Coffee at Disney World and Universal Studios

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Hello Coffee Lovers,

It’s no secret that I love coffee. So when I go on vacation I look for good coffee. It’s a weird obsession that my wife, thankfully, tolerates.

When I first went to Disney World and Universal at 28, I expected that they would either have their own coffee company or have Starbucks everywhere. I was half right. The coffee at the parks and resorts can be split into three categories: Terrible, Starbucks, and Gourmet.

Coffee at the Parks and Resorts

Terrible

I’m pretty tolerant of bad coffee, but the stuff they sell in Disney World and Universal Studios is terrible. It varies from booth to restaurant from being weak to sludge and everything in between.

If you’re at any Disney Park, except Magic Kingdom, skip the coffee at the restaurant and get some Joffrey’s.

If you’re at Universal Studios or Magic Kingdom, get Starbucks.

Universal offers coffee in their rooms and it’s passable, but you’re better off waiting for Starbucks.

Starbucks

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Both Disney World and Universal have Starbucks in their parks. Disney World has a location in Epcot and a location in Magic Kingdom. Universal has a Starbucks in each of their resorts.

Both have them in their shopping districts (Universal Citywalk and Disney Springs.)

Gourmet

Starbucks is, unfortunately, the best you’ll get at Universal.

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Disney World has an arrangement with Joffrey’s coffee. They are a gourmet roaster from Tampa Bay. They supply coffee to Disneyland, Disney World, and Disney’s Hawaiian resort Aulani. The coffee is good. It’s not revolutionary but it’s definitely worth looking for around the parks.

Joffrey’s also supplies the resorts and the rooms with coffee. Staying at a resort that has good coffee is always a treat. They have kiosks in Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Springs, and Hollywood Studios that sell good coffee.

They are also the coffee used for the better sit down restaurants, including Belle’s Castle. Some of the sit down restaurants have pour over or French press that is to die for and certain resorts have unique blends.

A notable mention for coffee is the Moroccan Pavilion at Epcot that sell a Moroccan coffee that is both yummy and packs a punch.

Bringing Home Coffee

If you enjoyed Joffrey’s coffee, they have a store in Disney Springs that sells both Tea and Coffee. The selection is limited here though. If you try a coffee from a kiosk or your resort and love it you can normally buy a bag from them. (I regret not buying some Kenyan coffee from Animal Kingdom.) They also have an impressive selection on their website with decent shipping costs to Canada.

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Disney itself sells Mickey’s Really Swell Diner Coffee. The regular roast comes in large cans and the flavoured ones come in packs of eight small cans. You can also get a small can with a Disney Coffee Press. The coffee itself is exactly as it says. It’s good diner coffee (I’m drinking some now). Some of the flavours are better than others, but overall the flavoured coffee is good.

You can also bring Starbucks beans home with you, but they’re what you’d buy almost anywhere, with the exception of the light roast beans that vary from country to country.

 

Overall the coffee at the parks is worth drinking and definitely worth experimenting with.

Enjoy your Coffee,

Éric

Blush: Lubricants

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Do you know how difficult it is to find good sources for personal lubricants? The amount of junk articles I had to sift through was intimidating, to say the least.

A SFW image of lube! Image from www.iselinc.com
A SFW image of lube! Image from www.iselinc.com.

 

There are three different categories of lubricant: water-based, silicone-based, and oil-based. Each has its pros and cons.

The lube you are most likely to find is water-based. Be careful with the ingredients, though, as some of these include glycerin, which can cause yeast infections. Water-based is arguably the best, as it doesn’t dissolve silicone toys, and it doesn’t make latex condoms permeable. However, it is the most likely to evaporate, causing you to need to add more in the middle of things.

Silicone-based is the most expensive. It is very slippery and won’t dissolve, but if you’re using it with silicone toys, it will cause them to start to break down, making them unsafe to use. You can get around this by putting a condom on the toy, though! It is also more difficult to clean up after use (soap and water works).

