JFox
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 23, 2015
- Messages
- 955
As we drive home, here are some observations from our trip.
November 19-27
Roadtrip from San Antonio. Overnight in Pensacola on the way there and New Orleans on the way back.
2 adults, 5 kids (19 G, 17 G, 15 B, 7 B and 6 B). This was our first blended family trip.
Vehicle
Rented a Suburban through Costco travel. They always have the best rates. It would provide "enough" room for the kids in the back and luggage. Although my daughter who is currently sandwiched between 2 car seats in the third row may think differently. We brought too many bags. 7 people each with a suitcase. My mother got my 2 little ones their own bags so I hand to contend with 2 little bags when I would usually pack them together in one.
Driving
There
We left San Antonio at 4:30am. We broke up the first day with several stops. Second day we decided to take Scenic Route FL 98 from Pencasola to 75. While it was interesting we will not be taking this route again. Too many towns, reduced speed limits and country roads. Added too much time to our second day. We could have gotten to WDW much earlier if we had just stuck to the main highways.
Back
Left WDW at 10:00am. Not many stops planned, just want to get home.
Hotel
All Star Music, 1 family suite and one double room. when we checked in we found out that they upgraded the double room to a king so we could be near each other. This wouldn't work for us so they switched the king back. We had one room in Calypso 1 and the second in County Fair 6.
This was our first time in the family suite. It was perfect for us. It was really nice having the second bathroom. Adults and 3 boys here and the 2 girls in the other room.
Dining plan
B/L/D
We had free dining. It was both a blessing and a curse. My 2 youngest ended up sharing 1 adult meal so we banked a QS at each meal. The banked credits meant that ALL our meals would be covered since we had enought for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Also, we had 1 day at Universal Studios and would be saving credits on that day as well.
Snacks
We hardly touched the snacks. I have a gazillion snacks in the trunk. Also, each meat at the resort came with an extra snack for the drink substitution. These kids will still be eating snacks until St. Patrick's day.
Crowd levels
Everyone kept telling us we were crazy to go Thanksgiving week. We knew it would be busy. We were not expecting September crown levels. We made the best use of park hours and fastpass selections.
Merchandise
Didn't buy much at WDW or US. We all had gift cards (Target/Red Card purchase) and at least 3 people are going home with a balance remaining. It's too hard to plan purchases. I was too hung up on the Target/Red Card/Gift Card savings. Next time I think I will just use thise to pay the resort balances and my Disney Visa for all purchases. That will yield a 10% savings and points.
I'm tired. And exhausted. Everything hurts. Part way though the trip I asked my mother if this was how she felt every time we dragged her to WDW. She said it was the Circle of Life. If you were to ask me today I would say I'm not interested in ever going back and certainly not with our kidlet entourage. Ask me again in 2 months!!
November 19-27
Roadtrip from San Antonio. Overnight in Pensacola on the way there and New Orleans on the way back.
2 adults, 5 kids (19 G, 17 G, 15 B, 7 B and 6 B). This was our first blended family trip.
Vehicle
Rented a Suburban through Costco travel. They always have the best rates. It would provide "enough" room for the kids in the back and luggage. Although my daughter who is currently sandwiched between 2 car seats in the third row may think differently. We brought too many bags. 7 people each with a suitcase. My mother got my 2 little ones their own bags so I hand to contend with 2 little bags when I would usually pack them together in one.
Driving
There
We left San Antonio at 4:30am. We broke up the first day with several stops. Second day we decided to take Scenic Route FL 98 from Pencasola to 75. While it was interesting we will not be taking this route again. Too many towns, reduced speed limits and country roads. Added too much time to our second day. We could have gotten to WDW much earlier if we had just stuck to the main highways.
Back
Left WDW at 10:00am. Not many stops planned, just want to get home.
Hotel
All Star Music, 1 family suite and one double room. when we checked in we found out that they upgraded the double room to a king so we could be near each other. This wouldn't work for us so they switched the king back. We had one room in Calypso 1 and the second in County Fair 6.
This was our first time in the family suite. It was perfect for us. It was really nice having the second bathroom. Adults and 3 boys here and the 2 girls in the other room.
Dining plan
B/L/D
We had free dining. It was both a blessing and a curse. My 2 youngest ended up sharing 1 adult meal so we banked a QS at each meal. The banked credits meant that ALL our meals would be covered since we had enought for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Also, we had 1 day at Universal Studios and would be saving credits on that day as well.
Snacks
We hardly touched the snacks. I have a gazillion snacks in the trunk. Also, each meat at the resort came with an extra snack for the drink substitution. These kids will still be eating snacks until St. Patrick's day.
Crowd levels
Everyone kept telling us we were crazy to go Thanksgiving week. We knew it would be busy. We were not expecting September crown levels. We made the best use of park hours and fastpass selections.
Merchandise
Didn't buy much at WDW or US. We all had gift cards (Target/Red Card purchase) and at least 3 people are going home with a balance remaining. It's too hard to plan purchases. I was too hung up on the Target/Red Card/Gift Card savings. Next time I think I will just use thise to pay the resort balances and my Disney Visa for all purchases. That will yield a 10% savings and points.
I'm tired. And exhausted. Everything hurts. Part way though the trip I asked my mother if this was how she felt every time we dragged her to WDW. She said it was the Circle of Life. If you were to ask me today I would say I'm not interested in ever going back and certainly not with our kidlet entourage. Ask me again in 2 months!!
