jaded and confused

[Marilyn Michetti]

Thanks for all you do for our country! I have a son in law who is in the Army....he is getting ready to deploy to Iraq in a couple of months....will be his 4th tour. Having seen him go through these multiple deployments and since I also work for the Veterans Medical Center I understand completely how difficult Army life is. Thanks again!

Why not get the five day Military Salute ? It goes through Dec. 23.

[Marilyn Michetti]

I'm an old lady, and forgot what I meant to post. Anyway, there are some "scare tactics" put out that cause people to panic. For example, "you won't get into the Candlelight Processional without a dinner package". NO. Another is, "you have to have ADR's to get good food." Another scare. The CS dinners are more for us because we can eat where we are, and when we're hungry. We've never starved, and don't need $50 dinners everynight.

You go and have a good time. Stay loose, and don't cave in to anybody else's bad news.

[Sylvia]

redleg96 - Thanks for your service. I'm a long-time DoD employee (Defense Logistics Agency), so I understand how difficult service life and deployment can be. May God bless you and bring you home safely from your next deployment.

I don't take advantage of the free dining plan - for several reasons. I'm an annual passholder, so I usually have a passholder room discount. I don't eat at TS locations every day. I don't want to plan every minute of every day of my vacation - I prefer to "play it by ear" as my late Mother used to say.

If I decide to see if one of my favorite TS locations has space available, I always have a backup plan, just in case I'm not able to be seated. I've actually had some great luck as a walk-up at the 50s Prime Time on many occasions.

For me, over-planning takes too much work. I prefer to have a general plan, always subject to change. I don't like deciding where I'll eat dinner 3 or 6 months into the future and on what day. With so many options these days at CS locations in the parks and at the resorts, mealtime can become an adventure. As an example, in September I had a delicious grilled salmon dinner at, of all places, the food court at AS Music.

As for some of the negative comments on discussion boards, I don't let them get me down, and you shouldn't either. Don't get me wrong; I get just as frustrated as many others when a particular favorite attraction "goes away". I miss some of the old attractions which are now just pleasant memories. But, I grew up on Disney, I still enjoy everything Disney, and I'll keep going back to WDW (with an occasional trip to DL) yearly as long as I'm breathing. I love being able to act like a kid without feeling embarrassed. Every vacation is a new experience.

I realize it may not always be practical to "wing it", but try not to overplan and, most of all, do it your way. I hope your next WDW vacation will be magical.

[redleg96]

I think one of the big factors is...I would love to 'wing it'; my first Disney vacations were all at Disneyland while we were stationed out at Fort Irwin, CA for two years. We were able to go during off peak times due to my schedule and being a homeschooling family; we never made dining reservations except for three times - twice for character breakfasts and once for the restuarant located inside the pirates of the carribbean ride at DL; ---I've only been to Disney World once, in summer of July 2008 - it was hot, crowded, and if you didn't have an ADR, you weren't eating at a TS...thankfully I'm a Type A Planner and since we were on the DDP, we had ADRs for every day and were at no risk of being underfed....

The 'vibe' was much different at Annaheim as well....yes I know it's smaller and you don't get the animal kingdom, epcot, HS, or the water parks but many of the headliner rides can be found at California Grand Adventure (like Tower of Terror and Soarin').

We are planning on visiting after I get back from Afghanistan, possible do a wedding vow renewal while there and I'm sure by that point, I'll be ready to go back.

Thanks to all for the advice.

[MushuGrl]

I find myself doing this, going online and seeing something that might possibly make my vacation "less perfect" and I stress over it and stress over it. Then I remember all the times I've stressed over it and forgotten what I'd stressed over as soon as I got there. It's never perfect and I'm always ready to go back anyway.

I'm with you on the "winging-it" though. We're an "eat when you get hungry" type group. I don't like having to leave a park when I'm having a good time because I have to be on the other end of the World for dinner. I have made friends with QS meals, LOL.

redleg96, thank you for your service! We will be praying for you to come home to us safe and SOON! Hope to buy you a dole whip someday!

[vicster]

We are planning on visiting after I get back from Afghanistan, possible do a wedding vow renewal while there and I'm sure by that point, I'll be ready to go back.

Thanks to all for the advice.

Come home safely and thanks for all you do! I grew up an "Army Brat" whose father was in Viet Nam so I do understand what military families go through. You'll have your next Disney trip with your family to look forward to - be safe.