keith_h

On 3/22/2020 at 12:03 PM, Travisma said:

Am I the only one that is getting aggravated about these various blog sites posting their theories about when the parks and hotels are going to be opened, and how they will allows guests back in?

They don't bother me at all. I don't waste time reading them.

23 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

I would hope so too, but then I see reports and photos of Spring Breakers on the FL beaches...

One of my nephews allowed a friend to spend a couple of months living at his house to get back on her feet after a breakup. She along with a bunch of friends went to Mexico for spring break. He told them due to his work, elderly family members, etc she would have to quarantine somewhere else for 2 weeks and was accused of being an old fuddy duddy. He stood his ground and she is in quarantine somewhere but he still doesn't understand their casual, don't care attitude about this whole mess. 

When I saw the title I thought it was going to be shorts the clothing not the film.

On 3/17/2020 at 8:56 AM, Travisma said:

I have a distant relative whose stance is "Does anyone personally know someone who has the virus ?"   He doesn't know anyone, so he thinks it's all a media hoax/hype.

He has been a strong supporter of a certain unnamed politician who has just changed his stance on this entire mess, so we will see if he changes his mind to match the politician.

Which I think has been a large part of the problem and has caused some of the unneeded panic. There has been a lack of clear information from the CDC which allowed all sorts of conspiracies to break loose. The information is finally starting to come out but it is hard to put the conspiracy genii back in its bottle once it has escaped.

There is reason for real concern. The US health system only has hospital beds for 2.8 per 1000 people. This compares to 3.2 per 1000 for Italy and 3.7 per 1000 for China. We aren't even in the ballpark with South Korea's 12.3 per 1000. All three have seen their medical systems over burdened and unlike China who can marshal thousands to build new hospitals in weeks we don't have the ability to turn everything around on a dime. If the US were to see the same infection curves we would be in real trouble with what to do with the infected not to mention the normal everyday medical issues that require critical care in a hospital.

Well it's come round again so it's time show a little irrational exuberance for everyone's favorite number. Happy Pi day y'all.

57 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

That is good.  With Georgia school closing for two weeks starting on Monday, I'm concerned for those families who will not only need childcare... but whose children were part of the free lunch program.  Actually, I'm concerned period as while I am all for being cautious (PLEASE, if you're at risk, be cautious)... how things are being handled now is going to bankrupt some companies and financial break many, many households.

As I posted in another thread one of the rumors my wife is hearing at her school is even if the system shuts down faculty, staff and child nutrition will still be required to come into the schools to prepare lessons for all and food for those on a lunch program. The food and lessons for those without online access would then be delivered via the bus system.

I do not recommend the KOA in Hatteras. We were there this past fall and while the ocean is just over the dune the facilities were in rough shape. Some was due to hurricanes and tropical storms but some was just plain neglect.  While we haven't stayed there Camp Hatteras Campground next door looks very nice and is likely where we will stay on our next trip to the outerbanks. The park service also has some campgrounds on the outerbanks which from the road look pretty good and appear to have a bit more room between sites than the private campgrounds have.

For the planner why not just break the trip up so it will fit the number of slots? For example if the planner only supports 10 stops fill and create a new trip to handle the overflow.

Some words of warning about going into Canada. They have strict food importation requirements. One example is all meat and poultry must be in packaging that shows the country and potatoes have to be commercially packaged. There are also restrictions on pets, firearms and other items. Keep in mind you can't cross the border anymore on just a regular drivers license so you will need to be sure you and the family have proper documentation.

Here are some links:

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html

https://www.inspection.gc.ca/food-safety-for-industry/information-for-consumers/travellers/eng/1389630031549/1389630282362

And since you'll want to get back into the country:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens

On 3/5/2020 at 8:32 AM, h2odivers...Ray said:

Tried to book a FP at the 60 day mark and they were all gone.  So was smugglers run, toy story mania, slinky, and alien saucers.
 

I really wish they would get rid of all FPs!

That happened to us on our last trip. It really takes some of the magic away from the trip.

On 2/21/2020 at 9:17 PM, djsamuel said:

A much larger percentage of people at Disneyland are locals and aren’t as desperate to ride Rise of the Resistance as those at HS who have paid a lot of money for a single trip to WDW.

Being supported by locals has always been the big difference between Disneyland and WDW. Being local really does reduce the feeling that you must get to the park and rush to get everything in. When I lived in SoCal it was very common for friends and myself to decide to go to the park on the spur of the moment. Talking with family that still lives there that type behavior really hasn't changed. 

