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Old 18 Feb 21, 11:58 AM  
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Travel Day: Seats, Shambles and Soaring

Travel Day: Seats, Shambles and Soaring
Tuesday 16th April 2019

So, it’s been over a year since I last updated this trip report! I am very sorry, but went straight back to work, the chaos of everyday life and struggled to find any time. With everything that is going on at the moment, I now have lots of free weekends and thought that I would get cracking with my trip report! I still have all of my food photos and notes, so fingers crossed I won’t miss anything out. Hopefully, there are still Dibbers that would like to read about our adventures and dining experiences. I have all of the days typed up, so just need to upload with the correct pictures. Anyway, … on with the show!

Unfortunately, I had another rubbish night sleep. I woke up at 5:30am, thinking that it was 6:30am and our alarm was about to go off. I couldn’t get back to sleep, combined with a long travel day yesterday and broken sleep in the night, I was beyond exhausted!

After getting everything from our night at the Premier Inn packed up, we made the short walk over to the terminal. As you may remember from my pre-trippie, as we were on the early 10:10am flight, we hadn’t booked breakfast as we didn’t know if we would have time or fancy it. This was the right choice, as we weren’t hungry at all.

The start of travel day was not a positive one and is where today’s title comes from. We booked our seats in December and paid extra for exit row seats in the bubble. As many Dibbers, I like the smaller space upstairs and the layout - the little storage nook under the window always comes in handy and we like to be some of the first off of the plane and into immigration. When are boarding passes printed, Nathan noticed that we didn’t have the same seat numbers on our confirmation. We went over to the customer service desk, to be told they had cancelled those seats, as we hadn’t paid for them?! I assured the lady that we had and luckily had payment print screens still on my phone. She apologised and said there must have been a fault with their computer system and that it states in the T&Cs that they can move us if needed. I understand if seats are overbooked or if flights are cancelled there might need to be movement, but not having the seats that we paid for months in advance due to a technical issue was frustrating . Especially as all of the seats in the bubble had now gone!

In the end, they moved us to the exit row seats at the back of the plane downstairs - the last off… The staff on board were warned about the seating issue and were really accommodating. They brought us extra treats and also moved us to a couple of empty seats in Premium, so that we weren’t last off of the plane.


Treat tray!

Anywho, I am skipping ahead - I am sure you are all dying to look at pictures of planes and plane food!



We had a look around the terminal shops and the most bizarre thing happened, I didn’t purchase anything?!?! Nathan is still in shock!


Waiting to board

The flight took off half an hour late and around an hour into the flight we were served the normal pretzels and our tray of treats, which we didn’t manage to get through, as we also had some of our train haul left from yesterday.

For dinner I had the cheese pesto pasta, which was surprisingly pleasant for aeroplane catering! The sauce was nice and rich and the pasta wasn’t too soft. Nathan had the creamy chicken and mash, which he also enjoyed and ate all of. Both were served with a cucumber salad, Boursin and crackers, as well as a Gu chocolate ganache caramel pot. The dessert was definitely the best bit of the meal and was devoured!




We brought a sandwich from Boots at the airport, just incase we couldn’t eat our meals. We cracked these open half way through the flight and shared them.



An hour before landing we had the afternoon tea - I say we, I took a tray but Nathan ate both of them. The roll was mozzarella and tomato and the scones came with jam and clotted cream. Nathan said the sandwich was a little bit ‘bready’ compared to the filling ratio, but the scones were tasty. He wishes they didn’t have sultanas in them though!



Our flight was on time and we were off of the plane for 3:00. I think we broke world records, as we were through immigration, with bags and in our hire car by 3:38!

It was a smooth drive to Rosen Inn and at check in the lady managed to find us a top floor room with a Volcano Bay view. She also gave us two free breakfasts each to have at the hotel buffet, as we were Virgin Holiday guests.

We didn’t spend long in our room, just enough time for a quick freshen up and clothes change. It was then time for our ‘traditional’ first nights KFC meal. Between us we decided to share one of the $5 box meals, which came with chicken, mash, gravy, a cookie and a drink. As well as a $2 burger from their saver meal. Unlike the UK, you can choose the batter type - grilled, traditional or crispy. I went for the crispy and it was sooo good. It was the standard coating, with crispy cereal like bits added and not too greasy. Nathan had most of the burger and really enjoyed this, although if he was ordering it for a dinner, instead of a snack, it was a little on the small side.



