Pre-Milestone Celebration!

This year marks a milestone celebration and when Mary & Amanda asked what I wanted to do, told them I love to spend it at WDW of course!

Will actually be celebrating the BIG 5-0 with Mary & Amanda tomorrow night at the California Grill at the Contemporary Resort but had a pre-birthday celebration today with some very special friends.

The day started with lunch at Olivia's with my BFF's Bob & Toni F. I'm SO glad that you guys FINALLY got to meet Mary & Amanda and what an awesome past two days it's been! We had our best server so far this trip, Joe. Not only was he an awesome server but had a sense of humor that had us in stitches throughout lunch. He had the quickest one line deliveries. We asked him to join us for a photo and kept wondering where he went. He eventually appeared from the kitchen, carrying a brownie with ice cream, covered with whipped cream and assortment of toppings, rang the bell and had the whole restaurant singing Happy Birthday .. what an awesome start to what was going to one of the most memorable days I've had at WDW!

When staying at Old Key West, be sure to try Olivia's. We always have a great meal whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner and they have some of the best staff on property!

After lunch, we headed over to Magic Kingdom to meet up with BFF Terry. The Magic Kingdom was fully decorated except for the big tree on Main Street. Was so festive walking in and seeing all the garland decorated with fruit and pine cones and the white lanterns hanging from the lamp posts. We checked a few stores and then got a great spot at the end of Main Street to catch the Disney Dreams Come True Parade. After the parade, we did some more shopping (what else ) and then headed to Tony's on Town Square, one of our favorite restaurants in the Magic Kingdom for dinner.

As you may recall, when we were down this past May, Tony's had just changed their menu and I raved about the spinach and ricotta gnocchi primavera, an awesome pasta dish of spinach and ricotta gnocchi tossed with seasonal vegetables and garlic oil with a balsamic glaze and feta. Was so glad to see it was still on the menu and sold everyone in the group on it except for Bob, who ordered the chicken parmigiana (which btw, he said was very good). Tony's sun-dried tomato pesto, an awesome spread that used to be served with your bread, which still hasn't officially returned to the restaurant was glad to see still available upon request :)

After dinner, much to my surprise, Mary & Amanda had arranged with my good friend Chris O. and Tony's (along with some help from my BFF's) to have a cake brought to the table. Was anawesome chocolate cake with chocolate icing. After everyone sang Happy Birthday, I made my wish (Bob & Toni, you know what it is, so it's up to you to make come true ::tilted head, eyes looking up with puppy dog eyes ::) and then blew out the candles.

Dinner was capped off with a special gift from Terry, a book he made himself about what was going on in 1958 when I was born with pictures of me Then & Now. So much time, thought and effort you can tell went into this and something I will always treasure. After a lot of laughing and crying, it was time to head to Main Street to see Cinderella's Castle with the icicle lights for the very first time. And Bob, for the record, you are romantic

As we made the bend onto Main Street, what a sight to behold. You see pictures, you read and hear others accounts but it's nothing compared to how it looks in person. Breathtaking is probably the best way to describe it. We found a great spot and watched Wishes. Terry, thanks SO much for staying longer with us, I know you had that drive ahead of you and had to be at work on Monday. We bid Terry good-bye, more hugs and more tears and then headed to grab some popcorn before returning to OKW.

As we got our popcorn, Ashley Ann (the castmember who waited on us), broke into song singing Happy Birthday, hitting her hands on the popcorn stand and had everyone around singing Happy Birthday. Bob had missed it, taking some pictures of the castle, so when he returned, Ashley Ann did another round. We may not have been picked or a night in the castle but talk about a magical evening and what an awesome pre-birthday celebration.

Mary, Amanda, Bob, Toni and myself headed back to OKW because we had some unfinished business before the day was over. As we opted for WDW to celebrate my birthday, part of our gang (Michelle and Greg) headed out to Disneyland to celebrate Carl's birthday who happens to share the same birthday as me, though a couple years younger :)

We got back to OKW, broke open some champagne and called our friends in CA who were at dinner celebrating Carl's birthday and toasted our two birthdays. I then opened my presents, feeling like a kid on Christmas morning .. LOL!

What an amazing two days it's been and little did I know there was even MORE tomorrow!