The day after our Epcot trip, we had a day at the Kingdoms!
We got up and started the day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This is Jen's favorite park and also one of Disney's more beautiful. It also helped that it was an unseasonably cool day, as that park seems to be one of the hottest places on WDW property year-round. We started the day getting FastPasses to the Kilimanjaro Safari and then making our way over to see the "Finding Nemo" musical. This is an original stage show performing only at Animal Kingdom, and it has a pretty big pedigree for a theme park stage show. The costumes are by the same designer who created the one's for The Lion King on Broadway. The songs were written by the same people who did the "Avenue Q" show that is on Broadway as well. It was a small show, but held the same quality of other musical productions I've seen touring the country. And it was a huge step above the usual dreck they call "stage shows" at Disney World - my least favorite things at the parks.
After that, we rode the safari, and took the two walking trails through the animal habitats. I don't know if it was the comfortable, un-muggy weather that brought the animals out, but I saw more animals in that trip than in 2 or 3 other trips combined and they were quite active. We saw several tigers, lions, meerkats, gazelles, giraffes and gorillas. I also took a quick ride on Expedition Everest, as the single rider line was very short and Jen didn't have to wait by herself for too long.
We wrapped up our time at AK by eating at "Yak & Yeti", a new Pan-Asian restaurant located in the Asia section. The restaurant was great - we got to sit on the second floor and do some great people-watching as crowds passed by. I got a salmon dish, while Jen got the ribs. As usual, Jen got the better meal of the two! The portion of ribs was so huge I actually ate half of it and we were both stuffed when we left. We returned to the hotel for a break after lunch.
That evening, we made our way to the original park at WDW, the Magic Kingdom. We had a bit of a surprise waiting on us, though - the Christmas decorations were up! The past couple of years, they have also covered Cinderella Castle in a sophisticated network of lights that resemble icicle lights on steroids. It really is mesmerizing to see them shimmer across the Castle's spires and turrets.
The first ride at MK was, naturally, the Haunted Mansion - probably my favorite ride at any Disney park. Then we rode the Mark Twain riverboat around Tom Sawyer's Island. You could tell this was more of a grown-up ride as it seemed to attract couples looking for a romantic place to spend a few minutes away from the hectic crowds. We then went and rode Pirates of the Caribbean, and then decided it was time to get something to eat. We went to Casey's Corner on Main Street, where they serve foot-long beef hotdogs and corn dog nuggets! We ate a quick dinner and made our way to Town Square where we had a front row view of the Spectromagic floats as they came out onstage. It was the perfect spot! Then we headed back down towards the Castle and picked out a spot for the Wishes fireworks show above the Castle. This takes place only about 15 minutes after the parade ends, so you have to find a good spot quick.
The fireworks were great, and afterwards, we found a bench and relaxed while the rest of the crowds made their way out of the park. Then we hopped on a practically empty monorail and made our way back to the car, closing out another fun day.
The next day was more of a laid-back day (which we needed). We had planned to meet with some friends of mine from the days when I worked at Universal Orlando. We got up early, got some Starbucks coffee and went to the office at Universal. I got to show Jen where I used to work, which was fun. Many of the people I knew were in a Monday meeting, but I did get to meet up with Wally Schumacher and Ali Snyder, both who worked there while I was there. We went to a Mexican restaurant close-by and had a great time catching up. Everyone had become parents since I had left so it was interesting to hear their take on how their lives had changed. One of my other coworkers, Todd Wineland, had left a couple of complimentary passes for Jen and I to use, so afterward we took those and made our way to the Universal parks.
Since Universal is mostly thrill-rides as compared to Disney, we did more sight-seeing than riding. First we wen to the Universal Studios park. Jen wanted to go see the "Animal Actors" show which I had never actually seen before. It was, as you might imagine, a very cute show. Then we went to Islands of Adventure and just walked around and took in the sights. The parks there are great, but it really is eye-opening to go there with someone who is restricted from doing so much. I didn't really feel like we had to miss out on too much when we were at Disney, but Universal was quite different.
Afterwards, we went back for the afternoon at the hotel. I planned a special evening for us, so we made sure and rested up. We had reservations for one of my favorite restaurants that night, so we got a little dressed up. On the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort is the California Grille, a restaurant that overlooks the Magic Kingdom. I booked our reservation for 9 PM, optimal time to see the fireworks from the rooftop. But my expectations were exceeded as they gave us a table right by the window, so we were lucky enough to have an amazing view of "Holiday Wishes" from our table! That night, there was a special Christmas party at the Magic Kingdom, and the grand finale had fireworks going off from about 8 different locations around the Magic Kingdom - the sky was filled with fireworks and we were watching them at practically eye-level.
Not only did the view exceed expectations, but so did the food. For a starter we got the Chef's Garden Heirloom Tomato Flatbread with Roasted Garlic, Provolone, and Arugula. Then we split the Heirloom Tomato salad. For the main course I had the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta and Jen had the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli with Sun-dried Tomatoes. We also got the Valrhona Chocolate Cake and Apricots for dessert. This was a great meal and I would definitely love to go back again. After stuffing ourselves, we made our way back to the hotel.
The following morning was our last day there, so we decided to continue the eating parade and had breakfast at the Kona cafe at the Polynesian Village resort. I had my favorite, the "Tonga Toast", which is banana-stuffed sourdough bread, rolled in cinnamon sugar and served with Strawberry Compote. So good! Jen got the "Big Kahuna" - French toast, Macadamia-Pineapple pancakes, eggs, home fried potatoes. Needless to say, we were stuffed again and didn't eat again until we got home that night. We had a little time to kill before we needed to return to the airport, so we went to Downtown Disney, which is a shopping area on the edge of WDW property. We picked up a few souveniers, including one of the first things we've bought the baby - a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. After doing some shopping, we sat by the lake for awhile and eventually went back to the car, drove to the airport and flew home.
So I hope you enjoyed reading about our last "kid-free" trip to Disney World! We're looking forward to a future trip where the agenda won't be set by a pregnancy , but by a little one who will be seeing their Dad's favorite wonderland for the first time.
Oh, and did I mention we leave in less than two weeks for Chicago?
-chadley
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