Shall we go, or not? A last minute trip! Day 7 - going home :(

29 Feb into 1 Mar

Today we were going home 

We had set an alarm so woke at 8, we showered and packed our bags and then watched a little bit of TV before we checked out. We left the hotel at 11 and went to Disney Springs to drop off bags using the Virgin check in. As we had booked using Virgin Holidays it was free although they did have to look us up on the system as we hadn’t been sent a voucher?!

We had lunch at Deluxe Burger (with hindsight we should have just gone to the Earl of Sandwich as normal) and then had a wander. We took the boat across to West Side and then over to Saratoga Springs (we walked between West Side and the Landing).

When we got to Saratoga Springs we asked if we could see the Riviera Resort model rooms and really like the look and the bathroom in the studio but I can’t believe how high the points are even compared to Bay Lake Tower!

We walked back to Disney Springs and got sundaes at Ghirardelli (I’m not liking the trend of showing calories on the menus). Then we bought some chocolates to take home and Rob got a little waterproof speaker from Ron Jon’s.

Our drive back to airport was quick although we had to queue to get back into the rental car return...! Car return was simple, only charge was fuel although we didn’t use a whole tank so wasted a few dollars...

Security as usual was ridiculous – 30 mins to get through and you could only enter the line if your flight was in the next 2 hours. This is why we choose any other airport in Florida unless the price is right….

Our flight boarded on time and we left at 2025. The flight was quite fast, food options as usual rubbish on the way home. We actually arrived in UK airspace about an hour early but due to air traffic control and a delayed plane at our gate all of that extra time was eaten up 

Baggage took ages to unload as always seems to be the case at Gatwick, and we were finally headed to the car via the bus.

Once at the car we headed in the direction of home, but the M23 was closed due to roadworks and so it took forever to get to the M25. We had to stop part of the way back as we were too tired. We eventually got home just before 1400 and then headed to bed for a nap. Another trip over 

Shall we go, or not? A last minute trip! Day 6 - Magic Kingdom

28 Feb

Today was our last full day already 

We were going to the Magic Kingdom today (instead of hanging around at the hotel trying to see Elon Musk) and we left at 0940. We decided to take the resort monorail as it was already getting busy when we arrived. We probably walked into the park at around 1030.

Our first stop was the spring roll stand at the entrance to Adventureland where we got 2 spring rolls – 1 cheeseburger and 1 pepperoni.

I had booked our FP in advance but as this was the first day that Splash Mountain had reopened after its refurb I decided to get in the standby line as the only time I could get for the FP was in the evening (and it was already a chilly day – we were wearing hoodies and later light jackets!). They were still having some issues so boarding kept getting delayed and the line actually took us about 1hr30 – but it was worth it 

This did mean that I could rearrange our passes which meant we got more options later in the day.

Next up was another favourite of mine - Haunted Mansion which even using FP took longer than normal. Have I mentioned that it was busy?! I had selected It’s a Small World for our next FP which meant we could fit that it before lunch. Basically 3 of my favourites after each other….

Then we had a reservation at The Plaza for lunch. Rob ordered the brisket mac and cheese which he did not rate (normally he orders the Cheesesteak). I had the club sandwich which I enjoyed as always. For dessert we both had the brownie sundae (I normally get the ice cream sundae but it was chilly) which was ok, but not my favourite. We had a slightly annoying server who appeared to want to turn the table as fast as possible which was a shame. Lunch was $73 including our DVC discount.

After lunch we used our final pre-booked FP to ride Space Mountain (possibly a slight error in planning) which was bumpy as always.

I somehow managed to pick up a 4th FP for Peter Pan for about 30 mins later, and in the meantime took a spin on the Peoplemover although even that had a line of about 15 mins!

Luckily though using our FP for Peter Pan we skipped a massive line and then we walked straight into Philharmagic which was a nice chance to warm up (were we actually in Florida?!)

Choices for FP were getting less so I booked one for Pirates and decided it was time to experience another classic – Carousel of Progress!

We took a little break at Cosmic Rays and then I thought why not slot in another classic – the Enchanted Tiki Room!

We took a little look around the Pirates shop before using our FP, we managed to get slightly wet which reminded me why I had decided not to ride Splash at night!

