theDIBB - Just Back - Highs & Lows

Flights: Tui
Accommodation: Rosen Inn International, International Drive
Car Hire: Budget c/o Discount Florida Car Hire
Park Tickets: Walt Disney World (direct) – 14 for 7
Stroller Rental: Orlando Stroller Rental
ECV Rental: K & M Rentals

Hi dibbers,

We arrived back in the UK earlier this week, following a great 2 weeks in Orlando. I didn’t want to do a full trip report but thought some key points might be of some use to those travelling soon.

We flew from Doncaster/Sheffield to Melbourne direct. Our first visit to both airports. We have previously flown into both Sanford & Orlando Int. from Manchester. Outbound flight was delayed for 2 hours, due to a pilot falling ill. The team were very helpful, and the pilot made up a bit of time en route.

Melbourne is a small airport with lots of construction going on; not surprising considering the new Tui deal. We were welcomed with little snack bags, which we thought was a nice touch. Collecting luggage before security is a little odd but they made it work. The Car Hire desks are easy enough to find & the service from Budget was swift – Straight outside to collect our 12-seater Ford. They were missing the booster seats we needed so had to call to the service “shop”. Someone met us out by the car within 10 minutes with the seats we needed.

The journey from Melbourne to I-Drive took around 90 minutes. Straight forward & easy to navigate really.
We have stayed with Rosen Inn on numerous occasions. Great service as always. Despite us arriving later than planned, they had happily accepted both the stroller & ECV rentals at Reception. Check in was swift & we were able to get settled quickly. The hotel is ideally placed on I Drive, near plenty of eateries. And right by the I-4 so easy trips to WDW.

As a party of 8 with 3 young kids (3, 4 & 7) we decided to just do Disney this time. And for us it was the correct decision. The parks were busy as the U.S schools broke up for Summer, so we had multiple days in each park. It gave us a bit of breathing space and time to take things at the youngest’s pace at times. We visited all 4 parks, as well as Typhoon Lagoon.

HIGHS:
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – Awesome ride/experience. Definitely try for a slot in the virtual queue!
- Galaxy’s Edge (Hollywood Studios) – We loved the theming of the new area. Very immersive, with great character interactions. My 7 year old niece was terrified of the Stormtroopers.
- Rise of the Resistance – Wow! Just wow!
- Harmonious at EPCOT – A great evening show. Blew the other shows out of the water, in our opinion. If you only see one evening show, we’d recommend this one.
- Twenty Pho Hour – We found this eatery on Instagram. Located just off I Drive, it has a quirky “2D” interior. Delicious food, fast service. A tonic for all the heavy carb offerings on so many U.S menus.

LOWS:
- Genie+ - As a replacement of the old Fastpass service, it is awful. I understand Disney is a business but it just feels wrong. It feels very un-Disney.
- Estimated Queue Times – We’re not quite sure how Disney is currently estimating their estimated wait times, but we found them to very inaccurate on a number of occasions. Both ways. Sometimes it would state a 30 minute wait, and we were through in less than 15 minutes. Other times, we waited much longer than estimated.
- Exchange Rate – Everything felt quite expensive this trip. As in the UK, it felt that generally all prices in the U.S had risen. And with the exchange rate only being around $1.25, it meant we definitely felt the pinch a little.

FAVOURITE EATERIES THIS TRIP:
Twenty Pho Hour
Mia’s Italian Kitchen
Whispering Canyon Café
Bubbalou’s BBQ
Keke’s Breakfast Café
First Watch

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm trying to be as useful as possible on the forums as I know there are quite a few post-Covid trips coming up for people :grin:

Zoe x