Hello all,
The time has come for another trip report. It seems I just finished the last one - maybe because we just went in September - and are planning to go again in October, thanks to the Fairytale package. But our family cannot get enough of Disney, obviously!
Who went:
Jennifer Age 29 - Travel Agent
Dennis Age 28 - Computer Technician
Kaitylnn Age 3 1/2 - Aspiring Princess
Julie Age 2 - Junior Princess in Training
The Drive Down 5/15 - 5/17
Ughhhhhhh! Yes, we drove again, much to my chagrin. We left on Thursday night at 10pm so the chickee-monkeys (my nickname for Katie and Julie) would sleep in the car and we could try to make some headway. Once they are awake we have to stop every two hours and at every McDonald Playland that we come by - which is very time consuming.
We made it from Milwaukee, Wisconsin past Nashville, TN by 8:00am (Pretty good). For breakfast we stopped at Cracker Barrel for Big Country Boy Breakfasts (Mmmmmmmm). About an hour later we stopped at a scenic rest area in Tennessee, right past the mountains. It's surrounded by lakes and hills. We always drive by and say "ohhhhhh, how pretty", but never stop. It was a good place to let the kids run around and get them changed out of their jammies and into shorts. DH also broke out the video camera. (I have watched this video and I have to say I am not happy about being video-taped in my jammies!)
For lunch we stopped at McDonalds (Big Surprise!). The kids played on the slide for about an hour. We were almost to Valdosta, which is where we were spending the night.
We arrived at the Fairfield Inn In Valdosta, Georgia around 5pm. We got a goodie bag for being Marriott Rewards members (bottled water, pretzels, cookies and Reeses peanut butter cups). I booked this hotel in advance on Priceline for $30. And yes, it is very sad, but cost effective, that we have driven this route so many times that I can prebook a hotel on Priceline! Last time in September we stayed here and paid $70.
Even though DH & I were exhausted, the chickee-monkeys wanted to go swimming. So we changed into our suits and hit the pool. It was 80 degrees outside - 30 degrees warmer than Wisconsin. How nice it is to be on vacation!
We went to bed early and skipped dinner because we had a later lunch (3:00pm). I fed the kids some goodies I had packed and we emptied our Marriott rewards goodie bag. Tomorrow we'll be in Florida!
We woke up and took advantage of the Fairfield Inn's free continental breakfast (donuts, waffles, cereal, apples, bananas, muffins, toast, bagels and juice). We hit the road about 10am.
We arrived in Orlando at 2:00pm on the dot - just in time to check into our hotel. We found Orlando just fine - but had a minor problem finding the hotel. After 2 calls to the hotel on the cell phone and a minor disagreement with DH about his driving abilities, we arrived at the Wellesley Inn and Suites Southpark in the Florida Mall area. So far we have not fought the whole trip which is good for us! We only fight when we are lost - and we were temporarily.
I also booked this hotel on Priceline. I paid $30 per night. I paid a $10 per night upgrade fee so I could have a room w/ 2 double beds. The regular Priceline room has one queen bed and that's it. That was obviously not going to work for a family of four. The hotel is nice and looks very new. The room is set up much like an Embassy Suites. There is a living area and separate bedroom area. The room also had a full kitchen w/ big fridge, microwave, oven and dishwasher. There were two double beds and a pull out sofabed. Katie kept calling it her little house. While we were unpacking we noticed that there were no cartoon channels on the TV. Oh no! How are we going to keep the chickee-monkeys occupied? Beware - this hotel mainly caters to business travelers - not many tourists.
Before I forget the grand total we have spent driving down is:
$99.62 Gas
$22.59 Cracker Barrel
$15.14 McDonalds
$30.00 Fairfield Inn
__________________
$167.35
During unpacking, the children somehow misplaced our TV remote. DH freaked out because he actually had to manually change the channel. I called the front desk for another remote and sent DH to Burger King for some grub. We never did find the other remote. Perhaps the kids flushed it down the toilet? We know it was in the room when we got there and then it vanished. Luckily, we did not get charged by the hotel - maybe the maid found it?
After lunch we loaded the chickee-monkees in the truck and attempted to find out where Disney World was located in relation to our hotel. We have stayed on International Drive and Irlo Bronson, but never in the Florida Mall Area. According to my info the hotel was only 2 miles away from Universal, but in which direction? I should have asked the front desk before leaving but I didn't want to sound stupid. I figured it was easier for DH to stop at a gas station and look stupid.
We turned right and stopped at an Amoco. The kids fell asleep for a much needed nap. DH asked for directions and bought a map. The clerk didn't speak English so the directions he got were useless. We stared at the map for about 10 minutes and found Disney World, but couldn't find out where we were in relation to Disney. DH & I were both frustrated. We decided to head back towards the highway (the Beeline 528) from which we exited. Little did we know, our hotel was on the corner of Sand Lake Road and John Young Pkwy. All we had to do was turn left on Sand Lake Road and Universal was like 5 minutes away. DH was getting mad b/c he thought we were like an hour away from everything! I could hear him thinking, "Way to go, Honeybunny! You booked us a cheap hotel but its an hour from the parks!" I was scared for a few moments that he was right. It didn't help that two college graduates couldn't read the map we bought at the gas station.
Then I saw signs for I-4. Disney here we come! We got on I-4 and then saw signs for a Sand Lake Rd exit. "Hey baby, on the way back I bet if we take that exit it will lead right to our hotel!" DH and I finally relaxed because we knew where we were going and sort of knew how to get back. We had decided to go to the Boardwalk for our first night at Disney........
