So today was our pre-travel day, we got up and started our usual routine of cleaning the house doing the last few bits of washing for when we got home (sheets, towels etc) and ironing the last of our clothes for our trip.
We took our dog Zac to the kennels just before lunch and got ourselves a subway on the way back. Lunch finished and we did the last bits of cleaning and then started packing (I know many would not be comfortable leaving it so late!) We did our last few final touches like setting the auto feeder for the fish and then we headed off.
We left the house at about 3.30 and decided to avoid the A303 as it tends to be a nightmare on a Friday which worked out quite well but the roadworks on the M3 continue to be really annoying – miles and miles of 50mph limits!
We did hit some traffic on the M25 but that isn’t really surprising as that happens pretty much all the time in our experience! We were staying at the Hilton and had booked a park and stay package.
We got to the hotel and it was really busy so I popped in to check and get the parking info while Rob waited in the car. We followed the directions and were slightly disappointed to find that the package included valet parking (we don’t like leaving the car with anyone and much prefer to park it ourselves) but obviously we didn’t really have an option now.
We dropped off the car keys and took the shuttle across to North Terminal (we were flying with BA) to do twilight check in. We used the machines to tag our bags and print our boarding cards and quickly dropped off our bags.
We took the shuttle back across and decided to get sandwiches from M&S for dinner. We had a little picnic in the room and then thought we would go to the lounge for drinks. We got there and it was mega busy with absolutely nowhere to sit so we gave up and went back to the room.
Sat 5th Sept
Actual travel day….! We were flying to Tampa with BA this time.
We got up at 7.45 and got ready, and then we headed across to the terminal around 9 and were quickly through security. We got breakfast in Armadillos as Frankie and Benny’s was really busy, Rob had eggs and bacon on a muffin and I had banofee pancakes. It was pretty good and I think we paid around £20 in total.
We decided to have a little look in the shops and we had to buy me a pair of socks as the ones that I had put on were really annoying me!
Once we had a little wander our gate was announced so we headed off to find it, we always seem to get allocated really cold gates at Gatwick….not sure how that happens!
We were slightly delayed – there was an announcement I think about some seats being repaired but not sure as the sound quality was rubbish as always! We eventually left slightly after 12 (I think we were scheduled to leave at 11.50.)
The flight was fine but it was noticeable how tired the aircraft was after being on the Dreamliner in June. I watched Inside Out and Cinderella and I think Rob watched the latest Fast and Furious movie.
We both decided on the vegetable lasagne for our meal and there was also a chocolate butterscotch pudding. These were actually pretty good considering, later we had a chicken and pesto sandwich and a Kitkat – the sandwich was a proper size too not a mini version.
Despite the slightly late departure we landed about 15 mins early, we had a little wait in immigration when they had a problem with the computers but we got through immigration and onto car hire in about an hour.
We did get the usual confusion from the immigration officer – having been together for 17 years we constantly get mixed messages about whether we should go up together or not. This time we got told we should go separately next time…..! I wish they would be consistent!
We went across to Avis to collect our car – no hard sell which was nice after our last trip and the mean Dollar lady. We were allocated a Ford Escape which was much better than last time and it had built in sat nav and reversing camera.
The drive to WDW took us about 1hr 20 and was quite straightforward. We arrived at Saratoga Springs and were quickly checked in; our room was in the Paddock area just around the corner from the pool so convenient for refilling our mugs.
We walked across to the Earl of Sandwich to get something to eat – I got the holiday turkey and Rob got the Earl’s Club. By this point we were getting pretty tired so we walked back and went to bed….we didn’t even unpack our bags!
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