Trip Report **Completed** Leave for Disney World on Friday The 13th They Said. It'll Be Fun They Said. A July 2018 Trip Report.

Hello Disney Friends. Welcome to my long overdue trip report!

My daughter @TheMARVELousAllieBrown posted a pre-trip report for this trip.

Here's whatcha need to know:
Who: DD Allie @TheMARVELousAllieBrown, Me Lisa @LisaBelle , DH Paul, my sister Tina @TangledTina, my BIL Mark, my nephew Spence and DS Adam

When: Friday, July 13 -Sunday, July 22, 2018
Where: The Contemporary Resort Garden Wing
Why: Ten Year Anniversary of our last whole family vacation, Allie's high school graduation and Paul & Lisa's 29th anniversary. In the pre-trip we dubbed it our Vacaygraduversary Trip!
How: Road Trip!
I created treat bags for every state that we would drive through. The idea being that as we crossed the state line we would open the bag and enjoy a treat that is representative of that state. For Ohio, naturally I chose Buckeyes candy.

For Kentucky I chose Ale 8 soda. Bourbon would have been the obvious choice, but since not everyone was of legal drinking age I had to go with a soft drink.

For Tennessee it was Goo Goo Clusters

Georgia was Peanut M & Ms

And Florida would be orange juice from the Florida Welcome Center.
Because we were driving, I placed the small bags inside of an insulated cooler bag to keep the chocolate from melting. I made one bag for our car and one bag for Tina's.

Day 1 Friday, July 13, 2018
Tina and her family live about an hour north of us. They planned to leave home around 7, drive toward Cincy and meet us at the Chick-fil-A at our exit around 8. We were hoping to have breakfast and be on the road by 9. We would spend the night in Valdosta, Georgia and arrive at Disney around check in time on Saturday. Sounds like a great plan, right?
Tina has a tendency to run late, so when she hadn't texted by 7:15 to say that they were on the road, I wasn't too concerned. When I still hadn't heard from her by 7:30 I texted to see how things were coming. Instead of a text, I get a call saying, "Maybe you guys should just leave without us." What????!!!!!! And there goes the plan!
Because there was a medical situation they would be taking a short trip to the hospital before they could leave for the trip to Disney. We decided we would wait it out for a bit so when we left they would not be too far behind us. With bellies full of Chick-fil-A, we were finally on the road at about 12 (about 3 hours behind schedule so not too bad). A bumpy start but glad to finally be en route to the happiest place on earth. We crossed the border into Kentucky about 15 minutes later. We opened our first treat and continued on our way. We had just passed Lexington, KY when Tina called to say that they were on their way! We figured that we should be able to meet up somewhere down the road.
We stopped for an early dinner at a Subway in Knoxville, TN. Back in the car to continue our journey, we decided to enjoy our Goo Goo Clusters for dessert. We noticed the car was not getting cooler. We turned the a/c off and back on again. No cool air. We pulled into a parking lot, turned the car off and back on again. Still no cool air. By now the Goo Goo Clusters and M& Ms are starting to melt and it is approaching 5pm on a Friday night. Adam and Allie researched nearby Firestone Auto Repair shops. The closest one said their a/c charger was not charging. We found another one about 15 minutes away. It was July in Tennessee. It was a lovely sunny day and the temperature was well into the nineties! We were melting by the time we arrived at Firestone.

We arrived hopeful and left with our spirits dashed as the problem was not something they could fix and it would have to be repaired at the dealership. On the road again, we were looking forward to nightfall and hopefully cooler temps. We were forced to ride in style with our windows down to avoid heatstroke. This prevented us from hearing the dialogue from our dvd player. To keep up morale Allie had the aux and we jammed out. We were headed further south and although our spirits were high, the temperature was higher. Our unsuccessful Firestone detour allowed Tina's family to close the gap a bit. By now we were only about an hour ahead of them. Fast forward an hour and Tina's a/c also went out as they drove through Knoxville. Lucky for them, their's was an easy fix and Mark was able to re-charge their a/c. Just before sundown we stopped for gas. At this point we decided it was vital to document our misery. Please enjoy this photo at a gas station somewhere between Knoxville and Atlanta.

Paul and Adam smiling through the pain. So proud of our little troopers!
We forged on and eventually were able to meet up with Tina's crew at a truck stop with a Wendy's around 11pm.

We rallied after our Wendy's pit stop (which was the longest wait at Wendy's on record) and finally made it to our hotel in Valdosta at 3am. Let me say that a shower and air conditioning have never felt so good!
Due to our late arrival we decided to sleep in a bit and would check out at 11 and grab lunch before hitting the road.

 

[LisaBelle]

I NEED THAT SHIRT!! Actually, I can't believe I don't own one yet. I need to remedy that!

All your pictures are fantastic!

Glad you like the shirt. I figured you probably owned it already and almost didn't include it.
Thanks, the pictures were a group effort!

Well, I do remember that in the movie, but I guess maybe it's just because it's obviously only one person, so it looks like Happy has no torso, just legs and a head. So it actually looks like Dopey, with Happy's head in his stomach. Just not quite pulling it off.

