Our Last SUMMER Trip! 7/26 - 8/3 pt. 1

[mexico_ride]

Almost rested up from our 8 nights at Pop Century! It was SOOOOOOOO HOT, that it slowed us down and tired us out! Next year, we're doing it in November!

Made the drive down from Hanover, Pa in 14 hours, 8 minutes! My best time ever in a car that I owned. (Rental car best time much shorter!) Me, the wife (five months pregnant), sons 13 and almost 2!

Our trip started off on a very cool note, as we were visting the Disney Outlet at the Premium Outlet Mall we were able to see the Space Shuttle blasting into outerspace, in the near distance! That was very cool.

There was some problem checking into our room at POP. We had arrived at around 11:30am to check in, and they told me that the room was not ready. We've never had to wait for our room before at any of the resorts, but the offical check in time is 3, so it didn't really bother us much. Well, I called back 4 times in the next 3 1/2 hours and the room was never ready. Since we drive down, we really like to get a shower and change before we go into the parks!?! So, we spent the whole afternoon waiting around for the room instead of doing some rides!

At 3:00 I finally go up to the registartion counter to get our room number, and the CM tells me that the room is still not ready! I couldn't believe it! Then she says, " I have rooms available, but the specific room you requested is still not ready!' I never requested a specific room!!! The CM had no idea why a specific room was on hold for us, since it's a value resort...all the rooms are the same! So, we literally waisted our whole afternoon when we could have just gotten another room earlier and moved on with our day!
My wife was talking to some other guests in the TV room, and they had the same thing happen to them. Apprently, there was a wave of new CM's starting and they didn't know the computer system very well!

Well...we were able to get into our room, clean up and make it to our 5:00 AR at Canada. We drove to Epcot, and since it was late, we got a parking spot in the first row behind handicaped! NICE! Good eats as always at Canada, and we certainly had way more food than usual thanks to the dining plan! The cheese soup is still outstanding! I had the Surf & Turf special, even though I don't usualy order lobster...it was the most expensive thing on the menu!! The Maple Creme Brulee was also awesome!

From there we headed over to WS for one of my favorite rides - Mexico, we also did Norway, and they have a very cool HONG KONG DISNEYLAND PREVIEW in China. And we did Illuminations, which was actaully the first time we've ever stayed for that show!

The next day (Wed 7/27) we hit up the early Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom. Grabbed a FP for Pooh, and then did all the rest of Fantasyland, including Dumbo...which I haven't been on since I was little, but it was the first time for my 2 year old son, Elias! We also were able to hop onto Peter Pan without much of a wait!
Elias LOVED Small World, just as I did at his age! And he really liked Philharmagic....we had to adopt a Donald in the gift shop after the show, which Elias carried around with him for the rest of the day!
We hit up a bunch more rides, chilled out in the Expo Hall theatre for some cartoons before we headed back to the resort.
Took it easy the rest of the day, rested in the room, had diner at the Food Court and did a little shopping Downtown!

Thurs 7/28 : We had a 9:40 AR at O'Hana. That was a first for us! Good Eats! It's like a bufett, but you don't have to get up, they bring everything to you!
Elias warmed up to Mickey, but didn't want anything to do with Goofy or Chip n Dale!
After breakfast, we headed over to Animal Kingdom, where it was hotter than the core of the sun! We finally caught LION KING, and wanted to do Tarzan...but we all agreed it was too hot to do all that walking, and we'd be better off at the Studios where everything is closer together. We were glad we took our own car, because the parking lot tram pickup is MUCH closer than the bus station at AK. When we got in the car, the temp. outside was 101!
Over at the studios we took in Playhouse Disney Live, which my son LOVED!!! It was really magical to see him get so excited over JoJo and Pooh and Bear! We snapped a hundered pictures of just him watching the show.
Another great moment came in the Walt Disney exhibit. My two year old sat in my lap durring the movie and remained quiet, except for when they started to show clips of the cartoons....my son yelled out "Mickey! Minnie! Donald! Goofy! Horsecollar!" Yes, my 23 month old son, knows who Horace Horsecollar is!
As soon as we got out of the theatre, it rained and rained and rained. We were stuck in a gift shop for over 90 mins! After the rain, we did some dinner at Backlot Express, Star Tours and then headed home!

Friday 7/29...we got up early and made it to EPCOT at EMH opening. We headed straight to Soarin' which was already up to a 20 min. wait at 8:10! We got a parent swap ticket for it, and we both rode it with our 13 year old son! While my wife, Jen and older son Joey were on the ride, Elias and I lined a table with napkins to count Mickey's! It kept him entertained!

Then the highlight of our trip was NEMO @ The Living Seas. Elias LOVES Nimo..and went crazy in the exhibit! We got so much great video of him screaming happily, and yelling at all the "fishies"! At one tank, that didn't have any Clownfish in it, Elias stood screaming, "Nimo! Where are you!?" It was awesome! The Turtle Talk show is very cute!
We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon in FW. Saw Nimo Character out in the park, that was cool. Had a very short wait in the single riders line for Test Track. We ended up heading out of Epcot at 2 to go back to POP and freshen up for our 5:00 at Chef Mickey.
Chef Mickey was great as always! The food didn't seem to be as plentiful as in years past, but it was all still great...and we had a great time! Elias really warmed up to the characters, even walking up to Donald at the end and giving him a great big hug! That was great.

