Road Trip! Stop1:Inkedupmomma's wedding, Stop2:Disney-A Jan 2013 PTR

[Synndy]

Feel free to squeeze Brodie! Hes a lover.

I cant wait for everyone to be down here!!!

Be careful driving. I know being from Ohio you know how winter goes but driving through PA in the winter can be down right scary. Then again I dont think you will have to go through the mountains, so thats a plus.

I drove from Rochester to Tampa and it SUCKED. It didnt help I was driving with a 5 month old and a cranky brother. We stopped in Baltimore the first night then Okatie SC the second night (stayed with Jon's aunt). The second day when we did most of the driving was the WORST. When we agreed to stay with Jon's aunt I had NO clue how far south she was (literally on the border of SC & GA) It was rough.

I have to say that the last 2 hours are the worst. You start seeing signs for Orlando & the miles seem to crawl by at a snails pace.

I'm sure Jenn has filled you in but traffic blows around Baltimore, DC, and Richmond. Outside of that, when we drove it was smooth sailing.

Do your research on where you might want to stop for the night, just in case. We were getting exhausted on the way to Jon's aunts so I grabbed a hotel thing at a rest stop. I looked at some of the less expensive hotels (seeing as it was already 10pm, I didnt want to spend more than 200 bucks on a hotel from 10pm til noon or whatever) I must say, thank god for Iphones because just about every review I found talked about roaches or bed bugs. I said screw that & kept driving. We got to his aunt's around 2am.

I'm really excited for everyone to get down here. Ive been pretty lonely since moving down here, so its exciting to look forward to Disney time with people who love it like I do.

Sorry I'm all over the place. My brain isnt functioning. Its 130am and I cant sleep. Hubby (anti Disney hubby... I dont think he is actually anti Disney as much as he is pro annoying his wife) is going to DISNEY WITH ME!!!!!!! Ahhhhhh. We are taking Brodie for his first visit. I cant sleep, I'm like a little kid.

 

[inkedupmomma]

Now that intros and such are done, I thought I'd start with the plannin'! Woot!

A lot is going to depend on the weather but for now, our plan is to hit the road super duper early the morning of Jenn's wedding.

We will be off work for 2 weeks. We originally wanted to leave Ohio the day before the wedding, but I think we both have to work that day.

Since this is the first time that we will be driving this far...first the wedding then to WDW, I will likely begin gathering stuff for the car around Christmas.

We have always had to deal with airline luggage restrictions so this should be fun. I plan to post my car packing list in a ater post.

I am so hoping that we don't run into this crap on the way there because I MUST be there in time for the wedding!!

I cannot tell you how excited I am for this wedding! It is gonna be awesome. For all the details, head on over to Jenn's PTR/WPJ!

I really wish that I could show you a picture of Jenn's wedding gift, but alas, I cannot. There is ONE DISER though that has seen it. I am super stoked and can't wait to give it to her.

Also trying to be creative on a shower gift, but booo, I cannot talk about it here since she is reading....or at least she better be reading!

Once we hit the road, we likely will stop only for gas and get there as quickly as we can. It's not a bad drive from here to Jenn's. Here are a few pictures from our last trip there.

I am hoping that I get to see Jenn before she actually walks down the isle. She asked me the other day if I got my dress for her wedding. I told her that the last time I wore one was when I walked down the isle....12 years ago. I am doing Weight Watchers now so maybe by then I will actually get a dress for the wedding. Shhhhh, it's a surprse. (Don't read this Jenn.)

After the wedding, Joe and I plan on hittig the road bright and early the next morning. We had hoped that we would be following Jenn, Bob and the kids down, but they will be leaving late morning/early afternoon. Since Joe is doing all of our driving, he really wants to be on the road around 5:30 or 6 a.m. so that he can drive as far as possible on day 1. I don't believe we will make it straight through.

Our thought is that we will stop in northern Florida somewhere and find an inexpensive place to stay and sleep for a few hours.

I figure that we can at least give Jenn traffic reports as we go down there since they will be traveling the same route.

NOPE, I'm not reading at all, post gifts away

I REALLY wish we were leaving together, then we coulda ride swapped lol! You drive with me, bob drive with joe... you get it! and yeah, total bummer you can't come night before, I was really hoping you could to! I won't get too bummed until closer, who knows what will happen!

I REALLY hope it doesn't snow, at least not bad anyway! I wouldn't m ind snow on the ground for picture purposes, but with roots traveling, and you guys traveling, I would DIE if yall couldn't make it!

I gotta say, you'll love the freedom driving provides! We're packing the van a couple days before the wedding so we can just go... I didn't get to that on my PTR yet though :>

I love you!

