Saturday 5th - Travelling

Saturday 5^th October

We’d booked car parking at Gatwick’s long stay car park for the North terminal. I drove, as we’d had to give registration plate details at the time of booking, and John was looking to change his car at that point.

Signposting was good and we found it very easily. No issues with entry, and we drove to the open section, finding a spot quickly. We unloaded the suitcases, walked over to the bus stop, and within minutes an empty bus arrived to transport us to the terminal.

Check-in was smooth, a short line that moved quickly. Whilst we were waiting, a police dog was lead down the queue sniffing our luggage.

After lots of pressure from Thomson, we’d paid to book seats, to guarantee that we’d be sat together on the flight. £60 seemed ridiculous, but the sad fact was that lots of people had already fallen for it, so we had little choice if we wanted to be sure of sitting next to each other. On a nine hour flight, who wants to sit next to a random stranger?

We dropped our luggage off, and received our boarding passes. The lady checking us in also insisted on weighing John’s rucksack that he was taking as hand luggage. In the end she didn’t raise any more queries.

Security was swift and we were soon looking for a coffee shop. No Caffe Nero, but a Starbucks proved an acceptable substitute. After breakfast, we wandered through the shops, and it was soon time to head towards the gate.

Thomson had been frantically publicising their new Dreamliner, and despite all the mechanical and technical problems it had had, we were indeed flying on a Dreamliner.

Despite the fanfare about this revolutionary new plane, at the end of the day, it was still a plane. The dimmable windows were a nice gimmick, and the windows were undeniably larger which was of course pleasant.

Unfortunately, the greatest disappointments on the new Dreamliner seemed to be the fault of Thomson Airways. The small number of toilets, just three for our section of the plane, seemed inadequate. The mood lighting which they were so proud of, was only used during the demonstration, begging the question why they bothered to install it in the first place.

The biggest let down however, was the fact that drinks were not complementary. Tea and coffee with the meal were included, along with a small cup of water. Anything else was extra. I wouldn’t be so annoyed if it were merely alcohol which incurred a fee, given that it is inadvisable to drink on a long haul flight. But to have to pay for juice, or just any soft drink, is extraordinary, and not something I have encountered with any other airline. Quite frankly, we were disgusted and it only increased our displeasure with Thomson.

An additional gripe was the in flight entertainment. The selection of TV shows, movies, and music was miniscule, and those that were available weren’t particularly current. The Prisoner of Azkaban was the most recent (and only) Harry Potter available, and the Spice Girls Greatest Hits isn’t exactly chart topping at present.

The meal consisted of Chicken A La King, some pasta salad, a part frozen, part soggy bread roll, some solid butter, and a chocolate mousse. A nice touch was the addition of a Guylian chocolate.

Arriving at Sanford, we disembarked and headed to the immigration hall. Lines moved surprisingly quickly, far quicker than our arrival at New York earlier that year. John had one finger scanned, I had my whole hand scanned, but then we were through with no issues.

Collecting our luggage, we exited and crossed the road to the Thomson section. The heat hit us immediately, but it didn’t seem too extreme thankfully. We were directed to a queue for buses, and were given an information pack, detailing our pick up time for the following Saturday, and a load of bumpf we didn’t really need, trying to sell us various excursions and add ons.

There weren’t many people on our bus, another 4 couples maximum. After a short wait we were on our way. In addition to the bus driver, there was a Thomson rep on board the coach.

She made sure to tell us about the tipping culture in the US, and reminded us that we should tip our driver for doing his job. At one point, we were asked to applaud our driver for taking the correct exit off the freeway.

She also told us the order in which we would be dropped off. We were second. The first stop was a non Disney hotel that looked nice, but nothing special.

Entering Walt Disney World, we passed under this sign:

Pulling up at Port Orleans French Quarter was a truly magical moment. The landscaping by the entrance was beautiful, and the entrance looked truly inviting. We left the coach, dutifully tipped the driver and walked into the entrance hall. We were directed right, to the check-in desks. All the check-in assistants were busy, so one of the other cast members approached us, and took us to the on-line check in desk, where she proceeded to check us in with no delay.

She presented us with our MagicBands, which were in the colours requested, and explained how they worked. She also gave us a pack of information about the resort, and asked if we were celebrating whilst we were there. As we were celebrating our first wedding anniversary, she gave us badges reading Happy Anniversary, and handwrote a number 1 on them.

With a map for guidance, we were then directed to our building. We found it fairly quickly, and soon located our room, with the help of useful signposting.

Our room was beautiful. Dark purple bedspreads with dark wood headboard. Two queen beds, a small table and two chairs, a dresser with mini fridge and TV.

