Mandymouse's Fantastic Fantasy Cruise .. and then another one (Complete)

[mandymouse]

Castmembers

Mandy 49 (& reaching 50 disgracefully) & Paul 48 (always reminding me how much further from 50 he is)

Itinerary

Apr 17th ~ Stay overnight in Manchester
18th ~ Fly to Orlando/Check-in at Pop Century
19th ~ DHS/Epcot
20th ~ Disney Fantasy
27th ~ Disembark Fantasy /then get back on again (Yay !!)
May 4th ~ Disembark for real /Epcot/Fly home

Wednesday 17th April '13

Finally the day had arrived, we were GOING ON HOLIDAY TODAY!!!! Well almost, as tonight we were heading up to Manchester

It was going to be a mad day today. I was up at 5.30am. I had a cup of tea (I really can't function till I've had that first cuppa), then after a quick check on Facebook and the DIS, I popped to Asda to get some shopping in for the girls. Once all the food and alcohol (they're so their mothers' daughters ) had been put away, I then headed over to Coventry to take my mum shopping. Next up was my hair appointment, closely followed by my nail appointment

The afternoon was spent finishing off the packing and tidying up, then after many hugs with the girls, around 6.45pm we headed up the M6 to Manchester

We had booked a room at the Premier Inn at the Trafford Centre for a change. It only cost £29 in the Premier Inn sale, and we thought it would be nice to spend the evening before at our favourite champagne bar at the Trafford Centre

We arrived around 8.15pm after an uneventful drive, and once we had dropped off our luggage in our room, a drinkypoo or two called us

After a couple of drinks, we went back to the room and were off to the land of nod around 10.30pm

Tomorrow ~ Orlando, Here we come !!!

 

[mandymouse]

Thursday 18th April

I set the alarm for 6am, but woke around 5 and dozed for a while. I got up, showered and got ready, Paul got up a little while later, and once packed, we left just after 6.30

It was really windy and pouring with rain too, and I really didn't want to have to wear my mac, thankfully being partly Geordie (where the lasses will go out in next to nothing in 3 foot of snow) I manned up and just wore my cardy over my top and cropped jeans

The journey to the airport only took 20 mins, and we parked in the Terminal 2 car park which we had previously booked through BCP car parking for £78, and as we approached the barrier, the camera recognised our car registration number and a token was dispensed from the machine

We parked and crossed over to the Terminal, where the Virgin desk had just opened (7am). We were first in the line, and within minutes were heading up the escalator to security (which was a breeze) and through to airside

First stop was Frankie & Benny's for breakfast. I ordered a Bucks Fizz and an omelette, and Paul had a New England full English breakfast and we both had a cup of tea. The breakfast was lovely and came to £21.65 with a 20% discount voucher we found on the Manchester Airport website

After brekkie we had a mooch around the shops, we didn't see much, and I just bought a ring from Accessorize. We went to our departure gate to see Beauty Queen return, then we went to the bar for a drink around 9 (because you just have to, don't you ? )

We returned to the gate within an hour, and the boarding of Premium Economy had began, our rows were called 1/2 an hour later and the plane departed a few minutes late (just after 11)

The captain announced that the flight would take 8 hours & 45 minutes, and once the seat belt signs had been switched off, the cabin crew came round with the drinks trolley. I had a Bacardi & diet Pepsi and Paul had a lager, which we had with a mini bag of pretzels

I checked out the inflight magazine, and there looked a good choice of movies, Argo, Skyfall, The Bourne Legacy, The Hobbit, The Sweeney, Les Mis and Zero Dark Thirty to name a few. I watched The Sweeney first, and quite enjoyed it

During the movie dinner was served, the choices were Bangers & Mash, Chicken Korma and Aubergine Parmigiana. I enjoyed my Bangers & Mash, but Paul found the Chicken Korma to be too coconuty and we both washed it down with a diet Pepsi

