We are home! Highs and Lows from our trip

We are back from an amazing trip! It wasn't quite as good as it could have been as I'll cover in my highs and lows. We tried not to let the lows drag us down and the highs were so good it was hard to stay down for long.

I'll start with the lows so as to end on a high

Lows

We had 3 major lows which really did impact our trip.

Biggest low was of course losing our furbaby the day we travelled to the airport We picked up his ashes today. Coming home was so hard, while we were away I tried to put it on the back burner to deal with when I got back but it deeply impacted the first few days of the trip and it kinda ruined Key West a little bit for me as there was lots of down time which meant I thought lots whereas once we got to Disney I was constantly distracted. We arrived back last night and I've been looking for him all the time.

Finding out just before coming home that my aunt's ovarian cancer was back it was about a year ago when they first found it. She had stage 3c then (the very last stage before stage 4 and terminal) so not really sure what happens next. She has to have a lot of chemo for at least a year. Not the news we wanted to hear of course.

Sy's mum. We have been on many trips together but this trip she just wasn't right, she knows she wasn't right and she does regret it but she couldn't really help it. There are reasons which I wont go into as its not my place but it was hard. Nothing was right, she was unhappy with everything. She said what a great trip she had but honestly, you would have thought she hated it. Every day we were late, I ended up cancelling a lot of meals just cause I didn't see the point in spending $$$ if she wasn't going to enjoy it and make it uncomfortable. I really feel so bad for my parents who spent so much money which they had to scrape together to be able to come. We all still love her and we know she couldn't help it, but it doesn't change the fact that she did ruin it to a degree

Yachtsman's steakhouse. Awful food, 3 out of 6 meals went back. Manager took 2 off the bill right away and when we questioned the last meal she agreed to take that off too but as she turned she rolled her eyes! I actually saw her do that (along with my mum) so I went to follow her to speak to her. I wasn't rude however I made it clear that I do not expect that sort of behaviour from a server let alone a manager. She did apologise and said she hadn't even realised she had done it. I mean honestly, I could understand if we were 'those' sort of guests, moaning, having a go, aggressive etc but we weren't! We were genuinely disappointed cause we had been looking forward to that meal for so long. As it happens I spoke to another Disney foodie who ate there that night and had an awful meal too, he suggested it might have been the B squad in that night lol it was such a shame as it was our parents last night, it left such a bitter taste.

Grand Floridian Cafe. Breakfast on the morning of our vow renewal, we arrived to a mahoooosive amount of people waiting and knowing I had to get ready I asked how long the wait would be for our table and I was told about 15 minutes, I told the girl exactly why I was anxious and in a rush so 40 minutes past our ADR I was properly panicked and we were seated ahead of the queue! And to top things off, half the place was empty, our food took another 40 minutes to arrive and when it did it was stone cold but the plates boiling, the eggs and hollandaise sauce had film on the top. Manager got the new meals rushed out but there was no real apology or offer of a drink or anything which might have been nice, we also told her why we were in so much of a rush.

The Wave. The other ADR on our Vow Renewal day LOL oh dear. Service was excellent and food tasted great but again it was cold on hot plates, and came out in stages so the people who were served first had finished by the time the last people got their food. My chicken was raw, when I pointed it out to the server she right away told me I must be mistaken but took it away, I felt ill so went to the bathroom and while I was there she came back to apologise at the table as she said it was very raw and the kitchen were investigating how that could happen. Just as I returned the manager returned with a fresh meal however I didn't really fancy it then lol. He did apologise and take it off the bill right away though. I would go back and give it another go mind you so it wasn't that bad

The fire alarm going off at 3:10am on the night before our parents last day. It was the second time it had gone off but the first time at night. We called front desk right away and they said they were sending someone up. 20 mins later and no one had arrived so we called again but no one had raised the ticket so no one was coming. They said as it has stopped just go back to sleep and someone would be up in the morning. We didn't sleep properly after that, I had nightmares about Wilbur all night this meant the last day we were knackered and Sy's mum was worse than ever. We went to the front desk the next morning to ask when someone would be coming and again no one had been sent. Later that evening after Yachtsman's steakhouse we went to the front desk to find out who to speak to about the manager and we asked if our fire alarm had been looked at again. Turns out a ticket STILL hadn't been raised and no one had been sent. So they sent someone right away, what was causing it was a dead battery in one of the alarms but it hadn't been 'chirping' so we had no idea.

