Goin' To Carolina … An August 2016 Trip to Hilton Head Island...

[buzzrelly]

Hi All! We just got back from a fantastic trip to South Carolina, visiting Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort! This was our first trip to DHHIR…and actually, was our first trip ever to South Carolina, so we didn't know what to expect, but we all LOVED it and would definitely go again!

Traveling on this little trip was me…

This pic was from a cruise this past April on the Dream. I am a HUGE Disney fan and a DVC member and my FAVORITE place to visit is WDW! I LOVE the parks and would go twice a year if I had enough points…maybe someday!

New to my trip reports is DH…

He is NOT a Disney fan… CRAZY! But as long as there's a breath in my body, I will keep working on him That's why you've never seen him before though. I usually travel with my DM because she is just as big of a fan as I am

Anyway, DH loves Cape Cod and the beach, but last time we took the kids to the Cape, it was kind of a bust. The kids were bored and spent more time on the iPhones/ipads than they did at home I REFUSED to do THAT again and the idea of DHHIR came up. I kind of thought it was a good compromise…he gets the beach and relaxing and I get a little bit of Disney

Also along for this trip were these three goofballs…


DS 14 (Will be 15 in 11 days), DD 12 (almost 13), and DSS 10. If you have read my other trip reports, you know DD and DS, and you know they are HUGE Disney fans like me.

DSS is VERY much like his dad and we took him to WDW one time and he didn't like it. Hard for me to even imagine, but okay…that's why I usually just travel with DM, DS and DD…my Disney Squad. DSS DOES like swimming though and we were hoping that he would enjoy himself here. You'll just have to wait and see

When we booked this trip last year, I told DH that we could drive down from CT…that's another reason I guess he doesn't like going to WDW…he doesn't fly. I HATE driving but if I ever want to go on vacation with DH, I have to compromise on this.

My Map app said the drive would take about 14 hours…


I cannot TELL you how WRONG that was! We clearly underestimated the drive…I'll get into more about that later, but it took us a total of about 20 hours

Our plan was to leave early, drive most of the day on August 8th and then get up and drive to the resort on August 9th to check in and have the whole day to spend there.

We packed the car the night before and were all pretty much settled in and ready to go by 4:15am…

Lord…we have a LOT of STUFF! We actually have a Thule that we were planning to put on the roof, but we haven't used it since we got the minivan last year, and when DH went to put it on top of the car, the holes didn't line up with the roof rails. We have yet to figure this out…I think we might have to drill some extra holes or go back to Honda and see of they can move the rails. No matter…at this point it was too late for any of that and we ended up cramming most of what we wanted in the van, though it was a little cramped, as you can see




DS looks absolutely miserable back there, and that's because he was. He woke up the day before with a weird rash all over and I brought him to the doctor (why do I ALWAYS end up at the doctor the day before vacation!!?). She told me he just had a virus and it will go away on it's own…poor kid. He was really itchy and miserable though, and I ended up giving him some Benadryl for the ride down. It totally knocked him out, and for much of the trip, he was like this…

Which would have been GREAT, except he was also super thirsty and would wake up to chug some water and then wake up to have to stop at the rest area every hour! This is PART of why it took us SOOOOOOOO long to get there

Anyway, that's it for the introductions…up next, the table of contents (how exciting!) and then the Road Trip!

If you've read this far, thanks for joining and feel free to say a quick hello!!

 

[buzzrelly]

Reserved for the Table of Contents...

 

[buzzrelly]

AUGUST 8, 2016: YA, THERE'S A LONG ROAD BEFORE US, A HARD ROAD INDEED



6:18 am...So, we were on our way…everyone (except DS) was feeling pretty good and optimistic about the drive. So far, so good This was our first stop for a bathroom break, and I said, "wouldn't it be fun to take a pic at every rest stop?" Yay! We got coffee and donuts and were soon on our way again...



7:08 am...We made good time getting to Pennsylvania…I had told DH that I wanted to get a pic of each state sign on the way down…this was the only one we ended up getting . PA was a little bit out of our way, but we decided we wanted to miss I95 and all the traffic and tolls that went with it.



7:24am…another bathroom break. We didn't see a gas station and knew there must be one in Lowe's.

8:37…you guessed it

10:02…okay, well we might as well gas up now and then NOT stop for a while

12:30pm…everyone is hungry and we stopped and ate some sandwiches we made from the back of the car…had a little "car picnic."





