Hello There Newbie here!!

[RachaelAitken]

Hello there everyone,
Been lurking around the boards for a few weeks and now feel confident enough to join in with the family of fellow Disney addicts. This site has been such a great resource for me planning our october trip. First time to Disney World with my DH and DD4 and DS2. I dont think i have ever been so excited about a holiday before!!

 

[shellbell]

Hiya Rachael

Welcome to the boards. I find them really helpful and everyone is so friendly They have helped me plan for my first trip in September I am going with DH, DD who will 3 on Tuesday and DH parents who have been about 5 times before

I am soo excited too

Hope your having lots of fun planning, have you got the brits guide to orlando book?

Michelle

 

[RachaelAitken]

Great to know other mad people are up as early as me on this sunny sunday morning. I,m a bit new to this computer chat buisness so hope i reply ok. I have got the Brits guide and Birnbaums which i found invaluable, also a heap of other books not quite so good. Following advice off this site i bought myself a deluxe passporter which for a planning obsessive like myself is a dream come true. Only thing i'm having probs with is setting up a countdown timer, technical support seems to show only american time zones or am i doing it wrong?....probably!!! Would appreciate any help

 

[shellbell]

I did mine though the tech support but i can't remember what the times were looking at my timer now it does look slightly out?

Give it go you can always take it off if its wrong

Michelle

 

[Miffy2003]

Hi there Rachael and welcome to the boards

Like you I love my Deluxe Passporter! It's is an obsessive planner's dream come true isnt it?!!!

When I set my countdown I used one of the US time zones I think - I can't remember now but I figured it would only be a few hours wrong at the worst!! It's seeing the days count down I like... October is a fantastic time to go, where will you be staying Rachael?

Cheers,

Karen

 

[RachaelAitken]

We booked this holiday through Thomas Cook Spring 2003 and have been saving frantically since. Unfortunately didnt find these boards till recently and now realise how easy it would be to have put our own package together and how much we could have saved.Still will know for next time!!
We are staying at the Hawthorn suites off International drive, i booked these thinking they were fairly central and that with two kids it may be easier and more privacy to have a seperate bedroom/ living area. They also offer a free buffet breakfast daily which i thought would help the budget along a little. There is also a shuttle bus service to all of the disney parks and universal although as we have a hire car don,t know if we'll use this much.
Now i kinda wished i'd booked an onsite hotel to get all the perks of transportation and the atmosphere etc.. In our itinerary i have included various meals at the hotel restaurants so we can have a nose about.
Would be gratefull for any feedback from anyone who has used Thomas Cook or Hawthorn suites beforexxx

 

[KayleeUK]

Hi Rachael

Welcome to the DIS You will love it here, loads of planning to do!! I have a passporter too - I love it The Brits Guide is another of my favourites. What PS's have you made?

Have a bash with the countdown

Don't forget to join us here on the Community Board for general chit chat too

We have Trip Planning Chat every Sunday at 7pm, you will need to register again click here we can chat about everything Disney - we would love for you to join us

There is a Getting to know you thread on the Community Board....please join in and introduce yourself. You will find out loads about us

 

[disneyholic family]

Hi Rachael,

these boards are indeed great.....even after 30+ visits to WDW, i've picked up some great tips here that i didn't know about...

have a great time on your vacation (and planning for it)...

 

[kazzie]

Hi Rachael

What you have booked sounds great.If and when you do go back you'll have more confidence to maybe DIY it but I doubt any of us did it the first time,and speaking for me it took more than that for me to 'trust' doing it DIY!

 

[uktigger]

hi rachael

welcome to the boards

you'll find out lots of great information on here that will really help with your planning

happy planning and have a great holiday

eve

 

[slinky101]

hi, we went with thomas cook last year, no problems at all,.stayed at holiday inn nikki bird and was exactly as thomas cook brochure had described, we booked ten day hoppers with them and these arrived as promised, doing it all agin next year but this time the diy way, lots of security and peace of mind with a package first time and you will learn lots for your next trip, have a great time.

 

[pauldolling]

Originally posted by slinky101
hi, we went with thomas cook last year, no problems at all,.stayed at holiday inn nikki bird and was exactly as thomas cook brochure had described, we booked ten day hoppers with them and these arrived as promised, doing it all agin next year but this time the diy way, lots of security and peace of mind with a package first time and you will learn lots for your next trip, have a great time.

Hi Slinky, we are heading off for Nikki Bird in under 3 weeks time, what did you think of this hotel?? Your opinio would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul.

 

[LorraineH]

Hi Rachel!!

We are heading off for our "trip of a lifetime" in October too!! When exactly do you go?

Already, I'm talking about my "next" trip!! We had to drop Busch Gardens, an airboat ride, the beach etc, off this itinerary and now we will HAVE to go back to do them!

We booked last Aug and have been saving like crazy for a year!! We also booked a complete package with Virgin without the help of these boards, but truthfully Im glad we booked it all in one place for us first-timers!

What PS's have you booked? What about MNSSHP? We might see you out there!

