TraceyL
Always planning........
- Joined
- Nov 7, 1999
- Messages
- 1,866
No pictures (yet)- but here's an 'as it happens' account
The players
Me - OB (aka Tracey) ... always planning
DH (Steve) - keeps saying ' somewhere else next year' but always ends up in Orlando
Rachelle (10) loves simulators - hates coaster
Annabelle (6) - daredevil & speed freak
DM & DF - have come with us for the past 3 trips, both retired now and insisting this is their last trip
Greetings from Hilton Grand Vacations, Seaworld International Center!
It’s 5am and the first morning jet lag is in full force.
Sunday 8th April
Loaded up the cars and set off in convoy at 8:30 (on time for once) and set up for the journey up the M4 (long story as to why we're setting off this early but it involves not having any seats requested an not being able to use online check in). We managed to get all the way to Leigh Delamere before having to make our first pitstop. Hit the M25 at 11 on the dot and had a smooth run until we hit the M23 junction - several miles of slow traffic - all rubber necking at a banger race at the side of the motorway
Get to LGW at just after 12 - hadn’t been able to check in online because we’d booked through Kenwood travel (reason #1 for not using them again)
We're allowed to use Twilight checkin until 1pm - fbecause that day's flight is delayed. No seats prebooked together & we were seated apart as predicted(reason #2 for not using Kenwood again) - managed to get them switched & got emergency exit seats for free 38ABC plus 39ABC
Had lunch in Frankie & Benny’s £64 - service lacklustre, food ok
Headed out for a drink in the Flight Tavern as it was next door to out home for the night.
Checked in at Lowfield Farm at 5, nice place but a bit noisy. Had a family room (double + bunks £69) and a twin room (£49).
Monday 9th April
Light breakfast in room (plentiful continental breakie included)- off to LGW at 9am, through security - long queue but only took about 20 mins.
VA won’t give us APD voucher - Travel Agent should not have collected moneyif we’d wanted to reclaim voucher (reason # for not using Kenwood again) Steve chosen for bag search, me for pat down.
Garfunkels for brunch - £35
Gate 19, flight delayed by 1 hour due to upstairs toilet not working. Took off at 1345 eta 1745 EST
Uneventful flight - Dreamgirls. Food braised beef or chicken pasta, feta cheese salad, raspberry pud, cheese & biscuits. Kids meals chicken nuggety things with mash & carrots, dairy lea dunkers, fruit/gingerbread man, fruit shoot & sweets.
Landed 1740 with a collective groan when the Captain informs us that it‘s a ‘comfortable‘ 17 degrees, through immigration - uncommunicative Officer this year. Collect bags, through Customs - cases screened. Onto the tram and off to baggage reclaim, now we’ve arrived!
Downstairs to baggage reclaim then onto Dollar. Dollar Express card jumped a queue that must have been 30-45 mins. Get allocated white Town & Country - one look and no way luggage will fit. Kiosk won’t change car - say we have to pay for upgrade. Back to desk (jump queue again), no problems changing it for a shiny blue Dodge Grand Caravan with plenty of trunk space.
Eventually hit the road at 1945 - onto the Beeline towards I-Drive & SeaWorld . Easy journey (although the hotel is not on Mapman’s map
) & checked in by 2015. Allocated 1 bed king suite and connecting king bed studio in Hamilton Building, overlooking the pool and the Seaworld Sky Tower. Annabelle has crashed (standing up) so we grab snacks from Bermuda Provisions (bread, ham, cheese, donuts, juice and beer $30) & break open the duty free. Suite is nice, spacious, full kitchen inc washer & drier. Huuuuge whirlpool bath in master bedroom & a screened balcony.
Tuesday 10th April
Up really early & type up a report of the journey so far…..
Others don’t stir til gone 6 and we’re off to Denny’s by the Convention Center for breakfast - $39 +tip at around 7:30am.
Steve takes girls fro a swim whilst we pack ready for our move to Sunset Lakes. We’re in the Seaworld parking lot by 10am. I get my Silver Passport sorted while the others collect their Funcards. Bit of shopping & catch the first Believe of the day - it’s packed! Sample the Bud at the Hospitality Center and wander around the Park. Share a combo & kids meal at Smoky Creek BBQ ($28 inc discount)
Leave just as it starts to rain around 1:30 and head to Walmart on 535. $200 later we have enough food for 1 day and enough beer & wine for the 3 weeks - plus a few other essentials (woggles etc) of course. We hit Sunset Lakes about 4:30 to find that the entry code doesn’t work. Another vehicle pulls up and theirs doesn’t work either! Luckily the 3rd car does have the correct code and we’re in!.
By now it’s chucking it down so we unload the car and settle in to our new ‘home’ - 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, balcony & games room.
