WDW Redux

This is long overdue, I know, but better late than never?

Anyway.

The trip down there (which I should mention was Ella's first flight ever) was awful.  Hellacious.  We were meant to fly out of Greensboro around 11am.  Our flight got pushed back once, and then again, because it couldn't leave Atlanta due to mechanical issues.  At that point, we wound up taking a shuttle (paid for by Delta) to Raleigh to catch a non-stop flight from there to Orlando -- and THAT flight was delayed as well, as they had no crew for the plane.

We legitimately could have driven to Orlando in the time it took us to finally get to our hotel.  It was about 12 hours.

And you know, I have to say, Ella probably did the best out of all of us with the whole ordeal.  She was a real trooper.  The rest of us were grousing and complaining, and she just took it in stride.

Outside of that (and the phone call Jon got the next day regarding the center closing), we had a really great time.

Ella *loved* meeting the characters.  We were unsure how she would feel about this, since she'd only seen them on TV and in books and whatnot up to this point, but she didn't even hesitate.  Everyone got big hugs, high fives, and kisses on the nose (or beak or whatever).  She wasn't as into the face characters, but I suspect that's because she's just not as familiar with them as the animated ones.  But overall, this was definitely the highlight of the trip for her, I think.

She went on a bunch of rides, too -- the teacups were a major hit.  We must have ridden those five times.  She also rode her first roller coaster -- Goofy's Barnstormer.  That one was not quite as popular, but it was over before she had a chance to really get upset about it.

Overall, an awesome trip -- the food was excellent, the weather was great, the crowds were low, and our suite at the Animal Kingdom Villas was amazing.  Can't ask for much more than that.

I'm *still* working on getting my pictures edited (I took over 600!).  We did order the PhotoPass CD, and a bunch of those turned out really great.  Once I get them uploaded onto this computer, I'll add a few.

WDW Trip Report Day 2 - Epcot

On Wednesday, Jon and I headed over (not too early in the morning, though) to Epcot.  We had major plans for the Food and Wine festival, which unfortunately, didn't really come to fruition -- more on that later.

We started out going on the "new" Nemo ride at The Seas -- new to us, I should say.  We've visited several times since the ride was added, but had just never made it over there before.  It was pretty impressive.  The technology used apparently took a really long time to develop, and having seen it, I can understand why.   Very cool stuff.  The ride drops you off in the aquarium portion that was there before the ride existed, and we spent some time looking at the manatees and sharks and whatnot.

Since we got to the park sort of late-morning, and had to wait a while to exchange our vouchers for our annual passes, we were coming up on our lunch reservation.  We decided to head back to the World Showcase and start the trek to Italy, stopping in a couple of shops along the way in Canada and the UK.  

Lunch was at Via Napoli in the Italy pavilion, which had just opened a couple of months or so ahead of our visit.  The restaurant was lovely on the inside -- a nice big open space, gorgeous wooden beamed ceilings, and three fantastic wood-burning ovens.  We were seated on the back wall, so we had a good view of everything.  

The dining plan worked a little differently here, so we wound up each getting an appetizer (calamari for Jon and the arancini for me), and then we shared our two entrees -- the shrimp Caesar salad and the quattro formaggi pizza.  

Jon and I both were pretty excited about eating here, and I think we both were pretty underwhelmed.  The food was good -- don't get me wrong.  But it wasn't great, and if we hadn't been on the dining plan, I think we would have felt really ripped off.   Jon did really enjoy his dessert, though, which was the gelato frizzante (and Italian ice cream soda).  And I will say, the service was outstanding.  We were taken care of by about three different people, and our main waiter, Andrea, clearly knew how to earn a good tip with the ladies -- he was chatty and flirty, and very easy on the eyes.  (Sorry, Jon.)

After lunch, we wandered through the rest of the World Showcase.  Jon grumbled about Disney's newest moneymaker, Duffy the Bear, whenever he saw any of his merchandise.  My threat to make him have his picture taken with Duffy and wear the "I Hugged Duffy" sticker, sadly, did not come to fruition.  We also made our one and only Food and Wine stop at the Poland kiosk.  We were just too stuffed from lunch to do much damage otherwise.  We shared (although Jon drank most of it) a Belvedere Strawberry Balsamic Chiller, which was as odd as it sounds.  

