The Crazy Old Maurice Trip May 2015 Pre Trip *The final update. Twilight check in.*

[gjdjud]

The Crazy Old Maurice Trip!May 2015.

Part One:Background, who's who and booking.

Part 2 Planning Madness is here!

Part 3 Fat Fighters: Battle Of The Bulge. Click here!**UPDATED**

Part 4 Food Glorious Food! ADR planning! Click here!**UPDATED***

Part 5 The ADR's are all booked.***NEW****


In the upcoming months
Part 6 Fastpass+, decisions and booking.
Part 7 Final Cost
Part 8 Packing Lists
Part 9the Final not to be changed(much) itinerary.

Hello everybody! This is my second trip report, the first was called Maybe Tiaras, Definitely Tantrums which you read here. I also did the food report An Extra Plane Ticket Home For My Belly, found here.


Well like Slim Shady I'm back! It's seems like forever since our last trip in May 2012 and at times I didn't think I'd ever get to this point where I'm able to do another trip report. Thankfully I have got there and I couldn't be more excited about going again and bringing you this trip report. I will also be be doing another food report to run along side this one.

Originally titled Disney Me Love You Longtime (said in the Full Metal Jacket style). Then changed to The Crazy Old Maurice trip report (my favourite Disney line that's from Beauty and the Beast).

First off, this pre trip report is going to be long. I know also this is a VERY early trip report. I'm going to divide this first bit into 2 parts and then I will come back later with any changes that I make. Also I will add more when I've made my ADR's and Fastpass+ selections.

I hope you stay with me! I've read many trip reports and they've always been such treasure chest of info on planning and procedures that I'd like to do the same for anyone who's planning their first trip. I'd also like to see how much any original plans I make differ from the final plan and what we actually do when we are there. Also we've made a point of keeping a copy of my previous trip report and DW Kelly has turned it into a scrap book, so this a record for us as well as anyone else who wants to read it.


A rundown of who's who.

For anyone who read the last trip report we are all back. I know for some of you reading this then that's as exciting as the reuniting of the original Star Wars cast for the new films.




Me. George (39 at time of departure). Natural athlete, can play any sport,a gentleman, women want to be him and men want to be with him. (you read that right). None of this is true. Prone to exagerate Chief planner, obsessive about this holiday, most definitely the one in charge. Can neither confirm or deny that Dancin a Catchy Rhythm used by the Dibbcast is my favourite song.

DW. Kelly (38 at time of departure) the one who's actually in charge. A lot of her thinks we should be spending the money for this holiday on something else but I know she secretly has packing lists already done. I'm really pleased she has indulged me this trip. She will have probably proof read this so many other things may have already been edited. Looking to find a Dollar Tree store(?)

DD1. Evie Mae (7 at the time of departure,8 when we leave) Quite simply my reason for getting up every morning. Because she wakes me up every bloody morning! (thank you I'm here all week and available for weddings and Bar Mitvah's). Best handled like a stick of dynamite as she had a temper like Santino Corlone. I'm hoping were not all gunned down at a toll booth on the causeway. I hope this holiday gives her some amazing memories for all time. I think she can go a long way in life as she's the most determined, stubborn little so and so. We love her very much. It will be nice if she stays young enough on this trip that meeting the princess's is still a big thrill.




DD2. Lily Belle (5 at the time of departure, 6 when we leave). I don't think I will ever have to worry about Lily Belle. Funny and smarts by the bucket load. Everyone says this about their own kids but she's a star. We really can't wait to see her meet the Frozen princess's. If anyone asks Lily what the time is, she will reply "hammer time" in honour of MC Hammer. By the way any real die hard Disney fans know that Walt Disney's wife was called Lilly Belle and the train at the Magic Kingdom is also called Lilly Belle. Pure coincidence on our part but it does make me smile, even if it's a slightly different spelling.



Both girls are Disney princess and Minion mad. They can't wait to see both.

DMIL. Marian. (age not important). Two children couldn't have a better Nanny. Her and Den are very devoted to the girls and do a lot for us as well. Looking forward to Earl Of Sandwich more than anyone. Ever. I Have already been warned not to make any Fastpass+ selections that may involve any fast rides. As I write this I am doing a muppet style manical laugh.