Next I watched The Bourne Legacy, which I have seen several times (and unlike most people, I enjoy), though while it was on I read a magazine and made a start on my trip report. As the movie started, the cabin crew brought round Gu zesty lemon desserts, but we didn't fancy it

I watched an episode of Miranda (hilarious), and after a while we were given an ice lolly. Next I watched Zero Dark Thirty which was pretty good and lasted a good few hours too. An hour before landing we were offered an afternoon tea of cheese & pickle finger sandwich with a banana toffee cupcake, but we passed on these too

I watched Miranda again and not long later we began our descent. We landed at 3pm, but we're held back on the plane for 10 minutes as we had caught Immigration between shifts and they weren't ready for us. Thankfully we disembarked 15 minutes later and were through to Immigration before the Gatwick flight. We were called forward in no time and our luggage arrived quickly too, in fact we picked up our car at 3.45pm and were heading to Best Buys by the Florida Mall where Paul had ordered some gadget or other

... Cont'd

 

[mandymouse]

...
With new gadget in hand, we then set off towards the Pop Century. The check-in was empty, and within no time we were heading to our room (#6222) in building 6. Once we had dropped the luggage in our room, we went to the foodcourt where I had beef & brocolli and Paul had cheeseburger and fries

Once fed we got back in the car and drove to DownTown Disney. We had a good mooch around the shops, and due to our lack of time in WDW, we did some souvenir shopping. We left DTD and drove to Wal-Mart next where we stocked up in our usual supplies of suntan lotion, batteries, water & Club biscuits

Paul then wanted a quick wander around the Premium Outlets, but he didn't find what he was after, so our final stop for the night was watching Wishes from the beach at The Polynesian Resort

We were both flagging by now and our legs were aching too, but after enjoying the fireworks we headed back to the Pop, and I was asleep in minutes

Tomorrow ~ Our first & last full day in WDW

 

[darrenf67]

Great start! Looking forts to your TR we are on the Fantasy in November!!

 

[Tammy Stringer]

Oh Mandy - you kept this one quiet. Looking forward to reading all about your BTB cruise - lucky you

Tam

 

[Chilly]

Great start! A cheeky bucks fizz with breakfast and ending the day with Wishes, sounds perfect.

 

[jjk]

Yay you've started , looking forward to hearing all about back to back cruise

 

[wilma-bride]

Looking forward to this Mandy. I am so excited to be sailing on the Fantasy in a few months.

 

[Laurafoster]

Great start to your trip. Looking forward to reading all about your cruises

 

[westgrove]

I love the ribbon detail on your luggage!
I really enjoyed reading your last TR and look forward to the rest of this one

 

[dolphingirl47]

Just checking in. I have to read the bulk of this when I come back from my holiday. You had a very busy first day. I can't believe that you stayed awake long enough to do all the shopping and watch Wishes.

Corinna

 

[Latte Lover]

Lovely start Mandy. Looking forward to reading about your two cruises.

 

[Pinky166]

Great start hun. You did well, we usually check in, eat and pass out!

 

[florida sun]

Fab start hon, cant wait for more, Im ready when you are

 

[disney_princess_85]

Great start Mandy! Looking forward to more.

 

[mandymouse]

Great start! Looking forts to your TR we are on the Fantasy in November!!

Looking forward to this Mandy. I am so excited to be sailing on the Fantasy in a few months.

Ooh, you're all so lucky, you're going to love the Fantasy

Joh, is it just you and Garry going, or are the kids joining you ?

Just checking in. I have to read the bulk of this when I come back from my holiday. You had a very busy first day. I can't believe that you stayed awake long enough to do all the shopping and watch Wishes.

Corinna

You must be so excited Corinna, have you done a pre-trippy ? I look forward to reading about your trip

Oh Mandy - you kept this one quiet. Looking forward to reading all about your BTB cruise - lucky you

Tam

LOL, you know me Tam, I'm the weird one who doesn't like to broadcast that I'm leaving the girls home alone (even though they're old enough to have their own homes )

Great start! A cheeky bucks fizz with breakfast and ending the day with Wishes, sounds perfect.

