The one I am DEFINITELY planning! Day 1

Sunday 10th

We were both awake just before 0800, having woken a couple times in the night.

We had breakfast downstairs with an omelette for Rob and French toast for me accompanied by coffee for me and tea for Rob. The total cost was about $60 inc tip.

We left the hotel just after 1050 to head towards Orlando, it was a fairly straightforward drive but we did experience a little bit of traffic.

We arrived at Rosen Shingle Creek at about 1pm, we planned to just drop off our bags but checked in and our room was ready.

So, we dropped our bags in our room and headed to premium outlets on I drive - we meant to go to Vineland but I messed up the sat nav!

We started with lunch which ended up being bigger than we had expected. I even got a kids meal and it was massive! I had chicken tenders and chips and Rob had a chicken burger and chips.

We then shopped for a while, I got a skort and Rob got some trainers – well actually I think he bought 3 pairs!

We went back to the hotel and had another healthy dinner of chocolate bar plus crisps 

We had planned to get NYPD pizza but our lunch was much larger than expected and we just couldn’t eat that much.

We headed to bed quite early as we were still struggling slightly with the jet lag.

The one I am DEFINITELY planning! Pre-travel and Travel Day

Fri 8th Nov

We were both working from home today so we were awake at 6am and I did my peloton classes.

I started work at 0830 while Rob had started a bit earlier, and I put some washing on between meetings.

I had my nails done at 1130, it was just around the corner so I walked there and back to get some extra steps in.

I had my lunch then worked until 1430 when I was content that I had cleared the main tasks and so the team would be ok while I was away.

We then did our ironing and picked up leaves in the garden as we didn’t want them to kill the grass while we were away.

We then had a bit of drama as British Airways called us (Rob was on the phone to his dad so we couldn’t answer), we called back and they told us that our hotel in Tampa (which we were supposed to be staying at tomorrow night) was closed due to damage incurred during the recent hurricane.

This was quite annoying as we had called them the previous day (and in fact tried emailing them earlier in the week) and they had told us it was reopening on Saturday.

We managed to get them to find us an alternative after they offered us £220 to book our own (which was not enough for a hotel in Tampa with 1 days’ notice).

They actually ended up boking us into the Westin Tampa Bay which we had booked for our last night of the trip.

We then did our packing but we didn’t have enough time to clean for the burglars 

We left home at 1745, I realised along the way I forgot one of my T-shirts (which was my special Dinosaur top!)

I later realised that we had forgotten a few other bits (like our washing tabs, and our sliders) nothing critical but annoying and I still blame BA for disrupting our routine

We stopped for food and to add a bit of charge at Fleet, this cost about £17 for the electric and we were hopeful that would leave us enough to get home.

We did hit some M25 traffic as normal but arrived at the hotel at about 2100 after parking in the long stay car park.

We headed to bed after watching a little bit of tv.

Sat 9th Nov

We woke up just before 0800, got ready and went down to breakfast (free as gold members).

I had toast and pastries, Rob had an omelette and sausage, bacon etc and I forgot to take photos.

We left the room at about 0930 and walked across to the terminal, where we checked in quickly and were through security by 1000.

We had a quick look in the shops but there was nothing exciting to buy. We got ourselves a drink at Starbucks and sat there for a little while before taking a last quick walk around.

We were at gate 25 which as always was at the very end, although it was only a 5 min walk.

There were loads of people crowded around the gate as normal (I don’t understand why people do that) even before they announced that boarding had started.

Boarding started at about 1140 and was complete at about 1210 and we were heading towards the runway at 1240. We were in premium so were offered a pre-flight drink or orange juice or prosecco which we both declined.

As we left the flight time was showing at 9 hours 8 mins and we were due to land at 1650.

The first movie was Barbie (again) for me and Deadpool & Wolverine for Rob, we had the little pretzels and a drink before the main meal service.

For our meals we both had chicken tikka, I had ideally wanted the veggie pasta but they ran out. The meals were quite good for airline food.

Next, I watched Lady and the Tramp followed by a little bit of Brooklyn 99, we also picked up some little snacks from the box in the galley 

I then watched Inside Out 2, which felt quite similar to the first movie in terms of storyline, and I have a feeling that Rob might have watched Oppenheimer again.

We had a snack before landing which was a chicken/tomato pastry, which again wasn’t bad.

We landed 45 mins early (that has never happened before!) and were straight through with Global Entry, sadly our bags took forever as the belt seemed to break down.

At about 1800 we were finally out and across to collect the car, we used the self-service terminals and it was super easy.

We got a Wagoneer which is good as Rob liked the car last time and there is plenty of space for us, our friends and the luggage.

We then had a short drive to the hotel, we got some crisps and drink from downstairs before going to sleep at about 2030.

