Fantasia Sam
I've been here so much longer!
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2000
- Messages
- 5,250
Fantasia Sam 25th Triparooney – featuring Cinderfella and a cast of many!
Setting the Scene
OK can’t remember the last time I completed a trip report on the DIS but let me give this one a shot…. I’ll set the scene:
My first ever trip to Orlando was back in September 1996 – I stayed on I-Drive at the Quality Inn Plaza, The Pointe I think had just broken ground ready for 1998 and The Mercardo center was THE place to be on I-Drive. Myself and the “Starter Hubby” didn’t drive we were beholden to Mears transport and the Virgin Welcome Meeting that sucked us in to other tours and the such like. We had a great time, did everything we had set out to do and we were exhausted! I remember doing some laundry and meeting an American who told me all about The Unofficial Guide I went and bought it the day before we left Orlando and started reading by the pool whilst waiting for our transfer back to MCO, a few pages in I knew that when we came back it would be better… and it was so!
Back in the day I loved I-Drive, I loved the restaurants, used the I-Ride and just had fun…roll on 15 years and things have definitely changed, I learnt to drive, I met a load of random American Disneyphiles on the internet who became close and personal friends, I found that staying on-property was really for me and not only do I have a new husband, Cinderfella, who loves Disney as much I do (not that the Starter Hubby didn’t, I just didn’t love him as much as Disney LOL
but we had the most magical Happily Ever After when we had our Disney Wedding back in May 2004!
November 2011 brought us another WDW adventure – I could say it’s more times if I counted returning after cruising etc LOL but if I just include flights out then this was to be my 25th visit to Walt Disney World.
We had a lot….. way too many infact… of friends that were also staying in Disney during our first week and we wanted to try and spend time with everyone and get in just some Sammy and Cinderfella time!
CAST:
Me – FantasiaSam, I am passionate about Disney, the colour pink, gadgets and most importantly of all food. My username comes from my love for Hyacinth. I have a soft spot for Chip and Dale and Stitch (coincidentally our dog is named Stitch) and Ariel.
DH – Cinderfella, thinks he’s a comedian and it doesn’t help when my US friends laugh at all his jokes! Enjoys Walt Disney World and is very passionate about steak and burgers as well as a lot of other food! Be warned this is a man who will push children out of the way at Rope Drop to be the first to ride Peter Pan – hold on tight to your kiddies if you see us at MK. Likes Mickey, Goofy and Donald.
Guests – our first week is being spent with an abundance of friends, mostly American and all with the same love and passion for Disney as we have:
The Dreamers – this is a posse I am a part of and we all met up at DISCon2 back in December 2002 – all of whom attended our wedding back in 2004
The Divas – some of my closest and dearest girlfriends we all met whilst planning our Disney weddings on Disneymooner.com
Throw in some other local friends (also past or to be Disney Brides, Cast Members extrordinaires) and a couple of Brits and we are in for one heck of a busy time with a Cast Total of 35 including the kidlets – but we’ve saved our last 6 days for US.
So that’s us… now let me continue
TRAVEL DAY
(all photos taken with iPhone today so they’re not so hot!)
The alarm went off finally at 4:15am and I was relieved because I was way too excited to sleep properly which I was sure was going to hurt me later! After 45 mins of freshening up Paul got the cases in the car. I'm ashamed to say we went with 2 cases each as I was taking presents with me and a lot of stuff for my new owners locker! Anyway we were away by 5am heading to Heathrow. However, the heavens opened and I think our drive around the M25 was actually more scary than any ride I was anticipating on going on in WDW.
So get to Heathrow and we were met by our Purple Parking Meet and Greet and he got us a trolley for the luggage and we managed to get into the terminal without getting too wet.
