Dulcee
12-31-2012, 09:01 AM
Thursday December 13th
Today was a bit of a slower start of a morning. While I can easily get up and go by 7 every morning DH isn't an early riser so I tried to give him a break. By 9 we were up and headed to the Poly for breakfast at Kona Cafe.
Breakfast was good. I had the macadamia nut and pineapple pancakes, DH the big Kahuna platter. We also each the special juice whose name is alluding me but was the highlight of breakfast.
After breakfast we decided to leave the car at the Poly and take the monorail over to MK. (Side note...the last time I went with my parents, quite a few years ago, and you parked at a resort other then your own they gave you a pass only good for 3 or 4 hours. They weren't doing that anymore...is this always the case? Or just because it was a low crowd time?)
We headed into the MK by 10 or so hit Buzz (DH won as always), Space Mountain (I've never ridden in the front, that was awesome!) and grabbed a fastpass for Winnie the Pooh. It was time to use our other fast pass plusses. We headed over to the New Fantasyland and rode Ariel. The ride was cute and well done and it was fun seeing something for the first time.
Finally got to ride Small World. DH has a special dislike of this ride and I can usually on get him to tolerate it once a trip. After we did Hall of Presidents, a first for DH and the first time I've seen in with our current President. Then we wandered back to fantasyland to use our fast pass plusses for Belle. Despite the fast pass we waited a good 30 minutes. A castmember came out to apologize that something was wrong but they were working on it.
Once we got in DH was quickly snagged as a suit of armor. We both enjoyed this experience more then I thought we would. We aren't big character meet people but this was really fun and we'd do it again. By now it was mid afternoon and we decided to head back to the resort to clean up and grab some lunch.
Headed into the food court at French Quarter. DH got a pizza that left a lot to be desired and I was able to use a snack credit for a cup of jambalaya which was surprisingly good. Back to our room to nap for a bit. After the original plan was to hit AK for a bit but neither of us felt much like doing all that walking, especially since we had Christmas Party tickets for later tonight. We opted to take the boat to Downtown Disney before our dinner reservations.
The boat to Downtown Disney is one of my favorite aspects of staying at Port Orleans. We headed downtown, did some shopping then grabbed a bus to the AK Lodge for dinner. DH had never been to the AK lodge before (I had stayed there previously with my parents) and was blown away. It really is such a gorgeous resort. We wandered out back and saw the pelicans being fed. Also go to see giraffe and several different antelope species.
Then it was time for our reservation at Jiko. We were seated at a quiet table next to the glass by the pond. A card for our honeymoon signed by the staff was at the table. Our waitress, I think it was Wendy, was awesome. While looking at the menu she remarked that DH looked scared. A fair bet since the menu was making him a bit nervous at first. We ordered a bottle of wine and for appetizers we had the wild boar over a roasted vegetable chutney and the chicken flatbread. Both were delicious. The wild boar was amazingly soft and tender. DH ended up sopping up the roasted vegetable mix with the bread.
For our entrees I had the duck which was absolutely divine. It was perfectly cooked to a medium rare and had this gorgeous spice rubbed crust on it. DH had a filet mignon that he hasn't stopped talking about since. It melted in your mouth. It came over a bed of almost a barley which was fantastic and he special ordered the mac and cheese on the side.
Even though we were stuffed we moved into dessert. I had the deconstructed kit kat. DH had the sweet potato bread pudding. They also brought out a mini creme brulee with a candle in it as a congratulations. The meal was nothing short of amazing. Every meal the rest of the trip was compared to it.
Despite being stuffed and comfy from dinner we headed out and grabbed a bus to the MK for the Christmas party. Main Street was very pretty all lite up but we walked in right before the start of the first parade so it was packed. We decided to hit Pirates again and walked through the entire line without seeing another person which was a pretty cool experience. However once we boarded we encountered the first of several obnoxious groups of teenagers of the night.
After pirates we tried to get on big thunder mountain but it was down due to technical difficulties. We headed over to Haunted Mansion and waited about 20 minutes to get on, lines were getting long! After we decided to grab a spot for Wishes. Ended up finding a spot near the Crystal Palace where we could sit. DH went in search of cocoa and cookies (I honestly don't know where he puts everything he eats). The preshow and fireworks were good but to be honest I prefer regular wishes more.
After the fireworks we sat tight to let the groups dissipate some. By now it was starting to get a bit cold for my blood but we decided to try for big thunder mountain once more. Still down. Pulled out our ponchos and compliments of the cold, walked right onto Splash which was fun in the dark. After we decided we were both beat. It had been a very, very long day. We caught the tail end of the parade and headed back home.
