hubby will not let us go to disney..

[dana1003]

yes its true. he says NO DISNEY unless we visit his family in pensacola first. too far for us to drive and airfare is 1700$!!! yikes-thats a whole week at disney for us. think its insane to pay this much to fly to pensacola and then have to pay for entertainment( which i think the most exciting thing to do there is walmart-sorry dont mean to offend any panhandlers) dont know what to do-should i bite the bullet..? then that means disney has to wait till maybe 2009 -we planned for 2010..ahhh!!!!!!!!

 

[Andrea from PA]

I understand DH being in same state & feeling responsible to visit family, but does he realize the added cost?

 

[mavslab]

The drive isn't that bad. Can you do a week in Pensacola and then a week in Disney if you drive?

 

[dana1003]

was thinking of flying into orlando and then driving to pensacola..never did that drive that long with 4 year old twins?

 

[RabbitFood]

Have hubby's family meet you in WDW--Grand Gathering!

 

[Merriwind]

Turnpike to 75 to 10--got to be 6-6.5 hours. Yuck!

Any chance his family would want to vacation in Disney and could meet up with you there?

I hope that the conversation really didn't involve your husband not allowing you to go, but more of a disagreement how to spend your vacation.

Good luck!

 

[toystorymom]

Well, we live in Massachusetts and have driven all the way to Disney several times. We are a family of 5 and playing the airline game got so ridiculous we decided to try the drive, and it wasn't so bad. The kids get excited and are always well behaved on the way (these are the same children who fight if we're driving 2 blocks for something else, but I digress ). I guess you never know until you try it once for yourself. For us, it became drive or don't go...so, we drive.

I can see your husband's point. If you are going all that way and will be that close to his family, it would seem wrong to not visit. I only wish I had family in Florida, it would be a good excuse to visit more often!

 

[dfaust2007]

You can totally do it! We drove from Lafayette, LA to Destin, FL last year with 3-year old twins and DS4. Just plan it out. I tried to find out what restaurants, parks, and other stops were along my route so that we'd have somewhere to stop. We stopped in Alabama and let the kids run around and burn off some energy, in addition to bathroom breaks and food stops. Also, I made sure each kid had a little bag of stuff to keep them occupied. (The DVD player in the van helped a lot too!!! - Wiggles, Dora, etc.)

If you plan it right, you can have your Disney trip and satisfy DH too!! Good luck.

 

[livie1205]

I would fly into orlando and do the drive ....just rent a small car (gas savings) for a couple of days then go back to orlando and have fun at disney or have them meet you in destin or panama city beach (only about 5 hours or so )and spend some time on the beach and they will not have to drive very far either.

 

[JimR24]

My work gets me to all parts of Florida. I hate driving up into the Panhandle. Once you leave Tallahassee, it's long and boring. Nothing much in the Panhandle but trees and more trees. I guess I'm just not that attached to my family, I'll take a trip to Disney over fighting with them (which always happens after the first day or so).

 

[mrsklamc]

Are you night people? Is it possible that you could leave at say, 6 and they would be asleep by 8, then you have four hours of quiet before you get there at midnight?

 

[dana1003]

yeah i could do the drive at night..thats not a bad idea um yeah..not vacationing in disney w/his fam..was told the drive from orlando to fort walton wasnt exactly fun..

 

[mavslab]

If I can drive from CT to FL (22 hours) straight through with

MIL, FIL, me, DS (7 months), DD (23 months), niece (5), nephew (7) then anyone can do it

Like a pp we are a family of 5 so it is cheaper to drive, plus then we won't need a rental while we are down there. We drive 2400 miles round trip.

 

[JimR24]

If I can drive from CT to FL (22 hours) straight through with

MIL, FIL, me, DS (7 months), DD (23 months), niece (5), nephew (7) then anyone can do it

Like a pp we are a family of 5 so it is cheaper to drive, plus then we won't need a rental while we are down there. We drive 2400 miles round trip.

WOW. I would rather jab a butter knife in my eye then drive that long with my in-laws.

 

[DisneyBrat]

I have the name of a good Divorce attorney

Sorry I couldn't resist... but seriously whatever it takes to get to see the Mouse my hubby hates the mouse and I have to start getting him use to hearing 2010 were going to go see Mickey NOW he cringes when I tell him LOL but hes a big teddy bear and always spoils me rotten so we get to go see Mickey about every 2 - 3 yrs

Good Luck with the plans... What about driving to Orlando and flying to Pennsicola? I know you have twins but take lots of toys and dvd player to occupy. When my kids were small if I popped in a movie ya never knew they were in the car GREAT invention!!!

Lew

 

[iheartdisney]

OK, my family is in P-cola, (I know what you mean about the Walmarts, there is one every 5 blocks it seems!) and I felt the same way when we went to WDW in March/ April. What do you think of a split stay...literally.
Fly into Orlando, have a few Disney Days, drive out to Pensacola, enjoy the beach and the parks, then have a few more Disney Days before you fly out.
I'm not going to do it again in September since AFTER I arranged our spring trip to accomadate my sister's family, she came up to North Carolina and didn't tell me! (I'm in Virginia!) So if she wants to see us in September, she can make the drive this time!

 

[dana1003]

wow-cant picture myself in the car that long...

 

[HeShootsHeScores]

Why not put yourself in your husband's shoes? What if it were your family in FL and he only wanted to go to Disney and not visit them? How would you feel? Instead of thinking of yourself and your wants, why not think of what your DH wants and try to come up w/a happy medium?

 

[Aliceacc]

He doesn't want to take the kids to a strip club, he wants to visit his family.

I say you find a way.

 

[LilGMom]

Depending on when you would be in Pensacola there might actually be a lot to do. Spring/Summer/Early Fall there are festivals (either music, art or seafood, concerts in the park) every weekend. The beach is beautiful, think sugary white soft sand. There are museums, historical forts, and even a zoo. Pensacola is only about a 3 hr. drive to New Orleans if you wanted to make a day of it. Would it be possible to spend a few days in Pensacola and then drive to WDW which is only about a 6.5-7 hr. road trip? Then you could do both sooner than 2010.