Trip Report An Anniversary, a Birthday and no kid

Well we are here. Today will be full day number two. I'm just sitting here waiting for DH to wake up. We've had two very early mornings and decided to take it easy and go into EP a little later.

Weather has been great. A little shower yesterday but we missed it since we were in the Utilidor. Yes, the Utilidor. We had our KTTK tour yesterday. Lots of fun and cool info. I'll do a whole review later on.

Check IN at POFQ was smooth no waiting. No problems with the MBs yet either.Upgraded to river view in building 6 first floor. Lovely! I'd sent in a faxed request and truly did get what I asked for. The resort is beautiful and very quiet.

We've been to AK, just a couple of hours, and MK for Wishes and rides and then back to MK for the day yesterday. Headed to EP today. Sleeping in a but since we have FPs to Soarin that are good until 10. I'm liking these FPs and was able to change one easily on my phone yesterday. (It was actually easy and BTMRR was still available late in the day).

Excited for today. I'm doing pick a pearl in WS and then we have dinner at Sanaa and I'm telling DH about our Wild Africa Trek tour that we are taking tomorrow. Plus, it's cake day. We'll see how that turned out.

 

[Betsyboo]

Monday, February 24th - California Grill

Ok, my expectations were set pretty high for this one. I'd read about the refurb, worried about the menu and actually cancelled the first ADR I'd gotten only to have regretted it later (see Pre-Trip). Do I use the DDP, do I not? Do we go all out and order whatever?

Since we were staying at POFQ we took the bus to MK and walked the short walk over to the Contempo. I'd never been in the resort other than on the Monorail and had expected to check out the murals etc. before our ADR time. We wanted to figure out where we needed to go so we found the check in desk, we were about 40 minutes early. Much to our surprise they took us up early. I wasn't sure what to expect but found the décor beautiful.

Ok, I should be inserting lots of pictures of the dining room etc. but, much to my dismay we weren't seated in the main dining area - there goes my expectation of seeing Wishes! from our table. But...... We were seated in the Monterey room which actually overlooks Bay Lake and the pools on the opposite side of the Contempo. Was I disappointed at that point, yes a little, but it really did get better.

We had a lovely CM, again, I'm terrible with names. I should look at my receipt!

She took our drink order - for me a Monte Ray, my DH had a beer (that will be a trend, I can't remember the names of the beer but to me, it's just beer). I thought I had a separate picture of my drink and our appetizer but I guess not. So here's both. We had the meatballs served with orzo and olives. OMGosh delish!

The bad food pictures will continue. Sorry. I'm not the greatest photog and this dining room was dark.

By the time our appetizer was out and we'd had a few bites it was time for Wishes! Our CM had explained that since we weren't going to see W! from our seats we could go out to either of the observation decks. She said the one to the left (when looking at MK) really had the better view but the one to the right was actually closer, and more crowded. They make a little announcement about 5 minutes prior to the start but we went out about 10 minutes before to secure a spot. Again, we didn't know what to expect.

I'm glad we chose the left side. As crowded as the dining room was I really thought there'd be more people on the deck but I'm still glad we went out a little early.

They do pipe in the music and then it started!

LIke I said, I'm not the best but you get the idea. It was really cool seeing the Castle, Beast's Castle and Space Mountain all together. After the show we made it back to our table.

Our CM (do you call them that at the restaurants?) had sprinkled our table with Mickey Confetti! CG was the ONLY restaurant that did anything out of the ordinary for us in regard to our Anniversary or DHs Birthday. And I ordered another drink - the Twisted Mai Tai.

Another rummy drink but this one was pretty strong and I don't normally have drinks at dinner.

Our entrees soon followed. I ordered the Bison and DH ordered the Filet.

I can't say enough about the bison. It was wonderful. The whole plate was wonderful. Melt in your mouth good. I even ate the brussel sprouts. They were that good. There were also a variety of mushrooms and a delish sauce. I'm not a foodie so I have no idea what everything was called but I call it GOOD! DHs beef was also delicious but I'd say I had a larger portion than he did.

Ok, I'm almost done but I can't upload anymore pics to this post.

 

[Betsyboo]

As I said before our CM mentioned our Anniversary and Birthday celebrations right off the bat and after our entrees she brought out crème brulees for both of us. It was really nice and thoughtful. I know they probably do this for everyone, in fact I know they did if for a couple at another table but it really was a nice touch and it made me happy.

It was wonderful but since we were on the DDP we just had to try another of the dessert offerings and also chose the ice cream sundae sampler.

