WDW Summer 2013 - Day 13

We have now reached the penultimate full day of our vacation, day 13.

So what did today bring us?  Well it started off with a boat trip across Bay Lake to the Contemporary Resort...

Waiting for the boat at Wilderness Lodge dock

...so that we could hop aboard a monorail to the Polynesian Resort...but why? Two words...

TONGA TOAST!!!

At Capt. Cooks enjoying our breakfast of Tonga Toast - yummy!!!!

So for anyone who doesn't know what Tonga Toast is let me explain.  It's a THICK slice of sourdough bread that is stuffed with bananas, deep fried and then coated in cinnamon sugar and it is AMAZING!! We chose to visit Capt. Cooks and had breakfast there but you could, if you wanted, push the boat out and eat at the Kona Cafe but as we had the Quick Service Dining Plan we were more than happy with Capt. Cooks. It also reminded Simon and I of the year we first stayed in a Disney Resort (Port Orleans French Quarter) and on our first morning we had breakfast here at Capt. Cooks, although back then we were unaware of the lure of the Tonga Toast!  But from now on this will be a must do for all of us.

After we had stuffed our faces we decided to have a wander around the Polynesian and soak up the atmosphere...

A little shopping!!

Enjoying the beautiful surroundings

We then hopped back onto the monorail and headed off in the direction of Epcot.  We decided to head over to the World Showcase with a little detour first to get Fastpasses for Test Track later in the day.  We headed over to The American Adventure and were lucky enough to catch a performance by the Voices of Liberty; this is one of my favourite attractions and a must do every trip.  We were lucky enough to do the Backstage Magic tour a number of years ago that took you behind the scenes at The American Adventure which really gives you an appreciation of all that is involved with an attraction like this.

Beautiful day at Epcot

As it was now about lunch time we headed to one of our favourite counter service restaurants - Katsura Grill in the Japan pavilion.

Enjoying lunch at Katsura Grill in the Japan pavilion

After lunch saw the kids partaking in yet some more Phineas & Ferb: Agent P's World Showcase Adventure.  This time we headed to the United Kingdom pavilion, although the kids were rather perplexed at the choice of tea during one of the clues...chai tea...mmm perhaps not our choice for a typical British tea!!

Kids playing Phineas & Ferb in the UK pavilion and being somewhat perplexed by the choice of tea!!

And of course whilst in the United Kingdom they just had to have their photo taken in the traditional red telephone box...after all the chances of finding an operational one in the actual United Kingdom are few and far between.  We do have one where we live but it has been turned into a tourist information point and has leaflets and maps on the surrounding area but no telephone!

When in Epcot!! Only chance we Brits get to experience one of these nowadays.

It was then time to head over to Future World and use our Fastpasses for Test Track followed by a ride on 'The Seas with Nemo and Friends'.  We had a quick walk through Innoventions before making our way over to The Land pavilion and Sunshine Seasons for a spot of something to eat, which for me consisted of some lovely grilled salmon and strawberry shortcake - yummy!

Inside the Land Pavillion, looking down onto Sunshine Seasons

We then took the monorail from Epcot to the TTC (Transportation & Ticket Centre) and then over to the Magic Kingdom.  It was 'Extra Magic Hours' this evening and the park would be open until 3.00am!!!

Arriving at the Magic Kingdom, all decorated for Halloween!!

One thing we had not yet tried but that was on my 'to do' list was the cinnamon roll over at Gaston's Tavern. Now previously the Main Street Bakery had been THE place for cinnamon rolls but since the re-vamp and Starbucks take over the rolls had been removed from the menu but had emerged on the menu at Gaston's Tavern in New Fantasyland.  They were as yummy as ever but I swear they've grown in size!!

Now THAT'S a cinnamon roll!!

Had to take some photos of the inside of Gaston's Tavern because the theming inside here (and all of new Fantasyland) is fantastic!

Even at 6 foot 2'' Ethan couldn't fill this chair!

Interior decoration Gaston style

The rest of the evening was spent with a ride on the Haunted Mansion and plenty of shopping!!  Although when it decided to rain the shops did get rather busy and put a bit of a damper on my shopping experience!  But thankfully the rain cleared so that we were able to watch that evening's premier performance of the Halloween version of 'Celebrate the Magic', which included a number of Disney villains!  The advantage of taking our vacation at the end of August meant that as we were now into September (the first to be exact) we got to experience a little of Halloween Disney style.

We finished the evening off by riding the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover during a performance of Wishes.  We eventually left the park at 12.15am well and truly worn out from our day.

Arriving home after a long day....but with shopping!

WDW Summer 2013 - Day 7 Part 2

So where were we then...ah that's right we were getting wet!

So our morning's golfing adventure had been curtailed by the weather and as we made our way towards the Boardwalk and meeting up with friend Michelle the rain struck again...

Look at the size of the puddle...sorry more like a pond!

I think I'm a little bit wet!!!!

So after meeting up with Michelle we made our way from the Boardwalk to the Beach & Yacht Club resort, more specifically to Beaches & Cream Soda Shop where we thought we'd have a little something to eat..

Our first challenge was getting a table...now at the time we were there Beaches & Cream, despite being a very popular eatery, didn't take reservations and on enquiring after a table we were told that current wait times were about an hour!!  Not one to be deterred our Michelle spoke to the cast member in charge of tables and the next thing we knew we were going inside!  Now I'm not sure what Michelle did or said but we got in!  I think the reason we got in so quick was because we were happy to sit at the counter rather than at a table or a booth; sitting at the counter was great because you got to see all that was going on making the burgers and the sundaes and it really added to the atmosphere of eating in an old fashioned styled ice-cream parlour.

Still a bit soggy but at least we were inside out of the rain, although the air conditioning wasn't really needed!!

Ooooo what to have?!!!

Now I'd better confess that we had a very particular reason for wanting to eat here, something that was on our 'to do' list...the 'Kitchen Sink'...a sundae of epic proportions! How epic you may say, well here's the list of ingredients;

• ½ cup fudge topping, warmed
• ½ cup butterscotch topping, warmed
• ½ cup peanut butter topping, warmed
• 1 medium banana, sliced in 1/2 –inch slices
• 1 cinnamon spice cupcake (2 ½ x 1 ¼-inch), quartered
• 1 angel food cupcake (3 x 1 ½-inch), quartered
• 2 4-oz. scoops vanilla ice cream
• 2 4-oz. scoops chocolate ice cream
• 2 4-oz. scoops strawberry ice cream
• 1 4-oz. scoop mint chocolate chip ice cream
• 1 4-oz. scoop coffee ice cream
• 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
• ¼ cup marshmallow crème
• ¼ cup strawberry topping
• ¼ cup pineapple topping
• 1 14-oz can dairy whipped topping
• 1 brownie (6-inch x 6-inch), quartered
• 1 regular-sized (2 ounce) candy bar, quartered
• 4 chocolate cookies with cream filling
• 1 tablespoon sliced toasted almonds
• 1 tablespoon dark and white chocolate shavings
• 1 tablespoon chocolate cookies with cream filling, crushed
• 1 tablespoon chopped jellied orange slices (approximately 2 large slices)
• 1 tablespoon milk chocolate chip morsels
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter chip morsels
• 1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles
• 1 tablespoon rainbow sprinkles
• ½ cup drained maraschino cherries

Suffice to say we ordered just the one between the four of us!  Oh and if you do decide to go for one of these be prepared for the whole of the restaurant to know about it; lights flash and an announcement is made to one and all, much to our kids embarrassment :)

Ready to dig in!

So we tackled it with gusto and I have to say we made short work of it!

Are we going to be able to manage this?

Getting there....

And we're done!

All gone!!!

It was such a fun experience and whilst my first reaction after finishing it all was 'never again' I think that now a little time has passed I would be willing to give it another go...although I think the kids and I would ask for the peanut butter topping and chips to be replaced with more chocolate!!  But all of the food here was great, and the choice of sundaes and desserts may tempt me to try something different next time.  A lovely place to eat and a definite recommendation from me.

At the end of our meal we were joined by yet more friends, Phil & Lauren who we had met through the WDW Radio Meet of the month a couple of days earlier.  The sun had now decided to come out and everywhere was drying up leaving us to spend the remainder of the day in Epcot.

We took a stroll through the World Showcase indulging in a couple of games of Phineas & Ferb: Agent P's World Showcase Adventure; which is great fun and I shall go into more details in a later post.  

Look at the concentration...this is serious stuff!

We had dinner at the Katsura Grill in the Japanese pavilion (just love it here)...

Sushi anyone?

...before a little shopping in Mousegear and a ride on The Seas with Nemo & Friends before heading home.

Such a beautiful sky as we approached The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Another fun-filled day with great friends and great memories.

And we're home :)