kadancer

Wow!!  We were supposed to be on this cruise, but re-booked for further down the road.  Too many Covid restrictions still in place for us to feel like it was worth the money for our first Disney cruise experience.  The original booking was to celebrate my son's 21st birthday.  He will be 23 by the time we get to go....

Thanks for a new story.

On 9/5/2021 at 6:47 PM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

I’m sorry, trying to understand... you have to pay extra for a guest assistance past (I’m guessing that’s the handicap accessible type pass)?

Agree with you on the pricing...it’s awful 😞

No, we did not have to pay extra, but because of my son's very limited ability to wait in lines and his inability to understand why we stand in Guest Services for such a long time while we are setting up his pass (he is 20, non-verbal, and has the abilities of a young child) means that we would use an admission day, just to set up his pass.  With an annual pass this was not an issue-when paying by the day it is.

The price and limitations on all tickets has gotten outrageous.  We live out of state and generally hold annual passes, but did not have active ones when the pandemic hit.  Consequently, for our 21 day stay in the campground in August we bought 10 day tickets which we could not even use at any time during our stay.  We prefer to spread our park days out.  To compound this we have a son on the severe end of the autism spectrum who literally did not leave the house for 18 months because he does not tolerate wearing a mask. Nor can he understand the question, "what do you want to do several months from now 900 miles away?"  We fully understand that his limitations are ours to bear, so we made the decision to buy his tickets on the daily basis as he requested a park.  We also knew that we would have to function without a guest assistance pass because waiting in line and getting that to happen exceeds his tolerance and we are done in the park for that day - I could not financially justify buying a ticket to have his needs accommodated and frankly, do not believe I should have to do so.  I was so proud of his patience and happy that he could keep his mask in place to at least experience some of the attractions.  Now with the newly announced annual pass prices which you must pay an upcharge for water parks and photo pass, Disney has probably priced us out of that market.  A very sad day for our family.....

Great title, wish the agony part was not so very accurate.  Reading along for the Ecstasy.

Thanks for sharing your story.

On 3/25/2021 at 2:18 PM, momof3kids-Yvonne said:

I introduced my daughter Rachel to Wawa on the above college visit tour that I mentioned. One of the colleges she is looking at is Salisbury University in Maryland. It is actually where I got my Bachelors Degree. 
 

Huge WaWa fan here in Maryland.  My mom also lives near Salisbury. 

On 2/6/2021 at 5:28 PM, Travisma said:

2000 loop has been graveled !

800 loop is closed, saw piles of gravel in front of some of the sites.

Sorry, what does it mean that it is graveled?

Really do not like this system - it totally takes away the spontaneity and all the fun that comes from the "hey, let's go ride the safari" moments of our trip.  Plus, our DS is on the severe end of the autism spectrum and  completely non-verbal, he chooses what park to visit from a picture board - it is a big deal when it is his day to choose.  He has no way to comprehend - what park do you want to visit that is 900 miles away, six months from now.  For us this is just one more heart-break in his life.....

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

On 10/10/2020 at 8:42 AM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Of course it's mind boggling... all of this, country wide, is mind boggling.   The damage done by shutting down our country is irreparable.  From businesses that took generations to build, but whose doors have now closed permanently, loved ones who have died alone in hospitals because family was not let in to advocate for them, loved ones who will die because they were either too afraid to see the doctor or their exam/procedure was deemed non-essential (case in point, by sister-in-law had to wait three months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer to have the tumor removed, because it was "non-essential"), to the substantial increase in depression and suicide rates, increase in addictions and domestic abuse.... the list just goes on and on.  Not to mention, the fear that has been driven down the throats of so many Americans.... even though the CDC admitted that tainted tests were sent out (resulting in false positives).  Even though the CDC states that a test is not necessary to diagnosis SARS-CoV-2, but that symptoms alone could be used to make a diagnosis... symptoms that are so wide spread that every viral infection on the books has at least one of the symptoms used to substantiate a covid diagnosis.  Even though the CDC director stated that hospitals had monetary incentives for reporting hospital admissions and deaths as covid (making the connection between symptomatic diagnoses and reported admissions and/or deaths very easy to see).  Even though the CDC has reported that only 6% of the "covid deaths" were deaths from the virus, the remaining 94% died with covid, not from covid.   Even though the CDC has come out to say that the overwhelming majority of the populations has a 99.9% recovery rate should they contract the virus and that those who are at risk are in a demographic of ages 70 and older.  A demographic that is retired as has the flexibility to stay at home and isolate, if they so choose.  