After a ride (at my request) through Spaceship Earth (which for some odd reason was the ride I had been thinking about the most before our trip), we headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit.  I should mention here that it was HOT while we were down there -- we had planned for a bit cooler weather than we actually had.  So we wound up going back to the hotel and taking showers each day before dinner.  

Full moon over the Boardwalk

We headed back to the Boardwalk and hung out there a little while before heading to dinner on the other side of the lake at the Yachtsman Steakhouse.  We'd eaten there once before, were very impressed, and were looking forward to our return visit.  

We were seated in a small alcove off the main dining room with only three other tables, which was nice and cozy.  Only one other table in our room even had kids, and they were very well-behaved!  

On a quest to be somewhat adventurous with my food on this trip, I decided to branch out and try the escargot to start.  I'd only ever ordered escargot once before, and when it arrived to the table, I was unable to eat it.  However, that was a number of years ago, and I've branched out a lot since then, culinarily speaking, so I was excited to give it another shot.  I have to admit, they were not what I was expecting at all, but the flavor grew on me, and they were pretty dang tasty!  (I expect that the very liberal dousing they got in the garlic-herb butter helped out with that.)  Jon started out with the charcuterie board, and I can't find a listing for the components online, but I recall some sort of venison sausage, maybe?  From the looks of my picture, there was also some proscuitto and a cheese with some manner of jam.  He seemed happy with the whole spread.  And yes, it really was brought out on a board -- good thing, as we both would have been disappointed otherwise :)

For entrees, we had -- you guessed it -- steak.  Jon went with the New York strip, and I chose the filet mignon.  Both good, but not the sort of knock-your-socks-off steaks that we remembered having the first time we were there.  

When dessert came around, we ordered the same thing again (two times in two meals!), which was the trio of Valrhona  chocolate.  We were both tempted by the description of "salted caramel".  Yum.  

All in all, lovely, if very hot day.  For Day 3, we planned to head over to the park we visit the least: Animal Kingdom.

Walt Disney World Trip Report - Day 1

For our 5th anniversary, Jon and I decided to splurge a bit and take a few days for ourselves at Walt Disney World.  It only made sense -- we were engaged there, and spent part of our honeymoon there.


So last Tuesday, 10/19, having deposited Ella at Grandma and Pop's, and the dogs at the vet's for boarding, we headed to Raleigh to catch our 1:00pm (direct!) flight to Orlando.  Our flight was somewhat late in leaving -- never a fun way to start off a trip.  But I guess the pilot was able to make up some time in the air, as we arrived only about 20 minutes later that originally planned.


When we arrived, we collected our luggage and made the long trek from Terminal A to B, so that we could catch our ride on Disney's Magical Express.  This was our first time using this service, and as it was free, I really have no complaints about it at all.  (I should mention that normally, when using the DME, you don't even have to worry about collecting your own luggage.  It's done for you and brought right to your room.  However, we waited 'til the 11th hour to sign up for it, as we were hoping to get a cheap rental car, and because we waited, we didn't get the special DME luggage tags in time.)  The bus was there waiting for us, so we were able to get right on (and in typical Disney fashion, the process was super-efficient and organized), and the ride went by quickly -- they showed a cute video with the characters all about the check-in process and whatnot, followed by an old Donald Duck cartoon.

Our home base for the next few days would be the All-Star Sports Resort -- crossing another resort off our list in our quest to eventually stay at all of them.  (So far, we are at 9.)  I had used the online check-in service, another first for this trip, which was wonderfully convenient.  There was no line at the check-in desk, so we had all of our documents and information in no time at all.   We had booked a standard room, but were upgraded to a preferred room, which turned out to be in the building right next to the main building -- a nice treat, and not expected at all.

Since we arrived so late in the afternoon, we opted not to hit a park that day, and instead killed a little time at Downtown Disney before heading over to the Boardwalk.  We had dinner booked that night at the Flying Fish Cafe, and I have to admit, I was leery.  I'd gotten *really* sick after eating here a few years ago, and was definitely nervous about going again.  However, Jon is a big fan of the place, and he finally talked me into it.

