Get yer lugs on we're going to Disney - July 16 TR (update 8/11) Football and Chili's

[Princess Leia]

I've just read your report over the last two days and have really enjoyed it!

I'm glad you've enjoyed it. Feel free to join in at anytime.

Our adults only trip to DisneyWorld ended on the 4th of July last year, just as you arrived.

We just missed each other - have you been back since then?

I'm a teacher too and have to start back to school next week. I'm really sad that summer break is over, but excited to see what the next class will bring!

The summer holidays always go so fast. I was back at work on Friday - our pupils start back on Tuesday. The school session goes in so quickly there is always so much happening. Hope you have a good year with your new class.

Really enjoying reading about your Disney and non-Disney travels!

Glad you are enjoying both the Disney and non-Disney travels. I'm always in two minds whether to include the non-disney travels. I decided to as I enjoy other people's when I read them.

My grandparents came to the US from Scotland in the 1920's - they were from Glasgow

Do you know which part of Glasgow they were from?

Love reading about your life in Scotland too!

Thanks - my previous trip report has a part about a short trip in Scotland if you want a bit more Scotland.

 

[MickeyReeds]

I don't know how to quote, so I'll just answer you here

We went back to Florida for Spring Break in March 2017 with our kids (15 & 20 at the time). We rented a house which worked well for us, but was different than staying on property! I bought an annual pass on that trip, since it included parking and Memory Maker and I knew we were returning in December, 2017 when our DS (now 16) will perform in the Magic Kingdom and the Citrus Bowl Parade with his marching band. That darn annual pass also caused us to book a quick adults only get away in February to escape the Iowa winter.

I teach Kindergarten (5 year olds). What do you teach?

 

[Princess Leia]

We went back to Florida for Spring Break in March 2017 with our kids (15 & 20 at the time). We rented a house which worked well for us, but was different than staying on property!

I'm sure the weather would have been better than July. Was it very busy at Spring break? Off property certainly gives good options for older kids.

I bought an annual pass on that trip, since it included parking and Memory Maker and I knew we were returning in December, 2017 when our DS (now 16) will perform in the Magic Kingdom and the Citrus Bowl Parade with his marching band.

It did make sense to buy the annual pass. That will be fantastic to see him perform at the Magic Kingdom.

That darn annual pass also caused us to book a quick adults only get away in February to escape the Iowa winter.

Well you needed to make good use of that annual pass.

I teach Kindergarten (5 year olds). What do you teach?

That's a great age to teach. I'm a Head Teacher of a special school for primary aged children with complex learning needs. We have a good number of little ones starting next week.

 

[pkondz]

That seems to be the consensus. I dropped maths at the first opportunity when I realised I didn't need Higher maths for entry into my degree. I was conned though as I hadn't realised that the way our timetable worked I had to do some pointless maths modules. I ended up having to do a year of Calculus. It would have been better to have completed my Higher maths and ended up with a worthwhile qualification.

Well that sucks! Who steered you wrong?

Will she do the teaching qualification as part of her current course or will she do it later as a post graduate course?

She is required to obtain a degree before starting her education degree. So effectively, to become a teacher here, you have to do a minimum of 5 years. 3 years for the first degree (although 4 is the norm... but you could it in 3) and 2 for the education.

 

[pkondz]

This year we did not go to WDW.

What?!?!?!?

Why Tenerife I hear you say?

Nope! I love hearing about places people went.
The more "less traveled" the better.

This was the boy who first went on Summit Plummet when he was 6 years old.

Wow!

Siam Park has been rated as the best water park in the world on Trip Advisor.

Really! This should be good.

The Canary Islands are a popular winter destination for Brits as although they are Spanish islands they are quite far South and are just off the West Coast of Africa.

No exactly where they are. Being in the aviation industry....

Air Transat flight 236

. The reason we did that was that the flights were nearly £700 more to fly from our home airport.

Nope!

there have been some horror stories in the news recently about cars being dumped in local roads or taken for long drives.

Really? And they haven't put a stop to it??

Things were going well but there was an error in the final part of the directions and we ended up driving round up and down lots of narrow roads and having to do lots of impossibly turns in narrow dead-ends.

Just what you want at the end of a long day.

After a while we phoned the contact number and someone arrived to guide us the final part.

Nice of them!

