Living in Jamerica - The Bud Light Years Pre-Trippy(2)

[JoJo88]

Living in Jamerica - The Bud Light Years Oct '11

The bit before the bit before. Pre-Trippy(1)

Post Trip Pre-Trippie
We started planning for this trip in about June of 2010. First port of call was ‘when’, and as we knew we wanted to go for 3 weeks this time, it meant taking in a school holiday. We decided on October half term and a fortnight either before or after, mainly because none of us like the heat, so summer would be out. Christmas would be out as we love Christmas at home, and really, we’d found November to be perfect so the nearest to that for us was October. This also meant we would be there for Halloween.

We looked into flight prices with Virgin and was horrified to see that they were going to cost us around £1k more for the 4 of us than they did last time. This did include flying out on a Saturday, which was a £20pp supplement, but still! We looked around at other carriers but could soon tell that flight prices had jumped pretty much all across the board, and as we knew we wanted to fly direct, had flown with Virgin before and couldn’t really fault them I just ignored the cost and concentrated on working out which dates and weeks would be best . The boys would break up from school on Friday 21st October, so we decided to fly out 2 weeks before that, on Saturday 8th, flying back on Thursday 27th, giving us a couple of days to try and get over the jet lag. Yeah right!

So, with those dates in mind, the first thing to book was accommodation. We knew we wanted to stay in a villa again, we loved being able to spread out, and have all the conveniences that came with a villa – kitchen, laundry room, heated pool, hot tub, pc & wi-fi, bathroom for everyone to name but a few! I looked around for alternatives to Windsor Hills, knowing that we didn’t make the most of all the facilities the resort had to offer. However, checking out all the different villa locations we soon came to the conclusion that we had been spoilt and really Windsor Hills was where we wanted to be.

I looked at a few villas as I know we paid more for the one we used previously as it was quite new, and ticked all the boxes and more, but they all seemed to be missing something and so I got back in contact with Grant, who we rented off previously, and fortunately our dates were available. However, I went into the calendar on his website and noticed that our dates were crossed off, but were out by a few days. I went back to Grant who very casually told me that his Management Company must have taken a booking and therefore sorry but the villa isn’t available. Gutted! It wasn’t long though before my Mum found another one that was almost identical, right down to the name and so I got in touch and again, thankfully it was available and we got it booked.

Flights were next, and we booked these a couple of days after booking the villa. I was too impatient to wait until VA released their flights and so, like before, I booked a Fly Drive package through Virgin Holidays, with no intention of using the ‘free’ car. I also booked the V Room and Universal Tickets with VH. That particular decision was easy as they were giving them away free

So, with the main things taken care of, the long wait began. During this time we moved house, which was a big step as even though it was only 10 miles down the road, we changed counties, so it meant the boys changing school. The new house needed bringing into the 21st century so a fairly big building project started, involving knocking down walls, replastering absolutely every wall and ceiling, new kitchen, bathrooms, everything.

We are still not finished, but are getting there and the downstairs is almost complete. The boys settled into their school with no trouble and doing up the house has kept us busy and actually made the countdown go quite quickly.

In between stripping wallpaper and painting etc, the rest of the holiday plans were taken care of. (Simon once told me he wasn’t keen on my painting technique but I told him that was tough, as this is how I roll…..Boom Tish! ) 14 day Disney Ultimate tickets were booked through VH, a 7 seater minivan with Budget through US Rentacar, airport parking was with a guy we have been using for years now who lives a couple of miles from the airport. A night at Universal was a must, FOTLPs are brilliant and it’s nice to devote a couple of days to Universal. Last time we stayed at the Royal Pacific Resort so this time we went for the Hard Rock Hotel. No reason, just to try somewhere else.

We also decided it would be a shame not to make the most of being over there for Halloween and so we booked tickets for MNSSHP for a couple of days before we came home. That meant that even though our Ultimate tickets will have run out, we could still get a last Disney fix before coming home. Simon & Adam would probably have enjoyed Universal’s Halloween Horror nights but there was absolutely no way I would be going there. I am jumpy anyway, and it’s something Simon gets immense pleasure out of far too often. I actually got my own back on him a couple of nights ago….

Thanks to the wonders of jet lag we haven’t been able to sleep very well lately, and the other night as I was lying there, hoping, wishing & praying that by pretending to be asleep I actually would fall asleep, Simon got up to go to the loo. While he was there, as the hoping, wishing & praying wasn’t working, I decided to go too. I walked down the landing, switched on the light and stood to the side of the door. Now, I wasn’t sneaking around, and the fact that the light went on was surely a clue that someone else was up? Apparently not. The light going on had alarmed poor hubby and so once he’d finished his ‘business’ he cautiously poked his head round the door, caught sight of me and literally jumped 3 feet in the air letting out the mostly girly scream I have ever heard. Hmmm, that’s the last time I go to bed without make up on! I must have laughed myself to sleep that night because every time I pictured him coming out of that bathroom I couldn’t stop the shoulder shake & sniggering! I know I seem to laugh at the misfortune of others quite a lot, but I’m not all that evil really, honest!

