The NeverEnding Trip Report: 39 Parts and Counting (7/9 MK Day 2 & TL! LOTSA PICS!!)

Hi Hayley

Loving you pre trip report so far. I see you are in Epcot on the 20th of August, if you are in the area of Sea Breeze Point at 10.00am, feel free to come on over to my wedding;) I would love to meet a fellow DISser!!!It's an open gazebo so anyone can watch. We are having lunch at Citricos that day, I will have to check my itinerary and see if we are eating in the same places at any point:confused3
Isn't it so exciting?, the holiday is getting so close!!!

Hi Summer! It is soooo exciting! I bet you must be really thrilled! Do you have any exams at the moment? I can't wait for mine to be over so I can enjoy waiting for my holiday!!

I will have to put a reminder in my passporter just in case we are in the area at the time! I think you mentioned we are in Raglan Road the same time, so I will definately come over then and say hi and congratulations!!
 
Hi :wave2: I love you TR! This sounds like the Trip of a Lifetime!!! You are very lucky. You and DBF make a very cute couple by the way!

Mon 20th Aug
Epcot - I have to admit, DBF is dreading this! When he last went to WDW he hated Epcot as he thought it was boring and big (he was 9)! I think he'll feel differently now he's older. We're also hoping to do Leave a Legacy at some point in the day. I'm not sure where lunch will be, but I'd like it in World Showcase, somewhere like Mexico - and I am definately going to have a School Bread in Norway! We have a dinner ADR at Biergarten at 6.55pm.

I can relate to DBF's feelings about Epcot. When I first went I was about 4 years old and I remember hating it...it was sooo boring! But the next time I went I was about 19 years old and I loved it!!! They changed it alot and added more attractions, but I really appreciated Epcot more when I was older. I love the World Showcase now and I think DBF will have a different experience now that he is older. Mexico's resturant (i cannot think of the name right now) is very romantic inside. We ate there once but I am not a fan of Mexican food, but I remember the setting was beautiful!!

Ok I am sorry I am blabbing away, something which happens quite often! I cant wait to read more of your plans!! :goodvibes
 
Hi :wave2: I love you TR! This sounds like the Trip of a Lifetime!!! You are very lucky. You and DBF make a very cute couple by the way!

I can relate to DBF's feelings about Epcot. When I first went I was about 4 years old and I remember hating it...it was sooo boring! But the next time I went I was about 19 years old and I loved it!!! They changed it alot and added more attractions, but I really appreciated Epcot more when I was older. I love the World Showcase now and I think DBF will have a different experience now that he is older. Mexico's resturant (i cannot think of the name right now) is very romantic inside. We ate there once but I am not a fan of Mexican food, but I remember the setting was beautiful!!

Ok I am sorry I am blabbing away, something which happens quite often! I cant wait to read more of your plans!! :goodvibes

Thank you! Don't worry, you're not babbling, I love long posts :thumbsup2

I'm glad you said that, he is convinced he will hate Epcot. All he remembers last time is walking and walking and getting lost in China. However, I think he will love it because of Mission:Space, Soarin, Test Track Etc. and even he's admitted that he's looking forward to our Biergarten ADR :laughing:

I think he went when he was 8 or 9, and he'll be 24 in June - so it should be quite a different experience. Oh, and he remembers being mad that they sold 'made in England' toffee in the Wales shop :rotfl:

Hopefully another update after the 31st (my last exam!) :scared1:
 
ahh! your trip sounds AMAZING. im so insanely jealous!!
lol bf HATES epcot as well, and there is absolutley no changing his mind!!
good luck on your exam tommorow!!
 

Wow! neat TR! You're gonna have a blast in orlando....its really easy to do both IOA and US in one day especially when you have FOTL access! Its a breeze!
 
Great Itinerary. However, I must warn you of the dreaded wall.....It is the arch nemesis of all vacationers. After about the 5th or 6th day you will be really out of gas, and you have along visit planned. And a "down" day at a waterpark will turn out to be anything but. A full days exposure in the hot Florida sun has a strange way of sapping your energy, even when you are surrounded by millions of gallons of refreshing waterslides, lazy rivers and wave pools. As a veteran of many multi-day visits to the world, I would strongly recommend you plan a "real" down day or two. Otherwise you may not get the full enjoyment of your trip. Being tired and crabby is no way to see WDW. Stay at your resort for the day and relax by the pool, take nap, etc. As a minimum, plan a day with only very little activity.

