A rather belated honeymoon with two extra guests!

[bel]

PART ONE:

Hello dibb friends.

This pretrippy nearly never was… I have only dabbled in minor dibbing for the last 7 years; when you have no trip booked, it was just too painful to spend any time on here. However, after reading through parts of my previous trippies I could not believe how much stuff about those trips I would have forgotten if the details of them weren’t recorded somewhere. So, that was that, decision made!

So here goes...

Welcome to our trip to Disney World 2019. There will be plenty of photos and probably a little bit of waffle.

I’m Bel; I have written dibb trippies on all 3 of my previous WDW trips in 2010, 2011 and 2012 (see below signature). Much has changed since my last trip – myself and Sean are now married (our Disney themed wedding was also ‘blogged’ here on the dibb and can be found on a link below) and we are now a mummy and daddy to two amazing kids! You will also notice two big changes from the photos of me;
1. I look much older (I blame kids)
2. I am about triple the size I was 6 years ago (I blame food).
Otherwise I am much the same; I love Disney as much as I ever have (much to the disdain of my nearest and dearest) and I’ve been planning an imaginary trip to WDW since the day I returned from our last trip 7 years ago. I do love a plan, for me it adds to the anticipation and excitement in the lead up, it makes the long countdowns more bearable and it reduces the anxiety (I suffer from anxiety, so planning things helps me deal with the unknown). WDW is my happy place & it is where I feel like I can truly escape from my mental health demons. I am most excited to get away from home life and to see Disney through my children’s eyes. And the cocktails. And the food.

Obviously, I can’t leave Sean behind, who has been there for all of our trips, we will have been together 12 years this summer (whaaaaat!). He is not a planner and quite happily sits back and lets me do it all (which suits us both). He still looks young (ish) though and he isn’t triple the size he was 7 years ago so might still be quite recognisable if you have ever read my older trippies, atleast more recognisable than me! He is most looking forward to the food.

We actually had a trip to WDW planned and booked for September 2014. It was quite an epic trip as it was to be our honeymoon. But then I got pregnant and so we had to cancel. Not that I regret it, Indie is our little firecracker and I couldn’t imagine life without her!

We then booked a trip for 2016 but again we had to cancel when we found out my dad had been diagnosed with cancer. Myself and Sean were both extremely close to my dad and it wasn’t an option to not be there throughout his treatment and surgery. He was given the all clear though at the beginning of 2017, right around the time I got pregnant with our second child, Alby (aka, our little tornado).

If I am honest, a trip wasn’t on the horizon at all. But in early 2018 we found out my dad, the backbone of our family and Indie’s favourite person in the world, had cancer again. This time, a totally new and different cancer to the one he beat only months before. The world can be a cruel place and we unexpectedly lost him 6 weeks after diagnosis (a year ago this month). It was a crazy roller coaster 6 weeks too, which is too painful to even think about, even now. Please let me indulge in a little bit of self-healing with a handful of photos of him at WDW with us for our 2010 trip. He was a very healthy man (other than the cancer) who loved life (he went to Glastonbury and 2 other festivals in 2017) and the void that has been left in my heart is vast. I would be lying if I said the last year hasn’t been a struggle for me. I miss him beyond words.

here he is on his 69th birthday - a few months before he passed:

To top off the worst year of my life, the day after dad passed away, we found out my god daughter and niece Storm (who we took with us to WDW the last time in 2012) had leukaemia (a slightly better outcome though as although she will be on chemo treatment her whole life, she is currently doing amazing).

and here she is recently with her baby girl Lola (named after one of my dad's favourite songs by the kinks):

And that’s why this trip was booked… because it has given me a focus and a drive. Alongside my kids, it has kept me going and ensured I have gotten out of bed every (well, most) days. Can we afford it? Not even close, but 2018 made us realise anything could happen and to live for now. Do I regret booking? Nope, it has really helped with the grief and mental health demons that consumed me through 2018. Life can still be a battle, but with my kids and a WDW trip to look forward to, I am doing better.

So sorry for the sob story, I said I waffle. But I had to add it because my dad’s passing was the main reason behind booking this trip. I will try to refrain from all that sad stuff from now on!

