We want a Disney Vacation Now! TR Started Day 1 updated: 06/18/2009

[AlohaAnnie]

We just got back from another awesome trip to Disney World.

Our Trip dates are from 5/29 - 06/12/2009

Here is the Cast:

DH - Shawn & Me - Tina

DS - Aaron (12) & DD - Allison (7)

note: the above photos were taken October 2006 but they are my favorites.

We are currently putting our final touches on Photopass CD and loading pics to Photobucket, so I can post them here

We arrived back home on Friday, June 12, 2009

Since this trip is our 3rd Vacation to Disney World, we decided to do new, different, and favorite things during this trip.

I must say it was different and more relaxing and I only felt anxious 2 to 3 times. This is wonderful for me, I actually relaxed.

Come enjoy our Vacation!

Link to PTR

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Here is an Index of the Trip Report:

Day 1 - Travel Day

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Day 1

Friday, May 29, 2009

Our Countdown Calendar is full, So it is time to go!

Shawn had the day off and the kids last day of school was Thursday - Since I run my own Daycare Business, I had to work.

The Plan is to pack the Van, and leave Indiana around 4:30pm. (Yes! We are driving from Indiana to Florida it is about a 16 hour drive)

It was crazy this day, I just wanted the day to be over so we could be on our way. I probably should have taken the day off but I was already taking 2 full weeks off work and it is really hard when you own your own business, you want to make your customers happy.

So, 3:55pm rolled around and my Mom popped in and said, Leave! We were so happy that we could leave.

We said Thank You, Love you, take care of the Dog & Cat and we will see you in June!

We were out the door and on our way by 4:06pm! We were ready for our Disney Vacation.

We put the Sirius radio on the 80's station Spandau Ballet True is playing and we jump on 65S to Louisville with a full tank of gas!

Here is Allison ready to go:

Here is Aaron ready to go:

Shawne my love:

Allison 1st movie is High School Musical 3.

We were trying to wait to eat dinner until we were through Louisville, KY. Allison is a bit of a high maintaince kind of girl. Our nickname for her is MHM, which stands for Miss High Maintaince.

So MHM has a breakdown at 5:26pm, screaming she is hungry and Aaron is dreaming of food as we pass a McDonald's.

The thing is we have enough snacks and drinks in the car that we could feed everyone in Kentucky a snack! We told them to have a snack, but it does not matter, it continues for the next 30 minutes.

So around 5:40pm we reach Kentucky

Passing though

We stop at McDonald's around 6pm, and were back on the road by 6:15pm

After that we were excited to see Dinosaur World, NOT!

And we were excited to see Back to the Future!

We reached Tennessee around 8pm

We stopped for gas in Smyrna, TN $2.35 a gallon, not bad.

Our Goal was to get to Chattanooga and stay overnight at a Hampton Inn, we arrived in Chattanooga at 10:30pm - Checked in and were in bed by 11:15pm. Dreaming of Disney!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Signing on for more. You have a cutie patootie family!

 

[bellesBFF]

I'm going to follow!
i really like your daughters pillow!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

I'm going to follow!
i really like your daughters pillow!

It is really cute! She LOVES all those colorful flowers!

Signing on for more. You have a cutie patootie family!

Why Thank You! I am glad you both can join!

 

[Angies1274]

Your children are adorable!!! It looks like it's going to be a fun trip--can't wait to read more.....

 

[dd50]

I'm in also.

 

[MeMom]

We reached Tennessee around 8pm

That's my house!
I'm trying to think what I was doing on May 29th when you drove by me.

I spied the Cheez-Its in the back seat.
Trip snacks are fun, but so is stopping for burgers along the way.
When you are on your way to Disney World, a common McDonald's can be very exciting!

I'm looking forward to reading along with you.

 

[bellesBFF]

It is really cute! She LOVES all those colorful flowers!

haha, it reminds me of my winnie the pooh pillow case.. it has all flowers, and winnie the pooh characters, obviously. lol :]

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Your children are adorable!!! It looks like it's going to be a fun trip--can't wait to read more.....

It was a fun trip, Thanks for Joining

I'm in also.

Welcome!!!

That's my house!
I'm trying to think what I was doing on May 29th when you drove by me.

I spied the Cheez-Its in the back seat.
Trip snacks are fun, but so is stopping for burgers along the way.
When you are on your way to Disney World, a common McDonald's can be very exciting!

I'm looking forward to reading along with you.

If you are anything like me, you probably can't remember unless you wrote it down. Uh...yeah - we had cheez-its, barbQ Chips, Nacho Chips, M&M's, dry roasted peanuts, Chocolate PoP-Tarts, and Twizzlers!

haha, it reminds me of my winnie the pooh pillow case.. it has all flowers, and winnie the pooh characters, obviously. lol :]

Ahh..Pooh pillowcase - how cute

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Day 2

Saturday, May 30, 2009


When I last left off we were sleeping Dreaming of Disney! Right!


Let's get started! Day 2, I had a hard time sleeping woke up a few times.
When I rolled over at 4:30am, (it is 4:30am!) I decided it was time to get up and get dressed for the next driving day.

Everyone was up and ready to go and we headed to the Walmart across the street for donuts & chocolate milk.

We hit the road and were in the truckster a little after 6am. Yes that was a National Lampoon's Vacation pun! Yes! we are geeks!

