OK here we go, this is my first ever trip report so please bear with me as it may well be a disaster as a) Ive never done one before and writing may not be a strong point, Im yet to find out
b) Ive never inserted pictures into posts before so that side of things could go horribly wrong
Cast:
Me (31) been a regular visitor to Florida now for 11 years, so much so that it was the first choice for a location for our wedding last year.
DW (30) was dragged over to Florida within a year of being together and this will be trip number 5 for her
The plan 16 nights in the HRH travelling with Virgin PE from Manchester.
Day 1 The Journey
After making the journey down to Manchester from Newcastle the day before we were ready for the off in the morning. We stayed in the Hilton at Manchester airport and left the car there, the journey to the hotel was great with no traffic delays and the added bonus of being able to check-in online the morning we set off to go to Manchester. The hotel was lovely with a nice sized room and more importantly bar, the food was nice and not too overpriced for a hotel, the only downside was that the staff behind the bar must have been new to the job as they had no idea how to make any of the cocktails that were on the menu
. The transfer to the airport the following morning was very quick indeed and we only had to go to the bag drop at the virgin desk to offload our bags then we were off through security and was in the departure lounge in 10 mins, because wed arrived there so early (Im a nightmare for wanting to get to an airport early as Im a nervous flyer and prefer to have a chance to calm down before getting on a plane). Wed booked the lounge and the airport as the last time we were in Manchester it was heaving and we struggled to get seats so I thought the lounge was the better idea.
When the boarding started it was very easy as we were amongst the first batch to get on the plane and then I had the chance to see the seats we had for the journey across (and hopefully back) 79A and C in the bubble
. I would like to point out that this was my first time flying with Virgin, my first time on a 747 and also my first time in PE and the seats upstairs didnt disappoint, very spacious and Im not exactly a professional athlete (as youll see from some photos to follow in the next few days ) it also made me feel happy that the DW also liked them as I got so much grief off her for the last few months for spending the money on the upgrade so I won that one 
<a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020523.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020523.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The seat
<a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020528.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020528.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The bubble
The flight over was thankfully very uneventful and also shorter than was advertised on the tickets so we landed about 30 mins earlier than planned, I didnt really pay much attention to the films that were showing as I brought my own video player but I know that bolt was one of the films.
I always knew that the next part was going to be the interesting bit though as Id never flown into Orlando airport before as weve always used Sanford in the past so I was very wary when we stepped off the plane as to how events would unfold before us, luckily however with getting PE we also got priority baggage so our bags were amongst the first batch off and we were the first people through customs, then I had the fun of the monorail and the main terminal and trying to find the car rental desks. It was here that the true hero of the holiday came into effect and that was the dollar express card, I dont even want to know how much time that saved me but Im guessing at least an hour as the queue was rather large and only 2 people were serving.
We then went and collected the car a nice dodge charger and made the journey to Wal-Mart on Turkey Lake Road as we were ahead of schedule. We did a little shop and made it to the hotel for just after 4pm, a quick check-in and argument about the bill and we were in our room.
<a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020533.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020533.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The Room
<a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020537.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020537.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The View
<a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020540.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020540.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The all important coffee machine
After unpacking and taking a few photos we decided to head to CityWalk to get a snack (me at the new BK whopper bar and Lucy at the Mexican place, cant remember the name off the top of my head but Im sire Joe was in there somewhere) then did a couple of shops in CityWalk and headed back to the room as we were starting to see double and the fatigue was setting in.
Next day Epcot and Animal Kingdom
b) Ive never inserted pictures into posts before so that side of things could go horribly wrong
Cast:
Me (31) been a regular visitor to Florida now for 11 years, so much so that it was the first choice for a location for our wedding last year.
DW (30) was dragged over to Florida within a year of being together and this will be trip number 5 for her
The plan 16 nights in the HRH travelling with Virgin PE from Manchester.
Day 1 The Journey
After making the journey down to Manchester from Newcastle the day before we were ready for the off in the morning. We stayed in the Hilton at Manchester airport and left the car there, the journey to the hotel was great with no traffic delays and the added bonus of being able to check-in online the morning we set off to go to Manchester. The hotel was lovely with a nice sized room and more importantly bar, the food was nice and not too overpriced for a hotel, the only downside was that the staff behind the bar must have been new to the job as they had no idea how to make any of the cocktails that were on the menu
. The transfer to the airport the following morning was very quick indeed and we only had to go to the bag drop at the virgin desk to offload our bags then we were off through security and was in the departure lounge in 10 mins, because wed arrived there so early (Im a nightmare for wanting to get to an airport early as Im a nervous flyer and prefer to have a chance to calm down before getting on a plane). Wed booked the lounge and the airport as the last time we were in Manchester it was heaving and we struggled to get seats so I thought the lounge was the better idea.When the boarding started it was very easy as we were amongst the first batch to get on the plane and then I had the chance to see the seats we had for the journey across (and hopefully back) 79A and C in the bubble
. I would like to point out that this was my first time flying with Virgin, my first time on a 747 and also my first time in PE and the seats upstairs didnt disappoint, very spacious and Im not exactly a professional athlete (as youll see from some photos to follow in the next few days ) it also made me feel happy that the DW also liked them as I got so much grief off her for the last few months for spending the money on the upgrade so I won that one <a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020523.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020523.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The seat
<a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020528.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020528.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The bubble
The flight over was thankfully very uneventful and also shorter than was advertised on the tickets so we landed about 30 mins earlier than planned, I didnt really pay much attention to the films that were showing as I brought my own video player but I know that bolt was one of the films.
I always knew that the next part was going to be the interesting bit though as Id never flown into Orlando airport before as weve always used Sanford in the past so I was very wary when we stepped off the plane as to how events would unfold before us, luckily however with getting PE we also got priority baggage so our bags were amongst the first batch off and we were the first people through customs, then I had the fun of the monorail and the main terminal and trying to find the car rental desks. It was here that the true hero of the holiday came into effect and that was the dollar express card, I dont even want to know how much time that saved me but Im guessing at least an hour as the queue was rather large and only 2 people were serving.
We then went and collected the car a nice dodge charger and made the journey to Wal-Mart on Turkey Lake Road as we were ahead of schedule. We did a little shop and made it to the hotel for just after 4pm, a quick check-in and argument about the bill and we were in our room.
<a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020533.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020533.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The Room
<a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020537.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020537.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The View
<a href="http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/?action=view¤t=P1020540.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv60/dtm316/Florida%202009/P1020540.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
The all important coffee machine
After unpacking and taking a few photos we decided to head to CityWalk to get a snack (me at the new BK whopper bar and Lucy at the Mexican place, cant remember the name off the top of my head but Im sire Joe was in there somewhere) then did a couple of shops in CityWalk and headed back to the room as we were starting to see double and the fatigue was setting in.
Next day Epcot and Animal Kingdom
