Our Disney Honeymoon: Day 2 “Jiko, the African word for ‘Spoil Honeymooners Silly’”

[Stitchfan626]

Monday July 26th

Cast: Me, 32 year old Disney fanatic
DW, 29 year old Disney convert

As mentioned at the end of Day 1, we awoke after our “quick nap” at 6:30 in the morning to go to the EE (sorry we still refer those days as that) at Animal Kingdom. The lines waiting to enter AK didn’t seem that bad, especially when Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto arrived on their bus. My DW swears that Minnie took notice of her ears and waved; but I can’t verify that. When the rope dropped we all followed the bus because it just so happened to lead a good portion of the way to the Safari. There was hardly any line to speak of at the Safari where it just seemed that most of the animals didn’t want to face the camera, instead gracing us with their opposite ends. Nonetheless we did manage to get some good pictures. After we left the Safari we wandered through the Pangani forest trail before heading out to take the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our 10am PS to Boma.

Upon arriving at Boma to check in we realized we were ½ hour early. It was not a problem and we were seated at once where we were met by our server Edsel. He took our beverage order and off to the buffet we went. After sampling the “standard food” side (a.k.a. the usual pancakes, omelets, etc.) we decided to sample some food from the far right of the buffet...a section that was NEVER crowded. We spotted poached eggs with Sheba sauce, the Bobadi, and a skillet and biscuit type hash. Simply wonderful food and the Frunch was a beverage that was, to say the least, out of this world. We drank so much of it that finally Edsel decided not to bother taking back the carafe. However there was one point we discovered that cinnamon really needs to be shaken, not scooped. Here is the story. My DW wanted some oatmeal with some cinnamon on it. I go get it and came back with oatmeal with what looked like the right amount of cinnamon. I was wrong. When she finished stirring the oatmeal looked more like cinnamon mush. Edsel saw the look on our faces and noticed our predicament. Apparently it wasn’t the first time this had happened and went back and got another one for her with a touch of cinnamon. We left Boma very full and happy; wandering towards the bus stop to take a trip to Downtown Disney. We wanted to pick up our La Nouba tickets early so that we wouldn’t have to worry about it later but unfortunately the Downtown bus just wasn’t coming. It seemed that buses for every other stop were coming in droves. It was then we debated where to go since it looked like the Downtown was never coming. We hopped on a bus that read Magic Kingdom so that we could take a resort bus back to CBR. Wouldn’t you know it, when we exited the bus at MK the bus that was going to the CBR was the bus we JUST hopped off! We turned around when we exited to catch the driver changing the sign from MK to CBR—back on the bus we went. When we arrived at our room we discovered balloons and a card autographed by Mickey and Minnie. My DW was very pleased with this find since Minnie is her favorite character.

For the next two hours we left our room to hang around OPR and the pool closest to our room. When we returned we found that our room had not been visited by housekeeping. DW decided to call housekeeping to check when they would get to our room and was told that housekeeping is done by 4:30 but they would send someone right away (It was only 2pm). With that taken care of a debate now raged between us as to what the dress code was to Jiko. I had put on a pair of shorts; DW freaks and said that I couldn’t wear it. We go back and forth, EVEN consulting the Passporter, but it was decided to call 407-WDWDINE. We were told no tank top and no shorts. A quick change to dress pants was in order. In the meantime DW was packing “park gear” in her large tote bag. We had purchased E-ride tickets for this night. We didn’t know how long we were going to take at Jiko so as not to waste too much time, we decided to pack a bag and change once we were finished at Jiko.

Because we were nicely dressed for our dinner at Jiko we decided to kill some time while waiting for our 5:30 PS by doing a bit of touring around the monorail resorts. So, we took a short bus trip over to MK and jumped aboard the monorail to the Contemporary. Having been told that some of the best resort shopping around can be found there we went down to the concourse level and did some shopping. Having ogled at watches the day before, we decide that we would each pick out a watch to commemorate the trip. My DW and I both found ones we liked in the price range we had set for ourselves, but only the one she liked was in stock. I told her to buy it and that I would get mine later. Then we headed upstairs and jumped back aboard the monorail, skipping by the TTC and Poly and getting off once we hit the Grand Floridian. After wandering around the shops on the second floor we went down to the smaller gift shop on the first floor. It was there that a friendly security guard who was going off duty spotted us and went out of her way to congratulate us on our newlywed status (in case you are wondering we’ve been wearing our bride and groom ears religiously). Not finding anything we just HAD to have we went back out to the lobby and enjoyed the GF orchestra while DW jotted down notes about what had happened so far. Deciding we had killed enough time we took the monorail over to the MK and then jumped the bus to the AKL.

