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1 Dec 19, 11:19 AM |
#1
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I am not a shopaholic
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Bayous to Beaches. October 2019. Day 1. And on the First day you shall shop till you drop. Orlando.
Orlando 1 October
Yesterday, travel day and arriving in Orlando is ...HERE Today we shopped. A lot. So if you don’t really like shopping this day is not for you. I have put the pics of our buys into the second post so its not too dull for non shoppers. Today was probably going to be our only stop in Orlando so we intended to make the most of it on the shopping front ... having made a good start last night. Non shoppers will be pleased to know there are very few purchases in the following week after this. Shoppers and regular readers will be slightly horrified by that revelation but have no fear, normal service is resumed later in the trip. Back to the day in hand. Despite it being a very comfy bed I woke up every hour at 2.30, 3.30 and 4.30. I had a headache and was thirsty and by 4.40 Andy was awake too so we had a coffee and watched a bit of tv and did manage to doze a bit until 6.30. I do love that first morning feeling watching WESH tv news in bed. It’s the thing that says “hello Orlando holiday ” for me By 7.30 we were already downstairs for breakfast. What a shame the shops don’t open till 10 We had planned to go to Perkins to use the 20% sign up voucher that I had, but we were handed free breakfast slips when we checked in so decided we would give it a try It’s a small dining area and quite busy - you hand the slip in and are given your crockery and glasses. They had a small selection of fruit and yoghurt, bread, bagels, a few cereals and then hot items - sausages, scrambled eggs, hash browns, French toast , gritz. They also had starbucks coffee in the dispensers or you could pay and have a speciality starbucks like a cappuccino or whatever. Limited pic as it was too crowded to get a decent photo and I hadn’t yet got my trippy groove on with buffet set ups As a freebie, it was perfectly fine. We decided to just take a drive round the are with no particular destination in mind. Endless Summer resort was looking fine Just as well as we we had no place to go as e discovered the sat nav was still playing up so it might take us a while to get to the outlets. It wouldn’t hold any charge even when plugged in and it kept turning itself off. We thought this would be easily sorted with a replacement charger lead so headed to the nearest Target . Which didnt sell sat navs nor have a suitable lead. Ho hum . We don’t feel the love for Target at all. Oh the Dibb shame Off to Walmart, where despite numerous attempts with other leads, the blasted box still wouldn’t work and we were now considering whether to just get a new one. I also contemplated jumping into this sweetie display in a fit of childish hysteria . Like an adult ball pit. But with sweets. I think I might patent that as an idea. Could be in to something Andy also denied me purchasing one of these in every character pointing out the upcoming flight tomorrow and luggage space. I also desperately wanted mini pumpkins It was already 1030 by now and all we had done was try and sort the sat nav out and find stuff we couldn’t buy Recriminations were being exchanged by now about who possibly packed the wrong sat nav (that would be me of course ) and who was actually responsible for putting out the right sat nav to be packed in the first place (that would not be me ). All because we have several at home, of which only one really works and this clearly wasn’t it. Ah this is an epic start. Lots of driving in the weeks ahead, knackered sat nav and both grumpy. Outstanding. Look it’s that ball pit idea . I knew I was on to something. Recognising that by now it’s almost 11 am we had achieved naff all we headed down to the clearance outlets at Kissimmee. I am not sure we will visit here again as the Nike has gone and the Tommy Hilfiger was a nightmare. After deciding to get a few things I stayed to queue while Andy headed off to buy a new sat nav. Some 45 minutes later neither of us had made much progress. I dont queue for rides this long. The people in front of me had bags and bags and more bags of stuff that they either wanted to ... Pay for it in $100 notes that all needed checking one by one And/or... Look at each item and inspect it thoroughly to decide if they still wanted it , including, but not limited to showing it to every other family member, store staff, passers by and any other Tom Dick or Harry unfortunate enough to be in the store for their opinion as well. They really didn’t want to know my opinion On what they could do with it. Buy. Don’t buy. Who cares. Just get on with it. And/or ... Then let said other family members bring their all their stuff to be cashed up as well Who proceeded to go through one bag at a time and then start the whole rigamarole all over again. Ah just stick pins in my eyes someone. I was completely fed up and half tempted to just leave the things we had. I am glad i didn’t as they weren’t in the other stores but oh my life this was a painful shop. Lots of very British vexed tutting ensued. An hour later I walked out . I repeat. An hour later . 5 minutes after that Andy turned up. Things on the up then. Got some haul and now a sat nav that works and is much better than the one sat at home. Once we got it to work that is A few tense moments setting it up and I suspect a few non Disney words spoken too We headed to the Nike down near Celebration and then made our way to the Panera Bread at the Vineland outlets. So far so good with the traffic, we had managed to miss any major hold ups After a slightly fractious morning, we stopped here for lunch. What a little oasis of calm this was. Service was excellent and the food superb. We were surprised by the volume too. Such good quality Andy chose the Steak and Cheese toasted sandwich that came with some crisps. I went for the half and half. Half a Turkey,Cheese and Apple sandwich with a small mac’n’cheese. It came with some of their flatbread. And I had a cheery Cheese Brittany as well. It was all absolutely delicious. The bread on my sandwich was gorgeous. We could really have shared just one meal as it was much more than we had planned for. From