I'm so excited! Just found out today that my Sister, Tracy is going to come to Florida with us! I have been trying hard to find a good deal for her today but without much success. We have spoken to our villa owner on the phone who sounds lovely and she said there is a sofa bed and 2 put-me-up beds in the villa, so it will be no problem adding her on to the booking. But it's Virgin Holidays who I am a little annoyed with. Paul called them this afternoon to ask about adding Tracy onto our booking. They said it wouldn't be a problem; she would have to pay a deposit as we did, but the thing that got me was that the flights have gone up to £722 each!! I couldn't believe it! We only paid £428 each when we originally booked. How can it possibly go up by almost £300 in that space of time? Well, it can't be helped. I could find it cheaper with another airline, but as much as she loves flying, she wouldn't want to be on a plane for 9 hours with nobody she knows. She doesn't mind sitting alone, but as long as it's on the same plane as us!
So this weekend we are going to go into Virgin Holidays to book her seat and also to book her "Amaze Me" tickets. I did do my calulations to work out if it would be cheaper to book through ATD, but with Paul's Flying Club 10% discount, it worked out cheaper booking through Virgin Holidays. Plus she'll then get a free pass to the V Room which we will also be using! It would be unfair for her not to be able to come in while the rest of us are enjoying the free food and drinks! So i'm glad she'll be able to join us in there!
I'm so glad she's coming! Can't wait to ride the rollercoasters and go round and round Roa's Rapid's in Aquatica with her. She's going to love it!!
So a quick update of our final cast members...
Me, Aimie. Aged 31 at time of travel.
Paul, Hubster, 35
Oliver, Son, 12
Amelia, Daughter, 2
Nina (a.k.a. Mum), 54
Les (a.k.a. Dad), 58
Tracy, Lil' Sis, 29
Also whilst Paul was on the phone to Virgin Holidays this afternoon, the rep mentioned that they are introducing some changes to the benefits of Virgin Flying Club membership and you will no longer get 10% off when booking! I'm glad we booked when we did! Paul works for Tesco, and as there's a Virgin Holidays shop inside our local store, Paul is entitled to 7% off bookings... still not as good as the 10%, but at least we have a back up for the future!
A blog all about my happy place, including trip reports from all of our trips to Walt Disney World in 2009, 2012, 2014 and plans for our 2017 trip.
26 September 2011
15 August 2011
Disney Luggage Tags
Just thought I would stop by to show you the Disney luggage tags I made tonight. I made one each for the adults and a personalised one each for Oliver and Amelia. Hopefully they will make our cases stand out on the carousel. They have our names, addresses and telephone numbers on the back in Disney font.
11 August 2011
The holiday Drawer...
Is it just me or does anyone else have a holiday drawer months and months in advance of their trip?? Lol. We're not going for another 9 months, but I have been adding bits to mine for a few months now. I got some great bargains this week so how could I refuse? The way I see it, I'm spreading the cost of the holiday further by buying things in the sale now, rather than leaving it a few weeks before we go and having to pay double for summer clothes.
Anyway.. this is my holiday drawer!
Mainly bits for Amelia so far... and can you see what's on the top? The bikini I wanted so much for her when we visited the new London Disney Store a few months ago! I found it in the sale on Disney Store's website for £7! I also bought her matching shorts and t-shirt (top left) and an Alice in Wonderland top for me! £23 for the three items. I was well chuffed! :-D
We were also in town at the weekend and T.J Hughes was having a closing down sale. We picked up a bottle of the Bed Head conditioner that I use and some Pizz Buin Allergy lotion for Paul as he gets prickly heat in Florida. It was a bargain at just £4. So that went in the drawer too.
I have 4 swimming costumes for Amelia now. I think that should be enough! We have washing facilities in our villa so I can always wash them. She'll probably go through 2-3 a day; swimming in the villa pool in the morning, another one at Aquatica/Typhoon Laggon/Blizzard beach during the day and another one in the afternoon back at the villa pool! She just loves water! I call her my Little Mermaid :-) She's going to love it!
Also in the drawer are...
Well I'm off to make some Dibb luggage tags :-)
Will be back as soon as there is anything else to blog about!
Anyway.. this is my holiday drawer!
Mainly bits for Amelia so far... and can you see what's on the top? The bikini I wanted so much for her when we visited the new London Disney Store a few months ago! I found it in the sale on Disney Store's website for £7! I also bought her matching shorts and t-shirt (top left) and an Alice in Wonderland top for me! £23 for the three items. I was well chuffed! :-D
We were also in town at the weekend and T.J Hughes was having a closing down sale. We picked up a bottle of the Bed Head conditioner that I use and some Pizz Buin Allergy lotion for Paul as he gets prickly heat in Florida. It was a bargain at just £4. So that went in the drawer too.
I have 4 swimming costumes for Amelia now. I think that should be enough! We have washing facilities in our villa so I can always wash them. She'll probably go through 2-3 a day; swimming in the villa pool in the morning, another one at Aquatica/Typhoon Laggon/Blizzard beach during the day and another one in the afternoon back at the villa pool! She just loves water! I call her my Little Mermaid :-) She's going to love it!
