Just The Four Of Us - Onsite at Old Key West -Day 3, Failed trip to Wakiwa..We're off to Celebration

[Kidd McFluff]

We were up early again today and most of us (Kirsten less so) had managed to get a fairly decent nights sleep. Kirsten had been woken at 5am by a team of workers who were doing the vital job of blowing leaves off the path. I’ll sleep through pretty much anything as will the kids but Kirsten isn’t a good sleeper at the best of times and was not best pleased with being woken up this early. Coffee was the only answer.

The rest of us woke at around 6am to the smell of freshly brewed coffee (bonus) and were soon showered and dressed. We wanted to keep things relaxed today so we didn’t rush. The kids had some fruit loops and OJ for breakfast while Kirsten and I had yoghurt and gluten free waffles washed down with the coffee. At around 8:30 we were packing our bags for our planned canoeing adventure at Wakiwa Springs National Park. We like the chance to get out on the water and this appeared to be a good option. By the time we had packed our bags and made it to the car it was already 9:00 but we were in high spirits and looking forward to our day. We had fast passes booked for later this afternoon at Hollywood Studios and dinner was Dylans choice, the Sci-Fi Diner.
We headed for Wakiwa hoping to get there before the crowds but were soon beset by the incontinence gods. We had been on the freeway for about 5 minutes when Dylan announced that he needed to go to the toilet….NOW!

Dylan has an amazing bladder. At times he’s apparently capable of holding it in indefinitely. (you know, when he’s playing Fortnight or watching Dan TDM play Fortnight or learning the dances from Fortnite or…you get the picture?) and at other times (mostly when it’s as inconvenient as it’s possible to get) he has the bladder of a mouse and has to pee every 10 minutes.

The problem, as we soon discovered, was that there was nowhere to stop. We were on a freeway with no exits close by and no idea of where we might find a toilet. We eventually pulled over for him about 10 minutes later at a toll station carpark where he went behind a tree. We were on our way again and singing along to our new favourite radio station PopRock FM. A few moments later it was Isla’s turn. She decided that she was also in need of a toilet and so we had another fruitless search of Google Maps and turnpikes for somewhere with a toilet. We searched in vain for about 15 minutes before admitting defeat and pulling onto another toll stop carpark and another conveniently placed tree.
We finally arrived at Wakiwa at around 10:00 we found that the queue to get in was over half a mile long with little chance of getting in before 11:00. We dithered for a while but soon decided that sitting in traffic wasn’t on the agenda for this holiday. We could go canoeing at home anytime and we’d rather be doing something than getting hot and bothered in the car. We’d pencilled in a visit to Celebration on this trip so we left the queue at the first opportunity and with the magic of Google Maps we were soon on our way there instead.

Celebration is beautiful. A really quaint little American Town with a ‘Back to the Future’ feel about it. The town is full of beautiful deco architecture alongside some masterfully planned landscaping and planting. The cinema is particularly stylish as is the prominade alongside the lake.
We were all feeling hungry by now so consulted the experts on Dibb and Google on where to eat. Common among the recommendations was Market Street Diner so we decided on this for brunch. It’s got some great reviews on Trip Advisor and the Dibb so we were keen to give it a try. We headed straight there and found the diner on a corner opposite the lake.

We were given the typical warm welcome on arrival we were immediately shown to a table and drink orders were taken. Coffee for the grown up’s and sodas for the kids. Our server Derek was a lovely chap from New York City. While reading the menu and chatting we were accosted by a balloon animal entertainer (who seemed to appear from and subsequently disappear into nothing) I hate the noise that balloons make and so while Dylan and Isla were thrilled to receive a balloon dinosaur and motorbike, I was screaming inside! Once the balloon sculptures had been made and the mystery entertainer had vanished with her $5 tip Derek returned to take our orders and normal service resumed.

The food here was great. I had Steak and Eggs with Hash Browns and Kirsten had a huge plate of French Toast with fruit and maple syrup. Isla chose the Mac n Cheese with a side of sausage and Dylan went for a bowl of Home Fries. All of this was washed down with more coffee and Soda.
The bill here came to less than $60 including the tip and we all agreed that this was very good value. The steak was perfectly cooked and Isla particularly enjoyed her Mac n Cheese saying that it was the best she’d ever had. (It’s all about the cheese!}.
Once we had ditched our new balloon toys in the car and borrowed the toilets at Starbucks we decided it was time for a stroll around Celebration. We Oooh’d and Aaar’d at the lovely architecture and beautiful little boutique shops and pondered on how it would be to live in a place like this (probably a nightmare with tourists like us staring into your windows and taking up all the parking spots) before we headed over to the fountain at the waters edge.
Isla and Dylan absolutely loved this. (Who needs theme parks?) They spent about 20 minutes running around in the water getting soaked. The fountain is designed to kids to play in and was a godsend as today was very hot. It was nice to see them appreciating the simple things in life. Who doesn’t love getting soaked on a hot day?

