They Should Really Put a Bar in Here - Closing Thoughts - 4/1

[afwdwfan]

Hiding in plain sight I see.
That cunning plan to throw me off the trail didn’t work.

Well, you're a couple days late. But you've always been a bit slow.

The price of that failure…
you’re now stuck with me as one of your loyal detractor… errr… I mean followers.

I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of the story (and lobbing a few hand-grenades into the middle of the festivities when ever possible).

I wouldn't expect anything less.

Nice job on the TT write up; very good information (just wish I could put it to good use in the near, but I digress). Your final design was, shall we say, interesting. It looked a little like a cross between a Tonka and a surrey (sans: the fringe on top), but you can’t argue with the final score.

Great start

Thanks!

I designed my vehicle to be a truck, and I guess that is what Chevrolet invisions the truck of the future to look like. When you looked at it from different angles, it definitely was a truck bed behind the cab. It actually didn't look quite so funny until I started putting the accessories on at the end. I'd have just left it a little more simple looking, but then I figured out that adding things increased the scores and the next thing you know I've got a wing on the back and pipes down the side. I did stretch the frame width and length and drop the cab height a bit too when I designed it to improve capability, and I think that probably made it look a little bit funnier.

I'm back and caught up. Great intros. I'm so sorry to hear about the camera issues...that's awful...especially with the little ones, but I'm sure the phone pictures will give us the story.

It was a shame to not have better pictures, but we did get some good ones of them having some fun and enjoying the characters. Most of the time we had our hands full and didn't have time to mess with getting a camera out anyway.

 

[729tink]

I'd like to follow along too if you don't mind!

 

[wiigirl]

In for this!

 

[afwdwfan]

I've been working on the first actual update today and should have it posted sometime tomorrow! Thanks to everyone for stopping by, it's about time to get this thing rolling.

I'd like to follow along too if you don't mind!

I don't mind at all, thanks for stopping by!

In for this!

Glad to have you here!

 

[afwdwfan]

Check-In Day

Friday Nov 30, 10:30 PM

We always drive when we go to Disney World and this trip was no different. DW coaches cheerleading at a nearby high school, and she had a basketball game Friday night. I managed to leave work about an hour early so that I could get home and get a few hours of sleep before the drive. Once she got home at around 10:00 pm, I got up and got ready to leave. My parents and sisters were riding in another vehicle and would be making the drive with us, so I gave them a call to let them know we’d be ready to hit the road in about 20 minutes. BiL had some work obligations over the weekend, so he was going to be taking a flight scheduled to land in Orlando at 11 pm on Sunday.

We got on the road and had a nice drive and made really good time. As I had hoped, everyone slept in the cars, so we were about 5 hours from home before we finally had to make our first stop and get gas. We made it another 5 hours before stopping again for some breakfast. It was great that we had 2/3 of the drive out of the way before everyone started to wake up. We ended up stopping for breakfast at a Mc Donald’s somewhere south of Macon, GA. We took our time the rest of the way and made some stops to let DS get out and run around a few times, and we ended up getting to Coronado Springs by about 2:30 pm. My mom caught this picture of us driving past the famous sign… that’s kind of cool! Usually you end up with a picture of someone else’s car going under it.

We had done online check-in, so I went to that counter with my parents behind me and was working with the CM to get us all checked in. Well, the next thing I know, another CM calls my parents over to another station, and confusion ensues, since my CM had already started working on their check-in. Their CM didn’t realize that, and they didn’t share that information. I ended up running back and forth, talking to the CM they were with, and the one I was with and got everyone on the same page. By this time it was after 3, and I just wanted to get my room. The CM I dealt with was very nice, so I feel bad about being a little short, but I’d been up all night and wasn’t exactly the most cheerful person. She told me the room wasn’t ready and they’d text me when it was. I’m sure the look on my face expressed my displeasure, because before I could even open my mouth to say anything she said even though check-in time is 3, the room may not be ready until 5.

