Driving and Breweries and the DIS megameet ... oh my! *new Aug 3rd ... just back - a quick review*

[missangelalexis]

Your first day in NC sounds like it will be nice between the brewery and meeting up with old friends! And Day 2 sounds like it will be nicely spent at the museum!

Your Georgia stop sounds quick but relaxing- not too much running around for you guys which is good.

Deerfield will be nice to spend some time with Judi's family. And your plans for Emma's birthday sound nice too!

Woo hoo and finally you will be at Disney! Sounds like a great first day there!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Welp, sounds pretty far outta the way indeed. When I met Amber she was living in a pretty tiny town in Michigan, but even they had traffic lights

In a way, I can understand people who want to drive straight through (*coughmywifecough*) when road tripping, but I think this is also a nice way to do it. Takes up a bit more time, but the distance probably doesn't seem as overwhelming if you're gonna be taking slightly longer breaks by having full days here and half days there.

Good thing for the kids to be welcome Probably would have put a damper on the whole thing if you couldn't find kid welcoming breweries

we've done the straight through (or nearly straight through) but with the 3 kids I think this will be more enjoyable and makes it seem like more of a vacation to me vs just driving and getting there and then rushing back, etc. ... but we shall see

Breweries are typically pretty kid friendly - just noticed on their website that this one specifically noted a time for when they are welcome, which I guess is good - or at least good for us to know

Those kind of reunions are most often great, so that's pretty cool that you're getting time to fit it in! And I'm sure it'll be fun for the kids to have other kids to play with for a bit throughout the drive down

Not to mention, authentic BBQ is always a plus

Oooh that looks cool!

I am excited for the dinner/meet up and found out over the weekend another of our friends from college will join us as well, so should be fun! Plus - BBQ!!!

The more I read about the museum the more excited I am - I think it will be lots of fun!

Sounds comfy and efficient. I don't see a downside to this plan

Reasonably priced is pretty much what we live by And that does look pretty close, so it should be an easy walk. Since you're not staying too too long, I don't think not being right on the beach will be a damper. Especially since you have plans other than beach time.

Good lord, 2 already! That sounds like fun plans though. Hopefully with lots of pictures (and videos!) of dancing Emma

I am leaning more towards doing the early morning escape from Durham to minimize rush hour traffic and just have more time in Savannah so likely will do the PJ thing

I think it will would out great as far as being near/at the beach and enough room for us and even if it is a-maze-ing, it's only a few days

I know, I can't believe Emma is already turning 2! Hopefully it is a good time and I'm glad it is working out ... though I think we will get a "birthday" button for her at Disney anyway

Fiiiiine, I guess offsite can work. Good thing that it has a great pool, like you said I'm sure you'll make great use of it.

I can understand the safety measures, but I'm sure they would probably try to keep at least some sort of viewing area available for people. That's one of the things they try to sell people on with MK properties that are right on the lake, after all. Maybe it'll just be more frequent that they'll check if people are staying on property or not? I think I've heard they do that sometimes if it's especially crowded, because on-site guests would have the priority, so if it's a smaller area it may get crowded easier. I guess we won't know much more until sometimes gives further details though.

Yay!

I know, I know - but we are just finding we need more space and bigger rooms or suites on site are just so expensive. If we didn't have the time share already we'd probably look into renting DVC points or something but since we already have the time share, you can't beat the price

Hoping things work out to see the Fireworks from the Poly beach. guess we will find out!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Sounds like a fun road trip with lots of good stops planned. I actually miss road trips - I used to do a lot of them and now the biggest ones we do are 4 hours to see my grandma. I think when Izzy gets a bit older (maybe old enough to read in the car?) we'll add them back into our vacation plans. I'm excited to hear all about yours when you get back.

Also, I'll be interested to hear about your Morimoto meal, as we have an ADR there in December.

