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Old 26 Nov 19, 07:16 PM  
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tonymc
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It’s Disney... but not as we know it! Week 2 - The Austerity Week

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Day 8 (Sat 16/11) – a week already! Today was planned as a “rest” day……..with a visit to Premium Outlets. However, much to my joy, when we arrived at 11:00 it was absolutely manic and having tried to find a parking space for 15 minutes with no joy, defeat was admitted and we headed back to the villa via McDs for some pool time – at least for two of us.

Myself and Joanne set forth to Publix at Orange Lake for the “big shop”, where we bought enough for 4 or 5 evening meals, breakfasts and lunches, which came to $188. TBH, since our last visit, although the exchange rate had plummeted, we hadn’t appreciated how much groceries are in the US, with cheese and ham both at $7 (approx. £5.50) per pack, and bread at over $3 (approx. £2.40) a loaf.

With that, back to the villa to spend the rest of the afternoon in the pool, with Chicken Alfredo from Publix for dinner – good value at $12 for a pack that would have comfortably fed 6 people. We then had another short drive over to Disney Springs for a look round and some shopping.

Day 9 (Sun 17/11) sees us back to Animal Kingdom. Again, pleasantly surprised at how quickly we managed to get from Emerald Island Resort to AK, and the parking attendant waived our parking fee when she noticed our magic band. We didn’t bother waiting for Flights of Passage as it was a 100 minute wait, but the rest of the park was relatively less busy, so we took advantage of quite a few rides on Kali River Rapids and single line on Expedition Everest, as well as Kilamanjiro, the Affection Section, Lion King and Nemo shows and Dinasour. We also caught the early showing of Rivers of Light, a vast improvement over the original offering we had viewed three years ago!

In keeping with the Austerity theme for the week, sandwiches were made to take with us for lunch, and dinner was yet another value meal from Publix.





Day 10 (Mon 18/11) is our first visit to Universal, starting at Islands of Adventure. We had purchased 2 day 2 park tickets, as we didn’t really have any other days to visit. We set off from the villa around 09:15 to avoid the I-4 traffic, and took Sherbeth Road and Osceola Parkway to further avoid congestion. Only took us 30 minutes, then another 15 minutes trek to IoA. We had decided on this day as it was showing as a low crowd day, and so it proved. We managed a lot of rides up to 15:00, where after riding both Hagrids Motobike Adventure (well worth the 50 minute wait) and Forbidden Journey, both Joanne and myself felt a little rough, so we left Alex and Jack in the park and returned to the villa. When we picked them up at 18:45, they had taken the Hogwarts Express over to Universal Studios, and managed to get six or seven rides done.

Another austerity day with sandwiches for the park, and a massive pizza from Publix for dinner that again fed the four of us comfortably.



Day 11 (Tue 19/11) saw us around the pool in the morning, with an early afternoon start for our third visit to Hollywood Studios, unfortunately with no free parking today! We had a Star Wars FP for 13:30, then we managed a couple of rides on both Aerosmith and Tower of Terror. We then headed over to Toy Story Land, where we managed to use our “bonus” FP from the cancelled Test Track FP on Slinky Dog Dash, followed by our FP on TSM (where Alex yet again triumphed). Then back to Indiana Jones before another visit to ABC Commissary for dinner (using one of our $50 gift cards from housekeeping), where we were surprised to find that on this occasion, food was served to you on proper china and with proper cutlery. Joanne and myself again shared the Ribs as the portion was massive.

Then made our way to Star Wars, where we had a 40 minute wait in the standby queue for Millenium Falcon, and on the way back, we noticed TSM had only a 20 minute wait, which brought us nicely to 20:45 and a good position for Jingle Bell BAM, which was extremely good. In fact, we all really enjoyed the Christmas theming at HS, the best we thought of all the parks.









Day 12 (Wed 20/11) was pencilled in as another rest day. After Saturdays postponement of Premium Outlets, we again made our way over to Vineland where a couple of hours of hell for myself was only partially mitigated by lunch at the food court and my going to the nearby Publix to pick up some extra groceries for sandwiches and breakfasts. With shopping over, back to the villa for yet more pool time – we’d paid for heating so were going to get our money’s worth!

