UKDEB
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
- Messages
- 11,840
When
Sunday, 2nd November Sunday, 16th November, 2008
Who
Deb: Aged 47. Reformed control freak who now just likes to go with the flow (well, to a point
). Foodie.
Matt: Aged 36. Its Five OClock Somewhere. Nuff said.
How
Flying Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy - London Gatwick/Orlando International
Where
Sunday, 2nd Thursday 6th: Disneys BoardWalk Villas
Friday, 7th Saturday, 8th: Universals Royal Pacific Resort
Sunday, 9th Saturday, 15th: Disneys Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Preamble
Orlando has been our holiday destination of choice since 1992 with visits becoming progressively more frequent. November 2008 marks our 18th trip and our second this calendar year. Its a bit of a departure for us being only the second time Matt and I have travelled to Central Florida without family or friends along. Not only that, but this will be our first entirely onsite stay and so it would be fair to say that our expectations and aspirations are a little different this time. On the plus side, well get to do precisely what we want to do when we want to do it with no-one else to consider, but we know well miss the riotous laughs and bonhomie which can only come from being part of a group of like-minded individuals.
As usual in the build up to the trip, much of our leisure time is spent planning, writing and re-writing itineraries and chatting about the things were most looking forward to. As the main benefit of travelling without companions is the ability to be able to go with the flow, well be keeping advance bookings of any kind to a minimum. Matt sulks a bit when I insist, yes, that does include golf, but cheers up when I point out that not booking doesn't equate to not playing. Who says men are gullible?
Staying onsite will allow us to spend a lot more time in the parks than we might otherwise have done, although we know well be taking far more pleasure from just strolling around and soaking up the atmosphere than from indulging in rides and attractions. We want to take lots of photographs and weve pre-ordered the PhotoPass CD to ensure that well also get plenty of the two of us together.
Eating and drinking is a major part of any holiday for us and, with Orlando being a veritable playground of opportunity in that regard, we wont be stuck for choice. Knowing there are several old favourites with which we need to reacquaint ourselves as well as some newcomers to explore, the only problem will be fitting it all in.
Sticking with the eating and drinking theme, our trip has very much been planned around the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot - one of our favourite events. The main reason this is to be an onsite foray is that, having bought into DVC in October 2006, we can make this a virtually free trip as far as accommodation costs are concerned. We had originally booked 5 nights in a studiio at our home resort of Saratoga Springs, followed by two nights at Universals Royal Pacific and then a final 7 nights in a one-bed unit back at Saratoga Springs. Ideally we wanted to be at an Epcot resort for our first 5 nights to coincide with the final week of the IF&WF and, having given up all hope of that happening, the waitlist finally came through for a studio at BoardWalk Villas precisely one week before we were due to fly.
So, the scene is set
Saturday, 1st November
As has become customary, well be spending the night before our flight at the Sofitel in Gatwicks North Terminal. Whilst I dont particularly have a fear of getting held up in traffic and missing our flight, it is one less thing to worry about. Its nice, too, to get rid of our luggage by taking advantage of Twilight Check-in. That way, all the chores are out of the way and we can just relax and the holiday can begin!
It seems a bit strange to be flying on a Sunday. Normally, wed be finishing work early on a week day for our drive to Gatwick. Today, we have all day to kill its pointless getting there too early as theres little other to do than have a meal and a drink in the lobby lounge. There will be no getting drunk and spilling red wine everywhere, or playing pool in the sports bar for us, tonight. No witty conversation. (Did I say witty? I meant smutty
). The first pangs of regret at not having friends along are starting to make themselves felt. *Sigh*
Although we always get our clothes ironed and everything laid out on the spare bed days or weeks beforehand, we never pack until the last minute. Following a nasty incident many years ago which nearly ended in the divorce courts, Matt now does all the packing
. So Matt packs whilst I make the house ship-shape and Bristol fashion. Our adult daughters are off to their Dads for the duration. Quite how I talked him (or them for that matter) into that is still a matter of some surprise to me, but as I use the term adult daughters in its very loosest sense, to say Im relieved would be to grossly underestimate my emotions. Weeping was involved.
Somewhere amongst the packing, housework, despatching the girls and weeping, we find time to check in online 24 hours ahead of our 11.15am flight. (Yes, I know I said wed be using Twilight Check-in, but they dont call me Debbie Belt-and-Braces Churchill for nothing ). As usual, we're not able to print our boarding passes, but at least we're one step closer to securing our seat requests.
We pull off the drive at 3:50pm with darkness rapidly closing in. As we do it starts to drizzle (having been fine all day). By the time we reach the M4 30 minutes or so later, its teaming down and from there, its torrential all the way. Theres nothing worse than driving on the motorway in pouring rain. Wait; driving in the pouring rain in the dark is worse
. Still, despite the rain, we have an easy run with no hold-ups and were pulling into the (empty) Park Plus depot at around 6:20pm. Just as we finish up the formalities at the desk, a bus rolls up and leaves as soon as weve stowed the cases, so we enjoy the 5 minute drive to the South Terminal with a bus all to ourselves.
