My favorite restaurant moment of 2009

In May we went home to Walt Disney World. Although I research the bejeebus out of Disney before each trip, we tend to like what we like and, though we know our options, we stick to the tried and true. This time we wanted to try several things we hadn’t done yet. One of those things was the Hoop-de-Doo Revue and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s a singing, dancing, slapstick extravaganza. Luckily, we were seated at the very back of the room, but since it’s Disney we’re talking about, there is no bad seat. I thought the back of the room would at least allow us to escape the eyes of the performers so we wouldn’t call attention to ourselves (being a family of introverts, this is important I assure you). Besides, if you’ve met my husband, you know he’s not big on audience participation. Throughout the show I’d catch him and Max chuckling a little so I knew they were having a good time. And then, near the end of the dinner, I look over at my husband and our son and they are waving their napkins like mad men. They are giggling. Giggling! How could I not follow suit? Chilihead, Jr. is always up for a laugh and taking part in the shenanigans, but my boys? Never. That’s why the Hoop-de-Doo Revue was my favorite restaurant moment this year.

When I was a teenager, I *loved* the end-of-year wrap-ups on various news shows. I enjoyed seeing the year unwrap itself with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. It’s been a long time since I’ve sought out those kinds of year-end recaps. As an adult, I find I’m busy and preoccupied. No time to remember! That’s why I take pictures! I’m too busy living life to remember it! (Oh, wait. That may just be the early-onset dementia…) At any rate, just looking at Gwen’s first writing prompt (What was your best trip in 2009?) has me reminiscing and realizing that, wow! 2009 was a great year for travel in the Nelson home. So, even if I don’t go past today’s prompt, I’ve gotten more out of this challenge than I would have by adding it to my doomed to-do list.

What was your best trip of 2009?

My best trip of 2009? I don’t know. How can I choose? I mean, I loved every place I visited!

January: Disney Cruise. BSM Media and Disney invited me and several other bloggers (all of whom I’m proud to call real friends) on a cruise to the Bahamas.

February: Dallas. Every February my dear friend Emily and I hole ourselves up with a few hundred other die-hard movie fans and watch, back-to-back, all of the contenders for Best Picture of the Year. It’s a 12-hour ordeal that is not for the weak. It takes real stamina to sit on your booty for 12 hours and watch some of the finest acting and most interesting story lines of the year.

April: Dallas. We attended the Sally Ride Science Fair, an event geared to encourage girls to stick with math and science to be all they can be. Of course, we stayed with Emily’s family and they attended the fair with us. The next day Chili, Jr., Emily, and I stormed the American Girl store and had a lady-like lunch with very large, un-lady-like portions.

May: Walt Disney World. I wasn’t able to take my family on the Disney Cruise in January, so we had to make up for it with a family trip to The World in May. Come to think of it, I still owe y’all a recap of that one. While we were in Florida, we took a day and visited Husband’s old neighborhood, his dad’s grave, and the ocean. It was cathartic on many levels.

June: Dallas. My first WordCamp. My BFF Emily graciously watched my kids for me while I braved my introversion and aversion to crowds. Hmmm. I’m noticing that “introversion” and “aversion” are very similar words. I doubt that’s a coincidence. As an introvert I have an aversion to many things. Among those is the act of meeting new people in a crowd.

July: Colorado. My dad and Robin are the best hosts. This year Husband and I flew the kids out a week before we arrived. That maneuver was a huge hit, both for the kids and the grandparents. I look to try that again next year. When Husband and I did arrive, we had so much fun. I was already stressed about writing the TypePad for Dummies book (our first chapter was due asap and I had to write while I was on vacation!), but I found time for my first hot-stone massage and some reading. My dad treated us to fabulous seats for our first-ever MLB game. Since I detest sports, I was sure I wouldn’t enjoy myself and considered more than a few ways I could excuse myself. In the end, I went and–would you believe it?–enjoyed myself! I cheered and rooted and laughed and sang and danced and embarrassed my kids mightily. It was a sweet night.

August: Norman, Oklahoma. We traveled with friends to meet Emily and her crew at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. How is it that I’d not visited this museum before? It’s amazing. My kids love museums and this was one of their favorites. I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that we had our best friends with us? Those kids have grown up together and, as we all grow older, it’s harder to find time for us all to connect. When we do, though, it’s like we never missed a beat.

October: Las Vegas. I attended Blog World Expo again this year and, though the conference itself was fine, I hated being away from my family for five days. I was the most miserable I’ve been all year. My depression can be seen in this photo:

November: Iowa. I attended the first annual I_Blog Conference and, I have to tell you, it was the best conference I’ve attended to date.  It was very small–about 30 women (and a few men) and those women reminded me why I started blogging in the first place. I enjoyed meeting them all and learning from them. It was fun to meet them (where was my introversion aversion?) and it was fun to see my extended family (who happened to live down the road).

