My first ever pre-trip report, single mum with two boisterous children. Am I mad?

[madmumof2]

Yeah, I've put breakfast at POP most days, but now we'll have a car we'll most likely be eating at Denny's or Ponderosa most days. Got to go to Sizzlers again and IHOP. Loved them!

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Yeah, I've put breakfast at POP most days, but now we'll have a car we'll most likely be eating at Denny's or Ponderosa most days. Got to go to Sizzlers again and IHOP. Loved them!

Definately..it's more filling..especially for the younger members

 

[wicket2005]

Sounds good and glad you have managed to cut out some things to save money. We usually now just stock up on stuff at Walmarts and eat what we bought in the room for breakfast it allows us to get up a bit later to reach the parks for opening.

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Sounds good and glad you have managed to cut out some things to save money. We usually now just stock up on stuff at Walmarts and eat what we bought in the room for breakfast it allows us to get up a bit later to reach the parks for opening.

Yep we do this also..
This has made us look at villas next time purely for this reason eating what we like and cooking it ourselves giving us more freedom etc...the children are happier.
Its amazing how much it soon adds up eating onsite/etc.

 

[Pinky166]

Your plans are fab Gem....sounds like your pretty much sorted now.

 

[Pegasus928]

Some good planning there. Bet you will all have a great time.
I did notice though that on Day 3 you are Dining with Shamu - which is a buffet lunch - then T-rex for dinner, which has really huge portions.
It seems like a lot for one day - is there no way that you could juggle it rather than going to T-Rex (which to be fair is one of the more expensive restaurants) and wasting a lot of what you order?
I also know from experience that Clearwater is more like a 90 minute to 2 hour drive so it would be worth bearing that in mind for your 8pm ressie.
All in all it looks as though you have a lot to look forward to

 

[Danwell]

Heya,

I haven't read all the replies so someone may have already mentioned (or you may be aware already) if your under 25 at the time of hiring a car you will probably (almost def' unless the rules have changed) pay extra insurance locally.

I was 24 when I hired my first Orlando wheels and paid all the 'normal' insurance upfront then had this to pay when I collected the keys (it couldn't be paid before, only locally) I wasn't expensive as such but if you aren't aware before hand I didn't want it to shock you.

Great trip plans btw.

 

[madmumof2]

Yeah, that's a good point. I'll see if there's a T-Rex ressie for one of the days where I don't have one instead of having that and Shamu. No biggie if not though, I think we'll be booking the 11:30 one so will treat that as a late breakfast probably.

Danwell, I got my hire at carhire3000.com. It includes the under driver surcharge. I had almost given up as quotes were coming out at £800 for hire and insurance, but I got this one for just over £300 all in.

That's one thing I forgot to add, I still have dine with shamu and the breakfast with spiderman to book as I can't do that yet. Will look tomorrow for a different ressie for T-Rex.

 

[Pegasus928]

If you have a chance to look at our PTR Here you will see that we were also waiting for a 60 day window to book Dine with Shamu - until someone told me that you could do it at 90 days. We called Seaworld and was told 60 days (that was the second time we had phned them) but the website was showing our prefered date as available.
We booked it (or rather DW did) then called to confirm and was told by a new CM that the person you are speaking with has to do something on the screen to make the 90 day dates appear
Anyway we are done now - and I hope you manage to get yours too

 

[Danwell]

Danwell, I got my hire at carhire3000.com. It includes the under driver surcharge. I had almost given up as quotes were coming out at £800 for hire and insurance, but I got this one for just over £300 all in.

Wicked price and excellent to get the surcharge included and paid up front

 

[madmumof2]

Ok, getting closer and getting stressed now!

All sorts of money issues are appearing now which is stressful on it's own, but I've had to use some of my spending money on blimmin bills so I'm getting concerned about spending money at the minute. :S

I've cancelled Teppan Edo to cut down on costs a but I've booked Shamu and will be booking breakfast with Spiderman soon so that's less to spend when I'm out there.

I've cancelled the car, not only due to costs, but also because I haven't got both parts of my licence (moved 3 times since I got it, absolutely no idea where it is lol) and I've just booked a return taxi from Sanford to POP and back for £90 total! So that's me a bit chuffed. I'll have to get a couple of taxi's when I'm out there, but I doubt I'll be spending over £200 on them, which is what I've just saved.

And I no longer have anything left to pay for upfront. All of the money is now going towards spending money.

I'm awaiting my passport which should be here on Monday! Yay! Just need to get sorted with what to pack, what to take etc. I've got a horrible feeling I'll forget some paper work or something and be screwed when I get there lol. Don't let me forget to do my ESTA when I get my passport!! lol

34 days to go! I can't believe it, it was 412 when I booked it! It's gone so fast and no doubt I'll be cacking myself at the airport, ready to go it alone for the first time in my life (well, with the kids lol), in no time!!!

