My First Trip Report! - "Escape from New York" - completed

[sheri18]

jumping in.....you have me hooked....obvioulsy you all made it ok...but OMG..what an awful start.....happend to us once, going on a cruise...1/2 my family made it out on an earlier flight...the rest had to scramble...but I must say not even close to what you had to go through....cant wait to read the rest...

[baseballmickey]

Originally Posted by Chicago Mo

i agree! snow is a must. Chicago was hit pretty hard as well. blocked in our homes for a day or so. OK going back to being quiet and reading.. i can imagine Disney making a movie about a family's desperate voyage to get to Disney! with the magic of Disney on the family's side!

Yeah, in Chicago you must have gotten the prequel to all of our storms. Well, so far this movie has been either a horror or a disaster film. Let's see if we can't get it out of that category so nobody has to watch it with their eyes covered anymore!

Originally Posted by shan23877

joining in! What a terrible start to a vacation, but a GREAT start to a TR. I'm hooked! Plus, I love your member name. Bit of a baseball geek myself

Thanks for reading! Always a pleasure to meet another baseball geek!

Originally Posted by PoohGal05

Oh my goodness! WHAT a way to start your vacation! I can relate to the snow thing, living in Oklahoma, but not necessarily trying to get to out of an airport, then back in, then OUT of the same airport! GoodNESS! Waiting to read the next installment!

Thanks for reading! I can assure you that on our next trip, we will be flying from a different airport, just to avoid seeing that one again!

Originally Posted by sheri18

jumping in.....you have me hooked....obvioulsy you all made it ok...but OMG..what an awful start.....happend to us once, going on a cruise...1/2 my family made it out on an earlier flight...the rest had to scramble...but I must say not even close to what you had to go through....cant wait to read the rest...

wow, at least we were all together through our experience. I can't imagine how it must have felt to be separated. And for a cruise, too! If our trip was a cruise, I don't know if we would have made it.


Thanks everyone for reading! I was just trying to post the next update, but I lost it. ugh. I will quickly re-write so I get to the good stuff! Sit tight. I'll be right with you!

[lippylulu]

This part just made me spit my soda out from laughing. I'm sorry. I'm a New Yorker too and the Belt parkway is scary enough going in the proper direction! I know this exact snowstorm too and how NYC totally blew the cleanup. Can't wait to keep reading.

Originally Posted by baseballmickey

The Scariest Ride EVER

I am pretty sure that at this point we are driving the wrong way on the belt parkway, not that there were any other cars on the road. .

[kimbo0569]

I feel your pain on your ordeal with the snow. I live in Queens, NY and I couldn't get my car out of the spot for three days because we didn't get plows to our streets until late Tuesday night!

I can't even fathom trying to travel with a young child and a pregnant wife...Looking forward to reading the rest!

[baseballmickey]

On The Road

Growing up, my family took many trips to Florida, and we drove EVERY time. I am one of eight kids, and we pack ourselves into the van and drive down from New Jersey. We always did it in two days, stopping overnight in Lumberton, SC.

So even though I'd been flying to WDW the last few trips with my own family, I found myself in familiar territory as I navigated our tired trio out of New York, and into NJ to pick up I-95 for the trip south.

We were getting a late start, but we were determined to go as far as we could. We were not giving up. Thankfully, the roads were in good shape (at least the major roads were, the side streets were a disaster).

We were still in NJ when we stopped for dinner. We found a diner and filled our bellies, and then we found a gas station and filled our tank. Over dinner, we discussed how far we'd try to make it. Using my phone, I found a hotel in Maryland, and I called to see if they had rooms. I really didn't need a reservation, as they weren't even close to capacity. So, knowing we could get there as late as we needed to, we got back on the road. We drove out of NJ, through Delaware, and into Maryland. We made it to the Hampton Inn and got our room.

I took this picture because I was surprised at how much LESS snow they had in MD. I thought they had been hit hard too.



I have to take a moment to say that the Hampton Inn is my favorite hotel (non-disney, of course). The rates are reasonable, and the rooms I've stayed in have always been clean and comfortable. And, to top that off, their continental breakfast ROCKS! Most places you are lucky to get a donut. Here, you can make your own waffles!

Early the next morning, we hit up the aforementioned breakfast spread. We finally had gotten a decent night's sleep. I think we checked-in around 10:30 the night before, and we got up around 6. We ate our breakfast and also nabbed a couple of breakfast-to-go bags they had out to take with us. They made for good snacks on the road.

DD was coughing now, to go along with her sniffles. This was a concern because she has a history of bronchial problems in her short 4 years. She had even been hospitalized for pneumonia once. So we were watching that cough carefully. DW, in the meantime, was starting to complain of flu-like symptoms herself. I felt fine, aside from being tired and a little sore from shoveling.

DW asked if we should still do this. She thought maybe everything that had happened was a sign that we shouldn't go on this trip. She was on the fence and was thinking of turning around and going home.

My response was immediate: "We're not giving up." I may have been bordering on obsession here. And worse, I had brought my DD along with me. "That's right, mommy, we're not giving up!" She had my back, I had to love that!

So, with 2 definite votes for pressing on, (and one abstention), we got back in the car and drove... and drove... and stopped for lunch at a Cracker Barrel and got more gas. DW and DD were trying to rest in the car as much as they could. I did all the driving. DW doesn't like to drive under normal circumstances, so there was absolutely no way she was getting behind the wheel on this trip.

Afer lunch we drove... and drove some more. It was late in the evening when we crossed over into Georgia. DW was hungry, so we exited and looked for something we could grab-n-go. We found a Wendy's and opted for going inside to get our food so we could use the bathroom. Unfortunately, they had no baked potatoes, which DW was craving. She settled for french fries. We got our food to go and got back in the car, got gas, and jumped back on I-95.

