Because We're Insane: Driving & Triple Split Stay! Updated 10/23. Pg.16

[MrsWEsq]

Joining in. We made the drive from central NY last year and we will do it again in November.

 

[JenSop]

I'm in Omg, I don't know how you guys do it. I drive only 4 hours from Miami to Orlando and I am dying! You are troopers!

Haha! Let's just say that I really don't think we'll be doing this again for a long time. Thanks for joining along on my TR!!

I'm in....great start! I would love to do a road trip to Disney, but it would take us three days of driving there and three days home...so not gonna happen

Great to have you aboard on my TR! I would say be very glad that you are too far to drive.

Great Start! We're driving down from Jersey on 7/12, so i get the excited to go, but the drive really stinks feeling. For the first time we're stopping for the night in South Carolina to let me nephew swim a bit and burn off some energy. However, on the way home it's straight through!!! Maybe I'll try your "cocktail" although it would probably make me jump out of my skin with jitters.

Oh wow, you guys are really doing it the hard way. The drive back is so much worse than the drive there. Let me tell you that the special cocktail really does work wonders. You'll be awake forever! Great to have you on board on my TR!

Following! Great report so far!

Thanks! Glad to have you on board! And we have more in common than you know - if I had taken Brian's last name when we got married, I'd also be a Mrs. Smith. (But I kept my maiden name.)

Joining up for the read! Can't wait to hear the details. I also can't belive you drove again! Love the flashback photos.

I know - can you believe it?! What were we thinking?!?!?!?!? Megan was also telling me how crazy we were. Although we went in fully aware of what to expect, so I think we were *sort of* prepared for it? Maybe?

Glad to have you reading along!

 

[saintstickets]

And even though we had our Garmin, we had our Google map directions printed out as a back-up, just to avoid any extra "Garmin Adventures" as we like to call them. You know, those times that Garmin decides to take you on some strange alternate route for it's own selfish enjoyment.

I'm in!! Love the "Garmin Adventures" reference. DW and I have experienced this several times....ended up on dirt roads and down someone's long driveway!
Can't wait to read your V&A review. DW and I tried it for the 1st time this past December and absolutely loved it!!

 

[JenSop]

Hey, great report so far! Wow, you guys drove straight through with no overnight stays, impressive! We haven't driven to Disney in 7 years... I love road trips, but when it comes to my Disney obsession, I'm just too impatient!

Thanks! And I'd say not so much impressive as just downright crazy! Although we did know what we were getting into. I think this is the last time for a VERY long time. Next year's trip is our big Grand Gathering, and we'll ALL be flying for that one! (It's MUCH better to get to Disney in just over two hours!)

We always drive as airfare with three children has always been cost prohibitive compared to driving even with the higher gas prices of recent years. The extra time required to drive from Indianapolis is usually not an issue as we are both teachers and vacation in the summer. Enjoying your trip report.

Thanks for joining in! And heck, just with the two of us, flying was getting on the borderline of cost-prohibitive! Yikes! Glad to have you along for my TR!

Joining in!!! Great start with the teasers!!! We are on our way home from our trip. Ho hum. On hour 10 of the drive back to Chicago. I think we are stopping in another hour or so. We promised the kids swimming tonight! I can't wait to get home and relax!

Hi! Wow - you're in the middle of the insanity yourselves! How long of a drive is it for Chicago? I suspect quite a bit longer than our drive from PA. It's so true - your bed feels SO good after such a long drive! Glad to have you along for my TR!

Joining in! Wow that's a long drive...I definitely wouldn't be able to do that! Hope you made it to Le Cellier - sounds like you should have made it no problem!

Thanks for joining along on my TR! Glad to have you on board! *Spoiler alert* .....I think there's a good chance we might have had some steak for lunch that day..... Just sayin'.....

Looking forward to reading ! Your ADRs are **great**

Thanks so much! We were so excited about our meals. Eating is such a big important part of each of our Disney trips! Seriously - we love good food! And we're very good at taking pictures at EVERY meal - we won't disappoint!

Glad to have you on board!

Joining in. We made the drive from central NY last year and we will do it again in November.

Welcome!!!! Wow - your trip is longer than ours indeed. Do you stop on the way, or go straight through?

Glad to have you along for my TR!

 

[JenSop]

I'm in!! Love the "Garmin Adventures" reference. DW and I have experienced this several times....ended up on dirt roads and down someone's long driveway!
Can't wait to read your V&A review. DW and I tried it for the 1st time this past December and absolutely loved it!!

YES with the Garmin Adventures! We actually have a little tune to the words "Garmin Adveeentuuuuures!" When we did the drive to Disney two years ago, on the way home, Garmin had us get off of 95 in D.C. and drive through the freakin' city for awhile - through traffic lights and everything. That was our first taste of the true Garmin Adventure.

V&A was awesome! We took SO many pictures!

 

[JenSop]

PART TWO: FINALLY AT DISNEY!

So, as I said in my last update, we pulled into the Boardwalk at 10:45am.

But it was crunch time.

