Northumberland - Saturday 12th July - Day 2

We were up bright and early as the sun was streaming through the crack in our shutters. It was a lovely morning, with the bright dawn light reflecting off the sea. We had been hoping it might be warm and sunny today and it was a good start to the day.

First order of business was food as we hadn't brought much with us and we'd been a little late to do any shopping on the way up to the cottage. So we headed off to Sainsbury's at Alnwick which was a good sized supermarket to stock up on the essentials. It's not far in the car - maybe 15 minutes or so. Once unpacked, a walk up to Dunstanburgh Castle seemed like a good idea. We thought we might head on over the headland to Embleton beach too. So we packed some gear and were about to set off when we noticed it had got a bit misty. A sea mist had rolled in and blocked out the view - we couldn't even sea the end of the row of houses opposite - let alone the castle ruins! We decided to trek over anyway as we thought it might clear, but as we walked it seemed to be getting worse. We decided to change plan and go rock pooling for a bit. Master B scrambled over the rocks looking for fish and other creatures, before the inevitable jump across a large pool that he didn't quite make! Squelchy socks and trainers! Nice!

We figured we'd better head back at this point and re-think what to do with the day. The sea mist was thinning and thickening at seemingly random intervals, but it certainly looked like it might be here to stay for a bit.

A spot of lunch was in order, so we dug through the shopping and rustled up something. The kitchen in the property is functional. It's a galley kitchen, so can be a little tight at times when there is more than one of you, but there's everything you might need to make and present a good meal if you don't want to keep spending on eating out.

The mist seemed to thin in the afternoon, so we decided to head out once more with the beach stuff. This time we took the car and drove up north a little way to Low Newton. We parked up and headed down to the lovely golden sands. It was quite windy, but we sheltered behind a boat and we were fine. Master B and I made a huge sandcastle citadel just on the high tide line. The tide was coming in rapidly, so we did our best to defend the citadel from the oncoming sea, but it was too late and we lost it! It was all good fun, though. After a bit of paddling, we found we had been here nearly two hours! Time flies when you are having fun!

We took the gear back to the car and headed back - quite tired after our long journey from yesterday. Another brief visit to the pub next door for a drink and some TV in the evening and we were done! The evening was pleasant to we watched the sun go down from our balcony. The view over the harbour is amazing and something we love to keep looking at!

Northumberland - Friday 11th July - Day 1

We arrived just a little after 9pm after a six hour journey from home (with a stop for tea and sandwiches). We have chosen to spend our summer holiday week in the Harbour Master's Cottage in Craster - which is a lovely fishing village on the Northumberland coast.


Harbour Master's House - Craster & Embleton from Spacedust Property Films on Vimeo.

Our first impressions were very good. We liked the quirky layout and my 10 year old son liked the choice of having a double bed or the kids bedroom (he opted for the double bed to start with!). He thought the dressing up box was cute - but for 'younger kids' you understand! The master bedroom upstairs is cosy and we like the exposed beams and shuttered windows with views out to sea.

Instead of unpacking, we went next door to the pub. And it is literally next door as well! The Jolly Fisherman has been refurbished since we last visited Craster in 2007 and is now what we might call a gastro pub from where we are from. It has a decent selection of beers, and a pretty up-market menu in the evening. The famous crab sandwich is still served, to the relief of Mrs B! We ordered a couple of local beers and a lemonade for Master B and watched the waves crash against the shore from the balcony window. Most pleasant!

We wandered the 20 seconds back to our cottage where we went on to the balcony to watch the sun disappear....

2013 Holiday Day 12 - Disney Hollywood Studios

So it was back to Hollywood Studios today. We were a bit nervous, as it had been so busy the first day we had visited we had barely scratched the surface of the rides we wanted to do. We had three priorities; Fast Passes for Toy Story Mania, and ride Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror...

