Memories of the DREAM come true .. 08/09 All 30 days done!

[annmarieda]

I think must be in the mood for a good burger, because OMG, Steak n Shake looks awesome!!! Maybe I can get my mom to go there with me in the fall when we go to Las Vegas (there seems to only be one on this side of the country and it is in Vegas)

 

[KatMark]

I think must be in the mood for a good burger, because OMG, Steak n Shake looks awesome!!! Maybe I can get my mom to go there with me in the fall when we go to Las Vegas (there seems to only be one on this side of the country and it is in Vegas)

Ann, Steak n Shake rocks!!!! We love that place and go at least once a month.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Love those skinny fries at S&S, hamburgers are pretty good too!

 

[dizneeat]

all caught up! I love me some Steak and Shake, haven't had that in several years and it probably would have been better that I didn't know there was any in Florida as I'm now thinking htat maybe we shoudl go there for lunch!

Not that it really fits into our plans but...YUM!

Wonderful EMH fireworks pics!

We just "discovered" it last year. Tom and I had often seen the commercials on TV, but only after I had read a review on Diane's trip report I was so tempted that we had to try.
I wonder if you will make it to one .....

Karin, I promise I'm still reading....just don't have a lot of time to post. Great fireworks pictures

No problem, Kathy. You got a lot of other things on your mind.

Karin I do believe you jogged my memorywith Steak and Shake , that is the restaurant in Erie Pa that I was told was a great bargain and good food , and now I see that milkshake Tom had OH YEA!!!!!!!

Rosie, I hope you get to try it in Erie! Your description fits perfectly well. Great bargain and yummy food!

 

[dizneeat]

I think must be in the mood for a good burger, because OMG, Steak n Shake looks awesome!!! Maybe I can get my mom to go there with me in the fall when we go to Las Vegas (there seems to only be one on this side of the country and it is in Vegas)

Ann, if you have a chance, try it. It was dead cheap and the burgers were really nice. Not your usual McD burger.
I cannot believe that the only one on the west coast is in LV! Guess where Tom and I will be eating when we go to LV in 2014.

Ann, Steak n Shake rocks!!!! We love that place and go at least once a month.

Thanks for helping out, Kathy!
Lucky girl, being able to go once a month!

Love those skinny fries at S&S, hamburgers are pretty good too!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 24, September 5

………… and a whole can of whipped cream!!! - Part 2

Time flew by and finally our beeper went off.
We were seated at two small round tables. There was no doubt what the majority of us wanted to order, a Kitchen Sink. Only little Philip was getting something else as he is allergic to chocolate. We all ordered something to drink, Philip got a vanilla cone

and the rest of us was waiting for our Kitchen Sink to arrive. Then it was time, the lights started to flicker, the CM went through her spiel and the sink arrived at the table.

Jeff had jokingly asked for a ladle to spoon it all out and since this is Disney, it was served with a ladle. There was a lot of picture taking going on and then finally Jeff used the ladle. We all had our fair share of the sink, but as much as we tried, we only made a dent in it.
We had so much fun while we sat there shovelling in our ice-cream and time was just flying by too fast. Once we had settled the bill we went outside and back to the Beach Club Lobby

where we said our goodbyes and vowed to meet again the next morning for breakfast.
Jeff and his family were heading back to Epcot, while Tom and I wanted to do a little more shopping. We drove to some of the outlet malls and explored for quite some time. Tom got lucky, as he got himself a great looking Fossil watch, which as we later discovered was out of battery.
We bought a few bits and bobs and ended up at Publix to pick up a few more grocery items. On the way back to our resort we stopped at the Boardwalk, as we still had to pick something up from the Boardwalk Bakery, a Mickey Head Cake.

So while Tom waited outside the main entrance, I headed down the stairs and over to the Bakery to pick up our cake. The line was out the door and it took a while until I was able to pick up the cake. Cake in hand I headed back to the car and in no time we were back at the resort. We were both tired and after starting another load of laundry we just sat in our villa and relaxed for a while.
Later that evening, when we were finally hungry again, we put the frozen pizza,

which we had picked up at Publix into the oven and about 20 minutes later we happily sat in front of the TV, munching our pizza and salad. We watched a little TV and before long we were ready to call it a day and get ourselves into bed.

