Pluto80
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2012
This is the first time I’ve done a trip report on here, so be gentle! I usually only post them on our holiday Facebook group, but thought I’d try posting on here also
#thewellsfamilydisneyadventures
Pre-trip report
So, it’s almost that time again! The kids are off at a gymnastics day, so I’ve got a rare bit of peace and quiet to do some writing.
I warn you, my reports to tend to go on, and on, and on. So feel free to stop reading now, don’t worry, I won’t be offended
So, our cast of characters are
Anthony - also known as planner extraordinaire. The keeper of spreadsheets, planner of fast passes, bugeter of money, trawler of Disney related internet articles (sounds like a Game of Thrones character somewhat!)
Ben - age 11. Finished primary school last week and could not be more ready for secondary school. Huge Disney fan, loving all the new franchises they’ve bought as he loves all things Star Wars and Marvel. Typical boy and very much a sulky almost teenager!
Ava - age 7. The princess of the group. Been going to Disney since she was 6 months old, and knows almost as much about it as we do! Total thrill seeker and up for almost anything.
Vikki - that’d be me. Year two teacher (Ava was in my class this year). Love my job, love even more that it allows us nice long holidays, where we can spend the majority of the summer in Florida! Have an unhealthy obsession with buying way too much stuff from Target for my classroom!
So, anyone who read last year knows that we went for just over five weeks, this year we’re going for a little less time, only four weeks this time (haha), this is because we wanted a week before going to sort out everything Ben needs for starting secondary school, and also so we can come back early and get over the jet lag before returning to school.
Big change since we last went is that we’re now DVC owners. DVC is Disney’s version of a timeshare really. Basically, a night in a room costs a certain number of points, and the number of points it costs depends on the resort, room type, and time of year. We bought enough points so we could comfortably go for three weeks per year, in the summer, staying in a studio room. Since then we’ve actually found another DVC contract, but that’s still in progress, so can’t use those points yet. More on the hotels we’re staying at later. We bought our contract through the resale market, which meant that we saved a fortune on it. Unfortunately, buying resale locks you out of certain perks associated with DVC ownership. So, we decided to buy a very small contract direct with Disney. This means we get all the perks How much we’ll use these perks, I don’t know, but we thought it was useful to have the option.
We’re also travelling a little differently this time. We usually fly indirect, as it’s so much cheaper. However, we found a cracking deal for a direct flight with Norwegian, so decided to give them a go. The only disadvantage was that it’s from Gatwick. We’re not fans of Gatwick. We live in Lincolnshire so all airports are a bit of a drive, but Gatwick is just that bit too far, especially on the way back. So we decided that instead of driving, we’d take the train. With using Tesco clubcard vouchers, we managed to get first class train tickets. Bargain! No car parking to pay for, and no worrying about a tired drive home after a night flight. We may totally regret this decision, but we wanted to give it a try. We actually have a local train station a few minutes walk from where we live, but it was actually a bit of a pain to go from there. So we decided we’d go on Hull Trains, which takes us directly into London, then we just need to get the Gatwick express from there. It should be nice and easy......watch this space on that one!
I also said that if we were taking the train, I wanted to stay the night before at a hotel closer to the airport than our usual Travelodge. Anthony managed to find a good rate for the Bloc Hotel, which is actually in the airport, so you can’t get closer than that! Looks like a pretty cool place. From what I’ve seen, the rooms are teeny, yet functional. Suits us fine though. I just hope it has air conditioning. With the weather we’ve been having in the UK recently, a night in a muggy hotel room does not sound appealing. The kids are very excited at the prospect of everything in the room being controlled by a tablet, so it should definitely be interesting. Apparently the rooms have amazing showers though.....I’m a bit of a shower snob, so I’m looking forward to that!
The plan will then be that on the morning of the flight, we’ll check in, then go back to the room to have showers etc before the flight.
I’ll leave it there for now, next time, I’ll let you know about where we’re staying, and our general plans for the trip.
Well done if you’ve made it this far, like I said, if I bored you and you don’t want to read any more, I won’t be offended
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