EPCOT. We got there with plenty of time to spare before rope drop, so we planned our strategy. We already had a Fast Pass for Test Track so we didn't need to run for that one when the gates were opened.

However, Matthew wanted to ride it twice so we agreed that him and Clare would run for it whilst I attempted to keep up. However, once through the gates, it was obvious my lack of fitness was never going to allow me to keep up with those two so I let them run on ahead, knowing I'd get to ride it later with the Fast Pass. Whilst they were doing that I walked round the edge of the Tomorrow Land section. It was very quiet as there were only a few people about so I took some photos and explored some walkways I hadn't been down before. I debated going to the Food & Wine Festival Center, but decided I'd better wait near the ride exit. I'd picked up the Food & Wine information sheet so I read that and planned what to have for lunch. (For those unfamiliar with Disney stuff, the Food & Wine festival happens every Fall at EPCOT and there are over 30 stalls serving food and drink from around the world. It's not to be missed!).

Clare and Matthew appeared soon and we decided to use the Fast a pass to ride Test Track again all together. We designed our concept cars and rode the ride and it was as good as always.

It was no about 10am so we decided to go to the Festival Center to get our a Food & Wine Festival passports. As you buy food and drink from the kiosks they give you a stamp in your passport, so you can keep track of what you have eaten and where. Clare and I like it - must be the collectors in us!

It was time for the Mission: Space ride, just next door to the Center and another thing we had a Fast Pass for. Whilst the standby line for Test Track was 30 minutes, it was only 5 minutes for Mission: Space - but you just don't know the wait times when you book the Fast Passes... Oh well... Anyway, we opted for the Green version of the ride, rather than the Orange. Disney park fans will understand that this is the wossy version of the ride, basically you don't get spun around to simulate the G-force of a space rocket take off. People are physically sick on that ride, and as I don't really like thrill ride, the non-spinning version was what I wanted to do. Clare did the spinning version on our last visit and she loved it.

Anyway, we went through the safety briefing, were assigned our positions on the space craft and off into space we went. What did I think of it? Well, let's just say I wouldn't do it again. Even without the spinning I was feeling a little nauseous. I'm such a wimp! Whilst I breathed the fresh, Florida air, Matthew decided he wanted to go again. So him and Clare went back on to do different jobs on the spacecraft whilst I just say in to the shade and people-watched. I'm a nosy beggar, so it's fun to watch people and how they do their Disney holidays. I can't recommend having a plan enough - you really do need to know what you are doing and when otherwise you end up queuing and doing very little...

Matthew really liked the Disney conservation badge he picked up from Animal Kingdom and now we knew there were more to collect he was keen to find some different designs. So we went to The Seas shop and found the badge in blue. He made his donation and pinned it on his T-Shirt. We then went to The Land shop, but it was the same colour as the Animal Kingdom one so he didn't bother with it.

We went to Club Cool to try some of the Coca Cola drinks from around the world and look round the gift shop. We tried beverages from South Africa, Zimbabwe and other countries. Matthew rather liked the Zimbabwe one - a raspberry drink - so much so he seemed to have red stains round his chops for the rest of the day!

We then headed out to World Showcase where Clare and I started to eat our way round the Food & Wine Festival. We started at the New Zealand stand where Clare had the venison sausage and I went for the lamb meatballs with tomato chutney. Both dishes were delicious. Clare then went to Australia where she had the pork chop - again - delicious...

We then went up to Mexico where Matthew want to ride The Three Caballeros which featured his favourite character - Donald Duck. It's a gentle boat ride where the other two band members are searching Mexico to find Donald.. It's also nice and cool in the Mexico pavilion as it was starting to warm up outsdie. Another sunny day with a clear blue sky. We then went to do a meet and greet with Mexican Donald. He was running late, so we waited as it was cool and in the shade and we weren't in a hurry. He turned up at 12:30, and Matthew was thrilled - so it was all good!

We then headed up to Germany where Matthew and I went for the sausage in a pretzel roll. We both enjoyed them.

I was tempted with a lot of the German dishes, but was starting to get full! Clare then went to Italy for a portion of ravioli. Bear in mind these dishes are supposed to be 'snacks' this thing was the size of a UK microwave meal! She was enjoying it, so she ate it all, but decided she was out of the game. No more food for her!

Matthew and I headed to the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco to have a sit down and eat quick service meal. I had a bit of falafel wrap and we shared a Coke whilst Clare wandered round Japan and went round the shop there. Green Tea Kit Kat anyone? Might have to try that sometime...

