Resorts, Relatives & Restaurants - and a 3 day cruise!

[Pluto_fan]

I'm here, Sheree! Trying to catch up on my DISing now that the boys (including DH!) are out of the house.

I'm enjoying your report so far! Add me to those who are in awe of your planning for such a big group! Can't wait to hear how it all went!

Hey, we also have a bun-warming Passat But it's DH's car; I get the minivan.

 

[MagicalKingdom]

' yes!..agreed to all of you guys!..( we as DISers are very sweet!...)continue spreading the magic of Disney!.....

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I'm here, Sheree! Trying to catch up on my DISing now that the boys (including DH!) are out of the house.

I'm enjoying your report so far! Add me to those who are in awe of your planning for such a big group! Can't wait to hear how it all went!

Hey, we also have a bun-warming Passat But it's DH's car; I get the minivan.

Thanks for coming!! Next installment is coming up. We used to have a minivan too, and I would always make DH drive it!! The Passat is WAY more fun!! I wanted to be the cool mom, not the minivan mom!

' yes!..agreed to all of you guys!..( we as DISers are very sweet!...)continue spreading the magic of Disney!.....

More Disney magic coming right up!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Thursday 12/3
So I got home a little early (all of a half hour) and the kids were eating a sandwich. They already had bathed and put on their jammies! So I went upstairs to change and pee (yes, at the same time!!) I managed to do it too! Put on my comfy travel clothes (i.e. yoga pants), took out my contacts, put on my glasses instead and said, "I'm ready!".

The car was loaded (I wish I had a picture of that!), the kids had their bags of fun, books, homework, pillows, drinks and DS games. We had given Paige her DS as an early Christmas present so she could have her own on the way to FL. We had the movie player all rigged up on the backs of our seats and the girls had picked out their first movie. I can't for the life of me remember what it was.

At 5:30 p.m., CST, we were ON OUR WAY!!!! Of course, it was dark out already so I was hoping the girls would sleep. They did not. They chatted for hours!! Even watching a movie. DH was raring to go - I think we were all so excited! The weather was great - no snow in the forecast for our route. We decided to drive for a while and if the stars were all aligned, we might not stop that night. (YIKES!!)
We drove to Tomah WI and stopped at the McDonald's there like we usually do. Got a little bite to eat and told the kids, they could sleep. They didn't.

We kept driving...

We crossed into Illinois. We like to stop and get gas before getting too far into Chicago because there's just nowhere to stop. Plus traffic is so busy/scary/fast.
So we stopped at the Belvidere Oasis. It's actually really nice - gas station and a big "plaza" with a bunch of food places and nice bathrooms. It goes right over the highway so you don't really have to get off.
Sorry I took NO pictures of the traveling, the car or anything on the way down. The camera was in the way back and well, it was dark.

The kids fell asleep, although it's not too comfy to sleep in the car and they were kind of squirmy, they slept and slept and slept. I, on the other hand, was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open, but I had a job to do. When you drive through Illinois, there are LOTS of toll booths. Dave would drive and I would dig out change every couple miles for tolls. .80 here, $1.00 here, $1.60 there...So no sleeping for me yet.
I kept asking him if he wanted to stop (mostly because I don't like sleeping in the car, and I couldn't recline my seat with the movie thing hooked up). But he said he was fine and we kept going.

and going.

and going.

I did get to doze off and missed most of Indiana. When the sun was coming up, we were in Kentucky!!

The girls woke up and we told them we'd been through four states already. I don't think they believed us. Funny thing - it was still quite chilly in KY. We stopped at a McDonald's for breakfast (see why I like to eat at TS in WDW?) and I think I drove for a few hours.
We probably only hit one rest stop between breakfast and lunch. We stopped in Georgia near Macon for lunch. At Wendy's! Not McDonald's!! Right next to the Wendy's there was a Sonny's BBQ - Dave LOVES Sonny's and we don't have them up north. So he walked over there and got BBQ and brought it to Wendy's. Aren't we the classy bunch?

Okay - Dave drives the rest of the way. Fast forward. It's around 5 p.m. By the time we got to Valdosta, it had started raining. Should we stop? Where? We could get to WDW in a few hours. Or we could stop and get a full night's sleep and be fresh and ready on Saturday.
Who ya gonna call????

