Tag: wdw trip planning

Hit Me Baby One More Time

by mkingdon, posted in Walt Disney World

I think it’s fair to say that this time last week as I was as close as it may be possible, for me, to fall out of love with the idea of a WDW trip. Three sets of dates and over a year of endless speculation, stress and worry can do that to a person.

Well, if a week is a long time in politics then it’s currently an age in the realm of Florida trip planning. All I can say is…

I'm Ready To Be Hurt Again GIFs | Tenor

This is of course madness as we still have no solid information about when borders will re-open in the US or what ludicrous testing expense will be involved in any trip, but the tractor beam of fun and food has pulled me back in. Frankly, we’ve already missed enough time over there, especially with Freddie, so despite there being several reasons why we probably shouldn’t dive right back in, the speedos are on and I am perched on the edge of the diving board with all my flab wobbling.

With some real life stuff to bear in mind, our window of opportunity is a small one and for reasons I will probably share with you at some point, we really need to get this thing done before the end of September.

During the week, I have been slowly bringing myself back around to believing we may actually go again, ever. Even though I thought the chances would be slim of managing to thread the needle of family logistics, dates and borders re-opening, I did, despite “not feeling it” book some stuff that incurred no expense. So, car hire was secured (and wtf is going on with car hire pricing?? I want to drive it for a couple of weeks, not bring it home!) with Discount Florida Car Hire who offer no deposit, free cancellation reservations, which is gold dust in these crazy times.

I had already moved the villa booking to some dates close to what I thought we would do (sorry Matt, I’ll be changing those again any day now!) rather than just cancel it, as it is too nice of a place to risk losing, and just because I could, I did some theme park reservations. Yes, this is what me not being in the mood to plan a trip looks like. I never said I was normal.

There are some other practical considerations to the September deadline too. Our theme park tickets expire on the 26th of September. Sure, I could cancel or move them but that is hassle, and our DVC Vero booking points have to be used by the 1st of October. If those two things alone aren’t a message from the Gods I don’t know what is.

So as I sit here today, I am very much in the mind of “Christ, we need a holiday to hell with the consequences”, and my finger is metaphorically hovering over the button that has..

Alexander Vlahos on Twitter: "Just booked a holiday & now I'm all:… "

on it on the Aer Lingus web site. I can do so with a deposit, and they have what seems to be flexible cancellation/rearrangement terms should this Indian variant gifted to us by the dither and incompetence of the corrupt blancmange in Number 10 do it’s worst, we should be OK. By the way for our “new” dates (see how I am already talking as if this is a done deal?) Aer Lingus are at least £1000 cheaper than Virgin. What idiot wouldn’t book that, right?

Hey, and look, the dollar rate is 1.4ish so the holiday pretty much pays for itself, right?

Ideally, we should sit back and wait for everything to play out. The confirmation that borders will open and when and what will be needed to travel etc. My concern is that once all that is done there will be a rush of bookings and the decent flight prices I see today may rocket.

On the subject of testing, I think I saw something from Virgin about £55 tests but didn’t read it in detail as at that point I was sulking. I also wonder if the US may not require testing for vaccinated folks flying in, as the mask policies now seem to be based on those who are vaccinated, even though there is no way of knowing who is and isn’t of course. For flights, there is a way to check (my vaccine now shows in my NHS App by the way) so it may be either a vaccine or a negative test.

To be honest, my return to the fold of trip planning also contains a large dollop of not letting this thing beat me. All that time ago, I booked a trip to WDW and by hook or by crook I am determined to bloody have it. Also, should I not give myself some hard deadline by which I need to stop eating shite constantly and lose some weight I will need to do something drastic like buy some bigger clothes.

It has been a great week for the return of some form of normality should we go ahead too. The CDC in the US have issued guidance about wearing masks outside, and within what felt like minutes all the theme parks announced that masks were now optional outdoors. This makes a huge difference. Come September, based on the incredible pace of change we are seeing now, masks could be optional everywhere, but if not, popping one on as you enter an air conditioned attraction, shop or restaurant is infinitely more tolerable than having to wear one everywhere.