Everyone wanted to help us and were so laid back and leisurely. I had to keep explaining - 1. we just drove straight through the night and were kind of out of it and 2. we had a noon reservation at Le Cellier and had no time to spare. Yes, we know how to get to Le Cellier. No, we don't need help.

Okay, I'm going to take a quick side trip here with my story. I really do LOVE how CM's are so super helpful. But when I'm exhausted and in a hurry, I don't need maps or directions. I know where everything is. I know how to get to International Gateway. (And another side note - it bugs me when they refer to Illumination as "the fireworks start at 9!" They're NOT just fireworks - they're so much more!!! Hmmm.... maybe I'm tired today too, I'm sounding kind of cranky....)




Anyway, our room was #3048. It was REALLY big. After checking out the bathroom, though, we figured out it was a handicapped accessible room.

I snapped just a few pics, as we had to go. There wasn't even time to change.

Here are some quick pics of our room:

The view from our window - that's the pool through the trees....

Our balcony:

Artwork on the wall:

But seriously, it was time to go.

We got to Guest Relations at International Gateway and bought our Tables in Wonderland card. We were going to use this for everything that wasn't on our DDP. We just had the DDP for the OKW portion of our stay, so everything we would eat on this first day was going to be out-of-pocket (OOP) and we'd be using the TIW card for it.

We got to the podium at Le Cellier early - around 11:45 am. (You know, I just feel terrible for those Canadian CM's having to stand outside in those long-sleeve costumes!)

We checked in and took a deep breath. We were here! Ahhhhhh......

Disney! Woo hoo!


Just then, a CM came out from the restaurant looking for us. They were ready to seat us already! Awesome! I was hungry!


We knew we were going to have a big dinner that night at Cape May Cafe, so we decided to each get the soup and to split the fillet. I also decided to get the raspberry smoothie. Why? 'Cause I was tired and cranky, that's why!

And it's good!

Our server was Daniel from Vancouver. He was very nice. Although he must not come in contact with too many DISers, as he seemed to look at us funny when we took pictures of our food.


Without further ado; our lunch:

Mmmmmm breadsticks and smoothie!

Delicious cheese soup with yummy bacon bits.....

And the star of the show - the mushroom fillet.

Dude - it was so good. After taking a bite, all I could say was, "now THAT'S the stuff." SO tender. So yummy. And heck, I don't even really like mushrooms, but they make this work SO well.

For anyone who is a Le Cellier naysayer - I can only imagine you must go out for amazing steak all the time. Because my Le Cellier fillet is just as good as the fillets I've gotten the few times I've gone to Shula's.

We also were talking and figured out that Le Cellier is the only restaurant that we've eaten at on EVERY single trip since our 2001 honeymoon. Every trip. I think you could say we kind of love it.....


For dessert, we decided to get one of their new offerings. The Mont Blanc Semifreddo, which was white wine custard in mango fruit sauce.

It was VERY good. Nice and different. You could definitely taste the wine in the custard and the mango sauce had a bit of "heat" to it, which we later found out was cayenne pepper. Really good!


After leaving the restaurant, what did our eyes behold?

Baby animals!!!!!


I love animals in general, and well, baby animals just take it to that extreme level of cuteness like nothing else.

First, it was the baby bunny. So little and tiny and smushy cute!

Then it was baby duckies!!!

I was able to pull myself away from the cuteness and we decided - what the heck, let's see if there's any FP's for Soarin'. Then we'll head back to the room.

We grabbed some Soarin's FP's, then headed over to Mouse Gear. Last year, they were undergoing all the renovations, and now it was all done. Some things I liked about the re-do, some not....

Then on our way back to International Gateway, I wanted to quick jump into Imagination to see if there was any new Figment merchandise. I was SO DISAPPOINTED!!!!!! Give the fans their Figment stuff!!!! (By fans, I really do mean me, but I know there are MANY others out there just like me. This was THE kids ride in the 1980's!)


We did stop in one of those stores that are right there when you get into World Showcase, and we bought the Illuminations soundtrack CD that we had been eyeing last year.


Next stop - back to the resort. Got our bags and I snapped a few more pics of the resort area....

The hall area outside our room:

Our room's bathroom. (Hey, people need to know this stuff!) ;-)

It was SO hot out and the pool felt SO great. The pool slide was really fun. Total thumbs up from us.

However, Brian lost his room key at some point in the pool. He had to get a new one at the front desk.

Before long, it was time to get ready for dinner.


What's next?

We got a really great little surprise at dinner and ate way too much yummy food. But that's for the next update. Stay tuned!

......

 

[jecskc]

We were there at the exact same time !! We even stayed at OKW. We loved it there !! Can't wait to see the rest of your report

 

[JenSop]

We were there at the exact same time !! We even stayed at OKW. We loved it there !! Can't wait to see the rest of your report

Hey - I wonder if we saw you and just didn't know it! Glad to have you along for my TR!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I have that same shirt!! I agree, Figment merchandise is definitely lacking!!

