Exploring the resort, a little bit of Epcot, Fulton’s and lots of fun at the Animal Kingdom

Wednesday already! We got up around 7am, got ready and headed out to Downtown Disney at around 8.45. The drive was short and we arrived there at around 9am. Breakfast at Wolfgang Puck’s Express was on the agenda. We were one of the first people there and were able to order with very little wait. Tom had some Diet Coke, while I had some of their delicious Organic Earl Grey Tea. Since it was Ash Wednesday we had decided on ordering dishes without meat and Tom got the Spinach, Mushroom, Mozzarella and Fontina Cheese Omelette, which he really liked. I ordered the Three Cheese and Tomato Fontina Omelette, which had Mozzarella, Goats Cheese and Fresh Basil.

 It is one of my favourite dishes to order there. Once we had finished our meal we walked through Downtown Disney and visited the Christmas Shop, the Art shop, and Goofy’s Candy Company, where we picked up a German Chocolate Cookie. Next stops were the Once Upon a Toy store, Ghirardelli’s for a chocolate sample and the World of Disney, where we did a little more shopping before we headed back to the car.

We drove over to Epcot and needless to say they were filling rows to the very end and we were to start a new row. No, thank you, too much walking for me, so we left and drove back in, but still were unlucky to find a spot any closer. So we decided to go back to the resort and spend a little more time there exploring this huge resort.

So after heading back to our room which was already made up when we came back we took our cameras and decided to walk around the resort. The hammocks were free, so we took some time and tried them, then went to the pool area which was deserted at that time of day. We noticed that Siesta’s, the pool bar was going to open at noon, so we decided to come back then to have a drink. We then walked back to the Main Building, El Centro and walked towards the Casitas.

There were lots of things to see and explore, so we took our time and took it all in. We walked around the lake to the Ranchos, which were so different from the Casitas and looked so inviting within all the huge cactuses and desert like surrounding. Our next stop was the pool area again and yippie, the pool bar was open and we climbed on a seat and got some drinks.

Tom had a Mojito, which was really good and I got a Pina Colada. We sat for a while and watched people going by, before it got to chilly in the shade, so we paid our bill and walked out into the sunshine. We found some deck chairs and sat in the sun for a while until we walked on over to the Cabanas where we stayed. By then we had finished our drinks and went back to the room for a little downtime and checking emails. Tom nibbled on some chips and dips and I tried my German Chocolate Cookie. By early afternoon we decided to go and check out a few more resorts, so we drove over to the Boardwalk, to pick up a sweet treat at the Boardwalk Bakery and to enjoy the resorts at Cresent Lake. When we walked down to the Boardwalk the boat to Epcot had just arrived and we decided to just hop on board and check how crowded Epcot was. It was a fun boat ride on the Friendship Boat and we were even able to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine and warm weather.

We arrived at Epcot and walked over to the turnstiles to find that from the look of it Epcot was not as crowded as we had expected, so we went inside. We walked through England and Canada and towards Future World, where we went on a few rides before we decided to have a snack before our dinner at Fulton’s that night. So we went over to Sunshine Seasons and Tom got an Oak Grilled Vegetable Flatbread Sandwich - with a side of potato salad.

There were plenty of grilled vegetables and some crumbled cheese and it really tasted nice. I got the Strawberry Shortcake, which is full of fragrant strawberries, whipped cream and a few layers of shortcake in between. It was a nice and relaxing break and after finishing our afternoon snack we went back outside and explored Mouse Gear before we started to walk around World Showcase and finally back to the International Gateway.

This time we  slowly walked back to the Boardwalk, stopped at the Boardwalk Bakery and picked up a piece of Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake for later and headed back to our car. We had still a little time to relax and get ready for dinner at Fulton’s Crab House at Downtown Disney, so we watched a little TV and went online for a while to check emails and our favourite sites. At 6.30 we headed out and over to Downtown Disney for our dinner at Fulton’s Crab House. We parked at the West Side and slowly walked over to Fulton’s where we arrived just in time to sign in. The reception area was full with people and we thought that we were in for a lengthy wait, but no, we were led to our table, a four top, right away. The greeter handed us our menus and the server was on hand in no time. She explained the menu and left us to decide and get our drinks. With the drinks she brought out some Crackers and Fulton’s Crab Boursin Spread. We both ordered our entrees and started trying the crackers and spread. They were wonderful!

 A short time later the server returned with some warm Sourdough Bread and Butter. It smelled and tasted wonderful and it was hard to stop nibbling on it. Finally our main courses came out. Tom had ordered Fulton's Crabhouse Seafood Trio - a taste of everything: perfectly seasoned wahoo, grilled shrimp and a super lump crab cake with basil cream and Yukon gold whipped potatoes. It was a huge helping and really wonderful.

I wanted to try a recommendation of my friends KatMark and MickeyNicki, the Alaska King Crab Claws - featuring the sweetest, firmest crab meat, served steamed with red skin potatoes. Since I had never tried crab claws before the server was nice enough to let me order a half order and even explained how to to properly eat them. They were sweet and yummy dipped in butter. Since I had only ordered a half order I had decided on ordering a side dish, Grilled Asparagus. This was prepared just right – the asparagus was still crunchy and had a nice taste from being grilled. Tom didn’t want dessert, so he ordered some Coffee which he enjoyed. I needed to get something for my sweet tooth, so I ordered the Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee - their classic milk chocolate custard, dusted with sugar and caramelized into a crispy candy glaze, topped with fresh berries. It was very nice, but just a bit too much.

So we settled the bill and headed back out to our car to drive over to Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours. It was already dark when we entered, but there were still a lot of people in the park. We walked through the park and got in line for Expedition Everest, the line was shorter than expected and we got in line again right away. After that we went over to Camp Mickey Minnie to watch the Festival of the Lion King.

The theatre wasn’t even half full, but the performances of the Cast Members was just outstanding. We really enjoyed the show. After the show we walked back to Expedition Everest to ride it two more times before we decided to call it a day and head back to the resort. We arrived at the resort at 9.30 and checked emails and watched a little TV before we fell in bed and went right to sleep.