Whilst Master and Mrs B jogged to Rock n Roller Coaster, where they had a 10 minute wait time I queued for Toy Story Mania Fast Passes. I say ' queue' as there wasn't really much of a queue, which was good news. I had to try and time the Fast Pass return times to fit around our dinner reservation so I let a few people in front of me before diving in and bagging the tickets. It was crazy, as the return times weren't going up in 5 minute intervals as they do for other rides - they were jumping in 30 minute intervals! Probably due to the popularity of this ride and the number of reservations made with Magic Bands using Fast Pass Plus. Anyway, I bagged the tickets and met Mrs and Master B as they exited their ride.

We all headed over to Tower of Terror where there was only a 5 minute queue! This was good news and it is a fabulous ride. You get bounced up and down in an elevator, and I thought it was a lot of fun - even though I don't usually like these 'thrill' rides. So even if you don't either - give it a go!

It was only 10.15 and we had done everything we had set out to do. We decided to head to the main plaza and see if any characters were out and we were lucky to see Donald and Daisy. Master B had his photo with both of them.

We stopped at Starring Rolls for some well deserved sustenance. We all had bakery goods, fruit and drinks and felt much refreshed. We then headed out of the park. We were intending to watch the show later, and didn't want to over do it, so we headed back to the hotel for a rest for an hour or so.

After a bit of a rest we headed back into the park and went to our dining reservation at Mama Melrose. Only a short wait and we were in and seated. Our server, Simon (from Birmingham, England!), gave us the menus and surprised us with what we could have. We booked the Fantasmic package, which gave us preferred seating at the Fantasmic show that evening, and also gave us starters, main course and puds - all for one Disney dining credit (you don't usually get starters). Mrs B and I went for the calamari, which was delicious and came with 3 dips, then I had the pasta and meatballs whilst the wife had chicken campanelle and we finished with a sharing dessert of three small puds. It was all pretty good. Master B had a pizza and some ice cream.

We then waddled along to Toy Story Mania where we skipped the lines with our Fast Passes and got straight on. Big difference from the massive queue we had last time! Anyway, that was good fun (although I think my gun was a little faulty).

We then headed to a firm family favourite: Lights, Motors, Action. This is a car stunt show and is a half hour of amazing car chases and stunts. It's cracking stuff and we always get wowed by it. One we will go back to again and again.

We slowed the pace a little after that and decided to get some photos done with some characters. We headed to the Magic of Animation section of the park where we saw Frozone and Mr Incredible (from The Incredibles), Vanelope and Ralph from Wreck It Ralph and Mickey dressed in his Fantasia costume (or as Master B put it - dressed like in Disney Infinity -ah the modern generation!).

It was pretty much time to head to Fantasmic and there was some jolly pre-show entertainment to keep us amused. Once the lights dimmed and the show started there was a spectacular water display with video projected onto it. Lot's of character involved too. It was much better than the Epcot fireworks, much more interesting, but I was still a little non-plussed by it. Mrs B loved it and Master B quite enjoyed it too, so I suspect we will pay a return visit. The preferred seating was front and centre, so really good seats, and if you are on the Dining Plan I'd recommend booking a Fantasmic package at participating park restaurants.

A late evening then, so it was pretty much home and bed. We did to a lot today and all agreed this should be a template on tackling Hollywood Studios for future visits.

2013 Holiday Day 11 - Universal Studios & Disneys Animal Kingdom

Master B wanted to go and do some of the rides again at Universal. We only had the car for this morning, so we thought we may as well use it before it had to be returned.

After being parked in the cool interior of the multi-storey it was back to the roof and the hot Florida sun again... Why? It's pointless... Anyway, we cracked on over to Despicable Me and there was a queue already, even though the park had only just opened. It was quoted 20 minutes, and it probably was that, but it was a bit boring to queue. There was a fun quiz going on on TV monitors spread aroumd, but you couldn't hear the sound. Anyway, it was as good the second time - and didn't break down!

