No Planes, Just Trains and Automobiles – Pre-Trip report

[Mickey'sGirl]

Cast:
DH – Brian (CanadianWDWFan) Turning 45 on this trip
DS14 – Harry – Celebrating graduating from Grade 8 (High School already?!?!?)
DS8 ½ – Euan – Celebrating his Half-Birthday because we can’t go down in January
Me – Jennifer – Just happy to be making the trip with my guys!

I can’t believe it’s nearly here! After almost a year of planning, we are getting ready to head out on our annual pilgrimage to WDW. Our annual passes from last August are still valid, so we only had to plan our accommodations and dining. We are booked to stay from July 24 until August 3.

We are DVC members at the BoardWalk, so we were able to make reservations for this summer’s stay last August. We have booked a Studio Boardwalk view for our first few nights, and then a one-bedroom standard view for the following week. Recently, we added two nights at the Grand Floridian in the Sugar Loaf Club Level for the Friday and Saturday nights between our two BoardWalk stays. We really love the BoardWalk and missed it last year when we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we are very excited to be staying at the Grand Floridian for the first time.

Normally we drive from Toronto to Florida with one overnight stop in each direction, but we have changed it up a bit for this year. With a lot of information from “ibelieveindisneymagic” (Heather), we have decided to take the Autotrain down from Lorton VA to Sanford. We will leave home a couple of days early, as are going to spend two days in Washington DC checking out the museums, and then we will travel in two Superliner Bedrooms on the Autotrain down to Florida. We are all really looking forward to this, and by booking early (on Heather’s good advice), we have saved almost $500 on the cost compared to booking it now. Awesome! (We are not taking the Autotrain home at the end of our holiday).

We have not made a ton of Dining Reservations, as we really do make use of the kitchen in the One Bedroom Villa (I love to cook), and are hoping to make use of the Club Level offerings at the Grand Floridian. We have reserved Tony’s for our first night, Chef Mickey’s for Brunch on Euan’s Half-Birthday, Wolfgang Puck’s Café for Brian’s Birthday, Biergarten for a dinner and the Grand Floridian Café for a lunch (so I can FINALLY get one of those burgers!!!) . We have found that we are able to make reservations as we go along if we care to add more dining to our list.

So that’s it. We have a mini-holiday in DC to look forward to, the whole Autotrain experience, and we have reserved a total of 10 nights’ accommodation (with the possibility of adding up to 2 more at the end of our holiday), a few choice reservations, some and a few Celebrations. We are planning on hitting Jellyrolls our first night with friends of ours who live locally. She and my DH are both celebrating their birthdays, and we thought it would be a fun night out for us.

All of the above, of course, is subject to change on my whims. Thankfully, my family is usually quite willing to acquiesce to my requests. 6 weeks!!

[Melanie]

Sounds like a great trip Jen and Brian!

[wildernesslady]

Have a great time. The boardwalk is one of the best locations.

[DisneyDINK]

I worked for Amtrak for many years. I always thought it would be fun to take the Auto Train, but living on the west coast, it just wasn't practical.

I'll look forward to your trip report.

[faline]

Yippee!! I always enjoy your trip reports and can't wait to read more about this one!!

[emerzmom]

The train trip sounds really fun. I love Washington DC. I travel there a lot for work. One of my favorite things is the night monument tours. The monuments look so beautiful all lit up at night. It is very different from the day time visit and cooler in the summer heat.
What a memory for your family.

Julie

[BrerGnat]

Sounds like a fun trip!

I'm interested in hearing about the Auto Train.

[scooterca42]

Please go into detail on the drive/train and how it worked for DC. It sounds amazing and I think DH and I may try it for our next vacation.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Yea! It is getting close ... I'm counting on your trip report to help hold me over 'till the ICOT trip.

I really, really hope that you love the autotrain as much as we do ... I wouldn't consider getting to Disney any other way.

[SBETigg]

Sounds wonderful! I hope you love the Grand Floridian.

[Mickey'sGirl]

We've now reserved one of the Cabanas at the Grand Floridian for one afternoon -- We were planning on hanging out by the pool anyway. I told you these plans are never static!

[KylesMom]

As always, your plans look great - and you have some fun new experiences planned too. Sadly we are unable to take a family trip this summer, so I'll be living vicariously through yours. Have lots of Mickey bars for me - and have a wonderful trip!

[RedSoxFan]

Sounds like a fun trip planned. Have a wonderful time.

[January-2007]

Thanks for the pre trip report.

[willowpondarabians]

I agree with Julie's post above. Washington DC is a wonderful place to visit but keep in mind you are coming at the hottest time of the year. The evenings walking around the monuments are very beautiful but during the day, plan on being inside the museums. Use public transportation - the metro is the best and not hard to figure out. Also remember there is another Air and Space museum close to Dulles airport that is now housing the Space Shuttle. Admission is free but it cost $15 to park. I work in DC so know a lot of the ropes. If you have any more questions, let me know! Have a wonderful trip!

[Mickey'sGirl]

Thanks for the info! We have no plans to see the monuments etc., just the museums It's good to know about the parking fee (we had budgeted $20, so $15 is good!). Our main goal is the Dulles Air and Space Museum!

[Christine]

Sounds just wonderful!

[Caroleh]

Sounds great Jenn!!!

[Belle of the Ball 051411]

Sounds like a fabulous trip!

[disneydeb]

Jenn, your trip sounds wonderful! Have a great time and have a birthday drink for Ellen and me!