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View Full Version : No Planes, Just Trains and Automobiles – Pre-Trip report



Mickey'sGirl
06-12-2012, 09:01 AM
Cast:
DH – Brian (CanadianWDWFan) Turning 45 on this trip
DS14 – Harry – Celebrating graduating from Grade 8 (High School already?!?!?)
DS8 ½ – Euan – Celebrating his Half-Birthday because we can’t go down in January
Me – Jennifer – Just happy to be making the trip with my guys!

I can’t believe it’s nearly here! After almost a year of planning, we are getting ready to head out on our annual pilgrimage to WDW. Our annual passes from last August are still valid, so we only had to plan our accommodations and dining. We are booked to stay from July 24 until August 3.

We are DVC members at the BoardWalk, so we were able to make reservations for this summer’s stay last August. We have booked a Studio Boardwalk view for our first few nights, and then a one-bedroom standard view for the following week. Recently, we added two nights at the Grand Floridian in the Sugar Loaf Club Level for the Friday and Saturday nights between our two BoardWalk stays. We really love the BoardWalk and missed it last year when we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we are very excited to be staying at the Grand Floridian for the first time.

Normally we drive from Toronto to Florida with one overnight stop in each direction, but we have changed it up a bit for this year. With a lot of information from “ibelieveindisneymagic” (Heather), we have decided to take the Autotrain down from Lorton VA to Sanford. We will leave home a couple of days early, as are going to spend two days in Washington DC checking out the museums, and then we will travel in two Superliner Bedrooms on the Autotrain down to Florida. We are all really looking forward to this, and by booking early (on Heather’s good advice), we have saved almost $500 on the cost compared to booking it now. Awesome! (We are not taking the Autotrain home at the end of our holiday).

We have not made a ton of Dining Reservations, as we really do make use of the kitchen in the One Bedroom Villa (I love to cook), and are hoping to make use of the Club Level offerings at the Grand Floridian. We have reserved Tony’s for our first night, Chef Mickey’s for Brunch on Euan’s Half-Birthday, Wolfgang Puck’s Café for Brian’s Birthday, Biergarten for a dinner and the Grand Floridian Café for a lunch (so I can FINALLY get one of those burgers!!!) . We have found that we are able to make reservations as we go along if we care to add more dining to our list.

So that’s it. We have a mini-holiday in DC to look forward to, the whole Autotrain experience, and we have reserved a total of 10 nights’ accommodation (with the possibility of adding up to 2 more at the end of our holiday), a few choice reservations, some :bar: :bar: and a few Celebrations. We are planning on hitting Jellyrolls our first night with friends of ours who live locally. She and my DH are both celebrating their birthdays, and we thought it would be a fun night out for us.

All of the above, of course, is subject to change on my whims. Thankfully, my family is usually quite willing to acquiesce to my requests. 6 weeks!!

Melanie
06-12-2012, 09:12 AM
Sounds like a great trip Jen and Brian! :mickey:

wildernesslady
06-12-2012, 09:42 AM
Have a great time. The boardwalk is one of the best locations.

DisneyDINK
06-12-2012, 09:49 AM
I worked for Amtrak for many years. I always thought it would be fun to take the Auto Train, but living on the west coast, it just wasn't practical.

I'll look forward to your trip report.

faline
06-12-2012, 10:54 AM
Yippee!! I always enjoy your trip reports and can't wait to read more about this one!! :number1:

emerzmom
06-12-2012, 12:36 PM
The train trip sounds really fun. I love Washington DC. I travel there a lot for work. One of my favorite things is the night monument tours. The monuments look so beautiful all lit up at night. It is very different from the day time visit and cooler in the summer heat.
What a memory for your family.
:mickey:
Julie

BrerGnat
06-12-2012, 12:40 PM
Sounds like a fun trip!

I'm interested in hearing about the Auto Train.

scooterca42
06-12-2012, 04:03 PM
Please go into detail on the drive/train and how it worked for DC. It sounds amazing and I think DH and I may try it for our next vacation.

ibelieveindisneymagic
06-12-2012, 09:11 PM
Yea! It is getting close ... I'm counting on your trip report to help hold me over 'till the ICOT trip.

I really, really hope that you love the autotrain as much as we do ... I wouldn't consider getting to Disney any other way. :train:

SBETigg
06-12-2012, 09:34 PM
Sounds wonderful! I hope you love the Grand Floridian.

