We're driving 17 hours??? AGAIN??? Yes Dear, I'm THAT kinda guy.

[dvczerfs]

wow i.t, how did i miss the pre trip report!!! your going to drive, in a car with 4 women?

 

[itJeff]

Yeah, I know. That's just how cheap I am.

 

[dvczerfs]

Yeah, I know. That's just how cheap I am.

we do it w/ 2 wives, 18,17,11 but we have 2 cars. well atleast you wont get lost.there will be plenty of direction giving you masy want to pencil in more pee stops.

 

[goofy Jr. 88]

Whispering Canyon Cafe is my favorite restaurant in Disney. Enjoy!

At some point, the servers lead all of the kids around the room while the kids are riding on a hobby horse. Great fun.
We have been there twice and it is a hoot. Slightly different experience each time. I hope you get a server with a lot of personality.

Don't forget to ask for ketchup.


Have a fantastic trip.

 

[dvczerfs]

Whispering Canyon Cafe is my favorite restaurant in Disney. Enjoy!

At some point, the servers lead all of the kids around the room while the kids are riding on a hobby horse. Great fun.
We have been there twice and it is a hoot. Slightly different experience each time. I hope you get a server with a lot of personality.

Don't forget to ask for ketchup.


Have a fantastic trip.

make sure your thursty, they love refilling you glass!

 

[jundland]

Hey, just read your report and it seems that you have a good plan lined out so far.

My family and I drive from Arkansas also and it's not that bad. What area are you from?(If you don't mind telling)

 

[standleyent1]

Yeah, I know. That's just how cheap I am.

Where in Arkansas are you from? We are from Rogers, sounds like you could be close to us as 17 hrs is about what it takes us to drive to the World.

 

[itJeff]

Hey, just read your report and it seems that you have a good plan lined out so far.

My family and I drive from Arkansas also and it's not that bad. What area are you from?(If you don't mind telling)

Where in Arkansas are you from? We are from Rogers, sounds like you could be close to us as 17 hrs is about what it takes us to drive to the World.

Hey there! We're in Ft. Smith. I grew up just across the OK state line, and DW grew up in Russellville.

We know another family here that drove this past summer and stayed somewhere overnight in Mississippi.
Do either of you drive straight through? Or do you spend one night somewhere on the way down?

Which route do y'all take? (we just turned this into a southern thread ) We're taking I-40 to Memphis, Hwy-78 to Birmingham, I-20 to Atlanta, then I-75 down into FL. I've never been through GA, so I'm hoping it's a nice drive.

jundland - If I remember right from the DisDads thread, you're going around the same time we are. Now you know where we'll be on what day, so you can avoid where we are. We seem to attract crowds.

 

[standleyent1]

I usually drive it straight through as we are too excited to stop but if we do it is usually south of Atlanta so we don't get caught in the traffic there. I have been through Mississippi and through Alabama going through Dothan and I can tell you from numerous trips and experiences the I-40, 78, 20 and 75 route is the fastest, not the shortest by about 28 mi (longer) but you will save about 2hrs going through Georgia. I have learned many new shortcuts and times that you want to avoid that will save you time we have made it as fast as 15 1/2 hrs and not really hauling butt to do it.

When are you going?

 

[jundland]

We live just outside of Searcy, and work out of Conway.

We leave early in the am on the day before we check in to our Disney hotel and spend the night in Ocala, FL. From there it is a short drive to the World, check in, and Earl of Sandwich for lunch.

Our dates do cross, we are May 27-June 3.

 

[itJeff]

I usually drive it straight through as we are too excited to stop but if we do it is usually south of Atlanta so we don't get caught in the traffic there. I have been through Mississippi and through Alabama going through Dothan and I can tell you from numerous trips and experiences the I-40, 78, 20 and 75 route is the fastest, not the shortest by about 28 mi (longer) but you will save about 2hrs going through Georgia. I have learned many new shortcuts and times that you want to avoid that will save you time we have made it as fast as 15 1/2 hrs and not really hauling butt to do it.

When are you going?

I'd love to hear your shorcuts, etc.

We'll be in the world from May 23 - 30. So our travel dates are the 21 & 22 and 30 & 31.

 

[itJeff]

...

 

[itJeff]

The big wigs at work have completely messed up my vacation plans. Up until this year the company gave you Thanksgiving day and the day after off, and Christmas Eve and Christmas off.