To be continued ..........

 

[dizneeat]

Day 25, September 6

A sad goodbye to the Fishermans, another DISmeet and more very special treatment - Part 1

We had a breakfast date this morning, so when the alarm sounded we were up and got ready. At around 8am we headed out and drove over to Waffle House, just off Disney property. Jeff and his family were already waiting for us and it was so sad, as this was to be our last meal together during this trip. We all headed inside together and got a 4 top for the six of us. We all had to squeeze together, but we didn’t care as long as we would have fun together. We all ordered our breakfast items and chatted about the time we had spent together. Then our breakfast arrived. Tom had ordered some coffee

and I had ordered some tea and we both had ordered the Strawberry Waffle with whipped cream.

The waffle was really yummy and gobbled up fast and all too fast it was time to say goodbye to the Fishermans. We stood outside the restaurant and hugged and promised to stay in touch and to meet again. And then they all got into their car and off they went to the airport.
Tom and I decided to do some offsite shopping,

so we went to the Orlando Premium Outlets. We picked up a few items, had a chat with the Cast Members and then went to do some more shopping at Publix. Once we were done we drove back to Old Key West, dropped off our shopping and were in the car again in no time.
Our destination was Downtown Disney, where we wanted to be on time for our next DISmeet. As always when you are in a hurry we had to circle the parking lot twice until we found a spot. We hotfooted it over to Wolfgang Puck’s Express, where Doris and her husband Bob were already waiting.

They had found a nice outside table and after making sure it was them, we walked inside the restaurant and placed our order. We both had a Diet Coke and we decided on some pizza. Tom had the Meatball and Peppers Pizza,

house-made meatballs, mozzarella, fontina and tomato basil-garlic sauce and I had my favourite the Four Cheese Pesto Pizza,

Parmesan, mozzarella, fontina, goat cheese, plum tomatoes, fresh basil, sun-tomatoes. And while we waited for our food to be delivered we had a nice chat with our new friends. It was fun to meet them and put a face to the name. They had just arrived and were excited to see their daughter in law and granddaughters after lunch. We had a fun time together and after we had finished our meals we took them back to the Caribbean Beach resort where they were staying. It was sad to say goodbye again after such a short time, but they needed to check out their room and we wanted to do some more laundry, as we were to go back home pretty soon. It didn’t take long and we drove up to our Home away from Home again, and when we entered we noticed that the maid had been here and had made everything up. A really fun touch was that the kitten we had bought at Expedition Everest, was now sitting in front of the TV with the remote at its paw and the TV on.

We went through our purchases of the morning once again and then Tom decided to spend some relaxing time in the Jacuzzi, while I checked my mail on the internet.

To be continued ..........

 

[Teri1]

Oh my that Kitchen Sink is huge! What a great couple of DISmeets. Also the pictures of the WPE pizza make me hungry! Can't wait to have some our first meal at WDW.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I'm so disappointed we won't share a meal again this year at WPE!

The Dis Meet was such fun & a great experience that I would love to do again!

 

[jenseib]

Yay! Great meet with Doris!!!
You just have the best trips andmeet so many great people. if I remember right your first Dis meet that trip was extra exceptional!

 

[dizneeat]

Oh my that Kitchen Sink is huge! What a great couple of DISmeets. Also the pictures of the WPE pizza make me hungry! Can't wait to have some our first meal at WDW.

It is huge, yes, but so much fun to share with friends! And it was so much fun to share with the Fishermans!
I cannot wait to get back to WPE either - breakfast pizza before we head to Key Largo!

I'm so disappointed we won't share a meal again this year at WPE!

The Dis Meet was such fun & a great experience that I would love to do again!

I am disappointed too, Doris. What a shame we will miss each other by a few days, but maybe in the future ......
It was a really fun DISmeet! Tom and I really enjoyed having lunch with you!

Yay! Great meet with Doris!!!
You just have the best trips andmeet so many great people. if I remember right your first Dis meet that trip was extra exceptional!

