Happy Anni-birth-aversary...A 33 night Celebration & HHN too.....SF & RPR September 2022 TR

[luvpoohandcompany]

You’re off to a great start. Prosecco and pampering- what more could a girl want!
Hopefully the bubbles help you sleep so you’re fresh as a daisy for the plane journey

 

[schumigirl]

You’re off to a great start. Prosecco and pampering- what more could a girl want!
Hopefully the bubbles help you sleep so you’re fresh as a daisy for the plane journey

Thanks!

Yes, Prosecco and Pampering could be a title.....lol.....

I do love a hotel stay though and there`s something about that night before the flight that just makes it even better.

Hope it`s not too cold where you are.....getting cooler here, but not too bad yet. At least the sun is still shining most of the day.

 

[KathyM2]

However, when we checked in they said there was a room ready but it didn`t have a runway view, we said we didn`t care if it did or not, we`d take it, we could see the runway from the Executive Lounge.

That's too bad, but since you spent so much time in the lounge you could still see the runway!! I just love watching the planes come and go. If you are ever in Vancouver, the Fairmont at the airport there has fantastic runway views, and they put a plane spotting guide in the rooms so you can try to identify the planes...that kept us amused for a good while!

With that over and done with, we made some tea after boiling the hotel room kettle several times to make sure there was nothing dodgy in the kettle leftover from previous guests! We do like a cup of tea in the room while we watch some tv that I have no memory of what it was now.

Ewww good thinking. I'm not sure I would have thought of that since I'm not a regular at making tea in hotel rooms...but if I ever do...I think I will remember you saying this lol.

Glad you made it home safe and looking forward to hearing more about the trip. You mentioned something about going back to the spa in May...are you really not going to be in Orlando again until May? Is that a record for you? (not including covid times of course)?

 

[Pumpkin1172]

And now we are off and running with the trip report!!!!!

The spa sounds divine. I love a good spa day. I don't treat myself nearly enough to those.

The bubbly with fruit ( chef's kiss ) is delightful!!!!!

 

[margareton27]

So happy to hear you got through the hurricane safely! Sorry to hear you were ill when you got home. I’m catching up after our vacation - all 3 of us came home with Covid

 

[schumigirl]

That's too bad, but since you spent so much time in the lounge you could still see the runway!! I just love watching the planes come and go. If you are ever in Vancouver, the Fairmont at the airport there has fantastic runway views, and they put a plane spotting guide in the rooms so you can try to identify the planes...that kept us amused for a good while!

Ewww good thinking. I'm not sure I would have thought of that since I'm not a regular at making tea in hotel rooms...but if I ever do...I think I will remember you saying this lol.

Glad you made it home safe and looking forward to hearing more about the trip. You mentioned something about going back to the spa in May...are you really not going to be in Orlando again until May? Is that a record for you? (not including covid times of course)?

That sounds like a hotel we’d enjoy. There’s something about watching planes at the airport, not everyone gets it……lol……

The kettle thing is something we’ve always done……especially since I read about folks using kettles/irons for other things other than what they’re supposed to be for. Everything gets washed too though…..cups and spoons too of course!

Yes, May is our next trip, and we’re glad Kyle is coming with us for that one too! It’s just under 200 days now…….

 

[schumigirl]

And now we are off and running with the trip report!!!!!

The spa sounds divine. I love a good spa day. I don't treat myself nearly enough to those.

The bubbly with fruit ( chef's kiss ) is delightful!!!!!

Well, off and sauntering really but running sounds better…….lol……..

Yes, you should treat yourself to Spa days if you enjoy them. It was only a couple of hours for me, but I did enjoy it.

We loved the fruit, and it was nice of her to bring it to us and yes, went well with the fizz!!

 

[schumigirl]

So happy to hear you got through the hurricane safely! Sorry to hear you were ill when you got home. I’m catching up after our vacation - all 3 of us came home with Covid

Oh no! So many folks are saying the same…..hope you all feel better soon and it’s not too bad for you!

Yes, we got through it with no issues, they looked after us well. And yes, this flu has whooped me. Having Covid was easier to be honest, got over it quicker……

Hope you had a lovely trip though, covid aside…….

