Magic Bands

There is some new technology that is being utilized at Walt Disney World that will hopefully make things easier for visitors. The introduction of the Disney Magic Bands and My Disney Experience, which is in the beta testing stage, is designed for visitors to the park to have all of their reservations (for rooms as well as dining, and shows), FastPass +, and Disney Dining Plan located in one place that can be viewed on your computer, tablet, or smart phone. Successful use of My Disney Experience will require a little forethought on your part in the form of going in and placing your reservations, event tickets in your reservation link in My Disney Experience. I can tell you though that it isn't as hard as it might first appear and if you are booking through Walt Disney Travel or WDW Dining your reservations will be entered automatically. Here is the trick to this application, you will need to have an account open to use this program. However you may already have one if you have already registered with one of the many subsidiaries of Disney (ESPN, ABC, Marvel, Etc.).
After you have had your My Disney Experience all set and completed you will need to request your Disney Magic Bands to be sent to you or pick them up at your resort. The Magic Bands are taking the place of your key to the world. That means you will not have to have your lanyard with your park ticket, paper FastPasses, DDP information. It will all be accessible through your bracelet which I think is pretty brilliant. The Magic Bands will also have the ability to be accessorized with character attachments, and covers that can make them look like a watch or a true designer bracelet.
We are set to use them in three weeks and I will post an update on how I think they are working. I am fully expecting there to be some bugs because they are still very new, but I am very excited to be among the first wave of guests to get a chance to use them. More to come soon.

Cape May Cafe

Cape May Cafe is located in the Beach Club Resort and does its best to replicate a New England seafood restaurant. Its main specialty is a seafood buffet with all you can eat crab legs, clams, mussels, and fish. Although it doesn't ignore you red meat eaters, or the picky eaters in your life. It has a specific stop where your kids can get chicken fingers, Mac n cheese and many other child favorites. As with most Disney Buffets it isn't cheap but if you have the dining plan you will only be out one sitdown meal credit per person.

So here is my opinion of this establishment. I am rating the theming, food, customer service, and kid friendliness. 

We were greeted at the front of the establishment by a enthusiastic hostess who pulled up our reservation and noted that we would need wheelchair and stroller space (my son nodded off on the way to the restaurant). After about five minutes we were seated in a dining room which was pretty basic (butcher paper on the table, crayons for kids to color, and more silverware than one person should have at one meal). When our server came to take the drink order is when we noticed a bit of change in the customer service. She asked if we were going to wake up our son and we responded not yet but closer to when we had the food on the table (just a note, waking a 4 year old is like defusing a bomb. It could explode taking everyone in the area out). We got a judgey look and she went to get our drinks which included one for our son. At first we thought she must be thinking we were pulling some kind of scam by having a sleeping child, and possibly feeding him off of one of our plates. She did visit our table more often than I am used to but whatever. Then we noticed she gave other tables with kids the same curt service. We finally figured she might not like little kids and left it at that. She did get friendlier closer to the check payment time, so I assume she realizes that bad service will lower her tip. On the whole this is the same service you would receive at Denny's at two in the morning. 

The theming of Cape May was very nice. It is located in the Beach Club just a short walk from the International Gate of Epcot. The lobby is simple and eligant in light colors giving it a light airyness. The tables are simple and spaced well enough to get a wheelchair (or stroller) in without blocking the aisle. In my opinion it was nice.

The food was your basic seafood buffet (crab legs, shrimp, clams, mussels, etc.). It also had a beef carving station and a bunch of kid friendly food stations. I had a fairly good paella (the flavor was balanced nicely), some obviously frozen shellfish, and some pretty nice corn bread. My son was able to get his favorite, Mac N Cheese. For the price I would recommend trying somewhere else as our total was just over $100. I think if you have a free dining plan sitdown meal to burn this could be your place.

Lastly, if you are traveling alone, with kids, or with a person in a wheelchair you should know the spacing at the buffet is very tight. If you go at dinner you may need to do what my family did and have one person get the food plated and brought back to the table. Less than ideal for a nice sit down family meal.

In short, the food was overpriced, service was spotty, and accessibility to get food was bad. Find another place to eat.

UPDATE: just wanted to give a brief update on my review of this restaurant. One of my party was stricken with food poisoning after eating here so I can honestly say skip this place for another sit down restaurant.

34 Days Until Launch (to Megavacation!!)

We are now just over a month from our big Disney Cruise/Walt Disney World trip and we are all very excited around here. Now we start with the real fun. If you are taking a cruise there are plenty of things you need to be doing right now. Most cruise lines have online documents you need to complete to be able to board the ship. It takes about an hour to complete it all and you will need to have all travel documents (i.e. flight info, ground transfers, passports for everyone in your party). It is kind of a pain but it should shorten your time at the terminal checking in. Also make sure that you have sent in your special needs form or you may not get the accommodations you need.

This is also the time that you will want to check your online flight information. If you book your flights a long time before you need to fly, things have a tendency to change. Our flight went from being a 7 a.m. flight to a 5 a.m. flight and we didn't even get an email. Also while you are checking the times it is always a good ideal to review seats. You might even be able to change them to suit your needs. A little inconvenience now can save you time when you are in line.

So while you are doing these little "administrative duties" there are some that a lot of people might forget. You will want to place a hold on your mail and newspaper deliveries to avoid any build up in your box or front porch. I also recommend getting several timers for lights in several places in your house and hook them to lamps and maybe even a radio. I know some people also lower the temperature on their water heater to keep from having that rack up unnecessary expense while they are gone. These last tips can save you money but also are more about security of your home. 

Finally, if you are boarding your pets, this is the time to verify that reservation and double check the vaccination records to make sure that you have all the shots they require. I almost missed my last Hawaii trip because the vet didn't fax over the updated shot records. That is NOT how you want to start your vacation, believe me. 

Now that we are in the final stretch, I will be posting more about what we do before our trip. As always if you have any tips to share please leave me a comment.