nwdisgal
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2002
- Messages
- 2,120
Just a recap:
Cast members:
DH - He carries the Gold Card and is married to someone who thinks she's Cinderella
DW- Disney obsessed, caffeine is my blood type and Peter Pan is my ideal mate
DD- She's uhm at that uh age
a teenager and the wisest of us all, if only she had a crystal ball
DS- 9 year old who wrote the book on Disney Fanatic for Kids
Okay, now that we did that little cast review, here goes our last day at WDW.. finally!
First of all, there are some things that I'll never do in life again. I have kids, so you'll never hear me looking at another kid misbehaving and saying, "When I have kids, I'll never let them do that." Yah, famous last words.
I'm on the same train of thought with tornados and trailer parks. I'll never watch a storm show again and proclaim "I just don't understand how someone could sleep through a tornado." Yah, that's easy to say when you are not the one doing the sleeping
Okay, I confess, I'm a weather junkie and I feel like I have a handle on Weather Channel and all their alerts real, imagined and otherwise. On the evening of Day 7 we're watching the news and they are predicting some nasty weather for the Orlando area, but nothing that we think is seriously going to affect our trip to MK the next day. We head off to bed, and I tell DH that we haven't seen much of the parks, tomorrow is our last day and we're gonna take a marathon shot at MK. The plan is to wake up early. Anyway, in the middle of the night, I hear some thunder rumbling and a little of bit of lightening. It seems like no big deal, so I roll back asleep. The thunder lulls me to sleep and in my mind I think about what we have at home, thunder that practically shakes the roof off, howling wind that blows people over, lightening like I've never imagined. We're okay. I drift off again into oblivion. The thing I hate about SSR is that the beds are too comfortable and the air conditioning is too fabulous, and I did not wake up early!!! When my eyes open, it is 8:00 am and the world has changed drastically. I rustle my DH and tell him, "We've blown it again. We've slept half through the day." Oh well...We get up and make coffee. I turn on the news for a weather report or should I say, reality check. Our area is under a Tornado Warning, but it has been recently downgraded to a Watch. Still the Watch is on until 11:00 am. I look at DH like what the heck do we do, we'll miss half the day.
I look outside and the weather is overcast and blustery. we have to make a decision. Now comes the Game of Chance. Stay put or risk being caught in severe weather? Hey it's Disney, how bad can it be? 
We grab a quick bite, haul out our trusty backpack with the rain ponchos and head to the bus depot. There is a small group waiting for the bus (thank goodness, we're not the only nuts on this earth). The wind speed is really picking up, and we're all kind of anxiously looking at each other, but we still board the bus. We arrive at MK and our gamble pays off. The crowds are pretty light - remember this is Spring Break week before Easter and it has been standing room only up until today. We head right for our list of rides. The first one I want to check out is Mickey's Philharmonic (magic?) ride. Wow! What can I say. This is my first time through this attraction and one of my favorites. After that we hit several attractions - Space Mountain, Peter Pan, Stitch's Great Escape, Carousel of Progress, Buzz Light Year, the Haunted Mansion and Fast Pass for Thunder Mountain later on because it is out of service at the moment. We cover all those rides in just a couple of hours. About the time the Watch expires, a little after eleven, the crowds start building, and I look at DH and suggest we head over to the Poly for lunch.
