The "not allowed to talk about it yet, we don't go for months" pre-trip report ** updated 13/07**

[thebig40]

Hi!

As the title suggests, my husband is not overly keen on me talking his ear off about touring plans, rides, which park to visit on which days and where we can eat (am I alone in thinking that is weird?! ) He doesn't like to plan too far ahead unless it involves Christmas! So, I thought I'd write some of my ramblings and thoughts down here - I have to let them out somewhere or I am serious danger of exploding

So, onwards with some introductions. There will be 10 of us travelling, me - Natasha, 39 when we travel but turning 40 whilst we are are there

My husband Bobby, aged 40,

DS Tom who will be 9 and DD Mimi who will be 8.

My parents, both in their early 60's, will be coming too

And finally my big sister, Mel (40), her husband Martin (44) and their two children Elliotte (10) and Harvey (9).

This is a holiday we have been planning for literally years. We first took our two to Disneyland Paris in 2012 and we had such a great time that we couldn't wait to take them to 'the big one'.

I last went to Orlando in 1992 with my parents and sister just after I'd finished my GCSE's so I had just turned 16 so it has been far too long between visits. I remember loving it, the rides, the food, the thunder storms and we even had a hurricane too - all very thrilling, so I am hoping to make some fabulous new memories with my own children.

4 of us are teachers and with the children being in school too we are limited to the summer holidays. We travel on 21/7/16 and are there for 3 weeks. We are staying in a lovely 5 bedroom villa near Disney for 2 weeks and then moving down to Cape Coral to another 5 bed villa for the final week for a bit of R&R after what we know will be a manic 2 weeks.

That was the first thing we booked, the villas. I spend hours and hours trawling through websites like Owners Direct, Home Away and Trip Advisor. I emailed LOTS of owners and whilst we eventually settled on a great looking villa which is really well setup, it is, in hindsight, a little far out in the Marbella resort (if anyone knows it?) so we have quite a hike to the parks each day.

We booked the villas before I'd ever heard of the dibb otherwise I am sure we would have done it all differently but it is too late now and they are both lovely villas so hopefully they'll be fine!

Then the great flight hunt began, I started looking at Summer 2015 prices just to get an idea and then waited with baited breath for the flights to be released for summer 2016. I looked daily, signed up to every website I could find and then found this website too and searched and searched and searched some more...

I love to plan and arrange things but even I was starting to get really bored of looking by the end! Then one day I looked on here, saw a post about the Aer Lingus glitch, found prices and times which were acceptable so just booked. It was a massive palaver trying to organise 3 families booking flights, especially as I was talking my mum through it on the phone to ensure we were all on the same flights. This sounds easy but you have to know my mum to appreciate what a nightmare that actually was, bless her Despite talking her through it she still managed to book on different flights but we did manage to book it all in the end and get all of our seats sorted. Just for an extra bit of excitement (aka stress), my sister told me the wrong date of birth for her husband so that was fun to sort out too

Next up was deciding what tickets we wanted to get and which attractions and activities we wanted to do. This is all easier said than done! DH as mentioned already does not like me to "keep going on" about the holiday so I have to judge good days and times to talk about it to him He is already bored of us all watching YouTube videos of parks and rides and even restaurant menus dont really get him excited. Like I said, weird

We know we definitely want to go to Disney and Universal. I am most excited about going to Universal for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - just typing that gets me really excited - I cannot wait, I am a huge massive fan of both the books and the films. We are re-watching them all again as I type! We have booked the night of my 40th birthday in Royal Pacific Resort so we get the front of line passes. It will be lovely to queue jump on my special birthday. I found a discount code for the website Venere with 12% off so we booked 3 rooms and saved £30 each.

Then I saw another post on here about Florida Tix having 5% off Discovery Cove so we booked that too, Bobby is not a fan of swimming so isnt doing the dolphin swim, neither are my parents as they have swum with dolphins before in Mexico. I think they are a bit concerned about exhausting themselves too with how manic the first 2 weeks will be so are looking forward to a day of floating around and being lazy and drinking cocktails. The kids are all really looking forward to swimming with the dolphins and my sister, my dad and I are also doing the Seaventure dive too. So much excitement!

I nearly booked tickets a few days ago as I found a discount code but again the issues of co-ordinating 3 families it is difficult and annoying being the chief planner as you just want people to pull their finger out! We were going to book it on 27th December but we got sidetracked drinking cocktails and watching YouTube. Again

So although we (read I!) know which tickets we want, probably the Disney and Universal Combo ticket, we just need to find a deal or voucher. If we dont find one by the end of the month I am just booking it anyway. We already have Aquatica and Seaworld tickets through our Discovery Cove tickets so half sorted!

We all did the test to see which Hogwarts House we would be put in, I'm in Gryffindor, yay, so I have bought a few tops from Primark and customised the necklines as I hate a round neck on me. I want to see if I can get the children some Disney t-shirts and some more Harry Potter or Hogwarts clothes too.