The presentation of the sampler was really cute but I wasn't a fan of their "take on a sundae". Give me some ice cream and some hot fudge and I'm a happy camper. This was of course upscale and fancy. Don't get me wrong, it was good but just not my thing.

Remember when I said that our table location got better? Well, we were able to see the fireworks from Illuminations AND the water pageant from our table. It was great. Wishes, Illuminations and the Water Pageant. You can't see all those in one evening, or I guess you could if you really booked it from EP or MK to the other, but we didn't even have to travel.

I was pleased that we chose to try CG. It was a wonderful meal. The setting was romantic, especially being in the separate dining room, and we experienced a new restaurant. Would I go again? Yes. Will we go on the next trip? Probably not. I think it's a special occasion place for us. It was still an expensive meal even on the DDP - appetizer, drinks and tips - but I think for our celebrations it was worth it.

The restaurant was beautiful and the food was good and that's what it's all about.

Here's a bad picture of the view of the pool and the lights from the WL in the distance.

 

[Betsyboo]

So where was I? Yes, we'd finished up a delicious dinner at CG. Tuesday was our Epcot day but we slept in a bit since we had our FP+ for Soarin from 9-10.

Tuesday, February 25th - Epcot

We love Epcot. I love WS and all the food and fun. We had the FP+ for Soarin and then because of the glitch of a few weeks ago we also had one for TT.

I'll say that Soarin is my DHs fave but I'm in the camp with those that think we need an update. TT was ok too but I don't care for the remodel. The designing of the car doesn't do anything for me and on this ride non of the audio worked. Sound effects did but there wasn't any of the talking telling you what obstacles/tests you're going through. I'm pretty sure that even after the remodel there was still audio.

After the couple of rides we headed over to WS and we were able to see several of the topiaries and garden items going up for the F&G Festival.

We had lunch at Chefs de France and I will say it was probably my favorite meal of the trip. Not sure why but it was nice sitting by the windows and enjoying a meal. Our waiter, Thomas, was wonderful. I'm proud of myself for remembering his name!

We both had the Prix Fixe menu and I had the quiche and DH had the croque monsieur. Both were wonderful. I had the strawberry crème cake and DH had the mousse. I also tried the signature drink, St. Germain Cocktail, and it was very refreshing. It would be wonderful on a hot summer day.

 

[Betsyboo]

Tuesday continued - Epcot

We continued touring Epcot through the early afternoon. I can't imagine how beautiful all the flowers are for the Festival but I'm glad we were able to see several of the displays.

Woody was in the American Pavilion.

Lady and the Tramp were in Italy.

Snow White and all Seven Dwarves were in Germany. I have pictures of all but thought I'd share just a couple.

By this time we were ready for a rest and change of clothing before heading to Sanaa for dinner.

 

[Betsyboo]

I'm honestly having trouble finishing this thing up! Not sure why. Let's see what I can get done today.

 

[Betsyboo]

Tuesday, February 25th - Sanaa Dinner

Originally I'd book Boma but my DH thought we should try Sanaa. He wasn't too thrilled with the buffet. I'll reserve my opinion until the end of the post.

Since we were staying at POFQ we didn't have a direct route to Kidani Village at AKL. It was a nice evening so we took the riverboat from POFQ to DTD and then caught a bus. I love the little cruise on the river. Always relaxing and pretty. I will say at the time of evening I was surprised at how crowded the boat was.

We arrived at Kidani Village and were in awe of the lobby. Just beautiful.

We took the stairs down to the outside viewing area. I can't describe how beautiful the area was. I hope that one day we can stay at the resort. What a great way to begin and end a day by watching animals from your balcony.

We checked in for our ADR at Sanaa and went to the bar to relax and have a drink while we waited.

So many of you that followed along on my PT report remember that the Wild Africa Trek Tour that we will be doing on Wednesday was a surprise for my DH. I WAS able to keep it a secret. I amazed myself. I'd typed up a little blurb about the tour and took it with us and snuck it in my bag on our way out for dinner. While we were at the bar I handed it to him.

He was thrilled. Really excited. I was so pleased with myself and really excited to be taking the tour the next day. We were seated shortly thereafter.

Ok, I'll say this time I was happy with our table for 2. Things were looking up. Sanaa is a beautiful restaurant with a variety of tables.

We quickly ordered the bread service with all nine sauces. Delicious. It was the best part of the meal. Go for all nine if you order it. I found the sauces they called "sweet" to just be mild, other than the mango chutney one and it was sweet. My least favorite was the one in the picture between the greet and brown one. Again, I'm terrible in remember the names of everything.

