Celebrating my Un-Birthday Disney Style-April 2010-New 5/3 - The TR has started!

[jordanyosh]

So sad... I guess they should have taken her to the temple too.

Yes. They should've

 

[DisMomAmy]

Yes. They should've

 

[DisMomAmy]

A couple weeks ago I ordered a pair of “Toe Strap Mary Jane Trekker Shoes” from Lands End:

Here’s a better picture at their website:

http://www.landsend.com/pp/ToeStrap...H&CM_MERCH=IDX_00009__0000000917&origin=index

They arrived on Saturday & the verdict is… I think I like them! They are lightweight and sandal like, but have a nice tread. My only concern is if the insert (that comes with the shoe) is supportive enough where I need it. I’m wearing them right now and will try to break them in as much as possible over the next few weeks. If it’s warm enough, I’ll wear them when I go out walking with my neighbor, but that probably won’t start until March.

I’ll also bring my flip flops - need to get a new pair of the same. Here is last year’s pair:

My mom works at a store that sells Nike and she said they just got in a bunch of new sandals. I have to go check them out – probably tomorrow.
I’ll also bring my sneakers:

I know these are grungy, but I don’t think I want to try to get a new pair right now. I'll take my Tide pen to them and they'll look much better! I wear my orthotics inside these sneakers. I like to alternate sandals & sneakers during my trip to help prevent blisters & knee troubles. I used to be a swimmer, I swam breaststroke & it kind of messed up my knees.

I also have these sneakers:

I love them, but they scare me… these are the sneakers I wore for much of my 2008 weekend trip. I ended up with tendonitis in my knee after that weekend! Not sure if the sneakers are to blame or not…

I’ll also bring my crocs, but don’t know if I’ll end up wearing them at all… I can’t find them right now to take a pictures, but they are black Mary Jane crocs. You all know the ones…

So there you have it... My WDW shoes!

Up next: Shoes, park bags & luggage, Oh My! – Part II: Park Bags!
And my decision about getting an AP!

 

[disneyfan61]

Hi Amy. I love the Lands End shoes. Your Epcot plans look good. Are you going to see Crush? I love that show. It is so cute. You mentioned the Juggler in Italy. One year I was checking in for an ADR at Alfredo's & I came outside to tell my DH & 2 DS's that our table was ready & there was my youngest performing with the juggler!! The juggler was quite impressed because my son caught all the balls.

 

[carissanboys]

Those trekkers are cute! I only wear my good pair of sneakers when I go to WDW now after my first trip when I wore crocs and ended up with plantar fasciitis. (I'm sure it wasn't just the trip that caused it, but that's when it hit me.) I did bring my Cleo Crocs along on our last trip, but I only wore those when I knew I wouldn't be doing a ton of walking, like heading to a resort for a meal.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Amy. I love the Lands End shoes. Your Epcot plans look good. Are you going to see Crush? I love that show. It is so cute. You mentioned the Juggler in Italy. One year I was checking in for an ADR at Alfredo's & I came outside to tell my DH & 2 DS's that our table was ready & there was my youngest performing with the juggler!! The juggler was quite impressed because my son caught all the balls.

Hi Doreen! Thanks for sharing the picture of Sergio & your son! That's my dream for Alex.

We might see Crush - we never have! I think the kids would get a kick out of it. I'll have to go back and put that on my list.

Those trekkers are cute! I only wear my good pair of sneakers when I go to WDW now after my first trip when I wore crocs and ended up with plantar fasciitis. (I'm sure it wasn't just the trip that caused it, but that's when it hit me.) I did bring my Cleo Crocs along on our last trip, but I only wore those when I knew I wouldn't be doing a ton of walking, like heading to a resort for a meal.

I totally get the sneaker thing! It's amazing how much walking you do at Disney. Fortunately it's flat so you don't notice as much, but it can make for some tired legs & feet.

I find that I'm OK if I change shoes when we take our mid-day break. I usually wear sandals if we are going anywhere wet. I don't have as many mid-day breaks planned this year, but since we'll be driving, I can keep extra shoes in the car & change when we park hop.

 

[eandesmom]

The new shoes are very cute! Big thumbs up. I hope they work out!

 

[Cory's Gal]

Lovin' all your shoe choices Amy!! I LOVE my Nike flip flops too, I have never had a problem yet with them rubbing between my toes! Shoes for WDW are always such an important thing to have in place!
Pixie Dust for getting an AP!!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

The new shoes are very cute! Big thumbs up. I hope they work out!

Thanks!! Now if I can just get them broken in... It's just so darn cold here to be wearing them around the house. I need fuzzy socks & slippers!

