travel Archives - Page 3 of 3

Sep 3, 2013

I Left Reality Behind For Labor Day Weekend

September 3, 2013 By Christina

Some people spend their Labor Day weekends watching football and having cookouts. Aaron and I spent our weekend in Atlanta at DragonCon, surrounded by sci-fi and fantasy geeks, many in costume.

This was our first visit to DragonCon, so we had no idea what to expect. Aaron has wanted to go to this convention for years, and gave up his plans of going to San Diego Comic Con this year to attend this one. His hobby is dressing up like a superhero, most often as a part of a charity group that does appearances at non-profit events for groups like Make-a-Wish and Children’s Hospital. He was excited to finally meet some of people he’s been talking with on costuming forums for the last two years. (Hmmm…meeting people you usually only talk to on the internet – sounds similar to a blog conference!)

DragonCon is a huge event. As in, 60,000 attendees. Really, it’s WAY too big for the spaces they jam it into, which led to massive crowd flow problems.

Just an idea of the lobby crowds in the evening, from 17 floors up. (That wasn’t the most crowded.)

The big draw of the con are the sessions and panels that many attend. There are panels on every possible topic in the genre, from the Science of Star Trek to Gandolf vs. Dumbledore to The Whedonverse for Beginners. Sadly, we didn’t attend any of these panels, mostly because I didn’t feel like waiting in a line for over an hour for a chance to get in to hear the panel. Again, the size of the event is a major problem.

There were a lot of celebrities at the event. I got to meet Peter Davidson, aka the Fifth Doctor. I also met John de Lancie, the actor who played Q on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and more recently was the voice of Discord on the new My Little Pony animated series. My kids loved Discord, and I grew up watching Q on Star Trek, so going to meet him was an obvious choice.

Yay, I met Q! And he’s really a sweet guy, even when dealing with a terrible cold!

Fun story: when I told him I’d like an autograph (these things cost money at events like this), he asked which photo on the table I’d like him to sign. I told him that my first choice would be Q, but we were getting his autograph as a gift for our daughters, so I asked if he could sign the drawing of Discord. He paused, smiled and then said, “How about this: you buy the photo of Q, and I’ll also give you the Discord print as a gift for your girls.” He signed both, addressing the Discord print to the girls with the message of “Read!” Super, super nice guy.

Aaron also met one of his favorite authors, Jim Butcher. And I also had the chance to talk with Peter S. Beagle, the author behind one of my favorite childhood movies, The Last Unicorn. I bought a graphic novel of the story and had him sign it for our girls.

And he’s a geek, too, with his WWBuffyD? shirt.

He appreciated our daughters’ names, immediately knowing they were from Shakespeare, and then told us stories about growing up in New York and going to the theater with his aunt. If there hadn’t been a line of people waiting to meet him, I think he would have shared stories with us for hours. (He told us to come back and talk more later, but he nearly always had a line of people waiting to meet him, so I didn’t get the chance.)

There was also a vendor area at DragonCon, and it was fun to walk through. Most of the items were too pricey for me, or were simply things I wouldn’t spend the money on. I did appreciate seeing a Fourth Doctor bathrobe, though.

…cause the scarf is part of the robe!

But the real story of DragonCon are the costumes. This event is known for the high percentage of attendees who dress up as their favorite characters. There were costumes at all skill levels, from store bought to advanced costumer. Here are a few I took photos of:

It’s Lilo & Stitch!

Minions were very popular this year.

Yes, there was a person in there!

Switched gender costumes were also popular. She had a nice Joker outfit.

Those wings were very impressive.

Of course, Aaron was in costume much of the time, too. Strangely I didn’t take any pictures of him in costume, but I’m sure they’ll be out there soon. His (not-so-) secret goal for this con was to get me to dress up in costume with him. It’s not that I’m adverse to the idea – we met while both working at a renaissance festival, after all – but I don’t have time anymore to make costumes, and generally don’t like many of the costume ideas out there.

Most female superheroes are in spandex bodysuits or show way too much skin. (Or both.) And they have amazingly perfect bodies to go with those outfits. I am not drawn that way. So finding something that I could be comfortable with is a lot harder than it might seem.