We were flying Delta Business Class, we’d found these to be the cheapest at the time of booking 6 months before and this was going to be a whole new experience for us. The check-in area was really private and cool, it reminded me of the old Business BA check-in at one of the other terminals. We got straight through security on fast track which I was surprised about given it was a Friday morning. I was really disappointed with the shopping opportunities though at T4 so didn’t really touch the Duty Free much to Cinderfella’s relief. We then headed to the Sky Lounge and having been visitors of the BA and Virgin clubhouses we have to say this lounge came in as probably our most favourite to date. 2 floors of hot buffet breakfast food including blueberry pancakes mmmmmmm. I could have had a complimentary 20 mins Clarins treatment but I was just happy reading and eating and generally getting excited.
Shot of breakfast in the Skylounge
After breakkie we made our way to the Gate and checked out our plane on the way
We didn’t have to wait too long and then we were boarding… we had decided to fly Delta Business Elite on the recommendation of others and it saved us nearly £1,000 each compared to what we would have spent with BA so honestly we weren't expecting much in comparison.....oh how wrong we were!
Seriously, the service was amazing, it was great starting our trip with that American service and hospitality that we usually can't wait to reach. We were treated to pre-take off drinks in our every "seat is an aisle" seat and we loved the space.
Our lunch was very good we may even go as far as to say better than BA!
Chilli lime shrimp and scallop with southwest vegetable salad
Roasted yellow pepper soup
Mixed green salad
Tender Filet of Beef with blue cheese sauce, gnocchi and sautéed green beans – which Cinderfella had
Pan seared chicken breast with citrus salad, mashed potatoesz and grilled asparagus with roasted garlic
Vanilla ice cream sundae with choice of sauces, whipped cream and chopped nuts – no picture of that but this was the dessert and cheese trolley
Italian cannoli (is there any other?)
Wine choices were fab - Pouilly-Fuisse, Malbec and a cheeky dessert wine; Chateau du cros which went sublimely well with the cannoli :-D
The cabin had a full selection of films on demand but I spent my time watching the second series of Downtown Abbey and listening to Podcasts and sleeping.
We missed the scones and clotted cream from the BA flight but the smell of these little babies cooking helped alleviate that loss
I like to check the map as we fly
Eeee not long to go
Afternoon snack
Coming in over Miami
We arrived at Miami Airport I believe on time however the Immigration Hall was a zoo. That said I love a good queuing system and they do have the one “one” queuing system, much like at Disney and once all the Americans had gone through their domestic channels they opened these up for Visitors but I think it took nearly 2 hours to get through and then we had the task of looking for our luggage which had been taken off the belts and lined up, soon found it and then off to the Car Rental Center…. OK I do not like the fact that you can’t take the luggage trolleys on the moving walkways… long walk to the “monorail” which takes you to the Car Rental Center.
Once you get to the Car Rental Center it’s pretty cool, tres modern! We had booked an intermediate with Alamo and when we got to the garage they told us to take any Full-size so we ended up with a Toyota something or other LOL it was a nice drive. Getting out of Miami Airport when it’s your first time is a little stressful and we ended up on the loop road of all the departure terminals arghhhh but I plugged in my Co-Pilot on my iPhone as soon as I could and we were on the road to our hotel for the night.
We decided to stay in Dora so that we were near the Interstate the next morning, we were in the Intercontinental and it was nice but definitely not necessary for us to spend over a $150 for that night ohhhh and I found the staff not to be so bilingual in British as they are in Orlando so a little stressful at check-in because American is their 2nd language which means Britspeak is harder for them to understand and I was tired which didn’t help. Our room was awesome though – a nice King bed with a door that took you straight out to the patio, I was thinking when I booked this that it would be nice to do an evening swim but they had an event going on and there were lots of cocktail dresses all around the pool so I decided to just freshen up and then we went out in search of dinner.
We didn’t want to drive but we were only a half mile away from a Tony Romas so we decided to walk…. Of course that was probably a little silly too given that this part of Miami is not like “International Drive” – there were sidewalks but we had to do a little bit of jay-walking to get to the other side but nothing was keeping us away from our ribs and it seemed too close to get a cab!
Tony Romas Miami – I’d actually say this was a “nicer” establishment than the one we have visited many times before on I-Drive, I think more so because it seemed newer and very nice inside. Really good server and we had got stuck in, Paul had ribs but I went for the mini filets with toppings, very scrummy and tied us over.