 

[ladybugmom]

YAY!! You're on the road!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Here's who I called:

1-407-939-6244

Anyone know that number???

Yup, I called Disney reservations!! We thought maybe we could get a one night stay at a value. Well, you all know how they have that automated crap where the lovely lady says, "I just need some information" and proceeds to ask you thirty seven questions. So we go through all that nonsense and then it comes time to say and spell my last name. Oh boy. Well, unless your last name is Smith, they don't get it. My last name has 9 letters, including 2 Zs. They didn't get it. I tried 3 times and then my phone cut out. Disconnected. Crap. So I mutter some choice words under my breath (the kids were in the back seat laughing at me trying to spell our name loudly and clearly!) and then I called back and started ALL OVER!! At the point of having to spell my name again, I simply said, "operator please" and the lovely lady said, "Okay, just one moment". I got a great CM, whose name I basically ignored, and asked for any room at any value. Sorry Sheree, sold out scared1. Oh yeah, Pop Warner probably just arrived! Okay, anything at POR or POFQ? Sure if you want to pay rack rate. No, not so much. Then DH is yapping in my ear, Hey, how about the Swan/Dolphin?? They have government discounts! --(we both work for government) But he likes to say "Schwan" for some reason (probably because he knows it bugs me!). I have heard that if you stay at the Swan or Dolphin, you can get a discount basically for anything - government, military, teacher, janitor, walking upright...
So I ask nice no-name CM - can you check Swan/Dolpin. No Sheree, sorry - you have to call someone else, especially if you want a discount. But he was able to transfer me.

Keep in mind it's pouring rain and it's getting dark too. I can barely hear because of the noise, and the kids don't understand that when someone is on the phone you do not sing, yell and fight.
So I get through and chat with someone at Swan and they have a room with a government discount. It's actually more than POR would have been, but hey, who cares?? It's more of a deluxe! And we've never stayed there. So I rattle off the Visa number which I have memorized and tell them we'll be there in a couple hours.

WOOT!! We are driving straight through and get an extra day at WDW and get to stay at the SWAN!!!

So we get three resorts on this trip!!

We arrive at the Swan by 8. Check in is a breeze. It's absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! I have lots of pictures:

The girls were sitting like ladies - mostly so Sarah could cover the hole in her pants!!

In the lobby

bridge to the Dolphin
pool - notice the big swan statue up high

obligatory light fixture picture for LL!!

Our room was on the 6th floor.
More pictures of our room and view to come!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

AND THEY"RE OFF!!!!! WOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!

More More More More More!!!!

PLEASE!!!!!


I can not BELIEVE you guys drove the whole way straight through! My DH's back can't go for more than 15 hrs! Y'all are CRAZY!!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Oh wow, you got to stay at the Swan!! It's on my list of resorts to try one day! Can't wait for more pics!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

YAY!! You're on the road!! Can't wait to read more!

It's coming!!

AND THEY"RE OFF!!!!! WOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!

More More More More More!!!!

PLEASE!!!!!


I can not BELIEVE you guys drove the whole way straight through! My DH's back can't go for more than 15 hrs! Y'all are CRAZY!!!

Yes, why, in fact, we are CRAZY!!

Oh wow, you got to stay at the Swan!! It's on my list of resorts to try one day! Can't wait for more pics!

It was pretty cool. You'd be proud! I even took pictures of our room before we trashed it! And view pictures! Coming up!

 

[ladybugmom]

YAY for an extra day and an additional resort!! Your girls are too cute!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

WOW!! You are quick! I just finished posting my response to your drive down and when it came up on the screen it was AFTER your post about the Swan!

What a beautiful Lobby! Can't wait to see the room pics! Your girls are beautiful! Mine are Soooooo excited to meet them!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I can't believe you all lasted as long as you did in the car!!!

Hurray for an extra night at Disney and a stay at the Swan!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

YAY for an extra day and an additional resort!! Your girls are too cute!!

Thank you so much! They usually don't act like they were posing!

WOW!! You are quick! I just finished posting my response to your drive down and when it came up on the screen it was AFTER your post about the Swan!

