5 do Florida for the 1st time - October 2018 - Day 8 - AK, FOP , Highlands Reserve, disaster strike

[Milpston]

Index

So it's now that my notes are becoming very sparse so my days will probably be getting progressively shorter.

We were up and ready early again this morning. We got all the case packed along with all the extra bags that we had collected along the way.

I went on to the balcony to get a couple of last daylight pictures before we left the room for good.

I have to say although I was desperate for a balcony I we never really used it. I thought we may sit there with a beer in the evening once the kids were asleep. Due to the long days we did we were straight to sleep when we got in as well as the kids.

Just as we were ready to leave for Animal Kingdom we headed down the Bell desk and asked for our luggage to be collected while we were out. Unfortunately they would not collect luggage unless there was someone present in the room. Sally headed up and waited and they were there to collect everything within a few minutes.

We set off to the Animal Kingdom. We were parked a bit further away today but still walked to the entrance rather than get on the little tram. It meant I could have a smoke rather than fold the stroller and everything up again.

On entering we made straight for Kilimanjaro Safari again. This made a regular appearance when we went to AK as there weren't many other rides that both Benjamin and Emma could go on. As it turned out Benjamin was fast asleep so I sat it out while Sally, Chloe and Emma went on. Chloe took a couple of photos with her phone.

It was probably about now that I realised I didn't have my camera with me and wasn't quite sure where it was. It wouldn't be the first time I had lost my camera on holiday. I left it in a casino on our honeymoon, I also left a video camera hanging on the back of the luggage trolley at Heathrow airport years before. I got them both back though and this time I had left it in the car. I just used my iPhone whilst in AK today but I didn't take many photos.

The weather had dropped to about 30 degrees today rather than the 33 ish we had for most of the week. it made it a lot more comfortable and for about the first time there was a little bit of cloud cover too.

Once the girls were off of Kilimanjaro Safari we had to get a move on to Dinosaur as our fastpass was 10:20. It was 11:10 by the time we approached the entrance to Dinosaur. Chloe and I went on first. Apart from seeing people's photo pass pictures in trip reports I didn't really know much about this ride. This made Chloe think I was probably hiding something but she cam on with me first. Sally Waited with Benjamin and Emma.

As you can see from the photo Chloe wasn't a big fan of this ride so she offered to have the kids while Sally and I went on. We walked them down to The Boneyard to keep them amused whilst waiting. For some reason I can't find the photo pass ride of Sally and I on Dinosaur either bit I'm sure I had it.

Benjamin and Emma loved The Boneyard and had a visitor.

At this point we were starving. We didn't have a lot of time as we had Flights Of Passage fast passes which opened at 11:55. We headed to Yak and Yeti for a quick service lunch. I decided months ago that I liked the look of the honey chicken. Sally and Chloe went to order while I looked for a table. I managed to nab one just as they were being served. I made the inexplicable last minute decision to have the rib tips. Sally and Chloe had the honey chicken whilst Emma and Benjamin shared a chicken tenders meal. It was 12:20 when we sat down to eat.

Sally and I had a beer whilst Chloe had a coke and the kids had water. My decision was a bad one. The ribs were decidedly average whilst the honey chicken was really nice. Never change your mind! We got chatting to a nice American couple whilst we ate and then moved with haste towards Pandora. We saw this guy on the way but didn't have much time to see what he was up to.

Grabbed a quick snap of the floating mountains on the way in. Chloe and I went for our FOP fast passes first. We didn't wait long. The ride is fantastic. I don't think I would wait three hours for it but it really is good. Sally and Chloe loved and both declared it the best ride of the holiday all the way through. When we came out we took a while to meet up with Sally and the kids again. We were hunting around and sending WhatsApp messages without reply. Eventually she appeared and it turned out Emma needed the toilet and then Benjamin needed changing so she had been busy in our absence.

We had a 14:00 ADR booked at Beaches and Cream as we were going to try the kitchen sink. It was about this point that we realised we were never going to get there. We decided it wasn't worth rushing and we would just have to get hit with the $10 per head charge for a no show (we never got charged).

Sally and Chloe went on FOP and I went for a walk with the kids. I told Sally to message me when they were done and I would meet them at the exit. I got Benjamin and Emma and ice cream each on the way out and got them a bubble machine thing too. I decided I may as well take a walk across the car park and get the car to save Sally and Chloe the walk (#hero). There were actually a few spots of rain as I was waling out which were the first of the holiday. They lasted less than a minute I would estimate. When Sally and Chloe were done they message me and I drove down and met them at the exit.

We headed back to The Beach Club to collect our luggage.

We seemed to have collected a lot more bags than when we first arrived. the Bell Boys did a great job of loading the car up and I just had to finish off squeezing things like the stroller between the kids (safely). We headed off to wards Highlands Reserve.

