That's it! My trip is NOT Jinxed! [Added: Mini TR]

[DangerMouse]

We're supposed to leave at 7 am tomorrow morning to drive to Anaheim..

This morning, the check engine light goes on in the van.
Dh had it checked, and it's a transmission problem, so we can't drive the van. Dh's Explorer is also having starter problems so it's not reliable enough to drive to Anaheim.

So, let's go down the list:

1. Grandma cancels due to illness.

2. Lost my brand new Entertainment Book (w/card for HoJo discount)

3. Dd(5) has bad cold. Dd(10) has mystery rash.

4. Two unreliable vehicles.

5. For the first time in my life I'm not excited to go to DLR.

When do I throw in the towel? Dh is being NO help at all. I would love to just postpone the trip, but our hoppers expire Dec 13 (Gay Day's Tickets), and I've had the Queen Suite reserved at the HoJo at the most excellent ent. rate since March.

Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[PrincessKell]

ugh...... I soo totally feel for you!

Can you rent a car? I know it can get a little pricey, but bette then not going.

We just got back, and dh was really sick up to the day before. He had a low grade fever the day we got there, I ended up getting a cold.

But it all worked out! Hopefully it will work out for your family too!!

 

[CoMickey]

We're supposed to leave at 7 am tomorrow morning to drive to Anaheim..

This morning, the check engine light goes on in the van.
Dh had it checked, and it's a transmission problem, so we can't drive the van. Dh's Explorer is also having starter problems so it's not reliable enough to drive to Anaheim.

So, let's go down the list:

1. Grandma cancels due to illness.

2. Lost my brand new Entertainment Book (w/card for HoJo discount)

3. Dd(5) has bad cold. Dd(10) has mystery rash.

4. Two unreliable vehicles.

5. For the first time in my life I'm not excited to go to DLR.

When do I throw in the towel? Dh is being NO help at all. I would love to just postpone the trip, but our hoppers expire Dec 13 (Gay Day's Tickets), and I've had the Queen Suite reserved at the HoJo at the most excellent ent. rate since March.

Thanks for letting me vent.

I think if anyone needs the magic of Disney it would be YOU and your family! I'm sure things will work out somehow! I'll be there on Friday and there is a snowstorm predicted here in Denver but I will get there come h**l or high water...errr snow drifts...

BTW - I see you're from AZ...my daughter is a freshman at ASU. She loves it and I visit as often as I can when I'm not flying off to CA.

 

[drag n' fly]

Oh SNAP that does suck!
Here is some pixie dust for you hope it all works out!

 

[kiwitravel]

Just before our trip in 2004 my mother in law passed away, the funeral ended up being the day after we were due to fly out, we rang the airline and they said under the circumstances the flights would be changed at no charge but the planes were full for the next three weeks (School hols here in NZ). They said we could cancel for a full refund which we really didn't want to do (she would hate for her death to have stopped our trip) so they said the last day to get the refund was up to the day before we left and to ring each day, their might be a miracle and cancellations might open up to get us in and out.

Sure enough on the last possible day seats became available to get us in and out, the hotel was brilliant and juggled their rooms to accommodate us and it was the best possible thing for us and the kids after such a terrible time.

I am no mechanic but the starter motor could just be a dying battery (cheap and quick to fix), most transmission problems are sensors (not so cheap but may not be a major).

As for the Ent Book voucher, from what I have heard they don't ask for it, perhaps others could confirm

Maybe a delay of 3 days might give you time to fix cars, get children well etc. Where there's a will you will always find a way, if the will is gone then all is lost I'm afraid....

 

[bouncy54]

Oh maaaaaaaaan...that really stinks, DangerMouse.

You've been so helpful to everyone on this board...you really need some Tinkerbelle-dust. Not Pixie dust...Tink-dust. This calls for drastic action.

 

[BillyFan]

Rent a car, give Dd Airborne, and have agreat time!!! What you need right now is a trip to my happy place!

 

[Choc_marg]

I'm in N. Phx (near Cave Creek). If you are in the area, you are welcome to borrow my Ent Card for the discount!!

 

[darph nader]

HEY. There's always next week,hour,month,year

 

[DangerMouse]

Thanks for all the well-wishes, hugs and dust!

I just rented us a Dodge Magnum. Got it for $99 (base rate) for a week through Thrifty. The kids will be squished in the back, but I don't care. They can watch the portable DVD better that way. When I go to pick it up, I'll try for an upgrade. . . we'll see.

I also got an ent. card from a homeschooling friend. Thanks for the offer Choc. Marg!

I'm going to spend the next 5 days forgetting I have two vehicles at home that need major repairs and go find us some Disney magic! Now if I could just unload that extra hopper. Craig's list just isn't getting me any interest.

 

[Albort]

Thanks for all the well-wishes, hugs and dust!

I just rented us a Dodge Magnum. Got it for $99 (base rate) for a week through Thrifty. The kids will be squished in the back, but I don't care. They can watch the portable DVD better that way. When I go to pick it up, I'll try for an upgrade. . . we'll see.

I also got an ent. card from a homeschooling friend. Thanks for the offer Choc. Marg!

