Most of you know Friday was our 6th anniversary! We just realized a couple weeks ago we passed the 'being married longer than we dated' mark. Our anniversary is kind of a big deal around here, and we always try and do something super fun for it. Because, that's just how we do things at the Waterstraut household. And, even though we've spent the last four anniversaries at Disney, we decided we'd do it again- after all, this is the last time we'll have passes to go into the park on our actual day. Since we had no visitors this year over our anniversary, the kids had to come along. But, since we're not sure when/if we'll be doing vacation this summer, we figured it'd be good for us all to have a mini Disney vacay anyway.
But before we get to Disney, we had a couple of other fun days, with a mini Florida weekend before we headed over to Orlando. On Monday we went over to Hudson, to SunWest Park. I'd seen it all over on social media, since it just opened a couple months ago, but we hadn't made it up there yet. This new park isn't quite on the Gulf, although I think the gulf feeds partly into it, but it's full of activities. There's a ton of volleyball nets, kayaks and paddle boards to rent, plus a beach and a swimming area. But we were there for the inflatable water park. They still have a lot of construction going on, they're adding a bunch more amenities, but I think when it's all finished we'll have to try out the wakeboarding, and splashpad.
So, this inflatable water park is just a series of obstacles designed to climb all over, jump off of, swing and play on- it's bananas and it's amazing. It's $10 a person for 45 minutes- which is all you need to get totally exhausted (see Asa in my picture). And, for my Florida friends, it's basically a better version of what they have at the Tradewinds, and it's significantly cheaper.
I totally intended to be out there for half an hour or so, and then come in to take some pictures, but it was SO. MUCH. FUN-- that I ended up staying out the whole time too. The pictures I did take don't do it justice. There's monkey bars and rock climbing walls, and cliffs to jump off of, and swings. I'm telling you, it is a must do- so friends, take note- if you visit me, this is what we're doing.
It is exhausting though. It's slightly difficult to pull yourself onto it from the water- and if you want to jump off (or if you fall off) a lot, it gets really tiring. Even the kids said they were exhausted. We sat on the beach for a little, and got the boys some snowcones.
Then we spent some time in the water, before heading home.
We wanted to do a 'vacation' week here, but without going out to eat a lot- because that eats into the budget. So, instead of going out for fondue, we made it at home!
Then the boys had friends over, and we spent the evening playing games in the blanket fort.
Who doesn't love a good blanket fort? It was still up and going strong early this week, and the pets were loving it.
Busch Gardens was offering half off their Serengeti Safari to passholders, so I tried to get everyone on board. However, the boys all complained about how hot it would be, and bailed. Asa and I decided to suffer through and go anyway. For those of you not familiar, the Serengeti Safari is a separate ticketed activity at the park, where they take you out on a truck to see all the animals.
We boarded a truck, where we got to stand up along the edge, and headed out.
There's not really a good way to get up close to these guys without taking the safari, sure the train will take you on the outside path, and there are walking trails, but nothing is going to get you up this close.
Plus, we got to learn lots of cool facts about the animals. Our two guides were informative, and helpful (and totally patient with the little kid who asked a billion questions). Our truck was pretty empty, because our group was just a teeny tiny bit too big for one truck, and had to be split in two.
Eventually they bring you around to the giraffe area.
These guys are the highlight of the tour- as your guides bring out some lettuce to feed them as treats. Obviously, they can't guarantee a giraffe will come up to your truck, because animals have a mind of their own, and they aren't going to force them. But, they do stop the truck to see if anyone wants to come up.
(And sidenote: while we were stopped we got a great view of the brand new ride, Cobra's Curse- they officially opened Friday, but they were in soft, surprise opening when we were there).
Eventually this guy, named Cupid came up to the truck. They said they only have about five giraffes that ever come up to trucks, but Cupid almost always shows up.
Our guide demonstrated how to feed them the big pieces of lettuce, and then handed out one to everyone on our truck.
Cupid wasn't shy, he let us pet him (he was shedding, a lot!)...
....and feed him! You had to be SUPER quick with the pictures though, he took it fast!
Then, they gave us little pieces to put in the palm of our hands. He ate those right up too. It was AWESOME.
When the lettuce was gone, so was Cupid. He promptly went over to the next truck. He knows where the food is!
After our safari we went over to eh Serengeti Overlook for lunch. (Yay passholder discount!)
The best part about eating here is having the view of the Serengeti.
That truck right out there was the next tour.