Master B and Mrs B rode Transformers again whilst I checked out Starbucks. There only a 5 minute queue. We then went to Men In Black where a rather silly man wouldn't let Mrs B on without taking off her camera bag that was strapped securely round her waist. She gave him a few words of advice about what he could do with said camera bag, before we quit the ride. Master B and I went back without camera bags whilst Mrs B soaked up the Florida sunshine (it was another warm day).

We then quit the park to take the car back. Those nice people at Alamo dropped us off at...

Disney Animal Kingdom

...where we went to Camp Minnie Mickey to have a photo with Donald in his safari gear (irony is Mickey & Minnie have moved out!). We then legged it back to the main entrance to go to the Rainforest Cafe as we were starving! We got seated quite quickly (unfortunately next to a waterfall that was rather noisy) before ordering a hot dog for Master B (with some crisps), Mrs B had fried shrimp with slaw and fries and I had pot roast with mashed potato. We had some desserts; Mrs B went for cheesecake and I had a chocolate cake. We washed it down with soda. It was OK. The food was nothing special, but it wasn't horrible either.

Mrs B and Master B then joined the Wilderness Explorers club. You get a book of different challenges that earn you badges in different parts of the park. It's good fun. You get to walk around, talk to some of the experts and look for hidden codes and signs. I was happy following them around, holding the jumpers and watching the world go by as they did their challenges. We also stopped at The Boneyard which is a huge dinosaur-themed playground for kids. It was huge!

I think we must have spent a good couple of hours doing this as it was quite late when we finally left the park.

It was chill out and TV back at the villa before bed!

2013 Holiday Day 10 - Universal's Islands Of Adventure and more..

So it was back to Islands of Adventure today to mop up some of the rides we didn't do last time we were there, or do some of the favourites again. It was good news on the parking too. After two days being parked on the roof in the Florida sunshine, and coming back to a car your could cook eggs on, we were parked in the inside of the multi-story car park. Nice!

It wasn't a big queue to get in and we were soon walking up to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We decided to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and were prepared for quite a queue. Turns out we only had to wait about 20 minutes, which is a massive difference from the last time we came when the ride was very new and we queued for an hour! For me, the ride was only slightly less rubbish than last time we rode it. There's lots of jolting about and spinning around and so on. There are a few models of dragons and dementors dotted about, which are all quite fun, but I still feel slightly sick getting off the ride.

Whilst I check my breakfast is still in the right place, Mrs B quickly hops on to Flight of the Hippogriff mainly so she can check progress on the new area of Harry Potter that is currently under construction. You get a good view from this ride. I buy Master B a pumpkin juice, which he wants desperately, and drinks about two sips of before deciding he doesn't like it. We kept the lid as a souvenir and ditched the rest of it. It's quite spicy - I'm not a big fan of it either.

To my surprise, Master B wants to go to Seuss Landing. I thought he might want to skip that this time round, but we are soon riding high above the ground on the Seuss Trolley Train Ride. It's a good bit of fun, with a nice Seuss-esque commentary and bits from the books to look out for. Master B also wants to go on One Fish, Two Fish which is a merry-go-round where you get squirted with water. It's a bit cooler today but we reluctantly agree. We get soaked!

We decide we are a bit hungry and thirsty (and wet) and so head to the Croissant Moon Cafe (which isn't marked on the map, but is near the Port of Entry). It's a bakery like the Boulangerie in the Studios park, and we chose pastries and drinks and feel refreshed (and slightly drier).

Master B wants to ride Spiderman so we head that way. I watch the super hero parade whilst Mrs and Master duck into the ride. As soon as the parade is over (about 2 minutes later) the wait time goes up from 10 minutes to 30 minutes as everyone does the same after the parade!. I drink my coffee and people watch and then when Master B emerges we just about manage to bag a photo with Captain America before he leaves.

We head over to Harry Potter to go to the sweet shop (Honeydukes) to get more goodies before we depart the park.

We get back to the hotel and have a rest before deciding to head out to...

