wilma-bride
<<This space intentionally blank>>
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
- Messages
- 22,681
Monday 10th March Gatwick Bound
Having decided against driving to Gatwick (since I didnt want to drive home when I was tired after a night flight), we opted for the train to Gatwick.
My Dad picked us up at 12.30. I felt about 12 again when he asked me why I wasnt wearing any socks and told me Id get cold feet. He dropped us off at Chippenham train station, where we boarded the train to Reading. At Reading, we made the easy switch to the Gatwick train which dropped us off right at the North Terminal.
We tried to use the kiosks to do bag drop but I accidentally pressed the Other passport button by mistake so we had to go to the desk instead. It was quiet anyway so it wasnt a major issue. I had already done online check-in and printed our boarding cards earlier so we were all set.
We got in the lift, making sure that we pushed the cases in so it was easier to pull them out (Gary would be proud of us). I accidentally pressed the wrong floor so we got out and then had to get back in when I realised we were in the wrong place.
Over at the Premier Inn, we checked in using the kiosks. Had a slight blip when the girl said there were two reservations in my name slightly puzzling but made perfect since when I got home to find I had been charged for a no-show. Apparently, I had already booked the Premier Inn once (presumably when we first booked the holiday) but forgotten and booked it again in January.
We were allocated room 918, which was perfectly adequate for us. When I started to unpack my overnight bag, I realised I hadnt packed my make-up. Then, of course, I panicked that I had left all my make-up at home so I had to quickly phone Rhiannon to make sure I hadnt left my wash bag on the spare bed. Rhiannon confirmed it wasnt there so I had to just assume Id packed it (and all my make up) in the case.
We were both hungry by now, having only had a bagel for lunch. We made our way over to the South Terminal for dinner at Giraffe.
We ordered drinks. I asked for a Cosmopolitan but it wasnt on the menu and they couldnt make one because, apparently, they didnt have the right ingredients?!?
I settled for a Mango Daquiri while Sian had a Strawberry & Lime cider.
Id had this drink before and it had tasted (oddly) of cucumber back then but this time it was really nice and it went down a treat. We also ordered a diet coke as we were pretty thirsty.
For dinner, Sian had the Rodeo Burger (no mushrooms) with sweet potato fries.
I had my usual Chicken Schnitzel BLT (no LT) with regular fries.
I love the fact that everything is freshly cooked to order here and it was all delicious but Sians sweet potato fries were the standout item. They were seriously yummy.
We passed on dessert Sian wanted the Rocky Road Sundae but the brownie had nuts in it. The bill came to £36ish and we left £40. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in at M&S Simply Food and bought some cheesecake, which we demolished later back in our room.
After a quick phone call home, we watched TV and read for a while before lights out at 10.30.
Tuesday 11th March Orlando Bound
After a fabulous nights sleep, we were up around 7.30. I couldnt believe what a peaceful night wed had. Normally, at an airport hotel, I hardly sleep a wink with doors slamming and people up and down the corridor all night. I dont know if it was a fluke but the Premier Inn was great I didnt hear a thing all night. We will definitely stay here again.
We got ready (luckily Sian had some BB cream with her so I didnt have to go face-naked and risk scaring small children on our flight) to leave. We had brought some moisturiser in a small travel bottle and had rinsed it out. I recalled a previous time wed done this and security had spotted a small amount of water residue in the bottom of the bottle while scanning my bags and pulled us aside for a full bag check. Mindful of this, I asked Sian to dry the bottle while I finished getting ready.
We left the room at 8.45 and walked over to the terminal. As we went through the terminal doors, there was a huge poster on the wall with the banner Sweet Dreams. For some reason, Sian read it as Wet Dreams which, of course, she found incredibly amusing. We went straight down to security but my carefully printed boarding passes wouldnt scan so we had to walk all the way back to the BA check-in desks (which, of course, werent at all quiet now) to have them reprinted. Luckily, a very nice gentleman helped us and got them printed again without us having to wait. It was at this point that Sian realised the zip on her jeans was undone. I joked that it clearly wasnt that noticeable, otherwise the guy at security would have let us through with our defective boarding passes.
As usual, we managed to join the slowest moving queue. But a nice man let us through to the other side where there was no queue at all score! We wandered around for a bit, looking for somewhere to have breakfast, and finally settled on Jamies Italian where we were seated straight away. Sian was a little bit excited.
We decided to start the day in style and ordered Mimosas.
Sian couldnt decided between the pancakes and the bacon sandwich so we decided to order both and split them.
The pancakes look pretty boring but they were actually very tasty. The bacon was delicious (although I nearly choked on mine when Sian took a big bate and declared yum, yum, Peppa Pig). Unfortunately, the sandwich came with butter on and I abhor butter so Sian got that all to herself. I didnt realise there was butter on it until Id taken a big mouthful so had to down the rest of my Mimosa to take the taste away.
