Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Back To Disney We Go - Christmas and New Year 2020 - CANCELLED

[Th1nkT1nk]

Wow! What a great list! I’ll be rereading this with pad and pencil in hand! I’ve been watching some DFB too and have noted a few similar snacks to you... but you have listed quite a few that weren’t on my radar so thank you for sharing I have to say we were pathetic with our use of snack credits in 2017 and we definitely intend to make up for that this time! The beignets at POFQ are definitely worth a try, and the cinnamon roll at Gastons IS delicious 😋.. here’s hoping that your family gets tempted to try it and enjoys it!

[jothp]

Wow, that is some extensive snack research you've done there. I've not even begun to think about how we'll use our snack credits yet. I may have to come and consult your list when it's time because there are some delicious sounding things there.

[Hel22]

That's an impressive list! Loads of suggestions to try, Thank you for sharing.

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by Th1nkT1nk

Wow! What a great list! I’ll be rereading this with pad and pencil in hand! I’ve been watching some DFB too and have noted a few similar snacks to you... but you have listed quite a few that weren’t on my radar so thank you for sharing I have to say we were pathetic with our use of snack credits in 2017 and we definitely intend to make up for that this time! The beignets at POFQ are definitely worth a try, and the cinnamon roll at Gastons IS delicious 😋.. here’s hoping that your family gets tempted to try it and enjoys it!

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No problem at all, I sometimes think lists can be so overwhelming so if it helps anyone that's great. I can't wait to try the beignets (I knew I spelled it wrong ) x

Originally Posted by jothp

Wow, that is some extensive snack research you've done there. I've not even begun to think about how we'll use our snack credits yet. I may have to come and consult your list when it's time because there are some delicious sounding things there.

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It's taken a while for sure a few I got from blogs and vlogs on YouTube but the rest I just looked at on MDE at all the eateries in the parks, perused the menu and made a list Feel free if it can help anyone that's fab x

Originally Posted by Hel22

That's an impressive list! Loads of suggestions to try, Thank you for sharing.

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Thank you

I'm going to do something similar for our QS restaurants too, maybe listing some of the foods we really want to try and others we'd like to try but that'll all depend on time, Uni work is really ramping up and we have a lot of medical appointments for me, Caitlin and Noah. Xx

[Elsa42]

Wow that’s a very planned snack list I love it! I always said I was going to do snack lists but we just never got round to actually finding the snacks on the list and ended up eating everything else 😂

Your magic kingdom list is huge! I must admit we had the cinnamon roll at gastons tavern and it wasn’t as good as the animal kingdom one 😞 slightly disappointed.

I can’t believe you haven’t had one of the cream cheese pretzels before oh my goodness you’ll want more than one they are amazing 😍

I’m glad I’ve read about the golden oak outpost because that was the one place I did plan to go for snacks! Those loaded fries just sound amazing! Fingered crossed it’s open!

I really need to try the pongu pongu drink it’s been on my list a few times but once again I missed out! Your animal kingdom and Epcot lists are looking good! Lots of snacks to get through and probably plenty more at Epcot that you haven’t even read about yet 😂

Great update I look forward to seeing if you managed all of these snacks 🙈

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by Elsa42

Wow that’s a very planned snack list I love it! I always said I was going to do snack lists but we just never got round to actually finding the snacks on the list and ended up eating everything else 😂

Your magic kingdom list is huge! I must admit we had the cinnamon roll at gastons tavern and it wasn’t as good as the animal kingdom one 😞 slightly disappointed.

I can’t believe you haven’t had one of the cream cheese pretzels before oh my goodness you’ll want more than one they are amazing 😍

I’m glad I’ve read about the golden oak outpost because that was the one place I did plan to go for snacks! Those loaded fries just sound amazing! Fingered crossed it’s open!

I really need to try the pongu pongu drink it’s been on my list a few times but once again I missed out! Your animal kingdom and Epcot lists are looking good! Lots of snacks to get through and probably plenty more at Epcot that you haven’t even read about yet 😂

Great update I look forward to seeing if you managed all of these snacks 🙈

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I actually enjoy making the snack lists as sometimes there's things that I forget about I'm glad someone else likes lists as much as I do.

Oh no, I may get the roll from AK instead then

We're not massive lovers of cream cheese but I think this is a sweet cream cheese one so we may like it.

Yeah hopefully Golden Oak's is open, I understand they use them when it's busy but having some sort of schedule would be beneficial for guests really.

I think you'll love the night blossom drink, I was surprised we liked it actually.

