Mayhem Mania: Disney World: Getting There

For the week of Thanksgiving the Maniacs traveled to Disney World. This was the very first visit for all of us. Yes, Michael and I were deprived as children.

In true maniac fashion, we drove to Disney World. Read that, we are frugal or cheap. I'm not sure which sometimes but we decided to drive instead of fly. Once there it was nice to have our own transportation to the parks and grocery store and such.

Lake Charles, LA

West of Baton Rouge, probably St. Martin Parish

The trip took two days. The first day we were in the car 11+ hours. We made it all the way to Daphne, AL. We would have made better time but someone forgot to slow down for the bridge over the swamp in St. Martin Parish, LA and got a speeding ticket and thus had to drive much closer to the speed limit the rest of the trip.

We have gotten car trips down to a science. I keep a bag of snacks, a gallon of water to refill water bottles and a bag of crafty things to do with in reach. Between those and the wide array of electronics (DVD player, Nintendo DSs, iTouches, iPods) we seem to have amassed the kids traveled great.

We only stopped to go to the restroom and to pick up food and then we ate in the car. While waiting for our food the kids and I did exercises to get our wiggles out. People looked at us like we were crazy, but we are used to that. We did stretches and yoga and some running around in various parking lots. It really did help the kids deal with two days in the car.

Our first day we had breakfast tacos for breakfast that we made and packed before leaving home, Jason's Deli for lunch and Pizza Hut for dinner. We find that pizza for dinner is a nice change but still manageable in the car. I search for a location about 30 minutes away and call and order our pizza. By the time we get there the pizza is ready and waiting. So we have a quick potty stop and hop back in the car and enjoy fresh, hot pizza. Where so many pizza places currently have $10 pizza deals not only is the a nice change it is also a very cheap way to feed a family of six.

After spending the night in Daphne, we got up bright and early and finished our trip to Orlando. The second day was uneventful. I thought it took a long time to get out of Texas, but man, we drove almost eight hours in Florida! Crazy!

To break up the monotony of Florida, I bought a pack of bubble gum and proceeded to try to teach the kids how to blow bubbles. Charlotte and Rehm figured it out, Ruby and Eliza Claire need a bit more practice.

We stayed at the Wyndham at Bonnet Creek. We were not on Disney Property, but were surrounded on three sides by Disney Property. It was the perfect place for us. There are very few choices for affordably staying on property when you have a family of six. The condo gave us lots of space, a full kitchen, jacuzzi tub, two bathrooms, and plenty of amenities (like we had time to use them given we were at the parks all day, every day). But the kids liked the playscape, lazy rivers, miniature golf and such that was available. We won a week at a Wyndham property at a silent auction, but even if we had booked it through Wyndham it would be about the same price as staying at the Fort Wilderness Cabins on property but with 3 times the square footage and twice the number of bathrooms of the cabins.