Disney Barbie's TR.July'09-14 nights at the Yacht Club! updated 11/21 pg6 COMPLETE!

[disneybarbie]

Jambo!

Got back last week from another magical Walt Disney World vacation, and wanted to share our adventures on the boards

This trip was quite different to my last couple of trips to the World with just my DBF – this vacation was with his family – all seven of us! (see PTR for a little more background info on me & the party, if you’re interested!)

So the cast was…

Me Emma
DBF Steve
DBF’s Mom
DBF’s Dad
DBF’s older sister (Belle)
DBF’s older sister’s BF (Gaston)
DBF’s younger sister – (Tink)

To make this TR easier to read I’ve assigned Disney character nicknames for some of the family members! Btw I chose Gaston because I thought Beast was too mean!!

People from the July thread probably know already that we had quite a change to our original vacation plans… Gaston’s daughter (let’s call her Cinderella) was supposed to be coming on vacation with us.. she’s 4 years old. The vacation was booked in January ’09, and at the time – her Mom had no problem with Cinderella coming away with us – but three weeks before we were due to leave, she decided that it wasn’t ok! Gaston tried as hard as he could to sort it out, it was in their custody agreement that he could take his daughter on vacation; but in the end she didn’t come with us.
This meant some minor changes to our itinerary – I cancelled a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appointment I had booked for her, and also changed dinner at Akershush to Raglan Road (I still wanted to eat in the Norway restaurant, but worried others in the party might find it awkward having dinner with the princesses, without our little princess?!)

Other info… we booked our trip with Virgin Holidays – they are quite good, but I don’t think they know enough about Disney holiday packages. For example, we should have been able to book Magical Express, as we were staying at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort – but when I phoned Virgin to arrange this, they had no idea what I was talking about?!
So after months of planning & dreaming – on July 8th, it was Disney Eve… I finished work at 12.30pm (I knew a half day would be needed, no way would I be able to concentrate til 5pm!)…. And we could finally say….

WE’RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!


Disney Eve Wednesday July 8th 2009

DBF (Steve) & I got to his parents’ house at 8pm – they live locally, but they like us all to be together the night before we go on vacation – get the cars packed with the luggage, etc (!)
This is all our stuff ready to pack…..

Gaston & Belle were on their way from Yorkshire, the traffic wasn’t good though and they didn’t arrive til after 11pm – and we had to be up at 5am ready to leave for the airport!
Once the cars were packed, Tink announced she was going to bed.. this was a little alarming for me as I’d bought everybody surprise Disney eve gift baskets, and we hadn’t opened them yet! So I ran upstairs after her, and asked nicely if she would mind staying up for just a little longer.
Once everyone was in the lounge, I gave out the wdw ‘admin packs’ – one for each of the four rooms we’d have at the Yacht Club. Each one contained a rough day-by-day guide, a list of ADRs & other bookings, a Disney quiz, Mousekeeping envelopes & a Disney pen. I also made a cd of Disney music, the cover said “we’re going to Disney World – July 9th 2009”, the idea was for us to play it in the car on the way to the airport

Next… I gave everyone a Disney box (these are sold in the UK Disney Stores for £2 each) – they are really colourful, and when I walked into the lounge with them I think everyone’s eyes lit up…. DBFM said it was like Christmas morning!
Here is what each box contained….

DBF Dad..

DBF Mom..

DBF

Gaston

Belle

and Tink

Boxes all together..

I think everyone was pretty surprised by their gift boxes, and really seemed to enjoy them!
It seemed to lighten the mood a bit too, as we were all still a little sad that Cinderella wouldn’t be joining us for the vacation.. so the gifts added a sprinkling of pixie dust.
Soon it was after midnight, time for a few hours sleep before we needed to head to the airport!
I found it sooo hard to drift off to sleep that night, my head full of Disney.. but I think I slept a little, next thing I knew.. my alarm was buzzing… 4.45am!

Stay tuned for Day 1 – 4000 miles to go til Walt Disney World! …

Barbie x

 

[jenbear123]

Oh wow. I am so subbing! We're planning on staying at YC for our 2010 Disney trip but never stayed there before. Can't wait to see a sneak peek through your trip report. 2 weeks! I'm super jealous.

 

[mousebymarriage]

So far so good, I can't wait to hear the rest.
The gift boxes were an excellent idea! Not sure when we will be going back but, when we do I will definately use your gift box idea.

 

[acejka]

So far so good! I'm in. I can't wait to read more.

 

[LuvMySoldier07]

followed you from the july board. cant wait to read more!

 

[RachelNinja]

I'm in! Excited to see more! I'm assuming you're very close with your DBF's family? That's so great! I don't know if I'd be comfortable going on vacation with my DBF's fam, although he could definitely come with my family!

BTW, that notebook of the Disney Cuties with Mickey and Minnie ... so adorable!

