A basic introduction of our trip on May 4-May 11th:The Cast:
Myself, Snow White, 38 yr, Head Planner and Treasurer, haven't been to WDW since 1985 Grad Nite
Grumpy, 39 yr, NEVER been to WDW before this trip
First things first, Grumpy and I, (Snow White), are CBC (childless by choice) - please don't judge us or think we are selfish people! We love kids, as long as they belong to other people
We enjoy spoiling our our nieces and nephews with lots of love and plenty of presents and hopefully Grumpy will break down next year and we will take the two youngest with us to the World!!
for now, I am grateful to have convinced him to go for the first time!!Day One: THE DAY FROM HELL, i.e., not an auspicious beginning
Suitcases are like poison to my dog
- on Weds night the 3rd of May, the drama started...5 pm after work, Grumpy and I had a pre-vacation packing party, and we packed our 4 suitcases, 3 smaller carry-on bags, 2 coolers, one huge bag of snacks, and one hang-up bag, with much glee and beer, as our 110 pound Akita gave us the evil eye.. he knew where he was going and wasn't to see the Mouse.. 
so, he went Revenge of the Dogs on us and woke us up at 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, etc. until 7 am with severe stomach problems. Meaning that poor Snow White got about 3 hours of sleep before she had to got to work for a few hours 
...before leaving.We finally took off at about 4:00 pm on Thurs afternoon - Grumpy and I live in South Florida so we planned a short 3 hour drive
, with dinner at Downtown Disney... but we hit a major accident on I-75 and we ended up for our first night at Port Orleans Riverside at about 9:00 - smooth check-in, but, OMG, we couldn't find our room!! 
..we were in a strange location - in the back on the mansions facing the fountains - maybe we were super tired, but it was confusing in the dark and we had to park a long way away from the room. When we finally found the room number,
a BAD odor hit us..like someone couldn't find the pool bathroom and decided since our room was hidden from view, it would be a good idea to take the kids for a quick squirt 
Basically, it was just like arriving for the first time in the French Quarter in New Orleans - if you have visited there you know what I am trying to say.The room was decorated nicely - it really did look like New Orleans there - I love the magnolia trees and the riverwalk - but, our room was not really clean - the carpet was dirty and the shower curtain had black mold all over - now, don't get me wrong - I am not a big complainer, but c'mon, I wanted to leave for our vacation one night early and we spent about $150 after taxes for a pre-vacation night (and to preview POR) and we were disappointed.
Since we never have a curfew, (no kids, remember) we drank a couple beers, (the mold didn't seem as bad then), and decided to go to Downtown Disney via the boat.
One thing you should realize, is that I have been planning this trip for approximately 3 months - and to get Grumpy to agree was like a minor miracle. His idea of the perfect vacation involves cold beer, hot tables (as in VEGAS, baby!!
, and lots of sleeping in late and staying up all night!! Since I am always up early, we always have a difficult time agreeing on vacation plans, but he agreed to try it once 
..Now, if you are reading this - I am going to point out some things first timers should know - maybe all the oldtimers are aware of these, but I read this board every day and missed some of these facts:
Fact: If you ride the boat transportation you may want to use bug spray - maybe it was just me, but I got eaten alive while waiting on the boats at night
We hit DD at about 10:00 - and WOW!! How cool! It is beautiful at night! We walked through the Marketplace to the entrance of Pleasure Island, and becuse we were starving, decided to try Fulton's Crab House. Now, I knew we would probably never get in, but we guess what, we were seated late
Grumpy needed a beer, and so did I! Grumpy ordered a dozen raw oysters, calamari, and the portobello mushroom fries.Another fact:
Fact: Grumpy and I are both in the Hospitality and Restaurant Business, he has progressed from college degrees, culinary school, and many, many years of slaving to please others palates to being a "Big Shot" in the restaurant business, and I am also in Biz at the corporate level- anyway, please trust our food judgements at WDW
Anyway, enough about us, let's talk about food
.. first, the server brought us some nice bread and an amuse-bouche (fancy French term for "the cooks are slammed in the kitchen - eat this and pretend it's a lot of food until we get the real-deal out!) and we knew the Oysters were a mistake - if fact, we knew it before we ordered- oysters are best in SW FL in the winter - ( the old wives' tale about only eating oysters in months with an "R" in the name , like October, is true!) These were tee-tiny, and Grumpy was not happy - "Send them back!!" and tell the chef blah!! Next were the Portobello fries - super delicious,and the Calamari was cut in thick strips, (not rings) and was awesome as well. We were full, so Grumpy and I decided just to get dessert - the Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee - this was the best dessert of the trip- if nothing else, you MUST try this!The couple behind us had the Crab and Lobster Experience for Two and boy, they looked like like they enjoyed it immensely! (Snow White was jealous!) I have marked it as a to-do the next trip!
My Grumpy (As you will come to find out) has never met a stranger, and even though he complained about the oysters, before we leave, we have made a friend in our server (a doctor from India training for pharmacy school in the US, and the chef, who ended up emailing us a couple of recipes!!) We were completely sassified with FULTON's and took the boat back to POR and slept like angels.
Ok, well, not like angels, but pretty dang good! BTW, I just got home tonight, Grumpy flew to Texas to see his Mom for Mother's Day - so hopefully I can get some pictures up here for you to see soon
