The BIG Florida Surprise 2015 - Pre Trip Report

[smithlane]

So here goes!
Hi everyone, I haven't ever done anything like this before so bear with me!
We are off to Florida the last 2 weeks of August but I thought I would do a Pre Trip Report so anyone with any advice will be more than welcomed!
There will be 10 of us in total, me (Alicia) my partner Jim, my two children Hope 12 and Sam 10. We will be joined by Jim's parents Bill and Sylvia, his sister Helen and husband Nick and their two children Sean 18 and Jenny 13.
This will be mine and the kids first time to Florida but Jim and his family have been countless times! Me and the kids have been to DLP twice which we loved but for me this is a dream come true!
What makes this trip even more special is that the kids haven't got a clue we are going! They think we are all going to France for a week, which to be honest would be heaven after 2 manic weeks in Florida! It's been so difficult keeping this a surprise as they aren't little anymore so can only talk when they are in bed! We have slipped up a couple of times but have had to cover up by saying we are hoping to go next year if we can afford it, so far they have bought every word!
I am a self confessed OCD planner in everything that I do so this has been great fun for me apart from the odd stressful moment when it came to booking my ADRs for Disney! Almost sent me over the edge for one particular booking!
Luckily for me Jim is very laid back when it comes to planning and is more of a 'lets get up and see what I fancy doing today' kind of person so has given me full control of the itinerary! Sylvia and Helen have also trusted me with it! 😨
Jim and his dad are huge golfers so I've allowed them 4 rounds over the 2 weeks 😉
Ticket wise we have bought the 14 day Disney ticket, the 1 day both parks Universal ticket with Express Pass, Discovery Cove with SEAWORLD, Busch Gardens and Aquatica.
I'm a huge Disney fan so this part of the holiday I'm most looking forward to but to be honest the whole holiday will be amazing! I'm hoping only one day at Universal will be ok but with Express Pass will hopefully get on all the big rides. I'm not too great at the big rides and neither is Sam bless him but Hope loves them so will be Jim's ride partner!

We are flying with US Airways from Heathrow, unfortunately we couldn't get direct flights (over £1400 each!) so are stopping at Charlotte on the way out and Philadelphia on our way back. Bonus is we are flying from Heathrow which is about 15 minutes from where we live so will get a cab there which will save on parking and night before hotel fees. For the first week we are all staying in a villa together in Formosa Gardens which looks lovely and a great location, then for our 2nd week the four of us are moving to Coronado Springs Resort!
We are planning on telling the children the morning we leave. Helen and co are staying with us the night before as we are closer so will do one big reveal when they wake up! I'm slightly nervous about this but expecting at least one child to cry (probably Sam!) with happiness!

So travel day will be August 15th and we fly at 11am. By the time we arrive in Orlando it will be around 6pm that's if there aren't any delays! Will probably just head for Walmart or similar then onto our home for the next week which is this beauty above!

Day 1. Aquatica today. After the great advice from Dory17 we are now doing Universal later in the week. So because we will probably be shattered will head back to the villa in the afternoon for some rest then out for dinner somewhere in the evening. I quite fancy trying Cracker Barrel and Millers Ale House. Thoughts please!

Day 2. Boys are at golf in the morning so will have some chill and pool time! After lunch it's time for shopping! Aiming to go to Premium Outlets International Drive and then onto Mall at Millenia for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory

Day 3. Busch Gardens. I have also booked us on the Serengeti Safari from FloridaTix. I'm hoping it's as good as the reviews! This cost £80 for the 4 of us. As its a long day will grab a quick something to eat on the way home.

Day 4. SeaWorld today. Again have booked through FloridaTix the Behind the Scenes tour that Sam will love as he's animal crazy! This cost £67 for the 4 of us.

Day 5. Boys at golf again this morning. They are planning on golfing at Celebration so we might meet them after for some lunch as I would love to look around this town. Any tips on where to go would be great!
I am looking to book the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at the Polynesian Resort for the evening. Will get it done in the next few weeks. This isn't cheap but you get dinner and the show for about $49 each and would love to wander around the resort!

