Gibbs: Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea!
Jack Sparrow: Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only insofar as we keep to the shallows as much as possible.
Gibbs: That seems a bit contradictory, Captain.
Jack Sparrow: I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills, Mr. Gibbs, now where is that monkey, I want to shoot something!
I had a very nice, fairly relaxed weekend. Which meant that I had a lot of time to think about this trip. Of course, I sneak in thinking about it when no one knows, either. As I'm making breakfast, changing a diaper, giving a haircut. Okay, maybe not so much during the haircut, that requires a lot of concentration, especially when your five year old is screaming, "It itches, it itches!" Because no matter how many times I do it, and how tightly I wrap the towel around him, he still manages to get hair all over the place. Or I do, depending on how you look at it. Anyway, Nemo has a lovely new haircut, which was well overdue.
So I was thinking a lot about the trip, and I've really been putting off writing the itinerary chapter, for a lot of reasons. One, because being tied to a schedule wasn't something that I envisioned for this trip. Two, because I was really hoping for a room discount instead of free dining, and three, because we're not park hopping.
So I thought about the root of the issue here. With the food allergies, it really makes sense to have the dining plan. I'll probably get nicer meals at table service restaurants than I will at counter service, given that my choices will be limited. I'm thinking it will be nice to have one meal per day where I don't have to worry so much, where the Disney magic will just take care of it all.
I had dreamed previously of getting a nice AP discount and staying Club Level. I don't think that's the right choice for this go round. Given the food allergy, and the amount of time we'll be spending in the parks and doing our various DIS meets, I don't think we'll be there enough to warrant wanting to stay Club Level. The next time I stay there, I'd like to be able to eat all the little schneckens. "When the schnecken beckons." (Name that movie.)
Anyway, this is my whole thought process, and you're all privy to it, because it's part of planning the trip.
So here's what I think I'm going to do.
I think I'm going to throw the itinerary out. Keep the dining, and add on park hoppers for MJS and Nemo.
I'm planning to upgrade to an annual pass, so I'll be able to park hop. We've got several people we'd like to meet with / tour with while we're down there, and it'd be nice to have the flexibility to hop between parks and not have it be such a logistical issue to figure all that out.
It only makes sense to upgrade the menfolk to park hoppers as well.
Honestly, it frees up the whole schedule. It gives me the ability to say, if we go the Animal Kingdom, and it closes at 500, we can go to another park afterward. We don't have to be married to the one park per day rule. Doing it this way, we can spend as much or as little time in each place as we want to. And honestly, I think with the nature of the trip, and with the food allergy, this is really what's going to work out best for us.
I welcome your thoughts as well.
So, here's our dining as it stands. I have one thing I might like to tweak and I'm wondering how to switch it around.
Saturday, Feb 26th - Arrival Day - No Dining Plans
I thought about booking a dinner ressie, but MJS vetoed that quite speedily. He said, and I quote, "we have to go to the Magic Kingdom on our first day there." Who knew the man had such opinions, eh?
Sunday, Feb 27th - Princess 1/2 Marathon - Sci Fi Dine In Lunch
From what Tink and I can tell, the 1/2 marathon ends in/near Epcot. It made sense to me to plan lunch at Sci Fi, since I can easily boat to DHS. We're not yet sure if it'll just be Squirt and I waiting for Tink, or if MJS and Nemo will join in as well. I will leave it up to them, if they want some park touring, father/son bonding time, then we'll split that morning. Sci Fi is a favorite of Nemo's, and without him knowing about the trip, we were still able to talk to him about this and ask him if he'd like to eat there again. The answer was a resounding "YEAH!"
Monday, Feb 28th - Kona Cafe Dinner
I've wanted to try this restaurant for a while, and I think the dinner selections are something the family will really enjoy. Plus, after reading Amanda's great review, I couldn't resist.
Tuesday, Mar 1 - Artist Point Dinner
I can't stay at the Wilderness Lodge and not eat at this restaurant again! I've never eaten there, and I really do enjoy one signature dining meal per vacation. MJS and I don't go out to eat unless it's a really special occasion, like our anniversary or a birthday, so for us to do something like this on vacation is a really nice treat. Tink will be joining us for this ADR as well, and I'm so looking forward to it.
Wednesday, Mar 2 - Coral Reef Lunch
Originally planned as our Epcot day, this will remain so because it's the first day of the Flower and Garden Festival. I'd thought about doing the princess breakfast at Akershus, because I've been longing to do that for so long, but it seemed something better suited to a girls only trip. When I thought of what my boys would like, the answer was easy. Nemo loved eating at the Coral Reef several times in the past, and the aquarium is sure to keep him and the baby occupied as we're waiting for food. The fact that I love the decor is just a bonus!
Thursday, Mar 3 - Chef Mickey's Breakfast
This is my reservation with the most mixed feelings. It's a family tradition that started on our first big family trip, Mom, Nana, FIL, MJS, Nemo, and I would go here for the latest breakfast ressie on the day we were attending
MNSSHP. It would be a leisurely day in which we'd wake up late, get to the Contemporary, eat, shop, and then go back to our hotel and change into our Halloween costumes. We've done this breakfast on every trip since. I can't even fathom doing it without Mom. It's on our last day for this reason. I don't know if I can do it, and I don't know if I can not do it.
The Chef Mickey Breakfast is the only thing I've thought about moving or canceling altogether. I'm just having the toughest time deciding. We have maxed out our dining credits with our other meals, so this would be OOP. That doesn't even phase me, it's not about the money. It's just about whether or not it's a good idea.
And honestly, I don't know if I can tell you that until we're down there. I'm really conflicted on it. A lot of my dining decisions were made based on these conflicted feelings. Some of these restaurants I haven't eaten in with Mom (or haven't for a very long time) and some I have. I wanted a combination of old feelings and making new memories. No matter where I go in the World, I can guarantee you, it will be hard and it will make me think of her. I don't think there's a place in there that I don't have some memory of us on our trips, whether it was just me and her, or a whole family vacation.
Part of me wants to do it because it's our family tradition, and I love the food there. And part of me wants to take that morning, head into the Magic Kingdom for one last park hurrah, and have POTC be our last ride, just like I did with Mom in January.
Either way is honoring part of our Disney trip history, so to speak. Only time will tell which option we chose.