I don't have pictures of our entrees. Not sure why. Here's where we realized we aren't fans of Indian/African food. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't us. We both had the Slow Cooked in Gravy, Well Seasoned dishes. I had the Spicy Durban Shrimp and Short Ribs, DH chose the Spicy Durban Chicken and the fish selection. Ok, before I ordered the shrimp I did ask how spicy it was. Our waitress said hot wing spicy. Nope, I'd say four alarm fire spicy. Like I was dragging it across my plate to remove spice spicy. My husband was ok with his choices and the short ribs were good. Our waitress did realize I was struggling and offered to bring me something else. I went with the butter chicken. Much better. It really was good.

Now by this time I'm getting nervous because I still have one surprise to go. The CAKE. I'd planned a cake for a while and this restaurant was the best fit for a delivery. The CM I ordered from and I had a bit of a language barrier during the ordering. She having a heavy accent from Africa and me with my WV twang. I really wasn't sure what to expect. The waitress was trying not to give the surprise away but DH knew something was up. She'd cleared the table, brought out napkins and forks but didn't offer dessert. And then....

Ok. I was happy with the results. Was it exactly what I was expecting? Not really. There had been mention of screen printing which I honestly wasn't thrilled about and then some comments about chocolate animals from the CM. The screen printing was adding cost to the cake so when I didn't see it I was actually happy. The masks and chocolate animal cutouts were really cute. The giraffe printed hearts on the front were a nice touch. Was it worth the final cost? Probably not. It was a good chocolate cake but not the best I've ever had. My DH was surprised and really liked the cake and that was the point. Here we are enjoying the cake.

Ok. Would I go to Sanaa again? Probably not. Would I recommend someone try it? Yes. I think we will try Boma next time for the variety. I'm really glad we took the time to travel over to Sanaa. The resort is beautiful, as were the animals and the restaurant. Our return trip to POFQ took about 40 minutes. Bus to MK and then bus to POFQ. I think if we do try Boma we will likely do a lunch and travel from AK to AKL and back to AK.

Thanks for reading along - or is anyone reading this?

My next post will be about WAT tour and Ohana.

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

So where was I? Yes, we'd finished up a delicious dinner at CG. Tuesday was our Epcot day but we slept in a bit since we had our FP+ for Soarin from 9-10.

Tuesday, February 25th - Epcot

We love Epcot. I love WS and all the food and fun. We had the FP+ for Soarin and then because of the glitch of a few weeks ago we also had one for TT.

I'll say that Soarin is my DHs fave but I'm in the camp with those that think we need an update. TT was ok too but I don't care for the remodel. The designing of the car doesn't do anything for me and on this ride non of the audio worked. Sound effects did but there wasn't any of the talking telling you what obstacles/tests you're going through. I'm pretty sure that even after the remodel there was still audio.

After the couple of rides we headed over to WS and we were able to see several of the topiaries and garden items going up for the F&G Festival.

View attachment 48188 View attachment 48189 View attachment 48187

We had lunch at Chefs de France and I will say it was probably my favorite meal of the trip. Not sure why but it was nice sitting by the windows and enjoying a meal. Our waiter, Thomas, was wonderful. I'm proud of myself for remembering his name!

We both had the Prix Fixe menu and I had the quiche and DH had the croque monsieur. Both were wonderful. I had the strawberry crème cake and DH had the mousse. I also tried the signature drink, St. Germain Cocktail, and it was very refreshing. It would be wonderful on a hot summer day.

View attachment 48183 View attachment 48184 View attachment 48185 View attachment 48186

Wow! That food looks amazing! I want to eat there next time!

 

[Betsyboo]

Wow! That food looks amazing! I want to eat there next time!

Chefs de France was my hands down favorite lunch of the trip. It's probably behind only Cali Grill for the best meal we had. I'd definitely give it a try. If you aren't on the DDP the Prix Fixe menu is the way to go.

 

[SarahBella82]

Reading! Thanks for sharing your trip report. Looking forward to the WAT narrative.

 

[Betsyboo]

Reading! Thanks for sharing your trip report. Looking forward to the WAT narrative.

Thanks! I hope to make some serious headway on this TR over the next couple of days! I have a new countdown but need to finish this up before I start a Pre TR. Thanks for following along.

