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Old 18 Apr 21, 09:49 PM  
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smithlane
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The BIG Florida Wedding - August/Sept 2022 - UPDATE 5th August!

Hello everyone .
Yep, it’s another big adventure coming up, this may even be our biggest one yet

I know it’s a bit early to be starting this report but with all the unknowns surrounding this years holidays, I’m instead focusing all of my energy on next years plans!

So as you will have guessed from the title, a wedding will be involved. Jim is finally going to make an honest woman out of me! It’s only taken 8 years





As this will be both mine and Jim’s second wedding we wanted to keep it small and simple. We’ve had the typical big white weddings and whilst lovely we both knew that wasn’t what we wanted this time around. In fact it’s so small we haven’t asked any friends, it’s to be immediate family only

If you have read any of my previous reports you may recognise a few faces of who will be joining us. In 2015, mine and the kids first ever holiday to Florida, we went with Jim’s parents and sister & family. As I genuinely thought this was a 'once in a lifetime' holiday (haha who was I kidding!), we crammed everything into 2 weeks. Disney, Universal, Seaworld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens. Staying in a villa for a week and then a week onsite in Coronado Springs.



2017 brought us back again but for 3 weeks this time, the same cast as 2015 but I dragged my parents along too. We loved the longer time as it really meant we could pace ourselves a bit more. We did Disney, Universal, KSC and had 3 nights on Anna Maria Island, our first taste of paradise.



2018 we were on our own for 5 nights in New York then a week on Anna Maria Island as we were itching to go back but were then joined by Jim’s parents for 10 nights in Orlando. We only had one day at Disney doing MNSSHP, one day at Universal and I took the kids on an airboat ride.



2019 took us to the opposite coast and we had an epic 3 week road trip in California with Jim’s sister, brother in law, niece and nephew. We did a round route flying in and out of San Francisco, stopping in Monterey, Solvang, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Oceanside and Yosemite.



We also had a week in Turkey last year with them as well as skiing at Christmas in France a few years ago.



So it’s safe to say we get on very well with his family!
I’ve been wanting to bring my parents back to Florida for a while now and what better excuse than for their daughters wedding. They weren’t enamoured by Orlando but absolutely fell in love with Anna Maria Island.
I am so excited that my sister and family will be joining us as well, their first time in Florida. I can’t wait to see Disney through the eyes of my niece and nephew who will be the same age as my two were when they first went at 12 & 10.

The cast

So without further ado I’ll start with introducing all 16 of us!

First up, me Alicia! I’m 38 and a self confessed shopaholic, Cosmo drinking mobile beauty therapist. I can’t tell you how gutted I am that we haven’t had our US fix for 2 years, I’m not even going to apologise for the amount of shopping I’ll be doing when we next get out there . Just as well I’ve now gone back to work to fund it all!



The ever suffering, most wonderful step dad to my children Jim. 42 years old and still obsessed with golf. The last few months have been tough for him when the courses were shut, in fact I’ve barely seen him since they’ve been open! Still a Project Manager at Battersea Power Station, a job which he swears is trying to kill him! He is known to be a tad dramatic at times so I just nod along when he comes home every night and reels off the people that have crossed him that day
Jim is most looking forward to (apart from marrying me, obvs!) the copious amount of golf he’ll be playing. He loves the courses out in Florida.





Hope, my beautiful daughter who has just turned 18. I still cannot believe I am the parent of an adult but that’s what happens when you have your first child at 20 . It’s been a tough year for her but has made me immensely proud of how she has coped. Is hopefully going off to Uni in September, which has been a crazy time of virtual open days and tours. She hasn’t yet stepped foot in one...
She is my shopping partner in crime and like me can’t wait to get back to the States.



We then have Sam, my fun loving handsome son who is now 16. Still a Romeo and finally has a first love! Its been tough during the lockdown but thank god for FaceTime!
He will be staying on at sixth form this September after his non exams. I honestly couldn’t have picked a worse time to have both kids in exam years! He’s really kept his head down as he’s determined to beat his predicted grades so I’m really proud of how he has handled his school work.
He is most looking forward to... wait for it... getting a tan! Honestly, I might send him on a cheap week to Benidorm instead



The Leans
We have Helen, Nick, Sean and Jenny. As I said earlier, we have been on holiday together a fair few times now so know that we get on like a house on fire. Jenny and Hope who are only a year apart have a wonderful honorary cousin friendship, they have completely different personalities but are really close. Sean, who is nearly 24, has severe additional needs and is absolutely bouncing with excitement about going back to Florida, his favourite place on Earth. He is most looking forward to going on the Fast and Furious ride in Universal for the first time as he is obsessed with the films and just loves Vin Diesel. We haven’t broken the news to him yet that the ride is rubbish but I’m sure he’ll love it anyhow! The Leans are veterans of Orlando and have been many many times over the years but their last visit was back in 2017.