And yet, in the vendor area, Aaron found something that fit my requirements and insisted I try it on. Once I tried it on, he was ready to hand over the credit card immediately. I think he liked it.

So this is the costume I wore this weekend – a steampunk version of American Dream (or female Captain America, if you prefer):

I only have this one photo of the costume so far.

It was fun to dress up, even if it has been a LONG time since I’ve worn a corset and had to convince my ribs to embrace the steel cage around them. In a sea of amazing costumes, I didn’t get a lot of notice at DragonCon in this outfit, but I know it made Aaron happy to join him with a hobby he likes so much. And hey, I guess I’m all set for Halloween this year, right?

I’m not saying this is going to be my new hobby, though, cause I’m already long on hobbies and short on time. Not unless someone can invent time travel.

I did find this TARDIS in a hallway, but couldn’t make it work. I think I need a Doctor.

Filed Under: geek paradise, travel

May 24, 2013

Cedar Point Never Gets Old

May 24, 2013 By Christina

There are some places we can visit over and over and still feel like it’s new and exciting every single time. Cedar Point is definitely one of those places. We made the trip to Sandusky last weekend (Cedar Point provided tickets for us) to see what’s new for 2013, and to revisit some of our old favorites.

Mira was especially hopeful that she had grown enough since last October to meet the 48″ requirement for many of the roller coasters. Last year she measured 46″ which only let her on one big coaster, the Iron Dragon.

The changes at Cedar Point start right when you get to the gate. They’ve completely remodeled the entrance now, partially to work in the newest coaster, the GateKeeper. It’s an impressive winged coaster – meaning the cars are attached to the track in the middle, but riders sit on either side on the “wings” of the coaster. There are two keyholes built into the towers around the new gate, and the GateKeeper coaster glides through each of those narrow keyholes, twisting at the last possible second to fit the arms and legs of it’s passengers safely through, and wowing visitors as they come up to the gate. It holds records for being the longest, fastest and tallest wing coaster. I can already tell you I love this coaster, and I haven’t even had a chance to ride it yet.

Yes, they have to turn sideways quickly to fit through that narrow tower over the main entrance to the park. It’s amazing to watch.

Our first stop was to get both kids measured for rides. You can do this right at the entrance and get a colored wrist band, avoiding any further waits in line to be measured again. Cordy was 54″ this time, allowing her to ride nearly everything in the park (allowing is different than wanting, though, and her anxiety kept her away from all coasters), and Mira let out a cheer when she was told she met the 48″ height requirement. She was the happiest kid ever to get her 48″ rider wristband.

Proudly showing off her red 48″ wristband.

The first ride for us has practically become a tradition now. Cedar Downs is always our first stop – it’s essentially a carousel, but it goes faster than most, and the horses “race” each other, with one in each row coming out ahead by the end of the ride. (The winner varies each time.) Cordy loves this ride, and Mira was thrilled to have her first experience with it.

Cordy on Cedar Downs: 2011, 2012, 2013 (with Aaron this time)

After that we had a quick lunch (full disclosure: lunch was provided by Cedar Point) and Aaron was so happy that Cedar Point is considerate of those with food allergies. He was able to eat a gluten-free pizza for lunch, with other gluten-free options available as well. If you need a gluten-free meal, try Joe Cool Cafe – they even have separate fryers for those who can’t have gluten but still want some french fries or gluten-free chicken tenders.

Mira then wanted to continue exploiting her new height to ride another 48″ or higher ride. Off to the Cedar Creek Mine Ride we went! Cordy used to love this ride, but her anxiety was too high, so she stayed back. Thankfully, Cedar Point offers a Parent Swap pass for this kind of situation. You can pick up a Parent Swap pass in the Guest Services office, good for one use on most of the larger rides.

Here’s how it works: one parent gets in line for the ride with their child, while the other parent does something else with the kid who doesn’t want to ride. Once the first parent and child get off the ride, they hand the Parent Swap pass to an attendant and go out the exit. The other parent can trade off and go up the exit ramp to get on the ride with no wait. Each parent gets to ride, and the child who wants to ride gets to do it twice. It’s a win-win.

