DIS Dads The DIS Dad's Club X: Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas

[BigTex71]

Alright guys . . . I got the green light on a 4-night adult getaway. I'm torn between mid-October for some Food & Wine goodness (which we always enjoy) or early December for some holiday cheer (candlelight processional, resort tours).

I tried to get the "both" idea passed through, but I lost that one. Pros and Cons? I'm anxious to book my plane tix!

I would do the F&W and save the Holiday stuff for the full family with the kids. And I imagine touring around Epcot while standing in line at all the food kiosks during F&W would not go over so well with the kids - so it would have to be a couples-only trip. But that is just me.

Um...hello all. I posted a picture of My Disney Princess in the Princess Pic thread and was redirected here to properly introduce myself.

I am a proud Disney Dad...I stopped reading at #45 of the criteria but am confident I meet a number of the criteria.

My name is Matt and I hail from St. Louis....

I am a divorced Disney dad who took my DD (now 7) to Disney for the first time at age 4 to give her something happy after the divorce rocked her world.

I have 50% custody of my sweet little girl and it works great for her...even better for me, but I would take 100% if I could convince my DX

I have been blessed with meeting a wonderful Dfiancee who has agreed to marry me.....in all places, Disney World. After our magical fairy tale wedding at Disney's Grand Floridian, on September 16th, I will have a Disney SS who is 4 years old and a huge Buzz Light Year Fan.

So, I guess I can be added to the vacation thread 9/11 - 9/18 of 2011 with a change in status on 9/16!!

The fam and I try to go every September.

Great to read through this massive thread and I look forward to participation in the thread!

Matt



I hope that's enough information

OK, I will roll out the welcome mat and say welcome, Matt.

Ooo...Ooo...Ooo... I thought of some more...

Smokey & the Bandit Firebird
Pee Wee Herman's Bike

Don't forget a red Porsche 944 S Turbo (Sixteen Candles)
red 1961 Ferrari GT California (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
white Lotus Esprit underwater vehicle (For Your Eyes Only - James Bond)

 

[middlepat]

Mr Frye's Ferrari from Ferris Bueller's Day Off...

Oh Yeah!

Don't forget a red Porsche 944 S Turbo (Sixteen Candles)
red 1961 Ferrari GT California (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) Oh Yeah!
white Lotus Esprit underwater vehicle (For Your Eyes Only - James Bond)

Good ones.

As a Porsche was mentioned, I also have to include the Porsche 928 from Risky Business.

 

[AJRitz]

OK guys, call me crazy, but DW is reluctant to agree to a WDW vacation this year, due to the cost. Flights are just looking to be crazy expensive. But I REALLY want to go back, probably at the beginning of December (to give Squeaker a turn to celebrate his birthday at WDW). So now for the crazy part. I'm seriously considering driving from Kansas to WDW.

Google Maps indicates that this is about a 21 hour drive, which raises a few questions. First, I'm leaning toward the I-75 S route. Any good reasons to take another of Google maps' recommended routes? Second, where should we make our overnight stop on the way? I think 12 hours is probably as much as we're probably going to be able to handle on the road at a stretch - maybe 16, but only if the kids sleep well in the car.

Even with gas at $4/gallon and considering the cost of the overnight stay along each way, driving would be about 1/4 the cost of flying, and might make the difference between being able to afford to make a trip or not. Anything that I'm not taking into consideration here that I should be thinking about?

 

[jmwest]

OK guys, call me crazy, but DW is reluctant to agree to a WDW vacation this year, due to the cost. Flights are just looking to be crazy expensive. But I REALLY want to go back, probably at the beginning of December (to give Squeaker a turn to celebrate his birthday at WDW). So now for the crazy part. I'm seriously considering driving from Kansas to WDW.

Google Maps indicates that this is about a 21 hour drive, which raises a few questions. First, I'm leaning toward the I-75 S route. Any good reasons to take another of Google maps' recommended routes? Second, where should we make our overnight stop on the way? I think 12 hours is probably as much as we're probably going to be able to handle on the road at a stretch - maybe 16, but only if the kids sleep well in the car.

