The appeal of Disney parks

Well, Bill does consider ethnic food "whacky", so I have a feeling he plays a part in the decision, not just the kids.

I do agree with his point about the hassle of it. It is one reason I don't much like fastpass. I'll grab one, sure, but they sometimes go unused. I prefer not planning as much as possible unless we are craving something in particular.

So what's to like about Disney when you thought it was meh as a kid? You get to have fun with your kids now! And the landscaping is incredible. We used to go to Disneyland before we had our son, but it is ten times more fun now sharing the experience with him. But we do live close to the park and have held passes for a couple of seasons. So we have the luxury of "dropping in" every so often.

FP tips: If you're staying later, you can use your FPs any time *after* their beginning point. If you're leaving earlier and have extra FPs in hand, drop them off with someone on their way IN to the parks...it'll make their day! :)

We didn't know that at first. We were standing by a fastpass machine waiting for the time to change so we could have a window that worked with a show we were seeing and someone from the park noticing us standing around asked if we needed any help. He told us that the FP was good for any time after the start time and not just during the one hour window. We had never seen or heard that before.

Seems to me that has at least the potential to cause some problems depending on how many people go beyond the 1 hour window. But maybe it doesn't happen very often. We got burned by it with a long Peter Pan wait time that was caused totally by huge numbers of FP folks showing up late in the afternoon.

I can understand wanting to give people some extra time on the back end so you are not turning people away being a minute or two late. But I am not sure why you would need to go beyond 15 or 30 minutes. But again, if there aren't many people going beyond the 1 hour window then it really doesn't matter.

GoBucks89 said:
Exactly. The kid is on vacation. You are not setting your kid up for a lifetime of crappy diet habits by what he/she eats on vacation.

That's not really the point. If you're encouraging a healthy diet in the first place, they won't want to eat crappy food. They'll want to explore and try new things.

And by the way, there's nothing particularly exotic about the food at Marrakesh. I mean, unless you think couscous is exotic.

Peter Pan is the Deja Vu of MK...low capacity and high interest means the ride *always* has a long line. The only other ride at MK that I ride "only when the weather is bad and the park is empty" is Astro Orbiter. Yikes!

As for "doesn't that cause FP back-ups when there's a breakdown" - oh YES. We waited almost 1-1/2 hours for BTMRR when some friends were down even though the sign said 30 mins. An extended breakdown before we got to Frontierland meant we had no idea there was a huge group of people with FPs holding onto them until the ride resumed operations...that was a (thankfully rare!) mis-step at MK for me...

Eating healthy doesn't mean you have to do it 3 meals a day/365 days a year. Maybe your kid (or maybe you) would like a "treat" every now and then and eat something that isn't healthy. Vacation is a common time for that. Do you give your kid carrot cake on birthdays?

And eating healthy does not make you more likely to want to explore and try new things.

rollergator said:
Peter Pan is the Deja Vu of MK...low capacity and high interest means the ride *always* has a long line. The only other ride at MK that I ride "only when the weather is bad and the park is empty" is Astro Orbiter. Yikes!

You would know capacity better than I do. But on that day, it seemed to me that the Peter Pan line was moving fairly well except that every couple of minutes it would totally stop for a minute or so while they let in large numbers of FP people. Then we moved again for another couple of minutes and then another large group of FP people stopped us again. I don't think the line would have moved that much slower than any other lines with FP activity that we saw with the other lines during our visit. But maybe PP is just a slower line without regard to FP. Thankfully it was the only time we ran into a problem during our stay.

As for "doesn't that cause FP back-ups when there's a breakdown" - oh YES. We waited almost 1-1/2 hours for BTMRR when some friends were down even though the sign said 30 mins. An extended breakdown before we got to Frontierland meant we had no idea there was a huge group of people with FPs holding onto them until the ride resumed operations...that was a (thankfully rare!) mis-step at MK for me...

Ride breakdowns weren't something I had thought about in terms of the FP ride window. What do you do if someone gets caught in a ride breakdown, or a long line for food, etc. and misses their FP window? Tracking that would be difficult to impossible and probably not worth the effort. So maybe its just easier to let people use their FP any time after the start time knowing that most people will use it during the one hour window or won't use it at all.

Jeff said:
That's not really the point. If you're encouraging a healthy diet in the first place, they won't want to eat crappy food. They'll want to explore and try new things.

For what it's worth, it isn't quite that simple in my house...maybe it is in yours.

I agree with Jeff that kids shouldn't simply be shoveled processed crap, but that wasn't really the jist.

My son loves trying different stuff. He eats all kinds of stuff that I'd never touch. Loves seafood, beets, endamame, Asian food... I didn't get dinner at the Moroccan place because he would have wanted something different, but all Disney offers for kids is chicken fingers and burgers.

