Wordless Wednesday: Need a Ride?

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Related Links:
* Wordless Wednesday: Sweet Tooth
* Wordless Wednesday: Sunset Over Epcot
* Wordless Wednesday: Follow the Bouncing Figment

We're Going to Vero Beach!

Happy news! My family is going on a long weekend getaway this summer to Disney's Vero Beach Resort. We'll be spending a few days at Vero before returning to Orlando for a day at Downtown Disney and dinner at the California Grill. Man, I love that "just booked a Disney trip" feeling.

I’m really excited to be going back to Vero Beach, because I have so many fun memories from the last time we went several years ago. Vero Beach was the place where I swam in the ocean for the first time since I was little (I’m from New England, where the ocean temperature never reaches above 45 degrees). It’s where my mother mistook a dead crab for a live one and threw it into the sea, thinking she was doing it a favor. It’s where I got one of my worst sunburns to date. It’s where a 16 year old waitress shamed me into walking all the way back to our hotel room and retrieving my ID from the room safe before she would serve me a glass of wine (Hilariously, I got all the way up to the room only to realize my mother had the safe key, so then I had to walk back to the restaurant, get the room key, then get the ID, then go back to the restaurant – by which point my glass of wine was already on the table, our teenage server having realized that no one would go to all this trouble just to get illegally wasted with her mom.)

It’s also the place where these pictures were taken:

Can't wait!

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Related Links:
* Getting Mugged in WDW
* Dear Disney Vacation Club: I Get It! We're Home!
* Glamping? No thanks.

The Most Memorable Meal I Ever Had in WDW

It’s no secret that there’s some seriously awesome food to be had in WDW, but nothing will ever top the first meal we had at the California Grill.

We decided to go there after slowly realizing over the years that the best fine dining in WDW is at the resorts, not in the parks. And having heard such good things about it, we decided to give California Grill a whirl, even though it’s one of the priciest restaurants on property.

We had never been to the Contemporary Resort before either (apart from the Monorail station), so we were delighted to be whisked up a private elevator from the concierge desk straight into the restaurant lobby. We were graciously greeted and immediately escorted to our table, which was right next to the window, offering some of the most beautiful views of the park I had ever seen. Plus, it was sunset. Amazing.

The food? It’s insanely good – and not just by WDW standards. I’d put California Grill’s cuisine up against any of the finest restaurants in NYC. That first time, my co-diners had the filet mignon, and I had the lobster risotto (an entrée portion off the appetizers menu). I’m something of a risotto slut, and the California Grill’s lobster risotto was one of the best I’ve ever had. And the wine list is impeccable.

And we knew that the Wishes music was piped in, and that you could watch the fireworks on the outdoor promenade. But nothing really prepares you for what that experience is like.  I know that conventional wisdom says the best place to watch the fireworks is on Main Street, directly in front of the castle, but for me – I’d rather be 11 stories above the Kingdom, semi-dressed up, not sweaty, wind in my hair, space around me to breath, faced with the awesome spectacle of fireworks bursting over the Magic Kingdom. And once the fireworks are over and you’re basking in that awesome post-Wishes afterglow, the Water Pageant pootles by and you’re smiling all over again.

We’ve returned to the California Grill a few times since, but nothing will ever top that first time we went – that time when our eyes were opened to the possibilities that lay at the other resorts, that time when we fell in love with Wishes all over again, and that time that set the gold standard – and made the next day’s lunch of chicken tenders and fries a lot less appetizing.

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Related Links:
* The Disney Dining Plan, or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying About My Figure and Love My Sweatpants."
* Wordless Wednesday: Sunset Dinner at the California Grill
* Things to Be Thankful For: Disney Edition

Hey Disney, Why Don't You Like Me?

Alternatively titled: Whining. Lots of it.
 
Here’s the deal. Disney Cruise Line had a press event in NYC today to unveil its new itineraries, and I wasn’t invited. Which, speaking as someone who does PR and social media strategy for a living, is weird. I live in NYC, I’ve blogged about Disney Cruise Line before, I’ve even expressed interest in learning more about cruising with Disney. And while I’d like to think that it’s because some intern didn’t do her research when putting the media list together, I can’t help but suspect that it’s because some of the content on my site does not fit with Disney’s shiny, happy, image. And you know what? Too bad.

Believe it or not, I sometimes mince my words here too. I’ve attended open-invitation Disney special events, press screenings for Disney films (not because I was invited by Disney – because I used to work in the movie biz), Radio Disney hoopla moments, etc – and when they’re really bad, I often choose not to write about them. Because although my commentary is sometimes tough, it’s never meant to be mean. And my mom taught me that if you can’t say something nice, say nothing.


Here’s the other thing, Disney – if I didn’t like your brand, I wouldn’t have this blog. Yeah, some of us Disney bloggers gripe and complain and bemoan some of the “improvements” the parks have made at the expense of the attractions we grew up with and the quality we’ve come to expect. We’re not trying to take you down. We criticize because we care, dammit. And there are a lot of Disney fans and bloggers out there who are DYING to talk to you. So why won’t @DisneyParks engage with its 107,000 followers? Seriously, what are they afraid of?

I’ll never promise to deliver a glowingly positive blog post. But I can promise to give an honest review. And one of these days, I hope Disney will want to hear it.
 
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Related Links:
* Come Aboard the Disney Dream
* Your Disney Dream is Making Me Sad

Getting Mugged in WDW

Confession: My family has been using the same WDW Resort mugs for our last five trips. GASP!, you say. That’s against the rules!, you say. Pssh, I say. 

As you law-abiding guests know, WDW Code (my term) states that each guest must buy a WDW Resort mug to receive unlimited refills on drinks at Disney Resorts. The mug design changes slightly from year to year, to discourage people from bringing back their old mugs to use on their next trip. Makes sense, right?

Except that … this "rule" is not enforced. And if you're going to make us spend $40 to outfit ourselves with mugs every time we go, then there better be a damn policeman at the mug station. $40! To buy three mugs that we already own! $40! That's a steak at Le Cellier!

On our most recent trip, my family and I brought our 2005 Vero Beach mugs down to the Animal Kingdom Lodge Mara station and refilled them daily without anyone reprimanding us. AND I did it once in front of two staffers, because I wasn’t sure if the “Thou Shalt Buy New Mugs” thing was an actual rule, and also because I wanted to test this theory. I didn’t get so much as a stern glare. And since we often stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where the “One World, One Mouse” campaign is in full swing, and which (thankfully) doesn’t offer plastic straws, it seems hypocritical to buy three plastic mugs we were never going to use after our trip ended when we already have perfectly fine mugs to use from previous trips. 

And yes, I know that some people consider the mugs collectibles. But who has the space in their kitchen cabinets?

I’d love to see Disney revamp the mug system to make things easier on the guests. Disney has been kicking around the idea of putting bar codes on mugs (so you would need to scan the mug before the station would dispense anything), but that also seems misguided. In addition to being really expensive (what if you’re a family of 5 who vacations every year?), buying all these different mugs seems like a HUGE waste of plastic.

I'm actually on board with the idea of a bar code -  wouldn't it be great if you could just add an unlimited drinks option to your room key when you check in (for a price, of course)? Then you would scan your key card at the station, and fill up whatever mug you want for the length of your stay.

What do you think? Do you re-use your mugs, or buy new ones every year? How would you improve the drinks system?

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Related Links:
* Disney on a Budget: When You Wish Upon an All-Star

* The Five People You Meet in Line at WDW
* The Problem with Disney Princesses