A Belated Disneymoon - May 2014

[PenguinPatter]

I've decided it's never too early for a pre trippie..

The cast

Me Katie 25 (26 by holiday argh when did I get so old?!) likes Donald, Minnie, salt popcorn, Radley, Harry Potter, perfume, pink, glitter and Kindling.



DFi David 30 (31 by holiday) likes Eeyore, Tower of Terror, Lost, Chicken Nuggets, Vinylmation, pins and milkshakes.



We also like Rex, Hamm, baked goods, ice cream and pretty much anything disneyish.

Lilo and Stitch 10 months (nearly 2 by holiday) like sleeping, primark bags, sunbathing, climbing the Christmas tree, wires, treats and cuddles.





Unfortunately they are not tall enough to go on any of the rides so we will be leaving them at home (no matter how much they to pack themselves!).



We are getting married Friday 13th September 2013 15:00 (I’m not at all superstitious and people’s reactions amuse me!).
Due to money (buying a new car, house and wedding within 12 months hasn’t left us with a lot) and a love of Orlando in May we have decided to wait for our Honeymoon. Hopefully this will also save me from the post wedding blues knowing that I still have something to look forward to and plan

We booked with Charter Travel this week – their quote was reasonable and although I usually prefer to DIY the low deposit won me over.

Tuesday 6th May 2014 VS15 LGW to MCO
Tuesday 20th May 2014 VS16 MCO to LGW

More details to come later - If I tell you everything now its going to be a very long 366 days..

Excitement levels in our house are high. I baked some mickey shortbread to celebrate and the kittens sat in a box sulking.





Shamefully I have also started shopping. Who knows when my shampoo will next be on offer or when I will again see Disney PJs that I need?!?! Therefore its best to be organised..

Coming soon: The bit where people talk about their past trips AKA a chance to show some photos from the trip reports that I always meant to write but somehow never got round to..

[LaurenYorkshir]

Great start Those mickey shortcakes look yummmmm!

[Pussycat Doll]

Great start, lovely Puss cats! Lovely shortbread too! Pussycat

[PenguinPatter]

Hi both - thanks for your replies. I am proud of my first attempt at Mickey shaped biscuits

[PenguinPatter]

Past Trips

We had both been to Florida once before but went for the first time together in May 2010. We spent 10 nights on International Drive at the Sheraton Four Points and it was fantastic. We visited the four main Disney parks, both Universal parks and Seaworld. The hotel was fine, a great location for all that I Drive has to offer and provided free shuttles to the parks but the last bus from Disney was before Wishes and Fantasmic 



Because I’m the most awesome girlfriend ever, I took David to Paris for his 27th birthday (20th January 2011). We stayed for 3 nights Weds – Sat and it was cold! We had a fantastic time despite the weather and relied on hot chocolate in souvenir mugs. We stayed at Hotel Santa Fe in a Cars themed room and it was perfect for us as we only used the room for sleeping and watching the Disney Channel before sleeping. We loved the fact that the parks were only a 20 minute walk away – we used the bus to get to the hotel when we arrived but didn’t like it as it meant going on real roads and leaving the Disney bubble.





The other brilliant thing about Paris is that I don’t have to let the air out of my balloon before I come home! My Minnie balloon got weird looks on the London Underground and got a bit stuck going through the bag x-ray machine in Lille but it was worth it as she survived for weeks in my living room.



We returned to Florida May 2011 – this time determined to partake in evening activities and be able to do early ADRs. We stayed at Four Points for the first 6 nights and went to Universal, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and then on to Port Orleans French Quarter for the next 6 nights with Disney Dining Plan.





Staying at Disney was great – we could do early morning character breakfasts and stay out till the parks closed plus we got TOWEL ANIMALS!





Due to buying a house last year a trip to Florida was out of the question however we did manage to fit in a trip to Disneyland Paris Monday 7th May – Fri 11th May 2012 staying at Disney’s Newport Bay Club.