It didn't take long to get there so we stopped off at Publix at Highlands Reserve as our check in time wasn't until 16:00. We parked up in the car park and I think one or both of the kids were asleep. I tried to get something out of the boot and as I opened it... disaster struck... Something fell and Sally put her hand out to catch it and cut her hand...…. well I say cut... it was more of a tiny scratch thank god. But that wasn't the disaster...…

I have to say I shed a few tears. Sally and Chloe went in to get a few bits for the villa. She spoke to staff to try and get a broom but they sent someone out. He took a look at the mess and said, "oh, that's not too bad" and disappeared. Because of that I stood and picked all but the tiniest bits up myself before he reappeared with a dust pan and brush. I thought he was just going to leave it there One guy walked past and chatted with me he said if I had just bought them the store would replace them.


From my credit card I see Sally spent the equivalent of £140. We headed round to our villa Hibiscus Ridge. We rented this from The Dibb (username Tetrarch).We were all really looking forward to getting to the villa. We loved our stay at the Beach Club but we were looking forward to more space and our own pool. I had absolutely no doubt that this villa would be great. It always got great reviews, the villa owner (Debra) was so helpful all through the booking process and we couldn't wait to get in. We arrived at 16:15.

There were no surprises. The villa was exactly as expected and just as shown in the photos. My photos don't do it justice. It is really spacious and the bedrooms are a great size. Just what we wanted. I'll add a bit more of my review of the villa at the end of the week. But here are a few quick photos I took when we arrived.

We decided it was about time for a swim and the kids were itching to get in. We'd bought some pool noodles and inflatables but there was already some in the villa for guest's use.

After a while we got out and we decided we wanted a Chinese tonight (yes even after Yak And Yeti at lunch time). I headed off to Bamboo Wok to get a takeway. I also went into Publix to pick up swim nappies and some nappies. I got a bit carried away and spent the equivalent of £60 in Bamboo Wok. I forgot that the main meals came with rice too even though I'd read it somewhere before we came away.

It was the best dinner we had had since being in Florida. It was lovely and we barely made a dent in it to be honest.

About 20:00 we started to discuss our plans for tomorrow. We had an 11:50 ADR at Cinderella's Royal table. We discussed cancelling. Sally asked if we would get the money back as we had prepaid. I said from what I have read on the Dibb we probably would but I couldn't be sure because it was late in the day. Eventually we decided we had met most of the princesses and we wanted a rest day now. If we lost the money I would rather that than go when we would rather be chilling at the villa. Decision made.

At about 23:00 we fell into bed... actually we climbed up on to bed. It's massive... Sally could have done with a ladder being the short ≈≈≈≈ that she is

[summersun]

great day, shame about the bud x

[DisneyDaffodil]

A great day, although I feel your pain at the loss 😂

Did you find your camera later? I know the Bud loss overshadowed not having the camera, but hope you found it.

We have considered a villa stay as we love onsite stays but they are very full on, maybe a villa would be more relaxing. The villa you stayed in looks lovely. Was it far from the parks?

[florida addict]

The villa looks fab
Great report

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by summersun

great day, shame about the bud x

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Thank you. It was a horrific incident!

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

A great day, although I feel your pain at the loss 😂

Did you find your camera later? I know the Bud loss overshadowed not having the camera, but hope you found it.

We have considered a villa stay as we love onsite stays but they are very full on, maybe a villa would be more relaxing. The villa you stayed in looks lovely. Was it far from the parks?

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Thank you for your condolences at a sad time. I did, it was in the car the whole time. I would have been gutted to have lost the pictures for the first week more than anything.


I will try and some up our thoughts on the on/off site debate at the end maybe. The villa is lovely. Not to far at all. It was just a few minutes down the US27 off the end of the 192. Not as close as some
villa areas but not horrific by any stretch. Nice and easy for the I4 I travelling to Universal too/Sea World too.

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by florida addict

The villa looks fab
Great report

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Thank you

[caitlinsmummy]

Shame about the rib tips, I must admit all the pics I've ever seen of the honey chicken looks so nice.

Oh no you had to cancel Beaches and Cream too, we wanted the kitchen sink too. Good that you didn't get charged though!

Oh no! RIP Bud's at least no one was badly hurt.

The villa looks lovely and I bet it was great to finally get some space as well, 5 in a room isn't easy

Bamboo Wok sounds lovely! Another fab day xx

[lovedisney]

We stayed at Debra's villa a few years ago, it's fab probably one of the best villas we have ever rented in Florida

[Palm trees]

What a great day, looks like you all had lots of fun. I'm glad you had a nice (enormous by the sound of it) dinner after your disappointing lunch.