 

[inkedupmomma]

Feel free to squeeze Brodie! Hes a lover.

I cant wait for everyone to be down here!!!

Be careful driving. I know being from Ohio you know how winter goes but driving through PA in the winter can be down right scary. Then again I dont think you will have to go through the mountains, so thats a plus.

I drove from Rochester to Tampa and it SUCKED. It didnt help I was driving with a 5 month old and a cranky brother. We stopped in Baltimore the first night then Okatie SC the second night (stayed with Jon's aunt). The second day when we did most of the driving was the WORST. When we agreed to stay with Jon's aunt I had NO clue how far south she was (literally on the border of SC & GA) It was rough.

I have to say that the last 2 hours are the worst. You start seeing signs for Orlando & the miles seem to crawl by at a snails pace.

I'm sure Jenn has filled you in but traffic blows around Baltimore, DC, and Richmond. Outside of that, when we drove it was smooth sailing.

Do your research on where you might want to stop for the night, just in case. We were getting exhausted on the way to Jon's aunts so I grabbed a hotel thing at a rest stop. I looked at some of the less expensive hotels (seeing as it was already 10pm, I didnt want to spend more than 200 bucks on a hotel from 10pm til noon or whatever) I must say, thank god for Iphones because just about every review I found talked about roaches or bed bugs. I said screw that & kept driving. We got to his aunt's around 2am.

I'm really excited for everyone to get down here. Ive been pretty lonely since moving down here, so its exciting to look forward to Disney time with people who love it like I do.

Sorry I'm all over the place. My brain isnt functioning. Its 130am and I cant sleep. Hubby (anti Disney hubby... I dont think he is actually anti Disney as much as he is pro annoying his wife) is going to DISNEY WITH ME!!!!!!! Ahhhhhh. We are taking Brodie for his first visit. I cant sleep, I'm like a little kid.

I actually have never had much traffic issue, prolly due to time we usually leave? One trip, we hit traffic on the way home... that SUCKED!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

We have driven twice to Disney from MA. I LOVE it!!! I definitely pack the car as much as possible...
Here's hoping no snow/bad weather delays you to the Part 1 (wedding) as well as Part 2 (Disney)

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

We left for WDW from about an hour north of Philly at 2am and got there by lunch time with a stop for b'fast...but with the wedding the day before I'm going ot guess and say that would be hard!

Oh, oh PM the gift ideas....I hate waiting! and I cross my heart not to say a word!'


And drivign means you bring whatever you want home!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will PM you the picture....

If I was helping Joe drive, I think it may be different.

So, about how long did it take you to get there?

Feel free to squeeze Brodie! Hes a lover.

I cant wait for everyone to be down here!!!

Be careful driving. I know being from Ohio you know how winter goes but driving through PA in the winter can be down right scary. Then again I dont think you will have to go through the mountains, so thats a plus.

I drove from Rochester to Tampa and it SUCKED. It didnt help I was driving with a 5 month old and a cranky brother. We stopped in Baltimore the first night then Okatie SC the second night (stayed with Jon's aunt). The second day when we did most of the driving was the WORST. When we agreed to stay with Jon's aunt I had NO clue how far south she was (literally on the border of SC & GA) It was rough.

I have to say that the last 2 hours are the worst. You start seeing signs for Orlando & the miles seem to crawl by at a snails pace.

I'm sure Jenn has filled you in but traffic blows around Baltimore, DC, and Richmond. Outside of that, when we drove it was smooth sailing.

Do your research on where you might want to stop for the night, just in case. We were getting exhausted on the way to Jon's aunts so I grabbed a hotel thing at a rest stop. I looked at some of the less expensive hotels (seeing as it was already 10pm, I didnt want to spend more than 200 bucks on a hotel from 10pm til noon or whatever) I must say, thank god for Iphones because just about every review I found talked about roaches or bed bugs. I said screw that & kept driving. We got to his aunt's around 2am.

I'm really excited for everyone to get down here. Ive been pretty lonely since moving down here, so its exciting to look forward to Disney time with people who love it like I do.

Sorry I'm all over the place. My brain isnt functioning. Its 130am and I cant sleep. Hubby (anti Disney hubby... I dont think he is actually anti Disney as much as he is pro annoying his wife) is going to DISNEY WITH ME!!!!!!! Ahhhhhh. We are taking Brodie for his first visit. I cant sleep, I'm like a little kid.

I can't wait to see you and to meet Brodie. Will we get to meet Jon too?

