2,922 Days

On Sunday June 17th, Asa and I celebrated our 8th anniversary with a weekend trip to Disney. There was a lot of indecision (mostly on my part) about what we should do for the weekend, but we finally settled on staying at Port Orleans Riverside. It's one of Disney's moderate resorts (which means it's a little nicer than the 'value' resorts-- you get a waterside with your pool and usually a sit-down restaurant in addition to the food court, but it isn't as nice as the 'Deluxe resorts' )

Last year we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge- Jambo House, and while that was amazing, and we could have done it again- the fact of the matter was with our budget we basically had to decide between one night at a Deluxe resort (like the Animal Kingdom Lodge- or my dream of the Polynesian!), or two nights at a Moderate. Fun fact: When we got married I didn't think about how our Anniversary would fall almost directly in the middle of the month and one day between Calib's birthday and Peyton's birthday and how tough that would be on finances)  

 Anyway, we landed on staying at Port Orleans, Riverside.  We've stayed there once before with the boys and enjoyed it, and back in our pool hopping days we stopped by occasionally. The drawbacks of the resort is just how big it is- it can take forever to walk from one end to another, but we requested- and got- a room right on the river, near the bridge to get to the main island. Which basically means we were never more than a 5 minute walk to one of three pools, the boat dock, or the main buildings. Although it is HOT these days, most of the walk is shaded, so it wasn't too bad. And overall, it's a pretty quiet laid back place, which I enjoy. Oh, and that boat? It takes you on a lovely 20 minute boat ride to Disney Springs, which is pretty much why we picked this resort. Disney Springs is AMAZING these days. Go, if you haven't been. 

We left home on Saturday morning. (Benefit of having an 18 year old, you can go ahead and go on as many weekend trips away from home as your wallet can afford!) Our first stop before going over to the hotel was at another hotel- The Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village for their restaurant, Sanaa. Sanaa is a bit out of the way if you're staying anywhere other than the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but it is worth the trek. It's a small place, and you'll want to request a table by the windows- because part of the experience is the view out on the savanna to see all the animals. We said we would wait- and they told us it could be up to 45 minutes, so we walked out on the savanna viewing platform to check out the animals. See those arched windows? We were waiting for a table over there, and it didn't take long for one to open, so we lucked out there.  

The windows offer a little cove area for the birds, and they come and go, but beyond that there were giraffes, zebras, watusi and wildebeests. 

But you don't go to Sanaa JUST for the animals, you go for the bread service. To be specific you go for Indian-style Bread Service with all Nine Accompaniments. Sure you can get three accompaniments. But spend the extra $3 and get all nine. Totally worth it.  Anyway, if you don't make choices on the bread, they bring you five different kinds - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha, or Paneer Paratha. (I would skip the Paneer Paratha next time and double up on the Garlic-Ginger, but that's just me). 

And then you get the nine 'Accompaniments' - Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chuntey, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle. Now, you guys know me, I sent Asa ahead down the line to check on the spicy levels for me. I skipped the Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle. But he enjoyed them, even though he was sweating after eating some of them. My favorites included the Tomato-Date Jam and the Mango Chutney. But they were all awesome. We are going to have to take the boys here, I think they'd enjoy trying all the different sauces. Oh, we also got the eggs and sausage to share. The highlight of that dish was the hollandaise like sauce that came with those little onions. I dumped that stuff all over my half. 

.

For dessert, we had the Spice Trade Candy Bar. So here's the description on that one: Coconut, Apricot, Caramel, Pistachio, Cashew Bar coated with Milk Chocolate, topped with Chai Cream, Pistachio Crumb, and Apricot Gelee. I LOVED it. Asa HATED it. But, that's because he doesn't care for any of the ingredients (in fact, he despises some of them). But, if you like fruit (that apricot gelee is tangy and sweet and AMAZING), and the idea of a grown up snickers bar- this one if for you. 

At lunch, we noticed our 'My Disney Experience' App had been updated with our room number, so there was no need to even stop by the front desk before going to our room. There's two sections to Riverside- the Alligator Bayou, and Magnolia Plantation. We requested a room in Magnolia Plantation, but ended up in Alligator Bayou, which was a little weird, but it was in a good location- so we just went with it. We were right on the river, and right at the edge of Alligator Bayou and right next to Magnolia Plantation. The rooms are cute, but nothing too fancy. 

After we got all of our stuff in the room, we went up to the concierge to get our 'Happily Ever After' buttons. Usually these get you some free little something along the way, but no such luck for us this year. We did get lots of 'Happy Anniversary's though. 

