The 2400mi Drive - A March 2012 trip to remember, and some parts to forget!

Liz, your pictures are amazing! TR is coming along great! I'm hooked! Can't wait to read more! We are staying at Coronado Springs in just a few weeks. It is definitely one of my favorite resorts. We haven't stayed there since 2008 so I am very excited to see the resort since they refurbed all the rooms.

I see you are allergic to shellfish? So am I! Disney really is the BEST with this sort of stuff!

Oooo your TR is getting me so excited for our trip (in 11 days!!!!)

We're from CT as well and I remember the days as a kid when my family and I would drive down-its fun for the first day and by the second, we were alllllll set-with the drive and eachother! We actually stopped at South of the Border once just to check it out and WOW was it scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember a spider on a t-shirt hanging on the wall :lookaroun

Beautiful photos, we're statying at Coronado too, and Ohana looks more yummy than I remember :slurp:

Awesome, awesome trip report I am loving it so very much, and with 95 days to go.. its getting me all excited for the upcoming trip, though at the moment 95 days seems so far away.

I loved the fact you kept time of getting down, as my husband, son and myself will be driving down from Northern Virginia ourselves this trip it just may come in handy...so thank you for that.

I love the feeling when you first get on property and see the Walt Disney sign I mean how incredible of a feeling. I love it.

Your pictures are amazing. Seriously I am in love with them. And would totally turn them into my computer!! And yea for taking pics of WL..my absolute favorite...

And how yummy is O'Hannas seriously its one of our 'must dos' on every trip

Can't wait to continue your adventure with you!

I'm LOVING your TR! Your pictures are FANTASTIC! It was great seeing your review of Ohana. We ate there for the first time last March and we are going back in about 3 weeks. I also had a Lapu Lapu-whoa! Very strong, but yummy! The bread is my absolute favorite there! Looking forward to more!

Thank you all for reading along! I didn't know if my TR would be such a hit- I appreciate each and every one of you!

BTW, highly disliking the 10 image limit. I had to delete all of my smilies and a few from quoted messages- Sorry!!

diddy_mouse said:

Love your pictures! And I must say I was glad to see some of CSR since I'll be staying there in August. The fisheye shots of WL were awesome as well...*sigh* I miss that resort.

Look forward to reading more!

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Thank you!

CSR is such a relaxing resort. You will enjoy it! I am also missing WL.

mamamouse said:

OMG NO WAY!!!!!! I wish!!! I always say that I'd love to get into the culinary at Disney,I just wish I had known it existed when I was younger.I'd love to be a cake decorator there,loving the report great job

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I'll probably be applying for next spring. Everyone can come say "hello" to me where ever I am working! (I'm trying to keep positive about DCP, hope that is not a bad omen, haha!)

val002 said:

Great TR so far! I was in the World March 27 - April 2, so I'm curious if any of our days overlapped! You got this report up so quick, I'm impressed!! I want to write one - hope I have the time next week! Can't wait to read more!

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I have had a few days off from my job. It's retail and the hours fluctuate all the time. That would be cool if our days overlapped! I guess you'll have to read to find out!

chrissyw14 said:

its my goal my next trip to try a lapu lapu!! I have always wanted a drink in a pineapple!

and I never really realized it was funny to call bay lake tower BLT until now so thanks for that lol

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The Lapu Lapu is so strong! Maybe it was just how Walter made it. But, you definitely feel great after one.. or a few sips!

It's so hard for me to NOT think of a BLT sandwich when I see it abbreviated!

Mikester71 said:

Awesome trip report and GORGEOUS pictures!!! Makes me wish I was down there right now! :sohappy:

As someone who has driven down to WDW from up here in Canada four times, I could totally relate with the beginning of your trip report. Usually takes us about 20 hours total to make it down there, a full day of driving and a few hours the next morning. Have always gone during our March/Spring Break and I am usually like your friend, Pat and comment the further south we get on how green everything is and how cool it is to see Spring in full affect. :lol: Like yourself, I also take notes on the drive down. I usually bring along this old notebook that I have used for the last three trips and jot down when we cross into each State and when we fill up with gas and how much it cost, that way I have a reference for the next trip down.

