cdotla
Trish
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2006
Day 3 - Part One
The sun had barely broken on our third day in Disney and I was already up and ready to go. Despite the fact that we had yet another late night the evening before. And despite the fact that I most certainly am *not* a morning person.
For whatever reason it is impossible for me to sleep in at Disney. Or go to bed early for that matter.
Perhaps if I ever take the 2-3 week trips that you see alot of people from Europe and the UK doing I would feel okay about taking off a couple of days to sleep in and lounge about. To date the longest amount of time I have spent at Disney is 7 days. Most of my trips (including this one) are much shorter. So for me, sleep is highly overrated when there are a million things I want to see, eat, experience and accomplish in such limited time.
I would be lying if I didn't confess to something else which gets me up and moving in the mornings at Disney. A little thing called an ADR. In other words, F-O-O-D people! Yes, food! And breakfast food in particular. Gets me everytime.
The fact that some people pack Pop Tarts, granola bars, cereal, ect. to eat in their rooms in the morning just absolutely blows my mind! To think that they are just footsteps away from some of the best breakfast dining experiences in Disney and willingly choose to stay put in their room eating packaged food that you could literally eat anywhere - well, I just don't get it. Is it to save time? Save money? Either way, I don't see the point.
One of the highlights of every trip for me is the Dining. And given that I am normally fighting people off for certain reservations at the 180-day mark proves that I can't be alone on this. In fact, I am so big on dining at Disney that on short little trips like this my challenge is fitting all of the places I wish to dine into just 3 meals a day!
So if I want to sleep more - I'll catch up on the zzzz's when I get home. If I want to save money - I'll brown bag it and cut down (not out) the Starbucks before I leave. But give up Dining??? No way Jose!!!
Today we were heading to my absolute favourite place to eat Breakfast in all of Walt Disney World. A little known place called the Kona Cafe.
Now Kona is, of course, well known on the DIS. But certainly not to the Disney masses. Which in my mind only increases its appeal. And chances are, even if you are calling at the last minute, you will be able to get a 7:30am Breakfast reservation at Kona; perfect timing for making rope drop at 9am.
If you have read any amount of Trip Reports on the DIS, or spent any amount of time on the Poly Resort thread, you will have heard of the cult-like following of a certain Kona house specialty. A little thing described as Tonga Toast. Actually, little it is not. It is HUGE!!!
Although I had heard about it, saw pictures of it, and even watched fellow diners chowing down on the stuff beside me, I had yet to give into the hype. Yes, up until this Trip I had never even sampled the infamous Tonga Toast. Well, that was about to change. Today was the day. I was going to try it.
Problem was...Andrea was still sleeping.
It was 7:30am and precious time was ticking away. Now I know that she heard the alarm. And I know she must have heard me getting ready. I also know that, like me, she has two toddlers and likely hasn't spent a morning in bed past 7am in the past 5 years. However, for whatever reason, she wasn't budging. Apparently the Kona pull wasn't as strong for her.
After quietly stalling and killing time in the room until 7:30am, I was getting antsy. I knew we weren't going to make our 7:35am ADR so I crossed that one off the list. I decided to head out for a walk with the camera and take some pictures of the Resort. That is when I took all of the pictures I posted on the Check-In post from our first day. I took my time and walked all around the Resort and pool area. I even did some shopping at the Giftshop and stopped in at Kona to advise them that we were not going to make our ADR. Fortunately I don't think anyone lost out on a table on account of us. There may have been 4 occupied tables in the whole place. Meanwhile that "circus" down the hall had people lined up for miles.
By the time I made it back to the room it was almost 8:30am. As I was opening the door I was all set to apologize to Andrea for taking so long with my walk, photos and shopping, thinking she would be dressed, ready to go and waiting for me. Not quite. I opened the door to total darkness. She was still down for the count.
Hmmm....what's a girl to do? I was starving. And excited to get the day underway. Maybe I would just do this one solo.
Fortunately I was easily able to slide into a table right away at 8:30am. Like I said, it is WDW's best kept secret for Breakfast dining. (Let's keep it that way, K?
)
The other really important thing about Kona is the coffee. Mmmmmm, coffee.
Fellow java snobs take note: Yes, I agree that an on property Starbucks would be a great addition to the Parks. However, you can't go wrong with a Kona Press. Pricey, especially for just one, but worth it! And even if you don't feel like splurging for the Press, their brewed coffee is almost just as good.
Now for all you folks out there who have never heard of Tonga Toast, let me explain. How does thick slices of French bread stuffed with bananas, which is fried and rolled in sugar sound to you?
