Alpha's 2009 TR - Last thoughts
Alpha
I did a rough tally of what we spent the way we did it versus what we
would have spent if we had done the free dining deal. It looks like we
spent roughly $1,010 on the discounted room rate and food combined; we
didn't buy tickets because we still have days left over from a previous
trip. The package, iirc, would have been about $1,100. So we saved
some money, but not an eye-popping amount, and we didn't get to have the
number of sit-down restaurant meals we would have had on the free dining
plan. At this point I feel as though I could go either way with free
dining. There are upsides and downsides either way you go.
The "walker's rash" I developed after our first park touring day did
calm down a bit after I started using the cream my sister's
dermatologist had given her, but it completely roared to life after our
DHS/Epcot day. It was all swollen and horrible for several days after
we got home, and then a bit itchy for days after that.
I mentioned that my knee started bothering me in the airport -- well, it
still isn't quite right and I've been advised not to run for 6-8 weeks.
This is a big bummer. It's likely a meniscus problem, because my knee
was "clicking". Then I would end up walking sort of oddly, and that
made my hamstring tighten up. Although my daily running distance is
nothing very impressive (2.5 miles), I really enjoy it. It makes me
feel better when I run, and I've been missing it, especially since fall
is the best time of the year for running (imho).
We all love POR, but I think we all are hoping that we'll be able to try
something new next year. The kids are really cheering for the Ft.
Wilderness cabins.
No surrey bike this time!
It was a really good thing that we had so many PhotoPass family photos
taken, because it seems that many of the PhotoPass photographers were
too polite to let us know that Dale had been sticking his tongue out and
making other crazy faces! Argh! We were totally unaware. We only
found out once we got home and checked the photos online. Luckily we
did have a number of good ones to choose from. We picked one in front
of the castle in the evening, one in front of Spaceship Earth, one with
the Eiffel Tower in the background, one in the lazy river, one at Gang
Plank Falls, and one of Chip bodysurfing. This all cost us about $65.
We originally expected to buy just that one great family photo, but by
the time we were looking at the photos online, the Disney vacation
expenses were a thing of the past, and what the heck.
We skipped Chef Mickey's this year, but I think we're going to go again
next year. As Chip said, it just didn't seem right not to go. Maybe a
year off will make us enjoy it more next time.
And that's my trip report! I hope you enjoyed reading it. :-)
Keane
wrote:
>
>And that's my trip report! I hope you enjoyed reading it. :-)
Enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
Keane
--
When stars are born, They possess a gift or two,
One of them is this, They have the power to make a wish come true...
-- Wishes
Visit my site: http://keanespics.com
Lisa Cubbon
> Here are a few last thoughts from our 2009 trip.
>
> I did a rough tally of what we spent the way we did it versus what we
> would have spent if we had done the free dining deal. It looks like we
> spent roughly $1,010 on the discounted room rate and food combined; we
> didn't buy tickets because we still have days left over from a previous
> trip. The package, iirc, would have been about $1,100. So we saved
> some money, but not an eye-popping amount, and we didn't get to have the
> number of sit-down restaurant meals we would have had on the free dining
> plan. At this point I feel as though I could go either way with free
> dining. There are upsides and downsides either way you go.
>
> The "walker's rash" I developed after our first park touring day did
> calm down a bit after I started using the cream my sister's
> dermatologist had given her, but it completely roared to life after our
> DHS/Epcot day. It was all swollen and horrible for several days after
> we got home, and then a bit itchy for days after that.
>
> I mentioned that my knee started bothering me in the airport -- well, it
> still isn't quite right and I've been advised not to run for 6-8 weeks.
> This is a big bummer. It's likely a meniscus problem, because my knee
> was "clicking".
Both of the ortho guys I see go all oozy when they hear any or
my joints clicking! One guy's face lit up when my elbow did. No
pain with it so he let it go! I am sorry you are having the issue. Can
you walk instead of run?
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this TR. I so enjoyed
reading it.
Lisa
Blossom
Blossom
Disney Pix
4 days and we only spent $508 including souvenirs. We ate what we wanted
when we wanted so I guess DDP is not for us.