We had planned on going to Adventure Island and floating down the lazy river, but it was beyond crowded (how will we ever survive the summer?!) Instead, we headed home and then made a trip to the pool with the boys. And I totally rubbed in how cool the safari was.
That night we had our last dinner in the blanket fort- we got Publix subs, and watched some Netflix to send Fort Waterstraut off in style.
Then Asa played his video game while I played around on my Surface. Oh, and take note- I beat 2048!
When we decided on Disney for our anniversary, yet again, we knew the boys were coming a long this year, which was fine- but dining out with all 5 of us gets really pricey. Our Tables in Wonderland is coming to close, and before it expires, we asked them what one place they would like to eat- and they picked Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge, mostly, I think, for the all you care to enjoy milkshakes.
But the skillet meal is nice too, they serve it family style, and there's plenty for everyone. The ribs and pulled pork were particularly good this go around.
Everyone's favorite place to stay at Disney are the cabins at Fort Wilderness. They're roomy, they have a kitchen, and you get to ride around the whole place on your golf cart. And who doesn't want to drive their golf cart to the beach and catch a boat to the Magic Kingdom? It's heaven! We checked into our cabin, and thought it was appropriate- we were in 2217 (The 17 for our anniversary!)
Calib got to legally drive the golf cart this time, since he's 16. So, Asa and Calib went up to park our extra car at the front and get the golf cart. Peyton went around for the ride.
My husband, he's a keeper- I always hate how there isn't any ice in the fridge when we first get there (and I like my drinks on a mountain of ice!), so he went over to the 'comfort stations' for the campers to get me some.
Like I said, you take your golf cart everywhere- including up to the pool. There's a couple of pools at Fort Wilderness, but the main pool is complete with a snack bar, pool games and a slide. So we spent a couple of afternoons there.
We did leave the boys to their own devices a couple of times, perks of older kids! The first time we headed over to Disney Springs to Amorette Patisserie, which just opened a couple weeks ago.
I heard their stuff was amazing. The service was also great, and I love the way the trays are on wheels and slide right out!
But we were there for one thing in particular... The petite Amorettes cake. It's a million layers of awesomeness. It is tiny, and it is $15. But it was our anniversary.
And the presentation is just awesome. You certainly get what you pay for here.
But, we had to save the cake for our actual anniversary, so we also bought a few pastries to take back to the cabin for all of us to share, and some drinks. That little dixie cup I have there is full of the richest, most awesome hot chocolate I've ever had.
Back at the cabins, the boys were settling in...
...but rain clouds were coming.
Asa thought he could get dinner going on the grill and beat the storm.. but it didn't work out so well for him.
Luckily, there's a nice kitchen too, so we had to move some things indoors.
For dinner we had quesadillas and nachos. The nachos were actually completely done on the grill, and they were really, really good.
After the rain the boys decided to go for a ride on the golf cart over to play some basketball, and this time they let me drive! Also, Peyton took towels to dry off our cart, and I didn't even ask him!
Fort Wilderness has its own bar, it's really just a window up by Trails End restaurant, but they have all kinds of fun, wilderness inspired drinks.
Calib and Peyton got Pina Colada's and Hayden opted for a shirley temple.
I wasn't going to get anything, but Asa ordered this blackberry lightning drink, made with blackberry moonshine. He took one sip and then offered me a taste. I ended up with the drink (it was one of those 'I can hardly taste the alcohol, this is delicious!' drinks that I love), and he ordered a margarita.
Besides the big pool, there was a smaller pool by our cabin, which made for good evening/nigh time swimming.
We had planned on doing a smores bar, but instead we ate our pastries. We picked a cheesecake with lemon curd and chantilly cream. It was slow cooked, and the best cheesecake I've ever had in my whole life. The other one was a peanutbutter something or other with bacon on top.
When you cut it open there was this filling in there that was just... I don't even know... peanut butter goodness. But, I will warn you, these guys too are small and pricey. But they're also rich. We all split them, and I didn't really feel like I needed anymore than I had.
We brought some games along with us, and got to watch game 6 of the NBA finals on the super sweet TV. (Seriously, the thing is gigantic).
Asa and I slept on the pull out, which is actually a little different and way more comfy than a normal pull out couch (there aren't any springs or anything), and we let the boys have the bedroom.
Can you tell Hayden was still on his blanket for kick?
On our actual anniversary, Asa and I were up bright and early. We left the kids sleeping and headed into the Magic Kingdom. It's just a quick boatride away from Fort Wilderness.
