Driving from New York to Florida

So many people think driving from NY to FL for vacation is crazy.

Well Im here to tell you yes it is!

Ive done this trip so many times over the years I still cant get used to it. When we first started doing the trek I often took those No Doze pills which would make me shake. Most people are not effected by the pills cause they drink coffee or soda. I dont drink coffee and soda is rare. I stopped taking the pills because they would cause me to become really sick.

We often leave on Friday and drive overnight since the kids are really crazy for the drive, at least over night they would sleep. Going overnight is tough too unless you already work the night shift and happen to be up. I cant do it, I have a hard time staying up past midnight!

Well this time around we split it up between two days. We left early on Friday around 10AM and stopped driving at 9PM - there was so much traffic on the way down we barely made it into North Carolina. We found a hotel and stayed for the night. On Saturday AM we left around 9ish and continued the drive, we didnt arrive into Orlando until almost 830PM. There was a lot of rain and congestion it was crazy.

During the week we didnt drive much but we did so much that we were beat! By the time we had to leave the following Saturday we didnt think we would make it back in one night. We really didnt want to spend the money for a hotel.

We left around 9AM which we had never done before. We were making such good time we decided to go straight without stopping. We were tired and the drive seemed to take longer, but 19 hours later we arrived home at 4:30AM! No we were not speeding, the speed limits in many states is 70 and people still drive by you like your sitting still! We even stopped for Dinner and made a quick stop at exit 97 in North Carolina to visit JR stores!

If possible split the trip between days and people. Try to drive in a car that has cruise control.

Did we save money by driving? Yes,.. flights would have cost us about $1000 for 4 people. Driving cost us under $300. Do I need to do the math?

Disney Water Parks Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon

OK I have no images because we didnt bring a camera but the water parks are great!

We just spent 3 days straight in water. Two days at Typhoon Lagoon and one at Blizzard Beach. The best thing about staying on property is the ability to use the Extra Magic Hours! We were able to get to the water parks at 8AM, an hour prior to opening up to the public. I didnt think it was enough time but we were able to ride everything without a wait! The only thing that was rough was the stairs to the ride itself. It was a killer! I cant tell you how many 'floors' we climbed but my legs were killing me.

If anything a water park reminds you of is how out of shape you are. lol.

Best things at Typhoon Lagoon: Wave Pool - Insanely tall waves that can knock you down! Lazy River of course, Crush n Gusher. Funnel Cake! Worst: Wave Pool - cause they have insanely tall waves that can knock you down! Having to carry your tubes up a ton of stairs to get down the rides. Short family raft ride, Sand.

Best things at Blizzard Beach: LONG family raft ride, Lazy River, 'older' kid area. Worst: Hiking it up the stairs to get on the rides, some rides you had to carry your own tube up the stairs, wave pool was really unnatural waves and felt strange - we didnt like it.

Having to deal with rude people didnt help: We had some little girl go down a slide within seconds behind my child and knocked right into her. I 'ran' to get to my child and the other child because they knocked into each other. The girl just looked at me and her father said she can swim fine, no apology at all! My little girl was crying, it was horrible. On another ride my sister ran up ahead of me and grabbed the family raft and some people came in between us. When I finally got to the top these people were in front and I said excuse me three times when he finally turned around and said 'WHAT'! I said I need to get by and he says go over there, pointing to another rope, Im like dude its closed whats your problem? My sister is right there! He finally let me by but not without making stupid comments. I know there are line jumpers but I was not jumping lines.

Besides those experiences Disney Water Parks were pretty amazing.

Busch Gardens Tampa Florida

So we took a drive to Tampa to visit Busch Gardens - I had not been there in something like 10 years and the only things I remember at the animal areas. They had animal topiaries and animals of course. This Rhino came pretty close to us and it was a bit scary. We picked a hot day to go, not only that there were a whole lotta international school trips there. Looked like there were from Brazil, Italy, Venezuela.. I walked up to the guy standing at SheiKra to ask about a child swap and all these kids came running up behind me and I was like OMG!

I think there are more rides for the kids then adults!

