There's a great big beautiful tomorrow November 2016 *Another post! 28.10 woops!*
 

Hey everyone! :wavey: Can't believe I have been away from The Dibb since the end of August! :omg: In my defence, was at a point where nothing really needed to be done and we were nearing the end of a stressful 18 month house move process - yuck. Thankfully we are now settled in our new home and I have been able to really shift gears in my Orlando planning!
Never done any kind of report on here before and I will say it now, although my intentions will be good, will see if a full blown trip report materialises later in the year! With such legends as mkingdon, bambikate and stewboy to attempt to follow, I fear I will fall at the next hurdle...
So in brief, the participants of this 1st -15th November trip are myself, Gemma, 35 will be 36 when we go (OMG I can't even read that without cringeing) and 7th trip, DH Mark, 38 will be 39 and trip no 3 and DD Daisy 3 will be 4 and her very first visit!


Truth be told I did used to reside in the camp of 'I won't take my child until they are at least 8, cost, remembering blah blah blah' but after a trip to CBeebiesLand and seeing her excitement at meeting Oopsy Daisy and Iggle Piggle (and if you know neither then I warn you it may get harder here on in...) well I caved - plus I was in withdrawal as our last trip was for my 30th in 2010 and we had cancelled a December 2011 trip as I was pregnant - had got my Candlelight Processional reservations for Whoopi Goldberg and everything *sniff*
After some persuasion (largely, 'We're only going with BA or Virgin, I need extra leg room, can we afford it?) I basically answered 'yes darling' to all the above and booked it!
We went for Virgin PE flights via Charter Travel staying at AKL with free DDP package, $200 gift card and the 14 day Ultimate tickets /free Memory Maker. I was quite keen to try an Epcot resort hotel like Beach Club but as DH response was 'No, I want Daisy to see the animals every day' AKL it was.
I have now achieved the following which is my main reason for getting back to the ways of The Dibb!:-
1. Linked reservation to MDE (reason for seemingly unnecessary delay? Disney had an extra letter in our surname, hence never finding reservation even with correct reference number!)
2. Purchased travel insurance including existing illness cover (not too much more as just my asthma and DH has seen a specialist about neck pain a few months ago, thankfully now discharged ) NB I did look for quotes when we booked holiday, but so many companies wouldn't quote until travel dates within 12 months, has this always been the case?!
3. Chosen magic band colours and names (as this is first time taking DD 3, we have decided to stick with Mummy and Daddy and she informed me I must be pink like hers - Daddy originally had a garish orange but with some gentle persuasion currently has grey..and yes he does prefer this :pgig:
4. Gotten well under way with saving to pay balance in August and have enough spending money to feel sufficiently guilty when shopping for new clothes...:d:
5. Booked stay at Premier Inn night before travel complete with parking and meal deal for both adults (went for Manor Royal at Gatwick in the end and thought may as well pay for meal deal whilst I have the cash - those Thyme menus are fab!)
6. Paid deposit with Floridatix for Universal 2 day bonus tickets - got them to price match Travel Republic who were the cheapest I saw plus get their freebies and the beauty of balance not being due until 35 days before travel, hoorah (also last time we went had those vouchers we had to exchange at will call so great to have actual tickets this time - although whether I will think that when I panic I will forget to pack them is another matter!
7. ESTAs all paid for and approval confirmed - and what kind of essays do you have to complete for these now?! Good grief!
So all in all, in a very good Florida place at the mo - plus we took our DD on her first flight in October to Mallorca as a bit of a test run and she loved it :)

Will keep you updated with any progress I make from here on in - so next post probably not until that magical 180 day mark then!
See you real soon folks and thank you for reading, someone? Anyone? ... :wave:

We go the same dates as you :)

Looking forward to reading about your plans!

Great pre trippie. We go on 10th Nov until 1st Dec. I love it over there during November. The weather can be a bit hit and miss but mostly it's ok and much whiter than other times. Plus thenchristmas stuff is usually up 😀

