It's August! It's HOT! It Rains! Wait, Where's Mikey?

[tazdev3225]

That's right we went in August. It was Hot and it rained. These facts seemed to never really be understood by my DD and her fiance. I don't know why as my DD has only been to Disney in August.

OK, these facts will make more sense as we go along. First when did we go - August 18th to the 25th. Only 6 days were actually spent in Disney, the other 2 were travel days. My family is insane - we drove straight through each way. Over 1,000 miles each way, 2 vehicles with 3 kids and a teenager. The insanity is my DH's fault. The man hates to fly and loves to drive. It is also my SIL's fault as he does not fly. He gave up free tickets to an Eagles game in a fancy box with all the bells and whistles including transportation because he had to fly.

Who went on this crazy trip?

Obviously I did. I am Lorrie, Mom, Grandmom, MeMo, I answer to just about anything. I fell in love with Disney World late in life. I already had 3 kids by the time I took my first trip to my happy place. I have been back many times since then. I love Grumpy. It's a Small World is my favorite ride. I know I hear the groans. I rode the prototype at the 1964 NY World's Fair. It's a sentimental favorite.

Then there is DH Jim, Dad or Poppy. He enables my Disney addiction. He doesn't like Disney nearly as much as I do but he goes along because I let him drive. He loves Donald Duck and does a great Donald impression. He loves roller coaster rides and hates heat. His favorite time to visit is early December.

He we are 2 years ago. DH looks a little different now - he lost over 80 pounds since this trip

Next up are DD Jennifer or Mommy. She is my middle child. She had her first trip to Disney when she was 3 y/o. She loves Winnie the Pooh, the Crystal Palace and roller coaster rides.

SIL Mike or Daddy. OK technically he is not my SIL as they aren't married yet but they have 3 kids and live together. SIL is better than whatever he is. He went to Disney once when he was 9 and hated it. His only memory of the trip was his Pirates gun being confiscated at the airport. He has no favorites and doesn't do many rides due to a bad back. He also HATES heat. It was his decision to go in August because the kids have school when it's cooler out.

The kids:
First there is DGS Jay or James. The name confusion played a part in the trip. Jay was 13 turning 14 on the trip. He is my son's oldest child. He was our only grandchild for almost 6 years so he was spoiled for a bit. He is your typical teenage boy. He loves girls, won't admit that he likes Disney and refuses to get in pictures with characters. OK I can get him in a few and the little ones can get him to do anything. His cousins adore him.

Then we have Crystal or Princess. She is 8 y/o, her birthday was 3 days before we left. She loves Princesses and Tinkerbell but has reached the age where she can be embarassed easily if her friends know this. She is my beautiful, sensitive and loving DGD. She thinks of her brother and sister before herself. She is her mom's mini-me.

Next is Ella she is 3 1/2 y/o going on 16 . She is the baby of the family and gets away with a lot because of it. Not with Grandmom though. She LOVES Minnie Mouse and the Princesses, expecially Tiana. She is tough. She was 39 & 7/8" when we were in Disney. She loves wild rides and wanted to ride all of the mountains. That 1/8" created some problems because she couldn't go on the rides. She LOVED Haunted Mansion so it was a great distraction.

Last but not least is Michael or Mikey. He is 6 y/o. He is a cuddlebug and has a way of getting into a lot of trouble fast. He gets lost everywhere. Hence the Where's Mikey. He has some issues that can cause problems. He cannot tolerate loud noises, is terrified of bugs, and has a 1 second attention span. He is such a loving child though and I tend to be a little over protective of him.

And a bonus shot - all of the kids plus Jay's brother Kyle.

So there you have the when and cast of characters. I only have 1 month til my next trip so I am hoping to get this report moving along. Now to hope my internet co-operates.

 

[scottny]

I am here. Great start. I still think Mikey needs a leash. and you right he is a sweet kid.

Can't wait to read along.

 

[ericamcl]

I'm here

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[PrincessAlways]

Hi I'm one of Scott's friends!! Nice to meet you. See you're from Philly. I live in a suburb of Reading....not far away! You must be a brave soul to visit in August!! Can't wait to read along to see how it went!! I'll be there around the same time in October with 3 other ladies for our DIS vacation!

 

[GeminiAngel]

Those kids are so beautiful! I had no idea you rode SW at the World's Fair. What was that like?

