Disney Feast West & East Day 39 : Farewells & Fultons, Cars & Cases, Birthdays, Bags & Broken Bones

[WileyCoyote]

So, the end is finally here :cry: , 39 wonderful days and today we head home , but its Connor’s 15th birthday so no glum faces as we make a fuss of him as he opens his cards:cake:

He has asked for a day at Disney Quest which is fine as our flight isn’t until 7.30 this evening.

We have to be out by 10 so we are up reasonably early and finish the packing – its amazing what turns up on the hundredth check under the beds and in the bathrooms and I begin to panic a bit but eventually its all in.

The next challenge is to get it , and us, into this car




thankfully only as far as DTD where we can offload it ( and the boys) and then enjoy the day.

We leave Andy to his own devices as we know that this can be a very stressy bit of the holiday but eventually we are all required to help with a bit of ungainly shoving and squishing.

As the boys go back into the house Andy announces “ not to panic , I think I just broke my finger “ :erm: – and sure enough there is one of his fingers rapidly swelling ...

Oh dear, two thoughts, 1] we may now be spending our last day in the Emergency Room and 2] we cant get to the ER ( or anywhere else), if Andy cant drive us there !

Ice pack is applied and we soldier on without saying anything to the boys.

We say good bye to our home of the last two weeks





Feats of tantric yoga that would have Sting applauding in awe are performed by us all getting into the car and wrapping ourselves and limbs around various bits of luggage.

Lets hope the taxi company have sent a transit van to collect us at Gatwick.

Andy’s finger is still swelling and we spend a very nervous journey to DTD – fortunately the traffic and parking gods are smiling on us though as we get to the Virgin Check In quickly.



There are only a handful of people ahead of us and after parting with our $50 , the cases are weighed ( 5 under, 1 over so they waive the fee on the last one) – we have a few minutes discussion about the empty shell cases from the shooting range and we decide to put them in a clear bag in an unlocked zipped pocket so they can easily be removed.

Suffice to say , I spend most of the flight wondering if SWAT are going to descend on us at the baggage reclaim .

[WileyCoyote]

Cases loaded on to the Virgin lorries, we walk the boys over to DQ and I buy 1 day tickets. They are running off through the door before I can even check they have enough cash for lunch but they have a phone and promise to call us if they need collecting early, which seems highly unlikely








Its around 11am now and we have agreed to pick them up at 3pm .

Now they have gone we can address the incredible finger issue. We are both agreed that the hospital will only splint it at best and administer pain killers. The ice pack has worked wonders and the swelling is definitely calming down – maybe its only a sprain and not a break. I fish out some hefty painkillers from the portable pharmacy and offer to practice my nurse skills by taping the finger up to the one next to it – Andy takes the pills but declines the splint.

Left to our own devices , what else is there to do but pop up to the outlets for some last minute shopping






- of course it is Labor Day today, so its busy but we get a space in the indoor car park and head off to the Levi and Lacoste store – where more purchases are made and we spend the trip back to DTD working out how many bags you can fit inside other bags- rather like the nesting Russian dolls .

Banking on the fact they wont a] check how many pieces of hand luggage we have and b] they wont weigh it , we are confident we will be ok.

I do wonder though quite why the giant bags of Lays and Cheetos are quite such a priority for the hand luggage – they are huge and lets face it – they are just Walkers and Wotsits so why we are bringing these back is beyond me .

We arrive back at DTD around 1pm







and opt for lunch at Fultons – having the same as last time and thoroughly enjoying it ( except the garlic mushrooms I chose to go on my burger did rather “linger” and I regretted these on the flight, they made me very thirsty.















the final arty bird shot ...

[WileyCoyote]

It’s a very pleasant meal , Fultons is very quiet, the river is bathed in sunshine with lots of people going back and forth, all no doubt just starting their holidays.



Lunch over, we have a wander around the stores – I think it was at this point I started to feel really sad that it was all coming to an end and my heart really wasn’t in it as we looked round all the lovely Disneyana ( is that a word).









ok see this seat, can you remember being a kid , wearing infeasibly short shorts and bouncing onto the plastic seat in your Dad's cortina, back in the 70s when we used to have hot summers ? And promptly bouncing straight back off again as you burnt your legs on the seat

Well this seat was just like that - it was blinking boiling !



Andy is “pixiedusted” in World of Disney = which is is very funny as the fairy godmother had to tippy toe to do it – We laughed as he had been such an “unbeliever” before he came so I said he needed the PD to feel the magic. As we leave the store, he gets his own back and I get some PD as well – so we spend the flight home looking like Abba rejects with sparkles all in our hair and clothes.