I would imagine as the summer progresses and assuming vaccinations keep happening and cases numbers dropping, more and more of what we all recognise as normal in WDW and beyond will return. I’m looking at you fireworks and parades. With park capacity already being increased it makes sense that these shows and parades will need to come back to give the extra guests something to do, and hopefully Fast Pass too. I have, however, thought for some time that these park reservations may remain forever though.

The data and ability to plan that this gives Disney must be gold dust. For them to know exactly how many (and which) guests are coming to a park on any given day allows them to staff up accordingly plus a million other operational efficiencies that a pleb like me can’t even imagine.

So with my “I’m done with this whole WDW trip” strop over after just a few hours I am off now to ponder booking our flights, with the worry that Biden is sat in the Whitehouse shaking his head at the UK for allowing the Indian variant in for absolutely no reason whatsoever and wondering if this continued stream of national self-harm will continue much longer.

Let’s hope this does not stop the borders being opened to UK tourists as expected in early July as rearranging this trip again may be too much for me and I’d then have to sulk about it for a few hours and then jump straight back on the planning horse and start again. Again.

Till the next time…..

Man With A Plan

by mkingdon, posted in Walt Disney World

OK, so we’ve done the Christmas, New Year and the moany back to work posts. Waistline aside, things are back to normal and so, with barely a mention so far of our new and exiting WDW plans for my 50th, it is well overdue that I drag you kicking and screaming through a day by day account of the plan as it currently stands.

I’ll be honest, it’s probably much more complete and finalised than even I imagined at this stage. In fact, moments after confirming the dates and flights, the day by day template was filled in and if it changes significantly between now and August I’ll be astounded. It would appear, that shockingly, I’m quite good at this now. Still, that won’t stop me obsessing over it at regular intervals and adding extra, unneccsary expense to it as we go. It’s what I do.

Last year was a “cheap as chips” we shouldn’t be going affair so we held back on the ADRs and on-site dining. There are no such restrictions this time around so you will notice much more going on in that regard.

Day One

We fly on August 26th from Manchester with Virgin. We are bubbling as we enjoyed that so much the last time we flew with Virgin. I’m pleased to say we take off (around) 10am (no plane has ever left the tarmac on time in the history of mankind) and land at a very sociable 2pm at MCO. We didn’t enjoy the later flight times last year as it meant getting into Orlando at 7pm, and by the time we’d got to the villa there was no time to go out and eat. See where our priorities lie?

I’ve hired an overly extravagant car from Dollar. I have shunned the mundane mini-van for some sort of monster truck equivalent that will take up three parking spots wherever we go. I’m only 50 once, if at all.

We will be picking that up and leaving the airport more quickly than the It’s Orlando Time group left Facebook, but under less suspicious circumstances.

Our villa is a doozy, again an absolute extravagance, near Formosa Gardens. We should be there some time around 4pm, and after a little unpacking and a trip to the supermarket, taking our seats at the Outback Steakhouse as tradituon dictates some time around 9pm UK time.

Day Two

If you don’t know by now that our first day is spent at Magic Kingdom, I can’t help you. With a more civilised arrival time on day one, we should be fed and in bed by a sensible time, meaning we are fully rested for day two and a full day in the park. The plan is to last until late afternoon/early evening and then go to the Polynesian for our (hopeful) ADR at O’hana.

Day Three

Traditionally a rest day but in recent times we have chosen to spend it in a water park. This works well as those who want to can rest up and those who get bored after an hour around the villa pool can go off and risk life and limb on the slides and stuff.

We are going in strong from the start food wise with a trip to Teak Neighbourhood Grill planned for our evening meal.

Day Four

Hollywood Studios today. Hopefully Rise of the Resistance has calmed down a bit and we won’t need to be outside the park gates at 6am. I can say with some certaintity that whether it has calmed down or not, we won’t be doing that!

Again, like some dining greatest hits collection, another firm favourite for many years is on the plan for tonight, at Bahama Breeze.

Day Five

Animal Kingdom. We didn’t see Rivers Of Light last year, mainly due to time pressure but also because we suspected Freddie wouldn’t sit through it. With another 12 months under his belt he might so we’ll try to give it a go.

