I will try to keep this review as straight to the point as I can, because we had a wonderful time and there was a ton going on everyday.

My wife and I arrived on Sunday, May 20th, and stayed at the Port Orleans - French Quarter Resort (POFQ). I can't say enough good things about the POFQ. The room was very comfortable, as was the bed. The grounds are beautiful and Disney did a great job of recreating a Disney version of New Orleans. The boat service to Disney Springs was so convenient that we ended up going to Disney Springs three times. The only meal we had there was breakfast, and they did a great job of getting out food quickly and having a nice variety. I highly recommend staying at the POFQ.

Our first night, we went to Disney Springs and it's amazing what this place has become. It's a very pleasant walk through what is essentially an outside shopping mall. We dined at The Boathouse, and both ordered lobster since we were celebrating. The meal was delicious.

The next morning, we went the The Magic Kingdom and stayed there for almost the entire day. When we arrived, we found ourselves to be walking down an essentially deserted Liberty Square. We strolled onto Splash Mountain and were able to hit up several rides until the crowds built up. It was quite cool to have the park to ourselves for a handful of hours. Lunch was at Be Our Guest, and while the food was good, the choices were limited and it was essentially a glorified cafeteria. I had the braised pork and wife had the tuna nicoise salad. Both entrees were good, but not worth a return. Dinner that night was at Ohana in the Polynesian. We watched the fireworks and ate our fill of dumplings, filet, and shrimp. Their bread pudding is some of the best I've ever had.

Tuesday morning, we went to Epcot. We were in for a long haul today, as we had reservations at Le Cellier for 8:00 PM. We tried to hit up the three most popular rides at Epcot: Frozen, Test Track, and Soarin. We did Frozen first and really enjoyed it. Soarin was amazing as well with the new world graphics. The lines for Test Track never got below 90 minutes, so we didn't bother. Lunch was at The Coral Reef restaurant and we dined on lobster pasta, which was heavy but very good. Taking our time to explore each "country" was fun, and we timed it perfectly for our reservation at Le Cellier. I can't say enough good things about this place. Completely lived up to the hype. My ribeye was one of the best I've ever had. My wife's filet was delicious. The bread and cheddar cheese soup were great. And the creme brulee for dessert was heaven. We left full and happy, riding Spaceship Earth before we exited the park. Iconic end to the night.

Wednesday took us to Animal Kingdom. We arrived super early to ride Flight of Passage in Pandora. After an hour wait, we entered the ride, where I found out I was too tall to ride it. I am about 6'4", and my knees didn't fit under the part where my legs had to be restrained. No worries, such is life, and we received 4 fast passes. My wife rode it, and she enjoyed it but it left her a tad disoriented. She followed that up with Dinosaur and Everest, and after those two rides, she needed a break from fast moving rides. I will say that Dinosaur is scary as hell. Dark, loud, and fast. Shame on the woman who brought a 4 year old on the ride with us. The poor kid was inconsolable after the ride. We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari and walked around and saw all the animals. We grabbed a quick bite at Harambe Market and the food was really good. I had curry pork ribs with a cool black-eyed pea salad, and the wife had a curry sausage which she really enjoyed. We were both surprised at how "small" this park felt, as we covered all four areas in about half a day. We finished with the River Ride in Pandora, and while it was really nice, it's a 5 minute ride with a two hour wait. Thank goodness for fast passes. The sun was brutal, so we left around 2:00 PM to head back to the hotel for some rest and a shower. Dinner that night was at Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs, and it was incredible. Steamed dumplings and shishito peppers for apps. We had the sushi and sashimi pagoda for dinner, and it came with a chilled whole lobster, oysters on the half shell (Kumamoto), shrimp cocktail, 5 pieces nigiri, 10 pcs sashimi, and 1 roll (spicy tuna). It was all delicious and perfect after a hot day.

On Thursday, we went to Hollywood Studios. The Toy Story ride was excellent, and we loved it. We enjoyed Star Tours and the Muppet Show 3D; but this park is just lacking big time in an identity. That will change when Toy Story land and Star Wars land opens, but until then you can essentially skip this park, as it has about 5 rides and 100 gift shops. We ate at 50's Prime Time for lunch, and the food was very good. Fried chicken, pot roast, and meatloaf. All comfort foods. Our waitress looked the part, an older woman who was serving out the sass. We left for High Tea at the Grand Floridian. It was something my wife wanted to do, and the hotel is beautiful and tea was a fun, relaxing experience. After that, we went to the hotel room and changed for dinner later at California Grill in the Contemporary Hotel. This meal was the star of the trip. The view was incredible, and the food even better. Sushi for appetizer followed by the mains. I had a black grouper with coconut rice, rock shrimp, and lime. Wife had a stinging nettle pasta with lump crab and bone marrow. Creme brulee for dessert which was out of this world good. Beautiful meal and evening.

Friday was our last day, and we debated going to Universal for a day. High chance of rain and $400 for tickets, souvenirs, and food steered us way. We went back to Disney Springs and watched Deadpool 2. After, we grabbed burgers at T-Rex Cafe, which my wife wanted to go to after seeing it on a Parks and Rec episode. I'll admit the burgers were very good. We walked around some more and eventually went back to the hotel to start packing for the next day. Dinner that night was at Bomain the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's a buffet, but the food was delicious and I loaded my plate with grilled pork, steak, and shrimp. the oxtail stew was some of the best I've had, and we both left satisfied. We strolled around the grounds and watched some zebras and giraffes as dusk fell. It was another beautiful night.

Saturday was an Uber ride to the airport and back home!

Some quick thoughts:

Park Rankings:
1. Magic Kingdom
2. Epcot
3. Animal Kingdom
4. Hollywood Studios

Disney Springs is definitely worth going to, for dinner and for fun.

Uber was used 2-3 a day, and I highly recommend it for moving around quickly without waiting on buses or dealing with the public. Trips averaged about $8.00 and wait time for a ride was less than 5 minutes.

We went a week before the busy season, but it still got very crowded. Plenty of scooters zipping around the parks - driven by those who need them and many who don't.

Restaurant Rankings (excludes park snacks):
1. California Grill
2. Morimoto Asia
3. Le Cellier
4. Boathouse
5. Boma
6. Ohana
7. Harambe Market
8. Coral Reef
9. 50s Prime Time
10. T-Rex Cafe
11. Be Our Guest

This post was edited on 5/30/18 at 1:45 pm