The Magnificent Seven - April 2018 - Day 14 - 7 become 4 :(

[Redrach1903]

Day 13 is here

Friday 20th April

Going home day

Chris and I got up at 7.45am, had showers and did more packing. Humph. Jake was up at 8.45am and the rest of the gang surfaced at 9am. I gave Abi some grapes to keep her going until proper breakfast! Emma then got her ready for the day. She was wearing her wee outfit that I picked her up in Emporium the night before



Emma - So today was the last day the magnificent 7 would be together! I can’t believe how fast the time had flown and I was going to miss the others once they had left but I was glad we still had another 8 days left in Orlando. Rach had her normal morning routine with Abi which involved lots of grapes and Paul & I got organised for the day. Today was going to be a bit of a down time day as we had been so busy the last few days. The plan was breakfast and some time in the villa and then see where the day took us!

Last day vibes



We left for Cracker Barrel at 10. It is the law that we have our last breakfast at CB!



It was very very busy, so we had a ten minute wait, so we filled the time having a nosey around the ever impressive gift shop!

#usanumberone



Soon enough we were called to our table!



The boys all ordered the Double Meat Breakfast, I had an Old Timers, Emma had Eggs in a Basket, Jake had 2 pancakes with bacon and Abi had scrambled egg! All delicious as per usual!









Abi's looks pathetic hahaha, but she enjoyed it!



I think Jake must have had the bacon from Emma's plate!

Emma - Yeah he did as I didn’t get them to take it off and I know how much Jake loves a side of bacon!



While we were eating Jake asked me if I would be fired for not being at work for 2 weeks Bless!

Anyway, we were all done by 11.15. Dad treated us all to breakfast, so not sure what the total was!

Chris, Jake and I went to Publix for one last time (sob) and the others headed back to the villa.



Purchases included Ghirardelli chocolates and chocolate covered pomegranate for me, Jolly Ranchers for Jake and Chris got his fave Publix socks!

After that we headed back to the villa to enjoy our last few hours. Jake went outside and chilled on a sunbed and someone else seemed eager to get out too!











I went outside and assumed the sunniest position I could find.



Meanwhile, Dad was having a swim.



It wasn’t long until little miss was outside to join us!





She decided she wanted to splash around so Emma stripped her down to her swim nappy!



Jake was now in the pool too. I have no idea where Paul and Chris were at this point btw! Maybe in the garage playing pool?

Emma - I am really not sure where they went! Probably talking about golf while raiding the snack bowl!









Abi then played her new game of jumping off the edge of the pool! She is such a wee daredevil!





And relax…



Pffft as if Jake would give her 5 minutes peace to do that!



Jake persuaded Dad to play a game of catch with him! Not sure how it ended up getting bunged at me like…..







I do remember kicking the ball back to them and whacking Dad square in the chops! Oops! Hahaha! Well, that's what he gets for staying in Florida when I have to go home

Meanwhile, Abi was trying on Jake's snorkel mask. This could be one of my favourite photos ever



Emma - We had a great time playing outside and in the pool and generally just enjoying some downtime in the villa. I could feel the sadness radiating off of Rach the later it got and I knew she would start to have her Eeyore voice and face on soon!

At about 1pm I couldn’t put it off any longer and had to drag my butt off the sunbed and inside to do the last of my packing and get ready to leave. Humph. However, i will say that there is one good thing about leaving first - we didn't have to tidy the villa / clear out all the food we hadn't eaten

Before we left I had some ruffles in the flavour "all dressed". Something we were most curious about. As was Abi judging by her wee hand..…. but none for you young lady





They were very good, if you are wondering! Well done Canada.

Emma - Those crisps were amazing – I bought some to take home and was most miffed when I discovered Paul had thrown them out by accident when unpacking! Sob!

Ok, no more procrastinating. It was time to leave We packed the car and then had many hugs and Abi got smothered in kisses. I was trying very very hard not to break, but oh man I lost it. I was sobbing as we pulled away, uncontrollably! I hated it! Hated that we were leaving and hated that I wouldn’t be there to see Abi experience many more Disney memories. It sucked! Look at her waving



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[Redrach1903]

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Emma - Poor Rach, Paul felt sorry for her as she started crying when hugging us all goodbye. My sister is such a softie, I do wonder if we are actually related at times! It was weird watching them drive away knowing that they weren’t just leaving to go to a park before us and that we wouldn’t see them until we got home to Scotland and the villa did feel strangely empty once they had left. Jake looked pretty down when they were leaving as well and I was going to miss him – he is a great kid and he had been so good with Abi through our trip. I suppose I was going to miss Rach & Chris as well! Abi was missing them already and was calling for them – we had to explain they had gone home and we would see them next week. I think she thought they were just hiding! Lol.

