working out for Disney

[StarWarsGirl]

Despite splitting a club sandwich the size of my head before going to MNSSHP, my husband wanted a burger as soon as we got in. That is how we ended up at Cosmic Ray's. He wanted to eat there because of the outdoor seating and called Columbia Harbor House a "covid pit." Again... He also got room service (again) when we came back from the party. I think he has a hollow leg.

Ah yes, as the sister of a 21 year old, I am familiar with the hollow leg. Pecos Bill is definitely the best QS MK place (and is definitely more spread out, lol). I can't eat shrimp and don't like lobster, so Columbia Harbor House has no appeal for me. Though he could have mobile ordered and taken it outside or over to the nearby outdoor seating area at Pinocchio's. Just sayin'.

Yeah, I don't get in line when it's more than 60 minutes either unless I can eyeball it and clearly see it's not that long. But 45 or less I'll definitely get in line. I think Soarin' was like 10 minutes my entire trip. EE I did singles line on and did it 11 times in one day, with I think 7 times in a row? Lol, I just was curious how many times I could do it in the time it took for my group to do FOP. And then the second day we were over at AK, I think we used the DAS for FOP (it was just me and my brother, so I waited with him in line and then sat on a bench while he was on it) and Navi and we otherwise didn't need it, and we were done by like 2 pm. I also did Remy's last thing one night instead of watching Harmonious and it was a fairly short wait.

It's weird because I've been up to Hersheypark by myself before and I've stood in long lines up there, but I'm less willing to do it at WDW. Of course, there I basically take my Kindle with me, and they let you have food in the lines, so I'd eat and read my way through.

 

[Songbird76]

It happens to me a ton too. Most of the time, it's taller guys who just genuinely didn't see me because I'm only five feet tall and they apologize. This is where it's helpful dragging my brother around with me...they see him standing next to me and they just don't mess with me when he's around. I don't know specifically why, whether they can tell he's got ASD and they back off, or if it's just having a guy who's ten inches taller than me right there. It never happens when I'm in Hersheypark with my brother's friend who's well over six feet tall.

For some reason, I don't get the people getting into altercations with me. They either apologize or they just act like it never happened. I think people are afraid of me for some reason, which I'll take if it keeps them out of my face.

With my daughter, people just pretend they DIDN'T just smack right into her. They don't even look at her or apologize. And it's always when we're just walking straight down the path on the right side like we're supposed to and someone comes out of a store, or wants to go into one and decides to go through E to do it. It's the equivalent of running a red light because you just think you shouldn't have to wait like everyone else. It drives me nuts. The worst one was in DLP when we were at the hub waiting for the fireworks to start and we were on the raised sidewalk to the side in front of the castle. About 3 feet away from us was a lowered part for wheelchairs to get onto the street or from the street onto the sidewalk. But we made sure to stand clear of that spot as I think most people did. This middle-aged guy pushing a wheelchair type thing...it's not an actual wheelchair, but it IS a chair on wheels....with his wife in it and she was holding one of their children. He was on the street and decided to get up on the sidewalk, but instead of using that lowered curb, he just pushed the chair for all he was worth up over the curve RIGHT where E was standing. She had to jump out of the way or he would have run right into her, and with the momentum he had and the weight of the occupants in said chair, it would have broken both E's shins, I'm sure. He ended up actually dumping his wife out of the chair and she had to hold tight to the kid so he didn't go flying. I don't know what he was thinking, but there's no way he could have missed that people were standing all along there. He just didn't care and maybe he figured E was less likely to stand up to him if he hit her? Or that she was more agile and able to jump out of the way? But it was EXTREMELY rude and could have seriously injured her. There's just no excuse for that.

 

[Sans Souci]

Ugh, that's a real pet peeve of mine...people who just step right in front of you and then get angry that you had the audacity to be in their way. I feel like it happens to women a lot more frequently...people just thinking they are more important than some woman walking there. It happens to my daughter a LOT! We have this running joke (not so funny) that she must be invisible again. And I think the crowds in Disney seem to bring out the worst in people....it's hot, it's crowded, people have been standing in lines and they've paid so much for their vacations. They forget that everyone else is in the same boat and they feel entitled to a better experience than everyone else. So it's like "I don't care if you were here first. I paid a lot for this vacation and you can just wait until I've got MY <insert whatever item here>"

