Day 13 ~ The One With T-I-double GG-ERRRRRRRRRRRRR
We got up and ready and then had a quick look at our amazing view from the balcony. We then walked over to the Great Ceremonial House for our 9am ADR at Kona cafe. When we got there the scene was quite like Ohana last night, quite chaotic with lots of people standing round waiting. We checked in and were given a pager, the woman in front of us had an ADR for Ohana but the wait was too long and they had a flight to catch so asked for a table at Kona and was given one. She was told the wait would be 15 minutes so I dread to think what Ohanas wait was, but it also seemed quite strange she managed to get a reservation that quickly when there was such a lot of people with ADRs who had been waiting for ages. There were lots of empty tables in Kona and lots of waiters standing around doing nothing. With so many people waiting for tables it really didnt seem at all organized, and Ohana looked even worse with people literally taking up most of the top floor queuing. We went to the shop and after about 10-15 minutes our buzzer went off so the wait wasnt that bad for us. We were seated on a nice little table for two and looked through the menu. Our server introduced herself and went through some of the things on the menu and went off to get us our coffee, the Kona blend. We didnt see her again for a while, she seemed to be very busy although she only seemed to be waiting a few tables, I dont know if they were short on chefs or something because she seemed to be in the kitchen for a long time. Eventually we ordered, Nick had the French toast with ham and I got the legendary Tonga toast with ham and a Koloeki juice. Again we waited for quite a while to get our food but it was very nice when it finally came. I couldnt even half of the Tonga toast, its just so sweet and filling and you get so much but it is really tasty. The ham was really good too as was the juice and coffee. Nick enjoyed his but thought the menu was quite limited and the food was pretty average for the price. It was Mothers day today and they were giving all the mothers roses and our server gave me one too which was nice.
Kona Cafe:
My Tonga Toast with ham:
Nicks French toast with ham:
After we had finished we didnt see our server for ages, the people on the table across from us had been waiting to pay the bill for ages, they had finished their food just after we got seated and still hadnt got their bill. They seemed they were in a rush to be catching a flight or something so in the end the man had to go and ask someone else for it. When she finally took our money she brought back the wrong change which then took a little while to sort out.
It was a real shame about the service because the food was good and it is a nice setting, but there were big crowds of people waiting the whole time we were there and lots of empty tables. For the price you pay you compared to off-site restaurants you expect the service to be good, and although our server was pleasant enough the service in general was pretty poor.
We then went back to the room for an hour, we had planned to have a swim in the volcano pool but it was really grey outside and quite windy so we gave it a miss. Instead we got ready and I checked out whilst Nick put our stuff in the car. We caught the monorail over to the Contemporary; this resort is so cool inside. We always thought it looked quite miserable and boring from the outside but once we saw it inside it really changed our perspective and we would love to stay there one day. We walked down to Sammy Duvalls Watersports which was near the marina out the back of the resort. We had parasailing booked for 11.30am but unfortunately when we got there they told us due to it being so windy they had canceled all the parasailing for today. They were really good and told us they could rebook us in any time later in the holiday but that it would be best to book for the morning when the winds our lower. We had booked jet skis for 1pm and they told us they could fit us in for that now instead which was meant we didnt have to wait. We signed some forms and then the girl gave us some lifejackets and took us over to the jet skis. She explained and demonstrated how to use the jet skis, and what we were going to be doing. We got on the jet skis, I wanted to share one with Nick as I was pretty nervous about driving one but he was having none of it. The girl then helped us back them out and we followed her out on the lake. When we first started heading the guide and Nick went off really fast but I felt I was going to one side too much and really didnt want to fall off so kept back a bit. The woman took us out to an area right by the banks of the water which is marked off just for jet skis and we had free time to ride around here for half an hour. I was nervous to go fast on the free time as it was pretty windy and as we went along it caused big waves tipping the jet skis to one side a bit but Nick just went flying off, he loved it. It was good fun, especially when the waves came up when we were going along. I didnt expect to get half as wet as we did, we both came off absolutely soaked but it was really warm water which was nice. Luckily I didnt fall off or anything, although I didnt go much faster than 25mph. The guide stayed at the edge of the area in case we needed help or had any questions. At one point the front of my jet ski came up as I was driving along and I had to signal her over. She came over and fixed the problem and a security boat came over too as he had seen me wave, it was nice to know that there are people watching out for you all the time and making sure you are safe. She also came and checked we were having fun and told us to let loose for the last 5 minutes, she was probably meaning me as I was going so slow. Eventually our time was up and ewe followed her back to the marina and docked which wasnt as hard as I thought it was going to be. It had actually been really fun and Im kind of glad I went on by myself although if I had gone on with Nick I would have got to go faster.
A couple of jet skiing pictures:
We went to collect our stuff from reception and pay, although they had completely forgotten about that part and were thankful we reminded them. We then went and got changed into some dry clothes. We were planning on going straight to Magic Kingdom at about 2pm after the jet skiing but since it was only just after 12pm we decided to take our stuff back to our resort and get changed first. On the monorail however we then decided it wasnt worth going all that way back for that and instead decided to drop watching the parade and just go back to Magic Kingdom for our 7pm ADR after having a rest for a few hours instead. On the way back to Coronado Springs we decided to go to The Earl of Sandwich to get some sandwiches to take back to the hotel for lunch. It looked really busy at Downtown Disney when we arrived and I think most of them were at Earl of Sandwich by the queue. We waited about 10 minutes which wasnt too bad considering the length of the queue and we got a Hawaiian bbq and a Canonball sandwich to share. We then went back to our room and had our sandwiches which were both really good, but we both agreed the Hawaiian bbq was definitely the best. I then had a nap whilst Nick watched a bit of TV.
