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| The Boy talking with Anakin Skywalker |
As I thought, I didn’t sleep last night… well, not
until about hour or so before I was supposed to get up. So off we went on
Disney’s Magical Express to Orlando International with a bus driver who thought
he was hilarious. He wasn’t. Not only that but his diction and sinus congestion left even more to be desired... We had to wait an hour and half
before they let us board our flight. Actually, we didn’t hear the call and missed our
priority boarding so we had to sit near the back of the plane. Oops. Not so bad
but it was a full load. Our layover in Denver was literally about ten minutes,
just enough time to get off one plane and on the next.
We thought we’d have time to at least grab a
sandwich. In fact, we were counting on this since we didn’t eat breakfast. The
pretzels and drinks just weren’t enough. Our travel agent had sent us a gift
basket filled with snacks and we had a few left over from our meal plan so we
didn’t starve but it was far from a proper meal. Needless to say, we arrived
home to an empty fridge. Normally when we’re traveling my mom and dad will pop
by the market for fruit, eggs and milk and turn on the a/c (which needs fixing)
or heat before we return, as well as provide dinner that first night. However,
mom and dad were with us so that didn’t work. After unpacking and getting the
laundry sorted and the luggage in the garage, we went to Chipotle for dinner
then to Whole Foods for some basics.
The Captain was in bed at 6:00. I followed him at
8:00 and got up an hour later to insist The Boy go to bed. It was sooo nice to
be in my own bed with my own pillow. I slept like a baby –
until about 04:30.
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| The courtyard in the Jamaica section of WDW's Caribbean Beach Resort |
We stayed in the Jamaica section at the Caribbean
Beach Resort (CBR) on the WDW property. This is a huge resort; the largest in
WDW. It has its own bus system. Jamaica is about a four-minute walk to the main
pool and the chow hall… close compared to many of the other sections.
Considering the number of guests, they do a pretty good job; however, I read in
the Unofficial Guide to WDW (a great resource) that they do not make any of the
cooked food on site, that it is brought in and kept warm. This has to be true.
The building wasn’t big enough to accommodate a kitchen large enough to get all
those meals prepared.
Next time we are going to stay at the Animal Kingdom
Lodge. It is a step up in the WDW hotel scale and about $75 more per night.
However, it was beautiful and had a cozy, warmth the CBR lacked. Having lived
in Africa for three years, The Captain wouldn’t even entertain this hotel as one of our options because he just knew it would be cheesy; after seeing it in person he agreed
that it was just like a high-end hotel one might find in Kenya. And they have
queen size beds. And the food was better. And they have an on-site kitchen. And
a TV tuned to the Disney Channel in a separate area from the fire pit in the lobby.
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| The Boy and Dale at the Grill in The Land at Epcot |
The Disney Dining Plan saved us hundreds of dollars.
We were able to eat healthier meals in nicer restaurants than we would have
without it. The Captain said next time he wants to save all of our dining
receipts so we can compare to get a better handle on our savings but we know it
saved us money because the receipts showed the average table service meal was
about $90 for the three of us. To quote The Captain, we didn’t feel like we
were hemorrhaging money every time we sat down to eat. He was relaxed and
enjoyed himself more because of it.
Our travel agent (the best TA ever) has been to WDW many times and gave us great advice. The
dining plan options are hard to grasp when you’ve never used them before. It
goes from a) two “counter service” (fast food) meals and one snack per day to
b) one counter service, one table service, and one snack per day to c)
something like three table service and two snacks per day. That last one is a
huge jump, especially considering that each meal, whether counter or table
service, includes a drink, entrée, and dessert – lots of food, more than we’re
used to eating. If we had chosen the last one, I’m pretty convinced we would
have done nothing but go from restaurant to restaurant and wouldn’t have had
time to enjoy the parks. On our travel agent's advice, we went with the middle option b) of one counter
service, one table service, and one snack per person per day. As it fell, the
last day we still had four counter service meals and seven snacks. My parents
had four counter service and eighteen snacks leftover. Since leftover meals and
snacks expire at midnight of checkout day, we opted to get fruit and yogurt,
pretzels and chips, and some sweet treats to take home with us. Good thing,
too, since we didn’t have time at the airport!
