We're here!! Live(ish) trip report

[wayneg]

Sounds like a more enjoyable day

Only 2 days to us arriving, can't wait for some hot weather again.

 

[ninamouse]

Your last post has got me really excited! My boys love Monsters Inc so we will be hunting for Mike and Sully!!!

I'm pleased you've had a good day. Enjoy Seaworld tomorrow! x

 

[foxxxy83]

We stumbled on the Monsters Inc section purely by accident but they do an all day type M&G and if you ask a CM, they will be able to pinpoint the exact location for you We were actually REALLY lucky.. we came out of one attraction just as the queue was starting (we were 3rd!) They won't sign autographs (Dylan has started REALLY getting into the whole M&G and autograph collecting thing so he was a little disappointed) Sully was AWESOME though! A LOT more interactive with guests than Mike but that was OK cuz we're both MAD for Sully (although I have to confess to being the worst when it comes the blue furry one!)

 

[dixonsontour]

Sounds like you are both having a fabulous time.

We enjoyed legoland - been twice when DD was 5 and 6.

That said we didn't have disney tickets on either of those trips so it wasn't like I was thinking we could have been in disney instead.

DD could go on everything multiple times (the other day she was talking about how much she loved the beetle bounce ride and was asking why we weren't doing legoland this time) and I also enjoyed walking around the old cypress gardens too.

 

[foxxxy83]

Was having a great time til I logged into my online banking yesterday to find the hotel had placed a hold on £222.76 ($350) which I needed for part of my rent payment and which I was never told they would do prior to arrival. When I questioned it, they said every time you book a hotel over there, they put a hold on the first $350. That would be all very well and good if it wasn't a prepaid room! 3 international phone calls and a hell of a lot of stress later, I have come to the conclusion that my bank are useless (Hilton called and asked them to take the hold off explaining it had been an error on their part and quoting the authorisation code, amount placed on hold and when yet my bank still refused to cooperate unless it was faxed. Hilton fax machine not working and email not good enough). Just when I was REALLY feeling like this was the worst thing in the world, I looked out of my room window towards Cinderella's Castle at MK (you can just make it out at night) just in time to see fireworks going off above it and realised it wasn't worth me getting stressed about. There was a way round it.. I do have a family after all! 1 phone call to my mum and she transferred me some into my account to cover my rent payment and extra to enjoy myself with as it's our first time here as should be magical not stressful! Don't you LOVE mums!!

 

[orangetiggs]

Where are you staying? We have one night at hilton dtd for one night next month

 

[Tink78]

Don't you LOVE mums!!

Oh yes!
They're the best!

Glad you got sorted.

We're counting down now.
Only 3 days until we fly!

 

[foxxxy83]

Staying at Hilton Bonnet Creek. Think the Hilton at DTD is the Hilton Orlando. Hilton Bonnet Creek is just within the gates of Disney

 

[foxxxy83]

Just want to point out as well that this was an error on the part of the hotel and doesn't happen often. I know a few people following my trip report are staying at the Hilton Bonnet Creek after we return to the UK and I don't want to worry or scare anyone. It was just a shock to the system for me but it's all good now!

 

[tinkerpea]

Just want to point out as well that this was an error on the part of the hotel and doesn't happen often. I know a few people following my trip report are staying at the Hilton Bonnet Creek after we return to the UK and I don't want to worry or scare anyone. It was just a shock to the system for me but it's all good now!

This is why we always make sure we leave enough money in our current account to cover anything that could happen like this,
I'd hate to be down to just the bare minim and go on holiday incase an emergency happened

 

[Sam1]

We're staying at the Hilton bonnet creek in a couple of weeks, but luckily we already know about the hold so we're prepared for it. We were told it was $50 per night. The week before we're staying at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cyprus and that's $75 per night. We phoned to query both, but were told it's standard all over the world. Travel agents should really tell you about these things so it's not a shock when it happens. Glad you got it sorted.

Enjoy your holiday!

