brownie
12-29-2010, 05:31 PM
It was a long night prior to our departure in the morning of Saturday, December 4, 2010. Sharon and I both got sick during the night, although Sharon got it much worse than I did. :ill: I was tired but pretty much fine in the morning. We left later than we had hoped but still close to what time we had originally planned when putting our travel plans together.
We had breakfast at Everything Pop after loading up the van. We used our remaining dining plan credits, including buying 9 Mickey rice krispy treats with our snack credits. We picked up some last minute souvenirs and got on the road.
Sharon slept most of the day. If you get a chance, stop in the rest area on the north-bound lanes of I-75 near Gainesville. There are signs posted warning of poisonous snakes. I came out of the bathroom, and Justin and Mark were headed off the beaten path to look at an alligator in a fenced in retention pond. They apparently hadn't seen the signs. We got to our hotel in Tennessee around 9pm and turned in shortly after that.
We were up around 6am on Sunday, December 5, 2010. We got ready and got on the road. Sharon was feeling better but still wasn't 100 percent. It had snowed overnight but not a lot. The roads were a little slick in Tennessee but got better as we headed north. We ended getting back home in Michigan between 3:30pm and 4pm.
It was a good trip. It was nice to spend more time swimming than we have on past trips. In the future, I think I'd work the schedule around extra magic hours, avoiding the parks with morning and evening hours. I think it's also better to have an open day in the middle of the trip, which we weren't able to fit into our schedule. I think the quick service meal plan might also be a better fit for our family (we had the standard plan.) Universal Orlando Resort was okay, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was great. I don't feel a compelling need to go back there other than to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It's good, but I'm not sure that alone is worth the price of admission. I was disappointed in the merchandising overall, and still can't believe they were already out of a lot of the 2010 items at the end of November. I don't want 2011 stuff if I'm there in 2010!
I hope it's not another 6 years before we go back to Walt Disney World, although I think our next trip will be to Disneyland once Cars land is open.
We had breakfast at Everything Pop after loading up the van. We used our remaining dining plan credits, including buying 9 Mickey rice krispy treats with our snack credits. We picked up some last minute souvenirs and got on the road.
Sharon slept most of the day. If you get a chance, stop in the rest area on the north-bound lanes of I-75 near Gainesville. There are signs posted warning of poisonous snakes. I came out of the bathroom, and Justin and Mark were headed off the beaten path to look at an alligator in a fenced in retention pond. They apparently hadn't seen the signs. We got to our hotel in Tennessee around 9pm and turned in shortly after that.
We were up around 6am on Sunday, December 5, 2010. We got ready and got on the road. Sharon was feeling better but still wasn't 100 percent. It had snowed overnight but not a lot. The roads were a little slick in Tennessee but got better as we headed north. We ended getting back home in Michigan between 3:30pm and 4pm.
It was a good trip. It was nice to spend more time swimming than we have on past trips. In the future, I think I'd work the schedule around extra magic hours, avoiding the parks with morning and evening hours. I think it's also better to have an open day in the middle of the trip, which we weren't able to fit into our schedule. I think the quick service meal plan might also be a better fit for our family (we had the standard plan.) Universal Orlando Resort was okay, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was great. I don't feel a compelling need to go back there other than to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It's good, but I'm not sure that alone is worth the price of admission. I was disappointed in the merchandising overall, and still can't believe they were already out of a lot of the 2010 items at the end of November. I don't want 2011 stuff if I'm there in 2010!
I hope it's not another 6 years before we go back to Walt Disney World, although I think our next trip will be to Disneyland once Cars land is open.