Don't Stop - part one of Disney trip COMPLETED About This Page:

[karmic]

The report has started-yay! Looking forward to weeks and weeks of the rest.
And-as always-thanks!

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Great start! Waiting for more!

[B.M.]

Yay, you started your TR!!!!!

[patclairesmom]

Great start! Keep it coming

[lazanya]

Great star! Can't wait for more!

[sc507]

Yay!!! Happy to see that you've started your TR. Sorry you had a rough trip to the hotel, but glad the wine helped ease things

[claytrgtshooter]

Sounds like every body wanted to get out of town at the same time you did. Looking forward to the next installment.

[islandgirl]

Great start!!!!!! Can't wait to read more!!!

[Cam22]

Great start, Cheryl! Love the pictures of Mark on the elevator and you after the wine. You both look so happy!

[Minnie Lor]

Originally Posted by LLaffinPlace

Yes, isn't that really cool?

[belle0517]

Great start!

[DopeyGirl]

Originally Posted by Minnie Lor

After having the pleasure of spending more time with you and Mark during this trip, I can hear your accent as I read your report which just makes it even more delightful. Looking forward to more.

And here I thought I was the only one! After having met them in '05, I have read her reports hearing her accent ever since!




Great start! I always enjoy a good Chez and Mark report!

And, yeah . . . I didn't notice by the pics that you guys had downed a bottle. Not. At. All.

[Grammy Grumpy]

So glad you have started your TR, and after being home for such a short time. Did you get all the laundry done???

Can't wait to hear more.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy

So glad you have started your TR, and after being home for such a short time. Did you get all the laundry done???

Can't wait to hear more.

Six loads done on Sunday, one more to go.

[chezp]

Thursday 10 December – part one: don’t we look like we should be in Upper Class?

On the plus side, the bed that we had was very comfortable and when we did sleep, it was a good night’s sleep. The minus side was that neither of us slept very well. Sadly, it wasn’t excitement about flying out, much as I’d love to say that. Instead it was a combination of me not taking my pain killers (under instructions from my doctor to try and tackle the issue of jet lag) and the family outside shouting at each other at about 11pm. Mark was awake from the early hours and tells me that someone ordered room service at 3am. I think you can tell how good the sound proofing was, as we were able to hear all that.

We got dressed and that turned into a saga for me. I wasn’t happy with what I was originally going to wear on the plane, which was a pair of leggings. Although very comfortable, much more so than jeans, which to me, weren’t really an option, they just didn’t do me any favours. It was Mark who came up with the idea of me wearing a dress, but initially I was horrified by the prospect of having to wear my trainers (tennis shoes to you guys! ) and slipper socks with them, but he pointed out that lots of people in cities do just that and he was right. It didn’t look too bad in the end and much better than what I’d originally been planning to wear.

We re-packed our cases, putting both our winter coats into the cases, as we still had both enough space and weight in them to do that, which was a definite bonus. It meant we’d have to carry less and I wasn’t relishing the thought of lugging those around when we got to Orlando. :

We walked through to the airport and headed for the Virgin area. At first glance, it was absolute carnage, probably the worst I’ve ever seen it. There were people everywhere and I’d guess there must’ve been about 300 or maybe 400 people in line to check-in. Fortunately, after a momentary panic, we saw the check-in area for Premium Economy and Upper Class and headed there. After seeing one guy just push in line in front of the woman in front of us, we managed to deal with the woman who was on her cell phone and tried to do that to us (nice try, try harder next time! ) and were quickly seen to. The member of staff said “flying Premium Economy today?” and we took great delight in saying “no, Upper Class”. Her face was a picture and she apologised very profusely at that.

We were immediately seen to and quickly dropped our bags off, although we were told that our flight had been an hour late arriving, so it was now an hour behind schedule. I wasn’t too worried, as at least we had the lounge to enjoy between now and then.

Then it was off to security, which we had Fasttrack to, as one of our Upper Class privileges. Obviously we don’t look like traditional Upper Class passengers, which I did take offence at, as I thought we were both quite well dressed, especially after the debacle over what I was going to wear this morning. Why do I say this? Because we had to show our tickets to the guy at security, as he closed off Fasttrack right in front of us, despite his colleague telling him that we did qualify.

This is the way to travel! We were through the whole thing very smoothly in just five minutes. We then went to pick up Mark’s travellers’ cheques and, from there, we headed off to a nearby electrical store. Mark thought that we were looking for a new shaver for mine, as mine had given up the ghost just two days earlier and was refusing to draw charge. We couldn’t fathom what was wrong with it, so it was clear that a new one was required. Well, yes, that’s partially what I was looking for, but I was also after Mark’s Christmas present – an iPod. I had told him that he could have my old one when he bought me a new one a couple of years ago, but the darned thing died on cue a few days later, so he never got one, so I figured that would be a perfect present – and it was. The look on his face was priceless.

From there, we went shopping for my shaver and fortunately found something in the end, as leaving without a new one really was not an option. :



We then headed upstairs to find the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. The woman who checked us in had told us where it was, but to be honest, neither of us could understand what she’d said and we figured it would be easy enough to find. Wrong! We wandered round for a few minutes, before seeing something red at the end of a corridor between two shops and that was it. And the signpost for it? “Emergency exit only”. Yes, that’s why it was so hard to find.

As soon as we arrived, I felt at home here. They really had thought of everything they could. There was a formal dining room as you entered, then more informal seating areas scattered around, where you could order meals and drinks. There was a children’s area towards the back, along with an area for teenagers and even a Wii and some computers, where I was able to get online later on. Of course, there was also the highlight for me – a Cowshed beauty salon, where you could either get complimentary treatments or ones that you could pay for.

That was the first thing we did, both booking the complimentary 15 minute back, neck and shoulder massage, while I opted to add on the 30 minute hot stone treatment for my legs and feet, as that sounded heavenly to me. Mark offered to pay for it for my birthday, which made it even better.

That done, we settled down into one set of chairs, but didn’t last long there, because the couple next to us were just all over each other. Honestly, they seriously needed to get a room – they were hugging each other and he was on top of her. Next time, get a room guys! So we moved a little further down, then realised that Mark’s camera battery was dying and we couldn’t see any powerpoints anywhere. Surely there had to be some? Then we spotted them at a table nearby, so we moved again.









Next: a true Upper Class massage!