I first rode the SheiKra alone. They dont have a lane for 'single riders' instead I had to wait on line with everyone else. Remember those international kids? Well every chance they had they were singing and clapping and oh my it was getting crazy. The wait time was less then an hour. Round and round in the lines then up the stairs. There are three rows each 'car' holding about 8 people. Two cars load up at the same time and one at a time is released. Up and up you go... then it turns around on the track and just when you think your about to drop, it holds you there for a few seconds... then BAM! Lets you go! I was screaming on the way down. Its a 90 degree drop so you cant see the track beneath you. It was quick but a nice ride. When I got back to the ground, I swapped and the other adult I was with got a 'pass' to skip the line and waited about 5 minutes to get on the ride. Child swap was pretty nice.

The second ride I tried was Kumba. It has 7 inversions which was nice smooth ride. It was nothing to exciting for me, more like relaxing. Again I waited on line and since I was a single rider, I kinda skipped those waiting to sit together. They let me go in front of them which was nice. I rode alone. Im not a roller coaster nut but I love a nice ride. We didnt make it to the other 'adult' rides. I got the kids to go on the Sand Serpent and boy was that a mistake for me. I dont like twisty, sharp turns or spin me around rides! This ride did ALL of that... I screamed, I cried and hated every minute of it lol.

We did take the train around the park which was a relaxing ride and a nice view of the animals. I did see a Zebra try to take on the train! Ok more like it tried to cross the track just when the train was passing by. It was pretty interesting.

For meals at the park we purchased the 'All Day Dining Deal.' For two adults and two kids it cost $30 per adult and $15 per child. We ate every chance we got, I think we sat down 3 times. We were able to pick up one entree, one side/desert and a drink. You also had the ability to pick one of the three items instead of getting everything and tossing it. We had to wait on line with everyone else but once we got to the front we could basically pick up just about anything. They gave us a list of the restaurants to eat at and what I did was circle them on the map so we could find them easily. My favorite meal was at the Zambia Smokehouse! It was perfect for dinner, that meal alone was worth the $30 per person fee. Everything else was basically free in my eyes. We picked up Aquafina at a few places and snacks here and there. One note: It does not work everywhere!

Totally worth it!

As the evening rolled along there was this 'party' going around.We stopped and danced around, played with Hoola Hoops... During the 'party' they announced this show called Kinetix starting at 9PM. The park closed at 9PM so we ran back to the front of the park and grabbed one last drink and went to the show. The restaurants close an hour or more before the park does so keep that in mind.

There was live music with current songs, dancers, acrobats, and more! Here is just one video!

Once the show was over the park was closed and we left. The drive back to Orlando was a little over an hour. It was a great experience, I would go again.

DIsney Jambo House Animal Kingdom Lodge

Well this time around we traveled to Disney we stayed at Jambo house, itsright next door to the Kidani Village. We have a one bedroom Condo.. In the living room there is a pull out couch and a chair, the Condo has just one bathroom. The 'bowl' is in a separate room but its still in the bathroom. Which means someone cant use the 'bowl' if there is someone in the shower. I would have thought that a 1 bedroom suite would have had two bathrooms - as a two bedroom has 3 bathrooms. There is a full kitchen which works great for keep costs down and having meals in the room instead of outside at the parks. And a separate bedroom with a queen bed, which is not a master bedroom. There is a washer and dryer which helps too. The bathroom has a double sink and a jacuzzi tub and its a little difficult to get into because it is pretty high, so one may have to sit on the side and throw your leg over. The bedroom and Living room has their own TVs and access to the outside deck. We have a pool view but you really couldn't tell since there are these rather large trees blocking the view of the pool. There is internet access, Free for DVC members but a fee for everyone else.

We are amazed a how the sliding glass doors keep the sounds out of the rooms! At night they have been having a movie at the pool side and its pretty loud with the doors open but once they are closed its pretty quiet! You cant even hear anyone walking down the halls. I am impressed with that.

The Jambo house itself its rather large. The buildings have 5 floors and a few 'wings', there is a large store at the main level and a lot of activities daily. Parking is a little far of a walk in Jambo house, when we were in Kidani Village the parking was below the building so its just an elevator ride down. This parking area is across the main entrance and down a little ways and no coverage from the sun.

As DVC members they offer a towel exchange once every 3 days and a clean every 4 days. Without the DVC membership it would cost a lot more.

Of course everything is decked out in Animal Motif. There is even a sign when you leave the property that says... watch out for Poachers. Around certain areas of the building you can see the savannah. Do you need a view of it? Only if you really wanna see the animals daily but otherwise you can walk down the hall and see them.

All in all the Jambo house is rather nice in Animal Kingdom Lodge.