19 Years Later- October 2017- Intro and Travel Day

[xAimeex]

Hello and welcome to my October 2017 trip report! I know, I know we're already nearly halfway through 2018 hehe. I actually moved house about a week after we got back from this trip so the first couple of months post trip were a little busy and then after Christmas real life just got in the way!


I've actually made a head start on this report though as I had a lovely week off last week so have already written a couple of days (although it's the proof reading and adding photos that seems to take the time for me ).


I should start by explaining to reasons behind this trip report name! For those that don't know it's a Harry Potter quote! You'd be forgiven for thinking then that this was a Universal trip however we didn't step foot in a Universal park at all.


The quote is from the last book, my favourite book of all time, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! It is the title of the very last chapter of that book aka the epilogue. It is set 19 years after the battle of Hogwarts and basically is a brief look in to what happened to the main characters, who married who, what their children are called etc etc.


Again you're probably questioning what on earth that has to do with a Disney trip hehe. Well September/October 2017 marked a bit of a Disney anniversary for our family!


It was 19 years since our very first trip to Walt Disney World back in 1998! We weren't there for the exact anniversary (as Mum and Dad took us out of school back then, spoiler alert: it didn't do us any damage hehe) but only a couple of weeks out so it seemed only right to call this report 19 Years Later!

Here are some throwback pictures of that first trip!

Aimee1 001 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

aimee3 001 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

aimee4 001 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

aimee5 001 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


So that was us 19 years ago (well not Mum and Dad as I couldn’t find any photos of them) and here’s what we look like now. Introducing the cast-

Aimee (me)
DSC07465 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

I turned 29 last week, I’m not ok about that and am especially not looking forward to the impending doom of 30 next year but let’s not talk about that hehe. I was 23 when I wrote my first trip report! Seriously, where have my 20’s gone?! Truthfully I don’t think I’ve changed much since the first description I did for myself on here hehe although I’m definitely braver these days! No more wimping out of Expedition Everest or Rock and Rollercoaster (although I’ll never ride Tower of Terror again). I’m still a nanny, I still write lists aplenty and I’m still a big old Disney kid at heart!




Lauren
34816664_10160531627155002_4090754232574017536_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

Lauren is now 27. Again I don’t think she’s changed too drastically over the years. She is still working in a school for children with additional needs, a job she is amazing at! Completely Disney crazy too and loves photography, while I struggle to keep up with writing these reports she manages to edit and upload a photo to our Instagram every single day! I know it always sounds a bit cheesy to say that we’re best friends as well as sisters but we truly are!



Jill aka Mum
34684277_2165632343512249_324388335722168320_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

Mum loves Disney and we absolutely love that our parents still enjoy our Disney trips and want to come with us! Mum was probably the driving force for our Disney obsession as she introduced us to the films on VHS all those years ago!



Dad aka Sean
DSC07659 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Dad pretty much goes with the flow on our trips! He’s happy to let us do the planning. He isn’t as much of a Disney fan as the rest of us but he loves the parks and appreciates the attention to detail, the rides and the food (as do all of us hehe). Again it means so much that even after 19 years they still want to come to Disney!


As I was only half finished with my 2016 trip report when we went on this trip I didn't get round to doing a pre-trip report so I'll add in a little lowdown about it now!


It all began back in around July 2016 at the end of the school year (Mum and Lauren both work in schools) when our LEA announced that upon the results of a poll about school holiday dates they would be trialling a change to the 2017 and 2018 school years to allow parents to take children on holidays in what for most parts of the country would be considered term time.


The change that was voted for was a 2 week October half term!


We have always wanted to go at this time of year to experience Fall and Halloween (although we had been to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party before on a September trip) not to mention the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot! Plus it was Dad’s 60th Birthday at the end of September and Mum had had a trip to celebrate her 60th so it was good timing for that too!


Therefore this was an absolute result for us!


It meant our half term started 1 week before most other parts of the country (although I know some places/schools also do a 2 week autumn half term as well).


Lauren immediately started pricing up a trip! Mum and Dad were on board with the idea too!


I was a little unsure about going at first as I knew I wanted to be saving to move out at the end of the year.


Lauren knew a way around this, she messaged Sean from Charter Travel (who we've booked trips through 3 times now and would highly recommend!) to find out how much it would cost to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge for 11 nights.


I have wanted to stay at this resort since it first opened! We have eaten there a few times before at Boma and Sanaa and I've always loved visiting! I love the theming and the idea of being so close to the animals!


Sean came back with what we considered a pretty good price!


11 nights in a standard room (we couldn't justify the extra money for a Savannah view as the price jumps up a lot with that!), 14 day Disney tickets, Disney Dining Plan, Memory Maker, $100 gift card (we'd just missed the cut off for the $200 card) and direct Virgin economy flights from Gatwick for £6460 all in, £1615 each.


It meant we'd all be in 1 room together for a week and a half which I know is some peoples idea of hell but we'd managed it quite fine on shorter trips and to be honest Lauren and I spend so much time out in the parks that it really wasn't a problem!


I just couldn't say no to one of my dream resorts and I had recently started working on my day off as a nursery temp which meant I was bringing in a little extra each month to put aside! It meant I was working 50 hour weeks often but it was so worth it!


We booked it straightway and the countdown began! Our dates were October 15th-October 26th flying out on the 1pm flight and returning on the 7:45pm flight.


As soon as the tickets were released for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party we booked it for Lauren and I on Friday 20th October!