There are several people in line for Twilight Check-in when we arrive, but were all done within 15 minutes and our seats are confirmed. Next we head over to TravelEx to collect our currency. Theres no-one waiting, so were very quickly away. Once again we find we have transportation to ourselves as were the only people to board the tram to the North Terminal.
Checking in at the Sofitel is quick and easy. We like this place. It makes for a very pleasant start to the holiday, made all the more pleasant by the fact that we always book using Airmiles. Im not sure how Id feel about it if I was paying the rack rate of £200 per night. After depositing our hand luggage in the room, we head straight back down to Le Café which is a terrace style restaurant in the open atrium lobby. Its one of three restaurants the others being Ken Homs Gatwick Oriental and La Brasserie. Unsurprisingly, all the food and drink here is overpriced (captive audience and all that) and were more than happy to opt for the cheapest of the three knowing that we have lots of exciting eating options to look forward to over the next couple of weeks. We did try the Ken Hom place once and, whilst it was okay, it was disappointing for the money certainly no better than most Chinese takeaways.
Those of you who know Matt will probably not be surprised to learn that he opts for the burger and fries. He may believe he is fooling me into thinking hes gone all avant garde on me by very grandly ordering the ground beef pattie, but I can interpret the menu as well as the next man (especially when the next man is Matt
). I have to admit, though, that both the burger and the fries are surprisingly good. My crayfish tails pizza has a very nice topping but a rock hard pre-made base. Pizza bases are so easy to make, so I dont understand why they need to serve up something which resembles cardboard 
. More importantly, we imbibe of the first drinks of the holliday Kirin for Matt (x2) and Alamos chardonnay for me. The bill comes to £47.48 including the pre-added 12% tip.
We retire to the lobby bar for a nightcap. Matt has a Knob Creek on the rocks (insert your own joke here) and I have an Old Fashioned (bourbon, demorara sugar and orange bitters). Actually we have two. At 9.30pm - another £28.50 + £3 tip lighter - we decide to call it a day and head off to the room to watch some rubbish on TV. All evening Matt has been unsuccessfully trying to establish the result of todays F1 qualifying, which we missed during the drive down (or, more accurately, across). We eventually learn that Lewis is P4. Yikes! Doesnt bode well for tomorrows race.
Our room:
First drinks in Le Café:
Nightcaps in lobby lounge:
Sunday, 2nd November Sunday, 16th November, 2008
Who
Deb: Aged 47. Reformed control freak who now just likes to go with the flow (well, to a point
). Foodie.Matt: Aged 36. Its Five OClock Somewhere. Nuff said.
How
Flying Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy - London Gatwick/Orlando International
Where
Sunday, 2nd Thursday 6th: Disneys BoardWalk Villas
Friday, 7th Saturday, 8th: Universals Royal Pacific Resort
Sunday, 9th Saturday, 15th: Disneys Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Preamble
Orlando has been our holiday destination of choice since 1992 with visits becoming progressively more frequent. November 2008 marks our 18th trip and our second this calendar year. Its a bit of a departure for us being only the second time Matt and I have travelled to Central Florida without family or friends along. Not only that, but this will be our first entirely onsite stay and so it would be fair to say that our expectations and aspirations are a little different this time. On the plus side, well get to do precisely what we want to do when we want to do it with no-one else to consider, but we know well miss the riotous laughs and bonhomie which can only come from being part of a group of like-minded individuals.
As usual in the build up to the trip, much of our leisure time is spent planning, writing and re-writing itineraries and chatting about the things were most looking forward to. As the main benefit of travelling without companions is the ability to be able to go with the flow, well be keeping advance bookings of any kind to a minimum. Matt sulks a bit when I insist, yes, that does include golf, but cheers up when I point out that not booking doesn't equate to not playing. Who says men are gullible?
Staying onsite will allow us to spend a lot more time in the parks than we might otherwise have done, although we know well be taking far more pleasure from just strolling around and soaking up the atmosphere than from indulging in rides and attractions. We want to take lots of photographs and weve pre-ordered the PhotoPass CD to ensure that well also get plenty of the two of us together.
Eating and drinking is a major part of any holiday for us and, with Orlando being a veritable playground of opportunity in that regard, we wont be stuck for choice. Knowing there are several old favourites with which we need to reacquaint ourselves as well as some newcomers to explore, the only problem will be fitting it all in.
Sticking with the eating and drinking theme, our trip has very much been planned around the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot - one of our favourite events. The main reason this is to be an onsite foray is that, having bought into DVC in October 2006, we can make this a virtually free trip as far as accommodation costs are concerned. We had originally booked 5 nights in a studiio at our home resort of Saratoga Springs, followed by two nights at Universals Royal Pacific and then a final 7 nights in a one-bed unit back at Saratoga Springs. Ideally we wanted to be at an Epcot resort for our first 5 nights to coincide with the final week of the IF&WF and, having given up all hope of that happening, the waitlist finally came through for a studio at BoardWalk Villas precisely one week before we were due to fly.