Now they've decided that Christmas Eve and the day after Thanksgiving are no longer paid holidays. Instead they're giving us two floating holidays, in addition to the one that we already had. So instead of 11 days that I can schedule off, I get 13 days this year.

Okay, so you're probably wondering why this messes up my vacation plans. Well, our trip is planned for May 23 - 30, 2010. This is the week before Memorial day, which is also a paid holiday. Our plans call for us to arrive home on Memorial day. I had planned on taking Tuesday off to rest and recoup. Then Wednesday is my Birthday. I REALLY didn't want to go back to work on my Birthday. I mean, that's the perfect way to end the magic, right? "Happy Birthday! Here's 400 emails to read and 3 projects that need to be done ASAP. Welcome back!"

So, I decided to take one of the new floating holidays on my Birthday. That means I'll be off work from May 22 until June 3. That got me thinking... If I don't have to be back until the 3rd, then the 2nd could be my rest and recoup day... That means we could stay at Disney one more day!

I mentioned the idea to DW. She wasn't as excited as I was. She's worried about the cost. I explained that we could stay the additional night off-site. That would save some. But, she said "Why would we want to pack up twice?" Hmm.... good point. I don't think she's completely opposed to the idea.

I did some calculations, and (if I did them right) it would cost around $150 for us to stay on-site one more night (that includes the dining plan). I need to have the travel agent at AAA figure it to be sure. I'm thinking that is a pretty good deal for one more day to play. I just have to convince DW.

Of course, if we stay an additional day that means I have to re-visit the itenerary. Once I started looking at adding an additional day, I ended up re-arranging several days. I'll need to reschedule some ADRs too. So... now you understand why my plans are all messed up.

 

[standleyent1]

The big wigs at work have completely messed up my vacation plans. Up until this year the company gave you Thanksgiving day and the day after off, and Christmas Eve and Christmas off.

Now they've decided that Christmas Eve and the day after Thanksgiving are no longer paid holidays. Instead they're giving us two floating holidays, in addition to the one that we already had. So instead of 11 days that I can schedule off, I get 13 days this year.

Okay, so you're probably wondering why this messes up my vacation plans. Well, our trip is planned for May 23 - 30, 2010. This is the week before Memorial day, which is also a paid holiday. Our plans call for us to arrive home on Memorial day. I had planned on taking Tuesday off to rest and recoup. Then Wednesday is my Birthday. I REALLY didn't want to go back to work on my Birthday. I mean, that's the perfect way to end the magic, right? "Happy Birthday! Here's 400 emails to read and 3 projects that need to be done ASAP. Welcome back!"

So, I decided to take one of the new floating holidays on my Birthday. That means I'll be off work from May 22 until June 3. That got me thinking... If I don't have to be back until the 3rd, then the 2nd could be my rest and recoup day... That means we could stay at Disney one more day!

I mentioned the idea to DW. She wasn't as excited as I was. She's worried about the cost. I explained that we could stay the additional night off-site. That would save some. But, she said "Why would we want to pack up twice?" Hmm.... good point. I don't think she's completely opposed to the idea.

I did some calculations, and (if I did them right) it would cost around $150 for us to stay on-site one more night (that includes the dining plan). I need to have the travel agent at AAA figure it to be sure. I'm thinking that is a pretty good deal for one more day to play. I just have to convince DW.

Of course, if we stay an additional day that means I have to re-visit the itenerary. Once I started looking at adding an additional day, I ended up re-arranging several days. I'll need to reschedule some ADRs too. So... now you understand why my plans are all messed up.

Anytime you can stay an extra day at the World you are very lucky!! This is my opinion about what to do with the extra day, why don't you spend it in a water park splashing and relaxing and then have a nice dinner off site or at a resort restaurant, if, you have hoppers then have a nice dinner with a fireworks show to wrap up your trip and have an easier exit. It is always hard for us to go even though we have been running like crazy but a relaxing easy day makes the departure somewhat easier on us not to mention making the drive home not as bad or long. This way you get a day of ease and get to rest up for the trek home!! Also, you won't have to re arrange your plans with the exception of the room rental or dining plan (?).
Just my 2 cents worth.
Have Fun!!

 

[Juanaiguana]

Wow it sounds like you are me and your wife is my husband! He hates to hear about my very extensive planning for Disney! Lucky you to stay one more day in the Magic!! That will give you time to do the things you realllly wanted to do but couldn't get to. There's always one more day of things to do (if not 20) at Disney!