To me.....honestly? Not so much.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE French Toast. It is one of my favourite foods. I like a good banana just as well as anyone. And sugar? Well, hello! What's not to love about that?
However, for whatever reason, the combination of all that together just wasn't doing it for me. So up until today, I had always steered clear of it.
My Breakfast of Choice at Kona - The Big Kahuna. Oh yes. It is all that. And more. To the day I die, this will be my most favourite breakfast.
Comes with:
2 eggs - any style you want them.
Bacon, ham, *and* sausage. (I always get all bacon.)
Fruit
French Toast (not Tonga, just regular)
And the Kicker - Macadamia Nut Pancakes!!!
Now I like pancakes. The thin, homemade kind my Dad makes. Some may call them crepes. I am not a lover of 99% of restaurant pancakes as I generally find them too thick and heavy. So I wasn't expecting much from these pancakes when I first ordered them. I was so wrong!
Kona's Macadamia Nut Pancakes are absolute Heaven!!! They are so light and fluffy and come with chopped pineapple and amazing macadamia nut whipped butter - Yum! Simply to die for!
Despite my love and affection for the Big Kahuna, I think DISboard hype finally got the best of me. I decided that I simply could not complete my stay at the Poly without sampling the Tonga Toast.
So, did it live up to the hype? Well....although this may be considered blasphemy, especially on the Poly thread, it did not. At least for me.
First of all, even for me, Ms. Sweet Tooth, I found this way, way, way too sweet. And the mushy bananas packed in the middle of the bread didn't do too much for me either. Definitely won't be ordering this again. I literally forced myself to eat about 1/4 of it and that was that.
So it's definitely back to the good ole Big Kahuna for me. Each to their own!
The sun had barely broken on our third day in Disney and I was already up and ready to go. Despite the fact that we had yet another late night the evening before. And despite the fact that I most certainly am *not* a morning person.
For whatever reason it is impossible for me to sleep in at Disney. Or go to bed early for that matter.
Perhaps if I ever take the 2-3 week trips that you see alot of people from Europe and the UK doing I would feel okay about taking off a couple of days to sleep in and lounge about. To date the longest amount of time I have spent at Disney is 7 days. Most of my trips (including this one) are much shorter. So for me, sleep is highly overrated when there are a million things I want to see, eat, experience and accomplish in such limited time.
I would be lying if I didn't confess to something else which gets me up and moving in the mornings at Disney. A little thing called an ADR. In other words, F-O-O-D people! Yes, food! And breakfast food in particular. Gets me everytime.
The fact that some people pack Pop Tarts, granola bars, cereal, ect. to eat in their rooms in the morning just absolutely blows my mind! To think that they are just footsteps away from some of the best breakfast dining experiences in Disney and willingly choose to stay put in their room eating packaged food that you could literally eat anywhere - well, I just don't get it. Is it to save time? Save money? Either way, I don't see the point.
One of the highlights of every trip for me is the Dining. And given that I am normally fighting people off for certain reservations at the 180-day mark proves that I can't be alone on this. In fact, I am so big on dining at Disney that on short little trips like this my challenge is fitting all of the places I wish to dine into just 3 meals a day!
So if I want to sleep more - I'll catch up on the zzzz's when I get home. If I want to save money - I'll brown bag it and cut down (not out) the Starbucks before I leave. But give up Dining??? No way Jose!!!
Today we were heading to my absolute favourite place to eat Breakfast in all of Walt Disney World. A little known place called the Kona Cafe.
Now Kona is, of course, well known on the DIS. But certainly not to the Disney masses. Which in my mind only increases its appeal. And chances are, even if you are calling at the last minute, you will be able to get a 7:30am Breakfast reservation at Kona; perfect timing for making rope drop at 9am.
If you have read any amount of Trip Reports on the DIS, or spent any amount of time on the Poly Resort thread, you will have heard of the cult-like following of a certain Kona house specialty. A little thing described as Tonga Toast. Actually, little it is not. It is HUGE!!!
Although I had heard about it, saw pictures of it, and even watched fellow diners chowing down on the stuff beside me, I had yet to give into the hype. Yes, up until this Trip I had never even sampled the infamous Tonga Toast. Well, that was about to change. Today was the day. I was going to try it.
Problem was...Andrea was still sleeping.
It was 7:30am and precious time was ticking away. Now I know that she heard the alarm. And I know she must have heard me getting ready. I also know that, like me, she has two toddlers and likely hasn't spent a morning in bed past 7am in the past 5 years. However, for whatever reason, she wasn't budging. Apparently the Kona pull wasn't as strong for her.
