Most Florida villas have a disappointing view from the pool deck. Either you are
starring at your neighbors swimming in their pool, or, you have a wall or white
vinyl fence.
But not us!
When we stayed in July, Our view was of a
large open field of pine trees! We learned why while talking to a real estate
agent. Apparently that land is owned by a elderly doctor who has refused to sell
it to the developers. He has held onto the land all this time. And now they have
discovered gopher turtles on the land. These turtles are called gophers because
they dig into the ground. And gopher turtles are on the endangered species list.
So now that highly valued and treasured land isn't as valued anymore. I benefit
by having a nice view from the pool deck, and seeing the occasional turtle
munching on weeds.
Relocating To Disney
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
The Cost Of Disney
This summer we spent 32 days living at Disney and we are planning to return in
late December. This is a good opportunity to review our goals. Specifically,
financial goals. Last year we were at Disney for 22 days and this year 32 days.
We didn't hit the lottery, these trips are really expensive, so we attempted
things to make the 2014 trip cheaper.
First, the cost of the villa. In 2013 we paid $119 per day. This year we paid $93 per day which saved $26 per day!
Next, a huge expense is food. Our goal was to eat at home and off property as much as possible. We didn't do as well as I had hoped. In fact, many opportunities to eat at home were lost because we were challenged getting out the door in a timely fashion. However, we did cut nearly all of the Disney table service restaurants this year. We did have an improvement. Considering groceries (including soaps, cleaners, paper, and everything) and out-to-eat, in 2013 we averaged $129 per day. This year we averaged $85 per day which saved $44 per day.
$85 still blows me away and I know there are huge improvement opportunities there without taking away from our vacation.
One thing to consider is that we would buy groceries and go out to eat if at home. It isn't $85 per day while at home, nevertheless, it makes $85 per day a little more palpable.
Our journey to Florida and home was $300 cheaper because we used cheaper hotels, cut the trip by a day, and cut several of our normal stops out of the trip.
Souvenirs, gas, and our year passes worked out about the same.
I feel pretty good that we were able to significantly extend the length of the trip without increasing the cost, and if we ever try this again, there are opportunities to cut back even further.
First, the cost of the villa. In 2013 we paid $119 per day. This year we paid $93 per day which saved $26 per day!
Next, a huge expense is food. Our goal was to eat at home and off property as much as possible. We didn't do as well as I had hoped. In fact, many opportunities to eat at home were lost because we were challenged getting out the door in a timely fashion. However, we did cut nearly all of the Disney table service restaurants this year. We did have an improvement. Considering groceries (including soaps, cleaners, paper, and everything) and out-to-eat, in 2013 we averaged $129 per day. This year we averaged $85 per day which saved $44 per day.
$85 still blows me away and I know there are huge improvement opportunities there without taking away from our vacation.
One thing to consider is that we would buy groceries and go out to eat if at home. It isn't $85 per day while at home, nevertheless, it makes $85 per day a little more palpable.
Our journey to Florida and home was $300 cheaper because we used cheaper hotels, cut the trip by a day, and cut several of our normal stops out of the trip.
Souvenirs, gas, and our year passes worked out about the same.
I feel pretty good that we were able to significantly extend the length of the trip without increasing the cost, and if we ever try this again, there are opportunities to cut back even further.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Nearly Arrested?
We were nearly arrested today. Or at least detained. Perhaps questioned. But
certainly fined. Almost. By the pure fault of our own and drawing unnecessary
attention to our questionable activities brought us, an average middle class,
country loving, God fearing, American family, caste into the criminal element
and brought under the spotlight of the authorities.
Where do I begin to explain how we could have become such vagrants?
I am now running nearly 4.5 miles per day. My pace is horrible due to running intervals and the inability to breath in the hot humid summer air, but I don't care. I return home drenched and dripping and gasping for air yet unable to breath as I drown in the humidity and I love it.