The main pool closed for weather right after we got up there. But, you could tell the thunder was way off in the distance, and there wasn't any lightning or anything, so we went in search of the 'quiet pools' to see if they were also closed.  Since the resort is so big, there's something like 5 'quiet' pools all throughout the resort. They don't have a hot tub or a slide or anything, but they are good for cooling off, and they weren't closed for weather, so we swam for a little while. 

And then we took the boat and headed over to Disney Springs. It's super hard to decide where to eat over there, and we had reservations- and changed reservations over and over again. Finally, we landed on not having any reservations on Saturday night at all. There's tons of walk in places, and we didn't want to miss out on those. Our first stop was one of our favorites for drinks: The Hangar Bar. 

I got my favorite: Teddy's Tea! First of all, it's non-alcholic, but that's fine. I put such little amount of alcohol in my drinks at home, it's hard to go out an order something and not just feel like it only tastes like vodka, or whatever. Teddy's tea is green tea with mint and tangerine, and it's one of my favorite drinks on Disney property (not that I've had a lot of them- our trick is usually we all get water to save on drinks!) It's light and refreshing and none of the flavors are really very strong. Plus, it's named after Teddy Roosevelt, so basically this drink was made for me! 

Asa got the Wrong Island this time. It's Siesta Key Silver Rum, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Tamiami Gin, Tippler's Orange Liqueur, and Sweet-and-Sour with a splash of Coca-Cola. I tried it, and it wasn't terrible. Weird combo though. He liked it, but he likes different drinks like that. 

After that we were off to the lounge at Paddlefish. I had heard the lobster corn dogs were not to be missed- but Paddlefish is a sit down place, and we were trying not to rope ourselves into reservations. Luckily those lobster corn dogs are available on the top deck at the Paddlefish lounge. Lounges are like a hidden secret at Disney. You don't need a reservation for any of them- and you can get a lot of the food from whatever restaurant they are attached to (and sometimes at a lower price). The hotels all have little hidden lounges we love to go to, and Disney Springs is getting in on it too. 

Now the corn dogs. I was REALLY looking forward to these. LOBSTER. CORN. DOGS. People! Maybe I just hyped them up too much... because they were just..... OK. The breading is more cornmeal than anything else, and the whole dish is just kind of plain. If you dipped them in the Sweet chili aïoli sauce, it went from  'Ok' to 'pretty good', but the dogs on their own were just underwhelming. I'm glad I tried them, and I'll probably be back at Paddlefish some time to order the crab fries, but these wouldn't make my 'must eat' list in Disney Springs, and I probably wouldn't order them again. 

If nothing else, you should stop by the Paddlefish lounge for the views. We had to eat at the inside bar because of lightning when we first got there (Florida in the summer, you know?), but the outdoor deck is lovely and offers some really nice views. 

There's also a lot of new stores, so we nosed around in those. Marketplace (the more intact section of what was once Downtown Disney) is still better for Disney shopping, but there's some new one's popping up in between all those fancy mall stores that are worth a visit. 

Also still worth a visit: Ghiradelli for your free chocolate. Both days we were there, they were giving out my favorite kind! 

We tried to nab a table at Morimoto Asia next for their Kanikama Rangoon (krab meat and cream cheese spring roll, apricot sweet chili sauce), but the wait was super long, even for the lounge. So, we decided to head on over to the counter service Polite Pig, to split their slider trio. Basically you get three of their sandwiches in slider form- Southern Pig, Prime Brisket and Smoked and Fried Chicken. 

The Southern Pig is in the middle there. It's  Pulled Pork, Fennel-apple Slaw, tangy Mustard BBQ and Duke's Mayo. It's probably my faovirte, but they are all good. 

On the left is the Smoked and Fried Chicken. It has Sweet and Smoky BBQ, Duke's Mayo, Pickles and Romaine Slaw

And on the right you have the Prime Brisket- with Pimento Cheese, Lil' John's Porter BBQ, Pickled Jalapeños and Crispy Onions. 

Now here is the deal with this one. We've had it before, and it was good. This time it was amazing. There was so much sauce on each sandwich and everything was in balance, the meat was super tender, and it was like they all just melted in your mouth. So good. We had it again on Monday just before we left to come home- and they are just ok. Not as much topping, not as fall apart juicy meat- again, good but nothing to gush over. So, Asa and I feel like maybe this one depends on the chefs working that day. Maybe because this time when they were SO good, it was a weekend, and they were busy we actually got better chefs. I don't know. But if you like barbeque, give this place a chance- it can be hit or miss, but even the miss isn't a terrible meal. And for Disney Springs, it is a good value. 

