Nala & pride + one tour WDW Final thoughts COMPLETE! About This Page:

[Nala]

As evening approached our concerns that it may rain and the luau may be cancelled faded away. The sky was still cloudy but the rain seemed to be holding off. We made our way to the Poly via boat from FtW to the Contemporary and boarded the Monorail. As we waited for it Peter Pan asked if we could ride in the front car. Just as I was about to ask the attendant he walked up to the people in front of us and told them the front car was not available. Seems that little secret is out. We enjoyed our short ride and made our way to Luau Cove where we checked in and received our leis. As others rushed into a long line to wait for a table we walked around and enjoyed the beautiful gardens of the area. We found a spot that had a great view of the MK and we watched the castle changing colors against the night sky. I attempted to take shots of it but had no success. Then the fireworks began! And Kiara was terrified! People were being seated and the line was dying down so we decided to get her away from the noise. We were one of the last groups seated and the theater was very full. The only table we saw open was front and a bit left of center and sure enough it was ours! I could not believe our luck. It was a perfect seat. Our server was with us as soon as we were seated to take our drink order and she was an absolute dear. Great personality and never once left us needing anything. I have read so many terrible reviews about the food, service and the show itself that I was a bit worried about this one. We quickly realized that service was not going to be a problem. The first course of salad and bread was brought to us very quickly and Grumpy and I tore it up. Kiara picked at the bread and salad but Peter Pan refused to touch any of it. He wanted to save his room for his hot dog and mac & cheese. Just before the show started a light rain began but stopped quickly and the show went on.

At the beginning of the show the hostess invited all the kids to come up and learn the hula. Peter Pan took Kiara out and the two of them picked up a few moves. Actually, Kiara just stood there mesmerized by the dancer in front of her but it was still fun to watch her. After the hula lesson our main course came out and everything was very good. I loved the ribs and vegetables and the rice was good too. While I am a fan of chicken I only had a bit of this which was also good. I just couldn’t seem to put the ribs down long enough to eat the chicken! Our server kept our drinks filled and saw we were on the last rib and before we could ask she said she would bring us more. She also brought out another kids meal for Peter Pan as he had polished off his in nothing flat. Grumpy and I continued on the food and he later confessed he thinks he ate sixteen ribs! So much for him coming away hungry. He of course ribbed me (pardon the pun) about how surprised he was he could eat that much after his “big lunch”. We all enjoyed the show and the dancers were both beautiful and talented. I loved the slap dance the guys did and the interjection of humor during it. (OWWW! This hurts!) Desert came which was a chocolate mousse type pyramid with a raspberry sauce. We only got two for the kids as both Grumpy and I were full (imagine that) but I did sneak a bite of Kiara’s and it was pretty good. Even though we had paid gratuity in the price of admission Grumpy and I both wanted to give our server a little more so I slipped her an additional tip and thanked her profusely for her wonderful service. While Kiara was enjoying the show she was starting to fade and was laying her head on the table fighting to keep her little eyes opened. At the last song we decided to get out before she went to sleep. As I said before I had read many negative things about the luau but we enjoyed everything about it.

We made our way back into the Poly and stopped for a few pictures.
As we got to the Monorail level Grumpy needed to use the facilities just as Kiara had spotted a large display of princess attire near the doors. She ran for the Aurora section proclaiming loudly how she loved pink. Grumpy then pulled out his room key and said “Here you go little girl, get whatever you want” and left the scene to go to the bathroom. Kiara was in a pink frenzy and was grabbing everything she could. Shoes, tiara, gloves, purse, wand and I told her if she was going to get all that she may as well get the dress too. By the time Grumpy returned Kiara’s arms were bursting and she was making her way to the counter with Daddy’s room key in had. When the total was rang up, Grumpy’s jaw dropped and I just looked at him and said “You told her to get whatever she wanted”.

We got on the Monorail and exited at the Contemporary and made our way to the boat dock. It was well after 11:00 by this time and as we stood alone on the dock we realized the lake was silent and dark. There wasn’t a boat in site! Oppps! So now we decided our only option was to find a cab. We found one waiting outside the Contemporary and talked the driver into taking us to the front of FtW so we could reclaim our golf cart which was parked at the marina. I waited with the kids while Grumpy went to retrieve it and in just a few minutes we were all on board and headed back to the cabin. I thought for sure Kiara would be headed straight for bed but she couldn’t wait to try on her new princess attire.


I soon was able to convince both her and Peter Pan to go to bed but she insisted on sleeping in her new dress! Grumpy called the front desk for a wake up call as we had an early PS at AK the next day and we all settled in for a good nights sleep. We had had a very full and magical first full day at WDW!

Up next …….. Breakfast with Donald at AK and what not to ride after it (AKA please don’t let him throw up on me!)