Mind boggling does not begin to define what some in country have been forced to do and what others have so quickly just handed over.

 

Well-said.  The manner in which this virus has been used to stop the forward momentum of our country is reprehensible and terrifying.  

17 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Michael I’m so sorry to hear about your dad. I know he was a fighter. 

TCD

17 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

I blame covid 19 for killing my dad. Even though he tested  negative for it. We were unable to see the bad care he was getting in a nursing home that he went in to for 30 days of physical therapy. He got a bed sore that started tunneling into him and since he was fighting prostate cancer there was nothing they could do for him. He passed away at the end of June and I don't think my mom will ever be the same. They had just had there 50th wedding anniversary in March.  There was supposed to be a big party, but due to covid it was postponed. Thank goodness my daughter made them a cake. 

I am so sorry that your family has suffered this loss.  My prayers are with you, your family and especially your Mom.....

Hope you guys have a wonderful time!!!

Nice report.  Sounds like you had a great time.

My guys had a bad experience with the boat to the Magic Kingdom also.  When they tried to catch it, there was one boat running, about 20 families on the dock, and they took 4  of them.  They did not even put a family in the front of the boat - it was empty.  Some of the folks left behind had been waiting over 45 minutes.  The boat attendant told them it might be faster to take the bus.  So, off folks go to the other end of the campground to catch a bus.  No bus there, it runs from the bus stop at the Settlement.  If the number of guests that can ride the boat is so limited, there should be a sign at the dock saying that a bus is available at the Settlement bus stop.  How hard would it be?  Fortunately, my guys were not in a hurry and have a sense of humor.  

8 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I don’t how they missed the new sign, but it has not been removed. I just took this photo earlier this morning, September 5, 2020:

TCD

Good Grief!! Well that's why you don't send someone else to do a job.  Next time I will leave them home and I'll go to the Fort.

21 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Well I guess everyone who criticizes the Fort management needs to apologize. Yes, it took them weeks to catch a glaring spelling error, but now everything is better. 

(there’s a new sign, right?)

TCD

No, there was no sign when they were there, so no need to apologize just yet.....

According to my DS and DH, the misspelled sign has been removed....

The comment in red is totally not us - we spend much more on all but the first trip on our pass.  Once the ticket expense is covered it allows us much more room in the budget for both dining and specially events like tours.  Additionally, if we buy tickets each trip, we get one a year - with an annual pass we go, at minimum, four times.  I don't know if we are typical, but from my point of view, this is a miscalculation.

We like South of the Border - it is not fancy, but easy to access, reasonable price, and comfort stations are usually clean.

On 8/5/2020 at 10:09 PM, LONE-STAR said:

I just hope they open the trail back to the Lodge.

Ditto that!

On 7/27/2020 at 11:12 PM, Katman1356...Jason said:

I am a big fan of the Pern books. Another pair of authors I quite enjoy is David and Leigh Eddings. 

I love David and Leigh Eddings also - they take up quite a bit of space on my bookshelf.

18 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Really appreciate the Fiend on the Scene updates, TCD.

Really stinks that this is just sitting like this for who knows how long now. (sigh)

Think they'll notice if a bunch of people just mosey up and nonchalantly dump out their pockets?

They didn't notice it in the Shawshank Redemption....

On 7/24/2020 at 7:13 PM, Tri-Circle-D said:

I agree. Check out these shots of the beach taken from the boat dock:

Weeds and grass are already covering the sand. I can’t imagine that any manager will authorize spending money to restore and reopen the beach. Such a shame.

TCD

Maybe we ought to each volunteer to bring a bag of sand....

This really is a low blow.  It was one thing to let River Country decay tucked away in a corner, but to letting a perfectly good beach decay in full view everyday and obstructing beautiful views with unnecessary fencing is really insulting.....