**7/10/18 Probably last update** Wot No Disney? Universal Oct 2018 - Pre Trip!

[Vertigo]

With less than 40 days to go, I decided its time to do a pre trip report.

Now just very quickly, you may see that this is my first post…it isn’t. I have a long history with The Dibb (on and off as my trips to Orlando are not every year) but due to a combination of new PC’s, GDPR (probably) and laziness on my part to reset everything, I decided on a new name. It’s just easier and my ego can cope with losing my ears.

Who are we?

Me – The husband…mid to late 40’s, see Florida as a second home. Love the parks and the atmosphere of the place. Get severe vertigo (not the height one, the dizziness) on rides so have to manage that! I usually ride the big coasters once each a holiday then become bag holder. Learned the precise moments to shut my eyes on FJ & Simpsons but just cannot miss out. Had a really bad experience on Duelling Dragons (as was) and Back to the Future and since then need to take tablets prior to visiting the parks with mixed results. Still not done Rip Ride Rockit despite sitting on the Astroturf for hours watching the others. Maybe this time….

GLW (Good lady wife) – Chief planner. Obsessive almost. Started a dibb plan the moment the deposit was paid. Loves Florida as much as me, probably more so and does more rides. But as she enters her mid 40’s, even Rip Ride Rockit now catches up with her.

DD1 – Will be 15 (yr10) when we go and quite frankly is a theme park junkie. Has her mother’s obsession with lists and carries a “ride journal” everywhere that logs and rates each ride from all UK Merlin parks, Port Aventura through to Disney, Universal, seaworld and Busch gardens. She has completed 3 books full over the past few years and when re visiting a ride will compare previous notes.

DD2 – Is 12 (yr8) and took a bit of persuasion to get her on the rides at first when she hit the magic height (White lie told about Cheetah hunt) but that broke the seal and now is also an obsessive without the lists. Also a huge animal lover.

With the kids now both at secondary school, their school have two weeks off in October….Plus an inset day in the previous Friday. We could not pass up the opportunity of an off peak break and we immediately floated the idea past the kids and safe to say it went down well.

This will be our 7th visit and 5th with the children and all our learnings have been piled in to this one. We think we know our stuff, but you always learn from others and this website has been a godsend in the past.

As title suggests, we are doing things a little differently this time.
We are usually villa people. Love Sunset lakes so much. It’s just the perfect location and all the villas we have had there (all via the Dibb I may add) have been exceptional.

But this one had to be different for a number of reasons.

1 – its shorter than usual. We usually go for three weeks. This time, we are doing 11/12 days. This is primarily to allow them to re adjust time wise before going back to school and also for some UK holiday time at home, homework and actually seeing their home friends during the break.

2 – Budget. Simple. I had some good work times in the past with bonuses and share options etc and we were very lucky and allowed so much flexibility. Now, we have had to save and save hard. Times have changed…

3 – we will be with another family who are good friends and have a 15 year old girl too who is good friends with my 15yr old….same schools and all that. I won’t reference them as it’s not fair, but their opinions of course also shape what we do.

So we sat down with the girls and chatted it through explaining the restrictions. To cut a VERY long story short, we decided on a drastic course of action.

We dropped Disney altogether!

I know right?

With the time and cash situation, no way could we do both and Disney tickets being far more expensive, the girls being a bit too cool for MK now, Universal has everything for them. Plus it would give us more time for Busch gardens, Kennedy and Seaworld which has two or three (if it ever opens) new rides for us to explore. Disney by contrast only has Pandora and despite the amazing reviews, it wasn’t enough for us this time to swing it. Something has to give and it was Disney.

The next major change was to stay on site at Universal. This was a time thing really. With only 11 full days we didn’t want to be in the car for 30 minutes each day. Not a problem when you are there for three weeks, but we wanted early park and flexibility – especially for Volcano bay which is new for us. We couldn’t stretch to HRH or one of the other premium hotels for FOLP. We considered a split stay with a night at HRH for FOLP, but decided against as we should have enough time and flexibility to queue and be in when it’s quieter.

We settled on cabana bay family suite. We have a courtyard view which I suspect will be the car park. That’s fine…it’s a base, no more. We will miss our evenings by our private pool with wine and home cooked food, but again happy to sacrifice.

We looked at the cost of food when budgeting and of course, the Villa won on that score. But overall, its still a cheaper way this time to stay on site if we sort our own breakfast and packed lunch….and believe me, we run the numbers many times! We had to.

The final piece in the jigsaw was independent or package. We have only once done a package when we were young and naďve, but it suited us then. We have done it all DIY in the following visits and not had an issue.

But I priced up Virgin in the sale. And low and behold, when we added in the extras (parking on site, Vroom, potential breakfast at Aventura) it came out on par with independent for direct. We could have saved a few quid going indirect and would not have hesitated if we had 3 weeks, but again time was an issue.

Of course I have since re priced it (I know I know) and I have found it cheaper but only when going via Atlanta. So I am happy.

So on Thursday the 11th October, we will collect the kids from school, eat at home and head to Gatwick to get rid of the cases before a night at the premier inn.