Also in the drawer are...
- Some plug adapters (although I think 2 of them may by European ones and not USA)
- TSA padlocks
- My Emma Bridgewater travel wallet that my Sister bought me last Christmas
- Puzzles for Amelia for the plane
- Uno cards
- Playing cards
- My holiday wallet (only comes out on holidays)
- A travel first aid kit
- Amelia's snack pod
- Some tissues
- A Star Wars beach towel for Oliver
- and some of those storage bags that you put clothes, duvets, etc in and suck the air out with a hoover (their name escapes me!). Thought they would be good to pack stuff into to create more space in the cases and they were only £1 in Poundland! I just hope they have a vacuum in the villa for on the way home!
Well I'm off to make some Dibb luggage tags :-)
Will be back as soon as there is anything else to blog about!
17 July 2011
Booked our seats!
Well we booked our seats last week and were a little diappointed to find out we're not going on a new Airbus A330-300 afterall :-( I just hope the IFE has been upgraded on the old 747 we'll be travelling on next May as it was shocking outbound and inbound on our last trip. Hubster is not impressed in the slightest and wants to change airports just so we get on a new plane however I have put my foot down! There is no way i'm going through more stress. I have enough of a worry finding ways to pay for this holiday. It has to be paid off in 8 months and we are nowhere near reaching our target! Worry is starting to set in big time...
10 June 2011
Disney Summertime
I went shopping in Asda last week and they have some really lovely Disney summer clothes for Children. I couldn't help getting Amelia a little Minnie Mouse swim suit.
We went to London on Wednesday to see Peter Kay at the O2 arena. It didn't start until 7:30pm and we got into London at 12pm, so we had a few hours have a look around. Our first stop was Oxford Street to see the new Disney Store that opened in May 2011. It is the largest Disney Store in Europe and it set out over two floors. When you walk in there's an amazing 28 foot high castle which you go through to get downstairs. The floor is glittery and the whole place is just magical More information about the store can be found here.
The merchandise in the store is widely catered for tourists and there are many London themed toys and collectibles, such as Mickey Mouse's dressed as Palace Guards and "I love London" Mickey mouse T-shirts, etc.
There was even a huge Mickey and Donald dressed as Palace Guards which Paul and I took photos of each other standing next to.
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| Me and Donald |
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| Paul and Mickey |
Here is a You Tube video of a tour of The Disney Store for those who may consider going there.
3 June 2011
Dreams really do come true...
I just thought I would share with you the bead my Husband bought me for my birthday from the kids this year. It was my 30th, so it is quite special to me. It is a sterling silver Chamelia bead for my bracelet from their Disney range.
I can't wait to wear it. We could only have dreamed that we would be going to Disney next year, so the sentiment on it is quite fitting.
My Favourite things...
I've only been to Orlando once, so i'm sure this list will get longer by the time we go again next year, but I thought I would share a few of my favourite things about Florida.
Firstly the food! We had some lovely meals out last time. Tona Roma's was a big hit with us. The three of us had a 2 course meal and drinks and it only came to $20.
The snacks over there from Walmart were lush. I've never seen such a vast variety of biscuits or "cookies" as they call them over there. We loved Chips Ahoy! Another big favourite of mine was Pepperidge Farm's honey goldfish and Hershey's Bliss chocolate bar. It just melted in my mouth!
I loved the people. Other than the security staff at MCO, everyone was so friendly. We particuarly liked the guy at the car park booth in Seaworld who told us to have a "Whale of a day". A nice touch we thought.
Firstly the food! We had some lovely meals out last time. Tona Roma's was a big hit with us. The three of us had a 2 course meal and drinks and it only came to $20.
The snacks over there from Walmart were lush. I've never seen such a vast variety of biscuits or "cookies" as they call them over there. We loved Chips Ahoy! Another big favourite of mine was Pepperidge Farm's honey goldfish and Hershey's Bliss chocolate bar. It just melted in my mouth!
The BBQ pulled pork sandwich at Busch Gardens was AMAZING! Can't wait to get another one of those when we go back.
I loved the people. Other than the security staff at MCO, everyone was so friendly. We particuarly liked the guy at the car park booth in Seaworld who told us to have a "Whale of a day". A nice touch we thought.
The smell of Florida. It really does have a distinctive smell which greets you at the airport as soon as you step off the plane.
The atmosphere; the sense of excitement and freedom, knowing you can go anywhere at any time and have a good time without worrying about the stresses of everyday life and be guaranteed a good time wherever you go.
Roa's Rapids at Aquatica! Hours of fun!
Discovery Cove. An amazing day and a once in a lifetime opportunity! Loved every minute (apart from the thunderstorm).
Clyde and Seymore show at Seaworld. Possibly more than Believe.
There are so many more but not enough space here to list everything!!
2 June 2011
Disney Blog Hop
Welcome to those of you stopping by on the Disney Blog Hop, sponsored by Babes in Disneyland Blog! Today's theme is "Disney Firsts" which is a coincidence as this if my first time on the blog hop! :-)
Well I must be the baby of the Disney blogging family as my Disney First will actually be going to Disney for the first time! It will also be our first time staying in a villa. We stayed in an appartment last time we were in Florida and only had FlexTicket Plus tickets, so we missed out on all the mouse action!
