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By keef & annie, Sep 19 2012 04:02PM Not The Motorhome trip No1 : August 31st - September 6th 2012 A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS->KESWICK,CUMBRIA & About->NOTTS 500 miles Didn’t take the motorhome this time as stayed at wonderful Glenholm cottage on Penrith Road near to Fitz Park on the Greta River. Went with Craig, Leanne & Bill and had the most wonderful weather and time, food and company for the whole week. Visited Bassenthwaite, Thirlmere, Ullswater, Coniston and Tarn Hows as well as had some lovely walks including start of White Horse Bent, Scales, scene of some wonderful memories. Nice pub food in both Horse & Farrier, Threlkeld and White Horse Inn, Scales oh as well as seeing some great Paralympians…. We met up with Mandy and Colin (and Libby) for lunch one day, lovely to see them, finally got to visit them in their house in Oxen Park near Ulverston see Blog 152 on our trip when the van engine gave up. Will definitely bring the campervan back to this area, just so beautiful. There is a great site we spied near Threlkeld. Maybe it was Threlkeld Hall , maybe it wasn't, see Blog 126 Anyone else have any Motorhome / RV experiences in the Lake District they want to share? If you want to see our future family holidays in cottages look for the 2nd in Seaview cottage in Llangrannog CERIDIGION Wales Blog 64 then for the 3rd staying at Hesleyside Hall, BELLINGHAM Northumberland Blog 73 and the 4th one was at Rose Cottage FROSTENDEN Suffolk Blog 89, they are associated. #vanswelove 72 Photos in the SLIDESHOW The INDEX page has TAGs for all Blogs and by year or month, A-Z INDEX alphabetically, or you can use the SEARCH page to look for something or just use the search facilities here on the BLOG or the associated Blogs attached to each Blog, entirely up to you, there is a wealth of ways to find what you want, thanks for looking motorhome-travel blog

By keef & annie, Aug 20 2012 08:35AM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Norfolk, Motorhome trip No5 : August 17th -19th 2012 NOTTS->SWAFFHAM,NORFOLK->NOTTS 200 miles The warmest weekend of the year, so far. Up in the 30’s C. Lovely stuff and a great weekend with our dear pals Pete & Joy. We have a yearly camping jaunt away with them and have done so since both our sets of children were very young, usually somewhere equidistant from each of our homes so often in the Norfolk, Oxford, Cambridge , Suffolk sort of areas. This year if was Swaffham. We have been to Pentney Park just down the road in years past but as it was school summer holidays we opted for Breckland Meadows ADULT only campsite. They are a great idea for (sorry) some peace and quiet or it seems if you have a dog. Not the greatest site we have ever stayed at , as rather small pitches and facilities that may need an upgrade, but perfectly acceptable for a long weekend and cheap with very very friendly staff! We mostly spent a relaxing time at the site as such superb weather chillin’ via eating, drinking ,reading and jawing, great to catch up 😉 but we did take a walk into town along the old railway track which was very shady (about 30 mins) past the Eco Centre with Wind Turbine, 300 steps to the top, but just too hot for that so gave it a miss. The town centre itself is lovely and has 6 pubs and a bandstand and a Saturday market plus the (supposedly) 5th best fish and chip shop in England. Pub-wise we settled on the Kings Arm’s , a lovely old coaching inn , great beers, friendly staff and beer garden. We liked it so much we went back for Sunday lunch! The town sign is also just so English! Take a look, Swaffham is well worth a visit if you have not been there. Already looking forward to next year’s trip. 11 Photos available in the SLIDESHOW #friends #motorhometravelsblog #motorhome #camping

By keef & annie, Jul 18 2012 04:58PM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Lincolnshire, Motorhome trip No4 : July 9th -16th 2012 NOTTS->NORTH SOMERCOTES, LINCOLNSHIRE->NOTTS 360 miles As we were offered 2 free weeks holiday by Don Amott's (apart from paying for electric hook-up and entertainments) when we bought our motorhome from them who are we to refuse? So we decided to take the 1st week at their Lakeside Park Holiday park in North Somercotes. All their parks are in Lincolnshire, not normally a place we would chose to visit for obvious reasons that will become clear later in this blog. Lakeside is the only one of the 5 that caters for tourers, the rest seem to be entirely about static caravans! So we packed up and set off in the usual UK s(b)ummer 2012 of thunder/ lightening and torrential rain which lasted all the way there and beyond. We had 3 super pitches whilst there for a week 77,42 & 47 mostly to accommodate our wishes but to satisfy weekend family camping. It is a very classy site and good for a short holiday with lots to do: golf, footie, tennis, boule, outdoor lawn bowls, sauna, steam room, fishing, exercise equipment plus a restaurant, pub, snooker room/Wi-Fi, shop, launderette, café, nightclub(?) with dance floor and disco. Note the pub sells Tom Wood Lincs real ale but the best I found was Summer Swallow by Batemans , a great pint! For those of my family who remember a bit like Potters for motorhomes! Plus despite the rather bad weather and outlook we got 3.5 days of very hot and bright sunshine in 7 , not bad for a British summer and we both look a little brown and sunburnt, yippee! We did go out and about a few days but here’s the rub… Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Mabelthorpe, Chapel St Leonards, Ingoldsmells & Skeggie are not our cup of tea, but having said that North Somercotes itself is lovely, great walks and Saltfleetby & Theddlethorpe beach and dunes are spectacular and deserted. Louth centre and Afford are also interesting & very old towns. Plus we visited the NT house and gardens at Gunby Hall. Gunby is the site of a medieval town that was killed off by migrant workers bringing in the Black Plague into Lincolnshire in 1300s (I think). The gardens are lovely and the head gardener is a nice man who gave us a wealth of info. Besides gardening for England he is on the ‘talking’ team *smile* So all in all we had a nice week away and look forward to our 2nd free week there later in the year to try out the lovely Indian restaurant in North Somercotes. We did read a lot of books and generally chill whilst here as a lot to do on site if the weather is good! The pool when not! Our second trip was Blog 48 36 Photos available in the SLIDESHOW #icecream #trythewebsite appleby's can be found HERE

By keef & annie, Apr 15 2012 12:16PM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog We have always had the desire to travel the Baltics by Motorhome having seen some of it via a cruise in 2004 and Keef has relatives from Riga, Latvia so imagine our surprise when we were reading our latest Practical Motorhome to come across this article. We are now totally inspired to do it sometime soon. How about you, its not the usual route, have any of our readers out there been to the Baltics by motorhome , if so please share your experiences. Some useful sites are Estonian Tourist Board Latvian Tourist Board Lithuanian Tourist Board The lovely folk who did this trip (adam & sophie) spent almost 450 days travelling thru 30 countries in their motorhome and travelled over 36k miles. We only travelled 47k miles in our year away in the southern hemisphere and thats a much bigger land mass and 12.5k across Canada which is the 2nd largest country on earth, so it shows how far they travelled. Big respect to them. If you would like to learn more about them them please visit their website.

