We need some sunshine, time for a week away! Day 3

Wed 13th Feb

We had toast and muffins for breakfast again this morning.

It was grey and raining so we spent the morning shopping at Mall at Millenia with lunch at Firehouse Subs. 

We didn’t buy much this time, I got a couple of tops in Gap and Rob got some body wash and moisturiser in bath and body works. We did have fun looking in William Sonoma and Pottery Barn as usual. 

Oddly, while we were having lunch (in the food court) someone at the table next to us appeared to be having a performance review which was peculiar. Hopefully their performance was up to standard otherwise that could be awkward!

We headed back to the villa to relax for the afternoon before making a very brief visit to Hollywood Studios to ride Slinky Dog as we had a fast pass. We were also going to ride Rock n Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror but it was quite chilly so we decided not to arrive at the park in time to do them. 

We took a quick look in the shops before we left the park and debated buying some cups but left emptyhanded. 

We headed back to the car where I promptly put on the heated seats (for context it was about 12 degrees which felt cold) as we drove over to the Yacht Club for dinner. We did have a slight issue with directions due to the road works as we actually ended up back in the Hollywood Studios parking lot! We eventually found the right direction and arrived at the hotel.

We were a little early for our reservation so we waited in the car for a few minutes – normally we’d walk on the boardwalk but it was too chilly for that today. 

We checked in for our reservation and had to wait a few minutes before we were seated.

We placed our order and were brought the bread rolls which were yummy as always. I ordered the filet mignon with truffle fries and Rob had the New York Strip. 

Both were well cooked and tasted great but we struggled to finish them which was annoying. As a result, we decided to get one Admirals cake to take away with us. Our bill was $158 including a generous tip. 

We need some sunshine, time for a week away! Day 2

Tues 12th Feb

This morning we managed to stay asleep until around 8 and had toast and muffins for breakfast.

The sun was out so we spent the morning relaxing in the pool before getting lunch from McDonalds, the plan had been to get sandwiches from Publix but on the drive Rob decided he really wanted a burger.

We had plans for the evening so relaxed in the Villa for the afternoon watching more HGTV before heading over to the Magic Kingdom at around 6pm.

We had managed to get places at the DVC Moonlight Magic event so checked in for the event and got our event wristbands, meal vouchers and special park maps on the way in. 

We entered via the bypass where there were a couple of character meets and made our way into Tomorrowland where I got one of the new reusable bags to carry my hoody (which as it turned out I could have left behind). We checked the menu at Cosmic Rays but decided to see what else was available.

We decided to eat at Columbia Harbour House (skipping watching Happily Ever After) where we both got the chicken and fish meals, with hindsight we should have shared a meal between us and then we could have had the other meal for a snack later. 

We decided to just enjoy the lower crowd levels and not do any of the special character meetings so after we had eaten we headed to Frontierland. Splash Mountain was so quiet that there were empty logs going around, but we decided not to ride as we didn’t want to get wet. Instead we took a quick ride on Big Thunder Mountain before circling back to Liberty Square and The Haunted Mansion which is one of my favourites!

Next up Rob suggested It’s a Small World (he really doesn’t like this ride!) and after a fun cruise we went in search of ice cream in Storybook Circus. There were complimentary Mickey Bars being given out which meant a long line but it moved fast and we were soon eating ours sat next to the train station.

The line for Dumbo was non-existent so went for a quick flight which was fun, we could have stayed on for a second time but decided not to. 

We headed back to Tomorrowland and took a quick spin on Buzz Lightyear where Rob annoyingly scored way higher than I did (300,000 vs 100,000 I think) and then we decided to take a spin on the Astro Orbiter as we hardly ever ride this. 

Thankfully with the low crowds we only had to wait for one elevator load before we go to head up. I find this ride much more ‘thrilling’ than Dumbo as I feel like I am going to fall out! 

Before leaving Tomorrowland we went for a relaxing ride on the Peoplemover, when we got to the Space Mountain section I felt like I could see far more than normal due to it being dark outside. We actually stopped for a couple of minutes but then the lights came on which was a shame 

We wandered towards Main Street and were surprised to see that some of the Main Street Vehicles were out so we took the opportunity to take a ride on the bus. 

Our final ride for the evening was Pirates of the Caribbean before we headed back to Main Street to watch the fireworks. 

This was great as there were so few people, there was no tape on the ground and no ‘crowd control’ and even better no one stood in front of us and put a small child on their shoulders at the last minute….

The show was different to the normal fireworks and didn’t quite have the same polished feel – I wondered if they are trying out something new to use elsewhere? Having said that, I really enjoyed them.

Once they were finished we left the park rather than trying to ride anything in the last few minutes, we took the monorail and were back at the villa at about half past midnight.

We need some sunshine, time for a week away! Day 1

Mon 11th Feb

This morning we woke up around 7.30 (and before that 2ish and 5ish) and got showered etc.

We went to Artists Palate for breakfast where Rob had an omelette and muffin whiIe I had a kids waffle meal plus a cherry danish. We did briefly consider a trip to French Quarter for beignets but couldn’t be bothered.

We sorted out our bags and left them with Bell Services as we were moving to a villa later. We arrived at the MK parking lot to a massive queue which was bizarre but eventually were parked really close to the entrance.

Through bag check and across to the park via the ferry boat as there was one waiting and we hadn’t been on the boat for a while. 

As it had taken a little longer to get to the park we were already into our first FP window which was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, I really like this ride but will not wait in the standby line. 