I wouldn't step foot in Florida in August, you brave souls.

 

[Lesprivate]

Found you

 

[tazdev3225]

I am here. Great start. I still think Mikey needs a leash. and you right he is a sweet kid.

Can't wait to read along.

I totally agree about the leash for Mikey. We went to an Oktoberfest today and lost him there too. He didn't understand why we were upset.

I'm here

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Glads to have you along.

Hi I'm one of Scott's friends!! Nice to meet you. See you're from Philly. I live in a suburb of Reading....not far away! You must be a brave soul to visit in August!! Can't wait to read along to see how it went!! I'll be there around the same time in October with 3 other ladies for our DIS vacation!

Hi thanks for joining in.

Those kids are so beautiful! I had no idea you rode SW at the World's Fair. What was that like?

I wouldn't step foot in Florida in August, you brave souls.

Thank you I think they are pretty cute myself but I am prejudiced. SW was so much like it is now in my memory anyway. Every time I ride it I remember how excited I was that my mom took just me. It's such a special memory.

August was not my idea. I really tried for right after Thanksgiving but my SIL would not give in. He was not taking the kids out of school.

Found you

Glad you found me.

 

[jmskinner]

SCOTTNY posted a link to your TR, so I thought I would join. Mickey sounds a lot like my Jacob. Looking forward to reading about your adventures, especially since we were there the same time.

 

[scottny]

 

[tazdev3225]

SCOTTNY posted a link to your TR, so I thought I would join. Mickey sounds a lot like my Jacob. Looking forward to reading about your adventures, especially since we were there the same time.

Glad to have you hear. I will be getting to the report sometime today.

OK Scott. I am getting there. I was at Oktoberfest the past 2 days. You need to help me get a link in my signature.

 

[tazdev3225]

Since Scott is anxiously eating popcorn I will get this trip moving.

D-Day minus one: This means the day before we leave.

I actually had a basically free day. I watch the 3 kids on monday and friday but Jennifer changed her schedule this week. After the final swim lesson for the season and laundry I did a few errands. I had hoped to be packed early. That didn't happen. The computer was calling my name. I played some games, went on the DIS and facebook, chatted with a friend, played more games basically wasted a LOT of time. Finally around 8:30 I went up and packed the suitcase. By 9:00 I was making the sandwiches for the car ride and had organized all of my cameras and chargers. This was not an easy task as I was taking 4 cameras and a video camera.

By 10 PM I was laying down on the couch waiting for Jay to get dropped off. I fell asleep waiting.

DAY 1 - the departure.

I had my alarm set for 3:15 AM. I tripped over Jay who decided to sleep on the living room floor rather than the nice new spare room. OK it is purple, not the right color for a boy.

I went up and grabbed a quick shower, brought the suitcase and small bag dowstairs, packed the cooler with the travel food and then loaded my van with what was going in there. I did all of that while Jim showered. And they say women take a long time in the bathroom.

While Jim and Jay loaded 2 cases of water and 2 suitcases in the truck I said good-bye to the furbabies. I do not board my animals. My son and daughter both live near me and they come over everyday to check on them, feed them and my daughter walks Nikki. This would actually create a small problem later in the trip. I grabbed a few pics

Barbossa (tan and white kitty) and Tip (don't ask Jim named him - the big grey guy)

Cap'n Jack or Jack as we call him (Barbossa's brother)

Simba was nowhere to be found but I tried to get Nikki. She knew we were leaving when she saw the suitcases and would not look at me

Finally we were ready to leave by 4 AM. Only 15 minutes later than I planned. We drove to Jen and Mike's, a 5 minute drive. While Jen and I got the 3 kids in the van Jim, Jay and Mike loaded the truck with everything Jen owns. OK not really but it sure seemed like it. We had 3 overnight cases in my van that had the kids travel games, color wonder materials (no melted crayons ), then there were 3 blankets and pillows, stuffed animals, jackets , snacks and I forget what else. The men were loading 2 cases of water, 3 bags of food, 5 suitcases, a bag of dresses, and I stopped looking. I started pacing. I wanted to be on the road at 4:30 AM. We didn't quite make it.

