Day 1 - The Day We Met The LoveBug Colonies - 20th May 2019

[caitlinsmummy]

Welcome to our trip report! I'll start off by introducing the family and a little about the name of the report in case you haven't read the pre-trippie.

We are a family of five and we returned from Orlando in November 2018. In September 2018 Virgin had a MASSIVE sale and I found a bargain for just over £300pp for direct flights, accommodation at Rosen Inn International and transfers for 9 nights! It was too good a deal to pass up so I booked it. I intended to tell everyone at Christmas but needed to tell Mr Grump earlier. We told the kids on Christmas morning and they were over the moon.

Find the Index HERE

Previous day is HERE

So this trip consisted of:

Myself (Kelly) - Chief planner and organiser ... none of the trip would have happened without me

Husband (Chris) - The laid back photographer one ... I guess it wouldn't have happened without him paying for it so I have to give him some recognition there

Caitlin (12) - total drama llama and pre teen one.

Thomas (10) - the cheeky brain box one.

Noah (6) - the cute one. Noah is autistic and struggles with change so holidays are quite often a challenge for him

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Day 1 - The Day We Met The LoveBug Colonies - 20th May 2019

As usual it was an early wake up for me ... 4.30am on the plus side this was better than the 3.15am last year ... however, there was 5 hours difference this time not 4 Chris and Noah both woke around 5am and Noah came into our bed and we cuddled and chatted for a bit. I love these moments with the kids

Caitlin and Thomas woke not long after this so we finished the unpacking, packed the bag for the day, got showers and got ready. Kid's snacked on cereal we'd brought from home and we had some fibre one bars.

We'd planned Denny's which was just round the corner from our hotel so we walked it. Arrived at 6.30am and there was just one other table in

Denny's

Before we left the UK I signed up to Denny's birthday and mailing list. I was emailed a 20% off coupon which we intended to use today. For some reason I hadn't printed this at home so only had it on my phone but this wasn't a problem. I can't remember the servers name but she was lovely and kept our drinks refilled and made sure we were ok.

Drinks

I had an iced water, Chris had OJ, Caitlin had apple juice, Thomas had chocolate milk and Noah wanted a hot chocolate

Noah loved how 'big' his hot chocolate was. We were all quite amused at him ordering this as it's totally out of the norm for him!

Chris - Grand Slam Slugger - Buttermilk pancakes, eggs,* bacon strips and sausage links. Served with hash browns or choice of bread, plus coffee and juice.

For some reason Chris didn't take a picture of his pancakes. He really enjoyed this.


Me - Choconana Pancake Breakfast - Ghirardelli® chocolate chips cooked inside buttermilk pancakes. Topped with bananas, more Ghirardelli® chocolate chips and whipped cream. Served with two eggs,* hash browns, plus two bacon strips or two sausage links.

This was lovely, I really enjoyed this. I managed all the breakfast and most of the pancakes! I opted for bacon and no eggs (Caitlin got my eggs instead I think)

Caitlin and Thomas had

Build Your Own Slam - Pick any 3 items and make it your own.
Thomas - Fried Eggs, Hash Browns and Pancakes

Caitlin - Sausage, Bacon and Toast (she had my eggs I didn't want) and they brought out a side of pancakes that hadn't been ordered

Noah - Jr. Chocolate Chip Pancake Breakfast - Ghirardelli® chocolate chips cooked inside buttermilk silver dollar pancakes, a bacon strip and a sausage link.

He opted for 2 sausage instead of bacon and sausage.

We all really enjoyed Denny's I wasn't expecting much but it was one of our favourite breakfasts and so cheap too!

We had the 20% off voucher which brought the total to around $32 I think, we paid $40.98 with tip which we were over the moon about!

We were finished in Denny's for about 7.30am so we decided to have a little walk up International Drive as we couldn't go to SeaWorld till 9am. We crossed over and seen a little gift shop. We waited till it opened at 8am and had a walk around. I managed to get myself an Orlando hoody for $15

Those of you with kids I'd love to know if it's just mine but do they like to embarrass you?! I swear for a smart kid Thomas has no common sense 🤔 he choose a toy car in the shop for about $8. He went to buy it and reminded him about the tax. So he shouts at the top of his voice

'What? I'm not paying tax?! I don't want anything I have to pay tax on'

I wanted the ground to swallow me up 😳 he knows exactly what tax is as we had a very similar conversation last year when we were here and they were spending their spends 🙄 I'm sure he does it on purpose.