Oil-based cannot be used at the same time as latex condoms (I specify latex, because other types are fine). The oil makes the latex membrane become permeable, and will cause breaking of the condom.

Okay…now you know about the different types of lube. Why should you use it at all?

A lot of misinformation goes into this question. People think that lube is only needed if the vagina doesn’t lubricate itself enough, and using lube is a last-ditch effort.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. And it only takes PiV intercourse into account.

The human body’s vaginal lubricant is not enough for intercourse. Period. Full stop. It reduces friction, increases pleasure, and decreases the risk of tearing and pain. You should always use some sort of lubricant, even if it’s only saliva (which is the only natural lubricant that my research has agreed is a good one). And if you are participating in anal intercourse, don’t even attempt it unless you’ve got a lot of lube on hand. Tears/rips in the anus are dangerous, because of the excess of bacteria in the fecal matter that could enter the bloodstream. Please note: saliva is not enough lube for anal intercourse.

If there’s something more that you’d like to know about lubricants, or we didn’t cover, please contact us through our Anonymous Question box!

Reference

Nagoski, Emily, PhD. Come as you are: The surprising new science that will transform your sex life. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2015.

Dear Dragon – Monsters

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Hi Dragon,

Watching the news today, I held you tight and warned you about the monsters. They don’t have bolts in their neck, and they don’t get burned by sunlight. They look like us and walk around in daylight, but they exist.

This will be history for you when you read this, but one of those monsters shot at innocent people in a place of worship yesterday. He killed six innocent people and hurt a lot of others. His actions are inexcusable and monstrous.

That’s the difference, my little Dragon, between fictional monsters and real ones. Fictional monsters do terrible things because it’s in their nature, or they were made that way; real monsters make themselves from their actions.

Of course, there are other factors that help create real monsters. Hate, fear, intolerance, and anger help feed them, but in the end, it’s their actions that make them monsters. This means we are all capable of being monsters.

There are ways to help prevent monsters and they are so simple they seem silly. These ways are simply to keep love in your heart and share it with others. Treat people with respect, even when they don’t deserve it, help your neighbour, and be the kind of person who helps others.

Help, not through grand gestures, but through small acts of kindness. The small acts add up to bigger ones. We are all capable of being monsters, but that means we are also capable of being the opposite; Helpers.

It may be optimistic and it may be naïve, but I believe we can all make the world a better place by helping more.

Be a Helper and, as always, have hope!

I love you so much my little Dragon,

Your Papa

The Fallacy of Relative Privation

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Hello My Imaginary Friends,

When you’re arguing, there are certain types of arguments that are called Fallacies.

A fallacy is an incorrect argument in logic and rhetoric which undermines an argument’s logical validity or more generally an argument’s logical soundness. (Wikipedia)

Like most things, once you know about them you’ll have a hard time not seeing them everywhere.

FRP

The Fallacy that’s been really pissing me off lately is “The Fallacy of Relative Privation.” It’s the one parents on TV use to make their kids eat liver, “Eat. There are starving kids in Africa.”

The reason this particular fallacy angers me is its dismissive nature. It effectively says that instead of being upset about your problems, you should be thankful they aren’t worse. In other words, stop your whining it’s not that bad.

It’s a toxic attitude for three reasons: it devalues personal experiences, encourages harmful behaviour, and it’s easily internalized.

Devaluing Personal Experiences

Let me make something clear: No one has the right to tell you what you’re feeling isn’t valid. Cutting my finger doesn’t hurt any less because someone else cut theirs completely off.

Not everyone experiences life the same way and it’s both wrong and egotistical to assume they do. A veteran from a war where there was heavy bombing my have his PTSD triggered by fireworks. To tell that veteran that they’re overreacting or should be happy they still have their legs is cruel.

People will often use this fallacy with victims of emotional or sexual abuse. “At least they didn’t…” is a terrible thing to say to someone who’s recovering from a trauma.

Both examples here are why trigger warnings are important. And if you read the previous statement and thought, “Not all trigger warnings are real” or “but trigger warnings have been taken too far,” then you’re devaluing someone else’s personal experience.