In a break with austerity, we decided to eat out tonight, and as we were again visiting Disney Springs, have Manny’s Chop House on Apopka a go. Very impressed with the friendly service here, with our server giving us details of the days specials and letting us know that we could mix and match any of the two for one drinks. Alex and Jack opted for steaks, whilst Joanne and myself shared the special 14oz Strip steak, which for some reason arrived with both fries and a baked sweet potato. Add to that the bottomless house and ceasar salads and rolls that arrived, it was a very good meal with service to match.

Then off to Disney Springs, where we only had a few hours of torture – sorry, shopping – before making our way back to the villa. However, Jack and Alex managed to find these tree decorations to remember their graduation by.



Day 13 (Thu 21/11) took us back to MK for a relatively early 10:00 start, given that there was a MVMCP that night – all I can say is that we missed the bus direct to the entrance with it taking almost an hour from villa to entering the park. We managed a couple of rides on Big Thunder Mountain (approx. 20 minutes each in the standby line) before using our Splash Mountain FP followed by a Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Over to Space Mountain using another FP, then down to the Castle area to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade, before fitting in Buzz Lightyear (another Alex victory) before deciding on a return to the villa………and some pool time!




Dinner was again courtesy of Publix, following which Joanne and myself drove over to the Grand Floridian to catch the night’s fireworks, another MVMCP night. We remembered our resort mugs as they had shown up at ASM as being valid to 23/11, which proved to be right. We snagged a table right at the waterside in front of Gaspeirella Garden Grill where we were joined by a recently arrived couple from Farnborough, so we spend a pleasant half hour chatting about their plans. Once again, the music was piped in, and watching from a distance does allow you to see the “bigger picture”, which we really enjoyed.




Day 14 (Fri 22/11) sees a return to Universal Studios, where again it was a quiet day with most rides only a 10 minute wait, the exceptions being Escape from Gringotts at 35 minutes). We then returned to IoA on the Hogwarts Express, where unfortunately Hagrid was showing a 70 minute wait, but we again managed quite a few rides with only 10 minutes or so wait.







Leaving the park at around 18:00, we naturally ran into the peak time traffic on the I-4 which took us considerably longer to get back to the villa. However, whilst yet another Publix meal was cooking, we took advantage of the pool and jacuzzi, before catching up with some more UK telly via the iPad.

Day 15 (Sat 23/11) our penultimate day and two weeks since we arrived. We had planned an early evening start in Magic Kingdom as we were staying for the fireworks, and to take advantage of the 23:00 closing time. Alex and Jack had asked if they could go back to Premium Outlets, so I dropped them off whilst Joanne took advantage of the villa laundry facilities to get as much washing done before we packed. The two of us also managed some pool time, before I went into Uber mode to pick up the two shoppers, and then a late lunch at the villa.

Over to Disney via the monorail for 17:00, where the predicted high crowd levels were in evidence, but we had FPs for Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. Then over to Buzz Lightyear and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor before using our remaining $50 gift card at Village Haus (Alex & Jack) and Peco Bills (self and Joanne) where the platter was certainly worth the money.

Alex and Jack had, in the meantime, snagged a good vantage point near Caseys Corner to watch Happily Ever After, albeit with a 45 minute wait. Have to say that the castle looked spectacular and the fireworks, as ever, were excellent. After the show, we made our way to use our Big Thunder Mountain FP, then a wander back across to the exit, via a final challenge on Buzz Lightyear, with Alex making it a clean sweep across the entire holiday. Then the ferry back across to the TTC, and a swift drive back to the villa.

I think that overall, we were a little disappointed with the Christmas theming across MK, AK and EPCOT, but rescued by HS which was excellent.







Day 16 (Sun 24/11) and our departure day. Fortunately, Mike and Lucy (the villa owners) had kindly agreed to a 1pm checkout which meant packing could be done this morning. With a final clear up of all trash and recycling, we departed to the nearby Millers Ale House for lunch. Good food, great service and a cracking atmosphere with plenty of football on the big screens. Then a final top up of the fuel before making our way back to MCO, with the usual chaotic security arrangements, which left us with only a short time before boarding began.

We had already reserved 2 pairs of PE seats in the bubble, and it certainly felt very spacious. An on-time departure at 17:55, but shortly into the journey a passenger became ill, and Joanne and a nurse on board assisted the crew before the captain took the decision to divert to Boston, given the severity of the medical condition. We touched down in Boston just after 21:00 where paramedics were waiting, and the passenger was taken to hospital where hopefully he will recover to be on his way home shortly.

