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Old 9 Nov 19, 03:52 PM  
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Jake71
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Final thoughts after our trip!

So we’ve been home for a week after our 3 week extravaganza in Orlando and Madeira Beach and I thought I’d just note some of my thoughts on our return.

Disney has lost a little bit of the magic for me this time, actually to be more accurate, MK had lost a bit of magic. Can’t put my finger on why but I enjoyed our time in the other parks more.

Our first time at the Food and Wine Festival and it was fab, I’d definitely spend more time on that in future.

It’s so much more time consuming trying to get 7 moving in the morning than just 2. In fact it’s harder to manoeuvre 7 around theme parks in general. I felt there was a lot of waiting around when we’d decided our next move.

5 year olds say the funniest things:

On Smugglers Run, whilst being completely terrified, my granddaughter, Lilly, growled with the deepest voice amidst the tears “Is this real?” We try to convince her that no it’s not, and she shouts back “But Papa’s driving” 😂😂😂 meanwhile my grandson, Tyler, is shouting at me because I’m not pressing the right buttons! Oh dear how we laughed ... except Lilly!
Lilly was splashing about in the pool with her brother when we hear “remember, I can’t breathe under water, I’m not a fish” again so funny 😂😂
In Seuss land she had to go on things again with different members of the family because she “didn’t want them to miss the really good rides”

For the record I also have to point out that we spent a year measuring Lilly’s height hoping she’d be tall enough for most things, and at 113-114 cm when we went, she would’ve been, at Disney especially. We never took into account that she’d be scared of any of them! Smuggler’s Run was her first ride, and I’m afraid it scarred her for the rest of the holiday. We did sort of forcefully take her on some, like Soarin, Test Track, Toy Story Mania, FoP, to name few, and she enjoyed them when she came off, but by day 5 she was for none of it! If she couldn’t see what it did from the outside, or could and didn’t like the look of it, she was out.

For the first time I felt that I’d over planned, it didn’t feel as relaxed as I would’ve liked, specifically in Disney. I think the QSDP might’ve been better for us all as it would’ve been less tying for the kids. I felt like we were continually rushing to be somewhere for dinner, poor planning on my part perhaps.

We all adored the Beach Club and now can’t imagine staying anywhere else for a Disney visit. Equally the same feelings about the Hard Rock. It might be we split the holiday between the 2 the next time.

Whilst I have my thoughts about the DDP, we all enjoyed the ADRs, although we all felt that BOG was the “worst” of the bunch. DH and I had eaten there before when it was a 1 TS and felt the food and service were considerably better.

We’ve now done Legoland, don’t need to do it again, although Lilly enjoyed it. I think DH and I feel the same about KSC. The older kids would’ve preferred Busch Gardens, and with hindsight so would Tyler who at 11 with a visual impairment, turned out to be the biggest adrenaline seeker. BG would’ve been right up his street.

The drivers decided that next time the cars will be collected at the airport, more selection being the main reason. And to be fair by the time we’d waited for the Magical Express we could’ve been well on our way. They realise by the time we go back there’ll be a parking charge for UK guests but they feel it’s worth the extra.

The oldies very much appreciated the week at the beach on our own before returning to work, it would’ve been so not fun to have gone straight back after the hectic 2 weeks.

BA flights are not what they were, and we’ve only been flying with them for a few years, but still see a huge difference in the quality of service.

So there we have it, the 3 weeks have come and gone. I feel a bit sick in my stomach that it’s all over after 18 months of thinking about it every day and planning. I’m assuming it’s the post Florida/Disney blues. Apparently the plan is to return in 5 years, although that might need to extend to 6 depending on some family developments. However, the saving has started.

What to do with my time now? DH hits the big 50 next year so something special has to be planned for that, I’m thinking a Caribbean cruise and a stay somewhere. But that’s a whole new holiday plan.
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Old 9 Nov 19, 04:18 PM  
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Loobylou_82
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Sounds like you had a really good time. Our family prefer Universal and Bush Gdns now they are adults, but still have to squeeze a couple of Disney days in for the grandchildren.
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Old 9 Nov 19, 04:54 PM  
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Loopylooloo
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Your granddaughter sounds so cute! Bless her.
A great trip, if a little busier than you hoped. I agree about magic kingdom, I think the getting in always takes longer, and its just bigger and busier?
Glad you had such a good time though, lots of great memories from the sounds of it!
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Old 9 Nov 19, 05:58 PM  
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Andybear
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I'm with Lilly and the Seuss Landing rides - they were my favourites of the Universal/IOA rides! I don't think kids should be forced to go on rides though - my boss did that the first few days of his holiday a few months ago and he said they "played up" (his words) for the rest of the holiday, they didn't want to go to the parks in case they had to go on rides. They wanted to stay at the hotel pool and playground.
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