Highs & Lows Graduation Trip + a lovely homecoming

[JanetteP]

Just got back on Monday morning after 2 weeks in my favourite place. I have laughed until I cried with my DS and his friend – a great time. Not many lows, and lots of highs. Really loved taking my DS’s best friend with us – she last visited when she was very young so couldn’t remember anything. It was fantastic showing her all my favourite places. It was very hectic though, we did everything apart from Aquatica, only 1 day off for shopping!

Tui flights from East Midlands. Great – but also see lows. We had extra space seats, and would definitely pay for these again.

Car – booked for the first time with Andy at DFCH for a fantastic price of £308 for an intermediate SUV. Our usual guy at Sanford promised to look after us, and he did. We got a 7 seater Dodge Journey for the 4 of us, so plenty of boot space, and a really comfortable SUV.

AKL – a complete surprise for Josh and Sam, and their faces were a picture. They thought we were lost when we pulled in, it was really lovely when they realised. We had a great partial savannah view, a bit of a walk, but it was well worth it for the view. We had to ask when checking in, and they gave us a room looking out onto where the animals were kept at night, so we saw them all coming out in the morning, and going back in when it started to get dark. Touring Plans request was completely ignored. Our pre-ordered Magic Bands were there, so very happy with them.

ADR’s – well all the planning went up in the air when my DS stated he didn’t like the chicken at Chef Art’s and he absolutely hated Teppan Edo. I had to re-book – cancelling Ohana’s and 1900 Park Fare and ended up at Planet Hollywood, which was absolutely fantastic, and breakfast at Crystal Palace. Sam had been asking to get a picture with the characters, and had no idea when we walked into Crystal Palace that she was going to meet Eeyore – I must admit I cried when I saw her face. Josh’s favourite by far was Raglan Road – and it was my favourite too – fabulous dessert – can thoroughly recommend the Raspberry Pavlova. There was lots of availability though, so all the stress of getting ADR’s at 180 days was not worth it.

Disney Parks – great – managed all our fastpasses – the early entry worked a treat for us. We were hitting the parks for EMH and going back to the hotel in the afternoon, then back out in an evening to eat. Did Smuggler’s Run but the whole Star Wars experience was lost on Josh and Sam – they hadn’t got a clue, having never watched a Star Wars film! Cancelled Oga’s Cantina as they just wouldn’t appreciate it at all!

Villa - another lovely stay at our Dibb villa Lakeside Haven. We were ready for the space of the villa after 5 days at AKL.

HRH – just lovely – great service – Club Level – so worth it for the express passes for 2 days. The lounge was still available to us on the second day when we checked at 2.30pm.

Offsite meals – DS loved Wendy’s – I wasn’t too keen. Ended up having to take back most of the order as it was wrong, or the fries were cold. I much prefer Steak & Shake and am hugely disappointed that we didn’t get there as they kept asking to go to Wendy’s! Favourite was BOGOF fish and chips at Devenney’s Irish Bar on a Friday – just lovely fresh battered cod.

SW – we did Dine with Shamu again. Loved it. The park was really quiet – the longest wait was 20 minutes. They dragged me onto Maku and I’m pleased that I’ve actually ticked that one off my list!

Discovery Cove – as always we loved it – a fantastic day. Managed to snorkel all the way around the Grand Reef – another bucket list item ticked off.

We did the Skyliner before it broke – it must have stopped 6 times on our journey from HS to CBR – not very impressed, but glad we got to do it.

A huge big thank you to Craig and Jenni for our tickets to Sealife and Madame Tusssauds –Josh and Sam absolutely loved it.

Lows

Outbound flight - the passengers who thought they could just pass through out extra space seats by climbing over our legs! They still didn’t think they had done anything wrong when I explained that this was not a thoroughfare! Grr. On the inbound flight we had a family who had played up as they were not happy with their seating arrangements delaying us all getting on the plane! Their son kicked the back of my DS’s chair all the way home, and woke us up numerous times!

Disney Tipping – at our first TS meal at Chef Arts – the waitress took great pains to explain that the gratuity was not included – and that her tip was $37. A fact I am well aware of – and don’t need telling twice that this is the amount that we must pay! She didn’t get $37 – I would happily have paid it had she not been so rude. This was my DS’s first time on DDP and he was horrified at how much the meals cost and how much they expected for a tip.