Cook steak & all the trimmings -still jetlagged - in bed by 9.
Weather - afternoon steady rain - 74 degrees
Wednesday 11th April
All up early again (5am !) & finally let the girls in the pool at 7. We have breakfast in - pancakes, Shrek Waffles & cereals before heading out to the Premium Outlets by 10 am. Roads are very busy but the Mall is relatively quiet. Don’t buy much but the girls get their hair wraps done at our usual spot & we get some pool toys from KB Toys. Lunch is from the Food court - combos from the Japanese section. Round to the Disney outlet (no 2006 pin sorry Tink) where I pick up a couple of T-shirts and we decide to call it a day.
Make a brief stop at Publix for more food and we’re back in the pool by 3. Finally drag the kids out for dinner just before 7 - cold meats & salads followed by chocolate cake & ice cream.
Another early night until we’re woken by an amazing thunderstorm with rain so havy we can’t see the railings at the end of the balcony. The lightning & thunder rumble for what seems like ages compared to the usual Florida storms.
Weather foggy start - 88 degrees.
Thursday 12 April
Manage to stay in bed til 6-45, grab a quick breakfast before heading out to Universal.
The storm has caused a bit of damage to the pool screening so I ring the Manco.
Plan was to go to IOA and ride Spidey but when we saw the crowds we decided to to to the Studios instead. In the Park before 9-30 and the kids chose Jimmy Neutron whilst I get my Preferred Pass sorted. This took almost half an hour as firstly they put the wrong names on the wrong ticket (my mam only had a Power Pass) then when I got them switched they only gave me a 1 year pass instead of the 2 year one!
Off to MiB where we ride twice with no wait. Scores are not very good, although our car won both times and I did manage to beat my hubby (tee-hee).
We have lunch at Mel’s Diner - disappointing - and leave the Park before 1. Back to the Villa (via Walmart for a couple of underwater cameras) and the girls are in the pool by 3.
Decide on The Outback for dinner but when we get there it’s heaving so resort to our old faithful - Fridays. Only a 10 minute wait to be seated and the food is as consistent as ever. Ribs, steaks, chicken & shrimp plus a couple of beers (not for me - I’m driving) and we leave several lbs heavier & $120 lighter.
Back at the Villa we watch our first episode of Deal or No Deal of this trip and I manage to stay awake til 10pm!
Weather sunny - 88 degrees.
Friday 13th April
Still sticking to the plan so far we head out for Animal Kingdom (minus mam & dad).
Park up in Dinosaur 32 just after 9 and at last Annabelle gets to ride her first parking lot tram. It’s very busy again but we already have our tickets and head straight off to Everest. I join the single rider line but the ride breaks down and we head off to get a fastpass for Kali River Rapids. . Steve takes Rachelle into It’s Tough to be a Bug and Annabelle & I go to meet Lilo & Stitch. Our fast pass window is open already so we grab fast passes for the Safari before heading back to Kali - the temperature is rising already so we’re happy to get a soaking!
Everest is working again so Steve & I ride in turn via the single rider line. Last time I rode front row - this time I get back row. Awesome ride J
Timings work out again so we get fast passes for Kali again (first time we’ve managed to get Rachelle on a ride with a drop for years!) before saving Little Red from those persistent poachers.
We’ve just about dried out now so it must be time to get wet again! Off to Kali and we get even wetter this time. It’s now 2pm & time for lunch - Flame Tree BBQ for us apart from a first McDonalds for Rachelle. We head out hot & tired through the throngs of people. It is so busy everywhere this week but we managed to get through the rides we wanted to do.
We spend the rest of the day by the pool & eat in (steak & salad). The Manco maintenance guy turns up to fix the pool screen & put down some ant bait and we have a chat about the Villa. We’ve been finding more & more minor faults/defects and he confirms that they are having issues getting the owner to spend money on maintenance. It’s a shame as it’s a lovely villa in a fantastic location. It could just use a bit of TLC - Steve is itching to get his screwdriver out and we‘ve already been around replacing light bulbs & fixing the hob for example.
Tomorrow we’re off to the Florida Mall for some serious retail therapy!
Weather hot & sunny 88 degrees.
Saturday 14 April
Tried out Houlihans for breakfast this morning - nice buffet with a good selection. $56 inc tip for the 6 of us (no child discount) with a 10% coupon. Head off to the Florida Mall - sale on in the Disney Store
Stock up on the usual Bare Escentuals & a few odds and ends. It’s busy and there is ‘something’ happening in JC Penneys (Rock the Prom) so there are even more teens around than normal for a Saturday. By the time we leave (about 3pm) the temp is up in the 90s so we head back to the pool.
Carry out from the Outback for dinner - steaks, pasta, ribs & a couple of kids meals ($88 inc 10% gratuity!) & we are stuffed!
