Anyone ever fly to Orlando just to go to Disney for a day?

[Arecheri]

I actually just got back from a weekend trip such as that one. I left from New Orleans 6/4 friday @ 5:30 pm, arrived at POP @4am Sat morning, due to traffic. I woke up @9am went to HS for Star Wars weekends, DD for dinner @Portobello and MK for the MSEP. Went to sleep @midnight. Woke up Sunday @7 went to EPCOT rode a few things went to DD for lunch and shopping. Left @ 3pm central arrived home @12:15am. It was a very relaxing and fun trip.

 

[bgraham34]

While I did not fly I did drive. I had to drive a trailer for a company i was working for at the time to cocoa beach. I left around 6pm from NJ and said if i could make it to Disney my noon then I would spend the day there, which I did. I actually got to the Studios at 12:03.This was back in 99. I chose Studios because it was my favorite park at the time and since it was 6 years since my previous trip I thought it would still be. That is the trip when I realized MK was my favorite park.

 

[Fantasmic]

Sigh... I wish I could

 

[Tigger#1]

This all reminds me of the story my dad told me about a him and several friends leaving school on Friday and taking turns driving to the beach in Florida for the weekend and getting back just in time for class on Monday.
This was in the late 50s so that was a hard trip.

 

[mightynine]

Visiting a friend in Atlanta this past April, who really wanted to go to Epcot, and knew I'd be the only one who would probably not think his idea was crazy.

So we went to the Braves game Thursday night, hit the interstate right from Turner Field, drove through the night, stopped for a two-hour nap and shower right over the Florida/Georgia state line, got back on the road, made it to the Downtown Disney Best Western and hit the Epcot bus to make it shortly after opening. Spent all day Friday in the park, drove back to Atlanta the next day.

Oh, and this was after I had just visited WDW with my mom in January.

Only thing kind of weird was not being able to visit any of the other parks. Made that monorail loop from Epcot to MK kinda hard. To see the entrance of Main Street and not go in just felt so wrong.

 

[WDW Monorail]

2 out of my last 3 trips to Florida were 2 day events. Last June, I flew down the night before a scheduled shuttle launch. It was scrubbed indefinetly early the next morning but my father and I still drove to the cape to scout a viewing location for our next trip. The following day was spent mostly in EPCOT, followed by a 6:30 AM flight the next morning back home.

In August, we drove from New York to Orlando in 1.5 days, check in to the hotel, then drove to the cape and camped out for 7 hours until the launch was scrubbed again and didn't get back to Orlando till 4:30 AM. We spent part of the next day resort hoping in WDW with plans to head back to the cape until I got word the launch was scrubbed once again. After that, my father wanted to leave right then and there but I convinced him to head to EPCOT the next day, which we did.
Then it was back in the car driving 17 hours in one day. Made it back to NY just after midnight, 4 days after we left.

 

[slappy magoo]

The cost involved in getting there would be prohibitive for me. Rather save that money for a larger trip.

However, if I had to be in the area anyway for some reason, and I could swing staying an extra day (or had time in my travels to take an afternoon and evening to go), I would. 2 years ago, I had to travel to Cali for work. It was only going to be a brief trip - arrived late Wednesday morning, had a brief meeting, the late afternoon and evening were free, we'd work all day Thursday and then I was going to catch a red-eye home. Despite the jet-lag, and all common sense, we both decided to go to Disneyland after our meeting. The only thing that prevented us was an accident and other rush-hour related traffic. We started off only 30 miles away, but an hour and a half later, we drove 2 and a half miles, a shorter distance than we could've walked, so the plan was scrapped. Bummer.

 

[gbruenin]

It wasn't actually a full day, just dinner. I flew in the evening before for a business meeting in the region, and was to fly back the next day but weather delayed everything so much I would never make my connection to get back home. Ran downstairs at MCO to rent a cheap car, have Disney Dining phone number on speed dial of my cell (yep, addiction is a curse), found seating for 1 to be no problem at California Grill. Had dinner, went out on the observation deck with my drink to watch Wishes, went over to DTD for dessert. Flew out the next morning and was home by lunch. It was cool.

Gary

 

[Monty]

Booked on a whim...

I tried to register for the D23 1st Anniversary party in March. I booked the airfare and one night at GF, then missed the window for the tickets to the party...

Fortunately, it worked out because a great friend on these boards had very kindly bought an extra ticket for someone else on these boards who it turned out had bought his own. That fortuitous bit of miscommunication meant there was a ticket available for me!

It was a great trip, a wonderful party and a lovely hotel... But the most expensive 'whim' I've had in a few years [there have been others though ]

EDIT: Oh, and managed to book lunch at Le Cellier the next day before leaving!

 

[Texas84]

I will occasionally do a 3-day weekend. 6-hour drive down Friday afternoon, do half a day Monday, then 6-hour drive home. It's never enough.

 

[Phonedave]

It wasn't actually a full day, just dinner. I flew in the evening before for a business meeting in the region, and was to fly back the next day but weather delayed everything so much I would never make my connection to get back home. Ran downstairs at MCO to rent a cheap car, have Disney Dining phone number on speed dial of my cell (yep, addiction is a curse), found seating for 1 to be no problem at California Grill. Had dinner, went out on the observation deck with my drink to watch Wishes, went over to DTD for dessert. Flew out the next morning and was home by lunch. It was cool.

Gary

I had to explain that on a expense report once. I was in the area on business and we get meals paid for. I popped over to Epcot and ate at Chef's de France.

It IS a restaurant, it just happens to be in a theme park.

-dave

 

[Mickey_777]

I've thought about this many times especially for 3 days weekends since I get all government holidays off...great thread and great stories.

 

[Tiggerish]

I would absolutely do it if I could either:
(a) convince my spontaneity-allergic husband to accompany me, or
(b) muster up the lack of consideration necessary to ditch him and go alone.

Especially when I get those "last-minute weekend travel specials" from Delta showing LGA-MCO for $89!

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Now that I am out of school and have a little more disposable income, I went to Food and Wine for the first time. I left Friday night after work (from NJ) and got to Orlando around 11pm. Spent all day Saturday in the parks and half of the day on sunday. Flew back sunday night and was back in the office monday morning. While it was a better weekend that spending it in the NJ area, it definitely was a little too short for my liking. I would take it over a normal weekend anytime, but for my Food and Wine trip this year I plan on taking an extended weekend (Thur morning-Sun Eve).

 

[Buried20KLeague]

The wife and I flew out for the day to LA to attend the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 World Premier at Disneyland... We got there the night before, fairly late, then spent the morning at the park before going to the hotel to change and get ready... Then we walked the red carpet, ate dinner with everyone from the movie, watched the move (I was sitting next to Apollo Ono), and stayed afterward for the after-party, where my wife and I stood in the stretching room of the Haunted Mansion alone with John Lasseter and his family, before we rode in the doombuggy next to him.

We flew back home the next morning.

Surreal experience... Here's the view of the red carpet right before we walked it...