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Old 10 Nov 19, 08:07 PM  
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tracey1302
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tracey1302's Reviews
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Disney with the Dufflers - Take 2 - Jul 2019 - Day 9 - Bon Voyage Breakfast/Golf + California Grill

Pre-Trip Report

Day 0 - Monday 1st July 2019 - Overnight at the Radisson Blu, Manchester Airport

Day 1 - Tuesday 2nd July 2019 - Travel day and arrival at Sapphire Falls

Day 2 - Wednesday 3rd July 2019 - Universal Studios and Hard Rock Cafe

Day 3 - Thursday 4th July 2019 - Islands of Adventure, Bahama Breeze and Bar 17 @ Aventura

Day 4 - Friday 5th July 2019 - Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure and our move to CSR

Day 5 - Saturday 6th July 2019 - Magic Kingdom and 'Ohana

Day 6 - Sunday 7th July 2019 - Pool day, Disney Springs and The Boathouse

Day 7 - Monday 8th July 2019 - Epcot and Tutto Italia

Day 8 - Tuesday 9th July 2019 - Typhoon Lagoon, Dahlia Lounge and Blaze

Day 9 - Wednesday 10th July 2019 - The Florida Open, Bon Voyage Breakfast and California Grill

Today was a big day. Perhaps the biggest day of our holiday for the boys. Today was the day of the Florida Open 2019.

At Christmas 2018, Neil and I had had the trophy made.



Sam, Mark and Neil had taken golf lessons over the last six months, to varying levels of success.

The boys set off early for their tee off time of 9.30am. As I can't really comment on the order, or what happened, here are some pictures of the boys in action...





Neil, apparently practising his swing.









Mark, Sam and Martin set off together, followed by Neil and OB. I've asked Neil just now for a few anecdotes and he has provided the following.

First tee off, Mark hit the ball with gusto... and it went about five yards. Second ball, another five yards. It was at least six hits before it actually went anywhere meaningful.

This apparently gave Neil the confidence to get his driver out to really go for it... First hit, he smashed it way left. He also lost the ball.

Needless to say, the golf lessons I got for Neil for Christmas were a waste of money...



First place: OB (predictably)
Second place: Sam
Third place: Martin
Fourth place: Mark
Fifth place: Neil

Better luck next time, darling!

A far more civilised affair, us girls were headed to Epcot that morning as we had a 10.30am ADR at Trattoria Al Forno. We were going to have breakfast with Rapunzel, Flynn, Ariel and Eric

We had the usual problems getting into Epcot, unfortunately. Not enough people on bag check, a bit chaotic in organisation.



After about twenty minutes wait, we powered through the turnstiles and headed for the Boardwalk.



Going through the International Gateway was great as we were able to have a really good nosy at the new Skyliner station. They were running when we were there, just with no guests!





In no time at all, we had arrived at the lovely Trattoria Al Forno. There were loads of little princesses about in Rapunzel outfits, it was dead cute



I had heard great things about this breakfast, and me and Mum proper love Tangled (and especially Flynn Rider! ) so it was all very exciting for us. We were not disappointed - it was brilliant!

On our table as we sat down was a lovely pastry selection, served in a frying pan... of course.



These were absolutely gorgeous!

We were also impressed that the table service credit included a breakfast cocktail for us ladies.





There was plenty of character interaction as well, and we got some fabulous pictures.







And the absolute creme de la creme...



The food was genuinely fantastic as well. I shamefully couldn't see past the steak... it was incredible. Those crispy onions and potatoes were to die for!



I would not hesitate to recommend this breakfast to anyone. The food was great, the service was great and the character interaction was brilliant. Perfect for Rapunzel and Ariel fans. Us ladies were more bothered about the Princes But it was just a really wonderful meal. I would do it again in a heart beat!

After this, we had planned to wander around Epcot for a bit and meet some characters. Given that Mum is basically Mary Poppins, the UK was our very first stop. She had a right ol' chat with us - what an absolute diamond. Mutti was proper thrilled.





After this, I had booked us in on a FP to go on the Frozen ride, but to my absolute dismay, it was down when we headed over to Norway So, I still haven't been on this! One day! However, determined to make the most of our girly time, me and Mum headed in to meet Anna and Elsa. It was only a ten minute wait

The detail in the hut where you meet them is just beautiful.



And the two of them were absolutely delightful. What a treat this was.





After a truly wonderful time in Epcot, we headed back to CSR, as the boys had told us that they were done, but we didn't know who had won at this point!

We arrived back at CSR in no time, and finally found out the score! I returned to the room and Neil was in a sulk about his abysmal performance but was, thankfully, able to laugh it off!

We chilled out by the pool and in rooms for the rest of the afternoon and we met at the Casitas bus stop at 4pm, ready to head over to MK for what we were sure would be an incredible evening meal: the California Grill

We got on a bus to MK and headed for the monorail quickly.



I couldn't help myself taking this picture. A vow renewal one day, hubby? Maybe? If we rob a bank?



