WDW Commando Club

[BELLEDOZER]

The Fitflops are the only shoes that have helped me with my very bad back. I found out about them through the boards, and after doing some hunting bought a couple of pairs. They have reduced my chronic back pain by 90%, but be aware for the first couple of weeks your calf, thigh, butt and lower back will do a severe burn until you are used to them. Afterwards you'll be able to walk for hours in comfort. Since buying them I've had a hard time finding another pair of shoes with the same kind of sole. I recently bought a pair of Champion sneakers with a similar sole that seem to be working for me, but am looking at the Vibrams, now that I'm walking alot more. My sis swears by them, but with them once again it takes a week or 2 to adjust to them. If I lose enough weight, will buy a pair as a reward to myself. The price is what turns me off them, and would have to really think about it before trying them out as they are more expensive than the Fitflops.

 

[Disney Commando]

I got nothing with the shoe subject, you lost me

I would recommend not wearing boots or heels, but strangely I have seen people wear them around the parks

 

[Disney Commando]

At 220 days out

- Resort booked
-Autotrain booked

Guess I can't really do much till 180 days, since I'm not staying on property, I think I have to call to make my ADR's

 

[zianha]

I got nothing with the shoe subject, you lost me

I would recommend not wearing boots or heels, but strangely I have seen people wear them around the parks

I've seen people wearing seemingly uncomfortable shoes too! One trip, on the bus to MK a lady and her daughter were dressed in what I'd call their Sunday best and both had on heels. She was standing on the bus next to me and my boys and I guess she felt compelled to tell me that they had an ADR at CRT and her 8yr old wanted to look nice. She was telling the girl they would come back to change after their meal before returning to walk around the parks. That just seemed like such a waste of park time! I often wonder about the people in boots and heels......

 

[BELLEDOZER]

It boggles my mind when I see stiletto's, platforms, and sky high heels in the parks. I honestly don't know how anyone can wear these kinds of shoes for many hours on end, and not be crippled by the end of the day. I guess some people leave their common sense at home when it comes to comfortable footwear in the parks. What may be 'cute' at home, can wreak havoc on the feet in the parks.

Don't worry about being confused about the shoe conversations Ron, it's a gal thing.

 

[*sarah*]

Any of my fellow Commandos have any advice on a December trip? We are probably going to go as soon as school let's out for the holidays. Trying to figure out which resort is best at Christmas, which weeks are busiest, an idea where to have a nice sit down Christmas dinner......any suggestions?

 

[zianha]

Any of my fellow Commandos have any advice on a December trip? We are probably going to go as soon as school let's out for the holidays. Trying to figure out which resort is best at Christmas, which weeks are busiest, an idea where to have a nice sit down Christmas dinner......any suggestions?

Sadly, I got nothing for ya, but we're going for our first December trip in 2012 too. Same thing, we're leaving as soon as school is out for the holidays. I hear this time of year is busy in general but the week of Christmas is even busier. Sorry to post with NO advice for you but mostly was wanting to say hi to a fellow Texan!

 

[dvczerfs]

Any of my fellow Commandos have any advice on a December trip? We are probably going to go as soon as school let's out for the holidays. Trying to figure out which resort is best at Christmas, which weeks are busiest, an idea where to have a nice sit down Christmas dinner......any suggestions?

ive been down in december 5 of the last 8 years. december is a busy time. i would say the first two weeks are not to bad. (it is a big dvc time of year)
in 2004, we spent the 18th to the 29th.(that was cool,but,never again) we had a tree and we had christmas morning in a 2 bedrom at okw. very nice. the parks after the 25th are jammed packed.
we had christmas dinner at chef mickeys.again, our dd was younger and she loved eating there.
pending on how much you want to spend, the poly,the grand,boardwalk are all nice at christmas. we spent ours stays at okw.
just be ready for alot, alot of people. the weather, ive been there in the low 80s and last december, it was in the upper 30s in the morning.
heres our founder ron and myself last december:

as you can see, theres not shorts and tee shirts.

 

[*sarah*]

Sadly, I got nothing for ya, but we're going for our first December trip in 2012 too. Same thing, we're leaving as soon as school is out for the holidays. I hear this time of year is busy in general but the week of Christmas is even busier. Sorry to post with NO advice for you but mostly was wanting to say hi to a fellow Texan!