After breakfast, we just had time for a quick wander around the shops before our gate was announced (gate 573). We had a slow walk to the gate and it wasnt long before we started boarding. We hadnt paid the extortionate amount BA wanted for us to pre-book seats but had got fairly decent seats when doing online check-in 24E and 24F (the right hand two of a row of three in the centre of the plane). As the plane filled up, we quickly came to the realisation that we might not have anybody sitting in the other seat. We were excitedly watching the doors until they finally closed and we realised we had the whole row to ourselves.
We took off a little late (around 12.10pm) but I wasnt in the slightest bit stressed (which I normally would have been at the thought of being behind schedule). I actually felt very relaxed probably more than I have on any previous trips. I put this down to a combination of a great nights sleep, not having to worry about Daniel and a breakfast Mimosa. The cabin crew were soon serving drinks and I decided to indulge in a little vodka love.
I decided to watch Frozen to see if it lived up to the hype. Sian watched The Book Thief. Frozen was great I really, really liked it. Sian said she really enjoyed The Book Thief.
Lunch was served a choice of sausage and mash, chicken and mash or veggie pasta. We both chose the chicken but neither of us liked it. Dessert was chocolate truffle with salted caramel very nice but extremely sickly.
Sian had a white wine with her lunch and I had an orange juice (to which I added the rest of my vodka).
We experienced a bit of turbulence after lunch and the Captain switched on the seat belt signs. It only lasted around 20 minutes though. I actually enjoy a bit of turbulence it livens up the flight.
A little while later, we tucked into a little treat we had bought ourselves the night before Percy Pigs!
It was around this time that I noticed the guy sitting across the aisle from me. He was chewing his nails and picking his nose the whole time. The trouble is, once Id seen it I couldnt un-see it and it bugged me for the remainder of the flight. I turned slightly away from him and closed my eyes for a bit and the next thing I knew, it was an hour later. I must have dozed off. We still had 5 hours to go and I couldnt get into any other films so decided to watch Frozen again. Tea was served a while later a sandwich (which I didnt eat) and a KitKat (which I did eat but wished I hadnt it was dark choc and tasted a bit weird, to be honest).
Finally, we were over Orlando and coming in to land. We actually landed 20 minutes early and were through immigration in 15 minutes, as we were the only flight to land at this time and we were also able to use the new kiosks at MCO. Unfortunately, any advantage wed had in getting through immigration quickly was lost in the hour that we then had to wait for our luggage.
Eventually, we had our cases and made our way over to catch the Magical Express. Our Disney adventure was about to begin.
Continued in next post...
Having decided against driving to Gatwick (since I didnt want to drive home when I was tired after a night flight), we opted for the train to Gatwick.
My Dad picked us up at 12.30. I felt about 12 again when he asked me why I wasnt wearing any socks and told me Id get cold feet. He dropped us off at Chippenham train station, where we boarded the train to Reading. At Reading, we made the easy switch to the Gatwick train which dropped us off right at the North Terminal.
We tried to use the kiosks to do bag drop but I accidentally pressed the Other passport button by mistake so we had to go to the desk instead. It was quiet anyway so it wasnt a major issue. I had already done online check-in and printed our boarding cards earlier so we were all set.
We got in the lift, making sure that we pushed the cases in so it was easier to pull them out (Gary would be proud of us). I accidentally pressed the wrong floor so we got out and then had to get back in when I realised we were in the wrong place.
Over at the Premier Inn, we checked in using the kiosks. Had a slight blip when the girl said there were two reservations in my name slightly puzzling but made perfect since when I got home to find I had been charged for a no-show. Apparently, I had already booked the Premier Inn once (presumably when we first booked the holiday) but forgotten and booked it again in January.
We were allocated room 918, which was perfectly adequate for us. When I started to unpack my overnight bag, I realised I hadnt packed my make-up. Then, of course, I panicked that I had left all my make-up at home so I had to quickly phone Rhiannon to make sure I hadnt left my wash bag on the spare bed. Rhiannon confirmed it wasnt there so I had to just assume Id packed it (and all my make up) in the case.
We were both hungry by now, having only had a bagel for lunch. We made our way over to the South Terminal for dinner at Giraffe.
We ordered drinks. I asked for a Cosmopolitan but it wasnt on the menu and they couldnt make one because, apparently, they didnt have the right ingredients?!?
I settled for a Mango Daquiri while Sian had a Strawberry & Lime cider.
Id had this drink before and it had tasted (oddly) of cucumber back then but this time it was really nice and it went down a treat. We also ordered a diet coke as we were pretty thirsty.
For dinner, Sian had the Rodeo Burger (no mushrooms) with sweet potato fries.
I had my usual Chicken Schnitzel BLT (no LT) with regular fries.
I love the fact that everything is freshly cooked to order here and it was all delicious but Sians sweet potato fries were the standout item. They were seriously yummy.
We passed on dessert Sian wanted the Rocky Road Sundae but the brownie had nuts in it. The bill came to £36ish and we left £40. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in at M&S Simply Food and bought some cheesecake, which we demolished later back in our room.
After a quick phone call home, we watched TV and read for a while before lights out at 10.30.