I wasn’t very happy, but I could have handled the situation a little better. At that point I was just done. I just took the documentation and walked away before she even went over the map and resort information. I know it wasn’t her fault and I shouldn’t have been upset, but I’d been up since 9:45 pm the night before and spent the entire drive behind the wheel. We had planned to be there right around 3pm, since we’d surely have a room by then since that is check-in time. All I wanted was to get settled in and take a nap and my patience was gone.

I knew at the time was that my room number started with 81—and I would figure out the rest later. My parents had no better luck with their room, but they got an Anniversary balloon and at least hung around long enough to get directions to their room. We were assigned adjacent rooms and they found out where we were supposed to go, so it was all good.

We decided to go get our mugs and check out El Centro a little bit. I got bored with walking around and decided to go have a seat at the fountain by the entrance. Finally a little bit after 4, I got the text that our room was ready. I was glad to see that our vehicles hadn’t been towed from the half hour check-in parking spots that we left them in for almost 2 hours.

We drove around to get to our building, and had to use our RFID room card at the gate to get through. I waved my card by the reader, tapped it on the reader, held my breath, crossed my fingers, closed my eyes, said several four letter words, and finally got the gate to open after probably 8 or 10 tries. When we got to the room, I had to try it repeatedly there too. I’ve heard a lot of people say good things about the RFID keys, but they seemed rather inconsistent to me. I have a small wallet on a key chain that I carry when I’m going to the parks. There were times I could leave my card in the wallet and just wave it by the reader and it would open right away. Other times I’d stick it in front of the reader to no avail, then I’d take the card out or the wallet and tap it on the reader and move it all over the place in front of the reader before it would ever unlock. I guess in the end, I like the old magnetic readers better. They at least worked the same way every time.

I apologize for the lack of pictures of the room, but we were in no mood to take pictures at the time. I just wanted to get us settled in so that we could get ready for our evening plans. I made the 1.78 mile hike back and forth between the parking lot and our room several times to haul all of our stuff in. DW was in the room unpacking and keeping the kids occupied while I unloaded the car. I did find out that our double stroller can haul a lot of baby food, formula and luggage.

Our room was located in Cabanas 8A, room 8141. The room was very nice, and it had just enough space for all of our stuff and the pack n play. I did like the feature of the sliding doors near the sink area so that I could get ready in the morning without waking everyone else, but as I’ve seen others mention, they aren’t the best idea with a toddler around. DS was constantly opening and closing them all week. I really wish there was some kind of latch system on them to keep them either opened or closed. We were located in a nice little corner of the resort. We had a beautiful view right outside our front door and just a short little walk over to the Dig Site and the bridge to walk to El Centro. Well, that’s nice! At least we’re close to the pool and playground areas. I’m sure we’ll love this location…

There, that’s better. Just take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the scenery! We have a whole week of Disney magic ahead of us!

It was definitely a rough first few hours at the resort, and our tempers were all a bit short after the drive and lack of sleep. We had planned to get a short nap in before our evening plans, but the delay in getting into a room kind of killed that idea. Oh well, it’s nothing a nice refreshing shower can’t fix. It’s time to get cleaned up, change clothes and go enjoy our evening. We had some friends to meet for dinner!

 

[KatMark]

What an awesome picture of you driving under the arch. I love it.

Sorry check-in took so long (reminds me of our stay at OKW in September).

But you got a great room location, but I don't blame you for being upset after having no sleep. Trust me, I would not have remained as "calm" as youd id.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

We always drive when we go to Disney World and this trip was no different. DW coaches cheerleading at a nearby high school,

Please tell me she has a WDW cheer. Or at least has a routine where the girls all make a hidden Mickey with their pom poms.

BiL had some work obligations over the weekend, so he was going to be taking a flight scheduled to land in Orlando at 11 pm on Sunday.

Riiiiiight. 1,000 miles in a car with your inlaws or 2 hours stretched out on a plane, taking a nap. I'm sure he had "work obligations"

My mom caught this picture of us driving past the famous sign… that’s kind of cool! Usually you end up with a picture of someone else’s car going under it.

