Li Li
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2012
ONE YEAR OF DISNEY starts now!
Hello, welcome! If you have followed over from our PTR, thanks and nice to see you. If you are new, thanks again! I hope I can keep this interesting and entertaining enough for all who read. So, let’s start with some introductions and get this show on the road!
WHO ARE WE?
We are Li Li and Nigel. Crazy Disney fans who decided to take the leap and buy Annual Passes for a one year of Disney extravaganza!
I really don't even remember how this idea started, other than the fact that we started going to Disney World at least once a year, and then started squeezing in second trips in a one year time frame and it just kind of snowballed from there. As of right now, we are on track to visit during most of the major events in Disney. In 2014, we did the 24-hour event and Star Wars Weekend (RIP!). We did Halloween in 2013, Food & Wine 2013 and now 2015. Christmas Party/Osborne Lights this past trip, and we booked a trip during Flower and Garden for May 2016! Whew.
So, what’s going on here??
I am using this TR to chronicle our most recent trip in November 2015 where we became Platinum Plus passholders (just doesn’t have the same ring as AP holders), and it will also be used as PTR and then TR for the remaining trips while we try to squeeze our money’s worth out of these passes!
Here’s the real trick…will I be able to chronicle our whole week-long November trip before we go back in January?!?! Who knows, but I better get this thing started.
Ready? Okay!
The traveling:
For the first time in forever (sorry), we decided to drive to Disney. I’m not the biggest fan of flying but I’ll do it, especially if Disney is involved. However, we decided to give the drive a whirl as we know many folks from Central PA who do the drive. It would amount to about 15 to 16 hours of driving. Piece of cake, right?! It would also be the longest drive we had taken together as a couple. Our longest drive prior to this was just to Connecticut, a mere pittance compared to Florida.
After much hemming and hawing (feel free to see the PTR), we decided on leaving right after work on a Friday and driving as far as we could, hoping to make it to Charlotte, NC and then grabbing a hotel room for sleep before continuing on the next day. Since we were concerned about DC traffic, we decided to use the inland route of 81-77-26-95 rather than 95 the whole way down. It doesn't really add too much time or miles to the journey, but you do get to avoid the DC beltway and traffic around Richmond.
We packed the car the night before. By the way, I (possibly we) completely overpacked. I blame it on uncertainty as to November weather in Florida along with being free from airline bag restrictions. Anywho, we packed the car full of water, snacks, and suitcases so we would be ready to go. First things first…we had to drop these guys off at the grandparents.
We woke early Friday morning, got ready for work and packed up the critters. Dropped them off and went to work. Where I got to sit in an all-day training meeting. Woo hoo. Since I had to wear a suit to the meeting, I packed clothes to change into before we hit the road. So, around 4:45 pm, we hopped in the car, ready to start the journey. (If my boss asks, we left at 5 pm, thank you very much).
We decided to take the Honda Pilot as we thought it would be more comfortable for a long drive than our Chevy Cruze and gas prices were still fairly good. Over lunch on Friday, Nigel went out and picked up sandwiches that we could eat in the car rather than stop somewhere for dinner. So, packed with sandwiches and excitement, we officially started our journey. And hit traffic. L 81 South had stop and go traffic until we got past Chambersburg, PA, I believe. Probably added in a about 30 to 60 minutes extra to the drive. And then the states started zipping by! We went through Maryland, West Virginia and then hit Virginia. We had planned on stopping and switching drivers about every three hours, but Nigel and the Honda were doing so well that we did not end up stopping until about 4 and a half hours in. We pulled off in Salem, VA where we found a Sheetz, which is a local chain we are familiar with for gas, restroom and plenty of drinks/snacks if needed. Also, the price of gas was below $2/gallon so that was exciting. I grabbed some caffeine and started my turn as driver.
I think all in all, our drive was uneventful. No real rain to speak of this night. As the night wore on we debated about where and when to stop. Friends of ours drive to Charlotte frequently and they recommended a Red Roof Inn Plus that was literally right off the highway in Statesville, NC, which is just north of Charlotte. Since we had a lost a bit of time to traffic, it seemed better to stop before Charlotte, so we could get some decent hours of sleep in before the next day.
The Inn was very nice, and we got a discount thanks to our AAA membership. The room was nice and clean and the water pressure in the shower was amazing! Important stuff, right?!
We crashed and set alarms for I think around 5 am or 5:30. We ended up getting back on the road by 6:22 am, which is pretty impressive when you consider that I am not a great morning person. Unfortunately, we woke up to rain and it followed us through to Charlotte and most of North Carolina. Luckily, it did clear eventually, so we only had a couple of hours with the rain.
Again, pretty uneventful. But we finally made it to Florida, and had to the the obligatory rest stop for free juice!
He's happy, I swear!
You've just hit Florida, what are you going to do next?? Well, drive another 3 hours of course!
We hit the Welcome Center around Noon, so we were hoping to get to our room around 3 pm and check in.
Our first night in Disney would be at...the Clarion
It actually was not that bad. But sadly, I only took video and no pictures of our room! womp womp.
We threw our bags in the room, freshened up, and got ready to hit Disney Springs!!
