We rode the monorail back to the room.  Even the monorail was taking forever.  We had to wait in the station before leaving because of “traffic”.  Once we cleared the Magic Kingdom station we didn’t get to far as we had to wait for clearance into the Contemporary Resort.  We finally made it to Bay Lake Tower (BTL) we were going to go back with my ID to get our passes but we had blown our reservation and it was close t 2:00pm.  Our thought was to go to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC)  and ten have lunch at the Grand Floridian.  We were running out of time and to shorten the storey we ended up eating lunch in the Contemporary at The Wave.  Lunch was OK.  We had eaten dinner here about 18 months ago.  We liked the food but not our server.  The lunch offering is not that exciting and we did not want to eat here but we were pressed for time.  We were seated and low and behold we have the server that sucked the last time we ate there. I had a chicken sandwich which was OK but nit great.  Kim had a bacon cheeseburger which she liked. We would have preferred Tony’s. 

It was late and we did not want to go back and deal with getting the vouchers exchanged so we went to the pool.  We stayed at the resorts pool the rest of the afternoon until dinner at Ohana’s located it the Polynesian resort.

  This trip we will be staying at Bay Lake Tower.  I am very excited about this visit as it was always a dream of mine to stay in the Contemporary Resort and this is going to be as close as I can get.  For those who may not be familiar with Bay Lake Tower it is a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort built on the former site of the North Garden Wing of the Contemporary Resort.  The wing was demolished and replaced by Bay Lake Tower.  My only disappointment was we were unable to get a Magic Kingdom View and have to settle for a Lake View.  That is OK, I am hoping that I can still hear the sounds from the Magic Kingdom when I am relaxing on my balcony.

Bay Lake Tower Sits to the Left of Disney's Contemporary Resort

photo courtesy of stock.xchng

  I am surprised how many people are looking for the availability of crab legs in Walt Disney World.  My blog statistics show that several people are reaching my blog searching for “crab legs in Walt Disney World”.  They are finding my post about the Cape May Cafe’ buffet dinner I had that included crap legs as a test item.  I have learned that the testing is over and that the legs have yet to return but hope is still on the horizon.  (UP DATE August 2010) I am inserting this sentance because I have learned that the “all you can eat” crab legs have returned to the Cape May Cafe’. 

Crab Legs are available at the Captain’s Grille (formerly known as the Yacht Club Gallery) located inside Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.  Although not a buffet ,the restaurant does offer snow crab legs as well as a selection of grilled steaks, pork chops and fish.
  Crab has always been available at Fulton’s Crab House but is not on the Disney Dining Plan.  The good news for crab leg lovers is that unlike Fulton’s Captain’s Grille and the Cap May are on the dining plan.  So if you are looking for crab legs in Walt Disney World make your ADRs at the Captain’s Grille over at the Yacht Club,Cape May Cafe’ at Disney’s Beach Club Resort, or Fulton’s Crab House located over at Downtown Disney.
 

Dinner Menu
Lunch Menu

Narcoossee's

Narcoossee’s is set right over the waters of the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. This signature dining establishment has been delighting palates since June 28, 1988.

Restaurant: Narcoossee’s
Location: Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
DDP: Yes 2 Credits (Signature Dining)
Tables in Wonderland: Yes
Meal Eaten: Dinner (Breakfast and lunch are not served)
ADRs: Recommended
Dress Code Guidelines: Men: Khakis, slacks, jeans, dress shorts, collared shirts.  Sport coats are optional.
Ladies:  Capris, skirts, dresses, jeans, dress shorts.
Not permitted in dining room: Tank tops, swimwear, hats for gentleman, cut offs, or torn clothing. While T-shirts are now allowed, the policy remains that T-shirts with offensive language or graphics are not acceptable.