I wanted to capture a video of the path I use so that in the cold upstate winter, I could use the video while on the treadmill or elliptical to keep me motivated. While on the treadmill I can either look out the window at falling snow, or look at blue skies as palm trees pass by. I'd rather have the later - even if the palm trees only exist on a TV screen.
The plan was simple: hang a camera out the passenger van window while driving the van through the neighborhood at 5-10 mph. A last change of plans had Linda driving the van (even though he didn't have her license with her and was wearing flip flops) while I hung my arm out the window.
And off we went... Creeping down each neighborhood road. No one would think it odd that someone with New York plates were scoping out a neighborhood with mostly vacant vacation villas.
Someone did think it was odd... A member of the Sherif's department! He rocked through the neighborhood to find us, then pulled up behind our slow moving van. I didn't notice him because I was concentrating on the video camera, and Linda didn't notice him because it is difficult to make a van drive so slow.
When Linda did notice, she said "Oh my God! There is a cop car behind us!" I quickly pulled my arm inside the van, shut off the camera, and threw it under my seat. Linda, in a sense of panic, flipped on her left turn signal an veered left, then flipped on her right turn signal and veered right, pulling the van to the curb. What was she going to do? No license! And driving with flip flops! And now erratic driving!
The sherif slowly pulled along side of us, checking what we were doing. What would we say? What would he do? I wasn't really doing anything wrong by making a video of the neighborhood, but Linda, on the other hand, was a complete criminal! After slowly passing by, the sherif then drove up the road and out of sight.
Were we safe? Was he simply running out plates and then he would return? Did someone call us in? Was the cop really checking us out? I don't know. But what I did know? I wanted my jogging video! Undeterred by our close brush with the law, we drove around the block and then picked up filming where we left off.
The outlaw video is completed (minus the brush with the Police). You can see the video with this link:
http://youtu.be/8yaynfRn204
Where do I begin to explain how we could have become such vagrants?
I am now running nearly 4.5 miles per day. My pace is horrible due to running intervals and the inability to breath in the hot humid summer air, but I don't care. I return home drenched and dripping and gasping for air yet unable to breath as I drown in the humidity and I love it.
I wanted to capture a video of the path I use so that in the cold upstate winter, I could use the video while on the treadmill or elliptical to keep me motivated. While on the treadmill I can either look out the window at falling snow, or look at blue skies as palm trees pass by. I'd rather have the later - even if the palm trees only exist on a TV screen.
The plan was simple: hang a camera out the passenger van window while driving the van through the neighborhood at 5-10 mph. A last change of plans had Linda driving the van (even though he didn't have her license with her and was wearing flip flops) while I hung my arm out the window.
And off we went... Creeping down each neighborhood road. No one would think it odd that someone with New York plates were scoping out a neighborhood with mostly vacant vacation villas.
Someone did think it was odd... A member of the Sherif's department! He rocked through the neighborhood to find us, then pulled up behind our slow moving van. I didn't notice him because I was concentrating on the video camera, and Linda didn't notice him because it is difficult to make a van drive so slow.
When Linda did notice, she said "Oh my God! There is a cop car behind us!" I quickly pulled my arm inside the van, shut off the camera, and threw it under my seat. Linda, in a sense of panic, flipped on her left turn signal an veered left, then flipped on her right turn signal and veered right, pulling the van to the curb. What was she going to do? No license! And driving with flip flops! And now erratic driving!
The sherif slowly pulled along side of us, checking what we were doing. What would we say? What would he do? I wasn't really doing anything wrong by making a video of the neighborhood, but Linda, on the other hand, was a complete criminal! After slowly passing by, the sherif then drove up the road and out of sight.
Were we safe? Was he simply running out plates and then he would return? Did someone call us in? Was the cop really checking us out? I don't know. But what I did know? I wanted my jogging video! Undeterred by our close brush with the law, we drove around the block and then picked up filming where we left off.
The outlaw video is completed (minus the brush with the Police). You can see the video with this link:
http://youtu.be/8yaynfRn204
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Guest Assistance Card Review
When I heard about the changes to the Guest Assistance card (Disability Access
Service Card), I was concerned that we might not have a good Disney vacation
this year. Now that we used it for a month, I will give you my review.
