Dinner at Kona Cafe

On Saturday, we went to Kona Cafe for dinner. My favorite! 

Our server, who was awesome, brought out our Hawaiian bread and macadamia nut butter. The bread was fresh and hot!

Marc ordered the teriyaki strip streak. Now they've changed the menu so that it includes sticky rice instead of mashed potatoes. Of course, Marc took all the credit for it, since that's the way he always orders it.

I ordered the shrimp and scallops meal and subbed mashed potatoes for sticky rice. It was yummy!

Marc ordered something different for dessert. He ordered the chocolate fondue dish that came with fresh fruit, macaroons, and other cookies. He said it was really good but very rich.

I gave the Kilauea Torte another try. The last time I ordered it, it was hard and dried out. That was not the case this time. It was warm and soft and gooey!

We had a wonderful meal! Our server was great and the food was out of this world!

A Day at Hollywood Studios

We knew we were in for something special when we saw this on our way into Hollywood Studios:

There was a HUGE line to the right, but we went past them and got in line at the turnstiles. (We were the second group in line!) Several minutes passed, and we heard some commotion overhead.  We backed up and saw a Storm Trooper standing on the roof:

There were several of them up there, and they put on a little show for everyone, but being that I've never seen Star Wars (gasp!), I had no idea what was going on. It was pretty cool, though. Later in the day, they had a Star Wars parade, and it was very, very strange interesting. I couldn't believe the amount of people, regular people not actors, that were dressed up in Star Wars costumes. Very odd!

As we were passing by the Star Wars parade line, Marc called me back to look at something. He found Lou who was from Branford, CT. Branford is a tiny, little shoreline community of about 28,000 people. (Compared to about 387,000 in Huntsville.) The odds of actually running into someone from Branford was pretty low, but they managed to find each other. 

They talked for awhile...diners they liked, people they knew, things they can/can't say in the South. It was hilarious! Lou was quite a guy!

We started to make our way over to Magic Kingdom to eat lunch and stopped for a minute to watch a street show. Before long, Marc and I got called into it to sing "You Are My Sunshine." Thank goodness we knew the words, because Marc plays that song on his ukulele all the time. After the show, we received our awards, which Marc is wearing but is covered by the uke. It was a plastic golden trophy...kinda like Mardi Gras beads. Very cute!

Marc also got a chance to play a uke with one of the performers. We always see this guy around the park, but since he was in the show, Marc got a chance to talk to him. It was funny, because he stayed in character the ENTIRE time! So funny!

We had a blast in Hollywood Studios today! 

Dinner at Cape May Cafe and a Relaxing Night In

On Friday night, we ate dinner at Cape May Cafe, Marc's favorite restaurant. I picked a Friday night when I made dinner reservations, because I knew they would have fried fish. It was really yummy the last time, so I was looking forward to it.

Guess what I saw when we walked in:

Crab legs!!!  I was in heaven! I absolutely love crab legs, especially when they are cooked correctly. And boy were they! They were absolutely perfect!

We enjoyed our dinner and had a great time!  After dinner, we both decided that we just wanted to go back to the resort and enjoy the night. Marc made some margaritas, and we spent the night relaxing. It was heavenly!

Of course, I had to check Facebook while I was enjoying my drink:

Here's to a great night!

Moving Day

On Friday, we moved out of our Studio and were homeless for a few hours. We decided to load everything in the car, drove over to Congress Park, and caught a bus to Downtown Disney. It was lunch time, so we stopped by Wolfgang Puck Express which is one of our favorite counter service restaurants. 

I ordered (one guessed it!) chicken fingers and fries:

Marc ordered the Italian sausage flatbread:

And we both had creme brulee for dessert:

Our meal was wonderful and very filling, so we decided to walk around Downtown Disney for a little bit. Pretty soon, storm clouds started rolling in, and our room was ready, so we decided to head back over to Congress Park. We walked the little path that brought us around back and enjoyed the scenery along the way.

We figured out where our room was and started taking our things up. 

I tried to take some pictures before everything got too cluttered. This is what we saw when we opened the door:

This was the combined dining/living area. It was pretty big.

The kitchen and bar area:

Each 1-bedroom unit has its own washer and dryer! I can't begin to tell you how convenient that was!

This part of the bathroom had a walk-in shower and vanity area:

And a toilet room:

After walking through another door, there was another vanity area and a walk-in closet.

The whirlpool tub opened up to the bedroom:

The bedroom:

It was really nice to stay in a 1-bedroom unit. It could definitely spoil you! It was nice having our own washer and dryer, and I really liked that there was a separate bedroom. I was able to close the door and fall asleep, and Marc was able to watch TV in the other room. We really enjoyed it!

