"It was worth the wait" 2nd Disneymoon TR!!!

We are home from our week long magical trip, and it was soooooooooooooooooo worth it!!!:D

Who: Me & HB (Also known as Melissa & Jeremy)
This is Me...
302140_10100431955913913_179469753_n.jpg

& This is my HB:
58745_10100431955854033_776627828_n.jpg


Why a 2nd Disneymoon:
We started dating 20 years ago while we were in college, and we have been married for 18 years. After our wedding we scrapped together and saved for 5 years in order to go on our first honeymoon. Disney treated us like royalty, even on our tight budget trip...and we made a deal that we would come back and redo our honeymoon without worrying about the budget. We have had the opportunity to visit several times since, but never with just the two of us. Also, we began trying to have babies with no success, we finally adopted our children. With all of these changes in our lives we almost forgot about our promise to each other. My parents offered to watch our children so we can take a trip this year, and we knew it was time to fulfill a dream made many years ago.
Adoption Day 2007:
81_508406831703_9381_n.jpg


Where we stayed:
If we are doing a Deluxe Disney Trip, my only choice for a resort had to be....
421259_10100431951677403_2140392055_n.jpg

The Contemporary!!! Atrium Concierge Level!!!

We did the Disney Platinum Plan...and the perks were WORTH IT!!!
 
Click to expand...
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
Day One: September 21,2012

We awoke at 6am, packed the car, and was on the road by 6:30am. Our first stop was in Cordele, Georgia to drop our kids off with my parents (they were going camping for the weekend).

At 10:30am we were back on the road, and on our way to Walt Disney Word!!!!
264180_10100422991593483_1242292883_n.jpg

This was pretty much my view for the next 4 hours...hehehe.

We stopped in Valdosta around 12pm for lunch at McAllister's...
Yummy Soup:
385721_10100431955604533_2032619577_n.jpg

Chicken Tortilla Soup, nice and spicy

Back on the road, and we arrived in Orlando at 4pm. We checked into to the Holiday Inn for the night. After freshening up we headed to Downtown Disney for a dose of reality :cool:.

Of course my favorite first meal at Disney had to come from Earl of Sandwich:
249583_10100431955749243_908666677_n.jpg

Italian Sandwich and House Salad with Balsamic Vinegarette...Yummm
30340_10100431955809123_1904699959_n.jpg


And of course, how do you top off a great first meal?????

Ghiradelli.....Presidio Passion
254587_10100431956098543_735977136_n.jpg

251174_10100431956028683_1654034652_n.jpg

393624_10100431955958823_34033517_n.jpg


This week was off to a great start......:cool:.....Tune in tomorrow, for my report on our arrival at the Contemporary, and our first day at the Magic Kingdom!!!
 
6laurac

6laurac

Well-Known Member
I love Ghiradelli!!! They have the best hot fudge sundaes and their samples are savored. Looking forward to more of your report.
 
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the great comments everyone....are you ready for Day Two??? This is when the fun really begins....:p
 
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
Day Two - Checking In at the Contemporary, Opening at the Magic Kingdom, and Dinner at Downtown Disney

This was a truly magical day!!!! We arrived at the Contemporary at 6:50am, our parking pass was waiting on us, but we were just a bit early for the Concierge desk, they came on duty at 7am. We were escorted up to the 12th floor at 7am, since I had already checked-in online, so this process went fast. Although our room was not ready, we enjoyed breakfast in the concierge lounge...
552053_10100425032119253_1590844573_n.jpg
307714_10100425032333823_760317788_n.jpg


After breakfast we explored the Concierge level and the hotel a bit...

298640_10100425032268953_531813805_n.jpg

View from the lounge
385609_10100431961407903_913810257_n.jpg
302124_10100431961527663_297618339_n.jpg
189338_10100431961717283_776831428_n.jpg
46540_10100431951203353_1286456816_n.jpg
283429_10100431951158443_1116013373_n.jpg
398207_10100431951118523_2047049560_n.jpg
229972_10100431951023713_74040151_n.jpg


When the monorail opened we ventured on to the Magic Kingdom...

Once we got in we were able to walk straight to, and had no wait on the Haunted Mansion...then over to get pics with Donald...and then walked on to Splash Mountain (No wait & it did not break down). All of this took a total of 1 hour...there were no crowds!!!!!

HB & I had been to the Magic Kingdom several times, but somehow we had never partaken of a phenomenal treat called the DOLE WHIP....thanks to several recommendations (@Crush Dude! and @real mad hatter) we corrected this oversight immediately...