The thing I am looking forward to the most is seeing Cinderella's castle for the first time. I think I will well up a little bit and totally get caught up in the magic! I cry watching You Tube videos of toddlers meeting their favourite Disney characters for the first time, so I dread to think what I'll be like when Amelia first meets Minnie! I blame it on the baby brain, although Amelia is 13 months old now so I can't really use that as an excuse!
It will also be my Son's first time to Disney and my Daughter's first time to Florida so we all all very excited to say the least!
Looking forward to more Blog hopping! If you're new to my blog, please feel free to follow it as I don't have any followers yet :-(
1 June 2011
We're going on a new plane!
We just found out today that we will be flying on one of Virgin Atlantic's new Airbus A330-300 aircrafts when we fly out to Orlando on 19th May 2012. Paul is really looking forward to this. Unfortunately we'll be on an old Boeing 747 when we come home, but apparently the IFE sytem's are being updated by the beginning of next year, so hopefully our flight home will be better than the last one. The IFE was down on both flights last time which was a very tedious flight home to say the least.
We can book our seats on 30th June, so only a few more weeks to go. We're also going to do Twilight check in the day before we travel in the hope that we can get seats in the bubble on the way home.
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| New Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-300 |
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| Interior Airbus A330-300 |
We can book our seats on 30th June, so only a few more weeks to go. We're also going to do Twilight check in the day before we travel in the hope that we can get seats in the bubble on the way home.
25 May 2011
MORE change of plans!!
Well... Soooo much has happened since I last updated my Pre-trippy blog.
Unfortunately Paul and I had to postpone this years holiday as we were having a few financial difficulties. We've had problems with our car, our boiler's broken and I got a huge tax bill. We realised that we just couldn't afford to pay the holiday off by this September.
Begrudgingly we postponed until next May. Emerald Island wasn't showing up on Virgin's system so we had to provisionally book Highlands Reserve and were told we could change it when the new brochure came out at the end of April if Emerald Island was in it. We did this in the Virgin shop inside Tesco in Northampton. The rep told us it would be a new booking. We would have to pay an admin fee of £178 and we would then have to pay the deposit again which came to £850!! We were told this would come off of the final balance. Then once this deposit is paid, the money that we have already paid off the first booking would be transferred over to the new one (it's all very confusing!). We are now paying slightly more as Oliver will be classed as a teenager and Amelia will be going as a child and not an infant as she's 2 the month before we travel. At least she'll get her own seat though and won't be on our laps for 9 hours!
So we did this and was given until 30th May to pay the deposit off. We were a little concerned about the villa at Highlands reserve as the rep said that she could not guarantee we would have a spa, etc. and hubby really has his heart set on one. He has visions of sitting in one at the end of a long day at the parks with a cold bottle of Bud!
When we got home we started looking at Dibb villas and fell in love with one in Lindfields. It was everything we were looking for and a fraction of the cost of what Virgin were charging. We would also have the peace of mind that we would have a lovley villa with a pool and spa, BBQ, games room; everything we wanted. I contacted the owner and luckily our dates were available. We booked it for our 2 weeks and called Virgin and cancelled the accomodation on out booking. This meant that we had to have yet another booking reference number and were told that until the 2nd deposit had been paid, we would have 3 live bookings!
We are now just under a week until 30th May and were really struggling to pay the £850. We have called Virgin in Northampton several times and kept getting fobbed off being told so-and-so was out of the office but will call us back (but never did). In the end Paul put a message on Virgin Holiday's Facebook page asking if we would lose our money if it wasn't paid on time and somone PM'd him straight back asking for our details. 10 minutes later we had a call from Virgin customer services who were SO helpful and apologetic for Northampton messing us about . Within a matter of minutes they had cancelled the previous 2 bookings, transferred all of our payments over to the new booking and told us we don't have to pay the deposit again. She said it's complicated procedure, but customers don't have to pay the deposit again when amending bookings. She said she was going to phone the Northampton branch and explain it to them as they're obviously trying to push their luck with their customers. We have lost all confidence with them and will phone customer services/facebook if we have any other queries again. Hopefully we won't have to change again though!!!
SO.... To sum up, we are now staying in a 3 bedroom villa on 19th May 2012 for 14 nights. Flying with Virgin, flight VS027 from LGW. We still have the free V Room passes and Magic Me tickets for our whole party and 8 seater car with platinum insurance. We are also looking to go to Discovery Cove, just me and hubby and leave the kids with my parents for the day. I'm really looking forward to that.
So now our party will consist of the following people with their ages at time of travel;
Me - 31
Unfortunately Paul and I had to postpone this years holiday as we were having a few financial difficulties. We've had problems with our car, our boiler's broken and I got a huge tax bill. We realised that we just couldn't afford to pay the holiday off by this September.