Mira loved the Mine Ride! We tried the Gemini next, which was a little more scary for her. I’m glad she decided not to try Millennium Force quite yet. At this point we decided to dial back the adventure level a little and spend some time in Camp Snoopy, which is filled with rides for the younger set. (Although many allow adults to ride with their kids, too.) Cordy was a big fan of the Tilt-a-Whirl, and we rode that ride at least five times. Yes, I’m still dizzy.

Cordy and Mira took a few rides on the swings, too.

You can also meet Snoopy and his Peanuts friends in Camp Snoopy. Cordy couldn’t miss out on a hug.

We like playing the carnival games at Cedar Point, too, always coming home with some new stuffed animals to add to the family of plush creatures. Both kids like that Pokemon can often be found as prizes with some of the games, but Cordy set her sights higher this year:

Say it with me, folks: IT’S SO FLUFFY!

Near the end of the day, Mira got her courage back and asked to go on the Corkscrew. This roller coaster has three loops in it – I thought there was no way she’d want to go on a looping coaster. But she did, and she waited with Aaron patiently (although nervously) in line for the ride. Despite the wristband, they still checked her height again – she just barely clears 48″ and I think they were surprised a five year old wanted on the Corkscrew.

She did it, though – and she loved it! I know Mira is going to be a Cedar Point Ride Warrior as she gets older. She’s already asking how long it will take for her to be 52″ tall so she can ride Top Thrill Dragster, a ride that goes from zero to 120 miles-per-hour in four seconds. Maybe she can ride that one with her dad.

This is our third year in a row to go to Cedar Point, and we really appreciate how much there is to do in this amusement park. We love how many thrill rides are in this park, as well as plenty of family rides and in-between rides that are thrilling but not too scary. Our energy level ran out before we ran out of rides and attractions to visit – you can’t do it all in a day!

We’re a Cedar Point family!

Yes, we love Disney World and will always love Disney World, but Disney’s roller coasters can’t compare to the roller coasters at Cedar Point. And unlike Disney, Cedar Point is an Ohio theme park that’s easy to daytrip or take a short Ohio staycation at Lake Erie.

If you have the chance, get to Cedar Point to try the new GateKeeper this year, and then let me know how you liked it! I’m hoping we’ll visit again later this summer, perhaps with more adults in our group, so Aaron and I can take a ride on GateKeeper together!

Full disclosure: I was invited by Cedar Point to bring my family to the park for the day and received complimentary admission into the park and lunch. Mira’s blossoming Ride Warrior personality comes to her naturally – both of her parents love roller coasters!

Filed Under: local fun, travel Tagged With: cedar point, Ohio, staycation

Apr 29, 2013

Surviving Disney World Part 2: Tips For At The Parks

April 29, 2013 By Christina

It’s been two months since we returned from our Disney World vacation, and I’m just now getting around to part two of my guide. However, it’s also been two months and we’re still talking about all of the wonderful memories we have from our trip, so you could say it’s still fresh in my mind.

I covered all of my tips for planning your Disney vacation in Part 1, and now I wanted to share my tips for when you finally arrive at Walt Disney World. These are what worked for us – your family may have a totally different way of doing things, and that’s perfectly fine. But if you don’t even know where to start, some of these tips might work for you.

Map out your “must do” list in advance.

Walking into Magic Kingdom is overwhelming. There are people everywhere, and after you walk through Main Street to the castle, you’re presented with the ultimate Choose Your Own Adventure. The castle is the center point for all paths leading to each area of the park. You’ll see amazing sights off in the distance of each, and if you didn’t put a plan in place, your first family argument will also begin here.

Take some time before the trip, or even the night before you visit each park, to discuss as a family which rides and attractions are the “can’t miss” ones. For my family, we each named one or two rides we absolutely wanted to ride in each park. Then we used that list as a starting point to make sure everyone left the parks each night feeling like they got to do all of the things they really wanted to do. We also compared our list to a few guides that showed us which rides had the longest lines to prioritize which ones we needed to get to before the lines got long.

