Orlando for Christmas & New Year - Trip Report - 24th December '04 to 7th January '05
Pre Trip
Having taken the kids to Disneyland Paris for the first time earlier in 2004, over Easter to be exact, we thought we’d try Orlando over Christmas seeing as how the trip to Disneyland was such a success.
At the time of travelling Ellie was 18 months old and Josh was 7½. We also asked if Fe’s mum would like to come with us as a treat. This was our first visit to Orlando as a family and, I think I’m right in saying, that I was the only one who’d been before as my Dad took me and my brother when I was 14.
And so it was all arranged, we were to fly out on Christmas Eve, spend two weeks staying in a 3 bedroom apartment at the Bahama Bay Resort (recommended by a friend at work) and come back home on the 7th of January. We’d timed it like this knowing that Orlando and the parks quieten down significantly after the 2nd of January.
I’d managed to do a fair bit of research before we went and bought a few books but the only one that came with us was the Brits Guide to Orlando (this book is a must for anyone going to Orlando). As a result I’d managed to put together a daily plan which, I believe, is essential to get the most from all that Orlando has to offer. I’d also managed to pre-book a few things such as a dolphin swim at Discovery Cove, a tour at Kennedy and tickets to see Cirque Du Soleil's “La Nouba”.
Fe’s mum, Dee, came over to our house (which is only 10 minutes from Manchester Airport) the afternoon before we left and found us almost packed and ready.
Day 1 - Christmas Eve - travelling to Orlando
The trip started with a smooth departure from the house which is always a bonus.
We flew direct from Manchester with Virgin Atlantic in their Club cabin as it was known then. This was just before the roll out of their Upper Class service with the new Upper Class Suites. We had a block of 4 seats (2 in front and 2 behind) on one side of the Club cabin and 1 more seat on the opposite side of the aisle. The occupant of the adjacent lone seat turned out to be Paul Burrell who had just finished his stint on ITV's "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here". He was flying to Orlando with his 2 boys for Christmas.
As mentioned in the “pre trip” Ellie was only 18 months old at the time and this was her inaugural long haul flight (Josh had been to Jamaica with us before Ellie was born). Before going Fe had concerns of a nightmare journey with Ellie but, as it happened, both kids were fantastic on the flight and Fe's fears were totally unrealised. Ellie played very happily with me on the floor in front of our seats while Fe had a "snooze" in the seat next to Mr Burrell. Fe actually spent more time chatting to him rather than "snoozing"!
In the meantime Ellie and I had a "tea party", did some drawing and played with the sticker books sat on the floor between our seats and those in front. There was so much room it was fab! The flight would have been a very different experience if we hadn't travelled Club. Ellie even laid down in her seat and had a snooze for just over an hour. Unlike her mother Ellie did actually have a snooze!
When we landed at Orlando we passed through security and immigration without any problems and then we picked up our Chrysler Voyager MPV before heading off to Bahama Bay Resort (www.bahamabayresort.com).
We were booked to stay at the Bahama Bay Resort because it was one of the few places that I could find that offered a 3 bedroom apartment and we thought self catering would be better because the kids were such fussy eaters.
We had a bit of trouble with checking in to Bahama Bay because whilst we found it okay we couldn’t check in at their reception and we had to drive a few miles to another office and check in there. I still don’t fully understand the reason behind this but it had something to do with who the booking was made through. Anyway, once we’d checked in we drove all the way back to Bahama Bay, collected our key from the reception and unloaded the sleeping kids and suitcases.
The kids were put straight to bed. On reflection we should have tried to keep them going for a bit longer because we paid the penalty the next few mornings!
While Fe and her mum put the kids to bed I headed out again in search of a supermarket to get some provisions bearing in mind that it was now 6pm on Christmas Eve. Despite this I managed to find somewhere that was still open but it was quite a trek and an effort to get a few days worth of food. When I got back to the apartment everyone was fast asleep in bed so I put the groceries away before retiring at about 9pm.
Day 2 - Christmas Day - Discovery Cove
The kids woke up at about 4am this morning and not because it was Christmas Day. This was the knock on effect of them going to bed so early last night. Dee was an absolute star and got up with the kids because she heard them and we didn’t. I was dead to the world until about 6am after my shopping expedition last night.