So, the scene is set
Saturday, 1st November
As has become customary, well be spending the night before our flight at the Sofitel in Gatwicks North Terminal. Whilst I dont particularly have a fear of getting held up in traffic and missing our flight, it is one less thing to worry about. Its nice, too, to get rid of our luggage by taking advantage of Twilight Check-in. That way, all the chores are out of the way and we can just relax and the holiday can begin!
It seems a bit strange to be flying on a Sunday. Normally, wed be finishing work early on a week day for our drive to Gatwick. Today, we have all day to kill its pointless getting there too early as theres little other to do than have a meal and a drink in the lobby lounge. There will be no getting drunk and spilling red wine everywhere, or playing pool in the sports bar for us, tonight. No witty conversation. (Did I say witty? I meant smutty
). The first pangs of regret at not having friends along are starting to make themselves felt. *Sigh*Although we always get our clothes ironed and everything laid out on the spare bed days or weeks beforehand, we never pack until the last minute. Following a nasty incident many years ago which nearly ended in the divorce courts, Matt now does all the packing
. So Matt packs whilst I make the house ship-shape and Bristol fashion. Our adult daughters are off to their Dads for the duration. Quite how I talked him (or them for that matter) into that is still a matter of some surprise to me, but as I use the term adult daughters in its very loosest sense, to say Im relieved would be to grossly underestimate my emotions. Weeping was involved. Somewhere amongst the packing, housework, despatching the girls and weeping, we find time to check in online 24 hours ahead of our 11.15am flight. (Yes, I know I said wed be using Twilight Check-in, but they dont call me Debbie Belt-and-Braces Churchill for nothing
). As usual, we're not able to print our boarding passes, but at least we're one step closer to securing our seat requests.We pull off the drive at 3:50pm with darkness rapidly closing in. As we do it starts to drizzle (having been fine all day). By the time we reach the M4 30 minutes or so later, its teaming down and from there, its torrential all the way. Theres nothing worse than driving on the motorway in pouring rain. Wait; driving in the pouring rain in the dark is worse
. Still, despite the rain, we have an easy run with no hold-ups and were pulling into the (empty) Park Plus depot at around 6:20pm. Just as we finish up the formalities at the desk, a bus rolls up and leaves as soon as weve stowed the cases, so we enjoy the 5 minute drive to the South Terminal with a bus all to ourselves. There are several people in line for Twilight Check-in when we arrive, but were all done within 15 minutes and our seats are confirmed. Next we head over to TravelEx to collect our currency. Theres no-one waiting, so were very quickly away. Once again we find we have transportation to ourselves as were the only people to board the tram to the North Terminal.
Checking in at the Sofitel is quick and easy. We like this place. It makes for a very pleasant start to the holiday, made all the more pleasant by the fact that we always book using Airmiles. Im not sure how Id feel about it if I was paying the rack rate of £200 per night. After depositing our hand luggage in the room, we head straight back down to Le Café which is a terrace style restaurant in the open atrium lobby. Its one of three restaurants the others being Ken Homs Gatwick Oriental and La Brasserie. Unsurprisingly, all the food and drink here is overpriced (captive audience and all that) and were more than happy to opt for the cheapest of the three knowing that we have lots of exciting eating options to look forward to over the next couple of weeks. We did try the Ken Hom place once and, whilst it was okay, it was disappointing for the money certainly no better than most Chinese takeaways.
Those of you who know Matt will probably not be surprised to learn that he opts for the burger and fries. He may believe he is fooling me into thinking hes gone all avant garde on me by very grandly ordering the ground beef pattie, but I can interpret the menu as well as the next man (especially when the next man is Matt
). I have to admit, though, that both the burger and the fries are surprisingly good. My crayfish tails pizza has a very nice topping but a rock hard pre-made base. Pizza bases are so easy to make, so I dont understand why they need to serve up something which resembles cardboard . More importantly, we imbibe of the first drinks of the holliday Kirin for Matt (x2) and Alamos chardonnay for me. The bill comes to £47.48 including the pre-added 12% tip.We retire to the lobby bar for a nightcap. Matt has a Knob Creek on the rocks (insert your own joke here) and I have an Old Fashioned (bourbon, demorara sugar and orange bitters). Actually we have two. At 9.30pm - another £28.50 + £3 tip lighter - we decide to call it a day and head off to the room to watch some rubbish on TV. All evening Matt has been unsuccessfully trying to establish the result of todays F1 qualifying, which we missed during the drive down (or, more accurately, across). We eventually learn that Lewis is P4. Yikes! Doesnt bode well for tomorrows race.
Our room:
First drinks in Le Café:
Nightcaps in lobby lounge:
will look forward to more