Walgreens is across the road from KFC and we needed to buy some suncream - I much prefer the spray suncream that is sold in the US, we also grabbed some bottled water for the room and to take out with us.

The evening was not yet over, as it was after 6:00pm, Universal had free parking and we needed to collect our annual passes. We went for the Premium AP, which includes parking fees, but not for your first visit (i.e. when you collect them). It made sense for us to save $25 and pick them up tonight. It was a really quick process, it took us longer to walk down City Walk then to show our paperwork and get given a ticket!

Our final stop was the International Drive outlets! As well as suncream, I had also decided not to bring a handbag, as I needed a new black one and knew that I would be able to find a bargain at the outlets. I found a lovely black Kate Spade bag, with 70% off and we then had another online voucher for a further 10% off - I am sure you will see it later in the trippie. We couldn’t resist a sneaky peek in the Character Warehouse whilst we were there, where we picked up a sweatshirt each.

Missions accomplished, we were back in the hotel and asleep ready for a fun filled day tomorrow by 9:30.



Thanks for reading,

Laura Xx

Edited at 08:52 AM.
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Old 18 Feb 21, 05:56 PM  
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Really enjoying reading your trippie

That plane food actually looks nice
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Old 19 Feb 21, 10:55 AM  
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Originally Posted by P&S View Post
Really enjoying reading your trippie

That plane food actually looks nice
Aww, thank you

It actually was nice (for plane food! )

Laura Xx
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Old 19 Feb 21, 11:11 AM  
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Day 1: Volcanos, Vineland and Vouchers

Day 1: Volcanos, Vineland and Vouchers
Wednesday 18th April 2019

We were up at 4:00am today! Darn jet lag! We managed to snooze until 5:00am, but then admitted defeat. We read a little and excitedly discussed our holiday plans - Is there anything more exciting than the start of a holiday and knowing that you have so much to look forward to ahead of you? After washing and messaging home, we headed out to IHOP.

I LOVE a cupcake pancake stack from IHOP, so I already knew what I was ordering before we got there. I wasn’t very hungry though, I think because it was still only 6:45am when we got there. There were lots of construction workers filling up on big breakfasts before a busy day ahead, we were that early. As I couldn’t face a full stack, I opted for the junior cupcake combo, which was $5 and came with hash brown and eggs.





My notes tell me that the pancakes tasted like ‘fluffy clouds of joy’ and I can remember really enjoying them. I went with scrambled eggs which were ok, but the bacon was tasty and crispy, but most importantly not too brittle.

Nathan chose a strawberries and banana combo and ate it all, he really enjoyed this too and was happy to be back and eating American portion sizes! The hash brown could have been a little crispier, but everything else, including the poached eggs were really well cooked.



With full tummies we then went to Universal to enjoy the very first of our early entry benefits that we received with our APs. We arrived at the car park just after 7:30am and were the 9th car in the lot today. We got the front row in Spider Man, right by the lift, so didn’t have to trek far to security and city walk.

We followed the crowds and headed to Diagon Alley and straight on to Gringotts, with hardly any wait.





After exploring my favourite area of Universal, we went to fight some aliens on MIB, as I haven’t noted the scores, I’m guessing that I probably didn’t win, but lets say that I did as we have no evidence!







I was still too full from breakfast to face The Simpson’s ride, it is so warm in there it always makes me feel a bit queasy. Ironically, we decided to take in the views on Twirl and Hurl instead.



The park was starting to get busy and with the luxury of an AP this trip, we had already decided not to spend a full day at the park. We had packed a bag with our swim gear in and left it in the car. We grabbed this and then took the next internal bus to Volcano Bay.


We said goodbye to Hello Kitty on the way out.



It was just after 10:00 when we got to the Bay and the weather was glorious, it was warm and not too humid. We managed to find some quiet loungers towards the back of the park and settled in to relax and soak up the sun.

It was a lovely relaxing morning, where we spent a few hours reading and listening to music. We used our AP to grab a blue raspberry slushy to cool down ($4.50).





As we had breakfast so early in the morning, our rumbling bellies forced us away from the waterpark and in search of food. As we wanted to pick up some water and supplies for our room, we decided to go to Rolling Oaks. This meant that we could eat at Longhorns and also nip into Target whilst in the same area.