It does look a bit odd.

 

[LisaBelle]

It's from the movie. Dopey was on Sneezy's shoulders wearing the coat to cover them so that Snow White could dance with a prince her size.

That makes sense. I knew there had to be a reason.

I was thinking the same thing!!

 

[LisaBelle]

Day 10 continued

On the way back to our garden wing room I took these outdoor pics.











One last picture of a Disney boat floating by our room.



My crew was heading home to Cincinnati. Tina and her crew were visiting some of Mark's family in Florida before heading back to Ohio. We said our goodbyes and headed out to the car.

I spied the monorail coming to say goodbye to us.





Up next: Hitting the road

 

[LisaBelle]

Day 10 continued

Adam took the wheel for the first leg of the trip home. We were planning to do the trip in one day and no one was really looking forward to it. We were crossing our fingers that our air conditioner would keep us cool all the way home.



Goodbye Contemporary and Disney !!



For some reason I was trying to take a selfie. I am not the best selfie-taker and Allie began to take selfies of her making fun of me taking selfies ! The girl keeps us entertained.







We drove until the wee hours of the morning and safely made it home. Thankfully, the air conditioner kept us nice and cool all the way home!

Final Thoughts:
Driving through Tennessee, Georgia and Florida in July without air conditoning is no fun and makes for cranky people! That being said, we came together and made the best of a bad situation. It will definitely be an element of this vacation that we will never forget.

Contemporary:
We loved being within walking distance of the MK. It was a blast to see Space Mountain and walk under the monorail tracks on our short walk into the park.

Rooms-I am not typically a fan of contemporary decor, but I really liked the rooms at the Contemporary. We could have used a bit more room for our suitcases, but overall we had enough space. The beds and pillows were very comfortable.

Bathroom- I like it better when the sinks are outside the bathroom like they are at the Wilderness Lodge. There is not much counter space in the bathroom. The sinks look really cool, but they don't rinse out well.

Room location-Our rooms were the furthest from the main building of the Contemporary. This made for longer walks everywhere. We didn't utilize Contempo Cafe as much as we would have had it been a shorter walk. We weren't on the dining plan, but purchased the mugs because we typically refill them several times a day. I don't think we got our money's worth this time. Staying in the Garden Wing was less expensive and we had a beautiful view. It was definitely worth it to be able to stay in a monorail resort. That said, I would probably not stay in the Garden Wing again.

Contempo Cafe-We didn't eat much, but what we did eat was good.

Shopping-Loved Bay View Gifts and Fantasia in the Contemporary.

Pool-Water was too warm and the theming was meh.

Happily Ever After vs. Wishes- This was our first time to see HEA. I intentionally avoided watching anything about HEA before our trip because I wanted to see it in person before declaring a favorite. My verdict: I missed Wishes. We didn't stake out a good view of the projections in advance of the show. I am barely 5 feet tall, so I could only see the projections at the very top of the castle. I enjoyed the music, but I didn't get the same emotional reaction that I always had from Wishes. After we returned home I watched HEA on YouTube. I liked HEA so much more when I could actually see the projections! My opinion changed a bit. I still have a stronger emotional connection to Wishes, but as a whole, I think HEA is a better show, BUT only when you can see the projections along with the fireworks.

Toy Story Land-Really enjoyed Slinky Dog Dash. Alien Saucers were fun. The theming is fantastic and I loved the playful vibe. I DID NOT enjoy the lack of shade and/or air conditioning. Woody's Lunch Box had some great food, but it was difficult to find a seat and with the lack of shade it would have been very warm if we were eating there during the heat of the day.

Magic Meet Ups-It was great to meet @Doc Disney, @MorganInWonderland and @blgauger. I hope to meet some other forum members on future trips.

Traveling with a group is always a challenge. Overall we got along well and we accomplished most of the things we wanted to see and do. Tina felt like she missed out on some fun by leaving MK early on our last night. The up side of that was that she decided she wanted to spend her 50th birthday at Disney! We just got back from our sister's only 50th birthday trip! My pictures are edited and ready to upload. I hope to start the TR this week.

When will we be back? As I said, Tina and I just got back from her birthday trip. Allie wants to spend her 21st birthday at Disney. That is 2 years away and it will probably be a girl's trip. Not sure when our family of 4 or Tina's family of 3 will make it back. Allie would love to do the DCP, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that that happens. If she does DCP I can see us making several trips.

Thanks for following along and sharing the fun.

 

[Swissmiss]

I really loved your TR. Thanks!

 

[krisri18]

Perfect timing! You finished this report just in time to start the next! Thanks for sharing with all of us!

 

[Rista1313]

Thanks for the great TR! SO glad your air was fixed for the trip home!

 

[Tuvalu]

Great read @LisaBelle! Can’t wait to follow along on the sister bday celebration!

 

[bee]

I loved your report! I'm glad you had such a great time despite a few mishaps. Starting your sister TR now!