I bet we won't manage them all but I'm going to give it a good go xx

[minnie52]

Originally Posted by caitlinsmummy

As you may or may not know, we now have ANOTHER countdown ... for December 2020

I was at Uni on Monday and hit a complete block with my work so I was procrastinating and browsing FB on my phone I seen a post on a FB group that said someone was contemplating flights to Tampa in 27th December - 7th Janaury for £1100 for 2 adults and 3 children ... obviously I had to jump on and have a look. I took a screenshot and sent it Chris half expecting him to say no. I used the caption of

"Are we booking up?! It'll come out of next years holidays allowance so you wouldn't need to worry about that x"

With us going for 19 nights in May he's using 3 weeks holiday so has been conscious he won't have many left. Expecting him to shoot me down he commented how cheap it was and asked a few questions and started looking himself

I met up with a lovely girl from our Disney Instagram at Starbucks so I was late getting in. Once I did we sat and chatted about it and Mr Grump said it would be best if we came back at the weekend if the price wasn't much different as it would give us 12 nights instead of 10



We had settled on 28th December as it was slightly cheaper than 27th plus it gives us Boxing Day to get everything sorted before have to travel to the airport. We wanted to return 9th January, however flights were only released until 8th. After a bit of googling I seen that BA release their flights 355 days before so that night at midnight the 8th prices would be released. I poised myself to the chair and we stayed up till midnight.

Midnight came and went and nothing ... 12.15am ... nothing. I was getting annoyed and I was so tired after a long day at Uni, I thought I'll do one last check before we go to bed and they had been released

We settled on a FlyDrive as:

a) We need a car anyway
b) You can pay a deposit rather than paying the flights up front

The flights were around £1200, we then added on the car hire with Avis. We've gone for a Intermediate SUV (same as what we had in May) and it's worked out at £1500 for the 5 of us for flights and car hire for 12 nights

This is more than our bargain deal in May last year (£1500 for 9 nights, flights and accommodation and airport transfers) but it is over New Year and longer duration, plus including car hire so it's still an amazing deal.

We've upgraded our Universal passes so we have access to Universal till May 2021 so no need for those tickets. Although Chris and the kid's passes are Seasonal passes which means we can't use them until the 4th January but we're fine with that as we still have 5 days to use them.

We ummed and ahhed about Disney but in the end came to the decision that we can't justify the cost of the tickets, particularly when we're spending 19 nights there in May so we won't be purchasing Disney tickets. Instead we'll head to Disney Springs and do the Christmas Tree Trail. On 30th December we'll park at Disney Springs and get a bus to the Poly or the GF where we'll get a quick service meal and get a spot on the beach to watch the NYE fireworks at MK (they do them 30th and 31st)

Mr Grump really wanted to do Busch Gardens this time but we decided not to, so we plan to get the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Aquatica 14 day tickets (with free parking).

We've now struck Wild Florida off the itinerary in May and decided to do it in December/January instead.

So 27th December around lunchtime we're getting a train from Darlington Station to London Kings Cross, then the tube from St Pancreas straight to Gatwick. We've provisionally booked the Premier Inn South Hotel, but we're waiting to see what the prices of the Travelodge are when released. We'll twilight check in our cases then get the shuttle to our hotel and have dinner.

Flight is 12.30pm on 28th from Gatwick to Tampa, arriving in Tampa at 5.25pm. As we wanted to do Busch Gardens anyway it made more sense to book into a hotel in Tampa for 2 nights than drive back from Orlando. We've booked the Baymont by Wyndham which is right next to Busch Gardens, it provides a free breakfast and free shuttle to Busch Gardens.

29th December - Busch Gardens for the day

30th December - Busch Gardens morning, around 2pm we're going to drive to Orlando, pop to WalMart and get a big shop then go and check in to our Dibb Villa. We've booked a 4 bed villa in Emerald Island, it looks amazing. I'll get some pics up when I start the new trip report but it's honestly stunning. We'll unpack then head to Disney Springs for 6/7pm and make our way to the GF or Poly for QS meals and fireworks on the beach.

We haven't really got any plans for the rest of the holiday yet, but I imagine it will involve shopping, a day at SeaWorld, a day at Aquatica and Wild Florida. We will then do 3-4 days at Universal as we aren't booking a hotel for Express Passes this time.

We fly back from Tampa 9th January 2021 at 7.30pm, arriving in Gatwick at 8.25am. We'll then get the Gatwick Express from the airport to St Pancreas, then the train back to Darlington (hoping we'll manage a couple of hours sleep on the train back!

So there we have it, another total bargain We haven't told the kids and don't intend to either. We're going to reveal to them on Christmas Day, I'm hoping having a couple of days to get his head round it will be better for Noah than the reveal on the actual day in May when he threw up, poor baby x

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I love the snack list! They all sound so yummy ! Looking forward to seeing how many you get through!

So exciting you now have a countdown for when you come back! Sounds like a fab plan for december too! I am toying with the idea of a just universal trip for next year to give us a chance to do things like busch gardens, aquatic etc!

Ohh you will have to keep us updated with the reveal plans (mainly so I can get ideas too &#129315 xx

[Goldia]

Wow, that's an awesome list. So many great snacks. I'm looking forward to trying those tater tots at friars nook too, they look scrummy, there are some at woody's lunchbox I want to try. Both of them have got to go on my list for this year.

I think it's the law in this household that we have to go to the Plaza every trip and at least one us must get an ice cream cookie sandwich, the sundaes are awesome there too through. Those chilli cheese waffle fries at golden oaks outpost are divine too. We've done them for lunch and then the ice cream sandwich for pudding! It's a brilliant meal just from snacks. I can't remember if your kids like chilli or not, it's really not spicy, but if they don't it's not a problem as you can get the fries with no chilli.