I am going to do some research on places to stay on the way down...just in case. I will at least be able to give Joe choices.

We're going to have a blast!!

NOPE, I'm not reading at all, post gifts away

I REALLY wish we were leaving together, then we coulda ride swapped lol! You drive with me, bob drive with joe... you get it! and yeah, total bummer you can't come night before, I was really hoping you could to! I won't get too bummed until closer, who knows what will happen!

I REALLY hope it doesn't snow, at least not bad anyway! I wouldn't m ind snow on the ground for picture purposes, but with roots traveling, and you guys traveling, I would DIE if yall couldn't make it!

I gotta say, you'll love the freedom driving provides! We're packing the van a couple days before the wedding so we can just go... I didn't get to that on my PTR yet though :>

I love you!

I am so hoping that we don't run into any craptastic weather either coming to the wedding or from PA to FLA.

I wish we were going at the same time too, but at least this way I can give you traffic reports.

Nope, not posting pictures..... LOL

I actually have never had much traffic issue, prolly due to time we usually leave? One trip, we hit traffic on the way home... that SUCKED!

I would hate to hit traffic on the way home!

We have driven twice to Disney from MA. I LOVE it!!! I definitely pack the car as much as possible...
Here's hoping no snow/bad weather delays you to the Part 1 (wedding) as well as Part 2 (Disney)

I am working on my car packing list now. Any suggestions?

 

[inkedupmomma]

im so excited, im so excited, im so excitedddd..and yay you posted!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Ok folks, time to start devoting time to this PTR before everyone leaves me.......



Like I said earlier, we are going to get up bright and early the day after the wedding and start our trek to Disney.

Last night Joe and I were figuring out our gas budget and about how much we think we will spend this trip. Looks like it will be around $890 bucks.

Our plan is to pack a cooler to take with us so that we stop for gas and potty breaks only. And of course, to stretch our legs. Joe just likes to "get there" when we are going somewhere.

I am working on my list of stuff to pack in the car. Suggestions are needed, so feel free to chime in. So far, I have this:

*Maps - even though we have a nav system
*First Aid Kit - because you never know
*Road Side Emergency Kit - because you never know
*AAA card
*Kindle/Tablet/Magazines and other reading material
*Batteries
*Flashlight
*Toll loot
*Ice scraper
*Scissors - never know when you will need them
*Blankets - because I love them!
*Music
*Towel - for the window, or a spill, etc.
*Paper Towels
*Forks/Knives/Spoons/Paper Plates
*Sunglasses
*TP - yeah, just in case

And then of course, all my other regular stuff for the wedding and Disney.

So, what have I left out????

We are really hoping that we get to the northern part of FLA on the first day. We will spend the night there and plan to get up early enough to meet our goal of being at WDW by 10 a.m.

We will check in, get our KTTW cards (since we did not renew our AP's) and then likely go to DTD.

The goal is to be able to meet Jenn for lunch at EOS.

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

After lunch the plan is to head over to Epcot.

Here is a picture of Jack and Kayla from a while back at Epcot. I love ths picture!

I'd like to do as much of FW as we can before dinner.

I love Mouse Gear, even if it does smell like poop in there.

We will likely spend all of our time in FW until it is time for dinner. Up next, where are we going for dinner??!!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

im so excited, im so excited, im so excitedddd..and yay you posted!

woot!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[inkedupmomma]

what! you didnt add in the dinner! You PTR tease! yeah, i know I know, but still! Love that pic of the kids! make sure you use the AAA website gas tracker! its awesome!

http://fuelcostcalculator.aaa.com/

It has been spot on for all of our trips! think ill go check mine now

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

For those of you that are reading Jenn's WPJ/PTR, you know that we're not having dinner together on our first night.

Joe and I decided that we really want to spend our first night at Rose and Crown. We LOVE it there. We are going to request an outside table.....yes, in February.......

Craptastic pic, but here it is anyway.

Here is what we had to eat in Feb....again, craptastic pics.......

In my opinion, there is NO better view of Illuminations than from Rose and Crown.

When we were there in Feb, they turned on the outside heaters for us right before the show started. Even though we had a sem-early ADR (7:30), they let us sit outside at our tabl and wait for Illuminations.

After Illuminations, I hope that we get to meet up with Jenn and the family so that we can stroll out of the park together and talk about our first official day at Disney.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

what! you didnt add in the dinner! You PTR tease! yeah, i know I know, but still! Love that pic of the kids! make sure you use the AAA website gas tracker! its awesome!

http://fuelcostcalculator.aaa.com/

It has been spot on for all of our trips! think ill go check mine now

I'm gonna go do the AAA fuel thingymabobber now...........