Oooooo....Aaaaaaa....Very nice!
I don't have any pictures of my van driving into WDW. Mostly because of all of the advanced cloaking features I've installed make it very difficult to photograph.

We had done online check-in, so I went to that counter with my parents behind me and was working with the CM to get us all checked in. Well, the next thing I know, another CM calls my parents over to another station, and confusion ensues, since my CM had already started working on their check-in. Their CM didn’t realize that, and they didn’t share that information. I ended up running back and forth, talking to the CM they were with, and the one I was with and got everyone on the same page.

Left Hand, this is Right hand. Right hand, I'd like you to meet Left Hand.

I’m sure the look on my face expressed my displeasure, because before I could even open my mouth to say anything she said even though check-in time is 3, the room may not be ready until 5.

Ummm...then why the Beverly is check in time 3?

I wasn’t very happy, but I could have handled the situation a little better.

I'd consider anything short of jumping over the counter and choking the CM "better"

I’ve heard a lot of people say good things about the RFID keys, but they seemed rather inconsistent to me. I have a small wallet on a key chain that I carry when I’m going to the parks. There were times I could leave my card in the wallet and just wave it by the reader and it would open right away.

The only time I've had problems with them is if I had 2 or more room keys in my lanyard and tried to open a door. Every time I had only one the door unlocked on the first try. I guess between this and the camera batteries, it wasn't a very good vacation technology wise.

I did find out that our double stroller can haul a lot of baby food, formula and luggage.

You could even squeeze a baby or two in there if you tried.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Once she got home at around 10:00 pm, I got up and got ready to leave.

We got on the road and had a nice drive and made really good time. As I had hoped, everyone slept in the cars, so we were about 5 hours from home before we finally had to make our first stop and get gas. We made it another 5 hours before stopping again for some breakfast. It was great that we had 2/3 of the drive out of the way before everyone started to wake up.

So you ended up doing all the driving? Impressive.

We ended up stopping for breakfast at a Mc Donald’s somewhere south of Macon, GA.

Did they have a McPlayland? Otherwise it's not a great McDonald's.

My mom caught this picture of us driving past the famous sign… that’s kind of cool! Usually you end up with a picture of someone else’s car going under it.

Nice! That is a special one.

We had done online check-in

Perfect! That makes everything nice and smooth and quick.

I went to that counter with my parents behind me and was working with the CM to get us all checked in. Well, the next thing I know, another CM calls my parents over to another station, and confusion ensues, since my CM had already started working on their check-in. Their CM didn’t realize that, and they didn’t share that information.

I wonder if you could have played them against each other and see who got the better room assignment.

She told me the room wasn’t ready and they’d text me when it was. I’m sure the look on my face expressed my displeasure, because before I could even open my mouth to say anything she said even though check-in time is 3, the room may not be ready until 5.

Ooh, that's not good. That 3:00 is supposed to mean something. Not that the poor girl behind the counter can do anything about it, of course.

I wasn’t very happy, but I could have handled the situation a little better.

That wouldn't make for a very exciting TR, though. We want to see Andy SMASH! Preferably with pictures and/or video.

At that point I was just done. I just took the documentation and walked away before she even went over the map and resort information. I know it wasn’t her fault and I shouldn’t have been upset, but I’d been up since 9:45 pm the night before and spent the entire drive behind the wheel. We had planned to be there right around 3pm, since we’d surely have a room by then since that is check-in time. All I wanted was to get settled in and take a nap and my patience was gone.

Did you give any thought to stretching out for a nap right in the middle of the lobby floor?

I was glad to see that our vehicles hadn’t been towed from the half hour check-in parking spots that we left them in for almost 2 hours.

They weren't towed, but they were outfitted with a special system that causes them to drive on a center rail at no more than 7 mph.

