keith_h

It just proves that Maleficent  is a real hothead.

On 3/28/2018 at 9:40 AM, Specularius said:

Ultimately be prepared to change units within a year to two years as you figure out what you like and dislike, or to completely step away from RV ownership altogether.

This is good advice that a lot of folks don't think about. With this in mind we went with an entry level trailer for our first one and kept it about 3 1/2 years. We might have traded sooner but the first trailer was also sized to fit our tow vehicle at the time and had to ride the transition to the F-150 we have today. Without breaking the bank it allowed us to determine if we liked the RV thing and how we would use it. It also gave us the opportunity to determine what things we needed, wanted or could do without in our current trailer which we intend to keep longer term.

On 5/8/2018 at 1:30 PM, Travisma said:

Do they have a big cavern where they gather everyone, then turn out the lights and you can't (well couldn't before the days of cell phone emitting light) see a thing?

They did that at Howe's Caverns in NY back on the 60's when we went on a field trip.

12 hours ago, caveat lector said:

Did it at Mark Twain cave.  Unbelievable what total darkness is.  Can't imagine kids playing in there with just old fashioned lanterns 

The lights out is also part of the Mammoth Cave tours. We were lucky in regards to cell phones that nobody was using them or flash photography.

delete duplicate post.

3 hours ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

No argument from me!! I love my little 12'  [email protected] (16 ft total). Now granted hubby and I will go somewhat bigger with a Class C when I retire, but I will always have the little [email protected] for solo travel.

Rene and I have talked about going to a Class C and towing a car as well. Based on ones we have looked at and liked we would have similar space to our current trailer which is plenty for the two of us. Since we go to state parks quite a bit it would also be less hooking and unhooking as we could leave the toad at home.

3 minutes ago, WannaBeImagineer said:

Seems odd to stockpile material there before hauling it over to the river country area though, we always try to handle material as little as possible.  The more you touch the more it cost.

Depending upon the soils in RC they might need to remove soil and replace it. The airport site would allow for both removal and new soil. It would also let Disney control the heavy truck traffic better so that it is out of the way of visitors.

1 hour ago, Duane said:

I hope they manage to keep that iconic smell! 

Just by a box of Band-aids and open it when you want that Monorail smell. 

9 hours ago, ependydad...Doug said:

 

I’m a shining example of normalcy!
 

That's why you hang out here. Right?

On 4/16/2018 at 8:50 PM, shaffecv said:

Can't wait to see what the theme of the gingerbread display in the lobby will be during the holidays.

My guess is it will include gingerbread Ewoks with gumdrop buttons.

On 3/30/2018 at 10:47 AM, PGHFiend said:

Still didn't get my money's worth out of those 3 tickets.

I understand the feeling. On our trip this past February while not as crowded as when schools are out we still saw waits of +2 hrs for many of the big attractions. HS and to a lesser degree Epcot have so much closed down that I hesitate to even call them amusement parks. Our biggest surprise was when we went to AK. We arrived shortly after extra morning hours opening, went straight to Flight of Passage and the line was already over two hours long only to get longer as the day wore on. Even trying to get FP's for the ride was a fail as it was fully booked by the time my notice that the FP window had opened arrived. Rene and I have discussed the crowded nature and come to the conclusion that there isn't really an off time anymore just crowded season and more crowded season. While we really like the Fort we've decided there are too many negatives to a park visit and we likely won't be back until Disney can manage to make them enjoyable again.

6 hours ago, WrigleysWagon said:

On that note, would you guys just stay at the fort fro a trip to Universal, or is there somewhere else that would be a little better suited? 

A few years ago we made a trip to the Fort solely for the purpose of hanging out and spending a couple of days at Universal.

I don't follow room rates but the prices seem to be decent. As far as the theme it isn't much different than some of the beachside rentals I've seen along the Carolina's coasts for a lot more per night. A bit spartan but easy to keep clean with plenty of room to move around.

It looks cool. I wonder how they plan to use it though. Pandora is so small and crowded I don't see how they can just walk around the area for atmosphere so Disney must have a staging area to make it a show. 