Added tip: The My Disney Experience app for iPhone lets you make reservations, check ride wait times, and has a map to show you where you are in the park. But use carefully – the GPS drains your battery quickly.

If you’re staying at the resort, take advantage of the Magic Hours.

This is a huge perk of staying at one of the Disney resorts: each day, one or two of the parks has “Magic Hours” only for resort guests. Some offer early mornings, where those with resort passes can enter the park an hour earlier than everyone else. Other times they have late Magic Hours, where the park remains open an extra hour for resort guests. (They can’t officially kick out those who aren’t resort guests, but once the Magic Hours start, you have to show your resort pass to get on any ride.)

The lines are SO much shorter during Magic Hours. We wanted to go to Enchanted Tales with Belle on our first day in Magic Kingdom, but the lines were impossibly long. (Over an hour and a half.) At the end of the week, we went back to Magic Kingdom on the day they opened an hour early for resort guests. We got in right when the park opened, went straight back to Enchanted Tales with Belle, and were a part of the first performance with no waiting. It wasn’t even as crowded as they usually make each performance, so both girls had the chance to play good roles in the story.

Mira got to be Chip, Cordy was Philipe.

After that, we still had 40 minutes left in the Magic Hour, so we rode Dumbo with only a five minute wait and Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid with no wait. The Magic Hours are definitely worth it.

Use the Fast Pass system.

One of the smartest ideas Disney World ever implemented is the Fast Pass system. Here’s how it works: say you want to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the wait is currently one hour. If you don’t want that wait, you can go to the Fast Pass kiosks near the entrance to the ride, insert your park ticket (or resort pass) and it will return your park ticket and spit out a Fast Pass ticket with a return time, usually an hour later or more in the day. The return time is an hour long window, so you don’t need to be back at a precise time.

At that point, you can go shop, ride another ride with a shorter wait, or do whatever you want. When your Fast Pass time window opens, you go back to the ride’s entrance, find the Fast Pass entrance, hand the cast member your Fast Pass ticket, and then bypass the long line. There may still be a short wait, but it’s usually no more than five or ten minutes at most.

This system works very, very well, and many rides offer Fast Pass. Some of the character meet-and-greets have the Fast Pass system, too. Best of all, this is a FREE service available to any park guest. It’s genius – you spend more of your day seeing the parks and less time waiting in line.

There are a few things you need to be aware of, though. First, you can’t run to each ride and collect all of your Fast Passes at the start of the day. You can usually only have one or two at a time – your Fast Pass ticket will tell you when you’re eligible to get a pass for another ride. If your Fast Pass doesn’t have you returning until much later in the day, you’re usually allowed to get another Fast Pass within an hour or so.

Second, there are only a limited number of Fast Pass tickets each day. When one time window fills up, it rolls over to the next time window. So if a lot of park guests are trying to get Fast Pass tickets for Toy Story Midway Mania! in Hollywood Studios, it’s possible they’ll be out of Fast Passes for the day by lunchtime, and then your only choice is to wait in the long line.

And that’s not just any example: Toy Story Midway Mania! routinely is out of Fast Passes by midday. Same goes for Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid in Magic Kingdom and Soarin’ in Epcot.

Get a PhotoPass right when you walk into your first Disney park.

You know when you go to an amusement park and they have photographers mobbing the entrance, all trying to get one photo of you at the park and then hope you’ll buy that single photo (in multiple sizes and a photo keychain) on the way out? Well, this is one case where you really DO want to let them take your photo. And then immediately ask the photographer for a PhotoPass.

Chances are, your kids are going to want photos with characters, and you’ll want photos of them in front of the castle, or the tree in Animal Kingdom, etc. But for once, YOU can be in the photos, too, thanks to the PhotoPass. It’s a card with a barcode and retrieval code on the back. Whenever a Disney photographer takes your photo, you hand them your PhotoPass, they scan the barcode, and the photos are now assigned to that card’s account.

