A day at EPCOT and a dinner at the Contemporary

With all these late nights we knew we needed to catch up on some more sleep and we did. We got out of the room by 10.30 and went over to EPCOT to have some breakfast/lunch there. We went to Sunshine seasons and before we had something to eat we picked up two Fastpasses for Soarin, then went to the food court where Tom had a Turkey and Muenster Cheese on Foccacia with Chipotle Mayonnaise Sandwich, while I had a Caesar Salad with Oak-fired Chicken. Both were very nice.

Since there was absolutely no line we went on Living with the Land, a ride that never fails to amaze me. We went over to ride Mission Space and Test Track and on the way back caught the last few minutes of the Muppets on Wheels – the new interactive Audio- animatronic in Epcot.We had never heard it was there after we had seen it a year ago in Anaheim, so this was a VERY pleasant surprise.

After that we went to Mexico and did the boatride there, then over to Norway to ride Maelstrom again. We slowly walked back to Futureworld and since we still had time before our Fastpass we went on Journey into Imagination again.

This time there was no line at all. When we left one of the Kodak kiosks was free, so we stopped, took a few photos and sent them as e-mails to our friends back home. Back to The Land to ride Soarin. Even with the Fastpass there was quite a line. I thought we might catch a glimpse of the new interactive games in the regular queue area but nope, there is a wall now, dividing the regular line from the Fastpass one.The line was moving very slowly and when we finally made it to the loading deck I was hoping (and willing to ask) for row 1. Soarin flies past all the destinations we have already been to in California and it is like going back to California for a few minutes. We got row 1 without asking. Yippiee!!

After that ride it was time to leave and get changed for another reservation at the California Grill! I love the food and view you have from up there and we usually go once every vacation, so this second reservation was a wonderful treat. (This is where the Disney Dining Experience comes in VERY handy!) We freshened up, relaxed for a while, then got ready to drive over to the Contemporary.

When we pulled up at Valet Parking, the dark clouds started rolling in. We checked in on the 2nd floor and were picked up almost immediately to go up to the restaurant. There were 3 small parties and we all had to wait for a while, so I asked if it was okay to go outside onto the walkways with the beeper they had handed us. 

And it was good we did. We took just a handful of photos when the first raindrops hit the Contemporary. Within a few minutes it was raining cats and dogs and the sky had turned completely dark grey. There were lots of thunder and lightning and you could tell by the sound that they were rather closeby. We were seated about another 10 minutes later at a table facing the Magic Kingdom, which was barely visible in the pouring rain.

As always we enjoyed our dinner. We had liked the BLT flatbread so much we ordered it again. The server Ron also brought out some warm sourdough bread with Olive Oil for dipping. 

Our main courses this time were Pacific Halibut - spring onions, Chanterelle mushrooms, crushed potatoes, and red wine reduction for Tom and the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta, Cremini Mushrooms, Zinfandel Glaze and Sage for me. Both were equally wonderful! Even though we were stuffed already we could not resist having dessert. I tried the Honey Crunch Cake with Chantilly Cream and Oven-roasted Golden Pineapple and Crunch Candy Crumble which was Inspired by "The Year of a Million Dreams"  and Tom tried the Blueberry Bliss - blueberry cream pie, blueberry mascato soup and creme fraiche cheese cake which was a sight all by itself!

We had some coffee and before we left handed another of our Disneyland Resort Paris Pins to Ron the server. He was so stunned. He stayed with us for quite some time before he went to give us one of his cards to call him should we ever have a problem with a reservation at the California Grill!

Fun fact – when we talked about where we live he told us that his mother was from Bavaria, only a short car ride away from where we live! It was still raining hard when we left, so we changed our plans for the evening again and went back to the hotel to pack up all of our things as we were to move to the All Star Movies Resort the next day.

On the way back to our room we walked past quite a big cockroach – a size we have never seen in Austria before – so that was another photo op! 

We did the packing and went to bed early – maybe we could get an early start the next day.