Anyone who has read my previous trippie will know that we had the most sensational of all holidays to celebrate my 50th birthday in Florida last year. We really pushed the boat out and did everything that we ever wanted to do, travelling star class, staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge & Hard Rock Hotel, swimming with dolphins and sharks & having private tours. There were only the three of us on that holiday, my wife, Lisa, my son Ben, who was 12and myself, but all the way through the holiday, my one wish was that my three Grandkids could have been there with us. Although this was our 4th trip to Florida, it was the first time that we hadnt had to chase the characters around, as Ben was far too old for that sort of thing, even though I was still twitching to have a cuddle with Mickey myself. I sort of got my wish on our last night when we dined at Crystal Palace and I got to have my picture taken etc with Pooh, Tigger, HeeHaw and crowd.
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/?action=view¤t=Day14MK.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/Day14MK.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Ben did reluctantly agree to a cuddle, but only because it was Pooh!
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/?action=view¤t=Day14MK7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/Day14MK7.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
So, on our return, I vowed that I would take the kids real soon. After the cost of last years exploits, we were never going to be able to afford America again this year. So in January of this year we decided to look into the chances of going to DLRP. We had been once before, in 1996, but only for a day on our way through to Spain. It was still very much in it's infancy, and we were a little disappointed, but we had not been back long from our first trip to America, so probably made unfair comparisons. Here are a couple of pictures taken on that trip, sorry about the quality, but there weren't digital cameras in those days!!:
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/?action=view¤t=dlp2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/dlp2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
How ridiculously young do Lisa & I look, in the middle of that picture, and that is baby Ben in the pushchair on the right. Here are a few pics of the parade from back then, it may stir a few memories for you DLRP veterans:
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/?action=view¤t=DLP4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/DLP4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/?action=view¤t=DLP3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/DLP3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/?action=view¤t=DLP5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/DLP5.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/?action=view¤t=DLP1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/DLP1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
I desperately wanted to take all three of my grandkids, but my eldest one,14 year old Jordan, has major heart problems, and will eventually have a heart lung transplant, so cannot fly anymore. He has been lucky enough to go to Florida twice before, but is unable to cope with the cabin pressure on a plane now, so we had to look at other ways of getting there. Here is Jordan looking real cool??
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/?action=view¤t=P1020707.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/P1020707.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
We were also complete novices as far as DLRP was concerned, so just as we had done to great effect last year, we consulted our friends on the forums, and eventually decided that we would go to Sequoia Lodge by Eurostar. My eldest son, Liam, my daughter in law Becky, their two boys, Jake aged 3 and Max aged 2 would be joining myself, (Im Kev by the way), my wife Lisa, my youngest son Ben, who is now 13 and my eldest grandson Jordan aged 14. We booked through First Choice, to travel on the 7am Eurostar on the 25th March, which by coincidence is Lisas birthday. We booked Montana rooms at SL, to make it as easy as possible for Jordan in his wheelchair. We went for the 4 day 3 night package, leaving DLRP on the 12-20pm Eurostar on Friday 28th March
Because our Eurostar train would be leaving London so early, we decided that we would travel down on Monday lunch time, and booked into the Kings Cross Travelodge for the night. Not top quality accommodation, but cheap and close to the Eurostar station at St Pancrass. I dont think we will sleep much anyway due to excitement!! I wanted to make the whole experience as special as possible, so booked tickets for my wife and Becky to see Grease in Piccadilly on the Monday night, starring the winners of the recent TV show. I also booked us all onto the London Eye on the Friday when we get back into London, as our train back to Sheffield was not until 9ish, so we would have a few hours to pass on.
So the ten weeks quickly passed by, and the excitement grew day by day, not knowing who was most excited, the kids or the adults!! Jordan had to try really hard not to get over excited, as he would end up back in hospital, like he did for Liam & Beckys wedding in Rhodes last September. That was an amazingly good week, following only shortly after we got back from Florida. This is Liam & Becky with the boys on their wedding day:
<a href="http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/?action=view¤t=BIK_0739.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/kevg1889/Disney%20Prequel/BIK_0739.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
We had a minor problem to resolve when our Eurostar tickets arrived, as not only had they not allocated a wheelchair space for Jordan, but two of our seats were singles, away from the rest of our party. I felt that things were going to be quite difficult anyway, managing a wheelchair and with two toddlers who had not been allocated their own seats, as wel as having to change at Lille. I sent an e-mail to Eurostar, and their reply said that I would need to contact Disney, as they had issued the seats. I went into First Choice, and they contacted Disney direct, but unfortunately, they said they were unable to do anything to help. I was not prepared to give up, so again contacted Eurostar, giving further details of our plight, and was contacted by a manager called Mike, who was absolutely brilliant. He cancelled our original Disney seats and, even though the wheelchair spaces were already taken, he got us table seats, altogether in the family areas, and to put the icing on the cake, he even sent us some vouchers to get ourselves a drink on the train.
A call through to the dining line was made, to organise our first night at Café Mickey, together with a birthday cake for Lisa. I decided not to make any further advance bookings, as we wanted to look what was on offer when we got there, but we would certainly be considering other favourites recommended on the boards. After the extreme planning that went into last years holiday, it all seemed a bit too easy this year, but I had certainly taken a lot of advice from our friends on line, and we were ready and raring to go, just needing to get over the last few days, which seemed like an eternity.
[thread=1773469]CLICK HERE TO GO TO DAY 1 [/thread]
