Disney Field Hockey Showcase 2013

The BHE (that's Best Husband Ever) and I  have had a hard time getting our Blog on.  We started out with great intentions.  Having been to Disney so many times; helping countless friends to plan their perfect Disney vacation; and experiencing Disney Dining with the need to eat gluten-free we felt we had a lot of great advice and unique perspective to share with people.  But after the first post we kind of got caught up in planning our December trip to Disney and then came the Christmas craziness.  While things are still not calm, such is life with 2 teenagers who play sports and are active in lots of activities, I thought it was time to just jump in and get it done.  So here goes.

My daughter and I will be leaving in 7 days for another trip to Disney.  This one is less of a vacation and more of a destination.  She will be playing in the Disney Field Hockey Showcase. Woo Hoo, go High Styx Pride.  Because this trip requires us to be more flexible I have only made 2 dining reservations.  We are arriving a day early so we can spend one full day at the parks.  Since we were unable to get a reservation for Be Our Guest during our December trip she and I made that a priority for this trip and I booked the reservation 6 months ago when I was sure were going to be going, so day 1 we will touring the Magic Kingdom.  Day 2 is the start of the tournament and we have games until 2 PM after which we can do whatever and day 3 she doesn't play til 5 PM with the second game time depending on where the team is ranked.  So while it looks like there is ample time to visit the parks I didn't want to feel obligated to visit so I made no dining reservations for these 2 days.  We think we would like to check out the food at Splitsville and maybe grab some grub at Earl of Sandwich and Ghiardelli's these two days, neither place takes reservations which works for us. 

Field Hockey tournaments are unpredictable.  Players get hurt, get sick or are just plain tired depending on the teams you play.  Not having a plan seemed like the best plan for this trip.  Being an Annual Passholder helps with this plan.  If on day 2 we want to quick run to EPCOT for bite to eat or a snack we have the flexibility to do that, if we wake up and decide a quick ride on Rockin' Roller Coaster will get her pumped for the next game we can do that or maybe some shopping.  LuLu loves shopping!!  The possibilities are endless and because we have the annual passes I don't feel any pressure to go to a park if she gets hurt, sick or just wants to nap.  If we needed to buy tickets I'm not sure how I would approach the situation.  

Several of the other families are getting 4 day park hoppers.  That seems to make sense and is a great compromise to enough days without being too many and is probably what we would have purchased.  If she had gotten sick or injured I would have added the no expiration date and used the remaining days on a future trip.  Works for us because we go a lot.  If you don't visit Disney regularly or ever, 1) why not?  haven't you heard that it is the greatest place on earth 2) you are going to make yourself use those days no matter what and this may not turn out to be the best Disney experience for you or your athlete.  So what is the solution?  I don't know.  Every family needs to evaluate what they want to get out of such a trip.  If this is the only time you are going to be is Disney and want to do it all, go for it, but remember that you will be exhausted and your athlete may not play as well as they normally do when well rested.  If you want to play well then maybe less of the parks will give you more out of your trip.  The main focus for us is to evaluate each day individually and plan activities that are fun but won't zap her energy for the next game.  Like I said, field hockey is the focus, not vacation time.

Our second reservation is for Boma the day before we leave.  This is one of LuLu's favorite restaurants.  The reservation is for when the entire tournament is over, so we don't have to worry about missing the awards ceremony and it just so happens to be where we are staying, Animal Kingdom Kidani Villas.  Have you stayed there?  This will be our first time, super duper excited.  We have a way early flight the next morning and thought a nice meal at the resort followed by packing was the perfect ending to our trip.

So what do you think of our no plan plans?  Have you been to Disney for one of their many sporting events? Would love to hear about your experience.