Finding Dory came out on our anniversary, and boy is Disney promoting it in their stores! Holy geeze, stuff was everywhere. And some of it is kind of awesome.
Anyway, we had some fastpasses- and it was a good thing too. You guys, the wait for Pirates was 70 minutes. That's bananas!
But we were really only in the park for one thing, our lunch reservations at Be Our Guest. We've been meaning to go forever, but reservations are hard to come by. I was able to snag a lunch one, but it was for 10:35 in the morning. I figured that was good anyway, because it gave us all afternoon to hang out with the kids.
Be Our Guest is like going into the beasts castle. And the details are something, even just crossing the bridge to get in. (You can't even get that far without a reservation though!)
Through the doors there's the giant mosaic of Belle and the Beast.
Lunch is different from dinner. Dinner is a table service meal, but lunch is counter service. If you didn't pre-order your meal online (we did), you got directed to this room to place your order at the kiosks.
But we got to skip that room (and the line to get into it), because we ordered our lunch ahead of time on the MyDisneyExperience App. Instead, they just scanned our magic band to confirm our order, and gave us a magic rose.
There's a couple of different rooms in the castle- and at lunch, you seat yourself, so you get to pick. The first room you walk into is the ballroom. The chandeliers here are pretty amazing, but so are the frosted windows in the back.
To the left you have the forbidden wing. It's darker, with thunder sounds. We wanted to sit in here, but there were only a couple of tables for six left, and we didn't want to be the party of 2 jerks who took a big table.
But the rose is in here. There's no way to describe how cool this is. I don't know how they created this effect, but it's spot on.
We decided to head off to the room to the right of the ballroom instead. It was practically empty, and the chairs and benches looked much more comfortable. This room features a giant music box of Belle and the Beast, and tons of pictures on the walls. (The music that plays even sounds like a music box).
You get your own drinks and silverware, and then you sit down with your magic rose and wait. The magic rose tells them where you are, so they can bring you your food.
The food shows up via a cart like this one. (Our " waiter" was so fast I didn't snap a picture of his, but they all look the same).
We knew we were eating early, so we decided to go halve-sies on everything. We ordered French Onion Soup...
...and Braised Pork, which is slow cooked for 8 hours, and served with mashed potatoes, green beans and peppers. If you go, you HAVE to get this. It's a good portion size, so you can share. But the fact that you can get this, a counter service place, for lunch... I'm telling you, there isn't a better counter service lunch at Disney. The french onion soup was awesome as well. Asa made fun of me for picking the cheese off the bowl, but I only had to do that because he ate nearly the rest of the cheese.
We couldn't leave without trying the 'grey stuff', you know, like in the song 'Try the grey stuff, it's delicious, don't believe me? Ask the dishes!" (You know you kept on singing that in your head). It's actually on the menu as the 'Masters Cupcake'.
Unlike the other portions here, this is small. Like, mini cupcake small. And it's really, really light. It was a fun surprise to see the 'grey stuff' ran all the way through the cupcake, so it really was more grey stuff than cupcake. I'm not even sure how to describe the grey stuff though. It wasn't quite a mouse, it was lighter than that- but it certainly isn't frosting. Whatever it is, I'll be ordering this one again.
That was it for lunch at Be Our Guest, it totally lived up to the hype.
It was a HOT morning at the Magic Kingdom, but by the time we got out of lunch, you can tell a storm was brewing. We decided not to stay for our after lunch fastpasses, and instead headed out.
We got stopped by the afternoon parade though, and I was pretty ancy- I did not want to get soaked, and I knew it was coming. But, we did get to see some new Zootopia characters!
And we made it to the boat launch just in time. As soon as we were under the canopy it was a downpour.
When we got back to the golf cart, the rain had let up- but our seats were soaked. Asa took off his shirt to wipe down my spot for me. (He's pretty nice to me!)
By the time we got back to the cabin, it wasn't even noon, and the boys were just getting up and around. I didn't want to sit around and wait for them to shower, so we went on a fact finding mission to see if we were able to rent anything from the marina, or canoe. Sadly, we weren't able to do that. (I'm sure you all heard about the tragedy on the Seven Sea's Lagoon earlier in the week- because of that you couldn't do anything on the water, or go on the beach--- but Disney did comp us to make up for it). So we nosed around the gift shop instead. Peyton came along for the ride.
The only thing Asa and I got on the trip was these guys- you add them to your Magic Band. It's totally fitting since the theme from 'Up' played at our wedding. Asa took the Carl, I took the Ellie- and Peyton (since he was the one who came along) staked claim to the grape soda badge.