We have typically gone before Halloween and in the lull week just after. We booked our dates in January of the same year. For our trip this past February we booked a year ahead of time. None of the times did we have problems getting the site we wanted but we also didn't have any holidays or other special events like marathons to contend with.

My company use to provide discounted tickets to WDW and Disneyland through the Magic Kingdom Club. I seem to recall some other discount percs for showing my company id while at he parks. My company stopped in the 90's when they contracted employee discount programs to an outside firm. The prices from the current provider are not as good as you can get on Undercover Tourist so I no longer use them unlike back then where they had the best price. 

On 3/20/2018 at 3:13 PM, Grumpy and Grandma said:

They are all on DISNEY property and probably paying a little more in rent.

When it comes to lease negotiations Extra Magic Hours are a cheap give away to keep rates up.

48 minutes ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

I agree with everything you said except your last sentence. 

Why bring class war fare into the discussion?

what makes you think the top 30% of Americans think a $25 parking or 10% rate increas is a drop in the bucket?

the top 25% of Americans make $67,280. And I bet there are a few people on this board that fall into that group.  And i haven’t heard anyone here say that it’s a drop in the bucket. 

 

Im sorry but whole class war fare thing is one of my pet peeves.  I just don’t understand why people are so against people just because they have more money than others.  

Btw  one day i hope to be one of those rich people  😂 

Please ignore my rant.   

Based on what I've seen for US Census statistics the top 25% would have annual household incomes start around $100K. Top 30% around $90K. The median about $59K. That will vary some as to where you live. In my  area the median income is around $71K base on 2016 numbers so our top 25% will likely be somewhat higher than the national range.

I'm sorry you don't care for my statement but these are exactly types of conversations that we would have internally when discussing how to design our software products to help our customers tap into this demographic. Our customers were having these same discussions as well and using the same terms. Pricing of fees is very much done with the mindset that they have to be an innocuous amount such that they aren't really noticed when the statement comes out. I might have been a bit course in the way I worded it but when you're looking at a $200/night or more then adding in the taxes and other trip costs that $13-$25 parking won't be noticeable. While I don't like fees, I don't think anyone wants to pay more, I accept them as normal part of doing business. As an investor I expect companies to find ways to increase revenue and fees are one of those means to do it. By the way to me $25/day is a drop in the bucket when included with all of the other costs. I've paid more for hotel parking in some of the large cities we've traveled to with similar rack rates to WDW.  

Investors want to see continual increases in revenue. Fees are a great way to do this when you can't grow revenue by other means. Disney has a finite number of rooms and adding more is expensive. Charging for things like parking allow them to increase revenue on the cheap utilizing resources they already have. I'm not saying I like it but that is the way it is. Disney isn't alone in this regard. Just look at banks and how much of their revenue comes from fees these days. Disney like many other companies tends to target those groups with the most disposable income. In the US this is typically those in the upper 30% of household incomes. To them a $25 parking fee or 10% room increase is a drop in the bucket so companies know they can get away with it.

On 3/13/2018 at 5:22 PM, h2odivers...Ray said:

and/or converting our mobile home park into an RV park.

Will there be a Fort Fiends discount?

I've been thinking this might actually be good for the Fort if it stops the folks with more than one vehicle from parking halfway out in the road.

On 3/12/2018 at 11:29 AM, DaveInTN said:

Those are good!  there is another brand that I can't remember, that makes cashew milk based ice cream that's even better.  They have a salted caramel crunch flavor that's really good.  

ETA:  I found it.

That looks good and I will probably try it if I can find it locally. However it still isn't ice cream.

If they could do something like either of the Harry Potter rides at Universal with Mary Poppins I think they would have a winner.

But none of those call the product ice cream . They use some iteration of dairy or nondairy frozen dessert.

The ingredient listing of Welch's grape juice makes me think of Maddog not something high quality.

2 hours ago, Travisma said:

The new orange soft-serve ice cream is vegan-friendly.

It can't be ice cream if it is vegan friendly as there would be no cream or other dairy in it.