Soarin' from Scotland to Mickey - our June 09 adventure! *updated 12/20 - the end!

[ScotsMinnie]

For anyone who has follow my pretrippie - Hi!

Anyone new -

A catch up on who we all are!!!!

Me, Laura 33 who has just given up her job as a rep for a Drugs company to start a course at Uni to become a Primary School Teacher. Complete Disney-aholic since early childhood. I have been visiting WDW since I was a child and have had a short visit to DL aswell. There is something about a holiday in Disney which nothing compares to. Magic Kingdom is my heaven!

DH, 34 – converted Disney lover! Loves the thrill rides and gets a real kick out of seeing our girls enjoy their time there. Loves Goofy and is also quite fond of Ariel but I think that it is more to do with her bikini top than her movie!!!

DD7 (E) – my eldest princess. Growing old too fast but already a Disney addict. This will be her 4th trip to WDW and she loves it there. Last time became a pin trading fan and this year has plans to search out Hidden Mickeys! Santa brought her some assorted pins to trade so she is excited about that. She is a typical 7 year old. Loves HSM, Hannah and Wizards, make up, music, riding her bike and has a passion for reading and drawing. She has huge personality and a great sense of humour but is also very sensitive and soft centred. A wee love.

DD3 (K) – my littlest pincess. This will be my baby’s 2nd visit to WDW and is already planning to ride the Carousel and It’s a Small World continuously for 2 weeks! She is a complete character who even at 3 has the 3 of us rolling with laughter round the dinner table. Different from her sister though she is shy and not confident with people she doesn’t know and holds back from doing new things. Is Princess mad and loves dressing up as “cinderelly”, wearing her dress up princess shoes and generally being very girly. She is very loving and gives great cuddles.

Granny – 59 (not allowed to mention the number 60 in her company!). My Mum is my bestest pal and also loves Disney. She is the person who is responsible for taking me there as a child and instilling a love of stories, make believe and wishes in me that I am very thankful for. She loves her Grand daughters and she cannot imagine missing out on sharing a Disney trip with them. They have a very close relationship and love their Granny to bits. She is a very fit and young 59 year old and is the one often in the lead as we tour the parks!

Grandad - 58. Big softie, supplier of endless amounts of gummi bears from an almost magical pocket. Main partner in crime for my girls cheeky antics and can play imaginary games with them both for hours. They also adore their Grandad. Not so much into the Magic!!!

We all live in Central Scotland so trips to WDW are a serious trek for us. We are flying to Gatwick London on the 23rd of June staying overnight then flying BA to Orlando on the 24th. We then have 15 days in WDW before we fly home on the evening of the 9th July arriving in London in the morning of the 10th then straight back up to Edinburgh.

So our dates for our trip are really the 24th June to the 9th July.

We have booked to stay offsite at Windsor Hills resort in a 3 bedroom townhouse. We did consider for this trip staying onsite as we have not done that before but the cost difference was so much as we are staying for 15 days. The house looks lovely so I am really looking forward to it. We have a little splash pool at the back and there is a huge swimming pool onsite to enjoy. It will take us about 10 mins to get to the MK car park so its nice and close.


So thats the team this year! Overall we had a great holiday and I am getting withdrawal symptoms already! If someone offered me a plane seat for tomorrow I would certainly take it! So any offers will be considered!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

26 degrees and sunny with blue skies! Not a typical Scottish day and sods law that the nice weather starts just as we prepare to fly to Orlando! E is off to school today on her school trip to an outdoor centre about an hour form the school. I smother her in sunscreen and pop on her hat and hope that the bus doesn’t break down on the way home to delay her return. K is off to playgroup for the last time as she goes to preschool after the summer holidays. So I get 2 hours of peace and quiet to finish up doing some jobs in the house and the last bit of packing. The house was spotless and everything was done in time – I was starting not to recognise my own house! Got the dog delivered to my Mums friend who was looking after her for us. Will miss her!

By 3 o’clock I pick up E from school and take her home for a quick change into comfy travel clothes and wait for the taxi to pick us up. DH goes to pick up Granny and Grandad and their cases while I try to keep 2 very excited girls occupied. Got Ks car seat in and she was beaming as we pulled away. E was in the back with her Granny plotting what snacks they were going to have on the plane! Journey to Edinburgh airport was short and easy – no traffic. We checked the bags right through to Orlando including Ks car seat which she wasn’t happy about. She nearly had a fit when she saw it going on the conveyor belt. We went through security and decided to have something to eat for our dinner as the girls were hungry.

At this point I ran into my (only just) ex manager who was flying with work! Small world!