Rob
"Alpha" <not...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:Xns9CC8182134A4n...@85.214.113.135...
ilu...@comcast.net
I think the cabins are a great choice! Fort Wilderness is a great
place for the kids to spread out and enjoy nature. I think you will
find yourself not going to the park as often and will need a down day
or two. It's my absolute favorite resort and I've stayed in just about
every one!
The photopass story is hilarious! I know you want to go ARGGH now, but
you will look back on those photos someday and just smile away. great
memories!
Thanks again for posting!
Alpha
> Both of the ortho guys I see go all oozy when they hear any or
> my joints clicking! One guy's face lit up when my elbow did. No
> pain with it so he let it go! I am sorry you are having the issue.
> Can you walk instead of run?
Well... that's what I was hoping to do once the 6-8 week timeframe passed.
But yesterday I was walking around Target -- not a big trip, just there to
pick up a couple of things -- and noticed that my knee was starting to
bother me. That made me start to get a little concerned about it. :-(
And what's worse is, my doctor's office went through something of a shake-
up. At this point there's only one doctor, who is not my favorite, so I
think I'm going to have to do some doctor shopping. Sigh.
> Thanks so much for taking the time to do this TR. I so enjoyed
> reading it.
Thanks, Lisa!
-- Alpha
Alpha
> Thanks for writing it!
Glad to do it!
-- Alpha
Alpha
> Enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
Thanks Keane. And thanks also for the amusing responses to it. :-)
-- Alpha
Alpha
> I think the cabins are a great choice! Fort Wilderness is a great
> place for the kids to spread out and enjoy nature. I think you will
> find yourself not going to the park as often and will need a down day
> or two. It's my absolute favorite resort and I've stayed in just about
> every one!
The kids are very pumped up about Ft. Wilderness. We haven't promised
anything, but we all looked at all the pictures and information online. My
older son is sort of in please-oh-please-oh-please mode about it. :-) It
looked to me that we might want to spend 2 days just on things at the
resort.
> The photopass story is hilarious! I know you want to go ARGGH now, but
> you will look back on those photos someday and just smile away. great
> memories!
:-D Yeah, I'm sure you're right. We'll look at our nice photos and think
of all the ones we didn't buy. :-)
-- Alpha
Bashful
> ...And that's my trip report! I hope you enjoyed reading it. :-)
Yes, very much so - thank you! I love how you included the favorite
part of each day, from each person's perspective! This was lots of fun
- thanks for taking the time to write it!
--
Kitty (TDC Bashful, lurker-at-heart)
Alpha
> Yes, very much so - thank you! I love how you included the favorite
> part of each day, from each person's perspective! This was lots of fun
> - thanks for taking the time to write it!
Thanks for saying so, Kitty! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :-)
-- Alpha
Sandi Femino
Alpha <not...@verizon.net> wrote:
> And that's my trip report! I hope you enjoyed reading it. :-)
Just got to finish this, Alpha.
A fun read as usual. Thanks for posting it!
--
Rudeney
> Here are a few last thoughts from our 2009 trip.
>
> I did a rough tally of what we spent the way we did it versus what we
> would have spent if we had done the free dining deal. It looks like we
> spent roughly $1,010 on the discounted room rate and food combined; we
> didn't buy tickets because we still have days left over from a previous
> trip. The package, iirc, would have been about $1,100. So we saved
> some money, but not an eye-popping amount, and we didn't get to have the
> number of sit-down restaurant meals we would have had on the free dining
> plan. At this point I feel as though I could go either way with free
> dining. There are upsides and downsides either way you go.
But that $1,100 package would have included park passes right? In that
case, you might have been able to save some of the days on your old
passes for another trip.
> The "walker's rash" I developed after our first park touring day did
> calm down a bit after I started using the cream my sister's
> dermatologist had given her, but it completely roared to life after our
> DHS/Epcot day. It was all swollen and horrible for several days after
> we got home, and then a bit itchy for days after that.
I am so glad that I never get that, and neither does my wife. Maybe
it's related to heat and humidity and our bodies are already accustomed
to that.
> I mentioned that my knee started bothering me in the airport -- well, it
> still isn't quite right and I've been advised not to run for 6-8 weeks.