Unfortunately, I had miscalculated travel time, and we ended up a half hour early for our PS. Since our PS was the first one of the evening, we went up to the Victoria Falls lounge and had a Victoria Falls Mist (can’t remember what’s in it, but it’s one of those drinks that taste like fruit juice and then hits you hard when you try and stand up). It finally came around to the time for our PS so we headed downstairs and were the first ones in the restaurant for the evening. Being the curious types that we are we requested at seat at the actual cooking place within Jiko. It was there that we had the pleasure of meeting the three chefs in charge of the cooking place; Courtney, Meli, and Atifi. Our perky (there’s no other way to describe her) server Michelle went over the menu with us and took our order. We also wanted to try one of the South African wines they serve but had no idea what to pick. She listened to our likes and dislikes and picked out the perfect wine for our tastes. When our appetizers arrived Atifi and Meli saw that we didn’t get some of Jiko’s signature dishes, so they made sure we had samples of them all. While we were enjoying these samples, along with the items we ordered we were treated to a lesson on all the beans and lentils they use, and they even called out Chef Andrew from the kitchen when they couldn’t identify one specific bean. Since he was out we engaged in some small talk, and before leaving he said “Make sure you leave room for dessert.” I don’t know how we were able to after such wonderful food but try we would! A little after the arrival of our main course, Kim, the manager of Jiko, came over and congratulated us on our nuptials and made sure our dining experience was as grand as could be. She too left with the parting words “Make sure you leave room for dessert”. As the meal drew to a close--we enjoyed our desserts-- Michelle came over with a card for us signed by the various CM’s who worked at Jiko wishing us well on our honeymoon. Atifi took this one step further and got a copy of the main menu signed by the kitchen staff, as well as giving us copies of the dessert and wine menus to take home with us. Overall it was a wonderful dining experience and definitely something we’d want to repeat in the future.

After dinner we slipped upstairs to change into more casual attire since we had an e-ride night planned. On the way to the bus stop we stopped in the gift shop and I found the watch I had liked over at the Contemporary, and it was in stock! So, I picked it up and the headed out into the moist night air. It’s important to note that while we were having dinner the skies had opened up and it really poured down rain. Well, this wasn’t going to stop us. We headed out on the bus to MK, and simply rented a locker to hold all our stuff while we donned ponchos and picked up our wrist bands over at Town Hall. From Town Hall we ventured over to one of our favorite spots at MK: Tomorrowland. We did our traditional first ride at MK on the TTA (ok, this was only our second trip together, but hey, if we do it every time it’s a tradition, right?) and while riding TTA we saw that COP was open. Well, after our trip on the TTA we headed over there and enjoyed this classic. I really hope all the talk of closing this down never comes to pass. This is really a Disney classic nand should be left alone as a legacy to Walt. After COP we hit Buzz, and then headed out to Fantasyland. In Fantasyland we did Mickey’s Philharmagic for the first time. I have to say, I think this is a new favorite attraction for me. I just think it’s a bit misnamed. It really should be DONALD’s Philharmagic, but oh well. As we left Philharmagic we stumbled onto the end of the Wishes firework show. WOW! The finale really lights up the whole park as bright as daylight! With the E-ride night officially starting we headed over and rode Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion (which is definitely scarier at night) and Splash Mountain. We had never ridden Splash before and our ride really didn’t do anything to encourage us to do it again. I think it was the fact that a bunch of teenage girls talked throughout the entire ride. As we left Splash we stumbled onto the beginning of the Spectromagic parade. The earlier parade had been canceled because of the rain, but since the rain had stopped we were able to enjoy the second show. DW was especially impressed with Prince Charming (a real hunk she says). As it was getting late, we went in to see Philharmagic one more time before deciding to call it a night. It was as we were leaving that I saw one of the scariest things I’ve seen at MK. We had walked through the castle where evidently a character meet and greet was ending. Well, the CM accompanying Chip started fooling around and running back towards the castle and Chip followed, only to take a header when he caught his foot on the curb which he couldn’t see in the dark. I was afraid he might have really gotten hurt, but he popped back up and seemed ok. Honestly, I don’t’ know what his handler was thinking. We continued out of MK and hit the bus back to CBR where we caught some much deserved shut eye in preparation for EE at MGM tomorrow.

Next: Day 3 "EMT's, Security Guards, and a Roman Holiday."

 

[jennymouse]

I think we're going to try Jiko in February for the firs time. Can't wait! We've eaten at Boma a few times now but had to cancel our PS there the one time I had one.

 

[Minniespal]

Great report ~ Thanx for sharing.