I wasn't disappointed.  In fact, it was one of the best meals I've had in a long time.

The "cafe" wouldn't light up for me at the right time.  Hmph.

I started out with the Fresh Mozzarella di Bufala, "Ugli Ripe" Beefsteak and Tiny Florida Grape Tomatoes -- your basic caprese salad, more or less, which is always hard for me to resist when I see it on the menu.   Deeeelicious.  Jon had the  Signature Flying Fish Cafe "Crispy Maine Coast Jonah Crab Cake" - Savory Vegetable Slaw, Roasted Red Pepper Coulis, and Ancho Chile Rémoulade" to start, and said it was quite good as well.  

For entrees, we did something we hardly EVER do --  we ordered the same thing: Oak-grilled Maine Diver Scallops - Pumpkin, Sage, Pecorino Romano and Mascarpone-laced Risotto di Carnarolli, with Proscuitto di Parma Cracklin'.  (When we were planning our meals, this was actually the dish on the menu that convinced me to give them another try.)

Oh my, oh my!  This was so, SO good.  The scallops were cooked perfectly -- they just seemed to melt in your mouth.  The risotto was amazing, and complemented the scallops perfectly.  And the cracklins!  Here's a bit of advice for you, my friends: if you ever have the chance to order a dish with ANY kind of "cracklin" listed as an ingredient -- DO IT.  If you don't, I might just hunt you down and smack you, because really, you've just done yourself a major disservice.  

L-R: Mozzarella Salad, Crab Cake, Scallops, Banana Napoleon

My dessert was the "Signature Flying Fish Café Caramelized Banana Napoleon - phyllo, banana mousse, creme caramel, exotic fruit coulis and bitter chocolate".  Very yummy, although I found it a little difficult to eat -- all the stuff in the phyllo keps squishing out, so it became kind of messy and hard to get a nice bite with everything on it.  I can't remember for the life of me what Jon had for his dessert -- I'll have to consult with him and get back with that one.  

We received personalized "Happy Anniversary" menus, which we got to keep, and a complimentary glass of champagne each -- both very nice touches that made the evening a little more special.



After a relaxing evening, and a delicious meal, we headed back to our resort.  The day of travelling had worn us down, and a good night's sleep was in order before we hit the parks the next day.

So, more on that vacation.

We went down to Walt Disney World for a few days, then on a cruise (the replacement trip for the Alaskan cruise we were supposed to take w/Mom and Dad this June... clearly that one wasn't going to happen!).

At WDW, we had originally booked our favorite resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge, but at the last minute, I had a change of heart and switched to the Polynesian...I've always wanted to stay there and it's on the monorail line. Jon didn't care where we stayed :) Anyway, we booked the most basic, bottom of the ladder room there... standard garden view, nothing fancy. When we checked in, we found out we'd been upgraded to a Magic Kingdom view concierge level room... HOLY COW! We both were stunned! I mean, since I worked there, I know upgrades are VERY few and far between, but to have an upgrade of those proportions -- unheard of!

Here's the view we had from our room:





We had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Jiko, 2x while we were there...that was a treat.

After that, we drove down to Ft Lauderdale and met Mom and Dad for the cruise on Saturday, which was also fantastic.

We went to the Western Caribbean (Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Princess Cays), and we only even got off the boat 1x. A lot of the excursions that we would normally want to do, I couldn't do since I'm knocked up...we had 2 excursions booked, one w/the Jamaican dogsled dogs, which we had to cancel beforehand since we found out I couldn't do it (I have no idea why... I wasn't actually going to be RIDING the freaking dogsled). The other was a submarine ride, and when we got to our cabin, we found our that one had been cancelled by the tour operator! Oh well :) We ate a lot, gambled a lot, napped a lot, played a LOT of Scrabble (yeah, we're dorks)... just had a wonderful time.

Here's a couple of cruise pics:

Buskers in Ocho Rios


Sunset


And one more from WDW, just because...

The geosphere in Epcot