We were seated in Longhorns around 2:00 and stuffing our faces with bread. The bread was warm and yummy, but the butter was weird, it was very bland and didn’t really taste of anything. We had signed up to lots of restaurants just before we left and had a free appetiser voucher to use, we opted for the seasoned steakhouse wings. They had a dry rub on them, which meant that they were nice and crispy on the outside, but succulent on the inside. They were piping hot, almost too hot to eat, but we were famished by this point and couldn’t wait. The dipping sauces that came with the wings were also delicious, especially the blue cheese.





For our mains, I was a piggy and had the rib eye ($20.49), which was huge, but sooo good! Nathan ordered the lunchtime bargain, which only cost $7.99, but was also a massive serving. It was a combo of cheeseburger and chilli that he managed to eat all of, plus some of mine! We were so full, we couldn’t manage a dessert.





We waddled out of the restaurant and across to Target. This shop has some sort of time warp, as you feel as if you’ve only been in for a few minutes looking around, when in fact it has been an hour! We picked up essentials such as bottled water to take to the parks with us, as well as Cheetos and candy full of colourings and e-numbers. I get so excited about the dollar spots at the front of the store and picked up a few toys for our nieces, as well as a wireless charger for my phone. We couldn’t forget about Franklin and made sure to pick up some of his favourite Dreamies flavours that we cannot get at home . I also made Nathan stand in Ulta bored, whilst I stocked up on some make-up and skincare bits that are hard to get in the UK or super expensive.







The sweatshirt that Nathan chose at the outlets last night didn’t fit well, so we went to Vineland next to see if we could exchange it, but they didn’t have any left, so they kindly gave us a refund instead.

The jet lag was starting to catch-up with us by now, so we went back to the hotel to relax and eat some of the unhealthy snacks we had just got from Target. We were in bed and asleep by 9:00pm - we are so rock and roll!

Thanks for anyone that is still reading along, despite the mega wait!

Laura Xx
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Old 19 Feb 21, 04:30 PM  
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Oh I thought I had posted already, not sure what I did! But really enjoying this report, glad you have started updating it, it’s almost like having a little holiday break myself 😊
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Old 20 Feb 21, 07:25 PM  
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Originally Posted by Disney Planning View Post
Oh I thought I had posted already, not sure what I did! But really enjoying this report, glad you have started updating it, it’s almost like having a little holiday break myself 😊
That's so sweet, thank you!

Laura Xx
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Old 20 Feb 21, 07:46 PM  
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Day 2: Sprinkles, Springs and Shrimp

Day 2: Sprinkles, Springs and Shrimp
Thursday 19th April 2019

Another early morning, to be expected at the start of any trip to America. Nathan struggled to get back to sleep and woke me up reading his iPad at 5:00am this morning. We were debating going to Cracker Barrel for breakfast today, but the lure of early entry won out instead. As we had two free breakfasts included with our hotel stay, as a bonus for booking with Virgin Holidays and it was only downstairs, eating here this morning made the most sense.

Unsurprisingly, Nathan went for the full cooked breakfast option from the buffet, alongside some pastries. I was feeling too tired to eat much and had started to get a bit of a sore throat. I still enjoyed the toast and bagel that I had. I was gutted that the waffle making machine that was here during our last stay wasn’t out, but had my fingers crossed that it would be back for our next hotel breakfast.









As we spent the morning at Universal yesterday, we planned to explore IOA today. As we walked through City Walk and waited in the queues for the park to open, we Face Timed our mums to tell them what we had been up to so far. We were in the park by 8:30 and I took charge of the bags, whilst Nathan power walked over to Hulk and Dr Doom, which are both way too scary for me. We’ve developed a bit of a routine when Nathan does these - I slowly walk with our bags and find a bench outside of the comic shop and sit enjoying the sunshine, catching up on notes and messaging friends, so he knows exactly where to find me when he has finished. This is exactly what we did this morning.



Reunited, we both went to say hi to Spidey, before mooching around the Jurassic Park area.



We wanted to catch the dinosaur meet and greet experience, but the line was already huge. We passed through Hogsmeade instead and took the Hogwarts express back over to Universal.



It was extremely toasty and we were in need of air con and what better place to cool down then pursuing the shops?! As we were new AP holders, we were eager to check out the lounge and see what it was all about.





I had read that they had an exclusive machine in the lounge, where you could freeze bottles of Coke products in seconds for $5. Nathan had an artic Powerade, which he enjoyed and really helped to cool him down, but it was a bit of a gimmick. Definitely a one off and something that we don’t feel the need to try again.