Wow. I hadn’t realized that I’d done so much traveling this year–and I had been cutting back because Shannon and I were so busy writing the TypePad for Dummies book! How can I choose just one trip as my favorite? It’s impossible. I love my family and my friends. I love spending time with them and am just happy we have the means to do it as often as we can.

Thank you, Gwen, for being the brain behind this project. My writing is rusty; I hope this challenge will encourage me not only to remember the year behind me, but also to remember my narrative writing skills. For those of you who made it this far, I promise I’ll try to remember those skills sooner rather than later.

Let me give you my pitch now so we can get it out of the way and move on: You can follow TravelingMom.com on Twitter (@travelingmoms — note the ’s’), join our Facebook Group page, and become a Facebook Fan.

I hope you’ll take a minute or two to stop by TravelingMom.com and look around. Kim offers travel tips for families, those traveling alone or without kids, and so much more. She has a whole repository of interviews with famous travelers and travel deals. It’s the site’s army of women bloggers, though, that sets it apart from other travel sites.

Today I wanted to introduce you to a few of my fellow travel writers (I’m TravelingDisneyMom):

Kim Orlando (TravelingMom) is a mother of three and the extrovert behind TravelingMom.com. She’s building a community for women who love to travel–regardless of how they travel. She offers tips, deals, and puke stories (because, really, who doesn’t have a puke story?).

Marina (TravelExperta) is an expat who has become an expert on Latin American living and traveling. You can also find her at The Travel Expert(A).

Vanessa Druckman (TravelingFoodMom) is originally from France, but now lives in New Jersey (culture shock?). She drives to NYC every Friday to eat at her favorite restaurants. You can also catch her at her personal blog Chefdruck Musings.

Jodi Grundig (TravelingFinanceMom) is not only a writer at TravelingMom.com, she’s on the Disney Mom’s Panel (am I jealous much?). She has an MBA specializing in finance, and a BA in psychology and economics. You can find her at her personal blog, Multitasking Mommy.

Lynn Armitage (TravelingSingleMom) is a single mother who is in the process of moving from Orange County to Northern California. She is the former editor of two parenting magazines, an award-winning, syndicated columnist and the owner of several blogs:

• My Teen, the Alien (support for parents of teens)
• A Mad Mom (good rants about bad stuff)
• Old, My Ass (Lynn’s life)

Mara Gorman: Daytripper Mom’s philosophy is “Every day is an adventure and traveling with kids doesn’t have to mean long hours in the car or transatlantic flights.” She also has a personal blog, The Mother of All Trips.

Desiree Miller (TravelingNewsMom) has four children and her trips are usually in the car to visit family. When not traveling, Desiree is a freelance television news writer whose stories have aired on stations around the country, including New York, DC, LA and Miami. She has her own blog at Traveling News Mom.

1. Water parks. Blizzard Beach is perfect for families
   and Typhoon Lagoon is more appropriate for teens. I’m not a water park
   fan, but Blizzard Beach won me over. The themeing is over the top
   (winter in summer) and it’s just so cool. The kids love it.
2. Miniature golf. Winter Summerland is located at Blizzard Beach and Fantasia Gardens is located behind the Dolphin hotel (on The Boardwalk). All with a Disney flair and totally fun!
3. Monorail. The monorail is just fun to ride! If you can swing it, try to sit up front with the conductor. It’s limited to four people and it’s first come, first serve. Ask the conductor when you get in line. You can ride it around the loop and stop to look around the different hotels it visits: Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and the Contemporary. This is especially fun around Thanksgiving and Christmas when the hotels are decked out in their holiday finery. As a bonus, try to memorize the Spanish warning. My son and I find this hilarious.
4. DisneyQuest. From the official Disney web page: "Create your own adventures in this one-of-a-kind indoor interactive Theme Park bursting with games that give "state-of-the-art" new meaning. Discover five floors exploding with cutting-edge technology, virtual reality and 3-D experiences ‚Äî all fueled by Disney innovation and imagination." You must purchase a pass to enter Disney Quest; it’s not included in your Park Pass or Park Hopper.
5. Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba. Located in DTD. I have not personally seen this Cirque show, but I have seen many others. I don’t think you can go wrong with a Cirque show if you’re looking for an adult evening out. I’ve heard this one may be a bit dark for children under 8, but I can’t verify.
6. Fort Wilderness is part of The Wilderness Lodge and offers a plethora of fun activities:
   • campfire movies
   • horse barn
   • petting zoo
   • hay rides (especially fun in October!)
   • playground
   • Fort Wilderness also offers RV parking and cabins
7. Richard Petty Driving Experience. Driving or riding in a real NASCAR race car. My husband and my dad did this and they are still talking about it! Very fun.
8. DownTown Disney (DTD) has many stores, restaurants,
   and specialty shops.
9. The Board Walk also has great restaurants,
   performers, and a piano bar. You can rent bicycles built for four (just get everyone to pedal).
10. You can see Wishes (the Magic Kingdom fireworks show) from the
    Polynesian beach or the Grand Floridian boat dock. You can also view
    the Electric Water Pageant (a parade of lights in the lagoon) from
    those places.
11. Attend a party. Disney World offers hard-ticketed parties (meaning you have to have a separate ticket to attend the party) seasonally. We have attended Mickey’s Very Merry
    Christmas Party and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Both were
    fantastic, but I really prefer the Halloween party. The Halloween party
    has trick-or-treating (with the good, name-brand candy), free face
    painting, and the best parade I’ve ever seen! The best part is the
    headless horseman racing down the street carrying his pumpkin head. The
    gravediggers are a close second. You have to see it to believe it.