Sorry to ramble there, your report just got me all excited about our past WDW trips! Anyways, great job and sounds and looks like you guys enjoyed yourselves! :wave:

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Thank you! I try to take great pictures so I can blow them up and pretend I am there.. not really, but sorta!

Rambling is welcomed! Gas went down the further south we were. Still expensive, though.

For my trips to come, I will be jotting down more notes, more times, and take way more pictures!

I miss those palm trees..

wdwsog said:

Great TR. Thanks for sharing

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Thanks for reading!

Kristia said:

Love love love your report! Your pictures are beautiful! I was especially interested to hear about your drive down since we are doing that for the first time next Wed. Like you we are going to try to do it in one shot with no overnight stop. According to Mapquest it should be 17 hours drive time from where we are in Jersey. Hope we can do it and not crash!

Like you, I always have grand plans to stay in the park until the wee hours of the morning but have never been able to make it. I think maybe I need a long nap in the afternoon to be able to accomplish this but I always find it hard to sleep at Disney! Too much to do, so little time!!

Looking forward to reading the rest! :wave:

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Thanks!!

If you leave around 2 or 3 am, you should be able to pull it off. It will help you to stay awake when they sun is out for the majority of the drive. Parts of 95 do not have lights on the side of the road. If you are feeling tired, then stop! NC has a few exits with lots of hotels to stop at.

Maybe next leap year, MK will be open all day! That is a goal to work towards.

disneygirl1 said:

Liz, your pictures are amazing! TR is coming along great! I'm hooked! Can't wait to read more! We are staying at Coronado Springs in just a few weeks. It is definitely one of my favorite resorts. We haven't stayed there since 2008 so I am very excited to see the resort since they refurbed all the rooms.

I see you are allergic to shellfish? So am I! Disney really is the BEST with this sort of stuff!

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Thank you so much!

The rooms are super nice- love the queen beds and the doors to divide the bedroom from the bathroom. It's great for getting ready in the morning and letting the other people you are with get more shut-eye. Did you request a certain section?

Have you ever tried lobster? That is the ONE thing everyone says to me, "Oh my gosh. Have you not tried lobster then?!" I discovered my allergy off of shrimp.

DisneyPrincess5 said:

Oooo your TR is getting me so excited for our trip (in 11 days!!!!)

We're from CT as well and I remember the days as a kid when my family and I would drive down-its fun for the first day and by the second, we were alllllll set-with the drive and eachother! We actually stopped at South of the Border once just to check it out and WOW was it scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember a spider on a t-shirt hanging on the wall :lookaroun

Beautiful photos, we're statying at Coronado too, and Ohana looks more yummy than I remember :slurp:

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Thank you!

SotB just looks like a mess on the side of the road. A spider on a shirt? No thank you! If I ever drive down again, I'd like to make more stops.. to get magnets or something. Since we were strapped for time, we couldn't make extra stops other than food and gas.

CSR is wonderful. Have you stayed there before? 'Ohana was great. It's hard to read negative reviews on it. Maybe if I ate there a while ago, I would notice a different. But it was really tied for the best meal on the trip.

foreverbelle said:

Awesome, awesome trip report I am loving it so very much, and with 95 days to go.. its getting me all excited for the upcoming trip, though at the moment 95 days seems so far away.

I loved the fact you kept time of getting down, as my husband, son and myself will be driving down from Northern Virginia ourselves this trip it just may come in handy...so thank you for that.

I love the feeling when you first get on property and see the Walt Disney sign I mean how incredible of a feeling. I love it.

Your pictures are amazing. Seriously I am in love with them. And would totally turn them into my computer!! And yea for taking pics of WL..my absolute favorite...

And how yummy is O'Hannas seriously its one of our 'must dos' on every trip

Can't wait to continue your adventure with you!