Day 6. Universal day. Will get to the park for opening and see how many rides we can get out of the Express Passes. If we have any energy left at the end I would love to try Bubba Gumps on CityWalk but will see. I've got a fab 1 day 2 park touring plan off of another website so I'm hoping it goes to plan! If anyone wants to see it just let me know!

Day 7. Boys at golf in the morning so have a nice lie in and some pool time. Today we move to Coronado Springs Resort but before that I have booked yet another reservation for T-REX in Downtown Disney for 2pm. It was surprisingly easy to get a lunchtime reservation but an absolute nightmare for a dinner one! So will now cancel my 9pm one for the 21st if anyone wants it let me know and I'll cancel it just before you log in!

Day 8. Hollywood Studios. Have booked the Fantasmic lunch package for Mama Melroses at 11.50. Will get there for rope drop so will head straight for ToT and RnR first then use Fast Pass for Toy Story, Lights, Action Stunt Show and either Star Tours or Indiana Jones. Any Disney experts out there any tips would be greatly appreciated! Am hoping to do a couple of drawings at Animation Academy! As we are there from first thing we will probably head back to resort in the afternoon to then go back to Fantasmic in the evening.

Day 9. Magic Kingdom. This is the one that I'm silently screaming in excitement about! I have booked an ADR for Crystal Palace at 8.05 so will get to enter the park before it opens with minimal crowds and hopefully some great photos! After breakfast will hot foot it round to Thunder and Splash Mountain depending on how full we are! Will book Fast Passes for Peter Pans Flight (my favourite!) 7DMT and Space Mountain. Will grab a late lunch from Caseys then hopefully stake out a good spot for the parade. If it's anything like the DLP one then I'll be crying bucket loads! We have got an ADR for 5pm at Whispering Canyon Resort, again have changed plans already! Thought it would be nice to get the resort boat over to the Wilderness Lodge. After dinner will explore the grounds then head back to MK for the nighttime parade and Wishes. If we have missed any rides could possibly do them in the evening. Again any advice on this day welcomed!

Day 10. I have booked an ADR for Beaches and Cream for 11.30am for an early lunch or just ice-cream! The Kitchen Sink has my name written all over it! Will head into Epcot after through the International Gateway and make our way around the World Showcase. I'm hoping the kids will want to do the Agent P's World Showcase Adventure. Then head to Future World where I'll book Fast Passes for Test Track, Soarin and Mission:Space hopefully. We then have an ADR booked for the Rose and Crown pub to watch Illuminations! Praying we get an outdoor table!

Day 11. Boys at golf again so have left this day fairly free. Maybe go back into one of the parks or some last shopping bits! Also have some pool time. In the evening I have an ADR for Raglan Road in Downtown Disney for 7.30pm so will get there a bit earlier to do some shopping. After dinner if the kids fancy it head over to DisneyQuest.

Day 12. Animal Kingdom. Will get there for rope drop and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris first then have an ADR for Tusker House at 10.30 which I'm really looking forward to! Am hoping for Fast Passes for EE, Kali River Rapids and Dinosaur. After a day at the park I have an ADR for Sanaa at AKL. Has some great reviews and the outside tables look straight out onto the Savannah!

Day 13. Discovery Cove. Even when we tell the kids about Florida we are keeping this a surprise until the day! We have booked the dolphin swim as well so I can't wait to see their faces! I did something similar in Mexico years ago and it was such a relaxing day I'm hoping this will be a great way to end the holiday!
Ok change of plan (yet again! ) Thinking about it properly we will have eaten a lot at DC so probably won't get our monies worth at Chef Mickeys so have now booked on a Wishes cruise! Have just read Scottishnellies trip report and it looks so amazing and great value when there are 10 of you! This will depart from the Grand Floridian so if we get there early can have a little look around the resort as its on my bucket list! Will be a lovely way to end the holiday