Once back at the hotel we visited the gift shop for some water and then hit the hay.
Day 1
Setting the Scene
OK can’t remember the last time I completed a trip report on the DIS but let me give this one a shot…. I’ll set the scene:
My first ever trip to Orlando was back in September 1996 – I stayed on I-Drive at the Quality Inn Plaza, The Pointe I think had just broken ground ready for 1998 and The Mercardo center was THE place to be on I-Drive. Myself and the “Starter Hubby” didn’t drive we were beholden to Mears transport and the Virgin Welcome Meeting that sucked us in to other tours and the such like. We had a great time, did everything we had set out to do and we were exhausted! I remember doing some laundry and meeting an American who told me all about The Unofficial Guide I went and bought it the day before we left Orlando and started reading by the pool whilst waiting for our transfer back to MCO, a few pages in I knew that when we came back it would be better… and it was so!
Back in the day I loved I-Drive, I loved the restaurants, used the I-Ride and just had fun…roll on 15 years and things have definitely changed, I learnt to drive, I met a load of random American Disneyphiles on the internet who became close and personal friends, I found that staying on-property was really for me and not only do I have a new husband, Cinderfella, who loves Disney as much I do (not that the Starter Hubby didn’t, I just didn’t love him as much as Disney LOL
but we had the most magical Happily Ever After when we had our Disney Wedding back in May 2004!
November 2011 brought us another WDW adventure – I could say it’s more times if I counted returning after cruising etc LOL but if I just include flights out then this was to be my 25th visit to Walt Disney World.
We had a lot….. way too many infact… of friends that were also staying in Disney during our first week and we wanted to try and spend time with everyone and get in just some Sammy and Cinderfella time!
CAST:
Me – FantasiaSam, I am passionate about Disney, the colour pink, gadgets and most importantly of all food. My username comes from my love for Hyacinth. I have a soft spot for Chip and Dale and Stitch (coincidentally our dog is named Stitch) and Ariel.
DH – Cinderfella, thinks he’s a comedian and it doesn’t help when my US friends laugh at all his jokes! Enjoys Walt Disney World and is very passionate about steak and burgers as well as a lot of other food! Be warned this is a man who will push children out of the way at Rope Drop to be the first to ride Peter Pan – hold on tight to your kiddies if you see us at MK. Likes Mickey, Goofy and Donald.
Guests – our first week is being spent with an abundance of friends, mostly American and all with the same love and passion for Disney as we have:
The Dreamers – this is a posse I am a part of and we all met up at DISCon2 back in December 2002 – all of whom attended our wedding back in 2004
The Divas – some of my closest and dearest girlfriends we all met whilst planning our Disney weddings on Disneymooner.com
Throw in some other local friends (also past or to be Disney Brides, Cast Members extrordinaires) and a couple of Brits and we are in for one heck of a busy time with a Cast Total of 35 including the kidlets – but we’ve saved our last 6 days for US.
So that’s us… now let me continue
TRAVEL DAY
(all photos taken with iPhone today so they’re not so hot!)
The alarm went off finally at 4:15am and I was relieved because I was way too excited to sleep properly which I was sure was going to hurt me later! After 45 mins of freshening up Paul got the cases in the car. I'm ashamed to say we went with 2 cases each as I was taking presents with me and a lot of stuff for my new owners locker! Anyway we were away by 5am heading to Heathrow. However, the heavens opened and I think our drive around the M25 was actually more scary than any ride I was anticipating on going on in WDW.
So get to Heathrow and we were met by our Purple Parking Meet and Greet and he got us a trolley for the luggage and we managed to get into the terminal without getting too wet.
We were flying Delta Business Class, we’d found these to be the cheapest at the time of booking 6 months before and this was going to be a whole new experience for us. The check-in area was really private and cool, it reminded me of the old Business BA check-in at one of the other terminals. We got straight through security on fast track which I was surprised about given it was a Friday morning. I was really disappointed with the shopping opportunities though at T4 so didn’t really touch the Duty Free much to Cinderfella’s relief. We then headed to the Sky Lounge and having been visitors of the BA and Virgin clubhouses we have to say this lounge came in as probably our most favourite to date. 2 floors of hot buffet breakfast food including blueberry pancakes mmmmmmm. I could have had a complimentary 20 mins Clarins treatment but I was just happy reading and eating and generally getting excited.