We were pretty full after our drinks and lobster corn dogs and sliders, so we decided to finish up at Amorette's Patisserie, one of my favorite dessert places at Disney. Some people think it's a little too fancy, but I like this one, and they do change up their menu frequently enough to always be trying something new. 

But, most of the time, if it's there we go back to the 49th and Broadway. It's New York Cheesecake

with Lemon Curd, Blueberries, and Chantilly. It's a really light cheesecake, and the lemon curd is just the right amount of tart. I am a fan of blueberry lemon anything, however, so I might be a bit biased. I do however miss the Blueberry Lemonade dessert that they had once upon a time. I'm hoping that one comes back. 

Disney Spings on a Saturday night is one busy place, so we took the boat and headed back for an evening swim. 

And we found a little guy hanging out on the steps heading up to our room! 

We had picked up some cold noodles at the Morimoto Asia Street Food Window for a late night snack. Officially, they are the Chilled Sesame Lo-Mein Noodle with Sesame Peanut Sauce, Nappa Cabbage, Cilantro, Thai Basil and Peppers. This is a family favorite too. A lot of times we'll grab these to have with our pizza's at Blaze when we stop by for lunch. I'm not usually a fan of noodles, but these have won me over. Plus, they make an excellent take-home snack. They really just get better the longer they sit. 

Sunday was our actual anniversary. We slept in, since we didn't have brunch reservations until noon. After getting up and around we hopped back on the boat to Disney Springs (see how convenient that is? A total perk for staying at Riverside!) 

We decided to head over about an hour and half before our reservation to nose around the stores when I knew they'd still be pretty quiet. The crowds the night before were a little off putting- and I was totally right, Disney Springs before noon is like the calm before the storm. 

Also, the sock game is totally on point. I wish I wore socks more, I'd buy them all. My high school self would have been giddy at the sight of all the ways to dress up my uniform! 

Also the new store, Disney Style is totally worth checking out. It's got cute little photo ops and the most adorable shirts and accessories for the grown-up Disney girls! 

After our wandering we headed over to Raglan Road for our brunch reservation. And brunch in an Irish inspired restaurant means you drink! (Um, the Brunch menu is like half drinks!) With the direction of the waiter, Asa ordered a Blood Orange Bourbon and was pleased with his choice. 

Brunch at Raglan Road only happens on Sundays, and until recently, we were never at Disney on the weekends, so when I realized we were going to be there on a Sunday, the reservation was an easy choice. Plus, at noon they start in with the entertainment for the day. You get music and step dancers, and the whole thing is fun and entertaining. 

Brunch, Lunch, or Dinner though, they always serve you the soda bread with the Guinness reduction. It's kind of an acquired taste, but I found I liked it the more I tried it. 

Asa went more lunch with his choice of a meal, with the Boaring Burger. First of all, I loved the name. The whole thing is a grilled wild boar burger, Cashel blue cheese, crispy onion strings, arugula, port and pear chutney with herb aïoli served on a floury potato bun. And of course you upgrade those 'chips' to truffle chips. Because, duh. He gave me a few bites and I loved this thing. It's bigger than it looks, first of all, it will fill you up and then some. But the herb aioli with the port and pear chutney? It's like a perfect marriage. And you can never go wrong with swapping out lettuce for arugula! 

Meanwhile, I went breakfast with Pancakes Diaspora, which is just homemade pancakes with crème fraîche, maple syrup and mixed berry compote. I'm all about breakfast food, and these pancakes were just calling me. They didn't disappoint. They were fluffy and delicious, but I could have used even more topping. Still, along with a side order of pork belly hash, I couldn't finish it all. Next time, I'd probably skip the hash. It wasn't really anything special. 

So one of the stops along the way to Riverside depending on the boat you take can include the sister resort of Port Orleans French Quarter. The two are walking distance from each other and when you stay at one, you have the use of the pool and all the amenities at the other. We decided after our trip to Disney Springs we would stop by French Quarter to swim in their pool. (Also worth noting: French Quarter has Beignets at their food court- though we didn't get any this time around). 

We did stop by to take a picture with the dancing alligators though! (We were also testing out my little phone tripod with the remote to see how it would work for later). 