Before we went up to the California Grill, as we were a little early, we actually had a drink in the Outer Rim Lounge. It was okay in terms of drinks, but very dated. You sort of get the feeling that it hasn't changed since the 1970s as the carpet is just... very 1970s.

Great view though!



The whole of the Contemporary looks to be undergoing renovation, we actually had to go down a fire escape to get onto the Concourse from the monorail station I'm sure it will look great when it's done!

In no time at all, however, it was time to go up to one of our favourite ever restaurants. I'd made the reservation for 9, in the hope that we would get the same table as last time, and with a little tear from most of us, our wish was granted.



This truly has got to be the best seat in the house. The gang insisted that me and hubby sit by the window, and this was my view.



We ordered some Veuve Clicquot champagne, which was astonishingly included as our 'drink' on the dining plan. Ah, I love this 'included alcoholic drink thing'

Uncle Mark also went to town on Megan's 'included' cocktail, ordering some sort of brandy situation.

We got some great pictures.





The golfing boys...



Best buddies...



And of course, the food. This meal, predictably, was absolutely outstanding. The service was second to none, the food and drink were just phenomenal, and the location, for me, just can't be beaten. It really can't!

Neil had the sushi special that he had LOVED on our honeymoon trip.



And I gave the Goat's Cheese Ravioli another go. I enjoyed this much more than I had on our honeymoon. It was DIVINE.



Having shamefully already had steak that day, I decided to go for the Pork with Goat's Cheese Polenta. Holy crap, this was absolutely STUNNING. Melt in the mouth gorgeous.



Neil had a steak which I think was actually his first steak of the holiday. Sensational.



And then, of course, the Valrhona Chocolate Cake. This was ordered by quite a few of us



Everybody's food, drinks and service were just absolutely amazing, and we would, of course, expect nothing less. I have never had anything but first class service from the California Grill. It's just out of this world.

After dinner, we went out, actually onto the back terrace, to have some pictures. We had never been onto the back terrace before and we really like that you could see more of Bay Lake and Epcot, as well as all of the amazingness of Magic Kingdom. On this picture, to the right, you can also see Gran Destino Tower



Me in my happy place.



We were all in really high spirits after this meal... as you can probably tell by these pictures. It really was superb.





After this, a few of us got changed as we were actually heading back into MK... it was EMH...

Last time we'd been all as a group in 2014, we hadn't really needed to use EMH, but Mark, Debsy and Megan had gone back into MK and got on loads of rides so we thought we'd give it a try this time. Not to mention that me and Neil had done MK at night on our honeymoon and loved it.

So, we headed back over to MK.



MK is so pretty at night, it really is...



However, unfortunately MK was also... really really busy.

In one of my only errors of the entire holiday, as we had nearly an hour to kill before the HEA fireworks were due to start, I stupidly suggested that we go on a ride... POTC. What an idiot.

a) The ride was dull as dishwater. It really needs sorting ASAP. It was worse than I remembered. Our lack lustre response is very evident in the ride photo What it needs... is to be the one in Shanghai. I don't ask for much.



b) Our stupid venture in the Caribbean had left us with zero options for fireworks viewing. Literally zero. I was devastated as I'd planned for us to watch the fireworks, and obviously, for the first time, in front of the Castle. We ended up seeing one eighth of the Castle. The rest was covered by trees. But we heard all of the music.

Nightmare.

First time seeing HEA: heard the music but were too far away from the castle.

Second time seeing HEA: close to the castle, heard the music, but didn't see a thing.

Don't worry, this story has a happy ending, on the last night Spoiler alert!

Anyway, determined not to waste our time in MK, we decided to head over to Tomorrowland to try and get on Buzz. The weather, however, had other ideas.

As we were heading over to Tomorrowland, the heavens opened. I have never seen rain like it. It came down in sheets and the NOISE from the thunder and lightning was unlike anything we'd ever heard. It was crazy.

Megan was really scared, so we decided to try and take shelter in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.



My score on this was pitiful... thank God I'm still good on TSM!

When we emerged, the rain had somehow got worse, so we had to stay in the Buzz Lightyear shop. It didn't look like it was letting up any time soon, and Megan really was quite frightened.

So, Mum, Martin, Mark, Debsy, Sam and Megan decided to head back and me, Neil and OB decided to stay behind and wait out the storm.

We went on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover, which was actually great. We got some great views of the Castle.



But the best bit was that we managed to get on Space Mountain! It said the queue was, I think, 40 minutes, but it was basically a walk on. This was an absolutely brilliant experience and I was really pleased we'd stayed in the park so that our day ended on a high!



Neil, on this photo, says he was doing his 'trying to kill the wife' pose. I think he just looks like he's trying to be the Incredible Hulk.

A fantastic day with a simply incredible meal... and we still hadn't seen Toy Story Land or Pandora... so in so many ways, the best was yet to come!

Day 10 - Le Cellier, Hollywood Studios and Fantasmic is here.

Edited at 03:55 PM.
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