 

[foxxxy83]

Really?? Staff here said it was due to the fact I had put credit card details on my reservation so that I could charge things to the room. Had I not done that prior to arrival, it wouldn't have happened. Maybe that person was new or something.. anyway, these things happen and it's sorted now! As for today, we headed on down to Seaworld first thing and had an AMAZING day! We got a couple of family pics taken when we went in which was good and went to the Antarctica ride first... we did the "mild" version as Dylan isn't too great with anything fast or unexpected so thought it best to play safe. We both REALLY LOVED that ride! Esp when we came out at the live penguins! They're SO CUTE and were showing off their skills to a rapt audience (I did regret wearing sandals though! Lol!) We went to see the Sea Lions then sauntered down to Voyagers Smokehouse for an early lunch... have to say the food is FAB! The service however left a lot to be desired but maybe it was just the odd one or two letting the side down; either way, it showed. That said, I did REALLY enjoy the food and give it another chance if we went back to the same Seaworld park. We then did Turtle Trek which I'd heard mixed reviews about.. I LOVED it!! Dylan on the other hand clung to me for dear life the whole way through! (Poor baby! Lol!) He did enjoy seeing the turtles and manatees though... esp when I told him we're going swimming with manatees one day next week! We went to see Blue Horizon dolphin show (OMG! How AMAZING is that show?!?) and Dylan INSISTED on going to the underwater viewing area (Dolphin Cove) straight after. We checked out the gift shops and the same old stuff as you do in most parks then headed over to Shamu stadium for Dine With Shamu... one word... to quote Sharon Osbourne: FAB-ulous!! My partner had booked it and told them it was his present to me for my 30th birthday so they sat us poolside and gave me a slice of celebration cake with a candle! One of the trainers then tried to get the killer whale to give me a birthday splash but it must've aimed wrong coz it splashed the lady next to me - I felt quite sorry for her coz there were a few people laughing but I was glad not to have for wet myself :guilty Food at Dine With Shamu wasn't the best but it was the view that made it SO SPECIAL for me as I am a lover of both dolphins and killer whales Came out HAPPY and tired but cabs were sat waiting to jumped in one and 10 - 15 mins later, we were back at the hotel. Collapsed on the bed SHATTERED but looking forward to tomorrow! Tomorrow we're doing DTD in the morn with T-Rex reservation for lunch then back to hotel for nap/chill before getting dressed up in my fancy dress and hitting MNSSHP!! CAN'T WAIT!! MNSSHP is THE ONE as far as our plans are concerned as we don't really celebrate Halloween in my family

 

[Sencybil]

Oooooh, where are you doing the swimming with manatees?

Sx

 

[foxxxy83]

We're doing the manatee swim at Clearwater and we're going to visit Homassa State Park as well so that should be a good day (Oct 15th)

 

[foxxxy83]