We go to Kona Cafe. I've dined here before, and really enjoy their dessert set-up. The cafe is pretty uncrowded, and we are seated right away. DH orders a shabu type dish with soba noodles, veggies and meat in broth. I order the teriyaki salad and even though I see sharp white cheddar cheese on the menu description, I don't pay much attention to it, or as much as I should. We also order a glass of wine to go with our lunch. Our lunches come out and DH's meal is very nice. Everything is cooked to perfection. I am envying him, wishing I had ordered his entree. My salad however, is a disappointment. The greens are overdressed and the cheddar is just not cutting it with the teriyaki - at least not in my opinion. In culinary they talk about tastes that compete with each other, and this taste I have - the cheddar tastes bitter with the teriyaki and leaves this after taste on my tongue that I don't care for. Yuck. It is a bit of the disappointment to me. Our server comes over and asks how everything is. I'm honest with her, whether or not I should be. We tell her we really like DH's dish, but I don't care for the salad. She asks me what I don't like about the salad, and I tell her that I feel the cheddar fights with the teriyaki. I offer the suggestion that I feel the salad would be better with toasted macadamia nuts to offer the fat component of the salad, rather than the cheddar, or some other component complimentary to teriyaki. So the server looks at me and tells me "Well, I've been a server here for 18 years and you are the first person who's ever complained about the cheddar on that salad. In fact, most of our customers ask for extra cheddar." I grimace internally at her suggestion. "Really?" I tell her. "If that's what your customers like, then I can see why you keep it on the menu." I gave her a polite smile. End of story, and I'm not here to harass the server or get a free salad. I just wanted to provide feedback that I didn't care for the flavors. I'm not doing it to be mean. At least in our neck of the woods, the chefs really value feedback from the customers on the menu items. It helps them gage whether something is well received or if they want to adjust it. I don't tell my server that I'm from Hawaii, in Culinary Product Development and tasting and analyzing food is my way of life. White cheddar with teriyaki is not exactly Hawaiian Regional Cuisine So I make a mental note to swap story with the chefs when I get back about this interesting teriyaki with white cheddar trend sprouting in Orlando (as she dawns flame proof suit). I go on to the rest of the meal.
I order the carmelized banana creme brulee for dessert and am very happy with it. I had this last time I was here, and I'll have it next time. It is the best. I don't know who the pastry chef is at Kona, but you're very talented It is my main reason for coming to Kona Cafe - the desserts and the fab coffee. DH and I order the french press kona and sit and enjoy our desserts. He orders the Coco Puffs - also excellent and DS and DD both have the cotton candy cones.
After lunch we head over to Epcot to fit in a FAST Pass for Test Track. DH and the kids also go on Mission Space. I haven't been able to muster up the courage for that.
We then had back to SSR for pool and health club time here. I love the health club at SSR.
Then we do something that I've always wanted to do, but never was in proximity to before. We board the river boat from SSR and resort hop to check out POFQ and POR. Wow! What a beautiful, romantic
boat ride down the river. I like both the Orleans resorts. Just from exterior appearances, POR is my favorite of the two resorts because of its mansions. I tell DH that POR might be an option to try in the future if we want to do a Moderate. The mansions are so breathtaking from the front. What is also interesting, on the way down the river, we see the treehouses. They look like they have a lot of potential, but the boat captain tells us that they are sitting because they are on protected wetlands and there are all sorts of restrictions about clearing trees, construction, etc. In fact we see several downed trees from the previous fall's hurricane season. Some are slumped into the side of the treehouses. Again, the boat captain says they can't move the downed trees because of the wetland protection. I have no idea about any of this, but thought it was interesting. I'll be curious to see what happens with that area - especially with the expansion of SSR.
After the boat ride, night is approaching. The kids are anxious to go back to Disney Quest. DH heads over there with the kids, and I take on the task of packing the luggage for our trip out the next morning
I check Weather Channel again The weather is predicted to be sunny and pleasant for the next couple days. That figures 
The next day comes too soon, and we only have enough time to have one last shot at the amazing SSR health club before heading to the airport. There is all sorts of road destruction going on, even on the toll road
. DH wants to gas up near Crossroads. I take a glance at the out of this stratosphere gas prices at that corner gas station on the right side approaching Crossroads. The prices at that station are as high as the one's in Hawaii. We have the highest in the nation, by long shot, so I know someone in Orlando trying to gauge me. I make DH wait until we are much closer to the airport. This is a wise decision. We find gas at 2.11 a gallon rather than 2.70.
We get to the airport and the line to Southwest is snaked out the door. I'm worried that we are going to miss our flight out, but it is worry for nothing. There are storms in the Midwest and our flight is delayed two hours. I head to the Seattle's Best Coffee Kiosk in Orlando
and enjoy a nice white chocolate latte caffeine buzz before the long flight back across the West to see my parents for Easter.
Overall, the trip was fabulous, but I probably wouldn't go during Spring Break again. Famous last words, I've been saying that I won''t go over Spring Break for years and I keep on going back I have that Annual Pass that I have to make good use of. It's back home to work not one, but two jobs now, so I can get back to WDW this year before the pass expires Wish me luck in my endeavor!