23 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Okay, you’re prudent and practical. Disney doesn’t want that. They want guests who are frivolous and undisciplined with their spending. Not someone who turns down an $9 beer because they have a cooler full back at the campsite. 

I rarely turn down the $9 beers or any of the other over priced alcoholic drinks. In fact we go out of our way to visit the various WDW establishments that specialize in such libations and appetizers. 

We enjoyed last year. This year I know we won't be able to. Rene's father has not been doing well health wise so we are planning a few extended trips up to the Chicago area which will pretty much kill any true vacations for this year. 

20 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Yeah that ancient but functional phone will probably not score you a boarding group. But, you are welcome to join one of the 90 minute plus standby queues for the Millennium Falcon or Slinky Dog rides.  That’s what you get for being cheap.  WDW doesn’t want cheap or poor people.  They want dummies who waste money on the newest phones.  They’re more likely to buy one of those $300 lightsabers.  

TCD

I don't consider myself cheap. I consider it the Yankee sensibility I learned living in New England as a kid. If it isn't broken don't fix it, if it is broken but does the job repair it and if neither of those apply  throw in the barn someone will buy it someday as an antique.  

21 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

The new ride is amazing, and it’s definitely worth taking a shot to ride it. But have a solid backup plan.

However it isn't worth replacing my ancient but functional phone so I have a fighting chance at getting a boarding pass.

We've tried his Washington DC restaurant a couple of times and were not impressed on either visit. Unless the Disney Springs location is leaps and bounds above the DC location I would have no regrets skipping the special event. 

23 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

The cabin driveways are very short. A 22’ motor home won’t fit in most of them, and the rules say all wheels must be on the pavement. You might be able to park your Class C outside your cabin, but I wouldn’t count on it. 

TCD

Of course we all know how well they enforce the rules. 

The price increases are giving us second thoughts. We had thought about a trip next year but with the price increases and folks saying how Jan/Feb is no longer the slow time I'm not sure we want to go anymore. We just don't find anything magical about wall to wall people or not being able to get FP's on the same day they open up. They say the only thing certain is death and taxes. I would add "and Disney's annual price increases."

I'm surprised WDW hasn't created a premium line cut pass that allows the holder to jump in before any FP pass holders or standby lines. I'm sure they'd make plenty of money off of it. I could see them doing something like unlimited cuts for $100/day, 5 for $50 or $15/ride.

On 2/11/2020 at 7:54 AM, Travisma said:

The growth was attributed to guests spending more money because of "higher ticket prices and an increase in food, beverage and merchandise spending."

This won't change as long as more people keep attending the parks and willingly paying the higher prices.

On 2/5/2020 at 7:00 PM, Tri-Circle-D said:

I forgot to comment on how surprised I was to see that banner plane pulling the Rosie O’Grady’s/Church Street Station banner when the boat was in the canal.  That’s a blast from the past!  Disney must have found a way to ban the banner planes- I haven’t seen one in years. 

TCD

Disney got Congress to create a 3 mile radius of restricted airspace around WDW and Disneyland in 2003. It was hidden in a large spending bill so it would fly under the covers of violating Congress's own rule against doing such a thing. To date Disney is the only amusement park company to have no fly zones over their properties in the US.

1 hour ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

If they weren't so darned loud, I think I'd rather trams over buses... well, except in the rain...

Except when it's in the 90's for both temperature and humidity.

I know mileage may vary but we had success getting our previous trailer's warranty work handled locally by using a dealer that sold trailers by the same manufacturer but not the same line. This way it wasn't like we went to the direct competition. We also had the manufacturer grease things a bit by contacting the dealer after I did to also talk about doing the warranty work. 

As Jason said Custer State Park is near Mt Rushmore. It is where we stayed on our trip to Montana a couple of years ago. The campground we stayed at, Blue Bell, was electric only but it had an easy to get to water spigot to fill the tank, plenty of room and a nice bathhouse. According to the rangers Custer has more Bison than Yellowstone. Just to the south of Custer State park there is Wind Cave National Park and to the west Jewel Cave National Monument. The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is not too far from the area just off I-90. 

Due to Rene's work schedule we only had a day to look around but decided when she retires in a couple of years we are going to head back up there and spend 4 or 5 days just in that area to get  a chance to really see it.

Another thing to keep in mind in the Yellowstone/Tetons/Black Hills is roads don't open on a set schedule as a rule. You might see an opening date but if the snow doesn't melt or a storm comes through those dates can change. This won't stop you to getting to where your going it just might be by a circuitous route. Also be prepared for the potential of snow and cold weather. On our way from Yellowstone to Bozeman to see family though we didn't have much accumulation on the roads we had snow for just about the full trip which added time onto our drive. This was right at the middle of May. We also had snow and freezing temperatures a week later on the day we left Custer State Park. 