We travel out fairly regularly to Judi's parents which is like 5.5 hours - so we won't be driving much more than that each day - hoping it is fun to stop at different places though

One thing we found is that Olivia is normally ok in the car but reading makes her feel sick. We got some of those bands for her to wear to hopefully help that and we are looking into doing audio books.

I hope we like Morimoto's - we usually like that type of food and fun to try new places!

Okay, I am not really a beer drinker, but I love the name Ponysaurus!! I had to check out their website, and I love their motto "The beer beer would drink if beer could drink beer"! Ponysaurus reminds me of my twin niece and nephew birthday parties. They would get one cake so it was always a combined theme. Most recently it was Hello Kitty the Construction Worker.

Your trip sounds great so far, and reasonably broken up. Charlottesville is an awesome city with lots of Breweries, but would be an hour off your journey!

haha, the cakes sound great! Some of these craft breweries are really interesting as far as names and logos and stuff. Pipeworks Brewery in Chicago has a lot of beers that are names like A vs B - with their most famous being Ninjas vs Unicorns

Yeah, just can't get to everywhere in one trip ... I'll keep Charlottesville in mind for our next trip!

Your first day in NC sounds like it will be nice between the brewery and meeting up with old friends! And Day 2 sounds like it will be nicely spent at the museum!

Your Georgia stop sounds quick but relaxing- not too much running around for you guys which is good.

Deerfield will be nice to spend some time with Judi's family. And your plans for Emma's birthday sound nice too!

Woo hoo and finally you will be at Disney! Sounds like a great first day there!

I am really looking forward to the time in Durham - should be fun to meet up with old friends and the museum sounds great! As long as we can get up and out early enough to get to Savannah for lunch I think that day should work out great!

Nice to mix in some family and beach time too ... and bonus birthday party!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 7 - Saturday, July 23rd - Disney's Hollywood Studios​

We had a bit of trouble/uncertainty planning out which park to do on which day. Partly because of crowd calendars but then also wanting to keep some flexibility for DIS related events. Ultimately we decided to start with MGM, I mean, Disney's Hollywood Studios. Originally we were thinking this would work out as, assuming we got the Fastpasses we wanted, we could start the day a little later and recover from the driving and staying up to watch the fireworks, etc.

One complicating factor for this is the Jedi Training "Trials of the Temple" - mainly being, do the kids want to do this or not? I feel like they would like this but they have been fairly non-committal to date. It certainly makes our lives easier if we don't do this as we won't need to be there before park opening to make sure we can get signed up for it.

For now I will assume we won't do that but it could change

Our plans include ...

Morning:
- Try to get there close to opening, see what standby time is for TSMM or else do the Buzz and Woody meet
- Fastpasses at Toy Story Midway Mania at 9:25am - 10:25am
- Frozen Sing-along - 10:30am show
- Tower of Terror Fastpass at 10:30-11:30am

Lunch: Sci-Fi Dine-in - ADR at 11:30am. I ate here once when when I was a kid but Judi and the kids have never been. I think they will enjoy the sitting int he cars part so we will have to request that. I know the burgers and shakes and onions rings are good here but if anyone has any specific suggestions definitely welcome it!

​

Afternoon:
- Start Tours FastPass at 12:55-1:55 (depending on how long lunch takes will do this right after lunch or do the launch bay first)
- StarWars Launch Bay - meet Chewie and Kylo Ren
- Stop by the D-Tech OnDemand station and get one of the limited edition Star Wars magic bands that come out on July 15th - I want the ArtooDetoo one:

​

- then we plan to take a break for a few hours, come back around 4/4:30
- Check out the Disney Jr show and character meet & greets
- Do an earlish dinner at the Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge. The food sounds really tasty here and we can get a few small bites to share (including the famous Cobb Salad - but the slides and other things sound good too) and they we can get mini-desserts as well as martini and margarita flights

​

- Look to re-ride things we can using rider swaps we got for morning rides (ToT and Star Tours)
- see what wait is for Great Movie Ride or try to get a bonus 4th FP
- Would like to hit up One Man's Dream at some point as well just as always rumors it will go away

Then for the evening I have a surprise planned - I book the Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party!