there we went across to the outlets and straight to an empty space - result Look, empty space . No stalking required Managed to pick up some decent buys in Polo and Adidas and also Lacoste. Andy wouldn’t buy this though. No fun. Thought the Disney store was disappointing. It was a jumble of stuff and crazy in there. Picked up a couple more nice dresses in Tommy Hilfiger and as i went to leave the changing room caught sight of the back of my dress and it had horrible marks on it which looked like i had pooped myself. I was horrified and spent the next 5 minutes frantically using wet wipes to get the offending marks out. Note to self about eating chocolate in the car , dropping it and then and sitting in it . Ah well, now i just had a wet patch so that didn’t look bad at all either did it And it’s always the palest patch of clothes that attracts marks isn’t it, never the dark bit that would hide it. I shuffled out in a crab like fashion, positioning my bag awkwardly over my butt with Andy laughing at me, as he pointed out its not like I knew anyone so who cares if they were sniggering. I was mortified. Thank goodness for Florida heat as it was soon all dry and despite deep paranoia every time i passed a mirror I didn’t have to swop to one of my new purchases Just before 4.30 we headed to the Outlet Market place and picked up a few things at Calvin Klein and Nike. I was tiring a little and stayed in the car while Andy went to the Adidas a little further along. From there it was a stop at the Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando where Andy popped in the Zebra Bar and I nipped across to the Tommy Hilfiger store. I did get a couple of jumpers but am not sure it was worth the trek this time. We were both flagging now so headed for dinner at the Red Lobster just around the corner from the hotel passing the Endless Summer buildings again. Traffic was heavy on the I4, but going the other way This was a great choice - not busy, round the corner from the hotel and served quickly. The cheddar biscuits came out quickly - we didnt eat them all though,finally learned not to do that and fill up before dinner comes out ! I went for the superb value $16.99 4 course feast and a Bahama Mama ($7.99) A small cup of Potato and bacon Soup Caesar Salad Coconut Shrimp with rice And upgraded to dessert to the Key Lime Pie to go ( promptly leaving it in the fridge the next morning when we left for New Orleans. Tragedy TBH) All of it was delicious Andy went for the endless shrimp . You get two sides with the first lot of shrimp and then they keep topping up as required on the shrimp. He went with Garlic and Nashville ( not on the menu but a spicy hot sauce) with fries and coleslaw. The first lot completely defeated him so not so endless in the end He had a water as he was driving Excellent value $46 for all that food. We had a great server and left a $10 tip. By now we were dog tired - although my dogs seem tired all the time so maybe not the best comparison We were back at the hotel by 8pm and it took me an hour or so to pack away the shopping and re pack one of the cases so it would see us through our stay in Louisiana and include some of the new purchases. Finally all done and the case labels written for tomorrows flight. It was about 9.30 and we thought about another trip to the bar but we were too tired and decide just to go to bed. After a while I had to get up as there was some light coming in from the curtain and some creepy tree waving its branches so it was like one of those things you see in a horror movie with wavy branch silhouette on the wall and it was proper freaking me out. Of course if i pulled the curtain one way, it just let light in the other end. Why don’t they make the damn curtains wide enough to block it out properly? Cunning use of the lamp to wedge one end and it was pitch back now so i could sleep easy. Early wake up tomorrow for the flight to New Orleans -which is HERE Some pics sourced via google images
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2022 Dom Republic /2019 New Orleans, Jekyll, Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah, Palm Coast, Clearwater/2019 DLP /2018 Dubai /Miami,New Orleans, Orlando, Largo/2017 Dallas,New Orleans,Little Rock,Eureka Springs,Memphis,Nashville,Orlando/Mar 2017 Orlando, Clearwater, Largo /2016 NYC,Washington, Orlando /2015 Windsor Palms / 2014 Our Wedding Trip - Portofino Bay & Yacht Club / 2013 FantasyWorld Resort/ 2012 East & West Coast. Double Disney. Edited at 02:24 PM. |
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1 Dec 19, 11:20 AM |
#2
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Thread Starter
I am not a shopaholic
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Shopping Day 1
Adidas , Vineland with 50% off the ticket price . $47(plus tax)
CK dresses, outlet marketplace $24.99 each (plus tax) Tommy Hilfiger Kissimmee clearance Dresses $14.99 each plus tax Tommy Hilfiger Kissimmee clearance Men’s swim shorts $14.99 each Polo Children’s, Premium outlet. Always fab as go up to age 18-20 and reasonably generous fit The cheapest item was $9.99 and the most expensive $14.99. Most of these were on their clearance table and then I had the sign up voucher giving me another 25%. Some of these we bought two of for Xmas presents. In total we bought 10 tops for $102. Amazing value. Tommy Hilfiger Pointe Orlando Jumpers $13 each I did buy the Disney re use bags Andy got some stuff in Lacoste but I can’t find the pics. Will have to keep looking ! Nike $42 plus tax
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2022 Dom Republic /2019 New Orleans, Jekyll, Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah, Palm Coast, Clearwater/2019 DLP /2018 Dubai /Miami,New Orleans, Orlando, Largo/2017 Dallas,New Orleans,Little Rock,Eureka Springs,Memphis,Nashville,Orlando/Mar 2017 Orlando, Clearwater, Largo /2016 NYC,Washington, Orlando /2015 Windsor Palms / 2014 Our Wedding Trip - Portofino Bay & Yacht Club / 2013 FantasyWorld Resort/ 2012 East & West Coast. Double Disney. |
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1 Dec 19, 11:36 AM |
#3
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Guest
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Nice haul! Good job on the polo and useful tip on sizing. I tend to bypass the junior pile because presumed smaller.