Now that the 7 were down to 4 this is the last joint day that will be happening as I will be taking over the reins from now on – I am not as detailed with times and car parking spaces but I hope you enjoy our last week nonetheless! Anyway,I digress! Once we had watched the Peachey’s leave it was time to think about some food so we raided the fridge and gathered some snacks and had a nice picnic lunch in the living room. I do miss American food. Lol! We always go overboard with the food when in a villa but to be honest – we don’t care! That is what holidays are about and we just buy what we fancy and its fab!

Back to us and we took the Celebration/417 route to the airport. We stopped for gas which was $44 and then got on the road again. We arrived at MCO at 2.38pm and returned the car quickly and easily.





It was then off to bag drop, but the credit card machine wouldn’t work for Chris to pay for his golf clubs (see, if he had listened to me and pre-booked this wouldn’t have been happening, but who am I to judge?) and it took a bloody age and 3 people to sort it. We were unimpressed to say the least.

Anyway, once that was FINALLY dealt with we went through to the shops / food court. Sad going home faces….





At some point Emma had text to say that Abi was wandering around the villa shouting for us

Ok, time for some food. That would make us feel better, right? Chris and I had a Panda Express (what else?). I went for the usual orange chicken and Chris had the Beijing beef. Bloody love PE.



Jake had a McDonald's. No food pics, soz. With happy tummies we headed for one last squizz around the shops.



I bought some salt water taffy and chocolate bars to take home . Chris bought a few more pins I think. I also grabbed a bundle of park maps for my friend Marie who is booked to go on her very first trip next May (check out her pre-trippy here – give her some love).



Knowing how much of a shambles the security is at MCO, we headed there sharp. Sure enough they were quoting 30-35 minutes. There was a sniffer dog patrolling the queue again, same as last year. I still wasn’t allowed to pet it Anyway, we were through within 25 mins.

It seriously felt like we had just come off the monorail to this view and now we were going home?! WHAT!



Once off the monorail we noticed that there was a Bahama Breeze being built here! Good to know for next time! For now though, it was old faithful Outback for a drink. 2 beers, large wine and an orange juice - $50!



Jake wanted to go and get snacks for the flight, so we let him go to the shop on his own. It wasn’t far! After a while I started to worry, so popped over to make sure he was ok and there he was looking all grown up



I grabbed some snacks for Chris and I too and then went back to collect Chris. I panicked when I saw that our spot had been pinched and I couldn’t see my phone where I'd left it Thankfully Chris has scooped it up! Phew.

We then went to the gate and were boarding by 5.05pm. We got settled in for the long flight. Groan. I really despise the flight home. Why is there not a faster way to get there and back yet?

Plane snacks!



I fell asleep before we even took off and woke up at 6.45pm just as tea was being served. The choices were vegetarian lasagne or chicken curry. Chris had one and I had the other and they were both gross. Jake didn’t want.



I couldn’t get back to sleep so I watched the last two episodes of The Walking Dead on my kindle. After those I managed to fall back asleep until there was only an hour and a half left to go. Nice! Jake slept for most of the second half of the flight. Chris dozed on and off.



Emma - I decided I was going to head to Super Target and offered Dad & Paul the chance to come but funnily enough they politely declined! Abi was popped down for a nap and I headed over to Super Target at rolling oaks. It was actually quite nice just driving in the car myself, music up, air con on and trying to get rid of the country music station Rach always picks! I didn’t get much of a chance to look around the other day and I wanted to pick up some clothes for Abi and maybe a few bits and bobs for me. I arrived and grabbed a trolley and headed straight for the clothes. I picked up a cute grey Minnie sleeveless top for me and a nice Mickey head tote bag and a new refillable Florida 2018 bottle – all for me! I then went to the kids sections and got Abi some very cute t-shirts, trousers and 2 nice dresses. I was also looking for some medication for Dad but can’t even remember what it was now but I think I found it! I then headed to the food aisles and got some cute Mickey snack packs for Abi , some more juice / beer / water and probably some more crisps and fruit. I also got some tinned tuna for Abi and was quite shocked at the price of 1 tin! I bought it anyway as a tuna sandwich never goes wrong in our house! I could have stayed here for HOURS but thought I had better head back as time was getting on – I think it was about 16.30ish and we were planning on heading out again for tea tonight! I thought of suggesting Texas Roadhouse as none of us had been there and Rach & Chris swear by it.

