The Pumpkins Dine Around Disney [Pre-Trip Report]

[Guest]

Nice pre-trippy, I love your photos on your trip reports. I am on my holiday diet right now, I started from the new year and have lost 1stone 8lbs so far, I still have a lot to loose before September, but I am very determined.

When we went in 2012 I really felt the impact of my weight, my poor feet were ruined, and I was in so much pain. Plus the heat and humidity in September was exhausting. So I am determined to get the weight off. Although I could fit into all the rides, I panicked every time trying to get the harnesses done up, and once I was in, I couldn't breathe!

I am a yoyo dieter, I've been everywhere from size 8 to size 22. I dont think I'll ever get back to an 8, I like eating too much, but a size 12 would be lovely - with my losses I'm now in size 18.

Good luck with the diet, I am tracking my success in my pre-trip report too

[Mrs Pumpkin]

Originally Posted by xxSarahxx

Nice pre-trippy, I love your photos on your trip reports. I am on my holiday diet right now, I started from the new year and have lost 1stone 8lbs so far, I still have a lot to loose before September, but I am very determined.

When we went in 2012 I really felt the impact of my weight, my poor feet were ruined, and I was in so much pain. Plus the heat and humidity in September was exhausting. So I am determined to get the weight off. Although I could fit into all the rides, I panicked every time trying to get the harnesses done up, and once I was in, I couldn't breathe!

I am a yoyo dieter, I've been everywhere from size 8 to size 22. I dont think I'll ever get back to an 8, I like eating too much, but a size 12 would be lovely - with my losses I'm now in size 18.

Good luck with the diet, I am tracking my success in my pre-trip report too

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Sadly, my weight gain did affect 2013s holiday which really annoyed me - my own fault granted, and it's why we booked to go back again so soon. I've lost a stone so far, and would like to lose another 5 by the time we go back there - that puts me back to where I was before when we went in 2011 and I coped fine with the rides I wanted to do and the heat/humidity.

good luck for your diet too xx

[Mrs Pumpkin]

Come Fly With Me...how we'll be getting there!

I really need to kick my butt into gear with finishing off 2013's trip report: The Pumpkins Pop Back To Florida, as well as write up all the sections of our pre-trip report for 2014: The Pumpkins Dine Around Disney!

I don't seem to have spare moments for anything, and squeeze doing things in where I can, but I want to get this written and it annoys me that I've not written more, so going to do my best this week to catch up with it all!

So, one of the reasons for going back to Florida so soon is because I was disappointed in myself for putting on weight last year. It really affected our holiday in that I didn't have no where near as much energy and get up and go as I did on our first trip...the second reason was my belief that we could get cheap flights!

To that end, both hubs and myself kept tabs on the glitch watch thread to see if we could bag a bargain.

As for dates, we were slightly less flexible as we'd already booked accommodation at Old Key West to get the free Disney Dining Plan, but we were flexible in the airport we'd fly from - London any and were quite happy to go indirect too.

The glitch thread brought lots of frustrations for a lot of people, prices just didn't seem to want to budge, and I was starting to think that my £2000 budget for flights might be a bit too ambitious.

We didn't get the Norwegian Air ones, too inconvenient going via Oslo for us. As well as flying into Fort Lauderdale, meaning an overnight stay and missing a day either side of our holiday - time we couldn't afford to waste.

We kept the hope alive, but as others in the thread started booking - or giving in, as they would say, I decided our budget would have to be upped and I'd have to work a bit harder to get the money to pay for it!

So £2500 it was for 3 adults, and I looked at all the carriers - but nope, nothing decent - either flight times/lengths were ridiculous or the prices were too high.

In the end I phoned up the Walt Disney Travel Company to see if I could add flights to our existing booking. The lady which I spoke to was a big help - she searched for ages for us, and eventually found a flight with Delta to and from Orlando, via Atlanta, Georgia for under £2500 - As soon as she said the magic number I just said "book it please" and phew, I could stop worrying about flights!

Our first two trips to Orlando have been flying out of Gatwick with Virgin (2011) and British Airways (2013), this time, we're flying out of Heathrow, have a 1hr 58 min layover in Atlanta before getting on another Delta plane to Orlando (MCO).