218096_10100425032528433_925363379_n.jpg
250133_10100425032618253_1881368498_n.jpg


These were AMAZING!!!!! And will be on my list from now on....

After playing around on the Pirates, then moving over to future world to enjoy the Laugh Floor & Buzz Lightyear (twice)...we decided to try another suggestion...

Casey's
403341_10100425032658173_921636221_n.jpg
548195_10100425032802883_1521682981_n.jpg

Unfortunately, this was my first fail this trip (sorry @Crush Dude! & Hatter)....no where on the menu did it list onions in the relish (major issue for me due to a food allergy!!!) HB said they were okay for hotdogs, but not our best meal.
 
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
We got our text message about our room number by this time, and decided to go back to the hotel and relax before dinner. The room & view was PERFECT...(@ShookieJones here are some room pics for you)

255406_10100425032842803_1985403995_n.jpg
223045_10100425032887713_25557435_n.jpg
532150_10100425032912663_507930682_n.jpg
250168_10100425032947593_1481136185_n.jpg
299420_10100425032977533_298457347_n.jpg
534385_10100425033012463_517559610_n.jpg
403239_10100425033107273_1104903694_n.jpg
36308_10100425033137213_52628316_n.jpg
430467_10100425033222043_265147078_n.jpg
303221_10100425033396693_539208228_n.jpg
218164_10100425033446593_378237187_n.jpg
391738_10100425033501483_1958945393_n.jpg
486668_10100425033561363_1020208223_n.jpg
527815_10100425033621243_1010476996_n.jpg
 
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
Dinner was my favorite part of this day, I was not sure about Raglan Road before this day, but now it is permanently on my list!!!

189372_10100425033711063_57072767_n.jpg

196434_10100425033780923_39469011_n.jpg

Jeremy started with the Heritage Tomato Salad:
199248_10100425033840803_360956979_n.jpg

And I had the Tart Art:
408938_10100425033885713_1971373830_n.jpg


The entertainment started during our appetizers...
557125_10100425034479523_2041354046_n.jpg
246717_10100425034284913_1124874683_n.jpg


For our Entree's, Jeremy had the Heavenly Ham with the Raisin Reduction

198796_10100425034554373_1210866800_n.jpg


and I had the Pork Chop with Apple Chutney

69176_10100425034584313_2138294639_n.jpg


My dessert was good (The Dunbrody Kiss), but Jeremy's was AWESOME (Bread & Butter Pudding)

60158_10100425034614253_209368348_n.jpg

533860_10100425034689103_1309512798_n.jpg


After dinner we returned to our room in time to watch the Wishes Fireworks from our balcony, and retire for the evening. We had a great first day, with some wonderful food choices thanks to some advice from this forum. I can not say it enough, if you ever get a chance try RAGLAN ROAD....it was the best!!!!!!

Tune in tomorrow for the next installment in our adventure....however, let me caution you it was not our best day....and we have renamed a certain main attraction at the Animal Kingdom <insert HARD shudder>!!!!!
 
Tinkerbella16

Tinkerbella16

Well-Known Member
Awesome TR so far! Looks like we were in WDW at the same time! We had dinner at Raglan Road on Tuesday 9/25 and I can see our table from your pic with the dancer up on the middle stage! We sat right behind him, it was such a great meal and I also had the Bread Pudding for the first time.. WOW was that an amazing dessert!!!
 
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
tinkgrl1685 said:
Awesome TR so far! Looks like we were in WDW at the same time! We had dinner at Raglan Road on Tuesday 9/25 and I can see our table from your pic with the dancer up on the middle stage! We sat right behind him, it was such a great meal and I also had the Bread Pudding for the first time.. WOW was that an amazing dessert!!!
Click to expand...

It was amazing, I kept swiping bites from HB's plate...:)
 
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
Day Three - Animal Kingdom

This was a very interesting day...

We had breakfast ADR's for Kona Cafe, and that was well worth it!!!!

I had the Tonga Toast!!!! YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!
320410_10100425035387703_792608952_n.jpg

248410_10100425035442593_338452085_n.jpg


The Strawberry Compote was wonderful :p

HB had the Big Kahuna...The macadamia nut butter was really good.

383391_10100425035422633_1061709993_n.jpg


The breakfast was amazing, but our day went downhill from there......

