This is my first trip report, ill split it into daily reports. Please let me know if
I go into too much/not enough detail in the first part and ill make changes to the
next one.
Day 1 November 27th 2001 : The Flight and Pleasure Island.
Background:
This is the 2nd trip the DW and I have had in 2 years (no kids yet) and my 4th trip
in total. Last year we stayed at the All star Sports resort for 10 days in November.
We had orignally cancelled this trip after 911. Personally I was still willing to
fly, however the DW just wasnt comfortable with it. Somewhere at the start of
November out of the blue she told me that she had been feeling bad, reading stories
in the news about the downturn in tourism and folks in the orlando area loosing their
jobs, her comment was 'they were great to us when there wasn't any problems, it seems
bad that we cancelled'. So I gave her the option of us re-booking, maybe for sometime
in the new year. With a big smile she agreed so I went off to my office to look into
it, dancing all the way once i was out of her sight! (im 29, im supposed to be disney
immune by now arent I?)
A quick check on DIS and Virgin Holiday's website revealed some amazing bargains.
Initially I was looking to stay on site, maybe at CB or ASMovies, but after some thought I
decided to go with Virgin Holidays and try something new, that is stay on I-Drive. I
went for the Wyndham Resort on the corner of International Drive and SandLake road
for a measly 349 pounds including flight, car and 9 nights. Pretty good deal! And
best of all it was for 2 weeks time! A quick call to my Boss at home to confirm I
could take the time off work and it was all booked.
The Airports and Flight:
I have a paranoia that involves my car breaking down and me missing a flight so I
always stay at an airport hotel before a big flight (i don't do it for work as im not
too worried then). This time we went for the Gatwick Hilton, for any brits planning
to get an airport hotel take my advice, the Hilton is a little more than the
surrounding hotels but its worth it. Just being able to check in and go back to the
Hotel room for a shower and watch TV makes it worthwhile and the Spa is pretty nice
too.
London Gatwick Airport didnt seem to have the levels of security i'd expected, no
sign of the Armed Police, even though ive seen them there prior to 911 and the
baggage checks were no more than cursory, although the guy did give my Harry Potter
book a good shake!
I will admit to a few nerves when we were waiting for take off but once up we were
both fine. I have to say this was the first time id flown with Virgin and it will be
my last. There is nothing wrong with the service as such, it is in fact way better
than a lot of the minor carriers, however in my opinion it doesn't beat British
Airways. On the BA flights ive taken to orlando the time goes real fast as the
attendants just dont leave you alone, they are constantly bringing food,drink etc and
the in flight entertainment was a lot better.
Closer we got to MCO more i started to dread that darn double baggage handling
process, I think part of baggage handlers training includes finding bags with the
name 'Mark Somerville - UK' on them and not putting them on the carousel until the
end, so having to do it twice at orlando always fills me with, shall we say less than
a little Disney Joy, and then the strangest thing happened. I got through immigration
in one go!, I got through customs without a hitch!, my bag was the first off the
carousel, there was a monorail waiting for me as i arrived at them, my bags were
staring at me on the 2nd carousel as i arrived and it and there was no queue at the
Dollar car rental desk!!!!!. Believe it or not, from stepping off the Plane to
starting up my hire car (a rather lovely Chrysler Sebring by the way) took less than
25 minutes, if no one else steps forward Im claiming that as a world record.
So with a big smile on our faces and a yell of 'woohoo were home' (we consider
orlando to be our home and the UK just where we work and where our house just happens
to be situated) we were off onto the Beeline expressway and heading for i-drive.
Hotel and PI :
I wasnt sure what to expect from the Hotel as this was the first time id stayed in
the USA and not been on a Disney Property. The Wyndham proved to be an excellent
choice. The Rooms were very spacious and well furnished (much more so than ASM) and
the Hotels facillities were well up to WDW standards, 3 Pools, Hot Tub, Pool Bar,
Restaurants, Ice cream Parlour and shops all on site, and an i-ride stop right
outside (more on that later). Of course it didnt have the WDW 'magic' and next time i
will definatley be staying on WDW again (2 years this time as we are saving for The
Grand Floridian) but it was certainly a solid option for folks that maybe want to be
distanced a bit from the 24hr a day WDW experience.
Once settled in and showered it amazed us to see that it was only 5.30pm. So much for
taking it easy first night, time to hit the Outlet Centres and Pleasure Island.
Weve learnt our lesson in the past and pack very little in the way of clothing,so
first order of business was a trip to the Orlando Premium Outlets centre at the
bottom of i-drive (about midway between Seaworld and the 536) to get some more
appropriate attire. Once fully kitted out in new Reebok, RL, Timberland and CK kit
off to Pleasure Island we go. By this time the travelling is starting to take its
toll so we decide to just have a meal and a browse round World of Disney. So first to
one of my favourites, RainForest Cafe. We actually have one of these in UK now but I
refuse to go there in case it takes a bit away from the MarketPlace venue. Not a lot
has changed, food is still good and service is spot on. Once full of Mojo bones and
Pot roast its time to browse World of Disney. For anyone who hasnt been here, imagine
your local Disney Store and multiply it by 10 and you are almost there. The amount of
Disney stuff in here is unreal. Towels, Mugs and T-shirts are bought and off we go
back to the hotel for a well earned sleep and dreams of the adventures to come......
