Hey let's go to WDW. A Trip report full of last minute spontaneous planning!

[wilkeliza]

I've never done one of these before but figured hey why not. So here's the set up.

Players:

Me: 28 year old female. I'll go by Ellie here on the boards as that is a nickname I got at my time as a Disney CM and has become my favorite. I have been Disney obsessed since I was very little. I never got to go to the parks as a kid but was always trying to get there. I distinctly remember when Disney Channel use to run clips from the parks and my mom would always talk to us about how she would take us one day. My first ever trip to Disneyland was with my JROTC group and was only 6 months after my mom passed away. Needless to say I cried the whole night before. I finally got to go to WDW many years later as a gift form my now fiancé. My favorite characters are a rotation between Oswald, Lumpy the Heffalump, Pooh Bear, and Stitch. My favorite rides are Big Thunder Mountain, Test Track, Expedition Everest, and Toy Story Midway. I use to work at both Disney World and at Disney Store Times Square. The dream was to become an imagineer focusing on lighting. Currently I work in the finance department of an IT company.

Fiancé: 28 year old male. I'll just call him M here. He is a big Disney fan and even bigger film fan. He grew up in south Florida so has been going to the parks his entire life. Favorite rides include Carousel of Progress, People Mover, and more but the rest slip my mind right now. He is a film buff and well just a pop culture buff in general. He works in real estate but also writes movie reviews on his own website. He is also a life long fan of the New York Mets.


My fiancé and I were suppose to do the Star Wars Half Dark Side in April but both of us got super ill. I originally was able to cut back form the challenge just to the 10K and him form the 10k to nothing so we though he lets give it a try even though training had been hit and miss for me. Two weeks before the trip I got the flu pretty bad and was still weak and easily exhausted the week of the trip. Then fiancé got sick. Thankfully due to some amazing pixie dust and our general style of travel we were out nothing but 1 10K bib. Our room was cancelled no problem and for a very small fee we got all our airline points back. No harm no foul we went on with recovering. We were left with 4 day base tickets.

So M was bummed that we didn't go to Disney and actually had no travel plans coming up. In May he got the bright idea that we should go to WDW since we have the tickets. We checked the Mets home schedule (he has season tickets) to find a weekend and decided June 9-12 we would go. Flights cost very little thanks to the points and we were able to get a room at Port Orleans - French Quarter still using the Awaken Summer discount. Score all around. This trip actually is going to be a 2 fold celebration trip. We found out my conversion is finishing up on June 8th and his birthday is June 19th so loads to celebration in our favorite place.

So here is the plan.

June 9 - Take Dog to the dog boarding place. Pack and head out for a early evening flight. Land in Orlando around 10 and taxi to French Quarter.

June 10 - Magic Kingdom! This day is an EMH day but we probably won't use them. We are night owls and late risers so I see us getting to MK realistically around 9:30-10. If it is any earlier I'll be pleasantly surprised. Our FP don't start until 11 so no rush. Heck we may even decide the night before that we want a breakfast meal so find anything with availability for 2.

FP 1 - Space Mountain 11:20 am -12:20
FP 2 - Big Thunder Mountain 3pm - 4pm
FP 3 - Haunted Mansion 5:10pm - 6:10pm

In between the FP we will wander around and see what has a moderate wait. Hoping for COP and People Mover before or after Space. We may watch the parade before BTM but don't mind missing it.

After Haunted Mansion we plan to ride the Jungle Cruise because we have a 7pm reservation at Skippers Canteen.

After that fireworks and MSE then back to the resort to sleep.

June 11 - AK Day

We are actually only doing a half day. We hope to spend the first half of the day at the pool and possibly Disney Springs. We have nothing scheduled at AK until 2pm.

