Hi Sarah, I'm following along! Congrats on your POP! booking.
I'm glad you're here and following along!
Your ADRs look great. I'm guessing since you know Disney's Kosher options this is not an issue, but make sure to "test drive" what you eat before the race to make sure it won't upset your stomach. Might I suggest adding a post-10K celebratory meal somewhere? (If my admittedly very limited knowledge of Judaism serves me right, Shabbos doesn't start until sundown Friday so you could still go out on Friday afternoon)
Good point about eating before the race - so far we've only had problems with the breakfast food (and that was once and may have been compounded by other issues), but it's definitely something to consider, because I don't want something that might upset my stomach so close to the race.
We're actually heading to Animal Kingdom after the 10K, and since we have to be back in the room and showered/changed by sundown (you were right about that being when Shabbos starts), we figured we'd delay the celebratory meal ... we'll celebrate with the princesses, whenever we see them.
Well, we liked CRT when we went. I guess if you're looking at it from strictly an atmosphere standpoint, it is hard to beat eating in the castle.
Definitely a good point - I love that castle, and it must be amazing to eat in there!
But... you'd also be paying signature dining prices for what is essentially a non-signature meal. So I'd probably have a hard time doing that. I think Akershus might be a better option for you (but this is coming from someone who has never had a meal there.)
Apparently little known fact (and by that I mean I just discovered this last week) ... Akershus is not significantly cheaper than CRT. If you factor inax and tip (which is included at CRT), Akershus comes out to only a little cheaper, maybe even more if you're a big tipper.
My understanding is that Akershus has a partial buffet. Like maybe pastries and things like that for breakfast - soups and salads maybe at the other meals. Then the main course is served to you at the table. It isn't a full buffet though.
So it's like a pastry or appetizer buffet and then regular entree? I guess that makes sense, and it would seem to fit with what I've seen.
Between CRT and Akershus I would probably say go with (pre-open) CRT. We didn't love our experience at CRT (felt rushed and really only 1 princess felt magical) but I don't regret having had the experience of dining inside the castle. Plus you getting the added bonus of pre-open MK.
I don't think Akershus is much cheaper (do the Kosher meals cost the same as the standard meals or is there another price structure?) and I'd say not nearly the same atmosphere. And princess can have really good and really bad days anywhere.
Eating inside the castle is definitely an exciting idea, and I really like the idea of pre-open at MK ... except for that whole early in the morning thing (I will probably get my money's worth in coffee at that breakfast).
In terms of the kosher meal pricing - for buffets or anything with a set price, it's the same. For a la carte, you get charged for the kosher food, which is generally fairly similar to the prices for the non-kosher food.
I don't know if I can even think about ADRs for this trip even though I can book them starting in a few days. I'm still trying to get our trip in July organized. Haha!
I'm pretty impressed that we were able to sit down and figure this out, but I really wanted to do it because it's the first time we've booked more than 180 days in advanced. It's so hard to get everything organized ... and when you have another trip coming up first, it's really hard to think about the farther away trip.
I mentioned your FP+ tally on your last trip and your quest for the upcoming trip to my husband- he was impressed!
I don't blame him, we were pretty impressed too!
Your Random Disney Facts were cool!
Thanks! I thought it would be a nice change from the standard "favorite park, ride, etc" introductions.
Sounds like you are doing a great job with your training. Andy and I celebrated National Running Day with the same regimen.
Thanks! For most of my life I spent National Running Day sitting around on my butt, so I had to make up for it this year.
Congrats on booking. I am contractually obligated (not really) to stay at the Beach Club, but honestly, I have more interest in the values like POP and AoA than I do about staying at any of the moderates. Love the over-the-top theming.
I would love to stay at Beach Club one day ... but that 1 day is all we can afford on our unemployed & college student salaries
As much as I would love to stay at a Deluxe one day (the moderates also don't interest me much), I love the values because I really love the over-the-top theming.
Thanks for sharing your obstacles for dining at Disney. I didn't know, and it certainly brings pre-planning to a whole new level.
It definitely affects planning, but ... I'm used to it. I've been dealing with kosher my whole life, and Disney is actually better about it than a lot of other places.
I'm gonna vote for CRT. A pre-opening breakfast is so on my bucket list! Eating at the castle would be pretty cool.
Thanks for the vote! I definitely want to do a pre-opening breakfast one day, and this might just be the year!