 

[dolfinjuls]

I'm here! Can't wait to hear about your trip! I loved your gift boxes for everyone, so sweet!

 

[sassysasha]

 

[disneybarbie]

Thanks to everyone for subscribing so far!

I'm in! Excited to see more! I'm assuming you're very close with your DBF's family? That's so great! I don't know if I'd be comfortable going on vacation with my DBF's fam, although he could definitely come with my family!

Lol DBF (Steve) and I have been together for nearly 5 years and we live together in our own home... so we're both pretty close with each other's families
I went to the caribbean for the last two summer vacations with his family (in the same group of 7 people) ... but this year DBFD decided we should go to WDW instead
Most of the time it was a fantastic vacation with them.. but you'll see later in the TR that they are not 'disney people' like me and steve (I converted him years ago! ) so they weren't alway into the Magic & it was a little hard work at times...

Next installment coming up!

Barbie

 

[disneybarbie]

Day 1 July 9th – Part 1: The Transatlantic Journey to Florida, an hour at immigration, and a surprise ‘taxi’ to the World!

So after a restless 5 hours sleep, I awoke to my alarm; it took a few seconds to remember why I’d set it so early, and then I jumped out of bed… today is THE day!
Quickly got dressed and packed the last few things into my hand-luggage bag. Everyone else was up too; soon we were all set to go – DBFM and Belle did the all important double-check that everything in the house was locked, switched off, secure, etc…. and then we set off to London Gatwick airport at 5.50am!

Quick note… in DBFD’s gift box, I had made him a journal so he could keep a diary of our vacation - Steve told me his Dad always used to keep a holiday diary when they were kids, but hadn’t for many years. As part of the journal, DBFD told us that we would all have 10 ‘points’ each day – and if we did anything bad (like, get in a bad mood, or were last through a turnstile into a theme park!) then we’d lose a point… or if you did something good you got a bonus point; and the person with the most points intact at the end of the vacation would get a prize! It made for some funny moments while we were in WDW!
So... I didn’t start the point-scoring very well, as I received a minus point before we even left the house for the airport! I’d used my hair-straighteners when getting ready, and although they were switched off & unplugged, they were still warm – and this was considered a ‘fire hazard’ by DBFD&M ?! (fyi they are a very cautious and pessimistic family!) I tried to explain that they wouldn’t cause a fire… and I needed to use them because my hair is determined to be wavy but I like it straight!!

OK… so we’re on our way to the airport – the sky was blue & the sun was shining, and the M25 motorway was nearly empty (unusual on a weekday!) so we made it to the long-stay car park in 40 minutes… the Disney cds I made weren’t played in the cars (we needed to drive two to get us all + luggage there!), I think maybe it was a bit too early for a Disney-sing-along?!
We made it to the south terminal by 7.30am, check in took a while as Virgin Atlantic’s self-service and online check-in never ever seems to work for us so we had to get in line for the ‘old fashioned’ check in at a desk, but soon that was done & we headed for security – Steve had opened his bag to take out his laptop, and his Dad noticed our Pal Mickey sitting in the bag he’d never seen Pal before so was a little concerned why his 24 year-old son had a plush toy with him!
Next we had a look around duty-free shops, I got some new perfume & a large bottle of water for the flight.

Then we headed to the V Room (a lounge for Virgin Holidays customers only), we used this last year when going to the Caribbean and it had been great – all food & drink is free, there’s arcade games, free internet café, newspapers & magazines. This year it was much busier, but we still had a nice time there. They had US visa-waiver & customs forms so we filled those out. A VH rep came over to us and asked where we were going, DBFD said Orlando, and she asked if we needed any maps or info – he said we were fine; then she asked if we had our park tickets – so he said “yes we’ve got our Disney tickets & Universal tickets… we even have a schedule, restaurants booked & our own Disney tour-guide… Emma!”… the girl laughed, I think she thought he was joking!
She gave us an invite to a free VH welcome breakfast at the Hard Rock Café at Citywalk… DBFD and Gaston seemed really keen to do this; but we had to go on day 1 or 2 of our trip (at 8am!) … and I’d already planned to go to MK and AK those days, and I really didn’t want to leave wdw so early in the trip to go to UO !! They asked what I thought & I said the welcome breakfast was probably aimed at people who hadn’t been to Orlando before (so not us… steve & I last went in Oct ’08, Gaston in 2000 and the others in 2006)…. Luckily they agreed with me! Phew.
I phoned my parents from the airport for a quick chat… and to ask them to phone the Disney Florist to cancel Cinderella’s ‘royal welcome’ gift box I had arranged

We boarded the plane and took off about 30mins late.. this was ok though as the pilot managed to make the time up & we landed on time.
The flight was good, the 9 hours (!) seemed to go quite quickly – and there was only a small patch of turbulence but then it was a smooth journey! I’ve flown many many times in my life so far, but in the last few years I’ve started to become a nervous flyer, particularly in turbulence! My sister is an air stewardess & she’s explained to me that it’s nothing to worry about, even so… I don’t like it!
The only Disney movie that was onboard was Hannah Montana (I wish VA would have a Disney channel for their flights to Orlando!), so I watched that – I must admit to liking the new Disney channel programmes so I really enjoyed the movie! Had lunch, read some of the UOG, tried to sleep (never happens!) watched Finding Nemo on my iPod & listened to Lou Mongello’s audio guide to Main Street USA… then “ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our descent into Orlando International Airport” … !!!!