Remember how I said how nice Asa was/is to me? He also took the towels that were out on the deck when it rained, over to the laundry to dry them out for me.
And he stopped by the front desk to get us our anniversary buttons- and three 'I'm Celebrating' buttons for the boys. Calib and Peyton weren't into it though. Hayden happily celebrated for them instead.
The boys had lunch at the cabin, but we spent the afternoon at the pool and got some pulled pork chips and drinks as a snack. Luckily we had a much nicer afternoon, and got to spend most of our time lounging by the pool.
Back at the cabin, Hayden collected some cool looking sticks, while Asa and I played cards, and Calib and Peyton took the golf cart our for a spin.
We also had Peyton take our picture in picture, picture. We always do a couple different ones, to see what we like- but I think we're going to print the one at the top of this blog.
In case you can't zoom far enough to see- this is the first picture, it's us on our first anniversary. It's self taken, totally appropriate for us.
Our second anniversary, we camped at Fort Wilderness.
Our third anniversary we went to Disney, but took our picture before we left the house. (We cropped this one when we printed it though).
Our fourth anniversary we spent at Disney, but this time we brought our picture with us, and some nice Disney cast member took our picture before we had dinner at the Polynesian.
And last year, at the Yacht Club, we used our self timer.
This year Asa and I had dining reservations at the California Grill, but not until 9- so we could watch fireworks (you'll see that in a minute)- so we made dinner for everyone, and we just kept in mind we were eating later, so we didn't have a whole lot.
We did however, tackle chili cheese fries on the grill. And by we, I mean, I helped with the foil packet, Asa did the rest.
We did the fries, and burgers..
and they turned out really great, the boys loved them.
Plus, it was nice we didn't have rain and we got to eat outside.
We did decide to have our cake for dessert.
I took a picture once it was cut in half, so you can see all the layers in all of their glory. I wasn't a fan of the fondant, but the rest of it was light and fluffy and packed huge flavor for such a tiny little cake.
In case you're wondering, we split it into fifths so everyone could have a couple of bites.
Then it was back to the small pool for an after dinner swim.
We were lucky to have a nice evening. It wasn't too hot, and there wasn't any rain. So we hung out outside, a rare treat for a June day.
Asa had made reservations for a carriage ride. It's the same price no matter who comes, so we decided to ask the boys if they wanted to come too. We've done it before, and I thought it would be fun for them, and they were all pretty excited about it.
Plus, we got drinks to take with us.
Our horse was Porter. He's just learning to drive carriages, I heard, but he's doing a pretty good job of it. We also went the perfect time of night. I didn't get any pictures of them, but we must have seen at least a dozen deer. They were everywhere!
We took the boys back to the cabin (Asa went offroading with the golf cart!), and then headed up to the boat docks to go over to the Contemporary Resort for 'dinner' at the California Grill.
If you don't know, this is the Contemporary. And that part at the tippy top? That's the California Grill. Not only have I heard rave reviews about the food, but the view from the top is also a major draw, especially at fireworks time.
You check in on the 2nd floor, and then they take you up the elevator to the 15th floor.
And when you step out of the elevator, you're in the lobby with tons and tons of bottles of wine.
While we waited for our table (they send you a text message on your phone when it's ready), we went out to one of the viewing decks. My picture is blurry, but the view is amazing. No picture would ever do it justice.
We were seated at a table all the way around the restaurant though, so we didn't have a Magic Kingdom view from our table. But you can see Epcot and Hollywood Studios from that side- and we got to see their fireworks going off.
I'm pretty sure this place is the nicest, fanciest restaurant Asa and I have ever been. We're pretty casual people. But, the wait staff there are totally awesome, will explain anything to you, and don't mind if you're only ordering appetizers. Oh, and they sprinkled 'Pixie Dust' on our table to denote we were celebrating our anniversary!
At first they bring out rolls. I didn't try the plain old ones, but the focaccia bread was light and fluffy, and melted in your mouth. The salted butter was adorable, and tasty as well.
Asa got an apple mule, complete with a dried apple. He was in love.
I had a drink on the carriage ride, and that was enough for me- so I stuck with water. But you guys, the water comes from glass bottles being chilled right by your table.