Begrudgingly we postponed until next May. Emerald Island wasn't showing up on Virgin's system so we had to provisionally book Highlands Reserve and were told we could change it when the new brochure came out at the end of April if Emerald Island was in it. We did this in the Virgin shop inside Tesco in Northampton. The rep told us it would be a new booking. We would have to pay an admin fee of £178 and we would then have to pay the deposit again which came to £850!! We were told this would come off of the final balance. Then once this deposit is paid, the money that we have already paid off the first booking would be transferred over to the new one (it's all very confusing!). We are now paying slightly more as Oliver will be classed as a teenager and Amelia will be going as a child and not an infant as she's 2 the month before we travel. At least she'll get her own seat though and won't be on our laps for 9 hours!
So we did this and was given until 30th May to pay the deposit off. We were a little concerned about the villa at Highlands reserve as the rep said that she could not guarantee we would have a spa, etc. and hubby really has his heart set on one. He has visions of sitting in one at the end of a long day at the parks with a cold bottle of Bud!
When we got home we started looking at Dibb villas and fell in love with one in Lindfields. It was everything we were looking for and a fraction of the cost of what Virgin were charging. We would also have the peace of mind that we would have a lovley villa with a pool and spa, BBQ, games room; everything we wanted. I contacted the owner and luckily our dates were available. We booked it for our 2 weeks and called Virgin and cancelled the accomodation on out booking. This meant that we had to have yet another booking reference number and were told that until the 2nd deposit had been paid, we would have 3 live bookings!
We are now just under a week until 30th May and were really struggling to pay the £850. We have called Virgin in Northampton several times and kept getting fobbed off being told so-and-so was out of the office but will call us back (but never did). In the end Paul put a message on Virgin Holiday's Facebook page asking if we would lose our money if it wasn't paid on time and somone PM'd him straight back asking for our details. 10 minutes later we had a call from Virgin customer services who were SO helpful and apologetic for Northampton messing us about . Within a matter of minutes they had cancelled the previous 2 bookings, transferred all of our payments over to the new booking and told us we don't have to pay the deposit again. She said it's complicated procedure, but customers don't have to pay the deposit again when amending bookings. She said she was going to phone the Northampton branch and explain it to them as they're obviously trying to push their luck with their customers. We have lost all confidence with them and will phone customer services/facebook if we have any other queries again. Hopefully we won't have to change again though!!!
SO.... To sum up, we are now staying in a 3 bedroom villa on 19th May 2012 for 14 nights. Flying with Virgin, flight VS027 from LGW. We still have the free V Room passes and Magic Me tickets for our whole party and 8 seater car with platinum insurance. We are also looking to go to Discovery Cove, just me and hubby and leave the kids with my parents for the day. I'm really looking forward to that.
So now our party will consist of the following people with their ages at time of travel;
Me - 31
Paul - 35
Oliver - 12
Amelia - 2
My Mum - 54
My Dad - 58
I'm soooooooo excited and it feels like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders not having to pay the deposit again. I only wish we had booked the villa privately to begin with and saved ourselves all of this stress. I have had no end of sleepless nights over it.
I'm really tempted to do my Dibb itinerary now but I know it's too soon. There's so many things I want to do and see!
I know it's sad, but we've already got a holiday drawer where I have been adding bits. I found a little Disney Princess snack pod in TK Maxx which will be ideal for Amelia on the plane. It has a rubbery bit on the top with holds the food in, but you can push your hand through to get the snacks out. Ideal for some little Goodies snack biscuits/raisins, etc.
I'm really tempted to do my Dibb itinerary now but I know it's too soon. There's so many things I want to do and see!
I know it's sad, but we've already got a holiday drawer where I have been adding bits. I found a little Disney Princess snack pod in TK Maxx which will be ideal for Amelia on the plane. It has a rubbery bit on the top with holds the food in, but you can push your hand through to get the snacks out. Ideal for some little Goodies snack biscuits/raisins, etc.
I also got myself one of those body shaper swimming cozzies from Marks and Spencer last week which is looooooovely! So flattering. I can't wait to wear it in Aquatica! Think I might get another one so I can wear it when the other one is wet from the villa pool in the morning!
The downside is that I will no longer be able to use my Disney Memory box as the date is wrong :-( I will have to make another one soon.
I will write again soon if I have anything new to report on our planning!
20 April 2011
Amelia's 1st and My 30th Birthday
We had a wonderful couple of days last weekend. We had a Very Hungry Caterpillar party to celebrate Amelia's 1st Birthday and also my 30th. Yes that's right, on my birthday last year I was busy in hospital giving birth... my worst and best birthday all rolled into one! Lol.
I have been busy with the preparations for the party for a few weeks so I have stopped selling my cards and memory boxes for the time being. I will start again on 1st May once Easter is out of the way. I want to spend as much time with my family over the next few weeks. It's not often that I get so much time off work!
I put my love of card making and papercraft into practice at the party and made all sorts of decorations to include invitations, food picks, a "Thank you for coming" sign, a birthday card for Amelia and some little cards to stand around the food on the table.
