Day 6

One of the highlights of our trip, today we visit Universal Islands Of Adventure and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Carly and I are big fans of the bespectacled wizard. My mum lives two minutes away from Leavesden Studios where the films were made and over the last few years, every time we drove past, we would catch glimpses of the production in progress over the fences...a night bus here, a green screen there. We were very excited to hear that Leavesden is having a large Harry Potter attraction built at which you'll be able to tour the sets and so on. WWHP at Universal, therefore, was something we were very excited about. Maddie not so much, although she gamely got caught up in our excitement.
We breakfasted at POFQ again having settled into a breakfast routine with Cinammon Rolls for the girls and an egg dish of some sort for me, usually a ham and cheese omelette. I was driving for the first time today since our trip and was quite excited, having checked that IoA was set uip in the sat nav. So we loaded in the car and headed off. Followed the circuitous route from Port Orleans back onto the I4 and we were soon cruising East. This time it was nice to feel a bit more relaxed and able to spot some familiar sights on our drive. Lots of signs for International Drive where we had stayed on our previous visit. Also passed the exit for Seaworld, which we would use later in the week. We got off the I4 with no incident and, barring one slight bit of confusion with the directions, the sat nav dropped us right at the car park entrance for Universal. We were parked on level 3 in Jaws which put us in a large multi-storey. As per good advice from the Dibb, I took a picture of the number plate and the row we were parked in for future reference.

We made the looooong walk from the car park, along the moving walkways and finally arrived at the gates. Citywalk was virtually deserted due to the fact that we'd left so early as were unsure how long the drive would take. traded our Travel City vouchers with no problem and were ready to go once the park was open.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

Like everyone else we turned right and made straight for the Wizarding World. Passed through (I think,) Dr Seuss Land and Atlantis before sighting Hogwarts in the distance. The designers of this area knocked this one out of the park. I know this is a false perspective castle sitting on those rocks, but damn it looks big and impressive. This attention to detail carries over into the street representing Hogsmeade as everywhere you look, the place looks spot on.



We headed straight for the castle and the Forbidden Journey ride. Strange system they have for this where you have to put your belongings in a high tech locker before actually queueing for the ride?
Fortunately we were early so the queue moved quickly and we were soon passing through the halls of Hogwarts. Again, details everywhere. Spotted many portraits, all of which interact with one another. Pleasant surprise to see Dawn French recreating her role from the first two movies as the portrait guarding the entrance to Gryffindor's dorm room.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

At about this point, Maddie decided she needed the toilet and as the queue had slowed, I offered to take her out. Carly emerged twenty minutes or so later and urged me to go straight back in. I did so and learned a neat tip. As you enter the queue for the ride, if you identify yourself to the staff member as a single rider, you get ushered up a side stairwell which cuts out 90% of the queue. I won't describe the ride at all except to say I really liked it but it is quite intense and not likely suitable for young kids, as you never know quite where the next surprise is coming from. Excellent, though.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

Carly and I did the ride again once each before exploring the rest of Hogsmeade as we weren't buying fastpasses and suspected the queue would get monstrous later. While waiting for the other, we each took Maddie on Flight Of The Hippogriff which is a much tamer ride, and she like it very much. You also get a good view of Hagrid's house while queuing for this.

More to come later...

Day 5

Well, after a hectic first few days, today we headed to Typhoon Lagoon.
After finding a nice couple of sun loungers by the wave pool, Maddie and I explored a bit while Carly put her feet up for a while. This really is a beautiful and relaxed park. The waves in the main lagoon are quite strong, though, and all of us came away with a graze or two after trying out the main pool.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

We rode some of the raft rides and slides dotted around the park which were a lot of fun but most of the morning was spent drifting round the lazy river.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

After a light lunch we tried out Shark Reef and some of the slides at the other side of the park. For the uninitiated, Shark Reef is a pool containg fish and, yes, some varieties of shark. You snorkel across this pool in small groups, and in our case, go right round and swim over it again. This was the girls' first exposure to snorkeling and after a nervous start, they both loved it. Also useful practice for Discovery Cove.

