12/21
Off day with Breakfast at O’hana, Dinner at California Grill and snack at
Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop.
Today we slept in.
This was our only day to sleep in on this trip as we have and will be
doing rope drop and even Pre-Rope drop every other day. So, we relaxed and took our time to get
going. We had an 11:20am breakfast ADR
for O’hana. Yes, it is 2 adults going to
a Character breakfast and so you can understand why, well it is that 626. Stitch is Andrea’s favorite Disney character
and I wanted to make sure that she got to meet him. We took a bus to MK, then took a boat to the
Poly. Relaxing start. When we arrived at the dock, as we walked, I
asked a CM where O’hana was and he quickly gave directions of which I
remembered 2 things. There was another
family behind us, and when they asked the same CM, he told them that he knows
where to go, just follow him (that him was me).
We made it into the building and started to walk down the hall. What I did remember was he said go into that
building and that it was on the 2nd floor, nothing else. When I mentioned I hoped we were going in the
right direction, the mother of the family behind us said, I hope so to, he said
you knew where you are going. I laughed
and told her I had never been here before but I am sure everyone will make it
there fine. Then I saw another CM and
asked her and she pointed us all in the right direction. 
We found the check in and they gave us a
pager then we went and looked around in the shops, did some pin trading. We went and sat down and waited, then our
buzzer went off and it was off to breakfast.
Aloha Kakahiak, E Komo Mai (Good Morning, Welcome!
E Oli oli!
The breakfast included: drink – orange papaya juice
(we both found this an interesting but refreshing drink), then the bread. It was on the light and airy side and we can
understand how you can fill up on the bread.
Next up, the fruit platter served on a platter that looks like a very
large leaf. It had Red Raspberries, pineapple, cantaloupe and honeydew melon. Everything
was fresh and tasty.
Next was our breakfast platter which came with 2 biscuits,
2 Stitch waffles, Uala Kahiki (Fried Potatoes or as they call them Island-style Potatoes), Hua Paka (scrambled eggs) and Pua'a ( lot of bacon but there
was no sausage). When we asked about it,
we were told that the kitchen was making more, they had just run out for a
minute. We were both very hungry and
must say that if you leave here hungry, it is your own fault as they will keep
bringing you food. The food on the platter was hot and the 2nd
platter that came was also hot but on this platter, we asked for only some more
sausage, bacon and eggs, oh and more of the waffles. Andrea took the Stitch
waffle, left me the Mickey waffle.
The characters started to make their rounds with
Mickey Mouse coming first. He saw the
ring and again we asked him when he was going to propose to Minnie. Love the reactions, try to change the topic. 
Next up, Lilo and those 2 had an interaction. Mickey was moving around and had a wardrobe
malfunction with his shirt, well his shirt opened and the “cousins” at the next
table who were on their honeymoon, well the lady helped Mickey get his shirt
buttoned back up. You could tell Mickey
was her favorite, I think everything she was wearing had Mickey in some way on
it, she also showed her Mickey tattoo. Lilo saw we were just engaged and gave us both
an extra hug, she even came and sat next to me. 
Next was Pluto, he was funny.
He was soft.
Then finally, the main
reason for coming, Stitch. One of the
things I loved was watching the one family across from us, you can see them in
the background. The 2 girls were so
excited to be able to meet the characters but especially Stitch. The older of the 2 had a Stitch doll that she
was carrying on a conversation with and when Stitch came over to them, she was
all smiles. When Stitch came over to us,
Andrea was all smiles and said she wanted to take him home with her, Stitch
didn’t want to let her go, he kept hugging her and finally the handler had to
tell him that he had to go meet the other guests.
Great interaction and it didn’t matter that
this was an adult not a child, same type of interaction. We did enjoy this and for our next trip, we
know we will be coming back but we are leaning to the nighttime event and
dinner but might do the breakfast again.
Ok
now to the costs, our 2 meals came to $68.16 (2 TS credits) and we gave a tip
of $12.80 which brought this up to $80.96.
Was the food worth it? No. The food is good but not $68.16 good,
however, include the characters and the interactions we had and yes it was
worth it.
We left O’hana and then did some shopping before
heading out to check out the Grand Floridian.
