Marie and Steve's 2007 Florida Holiday

[KayleeUK]

Looking forward to this

 

[Little Flower]

We went and picked up the tickets this weekend

Now there is nothing stopping us - all we have to do is wait till next friday i might burst if i have to wait that long

Only one thing i wasn't too happy about - both our Disney Ultimate Ticket and our Orlando Flex Ticket are E tickets - now i'm going to worry about whether they will honour them or not

 

[Minniespal]

I'm sure the time will whizz by until next Friday

 

[Little Flower]

9 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wilma-bride]

Woohoo

 

[Little Flower]

Thats what i was thinking!!!!!!!!!! Whoo Hooo

 

[Little Flower]

I have just had the best weekend ever!!!!

Not only have i come back to work this morning to wind down as we are leaving in 3 days but......

On Friday we were told that we have finally been posted out of Aldergrove and will be moving at the end of August. We are going home!!!! The new posting is in my home town!!!! I am beyond excited.

The only thing that could top this would be a trip to WDW in Orlando!!!!! oh.. and did i forget to mention.... i am going there too in 3 days........

Told you it was a great weekend

 

[Little Flower]

This will be my last post before we leave!!

We're flying to Gatwick tomorrow night and then off to Sunny Florida on Friday morning!!!!!

 

[arieljasmine]

Have a magical trip

Laur's

 

[Mad Tea Party]

I hope you have a great trip and a great birthday!

 

[wils]

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Little Flower]

Hi Everyone,

We've just got back from the most wonderful two weeks

It's about 6.30am and i'm sat in Gatwick waiting for our 9am flight back to Belfast!!! Good job i'm still on Orlando time - it only feels about midnight!!

I will get all my notes together and photos downloaded and then i will tell you everything!!!

I promise i will post soon!!!!

 

[wils]

Welcome back to the rainy old UK!

 

[Flump]

Welcome back Marie. I have just been reading your thread and cannot wait to read your trip report and what you thought of Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Welcome Back,cant wait to see piccies and have a good read up

 

[jen_uk]

Welcome back! Please post your trippie and photos soon, I'm dying to see them!

 

[Lizzy Lemon]

Welcome home - I'm dying to read your trippie too.

 

[arieljasmine]

Welcome home! So pleased to hear that you had a good time. Looking forward to reading your trippie and hearing what you thought of the AKL.

Laur's

 

[Little Flower]

I honestly don't know where to start when it comes to putting into words just how wonderful this holiday was. We've been back for 4 days and i am desperately trying to think of a way to go back to 1st June to start all over again!! I can say without a doubt that this was the best holiday i have ever been on and i am going to find it hard to top the experiences of the last two weeks.

Enough gushing........................... on with the trip report!!

I will start with a recap of the characters;

Me: Marie or Alice (in my own little wonderland), Maurice (my little sister thinks this is a hilarous nickname! ) 28. Slightly (ok, a lot) talkative, excitable (like a child) and generally just daft. I love everything about Disney but am a sucker for Winnie the Pooh. Favourite park: Magic Kingdom (Wishes OMG!) Favourite ride: Soarin'. Highlight of the holiday: My birthday (all will be explained later)

DH: Steve or "OH GREAT AND WISE GINGER ONE" or Ginge for short. 27. Much quieter than i am but just as silly. Is happy as long as i am happy. Not keen on thrill rides. Laughed like a little child at Lilo and Stich. Doesn't like the Beverley. Favourite Park: Universal Studios Favourite Ride: Soarin' Highlight of the holiday: My birthday

Travel Day

I really don't think that i had contemplated just how long our travel was going to be to get us to the fabled utopia that is WDW Florida. I had spent nearly a full year planning this holiday, determined that it would go off without a hitch (which, with the exception of a couple of scary thunderstorms, i am proud to say it did) I didn't realise just how long it would like to get there when you don't fly direct.

Our travel epic started at 7pm on Thursday 31st May, a full 24 hours from our estimated arrival time in Sanford.

That day had been spent in a flurry of activity (mainly by me!!!!) The two dogs - who also need introduction, were taken off to the kennels.

Misty - our 6 year old white German Shepherd

Holly - 18 month old mentalist German Shepherd puppy.

They are two of the most loving wonderful dogs that you wil ever meet.

There was foreign currency to obtain, last minute clothes to buy and pedicures to be had. Lets just say that by the time we reached 5.30 and had to leave for the airport i was exhausted and the journey hadn't even started yet.

I am pathologically terrified of flying so the next 24 hours were bound to be a complete nightmare. The worst for me is the short haul rather than the long haul. To make it worse we were flying Easyjet!. I have a very strange opinion on budget flights (you're all going to think that i am very weird) I'm of the opinion that if the flight is so cheap it must be because they have forgotten to attach something to the plane, a wing... an engine.... perhaps a pilot...

"OH MY GOD.... This plane doesn't have a left filangie!!!!"

It's completely irational, not to mention ridiculous but, it means that short haul cheap flights are the most horrific thing i can imagine. Long haul to me means complete and utter boredom but, short haul means....da da da dum.... certain death!!!!

Not surprisingly, the flight from Belfast International to Gatwick goes really well.. if you don't count me crushing Steves hand in abject terror!! I can't really tell you alot about Belfast International Airport as i was so terrified i stationed myself on a seat infront of a screen and concentrated on eating a packet of crisps, so as to distract myself.

On arrival, after a bus and a 200 mile walk around the airport, via Outer Mongolia, we arrived at the baggage carousel, picked up our luggage and headed for the concourse to try and find food.

We settled on Frankie and Benny's which, to me, is the ultimate comfort food, especially since we have moved to Northern Ireland. It evokes memories of my old life, living in my home town and heading to Frankie and Benny's and the cinema. The food wasn't too bad but, wasn't as good as the non airport versions of the restaurant.

We had a hotel room booked for the night so after eating we headed to the taxi rank, got a taxi and headed to the Premier Inn at the North Terminal to sleep (hopefully)

I really can't say anything bad about the Premier Inn - nice room, fairly quiet although the beds are really soft and i was in pain when i woke up. They have a shuttle bus to the terminals which is really helpful and was only £2

Next: Day One "Are we nearly there yet?"

 

[wilma-bride]

Good start Marie - did your dogs go to the kennels near the airport? I love Belfast International airport, it's so nice for a small airport

Looking forward to hearing more - and seeing more pics, of course