Well it's that time of year again -
ADR time
, so maybe it's time to get a few of our plans written down ready for another trip report.
This year we're back to just DH - Russ, and I - Sue, heading back to our favourite place after sharing it with DD last year. From previous trip reports, you might remember we're 21+ vat and enjoy fairly relaxed holidays. Our plans are quite flexible, and we rarely pass a 'lounge bar' without trying out the wares, or a comfy bench without stopping to people watch for a while!
We booked, as usual, last year in April - and just before then DCL released cruise dates for this autumn so we decided to book a Disney cruise and then add the the Beach Club when the DDP was released. We've cruised on various cruise lines (inc Disney) but always in the Med, so this 4 night Bahamian cruise on the Disney Dream is new for us, and we've chosen a cabin with an extended balcony at the back of the ship. We prefer bigger ships and although we enjoyed the Magic it was a bit small for us, so I think the Dream will suit us better
. We then added 12 nights at BC with the DDP, following the cruise, and booked flights with BA when they were released - we always fly VA from Manchester to Mco, but BA came in quite a bit cheaper this time, hence the looong drive down to Gatwick and back.
Trying not to think about that drive home yet!
So the current plan is drive down to Gatwick on Aug 31st and stay at the Gatwick Hilton overnight, doing twilight check in and leaving the car with the Meet and Greet at South terminal.
We fly at 11.15am Sept 1st and land at Mco at 3.35pm. We've booked PE seats and have the back row, hope these are ok as we've never flown BA before.
Instead of heading straight over to Port Canaveral we're staying overnight at the Hyatt Regency which is the hotel with all the rooms overlooking the main lobby at Mco, and we'll either head to Chillis for a meal and drinks or stay in the hotel. I'll have a wander round the Universal and Seaworld shops as we're not going to either this time.
We're booked onto the DCL bus next morning, Sept 2nd, to take us over to Port Canaveral and the Dream.
The cruise is a 4 nighter with a day at Nassau, a day at Castaway Cay and a sea day - so fingers crossed we'll get Palo brunch and a Mixology class booked for the sea day. I've joined the FB group for the cruise, and I'm lazily hoping that someone will start a group for the Mixology!
After the cruise we're booked on the DCL bus again to take us to the BC for 12 nights. We've decided not to have a car for our whole holiday - this is a first for us (and might be a last!) a bit of a trial before they start charging parking fees at WDW resorts. We are getting one for 2-3 days mid stay though to go shopping and out & about, maybe to Winter Park or Bok Gardens.
I managed to get our first choice of
ADR which is the amazing California Grill Brunch, and have also booked Liberty Tree Tavern, Ale & Compass, Flying Fish, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Homecomin', The Boathouse, Coral Reef and (just in case HS QS are completely rammed with Star Wars fans - Sci Fi Diner).
We've also booked the new VIP Taste of the Magic Kingdom tour, which we're really looking forward to.
We fly home on Sept 18th at 7.55pm and for the first time ever we're booking the Magical Express to the airport.
We land at 9.20am and hopefully will have had a bit of sleep on the flight, we'll start driving home, but if we're too tired we'll stop off at a Travel Lodge or similar for a rest.
So there are quite a few firsts for this year - flying from Gatwick, BA, Gatwick Hilton, the Dream, the Bahamas, the Mco Hyatt, Disney buses, a new backstage Tour - lots to look forward to! Apart from paying for it all, that's everything for now - I think, until FP day in July. Thanks for reading.
JUNE UPDATE:-
I thought we had nothing much else to do, and then 'things' start popping up
Once the EEMH for Galaxy's Edge was known, I started tweaking a bit so we can try and get in on a couple of very early mornings (might kill us, but we'll try!) and moved some ADRs around - I've booked Hacienda de San Angel too so we can watch Illuminations for the last time in comfort.
Then the Food and Wine tastings etc opened and we've got a Floridian Wine tasting in Epcot on the afternoon before Hacienda 🥂.
I'm hoping to buy this to wear to it!
On the 4th of June our 90 day booking window opened for our cruise on the Dream so we've booked a Mixology Class which we've done before and is great fun! And a Chocolate and Liquor tasting
We picked a half day excursion in Nassau as we've never been before and booked bikes at Castaway Cay - fingers crossed for no hurricanes please!
I'd have loved to do Palo brunch again but it wasn't available so we booked dinner there, which is fab, but might cancel depending on our dining rotation.
Roll on July for FP - and still to try to get Palo brunch, and an earlier dinner time than 9.45pm for the Boathouse. Car hire to sort and $$$ to buy. Fingers are crossed for the £/$ suddenly improving!
JULY UPDATE :-
Well the £/$ hasn't suddenly improved! But I have finally finished the planning and paid for it all
.
I hoped to add a night onto our Meet & Greet parking which I didn't think would be possible as it was a locked in price - but they added it for an extra £10 so we'll be able to drop the car off the night we arrive at Gatwick rather than next day.
I've booked a car with Alamo for 2 days mid holiday to get our shopping fix etc, picking up and dropping off at the Dolphin - we only needed a standard car which was £67 inc insurance etc. Happy with that (and a bit of quidco cash back too).
I did my regular check of hotel prices and cancelled /rebooked the Hyatt at Mco for arrival night - saving $75 which will go towards dinner etc.
In the 'upgraded Magic Band' fiasco I finally managed to get 2 booked and paid for - what a carry on that was! Castle for me, Mickey Sorcerer for DH.
And finally today I've done our Fast Passes, and very happy to get what we wanted - a mix of the newer rides and old favourites.
I cancelled the Sci Fi Dine In and Palo dinner bookings to give us a bit more flexibility - still hoping for a Palo brunch when we board the Dream though!
Just been reading the Boathouse menu - it's changed slightly and some things that were included are now add ons ($29 extra each!) so, as we've eaten there quite a few times I've changed our
ADR to House of Blues which we also love.
So that's it, just the waiting now - buying dollars, and keeping our fingers crossed that the potential BA pilots strike doesn't happen
It's our first time with BA so please don't let us down!
Woohoo - 6 weeks to go and our DCL luggage tags have arrived already
Disney are definitely on the ball this year - our WDW pack has arrived with 5 weeks to go! We've also caved in and bought some $$ at this awful rate.
We've just managed to get a couple of lunchtime bookings for Oga's Cantina, for drinks and a good look around!
We're still waiting to hear if we'll actually get to fly on BA - if we don't fly on the 1st as planned, we'll miss the Dream the next day
though I'm sure we'll still get there, one way or another, for the Beach Club part of the holiday!
Well a final (probably) update - We dodged the BA strike bullet, happily for us! We then had a stressful couple of weeks with a family health scare. Now Hurricane Dorian is trying to scupper us and we're once again waiting for BA, and DCL to let us know if our flight in 2.5 days and cruise the day after is actually happening.
Once again we have fingers and toes crossed! If this holiday ever happens I'll start it with the biggest cocktail I can find
Well big last minute changes ! Last night just as we were going to bed this arrived ... not a great move by DCL as the hurricane is still moving and we may not even sail on Wednesday yet! Not much sleep was had!
I'm still in a phone queue with DCL but we're going on the pitiful 2 night cruise and using the 50% refund for a 3 night stay at POFQ. I've spent the morning online and the phone - I've cancelled the airport Hyatt, booked ME from the airport and still need to rearrange the DCL bus. The BA flight on Sunday still looks a goer, so that's one less thing to worry about. Bring on the cocktails 🍸🥂🍹