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Walt Disney World and Florida Trip Reports Trip Reports and Videos |
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17 Jun 22, 06:17 PM |
#1
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Imagineer
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Just Back - Highs & Lows
Flights: Tui
Accommodation: Rosen Inn International, International Drive Car Hire: Budget c/o Discount Florida Car Hire Park Tickets: Walt Disney World (direct) – 14 for 7 Stroller Rental: Orlando Stroller Rental ECV Rental: K & M Rentals Hi dibbers, We arrived back in the UK earlier this week, following a great 2 weeks in Orlando. I didn’t want to do a full trip report but thought some key points might be of some use to those travelling soon. We flew from Doncaster/Sheffield to Melbourne direct. Our first visit to both airports. We have previously flown into both Sanford & Orlando Int. from Manchester. Outbound flight was delayed for 2 hours, due to a pilot falling ill. The team were very helpful, and the pilot made up a bit of time en route. Melbourne is a small airport with lots of construction going on; not surprising considering the new Tui deal. We were welcomed with little snack bags, which we thought was a nice touch. Collecting luggage before security is a little odd but they made it work. The Car Hire desks are easy enough to find & the service from Budget was swift – Straight outside to collect our 12-seater Ford. They were missing the booster seats we needed so had to call to the service “shop”. Someone met us out by the car within 10 minutes with the seats we needed. The journey from Melbourne to I-Drive took around 90 minutes. Straight forward & easy to navigate really. We have stayed with Rosen Inn on numerous occasions. Great service as always. Despite us arriving later than planned, they had happily accepted both the stroller & ECV rentals at Reception. Check in was swift & we were able to get settled quickly. The hotel is ideally placed on I Drive, near plenty of eateries. And right by the I-4 so easy trips to WDW. As a party of 8 with 3 young kids (3, 4 & 7) we decided to just do Disney this time. And for us it was the correct decision. The parks were busy as the U.S schools broke up for Summer, so we had multiple days in each park. It gave us a bit of breathing space and time to take things at the youngest’s pace at times. We visited all 4 parks, as well as Typhoon Lagoon. HIGHS: - Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – Awesome ride/experience. Definitely try for a slot in the virtual queue! - Galaxy’s Edge (Hollywood Studios) – We loved the theming of the new area. Very immersive, with great character interactions. My 7 year old niece was terrified of the Stormtroopers. - Rise of the Resistance – Wow! Just wow! - Harmonious at EPCOT – A great evening show. Blew the other shows out of the water, in our opinion. If you only see one evening show, we’d recommend this one. - Twenty Pho Hour – We found this eatery on Instagram. Located just off I Drive, it has a quirky “2D” interior. Delicious food, fast service. A tonic for all the heavy carb offerings on so many U.S menus. LOWS: - Genie+ - As a replacement of the old Fastpass service, it is awful. I understand Disney is a business but it just feels wrong. It feels very un-Disney. - Estimated Queue Times – We’re not quite sure how Disney is currently estimating their estimated wait times, but we found them to very inaccurate on a number of occasions. Both ways. Sometimes it would state a 30 minute wait, and we were through in less than 15 minutes. Other times, we waited much longer than estimated. - Exchange Rate – Everything felt quite expensive this trip. As in the UK, it felt that generally all prices in the U.S had risen. And with the exchange rate only being around $1.25, it meant we definitely felt the pinch a little. FAVOURITE EATERIES THIS TRIP: Twenty Pho Hour Mia’s Italian Kitchen Whispering Canyon Café Bubbalou’s BBQ Keke’s Breakfast Café First Watch If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm trying to be as useful as possible on the forums as I know there are quite a few post-Covid trips coming up for people Zoe x
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17 Jun 22, 06:32 PM |
#2
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VIP Dibber
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Sounds like you had a great time
Joan
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17 Jun 22, 06:33 PM |
#3
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Imagineer
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I’m glad you enjoyed it . How was typhoon lagoon ? Was it rammed with Blizzard being closed ?
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Marriott 93, MIC lakefront 94,Holiday inn 96,Rosen plaza 98,Quality inn plaza 02,BVP 06,BVP 07 ,Royal plaza 08,villa 09,villa +RPR 11,villa 12,Contemporary 13,BVP 14 ,POR xmas 15,Beach club 16,Beach Club 18 ,Contemporary 22, Sheraton LBV 23,+ DLP 03,17 |
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17 Jun 22, 09:44 PM |
#4
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
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Yes, TL was busy. We went mid-week & showed up for Rope Drop so we got some seating under shade. A great day had
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17 Jun 22, 10:52 PM |
#5
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slightly serious Dibber
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Not a big coaster fan but love Guardians of the Galaxy. In terms of intensity, which other rides does it compare to?
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Only happy when a holiday is booked! |
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18 Jun 22, 12:21 AM |
#6
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Imagineer
Join Date: May 03
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Thanks for mentioning Twenty-Pho Hour - exactly our kind of food and I can see why the interior is considered Instagram-worthy!
A new one added to our list. |
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18 Jun 22, 06:24 AM |
#7
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VIP Dibber
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Thanks so much - Twenty-Pho Hour now on my list!
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18 Jun 22, 07:15 AM |
#8
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
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I'd say Expedition Everest for intensity, maybe. It doesn't go upside down. Hope that helps x
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18 Jun 22, 07:40 AM |
#9
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
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Another eatery worthy of a mention is Cafe Pinar for fans of Cuban food. Casual but very delicious! The cubano was outstanding 👏🏻
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18 Jun 22, 07:42 AM |
#10
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
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It really was delicious. Even my 4 year old enjoyed choosing his broth/noodles etc. He ate loads 👍🏻
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