Murphy’s Law Takes Vacation — The World’s Longest Dream Review (Part Three)featured
**Warning — photo heavy!**
So we woke up at the Gaylord Palms around 8:00 am, which was a bit later than we wanted to given that we were switching hotels today. We grabbed breakfast (bagels and juice!) at one of the quick-service spots in the resort and ate underneath the (indoor) palm trees.
Here’s the thing: I’m pretty sure that the Gaylord Palms is the most photogenic resort I’ve ever been to (and probably will ever visit). I’m also pretty sure I’ve photographed every inch of this resort. That said, every time we stop here, I have to take a half hour and walk around the public areas with my camera and snap away. Why? I DON’T KNOW! I can’t help myself. Everything is just so pretty.
Mom, Stephanie and grandma were already in the car (which was already packed up) and their patience for my photographic exploration of a resort we visit on almost a yearly basis was wearing thin, so I packed my camera up and we made the short ride to our home for the next stretch of our trip: Port Orleans French Quarter (POFQ).
Prior to this visit, we’d only stayed in Disney Deluxe Resorts (The Grand Floridian, Contemporary and Bay Lake Towers), and I was a little hesitant about staying in a moderate resort. The deluxe resorts tend to have better transportation options (I love that monorail…) and attract quieter crowds. The moderate resorts are larger, more spread out, and the theming can be a little out there.
That said…the worries were for naught. I loved POFQ. We all did. The resort is smaller and everything was pretty close to each other (our room on the bottom floor of building six was right next to this lovely courtyard where they’d show movies at night, a stones throw from the launch to Downtown Disney, and a less-than-two-minute stroll from the pool and main building, which housed the lobby, shop, a lounge with live jazz music at night and the quick service restaurant, Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factor). The room was spacious enough for the four of us and the resort had a quiet peacefulness about it.
We had expected a wait for our room (when we stayed at Bay Lake Tower, our room wasn’t ready until later in the afternoon, and we had gone to check in to POFQ around 10:00 am), but it was ready and waiting for us when we checked in. So we took some time to get settled and check out our newest home.
Room 6120
Strolling around POFQ…
Before we set out for Magic Kingdom, we wanted to grab a quick snack before we left. Stephanie went for a cupcake. Mom, grandma and I split an order of six beignets. Now, I’ve never been to New Orleans, but I thought these were pretty flipping good. Soft and sweet and perfect for a morning snack, and only available (to my knowledge, anyways) in WDW at Sassagoula.
Cupcake — $2.29
Beignets — $4.29/6
Filled with sugar and eager to get to Magic Kingdom, we hopped in the car (free parking at the parks if you’re staying at a Disney resort — why would we take a bus?) and headed off to Magic Kingdom.
Ohhhhh goodness. Magic Kindgom? PACKED. More crowds than I can remember seeing in recent trips (in high-crowd times, no less). And crowds lessen my patience (which wears thin on a good day). I know, I know. You have to expect crowds at Disney World. And I expect them…I just don’t like them.
But what puts me in good moods, no fail? DOLE WHIP FLOATS. So I mostly got this baby so early in the day so I could text one of my coworkers and be all “How is work? OH LOOK AT ME IN DISNEY WORLD WITH THIS TROPICAL LOOKING DELICACY!” But also because it was super hot and we all needed cool-downs. We were on the Disney Dining Plan (free dining!), but we were saving our snack credits for Food and Wine Festival, so we paid out of pocket for these babies.
Pineapple Float (Vanilla, Pineapple, or Orange Dole Whip with Pineapple Juice) — $4.49
Stephanie and I rode Haunted Mansion, we took grandma for a couple rounds of It’s a Small World and…that’s pretty much as far as we got. Even Philharmagic had a *40* minute wait. Who’s going to wait 40 minutes to see Philharmagic? Stephanie, apparently. She wanted to wait, but really? Nuh uh. If it’s not walk on, it’s not worth it. So what did we do? We hauled ass out of Fantasyland, that’s what we did.
The other lands weren’t faring any better in terms of crowds, so we decided to go back to the hotel to rest for a bit before our dinner reservation.
