Something Old Something New 2013 - Day 0 - The Day Before 26/6/13

[Ariel's Mum]

Hello and welcome to my trip report. We’ve been back home for 6 days now and I’m suffering major withdrawal symptoms…. We had a fantastic holiday – quite simply it’s one of the best we had.

Before I start let me introduce us:

DD Rachel – our lovely daughter is 13. Rachel’s lovely, she good natured and laid back. She’s very thoughtful and considerate. But now having officially become a teenager (as opposed to a wannabe teenager) she’s prone to mood swings. I’m really hoping the mood swings are few and far between when we’re on holiday. Rachel loves Disney almost as much as me and is really looking forward to seeing the characters again. She’s not really into big scary rides so coasters and Tower Of Terror are likely to be out – though we’re hoping we might be able to convince her otherwise.

DS Luke - Luke is 14 and will turn 15 whilst we are on holiday. Luke is your typical teenage boy and bears a strong resemblance to the Harry Enfield character Kevin from “Kevin and Perry”. If you’re too young to remember this look it up on you tube Since turning into a teenager, Luke is very easily “exhausted” and likes to lie in his bed. I think he’ll struggle most with the early starts. Luke loves everything about Florida. He’s a very tactile and sensitive boy and frequently will talk about something reminding him of Florida – particularly smells. He often says “Mum can you smell Florida? – stop, smell”. It’s so nice – it’s at times like that I remember that my son will eventually re-emerge from this temporary teenage body that he’s occupying.

DH Philip - Philip and I have been married for 26 years – I still can’t believe we’ve been together for that long. For the most part we get on really well – we still enjoy a good laugh together and even though we argue we never fall out for long – probably because I can’t stop talking for any length of time. Rachel takes her laid back attitude from Philip. He’s mostly very easy going. He leaves all the planning to me and will happily just turn up when it’s time to leave for the airport. Philip enjoys roller coasters and his favourite parks are Universal and Islands Of Adventure. He’s not particularly a Disney fan but puts up with it for me. His least favourite park is Magic Kingdom.

Me Lynn - chief planner as you have probably guessed. I love my holidays and since the children were young I’ve really enjoyed holidaying with them in Florida. I’m quite bossy and fairly anxious about things and I also like things to go to plan. Oh dear! I was really looking forward to our last holiday in 2011 and particularly the Disney part as it had been a few years since we had last visited Disney. Sadly although we had a fabulous holiday there were several days whilst we were in Orlando that were ruined due to either Luke complaining about feeling ill or me having a stomach bug. So this year I was even more anxious to make sure things went well. I love Disney and my favourite park is Magic Kingdom. I used to love roller coasters and the bigger thrill rides but now I’m quite content holding the bags and soaking up the atmosphere. I might be persuaded to try some of the more adventurous rides again this year but that will depend on our ability to convince Rachel to go on.

If you can bear it my full pre-trip report can be found HERE.

So anyway, sit back relax and let’s get this trippie started…..

It all began on 26 June and we had just 1 day until our flight to Tampa



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Today Philip and I were up at 6.30am…. On-line check in was due to open at 6.45 am and I wanted to be ready and waiting. The previous night we had discussed whether to take exit row seats on the Tampa flight if the bulk head row next to the exit row was still free and had agreed we would. So I was a little anxious as I sat watching the countdown ticking towards the magic hour. I kept thinking the bulkhead seats would disappear which meant we wouldn’t be able to book the exit row seats. We didn’t want the teens sitting too far away from us. I needn’t have worried though, the bulk head row and the emergency exit seats were totally free. I checked Philip and I into seats 26 B and C and the teens into 26 D and E. It cost us £100 for the two emergency exit row seats. Will it be worth the extra? Read tomorrow to find out

Check in completed and I felt really excited – it’s like the Christmas Eve feeling only better. You know what I mean, the anticipation that tomorrow you’re going on holiday. It’s one of the things you work hard for all year long – your precious family holiday. You’re hoping all the planning has been worthwhile and you're looking forward to all the magical memories you’re going to create. It’s an amazing feeling.

