Yes...for the trash. It’s just our sort of trash. It’s pretty awful in different varieties everywhere else too.
The only airline worse than Spirit is Frontier. With Frontier, maybe you get there, maybe you don't. Mostly you don't and then it's your problem. Not the situation that you need to find yourself in during your vacation.
Either Christmas or Halloween season is my long trip, mostly because I get together with friends and doing the group thing is a time suck. We alternate between Christmas and Halloween each year. The long trip is side trip intensive.
Kill me now..
Yes...for the trash. It’s just our sort of trash. It’s pretty awful in different varieties everywhere else too.
Wildwood is also the “shoebies”...the Philly types...
...just saying
Going 3-4 times a year is more relaxing...as it just tends to be more causal
It is all old...anyway.
The alternative...not going for a year or more - which I’m new to - is also great. Honestly.
Husband once had the bright idea to freeze his sandwich so he could just carry it around with him and not go back to the locker. We refer to that moment in history as the "Popsicle sandwich debacle". Of course he got hungry before the sandwich fully thawed and attempted to eat it
lol. I feel like this is the beginning of a bad lifetime movie, where this post gets used against you after your Sister-in-law mysteriously disappears!The only airline worse than Spirit is Frontier. With Frontier, maybe you get there, maybe you don't. Mostly you don't and then it's your problem. Not the situation that you need to find yourself in during your vacation.
I'm brand loyal to Southwest. West is best!
Either Christmas or Halloween season is my long trip, mostly because I get together with friends and doing the group thing is a time suck. We alternate between Christmas and Halloween each year. The long trip is side trip intensive.
Then we have a "Family" trip which is excruciating. Since my family goes frequently we just go with the flow and watch as the clueless sister-in-law disregards advice and makes all the mistakes. I'm sure I'd be in jail for homicide during one of these family trips if it weren't for cell phones. "Call me when you roll into the parks at 11:30 so I can meet you and stand in a 90 minute line for a headliner ride" is a standard phrase on my Family trip.
That family trip is never longer than 5 days and by day 2 I have murder in my eyes. The family trip is when someone decides that it's a good idea to eat at Chef Mickey's so we won't have to stand in line to meet the characters.
Lately the family trip hasn't been happening and no one is complaining.
We also have "The Girlfriends get together" trip. Who ever has DVC decides when that trip is and I treat the points donor to a couple of nice meals at a signature restaurant. There is drinking involved with that trip and since we all go to WDW frequently the pace is easy and not stressful.
When they had Star Wars Weekends that would be another short trip. Sometimes we go in the early spring. Mardi Gras at Universal is off the hook. That is another short trip.
The multiple trips thing for me is mostly about meeting friends and family and hanging out with them at WDW. Disney is sort of like a meeting place where you can do things with friends. That's why the multiple trips.
Personally speaking, I've had it with the high Disney hotel prices. Our long trip is now off site. You'd be amazed at how much more you get by staying off site. Staying off site is so much cheaper, that you can stay for longer. That's how we afford the long trip. The amenities and rooms are way better for a much lower price. Being a member of a Hotel loyalty program has it's benefits too.
People always talk about the discounts that you can find for Disney hotels but good luck with discounts during the fall and during the Christmas holidays. Discounts offered by Disney migrated into the bait and switch zone where they are heavily advertised but the available discounts were so few that unless you were lucky and made that call at the exact right moment you were out of luck. I've had luck with Passholder holder hotel discounts at Universal. You just have to know when to go (low demand weeks) and then call at the right time (maybe 6-8 weeks before your trip).
We also know the ins and outs of saving money while at Disney. For the long trip we book a hotel that has a livingroom and full kitchen. Breakfast is free at the hotel and then we duck back in for lunch either in the room or on the road (yo quiero Taco Bell). We'll have a couple of restaurant meals at WDW. We also bring snacks and beverages to the parks and carry them in our backpacks. We can stash them in a locker so we don't have to carry them around if we don't want. Having a freezer means that we can take sandwiches in a soft sided cooler with an ice pack. Husband once had the bright idea to freeze his sandwich so he could just carry it around with him and not go back to the locker. We refer to that moment in history as the "Popsicle sandwich debacle". Of course he got hungry before the sandwich fully thawed and attempted to eat it
I had this vision of having a picnic in the hub on the turf, leisurely eating our sandwiches and enjoying our chilled, thermos encased beverages. In reality we extract the sandwiches from the cooler and eat them while standing in line for an attraction. Doing Disney works up an appetite so there is nothing leisurely about eating a publix sub when you are starving to death after you just had a Mickey bar 30 minutes ago.