I've also heard that from other people that the parties are oversold. There was someone before the pandemic even who had paid for the Halloween party and it was soooo packed that they didn't really get to do anything. It's weird because Disney Food Blog is always saying how the parties are such a good way to get on rides because there aren't as many people in the parks, but from the people who go to them, it doesn't sound like that's true. And I know someone went to a party last year and said that most of the food stations for ice cream or popcorn or something weren't even set up until halfway through the party, and when they DID get them set up, the lines were so long and they ran out of whatever food item it was almost immediately. So you paid this huge price for unlimited snacks and drinks or whatever, but didn't get any of it because they were out. I'm hoping that's just because of "revenge travel" and that next year it will settle a bit more.

We went to the Boo Bash last year and I felt it wasn't as crowded as this year, but that was more expensive than the party. I did think they could have had more had more carts open for the mickey bars/ice cream sandwiches/soft drink, which are included in your ticket price--they are not free. It was crowded, yet some of the more adult rides were walk ons, but things everyone could ride were 45+ waits. PotC was 45 min at Tuesday's party, we walked onto it on Friday. I think it feels more crowded because of the strollers and scooters. When did strollers get so big? Even the single strollers are like Sherman tanks now.

I went to a few Christmas parties before covid happened and the last one I went to was in 2018. I remember thinking that was oversold, b/c SM was a 60 minute wait.

 

[Sans Souci]

Ah yes, as the sister of a 21 year old, I am familiar with the hollow leg. Pecos Bill is definitely the best QS MK place (and is definitely more spread out, lol). I can't eat shrimp and don't like lobster, so Columbia Harbor House has no appeal for me. Though he could have mobile ordered and taken it outside or over to the nearby outdoor seating area at Pinocchio's. Just sayin'.

Yeah, I don't get in line when it's more than 60 minutes either unless I can eyeball it and clearly see it's not that long. But 45 or less I'll definitely get in line. I think Soarin' was like 10 minutes my entire trip. EE I did singles line on and did it 11 times in one day, with I think 7 times in a row? Lol, I just was curious how many times I could do it in the time it took for my group to do FOP. And then the second day we were over at AK, I think we used the DAS for FOP (it was just me and my brother, so I waited with him in line and then sat on a bench while he was on it) and Navi and we otherwise didn't need it, and we were done by like 2 pm. I also did Remy's last thing one night instead of watching Harmonious and it was a fairly short wait.

It's weird because I've been up to Hersheypark by myself before and I've stood in long lines up there, but I'm less willing to do it at WDW. Of course, there I basically take my Kindle with me, and they let you have food in the lines, so I'd eat and read my way through.

Speaking of legs, how is your inured one?

 

[Sans Souci]

Location could be the answer. We are not an AA hub and they fly out of both IAH and Hobby in Houston. We're almost always routed through their hub in Dallas (DFW). I think our flight back from Paris was the only time we've ever flown through another hub, and in that case, it was Chicago-O'Hare.

I will tell her about scouting out the AA CS desk in each airport/terminal just in case it's needed. It will give her something to do with that nervous energy while waiting. I'm also worried about the size of DFW and her having to make a connection. American has flights go out of terminals A-E at DFW and I'm nearly positive she's going to have to travel between terminals for her flights. A routine commuter to and from Houston isn't likely to share a terminal with an international flight in and out of Jamaica. She also has mobility issues, so a connection plan is probably in order. The good news is there should be multiple CS desks she can use in DFW along the way if needed. I can't recall where any of them are, but I know they are there. She's got about 2 hours with her connection, and I suspect she will be using a walker or a cane (and be in a walking boot), so I'm also pushing her to request disability assistance. That should help tremendously.

If she has mobility issues, she might want to think about getting someone to help her at DFW. There are monorails between AA terminals and maybe someone pushing her in a wheelchair can make it a little easier for her.

