Groceries for the 2016 Trip To Disney World

We are renting a house (Villa) near Disney for 34 days. That is going to be a lot of groceries!

I have analyzed grocery purchases across multiple years and determined the best grocery prices can be found at Walmart. The Walmarts around Disney can also be the busiest and craziest places to shop! Nevertheless, the prices can be significantly lower than Target, Publix, and The Market.

I have also analyzed our grocery purchases against what we have used and what we had to throw away. We will grocery shop several times during our stay, but, we will try to get most of what we need during the first trip.

Whenever I am in Florida I want to buy and eat Florida oranges. I don't know whether it is the time of the year we are visiting, or the places we are shopping, but I can never find them! It is a huge disappointment. Nevertheless, we stock up on fruit and berries, which go great with the summer heat.

I purchase snacks for the snack bag we take to the parks. In it, I try to pack things that will be durable and withstand riding in a backpack: water, crackers, pretzels, cookies, and hard candy. I tried frozen grapes one year... and it was not a good outcome. I tried applesauce cups and the containers broke open and make a huge mess.

We try to eat breakfast and lunch at the house, and then get dinner at the park. Often we'll try to wait until we leave the park so we can eat cheaper in the Kissimmee/Celebration area. And then we always get a few evenings at home to just enjoy the villa. So, that is 34 breakfasts, 34 lunches, snacks, and a couple of dinners.

GROCERY LIST 2016

Bologna	Pizza sauce	Soda 2l	Angle food cake
Butter	Pudding	Tea Palmer	berries
cinnamon rolls	Sunflower Seeds	Water case x5	.
Cheese Slice	Werthers	Water Gallon x3	.
Coffee Creamer	.	Crystal Light Ind	.
Cookie Dough	Coffee sugar	.	.
Chip Dip x2	PAM spray	Smirnoff Ice	.
eggs	Taco Seasoning	Wine barefoot	.
Hotdogs turkey	.	.	.
milk	Bread	Coffee Filter	.
Pepperoni	mini Donuts	Napkins	.
Shrd chz Fietsax2	HamBurger buns	Paper Towels	.
Shrd Chz Mozzx2	Swiss Rolls	Tissues	.
Sour Cream light	BrownieWalmrt	Toilet Paper	.
Tortillas/wraps	Brownie Bites	Coffee Cup & lids	.
Turkey Bacon	.	Foil	.
whip cream	Cereal	Kitch Trash Bags	.
Yogurtx10	Maple syrup	Ziplocks	.
.	Pancake Mix	.	.
Break Sand	Poptarts	Finish	.
Chicken Patties	.	Tide	.
Frozen Pizza	Corn Chips	Bathroom Spray	.
ice cream	potato chips	bathroom cleaner	.
ice cream Sand	Pretzels	Bounce	.
Popsicle	Salsa	Palmolive	.
smiles x2	.	Shout Color Catch	.
Waffles	Cheezits	.	.
Sundae cones	Cookies	Hamburger	.
.	Teddy Grams	.	.
Coffee	.	DVD R	.
Apple Sauce	Ketchup	Mattress covers	.
Cranberry Juice	Mustard	Shampoo	.
Crancherry	Salad Dressing	.	.
Fortune Cookie	.	Apple Slices	.
Hershy syrup	diet Coke 6p	Bananas	.
Mac&Cheese Cups x3	Gatoraid 32oz x4	Fruit Bowl	.
Mini Rav x2	Lemonaid	Salad & Lettuce	.

Seven Tips to Avoid Sore Feet at Disney World

I have written about the importance of having good shoes for Disney.

Little can ruin a Disney Vacation like sore feet! A Disney vacation involves a lot of standing and a lot of walking. Some say an average day at Disney involves walking ten miles! That is a lot of miles if you have blisters on your toes.

1. You will need to wear sneakers at Disney. Leave the sandals, flip flops, and fancy does in your hotel room. Don't be naive to believe you can make a ten mile hike in a pair of fashionable sandals with heals. Dad's work boots or loafers won't due!  Cute stop on sandals for the kids will leave them and you in pain. Sneakers are a requirement for everyone.

2. The time to prepare is months before your trip. Sneaker experts suggest buying a new pair of sneakers every 12 months. How old is your pair? Are they up to the task? Or, is it time to go shopping?

3. New sneakers take a while to break in. You should buy them and wear them for a few weeks before heading to Disney.

4. One consideration is arch support. Poor arch support can hurt your feet, knees, and back.  If you have never been tested to see if you need arch support, I suggest going to a store that specializes in running shoes. They often have people on staff trained to analyze and make recommendations for arch support.

5. The kind of sneaker is important. It is very hot in Florida, and the heat is magnified by the blacktop and walkways. The sneakers need to breath. Therefore find something that offers canvas instead of an all leather sneaker.

6. During different times of the year (for example, summer) you are more likely to encounter rain. When it rains? It pours. A rainy day doesn't mean canceling the trip to the parks! You need a pair of sneakers that will hold up well to getting wet, or will dry out quickly. You may want to investigate a sneaker that uses a combination of fabric and leather or plastic.

7. Synthetic socks will help too. They are designed to keep the moisture away from feet and are much better at preventing sores and blisters versus cotton socks. Good synthetic socks can cost $20 per pair or more - but can be well worth the cost.

I have my sneakers for the 2016 trip ready to go!

Villa secured for Summer 2016

I don't know where the time goes, but there never seems to be enough of it to keep this blog updated!

We have our villa secures for the Summer 2016 trip. The 38 day trip includes driving down to Florida and back, along with a few days in Gettysburg.

We let our year passes elapse last year and will be renewing them this summer. The prices have gone up and it is going to be very expensive! Lucky, we have some Disney Visa Reward points we can use.

I have made dinning reservations at Ohana for Breakfast and Dinner, and Chef Mickey. Dinning is very expensive so we try to limit ourselves. Last year we only allowed for one dinning experience and ended up taking in three anyways. This year, I am just buying the bullet and doing three!

I have the itinary planned, which includes a drive to Melbourn to meet with friends. I also have our first day grocery shopping list made. Our Gettysburg hotel reservations are set. Pins for pin trading arrived several weeks ago. And everyone's new shoes have been purchased.

There is still a lot of work left to do and I will try to post more frequently as we prepare for our 2016 adventure!