So, I drink coffee for breakfast. Shawn knows this, so he finds a McDonald's so that I can have my breakfast. Ahh....he is such a sweet husband!

We arrive in Georgia around 6:30am

and Downtown Atlanta around 8am

Just passing through!

We thought this building was awesome!

The things that fascinate us!

We stopped for gas arond 10am in Unadilla, GA at $2.40 a gallon still not bad - the fill up was $ 34.97

So once again we were hoping the kids could make it to the Florida stateline before we stopped for breakfast but no can do!

So around 11:30am we stopped in South Valdosta, GA at the Chick-fil-a for some grub! Very good!

When we left Indy the high temp was 76 degrees, now the temps were going up, it was a hot 87 degrees at 11:30 in the morning and you could feel the humidity. Shawn and I were doing the (We are almost to Florida Dance!) Bring on the HEAT!

We arrived at the Florida state line around Noon.

After we pass Florida's state line Allison asks, Are we almost there? Nope! another 2 1/2 hours to go!

Look! Look! we finally see the signs!

We are getting close!

More Signs!

We paid a few Tolls on I-75 Florida's Turnpike, I know one was $2.50 and the other was maybe 50 cents. We did not take the traditional way around so we did not get a picture of the SIGN! Which was sad for me but we were heading to Downtown Disney to stay overnight at a Hampton Inn.

We arrived around 2:40pm and this is what we see:

So exciting! We see MICKEY! we have arrived. We check into the Hampton Inn, which is very clean and nice. They had great beds.

Up next.....Our visit to DTD and T-Rex for dinner.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Day 2 Continued....


After we check in to the Hampton Inn for our one night stay before the Beach Club one night stay! I know I might be confusing all of you but, it will all work out I promise.


We are so excited we have to go to Downtown Disney. We parked and walked up between World of Disney Store and Basin Shop

We see this lovely Fountain

and of course, Pirate Spitting Stitch

and Mickey & Minnie

Cinderella Coach

One of my goals on this trip, is to get different pictures than the same old ones we have always taken.

So my goal is to wait in line for characters & to get pictures with different hats on, especially in Epcot World Showcase.

So here is hat picture #1:

So we headed down the Pleasure Island way

Checked out a few shops and the Candy Cauldron

It is not as exciting as Goofy's Candy Company but it is still very SWEET!

Here is the old Hag!

and Characters of Flight photos

Since, I am not the DareDevil Type, I Will Not Be Doing this!

So everyone was getting hungry, so we decided to see if T-Rex would take us early.

Continued.....

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Day 2 continued.....



So I left off that we were all getting hungry and we decided to see if T-Rex could take us early. Our original reservation was for 7:45pm because we were not sure if we would arrive in time to make an earlier reservation.

So we walked up and asked if we could be seated and sure enough we can.
We checked in at 4:25pm and were seated by 4:35pm.

We were seated right outside the Ice Cave by the baby mammoth. Our server started out as Brie but ended up to Russ because they were in the middle of a shift change.

Here are a few photos:

So we ordered an Appetizer called the Duel Dip Tortilla chips, Queso Chips, and Shrimp Dip.

Aaron & I ordered the French Onion Soup and the Bronto Burger well done w/ Cheddar Cheese, bacon, and Waffle Fries.

Allison has the Jurassic Chicken Tidbits - Dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets side of chips and carrots.

Shawn had the Ribs with baked beans and waffle fries

It was all very good, except the appetizer - I would not recommend it.

This is a great place for families, it is very loud, but a nice break from the heat and loved all the cool rooms and Dinosaur Themes.

So after dinner we went shopping.

Allison wanted to build her own Dinosaur. So we let her.

It is just like a build-a-bear but with a dinosaur instead.
Here is Sally, that is what Allison named her. She slept with her the whole trip.

The box is really cute, the stick the head out one side and the tail out the other.

Will continue this in next post.......

 

[Mommy2BnB]

Waiting anxiously for more TR!

 

[mobiana]

Yep, I'm waiting for more too ...love your calendar countdown!

 

[SunnieRN]

Your kids are SO cute!! We drove from central TX last year, so I can relate to your long car journey. Looking forward to more!! Love the make-a-dino and accessories. I think my grandsons would love that!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Hi everyone, Sorry I have been MIA.


Our 6 year old Golden Retriever, Blondies Golden Honey Bear, OR Honey Bunny Bear had to be put to sleep.

We are very sad - she had a tumor in her heart that could not be fixed. She was miserable and was not breathing very well. The Vet Specialist said it probably felt to her like someone was giving her a constant bear hug. Not good, so we did what was right but it hurt.

She is missed.

Here she is as a puppy, we were picking her up at the breeders

Here she is around 8 or 9 months old - she was digging in the mud.

Here she is as an adult Dog:

We will miss her!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Waiting anxiously for more TR!

Thanks for joining me!

Yep, I'm waiting for more too ...love your calendar countdown!

Thanks!

Your kids are SO cute!! We drove from central TX last year, so I can relate to your long car journey. Looking forward to more!! Love the make-a-dino and accessories. I think my grandsons would love that!

We are thinking of driving again! It was actually relaxing and fun. I bet your grandson would love to build a Dino.

 

[Villainess]

I'm signing on and you're off to a great start! I'm so sorry about your dog - she was beautiful!