Yay you've started , looking forward to hearing all about back to back cruise

Great start to your trip. Looking forward to reading all about your cruises

I love the ribbon detail on your luggage!
I really enjoyed reading your last TR and look forward to the rest of this one

Lovely start Mandy. Looking forward to reading about your two cruises.

Great start hun. You did well, we usually check in, eat and pass out!

Great start Mandy! Looking forward to more.

Thanks guys

Fab start hon, cant wait for more, Im ready when you are

OK, OK, I'll get on with another day, I guess the ironing can wait

 

[mandymouse]

Friday 19th April

Like clockwork and as happens every holiday on the first morning, I was awake at 5am, I managed to doze off for another couple of hours and got up at 7.15. I got showered, changed and chatted to the girls on WhatsApp and we left at 8.30 for Disney Hollywood Studios. It was a lovely morning and it was due to reach a high of 88F (yay!!)

We had to buy 2 single day park hopper passes first, then we were able to enter the park. First stop was a Fastpass for Tower of Terror, then we joined the line for RockNRollerCoaster. Once we had checked out Steven Tyler's new hat, we rode the ride again. Next we rode Tower of Terror (love this ride), then we rode it again with our FP's. We had some fruit cups and orange juice to tie us over till lunch and then rode Star Tours

As we had a very busy day ahead of us, we exited the park via the shops, got back in the car and set off for the Mall at Millenia. First stop was lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, we ate here for the first time on our last trip and absolutely loved it. This time I didn't make the mistake of ordering their mahoosive main version of their Shepherd's Pie, instead we started by sharing some Buffalo Wings, we both had the lunch size Shepherd's Pie, and we finished off by sharing a Key Lime & Mango Cheesecake, all washed down with several diet cokes, it was all delicious, and I think it roughly came to $70 including a tip, this place has definitely become a firm favourite of ours and we will be back again

We had a good look around the shops, though didn't buy anything, then we called into Best Buys, sadly we had to give the Krispy Kreme shop a miss as we were so full and still had a reservation at Tutto Italia that evening

We next drove down to the Florida Mall where I bought a t-shirt then we headed back to the room. We were still stuffed from our delish lunch, and we knew we wouldn't be able to give a meal at Tutto Italia justice, so we cancelled our reservation, and after chatting with the girls back home, we caught the bus to Epcot

Cont'd ...

 

[mandymouse]

...

The Flower & Garden Festival was on, so we wandered around taking photos of the fab topiaries, then we headed for World Showcase

Due to our lack of time in WDW, my only 'must do' this trip was to try a Spiced Rum Dole Whip at the F&G Festival, and I must say, it didn't disappoint

Next stop was the UK, where we had a couple of lagers and ciders and sat on the steps watching the British Revolution

We continued round World Showcase, which was really busy, due we think to the Village People performing in the US pavilion. We next stopped in Italy where I enjoyed a couple of Rosa Regales, and Paul had some Moretti's. We could hear the concert and the Village People were going to end with YMCA, so I wandered up to take a pic and take part

Cont'd ...

 

[mandymouse]

...

At the entrance to World Showcase there was a cool topiary of Monsters Inc, and Paul wanted to take some photos of IllumiNations from there, as ever I enjoyed my favourite firework show at WDW, and as it finished we quickly exited the park

As we really wanted to see the Cars area at the Art of Animation Resort, we caught the bus there and had a good look round, it looked amazing, what great theming, any Cars fan (like Paul) would love to stay there

We then crossed the bridge over to the Pop Century and enjoyed a couple of Captain Mai Tais and shared some chicken and pasta before heading to bed

Tomorrow ~ Disney Fantasy Baby!!!

 

[Chilly]

OK, OK, I'll get on with another day, I guess the ironing can wait

Ironing can always wait!