I go into too much/not enough detail in the first part and ill make changes to the
next one.
Day 1 November 27th 2001 : The Flight and Pleasure Island.
Background:
This is the 2nd trip the DW and I have had in 2 years (no kids yet) and my 4th trip
in total. Last year we stayed at the All star Sports resort for 10 days in November.
We had orignally cancelled this trip after 911. Personally I was still willing to
fly, however the DW just wasnt comfortable with it. Somewhere at the start of
November out of the blue she told me that she had been feeling bad, reading stories
in the news about the downturn in tourism and folks in the orlando area loosing their
jobs, her comment was 'they were great to us when there wasn't any problems, it seems
bad that we cancelled'. So I gave her the option of us re-booking, maybe for sometime
in the new year. With a big smile she agreed so I went off to my office to look into
it, dancing all the way once i was out of her sight! (im 29, im supposed to be disney
immune by now arent I?)
A quick check on DIS and Virgin Holiday's website revealed some amazing bargains.
Initially I was looking to stay on site, maybe at CB or ASMovies, but after some thought I
decided to go with Virgin Holidays and try something new, that is stay on I-Drive. I
went for the Wyndham Resort on the corner of International Drive and SandLake road
for a measly 349 pounds including flight, car and 9 nights. Pretty good deal! And
best of all it was for 2 weeks time! A quick call to my Boss at home to confirm I
could take the time off work and it was all booked.
The Airports and Flight:
I have a paranoia that involves my car breaking down and me missing a flight so I
always stay at an airport hotel before a big flight (i don't do it for work as im not
too worried then). This time we went for the Gatwick Hilton, for any brits planning
to get an airport hotel take my advice, the Hilton is a little more than the
surrounding hotels but its worth it. Just being able to check in and go back to the
Hotel room for a shower and watch TV makes it worthwhile and the Spa is pretty nice
too.
London Gatwick Airport didnt seem to have the levels of security i'd expected, no
sign of the Armed Police, even though ive seen them there prior to 911 and the
baggage checks were no more than cursory, although the guy did give my Harry Potter
book a good shake!
I will admit to a few nerves when we were waiting for take off but once up we were
both fine. I have to say this was the first time id flown with Virgin and it will be
my last. There is nothing wrong with the service as such, it is in fact way better
than a lot of the minor carriers, however in my opinion it doesn't beat British
Airways. On the BA flights ive taken to orlando the time goes real fast as the
attendants just dont leave you alone, they are constantly bringing food,drink etc and
the in flight entertainment was a lot better.
Closer we got to MCO more i started to dread that darn double baggage handling
process, I think part of baggage handlers training includes finding bags with the
name 'Mark Somerville - UK' on them and not putting them on the carousel until the
end, so having to do it twice at orlando always fills me with, shall we say less than
a little Disney Joy, and then the strangest thing happened. I got through immigration
in one go!, I got through customs without a hitch!, my bag was the first off the
carousel, there was a monorail waiting for me as i arrived at them, my bags were
staring at me on the 2nd carousel as i arrived and it and there was no queue at the
Dollar car rental desk!!!!!. Believe it or not, from stepping off the Plane to
starting up my hire car (a rather lovely Chrysler Sebring by the way) took less than
25 minutes, if no one else steps forward Im claiming that as a world record.
So with a big smile on our faces and a yell of 'woohoo were home' (we consider
orlando to be our home and the UK just where we work and where our house just happens
to be situated) we were off onto the Beeline expressway and heading for i-drive.
Hotel and PI :
I wasnt sure what to expect from the Hotel as this was the first time id stayed in
the USA and not been on a Disney Property. The Wyndham proved to be an excellent
choice. The Rooms were very spacious and well furnished (much more so than ASM) and
the Hotels facillities were well up to WDW standards, 3 Pools, Hot Tub, Pool Bar,
Restaurants, Ice cream Parlour and shops all on site, and an i-ride stop right
outside (more on that later). Of course it didnt have the WDW 'magic' and next time i
will definatley be staying on WDW again (2 years this time as we are saving for The
Grand Floridian) but it was certainly a solid option for folks that maybe want to be
distanced a bit from the 24hr a day WDW experience.
Once settled in and showered it amazed us to see that it was only 5.30pm. So much for
taking it easy first night, time to hit the Outlet Centres and Pleasure Island.
Weve learnt our lesson in the past and pack very little in the way of clothing,so
first order of business was a trip to the Orlando Premium Outlets centre at the
bottom of i-drive (about midway between Seaworld and the 536) to get some more
appropriate attire. Once fully kitted out in new Reebok, RL, Timberland and CK kit
off to Pleasure Island we go. By this time the travelling is starting to take its
toll so we decide to just have a meal and a browse round World of Disney. So first to
one of my favourites, RainForest Cafe. We actually have one of these in UK now but I
refuse to go there in case it takes a bit away from the MarketPlace venue. Not a lot
has changed, food is still good and service is spot on. Once full of Mojo bones and
Pot roast its time to browse World of Disney. For anyone who hasnt been here, imagine
your local Disney Store and multiply it by 10 and you are almost there. The amount of
Disney stuff in here is unreal. Towels, Mugs and T-shirts are bought and off we go
back to the hotel for a well earned sleep and dreams of the adventures to come......
)