Tuesday 11th March Orlando Bound
After a fabulous nights sleep, we were up around 7.30. I couldnt believe what a peaceful night wed had. Normally, at an airport hotel, I hardly sleep a wink with doors slamming and people up and down the corridor all night. I dont know if it was a fluke but the Premier Inn was great I didnt hear a thing all night. We will definitely stay here again.
We got ready (luckily Sian had some BB cream with her so I didnt have to go face-naked and risk scaring small children on our flight) to leave. We had brought some moisturiser in a small travel bottle and had rinsed it out. I recalled a previous time wed done this and security had spotted a small amount of water residue in the bottom of the bottle while scanning my bags and pulled us aside for a full bag check. Mindful of this, I asked Sian to dry the bottle while I finished getting ready.
We left the room at 8.45 and walked over to the terminal. As we went through the terminal doors, there was a huge poster on the wall with the banner Sweet Dreams. For some reason, Sian read it as Wet Dreams which, of course, she found incredibly amusing. We went straight down to security but my carefully printed boarding passes wouldnt scan so we had to walk all the way back to the BA check-in desks (which, of course, werent at all quiet now) to have them reprinted. Luckily, a very nice gentleman helped us and got them printed again without us having to wait. It was at this point that Sian realised the zip on her jeans was undone. I joked that it clearly wasnt that noticeable, otherwise the guy at security would have let us through with our defective boarding passes.
As usual, we managed to join the slowest moving queue. But a nice man let us through to the other side where there was no queue at all score! We wandered around for a bit, looking for somewhere to have breakfast, and finally settled on Jamies Italian where we were seated straight away. Sian was a little bit excited.
We decided to start the day in style and ordered Mimosas.
Sian couldnt decided between the pancakes and the bacon sandwich so we decided to order both and split them.
The pancakes look pretty boring but they were actually very tasty. The bacon was delicious (although I nearly choked on mine when Sian took a big bate and declared yum, yum, Peppa Pig). Unfortunately, the sandwich came with butter on and I abhor butter so Sian got that all to herself. I didnt realise there was butter on it until Id taken a big mouthful so had to down the rest of my Mimosa to take the taste away.
After breakfast, we just had time for a quick wander around the shops before our gate was announced (gate 573). We had a slow walk to the gate and it wasnt long before we started boarding. We hadnt paid the extortionate amount BA wanted for us to pre-book seats but had got fairly decent seats when doing online check-in 24E and 24F (the right hand two of a row of three in the centre of the plane). As the plane filled up, we quickly came to the realisation that we might not have anybody sitting in the other seat. We were excitedly watching the doors until they finally closed and we realised we had the whole row to ourselves.
We took off a little late (around 12.10pm) but I wasnt in the slightest bit stressed (which I normally would have been at the thought of being behind schedule). I actually felt very relaxed probably more than I have on any previous trips. I put this down to a combination of a great nights sleep, not having to worry about Daniel and a breakfast Mimosa. The cabin crew were soon serving drinks and I decided to indulge in a little vodka love.
I decided to watch Frozen to see if it lived up to the hype. Sian watched The Book Thief. Frozen was great I really, really liked it. Sian said she really enjoyed The Book Thief.
Lunch was served a choice of sausage and mash, chicken and mash or veggie pasta. We both chose the chicken but neither of us liked it. Dessert was chocolate truffle with salted caramel very nice but extremely sickly.
Sian had a white wine with her lunch and I had an orange juice (to which I added the rest of my vodka).
We experienced a bit of turbulence after lunch and the Captain switched on the seat belt signs. It only lasted around 20 minutes though. I actually enjoy a bit of turbulence it livens up the flight.
A little while later, we tucked into a little treat we had bought ourselves the night before Percy Pigs!
It was around this time that I noticed the guy sitting across the aisle from me. He was chewing his nails and picking his nose the whole time. The trouble is, once Id seen it I couldnt un-see it and it bugged me for the remainder of the flight. I turned slightly away from him and closed my eyes for a bit and the next thing I knew, it was an hour later. I must have dozed off. We still had 5 hours to go and I couldnt get into any other films so decided to watch Frozen again. Tea was served a while later a sandwich (which I didnt eat) and a KitKat (which I did eat but wished I hadnt it was dark choc and tasted a bit weird, to be honest).
Finally, we were over Orlando and coming in to land. We actually landed 20 minutes early and were through immigration in 15 minutes, as we were the only flight to land at this time and we were also able to use the new kiosks at MCO. Unfortunately, any advantage wed had in getting through immigration quickly was lost in the hour that we then had to wait for our luggage.
Eventually, we had our cases and made our way over to catch the Magical Express. Our Disney adventure was about to begin.
Continued in next post...
). Stay tuned for more...
Yes, Sian is correct, I was somewhat disappointed to see that the bus we were on was not a traditional Magical Express bus and unfortunately had a picture of Typhoon Lagoon on the side.
(Been on a few since though! 
)
I did an index - you can find it 