She quickly showed us around the apartment and pointed out that the toilet in the ensuite was not working so we would need to contact the owner.

Really?

How about you not charge that 20, then?

We needed to pay €20 to the housekeeper as there was a late arrival fee for after 10pm and by the time she left it was just after 10pm.

Unimpressed.

Whoops! Your tip just went down..... €20.

Best photo I've ever seen on the DIS.

You can see from this photo our elevated position.

Nice view!

The lilos and beach ball were inflated

Wait!

What the heck is a "lilo"????


Okay... I Googled. Never heard that term before.

When we arrived we were met with a security guard kitted out with handcuffs and a large baton.

Uh.... it is just a pool, right?

Later on I retrieved the beach ball as it kept blowing away. As soon as I got hold of it to deflate it the security guard hurried over and started shouting.

Dude needs to take a chill pill.

He pointed at the inflatable ring a young child was wearing but his mother just argued back in Spanish and just stayed in the pool.

Good for her. Ridiculous rule. Why not???

Wait.... aren't those "lilos" in the water????

 

[Princess Leia]

Day 4 in Tenerife – A Walk in the Park

This trip had been fairly light in planning terms. I had booked flights, accommodation, parking, car hire, airport hotel for night we flew back and park tickets for Siam Park and Loro Parque. Apart from this I had made no plans. With the freedom of no planned itinerary we had the freedom to do what we liked when we liked. This may not be a good option if you want to cram in as much as you can to a holiday and see everything there is to see but we had all just come out of a very busy school session and were up for a slower pace to life. We got up on Day 4 of the holiday and chatted over breakfast about what we might do that day. Alan said he would like to go to a park. After breakfast I got on my iPad and found him a suitable park to visit.

Parque Municipal Garcia Sanabria was in Santa Cruz de Tenerife which is the capital city of Tenerife in the north of the island. It was an hour’s drive although once we had located the park it took 20-30 minutes of searching to find a parking space anywhere near. We managed to get parked in a side street and had a bit of a walk to the park.

We had brought sandwiches, crisps and drinks with us and quickly found a bench in a lovely little spot.



We enjoyed exploring all the different areas of the park.



There were plenty of trees giving plenty of shade.



They had a great Cactus garden.



Does this count as a Hidden Mickey?



It was so peaceful and just lovely to wander along the different paths. I loved this pathway. It was really beautiful.





Peter created a game with this sculpture that had a small maze like structure in it. The game was simple with a hider and catcher. You could come out different exits and it inevitably ended with a chase. You will be glad to hear I joined in nicely.



There were a few different areas in the park to play.



We stopped to watch some wildlife in this pond.



Then we were back to the fountain where we had lunch.



We stopped for another drink. The cool-bag back pack we got last year certainly came in handy.

At this stage we decided to head further into town to have a look round a few shops. Given the time it had taken to find a parking place we decided to leave the car where it was. I really liked how on the Rambla de Santa Cruz there was a large park-like boulevard in between the roads giving a safe walkway for pedestrians. After we had walked for over 20 minutes Hannah asked if we could give the shops a miss. I didn’t take too much persuading. We walked back to the car and quickly got the air conditioning on.

We arrived back in Adeje about 5pm. We stopped off at the commercial centre in Adeje. I took Hannah and Peter to a sports shop as Hannah wanted a UV top to avoid getting burned again. Peter picked up a micro fibre towel for swimming. Alan went to the Mercadona to get some more groceries. When we got back to the apartment he made us Chicken fajitas. We all really loved dining out on the terrace.

After dinner we played a few card games.



We started off with Uno and then played some Rummy. I suggested we changed to play it the version that I played with my Gran. After a bit Alan humoured me and we played it as the 50 up accumulative version. As the holiday went on I asked if we could go back to the other version as Peter got too good at it and I wasn’t winning any games. “Peter, are you sure you don’t want to play Uno?”

 

[bravenyc]

I love your trip reports and love watching the kids as they age. Also love the "normal life" updates.

 

[pkondz]

We decided we would visit a local beach.

I didn't have a chance to comment on this,
but saw the photos without really reading.

I wondered if this was the aforementioned fabled waterpark.
I will admit to being unimpressed!

It took some time to find a vacant parking space

"but luckily we had rented a tank and finally just parked on top of some cars. Darwin for the win."