I took a nap for a bit and we cooled off. Grandma was tired from the heat and wanted to stay at the hotel instead of going out again for a sit down dinner, so Stephanie, Mom and I headed out for our reservation at The Wave inside The Contemporary Resort.
First up? Get me something cold and refreshing STAT. Iced tea, it is…complete with one of those annoying paper straws (they’re good for the environment, but they’re awful to sip through). The Wave allows for smoothies to be ordered as the beverage on the dining plan, but I just needed something I could gulp en masse. Out with our beverages came some crusty, whole grain bread and some soft butter sprinkled with a coarse salt.
The most refreshing iced tea there ever was
Bread + Butter
Stephanie had the pork tenderloin, and while she didn’t think it was as good as the one she’d had at the California Grill a couple years ago, she still thought it was really tasty.
Locally Sourced Thompson Farms “Lacquered” Pork Tenderloin (on a bed of smoked and pulled pork with boniato bread pudding and corn succotash) — $22.99
Mom had the short ribs and while she thought they were good, she wished she ordered something else (she was pondering two or three entrees). I stole a bite and I thought they were nice and tender, and I really enjoyed the brussel sprouts (loveeeeee me those little green globes).
Cabernet-Tomato Braised Beef Short Ribs (with Stokies Farm purple sweet potatoes, cider-braised brussel sprouts and candied elephant garlic) — $29.99
Remembering the amazing filet I had here a couple years ago, I ordered the grilled beef tenderloin. The thing with The Wave is the menu changes seasonally, so if you have something and really enjoy it, the unfortunate fact of the matter is it likely won’t be there on your next visit. So while this filet was very good and probably still one of the best they serve in Disney World, it wasn’t as good as the one I’d had two years ago. Those crispy poblano rings though? Salivating at the thought of them.
Grilled Beef Tenderloin (with carrots, parsley root puree and crispy poblano chile rings) — $29.99
For dessert? We ordered one of each of the dessert “flights” they serve — I had the Creamy Indulgence (New York cheesecake with house-made seasonal fruit compote, Coffee creme brulee with chocolate biscotti and Olive oil-infused Chocolate Truffle Mousse), Mom had the American Flavors (Mississippi mud pie with vanilla bean ice cream, Key lime cube with fresh citrus whipped cream and Boston cream pie) and Stephanie went for the No Sugar Added Desserts (Vanilla bean creme brulee, Chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis and Sauteed seasonal fruit with vanilla panna cotta). All were fantastic and portioned perfectly for the end of a large meal.
Cost of dinner? Gratis. Bless you, free dining.
We headed back to the resort to check on grandma. She was still pooped from Magic Kingdom and the heat, so Stephanie and I ventured over to Downtown Disney to grab her some dinner to bring back to the resort. The ride to Downtown Disney from POFQ wasn’t more than 10 minutes and it was so quiet and peaceful, and it would make a great way to unwind from a long day.
Downtown Disney
We hit up Wolfgang Puck Express for grandma’s dinner. For the price of a counter service credit that we were gifted for free with our reservation (love you, free dining. Really.), grandma got a bottle of V8 Splash, some tasty meatloaf with mashed potatoes (which she loved!) AND cheesecake. Rock on, free dining.
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf (mashed potatoes, port wine sauce and crispy onion rings) — $15.00
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake — $5.00
They were showing The Nightmare Before Christmas in the small courtyard outside our room, so I sat out there and watched it for a bit while I caught up on the day’s news on my iPad.
Stephanie and I decided to head back to Magic Kingdom around 10:00 for extra magic hours. We took the car and parked at the TTC, and we hopped on the ferry right as Wishes was finishing up. The ferry launch is a great place to catch fireworks. They even pipe in the music!
The crowds, as expected, thinned out considerably after Wishes, and we were able to hit up most of the rides we wanted to get onto. We were required to flash our room keys at every ride (extra magic hours are confined to guests of WDW resorts), but it was worth it for the lessened crowds.
We probably only stayed for an hour, hour and a half, before we got tired and cranky and headed out. We hit up the McDonald’s drive through again for diet Cokes and iced tea’s and headed back to the hotel for showers and some much needed sleep. I say this in nearly every review, but I was already in need of a vacation from my pre-vacation vacation. As much fun as Disney is, it’s such an energy zapper, and our time here was really just beginning.
