The Fantastic, Fun Filled, Family Floriday ~ Pre-Trippy ~

Well here it is! After seventeen months of planning, here is my final, condensed pre-trippy! This trip has been named the Fantastic Fun Filled Family Floriday! My updates on this trip can be found in the blog archive on the right aswell as my hastily written 2009 trip report.

We have been planning this trip since September 2010 which is when we originally booked our trip for 2nd December 2011, but after lots of heartache we realised we had to postpone it, and so we re-booked again for May 2012. The reasons can be found in the vast pre-trippy update posts, but I won’t bore you all with the details here...Just scroll down ;-)

So let’s get on to the cast members...

This is me, Aimie, 31 in April.

Devoted planner and list-maker; Mother, Wife, a keen amateur photographer, crafter and lover of all things Disney.  I love the magic and fantasy and am a self confessed dreamer. I have adopted the name of Edna by my mum as i’ve always got my “Ed’ in the clouds”!

I have been to Florida once before for our Honeymoon in 2009, but never to Disney. I love animals and rollercoaster’s, although the big ones tend to give me a headache nowadays. I think its part of getting old!

I work as a self employed Childminder and look after 6 toddlers throughout the week. There’s never a dull moment in our house, or a minute’s peace!

I was a very lucky girl on Christmas day last year as DH bought me a lovely DSLR camera which I had wanted for absolutely AGES! I’m still learning how to use it, and so far have not managed to get off the auto setting, but I’m hoping to pick up some tips before we go away. I’m one of those people who likes to take photographs of EVERYTHING, so expect lots of photos on this trip! I’m hoping to save for a new lens and a crumpler case before we leave, or maybe I might get one for my birthday?! (hint hint!) I have a Nikon Coolpix S8000 which I will also be using when my DSLR gets too heavy! I've bought a waterproof scuba case for it to use in the waterparks. £2 on ebay... bargain!

Here’s my lovely camera, a Canon EOS 550D

I made the Disney strap cover myself .  I have had lots of interest in these and have decided that I will make more for those who want them.  Further details can be found here.

I am most looking forward to: Visiting Magic Kingdom for the first time, watching Wishes on Main Street, seeing all the Characters and shopping! I get very emotional whenever I see pictures of Cinderella’s Castle and just know I will be in tears when I walk through those gates!

This is my hubster; Paul 35.

Husband, Father and chief chauffer on this trip. This will be Paul’s 4th trip to Florida, although like me, he has never been to WDW! His heart belongs to the dark side and he prefers Universal studios to Disney but is slowly becoming converted after all the Disney films I keep making him watch! He works in retail as a deputy manager for Tesco and loves going to work for some peace and quiet away from all the children at home!

He loves rollercoaster’s; his favourite rides are Hulk and Revenge of the Mummy, neither of which I got to ride last time, so he’s looking forward to dragging me on them both this time!

Paul is most looking forward to: Going to the Disney parks for the first time, especially Animal Kingdom, riding Revenge of the Mummy, dragging me on Hulk and converting me to “Village Inn”... a diner he went to years ago before he met me and he won’t stop going on about it! He’s even their friend on Facebook!

This is my son, Oliver, 12.

Really the best way to describe Oliver is loveable one second and seriously stroppy the next. He’s at that age where he’s argumentative and he has to be right about everything! He’s big on technology; loves his laptop and iPod touch and playing games on them. He likes Angry Birds, Pokemon, Lego, Star Wars, Manga, drawing and Club Penguin.

He loved Florida in 2009, but not the rides so much. When he was 8 I stupidly made him go on the Corkscrew at Alton Towers with me and i’ve regretted it ever since. It was also my first coaster back in 1991 and I had forgotten how old and rattley it was. He spent the whole ride screaming “get me off get me off!” It was awful. Bad Mummy He’s pretty much been turned off all rides since then through no fault but my own. He found the Shamu express and the Woody Woodpecker ride just about bearable last time, but I could tell he didn’t really like it. He also cried all the way through Twister and Terminator!

Three years on and he’s been watching all the ride POV videos on You Tube and says he’s going to try Expedition Everest and Manta. We’ll see. It will be lovely if he does as some of the rides nowadays are so smooth, I KNOW he would love them and it will be nice for us to be able to do them together. I’d hate for him to miss out over one bad experience. Paul and I missed out on a lot of rides on our last trip too as we couldn’t go on anything because Oliver wouldn’t go on them.