We drove around to get to our building, and had to use our RFID room card at the gate to get through. I waved my card by the reader, tapped it on the reader, held my breath, crossed my fingers, closed my eyes, said several four letter words, and finally got the gate to open after probably 8 or 10 tries. When we got to the room, I had to try it repeatedly there too. I’ve heard a lot of people say good things about the RFID keys, but they seemed rather inconsistent to me. I have a small wallet on a key chain that I carry when I’m going to the parks. There were times I could leave my card in the wallet and just wave it by the reader and it would open right away. Other times I’d stick it in front of the reader to no avail, then I’d take the card out or the wallet and tap it on the reader and move it all over the place in front of the reader before it would ever unlock.

That's a supermarket bonus card you're using, Andy. You really need to get some more sleep before you try these things.

I did find out that our double stroller can haul a lot of baby food, formula and luggage.

Did you also find that they'll hold Disney bath robes, towels, and anything else that isn't bolted down in the room?

Uh, yeah, me neither.

I did like the feature of the sliding doors near the sink area so that I could get ready in the morning without waking everyone else, but as I’ve seen others mention, they aren’t the best idea with a toddler around. DS was constantly opening and closing them all week.

Toddlers will always find the weaknesses in the child-proofing defense system.

I’m sure we’ll love this location…

Looks like a nice spot from the pictures.

 

[jedijill]

I'm in...I couldn't imagine spending all that time in the car but I know plane fare for more than 1 is expensive!

Jill in CO

 

[twokids0204]

Wow, I am tired and grumpy just reading that.

I wouldn't have been as calm... After a drive like that, you just need to lie down...

I am very confident this trip will get better...

 

[jmwest]

BiL had some work obligations over the weekend, so he was going to be taking a flight scheduled to land in Orlando at 11 pm on Sunday.

I've totally got to try this next time we plan on driving. Something tells me DW would take the drive by herself and make me wrangle the DD's on the plane with no help.

She told me the room wasn’t ready and they’d text me when it was. I’m sure the look on my face expressed my displeasure, because before I could even open my mouth to say anything she said even though check-in time is 3, the room may not be ready until 5.

Ugh!

I just wanted to get us settled in so that we could get ready for our evening plans. I made the 1.78 mile hike back and forth between the parking lot and our room several times to haul all of our stuff in.

I wouldn't have blamed you if you had just pulled up on the lawn at this point and done a couple of donuts before backing it up to your door.

I did like the feature of the sliding doors near the sink area so that I could get ready in the morning without waking everyone else, but as I’ve seen others mention, they aren’t the best idea with a toddler around. DS was constantly opening and closing them all week. I really wish there was some kind of latch system on them to keep them either opened or closed.

But then there would be no way for them to smash their fingers or their siblings heads in there.

It was definitely a rough first few hours at the resort, and our tempers were all a bit short after the drive and lack of sleep. We had planned to get a short nap in before our evening plans, but the delay in getting into a room kind of killed that idea. Oh well, it’s nothing a nice refreshing shower can’t fix. It’s time to get cleaned up, change clothes and go enjoy our evening. We had some friends to meet for dinner!

Disney can be like Vegas where you can just go and go and go. There's always time for sleep when you get home.

 

[khertz]

So excited that you started!

Travel days are always the worst for us. Even though it seems like they should be so exciting because you are heading to DISNEY WORLD, after all, but there always seems to be lack of sleep involved which leads to short nerves. I think this past trip was the first time we didn't get into some sort of argument, and I mostly attribute that to the fact that we were not up and moving before dawn like we usually are!

That is pretty cool that your mom got a photo of your car (and ONLY your car!) going under the sign!!

Hopefully everyone was feeling refreshed after getting to clean up a bit.

 

[shan23877]

I'm in! Love the title!

Sorry that check in was rough. We've all let things like that get the better of us.

I hope that you really did love the location and room, and can't wait to hear more

 

[toughmudder]

Joining in...

Great start! It will be fun to read your TR as we anticipate our trip in a few weeks... I'll esp. be interested to hear your take/strategy on New FL.

 

[eandesmom]

Rough arrival, I felt your pain! I really hope you still had time for a short nap to restore and rejuvenate. After "check in time" room readiness would make me very cranky as well.

Love the pic of your car under the sign, that is so neat!