 

[FlaggNL]

Wow what a great happy 15 yr cake!!!! Also following along and curious for the rest

 

[Betsyboo]

Wednesday, February 26th - Wild Africa Trek and Ohana

So, after surprising DH with the Wild Africa Trek tour last night we were up bright and early catching the bus from POFQ to AK. We were at the bus stop by 7am as AK opened at 8am and they said to be at AK no later than 7:45 or the tour would leave without us. We had plenty of time but I am always nervous knowing I have a deadline and I paid quite a bit for the tour and I wasn't going to miss it.

We arrived and had time to call our DS on FaceTime as he was out for yet another snow day back at home.

There was a bit of confusion on where to stand and wait for the tour but pretty soon our tour guides came out and started checking us in for trip. There were only seven of us there at sign up and promptly at 7:45 we took of on our adventure. I've been in MK pre-rope drop but never in AK. It was so nice no crowds no one blocking the view of the Tree of Life. Beautiful. All week I'd been worried about morning showers that had been predicted but thankfully it was great weather although a little chilly.

We quickly walked to the WAT entrance which happens to be right beside the KS entrance.

We were each given a locker to store our belongings. Only items that can be attached to our vest could be taken along. Everyone was weighed as there is a maximum weight of 300lbs including gear. We were then harnessed in and double checked. Given our metal water bottles that doubled as a souvenir and our headsets. Again, the headsets came in very handy for hearing everything the guides have to say.

I'll post the pics taken by the WAT tour guides as well as my favorites from our camera.

 

[Betsyboo]

The following pictures are just a few of those taken by the guides on our Trek. In all we received 183 images. I believe you were once mailed a disc of all the pictures. Now you are given a code to use to go online to download the photos you want or all of them whichever you choose. That does include individual shots of the other couples/families on the tour. I'll post those that show the most about the tour and then a couple of my favorites.

Here we are at the start of our tour. We entered here but soon took a path off the walking trail through a locked gate and headed towards the hippos.

Here we are harnessed in above the Hippo area.

And on to the rope bridges.

After our rope bridge adventure we loaded up in a truck for part of the normal KS tour. The vehicles were much smaller and could easily pull over to the side of the "roads" to let us get closer to the animals.

The giraffes were out in full force today. Seven were near us at one point. They even took a fun run around the savannah at one point. I have to say giraffes running is a funny sight to see.

After our animal viewing we headed to our brunch. I have some pretty good pictures of our food that I'll post next time.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Tuning in here! Seems like you guys are having a wonderful trip so far for the most part!
Loved hearing your take on CG our anniversary dinner is here for our trip in May! I've never eaten there and I am so excited to try it! I didn't even realize there was another seating area! Glad you got to see all three wishes, Illuminations and Water Pageant!!!!

I want to try Sanaa..I've tried Boma, probably won't go back anytime soon, but I would give it another go sometime. Sanaa is on the list to try someday! And I thought the cake was pretty cute and love the wording! Liked what you did there since you were going on the Wild Africa Trek! That looks pretty fun!

I've done the Keys to the Kingdom Tour a few years back and it doesn't seem like much has changed at all. Wish they would change it every few years!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

And love the tshirt from Hottopic! I don't own that one but I own many many of the tank tops and a few tshirts as well as a Little Mermaid dress Basically in May my whole wardrobe will probably be from Hot Topic haha.

 

[Betsyboo]

I'm trying my best to get this TR finished. Hopefully over the next couple of days. I think I have Ohana dinner and two HS days and an EP evening to go. I sooooo want to start on my PTR for November but I vow not to start it until I'm finished with this one. I did make a really cool photobook on Shutterfly of our WAT tour. I may see if I can post a link to it.

 

[Betsyboo]

Here are a few of my favorites that either DH or I took during the tour.

The first step was a doozy!

Hungry hungry hippo.

So cool to see the KS vehicle under me.

Are you talking to me?

View out onto the savannah from the pavilion.

Our food! It was amazing and delicious. I wasn't sure how it would be but I tried it all and was pleasantly surprised. This is the morning menu. Jungle juice (I think it's the same that they serve at Tusker House), yogurt with granola and dried fruit, fruit salad, brie with dried apricots. The orchid was in the middle of the top dish. Dried beef and prosciutto, fig bars and smoked salmon with a relish underneath along with bread. They bring the food along on the trek in coolers and then the guides set up all the tables and food "buckets" as I called them while we were taking in the view. There ARE restrooms at the pavilion so we were able to take a break and also wash up.

This is the white rhino we saw from the boardwalk at the pavilion. They'd trimmed up his horn recently.

