Our July Trip!

[tink2006]

Cast:
DH: A child at heart
DS16: The cool teenager
Myself: The "over the top" Disney enthusiast (according to DS)

It is Thursday night July 2. We take our older Lab to Grandma's. He is 12 years old and needs the TLC that only a Grandma can give We take the our energetic black Lab puppy, Otis, to the kennel. He is a handful and has more energy than Grandma can handle. What can I say about a puppy named Otis - the name says it all!

We are driving from Indiana to WDW. Our plans are to leave July 3rd around 3/4 AM....Believe me, I agree This is the time DH likes to leave and since he does most, if not all, of the driving I am not going to complain about departure times I am just thrilled to be going to my HAPPY PLACE

By midnight, the van is finally packed and Hubby has been asleep for a couple of hours. I decide to get some shut eye. DS is still texting away....

We leave around 4 AM. I always feel strange leaving in the middle of the night. Like I was sneaking out of town or something...Oh well.

We make it to Valdosta, GA around 4:30 PM. We stay at a new Hilton Gardens. They have a dinner special - hamburgers for $2 and beer for $1. This is great we don't have to drive anywhere to get something quick to eat After dinner we go sit by the pool. We are all too tired to get in the water but have a pleasant time together. DS is turning out to be an incredible young man (yes, I am a proud Mama). Around 9 PM we head back to the room. They have the sleep system beds that you can adjust the firmness. Of course, we have to play around with this a little and decide which is the best for each of us. We finally settle down and have a GREAT night's sleep. It was a long day and we will need to get up early to finally make it to our destination

[BluewaterBrad]

Have a GREAT trip!

[AuntKari]

Hi Tink2006, So, your adventure has begun! I am with your husband on the 4:00 AM departure! It is especially wonderful to hear you have a fine young 16 year old son. It is hard work today but still worth rearing them to be good and respectful so you can be proud. Good for you! We will all have fun following you. Send us news so we can know what to expect for our upcoming trips. Let us know about service, wait times, anything new you try etc. Hope some unexpected magic comes your way too and you have terrific weather. Aunt Kari

[faline]

Getting up at 4 a.m. sounds like a normal work day to me!

In the days we drove to Disney World, our goal was always to get on the road by 4. I love those early morning hours on the road!

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.

[yjgirl32]

Great report so far. Hope you have/had a wonderful time while there. Thanks for sharing.

[tink2006]

Well, we left Valdosta a little later than dear Hubby would have liked.....It was probably 9:30
or so. We continue our journey South and arrive at the hotel, POR, sometime early afternoon. Normally I check the time but I guess I was too excited to look....


I am a little embarassed to admit this but .....We have been making this yearly treck from Indiana to the World every year for the past 15 years or so. We have stayed about 10 times at POR. EVERY time we get LOST. You would think we could just put it on cruise and find our way "home". We never miss a beat for 1,000 miles but we get 5 minutes from our destination and we lose it.
I let my DS, Marcus, know we are getting close and do you think he gets excited? No, he puts in a movie. So I ask "you're going to watch a movie, do you think you will have time"....."I'll have plenty of time, we always get lost". Ye of little faith! Well, I could not believe it, we DID NOT get lost. We pulled into POR without missing a beat...not one wrong turn. Not one choice word. I was very proud when I tapped Marcus to let him know we had arrived. This trip was meant to be - for once we did not get lost!

Well we park the van and go inside to the lobby to check in. There are only two people ahead of us AND all check-in windows are open. My DH leaves me in line and joins the chilrdren in front of the TV to watch Disney cartoons. He does not stand or sit on the couch....He plops down on the floor with the rest of the kids. One little boy turned around and gave him a strange look. My husband just looked at him and said "this is one of my favorite cartoons". You know you have arrived at a magical place when your husband is acting like a child

It is quickly my turn to check in. Did I mention we have stayed here before? Well, I know what area we want...down to the room number. This year I wanted something slightly different. I guess it was time to spread our wings a little LOL. You never know if the grass is greaner on the other side.... We have always (knock on wood) had great luck in room assignments. This year was no different. I just LOVE the Disney Service. We are on the Mansion side. close to the lobby, food court and we have a quiet pool five feet from our door. We are in HEAVEN or should I say DISNEY!

Will continue a little later.....

[Bethanymouse]

Enjoying the trip report so far! We leave for the airport at 3-4 am, so I know what you mean about that feeling of sneaking off! Cant wait to read more!