The Chronicles of Nana (& Grandad) Tour 2008 Day Fifteen

[mkingdon]

Day Fifteen

Is it over already?

I’m afraid so Louise..I mean sorry, dear reader. Force of habit there.

So here we are, at the end of another Tour. It has taken me an age to write this bleeding thing, so it really feels like a lifetime ago that these events happened, and my enthusiasm for writing notes about the journey home is very limited, so who knows what today’s report will turn out like.

Our journey home day started at 8.30 apparently, and my notes tell me that I ran around packing like mad. Frankly its about time Louise started to do her fair share of the packing around here.

So Louise and I have a busy morning, and after much huffing and puffing it is all over…the batman costume is christened at last!

We finish packing too, and we are out of the villa by 10.15. We turn right out of Westlife (Westridge), and travel down the US27 to pick up the I4.

As happens every year, my battle of nerves with the petrol tank is a crushing defeat, and I don’t have the guts to let the fumes in the tank get us to the airport, and I come off onto John Young Parkway to put a few dollars of gas in.

Onwards now to Orlando airport, and it is welcome not to have to drive to Sanford I must say.

Budget go some small way to redeeming themselves after our arrival nightmare, by making the drop off very simple indeed, and we are soon lugging heavy cases onto trolleys in the raging heat, getting a nice sweat on. Off we go into the check in bit, and there is no queue whatsoever at the Continental desk, and we are soon processed.

Our main case is deemed to be too heavy for the delicate baggage handlers to carry, so we have to spread some of the load into Ryan and our other case to get it through. The good news is though, that the cases are now going straight through to Manchester, and we do not need to pick them up at Newark.

After the shambolic journey here, my confidence in this running smoothly was not what it could have been.

Checked in, we of course want feeding, and we figure that the best eating places will be beyond the security checks, so we do that next. No “cavity inspections” or anything of any note here, and we are now onto the monorail down to our gate area, to find a vast array of eating places, all offering a wide selection of delicious food at amazing prices.

Ah, make that two choices. Burger King and a bar type place that does sandwiches. We decide on the bar, as it was…well a bar really. We all have pretty average food of sandwiches, soup and hot dogs…we didn’t each have all of that….you know what I mean.

We find a text from Jakki from about four days ago, so we reply telling her we are going home, and we are so happy for her that she is staying for another two weeks!

Full up, we wander a couple of shops, buying essentials for the flight, and then we walk down to the gate area.

Starbucks beckons, and as we return to our seats near the gate with our caffeine fix, we discover that our flight is delayed by around 90 minutes. At this stage, I can’t even be bothered being angry or upset. Whatever happens I’m going home so how bad can it get?

Even with the delay, we will still be able to catch our Newark flight to Manchester, so it looks like I can’t escape my fate of a return to the UK.

So we wait a lot, and get really bored and we finally board at 3pm.

Louise has a morbid fear of flying, so the very bumpy turbulence has her literally climbing the aircraft walls, and taking large chunks of flesh from my arm. She appears to be living through her own personal nightmare at this point.

I had never seen Louise so scared on a flight. This record is only intact until the next leg of our journey though, so do stay with us.

Once on the ground at Newark, it takes an age to get a gate, and then the tunnel thing to get us off. I have to say my experience of Newark airport was in every way crap.

So forty minutes after touchdown we are in the airport building. Our next flight leaves from gate C126, and we have to go there immediately as we have no time now to eat some more or wait around, which as you know is the highlight of my holiday.

After getting to the gate Emily reminds me that I need to buy her a sandwich as she won’t eat plane food (she likes fancy food! ). So I walk all the way back up the terminal to Starbucks and get her the last sandwich in the shop.

How pleased I was, to have gone to all this effort, spent $8 on some bread and cheese, only to find said sandwich in her rusksack two weeks after getting home, in her wardrobe. Nice smell.

Emily had a rare rollocking for that one.

We board at 7pm, and we are amazed and delighted to see that the plane has seatback TVs. Could Continental redeem themselves at the last moment?

No!

Newark airport steps in once again to mess things up, by allowing more bad weather to stop planes leaving. So we had a nice four hour wait on the tarmac waiting to push back from the gate. The captain keeps updating us every twenty minutes, saying he’s been told we’ll be away in ten minutes. After two hours he stopped.

Thankfully, the TVs came in handy as we’d watch two films and played a load of games before we actually moved anywhere.

We take off at 11pm, in what has to be said was a pant staining thunder storm. Louise scales new heights of fear, as we plummet hundreds of feet at a time, with a very nice looking lightning show going on all around us. Scared, me? No I always smell like this.

The storm blew us home in record time, only taking 5 hours and 50 minutes. I watched “What Happens in Vegas” and a bit of “King Fu Panda” and then won $125,000 in the casino game. I’m still waiting for my winnings to be posted to me.

Regular readers may recall that I usually have a very enjoyable experience when we land, as I have, since birth it seems, suffered enormous pain during landing, in my ears and head. Well, this landing took the biscuit in terms of pain. A great end to a great flying experience.

Back in Manchester, the bags took the usual age to appear, and when we are finally free to leave, having called our taxi, we wait in the car park. To say that we had all felt better would be an understatement.

Our taxi arrives, and seems to have left a couple of required seats at home. He is driving a standard Sharan, with six seats. Some numpty at the taxi place had forgotten that we had four huge cases, and that the driver had to sit somewhere too! So we now have to cram seven people and four huge cases, and Ryan and Rosie into this death trap.

