"One Step Ahead of the Slowpokes!"- A Dec '10/Jan '11 Trip Report! FINISHED 3/9 pg 38

[Tinkermom76]

I love my GPS. Mine is a guy with a British accent and I call him William. Anytime I talk about William all my friends know I am talking about my GPS

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great new update!

First off the food at the beginning sounds delish...it is making me hungry

on leaving family and your lovely dogs but at least you knew they were in safe hands with your mum...like you said they feel like it's their second home. Hope you didn't miss them too much.

I love TomTom as well...am rotten with directions so it is my saviour First time I have heard someone give it a name though...will have to keep that in mind

Am not a fan of true blood but know plenty of people that are...may have to give it a second chance and try watching it again at some point.

Also glad you kept that sign pic that did not work out as it looks super cool.

Looking forward to hearing what you guys decide to do...as usual you leave us on another cliffhanger! Think I am getting used to them...am not as as the first one lol. I am going to guess that you continued to but I could be wrong...will wait and see.

TanzUnited99

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I know exactly what you mean about the sillyness that comes with being in a car for hours! It happens to me too. Normally around 6 hours in to a trip I become "dilerious".

I can't wait to see what you decide to do!

 

[RachelNinja]

Look at you updating regularly! I should follow your example!

I'm glad that you were able to get out of the snow safely! I don't like driving even when there are flurries! Lately, all we've been getting is snow. I'm thinking we might get another snow day on Wednesday if we're really hit bad again (although it won't be as bad as the 23 inches we got during Christmas break!).

It's so good that you can watch DVDs in the car and not have any issues. I get a little motion sickness when I look down too long. I'm hoping there won't be any issues on Amtrak as I intend on watching DVDs, reading my nook, and maybe grading papers (haha, we'll see if that actually happens).

OoO, to the fainting at the amusement park! Do you know when you're going to faint or do you just collapse without warning? I've fainted many times in my life, but after that first time of fainting in the 7th grade, I'm usually aware that it's going to happen and can tell someone.

Curious to know what you end up doing!

 

[RachelNinja]

Sorry, double post! I'll leave a double comment then!

I love how your mom had to call to make sure you guys were a-okay. That's how my mom is too! I still call her in the morning when I get to work. I've been calling her when I arrive at my destination since I started borrowing her cell in college, haha. I did it when I went to the city for worship team practice at church or coffeehouse practice. And like I said, I still do it now!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Glad you made it out of the snow! We do the same thing with our GPS. We have it set to the female Australian voice, named Karen. We talk to her as we go and I definitely enjoy seeing our estimated arrival time tick down.

Waiting eagerly to see what you all decided!

 

[Tracy161]

What a great distraction to have the portable DVD player! I'm glad that you were able to make it out of the snow before things got worse. I can't wait to hear what you decided to do and I'm even more excited to read about your arrival to Disney!!!

 

[saralexander97]

WHOO HOOO your almost to Disney! I am an avid True Blood Fan, you just cant help but love Sookie. The second season did get a little silly but I still love it. You will love the third season, maybe save it for your next Disney trip. Thank you for updating and taking me to a happy place after a bad day at work.

 

[Shannon84]

I think I would have a hard time staying somewhere else and being so close to POP! and WDW all together...I am a very restless traveler too!!

 

[therussells08]

Ooooh that is a dilemma! Can't wait to see what you decided!

Stay tuned! I am getting ready to post another update!

Love the update!!!

I just got a GPS for Christmas, which I haven't even used yet, but I can't wait to hear it's voice options! I'll probably end up giving it a name too. I always used Brandon's for trips that we knew where we were going just to see the arrival time, I love losing 3 or 4 minutes here and there!

I'm so jealous you have a Honda CR-V, I want one of those! I have a 2008 Honda Civic, which I love, but when I bought the car a couple of years ago, my dad tried talking me into buying a CR-V and I said no, and now I kind of regret it!

Ugh that Carowinds place sounds awful! I don't know how I'm going to feel about a different amusement park after being so used to Disney, I really want to get to Six Flags this summer, but I think it's going to be a little boring! Well, except for Kingda Ka (or however you spell it!)

I really have to get a portable DVD player, even on 2 and half hour plane trips I get SO bored! And I have to get the True Blood seasons too, I love Season 1! Season 2 is ok, but I'm not a fan of Mary Ann...and I don't like how Eric had to cut his hair off!

Can't wait to see what you guys decided to do! I'm guessing you went with an extra night at Pop!

The different voices on the GPS are so fun! Plus, I think you can download more from the internet if you want. My best friend's brother has a Darth Vader voice for his!

I LOVE my Honda CR-V! Before I got it last year I was still driving my 2000 Kia Sephia that was my first car. John told me I could get a new car and as long as it was within reason I could get whatever I wanted. I had been wanting a CR-V for ages so I got it and I definitely don't regret it! I love having a bigger car, but it's not too big, ya know?

