Is 7 Days Enough to Make a First Timer Fall in Love??--Aug'11 TR-- FINAL UPDATE 8/26

[heathsf]

His first time to WDW was with me in 2008. He had never been anywhere before, and I insisted. Last year he wouldn't even consider going anywhere else for our honeymoon and this year he wanted to surprise me with a trip for our first anniversary! Next year I want to visit friends in Germany but he doesn't want to -- he wants to go back to Disney again!

Oh wow! He is a 100% converted Disney Fanatic!!! You must have done an amazing job planning that first trip!

 

[heathsf]

Saturday, August 20 - Part 4

When I last left off, we were running to the nearest store in Frontierland to buy ponchos. While waiting on line (we were certainly not the only people wanting to buy ponchos at the moment) BF decided to see what he'd look like as sheriff of Frontierland Note that this hat is waaaay too small to fit on his head!

I'm not sure why I took a picture of that...but not of him in the poncho In fact, I don't see any good poncho pictures at all!!! Oh well...

Now that we were [kind of] protected from the rain, we made our way back to Tomorrowland to use our FP for Space Mountain. I was really hoping that it would dry me off because I was pretty wet, especially my sneakers and socks. The FP line took about ten minutes. This was my first time riding SM since it was closed for refurb two years ago. The last time I rode was in 2006. I didn't really love it back then. It was too "jerky" for me and I'm not a huge fan of being in total darkness. As we were walking to the loading area, we saw the new interactive games that had been installed on the regular queue. There was a group of people who were just finishing playing so we really didn't get to see much. After their game ended, the screens all displayed a message telling them to continue moving along the queue. We didn't get to see another game start.

I have to say, I enjoyed the ride much more this time. Maybe it was in my head but the ride felt at least a little smoother than I remembered. I also felt like the ride was faster than before but now I'm pretty sure I was wrong. I just looked it up, and the maximum speed is only 28 mph. They do a great job of making it feel a lot faster.

And it did air dry my body a little bit. When we got off the ride the rain had stopped but I still had a wet spot on my side and my bottom was still pretty wet as well. The worst part still was my sneakers and socks. That bothered me much more than anything else because I knew they wouldn't dry as long as they were on my feet. And I really didn't have the option of taking them off because it was time to go to The Contemporary for dinner! But first we grabbed FP for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin on our way out of the park. The return time was only 30 minutes in the future which drove me crazy because we wouldn't be able to take advantage of getting more FP in just 30 minutes! Well, I did my best to let it go as we exited the park.

We were going to take the monorail but it was closed due to a lightning strike. See, I told you that rainstorm was crazy!! So we had to walk instead. Good thing I had BF to lead the way

(Oh by the way, that's his poncho he's holding)

The Wave is located next to the check-in desks very near to the front entrance.

We were a few minutes early for our ADR and they hadn't started seating for dinner yet so we had to wait just a few minutes. Their waiting area is full of very comfortable seating so we didn't mind. BF got up to go to the bar to get a glass of water but one of the very friendly hostesses stopped him and insisted that she would get it for him. We were seated shortly afterwards.

Menu:

Our server was *so* friendly. The restaurant was empty when we first sat down but had filled up considerably by the time we left. Even as our waiter became busier, he still paid us plenty of attention. First he brought us multigrain bread and butter with sea salt. Yummy.

For dinner we both ordered the Beef Tenderloin which was Filet Mignon with Cave Man Bleu Cheese Vinaigrette, Local Tomato and Green Bean Salad, and Fingerling Potatoes $29.99

I ordered mine cooked medium, BF ordered his medium rare. This was absolutely outstanding! I can usually only handle so much blue cheese before I'm sick of it but the way it was prepared on the meat was just perfect. It was just the right amount of blue cheese to complement the filet. Ohmygosh I just don't know how to express how yummy this was. I LOVED IT!!! BF loved it too although he thinks he would have enjoyed it more if it were cooked medium (instead of medium rare). But he still enjoyed it nonetheless. Here is a photo of him munching on what I believe was a potato. The potatoes and veggies were prepared well too, but the meat was the star of this dish.

I'm usually not able to finish my entrees but I made an exception tonight. Oh except for those last few potatoes. I decided to sacrifice them in order to make sure I had room for dessert!

BF checkin' out the dessert menu:

I really like how their desserts come as samplers so you get to try a few different things. I ordered the Creamy Indulgence $7.99

(from left to right)
New York Cheesecake with House-made Seasonal Fruit Compote
Coffee Creme Brulee with Chocolate Biscotti
Olive Oil-infused Chocolate Truffle Mousse

Here's a close-up of the mousse. It has these pretty gold flakes on top. It made me feel very fancy. I suppose it made the mousse feel very fancy too.

I was not able to identify the fruit on the cheesecake but I didn't love it. I liked the cheesecake better by itself. The coffee creme brulee was excellent but did have a very strong taste of coffee (who would've thought!?). The mousse was definitely my favorite of the three and it was BF's favorite between both of our desserts. Since he enjoyed it so much, I decided to share it with him

BF ordered the American Flavors $7.99

(from left to right)
Key Lime Cube with fresh Citrus Whipped Cream
Mississippi Mud Pie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Boston Cream Pie

I think he was wishing he had ordered my dessert instead. He liked the mud pie the best of these three, but not as much as he enjoyed my mousse!

This dinner absolutely blew me away. I had eaten at The Wave two years ago and loved it then, but I don't remember loving it THIS much. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you're staying at The Contemporary. I knew The Wave wasn't nearly as popular as Le Cellier, which is where we were eating lunch the next day. I wondered if their steak could really be any better than what I had just had. It wouldn't be too long before I would find out...

Up Next: Returning to Magic Kingdom!

