Is Getting There Half The Fun?

[Mybails]

The drive is always part of the experience for us. It's over 3000 miles to get there. We will be leaving Friday and will arrive in Orlando on Sunday. Last night we finished the last of the family t-shirts, tonight will be the printing of the maps and getting all the paperwork together, tomorrow is deciding on the movies to take on the trip, Wednesday is the final laundry and packing and Thursday is load the vehicles and go to bed early. Friday at 5:00 AM - it's up and on the road by 7:00. By Saturday morning, we should be in Nashville for a few hours of siteseeing and Saturday night we'll stop in Georgia. Sunday the gang will be hyped up to get there and get to bed so they can be up early to have breakfast with the Pooh Gang. All the way, will be Disney music, movies and coloring books. And sights that a large part of the group have never seen. ONLY 4 MORE SLEEPS !!!!!!!

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

 

[Disneykidder]

I love the anticipation of it all. The bags being 2 weeks early. Then seing the bags at the door the day before, driving to the airport (which somehow always seems like hours). I hate waiting at the airport, though. We get antsy. I love the plane ride....checking my reservations, watching TV and relaxing or napping. Then the FL hot air hits while walking down the corridor to the airport. Seeing the DME hand is the greatest. We get so excited!!!! My DH and DS always sleep on the DME bus and I just look at the beautiful trees, houses and scenery.

Ahhh....only 40 more days to wait!!!!

 

[WhatJaneSays]

We're so lucky to have such a short dirve. I couldn't deal with having to get on a plane to see my Duck.

If it's just the adults it's a fun trip. I put the parades and fireworks playlist on my Zune and the gals break out the Disney trivia cards. The trip really feels like we were only on the road 15 minutes (if it wern't for the gas we'ed be up there every other weekend).

 

[dandaman]

We used to drive down to Florida all the time... I'd occupy my young self for the full 24 hours by reading the Triptik and calling out where we were on the highway every bloody minute. :lol: Nowadays due to my dad's back problems, we fly down... though so far for our August trip, 3 different airlines have rerouted/cancelled on us. That wouldn't exactly qualify as the "half the fun", but the journey itself usually is for me.

(Now that I think about it, the vacation's fun factor divides into 1/2 Disney, 1/4 journey, 1/4 severe weather. )

 

[adambrady]

Absolutely

I absolutlely think it is part of the fun. While I fly all the time for work, it is very different when I get to take my wife and boys to WDW or DL. Even though there are generally some delays with air travel or hiccups along the way, we don't have a direct flight from Nebraska, it makes it a lot more fun just knowing where we are headed. I just know when I park the car at the airport that my worry level can drop to a minimal level as the good people at Disney always take care of everything.

 

[cblodg]

I know my vacation has started the second that I hit that humidity in the exit ramp of the plane at Orlando International.

Same here!

 

[tink68]

I enjoy the planning part and being there but the getting there is a big NO. I am not a big flyer (I married a pilot of all things :lol but I do it because I love going to DW. Once I land at MCO I am good. :sohappy:
Sheri

 

[Yankeeplex]

we only have a 2.5 hour drive, so the trip is pretty short. But when we hit the big WDW signs off of Osceola Parkway, my wife and I give each other a quick glance that says "We are home again". Oh and thank the inventor of the Honda Odyssey with the built in DVD...the greatest invention for a family with 2 kids under the age of 5.

 

[happymom52003]

I enjoy the planning part and being there but the getting there is a big NO. I am not a big flyer (I married a pilot of all things :lol but I do it because I love going to DW. Once I land at MCO I am good. :sohappy:
Sheri

Same here. I have such an intense fear of flying that I am miserable and sick until the plane touches down in Orlando. I'm good after that! It does not matter how tired we are or how cranky and hungry the kids are after our flight....I am soooooo relieved to be on ground again that I am as happy as could be. That is when the fun finally begins for me.

 

[tink68]

Same here. I have such an intense fear of flying that I am miserable and sick until the plane touches down in Orlando. I'm good after that! It does not matter how tired we are or how cranky and hungry the kids are after our flight....I am soooooo relieved to be on ground again that I am as happy as could be. That is when the fun finally begins for me.

:ROFLOL:Ok you sound alot like me. I have gotten better over the years but still a nervous wreck until we land.

 

[Disneykidder]

At least you guys get on the plane with your fear!!!! That is big!! My mother...who traveled to countries all over the world when she was young...will not fly. She drove to FL once with my dad for my brothers wedding and that is it. My son keeps asking her to fly with us to FL but she won't do it.

