Oh, Day 13. You are both sad and happy.
You are sad because you are our last day at Magic Kingdom for the trip. Womp.
But. BUT. It’s happy because we get another half day with Jeff and Shannon. Woo.
Yeah. That’s a big BUT. I like big BUTs and I cannot lie.
You other brothers can’t deny.
Let’s do this thing.
Day 13 –From Magic Kingdom to magic steak in my mouth
Day 13 started early. Surprise, surprise.
I woke up at around 6AM on Day 13 to do my usual walk down to the Beach Club Marketplace to grab coffees for the adults, hot chocolate for Myles, and Powerade for Owen. I came back to the room and we all got ready for the day.
And the day? It was cold. The low temp for the day was 36 degrees and it never got above 56. So we had to bundle up. The poor flowers were feeling it too.
Point is…cold. Rull cold. But you know what?
I mean, you know what I’m gonna say.
Here it comes.
Get ready.
I know. None of us enjoyed that. But it had to be done.
We were quickly out the door, on the bus, and on our way to the Magic Kingdom! And like, yeah, the park officially opened at 9AM but we were all like…NAH…to that. We had 8AM breakfast reservations in the park. WITH JEFF AND SHANNON. Aw yeah.
And those of us that have known us through our past Disney vacations know that we MUST get at least one hand-holding picture of the boys walking down Main Street. But this time, it wasn’t just a picture of the boys walking down Main St., it was the boys. And Jeff. And Shannon. So many hands.
But of course we didn’t leave the photo-taking to just our own devices. We had a visit with the PhotoPass guy on Main St. And got some pictures in front of the castle. Because we’re basic.
And soon enough, it was time for breakfast. And breakfast this morning was at The Crystal Palace! Um YEAH we were excited.
Did I mention it was cold? Because it was.
How cold was it?
It was so cold, they had complimentary hot cocoa outside of The Crystal Palace.
Eh, it was funnier in my head. Anyways, we were quickly ushered inside and once inside? We stepped right in poo.
Oh wait, sorry. I was misremembering. We met Pooh. Met, not stepped in.
After Pooh, it was time to eat. Heh, if I had a nickel for every time I said that….
We all made our way up to the buffet.
Love this buffet. SeriousTown. And my plate was a case in point.
So on there, we have some steak omelette, bacon, sausage, potato casserole, breakfast pizza, Mickey waffle, and of course Pooh’s Puffed French Toast. Which is a bit of a misnomer. On account of while delicious, this stuff really doesn’t resemble French Toast at all. I mean aside from you put syrup on it and put it in your mouth hole.
And then more friends came!
Eeyore was there, but he’s become a bit of a diva lately and he never made it to our table. I mean, rightfully so as Eeyore is awesome and deserves to be appreciated from afar.
Breakfast, though, was awesome. Like, everything was delicious. Especially the French Toast that isn’t really French Toast. And getting a mimosa at The Crystal Palace felt all kinds of dirty. In the best way.
After we had finished eating and taking poos….Sorry, PICTURES WITH Pooh. It was time to head out into the world. Well…the Disney world. And even though it was all kinds of chilly, it was still a beautiful day. Just as we were getting out, we caught some of the castle show.
We actually had a FastPass at 9:00 AM but since we had an hour until it expired, Jeff, Shannon, Myles, Owen, and I headed over to Tomorrowland for a spin on Space Mountain. Because of our hustle and moxie (yeah, I said moxie) we made it right in and got right back on Alpha track. Whoop Whoop.
Was it a good time? Of course it was a good time. We took a ride. Into space, man.
The five of us made a quick dash out of Space Mountain and over to Fantasyland to meet up with Nickie for our aforementioned FastPass. For The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. And I really wish I got a picture of all of us on this one because they let all 6 of us ride in one hunny pot – Myles, Owen, and Shannon up front and Jeff, Nickie, and me in the back. It was so cramped. And so fun.
Edit – Nickie had a picture. She is best. I am worst.
And it’s also impossible to take a good picture on Winnie the Pooh.
It was super fun hanging out with our friends in the 100 Acre. But as fun as it was, it certainly wasn’t the wildest ride in the wilderness. Right? See where I’m going here? No? Gah. Big Thunder Mountain, dummy.