Immigration took a long time, probably the longest I’ve ever waited in the US! It didn’t help that we were in the last few rows of the plane – and as there were over 400 people on our plane alone, the lines were long !
When Steve & I have flown to MCO, I learnt a great tip from my Dad – to book seats near to the exit door that they open on arrival, then you get much closer to the front on the immigration line! But DBF’s family have not travelled to the USA as much and didn’t know this when they booked the flights

I wanted to get through the airport asap too.. as I had a surprise waiting .. and I just wanted to get to WDW !!
After nearly an hour we were through, our baggage was already there by then which was good.. so through customs.. and onto our first ‘ride’ of the vacation… the monorail!
We went to side A, level 1 to get our baggage again… DBFD and Gaston went to the Dollar desk to sort out the rental car.
As there were too many of us + luggage to fit in the rental, and Virgin could not/would not book DME for us.. I had arranged a taxi for 5 of us, while DBFD & Gaston took the car to wdw.

Well, I say ‘taxi’… it was actually…..

It was a fantastic surprise! DBFM, Belle, Tink & Steve were all completely shocked & so excited when our driver led us out of the airport and to the limo! Steve said “wow look at that white limo, wait a minute… is that ours?? Did you know about this?!”
I booked this through Tiffany Town Cars & highly recommend
It would have been $70 for a taxi, one way, and the limo was $110… so I thought it was worth the extra. None of them had been in a limo before!
The limo had a flat screen tv in it & there was a dvd of Happy Feet in there (again, why no Disney movies!?) & we could choose radio stations too.. we took some fun pictures inside the limo – Belle Tink & I wearing our Minnie ears (I’ll post these when I swap photos with them!)

Very very soon we were under that famous archway….

And arriving at the Yacht Club!!!

Up Next… first evening at WDW, Yacht Club – Boardwalk & surprise #3..

 

[dismagiclover]

I'm joining in! We spent a fabulous week at the Beach Club so I love reports from the Yacht/Beach Club. Glad you had a good flight. Waiting for more

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

I'm in too! I love all of your surprises. I have 2 trips scheduled for next year (Jan & Oct) The Jan trip is for my kids' birthdays and the Oct trip is for my DH's birthday so I would love to have lots of little surprises for everyone on both trips. You are giving me lots of ideas. I hope you gained your lost point back for the surprise limo!

 

[Mrsdisneyb2b]

Emma you are officially the queen of surprises!
Love the review so far!! YAY!

 

[WLfamily]

I'm here Emma!! Lovin your report and your pics!!! Can't wait for more!

 

[disneybarbie]

I'm here Emma!! Lovin your report and your pics!!! Can't wait for more!

Hi Jeana!

I think we might have 'seen' each other at Cape May Cafe on July 20th?? I know we had ADRs at the same time, from the July thread list... i was staring at everyone in the restaurant, looking for a lime-green mickey or some kinda clue??
our table was right by the line for the amazing chowder soup!

Emma x

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

I'm in!! Sounds like a wonderful start to your trip...love all of the surprises. But I'm still sad that the niece wasn't able to go with you. :-(

 

[jenbear123]

You are a bigger queen of surprises than I am! I would've never thought to rent a limo from the airport to WDW. Now that's riding in style Did people think you were famous? I love surprises but seem to give them more than I receive

Can't wait to hear about your Yacht Club experience! I'm staying tuned

 

[disneybarbie]

Just got some photos from Tink.... this is (left to right) me, Tink & Belle in the limo going to WDW, with our Minnie ears!

DBF, Steve, riding in style to wdw...

and yup we did feel like we were famous, lots of people were staring as we drove past!!

Emma x

 

[WLfamily]

OMG!!! I think you may be right!! I do remember walking past a table with a large group of people right by the clam chowder and for some reason I seemed to look at these people longer than I normally do. I finally realized I must be very rude for stopping to stare and couldn't quite figure out why I was so drawn to these people I didn't know. I am sorry my brain couldn't put two and two together. We had a rough first two days, ds was sick, and I wasn't quite with it. I may get brave like you and Stephanie and put together a trip report.

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Hi Emma, I'm following alone and enjoying the report so far!! Can't wait to read the next update! ~Reese