The hits keep on coming with Yak and Yeti for dinner (by that I mean tea but I’m aware people south of Birmingham read this).

Day Six

As tends to happen every year, this will be my birthday. It’s a big one, and not only does it mark my passing into my 50’s and no doubt another pants size, it also marks the 40th anniversary of my first ever trip to Florida. I spent my 10th birthday in Miami all those years ago, and look what’s happened since! We drove up to Orlando for just two days at what was only the Magic Kingdom then. It was clearly enough to create the monster I now am.

Epcot of course. You knew that, but we are cramming more food than is wise into the day with a character breakfast ADR at Cape May (we can then park at the Yacht & Beach), a wander around World Showcase and then probably back to the villa to get something vaguely presentable on. That’s because I am hopeful of securing an ADR at California Grill, followed by a re-mortgage and a viewing of the fireworks from the viewing deck.

Day Seven

Something new today. We are doing a few days at Universal, and the first part of that will be to give the “new” water park Volcano Bay a go. I need to do some proper research and vlog watching on this as I have very little clue as to what goes on there and the best way to tackle it, but, again it serves as a rest day after the excesses of yesterday’s celebrations and a chance for the more adventurous members of the group (Tom) to go and play.

To keep that theme going, for dinner we are going to try the Ford’s Garage place on the 192 for the first time. If you’ve been and think we shouldn’t, now is the time to tell me.

Day Eight

So now we start our holiday within a holiday and check into the Hard Rock at Universal. This is one of our most favourite places in Orlando and despite probably only needing one night to get the required front of line passes to complete both parks, we’re doing two. It gives us more chance to experience the parks, especially as it is Tom and Freddie’s first time and hopefully rest around the pool.

We will start in Islands of Adventure today.

It also opens up some of the excellent dining options on City Walk and we HAVE to do Cowfish as the Cheeseburgerooshi is the most delicious thing on the planet and that’s where we will head on this evening. Toothsome for dessert may be an option or perhaps Voodoo Doughnut’s taken back the room for an orgy of excess.

Day Nine

Universal Studios today, with perhaps some pool time followed by a meal at Antojitos, which is a Mexican most of us have never tried but Emily recommended it after eating there during her CRP stint.

Day Ten

We checkout from the Hard Rock but of course sill have front of line access so we will park hop and re-do anything we want to. Once we’re done we will head back towards the villa and eat at Applebees on the 192.

Day Eleven

All I have so far for this day are food plans. They are BIG food plans, and I’m sure we will fit something inbetween them, but after three park days, some relaxed down time filled with calories will no doubt be required.

Breakfast/Brunch will be at the excellent Hash House a Go Go. Several hours of moaning and swearing that we’ll never eat again will be followed by dinner at Sanaa at Kidani Village where there will be literal fist fights over the bread service. We all do like us some bread. Hopefully we’ll also be able to show Freddie some of the animals wandering about out the back.

Day Twelve

Back to Animal Kingdom today. We loved our light lunch at Tiffin’s last time out so we may wander back there for cocktails and food around lunchtime. With that in mind, I just have Homecoming at Disney Springs in my plans for dinner, as that is known for it’s light, healthy menu!

Day Thirteen

Our second day at Epcot. It feels late on day 13, but that’s how things work out sometimes. Tonight will be our chance to watch whatever they have seen fit to replace Illumnations with. No pressure.

With that in mind, we will return to Via Napoli as we have loved it on our past two visits.

Day Fourteen

As we will have 14 day tickets for all the Universal stuff I have pencilled in a return today. We won’t have front of line of course, but we can have a more leisurely wander and ride anything that doesn’t have horrible wait times. By this time in the trip, we will be well into September, past Labor Day and hopefully, there will be sufficiently low crowds to make this worthwhile.

Our dining option of choice tonight is Cheesecake Factory. This is another awesome eatery and we were all gutted not to be able to fit this in last year.

Day Fifteen

We are lucky enough this year, due to my 50th splurge, to be staying a little longer. We return to Hollywood Studios today with little more planned than that. Olive Garden is pencilled in as our eatery.