Cheese Menu
Wine Menu
Drinks Menu
Dinner Menu
Book Online

When it comes to discussions about fine dining at Walt Disney World  many restaurants will be mentioned.  I searched “fine dining in walt disney world” on Google and got back various reviews and posts about The California Grill, Jiko, Flying Fish, Yachtsman’s Steakhouse, Shula’s and of course Disney World’s premier dining establishment Victoria and Albert’s.  All are great restaurants and reservations to some of them especially California Grill can be hard to get if you don’t call or make online reservation as soon as your 180 day window of opportunity arrives. Now I am no stranger to Walt Disney World and have been visiting since 1993 but for some reason we never got around to trying Narcoossee’s.  We did entertain the idea over the years but it seemed like each year there was a new dining experience to try and has restaurants like Papeete Bay Verandah became Ohana’s, Top of the World became the California Grill, The Empress Lilly lost her paddle wheel and smoke stacks to become Fulton’s Crab House and King Stefan’s Banquet Hall became Cinderella’s Royal Table, Narcoossee’s was always the place we would eat at on the next trip.  So when it was time to call for Advanced Dinning Reservation (ADRs)  in 2009, I totally forgot about Narcoossee’s as I do every year,and wanted to book the California Grill.  It was our 14th wedding anniversary so we wanted to go to a special place. Well, like a lot of people that don’t want to start dinner somewhere between 8:50pm and the next morning so I declined the available reservation for California Grill.  Unfortunately I still needed a place to eat near the Magic Kingdom. I had already been shut out of Ohana’s and there was no way I was getting into Cindy’s place.  What about Citrico’s?  Wasn’t that once called Flagler’s, lets see, Grand Floridian Cafe` not for our anniversary…So as I sit on the phone pondering my options with a very patient Cast Member at 407-WDW-DINE, she said “what about Narcoossee’s, I have early times available”.  Yes! I exclaim, Narcoossee’s! what about Narcoossee’s, why not Narcoossee’s, after all it is the same view as the California Grill, only lower, and more mirror like as everything is the same just now it is to my left.  I’m glad I thought of it! Kim will be happy with my anniversary choice, OK , I said, book it! 
So now that you know how I ended up at Narcoossee’s how was the experience?  We had reservations for 5:30pm which is the time the restaurant starts serving.  We arrived early and checked in at the podium located just inside the restaurant.  The reception area was filling up with arriving diners so my wife Kim and I decided to stroll out onto the veranda.  Like the observation deck at the Contemporary Resort, access is only available through the restaurant and not available to folks strolling around the resort. I wandered around the veranda snapping photos of the scenery which was now starting to become draped in a nice warm orange glow of a setting Florida sun.  I watched as the Monorail zipped by silhouetted against the bright western sky. Kim was talking to a couple from Ohio who were frequent visitors to the world.  They had brought along their teenage son but he was inside playing with a live lobster along with some of the chefs.  As a New Englander I forget how a lobster could be such a novelty to people who live miles inland.  Especially a young person who only may have seen them in a grocery store and had never seen one alive out of the water. 
I have to say I really enjoyed watching the flurry of activity from the veranda.  Boats from the resorts passed us and in the distance I watched the Richard F Irvin and the General Joe Potter Ferry boats bring guests to and from the Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center.  I could hear the bell and whistle of the Walt Disney World Rail Road steam engine as it sat in the station getting ready for another grands circle tour. Across the lagoon monorails appeared to be swallowed by the giant “A” framed Contemporary Resort. I could have stayed there all night but after only a few minutes our table was ready.  Now this is the part of the review where I place a photo of the dining room except I didn’t take any.  I was so relaxed and in the mood for a great meal I forgot about my motto “photograph everything (which drives my poor wife crazy).  Let me describe the dining room for you.  The room is large but small by WDW dining room standards.  The building is shaped in an octagon with about one quarter to a third being the bar and kitchen.  The room has 2 tiers with the middle being much higher than the outside walk in level.  The bar is also up on the higher tier occupying the center section of the restaurant.  The outer lower ring has two rows of tables split by a walkway.  There are tables against the large windows that wrap around the water side of the building giving dinners a panoramic view of the Seven Seas Lagoon.  We were seated on the lower level but on the inner row up against the second tier level.  The high pointed roof also makes the inside of the restaurant quite cavernous.  The floors are hardwood so I could imagine it can get a bit noisy when the dining room is full but it never was loud enough to notice during our visit.
After seated by a host we were greeted by our Server Chevy.  We got our menus and he briefly went over some of the highlights. He took our drinks orders and returned quite promptly with them. He said he would return in a few moments to take our order or answer any questions.  After he left we looked over the menu which is dominated by seafood. Only one beef entree was offered, a grilled fillet Mignon and one chicken dish of the “free range” variety.  There is a surf and turf option that pairs fillets with a lobster tail.  For appetizers there were several seafood offerings including calamari, fried shrimp and mussels.  There were also a few salads to choose from. Kim had the Green Goddess Salad made with romaine, cucumber, hearts of palm, tarragon, tomatoes, and avocado dressing ($11.00).  She proclaimed it has “the best salad ever”.  I went with the Narcoossee’s Seafood Bisque ($9.00) which is strange because the menu lists it as having Main rock crab, micro onions, and sourdough crostini. So if crab is the only seafood shouldn’t it be called crab bisque?  For those of you not familiar with New England seafood Maine rock crab is sometimes called Peekytoe crab.  Until the late 1990′s these small crabs were a throwaway product of  lobster fisherman.  Lobsters and crabs are scavengers and the crabs would go into the lobster traps, called pots, and feed on the bait.  The word peeky toe is not meant to be cute but is Maine talk for ”picket toe” which describes the pointy sharp ends of their legs.  Peekytoe is how ”picket toe” is pronounced with a heavy down east accent and the name stuck. 
The bisque was good and rich it wasn’t the best I had ever had but still well worth it.  The surprising thing was the sourdough crostini.  It tasted like it had been submerged in garlic butter.  It has really delicious.  For our entrees Kim went with the crab-crusted Alaskan Halibut served over crushed fingerling potatoes, haricot verts and Meyer lemon sauce $33.00.  Now this surprised me as Kim does not order fish often so I was  little nervous that she would be unhappy with her meal.   To my surprise she found this to be very good and it ended up being her favorite meal of the entire trip.  The fish was pan fried so the crab crust was light, thin and crispy.  I asked her if the sauce was real lemony and she said it was and could easily over power the fish if you really put to much on it.  I am not a fan of lemon on fish so I don’t know if I would like that too much.  The fish itself was done to perfection, light, moist, and flaky.  I tried a piece sans lemon sauce ,it was very good. 
I decided on the most exotic of the menu choices, grilled lamp and tiger shrimp, couscous, tangine of vegetables, Moroccan spices, and raita.  Raita is a south Asian condiment based on yogurt mixed with coriander (cilantro), cumin, mint, cayenne pepper, and other herbs and spices.  What surprised me the most was the amount of food that was in the dish.  Our server delivered a large bowl that had the couscous and vegetables in the middle with the lamp and shrimp lining the outer edge.  The raita was on top of the couscous.  There were several medallion sized pieces of lamb and three large grilled shrimp. The dish did have a North African flavor but I would not call it spicy.  I really don’t like couscous but I did try it and found the flavor to be good.  I don’t like mushy foods so it is not so much the flavor of the couscous i don’t like but its texture.  The vegetables were good, they were still firm and had a nice seasoning to them that completed the dish. The shrimp had a nice wood grilled flavor and could carry the dish on its own but the perfectly grilled lamb was the star of the plate.
After dinner we were stuffed but still wanted something sweet.  We looked over the desert menu.  Kim usually orders chocolate cake but the cake came with blood orange sauce so we declined.  Our server suggested ordering the brownie sundae off of the children’s menu.  We opted for that and really enjoyed this simple treat. 
Our meal cost for the two of us was just under $125.00.  We found this restaurant to be a great place to dine.  In fact we booked it again for our next trip in August.  I called well within our 180 day reservation time and was able to get a table at a reasonable time.  If you are looking for a nice signature dinning experience or like me simply could not get into California Grill try Narcoossee’s.  The service and food is an overlooked hidden dining treasure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Through the years I have actually avoided Tony’s solely based on mixed reviews I have read on the web.  Back in 2007 Kim and I tried Tony’s to decide for ourselves, and to give you an idea about my opinion of  Tony’s, this review was my third trip back.

Waiting for our table

We arrived at Tony’s 15 minutes before our ADR (advanced dining reservation) time of 11:30.  We were let into the waiting area and Kim and I sat in the comfy chairs along the far wall. We waited only a few minutes before the world famous Dapper Dans came into the waiting area and sang us a few songs before announcing Tony’s was open for lunch.   We were the third party called and we were quickly seated along the entrance wall located to the right as you enter the main dining room.

Let me take a moment to describe the restaurant.  For me the highlight of  Tony’s is something no one ever talks about and that is the decor.  Right from the start the waiting area offers you your first glance at the beautiful paintings  from the 1955 Disney classic Lady and the Tramp.  Scenes from the movie are all over the waiting area and in the main dinning room.  (A Keen eye will notice the same red pinstriped table clothes used in the Bella Nolte scene as matching the one on their dining table.)  Each painting was done by Senior Charector Artist Don “Ducky” Williams.  I had the pleasure of meeting Ducky in 2005 aboard the Disney Magic during a 7 day cruise along the Mexican Riviera.   

