Other considerations.
Hayden: I don't want to "waste time" in the parks standing in line for character meet and greets. Yet, I want TONS of pictures of him with characters, especially if he is completely frightened by them. Character meals are great, especially for breakfasts buffets. You get in and out relatively quickly and get a variety of foods.
Laura and Dirk: This is their first time. There are so many cool restaurants! We can eat fast food every day of the week in MT and AZ. Where else can you sit in a "car table" and watch old cheesy sci fi movies while drinking the best vanilla shakes ever?
Yes, it was a LOT of food. There are a few things I would do differently.
1) Eat less. We went with a mentality of sampling. However, that is not how we ended up. I plan on eating half of everything. Half of my appetizer, half of my entree, and half of my dessert. Yes, I can eat more if I am hungrier than usual, but I don't need to eat it because I want to "get my money's worth". We are going during free dining-- money isn't an issue. I don't need to eat 2 pieces of bread, a bowl of soup, an entire entree and a complete dessert.
2) Forget About Money: Once again, don't try to get my "money's worth". I don't need to order the most expensive thing on the menu to get my money's worth. Case in point. I should have never ordered the lobster because it was $58. I don't need a filet mignon every meal.
3) Order something each meal that I haven't had before. Since we are on the deluxe plan, I can do this and not have to worry about wasting money or food. Do I like grits? I don't know. Maybe I will try some in September. If I don't like my appetizer, I can get something familiar for my entree. If I don't like my entree, I can go back my appetizer. Dessert will always be eaten, no matter what.
I always make fun on Evan for ordering the artisanal cheeses at Yachtsman, but now I am regretting not trying them at all.
Those are my thoughts on dining this year. What are yours?
5 comments:
I can't wait to see Hayden's reaction to the characters! I'm so disappointed- this weekend Dirk took him on the carousel and said he screamed and cried and bawled the whole time. The only thing I could think of, was I was sad I wasn't there to take a picture of his reaction!
Oh food... I'm glad we're to this point in the planning. It's all I've been thinking about. Was the lobster good? I've never had lobster since I was like 5 and I don't remember it... All I'm honestly thinking of is that peanut butter chocolate shake thing... I can't get it out of my mind!
So do you pick restaurants for the specific park you will be in... Like for Epcot we'll need to pick a breakfast, lunch, and dinner place? Or can you make a reservation for a different park then you'll be in that day?
Ha ha! Too funny about the carousel! I would totally try to get him acclimated somehow.
We are planning on taking the little ones in my family (we are going to Disneyland with my family in Oct) to the mall-- and other crowded places-- over the next few months so they are used to crowds and the "overwhelming" feeling.
We are also planning on showing the kids some videos of the rides on You tube. We have several videos of the kiddie rides at WDW, so we can make you a DVD. That way he knows what to expect on those rides.
We are also planning on taking the kids to a couple of restaurants that have "life sized characters". We have chick fil A here, and they have a big cow that meets and greets children. That way they are less likely to be scared.
You can also show him pictures of how big the characters are from our blog. We also have video of the characters in action. Goofy is HUGE! taller than Evan!
You may also want to acclimate Ginny to sitting in high chairs while you all eat your meals and she eats hers.(once she is old enough to sit, of course). That way she knows that she will sit in a high chair at WDW while we eat. If she is used to playing while you eat, she may not do well while we eat in the restaurants.
As for meals... yes, in general we want to pick restaurants on the days we will be in that particular park. We didn't get park hoppers-- instead we are staying another night. =)
That being said, there are always resorts close to the hotels. Many times we would leave the park for lunch-- or begin the day at a hotel restaurant and then go to the park at opening (it is always best to go at opening because the crowds are significantly reduced).
For example, close to Epcot there are the Beach/Yacht club hotels and the Boardwalk. Close to Magic Kingdom there is Polynesian, Comtemporary, Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge.
I will be posting something today about food on day 1, and places I have found for possibilities. You and the boys can comment and then say "yay" or "nay". I will give a couple of alternatives as well.
Oh, the lobster. Gross. Weird texture, no Taste-- not even a fishy or crab-like taste. It tasted like nothing. They give you butter to dip it in, but then it just tasted like butter.
I should have gotten the crab encrusted halibut. It was "only" $34 -- or something like that. And I wanted to get the most expensive thing. It made me sick. I couldn't eat it.
I really wanted the dessert there too, but I was too sick and we ended up bringing it back to our room. Where it was forgotten.
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