Friday morning we awoke to Fozzy Bear telling jokes on our 'Hey Disney' alarm. I wanted to get up early to try and get Virtual Queue passes for Tron. We hadn't been on it yet, and in fact I had gotten the virtual queue the day before, but I was too quick about it, and we were still on the road to Disney when our time passed. Luckily, we were right on Disney property, because I got boarding group 10- even earlier than the day before. So, we listened to some Disney music, got up and around and headed over to Wilderness Lodge. Since we had brunch reservations, we parked there and then took the boat over to Magic Kingdom. Technically, this isn't exactly allowed as you're only supposed to park at a resort you aren't staying at for under three hours, but I've never actually had an issue with it (mind you we did have a legit dining reservation).
Anyway, there was a hiccup with our Magic Band tickets, and we had to go fix that, but we did eventually make it over to Tron. We hopped in line and marveled at the new space. We tried so hard to get a passholder preview for this one, and despite being online right at 9, and waiting 3 and a half hours, we couldn't get anything. So, this was the first time any of us would be going on the ride. At one point, you cross over the launch, and I started to get a little nervous. It does shoot you out- usually a sure fire motion sick sign for me. But, I'm down to try (almost) anything once.
Even with the virtual queue, our wait was about an hour. Luckily we got stuck behind some fun people in line- a three generation family from Chicago, so we told them all about how we honeymooned in Chicago (and he was like 'I literally have never heard that before). Anyway, by the time we were up we loaded everything into the lockers (free, and totally well organized), and then hopped on our Tron bike.
You do sit like you're on a motorcycle- which was also unnearving. But, I actually loved the whole thing! I didn't mind the launch, I could keep my eyes open the whole time and the thing is SUPER smooth. I will agree it's a very short ride. At then end, you're kind of left with... 'thats it? But I wanted more!!' Besides that, I absolutely loved it. It might be my favorite coaster at Disney now. (And I am a Slinky Dog Dash and Mine Train fanatic). Asa thought it was fine. I mean, for him, it was boring. The best part about it was how you sit in your seat. But, for me, someone whose number of coasters I can go on without puking and/or getting a migrane and ruining my day is dwindling, I was super excited about this one.
Getting in, and the line at Tron took way longer than we thought it would, so we didn't have a ton of time left in the park before we needed to head back to the Wilderness Lodge for brunch. But, we did make time to stop and do a favorite: Philharmagic. Heads up though people, proper ear etiquette is to take those puppies off when you sit in a theater!
That basically did it for our trip to the Magic Kingdom- we were leaving at parade time and trying to beat the parade to the front of the park. However, that resulted in perfect timing for the boat as it was pulling up right as we arrived.
We checked in for our dining reservation, something you can now do in the app, which is lovely, and hung out in the very pretty Wilderness Lodge Lobby (one of my favorites) while we waited for the text our table was ready.
We picked Wilderness for brunch because they have All you care to eat skillets. Not only that, they have the same menu 9am to 2pm- meaning Asa could get his normal lunch kind of food whenever, and I could get my favorite (breakfast!) at the same time. Not only that, but the price is pretty killer for a table service place at Disney- $26! (And again, 20% off for passholders right now). Now if you know me, you know I can put away a serious amount of breakfast food. I'm not so great with other stuff, but breakfast? Man, I can eat waffles forever. I ordered 'The Lighter Side' which came with a spinach fritata, potatoes, turkey bacon and sausage, some sort of overnight oats, fruit, and Mickey Waffles (which came with fruit compote and syrup). You can ask for more of anything, but I mostly just asked for more waffles.
Asa also got a skillet- and because we both went that route, we could share with each other. (If you get al a cart and someone at your table gets the skillet, you can't share). His was "the Carnavore", and came with all kinds of meats (brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and chicken) potatoes, corn, carrots and cornbread. He devoured two helpings- because he hadn't eaten anything since Sebastians. And he helped himself to some of my fritata, bacon, and sausage.
I was on the fence about getting the Mimosa Flight. It had caught my eye, because I really enjoy a good mimosa- and it came with four flavors: Pomegranant, Blood Orange, POG juice, and the regular orange juice. Our lovely waitress talked me into it, and it did not disappoint. Yes, it's a Disney drink, so it's $22- but for a totally sharable flight, that's really not too bad. Of course, the POG, which is a Disney specific drink of passionfruit, orange juice, and guava was my favorite. I love a good POG juice. But then I really enjoyed the blood orange, followed by the pomegranate, and then the regular orange. Nothing was wrong with the regular ones, but the others were outstanding.
Asa isn't as much a mimosa guy, but he still helped me out with some of them, and we finished them all. As far as Disney drinks go, I always think flights are the best bang for your buck. I mean, each cup is about the size of something you'd get at one of the epcot festivals for 9 bucks each.
Our waitress was fun, though I will say Whispering Canyon Cafe has toned down the antics. Still, all the ketchup moves from table to table (WE NEED KETCHUP! - Ifykyk), and straws get thrown around, but that's about it. They did bring out the pony rides though, and that was super fun. What 40 year olds don't want to ride around a resturant on a wooden horse? And our waitress told me I should look into relief bands on Amazon for motion sickness- because with those she can even ride on Guardians of the Galaxy. She had us look it up and showed us the exact one- we'll see, they're pricey. But, it's good to know it's out there.
The good part about having Whispering Canyon was that our tummies were stuffed full at 2pm. Which meant for the rest of the day we could have snacks and desserts to get us by. Once we got back to the resort, it was however starting to cloud up. Still, we put on our swimsuits and hoped for the best.. and then on the way to the pool, we noticed it was closing down for weather.