I just about had room for a pudding, so visited Belgium for a waffle with berry compote. The waffle was a bit hard, but tasted alright. Clare decided on a beer and went for a Hoegarden, which she liked. Last stop was Canada, where Matthew went to the gift stall to buy a bag of crisps that he has had from here before.

We had a Fast Pass for Spaceship Earth, a Brewer family fave, so we headed across the park to settle into our time travel pod to explore the past, present and future of planet Earth (narrated by Dame Judy Dench!). As Matthew says, it wouldn't be Disney without Spaceship Earth!

We had a little energy left, so we decided to go and do the Figment ride Journey Into Imagination. As Clare says, it's not as good as it used to be, and truth be told, it's a bit lame, but we like it. It has a cheerful song going on with it - even if some of the effects and models are a bit rubbish compared to more modern rides. In the gift shop, Clare was pleased to find the Figment comics we'd been looking for in the UK. Not number 1, though, although the lady at the till gave her a card to get a digital version for free - so it wasn't too bad.

We stopped by The Art of Disney shop - which has wonderful original art from Disney artists. There is an artist in there who will take commissions and we got chatting to him as he was drawing Anna and Elsa from Frozen. There are some amazing pieces in the shop, ranging from pencil sketches to large oil paintings. Well worth a visit.

It was 3pm and we were feeling the pace, so we headed back to the car and hit the Springs pool for a bit. We then ate at the Artist's Palette quick service restaurant (the food is OK - not great - but OK). We then roasted Marshmallows around the campfire, then headed back for Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. After a bit of Thursday Night Football, it was lights out to be ready for tomorrow...

2014 Holiday Day 4 - Disney's Animal Kingdom

No loud music last night! Hurrah! So I think we all slept quite well, but we were up early again for breakfast at Animal Kingdom. We had the rental car now, so no freezing cold Disney buses lumbering round 5 stops at the resort before heading to the park and no waiting for scooters to be loaded! Straight into the car, at a decent temperature, and into the Animal Kingdom car park.

After we got through the gate (at around 7:45am) we went straight to Tusker House for breakfast hosted by Donald Duck. We had an early reservation (8:05am) so we were in fairly quickly and eating. I opted for the sausage patties, scrambled eggs and 'tater tots' (bascially a smaller version of potato croquettes which were more breadcrumbs and batter than potato!). Clare had scrambled eggs, bacon and tater tots and Matthew went for his usual sausage (patty), bagel and cinnamon swirl pastry. These were all washed down with 'jungle juice' (a delicious blend of fruit juices) and tea. We were soon joined by Donald, Mickey, Daisy Duck and Goofy and plenty of pictures were taken.

Meanwhile, Clare and I went back to the buffet for seconds - I went for a warm cinnamon bun and a cherry pastry and Clare had a couple of pieces of blueberry sponge cake.

We finished around 8:50am and left the restaurant to head for the Kilimanjaro Safari ride - a trip in a large 4x4 where you get to see lots of African animals. Well - hopefully see them! We had beaten the park opening, so were actually the first in the queue and we got chatting to the Cast Members looking after the ride. One asked us how many were in our party, then beckoned us over to where she was standing. She asked if we'd like a private tour of the reserve before any other guests! Wow! Of course we said 'yes' and headed off to a special boarding area. This is what is called a Disney Magical Moment. You can't buy them, they just happen - at random - for some guests. It seemed ours was because we were the first family in the line. Stacey was our guide and we had a drive, Matty. Usually the drivers do the commentary, but we had Stacey sitting with us which allowed us to ask questions. She also promised some inside information (I can exclusively reveal the termite mounds are fake and are actually watering 'holes' for the animals). She was great, giving us loads of information about the animals we were seeing. I think we pretty much saw everything, except the elephants, and got really close to the giraffes and the white rhinos.

Some animals have very few numbers in the wild, and so rely on reserves like the one at Disney to survive. It was an awesome experience - made us feel really special - and we were really pleased to have it. Thanks Disney!

After that we went on the Pangani Exploration Trail and saw the gorillas. Clare and Matthew were also carrying on their Wilderness Explorers badges collection. You get a booklet with questions and challenges in and each time you get one right you earn a sticker. They are located in different areas of the park, and some were on the trail, so they were able to complete a few there.

We then boarded the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch which was a fun train ride past some of the animal sleeping quarters to an area of the park dedicated to conservation. We got to see an operation on a sick animal in the veterinary surgery. It was a sea turtle from EPCOT who had a wound on his leg that wasn't healing properly.

We also collected some more badges.

We got the train back and then strolled to one of my favourite shows: Flights of Wonder. This is a bird show where you see some fabulous birds from all parts of the world doing some amazing flying sequences. They swoop so close to the audience you can feel their wings beating - if you are lucky enough to be underneath one that is! It's a great show, and some of the things that birds can do are incredible. You learn a lot about how they live, and what they eat too...

