Once in a lifetime !? April18 **UPDATED **

[sacratini28]

Having spent the last 12 months picking up hints and Tips from this site,I feel it only right to post a couple of random thoughts having just returned from a 10 night stay.

We've not been for some 15 years (since our son was 13 ) and decided a long overdue return was in order, this time taking our Grandson aged 6.

So myself (55) and my wife (54) set off with our grandson ,flying with Virgin from Gatwick and staying at Balmoral Resort in Haines City.We arranged a one night stay at Royal Pacific Hotel to take advantage of the added express passes at nearby Universal Studios/IOA.

After a very pleasant journey (both my wife and myself are absolutely scared stiff of flying ) we picked up our up graded Ford Mustang Convertible ( my Holiday treat ! ) and arrived at a fantastic 3 bed Villa at Balmoral.The villa and resort were absolutely glorious with a indoor pool and pool and water park at the Clubhouse !

WDW/Animal Kingdom

We spent one day at each park having purchased tickets via Orlando Attractions in the UK.
At WDW with booked fast passes for the morning and for Seven Dwarfs Mine at 8.50 pm.This was the first time we have ever done early opening and returned for the evening !
This provided the highlight of the trip,as we flew out of the mine it co-insided with the first Fireworks going off ! An unbelievable and fantastic bit of luck ,a real Wow moment !

At Animal Kingdom (again a first for us ) we managed to arrive for rope drop and do the rides we wanted to while the crowds were light.The highlight here was my Grandson stating out of the blue that he fancied going on Expedition Everest ( both myself and wife certainly didn't ! )
Fortunately ,when a 6 year old is up for it,Grand parents don't have a choice ! I say fortunately, because I wouldn't have ever entertained going on this type of ride, but boy was it fun ( when it finished ! )

Discovery Cove !

I had booked my Wife and Grandson Dolphin Swims as a surprise ! However,the surprise was on me when I informed both the day before of the treat that awaited the next morning ! My Wife pointblank refused, stating that she was still traumatised from watching Jaws as a child and was under no circumstances, going in the water with anything that had a fin !

Again,the power of a 6 year old won through, and both later confirmed that it was their highlight from the trip !

Seaworld

A favourite of ours from our previous trips.With admission and Car Parking included in our Discovery Cove admission price, we spend a full day leisurely going through the Park.

Highlights were the Pets Show and Killer Whales which never fail to impress

Universal Studios/IOA

Another first,as we had previously done Universal but had never been to IOA !
WOW ! The whole experience including City Walk was worth the whole cost of the trip.Harry Potter has to be experienced to be believed !

With express passes and fairly light crowds we managed to ride ever ride we wanted on several occasions ( thank goodness the 6 year old boss didn't fancy Hulk ! )

Conclusion

Overall,with the help of everyone who have posted reports on this site, we had and absolutely fantastic time ! Couple of random observations :

* Prices- have gone through the roof right across the board !

* Traffic- Cant remember it being anywhere near as bad as it is now

* Drivers-Still absolutely insane !

* Discovery Cove-Probably a one off, but a real life experience !

* Harry Potter -As previous WOW !

* Voodoo doughnuts-Worth the cost, wait and calories !

* Doras Pizza-Haines City,if you like Pizza ( its my staple diet ) make the effort and 35 min journey from Orlando !

* Balmoral Estate-5 star luxury ,and quiet ! 40 mins from Disney ,far enough to get away from the tourist trap !

* McDonalds- Yes surprised myself here .Again with a 6 year old, your probably not going to avoid it.While the food is the normal fare, the Strawberry Milkshakes are absolutely glorious and nothing like the rubbish we get in the UK.

I think that gives a flavour of our "once in a lifetime " trip.Oh,apart from the fact that Im now planning the next one, hopefully early next Year ! Please don't tell the Wife... our my grandson !

[Gryff]

Glad you discovered Dora's only Pizza I eat usually our first night dinner when we arrive st the Villa
Grandkids have a way of taking you out your comfort zone

[TGT]

* Doras Pizza-Haines City,if you like Pizza ( its my staple diet ) make the effort and 35 min journey from Orlando !

See more...

Our favourite place to eat! Lovely to see how they've grown over the years and we always go at least once, if not more. Best pizza ever! Lovely place

[sacratini28]

They sure do ! Managed to avoid rollercoasters for 55 Years ! Yes,Doras is fantastic ,went the first night and managed to get their twice more during our 10 days !

[sacratini28]

ust to follow up on my recent "Once in a Lifetime April 18 " thread which gave some quick observations and feedback on our recent "Once in a lifetime " trip with my 6 year old Grandson.

Having been back for all of a couple of weeks, myself and Wife (both 55 ) have been feeling a mixture of severe withdrawal symptoms and numerous "wouldn't it have been nice to have done ... !" lots of which were absolutely impossible while in charge of a 6 year old !

This has festered over the past week, during which time I have spent every spare minute looking longingly at all the places we could have visited ! Coupled with the overwhelming "could do with a Holiday" feelings, there was obviously only one possible course of action ! Well a mans got to do ... !

So we are returning, just the two of us (our first Holiday alone for some 30 years ! ) mostly because of a mutual fear of flying ! Having experienced Virgin flights this has now dropped to a dislike of flying !

Decision made, we where faced with an exciting blank piece of paper !Have spent the past Year planning everything to be 6 year old friendly, we can now do whatever takes our fancy,Florida just got a whole lot bigger !

First decision WHEN, ? answer ASAP !

Next, what kind of accommodation ? Having always stayed in Hotel rooms we opted in April to stay in a Luxury Villa at Balmoral Resort which was absolutely fantastic ! The extra space was a huge positive, but would be too much just for the two of us as we will only be needing a single bedroom !

And finally, exactly where do we want to go and what attractions to we want to visit/revist ?

OK,long story short, we have now booked the following through Virgin

Reunion Resort -8 nights 1 bedroom Villa

Portofino Universal -1 night 3 Park tickets with fast passes

Harley Resort Sarasota-1 Night Beach view

All booked for Sept !

Im now back to happy place ... looking constantly on my VIRGIN APP COUNTDOWN ( I really missed that for the two weeks ! )

100 Days 22 Hours 10 Mins ! and counting
sacratini28 is online now Boy Mouse Report Post to Moderator Click to view Members Gallery Click to view Members Trip Plans

[TartanRose]

Awesome! I love hearing about other people catching the Florida bug, especially after a break as long as yours!

[GezzasGem]

Oo I love it when the Florida bug kicks in! Have an amazing time 😃

[sacratini28]

Thanks for the kind words !

Its really exciting ,and strange, planning our Just the two of us trip !

Im having to completely re-evaluate all the places we ruled out in April which where not 6 year old friendly !

The more Im searching, the more I realise how much we missed the first time around !

The Dibb is proving absolutely invaluable in providing all the necessary information !

Thanks to everyone who posts !

Will update the update !

[Tracy34]

You're gonna love the 'two of you' trip...
We've been doing them for a few years now...
It's a totally different kind of holiday..

Happy planning...

[sacratini28]

Thanks !

Its definitely opening up a whole new set of options !

We haven't had a "two of us " holiday in over 30 years, having had both children and now Grandchildren !

Florida on our own is starting to get very exciting ,currently counting down the days !