After a lot more swimming and riding the lazy river, time flew by and we caught the bus back to the hotel as the park closed.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

We then got dressed up and caught a boat from the hotel along the river to Downtown Disney. A happy hour or two was spent walking through an amazing array of shops, including the biggest Disney and Lego stores you're ever likely to see. We ate in Wolfgang Puck's which fortunately accepts the dining plan. The food here was excellent, with Carly going so far as to say it was the best steak she'd ever had. Maddie and I had really tasty pizza and pasta, and Carly and I tried a local beer. Really nice meal and very good service.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

Caught a bus back to the hotel and turned in around 10pm, tired but happy.

Day 4

Sunday. This was one of the big ones. Epcot. We knew this was going to be a long day. We were determined to see the Illuminations show and so were prepared to be at the park all day. And Epcot is one park where you can fill that time easily. We got the reliable rucksack packed and after a nice breakfast, caught the bus. By now were settling into that comfortable Disney routine.

We soon caught sight of that iconic golf ball and had managed to arrive very shortly after rope drop. We decided to head straight for Soarin' in The Land as we'd heard good things about this ride. Due to the early hour, we pretty much walked straight on. I have to say we loved it. I got a kick out of seeing Patrick warburton hosting the pre flight video.
We got such a feeling of exhiliration, we got fastpass tickets straight away.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

We rode the Living With The Land Attraction next which was really interesting and then visited The Seas and enjoyed the Finding Nemo ride before I headed over to Mission Space, which was one of my must do rides, especially as were weren't going to Kennedy Space Centre on this trip. Carly and Maddie went in search of some characters while I chose the Orange, or more intense version, of the ride. I really enjoyed the build up and theming of this attraction, and loved seeing Gary Sinise as flight controller. The ride, if that's the right word, itself is intense and I have to say this one was the only attraction to make me feel slightly queasy but in a good way. The simulation of space flight is amazingly immersive and i'd have to recommend it highly.



We all met up again and rode the revamped Spaceship Earth. Nice job of bringing this attraction up to date and the walk-on, walk-off nature of this means that you never have to wait too long to ride. Stopped in a few shops and the innovention displays while in the area.

Next it was back to Soarin' again to use our fastpass tickets. Loved it even more as we sat in a different spot this time. We decided to have lunch in The Land at The Garden Before heading into World Showcase. The lunch here was basically counter service but pretty good. All we could talk about was how much we liked Soarin'.

Having eaten, we were ready to take on World Showcase, and folks, we'd forgotten what a big area there is to cover.

So we headed clockwise around the lagoon, staring at Mexico first. I admire the theming in this land and the interior of the pyramid is still very cool. We rode the boat trip as the line was pretty short but were keen to move onto Norway.



It's funny but this land had taken on a semi-mythic proportion worthy of the Norse legends themselves over the years. Everyone we'd discussed our first trip with had been regaled with tales of how cool the Maelstrom ride was and how they should try it, even though it doesn't seem that exciting. Well, we rode it, and, truth be told, were a bit underwhelmed. I can only put it down to youth and inexperience talking.
Not to say you shouldn't ride it, but try not to get too excited .
Nice bit of Thor merchandise to be had in the store, though, due to the recently released movie. Carly talked me out of a kid's Mjolnir hammer toy.

We had a quick look at China but moved on as we had dinner reservations at The Nine Dragons restaurant for later in the day so we would come back later.

On to Germany next and waited for a few minutes on the way as Snow White was about to appear. We queued with some other families and waited. Snow White was lovely with the kids, although we were a bit bemused by the Japanese man who monopolised her for a few minutes with no child in sight, and who burned through photos like they were going out of fashion. Maddie was very pleased with this autograph, though.

After Germany, we reached Italy and watched a very entertaining street mime/comedian who kept a large crowd thoroughly entertained.



Carried on through the America and then onto japan. Great shop here with a really nice variety of clothing and ornaments. I was particularly impressed with the Godzilla t-shirts. Carly and Maddie decided to pick an oyster from which to harvest a pearl in the in-store tank. Have to say this was made very entertaining by the cast members who really sold the experience.