Cast members:
DH - He carries the Gold Card and is married to someone who thinks she's Cinderella
DW- Disney obsessed, caffeine is my blood type and Peter Pan is my ideal mate
DD- She's uhm at that uh age
a teenager and the wisest of us all, if only she had a crystal ballDS- 9 year old who wrote the book on Disney Fanatic for Kids
Okay, now that we did that little cast review, here goes our last day at WDW.. finally!
First of all, there are some things that I'll never do in life again. I have kids, so you'll never hear me looking at another kid misbehaving and saying, "When I have kids, I'll never let them do that." Yah, famous last words.
I'm on the same train of thought with tornados and trailer parks. I'll never watch a storm show again and proclaim "I just don't understand how someone could sleep through a tornado." Yah, that's easy to say when you are not the one doing the sleeping Okay, I confess, I'm a weather junkie and I feel like I have a handle on Weather Channel and all their alerts real, imagined and otherwise. On the evening of Day 7 we're watching the news and they are predicting some nasty weather for the Orlando area, but nothing that we think is seriously going to affect our trip to MK the next day. We head off to bed, and I tell DH that we haven't seen much of the parks, tomorrow is our last day and we're gonna take a marathon shot at MK. The plan is to wake up early. Anyway, in the middle of the night, I hear some thunder rumbling and a little of bit of lightening. It seems like no big deal, so I roll back asleep. The thunder lulls me to sleep and in my mind I think about what we have at home, thunder that practically shakes the roof off, howling wind that blows people over, lightening like I've never imagined. We're okay. I drift off again into oblivion. The thing I hate about SSR is that the beds are too comfortable and the air conditioning is too fabulous, and I did not wake up early!!! When my eyes open, it is 8:00 am and the world has changed drastically. I rustle my DH and tell him, "We've blown it again. We've slept half through the day." Oh well...We get up and make coffee. I turn on the news for a weather report or should I say, reality check. Our area is under a Tornado Warning, but it has been recently downgraded to a Watch. Still the Watch is on until 11:00 am. I look at DH like what the heck do we do, we'll miss half the day.
I look outside and the weather is overcast and blustery. we have to make a decision. Now comes the Game of Chance. Stay put or risk being caught in severe weather? Hey it's Disney, how bad can it be? We grab a quick bite, haul out our trusty backpack with the rain ponchos and head to the bus depot. There is a small group waiting for the bus (thank goodness, we're not the only nuts on this earth). The wind speed is really picking up, and we're all kind of anxiously looking at each other, but we still board the bus. We arrive at MK and our gamble pays off. The crowds are pretty light - remember this is Spring Break week before Easter and it has been standing room only up until today. We head right for our list of rides. The first one I want to check out is Mickey's Philharmonic (magic?) ride. Wow! What can I say. This is my first time through this attraction and one of my favorites. After that we hit several attractions - Space Mountain, Peter Pan, Stitch's Great Escape, Carousel of Progress, Buzz Light Year, the Haunted Mansion and Fast Pass for Thunder Mountain later on because it is out of service at the moment. We cover all those rides in just a couple of hours. About the time the Watch expires, a little after eleven, the crowds start building, and I look at DH and suggest we head over to the Poly for lunch.We go to Kona Cafe. I've dined here before, and really enjoy their dessert set-up. The cafe is pretty uncrowded, and we are seated right away. DH orders a shabu type dish with soba noodles, veggies and meat in broth. I order the teriyaki salad and even though I see sharp white cheddar cheese on the menu description, I don't pay much attention to it, or as much as I should. We also order a glass of wine to go with our lunch. Our lunches come out and DH's meal is very nice. Everything is cooked to perfection. I am envying him, wishing I had ordered his entree. My salad however, is a disappointment. The greens are overdressed and the cheddar is just not cutting it with the teriyaki - at least not in my opinion. In culinary they talk about tastes that compete with each other, and this taste I have - the cheddar tastes bitter with the teriyaki and leaves this after taste on my tongue that I don't care for. Yuck. It is a bit of the disappointment to me. Our server comes over and asks how everything is. I'm honest with her, whether or not I should be. We tell her we really like DH's dish, but I don't care for the salad. She asks me what I don't like about the salad, and I tell her that I feel the cheddar fights with the teriyaki. I offer the suggestion that I feel the salad would be