As you can probably tell I've been reading up on this holiday for weeks and I've got some great tips from this website and a few others! One thing I got from a seasoned Disney veteran is TinkerBell gifts. The idea is you give your children a small gift in the morning in exchange for their good behaviour and any rules you might set in place for the holiday. I know all too well that kids mixed with heat and long days don't go down very well so I'm hoping this will work! I've planned it that the gift they get on the morning will relate to the day that we have planned.
Day 1 Aquatica - new swim stuff
Day 2 for the pool - pool inflatables
Day 3 Busch Gardens - Serengeti Safari tickets
Day 4 SeaWorld - Behind the Scenes tickets
Day 5 Hidden Mickey book to start at the Polynesian
Day 6 Universal - Minion T-shirts (from Primark, great selection!)
Day 7 Pressed coin collector book (my kids collect everything!)
Day 8 Hollywood Studios - Disney T-shirts
Day 9 glow sticks for the nighttime parade and Wishes
Day 10 Epcot- Disney dollars
Day 11 - slightly stuck on what to give them today but maybe some cash to spend at Downtown Disney
Day 12 - something they have seen but didn't buy during the holiday
Day 13 - Discovery Cove - underwater disposable cameras

We have also purchased the Memory Maker which looks great value for money especially with how many of us are going!

A little update! So we are now down to double figures until we go!
I have put together some gift bags to give the kids the morning we leave. Above is Hope's. I got the bags from Poundland I think they're great and just what I was after! I'm putting in the Disney and Universal brochures, socks for the plane, neck rest, sweets for the journey, misting fans, autograph book, luggage tag and I printed off some Disney quizzes to keep them entertained for a while!

This one is Sam's. Completely the same just the boys version! I have also done one each for Sean and Jenny.
I can't wait to give them out once we reveal the surprise!

As you can tell I've done quite a bit of shopping already and famous last words I think I'm done! Have got Hope a Minion T-shirt for our Universal day, a Mickey and Minnie T-shirt for one of the Disney parks and these great PJ's! All from Primark, they have some great bits in stock at the moment.

And again the same for Sam all from Primark!

And I couldn't leave myself out of the equation so got myself 2 t-shirts and some PJ's too! Love them! Oh and some Minnie slipper sock for the plane so my feet don't get cold! These were from Ebay.

Over the last few weeks I've put together a list of must do things to do and buy whilst out there. Have got tonnes of ideas from you lovely lot so the list keeps getting longer! I'm quite realistic in thinking I won't get them all ticked off but I'll give it a really good try! So in no particular order my Florida bucket list is
Have a character meal
Meet Mickey Mouse
Have a Dole Whip
Buy and wear mouse ears
Try a Dippin Dot
See every parade and show
Ride all the headliners
Go to a dinner show
Ride the monorail
Find Hidden Mickeys
Family photo in front of castle with no crowds
Drawing from Animation Academy
Buy as many Disney Christmas decorations that my money will stretch to
Buy New Disney glasses and mugs
Buy the music CDs of parades and shows we see
Get as many pressed pennies we can
Watch an outdoor movie
Visit Harry Potter World
Drink a frozen Butterbeer
Shop in Premium Outlets/Mall at Millenia/Walmart/Target/Dollar Tree
Lard lad donut
Magic cookie bar from Wilderness Lodge
Triple yeti blast & Jungle Juice
Get lots of Photo Pass photos
I'm fairly sure that in the next couple of months it will get even longer!

After reading through hundreds and I mean hundreds of restaurant reviews and menus I've narrowed down our off site dining to, for dinner
Bahama Breeze
Longhorn Steakhouse
Cracker Barrel
The Cheesecake Factory
Millers Ale House
Bubba Gumps
I've got a few in reserve just in case the above don't work out location wise or if they are too busy that particular night!
Then I have for breakfasts
Perkins
IHOP
Denny's
Any other recommendations from anyone would be great!

My to do list is getting shorter thank goodness!
Still left to do
ESTA's, will definitely do them this week!
Get travel insurance
Print off itinerary, to put in kids gift bags
Photocopy all documents and save to Dropbox
Screenshot ADR confirmations
Book Fastpasses, 23rd June 4.45am my alarm is set and waiting!
Find out about the FairFX currency card - looks a great idea but have never had one before, can anyone recommend them?
Buy a camera, portable phone charger, multiple usb charger, rechargeable battery pack, memory card reader and a fold up suitcase for all the shopping! These are all waiting in my Amazon basket!
I'm sure it will get added to some more but that's off the top of my head!