It was soon 180 days out and we booked our ADR's. We changed a couple of them in the build up to the trip but the final line up looked like this-


-Yak and Yeti lunch
-Minnie's Halloween Dine dinner at Hollywood and Vine (changed from 50's Prime Time)
-Garden Grill breakfast
-Mama Melrose dinner
-Boma breakfast
-Chef Arts Homecoming lunch (changed from Sanaa)
-Teppan Edo dinner
-Boma dinner
-Be our Guest breakfast (counter service)
-Be our Guest lunch (counter service)
-1900 Park Fare breakfast
-Ohana dinner (changed from Be our Guest dinner)
-Trattoria Al Forno Bon Voyage breakfast
-House of Blues lunch


Trattoria was just Lauren and I and House of Blues just Mum and Dad so we didn't pay for any out of pocket.


Fastpass day was a breeze this year at 60 days out too! It had taken 5 hours for our 2016 trip because the system kept going down!


This year though Lauren and I both took half the days each and used our phones to book them simultaneously! We managed to get 2 for Flight of Passage which had been our biggest concern due to its popularity! The whole process took around 20 minutes!


As the trip got closer I was supposed to start my Disney diet but I just couldn't get in to the right headspace . I did manage to lose a few lbs on the 5:2 but I wasn't anywhere near where I wanted to be and I did feel a little disappointed in myself this trip, especially when one of my dresses wouldn't fit later in the trip but I only had myself to blame hehe.


We had fun with our double digit celebration as always!


As we were staying at AKL we had a Boma style buffet for double digits, complete with homemade bobatie, fufu (sweet and white potato mix), jungle juice, zebra domes, coconut curry chicken soup and animal print themed cupcakes. Plus some shop bought items inspired by food we've eaten there, spiced couscous, fruit, mac and cheese, sausages and bread and hummus. We decided on a mix of our favourite breakfast and dinner items as we love both meals so much!


We bought some cute animal print party accessories to complete the feel too!

34386275_2159000570842093_6107977556915388416_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

34202909_2159000730842077_8981663582517198848_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Jungle Juice!

34216286_2159000370842113_6944345691040776192_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Homemade zebra domes! These were just cake pop mix covered in white chocolate and drizzled with chocolate icing so they didn’t taste the same but I thought they looked quite cute!

34258627_2159001910841959_1680388577122320384_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Couscous

34268703_2159010664174417_1069550562984329216_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Fufu, potato and sweet potato mix

34274689_2159001747508642_1487709519520727040_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

34306545_2159012854174198_2529101933315096576_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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Homemade bobotie, I know this doesn’t look that nice but it was actually really tasty! I used a slightly altered version of this recipe- thedisneychef/2014/08/meat-bobotie.html

34348128_2159002517508565_5567707105286160384_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Homemade coconut curry chicken soup. Again I know this really doesn’t look that appetising but it was really delicious. I used this recipe- disneyfoodblog/2011/0...oup-from-boma/

34322978_2159002097508607_5500487882101489664_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

34434403_2159012237507593_614341818393296896_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

34414325_2159000870842063_2698368625969987584_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


It was a feast! We watched the Lion King in the afternoon and ended the day roasting marshmallows over the fire pit in the garden! I think it was one of our favourite double digit celebrations ever!

34530397_2159011120841038_6726813740756369408_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Single digits was a more low-key affair. On our summer trips we have a barbecue or afternoon tea out in the garden. This year though it was a cold and gloomy day in October but Goodbye Christopher Robin had just come out at the cinema so we decided to go and see it all together! It was a brilliant film but quite upsetting in parts and sad to know the real story behind the much loved Winnie the Pooh stories. Even Dad really enjoyed it! After the film we went to 5 guys for dinner for burgers and milkshakes, yum!


A couple of months before the trip we also signed up to the parcel holding service from Fairytale Personal Shopper aka Beth! I've gone in to detail about this more in Day 2 but we had a fantastic experience with her! We used her as an alternative to Mockingjay Services as unfortunately they had a lot of negative reviews. We love being able to make the most of online sales in advance of our trip knowing it will arrive for us to open on the first full day! As I said Beth was fantastic and we'd highly recommend this service!


As we were on the 1pm flight we didn't book an airport hotel for the night before.


Our pre-travel day was pretty standard; packing, painting nails, lush bath bomb bath (my boyfriend surprised me with a super cute Christmas one and also a twilight one for Lauren which I added to a Chip cup which originally came with a loofah in from Primark) followed by Papa John’s pizza takeaway for dinner so I haven't written a Day 0. We ordered an extra-large pizza for us all to share and a bottle of Tango! We found an online discount code which brought the cost down to £13.88 and the pizza was huge!

34369113_2159032030838947_7823574751216926720_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

34493127_2159031780838972_4102964962035499008_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

34339952_2159032217505595_8901939897057673216_n by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Lauren’s hand next to the pizza to show just how big it was! Plenty for 4 of us!

And I think that brings us up to travel day!



Continued below…

[xAimeex]

Day 1- Sunday 15th October 2017- Travel Day!


I had gone to bed around 10:40 the night before but struggled to fall asleep as I was too excited (just like that advert in the 90's! Why did they ever stop showing it!) but eventually fell asleep sometime after 11.


I woke up around 3:20 thinking it was morning already!


I managed to fall back to sleep and eventually woke at around 5:45 which was only 15 minutes before the alarm!


I had no trouble jumping out of bed though! I finished packing up the last few bits and started getting myself ready.

0 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
It’s always nice to wake up and see this countdown!


I was curling my hair again and dousing it in hairspray to keep the static at bay on the plane!


It all started off fairly calm but we somehow ended up in a big rush to get on the road. The others were all too busy to stop for photos so I don’t have any travel day outfit photos. It’s normally a tradition for Lauren and I to have an outfit photo together just before we leave the house but it didn’t happen today so I took a couple of selfies instead while I waited.


