On Mr. A’s official 30th birthday, we had no plans. Originally, we made reservations at a fancy restaurant for a birthday dinner but after running around for the past five days, we decided to let Mr. A chose exactly what we wanted to do for his birthday.
In a surprise to no one, he asked to spend the day at Magic Kingdom–it is the happiest place on Earth.
His main interest for the day was getting on his favorite rides—Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain as many times as possible.
Mission accomplished.
When he got sick of the rides, he asked to grab lunch at the Be Our Guest Restaurant in the newest part of Fantasyland. Even though we had visited Belle’s castle and this restaurant during our last trip, we didn’t get a chance to check out their lunch service. While dinner in the castle is a full service meal, the restaurant turns into a counter service, albeit a fancy one, for lunch.
Even though the line wrapped around the castle, we were assured that the wait wouldn’t be long. After about 20 minutes or so, we were inside putting in our order. When we finished ordering, we were given a “magic rose” and told to take a seat in at any available table. The rose serves as a GPS allowing the servers to track down your table when your food is ready.
We opted to sit in the Rose Gallery since it’s only open for lunch (and it’s the only room we hadn’t seen). In the middle of the room is a giant rotating music box with Belle and the Beast.
Our meal was really fantastic here. It’s definitely more upscale than the other counter service options (I got to pick quinoa) so I wouldn’t come here expecting burgers and fries. I personally love the fancier food but plenty of others have complained that their kids don’t like the options. You should try it regardless just to see how fantastic and intricately detailed the castle is.
With a full belly, Mr. A asked to jump on a few more rides. Oddly enough, we all love the dorky People Mover ride (which presents great opportunities to take pictures of the park—or of your Dad).
By this point, Mr. A was ready for a full scale dessert so my Mom suggested stopping at her favorite spot to grab these waffles with nutella and fruit. All I needed to hear was nutella and I was in.
While Mr. A got his snack on, I snapped away taking tons of pictures of the castle. A girl can never have enough, right?
After our snack, we headed back to the room to discuss our options for dinner. None of us really had the energy to high-tale it to a fancy restaurant so we decided to head down to Kouzzina, which was right on the Boardwalk.
It ended up being the perfect choice because we were able to grab a relaxed leisurely quiet meal outside—no pretense, just great food, and even better company.
The company part may have been made better by the wine flight and a few mojitos though.
We spent at least two hours laughing and talking and celebrating. When it was time to toast, my husband thanked everyone for all they did for his birthday—my parents included, who used some of their timeshare points to make it possible. In a moment that will go down in history, my Dad, without missing a beat, turned to him and said, “You make it easy to do nice things for you.” Probably, the highest form of flattery my Dad will ever give a non-child.
We ended the meal on the perfect note, with a cupcake and a candle for the birthday boy.
Here’s to the next 30 years babe. May they be just as wonderful as the first.