Anyway, back to that day, Wednesday 26 June 2013. Luke had decided not to go into school today - traditionally the last day is spent talking to friends and playing on phones. The headteacher clearly turns a blind eye to this indiscretion at the end of term as he’s very strict on use of phones at other times throughout the year. On this basis, we were happy for Luke to take the day off. Rachel however had plans to spend the morning chatting with her friends and playing with her various social networking devices. Being out of the house also meant that she wouldn’t need to help with any last minute bits and pieces.

I dropped her at school and then went into my shop. I’m self-employed so I needed to hand over to my colleague. Thankfully she wasn’t going on holiday until mid-July so she was going to be looking after the business whilst I was away. I wasn’t there for long - just an hour or so but I’d forgotten to take the business bank card with me which meant I’d need to pop back later in the day.

I then went to get my hair done. This wasn’t my best idea. I actually would have been better organizing the appointment for the day before as the hairdresser was running late and I knew I wasn’t going to be finished in time to collect Rachel from school. A quick text to Rachel and all was sorted. She was going to walk to the town centre and I agreed to collect her from there.

After I picked Rachel up we drove home via the shop so I could drop the business bank card into my colleague. I then dropped Rachel off at home, collected Philip and Luke, and the 3 of us were off to say goodbye to my Papa. My Papa’s 97 and still lives on his own. He’s amazing for his age – but recently has become more frail and after a fall earlier in the year, the duration of this holiday was cut from 4 weeks to 22 nights. I was still worried about leaving him alone for so long but he has a good set of carers and his neighbour is fantastic.

Whilst I chatted to my Papa, Philip and Luke did a few last minute bits of grocery shopping for him. We all then said a fairly emotional goodbye. It’s quite difficult leaving him BUT we all were in dire need of this holiday.

Once back home and reunited with Rachel - who had spent time with her friend watching an episode of Pretty Little Liars that just couldn’t be missed – we had an hour to check and double check our hand luggage and make sure we were leaving the house neat and tidy for those unexpected visitors . The time passed quickly and soon our car was driving into the street to pick us up.

Oh my goodness, as I saw it my eyes filled with tears and I had a huge lump in my throat, not at the sight of the car – it was what it meant. This was it – we were on the way to the airport hotel. It was really happening. We were going on holiday. As my chin wobbled, Rachel looked at me and laughed and then took great delight in telling the boys I was blubbing. I really do have a lovely sensitive daughter.

So back to the car, we had booked a 7 seater Chrysler voyager to transport us and our luggage. It was £45 and in my view it was totally worth it. The driver was very friendly, the car was immaculate, very comfortable and incredibly spacious. In all honesty it was one of the best journeys we’ve had to the airport. Such a relaxed way to start.

For the first time we were staying at the Holiday Inn at the airport. We normally stay at the Holiday Inn Express. We had booked two rooms - one with Avios points and one via the Holiday Inn sale. I had called a few weeks in advance of our arrival and asked for the bookings to be linked and had requested interconnecting rooms. When we checked Inn, the receptionist told us that our request had been granted. He also asked if we wanted to book a table in the restaurant for dinner. We said we did and asked to be seated at 7pm as we wanted to be finished dinner and back in the hotel room in time for the Apprentice starting. It’s the little things that please us.

I think our rooms were on the 7th floor – but my notes don’t say. They were ok. Nothing special but ok. We had a view of the terminal building. The interconnecting door was locked, the teens wanted it to stay locked but I decided I wanted it open. I left Philip and the teens checking the rooms whilst I went to reception to ask for an ice bucket (for some champagne we had brought from home) and to have the door opened. I was told a maintenance man would come to the room to open the door and was directed to the bar for an ice bucket.

The bar was very busy and only one person was serving, however she got to me quickly. She gave me two champagne flutes but couldn’t help with an ice bucket so I was directed to the restaurant. I spoke to the host who went to the kitchen to get the bucket and ice. Whilst I was waiting on the host the bar server walked past and checked that I was being helped. Thumbs up - both the bar server and the host at the restaurant were very polite and really helpful.

The maintenance man arrived at the room shortly after I did. He tried all the keys but couldn’t get the door open. He disappeared and returned with a second set of keys. Still no luck. I told him not to worry as the teens were quite happy to have the door locked. Off he went to return a third time. When he came into the room he said “I don’t like to give up. One of these is definitely going to work”. Success the door was opened – much to the teens disgust.

