DAY 8 - TUESDAY 24TH OCTOBER
I wake at 8.00am and turn on the TV to find out what the weathers going to be like. It is currently 50°F and we have indeed had a record low for Orlando in October. It’s set to be a cool day with highs of 68°F followed by another cold night, but warming up over the next few days.
At 9.15am me, Matt, Deb and Tam are off to the Clubhouse where Matt and I are going to start our round of golf. Deb and Tam only intend to watch a few holes, but in the end they stay out for the whole round. I think it is the comedy factor that does it for them.
Matt has
brought his clubs but I have to hire some. The total cost for the
2 of us is $230. Now this might seem like a lot of money, but you
have to remember that there are two top class golf courses here
and it is very reasonable all things considered.
We go to the driving range first to hit a few balls. It’s at
this point that Matt realises that I have not been telling lies
when I have been telling him how awful I am. There is a row of
golfers smacking the ball miles into the distance. I line up for
my first shot and miss the ball completely. Er… I meant to
do that, I was just practising. The next ball travels about 150
yards. Unfortunately that is in a vertical direction, it manages
15 feet forward. Left, right, topping the ball, looping it up
into the air – I’ve got all the shots in my repertoire.
I dare not look around in case the massed ranks of Reunion
golfers are wetting themselves with laughter. I am beginning to
think this may be a bad mistake.
We have our two golf buggies and we are off to the first tee. The starter welcomes us and shows us to the tee. Please lord let him disappear before I have to hit my first shot. Thankfully he does, but I actually manage to move the ball forward in a straight line even if it doesn’t go that far. I eventually manage to finish the 528 yard par 5 in 9 shots. Woohoo! Tam and Deb are driving the buggies and enjoying the fun and games. I’ll spare you too many of the sordid details.
Er, the ball is supposed to move forward Matt!
What style! What grace! What a plonker!
There are two courses at Reunion (another to be added soon), the Tom Watson and the Arnold Palmer. We get to play the front 9 of both as the back 9 of the Tom Watson course is not in use. This is fine until you realise that there is an awful lot of water on the Arnold Palmer course. On one hole you have to carry about 150 yards over a lake! Not a chance in hell. Me and Matt have several goes and Matt gets close, but in the end we have to fire it over from the ladies tee. Raising your arms in the air in triumph and leaping around like a fool as you succeed in carrying the water is probably not good golf etiquette, but I just can’t help it.
That's a long way across, believe me.
Click above to see a video of our golfing prowess. Much of it was taken at Reunion, but there is also some footage of Disney's Osprey Ridge course. Big Vern makes an appearance in this section.
By the end of
the 18 holes I have taken 141 and Matt has taken 124. I claim
this as a moral victory for crap golfers everywhere as Matt has
kindly (after immense pressure from Gobnu1 in chat on Sunday
evenings) given me two shots per hole, one on par 3’s.
There is also the fact that Matt can hit the ball far enough to
get into trouble with the sand. I used a 7 iron for 90% of my
shots and chipped it forward several yards each time.
Thanks to Matt for being patient with my many wayward shots and giving me a few tips along the way. Oh yes, another reason to enjoy playing golf here, a lady drives around and brings you beer while you play. Now that’s what I call service.
We return to the villa to pick up the girls who have been very patient. Around 3.15pm a late lunch is taken at the Clubhouse, which is very pleasant. After this we drive to the Disney MGM Studios arriving just after 4.30pm. It’s a lovely sunny afternoon, but there is a cool breeze blowing. We wander about and watch the streetmosphere characters for a while before going on the Great Movie Ride. Voyage of the Little Mermaid is next where Georgia and Matt start fighting in the queue area. Deb has to discipline the pair of them. Actually she is going to discipline Matt later, although he doesn’t look too upset at the prospect.
A quick look around the Villains Shop before the Stringers head off to the Hollywood Hills Theatre to see Fantasmic! The Churchills go to a few more shops ( I really must have a word with that boy) before leaving the park.
It’s the
only showing of Fantasmic! tonight so the theatre is pretty full.
The obligatory ‘wave’ goes around, but I’m writing
my trip report so I raise one hand slightly and say
‘woo’ just to get in the spirit. It’s about time
they invented something else to entertain the crowd.
It’s got quite cold now so Tam has taken to drinking hot
chocolate.
I fight off the chilly evening air by partaking of a beer. Hot, cold, wet, dry – it really doesn’t matter, beer will fix all.
I'm telling you, that woman in front was a hardy soul. It was bloomin' chilly!
Fantasmic! Is as good as ever, but I’m sure the section with the dragon is slightly different to the last time we saw it. It seems bigger and clearer. Maybe that’s just the fading memory of an old man.
Back in the car it takes a little while to clear the traffic from the Studios before we drive down the 192 in search of fast food. We plump for Taco Bell, which is a first for us. In all our visits to the States we’ve never tried the delights of this place before. It’s remarkable value for money and the food is actually quite good.
We drive back to Reunion via the Old Lake Wilson Road. We see the main building by the Clubhouse off to our left and there follows much discussion as to whether we should turn left or right at the end of the road. I say right, the other 3 say left. As I have control of the vehicle we turn right. The entrance to Reunion soon appears and I am smugly satisfied at the considerable amount of egg on the faces of the women.
Back at the villa Deb has been at the wine. There are subtle signs that point to this. They include dancing around in her dressing gown and waving the pool queue in a dangerous manner whenever a ball goes anywhere near a pocket.
With all this wine aboard, there's only one way this is going to finish .........
........... and that's it!
Everyone gets
to play pool in various double games before the girls go to bed.
At this point the conversation turns considerably more risqué.
It’s a recipe for rudeness. Take one large games room, add 2
drunken women, sprinkle liberally with Matt and simmer slowly in
a Floridian villa.
I, of course, remain a paragon of virtue in this den of iniquity.
A ray of light shining in a very dark place. And if you believe
that you are more gullible than even I give you credit for.
Susan joins us on Friday. The poor woman really is in for a
shock.
A few more games of pool for the boys and Matt extends his lead slightly. Matt 31, me 28. Bed around 2.00am.