I'm going to spend the next 5 days forgetting I have two vehicles at home that need major repairs and go find us some Disney magic! Now if I could just unload that extra hopper. Craig's list just isn't getting me any interest.

oh yay! go mommie! YOU CAN DO IT!!! ^_^

think of the positives, at least you can floor your car for fun and drive like crazy to disneyland! hahahaha

 

[Choc_marg]

Yeah! So glad you got it all worked out! My friends would buy your hopper from ya, but we won't be there until the 14th!

Have a great trip & the cars will just get to rest for 5 days

 

[DangerMouse]

So, I realize you all are just sitting on pins and needles to see if DangerMouse and her family will actually make it to the Magic Kingdom. It's a real nailbiter, huh?

Here's the latest: We went back and forth trying to decide whether or not to risk driving the van. We cleared the code on the check engine light and drove it around a bit tonight to see if it was just a fluke. The light never came back on. So perhaps it was a fluke! Spoke at length to my stepdad, who is a mechanic. He convinced us it's just not worth the risk and that it can take awhile for the light to come back on. I cry because I don't want to spend $160+ to rent a vehicle cause that means we'll have to give up our PS dining reservations (we do have a budget, afterall). Dh talks to our good friends who just happen to be going to DLR on Wednesday morning and staying at the DLH (I got them the AP4 ressie).

Our good friends offer their Toyota Camry to us to drive to DLR. WOW! We're thrilled, elated, estatic that we have been given this gift. I did mention that they are really GOOD friends, right? Halleluja, I start packing up the cooler to leave at 7 am!

So dh heads out the door to take the van to our friends house and pick up the Camry. I'm watching Marie Osmond stink it up on DWTS while packing my toiletries, and then my cell rings. It's dh saying that the transmission has completely gone out and he hasn't even made it to our friends' house. He's stranded just off the freeway.

So I call AAA to go get dh and the van and take it to the mechanic. Dh says we aren't going to DLR in the morning. We will see if the van can get fixed by tomorrow afternoon. If not, we'll borrow the Camry and leave before rush hour in Phoenix which will put us in Anaheim sometime after dinner.

Stay tuned for more of the continuing saga of "Does DangerMouse do Disney??"

 

[bouncy54]

Oh No...about the tranny, but for such good friends!

When we drove to DL in 2001, our tranny went out on us on the Oregon/CA border. Thank goodness the thing was still under warranty... We were lucky enough to find an Oldsmobile dealership with a garage in that hole-in-the-wall town, so we left the car there and rented a beat-up old thing that had no radio, but did have a great engine, air-conditioner and most improtant...a good tranny That old jalopy sailed us down to Anaheim and back with absolutely no problems.

We thought we'd be able to pick up our car on the way home from DL, but it wasn't ready yet, so we had to hitch a ride to the next town to rent another car from Alamo to get us back up to Seattle, then rent another one to go back to California the next weekend to pick up our car. What a headache that was!

But we had a gr-e-a-t vacation and so will your family. You deserve it.

 

[Lillybelly]

In May it took us 8 hrs to get from Salt Lake to Primm, NV and my 2 daughters had the stomach flu the entire ride. The car smelled horrible but we did finally make it to California. One big wash down later and all was well. It was a great trip. I think that the vacation gods like to discourage you from the Disney Magic.

Lots of pixie dust on the van and nothing else going wrong. Maybe you're luck will turn and it'll be something easy (think cheap) to fix. Our check engine light was on for over a year because of a stupid hose. The hose cost $7 and labor was only $170 more. Go figure.

Sending good thoughts your way.

 

[BlueBayou]

DangerMouse - Hang in there - You are going to get there!!!! I know you are use to taking larger vehicles to DL - but the smaller car might not be so bad.

Our trip last month seemed a bit car jinked. The passenger's back door handle to the van came off in my husband's hand has he opened the door to let our kids in two days before our trip. Also one of the front head lights burned out.

We took it as a sign. We drove the Prius for the first time. We had some sort of hang up about taking a small/hybrid vehicle on a road trip. It was great. Now that the kids are past stroller age - it worked out fine.

Have fun!

Sher

 

[DLR29]

I feel so bad for you. But once you get there, you can just forget about reality and enjoy the magic (sounds like a cheesy commercial )

 

[kelmac284]

Oh man. I sure hope things are looking up today for you and that you are getting ready to get on the road!! Stupid mini vans. I had more problems with my caravan that is why I finally sold it. We had an expedition that I loved but with gas prices we finally bought a camry. We are a family of 5 and it is a tight squeeze and to be honest the last few trips we drove from Sacramento (where we live) to DL we borrowed my parents Chevy Tahoe although we did drive the Camry to Eugene OR but it was Minus my teenage daughter to it was just 4 of us on that trip.

I am so sorry all of this is happening and I feel your pain. You seem to have the same luck I seem to have. ((hugs)) and hang in there and I am hoping that you get it all worked out. I am not sure if you will be there this weekend when we will be there but I hope to see you there!! We arrive Friday night and will be there through Monday afternoon.

I will be thinking good thoughts and lots of Pixie Dust that it all works out for you!!

 

[mystic_path]

Oh no after all that hassle you really deserve some pixie dust I hope all goes well and that your family feels a whole lot better soon.

 

[famograham]

So?????
How goes the good fight???


Linda