Carowinds, Disney, and Hershey Park are the only amusement parks I've ever been too. I love Disney (of course), hate Carowinds, and could take Hershey park or leave it. I've never been to Six Flags, so hopefully you will enjoy it!

OMG, I LOVE Eric with short hair! I think he is so handsome!

I'm here and all caught up!

I love True Blood. I don't have any of the seasons yet, but they are definitely on my wishlist! I've started reading the books, and they are pretty good.

I wonder what you guys decided? I bet you kept on goin to Pop!

I want to start reading the books too! I got the first one at Target yesterday. A lady I work with has read all of them and she says they are totally different from the show.

Stay tuned! Another update is coming soon!

great update!!

I can't believe you are going to leave us hanging! At least you got out of the snow! Ours right now is melting but I guess we are supposed to get hit tomorrow night-Tues with more snow and multiple inches I'd rather be in FL, even if it is 50 degrees!!!

Ugh, we are getting snow all across NC right now. Today was an optional teacher workday so I stayed home and now I regret it because it didn't hit until lunch time, but it's pretty bad now!

I love my GPS. Mine is a guy with a British accent and I call him William. Anytime I talk about William all my friends know I am talking about my GPS

That sounds like me! I couldn't survive without Lee! I use it all the time!

 

[therussells08]

Great new update!

First off the food at the beginning sounds delish...it is making me hungry

on leaving family and your lovely dogs but at least you knew they were in safe hands with your mum...like you said they feel like it's their second home. Hope you didn't miss them too much.

I love TomTom as well...am rotten with directions so it is my saviour First time I have heard someone give it a name though...will have to keep that in mind

Am not a fan of true blood but know plenty of people that are...may have to give it a second chance and try watching it again at some point.

Also glad you kept that sign pic that did not work out as it looks super cool.

Looking forward to hearing what you guys decide to do...as usual you leave us on another cliffhanger! Think I am getting used to them...am not as as the first one lol. I am going to guess that you continued to but I could be wrong...will wait and see.

TanzUnited99

I love Christmas dinner! It's definitely my favorite meal of the year!

It was hard leaving everyone, but I was okay once I called and checked in a few times! My dogs love their Grandma, so they were happy to spend the week with her!

I am horrible with any kind of directions! I think a lot of people only use their GPS when they travel long distances but I am definitely one who uses it practically everyday!

It took me awhile to greally get into True Blood. I had to get over the initial shock that it was SO intense, but now I am addicted. If you can sort through all of the raunchiness, it has pretty interesting story lines!

Stay tuned! I will be updating very soon!

I know exactly what you mean about the sillyness that comes with being in a car for hours! It happens to me too. Normally around 6 hours in to a trip I become "dilerious".

I can't wait to see what you decide to do!

That's a good way to describe it! Everything becomes so hilarious and you find yourself giggling uncontrollably!

Look at you updating regularly! I should follow your example!

I'm glad that you were able to get out of the snow safely! I don't like driving even when there are flurries! Lately, all we've been getting is snow. I'm thinking we might get another snow day on Wednesday if we're really hit bad again (although it won't be as bad as the 23 inches we got during Christmas break!).

It's so good that you can watch DVDs in the car and not have any issues. I get a little motion sickness when I look down too long. I'm hoping there won't be any issues on Amtrak as I intend on watching DVDs, reading my nook, and maybe grading papers (haha, we'll see if that actually happens).

OoO, to the fainting at the amusement park! Do you know when you're going to faint or do you just collapse without warning? I've fainted many times in my life, but after that first time of fainting in the 7th grade, I'm usually aware that it's going to happen and can tell someone.

Curious to know what you end up doing!

I know, I'm so proud of myself! I'm hoping I can keep these daily updates going for awhile, but work makes it hard!

23 INCHES OF SNOW?! I can't even imagine that! If we get one or two inches down here the entire world shuts down. School was cancelled today and the snow didn't even really start until after lunchtime!

I love watching DVDs and reading in the car; usually the only problems I have are neck pains from looking down for so long! I bet you would be able to handle it on Amtrack because I would imagine it would be a smoother ride than in the car.

I can definitely tell when I'm about to faint. I get tunnel vision and I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. I usually can stop myself if I sit down immediately, but sometimes I can't. Once I fainted getting out of the shower, and that was really scary. John was home and he was in the other room, and I yelled for him right before I blacked out. I woke up lying on the bed with him standing over me looking terrified. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't been there, because I don't think there are many soft places to land in the bathroom!

Sorry, double post! I'll leave a double comment then!