 

[inkedupmomma]

oh, I'm glad you posted the pic of the fish and chip. I dont like one big piece! Weirds me out and tastes different to me! I'm not overly looking forward to this adr on our night, but trying to be open minded!!! what is the other dish in the picture?

Good call on meeting up after.. did we compare adr time?

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Signing in now. This is the trip we met you guys on!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Don't worry, we won't leave you!!
You have a GREAT list of things to pack....I always bring windex...its come in handy many times to clean the front windshield on our gas breaks..sometimes the squeegee (is that the right name???) lol at the gas stations just doesn't get all the gunk off the window...I also bring Lysol wipes...cause I'm a freak and have to wash down the bathroom in any hotel we stay at...lol

Never been to R&C....it certainly looks like a fantastic place to watch Illuminations...and we would sit outside as well...cause no matter how cold it is in Florida, it's warmer then were we came from!!!

 

[Synndy]

I'm so exciteddddddd

I'm not sure if Jon will be joining us. It will depend on his work schedule which is pretty wacky. I am hoping I can figure out time for him to be there. Lets cross fingers and he will be making big moves *fingers crossed*

Packing list for car trip I suggest lots of water, gum, fun music (sometimes there is crap on the radio), and a can of lysol. For those rest stop bathrooms or if you guys stop for the night I am a crazy person and spray the bed. ha ha Also since you guys are driving, bring your favorite pillow & blanket. I will have to look for my packing list from when I made the drive. I would now but its late and frankly, I am just lazy.

I am looking forward to more updates and I cant wait until you guys get here

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

oh, I'm glad you posted the pic of the fish and chip. I dont like one big piece! Weirds me out and tastes different to me! I'm not overly looking forward to this adr on our night, but trying to be open minded!!! what is the other dish in the picture?

Good call on meeting up after.. did we compare adr time?

Fish and Chips there are great from the tastes that I had. I hate the giant pieces of fish too. LOL

Signing in now. This is the trip we met you guys on!

Woo Hoo!!! It was nice to finally get to meet you guys in person.

Don't worry, we won't leave you!!
You have a GREAT list of things to pack....I always bring windex...its come in handy many times to clean the front windshield on our gas breaks..sometimes the squeegee (is that the right name???) lol at the gas stations just doesn't get all the gunk off the window...I also bring Lysol wipes...cause I'm a freak and have to wash down the bathroom in any hotel we stay at...lol

Never been to R&C....it certainly looks like a fantastic place to watch Illuminations...and we would sit outside as well...cause no matter how cold it is in Florida, it's warmer then were we came from!!!

Thanks for sticking with me. I'm off today so I hope to get several updates in!

Great tip to bring Windex. I've added it to my list. Lysol wipes to.

R&C is truly the best place at EPCOT to see Illuminations. I can't even describe how awesome it is.

I'm so exciteddddddd

I'm not sure if Jon will be joining us. It will depend on his work schedule which is pretty wacky. I am hoping I can figure out time for him to be there. Lets cross fingers and he will be making big moves *fingers crossed*

Packing list for car trip I suggest lots of water, gum, fun music (sometimes there is crap on the radio), and a can of lysol. For those rest stop bathrooms or if you guys stop for the night I am a crazy person and spray the bed. ha ha Also since you guys are driving, bring your favorite pillow & blanket. I will have to look for my packing list from when I made the drive. I would now but its late and frankly, I am just lazy.

I am looking forward to more updates and I cant wait until you guys get here

I can't wait to see you and Brodie. I hope we get to meet Jon too but I get how work gets in the way of fun.

We're keeping our satellite radio until at least after the trip down. lol. I hate regular radio anymore. Got my Disney blankie all ready to go. ha ha....

Let me know if you find your packing list. I don't want to miss anything!

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Welp, I've got some news. At first, I didn't know how I felt about this news, but I quickly got over it.

Last week I called Disney to see if I could apply the Disney Visa discount to our ressie. Well, as luck would have it, no discounts apply for AoA. Booooooooo.

Sooooooo, I had a decision to make. The savings was going to be over 600 bucks if we changed resorts. I talked to Joe and we both felt the same way. Gong to Disney in the winter months is so different than going in the summer months. For us, we spend little to no time at the resort in the winter. Gone from sun up to sun down. Summer is totally diferent since we are having to take breaks from the heat.