"Enjoy an out-of-this-world selection of desserts and specialty drinks—including alcoholic beverage options. Nibble on Darth Vader cupcakes as you take in an up-close view of the enthralling Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular fireworks show. To remember the very unique evening for a long time (in a galaxy not so far, far away), you'll receive a souvenir stein featuring one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Chewbacca."​

I am pretty excited about this and actually glad they moved the actual party part inside the Launch Bay and then we just walk out to the roped off area 15 minutes before the show starts. I thought this would be fun to do and worth the cost as it appears having a good location is really important to be able to see all the projections and this way we don't have to wait like an hour for a great spot.


I think if we can get through everything in the morning we should have a pretty good day and get to what we want without stressing too much, but we shall see

TTFN

 

[khertz]

WOW, that is an impressive itinerary!! But definitely a smart way to break up such a long drive, and it will be cool to try out different places and make different stops along the way. No suggestions for you, as I haven't been to any of those cities, but I look forward to seeing what adventures you come up with while there.

 

[Li Li]

First destination is Judi's Family which is located roughly due east of the middle of no-where, Pennsylvania (seriously, they only got the first traffic light in the entire county about 3 years ago).

LOL, Perry County!

We will spend that night and all day Friday there and Friday night and look to head out pretty early on Saturday morning, trying to get to our next stop, Durham, NC, by early afternoon.

So, if you happen to decide to stop by Troegs at all while you are here, let me know! We could stop by and say hi!

I'm sure you've seen this in my TR, but just as an alternative, we took the inland route of 81-77-26-95. It doesn't add too much time and gets you around DC/beltway traffic. But I don't want to interfere with your brewery stops!

I will say that Waze is a definite lifesaver. Howard and his dad took the straight 95 route out of Central PA and Waze helped them avoid a hour long backup around 95 by giving them detour routes. In any case, I'm sure you'll have a great time. It looks like you've budgeted plenty of time for the drive, and I can't wait to read your eventual TR.

 

[ElenaJane]

I think your first MGM day sounds perfect! I love the sci-fi dine-in. The shakes are really good (though I pretty much like all shakes!) and the Vegetarian Shepherds Pie has been delicious.

I don't think I would book the MK Wishes Dessert Party because there are so many good spots to see the show already. However, the Star Wars one makes sense since I have also heard about the awkward viewing spots! Good thinking

 

[missangelalexis]

Your day at Hollywood Studios sounds really great! I think doing Sci-Fi for lunch will be fun, I'm sure the kids will like it there. And doing the dessert party is a great idea too!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

WOW, that is an impressive itinerary!! But definitely a smart way to break up such a long drive, and it will be cool to try out different places and make different stops along the way. No suggestions for you, as I haven't been to any of those cities, but I look forward to seeing what adventures you come up with while there.

Hopefully we aren't overdoing it - but did want to have things to do in each stop to make them like mini-destinations ... we shall see how it works!

LOL, Perry County!

So, if you happen to decide to stop by Troegs at all while you are here, let me know! We could stop by and say hi!

I'm sure you've seen this in my TR, but just as an alternative, we took the inland route of 81-77-26-95. It doesn't add too much time and gets you around DC/beltway traffic. But I don't want to interfere with your brewery stops!

I will say that Waze is a definite lifesaver. Howard and his dad took the straight 95 route out of Central PA and Waze helped them avoid a hour long backup around 95 by giving them detour routes. In any case, I'm sure you'll have a great time. It looks like you've budgeted plenty of time for the drive, and I can't wait to read your eventual TR.

