Fantasia Sam
I've been here so much longer!
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2000
- Messages
- 5,250
Wow I totally missed my month to go date on Monday and then my 4 weeks to go on Thursday!! Ive been meaning and meaning to put together a pre-trippy plan for our upcoming trip.
The Players
Some of you know us now but for reminder sake:
Cinderfella is the Hubby who was bitten by the Disney bug long before he met me
Sammy me, Sam, I go by many different handles but this is the one that seems to stick with a lot of folks these days and being in my early 40s this nickname keeps me young!
We are going back to WDW at the end of August for an unexpected visit.
Originally we were planning to go from 26th October because I had to be there for work from 11th November and our APs actually run out on the 4th November so we were planning for Cinderfella to fly back on the 5th and Id hang out with some friends until the 11th..... however the realisation of being away from home and my day to day work for 3 straight weeks was starting to concern me.
Then the BA Business Class sale came upon us and the problem was almost immediately solved as long as I didnt mind shelling-out for 2 flights to Florida this year.... hmmm well after some quick calculations and checking of work schedules we decided we should both go to Orlando for a little jaunt after the August Bank Holiday. Cinderfella was ready to book flights Club flights into MCO but then I realised with our BA shareholder discount we could fly Club into Miami for a £1K saving off that MCO price so that was just the cherry on the cake and that meant that I would now have the funds to treat myself to a Club return ticket to Orlando for November...(originally I was flying via JFK with 3 nights in NYC) so this was a win-win situation
This is the part where I usually feel I have to justify flying club but for £900 each return... come on it surely would have been rude not to!?
The Plan
Well its pretty loose. We are driving to Heathrow on the Thursday and using Purple Parking Meet and Greet we used them last year and they were really good so going with them again this year, although sorry I cant tell you how much because Cinderfella deals with that one.
We then head into the lounge at what is the Divineness of T5 LOVE this terminal for 2 reasons the first being a great BA lounge and the second one of the few terminals that Ive found that sells Elemis which is another one of my guilty pleasures!
We will be arriving early at the T5 because I also want to be sure to get an Elemis treatment in at the BA Galleries Lounge yayyyy!
Then its a nice long flight of 9 hours to Miami well land just after 3pm local time and hope that this stands us in better stead at Immigration than the lines did last November when we Qd nearly 2 hours to get through... fingers crossed LOL
Then were just going to get the Hotel shuttle to the Sheraton check into our room. I got a steal online with my Starwood Preferred Guest Memberhip... I managed to book us a Club Level King Room for £77 incl. Full breakfast in the restaurant on the Friday morning so Im pretty pleased about that.
Once we check-in well then just walk over to the Car Care Center and pick up our rental because Cinderfella didnt want to do this in the morning so this is fine with me. I currently have a Standard car hire booked for £210 with all insurances and additional drivers plus fuel with Alamo... booking with fuel is a godsend for Miami driving as it just makes life easier as does the automatic tolls but I'm still on the look out for something better from Holiday Autos.
Friday morning well be up early, and this time because were having full breakfast at the Sheraton we literally will only need to stop for a little convenience break on the drive up to Disney. However last year we drove it on a Saturday morning but this year well be dealing with Miami rush-hour so well see how we fair. I have Co-Pilot on my iPhone which rocks on getting us out of Miami but after that its a pretty straight and boring drive. I shall sing to Cinderfella on the way.
Were staying at Old Key West this will be Cinderfellas first time at OKW and my 3rd stay. Im very excited as we will have a 1BR and I love languishing in the space, I've previously stayed in a studio and a Grand Villa on a girls trip which was awesome, so really looking forward to trying out the 1 Bed.
We have DVC and its served us well over the years. I have priced out Free Dining and regular priced dining and it never works for us because we dont really eat Counter Service and then if we upgrade to the Deluxe we would have too many credits left over as we also like to eat off-site... plus whilst we love to eat 3 TS meals a day, some signature, we actually dont always eat 3 courses each AND I dont want to feel that I have to eat the most expensive meal on the menu to get the value... I did an excel sheet when we got back from our last 2 trips and it worked out cheaper for us not to do Deluxe Dining Packages (free, upgraded or just rack rate) what with AP rates and Tables in Wonderland card, admittedly we probably had less food (is that a bad thing?) because we werent always eating 3 courses and it was only a little cheaper but Ill take the saving of a few hundred dollars (and calories) if it means I dont have to feel like I have to eat on-site all the time. I really dont like to be dictated to by the Mouse or anyone really ha-ha!
