We Need a Proper Honeymoon! May 2016 - Travel Day

[Redrach1903]

Saturday 7th May

It’s heeeeeeeeeeere! OMG I love that feeling! After all the planning and anticipation it is finally time to get your butt on that plane!

I woke up at 2.30am. My notes say I got about three and a half hours sleep, so I guess I must have went to sleep around 11pm then! Chris got up after I was out the shower. Once I was ready I had a wee chat with Lisa (Lisa_Lollipop) via Instagram. She had messaged to wish us a safe journey Sounded like her and Paul were having a great time!

We went down to reception to wait for our taxi and to pay for the parking at the hotel. I hadn’t booked a park and fly room rate as when I called to enquire they told me you can actually pay the parking at £10 per week separately. Sold! I went to sort that out while Chris got the rest of the luggage out of the car. The guy only charged me £20 even though the car would be left there for the best part of 3 weeks! Bargain! Suppose that makes up for the bank breaking bar prices He also made a Chris a cup of coffee. Top lad! He also told us that when we return for the car to take the taxi receipt to reception and it would be reimbursed (remember that!)

Our taxi arrived on time at 4am and we were on our way to Edinburgh Airport! Neither of us have actually flown from here before, so it was all new to us! Seemed nice enough. A good bit smaller than Glasgow, but bigger than Aberdeen (obvs lol).

When we got to the BA desk the girl seemed dead grumpy and kind of grunted at us saying that she wouldn’t be open for another 15 minutes. Jeeez ok love! However, when she actually opened up she was pleasant enough.

Our luggage was well underweight (mine was 15.9kg and Chris’s was 15.3kg). Chris also had his golf clubs to check in, but he hadn’t paid for them in advance even though I told him a MILLION times to do so as it’s cheaper than paying at the desk! He kept saying that someone had told him BA don’t charge for sports equipment and he was going to chance it. I thought it was a bad idea and told him so, but he wouldn’t listen! Well, imagine my surprise when the BA girl takes the clubs, tags them and sends them on their merry way without any mention of paying for them! Gob smacked I was. Chris, on the other hand was smug AF! Dammit!

So with luggage out of the way we went to find something to eat. We just stopped at one of the first places we saw and I can’t even remember the name of the place! Trip report fail! I had a fruit scone and Chris had a bacon toastie. We both had tea. Total was £8.20.

Oh just notioced it says “AMT” on the cups and napkins, so that is clearly where we were!

At breakfast I was scrolling on Facebook and noticed that Justin Timberlake had dropped his new single. I had a quick listen and loved it straight away! Such a feel good summery song! I instantly downloaded it and decided it would be one of our holiday anthems this year It’s a shame that Chris doesn’t actually like it that much, but oh well, you can’t have everything

After breakfast we got some magazines to read from WH Smith and then went through security. I was body searched! Hate that! I always feel automatically guilty even though I know I don’t have anything to hide!

We then tried to get a drink in The Gathering, but it is table service only so you can’t just go up the bar and order a drink which we found a bit odd. After 10 minutes of waiting we gave up and tried Weatherspoon’s which was also super busy. The queue at the bar moved quickly enough though and Chris soon had his first pint of the holiday. I don’t know how anyone can drink that early, but it must be a male thing cos I just read that Lisa’s Paul did the same thing! Haha!

We boarded the flight at 6.15am and took off on time at 6.40am. We were offered breakfast which I declined and just had some orange juice. Chris ate the bacon from the breakfast and nothing else.

The woman sitting next to me seemed to be getting special treatment from the cabin crew. They were addressing her by name, saying it was nice to see her and asking her if she needed anything. I was thinking she must either be famous or a very frequent flyer. I am so nosey, so I was dying to know! As luck would have it she soon started chatting away to me and I realised it was the latter! She works for a shipping company and travels all over the world to escort injured or ill employees back home. She was on her way to Perth. She was quite interesting and I enjoyed yapping to her!

We landed in LGW early at 7.55am. We went through security again and there was a toddler who kept touching the body scanner so the security guards had to keep telling him off. I don’t know why his mother didn’t keep a hold of him, but who am I to judge? Eventually they both went through and they body searched the toddler! I have never seen that happen before! I also got body searched again! I think it was my Pandora bracelet that was setting it off!

