Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant

The Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater was some of the best food my family had while staying at the Walt Disney Resort. The main theming for the restaurant is based on a 1950s drive-in movie theater. You sit in replicas of classic cars that are your booths, and  face a movie screen that shows old B movies, trailers, and cartoon shorts. AWESOME!!  As you look around you see lighted buildings, and a twilight landscape painted and light on the walls. One of the greatest touches I thought was that the kitchen was made to look like a concession stand.  These little touches made it fun for any of us who may have ever been to a drive in (maybe not in their golden age but before they started to close them down), the only thing missing was the occasional honk of a horn.
I had little in the way of expectations for the food. I believed it was a gimmick restaurant and like most the food would be boring, bland, or just plain bad. I was wrong. The food was delicious. You could get yourself an old stand by like a burger and waffle fries made with incredible ingredients, they also had other dining fare that you would never have been able to get at the drive-in theater. I myself had to get the Memphis style ribs after being told thy had a smoker on site (really how can you not order fresh smoked ribs? YUM!). They came with a side of baked beans and coleslaw it made for a great and filling meal. I topped this off with what they called a shake ( I called it soft-serve with a straw but it was very good soft-serve ice cream).

You must make reservations for this restaurant as soon as you can or you will not be able to get in. They don't offer walk in service. The front staff was friendly and courteous. They got us a table fast and gave us options on what we would like to sit in. The server was great as well. Knowledgeable about the food, funny, and showed up only as you were about to need him. It was definitely a difference from some of the other places we the at.

Basically I am saying if you can get a reservation you would be very foolish not to, take the family to this establishment for some fun. It is a definite memory maker that your family will talk about (my 4 year old was telling his best friend about it). If you can't tell I definitely recommend this place!

Castaway Cay

Like almost every cruise line that sails in the Caribbean, Disney Cruise Line has it's own private island it stops at on most cruises over three days.Unlike most cruise lines the Bahamian island called Castaway Cay has undergone a magical Disney transformation. When Disney went looking for a spot for Castaway Cay it had some specifics in mind. It needed to be within a certain mileage from Port Canaveral (at the time the main port of departure for DCL in Florida). They also wanted to be able to dock the ship to the island so passengers would not be subject to tenders like some other cruise lines are.

Once they found this tropical island they started sprinkling pixey dust. This doesn't mean they made a Disneyland in the Caribbean. They worked with the nature of the island they created a lagoon that passengers could snorkel, jet ski, aqua-bike, and sail in. Along with the great tropical fish they added some wonderful extras to their snorkel park. At one point you could even see The Flying Dutchman from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies anchored there. While that has moved on to haunt sailors there still a ton to do and see on island, or on an excursion you can book.

Now if you are like most people, you are there to hang at the beaches on the island. These have been conveniently broken into separate beaches for families, adults (Serenity Bay), and families teens (as well as a sports beach for all you beach athletes (volleyball, or tether ball anyone?). Each of these beautiful white sand beaches are furnished with lounges and most have shade. They have a limited number of beach cabanas on the family and adult beaches (one of the family beach cabanas is wheelchair accessible) which at first glance are a bit pricey but it includes bike and snorkel gear rentals, beach toys, a semi-private beach, beverages and snacks already in place, AND you don't have to fight for a shady place to lay out. It is actually quite reasonable. You MUST book these early if you want one because they go fast. Also if the mood strikes, you can book an in-cabana massage in the Serenity Cove (go ahead, splurge a little). Bliss!

This island may now be home to a well known mouse now, but at one point is was used for some unsavory business dealings that left its mark on the island. The airstrip was there before DC, and was used in themeing quite well. It is the main path to get to the adults only beach Serenity Cove and is criss-crossed by bike trails that will take you around the island. Do not worry about the bikes they have an on-site rental which my wife and son will be taking full advantage of. Bike riding not adventurous enough for you? Book a para-sailing session, glass bottom boat, or personal watercraft for the afternoon. More of the relax and have a snack traveler? They have you covered there too, with restaurants serving food and drinks at each of the three main beaches. This leaves you the ability to read, nap or just sun bake yourself.