The restaurant has two dining rooms.  The main room is much nicer than the restaurant featured in the film. The room has a brightly polished black and white tiled floor.  The ceiling is high and ornate with rich wood moldings.  The seating surfaces are green vinyl and the seat backs of the benches are upholstered with a needle point rose pattern.  The benches are created by large cross shaped islands that break up the large dining room.  They each have planter boxes and polished bass lights with large white globes similar to the lamp posts out front on Main Street USA.  The centerpiece of the room is a beautiful fountain topped with  a bronze statue of Lady and the Tramp.  The fountain is lit up by dark blue lights that shine on the statue and the water.  The other dining room is located on the front porch.  Large windows overlook Main Street USA.  This room is often closed during the slower parts of the day.  It is a contrast to the dark warm tones to the main dining room as the large windows allow so much light in.  Ceiling fans slowly spin overhead and there is a large stained glass window in the ceiling.  Hanging plants give this room a feeling of dining in a conservatory.

Now seated, our server came over and took our drink order and left us menus.  She was very friendly and polite.  Kim and I looked over the menu and I had a hard time deciding.  I went with the Chicken Parmigiana which is described as “Lightly breaded Chicken Breast with Marinara Sauce, melted Mozzarella over Spaghetti”. ($16.99) Kim had the Eggplant Catasta (Stack) discribed as, ”Layers of Eggplant, Fresh Mozzarella, and Parmesan with Marinara Sauce” It is served with penne pasta. ($12.99) It looked to me to be Eggplant Parmesan but because it was layered it wasn’t officially Parmesan. Our server returned with our drinks.  She missed bringing Kim a lemon slice with her Diet Coke as Kim requested when she ordered.  I had ordered iced tea so I gave up my lemon and gave it to Kim.  Who said chivalry was dead.  Our food arrived surprisingly quick.  Mine was a single thick boneless breast of chicken that was lightly breaded.  The chicken was perfect, it had a bit of a crust on it but not so hard it was difficult to cut.  The chicken was very tender and moist.  I also found the spaghetti to be firm and not mushy as is often the case when ordering it in a restaurant.  Now I get a little nervous when Kim orders eggplant in a restaurant.  For those of you that haven’t cooked it or ever ordered it in a restaurant, egg plant is one of those foods that can be easily destroyed.  Kim has ordered eggplant i other restaurants before and has not

Chicken Parmesan

been happy with it.  It has to be cooked just right, too long and it will start to get soft, too quick and it is too spongy, let it sit too long before serving and it will have a mushy texture.  Fortunately the eggplant was done perfectly, Kim was very pleased with the texture, temperature and taste of her dish.   The food was brought out to us directly from the kitchen, our server did not see them bring it out as she was taking the order of another table.  My problem with this way of serving is we waited a long time before we could get her attention so we could get some grated cheese.  Not a big deal but the person from the kitchen should have the cheese with them and not rely on the server.  We finished our meal and Kim ordered her favorite dessert, simple known to us as “The Bomb”.  On the menu it is the Ice Cream Bomb described as chocolate and vanilla ice cream covered in rich chocolate coating ($5.99).  The description leaves out that the ice cream sits on a thin yellow cake like doughnut. The whole thing is encased in a hard chocolate candy shell with a chocolate sauce drizzle, it truly is “the bomb”.  We finished dessert and waited a while for the check.  I would have to say that although our server wasn’t bad, she wasn’t that good.  Like I had mentioned before, this was our third trip back to Tony’s and this server was not of the same level as the last two times we visited.  In fact we noticed our server from our last meal Mark serving and wished we had asked for him. If you want an excellent server ask for Mark from New Haven Connecticut, he is really good.

Over all Tony’s offers a menu that is beyond the typical burger, chicken nuggets and wraps that so dominate the Magic Kingdom’s menu boards.  Our food was delicious and served hot and fresh. The decor is warm and inviting, especially on the day we visited as it was a very dark and gloomy afternoon with heavy rain.  If you find yourself needing a place to eat in the Magic Kingdom make reservations for Tony’s Town Square Restaurant.  Be sure to make note of the artwork on all of the walls, it is part of what makes this location one of my favorites. 

Kim with, "The Bomb"

Center Fountain

Main Dining Room

The Dapper Dans performed in the waiting area before we were seated

You can search up to a 5 day range and will list times around the time you chose.  If a reservation is not available it

Check the "Range" box to search up to 5 days

will give you places and times available in the same area.  This is a huge help when planing out your itinerary if for example you know you will be at the Magic Kingdom and Ohana’s is not available.  The system will suggest locations near Ohana’s like Khona or the Grand Floridian Cafe and give you an available time for both locations.  Available with options for placing a reservation is a description of the restaurant along with price range information and cuisine offered. You can then add the location to your cart and go back to search for more reservation.  Your reservations are confirmed when you check out.   If you have an account you can save favorites and add them to your cart when you return to the site. Here is how to start.

Even when you get your ADR, you may be offered alternatives

 First you must head over to the Walt Disney World web site.  Scroll down to the “Dining” link listed under the category “Discover Walt Disney World” as you can see I have provided links. At the top of the next page it will tell you to call the (407)wdw-dine number 90 days in advance to make your reservations, but you know better and will click on the “Restaurants” link.  Now, depending on the size of your screen and the resolution you may only see pictures for the All-Star Resorts Food Courts.  Scroll down to the Rain Forest Cafe and you will see the reservation button under the picture if reservations are excepted at that location. That’s all there is to it.

 Just Remember, advance dining reservations can only be made 90 days prior to you arrival date.

Yes! I Got My ADR!If nothing is available, try another time.