Passed through France after having taken some nice photos in Morocco and then arrived in the UK to have Maddie's picture taken with Mary Poppins. Mary was excellent, I have to say, complimenting us on Maddie's manners and enquiring whether she had a nanny. Best meet and greet of the holiday if Maddie's excited recounting of this since our return is anything to go by.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

By now, we had reached late afternoon and we suddenly realised our booking in Nine Dragons was about fifteen minutes away. We walked swiftly round the lagoon, having completed a full circuit, and reached the restaurant with a minute to spare. We were shown to a table very quickly, and swiftly demolished a couple of large soft drinks while waiting for dinner. The food here was actually very good, and nicely filling, and the rest was much appreciated. Another victory for the dining plan experience as we wouldn't have eaten here otherwise.

Following our forced march around the showcase, we took things until Illuminations, finding a nice bench with an hour to spare and watched as the sun went down.

The Illuminations show is frankly spectacular and is a must see if you are visiting Epcot. Although much the same as those twenty two years ago, the show still delivers. Meanwhile Maddie had made friends with a little girl sitting next to us which helped keep her entertained as we made the long walk out of the park and back to our bus.

This was our single longest day, but Epcot still impresses me in different ways. We all collapsed into bed when we returned to the hotel and were again grateful for the hum of the air conditioner.

Day 3

Up early again today but feeling much more rested. A big day for Carly today as we are bound for Animal Kingdom, a new experience for all of us. This is a park we were all excited about but Carly wants to stay in a savannah view room at AK Lodge at some point so was feeling the love today.

I settled on a bagel for breakfast today while the girls were still enjoying the cinammon roll experience. We ate quickly and were soon on a bus heading for the park. We were waiting at the park entrance in time for rope drop, and having studied the park map beforehand, decided to head straight for Expedition Everest. On our way, we couldn't help but admire the theming on the park. Disney have done a cracking job here and there are great views everywhere you look, and all of the shops and restaurants are immaculately done. Lots of nice photo opportunities as well.

We'd initally decided against a photopass in our pre-trip planning but we saw a photographer waiting in view of a nice vista and so decided on the spur of the moment to get a photo and a pass. From that point on, we bagged a photo at every opportunity .



We reached Expedition Everest and there was no queue at this point. We practically walked straight on the ride. Again, no ride spoilers here but whereas Carly and I enjoyed it, Maddie absolutely did not. It's fair to say, in fact, she hated it. Carly and I took it turns to ride it again seperately before the queue built up, and then quickly took Maddie on the nearby Kali River Rapids to take her mind off Everest. That did the trick, a fun ride but we got absolutely soaked. So much so, that we stayed on for a second go around thinking it was better to stay wet than get dry and then ride it again later. We then went straight to buy a large towel from the nearest store .

Next on our list was the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Again, fantastic theming throughout and remarkably close views of some wonderful animals. The gorillas especially were very close to the viewing area. We lingered here a while and took some great photos.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

Carrying on through the park, we took the Wildlife Express to Rafiki's Planet Watch next. An enjoyable trip, this, and interesting to see the behind the scenes animal enclosures. Maddie picked up Pocahantas' autograph at Planet Watch which was an unexpected bonus for her. We then headed back to the main park and thoughts turned to lunch. After studying the map for a bit over an iced lemonade, we settled on Tusker House Restaurant. This was a great choice, as this African themed buffet restaurant was excellent. We had a short wait for a table but were pleased we did. Great food and a nice respite from the 90 - odd degree heat outside.

After eating, we headed for the Kilimajaro Safari. By now, the park had filled up and so we had a wait for this experience, but it was well worth it. A neat premise to the ride is vaguely similar to the Jungle Cruise at MK, but these are no fake animals. Within short succession, we had close up views of hippos, crocodiles, lions elephants and especially the giraffes. This was a fantastic close up view at these animals and was arguably the best wildlife attraction we've ever done. If you visit Animal Kingdom, make sure you don't miss this wonderful ride.



After this brilliant experience, we found ourselves in a great spot for the parade, almost by chance. While waiting, we spoke to a lovely family from New Jersey, and this was our first experience of how interested the Americans were in the royal wedding . The parade itself was very good, with some excellent and unique "floats" for want of a better word. Also lots of very interesting performers made this a nice first parade experience of the trip.