We headed into Tomorrowland next as we had a FP for Space Mountain but as we had a little bit of time to spare we got in line for the peoplemover which actually had a line as the park was obviously quite busy.

When it came to use our FP for Space Mountain we actually had to queue to get into the FP line and even with FP we took around 30 min including the actual ride.

We wandered over towards Frontierland as our final FP was for Splash Mountain and by now we were getting hungry so we shared a chicken nugget meal.

Splash Mountain was a quick ride via FP and then we were on our way out of the park. 

We stopped to buy a pin at the emporium and then took the monorail back to the parking lot.

Back to Saratoga Springs to collect our bags and then onto Tuscan Hills for the rest of our trip. We got into our villa, unpacked our bags and headed to Walmart for supplies. Somehow we ended up with a massive bottle of Sunny D amongst other things.

We spent the rest of the evening catching up on our favourite HGTV shows with pizza from DiRomios which is just down the US27.

We need some sunshine, time for a week away! Travel day

Sun 10th Feb

This morning the alarm went off at 0830, although I didn’t sleep brilliantly and we weren’t really in a rush as we had already done bag drop. We got a new mattress at home in Jan and I think hotels are not going to compare well at the moment 

We had a muffin each that we had brought with us and got ready and packed our one bag of hand luggage to take with us and left around 10.

On our way into the terminal we met a Spanish family who were struggling to find their Uber so Rob spoke to the driver and we directed them to the right location.

We were quickly through security and chose Jamie’s kitchen for breakfast. We both had scrambled egg on toast and Rob added some bacon to his. Accompanied by a tiny flat white, tea and a tip we spent about £23.

We did a little bit of window shopping and headed to the gate at 11.30 which as usual seemed to be as far away as possible.

We were in the last boarding group so had to wait in the aisle to get all the way to the back of the aircraft. We had seats 39J and K which don’t recline (I did not know that in advance).

The aircraft was generally quite nice (and had wifi available) and our main meal was a choice of chicken or macaroni cheese. We had one of each and they weren’t bad although I did have to avoid the cauliflower which accompanied the macaroni.

We also got the magnum at about halfway through and there were a couple of water/juice drinks services after the main one.

The flight felt like it took forever but eventually half a sandwich and a small banana bread were served just before landing.

We arrived in Tampa on time and were quickly off the plane. 

We used the machines and got all the way to the end and the printer failed, we were then sent to a second machine where we both got the dreaded x. I suspect it was because of the 2 machines as when we got to the agent he said we were fine and let us straight through.

This took slightly longer than we were hoping but our bags were waiting so we headed to the hire car centre.

We did have to wait a few minutes for them to find our car type and annoyingly they wanted to charge for a second driver - which is normally included on a BA exec club booking so we didn’t bother which meant Rob had to drive. I did check online later and it should have been free but we couldn’t be bothered to go to an Avis desk to fix it during our trip.
We were on our way in the car by about 1840 heading to Saratoga Springs for our first night. The traffic was reasonably busy but it took us about 1hr20 and was a straightforward journey.

We quickly checked in collecting new magicbands (including our annual pass ones) and dropped our bags in the room. 

We were planning on going to the Earl of Sandwich but we were too tired, so we went to Artists Palate instead. I got a turkey and brie sandwich and Rob had a cheese burger pizza which he said was quite good. We had to ask for lids for our drinks as they are now kept behind the counter and I didn’t want to spill them on the walk.

Back to the room for some tv and then bed – we managed to stay awake until almost 10! 

We need some sunshine, time for a week away! Pre travel day

Fri 8th Feb

Today was a normal day at work for me, with loads to do as there was an important meeting to prepare for on the Monday (which my boss was attending…not me!)

Coincidentally we were also having carpet fitted in our cinema room so Rob was working from home to get that sorted. 

I left work at 4 and headed home which always takes ages on a Friday due to Stonehenge. I got home and we sorted food and started some washing and then I still had a little bit of work to finish so I did that before bed. 

Sat 9th Feb

This morning we woke and discovered the fish tank filter had started leaking over night  

We took the dog to kennels as planned and then checked our local pets at home to see if they sold a replacement but unfortunately not as we only have a small store. So, Rob had to go visit our normal fish shop in Wilton while I started cleaning the house and finished off the washing etc (this took around an hour and a half!)

Once Rob got back he swapped the filter over (£88 for a new one) and we had a quick lunch whilst also doing online check in and picking our seats for the flight. 

Once that was done we did the ironing and finished off the cleaning and making the bed for when we got back. 

Then slightly later than planned we packed our bags before Rob’s parents came to collect us at about 3.

It was a straightforward drive to Gatwick and we arrived shortly before 6. We checked into the Hilton and in shocking news had to pay £10 to upgrade to an executive room (our room was free with our points and they normally upgrade us for free!)

We went across to the terminal to do twilight check in, the machines wouldn’t work so we had to queue for check in assistance (after we got our boarding cards we realised this was due to me being selected for extra security) but we dropped our bags off quickly and then went to have dinner at Giraffe. 

We both had burgers and Rob had some onion rings, the food was good and the bill wasn’t too bad considering we were at an airport. Total cost with drinks and tip was £40.

We stopped at Boots to get me some flight socks as I had an argument with a door the previous weekend while doing some DIY and had some bad bruising on my leg.

Back at the hotel we had drinks and snacks in the lounge. Disappointingly there were no cheese and biscuits but Rob had 3 beers so I think we got reasonable value for our £10.

We headed back to the room and watched some tv before bed.