Today was a bit of a slower start of a morning. While I can easily get up and go by 7 every morning DH isn't an early riser so I tried to give him a break. By 9 we were up and headed to the Poly for breakfast at Kona Cafe.
Breakfast was good. I had the macadamia nut and pineapple pancakes, DH the big Kahuna platter. We also each the special juice whose name is alluding me but was the highlight of breakfast.
After breakfast we decided to leave the car at the Poly and take the monorail over to MK. (Side note...the last time I went with my parents, quite a few years ago, and you parked at a resort other then your own they gave you a pass only good for 3 or 4 hours. They weren't doing that anymore...is this always the case? Or just because it was a low crowd time?)
We headed into the MK by 10 or so hit Buzz (DH won as always), Space Mountain (I've never ridden in the front, that was awesome!) and grabbed a fastpass for Winnie the Pooh. It was time to use our other fast pass plusses. We headed over to the New Fantasyland and rode Ariel. The ride was cute and well done and it was fun seeing something for the first time.
Finally got to ride Small World. DH has a special dislike of this ride and I can usually on get him to tolerate it once a trip. After we did Hall of Presidents, a first for DH and the first time I've seen in with our current President. Then we wandered back to fantasyland to use our fast pass plusses for Belle. Despite the fast pass we waited a good 30 minutes. A castmember came out to apologize that something was wrong but they were working on it.
Once we got in DH was quickly snagged as a suit of armor. We both enjoyed this experience more then I thought we would. We aren't big character meet people but this was really fun and we'd do it again. By now it was mid afternoon and we decided to head back to the resort to clean up and grab some lunch.
Headed into the food court at French Quarter. DH got a pizza that left a lot to be desired and I was able to use a snack credit for a cup of jambalaya which was surprisingly good. Back to our room to nap for a bit. After the original plan was to hit AK for a bit but neither of us felt much like doing all that walking, especially since we had Christmas Party tickets for later tonight. We opted to take the boat to Downtown Disney before our dinner reservations.
The boat to Downtown Disney is one of my favorite aspects of staying at Port Orleans. We headed downtown, did some shopping then grabbed a bus to the AK Lodge for dinner. DH had never been to the AK lodge before (I had stayed there previously with my parents) and was blown away. It really is such a gorgeous resort. We wandered out back and saw the pelicans being fed. Also go to see giraffe and several different antelope species.
Then it was time for our reservation at Jiko. We were seated at a quiet table next to the glass by the pond. A card for our honeymoon signed by the staff was at the table. Our waitress, I think it was Wendy, was awesome. While looking at the menu she remarked that DH looked scared. A fair bet since the menu was making him a bit nervous at first. We ordered a bottle of wine and for appetizers we had the wild boar over a roasted vegetable chutney and the chicken flatbread. Both were delicious. The wild boar was amazingly soft and tender. DH ended up sopping up the roasted vegetable mix with the bread.
For our entrees I had the duck which was absolutely divine. It was perfectly cooked to a medium rare and had this gorgeous spice rubbed crust on it. DH had a filet mignon that he hasn't stopped talking about since. It melted in your mouth. It came over a bed of almost a barley which was fantastic and he special ordered the mac and cheese on the side.
Even though we were stuffed we moved into dessert. I had the deconstructed kit kat. DH had the sweet potato bread pudding. They also brought out a mini creme brulee with a candle in it as a congratulations. The meal was nothing short of amazing. Every meal the rest of the trip was compared to it.
Despite being stuffed and comfy from dinner we headed out and grabbed a bus to the MK for the Christmas party. Main Street was very pretty all lite up but we walked in right before the start of the first parade so it was packed. We decided to hit Pirates again and walked through the entire line without seeing another person which was a pretty cool experience. However once we boarded we encountered the first of several obnoxious groups of teenagers of the night.
After pirates we tried to get on big thunder mountain but it was down due to technical difficulties. We headed over to Haunted Mansion and waited about 20 minutes to get on, lines were getting long! After we decided to grab a spot for Wishes. Ended up finding a spot near the Crystal Palace where we could sit. DH went in search of cocoa and cookies (I honestly don't know where he puts everything he eats). The preshow and fireworks were good but to be honest I prefer regular wishes more.
After the fireworks we sat tight to let the groups dissipate some. By now it was starting to get a bit cold for my blood but we decided to try for big thunder mountain once more. Still down. Pulled out our ponchos and compliments of the cold, walked right onto Splash which was fun in the dark. After we decided we were both beat. It had been a very, very long day. We caught the tail end of the parade and headed back home.