Cast:
Me (Paul) 45, lover of all things Florida, particularly parks, restaurants, and Bud Lime by the pool
DW (Helen) 43, the organised one, planner of calendars, packing lists and lover of cruises
DS (Ryan) 8, getting braver each trip, loves Everest more than any other ride and a Star Tours fan too
DD (Emma) 6, lives for the teacups ride at MK and the chance to meet characters, particularly princesses
Background :
Rewind for a minute to September 2000, when I proposed to Helen at the Contemporary and we then headed off on a 7-night cruise on the Disney Dream. It was amazing and weve said many times since that we should save to go back one day for a special occasion. Well, this year is it, our 10 year anniversary. Well, nearly anyway, as the actual date isnt till the end of June, but this was as close as we could get with school holidays. Might mention it to a couple of servers anyway and see if we get a nice treat
Locations:
We are staying in what looks like a lovely villa at Indian Creek for the first week. Weve stayed at Indian Creek a number of times before, but this is the first time in this location. It looks wonderful from the photos though, and the owner has been great and highly recommended he lives nearby too.
After 6 nights at the villa we are off for 2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal. We stayed at Royal Pacific Resort last year to get the front-of-line passes and it was a great perk to have, so this year we thought wed try a different hotel, and have got some great discounts with our annual passes.
Following HRH we are off to the Boardwalk Villas for our DVC fix
7 nights in a 1-bed villa here in the heart of the action will be brilliant, as we love being able to walk to the Studios and Epcot. The Boardwalk is our DVC home resort and it really does feel like home when we are back there.
Once we leave the Boardwalk we then head to Port Canaveral for our 5 night cruise on the Disney Dream, taking in Nassau and two stops at Castaway Cay. 
As if all this wasnt enough we have a final stop at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge for a couple of nights before heading home. DW and I stayed here years ago before the kids came along and loved the feeling of peace and relaxation, so hopefully it will be a nice way to wind down before heading back to the UK.
Best bits:
Things to look forward to? Well, apart from all the above that is
first day we are headed to Epcot to take in the last day of the Flower and Garden Festival. We have reservations at Coral Reef for lunch, and there are also some activities around Cars 2 taking place that day. Kids love the playgrounds and other special items that do for the festival each year, so really pleased that well catch the final day. 
We are also there at the same time as Star Wars weekends, and the opening of the new Star Tours ride, so that will be quite special.
Well be at Universal when it opens formally, but will make the most of the extended hours at the Studios once we reach the Boardwalk.
Clearly cruising on the Dream will be a massive part of the holiday, and the opportunity to hit Castaway Cay twice is amazing. We have a dress-up night, pirate night, shows, spas, plus amazing food to enjoy and lots more too.
Finally it will be wonderful to see the kids faces when we get off the Dream and instead of heading to the airport we are back at Disney for a last couple of days at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. Well probably hire some bikes and explore the woods, maybe rent some boats plus throw in some final visits to the parks
Will try to take lots of pics and hopefully some notes throughout all this, as Buzz for Boys regularly reminds me how much she enjoys a good trip report!
Couple of days from our SDD its nearly here!
Paul
Me (Paul) 45, lover of all things Florida, particularly parks, restaurants, and Bud Lime by the pool
DW (Helen) 43, the organised one, planner of calendars, packing lists and lover of cruises
DS (Ryan) 8, getting braver each trip, loves Everest more than any other ride and a Star Tours fan too
DD (Emma) 6, lives for the teacups ride at MK and the chance to meet characters, particularly princesses
Background :
Rewind for a minute to September 2000, when I proposed to Helen at the Contemporary and we then headed off on a 7-night cruise on the Disney Dream. It was amazing and weve said many times since that we should save to go back one day for a special occasion. Well, this year is it, our 10 year anniversary. Well, nearly anyway, as the actual date isnt till the end of June, but this was as close as we could get with school holidays. Might mention it to a couple of servers anyway and see if we get a nice treat
Locations:
We are staying in what looks like a lovely villa at Indian Creek for the first week. Weve stayed at Indian Creek a number of times before, but this is the first time in this location. It looks wonderful from the photos though, and the owner has been great and highly recommended he lives nearby too.
After 6 nights at the villa we are off for 2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal. We stayed at Royal Pacific Resort last year to get the front-of-line passes and it was a great perk to have, so this year we thought wed try a different hotel, and have got some great discounts with our annual passes.
Following HRH we are off to the Boardwalk Villas for our DVC fix
7 nights in a 1-bed villa here in the heart of the action will be brilliant, as we love being able to walk to the Studios and Epcot. The Boardwalk is our DVC home resort and it really does feel like home when we are back there.Once we leave the Boardwalk we then head to Port Canaveral for our 5 night cruise on the Disney Dream, taking in Nassau and two stops at Castaway Cay.
As if all this wasnt enough we have a final stop at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge for a couple of nights before heading home. DW and I stayed here years ago before the kids came along and loved the feeling of peace and relaxation, so hopefully it will be a nice way to wind down before heading back to the UK.
Best bits:
Things to look forward to? Well, apart from all the above that is
first day we are headed to Epcot to take in the last day of the Flower and Garden Festival. We have reservations at Coral Reef for lunch, and there are also some activities around Cars 2 taking place that day. Kids love the playgrounds and other special items that do for the festival each year, so really pleased that well catch the final day. We are also there at the same time as Star Wars weekends, and the opening of the new Star Tours ride, so that will be quite special.
Well be at Universal when it opens formally, but will make the most of the extended hours at the Studios once we reach the Boardwalk.Clearly cruising on the Dream will be a massive part of the holiday, and the opportunity to hit Castaway Cay twice is amazing. We have a dress-up night, pirate night, shows, spas, plus amazing food to enjoy and lots more too.
Finally it will be wonderful to see the kids faces when we get off the Dream and instead of heading to the airport we are back at Disney for a last couple of days at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. Well probably hire some bikes and explore the woods, maybe rent some boats plus throw in some final visits to the parks
Will try to take lots of pics and hopefully some notes throughout all this, as Buzz for Boys regularly reminds me how much she enjoys a good trip report!
Couple of days from our SDD its nearly here!
Paul
