HEY MICKEY YOU'RE SO FINE,YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY..MONEY. MAY 201final thoughts and future plans

[gjdjud]

HEY MICKEY YOU'RE SO FINE,YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY..MONEY. MAY 2019:FINAL THOUGHT AND FUTURE PLANS

HEY MICKEY YOU'RE SO FINE,YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY..MONEY. MAY 2019 Index

FINAL THOUGHTS

So we have come to the end of our 4th trip. Lots of positives and a few negatives.

VIRGIN

So much to my surprise we booked a package with Virgin Holidays. I got a price I was haggled down a bit and and along with getting the flying club discount and V Room thrown in I was happy with the price. I'm pretty sure I could have got cheaper DIY but it wouldn't have been by much. I was happy with them although I had to complain and threaten to cancel my booing at one point when my park tickets wouldn't show on MDE. They appeared a day later We loved the V-Room and the flight and service we had was brilliant. Sadly for me it was so good that Kelly will not fly with anyone else and I know BA is cheaper. I however would be surprised if we got a package with Virgin Holidays again due to cost. when back I got a quote from them for 2020 for the holiday I'd like to do in possibly 2021 to get an idea of cost. It was obscene.

DISNEY

We all loved Port Orleans French Quarter. I was nervous about staying here. We didn't love Riverside an in all honesty we would have booked Caribbean Beach Resort if it hadn't have had all the building work going on. Thank god it did as we found our perfect Disney resort. Its size, layout and feel of the resort was perfect. Rooms were nice, the pool was great and it had a lovely food court. We wouldn't stay anywhere else in Disney(unless free dining ends).

We very much enjoyed our times in the parks although we didn't enjoy Hollywood Studios as much as before. I think it will be better next time with new attractions to see. We are a Disney family that's for sure. We did everything we wanted even when we only had the option of 30 day fastpasses when we moved offsite. Tower Of Terror only operating one lift being the exception. We enjoyed the new Toy Story Land and Animal Kingdom with Flights Of Passage and Everest are our favourites. The Magic Kingdom is and always be a special place. I'm still annoyed we missed the parade and a proper view of Happily Ever After but thats on us. That won't happen again. Epcot still is a bit of mixed bag. We do need to improve our efforts there. Disney Springs we enjoyed more than in 2017. Still too fancy though For me I found it busier when we went in 2017 but in all honesty I don't know if its busier or not. Free dining again was great but boy did I notice the difference in costs when we moved offsite with the parking and cost of snacks and drinks.

UNIVERSAL

Again no complaints with Universal bar a naive ride attendant on the Jimmy Fallon ride. We all love Universal. The three water rides done in a row at Island of Adventure remain one of my favourite things. Our stay at Royal Pacific was fantastic. We had our first experience of Volcano Bay which was largely positive. We love our time there and the different feel from Disney. I don't think we could go to Florida without going to Universal. Having said that it was a very different experience going back without Express Passes. They are invaluable.

SEAWORLD PARKS

Our time I think has been done at Seaworld. I don't think we'd go again. Staffing was awful and I don't think we get the most out it. I enjoy a couple of the rides but that's it. The girls have started to question certain things about certain things involved with Seaworld and aren't keen to go again. Busch Gardens was rubbish, so many rides were down and all the groups of school kids made it unbearable.

Positives were Aquatica and Discovery Cove. We love aquatica and as a family is our favourite water park but it will become a victim to us not doing Seaworld parks. Discovery Cove and having the cabana was a brilliant day, a highlight of the holiday but due to cost unlikely we'd do again.

CLEARWATER BEACH

This was something I was a little nervous about as this was basically for me and Evie as I was desperate to do a beach day and so was Evie. In the end I think this turned out to be a great success. Kelly and Lily didn’t go on the beach enough for my liking but that’s their choice. It was a really nice relaxing day by the pool and beach and a nice break from the parks during the holiday. I would definitely be considering doing this again. The Sandpearl hotel we stayed in was lovely and Clearwater Beach itself and the surrounding area was much nicer than I was expecting it to be. A very positive experience consider

OFFSITE

Something else that made me a little bit nervous was our stay offsite. This was for the majority of our holiday and something pretty new for us. Our resort at Encantada was lovely and having the extra space was very nice. We did feel a little far away from things though although it wasn’t really but there was a lot more driving involved. I think in all honesty as well we preferred when we stayed on International Drive in 2017 than the 192 area this trip. But I’m nitpicking. The biggest factor is definitely the benefits that you get from being onsite such as the free dining plan, 60 day fast passes and parking costs. For me this far outweighs the cheaper cost of staying offsite. I know that we are very much an onsite family and will try to make it our first choice if costs allow. But like I said still very much enjoyed our time in Encantada and it was lovely.