We opened the few presents that we’d taken with us before having breakfast and getting dressed. We then set off to Discovery Cove where I had planned for Fe and Dee to have a dolphin swim as a Christmas present from the kids.
Unfortunately it was pretty cold (about 55F / 13C) and raining. Not exactly the perfect weather to go swimming with Dolphins but Fe and Dee were very brave and loved the dolphin interaction while I looked after the kids on the shore.
Once Fe and Dee had got changed we all had lunch together sat outside under a sun umbrella in the drizzling rain! After lunch we voted to go back to the apartment because the weather was so miserable. It’s such a shame that the weather wasn’t kinder not only because it would have made a better experience for Fe and her mum while they were with the dolphins but also because I’d pre-booked a cabana on the beach complete with a chocolate Christmas cake and a bottle of champagne.
So the rest of the day was spent chilling out in our apartment at Bahama Bay and hoping for better weather.
Day 3 - Boxing Day - rest day
The kids woke up at about 4am again today. They were tired as a result and we decided to spend most of the day at the apartment because it was still fairly cold but we did got to Downtown Disney in the afternoon.
Day 4 - Monday 27th Dec - Kennedy Space Centre
The kids managed to sleep in till 5am. At least it's an improvement!
After breakfast we did the 1½ hour drive to Kennedy Space Centre on the east coast of Florida and arrived at 11am. The weather was much better today and the sun shone all day although it was still a little cool but we were okay in just our fleeces.
We had a terrific day there exploring the Rocket Garden and the kids play area before joining the NASA Up Close Tour during which we got to see all of the industrial areas including the NASA KSC's headquarters, the closest possible view of the Space Shuttle launch pad, the Shuttle Landing Facility, the massive Vehicle Assembly Building and the gigantic Crawler Transporters.
We had supper under the real Saturn V rocket (the Saturn rocket that was never used but has been reassembled) and Josh and Fe touched a piece of the rock from the moon before setting off back to Orlando.
Day 5 - Tuesday 28th Dec - Animal Kingdom
Fortunately today the kids sleeping routine have pretty much returned to normal and the weather is finally sunny and warm. T-shirt weather at last - hurrah!
We had a great day at Disney's Animal Kingdom despite it being really busy which was to be expected for the time of year. Because of the crowds we only managed to do the 3D It's Tough To Be A Bug (both kids were terrified!), Kilimanjaro Safaris and Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.
We did get to meet and have our photo taken with Donald Duck and we watched the parade (complete with fake snow) before calling it a day.
Day 6 - Wednesday 29th Dec - rest day
We decided to have another rest day because the kids were really tired after the last two busy days. I took the opportunity to take a few photos around Bahama Bay.
Day 7 - Thursday 30th Dec - Magic Kingdom
Today was so warm that everyone wore shorts and we thought that we'd have a go at the Magic Kingdom.
Despite it being fairly quiet when we arrived at 10am it didn't stay that way for long! But, having said that we managed to do more today than we did in the Animal Kingdom on Tuesday.
We went on Cinderella's Carousel, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh and the Jungle Cruise. We wandered round Mickey's Toontown Fair and we watched Mickey's PhilharMagic which both kids hated and we're starting to realise that our kids really don't like 3D attractions!
The real highlight of the day was watching Mickey's Christmas Show on the stage in front of Cinderella's Castle. This was brilliant if not a little bizarre watching all the characters dressed in winter clothes and singing Christmas songs while we’re sat there in shorts and t-shirts.
Day 8 - Friday 31st Dec - New Years Eve - St Petes Beach
Today was a real antidote to the theme parks as we spent a lovely day on the powder soft sands of St Petes beach.
We had a picnic on the beach, we made sand castles, both kids paddled in the warm sea, Dee made a “boat” in the sand for Josh and we all generally romped around in the sunshine for the day. No queues, no hassle - just sunshine, sea, sand and sandwiches.
Day 9 - Saturday 1st Jan - New Years Day - rest day
Because it was New Years Day we decided to give the theme parks a miss today and we played it safe by having another rest day at the apartment.
Day 10 - Sunday 2nd Jan - Disney MGM Studios
The weather is getting hotter and hotter by the day! The cold and rain we had on Christmas Day is just a distant memory now.
Today we had a great day at the Disney Studios mainly because the crowd levels have dramatically reduced.