Finally around 4:45 we headed out to WAWA. We needed to gas up the truck and at this point I desperately needed coffee. The kids also decided they needed the bathroom. That was a good thing. The kids were also wide awake. I thought that they would sleep. Right! They chanted we're going to Disneyworld for at least 15 minutes then fell back asleep.

Here are the kids as we departed

At 5:04 AM entered the on-ramp for I-95. We were on our way. We made it to Delaware in about 30 min. I forgot to note the time, but we were in Maryland at 6 AM. We were making good time. We stopped at the Maryland House rest area. I always stop here when I go to my brothers in VA. After a fast bathroom break Jim took over the driving and I took a nap. We got through Maryland and the DC area with no problems entering Virginia at 7:59 AM. Somewhere in MD I saw this van covered with bumper stickers

I just couldn't understand why someone would do that to their van.

We are in VA and traffic stopped, and started, and stopped and started. You get the idea. It took forever to get through Virginia. We had decided to eat at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We stopped at one in Spotsylvania. There was a minimum 30 minute wait. I refused to wait. We headed further south and stopped in Ashland VA. Thet said 20 minutes but we were seated in about 10 minutes. The kids had fun on the porch. We actually had the table right behind the window where the girls were playing checkers

We had standard Cracker Barrel fare

Eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage and COFFEE!!! I am the only one who drinks it but I needed it. The total with tax for Jim, Jay and I was $33, for Jen and her crew $35. We left a $12 tip.

We were back on the road and in North Carolina at 1:15 PM. We were getting a little low on gas so we stopped just after we got in NC for gas.
Gas price - $3.65 gallon. Miles traveled 351 cost of fill-up - $56. The prices will be for the van as Jen didn't keep track of it for the truck. It should have taken about 5 hours to travel this far instead it was 8 hours which included an hour to eat and a 15 minute rest stop.
Mikey promptly fell asleep

Crystal listened to her CD player

We had to stop at a rest area in NC. Long road trips are not good with 3 y/o's who need to go potty as soon as they say it not 30 minutes til the next rest stop. She needed a quick change.

Our next stop was in South Carolina - we skipped South of the border although I did point it out to Crystal. I once again forgot to note the time but I took a pic of the welcome sign

According to the time stamp it was 4:45 PM.
About 53 miles into SC we stopped for gas.
Gas price - $3.38 gallon. Miles traveled 320.8 for a total of 671.8. Cost of fill-up $50.

I slept off and on at this point. We were in Georgia at 7:39 PM. I was not happy because we are now 2 hours later than when we arrived in Florida last year so there is still a lot of driving to go. We stopped in Savannah for McDonalds and the bathroom. I got a Dr. Pepper for a total of $1.06

We crossed the Florida border at 9:28 PM. We were now 4 hours later than last year. By the time we got to Kissimmee, Mike was almost out of gas. The stations we were passing said 3.59 or more. I checked the gas buddy website and found it for 10 cents a gallon cheaper near the hotel. Mike put $5 in just so he had a small cushion til the next morning.

Finally at 12:30 AM we arrived at the Red Roof Inn. I checked us in and we got out what we needed for the night. I was in bed and asleep by 1 AM.

So our travel day ended. The kids did really great. Ella had a couple of accidents which is unusual for her but considering she never had a long car ride before excusable. We were expeccting some disagreements along the way and had none.

Up next a review of the Red Roof Inn. And more pics and more fun.

 

[Lesprivate]

We hit that same Virginia traffic, it was bad and Frank was getting annoyed because everyone was hungry for lunch but I didn't want to stop until we got passed the traffic.

 

[tazdev3225]

We hit that same Virginia traffic, it was bad and Frank was getting annoyed because everyone was hungry for lunch but I didn't want to stop until we got passed the traffic.

It was horrible and it seemed like there was no reason for it. I was tempted to let mikey pee out of the van door while we were stopped. Thankfully he was able to wait. I drive that way to my brothers house and only saw traffic like that during weekday rush hour.

 

[Lesprivate]

It was horrible and it seemed like there was no reason for it. I was tempted to let mikey pee out of the van door while we were stopped. Thankfully he was able to wait. I drive that way to my brothers house and only saw traffic like that during weekday rush hour.

