Buses, Bars and Bargains. January 2020. First travel day.

[roxie2001]

Index

Hi, starting my trip report while it’s still fresh in my mind.
A quick intro in case you missed the pre trip plus a little more about us.
Myself Julie, 44 and oh Matt, 40.

Our last Florida holiday was 10 years ago with Dd, then 8. It was a full on all the parks ending up at Ana Maria Island, looking back I don’t know how we did so much!
I recently changed jobs from a school cook manager to a waitress meaning we finally take advantage of cheaper holidays. Would never go in the summer because of the heat.
We love our Salou/Europe breaks but it’s good to be going back to Orlando.
Matt loves all rides, I like rides that don’t go upside down although I have started to try and be a little braver.
As it’s just the 2 of us, we used public transport for the whole holiday and enjoyed happy hours.
We only got Universal tickets and one day at Seaworld so it will be different to a lot of trip resorts but hopefully still enjoyable.

Thursday 9th January.

Neither of us fancied the drive to Gatwick so I booked a national express coach and a hotel stay for us. It was about £40 return and we left at 12.15pm.
Woke about 8.15. Dd was home from uni and returning the following day so our plan was to have breakfast with her at spoons, check in at 11.40 then get the coach. Mum was meeting us for a coffee as well.
We were all going to take the bus but my mum suggested me dropping off Matt and Dd with the cases then I could bus and meet them, great idea and saved us dragging the cases on the bus.
Matt made sandwiches for later and we had some other snacks and a small bottle of vodka as well, all placed in a bag.
We only had one large case each and I had one hand luggage bag.
I dropped them off then parked near Mums and got a bus into town. The bus driver was an absolute idiot. It’s £1.50 single from my mums, I wanted a return so Dd could use it on the way home. I asked for this and it was £4 so I asked if the fare had increased (after I got the ticket)
He said no so I said it would have been cheaper to get 2 singles then. He started moaning at me and told me that he gave me what I asked for. Actually he gave me daily so it wasn’t what I asked for!
I didn’t mind paying extra but his attitude was awful. Some drivers are ok in our area but some are just mean. Once Matt and I ran for a bus, the driver could see us, then as soon as we got to the door he shut them and drove off.
If we visit anywhere else, they are lovely and tell you the best tickets to get.
Anyway, I got there and noticed the food bag wasn’t with the cases, they had left it in the boot of the car!
I called Mum but she had already left but as soon as she got to us she took the key and went back. I said I would go with as I now had daily ticket, but wouldn’t have time for breakfast so off she went. (She has a pensioner bus pass)
Honestly she is a diamond and will do anything for anyone. We ordered our breakfast and a coffee for mum for when she returned.
No photos but Dd and I had the breakfast wrap and Matt had scrambled egg on toast, he had a beer and I had vodka and Pepsi max. Perks of not driving.
Mum returned and said she didn’t know which one our car was so she asked a neighbour if it was hers and when she said no, she said it must be ours then and the neighbour helped get it unlocked as well. She said she just pressed every button on the key. We all laughed, she just takes everything in her stride bless her.
Matt and I had checked in, he was rushing and got the numbers wrong at first but we were sat together on row 28, window and middle.
Mum had 2 coffees then left and Jess walked to the bus stop where we said our goodbyes. I always have travel anxiety so it wasn’t too emotional. The coach pulled up and we were on first.
It was mostly empty so we got the seats near the front with lots of leg room.

The only thing is that it didn’t have a charger so I sat opposite for a little way to charge my phone.
We arrived at London Victoria at 4.12. The next coach was at 5.30 so we went to the pub opposite for a drink. Matt had a beer and I had a lemonade, it was £12.10. We walked over to see where our next coach was leaving from and saw a 5pm coach to Gatwick so asked the driver if we could get that instead. He said we could so that was a bonus.
The traffic was bad and we arrived at Gatwick at 7pm.
We went into the airport for twilight check in, this was quick and easy after a little demo. Cases were 12 and 13 kilos. We then took the shuttle bus to the travelodge, this was £4 each single. On the website it says £3 and they don’t take cards. They do take euros and dollars though.
Check in at the hotel was quick, the room standard travelodge but looked massive with just the double bed in there. I forgot to take a photo though. They had USB chargers near the bed which was handy.
We dropped my bag off and went for a drink. A beer and lemonade was £8.50. Matt had another beer and we went to the room and ate the snacks. We watched a show with Mary Berry, I think it’s BBC version of the bake off. I haven’t seen it before but enjoyed and I love Mary.
I called mum to let her know we were there and that the snacks weren’t going to waste and thank her again for everything.

[Melbatb]

A busy bus day! Always good to get to the airport the day before if you live quite far away (we don’t have this excuse being about 15 minutes away )

[princess allie]

A good start to the holiday, looking forward to reading along.

[Tinkermom]

Travel days are my favourite reads

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

A busy bus day! Always good to get to the airport the day before if you live quite far away (we don’t have this excuse being about 15 minutes away )

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The first of many buses. still less stressful than driving though.
Its not too bad if we travel from Stansted, but haven't been from Gatwick for years.

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by princess allie

A good start to the holiday, looking forward to reading along.

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Thank you.

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by Tinkermom

Travel days are my favourite reads

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I like to read a travel day and how people cope with it.

[Floridafour]

Can’t beat a Spoons breakfast 😉 Great start, now reading the rest 👍

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by Floridafour

Can’t beat a Spoons breakfast 😉 Great start, now reading the rest 👍

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Thank you, we always start at spoons and a pint.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Great start to the trip, looking forward to following xx