After the show, we went to some of the shops. Matthew had been moved by some of the stories of endangered animals and wanted to donate some of his pocket money to the cause. So he bought a pin badge and donated some money to the Disney conservation charity. We then headed to the Festival of the Lion King show, where we had Fast Passes. It was a good show, but not really our cup of tea. I think if you like musicals and circuses, you'd love it, but we don't really like either - so whilst it was impressive we won't be going back. Been there, done that...

It was now 1:30pm, and we had only eaten a bag of crisps between us since breakfast so we headed to Pizzafari for some sustanance. We ordered a Pepperoni and a Vegetable pizza to share, and were quite surprised at how good it was. They came with Cesear Salads on the side and drinks that we could have shared between three of us, let alone have one each! They were buckets! we then stopped by the Royal Anandapur Tea Company for a nice, refreshing cup of Massala Chai tea. As Americans don't seem to understand the concept of using boiling water for tea making, this was a nice surprise - as it was hot and also very tasty!

After lunch we went to the Maharjah's Jungle Trek to look for Matthew's favourite animal - the tiger. We spotted one eating his lunch, but others were probably avoiding the hot Florida afternoon sun. So Matthew did some more Wilderness Explorer badges.

We were pretty tired by this point. We hadn't really ridden any rides this visit - but we are tempted to go back on our spare day to do some more stuff. On the way to the exit, Matthew went to another shop to buy a tiger toy that also helped the Disney conservation charity.

We got back to the hotel and went to the Grandstand pool for a couple of hours before going to Downtown Disney to do a bit of shopping. Then it was some TV and watching the second World Series game before bed...

Not many people get a Disney Magical Moment. We did - and I'm sure we'll remember it for a long time...

2014 Holiday Day 3 - Disney Magic Kingdom

So the music started again last night around 9:30pm - worse than the previous night. We made a call to the Front Desk, but I suspect others had too as it stopped pretty quickly afterwards and rather abruptly. Maybe a fellow resident knocked on their door, or maybe Security did! Anyway, today is Magic Kingdom day!

Anyway, we were up early as we had a character breakfast booked at the Crystal Palace restaurant - meeting Winnie The Pooh and friends. We got to the bus stop at 7am where a bus to the Magic Kingdom was waiting! Perfect! No-one else got on and we were soon queuing to get into the Magic Kingdom for breakfast. We were let in about 7:45am and proceeded to the restaurant...

...where we were the first family to be called in. Quite special! We picked food from the ample buffet choice (I started withe sausage and eggs, Clare had an omlette and Matthew went for sausages, a bagel and pastries). Pooh was the first to come to our table and pose for photos, followed by Tigger and Piglet. I also found time for pancakes and strawberries and a couple of pastries - washed down with dome Twinings Decaff English tea. Pleased they had decaff. We had to wait for Eyore for a little while, but he eventually rocked up - complete with his tail and not feeling too gloomy (we asked!).

Around 8:50am, we legged it out of the restaurant and headed for Peter Pan. We thought we might still be one of a few set of guests in the park, but it looked like the turnstyles had opened early so other guests were pouring in. Still, we arrived at Peter Pan and queued for about 4 minutes. It's a bit of a lame ride, but sentimental to a lot of people - Clare included. It's quite nice after a big breakfast!

Next up - a Brewer family favourite. Love it or loathe it - It's A Small World is a classic. This time we literally walked straight on to the ride, which we'd never done before. Cheesy family fun as always - and that catchy song stuck in your head for days afterwards!

We moved along to one of my favourites - Haunted Mansion. Again, minimal queue. Well - no queue - we were first to the mansion doors. We discovered some of the fun things in the queue, like the church organ that spat steam and water when played!. Good fun! The ride was as good as always - not too scary for small ones - and it finished with the classic hitchhiking ghosts on your ride vehicle. You then go past a 'mirror' where the ghosts proceed to cause havoc. We loved the effect this time as the ghosts pulled mine and Clare's heads off then swapped them over! It was hilarious! The new shop is stocked with some good stuff, and we may well head back there later in the holiday for purchases.

Off to another fave next - Jungle Cruise. The terrible jokes and puns ensued on this fun riverboat ride. We had a good tour guide lady, who had a very dry and quick wit, which had us laughing our loud and groaning in equal measure... Trader Sam - the resident heasd-shrinker - has a special - two heads for the price of one... The price, of course, being your own head. Still, you'll come out 'ahead' on the deal (geddit!!!!)....

