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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:02 PM  
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sarahewoods
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A dream is a wish your heart makes Oct 2012 -Pre Trip Report

Hi everyone, after a few months of not doing a lot on here, I thought I would do a brief pre trip, as I would like to follow up with a full trip report on our return. Apologies for disappearing earlier this year. Life has been very difficult, but if goes on. No babbling, tears and tantrums, just our pure love for Disney! So we shall begin...

Introductions

I'm Sarah and 37, I am here to share my pre trip for our 3 week holiday staying at OKW in October 2012. I am the obsessed Disney manic. After my first visit in November 2010, wants nothing more than Disney, filled holidays. I love everything about it, the planning, the rides, the FOOD...aaaw the food, now that is something. I am the chief planner, trip writer and photographer. I would like to make this holiday as magical as the first, but that is going to be a lot to live up to. If I could sum up our last holiday in one word, well it would have to be WONDERFUL. I tend to go a little over board with the planning but I feel Disney holidays demand it, come one, please agree with me! well maybe I do go overboard, but it is only for fun. Whilst I was planning the last holiday, I was not sure what to expect, I put so much into our first holiday with the mouse, and really I didn’t’ know what to expect. I don’t think to be honest I knew what was coming. It is so hard to describe the emotion this place gives you. If Disney could bottle it up and sell it well…:goodvibes but seriously if you are planning your first holiday there, believe me when you see the castle for that very first time, you will be in total awe.
The words I uttered when leaving, we have to come back!




[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]Nick [/COLOR]DH 36 - He is the quiet one, who just goes with the flow; he does anything to make me happy, altogether now... AAAAWWWW On our last trip he sort of just took it all in. Before the last holiday he was most looking forward to Epcot, and it disappointed him a little. He had already been to Disneyland California when he was little, but it was his first time to Disney World last year. So now I have him hooked as well. Isn’t it great when you can do that?




[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]Bethany [/COLOR]DD 16 - Beth has changed a little since the planning stage of our first trip, she is a lovely girl who listens to the things we say a little more than she used to. She enjoyed her last visit, and I enjoyed her company when she wasn’t giving me whiplash with her moods and also she can’t wait to go back. All she is looking forward to at the moment is the holiday. Her favourite park is Magic Kingdom.



[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]Brandan [/COLOR]DS 14 - Well our quiet boy is growing up. When we first started planning he didnt want to come, but the past few months, he has changed his mind, and cannot wait. His favourite park is Magic Kingdom, and favourite attraction is Splash Mountain.




[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]Charlotte [/COLOR]DD 9 She is our little missy, don’t be fooled with those eyes. She is the most loving little girl you will meet, and cannot wait to go again. Her favourite park is Epcot, and favourite attraction is Mission space.




[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]Max [/COLOR]DS 7 He is the baby of the family, and also the loudest. He surprised me on our last holiday, as he appeared to love it more than anyone else, and was in total awe of just about everything. Max’s favourite park is also Magic Kingdom and alike Brandan, Splash Mountain is what he goes on about all the while.

[/SIZE][/FONT]


Coming up ... PART 2 - BACKGROUND INFO

Edited at 08:27 AM.
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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:02 PM  
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sarahewoods
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Table of contents