DFIL. Den. (age not important) ditto above replacing the word Nanny with Grandad.


Deciding to go.

So, after our last trip we mumbled a few things about going back again. For the first 6 months afterwards it seemed a bit of a pipe dream that we'd be returning. Eventually Den and Marian mentioned they might be interested as well and very generously said they'd pay for one of the girls regardless of whether they would go or not. Maybe we could go for a bit longer this time was the opinion. May was a lovely time to go wasn't it? These kind of things were causally being banded about. The seeds were starting to get sowed.

I was putting a little money aside in the hope we'd be going and it gradually started to buildup into it being a realistic proposition. Anyone else who is self employed like me can understand nothing is certain in work so I always had a few doubts. Researching prices and with all the rumours that always surface(and are always rubbish) about free dining ending it looked more than likely that this time would be offsite. It got to the point where we had a chosen a resort, (Cypress Pointe in LBV) which looked nice and I got really excited about all the offsite eating opportunities. It was offsite for us next time, no changing my mind. I had the quotes ready.

(Now get ready for the biggest u-turn since Bill Clinton admitting that he DID indeed have relations with that woman.)



I have to be honest and say that in the back of my head staying offsite never really grabbed me as much as the thought of staying onsite. Then all this Fastpass+ malarky started. I know it's all changed now but at the time I was researching there was only Fastpass+ for onsite and lots of uproar by people staying offsite. I didn't really fancy all that hassle so I started turning my attention back to onsite at possibly a value resort. I looked at Art Of Animation and then Pop Century. I then started thinking, perhaps if there is free dining then maybe we should try a moderate with qsdp? Rude not to when I thought about it. More of a stretch financially but overall less spending money would be needed. (My sub conscious telling me that we should stay onsite only was starting to work its magic). It was then a case of me thinking there would be a few ADR's we should make. We don't want to miss out on those so maybe it would make sense if we could upgrade to regular ddp? (Sub conscious brilliance again) It then got me thinking that it would be nice for us to be all together in one villa rather than 2 rooms. Basically the plan changed from a cheaper offsite holiday to a 2 bed deluxe villa onsite! Cheaper holiday has just packed his bags shrugged his shoulders and laughed at me.(although nothing is cheaper about Orlando)

Choosing where to stay.

As I just wrote, top of the list, depending on cost, was the 2 bed villa like we had last time at OKW. OKW wasn't really on our list again though to be honest. We loved it last time but I kind of felt like I was on the set of Cocoon when we there. (I swear every time I went swimming I felt 10 years younger afterwards). Please though if you have booked OKW you will have an amazing time!



It was lovely but has poor counter service options. It's also nice to stay at different locations as well. So the obvious choice was Saratoga Springs. Same price, good location close to Downtown Disney (Disney Springs if your reading this in the future). I also love being able to get the boat there. The more I looked into it the more it seemed perfect. We just had to wait on price.

Next choice was Port Orleans Riverside where Kelly and I honeymooned back in the day. (the days when we did what we wanted, napped when we felt like a nap and did what we pleased!) This would have been our top moderate resort choice but in previous years it seemed so much more expensive than the other moderates so I looked long and hard at Coronado Springs as well.

Those were our (my) top choices so we just had to play the waiting game to see if the price was right and free dining was offered.

Booking.

Thankfully the free dining gods heard my prayers and granted me my wish and the scaremongers have gone back to planning their attacks on no free dining for 2016. April 24th was decreed the holy day. Morning off work and every TA who has ever existed was contacted in perpetration. I planned on doing this semi DIY. Flights, Hotel and Disney tickets with a TA, other park tickets and car hire booked myself. After I received my first few quotes I had a face longer than Celine Dion's. It was becoming clear that our (my) 3rd choice of CBR was coming out the most realistic quote. Some of the quotes were crazy. (Virgin! ) Thankfully I received an email quote from Charter Travel that was about Ł1 under our budget for our(my) top choice of Saratoga Springs in the 2 bed villa with free ddp with 21 day Ultimates. 21 day tickets I hear you say? That's right, you see 14 wouldn't be enough for our 17 days! After getting as many quotes as I could it was clear Charter was the clear winner. So I called them up, loved what I heard and the rest is history. All booked up! May 2015, 17 nights at Saratoga Springs with free DDP! We will be leaving Sunday May 10th and returning on May 27th. I do believe I allowed myself a little dance to celebrate. I then promptly threw up in my mouth a little at the cost and more for the fact I danced. I'd like to point out we got our Disney ref no within 24 hours and within a week were linked to MDE. Virgin are you reading this? Magic Bands have been customised. 6 of us all a different colour and no arguements. Apart from Marian. She doesn't wear yellow. Never.