I can't say enough about this tour. It's definitely something everyone should have on their Disney bucket list.

 

[Betsyboo]

Wednesday, February 26th - Post Trek

I'd made our FPP choices for the afternoon and we'd made no lunch plans so we set off to wander. We were pretty full after the meal and weren't hungry enough for a full lunch so DH grabbed a jalapeno pretzel and I opted for the candied pecans. We also took a little break and did some people watching near the exit of Kali River Rapids. It wasn't more than 70 degrees that day and it wasn't sunny. The poor people coming off that ride were drenched! No thank you. Even a poncho didn't seem to help.

We had a FPP scheduled for EE but found only a 20 minute wait when we arrived. We were pretty much finished with AK for the day anyway so we switched all of our FPP to MK and hit the standby line.

Ok. I think I make this same face every time we ride EE. Notice the two behind us. I'm screaming, the little girl is all thumbs up.

Since we were all finished and we had dinner at Ohana that evening we decided to head back to the room and take a break, change and head to MK. It was a good plan as it was about to rain (ie downpour) and we'd hoped to miss it all.

Well, after getting up and on the bus at 7am I was worn out. I guess I was the only one who though we were napping but I think I only slept for 20 minutes or so and then we were on our way again. It was raining.

It wasn't just raining, it was RAINING and very windy. The plus side, every bus that came was packed full of people leaving the parks. I think two others got on the bus with us for the ride to MK. It was about 3:30 or 4 at this point. I was hoping for a very empty MK.

Ok, a few hours at MK are up next followed by Ohana. I'll go ahead and let you know there will be NO food pictures from Ohana. It's gonna be a long post.

 

[Betsyboo]

Ok. Sorry this is taking me FOREVER!!!

So, we headed to MK and were able to walk right on to most anything. Rain does clear out MK pretty quickly. We were finally able to get a couple of castle pics without the crane.

After a few rides we decided we'd head over to the Poly for our Ohana dinner. Ok, we were early which seemed to be a theme with us this trip. I think we arrived around 7:30 for an 8:10 ADR. I'd had the idea that we'd check in and then head down to the Poly beach for Wishes at 8. I'd heard that Ohana wasn't always on time for ADRs so I didn't think it would be a problem. Well, it was raining. And raining. We hopped on the monorail and took a loop around hoping to burn some time. I'd wanted to stop and explore the GF a bit but didn't think we'd have time (I was really wrong about that). After coming back to the Poly we were both so hungry. HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY. We knew to anticipate a lot of food so we'd not eaten since our food at the WAT tour other than a small snack. I was afraid to have a Lapu Lapu which had also been in my plans since I had an empty stomach. I didn't want to be the entertainment for the waiting area LOL. While I think about it, let's talk about the waiting area, or zoo as I call it. Really it was the parents that were the problem. Kids were everywhere, under everything and on top of everything. There is a ton of seating in the waiting area but when most is being crawled over or jumped on by little ones it's kind of hard to sit.

Sorry to be a downer but this was our least favorite meal of the entire trip. Not really because of the food but because of the waiting and the waiting area.

Back to our ADR. Anyhoo, our ADR time was 8:10. I didn't really think that time through really well. Since Wishes was at 8pm everyone that was seated at the time stayed seated until Wishes was over which caused all the ADRs after that time to back up. So, not only was a hungry, I was becoming HANGRY. That would be angry and hungry. 8:30 came and went, 8:45 and 8:50. I'd reached my limit. Went to the reservation desk for the second time. We were going to be next. Finally at 9pm we were seated. I get it. Wishes etc. but 50 minutes was too long of a wait. I cannot imagine having children with me and having to wait that long. Seemed to be an issue with tables of two though as several other couples seemed to be in the never ending waiting game.

I do see one other reason the wait may be long. They seem to wait until they can seat about 4 tables at the same time which helps them in serving the food.

So enough complaining. The food was good. I'm not much of a salad person but I really enjoyed everything else. The portions were huge, especially the noodles and veggies. My favorite meat was the chicken and my least favorite was the shrimp. Dessert was wonderful. Sorry no food pics. By the time we were seated all I could think about was eating.

I do plan on giving Ohana another try. Earlier in the evening may be a better idea.

My next post will be about Thursday and Friday. Our two FAVORITE days of the trip.

Here are a couple of pictures to tide you over.

 

[SarahBella82]

I'm loving your report and looking forward to your next update.

 

[LisaBelle]

Enjoying your report. Can't wait to read more!