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Old 5 Jun 21, 05:28 AM  
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Scarla
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The Chronicles of Nana – Orlando 2022 - Pre-trip Report - Update 15/12/21

Hi everyone & welcome to my pre-trip report.
I know it is a long way away, however, as some plans are starting to firm up now, I kinda thought I’d attempt a pre-trippie as I didn’t do one for our last trip.

The cast

Me - Jacqui AKA Nana
Chief planner, organizer & Disney fanatic.
Most looking forward to - Harry Potter at Universal

Darren AKA Pop
Disney convert & happy to go with the flow
Most looking forward to Discovery Cove

We are special guardians to our 2 grand-kids & they have been living with us since Scarla was 1 & Alex was 4 months.
it has not always been an easy ride but we wouldn't have it any other way

Scarla
10 going on 16 (will be 11 when we go)
Most looking forward to Magic Kingdom
Diagnosed with attachment disorder & currently being assessed for ASD
Can be a bit over-protective to her brother, bordering on smothering!

Alex
9, will be 10 when we go
Most looking forward to Aquatica
A real bundle of nervous energy & currently being assessed for ADHD but very understanding to his sisters needs & a real sweetheart

A bit of background:
So we went in 2019 for our ‘once in a lifetime’ trip, index here & had a great time, however, as is often the case, we wanted to return almost as soon as we boarded the plane home & as we hadn’t done universal or some of the other attractions last time I had the perfect excuse to get planning again



Cast your minds back to pre-COVID, February 2020 to be precise, just before the world ended. We were in the middle of winter & I fancied a bit of sun later in the year, so I booked us all an all-inclusive holiday with TUI to Egypt, I’d been before & loved it so was keen to take the family.

Then COVID hit, now we are lucky, I am a key worker so have worked continuously throughout all restrictions, hubby on the other had is self-employed & although he has worked at points he has had to work this around the kids. However, I earn just about enough for us to live on my wages if/when needed so managed to keep paying the installments to TUI in the hope that everything would be back to normal by October 2020!

In August 2020, with my Disney planning firmly on the back burner, I decided to book me & the kids on a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords for June 2021, this was just me & the kids as Darren won’t go on a ship but was something we had all wanted to do for ages. (you might wonder why this is in a WDW trip report, all will become clear later)

Anyway, fast forward to September 2020 & Egypt was put on the red list. I was a bit disappointed, but I could amend my booking, so changed this to Lanzarote, but this was now a week or so later than planned. We were due to fly out on 7th November.

We even got as far as ordering out PCR tests ready for our flight, when Boris announces lockdown 2 & we receive yet another email from TUI cancelling the trip





Anyway, the day after our trip is cancelled TUI release pries for 2022 so we decide to put what we have paid already towards Florida 2022, a no brainer really. Also, as our previous trip had been cancelled by TUI, they were offering an incentive of up to 40% off meaning we can upgrade out seats to premium for roughly the same price as I had been estimating for economy.

I had originally planned a DIY for 2022, but this was too good an opportunity to miss for something we were going to do anyway, it just meant we would have to move the trip to October instead of November. Now this could be an issue as Alex has a MASSIVE fear of Halloween, so much so that he has run out of shops before & will close his eyes to go past the seasonal aisle in the supermarket!



However, after having a talk with him, he thinks he will be brave enough by then, he’ll be 10. I am also hoping that ‘Disney-fying’ Halloween may help him to get over his fear altogether, fingers crossed.

BTW, remember that cruise I mentioned earlier, well, we were due to be going on that in a couple of weeks, but, you guessed it….CANCELLED!

So I spoke to the kids & asked them what they wanted to do, re-book for next year (meaning we’d have Disney & a cruise in the same year) or get a refund & put that towards Disney & of course, they chose Disney, (goes to prove I’m bringing them up correctly lol), so that’s most of our spending money sorted! I ordered a Fairfx card & have transferred it to dollars & put it on there, so I don’t spend it

So here we are:

The package

Our last trip was a very regimented affair, so this is, hopefully, going to be a more chilled-out trip. Obviously, some planning but with the flexibility to go with the flow as & when too.