If we have time to stop at Troeg's I will let you know! If not this trip then I am sure we will go in the future. Most of the time we go out we get to either Troeg' or Al's of Hampden for Pizza Boy beer

thanks for the suggestion - I will keep that in mind. I am hoping traffic won't be too bad being a Saturday morning, but we will have to see. One of my friends suggested stopping at the air and space museum which would mean we'd have to go close to DC (but it is on the west side so still avoid the city proper) - wouldn't add much driving time/distance so just have to see if we can get out early enough. Even if we only go for an hour could be fun and is free admission

We love Waze - sometimes it has you go some really odd ways but the generally work out (just makes me confused at times)

I think your first MGM day sounds perfect! I love the sci-fi dine-in. The shakes are really good (though I pretty much like all shakes!) and the Vegetarian Shepherds Pie has been delicious.

I don't think I would book the MK Wishes Dessert Party because there are so many good spots to see the show already. However, the Star Wars one makes sense since I have also heard about the awkward viewing spots! Good thinking

Thanks - and good time about the Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie as that could be an option for Judi as she doesn't eat beef or pork

We did the MK Dessert party a few years ago and it was fun to do something different (it was when Emma was only 1 month old so having somewhere with a table and food, etc. was nice). This was before the raised the price considerably so I don't think we would do it again. The show in MGM has the added bonus of including unlimited alcoholic beverages

Your day at Hollywood Studios sounds really great! I think doing Sci-Fi for lunch will be fun, I'm sure the kids will like it there. And doing the dessert party is a great idea too!

Thanks Alexis - I hope the kids enjoy it. I think they will but sometimes they just get in moods and say the don't like something even though we know they do or will. Hoping they like the dessert party - thinking it will be a fun surprise for them and just thinking by the end of the day they won't want to just wait for like an hour for the show - plus unlimited desserts so what's not to like

 

[ariane37]

Your itinerary looks so much fun! I also did the Old Town Trolley Tour in Savannah and enjoyed it. Since you mention Olivia and Girl Scouts, are you aware you can take a tour of the Juliette Gordon Low house in Savannah? I want to say it's one of the stops on the Trolley Tour but it's been many years since I did it so you'd have to check.
I've read a couple reviews of the SW Galactic Dessert Party and they're all very positive. We did the Tomorrowland Terrace one years ago and weren't impressed so I've never considered doing any other dessert party. We aren't SW fans but absolutely loved the SW fireworks in January, plus we love desserts lol, so I've thought about booking it for our Nov. trip.

 

[KathyM2]

I'm here to follow along!! I'm very excited to hear about this trip as I've always wanted to try this with my kids. I drove down when I was a kid myself but never had any say in where we stopped...but I'd like to try it now when I DO!! Can't wait to hear all about it!

In Deerfield Beach - July 19 - 22

This is awesome! My family and I have gone to this area at least 2x per year for about 10 years...so if you need any reco's let me know. There's a great place called The Whale's Rib right on the main drag in Deerfield that we love. And also JB's on the Beach

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Your itinerary looks so much fun! I also did the Old Town Trolley Tour in Savannah and enjoyed it. Since you mention Olivia and Girl Scouts, are you aware you can take a tour of the Juliette Gordon Low house in Savannah? I want to say it's one of the stops on the Trolley Tour but it's been many years since I did it so you'd have to check.
I've read a couple reviews of the SW Galactic Dessert Party and they're all very positive. We did the Tomorrowland Terrace one years ago and weren't impressed so I've never considered doing any other dessert party. We aren't SW fans but absolutely loved the SW fireworks in January, plus we love desserts lol, so I've thought about booking it for our Nov. trip.

I didn't know about the Juliette Gordon Low House - I'll have to check it out, thanks for the suggestion!

We did the tomorrowland terrace party a few years ago, when Emma was just 1 month old, so having the spot was nice and it was a different point of view but now that they have jacked the price up I don't think it is worth it ... but with how important having a good view for this SW show in particular I think is important so I think it will be worth it ... plus they have unlimited adult beverages

I'm here to follow along!! I'm very excited to hear about this trip as I've always wanted to try this with my kids. I drove down when I was a kid myself but never had any say in where we stopped...but I'd like to try it now when I DO!! Can't wait to hear all about it!