We went on Star Tours, Muppet Vision 3D (just me!), the Studios Backlot Tour and played for ages in the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids Movie Set Adventure.
We had lunch at the brilliant Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater watching old "B" movies on the giant movie screen.
The highlight today was watching Playhouse Disney Live On Stage. The kids were completely enthralled and wide-eyed having only been used to seeing these characters on the TV at home.
Day 11 - Monday 3rd Jan - a surprise for everyone!
I have to admit that after the first few days of staying at the Bahama Bay Resort the novelty had worn off on me. It's a really nice place but, in my opinion, it's just too far away from everything and, as a direct result, we weren’t having the holiday that I had imagined.
Some days it would take us an hour to get from the Bahama Bay to the Disney World’s main entrance. Also, in order to avoid the evening traffic, we had to leave the parks early and, in doing so, we would miss out on going on more rides or seeing a parade.
Like I said, it just wasn't turning out to be the holiday that I envisioned and it was all down to the location of our accommodation. Besides which we hadn't gone on holiday to spend all that time sitting in the car. I know for a fact that I wasn’t the only one who was fed up.
Now, I'm the kind of person who, if there's something wrong, will set about putting it right. Therefore, as soon as I started getting fed up I set about finding us alternative accommodation that would be closer to the attractions.
As a result I spent most evenings in the little Internet Cafe at Bahama Bay doing my research. The only problem was that I couldn’t actually make contact with Disney reservations and make a booking until Sunday 2nd because that’s when they’d have completed a computer system upgrade. When I eventually did get to speak to someone at Disney I was helped out by the most helpful lady ever who, after I explained our situation to her, did her utmost to get the best accommodation for us at an amazing price. To that lady I am indebted.
So, after breakfast this morning I announced that we were going to pack up and move into a 2 bedroom Princess Suite at Disney's Polynesian Resort. You can't get much closer than that can you?! Suffice to say that everyone was stunned and ecstatic!
My guess is that in the meantime my name was "mud" because of my unexplained absences but I hoped that I was going to be forgiven when all was revealed.
Anyway, by the early afternoon we had moved out of Bahama Bay and we were checking into Disney’s Polynesian Resort. While I was checking us in Dee made Polynesian Lei garlands with the kids in the lobby.
We were then taken to our palatial suite complete with a view of the Magic Kingdom.
From this moment on it was a completely different holiday and the fun really started! The move, as I’d hoped, totally transformed the holiday into something truly magical.
That evening, after supper, Fe and I jumped on the monorail and went into the Magic Kingdom and watched the Spectro Magic Parade. Now, we couldn't have done that while we were staying at the Bahama Bay!
Day 12 - Tuesday 4th Jan - Character Breakfast at Polynesian's Ohana and Sea World
Before breakfast this morning I had to go and see the Concierge in our building about a small matter and I mentioned that the last time I had was here was in 1982 when my Dad brought me and my brother. Every day afterwards there was a little gift left for us in our suite.
We started the day with a character breakfast at the Polynesian's Ohana restaurant. The look on Ellie's face when Mickey came over and sat in my empty chair next to her and proceeded to "eat" my breakfast was nothing short of priceless. My chair was empty because I'd seen Mickey coming and went round the other side of the table to get some photos and video of Mickey knowing that he'd stop at our table. Little did I know that he would pinch my seat! After sabotaging my breakfast Mickey got up and went round the other side of the table to have a hug with Josh. Shortly after Mickey left we were visited by Goofy (who also sat down in my chair) followed by Chip.
The kids were thrilled to have breakfast with Mickey and the gang and all those evenings plotting in isolation paid off in that moment.
After breakfast we went to Sea World for the rest of the day. We went through the Shark Encounter tunnel and saw the Dolphins, Stingrays, Penguins and Puffins.
We watched the Pets Ahoy and Shamu shows and we had a fabulous lunch at the Shark Underwater Grill which is situated behind the Shark Encounter. This was the highlight of the day to see all those sharks swimming behind an enormous wall of glass while we ate.
Later that evening Dee and I went to watch Fantasmic at the Disney MGM Studios while Fe put the kids to bed.
Day 13 - Wednesday 5th Jan - Universal Studios
We started the day by once again having a character breakfast in the Polynesian's Ohana restaurant.