Having said all of that, I wish you and DBF the very best and sincerely hope that your holiday is the dream that you want it to be. It will likely be an experience you can look back on with happy memories for years to come.:goodvibes
 
I'm glad you said that, he is convinced he will hate Epcot. All he remembers last time is walking and walking and getting lost in China. However, I think he will love it because of Mission:Space, Soarin, Test Track Etc. and even he's admitted that he's looking forward to our Biergarten ADR

I think he went when he was 8 or 9, and he'll be 24 in June - so it should be quite a different experience. Oh, and he remembers being mad that they sold 'made in England' toffee in the Wales shop

Hope all your exams went well :) :)

I have to add my DBf's FAVORITE thing in all of WDW is Test Track. He loves it :) But he hattttesss Mission Space. It made both of us so queezy :sick: but now with the milder version it might not be so bad. He refuses to go on even that though :P And World Showcase, I think he really doesn't like that part...but he loves the food in World Showcase :thumbsup2 And the Maelstrom ride is surprisingly fun! I'm sure your DBf will appreciate Epcot this time around :goodvibes
 
Thank you once again everyone for your wonderful comments and tips! I am really looking forward to going, and to writing my real TR - and hopefully you guys will enjoy reading it!! I'm also looking forward into getting this pre-trip into shape once my other 2 exams are over (1 Tuesday on Land Law, and 1 Thursday on Commercial Law)!

I really hope he will enjoy Epcot! I am looking forward to all the parks! I am intrigued about Mission Space - I get quite travel sick, so it will certainly be an experience. Hopefully we'll get to ride both sides and I won't be sick on the actual ride :rotfl:
 
I've only had the time to read the beginning, but I just wanted to say how much I am loving this trip report! I'm excited to read the rest! Subing. :goodvibes
 
Thanks again everyone - I have finally finished my exams! Therefore I'm going to sort this badboy out and make it better!!
 
Right, here is our REVISED itinerary! :teeth: It is revised to fit our Royal Pacific stay in, and we didn't want to do IOA, US and BG consecutively! We are staying from 6th August til the 27th August, 10 nights at the Sheraton Studio City on International Drive, 1 night at Universal's Royal Pacfic Resort and 10 nights at Disney's All Star Movies Resort. I didn't include the Disney Itinerary, as that stays the same from post 7.

Sun 5th Aug

Woohoo! Our holiday and the excitement begins! We leave North Wales packed up and ready to go sometime after lunch - either with Els' parents or my parents, and set off for Manchester Airport. We're planning on getting dinner either in a nearby pub with the Parents as we're staying in Manchester Airport Travelodge tonight! Wave goodbye to parents and try and get some kip. We'll also try and check-in online either at the hotel or at home before we leave, and make sure we have transportation to the terminal in the morning.

Mon 6th Aug
We travel from the Travelodge to Manchester Airport and check our luggage in, making sure we get the seats I pre-booked on the VA website MONTHS ago! I remind myself not to eat the sausages at Manchester Airport as I hate them but always seem to order them. Our flight leaves Manchester at 10.25am - my first long distance flight, and first time with Virgin! We are looking forward to flying with them very much. :goodvibes
We arrive MCO at 2.35pm and transfer to the Sheraton. We're going to get a few snacks for the room from the 7/11 and have dinner somewhere close like IHOP.

Tues 7th Aug

Sheraton Pool & Congo River Mini Golf next door (I have never played mini golf in my life - I'm looking forward!) They also have Gators in the mini golf, so I'm looking forward to seeing them!
In the afternoon, go to Prime Outlets. This is purely for the character warehouse!
Dinner: Ponderosa (I found out a lad in my class will be at Ponderosa this date too, so I thought it would be fun to go the same time )

Wed 8th Aug
We're moving already! This morning we are moving to Universal's Royal Pacific Resort! I think this resort looks gorgeous - and we are staying there purely for the Front of the Line access it offers. We'll pack a little bag the night before with a couple of change of clothes (just in case we get wet!) and set off early in the morning to check in at RPR.
Our first taste of theme parks - Universal Studios! :woohoo:
We are planning on having lunch at Monster's Cafe (love the theming!) :thumbsup2 . Remember to take obligatory photo in front of globe! Jaws is my DBF's favourite EVER movie, so we are both looking forward to going on that (me for the first time, him for the second)
Dinner tonight will be at Bubba Gump - we are both REALLY looking forward to this restaurant! I'm getting excited thinking about it!!

