Poohshoney
<font color=6666CC>Ya-ya sister!<br><font color=gr
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
Carol (40, British) dangerously Disney obsessed.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Monday, 6 May 2002
Oh well, back to reality I suppose. The last bit of packing done, we watched the animals for the last time (I'm hating typing this nearly as much as I hated living it) and then took everything to the car. We wanted as nice an ending as possible so wed booked a PS for Boma for 10:30. We went half an hour earlier though we needed something to take our minds off it all and foods good for that. They very nicely let us in just a few minutes later and gave us the next table along to last time we felt right at home.
Our waiter had the biggest friendliest smile that and all the fab food did cheer us up a bit. Strangely, we recognised a few things from the dinner menu, the potato wedges for example. The `sliced ham´ made us smile in the UK its often sliced wafer thin but this looked more liked someone had plonked down half a pig!
The food was absolutely heavenly with such a wide variety of choices there had to be something for everyone. I ate more of what Roland called `main course food´ (a legacy from my student days I can eat main meals any time) and Roland ate more of the traditional breakfast foods. Drinks were included in the price. We both had orange juice then Roland had a couple of coffees and I had two glasses of milk; that alone would have been the cost of the buffet in some places.
We both ate enough to keep us full all day we didn't eat again until we were on the plane and it didn't leave till after 5 pm. (We didnt go for Akershus-full though leaving was bad enough without feeling ill as well). Only one thing stopped it being absolute heaven no brownies. But we both agreed - it was the best breakfast buffet either of us had ever had.
Right lets get it over with. Out to the car, drive off, dont look back. In all honesty two weeks was long enough for us but it didn't make leaving any easier.
Handing the car back to Avis was super smooth. This was the whole procedure easily found drop off point, drove in; Are there any problems, sir? No. Ok, thank you. That was it!
We waited forever and a day for the BA check in desk to open. It was well over an hour, maybe even an hour and a half. Virgin were next door and even though they flew later, they opened half an hour before BA. The BA staff all looked as if it was the morning after the night before but they turned out to be very efficient. We were very impressed to be checked in for our London-Gatwick flight as well boarding cards, seat numbers, the lot - wow! And yes, we did ask what would happen with our suitcases! We were assured that they would be automatically forwarded for us. We tried not to think about them after that. Easier said than done.
We wandered round every single shop next. It passed the time. I bought a lemon poppy seed muffin in case I couldnt eat the plane food. And I bought Roland a large chocolate chip cookie just because it was there and so were we.
We waited ages at the gate they didnt start letting people on until 15 mins before the flight time. It was a real rugby scrum (though the Virgin gate was worse that looked like the first day of the sales). Some bright spark had decided to do the whole security bit for every single passenger. Roland did some quick calculations; if they speeded up a bit and got each search down to two minutes per person it would only take about three hours to board. The passengers black looks and building aggression finally communicated itself to the staff and they changed to spot checks. Very sensible idea. Surprisingly, Roland was completely ignored.
Ok, we were a bit late getting on. We didnt care. We appeared to be on the same bucket as last time, in the same seats. I'd hoped for a quiet neighbour this time as I really didn't feel like making small talk, so the sullen teenager I got fitted the bill perfectly. We taxied up to the runway and there we stopped - for half an hour. The captain announced that there was a discrepancy between the number of bags and passengers. Now I'd got my head stuck in my puzzle book so I didn't take much notice but Roland was secretly convinced that it was our luggage that was the problem. Being an intelligent man he didn't tell me this - ignorance was definitely bliss!
The flight back was uneventful if very bumpy. The film was Harry Potter I love the books and was eagerly awaiting it coming out on DVD (got it now brilliant!) so that we could watch it in English. We couldnt bear watching Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith with the wrong voices, even if it did mean losing out on the special effects. But I did keep sneaking glances when I recognised something from the books. (I liked Ron best, with some strong competition from Robbie and Maggie). We had a problem with the lights they kept going out. I spoke to the sullen teenager, which apparently wasnt allowed so I spoke to him some more. He was not happy! I complained to the stewardess (about the lights, not the boy) and she sorted it out so that was ok.
Does anyone elses hair go all funny when flying? I have natural curly/frizzy hair and it invariable turns into a frizzy pancake on planes. Its not nice.
I slept more than Roland did, according to Roland, but still felt VERY tired when we landed. I hadnt been able to eat much of breakfast so I'd eaten half my muffin delicious. Can we go back for another one?
There was a lot of low cloud at Gatwick the landing was the bumpiest I have EVER been through. Not good, oh no, not good at all. I was glad I hadn't eaten much breakfast.
We got through security, etc with no problems. And then had a six-hour wait. We could've booked an earlier connection but as that would have meant less than two hours between the two flights we decided against it. And we were pleased we had. We could've made it but it would have been a huge rush but that wasn't the main reason. We're worriers. With all the (minor) delays we'd had, we'd have been nervous wrecks by then. Much better to take things easy, hakuna matata and all that.