 

[Sans Souci]

The pics are nice and it looks like a great view from your room. I'm sorry there were issues during the trip. The guy in Epcot would have really ticked me off. I try to be very forgiving as I know people's brains go into vacation mode and sometimes the people you're with don't use the best judgement on where to stop or walk. That being said, his ugly reply shows that nasty sense of entitlement we see creeping into so many parts of life. I've also been developing some theories about the crowds. Pre-pandemic, one of the Disney fan sites was doing a multi-year study on how Disney was artificially inflating line length to make attractions look more popular than they really are. Grossly inflated posted wait times were part of it, but they were manipulating queue switches, reduced staffing, shut down some load areas, reduced vehicles in use, slowed ride speeds for non-thrill rides and reduced vehicle capacity to run less efficiently than they were previously running. FP+ and the tier system helped this plan. On one hand, it better distributed crowds, but the parks felt more crowded since more people were pushed to these other rides just to get their 3-pass quota for the start. The only hole in that plan was that the buildings were still eating up a chunk of people and making the parks not look as crowded and as popular as they wanted them to appear. So, I'm wondering if they toyed with all of this some more to keep more people milling about the outside areas. They are still not operating at pre-pandemic capacity and are still using the park reservation system to increase the appearance of demand. For Epcot, F&W will of course just have more people in the WS, but as a whole and even for hard ticketed parties, I think there's a lot of manipulation going on. I'm sure some is people refusing the pay the upcharge for Genie+, but I wouldn't put it past them to find other ways to artificially inflate crowds for popularity perceptions.

I understand some of the feelings too. I've been going since I was a kid and have amazing memories. It took on a whole new life when we started bringing our children. Sam wasn't even a year old when I booked their first trip to WDW. Even though more recent trips have been disappointing, I approached each one with the same levels of excitement and enthusiasm as the first, hopeful that things would be better. I'm sure we'll return some day, but it's also kind of heartbreaking to think that a place that brought us so much joy over the years has changed enough that we have no real plans or desires to return. I don't think you're at that point, but there's no harm in being honest about changes you don't like, especially when it's been so great for you over the years.

For me, it's gotten to the point where the hotel and its pool are the main draw. I start thinking, "Couldn't I just do this at a nice resort elsewhere without the hullabaloo of the parks?" Before vaccines were available, we drove down to Virginia Beach and stayed at The Cavalier. It's a very nice hotel with its own beach club. I enjoyed it, but I also can't be on the beach or poolside all day, every day. We went to the local arboretum and did SUP and I walked up and down the boardwalk for exercise every day. I feel like going to WDW, gives me like, an "active" component to my vacation. I know I am not explaining this well, because WDW isn't like "super active." I think the answer going forward is fewer park days and more low-key, off-site stuff. I think I am someone who needs a little bit more down time than others, because there were points last week where I felt overwhelmed.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning.

Checking in with yesterday's and today's workouts. A YouTube channel that I was following for workouts has gone behind a paywall, so I started this 8 week program that is behind the paywall. So far, it's ok. I'll see how I feel in a few weeks. It is straight up lifting weights without cardio. I prefer a mix.

The feral cat (Callie) my son has been feeding has started coming in the house, bit by bit. I notice it started as the nights got a little cooler. She comes in, snoops around the lower floor. She mostly leaves immediately. The other day, she settled down for a (leaky) nap. My son put a house out for her, but she seems uninterested so far. I'd rather she uses that in the winter. She is likely teeming with fleas and heaven knows what else, plus she is incontinent--in every sense of the word, sadly. We were hoping to get to a point where we could at least get some Frontline on her to keep fleas and ticks off of her.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

If she has mobility issues, she might want to think about getting someone to help her at DFW. There are monorails between AA terminals and maybe someone pushing her in a wheelchair can make it a little easier for her.

That's pretty much what I've suggested. I found the AA link so she can request disability assistance in advance. DFWs rail between the terminals is pretty good (at least from our experiences), but any extra help she can get will make this an easier process. I'm also hoping that AA will help make sure she gets to her connections in time with her disability needs on record. I know I've seen this happen for other travelers, so hopefully it can help her as well.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

For me, it's gotten to the point where the hotel and its pool are the main draw. I start thinking, "Couldn't I just do this at a nice resort elsewhere without the hullabaloo of the parks?" Before vaccines were available, we drove down to Virginia Beach and stayed at The Cavalier. It's a very nice hotel with its own beach club. I enjoyed it, but I also can't be on the beach or poolside all day, every day. We went to the local arboretum and did SUP and I walked up and down the boardwalk for exercise every day. I feel like going to WDW, gives me like, an "active" component to my vacation. I know I am not explaining this well, because WDW isn't like "super active." I think the answer going forward is fewer park days and more low-key, off-site stuff. I think I am someone who needs a little bit more down time than others, because there were points last week where I felt overwhelmed.

