Home for the Holidays-Wizards-Grinches and Sparkles. 14 nights @Royal Pacific Resort, Nov/Dec 2021

[mitsukoshi samurai]

Welcome to another year at hogwarts

 

[SCSabresfan]

Hey....... along SCSabresfan.......

Oh it`ll be nice to say hello to you again this year, and celebrating your anniversary will be lovely, doesn`t matter it`s late.....

So many celebrations have been postponed through all of this.....

Good to see you here too......

We were thinking the same. The delayed trip just means we get to celebrate the last two anniversaries on this trip! That's why we splurged on the club room for this trip. Although, I think she is now hooked on the club level, so we may not ever go back to a "normal" room.
And we just booked our anniversary trip for May 2022. (Yep at club level again.)

 

[schumigirl]

Welcome to another year at hogwarts

Indeed, another year ahead.

Glad to see you here, hope you enjoy this one........

 

[schumigirl]

We were thinking the same. The delayed trip just means we get to celebrate the last two anniversaries on this trip! That's why we splurged on the club room for this trip. Although, I think she is now hooked on the club level, so we may not ever go back to a "normal" room.
And we just booked our anniversary trip for May 2022. (Yep at club level again.)

Fabulous news!!

I think we all need to celebrate anything we can, whenever we can now....

lol....I like your wife`s thinking!! Why not......

We`re there in May too, but we are staying mainly at Sapphire for that trip, and yes, glad you`ve booked CL then too.......isn`t it just nice to be back planning trips again!!!

 

[AussieBritTraveller]

Yay so happy for you both, I jumped on as I was hoping you might get a trip this year! We've rebooked again for September/October next year so hopefully finally see you again then xx

 

[schumigirl]

Yay so happy for you both, I jumped on as I was hoping you might get a trip this year! We've rebooked again for September/October next year so hopefully finally see you again then xx

Matt!!!

I am so happy to see you here.........we did wonder if you were going to be there next year since this year didn`t happen.

Also, never got the chance to tell you, we saw Rob on Tipping Point....he did good!!!

It was a pure fluke we switched it on that night as we rarely have the tv on at that time and there he was!! I called my mum and told her to switch on as we always say we never know anyone on these shows.......lol......

We`ll definitely look forward to seeing you next year then, I`m sure we`ll have no issues getting to America then......

Load of hugs to you, Rob and Jackson too xxx.......

 

[AussieBritTraveller]

Matt!!!

I am so happy to see you here.........we did wonder if you were going to be there next year since this year didn`t happen.

Also, never got the chance to tell you, we saw Rob on Tipping Point....he did good!!!

It was a pure fluke we switched it on that night as we rarely have the tv on at that time and there he was!! I called my mum and told her to switch on as we always say we never know anyone on these shows.......lol......

We`ll definitely look forward to seeing you next year then, I`m sure we`ll have no issues getting to America then......

Load of hugs to you, Rob and Jackson too xxx.......

Haha yes his episode was repeated, the damn machine just didn't go in his favour glad you got to see it!

We were gutted to lose this trip as well but we did get to Barcelona to finally celebrate Robs 50th last week which was amazing

Looking forward to seeing your trip on here xx

 

[tink1957]

I'm late, as usual. So happy for you to finally get back home where you belong.

We are planning a Christmas trip so we will miss you by a few weeks. Looking forward to seeing you again in September.

I can't wait to hear about your adventures.

 

[schumigirl]

Haha yes his episode was repeated, the damn machine just didn't go in his favour glad you got to see it!

We were gutted to lose this trip as well but we did get to Barcelona to finally celebrate Robs 50th last week which was amazing

Looking forward to seeing your trip on here xx

How lovely, beautiful place for a celebration.

Yes, too many of us have had so many trips lost......time to make up for it!!

Belated birthday wishes to your lovely husband......xxx

 

[schumigirl]

I'm late, as usual. So happy for you to finally get back home where you belong.

We are planning a Christmas trip so we will miss you by a few weeks. Looking forward to seeing you again in September.

I can't wait to hear about your adventures.

to you Vicki.......lovely to see you......

Better late than never my friend.......hope you had a lovely HHN trip, we need to catch up properly.

And a Christmas trip too.....fabulous!! Sorry we`ll miss you though, but yes, pencil us in for next September....we are fiddling about with dates right now and trying to work out if we go later or earlier.....decisions....but good decisions to have.

Look forward to chatting along the way.......

 

[schumigirl]

​

Yes, several of my lovely friends who seem to have a good sense of humour all sent me that a few times after we had several trips cancelled.....they`re very funny......or try to be

It was a constant stream of cancellations though, looking back it`s almost surreal having 5 trips cancelled over that length of time, but thankfully, we just moved on and began thinking of the next one, nothing else for it really.

Flying wise, our first choice is always Virgin Atlantic. We`ve been flying with them to Orlando/NYC since 2007 and have never had a complaint with them. And through this pandemic they have been first class in dealing with issues arising from it.

Our December trip last year, when cancelled, the first thing we did was defer the flights from that trip to be booked for this year when flights became available. You could of course take a full refund of what you had paid, but we knew we had more trips to book and deferring the flight suited us best.

There were a few that did mention we should be worried in case VA went bankrupt and we lost the money, but we had faith they wouldn`t. They are a massive company with huge backers, so the chances of them going bust were slim to none. Thankfully.

As soon as flights were released, I was on them like a cat on a hot tin roof.......we knew roughly which dates we wanted, our hotel was already booked, but a quick email would change that if needed. We did give it a few days to compare days and eventually settled on November 24th, till December 8th.

Contacting VA was easy, once we finally got through to a member of staff.....lines were so busy and most were still working from home, so waits were to be expected and they were doing their best in trying circumstances.

