Dining at Disney

Good golly, what can I say about the food at Disney World? 

Oh, yeah.

Yum.

and.....

really freaking spendy.

When I was planning and researching for the trip way back in June and July I went back and forth on the Meal Plan option. Sigh. Back and forth. Back and forth. There were opinions a plenty on both sides of the issue, but I finally decided to go with the Disney Dining Plan. It just seemed like the better option, especially after I took a look at the price points on the majority of the fine (and not so)dining establishments around Mickey's extra special playground. 

It turned out to be a GREAT decision. 

The Dining Plan takes a few minutes to get the hang of (quick serve vs table serve.... and just what the heck constitutes a "snack"...) but once you sit down and figure it out.. yeah, total breeze. And, you can go ahead and not worry about what you're going to eat because you've already made your reservations for the table side dining (you did that right? as soon or maybe even before you made your hotel reservations??... yeah, not kidding. dining fills up before hotels. way. way before.) before you even left for the trip! And, (bonus) it's all paid for. (well. almost.)

I can say that keeping up with the 'snacks' was a pain. I could never remember how many we had left.

With 4 people (well, 3 adults), it just became a little much. 

However, because I had planned the table side dining out (literally) months before the trip, that was a cinch & the quick serve was easy-peasy too. 

(I know I'm speaking Greek to some of you. Sorry. If you decide to go to Disney & check out the Dining Plan, all will be made clear! I promise!)

Anyway.

A few places we ate yummy food......

Teppan Edo at Epcot.

So. Very. Very. Good.

And, lot's of fun. Even the short one enjoyed watching our food being prepared!

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Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios

It's a breakfast & lunch buffet and a character meal!

We ate breakfast there one morning. Really good.

And the character interactions were great too. They came to each table a couple of times & when Jacob (some how) missed June, they made sure he saw her before we left. Very sweet.

(yup. not one picture of the food. too busy eating & meeting the characters!)

 ****

Two mornings we ate breakfast at our hotel. 

Behold.... the famous 'Mickey Waffles'

Yes. You should go just so you can have these. 

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Lunch in the Magic Kingdom from a quick serve that I cannot remember the name of for the life of me & I am far to lazy right now to go look it up.

But! Look! It's a lobster roll! 

 ****

We ate at Chef Mickey's our last night.

Yes. Whatever you do. Wherever else you eat.

Go. Here.

It's at the Contemporary Resort (right next to Magic Kingdom)

we sat at the little bar area to the left while we were waiting for our

reservations (9pm!) and were HIGHLY entertained by the bartender/magician. 

He was awesome.

and he made the ice in Jacob's water glow.

and got Jacob on a kick of saying "Abracadabra!"

Chef Mickey's is another buffet and a character dining.

And we all loved it.

Because our reservations were so stinking late, I think that actually ended up working in our favor.

The characters ended up being able to spend a little more time with the people there. Goofy and Donald came by several times and horsed around quite a bit. The rest of the staff was very sweet as well.

The food was good, for the most part. We didn't love the meats.... but the sides, the pastas and the salads were AMAZING. I went back twice. 

 ****

On the night we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (another blog of it's own, I think), we ate at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Again, we had reservations. We had to have them & we still had to wait about 20 minutes to get our table. But, it was well worth it.

Cause, the food was fabulous.

(especially my birthday fudge cupcake)

the salad... and the dressing. so crazy good.

Hey look, the mug! It's cute!

I was going to snap a picture before we started eating.... yeah, not so much. The food was served (family-style), we served our plates & then ate like we hadn't eaten in a week.

and... there was dessert. 

there you go....

Long winded, but with such an important subject, I just couldn't leave the details to chance!

The Grand Value

So, we stayed at Disney's All Star Movies Value Resort.... 

Well.

The main part of the Resort- called 'Cinema Hall' (where the check-in is, the dining area, gift shop, etc) .... that was lovely. Very nice. Everything you would expect from a 'value' level resort that belongs to Disney. It was all gussied up for Christmas & lovely cast members walking about being so helpful.

The out side of the resort is quite nice too. I didn't get any pictures of the pool area, which is a shame. That was pretty darn spiffy. 

We stayed in the 'Toy Story Tower'.... specifically the 'Woody Building....'

(I am, however, still trying to figure out how 3 stories makes up a 'tower'.... hmmm.)

Anyway.

(please see the below pictures)

 A very large wooden cowboy.... and a very little boy.

 Jacob and 'Buzz the Lightyear'.... who was apparently getting a face lift

A great view up the dino's nose!

I really, really wish I could say that I would come back to this particular resort again. But, I just can't. The rooms.... oh, the rooms. The rooms were so sad and worn down. It was painfully obvious that this is one of the older resorts (which is totally fine that it's one the older resorts!) and that it's one of the cheaper ones... But. But. 