After a few false alarms we finally got a space a street back from the beach.

Not too bad.

Playa de las Vistas is a blue flag beach

Had to look that up too.
I'm learning lots on your TR!

The cost for unlimited access for the day was €15 a person. I thought this was good value.

I think so too.

Even better was that Hannah was old enough to be the supervising adult.

Woot!!

Hannah and Peter put on the compulsory life jackets

Ah. I was wondering if they had to.

This is the moment when Peter landed on Hannah's head.

Ouch. Poor thing.

I have to say this was one of the best McDonald's I've had.

Not something you expect to hear... ever...

After lunch Peter was keen to get back out to the water park.

No surprise there!

We moved our towels back as the tide was coming in. A tourist board representative stopped to ask us if we would answer a few questions. She had blocked our view and we were caught out by the tide suddenly engulfing our towels. Fantastic, we now had soggy sand covered towels. Lovely!

It was our 20th wedding anniversary

Congrats! Happy (belated) anniversary!

We were invited to choose our table and we opted to sit outside overlooking the marina.

Very nice.

I chose chicken in a cantonese sauce which had a fruity flavour. It came sizzling to the table. I enjoyed this but probably wouldn't choose it again as it didn't really have enough spice for my liking.

Huh. Do you normally like meals very spicy? Or was this one just bland?

The food in this restaurant was really lovely and fresh. The staff were lovely. They were friendly and attentive.

What more can you ask for?

Well... free.... you can ask for free...

The waiter brough us a complimentary portion of spring rolls.

Score!

Hannah and Peter had managed to get sunburn on their shoulders and back despite our best efforts of covering them in 50+ waterproof sunscreen and reapplying it.

Ouch. You'd think that would be enough!

Water and sun are a lethal combination.

 

[pkondz]

This trip had been fairly light in planning terms.

Those are nice. I like seeing new things, but.... sometimes it's nice to come back from a vacation not needing a vacation.

With the freedom of no planned itinerary we had the freedom to do what we liked when we liked.

No ADRs? No FPs?

This may not be a good option if you want to cram in as much as you can to a holiday and see everything there is to see but we had all just come out of a very busy school session and were up for a slower pace to life.

That's how I felt on my last road trip. I didn't do very much other than drive. And I was okay with that.

although once we had located the park it took 20-30 minutes of searching to find a parking space anywhere near

Yuck. 20-30 minutes???

Interesting fountain.

There were plenty of trees giving plenty of shade.

Good if you happen to be two kids with sunburns.

They had a great Cactus garden.

Nice! Love the round ones.

Does this count as a Hidden Mickey?

Yup!

It was so peaceful and just lovely to wander along the different paths. I loved this pathway. It was really beautiful.

It really is. Very nice.

Peter created a game with this sculpture that had a small maze like structure in it. The game was simple with a hider and catcher. You could come out different exits and it inevitably ended with a chase. You will be glad to hear I joined in nicely.

Good for you!

Given the time it had taken to find a parking place we decided to leave the car where it was.

I don't blame you!

Peter picked up a micro fibre towel for swimming.

Because the other ones were still soaking wet from the tide.

Beautiful sunset.

I suggested we changed to play it the version that I played with my Gran. After a bit Alan humoured me and we played it as the 50 up accumulative version. As the holiday went on I asked if we could go back to the other version as Peter got too good at it and I wasn’t winning any games.

 

[MickeyReeds]

I'm sure the weather would have been better than July. Was it very busy at Spring break? Off property certainly gives good options for older kids.

It was busy during Spring Break, but we used our touring plans and got a lot accomplished! The weather, well it was quite chilly for a few of the days we were there, if only I'd packed more appropriately! We had to stop at Target to buy some long sleeve shirts and pants for my DH! Even so, it was more enjoyable then June/July weather wise!

 

[tazdev3225]

Caught up. That looks like a lovely place to go for holiday. I totally feel for your kids and the sunburn. I can take a bath in sunscreen, wear a shirt and still get sunburned. I inherited the lovely Irish skin from my red-headed grandfather.

Happy 20th Anniversary, very nice pic of you and your husband.

 

[Princess Leia]

Well that sucks! Who steered you wrong?

I think it was just a timetabling thing that they had these students they didn't know what to do with and all they had left was maths teachers. I would have gladly been left to get on with work for my other subjects.

