Just back - any q's?
- Thread starter Plan Man
- Start date
Welcome back, Plan Man! So, being from MN myself, I have to ask you about your drive. I can't believe you drove straight through! So, it wasn't so bad? We have always flown, but I know it would save us a bundle to drive. Would you do the drive again? Did it wipe you out for the parks, or did you have the energy despite the drive?
dtauer
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2000
- Messages
- 357
We also just returned after driving from Minnesota, however, we made stops and didn't drive straight through.
For us, the drive went pretty smoothly but we did have a few issues. Number one problem was road construction in which everything backs up for miles, the Interstate goes down to one lane, and then once you get there nothing is going on. The cones are all set up, but no one was working on the weekends.
The other problem we had with driving was accidents. Last Saturday, we hit two major accidents that probably added 3 hours to our driving time. One of them was stop and go for miles. The worst part is when you get to the accident site you see the ambulances, helicopters and smashed cars. It makes you thankful that it wasn't you, but is still sombering.
Other than the unexpected things, the drive with our kids went very well. We have a TV/VCR in a bag that we took out the VCR and put in our son's Playstation II. Not only could they watch DVD movies on that, but they could also play video games.
To lisah1 - you are correct, Tapestry of Dreams is no longer running.
To cinmell - the crowds were unbelievably light in our opinion. I was worried about spring break and crowds but we had no problems. Part of the reason may have been that early in the week it was very cool (50s). But even near the end of the week I felt the crowds were light. For example, we rode Splash Mountain twice in a row, and then Big Thunder twice in a row, in under an hour, without fastpass. At 2:00 we got a fastpass for 4:00 for Pooh. In that amount of time we rode Space Mountain twice, TTA once, Buzz Lightyear once, Pirates once, had ice cream and still got back to Pooh by 4:00. To me that's very light for Magic Kingdom in the middle of the afternoon.
For us, the drive went pretty smoothly but we did have a few issues. Number one problem was road construction in which everything backs up for miles, the Interstate goes down to one lane, and then once you get there nothing is going on. The cones are all set up, but no one was working on the weekends.
The other problem we had with driving was accidents. Last Saturday, we hit two major accidents that probably added 3 hours to our driving time. One of them was stop and go for miles. The worst part is when you get to the accident site you see the ambulances, helicopters and smashed cars. It makes you thankful that it wasn't you, but is still sombering.
Other than the unexpected things, the drive with our kids went very well. We have a TV/VCR in a bag that we took out the VCR and put in our son's Playstation II. Not only could they watch DVD movies on that, but they could also play video games.
To lisah1 - you are correct, Tapestry of Dreams is no longer running.
To cinmell - the crowds were unbelievably light in our opinion. I was worried about spring break and crowds but we had no problems. Part of the reason may have been that early in the week it was very cool (50s). But even near the end of the week I felt the crowds were light. For example, we rode Splash Mountain twice in a row, and then Big Thunder twice in a row, in under an hour, without fastpass. At 2:00 we got a fastpass for 4:00 for Pooh. In that amount of time we rode Space Mountain twice, TTA once, Buzz Lightyear once, Pirates once, had ice cream and still got back to Pooh by 4:00. To me that's very light for Magic Kingdom in the middle of the afternoon.
punky'smom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2000
- Messages
- 274
Glad to see you had a good time. Oh boy if you were able to get on the major rides that easy it definitely means small crowds. I hope when we go April 19-26th it will be that easy to get on the rides. NO MORE SNOW/ FL here we come!!!!! 
Horizons16
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2001
- Messages
- 3,272
when i was younger we used to drive from new hampshire/mass line all the way to Orlando...
NIGHTMARE!
/
Plan Man
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2001
- Messages
- 345
Tapestry of Dreams is no longer.
The crowds were light at times and heavy at times. Depending on the time of day and park.
We wer at Magic Kingdom and had waits of 30- 40 minutes for the major rides. Some fast passes ran out about two hours before park closing. I would rate the crowds as average. Magic Kingdom was by far the most crowded. We went one night about 4:30 pm and everything was a long wait (30+ minutes).
The drive - going down was 23 hours - we do not stop to eat - we eat in the car or drive thru Mcdonalds. We also stop for gas - go to the bathroom and get in the car and go. Family of six with a 14, 12, 9, and 7 year old. PS2, movies, CD's, sleeping and reading fill the time. We arived about 3pm on a Friday and went to Downtown Disney to activate our PAPs wnet to Disney Quest for a short time and then to bed. We were tired but not exausted.
On the way home it took 24 hours. We ran into lots of traffic from Orlando to Nashville. You could drive the speed limit but no faster most of the time. In Nashville there is major construction that could add hours but we took a few back roads and went around Nashville. It saved at least an hour probably more.
Will we do it again? I don't know - airline tickets are so expensive compared to driving but the ride back was taxing with all of the traffic. The best part about driving straigt thru is that at night you can go fast and there is very little traffic. It is a trade off we like.
The crowds were light at times and heavy at times. Depending on the time of day and park.
We wer at Magic Kingdom and had waits of 30- 40 minutes for the major rides. Some fast passes ran out about two hours before park closing. I would rate the crowds as average. Magic Kingdom was by far the most crowded. We went one night about 4:30 pm and everything was a long wait (30+ minutes).
The drive - going down was 23 hours - we do not stop to eat - we eat in the car or drive thru Mcdonalds. We also stop for gas - go to the bathroom and get in the car and go. Family of six with a 14, 12, 9, and 7 year old. PS2, movies, CD's, sleeping and reading fill the time. We arived about 3pm on a Friday and went to Downtown Disney to activate our PAPs wnet to Disney Quest for a short time and then to bed. We were tired but not exausted.
On the way home it took 24 hours. We ran into lots of traffic from Orlando to Nashville. You could drive the speed limit but no faster most of the time. In Nashville there is major construction that could add hours but we took a few back roads and went around Nashville. It saved at least an hour probably more.
Will we do it again? I don't know - airline tickets are so expensive compared to driving but the ride back was taxing with all of the traffic. The best part about driving straigt thru is that at night you can go fast and there is very little traffic. It is a trade off we like.
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