 

[teekathepony]

Confession time: I had never heard of The Wave before, and in the last 24 hours I've seen it on 3 different (P)TRs! I wish I had seen it sooner because now I'm itching to try it! Next trip I guess.

I also didn't like SM before the reno, found it awfully jerky but thought it was better after. I thought it might be in my head too, but maybe not if I'm not the only one to think it!

Great update

 

[PixieMama]

When I started reading your arrival to MK and seeing your pics, I was thinking, "look at all that pretty blue sky"

It didn't take long for that "pretty blue" to turn dark gray! Yikes!

Have never been to The Wave... but after reading about your yummy dinner, I think I'll need to try it!

 

[GaRain]

Joining in!
The food at the Wave looked great - except I don't like blue cheese.....but yummy desserts!!!

 

[Leshaface]

Geez, I can't believe they closed the monorail down! That's pretty scary.

Omgosh your food looks so good. I'm STARVING right now, almost lunch time. And the desserts you chose were the desserts I would have chosen!

 

[serene56]

ok- let me try again o subscribe to the story.

 

[FosterA]

I'm totally keeping up with your TR. As a matter of fact, all day at work I kept dragging on and on and thinking "maybe when I get home there will be more to read on this trip report". It gave me something to look forward to on this otherwise boring Tues.

I love blue cheese and am starving right now so I want to eat my computer screen looking at that steak

So at this point the only park BF has been to is MK, right? He really liked Philarmagic but what else did you notice he thought was impressive? Did he like Space or Splash?

Keep it up!

 

[IheartDDuck]

That food looks really yummy! I'm so glad that I have a reservation there in October.

Your dessert looked absolutely divine. I think that's what I'm going to have to get.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Lol love the photo of BF with the sheriff hat on! Glad to read you enjoyed Space Mountain much more this time.

Wow at the monorail being closed due to the weather (crazy stuff!) Sounds like you had a great meal at The Wave - all of the food looks soo yummy

 

[heathsf]

I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to write an update today! I was at my school from 8 - 5:30 cleaning and setting up my classroom. It took me twice as long to get home as it should have because of all the post-Irene traffic (so many roads are still closed), then I ate dinner (chinese food that BF ordered), and went out to buy more stuff for my classroom. And I'm sick too, so all I want to do now is crawl into bed.

Hopefully I'll have an update posted tomorrow night. Please don't give up on me!

 

[Oliquig]

I have to catch up, I just got power back after the lovely Irene visited here!

First, holy smokes, the rain must have been bad, plus the lightening!

Second, um the food looks amazing! Its so funny that you mentioned that you didn't care for the fruit on the cheesecake, because when I looked at the photo of the menu, the first thing I thought was I would have to find out what the seasonal fruit is before I ordered that!

The idea of popcorn gelato both frightens me and sparks my curiousity. Have a great first day of school!

 

[FosterA]

I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to write an update today! I was at my school from 8 - 5:30 cleaning and setting up my classroom. It took me twice as long to get home as it should have because of all the post-Irene traffic (so many roads are still closed), then I ate dinner (chinese food that BF ordered), and went out to buy more stuff for my classroom. And I'm sick too, so all I want to do now is crawl into bed.

Hopefully I'll have an update posted tomorrow night. Please don't give up on me!

No worries! get better soon and take your time on your trip report. I know I sometimes go several days before I get a chance to update mine. We've all subscribed and will check in here and there and certainly not give up on ya!

 

[mike the canuck]

I am enjoying your report. I took my gf to Disney World last year for the 1st time. It was so much fun watching her reactions

 

[TinkerbellBby]

First: I can't believe that the monorailw as shut down. I don't think I've even even heard of that before.

Second: The food looked absolutely delicious.

Third: I'm happy to see that your boyfriend is seems to be enjoying Disney more and more in each update .

Can't wait for another update !

 

[okw19]

I just found your TR and it's great! My fiance *might* be joining my family in January for a week in WDW and I'm so nervous. He's only been once at age 7, and he just doesn't "get it". I'm hoping I can turn him into a Disney lover!

 

[teekathepony]

I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to write an update today! I was at my school from 8 - 5:30 cleaning and setting up my classroom. It took me twice as long to get home as it should have because of all the post-Irene traffic (so many roads are still closed), then I ate dinner (chinese food that BF ordered), and went out to buy more stuff for my classroom. And I'm sick too, so all I want to do now is crawl into bed.

Hopefully I'll have an update posted tomorrow night. Please don't give up on me!

No giving up here, everyone has a life to live outside of the Dis

 

[glennbo123]

Just wanted to chime in to let you know that I'm enjoying your report. Keep up the great work!

 

[TanzUnited99]

I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to write an update today! I was at my school from 8 - 5:30 cleaning and setting up my classroom. It took me twice as long to get home as it should have because of all the post-Irene traffic (so many roads are still closed), then I ate dinner (chinese food that BF ordered), and went out to buy more stuff for my classroom. And I'm sick too, so all I want to do now is crawl into bed.

Hopefully I'll have an update posted tomorrow night. Please don't give up on me!

No need to apologise - just post whenever you are able to do so and we will all still be here and reading along!

Hope the new school year is going well.

 

[Leshaface]

I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to write an update today! I was at my school from 8 - 5:30 cleaning and setting up my classroom. It took me twice as long to get home as it should have because of all the post-Irene traffic (so many roads are still closed), then I ate dinner (chinese food that BF ordered), and went out to buy more stuff for my classroom. And I'm sick too, so all I want to do now is crawl into bed.

Hopefully I'll have an update posted tomorrow night. Please don't give up on me!

A busy day for you indeed! Do you start school next tuesday? Hope you feel better soon!