By keef & annie, Mar 13 2012 09:02AM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Came across this by Lonely Planet , Melbourne. See what may be the Top 10 (by 2020 this had vanished BUT there is a new 2021 destinations, maybe try that for ideas?) Some lovely trips for your RV , Motorhome or Campervan. We have done some of them already but would love to do them all, what do you think? Why not share your favourite "route" with us all here, just list it in the comments. In 3 months time I will chose the Top 3 routes as listed by motorhome-travels blog readers. UPDATE Nov 2021 see Below LIKE to join our Facebook community? or have a look at all our great "motorhomes" on our motorhomes-travel blog pin board If you are interested we also have a motorhoming travels quiz see Blog 141, all answers are available here on the site #havefun The INDEX page has TAGs for all Blogs and by year or month, A-Z INDEX alphabetically or just using the LETTERs in the Tag maps, or you can use the SEARCH page to look for something or just use the search facilities here on the BLOG or the associated Blogs attached to each Blog, entirely up to you, there is a wealth of ways to find what you want, thanks for looking motorhome-travel blog The TOP 3 routes worldwide (at least in our humble opinion) The Nullarbor Plain, Ceduna (South Australia) to Norseman (Western Australia) Hint use the major holidays button on this page or see Blog 167 and use the menu The Wild Atlantic Way (Eire) see Blog 129 The Wild Arctic Way (Iceland) see Blog 135

By keef & annie, Feb 25 2012 02:01PM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog There are supposedly two major changes for us Brits travelling in our Motorhomes / RVs to France from this year. It is hard to prove conclusively that they are now law but it would be sensible to know about them. 1. The need to carry a breathalyser kit for each person on your Motorhome with you 2. If you have speed camera detection on your Satnav under POI (points of interest) you will have to disable it. You can order a twin NF pack of personal breathalysers here from Alcosense. Just make sure you get the ones that conform to the supposed new French law. We are not sure what you do if you cannot disable the POI function on your SatNav but from things we have read that under the new french law they can fine you up to Euros$1000 and impound your motorhome. This is in line with them ‘hiding’ speed cameras and ensuring being aware of them is illegal under french law. We will continue to research and update the Blog when we know more definitively. If you know more please let us know in the comments. Thanks UPDATE: 8/3/12 Assuming your Satnav is a TomTom when you plug it into TomTom HOME there is an option to exclude POI for France. May be worth selecting this option! UPDATE: 12/8/13 latest views on breathalysers are that this will no longer be enforced by the French but suggest checking the latest website bulletins before travelling, there are definitely some grounds for confusion but we would hate you to be caught out. The satnav advice is definitely current but TomTom etc. give you the option when you connect your device The INDEX page has TAGs for all Blogs and by year or month, A-Z INDEX alphabetically or just using the LETTERs in the Tag maps, or you can use the SEARCH page to look for something or just use the search facilities here on the BLOG or the associated Blogs attached to each Blog, entirely up to you, there is a wealth of ways to find what you want, thanks for looking motorhome-travel blog, LIKE to join our Facebook community or have a look at all our great "motorhomes" on our pin board, why not, join the conversation “motorhomes R us” 😉 🌠 ✅ 🤔

By keef and annie hellinger, Nov 20 2021 18.11 pm Not The Motorhome trip No16 : February 1990 (a retrospective hence number out of order) A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog This is a retrospective blog to specifically feature one of our early, and I mean really early , family breaks during school half term way back in 1990 to the wonderful Isle of Man We would like to start revisiting some of the earlier islands we have been to as a family but this time in the motorhome, it will need a little research Examples would be Shetlands, Orkneys, Skye , Harris & Lewis as well as the Isle of Man SLIDESHOW

By keef and annie hellinger, Dec 7 2021 6.50 am A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Time to have a drastic rethink on my old HOLIDAY sites, all 4 of them. There is a lot of key history in them all from our lovely long trips post retirement. No way would I wish to lose that history SO.......... UPDATE Feb 2022. I have now done a whole stack of work to rewrite / redesign ALL of my existing migrated sites , which in fairness were very badly migrated by Yell from Moonfruit to WIX i.e missing pages / DNS issues etc etc Their only desire business-wise was to shut down Moonfruit and save themselves money with total disregard for the wishes of their paying customers, indeed with every complaint I make the only solution is to leave Yell (Moonfruit) pay a whole stack of extra dosh and join WIX, as a pensioner not my 1st choice I'm afraid #unhappybunny NOTE our memories are hopefully now safe for eternity #tick Here we go.... see HOME page slideshows, click HERE Blog 162, 163 replicates www.holiday2007-8.co.uk The original is here 2007-8 Blog 164, 165 & 166 replicate www.holiday2010.co.uk The original is here 2010 Blog 167 replicates www.holiday2013.co.uk The original is here 2013 Blog 168 replicates www.holiday2017.co.uk The original is here 2017 Note those Blogs may be in more than one part due to there being a restriction in WIX for the size and length of read of each individual blog. Anyhow enjoy...the menu's at the start of each blog emulate the MENU structure of the original blogs the earliest of which is now over 13 years old. A lot of water under the bridge over the years but our legacy is not lost. As Moonfruit stopped being editable on the 7th December 2021 23.39 pm and as a result of a stay of execution on killing it off until now the 22nd February 2022 (with a bit of hassling from yours truly via Trustpilot for Yell & Moonfruit ) i have taken the decision to recreated each of those sites within the motorhome-travels blog as new blogs with menu's to more or less replicate those 4 sites and ensure that none of the diaries, text and images are lost. In fairness most of the embedded images are already available via associated You Tube slideshows so I will not be using up my data allowance with those #hintsandtips , all this work in the long term is an insurance against Yell increasing site charges quite substantially once a year is up, it will then be easy to remove the migrated sites and indeed on reflection I definitely will, the editing functionality on WIX which is where Yell are migrating ALL Moonfruit sites to before closing that business is so much richer and more powerful and MODERN!!! The original sites now reworked in graphical form , click to go to the site So that's a rap folk! #GIF

By keef and annie hellinger, March 2nd 2022 10.26 a.m. A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Having finally typed up the whole of Annie's hand written diary for our 3 month sojourn in South East Asia and Down Under in 2013 I decided to make all our holiday diaries into Audiobooks, some with shorter chapters than others. They can all be found HERE on the motorhome-travels blog site (follow the Audio Diaries link) or if you would prefer in native Soundcloud HERE, your choice. It is also true to say they are embedded with the individual big trip websites as well HOLIDAY 2007-8 HOLIDAY 2010 HOLIDAY 2013 HOLIDAY 2017 And in a very limited form at the end of this blog , thanks for looking Listen to those via this MENU The GAP YEAR Audiobook Across CANADA in a Motorhome Audiobook Our 3rd Holiday of a lifetime Audiobook The BIG TRIP with pals Audiobook Other BLOG Big Trips Take a look, just click on the logo Some of my sound cloud stats over time Here is an example of some of the Audiobooks via my KeefH Web Designs Sampler playlist on SoundCloud PLAYLISTS GAP YEAR ACROSS CANADA 3RD HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME THE BIG TRIP OTHER MOTORHOME TRAVELs BLOG MAJOR TRIPS

