Back from an amazing trip!!

[gemmybear83]

Just got back this morning (currently fighting the need to go to sleep!), and had a fantastic trip! I am going to do a trip report and will put photos on the resort room thread - I also am going to do a food report complete with photos .

Just a few quick reviews and highs and lows:

Flights
We flew from Newcastle to London with Flybe, they were great on time, friendly cabin crew, although I was slightly apprehensive about the fact the plane had propellers but it was fine!

We flew to Orlando using Virgin, we had a 3 hour delay going out but I had booked the No1 Lounge (fab by the way!) and arrived on time on the way home. Virgin emailed and texted me that morning informing me of the delay and it didnt get any longer. The flights were fine, seat back entertainment worked great and the planes were clean, we also got the great seats we had requested online when we booked and had an empty seat next to us on the way home. I think I was expecting the worse from what I had read on here by the cabin crew were really friendly and helpful. I do prefer BA - smaller plane less noisy and I think the interior is nicer but to be honest I will always travel with the cheapest

The immigration queue was only 20 mins (even though our plane was full going out) and we were ont he magical express within 45 mins of landing .

Coronado Springs
Fab hotel loved it - the new room decor is lovely, towels, tolietries etc are the same as the deluxe hotels. The grounds were beautiful we were in Casitas 5 with a lake view and king bed, we were also given complimentary champagne on arrival . The cast members were lovely we were driven to our room in a golf buggy and given a guided tour of the resort and our room . Buses were great we only had to stand twice and they were really frequent, we also found them a lot more friendly than the ones at POP.

Wilderness Lodge
We spent one night here to celebrate our anniversary - and fell in love with the resort We got upgraded from a courtyard view to concierge level king room and made use of all the free goodies and wine! I don't think I would pay for this - the treats arent that good and the rooms are the same (but with a dvd player) but it was a great experience. Loved the resort, but thought the rooms seemed smaller than than the one we had at Coronado Springs, but I think its the style of the furniture and layout as there was less floorspace. While the room wasnt shabby it was nowhere near as nice as the one at Coronado Springs and I wouldnt say it was "deluxe". Were thinking trying a 1 bed villa for our honeymoon next year as we loved the look of the villas wing it was so peaceful.

Disney Florist
I bought a gift for Henry for our anniversary and it was great - would highly recommend them.

Disney Photopass
I will probably get this again for our our wedding/honeymoon trip but most of the photos are horrible - badly shot and the photographers were usually just in front of the castle etc, we couldnt be bothered to keep on going back! We did have a few of the special photos taken which are cute. But it is a great service for getting group photos.

Disney Dining Plan
First time doing this and it was fab! We saved so much money with the current exchange rate, I was able to swap desserts for drinks, smoothies and fruit. Excellent value in places like Wolfgang Pucks and Pepper Market. We mostly used our snack credits on drinks which I know is frowned upon as they are cheaper but it worked out well for us.

Highs
Customer service was amazing throughout the trip, we found the cast members much more friendly then our last trip.

MNSSHP - Amazing! Loved the parade my favourite parade of all time, fantastic atmosphere, we only went on one ride as we were too busy doing all the extra activities!

The parks - Short queues (apart from the day we tried DHS one a Fantasmic day - madness!). The shows were great - the first night we saw Fantasmic (my favourite) on the front row it was amazing!

Henry wanting to buy into Disney Vacation Club I think he is pretty much brainwashed so after the wedding next year were going to seriously look into buying DVC, hopefully in 2011 as were wanting to try Disneyland California then.

Lows
Not many.....

Magical Express service on the way home was 30 mins late

Queueing for the Lion King show (fab by the way!) was a nightmare due to the heat, the guideboard advertises getting there 45 mins before, we got there 25 mins before the show and they only let us in 10 mins before the start of show. I know there are misting fans but it was not good enough with the levels of humidity. People were banging on the doors to be let in

The heat The humidity was soooooo hot! The temp broke records at least twice during our stay. It was too hot for us, we prefered the cooler weather as you can get more done.