After quietly stalling and killing time in the room until 7:30am, I was getting antsy. I knew we weren't going to make our 7:35am ADR so I crossed that one off the list. I decided to head out for a walk with the camera and take some pictures of the Resort. That is when I took all of the pictures I posted on the Check-In post from our first day. I took my time and walked all around the Resort and pool area. I even did some shopping at the Giftshop and stopped in at Kona to advise them that we were not going to make our ADR. Fortunately I don't think anyone lost out on a table on account of us. There may have been 4 occupied tables in the whole place. Meanwhile that "circus" down the hall had people lined up for miles.
By the time I made it back to the room it was almost 8:30am. As I was opening the door I was all set to apologize to Andrea for taking so long with my walk, photos and shopping, thinking she would be dressed, ready to go and waiting for me. Not quite. I opened the door to total darkness. She was still down for the count.
Hmmm....what's a girl to do? I was starving. And excited to get the day underway. Maybe I would just do this one solo.
Fortunately I was easily able to slide into a table right away at 8:30am. Like I said, it is WDW's best kept secret for Breakfast dining. (Let's keep it that way, K?
)The other really important thing about Kona is the coffee. Mmmmmm, coffee.
Fellow java snobs take note: Yes, I agree that an on property Starbucks would be a great addition to the Parks. However, you can't go wrong with a Kona Press. Pricey, especially for just one, but worth it! And even if you don't feel like splurging for the Press, their brewed coffee is almost just as good.Now for all you folks out there who have never heard of Tonga Toast, let me explain. How does thick slices of French bread stuffed with bananas, which is fried and rolled in sugar sound to you?
To me.....honestly? Not so much.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE French Toast. It is one of my favourite foods. I like a good banana just as well as anyone. And sugar? Well, hello! What's not to love about that?
However, for whatever reason, the combination of all that together just wasn't doing it for me. So up until today, I had always steered clear of it.
My Breakfast of Choice at Kona - The Big Kahuna. Oh yes. It is all that. And more. To the day I die, this will be my most favourite breakfast.
Comes with:
2 eggs - any style you want them.
Bacon, ham, *and* sausage. (I always get all bacon.)
Fruit
French Toast (not Tonga, just regular)
And the Kicker - Macadamia Nut Pancakes!!!
Now I like pancakes. The thin, homemade kind my Dad makes. Some may call them crepes. I am not a lover of 99% of restaurant pancakes as I generally find them too thick and heavy. So I wasn't expecting much from these pancakes when I first ordered them. I was so wrong!
Kona's Macadamia Nut Pancakes are absolute Heaven!!! They are so light and fluffy and come with chopped pineapple and amazing macadamia nut whipped butter - Yum! Simply to die for!
Despite my love and affection for the Big Kahuna, I think DISboard hype finally got the best of me. I decided that I simply could not complete my stay at the Poly without sampling the Tonga Toast.
So, did it live up to the hype? Well....although this may be considered blasphemy, especially on the Poly thread, it did not. At least for me.
First of all, even for me, Ms. Sweet Tooth, I found this way, way, way too sweet. And the mushy bananas packed in the middle of the bread didn't do too much for me either. Definitely won't be ordering this again. I literally forced myself to eat about 1/4 of it and that was that.
So it's definitely back to the good ole Big Kahuna for me. Each to their own!
last year I did all my Christmas shopping on line and sent to my hotel in the states, the poor girl at the Front desk thought I was nuts, but it was great.
Sounds like you had a great night at Epcot. The 2nd bonus ride on Soarin is awesome!!
. I really like the pics everything looks so good. I love the plates in France I love all their stuff in that store. The wine flight in there is one of my faves.
I have been amazed at how well you function on little sleep. I probably would have been like your BFF and stayed in bed. Good for you for not letting it stop you.
In fact, before the EEC challenge at the end of September, the last time I had laced up a pair of sneakers was on the day of the Minnie 5k in May. Oh well, who am I to let a pesky little detail like pre-race training get in the way of all my fun!
Still here and excited to catch up. I think it's the time of year... tough to find time to DIS! 
Loving your TR and am heading back to catch up. Don't get discouraged!! 
to you for competing in the race. That's fantastic. It's something I *think* about and have definitely heard lots of great comments from participants in the various Disney races. I just don't quite know how to get into running. 
Yeah, probably not the typical pre-race routine but I bet you did great. I love Le Cellier too and wouldn't have given it up either. Also love the cheddar cheese soup and the pretzel bread. Yum-o!