by keef & annie hellinger 19 March 2022, 11.03 a.m. Motorhome trip No 48 : 18th March 2022 A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS->Leicestershire, The Heart of Rural England, and a little bit of Warwickshire ->NOTTS 96 miles MENU Diary Map Slideshows with Audio Audio Diary Google Map Images A lovely sunny day out in the rural heart of England. After the frost has melted away about 11 a.m. we started to untie the strapping on the cover on the van, well rested and SORN’ed over winter. Time for Wendy to come back to life. Got the full cover off and tried the few edges that were a little damp in the sun before packing the cover away in the garage for another season. DIARY Filled the loo flush with water just in case we needed it on the day out, one of the luxuries of taking your own motorhome, ideal for oldies with less than perfect bladders 😉 Dashboard crook lock, wheel lock and steering column to locked forward driver’s chair secured by a solid motorbike chain off #hintsandtips #motorhomes we were ready to rumble. We set off in full sunshine and clear skies around about midday and first drove to Sutton Cheney a lovely Leicestershire village with full spring flower display in bloom. We parked in front of the old red phone box, now like most either used for housing a defibrillator or a book exchange library, what I would call great repurposing in modern parlance. We had a lovely stroll to both ends of the village, the highlights being the arms pub at one end , quite an old but well-maintained establishment, the village flower display, the old coaching inn, now a high class restaurant and winery called Hercules Revived, such a nice yet unusual name, St James Church built in 1100 way before some of the buildings and farm houses that were built before the English Civil War in 1642. This whole area is steeped in history, the visitors entrance for The Battle of Bosworth field heritage and exhibition centre is just down the road , we visited this on 30th July 2015 with Bill, Craig & Leanne, and Lady the dog, it was just down the road from our walk. I have included a couple of pictures from that visit in both the images and slideshows. Basically, we toured around what I can only describe from the map as the Watling Street, old roman road, Austrey, Coalville square, if you look at the map you will see what I mean. Places we had a good look around in particular were Fenny Drayton where George Fox the founders of the Quakers was born, important to Annie as her Grandparents were Quakers and indeed her dad was in early life. It was a very nice village the main street being Old Forge Road, now I wonder if they had a Smithy ha-ha. Sleepy Parva which is where Giovanni’s restaurant is on the water’s edge, note to self-take family there when the weather is better so we can sit outside, looked incredibly classy and Sleepy Magna where we stopped for our picnic lunch inside the van , another great advantage of taking the van out on day trips. #hintsandtips We had Tuna mayo on brown and a peppery slice of Melton Mowbray pork pie, yummy all washed down with summer Fruits squash. We drove to Shenton old railway station where there was a nice walk old into woodlands via the side of the railway line. We didn’t have time this day out but maybe another day. There was a potter there who had his pots out to dry in the sun. From here we visited Ratcliffe Culey, Polesworth strolling briefly into Warwickshire, Atherstone, Nailstone (a lovely place), Austrey, No Man’s Heath, Norton-Juxta-Twycross, Twycross, Wellesborough, the lovely Market Bosworth (which we have been to a few times before), and stopped in Barton on the Beans, my all-time favourite village name , so love it. We then briefly stopped at C&L’s to see them and our lovely grandchildren and have a cup of tea and as they say , a chin wag, before returning home about 6p.m. and putting the Wendy House to bed for the night. She has her yearly engine service on Monday after the engine collapse last year (see unfortunately Blog 152) with the garage who repaired her, I would not use Don Amott’s again after the way the Management treated us saying despite the fact that we paid them £500 a year to look after the engine, knowing about cambelts was our responsibility, we didn’t and as a non-mechanic that is why we trusted them, more fool us! Here’s a quick bit about the English Civil war and George Fox founder of the Quakers, The Society of Friends. We both enjoy a bit of history on our travels. The English Civil War was in 3 parts covering from 1642 to 1651 and was between King Richard 3rd, one of Annie’s rellies and Oliver Cromwell and his New Model Army. To read a full account click HERE thanks George Fox was born in Fenny Drayton Leicestershire, and you can see the pictures of his memorial near the spot he was born up plus a little write up. If you would like to know a lot more please click HERE thanks. Click on the Map to explore the area AUDIO DIARY IMAGES

by keef & annie hellinger 16 May 2022, 6.23 a.m. Motorhome trip No50 : May 13th- 15th 2022 NOTTS->Waterclose Meadows Campsite, Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire ->NOTTS 187 miles A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog MENU Intro Panorama's A Selection of Pictures Full Slideshow Diary Audio Diary End Tags etc Intro This was our third trip to Houghton & Wyton staying at the National Trust's Waterclose Meadows campsite positioned right next to the River Ouse, Cambridgeshire and the still working flour mill aptly named Houghton Mill, indeed on the last day I finally saw it working, which was the first time in the 3 trips we have made there with our wonderful friends Pete & Joy. Rather alarmingly I saw a young lad in his small inflatable canoe being drawn ever closer to the waterwheel by its current with his granddad working hard in his somewhat larger canoe with his oar motioning the kid back from the current, luckily all danger was halted. Bit worrying though especially as the NT posted warnings said no canoeing or paddle boarding whilst the wheel was in motion, for obvious reasons. Just want to bank the drum once again to say this is our 50th trip in our lovely motorhome affectionately known as the "Wendy House", that is quite a landmark and as I said in Blog 180 means in our motorhome we have now effectively travelled to Sydney Australia, back home again and back out to Sydney, that's some use of the van, we will never sell it we love it. Return to Menu Panorama's Return to Menu Top Pix Return to Menu Slideshow Return to Menu Diary What is it they say, more than 270 years camping experience around the table for this group of friends but we are still loving it and especially if you get such good weather as we did, suntan lotion, shorts, beer, wine and good food all cooked outside (well mostly apart from brekkies) what more could friends want? This was our third visit to Houghton Mill with our dear pals Pete and Joy. The previous visits were in 2018 and 2017 (blogs 127 and 119 respectively) so because of the pandemic and various other things it was almost exactly 4 years to the weekend that we were last here, we did manage our usual yearly camping jaunt with Pete and Joy in 2021 however when we returned to the Bulwick site in Northamptonshire (Blog 156 ) Friday 13th May 2022 Pete and Joy arrived before us about 1 pm, we knew we would be late as Keef had to take pals Laurence and Yvonne back to their campsite at Castleton in the peak district first thing in the morning however, we still managed to arrive by just after 3 p.m. having packed final stuff, food etc before travelling. We were on grass pitches 21 & 20. The grass pitches had increased in price from £23 per night to £35 per night which over 4 years is a 57% increase which feels massive, but I believe the site has moved from private hands into being owned and maintained by the National Trust themselves which might explain it, but then again may not, who knows, all campsites since the pandemic and increase in energy costs have had to raise their prices. After arriving and being greeted by the friendly NT staff we drove around to the motorhome service point where we filled up with water and were greeted by Pete who strolled up to meet us, so nice to see them both again. The site was very busy and whilst the one amenities block is good with 4 loos and 3 showers and a dish washing area plus chemical waste disposal (note no privacy wash sinks) is probably not enough for a weekend such as this, indeed on the Saturday when I went into the Gents every amenity was full, but when you are on hols you don’t mind the wait #justsayin #hintsandtips Pete and Joy had been down to town for a drink in the Three Horseshoes, a very nice pub we have sat in the garden in the sunshine before as well as having a nice pub meal inside when the weather was more inclement. Anyhow after we had set up we put out the table and chairs and had a lovely catch up, such fun #chinwag For the evening meal Pete used the