The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[Songbird76]

We rented apartments in the cities. All except Venice. There we reserved a hotel just off St. Marks Square. So meals in the cities were always in the winging it category. If we didn't feel like going to a restaurant we went to a local grocery and bought a few things and made a meal for ourselves. The only thing I was stressed about were the apartments. I kept wondering if the ones we set up was a dump or a decent place to stay. Turned out OK. I would never even think about renting an apartment in the states for 3 or 4 days, but we did that in Europe.

The nice thing about most cities in Europe is there's usually a street or square near the center of town with a bunch of little cafes and restaurants where you can eat pretty inexpensively. It's nothing fancy, but it's a decent meal. You don't have to go searching for a restaurant. Most of the towns were built in a particular way and all the businesses are in one area, in the oldest part of town. It's all in a compact area so you can park in a garage and walk through that area and restaurants have their menus posted outside, so you can see if there's something you'll like before you go in. If not, you move on to the one nextdoor and look at their menu. You just keep browsing till you find one that looks good and has a table free. It's just so easy. In the US you have to drive all over creation because everything is spread out.

 

[MinnieM123]

We rented apartments in the cities. All except Venice. There we reserved a hotel just off St. Marks Square. So meals in the cities were always in the winging it category. If we didn't feel like going to a restaurant we went to a local grocery and bought a few things and made a meal for ourselves. The only thing I was stressed about were the apartments. I kept wondering if the ones we set up was a dump or a decent place to stay. Turned out OK. I would never even think about renting an apartment in the states for 3 or 4 days, but we did that in Europe.

Glad to hear that your rental experiences were positive. Your comments reminded me of 2 people I knew (years ago) that travelled to France for a summer vacation. Neither one of them had much money, so they reserved apartments in a few cities, because it was so much cheaper than paying hotel rates.

Most of the places were well-appointed and clean, and turned out great for them. There was one, however, that was o.k. inside, and in a good location -- but -- at night, everyone who owned a loud motorcycle in France would zoom by that building! This would go on until close to 4 AM!! Needless to say, they had a few nights of little to no sleep; but again, that was just one of the accommodations that didn't quite turn out well.

 

[MinnieM123]

Yes, we have the same with our appetites shrinking. E and I have very similar tastes, so a lot of times, we are debating between the same two items on a menu, so one of us gets one, the other gets the other, and then we share. But we use our dining credits kind of differently, I guess...we did a LOT of character dining, because it's generally more expensive, so a better use of dining credits, and then it doesn't matter as much whether you eat the food, because it's more about the experience of meeting the characters than it is about the food. We also did a lot of breakfast buffets because if you have a late breakfast and fill up, you don't need to eat much for the rest of the day. That's why we had so many QS credits left over....we hardly ever needed lunch because we had big breakfasts.

I really like how you used your TS credits for experiences (in addition to food). If I was travelling with others and purchased TS, I'd definitely follow your lead on that. Good advice.

 

[MinnieM123]

Emmy bein’ chased by her dad with the leaf blower...!!!!!

Hilarious! (I'd like to have one of those leaf blowers to take to the supermarket, to blast away the oblivious loons, that insist on stopping their grocery cart in the middle of the aisle, so others cannot pass! )

So happy your parents have moved back into their house. I'm sure that all the moving "helpers" are probably sore after a few days of lifting and moving boxes and furniture. (Moving is a bear -- been there many times in my life.)

Bummer about one of the companies you all had to deal with, during the rebuild. Sounds awful. And I agree that even though you can see certain things not properly done in the house, best to keep it on the low down with (some) other family members -- and deal with the issues separately. As you said, your parents have been stressed out over all the upheaval in their lives this past year, so no need to add additional angst at this point. They seem happy just to be back in their own home, and that's good enough for now.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Hilarious! (I'd like to have one of those leaf blowers to take to the supermarket, to blast away the oblivious loons, that insist on stopping their grocery cart in the middle of the aisle, so others cannot pass! )

Yup, just another indication of the non-aware, uncaring, self involved that have come about due in a large part to parents not giving the proper example or teaching. How does that even happen in a building full of people all sharing the same area. It is worse now with the advent of online shopping. Those giant carts being pushed around by the store staff, stopping every few feet to pick up items and leaving that barge thing sitting in the middle or the opposite side of where they are standing. That completely blocks the aisle.