Oliver is most looking forward to: Star Wars Weekend, going on an aeroplane and taking Grandad on Roa’s Rapids!

  

This is our Daughter, Amelia, 2 in April.

Our pretty Princess. This will be her first time in Florida and on an aeroplane, in fact her first ever holiday! I’m kind of dreading the 9 hour flight with her as she does tend to get bored of doing the same thing for too long. She is very active and always on the go, climbing and getting into mischief! And you thought butter wouldn’t melt from her photo right?!

Amelia loves Disney Junior, Winnie the Pooh, Curious George and Cat in the Hat. She got my genes and loves being crafty, painting, gluing and sticking and playing with playdough. She is also a water baby. She loves bath time and swimming and is just going to LOVE the water parks in Florida and meeting the characters. She also has a new Trunki which she’ll love riding around the airport!

Also coming along is my Mum and Dad:

Married 33 years this year. They have travelled to many countries and had a timeshare in Tenerife but they’ve never been to America.

My Dad, Les, 58

Husband, Father, Grandfather, babysitter and co-driver for our trip. Dad is a self employed painter and decorator. He likes Disney, especially Toy Story, although I don’t think he really knows what to expect from Florida. He’s not been on too many coasters before but says he’s going to try some of the rides. I think he’s really going for the food! We are all foodies in our family and he loves watching American programmes on the Good Food Channel such as Outrageous Food and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives! He’s looking forward to trying a Buffalo burger at Fuddruckers!

Dad is most looking forward to: Going to Walmart and all of us going out for meals in the evening.

This is my Mum, Nina, 54

Wife, Mother, Grandmother , babysitter and my partner in craft-shopping crime!! I definitely inherited her genes when it comes to being crafty. Mum loves card making and she recently bought her first Sizzix Big Shot. She was recently made redundant from her job as an accounts administrator where she had worked for over 10 years. She has been quite depressed about it and so I hope this trip will cheer her up a bit as she really deserves it.

Mum is most looking forward to: Shopping at Michaels and Joann’s for craft supplies!

And last but not least...

My Sister, Tracy, 28.

Daughter, Sister, Auntie, Babysitter and baker of delicious cupcakes! Tracy works full time as an office manager in a crash repair centre and part time as a nail technician. She also makes cupcakes in her spare time. She loves being single and spending time with her friends. This will be her first time in Florida. Tracy loves Disney and up until about the age of 12, wanted to be a mermaid when she grew up! She loves rollercoaster’s and is dead set on going on everything! She is also a self confessed sun worshipper...

Tracy is most looking forward to: Going to Walmart, Shopping and sunbathing around the villa pool!

So now that we’ve got all that out of the way... here’s the plan so far...

We have a fly drive booked with Virgin from Gatwick on Saturday 19th May 2012 with an 8 seater car through Alamo.

We have 2 family rooms at the Hilton at Gatwick booked for the night before so we can do Twilight Check-In and car parking booked with Cophall Farm with Meet and Greet for when we arrive at the hotel.

We are staying in a lovely villa in Lindfields that I found on the Dibb. It looks fantastic and the kids are going to love the pool and the games room. It ticked all the boxes for everything we wanted, including a hot tub which Paul insisted on! In 2009 we stayed in an apartment at the Vacation Village at Parkway (using mum and dad’s timeshare), and while it was nice, I don’t think we’d stay in a hotel again. I love the thought of having our own private pool in a villa, and it being more like a home for the 2 weeks we’re away.

We have Virgin’s Amaze Me tickets which includes Disney’s 14 day Ultimate ticket, Orlando Flex Ticket Plus, and free admission to the V Room... GET IN!

I have also booked a few ADR’s...

• Breakfast at Crystal Palace (MK) on our first morning
• Lunch at Mythos at (IOA) using opentable.com
• Dinner at Teppan Edo at Epcot
• Dinner at Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Resort
• Breakfast at Tusker House (AK)

Tracy also wants to have dinner at Sharks Underwater Grill when we go to Seaworld.