BBQ and we had some lovely chicken kebabs Greek style with salad and pita, followed by Greek yoghurt, with pistachios and honey plus if you preferred and I did the traditional cheese and bikkie feast with the lovely Black bomber Joy had managed to get, note to self, look up where I can buy this from Snowdonia cheese locally. All very yummy washed down with some alcoholic beverages obviously, tee-hee Saturday 14th May 2022 We slept well that night, must have been all the fresh air. Didn’t get up until about 9. Pete and Joy were already out in the sun so took our table and chairs around to join them. Had a lovely leisurely breakfast that Joy did of scrambled egg and smoked salmon with toast, marmalade, tea, and coffee, yummy. Then after reading, relaxing etc we set off for a nice leisurely walk to the Axe and Compass in Hemingford Abbots, walking through the Mill itself coming out by the mechanical lock (you don’t see many like this) and then across the beautiful fields that once were used for grazing cows but now had a mass of wild flowers in full bloom, looked just like a Monet painting in the sunshine, buttercups and purple clover. Just magical #blooms We then crossed the bridge over yet another tributary of the Ouse into the posh area of Hemingford Abbots watching a man doing stand-up paddle near the Boathouse dwelling which had its own electrics to hook up a boat, rather like you would a motorhome on a campsite. It was then along meadow lane with some fab huge houses, small cottages with immaculate cottage gardens and the old schoolhouse with its new thatching but sadly scaffolding obscuring its immaculate visage, I remember it from before. Many of the houses are thatched. Then it was turn left past St Margaret’s church with posters supporting Ukraine (too right!) and onto the Axe and Compass pub which we have eaten in before. A lovely place, went out into the beer garden, found some shade for the ladies and had a few bevvies and nice assorted paninis and a lot of chat, #fun #sunshine #sunburn #regulo9 After that we strolled back to the site picking up an ice cream on route. In the evening Keef cooked halloumi burgers on the teppanyaki outside which we had with salad and warmed French stick, followed by salted caramel cheesecake for those that wanted it and the traditional cheese and biscuits and of course a few good bottles of wine, what an evening. As the temperature dipped we retired inside P&J’s Bailey and continued until we could no longer keep our eyes open, Keef had been up at 4.10 am on the Friday and it was all catching up on me. Sunday 15th May 2022 All up a bit earlier today, there had been rain during the night so not quite so nice, Keef did croissants and / or cheese and bikkies for brekkie in our van , a bit of a squeeze with both tables up but eminently doable. After this we all chilled until about 12.15 reading papers, books, kindles, and phones. Joy had kindly paid for an extension for both of us to stay on site until 4 p.m. just s we could park the vans there as nowhere in Houghton nor were we allowed in the NT car park. Keef went for a stroll along the tow path to take some snaps as well. We had both mostly packed up before we walked back into Houghton and the Jolly Butchers pub at the far end of town left from the town square for Sunday lunch, all tables in the garden were taken as the sun had now come out again. There was quite a delay on the meal, but they kindly gave us complimentary breads, oils and olives as a starter to keep us quiet, good stuff , it worked he-he. Huge dinners we couldn’t manage the sticky toffee puds sadly, he-he. After that we strolled back to the site said our goodbyes, K&A did dunny man and rubbish and final pack up and then travelled back home, we got back soon after 4, P&J a little later due to some traffic hold ups on the M11. All in all, a very pleasant weekend. After 3 trips now to Houghton we probably won’t return but it’s a nice place made much more special as we shared it with our old pals. Return to Menu Audio Diary Return to Menu That's All Folks

Created by KeefH Web Designs , August 21st 2022 17.58 PM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Not The Motorhome trip No 18 : July 29th 2022 – August 21st 2022 INTRODUCTION Go straight to MENU if you would prefer A wonderful family holiday for 3 weeks staying at Regal Palms Resort in the Davenport and Bay Lakes area of Florida, just off the Purple heart highway (no 27) and mostly using the 192 Highway (West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, both father and son Irlo Bronson (Sr & Jr) were prominent Floridian Democratic Politicians and the father is best known for selling some of his ranch land to Walt Disney to construct Disney World, there you go a bit of relevant history for you). The 192 got us to Disney (& Universal) theme parks and all the obvious American eateries, some of which are to die for (sadly in some folks cases literally) just loved the all American "big and brash" approach to life for 3 weeks. Not sure I could live there, the gun thing and school shooter issue is very prominent every day in their newscasts (dominated by adverts #smile) plus Florida's republican governor Ron Desantis has views I could never align with , BUT 3 weeks to explore a highly interesting culture that really defines the term "2 nations that speak the same language but are separated by it" was truly a wonderful opportunity spent with my loving and fun, caring extended family, I am a VERY HAPPY MAN #fact Note also entry to Animal Kingdom off the 192 should be via the Sherberth Rd (entry point) where as all the others via the main entry point off the 192 near the Interstate I4 road. We were there for the 25th anniversary celebrations back in 1997, here again for the 50th anniversary and Keef has "joked" back again for the 75th celebrations.... I will be 93... #rockon #MICKEYMOUSEmaybe For a deeper insight and comparison maybe take a look at the NOW & THEN write up. If you would like to see a limited gallery of highlights (42 images) and / or read what they were then feel free to click HERE, thanks. Note all our full holiday images and videos are available via any appropriate section of the MENU . We took some 1,800 images in total between us. Hey after all if it moves snap it, if it doesn't move snap it #hellingerfamilymotto You can also see all the official Disney site guides to help understand where we went and what we did and / or saw. Maybe a look at our summary HIGHLIGHTS will do it for you, wow it was a nice time #fact Big thanks to sis Linda and hubby Ian for the timeshare hire, such a great location with easy access to supermarket, eateries and Disney World. After not being able to locate the place when we were tired on arrival for various reasons (see LOWLIGHTS for details if you are really interested) Keef & Annie travelled via 2 AT&T shops to get a local SIM for Keef & Craig's phones so we could use the Sat Nav facilities and call each other in the parks when we separated for whatever reason, rides / shows / restrooms etc. etc. I would suggest this is an essential requirement #hintsandtips and although not cheap well worth the investment, emergency like car failures, collecting curbside pick up, phoning receptions, take away, medical all may / will be needed and the peace of mind is just fabulous. Having 2 phones with unlimited mobile data meant whoever was driving, Craig & I alternated day by day, could plug into the satnav display in our huge hired Chrysler Voyager, whilst the other could research stuff. According to Google Maps we drove 527 miles in the hire car but who knows if that is right, the one thing I do know is we walked a total of 37.5 miles around the Disney World Resort parks. The area is not called "Lakeland" for nothing, in the middle of Florida there are small lakes everywhere, makes one think when Bronson sold to Walt Disney that he thought he was getting rid of a boggy useless patch of wetlands, how wrong he could be, it, and whatever parcel of that old Bronson ranch Disney Corporation now own is well and truly prime real estate, houses in Florida are the priciest in the States. Overall as pensioners we would probably say that the States was very expensive but that might just be to do with the extremely poor exchange rate at the moment pounds to dollars , when we last went it was £1 = $2, today it was more like parity. Oh well who cares, it was a lovely holiday and you can't put a price on treasured memories #fact Note also whilst using Disney parks there is a $25 daily charge for car parking but it is transferrable across parks on that day should you have that sort