Think its time to introduce the little rascals that make my world go round…


Indie (the firecracker): She has been to DLP three times so has had a taster of the Disney theme park life. She prefers fur characters and isn’t so keen on face characters. In fact when she met Belle at Disneyland Paris she refused to speak to her. She loves her Disney movies and the current favourite is The Lion King. She is most looking forward to the “fast rides” and the “outdoor swimming pool”. She is a little bit of an adrenaline junkie and also quite a tomboy. She is four years old and this trip is perfectly timed as she starts school in September (hence why we chose May over September)


Alby (the tornado): He will be one and a half when we go away and has not experienced much Disney at all yet, so I have no idea how he will react to characters or rides. He is quite a handful in comparison to his big sister at that age, so I am sure all the excitement and swimming and running around will be a hit with him. And the food. We just need to get through that 9 hour flight first [gulp].

Pretty much everything will be new to them, including the plane journey. I’m under no illusion there will be tears and tantrums as it will be overwhelming, tiring and hot! But I am also convinced this trip will be thoroughly enjoyed by both of them overall.

So here we are:

(yep, thats me as a minion! bucket list item to be a 'character' ticked off, even if it was only for my daughter's 4th birthday!)

(a more accurate family photo)


This holiday will be quite different to our previous 3 as we are well aware arriving at a theme park for opening and staying until closing every day for 2 weeks will be too much for two under 5’s. So we are doing shorter days and sticking to just Disney for the first fortnight. We will probably only leave the Disney bubble for a couple of trips to Walmart. We will also be experiencing a different side of Disney that we have not experienced before; the kid’s areas and single rider coaster lines for a start. But also, a lot has changed in the 7 years since me and Sean last visited so we have lots to look forward to (including toy story land, pandora and the whole new area of fantasyland. Disney springs was also still Downtown Disney on our last visit) We have the dining plan again, which we upgraded from the free quick service dining. We will then be splurging on our very first cruise (which will of course be with Disney Cruise Line) which will be just 3 nights, for a taster of cruise life. We will then be spending 2 nights at Universal and we will finish off at our favourite place; Animal Kingdom Lodge, for 3 nights (renting DVC points so no WDW theme parks). As the title says, this trip is going to be our rather belated honeymoon; better late than never! After the cruise we are hoping to not only do Universal and Islands of Adventure but also Seaworld and Busch Gardens! I may or may not get rid of one of these theme parks. If we do them all, we will be selective of the attractions we chose because we are hoping to avoid all day theme park trips.


So, without further ado, here are the detailed plans and itinerary…


25th April: Pick up Indie from preschool and pretend we are going to a nice restaurant (that happens to be at the airport). She knows we are going to Disney but has no idea when, and being only 4 she doesn’t really fully grasp the concept of time yet, so I will be keeping it secret until we get to Gatwick. We will do Virgin Atlantic’s twilight check in, park in long stay and check in to our home for the night at Premier Inn North Terminal. I don’t care where we eat, so long as it has food for fussy kids and cocktails (the holiday has begun afterall)

26th April: The part I am not looking forward to; Alby on my lap on a plane for 9 hours! I have snack boxes made and loads of activities for both kids. I am confident Indie will be fine, especially with lots of films and TV shows. But Alby, the boy who cannot sit still for more than 30 seconds, he is going to be a challenge. Due to my anxiety, I am absolutely terrified to the point of near sickness of him playing up a lot and upsetting/annoying other passengers. I am genuinely so sorry if you are on the Virgin Atlantic 10.10am flight with us! We will arrive at 2.25pm at MCO, collect the car that will be ours for the full 3 weeks and set off for Port Orleans French Quarter. We hope to visit Walmart and we plan to order pizza for tea!

27th April: Our one and only full resort day! Today will mostly consist of all that Port Orleans has to offer, mostly the pool. We will catch the boat later on to have tea at T-Rex (Indie is a huge dino fan, so this should be a good first restaurant meal for her).

28th April: A morning and early afternoon at Hollywood Studios. Hopefully we will have enough time for a swim and/or nap back at the resort before we head out for tea at Coral Reef in Epcot.

29th April: A lazy morning then out for lunch at Sanaa before heading to Animal Kingdom for the afternoon and evening Rivers of Light show.

30th April: Typhoon Lagoon today. Today will be as laid back as possible. Then tea at Ohana.

1st May: A morning at Epcot with breakfast at Garden Grill booked before park opening. We will be focusing on future world and getting as much of this done before heading back to our resort for the rest of the day/evening.