Lovin' all your shoe choices Amy!! I LOVE my Nike flip flops too, I have never had a problem yet with them rubbing between my toes! Shoes for WDW are always such an important thing to have in place!
Pixie Dust for getting an AP!!!

I have never been able to wear flip flops without them bothering my toes until I found these. I wear them all summer! And my feet keep the Nike flip flop stripes on them all fall to prove it!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Cute new shoes, Amy!!! I really can't wait until it is warm enough again to wear sandals. I am over this winter thing.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Cute new shoes, Amy!!! I really can't wait until it is warm enough again to wear sandals. I am over this winter thing.

That'll be much sooner for you than me! Sandal weather up here is May at the earliest.

 

[Angies1274]

Love your new shoes!! They're really cute!!! I usually just bring along my one good pair of sneakers for in the park...I've been really lucky..they're so comfy and I've never had any problems with them. I'm considering buying some new sandals but still not sure....I may save the money for a new bag instead.

 

[Charleston Princess]

That'll be much sooner for you than me! Sandal weather up here is May at the earliest.

Yikes! For us, it is about the beginning of April -- March if we are lucky.

 

[KathyRN137]

shoot if Heidi's the Queen and Kathy is the Princess what does that make me?

the ...lady in waiting...

You've heard of Lady Ga Ga... meet Lady Dot Dot!!


Kathy

 

[DisMomAmy]

Love your new shoes!! They're really cute!!! I usually just bring along my one good pair of sneakers for in the park...I've been really lucky..they're so comfy and I've never had any problems with them. I'm considering buying some new sandals but still not sure....I may save the money for a new bag instead.

Thanks! I think every Disney trip deserves a new park bag... but more on that later.

Yikes! For us, it is about the beginning of April -- March if we are lucky.

Nice!

You've heard of Lady Ga Ga... meet Lady Dot Dot!!

Kathy

Love it!

 

[DisMomAmy]

I have worked the numbers and come to the following conclusion… I think I’m going to get an AP. Here is how the cost breaks down:

Annual Pass (with tax): $520 (will use GAD voucher to save $79 = $441)
6 Day Park Hopper (with tax): $301 (will use GAD voucher to save $79 = $222)
Difference: $219 It will cost $219 extra for me to get an AP.

Here’s what we can save by having an AP:
Parking: $14 X 6 days = $84 (Can we get our 1st day parking refunded? We'll have to pay to get into our first park because we won't have our tickets yet. If not, savings is $70)
Shopping: $20 - $40??
Dining: $40+*
AP Discounts: $130-$175 or more…
Overall $219 - $130 to 175 = $44 to $89 Extra cost if we don’t go back to WDW within a year.

*We would purchase a Tables in Wonderland card for $75 (although I’ve read $80 somewhere too…). Based on where we are planning to eat, I figure we’ll save $115. Minus the cost of the card & we’ll save about $40 overall.

However, if we (or I) go back to WDW within a year… We’ll save a bundle!
Parking next year $84
Dining Discounts: $100 (I assume the TIW card is good for a year from issue date?)
Shopping Discounts: $20 – 40
No park ticket for me: $300
Savings next year: $504 - $524!

My other question… Would it be worth it to get Alex an AP? He will be turning 10 later this year! From what I’ve read, if Alex gets an AP when he’s 9, he can continue to use it until it expires. But how does the money work out…
His ticket this year will cost $266.25 (including tax)
His ticket next year will cost $301.40 (including tax – price will be higher by next year)
Tickets for 2 years: $567.65
A child’s AP would cost $460.08 (including tax)

Then would we get just an AP for him? Can his card be used for free parking? Can his card be used for a TIW card? We would be able to get the parking/TIW discounts if it were just Tim & I out one night… We would save an additional $60 because his AP would cost $60 less than mine would.

But what if we don’t go back next February? I could still get away for a weekend with a friend and get some use out of the AP. That wouldn’t be an option for Alex…

Oh... And this morning I told Tim, just sort of casually, like it's not big deal, that it would cost us about $80 extra to get an AP if we don't go back within a year. We'd save about $500 if we go back within a year. He says, "Like when?" (Which I had mentioned to him before...) I reminded him about April vacation being Easter next year and that we have talked about trying February in the past & next year might be the year to do that. He thought for a minute, then I let him off the hook and said we don't have to decide until closer to our trip. But I'll keep planting the seeds...

Or I could look at it using fuzzy Disney math... Instead of losing $89 if we don't return within a year and saving $300 with the GAD vouchers, I could think of it as only saving $210 with our GAD vouchers. I never really expected all four of us would get vouchers anyways...

 

[jordanyosh]

Keep planting those seeds.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Keep planting those seeds.

 

[Charleston Princess]

You're such a good gardener.

 

[DisMomAmy]

You're such a good gardener.