of park ticket, we didn't as pre selected which parks on which days #hintsandtips Note you may wish to read this blog as an audiobook, if so click HERE Anyhow do hope this helps others do a bit of research and get a few pointers before going, if you do so choose, I can recommend it enough as a magical holiday for a 3 generation family like ours, Love KeefH Web Designs. MENU Calendar Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Regal Palms & the pool facilities Disney's Magic Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's EPCOT - Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney Springs Universal Studios Fireworks at EPCOT & Magic Kingdom Eateries & Shopping Highlights Highlights Gallery Lowlights Now and Then , Comparing 25th & 50th anniversaries Flights Disney World Resort Entrance Tickets Disney site plans and official maps Typhoon Lagoon Disney Water Park Audiobook Craig's Disneey Werld & Did it! Movie #MakingMemories The End - Tag, Links etc. So love these pictures #smugglypleased CALENDAR 29th July to 21st August 2022 Fun times with the family, use this to see what we did and where we went on our 24 day holiday with Craig, Leanne, Edie and Tate. It of course included that very special day on the 16th for Edie's 6th birthday , it was also the last of our 14 days continuously at the Disney World Parks, a fabulous time of rides, shows, shops, restaurants and meeting celebrity Disney characters, getting there autographs and having cuddles with them and getting our pictures taken with them a true delight for grandchildren #magical Have I said yet , we almost Septuagenarians , walked 37.5 miles around the parks, not bad in that heat and humidity #creamcrackered Note on the 17th we returned to Disney Springs in the eve to watch Disney's version of Cirque du soleil but I sadly left that off the calendar #dumbkopf (see I do know some other languages) #haha I've also used Google Maps time line to capture day by day the holiday, see slideshow attached Return to MENU WEEK 1 - 29th July to 7th August 2022 Summary: There are 660 images in a slideshow lasting 21 minutes followed by a video with speech lasting for 43 minutes. Since we are in movie land the ones with speech we will call "The Talkies" #haha #hollywood The contents of which cover flying from Manchester Airport on the Saturday having stayed in the Premier Inn, quite a posh modern one, and eating at their attached pub, nothing special but good for the Friday eve before flying and it avoided any unforeseen obstacles to getting on the plane, most relaxing. We took quite a few pictures of the take off over England before hitting the cloud and Soarin' through it (this is a reference to the mega ride experience in Epcot which was a 4D hit with one and all in our party, how to fly around the world in less that 80 minutes (well seconds maybe #haha) rather than Mister Verne's days. Our seats were over the right hand wing and engines so a little noisy, Keef took his headphones which were far superior to the free Virgin Atlantic free ones. Watched 3 movies on the way out. The best of which was The House of Gucci (Lady GaGa is excellent) and Kenneth Branagh's Belfast a close second, it certainly passed the time as well as playing with / chatting to grand children over the seat tops, they were all in the row in front of us. Food also not bad and well designed with eco sentiments in mind. I guess if you are burning fuel at a rate of knots as an airline its good to contribute in some small way #COP26 We landed and the least said about the rest of the night probably for the better, if you really wish to indulge them have a read of the LOWLIGHT s, I've warned you it wasn't a great time and boy were we all tired after 22 hours traveling. The kids had a bit of a melt down at the start of driving the new hire car but who can blame them being 5 and 1 a piece. I think the adults were probably close to it as well but we are HELLINGERs and soldiered on. So besides doing some shopping in the very convenient and hugely stocked Publix supermarket a stones throw away up the road in the Berry Town centre area and lots of swimming in the Regal Palms complex with its lazy river, 5ft pool and paddling area Keef, Craig and Leanne tried out the "fast water slide" into the pool. Only Craig was brave enough to lie down whilst descending although I can vouch for it building up speed even if you were sitting on that last bend #fun Loved the Reggae playlist music that adorned the swimming complex, I could almost believe with the sun that I was back in Jamaica. We also went out for breakfast at the i-Hop, a pancake place, and Applebee's , a trad American bar / diner which did fab chicken dishes especially the Lime chicken and meltdown chocoholic puddings with ice cream. Overall I would rate US ice-cream but not eat it in tub loads as sadly many Americans must appear to do whilst watching TV. Don't get me started on the quality of US TV ! Both these establishments were on the Berry town centre site. So what else did we do in that 1st week. Got AT&T Sim cards, unlimited data, for Craig and my phone, Visited all 4 Disney parks for the first time. Ate a buffet lunch out at Ponderosa , a nostalgic visit inspired by Leanne's extended family visit over 20 years ago. I will always remember those brightly coloured sugary drinks and Edie's dark blue and bright red Jelly (or Jello as our Patriots call it) Addendum she didn't eat it after the 1st mouthful #notsurprising Saw and recorded the magnificent 50th anniversary firework shows at both Magic Kingdom and Epcot, both late nights for the grandkids but they were great and loved them. I now know a lot more Disney "toons" than just let it go, Annie & I are determined to watch a few of the Disney's we don't know well, sorry we are old skool ...from Snow White probably only as far as Sleeping Beauty, one of my favourites is Dumbo. Bambi was I think the first movie I saw at the cinema as a kid when Mum took us. We did 1 Magic Kingdom visit, 2 Animal Kingdom visits and 2 Epcot visits in that first week. At Animal Kingdom whilst collecting stickers for Edie's conservation book we visited Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, Harambe Market , where later in the trip we saw the truly wonderful Lion King show in the theater just behind on the river bank. Plus the whole conservation area where animals are housed getting there via the old train. At this centre Granny, Edie & Grandpa joined the art work class and drew Pula (the pig) from the Lion King, great fun. See our artwork BELOW . We saw various animals and fish which the kids loved. On those 2 Animal Kingdom visits visited mostly Oasis , Africa, Rafiki's Planet watch and bits of Discovery Island. To see more details of all 3 of the parks visited in Week 1 look at site guides and maps HERE . Thanks for looking That's it for week 1 Art work of the highest order, the reality is that our 5 year old (almost birthday time to upgrade to 6) grand daughters effort was easily the best #loveher Return to MENU WEEK 2 - 8th to 14th August 2022 There are 738 images in a slideshow lasting 25 minutes followed by a video with speech lasting for 43 minutes. Week 2 kicked off with our first visit to Disney Hollywood Studios, which seems to have been designed on a 1930s film set theme. Very classy, liked it here a lot, the Star Wars theme now they own Lucas has expanded massively from 1997 and their rides are enhanced, Tate was even quizzed by a stormtrooper, he didn't seem interested #haha The Mickey / Minnie / Goofy train ride was very classy and some of the shows were good. Due to thunder and lightening our 1st Indiana Jones show was wiped out, just too dangerous and because of the loud bangs Edie was not interested in a 2nd attempt although Keef & Annie did for old times sake. Lots of hats were tried on in the various shops and Minnie ears for Leanne and Edie. Street parades (nothing like Magic Kingdom) featured the Incredibles and others. We did a few trips to regal palms pool area this week as well as having a few meals out plus a splendid Planet Hollywood bonanza for our first visit there as well as a late night for the fireworks at Magic Kingdom and breakfast at the Rainforest café in Animal Kingdom, what a surprise that was, just amazing, only at Disney, with thunder and lightening inside the café on the half hour with real rain showers over you. #amazing The restaurant also had a whole host of animatronic animals as well as giant fish tanks, the grandkids loved these. We did a 2nd visit to Hollywood studios as well, getting to know our way around by now. Sadly the white knuckle ride themed on