The "On Our Way" Pre-Trip April 2018

[EmmaBolan]

So here I go with my second trip report. Enjoy!

The Cast
How?
When, Where & What?
ADR Plan
The Next Few Months
Universal Hotel
ADR's & Tickets Update
Update - Balances Paid, 3 weeks to go!
The Day Before

Trip Report Index

[EmmaBolan]

Our Cast

Me – Emma, 24 – Lover of everything Disney, frequent tourist in WDW & DLP! Known to say stupid things, I used to have blonde hair, it’s now brown but nothing’s changed. I still come out with the stupidest things! Rollercoaster fanatic.

Brother – Matthew, 21 – The not so little Brother, frequent tourist in WDW & DLP! People who don’t know us think he’s the older one. (I'm never impressed by that). Adrenaline Junkie. Bit of a joker at times.

Both of us on our graduation days! I'm sure you can see why people might think I'm the younger child It took a lot to get him to wear the hat!

Dad – Dave, 56 – Otherwise known as grumpy, building up quite a collection of t-shirts. A keen photographer which comes in very useful in Disney! Also, a frequent tourist in WDW & DLP & a rollercoaster fanatic. Loves to wind me up, my brother now joins in too & occasionally my Mum!

Not sure what he was photographing but he has some pretty good photography skills!

Mum – Sue, 54 (don’t think she’ll appreciate that) – Lover of Eeyore. Starting to build up a little collection of them. Very creative, she has made me some beautiful Disney things for my flat over the last couple of years. Frequent tourist in WDW & DLP! Doesn’t like rollercoasters or any water rides after our experience on Kali’s River Rapids (yep me and mum were in them two seats). In fact, Mum is more than happy to just take everything in & not ride much!

Enjoying dessert in the Yatch Club in DLP.

Here's just a couple of things Mum has made - Cushion cover, coasters, bookmark and most recently Mum recovered my footstool!

Mum & Dad.

Our last trip to WDW in 2013.

Most recent one of us all. Whenever we go out anywhere as a family I like to take a group selfie - much to everyone's annoyance. This is going to drive my Brother mad when we go away!

So, there’s our group for this trip.

[EmmaBolan]

How?
This trip has been a long time coming. We last went to Orlando in 2013. After going in 2009 & 2011 as well it feels like a very long time ago! By the time we return it will be nearly 5 years! We’ve wanted to return for so long however life took over. Mum had another knee replacement, Dad had changed jobs & both Matthew & I moved up to Yorkshire for university. The last two years in particular have been crazy & there’s been lots of ups & downs along the way. We had previously discussed going September 2017 after both of us had graduated, but again life took over, so we decided 2019 would be the year we returned. We decided to book a little trip to DLP in June 2017, Matthew didn’t come on this holiday though & it was very strange doing a Disney trip with just three of us! However, we had the best week staying at NBC, the 25th anniversary celebrations were just beyond what I ever expected! It made us really want to return to WDW though. This is where we decided on April 2019. We were in DLP the week in June when there was an extreme heatwave both in the UK & France, the hottest day I think it reached 37 degrees & we really felt like we were in Orlando, so sat on Main Street having ice cream we came to the conclusion that we would only be returning to WDW at a time of year that was a little cooler.

Our most recent trip to DLP & one of the very few character photos Mum is on!

As the summer went on, we didn’t discuss WDW again as we had decided on 2019, so it was far too early to be able to even get prices! Plus, I have a trip to DLP in December 2017 for a friends 40th & another at the end of May 2018 for a friends 30th. Then one evening I got a phonecall from my Mum asking could I have two weeks off at the end of the April. After telling her yes, I can generally take my holidays whenever I want to, she asked how I would feel about going to WDW so close to DLP & having 3 weeks off within the space of a month. I mean silly question really?! Of course I wouldn’t mind having 3 weeks off in a month if it’s for Disney! I’m lucky in that because I work Tues-Thurs I benefit from BH’s & actually get 6 weeks holiday a year so it’s really no big deal. Anyway…Mum said that Dad had been ‘looking’ & had found some very cheap flights for 25th April – 9th May 2018!

Dad asked me to get in touch with Charter Travel to see what they could do for us as we have booked two previous trips with them. There was a lot of backwards & forwards, trying different options so that we could try to bring the price down a little bit. The whole time we were keeping our options open looking at villas & flights ourselves. In the end, they just couldn’t get it down to a price that was even close to what we could do it DIY. They did point out the benefits of a package to us but that extra money can be used for our spends.