One card is good for your entire Disney stay, so you’ll have all of your Disney photos in one place online. Then, when you get home you can log on to the PhotoPass site, enter the code on the back of the card, and view all of your photos. The site has editing options, including adding special effects to your photos:

Sharing a laugh with Tiana Mira loved twirling for Tiana.

It’s easy to order prints or photo products from the site. Or just purchase the rights to all of the photos. (Hint: it’s a flat fee for buying all of your photos. If you think you’re going to do this option, make sure you REALLY load up on photos at the parks!)

Unlike most parks, Disney parks have photographers throughout the parks. Many of the characters have an official photographer with them, Enchanted Tales with Belle uses a PhotoPass photographer, and they’re also stationed around most popular photo spots. Mira participated in Jedi Training at Hollywood Studios and there was a PhotoPass photographer who took photos for all of the parents. Without her, we wouldn’t have had this great shot:

Mira takes on Darth Vader, guided by her Jedi Master

Certain spots can also allow the photographer to add in “surprises” – we had no idea why the photographer was asking Cordy to do this pose until we viewed the image at home:

Wow! Hello, Sebastian!

I’m a huge fan of the PhotoPass, and it was awesome to actually be in my family photos for once.

One final tip: if you have a smartphone, take a photo of the back of your PhotoPass right when you get it. That way, if you lose the card, you’ll still have access to the code so you don’t lose the photos you already have.

Take advantage of “special event” buttons.

If you want to feel like a rock star, visit any guest services and pick up any “special events” buttons that apply to your family. In our case, Aaron and I wore “Happy Anniversary” buttons and Cordy and Mira wore “1st Visit” buttons. They also have buttons for birthdays, special celebrations, family reunions, and many other situations. Cast members will go out of their way to wish you well with these buttons, and sometimes offer up a little surprise, too.

In Hollywood Studios, one of the cast members in a shop gave Aaron and I chocolate-covered marshmallows when she saw our buttons. The kids were each given a pin from a pin trading board when another cast member saw it was their first visit. Even guys in business suits (I can only imagine that they work in Disney management or something) stopped to talk to the girls and ask how they were enjoying their first visit to Disney. It was very sweet and made our trip even more special.

Tip: want a really personal experience? Write you kid’s name on his/her button, and the cast members will call out to them by name as if they’re old friends.

Consider a park hopper pass.

There is a lot to do in every Disney park. But despite all of the planning, you may find that one day just isn’t working out as planned, either due to weather or sore feet in a large park, or because the kids just aren’t feeling the international mood at Epcot and would rather spend some time in the Pixar area of Hollywood Studios. With a park hopper pass, it’s not a big deal. It’s a small additional cost to your park tickets, but with the park hopper option you can visit multiple parks in the same day.

This is useful if you can only get a character dining reservation on a day when you didn’t plan to be in that park. For us, it was useful on the day when we went to Animal Kingdom. It was only open until 5pm that day, and my mom was taking the kids for part of the day. So we spent the morning there, and then Aaron and I went to Epcot for a bit, then met up with friends at Hollywood Studios, and then ended our night under the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. We didn’t plan to hit all four parks – it just worked out that way, and we were thankful to have the park hopper passes!

I think that covers most of the big topics for visiting Disney. I still want to point out some of the best rides and attractions, as well as tips for smoothly sailing through Disney World with a special needs child, but that will have to wait for another post.

Filed Under: travel

Mar 19, 2013

Domesticity, Conferences and Dresses

March 19, 2013 By Christina

Over the weekend we moved a little closer in my goal of making this house look like it has permanent residents and not just transients passing through. Two more rooms have curtain rods! Like, real curtain rods screwed into the walls, and not spring rods. That makes twice as many as we previously had.

Please ignore the bad lighting, ugly ceiling and lack of paint. Work in progress, folks.

The living room curtain rod (which I bought over two months ago and has been sitting in a box) is also now in place, although still lacking in anything to put on it. But now that it’s in place, I’m more motivated to buy curtains. Mira’s room also has a new curtain rod and new curtains. No surprise, she picked pink striped curtains.