Epcot

...where Mrs B and I want to use up some snack credits at the Food & Wine Festival stalls and so get some more stamps in our festival passports! I start in Argentina where I have a delicious beef skewer, then move to Germany for Schinkennudeln (a pasta gratin) and Apple Strudel before finishing in Florida with a beef slider (a mini burger). All washed down with water, because I'm driving. Mrs B samples dishes in Australia, Italy and Scotland. She washed this down with a little Sam Adams Cherry Wheat beeer from USA. We enjoyed everything we ate. Master B had a sandwich before he left, but was happy enough trailing round after us knowing that if he was good, he'd get a chocolate frog I had bought him from Honeydukes.

We also rode the little boats that go from Mexico to Germany and Morocco to Canada. This saved a little walking as the sun was out again and it was pretty hot (about 83 F).

On the way out of the park, we stopped at House of Mouse to buy a couple of T-Shirts and rode Spaceship Earth because it had no lines and is a favourite of ours.

Then it was the usual eat, watch Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune and think about bed.

Another slow paced day. With the two weeks out here, we can afford to move a little slower and I think we learnt the lessons of the first few days where we burnt ourselves out!

2013 Holiday Day 9 - Universal Studios

Up and at 'em at the crack of dawn today. It was an early opening at Universal Studios due to it being a Halloween party tonight so we set off from base camp at 7:30am. We got there with about 5 minutes to spare before opening and were 5th in the line to get in the gate! Wahoo!

Once the gates opened we walked at a fast pace to get to Despicable Me. Well, I broke into a jog - I really wanted to ride this. There was no need to panic, we were in the first wave of people through the doors and there is a great video sequence with all the gang explaining how we were going to be transformed into Minions! It was really funny, we were is stitches. Then on to the ride. Which broke down halfway through. Booooo... This left us hanging for a few minutes, but they go it fixed and played it from the beginning, so we got one-and-a-half rides. We all enjoyed it.

Next we headed for Transformers - hopefully a fully working Transformers. As we rounded a corner we stumbled across Megatron doing a meet-and-greet so we had our photo taken with him. We went round the many queuing areas (guess this gets busy at peak season) and pretty much walked on to the ride. It was another simulator on a short track, like Spiderman and many other Universal rides. The story was better than Spiderman, but it had the usual water spray, vertical plunges, spinning around and stuff. Anyway, Master B really enjoyed it, and wanted to go on again. I was done with it, but Mrs B was happy to do it with him.

Next, there was another chance for me to wander round some of the movie facades in the park as Mrs and Master B went on Revenge of the Mummy which is another high octane ride I can't cope with. They both enjoyed it, though.

We walked round the lake in the middle and looked at the construction work happening on the new Harry Potter area, where they are building Kings Cross and Diagon Alley. All looked very exciting... We then headed to Men In Black: Alien Attack which is a shoot-em up ride (like Buzz Lightyear). We were a bit confused as to what were aiming at the first time round, but seeing as there was zero queue (this was really weird having no queues at all) we went on it again. Much better the second time round and our scores all improved.

We then moved on to the new Simpsons area and rode The Simpsons Ride. It was similar to Star Tours in that it was a simulator that rocked around whilst a movie played in front of you. Not in 3D though, which was interesting - and slightly odd seeing as most things are nowadays. Anyway, it was OK, nothing special. To be honest, to my mind, a lot of these Universal rides are very similar. I find them a bit repetitive, but Master B seems to enjoy them more than me and Mrs B, so very much more his thing than ours.

Anyway, we explored the new Springfield area and had some fun photos taken on the Simpsons' couch as well as looking round the other bits. Sadly, the eating areas like Moe's Tavern were closed - but it was still before 11am so not really surprising.

We were a bit peckish so headed to Beverley Hills Boulangerie for pastries and drinks. I had a cherry danish and coffee (a Lavazza coffee and he first decent cup I've had for ages), Mrs B had a hot chcoclate and a croissant and Master B had a cookie the size of a car tyre and a Coke.