 

[afwdwfan]

What an awesome picture of you driving under the arch. I love it.

It was a nice surprise to find when I got Mom's memory card.

Sorry check-in took so long (reminds me of our stay at OKW in September).

Yeah... I remember that story.

But you got a great room location, but I don't blame you for being upset after having no sleep. Trust me, I would not have remained as "calm" as youd id.

I was too tired to be too beligerent.

Please tell me she has a WDW cheer. Or at least has a routine where the girls all make a hidden Mickey with their pom poms.

Ok, they do.

Technically it isn't a lie. I hardly pay any attention to what they do. For all I know, it's true.

Riiiiiight. 1,000 miles in a car with your inlaws or 2 hours stretched out on a plane, taking a nap. I'm sure he had "work obligations"

Hmmm... good point, but he did ride home with them. And that was during the day when everyone was awake.

Oooooo....Aaaaaaa....Very nice!
I don't have any pictures of my van driving into WDW. Mostly because of all of the advanced cloaking features I've installed make it very difficult to photograph.

Well if you turn off the invisibility feature, it should be fast enough that you can take your own picture of yourself driving under it.

Left Hand, this is Right hand. Right hand, I'd like you to meet Left Hand.

Ummm...then why the Beverly is check in time 3?

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one trying to solve that little mystery. They kind of acted like it was a normal thing.

I'd consider anything short of jumping over the counter and choking the CM "better"

My cat like reflexes were more like sloth like by that point.

The only time I've had problems with them is if I had 2 or more room keys in my lanyard and tried to open a door. Every time I had only one the door unlocked on the first try. I guess between this and the camera batteries, it wasn't a very good vacation technology wise.

That would be an understatement. I knew you'd mentioned that in your TR, but the thing just seemed like it didn't always want to work for us whether it was in my wallet or pressed directly against the reader.

You could even squeeze a baby or two in there if you tried.

Well, somebody had to hang on to all that stuff.

So you ended up doing all the driving? Impressive.

Always. I actually like driving. It seems to make the trip feel shorter too.

Did they have a McPlayland? Otherwise it's not a great McDonald's.

I don't care if it has a McPlayland or not, I've never seen a great McDonald's.

Nice! That is a special one.

And look how far ahead I was. I was dragging my feet the whole way just to keep from going off and leaving them.

Perfect! That makes everything nice and smooth and quick.

Of course it does!

I wonder if you could have played them against each other and see who got the better room assignment.

Hmmmm... where was that idea when I needed it?

Ooh, that's not good. That 3:00 is supposed to mean something. Not that the poor girl behind the counter can do anything about it, of course.

Yeah... we could have pushed through with 1 or 2 less stops and been there an hour earlier. If that was the case I could understand it, but being at the check in desk at check in time and not having a room ready just didn't quite make sense.

That wouldn't make for a very exciting TR, though. We want to see Andy SMASH! Preferably with pictures and/or video.

But that would depend on our camera working properly and the video camera being fully charged.

Did you give any thought to stretching out for a nap right in the middle of the lobby floor?

Ok, I didn't just sit down next to the fountain.

They weren't towed, but they were outfitted with a special system that causes them to drive on a center rail at no more than 7 mph.

Well, the tires were definitely spinning a lot faster than 7 mph when I pulled away from El Centro.

That's a supermarket bonus card you're using, Andy. You really need to get some more sleep before you try these things.

That explains it. Well, I'm glad it eventually worked. The next swipe was going to be with a hammer.

Did you also find that they'll hold Disney bath robes, towels, and anything else that isn't bolted down in the room?

Who would do such a thing?

Uh, yeah, me neither.

I wonder how many Rob has though.

Toddlers will always find the weaknesses in the child-proofing defense system.

Looks like a nice spot from the pictures.

Looks can be deceiving...

 

[afwdwfan]

I'm in...I couldn't imagine spending all that time in the car but I know plane fare for more than 1 is expensive!

Jill in CO

It doesn't really bother me. I do like driving at night though, so that the kids can sleep for most of it. It isn't really the cost so much as the fact that I just prefer to have our own transportation and it is so much easier to handle all our "cargo" this way.

