scared that we might not be able to go in 3 weeks...

[DISNEY'03]

due to the fact, that we are driving, and everyone is on the low, or out of gas, and just the thought of not knowing if we will be ok, scares me that we might have to stay home this time too. please don't get me wrong, i am very grateful for all the blessings in my life, but we also need a vacation, and we have already canceled twice since our last trip in 2003.

can anybody maybe reassure me that gas will be there when we leave on the 24th, cause we already have gas stations here in town closed, cause they are out, and post has the gates secured to ONLY MILITARY, or CIVILIANS who work on post, but they are also out of gas. I will say though that we were extremely busy today at work (I work at Wal-Mart), and the customers were stocking up on supplies for the people in need. So, that does make me feel better to see first hand that they are getting help.

prayers to all and hopefully we will see the mouse in 24 days if we arrive,

dina

 

[Aimeedyan]

I don't think anyone can promise you that things will be okay in the gas dept, but I am not worried about it. I would play it by ear and just wait and see how things are when you get closer. Don't cancel anything yet! Just wait and see.

I do know areas are low on gas, but most of the US has enough - we've had no shortages or lines here. I think things will turn around soon

Stay positive!

 

[LadyDulcinea1]

I wouldn't worry about it, no sense obsessing for 3 weeks and then finding out everything is ok, you'll have wasted a lot of energy.

Personally, I'm tired of people saying things that freak me out. I'm a cronic worrier, and all this talk of a hypothetical "no gas anywhere" talk started to seriously freak me out. After a few days I finally realized that I needed to stop reading those posts and deal with stuff as it happens. Just my two cents

Bottomline: Cross that bridge if you come to it (which hopefully you won't )

 

[Vickie46]

I know my husband had to search for gas today and my Dad looked everywhere last night.. its up to 2.99 and thats crazy.. but we just got to think things will get better................. pray pray pray!

 

[letterdavidman]

Hello. DW and I just returned today from a Most Magical Vacation at WDW (actually, the Disney part ended on Monday , and the last few days were spent trying to find enjoyment in a house fifteen minutes from the Gulf of Mexico in a sleepy, OH-so-sleepy little town in southwest Florida), and we, too, opted to drive down and back.

First, I will admit to being QUITE shaken up upon being informed early yesterday morning of the possibility of a gas shortage coinciding with our return trip home. Much as I like Florida (well, central Florida, anyway), I did not relish the tought of being stranded down there with dwindling funds, blistered feet, and tired psyches. In fact, it helped me (along with the fact that we were just bored senseless in our "quaint" little south Florida beach town) to make the decision to go ahead and come back early (we were originally not due to return home until sometime on Labor Day).

Now, I drove a car equipped with XM satellite radio, and so I decided to turn it over to the Open Road channel and listen to my ol' pal, the Truckin' Bozo himself, Dale Sommers (sp?). Well, now, people were calling in and telling alarming tales of gas at some stations around Atlanta selling for over $5.00 a gallon, and yet another person called in to tell of a run on gas occurring in Macon. And this I heard as I was just about to leave Florida and drive into Georgia.

So what did I do? I filled up right before I crossed the Georgia state line (at a cost of, I believe, $3.09/gallon); filled up again about ten miles north of the Dreaded Macon (and I did personally have to wait in a line of...one whole car before me, and only because the price at that particular BP station was still at $2.89/gallon, while the surrounding stations had raised their price to $2.99/gal.); and filled up once more last night just north of Dalton, GA, at $3.09/gal.

I then stayed overnight in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and I filled up, without incident, at a BP for the hefty price of $3.19/gallon. I was then on my merry way back to Middletown, Ohio, and only had to fill up once more at a BP station in southern Kentucky to the tune of $3.09 per gal. And there I saw for the first (and only) time on our trip a sign that limited one's gas purchase to no more than $30.00... and, right next to that sign, on the particular pump I was using, the pump readout gave away the fact that the previous motorist to use that self same pump had actually paid thirty-two dollars. So much for rationing.

At no point in my travels, yesterday or today, did I witness any long lines, closed stations, or general panic or malaise. I did overhear a couple of people joking about the upping of the gasoline prices. But then I remembered that for weeks now, certain factions of both the local and national media have been predicting gas prices to top the three dollar mark this Labor Day weekend, anyway, and I started to breathe easier once more.

Yes, I do admit to getting rather antsy (to put it mildly) at the thought of a gas shortage, and I do realize that it's quite a bit easier to have this rather flippant outlook now I'm safe and secure in my comfy home, and I've no idea what either the immediate future, or the Big Picture holds for us, but I do think that I (and others) have made/are making a little too much hay over this particular topic at this particular time. I mean, looking back on my trip, the single biggest factor to impact my trip to WDW was not gas shortages, but, rather, the mass epidemic of ill-behaved children whose parents did absolutely NOTHING to chastise or correct them. I still shudder to think about it.

 

[umaangel00]

I wouldn't worry about it yet. You are still 3 weeks out. I know here in Grand Rapids, MI some stations (not very many) are starting to run out of gas but I am not worried about it. It's 3.19/gal here. Bush is releasing oil from the federal reserve so more gas can be made.

 

[swilshire]

a house fifteen minutes from the Gulf of Mexico in a sleepy, OH-so-sleepy little town in southwest Florida

I just had to ask what town you were in. It sounds like my kind of place.

