My previous installment left us with Liz deciding if she wanted to look like a marshmallow or not for her first half marathon. What did she decide? She succumbed to the wiles of the Tyvek Man and bought the marshmallow outfit.
So did our new runner friend. I think they made the right call.
Anyway after our encounter with the Tyvek Man we noticed the time and realized we needed to head back to the hotel if we wanted to make our dinner reservation. So we headed out to wait for another Disney bus. The bus arrived shortly and we once again went on the Magic Kingdom Area Hotel Circuit. It felt like déjà vu. It seems like we spent an inordinate amount of time on Disney buses on Day 1.
We arrived and headed to the room where we noticed a flashing message on the phone. Thinking it was just the normal welcome to the resort message I put it on speaker phone. What do we hear? Its Mickey Mouse wishing me a Happy Birthday.
My birthday had been the day before. Im not quite sure how Mickey knew that. Maybe hes like Santa and just knows stuff.
We had a few minutes so we called our respective families and DH informed me the weather forecast said there was only a 30% chance of precip in the morning. That made me very happy. Things were definitely looking up! Maybe I wouldnt need the Marshmallow Outfit after all!
After quick chats we headed over to the Contemporary where we figured out we check into the California Grill on the 2nd floor. We were both very excited about this meal since neither one of us had eaten here before. As we were checking in the Cast Member wished me a Happy Birthday and I remembered when Id made the reservation 90 days earlier Id mentioned my birthday. Of course that got me a birthday pin which I took with as much grace as I could, but I was not thrilled about.
Im not a big birthday gal. I guess because my birthday is 13 days after Christmas. Im usually suffering from that Christmas hangover. You know the one where you know youve eaten too much food and spent too much money over the last month.
Anyway since Ive been a grown up Ive tried to downplay by birthday. Im not sure what I was thinking when I made the reservation. (It was before the Christmas hangover I suppose.) Anyway we waited for our special elevator that took us to the 10th floor and as we arrived were immediately greeted by a smiling CM that said, Happy Birthday, Mrs. Darling. (Actually she said Jenny because that is what my tag said
.) Liz was loving all of the attention I was getting. I was just trying to be gracious and not roll my eyes. This was a very sweet CM who chatted to us for a while and told us about the new menu item. Buffalo. A bit different than my usual fare, but it sounded intriguing. (I like to try new foods.) We walked away from the elevator and we were both very impressed by our surroundings. The restaurant is a large open space with an absolutely fabulous view of the Magic Kingdom.
The picture doesnt do it justice.
We were shown to our lovely table where I was once again wished a Happy Birthday and scattered on the table was Pixie Dust (or Mickey shaped confetti.)
As I am a Darling, I have a special place in my heart for Pixie Dust so that brought an immediate smile to my face. (Well I was probably already smiling so it just made my grin bigger.)
We studied our menus and placed our orders. For our appetizer we both chose the Flatbread. Liz had the three cheese
I had the chicken flatbread.
We both found them amazing, but as we were saving room for the rest of our meal we didnt clear our plates. (Though Liz really wanted to.)
Next came our entrees and I am so sorry I dont have pictures. I suppose we were being naughty DISers. Id been planning on the filet, but decided on the Bison instead. It was really flavorful and I was happy with my choice (and now I can say Ive eaten Buffalo.)
Liz loved her steak, the potatoes and even the broccolini! She actually cleared her plate. I was amazed! We were studying the dessert menu when I looked up and Liz had a goofy grin on her face. I asked her why and before she could answer our server appeared with this:
Looks yummy, huh! Our server wished me a Happy Birthday and I thanked her for not singing. She assured me that isnt the CA Grill style and I was glad this was my birthday dinner. She kindly took a picture of us.
And here is one of just the birthday girl with her cake
I made a wish and blew out the candle. I'd made the same wish the night before when I blew out the candles with my family. The wish didn't come true.
(It involved precipitation or the lack thereof.)
Liz ordered the Yule Log dessert (after we discussed it seemed a little strange to still have the Christmas menu)
Cute, isn't it?
I told our server I was great with just the cake. (Two rich desserts the night before running 13.1 miles is not a good idea.) The cake was very good. Very rich and chocolatey. Just the way I like it. Liz enjoyed her dessert as well.
As we were eating our desserts the lights dimmed and the Wishes music began. We thought wed have a great view of the fireworks from our table because we had a great view of the castle
However a large column and the roofline obstructed our fireworks view. It was an option to go out on the viewing deck, but it was cold and we hadnt brought our coats up. So we just sat inside and enjoyed the music.
We both gave this meal an enthusiastic thumbs up!
I would definitely return here, but I wouldnt bring my kids. The meal took over 2 hours and my boys would not have the patience for that. There were kids there and they were all very well behaved, but for me having to make sure the kids were entertained would have ruined the effect of the delicious leisurely meal. So the meal was over. What happened next?