Wow, I am tired and grumpy just reading that.

I hated to even write about it, but that's how it went. Nice way to start things off on a negative note. That'll make everyone want to read this crap.

I wouldn't have been as calm... After a drive like that, you just need to lie down...

I am very confident this trip will get better...

So am I!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I managed to leave work about an hour early so that I could get home and get a few hours of sleep before the drive.

I’m too excited to sleep!

My parents and sisters were riding in another vehicle and would be making the drive with us

Good plan. Otherwise it would have been like Barry’s last trip where someone would have to be stuffed into the back along with the luggage.

Likely you.

BiL had some work obligations over the weekend, so he was going to be taking a flight scheduled to land in Orlando at 11 pm on Sunday.

And miss all that scenic darkness!!!
The nerve!

As I had hoped, everyone slept in the cars, so we were about 5 hours from home before we finally had to make our first stop and get gas. We made it another 5 hours before stopping again for some breakfast. It was great that we had 2/3 of the drive out of the way before everyone started to wake up.

Excellent. With very small young’ens along, that was actually mighty fine planning.



Don’t get used to the compliments…
They won’t be showing up very often

We ended up stopping for breakfast at a Mc Donald’s somewhere south of Macon, GA.

Some Macon Bacon?

My mom caught this picture of us driving past the famous sign… that’s kind of cool! Usually you end up with a picture of someone else’s car going under it.

That is really cool! Your mom done good.



See now, her… I can compliment as often as possible.
Just surviving the ordeal of raising you elevates her to sainthood in the first place.

We had done online check-in, so I went to that counter with my parents behind me and was working with the CM to get us all checked in. Well, the next thing I know, another CM calls my parents over to another station, and confusion ensues,

El Centro… we have a problem

I ended up running back and forth, talking to the CM they were with, and the one I was with and got everyone on the same page. By this time it was after 3, and I just wanted to get my room. The CM I dealt with was very nice, so I feel bad about being a little short, but I’d been up all night and wasn’t exactly the most cheerful person.

before I could even open my mouth to say anything she said even though check-in time is 3, the room may not be ready until 5.

Whoa…
Remind me not to get there right at check-in time.
Apparently you need to either be earlier or later on the arrival time.

We drove around to get to our building, and had to use our RFID room card at the gate to get through. I waved my card by the reader, tapped it on the reader, held my breath, crossed my fingers, closed my eyes, said several four letter words, and finally got the gate to open after probably 8 or 10 tries. When we got to the room, I had to try it repeatedly there too.

All part of my cunning plan.
It took a good bit of bribery and general underhandedness to insure that you’d be the one to receive a faulty RFID card.

Bwwwaaaahaahaahaaaa!

I made the 1.78 mile hike back and forth between the parking lot and our room several times to haul all of our stuff in.

That I actually believe. We’ve stayed at CSR once. It’s very nice to be sure, but it’s big and everything is a long walk away from nearly everything else.

I did find out that our double stroller can haul a lot of baby food, formula and luggage.

Necessity may be the mother of invention…
but laziness is most certainly the father.

Nice job of bein’ lazy.
I’d have done the same (I ”guar-on-tee”)

I did like the feature of the sliding doors near the sink area so that I could get ready in the morning without waking everyone else, but as I’ve seen others mention, they aren’t the best idea with a toddler around. DS was constantly opening and closing them all week. I

My, how rapidly that moved from “feature” to “headache”

We had a beautiful view right outside our front door and just a short little walk over to the Dig Site and the bridge to walk to El Centro. Well, that’s nice! At least we’re close to the pool and playground areas. I’m sure we’ll love this location…

Ummmm…
That sounds just a might ominous.

Pretty pictures though.

There, that’s better. Just take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the scenery!

Because you won’t like me when I’m mad…

We have a whole week of Disney magic ahead of us!

Yes you do, sir.
And that’s the important key to this story.

