UPDATED HERE now...rocky start

[osopecoso]

We left on Friday around 11am...got 200 miles down of our over 600 mile trip and our transmission blew up..third time in 3 years. Not the best way to start our trip. I-95 heat and our Honda Odyssey just did not agree with each other. Luckily, a mechanic was 4 miles away and we were able to hobble over there to a wonderful group of guys that undoubtedly were the best in the city. Less than 2 hours later, we were taken to the rental agency 3 miles away, got a $1200 van for $490 because they told us they had one and didn't. I think they felt sorry for us. We spent the night at the GA/FL line, arrived at POR around 2:30pm (1 hour stuck in major traffic in Orlando). Our room was great. Just what we asked for, 1st floor, near bus line and food. Had a great night at Epcot, no crowds, stayed until closing and did almost everything. Went to Magic Kingdom yesterday (Sun) ate breakfast at BOG, wonderful time, everyone got kids meals and it was just enough, got right on Mine Trail at 8:45, rode it twice before they opened. Rode space mountain twice, there was just nobody there. Saw Rapunzel in 5 minutes so we didn't have to use a FP and modified for something else. It felt like those long ago September days when we used to travel. CM at Mine Train heard about our car and gave us a free FP for any ride, just being nice.

My daughter wanted a Monsters U cap, and the distribution is out, but not before they had us running to every location at MK, saying, there's one there, go now...manager came and said NOPE, no hats, gave us 3 passes, one for free dole whip floats for all 4 of us, free FP that were good all week, and my daughter a voucher for a free cap.

Ate at BOG last night, it was totally horrible. We were all disappointed in the food, but we loved everything else about being there at dinner.

We have heard such wonderful things about the food, but it just wasn't our night for that. The steak was one piece of fat, we just got a bad one, they just took it off the bill, but I loved the rolls, so all was not lost. Not sure how a party of 4 got out of that place for so little, but we walked out still glad we went.

This morning we were at Akershus, it was great, my girls really enjoyed it DD17 and DD22. The food was wonderful and so fresh. The princesses were the best I have ever seen, totally in character and beautiful.
Lunch at Via Napoli, pizza came to us totally burned, bottom was black..but they made us a new one, so all was good.

I will write a trip report when I get back, but to be honest, it all started our a little rough, but because of very kind CM's, that just offered things, no one ever ask for anything. I felt they were really trying to give us some Pixie Dust and it definitely brightened our week.

There are very nice people still out there helping others, we owe so much to the wonderful guys at the auto repair shop who got us back on the road so quickly, our car is still there, and we will have to deal with when we get back there on Monday. But for now, we feel so blessed for all those who have shown us kindness.

Wow, I thought we had it bad driving 180 miles. 600 miles on an old car is just too much risk. Better off biting the bullet and renting a van from now on if you are traveling that far.

 

[Local_Girl]

I soooo understand about the transmission issue. We have a 2000 Odyssey and have had the transmission fail multiple times...once was right before a WDW trip and we ended up taking our second, much smaller vehicle. Fortunately, 3 times it failed the replaced transmission was under warranty (not by Honda, by the transmission place). After mentioning this thread to my DH, he called and scheduled an appointment to put an external cooler on the transmission (which we probably should have done long ago...). Apparently, the original coolers put on the early Odysseys were inadequate and resulted in early transmission failures. Honda has really been awful about dealing with this issue, and consequently we are reluctant to buy another Honda in the future.

I hope the rest of your trip is wonderful--we'll be taking a similar trip with our adult kids this December, probably the last in a while, and I'm hoping we make some great memories too!

 

[Reddog1134]

lol, we broke down 2 times on one trip to Disney, $1000 repair bill EACH time . .. I rent a car now hahahaha

I guess we're lucky then. Broken fuel pump on the way down, busted ball joint on the way back during the last trip. But it only set us back $600 each time.

 

[Tomh]

I guess we're lucky then. Broken fuel pump on the way down, busted ball joint on the way back during the last trip. But it only set us back $600 each time.

Guess that is what I get for using an AAA repair center hahahaha. I didn't mind the $1k for the fuel pump that much, I know that is a big and expensive job, but charging that much for the steering knuckle was pretty out of hand. At home I could have swapped that for less than $100.

 

[Momof2Singers]

UPDATE in original post.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Was the singer who sat on hubby's lap a dude or young hula dancer in a grass skirt? just asking

 

[keishashadow]

Would be hard for me to enjoy the trip after such a rocky start. Kudos for having a positive attitude.

Sounds like the mgr went above & beyond over the Monsters Cap IMO. Nice it worked out to your satisfaction.

As for the steak @ BoG, it happens now & again everywhere. I'd have sent it back and asked for another. They bring out replacement entrees quickly and without a hassle. no need to starve lol

Surprised to hear the crowds are low, hope the trend holds for upcoming week!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We had 12 hours in flight delays including a plane change and an emergency landing last trip. It really put a damper on the start of our trip. We pushed through Bc I'm sure it was our last family WDW trip. I feel your pain OP. Glad to hear you had a great time regardless.

 

[Brittni__duh]

I'm glad you were able to find that Monsters U cap. There's nothing worse than falling in love with something and not being able to find it. That happened to me last year. Fell in love with a set of Nightmare Before Christmas ears and then once I decided those were the ones I wanted this trip, I couldn't find them anywhere.

 

[Momof2Singers]

Was the singer who sat on hubby's lap a dude or young hula dancer in a grass skirt? just asking

Neither, rather 60ish woman with a not so good voice. I am that age, so don't mind saying that. She had tons of makeup and large hair. Talked or sang thru a mike the whole time we were there. My daughter is a music performance graduate this year, wish she would have stood up, took the mike, and put us out of our pain. I have seen others post videos with a young girl that was really good.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Here's my $.02, I did the math some time ago. If you are doing a long road trip, you are putting quite a few miles on your car in a short amount of time.

For (future) road trips, a rental car is often mathematically a MUCH better option. You get a car that is (relatively) new. While not 100%, many have satellite radio. If for some reason the car does break down, they quickly bring a replacement car to your location and tow the other one away.

It is worth running the math. Figure what your car cost vs. how many miles you get out of it. When thinking about the cost of the car, and long road trips, - consider the cost of an oil change AND the gas mileage. Today's increased standards = in most cases, even if you rent the same car you own, the new one will be more efficient, so you'll save on fuel costs over taking your older car.

Once, I had to make a weekend road trip that was about 350 miles each way. The rental cost me $20 ($9.99 per day special). The rental got double the MPG of my car. Instead of 20mpg, I got almost 40mpg, back when gas was about $4/gallon. Instead of $140, my gas cost under $100:

350x2= 700miles. 700miles/20mpg = 35 gallons. 35x $4/gallon = $140.
700miles/37mpg = about 19 gallons. 19x $4/gallon = $76. $76+$20 = $96.

Using a rental car very clearly saved me over $44, without even considering the cost of putting 700miles on my odometer.