Calhoun Christmas Trip--Day 1--And away we go!

[JulesMom]

Cast of Characters:
Michele(me) 38—obsessive planner and WDW lover
Ronnie(DH) 40—has become Disney addicted, though he tries not to show it
Juliana(DD)16—aka Jules, WDW Princess, loves all things Disney, DIS obsessed
Jacob(DS)10—also Disney obsessed, loves Pluto

Dates—December 21,2002-December 30,2002

Accomodations:
Econolodge-Kissimmee—December 21
Beach Club-standard view—December 22-December 29
Comfort Inn-Tillman’s Corner-Mobile, Alabama—December 29

Day 1---And away we go!!!

Ronnie & I got up at 3:15 am. We planned to leave at 4am. We got the kids up at 3:40am. We had packed almost everything the night before. So, we didn’t have much to do.

We were driving in my 2002 Mitsubuishi Montero Sport. We had bought a TV/VCR combo at Target, but decided we’d rather have a DVD player so we took that back and got a TV/DVD player at Best Buy. That should help with the long 15-16 hour trip. To make it even better, my in-laws gave Jules a portable DVD player, so we’ll have 2 on the trip!! No fighting over who gets to watch.

We pulled out of the drive way at 4:03am! I was driving first. Ronnie was in the front with me. The kids were in the back with pillows and blankets. We got the kids new headphones for Christmas, so they put those on and put the Peter Pan DVD in. I listened to the 1998 Official Walt DisneyWorld Album—one of my favs!!

The only bad thing is this HUGE bridge at the Port of Houston. I hate tall steep bridges and this is the worst I’ve ever seen!! I haven’t been this was since they were building it! I don’t like driving up this huge thing!

6:08am(2+ hours)—We’re in Louisiana. The kids watched about 15 minutes of Peter Pan before falling a sleep. Ronnie dozed on and off. We had very little traffic since it’s Saturday and very early. We had planned on stopping in Baton Rouge. I can usually drive for about 300 miles or 4 hours before we need gas.

8:03(4 hours)—The gas light comes on!!! And we are on that long bridge before Baton Rouge. It was 10 minutes before we could get off—at the first exit. We stopped at a Texaco. Ronnie filled up the car and we took a potty break.

8:23—We were on our way. Jules was driving---AAAAHHHHH!!! She just turned 16 in August, so she hasn’t been driving long. But this is just straight on the interstate so she should do fine.

9:47am—We are in Mississippi!! We are filming and taking digital pics at each new state. Jacob watched Mulan and I worked on a new Christmas stocking for Jules.

10:52am—We are in Alabama!! Cameras are going.

11:03am—We stop in Mobile. Jules has driven for almost 3 hours and has done a great job. We stop at Shell. I want to use our Shell Mastercard because we have $50 of free gas on it from rebates. We take a potty break and then go to Arby’s and Taco Bell drive thru for food.

11:31am—We are finally on the road. Ronnie is driving. Jacob is in the front and Jules is in the back with me. After we eat, I start watching Kingdom Come. Jules watches Don’t Say a Word—too scary for me!

12:14pm(8+ hours)--We are in FLORIDA!!! And unfortunately only about half way there!! And we lose an hour for EST.

1:52pm—We stop in Tallahassee for gas and a potty break.

4:05pm(11hours)—We are on our way again. Driving isn’t near as bad as we thought it would be. It helps to have the DVD players and 2 older children.

6:30pm—We ran into some traffic outside Ocala and went very slow for about 15 minutes—never found out why

7:11pm(14+hours)—I had read on the boards to take 27S thru Clermont for less traffic and to avoid tolls. We had to pay $1.00 when we got off at 27S. It seemed to take a long time to get to 192 and WDW since the speed limit is slower and there are lots of lights. I think we’ll go down I-4 next time.

8:05pm(15hours)—We stopped at Burger King for supper. Ronnie had leftover Roast Beef sandwiches from Arby’s.

8:15pm—We got to the Econolodge and checked in. I had booked this on Hotwire for $31.00 including tax. It was very basic and a little run down Econolodge, but fine for $31. We brought all our luggage to the room. Ate and watched TV and got into the bed. The last 2 or 3 hours of driving I got tired, but overall it wasn’t bad at all!!

Budget—I didn’t budget any of the meals today for the trip. We eat out often at home, so this really didn’t cost us any more than if we’d been at home. We spent about $25. We brought drinks in a cooler in the car, so that was just food.

 

[Kellyh123]

We live in Conroe (north of Houston). We have driven to WDW before and each year we drive to Navarre Island which is outside of Pensacola. I enjoyed reading your descriptions of the drive to Florida. I recognized many of those places. Hope you had a great trip. We also went in June 1997 for our once in a lifetime trip. Well it took until June 2002 to be able to go back again but we all became hooked. My 16 year old DD 13 year old DS and my DH. We are going back again this June and can't wait. Thanks for sharing your trip

 

[letyfrombrazil]

Great report.
I really enjoyed your hour by hour report!!

 

[pnelson]

It's nice to see older kids excited about going to WDW! My son will be 10 on our next trip. Did your son still like the characters or are autographs old hat by now? Did you guys do any character meals?

 

[BCV23]

Fun to read reports. I hate driving on high bridges, too. Looking forward to more reports.

 

[HunnyPots]

Loving your report so far! Your family sounds so much like mine. We will be driving to WDW in June, also from Texas. My dd is 15 and ds is 12. My dd is also in band and did not make region band in December.
She will also be helping out with the driving, with her recently aquired learners permit.
Can't wait for the rest of the report!

 

[SamR]

...and got a TV/DVD player at Best Buy.

What brand did you get? Is it one of those that hangs from the back of the seat, or if not, how did you mount/secure it? Now that you have a trip under your belt with it, what is your opinion of it?

I'm giving some serious thought to purchasing one of these before our March drive to WDW (from the Raleigh, NC area), so I'm interested in any advice/opinions. Thanks!

 

[JulesMom]

We did 3 character meals--
Cape May Breakfast
Garden Grille
Donald's

DS10 hasn't been into the autographs for a few years, but he still loves to take pics with the characters. He even kissed Mickey and Pluto are Garden Grille!

We bought a Toshiba TV/DVD player. It is awesome. We took it on our trip to Dallas last week. We just lean it in front of the seat on the floor in the middle. It doesn't move at all. We have an earphone splitter so the 2 people in the back seat can listen. I would definitely get one. I ordered my online from Best Buy. It was about $15 cheaper. I picked in up at the store. We only got it a few days before we left. the nice thing about getting it online-besides the price-I got no interest for 1 year. I only have to make minimum payments. At the store, you had to buy a certain amount. Online, it could be any price.

As far as driving goes, I really liked it. DS LOVED it--he said he never wanted to fly again! I felt more relaxed and being able to move around in the car made it more comfortable.