DSC07360 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Excuse all the mess behind! Packing to go had been a little chaotic and spilled over in to the living room!


My car had broken down quite badly a few weeks before the trip and I was doing the airport drive so I was really nervous about it today.


The car had been repaired and had been driving fine but when the breakdown happened Green Flag didn't get us home for 6 hours! Despite breaking down about 20 minutes from the house!


Just in case, I had been hoping to leave around 7:15 which was totally excessive as we were on the 1pm flight and live around 35-40 minutes from Gatwick but I just didn't want to take the risk.


Somehow we didn't end up leaving until gone 7:30 as it took us a while to squeeze all the luggage into my car. The others were all totally squished by suitcases but needs must hehe. I've said it before but not being surrounded by luggage is a perk of being the airport driver! Unfortunately though I could barely see out of the back window at all which made it bit more of a nerve wracking drive!


It did worry me a little for the journey home as we'd have an extra suitcase then as I had one case packed inside another as I've done on previous trips and would be paying to bring the second case back on the return flight!


In amongst all the stress of trying to load up the car Lauren and I did manage to grab some pictures of our cute Disney themed hand luggage! My backpack looked almost gold in Lauren’s photo for some reason but is in fact an off white colour.

13 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Both our travel pillow were from Primark! My Minnie back pack was from Ebay (it was a bargain £10!) and my suitcase was from WDW. Lauren’s backpack was from a company called Main Street Accessories and her suitcase was from Samsonite!


We also managed our traditional car selfie!

DSC07372 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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DSC07368 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
My Minnie mouse themed nails! I painted them myself so they weren’t perfect but I was pleased with them!


As I said we set off around 7:33 to be precise! Normally this journey is filled with so much excitement and we usually listen to music to get us in the holiday mood!


Today though I was a bit of a nervous wreck even though I've done the drive plenty of times before. I did have to pull over once as the sun was starting to rise and it looked so beautiful that I just had to stop for a photo.

DSC07382 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We actually drove past the spot where I broke down on the A23 and I held my breath as we went past!


The others were all fantastic and kept telling me how well I was doing hehe. I have to say the closer we got to Gatwick the more I started to relax, especially once we were within walking distance!


Thankfully my car served us well and got us to the airport! Despite my nerves it was actually a very easy journey with little traffic!


As of January 2017 Virgin Atlantic now fly from the North Terminal at Gatwick so it was a different route to normal once we reached the roundabout next to the entrance for the South Terminal.


By a lucky coincidence I had rented a car from a company based not far from the North Terminal while mine was being repaired so I did have a basic idea of where I was going but I had the sat nav on too!


Once we found the entrance to the long stay car park I drove in and up to the barrier at around 8:10.


Dad had booked this online for us a few weeks before as he had on previous trips.


Unfortunately this time he'd gotten mixed up with my car registration and put the letter O rather than a 0 so the machine didn't recognise it.


We had to press the button to call for help. Thankfully the man we spoke with told us to take a ticket anyway but to make sure we had our booking confirmation to show when it was time to leave at the end of the trip.


Disaster averted, we went through the barrier and drove round until we found a space!


It was quite busy but I managed to find a spot that backed on to a walkway so we had plenty of space to unload all the cases!


I just felt so much more relaxed now the drive was out of the way! It suddenly felt like we were off to Florida today!


Don't get me wrong, I never fully relax until we're up in the sky as I worry about the flight being delayed or being moved seats on the plane (especially as we hadn't paid to reserve them this year). But still, that drive definitely felt like the worst part of the day and I was glad not to be thinking about it anymore!


We double checked we had every single bag from the car after Dad left one in there back on our 2014 trip! Thankfully Lauren had noticed quickly as it had the passports in!


With our luggage together we dragged it all over to the bus stop to wait for the shuttle bus to the North Terminal.

1 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Waiting for the shuttle bus!


The bus arrived after a few minutes and we were on our way at 8:25!


It was only a short drive over but it drops you around a 4 minute walk from the check in desks. I know this because after we'd walked for a minute there was a sign saying 3 minutes to Terminal hehe.


I was very grateful to whoever invented 4 wheeled roll along suitcases as mine would have been really heavy to drag!


When we arrived at the Virgin bag drop desk it was really quiet! Understandably so seeing as we were so early hehe. They were still checking people in for the earlier flight!


I haven't made a note of what our hold cases weighed but I know Mum, Dad and Lauren's were all a fair amount under and mine was slightly heavier due to one case being packed inside another but it was still plenty under 23kg.


They weighed our hand luggage which seems to be the norm these days. Lauren and I pack a lot in our hand luggage so they weighed in at 9.4 and 9.9 (mine!) eek, the limit is 10kg so I was really pushing it!


Thankfully though everything was ok and we were given the red approved tag to put on them!


We hadn't printed our boarding passes at online check in so she printed those too. We still had the seats we'd selected at 72 hours out as we are all flying club members.


As we hadn't paid we weren't in the bubble this time. Instead we'd picked 1 seat in row 26 and 3 in row 27 on the left side of the plane as after row 25 next to the door, upper, premium and the bubble have left the plane these are the easiest rows to get out of to be off the plane as quickly as possible.


We were heading over to security around 8:45!


Lauren and I had flown from the North Terminal on our February 2017 Universal trip and just hadn't been that impressed with the departure lounge.


Compared to the bright modern feel of the one over in the South Terminal we found it dark with limited seating and smaller shops which made them feel so busy.


Because of this Lauren had decided to look into booking a lounge. We hadn't booked through Virgin Holidays so the V-room wasn't an option.


In the end Lauren found one called My Lounge for £18 as it is a self-service lounge (I believe it has now gone up to £20).


Even better being a Virgin flying club member entitles you to a discount and it ended up costing us just £12 each!


