Let the Journey Begin

So I am just finishing my first week here and already I feel like I have been here for a long time.

I suppose I better start from where I left off with the travel, and let me just say I really do think I am jinxed when it comes to travel!

So Saturday morning was a very stress free morning, I got up, had french toast, got my stuff together, done the last minute checks and then headed to the airport. Steph wasn't coming as it would have been too emotional, but I understand. Now up until this point I was fine, hadn't really got emotional (well other than my party) but in the car to the airport it sort of just hit me that that was me leaving. I did have a bit of a cry in the back seat, and it didn't help that Pauline text Real Radio in the car to wish me good luck. The guy on the radio read it out and when he got to the part where it was saying "working in Disney for a year" he was like, that is just sickening, that is a dream job! So I got a bit emotional at that as well, but then I was fine.
We then got to the airport and sat for a wee while and I checked my case in, and surprisingly it was 21.9kg, but I had 23kg so I was happy with that.but then thinking I could have taken more! Then it was time to head through security, and once again I had a bit of a cry when I was saying bye, and so did my dad and this time he can't blame it on the wind! So after I said my byes I headed through security, not looking back and that was me really on my way. The flight from Glasgow to Gatwick was fine, but then I got to Gatwick and by the time I got off the plane and got my case, as they just seemed to take forever getting there,  I had missed the bus to the Hotel, (little did I know that the bus that passed like 3 times went by the hotel as well, they don't advertise that one!) so I had to wait for an hour to get the next bus.
When I finally got to the hotel and checked in I got told that they hadn't taken the money for the room when I booked it back in November which I was not too amused about, but luckily I had money in my bank that I could pay it. I went and dropped of my case and then met Matthew, one of my travel buddies. So we just went to the room and watched some t.v. while waiting for Vicky to arrive, once she did we went for a final carvery before we left, then came back to the room and watched Tangled, I really do want a Pascal! We then all went to bed as we had an early morning the next morning.

Up we got and headed downstairs to get the shuttle to the airport, but it was full so we had to wait for the next one, but there was a bus running shortly so we went over to the bus stop to get that but when that came it was already full so we ended up having to wait on the next one, which luckily came only a few minutes later. It just ment however that we got the bus to the airport at the time we said we would meet Myah there, but we got there finally. We got checked in and then had to wait in the longest security queue ever! it was as if they only had like 2 desks working and all these people trying to get through, so we didn't get through until like 7.30 and we had the airport lounge booked from 6 - 9, so not amused about missing out on so much of it, but when we finally got there it was totally worth it, had breakfast and we all had a drink with Myah or her final legal drink for the year and then headed to the gate. We got on the plane right away which was great, and that was pretty much where the good things finished.

We got on, and got seated and somehow I managed to fall asleep before we had even taken off. I was surprised at this as I can't normally sleep on planes,  but I woke up about 45 minutes later but it felt like it was only 10 which was ok as it passed some of the time. When I woke up though that is when I realised just how loud the plane was and also how cold it was. I have never been that cold on a plane before, I was shivering and had to use the blanket over the whole way, also because it was so loud and the earphones where crap on the plane for everyone around the same area, not sure if it was the whole plane, but I couldn't hear the movies that where playing so we didn't really have much to do, so it was a really long and boring flight.

Whenever the arrival times would come up on the screen, I would get a little worried as we only had a 1.5 hour layover and the flight was running late. So after a long flight we finally came in to land, and it was the worst landing I have ever had. Instead of coming down at a slant it felt like the pilot was going down in big steps. It made our tummys jump more that the tower of terror it was that bad, but we finally arrived and then the fun really began!

Getting off the plane took forever and then we had to go through customs, collect our bags and recheck them again and then got through security again, now by the time we got our cases it was about 2.30 and our next flight was leaving at 3, there was a huge queue to get our bags through and then another queue to get through security so we asked if there was a fast way through because of when our next flight was but all we got was just queue there, queue there, you will make it! I knew we wouldn't and they were all so unhelpful! I was not amused. Once we had rechecked our bags we then went to security, and in Atlanta they use the x-ray machines on random people and lucky me I got chose, but just as I was about to get it (after waiting in another queue) it broke down so I had to go back through the normal way, but I had gave one of the security people my passport just as I was about to get in but that person walked off somewhere and it wasn't until I got through security and was about to run to try and get the plane did I realise I didn't have it, so I had to go back. I saw my passport just lying on a table at security, nobody was looking after it, it was just unprotected, and I thought that was supposed to be security! So we then had to get a underground to the other terminal to get to the plane, so we all ran to the gate and got there for 2.55 but the gate had closed and the plane had already left! So we had to go and get rebooked into another flight but the next flight where all 4 of us where guaranteed was not until 6 but we were put on the standby list for the flight at 4, so we waited to see if we could get on that, but unfortunately only 3 of us could, so we just decided to wait together for the 6pm flight. We got some food and then headed to the new gate and where finally on the way again.

We landed in Orlando airport and me and Matthew had planned on getting phones at the airport because it said online that we could but when we got to the phone shop and they didn't do phones, so we were not happy! So we just headed to the hotel and when we got there Vicky checked in no problem but when I went to check in they said they couldn't find my booking! Starting to get extremely frustrated now as nothing seemed to be going right, but after about 25 minutes they finally found it, stupid travel republic done something odd! We headed to the rooms left our luggage and headed to walmart, no luck with phones there either, so none of us were very happy at this either as we had all hoped to be up and running with our phones right away so we could get in touch with other people here and also home cheaper, but it just wasn't to be so we got sme stuff and headed back to the hotel to start our mini holiday which I will give details on the next post.