Bill & Sylvia
Jim’s parents and the ones to blame for starting the Florida obsession, also who got Jim involved with golf. Thanks guys! They have been to Florida more times than even they can remember and Sylvia’s favourite place on Earth is the Magic Kingdom, more specifically on Splash Mountain. Bill is most looking forward to the golf, especially at Southern Dunes, one of his favourite courses.



Sue & Ron
My wonderful parents, well they have to be with putting up with me for the last 38 years!
Mum cannot wait to be sipping a Pina colada out of a bucket on AMI and Dad is most looking forward to breakfast at Ginny and Jane E’s (AMI) or a ride on Flight of Passage. He still talks about how amazing the ride is, which I have to agree with him it really is!
They are also looking forward to sharing Disney with their other 2 grandchildren.



The Kiplings
So last but certainly not least my sister Helena, my BIL Ollie, my niece Tilly and nephew William. I’m not sure they know what they’re getting themselves into but are looking forward to seeing it all for the first time. The kids are really looking forward to having their own pool at the villa. Little do they know about the magic that comes from within Walt Disney World!







Who won’t be joining us
Our handsome but very daft Labrador Boris! We’ll obviously miss him like crazy but he’ll be well looked after I’m sure.





The Plans

We aim to fly out on Saturday 20th August. I know the flights will be more expensive than midweek but typically accommodation on Anna Maria Island only allows arrivals on a Saturday so we thought it would be easier to stick to that day.
Our first week will be in Orlando, we then drive down to Anna Maria Island on the 27th for a week. This will be where the wedding will take place.
After these 2 weeks, most of the group will be flying back to the U.K. but Jim and I will have a further week on a mini road trip down to The Keys for our ‘honeymoon’.

Now with 16 of us going there was no way we would be able to or want to do everything together.
Whilst in Orlando we’ll all be splitting up. Jim made it very clear from the word go that he is not at all interested in doing Disney or even Universal and would prefer to play golf. I don’t want to force anyone to do anything they don’t want to so I’m fine with him doing his own thing that week. Nick and Bill will also do the same so that’s those 3 sorted.
Helen doesn’t want to do Disney so is going to stick with just Universal with Sean and Jen. My two may also go with her. Sam isn’t interested in Disney so I’m not going to make him go, he’ll be 17 so I totally get it. Hope only wants to do Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios so I’ll get her a 2 day ticket, she’ll spend the rest of the time at Universal.
So that leaves my parents, sister & co, Sylvia and myself and of course we’ll be doing Disney! Mum and Dad may only do a couple of days but the rest of us will probably plump for the 4 day option. I did originally look at the 14 day tickets but have you seen the price . I’m sure the figure started with a 3 the last time we went! With us only being there for 7 nights, so only 6 days, we just won’t get our monies worth.
I am quite happy having one day in each park, coming back to the villa after lunch then going back in the evening for the nighttime entertainment.
My sister and co want to do Kennedy Space Station and I am thinking of doing another airboat ride as I think my parents would enjoy that.
We also need to get our marriage licence at some point too, I must look into where we go... Can anyone help with that?

Our second week on Anna Maria Island will be very chilled out, it will be well needed I’m sure after the jam packed week beforehand!
The wedding will take place this week but nothing has actually been booked yet. We are hoping for a very low key ceremony followed by an intimate dinner at The Sandbar on the beach. I’ll keep you posted once we get any concrete plans.





Funny story about this next photo.



