Latte Lover
<font color=green> in charge of the credit cards a
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2003
Who we are:
Me, Theresa (Latte lover)
My DH Tony (Tony64)
My sister Mandy (MandyJane)
My Brother-in-law Peter (FleetPete)
My Nephew Andrew (16)
My Nephew Kieran (12)
We would have loved it if our DD Maddie and DS Callum could have joined us, but Maddie has just started her new job after leaving Uni, and Cal has a series of gigs arranged with his band, so it wasnt to be.
To give you some background to this trip, thirty five years ago when I was nine years old and my sister Mandy was seven, we won first prize in a competition run by Birdseye, the prize being a holiday to Walt Disney World.
In 1975, a holiday to Florida was something we could only dream about. Back then, most familys took holidays in the UK, indeed only two children in my class had been out of the country, and neither of them further than Europe, so you can imagine our excitement.
We even made it to the local newspaper!
Heres the hilarious photo they printed before we left:
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And another one when we got back:
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Heres a few pics of us while we were there:
Here we are with Flower from Bambi:
It was difficult to get good pictures of the characters as there was no orderly queuing, more of a free-for-all.
Us with Friar Tuck
Us with the Pig That Built The House Of Bricks (I think). Not sure what his actual name is. We can't remember this picture being taken and we can't make out where exactly in the Magic Kingdom we are.
Mandy and I were always dressed the same! (Our mum is a good dressmaker and made many of our clothes, so although we looked the same as each other, at least we didnt look like anyone else!).
Parades were very different back then; no floats, just characters walking. We only got a glimpse of Mickey.
I still have those sunglasses!
Of course, we were completely hooked on Disney and as we grew up, we knew we would go back one day.
However, despite all our trips to Florida since then (11 for me and Tony, 3 for Mandy and Peter), we have never managed to go at the same time until now, so obviously we are all hugely excited and there have been almost daily conversations about the trip for over a year.
We have a packed itinerary, the highlight being Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but we also intend to visit the 4 Disney parks, a couple of water parks and maybe have a few days further afield.
Of course, a trip to Florida would not be complete without plenty of shopping! Tony and I love shopping over there (we almost never shop at home), and I am so looking forward to browsing the craft and scrapbook stores with Mandy.
This year hasnt been so great for us, and we have had to budget carefully for this trip.
We are flying indirect with KLM/Delta from Heathrow to MCO via New York, which kept the cost down a bit, (and spookily, is the same route Mandy and I took 35 years ago) and a friend of Peters has very generously lent us his villa at Cumbrian Lakes (near our favourite Walmart!) at a much reduced rate.
We got a good deal with Budget for our two hire cars, and another great deal with Purple Parking for meet and greet parking at Heathrow Airport. Our currency is coming from Crown at 1.62, so weve done quite well with that too.
We have a get-together planned for next weekend to finalise our itinerary and then its pretty much time to start packing and Single Digit Dancing!
Me, Theresa (Latte lover)
My DH Tony (Tony64)
My sister Mandy (MandyJane)
My Brother-in-law Peter (FleetPete)
My Nephew Andrew (16)
My Nephew Kieran (12)
We would have loved it if our DD Maddie and DS Callum could have joined us, but Maddie has just started her new job after leaving Uni, and Cal has a series of gigs arranged with his band, so it wasnt to be.
To give you some background to this trip, thirty five years ago when I was nine years old and my sister Mandy was seven, we won first prize in a competition run by Birdseye, the prize being a holiday to Walt Disney World.
In 1975, a holiday to Florida was something we could only dream about. Back then, most familys took holidays in the UK, indeed only two children in my class had been out of the country, and neither of them further than Europe, so you can imagine our excitement.
We even made it to the local newspaper!
Heres the hilarious photo they printed before we left:
And another one when we got back:
Heres a few pics of us while we were there:
Here we are with Flower from Bambi:
It was difficult to get good pictures of the characters as there was no orderly queuing, more of a free-for-all.
Us with Friar Tuck
Us with the Pig That Built The House Of Bricks (I think). Not sure what his actual name is. We can't remember this picture being taken and we can't make out where exactly in the Magic Kingdom we are.
Mandy and I were always dressed the same! (Our mum is a good dressmaker and made many of our clothes, so although we looked the same as each other, at least we didnt look like anyone else!).
Parades were very different back then; no floats, just characters walking. We only got a glimpse of Mickey.
I still have those sunglasses!
Of course, we were completely hooked on Disney and as we grew up, we knew we would go back one day.
However, despite all our trips to Florida since then (11 for me and Tony, 3 for Mandy and Peter), we have never managed to go at the same time until now, so obviously we are all hugely excited and there have been almost daily conversations about the trip for over a year.
We have a packed itinerary, the highlight being Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but we also intend to visit the 4 Disney parks, a couple of water parks and maybe have a few days further afield.
Of course, a trip to Florida would not be complete without plenty of shopping! Tony and I love shopping over there (we almost never shop at home), and I am so looking forward to browsing the craft and scrapbook stores with Mandy.
This year hasnt been so great for us, and we have had to budget carefully for this trip.
We are flying indirect with KLM/Delta from Heathrow to MCO via New York, which kept the cost down a bit, (and spookily, is the same route Mandy and I took 35 years ago) and a friend of Peters has very generously lent us his villa at Cumbrian Lakes (near our favourite Walmart!) at a much reduced rate.
We got a good deal with Budget for our two hire cars, and another great deal with Purple Parking for meet and greet parking at Heathrow Airport. Our currency is coming from Crown at 1.62, so weve done quite well with that too.
We have a get-together planned for next weekend to finalise our itinerary and then its pretty much time to start packing and Single Digit Dancing!
