It's not the way I want to do it, but it's better than no way at all - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Dinner & Wishes
At 5:30, we loaded Michael & Kara’s things into his car (they were going back to their apartments after dinner) jumped in our rental and headed to the Contemporary,
Once there, we went straight to the check in area for the California Grill. When I checked us in, I asked for a window table overlooking the Magic Kingdom, explaining it had been a long-time dream to be sitting right there to watch “Wishes.” Alas, all the tables had been filled and none were expected to open up before the show! My disappointment must have been obvious, because one of the hostesses said, “Let me see what we can do.” A few minutes later she took us up on the elevator and seated us at a table just one row away from the window… not bad!
I took the seat with the best view… I could see the castle in all its magical beauty, with just a bit of neck-craning. This was going to be ok. Mike could also see the castle, but unfortunately, Michael & Kara’s view was blocked by one of the large concrete pillars/supports/walls…whatever. Michael, of course, had to comment… “Nice view I’ve got, huh, mom?”
Our waitress greeted us… what was her name??? (Yikes, my brain cells are dying daily) and told us she’d be right back to take our drink orders. I checked out the wine list and noticed a Reisling from the Mosel River valley in Germany, an area Mike & I had visited on a German wine tour with 4 friends last year. We’d loved the Reislings and have not found too many of them available in our area, so I immediately decided to order that – so what if it didn’t “go” with whatever I decided to order for dinner… my brother, Bob, was not there to scold me! (he wouldn’t anyway…smile). When our waitress returned, I ordered the Reisling, Mike ordered the same & Michael said, what the heck, me, too. Kara’s not a big wine fan, so she ordered a diet coke. When the waitress poured a taste for me, Kara asked to taste it…she was pleasantly surprised to find she liked it, so we decided to go ahead and order a bottle! Ca-ching…uh,oh, it’s going to get more expensive that I warned Mike it would be …I may be in trouble….
The wine came, everybody loved it…Great! We ordered the triple cheese flatbread to share. It came, we shared, delicious! (ah, I’m doing ok with these cynical guys, so far they’re liking everything). Next, we all ordered appetizers:
Kara: Seared loin of rabbit
Mike: Creamy butternut squash soup
Michael: Hearts of Romaine lettuce salad
Marti: Peeky-toe crab slaw
Everybody was pleased with their individual choice. We did a bit of sharing. Michael, who is not an adventurous eater, loved the rabbit, much to his surprise. I liked my taste of Mike’s soup – smooth & creamy!
Next came the entrees:
Kara & Marti: Seared scallops with cauliflower puree
Mike: pork tenderloin
Michael: oak fired filet of beef
Once again, everyone loved their choices. Yippee! Maybe the bill will be a non-issue!
Just as we finished our entrees, the lights dimmed & the soundtrack began. I LOVE “Wishes!” Michael & Kara moved their chairs so they had a good view. It was magical! The show seemed more beautiful, vivid, delightful, moving than ever. I absolutely had my magic moment. No matter what anybody said, I was a happy lady!
At one point, Michael said, “Is there anything we’re missing, that we can’t see from here???” I think he loved it too, but he’ll NEVER tell me that.
When the show was over, we agreed that none of us could eat one more bite, so we paid the bill, thanked the waitress and headed out. On the way to the cars, Michael had to make one more comment about Disney being an example of the “heinous exploitation of children,” but I think he was laughing when he said it. (It’s a family pastime to make negative Disney comments to rile me up & I believe they ALL secretly love it…. Er, maybe not as much as I do, though).
We said our goodbyes to Michael & Kara (although we’ll be going back to Michael’s apartment tomorrow) and made our way back to the Dolphin…I won’t tell you that we got lost, missed a turn and took about 40 minutes to get back…no, I won’t tell you that.
Coming next: Our last morning & half-marathon envy
Last edited by Bob's sister; 02-05-2009 at 07:54 PM..
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After our driving tour around all of WDW (yes, as I said, we got lost), we were ready to call it a night when we got back to the hotel.
Because we’d crashed fairly early, we were up equally early on Saturday morning. We spent some time checking email, repacking our bags, sipping the in-room coffee and enjoying the view, then headed out to get some breakfast. We decided against a repeat visit to the buffet and instead headed over to the Boardwalk Bakery.