Even with gas at $4/gallon and considering the cost of the overnight stay along each way, driving would be about 1/4 the cost of flying, and might make the difference between being able to afford to make a trip or not. Anything that I'm not taking into consideration here that I should be thinking about?

Don't forget to factor in the cost of an extra nights hotel each way.

 

[AJRitz]

Even with gas at $4/gallon and considering the cost of the overnight stay along each way, driving would be about 1/4 the cost of flying, and might make the difference between being able to afford to make a trip or not. Anything that I'm not taking into consideration here that I should be thinking about?

Don't forget to factor in the cost of an extra nights hotel each way.

We would also save by not needing either a rental car or an on-property stay for transportation to the parks. Though that savings is somewhat mitigated by parking costs, it's still rather substantial.

 

[carlnix30]

OK guys, call me crazy, but DW is reluctant to agree to a WDW vacation this year, due to the cost. Flights are just looking to be crazy expensive. But I REALLY want to go back, probably at the beginning of December (to give Squeaker a turn to celebrate his birthday at WDW). So now for the crazy part. I'm seriously considering driving from Kansas to WDW.

indicates that this is about a 21 hour drive, which raises a few questions. First, I'm leaning toward the I-75 S route. Any good reasons to take another of Google maps' recommended routes? Second, where should we make our overnight stop on the way? I think 12 hours is probably as much as we're probably going to be able to handle on the road at a stretch - maybe 16, but only if the kids sleep well in the car.

Even with gas at $4/gallon and considering the cost of the overnight stay along each way, driving would be about 1/4 the cost of flying, and might make the difference between being able to afford to make a trip or not. Anything that I'm not taking into consideration here that I should be thinking about?

I don't know if you are considering "your time" as part of the cost in this trip. How much is your time worth. If driving it would take you 20+ hours.. If you were working how much $ would that be. (not a question) in other words how much is "your" time worth? Flying is expensive but your there in 4 hours, and driving it takes 21 hours.. That is taking at least 3 days of you and your families time away from the main purpose of leaving your house in the first place.

As you can see I am an advocate of flying. My salary broken down in hours way exceeds the savings of driving. Plus the aggravation of potty breaks, food breaks, kids fighting, traffic jams and hotels is just not worth it for me.

If that was the only way I could convince my wife to go to Disney then I would drive.. But begrudgingly!

If you were to fly southwest from KC in July for a family of four would cost $1000. If driving around $600 with food and hotel each way. That is conservative figures $100 food each way and $100 room each way and 20 mpg for gas. So if I am doing the math correctly it would be cheaper to fly than to drive if you fly cheapo airlines at $109 per person. For you your wife an two kids.

 

[theduck619]

OK, so I've forgotten a few classics, which made me think... what is the ULTIMATE 80s VEHICLE LIST:

A-Team Van
General Lee
Ecto 1
Delorian
Batmobile (maybe a bit more 70s)
KITT
Ninja Turtles Van
Mystery Machine

Let's see what else we can think of...

Good morning.

Magnum PI - Ferrari
The car from Hardcsastle & McCormick
Any of the Transformers (cartoon was in the 80's)
Any of the cars from the Cannonball Run movies

 

[carlnix30]

It's here!! It's here!! Our car will be here at 4pm my oldest knows we are leaving today but the my ds14 and dd13 do not!! Can't wait to surprise them with the limo waiting!! We told them we are having a nice family dinner before we leave.. So when we come down to go to dinner.. All they will see is the car!

​

thank you all for the well wishes!! If you guys are leaving after we have left.. May your vacation be as magical as possible! If you leave after I come back, I will be here to say goodbye!


​

 

[theduck619]

OK guys, call me crazy, but DW is reluctant to agree to a WDW vacation this year, due to the cost. Flights are just looking to be crazy expensive. But I REALLY want to go back, probably at the beginning of December (to give Squeaker a turn to celebrate his birthday at WDW). So now for the crazy part. I'm seriously considering driving from Kansas to WDW.

