Bob had told me last night that he wanted to sleep in a bit this morning so I knew whatever I did I would be on my own. Translate that to mean, I get to do whatever I want to do!! So I brewed a pot of the Kona coffee we had shipped to the resort, took a quick shower and off I went. I walked over to Captain Cooks and had a Dole Whip for my breakfast. Then I took the first monorail to the MK. I arrived in time for the opening and lots of time photographing the sights:
I especially loved the filler used to make Mickeys head on the hill leading up to the train tracks! I am used to seeing mums and other fall plantings, not gourds and pumpkins!!
At opening I decided I would walk leisurely through the shops on Main Street and go where I felt like after that.
I got to the castle and there was almost no one around!
And decided I wanted to go over to Epcot to the Festival Welcome Center again. I turned around and walked back down Main Street doing a little browsing as I went. I loved being able to do this!
There was a CM with a bucket of water and a broom who was painting Mickey and Goofy heads on the ground. He was doing it upside down
just amazing.
Monorail red whisked me to Epcot and I still had about hour before Bob would meet me at our bench near the fountain. We had a reservation at Biergarten at noon. I grabbed another glass of prosecco and walked all around the Welcome Center, picking out things I wanted to purchase for myself as well as for gifts. I know, I know
if you want something, buy it when you see it. I figured since this was opening weekend I would have a good chance of still being able to get the things I wanted. I was right, in the long run, but there was one thing that was very popular and sold out in the first 2 days! It was a wrought iron wine rack that hung flat on the wall. There were grape vines winding up from the base that held 4 bottles of wine, neck down, and there were slots in the base of the rack that held 4 wine glasses. I would have liked one, but it wasnt something I needed. Just like the great cookbook holder that I liked but didnt need since I already have one.
One thing I did purchase was the F&W Festival Gift Card. It is re-loadable and extremely convenient to use. The top section snaps off, leaving you with a small card with an attached strap. Ingenious!
We took the boat over to Germany and had a typically good meal. I had never had the wurst salad so, in the spirit of our quest, I tried new item #5! Ehhhh
We had a full table and one of the young ladies is a DISer! Unfortunately I dont remember her name but I know she was there with her Mom and her son, leaving her DH and her 8 month old at home for this trip. We had a very nice time talking about our experiences so far on our trips. About the time we finished our food and our liters of beer the floor show was about to start. Bob was worried they would select him since we were on the front row, but they must have seen the terror in his eyes, because they moved to another gentleman one table over. He was hysterical as the Burgermeister.
The Oktoberfest keg was tapped and he downed the mug in one long series of gulps!
They presented him with the mug, refilled from the keg. We listened to a bit of the music before heading out of the building.
We took our time walking out of Epcot and I snapped some photos.
We stopped at the Tambu Lounge and Walter pulled us a couple of Amber Bocks. Finished those and went back to the room for a nap before our 8:00 dinner reservation at Citricos. This was our first ever trip to this restaurant. The young CM who seated us there was just delightful! Donald was truly excited that we were there for our anniversary. He kept coming back to our table throughout the meal to make certain that everything was perfect.
Our server, John, brought us our drinks: Stella Artois for Bob and a glass of Banfi Rosa Regale for me. I was interested in sparkling wines this trip for some reason. That is unusual for me, in fact! We ordered from our personalized menu:
We shared our appetizer: New item #6 - Arancini (Crispy Risotto with Italian Sausage, Quaitro Formaggi, and White Truffle Aioli)
Bob had New Item #7 as his entrée: Braised Veal Shank (Carrot-Potato Puree, Roasted Vegetables, and Toasted Citrus Gremolota)
I chose New Item #8 for mine: Braised Boneless Black Angus Short Ribs (Creamy Polenta and a Blood Orange Demi-glace)
Our meal was fabulous. Every item that we ate was cooked to perfection and full of flavor. We both agreed that my short ribs were better than the veal. And I had really surprised Bob when I ordered them in lieu of one of my normal seafood choices. I am glad that I did. I ate about half of my plate, had a taste of Bobs and he finished every last bite of mine! The veal shank went unfinished, not because it wasnt good, but because mine was better and we were getting full. We had not ordered dessert the night before at California Grill and were determined to enjoy something sweet with our dinner tonight. We shared the Warm Chocolate Banana Tort with vanilla ice cream and caramelized bananas. Again, it was delicious. The presentation was beautiful too. The plate had Happy Anniversary scripted in chocolate and a tall tiara of chocolate along the back of the plate. The tort was New Item #9 and we were very happy to have tried it. We also had pressed pots of coffee with dessert and they were so tasty!
Donald came over to ask how we had enjoyed the dessert and was giddy when we told him it was as beautiful as well as scrumptious. He is a new CM at Citricos (from China) and had to learn how to make those "tiaras of chocolate. He said it took him forever but he knew we would like it. He made me smile the entire time we were at dinner. His enthusiasm was contagious.
We left Citricos and strolled the grounds of the Grand for a bit before grabbing a monorail back to the Poly. We stopped in at the Lounge again and had an after dinner drink with Walter as our bartender again. We met another couple who were celebrating his birthday at WDW that weekend. They had left their kids at home (with supervision!) and made the spur of the moment trip planned on Tuesday. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves too.
As we sat there winding down from our day Bob and I made the decision to cancel our lunch reservations at Chefs de France and Coral Reef. We realized that we just could not eat all that food! We had not even started to enjoy the F&W Festival offerings yet and we were leaving food on our plates every meal. We picked those two restaurants to cancel because we have eaten at both before. It has been a while since Chefs de France, but we opted to cancel it anyway. We will put it on our next rotation.
I took a couple of pictures from our balcony before turning in for the night.
I don't think they have those at WDW.
You probably shouldn't waste your time looking then, I don't think they plan on staying overnight! 
for more subbing opportunities.
We're thinking of you Chanon. The DDA needs to have a toast to the happy couple today. May there lives be full of love and happiness and there vacations be spent at Disney
Have a great time.