We have only scheduled in 3 meals, so far, and they are the character meals that I knew we had to book. Now this is a first for me because usually I like to have a full list of where we are eating and when, before we arrive... now we dont necessarily stick to the list or the plan but I like to have one all the same.
Currently we have scheduled Akershus for Dinner as we LOVED our lunch so much in November we now want to try the dinner having already experienced the breakfast. Cinderfella loves hamming it up with the princesses too :roll eyes:
I miss Chip and Dale at Cape May Cafe breakfast so we are going to see them at Garden Grill which I havent done since 2003 and Cinderfella has never been here, so this will be a nice first for him.
Cinderfella asked to do Crystal Palace for dinner which I was happy to oblige with although I do think that this buffet whilst I appreciate its good food that place can be pricey.. for a buffet... although its more expensive if you dine there OOP just before a MNSSHP or MCMCP... I hate it when they jack the price up during special events but hey they have a business to run and I really like the experience!
I do have to think about some more restaurants that we will consider because I keep reading the most recent Live Trip Reports and thinking that I want to eat at every restaurant everyone else eats at LOL I need to rein that list in a little but Im sort of excited about the prospect of playing the rest of our dining by ear and looking at all the availability on-site currently for our dates were not going to struggle in the least for somewhere to eat at a time convenient to us!
I understand that well be in Orlando for Labor Day which comes with a little peak in crowd levels but it also comes with Sales at the shops so hopefully well get that in.
Otherwise were just hanging at the major 4-Parks given we have our APs and around the pool and at the mall and that will be just what were looking for from this holiday. We will stay at Disney for the 8 nights and then head back down to Miami on the Saturday after some breakkie before the flight home Saturday evening.
Honestly I wont be all that sad to get home, although Cinderfella may be a little as he wont be joining me for my return trip less than 8 weeks later... mwahhhhhh
The Players
Some of you know us now but for reminder sake:
Cinderfella is the Hubby who was bitten by the Disney bug long before he met me
Sammy me, Sam, I go by many different handles but this is the one that seems to stick with a lot of folks these days and being in my early 40s this nickname keeps me young!
We are going back to WDW at the end of August for an unexpected visit.
Originally we were planning to go from 26th October because I had to be there for work from 11th November and our APs actually run out on the 4th November so we were planning for Cinderfella to fly back on the 5th and Id hang out with some friends until the 11th..... however the realisation of being away from home and my day to day work for 3 straight weeks was starting to concern me.
Then the BA Business Class sale came upon us and the problem was almost immediately solved as long as I didnt mind shelling-out for 2 flights to Florida this year.... hmmm well after some quick calculations and checking of work schedules we decided we should both go to Orlando for a little jaunt after the August Bank Holiday. Cinderfella was ready to book flights Club flights into MCO but then I realised with our BA shareholder discount we could fly Club into Miami for a £1K saving off that MCO price so that was just the cherry on the cake and that meant that I would now have the funds to treat myself to a Club return ticket to Orlando for November...(originally I was flying via JFK with 3 nights in NYC) so this was a win-win situation
This is the part where I usually feel I have to justify flying club but for £900 each return... come on it surely would have been rude not to!?
The Plan
Well its pretty loose. We are driving to Heathrow on the Thursday and using Purple Parking Meet and Greet we used them last year and they were really good so going with them again this year, although sorry I cant tell you how much because Cinderfella deals with that one.
We then head into the lounge at what is the Divineness of T5 LOVE this terminal for 2 reasons the first being a great BA lounge and the second one of the few terminals that Ive found that sells Elemis which is another one of my guilty pleasures!
We will be arriving early at the T5 because I also want to be sure to get an Elemis treatment in at the BA Galleries Lounge yayyyy!