Mickey'sGirl
06-22-2012, 10:08 AM
We've now reserved one of the Cabanas at the Grand Floridian for one afternoon :cloud9: -- We were planning on hanging out by the pool anyway. I told you these plans are never static! :thumbsup:

KylesMom
06-22-2012, 01:17 PM
As always, your plans look great - and you have some fun new experiences planned too. Sadly we are unable to take a family trip this summer, so I'll be living vicariously through yours. Have lots of Mickey bars for me - and have a wonderful trip! :mickey:

RedSoxFan
06-22-2012, 05:55 PM
Sounds like a fun trip planned. Have a wonderful time.:mickey::mickey:

January-2007
06-25-2012, 12:58 PM
Thanks for the pre trip report.

willowpondarabians
06-25-2012, 02:15 PM
I agree with Julie's post above. Washington DC is a wonderful place to visit but keep in mind you are coming at the hottest time of the year. The evenings walking around the monuments are very beautiful but during the day, plan on being inside the museums. Use public transportation - the metro is the best and not hard to figure out. Also remember there is another Air and Space museum close to Dulles airport that is now housing the Space Shuttle. Admission is free but it cost $15 to park. I work in DC so know a lot of the ropes. If you have any more questions, let me know! Have a wonderful trip! :)

Mickey'sGirl
06-25-2012, 02:32 PM
Thanks for the info! We have no plans to see the monuments etc., just the museums :thumbsup: It's good to know about the parking fee (we had budgeted $20, so $15 is good!). Our main goal is the Dulles Air and Space Museum!

Christine
06-25-2012, 04:58 PM
Sounds just wonderful! :thumbsup:

Caroleh
06-25-2012, 07:04 PM
Sounds great Jenn!!!

Belle of the Ball 051411
06-25-2012, 07:31 PM
Sounds like a fabulous trip!

disneydeb
06-26-2012, 12:51 AM
Jenn, your trip sounds wonderful! Have a great time and have a birthday drink for Ellen and me! :marg: ;)

Katzateer
06-26-2012, 09:25 AM
Can't wait to hear about your trip- especially the train. We may try that next trip - my husband wanted to try this October but we decided to fly.

I can't imagine DC in July with all that walking - hope it isn't too hot for you.

If you have time, I would highly suggest the hop on off trolley. It leaves from 30 th street station and the twilight tour is well worth the $$. The monuments and the city are beautiful at night and sitting on the upper deck is fun.

Have a great time!

CanadianWDWFan
07-13-2012, 02:58 PM
Well our plans have changed slightly!!

With all the construction and closures at the Grand Floridian, we decided to change resorts. As much as it pains us to not stay at the GF for the first time, we really felt that for the money we would be spending we would not enjoy our time there surrounded by construction. So with Terrisue's :number1: help we changed our resort to the Beach Club! We haven't stayed at the BC yet so this is still another first for us.

We are at 8 days until we leave and looking forward to our time lounging around Stormalong Bay!

BrerGnat
07-13-2012, 03:13 PM
Well our plans have changed slightly!!

With all the construction and closures at the Grand Floridian, we decided to change resorts. As much as it pains us to not stay at the GF for the first time, we really felt that for the money we would be spending we would not enjoy our time there surrounded by construction. So with Terrisue's :number1: help we changed our resort to the Beach Club! We haven't stayed at the BC yet so this is still another first for us.

We are at 8 days until we leave and looking forward to our time lounging around Stormalong Bay!

I think you are going to LOVE the Beach Club. If your boys like swimming at all, they will be in heaven here. My boys could spend a week at WDW and do nothing but swim in that pool and go down that slide over and over and over again. :D

Can't wait to hear about your adventures. Hope the weather here cooperates with your D.C. portion! It's actually been rather pleasant and (dare I say) NOT humid for the past week. Hope it continues for you. :cool:

CanadianWDWFan
07-13-2012, 03:19 PM
I think you are going to LOVE the Beach Club. If your boys like swimming at all, they will be in heaven here. My boys could spend a week at WDW and do nothing but swim in that pool and go down that slide over and over and over again. :D

Can't wait to hear about your adventures. Hope the weather here cooperates with your D.C. portion! It's actually been rather pleasant and (dare I say) NOT humid for the past week. Hope it continues for you. :cool:

Our youngest is like a fish, which is why we decided to try BC.

If the weather is anything like here in the Toronto area we will enjoy our time in DC. Hot and humid is how were roll here in Toronto.:D

ibelieveindisneymagic
07-13-2012, 09:27 PM
Now I'm really jealous ... I've wanted to try Beach Club, really just for the pool!

Hope you have a super time, and enjoy that pool :swim:

AgentC
07-15-2012, 12:39 AM
I hope you love the Beach Club. Beach and Yacht are one of my favorites. My whole family loves Stormalong Bay. The evening movie on the beach is really fun too. You can see the lights across the lake at Boardwalk. It is really pretty.