I woke up bright and early, about 6am! We showered and got dressed, packed up our dirty clothes, toiletries and other bits, and then we were ready to get going! I had already checked us in for our flights online the day before; we had our boarding cards printed too, we just had to drop off our luggage. Flying Premium Economy was worth it if only for the short queue to get rid of our luggage - we wanted no more than 5-mins for a check-in person to become available!
Security and passport control was a lot easier than we expected, I dont know if it was because it was still quite early, but there was barely a queue and we got through it very quickly.
First thing on the agenda when we got through to the departure lounge was breakfast! We found a really nice pub and the boys ate full English breakfasts and Mum and I had pastries and cereal.
After breakfast it was time to hit the duty free shops. I brought some perfume (one of Stella McCartneys!) and Dad brought some Whiskey - exciting stuff!
Mum and Dad waiting in the departure lounge:
As normal, we had got to the airport ridiculously early, so we had an hour or two to kill before it was time to go to the departure gate. We just sat around, chatting and talking about what we were looking forward to doing during our trip. Hubby was looking forward to swimming everyday in our Villas pool and going to the beach; Mum was looking forward to shopping at Downtown Disney; Dad was looking forward to going to the beach too and going shooting and I was just looking forward to that first few moments when you arrive in Main Street USA
you all know what I mean!
Finally it was time for boarding so we headed to the departure gate. Whilst in the queue to get our passports and boarding cards checked, we took a double take and wondered if my Mum was thinking of a career change to a Virgin Hostess
She was wearing the same colours and so we teased her about it for most of the flight!!!
More waiting
And finally we were off
!!!
Our flight was lovely; very relaxing and it was very quiet. We were in the upstairs (the bubble!) of a 747, it was much nicer than being downstairs in the main area. We were offered some delicious looking fizzy wine but my Doctor and Virgin had advised me to avoid drinking alcohol or fizzy drinks on the flight after I had very recently had a miscarriage (I also had to wear those VERY attractive flight socks!). I enjoyed water and juice throughout the flight whilst the others had a few beers (boys) and wine with their meals (Mum). I dont remember what we all ate, but it was delicious. I think Im one of the few people that really does love aeroplane food!!!
We took off an hour behind schedule but thankfully the Captain managed to make up some time and we only landed 25-mins behind schedule. The weather looked gorgeous in Orlando when we arrived, but we could definitely see a storm brewing in the distance!
Another perk of Virgins Premium Economy was being able to collect our bags very early on, what a shame we didnt know what was to come
previously on arrival in Orlando, we have collected our bags from the normal baggage conveyer belts and had to put it on another long conveyer belt to transport it to a different terminal building (I dont know if you have to do this on an American domestic flight???). Anyway, this year we were given the option of putting our bags on this conveyer belt or carrying them with us. The chap said it would be a 15-min walk until we reached the other end; as the Worms had 3 bags between them, and my Mums back isnt that good, we thought wed better let the airport staff transfer them
we arrived at the other end (about 15-mins later) to be greeted by this:
If you cant read it
our bags were delayed due to severe weather (it was pouring with rain outside and we could hear thunder in the distance!). We asked a few airport staff and they said the delay could be up to 1.5hrs!!! We were so annoyed with ourselves, if only we had just carried our bags, we might be on the way to our Villa by now!!!
I think we waited for about 1hr 15-mins in the end
it felt like we were the only ones around who had been affected
Hubby, Dad and I went to collect our rental car and we decided to upgrade from a luxury sized car to a minivan / people carrier. It just had more legroom and space for our bags and SHOPPING!!! The car was lovely (sorry I didnt take any pictures of it from the outside!).
By the time we returned from collecting the car, our luggage had arrived and we could finally set off. A few pictures from our journey:
Hubby taking to the wheel for the first time
On the road that connects the airport to the I4 (I think!)
Joining the I4
we love the I4!!!
Getting nearer and nearer to our exit, we spy this
Eventually we arrived at our home for the next 10-days. We had booked a 3-bedroom villa with pool at the Ginn Reunion Resort. On returning back to the UK, we were really pleased to hear that Katie and Peter Andre had stayed there recently too!!! We wished we had known beforehand, we could have gone hunting for their Villa! Anyway
we had to check in at the Reunion Grande, which is the hotel within the resort. We were very pleased to hear wed be upgraded to a 4-bedroom villa, all that space would be lovely. I have a habit of spreading out when Im on holiday
come to think of it, I do at home!!!
