I started this blog to share the things I've learned from the many trips we've taken so far with our twin toddlers, to talk about the trips we're planning, and to give and share travel advice with other moms.
Having taken my 3-year-olds plenty of places that many of the adults in my lives frowned upon ("You're taking them on a cruise to Alaska??? What will they do there?? You're staying with them at a bed and breakfast in Key West off of Duval street--wouldn't they be better off at home with their grandparents?") I've started to approach most of my trips justifying why I SHOULD be able to take young children there. But now I'm going somewhere where no justification should be necessary. At all. Yet I feel more intimidated planning this trip than any of the others.
We are going to Disney World.
Gulp.
As a child, I went to Disney World when I was 8, 14, 17, and then as an adult I went for a few long weekends here and there with my husband. I feel I know the place pretty well, though it's been a few years now. So why I am I stressing about where it will and will not be okay to take my boys to dinner, when I've taken them to 4 star restaurants in Vancouver without thinking twice?
Last night, I was actually afraid to make a reservation at Cinderella's castle because I think the boys won't be mature enough to appreciate it. What???
Maybe it's all the hoops Disney makes you go through to get a reservation. You have to pay up front when you make a reservation at Cinderella's castle, and demand is so high you have to book practically the full 180 days in advance to get a dinner seating before 9:00 pm. What if my kids are tired on the day we have the sacred reservation and just want to go back to the hotel and crash? Do I risk paying the $130 reservation when we have to cancel?
And then there is the meal itself. I'm not sure my kids are going to eat anywhere near enough to justify the $24.99 price tag, PER CHILD. At the nicest restaurants, I am only charged $12 per child max. And can I just vent a minute that the $24.99 price tag is only going to give my kids the entree options of Mini Hot Dogs in Pretzel Roll Buns, Chicken Tenders with Mashed Potatoes, or Macaroni Topped with Melted Mozzarella?? Are you kidding me?
Now I get the high price tag is because of demand--every kid wants to eat in Cinderella's castle. So we're paying for the whole experience here, not the food by any stretch.
But, sorry boys--we can take you to the Cactus Club Cafe in Vancouver where the waitresses all look like models and the kitchen is led by an Iron Chef and you will eat lobster mac n cheese with a whole lobster tail on top--but you are just too young to dine at Cinderella's Castle. Maybe in a few years...