Day Sixteen

Our last full day is of course spent at Magic Kingdom. Last year we popped out to eat off-site at Romano’s Macaroni Grill and were delighted we did. We hadn’t been for a few years but if you haven’t been, you must. With that in mind, it is planned to do the same this year, but if other events take our fancy we may do those instead. Who said I was a planning obsessed overweight ball sack?

Day Seventeen

Travel. Enough said. We’ll do a huge breakfast somewhere and then fly home after buying gifts for people who have hundreds of Disney gifts already.

The only positive about today is that I managed to get us into Premium for less than economy so we may get some comfort/sleep on the way home.

So there you go. I’m tired after typing that out so who knows how we will cope with the real thing.

If you have any advice or suggestions on new places to eat that we should do instead of returning to past favourites I’ll be all ears.

Till the next time…….

All The Single Digits…..

by mkingdon, posted in Walt Disney World

We’re nearly there folks. Just a few more days and you get at least two Sundays off from this tripe. It’s a strange phenomenon that the fewer days we have left in the countdown the further away it seems. Getting through another week and a bit seems more daunting than when we rounded the double-digit day milestone.

Looking back over recent posts, I recognise that the last few weeks may have come across as a little downbeat, negative, or big girl’s blousey. That’s because that is an accurate summary of the content of recent posts. How can I be moaning so much this close to a trip?

I don’t know. I’m tired and emotional maybe and in desperate need of a break? Who knows? Or maybe it’s because I am being persecuted by the Gods of the FastPass to never get the ones I want and this is a clear case of victimisation and persecution…….ahem, we shall move on.

Anyway, not to break stride, and continue this maudlin mantra, this week I learnt that O Canada will be down for refurb whilst we are there. So there’s that.

To be honest I am at the moment in the mode of trying to dampen my own expectations for the trip. The countdown and build up are so long and arduous that there is a danger that the holiday never stands a chance of living up to the lofty heights your mind has created.

So I am mentally preparing myself for the fact that it will rain a lot, which is just like being at home right now, and that the crowds will be huge and annoying and we won’t get the FastPasses we want….oh I’ve mentioned that already….

I do this just so that I can take these minor set backs in my ever pleasant and smiling stride of course.

Looking at reports from folks over there at the moment, the rain thing is definitely on the cards. We are experienced and seasoned August travellers so we know this and are ready to deal with it, but hopefully it will be restricted to the normal afternoon downpours and nothing more and we, as we have so far over all these years, avoid a hurricane.

If I can ensure my expectations are not too high then there is every chance they shall be exceeded and for my (and your) sake let’s hope that is the case.

Today, we will slip into our single digit day dance territory with effortless grace and I face just one week left at work now. Technically, I am in work on the day before we go, the day after the Bank Holiday Monday, but I shall probably work from home that day at least saving myself the horrors of the commute, so I am not counting that.

It’s funny that the absolute need for this holiday is so great now that I cannot comprehend how I intended to survive until next summer before having a holiday as was the plan. Right now, getting through another few days in the office without head butting someone is looking like a challenge.

There will be just one more blog pre trip so now is a good time to do some recruitment for the old social media channels. I will mostly be posting on the Mkingdon Facebook page so if you haven’t liked that, now is a good time to do so. I will be going “Live” a fair bit so if you want to join us, you know what to do.

If you wish you can also “enjoy” my content on Instagram and Twitter. How many ways are there to hear me moan about stuff? I wouldn’t bother “hitting me up” on Snapchat as I’ve never been able to figure out how to use it, which is just how Snapchat like it.

Sometimes I do think that this point of the countdown is the best and it is a state that everyone should live in perpetually. Imagine always having a WDW trip just a few days away? Existing in a state of perpetual anticipation would be lovely, other than of course never actually going on the trip itself. Having lost about six ounces on my hellish never-ending healthy eating regime for the last few weeks I have tried on the shorts, selected those that fit and are worthy of the journey, and with that another pre-holiday tradition is ticked off. I think that pink lycra is the way to go this time, don’t you?

Till the next time……

Sanaaty is So Scary

by mkingdon, posted in Walt Disney World

37 days.

