La Nouba

Well, today we slept really late and just made it to the food court in time to pick up a very late breakfast. We both had the Adult Breakfast Platter - Scrambled eggs, potatoes, biscuit, sausage and bacon. Even though it was nearly 11am and breakfast nearly over, the food court was packed.

Shortly after 12 we picked up Mary Ellen and her family and went over to MGM. We had more Photopass Photos done on Hollywood Boulevard. Then we strolled through the shops and went over to Tower of Terror.Joe offered to pick up Fastpasses for Rock’n’Rollercoaster and was back with us in no time. We got in line for Tower of Terror and it was a nice short wait to “check in”. Mary Ellen doesn’t like this hotel, so she checked out again, before she had to board the elevator. The rest of us rode and had a lot of fun, sitting front row.We then went to see the little Mermaid and the Magic of Disney Animation in the Animation Courtyard.

We even spent a lot of time in the art shop there. Next was Rock’n’Rollercoaster. We showed Mary Ellen the Hidden Mickey in the room where you “meet” Aerosmith and then watched a few cars speed out before it was our turn to ride.When we wanted to leave it had started to rain, so we all put on our ponchos and went over to the Great Movie Ride. Another fun ride for all of us.By then it was time to leave MGM and drive over to Epcot for our dinner reservation at Le Cellier.

We parked the car at the Yacht Club and had a look around their shop where I found one of the yearly figurines they do. Had to buy it and while in line I overheard a conversation of the CM at the till and a guest. The girl was on an international collage programme and it was her last day, actually her last 30 minutes. She was leaving the next morning. When I noticed her name tag and saw that she came from France I knew she was another candidate for a DLRP pin! After she had wrapped my figurine and handed me my change I handed her the pin and told her it was from her home country and that she herself was now awarded a Magical Moment! You could tell that she was very moved when she reached over to give me a hug! 

After hugging me another CM came over and she told her about being given the pin and having HER Magical Moment! We then went over to the International Gateway and made our way over to Canada. We were shown to a very nice table within a few minutes and enjoyed the atmosphere. Then we enjoyed the food!!

Starters were the Beef and Barley Soup - rich beef broth and fresh vegetables for Joe, Kristy chose the Steakhouse Caesar - romaine lettuce, parmesan-black pepper crisp, sour dough croutons, creamy Caesar dressing, Tom had the Shrimp Cocktail - wasabi slaw and horseradish chili sauce and Mary Ellen and I had the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - smoked bacon and Moosehead beer. They all were delicious!

Mary Ellen, Kristy, Tom and I all ordered the Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - Baby Bella wild mushroom risotto, white truffle and herb butter sauce, topped with fried parsnips while Joe went for the 14 oz. New York Strip Steak - with roasted Yukon gold potatoes. Everything was so wonderful! Then we still had to decide on dessert!

Kristy decided on the Campfire S'mores - chocolate graham crackers and roasted marshmallows with vanilla ice cream, while Joe just had plain Vanilla ice-cream. Mary Ellen tried the Cherry Shortcake - cherry-almond cake topped with housemade lavender ice cream and almond brittle. Tom ordered the Chocolate on Chocolate Whiskey Cake - chocolate cake brushed with Canadian whiskey, layered with chocolate mousse, finished with tarragon anglaise, topped with a chocolate curl and I had the Creme Brulee Sampler - Maple Creme Brulee with caramelized maple sugar and cinnamon whipped cream; vanilla bean creme brulee with caramelized maple sugar and vanilla whipped cream. We really enjoyed our meal there! Thank you Disney for Free Dining!!

It was time for us to leave Epcot and get back to the resort to get changed for the Cirque du Soleil, La Nouba. Another first for Mary Ellen, Joe and Kristy. Tom and I had been the year before and loved it so much. So when Disney offered a 25% discount for AP holders we all decided to go and see it.

We picked up our friends at their resort at 8pm and drove over to Downtown Disney. Joe treated us all to Popcorn and soft drinks in souvenir buckets and cups.

We then enjoyed the pre-show and were happy not to be in the seats that are made part of the show.

We all LOVED the show. It is one of the most amazing shows we have ever seen. There is so much going on that you always have the feeling of missing something while you watch one performer.

Those 90 minutes just went by in no time. We later spoke about how we saw things we never caught the first time around and it was fun to listen to what Mary Ellen, Joe and Kristy had seen and we had missed. We were in a really good mood, so we decided to try to get some ice-cream at Ghirardelli’s. We arrived just before they closed and still were able to order our ice-creams. Joe had hot fudge sundae, Kristy had a soda, Tom had some water and Mary Ellen and I ordered the hot caramel sundae. What a way to end a perfect day.

While enjoying our ice-creams we decided to skip to go to Animal Kingdom for opening the next morning and instead would meet a little later to visit  Epcot instead.

At around midnight we took Mary Ellen and family back to French Quarter, then made our way over to ASMovies and tried to catch some sleep.