Friday 31st October
Miguel, who was previously an RCI global guide in Kettering, kindly offered to drop us off at the airport for our Orlando trip. Our flight left Indy at 8.30am. Kelly Murphy, the RCI on-site guide at Vistana, collected us at the airport. Having arrived in the lovely sunshine state of Florida, Kelly took us on a quick tour of Sheraton’s Vistana Resort. Afterwards, she took us around Orlando, we ate some food, and did a bit of a tour before checking into Vacation Village at Parkway. We checked into parkway at around 4pm to each of our one-bedroom units. The units were huge and really nicely decorated. We even had a giant 52-inch TV. Unfortunately, as we were stuck for time with just a few days in Orlando, we didn't have much time to enjoy the unit amenities.
Kelly had arranged for us to go to Universal Studios Halloween horror nights, so after a quick shower, it was off to Universal! Diane Olvey, another RCI guide on-site, also accompanied us on our trip to get scared and, believe me, all five of us at one point or another jumped out of our skin! Masked men with chainsaws would jump out in front of us from the incredible special effects on the foggy streets of Universal. All this was on the way to the haunted houses. These were unbelievable. At one point, I thought I was in the middle of a scene from a horror movie -- actors were placed all around and their job was to freak us out, and that they did!
Saturday 1st November
Saturday morning, it was off to Universal Studios, but this time we were not scared – well, that's if you don't count the Incredible Hulk and the Dueling Dragons roller coasters, which were indeed white knuckle rides! Our good friend Michael Flack had some contacts and arranged for us to have a V.I.P. tour, which was fantastic. We got some excellent info on the rides, went behind the scenes of some, and best of all there were no queues whatsoever! Our tour guide Cindy took us to all the major rides, my top four favorites being Spiderman, Shrek 4-D, Back to the Future (which all had amazing special effects), and the Dueling Dragons, which was the world’s first inverted roller coaster, two roller coasters that pass within 15 inches of each other. It was fantastic to be able to jump the sometimes hour-long queues -- we really felt important.
After an exciting, fun filled day at Universal, it was off to the resort again to get changed before we headed back with Kelly to City Walk at Universal. This is the main nightspot with loads of great bars and restaurants. We started off with some food at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville and then it was off to Pat O'Brien's where we spent an hour or two listening to the best pub entertainment I've ever experienced -- 2 guys on 2 pianos. They took requests and played all sorts of tunes. They really got the crowd going -- fantastic musicians. After Pat O'Brien's, it was off to Bob Marley’s for a few drinks while listening to reggae. At the end of the night, we were fairly tired, so we decided to head back to the resort.
Sunday 2nd November
RCI kindly arranged for us to get a 2-day Disney hopper pass. We decided on Sunday to go to Epcot -- a good day had by everyone and everything was great except for the Mission Space ride, where myself and Kelly nearly left our breakfast in the space shuttle!!
Monday 3rd November
Finally we had a sleep in. Kelly collected us at around 11.30am to go on a trip to the RCI resorts. We started off at the Oasis Lakes Resort, which admittedly I wasn't aware of. It's a Gold Crown resort with limited RCI units. The units were fantastic, very spacious, fully equipped with excellent surround sound system, DVD player, and huge music centres. After Oasis Lakes, we did a tour of the Orange Lake Country Club, which was also very nice. It's a perfect location for anyone who loves golf. Following Orange Lake, we went to the HGVC located just across from the entrance to SeaWorld -- these units were also extremely nice.
After all the resort trips, Kelly dropped us back to get changed before our night out. We went to a fondue restaurant called the Melting Pot. Fondue is really big here in the States -- it's where each table has its own pot, the food is brought to the table, and each person cooks their own. It's good fun and their desserts are to die for.
Tuesday 4th November
On Tuesday, Kelly and Diane had to work so myself Narisha and Chris decided to use our second part of the hopper ticket. This time, we decided to go to the Magic Kingdom because we figured you can't come to Disney without meeting Mickey and Minnie. Magic Kingdom took us all back to our childhood years and everyone had a magical day.
At 6pm, it was time to head back to the airport. Five days just isn't enough time for Orlando -- there's just so much to see and do there. Diane drove us back to catch our flight.
Wednesday 5th November
Sandy invited us all to her house for dinner and another good night was had by everyone.
Thursday 6th November
This is my final night in Indianapolis, so all of us have been invited to dinner with Angela Bishop, Richard Ruff and Lea Watts. We're going to the very popular Cheesecake Factory.
Friday 7th November
Tomorrow, I will be heading back home after an unbelievable 6 weeks. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. I'll be going back with fond memories of places that I had never dreamt of visiting while I was here, like Cancun, Orlando, and Chicago.
Everyone here as been amazing: Angela Bishop, Sandy Seward, Kay Sexton, Ebi Hyder, Luis Miguel Delgado and Kelly Murphy, to name but a few. They have been so accommodating, welcoming, and their hospitability has been second to none. I also need to thank Alan Dineen, Elaine Nagle and all in staff travel for organizing this trip.
I have had the privilege of working in a different office environment, which has given me insight into how the headquarters of RCI is set up. I also had the opportunity of visiting several RCI properties which I'm sure will assist me in my work when I return.
All in all, I will be going back home to Ireland with a smile on my face!!
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