From Old Key West to the Alligator Bayou, from Mexico to Norway and a final stop in Africa

This was our last full day together with our friends. We had decided on picking them up from their resort in the late morning, so we had a leisurely breakfast on our balcony before we headed out to meet our friends. We love the Port Orleans Riverside Resort, but had never been to the Alligator Bayou rooms. Since Mary Ellen and Joe stayed in one there was a chance to visit those rooms.

It was nice to actually explore a new part of this resort and Mary Ellen even had one of the “Future Stay” Flyers in her room. We were going to book stays with this promotion – free dining is just too good to pass up. So once we had done our “inspection” we headed out to the parking lot and Tom put the top of the car down, we all got in and off we went to Epcot.

Once we had got past the turnstiles we had a few Photopass photos taken and then went on Spaceship Earth.

We all love this ride and especially the movie of your future at the end. At around midday we decided to head over to World Showcase and sample the food in some different countries for lunch. First we all agreed on Mexico. There were enough tables available and Tom and I decided to share a Counter Service Credit and so did Mary Ellen and Joe.

They got the Cantina Burrito - soft flour tortillas filled with beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, black refried beans, sour cream and Adobo Sauce. Tom and I ordered the Cantina Nachos - tortilla chips, beef, cheese, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, sour cream, and black refried beans. It was quite a large helping and definitely enough for the two of us to share and it was pretty tasty too. There is not much choice in what you can get for dessert, so we got a churro and this one was really fresh and hot and soft. After that we went to the Mexico Pavillion, checked out the merchandise and enjoyed the feeling and went on the boat ride. After that we went on to Norway and decided to find out what the Kringla Bakeri og Café had to offer. We wanted to share another Counter Service Credit and as we found out that included a freshly toasted sandwich, we chose a Ham and Cheese Sandwich and either a soup or a salad.

We ordered a Salad and then we chose a Sweet Pretzel with Chocolate and a large diet coke, which we shared. Mary Ellen and Joe chose the same and got  an Almond Pretzel. After our nice lunch we headed inside the Norwegian Pavillion and on the boat ride. We skipped the movie at the end headed outside again. By then it was time for us to head back to our resort to chill before we headed over to Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours and our dinner at Sanaa.

We arrived a little before the park started Extra Magic Hours and since there were still longer lines at all the rides we wanted to ride we went to the little path that runs up to the Tree of Life.

We took a lot of photos and tried to spy as many animals as possible. Once we had walked the whole path we went inside to the “It’s Tough To Be A Bug” show. We waited for a bit and then enjoyed the show. After that we walked over to Expedition Everest and found out that there were FastPasses available, so we picked one up and went over to the Kilimanjari Safaris. There was really little wait before we were able to get on the ride vehicle.

We had a fun driver who pointed out more than just the animals and made us all laugh several times, as he really got into the act.

After the Safari we walked over to Dinosaur and got in line there. The line looked a bit longer but we actually got onto the ride within 10 minutes. After that ride we were finally able to use our Expedition Everest Fastpass. We love this ride and after we had done it we got into the standby line. It said 25 minutes, but we were on the ride within 15 minutes. So once we got off we got in line for a third time.

We even waited to ride in the front of the train, the view is just breathtaking from there. After we had ridden it three times we decided to call it a day and leave the park. We waited for the tram and were finally back at our car. It is a very short drive over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Kidani Village and were happy to find out that we could park “under” the actual resort building and we even found a spot right close to the elevator.

There was a really long trek to the actual restaurant and we thought we would never find it. But luckily we did make it in the end. We signed in and were handed a buzzer and told that we could go outside to the Savannah to watch the animals until our table was ready. So we did what we were told, we went outside and watched the animals and took a good look at the new resort. Once our buzzer went off we went inside and were led to our table.

The restaurant was quite a sight and our table was towards the middle of the restaurant. Our server was quite talkative and explained the menu and drinks, then took our order for Diet Cokes and gave us some time to have a good look at the menu and decide what to order. First we decided to order another drink. Tom had the African Starr Mojito - Starr African Rum, Van der Hum Tangerine Liqueur from South Africa, fresh mint and lime.

I ordered the Kande Coconut Cooler – a refreshing combination of Starr African Rum, coconut, vanilla ice cream and orange juice. Both were very much appreciated. We loved the Hidden Mickey in the middle of the table and enjoyed taking in the restaurant while we were waiting for our appetizer. We had decided to share the Sampler for Two - Potato and Pea Samosas, Pulled Duck with Red Curry Sauce, Roasted Cauliflower. It was so good. I had most of the Cauliflower and would have been very happy with just that as my main meal. For my main course I ordered the Slow Cooked in Gravy, Simple and Well Seasoned, Shrimp with Green Curry Sauce and Beef Short Ribs served with Basmati Rice.

Even though the bowls looked small, this was quite a huge serving. I had trouble finishing it all, but it was very good. Tom wanted to try the Tandoori Lamb Chops, which were cooked to perfection and to die for. Needless to say we needed to try dessert as well, even though we were quite full already. I chose the Cardamom-Butter Cake, Orange Supreme with Saffron Syrup, a recommendation from our server and she was so right. This was absolutely delicious. Tom had the Chai Cream and loved every spoonful of it. Once we had finished it all and settled our bill we hiked all the way back to our car and were now even more happy we had parked under a roof since it was raining.

We drove back to Old Key West and sat out on our balcony for a while enjoying the evening and talking about this day’s event before we went to bed.