Google Maps
indicates that this is about a 21 hour drive, which raises a few questions. First, I'm leaning toward the I-75 S route. Any good reasons to take another of Google maps' recommended routes? Second, where should we make our overnight stop on the way? I think 12 hours is probably as much as we're probably going to be able to handle on the road at a stretch - maybe 16, but
only if the kids sleep well in the car.

Even with gas at $4/gallon and considering the cost of the overnight stay along each way, driving would be about 1/4 the cost of flying, and might make the difference between being able to afford to make a trip or not. Anything that I'm not taking into consideration here that I should be thinking about?

Aaron, our drive time was listed as close to 17 hours. We left very early so that we could get at least 12 hrs. worth of driving in. I used the AAA gas calculator before we left and at the end of the trip we actually did better by about $45.

The only things that slowed us down was some traffic on 24 going through TN. I-75 was a breeze, no heavy traffic or lack of potty stop areas. We stayed in Valdosta which put us a little under 4 hrs from the world.

 

[theduck619]

It's here!! It's here!! Our car will be here at 4pm my oldest knows we are leaving today but the my ds14 and dd13 do not!! Can't wait to surprise them with the limo waiting!! We told them we are having a nice family dinner before we leave.. So when we come down to go to dinner.. All they will see is the car!

​

thank you all for the well wishes!! If you guys are leaving after we have left.. May your vacation be as magical as possible! If you leave after I come back, I will be here to say goodbye!


​

Have a Magical trip and safe travels!!

 

[twokids0204]

OK guys, call me crazy, but DW is reluctant to agree to a WDW vacation this year, due to the cost. Flights are just looking to be crazy expensive. But I REALLY want to go back, probably at the beginning of December (to give Squeaker a turn to celebrate his birthday at WDW). So now for the crazy part. I'm seriously considering driving from Kansas to WDW.

Google Maps indicates that this is about a 21 hour drive, which raises a few questions. First, I'm leaning toward the I-75 S route. Any good reasons to take another of Google maps' recommended routes? Second, where should we make our overnight stop on the way? I think 12 hours is probably as much as we're probably going to be able to handle on the road at a stretch - maybe 16, but only if the kids sleep well in the car.

Even with gas at $4/gallon and considering the cost of the overnight stay along each way, driving would be about 1/4 the cost of flying, and might make the difference between being able to afford to make a trip or not. Anything that I'm not taking into consideration here that I should be thinking about?

We have done it.

It is also 21 (maybe 22 hours) from Toronto.

We've gone done I75 - it's an easy drive into Florida. Lot's of rest stops, motels, and restaurant exits all the way down.

Watch your speed in GA.














Driven to OWN

 

[cj9200]

It's here!! It's here!! Our car will be here at 4pm my oldest knows we are leaving today but the my ds14 and dd13 do not!! Can't wait to surprise them with the limo waiting!! We told them we are having a nice family dinner before we leave.. So when we come down to go to dinner.. All they will see is the car!
​

Very cool. I am counting the days and can't wait to go.

Hope you and the family have a great time. Warm everything up for us when we come down,​

 

[IndyDisney]

OK guys, call me crazy, but DW is reluctant to agree to a WDW vacation this year, due to the cost. Flights are just looking to be crazy expensive. But I REALLY want to go back, probably at the beginning of December (to give Squeaker a turn to celebrate his birthday at WDW). So now for the crazy part. I'm seriously considering driving from Kansas to WDW.

Google Maps indicates that this is about a 21 hour drive, which raises a few questions. First, I'm leaning toward the I-75 S route. Any good reasons to take another of Google maps' recommended routes? Second, where should we make our overnight stop on the way? I think 12 hours is probably as much as we're probably going to be able to handle on the road at a stretch - maybe 16, but only if the kids sleep well in the car.

Even with gas at $4/gallon and considering the cost of the overnight stay along each way, driving would be about 1/4 the cost of flying, and might make the difference between being able to afford to make a trip or not. Anything that I'm not taking into consideration here that I should be thinking about?