The sinks (plural) were outside the bathroom, which had a bath with shower over. The layout and size of the room were absolutely perfect.

We were greeted by the famous Mickey Mouse towel shape:

We quickly unpacked, finding plenty of space in the drawers and ‘wardrobe’. Then it was off to the food court. It had been a while since we’d eaten and we were both starting to feel hungry. Plus, we had to pick up the mugs which would supply us with unlimited refills while at the resort.

At first we weren’t sure about what we could get with our dining plan, but we soon got used to it. Each meal credit consisted of one entree, one dessert, and a drink. I opted for Parmesan chicken, with the famous New Orleans beignets for dessert. John went for Chicken Alfredo, with fruit salad.

John was pleased to find that the food court had Monster, and that he could get it as part of the dining plan. Both our meals were cooked fresh, and we were given a device that buzzed when they were ready.

The found court didn’t seem to be particularly large, but I was prepared for that. Despite its small size, there were plenty of choices, and we never had a problem finding a seat, whenever we ate there.

The decorations here weren’t particularly noticeable unless you looked up, and found the ceiling covered with masks, and other Mardi Gras props.

Once we’d finished, we decided to explore the resort. We wandered around, found the pool, though John was disappointed by its shape, which precluded swimming. I was struck by how detailed the theming was. The hedgerows, plants and flowers were all cultivated to perfection, and the buildings were clearly maintained meticulously. Beautiful pastel colours with exquisite ironwork railings. Even the street signs were themed. To top it off, there were squirrels running around everywhere.

We then strolled along the river, and up to the Riverside section of the resort. Although again the resort was beautiful, with such attention to detail, it was rather too large for my liking, and I was glad we’d chosen French Quarter.

 

Once we’d done a full circle of Riverside, we continued back down the river to French Quarter. We were both tired and so decided to call it a night, ready to hit Animal Kingdom early the next day.

Disney World - Planning

The next few posts will chronicle my recent trip to Disney World, fulfilling a long held dream. Up first, planning and preparation.

I’d been desperate to go to Disney World for a while, so when John had a moment of weakness and conceded that we could go, we went to the travel agents that same evening. I’d already done all the research and got prices, so I knew that Thomson’s was cheapest.

I’d originally intended to go for one of the value resorts, as the cheapest on site properties. On site was something of a no brainer for us, given that neither of us wanted to drive on the wrong side of the road. Disney World’s convenient bus transportation to each of the parks, as well as the lure of being completely immersed in the World, and the favourable reviews in the Unofficial Guidebook, made the decision for me.

Having looked at the value resorts, I quickly ruled out the three All Star hotels, as being too loud and noisy for us. There was a newer resort, Pop Century, and one in the process of being built, Art of Animation. These did have better reviews than the All Star hotels, and so made it to the ‘potentials’ list.

When pricing up the holiday on various websites, I noted Disney was offering a free dining plan for the dates we were looking at. If we stayed at a moderate category hotel, rather than a value, we would be given a free quick service dining plan. This comprised two counter service meals per day, plus one snack per day, and unlimited drink refills at our hotel. If we stayed at a deluxe category hotel, we would be given the standard dining plan, comprising one counter service meal, one table service meal and one snack per day, plus the unlimited drink refills.

Looking at the price difference between the deluxe and value hotels, I quickly eliminated this option. The extra money just didn’t seem good value, despite the loveliness of the hotel photos.

When studying the moderate hotels however, it was a different story. Positive reviews about the extra space, improved theming, less crowded food courts, bus stops and pools appealed to my dislike or overcrowding. The price difference was less than the cost of the mealplan, and I began to realise the benefits of a moderate resort far outweighed the increased cost.

The question then, which moderate category hotel to choose?

Reading the brochures, and the Unofficial Guide, it soon became obvious that the best choice for us was the Port Orleans – French Quarter.

Smaller than the other moderates, winning praise for its theming, and seeming to have a central location, with good access not only to the parks, but also to Downtown Disney, for additional dining options, it was the clear favourite.

I bought the Unofficial Guide 2013, along with the Birnbaum guide, and learnt everything they could tell me. Desperate to visualise what I’d only read about, I bought the Unoffical Colour Companion. When the Unofficial Guide team released their 2014 edition, I bought that too.

Between finishing the 2013 edition, and waiting for the 2014 edition, Disney World made some major changes. Called MyMagic+, it introduced wristbands (aka MagicBands) with built in RFID technology, that would function as room key, park ticket, and charge card. In addition, Disney introduced Fastpass+.

Previously, Disney offered Fastpasses for certain rides, in the form of a small slip of paper dispensed from a machine next to the ride entrance. The return time was set by the machine, dependent on the number of people who had already obtained fastpasses that day. The new system allowed reservations up to 180 days in advance, at a time of your choosing, for three attractions in one park per day.