Shot of breakfast in the Skylounge
After breakkie we made our way to the Gate and checked out our plane on the way
We didn’t have to wait too long and then we were boarding… we had decided to fly Delta Business Elite on the recommendation of others and it saved us nearly £1,000 each compared to what we would have spent with BA so honestly we weren't expecting much in comparison.....oh how wrong we were!
Seriously, the service was amazing, it was great starting our trip with that American service and hospitality that we usually can't wait to reach. We were treated to pre-take off drinks in our every "seat is an aisle" seat and we loved the space.
Our lunch was very good we may even go as far as to say better than BA!
Chilli lime shrimp and scallop with southwest vegetable salad
Roasted yellow pepper soup
Mixed green salad
Tender Filet of Beef with blue cheese sauce, gnocchi and sautéed green beans – which Cinderfella had
Pan seared chicken breast with citrus salad, mashed potatoesz and grilled asparagus with roasted garlic
Vanilla ice cream sundae with choice of sauces, whipped cream and chopped nuts – no picture of that but this was the dessert and cheese trolley
Italian cannoli (is there any other?)
Wine choices were fab - Pouilly-Fuisse, Malbec and a cheeky dessert wine; Chateau du cros which went sublimely well with the cannoli :-D
The cabin had a full selection of films on demand but I spent my time watching the second series of Downtown Abbey and listening to Podcasts and sleeping.
We missed the scones and clotted cream from the BA flight but the smell of these little babies cooking helped alleviate that loss
I like to check the map as we fly
Eeee not long to go
Afternoon snack
Coming in over Miami
We arrived at Miami Airport I believe on time however the Immigration Hall was a zoo. That said I love a good queuing system and they do have the one “one” queuing system, much like at Disney and once all the Americans had gone through their domestic channels they opened these up for Visitors but I think it took nearly 2 hours to get through and then we had the task of looking for our luggage which had been taken off the belts and lined up, soon found it and then off to the Car Rental Center…. OK I do not like the fact that you can’t take the luggage trolleys on the moving walkways… long walk to the “monorail” which takes you to the Car Rental Center.
Once you get to the Car Rental Center it’s pretty cool, tres modern! We had booked an intermediate with Alamo and when we got to the garage they told us to take any Full-size so we ended up with a Toyota something or other LOL it was a nice drive. Getting out of Miami Airport when it’s your first time is a little stressful and we ended up on the loop road of all the departure terminals arghhhh but I plugged in my Co-Pilot on my iPhone as soon as I could and we were on the road to our hotel for the night.
We decided to stay in Dora so that we were near the Interstate the next morning, we were in the Intercontinental and it was nice but definitely not necessary for us to spend over a $150 for that night ohhhh and I found the staff not to be so bilingual in British as they are in Orlando so a little stressful at check-in because American is their 2nd language which means Britspeak is harder for them to understand and I was tired which didn’t help. Our room was awesome though – a nice King bed with a door that took you straight out to the patio, I was thinking when I booked this that it would be nice to do an evening swim but they had an event going on and there were lots of cocktail dresses all around the pool so I decided to just freshen up and then we went out in search of dinner.
We didn’t want to drive but we were only a half mile away from a Tony Romas so we decided to walk…. Of course that was probably a little silly too given that this part of Miami is not like “International Drive” – there were sidewalks but we had to do a little bit of jay-walking to get to the other side but nothing was keeping us away from our ribs and it seemed too close to get a cab!
Tony Romas Miami – I’d actually say this was a “nicer” establishment than the one we have visited many times before on I-Drive, I think more so because it seemed newer and very nice inside. Really good server and we had got stuck in, Paul had ribs but I went for the mini filets with toppings, very scrummy and tied us over.
Once back at the hotel we visited the gift shop for some water and then hit the hay.
Day 1