We decided we'd stick with appetizers. We ordered the lamb flatbread (with Ramp Pesto, Manchego, Feta, Pickled Peppers, Harissa Mayonnaise, Sunchoke Chips) , and the California Combination sushi (Jumbo Lump Crab, Avocado, Cucumber, Shrimp Tempura). The sushi was the best I've ever had, and I wish they would bottle whatever that orange sauce was. The flatbread was good too, but probably my least favorite of everything we ordered.
We are all the sushi, but only half the flatbread, they boxed that up for us.
Our 'main courses' were still just appetizers. Asa got this soft shell crab, with all kinds of crazy stuff on it. I'd go find you the menu and tell you exactly what was on it, but apparently it's a seasonal item, so it isn't always on there. He gave me a few bites. Two thumbs up, would order again.
I on the other hand, got the goat cheese ravioli ( with Tomato-Fennel Broth, crispy Mushrooms, Tiny Basil, Benziger Estate Olive Oil.) It's just one ravioli. But, it is the best ravioli you'll ever have. If you like goat cheese, that is. If you don't, I'd steer clear.
At 5 till ten they make an announcement to let you know if you'd like to go outside to view the fireworks, it's time to head out. They have a couple of different viewing platforms, we just went with the closest one to the table. (Please excuse the funny picture of us, the lighting was weird!) The music from Wishes is pumped in through the speakers, and I can't even tell you how awesome it was. There are no words.
It is one of my favorite firework viewings ever. Just, no words. If you ever get the chance, you HAVE to go here. And go during fireworks time (although I hear they'll let you back up to view them if you ate there earlier in the day).
We left our food to go see the fireworks, and our waiter came by and covered it up to keep it warm for us. How awesome is that?!
By now a new couple had come to sit at the table next to us, and they were super funny- and struck up a conversation with us. Next thing I know, they were insisting we try their pork belly sushi, which we steered away from because it was said to be spicy. It wasn't, and I'm so glad they let us have a taste. We ate it without taking a picture, and when I said I should have taken one, they told me to come take one of what they had left.
We were not about to order dessert, but we were given a special anniversary creme brulee. Again, it's the best I've ever had. My mom loves creme brulee. I'm going to have to take her here next time she comes. (Although she's also going to France, so she'll probably have some there that's better). Anyway, this one has Rich Sweet Cream Custard, Peach Compote, and Caramelized Turbinado Sugar, and it was especially yummy. I have a new favorite Disney dessert. We couldn't possibly eat it all, so we shared with our neighbors who had just let us try their sushi.
We made it just in time for the last boat of the night back to Fort Wilderness, which was pretty much empty by then.
If you were at our wedding, you might remember some of us jumping in the pool in our wedding attire. Since then, every anniversary Asa and I have jumped in a pool, or the Gulf, or a fountain (we were desperate one year, thanks to some lightning!)- at the end of the night. This year was no exception.
It did make for a very cold golf cart ride back to the cabin though.
Aand we were racing a low battery. We were living on the edge. But we made it.
When we got back, we found a not so hidden mickey the boys made. Apparently they played Pinecone baseball, One V One Cockroach poker, and Kings in the Corner all night long.
When we got back, Calib and Peyton were watching games, while Hayden was asleep at the kitchen table.
This morning, Asa and I were up to make it to Trails End for breakfast.
They're doing this new brunch- but we mostly stuck with our old favorites, like french toast bread pudding.
But they also had mickey waffles complete with all kinds of new toppings!
And Asa was pretty excited about the guy carving bacon! He actually told us our anniversary button had to have how many years we've been married on it, so he fixed them all up for us.
Asa's second plate was pretty predictable.
After breakfast I packed up, while the boys returned the golf cart.
Another awesome trip to the cabins, we'll be back in a few weeks, Disney!
We had to get home this morning before Asa had to work. We said hello and goodbye to Justin, who was nice enough to watch the furry Waterstrauts for two days, and got settled back in. And look at the fun mail I got. Would anyone like my VIP Parking Pass to the 4th of July at Monticello? I don't think I'll be making it.
Oh, and we were home all of six hours, before Fort Waterstraut 2.0 took shape. Luckily, I knew this was coming, so the sheets were mostly still tied together and on poles in my closet. It didn't take long to get it all set back up. I'm actually coming to you live from the Fort right now. It's pretty much where we all hang out now.
And, I'm all caught up on the blog. Ta Da!
Up next: Tomorrow it's Hobbit Day! And we are headed out on our weekend to see Finding Dory, possibly bowl, and Asa and I have a date day planned, with some things from last week that needed rescheduled.
No comments:
Post a Comment