The Double Celebration Trip April/May 2006 - Pre Trip Report Last Update 22/4 About This Page:

[Annabel]

<font color="purple">Seeing Disney Through Loved Ones' Eyes - AKA The Double Celebration Trip!


Adventurers:

Annabel aka me – soon to be age 33 [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] Disney World fanatic who wishes she had Dorothy’s ruby slippers to get to her happy place instead of a 9 hour flight (how to do you spell chicken? A-N-N-A-B-E-L!) [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Andy aka welshandproud – soon to be 36 – not as fanatical as me but still loves Disney World. Rollercoaster and cold beer [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] fanatic

Bobbie aka my beloved mum – 54 (hopefully she won’t slap me for sharing that [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) – patiently understands my obsession and wants to do some of the many things I rave about. First and only visit to Disney World was in September 1989! Sadly doesn’t remember much about her first trip but hopefully we may trigger some memories [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Jez aka Mum’s toyboy and hubby – turns 50 during our trip [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] Loves America, rollercoasters and cold beer. First and only trip to Disney World was in 1995.

Also during this trip, Mum and Jez will be celebrating their first wedding anniversary, aaw [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] I am so excited about this trip [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] Every time we’ve come back from our trips, Mum and Jez have both said they’d love to go one day.

A little background is needed here [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] We all get on like a house on fire. Mum and I are very close, I consider her to be one of my best friends. We speak daily and if we don’t, it feels very weird. Mum always complains when we go on holiday that it feels like one of her arms is missing as we don't get to talk as much. Jez and Andy, thankfully, get on brilliantly – they have a similar sense of humour and also share another common bond: they both love fast rollercoasters and cold beer. Oh and American muscle cars [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

We mentioned after our Christmas 2004 trip that maybe they should come with us in a trip or two. Mum and Jez both loved the idea so we decided that 2006 might possibly be the year. At one stage, my brother Chris and his girlfriend Clair were going to join us but unfortunately they couldn’t afford it – plus my dear brother is a bit like BA Baracus from the A-Team when it comes to flying and we would have had to knock him out to get on the plane [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] I can just imagine trying to explain to the stewardess that he’s not my excess baggage, he’s just afraid of flying so we knocked him out for his own good [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

So enough background stuff – let the pre-trip begin [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img]

Flashback time! Captain's Log. Star Date: Early summer 2005. Andy and I are in the garden lapping up the sunshine, sat on our picnic bench with the laptop and enjoying a lazy Friday evening together. We’re eagerly chatting about our forthcoming holiday as well as reminiscing about previous ones, and Andy started looking at flights and holidays. We got a couple of quotes and it was actually cheaper to book a holiday for the 4 of us than going for flights. How silly! We were flying First Choice in October and while looking at different dates, Andy put in our October dates for the fun of it to see what availability was like. It was showing premium seating available for our flight. I put on what I hoped would be an innocent look and suggested to Andy that maybe he should phone First Choice and just see what they would want to upgrade. Just for the fun of it, of course [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] My innocent look won Andy over and he was on the phone in seconds. We were expecting a good laugh and a silly amount. Instead, Andy looked at me with wide eyes and said to the agent that he just needed to speak to his wife. He then tells me that they want a mere £300 for the pair of us to upgrade [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] And that’s return, not each way. Well, for that money we couldn’t say no [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] After Andy upgraded us, I quickly rang my mum and told her about our luck. She immediately cursed us because she’d paid that for each of them each way to the Bahamas for their wedding. Ouch, sorry Mum [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/sorry.gif[/img] Mum suggested that maybe we should consider them for when the four of us go. We left it with me having to come up with some dates and some research was needed [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zputer.gif[/img]

Firstly I figured that the weather would have to be lovely but not too hot so the summer months were out. I then considered April and then realised that Easter was in the middle of the month so that wouldn’t be any good. A plan started forming in my mind for May. I spoke to mum again and she mentioned it was Jez’s birthday on the 11th of that month. May was definitely a good choice then [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] I then went to timeanddate.com and found out Mother’s Day was in the middle of May in the US, so with Easter being in the middle of April, the end of April through middle of May sounded like an ideal choice. Unfortunately there was no flights available for that period but Andy rang First Choice and got a quote for a holiday for the 6 of us, which was about £3,500. Not bad I guess. It was staying off-site though and I wasn't sure what Mum and Jez wanted to do. We would have to wait until July or so for the flights to come out for April/May 2006. Even though I was excited about my brother coming with us, I just had a gut feeling in the back of my mind that they wouldn't be able to come. At a later date, this would prove to be right [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/pout.gif[/img]

Coming up: they want HOW MUCH for flights [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img]

[TroianRae]

Cool!!! You've started your pre-trip report!!!!
[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img]

[angiek1024]

Great start! Waiting to hear more!

[duck addict]

Have a great trip! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

[iamgrumpy]

Yay! Another Annabel report! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img]

Can't wait to hear more!

