On the way over, I stopped to take a few pictures of the Food and Wine Festival displays and topiaries. As I approached the World Showcase, I heard my name. I turned around to find a group of KTTW management and agents right behind me! I joined them and we stood in the shade in Great Britain while we waited for the World Showcase to open.
Eventually, we met up with the entire group and gathered at the American Adventure to be assigned to our teams. I was on Team Japan with Wanda, Stephanie and Shannon. Go Team Japan!!! We had so much fun running around the World Showcase for two hours. We had to take pictures of all the Food and Wine Festival signs at the booths. We also had to take pictures in front of certain landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, a phone booth, and the Totem Pole in Canada.
In addition, we had to act out some of the photos. Some of my favorites poses were: wearing a warm hat, growling with lion statues, posing with a camel, viking pose with viking statue and holding beer steins. (Note: The original PDF file of the scavenger hunt can be found to download at CarissaDesigns if you would like to do it for yourself!)
We finished the scavenger hunt in Mexico and Jeff bought a margarita for anyone who wanted one. (At that point, I was so hot, sweaty and dehydrated that I passed.) We hung out and cooled off for a bit inside. When we finally split up, I went back to Pop Century to relax. I'd been planning to go swimming in the pool at Pop Century and this was the perfect chance. I was in the 1980's section so I was right next to the computer pool. The pool wasn't that busy. There was even enough room for me to do a few laps back and forth. I mostly leaned against the side and enjoyed the sunny day and the cool water. I brought Eeyore along in his swim trunks for a photo op.
When I finished swimming, I took another shower and saw that I still had plenty of time before I had to leave for Ohana. I worked a little more on the top secret KeyCon project and took progress photos so I could show Jeff and Heather at dinner.
I made my way to the Magic Kingdom bus waiting area. I looked up a minute later and my Team Japan teammate Stephanie and her husband Patrick were also waiting for the bus. They had dinner reservations for Ohana too! It was nice to have someone to talk to on the way over. Poor Patrick… Stephanie and I chatted pretty much the entire bus ride and monorail ride over to the Polynesian. I'm incredibly grateful they were also going to Ohana since I had absolutely no idea where I was going.
When we arrived at Ohana, I wished Stephanie and Patrick a good dinner and I met the rest of the Key to the World crew over by the bar. The girls had gotten some Lapu Lapu drinks and sat at the bar while we waited to be seated. We took a few photos and I made sure to show Jeff and Heather the top secret project. I was thrilled when I saw their expressions! A few minutes later, we were heading in to be seated. Heather and Jeff made reservations for their families to eat together at one table and for the "KeyCon singles" to have another one. It was nice of them to make sure those of us who traveled alone still felt included. We had a lot of fun!
I was really excited to eat at Ohana. I'd heard awesome reviews and I was not disappointed. I was even more ecstatic when I opened the menu and saw the Blue Glow-tini. I had seen pictures of the glowing drinks online and I swore I'd find a way to order one this trip! It was so yummy. The meal was absolutely amazing. I can't even begin to tell you how good it was. (I'm dying to go back in January but I know Eliot and Jeremy won't go for it. I'm debating kidnapping my parents, Nana and Papa though…) The lettuce wraps were so good. Then they came out with the pork, and the steak, and the shrimp. My taste buds were in overload. It was especially delightful since I hadn't had a hardy meal the entire trip.
However, the best part of the entire meal was definitely the company. Wanda, Linda, Tara, Ryan, Greg and I had a blast. We were laughing so hard. The waiter had fun with us too. Linda asked him for corn on the cob, and he told her he'd have it by "next Wednesday." The only corn she would be getting was the baby corn in the noodles. Then, our waiter told us a few silly jokes about Disney characters. One was "what do you say to Simba to get him to move faster?" "Mufasa." We laughed pretty hard at those. Finally, we enjoyed our bread pudding with the banana carmel sauce for dessert while watching Wishes off in the distance.
The most memorable part of the evening was the car ride home. Linda drove to Walt Disney World so she had her SUV and offered to take Wanda and Tara back to Boardwalk, me to Pop Century and finally ending up at Port Orleans where she, Ryan and Greg were all staying. We all agreed and thanked her. I volunteered to sit in the back of her SUV, where there wasn't room for you to put your legs. It took me a few minutes to get in, but once I was in there, I was ok. (Or so I thought.)
Getting out… now that's another story. My legs got cramped up and my right knee was locked up. (It's nothing new; it happens often when you've had knee surgery.) When we got to Boardwalk and dropped Wanda and Tara off, I planned to move to the back seat so I could easily hop out of the car at Pop. Needless to say, it was incredibly entertaining and someone should have video taped it. There were no doors in the back and I got myself (very) stuck on the way over her back seats. Everyone got quite a chuckle when I stated "I'm 30 darn it! Heck, I'm not even 30 yet!" Eventually, I (not very gracefully) extricated myself from her car and landed on the pavement at Boardwalk. Of course, I had to make fun of myself to lighten the moment and I declared "And she sticks the landing!" (I should note that this in no way is a reaction from the drink I had earlier in the night. This display of sheer grace would be the reason my mother calls me Gracie Lou.)
Thank you for these entries. So much great detail-it is like I am there (I wish!)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm so glad you enjoy them! :-)
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