FP 1 Dinosaur 2:25-3:25
FP 2 Expedition Everest 3:35-4:35
FP 3 Safari 9:30-10:30

So the plan is to get to DAK when we feel like it. Ride Dinosaur at the end of the window and then go straight to EE. We may catch Nemo if schedule permits after EE. The we have an early dinner at Tiffins at 5. Depending on how long dinner takes we may do some of the trails and check out the rides and games in the Dinoland area. We have the Jungle book package and our showing is at 9. After the show we will head over to the Safari. DAK is open to 11 so maybe one last ride on EE after the Safari but who knows.

June 12 - Epcot

Again I don't expect to be at Epcot super early. We'll probably sleep in and check out exactly at 11. We'll leave our bags at the front and then head off for the day.

FP 1 - Test Track 11:35 - 12:35
FP 2 - Space Ship Earth 12:45 - 1:45
FP 3 - Seas with nemo and friends 2:40 - 3:40

We are revisiting a restaurant that we haven't been to in awhile in Epcot. Lunch will be at Garden Grill. We ate here on my first ever trip and I hardly remember it. If you have read the worst mistakes on vacation thread you'll find out mine was pushing through a virus on the first trip! Garden Grill was where I asked the waitress to make it stop spinning because I was going to be sick. I'm excited to finally get to go back and actually remember it this time. This meal will be between or Space Ship Earth and Nemo FP.
We may skip Nemo in order to go hang out in the World Showcase. We haven't decided that just yet. We will cab back to POR around 5 to grab our stuff and head to the airport by 6:30. I imagine the leave Epcot time may change.

As you can see we are pretty much a go with the flow couple so our plan is surely going to change once we arrive on property.

Also since I mentioned those 4 day tickets don't fret. We aren't wasting a day. We are going to upgrade to annual passes because we have a massive 7 day trip in September that we are going to park hop through and then possibly a 4 day trip in January so it just makes sense.

 

[wilkeliza]

Update to the pre-trip report. My fiancé was poking around the website and saw that Yacht Club became available! We leave in 2 days but Yacht Club is his favorite and he was so exited to see it come up. Even better because he still has his FL ID we were able to get it on an amazing Florida Residents rate and only is costing about 50 more a night as compared to 200 more a night!

 

[ariane37]

For a quick trip you seem to have done a great job getting good stuff planned! And congrats on finding the opening at Yacht Club FQ is nice but being at an Epcot resort is awesome. We went to Disney last Thanksgiving and I ended up with a HORRIFIC stomach virus so I know how bad it sucks to be sick down there; crossing my fingers you both stay healthy for your whole trip!

 

[OhMari]

I have you moved.

That is cool, that you were a CM and worked at Time Square. My son lives out in the area,-Long Island City and I just had him go to the Disney Store and pick me up the Mickey shirt that looks like the Statue of Liberty. We are doing a cruise out of NYC in October, I cannot wait.

 

[wilkeliza]

Writing from the air.But here goes Day 1!


So far we are good on the health front. Midday Wednesday my fiancé decided he wanted to leave earlier on Thursday since we got Yacht Club and want to enjoy Stormalong Bay. So we stayed up until midnight last night to get a same day flught change ($50 instead of several hundred each best deal if you need to change).

FF to today. Thanks to the new articles and disaster stories we left out apartment at 9 am for a 12 pm flight. There was hardly and traffic and literately no one at Terminal 5 JFK. We had extra leg room so also extra speed. That made a 10-15 min wait become nothing and we were through security at 10:05. I look at the board and see an Orlando flight just started boarding. So I asked M is we could try and hange. At first he was hesitant but then agreed. He made a quick stop at the book store and then we went to Jetblue info. They switched out flights but said we would get our seat assignment when we went to the gate. We slowly walk to the gate and realize we were standby but no biggie. After everyone boards they called our name and we get assigned extra leg room again. Even better we got our own row! Score!

After we sit down M mentions that Beaches and Cream would be a nice lunch so as soon as the WiFi starts on the flight I decide to check. Score again a 2:50 Beaches and Cream is avialble! So now we have somewhere to eat lunch.

