"Back to School" will have to wait, we're going "Back to Disney!"

[LMDisneygirl]

And now a post dedicated to the unsung heroes of an August trip to WDW: Bottled Water, Bathrooms (due to all the water), and Our Feet!

The shoe question is frequently on the minds of those of us heading to WDW because we know that the right or wrong shoes can make a HUGE difference when you're walking millions of miles a day! I was very happy that I found the PERFECT shoes for Disney. I've had two pair over the last several years, and they have served me well! (Here's more information than you want to know about me.....I've got a weird "one foot is bigger than the other" issue that stems from dropping a heavy wooden block on my foot right before a Disney trip. When I came home with one foot bigger than the other I got it all checked out by the docs and they found nothing. Years later, the issue remains, and makes it hard for me to find shoes.) So I found the PERFECT shoes. They are Speedo Flip Flops that have a supportive sole like a tennis shoe, and a stretchy band across the foot. I LOVE them!

Bummer is, they stopped selling them. And one of my pair broke. So....I plan to take the pair I still have, but I need a backup in case something happens to them while we are there.

So, after an exhaustive summer long flip flop search, I ordered these!


They have a thick, supportive, slightly squishy bottom (but not that fabric covered gel kind that feels like it will just squash down forever that is so very popular right now). They are similar to the old ones I love, without the stretchy band, BUT they were just a bit too small in the width. The good news is that they weren't too long, so I went ahead and returned them and they are sending me one size bigger. I am HOPEFUL, and I will be very excited if the new ones work. If so, I think they will be the PERFECT Disney touring flip flops!

In case you are interested, the combo of the right supportive flip flops with a little anti-perspirant in "blister prone areas" keeps my feet very happy during my trip!

For my DH, he wears his New Balance tennies. In past years he really struggled with awful blisters, but now he's found a combo of the anti-perspirant along with wrapping his toes with Lamb's Wool BEFORE he ever gets a blister. He swears by his ritual!

Happy Walking Everyone!!!!!

 

[AngieTank]

And now a post dedicated to the unsung heroes of an August trip to WDW: Bottled Water, Bathrooms (due to all the water), and Our Feet!

The shoe question is frequently on the minds of those of us heading to WDW because we know that the right or wrong shoes can make a HUGE difference

Happy Walking Everyone!!!!!

My worst shoe year was when I tried wearing my vibram five fingers ( the shoes that have the toes all separated like gloves) they are super awesome now but when I ordered them they were back ordered and were delivered the day before we left so I couldn't break them in. I thought they'd be fine but by day 2 rotating them with my go-to old navy flip flops I had huge blisters between my big toe and second toe I could barely walk and ended up buying a pair of hot pink mickey crocs for the rest of the week

 

[LMDisneygirl]

My worst shoe year was when I tried wearing my vibram five fingers ( the shoes that have the toes all separated like gloves) they are super awesome now but when I ordered them they were back ordered and were delivered the day before we left so I couldn't break them in. I thought they'd be fine but by day 2 rotating them with my go-to old navy flip flops I had huge blisters between my big toe and second toe I could barely walk and ended up buying a pair of hot pink mickey crocs for the rest of the week

Ouch! Not fun! I can imagine how rubbing around each individual toe would not be a good thing if your feet aren't used to it.

Another testimony to the fact that perhaps the most important thing about choosing touring shoes is wearing ones that your feet are used to and happy in! Or should I say, happy walking long distances in. I have a pair of flip flops I'm wearing and comfy in this summer, but they have a bumpy surface. They are fine and I don't notice it at all.......UNTIL I wear them to go on a walk for a couple miles. Then they bum my feet out. So, they will not be touring shoes for me.

 

[AngieTank]

Ouch! Not fun! I can imagine how rubbing around each individual toe would not be a good thing if your feet aren't used to it.

Another testimony to the fact that perhaps the most important thing about choosing touring shoes is wearing ones that your feet are used to and happy in! Or should I say, happy walking long distances in. I have a pair of flip flops I'm wearing and comfy in this summer, but they have a bumpy surface. They are fine and I don't notice it at all.......UNTIL I wear them to go on a walk for a couple miles. Then they bum my feet out. So, they will not be touring shoes for me.