In the meantime, a friend of Dad’s from work said they would see what they could do, they have a villa on Indian Creek (our perfect location), as their villa was booked already. One of their friends who also has a villa on Indian Creek emailed Dad through all the info with a price & well it was just too good to turn down!

Dad said he would have a look at everything again that weekend & make some decisions and this is were my trippie title comes from……

Dad sent this in our WhatsApp group.

[EmmaBolan]

When, Where & What?
We got a great deal through Sky Scanner for Virgin flights from Manchester. Leaving on 25th April – returning 9th May. I researched TravelUp on here when Dad mentioned them & I found mixed reviews, mostly good though! I couldn’t fault them at all! Our booking was on the Virgin Atlantic website within the hour. We can log in & view everything, Dad has been able to book our seats already too. As I type this, it reminds me that I need to log back in & request meals…Matthew is now a vegetarian & I have recently been diagnosed with IBS so I’m wanting a Gluten Free meal. Our plane is about 2/3 full already, but we have row 58 on the way out & row 42 (extra leg room) on the way back.

Next up we booked a villa on Indian Creek! This for us is the perfect location. 10 minutes from AK down Sherberth Road, plenty of places to eat – a lot of our favourites: - Outback, Applebee’s, Bahama Breeze. This time all four of us can drink, in three trips to Orlando I’ve never been old enough. Last time we went was the summer just before I turned 21. This time we plan to Uber it to the restaurants close by so we can all enjoy drinks. I’m hoping I can snag the 2nd double bedroom with the ensuite……I mean I’m a girl it doesn’t take my Brother as long to get ready……surely, he doesn’t need an ensuite! From this Villa you can see the fireworks at Disney whilst on the Lanai!

We plan to do one night in the middle of the holiday at a Universal hotel, we aren’t sure which yet but we’d like to make use of the early entry in WWOHP & the express passes. Hopefully meaning we can do two full days in Universal & get everything done. So far Royal Pacific is coming up the cheapest & I must say it looks beautiful!

We will be buying a 14-day Ultimate Disney tickets – not until after Christmas though. Also, we’ll be buying a 14-day Universal ticket. We have decided we are not going to do SeaWorld this time. Nothing has really changed since we first went back in 2009 apart from no trainers in the water. We’ve done DC twice now too so that’s something else we don’t really want to do again. We love the rides at SeaWorld & the Dolphin swim is amazing but we don’t want to pay all that money just for four? rides. We are going to use those days for extra Disney time or even just a relaxing day.

Our car hire will probably be through Alamo, but again that’s something we’ll sort out after Christmas I imagine.

[EmmaBolan]

ADR’s
Our ADR booking window starts at the end of the month! Very lucky that it just so happens to fall on my week off work for my Birthday! That was definitely not planned…but I’m glad it’s that week as I work in a Nursery so no chance of me being on a PC at 11am.

We aren’t going to do a lot of Dining in Disney as we do love places like Chili’s, Applebee’s, Outback etc… but there is a few I’d like to do. Dad said he really enjoyed the few nice sit-down meals that we had in DLP this summer, we had the free HB plan & had two gorgeous meals at Silver Spur & The Yatch Club. It’s something we’ve never really done in WDW, I think we’ve only done it once & we ate in the Italy Pavilion in Epcot back in 2009.

My plan for ADR’s is: -

• Character Breakfast – Ohana – 26th April (Our first morning before heading over to MK).

• Fantasmic Dining Package – Mama Melrose – 30th April. Now so far I don't really know anyone who has eaten here, but Matthews vegetarian & this seemed like the best option menu wise? Any thoughts on Mama Melrose would be welcome!

• Character Breakfast – Tusker House – 5th May (I really love the look & theming of Tusker House & would love to meet Safari Mickey, Donald, Daisy & Goofy. Daisy is fast becoming one of my favourite character meets, she's super sassy & I love it).

• Dinner – Be Our Guest – 8th May (Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favourite film & I think this would be a lovely way to spend our last evening. I’ve always wanted to meet the Beast too! I know this a super hard reservation to get though, so I’m almost tempted to try get it another day in the holiday too encase I can’t get this day).

I’ve only ever done one Character Breakfast before, Dad always said you don’t need to do them to meet Characters, but I really enjoyed the one I did & I think it’d be nice for everyone else to experience it too. It saves time queueing for Characters right? I could be queueing for a ride instead!