Once they had finished getting wet, we headed back around the lake to the car. A quick change of clothes for the kids (Thanks Starbucks for your lovely toilet facilities!) and we were soon failing to find our way out of Celebration in the hottest car known to mankind. The aircon eventually cooled us down and after a couple of circuits of the town we found the correct road out and made our way to Hollywood Studios.

We arrived at Hollywood studios at around 2pm and hopped onto the tram and heading for the entrance. Dylan found a new use for his water fan and re-enacted some Fortnite gameplay as we rode through the carpark.

For some reason Tom from Arkansas on security detail decided that my bags needed a forensic examination and while the rest of the clan were through with little delay I was still checking medical bags and glasses cases with Tom. I was eventually waved on my way after a metal detector and met the others in front of the Disney Store.

We had fast passes booked for Star Tours and so after a quick look in the shops for potential purchases we took a slow wander in that direction and soon joined the queue. Today we were treated to a huge space battle and some underwater antics on Naboo and again thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
We stopped for a while in the shop and Dylan decided to spend some of his hard earned (homework and chores) spending money on a ‘make your own’ light sabre’. This was cool, with a terrific cast member on hand to help with the choosing of the components. She helped Dylan choose the parts from a selection. ‘let the right part choose you’ and ‘let the force guide you’ type encouragement was offered to help move along the decision making process. Within a few minutes we had Dylans new favourite thing in the entire world and we on our merry way. We saw these guys out for their walkies as we left the store…It was all I could do to stop Dylan going Bazerka with his new weapon!

Our next FP+ bookings were for Rock and Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror but here we hit a snag. Isla absolutely definitely ‘I’m not going back on that thing….ever!’ didn’t want to ride Tower of Terror and wasn’t all that fussed about riding RARC again either. She likes the roller coasters but said she was feeling tired and just wanted to chill out for a bit. Kirsten wasn’t too keen on doing them again either so we cancelled the fast passes for Isla and Kirsten and decided to see what else was available. Within minutes they had scored FP+ tickets to Voyage of the little mermaid and were looking forward to the show. We arranged to meet up again after the rides and headed off in our pairs.

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid received rave reviews from Isla and Kirsten. It’s a live action stage show that uses lasers, lighting and puppetry to create an underwater show loosely based on the tale of the little mermaid. The singing was good and the story was good fun. More importantly the comfy seats and aircon were almost as good as the show!
Dylan and I were headed for more adrenaline fuelled adventures and were not disappointed. Riding Rock and Roller Coaster was brilliant second time around and we made an effort to look as silly as possible for the camera.

Next we were straight off to Tower of Terror where Dylan grabbed a quick photo opportunity with the porters. We loved this ride yesterday and again were terrified and screaming throughout. Dylan waited until we were plunged into darkness at the top of the building before shouting in his best horror film voice…’We’re all gonna die!’ just before the lift dropped.


This is probably one of my favourite rides on Disney. I absolutely hate heights (I have trouble on the escalators in Debenhams) but the great theming and the knowledge that it’s ‘just a ride’ help me get over my fears and enjoy myself. I still struggle in a glass lift but a Disney Tower of Terror Elevator poses me no problems. That said I grabbed a beer for me and a slushy for Dylan from the stand outside and had a nice little sit down in the shade while Dylan explored the gift shop. We snack credited some Sour Worm Goofy Snacks and headed off to find the others.
We were soon reunited and stopped in the pin store to see what we could find for Dylan and Isla. Dylan chose 4 new Solo Star Wars pins (2 for 1) and Isla picked a one up too. It was around 4pm by now and we had dining booked at Sci-Fi diner for 4:30. We had a quick look at Toy Story Land (more of this in our next visit) and then strolled over to Sci-Fi Diner for an early dinner.

On our way we found an abandoned speeder bike. After a few pictures and some mucking about pretending to be Jedi we checked in for our ADR. We were handed a buzzer and waited for about 25 minutes before our server (Justin) escorted us to our car right on the front row to the far left of the huge screen.

It’s an odd set up here with the restaurant built just like a drive in movie theatre. The seating arrangement was unusual as we were all facing the screen in pairs as if we were in a real car. After a small squabble (Daddy….Dylan wont budge over…She’s taking up all the space…He pinched me!...I hate her!) it was decided that sitting the children together had been wishful thinking at best. Seats were swapped and calm descended upon our Automobile. Each car has it’s own speaker to pipe the sound in from the big screen and a little shelf to put your food on. Note to those who like to read a menu…take a torch. We had to use the flashlights on our phones to read the menu’s here as the lighting is so low (to maintain the drive in theming) that it’s impossible to see anything you might be reading or eating.