Fire Pit, Kidani Village

Large Windows lookout to the Savanna

arched windows designed for animal viewing.  The restaurant sits on the savanna and diners have ground level views of the creatures just outside the windows.  Unfortunately the restaurant is not really tiered so the closer you are to the front windows, the better the view.   Once we were seated we met our server Ken.  He handed us our menus and we looked them over.  Ken took our drink orders and promptly retuned with them.  Now the menu here is not your typical steak, sea food, chicken and pork.  Although there is a NY strip on the menu most of the selections are eclectic so having a good server to be personable, explain the menu, and offer suggestions is a must.  Ken was an awesome server, he explained the menu, knew how the dishes were prepared and made suggestions based on our questions.  After he helped us he left us alone to decide.  He returned in a few minutes to take our order.  For an appetizer Ken suggested the Indian Style Bread Service which gives you a choice of 3 breads and 3 accompaniments.  We did not know what breads went best with what accompaniments so we told our trusted server to bring us what he thought would be the best.
Ken brought out our 3 breads and explained each one of them to us.  The three breads were, naan, roti, and paneer paratha. Roti is thin and made of atta (whole-wheat). The naan is soft and fluffy and is made from plain flour with a little bit of yeast. Parathas are layered breads made of wheat flour but fried in a little oil. The one we liked the best was the naan. A bumpy flat bread with a nice brown appearance.  It was light and had a firm yet soft texture on the inside.  The second was the roti a flat bread similar to a tortilla but it had a hot kick to it, it was very unique and delicious.  The third and our least favorite was the paratha, although we did eat it, it was a flat round bread about the thickness of a pita and had herbs and cheese baked into the layers.  The flavor was good but I did not care for the texture of it.  It was very smooth with no holes and was a bit rubber like.  Not in a way it was chewy, but that it was almost jell like because of the smoothness cooking the bread in the oil created. The 3 accompaniments which are spreads matched the breads perfectly.  One was the Cucumber Raita.  This white yogurt base spread was not very spicy and worked well with the roti bread.  The other spread we had was a mango chutney, this sweet and fruity spread also worked well with roti but also with the paratha.  The third and my favorite was the roasted red bell pepper hummus. This packed a bit, not a lot, of spiciness’ and was perfect with the naan bread. 

For entrees I ordered the Spice-crusted Cornish Game Hen with turnips and cherries $17.99 and Kim had the tandoori chicken $17.99. The hen came in a round slightly concave dish perched on the turnips.  The cherry glaze had only a hint of cherry favor but the sweetness of it balanced out the bitterness of the turnips. The meat was very tender and moist and fell off the bone easily. The spices added a nice subtle flavor that went well with the meat. Kim’s Chicken came with a Choice of basmati rice or five-grain pilaf. She chose the basmati rice.  This is a long grained rice that comes in two verities, brown and white.  Sanaa serves the white rice and unlike typical Asian rice basmati rice is free flowing, meaning it is not a sticky rice.  The rice and the chicken were uniquely served in small bowls.  The chicken is cooked in a tandoor oven.  A tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven used in cooking and baking over charcoal.  The chicken was marinated but it did not overpower the taste of the chicken, and then cooked in the high heat oven.  The chicken had a delicious wood grilled flavor and was very moist on the inside.  The chicken also comes with a dipping sauce. Ken told us that the chef makes the dip from the marinade used on the chicken.  The sauce was good but the chicken did not need it, that’s how flavorful the chicken was.   After our meal Ken asked if we wanted desert.  We were full but decided to look at the menu.  We picked out the desertSanaa’s Dining Room

sampler.  This is the new trend in restaurants and Walt Disney World is no exception.  The desert consists of 3 small deserts on one long plate.  Our sampler consisted of, no sugar added mango pudding, cardamom-butter cake and egg-less chocolate cake $6.99.  The chocolate cake was Kim’s favorite, I liked the cardamom-butter cake. The mango pudding was delicious but could have been a bit smoother and less Jell-O like in texture.

  I would definitely return to Sanaa for another dinner. The service was great, the food fantastic and the view of the animals unique. The warm dimly lit décor can be lost if you dine early when the light of the sun can enter through the large glass windows.  For animal spotting I would ask for a

table close to the widows but you may have a bit of a wait because there are only a limited number of them available. Waiting for your table gives you the option of sitting in the cozy bar area or going outside to look over the savanna.  The restaurant was pretty full during our time there but the noise level never seemed to bother us. It does get a bit loud when a giraffe wanders over to the window to do some people watching and diners scramble for their cameras, oohing and ahhing. If you plan on eating here I would make  Advanced Dining Reservations play calling 407-WDW-Dine.  Kidani Village is not fully open and the restaurant is already doing quite well as word gets out that this moderately priced restaurant can give you a near Jiko experience for a lot less money.

Kidani Village Viewed from the Savanna

Sanaa Bar

Dining Room

Bread Appetizer

Tandoori Chicken

Cornish Game Hen

Sampler Desert

Sanaa's Dining Room (added photo)

Overview of the stage layout

There were a few press people in a roped off area directly across the main stage where Kris was to be after he arrived by car down Hollywood Boulevard.  I spotted Deb Wills from Allears.net. I called out to her but she just looked over in confusion. I yelled again so she knew where and from whom  it was coming from, got the same look but her hand came up in a half hearted attempt to wave.  Now I have to change gears here a bit and unburden my pain.  I first met Deb in 2005 on the Mexican Riviera inaugural cruise.  I saw her again at Magic Meets 07 and spent some time with her during a privet reception.  I met her again at the 25 Anniversary event for Epcot.  Now when I saw her that time She told me how much she enjoyed my You Tube trip report videos.  I saw her again at Magic Meets 08 and got a big hug and a hearty hello from her.  I started my Twitter page for this trip and I get a message that Allears.net is following me, cool.  So I yell out to her and I get a confused look, OK its crowded too much going on, she doesn’t recognize me no problem.  So Kim and I are watching them film the intro with Kris for about the 4^th time and Deb comes over to leave the press area.  Kim and I are standing right at the rope clip.  Deb comes over and I say HI DEB! And she hardly took her eyes off the rope clip to say, hi how are you….That’s it…no hay it’s great to see you…no hey good tweets this week…nothing…No love for Spectro…I felt like I just cleaned her room over at Saratoga Springs and she caught me leaving and felt obligated to acknowledge me.  I was crushed and am still damaged by the incident.  I don’t expect Deb to remember me but at least fake it with a little enthusiasm.  Is that too much to ask?  I was embarrassed for myself, I didn’t even know that feeling was possible.

How's my hair

Alright back to the trip report.  Kim and I were hungry so we went over to the bakery to get some food.  We wait in a huge line for about 6 minutes when Kim notices that the pastry cases she can see all looked pretty empty.  I tell her not to worry there are some inside we can’t see, they  would have something in them.  We wait about 5 more minutes and we are now just inside the store.  Kim jumps out of line and looks around.  She discovers that they have indeed underestimated the amount of people in the park this morning and are running out of food.  We jumped out of line and went back over to the plaza for the arrival of, as Ryan Seacrest would say “Your, American Idol”.  Still hungry we wait by the railing across from the main stage they had set up in front of the Idol building. The big ugly hat is to our right.  At 10:00am they start the motorcade which wasn’t really a cade at all.  It was a troop of Orlando motorcycle officers and Kris.  They had the sirens on and would drive up and circle, wait for the car Kris was in to catch up and then repeat until they were at the stage.  Mickey was in the car too and has Kris went by all I saw was Mickey.  That was OK, after all Mickey has been an American Idol for 81 years. 