Disney Cruise Line has also considered the plight of the people who may need a wheelchair to get around. They have quite a few sand wheelchairs that you may use while on island. Picture a reclining beach chair on wheels. These are great when you are on the sand with their big bouncy tires, but can prove a little tricky when you are on pavement. My advise, bring someone strong to push. There are also paved and hard packed walkways that a person using a mobility device can use to explore and take in the wonderful surroundings and don't worry, if you get all the way to Serenity Cove and cant walk back. There's a tram that you can ride.

On the whole this was one of my favorite spots on the eastern Caribbean cruise we took, and most likely will be on this up coming Nassau one also. It is like you have been invited to a giant party on a private island with tons of food, sun and fun. There really is a magic to the place and I recommend anyone thinking about taking a cruise on DCL to make sure they have a Castaway day.. More to come later.

FastPass+

Walt Disney World is taking several major technological leaps forward this fall.. Along with MyDisneyExperience, and Disney's MagicBands, they have added the FastPass+ program. FastPass+ gives you the ability to log into your MyDisneyExperience account and pick three FastPass+ eligible rides in advance of your visit. This is very exciting for those travelers who have a touring plan, There are however some major restrictions such as limiting you to only three FastPass+ a day, and only for one of the parks even if you have a park hopper ticket. This differs for the paper FastPasses in that you can have one paper FastPass for multiple parks during a single day (but if you lose it or miss your time it is gone for good).

With FastPass+, it is loaded to your MagicBand so when your FP time comes up you scan the MagicBand at the kiosk and queue up in the FastPass line. This may also be a great way for those who have used the DAC (Disability Assistance Card) or GAC (Guest Assistance Card) for disability accommodations to avoid the hassles of standing in long standby lines without needing to sign up for the new program (although you will probably want to sign up so you can do more than three rides a day).

There are many things I love about this program, but one of the best in my opinion is that you don't have to be in the park at opening to get a FastPass+. This was one of my major complaints I had when the paper FastPass program started (mostly because if you wanted a relaxing morning you were likely to be shut out of the FastPasses due to limited numbers issued). I also like the convenience of not needing to fish around for the FP slip, or be out of luck if you lost it while doing another activity, brilliant!

So far the only drawback we have come across is that you need to have time and an idea of where you want to be and when you want to be there. Good if you like preplanning, which my wife does. Then translate all that into the MyDisneyExperience FastPass+ area. This can be a hassle because if you make changes to times or rides it bounces you back to the main page. It makes editing tedious but I am sure that this will be addressed after the beta testing is complete.

Overall organization is the key with FastPass+. You need to to have a plan, but if you are going to WDW and don't have some kind of plan of attack, I personally think you are crazy. This is not Disneyland, it is MUCH larger with many more parks and resorts. With the amount of apps and websites that can assist you with a touring plan it will only take a few hours to create a decent touring plan.that will save your sanity. We all know a sane traveler is a happy traveler. More to come.

Disney's new MyDisneyExperience vacation platform.

MyDisneyExperience is the Disney Resorts newest way to plan and organize your vacation. It gives you one location to make, change, or cancel hotel or advance dining reservations (ADR), choose FastPass+ ride times, and save special event registrations. This is an amazing tool if you have time set aside before your trip to figure out which park you will be in, what time you might want to eat, and what rides you may want to ride. Once you have your trip information in the MyDisneyExperience website it can be tweaked from your smart phone, laptop, or tablet. I am fortunate as my wife is very much a planner and even though there are some things that could vastly be improved on, we now have our trip in hand (via our smartphone apps).

For the moment this information will be used at the Walt Disney World Parks and resorts as your room key, park admission, event tickets, FastPasses, and charge things to your room through the Magicbands (see earlier post on Magicbands). This will probably expand to the other parks as the technology is proven reliable. I will welcome the day when I can go from cruise ship to park and only have one account. 

All your trip information will be stored and accessible so you can go back to review (for things you loved or hated) when planning your next trip. I definitely feel this will be a valuable tool as a person with a small child, and also a mobility impaired person, because it will be easier to notate something that we just didn't care for or had difficulty doing. Tell me how you might feel about this new tool.

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.