Anyway we were heading to SeaWorld today and I'd checked online and it said opening was 9am. Champion I thought as it was 8.20am so we headed back to the car and straight off to SeaWorld. We ended up in a massive queue waiting to get in, turns out it didn't open till 10 We waited in the queue for security for about 15 minutes till they opened it. In this time I lost count of the amount of lovebugs that landed on us. Noah had a meltdown as he really hates bugs, in the end Mr Grump had to get him out of the pushchair and carry him and keep swatting them away.

I'd read before we came about there being lots of them this year and it was quite unbearable! Once through security we had another wait to get through the turnstiles. Noah was struggling to cope and kept trying to kick and hit Caitlin and Thomas. We got the kids books out and managed to distract Noah by asking him to draw pictures of what we did yesterday.

We were let in around 9.40am and had a slow walk to rope drop. We made the mistake of not going to Guest Services as Chris wanted to get on the popular rides first so it limited the time the kids were waiting around. The heat was unbearable when we were stood waiting. The kids were whinging about it as there was no shade

When we were let through we headed straight to Kraken. Chris rode whilst the kids had a go of the seat. Noah was adamant he should be allowed on as he fit in the seat Such a thrill seeker this child!

Once Chris came off I went on and it was a walk on. We both enjoyed this ride although I felt a little sick coming off it. Chris wanted to rush over to Mako to get that done but when we went over it was roped off and wasn't open till 11. We went back through Antarctica and did Journey To Atlantis.

As usually happens to us on rides, just before we got on it broke down. We ended up waiting over 30 minutes luckily Noah coped really well and we distracted him playing different games such as eye spy and games on my phone.

After this we decided to head back to Guest Services to get the DAS pass for Noah incase any of the other rides had long queues. Last night we had a delivery from FairyTale Personal Shopper which included 3 Lunchables for the kids, a sandwich for Chris and I and a big box of rice krispie treats as snacks for the parks.

Caitlin had cheese and ham crackers with a cookie and drink, Thomas and Noah both had 2 mini hot dogs with a mini chocolate bar and drink. These were something like $2 each and worth it for us, they then each had a rice krispy treat each. Chris and I shared a ham and swiss sandwich which was HUGE! This was around $5. We ate these in the queue. Again the heat was unbearable and everyone was trying to gather under the 2 umberellas they had for shade it was 33C!

Once we got sorted with the DAS pass we went to watch the One Ocean show and decided to get a refillable drink and some snacks. We had brought bottles of water and coke zero with us but they'd nearly all gone already so we decided to get the refill. Thomas got a slushy (ICEE as they call it) we got the refill and got some popcorn too, I have a feeling we got something else but honestly can't remember what it was .

We all really enjoyed this, Noah thought it was amazing how they were jumping and waving together.

Next we headed round to Infinity Falls where Thomas and Noah ummed and ahhed about going on after seeing how wet everyone was coming off In the end they decided they wanted to go on. Caitlin didn't so she waited with the pushchair. We all really enjoyed this and we got absolutely soaked I remembered whilst sat on the ride I'd planned to wear my dress today so I'd dry off quicker ... instead I had denim shorts on

We decided to head round to Sesame Street as the parade was on soon.

We rode the mini rollercoaster then popped into the shops for some aircon as we were melting! We seen the queue for Elmo and Cookie Monster wasn't too big so the kids joined and got some sweaty photos

The parade was just about to start so we headed outside to get a space to watch. We all enjoyed the parade but the heat was tainting everything for us we were really struggling by now

After this we headed to Mako but I opted to not ride. Chris came off and told me it was amazing and I needed to go on. I ummmed and ahhhed and he more or less pushed me through the entrance. Got to say it was amazing! I loved it.