The tree is huge and the Ginger bread house is a sight to see. If we hadn’t just eaten, we would have picked
up a snack or two. We didn’t just stay
on the first floor. We went up to the 2nd
floor and I wanted to check out where Victoria and Alberts was. I found it and I am including pictures of the
menu that they had posted.
This is the
number one dining reservation that we will be trying to get for our return trip
in December for our honeymoon.
We headed out to the bus stop to go to Disney Springs and some shopping and checking it out more. It has changed so much from when it was Downtown Disney. We stopped in and even had some pictures taken in where the Memory Maker place is. Let just say, we have laughed at some of the pictures that they did. Not clean edges of us over the digital back grounds. I have a buzz cut but on some it looks like I have some weird curly sections.
Now to relax and enjoy some chocolate and ice cream at Ghirardelli. Well relax was
not the best way to put it, as it was very crowded and even though we did find
a seat, it was not as relaxing as we hoped.
Andrea ordered a Medium Chocolate Milk Shake and I ordered a Hot Fudge
Sundae with no nuts or sprinkles on top, along with a water to share. We waited about 10 minutes and then our order
was ready, well let me rephrase this, when we ordered, it was to go then we got
a seat, also I had forgot to say no nuts so this, I guess, messed it up a
little.
It was very good and we did
enjoy them both. Our cost for these was $23.66.
On the expensive side but very delicious. (Sorry no pictures of these, thought I had them but do not.)
We were heading toward the bus stop and I saw this wait time for Santa, it was about 4:00pm. I must say, 210 minutes to see Santa, WOW
From here we went to the bus stop and took a
bus to POP, then had to go to the room, and head off to do our laundry. I used an app on my phone that was supposed
to show what machines were in use and available, well the phone app was way
off. We managed to get 2 machines and
wash what we had to wash and then 2 dryers. All washers and driers were $3 each. I am so
glad we went when we did as it became packed and people waiting for
washers. We went to the Gift shop, then
to the arcade. We had some fun playing
some games and then went back and put our things in the dryer. While there, we noticed a couple who were
looking to buy some laundry soap from the machine, we offered them some of the
Pods we had brought, they were fragrance and dye free. When they tried to pay
us for them we said no, we brought extra just in case and we have more then
enough, this will save you money. They
accepted. We headed up to the room and
laid down for about 50 minutes, then back to the laundry room. We took out our clothes and most of them were
still wet. We should have used 3 dryers and our clothes would have been done. We ended up putting our clothes in a suitcase
and took them to our room to finish after our dinner since we had to get ready
for our dinner at California Grill.
We changed and got dressed up, then headed out, using
LYFT again to take us right to the front of the Contemporary. We arrived and went in, followed the signs
and found the check in desk. We were early but didn’t have to wait long before
the buzzer went off. We took the
elevator upstairs and then were seated at a table for 2, nice view outside but
I had to look over my right shoulder to be able to see the Castle.
Still not a bad seat, Andrea had a great
view, with only being by the window being a better view.
We had high expectations for here as from the menu and
the cost and the view, along with the reviews, well we thought it was going to
be one of the highlights of our trip.
Our server was Tommy and he explained the dishes and we went with his
recommendations.
Our drinks, Andrea ordered Coke with grenadine and a
water. David ordered a sprite and to be brought at the main course a glass of
wine. The water they brought is in glass
bottles and is called Natura. It was not
cold.
We were brought a basket with bread and rolls along with a bowl with
butter, and a quarter of a roasted garlic bulb. On another plate was some bread. I did the same thing I did at the Yachtsman
Steakhouse last night and mixed it. It
was nowhere near as good
We could order from the Hot Appetizers from the Wood
Burning Oven or the Soup, Salads and Appetizers.
.
For Appitizers, Andrea ordered the Artisan Braised Pork
Tacos with House-made Cilantro-Corn Tortillas, Chipotle Crema, Pico de Gallo. Andrea loved the combination of flavors, said
they were very good and she finished them all. (there were 3) She said she
would come back for these by themselves.
David ordered the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli with
Tomato-Fennel Broth, Crispy Mushrooms, Tiny Basil, Arbequina Organic Olive Oil. This is a signature Appetizer. To both of us, the best part was the Goat
Cheese. The pasta part of the Ravioli
tasted mostly bland and very under cooked.
