So we set out on our 18 hour journey, which did i fail to mention we had a wedding the night before we left! One of Dan's best friends got married and we were up til the wee hours celebrating

needless to say.. i was feeling like


a few hours later when we had to leave! We stayed over in Santee, SC - which is about 12 hours into it. I totally recommend The Holiday Inn Express at Santee, super super clean and comfy! We have stayed here the last 4 times down and have always been pleased!
We arrived in Disney the next day around 3pm at Pop. We had done express check-in (which is awesome.. we were in and out so quick). We got the
almost PERFECT room.. corner, ground floor, pool view, 50s... and then we opened the door

!!! We were hit with an extreme stench of smoke.. couldn't do it.. was not happening.. but i tried.. Dan went to get the luggage and i sprayed an ENTIRE CAN OF FEBREZE, not even kidding! When he came back he could still smell it.. he has allergies and i just didn't think i'd be able to handle it. So, i called the front desk and they were awesome! I can be a very intense person to deal with if i'm upset with something, BUT i am learning to keep my cooool. So, I was very nice and spoke to them calm, cool and collected.. well, they worked some serious

, got us another corner room, ground floor, we will say lake/pool view.. and! TO TOP IT OFF! they gave us a $70 credit on our KTTW

thank you Pop! now our trip can officially start!!
I wanted to share this with you guys - i was secretly working on decorating our window for Dan's birthday! I think we had THE COOLEST window at POP!
on to
TEPPAN EDO
It has somewhat become a tradition for us to eat at Teppan Edo on our first night... it has also become a tradition for it to DOWNPOUR on our first night.. usually before we get to dinner.
but somehow we managed to make it there... rain free!
*
DISCLAIMER* some of my pics are from the Iphone, some are from my Nikon D3100. There could be one or two dark ones - as much as i was psyched to do this dining report, some places i just could not bring myself to turn on the flash! LOL... im sure there were so many people looking at me like "why is this girl taking pictures of her food!?" and there might be one or two of Dan's i'm missing.. so please bear with me! haha
Teppan Edo does a great Hibachi show, we have been to many and theirs is always enjoyable.. same corny jokes and cool little volcanoes! I DO sometimes wonder if their accents are really that heavy or if they play it up a bit...
We ordered drinks, i decided to try the Iced Green Tea and Dan just had water. (
Side Note - ahead of time we agreed we were going to steer clear of soda, once in awhile ok.. but 97% of the time, water or iced tea!.. exception is in the mornings when we diligently drink apple juice and chocolate milk.. haha so really did we help any by cutting the soda, prob not)
the iced green tea was like drinking water.. it had a faint, very faint hint of green tea in there but man did it taste watered down.. Dan asked me why i kept drinking it and i was like.. it tastes like water! so, it was just like drinking water!
We were starving so we got appetizers!
California Sushi Roll - Inside out sushi roll of avocado, cucumber, smelt, mayonnaise, seaweed and sushi rice $7.95
Miso Soup - traditional soybean paste soup $3.00
The California roll was VERY good, it was fresh and a lot of flavor! More than enough for 2 people!!! I don't have a picture of the miso soup, but it is your generic run of the mill miso soup.. nothing i would grab the manager and thank him for but cant complain either.
(sometimes we get apps, we know its not included..servers make sure you know that!)
Dan went with the chicken/shrimp and i just had the shrimp
Ueno - chicken breast and large shrimp $26.95
Ebi - large shrimp $25.95
The hibachi comes with a side of rice, noodles, and vegetables.
The noodles were very floppy and slimy, really different from how i remember them, i think they could have been cooked longer.. but the veggies were right on point! cooked just enough and tasted great with the sauces in the background.. one was a ginger sauce specifically for the veggies.. the white sauce is for shrimp and i could care less about the other one LOL... i got what i needed!
I was so glad they cooked my shrimp first as i prefer it not to be cooking on top of where the meat was! This shrimp was SO good, better than ever.. great seasoning on it and they give you such a huge portion - but you have to eat it with the white sauce! i swear you are absolutely missing out if you do not eat it with the sauce. TRY THE SAUCE!!!
as i was too busy stuffing my face and like i said.. first time dining reporter on the scene, i did not take a picture of Dan's food, but i assure you for the rest of the trip i did not let that man have one bite until a picture was safely acquired!!!!
we opted not to get dessert.. i know, i know, your saying to yourself.. Marla - are you kidding me. no i am not. Unfortunately i do believe Teppan Edo is lacking in the dessert department.. ginger cake and green tea pudding just don't do it for us. so we had planned to get dessert somewhere else.
Total: $66.80
DDP: 2 TS
OOP: $11.67 + tip (this would be for the apps)
so off we go, hand in hand, skipping and singing (not really) ... but really we were having a nice stroll around the world showcase.. walking towards me-he-co, when the heavens opened up and someone decided to throw at least 6billion gallons of water down upon us... thunder and lightening, 100mph winds (okay not really..) but seriously the angels were bowling up there! We got stuck under an outdoor seating area with everyone and their mom.. we thought we'd wait it out but i busted out with my handy dandy
walmart $.89 ponchos!!!!!!! PLEASE do yourself a favor... do not buy disney ponchos.. buy the $.89 from walmart.. they come folded up so small, i was able to carry two in my little side bag and then we would use them two times and toss them.. i went down with 6 of them, which is still cheaper than buying one from disney, and disney poncho's are not all that!
anyway, we walked, in our wallyworld ponchos, barefoot - YES I SAID IT!! BAREFOOT lol, to our car and back to the hotel.. day one over!
question before my next post.. should i make the pics bigger or keep them this size.. i never know which i like better.. bigger or smaller, opinions?