We headed to Main Street to watch Happily Ever After, it was packed but we managed to get a reasonable spot which was fairly central which was good. I still prefer Wishes but HEA is definitely growing on me.

I had picked up one last FP for Buzz Lightyear so we fought our way back to Tomorrowland for one last ride. By the time Rob had beaten me (again) the masses had moved on and we walked straight onto the ferryboat back across the lagoon.

I did pick up a coffee at the Ticket and Transportation Centre for the walk to the car as it was by now quite chilly. They were doing work on the tram loading so it was just as quick to walk back as it was to catch the tram!

Shall we go, or not? A last minute trip! Day 5

27 Feb

Another late start and today we headed to Premium Outlets (Vineland Road) for some more shopping.

We both had burgers for lunch at the food court.

We also managed to get some good bargains in Character Warehouse (including a T shirt for $1.99) and Levi store plus some other bits.

Next up we popped over to Home Depot to get a tool for dad which we hadn’t been able to get yesterday, followed by Walmart for a few sweets to take home.

We had a rest at hotel before dinner at NYPD again ($45) and then went to yet another Walmart as we were looking for a phone case which we found!

Shall we go, or not? A last minute trip! Day 4

26 Feb

This morning we had a slightly later start and decided to go shopping, the forecast suggested some rain and so we decided to stay indoors for much of the day.

We arrived at Mall at Millenia around 11, and started with lunch at the food court. Rob had chick-fil-a and I had a Charley’s sub.

After we started our shopping and got quite a few things in Banana Republic (some work clothes for Rob and some more casual bits for me) then went to Home Depot and Target.

We went back to the hotel for a rest before dinner and saw a new convention setting up which turned out to be focussed on Air Warfare. We decided to check the agenda and found out that Elon Musk was due to be keynote speaker on Friday!

Dinner tonight was at Sana’a, as always we started with the bread service.

Rob then had the slow cooked choices (paying extra for 2 meat) and I had the Chicken biryani and then we both had the chocolate mousse for dessert.

Total cost including DVC discount and tip was $120.

Shall we go, or not? A last minute trip! Day 3 - Hollywood Studios

25 Feb

This morning we had an 0600 start! We were up super early (for us) as our plan today was Hollywood Studios and we were trying to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance!

We left Shingle Creek at about 0700 and were at the park around 0730 even having gone through bag check.

We made our way towards Galaxy’s Edge and had a look around the shop while we waited. At 0800, Rob managed to join a boarding group (my app did nothing!) and we got 38!

For anyone that is avoiding spoilers - there are a few photos coming up today of the experience.

We decided while we were here to join the Smugglers Run line, which took about 2 hours, I swapped our Toy Story Mania FP for Star Tours as we weren’t going to make the time.

We were allocated pilots but swapped with a little boy (dressed as a Jedi) and his dad so we were gunners instead. I enjoyed the ride but I’m not sure it was worth the wait….

After Smugglers Run we grabbed some food at ABC (chicken strips and a kids turkey sandwich) and by 10.45 our boarding group was open. We went back to Galaxy’s Edge and the line took around 15 mins before we were on the ride!

I have to say; the ride wasn’t what I was expecting at all (I had deliberately avoided spoilers) and was very well done. I would have liked slightly more time actually in the ‘ride’ as there are some sections that feel rushed.

Next up we made our way to Star Tours using FP then had a better look around Galaxy’s Edge.

It was getting quite hot so we went to see the Onward preview before our Tower of Terror FP.

By now we were starting to feel our early start and so were glad of a short rest at Sci Fi where we had a late lunch. We did consider just having desserts but once we were in the restaurant we felt cooler and so ordered a cheese steak sandwich (Rob) and a cheeseburger (me).

Once we were finished with lunch we took a quick look around Launch Bay and then some of the other shops.

We decided to have a break from the park and so took the Skyliner to CBR and then Riviera where we stopped and got a drink. I’m still not sure I see the appeal of Riviera but the skyliner was very convenient. The quick serve restaurant seemed very small for the resort.

We went back to the park and used our last FP on Rock n Rollercoaster before deciding to give the evening a miss as we had run out of energy.

We were back at the hotel by 1830 and I finished off my cake for a snack.