Flights from Manchester to Melbourne 8th – 29th October 2022, yes, we are taking the kids out of school for a week either side of half term, however, I think with the year they have just had, an extra couple of weeks is not really going to make a big difference & we’ll just deal with any fine we get as & when. We are planning to drive up the night before, but I have yet to book hotel/parking. Really want to stay at the Radisson as the kids would love that but will likely wait until the end of this year before booking anything

When booking for 2022 I wanted something quite close to everything & as the villas with TUI are AoA I thought if I picked a location at least I’d know where I would be & after some research I settled on Emerald Island as it is pretty central to everything & has a clubhouse/pool but looks like it would still be fairly quiet & relaxing.





I had originally upgraded to an intermediate SUV with the gold insurance which includes extra drivers so hopefully I can persuade Darren to help with the driving, however he has already said he doesn’t really want to drive so a lot of my plans are on the assumption he won’t, so we’ll see.

The more I thought about it the more I started to have a panic about the amount of space for cases etc, so a month or so ago I decided to have a look at some of the other cars available. The 7-seat minivan was actually about £200 cheaper so I changed to that as I could then put the rear seats down if needed for extra space & also with the 3rd row, we can separate the kids when they are being particularly evil to each other



As of the beginning of this month, with lots of scrimping & saving, TUI is all paid up so I can relax a bit now & just need to concentrate on the extras I want to book.

So far, we have a spending budget of $3,000 but I want to add at least another $1,000 to that as this will be for food/fuel/parking + shopping/souvenirs & I don’t want to be worrying about money so would rather have too much than not enough

The kids have GoHenry cards & with those you can set up savings goals so they should have £200 each by the time we go but I may top them up as well, that depends on how much more I manage to save

Tickets

Discovery cove, these are non-swim, after the issues we had last time with Scarla, and includes Seaworld, Aquatica & Bush Gardens. A bargain at £508 for all of us + we get the free parking, result

14-day WDW/Universal combo tickets, these came in at just over an eye watering £3,000!

We are currently paying these off monthly so I can’t link them to MDE yet or book park days, but I’m hoping the booking system may have disappeared by the time we go so I’m not too worried
*Edit* - After lots of scrimping & saving, these are now paid off & linked on MDE so i have booked
park days. i know the chances on them not being available was very slim, but i feel much better now knowing i have one less thing to worry about


I’d also like to book a day at Kennedy Space Center & an air boat everglades ride but the kids aren’t really keen so I’m working on them, as well as maybe some attractions on I-Drive, like WonderWorks but we’ll see what happens nearer the time.

Itinerary:

This is what our plans are so far, I also have some surprises which only I know, (as Darren isn’t great at keeping secrets) & will not reveal until we are there. However, I can safely post on here as forums aren’t Darren’s thing, so he’ll never know lol

Friday 7th Day 0 – pre-travel day
Hopefully staying at the Radisson with drop & go parking at T2

*Edit* - Booking confirmed - 1 x family room @ Raddison Blu via booking.com £364 with breakfast! Expensive, but i thought sod it, just parking to book now. i know i still have plenty of time but i like having everything organised. i can always cancel & re-book if i see a better price

*Edit 1* - Manchester T1 Meet & Greet parking now booked 7th - 30th October 22- £156 which i didn't think was too bad. T2 parking still isn't showing so i'll keep an eye on the website & move if it becomes available, however, with the skywalks or whatever they are called its not a massive issue if i have to keep the parking at T1

*Edit 2* - Manchester T2 meet & greet is now bookable so i've cancelled my existing booking & rebooked for T2, & at a cheaper price of £117 too so thats a bonus

Saturday 8th Day 1 – travel day – Manchester to Melbourne
Pick up the car & drive to the villa, this will most likely be me driving as I am the one who has done all the research & hopefully, by the time we go I’ll know the route pretty well as I have already ‘driven’ it virtually several times. We’ll most likely stop on route for some food too.
If we are not too tired after unpacking, I’m also aiming on heading to Walmart to stock up the villa

Sunday 9th Day 2 – Magic Kingdom
MK first thing, then Walmart in the afternoon if we didn’t manage to get there yesterday. Then chill at the villa or go out for food depending on how we feel

Monday 10th Day 3 – Animal Kingdom

Tuesday 11th Day 4 – Universal Studios/ Islands of Adventure
Hotel in the afternoon so the kids can enjoy the pool
This is the first of the surprises as I have booked a club level room at HRH for the night. No-one knows about this & I’m not planning to reveal it until the night before. I think everyone will really love this especially Darren as he is a massive guitar fan & obviously this includes express passes.