Advance dining reservations are a must. Even though
our travel agent knew when to call and did so immediately, she had a really
hard time getting preferred times for us since they book up so quickly. In
fact, we weren’t able to get one reservation at all at Chef Mickey’s due to its
popularity. I even tried while we were there and they couldn’t accommodate us
as no one cancels. Many reservations require a credit card hold and if you
don’t show up or fail to cancel at least 24 hours in advance, they charge $10
per person. This didn’t happen to us despite about seven such reservations. My cousin took his family to WDW last year and
didn’t do the dining plan or book reservations in advance and it was a struggle
while they were there. He said he will make use of those options next time.
The real beauty of the dining plan is that you know
the total cost of your vacation before you leave home, excepting souvenirs and
gratuities, of course. We paid for only three meals: one at the airport on the
way, one at Universal Studios, and one at Kennedy Space Center.
Regarding Extra Magic Hours… take advantage of
these. EMH are only available to WDW Resort guests so it pays to stay on
property. At least one park each day opens early and/or stays open late. To get on
a ride guests have to show their currently dated room key, which is also their park hopper tickets, and dining plan. Therefore, if you’re staying
elsewhere, you might as well go home cuz Disney is closed for you! Wait times
are often ten minutes or less. We found that a posted ten-minute wait time
usually meant you would be through the line and finished with the ride in less
than ten minutes.
We are from northern California where it is wet and
cold in the winter and dry and moderately hot in the summer; best described as a Mediterranean climate. In other words,
we’re soft and spoiled. It rains in Florida in the summer. A LOT!!! My cousin’s
family went at the exact same time as we did but last year. All I heard from
them was that it was HOT!!! …and it rained a bit so take your ponchos. So we
were prepared. Our experience was that it was WET!!! …and it was hot sometimes
so stay hydrated. Had I known our experience would be wet instead of hot, I
would have looked for different shoes to take. It doesn’t bother some people to
walk around in wet shoes all day. However, I can’t stand it. It’s all I think
about with every step. My Teva’s, which I took, were purchased to be creek
shoes not walking shoes but I taped up my toes and put gel pads under the balls
of my feet and that worked well... too bad I didn’t come up with this plan
until three days before we left. Loads of people were wearing Keens and I think
I need to find myself a pair for next time (I have about five years to save my
pennies…). The Captain wore his water moccasins with socks and was happy as a
clam. The Boy was in the same boat as me. His Merrill’s are super comfy for
walking but the suede is not great for wet weather and he’s just not much of a
sandal kid. Everyone was wearing Crocs and we let The Boy wear his on the
first couple of days… which created blisters that had to be cared for for a
week. Poor guy. Mole skin and blister packs are your best friends. Buy them before you go and carry them in your day pack. If you start to feel a twinge STOP
RIGHT NOW and fix it. Don’t wait. You can thank me later.
After rereading my posts, I am aware of my fixation on food. Yes, partly that's an admitted addiction in my everyday life, but vacations for me aren't just about sight seeing. I need to be immersed in my experience to fully appreciate it. All five senses must be engaged. So to all those thin people out there who don't appreciate my obsession, sorry. Sort of.
After rereading my posts, I am aware of my fixation on food. Yes, partly that's an admitted addiction in my everyday life, but vacations for me aren't just about sight seeing. I need to be immersed in my experience to fully appreciate it. All five senses must be engaged. So to all those thin people out there who don't appreciate my obsession, sorry. Sort of.
Disney is not a cheap vacation. Souvenirs are
expensive but we knew that going in so it didn’t bother us. Not that we’re made
of money, however, some things just are what they are. So instead of
complaining about it, cheaping out, being resentful, or doing without something
we want, we just go for it. We know other families who don’t buy any souvenirs
and eat all their meals in their room out of a cooler. But running back to your
room in the middle of the day or going hungry because the food is expensive
seems ridiculous. Stick to your budget but embrace your vacation and enjoy that
$4 Mickey shaped ice cream sandwich.