More info on it later but it also meant that we could use the premium security line which is always a bonus as it's usually empty!


As has been our experience in the past this was a quick and easy process with no wait!


We put our liquids into plastic bags and I was asked to put my shoes through the x-ray machine as they had wedge heels but other than that we were through in a matter of minutes!


Since we'd been there in February the layout had changed meaning you now had to walk through the Duty Free shop as you do over in the South Terminal. As I've said before what a great way to get people in to the shop; giving them no choice hehe. We walked straight through as always as there's not really anything we would want to buy in there.


When I was a bit younger I always used to buy a new bottle of perfume but to be honest these days with online discounts and sales it's often cheaper to buy perfume online if you know what you want, especially after Christmas when they reduce all the gift sets!


I digress, this does suggest that perhaps this departure lounge is going to be modernised like they did with the South a few years ago.


Once we'd escaped the stifling smell of all the different fragrances we split up into pairs to pop to Boots/Wh Smith for the last minute bits that we always seem to need no matter how organised we are hehe.


We had booked the Lounge from 9 as you pay for 3 hours access but obviously boarding starts at 12 so we put that time rather than 1pm when the flight left as otherwise we'd only have 2 hours access. I'm not sure how strict they are about asking you to leave after 3 hours but this meant we could spend most of our airport time chilling in the lounge!


Lauren and I headed to Boots first as she needed some new foundation and I needed some wipes as I wanted a travel pack to put in my park bag.


It was also my turn to buy the, always needed, new luggage lock! If you read the last day of my 2016 report you'll have seen that one of us always seems to need a new lock almost every time!


When I went to pay the shop assistant asked for my boarding pass or flight number. I didn't have the former so told her the number instead.


I've never known this to happen before but it entitled us to a discount so it took the cost down from £9 to £7.66!


Lauren also saved money on her foundation by doing the same so that was a result!


Our next stop was WH Smith where I picked up a magazine to read during take-off, a grown up colouring book as I hadn't had room to pack mine and often like to colour to pass time when flying, a bottle of coke for on the plane in case it took a while for drinks to come round and my airport staple, a large box of miniature daim bars, my favourite!


I haven't made a note of how much this all came too but I don't remember saving any money here.


By the time we were finished it was 9:10 so we called Mum and Dad to see if they were finished as well which they were!


We met up back in the departure lounge and headed over to the My Lounge.

DSC07384 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

We arrived at 9:15. We had been managing our expectations of the lounge as it had mixed review online but I have to say this was one of the best lounge experiences we've ever had! Seriously couldn't really fault it!


As I said it is self-service but there are a couple of members of staff to check you in and also replenish the food.


After checking in we headed inside to find some seats.


I'd say it's quite a bit smaller than some of the other lounges but it wasn't busy in there at all! It didn't feel crowded the entire time we were in there which was nice compared to how busy the No.1 lounge can get and even the V room at busier times. I don't know if it's just because this lounge is newer and less well known but it made for a really relaxing morning!

DSC07386 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07387 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We managed to grab some seats by the window.

DSC07448 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


They don't have a runway view here so you can't see any planes taking off or coming in. Our view out was actually of the long corridors that lead people who have just arrived back to passport control or lead them to the departure gates. I know which corridor I'd rather be in hehe.

DSC07392 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


The lounge had a nice modern feel to it with plenty of seating! It felt more like a trendy coffee shop in there!


There was a private room which I imagine you had to pay extra for, a games room for the kids with a video games console and table football, unlimited Wi-Fi, there were tv's around the lounge showing the news, complimentary papers and magazines plus computers that could be used too!


Again fantastic value for money!

DSC07388 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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Food and drink wise, the back wall is lined with all the different options for you to help yourself too. They serve different food at breakfast and lunch both of which include hot items! Beer, wine and spirits are also included in the price! Again have I mentioned value for money here!

DSC07390 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07391 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


At this time the breakfast was out.


As above the hot options were bacon, Boston baked beans and porridge so not loads, you won't be able to make up a full English here. It was perfectly adequate though to at least have a small hot breakfast and it was all really tasty! The bacon was shredded in to small pieces but I didn’t mind that. I started with a small portion of both as I wasn’t sure I’d like the beans as they had a bit of a barbeque taste to them but they were delicious so I went back for more!

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I know it doesn’t look that appetising but it was all delicious!

2 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


The one thing that does make you feel that this place is a cheaper option is that there's no plates and only wooden cutlery. They had cardboard pots for the food which weren’t the most practical to serve the food in but perfectly manageable. It wasn’t an issue for us but I suppose it could put some people off. Honestly though for the price we'd paid I'd have eaten it off my hands hehe ok maybe not the beans or porridge .


There was also a station with pastries and to my absolute joy a pancake machine just like they have in the V room! There was a selection of different sauces and also blueberries and chocolate buttons to serve with them!

DSC07393 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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As well as the alcohol you could also get tea, coffee, hot chocolate, juice and soft drinks!

DSC07397 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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Continued below…

[xAimeex]

…Continued


After I’d finished my 2 helpings of bacon and beans I went up for some pastries! It all tasted really good!

DSC07410 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


I was pleased to see so many pastries after using the No.1 lounge at around the same time a few years ago to be rudely told they'd run out of pastries because they'd been open since 4am didn't I know!


We passed the time on our phones, I rang my boyfriend to chat as it had been so busy this morning I'd only managed to send the odd text here and there to let him know that we'd at least arrived safely.

DSC07422 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
The actual colour of my bag!

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For my birthday back in June one of my friends had kindly given me this cute luggage tag from the Cath KidstonxDisney 101 Dalmation range! I was so excited to finally be using it! I hadn’t put it on my main case as I didn’t want it to get lost!