Flight was good. Just over an hour. E enjoyed spotting places she knew out of the window and K sat with her mouth open wide during take off. She was in serious danger of catching flies!!!!! She loved it (thank goodness for that – we had to do it another another 3 times!!!). Landed, collected the buggy and went to find the bus to our hotel. 20 minute wait for a bus but the guy at the bus stop said it wasn’t far to walk. It was a dry night so we took the walking option. Turned out to be a good idea as we were checked in before the people from the bus stop appeared and they had a long wait.

A drink in the bar and then to bed. So we thought! We had a family room so E had a single bed and K had a pull out on the floor. We settled them down ad planned to watch a bit of TV before we went to sleep. Not going to happen! K wanted to go for a wee, then a drink, then a wee and so it went on. E was giggling at her antics and was pretending to snore. So the light went off. K was heard to yell out “I can’t see!!!” numerous times but eventually she went quiet and E stopped giggling and drifted off too. Apart from the fact the E fell off the bed at about 4am. She said she forgot the bed was pointing a different way from the one at home!!! Poor wee thing!
​

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Alarm went off at 7.15am and we all had a shower and washed our hair. The hairdryer was pathetic and took ages to dry our hair. Wishing I hadn’t bothered! All dressed and our hand luggage repacked we went for breakfast. Was seriously delicious! Granddad was pleased to find little pots of Marmite (yeuch!) and took a couple extra to have on holiday! A quick walk took us back to the airport through security and after a quick look round the shops we were on the plane. Of course Ks monkey had some serious airport chilling to do. Don't think the woman sitting next to him was too impressed with E sitting monkey next to her to have his milkshake!

and monkey on the plane...

Then nothing……! Someone was ill on the plane and had to be removed along with their luggage (hope not due to swine flu!). An hour and half late – we took off. Flight time was changed from 9 hours 10 mins to 8 hours 20 mins so would not be too late in hopefully. Kids meals were fantastic (ours were horrific!)and each seat had a TV screen with movies, TV etc on demand. There were loads of movies and programmes to choose from and was a great thing to keep us all entertained through the flight. K got about 2 hours sleep but E struggled to get any at all.

My girls on the plane! Firstly E then K.

Landed at orlando and got the bags Ok and went to queue for the cars. We hired a 7 seater from Budget but also had to hire a small economy car for 1 day from Dollar (budget would not do us a one day hire). We waited in that line for about an hour! It was painful! The 7 seater was lovely. A Chrysler Town and Country – very nice to drive and plenty of space for us all. Ks car seat fitted in fine and off we went to the villa in Windsor Hills.

Approaching the gates.

Our house...

We played spotting the Disney billboards on the way and got there in about 25 mins. The house was lovely – splash pool bigger than expected and so nicely decorated. Headed straight out to Publix for some groceries and the essential pool toys and after something to eat we all went to bed. Praying for E and K to sleep till a decent time and hope their bodies don’t remember they are programmed to UK time!
​

 

[froglover2]

Woohoo!
Can't wait to read your report! We are from Ontario and have family in the Prestwick area. I love to read Scotish TR's!!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Woohoo!
Can't wait to read your report! We are from Ontario and have family in the Prestwick area. I love to read Scotish TR's!!

Welcome aboard!!!

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

So excited about your TR!!! And glad the drama was minimal on your way to Orlando! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[irky416]

Yay! I'm glad you started!

Windsor Hills is so nice! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[shannon47142]

sounds like the travel wasn't too bad!!
The house looks lovely!!

 

[DisneymoonJess07]

Can't wait to read more - sounds like you guys were off to a great start!

 

[tinkgurl]

Yay! I'm so glad you started!

 

[marsa1969]

I'm in... Can't wait for more.

 

[disneydusted]

Oh I'm so glad you are starting! It's always fun to get reading on a new TR! Sounds like you had a good start and arrived here safely. I love it when our kids get the giggles because they are so happy... something Disney does!!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

4.20am K up and awake. Not good. Nothing for it but to wake up and deal with it! Will never forget her sitting on the bed in the dark in her Peppa Pig pajamas and her sunglasses. She is a funny child.

Not long after E was up too - horrible thing jetlag! They were climbing the walls to get going but we thought it was a touch too early! At 6.30am DH and Grandad leave for Port Canaveral to do some fishing in the intercoastal waterways. They are doing it with the same company as last year but last year they did the near coastal fishing. We had plans to meet up later in the day. By 7am we could contain them no longer and allow them to have a little look outside at the splash pool. Of course the temptation was too big and E jumps into the pool in her PJs. Closely followed by K.

If you can’t beat them join them! (Although not in my nightwear – I did change into my swimsuit!!!). Swim was lovely. Nice and warm. Then it was up for a shower for all of us, dressed, bags packed, and off to the Wilderness Lodge.
We found it no problem and got parked. Sadly K has fallen asleep on the way in the car! That’s what happens when you wake up at 4.20am! Thankfully we managed to get her in the buggy without waking her and she slept on. The WL is beautiful – we were both blown away. The feeling and atmosphere as you walk in was really something. We both said we would love to stay there one day.

