Day Four
Day four started much later than the previous days. We slept in until almost 9 o'clock and really enjoyed it. Every vacation should have at least one slow morning built in to the plans...it makes for such a wonderfully relaxing day! By the time we were fully awake, clean and dressed it was about 9:45 so we high tailed it across the hall to the club lounge in order to grab a small bite to eat (we didn't want to spoil our appetite for the big lunch we had planned in a few short hours) before they put the breakfast offerings away at 10:00. I was impressed that all of the choices we had at our earlier breakfasts were still available (and fresh) at the very end of the breakfast offering. Another thing I was impressed with was once again the high caliber of CMs that they have working at the Inn Keeper's Club. Not one day went by (not even one time of our entering the lounge actually) that we weren't greeted (the vast majority of the time, by name) and made to feel very welcome and at home. Having told them the day before that we were planning heading out to EPCOT's World Showcase on this day they were ready with suggestions and questions about what we were looking forward to seeing there. I know to some it might not seem like such a big deal that CMs remembered our plans from the day before, however with so many guests walking in and out of the lounge, I found it nothing short of exceptional that they had in fact paid attention while talking with us, cared enough to remember it and made a point to discuss it with us. Outstanding, exceptional, even beyond what you would expect at WDW....those are the words I would use to describe the CMs who take care of you at the Inn Keeper's Club. I guess it's maybe becoming clear just how much those CMs added to our vacation.
After we did our breakfasting and visiting we made our way directly down to the EPCOT friendship boat launch area. We were on schedule to make it for the opening of the World Showcase area at 11:00 am. I was worried about the crowds (I always am) but I shouldn't have been. We were the first (and only) people in line at the docks! That even goes for the other side of the dock where people would have been lined up for Hollywood Studios as well. Here is a picture of the empty dock (and the beautiful view).
Within about five minutes, we were walking on to a boat and on our way to EPCOT for the day. The launches run about every twenty minutes but we were lucky and never waited more than about ten minutes for one. I really liked the transportation around the EPCOT resort area. I found it to be very convenient, at least to DHS and EPCOT, I am still not a fan of the buses and so I took a taxi to DAK and MK (asking to be dropped off at the CR each time and catching a taxi back from there as well).
Once we arrived at the back entrance to the World Showcase we quickly made our way into the park. We ended up having time to spare so
Goofy and I grabbed a seat on a bench and relaxed (can you tell the theme of our morning was to take it easy and slowly enjoy whatever we came across?). I snapped a few pictures as we sat there.
Within about ten minutes we hit opening time for the World Showcase and the CM who had been stopping anyone from entering the WS area early stood aside and wished us a magical day at EPCOT. We promised him we would and walked into an absolutely empty WS. Along the way to Morocco (the first country
Goofy wanted to visit), I snapped a picture of the cute little street vendor's cart detail in the French area.
MOROCCO! I should probably explain that we had recently studied Morocco during our school time and
Goofy had been a big fan. Being as we have no currently planned trips to Morocco this was as close to a visit there as he was going to get in the near future. He was really excited about exploring everything.
Notice how empty it is!
Beautiful details!
Goofy is now the proud owner of his very own fez (the little red cap).
A page from one of my very favorite tales.
So beautiful...I love the combination of colors, glass and light!
We spent about an hour taking it all in. I couldn't believe we found so much to look at in such a small area.
Goofy really got into the details, visiting with the CMs who were actually from Morocco and even did a bit of shopping. He left the area a proud owner of his own fez, a picture book about Habibi (I think that was his name) the camel, a 'magic' lamp, a Moroccan soda, a cookie and his favorite, a pendant with his name written in Arabic. I really had fun watching him explore at his own pace. Being able to dedicate all of my attention to just one of the boys was such a big treat for me. I loved being able to focus on just what sparked his curiosity and interests and also being able to take the time to discuss it all with him. Turns out
Goofy is one deep thinking lil' guy. I did always know that, but it was so wonderful to be able to delve into the depths of his interests with no distractions. For me, as a mom, the time we spent exploring the Morocco area was a priceless gift!
After our Moroccan explorations it was time for our lunch at Chefs de France. This was one meal I was looking forward to not only for the food but for the surprise guest who would hopefully stop by our table. Going into it, I didn't mention anything about the 'guest' to my lil'
Goof, I didn't want him to be let down if the 'guest of honor' was no longer appearing there nor did I want to spoil the surprise of having the 'guest' just appear.
We were seated within five minutes of checking in at a window side table for two. We loved being able to people watch as we dined. It was a lot of fun to be able to watch the hustle and bustle of people enjoying the World Showcase outside of the window. My meal started off with the lobster bisque. It wasn't the best lobster bisque I have ever had but it was a darn good bowl of the stuff. I thought it may have been a bit on the salty side but just a little bit and when you used the crusty bread with lots of butter on it to lap it up, it tasted just right. The bread that they brought for the table was a hit with both of us. In fact, I could have made a meal of the bread alone! It was that tasty.
Goofy's meal started off with a cheese puff pastry. Turns out that wasn't to his liking. However, between the bread and sharing my lobster bisque with me, he was more than satisfied with his 'first course'.
Goofy's main course was pan roasted flounder. He was able to have the veggies replaced by french fries (he was really craving them that day). Notice he is already wearing his Moroccan name medallion. He still adores that little necklace because it's so unique and all of his friends think it's cool that he has his name written in another language.
As for my main course, I had beef short ribs braised in Cabernet with pasta, pearl onions and mushrooms. I thought this was very tasty with the exception of how fatty the short ribs were. They weren't marbled with fat (as I would expect from that cut of meat), they were globbed with it. I just cut the fat out and ate 'around' it and still had more than enough to eat, for my tastes though, a little bit leaner would have been better. Still, I considered my choice a good one and would happily try it out again (with hopefully a less fatty serving appearing on my plate). Doesn't it look good!
As we enjoyed our meals, I caught a glimpse of a covered tray being pushed around the dining area. At seeing that, my excitement grew. I knew under that silver dome was a special 'guest'. I couldn't wait for my lil'
Goof to meet him. Here is the first picture I was able to snap (at this point,
Goofy still didn't know he was there since he was facing me instead of toward the main dining area).
More to follow...
You and Goofy had a fun night, the Boardwalk is great at night. The treasure hunt was great, it looked like he was getting more excited as the clues went on. 
They were such great CMs! Goofy sent me packing gifts for them when I took Aladdin down for his birthday trip a few months later. He has never wanted to send gifts down to WDW before that. But the Inn Keeper Club CMs were beyond amazing and even a little boy could tell how special they were. 
). We were there the 4th-15th for Aladdin's trip. We overlapped by three days! 
Boo hiss. I would have loved to have met up!Glad you have put it behind you and moved on. I think it is so easy to hide behind the anonimity of a keyboard and would people really say such things if they were face to face with you? I think not.
They never fail to surprise!
). Here's a picture of the mouth watering snack.
We haven't got plans to return for a while but when we do I'll be PMing you just in case 
