TimNDansMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2000
- Messages
- 3,093
July 20 - 22
After loading up the van, we finally got away about 1:30 on Friday afternoon, July 20. I had made a reservation at the Comfort Inn in Findlay, Ohio and I should have changed it to something closer to Cincinnati, since we were leaving earlier in the day than expected. But since DH had just got home from his Mexico City business trip the night before and I hadnt been sure if he was going to go into work at all on Friday, I thought Id make it a light travelling day and besides that, I didnt really have time to sit on the Internet and try and find another hotel for that night. What I should have done, I was to discover the next day, was just cancelled the reservation and we could have driven until we wanted to stop. But as they say, hind site is twenty-twenty!
The next day, we got up and left a little later than I would have liked, but at least we were reasonably well rested. The day turned out to be a disaster as far as travelling. We got stuck in traffic in Cincinnati, due to a fatal accident near the I-75 bridge into Kentucky. Unfortunately, the sign notifying drivers of the blockage was AFTER the by-pass route. After two hours of sitting in this, we finally found our way to another bridge but I made a note to get some good city road maps of any big cities we are going to travel through and to tune the radio to the traffic reports, long before its too late! Then, we got stuck for another hour at the Kentucky/Tennessee border, due to road construction. We didnt arrive at next our reservation in Byron, Georgia, until midnight, I thought wed never get there!!
Sunday morning, we were on our way again and I was so glad to finally cross over into Florida. We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center to load up on brochures, have the free Florida orange juice and take some pictures in front of the Welcome to Florida sign. DH wanted to stop at a Sonnys BBQ we had discovered on our March Break trip and we ordered the Family Platter again. I dont know how we managed to eat it all in March, must have been the cold winter wed left behind, because we couldnt finish it this trip!
As in March, we got off I-75 and took Hwy. 27 to 192 to WDW. There is a lot of development going on along Hwy. 27, it reminds me of the Myrtle Beach area, and we found a nice Publix to buy milk, orange juice, bread, fruit etc. at. We have an electric cooler, but I also like to buy a styrofoam cooler for all the bottled water that I bring.
We arrived at Coronado Springs Resort and checked in with no wait. I had decided to wait and see what room we were assigned when we arrived and were quite pleased with Casitas 1. During our 3-night stay, we enjoyed the walk across the courtyards, with their fountains, to the bus stop at El Centro, rather than use the Casitas bus stop. We were unpacking the van, when a bell service guy came by and asked if we needed any help, so we had him pile all our luggage onto a dolly and take it all up in one go. I tipped him $10.00. DH thought it was too much, but I thought it was fair, given the number of bags etc. that we had. (Later in the trip, I made a mental note to myself to pack half as much clothing for everyone and just bring Poptarts and cereals for quick breakfasts and snacks. By the end of the vacation, I think the kids had rotated through only about 3 outfits of clothing and even DH and I brought unworn clothing home. I cant really figure that out because I only did laundry once! I also packed a hockey bag filled with non-perishable food items and brought at least half of it home. I think the difference was that I had charging privileges put on the kids room keys this trip and although they didnt abuse this, it became part of their entertainment to go the food court for a treat, by themselves. This is also the first trip that they actually went on the bus transportation by themselves, which gave them a sense of freedom and made it much more enjoyable for DH and I.)
After we were settled into our room at CSR, we hopped the bus for Downtown Disney. DH wanted to go to the Virgin Megastore and have a coffee in the upstairs café, while listening to the music. Afterwards, we went into World Of Disney, which was very busy, and then headed back to CSR for a good nights rest.
During our stay at CSR I noticed how quiet it was. There really seemed to be very few people staying here and the Ranchos parking lot was almost completely empty!
After loading up the van, we finally got away about 1:30 on Friday afternoon, July 20. I had made a reservation at the Comfort Inn in Findlay, Ohio and I should have changed it to something closer to Cincinnati, since we were leaving earlier in the day than expected. But since DH had just got home from his Mexico City business trip the night before and I hadnt been sure if he was going to go into work at all on Friday, I thought Id make it a light travelling day and besides that, I didnt really have time to sit on the Internet and try and find another hotel for that night. What I should have done, I was to discover the next day, was just cancelled the reservation and we could have driven until we wanted to stop. But as they say, hind site is twenty-twenty!
The next day, we got up and left a little later than I would have liked, but at least we were reasonably well rested. The day turned out to be a disaster as far as travelling. We got stuck in traffic in Cincinnati, due to a fatal accident near the I-75 bridge into Kentucky. Unfortunately, the sign notifying drivers of the blockage was AFTER the by-pass route. After two hours of sitting in this, we finally found our way to another bridge but I made a note to get some good city road maps of any big cities we are going to travel through and to tune the radio to the traffic reports, long before its too late! Then, we got stuck for another hour at the Kentucky/Tennessee border, due to road construction. We didnt arrive at next our reservation in Byron, Georgia, until midnight, I thought wed never get there!!
Sunday morning, we were on our way again and I was so glad to finally cross over into Florida. We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center to load up on brochures, have the free Florida orange juice and take some pictures in front of the Welcome to Florida sign. DH wanted to stop at a Sonnys BBQ we had discovered on our March Break trip and we ordered the Family Platter again. I dont know how we managed to eat it all in March, must have been the cold winter wed left behind, because we couldnt finish it this trip!
As in March, we got off I-75 and took Hwy. 27 to 192 to WDW. There is a lot of development going on along Hwy. 27, it reminds me of the Myrtle Beach area, and we found a nice Publix to buy milk, orange juice, bread, fruit etc. at. We have an electric cooler, but I also like to buy a styrofoam cooler for all the bottled water that I bring.
We arrived at Coronado Springs Resort and checked in with no wait. I had decided to wait and see what room we were assigned when we arrived and were quite pleased with Casitas 1. During our 3-night stay, we enjoyed the walk across the courtyards, with their fountains, to the bus stop at El Centro, rather than use the Casitas bus stop. We were unpacking the van, when a bell service guy came by and asked if we needed any help, so we had him pile all our luggage onto a dolly and take it all up in one go. I tipped him $10.00. DH thought it was too much, but I thought it was fair, given the number of bags etc. that we had. (Later in the trip, I made a mental note to myself to pack half as much clothing for everyone and just bring Poptarts and cereals for quick breakfasts and snacks. By the end of the vacation, I think the kids had rotated through only about 3 outfits of clothing and even DH and I brought unworn clothing home. I cant really figure that out because I only did laundry once! I also packed a hockey bag filled with non-perishable food items and brought at least half of it home. I think the difference was that I had charging privileges put on the kids room keys this trip and although they didnt abuse this, it became part of their entertainment to go the food court for a treat, by themselves. This is also the first trip that they actually went on the bus transportation by themselves, which gave them a sense of freedom and made it much more enjoyable for DH and I.)
After we were settled into our room at CSR, we hopped the bus for Downtown Disney. DH wanted to go to the Virgin Megastore and have a coffee in the upstairs café, while listening to the music. Afterwards, we went into World Of Disney, which was very busy, and then headed back to CSR for a good nights rest.
During our stay at CSR I noticed how quiet it was. There really seemed to be very few people staying here and the Ranchos parking lot was almost completely empty!