[EmmaBolan]

The next few months?
I think the next few months now will just be saving as much as we can. It will be here before we know it. April still seems a long way off, but it’s just over 6 months until we go, if this year is anything to go by then it is going to fly by & be here before we know it! This trip will be the first family holiday with the four of us since 2014, next year is also a bit special because as I write this today Mum & Dad are out enjoying a nice meal to celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary……meaning next year marks their 30th anniversary! I can't wait to make more amazing memories like these...

I’m also working very hard to be slimmer by the time we go as well! Earlier this year I started having PT sessions at my local gym because I was just fed up with how I looked & how unfit I was. I have now something to aim for. My PT is amazing & I’ve already lost over a stone since May. He’s helped me completely change my lifestyle & now I have Orlando booked I am even more determined to carry on.

I already have a few little bits that I’ve bought just when I’d seen them in Primark but they’ll come in use now –

Top & Shorts (Mum has assured me she can take these in for me closer to the time as they may too big! I also have lots of Disney t-shirts that aren't new)

Flip Flops (I loved all the ones that Primark brought out last year so I kept buying them, they don’t last very long, so I figure these few pairs will be good enough for while I’m in Disney).

I got this bag for DLP & I love it, it was perfect for the parks. Also managed to pick up these purses (Primark & Asda).

I think that’s it for now, I’ll update towards the end of the month when my ADR bookings start……

[SmilingSammie]

Yay pre trippie!
Sounds like a great trip, its going to be so good after 5 years!
If you have a search on youtube for Mama Melrose you might find some vlogs with people eating there, might help you get a on the spot review

[EmmaBolan]

Originally Posted by SmilingSammie

Yay pre trippie!
Sounds like a great trip, its going to be so good after 5 years!
If you have a search on youtube for Mama Melrose you might find some vlogs with people eating there, might help you get a on the spot review

See more...

Thanks Sam! I hope you & Lynz are going to do one too?

Thanks! Stace is eating there too so I'm hoping she'll tell me it was great

[SmilingSammie]

Originally Posted by EmmaBolan

Thanks Sam! I hope you & Lynz are going to do one too?

Thanks! Stace is eating there too so I'm hoping she'll tell me it was great

See more...

I'll probably do a wee pre trippie at some point :P
I don't think lynz did one for hers? I'll ask her if she wants to do it and if not I will :3

oh thats good that stace is doing it!

[EmmaBolan]

Universal Hotel
Just a small update..Mum & Dad were visiting us in Leeds this weekend & of course we spent a lot of time discussing our trip! Things we’d like to do, places to eat etc…. Matthew has also said he’s not fully vegetarian anymore and in his words “I’m not going to sit there watching you & Dad eat ribs at Chili’s while I eat salad.”

Anyway we discussed Universal hotels and what we’d found price wise. So today we’ve booked Royal Pacific! I really love the look of this hotel & I’m super excited to stay here We are only doing two days in Universal so booking an on-site hotel was a no brainer. I have just worked out that 8 FOLP (4 adults, 2 days) would have cost us $720 The hotel for the night was £266, plus our $22 parking fee & we’ll get early entry into WWOHP. It’ll also be nice to use the water taxi or walk to a park instead of driving.

I’ve also changed a couple of days around, originally we were going to fly out on the 26th not the 25th so I’d looked at the busy day guide based on that date. Now we’ve shifted it forward a day I’ve changed my plan for Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package on the 30th to the 28th so that we’re in Epcot & Hollywood Studios on the recommended days.

I’ve really got into watching Vlogs lately, so showed Mum & Dad a few yesterday. One thing I’ve been doing as I watch them is jot down things I see that we’ve not done before & want too. One thing we saw yesterday which Dad pointed out we’d not done before was “Journey Into Imagination with Figment.” He also spotted a sign outside the Epcot Legacy Showplace for Craft Beer. Anyone know anything about this? Dad’s really into his beer! We’ve already decided we’ll be getting an Uber to Epcot

My ADR window starts in just under two weeks so I'm really excited to start booking them...I was talking about Ohana & Dad mentioned that he thought it might be good to book somewhere in Animal Kingdom one morning... Mum just looked at him & said "Have you not read her trip report...I have!" Mum isn't even a member on here, my Dad is

That's all for now...bit longer than I originally thought! Bye for now