We didn't see any reason for the traffic either


We had to stop for Ben to pee on the side of the road on the way home in Georgia, there was no rest areas for 40 miles and he had to go

 

[jmskinner]

I'm very impressed you drove straight through. We can't do that, we made it to Brunswick, GA and stopped for the night. We were traveling on the 17 and 18th. Hit traffic outside of Richmond both ways. What is with that area? My husband was screaming "You don't need to brake for a curve!" Because that was the only reason we could tell anyone would slow down.

Glad you made it safely!

 

[tazdev3225]

We didn't see any reason for the traffic either


We had to stop for Ben to pee on the side of the road on the way home in Georgia, there was no rest areas for 40 miles and he had to go

I would have understood the traffic if there had been an accident or construction.

I know Georgia is the longest stretch of road with no rest stops. That's why we look for fast food places.

I'm very impressed you drove straight through. We can't do that, we made it to Brunswick, GA and stopped for the night. We were traveling on the 17 and 18th. Hit traffic outside of Richmond both ways. What is with that area? My husband was screaming "You don't need to brake for a curve!" Because that was the only reason we could tell anyone would slow down.

Glad you made it safely!

I considered stopping last year when we drove but my husband drives a lot for his job so he doidn't care. I was more worried about my SIL. He did a great job driving our truck. He isn't used to something that big. Your husband sounds like me. I yell at the stupid drivers too.

 

[tazdev3225]

My notes are good for part of our first Disney day so I will at least get started. Then back to photopass add-ons and updating my notes.

Day 2 - The hotel reviewed.

We stayed at the Red Roof Inn on Kyngs Heath Road in Kissimmee. We drove last year and stayed at the same motel. I saw an ad here on the DIS for Red Roof so I checked the prices. I couldn't pass up the deal. We got 2 rooms for $40.67 each. The motel is only about 10 minutes from Disney so that is a plus and includes a continental breakfast.

That was the highlight. Right after I booked the rooms I called to make sure they knew we were traveling together and needed adjacent rooms. When I checked in they wanted to give me rooms on separate floors and in opposite ends of the building. Um NO!!! We wound up in the same area about 5 rooms apart. I was not happy but too tired to fight about it. The lobby was also being painted when we checked in.

When we got to the rooms we were less than happy. My room looked as though it may have been redone at some time in the last year. We had laminate floors. The room however smelled - REALLY BAD!!!! Thank God for allergies, I didn't really notice it. My daughter said her room had carpet that was SLIMY!!! she refused to walk on it barefoot.

The next morning I realized that we had 2 towels and a small hand towel - in EACH room. Four towels and 8 people, not good. I went to the lobby to request more and they had none available. I was tired and cranky and asked the woman at the desk how they could possibly expect 8 people to shower with 4 towels. We had to share EWWWW!!!! I wasn't the only one complaining about the towels.

The bathroom tub was extremely high. I have bad knees and trouble with my back and barely got in and out, Crystal fell out of hers. The tub also made a wierd cracking noise while you were in it. I also found out that the stopper didn't work so Mikey, who is terrified of the shower, had to take a shower. Thankfully I got him in and out fast.


The continental breakfast consisted of beverages including OJ, coffee, tea and milk. There were some dry cereals, bagels, muffins, danish and bread for toast. This was the only positive there. The food was all fresh. Last year the OJ didn't work and the food was prepackaged. So this was a definite improvement.

The parking lot

Continental Breakfast in the lobby

Pool - we didn't use it but there were people enjoying it when we checked in

Last year I gave the motel a glowing report. Not this year. What really got me was that I checked the prices for the rooms there and they wanted close to $80 a day before taxes for these rooms. Never again. I will be looking for a new hotel for the first night. I will give them the benefit of the doubt because it looks like they may be rehabbing the rooms but I'm not chancing it.

 

[scottny]

The drive down sounds like it was nice.

The motel does not sound so nice. I have read reviews for different red roof online and they are usually not so good. It did the job though and let you rest.

Great update

 

[tazdev3225]

The drive down sounds like it was nice.

The motel does not sound so nice. I have read reviews for different red roof online and they are usually not so good. It did the job though and let you rest.

Great update

Except for the traffic in VA the drive down was really nice.

This Red Roof had mixed reviews on Trip Adviser and it wasn't that bad last year. I left a bad review and will look for another hotel next time. You are right though after a long drive it was a place to sleep.

Thanks.

 

[Lesprivate]

That hotel sounds like the remade we stayed at in 2010, yuck but we were ready to crash.