 

[Cara]

Spa treatments sound like a WONDERFUL way to begin a vacation! Such a great idea! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[schumigirl]

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1ST

TRAVEL DAY

​

As soon as the lights went out, I did fall asleep.......for about 26 minutes, yes, as long as that! And proceeded to lay awake on and off, mainly off for the next 5 hours.

I never understood why your brain goes into overdrive as soon as you know you need to sleep. The more you tell yourself you need to sleep, the more your brain stays awake.......it`s a little like when someone tells you not to think about a drunk giraffe......all you can think about is a drunk giraffe!! Well, that might just be me of course!

But, after getting up around 84 times just to wander around and look out the window, it was finally time to actually get up at 4.45am. I looked out the window a dozen times and I`m constantly amazed at how alive the roads around the airport are, even at 2am.

I jumped in the shower first and once Tom was ready we had finished packing our last minute stuff and of course bring the passports out of the room safe, we headed down to reception, dropped off the room keys and walked down to check in.....and they had moved where Virgin usually are....that confused us!

We walked further along and found what seemed to be 2 lines merging together, never to be shy I asked one man if he was in the VA line...he kinda growled back no, fair enough......we did find the end of the VA line and we had one couple follow us as they said we looked like we knew what we were doing......lol.....er, ok.......

We were a little early, but it wasn`t long till they opened the lines and we found the Premium line was off to one side, so we joined that line and had our documents (paper documents) to show we have had all our vaccinations and passports too. Of course we stood behind the couple who were furiously trying to find their vaccination certificates on their phones!!! And failing. You can see the airline staff getting frustrated with the amount of folks that do that and they have always said it`s so much easier to have a paper copy, which we have.

At this point where they ended up having to reload their NHS info, one of the men who check your documents spotted me and pointed he knew me.....he certainly did, he had checked our documents many times over the years but had remembered us from our previous trips. He immediately passed these two by and took our info, checked the passports and we were through to drop our bags and check in. We thanked him as the couple were still faffing around and getting more and more frustrated with each other!!! Far too early to be so stressed.

Once checked in we headed to security and again we were glad we had the Fast Trak service, the regular line was around 45 minutes and we walked through in seconds and in the proper line through the other side where your bags are scanned as are you, we were especially glad of Fast Trak.

But, when our bags went through, Tom`s was pulled for a secondary check and of course claimed complete innocence and said there was nothing in his bag that shouldn`t be there. hmmm.

He had forgot a small hand sanitiser was nestled in the confines of his hand luggage! It did pass some time of course as we were too early for the Lounge we had booked. So, he dutifully apologised to the very nice man who had seen it a million times before.

Once cleared, we wandered through and waited till it was time to enter the lounge. They treat this place like a Japanese Train Schedule!!! If you`re booked for 7.30am, heaven help you if you try to enter more than a minute early. And we had a little twist this morning as in, our time had changed as our flight was slightly later and I had tried to call and change the time but they said it was fine to just turn up at the later time. And the lady who works on the door is not known for her compassion.

So, we turn up and she tells us we were booked an hour ago....yes, but our flight changed and you only get 2.5 hours before take off time. She was unusually mellow and after explaining it didn`t quite work like that, she did deign to allow us entry as it wasn`t too buy. Could have been awkward, but we were very polite to her and she was the same back.

There was quite a line to get into to this and the other slightly cheaper lounge and she was as regimented with them as we heard her turn away several folks who were too early for their time slot.

The lounge is a nice area to relax in and it`s a fair size so even when it`s busier, it doesn`t feel too cramped. And today it certainly didn`t feel like it was crowded at all as the lady initially claimed when we arrived at a different time.

Alcohol is completely help yourself, and that includes every type of alcohol you can think of including champagne which was going to be our choice this morning. As well as tea of course.

You can help yourself to items like bacon, sausages, potatoes, tomatoes, beans (yuk) and many continental options like pastries, cereals breads and croissants. If you want items like poached eggs or toast with avocado, you can order anything like that you wish. It`s a good system and it works well to be honest.

We both wanted only bacon with some toast, so we had to wait till the toast was delivered to get the bacon but when it came it was very nice.