We drive. We're about 18 hours away, and even with gas at $4.50/gal, 2 night's hotel and food we're still saving over $500 compared to flying. The cheapest flights I've found for the 3 of us were right around $1000, plus a rental car for the week puts us at about $1300. I'm looking at $700ish to drive. And I didn't even take in to consideration any baggage fees, parking, or hotel costs associated with flying. Plus, you're on your own schedule, no TSA to deal with, and, as a big guy, no cramped seating. I think the only drawback is that you can't have a scotch on the way.

The only thing I would say is to take into consideration your route, your estimated time that you'll be hitting major metro areas, and plan your drive around that. For instance, if you're planning on staying "somewhere near Atlanta" to sleep, you might want to put in an extra 45 min or so and get through the city to avoid the morning rush hour. Or if you might hit Nashville at 4, maybe leave an hour and a half earlier or later to avoid rush hour. There's nothing worse than sitting in traffic in a city you don't know any alternate routes.

And as a guy who's traveled a ton for work, mostly driving, I recommend NOT making reservations for your hotel. The worst thing that can happen is you getting stuck in traffic/construction or you get tired and still have 2 hours to your destination. There's always a hotel along the road.

Cheers,
Indy

 

[Turkey Lurkey]

Cars...saw a neat Plumbers Truck today.

They were called Union Jack Plumbing...there slogan...

Drum roll......


The British are Plumbing!!!

Hehheh, we have one in our town called "Straight Flush". Their slogan: #1 in the #2 business.

OK, so I've forgotten a few classics, which made me think... what is the ULTIMATE 80s VEHICLE LIST:

A-Team Van
General Lee
Ecto 1
Delorian
Batmobile (maybe a bit more 70s)
KITT
Ninja Turtles Van
Mystery Machine

Let's see what else we can think of...

Air Wolf/Blue Thunder
The Green Goblin Semi from Maximum Overdrive
The Millenium Falcon
The Bluesmobile
The Griswalds' Station Wagon
the Ferrari and Crocket's house boat from Miami Vice
Christine
Indiana Jones' mine cart



TL

 

[trennr]

OK, so I've forgotten a few classics, which made me think... what is the ULTIMATE 80s VEHICLE LIST:

A-Team Van
General Lee
Ecto 1
Delorian
Batmobile (maybe a bit more 70s)
KITT
Ninja Turtles Van
Mystery Machine

Let's see what else we can think of...

Oh oh oh!!!

Al Bundy's Dodge!!!

 

[maddiesdaddy]

Welcome and Emma's Dad should be along to assign your number. If you post about bacon you get extra points.

I love this place already...bacon gets you extra points. Wow...I love bacon. And by that, I hope you mean actual bacon, the good, greasy, artery clogging kind..not Kevin or his brother..or what they loosely call a band.

 

[maddiesdaddy]

Welcome Matt...

Wait a second.... did I just say....oh, to easy... Let's not all walk all over Matt.

Now for the initiation, we will need you to gather a few objects, and meet back here for further instructions. They are...

- A muzzle
- A blindfold
- 3 red M&M's
- A jar of Peanut Butter
- and A woman named Beverly!

Just kidding... make yourself at home, and grab a beer from the fridge.

Good stuff....I have been known to get under foot every once inawhile...so I hear ya. However...those weren't the worst jokes made in high school!!!

Hmm...can a bandana be used as a muzzle and a blindfold? Then, that's 2 for one. And in that same theme, 3 red peanut butter m&m's could maybe suffice. No clue about a Beverly...

Oh? Just kidding...rats...I'll take down the national people search. Crud.

Thanks...beer

 

[maddiesdaddy]

Matt, welcome

Congrats on the upcoming nuptials <<<<<<thumb

Jump in and enjoy the ride.

Thanks...greatly appreciated!

 

[maddiesdaddy]

Welcome Matt!

Welcome!

Thank you both.

 

[DisneyFed]

Watch your speed in GA.

Indeed.


Also keep in mind that you'll be getting on the Florida Turnpike South of Ocala for the fastsest trip...

Bring money for tolls.