7:05pm…dinner…yum we had stopped a few more times between lunch and dinner but I honestly forgot to take pictures since we were all getting kind of annoyed at all the stopping




We announced that we were NOT stopping anymore until we found a place to stay for the night. We had already been driving 15 hours and hadn't even made it to South of the Border yet . I had thought we would drive most of the day and be settled in a room by 7-8pm…maybe do a little swimming and relax for a bit. But at this point, we were still at least 5 hours away from Hilton Head and we wanted to get much closer so we didn't have far to drive the next day.

Up next…let's see how far we got

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

Following along! I am dying at your DD wearing the BK crown I can't wait to read more and see resort photos!

 

[buzzrelly]

Following along! I am dying at your DD wearing the BK crown I can't wait to read more and see resort photos!

Thanks for joining in! Yes…she is QUITE the goofball !

 

[kniquy]

Following along too. We are in Agawam, MA just over the CT border. We want to do this trip so I'm very curious about the drive and the resort. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[buzzrelly]

Following along too. We are in Agawam, MA just over the CT border. We want to do this trip so I'm very curious about the drive and the resort. Can't wait to hear more!

I'm not going to lie…the ride was tough. Maybe it was just because we stopped so frequently and went through PA though. Even so, the ride down was better than the ride home because we ended up driving straight through More about that later!

If you are going to drive I would definitely recommend splitting it up into 2 (or maybe more) days. We would do it again, but I think we would try to plan it so we could stop for a night or 2 in Hershey, PA to have a fun break between the driving.

Thanks for joining in!

 

[buzzrelly]

AUGUST 8TH AND 9TH: BUT, DARLING, I SWEAR I'LL GET US THERE…WHEREVER THE TRAIL MAY LEAD

We had talked about maybe stopping at South of The Border on the way down, just for kicks and to show the kids since it's such a well-known tourist stop. We obviously decided against it at this point since it was getting so late and we were all sick of being in the car. We just wanted to get to the hotel! Anyway, we finally hit SOTB at 8:45pm, and I tried to snap a picture on the way by…super blurry, but there it is!

At this point we decided to drive until around 10 and then just find a place to stay, wherever that landed us. I was checking a few hotels on my iPhone but I wasn't quite sure where we would end up so I didn't make any reservations. Wouldn't you know, when we finally DID stop (and I can't remember which town this was), the Comfort Inn we wanted to stay at was full…Actually, it wasn't full, but when I was checking us in I asked for a room for 5 people, and the lady started checking me into a 2-Queen Room. I asked her if there was a rollaway bed available , or a pull-out sofa, and she told me no. And then I asked here where the fifth person would sleep? And she kind of just looked at me blankly…kind of weird. I'm not sure if she thought 3 would sleep in one bed or one would sleep on the floor

So this just wasn't working out and the lady told me there were more places about 20 minutes down I95, in Santee, SC. So I got back in the car and broke the news to everyone that we had a little more driving to do There were a couple of groans, but not too much complaining. I think everyone was just single-mindedly praying to get to stop soon

Anyway, I didn't take any pictures when we stopped, but it was probably 10:30pm. So 885 miles in 18 hours So much for this…

In any case, we were all SUPER happy and relieved to finally be stopping and getting out of the car



We ended up staying at the Holiday Inn. It was clean and had decent ratings on the hotel app. We all got a pretty good night's sleep and woke up much more refreshed and ready to go the next day. One of our mistakes was that we did NOT pack just overnight bags so we ended up having to drag all of our luggage in and then back out the next morning, and then try to repack it all in the car Bad move.

By 9:00am, we were up, showered, packed and ready to get back in the car to finish up the drive.


The nice part was that we didn't have too much of a drive today…

We told everyone that once we got in the car, we were NOT making anymore stops so everyone needed to take care of business or forever hold their peace! We stopped at a McDonalds drive through for some coffee and breakfast and were on our way…again!

The ride wasn't bad…we finally got off of 95 (which I HATE to drive on!) and the remainder of the drive was scenic and kind of of rural route without much traffic.

We FINALLY saw these wonderful signs at 11:25am




We pulled right up to the Main Lodge and checked in, which was a breeze. There was coffee there too, so we grabbed a cup while we were checking in. Our room wasn't ready but the CM told us to park in the garage underneath the Main Lodge, so we did. We were already wearing our bathing suits so right away, we headed off to find the pool.