Thanks,

Sheila

 

[crazymomof4]

I wouldn't worry about it, no sense obsessing for 3 weeks and then finding out everything is ok, you'll have wasted a lot of energy.

Personally, I'm tired of people saying things that freak me out. I'm a cronic worrier, and all this talk of a hypothetical "no gas anywhere" talk started to seriously freak me out. After a few days I finally realized that I needed to stop reading those posts and deal with stuff as it happens. Just my two cents

Bottomline: Cross that bridge if you come to it (which hopefully you won't )

Hey, a fellow "cronic worrier" here! You give good advice.....easier said than done for me......but good advice none-the-less.

I've got knots in my stomach over the thought that our trip will be ruined by the gas situation! Scared that we will not get gas to get down there, or get down there and not be able to get back home. We have scrimped and saved for this trip for over a year and at this point (11 days from departure) none of it is refundable.

I was very young but I do remember the gas "shortage" of the '70's with it's rationing, odd/even days, & long lines for gas. So, having lived through it once, this is a very real possiblility for me.

I REALLY hope that all of this worry turns out to be "wasted energy"!!!

 

[Bete]

It could get more difficult in days to come for gas, but I can't see paralyzing the country with no gas at all or only a little to be had. We are starting our vacation on Sept. 28 by car. I don't think you will find to many people cancelling their trips for gas reasons. I think we have to pray that no more hurricanes and such hit in the next few months.

 

[crazymomof4]

I was just thinking that with the frequent stops to "top off" the gas tank, at least we (all 6 of us) will be able to empty our bladders more frequently! It may take us longer to get there but at least we will be comfortable!!

 

[hezreck]

I just read in the paper this morning about some stations running out of gas. It said that there is no shortage of gas, but the media is scaring people with all the gas talk and they are running out and filling up just in case. They said it should stop shortly when people realize there is no shortage, so I would think that by your trip, hopefully this will have blown over and gas will be fine, still high prices but no shortages.

 

[crazymomof4]

I just read in the paper this morning about some stations running out of gas. It said that there is no shortage of gas, but the media is scaring people with all the gas talk and they are running out and filling up just in case. They said it should stop shortly when people realize there is no shortage, so I would think that by your trip, hopefully this will have blown over and gas will be fine, still high prices but no shortages.

Blast that media! They get me everytime! I find that I am much happier (worry less) when I don't watch, read or listen to the news. Yup, the old "ostrich" routine works for me!

 

[alacazander]

Three weeks! Plenty of time!

You'll be fine! Don't stress yourself out yet! Your going to have a great vacation!

 

[luvmy2sams]

Don't worry about things over which you have no control. Everything is going to be fine. Have a magical time on your vacation!

 

[Skroops]

The gas shortage is more of a "panic" I think. I think the oil companies are running with it. The gas always goes up for the holiday weekend, and this is a better excuse. At least the Pres stood up against gas gouging.(Which obviously WAS, or he wouldn't have said that).

Don't worry. Be happy. Gas will be fine. More expensive maybe (those crooks), but fine.

It is an excellent time for a vacation. Make a generous donation for the Katrina victims and then get out of "reality" and get a dose of pixie dust.

 

[DVCJEN]

We will be going down the week after you are. I too am a worrier, but I really think that things will be much calmer by then.

 

[letterdavidman]

I just had to ask what town you were in. It sounds like my kind of place.

Thanks,

Sheila

Okay, at the risk of offending any number of people here on the DIS (what else is new? ), I will, herewith, reveal the name of the town in which DW and I briefly stayed after our AWESOME Disney trip. It was: (Wait for it...) Rotunda West, Florida (just next to Englewood, Florida).

And now, let me clarify. One, DW and I had, obviously, just come from WDW and the Orlando area, where there is NO shortage of neat places to eat and cool places to shop. And that's what, next to flat out experiencing the parks, DW and I love to do most while on vacation: shop and eat. Well, then. Down Englewood way, there's just not much shopping apart from the Wal-Mart and the Winn Dixie, and the places to eat are, largely, just holes in the wall, or McDonald's. No, to have a bit (a BIT) more shopping/dining choice, one has to drive 20-25 minutes into Port Charlotte, or around an hour and fifteen minutes to get into the Sarasota area.

And, hey, you know, no offense meant to those who live in that area or love to visit it. It's just a personal preference. DW and I like to be on the go during most of our waking moments (ADD? Perhaps...), so the allure of relaxing on the beach or lounging by the pool is rather limited for us. And I had a sneaking suspicion that it might end up this way before I booked the house, but I thought, "Nah! That's exactly what we'll be craving after a long week at Disney!" And, to be sure, the week at Disney did have its (mostly) ups, and a few loud, obnoxious, bratty, parents-say-nothing-while-I-run-in-front-of-busses-and-climb-on-monorail-gates-and-actually-hit-other-people-and-laugh type downs, and we were tired when we first got there, but... what with our short attention spans, the remote location of the house, our building anxiety over the gas situation, and, really, the fact that a stay at the Majestic Animal Kingdom Lodge, savannah view is just a really TOUGH act to follow, DW and I just weren't enjoying ourselves and so we opted to leave.

And, again, I don't mean to slag off the Englewood area or its residents. It's just not for us.

 

[golfgal]

Have you looked into flying down now? Depending on how many are going, it might be less expensive to fly then drive now. I just looked on Travelocity.com and they have flights out of Memphis, not sure where you would leave from, for $280 or so.