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I’m also making progress on my desk area. I bought this file organizer at TJ Maxx and can’t wait to hang it on the wall and start using it:

I love the chalkboard panels on each pocket. I don’t have a lot of papers I need for work, but if I hang it just off to the side of the desk, I can also use it to organize school papers, tax info, etc. There’s a lot of possibility with it.

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Mira recently asked me to make her a shawl. She had noticed the shawl I occasionally wrap myself in and when she found out that I made it, she wanted one, too. It’s been over a year since I knit anything, mostly due to an inability to carve out time for myself, so I thought this might be a good way to get me back into knitting. I clearly had no idea what I was agreeing to, however, when I took her out on Sunday to pick out the yarn for her project:

Ouch. Hot pink with bits of metallic shimmer. Well, at least there will be no way to lose her when she wears it. She’ll probably be visible on Google Earth maps.

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I’m going to the Blissdom conference later this week in Dallas. This will be my first trip to Texas, not counting changing plans in Houston a few times. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting lots of new bloggers and generally immersing myself in the blogging world for a few days.

Going to blog conferences now (for me, at least) isn’t so much about picking up new tricks for blogging as it is about networking and getting inspired. I’m fairly set in my ways, but I love finding new folks to read and hearing the “we matter” blogger pep talk that refreshes me and keeps me writing.

I still have to pack everything for the trip, which is the worst part of going to any conference. It seems like the minute I need to pack for a trip, my entire closet of clothing is suddenly too tight, too loose, or doesn’t match with anything else. Frustrating.

And of course there’s the flying part. I still hate flying. Here’s hoping it’s a smooth flight so I don’t grab the arm of the person next to me if there’s turbulence.

Anyone else going to be at Blissdom? I’m usually not hard to find, since I rarely stay in one spot for long. As long as you’re in one spot, I’m sure I’ll pass by. On Friday night, you’ll probably see me in a dress that looks a lot like this:

Only mine has cap sleeves and is longer.

I’ll be reviewing this dress soon. I received it for review from eShakti, and (spoiler!) I love the dress and the company. I’ve yet to find anywhere else that will customize a dress to fit you perfectly. (If you’re already interested in shopping for a new dress, I have a coupon code for your order – just use the code MMMYSTRY for 20% off.)

Now everyone think good thoughts that I don’t spill something all over myself or fall down stairs or completely offend someone with an ADD-moment or do something else to embarrass myself while I’m at Blissdom. (I’ll also chicken out on karaoke to keep myself from absolute embarrassment.)

Filed Under: Blissdom, daily life, domestic zero, home, me me me, Mira, reviews, travel

Mar 14, 2013

Surviving Your Disney World Vacation Part 1: Planning

March 14, 2013 By Christina

Now that we’re back from our first family trip to Disney, I’ve had some time to reflect on what worked well and what didn’t work so well on our trip.

These are tips that worked for us, and may work for you depending on your situation and how you prefer to vacation. I started working on this list, and realized I’d need to split it up into more than one post, because there is so much to share. So first I’ll share what worked for us when it came to planning the vacation, then we’ll look at tips once you’re at the parks.

Tip #1: Stay on-site.

The Walt Disney World Resorts system is made up of so many different resorts, from value resorts that are often as cheap as or cheaper than budget hotels off-site, to the all-out posh experience of some of the best hotels in the world. There’s something for every price point, and depending on the time of year, there are often sales and discounts when you combine a resort stay with your tickets.

All resorts have some of the same basic features. They all have a food court (or food stands) and a shop for gifts or basic necessities. All resorts provide free, easy transportation to all of the Disney parks. And when staying at any resort, your room key is also your park admission ticket, and you can grant charging privileges to it, too. This is super helpful when you don’t want to carry a lot of cards, cash and an ID with you when going to the theme parks – one card is all you need for admission and any purchases.

At Port Orleans – the riverboat in the background and hotel rooms beyond that.

As a resort guest, you can also request that anything you buy in the parks is sent back to your resort instead of carrying it around all day. (This is also a free service.) There are pools at each resort, too. More expensive resorts will have upgrades like on-site childcare centers, restaurants, and activities.