I ordered the most FANTASTIC cake from Teresa's Tasty Treats (on Facebook). It was a major talking point and everybody loved it. I really didn't want to cut it. It was so spectacular!
A great day was had by all. Amelia and I were thoroughly spoilt with beautiful cards and gifts and the weather was perfect so we were able to get out into the garden.
Here are some photos of the day, and of the things I made:
I have been busy with the preparations for the party for a few weeks so I have stopped selling my cards and memory boxes for the time being. I will start again on 1st May once Easter is out of the way. I want to spend as much time with my family over the next few weeks. It's not often that I get so much time off work!
I put my love of card making and papercraft into practice at the party and made all sorts of decorations to include invitations, food picks, a "Thank you for coming" sign, a birthday card for Amelia and some little cards to stand around the food on the table.
I ordered the most FANTASTIC cake from Teresa's Tasty Treats (on Facebook). It was a major talking point and everybody loved it. I really didn't want to cut it. It was so spectacular!
A great day was had by all. Amelia and I were thoroughly spoilt with beautiful cards and gifts and the weather was perfect so we were able to get out into the garden.
Here are some photos of the day, and of the things I made:
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| Sandwich/food picks |
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| Thank you for coming sign |
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| Invitations |
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| Card for Amelia |
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| Very Hungry Caterpillar cake |
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| On Thursday he ate four strawberries.. |
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| He was a beautiful butterfly! |
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| Amelia unwrapping her present from us (a Smart Trike) |
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| Foooood! Yum yum! |
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Amelia opening her presents
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12 January 2011
Change of Accomodation Plans
Yesterday I was looking through the Virgin brochure at the villa we've booked and came across a page that I had not seen before. It was a page listing all the Orlando villa resorts and their specifications with a tick list of what's included in each resort.
When I looked at Calabay Parc's specification I noticed that it didn't have a spa whirlpool (jacuzzi); something Paul had set his heart on. He and my Dad were really looking forward to cracking open a few beers and sitting in the spa, bubbling away and relaxing after a hard day at the parks. Men are simple creatures aren't they?!
So I looked at the other Villas which offered a spa whirlpool and there were only 3 that offered one in their specifications; Emerald Island, Tuscan Hills and Windsor Hills. I did a lot of research and even looked at them all on Google Earth to see where they were. In the end I thought Emerald Island would suit our needs best. It was closer to the parks, it is a gated community, has a clubhouse with loads of amenities and it also has 4 bedrooms, so Oliver and Amelia will have their own rooms. Paul called Virgin who told him it will cost an extra £230, plus an extra £35 admin fee He said he would talk it over with me and get back to them.
We've been umming and ahhing over it all day and all last night. I sent links to the Emerald Island website to my Mum and Dad who fell in love with it and they called me this evening and said that if we upgrade to a villa there, they will pay half . Paul is at work but is going to phone Virgin back tomorrow and book it!
Getting more excited now! I keep looking at it on Google Earth and it looks lovely. It's completely surrounded by woodland and lakes. Some of the lakes looked a bit swampy on the satellite image! I'm hoping there are no alligators in there, or bears in the woods! Hehe.
When I looked at Calabay Parc's specification I noticed that it didn't have a spa whirlpool (jacuzzi); something Paul had set his heart on. He and my Dad were really looking forward to cracking open a few beers and sitting in the spa, bubbling away and relaxing after a hard day at the parks. Men are simple creatures aren't they?!
So I looked at the other Villas which offered a spa whirlpool and there were only 3 that offered one in their specifications; Emerald Island, Tuscan Hills and Windsor Hills. I did a lot of research and even looked at them all on Google Earth to see where they were. In the end I thought Emerald Island would suit our needs best. It was closer to the parks, it is a gated community, has a clubhouse with loads of amenities and it also has 4 bedrooms, so Oliver and Amelia will have their own rooms. Paul called Virgin who told him it will cost an extra £230, plus an extra £35 admin fee He said he would talk it over with me and get back to them.
We've been umming and ahhing over it all day and all last night. I sent links to the Emerald Island website to my Mum and Dad who fell in love with it and they called me this evening and said that if we upgrade to a villa there, they will pay half . Paul is at work but is going to phone Virgin back tomorrow and book it!
Getting more excited now! I keep looking at it on Google Earth and it looks lovely. It's completely surrounded by woodland and lakes. Some of the lakes looked a bit swampy on the satellite image! I'm hoping there are no alligators in there, or bears in the woods! Hehe.
10 January 2011
Planning already
Well not much has happened since my last post but I thought I would update a few things that I have done towards the holiday so far.
I was having a nosey on ebay last week and saw a man who calls himself Mr Brit who is a travel writer and has produced a CD ROM PACKED with information about Orlando. It was on a special offer at £7.99 so I thought, why not! I bought the disc and it came the next morning. The amount of information on the disc is amazing and I haven't been able to put it down! It's taken me nearly 3 days to read it all. I have been to Orlando once before but this disc gives so much information and tips that I didn't know before. I would thoroughly recommend buying a copy. Especially if you have never been before.
