New Years Aspirations, 2011 Edition

Wow – so it’s actually 2011 already?!

I don’t know about you, but 2010 seemed to just fly by for me in a combination of both work and play that in retrospect I really can’t complain about all that much, I suppose!  Last summer was highlighted by the release of my very first book, thereafter celebrating with a nearly month-long road trip around the eastern United States and Canada, and even after all of that, we also managed to sneak out to California for our very first visit Disneyland for our anniversary, too!

Of course, we did slip a handful of trips over to Disney World itself in there as well – maybe not as many as I would’ve liked, but that’s just how life goes sometimes and you do the best with the time that you’ve got.  And at this point, frankly 2011 is shaping up to be just as hectic and busy as its predecessor, albeit this time with a lot more work and a lot less play, so knowing that my time with the mouse this year might very well be a wee bit limited, I thought that it might be beneficial to sit down and make a list of a few specific things that I want to try and do over in Orlando this year.

You know, kind of like New Years Resolutions, but more on the fun than the obligation side!  My main focus was new stuff, without spending a fortune – here’s what I managed to come up with…

First Trip to a Water Park
Although I’m not the biggest fan of water slides, or even water over my head for that matter, this is one little slice of Disney World that I’ve always been curious to explore because all of the photos that I’ve ever seen make the themeing out to look just as incredibly detailed as everything else around the resort.  Maybe a good choice for July or August when our annual passes are blocked out!

More Table Service Dining
What can I say – one of the things my wife and I have enjoyed the most as of late is exploring the multitude of restaurants around all of the parks and resorts, to the point where I even decided to create a brand new column reviewing them for this site!  And while this may not be one of the more affordable aspirations on this list, a relaxing night out here and there to help unwind amidst the busy hustle and bustle is most certainly justifiable in my book!

Go on an Official Disney Tour
It doesn’t have to be one of the big, expensive ones that lasts all day and costs hundreds of dollars a person, but even something simple that offers a quick look behind the curtain I think would be kind of neat and possibly help to build up to the bigger ones in the future.  I’m a huge fan of seeing how the magic is actually made, from how attractions are first designed to what goes into operating and maintaining them on a daily basis, and just knowing how ridiculously immense the entire resort is as a whole, I can only imagine what all it takes to keep guests laughing and rollercoasters cruising and even merchandise flying off the shelves in the gift shops day after magical day!

Fully Embrace the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival!
Yeah, I know – it’s another food one, but for what it’s worth, I absolutely love exploring the Food & Wine Festival, despite having only caught pieces of it or even missed out entirely in a few of the years past.  So this year I’d like to plan a little better and dedicate a whole evening to just walking around World Showcase, tasting all of the flavors offered from start to finish.  I’ve also never really stopped for any of the Eat to the Beat concerts, despite having been a fan of some of the acts like the Gin Blossoms and Sister Hazel back in the day, so it might be fun to plan around that for a little rock ‘n roll nostalgia, too!

Have Ourselves a Very Merry Walt Disney World Christmas…
And finally, as much as I enjoy probably more than anything else Christmastime at Disney World, unfortunately it just wasn’t really in the cards for us last month and we ended up with only a few hours in the Magic Kingdom one evening as our entire Disney Christmas experience for 2010.  Not good enough! With so much to do, from the Osborne Lights to Holidays Around the World and the Candlelight Processional to just plain soaking up the holiday spirit from just about every single corner of the resort, I definitely would enjoy closing out 2011 with a long weekend where we’ve got several days to enjoy all of the holiday celebrations.  Maybe we could even hop over to the Magic Kingdom one night for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party – that’d be a new one for both of us, too!

Well, that’s my list, anyways.  I tried not to make it too big and thus completely unattainable (i.e. stay at every Disney resort, evict Stitch from Tomorrowland once and for all, etc, etc…), but at the same time cover a variety of new things that I’ve never done before because it’s always fun for a Disney veteran like myself to discover the hidden gems that we’ve yet to experience even amongst many, many years of touring the parks and beyond!

And of course, it probably goes without saying that I also hope to spend just a lot more time in general wandering around Disney World this year because, well, I’ll certainly need plenty of things to write about for this brand new website of mine, too! I’ve got a lot of big plans for ways of sharing my own passion for all-things Disney through this site in the months (and hopefully years!) to come, and if that translates into yet another excuse to partake in trips to Disney all the more, then I guess I have no choice but to take one for the team… 

So with that said, until we meet again next month – what are your New Years Aspirations for 2011???