We had a great trip and 2 amazing things happened (in no particular order):

1. I met Duffy bear. I have Duffy bear at home – Minnie and Mickey sent him to me Christmas 2012 along with a postcard asking me to take good care of him. Therefore mine is the real one – and he is so lovely I can understand why Disney are selling toy versions of him for other people to take home.



2. After the amazing fireworks show David said he wanted to go to the front and take photos of the castle. I wanted to leave because it was closing time and the staff were gathered around wanting to tidy up and go home. But then he got down on one knee and presented me with this so I will forgive him (photo taken the next day – it was pretty dark at the time!).



We also visited East Anglia’s answer to Disney last year – Great Yarmouth, where I was lucky enough to fulfil my dream of becoming a large hamster (not as easy as those small children make it look).



And now you pretty much know my life story – well done if you’ve made it this far! I blame my ramble on the excitement.

Coming soon: The more relevant stuff - hotels, food, parks, saving, plans, shopping and a year of excitement.

[Guest]

A great start ... your trip will be here before you know it !

[Guest]

what a great start to your pre trippy. Now more kitty pics

[Disneyboo]

Originally Posted by LaurenYorkshir

Great start Those mickey shortcakes look yummmmm!

See more...

We are going next may exactly the same dates as you! Exciting! We booked with charter also but we are flying from manchester.. wishing the year away now! Great start to your pre trippy

[PenguinPatter]

Hope you are all having a lovely bank holiday - I love extra days off work and the sun has even made a surprise appearance ( I was beginning to forget what it looked like).

Flights

We are flying with Virgin Atlantic. To be honest I have only every flown to Orlando with Virgin – better the devil you know and we have never really had any problems except for a couple of short delays each side.

Tuesday 6th May 2014 VS15 LGW to MCO
Tuesday 20th May 2014 VS16 MCO to LGW

Anyone know what sort of plane we will be flying on – or is it too soon to tell? I remember everyone wanting to be on the air bus when we last went (we weren’t) but it looks like the older planes have been refurbished now so is one still better than the other?

In the past I have always booked flights direct with Virgin but we have booked through Charter Travel for this trip – if I ask them for the booking reference are we still allowed to request seats? I am fan of the rows of two because I like to sit next to the window but I don’t like irritating the person on the end every time I want to get up!

Accommodation

For the first week will be staying at Doubletree Resort Seaworld which seems to be a Dibb favourite.

Hopefully this hotel will be a bit nicer than Four Points where we have stayed before and still have the advantages of being near the I trolley and everything international Drive has to offer (mostly food).
I’m also looking forward to being able to walk to Sea World which will give us a lot more freedom than waiting for buses.

I would really like a room with a fridge because we found it really convenient at POFQ on our last trip. I think some people have had success requesting rooms via email before they go – how far in advance should we ask? Presumably it’s a bit soon to do it now but I don’t want to leave it too late so that they have given them all away either!

Do the rooms really look this nice? Not the usual brightly coloured floral bedspreads you get in most Florida rooms!



During our second week we will be staying at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. Like most people we planned to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter again because we loved it but couldn’t justify the extra cost.

However, since booking I have become a bit worried. What if we are so far from the food court that we never get to use our refillable mugs? What if we are the last bus stop and never get a seat on the bus because the whole resort is already on it? I’ve also read conflicting information about whether or not we get a fridge.. I thought all moderate resorts had an in room fridge but it appears not!

Look it’s just massive – ill end up in block 39!



But there you go – there’s some of the colourful bedding I associate with Florida after looking at so many brochure photos.



Someone tell me some good stuff? It’s Disney how bad can it be?!

We got the Quick Service Dining Plan and $200 card included with our booking which I am happy about. The QSDP should work well for us as OH has very limited food tastes – chicken nuggets and hotdogs pretty much sums it up. I prefer more variety so will be scanning menus for places that meet both criteria – or we will order separately. Still plan to do some character breakfasts though and just pay out of pocket. More on the food later..

Still to come: The wedding, food, parks, saving, plans, shopping and things we would like to add on if we get enough money from wedding present contributions!

[Guest]

Great plans! We are going almost the same dates, 16 nights from 8th of May, and I'm getting so impatient to book it all!