A Game For All The Family

The Day We Leave!

Flight - 1:40pm from Heathrow to Miami.

We met at T5 nice and early for the flight, I wanted to have a good nosey around in the shops as we'd never been there before. My sister and Aunt had taken my parents to the airport and we came with DH's parents (with BIL driving us and dropping us off).

We did OLCI the night before so we dropped our bags off - we did have to wait for 10 mins as it hadn't opened yet! (Did I mention I wanted to get there early?? LOL). After we dropped our bags off we went through to airside and waved goodbye to my sister, baby niece and aunt. Once we finally got through (we went to one end of the terminal and were told to go to the other end so had to hike off right down the other end!) we got something to eat and drink and then went shopping.... not that we bought much! I saw a few things I liked but they were completely unaffordable for us - a cardigan for £500?? I did think about getting 2....

Once our flight was ready for boarding we headed off and boarded the plane. DH and I sat in the 4 seats in the middle with my parents sat on the right side of us against the window, unfortunately they had someone sat next to them that wasn't the smallest of people and didnt like getting up when they needed the toilet or anything out of the overhead lockers so they didnt have the most comfortable flight but it was okay.

Loved having the VOD, I watched Valentines Day which was fab, and a fw other movies. The food wasn't all that bad for plane food, I had chicken curry which was ok, the dessert was left though - yuk!

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Flight was very smooth and went quickly, I had a little nap which was good as I hadn't mananged to get much sleep the night before - I was too excited!!

Once we landed we headed to immigration where I think we were possibly the last passengers, but we headed right in the hope that we might get asked to go through the US side - we were! My parents sailed through, as did my IL's however we were questioned a lot because of DH's visa. It was funny watching the guy pretend to type on his computer though, it was extremely obvious that he wasn't typing at all! He let us in in the end, and that's the main thing.

We got our bags and headed for the car hire, we got on the bus and after a short ride we were there. The woman on the Alamo desk did the hard sell but really, there wasn't realy much for us to upgrade on, we already had a massive car! She did try to tell us we would only get 3 bags in (worrying when we had 1 each and our hand luggage) but it went in the car no problems - i think they tell fibs! Our car wasn't very clean though but we didnt realise until we had all of our luggage in it so we couldn't be bothered to change it so headed off.

It took a little while to find the hotel as I got the directions wrong oops! But we got there eventually, Hampton Inn Coconut Grove. Wow what a hotel! It was gorgeous. The staff were so friendly and nice on check in, they knew who we were and handed us each bags of goodies - chocolates, treats etc. When they gave us our room numbers I was a bit upset that we weren't next to our parents as I had asked for us to be but I didnt want to make a fuss so I let it go and didnt mention it. When I got to our room I knew why - DH had upgraded us to a mahoosive room! Not only that but I had the most amazing bouquet of roses I have ever seen, my favourite chocolates, a bottle of champagne, a balloon and a card.

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The room was gorgeous, the bed was huge! The bathroom was stunning. Its one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in.

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We then got ready and went out for dinner on Miami Beach, we went to an italian called Spris, we went there last year and thought it would be good for our first night.

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After dinner we came back to the hotel and fell into a very long sleep after deciding what time to meet for breakfast.

Tomorrow, The everglades and Miami Duck Tour.

Woke up about 8am and went down for breakfast. Had a lovely breakfast, they even had a waffle machine where we could make our own waffles! They were so yummy - I ended up having nothing but waffles for breakfast - healthy huh?

After breakfast we went back to our rooms to get ready for the day ahead. We all met in our room (as it was huge!) and then headed off to the everglades to do a boat ride and see some wildlife. I had done my research online before we left to find the best place to do it, I think it took about 45 mins to get there, it looked like 20 mins on the map but there were so many traffic lights! Anyway, we eventually got there. Simon found some old friends......

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and the men had a pose on a boat

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We had a few mins to wait before our boat so we had a look around. We saw baby aligators, big aligators and a turkey? Hmmm..... And then it was time to hop on the boat. It was SO hot, It felt hotter than any other day we were away, inside I was pleading to go faster just so the wind could cool me - and i love the heat!