Heading over to Tomorrowland we hit the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger ride. Not long into the ride we got stuck for about 5 minutes. Not too long, but we got stuck in the spinning start where the room moves around you at great speed. I had to shut my eyes to stop feeling sick! It wasn't too bad and we enjoyed the shooting of Zurg's forces once we got underway.

Time to change the pace, so we got on the Peoplemover - a nice ride around Tommorrowland and another essential Brewer ride.

So far we had seen little queuing. I think the longest was about 6 minutes in Buzz Lightyear... That was all due to change as we headed to Seven Dwarves Mine Train - a relatively new family coaster. Standby line times were 45 minutes! Luckily, we had booked a Fast Pass Plus and we were on the ride in minutes. We all really enjoyed it. I'm not a coaster fan, but thought it was pretty good. Clare and Matthew loved it. It's nice and smooth - unlike older coasters. Standby time as we left... 85 minutes... Ouch! Poor people in that queue!

We then headed back to Tomorrowland for the Monsters Inc Laughter Show. We hadn't done this before, so didn't know what to expect. Once inside the theatre, various monsters come on stage and interact with the audience to get laughs to power their city. It's all done with computer animation and cameras focusing on people in the audience to interact with. Very clever. It's like the Turtle Talk at Epcot. We all thought it was very funny and will definitely be doing it again.

Then on to another Brewer family classic ride. No trip to Disney would be complete without Carousel of Progress - following an American family through the 1900's, 1920's, 1940's and the future. Another one of those catchy songs to sing along to. Even if you go just for the air conditioning and dark theatre it's worth it. A quick nap is not beyond the realms of possibility.

It was warming up nicely. The sun was out and it was getting hot. Time to cool off and head for Splash Mountain to get absolutely soaked on the big plummet at the end. Another ride we Fast Passed, as the queues can be big for this one. Turned out the standby line was 20 minutes, but as we skipped it and got straight on, it didn't matter.

We still had a little while before our lunch reservation, so we took the boat to Tom Sawyer's Island where Matthew played in the fort and we sat on the rocking chairs watching the steamboat un-dock and head off round the river.

Back in the main park we went to lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern. We got seated quite quickly (even though we were early) and chose the roast turkey for me, Matthew had the burger and Clare had the daily special of batter cod and chips (fries!). Matthew wanted a plain burger, but it turned up with cheese and bacon. It was replaced, but he wasn't too happy with the burger, and the first time my food turned up it was cold. It was quickly replaced and everyone was full of apologies. The deserts were very good - I really liked the toffee desert I had (which was a treacle tart in essence) and Clare had fruit strudel (which she said was OK) and Matthew had ice cream.

We then walked to where we had Fast Pass viewing area tickets for the 3pm Parade. The floats and characters and dancers were all excellent. I took loads of photos and we all agreed it had been worth waiting for.

And that was it for The Magic Kingdom. We had done loads, and the queues had been minimal. We managed to stay ahead of any significant queues (Peter Pan had trebled in length after we rode it, for example) which meant we did A LOT!

We picked up our hire car and then hit the Springs pool at the hotel for a while. Then it was Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and World Series Baseball on Fox before bedtime.

Hopefully without the thumping music soundtrack...

2014 Holiday Day 2 - Disney's Hollywood Studios

After a bit of a rubbish night (see previous post) and a light breakfast we headed for the bus stop to catch a ride to Hollywood Studios. As luck would have it, the bus was pulling in as we arrived at the stop! Last year, we had had a shaky start to the holiday with a packed theme park really cramping us... We were hoping the bus arriving as we did was a good omen.

On arrival, the gates didn't seem as crowded as last year. We had arrived about 8:35 so had a bit of a wait until 'rope drop' but we were soon in the park and charging towards our first ride of the day.

Now we had already booked Fast Passes for Toy Story Mania, The Frozen Sing-Along and Lights! Motors! Action! so we knew we were able to focus on other rides first. Matthew really likes the Star Wars ride Star Tours so we headed there. After zero queue we boarded the ride and got to visit Tatooine (where we took part in a pod race) and then a space battle between the Empire and the Rebellion. A pretty good couple of destinations. I looked round the shop whilst Matthew and Clare rode again (Tatooine and Naboo).

We then strolled leisurely to Toy Story Mania (which was a new experience for us having previously had to run to it at rope drop) and using our Fast Passes boarded with a minimal wait. A great ride, as usual, of fair ground games inspired by Toy Story. We all had similar scores, each of us breaking 100,000 points (I won with 118,000). Pity it is one of the few quality attractions at Hollywood Studios. Disney seem to close a lot of things here, without opening others. C'mon Disney - where's Star Wars land and Cars land?