It was easy to rebook and use the voucher from the previous flight, the lady we got was excellent and gave us several options of miles and money or just miles......too many options to be honest, we ended up just going with no miles and ended up with a very unexpected refund as the flights were surprisingly cheaper than the previous flights.....don`t see that often, especially as both flights were Premium seats. Happy days!

​

We do miss the Jumbo!! We always enjoyed up in the bubble where there are fewer seats and it did always feel a little cosier than downstairs.

And I did like 4 engines. The A330 is a fine plane, we`ve been on them before but 2 engines is not 4!

But, they are no more and we did look to get the best seats we could in Premium economy, preferably the last row at the back. My thinking here wasn`t to get off the plane faster, but its quite nice having no one behind you.

We did manage to get the back 2 seats, different sides of the plane each flight, but of course they can be changed if the plane changes to a different configuration which can happen, especially with all the changes going on right now getting more planes back in the sky. Right now we are happy to see they are still the same.

Having more legroom is nice and the seats are generally more comfortable than in regular economy, quite important for folks with more than ample backsides .....almost 10 hours is a long flight to be sitting down.

Masks are still required on all flights except when you are actively eating or drinking which was to be expected.

If food service is the same we do get a nice meal about an hour and a half after take off, wine comes with it too, and then drinks service a little after that, then about 90 minutes before we land we get afternoon tea which is always very pleasant and an ice cream somewhere in between the two. Of course who knows if it`ll be the same when we do fly again.

You do get a nice glass of sparkly or orange juice as you sit waiting to take off, and it just feels a little nicer......but truth be told, I`d sit on the wing if it meant getting to Florida!!

Thinking of sitting on the wing always takes me to the Twilight Zone classic episode........

Scared the bejeesus out of me as a kid..........

​

Flight times have changed several times since the announcement of the borders opening, so as of now we are due to depart around 11.30am, so we should be able to enjoy breakfast in our overnight hotel.....that is still to be decided of course!

We are due to arrive in MCO around 4.30pm which is our average time for getting there, and ideal for us to get settled in the hotel, find something to eat and try to stay awake as late as possible.

 

[J'aime Paris]

Under a month now!!!! It's really happening for you and Tom!!

I bet you would ride on that wing to get to Orlando, lol!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

Under a month now!!!! It's really happening for you and Tom!!

I bet you would ride on that wing to get to Orlando, lol!!!!

Yep, 4 weeks tomorrow......... wooohoooo!!!

I absolutely would......but can you imagine the cold!!! Maybe not.......lol......

 

[Lynne G]

Yay! The trip is a go. I very much enjoy your trip reports and the pictures in them. Welcome back, indeed. So happy that all can travel now. And I have a soft spot for Christmas decorations.

 

[kbelle8995]

I'm enjoying hearing all your trip prep. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Pack some warm weather and cold weather clothes. Our temps are going up and down. I know I'm a true Floridian when it comes to weather. It's why I live here my blood is thin.

 

[schumigirl]

Yay! The trip is a go. I very much enjoy your trip reports and the pictures in them. Welcome back, indeed. So happy that all can travel now. And I have a soft spot for Christmas decorations.

Thank you

Yes, we are huge fans of Christmas decorations and all things Christmassy.......our home looks like a Christmas Grotto all round.

I'm enjoying hearing all your trip prep. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Pack some warm weather and cold weather clothes. Our temps are going up and down. I know I'm a true Floridian when it comes to weather. It's why I live here my blood is thin.

Yes, the last 3 trips we`ve done in December we`ve always packed a real mix of clothes and some days we were especially glad of warmer ones, especially as one day it went into the mid 40`s in the morning with the wind.

But, generally we`ve been lucky with the days and mostly been in the 80`s, but yes, we`re prepared for all weathers.

Thank you, we are getting very excited, but it`s always in the background it may not happen.....then we focus on May.......always a silver lining........

 

[Pumpkin1172]

You do get a nice glass of sparkly or orange juice as you sit waiting to take off, and it just feels a little nicer......but truth be told, I`d sit on the wing if it meant getting to Florida!!

Yup...I can totally relate. I could totally see you...running like the lady in the Ikea - start the car- commercial lol. Insert flights for sale!!!!

I am willing to jump through hoops (and currently I will have to do some hoop jumping) to travel again. If that's what it takes for me to get a break from the cold...then I will jump away!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

Yup...I can totally relate. I could totally see you...running like the lady in the Ikea - start the car- commercial lol. Insert flights for sale!!!!

I am willing to jump through hoops (and currently I will have to do some hoop jumping) to travel again. If that's what it takes for me to get a break from the cold...then I will jump away!!!!

lol......I`ve never seen that one!!

I do tell them not to talk to me as I search the Virgin Atlantic site for flights, I will admit that.......we were booking once when they had a sale on, never managed to get a reduced flight yet!!

I agree, just let us all fly again. We`re getting the tests we need before we fly sorted out now, what a minefield of whether or not they are Government approved or not if you book this one.....is that one suitable and acceptable!!! I miss the day we could just get on a plane.......but, it`s what we have to do. So we do it.

Hope you can get to travel soon too....have you any plans in your mind of when you`ll be off next?

 

[Cara]

Woohoo! So happy to see you are (most likely!) traveling to Florida again! That's just wonderful!

 

[schumigirl]

Woohoo! So happy to see you are (most likely!) traveling to Florida again! That's just wonderful!

Cara.......it is so good to see you!!!

I thought about sending you a pm often, but didn`t want to intrude.......I do hope things are going well for you and you are doing well.

Thank you, yes, hopefully all will be well and we`ll be back in Orlando sooner rather than later.....

Glad to see you here again.......