Much refreshed, we headed back to Transformers to ride it a third time (clearly I didn't, I sat in the sun and finished my coffee) and then back to Springfield to see if the eateries were open. They were, so Master B had a Flaming Moe in Moe's Tavern, which he liked, and Mrs B had her photo taken with a plastic Barney!

It was still quite early, so we decided to ride ET. It's not the greatest ride and has a long old wait time even with no queue as you have to tell and operator your name so ET can thank you personally at the end of the ride. Except it's pointless as you can't hear it. Still, it may not be there much longer, so we rode it for 'old time's sake'.

We had pretty much no lines for the whole morning, but the park was filling up, and wait times were rising. We'd pretty much done what we wanted anyway, so we headed back to Saratoga Springs and hit the pool. Mrs B and I had burgers whilst Master B swam and played in the kids area. We spent nearly three hours there! We all had a good time.

We came back and had a lazy evening.

A good day - the early opening at Universal was useful and it was really quiet in there so we went round it in record time at a relaxed pace.

2013 Holiday Day 8 - Kennedy Space Center

So it's a day off from the theme parks today as we head to the coast and to Kennedy Space Center. It's about an hour's drive and we make it with a few minutes to spare before opening. We are hoping to get the bus tour first to Saturn V. Anyway, we queue for tickets which takes ages. Then for bag search... Ages. Then we queue for the bus to the Saturn V exhibit. Well, guess what. It takes ages. There is lots of grumbling in the queue and people are shouting at the staff. Buses are coming in, but taking tour groups away - not general ticket holders like us. Eventually, after 25 minutes, a bus does arrive and we are on our way...

It takes about 15 minutes to ride the bus to the Apollo / Saturn V hall and the driver takes us on a road tour of the Vehicle Assembly Building and the Launch Control Center. Interestingly, last time we were here, the bus stopped at Launch Pad 39A - but this is now a separate tour which costs more money. Glad we did it last time! Upon arrival at the Saturn V hall we watch a movie about how the Apollo missions came about and then watch a simulation of the Apollo 8 launch - which was really, really good. Then it's into the hall - and Saturn V is just about the coolest thing ever... It's massive and beautifully displayed with loads of information. We had a good time wandering around. By now we were a bit peckish, so we stopped in the Moon Rock Cafe for supplies. It was reasonably tasty and filled us up.

We took the bus back to the main centre and headed for the Space Shuttle Atlantis hall. Mrs B had been really looking forward to this. Again, we had a couple of video presentations about the history and flights of the shuttle before entering the hall. It was fabulous, and again, a good job had been done on the information. In addition, there was a life-size section of International Space Station housing that Master and Mrs B crawled through and some exhibits about life on board ISS - such as how the crew go to the toilet. Master B found this fascinating... :-)

Master B had been desperate to do Angry Birds Space Encounter so we headed over there. It was rubbish. Just a few crappy games. Bit pointless really. We had done all the other areas last visit, and it was mid-afternoon now and we had spent a while looking at Saturn V and Atlantis. We decided to head home.

Once back at the hotel, we decided to walk to...

Downtown Disney

...for dinner. We chose a favourite: Raglan Road which is an Irish pub and restaurant. We were seated quickly and ordered sausage and mash for myself, shepherd's pie for Mrs B and fish and chips for Master B. Whilst waiting for our dinners, some delicious soda bread and dip was served. The mains were really rather tasty, but massive portions, so I think we all just about ate half of what was served. We wanted to leave room for pud though. Mrs B had the lemon clouds (a sort-of lemon meringue pie) and I had the apple and strawberry crumble. Lovely! Our server, Katie, was lovely and it was a good meal. We even got to see some Irish dancing and a band too!

After dinner, we went to the shops were Master B bought some more Lego in the Lego store and Mrs B bagged a Tee from the Disney store.

Then it was back home for TV and bed!

A nice pace change today. I don't think we want to do theme parks all the day every day. I think we have seen all that KSC offers now, so we shall have to find something different next visit.