OVERALL

So overall it was an amazing holiday with lots of highs and only a few lows especially the times the girls were arguing and Evie’s mood sometimes but that’s just them! What has been more disappointing was that as many of you know we were in the middle of building work for improvements to our house for Evie and it was expected to be done when we came home but it wasn’t. It was a mess and we ended up staying at my in-laws for 2 1/2 months when we got back. This caused massive amounts of stress and frustration and took a real shine off the holiday as it was such an awkward time. Hopefully now we are finally home and we will be able to think back positively to the many amazing things that happened on this trip. That’s why I do these trip reports. We are very much a Florida family and I can’t imagine any other kind of holiday.

FUTURE PLANS

So will we be going back? I would say more than likely yes and hopefully in 2021 but we have been very busy getting stuff sorted in the house and I’ve had to spend a bit of extra money on certain things so at the moment I’m not hundred percent sure.

Evie was adamant that when we got back she did not want to go again and would be very vocal about this which was disappointing. Nearly 3 months on she’s saying the same but with less vigour so I believe she is cooling in that opinion! We would all love to go again but cost will be the deciding factor as we will now definitely only be going in late July early August. I am looking at flight prices for 2020 to give me an idea for 2021 and I am already saving. We are going to make a definite decision early in the New Year but I am hopeful. I would like us to do longer onsite at Disney next time. We will definitely do Universal but we won't be doing SeaWorld. One sticking point is Kelly’s refusal to look at other flights other than Virgin as I know British Airways will be a lot cheaper especially going into Tampa but she is not budging. The budget I think will be the main issue but I am hopeful if all goes well over the next few months. So hopefully in roughly a year I'll have another pre trip starting!

So once again thanks for reading and all the comments.

George

[collybird]

Interesting to read your thoughts on your trip, especially now you've had a few months to mull them over. I was pleasantly surprised that you concluded you're a Disney family, as onsite TRs are my favourites, I was so sure your heads would be swayed by the space you had offsite!

Thanks for sharing and I am so glad to hear you are settling in back at home.

[Buggles94]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post this George. It sounds like a fantastic trip and sorry it was such a stressful return to home. Hope all the work worth it now though. We have always flown with Virgin Atlantic in the past but have had some great trips with BA more recently - in to Tampa, FLL and out of Miami. Meant we could even afford the upgrade to WTP last year as so much cheaper! Definitely worth looking around and maybe the promise of a Mini Magnum on BA will help (think/hope they are still doing them! ). Looking forward to your next PTR asap

[gjdjud]

Originally Posted by collybird

Interesting to read your thoughts on your trip, especially now you've had a few months to mull them over. I was pleasantly surprised that you concluded you're a Disney family, as onsite TRs are my favourites, I was so sure your heads would be swayed by the space you had offsite!

Thanks for sharing and I am so glad to hear you are settling in back at home.

See more...

Definitely we are onsite people The space was nice but we felt out of it not being onsite. We’ve dabbled with offsite enough to satisfy the curiosity. We’d only go offsite if free dining ends. Thanks for reading and all your comments

Originally Posted by Buggles94

Thanks so much for taking the time to post this George. It sounds like a fantastic trip and sorry it was such a stressful return to home. Hope all the work worth it now though. We have always flown with Virgin Atlantic in the past but have had some great trips with BA more recently - in to Tampa, FLL and out of Miami. Meant we could even afford the upgrade to WTP last year as so much cheaper! Definitely worth looking around and maybe the promise of a Mini Magnum on BA will help (think/hope they are still doing them! ). Looking forward to your next PTR asap

See more...

Kelly has said today it’s up to me So BA it is. I’m not sure if she tricking me.

[vanlou]

We are definitely onsite people too. I love being in that bubble, whether Disney or Universal. Our plan is 2021 too so might see you there

[gjdjud]

Originally Posted by vanlou

We are definitely onsite people too. I love being in that bubble, whether Disney or Universal. Our plan is 2021 too so might see you there

See more...

Thanks for reading and your comments Really hopeful for 2021

[disneyfangirl01]

I am so sad your report is finished! I have so enjoyed reading this over the weeks! Well done for finishing it through the mist of stressful building renovations!

Hopefully Just as I finish my trip report next year I can start to look forward to your next instalment!

We are doing onsite for the first time with DDP next year - I have a feeling we are going to be onsite kind of family too!

[gjdjud]

Originally Posted by disneyfangirl01

I am so sad your report is finished! I have so enjoyed reading this over the weeks! Well done for finishing it through the mist of stressful building renovations!

Hopefully Just as I finish my trip report next year I can start to look forward to your next instalment!

We are doing onsite for the first time with DDP next year - I have a feeling we are going to be onsite kind of family too!

See more...

Thanks for reading I hope you have a good trip

[caitlinsmummy]

I’m so glad you’ve said about the park tickets … we’ve booked the next one with Virgin and there’s only my ticket showing on MDE! Might have to get onto them about it.

I like all the highs and lows and how you’ve spent time mulling them over. I think taking the time really makes you appreciate it more looking back.

I’m looking forward to following the next trip, thanks so much for doing this, lots of helpful hints and tips xx

[Floridafour]

George, I love your trip reports, they are always such an honest account of what a holiday to the magic place can be like. I like that and I can definitely resonate with your many highs and few lows. We are looking at a 2021 trip, our twin daughters will be 16 yrs old then so should be interesting 😉