I drained my savings and spent $1,440 to go on the field at a Yankees spring training game in Florida. It was a huge disappointment.

My family and I are from Manhattan and are lifelong New York Yankees fans. We've been to many games, but this March, we decided to splurge on the Yankees' Inside Experience, a special spring training game with a VIP twist.

We'd have the chance to meet a current and former player and have items signed, take a guided stadium tour, be treated to breakfast or lunch, receive a gift bag, unlimited photo downloads, watch batting practice, and receive a ticket to watch a spring training game at field-level.

It would be a day of learning more about the inner workings of the Yankees, followed by a pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. For a Yankees fan like myself, it sounded like the ultimate day.

For our VIP experience, we ended up paying $1,440 per person.

The event cost $425 with a $15 convenience fee, and we opted for an upgrade option of $1,000 to watch on-field practice.

It was a lot of money and I was weary at first, but felt like it was worth it — and needed.

After months of strenuous failed rounds of IVF, my sister wanted to do it to surprise her long-time Yankees fan husband to bring some light back into their life.

My parents decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and joined as well. I tagged along, too, still hurting from a recent breakup, but justified the dip into my savings in the hopes that this would also lift my spirits.

We were all so excited as we entered Steinbrenner Field.

I thought we would be able to speak to the players and learn more about their sport, and my brother-in-law even shipped a bat to Florida just to be able to bring it to the game in the hopes that during on-field batting practice, Aaron Judge would sign it for him.

But unfortunately, things got off to a bad start and seemed to only go downhill. Here's what it was like, and why we decided the motto, "never meet your heroes," is one we'll follow from now on.

Upon entering the stadium, we had to go through security, which took a bit longer than expected as my brother-in-law's bat needed extra vetting.

From there, we found a large group of about 70 people all sporting Yankee gear waiting outside the merch shop.

I walked around until a woman holding a clipboard had me sign a liability form, after which, we had to go through security a second time.

After another 15 minutes of standing, we were brought into an air-conditioned room where my family and I staked out a table and opened our gift bags. Each one included a magazine, shirt, hat, and cup.

Once we were all in the room, it was time for our first event of the day, the on-field experience.

From there, we were ushered onto the field where we all had about 10 minutes to walk around the field and take photographs.

It was a beautiful day and I thought it was incredible to stand on the same field where the Yankees play each year in preparation for a full season of games.

Food was thankfully included in the high price tag of the event.

We were served lunch and had the choice of a salad, macaroni, chicken, or a veggie burger. For drinks there was soda and water, and dessert was a plate of cookies.

I opted for the veggie burger first but didn't like it, and ended up eating the chicken instead.

A little while later, I rose to get water and saw a line of 10 people still waiting for food because they ran out. I watched as they continued to wait for another 15 minutes before more was served. I did not hear any reason given as to why, and I chalked it up to not expecting the food to go as fast as it did.

Part of the package advertised a meet and greet with former and current players. On our printed itinerary, I read that the players who participate would be picked by the event team.

For our event, Nick Swisher was the former Yankee in attendance, and Harrison Bader was the current player present.

Before the meet and greet, Meredith Marakovits, the sports reporter for the Yankees Yes! Network since 2012, interviewed each player for a half hour. She asked Harrison Bader about his recent injury, and Nick Swisher about some of his favorite moments as a Yankee.

At the end, she gave the audience a chance to ask the players questions as well.

I took my phone out as I waited for my turn in line.

But I didn't realize that we weren't allowed to take our own photos.

One of the employees told me to put my phone away, and that only an official photographer would be allowed to take the photos for us. And in addition to this rule, I'd have to pay an extra $8 to purchase any photo.

I thought this was confusing, not only given the $1,440 price tag I paid for the day's activities, but also because the event website advertised unlimited photo downloads.

I felt like I was left with two disappointing options: spend more money, or leave without my highly-anticipated photo with a Yankee player.

We were, however, given pre-signed baseballs by Harrison Bader, and a photograph signed by Nick Swisher.

The day's itinerary mentioned guest appearances, and I suppose that's what happened next.

Brian Cashman then arrived to give an interview in front of the group. Brian Cashman has been the Yankees' General Manager since 1998, and has guided the team to 14 division titles, six American League championships and four World Series titles.

To say he is an intelligent and inspiring man is an understatement, however, I found the talk to be lengthy, and I didn't think his answers revealed anything I didn't already know about the team. I was anxious to get outside and watch the practice and game, which is what we were really there to see.

I was on the first level of the stadium when I asked someone in the group if they knew where we should go.

"No idea," he commented with a shrug, "No one said anything, but I think this is as close as we can get?"

A crowd of us picked the closest seats to the practice, and I happily put my feet up, excited to watch.

But after about five minutes, a woman came over to kick us out of these seats, stating we couldn't sit there, but did not tell us where to go instead before she rushed off.

While I was excited to watch the New York Yankees at batting practice, it fell short of my expectations.

I watched for a while, and glanced at the people around me. I noticed that they held baseballs, markers, hats, and other things that they hoped to have signed by players.

But in my opinion, the players seemed to ignore us standing there.

Surely, I thought, the players would come over and at least talk to the children around me. I assumed they were waiting until they finished and the Pirates started practiced, when perhaps they would have more time.

While player interactions at this point were not guaranteed as part of the event, I was still surprised that more Yankees did not come over for signatures or photos.

The only active Yankee player who came over and signed autographs was the shortstop, Oswaldo Cabrera, which was nice to see. I watched as he went over to half of the people in the closed-off area and signed what he was able to.

I thought other players would come say hello to the Inside Experience guests still waiting, but no one came.

I even saw a child ask a player for his baseball to be signed, and noticed that the player heard him, turned, and walked away while on his phone.

I understand not wishing to be bothered, but knowing that this child's parents paid a large sum and choosing not to participate blew my mind.

When the Yankees finished batting practice, I left to go find food.

My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, however, stayed on the field to watch the Pirates practice as well, hoping they still might see Aaron Judge and have him sign the bat.

It didn't happen. But some of the Pirates players did walk over and take pictures with my nephew and signed baseballs, which I thought was very nice.

A representative for the team told me that while many people come and enjoy their time at the Yankee Inside Experience, the players are tight on time with schedules and it's hard to know who can be there and for how long, and that each day is different.

The rep also clarified that there is an unlimited photo download option online, but attendees must pay for physical copies of photographs.

Finally, they told me they want their customers to feel valued and explained it could have been a bad day, and hoped my family might come back again next year.

Had I known how the day would have gone, I never would have paid so much for this experience.

However, I also cherished seeing my nephew's smiling face, watching the actual baseball game that night, and appreciated the kind Pirates players who came to talk to my family even though they knew they were Yankees fans.

But I still can't help but feel disappointed, especially as I watched my sister and brother-in-law stand there for hours.

This was not an easy expense, and one that was supposed to help lift our spirits as a family. The Yankees are a staple in our family and I've long looked up to the players.

But after the event, I can't help but view them, and the franchise, differently.

I'm still a Yankees fan, but I'll be sticking to regular tickets from now on.