My shopping list is getting bigger by the day partly by my sister who wants me to get her some bits for my niece and nephew too! Here are a few of the things I want to buy whilst out there
Vans and Converse for the kids
Christmas decorations - Disney of course!
Bath bombs from Basin
Hand gels from Bath and Body Works
Underwear from Victoria Secrets - thank you to debidee for the great photos!
A few Yankee Candles (will try to restrict myself!)
Sketchers for the parks, sooo comfortable!
A new bag and purse, I'm absolutely desperate!
I'm fairly sure this won't be the end of the list once I'm out there. Will have a spare 23kg suitcase so hoping we don't go over!
Update!
This website is seriously costing me a small fortune, I keep finding things to add to the list of bits I want to buy 😃
Not that I drink hot drinks but I 'need' the 4 Starbucks Disney parks mugs
Plenty of candy to keep me going once home!
Disney hoody
iPad/iPhone case
Disney pillow and throw for my bed, I don't care what Jim thinks!
Estée Lauder and Chanel foundation (that's if it's cheaper there, I've heard it $ for £)
Oh and I've just found the Pottery Barn website! Why can't they have one of these here? ! Might have to spend a little visit before we go to the Cheesecake Factory!
I'd be lying if I said that this would be all I'll be getting!

So have crossed a few things off my list these last few weeks! This handsome guy above is Boris, our gorgeous golden lab. While we are away he is spending one week in kennels and one week at my parents. They live down in sussex so have booked him into a kennels near to them. Not massively happy about leaving him at the kennels but I'm sure he will have a great time. As a typical Labrador as long as he's being fed and walked he's the happiest dog!
Next thing I've done is our ESTAS! Yay we are allowed into the country!
Not much left to do now although I'm sure I'll find something! Have loved reading everyone's trip reports I've lost count of the amount I've read just hope mine will be just as good!
3 weeks today until we choose our fast passes, a little nervous about this! As long as I get Peter Pans Flight I'll be happy! 😀

So after a LOT of research I bring you my snack list!
Number 1 it has to be the Dole Whip! I hope it lives up to its expectations!

Caramel cookie from Karamell Kuche. To be fair anything from this place I'll gorge on, will probably have to buy a load to eat at a later time!

Whilst we are at Wilderness Lodge I'll be heading straight to Roaring Fork for this bad boy! The Magic Cookie Bar!

After our huge breakfast at Crystal Palace I'm still planning on having a 2nd brekkie with this one from Gaston's Tavern! We will see if I can manage it!

This will be my breakfast on our Hollywood Studios day. Please don't judge me! The Butterfinger Cupcake from Starring Rolls!

Not sure if mine will look like the above but it will look very similar that's for sure! This will be dessert after our T-REX lunch from Goofys Candy Co. (Slightly more sensible! )

Mickeys Ice Cream Sandwich must be purchased! Might force the kids to buy the ice cream bar to have a sneaky taste of that one too!

Frozen Jungle Juice! What more can I say!

Not entirely sure how I'm going to fit in all of the Magic Kingdom snacks into just one day, but I'll have fun trying to! Am definitely aiming for the Coke Float from Plaza Ice Cream Parlour! Please someone tell me I can buy one from the other parks? !

A doughnut the size of my head! I'm sure the kids will want to share but that's not gonna happen!

We have been to the studio tour in Watford and completely forgot to buy a Butterbeer there! So this one is a must at Universal! Not sure if I'll want the normal or frozen variety, any recommendations?

Last but not least Dippin Dots! Not sure of all of the places that sell them but hoping for either SeaWorld and Aquatica just to space out all of these snacks!
I'm very realistic that all of the above won't necessarily get eaten but it's been fun scouring through trip reports researching them! Best start the diet now!

Beyond excited! Have managed to get a breakfast reservation for Be Our Guest! Cannot wait! I now get to see the rope drop ceremony as we'll miss it on our Magic Kingdom day for an early ADR at Crystal Palace, not that I'm complaining!