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95 days will go by in a flash! The only hiccup we had was getting through NY, which you don't have to worry about. Nor do you have to worry about DC! Lucky duck :lol:

Seeing the sign is such a happy moment- you know you are there!

Thank you for the compliment on my pictures!

'Ohana was fantastic! Loved the whole experience there.

Southern_Tink said:

I'm LOVING your TR! Your pictures are FANTASTIC! It was great seeing your review of Ohana. We ate there for the first time last March and we are going back in about 3 weeks. I also had a Lapu Lapu-whoa! Very strong, but yummy! The bread is my absolute favorite there! Looking forward to more!

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Thank you!!

The more sips you have of a Lapu Lapu, the better it tastes! The bread.. it was so scrumptious. Why does WDW have the best bread?! 'Ohana, Le Cellier, Kouzzina..

“50 minutes? No way. The line is inside!”

It’s Monday March 26, 2012.. which means it’s PAT’S 24th BIRTHDAY! Now, this day was kept a secret from him up till we did everything. He had NO CLUE where we were eating dinner, and what we were doing after. I’m pretty sure he had an idea that we were going to DHS, though. I talked about going to every other park except DHS.


Since we were out somewhat late, we slept in a little. I want to say we were out of the room by 8:00am-ish. Not sure. I was bad about writing times down this day! Actually, the EXIF data on my breakfast picture says 9:28am. Oh my goodness, that was late! Haha.

Side note- I think Pepper Market gets a little backed up now because they don’t let guests take their food to go. The most we had to wait was maybe 5 minutes to be seated. But, I know we would have been in and out in no time if “to-go” was still on option. Maybe someday they will bring it back.

After our delicious breakfast, we caught a bus to DHS. Again, we had no wait! We decided to go over to RnRC. The stand-by line was a little too long for our liking. So, we grabbed FP’s.

Pat suggested we wait in line for TSMM since we had over an hour till we could use our FP’s. BY THE WAY, this was his FIRST ride on TSMM! We got over to Pixar Place and the wait for TSMM said 50 minutes.. I knew this was false. Back in October, I waited well over an hour with the line starting outside. We got in line.. and the queue was a little less than half-full. Woot!

Mr. Potato Head was talking quite a bunch. But, it seemed as though he was having trouble hearing, even when a guest would shout an answer.

Pat thought TSMM was “very cool”. He liked it. :sohappy:
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The Bank is on Fire

Love the report! we were there the same time as you.. and did the drive from CT as well (Hebron)!! It was so busy, but we were happy to do basically everything we wanted as well!:wave:

Great trip report! Following along as well...

I stayed at CSR in 2010 and I thought the buses were great. We never had more than a 5-10 minute wait. And Pat is a champ for taking on TWO Lapu Lapu drinks.... Well done Sir.

Can't wait to see/read the rest. :wave:

Shaded Queue Lines are Really Nice

News flash, we did not go on ToT. That is my least favorite ride. Ever since I rode it back in ’03, I ride elevators with my knees bent to just be on the safe side if the elevator falls. Sigh. Don’t shun me! I go on everything else!

Pat and I wanted to do Backlot Tour. We got in the massive line, which was outside and snaking around. The sun was beating down and we felt like frying pans.. does anyone else feel like DHS is the most sunny park? AK is the hottest to me, while DHS is the most sunny. Hmm. Needless to say, we got out of line. Pat suggested we ride Star Tours. So, we jumped in line for that!

Now, I know so many kids who did not grow up on Star Wars have all of a sudden jumped on the bandwagon. But, I wore my Star Wars VHS tapes out from watching them so much when I was younger. The new Star Tours ride is awesome! Pat even agrees, and he has not seen a SW movie, EVER. It was so much fun!

Ok, readers.. you really need to prepare for what is next. When you see it, I think you will know why. But, honestly- just prepare yourselves for what you are going to see. It is almost hypnotizing in it’s own way..
I told Pat we had to make a stop at a certain place in DHS before we headed out.. Since it was his birthday.. WE WENT TO STARRING ROLLS.