I have decided that we are not going to take advantage of the car seat hire for Amelia that comes with the platinum insurance through Virgin. Apparenly they are really tatty and dirty. So I have bought a car seat bag and also a buggy bag, both from Kiddicare.com so that I can put her car seat and buggy on the plane without them getting damaged.
My other little purchase this week for our trip is my favourite. I bought Amelia a Little Life Lady bird back pack! It is soooooo cute. I can't wait till she can wear it. It's just big enough for a drink bottle/sippy cup, baby wipes, snacks, etc and has a little hood in a pocket which has eyes on it! It's adorable!
I worked out 330 days before our flight home to be 20th January, so we can book our flights on that date! I can't wait! Looks like we'll be flying on a new Airbus 330-300 which are being released in April.
We went to my Parents' house for dinner on saturday and we were talking about Orlando. My Dad loved the Mr Brit CD ROM, especially the parts about where to eat! He also said he would pay for the pool heating so that's a bonus and something else we won't have to pay out.
I have a HUGE piggy bank that was given to Amelia when she was born and we have put it in the kitchen to save all our loose change for spending money. I have taped up the bottom with a sign on saying "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 30th November 2011" so that we won't be tempted to dip into it. I have also put some ££ notes in which my DH doesn't know about! Got a feeling we might have to smash the piggy bank to get them out! I didn't think of that when I put them in!
I have been making notes of Mr Brit's tips and have a list of places and restaurants I want to try. I will add these on later.
I was having a nosey on ebay last week and saw a man who calls himself Mr Brit who is a travel writer and has produced a CD ROM PACKED with information about Orlando. It was on a special offer at £7.99 so I thought, why not! I bought the disc and it came the next morning. The amount of information on the disc is amazing and I haven't been able to put it down! It's taken me nearly 3 days to read it all. I have been to Orlando once before but this disc gives so much information and tips that I didn't know before. I would thoroughly recommend buying a copy. Especially if you have never been before.
I have decided that we are not going to take advantage of the car seat hire for Amelia that comes with the platinum insurance through Virgin. Apparenly they are really tatty and dirty. So I have bought a car seat bag and also a buggy bag, both from Kiddicare.com so that I can put her car seat and buggy on the plane without them getting damaged.
My other little purchase this week for our trip is my favourite. I bought Amelia a Little Life Lady bird back pack! It is soooooo cute. I can't wait till she can wear it. It's just big enough for a drink bottle/sippy cup, baby wipes, snacks, etc and has a little hood in a pocket which has eyes on it! It's adorable!
I worked out 330 days before our flight home to be 20th January, so we can book our flights on that date! I can't wait! Looks like we'll be flying on a new Airbus 330-300 which are being released in April.
We went to my Parents' house for dinner on saturday and we were talking about Orlando. My Dad loved the Mr Brit CD ROM, especially the parts about where to eat! He also said he would pay for the pool heating so that's a bonus and something else we won't have to pay out.
I have a HUGE piggy bank that was given to Amelia when she was born and we have put it in the kitchen to save all our loose change for spending money. I have taped up the bottom with a sign on saying "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 30th November 2011" so that we won't be tempted to dip into it. I have also put some ££ notes in which my DH doesn't know about! Got a feeling we might have to smash the piggy bank to get them out! I didn't think of that when I put them in!
I have been making notes of Mr Brit's tips and have a list of places and restaurants I want to try. I will add these on later.
8 January 2011
Disney Memory Box
I'm so excited to be going back, I have already made a Disney memory box! I am going to use this to store our tickets, park maps, leaflets, wrist bands, etc when we get back to keep them safe.
I make cards and memory boxes in the evenings while Paul is hard at work, earning money to pay for our upcoming trip. I have sold quite a few of these, especially Grooms boxes. I sell most of them on ebay, but also have a website and a blog. The money I get from them is going to be saved up as spending money, or a new camera! I have a Nikon Coolpix S8000 but it keeps turning itself off all the time. I really want an SLR, especially for Florida. I love photography and would like to learn more about it.
Anyway, this was my first Disney box. I think it turned out quite well (if I do say so myself!)
I make cards and memory boxes in the evenings while Paul is hard at work, earning money to pay for our upcoming trip. I have sold quite a few of these, especially Grooms boxes. I sell most of them on ebay, but also have a website and a blog. The money I get from them is going to be saved up as spending money, or a new camera! I have a Nikon Coolpix S8000 but it keeps turning itself off all the time. I really want an SLR, especially for Florida. I love photography and would like to learn more about it.
Anyway, this was my first Disney box. I think it turned out quite well (if I do say so myself!)
3 January 2011
We're going back!!
I know it's probably waaaaaay too early to be writing a pre-trippy, but now that Christmas is over and we're into the New Year, I am really looking forward to our holiday in December! I know it's a long way off, but talking about it gets me in the holiday mood and cheers me up no end when having to live in this horrible, cold miserable country, and as I have nothing better to do this evening, I thought I would make a start.
