My household has 2 different parents - one that says yes to everything under the sun, and the other that's not-so-affectionately known as the "no parent." I'll let you guess which is which.
So in years past, when we've made our annual trip to Disney World, of course I used this 2-letter word that's both the same in English and Spanish.
"Can I have this trading pin?" "No, you've already gotten 5."
"Can I have this bottle of water?" "Are you crazy? That's 4.99! Here's your water bottle. Go fill it up in the fountain."
"Can I have this Mickey popsicle?" "No, we're about to go on a ride and you can't take it on there. It would just be a waste."
It's like the word no just spews out sometimes without even considering the request. (Mainly because as a mom, I can predict the future of what will come if I say yes...) But I've come to regret being the no-mom all the time. Sometimes it's justified. Other times it's because I don't want to deal with what's to come if I just oblige and agree.
However, I'm on a personal journey to be a kinder human being, and I'm attempting to build a closer relationship with my kids by saying yes more often . . . as much as it hurts me deep in my soul. ha!
During this year's Disney trip, I was determined to say yes more often. So I planned ahead, budgeted wisely, and was able to add the Disney Dining Plan to our vacation package. This was our first time staying at a Disney resort during our vacation (now that Kaleb's food allergies are under control and we don't need a full kitchen to cook his meals), and we knew we wanted to try several different restaurants.
Our Dining Plan came with 1 table service (sit-down) meal, 1 quick-service meal, and 1 snack PER PERSON, PER DAY. It also included drinks like smoothies for the kids and alcoholic beverages for the adults. It was amazing. I suddenly became the mom I always wanted to be.
"Can I have this cupcake?" "Sure!"
"Can you get me a churro?" "Absolutely!"
"Can we eat breakfast at Ohana and meet Stitch?" "Sounds great!"
Who was I?! I didn't even know, but I liked it!
Fast forward 2 weeks...I'm back home and am sadly the no-mom again. (Let's be real...one of the two of us in the house has to be!) I'm working hard to say yes more often, but it's a marathon, not a sprint.
That week at Disney, we had so many laughs and smiles around the table as we were enjoying every bit of that dining plan. Some of the places we enjoyed as a family were Chef Mickey's, Tusker House, Ohana, & Cape May Cafe (all character meals) as well as Steakhouse 71, Round-Up Rodeo BBQ, and Beaches & Cream Soda Shop. That's probably the most we've sat at the dinner table together in quite a while (due to our hectic schedules).
So is the Dining Plan worth it? I think that depends on what your intentions and goals behind it are. We wanted the dining plan with a daily sit-down meal because it was so hot outside when we went—we knew we'd want somewhere to cool off for an hour or two each day. I think one of the best parts of it for me was that I didn't come home with a gigantic credit card bill that depressed me for months. I basically paid in advance for all of our meals... so did I save money? I feel like I did. We took full advantage of the character meals, which are the most expensive at Disney World. If you don't do those, you may break even on the dining plan cost, but I still think you'll be happy that you paid in advance and it's one less cost at Disney to worry about while you're there.
Will we do it again in the future? 100% yes. Every time. Why? Because for 7 days, I became the yes-mom, and it was a welcome change for my soul.
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