She is required to obtain a degree before starting her education degree. So effectively, to become a teacher here, you have to do a minimum of 5 years. 3 years for the first degree (although 4 is the norm... but you could it in 3) and 2 for the education.

There are 2 routes into education here. The post graduate qualification you describe. This route is taken by all secondary subject teachers but is also a route that can be taken to be a primary teacher. This only takes one year following the undergraduate degree course.There is also the BA (Hons) or MA (Hons) that is a 4 year degree in primary education. There is a 1 year probationer induction scheme post qualification before teachers gain full registration as teachers. What age group will her teaching qualification be for?

Nope! I love hearing about places people went.
The more "less traveled" the better.

That's what I thought - I love hearing about people's travels outside Disney.

Really! This should be good.

I will report on whether it lived up to that rating.

No exactly where they are. Being in the aviation industry....

Yes, you are in the right ocean. Fabulous work by the air traffic controllers and pilot.

Really? And they haven't put a stop to it??

There had been complaints by customers of cars coming back muddy, damaged or with too many miles on the clock. One of the British newspapers investigated by booking in reporter's cars with concealed GPS trackers and found that cars were left in unsecured parking rather than the secure parking that had been paid for. At Heathrow customers received parking fines when their cars were left in council car parks. I think some companies have received fines from trading standards.

Unimpressed.

Whoops! Your tip just went down..... €20.

Totally. I didn't have that money ready so she stood over me while I hunted through the bags. It was very awkward. I wished I had made her wait and stopped off for water and breakfast items.

Best photo I've ever seen on the DIS.

I'm honoured!

Wait!

What the heck is a "lilo"????


Okay... I Googled. Never heard that term before.

Oops I didn't realise it was a British word. What are they called in North America? Airbed or floating mattress?

Uh.... it is just a pool, right?

He took his duties very seriously. You definitely couldn't pool hop here!

Dude needs to take a chill pill.

Maybe he should have relaxed on a lilo - if I could speak Spanish I might have made that suggestion. I was worried he was going to have a heart attack.

Wait.... aren't those "lilos" in the water????

Your eyes can deceive you - don't trust them! I mean what rebels would ignore 'the rules of the pool'.

 

[pkondz]

There are 2 routes into education here. The post graduate qualification you describe. This route is taken by all secondary subject teachers but is also a route that can be taken to be a primary teacher. This only takes one year following the undergraduate degree course.There is also the BA (Hons) or MA (Hons) that is a 4 year degree in primary education. There is a 1 year probationer induction scheme post qualification before teachers gain full registration as teachers. What age group will her teaching qualification be for?

I think it would be for any age... but would suspect that she'd need extra courses for older kids. But she wants to teach the very little ones.

That's what I thought - I love hearing about people's travels outside Disney.

There had been complaints by customers of cars coming back muddy, damaged or with too many miles on the clock. One of the British newspapers investigated by booking in reporter's cars with concealed GPS trackers and found that cars were left in unsecured parking rather than the secure parking that had been paid for. At Heathrow customers received parking fines when their cars were left in council car parks. I think some companies have received fines from trading standards.

I should hope so!

Totally. I didn't have that money ready so she stood over me while I hunted through the bags. It was very awkward. I wished I had made her wait and stopped off for water and breakfast items.

Oops I didn't realise it was a British word. What are they called in North America? Airbed or floating mattress?

That's funny. You danced right around it. I suppose (North America being a big place and US/Canada sometimes differ as well) most people I've heard refer to them as air mattresses.

Maybe he should have relaxed on a lilo - if I could speak Spanish I might have made that suggestion. I was worried he was going to have a heart attack.

I bet! Or... were you hoping he'd have one???

Your eyes can deceive you - don't trust them! I mean what rebels would ignore 'the rules of the pool'.

 

[Princess Leia]

I love your trip reports and love watching the kids as they age. Also love the "normal life" updates.

Thanks so much! It is interesting to look back on older photos and see the children grow year on year.

 

[Princess Leia]

I wondered if this was the aforementioned fabled waterpark.
I will admit to being unimpressed

What you're not impressed with having to swim out to deep water and clamber up on some impossibly difficult to get on equipment? No, this was not the fabled Siam Park.

