11. Thursday – Packing again, it's all over!

[marias]

The Team:
DH: Long suffering one (42)
DD: Beautiful, amusing and very so slightly stroppy (9 going on 19)
MIL: Sexagenarian
FIL: Sexagenarian
Me: Planner, worrier, pessimist (35 – almost)

Thursday – Packing again
We spend the morning finishing packing, tidying the villa and doing the remaining washing and ironing – this is the first time we have ever gone home from holiday with only one small bag of washing – good job (as it was that was the only bag US customs decided to search – what a job yuck!).
MIL and FIL kindly offer to look after DID so we head off back to the Florida Mall for lunch and a bit more shopping. Once back at the villa we decide to try the Boston Lobster Feast for Dinner which wasn’t as good as we had hoped – never mind one mistake in two weeks is pretty good going.

Friday – Going home
Nah! I don’t want to dwell on that. Suffice to say Downtown Disney check-in worked a treat; it gave us at least 4 hours extra shopping time. We arrived for about 07.45 (given that I was panicking about getting 5 seats together) but I needn’t have worried as the seats were already allocated and yes we were together. Once we got rid of the luggage, which they didn’t weigh, we went to Wolfgang Puck’s for waffles. By this time the shops were open – yeah! At lunchtime we got seat at the Rainforest Café which was quite cool.
From here on is just too depressing to contemplate. We arrived home at 7.15am.
We did in the end decide to lock our cases, only the one was opened and that was full of the dirties. There was no damage; just a note saying they’d had a look.

Summary
It was a great holiday, made all the more enjoyable by spending it with family. The villa was amazing and such a welcome change from staying in hotels. The weather was far better than expected and the days when it did rain we luckily managed to avoid getting wet. I think the thing that amazed us all was how un-crowded everywhere was – now whether this was unusual or whether it was down to planning (from the Brit guide) I don’t know but the longest we had to queue was about 30 minutes. This made such a difference. I think it was all a bit much for DD to take in and so we are already planning a return trip to celebrate her finishing primary school in 2006. Hopefully we will get to do the things we missed this time.
The Dis boards were a fantastic help in planning everything and although we are back to 680 plus days to our return I have already been on checking out things for next time.
Oh wow! What about a vow renewal at Grand Floridian with DD as bridesmaid – I’m off I can feel some serious planning taking shape!

Maria

 

[KayleeUK]

Thank you for sharing these

 

[SusanEllen]

First let me say, "Good job, Diego!" (I'm referring to both your thorough planning and your entertaining reporting.) I think that planning extends the fun far beyond the arrival and departure dates--even (and probably especially) if you don't stick slavishly to the plan. You rolled with the punches admirably (the lost park hoppers incidence comes to mind). Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures.

 

[Miffy2003]

Great reports Maria

I really enjoyed them - thank you

 

[fizz13]

How did you find the time to do all you did and still relax as much as you did? Boy, how much do you charge per hour for planning?
Seriously though, thankyou for sharing, I have really enjoyed each day and I feel one step closer to the magic.
Much pixie dust,
Claire

 

[Tartan Tigger]

Your reports were great. Thanks for sharing them.