I tried to prepare you for the RED VELVET CHEESECAKE CUPCAKE. A picture just does not do this cupcake justice. This was the first cupcake, ever, that I had to eat with a fork. Cake = moist. Buttercream = Savory. Cheesecake = tasty. The toffee crunch compliments the cake so well. Starring Rolls gets a 10/10!

On the way out, I picked up the following shirts from Mickey's of Hollywood:

After wearing the monorail shirt twice, the collar is starting to fall off. Has anyone else had this problem?

The manager at Mickey's actually made a funny joke when he gave me my change, which was a nickel. "Here's your nickel back. Hey, Nickelback. Nickelback! Are they still around? Hahahaha." Was literally what he said. Pat and I could not contain ourselves.

With our sweet tooth satisfied, we headed back to CSR for the afternoon swim and relaxation time.

Shout out to Jane from Minnesota if you are reading. We had a lovely time chatting with you!
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Great report, Liz!! You have some beautiful pictures!! Pat's birthday sounds excellent!

I can not believe you drove that far! Mercy!! It makes me tired just thinking about it. :lol:

I can't believe the kid was trying to do that. How I hate people that try to ruin the ride by taking pictures when they are not supposed to. Especially when they were told to put it away.

You are not the only one who doesn't ride ToT, my husband hates this ride. Its not my favorite I must say but will go on it if I have someone, but totally not that into. My husband says, finally someone that I agree with.

And yeah for him loving TSM..it has been way too long since we have been on it ourselves. Hoping that this next go around we will get to go.

AND OMG HOW AMAZING DOES THAT CHEESECAKE LOOK yes I said it. To bad I wouldn't be allowed to have it due to allergies, but it still looks good enough!

I am loving the report!

Unfortunately we have to leave after my husband gets home from work. I am going to stay home that day and try and nap during the day and take the first legs of the trip. We will see how it goes! On the way home, we are going to leave around 3 am.

Count me as another who doesn't care for TOT. I have done it twice because my husband loves it. The first time I was seated on the end next to the wall of the elevator which worked better for me than the second time when I was seated between my husband and another guy. As we fell, I meant to grab onto my husband and I accidently grabbed the other guy. Oops! :lookaroun Luckily, I quickly realized my mistake! :ROFLOL: Needless to say, I try to avoid riding!

That cupcake looks amazing! :slurp: I gotta try one of those! And the caramel apple margarita sounds yummy too!

Love your TR! Just started reading it so I'm all caught up!

Seeing that Disney sign makes me tear up every time! LOL. Your pictures are fantastic....makes me wish I were there right now.

I had that red velvet cupcake for the first time when we were there in Sept last year......it is sinfully good :slurp::slurp:

Can't wait to follow along as you continue sharing your adventures!

Do not go on TOT anymore... only rode it twice, first time was with the lap bars and we were in the front roll, and i was sat next to a rather large man. In the pik, my dad is holding on to me as the lap bar was no where near me and i was floating lol Second time i was with our family group and my dad was in the middle seat at the back, with the seat belt, in the pik you cant see his head lol, poor dad. Needless to say i do not want to experiance it again lol. It is a very well done ride just not for me lol :wave:

MagicKat103 said:

Love the report! we were there the same time as you.. and did the drive from CT as well (Hebron)!! It was so busy, but we were happy to do basically everything we wanted as well!:wave:

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Hey fellow Connecticutian! :wave:
How was the drive for you? We didn't find it too incredibly busy. Touring Plans really helps with wait times.. as long as you can get up early :ROFLOL:

harveyt0206 said:

Great trip report! Following along as well...

I stayed at CSR in 2010 and I thought the buses were great. We never had more than a 5-10 minute wait. And Pat is a champ for taking on TWO Lapu Lapu drinks.... Well done Sir.

