Alright so…it’s late-ish. So I am gonna do my best to get this thing out quickly. On account of we have an early day tomorrow. So I apologize if its not as colorful as you would expect from this blog.
Today was a day like we have never had at Disney. A water park day! We have never been to either of the water parks and this trip? We are doing both. But I am getting ahead of myself.
And the day was a tad leisurely to start with. At least from my perspective. The Nerd Burglars still saw it as an early day. But I woke up around 6:30 to go for a nice run. I ran along the beach over to the Grand Floridian and then ran around the pathways there. It’s so nice running at Disney early morning. The sun is still waking up and there is hardly anyone out there. I popped on some Disney music and was just..alone for a little while. AND…the best part? The run really helped clear my sinuses. I knew because I ran by someone that was smoking and….totez smelled it. Yeah not the BEST first smell, but it was something. Here is a pic I took over near Narcosse’s in the morning.
I then came back to the room and Nickie was awake. We hung out for a bit, I took a shower and then I went and grabbed us some coffees and drinks for the kids using our refillable mugs. The kids woke up…everyone feeling great…and we all got ready to head to breakfast.
And this breakfast? No buses. No monorails. No boats. We just walked right over to Kona Cafe and met the Nerdlers there. We LOVE breakfast here. And this time it did not disappoint either. We got a press pot of coffee to start. I had the Samoan – basically pulled pork eggs benedict, Nickie got the Tonga Toast (banana stuffed french toast amazingness) and the boys got French Toast. Sorry the pics are so blurry. I was just really excited I guess.
So good.
Then we got on a bus and went over to Typhoon Lagoon. Again, we have never been here before. But we LOVED it. The weather was perfect and it was so fun. We all (well, except Nickie) loved Crush’n Gusher. Even Laura, who was so nervous about it, ended up riding it like three times.
We also enjoyed the other slides like Mayday Falls and Keehaul Falls and the wave pool was awesometown. Check this shizz.
And Owen and I went on Humunga Kowabunga. This is one of those straight down slides. Kid has no fear.
We also did the Shark Reef where we swam with sharks and rays. But it ended up being a lot of hassle. The kids were nervous about the snorkeling and it really is a quick swim over. A cool experience, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
For lunch, we had Typhoon Tilly’s Nickie and I split this pulled pork cornbread waffle sandwich thing. Yeah. You heard me right.
Oh the kids? They had ice cream for lunch. And not like just an ice cream cone or something. They had a sand bucket full of ice cream.
Needless to say they didn’t finish this thing. In fact, the kids hardly made it to the hot fudge. I tried my best to help them out…I got to the Oreo layer and had to quit. Not because I was full or anything. Nickie just made me.
Oh and of course we had drinks.
We stayed for a little bit after lunch but then we headed back to the hotel. The plan was to rent some Sea Raycers and zip around Seven Seas Lagoon but it wasn’t in the cards. Seriously. I walked down to rent one with a beer in my hand. And I guess that’s frowned upon? Fascists. And then Will wasn’t tall enough to drive one so the numbers just weren’t making sense.
We ended up having the kids hang out in the room for some TV/electronics/down time and our plan was for the four of us to check out Trader Sam’s – the new interactive lounge at the Poly. But that ALSO didn’t work out. It was 3:50ish and the place opened at 4 so we went over to put our names in and the girl informed us that there was at least an hour wait AFTER OPENING to get in. To a bar. That’s dumb.
So the four of us ended up at the Tambu Lounge upstairs. They have alcohol too. So I mean…worked out. I got a backscratcher which was like a rum drink with an actual backscratcher in it for me to take home. Heh, the backscratcher. So simple. Yet so effective.
We finished our drinks and then went back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. And this was a big one – California Grill. Before dinner, we took some pics on our balcony.
So California Grill. We have had one really great experience here and one not so great experience here. Tonight was a tie-breaker. And we are def going back. Our waiter, Dale, was bomb. He even gave Laura three different bottles of wine to taste before picking a bottle.
Wait though…back up. Before we had dinner, we did a little souvenir shopping at the Contemporary. The boys bought MORE Duffys.
I also bought Nickie a new Disney jigsaw puzzle and a new scarf. Cuz she has done so much for this trip…she is the best.
OK so yeah dinner.. BOMB. Before dinner we got some drinks.
Service was excellent. We told Dale we wanted to stretch the dinner so we could see Wishes and he totally obliged. Brought courses out with some gaps in between, which was nice.
For appetizers, Laura and Nickie got the cheese plate and charcuterie…and we all got a taste of course. Matt and I each got a Dragon roll.The boys got wedge salads and flatbreads and Will got the place to make him a special salmon nigiri that wasn’t on the menu. Yeah, Cali Grill was on point tonight.
For an entree, I got the pork two ways. Mmmmm, pork belly.
Both Nickie and Matt got the house specialty Oak Fired Filet and Laura got the halibut.
The boys both got the tenderloin.
In between courses, the kids went outside to watch Illuminations and the Star Wars fireworks from one of the walkways. No music for these like there is for Wishes at the Contemporary but still…pretty cool.
I should also mention that we ordered a couple bottles of wine for the table (a Cabernet and a white…I think it was a Pinot Grigio blend?).
For dessert, I got the chocolate pudding cake and Nickie got the butterscotch creme brulee. Both were amazing. Laura got a strawberry thing that I didn’t get to try or take a pic of. I suck.
The kids of course all got candy sushi.
After dessert, Nerdy and his boys were beat so they headed back home to bed. But Laura was a trooper. Her and Nickie settled the bill while I brought the kids out to get a spot for Wishes.Was a bit chilly up on top of the Contemporary tonight.
Watching the fireworks from this spot is so great. They show in between the castle and Space Mountain from here. It’s a really cool experience. I Periscoped the whole thing so I didn’t get to take any pics. But just imagine fireworks here..
So yeah, a really great day today. I mean, of course. I am in Disney World. Off to Animal Kingdom tomorrow.
WeHeartDisney 