***Updated 7/1/09*** We're driving 3000 miles to see the mouse!

[PrincessSarah314]

But First: A Bit of Background


Welcome to my first ever DLR trip report! I've been reading lots of other trip reports and am happy to finally be writing my own!


My name is Sarah and I'm 29.

I live in Chicago and have a son who is 10.

I work in Sports Marketing and am a nursing student.

We'll be driving from Chicago to Napa, where my sister just moved in March, and spend five nights at her house before heading to Disneyland for 3 fun filled nights! After Disney we will be heading to Las Vegas for 1 night before heading home! We are very excited to be going and I have been going to Disney World annually since 1986.

For this trip my mother will be going with us, as she loves Disney almost as much as I do.
I promise to do updates often and include lots of photos! I have most of our planning
done and now just have to complete the pre-trip shopping!

In the meantime, I'm posting a few pictures from our 2007 & 2008 trips to WDW during which we stayed at Coronado Springs and Pop Century. I can't wait to hear from everyone and hope to get lots of feedback as I'm posting; so I know what people would like to see included in future updates as well as my actual Trip Report. Just go easy on me; after all, I am new to this!

The castle from Main Street

It was my niece's first trip to the Magic Kingdom!

My family has a rule about Mickey Ears...You can't just buy them, you have to earn them!

My niece and nephew

Who knew Belle wore purple crocs?

She was very excited to meet her "twin" sister!

The pool at the resort

The pool again

 

[PrincessSarah314]

We left our house on Saturday, May 17 2008 after only 3 hours of sleep.

All packed and ready to go!

My son was up coughing all night. I was up late packing and finishing my handy dandy book of tricks that went with us everywhere! Thank God I had the sense to jot some notes in it most days, because it has been a looooong time and my memory is good, but not that good! We drove through Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and just into Georgia.

The first stop--Indiana

The weather was nice on the way down. We stopped in a rest area for lunch which was sandwiches and other goodies brought from home. The scenery was gorgeous.

This security guard was driving around the rest area on a golf cart...It was hilarious!

I love driving through the clouds in Chattanooga! Our hotel was the Holiday Inn Express in Ringgold, GA. It was a pretty nice hotel, but pretty much exactly what you would expect. It was too cold to swim in their pool since it was outdoors. We had a good rate though, $93.50 which came to $105.66 with tax, and got breakfast for free the next day.

Our room keys were wishing us a Happy New Year---in May!!!!

The big surprise was that we didn't see any billboards advertising cheap cigarettes! Mom and I both smoke (although she only smokes 1 cigarette a day since her stroke scare) and always get the best prices on the drive down. Cigarettes in Chicago are pretty expensive, around $8 a pack, and are under $4 a pack down south, so we usually stock up!!! Bummer.

We ate a Sonic for dinner. Okay, okay, this may be lame to most of you, but there were NO Sonics around here so I had never even seen one before! (They finally opened one near us a few months ago.) I wanted to try it pretty badly. Three of us ate for $13. What a deal! My mom said her food was soggy. Patrick said it was ok. He had eaten at a Sonic before on vacation with his other grandma so it didn't impress him much. He wanted McDonald's. He also was mad because after driving all day he didn't want to eat in the car.

SONIC

After dinner we went back to the hotel and took showers before bed. Our room had a rainshower in it and it was awesome! We were tired from traveling all day and needed an early start. We had to get to Orlando early the next day, because we had reservations for one night at the Nickelodeon Family Suites Hotel!

 

[kaoden39]

Hi Sarah! First off I am so excited for your trip. You will be in my area when you drive to Napa I think. Well, you will be if you are driving on I-80. I am so excited for you on your trip. Cigarettes are definitely cheaper in California. I don' smoke so I don't know exact prices but I know they are under $5 in the convenience stores. But, they are bound to go up because they are talking about raising the taxes on them. Wow $8 is so much

One thing I want to warn you about is don't be surprised at how much smaller Aurora's castle is than Cinderella's. Everyone is always surprised. Disneyland is much smaller too but I love it. I am thrilled to follow you on your trip


Michele

 

[mnmrmustard]

Aw nuts, Chele beat me here!