Also on the agenda is a trip to Celebration and Disney’s Boardwalk. We went to Celebration last time and loved it, so peaceful and oldy-worldy, and the houses are to die for. I must show my Dad! He will want to move out there! I’ve heard so many great things about the Boardwalk and I know Mum and Dad will love it there too, relaxing away from the hustle and bustle of the parks.

I also have in my plans a trip to Altamonte Mall, dinner at Bahama Breeze, followed by some mini golf at Pirates Cove. I have a bit of a funny story about that on our last trip... Although at the time it was far from funny! We were on our way to Pirate’s Cove, taking a slow walk up International Drive, taking in all the sights until Oliver got ill and we never made it. Instead he spent an hour in the toilets in Denny’s while I ran up and down International Drive looking for spare shorts and children’s Imodium.... Not easy in Florida apparently! I eventually found shorts in Walgreens. They were hideous and flowery, but beggars can’t be choosers as they were the only pair in his size. I gave up looking for any medicine after walking round and around and finding nothing suitable for his age range. The queue was massive and when I eventually got to the checkout I thought I’d give it one last shot and asked the cashier if they sold any Imodium-type medicine suitable for a 9 year old. I couldn’t believe it when he just got up out of his chair and left the entire queue of customers to take me to the pharmacy! I felt so guilty. He got me a pharmacist who found me some Pepto Bismol and said it should be fine. I must have thanked them both a 100 times and apologised to the huge queue of customers who must have been fuming! I was so grateful. Needless to say I will be taking Imodium with me EVERYWHERE this year to avoid a repeat performance!

We also plan on going to Clearwater beach on Memorial Day. Hopefully it won’t be too busy. I’ve read a few things about the Sea Screamer boat tour which I’d love to do and would also LOVE try parasailing. I’ve never done it before but it looks great!

Mum and Dad also want to do an airboat tour. I’m not too bothered about doing this. Maybe if we had a third week and more time I would go. But I think we’re going to struggle to fit everything in as it is, and I think Amelia is too young to go, so I’d rather visit a water park on the morning they go and we can all meet up again after lunch for some shopping or something.

So we are now at the 49 day mark and I can hardly control my excitement! I don’t know what i’m going to be like on the plane. I think I’m going to spontaneously human combust! My excitement is overwhelming. I eat, sleep, and breathe Florida! I’ve made spreadsheets, packing lists, luggage tags, countdown charts and I have 3 holiday drawers so far which are over flowing... I tell you, if I had a spare room, I would have the cases out already! Here’s the countdown calendar I made for the kids which started at 80 days.

To keep me occupied I’ve recently turned my hand to dress making for Amelia. Disney dress making to be more precise! Here’s a few of my little projects that I’ve made for her...

For our first day at Magic Kingdom...

 

For Epcot...

For Hollywood Studios...

For our breakfast at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom...



 I can’t wait to see her in them in the parks!

My dresses have also proven very popular on a few forums.  If anyone would like me to make them one for their little Princess, please follow the link here.

We have a few last minute things to do;

Top of the list is to get Amelia a passport! Paul’s and Oliver’s had both expired so we’ve had to fork out for replacements for them both and now Amelia needs her first one. Paul took her to have her photos done on Monday... that was an experience trying to get her to stand (yes stand) on the tiny stool and look at the camera whilst trying not to play peepo with Daddy behind the curtain!

Also have to do our Esta’s and save some spending money! We only have about $600 saved so far. I think we also need some new suitcases, a camera case.

Paul got a bargain in the Argos clearance bargains warehouse this morning; a Mama’s and Papa’s Beat stroller for Amelia to take with us. She has a M&P Sola at the moment and it’s far too big and bulky to take with us. The new one will be perfect and was only £39.99. It’s even got a big pocket at the back for me to keep my travel journal! . I bought a Mothercare Jive last year and have used it a few times to wear it in a bit, but I really don’t recommend them. It doesn’t have a proper reclining back, just a strap to adjust it. Amelia is constantly leaning forward all the time as it lies back too far even at its highest point.

We have also booked a pet sitter to take care of our dog, cat and chickens, so they won't get lonely when we are away.

Well I think that’s all for now. I hope I haven’t bored you all. I do tend to go on a bit!

Looking forward to doing my first trip report in a few weeks! The time is flying!