First, I just want to say that I wasn't sure what to expect here. I was hoping I would like it and that it would feel Disney-ish enough for me. I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed in the least. Checking in felt very familiar and homey to me. The CMs all had Disney name tags on and there were little Disney touches everywhere. I noticed that even when I walked in the Ladie's room in the Main Lodge, it just felt like Disney! I probably sound crazy to some, though I am guessing that most people on these boards know EXACTLY what I am talking about


Smile, everyone! You are FINALLY out of the car!



Shadow's dog-house…so cute



The walk from the lodge to the pool took no more than 5 minutes. We were all admiring how beautiful this place was along the way.



Up next, some desperately needed, R &R...

 

[EddieValiant]

I'm not going to lie…the ride was tough. Maybe it was just because we stopped so frequently and went through PA though. Even so, the ride down was better than the ride home because we ended up driving straight through More about that later!

If you are going to drive I would definitely recommend splitting it up into 2 (or maybe more) days. We would do it again, but I think we would try to plan it so we could stop for a night or 2 in Hershey, PA to have a fun break between the driving.

Thanks for joining in!

Bet you hit some road construction on 81 in Pennsylvania. I think you should have chosen differently when you got to Scranton. South on 476 would have been a better choice.

The longest distance I've driven on my solo Orlando trips is from home in Cortland to Lumberton, NC. 14 hours of driving time before accounting for food & bathroom stops is just nasty.

 

[buzzrelly]

Bet you hit some road construction on 81 in Pennsylvania. I think you should have chosen differently when you got to Scranton. South on 476 would have been a better choice.

The longest distance I've driven on my solo Orlando trips is from home in Cortland to Lumberton, NC. 14 hours of driving time before accounting for food & bathroom stops is just nasty.

I'm so bad with maps, and DH isn't any better. I'm SURE there must've been better ways to go that wouldn't have taken so long! I almost think maybe we should have just taken 95 the whole way, tolls and all.

 

[HappyGal]

I'm really enjoying your trip report! We're heading there tomorrow after school and I'm worried about the 6 hour drive in the rain from the hurricane. My girls are 15 and 13 (my Disney squad). My dh and dss age 15 are not Disney guys but do like golf so they can do that. We've never been to Hilton Head so I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what kind of experiences you had...

 

[buzzrelly]

I'm really enjoying your trip report! We're heading there tomorrow after school and I'm worried about the 6 hour drive in the rain from the hurricane. My girls are 15 and 13 (my Disney squad). My dh and dss age 15 are not Disney guys but do like golf so they can do that. We've never been to Hilton Head so I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what kind of experiences you had...

Oh my gosh! I hope you don't hit too much bad weather! We loved HH! We would definitely go back. I'm sorry I've been busy and haven't written much lately…we didn't do too much, which was exactly the point of this vacation for us We spent a LOT of time at the pool and the beach. We also rented bikes and took long bike rides every day. It was fabulous! I hope you all have a great time!

 

[buzzrelly]

Sorry it's taken me so long to update…aside from being crazy at work, the kids went back to school this week…

DS looks super happy about it, of course At least Oscar is happy


We take the same first day of school pic in front of this tree every year, and I'm sad because this will be the last year that we can take it here since we are moving soon


DD all smiles because she had her hair straightened for the first day. What a job…it took my hairdresser over an hour but it came out so nice


And then we had to celebrate DS turning 15. We went to his favorite restaurant, On The Border, and had a great time celebrating with friends and family…



The cute baby is my beautiful great-niece. I cannot WAIT to bring her to WDW! I've been saving my points and we are planning a big trip in a 2 bedroom at BLT for April 2018. She will be 2 1/2 and I couldn't be more excited



DD trying to get a table selfie. I think she did a good job…I definitely could not have pulled it off!






Okay, sorry for the digression…now back to the trip report!

 

[lovin'fl]

I am in. Firstly because your report sounds like mine would...from a DH who won't fly to us stopping at hotel that was full except for king bed rooms (we too are a family of 5) so we had to keep driving and ended up at the HI in Santee too. Also we never, since kids were little and I did all the packing, pack overnight bags, so we have to drag everything out too...I try and ask everyone for 1 night's stuff to throw together but my teens and DH won't cooperate. We just drove down from MD to Port Canaveral for a cruise...with via point at our condo in NC. We too drove straight back when we got off cruise...to condo but we drove south to west palm beach first to tour college and then north to condo and got in at almost midnight...was painful. And we all cram in an Outback (man do I miss our minivan).

And secondly because we are HHI owners and just love it there. We have a trip coming up for NYE in a 3BR grand villa. Can't wait for the rest of your TR. Thanks for sharing!