You might remember reading in my pre-trip report about our family having a tendancy to get lost? Well this time was no exception
we had very simple directions to our villa but could we find it? No!!! Half an hour later, we eventually gave up and returned to the main hotel to ask again. It turns out the person who checked us in had given us the wrong directions so we felt excused this time!!!
We were so happy with the villa - it was huge, comfortable, clean, cosy, well laid out - perfect! There was one problem I was a bit worried about
my hubby and I sleep at home in a king sized bed (I think in America you might call it a queen? Its huge!) and the American doubles are very small (in English wed call them large singles!). As the Worms had paid for the trip, it was only fair they took the master suite with the really huge bed in it! So I rang the main reception and asked if they had any alternatives that we could perhaps switch to, but not this week, they were booked solid. They did, however, give us permission to move a single bed into the double room (was a tight squeeze but we managed it!):
Anyway, here are some more pictures of our villa:
Lounge area
surprisingly for me, the TV was barely turned on!!!
Kitchen area:
Formal Dining room (which we only ate at once!):
A bit of the master suite:
Our pool:
It was amazing and I would not hesitate to recommend the Ginn Reunion Resort for those who do like to stay off-site! It was about 20-mins to Disney so not bad at all.
After a brief rest and bathroom break, we headed straight out to our nearest supermarket to stock up on supplies for the week ahead. It was Publix (at Championsgate, although they are opening one very soon opposite the Reunion Resort) - our personal favourite!!!
We were all pretty tired from travelling, we were a lot later in our schedule than we thought so we didnt get everything we wanted / needed which was a shame (but at least it meant we could keep going back!).
I love shopping in American supermarkets - you all get so much choice compared to the UK!!! And you get really interesting things too!!!
After returning back to the villa, we ate a hot chicken, salad and bread for dinner and then unpacked a few things and settled in, before finally getting into bed at around 10.30pm (remember it was 5hrs later to us!!!).
Coming next
our first full day in Orlando and were going to Magic Kingdom!!!
i'm so sorry to hear about your lose
..i know how your heart must be breaking. i lost my second baby at 11-12 weeks and it took me a while to get ok with it...never over it just ok.i went on to have 2 more babies but still wonder,26 years later,what could of been. my son and his wife laost their 1st child 'caroline'.she was stillborn at 36 1/2 weeks,just 4 days after they had gotten married.we had a wedding and reception/babyshower all in one...hehe..was lovely,played sweet caroline during the shower and later her funeral. it has been almost 4 years sicne thena nd they too hav had 2 more children { jackson & avery} but the pain is still there and i think of her every day but i know i will see her and my baby one day...i hope your trip with your loved ones will help to heal your broken heart .
Oh Joo, I am so very, very sorry. I'm sure you will all have very heavy hearts while on vacation but I do hope that it will bring you some joy and reason to smile. I'll be thinking of you and your family... especially little Henry Bean. 
on Day 7 of our trip and it kind of made our last 4-5 days of the holiday (when we were at Disney!) not as busy and jam packed and fun filled as we had hoped. It was still a FANTASTIC holiday, but the trip was a bit incomplete in terms of Disney stuff. As such, Mum and I are currently looking at going again in January '09 for a week - we will see how it goes!
I just want to say your cats are beautiful. I enjoyed reading your pre trip. (Sorry for your loss.) 
I never really thought about a villa before, but you have given me a thought for our trip next year. I may split the time aswell with a villa/Disney resort. (Then I could stay longer
) I too like American food shopping. We have alot of the same stuff but I manage to find something new and fun each time. Just a funny note, I work in a retail store here in Canada and we got a whole bunch of new UK stuff. Branston pickle,Spotted dick, Flake chocolate, Curly whirly to name a few. We have quite a few customers who are very excitted about our new items. It brings back fond memories for them. I have a question, why does it say on one of the bars "Not for girls"? Do you know what I'm talking about? (we have alot of Nestle stuff 
)Take care, I look forward to more pics.