We got to Animal Kingdom after opening, so we got in took a few pics, and walked over to dinosaur land. There was no wait at the Dinosaur ride, and so on we walked...not bad. It was not as loud as it had been in 1999 (the last time we rode it.). Let me take a moment and explain the bad luck we have had with the Animal Kingdom in our last 4 trips to WDW. In 1999 we were enjoying a day at AK when I sprained my ankle getting off the Dinosaur ride, I was very disoriented from the loud noises so we left AK early. In 2001, we took my 2 nieces and they both got sick after riding Kilamanjaro so we left AK early. In 2005 we took my Mom, and she became overheated and we had to leave AK early. In 2011 we took our children, and my youngest got sick at Donald's Breakfast so we had to leave AK early. (Starting to see a pattern?????)

We were okay getting off the Dinosaur, and feeling confident about breaking our AK streak. We were excited about the low lines and comfortable temperatures. We spotted the Prime Evil Whirl, we had never seen these ride, or knew anything about it, so of course we had to ride. Hmmmmm, a little disoriented but we are ok....HB is starting to regret the big breakfast, but we keep going on. The Finding Nemo show is about to start and there is only a 15 minute wait at Everest...so we decided to push our luck and do Everest before our lunch ADR.

I want to stop here and warn those with weak constitutions that the remainder of this update, and the renaming of the Everest ride is not for the faint of heart. You might want to skip to the next portion of my TR that focuses on our return to the resort.

Continuing on....due to our stubbornness or stupidity...jury is still out on that call....we decided to take on Everest. If it had been a normal up & down roller coaster I think HB would have survived, but the back & forth with jerking and vibration sent him over the edge. We did make it outside, past the shop, and over to the bushes before we were revisited by the Big Kahuna breakfast. Needless to say when he got himself under control we headed back to the resort...I think we will skip the AK on our next trip to the world.

EDIT: Sorry, I meant to explain our new name for Everest. You see we had ADR's for Yak & Yeti Restaurant following our Everest ride...well after HB's reaction we figured that was the Yak from the Yeti, and as such we will never be able to face that restaurant with out the negative memory....Yea we went there :oops::eek:
 
Joshua&CalebDad

Joshua&CalebDad

Well-Known Member
Mkgoulden said:
Continuing on....due to our stubbornness or stupidity...jury is still out on that call....we decided to take on Everest. If it had been a normal up & down roller coaster I think HB would have survived, but the back & forth with jerking and vibration sent him over the edge. We did make it outside, past the shop, and over to the bushes before we were revisited by the Big Kahuna breakfast. Needless to say when he got himself under control we headed back to the resort...I think we will skip the AK on our next trip to the world.

EDIT: Sorry, I meant to explain our new name for Everest. You see we had ADR's for Yak & Yeti Restaurant following our Everest ride...well after HB's reaction we figured that was the Yak from the Yeti, and as such we will never be able to face that restaurant with out the negative memory....Yea we went there :oops::eek:
Click to expand...

Ohhhh, wait wait I have another...Expedition Barf...or Expedition revisit Breakfast...soooo many to choose so little time....:p
 
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
With HB not feeling well, we went back to the resort. He took a nap, and I went shopping :rolleyes:.

I returned to the room to check on HB, and was getting a little hungry. So I ordered room service (especially when I found out that it is on the Dining Plan :cool:) It was delicious...

A nice appetizer of Shrimp & Crab Cocktail:
534363_10100426887371313_284914984_n.jpg


The main entree was a hamburger patty on Brioche with Sweet Potato Fries:
561531_10100426887416223_1481041031_n.jpg


The dessert was amazing...A Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee: Which was sooooo yummy I forgot to get a picture:confused:

HB did recover from our AK curse to venture out that evening. We had ADR's for Jiko...The Cooking Place. If you have never been, GOOOOOOO!!!!!! It was amazing atmosphere, service and food. I felt confident enough to have a glass of wine with supper, Jiko has the largest selection of South African wines outside of South Africa...that was a nice temptation. I ask our waitress to recommend a nice wine to go with my entree (shrimp), and it was superb...but, this moment will return with a haunting later in the evening!

Our Appetizers:
375785_10100426887431193_1326356546_n.jpg

I had the Taste of Africa App, know if you order this there will be 2 additional dips...just a reminder of my unique allergy (onions). The chef removed the dips which contained my arch nemesis.

557213_10100426887471113_1473977326_n.jpg

HB had the Asparagus Flatbread, he said it was amazing...I was not allowed to touch....CURSE YOU ONIONS!!!!

Let me take a moment to remark on the beauty of this restaurant...
253187_10100426887516023_797892504_n.jpg


The wall behind us would change colors throughout the night to reflect a South African Sunset...Gorgeous!!

Entrees:
564665_10100426887545963_230583980_n.jpg

HB had the Oak Fillet...perfect temperature and texture....YUMMY!!

