Fun, flowers and firsts THREAD 1 OF 7 About This Page:

[rescuesk]

Great start! Can't wait till you get there!!!

[goofy4goofy]

Loved your latest installment!! Can't wait to hear all about your first day in Florida!

Kelly

[chezp]

Wednesday 28 April – part one: are these tickets right?

Dates:
Wednesday 28 April – Friday 14 May 2004
Adventurers:
Me, Cheryl (31) and
DH, Mark (38)
with appearances from a number of other Passporters along the way!
Resorts:
Animal Kingdom Lodge (Wednesday 28 April – Sunday 2 May)
Beach Club Villas (Sunday 2 May – Wednesday 6 May)
Disney Cruise (Wednesday 6 May – Sunday 9 May)
Beach Club Villas (Sunday 9 May – Friday 14 May)
Celebrations:
Our first ever Disney Cruise, our first time at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and our first ever visit to WDW in May to see the Flower and Garden Festival.

It was another early start for us. I think we were first woken about 4.00 by what I can only presume was a member of staff outside our room on a walkie-talkie. Fortunately we both drifted back to sleep, but only until about 5.30 and then we were both wide awake.

We finally surfaced to search out breakfast at around 7.00, but before left the room, as I was filling out all our US immigration forms, I noticed something which had me worried. Our boarding passes said we were in class W, but our tickets said we should be in class K. Immediately we assumed the worst and figured that we had been booked in economy class instead of premium economy seats by accident. Having paid an extra £400 for the privilege of premium economy, I was not going to have that.

So our first stop was the Virgin Atlantic check-in desk, where we were told we did have the correct boarding pass and we would be upstairs on the plane. Something else we had never done before! To say we were excited would've been an understatement!

That checked out, breakfast was our next step. We decided to go to Frankie and Benny’s, which is based on a New York diner (I don’t know if you have these over there?) as we had had a cheaper dinner than expected last night. I went for a continental breakfast with croissants, tea (naturally) and orange juice and Mark opted for a cooked breakfast with two rounds of extra toast. I have to admit I think I got the better deal. Mark’s meal looked very dry when it arrived and he wasn’t impressed that the extra rasher of bacon he’d ordered wasn’t on his plate, but that was quickly rectified. It wasn’t the best meal we’d ever had, but it wasn’t the worst either. It came to £14 (c. $24), although it did take us forever to get the attention of our server, so that we could pay.

Then it was back to our hotel room to pick up our hand luggage (carry on, as you guys call it) and then we checked out and were back to the terminal again. We headed straight through security with no problems and towards the shops. I picked up a few tax free items, some more perfume, a waterproof camera for us to use at Castaway Cay and some of my cosmetics. Every time you buy anything tax free you have to present your boarding pass to prove you’re flying internationally. Can you believe it? Mark even had to present our boarding pass to buy some throat sweets, which cost less than £1 (c. $1.75)

After we’d exhausted every shop in the airport (and that did take a while because they do have a good selection, but we did have over two hours to wait before our flight), we found our way up to the viewing area. Both of us were convinced that we’d have to pay for the privilege, but that wasn’t the case, another nice surprise.

It was a bit grey and gloomy (a little like my donkey! ) but there were plenty of planes around and we were convinced we could see ours waiting for us at the gate. While there, we chatted with a couple who were due to head off on their honeymoon to Cuba. They had already been sent to the gate, only to discover that there was something wrong with the plane and they wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. I felt so sorry for them, especially as she was evidently a very nervous flyer.

We made our way back down to the main shopping area and I headed off to the restroom and, as happened on our last trip, as soon as I disappeared out of Mark’s site, they announced which gate we would be leaving from.

Next: up, up and away – our eight and a half hour flight to the home of magic! (and the photos begin!)

[BritDisFan]

Thanks for the update Cheryl, I too would have been going straight to the Virgin desk if I had seen K class on my ticket but paid for W. I'm looking forward to your photo's.

Karen

[Mel & Richard]

I'm looking forward to hearing about premium economy.

Mel

[karmic]

Thanks for the update! Am enjoying your report and look forward to more.

[luvnwdwgal]

Nice installment Cheryl! "Throat sweets", I love that! Looking forward to your next installment!

[Tara O'Hara]

Cheryl, I hope your flight to the U.S. is wonderful!! I can't wait to hear of your adventures!!

[ncgal]

Photos ! I can't wait for the photos...

[JenS]

I hope you tell us more about sitting upstairs on the plane - sounds interesting. You flew on a 747 then?

[MegglesMom]

Can't wait to hear about your flight! Oh and to see the pictures as well...

[Jennifer2003]

Here's how lame I am...I thought airplanes with upstairs were only made for the movies! They really do exist!

No, I don't get out much...


Great report!

[goofy4goofy]

I can't wait to see the photos!!!!

Kelly

[Joanne929]

What organization! And I thought I was organized?! Pictures - soon?

[DrDolphin]

Oh Oh Oh!!! Will I get to see photos before I leave tomorrow??? I was not planning on bringing my laptop to WDW --- Oh my how I wonder... Should I??? Just so I can stay up on Cheryl and Mark's adventure??? Decisions Decisions.