I joined a forum called wdwmagic.com, where other Disney fanatics discussed favourite attractions, hotels and restaurants, as well as latest developments, and trip reports. MyMagic+ was in its testing phase, and there were various forum threads from people who had been selected to take part in the test.

When information was posted to say that Port Orleans French Quarter was taking part in the test, I was over the moon. I logged onto mydisneyexperience.com and was able to customise our MagicBands by choosing their colour and adding our names. I opted for pink, John for red.

I was also able to select our fastpasses for each of the days we were there. I’d used touringplans.com to create personalised touring plans based on what I’d classed as must sees, figuring that we could use any free time once we’d finished the touring plan to do other attractions, as time allowed. I used the touring plans to decide which fastpasses to select, and was quite pleased with my reservations. I didn’t have any issues getting what I wanted, and the system was fairly easy to use, however I can imagine that once the system is opened up to all guests, it will be very difficult to get exactly what you want, when you want it.

In addition to these fastpasses, the forum was suggesting that an additional fastpass was available for Be Our Guest, a new restaurant at the Magic Kingdom, themed after the Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast, and fast becoming the hottest ticket at Disney World. I followed the instructions from the forum and was able to get a fastpass for one of the days we were planning to be at the Magic Kingdom.

I printed out our touring plans, reservations and ESTAs, and packed the suitcases. We were ready.

A new meaning to the phrase 'short break'

Never have I been so appalled by a room that I asked for my money back. Until I stayed at this hotel.

When I was growing up, the hotel had a reputation for being a classy place. It was the kind of place we went for a Mothers Day meal, as a treat for a special occasion. A place we could take my Grandma and Great Grandma, and know they would really enjoy themselves. A place the staff would attend to your every need, a place that gave out chocolates in pretty boxes at the end of a meal. A place where the food was good, and the atmosphere, decor and surroundings were enjoyable.

Going home at short notice for a weekend, staying on my parents' couch for a night wasn't really feasible, due to a dog with a propensity for nipping me, and a husband who understandably doesn't particularly enjoy sleeping on a small sofa bed.

At Christmas we stayed at the Premier Inn, but at such short notice it wasn't particularly cheap. Looking elsewhere, I found that the hotel in question was offering a particularly good deal, with dinner, bed and breakfast for around £40. Given its reputation, and my positive memories when I was younger, I booked.

The car park was full, which we took as a good sign. Unfortunately we were mistaken.

The lobby was full of people I never hope to see again. At check in, the receptionist told me they had two coach parties in, on a mystery tour, heading to an unknown destination via an unknown hotel, which turned out to be this place. Resorting to getting business by taking bookings from customers who didn't know where they were going should have been a warning sign.

On check in, I was charged a fee for using a debit card. When I protested that there hadn't been anything on the website about a debit card charge, I was told I could pay in cash. As I don't carry that much cash on me, and didn't have time to go and find a cash machine, I was forced to pay the fee.

Checking my booking confirmation earlier, I discovered that the debit card charge was already included in my room rate.

We were given our room key, and poor directions to the lift. Having asked another member of staff who then pointed us in the right direction, we made our way along the smoke filled, stuffy corridor.

Opening the door, I was relieved to find the room didn't smell as bad as the corridor. The longer I spent in the room however, the stronger the smell, which was mixing with a musty stench, grew.

The walls were cracked and dirty, the wallpaper was peeling in places, and there were cobwebs hanging from the ceiling.

When I went into the bathroom, I found stains on the floor that might have been blood, or might have been a result of someone not quite making it to the toilet in time. Either way, I was disgusted enough to decide that the ten minutes I'd been in the room was already too long.

I made my way back down the corridor, to reception. The receptionist told me that there was another double room we could have. I asked if it was on the same corridor. When she confirmed that it was, I declined. If smoke from the corridor had filled one room, I didn't see any reason why the other rooms on the corridor would be any different.

When she told me there were no more rooms, I had reached my tolerance threshold, and demanded my money back. After they'd taken down a list of my complaints, and added them to what seemed to be an already long list of complaints about other rooms, the receptionist agreed to refund my money, debit card charge and all.

There are several morals to this story, the first of which is that you get what you pay for. We should have paid the extra in the first place for the Premier Inn. In the end, we did end up staying there, for £60, but we had a comfortable king size bed, a clean room, and staff who couldn't do enough to make our stay a pleasant one.

The second, is that you don't need to put up with something that doesn't meet your standards. In the past, I would have just put up with it, but the more hotels I stay in, the more I realise I have the right to a decent room.

The third, is that things change. Memories don't necessarily translate to the present.