We did lunch at Coral Reef & dinner at Teppan Edo and we all enjoyed our meals at both. (I think we did a snack credit in Morocco, though.)

edit: didn't see this whole page when I responded, but the point is the same.

Thanks for the clarification. Sorry I misunderstood your initial post.

Thanks for the advice about dining plan vs. no dining plan. As much as I love the idea of having lots of good eats without worrying about pricing, I think I'll survive without it. I'm still on the fence with finances though, as even without the meal plan the trip would be almost twice as much as what I've spent on past Orlando trips that just include some I-Drive hotel and a few days at Universal or Sea World.

As for the healthy food debate, my philosophy has always been that something is going to kill you, so why spend lots of time and energy fretting about what you eat? Just eat what tastes good, and eat in moderation. That rule counts double when on vacation.

Yea... Life's too short. People are supposed to enjoy food. Why else would we have taste buds? I say eat what you want, but in moderation.

Have that pizza, but don't have a whole pizza. Eat the fried chicken, but not an entire fried chicken. Go to McDonald's and get yourself a small value meal a few times a month, but don't make it a large-sized double quarter-pounder with cheese, and don't add a 20-piece McNugget to it, and don't go back and add another sandwich or a McFlurry. (Okay, now I am hungry for McDonald's lol)

And don't forget the healthy stuff too, like a salad everyday.

My favorite snack is popcorn, and I have a whole bowl of it too. I've even quit drizzling butter over it, and I cook it in olive oil.

Who's hungry now? :)

Life is even shorter when you die an overweight diabetic amputee.

I knew that was coming, Jeff. I thought that I was setting it up for that while I was typing it.

Moderation is the key. Enjoy life.

I've been loosing - umm I mean losing (thanks Jeff) weight lately (slowly, over the last 9 months or so), and still enjoying pizza and burgers. Not that I am that fat. Six feet and one inch tall and right now 250 pounds. I want rid of my belly. After that, I'd look just fine.

My secret is to lose weight slowly. Eat a salad a day instead of lunch or dinner, and popcorn as a snack at night - without drizzled butter, cooked in olive oil, or a sliced apple. YUM! I don't have to gag down a grass sandwich or go hungry all day. (Not saying anyone here does that.)

And you can find salad and apples at amusement parks, sometimes. Amusement park popcorn isn't all that good for you though.

I think you've been losing weight.

The really strange thing is the accepted notion that only things that are bad for you taste good. If healthy food doesn't taste good, you're doing it wrong. Granted, I'm all about the moderation and portion control. I agree with you entirely, and it's why I don't buy any of the "diets" that have you throwing out one category of food or another.

Last week in NYC I told my daughter I would break her arm if she ordered chicken fingers. It worked. She had cheese ravioli and I had calamari with anglehair pasta.

I am in 100% agreement with your last post, Jeff.

I can't get enough of my George Foreman Grill. I love it.

I this billb the same guy that went on an on about Great Adventure area not being able to sustain a hotel?

billb7581 said:
Deciding on where you want to eat half a year out in front of a vacation is a hassle.. it just is.

I'm going to Disney 9/17-9/24. And here our my reservations...

9/17 - Dinner - Chef Mickey's (Contemporary)/Citricos (Grand Floridian) (I've got to decide on one)

9/18 - Lunch - Mama Melrose (DHS)
9/18 - Dinner - Brown Derby (DHS)

9/19 - Lunch - Le Chefs de France (Epcot)
9/19 - Dinner - Yachtsman Steakhouse (Yacht Club)

9/20 - Lunch - Tony's Town Square (MK)
9/20 - Dinner - Artist Point (Wilderness Lodge Villas)

9/21 - Lunch - Teppan Edo (Epcot)
9/21 - Dinner - Biergarten (Epcot)

9/22 - Lunch - Yak & Yeti (AK)
9/22 - Dinner - California Grill (Contemporary)

9/23 - Breakfast - Whispering Canyon (Wilderness Lodge)
9/23 - Dinner - Narcoossee's (Grand Floridian)

I booked this all two weeks ago. And it took me one weekend, with a few adjustments throughout the week. It wasn't stressful at all. It was fun more than anything.

I would've booked 'Ohana if it were open. I've yet to eat there. Oh well, next time. But it sounds like you may be setting yourself up for there not being a next time. I was in your situation a few years ago and I also wanted to get all the highly-rated places. KEEP CHECKING EVERYDAY. Something you really want will pop up.

9/17 - Dinner - Chef Mickey's (Contemporary)/Citricos (Grand Floridian) (I've got to decide on one)

Please, for the love of all that is good and delicious, pick Citricos. It, to this day, is one of the best meals I've ever eaten.

Even if you have children, it's a fine choice.