Our Vow Renewal cake. We had someone from nearby make our cake, it was a lot of money for what it was and it slipped as soon as we got it in the car, she hadn't used any dowels to keep the cake together and she had done lots of layers with thick filling, her response was 'well I'll give you a discount next time'. Thanks but no thanks. Plus the cake was super heavy and not that great tasting. Should have stuck to Disney

We had marked a few ADR's with special occasions including the wave as a wedding meal, we arrived in our wedding attire and yet still they didn't even put any sprinkles on the table I read about other people tables getting decorated, personal menus at places etc. and we didn't get any of that. I know I shouldn't expect it but I had kinda hoped.

Tokyo dining. I was very ill after eating and had to rush out. My friend Anna had eaten the same as me and about 15 minutes after I left she was very ill as well so can only assume that it was this meal. The food was only okay, I wouldn't be in a rush to go back, especially after being so ill.

Having to miss out SO much from the plan. Cause we were constantly waiting for someone loads of stuff didn't get done, didn't even make it to the seas in Epcot, no tower of terror, kissing round the world got dropped didn't eat much round the world, cancelled our trip to blizzard beach, cancelled golf cart for the day at Ft Wilderness, didn't get to try anything at Karamel Kuche... Still, there's always next time!

Last few days there was a cold front so we had to go out and buy jumpers. We had a wishes fastpass which we almost froze trying to stay for, everyone around us were wearing scarves, hats and gloves!!

The fridge breaking in Kidani villas and water ruining the zebra dome's Sy had surprised me with along with the white chocolate Mickey

The Mandara spa. Where to begin with this one? A week before our scheduled treatments I was sent an email advising me that my manicure would be taking place in a treatment room rather than the nail salon as they had work being done. I didn't worry at all however I totally should have. When we arrived we were told we had to get changed in the treatment rooms as the changing rooms were being renovated, the steam rooms were out and the bathrooms were shared male and female. Why did no one mention this when they emailed me?? I was really upset, there was no spa experience to be had, just our treatments. We ended up leaving without our treatments as it was a huge amount of money for just a couple of treatments without any of the relaxing spa side. The girl did apologise but I really do think that they were very unfair not to let us know about all of the work before we arrived.

Not making the most of Ft Lauderdale, we were seriously tired by the time we arrived so we ended up staying in and getting take away, and it was rubbish.

Not taking enough video for a vlog. I really wanted to have a go at a day to day vlog this trip but what with not feeling ourselves for the first few days and then there being an atmosphere a lot of the time it just didn't feel right. I might put something together in week batches or something instead. Anyone have any program recommendations? I usually use windows movie maker but lets face it, I doubt 20 mins would go by without it crashing Needs to be super user friendly for me haha

Highs

Our Vow Renewal. It was perfect, even though we had not the best meals in the day it was still the best day. Randy Chapman was our photographer and he was AWESOME. I love our pics. Our celebrant was Tim Herring and he was a great character. Unfortunately he got a few things wrong but it didn't really matter. Our dear friend Carrie from Destination Occasion, she arranged the whole thing for us and she stayed the day too. Her hubby Mark couldn't get the day off so she facetimed him during our ceremony so he could be there too! How sweet is that?! She took care of every detail on the day so I didn't have to worry about a thing. Our desserts at Top of the World Lounge were AMAZING! They totally gave us loads more than we had asked for without charging, plus they honoured our TiW card so we got 20% off the food as well as the drinks (which they had said they wouldn't be able to do when I booked it). There was SO much left over but we made a good dent in it over the next few days.

Flying home Premium economy. Wow. I'm changed. I would totally fly out economy and fly back premium again if I got the chance and it wasn't too expensive. I slept pretty much the whole flight! That never happens! Plus we got to bring 4 hold cases back between us and we had 6 hand luggage and they didn't even weigh the hand stuff let alone tell us we had too many

Cake! We did get an amazeballs cake from Amanda at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. She said we would need an 8in cake for 6 people and boy she was soooooooo wrong! We didn't even get through half that first night lol but we did finish almost all of it in the coming days. The cake was delish. Vanilla sponge with a whipped cream coating and strawberries and custard filling. It was one of the nicest cakes I've ever had. Plus for some reason we were charged $23 for it instead of the $40 I was quoted from Amanda. Best $23 I've ever spent

Getting upgraded to 1 night club level with a theme park view in the Grand Floridian main building. We arrived at the villas and were given a handicapped room. Unfortunately someone gets this room if no one has specifically booked it. I went to ask on the off chance we could move as it was the start of our 'honeymoon' (our parents went home that day). Christa on the front desk was flicking about and chatting to us and we went on to tell her about the fire alarm, Sy's mum and the yachtsman's and that's why we had the handicapped room, our holiday was cursed lol she went out the back and was gone a good 20 minutes and came back and told us she didn't have anything there for that night but she was taking us right over to the main building! I was totally speechless! I was only asking if we could move on the off chance, I was fully prepared to take the room, I just wanted the stand alone shower which that room didn't have.