We had breakfast at Garfunkels, scrambled eggs on toast for me, full veggie fry up for Roland. There was a party of students going to Africa (couldnt go quickly enough for us) at the next table. I knew this because they were joking about seeing lions, not tigers. And I remembered where they were in AK!
We wandered round the shops again and bought more stuff at Boots and Smiths, then settled down for the wait. I found that if we didnt move or Roland didnt speak to me for more than 30 seconds, I went to sleep. I just couldn't stop myself. We moved very quickly at one point over to the info desk. The man opposite us got up and left his trolley seemingly never to return; several minutes later we still couldn't see him anywhere so we were out of there! I suppose he thought the `do not leave your baggage unattended´ didn't apply to him. Hmmm.
The in-flight entertainment on the Frankfurt flight was the women next to me - because she shouldnt have been. She should have been in the middle seat across the aisle, next to her husband. When the young woman whose seat it was arrived, the older women turned nasty. Excuse me, the young woman politely smiled, Thats my seat. Husband mildly mentioned that his wife would have to move. Cant YOU sit there? the dragon snarled at the young woman, pointing at the middle seat. No, the young woman said, pointing at the seat next to me, Thats my seat. The older woman was obviously gearing up for a big fight but then a stewardess stepped in just as it was getting really interesting with the offer of another aisle seat further back. The dragon begrudgingly admitted defeat and moved. Never mind, I'd got my magazines.
I couldnt eat the food so I had the rest of my muffin. It was still lovely are you sure we cant go back for another one?
Roland watched the clouds, I fell asleep. We landed in Frankfurt to brilliant sunshine, which was nice, but it wasnt Florida sunshine. Now for the good bit; Roland looked out of the window and saw our suitcases being unloaded!! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
We met up with Rolands parents who were driving us home. We started worrying about the flat then but everything was fine when we got there. I showed moose his new home and the boys seemed to settle in straight away. It took us all days to get used to the time difference again.
After all that wait, all that planning, all those expectations, it was all over. Was it worth the wait? Every minute. Did it live up to the dream? More than I would have believed possibly. Was it worth the cost? Every pfennig/penny/cent. Will we be going back? Well We do have those annual passes it would be a shame not to use them, wouldnt it? So come on Disney, give us some great discounts! Then we can all have `Mickey & Us The Sequel´. Sounds good to us!
Next; The end - controversies and other matters.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Monday, 6 May 2002
Oh well, back to reality I suppose. The last bit of packing done, we watched the animals for the last time (I'm hating typing this nearly as much as I hated living it) and then took everything to the car. We wanted as nice an ending as possible so wed booked a PS for Boma for 10:30. We went half an hour earlier though we needed something to take our minds off it all and foods good for that. They very nicely let us in just a few minutes later and gave us the next table along to last time we felt right at home.
Our waiter had the biggest friendliest smile that and all the fab food did cheer us up a bit. Strangely, we recognised a few things from the dinner menu, the potato wedges for example. The `sliced ham´ made us smile in the UK its often sliced wafer thin but this looked more liked someone had plonked down half a pig!
The food was absolutely heavenly with such a wide variety of choices there had to be something for everyone. I ate more of what Roland called `main course food´ (a legacy from my student days I can eat main meals any time) and Roland ate more of the traditional breakfast foods. Drinks were included in the price. We both had orange juice then Roland had a couple of coffees and I had two glasses of milk; that alone would have been the cost of the buffet in some places.
We both ate enough to keep us full all day we didn't eat again until we were on the plane and it didn't leave till after 5 pm. (We didnt go for Akershus-full though leaving was bad enough without feeling ill as well). Only one thing stopped it being absolute heaven no brownies. But we both agreed - it was the best breakfast buffet either of us had ever had.
Right lets get it over with. Out to the car, drive off, dont look back. In all honesty two weeks was long enough for us but it didn't make leaving any easier.
Handing the car back to Avis was super smooth. This was the whole procedure easily found drop off point, drove in; Are there any problems, sir? No. Ok, thank you. That was it!
We waited forever and a day for the BA check in desk to open. It was well over an hour, maybe even an hour and a half. Virgin were next door and even though they flew later, they opened half an hour before BA. The BA staff all looked as if it was the morning after the night before but they turned out to be very efficient. We were very impressed to be checked in for our London-Gatwick flight as well boarding cards, seat numbers, the lot - wow! And yes, we did ask what would happen with our suitcases! We were assured that they would be automatically forwarded for us. We tried not to think about them after that. Easier said than done.
We wandered round every single shop next. It passed the time. I bought a lemon poppy seed muffin in case I couldnt eat the plane food. And I bought Roland a large chocolate chip cookie just because it was there and so were we.
