DVC folks that DRIVE...... we are here now...

[edk35]

DD 12 just asked the other day if we would every fly down from Ontario again. Here I was thinking she wanted to know if the plan was to fly more than drive. When I explained the cost of flying and that we may again do it on occassion she said "Good! I'd rather drive down each time than fly!" I was a little surprised. After 4 trips in 5 years last March was the first time we drove and the kids actually enjoyed the time in the van. Go figure.

Ours too....odd huh?? Our kids are older dd 19, ds 16 and ds 11. The only thing...I am a ROOKIE AT PACKING FOR CAR TRIPS. I forgot all sorts of stuff. I could not get my act together to pack stuff up for a road trip.

 

[edk35]

We have always had a car even when we have flown, but there is something less stressful about having your own car (especially parking it right in from of your room at OKW). We live about 1 hour above you and with the airfares will be back to driving next time, I am actually looking forward to it (I do most of the driving), my wife not so much.

bookwormde

We have 4 licensed drivers now and hubby did everything until about the FL line. Then I brought it home. LOL He kept saying "I am fine" We have enjoyed parking right outside of SSR too.... I was UNSURE about whether we would drive to any parks but so far we have driven to DHS and AK. Tomorrow we are headed to EC. The only park that I think is worth taking the bus to..is MK. We are done with that park though. We stayed at Shades of Green two nights so we went over two days then and again last night.

I am just SHOCKED at how easy it is to get around the property. I think we will drive from now on....if we have at least a week or more on property. If we go for a shorter time like during the school year...we will fly. It was NOT expensive to drive that is for sure.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

I am just SHOCKED at how easy it is to get around the property.

They do a pretty good job with signage and directions. First time we drove it was a concern until we actually entered the world. From that point on it was much more relaxed.

Hope you all are at bliss!

 

[Tiger926]

Hey I sent you a pm a couple of days ago..asking about Vero and how you guys liked it. I knew you would be there before us.

I responded last night - did you not get it? Tiger

 

[joandegennaro]

Ours too....odd huh?? Our kids are older dd 19, ds 16 and ds 11. The only thing...I am a ROOKIE AT PACKING FOR CAR TRIPS. I forgot all sorts of stuff. I could not get my act together to pack stuff up for a road trip.

DH wanted to do it Rubbermaid buckets which turned out great for us. Packed 1 bucket for each of the 4 of us for what we each felt we would need (also put the responsiblity on the kids to pack things they needed instead of the "Mom didn't you pack my...." Also had each person remove enough belongings to have a travel down bucket also. This way we only had to remove and rummage threw 1 bucket each time we stopped. This year we will create our own OL (its blue not purple) as the year goes by I can pick up stuff I think we will need and put it in. Once were are home I can leave things like the crock pot/skillet in the bin for future trips.


We packed way to much food to take with us. Lesson learned. DH is a Diabetic and we are always so very careful. After a few trips to Walmart we realized we can get everything and more there.

 

[Tiger926]

Ours too....odd huh?? Our kids are older dd 19, ds 16 and ds 11. The only thing...I am a ROOKIE AT PACKING FOR CAR TRIPS. I forgot all sorts of stuff. I could not get my act together to pack stuff up for a road trip.

We have our own version of Owner's Locker too - it's a big Rubbermaid Action Packer. It seems more sturdy and larger than an Owner's Locker (we've checked them out while @ WDW, when we were considering getting one). It sits stocked with all DVC stuff during the year: small grill, ponchos, beach mats, beach chairs, Disney misting fans, light spinners, etc.

For the car, we have a console cooler, which is great for holding water and juice boxes. As well, we have snack bags with our snacks, and kids each have a small tote with their toys and such. We have a minivan, and luggage is in back, with our Action Packer and stroller, so it's all very neat and tidy!

We are great packers, and only bring the necessities with us. We don't overpack at all, and if we forget something, we pick it up at Target or Walmart on the way. Just as mentioned above, we first took too many snacks for the rode (the 3 of us have low blood sugar), so now we don't pack as much. We love to get out and stretch at Target or Walmart, as we can buy new snacks (we are Canadian, and don't have many of the same snacks), and kids get a new toy or book - it works out great!

Tiger

 

[joandegennaro]

Tiger, don't you just love the varitey offered at Walmarts in the US. We to are Canadians, Ontarians! My DD's just stood in the Cereal isle and were amazed at all the different cereals out there. Granola bars is another thing that is a staple for our family...the options are mind boggling. Last year was our maiden voyage down to Disney, we learned alot about how and what to pack.

