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Old     (carcrz)      Join Date: Mar 2006       12-20-2014, 6:16 AM Reply   
Leaving KC on Thursday afternoon & will be in Orlando on Friday afternoon if I drive the 18 hours straight through. Mapquest takes us through St Louis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, then straight South to Orlando. I may add a couple hour detour & go East a little farther in Georgia & follow the coastline South through Jacksonville, Daytona, etc...

Planning on taking the kids to Magic Kingdom on Saturday, Clearwater on Sunday morning, & maybe Sea World on Monday, & drive home Monday night/Tuesday. Any stores or other cool stuff you would recommend we hit while we're there? Kids are 8 & 5.
Old     (joeshmoe)      Join Date: Jan 2003       12-20-2014, 6:32 PM Reply   
Jory, that's a lot of driving for three days in Orlando, but the kids will love it! Just make sure to get there Saturday morning when the park opens, by 11:30 it will be so packed you can hardly walk around, but if you get there when it opens you will be ready for a break around lunch time when the park is packed, take plenty of pics and have fun!
Old     (carcrz)      Join Date: Mar 2006       12-21-2014, 10:01 AM Reply   
No joke Joe. I drive about 60k - 70k a year just around town & the few quick trips on the weekends, so I guess I'm somewhat used to it but not in 1 stretch. I don't have a lot of free time at work right now so we're squeezing in a fun surprise trip for the kiddos.

You're thought on getting to the park early is exactly what I was thinking. Knock out the long-line stuff first & take a break for lunch, shopping, etc...(NAP &#128564
Old     (slowwwflowww)      Join Date: Mar 2011       12-21-2014, 11:56 AM Reply   
OWC
Old     (whiteflashwatersports1)      Join Date: Dec 2012       12-22-2014, 8:35 AM Reply   
I live in Jacksonville and would suggest driving to Orlando form Atlanta. Otherwise you will be spending and extra 4-5 hrs in the car just to go down I 95 instead of I75. If you don't have a specific reason to go to Clearwater there are beaches on the Atlantic a lot closer to Orlando than that. I believe New Smyrna is only about 45 minutes where Clearwater will probably take an hour and a half at least.

If you want to ride OWC is great or hit up Freedom Wake Park. Tarah and Cobe Mikacich are great they have a private lake with a couple of boats and a 2.0 system with some rails and kickers. Also they are great with the kiddos. My daughter started with them when she 6 and absolutely loves them and still counts them as friends now that she is in high school.

The advice on Disney is dead on. It will be mobbed. We went at Christmas once and had to sit on the ground to eat our lunch. We did not complain it is beautiful at Christmas and well worth it Just have the right attitude knowing it will be crowded. Also be careful on what you promise the kids my buddy went two weeks ago and waited in line for 5 hrs with his 6 year old daughter to see Elsa from frozen.
Old     (srock)      Join Date: Mar 2002       12-23-2014, 12:48 PM Reply   
You will thank me later...

I have lived in Orlando and have a vacation house just west of Daytona on the St. Johns River, I have have purchased season passes for all the parks (easy from south florida to my river house) I know the triangle from Charleston to Daytona to Clearwater very well.

I think Seaworld is much better choice than Disney. I tell everyone that and they always do Disney and when they finally get to Seaworld they always agree. Do Seaworld first.

Whiteflash is correct and you can learn from my experiences. Go straight to Disney and avoid all the driving. You are trying to do too much will be in the car way too long especially with kids. If you had more time the only stop along the way would be Charleston South Carolina which has an incredible history and places to visit but you need a couple days and a hotel room.

Have the entire car packed and ready the night before including some driving snacks. Have your clothes for driving laid out, wake up, change and jump in the car early in the morning like 5am. Everyone will sleep and you will get 5 hours down the road before hell breaks loose. It really helps. The drive from Georgia to Daytona on the highway is no different than the rest of your drive...flat with trees outlining the road. If you run along the beach, which is typically not visible, it will get old very quick and be painfully slow. Save that drive along the ocean for the the west coast of Florida-clearwater or better yet California.

If you stay in Orlando, try to get on Disney property. You may pay a little more but Disney does a great job with the family experience in the hotels. You can also take a tram or shuttle straight from the hotel.

Good luck. Report back once your experience is complete.
Old     (carcrz)      Join Date: Mar 2006       12-23-2014, 2:44 PM Reply   
Awesome suggestions guys. Thank you!
Old     (joeshmoe)      Join Date: Jan 2003       01-05-2015, 3:27 PM Reply   
My son flew into Orlando over Christmas and we went to theT-Rex restaurant in Downtown Disney which was pretty cool, we got there at 11:30, so there was no waiting in line and when we left there was an hour and a half wait. Then on sunday we went out to Cocoa beach and had a great time and ate lunch on the deck on top of the restaurant.
Just don't sit in the blue room at T-Rex because its hard to see your food with the blue light.
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Old     (carcrz)      Join Date: Mar 2006       01-29-2015, 11:12 AM Reply   
Holy smokes I feel awful about not updating how our trip went. You guys were awesome in giving suggestions.

As you know, our time was very limited in what we were able to do. Sleep was 1 of them for me. I drove the 17 hours there straight through after Christmas Dinner at the in-law's house & we were at Cocoa Beach for breakfast on the 26th. I took a little nap on the beach while my wife & kids got to spend their first time playing on the beach in the sand & in the ocean - 2 of my favorite things in the world.

Day 2 - Went over to Sea World. The kids had fun but we probably won't return. It was just as I remembered it 20 years ago. Fun once but then you're good. Both of them fell asleep at 6:30 on our way back to the hotel.

Day 3 - Magic Kingdom. They both had a blast! We arrived just in time to sit down for the parade. Princesses, Pixar Heroes, all the Fairy Tale characters, etc... We brought a Woody doll along this trip to take pictures & have fun with. The smile on these 2 faces when the real Woody started waving & pointing at their doll was priceless. Rode all of the rides I rode when I was kid & a few new rides that they really enjoyed. Here's a little token for those of you who have been here, I don't want to be the only 1 with this stuck in my head... "It's a small world after all. It's a small world after all..." =) You're welcome.

Day 4 - Drove home. Hit traffic jams in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, & St Louis. Next time I'm making this trip at night. 22 hours straight through. I was still wide awake & kicking from the 5-hour drink, so I went to work & my partners made me go home. Slackers.

All-in-all we had a great time full of smiles & laughter - everything a parent wants for their children.

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