StuartI am writing this back in blighty where it is cold and rainy. I am missing Orlando already.
On Thursday I reluctantly checked out of the Port Orleans Riverside in preparation for my journey home. I went to Perkins for one last American breakfast (only a 10 minute drive from the hotel) before returning my car to the Disney Car Care Center.
Getting to the Car Care Center in Orlando was really easy and they are very efficient. I handed over the keys, they scanned the barcode on the car then I got the free bus Alamo provided back to the Riverside. I decided to do it this way as I could keep my luggage stored there. Getting the luggage service to collect the luggage from my room is a godsend as it could be quite a long walk to the lobby area (especially with the amount of luggage I was taking home!)
The Disney Magical (tragical) Express picked me up at 3.30pm and took me back to the airport. Even this is a very slick operation as the video for the airport information started the moment I crossed the line out of Disney property. I almost shed a tear when MICKEY MOUSE was chanted for the last time. Well done for making me emotional, Disney. 😊
I got to the airport and checked in to Upper Class with Virgin Atlantic. I went through the chaos that is US airport security although surprisingly it was quicker than I thought and the security staff were really friendly.
I went to the Delta first class lounge at Orlando airport. The name is the only first class thing about this lounge. Although it had comfortable seats, the food and drink were nearly non-existent and you had to pay for anything decent to drink. Virgin should be ashamed about using this lounge. One nice touch was a member of Virgin staff was there to escort us to the gate and I was glad they did as the gate was very crowded.
I settled myself down in to my Upper Class seat, I had 6A and the layout of these seats does feel like you are not travelling with anyone else. I was delayed by an hour due to a storm passing overhead which closed the airport so sat and watched in flight entertainment drinking champagne until we took off. Such a hardship!
One nice thing about travelling upper class is that you can sit together for dinner as the footstool turns into a seat. However, the person sitting on the footstool may feel it a bit cramped. We had dinner together then I got some sleep after changing in to my sleeper suit. I was woken up for breakfast which included cereal, croissants and a full English breakfast if you wanted it. The crew were very nice and Amanda and Tracy are a credit to Virgin.
We landed about 20 minutes late but I managed to get through immigration and collected our bags. The driver collected us from arrivals and I made the 3 hours journey back home.
I had an absolutely magical time and I can’t wait to go back.
