"For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only!" (Part V)

[pwdebbie]

We are home. Sadly. We departed yesterday morning at 3:35 am , pulled in at home at just about 8pm. Nice trip home, mostly sunny till we hit snow squalls near home. lol figures. We hit a few construction sites and there was one that slowed us down about 15 minutes. We kept moving just slow. There was a nasty accident on I26 south in the morning. A full size van hit a guardrail. The only thing left was the metal, the rest of it was burned off. Guessing either fell asleep or lost control in some fashion. Hope everyone is ok.
Another great meet with BC and his wife! Drinks at inchanted rose at the Grand and siting on the boat dock at the Grand. We always look forward to meeting up. Stay tuned for September, we are going on a little cruise together lol. We appreciate how BC and his wife always take time for us and drives down to see us. We could talk for hours. Lol
Took a stone to the windshield in Orlando on the way home, have to call the insurance co. tomorrow. Just a small ding but it will only get bigger.
That was our 8th trip with our 2016 T&C Anniversary edit, some what modified van. Turned 22k miles. (We only use it for our Floridia trips lol)
Driving north, the cars coming south we covered in brine from the roads. Ours was green with pollen. Lol
We had an amazing 35 wedding anniversary dinner at the Grand. We did the Intamate Dining Experience! Just dw and I on a reserved balcony (huge) with our own butler. One of the nicest experiences we ever had at WDW. Fireworks etc.... Our butler also gave us a tour of Walts, Roys suite at the Grand. The first time Roys grandson seen the door to Roys suite he said, the room number is the same as his grandfathers address.
Anyway, as you can tell we had a blast... again.
Drive safe!!!

Sounds to me like you had an outstanding trip. Happy 35th anniversary! We had planned to spend our 35th there in 2012 but had to move the trip up to 2013 due to dh's puppy being ill. The likelihood of another anniversary there are about zero due to health, but at least we celebrated three times in the World.

 

[BC1836]

Ah, just got back from the GFR. However, since we moved to central FL in 2017, and only live one hour away from the Western Way entrance to WDW, we can't claim it was a long distance drive anymore. So much for the founder of this forum.

All the best!

 

[tguz]

Got here on Sunday! Drove 12 hours Friday from Iowa to Atlanta. Then a shorter 6 hr drive from Atlanta to Orlando on Sunday. Believe it or not the 12 hour went better with the 4, 3, and 7 month old than the 6 hour drive. Perfect weather, no road delays at all except a smaller i130 in Illinois that was down. Excited for the fun week!

We have made the Iowa to WDW drive the last 3 Summers, usually get to Perry, GA for the night. Next time we are taking the route that avoids Nashville and Atlanta.

 

[sharadoc]

Ah, just got back from the GFR. However, since we moved to central FL in 2017, and only live one hour away from the Western Way entrance to WDW, we can't claim it was a long distance drive anymore. So much for the founder of this forum.

All the best!

You have many miles banked! Maybe our paths can cross - we'll be there in June.

 

[BC1836]

You have many miles banked! Maybe our paths can cross - we'll be there in June.

When? We'll be there for a short stay starting on June 25.

All the best!

 

[BC1836]

Brush fire near !-4 mm 123. I-4 in that area shut down.

All the best!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

We had one issue after another and had a late start today, so now saturday night we are 20 hours away plus stops. All i can think about is that tomorrow night we will be at Disney... its just going to be really late. I guess we are going to get 4 hours of sleep tonight. Has this happened to anyone else?
The only reason we are going to be so long is we have to make a quick stop in Raleigh tomorrow, then 8 hours to WDW

 

[sharadoc]

When? We'll be there for a short stay starting on June 25.

All the best!

We are there 8-16

 

[BC1836]

We are there 8-16

Less than three months to go for you and yours!

All the best!

 

[BC1836]

Anyone's forthcoming driving plans change because of the virus?

All the best!

 

[TheHamm]

Anyone's forthcoming driving plans change because of the virus?

All the best!