For the first time ever I had a really grisly steak at Texas Roadhouse. They subbed me 2 drinks when I told them, but I’ve never had a bad steak there before.

A lovely Homecoming

So we landed at 7.00am and got home about 9am due to not getting our luggage! We had a few hours sleep and then went out in the evening as Josh had made it to the final four of Student Nurse of the Year. We had a lovely evening at the Crowne Plaza in Nottingham – made even better when he won. I’m such a proud Mum – it made me cry as he’s worked so hard – and he’s a natural caring person – so will be ideal in his chosen profession. His Ward Sister is very pleased that he is joining them. A wonderful end to a lovely time in Florida.

[ClaireNJ]

WOW what a fab holiday you’ve had, sounds great especially your room at AKL, what a coming home present too to find he’d won Nurse of the Year Congratulations

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Wow that was an action packed busy trip. Sounds like it was excellent and you got to do just about everything you wanted to.

I'm glad you mentioned the ADR issue and the fact that they are not worth losing heart muscle over any more. Loads of availability nowadays unlike years ago. Funnily enough we now rate Raglan Rd highly after a few years when it was just average. Now very good.
Was the Dine with Shamu part of the Orlando Magical Dining?
So sad we missed out this year. Maybe next time.

Finally a huge well done to your Son on his achievement. Excellent news.

Nice report.

[JanetteP]

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

WOW what a fab holiday you’ve had, sounds great especially your room at AKL, what a coming home present too to find he’d won Nurse of the Year Congratulations

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Thank you so much

[JanetteP]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

Wow that was an action packed busy trip. Sounds like it was excellent and you got to do just about everything you wanted to.

I'm glad you mentioned the ADR issue and the fact that they are not worth losing heart muscle over any more. Loads of availability nowadays unlike years ago. Funnily enough we now rate Raglan Rd highly after a few years when it was just average. Now very good.
Was the Dine with Shamu part of the Orlando Magical Dining?
So sad we missed out this year. Maybe next time.

Finally a huge well done to your Son on his achievement. Excellent news.

Nice report.

See more...

Thank you so much. Yes - Raglan Road was really excellent, it was always a stand-by for me, but now would be one of my must do ADR's. I will absolutely never stress over ADR's again either.

The Dine with Shamu wasn't part of MDM but only cost £96 for the four of us - well worth it as there were no shows on at SW as they were replacing the seating. The food is fine, the experience is fantastic. We already had our SW tickets, so didn't need the free entry. We were due to go to Eddie V's for MDM but I just knew the 2 younger ones would absolutely hate it, so had to cancel that too! Now planning next year for September to make full use of MDM.

[Disney_time]

Congratulations to your DS, they never had that when I was training (actually started 40 years ago today 😊, not that I would ever have won it! It's a great achievement and must have taken some hard work.

[JanetteP]

Originally Posted by Disney_time

Congratulations to your DS, they never had that when I was training (actually started 40 years ago today 😊, not that I would ever have won it! It's a great achievement and must have taken some hard work.

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Thank you so much and congratulations on 40 years 👏

[CrispyA]

Sounds like a trip and congratulations to your son - what an achievement!

[JanetteP]

Originally Posted by CrispyA

Sounds like a trip and congratulations to your son - what an achievement!

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Thank you so much

[Tinkerbell]

Originally Posted by JanetteP

Just got back on Monday morning after 2 weeks in my favourite place. I have laughed until I cried with my DS and his friend – a great time. Not many lows, and lots of highs. Really loved taking my DS’s best friend with us – she last visited when she was very young so couldn’t remember anything. It was fantastic showing her all my favourite places. It was very hectic though, we did everything apart from Aquatica, only 1 day off for shopping!

Tui flights from East Midlands. Great – but also see lows. We had extra space seats, and would definitely pay for these again.

Car – booked for the first time with Andy at DFCH for a fantastic price of £308 for an intermediate SUV. Our usual guy at Sanford promised to look after us, and he did. We got a 7 seater Dodge Journey for the 4 of us, so plenty of boot space, and a really comfortable SUV.

AKL – a complete surprise for Josh and Sam, and their faces were a picture. They thought we were lost when we pulled in, it was really lovely when they realised. We had a great partial savannah view, a bit of a walk, but it was well worth it for the view. We had to ask when checking in, and they gave us a room looking out onto where the animals were kept at night, so we saw them all coming out in the morning, and going back in when it started to get dark. Touring Plans request was completely ignored. Our pre-ordered Magic Bands were there, so very happy with them.