The plan was to catch the boat over to Fort Wilderness and ride a surrey bike then come back to have lunch at Whispering Canyon Café. Took us a while to get our bearings and we actually found ourselves at the bike barn at Wilderness Lodge. Told them our plans and asked where we could catch the boat. After some good directions we were headed towards the marina just in time to see a boat pull up! Sadly K had to get out of her buggy as it needed to be folded. She woke up very bright eyed and stated “Disney is fun isn’t it??” which was strange as she had only opened her eyes! Still not going to argue with such an accurate statement. The boat went via the Contemporary to the Fort Wilderness. The girls were very excited to spot Cinderellas castle and other Magic Kingdom landmarks.

I have no idea why but I did not quite appreciate how close the Wilderness Lodge was to the Contemporary. We got off the boat and started walking toward the bike barn. Now we did have a map so knew where we were headed. Also bear in mind that we are from Scotland and heat in Florida is a serious shock to the system we were already feeling the heat. Did not make it any better when K decided she wanted to walk to the bike barn and not ride in the buggy. No matter how hard I tried to persuade her that it was far she was having none of it! So I took each girl by hand and started to walk with Granny pushing the buggy behind us. Mum was just saying that it would great to stay there some day as it really was quite picturesque. I suddenly stopped and grabbed the girls hands to get them to stop too. Why??????? Right in front of us crossing the path was a long black snake. I couldn’t believe it – especially after our encounters last trip. It just wiggled its way across the path to the other side and disappeared into a bush. So all bets are off!!! Granny was not only never to stay at Fort Wilderness but the girls were never to get to play on the kids playground which was in the general direction of where the snake was headed!!!!
It turned out that the CM at the boat deck said it was a black racer. Poisonous but not aggressive and would only bite if really threatened. Can’t believe our bad luck with snakes! Hope we don’t see any more!
Eventually the heat gets the better of K and she pops in the buggy and E starts to get tired too. It is sooooooo far to the bike barn. Anyway we eventually get there and ask to hire a bike. It was at this point that I nearly fainted. Bearing in mind I called the bike barn in advance to check that my plans were possible to be told no problem. They had only single bikes! No surrey bikes at all. And where do you think you need to go to hire a surrey bike?????? Yup you guessed it………. The bike barn at the Wilderness Lodge. ​

 

[izzie-wizzie]

Great TR so far!

I'm in Scotland too - first trip to WDW in October!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Great TR so far!

I'm in Scotland too - first trip to WDW in October!

You'll have a great time!!!!!!!

 

[irky416]

The first picture of K is sooooo cute!!

That's too funny that the girls jumped in the pool in their pajamas!

Yikes to the snake! I would have screamed!

I'm anxious to see if you're going to go back to get the surrey bike (which I'm assuming means a tandem bike? You need to add a Scottish-English to American-English dictionary for us!).

 

[disneydusted]

What in the world is going on with the snakes??!! You guys have had some crazy encounters!
I love the jumping into the pool in pjs! Definitely a vacation thing to do.
The surry bikes... I am interested to see if you get one. We rode one while on vacation in Cape May, NJ a few years ago and I was amazed at how heavy they are, it was quite a workout. I'm sorry you had to go so far only to be turned back to WL.

 

[marsa1969]

Sorry about the snakes. I hate them!!! The heat during your stay was bad. We were at the beach during the same time you were at WDW. The worst day the heat index was 115 in the Flordia panhandle. I can imagine it was at least 115-120 in Orlando.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

The first picture of K is sooooo cute!!

That's too funny that the girls jumped in the pool in their pajamas!

Yikes to the snake! I would have screamed!

I'm anxious to see if you're going to go back to get the surrey bike (which I'm assuming means a tandem bike? You need to add a Scottish-English to American-English dictionary for us!).

True - might just do that! I mean a bike with more than one seat with a sort of canopy over the top!

What in the world is going on with the snakes??!! You guys have had some crazy encounters!
I love the jumping into the pool in pjs! Definitely a vacation thing to do.
The surry bikes... I am interested to see if you get one. We rode one while on vacation in Cape May, NJ a few years ago and I was amazed at how heavy they are, it was quite a workout. I'm sorry you had to go so far only to be turned back to WL.

We are jinxed with the snakes!

Sorry about the snakes. I hate them!!! The heat during your stay was bad. We were at the beach during the same time you were at WDW. The worst day the heat index was 115 in the Flordia panhandle. I can imagine it was at least 115-120 in Orlando.

It was seriously hot. The day we spent at the beach I just couldn't handle the sun at all.

 

[Villainess]

Joining in! I'm not a snake person - I would have ran screaming to the nearest indoor establishment - no bike riding for me!