2nd May: Breakfast at Ohana then our first experience of Magic Kingdom this trip! We will probably stay until mid-afternoon. Indie has a makeover booked at Pirates League. My guess is she will go for Pirate over mermaid being the tomboy that she is. Back to the resort for a swim and early night.

3rd May: Hoping to arrive at Magic Kingdom for EMH then we have breakfast at Be Our Guest just after park opening. Alby has a ‘first haircut’ booked at the Barbers today but then we are hoping to leave before lunch so we have time for the kids to have a nap/swim before heading back out later. We have tea at Whispering Canyon booked. I would quite like to head to Fort Wilderness for the Chip & Dale Campfire singalong afterwards, but it will all depend on the kids.

4th May: Today is a resort day then our evening meal will be at Be Our Guest. We also have some fastpasses booked because it would be silly not to make the most of them whilst we are in the park! Indie has a beautiful Belle dress for our meal, which she has promised she will wear (she asked me to buy it). She doesn’t do girly dresses too well though so it will be interesting as to whether she does indeed wear it… So other than the meal and 2-3 fastpasses, today will be mostly a non theme park day.

5th May: The afternoon and evening will be spent at Hollywood Studios doing all the things we didn’t do there earlier in the trip. Tea will be at Hollywood and Vine. We are hoping to stay for Fantasmic.

6th May: A slightly later start today; heading to Chef Mickey’s for breakfast then the rest of the day at Blizzard Beach. Dinner at our favourite quick service – Earl of Sandwich! Not planning atleast one trip to this eatery for this holiday would certainly be grounds for divorce in Sean’s eyes!

7th May: An early start at Animal Kingdom with breakfast at Tusker house before park opening. Then we will spend most of the day at Animal Kingdom getting everything we want to done before heading back to the resort for tea. Animal kingdom is mine and Sean’s favourite Disney park (alongside MK).

8th May: The afternoon and evening will be spent at Epcot and we will mainly focus on the World Showcase. I am hoping to see the Boardwalk before we head into the park but I think this will be unlikely. Tea at Teppan Edo. Staying at Epcot for Illuminations. I almost booked the frozen dessert party (I do love a dessert party) but have so far avoided it as don’t want to cram in everything else and end up rushing about. But I may yet change my mind…

9th May: Our final day will be spent at Magic Kingdom, we are planning on packing up in the morning then spending most of the day at Magic Kingdom and finishing with the fireworks. We have dinner booked at Crystal Palace

10th May: Today we say goodbye to Disney (sob) and goodbye to Port Orleans (more sobbing) and head to Port Canaveral for our cruise on the Disney Dream (yippee). Today we plan on exploring the ship and all it has to offer. After our late night at MK, we will probably all have a much needed early night.

11th May: Ship is at Nassau today. We are yet undecided whether we visit the Atlantis resort and its aquariums or if we just stay onboard the ship and take it easy. As Alby is still in nappies, we are limited to the splash area on the ship which is making me think we should maybe head out for a couple of hours.

12th May: Ship is at Castaway Cay today. Hoping to get on to the island fairly early and make the most of the beach and sea. This is the one day of the whole holiday that I am praying for reasonable, nice weather! Pleeeeeeease be sunny and nice today! It is also mother's day in the USA today so will I get second gift for this year?!

13th May: Debark the ship quite early. We can’t check in to Aventura Hotel until later this afternoon so will probably head straight for Seaworld and spend the day there. This is the park I am currently most likely to drop, mainly because it is still unknown if the children’s area will be open by the time we go. However, kraken holds a very special place in my heart as it was one of my dad’s favourite coasters in Florida (the other was Gwazi) so I feel like I want to go on it as a nod to him. If we don’t do Seaworld we will probably just do a universal theme park and keep the 15th as a lazy day or maybe aquatica/volcano bay. Tea will hopefully be at the Chocolate Emporium.

14th May: Will spend the morning and early afternoon at either Universal or Islands of Adventure. Tea at hotdog hall of fame and then a treat from voodoo donuts to finish.

15th May: Will spend the morning and early afternoon at whichever Universal park we haven’t yet experienced. Hoping to get to Animal Kingdom Lodge as near to our check in time as possible (4pm) and enjoy the resort as much as possible this evening.

16th May: A whole day to enjoy animal kingdom lodge with breakfast at Boma booked. We will probably spend most of our day between the pools at Jambo and Kidani. I am hoping once the kids are asleep in the evening, me and Sean can enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony watching the animals on the savannah and remembering our stay here when he asked me to marry him back in 2011…. Knowing us though, we will probably just fall asleep when the kids do!