I just strongly feel that Disney shouldn't let it feel like one of the older and cheaper ones.

(Fix the leaking toilet. Replace the carpet.) 

Spif up the room a little, guys. No, this isn't the Grand Floridian.... but. It's not the Bates Motel either. 

That last crack was probably mean. 

But, you know what? When I check into a Disney Hotel.... I'm really not wanting to check into a hotel that reminds me of a seedy-looking hotel on the side of lonely, creepy, dark road somewhere. 

I expect clean and fresh and nice. 

And....

I rather expect more Disney ambiance in the room than a picture of Buzz & Woody... and a lame wall paper boarder running around the top of the walls. Just sayin'. 

I will be spending the extra money next time up upgrade our accommodations. Lesson learned. 

Okay. Enough complaining. 

It was great to stay on property. I HIGHLY recommend staying on property! There are bus & monorail systems to get you anywhere you need to go & most of the systems run every 20 minutes or so. Awesome. We rented a car, but the only time we used it was to get to and from the airport. I say again.... stay on property! And use the Magic Express... it will take you to and from the airport. (again, another lesson learned. The money we spent on rental car could have been used to upgrade to nicer digs, I'm thinking.)

Disney does so. many. things. so. amazingly. well. .... that it is sort of a let down when they don't. But, I am really happy to say that the only real low was the room. The people were lovely, the food was wonderful and the parks were amazing. 

Come back tomorrow for my thoughts on the Dining Plan! 

and food!

Yum!

So, Guess Where We Just Got Back From.....

Yup. The Happiest Place on Earth. :-) My parents took me and the short one to Disney World last week. Yeah, happy late birthday Jacob/early birthday me/and Merry Christmas to us both!

It was a total blast. 

We crammed every bit of fun we could into every single moment. 

We hit 3 parks in one day (oh, yes we did.) and, on the day we left, we went to a park one last time.

Go Big, Before You Go Home!

I just *might* have a few opinions about our stay! Come back this week to hear them, if you're interested. We went to the freshly opened part of FantasyLand in the Magic Kingdom.

Ate at Chef Mickey.

Stayed at a "Value Resort"

Used the buses.

And the meal plan.

Yup, I have opinions, a plenty!

Storybook Parade

So, this post *might* be a little late.

But, right before Halloween, Jacob's preschool had their annual Storybook Parade.
It was Jacob's first time to be a part of it.... and. if from the way he grinned like a silly boy, I'm thinking that he loved every moment.

Jacob as "Jake the Pirate"

with his teacher and his class

strutting his stuff in the parade

waving and looking for Mommy

There he is!

Me and my Pirate Boy.

I feel so blessed that Jacob is able to go to preschool at a place where he knows the staff and the staff knows us and loves on us in amazing ways.  Jacob has gone to this school since he was 1 year old. (from MDO to playschool to preschool)..... and it's been a really wonderful place for him and for me.

What I Love Wednesday, Charlie Brown edition

I love watching Jacob watch the Halloween Charlie Brown for the 9999th time... Cause I get things like *this* on camera.

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What I Love Wednesday

Hey, I remembered!


1) That I found a Jacob approved costume just in-time for the Fall Festival tonight! Whoo-hoo! (And, he's wearing it for the Storybook Parade at his school next week & for tricks or treats on Halloween!) The boy wanted to be Mickey.... badly. But, alas- there was no Mickey costume to be found.

2) We're like 4 weeks into Ounce Upon a Time & every episode has been freaking awesome! Are you watching this? Seriously! Totally my favorite show. Not even kidding. I may even love it more than The Big Bang Theory.

3) Hey, The Big Bang Theory is back!

4) There's like less than 60 days until our Disney World vacation. Can. Not. Wait.

5) I'm writing again. Really. Is there anything that I need to say?

6) I went to the eye doctor today. Two words. New. Contacts. Hey, that may seem like a small thing, but if you've been out of fresh contacts for a while..... yeah. It's awesome.

7) The book, 'Side Jobs', by Jim Butcher. If you don't know who Jim Butcher is.... I'm sorry. You should. Get to a book store. Go to the sci-fi section, look for the book, 'Storm Front'.... Start there. You're welcome.

8) I went to The State Fair of Texas twice this year..... that's an awesomeness that cannot be truly expressed. I love the Fair. Totally. (I did not love that our beloved Big Tex was lost on this his 60th year with us. That was horrible.) A Fair post is coming people. It's coming. If you've never been to the Fair. You should. Really.

9) Fried S'mores.... please see #8

10) 2 Fletchers Original Corny Dogs.... again please see #8


What about you? What do you love this Wednesday?

Quiet

It's rarely, if ever ,truly quiet around me. There is almost always something on. And loud. And requiring my attention. For most of my life, that's how I liked it. I craved the noise to drown out the silence. To drown out the sounds of my own breath. The thud of my heart. I've spent a lifetime rarely content to just. Be.

