It's time to make the Magic! Visiting the Magic Kingdom 1/11/2016 Part 5
After a magical morning riding fantastic attractions like Peter Pan's Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Barnstormer, The Walt Disney World Railroad, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as well as meeting amazing characters like Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, and Princess Jasmine and Aladdin. However, all this touring made me hungry, so I walked through Frontierland to Pecos Bill Tall Tale Cafe.
I arrived at the entrance of Pecos Bill, where I was greeted by two bubbly female CMs, who were happy to have me and hand out a menu, which I wanted to peruse as I was hoping to try the Chicken Fajitas, as those were calling my name. Ed, a very friendly and helpful older CM who was a cashier, was happy to take me over and try to answer my question as to whether the tortillas used for the fajitas were corn-based (which I can do as while I am allergic to most grains, I am not allergic to corn and rice) or flour-based? While Ed did not know, he was able to use his earpiece (or whatever those speakers the CMs have (it's not a walkie-talkie as it's not as large) to summon Benji from Pendleton, IN, who proved to be another one of the fabulous CMs I encountered as he was very friendly, polite, hard-working, and determined to make my experience the best he could be. He had the ingredient book with him and he inquired what I wanted to eat as well as my allergies?
I told him that I wanted the Chicken Fajita, but my main concern was about the tortilla as well as the fact that I was allergic to all grains except corn and rice as well as eggs. With that in mind, he immediately turned to the ingredients page for the tortillas. Unfortunately, they were out as they were flour-based. Since Benji still wanted me to be able to eat the fajitas, he looked to see if there were any other allergens. With the exception of egg in an ingredient to flavor the cilantro-rice, they fajitas sans tortillas were fine!
In addition to substituting the cilantro rice for plain rice, he also offered me two bags of tortilla chips which were corn-based on the side (even though they normally cost extra on the menu) and advised that while my meal would take a couple of extra minutes to cook, this would be because he wanted to prepare the grilled chicken on a separate grill and with a fresh bag of spices, as he wanted to prevent cross-contamination. I also got a Diet Coke to drink. With my order ready, Ed processed it with the POS system and I used my iPhone 6 with Apple Pay to pay for my meal, as it is handy and can be more secure than using a credit card alone. I was thankful for Benji's fantastic service and excited for my meal and while I was waiting, I chatted with Benji, telling him how WDW has been excellent all the times I have been there about accommodating my food allergies and that he was definitely no exception. He also revealed that he was only working at WDW for three months, which surprised me as he seemed very experienced! When I complimented him on the fact that he did not seem new at all, he revealed to me that WDW trained him very well and I happily agreed, as I feel that they definitely do a great job at keeping the standards high! Since Benji wanted to go check on my food and had to take care of other business, we ended the conversation there and I chatted with some other CMs.
A short time before I received my food, I met a lovely lady named Debbie, who was visiting from Mineola, NY, which is about two towns west of where I live. This excited us both as we were both Long Islanders and in addition, she was visiting with her husband and two children for their 17th Anniversary (based on her pin) (Mazel-tov!
) and for the WDW Marathon, which they like to do every year. Somehow, we ended up talking about transportation a little bit, as I mentioned how I live two stops on the same LIRR line. At that point, I added that she also lives near a station (Mineola) with some of the best LIRR service, as it is frequent due to the station being busy as well as being served by four lines, which include the Port Jefferson line, the Ronkonkoma line, the Oyster Bay line, and some Montauk line trains. She mentioned that she loves being not too far from the Mineola LIRR, as she is easily able to go to points like NYC and even Jamaica, for the Airtrain to JFK Airport. Since she brought up the Airtrain and I was contemplating using it for when I came home from my trip, I asked her how it was and she said it worked well, as it was quick, inexpensive, and enabled her to avoid road traffic. When she asked how I got to FL, I told her I flew on JetBlue from JFK and she said they used JetBlue too and that they liked using them, although they departed from LGA and were flying back to JFK. Debbie had to head back to her family, but I congratulated her once again on her anniversary and wished them a magical time! Did I see Debbie again later on this trip? Keep reading to find out!
About fifteen minutes later, I had my meal, which looked delicious!
In addition, I could not help taking pictures of the Texas flag hanging near the counter as well as the large toppings bar, which was well stocked with different types of salsa, cheese, guacamole, and more.
While I loved the very nice atmosphere inside of Pecos Bill, which felt like a Western hacienda with the dark yet warm colors as well as the brownish I think terra cotta floor tiles, I decided to head to the outside seating area, as it was a beautiful day and I wanted to bask in the sun. In addition to looking delicious, I found the meal to be large in portion size and it tasted as good as, if not better than it looked, as the grilled chicken was moist, juicy, and perfectly spiced, the rice was fluffy, the black beans were well cooked, and the tortilla chips offered on the side were crispy and pleasantly salty. I also enjoyed the sides I got from the toppings bar, like a balanced and not spicy tomato salsa, a slightly spicy salsa verde, a filling and slightly spicy corn salsa, and some salty shredded cheese, which I used later to add on to some tortilla chips along with salsa to make makeshift nachos (sorry, I forgot to take a pic
) lol
.
While I was eating, I chatted with a very nice mixed-generation family visiting from Atlanta, GA for a bit, which made me feel like I was not alone. After enjoying this delicious and copious meal, I then used the restroom and decided to call my mom, as I wanted to check up on her. While I was doing that, I decided to see what wait times were like for various attractions, but with Haunted Mansion clocking in at a 45-minute standby wait, I decided to take a little break, as I knew that if I waited a little bit, the wait times would die down. So I walked around the Magic Kingdom for a little bit and called my mom, who was doing well and she wanted to know how I was doing? I told her that I was having a wonderful day, as I was full from my delicious lunch and had the chance to do a lot in the morning. Mom was very happy to hear this and she wanted to know my plans for later in the day? I told her that I planned to get a Pineapple Float from Aloha Isle in Adventureland, see the Festival of Fantasy parade, and then take an afternoon break at The Grand Floridian for a little bit. After that, I planned to return to the MK for my FP+ with Anna and Elsa at 5:00PM-6:00PM, more attractions, and Wishes!
After talking, we ended the conversation as mom wanted me to have a good time and I agreed to call her later
.
Next, I took a picture of Cinderella's Castle after listening to the fantastic marching band.
I also took a selfie.
While I was in the area, I also found a very bubbly female PhotoPass photographer, who got an excellent photo of me in front of the castle.
After visiting the hub area for a bit, I decided to head over to Aloha Isle in Adventureland, as the temperatures were rising and I was feeling a little warm, making it the perfect time for a Pineapple Float
.