Thus begins our quick do what we want trip. I'm sure plans are going to change even more and am ready for the ride!

Enjoy some photos from the sky.

 

[wilkeliza]

Day 1 continued:

Just landed and our first stop was at the airport Disney shop. I saw the analog watch Minnie slider a few trips ago and really wanted it so finally decided to buy it.



We took a taxi although we breifly thought about using these beauties

but honestly just wanted to get to the Yacht Club ASAP.

Sadly there is rain on the horizon so after beaches and cream we will have to figure out what to do.

Room is great. Only one small thing that we will see if it ends up being a bother. There is this high pitched noise that comes from the hallway randomly.

Here are some photos of the room.







And my favorite detail the Mickey lamp.

 

[TristiK]

Room is great. Only one small thing that we will see if it ends up being a bother. There is this high pitched noise that comes from the hallway randomly.

We're at the YC now as well - there was fire alarm testing today - the noises should be gone now!

 

[wilkeliza]

Day 1 is winding down and boy was it spontaneous!

We ate lunch at Beaches and Cream. M had a turkey sandwhich and I had the grilled cheese and tomato bisque. The grilled cheese was great and the tomato bisque was a fine pairing but nothing overly special. M liked his turkey sandwich. One thing we forgot about Beaches and Cream is how small it is! We got a two top that was up against the divider between to go orders and the restaurant. It was very awkward/rude to have people lean over the divider to check the time on my phone and we also had a lot of people comment about our food. Not the worst thing ever but it did make us feel like we were on display.


While at beaches and cream we discussed the rest of the day and made a plan. We decided to change everything! It was unfortunately raining so we thought hey let's go to Hollywood Studios. We were able to snag Toy Story and TT fast pass so figured we would stop by Launch Bay and then do those and see what else we might squeeze in. We also canceled Yachtsman because neither of were feeling up to getting dressed.

First we stopped in the shop at Yacht Club. We were surprised there were no umbrellas but figured then rain wasn't too bad and the walk to the boat was short. We areive at HS and I got randomly selected. M was confused at first if they meant whole party or just me so they told him if he wants to volunteer go right away but I was randomly selected.

We head straight for Launch Bay and being a big fan M about dies seeing it. He was so happy. We didn't watch the film because we wanted to walk around with out the crowd. We looked at the displays and then headed over to Kylo Ryn since his posted wait was 20 mins. We actually waited about 10. He is hands down the best character across the entire company. I mean perfect! M was wearing a hat with the Jedi logo and Kylo told him that he had guts to wear the light side proudly but he could sense he had darkness in side hik if he would just come to him. It sounded just like Kylo in the movies.

After Kylo we headed up to see if there were any Jawas out but there weren't. Sad day but I move along. A poster caught M's eye and we decide to buy it for our art collect. We buy 1 new piece each trip so this is this trips. It is a "rolling droids" poster with BB-8. It came framed and we couldn't leave with out it. We also got some Rogue One stuff since it was for Force for a Change. The only time we will buy stuff for a movie we haven't seen is if charity is involved.

After that we went to Great Movie Ride. Again a posted wait time that ended up being about half of what was posted. We got the very from which we never had before. Our "guide" was sub-par but that was ok we had fun anyways. I miss when most of the actraction was speil. I don't really see the need for the "guide" and "bandit" any more.

After GMR we realized the next SW stage show was starting in a fee minutes. We got a decent spot and of course as the couple (and I do mean only 2-3) passed people pushed their way in front thus ruining our decent view. I'll admit this show is rough. I liked seeing the characters but there were no transitions and a bunch of dead space in the show. We ended up walking off before it finished.