I woke up just before 2.30pm after a 90 minute nap and felt so much better for it, I was quickly up and raring to go. We got ready whilst watching the Princess Diaries which Nick got into so much he didnt want to go out. I promised we would get it on DVD as soon as we got back to the UK so he could finish watching it and then prised him away and headed out to Magic Kingdom. We parked quite near the front and walked over to the Transportation and Ticket center where we naughtily caught the resort monorail over to Magic Kingdom. It was much quicker than the normal monorail which had big queues and unfortunately the boat wasnt running. We got to Magic Kingdom about 6.15pm and had a look around the Emporium before checking in a little early for our 7pm ADR at the Crystal Palace. We were buzzed in less than 5 minutes and seated straight away. I love the Crystal Palace, its such a beautiful restaurant and brings back so many memories from my first ever trip to WDW with my Dad when I looked through the glass at all the lucky children inside and dreamed to one day eat in there with some of my favorite characters and then of my first trip with Mum, Dad and Sophie when I finally got to realize my dream with the people most special to me. And this time I was glad to be sharing this magical experience with Nick for the first time.
Our server brought us drinks, Nick got a coke and I got a pink lemonade, I love pink lemonade so was trying to drink as much as possible before we left. We waited for a minute to get food as Piglet and Pooh were close by and I didnt want to miss any of the characters. Piglet came over first and was very cute, he gave me a kiss and cuddle, he was so soft and sweet, and we both got pictures with him. Then Pooh came over and we got some more pictures and had a cuddle, he was really cuddly. We then went up to the buffet and got some food. We got some salad to start and there was a lot of choice with lettuce, dressings, peel and eat prawns, pasta salad, coleslaw, pepper salad and more. We then went up for mains, there wasnt quite as much choice as last time, there wasnt as much meat but what I did have was very good. I had cornbread, turkey, pizza, ratatouille, mash potatoes and some vegetables. There was also vegetarian pasta, mahi mahi, salmon, more kinds of vegetables, pastas and prime rib so quite a lot of different dishes. Once we finished we waited a bit as Tigger and Eeyore were both close. However just as they were getting to us there was an announcement about some party with the characters. Luckily Tigger came to us just before it started. Tigger is my favorite and he is always so funny, he was bouncing about and when we were getting food he was walking around with a rubbish collector sweeping up rubbish. The characters then went round in a circle holding balloons and honey pot signs dancing to music with children following behind, it was quite cute and the children seemed to be enjoying it. When it finished the characters had a quick break so Nick and I went and got some more of our favorites and then it was time for Eeyores visit. Eeyore only stopped quickly but was very cuddly. We got some dessert, there was quite a good selection, I got some tiramsu, carrot cake and apple cobbler but there was also chocolate cake, some pink cake thing, ice cream with different toppings, and more. As we were eating dessert Piglet came round again for more cuddles and pictures and Tigger bounced by a few more times. We had some coffee then paid the bill, it had been a really nice meal and Im glad we got over our embarrassment of being an adult couple and went to the Crystal Palace.
The parade:
The food:
We headed over to guest services to get our extra magic hours wrist bands and then went and had a look in the gallery shops. They have some really beautiful figurines and ornaments in these shops but I was particularly looking at the Classic Collection Figurines as I collect them and they are so much cheaper over here than the UK. At about 8.40pm we went to find where we needed to go for the preferred fireworks viewing. The man at the Plaza Restaurant podium showed us where to go and there seemed to be a lot of people hanging around by the rope, it looked like a big queue. However when we went to check we were allowed to go straight down to a little roped off area where the tables and chairs for the Plaza restaurant were, right by the water and overlooking the castle. There was only 1 other family of 2 adults and a little girl there and that was it the whole time. There were lots of people complaining they couldnt go into the area, it was quite cool as we had so much space. The view wasnt perfect as there were a few trees in the way. When the fireworks started we could either have a good view of the fireworks or of the castle but not much of the fireworks. The good thing was there was lots of space, and as there was hardly anyone there we could keep moving about to get the best view. Unfortunately Tinkerbell didnt make an appearance, maybe due to the strong winds that were make the fireworks drift to one side too. Wishes was a lot better than I had remembered from our previous visits. The music and fireworks, and the whole storyline is so magical, I had never realized this so much before. Maybe because we were always being squashed and pushed and shoved the whole time but this time we could just concentrate on everything that was happening and it was truly magical.
The viewing area:
The other guests:
The crowds by Plaza Restaurant:
Wishes:
Continued below ...
The GF tea is a tradition for DD & I, we love it. I will have to miss it on our next trip as DS doesn't care for tea.
We are going to Ohana on our first night & hope to see the fireworks & water pagent like we did on our last trip. Thanks for the wonderful update, it brought back some magical memories.
but I am glad that a nap helped you feel much better! 
. Happy to hear that you improved and you enjoyed your meal at Ohana's. Your view was spectacular!!!
They're great! 
