19 Aug 22 – Florida
A few years ago we sold all our internal organs and robbed the local bank to take the family to Florida.
We booked all the sights, Magic Kingdom, Holywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios, and a dozen other places ending in Kingdom and Studios. We packed out every day of our two weeks.
We did this…
And this
And this
Six months later we were having dinner and I just happened to mention the holiday.
Me: ‘What a great time we had, didn’t we?
Me: ‘Okay, what was your favourite bit?’
Without a moment’s hesitation, they both said the same thing.
Me: ‘Chuck E Cheese? No, surely…’
Han: ‘That place was the best. Do you remember when we won all those tickets and got a load of chewie sticks for free…’
Jen: ‘And that machine where you threw the ball and it whizzed round into the hole…’
Me: ‘No, no, I mean overall, for the whole holiday.’
Han: ‘Remember the plastic car with the flowers on its wheels and the radio that wouldn’t work…’
Jen: ‘So cute, and that pointless game where we pressed flashing buttons for no reason…’
Han: ‘Brilliant…’
Me (interrupting): ‘Yes, yes, that was all great, but apart from Chuck E Cheese with its plastic cars and cheapo games, what else?’
Long pause to allow their brains to be racked.
While that’s happening, this is Chuck E Cheese.
That’s Chuck, or Chuck E, the mouse, in the car. We went there several nights after we’d had a meal, because it was close to the hotel and me and Diane had headaches and felt dizzy.
Back to these two.
I turned the heating off in the kitchen because they were starting to glow. Then something stirred deep inside, some primordial memory and I could see it all coming back to them. Here we go, here’s the good stuff…
‘The hotel pool?? That was one of your best… What about the train and the canyon blowing up, or the time we were blasted into space, and the dinosaurs, they were terrifying, chasing the Green Goblin with Spiderman, the shark attack and the tidal wave… and all that amazing food we had…
That was it. Two weeks of wallet-crunching family fun remembered as a pool with a 40-watt bulb and an even more annoying mouse.
Here’s where we’re booking next time.
Have a great weekend.
Take care and all the best,
Ian
(If you want to leave a comment below, that would be great)
I feel your pain, you mean you didn’t take them on Its a Small World Ride that tune and words I can still remember 25 years later! Or take ET home in basket on your bike or go to SeaWorld and have to go back again because you/they didn’t get wet enough the first time??? I could carry on but best not as feeling my age now and don’t want to give anyone ideas to start saving for grandchildren to go!
Haha Debra, sounds like you had fun too 🙂 Thanks for reminding me about the Small World tune, it’s in there now, aaaahhgg
Oh Debra, my friends were on Its a Small World when it broke down and they were stuck in there for ages listening to that awful screechy song on repeat! (Ian, you missed out – start saving to go back!)
Your poor friends. I’ve regrown my internal organs so might be able to go again 🙂
Duplicate of our last holiday with grandchildren. All my grandson wanted to do was swim in the pool and eat Subway meatball marinara. Expensive sandwiches!!’nn
Yes, very expensive sandwiches, but those meatball marinaras are worth it 🙂
Haha bloody kids
🙂
Poor Ian.
We love it over there, to the point that we got married in the Orange County Courthouse in 2009. Went back in 2011 (took the young ‘un this time; well he had just turned 20 and was getting too big for some of the rides!) Returned in 2013 and again in 2015, but then became a teacher and was not going to stand in those queues during August with all of those darn kids. Retired and went back again in May this year – yay!
Keep the writings coming Mr.
Wow Gary, you’re a big fan. Don’t blame you, it was a load of fun. At least I can remember it, even if the kids can’t 🙂
Excellent, it reminds me of someone asking about the highlight of my honeymoon and I said it was a speedboat trip because the owner had a spaniel puppy…..the look on my husbands face told me that this was not the right answer!! That puppy was soooooo cute though 🙂
It’s very difficult for husbands to compete with spaniel puppies, so unfair
Similar – for our 20th wedding anniversary went back to the same place in Jamaica that we got married all those years ago (in a posh, adults-only all-inclusive 5 star resort of a company that has a name which isn’t ‘Shoes’ but is similar summer footwear). In spite of the luxury on-the-beach cabin with jacuzzi outside, a la Carte dinners (one on it’s own offshore island) beach barbecues, exotic cabarets etc etc, when my husband was asked what he like best of our ‘romantic’ anniversary stay he always responds “I was a qualified scuba diver this time when I wasn’t before, which meant I could go scuba diving on their own boats absolutely free of charge, I went out almost every morning”!!!
He did, too!
Haha, sounds like your husband enjoyed himself, Martina 🙂
Yep, I know that feeling. We did 3 weeks starting in Colorado travelled through 6 states, saw Mt Rushmore, Estes Park, wild moose. Ended in Vegas for 4 days. Stayed at the Flamingo right opposite the Bellagio, took the kids to shows, swimming, saw sharks, tigers, fountains & some incredibly drunk people – their overriding memory? “Pancakes at iHop”
Thanks for the Chris Martin shirt. Amazing! Will be wearing Sunday at Wembley. Will get a pic.
Dave
Sounds like a brilliant trip, but not as brilliant as a trip to iHop 🙂 Enjoy the concert on Sunday and thanks for buying the tee. Looking forward to the pic.
It’s all so familiar!!! Like the best part of the school trip is the gift shop, or the best toy at Christmas is the cardboard box it came in! Kids, eh!
When you buy your kids expensive stuff in big boxes and they spend all day playing with the big boxes
Very true 🙂
Many years ago my parents hosted a Spanish student. They took him everywhere, seaside, London, castles, you name it (my brother & I had each left home over the previous 2 years so I think they were trying to fill the emptiness!)
Anyhow, at the end of the first week Dad asked Jorge what his favourite thing had been and without a breath he replied ‘Mcdonalds in Hastings!’
Kids, eh?
Haha Sharon, they tried. McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza, that’s all the day trips you need 🙂
12 years ago we too sold internal organs, Ming vase ( not really), anything of value for our daughter’s wedding in Disney Florida,great time was had by all……return trip planned for next year with 3 grandchildren….??
Sounds like a brill wedding, Jean, hope you went to Chuck E Cheese’s 🙂
My idea of hell being honest. Lol. How many hours of your holiday were spent queuing? I was looking forward to visiting Kiev and Pripyat before Putin stepped in. Beautiful country with amazing people. I’m hoping to still go sometime. My daughter and I are hoping to do a 5 day break in Rome. I can REALLY recommend Barcelona, lots to see and do. Paris is a terrible place, smelly, dirty and way too expensive. Parts of Tunisia are fab. Port el Kantoui highly recommended, avoid Sousse unless you want Blackpool with Arabs. So much to experience there. Go out into the desert to where they filmed Star Wars, Monastir has the fortress featured in Life of Brian. I’d like to visit Florence yet. Always wanted to see Petra in Jordan but health wise now I couldn’t take the walking.
Thanks Glynis, you’ve sorted out my holidays for the next 10 years, sounds like you’ve had some good times 🙂
We went for the first time in 1990, my niece was 6, she loved it that much she’s still going every year, I last took her when she was 24! Now she doesn’t need me to take her.
I think she definitely still needs you to take her 🙂