It's going to be so cool not to have to do immigration at MCO which takes a couple of hours in August - at least, it has for us when we've been!

The flight home for us is going to be a strange one as we're arriving back in the UK a lot later than we are used to - 12.20pm, normally, we land at 7.30 ish in the morning and know how to play the jetlag thing, so this year might be interesting on that score!

The layover on the way home is longer, just under 3 hours, but I have a friend in Atlanta who said she'll come to the airport for a quick drink which will be awesome!

We've already been able to pick our seats on Delta's website which is pretty cool - as long as we sit together, I'm not really fussed as to where on the plane we sit, but it's nice to have picked seats already. There is wi-fi on the smaller internal plane, so you may find me reporting live from the air over the USA!

All I can say is that I'm so relieved that we finally booked flights - happier still that our friends managed to get good prices for them a few weeks later - it was touch and go as to if they would actually be going back to Florida this year because of the prices, but we're over the moon that they'll be in Orlando at the same time as us again!

[Glee Fan]

I know what you mean, it's so hard trying to fit everything in isn't it! I also started a pre-trip a little while ago but seemed to spend more time reading existing TR's on here than adding any more to it, so I feel your frustration with yourself too on that score, although I did eventually add a little more to it on Saturday.

Your flight plans sound great, we are also flying from Heathrow, but with United which is new to us as well

Well done on your weight loss journey so far, you will get there

[vanlou]

Oh I feel your pain with the glitch watch thread We started off brave looking at DIY but ended up booking a package through charter travel as OH was getting too stressed with it all. Like you though we were happy with the price we ended up with. Don't think we would have got it much cheaper if we had booked it all ourselves. Lucky you to miss the MCO immigration this year we won't land til about 6pm so fingers crossed we will be through quickly.

I'm being brave this year and doing a pre-trippie too, but I agree with both you and glee fan that it's easy to get distracted with other things and end up neglecting it I also will make an effort to be better

[Mrs Pumpkin]

Originally Posted by vanlou

Oh I feel your pain with the glitch watch thread We started off brave looking at DIY but ended up booking a package through charter travel as OH was getting too stressed with it all. Like you though we were happy with the price we ended up with. Don't think we would have got it much cheaper if we had booked it all ourselves. Lucky you to miss the MCO immigration this year we won't land til about 6pm so fingers crossed we will be through quickly.

I'm being brave this year and doing a pre-trippie too, but I agree with both you and glee fan that it's easy to get distracted with other things and end up neglecting it I also will make an effort to be better

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We've done DIY the first two visits, so it was weird to be booking a package in the first place. When I initially booked OKW, the flights were really high, so I just banked on being able to find sub £600 flights each for the three of us - but as it looked more and more likely that that wasn't going to happen I started to panic and by January had to give in, as it were..but happy with what we paid, and really looking forward to going back!

Hope you get through MCO quickly. We normally land around 4:30 (lol, normally, like we've been a gazillion times or something!) and another plane lands around the same time (BA + Virgin) so it's a race to get to the immigration hall first!

Can't wait to read your pre-trippie - they're fun to write and keep track of what you've done/not done - we've still not got the car sorted yet. Even though we're on site, I can't not have a car - can't be dealing with buses I'm afraid!

I've spent today replying on the Dibb, and sorting out my photos from our last full day - I'm 3/4 of the way done! then just the report to type out - from memory on this one though - not a single note made!

[madhatter3]

Great start, we loved Okw..
You have some great adr's, we ate at many of these and enjoyed every single one.
Looking forward to reading along.

[CurlySue]

im loving reading your trip report, good luck with the weight loss, im trying too! weight has slowly crept on over the past couple of years and has gotten worse since we got back from florida xx

[Mrs Pumpkin]

Originally Posted by CurlySue

im loving reading your trip report, good luck with the weight loss, im trying too! weight has slowly crept on over the past couple of years and has gotten worse since we got back from florida xx

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Our first trip threw me off...struggled since then...arrrgh! xx

[palm679]

Flights are the killer! I'd love to go back but there are 5 of us and I can't fathom the price. So for now I just read trip reports and myself in as part of the family, lol. You know the odd uncle/weird brother every one had but doesn't talk about. . Have a great trip!