Then its a nice long flight of 9 hours to Miami well land just after 3pm local time and hope that this stands us in better stead at Immigration than the lines did last November when we Qd nearly 2 hours to get through... fingers crossed LOL
Then were just going to get the Hotel shuttle to the Sheraton check into our room. I got a steal online with my Starwood Preferred Guest Memberhip... I managed to book us a Club Level King Room for £77 incl. Full breakfast in the restaurant on the Friday morning so Im pretty pleased about that.
Once we check-in well then just walk over to the Car Care Center and pick up our rental because Cinderfella didnt want to do this in the morning so this is fine with me. I currently have a Standard car hire booked for £210 with all insurances and additional drivers plus fuel with Alamo... booking with fuel is a godsend for Miami driving as it just makes life easier as does the automatic tolls but I'm still on the look out for something better from Holiday Autos.
Friday morning well be up early, and this time because were having full breakfast at the Sheraton we literally will only need to stop for a little convenience break on the drive up to Disney. However last year we drove it on a Saturday morning but this year well be dealing with Miami rush-hour so well see how we fair. I have Co-Pilot on my iPhone which rocks on getting us out of Miami but after that its a pretty straight and boring drive. I shall sing to Cinderfella on the way.
Were staying at Old Key West this will be Cinderfellas first time at OKW and my 3rd stay. Im very excited as we will have a 1BR and I love languishing in the space, I've previously stayed in a studio and a Grand Villa on a girls trip which was awesome, so really looking forward to trying out the 1 Bed.
We have DVC and its served us well over the years. I have priced out Free Dining and regular priced dining and it never works for us because we dont really eat Counter Service and then if we upgrade to the Deluxe we would have too many credits left over as we also like to eat off-site... plus whilst we love to eat 3 TS meals a day, some signature, we actually dont always eat 3 courses each AND I dont want to feel that I have to eat the most expensive meal on the menu to get the value... I did an excel sheet when we got back from our last 2 trips and it worked out cheaper for us not to do Deluxe Dining Packages (free, upgraded or just rack rate) what with AP rates and Tables in Wonderland card, admittedly we probably had less food (is that a bad thing?) because we werent always eating 3 courses and it was only a little cheaper but Ill take the saving of a few hundred dollars (and calories) if it means I dont have to feel like I have to eat on-site all the time. I really dont like to be dictated to by the Mouse or anyone really ha-ha!
We have only scheduled in 3 meals, so far, and they are the character meals that I knew we had to book. Now this is a first for me because usually I like to have a full list of where we are eating and when, before we arrive... now we dont necessarily stick to the list or the plan but I like to have one all the same.
Currently we have scheduled Akershus for Dinner as we LOVED our lunch so much in November we now want to try the dinner having already experienced the breakfast. Cinderfella loves hamming it up with the princesses too :roll eyes:
I miss Chip and Dale at Cape May Cafe breakfast so we are going to see them at Garden Grill which I havent done since 2003 and Cinderfella has never been here, so this will be a nice first for him.
Cinderfella asked to do Crystal Palace for dinner which I was happy to oblige with although I do think that this buffet whilst I appreciate its good food that place can be pricey.. for a buffet... although its more expensive if you dine there OOP just before a MNSSHP or MCMCP... I hate it when they jack the price up during special events but hey they have a business to run and I really like the experience!
I do have to think about some more restaurants that we will consider because I keep reading the most recent Live Trip Reports and thinking that I want to eat at every restaurant everyone else eats at LOL I need to rein that list in a little but Im sort of excited about the prospect of playing the rest of our dining by ear and looking at all the availability on-site currently for our dates were not going to struggle in the least for somewhere to eat at a time convenient to us!
I understand that well be in Orlando for Labor Day which comes with a little peak in crowd levels but it also comes with Sales at the shops so hopefully well get that in.
Otherwise were just hanging at the major 4-Parks given we have our APs and around the pool and at the mall and that will be just what were looking for from this holiday. We will stay at Disney for the 8 nights and then head back down to Miami on the Saturday after some breakkie before the flight home Saturday evening.
Honestly I wont be all that sad to get home, although Cinderfella may be a little as he wont be joining me for my return trip less than 8 weeks later... mwahhhhhh
and wow 25 years 
- what a great way to celebrate in WDW, is is just the two of you? 
Not long to go now, really enjoy your TR Sam so look forward to hearing more 