DSC07468 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
My toenails to match my finger nails only these had some hidden Mickey’s hehe they are just nail stickers sealed on with a top coat of clear nail varnish

DSC07425 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Mum passing the time on her kindle!




I also sorted out my new luggage lock, it brought back countless memories of every other time I've been at an airport setting one of the TSA locks up as I seem to be the only one who has no trouble with this hehe.


Once I'd finished with the lock I went up to use the pancake machine! I served them with maple syrup and blueberries! They don't look quite so aesthetically pleasing in a cardboard pot hehe but they were so delicious!

DSC07413 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07415 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
A live action pancake shot here hehe

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DSC07419 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Lauren and I chatted while I ate. There weren't as many breakfast options for her unfortunately as she doesn't like bacon or pastries so she was looking forward to the lunch options being served! She tried some pancakes too but she wasn't overly keen but she did enjoy the hot chocolate and had some baked beans too.


We had a final look over the plan, committing it to mind if it wasn't already imbedded in there hehe.


Mum said she'd really enjoyed the porridge and that they even had Nutella! Well that was me straight over there hehe I made myself up a pot of porridge with Nutella stirred through and it was delicious, really creamy!

DSC07423 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
I have no shame(or limit ) when it comes to adding Nutella to things haha


We all made use of the Wi-Fi and Dad settled down to read a paper, he also found a golf magazine in there so he was entertained for ages hehe. We spent time browsing social media and messaging loved ones etc.


It really was lovely and chilled in there!


At around 11 they cleared away the breakfast food and started to serve lunch!


The hot option here was jacket potato and vegetable chilli! This was right up Lauren's street! We all really enjoyed it!

DSC07447 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
They also replenished the bacon bits!

DSC07446 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


They also had nachos with hummus and salsa, mixed veg to dip too, Donuts, lemon and blueberry cake, popcorn and large jars full of sweets such as fruit salads, black jacks, refreshers etc!

DSC07431 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07432 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07433 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07434 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07435 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07436 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07437 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07438 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07439 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We couldn't believe we'd only paid £12 each for this!


I ate so much , I’m surprised I still had room left for anything on the plane!

DSC07440 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07441 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We also took a couple of handfuls of sweets and sneaked them into our bags, I don't think there was a sign saying you couldn't hehe.


The food was all so good, really couldn't fault it!


Even if the plane food was horrible we'd certainly had our fill of yummy food in here hehe.


It became even quieter in there from around 11:15 so Dad and Lauren went off to use the computers for a little while. Mum had a glass of red wine and she and I took some selfies to pass the time hehe.

DSC07426 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07430 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


The boarding gate was due to be announced just after 12 so at around 11:45 we took it in turns to go and use the toilets in there.

As I hadn’t taken a travel day outfit photo I took a mirror selfie in here because is it even a trip report if I haven’t posted what I’m wearing each day .


I had gone for a maxi dress this year with it being an autumn travel day. It was really comfortable and kept my legs warm too! It was actually from the kids section of Tesco in the teen age group, a bargain at around £14. Being quite short I often have trouble buying maxi dresses and find that they drag along the floor but this one was just the right length hehe.


I really think the wet floor sign adds a touch of class to this photo

DSC07456 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07458 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
It had cheetahs in the print which seemed appropriate for Animal Kingdom Lodge


The morning had just flown by so quickly! We'd enjoyed the lounge so much that we could happily have stayed in there all day hehe but obviously we had bigger priorities such as flying to Florida!


I normally get really anxious at this point but I genuinely felt so chilled out in there that I felt far more relaxed than normal! It had been worth every penny! Even if it had cost £18 it would still have been great value!


At 12:05 the gate was announced and of course it was right over the other side of the departure lounge but it was a good opportunity for me to walk off some of the copious amount of calories I had consumed this morning .

DSC07470 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We gathered up our stuff and said goodbye to the lovely My Lounge! In case you can't tell from everything I've written above, we would highly recommend it!

DSC07471 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

The walk wasn't so bad and we arrived at the departure gate at around 12:15.


There was no waiting around today! We were straight through passport checks! None of us had been selected for secondary security screening hooray and as a bonus they weren't making people sit at the gate waiting to board, it was straight on for everybody today!

DSC07472 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
We were on English Rose today


As we were near the plane door we were in our seats at 12:20!


Again this is just ideal for me as sitting at the departure gate for ages is usually the part where I start to feel really anxious about being moved seats or there being a last minute delay when you're so close to boarding.


As I said above we had seats 27 A, B and C and 26 C which are the second and third row back from the main door on the left.

DSC07473 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Right by the door!

DSC07476 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr



These were right next door to the kitchen which I know won't be ideal for everyone especially if you don't like the smell of plane food.


Thankfully we're not bothered by this and actually quite enjoyed the smell of the curry once they started to prepare to serve lunch.


I actually found that the seats felt a lot more private not having someone across the aisle from you!


One thing we noticed today is that there is usually a small bottle of water on the seat when you board but today there wasn't.


Dad was sitting with a nice couple who were no bother and didn't get up loads during the flight so that was nice for him, especially as in the past he's ended up with parents sitting their children next to him!


As we were on so early it was at this point that we started to hope we might take off on time at 1 which never seems to happen on the way out.

18 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Goodbye England!


But no we got our hopes up too early hehe. We eventually took off at 1:20 which did mean we'd already spent an hour sitting on the plane but we had magazines etc to keep us entertained! I called my boyfriend again just before take-off to say goodbye once more and that I'd message as soon as I was back on Wi-Fi again.

DSC07479 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Better view of my amazing travel pillow! Good old Primark!


By 1:30 we were up above the clouds!