So that was my exciting travel experience but I got here finally, safe and sound and thats all that matters!

xxx

Last Post From Home

Well like the title says, this is the last post I will be doing from home as I am flying out tomorrow, well actually as I am writing this today!

So all my packing is done, well I hope anyway, and if I have forgot something then I'm sure I will be able to get it no problem over there. Sitting in my room, it doesn't look like I'm leaving apart from the suitcases at the bottom of my bed, it still doesn't feel like I'm leaving either, its just such an odd time. I know I'm leaving, everyone else knows I'm leaving and keeps asking if I'm nervous but to be honest I'm not. I am sure it will hit me either on the plane or maybe even after a few weeks of being in Florida and realising that I wont be coming home after a holiday. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens.

So I would say that's pretty much all my goodbyes done, well with Stephanie it wasn't really a goodbye as a "I'll text you", hehe. I am kinda glad about that as I just know that she would start crying and it would set me off, she might come to the airport in the morning and if she does it is going to be awkward and emotional, but I just keep saying to her that it's only a year and not much happens in a year.

At the airport I do think that there will be tears (mainly from my dad!), but  by the wonder that is the world wide web it will be easy to keep in touch with everyone, whether its through video calls or something as silly as a facebook message, it just means that I am going to be in touch no matter what.

So I am going to leave it here for now and say that "Daria's Disney Adventure" is finally beginning!

Final Week

Well as the title suggests this is my final week before I leave and I feel like I just don't have enough time.

So today I have been doing all the stuff that I said to myself I would do last week like paperwork and packing. I got most of the paperwork completed I just need to get it sent off. Hopefully I will be getting a tax rebate and also money back from my road tax because the car will be getting sorned. I have cancelled everything today that needs to be done, well I hope so anyway, and have done most of the rest of it. The one thing I haven't been able to do so far is the car insurance because the renewal hasn't came in yet, so I'm just going to call them tomorrow and see if I can get it done sooner so I don't have to worry about anything else, well apart from packing.

Speaking of packing I decided to buy a new suitcase today. It was totally by chance as I was only on the Argos website to check dimensions of the one I already have and I saw that they had a sale on for the same style as the hand luggage case my uncle got me for Christmas so had a look. Lucky me the matching one was on sale for £24.99 so I thought why not, and it fits the dimensions for Delta perfectly and its pretty lightweight which is always a bonus. It means now I'm all matching with my cases, but this will be the first time I wont have a bright girly colour so I will need to remember that at the baggage reclaim.

So tonight I will partly pack and see what last minute things I need to get. I'm hoping it's not a lot but I will just have to wait and see. I'm sure I wont but then again I will probably end up over packing like I do every time I go somewhere. I suppose it is a bonus that I will be able to buy anything that I forget there, plus new stuff when I need it.

The thing with it being my last week means I am trying to see a lot of people before I go and like I said at the start there just doesn't seem to be enough time for it all. It also means starting the goodbyes which is going to be interesting. I think I will be ok after having a cry on Friday night, but I think the hardest ones will be Natalie and Stephanie because if they start crying then I don't know if I will be able to control myself but I am going to try, I mean its only a year and if I think back to what has happened in the past year its not really been that much.

That will do me for now but I will make sure and update this before I start the journey, maybe by then I will be nervous and need somewhere to ramble, well more than I normally do.
So until next time :-D

My Leaving Night

Well last night I had my leaving night, but it wasn't what I had expected. I thought that we were going to start with a charity night and then head into town but how I was wrong.

The charity night I was told we were going to was actually a surprise party for me. My friends and family are all sneaky buggers but I love them for it. The day started with me going for a wander round the shops with Natalie and going for lunch then headed back to hers and watched The Little Mermaid, getting right into the Disney feel. So we started to get ready and let me just say face paint is such a pain to get on and looking good, it took me forever, Natalie had done her hair and make up and got ready and I was still doing my face paint! HAHA!

Now this is when the fun starts: what I was aware of was that we were going to go to the weevers just after 8, but 8 came and Natalie said she had to call her dad (unknown to me Stephanie text her to stall!) so she went upstairs, now if anyone knows me you will know I hate being late anywhere so I heard Natalie finishing up upstairs so I called a taxi so that we could go right away. Natalie was a bit shocked but obviously didn't say anything so off we went, on the way there I was texting Stephanie just to see how it was looking so far, and she was doing a good job at lying as she had been all up until this.
In the taxi I said to Nat that it wouldn't surprise me if I saw my uncle there as it was his local and he always goes to things there, once again there was a shocked silence, (thinking about it I really am so unobservant). So we got there and Steph met us outside and we headed in, and yup the first person I saw was my uncle, but then there was shouting and as I looked around I saw everyone else and just couldn't help but start to cry as I really had no clue.

It was so nice to see everyone together like this as there was some people there that I haven't seen in such a long time. It took me a long time to get over the shock of it all and there was a few comments that this was the quietest they had ever heard me, but as the night went on the shock wore off and I really started to have a good time. I think everyone did. Everything that was arranged was perfect, it was a great night.

I knew I had some really great family and friends, but for them to organise this altogether I really couldn't ask for any better. I am going to miss everyone while I'm away but this was a great send off.