I love how your mom had to call to make sure you guys were a-okay. That's how my mom is too! I still call her in the morning when I get to work. I've been calling her when I arrive at my destination since I started borrowing her cell in college, haha. I did it when I went to the city for worship team practice at church or coffeehouse practice. And like I said, I still do it now!

That's okay, I like double comments!

That is so cool, I call my mom every single morning when I get to work! I'm glad I'm not the only person who does that!

Glad you made it out of the snow! We do the same thing with our GPS. We have it set to the female Australian voice, named Karen. We talk to her as we go and I definitely enjoy seeing our estimated arrival time tick down.

Waiting eagerly to see what you all decided!

I haven't tried the female Australian voice...anything is better than the American female! She is so annoying.

Stay tuned! There is an update coming soon!

 

[therussells08]

What a great distraction to have the portable DVD player! I'm glad that you were able to make it out of the snow before things got worse. I can't wait to hear what you decided to do and I'm even more excited to read about your arrival to Disney!!!

Yes, the portable DVD player was definitely a life saver...for me and John!

WHOO HOOO your almost to Disney! I am an avid True Blood Fan, you just cant help but love Sookie. The second season did get a little silly but I still love it. You will love the third season, maybe save it for your next Disney trip. Thank you for updating and taking me to a happy place after a bad day at work.

I love Sookie too! Although I feel like she needs to tone down the Southern accent a little bit sometimes. I am so glad my updates help make your day better!

I think I would have a hard time staying somewhere else and being so close to POP! and WDW all together...I am a very restless traveler too!!

I'm glad I'm not the only restless traveler out there! I need to tell John this, because I drive him nuts in the car!

 

[rootbeer momma]

I am envious of how short your drive to Disney is!! It takes us 17 hours and with a 2 year old and a 1 year old it is a very long 17 hours. I am also a huge True Blood fan!!! I can't wait til season 3 comes to Netflix.
And as for the snow... Yuck, yuck, yuck

 

[therussells08]

Well, John and I had an important decision looming over our heads: do we stop now, or keep going to Disney? Neither one of us could really stand the thought of being in the car for even five more minutes, and the lady at Disney said it would be $174.99 for ONE NIGHT at POP scared1, so we decided to stop somewhere cheaper near Orlando. Honestly, we probably would have paid the money for POP if we knew we were going to be able to stay in the room we checked into, but since we would have to move our stuff anyway we decided it wasn't worth the extra cash.

We ended up stopping at a SpringHill Suites that was less than thirty minutes from WDW. With John's military discount the room was only $80, which is a lot less than $174.99! It was after 1am by the time we checked in and got to our room, so I took a few pictures for my TR, got a quick bath, and went straight to bed.

We had originally planned on waking up around 5:30 or 6, but the human body can only take so much and I guess we'd reached our limit. We woke up at 7 the next morning. I hopped in the shower while John packed the car. Everything was fine and dandy while he had something to keep him busy, but then when he finished and I was still getting ready idle hands took over, because he started looking at my iPhone wait time app and reporting to me that there was ALREADY a pretty long wait for rides at Magic Kingdom. He wasn't trying to stress me out, but that's what he ended up accomplishing. I knew that MK was opening at 7 that morning because of EMH so we were already late. We still had to get to POP and check in, and it was already after 7:30!

We hurried up and checked out of the hotel as fast as possible. We were pulling out of the parking lot at 7:45 and were back on 1-4 at 7:47. I took a picture of the sky as we were driving because the clouds looked very ominous. However, I had checked the weather on my phone and it was supposed to clear up later, so I wasn't really worried about it.

In what seemed like a matter of seconds I started seeing the exit signs for WDW! We knew that POP was in the Epcot resort area, so we took the exit toward Epcot. I started to worry because I knew that some entrances to the World came through the big signa and some didn't. Then, before I knew what had hit me, I saw THE SIGN!

I know the GPS dock kind of wrecks the ambiance, but still, what a gorgeous sight! I literally could not believe that after a looooong year and a half I was finally pulling into the greatest place on Earth! I was still feeling a little cruddy from my head cold and I was tired from my short night's sleep, but all of that instantly melted away when we drove under that beautiful arch!

We were on a mission at this point: get to POP as fast as possible, check in, and get to MK before it filled to capacity! I resisted the urge to take a million pictures of random trees and signs in WDW and didn't start taking more pictures until we were sitting at the red light waiting to turn left into POP.

I was so excited to stay here for the first time! The only value resort I had ever stayed at before this trip was ASMo, and while it was pretty nice, it definitely wasn't my favorite. I had heard so many great things about POP and I couldn't wait to check it out for myself!As we pulled into the parking lot I immediately fell in love with the larger than life Disney look that seems to dominate the value resorts. We parked our car and hopped out and while we walked to the lobby I snapped a few more pictures.