I should add flights are direct with Virgin flying from London Gatwick. We flew Virgin last time and found the experience very positive although I hate flying with a passion. It was a case of stiff upper lip on behalf of the girls but I'm sure it will be the same next time. Last time as we booked with Virgin we had use of the V Room which was great so a little disappointing we wouldn't have it this time. At least we can do DTD check in the way home though. We live fairly close to Gatwick but we will make use of Twilight Check in the day before.



Sshh! Don't tell anyone and I'm not looking to start an arguements but yes the girls will be missing some school.

One of my regrets about last time was the rushed time in Universal Studios and Islands Of Adventure. What could be the solution to a more extensive time at these parks? Of course a night booked at Hard Rock Hotel. I really am putting on the boxing gloves and giving my idea of a cheap holiday a good pounding. I have made use of Travel Republic's Ł1 deposit and booked 2 rooms for 1 night at HRH. I'm really excited about this!



Last time I think these two parks were a bit much for Marian and Den, so now they have the option to relax in the room or by the pool next time. I'll admit I was a bit of a Dictator marching everyone to WWOHP on the double last time so it will be a bit more relaxed. Who am I kidding! I've got my whistle and whip ready to ensure we are front of the lines at early entry for WWHOP again. I'm NOT joking.



Next on the list was park tickets. We had the 21 day Ultimates secured with our hotel when we took the free dining so it was just down now to getting the rest. Early on we thought a great deal about going to Discovery Cove but realised this would take us over budget (cheaper holiday has managed to get a sucker punch in but I'm still way ahead on points) so this one of the few things we've had to discard. To be honest I'm not devastated by that. Marian and Den don't swim and I could see both girls changing their minds about the dolphin swim and causing a scene of tantrums and crying. That's me by the way when I realise how much money we wasted. So probably best of not doing it. Maybe next time but I forget this is our last ever trip of a lifetime!

We would need tickets for Universal, IOA, Seaworld (yes fans of Blackfish we are going), Aquatica, which will be a first for us and for Busch Gardens. I'll admit the last one is mainly for me. Kelly and I went in 2006 but we didn't go last time as we thought the kids were to little. Attraction Tickets Direct was the company I decided to book with after getting a few quotes. We've gone for the 5 Park Orlando ticket which gives us all of the above for 14 days from activation. There is also a possibility of going to see Cirque Du Soleil at DTD (Springs)(UPDATE 1/11/14** we have booked this! ) but this might be a late addition. A bit nearer the time I will purchasing Memory Maker and getting it linked on our Magic Bands. We had photopass+ last time and it was grea! I'm really looking forward to using the Magic Bands, I already have something called bitbelts that you can use to secure them in place better. We will also be getting photo connect for Universal.

Last to be sorted and another first for us is car hire. On our honeymoon we made use of Disney Transportation, Lynx buses and the Itrolley which was fine but took ages to get anywhere. Last time, again we used Disney buses and we got taxis everywhere else. I personally thought we spent WAY to long waiting around for buses. They are great but like I said lots of wasted hours. So it's car hire this time. We've booked a 7 seater mini van with Alamo Brits. By far the cheapest quote. I will be the only one driving. Den has offered to help out but I'd rather have my wisdom teeth pulled out by a trainee vet. Yes, vet not dentist. I don't really fancy driving from the airport plus I think it will be a squeeze with the luggage (don't even get me started on that whole dragging the luggage with us or putting it on the conveyer belt thing at MCO! It brings me out in cold sweats the memories of dragging the cases looking for the Virgin desk last time) so I'm going to collect the car from the Buena Vista Palace Hotel at Downtown Disney(Springs) first thing on our first morning. I'm reliably informed that it's a 10-15 minute walk from Saratoga Springs. We will have the car until the final day. We will use Magical Express for transfers to and from the airport which will a nice way to start and finish our trip.