I can see that. My parents are still passholders and were at WDW a little earlier this month. I know they went into the parks, but they don't buy into Genie+ or do long lines. It's really become a stop and smell the roses sort of experience, as well as making daily decisions to return to their resort if the crowds, heat, or anything else makes park time a less than magical experience. All of the highlights I heard about for this most recent trip were pertaining to dining, resort time and a special experience they booked. This time they did a catch and release fishing trip from the Contemporary. Some of their biggest excitement was catching the EWP from their balcony and MK fireworks from the area at the end of their hallway. I think listening to your body and mind and giving it that downtime could lead to more enjoyable WDW visits in the future.

 

[Figgy1]

Howdy! Long time no see but this canning season has been crazy!!!!!!!!!! and crazier!!!!!!!!!!! The good news is I've got enough salsa for the year along with pickled peppers, caponata, sugar free cinnamon applesauce, cranberry habanero sauce, hot sauce (important due to the siracha supply chain issues), dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, and a few other things. In addition to what I've put up for my house I also canned enough to put in Christmas/Holiday/Birthday gift baskets. All I have to get done is my sugar free "white" applesauce but I'll probably make a habanero pepper apple butter as well because my hot pepper plants went a bit crazy as in the plants were weighed down all season and they're still coming in The good thing is I'm getting bit of a break until at least this weekend as the variety of apples I use for that sauce won't be in until at least then. PHEW!!!!!!!!
In the meantime James has started college which was a bit of an adjustment to his schedule but he's doing quite well Me not so much as he's back to "studying is making me hungry"
I've been getting in practices and walking when I can

 

[Figgy1]

Sending prayers and pixie dust @Sans Souci. I wouldn't worry as cell/phone lines are down all over the place

 

[StarWarsGirl]

With my daughter, people just pretend they DIDN'T just smack right into her. They don't even look at her or apologize. And it's always when we're just walking straight down the path on the right side like we're supposed to and someone comes out of a store, or wants to go into one and decides to go through E to do it. It's the equivalent of running a red light because you just think you shouldn't have to wait like everyone else. It drives me nuts. The worst one was in DLP when we were at the hub waiting for the fireworks to start and we were on the raised sidewalk to the side in front of the castle. About 3 feet away from us was a lowered part for wheelchairs to get onto the street or from the street onto the sidewalk. But we made sure to stand clear of that spot as I think most people did. This middle-aged guy pushing a wheelchair type thing...it's not an actual wheelchair, but it IS a chair on wheels....with his wife in it and she was holding one of their children. He was on the street and decided to get up on the sidewalk, but instead of using that lowered curb, he just pushed the chair for all he was worth up over the curve RIGHT where E was standing. She had to jump out of the way or he would have run right into her, and with the momentum he had and the weight of the occupants in said chair, it would have broken both E's shins, I'm sure. He ended up actually dumping his wife out of the chair and she had to hold tight to the kid so he didn't go flying. I don't know what he was thinking, but there's no way he could have missed that people were standing all along there. He just didn't care and maybe he figured E was less likely to stand up to him if he hit her? Or that she was more agile and able to jump out of the way? But it was EXTREMELY rude and could have seriously injured her. There's just no excuse for that.

Well, the DLP thing doesn't surprise me because...France. My first job out of college was for a large international corporation, and we had a large department based in France, so I had a lot of contact with the French. Now they worked for an American company, so they all spoke English, didn't expect us to speak French, and weren't anti-American the way some French are known for being. Some of them were absolutely lovely people. And yet they were still among some of the rudest people ever. It's like they're completely unaware of just how rude they come off to the rest of the world, like their behavior is normal there.

 

[Songbird76]

Well, the DLP thing doesn't surprise me because...France. My first job out of college was for a large international corporation, and we had a large department based in France, so I had a lot of contact with the French. Now they worked for an American company, so they all spoke English, didn't expect us to speak French, and weren't anti-American the way some French are known for being. Some of them were absolutely lovely people. And yet they were still among some of the rudest people ever. It's like they're completely unaware of just how rude they come off to the rest of the world, like their behavior is normal there.