DSC07481 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Shortly after take-off the cabin crew brought round menus and customs cards. I'd heard that they were going to start phasing these out but we still had to fill one out today.

DSC07480 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We all settled down to watch some movies on the IFE. I started with the live action version of Beauty and the Beast and Lauren watched Gifted.


We have Cineworld unlimited cards so had seen both these films before but Gifted was one of our absolute favourites from last year and obviously it would have felt wrong not to watch Beauty and the Beast on a flight to Disney hehe.


I enjoyed the live action version but I'm not a huge fan of Emma Watson's auto-tuned singing, I didn't really understand why Be Our Guest had a bit of a Bollywood vibe to it at the end (don't get me wrong I absolutely love that scene but I didn't understand the link to India in the film) and I also don't think the chemistry was that believable between Dan Stevens and Emma Watson.


You're probably all wondering why I even bothered watching it hehe. I love the music of course and I think Josh Gad and Luke Evans were perfectly cast as Le Fou and Gaston! The scene in the tavern with the Gaston song is definitely my favourite, oh and the ball scene at the end! Emma Watson looks so perfect in it!


Drinks and pretzels were served just before 2!

DSC07486 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


As we were so close to the kitchen though we also got our lunch at 2:20!


We couldn't complain though as it meant there was no risk of them having run out of one of the options!


Mum and I picked the curry while Dad and Lauren chose the pesto chicken pasta.


They were both delicious and piping hot as they were straight out from the kitchen! The curry was a little spicy, but mum and I are curry wimps hehe, and you really couldn't tell that it was veggie either. I think the spicy part was the green stuff which we didn't eat.

DSC07487 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07490 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


The bottle of water that wasn't on the seats upon boarding was served with lunch instead which actually made more sense really.

DSC07492 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We'd noticed on our flight in February earlier in the year that there was no bread roll with our meal and today it was the same.


I suppose maybe they were just chucking too many away but I always really liked the bread roll so was a little disappointed.


We also had salad, crackers and Boursin cheese and a GU lemon dessert.

DSC07491 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07493 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07494 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


I don't like salad or Boursin cheese (wish they'd serve the crackers with butter) and Lauren didn't like the dessert so I traded her my crackers for her GU pudding!


Continued below…

[xAimeex]

…Continued

It didn't feel like a very big meal (not counting the second dessert hehe) but as we had absolutely filled ourselves to bursting in the lounge it really wasn't a problem hehe.


The dessert was lovely! On the menu it had listed a red velvet cake but instead it was the lemon pudding. It was kind of like a lemon posset. The only thing that would have improved it for me would have been a lovely buttery biscuit base. Fans of MasterChef will know that Greg Wallace would definitely agree with me on that one .

DSC07496 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07497 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Another benefit to these seats was the food trays were collected nice and quickly!


After lunch I took off my face make up and applied moisturiser. This is now a little ritual for me on long haul flights as my skin always used to be so dry and blotchy after flying before.


One thing we noticed today was that they were really pushing duty free! 5 messages came up on our screens to tell us about it throughout the first half of the flight and an announcement in the cabin! It was a little annoying trying to concentrate on a film when it kept being paused for these announcements.


Again as I said earlier, does anyone really buy Duty Free on-board anymore? With the exception of alcohol and cigarettes I suppose. I've haven't seen anyone buy anything from there on a plane in years I don’t think.


They served tea and coffee at 3.


It was fairly busy on the flight but we noticed fewer children on board than we were expecting although technically it was a week earlier than a lot of schools broke up.


When I finished watching Beauty and the Beast there was only 6 hours left of the flight.


I decided to watch Gifted next too even though I knew it would probably make me cry again which it did hehe.


Lauren watched Fast and Furious 8 which again we'd seen before but she enjoyed watching it again.


There was some slight turbulence while we were watching but nothing too bad. Our view mostly looked like this in between the clouds-

5 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Cabin crew brought round a tiny baby fab at 5. Always a nice welcome sugar hit!

DSC07498 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


They also served drinks again at 5:45.


After I'd finished watching Gifted there was 4 hours and 20 minutes left. I always find that the flight starts to drag a little around this time but these days with so many movies and tv shows to choose from it's easy to pass the time!


The next film I watched was Snatched, a comedy starring Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn as a mother and daughter who are kidnapped in South America and have to escape.


I can feel a pattern building here but guess what? Lauren and I had already seen this before at the cinema hehe it was funny though and I fancied watching it again.


There was around 2 and a half hours left when it finished!


Lauren and I got up to have a walk and use the toilets and then decided to do some colouring to pass the time.


I ripped out a page from the book I'd bought at the airport for Lauren to do. No Disney or Harry Potter colouring today, just patterns.


It was around this time that someone sprayed some deodorant or perfume nearby which really set off my allergies but thankfully I always pack anti-histamine pills! I do think it's a bit selfish to spray on a plane though as not everyone wants to smell it. Although better than BO I suppose!

4 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Getting closer!


Dad stood up for a while so we had a chat about what he'd been up to, he told us he'd been watching an episode of a great tv show and he was really enjoying it. Could he tell us what it was called? No. Did he know who was in it? No hehe. He said it was very good though and when we checked we saw it was Line of Duty he was watching haha pretty sure he just clicked on the picture without reading anything about it but it kept him entertained!


We were now under the 2 hour mark! One thing we did feel on this flight was that there were fewer drink services than normal. We'd bought bottles of drink from the airport so we were ok but I did wonder if it was a cost cutting exercise although I believe you can still ask for a drink at any time from cabin crew.


I decided to make a start on watching Rough Night, my 4th film of the flight and for a change I hadn't actually seen this one! It stars Scarlett Johansson as a politician whose hen weekend goes drastically wrong. It was a funny easy to watch comedy but I think Snatched made me laugh more.