How can something feel so close and yet seem so far away at the same time? Over the years, I have to admit to getting very close a trip and not being ready. I don’t mean physically, as packing always gets done and plans get made. I mean mentally. Sometimes life is just so busy that I have struggled to get into the right mindset and it has taken a few days of the holiday to get into the right mode.

Well, I’m ready. This happened this week I think. This lovely bonus trip that was not going to happen is incredibly welcome, needed and almost upon us.

It may have been this holiday mode settling in that was responsible for my latest faux pas. All the things that we told ourselves about squeezing this trip in by cutting back on the more expensive things a trip can include lie in tatters. That’s harsh, we have restricted the number of ADRs but like some kind of Augutus Gloop of trip planning I couldn’t keep my fat fingers off another succulent looking morsel that came into my view this week.

To get the confession out of the way, I have booked Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party for us for the 8th of September. Some random blog about it came into one of my social media feeds during the week at a time when I had a few minutes for it to catch my eye. I read about some of the new things for this year, remembered how last year was one of the highlights of our trip and as all good financially irresponsible planners do, thought, sod it, and pressed the button.

It fell nicely into the plan on one of those days that I mentioned last week that had nothing concrete in it, so, clearly, it was my density.

Image result for you are my density george mcfly

My weakness was welcomed by my fellow travellers with all the enabling support an addict does not need. It’s like having Oliver Reed as your Alcoholics Anonymous mentor.

Rebecca is now planning and putting together Freddie’s costume. We won’t be dressing up, mainly because when we went last year the temperature was ridiculous and the idea of being in some cumbersome polyester number is too horrific to consider. I applaud those that do.

So that solved one of my outstanding planning issues, as that day now has a character breakfast at Chef Mickey’s mid-morning, and MNSSHP in the evening. Whilst updating “the plan” with these details, I did have a minor meltdown and panic. It suddenly dawned on me that my birthday plans had some potential issues.

This year it falls on a Saturday, and based on Emily’s experiences when working in World Showcase during Food & Wine, Saturdays are generally to be avoided as she always found them to be very busy and very full of drunken people staggering from booth to booth. Options were considered, but the amount of surgery required to the whole plan to accommodate any change that may properly solve this and not cause carnage to the rest of the trip was too severe. So, we decided to leave it as it is.

I consulted Touring Plans and saw that they rated that day a 4 out of 10. This reassured me a little, as I could see they were showing DHS at a 10 out of 10 for much of that week when Galaxy’s Edge opens. At the end of the day, we shall play it by ear. If we focus on Future World (what remains of it) during the day we should avoid most of the crowds coming for Food & Wine and then we can do our ADR at Via Napoli and then wander a hopefully quieter World Showcase in the evening before the fireworks. Simply put, if it does get too busy, we’ll do something else. You know me, I just go with the flow!

To show that I am not a total idiot, I did resist booking Sanaa. This, despite spending a little time browsing the menu this week, is an act of self restraint that I applaud myself for. We already have a list of off site favourites that we will never get through so it made no sense. Then again, their bread service is sufficient to abandon all sense of sanaaty (see what I did there?) so I am quite pleased with myself.

Yesterday I found myself nesting. This seems to happen as a trip gets close enough to touch. It’s a desire to get things in order before we go I guess. Like some pregnant mother about to deliver, when holiday mode gets me, I too have a burning desire to get things done. So a number of tasks that I have been gladly ignoring for months got done. Some grouting, random repairs around the house and sorting of our spare room took place. That spare room has been a disaster since we did our bedroom and that was finished in May. Don’t get me wrong it’s still far from show room standards but we can now see the floor!

So my readiness is there and in a week we will be in FastPass territory. That’s when shit gets real, as somebody who doesn’t mind swearing might say. Be prepared for my inevitable rants about Flights of Passage and Slinky Dog not being available for the entirety of our stay. It’s all part of the process.

Till the next time…….

Weighting For Our Holiday

by mkingdon, posted in mkingdon, Walt Disney World

71 days people. That’s where we are now. Due to our earlier than usual travel dates (April rather than August) most of our party have ESTAs that will still (just) be valid. That is of course unless the orange despot doesn’t wake up thinking he didn’t like Theresa May, her shoes or the fact that George Michael was gay and revoke all ESTAs on that basis of course.