I do have one complaint, the tea can only be made in a cup and the cups are very small. So by the time you get back to the table, it`s either cold or almost gone. Then you have to go back up.....I wish they had teapots.

Tom opened the drinks cabinet underneath and opened a fresh bottle.....you didn`t have to wait for staff to open them and some were prosecco.....so we preferred the champagne. I don`t think some realised you could do this, once we opened a bottle, it was open season!

It really is too early for us to be doing some hard drinking as in Gins, we would have liked to taste one or two we hadn`t tried before, but it was just too early.

We passed some time after we had eaten a little and drank a little, then we headed down to buy some last minute things for the plane. A big bottle of water is standard, we can as for water whenever we like on the plane, but sometimes we can`t be bothered getting up and it`s handy to have a large bottle beside us. Wet wipes for the seats and screens and a magazine I never read.

The airport is busy today and when we see the gate number announced we head back to the older part of the airport again, this our stepping back into the 1980`s after being in the newer building. It`s much cooler through here too which isn`t fun.

We did have to sit at the gate a while, and it always makes us smile when folks line up expecting to get on first when they do have a routine for boarding. Wheelchairs and assistance first, Upper then Premium and then economy. It never varies yet, the same lines happen every flight and we have to scramble through them to board, this is despite announcements for them to stand back. The plane won`t leave without you!

Eventually we do board and the woman who had absolutely refused to move as she wanted on first, had to move and let those boarding before her enter the plane. She wasn`t happy.

We got on and found our seats immediately. I was sure we had the back row on this flight, but when I looked a couple of weeks ago I noticed we weren`t, but Premium seats are still good.

​

Cabin Crew are always lovely on our flights, and today is no different, they are very friendly and do make the flight when they are so nice.

We got settled in and of course, the obligatory selfie with our glass of fizz.

Being on a plane is still so exciting for us.....I know many seasoned travellers might just take it in their stride, but for us, we still get a thrill from flying and taking off so as we sit and wait we are rumbling with excitement to take off.

We were supposed to take off at 10am, but our Captain announced he was waiting on one piece of paperwork before he could take off......it felt like forever when you`re waiting but eventually at 10.30 we pushed back and started the slow roll to the end of the runway.

Another very smooth and clean take off and we`re up in the air, won`t be long till we`re at 40,000 feet and hoping we make good time for our landing. As soon as we level off CC begin the rounds of handing out our menu`s and offering the first drinks service of the flight.

The menu was no surprise to us as 2 days before our flight, we had received an email with an option to pre book whichever meals we wanted and Tom and I had both chosen the chicken lasagne. It`s a good idea as sometimes you can end up with the sloppy choice no one else wants, usually the veggie option, but we knew what was coming today.

39,000 feet.

They are always very generous with the wines, I had two handed to me at this point, Tom chose a beer and asked for only one as he is driving at the other end of this part of the flight.

We both started watching movies, Tom a Batman one and I forget which one I was watching, well it was over 5 weeks ago now, but it wasn`t good whatever it was so I ended up watching Harry Potter and they Philosopher`s Stone....again. I love that movie though and it continues to be my favourite of all the movies.

They appear with the food after about an hour or so and I have to say, I have never seen peas served with lasagne in my life before. I hate peas.

The little appetiser was odd, the orzo was quite nice, but I hate hummus so that wasn`t ever going to be a favourite dish. The lasagne itself wasn`t too bad once I picked out the veg. Bread roll is standard and the highlight was the little dessert, it was light as air and very nice.

After we had been fed and watered, we visited the bathroom and then I settled down to hopefully sleep a couple of hours away, but took a picture of our flight info before I did.

The people behind us had reclined, so that means it`s acceptable to recline your chair on a day flight, so blanket over me, eye mask on, pillow in place and window blind drawn down......and I fell asleep.

Tom was also asleep for a while, but he woke up to find me still out for the count, so he took a picture of the screen as he knew I`d ask why he didn`t since he was awake......lol......

He said he put on another movie but I still never flinched. I had been tired.

There was no turbulence this flight, well, not much, but eventually I woke up and boy did I feel like I had been sleeping, it is nice to be able to sleep on a plane though as I know many can`t, I think I had around 4 hours sleep.