I had a leisurely drive back to the villa and madam was still sleeping so I unloaded the shopping and got to read for a while. Once she was awake and had a small snack we played some more and decided that we would indeed go to Texas Roadhouse for tea

After Abi had played with the Flounder hat for a while, we were ready to go for tea.






We piled in the car and headed to the 192 and headed for Texas roadhouse. It was quite busy but we got shown to a table pretty quick.



The place was really quirky and I loved the peanut shells on the floor. The menu looked awesome and we all had a wee look and tried to decide what we wanted. Our server was really friendly and efficient and we soon had some warm buns and butter – yum yum. Everyone enjoyed these!



We finally decided what we fancied – Dad ordered bone in ribeye , Paul ordered grilled bbq chicken and sirloin , Abi had a kids grilled chicken and I had a grilled shrimp dinner. It was all really delicious. The boys also had a Sam Adams and I had a sprite. I love the sprite in America – it tastes much nicer than ours for some reason.









Abi had a great time playing in the booth with us and then she went into her chair to eat her tea – the only thing she wasn’t keen on was the overly charred bits of the grilled chicken but she also had some steak from Dad and Paul and some shrimp from me. The girl can eat! The chips here were big chunky chips. I had a baked potato with sour cream which was delicious.









The atmosphere in here was really good , busy but not manic. Really enjoyed our meal here and would come back again. The portions as usual were huge and we had long ago learned not to have starters unless sharing so we were all happy with a main and then we headed back to the villa. Abi was yapping away in the car and was full of beans.

Once back, we were pottering around the villa and things suddenly went quiet from Abi so I went to find her…………





LOL! Looks like the lure of a child height toilet roll was too much and she thought she would redecorate the bathroom!
Paul & I decided that we were going to head the outlets at the bottom of I Drive tonight. Dad offered to put Abi to bed so we took him up on the offer and headed off about 20.00ish.

We headed off up the I4 towards the mall – I knew which exit to take but there was a big queue to go off right where I wanted to go so I took a left and then had no idea where I was! Ooops. We did have a sat nav with us so we fired it up and then realised we were just at the back of universal so were weren’t far from where we wanted to be.

The car park was super busy when we arrived so we decided to just park in a paid space which was not far from all the main shops we wanted to go to. I was looking for Sketchers and clothes for Abi and Paul was looking for golf stuff. We headed towards Sketchers first and I chose 2 pairs of trainers, a pair for Abi , 2 pairs of the kind Dad liked and Paul also bought a pair. It was buy 1 get 1 half price! Was really reasonable for what we bought – I can’t remember the exact figure but it was less than $250 for 6 pairs of trainers! Might have been even cheaper but I can’t remember. We also went to Gap and bought 2 hoodies and a few tshirts for Abigail. It was really busy and the service was verging on rude but we made it out without too much fuss. At the Disney store I bought a Minnie jumper – turns out Rach bought the same one. Lol. Paul bought a character drawing book thing as he likes to draw and wanted to draw something for Abigail. At Fossil I bought myself a new purse – we also got extra money off as they were doing an offer that day. I did have a look at the watches but nothing caught my fancy – I do love a fossil watch.

Rach – tut tut – no shopping pics!

We were on a roll and cash was burning a hole in our pockets but we don’t often buy ourselves things so we were having a good time picking and choosing things for us and Abigail. Paul was on the look out for some golf stuff but it was getting late and we decided to call it a day and come back later on in the holiday.

We decided to head to the toilet before we left! It was just before 23.00 when we went into the toilets and to be honest , they felt totally dodgy! They were WAY down a long dark corridor and it felt so out of place to the rest of the mall. That is the only thing I would change about this place – better toilets than stadium toilets!