As I was collecting my things I spotted someone waving at me. I knew him, but I couldn’t bloody remember who he was, so I just smiled and waved back. I was wondering if maybe it was a dibber! Anyway, we went to find the Aspire lounge as I had booked it online for us. We were in by 8.20am. Chris had a bacon roll and several beers while I just had tea. I wasn’t hungry yet. The lounge was nice!

At this point I checked the BA app and it was saying our flight arrival time was delayed until 3.58pm (should be 3.25pm). Hmmm. The screens in the lounge said on time, so we weren’t sure what the deal was with that!

Chris soon fell sound asleep and I’m sure he’ll thank me for including the photographic evidence……

I dibbed for a while (thanks Jo for posting the latest day of your TR!) and then helped myself to both a croissant and a bacon roll. Oink! A man who was constantly muttering to himself came and sat near us and I found it really irritating! There was also someone who decided to FaceTime their family on loud speaker for everyone to hear. Ever heard of headphones?! I shakes my head!

Chris was still sleeping at this point so I sat and sent silly Snapchat photos to my Dad! He doesn’t actually have Snapchat, but I WhatsApp him the photos and videos as he thinks they are hilarious! The penny eventually dropped as I was sat there and I remembered who the guy was who was waving to me! He wasn’t a dibber at all. He was someone I used to work with! Haha!

Chris finally woke up and we went to WH Smith for some snacks before boarding. We were settled in our seats by 11am. We had paid for exit row seats, which we really didn’t like believe it or not! There was lots of leg room of course, but there was nowhere to stow our phones, iPods, magazines etc, so everything was just lying about on the floor.

We didn’t have a window either which was a bit of a bummer. To top it all off the air con system was dripping, so I had water dripping all over me. The cabin crew were like “oh don’t worry; it stops once we’re up in the air”. Yeah cheers love! They did give me some tissues, but I was kind of hoping they would move us. Not the end of the world, just slightly annoying considering we had paid the extra for these seats.

We took off 15 minutes late at 11.35. Drinks and pretzels were distributed at 12.15.

I watched Daddy’s Home which was mildly amusing and Chris watched Deadpool. Lunch came round just after 1pm. I had creamy pasta with a cabbage and Cajun crumble and Chris had cottage pie. I really enjoyed my pasta! Chris said the cottage pie was good enough! Pudding was caramelized banana pudding which wasn’t nearly as nice as it sounds! It was ok, just a bit dry.

I finished watching Daddy’s Home and then started Deadpool. About a quarter through I felt sleepy, so I had a nap while listening to music. I woke up just before 3 and watched the rest of Deadpool. It was good, but I really don’t get all the hype as it wasn’t THAT good. Chris loved it though. Probably a boy thing! I then watched How to be Single which was pretty terrible. I checked on our progress and was happy to see we were getting closer!

I slept for another 30 minutes and at 7.15pm (I’m still working on UK time for now) we were given a sandwich and a kit kat. For once the sandwich wasn’t something with cheese! It was actually really nice!

We landed about 15 minutes late at 3.45pm. I was dreading immigration as I knew the virgin flight would have landed before us, but when we got through we were pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t nearly as busy as we had seen it on previous years. We were soon directed to the automated machines and even though I got a big black cross through my face (GULP) we were allowed into the country! YAY! We were done and picking up our bags by 4.20pm. Nice!

We got a trolley for the luggage and made the looooooong walk to the end of the terminal B to get the Magical Express

I had been SO looking forward to this, so imagine my disgust when we are directed to stupid old Mears coach. Gutted! However, our driver (Cecil) was a hoot, so that made up for it! He was really funny We tipped him $5.

The bus did drop offs at Old Key West, Saratoga Springs and Port Orleans French Quarter before finally dropping us at Riverside at 5.45pm. Chris loved all the sneak peaks he was getting of LBV golf course as he was booked to play it in a few days!

It felt SO good to be back here! I have so many fond memories of this resort! I went to get our magic bands and room number while Chris got the luggage to bell services. The reception lobby is exactly how I remember it and it even smells the same I joined the queue here….

Until I noticed this, so quickly moved over as I had done online check in 60 days ago!

We were given Acadian House as requested, but they could not give us a river or pool view, so they credited $250 to our room account! I think this was because we had paid for a preferred room, but didn’t want to be in Alligator Bayou (my own silly fault). We were given our magic bands which I was SURE I had taken a photo of, but I can’t find it You’ll see them as the report progresses anyway!

