Disney Dayz: 2 and 3

The last 2 days in Orlando went pretty quickly. We had the opportunity to sleep late on Friday and took it, allowing for time for lunch at an Ale House and the delicious Zinger Melt contained therein. We got ourselves some tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, which opened its gates at 4 so we had a little bit of the afternoon to kill first. We knew our dining plans included a reservation at Boma, so we wanted to try to ride the bus over there, and check the place out. The Animal Kingdom lodge is gorgeous, I would definitely consider staying there if I had $200/night just burning a whole in my pocket. We eventually caught another bus to the Magic Kingdom, where the daytime crowd was on it's way to the gate, and the night time crowd was just getting costumed up and in the park. We were Later met by L. and her mom (who is one of my favorite "friend's moms" of all time. If you're dying to go to the magic kingdom and hate waiting in lines, this is the way to go. They kick all the daytimers out, and make you repay to stay, so the number of people in the park is significantly reduced. We rode everything we wanted and never waited more than twenty minutes for anything. My last few years in Florida I'd been to the MK at least once a year for Night of Joy, and it was a completely different experience from that too. The Halloween parade is extremely cool and starts with a ride-through from a headless horseman. The fireworks are great too, we happened to be at the top of the Swiss Family Robinson tree house when they started. The tree house provides a great view for the show but since it's above the water can be a little mosquito-y. There are also trick or treating stations throughout the park, and they have really good candy! 'We shut the place down with a little shopping, then went back for crashy time once again.
On Saturday we got up for the early shift again and went directly to the boardwalk for breakfast with one of W's long lost friends Mark. We Ate at Kat Cora's restaurant Kozzina on the boardwalk. The Yelp reviews are mostly accurate here, the food is really good, but the service is remarkably "un-disney-like". We had a reservation for which we arrived promptly, but were asked to wait with a pager until a table was ready ~5-10 minutes. (We walked past plenty of empties on the way to our table). We got coffee in a carafe (thank goodness) and shortly placed our order. Our server brought our food, and disappeared until unceremoniously dumping the check on our table and saying no hurry on this. That would have been fine, had my french toast actually come with some syrup, or if we didn't need more cream for coffee. To be fair the food was really good, but wow, can bad service really change your perception of a meal. So W goes out to the front table and tells them about our experience, and they kind of just blew her off. Needless to say, I don't reccomend eating there, and it seems many Yelpers agree. I got better service at the barbecue place in animal kingdom, and I bussed my own table! After that we were off to Disney's hollywood studios. We waited in the 70 minute line for the toy story ride (totally worth it; is 10x more fun than the buzz lightyear ride). We took the Back lot tour, and W was an active participant. The 2 best part of our Hollywood Studios tour 1. the San Francisco backdrop, and 2. Drinks and Appetizers at the Brown Derby. Stop whatever you're doing, go there and have the champagne flight. Since the restaurant is built to be a see and be seen type of place, you'll see everybody around you watching your 3 glasses of champagne poured, and the Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto is worth the price of admission alone. Tasting note here, red sparklers aren't for everyone, but if you like them you'll surely enjoy this. We eventually made it back to Epcot for one more round of Food and Wine this time we visited:
Japan again, the tuna sensation was just too good to pass up and paired it with a Kirin
Australia
Seared Barramundi with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes,Arugula, and Lemon Oil and Grilled Lamb Chop with Roasted Potato Salad and Red Wine Reduction
paired with Rosemount Traminer Riesling and Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet
Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup paired with a moosehead beer
and at that point we cut ourselves off, knowing that a buffet for dinner was still on the horizon. We found a quiet place where W grabbed a little cat nap, and a little girl came by and pointed at W, and I could hear her mom say it's ok honey, she's just tired. At about the same time we were joined by a mixed marriage (Husband and oldest son wearing burnt orange and navy, Wife and youngest wearing crimson) and news of Alabama's loss to South Carolina was spreading at the same time. After a brief respite L's mom picked us up on the boardwalk, and off we went to Boma. Our service was a little slow. but not unreasonable, and I didn't meet a single thing on the buffet that wasn't fantastic. Even if you can't afford to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I recommend that you get yourself a reservation at Boma, it's fantastic. We went back to L's place for a little more wine, and then grabbed a quick nap before our 6 a.m. flight We got to the airport and home without incident. How many countries did we eat at? Tons, I'm glad we finally got that trip in, and we just might have to go back for the Disney Christmas Party.