Hey guys! Just back from another REALLY busy day so thought I should update you all! This morning we went to DTD and chilled out doing some souvenir shopping... got a REALLY CUTE Christmas ornament, box of chocs from Ghadarelli (apologies if you don't spell it that way!) for the neighbours who are keeping an eye on our house while we're away and a little something for each of my son's classmates at school. Then on to T-Rex for lunch... had heard mixed reviews of the place so went with an open mind. We were seated immediately and the server came straight over and took our drinks order then came back 5 mins later (when she said she would.. always good!) to take the food order. My son had a kids pizza and I ordered the Gigantasaurus burger... I could only eat half of mine and the manager came over and asked if everything was ok. I told him it was and that I was just full but he thought I was just being nice and something must be wrong if I couldn't eat it.. he then proceeded to remove it from our bill! Once we finished up there, we got a cab back to the hotel and chilled out (I knew I'd need a nap if I was going to be out late walking round MK! Lol!) As you can imagine, stepping out of the lift into the crowded hotel lobby where a conference of some kind was happening, I suddenly felt a tad self conscious in my fancy dress costume! Lol! I was fine by the time we got to MK though, even more so when I saw a people carrier full of people also in fancy dress MNSSHP was AWESOME! It seemed quite busy but I guess that was more coz we'd never been to one before and wasn't as experienced in where to go etc (plus I kept getting lost! Everything looks different in the dark! Lol!) We were REALLY lucky as we came off the Mad Hatter's Teacup ride just in time to be the last family in the queue for Alice and the Mad Hatter M&G. We were making our way towards Main Street when we saw it was pretty crowded and realised people were waiting for the parade so we headed up onto the Castle walls so as to avoid the crowds and find something else to do further on. 7 Dwarves were doing their M&G on the Castle walls so we joined the queue for that as it didn't seem as long as I thought it would be... I heard people can queue for 75 mins or more at any point for most of the night but we managed to have our pics taken with them in approx 25 mins. I did have to use a calming technique with Dylan at one point but not for long as he was SO excited and that seemed to be keeping him focused... plus there was approx a stroller size space in front so he found it easier to cope. He did REALLY well all night actually. I'm REALLY proud of him! We did the Trick or Treat trail that starts at Space Mountain and goes down to Storybook Circus then watched the fireworks from down there. There was MUCH less of a crowd and the bangs etc didn't seem to annoy him as much as they would have done if we had been in a crowded place although he did cover his ears the whole time. We ate at Liberty Tree Tavern which was busy with it being party night but I really didn't rate it at all. Our server (Ed) kept disappearing and not returning for what felt like eternity. We ended up just having the entrees and a couple of drinks. He couldn't even be bothered to say thanks for his tip and I gave him way more than he deserved coz I figured he was possibly just stressed with it being party night and them being SO busy or he may have only just started working there. Either way, it's just common courtesy to say thank you when someone gives you a generous tip. Anyway, we got in about 11 and my little boy is snoring soundly already so I think I'll wish everyone sweet dreams and hope you all have a great day tomorrow!

 

[ninamouse]

So pleased to hear you had a great time at MNSSHP!
We have booked for our trip - we have booked all the kids into Pirates League that day too!
I agree on the tip thing - manners cost nothing but have so much value.

 

[foxxxy83]

Well guys, just been to IOA which was pretty quiet first thing (we got there for rope drop!) We did all the Seuss Landing stuff first cuz that's more Dylan's sort of thing then headed up to WWOHP. We'd made sure to stop by Guest Services when we first got to the park to pick up a guest assistance pass... it came in REALLY useful for Ollivanders Wand Shop and, although Dylan wasn't the "chosen one", the Wand Keeper guy came over afterwards and spent a while chatting with Dylan and asked when his birthday was then told him a Birch wand was probably best for him. To the rest of us, this was obviously a sales pitch but to my son, this was possibly one of THE best moments of his young life! I can't thank the guy enough! We had lunch at 3 Broomsticks and it was OK but nothing special food-wise. The corn was beautiful but the chicken was quite dry IMO. Being able to say we are there and the pics we took kind of make up for the food not being exactly to our liking... at the end of the day, WWOHP is only somewhere we would do the once and they do their best but obviously everyone's tastes are different etc. Tried a Cauldron Cake.. mmmmmmmmm!! Bought 2 chocolate frogs as well but they chilling in the hotel room fridge at the min. Went to Marvel Superhero Island and went on the Spider-Man ride... Dylan FREAKED while on the ride! The cast member asked if we had a good time and I said it wasn't for us and that my son was a bit distressed (which he visibly still was so I figured that was why the cast member had asked) and the guy just shrugged it off and said "well the exit's right over there". Now don't get me wrong, I can understand some people don't know what to say in situations to calm someone down etc but surely "oh I'm sorry about that. Are you ok buddy??" is better? Again, this is only my experience and my perception of a situation. When we came out though, Captain America was doing a M&G... OMG! I have NEVER seen my son calm down SO quickly! Apparently Captain America could keep us safe! We queued up for that and that was AWESOME then went to do some more shopping. Came time to pick up our photos and the guy said the Captain America ones weren't there! The manager thankfully managed to restore the memory card that was used in the camera when we had the shots taken and they found them While she was restoring the memory card, they took us over to a store where Spider-Man was doing a M&G and we got some extra pics done I looked HIDEOUS on them but the ones of just my son and Spider-Man are BRILLIANT! Just got back to hotel room and going to go freshen up then head out to Medieval Times up at Kissimee at half 5

 

[2Tiggies]

What's on the menu for today's activities?

