*** The Official August 2018 Thread*** - let's have some fun....

[DisneyObsessed87]

I want to start so bad. I do have my daughter's Disney shirts pulled out and went through all the toiletries. I was worried about emptying my kids clothing out -- but I could probably get away with it.

I just ordered a couple more shorts for me, so I have to wait for those to get delivered. LOL

We have enough clothes to get by, but I plan on doing laundry while we are down there. So that cuts down on how much we need. My DH just has to pack his clothes.

 

[DaniMoon]

I kind of hate spending that time on the road too, but with 5 of us, airfare from the metro NY area is like $3000 plus checked bags, and I hate that more than I hate spending the time driving lol.

For us, it is typically about 18 to 19 hours on the road, unless we get into serious traffic. It takes us about 20 minutes to get to the Palisades Parkway, then we go to 87, and over to 95 from there, and then straight down 95. Usually our first day driving is about 12 hours. We drive from the Mid Hudson Valley in NY to Manning SC, where we spend the night. That leaves us with a 6 hour drive the next day. The only places we ever really run into traffic are in NJ, right around DC, and then in the Northern part of VA. The rest of the drive is usually smooth sailing. We are past all of the areas where traffic is common on the first day. Our second day of driving is reliably 6 hours. We leave the hotel at just about 7 in the morning, and get into the Orlando / Disney area right around 1:00 in the afternoon.

If you use 95 through Virginia, I will say as soon as the EZPass express lane opens, get into it. If you opt not to use the EZPass express lane, then when you are nearing the point where that express lane merges back into the main lanes, get over to the right lane. The EZPass lanes merge in from the left, and often there is a backup at that merge point. When that happens, the left lanes go much slower than the right one, because all of the cars from the express lanes are merging into the left lane.

Beyond that, watch the speed, and enjoy the trip. I honestly don't mind the drive, and if my back isn't bothering me, it is pretty enjoyable.

Thanks. We do have EZPass, so that's a great tip. I guess we would need to figure out if leaving early one day or maybe after work. Definitely something to think about.

 

[rentayenta]

I got the majority of our packing done today with 13 days to go!

Jealous!

 

[DaniMoon]

We have enough clothes to get by, but I plan on doing laundry while we are down there. So that cuts down on how much we need. My DH just has to pack his clothes.

I could probably get away with emptying my son's clothes out, he seems to either be in his PJs or swimsuit most of the time these days. He has it rough.

 

[Mika02]

So great to hear reports from our August folks.
We fly out next Saturday, so this weekend will be all about laundry and packing.
It has been unusually boiling hot in my corner of the northeast; my electric meter is in overdrive with the AC blasting away.
Walked out of the grocery store today, and the heat/ humidity felt like the World Showcase at high noon; good training for Florida, I suppose.

I keep saying the same this crazy whether we have reminds me so much of Florida weather I feel like it's trip preparation lol.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We like to leave early when we can, and on occasion have been on the road as early as 4:00. Sadly, this year, the wife has to work the day we are leaving, so we don't get on the road until around 1:00 in the afternoon. I am HOPING we don't get mired in traffic along the way. Mid day in NJ shouldn't be too bad, but I am a bit concerned about where we will be during the evening rush. If I remember correctly, it is somewhere around 4 to 5 hours from here to DC, which would put us right in the middle of the evening rush hour when we hit the DC beltway, and the North part of Virginia, which means 95 will be a parking lot.

A couple of times we have made our overnight stop in Kingsland Georgia, but most of the time we stop in Manning SC.

Yes leaving at 1pm is tough - but you might end up missing all of the traffic. For us, from Brooklyn, we get to DC within 5 hours the most - only because Staten Island ALWAYS has traffic. When the kids were little we used to stop in SC - but now that they are older we go as far as we can without going through the night. I need that good night's sleep before getting to Disney. Enjoy the trip!

 

[Tomh]

Yes leaving at 1pm is tough - but you might end up missing all of the traffic. For us, from Brooklyn, we get to DC within 5 hours the most - only because Staten Island ALWAYS has traffic. When the kids were little we used to stop in SC - but now that they are older we go as far as we can without going through the night. I need that good night's sleep before getting to Disney. Enjoy the trip!