Max had the Simba ice cream sandwich and liked it, so there's a seal of approval for you. Eight spoon cafe was always closed for us too! Good luck with catching them open. I've heard the DFB rave about the mango pie from the QS at Yak and Yeti but never tried it, I hope you like it.

I was desperate to try that Key lime pie on a stick and the num num but we just didn't have room, this year I have to get them!

I bet there will be loads of tasty snacks for you to try at flower and garden.

Of course you have to enjoy a Ghiradelli ice cream or at least some of the chocolate.

I've heard the beignets have moved from the food court to the bar, but it's literally next door so very easy to get to.

Do you think you'll manage even half of them? I hope so, I can't wait to see all the photos in your report.

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by minnie52

I love the snack list! They all sound so yummy ! Looking forward to seeing how many you get through!

So exciting you now have a countdown for when you come back! Sounds like a fab plan for december too! I am toying with the idea of a just universal trip for next year to give us a chance to do things like busch gardens, aquatic etc!

Ohh you will have to keep us updated with the reveal plans (mainly so I can get ideas too &#129315 xx

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You really should, I'm really hoping visit a resort to see the fireworks will be enough of a Disney fix for us

I honestly have no idea what to do for reveal plans. When we did it last time everything fell through a week before as we were scammed so had to rush trying to find reveal ideas and get things printed etc! I think I'll start looking when we get back from this trip.

I can't wait to see the girls faces, did you have a good trip away? X

Originally Posted by Goldia

Wow, that's an awesome list. So many great snacks. I'm looking forward to trying those tater tots at friars nook too, they look scrummy, there are some at woody's lunchbox I want to try. Both of them have got to go on my list for this year.

I think it's the law in this household that we have to go to the Plaza every trip and at least one us must get an ice cream cookie sandwich, the sundaes are awesome there too through. Those chilli cheese waffle fries at golden oaks outpost are divine too. We've done them for lunch and then the ice cream sandwich for pudding! It's a brilliant meal just from snacks. I can't remember if your kids like chilli or not, it's really not spicy, but if they don't it's not a problem as you can get the fries with no chilli.

Max had the Simba ice cream sandwich and liked it, so there's a seal of approval for you. Eight spoon cafe was always closed for us too! Good luck with catching them open. I've heard the DFB rave about the mango pie from the QS at Yak and Yeti but never tried it, I hope you like it.

I was desperate to try that Key lime pie on a stick and the num num but we just didn't have room, this year I have to get them!

I bet there will be loads of tasty snacks for you to try at flower and garden.

Of course you have to enjoy a Ghiradelli ice cream or at least some of the chocolate.

I've heard the beignets have moved from the food court to the bar, but it's literally next door so very easy to get to.

Do you think you'll manage even half of them? I hope so, I can't wait to see all the photos in your report.

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Oooo what are you hoping to get from Woody's? I think I'm going to make a list with our QS locations too and the dishes we want to try ... I'm making so much work for myself haven't even started typing up the plan cards!

No my kids are SUPER picky (saying that I don't like chilli either tbf) Thomas might try the fries with cheese. TBF I think QS is going to be much better for the kid's as TS felt like such a waste for what they ate most of the time.

That's great thanks Max, it's definitely a must try then

I've just found the Epcot Flower and Garden menus so about to start another list I doubt we'd get through half of the snacks, but I am determined to try and we do have 19 nights after all! Are you going to do a snack list too Abby? Would be great if you did. I love the TS restaurant post on your pre-trippie, so thorough xx

[caitlinsmummy]

I had my appointment with the consultant today, I'll try and keep it brief (haha who am I kidding)

So the 24 holter monitor showed that I do have the extra beats from the ventricle again. This doesn't show if they are from the same area as last time or not. In regards to the atrium, I did have 12 extra beats from the atrium but that's not enough to worry about, but it does explain why they felt different.

When I had the issues previously I was having over 10000 extra beats in a 24 hour period and they were continuous. This time I'm having around 2000 but they aren't all the time which is a good sign. He said that after the ablation it can come back for a while then disappear again, sometimes it can get worse but there's no way to tell.

He put all the options out for me which was to go straight for an ablation again, which I point blank refused. Firstly to me it's nowhere near as bad as before so doesn't warrant that awful operation as far as I'm concerned. He then mentioned putting me on the beta blockers again, but I suffered badly from the side effects last time dizziness, breathlessness and fatigue (which were also symptoms of the conditions) so it was like a double whammy! The final option was to give me a 'one-off' beta blocker. He said it can be taken as and when needed as opposed to every day like the ones I had previously. He said hopefully this will limit the side effects and also means I only need to take it when I'm bad, on days when it's not so bad I don't need to take them.

I asked about the holiday and he said I am perfectly fit to fly as my heart is structurally fine but we have a review on the 30th March to see if my symptoms have worsened or if I'm managing. If they've worsened they will get me in for the operation before holiday if they're not too bad I continue on the meds or got to the regular beta blockers to get me through the holiday if I don't want the op.

So all positive I guess, just hope it doesn't get any worse, fingers crossed x