How many use the online grocery shopping thing? I have a daughter that does it all the time. I look at the people that are assigned to filling the order and I think, I'll bet they are trained to either take the items that are close to being dated or are bad items, especially cuts of meat or bread or other things that if not sold will have to be thrown out soon or that no one else wanted. I tend to want to see what I am buying before I get home.

 

[93boomer]

Yup, just another indication of the non-aware, uncaring, self involved that have come about due in a large part to parents not giving the proper example or teaching. How does that even happen in a building full of people all sharing the same area. It is worse now with the advent of online shopping. Those giant carts being pushed around by the store staff, stopping every few feet to pick up items and leaving that barge thing sitting in the middle or the opposite side of where they are standing. That completely blocks the aisle.

How many use the online grocery shopping thing? I have a daughter that does it all the time. I look at the people that are assigned to filling the order and I think, I'll bet they are trained to either take the items that are close to being dated or are bad items, especially cuts of meat or bread or other things that if not sold will have to be thrown out soon or that no one else wanted. I tend to want to see what I am buying before I get home.

I hate those big things in Walmart. They definitely block the aisles.
One of my sisters uses online shopping fir groceries. She likes it. My DD uses it occasionally. She had some bad meat a couple of times so only orders staple items, no meat now. She loves Target online though.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Yup, just another indication of the non-aware, uncaring, self involved that have come about due in a large part to parents not giving the proper example or teaching. How does that even happen in a building full of people all sharing the same area. It is worse now with the advent of online shopping. Those giant carts being pushed around by the store staff, stopping every few feet to pick up items and leaving that barge thing sitting in the middle or the opposite side of where they are standing. That completely blocks the aisle.

How many use the online grocery shopping thing? I have a daughter that does it all the time. I look at the people that are assigned to filling the order and I think, I'll bet they are trained to either take the items that are close to being dated or are bad items, especially cuts of meat or bread or other things that if not sold will have to be thrown out soon or that no one else wanted. I tend to want to see what I am buying before I get home.

I have a couple friends that shop for Shipt and I asked them about that and they said no. They said that people just shop differently. Like there are some people who legit just grab the first item in the row/ pile. And there are some others like me that inspect every item before choosing the best one. Most shoppers are somewhere in between because they want to get a good tip but they also want to move quickly so they can get more shops in.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I really liked Satuli Canteen, but E didn't really. She liked the meat, so she ate quite a bit of the meat from my bowl...it was too much for me anyway. We ate there our 2nd AK day, which A refused to set foot in AK and my husband decided to stay with him. So they didn't eat at Satuli....A wouldn't have eaten anything there anyway.

I liked Navi River, but it's not a must do, and FoP made me dizzy, though E LOVED it. I'd do it again for her if she didn't want to go alone. I didn't hate it. But if I were by myself, I'd feel no need to do it again. They had some yummy snacks in Pandora. But really, AK as a whole I can happily skip. It's my least favorite park. The only thing I really look forward to there is the Safari and Kali River. Nemo was fun, but we've seen it so we don't need to see it again. I fell asleep during FotLK the first time, and the 2nd time E got heat exhaustion in the line....haven't had a good experience there. ITtBAB traumatized A and we didn't like it much. There's just nothing much for us there. I'd rather go to Epcot and wander around the world showcase. If we DO go to AK, there's only a handful of things I enjoy and nothing that's a must do.

Navi River is really boring. I can't do FoP. I don't even try it. It makes me so horribly motion sick. I normally go find something else to do while my group gets on it. I love walking around AK with my camera. I get the best shots in AK. And then of course there's EE, which I love.

Epcot is my least favorite park. B hates walking through shops, so he usually ends up sitting outside when I walk through them, but usually I take him on rides, and there just aren't that many. Dad loves Epcot, so he plans so many days there that I'm usually like, Dad no more Epcot! Please! Sometimes we go over to DHS or MK while my parents are in Epcot and meet them later.

 

[Figgy1]

We rented apartments in the cities. All except Venice. There we reserved a hotel just off St. Marks Square. So meals in the cities were always in the winging it category. If we didn't feel like going to a restaurant we went to a local grocery and bought a few things and made a meal for ourselves. The only thing I was stressed about were the apartments. I kept wondering if the ones we set up was a dump or a decent place to stay. Turned out OK. I would never even think about renting an apartment in the states for 3 or 4 days, but we did that in Europe.

