Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Belle finds a Valentine...

Our bellies were pretty full and heavy after our lunch at Coral Reef, so we rode two rides (Nemo and Living with the Land) and called it an afternoon.

As always, we went back to the resort for an afternoon refresher.

Sadly, during that time, Evie crawled off of the bed and scraped up her nose.  The first few days of the trip she was terribly ill and then she almost broke her nose.  Poor baby girl.

We dressed the girls up in Princess costumes and headed for the Magic Kingdom.  (I'm positive that wasn't our original plan, but with Evie being ill  for half of the trip all of my plans had flown at the window.)


Disney Snobbery at it's finest...

Ready to make Valentines Day memories...


We let the girls walk through the princess line.  I thought Cinderella was adorable.  


The princess line was very light, so they really took their time with the girls.  
They loved Belle's (little Belle) shoes.


Belle made a big fuss over their costumes and Belle's hair.  To this day the poor child can barely grow hair past her shoulders, but she think she looks just like Jasmine when I giver her a braid.  
(No bow, please.  Jasmine doesn't wear bows.)


The teacups came next.  I shared a teacup with Evie so Gregg and Belle could spin fast.



The we rode the TTA again.  Good thing we love it.



Once upon a time Gregg and I had the most delicious cheeseburgers at Cosmic Ray's.  We always go back hoping to recreate that moment, but it just doesn't happen.  

I have such a love/hate relationship with Disney burgers.


Another young family sat down next to us and had two boys the same age as our girls.  
While we traded off turns getting drinks and condiments, Belle started making friends.


Soon enough it turned in to this...


We normally don't let our four year old daughters date, but since it was Valentines Day, she will most likely never see him again and adults were present... we gave in.

For the record:  Belle's first date was on Valentines Day in the Magic Kingdom.  
She will not be allowed to date again until a future caller can top that.

Lunchtime Under the Sea...

(For more of this trip report see previous posts and come back for updates.)


Our Valentines Day lunch date took place at...



Coral Reef gets lots of mixed reviews and I'll be honest with mine.

Atmosphere:  10


Coral Reef is sort of off the beaten path.  I like that.  It sort of felt like we were leaving the business of the park and heading to our own secluded area.  You enter by walking through the beautiful seahorse doors and the lobby is enchanting.  My pictures don't do it justice.  Jellyfish hang from the ceiling, mosaic tiles fill the room and give you that 'under the sea' ambiance, the lighting is low and relaxing.

Inside the seating in in a tiered level.  The lucky ones get to sit right next to the big aquarium.





Food:  Overall 7

Adult Entrees: 

This was the low point of the meal.  Greg had the grilled Mahi Mahi and it was pretty 'blah'.  Not a lot of flavor, very heavy.  It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. He was disappointed.


I had the Lobster Ravioli.  I had been looking forward to it for years.  Yes, years.  Again, it was just okay.  Not terrible, but quite a let down.


Kids Meal:  

Hands down, this was the best kids meal of our entire trip.  It was simple- chicken, veggies, yogurt.  Belle was happy to take a break from pizza and chicken nuggets and gladly ate all of her food.  (Bonus points for the mickey shaped plate.)


Dessert:
This made up for the entree.  

I had the Baileys and Jack Daniel's Mousse, Gregg had the Chocolate Wave (a molten cake with raspberry sauce and raspberry gelato) and Belle had a brownie sundae.  We all agreed that these were the best desserts of the trip.  Perfect for Valentines Day!







Final thoughts:  While it wasn't the best Disney food we've ever tasted, the experience and atmosphere was top notch.  Lunch was relaxing and we felt pretty fancy.  Coral Reef would be a great place for a date or adults only trip.  (Not to say that I wouldn't suggest it to families either.)  

You can check out the whole menu here:  Coral Reef