Aerosmith the band broke down just as Leanne and I were about to get near the front of the queue , Friday this week was a lazy one, but one we all picked up a bit of sun burn despite factor 50 sun tan lotion at waterpark Typhoon lagoon. Just shows how intense the sun is in Florida, 34-39c often and very humid. We also did our final Epcot visit this week and Edie had to say goodbye to her beloved Soarin' ride , she went on 5 times in total, it is a very clever 4D experience. It was also our final visit to Animal Kingdom, mostly spent in Asia area just across from the stage Dino land we had been in earlier in the week. Edie and I did the triceratops rid twice. Want to see more then look its all here on the blog via picture slideshows etc. To see more details of all 4 of the parks visited in Week 2 look at site guides and maps HERE . Thanks for looking. Note we also visited Typhoon Lagoon , for which we don't have a site guide but it can be found here and Disney Springs which is included in the set of guides. That's it for week 2 Return to MENU WEEK 3 - 15th to 21st August 2022 There are 461 images in a slideshow lasting 12 minutes followed by a video with speech lasting for 44 minutes. Week 3 started with the last trio to Disney Hollywood Studios and the kids both dancing and singing along to the Frozen show, the male compare was great at ad lib, and very funny. Tuesday saw us finish our very enjoyable 14 days at the Disney parks with what was probably both our longest and most fulfilling day , it was Edie's 6th birthday, we started with a bit of present opening at 257 Bergamo followed by a very posh breakfast in the Royal Table restaurant within Magic Kingdom's Castle, Grandpa discussed Grits with the the suitably medieval attired waiter, he liked them with sugar, YUK! but why does that not surprise me, the gouda ones I had were superb. We then went to more shows and on more rides than we ever have and the wonderful "It's a small world" was included. Wednesday we did a bit of shopping and all ate out at the Australian themed Outback restaurant, great grub cobber. Edie even went to the Sheila's. We had a family swim in the eve before tea. Thursday C&L & Co went to Universal studios and K & A had a chill day mostly eating, drinking and watching awful movies however the Meg Ryan / Hugh Jackman time travel romance from 2001 called Kate and Leopold wasn't bad. Friday was a relaxed day with an early morning swim, our last, then packing and getting ready for the big trip home, you don't wanna know about the car dying on us as we left for the airport, but if you do read the LOWLIGHTS , Grr. We finally managed the full Indiana Jones show, hooray. Used both ferry and monorail at Magic Kingdom. Edie could have had a go on the cable car at Hollywood studios , there and back but we just didn't find the time, sadly. The pilot of the river boat cruise was a hoot. Belle was so nice and Cirque Du Soleil back at Disney Springs on Thursday eve was possibly , no definitely, the best circus show G&G had ever seen. Giant donuts and weird picture templates spring to mind, thats it folks, take a look in more detail through the rest of the menu, I hope there is something to delight each and every one of you. Best KeefH Web Designs. x To see more details of both Magic Kingdom (for Edie's spectacular 6th birthday) and Disney Springs for Cirque Du Soleil which we visited in Week 3 look at site guides and maps HERE . Thanks for looking That's it for week 3 Return to MENU REGAL PALMS RESORT We stayed at 257 Bergamo drive for 3 weeks and used most of the available facilities bar the Spa and eating at the Grill bar, towel hire for the pool was $10 deposit returned when you gave them back and for that deposit you could return them as often as you like, soaking wet during a days swimming if you wanted to. Granny & Grandpa got Edie and Tate a lilo and rubber ring which made journeys around the lazy river a little more fun. On the last day I had to walk from Bergamo back to the office to check out because of our broken hire car but in general one drove everywhere, after all this is America #teehee The pool stuff in fairness was a little too far from where we were. There were minor issue with our stay in the Bergamo villa but nothing particularly serious, more niggles. If you want to read about those click HERE Overall we thought the accommodation and location were great. Above are copies of the guides we were given, the housekeeping phone number was very useful, they got to know me after 3 weeks, indeed their manager did see my point of view when suggested they couldn't come until Tuesday in the last week #assertive Here is a slideshow of Regal Palms resort and the wonderfully relaxing pool time we spent, enjoy Also as Meatloaf (rest his soul) once said Tate loved the Regal Palms pool, especially the shallower baby pool bit where he could play, he has no fear of water and loved going around the lazy river on the Lilo but mostly in Mummy or Daddy's arms Return to MENU MAGIC KINGDOM We visited this park 3 times and saw the parade twice, well at least Edie and I did the second time, Tinkerbell and Chip & Dale were her favourites along with all the Princesses. We celebrated her 6th birthday there on our 3rd and final visit, starting with a fab breakfast in the Royal Table restaurant in the castle. Craig & Leanne had steak, I had old Gouda Grits, you gotta taste local food, so much better than the only time I've had Grits before. Edie's birthday cake was a chocolate mickey head and eats, yummy Clearly stuff is included in the weeks 1-3 You Tube videos but I have combined at least the images here. There are 278 images lasting 7 minutes. The talkies are included elsewhere under weeks 1 thru 3. Thanks for looking, best KeefH Web Designs x I spotted this near the creek in the car park at Magic Kingdom on our first visit, I didn't say anything as both Annie & Edie would have freaked, and we didn't need that #smile #careful Want to see the site guide and map for Magic Kingdom, click HERE Return to MENU ANIMAL KINGDOM We visited this park 4 times and saw the Lion King Show in the Theatre in Africa. Here are some official photographer pix of us all There are 307 images lasting 15 minutes. The talkies are included elsewhere under weeks 1 thru 3. Thanks for looking, best KeefH Web Designs x Want to see the site guide and map for Animal Kingdom , click HERE Return to MENU EPCOT We visited this park 3 times and saw the spectacular Sonne et Lumiere fireworks show around the Lake, plus travelled on the wonderful rides Soarin' and Galaxy. There are 330 images lasting 9 minutes. The talkies are included elsewhere under weeks 1 thru 3. Thanks for looking, best KeefH Web Designs x Want to see the site guide and map for EPCOT, click HERE Return to MENU DISNEY HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS We visited this park 3 times and went on the fab Mickey and Minnie train ride in Main Street. We also due to thunderstorms had to have 2 attempts to see the whole of the Indiana Jones re-enactment of stunts. Its wonderful and not much changed from 1997 only that those stunt men and women have now retired #tooold There are 162 images lasting 6 minutes. The talkies are included elsewhere under weeks 1 thru 3. Thanks for looking, best KeefH Web Designs x Want to see the site guide and map for Hollywood Studios, click HERE We missed out on this one having used a Lightening Lane and queued a bit when it broke down (again apparently last time was for 14 days!!!) they refunded our pass, but it didn't restart during the time we were there that day, good job that in the "white knuckle" ride stakes we did eventually get on Guardians of the Galaxy ride at EPCOT Return to MENU DISNEY SPRINGS We went twice to Disney springs, I guess it is the mega replacement for what Paradise Island was back in the day as the entertainment element of Disney World Resorts offering. Disney springs is huge with many car parks, named after fruits, i.e., Lime, Watermelon, Orange etc. etc. All car parking is free. The first time we went we had a good look around, security is good on entry, all the typical posh shops and of course Disney & Co. which we did spend quite a bit of time in. Keef looked at buying Levi's, traditionally a cheap purchase in the States, but even with the 30% discount they were still way more expensive than the UK, must be the exchange rate or prices in the US have gone ballistic. The Lego shop was fun, Edie played with the available bricks to entertain the kids, Grandpa made a car #teehee We then avoided a mega downpour and eventually legged it over to Planet Hollywood for our pre