Going to Walt Disney World? Mind Your Feet!

Posted on by

IMG_1980There’s no place like Disney World for a family vacation.  It’s got FOUR theme parks, incredible resorts, pools, shopping, dining and it is HUGE!  Unlimited possibilities for fun, all in one place.  People who are planning their first visit to this most magical of vacation destinations often have a hard time imagining just how enormous Disney’s Florida property is and how much walking will be involved.  There’s an awful lot of walking!  Last October, Raymond and I were celebrating our 25th anniversary at Walt Disney World with lots of special activities and events during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival and we still managed to average over 8 miles per day with much less walking than usual.  Easily, it’s not unusual for Disney World’s guests to walk 10 or more miles on any day spent in the parks.IMG_0908

The point of all this walk talk?  Your feet!  If your feet hurt, you cannot fully enjoy the Disney vacation experience to its fullest.  If you’re not careful, you may not enjoy it much at all.  The right shoes, proper socks, and some inexpensive, minor preparation can save you a lot of heart (and foot) ache.

Going to Walt Disney World? Mind Your Feet!

SO cute, but oh, so uncomfortable!

SO cute, but oh, so uncomfortable!

Poor footwear can hurt more than your feet – your legs and back may also suffer from poor shoe choices.  Limping, whining, hobbling along…think about the horror!  If you’re like me and you cringe at the words “sensible shoes”, do not despair.  You can look and feel great while keeping your feet happy and comfortable.

Good old Nikes - my favorites!

Good old Nikes – my favorites!

I’m going to recommend you pack at least three types of shoes:  Sneakers (aka: tennis shoes, running shoes, trainers) that are well-broken in and provide good support, slip-on shoes, and sandals (or flip-flops) that have arch support and are not completely flat.  Beware of any straps that might rub your foot and leave blisters.  Let me note that the shoes in these pictures look well-broken-in because they are – tried and true, successfully worn at Walt Disney World!  Proven to be pain-free to me.

The padded insoles of these Reef flats are SO comfy!

The padded insoles of these Reef flats are SO comfy!

During the summer months, it’s very important to be well prepared for rain in the form of shoe-soaking torrential downpours.  Afternoon thunderstorms are more the norm than the exception, so keep that in mind when packing a day bag.  IMG_3350Rubber flip-flops may become extremely hazardous when wet – nearly impossible to walk in and very slippery!  Damp sneakers and socks can quickly lead to hot-spots and mega-painful blisters.  While I wouldn’t recommend a full park day in Crocs, they sure do come in handy when it rains. (I love the ballet flats!)

Croc ballet flats - perfect in the rain!

Croc ballet flats – perfect in the rain!

Responsible foot-wear choices are the best defense against sore feet, legs and back.  You also may want to bring a supply of anti-chafing balm (we use Body Glide), moleskin, and Band-Aids.  Synthetic, well fitting socks (no cotton tube socks!) are the safest, most comfortable choice.

Not a bad choice...until it rains!

Not a bad choice…unless it rains.

Please don’t let the wrong shoes detract from the fun of your Disney vacation!

Seasoned Disney fans:  What’s your favorite footwear at Walt Disney World?

Ten Reasons to Try Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival

Posted on by

I’m no expert, having been only once, but I can tell you –  Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival is a great big bunch of fun!  Raymond and I went last year and are planning another trip to the festival with our (adult) children in 2016…We can’t wait to show them the sights, sounds, smells and tastes that make up one of the very best special events Walt Disney World has to offer.  53 Days of awesomeness!  We’ve tried Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival, we’ve completely enjoyed Star Wars Weekends, but now that the kids will both be over 21 – it’ll be time to eat and drink (responsibly) and enjoy this experience together.  We can’t WAIT!

Ten Reasons to Try Epcot’s Food & Wine FestivalRM-Epcot-Food&Wine-Passport

1.  The Food & Wine Festival invites a more relaxed, laid back touring style.  Nobody’s in a hurry.  Folks are friendly, they share tables, strike up conversations.  Mosey, meander, sample scrumptious, international flavors, and do NOT rush from attraction to attraction in full commando-mode.  It’ll be fine to resume the hard-core touring tomorrow.RM-Epcot-Food&Wine-Griddled-Cheese

2.  Plan or Don’t Plan – Free-styling is okay!  Roam around World Showcase for hours on end – it’s a great reason to give yourself permission to go un-planned, un-FastPass+-ed, footloose and fancy free.  There are some amazing resources online that will allow you to preview all the food booth offerings before you go and select your Top Ten must-tries (or more).  A strategy is good!  So is a festival-on-the-fly attitude.  Plan some, un-plan some – no matter what, you’ll find something to love.Epcot-International-Food-and-Wine-Festival

3.  Weekdays are the BEST!  Most valuable advice we got pre-festival was to avoid weekends and it proved to be most excellent info!  The crowds were low when we hit the festival about 11:00 am with our special passport booklets and a loose plan for booths we didn’t want to miss.