DW and DD were asleep when we crossed into Florida. I was feeling drowsy, so I stopped at the Welcome Center to stretch my legs, and load up on caffeine. (I don't drink coffee, so it was soda for me). The cool air did the trick more than anything else, and we were on our way again.

Before long, we were turning off onto I-4, and then passing downtown Orlando, and then... taking the exit and following the signs for DTD and our resort, SSR. We pulled into SSR just before midnight. I got us checked in, and we found our room. Thankfully, it was on the ground floor. We got ourselves situated and passed out. We had a busy day the next day.

We finally made it to WDW. It took 3 days instead of a 3-hour flight. We lost our reservation for the wishes dessert party (which we paid for upfront) and we missed out on the candlelight processional. But we still had a good four days, including NYE to look forward to. The question now was, would we even be able to enjoy it after what we had been through? and now both DW and DD are sick??

Well, we certainly didn't go through all of that for nothing! So we slept and got up the next day to pick right up with the original plan. We headed to...

The Animal Kingdom!

[baseballmickey]

Originally Posted by lippylulu

This part just made me spit my soda out from laughing. I'm sorry. I'm a New Yorker too and the Belt parkway is scary enough going in the proper direction! I know this exact snowstorm too and how NYC totally blew the cleanup. Can't wait to keep reading.

I'm glad I could make someone laugh! I laugh about it all the time now.

Originally Posted by kimbo0569

I feel your pain on your ordeal with the snow. I live in Queens, NY and I couldn't get my car out of the spot for three days because we didn't get plows to our streets until late Tuesday night!

I can't even fathom trying to travel with a young child and a pregnant wife...Looking forward to reading the rest!

Not being around for the cleanup was one of the few positives for us. Although, like I mentioned in response to someone else, I got a lot of dirty looks from people when I was finally shoveling my sidewalk over a week later!

Thanks for reading!

I'm starting to worry that the Disney part of our vacation will be pretty boring compared to getting there!

[airplanegod]

Awesome job so far! We are from Southern Connecticut, and were up in Boston at the time. The next day, we were deciding wether to go home yet or stay another day. We decided to go home as most of the roads in Boston and Massachusetts were cleared. By the time we got to Connecticut, the roads were just finished getting cleared so we did good! Sorry you had to drive all the way down though.

[petals]

joining in... after our last winter I have fears this years trip might start like yours fingers and toes crossed tightly it won't though sounds like you had an awful start

[amandaw]

Yay! Y'all made it to WDW! Even though it took a lot longer than planned to get there, at least y'all made it safely. That's so cute that your daughter wouldn't give up either on getting there. Hope DW & DD didn't get sick while y'all were at Disney.

[rachel09985]

Wow- what a gripping first trip report! I can't believe all of that happened. That was amazing that you didn't give up. I would have been devastated.

[baseballmickey]

Originally Posted by airplanegod

Awesome job so far! We are from Southern Connecticut, and were up in Boston at the time. The next day, we were deciding wether to go home yet or stay another day. We decided to go home as most of the roads in Boston and Massachusetts were cleared. By the time we got to Connecticut, the roads were just finished getting cleared so we did good! Sorry you had to drive all the way down though.

Thanks for reading! DW's family is from the Bridgeport area, so we are up in CT several times a year to visit. Driving certainly wasn't the original plan, but as you read, we got there... eventually.

Originally Posted by petals

joining in... after our last winter I have fears this years trip might start like yours fingers and toes crossed tightly it won't though sounds like you had an awful start

I'll keep mine crossed for you as well. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. If I had it to do over again, I don't know if I could have done anything different, except getting out of the airport as soon as they canceled our flight. Live and learn, I guess. Thanks for reading!

Originally Posted by rachel09985

Wow- what a gripping first trip report! I can't believe all of that happened. That was amazing that you didn't give up. I would have been devastated.

Thanks for reading! I hope the rest doesn't get too boring for you after all this excitement.

Originally Posted by amandaw

Yay! Y'all made it to WDW! Even though it took a lot longer than planned to get there, at least y'all made it safely. That's so cute that your daughter wouldn't give up either on getting there. Hope DW & DD didn't get sick while y'all were at Disney.

I just love that little girl to pieces. She is such a trooper... as you will see as we proceed...

By the way, just finished your TR. I know I posted on that thread, but wanted to say it again here so others might see it and go check it out. You did a great job! especially for anyone interested in DCL or anyone with a toddler.

[Singinglizzie]

Can't wait to read more. Thanks for taking the time to post your trip report with us!!!

[amandaw]

Originally Posted by baseballmickey

I just love that little girl to pieces. She is such a trooper... as you will see as we proceed...

I know how you feel! I love my little man beyond what I could've ever imagined! She sure sounds like a trooper! I just hope she didn't get sick during the trip.

Originally Posted by baseballmickey

By the way, just finished your TR. I know I posted on that thread, but wanted to say it again here so others might see it and go check it out. You did a great job! especially for anyone interested in DCL or anyone with a toddler.

I just got done catching up on responses on my TR. I'm so glad you enjoyed it & got some useful info for the Dream next summer. Y'all will have so much fun! I can't wait to go on another Disney cruise.

Thank you for all your kind words about my TR & for letting people on your own TR know about it. I was really unsure of whether or not I should write it, but I'm really glad I did. The feedback has been so nice & it's truly been a great experience getting to "know" the people following my report.

[PoohGal05]

YEA for you ~ ya'll made it to Disney World!!! Now that you are there, it HAS to get better, right??

[ChattaAlley]

Wow what people will go throught to get to Disney...LOL. I right there with you ya.