The little bit of mushrooms on top were not crispy. Now to the broth, it had almost no flavor and
tasted like a very watered down tomato soup.
For the start, not a good start.
I had also asked for a glass of wine with the main course,
it was delivered early. I wanted a
Moscato and they had one on the menu, it is under the Interesting Whites
Section and is called La Perlina, Moscato, Puglia NV, he poured a small sample
and the worst Moscato I have ever tried.
When I explained that this was way too dry and not very fruity, he suggested
a Riesling, Selbach-Oster, Mosel ’15.
This was so much better, in fact I ended up having 2 glasses. Part of this was that he brought it long
before the Entrees but also it was a very good wine. One of the highlights of
my meal..
For main course, both of us ordered the Oak-fired
Filet of Beef with Duck Fat Marble Potatoes, Gruyere-Harp Larger Mornay, Roasted
Tomato Peperonata, Whole Roasted Garlic, Cabernet Wine Sauce. When the Filets arrived the presentation was
beautiful. The butter on top hadn’t
melted all the way yet but was well on its way.
The steaks both were ordered Medium and that is how they came. They were not as tender as Jiko or The
Yachtsman, but seemed better than the Rose & Crown and maybe Hollywood
Brown Derby. (but those 2 were not Filets) The sauce, mixed in with the Mornay
and the Peperonata made for what was almost like a gravy. Now this was what
actually made the steak taste as good as it did. This made the sauce you ended up with,
Andrea’s favorite.
For dessert, Andrea ordered the Honey-Crunch Cake –
Lemon-Honey Olive Oil Cake, Autumn Spiced Poached Pears, Port Wine Gel, Artisan
Honey Ice Cream. This was a very beautiful dessert and the presentation was
great, however that would be where she says it ended. The port wine gel was, weird, the pears were
a strange texture and flavor. The cake
was a strange texture and had a Lemon Poppy seed flavor and you could taste the
Oil, not that it was oily. So, over all
weird or strange would be the best way to describe it.
David ordered the S’mores Crème Brulee – Marshmallow
Custard, Milk Chocolate Ganache, Caramelized Turbinado Sugar. This was interesting. I liked that the Marshmallows and Graham
crackers were on the top and you could just take them off. As you will see, it looked good but there was
no crunch, and if you love Crème Brulee, you know there should be that
crunch. It was ok, but nothing special.
When the desserts came, the manager came over,
congratulated us and we were given two small glasses of champagne to
celebrate. She asked how everything was
and I asked her did she want to know the truth.
She said she loves to know the real experience, good or bad as it helps
her to know what they are doing right or wrong.
I let her know what I have just shared here along with that if she
really wants to know what people think of here, she should check out the forum
on here as the people here give their honest opinions of the experiences. As I was talking about how I had ordered
crème Brulee in the past and there was no crack/crunch when you do this, and I
pushed my spoon into it, guess what, no crunch sound at all. She thanked me for my feedback and excused
herself. I found out later that she did
go say something to the kitchen about the Crème Brulee and it not being up to
the standards.
Okay,
now to the costs: Our dinner was $246.66 which did include 2 glasses of wine,
so the dinner that was covered was $207.66 (4 TS credits). The wine was $34.08
and our tip was $39.00, so our grand total for the dinner was $280.74. Was it worth it, to us, No. The sauce for the filet was one of the best
we both have
tasted anywhere. The tacos and the white wine would be the
highlights of this meal. Well the view
was also incredible. Will we give it another chance on our next trip, we are
leaning toward yes. The view is
everything we heard it would be, however, Andrea did not like going out on the
walkway. It was way too scary for her
and we both agreed that it was too windy and cold.
We then took a LYFT back to POP, went and
changed. We took the clothes that needed
dried down and finished drying them, then folded them. Then took them back upstairs where we put
them in the dresser and headed off to bed.
Tomorrow, 12/22, it is off to Hollywood Studios with
50’s Primetime Café for lunch, Minnie’s Seasonal Dine at Hollywood & Vine
with the FDP for dinner and snacks at Starring Rolls Café.
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