We told Bell Services our room number (8005) and then went off to find it.

I was pleased to see this and can you spot the hidden Mickey’s in the bed runner?

This was the back of our building! We loved that fountain, so pretty

I called down to let Bell Services know that I also had a Garden Grocer order and asked if they could bring it too. They said that was no problem

I left Chris to get unpacked and trotted off to get our refillable mugs from Riverside Mill Food Court! It was a very easy process, I just grabbed 2 mugs and they scanned my band. Ta da!

Walking back I felt so happy I loved the feeling of the hot Florida sun on my skin and I just felt so delighted to be back to my happy place! I must have been grinning like an idiot!

This is the front of our mansion

Our luggage and Garden Grocer got delivered just after I got back. The CM was really nice, we tipped him $5.

The plan tonight was to head to Disney Springs for an Earl of Sandwich, so we got freshened up and headed to the bus stop taking a few snaps on the way!

We just went to the main bus stop as I wanted a look in Fulton’s!

Such a good store! As well as the Disney Merchandise, they have plenty practical things you may need to such as a selection of snacks, drinks, medicines, toiletries and lots more. We liked it!

We went outside to the bus stop and I took a photo of the entrance to POR. I love it It totally takes me back to being 12 and arriving at Disney World for the first time!

I was happy to see these screens and they were always accurate and updated continuously!

[continued in next post]

[Redrach1903]

[continued from previous post]

Well going to Disney Springs at this time on a Saturday night was a BAD IDEA! It was absolutely rammed! EoS had a snaking queue longer than I’ve ever seen!

So we decided to try Wolfgang Puck Expres, but were greeted with this beast of a queue.

We both gave each other the same look and decided that we really couldn’t be bothered with standing in a massive queue, so agreed to head back to POR and go to the food court instead! That was a fleeting visit to DS to say the least! We didn’t have long to wait for a bus and were soon on our way back! Riverside Mill wasn’t busy, so we got our food quickly! I had chicken tenders and Chris had a Cajun chicken burger. Chris subbed his dessert for fries (coleslaw was his choice side with the burger) and I got a carrot cake! We used two QS credits.

Everything was really yummy! I do love Disney chicken tenders! It was far too much food though (this becomes a theme!) and I had to get my cake boxed up.

Yeeha Bob was playing at River Roost tonight so we decided to pop in for one drink and check him out. I had a Captain’s Mai Tai cocktail and Chris had a Bud Light. My cocktail was yummy, but when I got a second one it was SUPER strong and I had to give it to Chris to finish!

Ah look, you can see my lovely purple magic band in this photo

Yeeha Bob was an absolute HOOT! He is such an entertainer! If you are staying at POR I thoroughly recommend you making the time to go to one of his shows!

He performs a variety of songs including Disney classics. That night he sang “There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow” and I was super chuffed cos I love that song. It’s so Disney I took a short video, here it is if you are interested!



As good as it was, we were both so tired. It was now nearly 3am UK time and we had been on the go for 24 hours! We called it a night and were in bed by 10pm!

[twinkly-tink]

Great first day. ... but those queues at DA :o ! We haven't stayed at riverside but did stay at POFQ for our first on site visit and loved it!

[stace&tink]

Another fab report.
We didn't like the exit row seats on our flight last year. Wouldn't book them again.
POR looks lush! Definitely would like to stay there one day.
And that cocktail... looks soooooo good!
Looking forward to next day. Xx

[DLS1005]

Great travel day.

Love how you send your dad your snap chats I downloaded snapchat for my mum so everything I send gets screenshot lol! I normally snap chat while we're away so she can watch it and keep up with us.

Gutted you ended up on a mears coach when you were looking forward to the magical express, at least the driver made up for it. The resort looks beautiful too.
Looking forward to reading more!

[Davy Crockett]

Glad that you thought POR was as lovely as you remembered it. Looking forward to the next chapter!

[Grapesoda]

Great travel day, the flight seemed painless and quick. Loved seeing around Port Orleans, it's so beautiful.
Lookin forward to more x

[2littleboys]

Great travel day Rachael!

POR looks like a lovely resort, looking forward to the rest of your report.

[florida mad]

I love the run up to travel day with all the bubbles of excitement building.
Nice smooth travel day, a long day but yay your back

Look forward to your first full day

[Yorkie Girl]

Ah what a great travel day. Shame about the dripping water on the plane though

POR is such a beautiful resort