Still living the dream after 10 years – 3 weeks in Florida

[Peebee]

Cast:

Me (Paul) – 45, lover of all things Florida, particularly parks, restaurants, and Bud Lime by the pool
DW (Helen) – 43, the organised one, planner of calendars, packing lists and lover of cruises
DS (Ryan) – 8, getting braver each trip, loves Everest more than any other ride and a Star Tours fan too
DD (Emma) – 6, lives for the teacups ride at MK and the chance to meet characters, particularly princesses

Background :

Rewind for a minute to September 2000, when I proposed to Helen at the Contemporary and we then headed off on a 7-night cruise on the Disney Dream. It was amazing and we’ve said many times since that we should save to go back one day for a special occasion. Well, this year is it, our 10 year anniversary. Well, nearly anyway, as the actual date isn’t till the end of June, but this was as close as we could get with school holidays. Might mention it to a couple of servers anyway and see if we get a nice treat

Locations:

We are staying in what looks like a lovely villa at Indian Creek for the first week. We’ve stayed at Indian Creek a number of times before, but this is the first time in this location. It looks wonderful from the photos though, and the owner has been great and highly recommended – he lives nearby too.

After 6 nights at the villa we are off for 2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal. We stayed at Royal Pacific Resort last year to get the front-of-line passes and it was a great perk to have, so this year we thought we’d try a different hotel, and have got some great discounts with our annual passes.

Following HRH we are off to the Boardwalk Villas for our DVC fix 7 nights in a 1-bed villa here in the heart of the action will be brilliant, as we love being able to walk to the Studios and Epcot. The Boardwalk is our DVC home resort and it really does feel like home when we are back there.

Once we leave the Boardwalk we then head to Port Canaveral for our 5 night cruise on the Disney Dream, taking in Nassau and two stops at Castaway Cay.

As if all this wasn’t enough we have a final stop at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge for a couple of nights before heading home. DW and I stayed here years ago before the kids came along and loved the feeling of peace and relaxation, so hopefully it will be a nice way to wind down before heading back to the UK.

Best bits:

Things to look forward to? Well, apart from all the above that is … first day we are headed to Epcot to take in the last day of the Flower and Garden Festival. We have reservations at Coral Reef for lunch, and there are also some activities around Cars 2 taking place that day. Kids love the playgrounds and other special items that do for the festival each year, so really pleased that we’ll catch the final day.

We are also there at the same time as Star Wars weekends, and the opening of the new Star Tours ride, so that will be quite special. We’ll be at Universal when it opens formally, but will make the most of the extended hours at the Studios once we reach the Boardwalk.

Clearly cruising on the Dream will be a massive part of the holiday, and the opportunity to hit Castaway Cay twice is amazing. We have a dress-up night, pirate night, shows, spas, plus amazing food to enjoy and lots more too.

Finally it will be wonderful to see the kids faces when we get off the Dream and instead of heading to the airport we are back at Disney for a last couple of days at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. We’ll probably hire some bikes and explore the woods, maybe rent some boats…plus throw in some final visits to the parks

Will try to take lots of pics and hopefully some notes throughout all this, as Buzz for Boys regularly reminds me how much she enjoys a good trip report!

Couple of days from our SDD…it’s nearly here!

Paul

[jockey]

Your plans sound fab, great choice of hotels! Looking forward to hearing more!

[jen_uk]

Sounds fab, hope you have an amazing trip!

[MyNameIsJack]

nice report

[loobzuk]

wow - sounds like a great trip - will definitely look forward to your notes and pictures, I love a good TR too!

[Peebee]

Thanks for the lovely comments everyone, just thought...might be nice to add the list of restaurants we have reservations for or are planning on visiting:

Offsite:
Outback
Longhorn Steakhouse
Olive Garden
Red Lobster
Cheesecake Factory

Onsite:
Coral Reef
The Plaza at MK
Turf Club
The Wave
Kona Cafe
ESPN
Liberty Tree Tavern
Beaches and Cream
Les Chefs de France
Sci-Fi Dine-In
Big River Grille
Grand Floridian Cafe
Whispering Canyon Cafe

Universal:
Hard Rock Cafe
Margaritaville


...plus maybe one or two other surprises along the way

Also, it's DW's birthday the day before we leave, so she just might get a pressie or two on the plane out to Orlando

Paul

[Linda67]

Your plans sound wonderful

We'll be there at the same time and are trying our first ever cruise. We are only doing a three day one on the Dream to see what we think but I am fairly sure we will be re-booking whilst on board

[jjk]

your trip sounds lovely

[SusanEllen]

Thanks for sharing your plans for what will surely be an extra special visit to Florida. I can't find a single fault in your itinerary and know that with so much forethought you're all bound to have a great time. I certainly approve of the Wilderness Lodge to cap your trip. I consider the Wilderness Lodge (and the Villas there) to be my Florida home, but I don't mind sharing with good Disney people, so have fun while you're at my place with my blessings. Please, let us all know just how much fun you had.

[Peebee]

Thank you so much Susan, your lovely comments have given me a smile from ear to ear. We'll be sure to take good care at the lodge and return with plenty of memories and pictures.

Paul

[Tinks1984]

That sounds like a wonderful trip you have planned there Paul - I hope you all have the time of your lives!

Looking forward to updates as the trip gets closer and to maybe a TR once back on home soil?