Women's Conference

My dear friend Teren spoke at a women's conference in Colorado back in October.  She used our adoption story (with my permission, of course) as an illustration of God's adoption of His children through the blood payment of Christ, and how our brokenness can hinder us in accepting the new life that God offers. It is worth the time investment to listen to the whole thing...even if our story wasn't woven in. :)

Front Range Alliance Church Women's Conference October 2012

Disney...Dining

I've had this post mostly written for over a month now, and I just haven't gotten up the gumption to finish it.  So, here it is in all it's unedited glory...

We went with the basic Disney Dining Plan.  You buy this as part of your package when you book your vacation.  The basic plan allow one table service meal, one quick service meal and one snack per person per night of stay.  So we had 35 of each kind of credit.  You can use these credits in any order you want, and as many per day as you want.  So, if we had wanted to load up on ice cream bars the first day we were there, we could have used up all our snack credits and done so.  My kids would have been happy with this approach.

Notes on Table Service Meals:
Unlike the olden days (you know, back when I was a kid), you have to make reservations for your table service meals.  Or you're out of luck.  Like several disgruntled people I saw in the parks.  Really disgruntled. The choices we made for table service meals were: Kouzzina by Cat Cora on the Boardwalk (supper), Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom (lunch), Tusker House in Animal Kingdom (lunch), Teppan Edo in the Japanese Pavilion at Epcot Center (lunch), Restaurant Marrakesh in the Moroccan Pavilion at Epcot Center (supper), and the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at the Polynesian Resort (supper).

In order to chose our restaurants, we had everyone go through a list and rate their favorites.  The kids were really on board with trying new things, so we were able to go to some interesting places.  Letting them help choose made for less whining later when something didn't work out quite as they had expected.

The food was all really good, with the exception of Restaurant Marrakesh.  I chose lamb, which I normally like, but I found out I don't like it that much.  The husband had beef shish kebob, which he said was really good.  So I think it was more just a function of making a poor choice on my part.  We really enjoyed watching the chef at Teppan Edo, and the kids really enjoyed the character lunch at Tusker House.  My girls aren't into princesses, so we chose this one because it showcased Mickey, Goofy and Donald.  The rest of my family really enjoyed the Aloha Dinner Show.  I think it was good, I was just too sick to keep my eyes open that night.

Notes on Quick Service Meals:
These can be disgusting or good.  The hardest part was working with the children's menus.  Just because the adult menu at a Mexican restaurant sounds good, doesn't mean that kids ages 3-9 have great choices.  They may have to choose between mac & cheese or a pbj.  We got smart after the first day and looked at the children's options first.  Some quick service restaurants don't have a children's menu at all, so kids have the same choices as adults.  I know for sure that this is true at Epcot in Germany, England and France.  This worked out the best for us, by far.

First, the bad stuff...to get it of the way.  I do not (really, really do not) recommend Cosmic Ray's in the Magic Kingdom. Yuck.  I also do not (and Little K vehemently agrees) recommend the chicken nuggets on the children's menus.  They may be nuggets, but the are certainly not chicken. 

By far, the best quick service meals we ate were in Epcot.  One in England at the Yorkshire County Fish Shop and the other in France at Boulangerie Patisserie.  Very yummy.

Notes on Snacks:
As The Husband said on our last day: Not all snack credits are created equal.  We used these credits for all sorts of things, including candy, ice cream bars, coffee (both real and Nescafe), roasted almonds, and popcorn.  We actually had some left over at the end of our visit...because you get dessert with each table and quick service meal, so I didn't see the need to stuff my kids with ice cream mid-afternoon...so I used them to buy some stocking stuffers from the gift shop.  You can use these credits all over the place...carts, snack stands, gift shops, restaurants, etc.  You just have to look for the special little symbol.

Summary:
Overall, I'd say the dining plan was worth it.  Because we paid up front, we didn't feel guilty about how much money each meal cost...and they cost a lot.  Each quick service meal ran about $70.00 and the table service meals averaged about $200.00.  Plus, since the sky was the limit, I think it encouraged our kids to try new things.  You do have to remember that gratuity isn't included with the dining plan, so be prepared to pay a rather large tip at each table service meal.  You can find helpful information for all restaurants, including menus, at All Ears.

Disney...Accomodations

As I mentioned before, we stayed at the Pop Century Resort.  We were hardly there, and we only walked around the resort on the the last morning of our stay when my camera was already packed away.  So...I don't have any pictures.  Here's the link on the Disney site for the Pop Century Resort.  It's pretty much a standard hotel with some large, colorful decorations glued to the sides and mouse ears in the wallpaper.

Because we have five people in our family, we don't fit into a standard 4-person-occupancy hotel room. Which is all you can currently get at a Value Resort.  We were able to book two connecting rooms (guaranteed for families, no matter what it says on the website) which was still cheaper than a family suite at a Moderate Resort.  This, of course, gave us an extra bathroom...extremely helpful for getting out the door in the morning.  Apparently Disney World has also noticed the glaring lack of family suites in their Value Resorts, because they're opening up a new Value Resort in March which features them. Value Resorts also do not include refrigerators, but we were able to add one to our room for an additional $10 per day.  Still cheaper than a Moderate Resort.

We chose the Pop Century over the All-Star Resorts for a couple of reasons.  First, we were able to get a discounted price.  If you go to the Walt Disney World site and scroll to the bottom of the screen, you'll find a Special Offers link under Tickets & Packages.  I found different offers on different days, so it may be worth checking back if you don't find what you want at first.  Or call directly.  When we were ready to book our vacation, the offer I wanted wasn't available online, but I was still able to get the discounted price over the phone.  Secondly, the Pop Century has dedicated bus service.  The three All-Star Resorts share buses.  So, when a bus pulls up at your resort it may already be full because it just came from another resort.  That means it will take longer to get to the parks.  I wasn't interested in waiting in line any more than necessary.

And, what I think is the most important thing to consider about accommodations: Whether to stay on or off Disney property.  We chose to stay on property because (1) All transportation is included, so we didn't have to rent a car.  A bus shuttled us from the airport to the hotel...they even picked up our luggage and delivered it to our room.  We then rode buses from our hotel to whatever park we wanted to go to that day. (2) As a guest on Disney property, you can stay for extended hours at one or more of the parks every day.  We liked this feature a lot, particularly the extra hour in the morning when we could loop around and around and hit the "big" rides multiple times. The extra hours in the evening meant that we didn't have to rush to finish our day.  Even if we didn't close the place down, the extra evening hours still allowed us to move through the park at a more leisurely pace. (3) Another perk I discovered while at the parks is that anything you buy can be sent back to your resort.  Which means that you don't have to lug around that hefty coffee mug (or those mouse ears that a relative asked you to buy) for the rest of the day.

It was a tough call, though, because we found three bedroom condos off property with a pool and laundry en suite for $130 a night.  Check All Star Vacation Homes to see what you can find.  Discounts are available at AllEars.net.

I Should be in Dickens

Dig back deep in your memory to the days of English Lit and find the word "Chilblains".  Got it?  Know what it is?  Yah, me neither.  Until yesterday, that is, when I went to the doctor with some chronic sores on my toes.  Turns out I have some cruddy circulation going on, and I essentially have frostbite without really having frostbite.  What does that mean?  A trip to REI for some Smartwool socks, a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond for a heated blanket, a trip to the lab for more blood work, a trip to the Rheumatologist to see if I have lupus...or something.  Yesterday I was feeling grouchy about the whole thing.  This morning I'm feeling better.  Perhaps this is the last piece of the puzzle I need to get an accurate diagnosis.  I'm praying that it is.