It really is too bad that there are so many amazing places to visit in France, because traveling there SUCKS. The people are so rude and unhelpful. Even if you try to speak French, they pretend not to understand you. And I mean, especially in Paris where there are tourists from all over the world, people in the tourist industry SHOULD be able to speak English because it's considered a world language. To work in the travel industry here, you have to speak German, French, and English. All kids here learn English in school, and they have to learn others, but English is required every year. E is in her 5th year of French and she had 3 years of German. A had 3 years of German and French, but they don't have the teachers for it anymore in the upper classes, so they just to English. And my friends in Germany have kids and they are required to learn English as well...I think it's required in most European countries. So most of them CAN, but won't. But then you shouldn't be a jerk about it when people actually try to speak YOUR language. At least if we ever go back, E is pretty good at French, so she can do the communicating.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Speaking of legs, how is your inured one?

It's very slowly progressing. I probably need to make an appointment with the doctor to evaluate. I did pretty well with it in WDW. I got a better knee brace, which I wore for the first few days, and then I also have this thing that's basically a strap that keeps my knee cap in place, which is a lot of my problem because when my knee cap moves, it causes a lot of pain. It also tends to get stiff on me. I had trouble getting out of like Space Mountain because I would get in, and then it would get stiff while I was in it, and then I'd have trouble getting out. Or sometimes I'd just trip because it would get stiff and not want to bend. I've been sick and haven't been to the gym since I've been back, so that'll be next for me.

 

[Sans Souci]

Howdy! Long time no see but this canning season has been crazy!!!!!!!!!! and crazier!!!!!!!!!!! The good news is I've got enough salsa for the year along with pickled peppers, caponata, sugar free cinnamon applesauce, cranberry habanero sauce, hot sauce (important due to the siracha supply chain issues), dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, and a few other things. In addition to what I've put up for my house I also canned enough to put in Christmas/Holiday/Birthday gift baskets. All I have to get done is my sugar free "white" applesauce but I'll probably make a habanero pepper apple butter as well because my hot pepper plants went a bit crazy as in the plants were weighed down all season and they're still coming in The good thing is I'm getting bit of a break until at least this weekend as the variety of apples I use for that sauce won't be in until at least then. PHEW!!!!!!!!
In the meantime James has started college which was a bit of an adjustment to his schedule but he's doing quite well Me not so much as he's back to "studying is making me hungry"
I've been getting in practices and walking when I can

Welcome back! Habanero pepper apple butter sounds amazing. I almost threw away my bottle of sriracha because I left it out overnight, but I read that sriracha doesn't need to be kept in the fridge. I am skeptical, but that is what the owners of Hoy Fong said. I understand why it doesn't need to be refrigerated, but it still feels wrong to me.

You should have seen all the cheesesteak deliveries coming to our house when my son was studying at home during covid.

 

[Sans Souci]

Sending prayers and pixie dust @Sans Souci. I wouldn't worry as cell/phone lines are down all over the place

He is in Fort Lauderdale. He reached out to my husband to "yell" at him for making him leave his house, since my husband's name is Ian. I am not sure what state his house in, since he lives in Cape Coral, but that can be sorted out later.

 

[Figgy1]

Thnx Now the guys think I should make more cranberry habanero plus the apple butter one and no thnx as both boys are home this year with the usual "Studying make me hungry"
Your siracha has enough vinegar/acid in it to keep germs from growing

 

[StarWarsGirl]

He is in Fort Lauderdale. He reached out to my husband to "yell" at him for making him leave his house, since my husband's name is Ian. I am not sure what state his house in, since he lives in Cape Coral, but that can be sorted out later.

Speaking of the storm, saw someone complaining on Reddit that they were checking out today and are now complaining because Disney won't give them a room.

Uh...you've known about this for a while. You had time to get the hell out of there, even if it means renting a car and driving. Not sure what to tell people who don't watch the news and figure out what they need to do.

 

[Figgy1]

Speaking of the storm, saw someone complaining on Reddit that they were checking out today and are now complaining because Disney won't give them a room.

Uh...you've known about this for a while. You had time to get the hell out of there, even if it means renting a car and driving. Not sure what to tell people who don't watch the news and figure out what they need to do.

Somebody on here had the same issue. They're from the UK and had no clue about airport closings being a thing

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Somebody on here had the same issue. They're from the UK and had no clue about airport closings being a thing

In September? In Florida? Absolutely a thing. I even told my boss before I left for WDW for two weeks that if there was a hurricane, I'd be changing my work/PTO dates so I'd work when the weather was bad, or if I needed to travel to get out of there that things would change. We left early last year to get out of Elsa's way.