We stayed at Port Orleans – Riverside this time, a moderate resort. We’ve also stayed at Pop Century (a value resort) when Aaron and I went together many years ago. Both had the features mentioned above. The rooms were a little nicer at Port Orleans, and the “theme” of the resort is a little more grand. Being on a river, we had a boat option to travel to Downtown Disney instead of the bus, and they also had more on-site resort activities and a table service restaurant. The room quality was a step up from Pop Century, but even Pop Century was a very nice standard room for the money.

Tip #2: Get the dining plan, especially if they offer a discount for it.

When we first booked this trip, I said no to the Disney Dining Plan. I had grand ideas of carrying granola bars and water with us everywhere we went, and looking for the cheapest food we could find while there. As we got closer to the trip, though, I realized I didn’t want to weigh myself down by carrying that stuff all day, and heard positive tales of others who used the dining plan. (Thanks, Erin!) I called Disney’s vacation planners again and added in the plan.

Basically the plan is a pay-up-front discount dining plan that provides you with two meals and a snack each day. There’s an option for 2 “quick service” meals per day (meaning you go to a counter and order it) or 1 quick service and one table meal (table=a sit-down restaurant where they bring the food to you, or also some buffets). There are more expensive options, too, but we didn’t even look at those.

We opted for the quick and table service plan, especially when we learned that character meals (where you have a meal and get exclusive meetings with Disney characters) was included in the table service options. With the meal plan, you order your food, hand them your card – the same one that’s your room key and park admission – input your PIN, and go on your way. Super easy.

Seeing a price tag of $700-ish for a week of meals for four looks outrageous at first. But now that we’re home, I added up the receipts of what we would have spent on all of those meals and snacks, and realized we saved A LOT of money. Theme parks aren’t cheap for food, but we also thought the food quality was excellent and still have great memories of the two princess meals we were able to get in on. Portion sizes are also very large, so you may find yourself using your snack credit for a light breakfast in the morning or saving some of your meal for later.

Dessert comes with each meal, too.
My cupcake was too much for me to eat, so Mira helped.

Also? If you have a child who occasionally is too excited to eat, it’s better to pay the discounted price for a meal she’ll demand and then take two bites of and say she’s not hungry rather than the full price. (That would be Mira, for anyone wondering.)

Tip #3: Make your dining reservations early – BEFORE your trip.

Whether you’re using the dining plan or not, if you want to eat at certain locations make sure you have reservations or you may have no chance of getting in. You can call Disney or make reservations on their website up to 180 days before your trip. Want to have dinner at the new Be Our Guest restaurant in Fantasyland? Good luck – it filled up so fast we weren’t even able to get a reservation.

The character dining also disappears super fast, and you’re better off making reservations for any table meal rather than hoping for a table with a long wait and cranky kids. We did reservations for all of our table meals and never had to wait more than five minutes to be seated. It means you have to be a little more committed to a schedule, but for us that was better than the alternative of long waits or not getting to visit the restaurants we wanted to eat at.

Meeting Ariel while eating breakfast instead of standing in a long line?
Multi-tasking win!

Side note: if you have food allergies, tell them when you make the reservations. Aaron is gluten-free, and I noted that on all of our reservations. And for each table service meal, the chef personally came out to speak with us and let us know what was safe for him to eat. (Yes, really!!)

At the Sci-Fi Dine-in Restaurant, the chef made gluten-free croutons for Aaron so he didn’t have to have a Caesar salad without croutons. (The chef insisted that the salad would be lacking without croutons!) And at Cinderella’s Royal Table, the chef prepared gluten-free rolls with an herb & olive-oil dip just for Aaron while the kids and I had regular rolls and butter. We were so impressed that Disney goes out of their way to help those with food allergies feel welcome and well-fed.

Aaaaaand…that’s enough for one post. I’ve got another set of tips coming for once you’re in the parks, including a big recommendation for those who have kids with special needs.

Part 2: Tips for at the parks.

Filed Under: family time, memories, money, travel