The one I am DEFINITELY planning! Background and Pre-trip

The Trip

2 weeks including time at Disney in November, this trip will include an appearance from Jennifer and Tom.

Rob and I are flying to Tampa with BA and have upgraded to Premium economy because we both prefer it and the price wasn’t too bad this time.

We are staying the first night at Hampton Inn Tampa Airport/Westshore before driving to Orlando. Car is booked with Discount Florida Car Hire.

We will then spend 2 nights at the Rosen Shingle Creek, a hotel we have stayed at several times but not for a few years.

We are both looking forward to returning as we should be able to get some NYPD pizza for the first time in a few years (and yes, I know we could have got some on our last few trips but we never managed to). But it will be across the road this time!

We then move to Disney for 4 nights and will be joined by Jennifer and Tom. I’ll cover this later as it was not straightforward and might be why I am excited….!

After Disney, Jennifer and Tom fly home and we are staying 1 night in Rosen Inn at Pointe.

We are leaving Orlando the next day and aren’t sure what we will be doing so it didn’t make sense to book anywhere expensive.

We then drive to Fort Lauderdale where we are dropping off the car and checking into The Westin for 1 night.

We will hopefully arrive fairly early so we can make use of the facilities including the pool which looks amazing.

We are then boarding Liberty of the Seas for a 4-night Bahamas & Perfect Day cruise in a suite guarantee (which means we will get a Junior Suite).

This is the same itinerary we were going to get on our COVID affected trip in 2022 and we are both looking forward to visiting Cococay which is the Royal Caribbean private island.

We were only having a balcony cabin on that trip but apparently Rob can’t do that now!

We will likely stay on the ship at Nassau as we have been there before and weren’t that keen.

After the cruise we will drive from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa for 1 night (I really must book a car!) where we are staying in another Westin.

Then we fly home  but at least we are in premium so it will be slightly comfier.

Disney

I started booking this trip at the 11-month point (as any good DVC member would) which meant booking our home resort which as most will know is Bay Lake Tower.

Because we only have 100 points (and we had already used some of them for our last trip) the maximum amount we had was 166.

That meant we couldn’t afford a 2 bed for the 4 nights that we need so I booked 2 lake view studios and at least ensured we had somewhere to stay but obviously it wouldn’t be our preference as we really wanted a 2 bed.

As we approached the 7-month window I was stalking the DVC site regularly to see what might be available that we could afford – we would need to purchase some one time use points to secure our preference.

The options that we could afford in order to preference were:

1. Copper Creek
2. Boulder Ridge
3. Boardwalk
4. Beach Club
5. Animal Kingdom Lodge (std view only)
6. Saratoga Springs
7. Old Key West

As the day approached it was all looking good and most on the list were available (I think Beach Club was the only one that was not).

I booked time off work (just an hour in my day as a late lunch) so that I was ready – I would have to call to secure the room.

2pm arrived and I checked availability (before I called) and only 5 – 7 on the list were available 

Now they are all still amazing resorts but we really wanted something either walkable to a park or in the Magic Kingdom area (CC and BR – looking at you!)

Feeling a bit deflated I consulted Rob and we decided to book AKL standard, which I could do online as the standard view was actually cheaper than the 2 studios. I decided not to tell Jennifer and Tom and just keep checking back.

I went back to work and did some more work before the end of the day – just yuck!

I have been checking the DVC resort obsessively (it has only been about a week!), sometimes multiple times a day! Both CC and BR had some availability – maybe 2 days but for a 4-night trip we did not want a split stay and even if we did I couldn’t get all 4 nights in our favourites.

Yesterday I was having a particularly rubbish Friday working from home, I was tired and grumpy (had a late-night Thursday!) and somehow was still working at 6pm. Rob had gone to see his dad as I was going out with some friends.

I turned off my work laptop and turned on the tv before getting ready and did my usual check on the DVC site.

I almost dropped my phone when it showed a 2 bed at Copper Creek as available for our dates. 

I started dialling member services while trying to find my member number – this whole online card is a pain but luckily I kept my original membership card and carry it in my purse 

I just managed to find my number as the cast member answered my call. He checked availability and confirmed it was available to book.

A couple of minutes later and it was booked! I am so excited! It will be our first ever trip to Copper Creek (in fact we’ve never visited Wilderness Lodge at all) and only our 2nd trip in a 2 bedroom. 

I’ve added these ‘images’ from the DVC site!

Rob is typically understated about this – although I know he is actually pleased but I am bouncing off the walls and we don’t go for 7 months!

So, now I need to research room requests for Copper Creek. I have seen that the top floor has ‘dormer’ balconies that don’t look very appealing so I need to find out what request to put in to avoid them (that is more sophisticated than ‘not top floor’).