I think I will start by telling you a bit about me and my family who are coming with me;
Me
I think I will start by telling you a bit about me and my family who are coming with me;
Me
I'm 29. I grew up with Disney from a young age and had all the Disney videos when I was little. My all time favourites are Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. I work from home as a Registered Childminder and I also make cards and memory boxes in my spare time which is something I really enjoy doing. I have been to Orlando once before in 2009 (see older posts in my blog archive for details), but not to Disney so I am really looking forward to this trip!
Paul, 34.
He has been to Orlando three times now, but he has never been to Disney. I don’t think he has a favourite Disney film as such, but he watches Playhouse Disney every day with the children we look after. He says he really feels at home in Florida, like he lived there in a past life! It is our ambition in life to own a villa over there someday. He LOVES rollercoaster’s. His favourite rides are the Hulk and Revenge of the Mummy which he rode both by himself last time we went as Oliver and I wussed out! Bless him!
My children;
Oliver will be 11 when we go and Amelia will be 20 months.
Oliver LOVED it in Florida last time we went in 2009 and has many Disney DVD’s. He’s not a fan of rollercoaster’s but he says he’s going to try a few this year! He is most looking forward to Aquatica this time as we spent the best part of a day just going around and around on the rapids last time! We had such fun!
Amelia loves Playhouse Disney and will happily sit and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny which is great when we need to cook the dinner or do a bit of housework! This will be her first holiday and first trip to the mouse! I am looking forward to taking her to see Playhouse Disney Live where she will be able to see all her favourite characters in the flesh!
My Mum and Dad.
Mum will be 53 when we go and Dad will be 57.
My Mum's never been to Florida before but I’m sure she will get caught up in the Disney magic and might even try a few rollercoasters! She’s keeping her fingers crossed for some sun!
My Dad has never been to Florida either and is looking forward to it. I bought him a Florida guide book and a map for Christmas and he has been looking at it, getting excited. He was amazed by how many lakes there are over there when looking at the map. He’s up for a bit of rollercoaster action!
If you're a follower of my blog, you'll know that the first time I went to Orlando was in June/July 2009 when Paul, Oliver and I went there on our Honeymoon. As soon as I stepped out of the airport I couldn’t get over how hot it was and had never experienced heat like it before, previously only visiting countries in Europe. We thought it was going to be the trip of a life time and never thought we would be able to afford to go again for at least another 5 years or so. But I got the bug and just HAD to go back again! In 2009 we didn’t go to any of the Disney parks. My parents had a timeshare and got us a room in the Vacation Village at Parkway, so we stayed there for the 14 nights and visited the other parks with our Flex ticket Plus tickets. We had a fantastic time but Oliver refused to go on any of the rides and Paul and I missed out on quite a bit. It was such a shame and kind of ruined our honeymoon.
Two weeks after we got back I fell pregnant and gave birth to Amelia (on my birthday!) in April last year. We were looking around for holiday destinations a few months ago and my Paul really fancied Egypt, but I kept saying no, as it would be far too hot for a baby, and when we priced it up, it wasn't that much cheaper than Florida. So we started to look around to see how much it would be for the four of us to go to Orlando and also to take my Parents with us as their Christmas present; at least that way we would be able to go on some rides as we could take it in turns waiting with the children and we wouldn’t have to pay much for Amelia as she’ll be under 2. We found a good deal with Virgin and worked out that if Paul took on a few extra shifts at work, we could afford to do it… So we took the plunge!
We provisionally booked through Virgin Holidays in our local Tesco store and the lady was so helpful. She knew everything there was to know about the villas over there. We were going to book a standard villa but it worked out only £50 dearer for a Superior one and so I booked a three bedroom villa at Calabay Parc which looks lovely. I have done a lot of research on The Dibb and everybody who has been has given good reviews on it. We also booked a 7 seater car, Platinum insurance, and Magic Me tickets for all of us. I couldn’t afford to pay the deposit there and then but said we would be back in 2 weeks to pay it which she said was fine, but to be aware that the prices were due to increase in the next couple of weeks as all the cheaper tickets sell first.
My Mum's never been to Florida before but I’m sure she will get caught up in the Disney magic and might even try a few rollercoasters! She’s keeping her fingers crossed for some sun!
My Dad has never been to Florida either and is looking forward to it. I bought him a Florida guide book and a map for Christmas and he has been looking at it, getting excited. He was amazed by how many lakes there are over there when looking at the map. He’s up for a bit of rollercoaster action!
If you're a follower of my blog, you'll know that the first time I went to Orlando was in June/July 2009 when Paul, Oliver and I went there on our Honeymoon. As soon as I stepped out of the airport I couldn’t get over how hot it was and had never experienced heat like it before, previously only visiting countries in Europe. We thought it was going to be the trip of a life time and never thought we would be able to afford to go again for at least another 5 years or so. But I got the bug and just HAD to go back again! In 2009 we didn’t go to any of the Disney parks. My parents had a timeshare and got us a room in the Vacation Village at Parkway, so we stayed there for the 14 nights and visited the other parks with our Flex ticket Plus tickets. We had a fantastic time but Oliver refused to go on any of the rides and Paul and I missed out on quite a bit. It was such a shame and kind of ruined our honeymoon.