So today was the magical 60 day before our Disney stay! I was up at 4.45 ready and waiting for 5am to come about! I managed to get everything I wanted at roughly the times I was thinking so that's a huge relief! After a complete nightmare in trying to get my ticket numbers from Travel Republic for the last month I finally got them yesterday! Talk about cutting it fine!
So Saturday 22nd wasn't meant to be a park day as Jim is at golf but when they released the BOG breakfasts last week it would be rude not to book one! So I'm taking Sylvia with me and the kids now and have booked some of her favourite rides as FP after breakfast! We also get to watch the rope drop ceremony as our breakfast is at 9.20 which I can't wait for as I thought we would miss it because our early ADR to Crystal Palace on the Monday! Very excited about this! So above are our Fast Passes for this day. We have to leave at about 1.30pm to drop Sylvia back at the villa and pick Jim up for our ADR at T-Rex then after to check into Coronado Springs!

Sunday 23rd we are aiming for rope drop so will try and do RnR and ToT first before any major queues then possibly ToT again with our FP before lunch at Mama Melroses. This is part of the Fantasmic package so I'm really hoping it doesn't get rained off! The rest of the day will be spent at HS then will possibly taking a break and going to the Boardwalk for a mooch around. It looks lovely there! Will get the boat back to HS in time for Fantasmic, this will be a long day so I hope we all cope!

Monday 24th = the best day! This will be another long day as we are at MK for an early breakfast to Crystal Palace and staying until Wishes! We will have a break after the 3pm parade to get the boat to Wilderness Lodge for an early dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe so will hopefully be able to recharge the batteries! I'm so happy I got a FP for SDMT!

Today we get a lie in! We've got an ice cream lunch at Beaches and Cream then will head to Epcot through International Gateway. Will tackle the World Showcase first then head over to Future World for our Fast Passes. We have an ADR for the Rose and Crown at 7.25pm so will head over to the UK once we are done. Hoping to see Illuminations from here!

After a much needed rest day we are in Animal Kingdom on the 27th. Aiming for rope drop then hot foot it around to Kilimanjaro Safaris before any lengthy queues! Will have some time to kill before our breakfast at Tusker House at 10.30 so will try and fit in the Pangari Trail first. After breakfast we will make our way around the park ending with the Finding Nemo musical. Will be a little tight for time as we have to be at Sanaa for 5.10 for our evening ADR but hopefully we'll be ok! I know AK isn't as highly rated as the other parks but I'm really looking forward to this one!

We, or should I say I have been fairly busy crossing things off the to do list recently! Have done our ESTAs and travel insurance. Ordered and topped up a Fair FX card, checked in online at Coronado Springs, done our Fast Passes and booked our seats on the flight. Not sure I've got much left to do now other than wait! I'm not entirely sure what I'll do with myself after this holiday! Maybe I'll have to research going again to get over my post holiday blues!

Just a little update!
I only realised earlier that I hadn't actually introduced any of us properly with pictures which is a bit stupid of me as everyone does this first! So here we have Jim with Hope and Sam! This was taken last year in Portugal so they have only aged a little bit (although Jim will swear he's aged loads since meeting me!)

And this is me with the kids again from Portugal. I don't have any more recent photos, will rectify this in Florida!

And lastly me and Jim!
I have also managed to do our reveal photo collage that a friend has managed to put onto a dvd. I did this through the iMovie app on the iPad and believe me if I can do it anyone can! Will try and post it but don't think I can put video on here? Anyone know?

Doesn't look like I can post the video but it's a series of photos with text that finally lead to us saying we are going to Florida! I used the track 'A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes' by Linda Ronstadt from Cinderella and makes me cry every time I hear it! I will admit I'm hoping for a few happy tears on the morning but we'll see! Evil mum I am! Haha

So the day has finally arrived! We are now at 0 more days! We have pretty much done all that we can do, bags packed apart from a few bits I can't pack until tomorrow! Even more exciting my checklist looks like this now!

