WDW Day 1

Here is my first blog post in a series that I hope gives you all a feel of what our most recent visit to WDW was all about; what we did, where we went, who we met and that all important Disney magic.

Day 1 - getting there...

The day started bright and early at sunny Gatwick with a short drive from our hotel to the airport.  We had decided to use the valet car parking service which meant we simply dropped off the car and keys, literally a five minute job, and then walked straight into the terminal building.

We headed straight through security (our hold luggage already being checked-in the night before) although my bag had to be searched separately as I'd forgot to take the i-pad out of the bag - oops!  Then it was off in search of breakfast, settling on a quiet corner in Pret-a-Manger - in fact it was so nice it didn't feel like we were in a busy airport at all.

I took advantage of walking through duty free to grab a free spray of perfume as I'd not had any with me that morning followed by a mooch about the shops.  I remembered to post a couple of letters before we left the country including a birthday card for a friends upcoming birthday and by then it was time to head over to our gate ready to board.  And no sooner than we got to our gate we were called through for our nine and a half hour flight!

Now the flight was fine...yes it's long but when travelling from the UK I'm afraid it's a necessary evil we have to put up with in order to get to the good stuff at the other end. Unfortunately our 15 year old doesn't travel well on planes, loves roller coasters but hates planes, so much so that he was ill for the majority of the flight.  This meant most of my time was spent making sure he was OK and wishing the time would pass by so much quicker!

We landed just after 3.30pm local time, cleared border control and were on a bus waiting to be taken to Coronado Springs Resort by 5.00pm.  We had time for a quick phone call home to let families know that we had arrived safely before setting off.

We've arrived!

On the bus to Coronado Springs

We were the second drop-off; we grabbed our luggage, tipped the driver and headed into the lobby to check-in.  The hotel was relatively quiet and we walked straight up to the check-in desk and were greeted by smiley faced cast members who asked our name and proceeded to look for our booking on the computer system...which was followed by a pause...which was followed by a more senior cast member being called over.

My initial thought was 'oh no what's gone wrong, can't they find us?'  But then the second cast member gave me the biggest smile and said 'Congratulations!' Now at this point I was a little bemused - had we won something?  Maybe we were getting Magic Bands? (I got very excited at this thought!  For non-Disney fans these are a new way of accessing all you need whilst at WDW - room key, park tickets, charging etc and much coveted by us Disney devoted). 'You're getting an upgrade', again much bemusement from us all...'an upgrade?' I said...'yes, you're being upgraded to one of our deluxe resorts, the Wilderness Lodge'.  At that point I think I was officially speechless...I didn't know what to say I was completely taken aback.

Me - speechless!!

Now I never win anything or get anything for free and couldn't quite believe what I was hearing.  Part of me was thinking 'but I've done all my pre-vacation research about Coronado Springs, I'm supposed to be running around Lago Dorado' whilst at the same time thinking 'but we're going to Wilderness Lodge', we would never have chosen to stay there because it was out of our budget, OMG we're going to Wilderness Lodge!

Happy...and stunned family

I can't really recall the reason why we had been selected for an upgrade...I remember asking the question but can't remember the answer!  I remember the check-in staff saying that they had had a few recently and I wondered if it was because the resort was busy with conventions, but whatever the reason we were off to Wilderness Lodge.

Hidden Mickey at Coronado Springs

The cast members were brilliant and looked after us while we waited for them to confirm all the details with the Wilderness Lodge.  They took the time to point out the hidden Mickey near the registration desk, insisting that we had our photo taken, as well as organising a taxi to get us to the Wilderness Lodge and then staying with us until we were safely on our way.  Now that is how Disney do things - professional, exemplary and all the time with a smile.

This was when we knew this vacation was going to be different and full of new experiences and adventures.

1 day to go...part 2

So I was thinking that before I start my series of blog posts all about my vacation I ought to go back to my '1 day to go' post and finish off what happened that day.

We had problems that morning trying to check-in online with Virgin Atlantic and so had a late change of plans and decided to try their 'Twilight Check-In' that evening before we flew the following day.  This had meant a quick re-packing to ensure we had sufficient items for an overnight bag at our airport hotel.

Mid afternoon we made our way down to Gatwick airport, about a 3 hour car journey from our home.  We had the usual holdup on the infamous M25 but other than that it was a relatively easy journey.  We drove straight to the airport, got our hold luggage and popped over to see the lovely people at the Virgin Atlantic check-in desk.  Check-in was a dream, it was lovely and quiet and very relaxed and we even had a little joke with the check-in desk staff as they instantly said 'I bet I know where you're going' to which I looked a little confused until they pointed out my Mickey Mouse T-shirt - bit of a giveaway I feel!!  Doing check-in this way meant we had taken some of the stress out of the following day by dropping off our hold luggage which would mean a simple walk through security the following day.

After checking-in we had a short drive to our overnight hotel where we enjoyed a nice meal and a glass of wine before heading off to the land of nod to get that all important sleep before our long day of travelling ahead.

And look what we found in a painting in our hotel room...

Is that a hidden Mickey?

Countdown to Christmas - Day 24

24th December

Today is an important day in my household, yes it's the Eve of Christmas but it is also our eldest's birthday.  Our son was born 15 years ago this very eve...and here's what happened.

So off we went for a scheduled ante-natal appointment, I was feeling pretty rubbish but put that down to having had no breakfast as I was due a fasting blood test at 8.30am as my glucose levels were being monitored.  Blood test over and done with I went for my ante-natal exam...high blood pressure and protein in my water led to concern about pre-eclampsia and I wasn't going anywhere.

As nurses looked after me with tinsel in their hair and carol singers passed by the delivery ward singing 'Away in a Manger' our son was born that evening; it was probably one of the most surreal experience of my life.  But it also meant five days in hospital over Christmas...I couldn't wait to get home and start getting to know my baby.

But even at this early age the Disney influences were everywhere!!

I gave birth in a Mickey nightshirt (honest)..oh and full make-up, nail varnish and Christmas themed earrings!

Our son's first Christmas present was a small Winnie the Pooh plush...

...and look at his bedroom!

Well his bedroom is a little different now and the only real Disney influence these days is his collection of Vinylmations!!

But Christmas Eve still means last minute preparations for the big day. First there was gingerbread...

Of Mice and Men!!!

...and then the Christmas cake was iced and suitably decorated!!

Mouseketeer snowmen and Hidden Mickey snowballs

Merry Christmas!!