First, let me explain that I appreciate that everyone is different and my experience might not be yours.
My son has autism, Tourette's, and ADHD. A few short lines aren't a problem. But if we stood in a long line it would be a bad experience for us and everyone around us. In addition, his frustration levels build throughout the day. He might be doing fine at the start of the day but the more lines he waits in, the worse he gets.
In the past, the guest assistance card would work like a never ending fast pass allowing us to immediately get on any ride we wanted. That was a great gift Disney provided so we tried not to abuse it, but I always felt guilty when we used it.
Now, you get a card, similar to a miniature golf score card, with your picture on it. When you find a ride you need, you walk up to the fast pass line, hand the attendant your card, and she writes down a return time onto your card. The return time is equal to the time you would have spent in line anyways. You can come back to the ride anytime after the time written on the card, but, you can only have one ride on your card at a time. For emphasis: you can return anytime after the time written on the card. So, come back right on time or four hours later - it doesn't matter.
Compared to before, this sounds terrible doesn't it? Well... Not really. Because we use the guest assistance card with our Fast Pass Plus system. We get a time on the card, then do a Fast Pass Plus ride. After the ride, it is time to use the guest assistance card. You can alternate the two passes all day long to get on any ride with no real waiting.
Yes, it is a hassle. You have to walk all the way to the ride to get a time, leave, and then return. But considering the fact Disney doesn't have to provide this at all? And we all want to be fair with everyone? It isn't so bad.
In the 32 days at Disney we used the card seven times. Mostly Toy Story Mania. But also Seven Dwarfs, Jungle Cruise, Spaceship Earth, and Safari. And every time it was an easy and good experience. But I want to emphasize that if you take advantage of the new Fast Pass Plus system, your reliance on the guest assistance card diminishes substantially to the point that we only really needed it for rides whose fast passes were booked.
There have been many people on the boards and elsewhere who are angry about the guest assistance card change. While I can't speak to everyone else's situation, I can tell you that for us, this change was not a big deal. It was fine. Our view of Disney has not diminished in any way. And now I feel a less guilty because this new program is more fair to everyone while allowing our son to still enjoy his favorite rides.
First, let me explain that I appreciate that everyone is different and my experience might not be yours.
My son has autism, Tourette's, and ADHD. A few short lines aren't a problem. But if we stood in a long line it would be a bad experience for us and everyone around us. In addition, his frustration levels build throughout the day. He might be doing fine at the start of the day but the more lines he waits in, the worse he gets.
In the past, the guest assistance card would work like a never ending fast pass allowing us to immediately get on any ride we wanted. That was a great gift Disney provided so we tried not to abuse it, but I always felt guilty when we used it.
Now, you get a card, similar to a miniature golf score card, with your picture on it. When you find a ride you need, you walk up to the fast pass line, hand the attendant your card, and she writes down a return time onto your card. The return time is equal to the time you would have spent in line anyways. You can come back to the ride anytime after the time written on the card, but, you can only have one ride on your card at a time. For emphasis: you can return anytime after the time written on the card. So, come back right on time or four hours later - it doesn't matter.
Compared to before, this sounds terrible doesn't it? Well... Not really. Because we use the guest assistance card with our Fast Pass Plus system. We get a time on the card, then do a Fast Pass Plus ride. After the ride, it is time to use the guest assistance card. You can alternate the two passes all day long to get on any ride with no real waiting.
Yes, it is a hassle. You have to walk all the way to the ride to get a time, leave, and then return. But considering the fact Disney doesn't have to provide this at all? And we all want to be fair with everyone? It isn't so bad.
In the 32 days at Disney we used the card seven times. Mostly Toy Story Mania. But also Seven Dwarfs, Jungle Cruise, Spaceship Earth, and Safari. And every time it was an easy and good experience. But I want to emphasize that if you take advantage of the new Fast Pass Plus system, your reliance on the guest assistance card diminishes substantially to the point that we only really needed it for rides whose fast passes were booked.
