Chasing Sunsets - Day 16 - Going Home

[LLKJDisney]

Day 16 – Travel Home ☹

I am really sorry i have no photos of today.

The dreaded day had arrived, it was time to head home. We have had an amazing time which was finished off brilliantly by our few days at AMI. We will definitely be back here one day.

We were up at the normal time for us (7.30am) unusually there was not a great deal to do. Most of the packing was done and we did not have much to tidy up in the house as we had only been there a couple of days. I used my £1 shop weighing scales to check the cases and found one was under and one was over. I redistributed the weight and all was good. Well at least I thought it was, Lee realised we had not packed the booster seat so we had to adjust again! We got there in the end although repacking cases in the blazing sun is not great fun. Cases fitted in to the car no problem.

Lee had promised Jacob that he could have a go at driving the golf buggy round the parking area. This went well and Jacob loved it, however when they went to park it back in the garage, Jacob struggled with the concept of taking his foot off the pedal and there was a small collision with the wall! Thankfully no damage was done to the cart or the wall or indeed Jacob. We put the buggy back on charge and locked up the house.
We decided to head to Peaches for breakfast, our lunch yesterday was so nice we knew that we would be looked after. We ordered a mixture of pancakes, waffles and omelettes. Just like yesterday it was all lovely. We also had the same server as yesterday. We got talking to her and she told us that her son worked for Disney and was one of the top artists on Toy Story. She was not a fan of Disney and thought it had become to much of a rip off in recent years, she even said she turns down free tickets from her son!

We made our way to the airport, the traffic getting off the island was a lot easier than getting onto it on Monday. We took the I75 and I4 which were very quiet. We stopped in Hunters Creek to fill up the car as we had agreed to return it full. $25 did the job, it took us a further 10 minutes to get to the airport. The new terminal being built looked impressive. There was a small queue at the car drop off but with in 5 minutes we were on way to the check in desk with the help of a porter with our luggage. On the way to the desk the porter made a point of reminding Lee that he didn’t work for the rental company and he relied on tips to make his living 😊 we always tip these guys but this was the first time we had been reminded to give a tip. When we arrived at the desk it was not yet open but there was a queue of about 15/20 people so we joined the back and waited. We still had about 4 hours before the flight and we knew this would be the most stressful part of the holiday. The boys hate waiting at the best of times so waiting with no reward at the end was not going to be fun. I waited at the side with the luggage rather than drag them through the queuing area. Check in opened and we were given 2 sets of 3 seats with window seats. It was always our plan to grab a bite to eat at the airport so we found some seats by the food court. It was a mixture of McDonalds and Baguettes. I must say that customer service was not a priority at the food court. I went off to the Disney shop to grab some last-minute items. While I was gone Lee checked the receipt from the rental at Alamo, he saw we had been charged $10 for fuel as they said it wasn’t full! It was full when we left Hunters Creek, so they charged us $10 for 2 miles worth of fuel, oh well nothing we could now.

We made our way to the security area, it said there would be a wait of 18-23mins. This turned out to be very accurate. The sniffer dog scared Lucas while we were in the line but we all made it safely through and we were on our way to gate 80. We had a last-minute toilet stop before boarding at around 4.45pm. An hour later we were in the air which was 20 minutes late, so not to bad. The flight was very uneventful. The boys slept quite a bit which was good. Lee enjoyed Jacob’s kids’ meal especially his cinnamon cheesecake. Dick said the chicken curry was lovely. In the end we touched down just after 6.30am (20 minutes early). It was quite a bumpy landing but we were soon off the plane. We walked for what seemed like miles to get to passport control. The lady behind the desk who was half a sleep and yawning constantly checked our passports (glanced) and we were off to collect our cases.

By this time Jacob had gone very pale and green around the gills. He said he felt sick. I quickly rushed him to the toilets where he was promptly sick everywhere.