The afternoon was drawing on now so Maddie had decided she wanted to collect some more autographs at Camp Minnie-Mickey. We dutifully queued and collected some signatures and made good use of our new photopass.

Finally we visited Dinoland at the other side of the park. On the way, I stopped in a shop and picked up a great hat which was a godsend for the rest of the holiday as for the next few days at least, the temperature was going in one direction - up! I rode Dinosaur as Maddie was still unsure after Expedition Everest. I thought it was good and surprisingly intense.

By now, it was getting late in the day and we made our way back to the exit. We caught the bus and welcomed our air-conditioned room back at French Quarter. We decided to try out the facilities at PO Riverside and headed over for a dip in their (bigger) pool. Had a beer at poolside and then ate in the Riverside's counter service restaurant which had slightly more choice than our own. basic but tasty and the build your own salad bar was a hit.

We then went back to our room and showered in preparation for our next day destination, Epcot.

Day 2

Despite our late night, we were all awake by 7am. Today we were making for Hollywood Studios. Having hurriedly packed the rucksack with the essentials (camera, autograph book, bottle of water and suncream), we headed down to the Floatworks for our first breakfast. Note to self, don't be trying sweet waffles with bacon again anytime soon . Couldn't get on with this at all, although Carly and Maddie both enjoyed their cinammon rolls. Fed and watered, we made for the bus stop (Stand B at French Quarter) and before long the bus arrived.

Now I haven't mentioned this before but i'm something of a sci-fi and movie obsessive on the quiet and sitting on the bus, I came over very emotional hearing the main theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture playing over the sound system. A combination of my love for that great score and the realisation that we were really heading for Disney, I think. Thank goodness for sunglasses. I love the Disney buses and how they are all part of the experience of the parks. You feel the excitement building as soon as you get on board.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

We entered the park, and Carly, ever organised, had decided we should head for Toy Story Midway Mania. No need to worry about looking at the map as everyone else seemed to have had the same idea. We followed the crowd and were soon in a long line for fastpass. These dutifully collected, we slipped into the Narnia attraction right next door. Ironic that our first attraction was one we hadn't even considered seeing. That said, it was very well done.

We then took in the backstage tour which started with a very amusing segment which involved the filming of an action sequence for an imaginary WW2 movie, and members of the public getting unfeasibly wet. Strange how being in Disney makes you want to shout loudly in reply to the hosts of these attractions. And we did. This was great fun and then we moved onto the bus for the remainder of the tour, including the canyon set piece which is still loud and hot and impressive. Also spotted several prop vehices from Star Wars and other movies which I still have photos of from our last visit in 1989. Bless her, but none of this meant much to Maddie but she took it in nonetheless.

After passing through the prop warehouse and grabbing some photos with some of the displays, we caught Muppetvision 3D. This was a huge ton of fun, and probably the best 3D experience we've had. Loved it, and laughed loads. We then nipped into a store, and Maddie carried out her first pin trade. She was SO excited. The CM was so good about it as well.



We then returned for our Toy Story ride. This ride has a similar concept to the Buzz Lightyear ride at MK but the execution is very different and great fun. As usual, we all competed against each other to see who could get the best score, and I trailed in last behind the girls. I let them win, honest .



We then visited Star Tours. I'd been warned that the ride was closed which was disappointing for me because when i'd been to Florida in 1989, the ride was only being built and all that was present was the AT-AT walker. Even though i'd ridden the attraction in Disneyland Paris, i'd hoped to catch it here. Excitingly, though, I saw Imagineers coming out of the ride with hard hats decorated with the Imperial logo from the movies, Speaking to the CM on duty, they advised me that the ride was due to open on May 20th. The day after we were due to fly home. SIGH.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

We then watched the live Jedi training show, which was made extremely funny by the Jedi Master, whose interaction with the kids was priceless. Unfortunately they don't take 44 year olds .

We'd prebooked lunch in the Sci Fi Drive In restaurant and really enjoyed the experience. Maddie had never seen a milkshake that big before. Nice food and really friendly staff topped this one off for us.