We saw lots of wild Aligators, even ones that were just days old! they were tiny! Here is one of the bigger ones

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Once we got back we headed into the shop to get a drink and to escape the sun for a bit. Then we headed back to the car and started on our way to Miami Beach to do the Miami Duck tour.

We got there in plenty of time, we booked and paid for it and went for something to eat and a drink down Lincon Road. I got an ice-cream from Haagan Daz and everyone else got something to eat from Paul's. I ended up eating half of Anne's sandwich as well as they had given her and Cliff one each - when they had only asked for 1 to share! I didn't mind though, it was yummy! Chicken, Apple, Mustard Mayo

After we wolfed that down we went to meet the bus/boat (which was about 30 mins late in leaving grrr!). It was a completely full trip. Our tour guide was a girl and honestly - she wasn't as good as the guy we had last year who was so funny!! She still was good though We saw all around South Beach and in the water we saw lots of celebrity houses - most of which my mum was whispering to me 'who's that?' LOL

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The trip lasted about 90 mins. After we got off, we got back in the car and went back to the hotel. We went down for a swim but it was very short lived - the pool was FREEEEEEEEZING! So I decided to get into the hot tub, i put 1 foot in and took it out straight away, it was already hot pink I know I sound like goldielocks but honestly, the pool was way too cold and the hot tub would have boiled me alive. So we went back upstairs to have a bit of a rest and get ready for dinner. We got a cab (so everyone could have a drink) to Coral Gables and went to the Cheesecake factory for dinner. There was quite a wait for a table so we stood in the bar outside and had a few cocktails - everyone had been drinking at the hotel before we left so were quite merry, I was the boring one though who was too tired so didnt want to drink LOL. The food was good in the Cheesecake factory but unfortunately no one had room for a cheesecake I know, its really shocking, but the dinner was fab and we would definately go there again just for that.

After dinner we headed outside for a cab, the cab driver earlier told us we didnt need to take his number as there are loads of cabs around.... cut to us standing on the street for 20 mins while about 3 cabs go past, all with people in them! Anyway, we got back eventually and fel straight into bed, it had been a long day.

Tomorrow, our first wedding anniversary and we head to ORLANDO!

Our First Wedding Anniversary

Woke up early as I was so desperate to give Sy his presents and to open all of our cards too - we brought them all with us

Gave Sy his 2 presents and card. He opened the card and couldnt quite believe his eyes! A voucher for Discovery Cove! I had been constantly telling him that I didnt want to go as I thought it was a waste of money (I was worried he might book it for me!) he actually asked me if we were going even though he had a voucher with his name on in his hand! He was very pleased. He then opened the under-water camera and the Anniversary book that I bought him. The anniversary book is something we will keep forever and write in each year what we did for our anniversary and what we got each other, pictures etc - its been saved on my PC for over 6 months!

He then went to get my presents from his mum - he had given them to her to pack. He got me tickets to Cirque Du Soliel, Glee dvd set and a SHARE in DISNEY! OMG! :omg: to say I was excited was an understatement - how lucky am I?

We then opened our many many cards before our parents came to our room with their cards and we then went down for breakfast.

After breakfast we packed our bags for an early(ish) start on our way to Orlando with stopping on South Beach on the way.

South Beach...

Anne jogging on the beach

After our paddle, we headed straight up the turnpike and stopped once to stretch our legs, get a drink and have toilet break. Once we found the villa we typed in the code to get the key, turned the key in the lock and the happiness faded

Sy had been in touch with the villa owner and the management company was supposed to decorate the villa for our arrival (a surprise to me), the villa was dirty, marks all over the walls, squashed flies on the windows, cobwebs, dirty vents, marks on the sofas, ripped sofas, ripped bedding, dirty towels, dont EVEN get me started on the sliding doors, the dirt on the floor there was so thick I don't think it had ever been cleaned. The fly screen outside was ripped, the pool was cold (we paid for heating), the phone wouldn't work to call the management company. In the end we managed to get hold of the owner and he called the management company who came straight over. He brought us new towels and more hangers (as there was hardly any) and told us he thought there was a problem with the pool heating but someone was going to come and check it an fix it if it was broken. He also told us that he had been telling the owner it needed upgrading for a while but he cant go ahead without the owners consent, and he had had to beg the owner to let him paint 1 wall red and get new bedding in the master room. He also said he didnt think it was clean enough and would arrange for the cleaners to come in again and do it again. (Actually after they did come it looked absolutely no different other than the kitchen side was wiped down, the flies were still on the windows, the dirt on the walls etc).

