We booked through Virgin on advice from friends who had already flown countless times and were very happy with the delivery of tickets and information. So a breakdown of the holiday:
We were able to check in our luggage the night before departure as we live close to Gatwick. If you are staying in a hotel overnight you can take advantage of the service too… this saved us loads of hassle in the morning and meant we were in the lower seat numbers – a bonus as it meant we didn’t have to sit on the plane and wait for other people to be seated and booked in. We took the opportunity to show the kids the planes taking off which got them very excited for the next morning. The drive to the airport also tired them out somewhat, which meant they slept well that night and were not up all night bugging us asking when we were leaving. It also gave us a chance to choose some holiday reading, as we wouldn’t be spending ages waiting to book in the next morning.
The next morning was fine – we arrived at the given time – 40 mins before departure – which gave me enough time to buy some duty free – and went to board
the plane. We were one of the last to board so we took our seats and the kids spent an enjoyable half hour working out how to use the onboard video system, and check the contents of their free rucksack that they are given on arrival. The contents were good although they did not appeal to all age ranges – my 7-year-old son didn’t enjoy the book for example. But pens, notepads and quiz books were very well received. We also were given a virgin bag on board the plane which contained loads of goodies including socks, pens, notepads, balm – plus lots of other goodies. Great fun.
On the flight out we had one of the newer planes – the video screens tilt in the headrests so you can always see the screen properly. The stewardesses who were constantly coming round giving you drinks, ice creams, food passed out the headphone. The service was amazingly friendly – much more down to earth than BA.
The food was good, although it tasted obviously ‘stored’ and might have benefited from being less adventurous – my partner found most of the food impossible to eat – him being a fussy man and all. The kids main meal was a mass of spaghetti hoops and mushy potato things – they didn’t benefit from being kept warm at all and could definitely be improved. The rest of the meals – bread, cheese, deserts, little snacks – were all very good – shame the main course let it down.
The minute you come out of the airport in the US the heat hits you – it was wonderful to get into the hire car and turn on the aircon… and the hire car was almost as big as the hotel room – they don’t do anything by halves. We had upgraded from the bog-standard car to a four door car – the next stage up – and to be honest we should have saved the money and stuck with the original one. Cars in America are taken seriously and are all big, roomy and with petrol – or gas – being so cheap – aren’t expensive to run. We filled our car once for $20 and only had to top it up with the odd $5 twice… it was full when we collected it as well.
The supplied directions to the hotel were very accurate – even telling you how much to pay at the tollbooths on the way. We found the hotel easily and booked in. Now all hotels in USA are air-conditioned and ours was no exception. If you find yourself with a door key then panic – all good hotels have swipe cards and rooms with keys tend to be let by the hour – if you get my drift.
We admit to not attending the welcome meeting – my partner has been to Florida many times before and we felt we didn’t need to attend a meeting to pressure us into buying tickets for attractions – however, we did meet other people who did attend and they all said the hard sell was very minimal – plus you do get tickets to see a show for free.
As far as attractions go I will review those separately as we did so much – even swimming with dolphins – in addition to the usual tourist traps. Food wise we went self catering. Our room contained a microwave and coffee machine – but beware – most American microwaveable food is not cheap and not exactly appetising. The fridge meant we could keep cold drinks in the room – saving us a fortune with the kids asking for money for the vending machines which were located on every floor – along with the ice machines and washing machines.
Food wise we mostly ate at The Golden Corral with is indisputably the best ‘all you can eat buffet’ – and we checked a lot of them out. Ponderosa is the most famous but the selections were very limited and not at all appetising. Seafood and Chinese buffets are everywhere and although we didn’t try any – they were alleged to be excellent value – especially if you like lobster.
The morning of our flight home we had to vacate the room by 10am but Virgin let you check in your bags at Downtown Disney – allowing you to spend the whole day doing your stuff and not carrying suitcases around. They gave us vouchers to spend at Downtown but to be honest it is so expensive there the vouchers were meaningless. When we finally arrived at the airport for our return journey we found the facilities to be very good – although were amazed that there was no passport control!
The plane homeward bound was unfortunately one of the older ones – and we could tell the difference. The video screens did not tilt – and the woman in front of me decided to put her chair so far back I couldn’t see mine. The food was on a par with the outward journey and the service just as good. Shame about the seats and legroom.
Well that’s it – I’m more than happy to help anyone considering going to Florida with Virgin and will answer any questions – there is so much information it is impossible to write everything down in one review. And if you are going – happy holidays and look forward to much much fun.
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Sep 27th, 2001
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