Andy C's “We don't do queues” trip: Summary, or “When can we go again?”

[Andy C]

Summary.

Cast Members:

Me – Andy – 33
DW- Sigrid – 28
DD1 – Stephanie – 12
DD2 – Becky – 4
DS – Alex – 2
Nanna – Jan – 64

Saturday 13th May.

It's been a month now since we climbed off of the plane home. We've had time for it to all sink in and to wind down and take a long look back. Was it really as good as we thought?

Yes.

Hell, yes!

DW had been a sceptic. For a long time she had dismissed the idea of a Disney trip.

She eventually came round to trying it out – she's got a commendably open mind – and on the “It's a holiday of a lifetime” theme, we headed out.

By the end of the first day at Disney, she was saying “It's a holiday of a decade”

By the end of the second day, “We could come back in six years”

By the end of the holiday it was “When we come back in five years, ...”

We were watching the television last week. An advert for Busch Gardens came on, showcasing Sheikra and Montu. DW commented with a grin, “When we go back, I'm doing those too. I'm going on ALL of them”.
Then she turned to me and said, “Andy. Can we go back next year?”

That's how good it was (and no, sadly we can't afford to go back next year. But in two years – yup. Look for “Andy C's “We still don't do queues trip 2008” )

This was the best holiday of my life. And I've had some cracking good holidays in the past. The fact that all of us – from the man-cub through to Nanna – had such consistent fun is what made it for us.

Working out an itinerary was well worth the time and effort. You need to schedule in easier days and days off and going to parks on their quieter days is worth it (When we were at Animal Kingdom on the penultimate proper day – on our escape from Islands of Adventure – DW looked at the heaving mass of crowds and said to me “You know I took the mickey* out of you for obsessively preparing? Well, thank God you did!”)
Don't be frightened to be flexible however – you're there for the fun, not to be slaves to a schedule.
*Pun intended.

Living at a villa worked very well – we had our own pool and our own space. Next time, we'll self-cater less and eat out more – it's cheap and easy.

We also learned that we should spend longer at SeaWorld and Kennedy Space Center, and next time we will. On a less successful side, we learned that the lack of a free FastPass system at Universal and Islands of Adventure does impact on your fun. If you're not rich enough to fork out still more for the Express Plus tickets (or, more sensibly, stay for one night in a Universal hotel to get the FOTL key cards), think twice about going there at all.

Of the Disney Parks, you could get away with a single day at Animal Kingdom and Disney/MGM studios, as long as you didn't arrive too late. A day-and-a-half at each would probably be better (One day AK, one day MGM, then morning at AK/afternoon at MGM). Epcot – two days needed, really. Probably the same for Magic Kingdom. There's a week gone already.

The water parks, which seemed an afterthought to me when I was planning the trip, were the most highly rated days by the kids. Although, for God's sake, sunblock up, sunblock up again and sunblock up yet again. And again.
The way to enjoy the water parks is to go on a Monday or Tuesday, arrive early and hit the most popular slides early. When the park fills up at lunchtime, eat lunch and then go on the Lazy River bits for a long relaxing float. Then swim in the pools a bit and wait for the crowds to start to thin out. Then you can hit the slides again.
Alternatively, do a morning and pull out at lunchtime to hit another park.

Busch Gardens – do some research first. I thought that I'd done enough, but I missed out the Dragon's Kingdom area for the kids. There's loads for adults and older kids, however. It's still definitely on the itinerary for the return trip.

Check out villa locations and proximity to Disney World. Bear in mind that even the further locations can get in quite quickly, if you know the shortcuts or there are not the roadworks that were there when we were.

Don't be afraid to ask questions here on the DIBB – it really is an invaluable resource and it's free. Use it. We're all in the same boat, so we'll all pool our knowledge as it makes us no poorer and together we're richer.

Much depends on your particular likes and dislikes – but you may surprise yourselves. For example, my three children have got very different attitudes towards “Look before your leap”:

Steph, the eldest, will look carefully and then, more often than not, decide not to leap after all.
Alex, the youngest, will look carefully and then leap almost every time.
Becky, if she's feeling especially cautious, may spare a glance to find a landing place while on the way down.

With that in mind, I had a fair idea of what to expect on the adrenaline-ride front. Becky, as expected, was a coaster maniac. If she was tall enough, she was more than ready.

Alex liked his only coaster (Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster) although once was enough for him.

Steph “didn't do coasters”.
Or so she (and we) thought.
Her accidental ride on “Revenge of the Mummy” emboldened her. At Magic Kingdom, she rode the Big thunder Mountain Railroad three times back-to-back and then did Space Mountain three times for good measure. Despite backing out of Rock'n'Roller Coaster on the last day (which she now regrets), she seemed to have a bit of a taste for them.

We were discussing the next trip recently, when she surprised me. I'd said that Expedition Everest would probably be a good one for her as I see it as the next step up from Space Mountain.

“Hmm. It's just ... Space Mountain was a little tame. I'd like to do Expedition Everest – but I'm also doing Sheikra. And Kraken. And Duelling Dragons”

I was flabbergasted. She explained further:
“You see, I'll just try to not think about it before we go on, 'cos that's the scary bit. Once you're on them, it's exciting rather than scary. It's a bit too late to get scared by then – that's what I decided on 'Revenge of the Mummy' and it worked”

There could be something very philosophically deep about that.

We're counting down the days already – about 700 to go. And the last word has to be left to Alex. I think that he wants to go back (and his idea might make the flight a bit quieter for the rest of us) ...

[Guest]

Thank you for your entertaining & informative trip reports... I enjoyed all of them.

[Guest]

will miss your reports enjoyed very much thanks

[Guest]

Thank You Andy - really enjoyed your reports

Love Suexx

[dcmax]

Sounds like a fantastic time was had by all, how was Everest? We can't wait to do a new coaster! Think you're right about Universal, we aren't bothering this time. It must keep down those costs, exactly how many children can you squeeze into one suitcase :-) Jackie

[Guest]

Andy really enjoyed your reports, looking forward to the next in a few years

Tracy

[santasusanna]

I've loved reading all about your holiday, can't wait for the 2008 trippies!

Jools

[Guest]

Thank you so much for you posting your reports - they were most enjoyable. Looking forward to the 2008 ones!

[Bluestuff]

Glad you had a good time, start saving for the return!

[Armanaleg]

Andy

Only had time to read the summary so far, but I have found it to be a useful and informative piece of writing, thanks

As soon as I can, I will find the time to read the rest of your trip report, and I have to say, I'm looking forward to it.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with others.

J