Encouraging Harmful Behaviour

Not everyone has the same experiences, not everyone experiences things the same way, and what’s good for one person isn’t always good for everyone.

Let’s get back to the argument that you should eat everything on your plate because someone else has no food. Sounds logical right?

Let’s convert that to something else; hats. Now there are places in the world where you are not allowed to wear hats and there are people who can’t afford hats. Does this mean you should always wear a hat? Since others can’t, should you wear multiple hats?

No, the answer is no and encouraging people to eat beyond what they’re hungry for sets a terrible precedence for health.

It goes beyond just eating though, we live in a culture that says you should look or feel a certain way, and if a celebrity can do it why can’t you? (The answer is that it’s their job and they have the time and money to make it work. Even then, they can’t always, and that’s why they use photoshop.)

Mental health is extremely different from person to person. What would hurt one person might not be noticed by another. Just because one person has life worse doesn’t mean your depression isn’t bad.

Internalized (AKA the fallacy we use on ourselves)

The scariest part of this fallacy is how easily we can internalize it. How easily we can start believing that we are over exaggerating and should be thankful it’s not worse.

I shouldn’t be upset, because X lost his job, and Y was in a car accident.

This is the point where I need to repeat:

No one has the right to tell you what you’re feeling isn’t valid. Especially you!

In Conclusion

We may be going through the same thing, but experiencing it completely differently. Let yourself hurt without being made to feel guilty. What you’re feeling is valid to you.

Do not let people use this fallacy to make you complacent. Your problems might be less than others, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to fix them.

 

Later Days,

Éric

Florida Part 1: Resorts

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As some of you might be aware, the whole family got very sick with some sort of stomach virus at the end of our trip, and so we weren’t able to fully enjoy Universal Studios’ resort, and couldn’t go to the parks at all (other than a quick trip by Eric before he got sick as well). So instead of breaking our trip down into Disney and Universal, I’m going to break it down into three categories: Resorts, Transportation, and Parks.

I have never stayed on resort before. In the past, when I visited Disney, we stayed in a variety of hotels, timeshares, and rental homes. All of these options have their benefits, and their drawbacks. It really depends on what you are looking for. This time, I was looking for the full resort experience. And I was incredibly impressed!

Disney’s All-Star Music Resort

The accommodations themselves were fairly standard, and felt a little dated. The rooms came equipped with 2 double beds (not queens – very squishy for people who are used to a king!) and they brought us a crib for Dragon. The crib fit nicely beside the TV cabinet, not sticking out, and neither of us clumsy folks tripped over it even once, which was nice. There was a small round table and two chairs that had no arms. Not exactly conducive for breastfeeding, so I ended up nursing on the bed.

I liked the bathroom setup – the toilet and tub were behind a door, and the sinks were outside, but there was a curtain to close it off in every room’s bathroom.

We were in connecting rooms with my mother and sister, which was nice.

The beds themselves were old – creaks every time we moved and either lumpy or V-shaped.

However, despite the meh rooms (I’d give them about a 3/5 – they weren’t bad, but they weren’t great), we had a fantastic experience at the resort. Anything we wanted, the staff went out of their way to get. We weren’t unreasonable with our demands (crib, extra coffee for the coffee maker that you also had to request, extra shampoo, extra blanket) except for once: Bran Buds.

They had nothing with high-fibre content for any of their meals. So we requested something that we have at home, and they went to the grocery store, bought it, and had it delivered to our room.

My mother has very strict dietary requirements – and the chefs met and surpassed every single one of them. It is very difficult to make her happy with her meals, and they succeeded.

They also went above and beyond the call of duty when my mother got sick and had to go to the hospital. For the staff alone, I would recommend this resort.