Part 1 - Inroductions
Part 2 - Background Information
Part 3 - More Introductions
Part 4 - When & Where
Part 5 - A Dream
Part 6 - Transport Options
Part 7 - Food options
Part 8 - Our Restaurant Choices pt 1
Part 8 - Ours Restaurant choices pt2
Part 9 - Vow Renewal pt 1
Part 10 - Vow renewal pt2
Part 11 - Vow Renewal pt3
Part 12 - Vow Renewal pt4
Part 13 - I love being creative
Part 14 - Purchases
Part 15 - More vow renewal bits and pieces
Part 16 - Epcot wish list!
Part 17 - Let's look at Disney's holiday Studios
Part 18 - A little more vow renewal
Part 19 - A sample of my theme weeks pt1
Part 20 - A sample of my theme weeks pt2
Part 21 - More themes
Part 22 - More themes
My disneyworld Intro
Part 23 - Animal Kingdom pt 1
Part 24 - animal Kingdom pt2
Part 25 - OKW photos
Part 26 - OKW photos pt2
Part 27 - OKw photos pt3
Park 28 - OKW photos pt4
Part 29 - Lets show you what we have been up to!
PArt 30 - Daily plans start now!
Part 31 - Day 2 plans!
part 32 - Day 3 plans!
Part 33 - Day 4 plans
Part 34 - Day 5 plans
Part 35 - Surprises
Part 36 - Day 6 plans
Part 37 - Day 7 plans
Part 38 - Day 8 plans!
Part 39 - Let's get packing!
Part 40 - Day 9 plans
Part 41 - Day 10 plans
Part 42 - Day 11 plans - Our VR
Part 43 - Day 12 plans
Part 44 - Day 13 plans
Part 45 - Day 14 plans
Part 46 - Day 15 plans
Part 47 - Day 16 Plans
Part 48 - Day 17 plans
Part 49 - Day 18 plans
Part 50 - Day 19 plans
Part 51 - 8 days to go!
Part 52 - Day 20 plans
Part 53 - Day 21 plans

Edited at 09:59 AM.
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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:06 PM  
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Manyin
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i know i'm posting too soon, but have to go out. Great to see your report making a come back and very much look forward to reading it
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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:09 PM  
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sarahewoods
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Part 2 - Background information

Hello again, here again to give you a little info our family and holidays. This will be our second visit to Disneyworld. Our first time was in November 2010, and it didn't disappoint. We knew the moment we stepped into the USA, we would want to come back as soon as possible. For us, nothing else compared!



Beach holidays, we find boring, and as much as we love camping with the good old tents, when you live in the UK, well the weather cannot be relied on. So if it means we have save for 2 to 3 years at a time, and be helped by very generous parents then that is what we will do.

Our first holiday was for 14 nights, and was great but we wanted to be there longer.

This will probably we our last family holiday as a family of 6, if we do plan another trip, if won't be before 2015, and by then Beth will be 19, and funding her own adventures.

My favourite Disney films, well you should realise those Tangled makes me cry, and the scene with lanterns reminds me of wishes, and chokes me up every time. Up is so heart warming, it makes me smile, and shed tears too. A perfect Sunday afternoon is snuggling up on the sofa, watching them.

Hope to see you here again soon!

Coming soon - More introductions :)
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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:22 PM  
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sarahewoods
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Part 3 - More introductions

Hi there, during our 3 week holiday we are planning a few celebrations which will bring more family and friends into our holiday. 6 people in total!

Maurice - SFIL
Maurice is joining us for 5 days before jetting down to the Florida keys for a further 9 days. We torment him all the time calling him Winnie the Pooh. It will be his first experience of Disney! He does not know what all the fuss is about Can we change his mind?



Mary - MIL
Wife of Maurice, and Nick's Mum. She is very much looking forward to spending 5 days in Disneyworld with the children, and is now regretting not booking for longer. Her first time in Disney world, but has visited Disneyland before.



Peter - FIL
Nick's Dad, he will be spending a full week following us around, and enjoying the fun that Disney brings. He isn't too excited yet, but hoping our none stop chatting will soon get him excited, that or he's cancelled. After his week with us, he will be flying over to California to spend 3 weeks with his Brother, and then a possibility of a further 3 weeks in Australia



Jean - Friend
Jean is travelling out with us for our first 14 days, and will be spending a little time with us all. Her Favourite park is Epcot. This will be her 4th visit! Hope we can get through a 2 week holiday without ruining a friendship



Phil
Wife of Jean, happy go lucky man who enjoys doing as he is told be Jean. I think his favorite park is also Epcot and is looking forward to the food



Rhys 17
Son of Jean & Phil, and his 4th visit. He loves theme parks and Florida is no exception. He is looking forward to spending time with my children.