Not long after I woke up they were coming round with afternoon tea. To be honest neither of us were overly hungry, but we did enjoy the mug of tea and kinda nibbled on the offerings. I ate half of the white cream cheese and dill sandwich and part of the scone, the other two little treats were lovely, but far too sweet for me. I don`t think Tom even ate them this time around, and he does have a sweet tooth.

But, it does pass some time on the flight that does now feel as if we`ve been on it for a fair few hours, we`re ready to get off now.

Almost there....

That last hour is filled with a new excitement and trepidation of what`s ahead for us for the next four weeks. We cannot wait to get off the plane and feel that heat hit us again and I know every other person on this plane feels the same way, but that last 40 minutes goes so slow.

But, once we see MCO......you can honestly feel the buzz around the plane amplify and everyone seemingly feels the same way as there is an audible buzz around the plane as the excitement level raises itself up.

Hearing the Captain say, Cabin Crew, Seats for landing please is one of the nicest things to hear. We then know we`re probably not going to circle for an hour or head up and down the coastline for any given length of time.

Despite leaving around 40 minutes late, we landed 15 minutes early and boy did we have the smoothest landing ever.....we barely kissed the runway before the brakes were hammered on to stop us in a timely fashion, any landing you walk away from is a good one of course, but smooth works for us.

That slow trundle to the gate follows and I think we landed in the furthest away spot possible today as it took forever to get to the gate.

But, we were here, safe and sound and ready to begin our special anniversary/birthday celebrations.

​

 

[schumigirl]

Spa treatments sound like a WONDERFUL way to begin a vacation! Such a great idea! Looking forward to reading more.

lol....I think it could be my new start to a trip every time we stay there.

More coming right up.......

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

And we are off!!!!! Can’t wait to hear about it all!

 

[schumigirl]

And we are off!!!!! Can’t wait to hear about it all!

Thanks BH........more coming up soon!!

 

[margareton27]

Hope you had a lovely trip though, covid aside…….

Thanks Carole - we had a great trip with our son! Luckily we all have mild symptoms. I’m the only one that has lost sense of taste. Everything can now be described as - soft, crunchy, chewy

Margaret

 

[macraven]

I always look so forward to your trip reports!
You are a great writer and share so much with everyone.
All the readers enjoy your reports

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks Carole - we had a great trip with our son! Luckily we all have mild symptoms. I’m the only one that has lost sense of taste. Everything can now be described as - soft, crunchy, chewy

Margaret

Oh goodness, hope that doesn`t last too long!! Losing taste and smell was horrible and weird to describe......yes, texture is all you can "feel" lol

Glad you have mild symptoms though and glad it was a fabulous trip!!

 

[schumigirl]

I always look so forward to your trip reports!
You are a great writer and share so much with everyone.
All the readers enjoy your reports

Thank you so much mac......

You know how much I enjoy writing them and having everyone along for the ride too......I always hope you enjoy reading along!!

 

[schumigirl]

The airbridge was attached quickly, and we were among the first off which is always nice and we get that first blast of Floridian heat as we leave the plane which always makes everyone smile.

That walk through we have a skip in our steps as we keenly move to immigration and thankfully we don`t have to deal with any lines they may have as we still have Global Entry. Sometimes those regular lines can be horrendous.

We turn left as most go right and the machines ask you to do less and less every visit. When we first had GE, we had to fill in about four pages of info before inserting Passport and then wait, now we look at the screen and it doesn`t even spit out a piece of paper now to say you`ve been approved. There was a TSA employee there to tell folks as we did wait for that paper, well it still came out in May. So, that was it, just facial recognition before we headed to the IO and he was very pleasant again, it makes such a difference when they are friendly.

He asked what we were bringing in, we said candy, chocolate, cookies and Scottish Gin as gifts....he did joke about wanting to enjoy some of that!

Once we showed him our passports, he waved us through and I headed to the bathroom while Tom headed to the carousel waiting for the luggage. And we didn`t have to wait too long for ours this time, surprisingly they were among the first through.