We both bought new shoes this spring and have been wearing them to the gym, so we've been treadmilling in them for miles! No more blisters for this girl! Now it's just keeping them dry on Kali River Rapids! Another thing we're doing this year is putting on flip flops for Kali and then putting our good shoes back on to avoid soggy shoes and having to buy more flip flops. Hubby wears a size 13 which is a little tricky to find in disney lol

 

[dgr1973]

Omg I feel your pain about your favorite shoes!! Our first trip in 2008 Crocs were all the rage and I bought a pair of sketchers cali gear that in my opinion looked better then crocs. Anywho my feet were crying and begging for mercy that whole week cause they were brand new and not broken in, but they have served me well on every trip since then! Now 5 years later they are looking like they might not make it till our trip next year, literally the bottoms are so worn I can feel pebbles on the pavement but they are so comfy. I have looked online and can't find them anywhere so you will have to let us know how you like your new flip flops cause they are super cute and look comfy!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

I have looked online and can't find them anywhere so you will have to let us know how you like your new flip flops cause they are super cute and look comfy!

I will keep you posted! I ordered them from Dick's Sporting Goods. They have just about every other kind of flip flop in the store, but not these.

 

[LMDisneygirl]

In the interest of full disclosure I need to admit that my PTR title has been slightly compromised .

Although going "back to school" WILL be waiting until we get back from Disney (in Michigan the public schools mostly start the day after Labor Day), I have had to start thinking about it. It really can't be helped though. We plan to arrive home on Sunday, two days before school starts. So I really need to be simultaneously planning for our Disney trip AND get ready for the kids to go back to school. I'll admit it. I've started buying school supplies. There you have it. My true confession.

 

[usd2bmd]

In the interest of full disclosure I need to admit that my PTR title has been slightly compromised .

Although going "back to school" WILL be waiting until we get back from Disney (in Michigan the public schools mostly start the day after Labor Day), I have had to start thinking about it. It really can't be helped though. We plan to arrive home on Sunday, two days before school starts. So I really need to be simultaneously planning for our Disney trip AND get ready for the kids to go back to school. I'll admit it. I've started buying school supplies. There you have it. My true confession.

We live in New York and it is the same here. We always plan out vacation for the week before Labor because :
1) it is a great way to end the summer and
2) when we go to Disney we always need a couple days to relax after and this gets us those extra days without actually taking more time off work

 

[LMDisneygirl]

We live in New York and it is the same here. We always plan out vacation for the week before Labor because :
1) it is a great way to end the summer and
2) when we go to Disney we always need a couple days to relax after and this gets us those extra days without actually taking more time off work

Keep telling me great reasons for going to Disney the very last week before school starts! I fear that I may be questioning our choice as we get closer.

How are the crowds when you go the week before Labor Day?

 

[LMDisneygirl]

Dear Michigan Summer,

I am not sure that you have been made aware of this, but my family has a trip to Disney planned for the last week of August. I appreciate that perhaps you are trying to save us money on our air-conditioning bill that we can use toward some Mickey Rice Krispie Treats or Ice Cream Bars, however high's forecasted to be 68 on Sunday and 72 on Monday are simply NOT going to help me with my Disney weather training. To go from feeling like it's fall here to "hotter than the face of the sun" in Disney is going to be a bit of a challenge. So if you can do me a favor and throw in some sunny 80's & 90's like we had a couple weeks ago I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

It's so hard to be responsible and do the things you're supposed to do when your next Disney trip is coming up in 20 days and you really just want to spend all your time looking at menus, planning days, and reading the DisBoards!!!!!

Who's with me?

 

[marymac123]

That's me right now...I have soo much to do and I can't do anything else

 

[LMDisneygirl]

That's me right now...I have soo much to do and I can't do anything else

Are you going to WDW to celebrate your 10 year anniversary? We did that. Went without our kids though. We had our honeymoon at the Wilderness Lodge, then went back to WDW for our 10 & 15 year anniversaries without the kids. We brought them with us the other times though!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

I'm back! It feels like a long time since I made an update.

I was starting to spend a little TOO much time on the DisBoards (then again, can there possibly be such a thing), so I decided I better back off for a few days to even myself out and fit some "real life" in. I'm not going to get kicked off now that I admitted that, am I? I had been reading lots of the Magic Band testing posts, and they were starting to make me a little crazy. Not the actual posts of people who have been testing (those have been helpful), but all the people making guesses, assumptions, and complaining about things they haven't experienced but are worried about.

Today I'm pretty much here to do a brain dump. I hope you don't mind. I may or may not make any sense. Read on at your own risk.

I must confess that I'm feeling a little down and anxious today. It might have to do with my lack of sleep last night. The good of summer is the easy pace, the bad is that my body clock naturally goes to a stay up until 3am then sleep until 10 or 11am pattern. And then eventually I am even having a hard time falling asleep at 2:30 or 3am. Not good. I'm counting on my week at Disney to get me turned back around so I'll be ready for school to start!