On 1/23/2020 at 1:38 PM, Robin said:

We are campers have tented it and for the past few years have a pop up. We really want a travel trailer.

Any companies better or worse than the others?

Winnebago is generally rated well. We have a Micro Minnie and the interior and exterior finish was much better than other trailers in its class however it has a higher price point. While we learned a lot from it I would not go with a Palomino PaloMini or its sister line the Real-Lite Mini. It is an entry level trailer and is priced accordingly but it aged quickly due to cheaper construction to keep the low price. While it wasn't falling apart when we traded it in it required a lot of maintenance due to cheap components to keep it rolling and leak free.  

Other than some of the really high end trailers I think the general quality and number of problems is similar from one manufacturer to another. While there many RV brands the number of manufacturers isn't that large nor is the number of companies that make all of the parts. What to purchase mostly boils down to what floor plan and features meet your needs. I think the more important part of buying an RV is the quality of the dealer after sale support. Many have lousy service departments or won't go to bat for you when dealing with warranty concerns. 

My recommendation would be to look for a couple of floor plans you like then look for a highly rated dealer that sells the brand in your area. This way you won't have to deal with the frustrations of poor service on the inevitable repairs.  

On 1/22/2020 at 9:54 PM, tim5055 said:

The fence is about 4 feet tall.  Our Husky/German Shepherd Dog mix is an escape artist and can jump or just climb most fences.  I have to keep her and our German Shepherd Dog busy and excited or she will be over the fence.  She has "excaped" a couple of times but like at home, all I generally need to do is hop on the golf cart and honk the horn and she comes running as she loved to ride the cart.

 

There is a public dog park over in Clermont, but it's really not convenient to the Fort.  We generally just use it when we sty at Lake Louisa State Park before the Fort.

20 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

WOW what a bunch of neat ideas.  I had no idea about whippets. 

There is a dog park at The DR. Phillips park.  I'll have to check fence height, don't know if big enough to make a whippet tired.

Thanks for the information about the parks. Gretchen, no rush on the fence height.

22 hours ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

I have not been to the Fort's dog park, but I have owned and loved whippets since 1983.  I've had over 8 whippets in my life, and fostered a dozen others for whippet rescue.   

 - snip -

Feel free to message me if you would like any other whippet related tips. 

Thank you for the ideas. While I had planned plenty of walks since we have miles of walking paths all within a few blocks of the house I was still trying to figure out what to do about vigorous exercise. Our current house isn't really laid out well for a fence so I had been leaning to build a 50 - 100 foot covered run but even that would be a lot of work/cost clearing trees when we plan on selling in the next couple of years. One of the criteria for the next house is it has to be easy to fence. The flirt pole is a great idea as we have plenty of open space for something like that and it would work when we travel as well.

I was also wondering about a retractable leash as some folks seem to be against them for the breed. I thought using it with a martingale collar and not allowing too much slack would allow the dog a little freedom to roam. By using it regularly I would think the dog would come to recognize the collar tightening and back off. I wouldn't let a dog off leash outside where we live. Too many tree rats, rabbits and cats with nearby busy roads.  

We are just starting our journey. We have a breeder in one of the neighboring towns I am hoping to get with to meet the breed  and talk about acquiring a dog. We aren't beyond considering a rescue animal but they don't seem to be very common. While we would gladly take a puppy if we had the opportunity we would rather get an animal between 6 months a 2 years old. Again these are all things we were planning to discuss with the local breeder.  

We have owned more traditional breeds in the past (Golden Retriever, German Shepard, etc). Mostly large breeds. As Rene gets closer to retiring, I'm already retired, we have talked about getting a dog that wouldn't be too big or small and would travel well with the confined spaces of the truck and trailer. Travel is also the reason we would prefer a bit older dog. We are traveling more the closer Rene gets to retiring and trying to house break a puppy on the road just seems like an effort in frustration. We also want a dog that can handle the longer hikes we take when doing traditional park camping or weekend walks. The Whippet along with its other attributes seems to fit our lifestyle in a number of areas. By the way, I know it was a little tongue in cheek but I think the "snobbishness" is a good trait. At many of the places we go to there are people with other dogs so the ability to ignore them is a great in my mind. Much like crossed fishing lines the last thing I want to do is untangle a bunch of leashes.