4. Chillax with Music!  The “Eat to the Beat” concert series means you can pause to digest and ruminate to the tunes of well-know musical artists.  If I were going this year, I would totally want to see and hear Rick Springfield!  When I was 17, he was the man of my dreams!  (Hush, I know I’m old.)  *Sigh*  But Jessie’s Girl!  Live!  Squee!!!RM-French-Regional-Lunch-Table

5.  Splurge!!!  There are all kinds of special events within this special event.  Food & wine pairings, food & beer pairings, mixology seminars, culinary demonstrations, cheese seminars – whatever your taste, there’s something for you.  And merch!  Food & Wine has some really fantastic festival merchandise.  Posters and tee-shirts are just the beginning.RM-Epcot-Food&Wine-Landscape2

6. The Weather is Fine!  From late September to mid-November, the weather is some of the best you’ll ever find.  October average rainfall is about 3.3 inches compared to June’s of 7.6 inches.  With average temperature lows in the 60’s and highs in the 80’s, it’s an absolutely delightful time to be outdoors strolling among the Food & Wine booths.RM-Epcot-Food&Wine-Menu-Scotland

7. A Party in Your Mouth!  So many choices!  Exotic and familiar, meat, cheese, seafood, veggies – whatever you crave, sweet or savory, you’ll find something to your liking along the way.RM-Epcot-Food&Wine-Pepper-Bacon-Hash

8. Sample Awesome Adult Beverages – Yes, the servings are small and pricey, but fun.  Every booth has pairings of wine or beer to enjoy with different food items offered.  Be brave and reap the rewards!RM-Epcot-Food&Wine-Menu-Boeuf-Bourguignon

9. Add a Touch of Romance – The World Showcase is a great place to experience as a couple.  Even more so during the Food & Wine Festival.  Pre-purchase a Memory Maker photo package for your trip and take advantage of the abundant Disney photographers stationed throughout the World Showcase to capture a romantic moment.EPCOT_BACKSIDE 4_7072200359

10.  Share! (and know when not to) – There’s so much to sample, getting a small bite here and there will allow you do try more flavors, but a few of the festival’s booths offer seriously amazing culinary delights (like Crispy Pork Belly) – you might need to savor an entire serving all on your own.RM-Epcot-Food&Wine-Crispy-Pork-Belly

Disneyana: Limited Edition Viking Vinylmation

Posted on by

Troll-in-NorwayHappy Saturday Disney Fans!  Having just returned from Norway, a little something (or I should say someone) caught my eye over at Disney Musings when I was looking for a Saturdays With Nick article to share with you.  Trolls!  I always suspected the many trolls in the Norway pavilion were a way to tie Norwegian folklore into the country’s little corner of Epcot and that trolls wouln’t be as plentiful in the actual country of Norway.  I was wrong!  Trolls abound in Norway!  Fat trolls, skinny trolls, trolls that climb on rocks, tough trolls, sissy trolls, even trolls with chicken pox…oh, wait…sorry, got carried away. (Bonus points if you known what just happened there!)  Sure, they’re in souvenir shops, but in a lot of other places as well.  Nick made a great find and, as he tends to do, a great bargain for this particular addition to his Disneyana collection…

Disneyana:  Limited Edition Viking Vinylmation

 By Nick

Why am I posing with a family of strangers holding this Vinylmation?

This is a funny but true story, and I have pictures to prove it!

While in Walt Disney World in 2012, we stopped in to The Puffin’s Roost, the shop at Epcot’s Norway Pavilion.

They had a really great Viking Hat, with Mickey ears.

Making this an even cooler collectible, was the exclusive viking Vinylmation figure that came with it.

His shield on his back. There is a tiny little scuff mark on his helmet, no doubt from when he was in some battle!

AND it’s limited to 1000 pieces. 2 artists names on this figure, Doug Strayer and Maria Clapsis.