So, I promptly climbed in a fountain to cool off. Is it frowned upon? Probably, but nobody else was around.
We sat in the courtyard hoping to get rained on- playing in the rain is like a staple of a Disney anniversary in June. Eventually the downpour happened, and since we were in our swimsuits, it was no big deal. We danced, we ran, we cartwheeled, we kissed. It was a good time.
Plus the resort was all quiet and pretty in the rain.
I was convinced after it passed the pool was going to open any second, and I REALLY wanted to go to the pool. So, we grabbed some drinks and our books and went to sit in the bar area next to the pool, so we'd be there as soon as it opened.
About an hour later, we were in fact one of the first people in the pool area..
..and one of the first people in the pool!
Which meant no line for the slide! It is one of the tamer slides on Disney property, though not as tame as Jambo house, you have to like pull yourself down that one, but I enjoyed it.
We'd kind of missed our window for a nap thanks to the rain, but we did still have a little down time, and by now it was campfire time! Most Disney resorts have a campfire in the evening with free marshmallow roasting (though you can buy smores kits- or even bring your own). Asa is almost never in for sweet stuff, but he'll always support me in my quest for desserts.
Later that evening, we headed over to the Beach Club. We had dining reservations for Beaches and Cream, but not until 8:40. I thought if we went early we could use the back entrance of Epcot to check out the Garden Rocks Concert before hand. I thought they might not want us to park there so soon before our reservation (it was 7ish), but we didn't have any trouble. Plus, I love the walk from the Beach Club to Epcot.
On our way to the American pavilion, we stopped at Spice Road Table. A girl (aka, Asa's midnight pizza buddy, aka Jenna) we met on one of our cruises is one of the managers there- and we always say we're going to stop by but it never seems to work out. This time we got to catch up with Jenna, which was lovely. She's such a fun light! Hopefully we'll get to go on a cruise with her again soon. In fact, she's on one right now!
After visiting with Jenna (next time, we'll get a table like real people, I promise!) we walked over to the Garden Rocks Concert stage. For those of you unfamiliar, during Epcot festivals they often have musical acts that come in to give mini concerts that are included with your ticket. They do it for the food and wine- they even do it for the Arts (those are usually broadway singers). Right now it's the Flower and Garden festival, so it's the "Garden Rocks" series. I usually only know about 1/3 of the artists, and I've never been to one- because I've heard you have to get there super early, and I hate crowds. But Vertical Horizon (a band from my high school/college years) was going to be playing, so Asa and I thought we'd check it out. Worst case, it was crowded, we hung out in the back, and/or left early. Even though we got there about 10 minutes before their 8:30 set, there were still PLENTY of seats left.
The bands generally play three times a night- each with a 30 minute set. Vertical Horizon was surprisingly still pretty good. Lots of energy, still pretty good vocals, good band.. We were really gald we went. Although then we had 'You're a God' stuck in our heads. (And Best I Ever Had, and Everything you Want- they played all three!)
It was pretty perfect timing by the time they were done, we had about 10 minutes to walk to Beaches and Cream for our reservation, and we got to see the sun setting over the World Showcase, and the Epcot ball all lit up for the night.
We still were not at all starving after our huge brunch, so we decided to just order some loaded tater tots and a dessert. The tater tots were surprisingly great. I say that not because Beaches and Cream isn't delicious, it is- everyone loves it- but because I'd never heard anyone rave about them before. And I thought I knew all the best secret dishes at Disney. Anyway, the tots were perfectly crispy, topped with gooey melty cheese, some sort of herbed ranch sauce, and bacon bits- like real actual pieces of freshly cooked bacon. It was so good.
But really, the whole reason I made the reservation was for my favorite ice cream on Disney property: the No Way Jose. During covid we made this one at home a lot, although I could never quite get it perfectly right. It's basically chocolate and vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and peanut butter sauce, topped with whipped cream, peanut butter and chocolate chips and a cherry. It does not get better than this people. (Oh and did I mention the whole thing is HUGE, totally sharable, and $11?)
By the time we were done in Beaches and Cream, the sun had set on Crescent Lake and we got a gorgeous view of the Boardwalk with the Epcot ball glowing in the background.
We decided to keep the Crescent Lake party going, and head over to the Boardwalk side. One place we'd never been is the Atlantic Dance Hall. Mostly, I've heard the place is kind of lame- but there's no cover or anything, so what's the harm in checking it out. Asa and I went in, got some drinks, listened to some music, and explored the area. There's obviously a dance floor, it is after all a Dance Hall- but there's a staircase that'll take you upstairs to some cozy seating areas that overlook the dance floor.
And there's a secret (well, not so secret- but completely abandoned) balcony you can go out on and look over the lake. You can even still hear the music up here. Asa and I even danced on our own private Crescent Lake balcony. He finally taught me the rest of the salsa dance I missed out on when I got sea sick on the cruise ship.
One place on Crescent Lake that does have a cover is Jellyrolls, the piano bar. And it's kind of a steep cover at $20. You guys know I'm in general a cheap person (or, as I prefer a bargain finder), but I find that cover well worth it. The guys at the bar are always amazing. Drinks aren't terribly priced, and the popcorn is always free.
Last time we were there was in January when everyone was here. It was good, but not as amazing as this time. I was really impressed with the one guys version of 'Poor Unfortante Souls' and the piano playing on Great Balls of Fire. But the whole thing was entertaining. We stayed and sang and drank and listened to music until just before midnight...
...because it was about to be our anniversary, and we were on a mission... so stay tuned for that. All in all though, this was a 10/10 Disney Day, and an excellent way to close out another year of being married to my best friend.
Next up: Lucky #13!
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