 

[foxxxy83]

We not doing anything but lounge around the hotel room, sleep and eat today to re-charge the batteries. Got a character breakfast at Tusker House tomorrow then spend the day at Animal Kingdom with a dinner reservation at Yak and Yeti at 5pm so that should be a good day

 

[foxxxy83]

Hey guys! Well, today we did AK. First stop?? Tusker House for a character breakfast. This went down BRILLIANTLY with Dylan who is convinced the characters are real (thankfully he doesn't question why a mouse is 6ft tall etc!) We had our pic taken with Donald at the entrance and was seated immediately in a quiet area of the restaurant which I was over the moon about as I thought it may have been a little too loud for Dylan in the main seating area :thumbs up. We then got our food and returned to the table where our server had brought our drinks order out. Just as we started eating, another hostess brought a hard copy of the pic we had taken with Donald in a presentation folder to the table. After all the discussions about this on here, I assumed I needed to pay for it and asked her how much. She said "No honey, these are free. You already paid for it in your PhotoPass package." I thanked her and went on with my meal. If PhotoPass don't tell the CM's, why should I?? If she had asked me to pay for it, I gladly would have. Mickey, Daisy and Goofy all came to the table. One family kept trying to keep them at their table for as long as poss and even after the characters had left their table, the parents kept sending the kids to hassle the characters for more interaction. When the characters started interacting with them, the parents then rushed over and started taking pics. It was SO annoying!! The CM's ended up asking them to leave. After breakfast, we went to the Greeting Trails at Camp Mickey-Minnie and got pics taken with King Louie, Donald, Chip & Dale and Pocahontas (the girl playing her was STUNNING!!) and the CM who was on the gate at the Pocahontas M&G told us which characters were at each stop. Dylan was wearing a t-shirt with Pluto on it so we went to Dinoland to get a pic taken of him with Pluto! We saw Goofy down there too! Other characters we saw during the course of the day were Tigger, Pooh, Mickey, Minnie (who was NOT happy about me getting a pic of just me and Mickey having a hug!! Lol!) and Rafiki (although Rafiki didn't have a PhotoPass photographer with him so was a good job I'd brought a disposable camera!) Tried out the new DAS system for Kilimanjaro Safaris and, although it did mean we had an alternative place to wait which we were grateful of, when we returned at our allocated return time, we were then directed to the FastPass queue which was over 20 mins long which meant my son still had to be in a big queue and the reason he had been given a DAS card was because he has no sense of space and no sense of emotion etc which makes queuing for things very hard so it didn't really help him as much as we would've liked but it is what it is. I think the new system makes it harder for disabled people. I'm in no way saying the old system was right. We don't want to be treated like VIPs but Universal's system is much better. At least there you get a time to return so you can wait somewhere else and when you return, they let you on at the next available ride/turn. This means you don't feel uncomfortable waiting in the queue and no able-bodied person feels hard done to because you both have to wait the same amount of time. IMO anyways.

Dinner at Yak and Yeti was great although the portions were HUGE. Is it just me or does America do EVERYTHING Supersized?? Lol! The food was GORGEOUS and made a real change from the usual burgers/pizzas/steaks etc you may find elsewhere. Will DEFINITELY be returning there! Have to say the service was top notch too by Tim, our host for the evening :thumbs up

Stopped by the PhotoPass place on the way to the exit after we'd finished our meal to see if they could locate our missing photos from MNSSHP that we had taken with Alice & Mad Hatter but unfortunately, there was no way of them locating them :sad!! :'( :'( Means will DEFINITELY have to come back next year!