Other awesome things at our resort include the pool, which was warm enough for Dragon to go swimming at 8 pm in January, the arcade, which we didn’t use, but was constantly in use by others, and the laundry. The facility for laundry was fairly nice, although there weren’t any chairs, which sucked. It cost $3 per wash and per dry, and the detergent could be bought there or in the little store attached to the resort (or brought from home, I suppose). But it was worth it to have a full set of clean clothes, burp cloths, wash cloths, and change mat.

Dragon enjoying the pool at Disney's All-Star Music Resort.
Dragon enjoying the pool at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort.

Dining Plan

One of the best parts about staying on resort is the dining plan. We went with the Quick Service meal plan, which includes 2 quick service meals (quick service meals are served at a counter, like at a cafeteria, not a sit-down restaurant) and 2 snacks per night per person. We used all but 6 snacks, and we were never hungry. And was the plan ever worth it! The most expensive meal our plan paid for was flatbread pizza – and we definitely wouldn’t have bought it if we hadn’t had the plan.

Extra Magic Hours

We didn’t take advantage of these, and I blame exhaustion from having a baby.

Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort

This place was fantastic! I am disappointed that we weren’t able to take greater advantage of the pools (yes, plural!) or the lazy river, or any of the other amenities while we were staying here. I was barely able to walk as far as the Starbucks, and I didn’t even see the cafeteria, let alone the bowling alley.

We were in the family suites, again with connecting rooms, and it was SO worth it for the extra space!

You open the main door to a small kitchenette that includes a small microwave, a mini fridge, a coffee maker, and a sink. They provide cutlery, plates, cups, and bowls. They also provided the coffee. Beside the kitchenette is a raised counter-top (perfect for changing a baby, fyi) and a living space with two chairs and a fold-out sofa. There’s a sliding door separating this space from the bedroom (again with 2 double beds, but much newer). The crib didn’t fit quite as easily in this space as in Disney’s room, but it was a nicer crib. Metal bars – it fit the retro theme of the resort very well.

Just inside the sliding door was the bathroom space – there was a sink with no door, a wc (water closet, or a small room for just the toilet), and another small room with a tub and another sink.

If you have more than just 2 adults going to this resort, you will want to upgrade to the suite. It was definitely worth it for us.

The Pool

I only got to see one of the pools, but it was gorgeous. I want to go back to this resort purely for this pool. Spend an entire day at the resort and hop in and out of the pool, go down the slide, let Dragon play on the splash pad, etc. They have free swim diapers behind the bar (how awesome is that??) and the pool is warm enough for Dragon.

I wasn't expecting to go in the pool, so Dragon didn't have her swim diaper on. Just putting our feet in this time.
I wasn’t expecting to go in the pool, so Dragon didn’t have her swim diaper on. Just putting our feet in this time.

Overall

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of both resorts, and can unquestioningly recommend them. I look forward to going back and trying a different Disney resort, and actually getting to experience the Universal one.

If you are interested in booking a trip to Orlando. You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca

The January 2017 Vacation

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Hello My Imaginary Friends,

When my wife was pregnant, someone recommended that we should take a vacation with the baby. It would help get the baby used to travelling, get us out of the house, and not use any vacation days. It was a great idea and I don’t regret the vacation in the least. However, some have called it THE VACATION FROM HELL.

We went with my fantastic mother-in-law and sister-in-law. The plan was to spend six days at Disney and three at Universal. We wanted to do the whole resort thing so that Jen could be more comfortable selling it as a vacation. The first five days were wonderful and exhausting. The baby slept 9-11 hours a night (and on most rides), the food was good, the transportation was okay, and the rooms were good.

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Moana said that Dragon was going to be an excellent way-finder. She thought it was cute that Dragon didn’t wake up at all!

Day six was going to be our second day at Magic Kingdom, but my poor mother-in-law was sick over the night. At first, we were all delusionally hoping it was food poisoning or an allergy attack. Her being hypoglycemic meant we were extra worried for her and after a few more revisitations-of-previous-foods, my father-in-law (still at home) told us to send her to the hospital. It’s also at this point that he decided to fly in and save us.