Feeling a bit peckish, we made for the Starring Rolls cafe where we were able to use our Disney Dining Plan to get three Quick Service Meals. You simply choose a drink, a yoghurt or piece of fruit and a pastry to make a Quick Service Meal (rather than have them all use up the more precious Snack credits). All the tables were busy (which is typical as it's pretty popular) so we sat on the steps in the shade. The sun was beating down from a clear blue sky and it was pretty warm. Lovely...

We then looked around some of the shops, killing time before then queuing for the Frozen Sing-Along. This was a new one for us, and Clare had been looking forward to it in particular. Once inside the theatre, there was a show retelling the Frozen movie story - pausing for the screen to be used to show the songs from Frozen with the movie with the words for everyone to sing-along to. The the two narrators were very good, pretty funny with a lot of improv, and at the end Anna and Elsa appear for the grand finale. Well worth the visit. Clare was really pleased to have gone and loved it!

We then moved on to a Brewer family favourite - the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. Spectacular as always and never gets boring for us. We were curious to know why the boulder has disappeared from the opening scene in the show? Bit of a shame, but didn't really spoil it.

We then had to move fast to get to Lights! Motors! Action! A really good car stunt show, which Matthew is a big fan of. It was good to see the stadium full as the Disney bloggers seem to give this show a bit of a kicking. We really like it, and it was good to see lots of other people enjoying it too. The car chase scenes were impressive as always and the skill of the drivers is exceptional.

After the show was over, we had a leisurely stroll to our lunch destination - 50's Prime Time Cafe. Matthew was particularly keen on this one as he loves the milkshakes. We all love the milkshakes actually! It was great to be seated in Gary's section again - he is a brilliant server and is always happy to chat and pass on tips on the best way to spend your time in the Disney parks. We had him last year and sat in the table right next to where we were last year! We ordered two sampler dishes for Clare and I and Matthew had the pork chop. In the eyes of Disney he is now an adult (he's 10!) so had to choose adult meals. We were all stuffed, so Gary bagged up our brownies we had ordered for pudding and gave us paper cups for the milkshakes. We then headed to the buses.

It had been a good visit - miles better than last year. It was getting busy, but we always seemed to be ahead of the curve and beat the queues. My initial skepticism on Fast Pass Plus was unjustified - it worked brilliantly in avoiding large queues. But I'll reserve judgement until I've used it more. The Magic Bands all worked OK (the new Disney ticketing system) - which was good. Matthew was even able to 'pay' for the meal (we had it on the Dining Plan, but he could 'sign off' on it as he was an 'adult' - weird...!). It was pretty hot, but as we were able to stroll, rather than charge about - it wasn't too bad.

Back at the hotel, we went to the Main Pool for a bit - then went to roast some marshmallows round the camp fire. Then it was Jeopardy, Wheel Of Fortune and Monday Night Football on ESPN before turning in...

2014 Holiday Day 1 - Arrival & Downtown Disney

After a fairly uneventful journey (although we were delayed an hour on the tarmac due to a family being split up on the plane and no-one willing to help them out for a half hour) we touched down at Orlando airport onboard Virgin flight 27. The new automated arrivals machines sped things up and we were out of the airport and on the Disney Magical Express in about an hour. Which is pretty good going for Orlando.

The Disney Magical Express is much better than the buses arranged by Virgin Holidays. They have more people on them, and they seem to be run to a timetable. On the Virgin Holidays charter buses, you have to wait for all the families on the list. They may have taken a taxi or be stuck in customs, but you can be waiting a long time... Definitely an advantage of the package our travel agent booked us (a flydrive with Virgin Holidays and accommodation and tickets with Disney).

We got checked in OK to our usual Disney hotel - Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa - although they didn't seem to get our preference for the The Grandstand, instead putting us in The Carousel. Luckily we were able to switch rooms to be in our favoured location.

After briefly unpacking we went for a walk to find the new bridge that connects the resort with Downtown Disney. We went to the Lego store and picked up the $100 Disney gift card from one of the Disney stores' Information Desk (a perk of booking early). Matthew had a hotdog from one of the Marketplace vendors (which he said was very good) and then we headed back.

After settling in the for the night and turning the telly off we were surpised to hear thumping music coming from somewhere nearby. We are used to Saratoga Springs being a quiet resort, so hearing party music was a surprise. We phoned he front desk and they promised to send security. It was still going an hour later so we phoned again. Again, they said they'd sort it. I've no idea when it stopped, I last looked at the clock at 12:30am... Complaining to the Front Desk seemed to have little effect, which was disappointing. Hoping it won't happen again...