Now just before the motorcade there were cast members giving out bright orange wrist bands to people who said they were Kris’ biggest fans or they loved Kris yada, yada, yada anyway they were moved inside the roped off area in front of the stage.  Once Kris arrived on the stage they were told to rush up to the front edge of the stage.  This is something Disney has done for years during the taping of the parade performances.  So now the motorcade stops and Kris walks over to the crowed with the wrist bands on and shakes hands and high fives as he breezes past them and heads on stage.  The host of the American Idol Experience, who is trying so hard to be Ryan Seacrest that it is unnaturally distracting, asks him some very cliché questions.  He then is handed a bunch of blue cards from someone in front of the stage and tells Kris these are questions from his fans here at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  These questions are equally as mundane as the host’s questions.  I almost forgot, they also showed the “I’m going to Disney World” commercial after he was announced the winner of Idol. Little trivia break hear.  Who was the first person to do the “I’m going to Disney World” commercial…….
Answer, Phil Sims Quarterback of the NY Giants at the conclusion of Super Bowl XXI.

I don’t know about you but I shed a tear everytime I see that video
Here’s Kris’ Video

 
So after the so called Q and A Kris did perform for everyone, that was cool and definitely the highlight of the morning.  It was speculated that he would be in the 11:00am Idol show but Kim and I did not know how long the show would run and we did not want to have to rush to the airport so once Kris was done and the show over we headed to the airport. 

(Video of the event)

We arrived around 11:30. Kim bought a battery for her noise canceling headphones and we went to the Macaroni Grill for lunch.  That was a big deal for us because all the ones in CT closed about a year and a half ago so it was a real treat to eat there again.
Our flight left a little ahead of schedule and we made up time in the air.  We arrived about 30 minutes early.  I wish they could have gotten me to Orlando 30 minutes early last Thursday, heck I would have loved it if they could have gotten me there on time.  

Well the trip was over and it is always a sad day but it is also good to be home.  Saturday night I was on the phone making my ADRS for our trip in August.  I am upset because I could not get into Ohona’s or Le Cellier. Did I mention the only thing about Disney I hate as much as bag check is the dining plan?  The only thing I hate more is free dining plan while I am there. 

Over all the trip was a good trip.  We did not really do a lot of rides because we liked the hotel so much. Plus the rain played a huge factor too.   We figured we would do more rides in August when we are staying at Saratoga Springs.  It’s a nice place but not as relaxing as Animal Kingdom Lodge. 

I will try to post reviews of the restaurants at a later time.

Getting ready to leave, will post more photos when I am home

Disney's Hollywood Studio's

We started our day at Disney’s Hollywood Studio’s to ride the new Toy Story’s Midway Mania.  We got to the park before it opened and there was quite a sizable crowd lined up.  The gate opened up and like everyone else we headed to the rope for the official opening of the park.  At 9:00am the rope dropped and several hundred people headed for the same location, Toy Story Mania.  We got in line and despite the number of people the wait was around 30 minutes.  I took a glance at the fast pass sign as we passed and it was already up to 1:00pm.  The line for fast pass was growing faster than the stand by line. I have to say this ride went way beyond my expectations.  The game is simple, you ride in a car equipped with a gun that uses a pull string instead of a trigger to shoot. The car moves along a track and stops in front of these huge floor to ceiling screens that have a shooting gallery type sets on them.  You wear 3D glasses and the depth of the sets is amazing.  Your gun shoots different objects depending on the type of game.  In one game you shoot darts to pop balloons and in another your gun tosses rings over targets.  It is hard to describe but the effect is very smooth and realistic. 

Next we headed over to the animation building to see if the new characters from Up were out but they were not due out for another hour so we headed to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The wait for TOT was long at about 30 minutes but we always enjoy this ride.  The 13 story drop is always exciting and actually included several drops as the elevator kept dropping us and bringing us back up. 

We left the park around noon and headed for our lunch at Raglan Road an Irish pub style restaurant over at Downtown Disney.  We were seated in the center main room with a high peeked roof.  The room is filled with filtered colored light from the stained glass windows.  Kim ordered the fish and chips and I ordered the shepherd’s pie that was made from ground lamb and beef. For an appetizer we ordered the calamari that came in a little fry basket and had some veggies fried along with the tender calamari. 

After lunch it was on to the highlight of the day, Characters in Flight.  This is often described as a tethered hot air balloon ride but this is incorrect because the balloon is sealed and filled with helium.  The ride lasts for about 10 minutes including the time going up and down.  On a clear calm day up to 20 people can ride up to 400 feet.  I bought a ticket and waited in line.  Kim went to wait for me as she did not want to ride.  Once we loaded the operator who rides with us told us that once he release the tether the cage will bump as it finds it centering point so encouraged us to hold on until we were clear of the ground.  He released the cable lock and we quickly went up about 20 feet and like he said it did bump around a bit.  The cage quickly centered and we continued our climb.  I was surprised how quickly we went up.   Once we at the top the operator told us we could walk around.  For the people who were unfamiliar with the area he pointed out where to find landmarks like Epcot’s Spaceship Earth, Contemporary Hotel, Expedition Everest, and Typhoon Lagoon.  It was an amazing view and I will definitely go on it again.  After about 7 minutes or so we headed back down.  Again the operator warned us that as we landed it might be bumpy so he told us to hold on. 