There have been many people on the boards and elsewhere who are angry about the guest assistance card change. While I can't speak to everyone else's situation, I can tell you that for us, this change was not a big deal. It was fine. Our view of Disney has not diminished in any way. And now I feel a less guilty because this new program is more fair to everyone while allowing our son to still enjoy his favorite rides.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Water in Florida
In our exploration if living at Disney, our
attention turns to water. Florida is surrounded by water, has lakes everywhere,
and it rains 100 days per year. Nevertheless, the cost of municipal water is 3-4
times our cost in upstate New York. I guess it is very expensive to keep the
gators out of the reservoir.
With water being so expensive, how can people afford to water their lawns? Every house is on a sprinkler system. It turns out that every house has a tank buried underground that captures the rain water. When it is time to water the lawn, they pump the water out if the tank.
Sometimes the underground water source can have a strong surfer smell. As a result, many of the Home Owner Associations (HOA) require home owners to water their lawns at night with the hope the sulfur smell will be done by day.
And now you know about the challenges of water when living at Disney!
With water being so expensive, how can people afford to water their lawns? Every house is on a sprinkler system. It turns out that every house has a tank buried underground that captures the rain water. When it is time to water the lawn, they pump the water out if the tank.
Sometimes the underground water source can have a strong surfer smell. As a result, many of the Home Owner Associations (HOA) require home owners to water their lawns at night with the hope the sulfur smell will be done by day.
And now you know about the challenges of water when living at Disney!
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Port Orleans Riverside Carriage Ride
Disney has an incredible resort known as Mosquito Coast. At the food court of
Mosquito Coast, you are on the menu. And fitness activities include frantically
waving ones arms around. You probably know this resort as Port Orleans
Riverside. The flooded swampy mosquito haven. I don't know what bug control they
deploy at this resort but it has no effect on the mosquito population.
Port Orleans Riverside provides horse drawn carriage rides for $45. We took the ride in 2011 and the driver took us through the French Quarter. It was so incredible to see the streets and buildings in French Quarter that we couldn't wait to do it again.
In 2013 we returned for a ride but learned we needed a reservation. We made sure we had a reservation for 2014.
Instead of taking us through the French Quarter this year, the driver took us around mosquito coast. We spent half the time getting ate and the other half of the time killing the blood sucking insects.
I would like to say the ride was enjoyable but I don't remember very much of it. And the souvenirs from the trip still itch.
Port Orleans Riverside provides horse drawn carriage rides for $45. We took the ride in 2011 and the driver took us through the French Quarter. It was so incredible to see the streets and buildings in French Quarter that we couldn't wait to do it again.
In 2013 we returned for a ride but learned we needed a reservation. We made sure we had a reservation for 2014.
Instead of taking us through the French Quarter this year, the driver took us around mosquito coast. We spent half the time getting ate and the other half of the time killing the blood sucking insects.
I would like to say the ride was enjoyable but I don't remember very much of it. And the souvenirs from the trip still itch.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Review of Fast Pass Plus System
There has been a lot written about the fast pass plus system, not all positive,
and most of the negative is from people who haven't used it. Now that we have
used Fast Pass Plus for 32 days of Disney, I will provide my review.
I love the fast pass plus system. I highly recommend getting the app for your smart phone. Then, on your way to the park you can select your first three rides and get fast pass times.
The very popular rides (seven dwarfs, soarin, toy story) might fill up, so, you want to get those a few days in advance. Otherwise, same day reservation worked fine.
Fast Pass provides very flexible times - usually the ride pass is good for an hour. So, it will say, for example, Pirates of the Caribbean 3pm-4pm. You can show up anytime between 3pm-4pm and get right on the ride. And we were able to get on even fifteen minutes past our expiration times.
