alicenwonder99
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2004
- Messages
- 1,525
WDW Vacation Trip Report
Jan 05 trip Family of 6 Driving from Chicago, Part 8
Days 9-10: The LOOOONG drive home
The Players
Me
DH
DD 17
DN 13
DD 6
DS 4
Staying at Ft. Wilderness cabins for the first time.
January 10-11
We got up early, packed up the car, and headed out. No one ever looks forward to the ride home but especially when you know you have like 24 hours of driving ahead of you. The ride seemed uneventful, but LONG. Somewhere in central Georgia I started getting sick with a snuffy nose, headache, and itchy throat. By the time we made it to Chattanooga, TN I was in a full-blown cold. OK, I guess it was my turn!
The hotel was really nice. We stayed in a Staybridge Suite. Our room had a mini kitchen with a full fridge, dishwasher, complete set of dishes, cooking utensils, cups, etc, a 2 burner stove top. It also had a bedroom and bathroom that closed off from the rest of the suite. This was a pretty nice room for all of us! DH took the kids down to the pool and I rested.
We got up and had the free breakfast that was pretty good. They had the usual bagels and donuts, but also scrambled eggs, ham, waffles, yogurt, cereal, etc. It was pretty good (especially for free).
All morning long I was watching the Weather Channel. They talked about the awful driving conditions coming that day in Illinois and Indiana. We had to decide which way to go: up I-65 through Indiana, or up I-57 through Illinois. The weather channels maps looked worse over Indiana, so I suggested to dh to go up through Illinois.
Driving through Tennessee and Kentucky were a breeze. We then started going through Illinois. It was getting rainy and every 100 miles the temp seemed to drop about 10 degrees. It was still ok until we got to around Champaign (about 2 hours from home). The fog was so thick it was scary. Dh (aka Speed Racer) was still doing like 80mph. I was in the back row of the minivan watching a movie with dd17 so I didnt notice the fog and dhs speeding right away. I started screaming at him to slow down. He finally did. The next morning I was watching the news report about a huge accident in Northern Indiana that night. It was from the thick fog and it was something like 30+ cars/trucks involved. Several people even died! OMG!
We didnt notice any snow until we got North of Kankakee (1 hour from home). The snow wasnt bad at home, though it wasnt that cold (only about 35 degrees) so Im sure lots of it melted already during the day. It was really good to be home and I thought the dog was going to jump through the window when he saw us. My MIL came over a few times a day to take care of the pets and she said the first couple of days, the dog wouldnt come out from behind the couch (awwww).
It was about 7pm when we got home and dh quickly unpacked everything. The kids had to get to school the next day, though I let the little ones stay home.
Even though it seems lots of things went wrong, I really enjoyed the trip so much! Im planning another trip soon for just me, dd6, and ds4 (though theyll be 7 and 5 by then). But I dont know if I could go away to WDW without the rest of the family.
I hope you enjoyed reading my trip report!
Mary
Jan 05 trip Family of 6 Driving from Chicago, Part 8
Days 9-10: The LOOOONG drive home
The Players
Me
DH
DD 17
DN 13
DD 6
DS 4
Staying at Ft. Wilderness cabins for the first time.
January 10-11
We got up early, packed up the car, and headed out. No one ever looks forward to the ride home but especially when you know you have like 24 hours of driving ahead of you. The ride seemed uneventful, but LONG. Somewhere in central Georgia I started getting sick with a snuffy nose, headache, and itchy throat. By the time we made it to Chattanooga, TN I was in a full-blown cold. OK, I guess it was my turn!
The hotel was really nice. We stayed in a Staybridge Suite. Our room had a mini kitchen with a full fridge, dishwasher, complete set of dishes, cooking utensils, cups, etc, a 2 burner stove top. It also had a bedroom and bathroom that closed off from the rest of the suite. This was a pretty nice room for all of us! DH took the kids down to the pool and I rested.
We got up and had the free breakfast that was pretty good. They had the usual bagels and donuts, but also scrambled eggs, ham, waffles, yogurt, cereal, etc. It was pretty good (especially for free).
All morning long I was watching the Weather Channel. They talked about the awful driving conditions coming that day in Illinois and Indiana. We had to decide which way to go: up I-65 through Indiana, or up I-57 through Illinois. The weather channels maps looked worse over Indiana, so I suggested to dh to go up through Illinois.
Driving through Tennessee and Kentucky were a breeze. We then started going through Illinois. It was getting rainy and every 100 miles the temp seemed to drop about 10 degrees. It was still ok until we got to around Champaign (about 2 hours from home). The fog was so thick it was scary. Dh (aka Speed Racer) was still doing like 80mph. I was in the back row of the minivan watching a movie with dd17 so I didnt notice the fog and dhs speeding right away. I started screaming at him to slow down. He finally did. The next morning I was watching the news report about a huge accident in Northern Indiana that night. It was from the thick fog and it was something like 30+ cars/trucks involved. Several people even died! OMG!
We didnt notice any snow until we got North of Kankakee (1 hour from home). The snow wasnt bad at home, though it wasnt that cold (only about 35 degrees) so Im sure lots of it melted already during the day. It was really good to be home and I thought the dog was going to jump through the window when he saw us. My MIL came over a few times a day to take care of the pets and she said the first couple of days, the dog wouldnt come out from behind the couch (awwww).
It was about 7pm when we got home and dh quickly unpacked everything. The kids had to get to school the next day, though I let the little ones stay home.
Even though it seems lots of things went wrong, I really enjoyed the trip so much! Im planning another trip soon for just me, dd6, and ds4 (though theyll be 7 and 5 by then). But I dont know if I could go away to WDW without the rest of the family.
I hope you enjoyed reading my trip report!
Mary
Would you go to WDW during that time of the year again? How were the crowds? It sounds like the weather was very nice. Thanks again for the great reports!
j/k. We Wisconsinites know how THAT goes! Hehehe!!!
Glad you made it home safe! Great trip report! 