The time has come for another trip report. It seems I just finished the last one - maybe because we just went in September - and are planning to go again in October, thanks to the Fairytale package. But our family cannot get enough of Disney, obviously!
Who went:
Jennifer Age 29 - Travel Agent
Dennis Age 28 - Computer Technician
Kaitylnn Age 3 1/2 - Aspiring Princess
Julie Age 2 - Junior Princess in Training
The Drive Down 5/15 - 5/17
Ughhhhhhh! Yes, we drove again, much to my chagrin. We left on Thursday night at 10pm so the chickee-monkeys (my nickname for Katie and Julie) would sleep in the car and we could try to make some headway. Once they are awake we have to stop every two hours and at every McDonald Playland that we come by - which is very time consuming.
We made it from Milwaukee, Wisconsin past Nashville, TN by 8:00am (Pretty good). For breakfast we stopped at Cracker Barrel for Big Country Boy Breakfasts (Mmmmmmmm). About an hour later we stopped at a scenic rest area in Tennessee, right past the mountains. It's surrounded by lakes and hills. We always drive by and say "ohhhhhh, how pretty", but never stop. It was a good place to let the kids run around and get them changed out of their jammies and into shorts. DH also broke out the video camera. (I have watched this video and I have to say I am not happy about being video-taped in my jammies!)
For lunch we stopped at McDonalds (Big Surprise!). The kids played on the slide for about an hour. We were almost to Valdosta, which is where we were spending the night.
We arrived at the Fairfield Inn In Valdosta, Georgia around 5pm. We got a goodie bag for being Marriott Rewards members (bottled water, pretzels, cookies and Reeses peanut butter cups). I booked this hotel in advance on Priceline for $30. And yes, it is very sad, but cost effective, that we have driven this route so many times that I can prebook a hotel on Priceline! Last time in September we stayed here and paid $70.
Even though DH & I were exhausted, the chickee-monkeys wanted to go swimming. So we changed into our suits and hit the pool. It was 80 degrees outside - 30 degrees warmer than Wisconsin. How nice it is to be on vacation!
We went to bed early and skipped dinner because we had a later lunch (3:00pm). I fed the kids some goodies I had packed and we emptied our Marriott rewards goodie bag. Tomorrow we'll be in Florida!
We woke up and took advantage of the Fairfield Inn's free continental breakfast (donuts, waffles, cereal, apples, bananas, muffins, toast, bagels and juice). We hit the road about 10am.
We arrived in Orlando at 2:00pm on the dot - just in time to check into our hotel. We found Orlando just fine - but had a minor problem finding the hotel. After 2 calls to the hotel on the cell phone and a minor disagreement with DH about his driving abilities, we arrived at the Wellesley Inn and Suites Southpark in the Florida Mall area. So far we have not fought the whole trip which is good for us! We only fight when we are lost - and we were temporarily.
I also booked this hotel on Priceline. I paid $30 per night. I paid a $10 per night upgrade fee so I could have a room w/ 2 double beds. The regular Priceline room has one queen bed and that's it. That was obviously not going to work for a family of four. The hotel is nice and looks very new. The room is set up much like an Embassy Suites. There is a living area and separate bedroom area. The room also had a full kitchen w/ big fridge, microwave, oven and dishwasher. There were two double beds and a pull out sofabed. Katie kept calling it her little house. While we were unpacking we noticed that there were no cartoon channels on the TV. Oh no! How are we going to keep the chickee-monkeys occupied? Beware - this hotel mainly caters to business travelers - not many tourists.
Before I forget the grand total we have spent driving down is:
$99.62 Gas
$22.59 Cracker Barrel
$15.14 McDonalds
$30.00 Fairfield Inn
__________________
$167.35
During unpacking, the children somehow misplaced our TV remote. DH freaked out because he actually had to manually change the channel. I called the front desk for another remote and sent DH to Burger King for some grub. We never did find the other remote. Perhaps the kids flushed it down the toilet? We know it was in the room when we got there and then it vanished. Luckily, we did not get charged by the hotel - maybe the maid found it?
After lunch we loaded the chickee-monkees in the truck and attempted to find out where Disney World was located in relation to our hotel. We have stayed on International Drive and Irlo Bronson, but never in the Florida Mall Area. According to my info the hotel was only 2 miles away from Universal, but in which direction? I should have asked the front desk before leaving but I didn't want to sound stupid. I figured it was easier for DH to stop at a gas station and look stupid.
We turned right and stopped at an Amoco. The kids fell asleep for a much needed nap. DH asked for directions and bought a map. The clerk didn't speak English so the directions he got were useless. We stared at the map for about 10 minutes and found Disney World, but couldn't find out where we were in relation to Disney. DH & I were both frustrated. We decided to head back towards the highway (the Beeline 528) from which we exited. Little did we know, our hotel was on the corner of Sand Lake Road and John Young Pkwy. All we had to do was turn left on Sand Lake Road and Universal was like 5 minutes away. DH was getting mad b/c he thought we were like an hour away from everything! I could hear him thinking, "Way to go, Honeybunny! You booked us a cheap hotel but its an hour from the parks!" I was scared for a few moments that he was right. It didn't help that two college graduates couldn't read the map we bought at the gas station.
Then I saw signs for I-4. Disney here we come! We got on I-4 and then saw signs for a Sand Lake Rd exit. "Hey baby, on the way back I bet if we take that exit it will lead right to our hotel!" DH and I finally relaxed because we knew where we were going and sort of knew how to get back. We had decided to go to the Boardwalk for our first night at Disney........