Can't wait to see/read the rest. :wave:

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Thanks!
Pat has a much higher tolerance for alcohol than myself. It's easier for him to have 5 drinks, than me who feels it after 1!

Disneyfalcon said:

Great report, Liz!! You have some beautiful pictures!! Pat's birthday sounds excellent!

I can not believe you drove that far! Mercy!! It makes me tired just thinking about it. :lol:

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Thanks, Tammy! :wave:
The drive was not that bad.. it was not great on the way home. Had to do it and cross it off my bucket list. Sticking to flying from now on.

The red velvet cheesecake cupcake is on my list to try in 10 days!!!! And add the caramel apple margarita onto the list.... I just LOVE anything with tequila in it!!! lol

I'm in the same boat as Pat, I've never seen the Star Wars movies before but I loved the original Star Tours. Haven't been on it since the refurb though but I am looking forward to it.

Can;t wait to see how ya'll liked Kouzzina. It was a place we were eyeing to try but my sister and I are both really picky about our food and that place looked a bit adventurous for us!

foreverbelle said:

I can't believe the kid was trying to do that. How I hate people that try to ruin the ride by taking pictures when they are not supposed to. Especially when they were told to put it away.

You are not the only one who doesn't ride ToT, my husband hates this ride. Its not my favorite I must say but will go on it if I have someone, but totally not that into. My husband says, finally someone that I agree with.

And yeah for him loving TSM..it has been way too long since we have been on it ourselves. Hoping that this next go around we will get to go.

AND OMG HOW AMAZING DOES THAT CHEESECAKE LOOK yes I said it. To bad I wouldn't be allowed to have it due to allergies, but it still looks good enough!

I am loving the report!

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The kid was so annoying and he was being so sarcastic with the CM. Such a shame!

Good to know other people feel the same way about ToT :sohappy:

I hope, for your sake, that the TSMM line is not long and FP's aren't for an hour before park closing!

Maybe you can ask a chef to make you a special cupcake that caters to your allergy!

Kristia said:

Unfortunately we have to leave after my husband gets home from work. I am going to stay home that day and try and nap during the day and take the first legs of the trip. We will see how it goes! On the way home, we are going to leave around 3 am.

Count me as another who doesn't care for TOT. I have done it twice because my husband loves it. The first time I was seated on the end next to the wall of the elevator which worked better for me than the second time when I was seated between my husband and another guy. As we fell, I meant to grab onto my husband and I accidently grabbed the other guy. Oops! :lookaroun Luckily, I quickly realized my mistake! :ROFLOL: Needless to say, I try to avoid riding!

That cupcake looks amazing! :slurp: I gotta try one of those! And the caramel apple margarita sounds yummy too!

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Definitely stay home and nap before you leave!

OMG- that is too funny about grabbing the guy! What was his reaction? :ROFLOL:

The cupcake was delish.. so was the marg! Get both if you can.

tink65 said:

Love your TR! Just started reading it so I'm all caught up!

Seeing that Disney sign makes me tear up every time! LOL. Your pictures are fantastic....makes me wish I were there right now.

I had that red velvet cupcake for the first time when we were there in Sept last year......it is sinfully good :slurp::slurp:

Can't wait to follow along as you continue sharing your adventures!

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Thanks!!

I told Pat he had to drive as we entered the gates because I needed to take pictures of it!

On my next trip, I want to try the Butterfinger cupcake :slurp:

C.FERNIE said:

Do not go on TOT anymore... only rode it twice, first time was with the lap bars and we were in the front roll, and i was sat next to a rather large man. In the pik, my dad is holding on to me as the lap bar was no where near me and i was floating lol Second time i was with our family group and my dad was in the middle seat at the back, with the seat belt, in the pik you cant see his head lol, poor dad. Needless to say i do not want to experiance it again lol. It is a very well done ride just not for me lol :wave:

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When I rode it in '03, I squeezed my friends arm to death. Just look at it as another line you don't have to wait in :lol:

Great trip report so far! Your pictures are beautiful!!!!!