Hello Sarah! Thank you for stopping by my PTR Looks like your trip is coming up quick That is quite the road trip you’re taking on, but it is a good time of year to do it. Hope you’re ready to tackle some mountains along the way

Wonderful shots from your past trips …and I have to ask, how does one earn their ears in your fam?

Bummer about your son starting your 2008 trip sick Dosen't look like it was slowing him down any though. Glad the weather cooperated and smart packing lunches to get you through that first day. That is funny about the golf cart security guard at a rest area and great sideways shot of your son at the Holiday Inn …Happy New Years keys???

We just got Sonic here last year so I still think they’re cool too ;D I look forward to hearing more - have a great day!

 

[daisy_77]

Hi!
I am looking forward to your trip report!

Seeing all those pics of WDW makes me miss it!! It has been 2 years since we have gone and I am sooooo ready to go back. I graduate in 18 months and DH in 24 months, and we are heading back to WDW to celebrate our graduations! Yay!

Coronado is a great resort! Did you stay in a refurbed room?

You will love DL! I love that the parks are really close to one another. You can just walk across the esplanade. No waiting for a bus.

Can't wait to read more about your plans!

 

[PrincessSarah314]

Hi Sarah! First off I am so excited for your trip. You will be in my area when you drive to Napa I think. Well, you will be if you are driving on I-80. I am so excited for you on your trip. Cigarettes are definitely cheaper in California. I don' smoke so I don't know exact prices but I know they are under $5 in the convenience stores. But, they are bound to go up because they are talking about raising the taxes on them. Wow $8 is so much

One thing I want to warn you about is don't be surprised at how much smaller Aurora's castle is than Cinderella's. Everyone is always surprised. Disneyland is much smaller too but I love it. I am thrilled to follow you on your trip


Michele

Hi Michele! Glad you found your way over here, it was getting lonely with no readers!

Yes, we will be taking I-80 all the way to Napa, so we will wave at you from the highway!

Thanks for the tip about cigarette prices. I smoke Newports, so next time you see a Newport sign with a price, let me know! Usually the generics are a LOT cheaper but they are NASTY!

I've warned everyone going with me about the castle being much smaller. They keep saying we're going to be disappointed, but hopefully since we are prepared we will just accept the size difference.

Thanks for reading! I was just telling my mom about your TR with your daughter tonight as we were out shopping! She thought it was cute, and suggested my DS10 start blogging on here too!

 

[kaoden39]

Hi Michele! Glad you found your way over here, it was getting lonely with no readers!

Yes, we will be taking I-80 all the way to Napa, so we will wave at you from the highway!

Thanks for the tip about cigarette prices. I smoke Newports, so next time you see a Newport sign with a price, let me know! Usually the generics are a LOT cheaper but they are NASTY!

I've warned everyone going with me about the castle being much smaller. They keep saying we're going to be disappointed, but hopefully since we are prepared we will just accept the size difference.

Thanks for reading! I was just telling my mom about your TR with your daughter tonight as we were out shopping! She thought it was cute, and suggested my DS10 start blogging on here too!

Why not let him post a little. Both of my teenage daughters belong to disboards.

 

[PrincessSarah314]

Aw nuts, Chele beat me here!

That is quite the road trip you’re taking on, but it is a good time of year to do it. Hope you’re ready to tackle some mountains along the way

Wonderful shots from your past trips …and I have to ask, how does one earn their ears in your fam?

Bummer about your son starting your 2008 trip sick Dosen't look like it was slowing him down any though. Glad the weather cooperated and smart packing lunches to get you through that first day. That is funny about the golf cart security guard at a rest area and great sideways shot of your son at the Holiday Inn …Happy New Years keys???

We just got Sonic here last year so I still think they’re cool too ;D I look forward to hearing more - have a great day!

Hello mnmrmustard! We are really looking forward to the 3 day drive! I have never been west of Iowa City, Iowa! Yes, there will be some mountain driving, but that's okay with me! I am the only driver, so it should be fun! I've driven the Appalachians every year without a problem!

In our family you earn your ears by getting to the Magic Kingdom (WDW of course!) and touring the park all day. It's a wonderfully special thing to get them embroidered and know you have "earned your ears". It also is a great way to avoid buying a souveneir in the MK. We can't buy that now, because you will be getting your ears tonight!