"but luckily we had rented a tank and finally just parked on top of some cars. Darwin for the win."

Well, so next time..do you think I should just google hiring a tank or ask on some travel forum?

Had to look that up too.
I'm learning lots on your TR!

Oops sorry. For anyone else the Blue Flag is awarded to beaches that meet certain criteria so it's seen as a symbol of excellence.

Congrats! Happy (belated) anniversary!

Thank you

Huh. Do you normally like meals very spicy? Or was this one just bland?

We eat quite a lot of spicy foods and I would never order very spicy as goodness knows what you'd get. I am glad I tried it and the waiter had given me a fair description of it in terms of it being fruity and not spicy. It had quite a thick gravy like sauce.

Ouch. You'd think that would be enough!

Yes but seemingly not for our pale Celtic skin. Alan doesn't burn easily although he still likes to use high factor sun protection.

No ADRs? No FPs?

I know, would we remember to eat or do anything at all?

Yuck. 20-30 minutes???

I know it was a right pain.

Good for you!

It was good fun. Who doesn't want to play on holiday?

 

[pkondz]

What you're not impressed with having to swim out to deep water and clamber up on some impossibly difficult to get on equipment?

Well... let's say less impressed than say.... Typhoon Lagoon.

Well, so next time..do you think I should just google hiring a tank or ask on some travel forum?

Google. It has answers to everything.

I know, would we remember to eat or do anything at all?

Oh, the pressure!!!

It was good fun. Who doesn't want to play on holiday?

 

[afwdwfan]

Peter was in his element.

Looks like a lot of fun, but definitely quite the upper body workout!

We checked she was OK and apart from an aching head she seemed to be OK.

Nobody is better at giving you a headache than your sibling.

We moved our towels back as the tide was coming in. A tourist board representative stopped to ask us if we would answer a few questions. She had blocked our view and we were caught out by the tide suddenly engulfing our towels. Fantastic, we now had soggy sand covered towels. Lovely!

Well, tourist board lady, we were having an incredible day until you came and interfered causing our towels to get wet!

With the freedom of no planned itinerary we had the freedom to do what we liked when we liked.

I like that. I like planning a trip, but I really like having some flexibility.

Does this count as a Hidden Mickey?

Sure!

When we got back to the apartment he made us Chicken fajitas. We all really loved dining out on the terrace.

Definitely a lovely view for dinner!

 

[vamassey1]

We were much later leaving the park than we had planned.

Seems like this always happens.

Alan dropped Peter and I off at the outlets and he went with Hannah to the Walmart on Vineland Road.

I like this plan, divide and conquer.

I have no idea why we persisted with this plan given how late it was by the time we got back to the apartment, put the groceries away, had showers and got changed.

You're making me tired just reading this. I'm thinking drive thru.

It looked pretty but I didn’t really like it perhaps I should have gone for the spiked version.

It does look pretty, so it didn't take good.

Peter ordered the Big O’ Chicken Pot Pie.

I'm a sucker for Chicken Pot Pie.

We all just wanted to get to bed.

Me too.

 

[Princess Leia]

I've survived my first full week back at work. I have read everyone's comments. Now it's time for some replies.

It was busy during Spring Break, but we used our touring plans and got a lot accomplished!

With the right strategy it is amazing what you can get done.

The weather, well it was quite chilly for a few of the days we were there, if only I'd packed more appropriately! We had to stop at Target to buy some long sleeve shirts and pants for my DH!

I have only been in summer so I haven't experienced cooler weather. That was good you were able to get some warmer clothes. There have been times in summer where it's been chilly with the air-conditioning in restaurants.

Even so, it was more enjoyable then June/July weather wise!

Well that was good you avoided the high humidity.

 

[Princess Leia]

That looks like a lovely place to go for holiday.

It was really good. There was lots to do and having the car let us explore a bit further afield.

I totally feel for your kids and the sunburn. I can take a bath in sunscreen, wear a shirt and still get sunburned. I inherited the lovely Irish skin from my red-headed grandfather.

It is unusual for them to get sunburn as I am always so careful. I think this would have been their first exposure to the sun this year and it was obviously just too strong.

Happy 20th Anniversary, very nice pic of you and your husband.

Thankyou, you had me checking my photos. The photo is Hannah and Alan. Now I would be quite happy to have that youthful look.