We've booked the cars too - a 12 seater van and a 4 seater compact.
I am working on a plan of action too - what to do when which is proving quite taxing - there is so much choice and it is a bit overwhelming to be honest! I've just subscribed to the touring plans though so when I work out how to use this it will all make a bit more sense (fingers crossed!)


There are a few more things on my shopping list, a DSLR, the willpower to lose a stone or two so that I can put it all back on (and then some!), a countdown plaque but I think that is enough wittering for now!

Well done if you've managed to get to the bottom - this turned out to be quite an essay - sorry!

I'll update soon with more random thoughts - something for you to look forward to!

[aay_esha]

I love the planning ! My DH is trying to take a little interest at the minute so he knows what restaurants he'd like to do but i've been in charge of organising everything. I quite like it really though

I'd also love to go for 3 weeks it'll definitely be something to try sometime

[CazP]

I have a dd16 who was the same as your husband and didn't want to talk about it. We booked in April so was a long wait. She's ok now. We go the day before you, flying from Stansted

[vanlou]

So excited for you - our first visit to WDW in 2011 was because it was the year of both mine and OHs 40th. We had the most amazing time. For you it will be even more special to have all your family around you.
HRH is just lovely, and WWOHP will not disappoint you - it's like really being at Hogwarts/Hogsmeade

Looking forward to reading more of your plans

Edited to add I did a pre trippy for our trip in 2014 for exactly the same reasons. Would have gone mad if I hadn't been able to share my excitement with fellow dibbers

[thebig40]

I am glad I am not alone in my need to let out the excitement somewhere!

Really cant wait, I love reading peoples trip reports and adding restaurants and their suggestions to my own plans! Dangerous! We have about 30 restaurants on our short list and only 23 days to try them all...

[thebig40]

So I have purchased an new DSLR, a Nikon D3300. I have no idea how to use it or change much in the way of shutter speeds etc so am hoping it really is as easy to use as it says it is! Hopefully I will be able to get a few half decent photos. I ended up with over 1500 photos from our holiday this summer, a cruise and stay around the Mediterranean so I dread to think of how many I could take with an extra week and a new camera!

The restaurant list is still growing and unless we eat out 4 times a day we are never going to get to eat in all of them which is a shame I do love eating!

We are staying near Disney for 2 weeks then moving to a villa on Cape Coral for a week before returning to International Drive for a night and day before flying home on the 13th August. I've just booked the Rosen Inn @ Pointe Orlando for that final night and think that we may be able to squeeze 3 or even possibly 4 more restaurants before going home! Dinner on the Friday night, breakfast in the morning and then a late lunch before heading off the airport

I am not sure how I am doing in the whole weight loss department as I havent been weighing myself. I am waiting for my clothes to all miraculously feel larger...

I have brought some Skechers Go Walks too, much chunkier than the type of inappropriate shoe I usually wear but they are really comfy!

We are still debating whether to have a character meal at all, if we do it will be a brunch type affair at Tusker House. Very unsure if we will do this or not though...

Still have to book park tickets - must pull my finger out!

[Sparksy72]

You sound super organised! We went for our first time in August 2014 and I was very very organised 😉 I do like a spreadsheet and I put together a folder 😁 Of all the different restaurants I wanted to try - with their addresses and opening hours as well as their 'specialities'. I must say that we ate/rode/walked/saw more than I could have possibly imagined because I was so organised (or crazy!) My DH sounds like yours and I found the dibb to be a brilliant outlet! All the best and I look forward to reading more! 😊

[Doowop]

Have a look at Orlando attraction tickets, I found they were the cheapest and came with lots of extras

[smithlane]

Great Pre trip report! Sounds like you'll all have an amazing time! There were 10 of us last year too, 4 of us, my SIL and family and my in laws, we had a blast with so many of us!
As PP just said, Orlando Attraction Tickets have great prices and if it still works use the code MSE5 for £5 off per ticket! I've just used them for our 2017 tickets. Happy planning!

[Guest]

Hi, my hubby us exactly the same! So I totally understand your frustration!
I'm beyond excited and have a notebook of everything I don't want to miss! This will be my first time as a parent, so that's a whole other level of excitement/worry! ( our last time was in 2009, hubby wasn't too fussed about going, but knew I loved it, he ended up totally loving it too! ) little one was 4 in January, so have I booked breki at Cinderellas Royal table!

We are spending our first 4 nights at hard rock universal, then onto our gorgeous modern trendy villa in davenport( that was hard to find) and I like you have spent hours upon hours searching, deliberating and making decisions! (And still am) I deliberated about going to the beach for a night or 2 but just doing that for the day as I want to enjoy the villa properly! Wish we were going for 3 weeks! Just 2, maybe next time do 3( I'm self employed so it means no holiday pay for me)

One place you absolutely cannot miss is "Cheesecake Factory" food is AMAZING, portions are massive (so I'd suggest sharing mains) you can take out your cheesecake if you are too full, but it's slightly melts on the way home. Check out the menu online, OMG YOU WONT REGRET IT!

Happy 40th, what a great place to be for it( it was mine last year)

Lisa