Back just over a week - Highs and not so highs

[Charl_bb]

We've been back now just over a week after a split stay on site and in a villa. Firstly I just want to say a ginormous thank you to everyone on here who gave advice and helped me plan. It really did make all the difference.

Accomodation choices
We loved staying on site the first week for the ease of getting around, restaurants, customer service etc. But we also adored the second week in our villa as it was so chilled and the kids spent so much time just playing and splashing in the pool.

Utilising fastpasses
Thanks to advice on the dibb and touring plans we really made the most of fast passes and didn't have to queue much at all. I did have a 'no queue longer than 45 minutes' rule and we managed to stick to that!

Virign Atlantic
I was really impressed with Virign, we really enjoyed the V Room, it was so much more relaxed than being in the main airport and made the start of the holiday relaxing. Sitting in the bubble was brilliant and the staff were so attentive. The kids were good on the flight too. The flight home wasn't as hellish as previous night flights I've had!

Character meals
We did LOTS of character meals in a variety of places and every single one was excellent. The children interacted well with the characters and it was amazing to see my 7 year old being as enthralled with all the characters as our younger child. It was so special. Fell in love with the Poly though when we went to Ohana so will have to start saving for the next trip!

Night time shows
We saw Fantasmic, Illuminations and Happily Ever After and loved them all. We watched Happily Ever After on our last night from the train station and I will remember it forever, so magical.

Weather and time management
It was HOT HOT HOT and we didn't have any rain for the whole 2 weeks. I'll let you decide whether that is a good thing or not! For us it meant we didn't spend as long in the parks but it was fine. We just went with the flow and I was quite proud of myself for allowing myself to change plans at the drop of a hat!

The children
A bit cheesy this but I am honestly so proud of my children. We had very few grumpy moments but they both grew in confidence so much. My eldest needed literally manhandling onto Splash Mountain on day 1 as he was so scared and by the end of the holiday he said Tower of Terror was his favourite! He can be very nervous and has really overcome that on this holiday. My youngest turned out to be a total adrenaline junkie as we suspected and had a few tired days (she's 4 and we refused to take a buggy!) but overall she was amazing. She is so fun loving and was so positive the whole time. It was great to see.

Villa issues
When we turned up to our villa there was another family in it! There had been an error with the booking which led to a rather stressful 15 minutes whilst we sorted it out and had visions of driving around looking for a hotel room! It was soon sorted though so after 1 night in a different villa we were in our own.

Lost things
I lost my favourite jumper. Pretty sure I left it on the plane but it never turned up. Bought a spirit Jersey to get over it. My son also lost his favourite teddy but he seems to be OK about it.

Missed rides
We didn't get in Flights of Passage. I couldn't get a fast pass at a reasonable time even 60 days out and we weren't willing to queue. Some people have said I was stupid not to do it but at the end of the day the children took priority and the youngest was too young to ride so it would not be fair on her to make her queue to not get on. We also didn't get on Kali which ws a shame as we had fast passes on 2 days and it was down both times! My son was really looking forward to this so it was disappointing. We also wish we had spent longer at Blizzard Beach.

Universal
I did 1 day at universal on my own and I'm so glad we didn't take the children. It is nothing like the universal I know and love and I was easily done with everything by mid afternoon. I LOVED Harry Potter but felt everywhere else just wasn't on a par with Disney and it worth doing if you're not into 3D rides. I know lots of people will disagree with this though!

So that's my initial thoughts, I have written pretty detailed notes for every day so I might do a full trip report but I'm not sure how I feel about sharing photos on a public forum so I'll see.

Hope you enjoyed reading and sorry for any typos, writing this on my phone! 😊

[Moorlandman]

Great report and sounds like you had a great time with beautiful weather! Don’t worry about missing FOP - it’s only a ride and it will still be there when you next visit - which you definitely will👍

[JellyEllieBean]

Sounds like a great trip, my kids were the same age as yours when we first took them and nothing beats those first interactions with the characters, absolutely magical. Villa sounds a bit dodgy, but glad you got it sorted

[Mexy02]

Sounds like a great trip . You can still do a report without any photos of family , it gives people help and ideas with your experiences especially with young children in tow . Well done managing without a buggy as well.

[Charl_bb]

Originally Posted by Mexy02

Sounds like a great trip . You can still do a report without any photos of family , it gives people help and ideas with your experiences especially with young children in tow . Well done managing without a buggy as well.

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I may well do then. I found trip reports really helpful and interesting so I wanted to do one too.

[stevekath]

We had a similar experience with FOP this time last year - no FPs at 60 days and the queue was huge even though we had early morning EMH. We decided we weren't wasting hours queuing and never regretted it
Sounds like a great trip overall

[Hidden mickey]

Sounds like a magical family holiday

[Adcro]

Another family in the villa?! That'd freak me out. Why were they there? Did they get shifted or were they at the end of their stay?

I wouldn't feel like it was fresh and ready for me afterwards, lol

[Charl_bb]

Originally Posted by Adcro

Another family in the villa?! That'd freak me out. Why were they there? Did they get shifted or were they at the end of their stay?

I wouldn't feel like it was fresh and ready for me afterwards, lol

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They were due to leave on the Sunday and we were due in on the Saturday! Apparently our bookings were through 2 different websites and the 26th written on their booking looked like it said 25th?! It was fine though, they stayed until the 26th, moved out in the morning, cleaners went in as usual and we moved in during the afternoon. Our temporary villa was fine too, it was just annoying not being able to unpack and settle in properly. The owner was mortified and both her and the management company were excellent, it wouldn't put us off booking with them again.

[JessBlu]

It was so hot wasn’t it !

Sounds like you had a great time.