Today is Tuesday, and we are leaving 2 weeks from Friday. We plan to drive straight through and get to Orlando on Saturday. Our package reservations start Sunday, and we are debating about where we should stay Saturday night. I'd LIKE to stay at the Pop so we can just be settled in a room, get unpacked, etc. Plus, always nice to be right there in the magic as soon as possible. The other option is an off-site hotel for the night where we would save a little on the room (Maybe $40) and also have a free breakfast. Time will tell what we decide...... We COULD leave on Thursday, but that means an extra night's hotel stay. My mom lives about an hour and a half away from WDW and she always wants us to come see her at her house, but she is home for the summer and won't be back by then.

So....assuming that we are leaving on Friday, that is 17 days from today. I know that once we get back there will only be 2 days left until school starts, and then summer will be over. So I'm feeling kind of bummed about that. I love the slower pace of summer. I want another couple months of summer!!! I am mourning the upcoming ending of summer.

Before the end of summer though, there is Disney fun in store! I am sorry to say that although I have had the opportunity to do so for a couple weeks now, I have not scheduled out our days (tentatively) and booked our FP+. Am I crazy?!?!?! And I'm the exact kind of person who would normally be all over that! I wonder why I am procrastinating.

My new Speedo flip flops came today. I'm not quite as "in love at first try on" as I was hoping I'd be, BUT there is great potential there so I'm going to give them a chance. I'll keep you posted.

Today I did what I hope to be my last big grocery trip before we go, so I picked up Lamb's Wool, toothbrush covers, and some things for our car ride. Just a few treats. I've noticed on previous car rides that we tend to buy treats along the way, so I don't need to bring a ton. We aren't a "pack sandwiches for the car ride" kind of family. We are more likely to stop at McDonald's. Then everyone wants to grab a snack when we stop for gas. Thinking of this, I probably needed to allocate more money for traveling food! So, I picked up some pretzel rods, fruit snacks, and a couple other things to have in the car in the unlikely scenario that someone is hungry and we aren't going to be stopping soon. Because let's face it.....someone is going to have to use a restroom before anyone is too hungry. I'd bet on it.

That's all for now. Maybe I'll work on that park schedule and those FP+ ressies tonight. I'll keep you posted!

Please say Hi. It will make me happy!

 

[katiee37]

Hi Just joining in!! Looks like you have a fun trip ahead of you even though school starts right after! Have a magical time!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

Hi Just joining in!! Looks like you have a fun trip ahead of you even though school starts right after! Have a magical time!

Thanks Katie! Whatever questions, anxieties, busyness, questions, worries, planning we have before we go, it's always a magical time once we're there (even the time I went while I was in the unfortunate stage of recovering from bronchitis ).

 

[LMDisneygirl]

Guess what we got when our door rang TODAY! A priority mail type envelope containing.........

Our Magic Band & FP+ Invitation Letter!

It would have been extremely exciting had I not already customized, ordered, and received our bands, and also started making FP+ reservations. It was still exciting to get the official word though!

Now to figure out my tentative days and schedule the rest of the FP+!

 

[katiee37]

Disney mail is the best kind of mail there is!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

Well NOW I'm excited!!!!!

Okay, I was actually excited before. I am EVEN MORE excited now though!

So there I was today contemplating whether to order Photopass+.......

Sidebar, but on topic: We pre-ordered, and heavily used, Photopass on one of our past trips. And we were SO glad we did. On our last trip we did not pre-order, and didn't get tons of PP pics taken, and ended up just ordering one or two shots from the PP site. IMO, the best use of PP is if you order in advance because not only are you saving $, but you KNOW you are getting it so you take the time to stop at more of the photographers.

Back to today....I was contemplating my options. We probably won't visit many characters this time, and we aren't planning any sit down dinners where there would be a photographer. BUT.....I REALLY like to get attraction pics! And I know my family well enough to know that we will end up spending a bajillion dollars on them at $15.95 each. This will especially be true if my DS11 decides to get brave and give some of the big rides another try. (Sidebar #2, he rode some of them when we went when he was 8 and he did not enjoy them, then he refused to try any of them when he was 10, but I'm hoping that he'll "man up" - his words, not mine - now that he's going into middle school.) ANYHOOOO.....I just was not sure that I want to spend $150 to pre-order the PP+ since we are on a tighter budget this time.

Cut to tonight when I'm on the Disboards, and I find out FANTASTIC new information! Apparently there is something called Attractions+, which is basically a photopass JUST for ride photos. About $50 for downloads of ALL our ride photos!! SOLD!!!!! I'm so excited. It's the perfect solution! Now to figure out where in "the world" to get it......


THANK YOU DISBOARDS!!!!!

 

[LMDisneygirl]

One more thing to add to my pre-trip anxiety list......

Having my resort get eaten by a large sinkhole!