When I was googling photos of the Sandbar I came across this one. I recognised it as when we were last on AMI in 2018 the Red Tide was at its peak, it was truly awful. We had dinner there one evening and noticed on the beach they were holding a fundraising event to raise money for the Mote Marine Laboratory. Anywho, I was desperate to get a sunset photo as it was our last night on the island so I bribed the kids to pose . It was hard to get the right shot without anyone else in it but if you zoom in on the photo you can see me taking this one



Other things we will possibly be doing this week will be a kayaking tour of the mangroves, hiring out a boat for the day, a family competition of mini golf at The Fish Hole and possibly a day trip up to Caladesi Island near Clearwater. We will ultimately be eating, drinking and sunbathing!







After week 2 we say goodbye to everyone which I’m sure there will be tears (mainly from me!) but then we have another week of fun on our mini moon. Nothing is set in stone for this week yet but we quite fancy a couple of nights in Sanibel or Naples before driving down to the Keys and splitting our last 5 nights between Key Largo, Key West and Marathon. Anji’s trip report was invaluable and I’m going to be pretty much copying what they did!

Accommodation

Orlando
The original plan was to all stay in a hotel, I had my eye on one of the Disney partner hotels in Disney Springs, I even put a thread out on here to get recommendations. I was really looking forward to a slightly different choice of accommodation and being able to walk to Disney Springs and more importantly Earl of Sandwich and Mickey's Pantry . Fast forward two weeks, you can imagine my surprise when we seem to have booked two villas for us all
Joking aside, we really do love a villa holiday. Personally nothing can beat having your breakfast out by the pool first thing in the morning in the peace and quiet or when you get in from a long day at the parks and the kids get straight in for a swim and you can just relax away from the crowds so it was an easy choice for us.
Even with over a year to go the villa availability was dwindling! We were originally looking at a 9 bed villa for all of us but the ones in our preferred location of Formosa Gardens were very pricey even divided by the 5 families and it would mean the teens potentially sharing a room. With a 20, 19 and 17 year old going we can’t 100% rule out one of them wanting to bring a girlfriend or boyfriend and in that case it would be too tight a squeeze.
So instead we’ve plumped for a 6 bed and a 4 bed only a few villas apart and it’s saved us over £2K. Crazy price difference, and we get one extra bedroom!











We will be with The Leans and my in laws in the 6 bed, it also has a 7th sofa bed so the kids potentially have their own room. We are actually only 2 villas along from where we stayed in 2017. We absolutely love Formosa Gardens Estates, especially if you can get a villa that backs onto Star Lake. I can’t wait to be looking out at this view for when the sun sets, you just can’t beat it!



My parents will be with my sister and co in the 4 bed about 3 minutes down the road. They’re not on the lake but will be spending as much time as they want at ours, we’ll just give them the door code. I think it will help that they can take themselves away if it gets too much as it inevitably can with large groups and the tiredness that a Disney holiday brings!





Anna Maria Island
We love all areas of the island and have previously stayed down the bottom on Bradenton Beach at the Tortuga Inn in 2017





Then a house in the middle in Holmes Beach in 2018





However the quieter North End of Anna Maria has a certain pull so we ideally all want to be around that area.





As of yet, only one of us has booked accommodation. Bill and Sylvia have found a lovely cottage just a few roads away from Pine Avenue.
Most houses on the island aren’t available to book until about 12-15 months out so we’ll just sit tight until then. B&S found theirs on VRBO which I think is rented directly from the owner hence why they could book so far out. There are tonnes more to choose from so I’d rather wait for the perfect one than book now. I’ve found a couple that we’ve ear marked so will see what the pricing is like for this year once they’re released.
We’ll be sharing with The Leans and then my parents with my sister. I’ve found the perfect house for Mum and co so hopefully it will still be free in August when availability gets released.

Sanibel
If we end up on this barrier island then we absolutely have to stay at The Parrots Nest after seeing how adorable it is in Anji’s report.



Key Largo
There are so many hotel choices here! I’ve narrowed it down to the Seafarer or the Playa Largo Resort & Spa





Key West
I love the look of The Eden Inn after reading Leyfy’s couple of reports when they stayed in the Keys. Another recommendation was Westwind Inn too. They’re both very close to each other in a great location so it will probably come down to price once dates are released.





Marathon
After reading various posts on here, a few people recommended the Isla Bella Resort. I mean just look at it . However at about £400 a night it may be a little out of our price range





I think I’ve bored you enough for one evening but I’ll be back soon to fill you in on wedding deets and daily plans for Orlando!

