"We Have Lots of Good Wine at Home, But We Don't Have Giraffes." **COMPLETED**

[ShesAPirate]

Yup, I'm finally going to finish this TR... because I'm very hopefully about to start planning our next trip

Since we'd enjoyed it so much the day before, we decided to head back to Boma for breakfast on the morning of our last day. It did not disappoint.

After breakfast, we packed up our things and brought them down to the airline check-in/Magical Express area. Our flight wasn't until somewhere around 6pm, so we had plenty of time to go back to Epcot with just our backpack in tow.

I took this pic of my shadow while we waited for the bus

We had a lunch ADR at Coral Reef, and decided to try to get in early. It was no problem. We were seated right away. I'd never been to Coral Reef before, but DJ LOVES rainbow trout, and when I was doing my planning and saw it on the menu, I decided to go for it (despite some negative reviews of the restaurant I'd read/heard).

Light in the restaurant:

I loved the atmosphere. It wasn't loud at all -- but maybe that was because it was early.

The tank:

We were served nice warm bread, and both ordered the same salad as an appetizer (I believe it was the Mixed Field Greens salad).

Very good, and very fresh.

DJ's Rainbow Trout entree:

I don't eat seafood, so I ordered the seared chicken breast with mashed potatoes:

This was such a surprise! The chicken was juicy and flavorful with a crisp skin, the potatoes were buttery and creamy... just so delicious. I was shocked, as I wasn't expecting much from this restaurant.

I'm not sure what this first dessert is... maybe the Key Lime Mousse?

And for me, the Chocolate Wave. That was yummy!

Since all my notes are currently in storage (we are moving this coming weekend), I don't know how much this meal would've cost. Rough estimate is $80, and we used our last table service credit to cover it.

In my next post, we'll finish out the trip, munching our way through World Showcase once again!

 

[ShesAPirate]

Booked our next trip this morning! My goal is now to finish this TR (whether anyone is reading it or not haha) before the next trip -- a mere 79 days away! Woohooooo!

 

[xkaittloveex]

Love your review so far!! Joining in!

 

[ShesAPirate]

Love your review so far!! Joining in!

Thanks! Hope you'll follow when I start my new PTR for our next trip

 

[ShesAPirate]

Alright, let's wrap this baby up. It's been over a year since we got home, after all

After Coral Reef, we went to the Land pavilion. We were able to ride The Land, but Soarin' had a 70 minute wait, and the fastpass return time was between 5 and 6pm. This was disappointing, but not unexpected.

I hadn't ridden The Land since I was probably 13 years old, so it was much more interesting to me this time. I really enjoyed it.

We worked our way over to World Showcase, taking pictures along the way...

Note the Christmas tree

Once we arrived at WS, the munching commenced.

I believe this is the Ropa Vieja, but I'm not sure. I didn't taste it (Caribbean).

Another I didn't taste - Black Pepper Shrimp with Sichuan Noodles (China):

Cheese! Mmmmmmm!

So pretty!

Spicy Tuna Roll (Japan):

Since it's been so long, I don't remember all the details. I do remember getting a margarita in Mexico, and getting on line for the Gran fiesta Tour... but then they told me we couldn't have drinks in the line, so - didn't ride that!

We wandered around World Showcase for a while longer, but soon it was time to go I was afraid we'd miss our Magical Express time, so we hopped in a cab back to Kidani. It cost $18, but it was worth the peace of mind.

Before the bus came, I was able to run into the store and use up our remaining snack credits (a tub of Micky head-shaped "goldfish" and 2 Rice Crispy treats).

Here we are, heading back to the airport on the ME bus (a real one this time, not Mears!):

We look so sweaty haha -- it was pretty hot that day!

At the airport, I bought even more pins and some new antenna balls at the Disney store. A smooth flight, and we were back in ice-cold New Jersey in no time.

Next post - the wrap up!

 

[ShesAPirate]

The Wrap-Up, and Photopass Pics

This was an incredible trip for a lot of reasons. It was a trip of "firsts":

*DJ's first visit to Disney World, so everything was a "first" for him -- but there were a lot of "firsts" for me, too!

*Our first food & wine festival

*Our first MNSSHP

*Our first time renting DVC points

*Our first time using Magical Express

*Our first time eating at Jiko, California Grill, Boma, Les Chefs de france, Rainforest Cafe (for breakfast)

*Our first split-stay

*Our first use of Photopass

I have to say, all of these "firsts" were great experiences (with the exception of Les Chefs -- just not a good meal).


Some observations:

I'm not sure we'd pay for DxDDP again. The only benefit is more flexibility when it comes to going to Signature restaurants (I can't imagine eating 3 table service meals in one day). The regular DDP is really more than enough. I didn't feel tied to our reservations, and ended up cancelling a few because we ate so much at food & wine.

Renting points/moving from Jambo to Kidani was great - so smooth and easy. Hopefully we will be owners someday, but until then, renting is a good way to go!

Photopass -- LOVED IT. I don't really like asking people to take a picture of us, and you can't get good backgrounds when you do self-taken pics. We got so many great pics of us together thanks to Photopass. Totally worth it.

Magical Express -- fantastic. Couldn't have been easier to use, and since we never leave property, anyway, it makes sense for us.

I kept wondering if DJ would become a Disney freak like me. He had a great time, but I wasn't sure if the bug had bitten him... until a few days ago, when he asked me when we were going back

So, thank you all for reading along! And I hope you'll join me when I start my PTR - probably today! I will add a link as soon as I write the first entry.

Here are some my favorite Photopass pics from the trip. Thanks again for reading!

I was wishing we could sit in the carriage, but this was good enough

Our Christmas card this year