> This is a big bummer. It's likely a meniscus problem, because my knee
> was "clicking". Then I would end up walking sort of oddly, and that
> made my hamstring tighten up. Although my daily running distance is
> nothing very impressive (2.5 miles), I really enjoy it. It makes me
> feel better when I run, and I've been missing it, especially since fall
> is the best time of the year for running (imho).
My wife just had arthroscopic knee surgery for a torn meniscus and
although they told her that she still has a lot of issue with arthritis,
she said the surgery has done wonders for her.
> We all love POR, but I think we all are hoping that we'll be able to try
> something new next year. The kids are really cheering for the Ft.
> Wilderness cabins.
They would probably like that. But I'll bet they'd also like WL or AKL!
> It was a really good thing that we had so many PhotoPass family photos
> taken, because it seems that many of the PhotoPass photographers were
> too polite to let us know that Dale had been sticking his tongue out and
> making other crazy faces! Argh!
I hate it when kids do that! Katie and her friends like to make these
stupid "drunk" faces with tongues sticking out and supplemented with
hand signals. I've told her she can o that all she wants on her photos,
but if we're taking family pictures, she better be smiling like an adult!
> And that's my trip report! I hope you enjoyed reading it. :-)
I did enjoy it! Thanks for sharing it!
--
- RODNEY
Next WDW Vacation?
Who knows!
Need to know more about RADP (rec.arts.disney.parks)?
Alpha
> Just got to finish this, Alpha.
> A fun read as usual. Thanks for posting it!
Thanks, Sandi! Glad you enjoyed it. :-)
-- Alpha
Alpha
>> I did a rough tally of what we spent the way we did it versus what we
>> would have spent if we had done the free dining deal. It looks like
>> we spent roughly $1,010 on the discounted room rate and food
>> combined; we didn't buy tickets because we still have days left over
>> from a previous trip. The package, iirc, would have been about
>> $1,100. So we saved some money, but not an eye-popping amount, and
>> we didn't get to have the number of sit-down restaurant meals we
>> would have had on the free dining plan. At this point I feel as
>> though I could go either way with free dining. There are upsides and
>> downsides either way you go.
>
> But that $1,100 package would have included park passes right? In
> that case, you might have been able to save some of the days on your
> old passes for another trip.
That $1,100 package would have included the package requirement of a
minimum one day of admission for each of us. We still would have been
using old passes for the rest of our admissions.
>> The "walker's rash" I developed after our first park touring day did
>> calm down a bit after I started using the cream my sister's
>> dermatologist had given her, but it completely roared to life after
>> our DHS/Epcot day. It was all swollen and horrible for several days
>> after we got home, and then a bit itchy for days after that.
>
> I am so glad that I never get that, and neither does my wife. Maybe
> it's related to heat and humidity and our bodies are already
> accustomed to that.
That makes sense, except that my sister gets the rash too and she's
lived in SW FL for 36 years. There must just be some kind of genetic
predisposition to it.
>> I mentioned that my knee started bothering me in the airport -- well,
>> it still isn't quite right and I've been advised not to run for 6-8
>> weeks. This is a big bummer. It's likely a meniscus problem,
>> because my knee was "clicking". Then I would end up walking sort of
>> oddly, and that made my hamstring tighten up. Although my daily
>> running distance is nothing very impressive (2.5 miles), I really
>> enjoy it. It makes me feel better when I run, and I've been missing
>> it, especially since fall is the best time of the year for running
>> (imho).
>
> My wife just had arthroscopic knee surgery for a torn meniscus and
> although they told her that she still has a lot of issue with
> arthritis, she said the surgery has done wonders for her.
I might be headed down that path. My knee feels almost normal now...
except when I walk long distances. I'm a little afraid to try running
again right now.
>> We all love POR, but I think we all are hoping that we'll be able to
>> try something new next year. The kids are really cheering for the
>> Ft. Wilderness cabins.
>
> They would probably like that. But I'll bet they'd also like WL or
> AKL!
:-D
>> And that's my trip report! I hope you enjoyed reading it. :-)
>
> I did enjoy it! Thanks for sharing it!
You're welcome!
I keep having it in my mind that I should create a site with photos from
our trips. Maybe after Christmas...
-- Alpha