Anyway after an awful couple of hours and deciding if we were going to stay or leave, we decided we would stay (at least for now) and get ready to go to our wishes cruise, we didnt want it to completely ruin our anniversary, but to say it didnt ruin it at all would be lying Sy told me that we had a limo picking us up that he had arranged as a suprise for me as I'd never been in one. He did say it was just for us and our parents were going to meet us there in the car, well I wouldn't have that lol! So told them that they were coming with us and we would get a cab back home

Once we got to the Poly we went out to the docks to find our boat - it was pretty easy to spot with anniversary balloons and banner! Our skipper (Chad I think his name was) came along and took our payment. I advised him that we were waiting for 2 more to join us - a couple we had met on the DIBB. We waited for 35 mins with us going up to couples asking who they were and if they were meeting us for a cruise, but eventually we had to get going or we would miss wishes

The wishes cruise was Out Of This World. It was amazing, the best view of the fireworks, the most amazing feeling of just us and them, like they were put on just for us! I would do it again in a heartbeat if I got the chance.

Magic Kingdom lit up

After the cruise we waited for a Disney bus to take us to DTD for our ADR at the Rainforest Cafe.

Our meal was fab, but we were all wilting and feeling very tired so after dinner we didnt really walk around DTD, we just headed for a cab and went back to the villa.

Not the day we wanted or as special as it should have been, but we were still happy.

Tomorrow, the villa gets worse, and we head to Universal!

Day 4,

Our first full day in Orlando.

We decided before we left the UK that our first full day in Orlando would be Universal studios, partly to work our way up to Disney and the fabness that it is, and partly as it has very few big rides so we could start our parents off gently.

We woke up fairly early and decided rather than wasting valuable park time going for breakfast somewhere, we would stop for McDonalds on the way. Well that was mistake number 1! It was awful, really really awful. And I felt bad as it was my suggestion as wed had a good breakfast there on our last trip. I don�t think anyone held it against me though : )

We came off the I4 a few exits early to drive along International Drive. For those of you who havent been before or have only been once, this is a must for our first day in Orlando, it feels like coming home to me, I cant think of another way better to describe it.

After we parked the car we headed straight to Universal. Our first ride was Shrek 4D which our parents loved! Then onto Twister, now I know its considered a rather out of date ride now but it was my first ride in Universal all those years ago so I hold it very dear to my heart. After 2 rides our parents were already tired out so we went to starbucks for an ice cold drink

Next ride was the Mummy, now my MIL wasnt sure about this ride and as far as I could remember, we didnt go very fast for very long, it was lots of stop and starts and watching things........ errrrrrm, I was wrong. We all went on it and the photo was extremely funny but I dont think MIL will ever believe that I didnt remember it properly! She did say later on that she would probably go on it again and try and keep her eyes open but I secretly think that was cause she knew we werent going back to universal in the daytime

Next was Disaster and then Jaws (hubbys favourite ride) and then off to find everyone, bar me, a corndog. DH, FIL and MIL loved them, my parents didnt like it all that much, and I dont eat them. Men In Black was next, I was very proud to have the highest score, though secrectly Im quite competitive, I like to hide it well. Then it was off to the Simpsons, DH, FIL, Mum & Dad went on while MIL and I sat it out, I felt really ill last time I went on it so there was no way I was getting on it and MIL thought that if it was that bad that I didnt want to go on, she wasnt going on either, I did try to tell her that its just cause I get motion sickness she didnt believe me - though I couldnt blame her after he Mummy incident! After the rest of the family came out we went to get some food and have a sit down. Then it was time for ET and Curious Georges playground (DH came off the worst!).

We then headed round to Terminator 2. While we were waiting I found a fab baseball cap for DH that said "last perfect man in the world" so I bought it for him while he sat down outside. T2 is definitely something that I could live without, in fact I find it REALLY boring but as we were with the ILs who had never been, we had to do it.