 

[Tiger926]

Tiger, don't you just love the varitey offered at Walmarts in the US. We to are Canadians, Ontarians! My DD's just stood in the Cereal isle and were amazed at all the different cereals out there. Granola bars is another thing that is a staple for our family...the options are mind boggling. Last year was our maiden voyage down to Disney, we learned alot about how and what to pack.

I have to say that we hate Walmart - never shop here at home, but on vacation, between Target and Walmart, we can get so many good quality food products. We love to buy fresh bread and lunch meat, and make sandwiches that we eat in the car. Kids especially love to get individual ice creams, apple sauce or granola bars for the drive. The ice cream aisle alone at Super Walmart sends my kids and hubby into shock - LOL!!!

This is a great driving tip for us - we find that going to restaurants just makes us more tired, because we have to sit and wait. When we go shopping though, we can stretch out, and we love looking at cool new products!

Have a safe trip on your next journey! Tiger

 

[edk35]

They do a pretty good job with signage and directions. First time we drove it was a concern until we actually entered the world. From that point on it was much more relaxed.

Hope you all are at bliss!

I know.. I too was nervous about getting turned around all the time. We have a couple of times but nothing major. I think Disney does a great job with their signs. Our GPS has worked great too.

 

[edk35]

I responded last night - did you not get it? Tiger

Let me check.

 

[edk35]

DH wanted to do it Rubbermaid buckets which turned out great for us. Packed 1 bucket for each of the 4 of us for what we each felt we would need (also put the responsiblity on the kids to pack things they needed instead of the "Mom didn't you pack my...." Also had each person remove enough belongings to have a travel down bucket also. This way we only had to remove and rummage threw 1 bucket each time we stopped. This year we will create our own OL (its blue not purple) as the year goes by I can pick up stuff I think we will need and put it in. Once were are home I can leave things like the crock pot/skillet in the bin for future trips.


We packed way to much food to take with us. Lesson learned. DH is a Diabetic and we are always so very careful. After a few trips to Walmart we realized we can get everything and more there.

Oh those good ideas too. I realized a couple of things too... the day we check in to the resort we are staying at for the week.... we should PLAN to not do anything until later that day if that. We checked into Buena Vista Suites on arrival night....about 9:45 at night..then the next day we went to Shades of Green for 2 nights THEN we moved to SSR on the day we also went to MK both in the morning and evening. THAT WAS TOOOOO MUCH. We should have arrived on Monday night....stayed at SOG that night then moved over to SSR on Tuesday. Lesson learned. Too much moving for 3 days.

 

[edk35]

We have our own version of Owner's Locker too - it's a big Rubbermaid Action Packer. It seems more sturdy and larger than an Owner's Locker (we've checked them out while @ WDW, when we were considering getting one). It sits stocked with all DVC stuff during the year: small grill, ponchos, beach mats, beach chairs, Disney misting fans, light spinners, etc.

For the car, we have a console cooler, which is great for holding water and juice boxes. As well, we have snack bags with our snacks, and kids each have a small tote with their toys and such. We have a minivan, and luggage is in back, with our Action Packer and stroller, so it's all very neat and tidy!

We are great packers, and only bring the necessities with us. We don't overpack at all, and if we forget something, we pick it up at Target or Walmart on the way. Just as mentioned above, we first took too many snacks for the rode (the 3 of us have low blood sugar), so now we don't pack as much. We love to get out and stretch at Target or Walmart, as we can buy new snacks (we are Canadian, and don't have many of the same snacks), and kids get a new toy or book - it works out great!

Tiger

I forgot all of our beach/pool stuff so we had to go to Walmart on the day we checked into SSR. I also forgot a few other things. I learned a lot from this road trip.

 

[Tiger926]

I forgot all of our beach/pool stuff so we had to go to Walmart on the day we checked into SSR. I also forgot a few other things. I learned a lot from this road trip.

It was great you had your car, as I'm sure it made picking these items up very easy!

Tiger

 

[cpdwiz]

Yes MGM, DHS, HS whatever they are calling it these days. Hey Rob..... MR. Rob..... we are actually having plenty of down time my friend. I will say the first 3 days were busy busy....but we slowedddddddddddddd way down after that. When ds 11 said "Mom we have not really relaxed yet on this trip" I thought it was time to schedule a NON PARK DAY....so we did just that yesterday. It was a pool day/ mini golf at night kinda day. We usually go to a park until like 12 or 1 then head back to the resort to CHILL.