We waited ages at the gate they didnt start letting people on until 15 mins before the flight time. It was a real rugby scrum (though the Virgin gate was worse that looked like the first day of the sales). Some bright spark had decided to do the whole security bit for every single passenger. Roland did some quick calculations; if they speeded up a bit and got each search down to two minutes per person it would only take about three hours to board. The passengers black looks and building aggression finally communicated itself to the staff and they changed to spot checks. Very sensible idea. Surprisingly, Roland was completely ignored.
Ok, we were a bit late getting on. We didnt care. We appeared to be on the same bucket as last time, in the same seats. I'd hoped for a quiet neighbour this time as I really didn't feel like making small talk, so the sullen teenager I got fitted the bill perfectly. We taxied up to the runway and there we stopped - for half an hour. The captain announced that there was a discrepancy between the number of bags and passengers. Now I'd got my head stuck in my puzzle book so I didn't take much notice but Roland was secretly convinced that it was our luggage that was the problem. Being an intelligent man he didn't tell me this - ignorance was definitely bliss!
The flight back was uneventful if very bumpy. The film was Harry Potter I love the books and was eagerly awaiting it coming out on DVD (got it now brilliant!) so that we could watch it in English. We couldnt bear watching Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith with the wrong voices, even if it did mean losing out on the special effects. But I did keep sneaking glances when I recognised something from the books. (I liked Ron best, with some strong competition from Robbie and Maggie). We had a problem with the lights they kept going out. I spoke to the sullen teenager, which apparently wasnt allowed so I spoke to him some more. He was not happy! I complained to the stewardess (about the lights, not the boy) and she sorted it out so that was ok.
Does anyone elses hair go all funny when flying? I have natural curly/frizzy hair and it invariable turns into a frizzy pancake on planes. Its not nice.
I slept more than Roland did, according to Roland, but still felt VERY tired when we landed. I hadnt been able to eat much of breakfast so I'd eaten half my muffin delicious. Can we go back for another one?
There was a lot of low cloud at Gatwick the landing was the bumpiest I have EVER been through. Not good, oh no, not good at all. I was glad I hadn't eaten much breakfast.
We got through security, etc with no problems. And then had a six-hour wait. We could've booked an earlier connection but as that would have meant less than two hours between the two flights we decided against it. And we were pleased we had. We could've made it but it would have been a huge rush but that wasn't the main reason. We're worriers. With all the (minor) delays we'd had, we'd have been nervous wrecks by then. Much better to take things easy, hakuna matata and all that.
We had breakfast at Garfunkels, scrambled eggs on toast for me, full veggie fry up for Roland. There was a party of students going to Africa (couldnt go quickly enough for us) at the next table. I knew this because they were joking about seeing lions, not tigers. And I remembered where they were in AK!
We wandered round the shops again and bought more stuff at Boots and Smiths, then settled down for the wait. I found that if we didnt move or Roland didnt speak to me for more than 30 seconds, I went to sleep. I just couldn't stop myself. We moved very quickly at one point over to the info desk. The man opposite us got up and left his trolley seemingly never to return; several minutes later we still couldn't see him anywhere so we were out of there! I suppose he thought the `do not leave your baggage unattended´ didn't apply to him. Hmmm.
The in-flight entertainment on the Frankfurt flight was the women next to me - because she shouldnt have been. She should have been in the middle seat across the aisle, next to her husband. When the young woman whose seat it was arrived, the older women turned nasty. Excuse me, the young woman politely smiled, Thats my seat. Husband mildly mentioned that his wife would have to move. Cant YOU sit there? the dragon snarled at the young woman, pointing at the middle seat. No, the young woman said, pointing at the seat next to me, Thats my seat. The older woman was obviously gearing up for a big fight but then a stewardess stepped in just as it was getting really interesting with the offer of another aisle seat further back. The dragon begrudgingly admitted defeat and moved. Never mind, I'd got my magazines.
I couldnt eat the food so I had the rest of my muffin. It was still lovely are you sure we cant go back for another one?
Roland watched the clouds, I fell asleep. We landed in Frankfurt to brilliant sunshine, which was nice, but it wasnt Florida sunshine. Now for the good bit; Roland looked out of the window and saw our suitcases being unloaded!! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
We met up with Rolands parents who were driving us home. We started worrying about the flat then but everything was fine when we got there. I showed moose his new home and the boys seemed to settle in straight away. It took us all days to get used to the time difference again.
After all that wait, all that planning, all those expectations, it was all over. Was it worth the wait? Every minute. Did it live up to the dream? More than I would have believed possibly. Was it worth the cost? Every pfennig/penny/cent. Will we be going back? Well We do have those annual passes it would be a shame not to use them, wouldnt it? So come on Disney, give us some great discounts! Then we can all have `Mickey & Us The Sequel´. Sounds good to us!
Next; The end - controversies and other matters.
Only one more report....what am I going to do then??