What a beautiful Lobby! Can't wait to see the room pics! Your girls are beautiful! Mine are Soooooo excited to meet them!

yes, well, I didn't want the first post to be too long. Thank you about the girls! Mine are going to write yours a letter before your trip. They definitely want to meet them!

I can't believe you all lasted as long as you did in the car!!!

Hurray for an extra night at Disney and a stay at the Swan!!!

Yeah, any time I got uncomfortable, I'd turn up the heat on the seat to soothe my back and hips/bum. The girls are better road trippers than I am!
That extra day was really nice - you'll see soon how we enjoyed our time!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

It was pretty cool. You'd be proud! I even took pictures of our room before we trashed it! And view pictures! Coming up!

YAY ~ I am so very proud!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Room Pictures

bathroom

vanity outside bathroom

view looking left from our room - this shows the front entrance to the hotel

view looking right from our room - anyone for TOT?

Depsite the fact that I had been on the boat ride between the two many times, I had no idea that the swan was so close to DHS. I wish you could walk right over and go in a back entrance!

Look - there's the back side of the Boardwalk! (nicer than the back side of water!)

Of course we checked out the gift shop

We wandered around the hotel a bit before heading back to the room for the night.

So we settled into those super comfy beds!! Oh, they were great! I'd heard talk about how nice they were, and let me tell you - one of the best hotel beds I've ever slept on!
The next morning, we really didn't have any official plans since we weren't even supposed to be there yet!
So we got up and walked over to the Dolphin to have some breakfast at Picabu Buffeteria. It's a counter service place that has everything imaginable!

On the bridge between Swan and Dolphin there was this large box. Paige was pretty sure it had presents in it. Sarah thought it was supplies for Santa. We never found out. I just noticed that the girls are wearing the same clothes as the day before! Looking back, I realize that we didn't pack a bag with more than one outfit for our "night on the road". I think all their other clothes were in a big suitcase still in the car. Plus they didn't have many pairs of long pants!

Breakfast:

So after breakfast, we decided that even though it was drizzly/rainy, we'd wander around the boardwalk area. It was so nice to be so close to walk!!
We went to see the Christmas decorations at Boardwalk, Beach Club and Yacht Club.
Before I show you how cool they were - a funny story!
You all know how there are big palm trees all over the place (duh, it's Florida). Well, obviously my children are not too familiar with them. Or the leaves and pieces of bark they drop. I'm guessing because of the heavy rain the day before, a lot of stuff had fallen from the trees. So we're walking on a path near Swan and Sarah screams. She has no idea what that THING laying on the ground is!! It's going to bite her!!

It's a leaf. Granted, a very large leaf, but it's a LEAF!
So from then on, every time we saw a leaf, especially a big one, we'd say "Oh my gosh, Sarah, look out - there's a leaf!!"
Yeah, this kid does not go on thrill rides. Who needs them when you have leaves?

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

OMG what awesome pictures!! Thanks so much for sharing them.

I am very determined to stay in the BW area next trip!

Cute leaf story!

Very excited for more!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Another great chapter!

Those beds look amazing! I sudden;y felt so sleepy just looking at them!

I am in the midst of planning a dream trip (totally in my head and nowhere placed in reality) for me and DH where we get to spend a whole day just wandering around that area! It sounds like so much fun! Can't wait to see some pics!

Poor Sarah! My 8 yr old is totally fearless on any thrill ride. Her one ride that she is currently refusing to ride again - Haunted MAnsion!

Keep it coming Sheree!

 

[ladybugmom]

The leaf thing is cracking me up!!! Too funny!! Your room is beautiful! And what a great view you had!!

 

[manntra]

What a super comfy looking bed at the Swalphin! Perfect for after driving FOREVER!!!
Great view of TOT!
Funny leaf story!

Tracy

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

SO, was that like 26.5 hrs on the road??? Are my calculations correct? We did 18 and that was MORE than enough for me. Don't know if I could do it again. (20 on the way back but that's a whole other story)!!

The girls are adorable! I would've never noticed they were wearing the same clothes!

That cracks me up about the leaf! Reminds me of when my neice was little (really little) she had a fear of fuzz...we took full advantage of that to entertain ourselves! Terrible people, we are!!