After what seemed an age of pushing and moving spare tyres around (I had eaten quite a bit on this holiday I suppose) we somehow all fit in. During the drive home, we take turns on the phone to the taxi place outlining our deep joy at the mortal peril we were currently in on the M60. Louise did nearly all of this, and had the woman she was talking to been within reach, I fear for what may have happened. The taxi driver drove at around 40mph all the way, and he looked very worried for the safety of his passengers and his car.

After what felt like three days we get dropped of at home, and started living in reality again. Rubbish!

So not a lot of fun on our last day then.

So we’re done once again, and I sit here trying to sum up our feelings on the trip, and it seems so long ago that I’m struggling. So some random thoughts….

1. We enjoyed last year’s trip more due to staying at Saratoga, Vero and Boardwalk, with the latter being truly magical.
2. The villa this year was excellent, but we like to be closer to the action
3. I found it hard at times feeling like I had to please everyone. It is easier with just the four of us for sure.
4. Having said that, I’m really glad that we’ve created some more memories especially for Mum and Dad with the girls.
5. Louise is now completely converted, and would go back tomorrow.
6. DVC could be a possibility in the coming years, if we ever have any money ever again.
7. We truly feel at home over there, and are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the UK
8. I need to go on a diet…again
9. That batman suit was a complete waste of money.
10. I need some new jokes.

So until the next time, it is back to work, and to school for the girls, with Rebecca starting secondary school this September. Quite amazing to think that she was just 2 when we first took the girls in 1999.

Thanks to everyone for your nice replies and PMs over the last few weeks. They are all appreciated, and hopefully replied to.

If you don't enjoy these, I apologise for the silly jokes and childish stuff, and this one is over now, so it is safe to return to the Trip Reports Board.

As to when we may go back, well, the answer is as soon as we can afford it..so about 2026. I’m pretty sure the girls will still be with us, as I know how special the place is to them now. Nearly as special as they are to me.

It truly is our laughing place, and soon, I hope the girls will have the patience to sit down and read all these trip reports, and see things they were too young to remember doing, and many things I did that they will want to forget. So to anyone thinking about doing a trip report, please do. It is hard work, but I still go back to earlier ones every few months and read them again. It is the best way to relive the memories, and of course all my usual jokes!

They have both been told that the only way their weddings will attract any funding from me is if they are in Disney, and I don’t think either of them have a problem with that!

If you’ve made it all the way through this saga, thanks for doing so, and indulge me once again, as I finish with a cheesy song, as I often do, inspired by this year’s events.

It can be only one song, dedicated to my Dad and his Westlife faux pas, his senior moments, and my girls.

Flying Without Wings

We took another trip to Disney
Without it life is not complete
We went to all our favourite places
Yes, they were all places to eat.

We took my Mum & Dad and my children,
We had a nightmare of a flight,
You can’t deny the stress that brings,
Some drops relieved my ring,
We’re flying without wings

I made the breakfast every morning,
In our villa on Westlife,
Leaving late because of others,
A ruined plan, can make you laugh or cry.

We spent a fortune on our eating,
I wore a kaftan to fly home,
I don’t know what “I’m hungry” means,
I can’t fit in my jeans,
I’m flying without wings.

So, impossible, to believe,
It was a chair that we saw on the beach,
Who was to know, in the dark moonlight glow,
It was only a seat.

Girls, for me, it’s having fun beside you,
To see the smiles on both your face,
To know that I will soon be bankrupt,
Doesn’t mean one thing I’d change,

Its little things I will remember,
Those are the things that make me smile,
And it’s like flying without wings,
When Dad says those daft things,
I’m flying without wings.

Girls, you’re the place my life begins,
Leave me in Disney when life ends,
I’m flying without wings,
And all the joy it brings
I’m flying without wings.


Bye.

Craig, Louise, Emily and Rebecca.

Special Guest Stars, Nana, Grandad, Rosie and Ryan.

[Guest]

Can't believe its the final installment . Another great report

[ambersmom]

Oh Craig, i have loved every minute of your trippie, its been fantastic,
Sounds like you all had a ball, shame its come to an end,

Never mind, just tell Louise she will have to go for a month minuim next time lol, Glad to see the batman/superman outfit finally got to fly

[chaffey]

I can't believe that we've arrived at the end. Thanks for sharing your trip you truly have made me cry through laughing so much. Hope the next trip will be planned soon

[dopey.rules]

Thoroughly enjoyed your trippies, couldn't wait for you to finish this one, kept popping back to see if you had and hey ho it was there, thanks for sharing

[Manc_Chris]

Sorry the Trippie's all over and done with... but nice to see Louise had an easy ride (if you'll pardon the expression) compared to last years very revealing episodes.

You've put a lot of work into it, thanks again. See you next year.

[Lesley_Perschky]

Wow what a lovely ending to the tripee Craig. You just forgot to mention one thing - Have you booked for next year yet

We can squeeze you into our villa, but we are not going until September.

[JoJoBell]

OMG Craig, so sorry it's all over. You always have the ability to bring a tear to my eye with your last trip report of the holiday.
Thank you for taking the time to tell us all about your family and your holiday.

[Guest]

Absolutely FANTASTIC trip reports - probably the best ones I have ever read on here - you should really be a stand up comic as your reports have been soooooo hilarious.

Thanks for taking the time to write all these down

[travelmam]

Great trip report.