The pool over there is super fun. There's more dancing alligators and a giant serpent and a fun, albeit short, waterslide. 

It was nearing three by the time we got back to Riverside, and the weather for the evening wasn't looking promising, so we decided to try and take our famous yearly picture-in-picture. You know, where we take a picture of us holding the picture from our previous anniversary, in which we're holding a picture of our previous anniversary (all the way back to our first anniversary.) We decided the Magnolia Plantation courtyards would make for a cute picture, so we set up the tripod there. 

But I couldn't get any pictures I liked there, sometimes the glare was off, sometimes I thought the picture didn't fill enough of the frame. Asa meanwhile, had fun clicking away at the remote while I was trying to adjust the camera. I ended up with all these pictures of him making faces. 

He thinks he's so funny. 

Eventually I was like 'It's fricken hot out here', lets try getting in the fountain and putting the tripod up on the ledge. Except for how short I look in some of them, I think we have a winner in this bunch. And the water felt really, really nice. It was so HOT! (And I never wear my hair down for that exact reason). 

After we captured our picture in picture, we decided a trip to the pool was in order. On our way down to the Magnolia courtyard we realized there was a Magnolia pool even closer to our room than the one in Alligator Bayou we had been going to, so we jumped in that one. 

But it wasn't long until the rain came for us. I mean, you know it's going to happen. It's hot, it's June, it's Florida. But this one was pretty crazy. We watched from outside our room until we heard the LOUDEST thunder right above us. 

Since it was storming, the boats weren't running to Disney Springs and it was getting about time for our dinner reservation time. We could have opted for the bus, but it was a shorter walk to just get in the car and drive over. The skies were clearing though, and we even got a rainbow! By the time we got there, it wasn't even raining on us anymore. 

We debated between the California Grill and the Boathouse for our Anniversary Dinner. Ironically, we decided on the Boathouse, because we could just take the boat over to it. But, it's a good restaurant and a little more casual, which fits us these days. I made California Grill reservations months ago (because they are hard to get), and when we thought about the Boathouse there were none available through Disney. Luckily, I nabbed one on Open Table. We didn't have to wait long for our table, just a few spins around the gift shop and they were ready for us. (Fun fact: I slightly considered this for my wall of presidents, but ultimately decided against it. I have enough Trump things on my wall, I think people come in thinking I voted for him or something).  Too bad they don't have an Obama one. 

So, the Boathouse focus is steaks and seafood. And you should save room for those things. But, don't skip out on the rolls. I'm not sure what they put over these guys, it's like a buttery sugary magic combo. They'll offer to bring you more. And you'll be tempted to tell them to bring you ALL the rolls. But save room, the rest of the food is also delicious. 

Asa did order a drink here too, an Old Fashioned. And it came with an ice SPHERE! We'd only ever heard of these mystical things from my cousin in law, Ray, so Asa immediately took a picture to send to him. 

We scoped out the menu while we were waiting on the rain to let up earlier and we decided on just sharing everything, which is usually what we end up doing anyway. We got a cup of lobster bisque. (It was the perfect lobster bisque, too!) 

An order of lobster Mac & Cheese, which unlike the Lobster Corn Dogs, totally lived up to the hype. Not only is it good, creamy-just enough cheese to noodle-ratio BUT you also get tons of lobster in this one. And the salad and green beans that come with it are lightly seasoned with a bit of lemon and make you feel like you're at least eating some veggies with dinner (Also don't be fooled- I don't know why this looks so small in the picture but it is a BIG portion-- we took some home. Fun fact: It's also good reheated). It is pricey, but it's worth every bit of it's price tag. 

And then we got the filet mignon sliders with fries (which of course we upgraded to truffle fries... because, duh). These sliders have the cutest little filets on them. For me, they were cooked to perfection (Asa probably thinks they were a little over-done) but we both agreed at $14 these were a great value, and we'd totally order them again. 

I never took a picture of us at dinner, but we did get the cutest little corner booth. Perfect for our anniversary and for sharing all the food. 

After dinner we decided to go over to the Boardwalk for some Firework watching and some Jellyrolls (the piano bar) listening. Apparently if you are staying at any resort, your magic band gives you parking at any resort. We just taped our magic band and we were in, which was awesome because parking at Disney resorts has gotten way more annoying than it used to be. 

The Boardwalk is across from the Beach Club at the backside of the Epcot entrance (See the Epcot ball in the middle up there?) So, you can see a bit of the Epcot fireworks. 