Afterwards we split up. Dee stayed at the hotel with the kids all day and took them swimming and played on the beach while Fe and I had a day to ourselves at Universal Studios and had an excellent time.
We went on Back To The Future, Shrek 4D, Terminator 2 3D, Revenge of the Mummy, Jaws and Men In Black Alien Attack.
It's at this point that I ought to admit that the Revenge of the Mummy was the first roller coaster that I ever went on and it probably wasn't the best choice to cut my teeth on. I also don't mind admitting that I didn’t like it one bit. I have to say, in my defence, that Fe, whilst she’s a seasoned roller coaster rider, faired just as badly!
So why do it? The answer is quite simple: because of the kids. I felt that it was something that I needed to do seeing as how it wouldn't be too long before they'd want me to take them on such rides and I didn’t want to be the one to say “ask your mother”.
I hasten to add that I’ve been on loads of thrill rides since then and I’m now a complete convert. And I was right in thinking that it wouldn’t be too long before the kids, Josh especially, would want to go on big thrill rides.
Anyway, at the end of the ride we both literally fell out of the roller coaster when the lap bar was released. We both lay on the floor laughing hysterically or at least we tried to but no sound would come out. As “scary” as it was this ride has been the landmark ride for us ever since and every ride since has been bench marked against it i.e. Fe: “so, how was it?” me: “not as bad as The Mummy” Fe “oh okay, I’ll take Josh on next time then”.
We also saw the Blues Brothers Revue and Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue. The former was excellent and really did have you dancing in the streets but the latter was just plain weird!
We had lunch at Mel's Drive In Diner which is themed on the movie American Graffiti - I loved this!
At about 6pm Fe and I whizzed from Universal straight over to Disney's MGM Studios to watch Fantasmic and afterwards we swung by the hotel to pick up Dee and then the three of us went to Downtown Disney to watch the breathtaking Cirque Du Soleil's La Nouba while a Disney babysitter kept a watchful eye over our sleeping children. The show is nothing short of awesome and full of jaw dropping moments.
Day 14 - Thursday 6th January - Character Breakfast at Chef Mickey's and the Magic Kingdom
Today we had breakfast at Chef Mickey's in Disney's Contemporary Resort. We arrived on the monorail direct from our hotel. This was one of the best meals of the holiday and terrific fun. It really is as good as the hype.
Chip, Pluto, Mickey and Minnie all came to our table much to the delight of the kids (and the grownups!). Ellie was thrilled to meet Minnie in person.
After breakfast we jumped back on the monorail and went to the Magic Kingdom. We only stayed until just after lunch but went on Pirates Of The Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion (just Dee and me), Indy Speedway (Josh and me) and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.
We had an utterly brilliant lunch at The Crystal Palace with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore all coming to our table.
This visit to the Magic Kingdom was infinitely better than the first one because the crowds had completely disappeared and we managed to do so much more. The magnificent lunch in the Crystal Palace meeting all the characters from the Hundred Acre Wood also helped!
At about 3pm we went back to the hotel for a rest and a swim in the hotel’s pool before doing some packing. After supper we all nipped back into the Magic Kingdom to watch the Spectro Magic Parade which the kids thought was awesome.
When we got back to our suite we sat outside on the balcony and watched Wishes - there were lots of "ooohs" and "aaaahs" from the kids!
It was a brilliant way to spend the last full day of the holiday.
Day 15 - Friday 7th January - Downtown Disney and going home
An unsettling last morning because Josh was sick on the way to breakfast. The others went on ahead while I looked after Josh and cleaned him up. Then he and I went for a walk around the Polynesian's beach and the jetty after which he said he was feeling better. I told him that he'd got the "Disney bug" and didn't want to go home. He agreed! He was very upset about leaving and he wasn't the only one. Since we'd moved to the Polynesian the holiday had really stepped up a gear and everyone felt that it was a holiday within a holiday.
We finished off packing, checked out, loaded up the rented Chrysler and drove to Downtown Disney and the Virgin Check In desk where we had our luggage taken off us and we were issued with our boarding cards.
Fe, Josh and I spent the rest of the morning in Disney Quest while Dee took Ellie for a walk around Downtown Disney.
When we met up for lunch Dee presented us each with a lovely gift. Mine was a wonderful Disney World polo shirt.
All too soon it was time to head off to the airport and board the Virgin Atlantic plane back home.
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