We stayed at SOG for 2 nights and we took their bus and the monorail from Poly. Then when we went back to MK on Wed. check in day here at SSR...... we took the MK bus. I don't think we will ever drive to MK while here...too much work to get from their parking to the MK.

However...it is soooooo nice to jump in our van for other stuff so far. We are going to AK tomorrow and EC Sunday.....so we shall see how that goes. My dd, ds and I are hitting MK tonight for the parade and fireworks...so we are taking the bus. Hubby and other ds are going to play mini golf again. They are driving.

I was very surprised at how easy it was to get around on property too. I have to say that we have been coming a long time to WDW and never ventured off site to eat but we kinda like it now.

I will venture over to see what is at the DVC center too.

On our past trip in May. We drove from Mass. On the way down, we stopped in Florence, SC for anight, then Hilton Head, which was amazing, then straight to the world. Having a car was fantastic!!! We even stopped at HH on the way back! We loved leaving when we wanted, and the trams drop you just as close, if not closer than the busses.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

I forgot all of our beach/pool stuff. I also forgot a few other things.

Who are you? And what did you do with Denise?

 

[edk35]

Who are you? And what did you do with Denise?

I am telling you ...I was ILL PREPARED for this driving trip. I have learned many lessons from this trip Rob... I truly have. Looking forward to our Vero days...I need some relaxing, no schedules or early morning rope drops.

 

[edk35]

On our past trip in May. We drove from Mass. On the way down, we stopped in Florence, SC for anight, then Hilton Head, which was amazing, then straight to the world. Having a car was fantastic!!! We even stopped at HH on the way back! We loved leaving when we wanted, and the trams drop you just as close, if not closer than the busses.

We noticed the exits for HHI when we were going to FL...realized it won't be a far drive when we decide to finally try HHI. We were SUPPOSED to go this July.... but that changed. SO maybe next summer.

 

[Robo-Daddy 3000]

We live in Upstate NY and I can't ever imagine that we would drive down to WDW. Its just too far for our family. Anything over 3 hours in a car and we all start going car crazy. But I have rented a car at the Car Care Center a couple of times and I loved having a car at WDW. But my kids and wife ALWAYS WANT TO TAKE THE BUS. They actually prefer the bus if you can believe that-go figure. I would always have a car when we are there but I really don't mind taking the bus either.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

I am telling you ...I was ILL PREPARED for this driving trip. I have learned many lessons from this trip Rob... I truly have. Looking forward to our Vero days...I need some relaxing, no schedules or early morning rope drops.

No rope drops at VB. The sunrise guarantees front row seat to all who come.
Keep in mind to that this is PEAK nesting/hatching season for sea turtles down there (still, no Fast-Pass necessary). If you go out for a sunrise you'll likely either see momma tracks to a new nest or a zillion little tracks going from a little hole in the beach to the ocean.

Also, just another little fun note. I don't know if they still do this, but there is a credenza up against the wall, kind of under the staircase in the lobby. They used to have a jar, and then later I heard a bowl, full of seashells that people/familes bring from the beach and they write their names, points of origin, and date. Kind of a Guest Register on shells. Hope it is still there.

Don't forget there is basketball, tennis, soccer, and a lake across the street. There is a tunnel that takes you under the highway to get there.

Outgoing hatchlings

Incoming momma

Naturalist checking the new nest

The tunnel entrance on the resort side

Tunnel entrance on the lake side

 

[edk35]

no rope drops at vb. The sunrise guarantees front row seat to all who come.
keep in mind to that this is peak nesting/hatching season for sea turtles down there (still, no fast-pass necessary). If you go out for a sunrise you'll likely either see momma tracks to a new nest or a zillion little tracks going from a little hole in the beach to the ocean.

Also, just another little fun note. I don't know if they still do this, but there is a credenza up against the wall, kind of under the staircase in the lobby. They used to have a jar, and then later i heard a bowl, full of seashells that people/familes bring from the beach and they write their names, points of origin, and date. Kind of a guest register on shells. Hope it is still there.

Don't forget there is basketball, tennis, soccer, and a lake across the street. There is a tunnel that takes you under the highway to get there.

Outgoing hatchlings

incoming momma

naturalist checking the new nest

the tunnel entrance on the resort side

tunnel entrance on the lake side

can't wait... Thanks rob!!!