Only Emily needs one so we’ll be applying for that later today. We’re at that stage where things seem close yet so far away. I have resolved today to begin my weight loss regime in preparation for inflicting my white wobbliness on the general public. I have been losing and gaining the same few pounds for most of my adult life and having done the former last summer and then the latter for most of the winter, it is time.

I made that resolution to shed some timber late last night. I had just got home from a gig and it was late or early depending on your view point and as usual after gigging I can’t go straight to bed. That’s normally due to my ears ringing and fighting off the groupies for an hour or two. So last night I made myself a brew and ate my own body weight in biscuits. If you read Keith Moon’s memoirs at his peak he was on a 40 a day Bourbon habit and could do three packets of Hob Nobs a day.

For me, it’s definitely a mental state. Once I’m in it, nothing can shake me from the path and I won’t and don’t let up until I have reached whatever number on the scales I have set as a goal. When I’m not in that state (the last few months) I eat like I’ll never see food again at every meal and most times in between too. You may know by now that I enjoy my food and it certainly cut my Calvin Klein modelling career short by a year or two.

As I get older though my give a shit-o-meter gets less sensitive and the thought of inflicting my dad bod on the folks on the beach falls into the “it’s their problem not mine” category. As long as I don’t need winching through the front window to get to the airport then it’s all good.

It can seem a little silly to take weight off prior to any specific occasion, just so you can put it back on but for a Florida holiday it is essential. Especially when your plans, like ours, revolve around food and the critical part of planning is how quickly we can possibly be hungry again after each meal so we can do another. Either way it’ll be no bad thing for me to be less girthy no matter what the reason. If I hadn’t followed this boom and bust circle of life for all of our trips right now I’d either by forty stone or dead.

It’s been a while since I shared my plans with you and as I have documented recently there have been lots of changes so here it is….as it stands…

Tuesday 11th April

Flights with Thomas Cook from Manchester at 10.15.

We check in to the Royal Pacific, with Mum and Dad checking in to Holiday Inn Across from Universal

Dinner at the Outback on I Drive

Wednesday 12th April

IOA

Lunch at Toothsome

Dinner at Cowfish

Thursday 13th April

Morning by the pool to avoid that second day weariness

Afternoon in Universal Studios

Dinner at Teak Neighbourhood Grill

Friday 14th April

Park hopping between IOA and Universal

Dinner at O’hana and a visit to Trader Sam’s for cocktails

Saturday 15th April

Check out of Universal and move to Siesta Key

final siesta

Brunch at Hash House a Go Go

Maybe some shopping before getting to Siesta Key around 4. Dinner somewhere in the village.

Sunday 16th April

Beach

Dinner in the village

Monday 17th April

Beach

Dinner at Cheesecake Factory

Tuesday 18th April

Golf for me & Dad, Beach or the ladies

Dinner at Applebees

Wednesday 19th April

Beach

Dinner in the village

Thursday 20th April

Beach

Dinner at Olive Garden

Friday 21st April

Beach

Dinner in the village

Saturday 22nd April

Leave Siesta Key. Check in to Beach Club for us and All Stars for Mum & Dad

Epcot in the afternoon

Dinner at Sanaa

Jellyrolls

Image credit Disneyways.
Image credit Disneyways.

Sunday 23rd April

Animal Kingdom

Dinner at Yak & Yeti

Extra Magic Hours at Epcot with Reflections of Earth

Monday 24th April

Rest by the pool

Celebration late afternoon, dinner there with Disney Springs in the evening

Tuesday 25th April

Hollywood Studios

Dinner at Bahama Breeze

Back to DHS for Fantasmic

Wednesday 26th April

Magic Kingdom

Dinner at Trail’s End

Wishes etc, tears and the horror of leaving MK at the end of our trip.

cropped-mk-pic-emily.jpg

Thursday 27th April

Packing, shopping for all those gifts we should have bought earlier

Airport, big pants, regrets, dealing with reality, wondering how quickly we can get back to Florida.

I told you I need to lose weight before we go!

Till the next time…..