**Update 1 - 23.01.16**
Well it didn't take long to realise I had omitted something - trip report newbie alert sorry! :blush:
One big thing I also sorted was to choose our seats on both outward and return leg. Luckily didn't have to pay as going PE but faced with upstairs or downstairs dilemma - answer? Do both! As neither of us have ever flown on a 'double decker' before, DH wanted to try upstairs so managed to select a row of 2 and the aisle seat in front - this way we can swap throughout flight and share the child minding duties!:tongue:
On the return leg have chosen three seats in a row of four downstairs - being a night flight too didn't relish an overtired 4 year old having a meltdown walking up steps!
Rang Virgin to sort child meal too and query DH vegetarian meal request, to be told didn't need to pre-order this as a veggie option offered as standard - handy to know.
One thing I did find strange was although Virgin Atlantic found my reservation number for me and I had email confirmation of seats, yesterday Charter Travel sent me an email with my supposed Virgin reference number only to find it was totally different to the one I had already and - here comes the annoying part - this 'new' reference number completely wiped out the previous one and my seat reservations /API with it! :angry:
Thankfully when I logged in with the new reference, my seats were still showing as available or I would not have been a happy bunny. Just a heads up in case any of you have booked via Charter or some other agent.
And finally, I have changed the title of this pre trip report in honour of one of my fave attractions in Disney - The Carousel of Progress :grin: I love the sentiment behind it and hope it is indeed proven correct for us all! Til the next time :wavey:
Matt H Wade from Wikipedia

Happy planning,

Xx

Update 22nd May
Well as I said in previous post, expect an update around about the 180 day mark and here we are a little past that but had a bit of jigging about to do and was holding out for that elusive Be Our Guest dinner! :pgig:
So, breakdown so far of day by day park plan with reservations looks like this:-
Day 1 Arrival - probably a QS dinner at The Mara and straight to bed after the unpacking (got the later VA flight so not due to land til about 6:35 :-(

Disneyworld.com
Day 2 Crystal Palace breakfast reservation early enough that we get to see MK before gates open - never done this before so quite excited to get the opportunity for a quieter Main Street! We shall probably take a break during the day as could only get a BBB Cinderella's Castle reservation for today at 4:10 - have then booked 1900 Park Fare for dinner so Daisy can feel a bit more 'princessy'! (Still not 100% on this one but only other possibility CRT and have probably missed my chance on this?)



Day 3 DHS with a lunch booking for Disney Junior Play n Dine (although not overly fussed on menu this is a character must for us!)
Day 4 Universal Studios and a leisurely meal back at Boma in AKL

Day 5 Animal Kingdom and a dinner reservation at Yachtsman Steakhouse (Saturday night treat and with AKL being our home for this holiday we can have an earlier finish at AK and take time getting ready!)

Day 6 Disney Springs and relaxing with a T Rex lunch reservation (again a first for us but looking forward to the atmosphere :spin:)

Day 7 Epcot and our second Boma dinner of the holiday (one of our faves last holiday!)
Day 8 MK and hoping to catch opening ceremony (yet another first - wow going with a child does make you try different things!) followed by a breakfast reservation at Ohana Best Friends Breakfast over at Polynesian - may go back to MK after this or may take a leisure day not sure yet

Day 9 Another ad hoc morning then a late lunch/early dinner at Mama Melrose with Fantasmic package so hoping for a decent seat :thumb:

Day 10 IOA no meals booked this day as may choose a Universal dinner out ?Hard Rock - suggestions please!
Day 11 Unsure of plans today although if sticking to Busy Day Guide will aim for Epcot or Universal - or possibly a pool day depending on DD's temperament ;) Should be doing Wishes cruise at 9pm on this day if all goes according to plan so a fantastic end to whatever we do today
Day 12 Some time at MK before a good nap as we have dinner reservation at Rose and Crown (DD loves Yorkshire pudding and fish and chips! ) then get a decent viewing area for Illuminations

Day 13 Another AK day with a reservation at Tusker House for Donald's Dining Safari Lunch

Day 14 A pick and choose day or maybe Typhoon Lagoon with our long awaited BOG dinner reservation - our final night so hoping it lives up to the hype :erm:

Day 15 Departure - but flight not until 8pm so maybe a final Disney Springs shop and either Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck - plus Ghirardelli of course!

Any comments welcomed or something I have overlooked please let me know!
Will try to add in some pics to make this chunk easier to read later on - forgive my pre trip virginity!
Thanks for reading :wavey:

Great start! We go in November too. 10th Nov til 1st Dec. I will look out for you around the parks.

Great pre trippie, looking forward to reading more.😊

Hi

Great start t your trippie, its such a great thing to do and be able to look back on all the wonderful memories.

You have a lovely family and it sounds like a fab trip... great ADR choices too. H&V Play & Dine lunch is fab for the little ones, my youngest was in his element there, fabulous character interaction.

Looking forward to the rest...

May see you there! Thanks for reading :-)