So, let’s get back on track. Our ADR window opened in April and so we booked a couple of breakfasts for our first mornings, Crystal Palace for the first day and Tusker House for the second. We went to Crystal Palace on our first morning last time and had really enjoyed being able to walk down an empty Main Street, and it seemed like a good tradition Mum said she would look after the boys so that Simon & I could go out for a meal on our own at some point, so I looked through the possibilities and ended up booking an ADR for Teppan Edo. Some might say that I was slightly selfish in this decision as Simon isn’t all that keen on oriental offerings, but in my defence, it’s my itinerary, so my choice

We had talked about travelling to Gatwick the night before the flight and doing twilight check in, so around Christmas, when I saw a post on the Dibb about the Hilton having a sale, that was all it took to seal the deal and 2 rooms were soon booked. I am usually terrible when travelling to the airport, really anxious and constantly checking I’ve got everything, going over in my head all the important things and worrying about things I might have forgotten, or worrying about the traffic. Not even the usual dose of Imodium helps, and I am waaaay too familiar with the loos at the BP petrol station in Bracknell (TMI Blush!) I was hoping that by staying the night before, I could avoid that particular, erm, trauma!

So, time rolled on, lists were made, lists were lost, more lists were made. Mapman’s Map was searched for, unsuccessfully, so a new one was ordered. The old one had tear proof paper, so of course the first thing you do on receipt is to check. Come on, you all did it! The new one did Not have tear proof paper. I told Simon this when it arrived but of course he had to make sure At the 100 day mark I presented the boys with Countdown Charts that I had lovingly made one afternoon. To be honest, they were more for me, and while Daniel kept up with his, more often than not I would do Adam’s for him. My pleasure!

Soon enough the kitchen calendar turned over to October which meant the holiday was almost upon us. Daniel’s 6th birthday was on the day we were leaving for Gatwick, and so, as if I didn’t have enough to do, I arranged for him to have his birthday party(ies) the weekend before. On the Saturday he had a party for his school friends at one of those soft play areas. There are not enough analgesics in Boots to get us grown ups through this, but it was worth it, he had a great time and the best part is no mess! The following day we had the family get together – grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins etc, and so the house was bedlam. And the best part is no mess! Oh no, that was yesterday…. Still, the busy weekend helped to make the time go faster and kept me busy and out of mischief. And meant that lucky Daniel would have three birthdays this year. Don’t get used to it buddy

For someone who likes to be organised, I always end up running around like a blue, well, you know what when it gets near to departure day. Of course the house needs to be spring cleaned from top to bottom, all bedding needs to changed, the washing basket has to be empty with all ironing done. DH’s contribution to the run up to any event, Christmas, holidays etc, is to do a tip run . Fortunately he was safely tucked up at work until the day we we were leaving and so this particularly vital task did not get done. And do you know what? We managed just fine without it! And then of course there’s the packing. I had everything out on the spare bed, and the cases all lined up in the hallway, I just needed to combine the two.

Clothes wise we were taking the bare minimum as we knew we would be doing laundry over there and we always end up taking far too much. Lots of space was taken up in the suitcases by a booster seat, squash, washing liquid & fabric conditioner, toiletries etc etc, and there was plenty of space still so we ended up taking only three cases for the four of us. I knew we would be doing a bit of shopping out there, but we wouldn’t be bringing THAT much back, right?! (whistles innocently)

So, that’s the post trip pre trippy. Bit tricky to write it retrospectively but I hope it was okay!

Now, let the journey commence!

Disclaimer: If you are looking for an MKingdon style laugh a minute recollection of a trip across the pond, then you need to move along, go, there’s nothing to see here (although I did see a few turtle heads…. ) However, if you are, like me, suffering from jetlag or just need an extra little nudge into the land of nod, well, stick around, I may well be able to help with that

Day 0 - Twilight Check In & Gatwick Hilton

[coombsyl]

Haha! I like your style! Looking forward to these

[clairemichelle]

I enjoyed reading this Jo and really looking forward to reading more

[Guest]

Love it---can't wait for the rest.

lynn

[JoJo88]

Originally Posted by coombsyl

Haha! I like your style! Looking forward to these

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Thank you, I'm looking forward to writing them

Originally Posted by clairemichelle

I enjoyed reading this Jo and really looking forward to reading more

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Thanks Claire, you should have a go, I'm really enjoying it

Originally Posted by 289ngs

Looking forward to reading about your trip. You write really well.

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That's really kind, thank you

Originally Posted by lynfra

Love it---can't wait for the rest.

lynn

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Thank you - hopefully you won't have to wait too long

[pixie81]

Can't wait to read more! getting excited hearing about the suitcases lined up on the landing and the advent calendars!

[JoJo88]

Originally Posted by pixie81

Can't wait to read more! getting excited hearing about the suitcases lined up on the landing and the advent calendars!

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Awww! Your time will soon be here, and it's your first visit too, that's sooooo special

[Juliemack]

Right, think I'm up to date now, enjoyed reading that, just as good as Craigs

[cartoonp]

Very nice trip report

[summersun]

looking forward to more