After the flight Kim and I went back to the Hotel because Kim had to do some work with her office.  It took most of the afternoon and during that time the thunderstorms rolled in.  That night we had ADRs at a restaurant in Epcot called Bistro De Paris but it was raining so hard we decided to go to the lobby and cancel it and try to find a meal located in a hotel where we could valet park.  We went to the lobby and all we could get was Flying Fish for 8:40.  Not the ideal time considering we had not eaten since 11:30am.  We stopped at the Beach Club to see if we could get a walk up seating at one of my old favorites, The Cape May Café.  I say old favorites because I have been a fan of the Cape May since 1995 but over the years new chefs have come in and tried to either put their stamp on it or perhaps they were trying to make it more profitable.  Whatever the reason  food items have been removed from the buffet over the last decade that have really turned my off to it.  The last thing to go were the buckets.  The buckets were used to carry your clams to the table.  They were easy to fill and eat from and could hold a lot of clams. The buckets also had a smaller foot print so they took up less room at the table.  Two visits ago we were told by our server a new chef was in control of the restaurant and he decided to throw the buckets out because many of them were broken and they were too expensive to replace.  The alternative was to use bowls.  The bowls had a wide rim that took up a lot of table space and they were not deep enough to hold a lot of clams and it wasn’t as much fun to eat them out of a bowl as it was the buckets.  I should mention that years and years ago you used to be able to add a lobster to your dinner for $10.00.  After a few years they replaced the lobster with a bucket of crab legs but it was still $10.00.  Once the crab legs were removed there were no more add on items,  that was the start of the Cap May’s fall from my favorites list.  It no longer was a must do every vacation place and became a once in a great while type of place.  So to get back to our dinner plans.  We went to the check in area and were told they could seat us in 45 minutes.  We took a pager and went over to the Beach Club Concierge desk to cancel our Flying Fish reservation.

While we were canceling our reservation our pager went off.  Wow only 10 minutes and we are in, let’s eat some clams.  So we were greeted by a young man named Andrew, very polite and he takes us to our table.  As I am walking past the buffet I see Crab legs.  The whole world goes into slow motion, the clamor and din of the restaurant seems to disappear as I focus in on something I see but don’t believe.  “Did I just see crab legs on the buffet?”  I think to myself “perhaps I am seeing things”.  We get to our seat and Andrew is saying something but all I am hearing is blab la blah blah…my mind is racing “wow are there really crab legs OK relax take a deep breath,  The world starts to speed up to normal and my hearing and focus slowly recovers.  I look at Kim and say “HOLY S*** DID YOU SEE CRAB LEGS” seeing my excitement she says yes it looks like they have them again.  I am now as giddy as a school girl “oh look they got the buckets back!” I now can hear a singing chorus of angles from heaven as a warm yellow beam of light surrounds me.

The Buckets Are Back!

I could hardly contain myself. I was overwhelmed and about to pass out when our server came over.  Our server was Roger.  We have had him before many years ago.  I told him how happy I was to see that the buckets were back and that crab legs had returned.  He told us that the crab legs started this week and that they are testing them.  He jokingly suggested celebrating with a drink and both Kim and I thought that would be appropriate so Kim ordered a Glow –tini and I had the first of my new favorite drink the Magical Star.  When he returned with our drinks I asked him what that meant by testing and he said they will see if the guests like them and if they are cost effective.  I was so enthusiastic that he brought the manager to our table so I could tell her how pleased I was. 

During our dinner I learned Roger had been working for Walt Disney World since it opened.  Kim asked him where he was from knowing that the Beach Club did not open until December 1991.  He told us that prior to working at the Beach Club he worked at the Top of the World restaurant located at the top of the Contemporary Hotel before it became the California Grill.  Now for Disney World Geeks like me this is huge.  The Top of the World was the premier location in Walt Disney World.  It had a dinner show that would feature big stars from time to time.  Another thing about the restaurant was that all the stars would dine there.  This was back when there were only the 2 hotels, the Polynesian Village and the Contemporary .  He told us about meeting Charlton Hesston, and Dom Deluise.  Anyway it was great to talk to somebody who worked at that place when it was in its hay day.  I have to say this dinner was a surprise that made the day really special.  I hope the crab legs stay and the buckets never get thrown out again.

After dinner it was still raining so Kim and I went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  We went up to the room to drop off our stuff and went to the bar to have a nightcap. I ordered another Magical Star.

People line-up for Toy Story

Desk in lobby at the Tower of Terror

Saratoga Springs Resort

World of Disney

Raglan Road

Epcot

Downtown Disney's Westside

Fulton's Crab House

West Side & Epcot

 More and larger balloon photos

Monday was spent in Epcot.  My goal was to take pictures of the Flower and Garden Festival.  I have to say that both Kim and I noticed a huge reduction in displays and exhibitors this year.  If you never saw it before you would probably think it was OK but it is a lot smaller than previous years.  Kim and I went into Innoventions West to try the new Great Piggy Bank Game.  Before that we went to see the Velcro show.  Yes you read that right a show about the hook and loop fabric that solves so many problems.  The two hosts were from the now closed Comedy Club that was on Pleasure Island.   They were funny and the show is entertaining.  It is set up like a game show and the final round featured two men who raced to diaper babies and stick them to their Velcro aprons.

Next we went to the Great Piggy Bank Adventure.  Here you choose a goal and by playing 3 different games you fill your piggy bank.  The fun part is you actually have a real piggy bank you carry from station to station.  We didn’t get enough points to get our goal but it was a lot of fun.  If you are going to Epcot give it a try.

Kim wth the piggy

We had lunch at the counter service restaurant in Mexico.  We both ordered the chicken tacos.  They were delicious but the seating area was a mess.  We walked around World Showcase and saw the 360 movie in China.  It is one of the few things Kim and I had not done before.  We went through the butterfly exhibit before leaving to head back to the hotel for our Wayama Safari.

We met down at Jiko the African Restaurant here at Animal Kingdom Lodge at 3:45.  We met our guides and went to our safari truck back stage.  We explored all of the savannahs and the guide talked about the animals and the lodge.  It was cool seeing the lodge from the savanna side and seeing all of the animals up-close.  The guides also told us their names and about their personalities. We stopped during the safari to enjoy a traditional safari snack break.  They had tins with dried fruits, almonds, and cold sausage.  The sausage was my favorite along with the dried figs.  We also had some juice. 

After the safari we enjoyed a family style dinner at Jiko.  Dinner took a long time as we were served each course with a wine pairing.  During each coarse the chef, Chef Mase came out to explain all of the dishes we had to sample from.  We ended our adventure around 9:00pm so we stayed in and watched Wishes from the balcony.

Jiko

Snacks

Kidani Village

The food however was not the highlight of the meal.  Meet Jason , He came up and started to tell me that he had been sitting over there with his family and knew he recognized me from somewhere.  Well he remembered me from You Tube.  Ya that’s right I am a bonafide star.  I have been ordering champagne and caviar and living like a rock star.  Heck I am now officially famous. OK I’ll come back down to earth now, in all seriousness I want to tell him that we were happy he stopped by and we could meet his family.  He is a great guy and he really made our trip super special. I emailed him him a link to the blog hopefully it went through and he is following it.  That’s enough about my new found star status.  After lunch I wandered around the resort and took a few photos.  There was a convention checking in and they all showed up together.  The whole check-in area down to the food court was packed with people we couldn’t believe it.  I couldn’t imagine trying to check into that hotel and having to deal with that.  Next we went back to the pool and of course the pool bar.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool until it was time for dinner.