    The Christmas party is good. You have free hot chocolate and
    cookies. The parade is OK, but nothing as amazing as what they do for
    Halloween.

    The biggest reason to attend a hard-ticket party at Disney World is
    that there are a limited number of tickets to each event. That means
    very short lines for all the rides. You rarely actually have to wait!
    Also, Thunder Mountain Railroad seems to go quite a bit faster at these
    functions. The Cast Members will tell you they don’t and that it’s just
    that the rails are heated up from going all day, but I’m here to tell
    you, it’s fast and furious and wonderful!

Believe it or not, my family seems to calm down amidst the constant magic of Disney World. It is the measure for all successful vacations: nothing is as fun, tiring, imaginative, or inspiring as Disney World. My family tries to go every 18 months or so. We can usually go a full 12 months before we start going into Disney World withdrawal. You think I exaggerate, but I assure you, I do not. Even Husband will sometimes look me straight in the eye and say, “How long until we go back to Disney World?” There is no higher endorsement for a vacation than that, I assure you.

I’ve been to Disney World five times since 2001. Each time my planning is a little faster and more efficient. Here are my best tips for you if you’re planning a Disney World vacation.

1. Stay on property. It can be pricey, but it’s very worth it. There are three levels of hotels: Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. We have stayed at
   • Port Orleans Riverside (moderate; New Orleans theme)
   • The Yacht Club (deluxe; nautical theme and best pool on property–it has a sand bottom!)
   • The Wilderness Lodge (deluxe; Grand Canyon and family resort of the 1950s theme–very Craftsman)
   • Coronado Springs (moderate; this is the so-called Convention Hotel. Most guests are adults attending various conventions being held at Disney’s many meeting centers. Very cool pool–Mayan)
   • The Polynesian (deluxe; Hawaiian theme; on the monorail so it’s very easy to get to Magic Kingdom and EPCOT)

   We loved all of them. Really, there is no bad place to stay on property. I have not stayed off-property, but my brother and also some friends have. It may be less expensive to stay at a Downtown Disney (DTD) hotel or off-property, but I think you miss out on the proximity to the parks and the whimsical themeing–it’s all part of the magic.

   My favorite of the three resorts we’ve stayed at is the Port Orleans Riverside (a moderate). It wasn’t too far from anything and it had a boat launch to Downtown Disney that was very convenient. It’s a great resort that isn’t too spread out. Also, if you have 5 in your family, it’s currently the only resort on DW property that allows five in a room (on the Bayou side). Otherwise you will have to book two rooms. FYI: Make sure when booking two rooms that you confirm they are adjoining (connecting) and not adjacent (close to), especially with kids involved.

2. Use the Dining Plan. I definitely recommend the Dining Plan. You can use your Dining Plan for one counter service meal, one full service meal (also called Table Service), and one snack for each night you are staying at a DW resort. The full service meals can be used to eat at a character meal. You are not limited to using one of each type of meal for each day. In other words you can use all your counter services in one day, or two counter services and a table service one day. Everything is lumped together on your card and just taken off as you use it. Very convenient.

   For the price (about $38/day/adult and $10/day/child), you’re getting more food than you can imagine. It definitely costs more if you go out-of-pocket. Keep in mind that it can cost more than $35 for one adult table service meal. So essentially you’re getting free food and snacks. Trust me, it will pay for itself.

3. Make ADRs. ADR stands for Advanced Dining Reservations. You can make your ADRs 90 days from your arrival date and I highly suggest you do. Without ADRs you’ll end up waiting for a table that may never become available. First priority is given to those who have an ADR. I have even made an ADR, gotten the time wrong, showed up the restaurant and explained myself, and was put ahead of others without an ADR. It pays to make the ADR.

