Live report - 3 weeks in Orlando

[Cyrano]

Typical. My last day at work did not go as smoothly as I hoped.
Had to present to committee. Just before I was due they broke for lunch
Got home at 4.30pm and had a quick tea.

Headed off to Aberdeen for our night in the Travelodge. Hotel basic but functional.
It is only required as we have a 4.00am check-in tomorrow.

Journey should have been Aberdeen - Schipol, Schipol - MCO. Some of you will remember we had some changes with Martainair's withdrawal from passenger routes.
So tomorrow is Aberdeen - Schipol KLM, Schipol - Boston Delta, Boston - MCO Delta.

The rest of the family are flying out on Saturday and Monday.
Using 3 MiFi tonight. Hopefully some free wifi at airport, otherwise I will check in when we arrive.

Night night

 

[sayhello]

Have a safe trip!!!

Sayhello

 

[wigeboo]

Have a good trip

 

[Cyrano]

Forgot that updates on UK Trip planning were not mirrored here

Aberdeen KLM to Schipol was sweet. Busy flight with lots of travellers heading to further afield.

I had forgotten how large Schipol Airport is. Took 15 minutes from landing to taxi to the gate.

Prices in the shops at Schipol very expensive so we did not buy anything.
The troops had holiday money from grannie so they were desperate to spend it

Waiting to board Delta 231 to Boston. Morgan and I have scored as we have an empty seat according to the booking desk.

 

[Cyrano]

Sorry for no updates. When we arrived we hit the wall after travelling 19 hours.

The empty seat ended up being beside Diane, Jack and Robyn. Since the Airbus configuration is 2, 4, 2.
Delta flight attendants were very attentive. The troops declared Delta far better than Virgin.
We had a snack and a drink early in the flight. After an hour or so they served the main meal. Choice was vegetarian lasagne or chicken. The chicken, mashed potatoes and roasted peppers was served with feta salad, crackers and cheese. The five of us had the chicken. Sorry no photos but it is just not the same as Wayne's crockery meals in Business Class.
I don't drink alcohol on the flight (maybe a small wine with food) but beer and wine, along with Coca Cola products was freely available.

We arrived in Boston to 15 degrees and pouring rain.

Getting through Immigration and Customs was easy. Delta earned another browny point as they gave full instructions how to go through Immigration and baggage transfer.

The Boston to Orlando flight was an uneventful 2 1/2 hours. Again Delta staff were very nice.

Arrival at MCO was very strange as we just walked straight through arrivals.
Pleased to report despite booking Dollar via 300Hire we walked straight to the garage. Showed the greeter my Express card and was directed to the Thrify desk that Dollar share. 10 minutes later we were driving off in a nice blue Dodge Caravan.

A stop for water at Walmart and then off to Quality Suites.

We were asleep with 5 minutes of our heads hitting the pillow.

Up this morning at 6am. Breakfast was a fair selection. Favourite of the troops was the fresh waffle maker.

EPCOT as one of the best parks for crowds meant it was an easy choice as this is one of our favourite parks. We were at the gates for 8.30 and in the parks not long after this time.
No surprises that Soarin' was the first ride and then we did most of our favourites. Lunch was at sunshine seasons.
We called it a day at 2 and headed back to the hotel.

Rotisserie chicken did supper tonight

We heading into DTD and spend a fair bit of time in Lego store and World of Disney.

Tomorrow we will decide between DHS or AK.

WiFi at the hotel seems stable so I will have a go at uploading some photos to Photobucket from the iPad tomorrow.

 

[Cyrano]

Glad everyone is enjoying the updates

Sounds like you are as happy as us with Delta, our fave airline over the past 3 years.

Absolutely Wayne. Delta seats as well as service far better than Virgin IMHO.

welcome to my world Reid!!
(if we're lucky, travel time airport to airport is 19 hours....add on the 4 hours before the flight to get to the airport and 2 hours after the flight to get the luggage, car and get to the hotel and the total goes up to 25 hours )

sounds like delta has won you over...so the question is, is the cheaper price and good service worth the longer travel time......with prices going up as they are, i'm betting more and more people will go the longer more circuitous route to save money....

i can't believe you're there for 3 weeks - i hate you!!!

Blame Diane for the 3 weeks. Though I am not complaining.
With Virgin we still have 2 journeys plus a big layover on the return flight.
I think if the prices were the exact same Delta would still win

We woke up just after 6am. After showering, shaving (that was me, though I think the girls moustaches need a trim ) we headed downstairs for breakfast.

Arrived at DHS for 8.30. There was a good crowd at the gates, which opened 10 minutes later.
After a family discussion we decided to forego Toy Story. Since this eats into time and even with a FP means you are restricted for the rest of the day.

I headed to Tower of Terror and grabbed FP's for the thrill seekers. Then hotfooted it over to Star Tours. Robyn decided to be brave and go on this. Score she and all the rest of us absolutely loved it. The refurb is excellent.
So glad that I had avoided all the YouTube videos. We ended up going straight back on it again. Then grabbed FP for later. We were lucky and managed to get 3 different scenes.

We called it a day at noon and then headed to Florida Mall for lunch and retail therapy for the girls.