So my mother-in-law goes to the hospital and my sister-in-law goes with her to make sure everything is ok and keep us updated. That leaves me, Dragon, and Jen in the hotel room wondering what to do and worrying. We did some laundry (thank you Disney resorts).

My father-in-law tells us not to waste the day and go to Magic Kingdom anyways. We went and had fun but it was always under the shadow of worry. On our way home, we learnt that my mother-in-law was coming back from the hospital and everything was fine.

My wife spoke to a manager at our resort and got us some free tickets for our trouble and reimbursement for the taxi that brought them home. (Really awesome of Disney!)

This is the point where a sane individual would start wondering what had happened. I stubbornly stuck to the food allergy story.

The next day, everyone was exhausted and we needed to checkout and move to Universal. We met in the resort’s cafeteria and hogged a section of wall for all our luggage and waited for our ride and my father-in-law who had arrived and rented a car.

We all transferred to Universal. The transfer company that drove us let us have a grocery stop. Our suites at Universal were great. At this point, to avoid the parental-in-law snoring, we had my sister-in-law sleep in our suite.

We spent the night chatting and relaxing. The next day we were going to Universal parks and seeing all the stuff we didn’t normally have a chance to see. We planned on leaving at 10am. Jen was sick at 9:45am.

We spent the day in the hotel, except for a short walk on my part to give everyone a rest from the baby. Here’s the thing about spending five or six days with an infant, showing them all kinds of cool stuff and hundreds of people; they get a little stir crazy if you just suddenly stop.

That night my sister-in-law failed her fortitude save to what we are now sure was a Norovirus.

The next day, I decided I wanted to get the baby a Harry Potter Hogwarts onesie and I’d walk to the parks. I was dissuaded from taking the baby (I don’t produce milk for her). I arrived at the City Walk to find out that the best merchandise is in the parks.

As a travel agent, Jen had a free ticket. I had her passport and decided to try and sweet-talk my way into the parks. Apparently, a patient attitude and a sob story about a sick family will get them to let you use your wife’s ticket.

At this point I was convinced I was going to be fine. I escaped the plague people and hadn’t caught it yet. So I walked the entirety of both parks on a mission for souvenirs, onesies, and butterbeer. I took the Hogwarts Express between the parks.

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Feeling guilty for having had freedom, I walked back to our hotel. While I’d been gone, my father-in-law started showing symptoms. As I fell asleep that night, I thought that maybe, just maybe, I’d avoided catching this plague. (sigh)

We were scheduled to fly out the next day. I got sick in the early morning after repeatedly telling everyone and fate that I wouldn’t, but I did.

So at this point my mother-in-law is feeling crumby but recovering, same with my sister-in-Law. My father-in-law is feeling like crap, and Jen is giving the baby all her antibodies and still feeling sick. I was having trouble with this whole sitting thing.

We were still ready to try and fly, but then Jen was sick again. It was decided that we’d split the group. Mother-in-law and sister-in-law headed home and the rest of us stayed behind an extra day.

I vaguely remember sleeping the whole day and changing diapers. I also remember that Dragon decided it was a good day to start teething and screaming about it.

When we did fly out, I wasn’t sure Jen would make it all the way without being sick, but she powered through. It was great to finally get home.

The entire family impressed me with their strength and patience. It’s not easy being in a room with a crying infant or someone being sick when you’re healthy.

As a last thought, I have to thank my father-in-law for being there and saving us. He dropped everything at home to come help, and once there he did groceries, pharmacy runs, called to reschedule flights, extended the room, took care of everyone, took Dragon for walks, helped us get into the AC lounge, and so many other things that I’m sure I’ve forgotten or don’t know. All while getting sick, or being just as sick as the rest of us.

He’s an amazing man and his dedication, quick thinking, and ridiculously big heart make him one of the best people I know. Thank you so much.

I’d also like to say that both Disney Resorts and Universal Resorts were extremely understanding and accommodating; making a terrible situation much better.

So no more vacations for a little while. (At least a few months.)

Be healthy!

Éric