I love panera, really good quality and value. Satnav challenges, oh dear. Has been the cause of a few rows in our house. Either it doesn't get turned on quick enough so it's still finding satellites 6 hours later, or someone leaves it in the glove box and it dries. Neither were me of course! Looking forward to next installment 👍 |
1 Dec 19, 08:13 PM |
#4
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Imagineer
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You certainly know how to shop! That is a great haul!
We now just use our phones as the sat nav seems to work even without data! The last time we took the sat nav J put it in his suitcase which was then delayed by three days! I used a good old fashioned map
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Index of my trip reports 2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg |
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3 Dec 19, 09:18 PM |
#5
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VIP Dibber
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I wanted to stick pins in my own eyes at how slow it was! How annoying that everyone else wanted to shop at the same time as you, surely they had read the memo that it was your one and only day in Orlando and you needed to shop!
Still, you managed a fairly good haul in spite of the trauma.
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Abby New pre trip report - Summer 2024 Link to all my completed trip reports 2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston. 2018: Orlando. Berlin. 2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC. 2020: DLP. 2021: Jamaica. Rome. 2022: Orlando. 2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto. |
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4 Dec 19, 04:53 PM |
#6
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Thread Starter
I am not a shopaholic
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Thanks. We always find the Children’s Polo outfit has great bargains for the older teens as well and as the boys are still skinny they can get away with the age 20 stuff
Ha ha the sat nav. In the end the new one was far better than any of the others so worked out ok. We did really well on the shopping this trip. On your sat nav adventures Yeah, how rude of them ! Things is it’s such a small store and just 3 tills but only two were in use so it was doomed to be a bit tedious
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2022 Dom Republic /2019 New Orleans, Jekyll, Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah, Palm Coast, Clearwater/2019 DLP /2018 Dubai /Miami,New Orleans, Orlando, Largo/2017 Dallas,New Orleans,Little Rock,Eureka Springs,Memphis,Nashville,Orlando/Mar 2017 Orlando, Clearwater, Largo /2016 NYC,Washington, Orlando /2015 Windsor Palms / 2014 Our Wedding Trip - Portofino Bay & Yacht Club / 2013 FantasyWorld Resort/ 2012 East & West Coast. Double Disney. |
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4 Dec 19, 10:01 PM |
#7
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Imagineer
Join Date: Mar 04
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Loadsashopping
So glad I’m not the only adult that gets suspicious stains in unfortunate places
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6 Dec 19, 09:35 PM |
#8
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Thread Starter
I am not a shopaholic
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2022 Dom Republic /2019 New Orleans, Jekyll, Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah, Palm Coast, Clearwater/2019 DLP /2018 Dubai /Miami,New Orleans, Orlando, Largo/2017 Dallas,New Orleans,Little Rock,Eureka Springs,Memphis,Nashville,Orlando/Mar 2017 Orlando, Clearwater, Largo /2016 NYC,Washington, Orlando /2015 Windsor Palms / 2014 Our Wedding Trip - Portofino Bay & Yacht Club / 2013 FantasyWorld Resort/ 2012 East & West Coast. Double Disney. |
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15 Feb 20, 03:43 PM |
#9
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VIP Dibber
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Loved this day! Some cracking shopping and yummy looking food.
I've still never made it to Panera Bread, and no Florida for us this year so will be a while yet I did laugh at the sweetie ball pit idea
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Helen xx Here's a link to all my previous trip reports since 2015 trip report list by year |
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7 Dec 19, 11:42 AM |
#10
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Imagineer
Join Date: Oct 11
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Oh no on the chocolate stains - glad you managed to get them out! And well done on persevering with the shopping under very trying circumstances.
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West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022 |
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