From there we went to Pixar Place. We sat and had a refreshing drink then went to TSMM for fastpass. We didn't get the new track so no report there. As per usual I won and got best in vehicle! The family in the other 3 sides had no clue who got it and when they
figured out it was me, they were happy for me. Kind of fun to have the other "competitors" say congratulations. We decided to call it a night and headed back to the hotel. We didn't used our TT fp so I released those back to the pool. M and I agreed we kind of missed giving paper fo away because we over head 2 girls wanting to ride so were going to SB nf we would have given them our FP when it was paper. Oh well.

Next up dinner and lights out.

 

[wilkeliza]

We're at the YC now as well - there was fire alarm testing today - the noises should be gone now!

It wasn't the fire alarm but so glad that is over! It is something in the hallway that almost sounds like an air tight door sealing. It hasn't happened in a while so who knows.

 

[wilkeliza]

Dinner we went to Captain's Grill to see if they had openings. They said it was a 20 min wait so we went ahead. It was an okay meal. I think if we weren't use to paying that for "mediocre" food then we may have felt different. I got the braised ribs and corn rissoto side. The side has a bit of an after taste but I liked it enough that I finished it. The braised ribs were meh. A tad over salted too. M got a NY strip and again side was okay but his steak was over cooked. Dessert was a turn around. My chocolate gelatto was delicious and M got the cheese cake subing for strawberry gelato instead of chocolate (which strawberry should be the proper pairing anyways). He loved his almost scarfing it down. We also had an after dinner press coffee which was good.

We headed back to the shop to get some much needed supplies that we didn't think to pack (bandaids, bengay, advil) and headed back to the room.

Now we are in the room watching the Mets game. I will say I don't know if a garden/woods view is worth it at YC. We are overlooking the quiet pool and did notice kids running around screaming up until 5 mins ago. So if you are one to turn in early and are a light sleeper it isn't for you.

1 side note for today. Parents please tell your kids playing in the hallway of a hotel is not acceptable especially at 10pm! We aren't asleep but kept wondering who these rowdy kids we were suck walking behind might have woken up. The boy of the family kept ruinning ahead of the rest of the family so he could jump out to scare his sister. She screamed every time and then they would run off laughing and yelling. These weren't small ones either both were at least 10 or 11.

The other laugh we had was DHS being full of vocally judgy teens. Caught on group talking about my tattoo and I was have tempted to tell them the story behind it so they would realize why I had that lyric on my leg. I decided to let them live in ignorance bliss and hope with time they would learn. Had another latter when we were joking in the lobby about Duffy being so nice to rewd a bed time story in less than a minute. He sighed and rolled his eyes at M. Again totally comical. M and I realized we are now at the age that we kind of find teenagers annoying. Funny to realize that now but we didn't let any of it ruin our day just laughed it off and hoped we were the same way back then haha.

I'm currently uploading photos to post but am exhausted so will add photos tomorrow.

 

[wilkeliza]

Day 2: MK

We woke up and decided instead of swimming we would grab breakfast and then head out. We ate at Captain Cooks again which was a decent buffet and quiet. Right now we are waiting on the bus. I like that they now have estimated arrival times for the buses. Very convientent. There is also a very nice CM names Ben from Central Michigan University who is entertaining us while we wait. He is full of Disney knowledge and it really is sweet with the kids.

I hope to be able to update through out the day but the website sucks my battery down so may not be so often.

 

[wilkeliza]

We made it to MK and realized almost instantly it was just way too hot! Thankfully we moved all our fastpasses and even Skipper's reservation to this evening. Now we are waiting pn bus back to yacht to swim until tonight. I do feel for people who don't come so often who have to push through these conditions because summer is brutal. We seem to forget every year and still come foe M's bday just to say never again in June but alas we always think birthdays at Disney are better than birthdays at home.

Crowds are what we expected. I will note it seems Disney is stacking their standby times because the crowd sourced apps are showing half as long waits as MDE.

 

[wilkeliza]

Here are photos from yesterday I promised.

 

[wilkeliza]

Now back to today.

