Orlando, Part 3

 

Day 3 began with meetings for Matt.  So after a fabulous morning of sleeping in, I walked over to Hollywood Studios.  I did not have Fast Passes for this park, so I rode Rock 'N Roll Rollercoaster via the single rider line.  It still took me about 25-30 minutes to get on the ride, but it was a whole lot faster than the regular line!

 

Matt walked over during his break, and we were easily able to squeeze in Tower of Terror as well as Star Tours.  Once Matt headed back, I took the alone time to do a little shopping--something we don't do much of when the little ones are in tow!!!

 

Thanks to Dixie Delights, I knew what I wanted to get Walker. Thankfully, by the second shop, I scouted out a Disney Uno set!

 

 

I also took advantage of the alone time to sample some Disney snacks I've been dying to knock off my list! Behold the Carrot Cake Cookie from Writer's Stop! There was a rather chatty cast member in there, so instead of taking a seat in Writer's Stop (which I would have loved but only if some peace and quiet came with it;), I decided to pack up my dessert and scout out lunch!

I did stumble upon these cuties at Starring Rolls Café offered in honor of Earth Day!  The were also offered at Studio Catering Company were I chose to eat lunch!  One grilled vegetable sandwich later followed by some yummy bites of my carrot cake cookie, and I was recharged for the walk back to the Swan. 



Next up! Magic Kingdom!

 

I certainly missed the kids on this trip, but when I saw this stand by time for the Anna and Elsa meet and greet, I felt a bit relieved! And this wasn't even the longest wait time we saw!

 



We also enjoyed the Liberty Square Riverboat and mine and Matt's personal favorite, Country Bear Jamboree!

 

 

 

From the Magic Kingdom, we walked over to the Contemporary, the location of our dinner spot, California Grill, just in time to take in the beautiful sunset!

 

 

I thought you guys would enjoy seeing my shoe selection for the trip! I've got to keep my feet happy in order to enjoy Disney. These New Balances have been with me on my last 5 trips to Disney!

 

The food at California Grill was fabulous!! I enjoyed the Heirloom Apple and Kale salad followed by the Atlantic Halibut and this yummy Sundae Sampler! My favorite part of this meal was the bread and butter served to each table.  Not very original, I know, but the butter had coarse salt on top and a sprig of lavender.  Oh my! Something about that combination really stood out!

We stayed on at the California Grill to enjoy the Magic Kingdom fireworks.  The music and sound are all piped in, so we didn't miss a thing!!!  Such a fabulous ending to our night!

The next day, we were up bright and early to tackle Extra Magic Hours and Mount Everest;) We round Expedition Everest three times in a row with no wait! Woohoo!!!

Back to Epcot where we took advantage of our Soarin' Fast Pass and took in more of the Flower and Garden show sites!

After a few hours spent pool side, we were back at Epcot for dinner at Nine Dragons in China.

And to cap off the night Magic Kingdom fireworks...this time from the Transportation Center.  Can you tell we have a budding photographer in the family?? 

This picture is one of our favorites!!

Orlando, Part 2

I was excited when I found out we would be in Disney during the Flower and Garden Festival.  What's not to love about beautiful flowers and delicious food!

We were able to walk past all of the special features.  I especially loved the topiaries.  They are so Disney!

Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip (France)

Cinderella and Prince Charming (France)

 

We got the biggest kick from all of the Muppets Most Wanted posters posted around the World Showcase.  Hysterical!!!

Cogsworth and Lumiere (France)

 

Woody appropriately located at the American Adventure

 



 

Lotso (not my favorite character but by far one of my favorite topiaries!)

 



 

Winnie the Pooh (United Kingdom)

 



I'll interrupt here to report we enjoyed a lovely lunch outside at The Rose and Crown Pub in the United Kingdom, Epcot.  We entered the park that day around 10:30 and decided to see if lunch reservations were available.  This is where My Disney Experience comes in so handy!  I consulted my iPhone, saw that Rose and Crown had a noon reservation, and I booked it right there walking into the park!

I will add this was the slowest of the days we were in the park, so not all reservations can be had this way, but I'm so glad ours worked out!

We enjoyed The Trio of Magic Kindgom cheeses as an appetizer, followed by the Frisee and Apple Salad for me and the English Breakfast Burger for Matt.  The burger was huge and quite tasty and the best part was the yummy fried pickle that was served alongside it!

 

Tick Tock Crock (my favorite;)

 



 

Captain Hook & Peter Pan

 



 

Mary Poppins

Bambi, Thumper and Flower (Canada)

 

 

Mickey, Minnie and Pluto

 



Soccer-playing Goofy

 

That evening we dined at Le Cellier in Canada (Epcot).  Our mission on this trip was to take advantage of all Disney has to offers for adults since we did not have the kids with us.  We've always heard great things about Le Cellier but opted on previous trips to not give it a try because of the kids. Well, newsflash---THIS IS DISNEY WORLD!!!! There are kids EVERYWHERE!! And this was no exception.  The restaurant is quite cozy as was our table, but thankfully the guests who were seated right next to us (so close we could have shared an appetizer;) finished up their meal, and their table was pulled together with another two seater to make a four top which gave us a little more elbow room!

In spite of the small, yet very quaint, dining room, I would still feel comfortable bringing the kids back here.  In fact, we just might add it to our restaurant list for our next trip!

We were too busy eating to take pictures of our food, but in case your curious, we enjoyed yet another cheese plate (WE.LOVE.CHEESE), the Assortment of Artisanal Cheese.  Matt dined on the Angus New York Strip, and I ate every bite of my Broiled Atlantic Flounder!

Of course the show stopper was our moose mouse that we enjoyed for dessert! On second thought the delicious pretzel bread they serve steaming hot upon  your arrival may have been the show stopper. Perhaps I was just hungry, but I still dream about that bread!!

 

I love Epcot at night!!

 

But alas the Magic Kingdom fireworks were calling!

And Space Mountain;)

There is not better way to end an evening!!

Orlando, FL 2014

Matt and I just return from a trip to Orlando.  Well, that's where we told the kids we were going;) More specifically, we went to Walt Disney World.  Yes, that's right!  Just the two of us, without kids.  And guess what, we had a ball!

 

Matt was able to hone his photography skills (while also attending CME meetings), and we were able to experience life on the Epcot side of things staying at the Swan!

 

After several trips to the World, I had yet to experience the Boardwalk! That's one of the things I love about WDW, you can find a new treasure each time you go!

And I loved that the Swan was within walking distance of Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

This might also be the trip known as "when I ate my way through Disney"! We were able to experience all of the more "adult" restaurants I've been dying to try, and I was at my leisure to track down some yummy snacks I've had on my list as well!

The first night, we arrived late (around 8:00). Checked into our hotel and headed downstairs at the Swan to Il Mulino.  We walked right in and enjoyed a fabulous meal!  They brought out a small plate of antipasti along with delicious bread.  We enjoyed salads (a traditional Caesar and the Insalata Trattoria--you can view their menu here.) followed by Spaghetti and Meatballs for Matt (not on the menu, but just ask! They've got it!) and Pollo Fra Diavalo for me. Everything was delicious!!! I joked that I should have known better than to order a dish with "devil" in it's name because it sure was spicy, but fabulous nonetheless!

Next up, day 2 and more yummy Disney food!