dgaston
Proudly wears a "Believes in Fairies tshirt"
- Joined
- May 23, 2001
- Messages
- 5,883
We had hoped to surprise DS15 with a camping trip to WDW and to bring along a friend. He figured out the surprise, and at the last minute, friend #3 was not able to accompany us.
Those of you who have experience with 15 year old boys know that going with their parents anywhere is not at the top of their list--even to WDW.
We left CT about 6 pm on 4/17. We had hoped to have more loaded into the car, but that week's rain had made that impossible. We have a DVD player for the van, and got a car cord for DS' Game Cube, so he had both DVDs and games to occupy himself as we drove south. DH and I switch off, and have learned to sleep well in the van, so we drive straight through. We travel 84-81-77-26-95 on the way south. It went smoothly, but we saw lots of slow-moving traffic heading north on 95.
We arrived in Orlando about 6:30 and headed over to Gaylord Palms. I had bid on a resort on Priceline about a month earlier for our first night, not wanted to set up tents late at night, and got the Gaylord Palms for $85. DS and I went to check in and much to my surprise the friendly desk clerk said "I have a lovely suite for you." It was probably the nicest hotel room I have ever stayed in. We had two balconies overlooking the St. Augustine atrium, a huge dining table for eight, a queen sized pull-out sofa, two oversized wicker chairs, a mini bar area and large armoire with big TV in the living area. DH and I had a kingsized four poster bed in a separate room. This hotel is amazing, and I may bid on resorts for future WDW stays.
DH and I drove the short distance to the Publix, and stocked up on DH's beer, and got some sandwiches, soda and snacks for the week. We spent some time exploring the hotel, and then DS and DH got hooked into watching the Mummy on TV. I visited the adult pool and hot tub.
Next am DS tried to find his hs band that was supposed to be at AK. That never worked out--the band had played at MK on Saturday before we arrived, and while we saw tons of kids from other schools throughout the week, that was the last day for Woodstock kids in FL. DS called us on his cell phone to pick him up from AK. He hadn't done too much, and was sort of grumpy. We drove to Ft Wilderness to check in and encountered quite a wait at the Outpost. Of course, my line moved or seemed move the slowest. CMs passed out crayons and a coloring book to the RVs, and cars. After about 30 minutes it was our turn to check in. We had finally been placed in the 1500 loop! Yippee! I have requested this loop on 2 other trips, but never received it. Our site wasn't going to be ready until about 1:30, so we went to Walmart to look into a new pump for the air mattress. Got back about 2 and were assigned 1521 (last site on loop). This site has a large camping pad, is close to both bus stop and comfort station, but has only one corner with good shade. If we stood on the picnic table benches, we had a great view of the high elements of Wishes. Bus transportation was excellent from this location, and it was just a short walk to the Meadows pool complex.
After setting up, we headed over to Epcot. We had never visited during the Flower and Garden Show, and DH always loves to see IllumiNations. We ate at Morocco, shwarma platters, and really should have split the plate between the two of us.
IllumiNations was wonderful. We were able to watch from the spit of land that is often used for receptions and private parties next to the International Bridge near France.
Those of you who have experience with 15 year old boys know that going with their parents anywhere is not at the top of their list--even to WDW.
We left CT about 6 pm on 4/17. We had hoped to have more loaded into the car, but that week's rain had made that impossible. We have a DVD player for the van, and got a car cord for DS' Game Cube, so he had both DVDs and games to occupy himself as we drove south. DH and I switch off, and have learned to sleep well in the van, so we drive straight through. We travel 84-81-77-26-95 on the way south. It went smoothly, but we saw lots of slow-moving traffic heading north on 95.
We arrived in Orlando about 6:30 and headed over to Gaylord Palms. I had bid on a resort on Priceline about a month earlier for our first night, not wanted to set up tents late at night, and got the Gaylord Palms for $85. DS and I went to check in and much to my surprise the friendly desk clerk said "I have a lovely suite for you." It was probably the nicest hotel room I have ever stayed in. We had two balconies overlooking the St. Augustine atrium, a huge dining table for eight, a queen sized pull-out sofa, two oversized wicker chairs, a mini bar area and large armoire with big TV in the living area. DH and I had a kingsized four poster bed in a separate room. This hotel is amazing, and I may bid on resorts for future WDW stays.
DH and I drove the short distance to the Publix, and stocked up on DH's beer, and got some sandwiches, soda and snacks for the week. We spent some time exploring the hotel, and then DS and DH got hooked into watching the Mummy on TV. I visited the adult pool and hot tub.
Next am DS tried to find his hs band that was supposed to be at AK. That never worked out--the band had played at MK on Saturday before we arrived, and while we saw tons of kids from other schools throughout the week, that was the last day for Woodstock kids in FL. DS called us on his cell phone to pick him up from AK. He hadn't done too much, and was sort of grumpy. We drove to Ft Wilderness to check in and encountered quite a wait at the Outpost. Of course, my line moved or seemed move the slowest. CMs passed out crayons and a coloring book to the RVs, and cars. After about 30 minutes it was our turn to check in. We had finally been placed in the 1500 loop! Yippee! I have requested this loop on 2 other trips, but never received it. Our site wasn't going to be ready until about 1:30, so we went to Walmart to look into a new pump for the air mattress. Got back about 2 and were assigned 1521 (last site on loop). This site has a large camping pad, is close to both bus stop and comfort station, but has only one corner with good shade. If we stood on the picnic table benches, we had a great view of the high elements of Wishes. Bus transportation was excellent from this location, and it was just a short walk to the Meadows pool complex.
After setting up, we headed over to Epcot. We had never visited during the Flower and Garden Show, and DH always loves to see IllumiNations. We ate at Morocco, shwarma platters, and really should have split the plate between the two of us.
IllumiNations was wonderful. We were able to watch from the spit of land that is often used for receptions and private parties next to the International Bridge near France.