As I've gotten older, I think I've come to reach out for the silent... to greedily grasp it in the hands & hold on to it as tightly as I can. To sit. With the chaos of life beat down to a whisper. To breath. And hear the breaths go in and out. Reminding me that I am HERE. That for this moment in time, I can simply exist in this space and time.

And it reminds me of how much I rush over, skip over & flat out ignore when the noise gets too loud...

Like when I don't open my Bible for a week.
....~and yet, somehow, expect to be able to tune into Christ nonetheless

Like when I don't stop & talk to God.
....~ but somehow expect that things will go the right way anyway.

Like when I don't both to cease my striving & LISTEN to God.
....~ but yet, amazingly, believe that I can know His Heart & His Will.

I like the silence.

Rambling.........

So, I had great plans to commit to Lisa-Jo's Blog month thingy... and, well. You see.... not so much.

Oops.

I'm trying to work through my own story, I suppose. Work out just how much is wise to through out into the wide world of the New Fangled Information Super Hwy....

I have a love/hate relationship with the Blog world. At times, I LONG to be able to just vomit my thoughts and feelings out there and just let it out- for the whole world to see. But. Some of the people whom I (might) went about read this blog. There are thoughts that I could care less if total strangers are privy to..... but some family and friends??? No.

But, even more than that.... I do want to be wise with my written word. (I think past evidence can back me up that I'm not always super great with the being wise with the spoken word.... and oh, how I know the damage THAT can inflict.) And, once the words are sent through the computer. It's there. Forever. Words that will never be deleted or scrubbed away. .....

And. That makes me pause.

And to think about my posts. (sometimes too much)

I mentioned in another post that there have been some thoughts swirling around in my brain. They are coming. And... they are just that. Thoughts of mine. I'm not saying they are right or wrong. Up or down. Black or white. But, long sessions dwelling on the church in America, adoption, American culture at large, American culture in the church.... blessing, trials. A strange little mishmash.

We shall see where they take me.

We Went to Granbury

And of course, came back. :-)

Just a real quick, over night trip to take some pictures of the 4 year old..... (these aren't 'the' pictures)

Funny story? I forgot Jacob's pants at home. Ugh. For all my planning and packing OCD'ishness... Yeah. Left the child's jeans at home. Insert panic attack and freak out Here.

Sigh.

Thankfully there was a pair of pants in his grandmother's car that she had bought of him but Was going to take back to the store.... Guess what pants are now in the pictures?

Anyway. Happy weekend! Here in north Texas we are getting a burst of Glorious Fall weather & I'm enjoying like crazy. Hope the weather around you, dear Reader, rocks!



Oh, how he loved the hotel bed.


He had the best time. It was just like a grand adventure to him.





Me and my BabyLove. :-)






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5 Minute Friday. Wide.

Yup. So. It's 5 Minute Friday..... The Prompt is "Wide".... Here We Go....


I think I'm so often frozen by the gulf that is 'I'm so far from where I thought I would be by now'. I'm no where even close. I'm divorced. I have a kid. No job. I live with my parents & my grandmother. And I never thought that would be me.

But. I wonder what's keeping me from writing the words I want to write. Following the dreams that are bubbling up within me. That gulf of fear. Oh, she's wide. Wondering what others will think. I freeze at the thought of the disaproval of some people. (I wish I could be less of that person.)

I know that God has me. I know.

And I have been blessed beyond my thoughts- my son. Is Amazing. And. I have a relationship with a really wonderful man. (I could write for an hour or 2 about those 2.) And a family that does love me.

Perhaps the next step is to just take it. Go for it. Maybe I should just jump.

We'll see.

What I Love Wednesday

So, I kinda dropped the ball on this one. Whoops. And, I will say, in my defense... it's been that kinda week/summer. Lot's of stuff going on in my world. Lot's of stuff going on in my heart. Still trying to sort it all out into some kind of cogent pattern I hope I can share with yall. I've seen God's finger prints time and again over the stained glass of my heart & life.... and this season is no different. It's simply... different.

Anyway.

Here's a short, What I Love Wednesday. Enjoy. And remember to look around and truly see the things in your life that you truly love- be they big or small.

1) Late Night Dance Parties. (aka: watching my boy find his groove & his soul)

2) A "Peet-stop" (if you've seen Cars. You know you what I'm talking about)

3) When my son says he wants me to take a picture of him making a silly face. :-) Any time.

4) These 2.

5) 3 Generations of Steeler Nation. Oh, the Pride. That's my Daddy, Jacob & me.

6) There are still a few more years when my son still likes and wants to take pictures with his mommy. And hanging with his mommy is one of his favorite things to do in this world.

Happy Wednesday! 


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