17th May: Today we will be visiting Busch Gardens. Will probably be quite selective on attractions so we can get back to enjoy our final evening at Animal Kingdom Lodge and maybe one last dip in the pool. Rainforest café is currently booked for our tea but this may be cancelled for a quick service meal at the resort instead.

18th May: We will be heading straight to Disney Springs to check our luggage in at the Virgin Atlantic area. We will then head straight to Florida Mall (which is only 18 mins away from MCO) to do the Crayola Experience; the soft play area won it for me. I would also quite like to see the M&Ms store and churromania if we have time. Aiming to be at the airport for 3pm and our flight leaves at 5.35pm. Praying that after all that running around the soft play, Alby and Indie will sleep through most of the journey after tea on the plane (!) I can never sleep on the flight but would be quite happy to just have some time to think back on our wonderful trip and probably cry because it will be back to reality with a bump very soon!

19th May: Arrive back in the UK at 6.50am. Pick up the car and head straight for home. No time to sleep as it is mum’s 70th birthday so will be celebrating with her!



*All general photos from google*

And with the blink of an eye, the trip is over. Indie and Alby have now experienced WDW and flights and cruises and America. Me and Sean have now had our honeymoon and done a cruise and with any luck, all four of us have had the trip of a lifetime that we can discuss happily for many years to come. But first comes the post trip exhaustion and the worse; post-holiday blues. I am quite anxious that once we are home, without a trip to focus on and plan for, that my mental health & the grief will once again take over. Hopefully writing my trippy, moving house, and sorting Indie out for starting school in September should keep me busy enough though!


Part two is now HERE


Thanks for reading, Bel x

[Toff Princess]

Firstly, can I just say I am so sorry for your loss. It made me tear up to see those photos so i can only imagine the immense pain you feel. You should take a photo of him with you that you can hold up in some key event group photos, it may make you feel like he has come with you.

I noticed your Nassau/Atlantis dilema and I thought I would add my two cents as we just cut out Atlantis trip short to get more Disney time as mentioned in my last trip report. There are 10 pools (none heated) at atlantis and the splashing area is chaos with too many tall/older kids running wild. Our 4 year old never got close to it.

Unless you would do a payed for experience like meeting dolphins i would skip Atlantis ans find somewhere to swim in the sea as the sea water is glorious, clean and not too salty.

[happy bunny]

I read all your previous trippies and had tears in my eyes reading about the loss of your wonderful dad and then the awful news about Storm. My heartfelt sympathies go out to you and your families.
Congratulations though on two beautiful children and you will certainly see a different side to Disney this trip and I can't wait for the trip report as your itinerary looks fab.
The few weeks will fly past now and you will soon be on your way.

[joanna23]

Loved your pre-trip and am looking forward to reading about such a special trip.
Our first one with our children was the best ever as you see so much more. I think your plans sound fantastic. Looking forward to the updates.

[Beaker's Fluff]

I am sorry to hear your news.
I have read your trippies before and it’s great to see you back with your own family too.
Your trip sounds incredible.
Can’t wait to read along with you.
X

[Orlando 2004]

So sorry for your loss. I remember reading your wedding trip report and look forward to reading this one.
You may want to allow slightly longer for getting to the airport before flight departure. It's been a while since we did MCO but the security queues can get quite long. Although I suppose you will at least have already got rid of the bags.

[sarah82]

Oh my gosh ... pretty much us!
We have a 4yr old & 3yr old but we arrive 2 May, staying at AKL for 14 nights
We have some planned days the same too 😂
So I will look out for you & i’ll be the one with the over hyped kids wanting to see Chip n Dale or Baloo 😂😂😂

[ChoppyGirl]

Sounds amazing. Hope you all have a ball - you deserve it x

[GezzasGem]

What a fab trip you have planned! 😊 Our DD was also 4 on her first trip and they cope so well - your daily plans are really sensible and I think it will all be fine 👌 My heartfelt sympathies for the loss of your Dad, it has been over 13 years since I lost mine also before their time. You are so right about living your life and doing what makes you and your family happy, and I have no doubt your Dad will be following you around on that dream holiday! Looking forward to reading more x

[vampiress88]

Sounds good. I’ll be going with a 4&3yr old but the month after. Looking forward to reading before we go. We going trex too I say it’s for the kids but secretly I wanna go too