Try as I might to give you a hard time through out this here TR (and be assured, I will), in the end you win, because I don’t have a trip of any length planned to get back down there for quite some time to come. Paint me as green as the hulk with envy. You described a fairly rough day, but it’s a great start to the TR itself.

Nice work. I’m looking forward to hearing more, sir.

I don't have any pictures of my van driving into WDW. Mostly because of all of the advanced cloaking features I've installed make it very difficult to photograph.

Wait… I just saw a quote from one of the other readers that would make for perfect commentary right about here.


This one…

Riiiiiight.

Did they have a McPlayland? Otherwise it's not a great McDonald's.

Become quite the connoisseur on this topic, have we

We want to see Andy SMASH!

Ask and ye shall receive

Did you also find that they'll hold Disney bath robes, towels, and anything else that isn't bolted down in the room?

Uh, yeah, me neither.

I wonder how many Rob has though.

Just what exactly are you insinuating here sir?
Why, I am deeply insulted.



That was for the CMs reading along… truth: It’s quite the collection.
Hay like I said… it’s going to be a while before I can get back down there.
A little bit of magic around the house seemed like just the upgrade needed.

 

[MEK]

I really think that Disney should note on your reservation if you are driving. I'm serious - there should be a way to note "Driving from X. Up all night. Needs available room on arrival." That must have been very difficult to have driven all night and not be greeted with a ready room.

Cool picture of you guys driving through the arches. Love that.

So tell me about the "up al night" drive thing. As I told you, we are driving in June. Just how unbearable is it to drive through the night. We aren't planning on doing that right now, but I'm just curious. Do you ever feel like you are just going to pass out at the wheel.

Love your location at CSR. Very pretty.

Looking forward to more!

 

[afwdwfan]

I've totally got to try this next time we plan on driving. Something tells me DW would take the drive by herself and make me wrangle the DD's on the plane with no help.

Good luck with that. I'm sure the outcome will be favorable for you.

I wouldn't have blamed you if you had just pulled up on the lawn at this point and done a couple of donuts before backing it up to your door.

Believe me, the thought crossed my mind.

But then there would be no way for them to smash their fingers or their siblings heads in there.

I know, I don't want to let him have any fun.

Disney can be like Vegas where you can just go and go and go. There's always time for sleep when you get home.

Great comparison.

So excited that you started!

Glad you're here!

Travel days are always the worst for us. Even though it seems like they should be so exciting because you are heading to DISNEY WORLD, after all, but there always seems to be lack of sleep involved which leads to short nerves. I think this past trip was the first time we didn't get into some sort of argument, and I mostly attribute that to the fact that we were not up and moving before dawn like we usually are!

Travel days are always a little stressful. Completely worth it because you know what the end of the trip brings, but it can be a little stressful sitting in a car for so long.

That is pretty cool that your mom got a photo of your car (and ONLY your car!) going under the sign!!

Definitely a pleasant surprise when I saw it.

Hopefully everyone was feeling refreshed after getting to clean up a bit.

It is amazing how much that can help.

I'm in! Love the title!

I'm glad you like it!

Sorry that check in was rough. We've all let things like that get the better of us.

I hate being grumpy or rude to a CM especially when I'm at Disney World of all places, but sometimes it just happens.

I hope that you really did love the location and room, and can't wait to hear more

The room was great, and the location... we'll get to that later.

Joining in...

Great start! It will be fun to read your TR as we anticipate our trip in a few weeks... I'll esp. be interested to hear your take/strategy on New FL.

You have a trip coming up... I'm jealous. Here's my take on the new FL. Take advantage of RD and if you want to do the new Belle storytime thing, get there early in the day. Those lines got ridiculous!

Rough arrival, I felt your pain! I really hope you still had time for a short nap to restore and rejuvenate. After "check in time" room readiness would make me very cranky as well.

Well, there wasn't any time for a nap, but I did get a shower so that at least helped me relax and get refreshed. I couldn't believe that the room wouldn't be ready by the advertised check in time!

Love the pic of your car under the sign, that is so neat!

It really is. Might be the only time we get one like that!