Thurs 9th Aug

We have to check out of RPR today :guilty: But it doesn't matter - we get to keep our FOTL access for one more day!!
A park we're both very excited about - Islands of Adventure!
We're planning on doing Enchanted Oak for lunch and Pastamore for dinner as I just love pasta/Italian food. I cannot WAIT to ride Hulk! Els loves Marvel stuff so I think we'll love it here (I've told him everyone raves about Spiderman). We're big rollercoaster freaks. Back to the Sheraton for the evening.

Fri 10th Aug

This is our International Drive day! It was meant to be 'easy' after yesterday's Busch Garden but it just sort of escalated! Another breakfast at Ponderosa and then off to Air Florida Helicopters for Tour No. 3 which goes over SW, DC, WW, IOA, US and I Drive. I'm excited as it goes over our hotel and hopefully I'll get some great pics here! We then plan on going to the Titanic Experience, something I really want to do (especially since I just finished my undergraduate thesis on Titanic & Salvage Law, which touched me a lot). After lunch we're going to do Wonderworks which I think DBF will love, and I'd like to try and squeeze the 5pm Peabody duck march in here too if we have time. Dinner will be at CiCi's Pizza Buffet.

Sat 11th Aug
Wet'n'Wild
This is right across the road to our hotel, so we plan to take another 'easy' day today. Breakfast at Ponderosa (cannot believe the price of that breakfast buffet!)

Sun 12th Aug
Busch Gardens
I have just re-booked us on the shuttle for 8.30am to be picked up at Universal Studios, since it's very near our hotel (which reminds me that I need to cancel the other shuttle place in case I take someone else's). We'll book a taxi from reception to get to US. I am VERY excited about this park, and cannot wait to ride SheiKra and Rhino Rally - if I do them I am happy! Els really wants to do Kumba again as that's the first rollercoaster he rode in his life. This will probably be a very tiring day and we won't have much time in the park due to the drop-off/pick-up times of the shuttle.

Mon 13th Aug
Seaworld – Shamu !!
We're doing Mango Joes for lunch here - the menu sounds yum! Els is also doing his shark dive today at 2pm, he's really looking forward and a bit nervous! He loves sharks and has always wanted to dive with them - this was his birthday present from me. I have no idea what I'll do while he's doing that - shopping maybe?! I'll also take some photos of him, and get him to write up his experience for the TR after we're home. Tonight, we are also doing the Makahiki Luau at 7.15 - can't wait! This is the only dinner show we're doing. I wanted to do Dixie Stampede, but since we're not driving it wasn't an option.

Tues 14th Aug
This is sort of going to be a free day, and one which we haven't really decided upon - :scared1: you say? :laughing: If we feel like we haven't done all we'd like to at IOA/US then we'll split the day there. If we loved Wet'n'Wild we might pop back there. If we're really tired (of which there is a very good chance!) we'll take a relaxing day by the pool. There is also possibility of going for an outing to Walmart for a while. The possibilities are endless :teeth:

Wed 15th Aug
REALLY looking forward to this, we are doing Discovery Cove.
This is just going to be a nice relaxing day after the week we've had! We're going to be the first ones in and the last ones out!! We've just bought an underwater digital camera to take loads of pics here - which I'll post on my TR, of course!! Dinner will be somewhere really inexpensive on I Drive as I've heard the DVD and Photos cost big $$$ here.

Thurs 16th Aug

This is another I don't know day :laughing: This is most likely going to be our second SeaWorld day. Even if we won't be going to SeaWorld in the day, we are definately going back in the nighttime to see the shows we missed due to being at the Makahiki Luau.


Now that we are staying at RPR, and it is likely that we could do IOA/US in 2 days - this opens up a lot more flexibility in our itinerary, and more options for relaxation without feeling as if we should be doing something else :thumbsup2
 
Oh my goodness ^~ So jam packed with stuff! You will definitely need those down days to rest & relax :) The Discovery Cove should be awesome! I just saw a special on the Travel Channel about Discovery Cove and you two should have a ton of fun there~!!
 
Oh my goodness ^~ So jam packed with stuff! You will definitely need those down days to rest & relax :) The Discovery Cove should be awesome! I just saw a special on the Travel Channel about Discovery Cove and you two should have a ton of fun there~!!

Thank You :goodvibes I can't even think about resting and relaxing at the time being! :rotfl2: However, I'm sure I'll change my mind after a couple of days hitting the themeparks! It's so funny, I'm so looking forward to Disney that I keep forgetting everything else that we're doing! I mean, a helicopter ride over I Drive is just 10 mins out of our holiday, and so small when compared to Disney, but when I sit down and think about it - wow, I'm going on a helicopter ride!