~NM
There is a function in the touring plans app where it allows you to rate how the parks "feel." I also will note that all of the days are rated as a "1" for my trip which ends this Saturday. IMO there seems to be a disconnect from what is clearly a massive decline in visitors, and the real "feel" of the parks. I would think a "1" would be walk-ons. But if I had to rate the parks I would rate DAK this past Saturday as a 4 or 5. So, while I would absolutely recommend to anyone, based on my experience, to come down because I feel it is safe, the value proposition is not what I expected. I think it is worst since there are significant lines and guests at times. Maybe @lentesta can shine some light on the subject.
I just saw a news story the other night on NBC Philadelphia about how the jersey shore is seeing a surge in rentals for the off season. A lot of people are looking to rent houses in Sept/Oct especially now that a lot of schools are going back virtual. It should help some of the businesses that don’t usually make much past Labor Day.
You must not have kids
If there are any crowds at all it may actually feel more crowded than normal because with limited hours everyone is in the park at the same time. Nobody is waiting in line for meet and greets or most of the rides themselves, or waiting for a parade or fireworks to start and even dining has been a mixed bag with some people having trouble getting a table service reservation so just eating counter service which means less time dining. That may be why the walkways seem more crowded. Think about FoP on a normal summer day. How many people are crammed into that 2hr standby line?
When I grew up and if I got out of line, it was tough
. I was given the choice of the belt or the shoe.
While the crowds are reduced, capacity on nearly every ride is also reduced and lines appear longer than they typically are due to the distancing. Frozen was wrapped outside wrapped around the side of the country and I waited less than 30 minutes. Of course, it would have been 10-15 minutes if they could load every row.
Don't forget about Nonna with her cast iron frying pan. She had forearms like Popeye and could fling that thing at you for miles, never missing. We had one cousin who liked to back talk to her. His head started to look like the Grand Tetons with all the dents.When I grew up and if I got out of line, it was tough
I never once took "flu season" into account when traveling. Honestly, it never even entered my mind. Hurricane season, yes, but even then only with slight concern. Flu's although more severe are past around exactly the same way a common cold is, that never stopped me, but I also don't remember having a cold when I was there or having one after I got home.
I get a kick out of Frontier airlines. It has had a bad rap since its creation. I remember in the late 60's we referred to Frontier as Tree Top Airlines. Yet, it is still in business after all these years. Something I can't explain, but then again I have never researched it. The cheap flight mentioned earlier reminded me of Peoples Express in the 80's. No reservations, no meals or snacks, first come first served seating, you didn't even pay until the plane was in flight. I often wondered what happened if the person didn't have the money when they were in route. The Pilots were cowboys. I took one once from Florida to Vermont and on the way the pilot pointed out that we were heading for a huge storm cloud straight ahead. We could actually see it out the windows. He just warned us that his plan was to fly up over it. It was like he waited until the last minute and put the pedal to the metal and quickly shot up and over the top of the cloud bank. I never went on People's again. But, it was about $30.00 from Florida to Vermont. (if you made it) Just kidding I can't remember any problems, safety wise, with People's, at least that I heard about.
The original Frontier Airlines was bought by Continental in the 80s. The new Frontier Airlines was founded in the 90s as a regional low cost carrier out of Denver when Continental abandoned their hub there. So sorta related but not actually the same legal entity.
What I mean is normal seasonal illnesses will trigger covid concerns and limit travel...regardless if it’s justified
That’s going to be a big problem for schools too. Of course the silver lining is that with everyone avoiding prolonged contact with strangers, wearing masks and washing their hands thoroughly there should be much less spread of colds and flu too.
Its THE issue with schools...
That’s unfortunate. We got home today. We spent 2 days at AK and never waited more than 15 minutes for any ride. I think the longest wait we had the whole week at all the parks was 35 minutes. I’ve never done so many rides at WDW. We managed to ride everything at MK in less than 6 hours. Despite the insufferable heat and mask it was a great trip. The only thing I missed was going to Epcot for dinner. We went to Disney Springs a couple of nights and that place was packed.