[katebush95]

Yay we have a new countdown! After our November 2020 trip was obviously cancelled it was a bit up in the air as to when we’d be able to go back again. However we have gone for it and even thought it’s a LONG countdown at least it is a countdown and I can’t wait! November 2020 was going to be a 10 day mother and daughter trip staying in AoA, but for our November 2022 trip the cast has been added to a little 😆

A bit of background
We’ve been twice as a family to Orlando. The first time was Easter 2009 where myself, DH and DD plus my two sisters booked a package through Holiday Genie. We had great flights with Delta and an amazing villa at Glenbrook. We did all the Disney parks plus Seaworld and BG, plus a day trip to Mount Dora. We all loved it and even though I didn’t know much about WDW planning then we did pretty well with the fast pass system and managed to get on all the major rides. My love of Walmart and everything American began and after we returned I was desperate to get back, which we managed in June 2011. This trip was just me, DH and DD, and we had a flight, car and villa at Highgrove package with Thompson. This time we didn’t do Disney, but did Universal, Seaworld and BG. My main priority for that trip was anything Harry Potter related! We also visited Celebration for the first time (I want to live there!) and went to lots of offsite restaurants such as iHop and Bahama Breeze. Again it was great and I’ve been desperate to return but my DH is really not bothered at all and much prefers his summer chilled out Greek/Canaries holidays. My DD did go back in June 2019 with her DBF and his family. They stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and I was not jealous AT ALL 😫!

So after quite a few discussions about whether to try for 2021 and aim for another mother and daughter trip we decided in the end to leave it another year in the hope that all restrictions will have been removed. Our DDs DBF and his family were also keen to come and we managed to persuade my DH that a Disney holiday would be a good plan and he wouldn’t have to spend all day in the parks 😆

Cast

So the SEVEN people going on this trip are:

Me: katebush95; longtime Dibber even though I don’t post much. I’m hoping with this trip booked I’ll be posting a lot more and I would LOVE to get a gold ear by the time we go 😆; I’m a little bit over 50 😫 and I love everything about Orlando, Disney and Universal. My favourite Disney movies are Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid. I love Harry Potter and am excited to see all the new developments since I was there in 2011. I have been known to be a bit of a stress head, but couldn’t possibly comment 😆. I’m so happy just to be going I don’t really mind what we do! I have ordered several dozen travel guide books though plus a planning and a trip writing notepad 😆

DD: twenty something; Dibber, although posts even less than I do; loves all things Disney and Universal; generally much more laid back than me; not sure what her favourite movies are currently, but when she was little she must have watched Aladdin over 100 times, plus she had all the Lion King and Winnie the Pooh cuddly toys!

DH: Fifty something non-Dibber, but very used to me spending hours dibbing and telling him all about new developments at Disney and how much I need to go back 😆 His favorite Disney movie is the Jungle Book and he is quite into Star Wars so I’m sure he’ll love DHS this time. He’s most looking forward to playing golf and finding some decent American real ale!

The final four members of the trip are my DDs DBF and his family (mum, dad, brother). DD lives with her DBF in a lovely house in Leeds that they have bought together this year and his family live in London. They have all been to Florida a number of times before and usually stay in a Disney hotel to take advantage of the Disney transport.

Plans for this trip
We did think about booking flights, accommodation and everything separately, but as flights so far ahead would not be out for a while and also for the peace of mind of having a package in the current climate we have booked the following with Virgin Holidays and have paid the deposit, with the balance to be paid in August 2022:

4 x economy flights from Manchester (we might upgrade to economy delight when this is available in October/November this year)

3 x premium economy flights from Heathrow

1 x 5 bedroom villa on Highlands Reserve for 14 nights

7 x Disney park tickets

8 seater minivan

We wanted a golf resort as all the men like to play a few rounds and Highlands Reserve isn’t too far away from the parks and I like it that there is a Publix and a few restaurants within a walkable (ish) distance. We won’t know the exact villa until we go so that’s not ideal, however we did the same the two times we visited previously and it worked out fine so fingers crossed we get a nice one!

The two flights land within about an hour of each other so that should work out ok for meeting up at the other end although we may not (probably won’t) be able to fit all the people and luggage into the car so some of us may have to Uber to the villa. We’re not getting two cars as at the moment only DH is planning to drive, unless anyone else changes their mind between now and then.

We’re also planning to book a night or two at a Universal hotel so we can take advantage of the early entry and FOTL passes, but will leave this until nearer the time.

Even though we’re all staying together and will probably do plenty together especially going for meals and to the parks, there are definitely some things that we’ll do separately. For example the men will all have 2 or 3 rounds of golf I’m sure and most of the party want to do Busch Gardens, but I’m not bothered and so I’ll probably do a solo Disney day when the others go. I’d also love to do one of the backstage tours such as keys to the kingdom, but not sure if everyone will do that. Some of us might want the odd chilling/sunbathing day and I definitely want to do some shopping at some point.

To do - a lot!

We’ll all need to do our ESTAs.

Myself and DH have recently got new passports so we’re fine, but not sure about the others.

Check travel insurance is valid - I have an annual policy with my DH.

Decide whether to do an overnight stay at the airport the night before the flight and look at airport parking options.

Wait in anticipation for what the procedures will be for Disney by then e.g park booking days, fast pass etc

Book Universal hotel and tickets.

Book BG tickets for those that want to go.

Book backstage tour for those that want to do it.

Decide on any onsite dining we want to book - at the moment just thinking BOG for lunch and Sanaa for dinner.

Decide on offsite eats - iHop, Bahama Breeze, Millers, Longhorn, Olive Garden, Outback, Cracker Barrel...

Decide on evening entertainment - we will mainly go back to a park or out for dinner, but I’d love to do Jellyrolls one evening plus possibly see what bands are on at the House of Blues.

Decide what shopping trips to plan - Walmart of course, plus what are the best malls and outlets to do nowadays?

Lose 3 stone!

Buy some suitable footwear for the parks - Sketchers maybe?

Buy a new suitcase.

There will be loads more to do, but that will do for now! I’ll update again soon and I’ll be asking loads of questions in the planning forums!

Thanks for reading!