After a bit of a wander, we went to the American Idol Experience. This is a really fun attraction in which auditions are held through the day and several heats result in a daily winner voted for by the audience, whose prize is a guaranteed audition on the next series of American Idol. The singers we saw were all actually very good and we enjoyed the show so much we went back for the finale later in the day. Worth the effort if you have any interest in these shows.

While the girls shopped a bit, I fitted in a ride on Tower Of Terror and the Rock n Roller Coaster. I have to say that I preferred the ToT ride in Paris somewhat although as always the theming is top notch and there's much to love in the details. Rock n Roller Coaster was fast and loud as I remembered it from Paris but still good fun if you like the coasters.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 640x480.

We finished off the day with Phantasmic. We got seated early and dined on large pretzels and popcorn as we waited. The theatre was packed when the show started but I have to say the presentation is something else. I don't want to spoil specifics but it must be seen to be believed and has to be a must-do at Hollywood Studios.

Tired but happy, we caught the bus back to the French Quarter and all turned in early again as our accumulated weariness caught up with us.

Tomorrow we tackle Animal Kingdom.

The Hire Car

We'd decided to book a hire car even though our schedule was pretty full at the Disney parks and we were staying on property, at Port Orleans Riverside. Obviously that meant access to the Disney transportation system. That said, we had also factored in trips to Universal, Seaworld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove. So we decided to take the offered hire car. Although i've been to the States four times, this was going to be my first time driving and I was experiencing a mixture of excitement and trepidation in the run up to the trip.

Here again, the Dibb forums were an amazing resource and a big help to me. I read several threads covering handling driving in the US and these went a long way towards making me feel less worried about the driving.

For anyone driving in the US for the first time, i would recommend this thread in particular.

Some essential advice included in there.

We'd managed to borrow a sat nav with US maps loaded from a friend as I had done some research prior to travel and found out it would have cost me £50 in total to get my own sat nav upgraded. This seemed like a lot of money for a two week trip. That said, the sat nav was very useful and removed the need to follow maps and so on which might have made life a bit more difficult.

When we were speaking with the Dollar rep, I was prepared for the selling of extras having read the Dibb thread beforehand. He was very polite about it and our hire agreement already provided us with full insurance cover. He did push the toll sunpass, which would have cost around $35 dollars for unlimited toll use. We resisted, and as it turned out spent a grand total of $3.50 on tolls, incurred on the way to and from the airport. Obviously, if you're trip is going to involve more driving, this might make more sense but for us it was a non-starter. The one thing I did purchase as an extra was a tank of fuel so we just had to return the car empty. This was $61 which would be charged when the car was returned.

So we had our paperwork, and were directed across to the multi-storey parking lot to collect our vehicle. Things got a bit weird here. We took our bags and headed for the indicated Dollar booth, presented our paperwork and were directed to a row of vehicles. It must have been the long day and the travelling but at this point we were all a bit tetchy and didn't quite understand what was going on. When i've collected hire cars before, i've been given keys to a specific vehicle. Here, we were directed to a row of compacts and essentially were free to pick any car in the row.

This was a bit much for me to take in at this point and I wandered up and down for a minute or two, not quite sure what to do. We settled on one car first but then moved to another after noting several scratches on the back bumper. Finally settling on a white saloon, I asked one of the Dollar staff where the keys were. he patiently pointed out that the keys were sitting on the dash. I managed to get the boot open and we put our bags in (big boot). We all took a minute to destress a bit while I figured out the controls. Tempers were fraying at this point but finally we were ready to move off. I managed to get the car in reverse and backed out of the space and headed for the exit. Big tip here. It really helps if you just put your left foot out of the way. At first, I kept trying to brake with my left foot and this just resulted in me bunny hopping a couple of times. We managed to get to the exit barrier and waited for the attendant to check my id before leaving. Had to scrabble to find my passport, which wasn't helping the stress level but managed to get out of the car park.