Only 63 DAYS to go!! :banana:
 
:cheer2: :cheer2: Yea. I'm really enjoying your pretrip report. Good luck with all your tests. I'm holding you to it that you'll post lots and lots of pictures.:banana: . It sounds like you are going to have a wonderful vacation. Keeping fingers crossed that you win something big for the "Year of a Million Dreams". Can't wait til your next inslallment.popcorn::
 
:cheer2: :cheer2: Yea. I'm really enjoying your pretrip report. Good luck with all your tests. I'm holding you to it that you'll post lots and lots of pictures.:banana: . It sounds like you are going to have a wonderful vacation. Keeping fingers crossed that you win something big for the "Year of a Million Dreams". Can't wait til your next inslallment.popcorn::

Thank you very much :goodvibes

Don't worry - I will take lots of photos :teeth: I love trip reports with lots of photos everywhere. Last time I went to DLRP for 3 days I managed to take over 800 photos :rotfl:
 
Hokey Dokey, time for another update with LOTS of pics - you ask, you get :thumbsup2 The photos aren't so great as they're taken with a camera phone - but hey, you get the jist!

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Here are some tops I've specifically bought for Florida a couple of months back. Those of you from the UK might recognise the labels - yep, they're from Primark! Now this is the best shop ever ever! I think the most expensive top out of that bunch was $6 and the cheapest being $3 - I don't know how cheap that is in the USA, but in the UK that's CHEAP! I love Primark and it has a large following here. There will be some more clothes and what I'm taking photos to come when I start packing ;)

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Some nice hair stuff I got for Christmas which I am saving for Florida. They're Trevor Sorbie stuff and Lee Stafford. I LOVE Lee Stafford stuff. I'd love to get some GHD shampoo before we go too as mine has ran out.

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Here are the various guidebooks I've bought on Orlando - I can't help myself. I love getting a new book, reading it and getting excited! There's only 1 book I'm missing which I want, which is the Brit's Guide - but I think I have enough now! From L to R they are:
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World and Orlando for Dummies
The Cheapskate's Guide to Walt Disney World and Orlando
Beyond Disney
Walt Disney World and Orlando: Cityguide
Passporter 2007

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Getting prepared for the parks! Here is my lovely lanyard! I've only started collecting pins and what you see here is the whole collection :laughing: I got the Castle pin and Steamboat Willie at DLRP and it sort of escalated from there! My favourite pin at the moment is the Roquefort one. I have one pin which isn't on there and it matches the Castle pin. DBF also has a lot on a Nightmare Before Christmas lanyard. I'd never though that he'd get into it, but he went mad for those things. He has a few Cast Lanyard pins.

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Preparing again! This is an autograph book I got the first time I went to DLRP which only has Pluto's autograph in it. I forgot it when I went back this year and got a new one - so I'm taking this one to WDW to save some pennies.

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My planning folder! I have an assortment of things in here. A brochure, some menus, confirmation emails and print-outs for hotels and tickets (some which I have posted earlier), Holiday Invoices, tickets, etc. I must remember to print out some stuff I have on my laptop to bung in here. If I lost this folder, I'm not sure what I'd do! :scared1:

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Some of my Eeyore stuff! I have various bits around the house, and this was what was readily available in my bedroom - I intend to add to this collection while in WDW!

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Ok, I have no reason to post this up other than the fact that I like it :laughing: I got it at the Disney Store and I've never seen anything else like it! It's Winnie the Pooh wearing the Wales rugby kit - it makes me feel very patriotic and proud! We're a little country so I never expected to see anything like this there!

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Some of the Disney things that DBF bought me for Christmas - Luigi, a Cars filmcell, Mr Potatohead (for getting bits at WDW for) and yet another Eeyore. I also got the Cars DVD (not pictured)

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Apologies for the sideways image! This is my lovely pink suitcase which goes everywhere with me! I also have another small pink one, but I think I'll need another of the same size for Florida for 3 weeks! We're allowed to take 2 cases each at 23kg each on the Virgin airoplane :banana:
 
UPDATE! UPDATE!

I am so happy, we just paid off our holiday!! All we have to do now is sit back and wait for our tickets! Of course, and the HUGE list I have written out of 'Things to do and buy before August' :teeth:

But we're actually going!!! :)
 
Yay! Isn't paying it off such a good feeling!? :banana:

I love all of your pics! Especially those Eeyore pics. If I photographed all of my Disney stuff...I think it would be pretty scary :P
 








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