Roll on December 2010 for the wedding, Disney Cruise and honeymoon I will update with links to my reports once I get started

 

[scottish mum]

Welcome back, sounds like you had a great trip.

Some of our photopass pictures were a bit off too, but then others were lovely. Also lucky you getting an upgrade

 

[disney_princess_85]

Welcome home! Thanks for the overview.

Glad you enjoyed CSR, we did too on our September trip. We also stayed in a lake-view room in Casita 5 and were given the complimentary champagne toast too!

It was also our first time on the DDP and we're definitely going to do it again next year (for free, which will be even better! ).

I love how Henry has been brainwashed!! DBF and I had an Open House visit and we're looking to buy into it next year.

From what I've read, the heat sounds a bit crazy for October! It was far too hot when I was there too, it can get very hard to cope with can't it?! Still, I'd rather be boiling and uncomfortable in Florida than be bored and chilly back home.

Glad you had fun anyway, I will await your trip report! Oh- and December 2010 will be here before you know it. :

 

[natalielongstaff]

Welcome back, sounds like a great trip

 

[Chilly]

Welcome hoe, sounds like a great trip, looking forward to hearing more.

 

[fleurbie]

Sounds like you had a fanastic time, very pleased with your take on virgin, welcome back

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

So glad you had a good time & found the magic was still out there

Will try & look out foor your trippie.

We are hoping to go Dec 2010 - but it seems so far away.............

 

[joolz1910]

Welcome back!

 

[Latte Lover]

Welcome back. Looking forward to reading your trip reports.

 

[Ware Bears]

Welcome back!

 

[Pegasus928]

Welcome back - looking forward to seeing some pics

 

[strawberry blonde]

Glad you had a great time. Lokking forward to the photos.

 

[T16GEM]

Sounds great! glad you had a great trip - we are not fans of the heat either - another great reason to go Dec / Jan!

 

[The Fetherstons]

Welcome Home Gemma Sounds like you had a magical time.

You now have the countdown to you magical wedding to look forward to

 

[Netty]

welome back, looks like you've had a fabulous time!!

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Welcome back hun! Can't wait for your TR

 

[Sarah84]

Welcome back Gemma, can't wait for the TR

 

[torsie24]

Glad you had an awesome trip sweetie! I kept an eye out for you, but didn't see you.

I totally agree about the heat. If it had been that bit cooler I feel we could have got a lot more done, as we had to spend time finding shade and A/C each day. Also it really dictacted where we could stop to watch parades etc. As no one wanted to be in the sun, so the shady areas were always taken way in advance!

 

[gemmybear83]

Glad you had an awesome trip sweetie! I kept an eye out for you, but didn't see you.

I totally agree about the heat. If it had been that bit cooler I feel we could have got a lot more done, as we had to spend time finding shade and A/C each day. Also it really dictacted where we could stop to watch parades etc. As no one wanted to be in the sun, so the shady areas were always taken way in advance!

Glad you had a fabby trip I thought I may have seen you on 12th in Epcot before Illuminations but we were crashed out in the Disney UK viewing area and my eyesight plus it was dark meant I couldnt tell! I did see Megkate in her illuminations dessert party though!

We only watched Block Party Bash as we had seen the over two and couldnt face sitting in the sun! I know the weather was warmer then it was meant to be, but I couldnt have got married outside in that heat I think I would have fainted - hopefully there will be no freaky weather next December!

 

[torsie24]

I saw MegKate on the 12th!! We were at the Boarwalk waiting for the friendship boat, Jack was eating a cupcake from the bakery as we'd gone in there to look at the wedding cakes, and then we saw Nathan and Jensey go past, and then Meg followed. Her flowers were just gorgeous.

We had a look at SBP and the YC Gazebo too. I definitely couldn't have got married outside any day of our trip! I barely coped in shorts and t-shirts! Luckily both times we were in the WP it was lovely and cool.

Glad you loved WL! We had lunch at WCC and really loved the resort. We had to sing "Happy and you know it" and all the kids did a hobby-horse race during our meal - hee hee hee.