So, it's a good thing that you guys fly with your fear!!:sohappy:

 

[FamilyMagic]

I agree it is part of the FUN!
Meeting family members at the airport... waiting to get on the plane.... then finally taking off and heading for Disney!!!!! My family has the best time on the airplane.. singing, talking about Disney, and anticipating our arrival!
I have to say the night before I leave is also great too. Just knowing that I'm leaving to see Mickey tomorrow keeps me up most of the night! I can't wait till my next trip! :wave:

 

[DisneyGigi]

The planning & trip down are alot of the fun for me because as much fun as you have while you are there when it is over it is over! Such a bummer when you get home and your countdown has started all over again! :ROFLOL:

It takes us about 9 hours to get there and we like to arrive early so the few days ahead we get everything packed in the car. The day before we leave we all try to go to bed really early, get up and are on the road around 3:00 am. With each state line that we pass we get more excited. Love the Welcome to Florida and the the ultimate is the Welcome to WDW sign. :sohappy:

 

[Chernabogfan]

I suppose just getting going is exciting, but that doesn't last as we leave at about 4:30 AM. 22 total hours. 16 hours on day one from Grand Rapids MI to Macon, GA. The kids watch movies with their own headphones(thank God) and the wife & I do a book on tape, which really helps pass the time. 6 hrs from Macon to Orlando, and that's where the excitement really starts. This past Jan, it was kind of amazing, the temperature switched from a chilly 40's to a steamy 70's within a couple of mile of the Florida border. Our car windows actually fogged up, it happened so quickly. Of course, immediately after you cross the border, the discount ticket offers at fruit & nut stands start showing up and then as you get closer, the big billboards make their first appearances. At this point, the kids start jumping out of their skins. The anticipation is really amazing. The eagerness of the kids only amps up your own excitement. As many times as I've been, at as many ages, the most fun has been as a father, hands down.

The drive home, of course, could easily be classified as one of the biggest bummers of all time. But as someone wisely once said, "The only way to get over the end of a Disney vacation, is to start planning the next one."

Sage advice.

 

[DHStutzman]

I love the trip there more than anything. hoping on the plane. listening to my iPod (gnarls barkley is my tradition going down to florida, hit the lights on the way home...OCD I know), reading a mens health. Checking In...I Love It All

 

[Tinkerbella16]

Whether you fly or drive, Is the journey to WDW part of the fun for you?

These are my key moments:

At the airport terminal, waiting for the flight to board, surrounded by people who are also going to WDW.

Walking into Orlando airport. This is when the anticipation really kicks in.

Watching the previews on the monitors on the Magical Express bus.

Walking up to the hotel registration counter and saying those two special words....Checking In!

Everything mentioned above is the same way for us. Even counting down the days until our trip makes it more fun. I really do get the same feeling every year when we go to wdw. We go in november, so its really cold here in NJ...just feels good putting on shorts because we know in a few hours we will be in wdw. I love it!

Its always great and exciting the first day getting there...But the last day is the complete opposite for us. It is just so depressing and I wanna cry.

 

[fauna]

I love the planning part (in fact, I'll even plan friend's trips whether they want me to or not.) And I love getting on the DME - the anticipation is at peak, heart-pounding levels. But, the airport and flight - not so much. My son is not a good flier, he get antsy and anxious.

Although, if fares keep going up we might have to start driving. At which point I will surely miss that airport and 2 hour flight.

 

[sarabi]

Well, it's mixed for me. We fly there and I am incredibly afraid of flying, so I sort of hate that part.
In general, we don't sleep well the night before. Partly excited, and partly scared of the upcoming flight for me. We leave before dawn. We always listen to Paul Simon in the car on the way there. I think we did this our first trip and now the music makes us think of going to Disneyworld, so we always do it now.
I'm generally not happy until we've landed in Orlando. I am downright giddy by the time we're on the tram to Terminal B (or whatever) to get the luggage. By the time we're on Magical Express, I am really having fun.

 

[DisneyFan74]

Purple Signs

I have been with my fiance for over three years. We have gone to WDW six times already. I even proposed to her in Cinderella's castle. However great those memories are, driving those 3 hours and seeing the purple signs will always be the memory I cherish. My fiance will look at me and say do we have purple signs yet? Its magical.

 

[WildLodgeFan]

What I do is make a cd with Walt Disney World music and we will drive from Springfield, Missouri all the way to Orlando listening to that cd. It gets everybody pumped. I have been there 14 times at 16 years old.

Howdy to a fellow Missourian! You are braver than I am to drive there - driving through Springfield to Arkansas for about a 6 hour drive about zap's me out. I'm spoiled to the speed of flying, though I agree, the hassle these days in the flying process doesn't make it as attractive as it once did.

I wouldn't say the traveling is half the fun - maybe 10% - I enjoy the anticipation of the night before when you hardly sleep and the experience of boarding the plane and knowing you will soon be there, but hey, if I could tap the heels or take the transporter, or better yet hop the national monorail line p), I would!