There was a 10 minute wait so it was pretty much walk-on. And we got to go through the queue, which was a new experience this trip and I was digging it. Lots of buttons to press and what not. Which is good. Since I get bored easily. Plus it offers some pretty sweet views of the mountain.
When we made it down to the platform, we lucked out and scored two seats right up front.
I love me some Big Thunder, man. Plus, I mean…two mountains before 10AM? Take THAT actual hikers.
Next up was Pirates of the Caribbean. ARRRRR you excited yet? Cuz EYE am.
…
…
No? Eye? Because pirates wear eye patches? Whatever. You know how much pirates pay for corn?
A buck an ear.
Look, pictures of pirates.
After we got out of Pirates, everyone spent a little time in the gift shop but I told Nickie I had to go to the bathroom.
Only I didn’t have to go to the bathroom. See, the last time we were in Magic Kingdom Nickie and I were checking out some of the new Mickey’s 90th birthday Ray-Bans over at the Island Supply Hut in Adventureland. While yeah, we tried them on…they were a bit expensive so we passed them up. But I knew Nickie really wanted a pair. And I mean, it was still relatively close to her birthday. Here is a link to the ones she wanted – Mickey’s 90th birthday Wayfarers.
So I booked it over to Island Supply. And for some reason, I thought it was closer to Pirates. There was no way they were going to buy I was in the bathroom that long. Even with a full Crystal Palace breakfast.
Plus, the guy went all Mr.-Bean-in-Love–Actually and took FOREVER to package everything up, telling me about every card and trinket included in the case. I mean, he was very good at his job and everything, but I mean, he was really making this bathroom lie a hard one to keep up.
Of course, Nickie did end up calling and I don’t think I did the best job of convincing her I was still preoccupado, but she took pity on me and pretended to believe me. I finally completed my transaction and ran back to meet them over back near Pirates. I quickly handed her the bag, with a thank you for planning this amazing vacation. And she LOVED them. And looked pretty in them, of course.
And since we have been home, she has been afraid to wear them. So it was a solid purchase.
By this time, we were all getting really hungry. Lunch time! We wanted to take Jeff and Shannon back to an especially great find from earlier in the trip. We walked to the exit, out the park, and hopped on a ferry to the Wilderness Lodge.
Yup, it was time once again for lunch at Geyser Point Bar & Grill!
I have already mentioned how much we love this place but once again, it’s a great use of a Counter Service credit. Because it’s one of those newfangled “feels like a table service” types of counter service restaurants where you have a waiter and you’re seated and what not.
Since it was cold, a lot of the cloth walls were down. We still snagged some super comfy seats.
And with the nip in the air, our waiter offered us some blankets to escape the cold.
I started off with a Northwest Iced Tea. And man, this thing was good.
And while I loved the bison burger last go round, I opted for the smoked turkey sandwich. Which was good, for sure. But if I had only one thing to eat here out of those two, I would opt for the burger.
And here is what’s crazy. That was it. For the food pics at lunch. I took NO OTHER pics of what anyone got nor do I know what anyone else got. I distinctly remember some more bison burgers at the tableand a chicken sandwich but I think my hands were frozen from the knuckles down so I couldn’t operate my Galaxy.
After lunch, we of course took a side trip to the Wilderness Lodge lobby to check out the tree one more time.
And then, unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Jeff and Shannon. They had to run over to EPCOT to pick up some Annual Passholder goodies and then get home. But it was so so so great hanging out with them. We laughed like 80% of the time we were together and had huge smiles on our faces the other 20%. And of course, we shed a few tears but it was a little easier to take knowing they were coming to Boston for my Mom’s 75th birthday in a couple weeks.
So we said our goodbyes and hopped a bus back to the Beach Club. Just kidding. We hopped a Lyft. Because we had become so accustomed to spending money.
When we got back to the room, Myles wanted to chill out for a bit so Owen, Nickie, and I went down to warm up in the hot tub.
And Owen did this.
OK, so that night we had ADRs at Be Our Guest but while we were in the hot tub, the three of us talked about how we didn’t really feel like going back to the park. The crowds were definitely starting to build by the time we left. So we called up to Myles in the room and made the call to switch to an old favorite closer to our resort.
Excited for our spontaneous night, we jumped out of the hot tub and Owen and I played another quick game of pool.