We had fun at stormalong bay. Had trouble finding pool chairs in the area we wanted but after a quick search we found 2. We put our valuables in a locker and shoes/hats on a chair. We floated the lazy river and used the water falls in the deeper pool for back massages. After that we went back to our chairs to dry off and bake in the sun a little. Finally we got hungry and went to the quick service place by the beach. We realized there was only 1 table so put our stuff down and went to get in line. While we were in line before we could order and woman loudly ordered her son's to move that stuff because there was no seat saving and she wanted that table. They had ordered but didn't yet have their food. Instead of fighting we just went back got our stuff and left. We did not want to see what this lady would have done had we continued to leave our stuff there and neither M or I wan't to be involved a situation that could have gotten all parties thrown out of the resort. What I really didn't understand was why her teenage boys and husband needed to stand in line. These are tables by the pool and not everyone sitting at them had food some were just trying to escape the sun. I know this is debated here but when there were other tables empty just further away I didn't get her deal. To each their own I guess.

We decided not to let the experience hamper our day so we looked for reservations across property that we could get. Liberty Tree popped up and for us it is a favorite. It is very silly but sometimes you just have a hankering for stouffer's mac and cheese. So we are on our way to that.

 

[ariane37]

Love that Mickey lamp in the room!!
I agree about missing the "spiel" on GMR, it's just not the same now that the majority of dialogue is spoken by.......the guy from AMC? I keep forgetting his name The last few times we've been on it his voice starts up while our ride CM is still talking and that's super annoying. I do love the new movies in the beginning but wish they'd left all the speaking during the ride to the CM's

Glad to hear the buffet at Captain's Grille was decent! We're planning on eating breakfast there in Nov.

 

[wilkeliza]

Wow talk about day of changes! We went to Liberty Tree and while I thought the turkey was dry every thing else was great. We forgot to say no ham or beef so felt bad wasting those and didn't try them.

After LT we headed to Pirates. It was a posted wait of 20 that ended up being about 30. We ended up behind the worst kids. They kept pushing us, one of the boys almost puched me while wildly fist pumping, and they were playing a game of pulling on a blanket until one of them let go letting the other fall backwords in the crowd. Of course mom and dad did nothing and even participated once swinging their youngest until she hit our legs. When ever there was anything interesting in the queue the kids would shove past you to see it even though they were behind you in line. Super annoying. After pirates we saw there was no wait for dole whips so we went and got one and a pineapple spear. I have no clue how to eat the pineaple spear. It was just a quarter if pineapple with the outer shell still on. It wasn't scored or cut so you couldn't get bite it or pull chunks off so I tried to scoop it out with a spoon. I remember they use to just be pineapple on a stick so was confused by this. Won't be getting one again. As soon as we finished eating it started to rain. It wasn't bad but M wasn't feeling it so we left the MK. Looks like I may not see BTMRR until next year

I got in touch with a good friend who was suppose to join us and we decided we would head to Disney Springs. We walked around and then ate at Wolfgang Puck. The food was good and company better. The men decided to go see a movie together and the girls went for sprinkle. It was very nice to catch up and chat. Disney Springs is just beautiful. Now we are back in the room and headed off to bed.

 

[wilkeliza]

Sorry for the delay. Our next day was full of amazing things and I forgot my battery pack so couldn't charge through out the day!

Okay Day 3 - AK.

Again last minute change. We had nothing to do until around 1 or 2 so decided lets check if Cape May Cafe can take us! We had a 9:45 reservation but ended up getting there closer to 10. We had to wait roughly another 15 minutes to be seated since we were late but no big deal. I am loving the fact they take your cell phone number now and you can return with in 15 minutes to be seated. It really opens up how much you can explore.