booked table getting a little wet on route. What a fascinating restaurant. Reminded me of my fave Hard Rock café but with film memorabilia and some fab sing-a-longs. #magic Our second return was to watch Cirque Du Soleil, which was wonderful. You can park in the surface car park for free just in front of the purpose build big top. Disney don't do things by halves #haha Want to see the site guide and map for Disney springs, click HERE Return to MENU UNIVERSAL STUDIOS We had a day off when C&L and family visited Universal, it is located about an hour away from Davenport in what is basically south Orlando. They had a lovely day mostly in the Harry Potter area with Edie using her Hermione wand to make stuff "move", i'll try and find some images, they stopped for donuts on the way back, but as the kids were flagging didn't make it through to 9 pm for the fireworks which was an original intention. It as fun place, much changed I'm sure from our 1997 visit but ET is still there although massively updated. Edie had great fun with her wand , now what exactly does "Expelliarmus" mean, well I'm so glad you asked Harry fans, here you go..... Expelliarmus is a disarming spell , and is used to knock the opponent's wand from their hand. It is commonly used in the dueling club of Hogwarts and in many of the Harry Potter movies. Although called the 'Disarming Charm', it is only used to take wands from your opponent, whereas other spells can be used for summoning or pushing away an object. Here is a very brief you tube video of Craig & Leanne's day out Return to MENU FIREWORKS We were lucky enough to be at Disney's world resort to celebrate their 50th anniversary which meant spectacular fireworks every evening at both Magic Kingdom and Epcot, on reflection we all agreed it was the Magic Kingdom ones that were the best which is to take nothing way from Epcot who used huge screens to coordinate Disney classic songs and screen time with the fireworks over the world lake. By fireworks down main street in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom just edged it for us it was , sorry to repeat the word, just MAGICAL! Do hope these videos do it justice. It should be noted that each "performance" at both parks lasted about 20 minutes with a crescendo finale, our video has captured about 20 minutes combines across the 2, you will easily see which park is which, over the lake at Epcot and in front of the Castle at Magic Kingdom. Return to MENU EATERIES AND SHOPPING We went to very few shops apart from those inside Disney Parks for various souvenirs and gifts, Keef bought himself a NASA T-shirt inside EPCOT but for those outside we got SIM cards from AT&T, Food shopping from Publix, and we visited the old style US store Cracker Barrel and the Magicians Gift Store on the 192. Restaurants we eat at or got take aways were in no particular order, i-Hop and Applebee's at Berry Town Centre , Ponderosa on the 192, McDonald's on the Disney World Resort Estate, Mexico and China in EPCOT, Planet Hollywood at Disney Springs, take away fish and chips from the English bar in Berry town centre, where I had a draft pint of old speckled hen whilst waiting, a great place run by a nice English guy from London who had been there for 14 years. Plus for breakfasts Rainforest café in Animal Kingdom and the Royal Table in the castle at Magic Kingdom, all very magical. I think thats it... oh C&L ate at a Donut place on the way back from Universal on the last Thursday. We also did up sandwiches etc. which we ate in the parks to save a bit of money but mostly in that heat and humidity it was drinks we needed, lots of iced water and Sprite , which worryingly cost about £4 for a small bottle. Here is a short slideshow to capture those events Chinese lunch at the Nine Dragons, China, Epcot, absolutely scummy Final Applebee's meal. What a nice place and great food all just up the road at Berry Town Centre #ace Return to MENU HIGHLIGHTS Being able to spent so much time with family and sharing and building memories, especially nice to see our grand children Edie and Tate, little Tate is learning so fast, his speech and height have come on in leaps and bounds, "did it", "no way", "duddle". Seeing Manatees, such lovely creatures. Edie's 6th birthday, Cinderella brekkie in the Magic Kingdom Castles Royal Table. Breakfast at the Rainforest Café Animal Kingdom, steak to die for at Outback, plus that weird Onion ring. Old store magic, rocking chairs and legging it after Tate's faux pas at Cracker Barrel. The Magicians head and all those totally over the top shop front / displays along the 192. Cheap fuel, not cheap in the US's eyes but certainly cheap for us. Edie dressing up as Snow white. Soarin' at Epcot, Edie 5 Grandpa 4. Guardians of the Galaxy white knuckle ride with Leanne at EPCOT, the best ride I have ever experienced. Lightening lanes (thanks Craig!) Nostalgia for G&G, especially the Indiana Jones show at Hollywood Studios and the massively updated Its a small world at Magic Kingdom , Lazy river at both Typhoon Lagoon and Regal Palms. The Toyland shoot 'em up ride at Hollywood Studios, with Leanne trumping the score line even with Tate on her lap. The Mickey and Minnie Goofy train ride at Hollywood Studios. Chinese lunch at EPCOT. Ice cold water and crusher in 257 Bergamo, Regal Palms resort. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Crush Dudes, Animated drawing instruction by a Disney animator at Animal Kingdom with Edie, Pula from the Lion King. All those Princess characters and others and the delight on Edie's face when she got their signature and a "duddle" from them, plus Granny and Grandpa learning who the hell the were and which Disney movie they were in, lots to watch and catch up on whilst recovering from Jet Lag. The very efficient and easy "meet & greet" at Manchester Airport. Temperatures near the 100 degrees Fahrenheit mark most days, sun bronzing. That fab storm on almost the first night, spectacular! Watching and listening to our team in the Premiership the wonderful Reds, Nottingham forest and its a small world coincidences meeting the guy from Sawley Marina at Animal Kingdom car park #COYRs Some of the fab shows like Beaty and the Beast and the absolutely amazing Frozen show, Tate and Edie dancing along, us all singing Let it go and other "classics" #livetheatre but the top theatre show for A&I (probably the best we have ever seen) was Disney's Cirque Du Soleil "Drawn to Life" , how on earth those uni cycling girls and the Jungle book characters managed the jumping n foot up with no harness I will never know. #spectacular We also loved the Simba theatre show at Animal Kingdom. Magic Kingdom 3pm parade twice especially tinker bell , the fire breathing dragon , Tate waving at Mick Mick and wanting to Duddle Minnie, Craig's love of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast at the Gaston Tavern in Magic Kingdom. Land rover safari at Animal Kingdom. Planet Hollywood lunch at Disney Springs and sing along on the big screen, reminded Keef of his fave Hard Rock Cafe's. The guy in Epcot who said to me "go birds go" as I was wearing my Eagles shirt Craig had bought me for my 64th birthday. What part of Philly are you from he said, Nottingham in England I said #haha Spectacular thunder and lightening on the first night in Polk County, we filmed it, it is a feature along with high temperatures (34c-39c generally about 4pm each day) in Florida, luckily although we were in Hurricane season we avoided those unlike one of our previous family holidays to Jamaica in 2009 when we encountered Hurricane Ivan. Bad news. We did chat to a young couple from Oklahoma in Dino land at Animal Kingdom who said Tornadoes (they were in the alley) were not as bad as Hurricanes, small comfort eh? #smile Having ice on tap, McDonald's cold (very cold) chocolate milkshakes and their McFlurry, all thirst quenching and heat busting! #survival Return to MENU HIGHLIGHTs GALLERY Return to MENU LOWLIGHTS The first and last days. The first day after arrival in Orlando International airport was a nightmare. Hot and sweaty with tired children (and adults!) we were made to wait and queue "in line" for 3 hours to get through border control at US customs. They only had a couple of booths open, ridiculous with at least 3 UK planes arriving at the same time. Then after that due to taking the unexplained "option" of having our luggage transported by staff across from arrivals terminal to terminal A (something if we knew the full facts we would never do again) #hintsandtips we lost 2 suitcases for at least an hour and a half. We collectively had a huge amount of luggage with 