I know what you mean about the CM's trying to be all helpful, and you're like "I know, I know, I know, let's GO!!". I was on the phone with Disney about my trip in January, and the lovely CM was like "do you want me to calculate what day you can start booking dining reservations" and I was like "nope, I've got that all worked out already!"

Glad to see you made it to Le Cellier! We were originally thinking about making a lunch ADR there on our arrival day, but just thinking about it was making me nervous we would miss it, so I think we're going to shoot for our departure day instead.

 

[MrsWEsq]

Welcome!!!! Wow - your trip is longer than ours indeed. Do you stop on the way, or go straight through?

Glad to have you along for my TR!

We stop in South Carolina for the night. That leaves us with a 7-8 hour drive the next day which feels like nothing after such a long drive the day before. Fortunately we have flexible vacation time and adding on a couple extra days to drive doesn't cut into our Disney time.

 

[JenSop]

I have that same shirt!! I agree, Figment merchandise is definitely lacking!!

I know what you mean about the CM's trying to be all helpful, and you're like "I know, I know, I know, let's GO!!". I was on the phone with Disney about my trip in January, and the lovely CM was like "do you want me to calculate what day you can start booking dining reservations" and I was like "nope, I've got that all worked out already!"

Glad to see you made it to Le Cellier! We were originally thinking about making a lunch ADR there on our arrival day, but just thinking about it was making me nervous we would miss it, so I think we're going to shoot for our departure day instead.

Figment! He was my favorite character when I was little.

I think Le Cellier will make just as good of a last day lunch as it does a first day lunch. I was SO nervous we wouldn't make it! I wouldn't wish that stress on anyone.

We stop in South Carolina for the night. That leaves us with a 7-8 hour drive the next day which feels like nothing after such a long drive the day before. Fortunately we have flexible vacation time and adding on a couple extra days to drive doesn't cut into our Disney time.

That sounds like a very good idea. Maybe we wouldn't hate the drive so much if we actually stopped somewhere to rest.

Haha!

On this trip, we didn't have the extra days to spare, but perhaps it might be worth looking into if we ever decide to do the drive again.

 

[jecskc]

Hey - I wonder if we saw you and just didn't know it! Glad to have you along for my TR!

Maybe so. You might be in some of photos in my TR, if you want to see. And I will see if we are in any of yours.

 

[JenSop]

Maybe so. You might be in some of photos in my TR, if you want to see. And I will see if we are in any of yours.

Who knows!


Do you have a link to your TR? I'll definitely join in!

 

[jecskc]

Who knows!


Do you have a link to your TR? I'll definitely join in!

It's in my signature.

My Feet are Killing Me and I Want a Lollipop.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Great update! I can only imagine how wonderful it is to stay at The Boardwalk...walking distance to my favorite park.... pure We love Le Cellier as much as you do and can't wait for our ADR in August

 

[TeaForTulips]

subbing! love it!

 

[JenSop]

Great update! I can only imagine how wonderful it is to stay at The Boardwalk...walking distance to my favorite park.... pure We love Le Cellier as much as you do and can't wait for our ADR in August

In hindsight, we really wish we had stayed the longer portion of our trip at Boardwalk, considering so many of our meals ended up being either in Epcot or the Epcot resorts. But it was less points to stay OKW. Oh well!

Glad to find another die-hard Le Cellier fan!

subbing! love it!

Thanks!! So glad to have you along for the ride!

 

[Sooze]

PART 1: The LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG drive to Disney.....

As always, the days leading up to our trip were filled with stress and too much to do. (That's probably EVERY body's trips!)

Why do we do this to ourselves?! It doesn't matter how soon you start preparing, the last few days are always crazy!

(Um, no that box of kitty litter was not coming with us - just look at the CENTER of the room....)

Whew... I was wondering....

Brian had also gotten Tina Fey's new book "Bossypants" on CD so we could listen to it on the way down.

LOVE digital books while driving... they really make the time pass faster!

Awww...he looks so giddy!!

You know, those times that Garmin decides to take you on some strange alternate route for it's own selfish enjoyment.

We stopped for some dinner at an Arby's in Chambersburg, PA.

We kicked off our drive with an Arby's dinner too!!

There were over a dozen cops in various types of uniform in the shop inside. Guns very visible. Lots of guns. At least we knew no one was going to hold that gas station up that night!

Weird.... did you ever find out what was going on?!

Take it away Brian! I'm done with this driving stuff! I was behind that wheel from 4:30pm to 5:30am!

You are a TROOPER!! I must try that keep-awake concoction!!

 

[JenSop]

Hi Sooze!

Glad to have you along on my TR! (And I can't wait to hear all about your trip!)

Yes - I highly recommend my "Keep awake" concoction - really works!

 

[Shannon84]

I'm here, I'm here!!! You are NUTS! all that driving and straight to a Le Cellier reservation...I love it

That figment shirt is sooooo cute!! I also am a Figment lover and HATE the fact that there is less and less merchandise each year...even in the ride gift shop

I cannot wait to eat at Le Cellier...I really want to try the filet, but I really don't like mushrooms...so I will probably have to try something else