Cape May Cafe was good. However the character interaction was lacking and made no sense. We were there for over an hour and only saw Minnie. I know that it is suggested to have 90 minutes but when you eat for an entire hour and never see a character you start to loose hope. Then they would rush them past us to other families and send them back to the start of the loop. After Minnie made it we said forget it on Goofy and Donald and left. We would have stayed if there were kids with us. The other issue at Cape May is how congested the buffet is. I went and got food first and then M and upon returning he informed me a little girl (he said probably around 8) grabbed both sides of his waist and physically tried to move him so she could get in line for the crepes. I was shocked! Who teaches their kids it is okay to physically move someone out of their way!? He does not like to be touched by strangers with no warning so it wasn't the best start to the meal.

After Cape May we headed back to the room to rest a little more and get ready for the parks. Today was our Animal Kingdom day. Upon arrival we got our Speak Like A Whale day buttons. Very cute promo. Nothing beyond that happened at DAK as everything was happening in Disney Springs and in Epcot.

We took the long way around to Dinosaur basically meaning we walked clockwise around the park instead of counter-clockwise since we had a full hour to kill. Man do you forget how hot DAK gets. We arrived to Dinosaur and got into FP line. I note a 60 minute wait on the Disney wait time and 20 on Touring plans. Both were completely off. It was a 10 minute wait at most. So as soon as our FP ride was over we got right back in standby. M and I waited a grand total of 5 minutes. I wonder how many people left thinking the ride had a 60 minute wait when it was no where near that. A little fun thing we did was record our favorite parts of the preshow and then I audio recorded the entire ride. I hope to be able to pull both and edit the "WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT" and "We're in!" into a text ring tone. Both times the ride was great.

After that we still had some time before our Expedition Everest fp so we decided to play the Dinoland games. Both M and I won in our respective games. I have to admit the prizes are cheap for the cost of the ticket. We know this but still play. It did make me long for the DCA boardwalk though where you have a chance at winning Disney prizes. We still have our fishing Goofy from our boardwalk win. Next up we wanted a small snack to carry us over to Tiffins. We popped by the Yak and Yeti quick service area splitting a fried rice and one of the popcorn/soda deals. The fried rice is great and will probably be a go to DAK lunch. The popcorn was fine but neither of us ate much of it not wanting to fill up before Tiffins. We sat under the fans for as long as we could stretch the break and then headed off to Everest. Everest was enjoyable as always but I must be getting old as I need a breather between rides now haha.

After Everest we headed on to try the new offerings at the Nomad Lounge and Tiffins. I'll review those in the next post.

 

[wilkeliza]

Sorry for the delay. Upon return life got a little hectic.

Nomad Lounge and Tiffins.

I can not say enough about how wonderful both of these places were. We got to Nomad Lounge at 5pm and I realized check in for Tiffins was all the way at the end of the walk way and I was so comfy in the lounge I really didn't want to get up. So when our server came over I asked what I should do. He said no problem I'll go check you in and put your reservation on hold. What that means is when you are ready to eat I'll have them take you off hold and you will get the next available table so you can enjoy the lounge with no rush. Off he went to check us in and he brought back a buzzer that would alert us once our table was ready when we were taken off hold. Whew such a great service and I loved that we could enjoy the lounge with out having to be done in exactly 30 minutes.

Our server was James of CoaCo Beach and he was just fantastic. He was very passionate about the food and the alcohol. Not only did he give suggestions but he even let us know what was behind the bar that was not listed on the menu. One of those being Louis XIII. The drink menu was amazing and as a non-drinker there were so many I wanted to try. I don't dislike alcohol but in my early drinking years I had a tendency to over drink so now I chose not too unless I know I'll be kept to one cocktail. I went with the Jenn's Tattoo and it was one of my favorite drinks. I am in love guys. I even wrote down the ingredients in hopes to be able to recreate it for our next social gathering. I also upgraded the vodka but can't remember to what. I'll have to ask M. M got a 1 oz pour of Louis XIII. He is a sucker for Louis XIII and well this trip was for his birthday so I said please treat yourself. This was the first pour of the bottle and you can tell the whole crew was very very excited. They have the whole presentation for it and bring the glass, the bottle, and the measure glass out on a cart. M was a little over whelmed with how over the top they are about it but I think it was more that he was in park attire drinking something he normally would only order on a nice evening out haha. He savored his drink while we talked with James and when he was done we decided I would take mine to dinner to finish. We let James know that we were ready to move over to Tiffins and he went to take us off hold and get the check. James said if the buzzer goes off before I get back just go the Tiffins as I don't believe in making people wait and I can find you there. Again above and beyond service because of course as soon as he disappeared our buzzer went off.