5 suitcases on the way out, 2 trunkies, stroller (UK pushchair ;) ) and numerous item of "carry on" luggage so just 2 much to lug for and already fractious and tired bunch. Eventually got them back (they lost 14 items of luggage in total that night) Keef complained to the manager. You had to use the monorail to get over to Terminal A. After getting that sorted and the hire car we had some Edie histrionics when Craig first used the hire car, just a learning to drive it issue, and Edie as a result of her tiredness, all sorted pretty quickly. BUT and here is the BIG "butt" none of our phones worked ( google maps used our roaming credit up amazingly quickly and cost a fortune, we hardly got out of the Alamo car hire place before it was gone) so navigating to Regal Palms in Davenport was a nightmare, we only had a tourist map Linda had sent for guidance, and we drove around and around trying to find it, no chance, stopped at a 7/11 to try and buy a detailed map, no dice in the USA, all use Google maps, so stuffed, Keef took executive decision at about 11.30 pm US time and got us 2 rooms at the Days Inn on the 192 , hugely overpriced and antiquated but perfect for a exhausted family. Not a day we all wish to remember. Sorted with essential US AT&T SIM cards the next morning when we finally found 2700 Sand Mine Road, Davenport The last day by comparison was no where near as bad but still a bit frustrating as having loaded the Chrysler Voyager, a huge beast, but ideal for all us lot, with the bags (an extra one as well that C&L had purchased in Walmart, Clermont (on the 27) for all the Disney extras, plus Edie's birthday. Anyhow the car wouldn't start, some technical fault on the throttle , luckily hadn't happened during the 3 weeks , but meant a whole lot of hassle we could have done without, also no go for our free ride on the wheel at Icon park on International drive and personally for Keef the chance to briefly re-visit Villas at Somerset off the 192 we had stayed at back in 1997 . All sorted via Alamo hire company who sent a guy out to tow it away and get 2 Ubers to the airport, time there went quite quickly even with the 1 hour delay in flying departure to 8.40 pm. Keef rang Regal Palms reception to get a extension to 12 noon, free of charge. K had to walk up (bit hot) before noon to check out but got to watch Forest in the bar Vs Everton so every cloud has a silver lining #happybunny Plus Aerosmith's white knuckle ride breaking down at Hollywood Studios just as we got near the front of the queue. Oh and Craig scraping his back on Regal Palms water slide whilst using the go pro, #smile oh and humidity, being chucked out of the lazy river as a precaution against thunder and lightening (never happened!). Edie banging her legs and cutting them after the massive waves started at Typhoon Lagoon and Keef treading on Annie's food in the same aftermath. That dripping tap, grr and needing to use the loo plunger #notnice Also the overwhelming use of "just too much" sugar and salt in and on everything. Maybe dieticians in the states need take a closer look, no wonder governments and health schemes are removing the subsidising of diabetes medical care in the States, it does seem to be a huge growing problem #politicalpointover Bergamo villa issues Also having to chase Maintenance /Housekeeping all 3 weeks to get them to change towels and bedding, they mostly did a good job but never washed the floors as witness by how black the undersoles of the kids feet were when they didn't wear socks. The other annoying factor was the previous people who are likely to be fined re the bins. I spoke to the collectors who come each day as it was never emptied. They will ONLY take away if in big black sacks. We bought some and after I forced them to clean our the fly ridden full bin we never had another problem and they took it away everyday #greatfellows Return to MENU NOW AND THEN We visited Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld Florida for both the 25th anniversary celebrations in 1997 and then again for the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2022. Craig was 15 when we first visited and kindly invited us to accompany him with his own family aged 40 (it was for his 40th birthday celebrations) Great fun, I've provided some graphical comparisons so you can see what has changed over the years both from the Disney perspective and from our families perspective. #nostalgia We stayed at 257 Bergamo Drive, 2700 Sand Mine Lane, Davenport in 2022 and Villas of Somerset , Kissimmee in 1997, not far from each other, see this Google maps direction chart Back in the day (1997) we visited both Typhoon lagoon and Blizzard beach (closed for refurbishment 2022) , the place where on Summit Plummet the steepness of the slide meant your budgie smugglers almost cut you in half as they were drawn up inside your nether regions #smile . The Disney world arch at entrance seems the same , Animal Kingdom was not built, many of the "traditional" rides have been updated. technology is now so advanced in comparison, Honey I shrank the Audience (class leading technology back in 1997) is replicated via many "experiences" in 2022 not least the very clever Pixar shorts 3D experience and its a BUGs life show. We went to Paradise Island in 1997, its no longer around but the entertainments and shopping hub is now the massive Disney Springs complex on the Lake Buena Vista site. In 1997 we went to one of the first ever Planet Hollywood restaurants there (owned by Stallone & Willis) we loved the one we went back to in 2022 at Disney Springs. Return to MENU FLIGHTS We flew from Manchester Terminal 2 to Orlando International terminal A (via monorail off landing area) and back again start and end of the holiday, sitting both times in the same seats over the very noisy wing area, headphones up to highest you could barely make out what the film or music was. Food pretty good though. We were flying Virgin Atlantic on what I thing was a 737 but I'm no expert. Here are our return tickets Here is a You tube video of flying to and from Orlando by Virgin Atlantic Plus a few more images Return to MENU DISNEY PARK TICKETS Here are the tickets we used for our 14 day experience, you also had to use them to confirm any Lightening Lane bookings, there was a charge to skip the queue, on only one ride , Galaxy, their latest mega-ride you had to use a new concept which they may well expand in the future to join a virtual queue , booking online from 7 am at home, and then again at 1 pm in the park. Note the virtual queues , for obvious reasons ran out pretty quickly, it was like booking concert tickets online. #innovation The credit card style tickets are known as a Disney Fast Pass Plus Return to MENU SITE PLANS AND MAPS These are copies of the official guides you can pick up at each park and Disney springs, they are available in all languages as I found when I almost claimed a Spanish version before realising my language skills barely exist #luddite Each section features the cover, a full site map, some words about the park and an index of where to find what, I do hope it helps inform #hintsandtips MAGIC KINGDOM ANIMAL KINGDOM EPCOT DISNEY HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS DISNEY SPRINGS If you want more information or maybe to download printable site maps (not sure how current they are?) this site may well help , click HERE otherwise that's all folks Return to MENU TYPHOON LAGOON We went there on the Friday we had a free day, we had booked an afternoon session at EPCOT but as a Virtual queue for Galaxy was 8 pm and then got cancelled we decided not to go and went back to 257 Bergamo to chill. The wave machine was mega and scary Return to MENU AUDIOBOOK CRAIG'S MOVIE Craig very kindly put this movie together in November 2022 and gave us a full screen premier with popcorn (yuk!), Maltesers, cakes, biscuits and lunch at their house, its wonderful, i love the specialist Disney font and the clever way he has used Apple's iMovie app to show 2 videos running in the same frame, so clever. It includes all of our selected images and videos from the fun family time, making memories. Return to MENU THAT's ALL FOLKS Thanks for reading. A lovely fun holiday time where the highlights well and truly outshone the lowlights As a final piece de resistance have a look at what you can do with the Disney Photo Pass app, all in one guide to booking stuff, searching for stuff, setting up lightening lanes, and generally controlling your visit, to make it even smarter Disney have introduced a smart watch, even more money for them #haha #innovation #hintsandtips Return to MENU