Team Bilp do Disney April/May 2012

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Welcome to my very first Trip Report!!!

I have never written a TR before, but have read (and enjoyed reading!) loads, so I thought I would give it a go. Please feel free to give me advice or ask questions along the way, I’ve still got my training wheels on!

I guess firstly I want to say thank you to everyone whose TRs and Dining Reviews and tips in general I have read over the years. They have contributed to every one of our trips to date (we’re on number twelve and I’m still learning!) and I hope I can do the same for at least someone out there!

I am an obsessive diary-writer, so everything gets put down in massive detail! If that floats your boat then great, if not, I apologise for the times I’ll run off on a tangent!

So, I guess a general introduction is in order? I won’t be offended if you skip it and just head straight for the magic, but I thought you would like to know who you would be travelling along with!

Firstly, a background to the vacation:

This trip was organised (and mostly paid for) by my wonderful parents. My fiancé and I have just bought our first house together and between all the new bills and my current state of health (yuck!) money has been tight. Too tight for us to be able to afford anything like this by ourselves.

Last June (June 4th, to be exact), I went into hospital for brain surgery. Long story short (because I hatehatehate sounding like a complainer, but this is relevant to the back story of our trip!) I have Meniere’s Disease (an inner ear disorder) and things had become so disruptive my ENT surgeon decided to just cut all contact between my brain and my broken ear. So he severed my vestibular nerve just inside my brain (a procedure he videoed for me ), luckily avoiding my hearing nerve and any general brain-mushing side effects. I spent a few days in hospital feeling pretty lousy. Day one I couldn’t even co-ordinate enough to open my eyes but thanks to the wonderful physios on staff I had just about re-learned to walk with assistance after a week.

Anywho, the point of the story: my dad (who is the first to admit he’s a worrier) promised me that he would take me and my fiancé to WDW if (he always said if, never when!) I got better. Cheers daddy!

Fast forward eight months and I can hold my own walking. If I don’t have a support I tend to stagger around as though I’ve had a bottle of vodka for breakfast but, hey, at least it gives people something to talk about! The trip definitely gave me an incentive to get all that physio done, anyway!

So, the facts:

We booked a two week stay in Orlando starting on the 25th April, flying with Virgin. We stayed in a four-bed villa at Champions Gate just off the I4 (about a twenty minute drive from the World).

Next up, the cast!

 

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So I guess you guys will need to know who you will be journeying along with on this mad trip to the world!

Me! I’m Rachael, but I much prefer Rach. I’m 25 and, due to dramas already exposed, am currently spending most of my life at home. Prior to my surgery I was a veterinary nurse and after my recovery I’m hoping to go to medical school. This will be my twelfth (I think!) trip to WDW. Most of my previous trips have been spent staying offsite, but I have spent time at Port Orleans French Quarter, the Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom Lodge. I’m usually the planner and bush leader on our trips but I’ll be taking it slower this time and letting other people do the work!

Here's a piccy of me and the boy:

My fiancé Matt is next. He is 27 (going on 3) and works in finance. I think it is his fifth trip to WDW. He hadn’t even considered going before I dragged him there and I think I created an addiction! He is very flexible on itinerary and doesn’t really mind whether he is spending his time charging around a park, or chilling by the pool.

This trip will be taken with my family too and we’ll all be staying in a villa together. This was sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse! We all get along well and I love them to bits but, I must admit, personalities grated occasionally! The majority of the trip was happyhappyhappy though, and we all agreed we’ll definitely be doing it again! My family include:

Dad (Clive). He is chief bush leader on our trips. He is more obsessive than I am when it comes to itineraries (although I don’t think he has ever actually stuck to one), and sometimes is so busy he forgets to stop and smell the roses.

Here's Daddy:

Mum (Diane). Mum is generally my partner in crime when it comes to WDW. The boys will not be drinking this trip (Matt and Dad will be driving and Chris is too young) so Mum and I will have to do the cocktail sampling for them! She is very chilled out and will generally just go with the flow, so the perfect partner for my Dad.

This is Mummy looking all glowy:

Chris is my (not so) little brother. He is twenty and gutted that on our trip he will be less than two months away from being twenty one and still unable to have a little beer! Chris looks up to Matt a lot and, whenever those two get together, both regress to the age of toddlers! Chris has no touring style, he tends to just do what he’s told, which is going to make him into an excellent husband one day!

Here's Chris:

Alishya is my little sister and she is three. We fostered Ali when she was a couple of months old and, last Christmas, it was formalised that (for all intents and purposes) she will be staying with us forever. Mum is busy transforming Ali into the princess I never was (I was farrrrrrr more interested in running around in the mud than beautifying!) and she is currently into all things Rapunzel and Tink. This will be Ali’s third trip to the World and the first where she really ‘gets’ what is going on.

Here's Als:

Sooooo that’s our motley crew! You will mostly be accompanying me and Matt on our joint adventures but we also spent lots of time as a sixsome, so there will be tales of that also!

Next? Travelling day!