I have 3 girls also and we are very excited about heading back to Disney in May also, first week! We had originally planned on staying at POR but got a super fantastic off site deal...so we are staying offsite, much to my dismay. Oh well! Just means I'll have to go again to stay onsite again!

 

[jundland]

You're already there, might as well have another fun-filled day with the Mouse. If you are like us, there is always something that we didn't get to do or do again before we left, now you can.

 

[itJeff]

Anytime you can stay an extra day at the World you are very lucky!! This is my opinion about what to do with the extra day, why don't you spend it in a water park splashing and relaxing and then have a nice dinner off site or at a resort restaurant, if, you have hoppers then have a nice dinner with a fireworks show to wrap up your trip and have an easier exit. It is always hard for us to go even though we have been running like crazy but a relaxing easy day makes the departure somewhat easier on us not to mention making the drive home not as bad or long. This way you get a day of ease and get to rest up for the trek home!! Also, you won't have to re arrange your plans with the exception of the room rental or dining plan (?).
Just my 2 cents worth.
Have Fun!!

We're already taking a day off in the middle of the stay to sleep in, hit the beach, do laundry, chill by the pool, etc, etc, etc. We want to do the Chip and Dale Campfire Singalong and we have dinner planned at Whispering Canyon. Sounds like a full day off! But it should be relatively slow paced compared to a day in the park.

Wow it sounds like you are me and your wife is my husband! He hates to hear about my very extensive planning for Disney! Lucky you to stay one more day in the Magic!! That will give you time to do the things you realllly wanted to do but couldn't get to. There's always one more day of things to do (if not 20) at Disney!

I have 3 girls also and we are very excited about heading back to Disney in May also, first week! We had originally planned on staying at POR but got a super fantastic off site deal...so we are staying offsite, much to my dismay. Oh well! Just means I'll have to go again to stay onsite again!

Every time I start making changes to the itenerary and try to get DW's input she kinda rolls her eyes. She says I'll change it 10 more times before we go. Congrats on the off site deal!

You're already there, might as well have another fun-filled day with the Mouse. If you are like us, there is always something that we didn't get to do or do again before we left, now you can.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[itJeff]

Alright everyone (if anyone is still reading?)... remember the family I mentioned in post #16? They told the kids on Christmas that they were going to WDW... and that it was the same time as us. Of course, DD(7) and her BFF are really excited.

So, they came over for dinner last night so we could all talk about our trips. I had recommended "The Unofficial Guide" and the wife also got the Passporter's guide. The husband was joking about how much she had spent on the guidebooks. He said he would have just write the plans on a piece of paper and keep it in his back pocket. Of course I ended up showing them my spreadsheet. It's not as organized as some people's (no names) but it works for me.

Anyway, they had a ton of questions about what the parks were like, what we thought about their resort (CBR), what the character meals were like, where should they eat, what park on what day.... you know, all those important questions that we all have to answer.

I told them about the Crowd Calender on TP's site and the boards and wdwinfo.com. I think I sent them into info overload at one point. While we were discussing what park to do on which day the husband said something to the effect that it was so complicated it was giving him a headache. Of course, we can all identify.

We had a lot of fun telling them about our previous visits, and our plans for this trip. We helped them figure out what parks to do on what day, and we'll be in the same park our first day and their last day. On those days we'll eat a character meal together too. We plan to watch Fantasmic together too. Should be fun!

So, now I just need to get the extra day added to our ressie... and another ADR added. hmmmm..... more choices.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Our December trip with with some first timers. We got a 2 bedroom villa and they will be staying with us. We gave the mom the "Walt Disney World with Kids" book. She read it cover to cover in about 3 days. We've got the first "planning meeting" scheduled for February.
You'll have to let me know how it goes with the first timers!

 

[Emma's Dad]

I must of missed the memo of when this turned into a full PTR.

I'm subbed and ready to go.

You know that now that this is a TR, you have to keep it updated because Don is just waiting for someone to pass his TR Procrastination World Title on to.

You got THAT right!!

Yeah, I felt compelled to make it more of a PTR when I found out people were actually reading it. It is challenging to think that I need to come up with an update on a regular basis. I hope that I don't win the TRPWT (Trip Report Procrastination World Title).

Somehow I don't think you could EVER take that title!

I thought I had already sub'd to this PTR?? Anyway... sounds like you've got a good plan. And the extra day! SCORE!! It's always nice to get extra holidays

Sounds like you are schooling that family well! I hope all works out for both of your families.