419559_10100426887620813_1315114208_n.jpg

I had the Prawns on Saffron Rice....nice and spicy and beautiful with White Wine.

Dessert:
269133_10100426887665723_835585876_n.jpg

HB had the White Chocolate Cheesecake...it was good.

263995_10100426887705643_917649548_n.jpg

But I had the Creme Brulee with Diced Mangos......OH YEA>>>>IT WAS AWESOME!!!

So the evening appears to have ended on a positive note....ummmmm....yea, not quite!!!! Let me post another sensitivity warning in here again!! This is the first time I have tried to combine alcohol with my new diabetes medications.....hmmmmmm......note to self, medical warnings have definite meanings!!!!!

I began to fill shaky and nauseous upon our return to the resort, so a nice shower and time to turn in and I will feel better in the morning. Why is it the body loves to wake you up at the weirdest hours of the night to purge all contents of alcohol from your system, along with any lingering food which has the audacity to remain in your system at this point in the evening....yea my 3am wake-up call was a horrible reminder not to mix alcohol with my meds....thanks Karma, got the message....ugh!!!

Tune in tomorrow for a Hollywood Style day, full of fun! And no more illness!!!!!
 
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
Day Four - Disney's Hollywood Studios

After my 3am invitation from the Porcelain Goddess, I was not in the mood for a big breakfast. So we grabbed some delicious pastries and fresh fruit along with a soothing cup of peppermint tea from the concierge lounge. Oh Yea! Peppermint Tea is my new best friend...

We arrived at DHS after the opening, and wisely decided to avoid the trek to Tower of Terror and Rocking Roller Coaster. We grabbed Fast Pass for Toy Story, and then noticed the wait was under 15 minutes. Last year we were not able to make this ride due to the lines and lack of Fast Passes, so this was a special treat for us. The line was very cute and went so fast...
406414_10100426888304443_466076453_n.jpg

284378_10100426888164723_1853120500_n.jpg


The ride was worth the limited wait, and when we got off we walked right over to the Backlot Tour. The longest wait we had was 25 minutes the whole day.

We had lunch at The Brown Derby, it was good. The service was excellent, but the food left me a little underwhelmed.
74810_10100426890390263_2015788862_n.jpg


I started with the Bibb Salad with a Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil Dressing and HB had the Potato Leek Soup:
263877_10100426890415213_84135119_n.jpg

206376_10100426890485073_1647229983_n.jpg

The appetizers were good, but I was disappointed in the limited options for me with my allergy.

For our entrees I had the Fillet with grilled potatoes & asparagus, they were suppose to add a red wine reduction but the Chef forgot to add it. Meanwhile HB had the smothered porkchop.
422748_10100426890544953_495198846_n.jpg

580380_10100426890569903_38375195_n.jpg

I was very disappointed in the fillet, it was cooked to the perfect temperature for me, but the chef did not deliver on the seasoning to compensate for my allergy.

The desserts were very good, I had the Chocolate Banana Tower & HB had the Lemon Cheesecake with Honey Gingered Nest and Blueberries:
548092_10100426890604833_2058445871_n.jpg

229914_10100426890639763_1813865364_n.jpg


I loved our server, but the Chef may keep me from putting this one back on my list.

After lunch we played around at DHS until dinnertime. We watched the Muppets three times, the Great Movie Ride Twice, went back and rode Toy Story during our Fast Pass time. We toured throught some of the side buildings we normally never notice, and of course we went shopping. It was a nice peaceful day with little to no wait on most activities. We went to dinner at Sci-Fi Dine In, the food was good, but not memorable. We did not even photograph it because we were not impressed. We felt like the menu at Sci-Fi has been stripped down and was severely lacking.

After dinner we moved over to the Fantasmic Ampitheater. One of the perks of the Platinum Plan was reserved seating for Fantasmic in the VIP section. We had an AMAZING view!!!!!!!!!! After the show we ventured back to the resort. Today I was not impressed with the food options at DHS, I will need some new options for our next trip.

Tune in tomorrow for a better day...full of relaxation, and the best of what the Contemporary has to offer. Also, I will have a full report on our night of indulgence at Victoria & Alberts!!!
 
Mkgoulden

Mkgoulden

Active Member
Original Poster
My apologizes, but the Day 5 report has been temporarily interrupted. Apparently the combination of my DD wayward shoes, the close proximate of the marble slab on our fireplace, and my clumsy demeanor did not forecast a positive outcome. As a result, the pain mess are making me quite loopy, although that could make for some interesting descriptions of our Disneymoon. However, I will spare you my mind altered recollections, and will resume my normal postings tomorrow. Good-night to all
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom