WDW Trip Report - Day 1 Dining - Let's Just Walk Over There!

If you recall from our pre-trip report, Kyle and I ended up with some very odd meal times.  Day 1 of our trip we had both been awake since around 4 or 5 am (at least), and dinner was at 8:30 pm!  We were both exhausted, so we decided to take a leisurely Monorail ride over to the Contemporary Resort.  I went to Walt Disney World for Thanksgiving in 2010, and all of the Christmas decorations were up, but I did not take time to go see other resorts, so I was ecstatic when Kyle said we could go see some of them this time!

If I had to choose a Deluxe Resort to stay at, I would most likely pick the Contemporary.  The clean lines and upscale, modern decor speak to me.  The Monorail running through the resort?  Well, that just adds a whole other layer of awesome on top!


Blurry but neat! This giant wreath was on the outside of the resort.

 The Contemporary is just outside of the Magic Kingdom.  Instead of doing a gingerbread house, the do a gingerbread tree.



Gingerbread Tree

 I don't know about every year's theme, but this year, at least, the gingerbread tree and its surroundings paid homage to Mary Blair's art from the it's a small world attraction in Magic Kingdom.  The Blair designed mosaic mural was just around the corner from this fabulous Christmas tree! Her style is so recognizable and sweet.


It's a Small World kiddos

 We took a quick trip over to the gift shop for some Christmas presents, and then we decided it was time to head to Magic Kingdom to catch the boat to Fort Wilderness to eat at the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue.

A little background: I put on a brand new pair of Crocs before I got on the plane that morning, and my little toe on one of my feet felt like it was about to fall off.  I was mostly quietly limping along, but I was about to die.  I also had a really painful blister showing up on the ball of the other foot. Obviously those were NOT the shoes to wear, but what could I do at that point?

Kyle suggested that instead of waiting for the Monorail, we just walk to Magic Kingdom to catch the boat.  I hesitantly agreed and off we trudged across the parking lot.  About 20 yards out, I wanted to die. Kyle kept having to fall back and wait on me, and I was sure my feet would fall off before I'd make it to the boat.  Next time anyone suggests we "just walk over there" instead of take the Monorail, I'm waving goodbye as they walk away!

Fast forward to Fort Wilderness. We got there with plenty of time to spare, checked out yet another gift shop, and sat down to watch some kids play with hoola-hoops and check our 3DS systems. Yes, we had handheld gaming systems in our pockets the whole time which were a blast and a half when we got StreetPass hits on them!

I think the worst part of the trip happened this night (for me at least).  You all know that Kyle and I are just travel buddies and besties, right? Well, they make you take a photo before the dinner and show, and some photographers like to assume that any man and woman that are together are a couple.  Talk about awkward poses and forced smiles! Needless to say, we did NOT buy those photots!

Awkwardness aside, when we walked into the Hoop Dee Doo Revue, I was blown away by the inside of the hall! It was tastefully decked out for Christmas and enormous! We were seated right next to the pianist and banjo player. We could have seriously had a conversation with them if we wanted to.


The bison kept staring at me. It was a bit unnerving!



Kyle debating playing a pre-dinner tune for us!



My phone was ONLY out for pictures, promise!



I really wanted to pick up the phone!

  The food came out family style, but instead of giving us ridiculously large buckets (although ours were large), they had 2-person sized pails which were pretty neat.  Dinner was cornbread, a yummy salad, baked beans, corn, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken.  My "don't get sick again" plan was simply this: taste everything until you start to not feel hungry and then immediately stop eating, so I ate like a bird most of the trip, but what I ate was soooooo good!  The chicken was moist but crispy.  The salad was fresh, and the sides were delicious!  Don't even get me started on the strawberry shortcake!  A dessert that comes out to the tune of its very own song?  I can definitely get behind that!  I could have eaten this meal again and again!



I want to serve food in these pails at home!



 The performance was wonderful!  The actors were hilarious, and the Davy Crockett skit that they performed was by far my favorite.  Kyle had talked this up as a ton of fun, and he was spot on.  It was a great night both from the food and entertainment!  Did I mention that that the Sangria came with the meal and with refills?  By the end of the night we were both a bit giggly, but what's more fun that laughing with a good friend?



I let Kyle play the washboard at the end of the night. :) 

 When we finally made it back "home", we were both about ready to pass out.  After unpacking a bit, I had one more surprise for Kyle before we went to bed. Those of you whole follow us on Twitter might have noticed that Kyle was a little bummed that the room he rents didn't have space for a Christmas tree.  I, however, have two Christmas trees: one for my apartment and a small one for my classroom, so I packed one for him to get to decorate. Sadly the only ornaments I had were diamonds and disco balls, but I think he had fun decorating his surprise nonetheless!


Didn't he do a good job? We turned it on whenever
we were in the room. :)

 After the tree was up and trimmed, we started our nightly ritual: heads hitting the pillows and passing out until morning! There was no chatting until wee hours, we were exhausted! It's a good feeling to hit the pillow at night knowing you've played hard and had an awesome day.

Next post you'll get to join us in Magic Kingdom and then Epcot as we head over to eat at Teppan Edo and to see Neil Patrick Harris at the Candlelight Processional.  Lots of surprises happen in Day 2 that make it memorable to say the least!