After that we headed to the car feeling very tired!

On the way home we went to Publix and bought all of the shopping we needed for the stay in the villa, ice cream, food for BBQs, salad, fruit platters etc etc. When we got to the villa it was dark and very warm inside and when I flipped the light switch, nothing happened!!!! We thought maybe there had been a power cut so went outside only to see all the power on in the houses near ours. As we had no phone in the villa (or it wasn�t switched on anyway) we tried knocking on doors to see if we could use someones phone to call the management company. We tried about 5 houses before someone answered and at first they really didnt want to let us use their phone. They were really nice but in fairness, we were strangers! They did let us call him but there was no answer, so we left a message asking him to come straight over and told him what had happened. He did call back after we had left and the lady came over to tell us that he was on his way. He arrived and his first words were lets get you out of here, he took us to the most amazing villa I have ever seen. We took as much of the food we could and a change of clothes etc for the morning, it was very difficult in the dark! In the end we couldnt BBQ as by the time we got to the other villa it was 10:30. So FIL and my dad went to Applebees to get take out, the food was amazing however I was so tired by this point I was in bed and didnt eat any.

As you can imagine, after the shock of the state of the villa the day before, to have no power the next day was just the final straw. We laughed about it to stop us from crying! The manager offered to get us another villa however we would have to try and get the money back from the villa we were supposed to be in, and tbh I didnt want to go through all that hassle and the thought of him possibly not giving us the money back put me off, I didnt want to have to fight him once we got home, plus we wanted to give him the chance to put it right rather than have to fight him to get the money back. We actually found out the next day that the power had been turned off intentionally by the power company!

So after a rather eventful evening we went to bed feeling very tired and a bit peeved!

Tomorrow, more villa hassle!

for the first night without power we stayed in another villa, after that we went back

Day 5,

More Villa Hopping!

Woke up early and eager to find out what was going on with our villa. The management guy came round at 8:30 to tell us what the power company had said about having no power, apparently the power had been turned off by mistake! At least that meant it could be turned on again and we could move back in later that day once it was back on again. So we had to go to our villa and try to get all the bits we needed for that day at Islands Of Adventure and try to bring back as much of the fridge food that wasnt ruined overnight in the heat.

Once we finally got on the road after breakfast in the villa, we headed straight there, but by this point it was almost lunchtime which meant we had a very rushed day ahead!

We headed to the right and stopped for a drink on the way.

MIL Anne wasnt feeling very well at all, she was feeling really sick and faint which Im sure was due to the heat and the rushing around in the morning. We went to go on Poseidon's fury however as we got inside she had to go back outside and as we were right by the medical centre, they took her inside. They took her blood pressure and sugars but she was ok, she had a drink and a relax while we went off for an hour to give her a bit of space (on her insistence! We did leave FIL with her though).

We went to have a look around WWOHP, we didn't go on the new ride without Anne and Cliff, but we did go on flight of the hippogriff and Simon got a Butterbeer...

We then went to have some lunch and a sit down somewhere cool. MIL started to feel better and didn't want to go home so we walked round to do a few water rides. We loved Popeye's so much that we went on twice! We got rather wet.....

And then we went to Jurassic Park. By the time we did that we had to head out cause time was getting on. We did Spiderman on the way out and MIL said this was her favourite ride. Dh and I went on The Hulk as there was no queue, I'm not a massive fan of it but DH loves it so I went on with him on the proviso that he would come on Dr Doom with me he's never been on it before but he LOVED it! TeeHee!

We found time to pose for a few pictures on the way though....

After that we headed to the car, ready to pack up our things from the posh villa and head back to our old villa.

Once we got back and finished moving we decided to have BBQ with the food that we'd saved from the day before. Unfortunately it was Dark by the time we'd finished moving and BBQing in the dark, on uneven grass (we had to BBQ outside of the pool net) was a bit erm, fun! As well, we ate eventually

Dinner done, we practically fell into bed, completely shattered.

Tomorrow EPCOT, Yay!

The first two characters above are Storm and Rogue of the X-Men.