Helen's Energy Adventure - pre-trip report (May 2016)

[HelenJNT]

Hello. Firstly, I'm not sure if this title will stay, but it will do for now.



Who?

Helen and Andy.





We will have been married for six years in June, but been together for 12 years now (ish – I can never remember, shhh).
Both 21 (not really). I do something in HR, he does something in IT.
We live in Berkshire and have three mogs who rule the roost, mess up the carpets and cost us more in cat gourmet food than we spend every week on feeding ourselves.
I like Epcot, he finds it boring. He is famous for sleeping just about anywhere. He snoozed through a full round of It’s a Small World and said it was better that way. He likes the Magic Kingdom though and is quite excited about the future Star Wars developments. I’m expecting him to sleep through most of that as well though when we go after it opens, whenever that may be.



What?

This will be our third trip to WDW together. I went a couple of times with my family in the early 90s and then didn’t go back for many years a few years, I’m only 21, remember? We’ve had two trips to DLP together, just day trips though as part of a Paris break. I don’t really know what to make of DLP, it’s always been freezing when we’ve been, and I never seem to get that immersive feeling that you get in Orlando. Plus one year I had too many Irish coffees in Planet Hollywood and the loo on the train back into Paris was out of order and we had an iffy experience ricocheting off the walls of a portaloo outside a random suburban metro stop….anyway, I am digressing.

We got married in 2010 and had our honeymoon in WDW. We stayed at the Swan and had a jolly old time. I knew we had to plan, but I don’t seem to recall doing much other than a few dining reservations and a couple of dinner shows (Pirates…. Give me the Paris portaloo over that any time). June was hot and steamy (the weather, not just because it was the honeymoon), and I was a bit of a wimp in terms of what rides I wouldn’t go on. However, we had a great time and decided we’d save up again and go back as soon as we could.

March 2013 saw us shivering at the POFQ bus stop, wondering why it was cold in Florida in March and feeling very pleased that we’d chucked some jeans in the case as an afterthought. By the end of the first week, those jeans were pretty much walking around on their own, running by themselves to get fast passes for TSMM, you get the idea. Thankfully by the start of the second week, things had warmed up and the jeans didn’t have any more days out, I’m afraid. We loved POFQ, I had stayed there in one of my early ‘90s trips and liked how compact it was and it definitely didn’t let us down this time around. We did Disney and Universal and to be honest, that is enough for us, so unfortunately if you’re looking for info about Busch Gardens or Seaworld, mine won’t be the trip report for you. One morning as we were getting ready to go out, we saw the announcement for the Disney Springs re-imagining and it looked so cool that we decided on the spot that our next trip would be in Spring 2016, when surely all the construction work would be complete (hahahahahahahaha if only we knew).

When:
We fly from Gatwick on 30/04/16 and home again on the night flight of 14/05/16.

Where:
Caribbean Beach Resort. Not entirely sure why. I was all set on Coronado Springs. We’ve stayed in the Swan before and really don’t mind the convention hotels. We aren’t exactly allergic to kids or anything but we don’t have any, and so the thought of being in a convention hotel doesn’t bother us as we found there was always space at the pool and the dining areas tended to be quieter. However, for some reason, amongst griping about the expense of another Disney holiday, my husband decided that he rather liked the look of the Caribbean Beach Resort so I thought I’d better capitalise on that one glimmer of excitement and get it booked. So with some trepidation, we are going from smaller resorts with more of an adult feel, to the biggest one on site. Wahoo!

What else?
I’ve made dining reservations for the following:
Be Our Guest breakfast (twice)
Le Cellier
The Boathouse
California Grill
Hoop de Doo
Mama Melrose (Fantasmic package)
‘Ohana.

We’ve been to BG, MM, and Le Cellier before and liked them. The others are new. We have the quick service meal plan as it worked well for us last time. We like the choice and the fact that you can be in and out quickly, although seeing as we love an EMH, we do wear ourselves out as tend to be in the parks all day. I get up at a ridiculous time of the day for work during the week so it doesn’t bother me, but my husband? Well, see above comment about his suspected narcolepsy.

Our Fast Pass window opens in a week, and I’m pretty set on what needs to be done. Some of you may have seen a thread from last month about the fact that I’ve thus far been too scared to get on Tower of Terror. I can’t help it, I don’t mind a log flume or a tame coaster but there’s something about a drop ride that just leaves me cold. I’m going to do it this time though, I am, I am, I am! Plus I have a bet on with fellow Dibber Vanillapod now so I can’t get out of it!

As far as Universal goes, we love it. If I were doing things differently and with the benefit of hindsight, I would have booked a split stay, with 10 days in Disney and 4 in Universal but seeing as it’s too late now and we are keeping an eye on the cash, we are going to do two park hopping days in Universal and just use Uber. Staying on site just wasn’t worth it for us as there are only two of us and we are hoping we won’t need FOLP in May, always managed OK without it before. We are also going to have one mall expedition, much as we love to shop, it isn’t really a priority for us – its more to see what all the fuss is about regarding the Cheesecake Factory. Oh and my pilgrimage to Sephora…I think I visited every Sephora in New York during our December trip.

So that’s us. I’m grateful to the Dibb and all the nice people on here, as it just goes to show that there are always other things to learn and discover about Orlando. I am semi-sad that there is so much unavailable when we go, and the news of Frozen Ever After, Rivers of Light and Kong not being ready when we go are a bit of a shame but I know we are going to have a brilliant time regardless, and you have to have something to look forward to for the next trip, right?

Thanks for reading. I am hoping to do a trip report too (if tales of me trying to get into a rubber ring at Typhoon Lagoon, and seeing what other attractions my husband manages to snooze through appeals to any of you!). Sorry about the length… I need to work out how to insert some photos now…

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Sounds like a great trip ahead! We are out there are the same time... such a lovely time of year for Orlando fun!

[Helen0705]

Hi there !
Sounds like fun - looking forward to hearing all about it

[chazb]

Sounds like a great trip, we are also out there the same time. Looking forward to more x

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Lollipop

Sounds like a great trip ahead! We are out there are the same time... such a lovely time of year for Orlando fun!

See more...

Can't wait for Orlando fun and to compare notes!

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by Helen0705

Hi there !
Sounds like fun - looking forward to hearing all about it

See more...

Thankyou!

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by chazb

Sounds like a great trip, we are also out there the same time. Looking forward to more x

See more...

Just been reading your PTR too, it's great!

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Originally Posted by HelenJNT

Can't wait for Orlando fun and to compare notes!

See more...

Eeeek me either, I will definitely be doing a highs and lows (hopefully there won't be any lows!) when we get back... we can swap stories

[Redrach1903]

Sounds fab! Might see you there! I think Rivers of Light will be up and running! Fingers crossed anyway xx

[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by Redrach1903

Sounds fab! Might see you there! I think Rivers of Light will be up and running! Fingers crossed anyway xx

See more...

I hope so. It's top of my list to see, so keeping it all crossed