Lorraine

 

[uktigger]

hi lorraine
have you booked mnsshp? we are going on the 17th

eve

 

[RachaelAitken]

So nice to see all your responses, it feels a little strange to be in black and white on the boards so to speak after reading everyone elses for so long!
We are staying fourteen nights from October 1st. As the kids are so small have tried to be realistic and just highlight what rides are appropriate for their ages, plus lots of charachter meets which i know will be their favourites. Thought i'd share our itinerary. Gotta share with someone have bored everyone else i know to death!!

Day one Overnight at Gatwick Hilton, thought maybe dinner at Frankie and Bennys (seems to have had some good reviews on these boards
Day Two Fly to Sanford, collect hire car, check in. Find local supermarket for supplies of drinks,snacks etc..
Day Three, Sea World
Day Four Magic Kingdom And Wishes. Our wedding anniversary so have a PS for Crystal palace dinner.
Day Five Universal IOA
Day Six Blizzard Beach then Downtown Disney (gotta get a potato head
Day seven Animal Kingdom then have dinner PS at OHanas so we can watch Electrical water pageant
Day Eight Epcot. We have a princess breakfast PS for 10am which my DD will love.
Day Nine Chill out day probably a mall and swimming at our hotel pool
Day ten Mini golf at Fantasia Gdns, then explore Boardwalk. We have a dinner PS at 1900 park fare
Day Eleven Kennedy space cr I'm not so keen but DH realy wants to do. Would be gratefull if anyone has directions?
Day Twelve Universal
Day Thirteen Typhoon lagoon am then back to hotel before MNSSHP. Have PS at LTT for 1630hrs. So excited about this night
Last day Back to MK for spectromagic and wishes

Still with me?!!! told you i was obsessive! Sorry its so long but would welcome any opinions on the above from seasoned disney goers

 

[LorraineH]

Rachel, is there any reason why you havent included MGM?

Ive heard that Fantasmic is a must-do!!!

Otherwise your itinerary looks cool! You've fitted in easier days with the water parks and free days etc! Wow! We've got 16 days to play with, and I still cant seem to fit everything in!!

My fiance wanted to do Kennedy Space Centre, and I've got a 10 yr old son who is into space stuff, but we just dont have the time. Thats another thing to do on our "next" trip!!!

We're doing MNSSHP on the 22nd!!

Lorraine

 

[RachaelAitken]

Hi Lorraine,
Must hve missed MGM when i was listing. We are actualy doing this day 13 and mnsshp day 14. Ive booked a PS at the sci fi diner which i've read mixed reviews about but it looks like fun so will give it a go.Looking forward to fantasmic
Rachael

 

[slinky101]

hi pauldolling.

Nikki Bird was great for us, its basic but we didnt go for luxury and were hardly there,pool was great, hot tub outdoors also, the hotel has an all you can eat seafood buffet which looked great and was a good price but the DD,s wouldn't hear of it! lots of locals came to the buffet which is a good sign,when we ate in the hotel we ate at Angels, its a 50's themed diner and was great, enormous portions, really friendly staff, fantastic pizza and milk shake with ice cream floats. the hotel had a kids eat free thing too, when adults ate any meal at angels or breakfast buffet, kids were free, we ate here a lot but also, ponderosa is two mins drive up the road so we ate there also. the location of Nikki Bird was great, they sell it as, the nearest non disney hotel to disney, and it took us less than ten minutes most days. We really liked the hotel and last year my parent joined us as a surprise for the DD's, they really liked it too, we would've booked it again for next year without question but, my brother is coming this time and he really wanted a villa. If you've got kids you'll probably get a kids suite, the little darlings get partitioned off with bunks and their own tv! have a great time.

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Hi there Rachael - good to "meet" you

Your itinerary looks great.

We always enjoy our overnight stay at Gatwick Hilton, it's like adding another day to the holiday. Don't forget there's a swimming pool there, if you get there on time

Frankie & Benny's is so much better than most of the other restaurants at Gatwick, we tend to stick with dinner and breakfast there.

MNSSHP is a brilliant evening. We got to MK earlier last October, around 5pm and were shown over to Space Mountain where we went on again and again

For cheap, but great, costumes if you are wanting to dress up, head straight to WalMart - they are just fantastic. My DD and DH have bought all their costumes there for around $15-20 each. We now have a nice selection of Halloween clothes over here

 

[maureen4200040]

Hi ya,

I have booked my 2002, 2003 orlando trips with Thomas Cook and had no problems.

However I booked with them in Feb 04 for our 11th Dec 04,
14 night trip and only found out a few weeks ago just by chance that they had cancelled all their winter flights to Orlando.

They had'nt sent me a letter about this, I went into their travel agent to clear the balance on my holiday and was informed there and then by a member of their staff. I received no letter from thomas cook, and can only conclude that they would not have gave me this information until 3-4weeks before I was suppose to travel.

They offered to put us on a britannia flight for the same date, but it did'nt included our previously booked premier seats. So I cancelled free of charge - and have since booked with Thomson for the same dates and 400 pounds cheaper. This will not stop me travelling with thomas cook in the future but I plan to organise my own trip for 2005.