Coming up - Part 4 - When and where
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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:36 PM  
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sarahewoods
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Part 4 - When & where

Hello everyone, so my initial planning started way back in Jan 2011. we began by checking out prices for August 2012, but based on August 2011, well I was shocked with Virgin’s prices as you will see below. I put my dates in for 9th Aug for 3 weeks, staying at OKW with the free DDP. Well I had an amount in my mind and when it went over, I left it without finishing. I was not sure what prices were actually going to be for 2012, but my guess was, book early! If we were booking right now for 2011, we wouldn’t be going with Virgin… for a package that is.

Fly drive prices with Virgin were also staggering, and when I checked these prices back in July they were just over £3000 less. So I am guessing it is best to book early for flydrives also.

The reason I was looking at Virgin is that we had an £810 deposit with them which we had until 9th March to book our next holiday with them. I was also hoping the new dates were released by then. Virgin assured me they would give me an extension taking it till July 2011 if the prices aren’t available. We were also going to use up some miles, so hopefully the price will be a bit lower.

So with those prices I checked out Expedia, and even those look expensive.. A little later in the week, we decided to Ring virgin, and get a quote from them for another date, 28th March 2012 for 3 weeks. This date was sort of in the picture because both Max and Charlotte would both celebrate their Birthdays during the holiday which would be lovely. Now this would be a Tuscan Hills villa, car hire and flights and tickets, and the price I was quoted was reasonable, so something to keep in mind.

So with those prices, I was not sure if we would actually stretch to 3 weeks after all. Especially in August.

Fast forward to April 2011 and we eventually booked up with Virgin Holidays, departing on 6th October 2012 until 27th October 2012. All very happy, to let the planning begin!


Accomodation

Back in Jan 2011 we hadn't looked at prices individually, but we had different options for a family of 6.

Virgin villa

OKW

Saratoga Springs

Disney’s All Stars Music

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

After pricing up lots of different options, we eventually choose Disney's Old Key West resort. We also secured the Disney dining plan, which we later upgraded to the DxDDP.

[/SIZE][/FONT]

Coming up - Part 5- Dreams[/CENTER]
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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:38 PM  
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irishminnie
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Welcome back Sarah. I really enjoyed your last trip report. I'm looking forward to reading more.
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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:47 PM  
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sarahewoods
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Part 5 - A dream

So I decided back in April 2011 that i was going to have a theme each week/month which obviously had to be based on DISNEY of course.. So the first week just had to be Cinderella. Why? Why Not? Well my title says it all, and was it not the beautiful Cinderella that sang….



'A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true’


Dreams, we all have dreams do we not? If we didn’t, well I don’t want to imagine not having dreams.

So my dreams for this holiday were...

To go for 3 weeks - My plan was to spend a minimum of 3 weeks in the most magical place on earth. Why 3 weeks? Well when we went for just 2 weeks last time, we struggled with tiredness, and spreading it out, would make it more enjoyable for us all... We have achieved this!

In the school holidays – This was the best time for us. Beth was going to be doing here GCSE’s in 2012. If we were to go at Easter, her mind wouldn’t be on studying, eermm Missy why on earth not? so it had to be out. Christmas was the only time that we could go for 3 weeks, but still, the children needed at least a week off school. So the first decision was been made for the summer holidays… 7th – 28th August HOPEFULLY. However as you know from my previous instalment, our dates in the end turned out to be October. So lots of what if and what not, but we got there in the end.

All 6 of us together – This was a dream because, Brandan was not sure if he was coming with us. I wouldn't be able to bear that, and the holiday wouldn’t be complete without him. back in 2011, one minute he was coming, the next he’s was not. The reason for him being the way he was, back in 2010, he was quite poorly just before we were due to board the aircraft and it resulted us not being able to come home for another 24 hours. I think this and he was a little home sick. All is good now, and he is looking forward to visiting once again.



OKW on the Free DDP – Well I was a little biased here, as we spent 2 weeks here during November 2010. Wow Wow Wow, this is all I can say, It was the most beautiful relaxing place I have ever stayed, and would love to go back. Free DDP would be the icing on the cake. As for it been rowdy when the free dining plan was on, it wasn’t when I was there, or maybe we didn’t notice as we may be the rowdy ones…lol no I don’t think so either… Secured the DXDDP too

Direct flights - I was definitely dreaming here…. August, for 6? It was going to be expensive… enough said…I WANT CHEAP FLIGHTS.COM!