Eventually we found renting a house or condo to be rather efficient when in Orlando for an extended period of time. Having a kitchen gave us options for food, the price allowed us to extend our stay and we weren't on top of each other

 

[Figgy1]

Navi River is really boring. I can't do FoP. I don't even try it. It makes me so horribly motion sick. I normally go find something else to do while my group gets on it. I love walking around AK with my camera. I get the best shots in AK. And then of course there's EE, which I love.

Epcot is my least favorite park. B hates walking through shops, so he usually ends up sitting outside when I walk through them, but usually I take him on rides, and there just aren't that many. Dad loves Epcot, so he plans so many days there that I'm usually like, Dad no more Epcot! Please! Sometimes we go over to DHS or MK while my parents are in Epcot and meet them later.

I loved EPCOT. The shopping, snacking, sipping For quite a while it was my favorite park. The boys and I and I always like AK but my dh hated it but loved it once we could stay past dark and they added Tiffin's and Nomad

 

[Figgy1]

Dh wound up building a new computer for himself because James' old one was just not worth fixing. James is getting dh's computer and dh is just about setting up the new one he built. At least the box of parts is away

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I loved EPCOT. The shopping, snacking, sipping For quite a while it was my favorite park. The boys and I and I always like AK but my dh hated it but loved it once we could stay past dark and they added Tiffin's and Nomad

I think once Remy's and Guardians open, I'll be happier with it. I thought I would like it better once I turned 21, but it turns out I'm allergic to a lot of the drinks, and I'm not a big drinker anyway.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Eventually we found renting a house or condo to be rather efficient when in Orlando for an extended period of time. Having a kitchen gave us options for food, the price allowed us to extend our stay and we weren't on top of each other

I did that as well, but that was close to WDW within a half a mile. Rented a 6 bedroom villa with screened in pool and jacuzzi. But, that was an area I was familiar with not a random area in the city. Yes, there are a lot of things to see in those European areas, but nothing as specific as WDW would be. And we were renting it from the states, with no idea where they were and what condition they might be in.

BTW, the villa for our Disney trip was beautifully furnished with laundry, full kitchen, dining room and play room with a pool table and air hockey. It even had an extra room with a working computer. Every bedroom had a flat screen TV and there was one in the living room as well. It was a great deal when you are housing 11 people (4 children). We only spent 4 days in the parks and went to other things in the Kissimmee area and Kennedy space ctr. I went there ahead of everyone else with my car along with my friend. I purchased, ahead of time all the 7 day park tickets, and 2 additional car rentals and round trip airfare from Vermont and back for 7 of the 11. My sister paid for her and my nephews airfare on her own. Total Bill = $7200.00. Not counting food, because we all bought our own food. This was in 2008 when all tickets never expired. It left all of us with 3 days that we all used over the next couple of years. I don't remember exactly the name of the agency that I rented through. For some reason All Stars seemed to jump into my mind, but Disney has an All Star resort I think. I do remember it was right in the area where the China Theme Park was located on 192.

 

[Songbird76]

I really like how you used your TS credits for experiences (in addition to food). If I was travelling with others and purchased TS, I'd definitely follow your lead on that. Good advice.

That's what I love...there's no one right way to do Disney. You do whatever works for your group. There's no right way or wrong way. We have some fantastic memories. But if I was alone, I'd probably do more restaurants based on what to eat than an experience, because it's just not as fun with no one to share in it. I love the interactions between my kids and Cinderella's stepsisters....so.much.fun. But without the kids, I'd feel weird and wouldn't know what to say. It would just be awkward. And there are some places I really wish I could eat, but the kids aren't into ethnic foods, so they really wouldn't enjoy it, but I would go if I were alone.

Just out of curiosity, do you ever feel lonely or self-conscious on your trips? Sometimes I find myself craving alone time, but then 5 minutes later, I miss having companionship. I've never been alone at Disney, but it's so big and so loud, I'm afraid that the alone time would just make me feel insignificant and lonely. And I've always had a thing about eating alone...I always feel like everyone is looking at me and judging what I am eating. I wonder if being at Disney would make that worse because there are so many more people, or would it help because there are so many other things to look at that I could be more invisible.

 

[Songbird76]

Navi River is really boring. I can't do FoP. I don't even try it. It makes me so horribly motion sick. I normally go find something else to do while my group gets on it. I love walking around AK with my camera. I get the best shots in AK. And then of course there's EE, which I love.