On the way, I saw a woman, in her running clothes, walking toward us wearing the Donald Duck medal that was awarded to all half-marathon finishers. Wow! Then, we passed a group of runners, all wearing Donald… nice medal…not made of rubber like ours… Then, another group…. They all did it…. Finished the half…13.1 miles….
OK, on to breakfast. The line in the bakery was long, but , boy, are they efficient! We zipped right through…coffee & a roll for me and a sweet roll & coffee for Mike. While Mike stood in line to get cream & sugar, I went outside to get a table. I found one, next to a Grandma with 2 little boys. As I waited for Mike, a man, the daddy, came up to my “neighbors" carrying their breakfast. The younger of the 2 boys greeted him with, “Daddy, I have to go potty.” “Can you wait?” The Grandma said, “No, I don’t think he can.” The dad set their food down on the table and stood, looking in both directions. “Now, where the h*** can I find a bathroom around here?” I responded, “See that awning up there? That’s Spoodles restaurant. They’re open for breakfast & I’m sure they’ll let you take him in.” The man looked up toward Spoodles, grabbed his son by the hand and headed in that direction. In a few minutes, they were back. The little one was smiling. They sat down and began eating… hey, wait a minute…no “thanks”… nothing…. I’d have told me thanks… Anyway, that bugged me, but only for a minute.
Mike & I enjoyed eating and people watching in the bright sunshine. The sun was gorgeous and it was warming up. Perfect time for a walk! OK, our 4th walk to the entrance to DHS and our 3rd boat ride back. Heavenly, but I sure wish I could go IN the park… or any park…sigh… not to be, not this trip…
We disembarked (is that a word?) and headed back to our room. Everywhere we looked we saw people with those beautiful Donald medals. All of a sudden, it felt embarrassing to be excited by my 5K. I wanted Donald. I wanted to be one of those half marathon people….
With another fond look out the window at the beautiful Boardwalk area, the water, the Swan and the boats, we gathered our luggage, checked out and headed to the car. The Disney part of our trip was over. We drove out and headed to Michael’s apartment.
It's not the way I want to do it, but it's better than no way at all***COMPLETE
Final thoughts and my next goal
I had a great time. Although they’ll never say it, Mike & Michael had a great time. Kara’s not afraid…she said she had a great time.
It’s odd, this way we seem to do Disney. We don’t go to parks, yet I manage to feel like I’ve been there. I feel the magic. As I said in my title, it’s not the way that I want to do it, but it’s better than no way at all.
We seem to end up in Orlando once or twice every year. Something “Disney” is part of every trip. This one was the best of those so far – it really seemed like a trip to Disney World. I’m OK with it and only regret that our daughter & her husband (who live in Denver) weren’t there, too.
I know that I have to wait to catch up with Bob on one of his trips to get to parks and I know that will happen. If we end up with a December 2009 or January 2010 family trip, we’ll go to parks then. I’ll love it. It’ll be great. But this was great, too.
So, a new goal… I MUST have a Donald medal. I’ll be 60 by the time the next marathon weekend comes around in January 2010. That’s plenty young! I’ll be there. I’ll be ready. I’ll be that 60 year old, grinning from ear to ear when I get my Donald. I’m doing it! In fact, when I finish this trip report, I’m going on the website to register for the race.
I’ve already started training for it. I ran 5 miles on Saturday, 3.1 on Monday and 4 yesterday. I know I can do it – no doubt! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
For now, thanks for reading, for all your comments of congratulations, and for making me believe that maybe I can write a trip report! Blessings, everyone.
What a great trip even if you didn't get into the parks. Cali Grill sounded wonderful. I am so glad you got close to the window to see Wishes. I am so proud of you for your determination to do the half marathon. Happy training.
Marti - I enjoyed reading your TR. I had my first visit to CG last May and I can't wait to go back. I wasn't there during Wishes, but hope I will be next time. Hope you'll write a TR about your next trip - and hope it's with Bob!
I really enjoyed reading your trip report. As you say, if you have to you can get in a lot of Disney fun without evening entering one of the parks. But you know there will be another Disney trip with the parks coming up sometime.
Good luck with your training for the half marathon. And with running it next year.
I just caught up with your report. And you know you're right. We lived just 2 miles from Disney for a year and, after awhile, we rarely did the parks. We learned to do so many non-park things that we really miss now and will probably do on our next trip.
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