better with toasted macadamia nuts to offer the fat component of the salad, rather than the cheddar, or some other component complimentary to teriyaki. So the server looks at me and tells me "Well, I've been a server here for 18 years and you are the first person who's ever complained about the cheddar on that salad. In fact, most of our customers ask for extra cheddar." I grimace internally at her suggestion. "Really?" I tell her. "If that's what your customers like, then I can see why you keep it on the menu." I gave her a polite smile. End of story, and I'm not here to harass the server or get a free salad. I just wanted to provide feedback that I didn't care for the flavors. I'm not doing it to be mean. At least in our neck of the woods, the chefs really value feedback from the customers on the menu items. It helps them gage whether something is well received or if they want to adjust it. I don't tell my server that I'm from Hawaii, in Culinary Product Development and tasting and analyzing food is my way of life. White cheddar with teriyaki is not exactly Hawaiian Regional Cuisine
So I make a mental note to swap story with the chefs when I get back about this interesting teriyaki with white cheddar trend sprouting in Orlando (as she dawns flame proof suit). I go on to the rest of the meal. I order the carmelized banana creme brulee for dessert and am very happy with it. I had this last time I was here, and I'll have it next time. It is the best. I don't know who the pastry chef is at Kona, but you're very talented
It is my main reason for coming to Kona Cafe - the desserts and the fab coffee. DH and I order the french press kona and sit and enjoy our desserts. He orders the Coco Puffs - also excellent and DS and DD both have the cotton candy cones. After lunch we head over to Epcot to fit in a FAST Pass for Test Track. DH and the kids also go on Mission Space. I haven't been able to muster up the courage for that.
We then had back to SSR for pool and health club time here. I love the health club at SSR.
Then we do something that I've always wanted to do, but never was in proximity to before. We board the river boat from SSR and resort hop to check out POFQ and POR. Wow! What a beautiful, romantic
boat ride down the river. I like both the Orleans resorts. Just from exterior appearances, POR is my favorite of the two resorts because of its mansions. I tell DH that POR might be an option to try in the future if we want to do a Moderate. The mansions are so breathtaking from the front. What is also interesting, on the way down the river, we see the treehouses. They look like they have a lot of potential, but the boat captain tells us that they are sitting because they are on protected wetlands and there are all sorts of restrictions about clearing trees, construction, etc. In fact we see several downed trees from the previous fall's hurricane season. Some are slumped into the side of the treehouses. Again, the boat captain says they can't move the downed trees because of the wetland protection. I have no idea about any of this, but thought it was interesting. I'll be curious to see what happens with that area - especially with the expansion of SSR.After the boat ride, night is approaching. The kids are anxious to go back to Disney Quest. DH heads over there with the kids, and I take on the task of packing the luggage for our trip out the next morning
I check Weather Channel again The weather is predicted to be sunny and pleasant for the next couple days. That figures The next day comes too soon, and we only have enough time to have one last shot at the amazing SSR health club before heading to the airport. There is all sorts of road destruction going on, even on the toll road
. DH wants to gas up near Crossroads. I take a glance at the out of this stratosphere gas prices at that corner gas station on the right side approaching Crossroads. The prices at that station are as high as the one's in Hawaii. We have the highest in the nation, by long shot, so I know someone in Orlando trying to gauge me. I make DH wait until we are much closer to the airport. This is a wise decision. We find gas at 2.11 a gallon rather than 2.70. We get to the airport and the line to Southwest is snaked out the door. I'm worried that we are going to miss our flight out, but it is worry for nothing. There are storms in the Midwest and our flight is delayed two hours. I head to the Seattle's Best Coffee Kiosk in Orlando
and enjoy a nice white chocolate latte caffeine buzz before the long flight back across the West to see my parents for Easter.Overall, the trip was fabulous, but I probably wouldn't go during Spring Break again. Famous last words, I've been saying that I won''t go over Spring Break for years and I keep on going back
I have that Annual Pass that I have to make good use of. It's back home to work not one, but two jobs now, so I can get back to WDW this year before the pass expires Wish me luck in my endeavor!
I am so glad you were able to finish it.