We jumped into the car with all our bags and headed back to the villa. It was nice going at night as it wasn’t so hot and because we had had a chill out day we didn’t have sore feet from walking about the parks all day.

Abi was long sleeping when we arrived and Dad was in bed, but was awake – just! So I popped in for the monitor and showed him his new shoes and then we headed to bed.
Another fab day in Orlando and the Peachey’s were well on their way home.

Plan for tomorrow is mini golf in the morning and AK in the evening for gorillas and our FOP Fastpass!

Back to us and breakfast was offered at 5.20am and it was either a cream cheese bagel or a honey cereal bar. We all declined and just had tea/juice. I was amused by the hair of the woman sat in front of us. Her hair looked like a pastry Certainly more appealing than a cheesy bagel anyway……



We landed in LGW at 6.20am and were through security and passport control fairly quickly, even though Chris and I were both subjected to additional checks! I am always seriously narked by this point and just want home. To make matters worse the zip on our Disney rucksack burst open! I ran into Cath Kidson and bought a lovely bag that was on sale at only £40. Scoop!



We transferred everything into the new bag and then went off to Pret a Manger for tea, coffee and croissants!



We boarded our flight to EDI at 8.05. I was asked if I would like to check in my hand luggage for free in return for immediate boarding for my whole party. Oh ok then. Lets go! I slept the entire flight and woke up as we were landing in Edinburgh at 9.50am. We collected our bags quickly and were soon in a taxi back to the Marriot to collect the car.



Chris was pooped so I drove for once! We broke up the journey by stopping at Peggy Scott's for a bacon roll for Chris, sausage roll for me and macaroni for Jake!

Flagging!



We dropped Jake back at his Mum's at 1.20pm. His sisters and brother were very excited to see him! After a quick chat with Jake's mum and other half, we were back on the road again, stopping briefly at the local co-op for milk etc.

Almost home, just a few miles to go….



We were finally home at 2.20pm. What a long ass journey. Living up here really can be a pain in the chops!

We unpacked and enjoyed a cup of tea on the decking as it was actually warm enough to do so!





So there we have it, the end of another fabulous holiday in Orlando. It was ace going with my family and especially seeing Abi's first experience of the magical world of Disney! I hope its a holiday we can repeat in the near future!

Thanks for reading. I now leave you in Emma's capable hands. Ha! Good luck

Byeeeeeeeeeeeee! xx

Day 15 is here

[summersun]

great trip, thanks for sharing x

[MrsSilverStar]

Great trip, thanks for sharing. Feel for you leaving the others behind! Looking forward to reading the rest from Emma.

[Cinderella]

Great trip 👍

[princess allie]

Lovely trip. Last days are always so horrible. I always cry too x

[i love jack]

Those crisps sound strange but good
Nice last day, can’t beat a CB and a chill by the pool
A great read as usual

[mick]

Thanks for taking the time to do your trippie I have once again enjoyed reading along

Joan

[Fuellady]

Thanks for sharing, both Rachael and Emma.

Rachael, I feel your sadness at coming home, especially having to leave your family behind . Still, it sounds like it was a reasonably good journey, except for the drive home which is always a nightmare. Nice Cath Kidston bag

Emma, so glad you finally managed good rake around Target. That ended up being a good shopping day with going back out to the outlets later. I agree about the toilets there, even in day time that corridor is creepy

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Oh Rach I can literally feel your sadness jumping out of the screen Next time you all go on holiday together can you please ensure you all leave at the same time... I can't take this heartbreak again!

A great last morning breakfast though, Cracker Barrel has officially made it onto my 'must do' list for our trip next year, I need to check it out for myself!

I absolutely love Abi's new dress, she looked so cute! It's amazing how much she has grown up since this trip too, time whizzes by too fast!

A great day of shopping for you Emma, glad to see you making the most of being able to hit the shops child-free (I'm like a woman possessed when I get the opportunity to go shopping Charlie-free! ) although I agree with Rach, the lack of photos are very disappointing! As a hardcore shopper I need to see photos of the goods please!

I have enjoyed this report so much and I am going to miss the tag-teaming that you girls have gotten down to a fine art. But very excited to read the rest of adventures of Emma, Paul, your Dad and Abi.

Thank you as always for such an entertaining read, absolutely fab as always! xxx