Kid's were getting fed up now and we were in much need of cool attractions so we headed to Empire of the Penguin back at Antarctica on the way Mr Grump seen the SeaLion stadium so we went for a look around there. He bought the 3 trays of fish to feed them. Only 1 fish got stolen and that was out of Caitlin's hand which resulted in girly screaming

The offending creature

We headed round to Antarctica and the queue was 10 minutes so we thought great. Whilst in the queue we were told the ride was down ... we ended up waiting 40 minutes it definitely wasn't worth 40 minutes but the kids didn't enjoy seeing the penguins

I don't think Thomas was happy with the wait

Chris still wanted to ride Manta so I told him to go on ahead and we'd have a slow walk behind and meet him off the ride. There was a hook a duck stall near here where the boys both spent some of their money. Noah got a Pikachu and Thomas a blob Pokemon thing

Chris came off Manta and declared Mako his favourite. I was still feeling sickly so decided I didn't want to go on. It was almost 5pm and everywhere was closing so we headed out the park and back to the hotel.

All showered and sorted we headed to Longhorns, it was around 7.30pm by the time we got there but it wasn't too busy. We waited about 10 minutes for a table.

We got drinks, I can't remember these but I know Chris got a bottle of cider, Noah had water (with our squeeze juice in) and I think Caitlin, Thomas and I opted for soft drinks. I signed up to Longhorns before we left and printed a coupon for a free appetiser. We opted for

Texas Tonion - crispy onion petals and zesty dipping sauce

Chris and I ate these and they were lovely! So tasty, in fact I could eat some right now. We were told there would be some bread, however, even after we finished the appetiser we still didn't have it, so we flagged our server and she apologised and brought some over.

Caitlin is such a pain when it comes to food, she wanted steak but just steak on it's own so we ordered it with fries and a pilau rice hoping she'd eat the rice (she didn't like it). Chris opted for cesar salad but we shared it as they brought it with the appetiser. This was really tasty too.

Chris and Caitlin - Renegade Top Sirloin 8oz - a juicy usda choice top sirloin - $14.49

Me - Flo's Filet* - our guests' favorite - the most tender cut of beef. - $18.99 I think I went for the 6oz, I opted for loaded baked potato and Mac N Cheese with mine (Chris and I shared the Mac N Cheese

I really enjoyed this! The steak was so juicy and tender and the loaded potato was so different yet so nice. I also felt like I was doing well by Slimming World with this meal ... until I got to the Mac N Cheese

Thomas and Noah got the Chicken Tenders ... in hindsight we should have just got one between them as Noah didn't eat the chicken and they were so tired they didn't eat much at all, plus we still had Caitlin's fries going spare.

Thomas and Noah - Chicken Tenders - All Kid's Meals Are Served With Fresh Fruit, Drink (1% Milk, Fruit Juice Or Fountain Drink) And Side (Steamed Broccoli Or Seasoned Fries)

We all really enjoyed our meal here and concluded it was the best evening meal we'd had on this trip. I definitely want to go more than once next time!

Total including tip was $98.12

This was our most expensive meal of the trip but we knew it would and it was totally worth it! I think total before tip was around $82.

I drove us back to the hotel and some tool pulled out right in front of me at the traffic lights where the big McDonalds is. I had to really slam the brakes on, how I didn't crash into him I don't know!

We arrived back just after 9pm and the kids were asleep within 10 minutes. Not bad for our first full day! There'd been a mix up with parcels from Beth last night so we needed to wait up for her to come swap them over. She arrived around 10pm and I was fast asleep not long after this. Chris stayed up till gone midnight playing with his new Go Pro

Tomorrow is Discovery Cove and the Disney Reveal x

[TC Devon]

Love it thanks for sharing.
I did nt know fairy tale shopped Beth did food deliveries. Great idea.

[Buggles94]

I just googled Fairytale Shopper - looks like a great service! Sounds like a fab day and I'm impressed you all stayed up so late

[LottiesLot]

Looking forward to reading along. We were there at the same time as you plus a few more days 19 May to 2 June. Wasn't it hot? ! 97° some days. We also found it very busy, which I wasn't expecting.