 

[riverside]

Great TR!! Looking forward to reading your next one!!

 

[fractal]

Great report! Looks like you handled the group well and made some new family memories!

 

[LisaBelle]

I really loved your TR. Thanks!

Glad you were able to follow along with us.

Perfect timing! You finished this report just in time to start the next! Thanks for sharing with all of us!

Thanks! I was hoping to finish this one before we left, but didn't quite manage that. Luckily I am on summer break so it shouldn't take me 11 months to finish the sister's TR!

Thanks for the great TR! SO glad your air was fixed for the trip home!

Thanks for reading. We were very relieved to have air on the way home. Fun fact, just before Tina and I left on our sister's trip the air in the van went out again! Luckily, we were flying to Disney but have a road trip planned with Tina's family in July. This time it was the really expensive a/c part in conjunction with a few other high cost parts, so we are currently shopping for a new van. The current van is 10.5 years old and has almost 200,000 miles on it so it served us well. Sad to see it go, but on to new memories!

Great read @LisaBelle! Can’t wait to follow along on the sister bday celebration!

Thanks @Tuvalu! I am uploading my pics and finalizing Photopass pics today. Tina is working on her pics so I can put it all together in the TR. We had so much fun!

I loved your report! I'm glad you had such a great time despite a few mishaps. Starting your sister TR now!

Thanks @bee! Glad to have you following along.

 

[LisaBelle]

Great TR!! Looking forward to reading your next one!!

Thanks @riverside! We had a great time! Looking forward to sharing it with everyone.

Great report! Looks like you handled the group well and made some new family memories!

Thanks @fractal! It was lots of fun! Touring in a group has it's challenges, but it also created elements of fun that don't arise with a smaller group.

 

[Rista1313]

Fun fact, just before Tina and I left on our sister's trip the air in the van went out again! Luckily, we were flying to Disney but have a road trip planned with Tina's family in July. This time it was the really expensive a/c part in conjunction with a few other high cost parts, so we are currently shopping for a new van. The current van is 10.5 years old and has almost 200,000 miles on it so it served us well. Sad to see it go, but on to new memories!

Oh no! RIP van... out with the old, and in with the new!

 

[Laura Loves Tigger]

Enjoyed reading your report! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[LisaBelle]

Oh no! RIP van... out with the old, and in with the new!

Enjoyed reading your report! Thanks for sharing!!

Thanks for following. Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Swissmiss]

My car is as old as yours and has less than 42’000 miles on it!

 

[blreinsel]

Somehow I managed to miss several pages of your report, but I’m all caught up now! It was so great getting to meet you and I agree.. I could have stood and talked for much longer! Next time.

I hope you had an amazing year in 1st grade and are enjoying a relaxing, rejuvenating summer! Are you staying in 1st next year?

 

[LisaBelle]

My car is as old as yours and has less than 42’000 miles on it!

That's funny! I do a lot of driving to and from school. Add in 10 years of kid activities; guitar lessons, softball, gymnastics, school volleyball and club volleyball along with 4 round trip drives from Ohio to Florida and the miles add up fast.

Somehow I managed to miss several pages of your report, but I’m all caught up now! It was so great getting to meet you and I agree.. I could have stood and talked for much longer! Next time.

I hope you had an amazing year in 1st grade and are enjoying a relaxing, rejuvenating summer! Are you staying in 1st next year?

It was a rough school year. My team was great, but there were sooooo many other issues. Almost one third of our staff is leaving, including half of my team . I am staying in first. I also joined the leadership team this year, which means more responsibility, but hopefully we can make some much-needed changes. Needless to say, I was very excited for the end of the year, especially since Tina's birthday trip began just 4 days later !
I know the wedding is coming up very soon. Hope your day goes just the way you want it to! Wishing you and Dylan many years of happiness. Hoping you will be posting lots of wedding pics! You guys are doing a Disney cruise for your honeymoon, right? Can't wait to read all about that, too!

 

[blreinsel]

It was a rough school year. My team was great, but there were sooooo many other issues. Almost one third of our staff is leaving, including half of my team . I am staying in first. I also joined the leadership team this year, which means more responsibility, but hopefully we can make some much-needed changes. Needless to say, I was very excited for the end of the year, especially since Tina's birthday trip began just 4 days later !
I know the wedding is coming up very soon. Hope your day goes just the way you want it to! Wishing you and Dylan many years of happiness. Hoping you will be posting lots of wedding pics! You guys are doing a Disney cruise for your honeymoon, right? Can't wait to read all about that, too!

Yikes! We had some issues this year too and our school always has a chunk of the staff leave at the end of the year. My team is fantastic (one that is often asked to mentor other teams, not to toot our own horns ), but they’ve decided to spread that wealth to other teams and split us up for next year. As bummed as I am, that has pushed me into more of a leadership role as well, so I’m super excited for that!

Thank you for the well wishes! Less than 2 weeks away! I can’t believe that it’s almost here. There will be lots of pictures to share. And yes, we sail in July! So many exciting things to look forward to!