Everest, Kim Possible and Wishes!!

We had an early start today. There was lots on the agenda. Tom made some coffee in the room, using two sachets this time and it was a bit more drinkable than the first attempt. That Disney coffee is weeeeeak!

We had some of the Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast and headed over to Animal Kingdom, where we arrived right after rope drop. We picked up a Fastpass, then went to Africa to try to get on Kilimanjaro Safaris, but the stand by line was 50 minutes and we shyed away from it. Instead we went back to Everest and got in line there. The sign said 45 minutes, but it really was only half an hour until we got onto our train.

We then went back to the Tree of Life, where we got in line for the It’s tough to be a bug show. After that we hurried back to Everest, used our Fastpass and noticed it was time to leave to make it to the Grand Floridian for lunch in time.

On the way out we stopped at Guest relations we picked up two I’m celebrating pins, since this was my birthday trip! Sporting our pins we went to the tram to the parking lot and got another surprise.

 The tram was completely empty and once we got on the tram left the station. So we had our own private tram to the parking lot! We drove over to the Grand Floridian, parked our car and went to find out where the Grand Floridian Café was located. It took us quite a few minutes until we finally found it. The check in Cast Members were very friendly and immediately asked what we were celebrating.

Once she knew she went and got me a birthday pin! How nice was that! In the meantime our server had taken our offer for two Diet Cokes and our drinks. An Island Bahama Mama for Tom and a Pina Colava for me. They were both very nice drinks. We chose to share an appetizer, the Crab Cakes - Pan-seared with Mango Relish, which were really tasty, moist and wonderful. Tom had the Roast Beef Sandwich - Balsamic Onions, Pesto Mayonnaise, Arugula Salad, and Tomatoes served on Focaccia with Home Made Chips. He liked it very much. I had seen a lot of reviews about the Grand Floridian Burger - Angus Chuck Burger, Lobster, Asparagus and Horseradish-Chive Hollandaise served with Tomato Salad, so I wanted to try it. And it was no letdown. The burger was cooked medium, the lobster was moist and wonderful and the asparagus crisp. What a great choice. And then there were the desserts. Tom wanted to try the Chocolate-Hazelnut Mousse Cake - topped with more Chocolate, which was very nice! I tried the Key Lime Pie - Chocolate Crust topped with Carmelized Sugar. It came out with a candle on it and I was to make a wish. I DID make a wish, even though it was not my actual birthday.

We both enjoyed our desserts before we settled the bill and went to check out the resort. The skies were just so perfectly blue that we HAD TO take a lot of photos. Later we got on the Monorail and went over to Epcot. Once we had gone through the turnstiles we had a few photos taken, but did not get in line for Spaceship Earth, since the line was really long. We went to the information board and lines were quite long everywhere, so we decided to check out Innoventions before we were to go over to Mission Space.

So right as we entered Innoventions there were two cast members signing up guests for the new Kim Possible Adventure. We signed up too! We were to report to Norway any time after 2.30. It left us with more than enough time, to explore Innoventions and ride Mission Space. Unfortunately the wait times for MS were not correct. More like 50 minutes instead of the 20 advertised. After our Space Mission we went over to Norway to report for our mission. It was SO much fun. First we were handed a Kimmunicator, which is actually like a mobile phone and you get messages from Kim on where to go and what to seek out.

At one point you have to stand by a pole and they take your photo to be displayed on the Kimmunicator. You have to raise a flag and get in contact with a “secret agent” aka, the Maelstrom Greeter. After giving her the secret password we received another code to help with the mission. The whole Adventure took about half an hour and was real fun. In the end you have to return your Kimmunicator at a secret location.

Since we were so close to China we chose to check out their store and Tom had to try on a few of their funny lampshade style hats. We had such a laugh. But then we were thirsty too. So we tried some tea from the Joy of Tea stand. Tom had the Green Lychee Mist, Tequila, Melon Liqueur and Cream. He enjoyed it, it is NOT my cup of tea though. I had the Peach Oolong, sweetened Ice Tea. It tasted very sweet in the beginning, but the more of it I had, the better it tasted. It was surprisingly refreshing, considering it was so sweet. We walked back to Future World and rode Mission Space one more time, before we cooled off in MouseGear for some time, checking out all their merchandise, before we left the park and got on the Monorail to go back to the Ticket and Transportation Center.

We decided to walk over to the Polynesian for our reservation at Ohana and enjoyed the grounds as we walked over. There was a nice beach which we passed, so we took off our shoes and stayed for a while, making a few more photos and taking in the wonderful scenery. Once we arrived at the Great Ceremonial House we signed in and were given another buzzer and watched while they turned away walk ups.

We did not have to wait for very long, after about 10 minutes we were called to the podium and a greeter took us to our table. Now, imagine the surprise when she showed us to the very same table we had been at for our 07 trip. We commented on it and sat down and soon after our server arrived with the Welcome Bread, and asked for drinks orders. We both ordered a Backscratcher, Light and Dark Rum, Passion Fruit Juice and finished with Jack Daniel’s – very yummy and two Diet Cokes. Soon after she had taken our order the Mixed greens with a honey-lime dressing were brought to our table and the salad was delicious as always. It was followed by the House Made Peanut Sauce, Chimichurri Sauce, Pineapple Sweet and Sour Sauce and the Pork Dumplings topped with a Pineapple Sweet and Sour Sauce.

Next were the Honey-Coriander Chicken Wings and the Vegetables, Broccoli and Sugarsnap Peas. Then the Asian Noodles arrived, followed by the skewers with Asian Barbecued Pork Loin, Marinated Sirloin Steak and the Mesquite Grilled Turkey. The table was SO full, but the food is just so good. They brought the Spicy Grilled Peel - n - Eat Shrimp after we had finished our meal, so we gave them a miss. There’s a reason to book that dinner again in September. After they had cleared the table they brought out dessert, the 'Ohana Bread Pudding served a la mode with Bananas and Caramel Sauce. Even though we were so full we dug into this delicious dessert. A little later we took the Monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. There was a little time left, so we went through the stores and rode the Peoplemover, before we staked out a spot for Wishes right on Main Street, which was absolutely packed. We waited for about 5 minutes until the fireworks started, and they were great!

The park closed after the fireworks and we left with the crowds, picked up the car from the parking lot and headed back to the resort. On the way there we passed Port Orleans Riverside and stopped there to pick up some Magic Cookie Bars for breakfast the next morning. To be honest, I started nibbling on them right after we had left the Riverside Mill. A short while later we arrived back at the resort and enjoyed a little TV before we went to sleep.