Tiffins is a beautiful restaurant fitting nicely with the theme of Animal Kingdom. Take a moment to check out the little details all around while you are there. Nate from Cambridge was our server here and again just spectacular. We though he looked familiar so asked if he had worked somewhere else on property and he told us he was actually brand new and had come from working at a steak house in Boston. He also was very knowledgeable which allowed us to talk food the whole which we enjoy. For appetizers M ordered the seasonal crudo and I got the chicken patte and head cheese. M said his crudo was perfect and one of if not the best thing he has ever had on property. I ended up not being a fan of the head cheese but oh my the chicken patte. It was one of the best pattes I've ever had. It is a go to appetizer for me (chicken patte or foie gras) and since that has been the case I have eaten some pretty awful pattes. I mean ones I have sent back because they taste like what I imagine cat food must taste like. This one though was just sublime. It was silky smooth and had an almost sweet taste to it. Just amazing. I didn't like the head cheese but M and Nate agreed it was actually a good introduction to head cheese as it is not as potent as more traditional head cheese is. Next time I'll just tell them to leave off the head cheese. When our next course came I was thankful that Nate instead of chastising me for not finishing my plate actually congratulated me on trying something new to me. It was just one of those nice touches when he said he was happy to see I pushed my comfort zone and tried something different and now know for a fact that I don't like head cheese not just assuming I wouldn't like it but never trying it. (I didn't ever expect to be chastised at Disney but I have been at a place in NYC twice now )

Our next courses was the pork tenderloin for me and the duck for M. I know M enjoyed his but will have to check back for quotes about the dish. Now my pork tenderloin was just a taste of home. I was only able to eat about half of the plate but it was not due to taste or anything. Also the tamale. Oh the tamale. I'm from south Texas but not live in NYC. You would think you could get Tamales in NYC but every where that has them tries to gussy them up. That is not a tamale to me. This tamale although and open presentation (almost like it was cut and broken to show the meat inside) was like a warm hug from home. The manager actually came over to ask us what our favorite component of each dish was and I said hands down the tamale. He was from Texas as well and agreed the Tamale reminded him of home. The dish as a whole was well balanced with a tiny kick from the mole sauce. It is a good mole sauce too because I actually forgot what the sauce was after I ordered and before I asked Nate I told M I'm pretty sure it is a mole but just want to confirm for my report. Nate confirmed and that made me sure it is at least what I know a mole should taste like.

We realized our safari FP was almost over so asked Nate if we could get the check and quickly order dessert. He said no problem and took our order and got the check. We embarrassed ourselves as I was actually able to push the FP a little later right after we asked for dessert to be sped up but he said no problem now we had more time to enjoy dessert and talk food. I got the Chocolate Ganache and M got the Calamansi Mousse. Both were delicious. Not on the ganache it is a very heavy and rich chocolate dessert. Although it is chocolate I'm not sure kids would enjoy it. For me though it was another pleasing dish that just made my mouth happy.

At the end of the meal Nate brought us little sketched that Joe Rhode did while traveling for inspiration for Tiffins. To me that was just a wonderful touch and I hope it continues. We got one with a goat and I laughed saying it looks like he did this while riding Big Thunder Mountain. #freethegoat.

Next up the night safari and Jungle Book.