Afternoon tea was served at 8:15 UK time.


Disappointingly they've now switched back to sandwiches from the yummy wraps they had been serving for the last couple of years.


Today it was cheese and tomato chutney sandwiches and I have to say actually they were better than we were expecting! They were a decent size compared to the 2 tiny finger sandwiches they used to serve and actually having the chutney in it kept it more moist (I'm sorry to those who hate that word hehe) as often the old sandwiches used to be quite dry. We enjoyed them!

DSC07499 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07501 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Along with the sandwiches we had a small packet of crisps, a chocolate nougat bar and a couple of mints.

DSC07500 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


The mints were lemon flavoured again so we didn't eat them as I think it tastes like eating a lemon tart after you've just brushed your teeth!


The crisps were nice though, the ones we'd had in February had been quite peppery but these were just lightly salted.


The chocolate nougat bar was really yummy too! I was surprised they were serving something onboard a flight that contained nuts though as I know that can be serious for someone with an allergy. It had small pieces of hazelnut in it so not peanuts but still.

DSC07504 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07506 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


I carried on with my film after. I'm not sure what Lauren was watching at this point as I haven't made a note.


We started our decent around 9:30 UK time and conveniently my film finished just before we landed although I wasn't concentrating that much as I love looking out once you can see land!

20 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

16 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

3 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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11 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We landed smoothly at precisely 5.07 Florida time!


It seemed to take ages before we were back at the gate.


At this point I'm ready to just get off the plane to see what immigration is going to throw at us hehe.


The plane didn't 'park' (is that even the right word?! Hehe) until 5:20.


Thankfully they were quick to get the doors open and downstairs premium and upper were soon leaving followed by those in the bubble.


Then it was our turn!


We hot footed it as quickly as we could towards immigration like everybody else. I love the smell as you walk along here! It's always the first smell you get of Florida when arriving (unless you land at another airport of course hehe).


In February we hadn't even been able to see the self-service machines and had been sent to the normal line (although it didn't take long) but today there was a separate room with plenty of machines.


We were sent to one straight away and there we were happily thinking how lucky we were to be getting through so quickly!


So I scanned my passport and did my finger prints and had my photo taken etc and then Lauren did the same with no problem but then Dad came to do his and it wouldn't work as Mum and Dad's passports were due to run out in April 2018 which was less than 6 months from the date we flew. Lauren and I still had a few more months left on ours hence why it had worked for us no problem.


Mum and Dad got a bit stressed saying that they should have just renewed the passports as you can add up to 9 months leftover on to a new one.


Lauren and I knew however that there was no problem travelling to Orlando with less than 6 months on your passport despite what some travel agents will tell you. So long as the passport is valid for your dates of travel you're good to go to Orlando.


We called a member of staff over and asked what we should do. The issue was that although it's fine to fly into Orlando on a passport with less than 6 months, the machines will not accept them. He told us we'd have to go and join the line in the main immigration hall.


This was super frustrating as we'd picked those seats on the plane to get off as quickly as we could and now most of the plane would probably have made it to the immigration hall so we expected to turn the corner and find a ginormous line!


Thankfully the line wasn't as bad as we were anticipating; I think a lot of people are eligible to use the machines these days!


We joined the line and eventually saw a fairly pleasant immigration officer! I believe Lauren and I had to go through the process again of scanning fingerprints, photo etc but it wasn't a problem.


All in all it probably added another 15 minutes to our immigration time so no major delay thankfully and I suppose we'd only have spent that time waiting around the luggage carousel for our bags anyway.


Either way it is always a relief to have this part of travel day over!


I'm also pleased to report that after my experience in my last trippie, when upon arriving back at Gatwick the UK passport control officer commented along the lines of how very old I was looking compared to my passport photo, the immigration officer here didn't hehe.


We waited around 5 minutes for the first of our bags to appear and the others thankfully followed in the next few minutes!


We had faced a crazy long line for customs in February to hand over the blue and white form, it was longer than our wait for immigration!


Today however there was no line at all and they didn't even want to see my passport or the form, they literally just waved us through!


We were standing waiting for the monorail at 6:05! An hour after landing!


This to me is the moment it really feels like we've arrived! The stress of getting there and getting through immigration is over, from here on in the holiday really begins!


I love walking in to the atrium of MCO after getting off the monorail! I've said it before but the fountain always smell amazing!


We had the usual moment of trying to remember if the Magical Express is on the A side or the B side.


It's the B side!


We headed over to the lifts and down to the ground floor.


The Magical Express desks are right at the end of the building and with a quick stop at the rest rooms for Mum and Lauren we were heading to check in at 6:20.


I loved that the desk had been decorated for the Halloween season!

6 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

7 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

8 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We were sent down one of the rows and pretty much straight on to a bus!

19 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We left a few minutes later just before 6:30.


I really start to feel more relaxed once on the Magical Express and although the video isn't quite as magical as it used to be in my opinion it still really builds the excitement!


Animal Kingdom Lodge was the last stop. It still didn't feel real that we were staying there!


There was still a lot of road construction going on so we did meet some traffic along the way. We didn't go through the Disney arch until 6:50 but of course that is always an exciting moment! The Magical Express driver got everyone on board to count down from 10 until we went through!


I can't remember the 4th resort but we stopped at Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach.


The construction at both was certainly in full swing and it was a little like pulling in to construction sites to begin with, especially at Coronado, so I can see why a lot of people had changed their reservations!

22 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

9 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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14 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr



It was pretty much dark by the time we arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge at 7:15 so it didn't have quite the same feel as arriving in the daylight but to be honest the real wow factor at this resort is the lobby anyway!