Two weeks after we got back I fell pregnant and gave birth to Amelia (on my birthday!) in April last year. We were looking around for holiday destinations a few months ago and my Paul really fancied Egypt, but I kept saying no, as it would be far too hot for a baby, and when we priced it up, it wasn't that much cheaper than Florida. So we started to look around to see how much it would be for the four of us to go to Orlando and also to take my Parents with us as their Christmas present; at least that way we would be able to go on some rides as we could take it in turns waiting with the children and we wouldn’t have to pay much for Amelia as she’ll be under 2. We found a good deal with Virgin and worked out that if Paul took on a few extra shifts at work, we could afford to do it… So we took the plunge!
We provisionally booked through Virgin Holidays in our local Tesco store and the lady was so helpful. She knew everything there was to know about the villas over there. We were going to book a standard villa but it worked out only £50 dearer for a Superior one and so I booked a three bedroom villa at Calabay Parc which looks lovely. I have done a lot of research on The Dibb and everybody who has been has given good reviews on it. We also booked a 7 seater car, Platinum insurance, and Magic Me tickets for all of us. I couldn’t afford to pay the deposit there and then but said we would be back in 2 weeks to pay it which she said was fine, but to be aware that the prices were due to increase in the next couple of weeks as all the cheaper tickets sell first.
We went home and a week later Virgin called us at home saying that as it was month end her boss said she could give us free V Room lounge passes if we booked that day! I told her we couldn’t pay until the following weekend and she said it was fine; she would put it on the system that we had paid by cheque so she could still hold the price for us “while the cheque clears”. I was so excited when I put the phone down. I had just booked another Florida trip of a lifetime!!
We paid the deposit the following week and ever since I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it!
So we are going on 2nd– 16th December 2011 flying from Gatwick. Upgraded the car later to an 8 seater through Alamo so we’ll have more room for luggage, platinum insurance, car seat for Amelia and a booster for Oliver, Magic Me tickets for 5 and the V Room lounge! Now all we’ve got to do is pay the balance!
We weren’t going to tell my Mum and Dad until Christmas day. I had planned a big Mickey Mouse Helium balloon wearing a Santa hat to float out of a box with their “ticket” attached to some ribbon at the bottom, but I couldn’t contain myself! I’m useless with secrets! I got my lap top out one evening when I was at their house and showed them the villa and they were really surprised, but a little worried about how we could afford it. But I explained to them that we can afford it and they have come round to the idea and are really excited too!
So now I have a year of planning! I have already started getting a few bits together; Mothercare had a sale on a few months ago so I bought a stroller for Amelia which we can use over there. The Mamas and Papas Sola she has now is too big and bulky and I don’t want it getting battered on the plane. I have also bought her a Minnie Mouse swimming cosie!
So now just the following to do…
We paid the deposit the following week and ever since I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it!
So we are going on 2nd– 16th December 2011 flying from Gatwick. Upgraded the car later to an 8 seater through Alamo so we’ll have more room for luggage, platinum insurance, car seat for Amelia and a booster for Oliver, Magic Me tickets for 5 and the V Room lounge! Now all we’ve got to do is pay the balance!
We weren’t going to tell my Mum and Dad until Christmas day. I had planned a big Mickey Mouse Helium balloon wearing a Santa hat to float out of a box with their “ticket” attached to some ribbon at the bottom, but I couldn’t contain myself! I’m useless with secrets! I got my lap top out one evening when I was at their house and showed them the villa and they were really surprised, but a little worried about how we could afford it. But I explained to them that we can afford it and they have come round to the idea and are really excited too!
So now I have a year of planning! I have already started getting a few bits together; Mothercare had a sale on a few months ago so I bought a stroller for Amelia which we can use over there. The Mamas and Papas Sola she has now is too big and bulky and I don’t want it getting battered on the plane. I have also bought her a Minnie Mouse swimming cosie!
So now just the following to do…
- Estas
- Passports (Paul, Oliver and Amelia will all need a new one!)
- Pool Heating
- Check child seats will be in car when we collect it
- Hire a Sat Nav from eBay
- Airport parking and hotel the night before flight
- Holiday Insurance
- Someone to look after our pets (we have a dog, a cat, fish and four chickens!!)
- Spending money
- Cirque du Soleil tickets (I really wanna go)
- Consider changing our Magic Me tickets to Thrill Me tickets….
The only difference is with Thrill me you get Busch Gardens instead of Aquatica. I really want to go to Aquatica but have been researching the weather that time of the year and it sounds like it will just be too cold for a water park. If we do get a good day we can always pay on the gate. We missed a lot of Busch Gardens last time as it was so hot we were shattered by 3pm and went home. I know my mum will love it there. We’re all big animal lovers so it will suit us more I think.
Well I think I better leave it there before I bore everyone! I will update when there is anything new to add.
Only 332 days to go! We’ll be able to pick our seats in a few weeks! So exciting! WE’RE GOING BACK!!
Well I think I better leave it there before I bore everyone! I will update when there is anything new to add.
Only 332 days to go! We’ll be able to pick our seats in a few weeks! So exciting! WE’RE GOING BACK!!
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