The system might give you, for example, Pirates 3pm-4pm, Jungle Cruise 4pm-5pm. The gap between the rides provides enough time to walk to the next ride. But there is enough flexibility where you could shop, eat, or catch another ride with a short line if you wanted to. You can schedule up to three rides for your day. When you finish your three scheduled rides? You can go get another. And at anytime you can change your schedule around. So, if you decide at the last minute you don't want to do Pirates, you can change it for something else that is available.
The system does have some bugs and problems and I would bet Disney is going to fix these.
First problem? You can schedule the initial three rides in your smart phone, but not the additional rides (the ones after the first three). The option to get more rides was announced after the phone app was made and the phone app hasn't been updated to reflect the new policy. To get the additional rides you must go to a kiosk.
The kiosks are distributed around each park and they often have long lines. It is funny: you must stand in line to avoid standing in line. But I think this problem will go away once the phone app is updated.
Next, there aren't as many kiosk locations as Disney would want you to believe. Chances are? You will need to hike to a kiosk. Again, once the phone app is updated, no one will care.
Next, there is a kiosk attendant for every kiosk and they are not happy with their jobs and they are too eager to just press all the buttons for you and shuv you along. After being assisted once, we knew what we were doing and just told the attendant to back off.
There must be a lot of confusion with the system because I saw many people get denied the fast pass lane. They try to use their bands and for whatever reason they can't get on. I don't know what causes the confusion, but I saw this happen several times every day.
Finally, the kiosks can be buggy in that several times the fast pass wasn't applied to everyone in our group. That is really annoying because the ride attendants are not forgiving nor understanding when that happens. The ride might be on my magic band but the rest of the family didn't get it and therefore can't ride.
Problems aside (which will mostly be fixed with a phone app update) the fast pass program was wonderful.
I love the fast pass plus system. I highly recommend getting the app for your smart phone. Then, on your way to the park you can select your first three rides and get fast pass times.
The very popular rides (seven dwarfs, soarin, toy story) might fill up, so, you want to get those a few days in advance. Otherwise, same day reservation worked fine.
Fast Pass provides very flexible times - usually the ride pass is good for an hour. So, it will say, for example, Pirates of the Caribbean 3pm-4pm. You can show up anytime between 3pm-4pm and get right on the ride. And we were able to get on even fifteen minutes past our expiration times.
The system might give you, for example, Pirates 3pm-4pm, Jungle Cruise 4pm-5pm. The gap between the rides provides enough time to walk to the next ride. But there is enough flexibility where you could shop, eat, or catch another ride with a short line if you wanted to. You can schedule up to three rides for your day. When you finish your three scheduled rides? You can go get another. And at anytime you can change your schedule around. So, if you decide at the last minute you don't want to do Pirates, you can change it for something else that is available.
The system does have some bugs and problems and I would bet Disney is going to fix these.
First problem? You can schedule the initial three rides in your smart phone, but not the additional rides (the ones after the first three). The option to get more rides was announced after the phone app was made and the phone app hasn't been updated to reflect the new policy. To get the additional rides you must go to a kiosk.
The kiosks are distributed around each park and they often have long lines. It is funny: you must stand in line to avoid standing in line. But I think this problem will go away once the phone app is updated.
Next, there aren't as many kiosk locations as Disney would want you to believe. Chances are? You will need to hike to a kiosk. Again, once the phone app is updated, no one will care.
Next, there is a kiosk attendant for every kiosk and they are not happy with their jobs and they are too eager to just press all the buttons for you and shuv you along. After being assisted once, we knew what we were doing and just told the attendant to back off.
There must be a lot of confusion with the system because I saw many people get denied the fast pass lane. They try to use their bands and for whatever reason they can't get on. I don't know what causes the confusion, but I saw this happen several times every day.
Finally, the kiosks can be buggy in that several times the fast pass wasn't applied to everyone in our group. That is really annoying because the ride attendants are not forgiving nor understanding when that happens. The ride might be on my magic band but the rest of the family didn't get it and therefore can't ride.
Problems aside (which will mostly be fixed with a phone app update) the fast pass program was wonderful.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)