The Wave

Dinner was at a new restaurant named The Wave. It is located in the Contemporary Resort and is located in the space previously held by the Food and Fun Center. For you non Disney-files that is the big hotel the monorail drives into.  Kim and I really loved this place.  The decor is simple but interesting and the food was really good.  Kim had a pork tenderloin and I had a seafood linguine dish.  Now the one thing you need to know about The Wave is it should have been named The Cave because it has no windows.  During dinner I had to use the restroom which is located in the lobby. I looked out the glass doors and it was raining hard. 

By the time Kim and I finished dessert the rain had slowed down.  We decided to run the monorail route.  We hopped on the monorail and visited the Polynesian and Grand Floridian Resort.  While we were in the Grand Floridian the rain had stopped. We went outside to look at the menu for Narcoosses since we will be eating there later in the week.  The sun came out and as it was setting it washed everything into this bright orange glow.  We went to the boat dock to take the boat to the Magic Kingdom but it was not running.  We had to walk back to the front of the building to get back on the monorail.  The orchestra was playing in the lobby so we stopped for a moment to listen.  For me the highlight of this resort is the orchestra.  They play music from the big band era to soft hits from the 60s and 70s and of course Disney classics.

We road the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom and the setting sun was washing everything in a soft orange light.  Over to the east 2 rainbows appeared.  We went through bag check and went to secure a location for Wishes, the Magic Kingdom’s Fireworks show.  I took several shots of the castle and waited for Spectromagic the night time parade.  I took several shots of Wishes but with my new camera and set up I had marginal success at best.  It was extra Magic hours but after the rain the temperature dropped and Kim said she was a bit chilly so we headed back to the Lodge.

Kim enjoying her lunch

The Wave Dinning Room Wishes

Will update later!

We got to Epcot around 9:30 or so.  I wanted to take some nice outdoor shots but although it wasn’t raining the sky was not all that picturesque.  (Spaceship Earth isn’t that impressive with a white sky behind it.)  Bag check sucked!  Ok for all you non Walt Disney World people.  After 911 Walt Disney World started bag check.  I am not sure if the purpose is to spoil a terrorist plot, or to make me feel safer?  Either way it is a huge waste of time and causes massive confusion as most guests who are just starting their vacations don’t understand it.  Now this is the part that gets me fired up every time.  Bag check is set up so guests line up before entering the main entrance gate.  Walt Disney World has fences and barriers to move people to the checkpoints.  There is also a break in the gate that will have a security guard there and a huge sign that reads “No bag entrance” (or something to that effect) Now back to my point.  We get to the bag check line and the line is longer than where the entrance to the check point is, meaning we had to enter the gated area and instead of moving left to the bag check table we moved right to get in line.  In front of us is the no bag entrance.  Both Kim and I have bags so we need to go through bag check.  The part that gets me upset is that only about 1 out of 3 people needs wait in the line.  DHUA, if there is a family of 5 and they have one backpack or diaper bag sent Mom through the no bag check gate with the kids and Grandma to wait for Dad to get the bag checked.  Why does a family of 8 need to wait in line because they have one bag! Use your head people. The other problem with bag check is people don’t unclip their fanny packs and or don’t have their bag open.  That slows the line up too despite the cast members repeated pleas “Please have your bag off your person and open for inspection”  I always laugh when Kim reaches her breaking point during our trips and will ask the guard “what is the purpose of this?” they never have an answer.  They should say “Because the damn Mouse told us to! We have no clue why we need to do this.  It is 90 degrees out here and I am wearing this Mickey mouse security outfit, do you think I want to be out here looking through bags?” but they are always polite and just shrug their shoulders or fumble around stammering and say “well these are the times we live in”.

Enough about bag check, I really wanted to take some photos but that wasn’t going to happen with the cloudy sky but I did want to ride Soarin’ so we headed right over there.  The wait was about 30 minutes.  I love this ride I never get tired of it.  The soundtrack is amazing it was scored by Jerry Goldsmith who wrote music for Patton, Band of Brothers, Apollo 13, and one of my favorite Disney movies The Rocketeer.

After Soarin’ we went on Living With The Land boat ride, always relaxing but Kim likes it better when it was Listen To The Land because she really liked the song that was used back when that was its title.  By the time we got out of the Land Pavilion the sky was looking a bit dark so we headed over to the Boardwalk Resort to have lunch at the ESPN Club.  We love the food and atmosphere here and have frequently visited for delicious burgers and sandwiches. 

We headed over toward World Showcase where all the countries are at Epcot, stopping to window shop a few times. As we headed to International Gateway the back entrance to Epcot we came across Cinderella.  I took a photo of just her I mean why put my fat ugly mug in the photo and spoil it?  After taking her photo I asked her if she had email in the castle because I could send her the photo.  She said ‘oo I don’t know about that stuff but Belle might, after all she is always reading books” That’s why I married a brunette.  Cindy may be pretty but she is still a Blond and needs help from the smart Brunette.  (only kidding Robyn don’t kill me”)

We left Epcot and went to the ESPN Club.  We got there just as it opened.  We sat in the bar area as we always do.  Kim ordered a Burger plain and well done and I got the Dinger which is a buffalo chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato.  After eating we went back to Epcot to get the car.  There were a few spots of blue sky so I snapped a couple of shots.  He went into the shop on the west side under Spaceship Earth and I bought a nice Coffee Mug.  It had the word Soarin’ on it so I had to have it. 

We made it to the car and headed to the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall. Our goal was to pick up some bargains at the Disney outlet store.  It was a very disappointing trip.  Nothing was that good and what was good came in small or XXL.  It was the first time we left empty handed.  By this time it still had not rained and the heat and humidity was creeping up.  We went back to the hotel, changed and went swimming.  Of course this included a few cocktails from the fabulous pool bar.  I recommend the poolside lemonade.

For dinner we went to the Yachtsman’s Steak House.  Kim ordered the Filet and I ordered the New York Stip.  This Dinner was fantastic, our server Al  was from Brooklyn NY and we thought he did an excellent job.  I could not recommend this place enough.  With drinks and appetizer our bill was about $130 so bring the room key with charging privileges.  That included our Tables in Wonderland discount.  Al did such a good job we added an additional tip to the automatic 18% the discount card adds.  If you are eating there ask for Al, you’ll be glad you did.