As we are on the early flight, if all goes to plan, we just might make IOA for an hour or two as it shuts at 8 on the Friday. That’s the target….we will see if Virgin, US immigration, the weather and the I4 play ball.

Loads more to add, but I feel I’ve bored you enough. So I will add a second part later with our actual plan and some other information deliberately held back as it takes too long to explain!

Dan

[Vertigo]

OK - so some meat on the bones:

The whole "only universal" thing was designed to keep costs down and not to have a "route march" holiday where you have a military precise plan and are up at the crack of dawn each day and follow it religiously. We have done that many times!

We, or to be more accurate - I - wanted downdays. I enjoy the sunshine and relaxing by the pool too. So they were built in to the plan. At First.

It was a huge wrench to drop Disney but with only 11 days to play with, the debate was simple: It's one or the other.

So after listing exactly what was at which park and what we REALLY wanted to do, we almost did a tick list of priorities. Once Hulk, Potter, RRR, Simpsons, Spiderman were on the page it was clear there was only going to be one winner. That was before the new rides for us (regardless of what you think of them, they need to be done!) so that's Kong, Jimmy Fallon and Fast and Furious on the list.

Remember my two are 12 and 15, the love of Disney is primarily for younger kids, then it becomes a bit embarrassing...then the love creeps back disguised as post ironic in your late teens before roaring back all guns blazing and stays with you for life after that.

Pandora is a big miss. Not seen it, heard and read so much. Tower of Terror and Rocking Rollercoaster, Expedition Everest too. But against the list at just IOA, for thrill seekers it has to be Universal 100%.

But the whole Disney thing, the X factor it has, the atmosphere... its intangible qualities... we will really miss that.

Now, once it was booked the GLW (Good lady wife...keep up ) started to plan and casually said how much time we would have with only 3 parks and 11 days. Do we REALLY need so much down time? I knew where this was going.

Busch gardens.

Of course we were going to go to Busch gardens... Roller capital of Florida! How could that not be factored in eh?

So when we looked at tickets you know what was the best value? Oh yes, that right, a combo with SeaWorld... "and you know seaworld will have three new rides when we go"?

Of course we are going to seaworld.

Ok, those were battles i was never going to fight so in the blink of an eye, our universal only holiday now included 3 more parks.

The next thing was a free day on the planner... OK, so that means it needs to be filled. Apparently i will have plenty of down time in the afternoons.

DD1 loves space and the solar system so of course, kennedy it is. Another down day gone.

I may sound sarcastic about all this, but the truth is it's only for effect. I do like my down days, I do like to keep in budget, but hey... its SeaWorld, Busch gardens and kennedy!

So the total cost for EVERYTHING (apart from food, drink and fuel) is a fraction over Ł6K. I know this could have been done cheaper with indirect, but with just 12 days, i wasn't wasting any time anywhere or running any additional risks of missed connections! That's my only concession to the budget, everything else it the best price i could get at the time and it happened to be with Virgin on a sale weekend.

In addition, we are on the early flight for once. Since re-pricing I noticed the later flight only coming up for direct. Those two hours *could* mean we are able to make IOA on the Friday and that's worth it.

Will update more soon.

[Vertigo]

We keep playing around with days. Obviously the plan can’t ever be set in stone as there are too many variables like the weather or just how you feel on any given morning.

But the plan is pretty much set now.

After much checking of busy day guides and other sources, we know our first weekend will be busy. Bearing in mind we arrive early evening on the Friday and hope we can get in to IOA in time, (hmmmm... ) then just pick up where we left off on the Saturday morning.

As we will probably be up early, we expect a quick visit to Walmart first to get supplies. The fridge in the room at cabana bay will come in very handy! I expect we will still be at the park for early hours opening.

We know we will be fairly tired quite quickly, so we have planned to go to mall at millennia that afternoon for an Apple store visit (someone’s birthday) then the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.

Now, on that subject of food.

I am a DIBB rarity. I really don’t care about food. I have little to no interest in it. I won’t be photographing my plates and I will rarely mention where we are eating or what we have as I simply don’t care!

I realise for some that it is a major thing. I have read enough trip reports to understand that and of course that’s fine. Not a criticism, just an observation. ..but apart from the Cheesecake Factory, the Olive Garden and outback, that’s the only places I know we will visit and that’s probably the only mention dining will get!

The Sunday was causing some debate. Seaworld was our plan but it appears there is a military day there and we are concerned about crowds. Bit it’s seaworld in October...it won’t be busy...surely?...

I’ll end now there for now... but a road trip to Busch gardens starts the week.

[Vertigo]

10/9/18 -

Just a quickie... all vouchers arrived this morning. All printed and checked and seem in order.

Its getting REAL now

But they don't seem very secure. I mean, its just a print out. No bar code or anything. I'm sure it will be fine, but I could knock these up on Word easily enough!

But i have to say my preference is using ATD as you get real tickets and no faffing at the counters switching them to real tickets. But Virgin were cheaper (at the time - prices really do change daily! ).

