Finally - a breakfast not in our room! We took in an early MK, making it for park opening. Breakfast wasn't scheduled until 10:45 so we enjoyed walking through the Magic Kingdom and people (and character) watching. I think that the people that "get it" when it comes to WDW know what I am talking about. The sights, sounds, smells, - just everything about being there. It doesn't matter whether you are in/on an attraction or not.
We headed over to the
Crystal Palace a little early, hoping to get in ahead of our scheduled ADR, and we did by a few minutes. If you have been following along, you know that I am not a fan of taking buffet pictures, so I do not have any for you - sorry! However, I did snag a picture of DW with Piglet, me with Pooh, and I even got to bounce with Tigger! I'll spare you those photos, but it was a lot of fun!! Breakfast here is great - the puffed french toast is insanely good, the food was (mostly) fresh and hot, and the service was top notch, especially for a buffet. DW is usually not a big fan of buffets (except Boma) and especially of breakfast buffets, but Crystal Palace is a must do.
After a little more MK, we decided it was back to Downtown Disney for some pin searching!! Yup - I've been bitten by the pin bug! I didn't buy more that day, but I did spend quite a bit of time looking around. We poked in and out of the stores again, just enjoying the stroll that day. I must say, we have gone to Florida in the summer a few times now, and it is usually blazing hot. Not too bad on this trip, and we were enjoying strolling along the water and shopping. It was getting a little later in the afternoon, and both DW & I were hungry, so we went back to
Wolfgang Puck Express. I am telling you - if you haven't been here - GO! It is just great for lunch. We weren't incredibly hungry, but we wanted something to bridge us to dinner at Narcoossee's (more on that later!) so we decided to split a pizza. We had the chicken and pepper pizza, and I grabbed a brownie to go for dessert. Again, we had the tropical iced tea. Here is a picture of the pizza:
Chicken and Pepper Pizza
I think I've mentioned this before, but I am from CT so I am spoiled with good pizza. New Haven pizza is just incredible, and New York is only a 90 minute drive away. Thus, I have never found good pizza in Florida. Now, I think most people know that if they order WP pizza, they are ordering a California style pizza, and that is true here. However, it is pretty good for California style pizza, and worth ordering if you really want a pizza like product. It is thicker than a traditional flatbread pizza. Oh, and sorry about the half eaten photo - we forgot to take the picture before we both dove in and grabbed a piece. Service this day wasn't as good as the day before, but given that this is a semi-counter service place, I am not sure which is the norm.
We hopped back on the bus and headed back to the Lodge. We wanted to hang out by the pool for a little while and enjoy some free time before dinner at Narcoossee's. Also, we planned on spending a little time at the Grand Floridian before dinner. We are always nostalgic there as that is where we stayed for our wedding/honeymoon five years earlier.
I recall walking by Narcoossee's a few years ago, and we peaked in and I recall wicker furniture and an uninspired menu. DW swore the place off, and I recall thinking,"I'm not paying those prices for that experience when I can get great seafood back home." Well, after joining the DIS and hearing/reading enough positives about
Narcoossee's, we decided to give it a try. We checked out the menu earlier in the week and thought that it did sound better than before. We peaked in the windows and saw what was a much different layout than what we recalled (I still wonder if we developed that negative view of their decor or if it really is redesigned). Anyway, we were thrilled with our choice to give this place a try since we wanted a new Disney experience and the location and setting is just ideal for an outstanding seafood experience. That is exactly what we got!
Hey guess what? DW got a salad!!
Before that though ---- the bread!!
Narcoossee's Bread:
Seriously - this is steakhouse quality bread. Yum!!!
Oh, now to that salad.
Heriloom Tomato Salad
This was a great salad -cantaloupe, prosciutto, house made mozzarella and aged balsamic. Awesome, awesome salad. However, it was only the second best appetizer at the table. I ordered the calamari, and these were as good of calamari as you can get anywhere.
Calamari
The "remoulade" sauce wasn't great - it was about as expected or maybe a little disappointing. The marinara sauce was pretty darn good, but it really didn't matter because the calamari was great without anything to dip it in.
Dinner for me was Pan-seared Ahi Tuna - lemon rice, Thai curry broth, baby bok choy, garlic and mushrooms. DW ordered Grilled Scallops - corn and crab risotto, tomato-shallot confit and sherry vinegar reduction. I'd love to share photos of the two, but I cannot. I forgot to take them. The tuna was really good - a little bit rich and extremely flavorful, but light enough to not make you feel overly full. I wanted to take pictures, but I was too busy worrying about what was going to happen with DW's meal. Her scallops came out cold, and it wasn't just a scallop issue because the risotto was also cold. It was rather disappointing, but we realize that these things happen. We sent it back and the same plate came back out piping hot - clearly a microwaved solution. I find this disappointing - a better restaurant would have replated a full meal. We know it was the same plate because she had cut a scallop in half and the chef stacked the cut scallop back on itself and served it up again. I don't want to bury the place for it, because the meal ended up really good. However, the scallops were already cooked, so warming them through again made them overcooked. DW actually likes it this way, but they were even overcooked for her. I don't want to focus on the negative because it was a good meal and it was very delightful once the food came out at the right temperature. It is just that this experience moves Narcoossee's down a little in my rankings, and thus I still will recommend bluezoo as the best seafood restaurant on Disney property.
Dinner, however, is not over. Despite the full appetizers, the great meals, and all that bread - not to mention a few drinks - we still wanted dessert. We decided to split dessert and this usually leads us to a chocolate delight. Both DW and I are chocoholics, so obviously from Narcoossee's the only dessert for us to try is............................the almond cheesecake! Yup - no chocolate in this dessert. Once again my DIS friends had recommended this dessert, and my completely skeptical mind wanted to prove that this cheescake just isn't that good. Here is the photo:
Almond Crusted Cheesecake
So - what does my chocolate addicted wife think of this dessert? "Best dessert I may have ever had!" It is OUTSTANDING!
Seriously - if you like cheesecake, or if you like desset in general, go try this. I never thought it would be that good. It made me want to do this:
I love that guy! OK - so go get this dessert, and if your food all comes out at the appropriate temperatures, this will be arguably the best meal you will have on property. Oh - and the views are outstanding from any seat. We really like Narcoossee's - after bluezoo and maybe California Grill, Narcoossee's is right there - right alongside Jiko, Citricos, and some of the other top notch Disney restuarants (for the record: V&As is in its own class)
OK - so now - FINALLY - we get to MK for Wishes. Oh was it worth the wait! Much like our safari ride, this was probably the best Wishes we've ever experienced! It was something about our location (middle of main street), our week long wait, our enjoyable dinner and evening as a whole that made this such a great Wishes. It is definitely our favorite nighttime event ever - sorry Illuminations fans! We stayed for Spectromagic - also one of my favorite shows of all time - and then headed back to WL. We had a full day, and a relatively early breakfast ressie the next morning.
Next: The Wave for breakfast and California Grill!!
I'm just saying.......