 

[Pegasus928]

Once you get to the airport it will all seem real and you will start to relax and enjoy it - at least I hope that is the case

If I were you I would get up in the attic and sort out a load of stuff for a car boot sale while the weather is still nice (at least I think it is still nice). We are planning on doing one when I get back to stick some more money in the Florida fund - every little helps as they say

 

[Lizzybear]

Sounds like you're pretty much sorted
I think cancelling the car was a good idea, not only for the money saved but also as you'll be the only adult with 2 kids which is a lot of pressure to be the driver AND navigator (i'm the only one of me and my bf who can drive but he takes a lot of the navigation responsibility, it does help a lot!) Although it's nice to have the freedom of a car in Orlando it's certainly not necessary, you'll be fine using buses and taxis i'm sure
Also, I wouldn't worry about the ADRs you've had to cut as there are so many other options for meals even onsite. The likes of Sunshine Seasons in Epcot and Cosmic Ray's in MK have some really nice 'dinner' type meals like chicken and mash and stirfries for CS prices Obviously offsite you have even more choice.
I second the car boot idea, it's amazing what people will buy

 

[Dylan_&_Blake's_mom]

Just found your PTR and am loving it so far. I will have to go check out this dolphin encounter that you talked about. We are doing an afternoon at Clearwater as well and dolphins are my favorite so I will look into it. Things look great for you as far as your itenerary and congrats on the great man. Hope everything is still going well.

 

[madmumof2]

This is where I got my tickets from http://attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk/attraction-ticket-prices/clearwater.htm

Can't wait, I've got a feeling that will be one of our best days this trip. I couldn't find anywhere with cheaper prices and had already got all my other tickets from this site too, they are brilliant.

Yeah, everything is going fantastically with the new man, I'm going to miss him like mad. Next time, he'll be coming too so no downsides at all then! lol

 

[Snowy-girls]

Hi Gem,my you have got a lot sorted ,well done you .
I also remember when your countdown was over 400 days ,gosh it has gone quick,there's no doubt about it.
Sorry to hear that you have had to use some of your spends-i also recommend a boot sale now,me+Hubby done our first ever one last Sunday and made a whopping £216.40 ,we was utterly shocked+never thought we would make so much.
Glad to hear things with your man are going well .It will al soon be here Gem+the 3 of you will be having a wonderful time .x.

 

[madmumof2]

Ok, my passport arrived today! Yay! So I've filled in my ESTA now and that was approved so we're all set now!

I've bought a few little things today, suitcase scales, bumbag, a couple of cans of that mist spray, travel pillows and some adapter plugs. If anyone has a list of things to take, please let me know! I'm lost, I don't know where to start with the packing lol

The kids both have a mini back pack for the parks and plane (they are allowed to take them on aren't they?) and their autograph books and pins.

I need to ring the TA to find out the details of our bags, what is and isn't allowed on the plane, measurements of cases etc, and how many bags we're allowed to take.

I've got three cases here, little, medium and big, and I'm going to pack a few things in the small case and put that inside the medium one, which will go into the big one. I obviously won't be able to do that on the way back with all the stuff I'll be bringing back, but with me on my own and two children to handle, I can't be doing with carrying 3 cases too, I don't think it's even possible! lol

I'm getting excited again now the main stresses are sorted.

 

[madmumof2]

My flight tickets arrived today! So I can now officially go to Florida!

Everything is booked, all my meals are booked, my itinerary is done, lifts all sorted, all I need to do now is save as much spending money as possible. I have $1500 as of now, will be getting paid while I'm over there which is another $500. Plus anything I add on from now until we go, so we should have a decent amount.

I've written out my luggage tags and just need to get our packing sorted now. I'll probably be buying a few bits but not much, so I can now just be excited and look forward to going!

I think it'll be a little bit harder being on my own for 2 weeks, in a new country with a different routine etc but I've just got to leave my stress head at home and remember it's a holiday, rules can be a little bit more lax!

My flights home have also been changed so I now have an extra 2 hours in Orlando which is brilliant. I'm just about to email about the transfers and tell them to pick me up a bit later, and once that's done, there's nothing left to do!

So excited now, we've waited so long for this trip and it's finally here!

Start of the holiday is a night at the Sofitel which I can't wait for either.

The only bad thing is I'm going to miss my man so much, but I guess I'll just have to pay a little bit extra for internet access and get some phone cards too!!

 

[Pugsly]

Your plans sounds great! All the best for the most magical of holidays!

 

[madmumof2]

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