 

[buzzrelly]

August 9, 2016: TIDE ME OVER

So we left off and we were walking to the pool. It's about a five minute walk from the Main Lodge which is the furthest point away. We saw this sign along the way…I don't know if it's new or if it's been there for a long time, but no, I definitely won't be walking in the marsh.



We got to the pool which wasn't huge, but we found some chairs for our stuff and hopped in. The water and fresh air felt wonderful after being cooped up in the car





We walked up to get some lunch. It's on the second story of the building right next to the pool. We bought refillable mugs even though I had JUST recycled a whole bunch of them…sigh. I wish you could bring some of the mugs back and have them reactivated or something for a discounted price. It just seems so wasteful to me. Anyway, lunch for the kids was chicken nuggets and fries…shocking, I know.




While they were eating, I walked into the Mercantile just to see what they had. I was SUPER excited to find these!!

OMG…my FAVORITE Disney snack!! I bought a couple and ate one right then for lunch. Don't judge


This is our lunch view…so pretty.

But I'm not gonna lie, it made me a little sad to see how CLOSE we were to WDW and NOT be going


But this trip was all about relaxing, and really, this is just amazing...


We finished our lunches, refilled our mugs and headed back down to the pool.

 

[buzzrelly]

I am in. Firstly because your report sounds like mine would...from a DH who won't fly to us stopping at hotel that was full except for king bed rooms (we too are a family of 5) so we had to keep driving and ended up at the HI in Santee too. Also we never, since kids were little and I did all the packing, pack overnight bags, so we have to drag everything out too...I try and ask everyone for 1 night's stuff to throw together but my teens and DH won't cooperate. We just drove down from MD to Port Canaveral for a cruise...with via point at our condo in NC. We too drove straight back when we got off cruise...to condo but we drove south to west palm beach first to tour college and then north to condo and got in at almost midnight...was painful. And we all cram in an Outback (man do I miss our minivan).

And secondly because we are HHI owners and just love it there. We have a trip coming up for NYE in a 3BR grand villa. Can't wait for the rest of your TR. Thanks for sharing!

OMG! That's a lot of coincidences! Here's another one…I used to own an Outback too! I had an Odyssey that got totaled in 2010 and replaced it with the Outback. It was a great car, but WAAAYYYYY too small! I NEVER would have done this drive in that! I ended trading it in last year for another Odyssey and I LOVE it!

We really loved DHHIR too! NYE there sounds amazing, especially in a Grand Villa!

Thanks for joining in!

 

[buzzrelly]

AUGUST 9, 2016: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG



After lunch we went back down to the pool to wait for the text that our room was ready.



Ya….not sure WHAT is going on here????


Good thing there is WiFi at he pool



The and the Frog



I kept forgetting this frog was spitting water and kept walking in front of it and getting spit at…DSS doesn't seem to mind!





The text finally came, but it didn't say what room we were assigned to. The text said to come to the front desk to see about the room. I got a little excited because I had heard on the DHHIR Facebook page the day before that one of the families was upgraded from a 1-bedroom to a 2-bedroom…I was thinking that MAYBE that's why they wanted us to go to the desk.

We shall see...

 

[lovin'fl]

The text finally came, but it didn't say what room we were assigned to. The text said to come to the front desk to see about the room. I got a little excited because I had heard on the DHHIR Facebook page the day before that one of the families was upgraded from a 1-bedroom to a 2-bedroom…I was thinking that MAYBE that's why they wanted us to go to the desk.

We shall see...

I'm going to guess no upgrade. Our experience with the 'come to the front desk' texts is that they just tell you that your room is not quite ready yet.

 

[buzzrelly]

AUGUST 9, 2016: 1224


So we went to the front desk and we…
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did NOT get upgraded. Bummer, but oh well. I wouldn't have even thought we were going to if they hadn't said to report to the desk. I'm not sure what that was all about

Anyway, we got a very nice 1-bedroom with a Marsh View, which is what I had requested…




















Pretty typical, 1-bedroom layout. I miss the second bathroom that BLT has though. I wish all 1-bedrooms had that, and maybe get rid of the whirlpool tub which is such a waste of space, in my opinion. But the room was lovely and clean, and LOOK at the size of the balcony

Up next, more room photos...

 

[buzzrelly]

I'm going to guess no upgrade. Our experience with the 'come to the front desk' texts is that they just tell you that your room is not quite ready yet.

You guessed correctly! Ha! I've never gotten that text before…next time I won't get my hopes up