back from first ever trip

[Hbabe78]

so first night after being up for well over 24 hours, standing in a heat id never experienced trying to cross international drive with a child with a tummy upset listening to all these english acents around us, wanting to scream out and cry "what have i done, ive made a mistake and i want to go home"

after that i caught up on some sleep found our bearings and went on to have the absolute time of my/our life, although if i see another burger or pizza in the near future i might through up lol (second week was tight budget so they were the cheep option lol)

i knew id want to come back but dh insisted that it was a once in a lifetime holiday, well he has been converted and we are trying to save for 2010 to come back.

none of us wanted to come home, we have only ever gone on 1 week holidays and usually were ready to come home, but this was so differnt,

down sides were the free shuttle bus from the hotel to epcot, we accepted that 15 min journey was actually 1 and a half hours and the air con broke, but we diddnt have money for anything eles.

we loved whispering canyon for lunch food was great and good value although it was mild to what id heard about 1900 park fayer also really good, both places i wouldnt have gotten to if i haddnt been on here to find out about them.

so thanks to everyone

now i have the next while to research the next one lol

next time i think wed like to stay on site, but as a family of 5 really liked the seperate bedroom option, not sure which disney hotels offer this though, or if any do do any of them do the free dinning plan

one thing for sure though, i doupt ill be going with thomas cook again, there service out there was terrible. they still had us in the wrong hotel, and made out they were doing me a huge favour by "paying extra" for the one i had actually booked......

 

[AlanUK]

Glad you enjoyed it

What hotel were you staying at??

 

[Hbabe78]

hawthorne suites on canada ave, just off international drive, 9 the hotel was actually very nice, seperate bedroom and a kitchen (even if the cooker wouldnt boil water lol)

 

[irongirlof12]

so glad to here that you are now hooked on disney. shame about Thomas cook . you can go cheaper by booking out of season and doing DIY.

welcome home!

 

[wayneg]

As Andrea says, next time look at DIY. Can save you a small fortune.
Idrive is the last place I would stay but some people like it, next time like you say try onsite or our personal choice is Lake Buena Vista area, Its only 2 mins and you are in Disney, possible to walk to Downtown Disney from some hotels.

 

[Snowy-girls]

Welcome back .So glad you had a great time,shame about Thomas cook.
We always stay on I-Drive and i really enjoy being there,but i agree the roads there are a nightmare to cross .x.

 

[natalielongstaff]

Welcome back, im glad you enjoyed your trip

Shame about TC though

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Sounds like you caught the Disney bug now!!

Welcome back

 

[Cyrano]

Welcome back
Glad to hear that you had the time of your life

 

[The Fetherstons]

Hi Heather

Welcome Back and glad you all had a fab time and now have the disney bug

Happy Planning for your next adventure

Its such a shame we never bumped into you at 1900 PF tho, but we did wait ages for our table we did at WCC aswell

Take care

Kx

 

[Graeme]

Pleased you enjoyed yourselves. Now you can see why the Dis exists!!

 

[disneyholic family]

welcome back!!

glad to hear you had a nice time..

like Wayne, when we used to stay offsite, we always stayed in the Lake Buena Vista area - much nicer than I-drive in my opinion, and very close to WDW...

we used to stay there when we were on a very tight budget....we always took a 1 br suite with full kitchen so that we could have breakfast and dinner in the room (i used to bring tons of stuff with us from home - i'd pack a carton just of food the kids liked to eat - boxes and cans of stuff so that i didn't have to shop when i was there....today, i'd probably just go to the supermarket)..

onsite, there are suites in the All Star Music value resort....it's more expensive than if you stay offsite though....

you won't know until 2010, but it's possible that you'll be able to get a good rate onsite with free dining by booking on the disney UK site...
but you'll have to wait a year to find out.

and yes, booking all the parts separately has always come out cheaper for us...

 

[jockey]

Glad you had a good time

 

[jjk]

welcome back, happy planning for 2010

 

[UKDEB]

so first night after being up for well over 24 hours, standing in a heat id never experienced trying to cross international drive with a child with a tummy upset listening to all these english acents around us, wanting to scream out and cry "what have i done, ive made a mistake and i want to go home"

You could be describing me on my first trip. I'd only flown once before in my life (a short-haul which marked the start of a morbid fear of flying); we arrived at the airport ridiculously early with two very small children and, thus, had to wait hours before check-in opened; after enduring the entire flight with my hands tightly gripping the armrests we had to transfer to a bus to get to the cattle market of a car-hire depot where I waited outside in the alien sub-tropical heat with my babies; and, to top it all, we got lost on these weird roads with hanging gantries whilst being forced to drive on the wrong side! At this point, I burst into tears and wailed, "I want to go home!". After a night's sleep, though, I was feeling much more sane and so began a life long love affair...

With the benefit of experience, your next trip will be even better - you'll know precisely what mistakes to avoid and you'll soon slip into comfortable familiarity territory. Welcome to the club!

 

[Hbabe78]

i just loved it so much

if anyone told me that getting hugs from micky mouse was great i wouldnt beleive them lol, but when dd done the epcot characters, i went for a photo, and it was really great such a warm feeling, and even at 30 for a moment you forget that it isnt reall lol

the first day in magic kingdom i was really emotional lol, i had to fight tears, and i can imagine im not the only one

and i totally get now when ive read people on here saying, ive just fought the coming home blues, ive booked again lol, i would if i could. but this time im saving a year first then ill know if 2010 is doable.

and my dh was amazed with the 2 disney hotels we were at for meals, and has decided that if we ever comei nto a lot of money he wants to stay at both wilderness lodge (the one with whispering canyon) and the grand floridian, and renew our marriage vows there, lol so i guess he is totally cought the bug too

 

[Goofysmate]

Welcome home

 

[maureen4200040]

Hi Hbabe78

Make sure you complain by letter to Thomas Cook Head office. A few years ago I had a problem on arrival in Orlando, where the rep did'nt have any confirmation about our coach transfers and advised me we had booked a car, which we did'nt. They literally held me to ransom demanding I pay for 2 return transfer by cash or c/c, even though I paid for this already in the UK and show them my paper work to prove it.

They were having none of it and I spent nearly an hour with them trying to sort this problem out, and in the end had to pay for a taxi to I-drive which cost $100.00, because the coach had already left for I-drive.

I was fuming and when i call the uk office in Orlando for help they were useless, it took me nearly a week to get my money back, and when I got back home to the UK I complained and received a cheque for £100 as compensation. Even though I was upset in Orlando I noted down times and dates and all the reps I spoke to, and put this in my letter.

Although I have travelled with them again since that trip, I always check and double check my travel arrangements fully with the UK and USA the 2 days before I leave.

Maureen4200040