Epcot is my least favorite park. B hates walking through shops, so he usually ends up sitting outside when I walk through them, but usually I take him on rides, and there just aren't that many. Dad loves Epcot, so he plans so many days there that I'm usually like, Dad no more Epcot! Please! Sometimes we go over to DHS or MK while my parents are in Epcot and meet them later.

I think Navi River is really pretty, and it's nice and relaxing. I mean, it's not a favorite that I have to do every trip, but if I'm in AK anyway, it's one of the few things there I enjoy. I love Epcot because I really like learning about other cultures....always have. Epcot was my favorite from the first time we went there. It's changed a lot, and I do miss some of the old things like world of Motion, the original Imagination, etc, but I still love the World Showcase, and I love Soarin'. I wish I had dared to do it when it was still California themed, but I love all the beauty in the current version.

 

[Songbird76]

Eventually we found renting a house or condo to be rather efficient when in Orlando for an extended period of time. Having a kitchen gave us options for food, the price allowed us to extend our stay and we weren't on top of each other

I wouldn't mind doing that IF it didn't mean me having to cook. I don't enjoy cooking, and it feels really unfair for everyone to get vacation except me. So if we go on vacation, we're eating in restaurants, or I'm not going to do the cooking!

 

[Figgy1]

I think once Remy's and Guardians open, I'll be happier with it. I thought I would like it better once I turned 21, but it turns out I'm allergic to a lot of the drinks, and I'm not a big drinker anyway.

Wine eliminates the allergy issue for the most part

 

[Figgy1]

I did that as well, but that was close to WDW within a half a mile. Rented a 6 bedroom villa with screened in pool and jacuzzi. But, that was an area I was familiar with not a random area in the city. Yes, there are a lot of things to see in those European areas, but nothing as specific as WDW would be. And we were renting it from the states, with no idea where they were and what condition they might be in.

BTW, the villa for our Disney trip was beautifully furnished with laundry, full kitchen, dining room and play room with a pool table and air hockey. It even had an extra room with a working computer. Every bedroom had a flat screen TV and there was one in the living room as well. It was a great deal when you are housing 11 people (4 children). We only spent 4 days in the parks and went to other things in the Kissimmee area and Kennedy space ctr. I went there ahead of everyone else with my car along with my friend. I purchased, ahead of time all the 7 day park tickets, and 2 additional car rentals and round trip airfare from Vermont and back for 7 of the 11. My sister paid for her and my nephews airfare on her own. Total Bill = $7200.00. Not counting food, because we all bought our own food. This was in 2008 when all tickets never expired. It left all of us with 3 days that we all used over the next couple of years. I don't remember exactly the name of the agency that I rented through. For some reason All Stars seemed to jump into my mind, but Disney has an All Star resort I think. I do remember it was right in the area where the China Theme Park was located on 192.

Back then All Stars was a major rental company

 

[MinnieM123]

Yup, just another indication of the non-aware, uncaring, self involved that have come about due in a large part to parents not giving the proper example or teaching. How does that even happen in a building full of people all sharing the same area. It is worse now with the advent of online shopping. Those giant carts being pushed around by the store staff, stopping every few feet to pick up items and leaving that barge thing sitting in the middle or the opposite side of where they are standing. That completely blocks the aisle.

How many use the online grocery shopping thing? I have a daughter that does it all the time. I look at the people that are assigned to filling the order and I think, I'll bet they are trained to either take the items that are close to being dated or are bad items, especially cuts of meat or bread or other things that if not sold will have to be thrown out soon or that no one else wanted. I tend to want to see what I am buying before I get home.

There have been some issues with the online grocery shoppers. Our supermarkets have clear up or down arrows for aisles, so that shoppers will all be heading in the same direction in any aisle. This lessens face to face (for social distancing), if all are going in the same direction.

However, sometimes the people hired for the online shopping (with the larger carts) don't respect the arrows, and I nearly had a collision with one that flew around the corner in a (down) arrow aisle, when I was an UP arrow line. The guy apologized for nearly ramming into me, and he turned around and slowed down.

The other issue (a few months ago) was that some of those shoppers were entering the store during the senior-customers-only shopping hour; and after complaints, the management put that to a halt.

Lastly, for the polite ones, they do provide a service for people who cannot get out to a grocery store, or prefer to stay home until the pandemic slows down. I can see how people like the service at least for basic items (boxes of cereal, for example). But for meat, fresh veggies or dairy, I think I'd be more careful selecting those items. (Especially milk -- I always reach in the back of the shelf for the fresher milk date.)

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

Wine eliminates the allergy issue for the most part