We next headed up to get the little people carrier that transports us to the main area of the airport and it`s always fun going this way, the sky is beautiful and we can feel that wonderful heat again. Once off we headed straight down to the rental car area, and this was easy again, no hard sell and no trying to upgrade us to something larger. We had booked a full size SUV, so didn`t need anything bigger. But we were in the wrong side to pick up the Visitor Toll Pass, weirdly you can only pick them up from one side, so rather than us both walk back with the luggage, I parked my bum and watched the luggage while Tom very quickly headed back to get it. And he wasn`t long. Once he had that we headed over to the garage and it was slim pickings for cars in our class.

We ended up taking a Yukon which we already knew we`d be bringing it back to exchange it. It was old, not very user friendly and felt like driving a bus, but they didn`t have anything else. The lady we spoke to told us to come back in a day or so and they`d have a better choice and it`s only a 20 minute drive so we don`t mind.

This car was a heap of junk. All our trips since Covid, we have changed every car we have rented for one reason or another. Before Covid we only ever took one car back as it had a puncture and one other car, they came and exchanged it as the engine died while we were in the RP parking lot. But, we just want a good car to drive, or as best a rental car that we can get, they are hardly exciting cars to drive.

Knowing we`d be back, we set off for the short journey to Sapphire Falls and again, we turn off onto Universal Blvd and come up past the Orlando Eye and it is the nicest and most familiar of journeys on our trips. Before long we see RP first, we have to remember not to turn in there today. Soon though.

We park in the garage which sometimes the gates are temperamental going in and out, but today we just press the ticket and we get in, head up and park close to the elevators, our luggage is heavy!

I think the Porte-Cochere here is very pretty and it`s unusual to see it empty. This picture is from a couple of years ago, but I do like it.

Once inside we stop for a second and just look around, definitely feels like coming home again and we are greeted by our friend who has been looking out for us, always a delight to see him of course. He makes sure we are all checked in and then we chat for a long time, honestly we could stand and chat to him for hours, he is the nicest man on the planet. But, we eventually head to our room and I know we are going to love our room again.

The Sapphire Suite.

Out of all the suites this hotel have, this one is just about perfect for us. We have all the space in the world, comfy furniture to relax on and two bathrooms! Ideal.

Tom`s bathroom.......otherwise known as the second bathroom. He does get to shower in "my" bathroom though.......well, I do have two showers to choose from in there!!

Our lovely friend had arranged for some cheese and fruit to be in the rom when we got there, he is always so considerate and it is very much appreciated along with the water.

This suite is spacious and we do feel very much at home here, it`s a beautiful suite and is very cosy at night with the drapes drawn too and some of the low lights left on. We do plan to have at least one night where we get something from the grab and go and just enjoy an evening staying in.

I think it was Maria who said, that is the tiniest sink ever!! And it is for sure small! I think we turned the water on only a few times to rinse a glass or two when we needed too.

We never use the coffee maker, but the fridge is ideal and it`s a good fridge that leaves everything nice and chilled.

And our cosy bedroom for the next 10 nights.....very comfy bed and plenty of storage space for all of our clothes and a good sized closet too.

Carole`s bathroom......

I love this bathroom! It`s huge, spacious and has plenty of space for all my "stuff" beside the sinks.

And the view over the lagoon is one we always prefer. I never want a pool view here as it can be incredibly noisy at times, we visited someonewho had a pool view here while it was in full swing and I was glad we didn`t have it.

The lagoon view is ideal, it`s quiet and we can see the boats come and go, so if we want the boat, we can see the lines if they are too bad as they can be sometimes, so we might wait till the next boat or decide to just walk.

Once we had devoured the grapes, other fruit and some cheese, we got into unpacking which is something we can do fairly quickly. I had kept the hangers in all my clothes this time and it worked, we got unpacked and everything was hanging up in no time at all.

We got freshened up afterwards, got showered and changed before heading down to Strong Water Bar to see all the guys we were so keen to see again.

It was wonderful to see everyone again, and it was a hugfest from as soon as we walked in. I knew Fernando was working as was Maggie, Anthony and Chef Carlos who all came over to see us as soon as they knew we were in. They are just the nicest people and this is definitely the best bar in the whole of UOR.

We order drinks and Tom goes for the Last Typhoon, I opted for a Rum Mule and the ginger syrup is one of the many syrups they make in house fresh. You really can taste the difference compared to other cocktail places.