Thanks. We will have a great time, regardless of whether we get into traffic or not. If the traffic is really stop and go, my mother will take over driving, and I will nap until things clear up. If things keep moving, then I will drive all the way. No matter what happens with the traffic, we will be in Florida Friday afternoon

 

[DisneyObsessed87]

I keep saying the same this crazy whether we have reminds me so much of Florida weather I feel like it's trip preparation lol.

We have been saying the same thing! Our temps have been simular to Orlando. At least we will be use to the heat. Usually we go in the spring or winter, so even warm days seem HOT to us.

 

[Monykalyn]

24 minutes wait for BTMRR this am. Then a snack and country bear jamboree. Waited to catch up my dd and her friend. By then lines started getting longer so we just went over to Epcot. Lunch at Tokyo Dining (ADR made on way over-everything available except Via Napoli), even Le Cellier and Askurshus. Swapped ST FP for this afternoon for RnR (took a bit of doing).

How do I always forget how Hot summer is in Florida lol? Changed shirts to head out tonight

 

[luvmy2babies]

I didn't check in yesterday evening. I had some work to do. We spent yesterday finishing up our time at DHS. Unfortunately Alien Swirling Saucers was down so we never got to ride it. They said we could come back and use our fast passes any time or use them outside of Toy Story Land; but we had dinner reservations at Cape May and weren't planning on spending any time in the park afterwards.

We redid Star Tours and Toy Story Mania stand by My son had finally talked me into the Sorcerer Mickey hat he wanted last year; so of course we had to do the meet and greet with him and Minnie. Mickey's reaction when he saw my son's hat was so cute. My son was so excited. Minnie was adorable in her Hollywood outfit.

We haven't done any rope drop days. We got in around 11 and signed my son up for Jedi Training. He was in the 3:00 show. It was hot but really fun. He enjoyed it a lot. He was so serious when it was his turn. Darth Vadar said "The force is strong in you...but you are not a Jedi yet." He spent the rest of the day trying to get us to back up when he stuck his hands out.

We were going to Animal Kingdom today; but I could tell our feet needed a bit of a break. The weather looked amazing so we went to Blizzard Beach. Had a great time. We're in the room resting now; but in a bit ds and I will have our mother/son date. We are heading to Disney Springs to see Christopher Robin.

 

[rentayenta]

We have been saying the same thing! Our temps have been simular to Orlando. At least we will be use to the heat. Usually we go in the spring or winter, so even warm days seem HOT to us.

Same here. We are in Southern California and its been unseasonably warm here, humid too. Guess we will be all prepped.

 

[capegirl]

I figured I would answer you since we drive most of the time we go to Disney. We are in NYC and leave around 6am. We have 4 kids so our minivan is very packed. We try to stop every 250 to 300 miles (when we need gas) although when there is a bathroom need we stop sooner. We make meals to eat in the car going down to FL - since we are in a rush to get there. So breakfast sandwiches, either lunch or dinner and snacks. The last time we made salads with protein for everyone - to keep it light while driving. We always like to stop at South of the Border - to walk around and maybe get some food if needed. We usually stop for the night near the end of Georgia (anywhere from 10pm to midnight) - so the next day we have less than 3 hours to go. One time we made it all the way to Jacksonville - it depends on the traffic and the day we are leaving. My DH and I do all the driving but this year one of our DDs will also drive - that will make it much easier.

We really enjoy the car ride - the kids prefer it. We of course bring Disney Movies and music for the car ride.

I hope that helps.

We have bean driving to Disney for years. I am actually sad because we have to fly this year. We really enjoy our southern stops, and we will miss this. The worst of it is deciding what to pack. As it stands right now I am going to have to check some bags; it's not the clothes that is taking up luggage space, it's the shoes, and all the other stuff we can't seem to live without.

 

[Tulles]

Sitting at the Buffalo airport delayed. Flight was 6:50 then 7:25 now 7:55. Now we're landing after 10 so I took our ME tags off our bags before checking them. Not looking forward to retrieving them tonight. 2 rolling suitcases plus a duffle, a backpack a purse and a stroller with only one me. Tough road ahead.