   It’s an especially good idea to make your ADRs as soon as you can if you would like to eat at Cinderella’s Castle or are planning on attending a hard-ticketed event. For example, many people love to eat at The Liberty Tree Tavern just before Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. It fills up fast. To ensure you have a table, you need to make your ADRs 90 days from your arrival date.

4. Buy the Park Hopper. It isn’t that much more than a regular park pass, and the more days you are there, the cheaper it is to add a day or the Park Hopper option.

   The Park Hopper option allows you to visit more than one park on any given day and give you great flexibility. If you’re done with Animal Kingdom by lunch (and you very well may be) you have the option of visiting another park later in the day. Or if you’ve just had dinner and were at EPCOT all day but are close to Magic Kingdom, you can pop over to see the fireworks that night. We’ve done this several times.

5. Plan your route. Know which park you’re going to on which day. This helps with your ADRs and also with how your day will go. I strongly suggest that you at least go to the All Ears site and look at the maps and decide what you all are interested in doing. Make a loop (start at one end and work your way around) instead of criss-crossing. Seriously. Get the map and map it out.

   Look at the shows and parades and decide what you want to see and when you need to be there. Understand that there is too much to do and you cannot get it done in one trip. Don’t try! We’ve been five times and we have yet to do it all. I think you could go every year and still have something new each time.

• Room Code: Discount code for reduced room rates.

• Cast Member: Anyone who works at a Disney property.

• Three levels of Disney resort hotels: Value, Moderate, Deluxe.

• DTD: DownTown Disney. A large shopping area with many restaurants and specialty shops. If it’s Disney and can be bought, you’ll find it here.

• Pleasure Island (or PI): Adjacent to DTD. Boasts a comedy club, pool hall, and dance clubs. More adult in design, but the comedy club is family friendly.

• Counter Service (or Quick Service): Disney’s version of fast-food. You can walk up to the counter and order, then take your food to sit down.

• Table Service (or Full Service): A sit-down table meal. Some are buffet, some are family-style. All character meals are table service, but not all table service includes a character meal.

• Park Hopper: Add-on to Park ticket that allows you to visit more than one park per day.

• Character Meal: Some restaurants on Disney property offer the opportunity to interact with Disney characters while you eat. You can find a list of Character Meals offered at Disney World at AllEars.net.

I get that.

I usually am introverted. However, I spend months preparing myself for meeting the public at large. By the time I arrive at BlogHer, I am on, baby! (I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!)

Of course, I hide in Shannon’s purse during lunch and the breaks because I have to regroup and re-energize (and let’s hope her purse doesn’t get stolen while I’m hiding in it, mmmmkay?).

During the sessions and cocktail parties, though? Look out. Chili’s in town and she needs to make some contacts/friends/laughing buddies. I actually look forward to being part of discussions and I look forward to meeting new people. More proof that I am, indeed, completely crazy.

So let me know if you’re coming. I bet we’ll see each other at the many gatherings. I would love it if you’d come to the panel on I’m on: FAQs for Beginning Bloggers. More than that, though, I’d love it if you’d come say hi if you see me.

Speaking of the panel, if you have some questions you think are super-important for beginning bloggers, leave those in the comments. Or, feel free to head over to Blogging Basics 101 and see if your question is already answered. If it’s not, please submit it to my e-mail over there (you can find it on the Contact Us page).

So, are you coming?

I’ve never been to San Francisco. Although I’ll be completely booked with conference doin’s Thursday through Saturday evening, I am considering staying through to Monday or Tuesday. So my questions to those of you familiar with SF are

• Where can I stay cheaply and safely on Sunday and Monday nights? (I will be staying at The Westin St. Francis on Powell–should I just keep my room or move to a different, cheaper hotel?)
• Will I be safe touring the city (shopping, walking, visiting Alcatraz, etc.) by myself? It’s true that I have the death look, but I’m not nearly as physically strong as the look itself.
• Is there a way to see the SF bridge and take pictures without getting killed?
• What things should I plan while I’m there?
• Where should I eat? Because, hello? I’m all about the good food. No sushi.
• What is the thing I must not miss while I’m in the Bay Area?
• Will I get clobbered if I were my John McCain badge? (Just kidding…I wanted to see if you are still with me. I won’t actually wear it.)
• Anything else you can think of?

On Thursday I’m going to have a roll call for those going to the BlogHer ‘08 Conference. I have some other questions regarding the conference as well. Today, though, let’s stick to what I can do in SF and whether I can do it safely alone. Whatcha got for me?