Happy 40th to me *Live from the bubble*

First things first, thanks everyone for all the advice leading up this trip. So far (and it's only day 2) it has been amazing. Knocked a couple things off my MUST DO list and I am still adding more!

I don't sleep much and so I figured I would just work on the TR while I am here. I mean why not! LOL

So with out further ado.....

Day 1 Saturday

After being disappointed that we were not leaving to drive half way on Friday night, I was bound and determined to be up EARLY and on our way. Well, for the first time in I don't know how long, I slept past 4:30am... It was almost 6 when I got up and I had wanted to be on the road at 5...

We loaded the rest of the things in the car, it started pouring Friday night and stopped us from doing it then. We headed out and I asked why we were going the way we were because of course the other way thru town is shorter so we turned around and back tracked a bit... Of course Joe had not filled up the car so after a stop at the gas station and we were on our way, until... he stopped for breakfast. I was a bit anxious and irritated at this point.

Finally we were on 95 and I was starting to lighten up a bit and smile and laugh. I was joking with Joe telling him I was going to play Disney music all the way down and he didn't like that idea one bit lol. Traffic was pretty light for a Saturday, we got thru Jacksonville with no problem. I was a little concerned seeing as it was the day of the World's Largest Cocktail Party but no issues. (for those of you not familiar, Florida and Georgia play football at a neutral site in Jacksonville every year and it received the aforementioned moniker due to all the drinking). After a couple potty stops for me we finally made it to Orlando!!!

I was so excited at this point I could not keep still... I had the phone out ready to take pics of the welcome sign like 25 minutes before we got to it.

We got to Pop around 12:00. The first WELCOME HOME from the gate guard got me and I teared up, This will be an on going theme you will see. We parked and the place was packed. Luckily we were 3rd in the check in line. I did the online check in and while we waited a lovely lady name Li came over with her iPad and did the rest. We didn't even go to the counter. And guess what??? I room was ready! Smooth and easy!

The room of course is kinda sparse,table with 2 chairs, bed, entertainment center with TV and mini fridge. But hey it's a Value Resort so I wasn't expecting much. We aren't in the room much so it really doesn't bother me. I slept like a rock last night, they bed was perfectly comfortable for me and I had like 5 pillows!!!

We dropped off all of our bags and headed to Everything Pop for lunch since I didn't eat and Joe's breakfast had worn off long ago. I got the BBQ Sandwich with slaw (no cheese) and the Sweet AND Spicy BBQ sauce. Joe got the Brisket Sandwich. We both got the chips. Everything was great! I was actually a little surprised. I mean, it's a value food court but we ate everything and was making the ohhhh faces when we took our first bites. The chips were perfectly cooked and I could eat those by the pile! We got Tye Dye Cheesecake and Dirt and Worms for dessert. I didn't know the cheesecake had a cake bottom (red velvet we decided) but it was a great touch!!! I also got my first pair of ears while we were down there!

After lunch SOMEONE wanted a nap... So too the room we went, he slept a little over an hour and I played on the computer (thank goodness I brought it). When he woke up and checked his Facebook, he saw that some of our friends were here (It's a Small World After All). We got ready for dinner and headed to The Contemporary!

California Grill reservations were at 7:10. We got there about 6ish. Checked in, got on the elevator and up we went. The doors opened to WINE!!!! and my pager went off. I thought it was a fluke but they had us a table ready! (the girl just told the couple in front of up who had 7:15 ADR that they would have to wait????) I handed Michelle our pager, she wished me a happy birthday and whisked us off to our table. We were not directly by the window but one table away. We had a perfect view of the Castle and Space Mountain. And there was Mickey confetti all over the table!

I started with a Mai Tai and Joe had his usual Crown and 7 with a lime. Appetizer was Yuzu-Marinated Sashimi oh WOW is all I can say about this dish. The shashimi melted in your mouth and the flavors! And of course, don't forget the bread. I really loved the crunch the sea salt added to the butter!We hemmed and hawed over what we wanted for our entrees. I had it narrowed down to ALL OF THEM and Joe narrowed his down to two. As much as we eat and try, he seemed hesitant for some reason his words were "there is one thing on each entree that I'm not sure about." Really, just try it! I ended up with the Jumbo Scallops and Joe had the Bison Tenderloin, he wasn't sure about the brussel sprouts but ended up eating them all. See, point proven!!! They were both delicious. Scallops were perfectly seared and the Sweet Corn Succotash was a perfect accompaniment. The Bison was perfectly cooked to his liking and was so tender.... drool... We both cleared our plates and anxiously awaited dessert menus. I got the Warm Homemade Fritters and Joe had the Chocolate Pudding Cake. Our server also brought out a treat of the Sundae Sampler for us to share. The fritters were warm and perfectly dusted with cinnamon sugar, my favorite dip was the salted caramel, I could have just a bowl of that stuff with a spoon. The Pudding Cake was ok to me, I'm not a huge chocolate fan but Joe loved it. The Sundae Sampler was great. Our favorite was Frangelico Toffee! In all it was a wonderful experience from beginning to end. Although there are MANY MANY places I want to try in the future this will be on my return list!

After dinner we hopped on the Monorail over to the Polynesian to meet up with our friends who came down for an impromptu weekend. We met them at Tambu Lounge and I got my Lapu Lapu. WOW that is an amazing drink. We stayed long enough for one drink and hopped back to the Contemporary for fireworks from the top... Let me tell you, it was COLD AND WINDY but I refused to watch from inside. This was on my must do list and I was not going to miss it. It was the perfect way to end the day! We finished our drinks at the bar and headed down the elevator to head back to Pop. There was another couple in there with us, as the elevator got to the lobby and opened, Peter Pan went running by at full speed. None of us moved... I said "was that Peter Pan" and the other girl said "I'm not the only one who saw that? RIGHT??" It was so funny. He was taking pics in the lobby but there was a family following him and they were taking tons of pics.

Made it back to the room safe and sound and pretty much passed out. I was told in the morning that I was snoring loud and steady within 5 minutes of laying down!