AND, it was marked down, from, if memory serves from $60 to $20!
While considering this purchase, another family was also looking at the hat, but they just wanted the hat, they had no interest in the Vinylmation Viking. In fact, they had no clue as to what Vinylmation was.

Shocking, I know.

While the hat was funny, the truth was, neither my wife or I would wear it often enough to justify just the effort of getting it home.

But I wanted the Viking.

As we were contemplating our next move, the family decided they would buy the hat. SO I offered to split the cost, if they were willing to part with the Vinyl Viking. They were!

Making the deal even better was the fact that as a Premium Annual Passholder, I got a 20% discount. So we each got what we wanted for a fraction of the original price!

A happy ending for all at the Happiest Place on Earth!

So many Disney treasures in Nick and Barbie’s collection!  To see more, follow them on all their social medias!!!  Disney Musings Blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, On Instagram, On Pinterest.

 

Disney Attractions I Love (More Than I Should)

Posted on by

RM-Country-Bears-HenryYou know I love a Friday Five and today’s no different.  I have, at any given time, about 27 blog post ideas running around in my head vying for attention, but this one was completely off the radar and sprung up out of nowhere!  In my Disney geek-ery, I usually shout from the mountain tops (like Expedition Everest, Space, Splash and Big Thunder Mountains) about those E-Ticket attractions that (most of) you and I find irresistible.  But what about the less popular stuff?  What makes my little heart pitter-patter among the non-headliners?  You KNOW you’ve got at least a couple of favorite rides that you have to fight for – nobody understands the passion, it’s yours and yours alone.

Disney Attractions I Love (More Than I Should)

The Seas With Nemo and Friends (Epcot) – I have no explanation other than I’m crazy about pretty much any and all omnimovers.  Combine that with how much I have always loved Finding Nemo and I’m dragging my family aboard a clam-mobile on every single visit!  There I ride, sitting on the edge of my…what…mollusk-innards?  Soaking up the tiny details and listening to the comments by my favorite Nemo characters as we glide along.  I love this thing!  Don’t try to talk me out of it.  Just get in the clam or get out of my way.RM-The-Seas-Mr-Ray

Primeval Whirl (Animal Kingdom, Dinoland U.S.A.) – About the most ridiculous attraction in all the World, right?  Wrong!  For me, it’s not too fast, not too spin-ny, not too jerky – just a big bunch of weird fun.  The vehicle is like something the Jetsons would own, the queue is akin to waiting in a cartoon.  If I could explain this ride’s magnetic draw, I’d break the spell and avoid the ridicule.  I. Cannot. Resist.RM-Primeval-Whirl-Sign

Country Bear Jamboree (Magic Kingdom, Frontierland)- I blame Curtis Stone (Geekin’ on WDW Podcast) for my semi-newfound addiction to the Bears.  I wouldn’t have made a visit to this ride ever-for-the-rest-of-my-life but for Curt waxing poetic about its allure.  If you avoid over-analysis of certain song lyrics and just enjoy the Wild-West-Saloon style of entertainment, you’re bound to notice the genius of this particular brand of Disney magic.  Seriously, I love the bears…baby Oscar in particular.RM-Country-Bears-Baby-Oscar

Jungle Cruise (Magic Kingdom, Adventureland) – Cheesy, eye-rolling, sheer perfection in pun-delivery.  What’s not to love?  From the queue’s announcements to the names of the boats to the unbelievably adorable animatronics, this attraction’s got a lot going for it.  Add comic artistry in the form of boat captain commentary and this ride is hard to beat!  No, really!  Where else on earth can you experience the backside of water?  Classic Disney fun!RM-Jungle-Cruise-Backside-of-Water

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros – I’m stealthy about this one.  I act all nonchalant about going into the Mexico pavilion in Epcot.  It’s not a family favorite, but I’m getting on this ride if I can manipulate the situation properly.  I love Donald Duck!  He’s my favorite character (in case you hadn’t heard) and I’m going to check times for possible Fiesta Donald meet-and-greets when we’re in Epcot.  Once we’ve paused at the Mexico pavilion for my moment with Donald, I’ll just casually suggest we take a small detour and hit the Gran Fiesta Tour.  Works every time.  The chances of my family reading this today are slim, so shhhhhh.  Don’t ruin this by telling them.RM-Gran-Fiesta-Tour

Now you go.  Which not-so-popular attractions are your own personal favorites?