Yes, it was a great meet with Doris and then yes, the first one ...... hm, wasn't that a certain Jennifer we met? Hey and there was another DISmeet at the very end with my good friend Teresa! ALL of them were magical and I cannot wait to repeat them all.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 25, September 6

A sad goodbye to the Fishermans, another DISmeet and more very special treatment - Part 2

We went through our purchases of the morning once again and then Tom decided to spend some relaxing time in the Jacuzzi, while I checked my mail on the internet. And while I was still checking and reading they were reporting about the Magic Kingdom on TV.
We learned that the day before Pirates of the Caribbean had malfunctioned and guests had been stuck in their boats for over an hour.

It had crossed our minds to go to Magic Kingdom that day and we could have easily been on that ride when it broke down. By mid afternoon we started packing the first few things, and then got ready for our reservation at California Grill. We had changed the date to be able to see Ron again and we were really looking forward to it. At around 5.45 we drove over to the Contemporary Resort, parked our car and since our reservation was for 7pm we walked around the resort, checked out the shops once again and walked out to the boats deck.
At around 6.45 we checked in for our reservation. We asked for Ron and were told that he was working and they put our request for him on our reservation. A few minutes later we were in the elevator on our way up to the restaurant. As always they told us that it would be a few minutes until our table was ready and so we just walked outside onto the walkway to enjoy the evening view of the park. A few minutes later our buzzer went off and we walked back inside and were led to our table.
When we got to our table it was all decorated with Mickey confetti and castle confetti

and Ron was quick to come over and greet us.

And while we were still discussing what to order he brought us two glasses of Sparkling Wine on the house.

We chatted for a while, then he took our order. We both had decided on having a glass of wine with dinner and when we wanted to order it, Ron offered to let us taste another wine that he thought was even better than our selection. He brought over the bottle of Mer Soleil

and poured each of us a sample. And he was so right, the wine was really wonderful. And it didn’t take long for Ron to come back to our table, but this time he served us an Amuse Bouche, a small cup of Heirloom Sweet Potato Soup, smoked bacon, red pears, and a tempura rock shrimp on top.

We were so surprised and the soup was wonderful. And once we had finished it, we were presented a basket of the California Grill’s Sourdough Bread

and some nice creamy Butter with rock salt.

We sipped our wine and nibbled some bread, spread with butter. Then our starters came out. Tom had ordered the Crispy Rock Shrimp Salad - with Florida citrus, red onions, soy reduction, and wasabi cream

and I had decided on trying the Hearts of Romaine - with Roasted Garlic Dressing, Marinated Anchovies, Olives, Aged Parmesan, and Croutons.

Both were very tasty and generous portions, which we enjoyed a lot. For his main course Tom had chosen his favourite sushi creation, the Spicy Kazan Roll - crab, shrimp, bay scallops, tuna and fireball sauce,

while I had decided on my favourite as well. My choice was the Grilled Pork Tenderloin, with Goat Cheese Polenta, Roasted Mushrooms, Zinfandel Glaze, and Sage.

Once we had finished we discussed the dessert and Tom decided to just order an Espresso, which came with a biscotti,

and my choice was the Lemon Trio.

It consisted of Pudding Cake with Citrus Syrup, Lemon Curd with Huckleberry Compote and Lemon infused Tapioca. It was a nice not too sweet end to our meal.

Once we had settled our bill we thanked Ron for his service and extra treats and said our goodbyes. We had discussed staying for the fireworks, but we were tired and so we picked up our car again and when we left the Contemporary Resort we thought that there would not be many opportunities left to get some doughnuts for the Guards at our resort.
So we headed towards Kissimmee to Krispy Kreme. Their Hot Now sign was on, which meant that we were in luck, but would have to eat one of those wonderful, airy little pieces of heaven right away. We picked up two dozen,

had one doughnut right there and then and finally drove back to Old Key West. The Guard at the resort was so surprised and thanked us over and over again. Back in our villa we sat out on the balcony for a while and then we remembered the glasses that Jeff had given us. They are kind of 3 D glasses and they change lights into Mickey Heads. So we took them outside and tried them and it was such an awesome sight as the whole resort was covered in Mickey Heads.

Once we had gotten back inside we talked about this day’s events, but soon we were tired and headed off to bed.

To be continued ..........

 

[deenbrad]

They are kind of 3 D glasses and they change lights into Mickey Heads. So we took them outside and tried them and it was such an awesome sight as the whole resort was covered in Mickey Heads.