I went with the discount and changed resorts. Aaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnddddddd, we are now staying here:

We really don't mind Pop to be honest. The first time we stayed there we said "never again" but last Feb we got such an awesome rate that we tried it again. It was awesome for us this time. We were in the 50's in a perfect spot. In fact, it was so perfect that I am requesting the same room for this trip. I have to call and add the room number to the ressie but when I made the change, I talked to the CM and she said that while they don't guarantee anything, that it was likely we'd get it given Joe's disabled vet status. It was a ground floor, corner room.

Yay for Pop!!

Also, we love the food court at Pop. Joe and I both think it is one of the best. They have great hummus and pita chips there as well as other healthy choices, which I love.

So, what do you think? Did I make a huge mistake by changing resorts? We plan to drive over to see AoA and to check out their food court, but we just won't be staying there.

Thoughts?

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Moving on to Disney Day 2.

Our plan is to wake up early to be in time for this:

Yep, Rope Drop at MK. Man, I love this little show. I listen to the Welcome Medley at work every fricken morning. I just love it!

Then we get to go under the arch with this sign over our heads. Isn't it the truth?

After the show we will head down Main Street. I would love to take the time to do some character meet and greets in Town Square. I rarely do that and in the winter, the weather is perfect for it. We won't melt waiting there in the hot sun.

There is one thing that I have never done that I would just love to do and that is ride in the Main Street Vehicle. It's def on my to do list. In all our trips, we'v not done that and I really, really want to.

Next it is off to the Main Street Bakery for breakfast. Here is what Joe got in Sept 2011 for breakfast when we were there:

Given my dang diet, I will likely get a fruit cup. Booooo...........

Hoping that Jenn is going to meet us at the park this day. I think that's her plan.

I was drafting up a little touring plan, but most of the time, well, ALL of the time, Joe and I go here first:

Wonder if we will see this happy CM again She was a hoot!

We will def stop here. Last Feb was the first time either of us remember stopping here. We got some super cool stuff from what I remember.

If I can talk him into it, we will ride the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Then, we'll visit our fav birdies in the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.

From there, we're off to see this guy!

Yo ho, yo ho............oops, I'm bustin' out in song right here in front of my computer.....

After Pirates, we may or may not go for a ride on the Jungle Cruise. I kinda wanna save that for the evening............

While I like to plan little touring plans, it will depend if Jenn and the gang are up to my nonesense or if we will just pitch the little plan out the window.

Next, we'll head over to Splash.

Most of the time we get a FP for either Splash or BTMRR, but depending on Joe's back , we may just get a GAC when we get to the park. If we get the GAC, we won't need any fast passes. It really depends on his back and how much standing in one place he can do. Moving for him is much better than standing.

Anywhoo, we'll ride SM and pray that we don't get drenched and if we do, pray that it isn't too cold out.

Then, we will ride BTMRR. Man, I love, love, love this ride! For whatever reason, I can't find a picture of BTMRR.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

After BTMRR, I really want to see the Country Bears. Yeah, I know...lame. I haven't seen that show in years and this time, I think I want to. I may be going by myself though. hee hee

We have not been on the Riverboat in some time either. Maybe this trip?

My guess is that it may be time for lunch by now....if so, we want to go to Be Our Guest and check out the counter service. I'm not sure where Jenn is planning to eat. I know she prefers not to do CS.

It's quite the trek to get to the other side of the park, so I am sort of hoping that it won't be time for lunch yet. If not, we'll do this first before heading over.

And this too............

The weather in January/February makes it so easy to get a lot done in a short amount of time. Of course, as long as it isn't President's Week.

Next up, what's happenin' after lunch???

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

After lunch I'm thinking that we may head back to Fantasyland. I love iaswaa. I know, the dang song never leaves your brain but honestly, it's such a cute attraction. I know a few peeps though that find it creepy with all the little dolls... lol

Next I'd like to try and ride Peter Pan. What the heck is it with that attraction that the dang lines are ridiculous? If Joe has his GAC, we may use that. If not, we will grab a FP and then get to it later.

Next up is my favorite at MK. I love, love, love, Philharmagic. It is something that we never, ever miss. I can sit there 10x in a row if they'd let me.

After Philharmagic, I'd like to ride the Carousel. I've not done that enough while at Disney. One day, I'd like to find Cinderella's horse. I've never seen it. Can you believe it???

From there, it's off to Snow White....if it's still open. I know that they're plannin to close it and put in the new attraction, but I have no clue when!

After Snow White, it's likely going to be time for the 3 p.m. Parade. Well, I may be on my own watching it, but I really don't mind. I love it. I can never get enough of it....ever.

Once the parade is over, we will make our way to Be Our Guest for an early dinner with Jenn. Yep, I know, we had it for lunch. Can't you tell I'm anxious????