We are heading off in a few minutes to DTD.

Should be a busy day tomorrow as MIL/FIL and SIL and family arrive later in the day.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Have a great trip!!

 

[Cyrano]

Firstly forgot to say we bought an inexpensive non contract mobile in Best Buy. Despite the comments about poor customer service the staff were very good.
They activated the mobile and the $15 topup card. Feel really grown up with a USA mobile number. But it is really so that when outlaws arrive we will not be stung for serious bills with our iPhones when we get back home.
Miss the data access, though Diane says that is a good thing as my addiction to email and Internet needs help!

The rain poured like never before when we went to DTD tonight. We were stuck in World of Disney store for 2 hours. Before finally biting the bullet and getting totally soaked.

Tomorrow looks like a MK day unless the weather has other plans

 

[SamSam]

Sounds like you're off to a great start to your trip! Enjoy!!!

 

[connie1042]

Love live reports. I would love to spend 3 weeks in Orlando! I'm in. Hope the rain stops. We are in Mn, and had solid rain from Sunday night til Friday morning! Sun came out this morning and stayed all day.

 

[disneyholic family]

i think i'm having deja vu...

 

[sayhello]

Sounds like a great start to your trip!!!

Sayhello

 

[Cyrano]

i think i'm having deja vu...

So am I


Boring as usual we were up by 6.30 and breakfasting at 7.15.
The hotel has a nice selection of 2 hot items, waffle maker (which the troops love) and various cereals, Danish, bagel and cold items.
Coffee and tea is available 24/7.

There was a holdup on the monorail line so we did not get to the Magic Kingdom gate until just before 9am.
Mum and Robyn headed off to Snow White, while I headed off with the thrill seekers (Morgan & Jack) to Splash Mountain. I also picked up FP for BTM for Diane and M and J.
I am pleased to report that I remained relatively dry on the back row of Splash Mountain. Morgan and Jack did not fair so well
Had not realised that lap bars had been fitted. Definitely makes you feel safer :good vibes
We met up and all did Haunted Mansion.
Then it was child swap time

Robyn and I headed to Speedway while Diane and the others to Big Thunder Mountain.
On route we picked up FP for Peter Pan and scored bonus FP for Mickey's Philharmagic.
When we all met up we did IASW, a family staple

We managed to grab a FP for Buzz and rode one of my favourites - the TTA, along with another go on Speedway and Laugh Floor.

Managed to catch a couple of Photopass photographers today.

As the rain came on at 2 and stayed until after 6, we spent most of the time back at the hotel.

We were the welcoming party for Mil and SIL who arrived 3 hours later than expected. A story I am sure they will share on another day. But for now time to let them sleep on it

Think tomorrow we will eat at either Sweet Tomatoes or Logan's Roadhouse.
Also our park will be either AK or EPCOT dependant on the others .

 

[pigletfan122]

Lovin the live reports!!! Keep them coming!!!

 

[disneyholic family]

lapbars in space mountain?
hmmm.....

IASW?

 

[Cyrano]

Having some trouble with photo bucket and the iPad. Will keep trying and hopefully will get some uploaded.

Sunday we headed to Animal Kingdom, which was looking as beautiful as ever.
Crowds really seemed to have swelled today.
We got FPs for Everest and then caught a safari truck to the savannah . Lots of animals out. Funniest part was giraffes chasing wilder beasts, and wilder beasts chasing tommies. DS was on video cam duty so not sure if he caught the action
MIL really enjoyed the foliage and was even brave enough along with Robyn to go on Kali. We had a fun family time having the raft to ourselves. Though I was definitely not sitting in the best seat

After coming off Everest I noticed that we might be lucky and catch Fnding Nemo show which was due to start in 10 minutes. Result, we were seated fairly easily.

I had really worried that staying as a group would be really difficult. A couple of times the oldies needed a bit of encouragement to speed up But as we separate at times since Robyn does not do the major thrill rides, it was surprisingly painless.

We used Photopass photographers quite a bit today, so that the others could see how it worked.

After lunch I stayed with Robyn while the rest of the gang went on Dinosaur.

Think this was our last ride of the day and the rest of the time was spent wandering through the shops.
We have yet to see AK parade as we are always done before 3.45. Today was no exception as we left just after 2.30.

Supper was a takeaway pizza back at the suite. SIL decided they would head out to a restaurant for supper.
Later at night we and MIL headed to DTD for a couple of hours.

 

[SamSam]

We have yet to see AK parade as we are always done before 3.45. Today was no exception as we left just after 2.30.

QUOTE]

You really must stay for the AK parade sometime. Dh and I love that parade, it's not very long, but we always smile through the whole thing. Just a good feel parade.

 

[disneyholic family]

there's a parade in AK?

 

[pklein09]

We have yet to see AK parade as we are always done before 3.45. Today was no exception as we left just after 2.30.

Same with us!!! On this next trip, we're purposely going to DTD in the morning and AK in the afternoon just so we can see the parade!!!

BTW, I'm enjoying your report and the photos. Great job!!!

 

[Cherinva]

Lovin this report...and I agree...you should see the AK Parade...its awesome....continue to have a wonderful time !!!!