Checklist

Passports checked and laminated✔️

Estas done, checked and copied✔️

Driving licences copied✔️

Park tickets copied and Dropbox ✔️

Vouchers for extras copied and Dropbox ✔️

Seats pre booked✔️

Online check in for flight

Online check in and Skip the Counter for Alamo ✔️

Spending cash changed ✔️

FairFX card ordered and topped up✔️

ADRs made, reservation numbers copied, screenshots in Dropbox✔️

Fastpass+ selections made, times copied, screenshots in Dropbox✔️

Car hire done copied and in Dropbox✔️

Hotel voucher copied and in Dropbox ✔️

Online check in at CSR done ✔️

Contact numbers emailed to me ✔️

Wishes cruise confirmed ✔️

Itinerary printed and copied ✔️

Kids itinerary printed ✔️

Entertainment schedules for parks printed✔️

Recreation schedules for resorts printed ✔️

Discovery Cove reveal voucher ✔️

Reveal DVD ✔️

Taxi confirmed ✔️

Register for restaurant vouchers ✔️

Call Disney re ADRs ✔️

I'm sitting here all relaxed, have just painted my nails and feet and watching my fave Nashville! I'm waiting for the kids to come home, they have been at their dads this week so can't wait to see them! They still don't know about Florida and still think we're going to France! I feel a little sick with nerves as in less than 24 hours we get to do the reveal! I'm so hoping we get a good reaction, a year in the making and it's all come down to this!
Had a slightly frustrating time earlier trying to do online check in for our flight. Had all our info ready and logged onto US Airways website on the iPad. Filled it all in that took me about half an hour as it was so slow then it kicked me out! So got the laptop out to try it on there and it did exactly the same thing! Grrr! It then came up on the screen saying we are unable to let you check in online please do it at the airport, or something similar wording! How annoying! Has anyone else had this problem with US Airways? It's lucky we have booked an early cab so can sort it out when we get there, we still have our seats though which is good!
So I'll be making sure I write up all my notes everyday and take tonnes of pictures! Just want to say thank you to everyone that has commented on my pre trip and for all of the great advice I have learned from this website! Seriously who knew you could learn so much!
Alicia x

[Jon&Emz]

great pre-trippie looking forward to reading the rest of your trippie. we fly out the monday before you

Emz

[Guest]

your gonna have an amazing holiday, although im not sure i would do my only Universal Day on Day 1, you will be knackered by lunch time, wouldnt want you to waste some time there xx

[mikim]

Sound good!

When we went the first time we didn't tell our son who was 8 my DD knew as she read the school letter over the teachers shoulder but thank fully she loved having the secret she was 12. We did a big reveal for our son the day before and he was so excited but equally upset as he felt he missed out on not being able to tell friends, watch you tube videos etc...
Its a tough choice to make.

Good luck.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Dory17

your gonna have an amazing holiday, although im not sure i would do my only Universal Day on Day 1, you will be knackered by lunch time, wouldnt want you to waste some time there xx

See more...

Thank you for advice I might change Day 1 to Aquatica then Universal on Day 6. Desperate to go to T-Rex might go there after Universal as that's the day it's booked and all dinner reservations are now at 10pm all week!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Jon&Emz

great pre-trippie looking forward to reading the rest of your trippie. we fly out the monday before you

Emz

See more...

Thank you, I hope I keep up with updating it every evening! I will do my best!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by mikim

Sound good!

When we went the first time we didn't tell our son who was 8 my DD knew as she read the school letter over the teachers shoulder but thank fully she loved having the secret she was 12. We did a big reveal for our son the day before and he was so excited but equally upset as he felt he missed out on not being able to tell friends, watch you tube videos etc...
Its a tough choice to make.

Good luck.

See more...

Thank you. We were struggling with what to do for the best, my idea was to tell them when they break up for summer but Jim who is a big kid really wants to wait for the morning we go, he won this debate! Haha

[academy]

A great start look forward to reading more

Our countdowns are virtually the same and we too have a 'secret' to reveal on travel day

I'm also a crier at the first sight of the castle and the parades.

Happy planning

[POOLIEJOOLIE]

We are also last 2 weeks of August and our kids don't know either

We are doing MK on our first day [we have a 8:10 CP reservation] and then lunch at BOG and we are planning on heading back to the hotel later in the afternoon as I am sure we will be exhausted from being up at 3am

[Disney Den]

Looks great, we'll be there then too so fingers crossed for great weather and small queues