We've visited lots of times but walking in knowing that we were going to be staying here for the next 11 nights was just so exciting!


As I said above it has been my absolute dream to stay here since I first heard that they were building it!


Once we had all our bags off the coach we tipped the driver and headed inside! I was so excited that I didn’t even take any photos but Lauren took one from upstairs a little later on!

21 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We had such a lovely check in lady! She was so chatty and friendly which always makes for a great check in experience as you would expect in Disney (but doesn't always happen unfortunately).

DSC07507 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
The check in desk!


We asked if Dad could have a birthday badge as he'd celebrated his 60th birthday 3 weeks before and this trip was his main celebration!


She told us we were in an accessible room as they were the only standard view rooms they had available although none of us have any additional needs.


We didn't think this would be a problem at the time so happily took our magic bands and headed on up.


I was really excited to see the room as I love the decor here. Mum and Dad not so much as they've always thought AKL to be a little dark but I have to say they ended up loving this resort so much more than they could have imagined!


We were on the second floor so only one stop in the lift and we were heading along to our room! It was a short walk from the lifts so that was nice.


After the initial excitement of seeing the room we realised that it had a lack of storage.


There was the wardrobe as you'd expect (although minimal hangers and I was glad I'd decided to pack some of my own as extra) but apart from that there were just 2 drawers beneath the tv!


There is usually a big chest of drawers near the door but with it being an accessible room I'd imagine these were left out to provide room to store a wheelchair or any equipment needed which obviously we wouldn't be doing.


It was already going to be a bit of a tight squeeze all of us in one room for 11 nights but there was just no way we could get through with just half a drawer each. You might have noticed if you've read previous reports that Lauren and I don't pack light hehe.


We were all really tired now and just wanted to get dinner but I decided that I'd go down in the morning and explain that this room really wasn't going to be practical for 4 adults to stay in for 11 nights.

DSC07510 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
I love the theming of the room but do miss the bed runners themed for each resort! I think the beds looks plain without them

DSC07511 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07512 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
The only drawer storage in the room!

DSC07513 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07514 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
The sink area had the most beautiful wallpaper!

DSC07515 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We unpacked the basics though before heading down to Mara for dinner!


Mara is the quick service dining option here at AKL and it's really good with plenty of seating!


Unfortunately at this time it was really busy in here and poor Mum and Dad were so tired by now and we didn't order until 8:05 but they soldiered on.


There is a line to order first and you are given a buzzer for when your food is ready. You then line up again to pay.


There are some grab and go cabinets containing bottled drinks/fruit etc and another section with baked goods.


One bonus here is that they serve frozen jungle juice!


It seems to be hit and miss when it comes to getting this in the Animal Kingdom park these days so we were really excited to be able to get it here!


There is a separate counter for this. They also serve strawberry lemonade slushies too if I remember right!


We often found that there was no CM manning this station and you had to try and get someone's attention.


One thing that was different this trip was that the counter service credits on the Disney dining plan no longer give you a dessert so we were just choosing mains and drinks today.


We had read that at resort counter service places you could swap your drink for a dessert but obviously Lauren and I were planning to get frozen jungle juice as our drinks and Mum and Dad weren't that hungry.


Lauren chose a plain cheese burger while Mum and Dad both went for a bacon cheeseburger. I decided to go for something a bit different to your usual counter service option and picked the rotisserie chicken with mash.


Once we had the receipt and a buzzer we went to get our drinks, Mum and Dad went to get a couple of bottles of Dasani water while Lauren and I caught someone's attention for our slushies! Like all frozen drinks now these come with a Mickey straw included!


We also picked up our refillable mugs, I was really pleased as they had one with a pink lid this year, my favourite colour!

DSC07522 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Next we headed to pay.


We used 4 counter service credits and our refillable mug credits. I haven’t made a note of the price of the meals but I think it would have come to around $60-65. I did make a note of the refillable mugs, these would have cost $80.80.


We went to find a table. The decor is really nice in here, it looks like there's a tree growing in the centre but by this point we were so tired that the theming was a little lost on us but we did appreciate it on other visits! I didn’t even remember to take any photos tonight though.


The buzzer went off at 8:20 so Lauren and I went to collect the food.


My chicken was nice but a little spicy and I probably would have preferred a burger looking back but I'm glad I tried it.

DSC07524 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07523 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC07520 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Hooray for jungle juice slushies!



The others all enjoyed theirs!


We ate fairly quickly and headed back over to the room.


We saw some of the kid’s activities going on in the lobby as we walked through, they were playing African drums!

17 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Once we were back in the room we took it in turns to have quick showers and got ready for bed.


The lights went off not long after 9 hehe we're definitely not hardcore people who could make it to a park on travel day!


Thanks for reading x

[Mrstenberge]

I'm so excited about this Aimee. We've booked AKL next May, so hoping to pick up lots of tips!

[MrsSilverStar]

Love the amount of detail in your reports! Sounds like it was a great travel day. We're staying at AKL next Oct so am enjoying reading all about it.

[Palm trees]

That sounds like a nice travel day, and you seem to have had your moneys worth at the airport lounge. I love the idea of the double digit celebration, I think I'll be sneaking that into our countdown for our next trip!

[Goldia]

19 years on from your first trip. Awesome! I'm really looking forward to see how you got on. I hope it was a wonderful holiday and that you all had an amazing time.

[vics18]

Love AKL so much
Not great with your room missing the chest of drawers though - they were great storage! Hope you got sorted.
Great start to your trip anyway! X
Ps the pics of tiny Aimee and Lauren are so cute!x

[Flimsey]

Aww the pictures of you and Lauren at the start are so cute. Looking forward to the rest of your report!