However, as Virgin do not usually see 747’s into Boston, it caused a few problems with removing the bags, which in turn delayed our departure up to the point where the captain was preparing us for a possible overnight stay! Both the flight and cabin crew kept us informed of the situation, and at the last minute, the offloaded luggage was back on the aircraft, and we pushed back around 23:00 just in time for the crew to remain within their hours.

So after an eventful few hours, it was a fairly quiet flight back to Manchester (at least for myself who managed to sleep most of the way) where we landed some 3 hours plus late, but very understandable given the circumstances – in fact, I don’t recall hearing any complaints from our fellow passengers about the delay.

And that’s it – sadly, it may be our final Disney trip for some time, as Alex and Jack will no doubt be going their own ways on future holidays, and Joanne and myself already having three shorter breaks planned for next year, and are planning a visit to Australia in 2021. However, never say never – who knows what will happen in future years.
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2024 The Retirement Roadshow – Part 2:Alaska, 2023 4th Time lucky - Aus & NZ, 2022 Cruising and Tuscany, 2020 A second unexpected staycation - Budapest to West Wales!, 2019 It’s Disney... but not as we know it!,2017 CA Possibly, Maybe, Definitely..,2016 Economy and a Studio Just Isn't Good Enough!
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Old 26 Nov 19, 11:09 PM  
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KarenG
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I must agree that the cost of groceries felt very high this trip (admittedly partly exchange rate but only partly).

Fabulous week albeit it being under austerity
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Old 27 Nov 19, 07:01 PM  
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tonymc
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TBH, we still ate well for our roughly £200 total Publix spend over the 9 days - not too bad for four of us. It was actually a change to have sandwiches in the parks as we had got a bit fed up of having fries with almost everything during our week on the DDP!
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2024 The Retirement Roadshow – Part 2:Alaska, 2023 4th Time lucky - Aus & NZ, 2022 Cruising and Tuscany, 2020 A second unexpected staycation - Budapest to West Wales!, 2019 It’s Disney... but not as we know it!,2017 CA Possibly, Maybe, Definitely..,2016 Economy and a Studio Just Isn't Good Enough!
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Old 27 Nov 19, 07:44 PM  
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Great report, really enjoyed reading. How I wish I could have got one of those graduation ornaments on our graduation trip in October, they are really lovely.
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Graduation Trip 2019
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Old 27 Nov 19, 08:19 PM  
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tonymc
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Believe me, we did some searching to find those decorations!
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Old 27 Nov 19, 10:02 PM  
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princess allie
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I agree that some things are very expensive, but we always buy some lovely bread in Walmart for a dollar. Think it’s Italian bread? We also buy the wafer thin ham and that’s cheaper too, about $3 per pack. We always get wraps for a change. My trouble is, I just chuck stuff in to my trolley without thinking and then I’m amazed when the total is rung up!
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Old 28 Nov 19, 08:15 PM  
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I must admit that we usually go to Walmart, but having experienced the chaos at the one nearest to our Disney accommodation on the Saturday night (and looking at the queues of traffic trying to get in throughout the week), we reckoned that Publix would be a quieter experience... which it definitely was.
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Old 15 Jun 20, 05:39 PM  
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Just found your report as were looking to book the villa you stayed at, would you recommend it?

Funnily enough we are looking at the same time of year too. All the Christmas decorations look fantastic!
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Old 15 Jun 20, 10:02 PM  
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tonymc
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Hi Michelle - definitely recommended. Mike and Lucy were extremely good with answering questions we had, and the whole booking process extremely easy. The villa itself was excellent, with loads of space for the four of us, and of course the pool which given the pleasant temperatures was a good way to relax after the parks or shopping. PM me of you have any further questions.
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2024 The Retirement Roadshow – Part 2:Alaska, 2023 4th Time lucky - Aus & NZ, 2022 Cruising and Tuscany, 2020 A second unexpected staycation - Budapest to West Wales!, 2019 It’s Disney... but not as we know it!,2017 CA Possibly, Maybe, Definitely..,2016 Economy and a Studio Just Isn't Good Enough!
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