He said this made him feel much better and seemed to return to his normal self. By the time I returned to the others we were only waiting on 1 case so I grabbed 2 trollies and loaded them up. We made it back to the long stay car park via the bus. Lee looked at the photo on his phone to remind us where the cars were parked. The weather was cool but the sun was shining so that was good. We were expected to be charged £40 each at the exit for 2 days extra parking but the barrier just lifted and we were away so that was a bonus. The dreaded M25 was not to bad there was only a 10-minute delay and once we got on the M40 we had a clear run. It was a lovely sunny day which made it a little more bearable to be back home, it also made it easier to get all the washing dry😊

Well that’s the end of yet another trip report, as normal it has taken me 6 months longer than I wanted it too but as always, I got there in the end.

We had another wonderful family holiday in Orlando but I definitely feel we lost a bit of love for Disney this time round. The crowds in the 2nd week were really bad and our experience at DTD was awful. I think because we have been spoilt in previous visits we fall into the trap of expecting it to be quiet, when the reality is Disney rarely has quiet times anymore. I would say our love of the USA has increased and we loved AMI, although there is not enough there for us to stay for 2 weeks we would definitely love to spend a little longer on the island. The ocean was amazing at the boys were at the happiest on the beach. In fact, towards the end of the holiday it felt like we had to persuade them to go the theme parks which isn’t how it should be.

We will definitely explore other parts of America. In fact, as I write this final paragraph, we have 9 weeks before our next trip over the pond. I hit 40 in March so to celebrate we are going on a road trip around California for 18 days.

It will be just the 4 of us but I can’t wait, it has always been on my bucket list. So, if you enjoyed this report check back in about 4 months for another report but with very different details.
As always, I welcome any questions and if I can help in any way with your planning please do not hesitate to get in touch. Thanks for reading

[Tweety1]

AMI looked lovely we are there soon so can’t wait...
Looking forward to your next trip report hopefully before July so I can get some tips

[Excitedx4]

Great trip report, thanks for sharing! And wow not long before your big trip to California! I hope you all have a fab time and happy 40th birthday.

[LLKJDisney]

Originally Posted by Excitedx4

Great trip report, thanks for sharing! And wow not long before your big trip to California! I hope you all have a fab time and happy 40th birthday.

See more...

I am glad that you enjoyed the trippie Danielle, thank you for reading along

Yes not too long now and we are off to California, we are all ready for some more sunshine

[Sonia]

Loved loved loved your trip report! I've read lots of trip reports over the years but think I enjoyed yours more so as so many similarities to us. We are around the same age, have been 5 times before, take the grandparents and love to stay in a villa off site. We LOVE Disney but also equally love to get out of that Disney bubble as we call it and have the space and freedom a villa gives you especially with 2 young boys. We also make sure we get in the parks early and then back in the villa in the afternoon and then out again in the evening. Oh and also we also eat in slot of the same places and rarely eat in Disney. I'm just about to read your 2013 trip report as our boys will be 5 and 16 month when we go in May this year so I hope it will give an insight into what lies ahead 😂 Thanks for a fab read

[princess allie]

Hi Just read the whole report, it was great, thanks for sharing. We are doing 4 nights at the beach (St Pete) and your trip has made me even more excited for this. Looking forward to reading about California (we went a very long time ago), not long at all now before you go.

[Green G]

I’ve really enjoyed your trip report
We’re staying off site this summer and have picked up some great tips from your trip I love the look of AMI would love to go there for a few days maybe next time

[51emz]

Just read this this week, was an excellent read and thanks for sharing..

[smithlane]

Hi Kerry I have really enjoyed reading your report, thank you for writing. We feel very similar to you after doing both Disney and Anna Maria Island last year. We loved AMI so much we are staying for a whole week this year as well as going to New York first then Orlando after but with no Disney! Really looking forward to a more relaxed type of holiday
Have a lovely time in California, we are hoping to go next year so looking forward to reading all about it

[The Duchess]

Lovely report. 😊