[GezzasGem]

I really like Manta but when I went on Mako I felt ill for ages afterwards! 😳 think it's my age... 😂 going to try dramamine next trip and see if it leaves me not in a cold sweat after star tours.. 🙈😄🤞

[mouselover22]

Great blog Kelly Wow, didn’t know Denny’s did pancakes with Ghirardelli chocolate chips!

I had read about the temperatures this May, must of been stifling! Sounds like the kids coped well with it, the drenching on Infinity Falls must of helped

We haven’t done Seaworld for years but going back this year to ride Mako, very excited!

Lovely photo’s of the kids

[disneyfangirl01]

Are these temperatures out of the ordinary for May? I am going next year and now panicking as I didn't realise it would be that hot

[Michyloulou]

Looks like a great day. Great idea with food delivery.

[collybird]

It was a great idea to get some food delivered, really takes out the stress of having to go shopping as well as saving some money.

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by TC Devon

Love it thanks for sharing.
I did nt know fairy tale shopped Beth did food deliveries. Great idea.

See more...

Thanks for reading. Yes she does which is fab. I sent her a list of what we wanted from the WalMart site and she delivered it with the parcels we'd had sent to her, all for one flat rate fee which is fab considering the hotel wanted to charge $15 per parcel

Originally Posted by Buggles94

I just googled Fairytale Shopper - looks like a great service! Sounds like a fab day and I'm impressed you all stayed up so late

See more...

We used Beth and Tim last year for our daughters birthday gift basket, cake and some BABW goodies I'd ordered and the service was fab. I'm so surprised we managed this late, we didn't even manage that last year!

Originally Posted by LottiesLot

Looking forward to reading along. We were there at the same time as you plus a few more days 19 May to 2 June. Wasn't it hot? ! 97° some days. We also found it very busy, which I wasn't expecting.

See more...

It was wasn't it, some days it was just unbearable. We found it really busy around Memorial Day weekend but we expected it tbh. I hope you had an amazing time

Originally Posted by GezzasGem

I really like Manta but when I went on Mako I felt ill for ages afterwards! 😳 think it's my age... 😂 going to try dramamine next trip and see if it leaves me not in a cold sweat after star tours.. 🙈😄🤞

See more...

It definitely lifted my stomach a bit. I said to Mr Grump I don't think my body is up for rollercoasters and rides anymore I never thought I'd say that as I love theme parks but the last few times I just haven't enjoyed them as much. I used dramamine before Forbidden Journey at IOA but it didn't really help at all. I've never done Star Tours ... good to know it's one to avoid for next time

Originally Posted by mouselover22

Great blog Kelly Wow, didn’t know Denny’s did pancakes with Ghirardelli chocolate chips!

I had read about the temperatures this May, must of been stifling! Sounds like the kids coped well with it, the drenching on Infinity Falls must of helped

We haven’t done Seaworld for years but going back this year to ride Mako, very excited!

Lovely photo’s of the kids

See more...

Thanks lovely.

I think they were but they were so delicious, definitely try them if you can.

It really was and we just weren't prepared for it at all. When exchanging emails with Beth this day she told me to make sure we kept hydrated as there was a heatwave imminent ... she certainly wasn't wrong. The temp was between 34 and 36 most days!

The kid's coped really well, so proud of them. Yeah that definitely helped

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did

Originally Posted by disneyfangirl01

Are these temperatures out of the ordinary for May? I am going next year and now panicking as I didn't realise it would be that hot

See more...

They are yes. As I said above Beth informed us there was a heatwave imminent. On Memorial Day (27th May) it said on the radio that it was the hottest Memorial Day for over 20 years Try not to panic as it's not normally that hot. Just watch out for those pesky love bugs!

Originally Posted by Michyloulou

Looks like a great day. Great idea with food delivery.

See more...

It was a fab day. The food delivery definitely saved us time. I knew we wouldn't have much WalMart time with there only being 9 days so this was the perfect solution for us. Plus Beth is such a lovely person too

Originally Posted by collybird

It was a great idea to get some food delivered, really takes out the stress of having to go shopping as well as saving some money.

See more...

It definitely does and no random junk could be put in like if we'd actually went to WalMart xx