No stress – My life is NOT stress-free, IS ANYONE’S? It is full of ups and downs… nah, maybe this one shouldn’t be in here.:

To lose all my excess weight! yes I know it was difficult, but the weight is shifting slowly. Now I know I would be dreaming to be 9 stones, but hey if I was dreaming why not have the impossible. Arr but it is impossible? errrmm yes a little! did shift 2 stones though

Renew our Wedding vows – There had not been any mention of this little one until May 2011. We had a very basic wedding 9 years ago. It was my first time, and expected the dress, and everything, well I didn’t get any of it… altogether now AWWW So boo hiss and all hate mail to Nick, only messing. So my dream would be to renew in Disney. Maybe some other family members may come to celebrate with us… Watch this space

To see parts of Florida we haven’t seen before – Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens, Clearwater Beach. Let's see!

Last dream as to be.. A LOTTERY WIN! I can dream

So Disney fans, Cinderella, you have got to love her, she has it all. Beauty, prince charming, a castle to name few..

Cinderella, she has Prince Charming, and we all want one of those don’t we, well I have one. He may not be your idea of Prince Charming, but he is mine. Here’s the bucket…. Here is my Prince Charming, if you have a prince charming why not upload your version, I know they come in a all shapes and sizes



The Glass slipper, well I have shoes. What can I say I am a woman. One thing is, you only need 2 pairs each.. Remember that Sarah..

The Castle, we all love Cinderella’s castle, I cried so many times last time, and it got me in that pit of the stomach. The first time I saw it I felt pure emotion. It was strange, it is only a structure, but to me was everything I have ever dreamt of.

[/SIZE][/FONT]
Come back for Part 6 - Transport options[/CENTER]
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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:51 PM  
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sarahewoods
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Originally Posted by Manyin View Post
i know i'm posting too soon, but have to go out. Great to see your report making a come back and very much look forward to reading it
Welcome on board, and thank you for the kind words.

Thank you for reading along xx


Originally Posted by irishminnie View Post
Welcome back Sarah. I really enjoyed your last trip report. I'm looking forward to reading more.
Thank you, and welcome to my 2012 pre trip report (again)...lol
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Old 15 Aug 12, 05:59 PM  
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sarahewoods
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Part 6 - Transport options

We had another theme which was requested by my DS Max and was Disney’s Cars. It then got me wondering about what else goes with ‘Cars’, so my thinking was the transport element of the holiday.

I did few designs, for t-shirts for Max and Charlotte which incorporates Cars.




For the different transports throughout our holiday we have to get to the airport and we had 3 options-

National Express – This would be from the local bus station, stopping at several stops along the way. We did this option in 2010, but it is a long journey, 4 hours and 35 minutes.



Train – East Midlands trains would be from Leicester to St Pancras, and then
change train to Gatwick, this is a 2 hr ish journey. Now this is a quicker journey, but if I remember there are a lot of stairs between platforms, and not a lot of space for suitcases….



Car, it is the return that worries, us, plus we wouldn't all fit in the car with our luggage, so this is out!

Taxi - Would be beneficial for us, and even though it is the most expensive, it became the most obvious one for us to use.

fleetdirectory/flee...ct-concept.jpg
Flights

So as you are aware we are travelling with Virgin Atlantic, and we are hoping to be one one of there refurbished 747's here is hoping anyway.



Transport in the USA

Car – Nope, cannot do this option, as Nick’s new licence has too many health restrictions on and wont have been issued for long enough.

Magical express/Disney transport - I have booked ME, and hoping to use it but our booking came with free transfers with Virgin, which apparently use ME transport anyway.


Limo Hire – Would have liked to have surprised everyone with this option to get to our accommodation. However, it would have been too expensive as we would need a van too to transport luggage.



When we are in the Disney and staying at OKW, we will use Disney transport, and have booked Florida Magical Tours for a couple of excursions too, who are very good to deal with.



Thank you for reading along all

Coming next... Part 7 Food options
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