That is so cool!!

 

[dizneeat]

That is so cool!!

It is! Whenever I need my Disney magic, I can just put them on and enjoy the Mickey lights.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 26, September 7

Let’s get crackin’ - Part 1

Another day had dawned that we did not feel like going to the parks. We slept in and made breakfast in our villa. We sat out on the balcony enjoying it.

And once we were done we went on a joyride around the resort.

Old Key West is huge and it was the perfect day to take a drive around the resort.

Once we had seen it all we went offsite and to one of the Disney outlets. This one is in the middle of a Mall and we did find a few nice items, an embroidered shirt for Tom for just 5$ and a few other little things. We then walked around the Mall and into a few shops. Tom especially liked the Fossil shop, and had a good look at some of the watches, but none of them really peaked his interest.
Then we were off to Walmart. They always have a lot of fun supplies for school and I stocked up on stickers and pencils for my pupils. Time had flown by and we were getting hungry so we were looking for a restaurant that looked inviting enough for lunch.
We drove past a few restaurants, but nothing looked interesting enough to walk inside and then we drove past “Joe’s Crab Shack”.

Somehow it looked really nice to us and we drove up to it.

Once we were inside we were not so sure about our decision any more. It was dark, large and there was only one more couple in there. But since we had already been greeted we thought why not.
So we were led to a table and handed the menu. The table was clean and the menu looked nice, so we gave it a go, and in the end were glad we did. Since Tom had to drive he ordered some Diet Coke, but I ordered the Strawberry Comfort,

squeezed lemons, mixed with sweet strawberry puree Southern Comfort, Bacardi Limón Rum and Sprite to enjoy with the Crispy Shrimp,

a dozen lightly breaded shrimp, served with fries and coleslaw and both were equally wonderful. Tom had found something else that he wanted to try, the Samuel Adams Steampot,

Sweet Snow crab, 1 pound of clams, meaty lobster claws, and smoked sausage, all steamed in Samuel Adams lager. He was handed a bib and a HUGE pot was set in front of him, shock full of yummy food. It was a bit of work to get to all the food,

but he did a great job on cracking and eating.

We were far too stuffed to order dessert and returned home to Old Key West. We chilled for a while, had a small slice of Mickey Head cake and then decided to head to the pool for a while. We never go to the main pool, but we love the quiet pools at Old Key West. And as always it was quiet at that pool.

Only a few other people enjoying the sun and the pool,

so we grabbed a towel, and sat on a lounge chair for a while and then hit the pool. We stayed in the water for a while and finally struck up a conversation with another couple who was enjoying the pool as well.

They were owners at Old Key West and we talked about how much we all loved it there and they explained how much they loved DVC. Every year they spent quite some time there and they even had rented a space to stow their belongings. They explained it to us and were full of the pros of not having to lug things back and forth. After a while the rest of their family arrived and we said our goodbyes.

To be continued ..........

 

[jenseib]

I sure wish Joes was still open around here right now. Toms dinner looks so good!

 

[KatMark]

Great updates, and thankfully I just finished my lunch before reading. I love Waffle House and can't wait to be back there; WPE is good, but I think we'll skip this trip. We have never done Cali Grill...one of these days. I have to say we do not like Joe's Crab Shack. We have them here -- awful, and we ate at the one in Naples/Marco last year and it was absolutely horrible. But everything else food wise you have pictures of looks scrumptious.

 

[dizneeat]

I sure wish Joes was still open around here right now. Toms dinner looks so good!

We both enjoyed lunch there very much. And I was SO happy I had ordered the shrimp, not that Tom's dish had not been super yummy, but the work it needed to get to it!

Great updates, and thankfully I just finished my lunch before reading. I love Waffle House and can't wait to be back there; WPE is good, but I think we'll skip this trip. We have never done Cali Grill...one of these days. I have to say we do not like Joe's Crab Shack. We have them here -- awful, and we ate at the one in Naples/Marco last year and it was absolutely horrible. But everything else food wise you have pictures of looks scrumptious.

Always better to have had a snack before reading anything I put up, Kathy!
This was our very first brush with Waffle House and we all enjoyed it a lot.