Yay another Texan!! Hope you guys have a great trip and that you have a lot of fun planning it....that's a huge part of the fun for me. I love the planning part.

ive been down in december 5 of the last 8 years. december is a busy time. i would say the first two weeks are not to bad. (it is a big dvc time of year)
in 2004, we spent the 18th to the 29th.(that was cool,but,never again) we had a tree and we had christmas morning in a 2 bedrom at okw. very nice. the parks after the 25th are jammed packed.
we had christmas dinner at chef mickeys.again, our dd was younger and she loved eating there.
pending on how much you want to spend, the poly,the grand,boardwalk are all nice at christmas. we spent ours stays at okw.
just be ready for alot, alot of people. the weather, ive been there in the low 80s and last december, it was in the upper 30s in the morning.
heres our founder ron and myself last december:

as you can see, theres not shorts and tee shirts.

Thanks for the input!!
We went in Jan. 2011, and that was the last time we were really able to take advantage of not having to go buy a school schedule since our son was not in school yet. Sadly I don't think we'll be able to go during any non-busy times anymore I am thinking we'll probably be there the whole week before Christmas and leave maybe the day or two after Christmas Day. I do know that we will not be in the parks on the 25th cause of how busy I've heard that day is. So we'll just have a nice dinner either at a resort or DTD. I'm thinking we'll stay at a moderate. In the past we've always stayed at the values but after our last trip, I said we would not do that again unless we absolutely had to. I just cannot for the life of me choose a mod to stay at. They all have different things I like about them. Last year we packed SO many clothes so we'd be prepared for any weather lol, and it was beautiful weather. Each day I was in capris or shorts. The nights were real cold though!!
That's a great pic of you guys!!

 

[dvczerfs]

Yay another Texan!! Hope you guys have a great trip and that you have a lot of fun planning it....that's a huge part of the fun for me. I love the planning part.



Thanks for the input!!
We went in Jan. 2011, and that was the last time we were really able to take advantage of not having to go buy a school schedule since our son was not in school yet. Sadly I don't think we'll be able to go during any non-busy times anymore I am thinking we'll probably be there the whole week before Christmas and leave maybe the day or two after Christmas Day. I do know that we will not be in the parks on the 25th cause of how busy I've heard that day is. So we'll just have a nice dinner either at a resort or DTD. I'm thinking we'll stay at a moderate. In the past we've always stayed at the values but after our last trip, I said we would not do that again unless we absolutely had to. I just cannot for the life of me choose a mod to stay at. They all have different things I like about them. Last year we packed SO many clothes so we'd be prepared for any weather lol, and it was beautiful weather. Each day I was in capris or shorts. The nights were real cold though!!
That's a great pic of you guys!!

just a heads up. from the 25th on, the parks alot of the time will close during the day due to capacity. if you look back at the disboards news section into that time frame, you will see what closed. i would plan to do what you want to do before the 25th, than, just hang out after the 25th. the week before christmas is ok, a bit crowded but if you hit rope drops and hit the high points in the am, you will be ok. heres a pic. of our tree we had last year at okw.

 

[*sarah*]

just a heads up. from the 25th on, the parks alot of the time will close during the day due to capacity. if you look back at the disboards news section into that time frame, you will see what closed. i would plan to do what you want to do before the 25th, than, just hang out after the 25th. the week before christmas is ok, a bit crowded but if you hit rope drops and hit the high points in the am, you will be ok. heres a pic. of our tree we had last year at okw.

What a cute tree! I didn't even think about taking a small one. Definately going to make a note of that, DS would love that. I remember reading about MK being at capacity early on the 25th, could you tell me what the 24th is usually like? Just as crowded? I am trying to think of adr's already lol. I know one thing we will do is the Richard Petty Exotic car experience. I know this isn't really Disney related, but do yall know how Universal Studios is at Christmas time? Last trip we wanted to take a day to go over there, but didn't. Just wondering if we should even bother trying at Christmas or just wait for the next trip?
The more I think about it, I think I'll do what you are suggesting. Do all of our stuff in the parks before the 25th and then just be done and go home after that. Since it sounds like the crowd levels get insane after Christmas.