Our room at the villas. We had 1429 which looked towards MK so each night we could watch the fireworks! Amazing!

Kidani Village was great, though we had a room in a curve which pretty much meant we had no sun on our balcony at all, plus the animals never really came that close. The hotel and the room were still gorgeous though.

Upgraded to a suite in Ft Lauderdale, the hotel was stunning and the rooms we were given can only be described as WOW!

Parrot Key Hotel in Key West. It was BEAUTIFUL. Would definitely stay there again in Key West.

The cheese seminar at the food and wine festival. I didn't go but Sy says I must add this in. He went with both dad's as their birthday presents. They had a great time and Sy would love to go to another seminar next time

Lots of great food, Sanaa, Yak & Yeti, Via Napoli, Be Our Guest, Chef's de France, Texas roadhouse (went to on the advice from people on here, thanks very much!), Blue heaven in Key West - key lime pie was seriously scrummy and I don't even like key lime pie! Key Plaza creperie in Key West. Gorgeous food, beautiful setting and the owner was so sweet.

MNSSHP, we had a blast! Apart from Sy's mum, it got so bad at the end of the night Sy said something to her and she stormed off while we were making our way out. We debated buying tickets to another night after they had gone home to properly enjoy it but decided we couldn't really afford it.

Hoop De Doo, if you haven't yet seen the show then you really are missing out! This was our second visit and our parents first. The night was a hit with everyone

No rain! Well, apart from 1 day where we were driving from Key West to Ft Lauderdale.

Meeting some amazing friends, some old friends and some new ones. Some we knew each other on the forums or on facebook. I was even spotted out a few times by people who had read my trip reports!

A real American halloween! Our friend Carrie hosted a halloween party for lots of her British friends, it was so much fun! Loved seeing all the kids (and lots of parents!) dressed up. They all seemed pleased with the British candy too

Marceline tour. One word. WOW. If you have never done a tour then this is the best place to start, not only is it pact with amazing info, it was a staggeringly low cost at $30! I think Disney may well come to their senses and raise the price right up so my advice is get it booked and do it soon. It was such good value. 3 & 1/2 hours of geeky fun. All of our family enjoyed it as well which says something as they aren't Disney geeks like us at all.

Sunrise Safari at AKL. We were able to book this as they opened up booking to any DVC member staying at AKL on points. Its also available for club level guests. This was another amazing tour. Our guide was not only Bradley Cooper's lookalike but he was SO nice and informative. Our safari was meant to be over by 9am ready to have breakfast however we were out on the Serengeti for much longer, we even got to see the Lions playing! The breakfast was very much only okay, however that wasn't the reason for the tour - it was just an added bonus

And finally, some wonderful Cast Members. We had lots of great experiences with CM who went what I would consider to be above and beyond. I've taken notes of some of the names (some I didn't catch or I forgot right away). Sometimes it was just the little things they they did, for example Helen at the club lounge, when Sy said he liked the oatmeal cookies she asked if he would like one wrapped to take away - when she came back she had wrapped about 10! My mum felt a bit unwell while we were watching the Frozen singalong so went to the bathroom, the CM who helped her out told her to come back and he would let her right back in, he even asked her if she was okay when she got back and asked if she needed any help - we spoke to his manager on the way out to commend him! And then there was the amazing Christa at the Grand Floridian, Disney will be getting an email about her and how awesome she was. Of course you always get the odd one of 2 CM's who maybe aren't as helpful or smiley, and then on very rare occasions you get one like the Yachtsman's manager, but I truly believe these are so few and far between. That's what brings us back to Disney time and time again

Anyway, I've rambled on for FOREVER now so I better dash... I think I have more writing to do TR watch this space!

Oh and before I forget, thought you might be interested to see a little teaser pic, one of my favourites from the day...