I wanted to take photos of Illuminations so after dinner we went to Epcot.  I spoke to a couple of cast members standing next to a private roped off area in Italy if I could set my tri-pod up next to the rope on the side near the railing.  One of them (I think her name was Pat) said I can do better than that and after a couple of radio calls had us on the VIP list for the private area near the UK.  We headed over there but never made it.  It was around 7:35pm when we headed over to our new spot so I could have room for my tri-pod.  We got to Japan and the sky opened up.  We ran for cover under  the overhang of the Mitsukoshi Department Store.  We waited out the storm with a couple from Dallas TX.  The storm lasted over an hour and prompted the canceling of illuminations. (so much for the VIP seating) We went out of International Gateway to go back to the Beach Club for our car.  Just passed the Friendship Boat landing and at the base of the hill coming from the Beach Club was about 12 inches of standing water.  It was so funny, people were freaking out on how they were going to make it back to their hotel.  There was still lighting around so they would not run the boat.  People were taking off their shoes and rolling up their pants.  Some people were already so wet it did not matter and they simple forged ahead not even stopping.  The best were the folks trying to walk above the water using the handrail.  Most would get in a few feet and then fall off the railing and end up soaked.  We just waited a few minutes until the lightning had cleared and the boat took us to the Beach Club.  No “wading” required.  The rest of the night was uneventful.  We stopped at the concierge desk to cancel lunch ADRs at Sci-fi for Sunday.  I almost forgot, we did get to see the fireworks from Wishes over at the Magic Kingdom from our balcony, that was very cool.

Don't Fall in!

Dinner at Sanaa was great.  The restaurant was themed like and outdoor African market and well decorated.  Large arch windows alow for viewing animals that are right outside the restaurant.  The dining room was far nicer than I expected for a moderately priced sit down location.  The menu is not your typical steak and seafood.  For the less adventurous there is a strip steak offered. Kim had Chicken cooked in the tandoor oven and I had the spice-crusted Cornish game hen.  Both were really good and well seasoned.  There is no question that we will return on another trip. I should give a shout out to our waiter Ken, amazing service and more importantly in a place like Sanaa, knew the menu. In a location specializing in such unusual offerings a knowledgeable server is a necessity.

After Dinner the sun was out and the rain was gone.  We checked out the resort, including the pool area which is really cool but the pool looks small for the amount of rooms this resort will have once it is fully open.  There is still a section that is not finished.

We went over to Port Orleans Resort Riverside to see Bob Jackson’s show.  We were meeting our friends that we met at Magic Meets , Jim and Marie, over in the bar.  They are spending 2 nights before their cruise on Sunday.

Bob Jackson was as fun as ever. We had him take our picture so we will be on his Facebook page on Sunday.  If you have never checked out his show you owe it to yourself to head over to Riverside to see him. 

“Are you sure my hair isn’t messed up”
  Bob Jackson

Dinning Room

Kidani Village Entrance

I forgot to mention that we did buy own refillable mugs last night.  For those of you who are curious here is a picture.  We had lunch at Tony’s in the Magic Kingdom.  We took the bus from Animal Kingdom Lodge.  The bus was crowded and we ended up standing.  The bus stops at Kidani Village first so the bus was pretty full when it arrived here.  We got to the Magic Kingdom and it started raining.  We went to Tony’s for our 11:30 lunch.  We had to wait a few minute for the restaurant to open but the Dapper Dans came out and did a couple of numbers for us, it was like our own private show.

The food was good, I had the Chicken Parma and Kim had the Eggplant Catasta (Stack).  I will post more about Tony’s on the review page when and if I have the time.  For dessert Kim ordered her favor desert simply known as “The Bomb”. The food was good and the bomb suburb.

After lunch the thunderstorms came rolling in and the rain was hard so we put on our ponchos.  We wandered the stores on Main Street waiting for the rain to let up but it didn’t. 
I wanted to see Monsters Laugh Floor so we headed over to Tomorrowland.  We waited in line for a few minute before they announced the ride was down and they did not know if they would be reopening it today.  People who know us will understand why this is funny.  Where ever we go rides break.

The rain was still coming down so we decided to head back to Animal Kingdom Lodge.  We had our mugs with us in the backpack so we swung by Mara to fill them up.   The stores got worse and blew past but the rain has not stopped.

Tonight’s plan is dinner at Sanaa located in the Kidani Village building. Then we are meeting our Friends Jim and Marie over at Port Orleans Riverside to watch Bob Jackson.

Refillable Mugs

 

Lady and the Tramp Fountain in the center of the Restaurant

Kim loves the Bomb!

We left for the airport about 15 minutes later than we wanted but we made up some time driving and arrives about an hour before our flight.  We stopped to get some food from the food court.  Kim got McNuggets  and fries from McDonalds and I got a slice of pizza from Original Pizza of Boston.  My pizza was good and under $4.00.  Kim’s food was $9.50, for McNuggets!  What a gaff (that was for you Bob).

After eating we headed over to our gate.  At about 15 minutes to board we still weren’t boarding.  We both sensed a problem.  A woman from Southwest finally addressed all the people waiting to board and explained that our nonstop flight to Orlando now had a stop.  It was explained to us that there are 2 runways at Bradley.  One is larger than the other and the large runway is down because they needed to work on it.  This meant that we had to use the shorter of the two runways but because of the wind, temperature and weight they needed to “dump weight” so they would need to remove fuel from the plane so we would need to stop at Raleigh Durum to get gas. The stunned crowed just stood staring at her with their mouths open “what do you mean we have to stop for gas” We finally loaded and took off about 10 minutes behind schedule.

The flight was good, we landed and gassed up and made it to OIA around 8:10 pm.  There was no rain at the airport but after picking up our car from Budget and heading down 417 toward Animal Kingdom Lodge we hit some light rain.  As we passed under the Walt Disney World welcoming arch near POP Century it was a steady light rain.  We checked into the hotel with no trouble and made it to our room.  For those of you familiar with the Animal Kingdom Lodge we are on the Zebra Trail room 5529.  There was a tri circle Mickey waiting for us on the bed.  We were hungry and the store closes at 11:00 and it was around 10:30. We bought some cereal, milk doughnuts and juice.  We went over to the food court called the Mara.  By now neither of us wanted “real food” so Kim got a cookie and I got a paw print brownie.  We went back to the room and unpacked.  By the time we went to bed it was after 12:00.