Saratoga Dreaming Oct / Nov 2016: Day 16 - Going home :(

[bambikate]

Day 16: Going home

Disembarkation, driving back to SSR, flight to Atlanta, flight to UK and drive home

The sea was so choppy overnight and we could really feel the ships movements. I wondered if this was normal and according to our FE Facebook group afterwards it wasn’t and even the seasoned cruisers said how choppy it was! There were waves crashing against our porthole (level 6!)

We woke up at about 5am, got dressed and got our hand luggage together. Breakfast was served at whichever restaurant you had on your last night (Enchanted Garden in our case) although I understand you could have had it at Cabanas if you preferred.

View outside





The breakfast was pretty good. I had the Route 66 and Andy had the Chef’s farewell whilst the girls had Eggs for the road.









The lobby was so busy, especially the lifts so we decided to take the stairs. As we joined the queue to disembark we noticed the guys in orange hi viz vests were there to help with bags if required. We started collecting our bags and this nice older man in the orange hi viz asked if we needed any help, we said yes and he sprung into action, swinging all of our luggage like it was filled with feathers onto the trolley! He was a machine, I swear I had a good 2-3 stone on him but he was so strong!

I collected my “rice cooker” / Mickey waffle maker from the desk and we joined the border control queue with our lovely bag superhero!

We chatted on the way through the queue, he was saying how embarrassing the whole election was and how on earth they could be left with those two as their only choices! Yep!

He showed us a picture of his dog and was telling us about his kids. We got through border control then walked to our car in the multi storey. Our bag super hero still with us. He helped us load the boot and wished us a safe journey. We gave him a well deserved tip and said goodbye. He was such a nice guy and fantastic service.

We powered up the sat nav and settled in for a journey back to Orlando. The drive was straight all the way and there was very little traffic.



We drove back to SSR and I went to reception to ask if I could use a printer, the CM obliged and took me to a little room where she left us to log on to the computer and print our own. I didn’t even know this was possible but it was a great feature! We printed our boarding passes and then went to grab a drink. We really noticed the price without DDP - ouch! A small OJ was $4.50!

We had a little bit of time before Peter was collecting us so we went to the arcade to use up the last of our credit.



11:30 soon came around and we went back to Carriage House to meet Peter.

I know kiddo, I feel the same way too.



He pulled up and his wife Wendy was there too. We chatted for a while (we are from the same neck of the woods) and she said goodbye when Peter drove us to the airport in our car. We chatted all the way about cruises and holidays. In fact, we chatted so much that Peter missed the turning to Tampa airport and we ended up driving over the bridge for an impromptu trip to St Pete’s! (Good job we weren’t in a hurry )

After our unscheduled detour, Peter managed to find a safe spot to do a U-Turn and we were soon back on track. We had left plenty of time so we weren't running late. He was so apologetic and embarrassed but it really didn’t matter and was actually quite funny

Peter dropped us right outside the Delta check in area. We said goodbye and then went inside to do bag drop. It took 10 minutes and all our bags were comfortably under the weight limits (yay!) Our old fashioned travel scales always seem to weigh heavier so we were pleasantly surprised.

We caught the monorail to the security area, this was another short ten minute queue and they were very friendly and helpful with families.

We were now airside and ready for some food. We were hoping for a panda express but no luck… we almost bought a bagel but we decided to walk around the corner first in case there were any more choices! Lo and behold we found a cute little Irish pub called 4 Fields.

We liked the atmosphere and the sound of the food and we grabbed a seat. The service was fab and our server was so so lovely. The girls and I went for fish and chips all round and Andy had burger and chips. Imogen discovered her love of vinegar here (which she has to have with chips all the time at home now!)

The food was excellent! So tasty and the chips and batter were lovely and crispy. Way better than we were expecting. In fact, Andy said it was the best burger of the holiday! It was quite expensive compared to what we had budgeted for (Panda Express!) but 100% worth it!





We got chatting to an American couple as we waited to board, they were just visiting family in Atlanta and they couldn’t quite believe how much travelling we were doing!

The plane was quite slow to load but we did end up leaving on time and even arrived early! When we landed an English guy asked if we were connecting to London and then asked if there was a McDonalds around.

We told him where we thought the McDonalds was likely to be and then made our way to the information board to find out where our connection was. We were in terminal A and our next one was terminal E. We got the “Plane train” which the girls loved. Our final rollercoaster of the holiday! They even put their hands up! Hehe.





The plane wasn’t too full and we had lots of time to spare. We got a coffee, some sprite, water and chocolate whilst we waited. We also saw our English friend with a Mcdonalds drink in hand so he had obviously found it.

As we boarded the girls were given a colouring pack which was a lovely surprise. Luckily we had the big lunch as there wasn't an evening meal on the flight, just pretzels! Oh… Error. Never mind. We had eaten enough food over the holiday!