 

[DisneyObsessed87]

I didn't check in yesterday evening. I had some work to do. We spent yesterday finishing up our time at DHS. Unfortunately Alien Swirling Saucers was down so we never got to ride it. They said we could come back and use our fast passes any time or use them outside of Toy Story Land; but we had dinner reservations at Cape May and weren't planning on spending any time in the park afterwards.

We redid Star Tours and Toy Story Mania stand by My son had finally talked me into the Sorcerer Mickey hat he wanted last year; so of course we had to do the meet and greet with him and Minnie. Mickey's reaction when he saw my son's hat was so cute. My son was so excited. Minnie was adorable in her Hollywood outfit.

We haven't done any rope drop days. We got in around 11 and signed my son up for Jedi Training. He was in the 3:00 show. It was hot but really fun. He enjoyed it a lot. He was so serious when it was his turn. Darth Vadar said "The force is strong in you...but you are not a Jedi yet." He spent the rest of the day trying to get us to back up when he stuck his hands out.

We were going to Animal Kingdom today; but I could tell our feet needed a bit of a break. The weather looked amazing so we went to Blizzard Beach. Had a great time. We're in the room resting now; but in a bit ds and I will have our mother/son date. We are heading to Disney Springs to see Christopher Robin.

Sounds like a pretty great day! Hope you enjoy Christopher Robin. It looks good.

Sitting at the Buffalo airport delayed. Flight was 6:50 then 7:25 now 7:55. Now we're landing after 10 so I took our ME tags off our bags before checking them. Not looking forward to retrieving them tonight. 2 rolling suitcases plus a duffle, a backpack a purse and a stroller with only one me. Tough road ahead.

Oh no. But at least you will be there soon. I hope the rest of your trip goes smoothly.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We have bean driving to Disney for years. I am actually sad because we have to fly this year. We really enjoy our southern stops, and we will miss this. The worst of it is deciding what to pack. As it stands right now I am going to have to check some bags; it's not the clothes that is taking up luggage space, it's the shoes, and all the other stuff we can't seem to live without.

I would have the same problem trying to stay under the 50lb limit. We love the travel time in the car but sometimes it is just easier to fly when you don't have much time. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Funfire240]

A great first day!! Arrived at Pop and then turned in our rental car that we had in the Keys. Their shuttle took us right to Disney Springs where we had dinner at T-Rex. Back now and resting up for tomorrow !!!

 

[luvmy2babies]

Christopher Robin was a wonderful movie and Disney Springs was great. Of course my son wanted to stop at the Lego store afterwards. It was a good time. And we made it back to the bus stop just as our resort bus pulled up. Score! And it was the "Ant-Man and Wasp" bus...meaning the side of the bus was the "Ant-Man and Wasp" logo. Going to sleep in a little bit tomorrow then head to the first of 2 days at Animal Kingdom.

 

[capegirl]

Sitting at the Buffalo airport delayed. Flight was 6:50 then 7:25 now 7:55. Now we're landing after 10 so I took our ME tags off our bags before checking them. Not looking forward to retrieving them tonight. 2 rolling suitcases plus a duffle, a backpack a purse and a stroller with only one me. Tough road ahead.

UGH! Hope you have a very happy Saturday to make up for this.

 

[Funfire240]

I thought someone here said they were recently at blizzard beach / how were the crowds ?

 

[Rach73]

Checking in to report we are having an awesome time. Went to DHS last night for EMH and waited in a 50 min line for SDD (we have a FP later this week). It was so worth it, so much fun! More intense than I had anticipated. I wanted to see TSL at night since out FP are all during the day. It's really adorable!
Our last two days we have not seen any rain, Thurs night it rained a tiny bit around 11:30 P.M. on our bus ride home. The heat is rough but mid day breaks are a must for us no matter what time of year we visit. The crowds have been very manageable which makes the heat easier to me. Heading out to DHS in a bit and then we have a reservation at Teppan Edo tonight. The AKL is truly a magical place. We are in room 3324 a standard view room. I requested a partial Savannah View and our view is amazing. It's hard to leave the room with giraffes and zebras outside your balcony. Hope everyone's trips/planning is going well. We have 3 more wonderful Disney days left!