Although we have a car, I am planning on getting an Uber to & from as it will most likely cost around the same as parking & will be one less journey to plan as well as giving me a break from the driving.

Wednesday 12th Day 5 – Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure
We’ll just see how this day pans out & then when we have had enough, we’ll collect out cases from the hotel & get an uber back to the villa

Thursday 13th Day 6 – Free day
After 4 busy days I haven’t got anything planned for today, me & Scarla may head to the mall or perhaps we’ll have a wander down I-Drive, well see how we feel on the day
I may book Ripley’s or WonderWorks for the afternoon/evening

Friday 14th Day 7 – Discovery Cove
I am again planning on getting an Uber to here, just so I can have a drink without worrying. This also has the second surprise as I have booked us a Cabana. We had one last time & loved it, so it was a definite add on for this time. I have just booked the standard package this time though, rather than the elite package we had last time, as we aren’t doing the swim so don’t need the photo package or buoy delivery, this comes in at $318 with tax, still expensive but definitely worth it imo.

Saturday 15th Day 8 – Hollywood Studios

Sunday 16th Day 9 – Aquatica
We have been watching some vlogs on this & Alex is really excited about the rides. He reckons he's going to ride breakaway falls but we'll see what happens as he'll probably chicken out when he see them

Monday 17th Day 10 – Epcot/Disney Springs

Tuesday 18th Day 11 – Seaworld

Wednesday 19th Day 12 – Free Day

Thursday 20th Day 13 – Magic Kingdom
The plan for today is another surprise. I’ve always wanted to stay at Wilderness lodge & we went for a visit on our last trip & all loved the theming. So, I am looking to book a night here using DVC points.
The plan is to check in & spend the morning at the resort then head to MK for the afternoon evening for another surprise MNSSHP. As discussed earlier, Alex has a real fear of Halloween so we’ll see if this works out & obviously this may change depending on dates. However, when I look at previous years, it appears there has always been an event on Thursdays/Fridays in October so hopefully this is the case.
I’m not quite sure on DVC as I’ve never used it before, but I may try & book at 11 months, just because I think it will be extra busy next year & don’t really want to stay at any of the other resorts

*Edit* I have booked a studio room at WL through a lovely dibber - this came in at £238 which is pretty reasonable i think.



Friday 21st Day 14 – Hollywood Studios
We will probably spend the morning at the resort, so the kids can have some pool time, then head to HS in the afternoon before heading back to the villa early evening

Saturday 22nd Day 15 – Animal Kingdom
We are aiming to have a lazy morning in the villa before heading off to AK in the afternoon. This will probably be our last Disney visit of the trip before our tickets expire

Sunday 21st Day 16 – Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure
This day all depends on whether there is anything we didn’t do during our stay or want to go back for. As we won’t have express passes, we may scrap this & change plans once we are there

Monday 24th Day 17 – Volcano Bay
I am planning on getting a Cabana here as another surprise, however, this may change & will depend on the price as they are quite expensive, hence the visit is planned for a Monday as I’ve heard that’s the cheapest day for Cabana’s. if it’s too expensive then we’ll just try & grab some decent spots, its not the end of the world after all

Tuesday 25th Day 18 – Kennedy Space Center/Airboat ride.
I have been looking on ATD & they do a combo ticket with transport so we may go for that. This day is still up in the air though, depending on the others. I’m not going to insist on it if everyone is going to be sulking as they didn’t want to do it lol

Wednesday 26th Day 19 – Busch Gardens
I’m still undecided on this as it is quite a drive, however, as this is in the 3rd week, I’m hoping I will feel more confident with the driving + it looks really nice & hopefully will be a bit quieter as its out of the main Orlando areas

Thursday 27th Day 20 – Wonderworks/Magical Comedy Dinner Show
This is another surprise I am cooking up – yet to be confirmed though