ADR’s – well all the planning went up in the air when my DS stated he didn’t like the chicken at Chef Art’s and he absolutely hated Teppan Edo. I had to re-book – cancelling Ohana’s and 1900 Park Fare and ended up at Planet Hollywood, which was absolutely fantastic, and breakfast at Crystal Palace. Sam had been asking to get a picture with the characters, and had no idea when we walked into Crystal Palace that she was going to meet Eeyore – I must admit I cried when I saw her face. Josh’s favourite by far was Raglan Road – and it was my favourite too – fabulous dessert – can thoroughly recommend the Raspberry Pavlova. There was lots of availability though, so all the stress of getting ADR’s at 180 days was not worth it.

Disney Parks – great – managed all our fastpasses – the early entry worked a treat for us. We were hitting the parks for EMH and going back to the hotel in the afternoon, then back out in an evening to eat. Did Smuggler’s Run but the whole Star Wars experience was lost on Josh and Sam – they hadn’t got a clue, having never watched a Star Wars film! Cancelled Oga’s Cantina as they just wouldn’t appreciate it at all!

Villa - another lovely stay at our Dibb villa Lakeside Haven. We were ready for the space of the villa after 5 days at AKL.

HRH – just lovely – great service – Club Level – so worth it for the express passes for 2 days. The lounge was still available to us on the second day when we checked at 2.30pm.

Offsite meals – DS loved Wendy’s – I wasn’t too keen. Ended up having to take back most of the order as it was wrong, or the fries were cold. I much prefer Steak & Shake and am hugely disappointed that we didn’t get there as they kept asking to go to Wendy’s! Favourite was BOGOF fish and chips at Devenney’s Irish Bar on a Friday – just lovely fresh battered cod.

SW – we did Dine with Shamu again. Loved it. The park was really quiet – the longest wait was 20 minutes. They dragged me onto Maku and I’m pleased that I’ve actually ticked that one off my list!

Discovery Cove – as always we loved it – a fantastic day. Managed to snorkel all the way around the Grand Reef – another bucket list item ticked off.

We did the Skyliner before it broke – it must have stopped 6 times on our journey from HS to CBR – not very impressed, but glad we got to do it.

A huge big thank you to Craig and Jenni for our tickets to Sealife and Madame Tusssauds –Josh and Sam absolutely loved it.

Lows

Outbound flight - the passengers who thought they could just pass through out extra space seats by climbing over our legs! They still didn’t think they had done anything wrong when I explained that this was not a thoroughfare! Grr. On the inbound flight we had a family who had played up as they were not happy with their seating arrangements delaying us all getting on the plane! Their son kicked the back of my DS’s chair all the way home, and woke us up numerous times!

Disney Tipping – at our first TS meal at Chef Arts – the waitress took great pains to explain that the gratuity was not included – and that her tip was $37. A fact I am well aware of – and don’t need telling twice that this is the amount that we must pay! She didn’t get $37 – I would happily have paid it had she not been so rude. This was my DS’s first time on DDP and he was horrified at how much the meals cost and how much they expected for a tip.

For the first time ever I had a really grisly steak at Texas Roadhouse. They subbed me 2 drinks when I told them, but I’ve never had a bad steak there before.

A lovely Homecoming

So we landed at 7.00am and got home about 9am due to not getting our luggage! We had a few hours sleep and then went out in the evening as Josh had made it to the final four of Student Nurse of the Year. We had a lovely evening at the Crowne Plaza in Nottingham – made even better when he won. I’m such a proud Mum – it made me cry as he’s worked so hard – and he’s a natural caring person – so will be ideal in his chosen profession. His Ward Sister is very pleased that he is joining them. A wonderful end to a lovely time in Florida.

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Glad you had such a fab time and...

Well, well well

We had a similar issue. When I signed the bill I wrote the tip on the wrong section. The waiter stormed back and said... you haven’t tipped me, why haven’t you tipped me. When I looked at the bill I showed him where I had put the tip,

Well, he said, that’s wrong, in future make sure you get it right, and it was said in a very intimidating tone.

I’m sorry I said, can I have the bill back. I scrubbed out the tip asked to see the manager, explained WHY there was now no tip and was credited the meal back to DDP