Spends

I don't have a set figure in mind of how much we will be taking. It's going to be a case of seeing how much I can put aside before we go. To be honest last time we didn't spend as much as anticipated due to having free dining. I do think I will be a little more relaxed on the purse strings this time and will make sure I invest in some real keep sakes from the holiday. I may treat myself to a new ipad if I'm a good boy.

I will be dividing the money into three equal parts. 1 part cash, 1 part on an FairFx card which I have renewed from last time. The last part will be on a new Caxton Card. I will more than likely have a set daily amount and draw out cash when needed to make up the daily amount. Whatever I have left at the end of each day I will put aside to spend later. I tend not to use the cards to buy things only to withdraw cash. I won't be using any credit cards other than to swipe for the car hire and for hotel check in.

As for the kids, we have decided that we will give them to split the $200 gift card that we received free with the holiday. I for the last year along with the 50 weeks still to go have been putting Ł5 in a jar for them as well. I know their Nanny and Grandad have been putting a little aside as well. I think by the time we go they will have more than me! They can spend it however and whenever they want. I know we will still buy them loads of other stuff as well. Also as I'm a great husband I've also been putting aside a little bit for Kelly and will supplement that with some extra dollars on her birthday and Christmas. If she's a good girl then she can spend it as she likes as well.

So that's all for part 1 of this trip report. Soon to be followed by The Plan and also a part devoted to my upcoming diet() and in the upcoming months ADR's, Fastpass+ selections and final itinerary over a few more parts.

Thanks for indulging me by reading this!

George

[Tubbsy]

thoroughly enjoyed reading your last report
Cant wait to read more of this one

[gjdjud]

Originally Posted by Tubbsy

thoroughly enjoyed reading your last report
Cant wait to read more of this one

See more...

Thanks!

[asapaj]

I enjoyed your last report. Looking forward to more.

[gtyrel10]

Fab pre trippy! I don't think bargin trips ever last when it comes to Orlando.

I loved that you wanted to call the report crazy all Maurice! That's my boyfriends name and its my favourite phrase to say to him hehe!

I haven't read your previous report I will need to catch up!

Gemma xx

[pandanne]

Last report was fab - looking forward to this one.

[Guest]

sounds good. were going may 20th 2015. looking forward to reading your trippie

[gjdjud]

Originally Posted by asapaj

I enjoyed your last report. Looking forward to more.

See more...

Many thanks! Thanks for reading and posting!

Originally Posted by gtyrel10

Fab pre trippy! I don't think bargin trips ever last when it comes to Orlando.

I loved that you wanted to call the report crazy all Maurice! That's my boyfriends name and its my favourite phrase to say to him hehe!

I haven't read your previous report I will need to catch up!
Gemma xx

See more...

It was a close call with the name! I'm sure many of the things in the last trip will be repeated in this!

Originally Posted by pandanne

Last report was fab - looking forward to this one.

See more...

Many thanks! I hope you enjoy this one.

Originally Posted by Cookie family

sounds good. were going may 20th 2015. looking forward to reading your trippie

See more...

Maybe we will bump into each other. Thanks for reading!

[redspottyowl]

Hey! Following with interest we are a family of 4 (similar age daughters) staying at SSR in May 2015 for the same reasons as you, stayed at OKW last time and not impressed with counter service options, when do you go? We are doing 4 nights at New York before flying onto Orlando for 11 nights at SSR with DDP, not planning on any other parks this year, we did Universal last time and my little one wasnt over impressed! I am sure it will grow on her! We arrive in Disney on 22nd May ready for DD1 birthday on 23rd May hopefully we will have got over the jetlag so can just enjoy our disney time!

[CurlySue]

The plans sound brilliant

Looking forward to reading more