[luvnwdwgal]

Looking forward to yet another great trip report from you Annabel!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[lauren-roxy]

Great start Annabel!!!! Can't wait to read more, I really enjoy your trip reports!!!!

[KandJluvdisney]

great start
more please

[Cam22]

Great start! Can't wait for more!

[Tink and co.]

Ohhh, another Annabel trip report! So glad you've started one!

[Joy J]

Great start, Annabel! I'm looking forward to reading more about your plans.

Joy

[Annabel]

<font color="purple">They want HOW MUCH for flights [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img]

Fast forward to July 2005. The flights for April and May finally appeared so we could continue with our planning. Andy took his turn surfing and we put in our dates. First Choice only fly on a Saturday normally so that was how I decided on April 29th to May 13th. I asked Andy what he’d found and he just sat there staring at the screen. Umm, hello [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] Anyone there? Andy couldn’t say anything to me – he just pointed his finger at the screen. I took this to mean that I should have a look. Now it was my turn to sit and stare [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img] The price quoted for the flights was amazing – but what was even more amazing than the price? The fact that the price was for premium seating in the Premier Class Cabin, not in economy class [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] Without a second thought, I reached for the phone and rang my mum to tell her what we’d found. Even Mum and Jez were shocked. We tried other airlines and the price was coming up as more per person just for an economy seat. I knew we'd hit on a winner [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] Now it was dilemma time. What the heck do we do [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img] Clair was still bursting to come with us while Chris wasn’t as keen but he hadn’t said no. I asked my mum if she thought Chris and Clair could afford the money for the flights, let alone a hotel room, and she wasn’t sure either. After speaking to mum, I rang my brother. He wasn’t sure at all but promised to think about it and let me know.

I have to say that the next week was a nightmare - does he know how long a week is to a Disney fanatic who wants to book her trip??? I checked the prices every day to make sure they hadn’t changed. What if they changed before Chris made up his mind and went up [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] I just knew there was no possibility of them going down, there was just no way that would happen. I pestered my brother on a daily basis and he still wasn’t sure. To say I was flapping about the price change is an understatement [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I wanted the flights booked and I wanted them booked NOW *insert stamping foot smiley here* [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Saturday afternoon, my mum rang and invited us over for lunch on the Sunday, which of course we jumped at [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] Anyone who has tasted my mum's cooking will understand [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] We turned up and the first thing Mum and Jez wanted to discuss was the flights [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] If we were serious about going together then they would have to be booked. Booking the flights online or by telephone with First Choice meant that we’d have to pay in full, no deposit unlike other airlines. Mum passed me the phone and I rang my brother. I explained the situation about the flights and said that I thought he was stalling. I honestly thought that even though he’d been saying yes in an unconvincing way, he really wanted to go. It turned out that Clair wanted to go more than Chris did and that he was already flapping about the flights and couldn’t stand the thought of a 9 hour flight, even with me promising to dope him up with Dramamine. Chris eventually said to count them out and that he didn’t think they could really afford it, which was a real shame [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/pout.gif[/img] Chris can’t really remember much about our original family trip in 1989 so I would have loved to show him my most favourite place in the world! I’m sure one day I will get the chance.

So back to our story. Chris and Clair had bailed out. We checked the prices online and thankfully they were still at £500 per person for the premier class cabin, which was a steal. Again I pointed out that they wouldn’t get any cheaper than that. Ten minutes later, the flights were booked – we were all on our way to Disney World [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] It would’ve been cheaper for us to hire a villa but Jez had stayed on-site at All Star Movies in 1995 and wanted to stay on-site again, as did my mum as she wanted to experience it after hearing me and Andy rave about it. Pop Century it was then [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] After the flights were booked, Jez suggested we may as well book the car hire and get it out the way. We directed him to yescarhire.com which we’ve used many times now and got a great deal on a 7 seater minivan – ok, so there will only be 4 of us but we can spread out [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] Andy checked a couple of other sites to check their prices but nobody else was anywhere near as reasonable as yescar so it was booked. In the end to make things easy, Mum and Jez paid for the flights and the car hire and it was left to Andy and me to sort out our rooms at Pop Century. Any difference in payments will be sorted out as and when.

With the flights and car hire booked and paid for, I proceeded to book 2 rooms at Pop Century for us. The quote I got from my usual travel agent was slightly cheaper than going through Disney, but it was still expensive. I booked the rooms anyway and put down a night’s deposit on each, thinking that we would get a great AP rate anyway. Would I be proved wrong though? Not long after I’d booked the rooms, Disney announced that it was starting the Best Rate Program so no other AP rates would be available. Typical! And after we’d both raved to Mum and Jez about the excellent room rates we could get with our APs [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] Still, it was booked and we could live in hope that things might change.

Coming up: Goodie bags for everyone as our planning night gets under way [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img]

[buzzspal2]

Annabel,
I hope you have a blast. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it.

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Annabel [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] You guys are going to have a fantastic time [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[karmic]

Sounds like a great trip in the making! Can/t wait to hear more!