Glad you liked some of our pictures. I thought that security guard was much too funny to NOT take a picture of. And those room keys! Only in the Appalachians would they give you room keys wishing you a happy new year at the end of May!

My mom and my son were soooo embarassed at Sonic lol. They couldn't believe how many pictures I took. I don't care though. I really don't ever go there, even though we have one nearby now. It was only fun because it was something different!

 

[PrincessSarah314]

Hi!
I am looking forward to your trip report!

Seeing all those pics of WDW makes me miss it!! It has been 2 years since we have gone and I am sooooo ready to go back. I graduate in 18 months and DH in 24 months, and we are heading back to WDW to celebrate our graduations! Yay!

Coronado is a great resort! Did you stay in a refurbed room?

You will love DL! I love that the parks are really close to one another. You can just walk across the esplanade. No waiting for a bus.

Can't wait to read more about your plans!

I love WDW! I'm not sure how DLR will hold up against it.

When we stayed at Coronado we had a casita. It's basically a suite.

 

[PrincessSarah314]

Why not let him post a little. Both of my teenage daughters belong to disboards.

He's more than welcome to post. I just don't think he would. When I bought my book that I make to bring with he made me buy him one too so he could keep a journal. He wrote in it one day and drew one picture so far! Oh well, we can't all be addicts like I am!

 

[PrincessSarah314]

Sunday, May 18, 2008
We woke up and got a start on the road. We had traveled slightly further than we normally do on our first day, so I was feeling optimistic about how long we would have to drive before we got Nickelodeon Suites.

Things started off well enough. The weather was good all day and we didn't even get the famous daily afternoon thunderstorm that Central Florida usually throws at me on the turnpike.

We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center for our free orange juice and pins as well as to take a few cheesy pictures.

You can't tell, but he's freaking out about a bee he saw!

We couldn't stay and goof around too long, though! We were so close to the Nick Hotel and the excitement was built up from the long drive. We continued on and finally got to our hotel about 2 hours later than I wanted to.

We checked in for 1 night at $226.38. WOW! Pricey! But since I was told when I made my ressie that it came withy a $50 dining credit, it seemed reasonable. Of course, when I checked in I got nothing but problems.

The hotel had made our reservation for the following night, which was of course our 1st night at the Pop. After explaining nicely to the woman that today was really the day we were arriving she was able to find a room for us. It was an upgrade to a poolside Spongebob Suite. One problem solved.

Problem #2 was that they had run out of the $50 dining vouchers that I was supposed to get. She told me to charge our meal and they would credit us $50 upon checkout. I hate charging to the room, but I didn't feel like I had much choice so I agreed. Problem sort of solved.

Problem #3--the Nick Show, which is the live game show presented in the on site tv studio was sold out! WHAT?!? I'm basically paying $200 for nothing?!?? They suggested we line up standby after dinner and hope for the best. Gee, thanks Nickelodeon. Magical you are NOT!

We checked into our room and went to the restaurant for dinner. Because it was my son's birthday (a few days after we got home actually) they gave him a special birthday dessert and sang. It was cute. After dinner we walked the grounds and took some pictures. That's when I realized THE CAMERA WAS BROKEN! The camera I BORROWED was not functioning properly. After drilling my mom and son both about who must have dropped it they both claimed innocence, but I had my doubts.

I kept taking pictures, hoping against hope they would come out and we lined up standby praying to get tickets to the last Nick Show of the night. AND WE DID!

After the show we went back to the room, where I paid 99 cents to access the internet through WebTV. I quickly found the solution to my camera problem and solved it. And the pictures I had taken earlier did come out! I saved a ton of money and a huge hassle for less than a dollar!

 

[reynmagsmom]

Sounds like you guys had fun so far despite the problems..... Look forward to hearing more and have a blast on your upcoming trip I know we will in August!!!

 

[PrincessSarah314]

We took three days to do it, but we are officially in California. We drove 2100 miles and made it to my sister's house in Napa yesterday before dinnertime. Lots of posts to come soon!

 

[kaoden39]

We took three days to do it, but we are officially in California. We drove 2100 miles and made it to my sister's house in Napa yesterday before dinnertime. Lots of posts to come soon!

Woohoo!! Welcome to California!!