But you can also see some from the Magic Kingdom and some from Hollywood Studios. It's like you get a little taste of all three of the Disney Firework Shows. Fun! 

Oh and if you are on the Boardwalk for dinner, or for Jellyrolls (the super fun piano bar!) or over by the Swan and Dolphin playing Putt Putt, you should head over to get Ice Cream. You have two options: Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club  (get the No Way Jose!) or Ample Hills Creamery. We decided on Ample Hills and got the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Sundae, built on top of said cake in a waffle bowl. You get to pick THREE scoops of ice cream and the whole thing is topped off with hot fudge (and sprinkles if you're so inclined). It's certainly big enough to share (We didn't finish the whole thing- even hours after dinner). 

Our anniversary was running out- but we had one more anniversary tradition. After our wedding reception, we jumped into the hotel pool wedding dress and tux and all. Since then, we've jumped in a pool every anniversary we could (last year the pools were all closed due to lightning and never reopened- and there are no quiet pools to sneak into at the Animal Kingdom Lodge). 

When we got back from the Boardwalk, even though it was late, the Alligator Bayou pool we passed on our way to our room was packed. Like TONS of kids. I didn't want to jump in that pool with such an audience, so I suggested we got back over to that Magnolia Plantation pool we were at earlier, and there was NO ONE in the pool! 

So in we jumped! Now, I realize we're not wearing fancy clothes. But, we went casual this year. I'm not wearing a sports bra, and Asa isn't in a running shirt- so that IS pretty dressed up these days, right? 

Anyway, dressy or not, it's fun to jump in a pool with your clothes on as long as it's warm, and you'll be able to change soon. Otherwise, I don't recommend it! 

Oh, and I did want to note we made one purchase on our anniversary at Disney Springs. We bought a print of Ellie and Carl from 'Up', we had the theme from 'Up' (Married Life), played at our wedding, so we've always had an affinity for anything Carl and Ellie, and this was just perfect. The print was something like $40 though, which was a bit steep. BUT, we had a $10 gift card from declining housekeeping and another $10 gift card from doing the same thing at Calib's birthday, and our passholder discount. So, we got it for $12! I hung it above our bed. 

So, the next morning we had a late check out, and we were going to go over to the French Quarter for some of those Beignets. BUT, when looking at our room charges on the app, we realized we had been double charged for our ROOM! So, a trip to the front desk was in order. An hour later, they had discovered a second reservation had been made for us, and that's why we got charged twice. The assured us sometimes that happens, but the system should have realized it and cleared it up on it's own. Obviously we were annoyed. However, we were less annoyed when they refunded us back BOTH charges, in what was a comp of our total stay. So, I mean, I stayed at Disney free for my anniversary. It took the bank a week to sort it out, but overall, I'm not complaining! 

And while we didn't really have time to get our Beignets, we did have time for a trip to the pool. 

And then we drove over to Disney Springs for a late lunch of French Poutine at the Daily Poutine (You know I'm not going to Disney Springs three days in a row and not stopping at the Daily Poutine!) 

And some more sliders at The Polite Pig, though they weren't as good as they were two days ago. Look, they're lacking in toppings. 

We also decided to try this new cookie, instead of getting the famous (and delicious albeit heavy) orange blossom honey cake. The Disney Food Blog raved about this one, so even with the big $8 price tag we ordered it (You do get a passholder discount here, however). I wasn't super impressed. The chips are semi-sweet as opposed to milk chocolate, and the rest of it just tasted like cookie dough, but not even that great of cookie dough. We brought it home and the boys seemed to enjoy it a little more than us, but I won't get this one again. The cake is a dollar less and WAY better. 

After lunch we were headed home. Asa worked a later shift so we could stay Sunday night and into the day on Monday. When we got home the boys had the house clean, the dogs were all happy and they had even put through some laundry. For the most part, they're pretty dang good kids. 

This year, our anniversary fell on Father's Day (which we celebrate as Hobbit Day), so we decided to push it until later (that blog is incoming). But when we talked to everyone on Sunday Hayden said: Calib is trying to convince me today is Father's Day! Asa was like 'He's just teasing you, that's next week', and Hayden never questioned it. 

We did, however, pick up a cake to celebrate. It was the perfect cake for when our anniversary, disney and father's day all came together on the same day. 

We saved the cake for when we got home so the boys could have some too. 

That's it for our 8th Anniversary. Here's to many more. 

Next Up: Hobbit Day and other odds and ends