V-Flyer

Hi all,

I've been lurking for a while but have never posted

I have been wanting to take my son to Disneyland for a while and finally took the plunge and booked through VH for Feb 15.

I intially booked PE but after reading through pages and pages of posts I decided to change to UC. It's a surprise so can't wait to see his face!

I'll be flying from LGW on 11.2.15.

I want to have the best possible experience for my first UC trip, in fact my first flight with Virgin so if anyone has any hints or tips they would be welcome!

Also, does anyone know why you don't get miles on children's tickets?

I've also been chatting on livechat this morning to virgin and they confirmed that you can no longer prebook your seat from 25th June

I know it's ages away yet, but I'm just so darned excited!

AJ

Welcome, and well done!

I'm sure you'll love UC - the first time you turn left is always memorable and you'll find it very difficult ever to turn right again! I think all V-Flyers would advise you get to the Clubhouse nice and early on the morning (at least 3 hours before departure) to take maximum advantage of the facilities.

Don't forget at LGW you can do twilight check-in so if you're staying in an airport hotel you can drop off your bags the night before and not worry about queueing in the morning.

Don't worry too much about choosing seats - there are only 14 seats in UC on the LGW 747s and there are no real bad ones.

If you want a kids' meal for your son, remember to pre-order it but also remember the "special meals" are the same in all cabins, just served differently. So it's basically an economy meal on a china plate! And they're very hit and miss quality-wise. So if he's not fussy you might do better with a normal adult meal which will be better quality - there'll normally be a beef, chicken, fish and veggie option. If he doesn't like anything on the menu, ask the crew if there are any spare PE or economy meals, they'll normally be more than happy to help. I'm sure you'll both like the afternoon tea prior to landing, with scones and cakes!

The LGW 747s have the latest touchscreen on-demand entertainment system with a good kids' selection and a large selection of films & TV for grown-ups so you should both be kept occupied.

You have to be aged 12 or over to join Flying Club, and members can only earn miles on their own flights so your son wouldn't be eligible to have an account and thus earn miles until he's 12.

AJC

Hi and Welcome to V Flyer

If you have been lurking for a while, I will not have to tell you to follow the Trip Reports for the flights to Orlando from Gatwick - both VS 15 and VS 27 - and there should be plenty of tips there for you.

As Gumshoe has already said, getting to the Clubhouse nice and early is a must

In my most recent trip, I took not only my godson and his wife, but also his two boys aged 7 & 9. Like you I kept the secret that they were flying Upper right until they boarded the aircraft, so I know precisely what you are going through right now.

In the Clubhouse they have both Wii and a Playstation and in exchange for your boarding card they let you have the controllers.

Feel free to ask any questions - you will find us a helpful bunch

buns

hi AJ
welcome to v-flyer.
great news on getting UC and to disneyland wow.
i only finally went to disney land in tokyo last year for the first time ever and loved it.
would echo everything gumshoe said.
its going to be an amazing trip for you all.

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

It's wonderful to have access to such a mine of information. I will be going up on the morning of the flight so will not use the twilight check in but intend to get there very early to make use of the lounge! Can you pre-book treatments or do you have to book when you get there? don't want to miss out!

The only reason I want to pre-book seats is because I'm trying to get the two right at the front as they seem closest together. :-)

And Buns, I feel I know you already the number of your posts I've read but I'm not sure I'll ever get used to calling you buns! ;-)

Welcome from myself also, not much I can add other than enjoy the next few months of preparing your trip and before you know it February will be here

AJC wrote:Thank you all for the warm welcome!

It's wonderful to have access to such a mine of information. I will be going up on the morning of the flight so will not use the twilight check in but intend to get there very early to make use of the lounge! Can you pre-book treatments or do you have to book when you get there? don't want to miss out!

If you get to the Clubhouse early enough then you should be fine - both the Orlando flights leave later than the flights to the Caribean, so it usellly works out that Mrs b (and myself for that matter) always grab a later appointment

The only reason I want to pre-book seats is because I'm trying to get the two right at the front as they seem closest together. :-)

I am sure the mists about booking will have cleared long before your flight, so whether it is 60 days or 90 days, (or indeed any other combination) you can rest assured the details will be freely availbale of V Flyer

And Buns, I feel I know you already the number of your posts I've read but I'm not sure I'll ever get used to calling you buns! ;-)

I am very flattered - do not worry, everyone calls me buns, in fact the name stuck through V Flyer

buns

Welcome,
I am a fan of the front row too.
The only downside is there are no overhead lockers so you either need to get on first and bag the nearest one, or just give your bag to the cabin crew and they'll find somewhere.
Good luck with getting your preferred seats.
Fortunately I won't be fighting for the seats as we are going 10 days later
Dick D

Congrats - any LGW based UC has the best experience I've every had on an airplane - being two of 14 you get excellent service and it's equivalent to first class in my eyes (the BA people will argue) - in fact better than some BA first experiences on some flights.

Personally if I could fly UC on this route on every flight I would 100% - it's arguably a different product to the LHR one with the smaller cabin.

Definitely arrive at the lounge early as you can to maximize time there - LGW clubhouse is far more intimate that the LHR one... and is the best way to start a holiday without doubt. As mentioned by others I've also never had an issue getting a treatment on MCO route due to it being a later departure.