When we entered the lobby I had a "duh!" moment: I had completely forgotten there would be Christmas decorations everywhere! The first thing I saw when we walked in was the huge Christmas tree. It was gorgeous! I had to take a picture of that and the giant wreath on the wall before we headed over to the online check in line.

Okay, I'm not sure if I will use online check in again. This was my first time using it, and I was not very happy with it. I did it because I've heard it's way faster, but I ended up waiting for what seemed like FOREVER. I was the only person in the online check in line, but the CMs kept taking the regular registration people before me. I stood there for about ten minutes before it was finally my turn.

The CM who helped me was named Melissa and she did not seem very happy. I can't really blame her because I don't think I'd be too happy about working early in the morning the day after Christmas either. Regardless, it did make my first experience with a CM a little disappointing. The check in process started pretty quickly, but then Melissa spent about ten minutes staring at her computer screen and not saying a word. I think she could tell I was getting a little restless because she finally told me she was trying to get us into a king room. After another few minutes she told us we couldn't have a king bed unless we downgraded from a preferred room! I was so upset. Even though I knew it wasn't a guarantee, I figured since I had requested a king room EIGHT MONTHS AGO I would kind of be at the top of the list to get one. I asked her if she was completely sure there were none available and she went back to clicking away on her computer. I stood there and thought it over for a minute or two and finally told her not to worry about it, two double beds would be fine. As much as I wanted a king bed I wasn't willing to waste anymore of my Disney time trying to get one.

Once we got over that hurtle the rest of the check in process went quickly. We weren't surprised to learn that our room wasn't ready yet, since it wasn't even 9am. We gave her my cell phone number so they could text us the room number later and grabbed our welcome packet and said "au revoir" to ol' Melissa. Determined not to let this mess up my morning, I rushed with John to the food court to get our resort mugs that were free with the deluxe dining plan.

As soon as our mugs were filled with caffeinated goodness we hit the road for Magic Kingdom! We had a date with some amazing rides, lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern, and the Wishes Dessert Party!

Up Next: Would we make it to Magic Kingdom before it reached capacity? Stay tuned to find out!

 

[therussells08]

I am envious of how short your drive to Disney is!! It takes us 17 hours and with a 2 year old and a 1 year old it is a very long 17 hours. I am also a huge True Blood fan!!! I can't wait til season 3 comes to Netflix.
And as for the snow... Yuck, yuck, yuck

Yikes! I can't imagine being in the car for that long, especially with young children! How do you usually break up your drive down? I would need at least two days I think!

Yay! Another True Blood fan! I think there are way more Truebies out there than I originally realized!

No kidding about the snow...I'm sick of it!

 

[Nermel9]

First, before I comment on your update, let me just say that I LOVE Eric on True Blood, long hair or not! He's my favorite character on the show! I was just so upset watching Pam cut his hair off that first episode of Season 2! I got used to it, though!

Anyway, great update! I'm surprised you didn't stay at Pop your first night, but then again, paying $80 for a room is a lot different than $179! I can't believe that's what they charge for values in peak season, that's just crazy!

Pop looks like so much fun! If I ever go back to a value again, it will be Pop, or the new Animation resort! I have only stayed in ASMu and like you said, it was nice, but nothing special. And I didn't like the location, which is actually making me nervous about AKL, since it's even farther away than the AS resorts...

I can't believe they were taking regular check in people in the online check in line! I've used it twice now and really liked it, it's too bad you didn't have a good experience!

Hope you made it to MK in time!

 

[TanzUnited99]

I guessed wrong but sounds like you made the right decision to stop off outside of Orlando...means you could spend more money in the happiest place on earth!

Great first few pics of Pop. on not getting the king room and the amount of time you had to wait at check in - have heard mixed reviews of this v check in on arrival.

Hoping you managed to get into MK, the weather cleared and you enjoyed your meal and wishes

 

[TanzUnited99]

Oops double posted. Sorry.

 

[Cat0727]

First, before I comment on your update, let me just say that I LOVE Eric on True Blood, long hair or not! He's my favorite character on the show! I was just so upset watching Pam cut his hair off that first episode of Season 2! I got used to it, though!

Oh gosh, who else died laughing when Eric was getting his highlights done? I just love him!

Yikes, $179? You guys made a good decision! But horray for finally checking into Pop and being at Disney! Pop is our favorite, it's our home away from home

Looking forward to hearing what you thought of LTT! I've been wanting to go there for lunch.

 

[luckylady]

It is a long drive from NC. Great price for one night. Been to Carowinds, it's not to bad as long as you keep reminding yourself this is not disney. I had to do that 2 years ago. They do have some great rollercoasters if your into them(I'm not but DD is.) Can't wait to hear about your first day. Oh we got 8 inches of snow that storm. Todays brought 4 1/2