We decided to walk over to the terminal – partly just for a walk – partly so we could have a wee shop in Tesco. We bought waters and some crisps for the room. The teens also visited Starbucks for their mocha frappes.



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Back at the hotel and Philip and I decided to go for a drink. The teens would meet us at 7pm for dinner. As the bar was busy we sat in the lobby area.

There was a Middle Eastern man sitting at the next table to me and was asking the server all sorts of questions about the menu and how the food was cooked. After a few minutes she offered to get the chef for him so the chef could reassure him on cooking methods. The chef was fantastic – so relaxed and happy to answer as many questions as the guy had. Seriously I keep saying this but the staff here were fab.

When I wasn’t eavesdropping on the table next to me Philip and I chatted about our plans for the coming weeks. I should say I chatted, Philip listened. Soon it was time for the teens to join us and we wandered through to the restaurant.

We were all quite pleased with the menu and not having had any lunch we decided to have starters and main courses. Philip choose smoked chicken and black pudding (from the specials menu) followed by chicken kebabs; Luke had onion rings (from the sides list) followed by fish and chips; Rachel ordered from the kids menu – this was to be a feature of the holiday – she chose cheesey garlic bread and chicken tenders (oh how these will feature on an almost daily basis in this trippie!); I had prawn cocktail and sirloin steak. We also ordered pints of coke/diet coke for the kids, a bottle of Rioja for us and a bottle of sparkling mineral water. The restaurant was really busy and there was a slight delay in the server bringing Luke’s onion rings. We had been served with the rest of the starters. The food was perfect. Philip particularly liked his smoked chicken and black pudding. After our plates were cleared we had a few minutes break before the mains arrived. The teens took the opportunity play on their social networking devices.



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At this point I told them iphones were banned during dinner. They actually took it really well – no grumping – no moaning – just gentle teasing of me being bossy. We actually all sat and chatted, laughed a lot and had a really nice meal together. I hoped this would set their mood for the rest of the holidays

Our mains were delicious although my steak was a little pink in the middle. I need my steak to be fully cooked. The server was very attentive. She told us she was new and we commented on how busy the restaurant was and how all the staff seemed to be run off their feet. There was one woman who complained – not sure what the complaint was but she huffed and puffed and had the manager at her table.

Our bill came to £102 and had a gratuity automatically included. We thought it was reasonable for an airport hotel. We gave the server an additional £5 tip and told her we were aware the gratuity was included but we thought she had done a great job especially so given how busy the restaurant was. I also made a point of mentioning to the manager that I thought she had done a really good job. I used to work in HR and I always think it’s nice to complement people on doing their jobs well. The teens of course thought this was me being an embarrassing mum

Once back in the room I checked my phone and discovered we had a message from BA telling us our Tampa flight would be delayed by 2 hours. Not what we wanted to read. We were on the early flight down to Gatwick and would now have a 5 hour wait before our next flight. I tried to call BA but all the numbers I tried were closed. Philip and Luke walked over to the terminal to see if someone there could help but it was a fruitless journey as there was no one there. We decided we would just relax and forget about it till the morning.

Philip and I cracked open the bottle of champagne we had brought from home and watched the Apprentice. The teens meanwhile lounged about next door with their i-phones.




Around 10.30 we all went to bed. It had been a really nice evening and a fab start to our much anticipated holiday.


OUR FAVOURITE SOMETHING NEW TODAY:# Definitely staying at the Holiday Inn. The staff made this a really pleasant overnight stay.

OUR SOMETHING OLD: The fact that we did stay overnight at an airport hotel. It’s something of a tradition for us.

LINK TO TRAVEL DAY

[Groovee]

Fab start. Looking forward to the next 22 days installments x

[Pussycat Doll]

What a lovely day for you, my day before is nothing like as relaxed as that! Looking forward to reading more, I love the colour of your daughters hair! Pussycat

[vitfa]

So looking forward to your trippie - great start - L x

[First Timer 12]

hi

Really looking forward to your trip report

[Firstxmastrip]

Great start!

[summersun]

Great start

[peagusus66]

great start looking forward to more

[chaffey]

Sounds like a very pleasant evening.

Looking forward to reading more

[Guest]

Looks Very Good