Keys to the Kingdom

On Thursday morning, Marc and I did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. It was an amazing five hours! We got to learn some Disney trivia and secrets. Our first stop was Main Street where we learned about all the names on the buildings. We also heard about the four keys: Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency. Here's the condensed version:

Next, we got front of the line access to the Jungle Cruise. We learned a few secrets along the way and spotted some Hidden Mickeys. We also got to talk to two guys who were training to be boat captains. Very interesting! We went backstage to see the parade floats. I also learned that they treat the water rides with Bromine, which is why they have that smell I can't get enough of. We also saw some things backstage which we vowed to never retell!

After hearing some more Disney history, we ate lunch at Columbia Harbor House. It was really good, but then again, is fish and chicken ever bad? Another cast member told us more trivia while we ate.

After lunch, we got front of the line access to Haunted Mansion. Our guide told us some things to look for, so we were all eyes as we went through. For the first time ever, I saw a Hidden Mickey in the ballroom scene! Apparently, it "appears" every day in one of the place settings on the table. The cast members rearrange the plates back to their right positions, but they always end up back as a Hidden Mickey. Cute!

Finally, we got to see the Utilidors! That is the system of tunnels that run under the park. (Actually, the park is over the Utilidors, since the park itself is on the second level.) It was neat to see a little bit of the hidden part of Disney. 

After the tour, we went back to the resort, freshened up, and went out for lunch at Fuddrucker's. We rested at the resort for a little bit, then headed back to Magic Kingdom. Of course, by the time we got there, another storm was approaching.

And the best picture I've ever taken of Cinderella castle:

Marc and I donned our ponchos and Crocs and braved the storm! We were able to walk on all the rides, with the exception of Peter Pan. We got soaked from the knees down, and we had a blast!

A Laid Back Day

We started off Wednesday with a visit to Animal Kingdom. We got Fast Passes for Expedition Everest, then headed over to Dino Land. We rode Primeval Whirl three times in a row. It wasn't busy, so they just let us stay on. 

Note to self: It's not a good idea to ride Primeval Whirl three times in a row. It does something to your balance. I had taken Dramamine, and I was a little sick to my stomach. Marc, who never ever gets motion sick, was also feeling a little drunk by the end. After that, we decided to take it easy and just walk around for a few minutes.

After we got over the waves of nausea, Marc rode Expedition Everest twice in a row. He used his Fast Pass, then he used mine. There was no way I was getting on that ride! I'd just gotten over feeling sick, and I wasn't about to get sick again!

After Expedition Everest, we walked around and end up by Tamu Tamu Refreshments. Everyone was walking away from the counter with these huge bagel breakfast sandwiches, so we decided to get one. I spotted a Hidden Mickey while we were in line:

By this point, the park was starting to get crowded, and it was hot. We decided to head back to the resort to freshen up and then head over to Winter Park to try a new restaurant. We followed the directions on our GPS, and it led us to the turnpike. Since I was expecting it, I had plenty of $1 bills. So, as we approach our exit, we notice that it's an exact coins exit. No problem, the toll is $1, and we have plenty of singles. 

We get to the exit, and it's not a manned toll booth....and you can only pay with quarters. Great! We had no idea what to do! That started the wild search for one, I repeat one, more quarter. Since we couldn't find one, we had to drive through the toll booth. The buzzer started going off. It was crazy! We called to find out what to do and were told that they would send us a citation. (We still haven't seen it!)

Back to the restaurant...Marc heard about Boston's Fish House on a DIS Unplugged Podcast. It was supposed to be real, authentic New England seafood. 

And it was! Marc was ecstatic when they brought out these little beauties:

We decided to split a seafood platter, since Marc had ordered the clams. I forgot to take a picture before we started eating, but the plate was piled high with seafood and the best onion rings I've ever tasted! You can tell we were stuffed, because there were still rings left on the plate!

After lunch, we made sure we had four quarters and headed back to Disney. We went to the Welcome Home Wednesday meeting in hopes of getting Marc a DVC hat. 

We ended up with some cheesy reusable grocery bag things. Hideous! Marc was so disappointed! Oh well, there's always next time.

Breakfast at Crystal Palace

On Tuesday, we went against the recommended park plans and ate breakfast at Crystal Palace. It has become a must-do for each trip. I get to see my favorite Disney characters, and Marc gets to eat. See, it works for both of us!

My favorite guy:

Marc joking about Swine Flu with Piglet. (I don't think Piglet thought it was very funny!)

Tigger and me:

Disney, in their infinite wisdom, charges holiday prices from mid-May until mid-July. I guess they figure people eat more on Memorial Day, Flag Day, and the 4th of July. (Am I missing any holidays?) So, we were charged an extra $8 for eating at the end of May. By the time we added the tip, our breakfast was $60. We weren't on the dining plan at this point, so this was out of pocket. Yikes!

After breakfast, the crowds at Magic Kingdom were crazy big! We decided it would probably be better to skip the parks altogether and have a down day. We hopped on a boat headed to Wilderness Lodge.

It was a nice, relaxing ride over there. We walked around Wilderness Lodge and enjoyed the scenery. We also found this cute little mouse:

Speaking of home, we decided to head back to the resort to do some laundry. Fun, I know!