Well, I don't know if you are aware of it, Kathy, but CG closes in January for a massive refurb. So, if you want to see the original you should grab an ADR pretty soon.
No problem if you don't like Joe's, Kathy, then we are equal To me the puffed french toast is just YUCK!!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 26, September 7

Let’s get crackin’ - Part 2

After a while the rest of their family arrived and we said our goodbyes.
We had spent about 2 hours at the pool and then returned to our villa, took showers and looking at all the stuff we would have to take home and back again in February it got us thinking. We quickly got on the internet and explored storage options.
I had always had the idea of Owner’s Locker in the back of my head, so when private storage became a bit complicated, we explored Owner’s Locker some more and found that it would be a great way not to have to transport some things back and forth. We got on the website and tried to book a locker, but my credit card didn’t work. So we called and resolved the issue and were told that our Purple Box would be delivered the next day.
All that research and getting the membership straightened out had taken quite some time and there was no way we would still go to a park. So we thought about what might be a nice place for dinner and we tried to find out if there would be an Outback Steakhouse close by.
We did find one, put the address into the GPS and off we went. Knowing the general area, we were surprised on the way we were led by the GPS, but in the end we were glad we followed it, as it brought us right by another huge Publix store.
We then finally found the Outback Steakhouse and judging by the lot of cars in front of it were not sure if we would be able to have dinner there. When we walked inside it was packed, but since we were already there we asked about a table for two and one had just come up, so we were led to it without any wait at all. We were quickly handed their menu and left to decide what we wanted. Tom ordered a Diet Coke and I had found something on the menu that I wanted to try, the Cherry Limeade,

sweet cherried, tart lime and some Sprite made up my drink, which I enjoyed, but it was still a bit too much on the sweet side for me. And after all that swimming and spending money in the afternoon we were glad to find a starter that looked like fun, the Aussie Cheese Fries,

topped with melted Monterey Jack, Cheddar, chopped bacon and served with a spicy ranch dressing.

When it was served we were both very glad we had opted for a small portion of it, even though we were sharing it. The portion was quite huge, something completely new to us, but still very nice. We had not quite finished our starter when our main courses were delivered. Tom had ordered the Sirloin & Shrimp,

their signature sirloin paired with Grilled Shrimp on the Barbie, served with a loaded baked potato and some Bernaise sauce. It was a huge and tasty portion and he really enjoyed it a lot. I had my heart set on the Filet with Wild Mushroom Sauce,

Wood-fire grilled petite filet topped with rich Marsala and wild mushroom sauce and served with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh seasonal mixed veggies. And this was equally as good as Tom’s dinner. We both skipped dessert as we were just too full and we still had a lot of that Mickey Head Cake left.
After we had settled the bill we decided to check out the Publix next door. It was another huge store and it offered a large wine selection. We were happy to see that they had several different wines from the Silverado Vineyards, which we always enjoy.
There was no doubt we would pick up a bottle and a few other bits and pieces before we headed to the cashier to pay for our items. It was getting late when we returned to the car and soon we were on our way back to Old Key West. We watched TV for some time and then called it a day.

To be continued ..........

 

[MAGICFOR2]

So many restaurants to catch up on today!

I haven't heard about Steak N Shake for a very long time! I thought it was just a Midwest thing. Sounds like something to look around for ...

That Kitchen Sink is on our list for our trip next July! I love those cakes at BC! I hope they are still doing that = DDIL had been making some really great creations with fondant - she would love to see those.

We always joke about Waffle House, but we have enjoyed it when we've been there - can't go wrong with a strawberry waffle!

We love Joe's! I see Tom got the steampot - that is what Jim always gets = although on our last visit, I got a steampot and he switched and got a salmon platter or something like that - since I had to wear a bib, they gave him a "sympathy bib" so I wouldn't be the only one wearing it.

It is nice you have such a wonderful relationship with "your" waiter Ron at CG! I'll bet he really looks forward to seeing you.

We haven't really enjoyed the Outbacks in Oregon, but we did really enjoy it there in Orlando - don't know if it was the same one you tried or not. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I am a coke or plain tea drinker, but I do love a good Cherry Limeade

Looking forward to more - are you hoping to finish this TR before you leave for your next trip?