Plan is for Epcot tomorrow but the weather forecast is not good.
The players
Me - OB (aka Tracey) ... always planning
DH (Steve) - keeps saying ' somewhere else next year' but always ends up in Orlando
Rachelle (10) loves simulators - hates coaster
Annabelle (6) - daredevil & speed freak
DM & DF - have come with us for the past 3 trips, both retired now and insisting this is their last trip
Greetings from Hilton Grand Vacations, Seaworld International Center!
It’s 5am and the first morning jet lag is in full force.
Sunday 8th April
Loaded up the cars and set off in convoy at 8:30 (on time for once) and set up for the journey up the M4 (long story as to why we're setting off this early but it involves not having any seats requested an not being able to use online check in). We managed to get all the way to Leigh Delamere before having to make our first pitstop. Hit the M25 at 11 on the dot and had a smooth run until we hit the M23 junction - several miles of slow traffic - all rubber necking at a banger race at the side of the motorway
Get to LGW at just after 12 - hadn’t been able to check in online because we’d booked through Kenwood travel (reason #1 for not using them again)
We're allowed to use Twilight checkin until 1pm - fbecause that day's flight is delayed. No seats prebooked together & we were seated apart as predicted(reason #2 for not using Kenwood again) - managed to get them switched & got emergency exit seats for free 38ABC plus 39ABC
Had lunch in Frankie & Benny’s £64 - service lacklustre, food ok
Headed out for a drink in the Flight Tavern as it was next door to out home for the night.
Checked in at Lowfield Farm at 5, nice place but a bit noisy. Had a family room (double + bunks £69) and a twin room (£49).
Monday 9th April
Light breakfast in room (plentiful continental breakie included)- off to LGW at 9am, through security - long queue but only took about 20 mins.
VA won’t give us APD voucher - Travel Agent should not have collected moneyif we’d wanted to reclaim voucher (reason # for not using Kenwood again) Steve chosen for bag search, me for pat down.
Garfunkels for brunch - £35
Gate 19, flight delayed by 1 hour due to upstairs toilet not working. Took off at 1345 eta 1745 EST
Uneventful flight - Dreamgirls. Food braised beef or chicken pasta, feta cheese salad, raspberry pud, cheese & biscuits. Kids meals chicken nuggety things with mash & carrots, dairy lea dunkers, fruit/gingerbread man, fruit shoot & sweets.
Landed 1740 with a collective groan when the Captain informs us that it‘s a ‘comfortable‘ 17 degrees, through immigration - uncommunicative Officer this year. Collect bags, through Customs - cases screened. Onto the tram and off to baggage reclaim, now we’ve arrived!
Downstairs to baggage reclaim then onto Dollar. Dollar Express card jumped a queue that must have been 30-45 mins. Get allocated white Town & Country - one look and no way luggage will fit. Kiosk won’t change car - say we have to pay for upgrade. Back to desk (jump queue again), no problems changing it for a shiny blue Dodge Grand Caravan with plenty of trunk space.
Eventually hit the road at 1945 - onto the Beeline towards I-Drive & SeaWorld . Easy journey (although the hotel is not on Mapman’s map
) & checked in by 2015. Allocated 1 bed king suite and connecting king bed studio in Hamilton Building, overlooking the pool and the Seaworld Sky Tower. Annabelle has crashed (standing up) so we grab snacks from Bermuda Provisions (bread, ham, cheese, donuts, juice and beer $30) & break open the duty free. Suite is nice, spacious, full kitchen inc washer & drier. Huuuuge whirlpool bath in master bedroom & a screened balcony.Tuesday 10th April
Up really early & type up a report of the journey so far…..
Others don’t stir til gone 6 and we’re off to Denny’s by the Convention Center for breakfast - $39 +tip at around 7:30am.
Steve takes girls fro a swim whilst we pack ready for our move to Sunset Lakes. We’re in the Seaworld parking lot by 10am. I get my Silver Passport sorted while the others collect their Funcards. Bit of shopping & catch the first Believe of the day - it’s packed! Sample the Bud at the Hospitality Center and wander around the Park. Share a combo & kids meal at Smoky Creek BBQ ($28 inc discount)
Leave just as it starts to rain around 1:30 and head to Walmart on 535. $200 later we have enough food for 1 day and enough beer & wine for the 3 weeks - plus a few other essentials (woggles etc) of course. We hit Sunset Lakes about 4:30 to find that the entry code doesn’t work. Another vehicle pulls up and theirs doesn’t work either! Luckily the 3rd car does have the correct code and we’re in!.
By now it’s chucking it down so we unload the car and settle in to our new ‘home’ - 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, balcony & games room.
Cook steak & all the trimmings -still jetlagged - in bed by 9.