We were going to to the evening EMH at MK, but we ended up getting stuck in very bad rain at the TTC, and it made Elias grumpy...so we decided to head back to the POP and maybe go back out later. Instead, we made a night out of the pool as the rain finally let up and the resort was empty, I guess because of EMH!


Ok...my fingers are getting tired! I'll type up part 2 later!
Thanks for reading!

 

[bizeemom4]

Hi! It certainly sounds like it was hot! 101 degrees?!

Can I ask you - How was the drive from PA? We're making the drive from Harrisburg in November. What time did you leave? Did you hit any trouble on the beltway? Did you drive straight thru (w/just bathroom/food/gas breaks)?

 

[mexico_ride]

Hey!
We left Hanover at 6:07pm to be exact, and got to Orlando at 8:15am!
We take 15, to 395, to the Cap Beltway then get on 95.

Leaving at 6p...by the time we get to the DC Beltway, most of the commuter traffic is gone! We didn't have any problems!
This recent trip, we made very few stops...and all under 5 mins. I made sandwiches to take to avoid a dinner break. I figured, we're going to be eating out for a week....a sandwich for dinner won't kill us!

Take the 295 bipass around Richmond....by the time you get there...there is no traffic and it's smooth sailing!
Once you get out of VA, the speed limit is 70....so, 80 is kind of safe, and I didn't see any cops - AGAIN - so I pushed 85 for most of the trip.

Just stopped for gas, a bathroom/diaper break...and that's it! I drove 6-2a, my wife did 2-5:30, and then I picked up the rest! (she's a nurse on overnights, so she's used to it!)

As a veteran of many drives to FL, I strongly recommend staying a night on the road on the way back! FL is slow getting out of......plus you're tired from the week you just had. We did 400 miles the first day, spent the night at a Hampton Inn in Waterborro, SC and finished the trip the next day. It's a lot easier!

 

[sherry8253]

Glad you had a nice trip even though it was HOT. We always drive from the Harrisburg area. It usually takes us about an hour longer than you. Sometimes we leave around 10 PM other times 1 or 2 AM.

 

[Figment56]

They have Surf & Turf at Le Cellier? It is not listed on the menu on AllEars.net. What does it include if I may ask?

 

[bizeemom4]

Hey!
We left Hanover at 6:07pm to be exact, and got to Orlando at 8:15am!
We take 15, to 395, to the Cap Beltway then get on 95.

Leaving at 6p...by the time we get to the DC Beltway, most of the commuter traffic is gone! We didn't have any problems!
This recent trip, we made very few stops...and all under 5 mins. I made sandwiches to take to avoid a dinner break. I figured, we're going to be eating out for a week....a sandwich for dinner won't kill us!

Take the 295 bipass around Richmond....by the time you get there...there is no traffic and it's smooth sailing!
Once you get out of VA, the speed limit is 70....so, 80 is kind of safe, and I didn't see any cops - AGAIN - so I pushed 85 for most of the trip.

Just stopped for gas, a bathroom/diaper break...and that's it! I drove 6-2a, my wife did 2-5:30, and then I picked up the rest! (she's a nurse on overnights, so she's used to it!)

As a veteran of many drives to FL, I strongly recommend staying a night on the road on the way back! FL is slow getting out of......plus you're tired from the week you just had. We did 400 miles the first day, spent the night at a Hampton Inn in Waterborro, SC and finished the trip the next day. It's a lot easier!

THANKS SO MUCH for the detailed route. I am looking forward to the drive!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[CarolB]

Glad you had a nice trip even though it was HOT. We always drive from the Harrisburg area. It usually takes us about an hour longer than you. Sometimes we leave around 10 PM other times 1 or 2 AM.

We are about 1 1/2 - 2 hours north of you both and we go the 81 So to 26 to 77 to 95 (I might have the 26/77 reversed - we go via Columbia, SC) and can usually make it in under 16 hours. I much prefer the scenery to 95. We used to go down one way and back the other, but not anymore. Do miss the "Pedro" signs, but otherwise we find it easier and quicker.
(Virginia does seem to go on forever that way, but that's OK - the mountains are nice to look at).

 

[mexico_ride]

The Surf and Turf at Le Cellier was the chef's special for the day. Nice cut of beef...filet of something, nice big lobster tail....mashed potatoes I believe were also in the offering!

As for driving....it seems every year there are fewer and fewer Pedro SOB signs. However, this year there seem to be ALOT less South bound 95 and a lot more North bound. However, my absolutly disgusting visit last year kept me away this year. Sorry, Pedro!

 

[MamaLema]

How did your DS 2 do on the drive. Did he sleep most of the night?

We drove from Canada (around 24 hours) with DS 1,6,and 8. This year we are skipping Disney because DS (almost 2) fussed non-stop driving to NJ, so we decided against it.

 

[corvair]

thanks for the great report...wow...you made good time...we live right up route 15 from you ..dillsburg...I always want to drive..but DH says it takes like 25 hours...great report ...amy

 

[PixieDust32]

Thanks for your report! Glad you had a great time.

We were there from the 7/31 to 8/7 and you're right it was HOT HOT HOT! We had fun anyways, ir rained everyday, as usual and thank god it did, because it went from 101 to 85.