We spend ages chatting which is lovely and time passes so quickly, and almost like a miracle food appears before too long and we had chosen three of our favourites tonight......

Tuna Tiradito

Camarones which comes with the nicest bread and they do leave out cilantro when they cook it for us as we both loathe it.

The Guava BBQ pork with plantain tostones which are delicious and that pork is melt in the mouth slap you behind the head gorgeous!!!

Chef Carlos is a genius.

Our evening was passing nicely, every so often we got the chance to chat to someone else and we were fairly full at this point.

Fernando said he knew I loved coconut and white chocolate, so he wanted us to try a new dessert they are putting on the menu, a Coquito Cheesecake which was absolutely divine!!! Although as we were quite full, we asked for one between us as I didn`t think I could eat a full one.

This was almost the perfect dessert for me. It was light, full of flavour and just divine. I think we almost licked the plate!!!

We weren`t quite ready for bed just yet so I ordered a red wine and Tom opted for the very full flavoured and very strong Mai Tai........

We could have just sat all night and chatted to everyone.

At one point we noticed a woman who was wearing dark sunglasses when she got up from her table where she was sitting with her family, we didn`t give her a second glance to be honest but more folks noticed her when she did wander around, at night, inside with huge sunglasses on.

It was Baby Spice, Emma Bunton. No one really had a clue who she was.

All of a sudden.......I hit that tiredness wall. It slams you and you cannot do anything else except go to bed and sleep......it`s a weird thing as with me anyway, my brain doesn`t function as it should and words don`t appear easy, but it`s not like an intoxicated feeling, it`s very different.

So, we said goodnight to everyone, waited for Fernando as he was in his office, said goodnight to him and thanked everyone for the hospitality as always and then we set off down the corridor to our lovely suite.

I could barely keep my eyes open at this point and I had slept a little on the plane, so I thought Tom was doing well being so alert. We had been awake a long time at this point.

​

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

A celeb sighting, drinks and a gorgeous looking spread of food all in one night?!?!? That’s amazing!


Also I’m so sorry about the car. That’s insane!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Thanks!

Yes, Prosecco and Pampering could be a title.....lol.....

I do love a hotel stay though and there`s something about that night before the flight that just makes it even better.

Hope it`s not too cold where you are.....getting cooler here, but not too bad yet. At least the sun is still shining most of the day.

I love a hotel stay the night before travelling. It always feels like I’m stealing an extra day’s holiday. After reading your intro I now think all trips should start with a wee bit ( or maybe a lot) of prosecco and pampering

Not too cold here yet thankfully. I love bright autumn days just despise the rain so as long as that stays away I’m grand.

As soon as the lights went out, I did fall asleep.......for about 26 minutes, yes, as long as that! And proceeded to lay awake on and off, mainly off for the next 5 hours.

We are so alike! Why is it the minute you get into bed it’s like you’ve joined the wide awake club!

we get that first blast of Floridian heat

No better feeling!

we still have Global Entry. Sometimes those regular lines can be horrendous.

If we fly out of Dublin we clear immigration there and it is so heavenly to just skip past those horrendously long lines. If our next trip is out of Belfast I may just look into the whole GE thing. Anything beats queues after a long 9 hour flight.

Once inside we stop for a second and just look around, definitely feels like coming home again

So happy for you.

Our lovely friend had arranged for some cheese and fruit to be in the rom when we got there, he is always so considerate and it is very much appreciated along with the water.

How lovely was that. You and Tom are clearly loved very much by the resort staff. Such a nice thing to do.

And the view over the lagoon is one we always prefer.

Looks beautiful.

All of a sudden.......I hit that tiredness wall. It slams you and you cannot do anything else except go to bed and sleep....

Oh my goodness I know that feeling! I have had kids order dinner and fall asleep before it arrived and I have to admit there have been times when just walking back to my room on that first night has felt like climbing Everest once that tiredness hits. Unfortunately for me it is usually followed by waking at scary-o-clock before sunrise the following morning

Loving your report so far. So glad you got to see everyone at Strong Waters and boy hut that food looks delicious especially dessert.