This is awesome! My family and I have gone to this area at least 2x per year for about 10 years...so if you need any reco's let me know. There's a great place called The Whale's Rib right on the main drag in Deerfield that we love. And also JB's on the Beach

Welcome, thanks for following along and for commenting! Good point - it is nice to be able to decide where we will stop!

We've stayed in the area before and gone to the Deerfield Beach before and have actually eaten at the Whale's Rib (love the Whale Sauce) as well as JB's (that is where Olivia first discovered she loved oysters)

Actually, if you have any recommendations for getting ice cream or an ice cream cake that we could have at Emma's Birthday Party that would be really helpful!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 8 - Sunday, July 24th - Monorail Resort area and Magic Kingdom​

Well, we are not much more than a week away from getting the trip started, so I probably need to get this Pre-TR going a bit faster. Also, they released the other meet-up events so this Pre-TR should also help with trying to figure out how to fit in what we can.

One thing that did get announced is an Arrival day Dole Whip and Fireworks meet-up event at the Poly on Friday, July 22nd - which fits into our plans so we will be doing that.

So when Sunday comes around, we will need to get up early to try and get to an early Mass.

We then have a 9am breakfast ADR scheduled for Kona Cafe. We have never eaten breakfast here but I am very excited about it. I think I will want to try the Macadamia Nut pancakes and I suspect Judi will get the Tonga Toast - but item I am most definitely getting is the pressed pot coffee

​

After breakfast we need to head to the TTC as we are participating as a family in the New England DISers - Mega Meet Hunt:

"We all know Disney is about the details. Grab a team or have us put you into one! Meet old friends and new as we “hunt” around the Monorail searching for clues, answering trivia questions, performing DAFs (daring acts of fun) and lots and lots of laughing! Think you know Disney? Think you know all the fun nooks and crannies of the three monorail resorts? Join us to see!! We will meet on July 24th at 10 AM at the TTC. Show your pride with team colors, shirts, hats or just plain ‘ole enthusiasm! Can’t wait to see you!"​

This is part of the weekend events and raising money for Give Kids the World. It should be really fun and will send us around the Monorail resorts. Olivia is really excited for this - I hope they have things that aren't too, too challenging as I don't want her to get discouraged if we can't find a lot of things.

When this ends I am hoping to have time to head into Magic Kingdom as one of the new events announced is Connecting with Walt on Main Street with Michael, Tom and Craig - Join Michael Bowling, Tom Bell and Craig Williams for stories and insight into Main Street USA and Walt Disney. Connecting with Walt has been one of the highlights for me among the DIS Unplugged shows so to get to hang out with them - and maybe get an autograph or two (in exchange for a donation to GKTW of course - would be awesome. It is scheduled for 2pm to 4pm so hoping to get there for the first hour. I believe @khertz is hoping to make this as well so will be great to see her and her husband as well!

​

I won't be able to stay the entire time as we have a 4pm ADR at the Hoop Dee Doo Review over at Pioneer Hall. I believe we can take a boat/ferry right from the Magic Kingdom - but if that is not the case, please let me know. This is something we have never done before and I am really looking forward to it. I think the kids will really get a kick out of it and Judi is looking forward to the all-you-care-to-drink sangria

​

If we are up to it I think we will head back to MK for a bit to see what we can get done. Also hoping to meet up with a few other DISers this night so that would be great as well!

Should be a fund day - but don't want it to be too late as we have a big day coming up as it is Podcast day but also I am hoping we can do something else we have never done before: See the Welcome Show at the Magic Kingdom!

TTFN

 

[khertz]

I believe @khertz is hoping to make this as well so will be great to see her and her husband as well!

We should be there! We were able to move our ADR that was conflicting with that meet.

 

[ariane37]

The Mega Meet Hunt sounds interesting and like so much fun!

And HDDR is a great time We did it in 2014 when our boys were 12 and 9 and they enjoyed it much more than I thought they would. We had a great table right up front; my husband got picked to be in the show.....I won't give away what part he played but when you see the show, you'll figure it out pretty quick!