As we were turning into sweaty messes, it was time to head back to the hotel for a freshen up. Nathan hadn’t eaten for a few hours now and was lured by Voodoo Doughnuts, despite not having any lunch yet - naughty. He went for a peanut cake and fruit loop, whilst I chose a classic sprinkles one. Although they were fluffy, I found them really dense in texture and thought that they were pretty average - please don’t hate me! I wasn’t a fan, so Nathan also ended up with mine. He loved them and thought they had a good topping to dough ratio, he had one of his and mine now, saving the other to take back to the hotel fridge for later.







After changing and relaxing in our hotel room for a bit, we headed out again to spend some time at Disney Springs. I had my all time favourite drink from Starbucks, the cliche Pink Drink. It is so yummy, fruity and creamy! I wish they would bring it to the UK.



It was time to eat again, I had planned to have a late lunch here and despite Nathan indulging in doughnuts, he still had room! We love the food trucks at the Springs and I was eager to try some new things. We went for the crunchy six cheese Mac and cheese, which was $8 and a hand dipped corn dog $8.50 to share. The Mac and cheese was so rich and tasty, the only criticism was that the Cheetos on top tasted a little stale. The corn dog was crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, Nathan ended up eating most of this and I had most of the Mac and cheese, which I was not mad about!







We walked off our food babies looking around the shops and taking in the atmosphere. We picked up a Christmas decoration, which we do every trip and also some limited edition pins for my dad who collects them. I just love looking at all of the Disney merch, especially in the Coop. We ended up spending a few hours enjoying taking our time looking at everything and didn’t end up doing too much damage to our bank accounts.



For our evening meal, we were trying something new to us and going to Red Lobster. This is pretty much across the road from the Rosen Inn near Universal, which we didn’t know and ended up driving! It probably took us longer as we had to do a U-turn on I-Drive!

We were seated in the restaurant by 7:00pm and had a lovely server who was really helpful and not pushy at all. When we told him it was our first time dining there, he was excited for us to try the cheese biscuits, which he described as crack biscuits as they are so moreish. He wasn’t wrong, I ended up eating 3!



He also explained that there was a special set menu, which was $15.99 for a 4 course meal - how could we say no? This was available Monday to Thursday in the evenings and we would definitely recommend.

I had the clam chowder, Cesar salad and coconut shrimp. The chowder was creamy, but a little salty. The shrimp was very good, succulent and was served with a dip that tasted like the middle of a Bounty bar. Nathan opted for the bacon and potato soup, Cesar salad and shrimp linguine. He again enjoyed all of his and was pleasantly surprised, as he isn’t normally a big seafood eater.







The server was halfway through his dessert suggestions spiel, when he stopped and realised how stuffed we were. Instead, he offered to box up some brownies and doughnuts for us to go, as these were the most transportable, which we were really grateful for.



We ate our dessert goodies later on in bed, Nathan had his third lot of doughnuts of the day - good, wasn’t a fan of the cinnamon. I had the brownies, which were so moist, the gooeyness stuck to your teeth as you were eating them - nom!

After an early morning, we were soon asleep and recharging for tomorrow.

I hope you’re all enjoying the report so far.

Laura Xx
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Old 20 Feb 21, 08:20 PM  
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Oh wow you came back to this food report. We've just had our dinner and yet I reckon I could eat a donut now. I reckon your DH deserves a medal 3 donuts in one day along with the breakfast buffet, the food truck lunch and that fab meal in the evening surely that's a record? What a fantastic food day! Red Lobster is somewhere we've not been to...yet...fingers crossed we get to remedy that soon as it all looked great.
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Old 20 Feb 21, 10:10 PM  
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Loving this, thanks so much for posting and bringing back some excitement
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Old 21 Feb 21, 02:02 PM  
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Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
Oh wow you came back to this food report. We've just had our dinner and yet I reckon I could eat a donut now. I reckon your DH deserves a medal 3 donuts in one day along with the breakfast buffet, the food truck lunch and that fab meal in the evening surely that's a record? What a fantastic food day! Red Lobster is somewhere we've not been to...yet...fingers crossed we get to remedy that soon as it all looked great.
Haha, there was a lot of food consumed that day!

Thanks for sticking with the report,

Laura Xx
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