When we finished, we walked back up to the room to hang for a little bit before getting ready for dinner. And as I turned on the TV, a magical, wonderful, magically wonderful thing happened. And that thing? It was Gremlins.
God, that movie is perfection. It was showing as part of AMC’s Best Christmas Ever lineup. Quick side note – I was like, obsessed with Gremlins when I was a kid. I had the lunchbox. I had the colorforms. I had the Gizmo. But even better than all that, I had a Stripe. Like a 12” fully posable Stripe. He was legit one of my favorite toys ever. On account of everyone knows Stripe was way cooler than Gizmo.
So I mean, if anyone has a Stripe lying around. I’d totally be up to adopt.
And not only was this movie making it feel all kinds of Christmas in the room, it was totez mcgotez adding to the Disney vibe.
But it was soon enough time for dinner. So we got all dressed up super fancy. Well, kinda fancy. And walked right downstairs and over to the Yacht Club. Because it was time for dinner at what was my favorite Disney restaurant. Before the Boathouse. And before California Grill brunch. So now, it was time for dinner at my third favorite Disney restaurant. Which is still saying something.
Our reservation was for 7:45 but we arrived closer to 7:00. So obviously they couldn’t seat us. But it’s ok. Because all that? It was on purpose. So we could start our night off at the Crew’s Cup Lounge. Which is one of my favorite lounges in all of Walt Disney World.
I love all the dark wood and what not all up in there. It feels like I am in somebody’s basement or something. But like, a nice basement. Not a chop-up-dead-bodies kind of basement.
I asked our waiter if he would recommend I get a Manhattan or an Old-Fashioned and he told me this bartender made a pretty amazing Old-Fashioned. And you know what?
He was absolutely right. I mean, honestly, I would like most Old Fashioneds you would put in my hands. But still, this one was rull good.
After I was about three-quarters or so into my drink, we were told our table was ready and were led into the Yachtsman. First they lead you past the meat. You know, to get you in the mood. For meat.
There’s something that feels incredi-fancy inside the Yachtsman. The décor is pretty understated but it’s all dark woods and dim lights. Plus, I mean, Christmas makes everything look even better.
We started our dinner with a cheese plate. Because cheese plate.
And we made full use of the garlic and salted butter with our bread.
Like I said, I was about three-quarters of the way through my drink when they called us in. But by the time the cheese got to our table, I was four-quarters of the way through. So it was time to get another. Right?
For their entrees, both Nickie and Owen got the filet. Served with mashed potatoes and a Cabernet wine sauce. I had a bite and this shizz was tender.
Myles got the prime rib. Which I didn’t have a bite of. Because Myles doesn’t share. But he seemed to enjoy it. He also substituted mashed potatoes for the sweet potato casserole. Which I also didn’t have a bite of.
I opted for the rib eye. Which was INSANELY delicious. AND it was served with truffle fries with black garlic aioli. Which…I don’t know if you guys realize it, but I have a legit truffle fries addiction. Oh, and the steak had a big ol’ dollop of shallot butter on top. Did I mention yum?
For dessert, the boys got that paint-your-own white chocolate Mickey puzzle thing. Always a hit.
Nickie got the carrot cake. Which was really good. And that’s saying something because it was NO SUGAR ADDED. I mean you would expect a no sugar added carrot cake to taste like….I don’t know, carrots? What the heck is in there if it isn’t sugar, Disney? Is this thing made with ground up angel wings? Because I mean. It was good.
On our waitress’s recommendation, I ordered the Admiral’s Cake.
Holy crud, you guys. This was like…it was an incredible dessert. Like go-down-in-history kind of dessert. Thing is a multi-layered cake. And OH THE LAYERS. Valhrona chocolate brownie, caramel crunch, dark chocolate ganache, chocolate sponge cake, bananas foster jam, and caramel ganache.
Ugh, I now want such a cake. And I am without the means to obtain one. Damn.
After dessert, we were pretty much tired, stuffed, and tired. Like we were ready to fall asleep at the table. So we paid the check and went back up to the room to crash.
But Day 13 was another incredible day. It was awesome to get more time in with Jeff and Shannon and we managed to have some great meals and make some more Magic Kingdom memories. So. Much. Fun.
Catch back up with you guys on Day 14. Our last full actual day of the trip. It’s all kinds of womp, but it’s still A LOT of fun. So you should still be excited. Well as excited as someone should get about a blog post.
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