Hello, welcome! If you have followed over from our PTR, thanks and nice to see you. If you are new, thanks again! I hope I can keep this interesting and entertaining enough for all who read. So, let’s start with some introductions and get this show on the road!
WHO ARE WE?
We are Li Li and Nigel. Crazy Disney fans who decided to take the leap and buy Annual Passes for a one year of Disney extravaganza!
I really don't even remember how this idea started, other than the fact that we started going to Disney World at least once a year, and then started squeezing in second trips in a one year time frame and it just kind of snowballed from there. As of right now, we are on track to visit during most of the major events in Disney. In 2014, we did the 24-hour event and Star Wars Weekend (RIP!). We did Halloween in 2013, Food & Wine 2013 and now 2015. Christmas Party/Osborne Lights this past trip, and we booked a trip during Flower and Garden for May 2016! Whew.
So, what’s going on here??
I am using this TR to chronicle our most recent trip in November 2015 where we became Platinum Plus passholders (just doesn’t have the same ring as AP holders), and it will also be used as PTR and then TR for the remaining trips while we try to squeeze our money’s worth out of these passes!
Here’s the real trick…will I be able to chronicle our whole week-long November trip before we go back in January?!?! Who knows, but I better get this thing started.
Ready? Okay!
The traveling:
For the first time in forever (sorry), we decided to drive to Disney. I’m not the biggest fan of flying but I’ll do it, especially if Disney is involved. However, we decided to give the drive a whirl as we know many folks from Central PA who do the drive. It would amount to about 15 to 16 hours of driving. Piece of cake, right?! It would also be the longest drive we had taken together as a couple. Our longest drive prior to this was just to Connecticut, a mere pittance compared to Florida.
After much hemming and hawing (feel free to see the PTR), we decided on leaving right after work on a Friday and driving as far as we could, hoping to make it to Charlotte, NC and then grabbing a hotel room for sleep before continuing on the next day. Since we were concerned about DC traffic, we decided to use the inland route of 81-77-26-95 rather than 95 the whole way down. It doesn't really add too much time or miles to the journey, but you do get to avoid the DC beltway and traffic around Richmond.
We packed the car the night before. By the way, I (possibly we) completely overpacked. I blame it on uncertainty as to November weather in Florida along with being free from airline bag restrictions. Anywho, we packed the car full of water, snacks, and suitcases so we would be ready to go. First things first…we had to drop these guys off at the grandparents.
We woke early Friday morning, got ready for work and packed up the critters. Dropped them off and went to work. Where I got to sit in an all-day training meeting. Woo hoo. Since I had to wear a suit to the meeting, I packed clothes to change into before we hit the road. So, around 4:45 pm, we hopped in the car, ready to start the journey. (If my boss asks, we left at 5 pm, thank you very much).
We decided to take the Honda Pilot as we thought it would be more comfortable for a long drive than our Chevy Cruze and gas prices were still fairly good. Over lunch on Friday, Nigel went out and picked up sandwiches that we could eat in the car rather than stop somewhere for dinner. So, packed with sandwiches and excitement, we officially started our journey. And hit traffic. L 81 South had stop and go traffic until we got past Chambersburg, PA, I believe. Probably added in a about 30 to 60 minutes extra to the drive. And then the states started zipping by! We went through Maryland, West Virginia and then hit Virginia. We had planned on stopping and switching drivers about every three hours, but Nigel and the Honda were doing so well that we did not end up stopping until about 4 and a half hours in. We pulled off in Salem, VA where we found a Sheetz, which is a local chain we are familiar with for gas, restroom and plenty of drinks/snacks if needed. Also, the price of gas was below $2/gallon so that was exciting. I grabbed some caffeine and started my turn as driver.
I think all in all, our drive was uneventful. No real rain to speak of this night. As the night wore on we debated about where and when to stop. Friends of ours drive to Charlotte frequently and they recommended a Red Roof Inn Plus that was literally right off the highway in Statesville, NC, which is just north of Charlotte. Since we had a lost a bit of time to traffic, it seemed better to stop before Charlotte, so we could get some decent hours of sleep in before the next day.
The Inn was very nice, and we got a discount thanks to our AAA membership. The room was nice and clean and the water pressure in the shower was amazing! Important stuff, right?!
We crashed and set alarms for I think around 5 am or 5:30. We ended up getting back on the road by 6:22 am, which is pretty impressive when you consider that I am not a great morning person. Unfortunately, we woke up to rain and it followed us through to Charlotte and most of North Carolina. Luckily, it did clear eventually, so we only had a couple of hours with the rain.
Again, pretty uneventful. But we finally made it to Florida, and had to the the obligatory rest stop for free juice!
He's happy, I swear!
You've just hit Florida, what are you going to do next?? Well, drive another 3 hours of course!
We hit the Welcome Center around Noon, so we were hoping to get to our room around 3 pm and check in.
Our first night in Disney would be at...the Clarion
It actually was not that bad. But sadly, I only took video and no pictures of our room! womp womp.
We threw our bags in the room, freshened up, and got ready to hit Disney Springs!!