We pick up the boys as planned , a few final snaps














and we head off to the airport for 4pm




– returning the car is a breeze , especially as we have no cases to heave out. We are through Security and its pretty busy – no one wants to go in the shops so we decide to go out towards our posted gate and stake out a decent spot to settle in to. The flight has been delayed by an hour which is a pain and we have a restless few hours shifting about in those uncomfortable seats and generally being irritable about the whole going home business. Finally we change into hoodies and jeans ready to face whatever may greet us at Gatwick and we are boarding.

[WileyCoyote]

The plane is nowhere near as nice as the one on the way out – it looks a bit tired and our extra legroom seats are right by the kitchen – which means its very aromatic and the stewardesses keep gathering there for a natter so Nick, who opted for an aisle seat, spends most of the flight with their backsides in his face as they go back and forwards.

Andy has the aisle exit row seat, the 3 boys are in the row behind him and I am in the row behind them – so pretty good and again we are grateful for the few extra inches of room to stretch out into. I have two unaccompanied teens next to me , who are incredibly quiet the whole journey – except the part where one of them accidentally tips hot chocolate over the other one , who then disappears for a few hours no doubt for scald related treatment !


The IFE isn’t on demand which is a pain when they interrupt with all their announcements – most of us opt to watch Battleship – its ok, but not quite Transformers.


Dinner was a Caesar salad which was nice and Chicken Korma – which was also nice. Dessert was a tiramisu type thing - bit sweet and sickly - no pics, too depressed

Food finished, time for some shut eye, which is of course impossible with people up and down all the time to use the loo. I think the boys slept quite well and Andy managed to stretch out. I know I must have dozed off at some point as I woke up with a sore neck and that sensation in your mouth that you have been licking the carpet ( oh those heady student days ) so I reckon it was at least an hour or two !


It’s an uneventful flight, they bring round the breakfast boxes – I quite enjoy the juice and muffin top , none of the boys are awake to eat theirs and I begin the unenviable task of trying to wake them so that shoes can be located and put back on, trips to the loo can be made ( as you never know quite how long the queue will be at immigration) and all items of handluggage can be reunited with their rightful owner. To say they are grumpy is putting it mildly. When teleporting becomes the preferred mode of travel, I will be signing these three up right away.


Finally we are back on English soil and amazingly its not raining and its not too cold.

We are through passport control very quickly and reunited with 5 of our 6 cases in record time. But then we wait, and wait and I realise the case that is missing is the one with the shell cases and now I really do think SWAT and teams of sniffer dogs are going to descend on us – bursting out that little flappy bit where the cases come from . Andy however sensibly reminds me that the 5 cases were loaded together and whilst we faffed about with the shell cases, the 6th case got separated so probably loaded in a different section. And so 10 minutes later , it reappears .

Trolleys loaded up , and with Jamie barely able to see and steer his, we walk out to locate our taxi – which takes a few minutes to find the driver and then a bit of a trek to the car. Which isn’t a transit, and as he eyes up the luggage, he seems quite concerned it s not all going to fit. We are a bit peeved- we had an 8 seater taxi from the same firm to take us so why they have sent a smaller vehicle to collect us is a mystery.

More shoving and poking and eventually we do get in – Connor has to spend the whole trip with his legs crossed and knees up round his nose , but at least we all got home in one piece.

We arrive back around lunch time and I will leave it there with just my final instalment to go where we are met by flat batteries, our furbabies ( who loved the 'Ohana leis )



the final footwear tally and our reflections on our highs and lows

[ginger ninja]

Cant believe its over I have loved your report and you have given me so much inspiration for future trips
Thank you for sharing

[collybird]

Oh I've loved reading about your trip (I am terrible at commenting, sorry!), I feel really teary that it's all over.

By the end were you ready for home? I went stayed in New York for a month in 2010 and I had an amazing time but by the end I was so ready for home.

[Ariel's Mum]

Your 39 day trippie flew by Amanda. I really enjoyed it. I would have been in hysterics returning after all that time away.

Hope Andy's finger was ok. What are your plans for next year ?

[Guest]

I have really enjoyed your trip reports

[Twin mummy]

What a wonderful trip and a great report, I've really enjoyed reading it.

[anniebee65]

What an epic trippie! 39 days is just such a treat

Well done for sticking with it and posting such gorgeous pics.

Looking forward to the wrap up.