 

[Disney Commando]

I agree with Dave, it was a bit chilly while we were at WDW the 1st week of Dec, but on the flip side it was in the 70's the week before and the week after
I did read this past holiday that the parks met max capacity in-between Christmas & New Years one of the days

Your going to have to find alot of extra time to tour the parks with so much going on

Epcot is the park you might want to focus on trying to find extra time, besides all the normal shows in the WS each country also has Storytellers, where they tell of there Holiday customs, I highly recommend seeing these they were really interesting

In AK all the meet & greets the characters are dressed for Christmas, My favorite is Santa Goofy

Then of course you might want to check out the Resorts, some of the decorations are amazing:good vibes

And then there is MVMCP definitely worth going to

HS and the Osbourne lights is a must see, in fact if you see it from different spots it's a whole different show, so 2 or 3 times is not out of the question

This is one time of year, you have to get to stepping time and it will still be hard to see everything

But you will have a Blast

 

[dvczerfs]

What a cute tree! I didn't even think about taking a small one. Definately going to make a note of that, DS would love that. I remember reading about MK being at capacity early on the 25th, could you tell me what the 24th is usually like? Just as crowded? I am trying to think of adr's already lol. I know one thing we will do is the Richard Petty Exotic car experience. I know this isn't really Disney related, but do yall know how Universal Studios is at Christmas time? Last trip we wanted to take a day to go over there, but didn't. Just wondering if we should even bother trying at Christmas or just wait for the next trip?
The more I think about it, I think I'll do what you are suggesting. Do all of our stuff in the parks before the 25th and then just be done and go home after that. Since it sounds like the crowd levels get insane after Christmas.

uni......univ.....what? wheres that???
the 24th was doable. during the morning and afternoon it wasnt to bad. the evening got crowded. we did the candle light pro. on the 24th than had a late dinner at lecellier. it was a great christmas eve!
dont wait on the adrs!!!! make them the first day available that you can.

 

[twokids0204]

Here's an interesting tidbit I read on MP today.

"…Our friends at TouringPlans.com are noting that Disney's Hollywood Studios is testing a new park opening procedure this week. Although the official park hours will show a 9 a.m. opening time, the gates will actually open at 8:30. At that time, Toy Story Mania, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror will be open. Sign-ups for Jedi Training Academy and Fastpass distribution at all attractions also begins at 8:30. All other attractions will keep guests outside until 8:45. To get a jump on the crowds who may not know about this procedure, make sure you're at the park a half-hour earlier than you planned this week."

Should make things interesting if they move this up from just a test to reality.

Originally posted by Stopher1 on the DISDads board.

 

[Disney Commando]

Originally posted by Stopher1 on the DISDads board.

Thanks for getting this over to the Commando thread Brian & Thanks to Stopher1 for posting this

Now I found this important for us Commando's and we should follow up on the results this is the kind of stuff we can thrive on This could be a HUGE time saver if it becomes a reality

On a normal rope drop everyone is pretty much in the same spot and runs for a destination, but with this concept it is one in at a time at the gate but all the big stuff is open

Me personally my plan would be to split up while my wife and son sign up for Jedi Training, I'd go get TSM passes, meet up at Rock and Roll Roller Coaster & then TOT, could probably have that all done within a half hour as long as we get there early, get in Stars Tours & Muppets and be out of there by 11 ohh how awesome that would be

I got to keep track of the results

 

[Disney Commando]

Can't wait to get back to WDW, 1st thing I have to do is get me a bag of Goofy's Candy Company Sour Cherry Balls, I go through a bag or two a day when we are there

 

[BELLEDOZER]

You'll have to a major stock up while you are down there, so that you'll have enough to tide you over till the next trip.

 

[Disney Commando]

You'll have to a major stock up while you are down there, so that you'll have enough to tide you over till the next trip.

I did pick up several bags to bring home last trip, but since my wife and son also like them, needless to say they didn't last long

They are awesome for that little kick while touring the parks or waiting on line

 

[zianha]

Mmmmm! That candy sounds good! I've gotta figure out if they still have those giant gummi bears in Germany at WS and if so, if there happens to be a cinnamon one! I love cinnamon gummie bears but I didn't really look for any at WDW....

 

[Disney Commando]

A great thing to do on a non park day Go to Comtemparary and catch the Electric Water Parade from the dock, A great view, not crowded, plus quick exit
Parade passes by right after the fireworks, (you will not get a good view of the fireworks BT is in the way) but with only a handful of people waiting at the dock it's like a VIP viewing