YUP! we were set to drive down 3/27.
DH was supposed to be speaking at a conference that aligned with school Spring break so it was a no brainer. I do not see school opening on 4/6, but I also do not foresee WDW opening on 4/1. If this were to all blow over I am not sure we would drive down for such a short trip. The conference is rescheduled for July, but we already have a full calendar of summer camps for the kids and some national park trips, and I anticipate I will burn through my PTO days (which I am very thankful to have) while school is out and I need to work from home. On the bright side, our APs were set to expire just before the Winter holiday break and will now be extended through the WDW vacation we already planned for then.

 

[rg35]

We postponed our June 28-July 11 trip because of the pandemic. We are not sure what the school situation is going to be with NYC schools being closed for at least a month. Our departure date was the day after what would have been their last day of school.

We have rescheduled to August and are still planning to drive, but if airfares remain low and my confidence that we will be able to travel in August remains high, then we might decide to fly down this year. Too many unknowns to plan for sure right now.

 

[bluezy]

We postponed our June 28-July 11 trip because of the pandemic. We are not sure what the school situation is going to be with NYC schools being closed for at least a month. Our departure date was the day after what would have been their last day of school.

We have rescheduled to August and are still planning to drive, but if airfares remain low and my confidence that we will be able to travel in August remains high, then we might decide to fly down this year. Too many unknowns to plan for sure right now.

We're in a similar situation. We have an extended family trip planned for late June/early July also. It's 10 people spread over 3 households. We have 1 HS student in the group and 1 teacher (different school district). I purposely made our check-in day over a week after the last day of school just to allow for a really harsh winter with lots of snow days that would extend the school year. Never did I imagine our current scenario. I'm not doing anything at this point because it took forever to get everyone's vacation schedules to line up for this trip. Moving it to August isn't really an option due to work and school schedules. For us it's either we go in June or we will most likely have to push it to next summer (which will suck because we're booked on a free dining bounce back offer this year -- not sure if they'll allow us to carry that to a new reservation). We might be able to push it out a week or two into July but I don't know if that will help. I'm not holding my breath that our trip is going to happen this year but I'm not going to cancel until the last minute.

UPDATE: Our state is now saying schools do not have to make up these days. Yay!! Our district is currently working on implementing online classes/instruction and will have that (or some variation) in place within 10 days. Now I just need everyone in this country to stay home for the next several weeks so Disney and other places along the way can reopen by mid-June and we (and thousands of others) can still have our vacation this summer. Wishful thinking, I'm sure....

 

[BC1836]

Be safe, be well, be thoughtful, be caring.

All the best!

 

[dvczerfs]

Just checking in. Hope everyone is staying safe. Wow, what a time we are in.
our trip for two weeks in September is almost done with the planning stage. Last of the dining reservations tomorrow. ( it’s the only thing keeping me going)
Dw is working from home. Dd works for a medical company so she still has to go to work. I’m still required to show up also, as long as people use indoor plumbing and heating or a/c , I’m required to go.
Im kinda hoping for a lay-off. I did put the bug in the owners ear. My wife and daughter are working, I have no dependents or mortgage, if it means a younger person working to support there family, let them work. I’ll survive. Really looking forward to September more than ever.
stay safe everyone!!!!

 

[dvczerfs]

From our Intimate Dining Experiences at the Grand last month. our 35 wedding anniversary!

 

[dvczerfs]

We are sitting on the balcony above the gift shop windows.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

We are sitting in the balcony above the gift shop windows.

Did you stay in one of those turret ( spelling?) rooms?
When we celebrated our anniversary there they upgraded us to one of those. It was absolutely beautiful and a dream come true!

 

[dvczerfs]

Did you stay in one of those turret ( spelling?) rooms?
When we celebrated our anniversary there they upgraded us to one of those. It was absolutely beautiful and a dream come true!

No, we stayed at the Polynesian. The IDE is a dining experience that is you, your own personal butler on that balcony. The food was good. Great views. We had a lot of fun doing it. They go out of there way to take care of you.
we were looking for something different and we had heard about from another couple we met last year. Not the cheapest thing to do but for a special occasion, it was one of the best.

 

[BC1836]

Hoping that before long, this forum's thread will soon be active with long distance drivers.

All the best!