We'd put the sat nav on but also had some excellent directions found from a link on these forums which included step by step photos. Carly had these in hand as I tentatively guided the car onto the open road. Once we were actually moving, I relaxed a bit. The roads are noticeably wider almost immediately and there was much less traffic than is usual at an airport in my experience. We followed the directions and were soon approaching the first toll. I managed to remember to keep right for the manned toll booth and even managed to a) not crash into the barrier and b) be pleasant to the booth attendant. Second toll booth was easier to cope with and we had soon joined the I4 heading west. I'd settled into the driving a bit by now, although Carly pointed out I was tending to drift to the right in my lane a bit. I'm sure this is common .

We reached French Quarter without incident although I won't pretend I wasn't relieved to finally pull into a parking space and switch the engine off. Obviously, the stress of this experience was heightened by the long day and long flight, and the newness of things. We probably made the experience of picking up a car more stressful than it needed to be but withou first hand experience to draw on, we managed pretty well and got to where we needed to go.

Once we reached the French Quarter check in, we all relaxed noticeably. The receptionist was so welcoming it was hard not to feel the first twinge of Disney magic creeping in. We got our keys and paperwork, and made our way to building 7 in the complex. Once in our room, we were greeted by the obligatory towels as mouse ears.



Carly stayed in the room to unpack a bit. I took Maddie down to the pool and we had a dip to wake us up a bit. We then met up with Carly and bought our essential refillable mugs from the restaurant, and then we used the first of our dining plan meals, buying a large pepperoni pizza which tasted really good after a long day. While eating, carly and I remembered that we'd had the same meal on our arrival in Florida in 1989. Strange how history repeats itself. Anyway, we were all in bed by 915pm Florida time, which was 215am UK time. Needless to say, sleep came easily that night.

Day 1

Thursday May 5th arrived and as expected, none of us felt like sleeping in . It's hard not to feel a little strange starting such a long-anticipated trip with a leisurely walk to the station and nothing but a backpack to show as luggage. We made the ten minute walk to Three Bridges station around 745am, having made a last call to my mum before we left. Hopped on a train and we were soon at Gatwick.

I worked at the airport for twelve years and the place has never seemed finished, and sure enough more work has been, and is being done at the moment. We made our way past the hoardings on the upper floor to have breakfast at the Giraffe Cafe. Pancakes for Maddie (she didn't like them!), muesli for Carly and a Sunshine Burrito for me, which was yum. Made our way through security on the upper level, which was pretty quiet and were soon in the departure lounge. We made the obligatory trip around the shops and Carly picked up a great sun hat in Accessorize which you'll see in most of the photos. Really suits her and she was very pleased to find it. Picked up a pile of stuff in Smiths for the flight, sweets, magazines and the usual. Our flight flashed up as boarding at gate 23 and we made the looooonnng walk through the terminal. Ironically this was only one or two gates up from the one we left twenty two years earlier.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 800x478.

We boarded pretty much on time and were soon seated. The plane was an Airbus A330 and we were in row 58, in the middle, so pretty far towards the back. This aircraft has brand new entertainment systems fitted with touch screen seat back panels which allow you to choose the movies you want, along with plenty of tv and music to choose from. Also have a pretty good gaming system built in, with a controller which pops out from the seat. This system was exdellent, so good in fact that I didn't touch my ipod during the flight, and more amazingly Maddie left her DS in the bag. For the record, I watched Tron:Legacy (dull), Carly watched The King's Speech (excellent) and Maddie watched Tangled (laughed a lot). So two out of three Disney movies, right?

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 800x478.

The flight passed pretty pleasantly, actually. The food wasn't bad (chicken, beef and vegetable chilli, I think?). We had sandwiches as well later in the flight, although the bread was pretty stale. Still, by this point we were nearing touchdown.

Landed pretty much on time at Orlando. The sun was shining although it was pleasant rather than hot. Local time was around 345pm, I believe. Despite a long queue, we processed through immigration pretty swiftly. Our immigration official wasn't that interested in speaking to us, but despite some confusion with fingerprinting, we were soon standing on US soil for real. First point of thanks to the Dibb at this point. We were expecting the whole two stage baggage thing thanks to reading the forums and so passed through without a hitch. Having reclaimed our bags, we went to the Travel City desk to pick up our hire car from Dollar.

I'll save this experience for another post as this was a big deal for me.

Thanks for reading !