Friday 28th Day 21 – Aquatica/shopping

Saturday 29th Day 22 – Melbourne – Manchester
Its that time already. Our flight is quite early so we will probably need to be driving back to the airport by about 10.00 at the latest

Sunday 30th Day 23 – arrive home
We land in Manchester at 03:40 so will likely collect the car & drive straight home. Darren doesn’t know it yet, but he will be driving, especially if he hasn’t done any while we’ve been away, I’ll probably be asleep or planning our next trip, hahaha

*Edit* our flight has been changed to a later departure so hopefully that should give us a bit of time for some last minute shopping or a park in the morning, we'll see. The only downside is we arrive back in the UK at 07:00 so will likely hit the rush hour on the M6 home, just as well i'm planning on Darren driving lol h


Well thats it for now. writing it all out is starting to make it all feel real now

I will update as & when things are confirmed or change so feel free to follow along.

I hope you enjoyed reading
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Feb 2019 - 2 weeks onsite at CBR with DDP
Oct 2022 - 3 weeks offsite in 4 bed villa at Emerald Island - Pre-trip report is here

'Once in a lifetime' trip report - CBR + DDP Feb 2019

Edited at 05:15 PM.
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Old 5 Jun 21, 09:38 AM  
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Buffyp
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Sounds fantastic. Hope you get all the extras you want. It’s nice to be reading pre trip reports again
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Old 7 Jun 21, 07:42 AM  
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baggers
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Great planning and love all the extra surprises.
I’ve been looking at the cabanas at Volcano Bay but can’t justify the cost for 3 of us so going to book priority seats instead. At least we will have a base with sunshades over the beds and a lock box.
For your stay at HRH would you not look at spending the day of your stay at the parks as well to get the most out of fast passes? You can use them day of arrival and day of check out.
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Old 7 Jun 21, 10:09 AM  
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Scarla
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Originally Posted by baggers View Post
Great planning and love all the extra surprises.
I’ve been looking at the cabanas at Volcano Bay but can’t justify the cost for 3 of us so going to book priority seats instead. At least we will have a base with sunshades over the beds and a lock box.
For your stay at HRH would you not look at spending the day of your stay at the parks as well to get the most out of fast passes? You can use them day of arrival and day of check out.
Yes, we are planning on doing the parks on the first day of our stay at HRH but will probably go back to the hotel in the afternoon so the kids get the chance of some pool time
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Feb 2019 - 2 weeks onsite at CBR with DDP
Oct 2022 - 3 weeks offsite in 4 bed villa at Emerald Island - Pre-trip report is here

'Once in a lifetime' trip report - CBR + DDP Feb 2019
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Old 7 Jun 21, 09:44 PM  
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smithlane
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Your plans look amazing Jacqui, I can feel the excitement in your writing!
They will love all the extras you're planning, your DH sounds just like my OH and struggles to keep even the tiniest of secrets
I look forward to reading all about it!
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Old 8 Jun 21, 09:38 PM  
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Elsa42
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What great plans you have! I love all the surprises, i'm not sure how your going to manage to keep them a secret id want to tell them haha. Look forward to reading along
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Old 9 Jun 21, 03:32 AM  
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Scarla
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Originally Posted by Elsa42 View Post
What great plans you have! I love all the surprises, i'm not sure how your going to manage to keep them a secret id want to tell them haha. Look forward to reading along
It’s a daily struggle not to say anything lol, however imagining their faces when I reveal everything is helping
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Feb 2019 - 2 weeks onsite at CBR with DDP
Oct 2022 - 3 weeks offsite in 4 bed villa at Emerald Island - Pre-trip report is here

'Once in a lifetime' trip report - CBR + DDP Feb 2019
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Old 9 Jun 21, 09:06 AM  
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Busch gardens is definitely worth the trip even if you don't do the big coasters and you get free coach transfers there and back so you wouldn't need to drive.
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Old 9 Jun 21, 01:10 PM  
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Really enjoyed this pre-trip report. Never too early to start planning. We are also going in Aug 2022 with TUI which is our postponed trip from Aug 2021. Not gonna lie I have already planned everything!
Love the extras you have planned, sounds like an amazing trip and it will be here before you know it.
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Old 13 Jun 21, 09:34 PM  
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katebush95
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What an amazing trip you are planning 😍
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