 

[rteetz]

Phil some how I missed that you started this!

Anyways I have to say your plans look great and I am super jealous of anyone going to the mega-meet. I really wish I could be there to meet all of you. That connecting with walt meet up on main street sounds like its going to be awesome. Anytime you get to listen to Michael is an amazing time.

 

[OKW Lover]

I won't be able to stay the entire time as we have a 4pm ADR at the Hoop Dee Doo Review over at Pioneer Hall. I believe we can take a boat/ferry right from the Magic Kingdom - but if that is not the case, please let me know.

You are correct. Just take the boat from the MK to FW. HDD is a very short walk from the boat dock there.

 

[ElenaJane]

I listen to the WDW and Universal Podcast every week and all of the events planned sound like so much fun! If I were there, I would definitely be doing the monorail mega hunt! I think Vlogging with Ryno would be a hoot as well.

I love the Tonga Toast and have had breakfast a few times at Kona. However, the Macadamia Nut Pancakes are really good and like a hidden gem!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

We should be there! We were able to move our ADR that was conflicting with that meet.

That's great! I sent them a note asking how it will work as ideally we would make it for the first 45 mins to an hour before leaving for our ADR at the Hoop Dee Doo revue - but wasn't sure if it would be set up that you really need to be there for all 2 hours or anything (I assume it will be fine but wanted to double check)

The Mega Meet Hunt sounds interesting and like so much fun!

And HDDR is a great time We did it in 2014 when our boys were 12 and 9 and they enjoyed it much more than I thought they would. We had a great table right up front; my husband got picked to be in the show.....I won't give away what part he played but when you see the show, you'll figure it out pretty quick!

I love scavenger hunt type things and anything related to Disney history so I am really excited for it ... I hope either all the items are easy for everyone or they have like separate tasks for families vs only adults/more serious members.

I've tried to not spoil all of the Hoop Dee Doo review show but I have seen some bits about parts that audience members can play so I have an idea. We booked the first tier and signed up right at the 180 day mark so I am hopeful we have a close seat (from my research it seems like they take the first people to book and they get the best / closest seat in that tier and work from there)

Phil some how I missed that you started this!

Anyways I have to say your plans look great and I am super jealous of anyone going to the mega-meet. I really wish I could be there to meet all of you. That connecting with walt meet up on main street sounds like its going to be awesome. Anytime you get to listen to Michael is an amazing time.

No worries Ryan - glad you are here!

I know! I love just listening to him on those episodes so to be able to hear him talk about WDW on Main St I think would be cool! I sent them a note to confirm that it will be ok if we can only stay for the first bit

 

[TheMaxRebo]

You are correct. Just take the boat from the MK to FW. HDD is a very short walk from the boat dock there.

Thank you! I was fairly certain that was the case but I get nervous about logistic type stuff that I have never done before ... I think that will even be better than driving and parking and taking the internal shuttle to the area so should work out great. Then it will be easy to take the boat back to MK after the show and spend a few hours there that night.

I listen to the WDW and Universal Podcast every week and all of the events planned sound like so much fun! If I were there, I would definitely be doing the monorail mega hunt! I think Vlogging with Ryno would be a hoot as well.

I love the Tonga Toast and have had breakfast a few times at Kona. However, the Macadamia Nut Pancakes are really good and like a hidden gem!

The Vlogging with Ryno sounds awesome but I think trying to get over to EPCOT would just be pushing it too much. And I think I am already asking a lot of the rest of the family to make as many events as I am proposing. but that one does sound fun. The Sip and Snack with Corey, Julie, Craig, and Teresa sounds fun as well, but again, trying to get to Disney Springs would just be too much. I think if I can make the Connecting with Walt one in addition to the Friday night welcome one, the scavenger hunt and the actual podcast taping, that is pretty good

I really hear nothing but good things about the breakfast at Kona so really looking forward to it. I think if Judi orders the Tonga Toast and I get the Macadamia Nut Pancakes we can the get to try both