Goodbye USA!



A really drunk man was sat in front of Andy and kept asking for more alcohol. He kept asking everyone if they wanted to have a drink with him. He eventually got moved to the back of the plane on his own!

We managed to get some broken sleep overnight (Neither of us sleep well on planes) and the girls managed a little better.

Morning UK!



A bit frosty



We arrived at London Heathrow on time at around 8am. We went through passport control which was so slow. We got moved to a different queue which was supposed to be quicker as we were a family but the guy said he was busy so we ended up waiting longer than everyone else it was such a shambles!

Eventually we got through and collected our bags then got the lift to the car park. We collected our keys from the purple parking podium and our car was waiting for us in the car park!

We squeezed all our bags (and kids) in (somehow? ! ) and were on our way home. We had work and school the next day! Wahhhhh! We made it home safely and managed to unpack a little, had some tea and a nice long sleep in our own beds

Thank you all for reading along! I hope you’ve enjoyed my trip report! I’m hoping to start putting together my video next so will post a link when that is up.

HIGHS

Flying Fish - Probably the best meal of the holiday and we will definitely be returning

Everest - Izzy's (and now Imogen’s) favourite ride and it was so awesome to all be able to go on the ride together!

Cruise - The cruise in general, Castaway Cay, Midship Detective Agency, meeting Captain Jack, participating in Fish Extender and watching Villains Tonight <3 A fabulous experience all round.

Hollywood Studios encounters - The surprise army man at the end of Toy Story, a great meeting with Pluto and Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma telling Andy to stand aside

Indirect flights - Really great comfy flights, easy connections and speedy border control which all made for easy travel days and to top it off it cost less than £1200 for four of us return and there were no fees to book our seats. Absolute bargain!

Last Night at Epcot - It was a perfect night and made me cry I was so happy. Amazing food, time with my family, cocktails and Illuminations. Perfection.

Meeting Disney Friends - We loved meeting up with Jo, Stew and Isabella and it’s lovely that the girls want to keep in touch, too. Looking forward to seeing them again later in the year.

LOWS

Cruise - Animator’s Palette - It was a let down food, service and experience wise and was a bit of a dampener on an otherwise excellent cruise. Photography - like I said before, I’m so glad we didn’t get the photo package on the ship, Mixology mix up - it was a bit gutting to miss out on the experience.

Minnie’s Seasonal Dine - Over an hour and a half wait to see Minnie and truly awful service! We won't be returning!

FUTURE PLANS

October 2017! We are so excited to be returning to WDW this October

We originally had the Polyneisan booked but decided to move dates to get better flight prices and Poly wasn't available on the new dates so we moved to Wilderness Lodge!

The Polynesian is my absolute favourite resort but oddly I wasn’t gutted because it was already a bit of a stretch to go there and we had discussed moving to WL to save £1,000 about a month or so before booking our flights so it was an easy decision when we made our amendment (the other choice was AKL Savannah or Yacht Club) Plus WL is somewhere I've always wanted to stay and looks beautiful!

We WILL go to the Polynesian one day

We booked with free dining last year so I'm looking forward to booking some ADRs and trying out some more F&W especially now that you get 2 snack credits a day *buys extra stretchy clothes in anticipation*

I’ve got another busy year of studying so I’m not sure if I will have time to do a PTR for this year’s trip (I start mid Feb) but if I do get time I might start a little one

Thanks for reading and for all your lovely comments I will try and respond to them all Kate xx

[loves2plan]

Have really enjoyed reading your report. Sounds like you had a great time. Thank you for sharing

[bambikate]

Originally Posted by loves2plan

Have really enjoyed reading your report. Sounds like you had a great time. Thank you for sharing

See more...

Ahh thanks so much for reading I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Its been fun re-living the memories again xx

[Guest]

I love reading your trip reports, thank you for doing another one. We'll be out there the same time as you this year so if I see you I'd love to think I'd say hello but in all honesty I'd probably end up smiling from a distance for fear of looking like a stalker

[Jaynew]

I have so looked forward to reading these and am gutted it's over. Our first ever wdw trip begins in 65 days and we are flying the same route as you so your words have been invaluable.
Thanks so much for writing this trip report. X

[nattyk]

Fab trip reports .. we have been many times but never oct ... on my list to do one year xx

[Excited6910]

Really enjoyed your trip report thank you 😊

[Excited6910]

Ps I can't believe the service you had at Minnie's seasonal dine! Were so excited to try it, I just hope the service has improved by then!

[welshmum]

Fab trip report Kate, I've really enjoyed reading it and all of your previous ones

[florida girl]

Another great read thanks for sharing all your lovely holiday memories. Look forward to the next one.