Justin took our drinks order (Habinero margaritas for the grown ups and Sprites for the kids). and then helped me locate a meal free from onions, garlic, beans and gluten (not as simple as you might think when loads of dressings, sauces and cooked meats are are packed/drizzled/marinated with onion and garlic in some form or other). I went for the buffalo Chicken Salad and Dylan chose the Shrimp and Cheese Quasdillas. Isla ordered the Oven Roasted Turkey Sandwich and Kirsten went for the Sci-Fi barbeque platter (shown below). While we ate we were treated to a repeating reel of early sci-fi B movie clips, news reels and cartoons from early cinema. Dylan enjoyed the show and the atmosphere of this place but the rest of us were less impressed with it. The food was OK. Kirsten described her barbeque platter as ‘a huge plate of average’ and while the kids were happy with their choices Isla’s turkey sandwich was described as ‘OK but nothing special’. On the whole we enjoyed our visit but once the videos begin to repeat and your eyes start to hurt the novelty quickly wears off. We’d give it a 6/10 overall but probably wouldn’t return.

After some very sticky puddings including Warm Glazed Donut with apple and Ice cream, Hot Fudge Sundea’s and a fruit salad (yup I’m dairy free too!) we were ready to go. We were all feeling a bit bloated and were ready to head back to our room at Old Key West and have a dip in the pool before having an early night.

We trudged back towards the entrance to pick up the car and on the way Isla dragged us back into the Disney Store near the front of the park. (I’m so hot…I need aircon…oh look there’s a shop, lets go in there to cool down).
Isla had her heart set on a plushy and had been saving her pocket money hard all year. She was self funded and ready to spend. Within a few minutes we had a new addition to the clan. Isla found a cute little Jack Jack plushy and was immediately smitten. We also picked up a couple of colouring books for people at home which we had sent back to Old Key West to pick up later on our visit.
Jack Jack is a very cute toy and Isla was thrilled with him. He came everywhere with us from this point onwards.
Once we had chased Dylan out of the store (but I want to touch everything!) we stopped for a Memory Maker pic.

Pictures done, we headed back to our car to find that it had melted! Eventually the aircon had reduced the heat level inside the car from ‘the surface of the sun’ to ‘Midday Sahara’ and so we drove back to the hotel. We’d had another great day and we still had a few hours before bedtime.

It didn’t take much persuading to get Isla and Dylan into swimming gear and down to the pool. Our nearest pool was Turtle Pond and was less than 100 yards away.

This is a great pool and was perfect for the kids. They can both swim a short distance and this pool is only deep in one area. Life vests are provided and since the majority of the pool is shallow enough for Isla and Dylan to talk around on tiptoes we were happy to let them play in the pool with us watching from the side. Kirsten and I grabbed a couple of Cold Budweisers from our fridge and we filled the resort mugs from the drinks dispenser. We all had a lovely swim, mucking around together in the pool and enjoying the evening sunshine. Dylan drank his own body weight in sodas and for some reason he spend ages in the super hot jacuzzi. I tried the jacuzzi but simply couldn’t stand it for more than a minute. I then almost suffered a heart attack when I returned to the other pool.

We eventually chased the kids home from the pool at about 8:00 and had them showered and in bed by around 9pm. Separate beds for the children this evening (to stop them bickering) and they were soon settled down for sleep with radio 4 to keep them company. The washing was beginning to pile up so I bagged it up for a laundry run tomorrow and made us some Margaritas for drinking on the balcony. Kirsten tidied up the bedroom and we wrote up some notes from the day. We’d fit loads in today but had just about managed not to over do it. It was a shame that we’d missed out on our canoeing this morning but all told we’d had a great day and were ready for an early night. We finished up our margaritas and were in bed (me with Dylan and Kirsten with Isla) by 10pm. Sleep came quickly and we were soon snoring along with the children.

It was to be an Epcot day tomorrow but with no plans until the afternoon we were hoping for a relaxed morning before heading to the parks.

[DizzyDisneyMum]

What a great day, wow you packed a lot in!

[Cinderella]

Another fab day!

[Pussycat Doll]

Great day, shame about your kayaking trip.

[Kidd McFluff]

It was a shame but looking back it's probably a good thing we missed it. The weather was flipping hot and we were wilting just walking around Celebration. It gives us an excuse to come back next year!

[mick]

Shame you had to change your plan but sounds like you had a great day

Joan

[Floridaagogo]

I can’t stop laughing “we’re all going to die “ 😂😂😂

[lovedisney]

Great day

[Fuellady]

Lovely day. Shame you missed out on your canoeing trip, but isn't Celebration beautiful? Glad to hear the food at Market Street Diner is good again, we felt it went downhill a bit before the refurb.

Nice afternoon at HS, pity the food at Sci-Fi Diner didn't live up to expectations.

[summersun]

great day x