TTFN

Update 1 - Wedding booked

Update 2 - Flights booked

Update 3 - Anna Maria Island house booked

Update 4 - Wedding outfits/ceremony & reception details

Update 5 - Itinerary Part 1

Update 6 - Itinerary Part 2

Update 7 - Itinerary Part 3

Update 8 - Food/Snacks - offsite & onsite

Update 9 - Tickets, shopping & wedding bits

Update 10 - Park plans, shopping & check lists
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Edited at 09:16 PM.
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Old 18 Apr 21, 09:59 PM  
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Will. E following and you know if I can help do bits etc you just need to ask
But really I just want to look after Boris as Rocky says tell Boris the jet lag is a human
Issue didn’t bother me at all on my once in a life time trip honest
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Old 18 Apr 21, 10:08 PM  
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smithlane
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Originally Posted by Gryff View Post
Will. E following and you know if I can help do bits etc you just need to ask
But really I just want to look after Boris as Rocky says tell Boris the jet lag is a human
Issue didn’t bother me at all on my once in a life time trip honest
Oh Helen thank you! You know I’m going to take you up on that don’t you 😂

Haha, we would LOVE to take Boris with us. Jim wants him to be the best man 🤣. If you lived closer to us and weren’t in the US at the same time you could definitely have him whilst we’re away!
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Old 18 Apr 21, 10:22 PM  
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I hope you do our canine family love to;have a fellow visitor they actually have missed
Visiting canines
You just shout if you need anything
The price we paid for the Rockster we’d could have gone both ways business class twice
But we had 12 weeks of an amazing time he+was so well behaved at sea world and Busch we’d booked dY kennels they took him out into the parks as a canine ambassador he loves kids and was-a registered pat dog till he retired just before Covid
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Old 19 Apr 21, 07:43 AM  
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You can get your licence either in advance from any courthouse in Florida (but needs to be sent back to the same one after the ceremony) in person or get it by Mail in advance , as you are in the U.K. you have the additional costs of getting it verified by a U.K. solicitor. It all seemed a bit of a palaver even with our wedding planner submitting the licence so in the end we just went and got it ourselves a few days before the wedding. Just needed passports and swear we were free to marry , they didn’t want to see divorce docs (just as well as neither of us had any idea where ours were) , took longer to get through the airport style security at the Courthouse than getting the licence.
I actually really enjoyed going to get it ourselves, made it more real !
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Old 19 Apr 21, 01:11 PM  
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Following Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, your plans looks amazing so far and I look forward to reading more
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Old 19 Apr 21, 01:36 PM  
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Sounds fantastic - looking forward to your updates
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Old 21 Apr 21, 09:11 AM  
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Originally Posted by Gryff View Post
I hope you do our canine family love to;have a fellow visitor they actually have missed
Visiting canines
You just shout if you need anything
The price we paid for the Rockster we’d could have gone both ways business class twice
But we had 12 weeks of an amazing time he+was so well behaved at sea world and Busch we’d booked dY kennels they took him out into the parks as a canine ambassador he loves kids and was-a registered pat dog till he retired just before Covid
I can imagine the cost of taking a dog abroad is astronomical! Totally worth it if you're out there for months at a time like you are, one day for sure!
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Old 21 Apr 21, 09:13 AM  
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Originally Posted by duchy View Post
You can get your licence either in advance from any courthouse in Florida (but needs to be sent back to the same one after the ceremony) in person or get it by Mail in advance , as you are in the U.K. you have the additional costs of getting it verified by a U.K. solicitor. It all seemed a bit of a palaver even with our wedding planner submitting the licence so in the end we just went and got it ourselves a few days before the wedding. Just needed passports and swear we were free to marry , they didn’t want to see divorce docs (just as well as neither of us had any idea where ours were) , took longer to get through the airport style security at the Courthouse than getting the licence.
I actually really enjoyed going to get it ourselves, made it more real !
Thats great, thank you for the info. I think we'll probably go in person too as we'll have a few days spare before the wedding.
Thank goodness they don't need to see divorce papers as even though I know where mine is, Jim hasn't the foggiest where his ended up in various house moves!
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Old 21 Apr 21, 09:14 AM  
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Originally Posted by LizzyBear View Post
Following Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, your plans looks amazing so far and I look forward to reading more
Thank you so much, we can't wait!
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