I am told Cabana bay is very slick at swapping out vouchers for tickets at their booth in the lobby. This could be vital to making IOA before closing on arrival day...

Will add next part of trip later today or Wednesday.

[Vertigo]

12/9/18

So today is "Apple day". Not usually a day i care about, but it does matter a little bit this time. The announcements today can change a person's Florida plan!

As you may have read, we are planning to visit the apple store for someone's birthday on the second afternoon. Its a saving of Ł125 on the UK price so a bit of a no-brainer really (Customs duty aside... ahem) .

However, I have always had in the back of my mind that i really don't want to spend half a day out of my holiday at an apple store. Is that really worth Ł125? I'm not so sure.

So if Mr Cook (that's Tim, not Thomas) unveils a swishy new IPhone 11 for Ł1200 that's great as what that *usually* means is the end of the line for the older phones and that's exactly what I want to hear as the price should go down. I don't want the latest, I just need a new one for my daughter as her 5s really is dying.

If that is the case, then i will buy one here in the UK and even though the price will still be cheaper in Florida, my budget for it won't be affected too much and we get to save half a day.

Plus...err...you know...customs and all that.

So come on Tim - do the right thing buddy... It could be seaworld that afternoon instead!

[lovemickey]

All sounds good! Our ongoing debate for next time is just universal or just Disney! I think I might use your list idea although my two are younger than yours so I suspect the list might sway towards Disney! I’ve promised I will do it on more of a budget next time so something will have to give!

[Milpston]

enjoying your pre trippie. Sounds like our movements will be very similar on the 11th October. We will be heading down to Gatwick after the school pick ups too but will be staying at the South Terminal to fly BA the next morning.

Good luck with all your plans!

[LLamb]

All sounds good, will be good to hear how you get on
We did a just Disney on site in April and weren’t meant to be going next year
But our DS (5) has really got into Harry Potter and has been asking to go back to the castle
So it’s a universal only trip for us next May staying partly at Cabana Bay
Still debating rpr but at circa Ł275 per night a family suite just makes more sense
And you can walk to vb

[Vertigo]

14/09/18 T Minus 27 days

Well then, Mr Cook did indeed oblige and the older Iphones dropped in price by Ł100. As soon as we got this news, it was a hasty look at the plan and sure enough, changes have been made.

We have decided to now to Universal all day on the Saturday until we drop. Not having FOLP is a bit of a bind, but we are there for plenty of time over the 11 days so we are prepared to wait for certain things, or just come back later in the week.

I am sure we will hit the wall in mid afternoon and probably just go back to the Hotel and relax a bit.

Cheesecake factory has been moved to the Sunday as we plan on going to seaworld and its kind of on the way back. Or not too much if a diversion anyway.

The Monday was always going to be Busch gardens. Picked to be early in the holiday as our body clocks will still be waking us up as stupid o'clock and we can get on the road without annoying the teenagers!

Last time we went, we found a holiday Inn about halfway and had breakfast there. It was SO cheap! But it had all you needed... bottomless hot drinks, cereal boxes, toaster, waffle maker etc. It came to something like $12 for the 4 of us. So we have found it again on the map and will pop in en-route.

Ironically, we were originally planning on going in to a Starbucks, but when we got in there no one really fancied anything to eat that they had. Then we saw a Wendy's and same again before just walking in to the Holiday Inn and asking if we could have breakfast on the off chance. The Wendys or Starbucks would have been about $50 for less than we had and not what we wanted.

It was one of the lucky moments that we have now learned a lesson from and is now part of our plan.

Busch will be full on. We hope to make opening time (the National Anthem is quite an experience to see...) and stay until chucking out time. We may invest in their fast passes if its busy as we are only doing one day and want to make the most of it.

The Tuesday will be an easy day. The plan says Volcano bay. Its on our doorstep, we get early access and we can just relax when it gets busy. But we are flexible here, so if the consensus is to go back in to IOA or US, then so be it. The beauty of flexible tickets eh?

Will update more later this weekend.

[Vertigo]

18/9/2018 T -23 days

My god this countdown is going slowly. I am sure it actually increases overnight.

I think part of the problem is that we are very organised and therefore actually ready to go now:

Tickets - Done
ESTA - Done
Seats on plane - Done
API - Done
Passports - Done (one needed updating)
Skip The desk Alamo - Done
Driving Licence - Done (Mine needed updating)
Plan - Done, then redone, then done again and again...well you get the idea...
Currency - On order (waiting optimal rate like a fool...of course it will drop again to 1.28 but Oh no...I have to wait for it to go to 1.32 which it wont do!)

Only things still to physically book or pay for are the offsite things we are doing.

One is an airboat ride with a meet and greet with Sloths! I said earlier my youngest is animal mad and is going to love this. But we can't pay until we are there but we have booked it for the second weekend.

The other thing we are waiting until we are there is the Star Wars "the Void" at Disney Springs. This is to get the free souvenir photo. We have seen lots of availability so that won't be an issue.

so apart from that, we are done.

It's just a sLow slow waiting game...