Anyone who has been reading my blog contributions (all 1 of you) know this summer I will be going to Walt Disney World for what promises to be a wonderful family vacation. What you don’t know is that I’m really going disguised as a geek dad. I’m not really the mild mannered neurotic Disney dad that writes about his passion for the parks week in and week out. I’m really a secret agent being sent to Walt Disney World on a top secret mission.
When I started thinking about what to write for this week’s blog contribution two things came to mind, a Disney top 10 list and Disney food. Since food is one of my favorite subjects I initially thought I would blog about Disney food.
Well, I haven’t been to Disney in a while so doing a restaurant review wasn’t practical. Still, I just couldn’t get past the idea of doing something with food. It didn’t help matters when the outstanding Disney Mom’s Panel member and great Disney dad, Marc Lorenzo started posting pictures of food in the Be Our Guest Podcast live show chat. The pictures of food had me salivating for Disney dining and I nearly went off the deep end when he posted pictures of the desserts from Le Cellier.
A few weeks ago on Twitter I tweeted that I was planning my upcoming Disney vacation around the food. I have to say I was a little surprised at all the responses I got. All but one person said they too plan their Disney World vacation around their meals. The one person who said they didn’t plan their vacation around their meals has little ones, so that is perfectly understandable.
When your name is Shannon Sullivan, there are certain expectations on how St. Patrick’s Day will go. Growing up outside of New York City, among several first and second-generation Irish families, the question “where is your mother from” would get the name of county, like Mayo or Cavan, in the Old Country, since to say, “Ireland,” would be too obvious. My father, a German passing as Irish by playing the snare drum in a pipe band would say “Rockland,” our hometown, and get such a laugh, people rarely asked again.
There are a lot of different places in Walt Disney World to get pizza, but none as unique or authentic as this!
A new restaurant is opening in Epcot’s Italy Pavilion called “Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria.” This restaurant will serve different pastas, meats, fish and authentic pizzas for what has been called an “authentic price” (about $20 US and up for pastas, meats, fish and about $17 US for pizzas). The restaurant already existent in Downtown Disney in Disneyland, and it is not known if this restaurant will be a sit down like the Disneyland location, but I would guess that it is based on the prices.
I have never been much of a traveler. It’s not that I haven’t thought about it. I have. I can just imagine the places I would go . . . the things I would see . . . the people that I would meet if I were to travel! However, there is one issue. It is this one issue that stops me from even traveling beyond my own home–food allergies.
DISNEY DINING BOOT CAMP
There is a bit of advice often tossed out to parents: Pick your battles carefully. The idea is that you can’t force your way upon your children in every situation, so choose the scenarios that are of the most importance to stand your ground. Let the “less important” matters go by the wayside because they aren’t worth the fight and can actually cause you to lose the greater battles.
I sit at my computer to check the park hours of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While I’m notating particulars about Extra Magic Hours for Disney resort guests, a pop-up box notifies me that I have received an e-mail from someone named Chef Patrick.
I open the letter to read a thoughtful note from the chef of The Hollywood Brown Derby. He explains that he was contacted by Brenda about our family’s circumstances and is very interested in enabling us to visit the park. He then requests an e-mail back specifying the items that my children cannot eat.
It is decided that we will only spend one day in a theme park during our upcoming trip. Although I have been doing my best to not allow my newly acquired Disney phobia to get the best of me, it has been hard for me to entirely shake it. Traveling with our special dietary needs is a concept that still makes me very uneasy, so I decide not to set our expectations too high. We will brave one park for one day, and we will remain content within that limitation.
The world is coming to an end. That must be it. There is no other reason to explain the strange feeling that has suddenly overcome me. I am afraid to go to Walt Disney World. Surely it is a sign of the apocalypse.
Now that all my weeks of hyper-focused energy have landed us a stay at Disney’s Old Key West Resort, I am paralyzed by the thought of actually going. This happening is absolutely bizarre, but there is some method to my madness.