Weather - afternoon steady rain - 74 degrees
Wednesday 11th April
All up early again (5am !) & finally let the girls in the pool at 7. We have breakfast in - pancakes, Shrek Waffles & cereals before heading out to the Premium Outlets by 10 am. Roads are very busy but the Mall is relatively quiet. Don’t buy much but the girls get their hair wraps done at our usual spot & we get some pool toys from KB Toys. Lunch is from the Food court - combos from the Japanese section. Round to the Disney outlet (no 2006 pin sorry Tink) where I pick up a couple of T-shirts and we decide to call it a day.
Make a brief stop at Publix for more food and we’re back in the pool by 3. Finally drag the kids out for dinner just before 7 - cold meats & salads followed by chocolate cake & ice cream.
Another early night until we’re woken by an amazing thunderstorm with rain so havy we can’t see the railings at the end of the balcony. The lightning & thunder rumble for what seems like ages compared to the usual Florida storms.
Weather foggy start - 88 degrees.
Thursday 12 April
Manage to stay in bed til 6-45, grab a quick breakfast before heading out to Universal.
The storm has caused a bit of damage to the pool screening so I ring the Manco.
Plan was to go to IOA and ride Spidey but when we saw the crowds we decided to to to the Studios instead. In the Park before 9-30 and the kids chose Jimmy Neutron whilst I get my Preferred Pass sorted. This took almost half an hour as firstly they put the wrong names on the wrong ticket (my mam only had a Power Pass) then when I got them switched they only gave me a 1 year pass instead of the 2 year one!
Off to MiB where we ride twice with no wait. Scores are not very good, although our car won both times and I did manage to beat my hubby (tee-hee).
We have lunch at Mel’s Diner - disappointing - and leave the Park before 1. Back to the Villa (via Walmart for a couple of underwater cameras) and the girls are in the pool by 3.
Decide on The Outback for dinner but when we get there it’s heaving so resort to our old faithful - Fridays. Only a 10 minute wait to be seated and the food is as consistent as ever. Ribs, steaks, chicken & shrimp plus a couple of beers (not for me - I’m driving) and we leave several lbs heavier & $120 lighter.
Back at the Villa we watch our first episode of Deal or No Deal of this trip and I manage to stay awake til 10pm!
Weather sunny - 88 degrees.
Friday 13th April
Still sticking to the plan so far we head out for Animal Kingdom (minus mam & dad).
Park up in Dinosaur 32 just after 9 and at last Annabelle gets to ride her first parking lot tram. It’s very busy again but we already have our tickets and head straight off to Everest. I join the single rider line but the ride breaks down and we head off to get a fastpass for Kali River Rapids. . Steve takes Rachelle into It’s Tough to be a Bug and Annabelle & I go to meet Lilo & Stitch. Our fast pass window is open already so we grab fast passes for the Safari before heading back to Kali - the temperature is rising already so we’re happy to get a soaking!
Everest is working again so Steve & I ride in turn via the single rider line. Last time I rode front row - this time I get back row. Awesome ride J
Timings work out again so we get fast passes for Kali again (first time we’ve managed to get Rachelle on a ride with a drop for years!) before saving Little Red from those persistent poachers.
We’ve just about dried out now so it must be time to get wet again! Off to Kali and we get even wetter this time. It’s now 2pm & time for lunch - Flame Tree BBQ for us apart from a first McDonalds for Rachelle. We head out hot & tired through the throngs of people. It is so busy everywhere this week but we managed to get through the rides we wanted to do.
We spend the rest of the day by the pool & eat in (steak & salad). The Manco maintenance guy turns up to fix the pool screen & put down some ant bait and we have a chat about the Villa. We’ve been finding more & more minor faults/defects and he confirms that they are having issues getting the owner to spend money on maintenance. It’s a shame as it’s a lovely villa in a fantastic location. It could just use a bit of TLC - Steve is itching to get his screwdriver out and we‘ve already been around replacing light bulbs & fixing the hob for example.
Tomorrow we’re off to the Florida Mall for some serious retail therapy!
Weather hot & sunny 88 degrees.
Saturday 14 April
Tried out Houlihans for breakfast this morning - nice buffet with a good selection. $56 inc tip for the 6 of us (no child discount) with a 10% coupon. Head off to the Florida Mall - sale on in the Disney Store
Stock up on the usual Bare Escentuals & a few odds and ends. It’s busy and there is ‘something’ happening in JC Penneys (Rock the Prom) so there are even more teens around than normal for a Saturday. By the time we leave (about 3pm) the temp is up in the 90s so we head back to the pool.Carry out from the Outback for dinner - steaks, pasta, ribs & a couple of kids meals ($88 inc 10% gratuity!) & we are stuffed!
Plan is for Epcot tomorrow but the weather forecast is not good.
