A few weeks ago, John and I had the chance to get away for a quick date night to Disney's Animal Kingdom park.
We didn't really have a set plan, save for enjoying the cool evening and grabbing a drink at Nomad Lounge.
We arrived three hours before park closing, and everyone was streaming out. I love the Oasis at the entrance to the park- the air plants and foliage are breathtaking.
At the Tree of Life, we debated whether to head right into Asia or left to Africa. We knew we wanted to get a 'walking beer' and meander through either the Maharaja Jungle Trek or Pangani Forest. We usually choose Asia, so tonight we switched it up and headed to Africa.
A stop at the Dawa Bar is always necessary. We each had a Tusker Lager and headed toward the walking path next to Kilamanjaro Safari.
Sadly, it was closed for the evening. We walked through Harambe Village a bit; while doing so, John booked us an 8:10 reservation for Tiffin's. It was already after 7:00, and I wanted to hang at Nomad Lounge without feeling rushed to leave.
We headed that way and decided to check in at Tiffin's to tell them our plan. We said we'd like to enjoy cocktails before dinner; they said to take our time and come in whenever we were ready.
We scored a comfy padded nook at Nomad (we were one of only three or four tables occupied) and enjoyed a cocktail. I'm sure this spot will get busier once Pandora opens, but for now, it's a nice quiet spot to enjoy a good drink. Around 8:30, we headed inside for dinner.
The park closed at 9:00 that night, so we were pretty much the last table sat. They initially put us at a four top table smack dab in the middle of the dining room. I was wanting something a bit more romantic so I asked if they could possible put us in a booth or somewhere in a corner of the room; they came back and moved us to a nice, spacious booth with a view of the dining area. It was really sweet.
We ordered a bottle of wine and the bread service, which I'll admit didn't look like much on the menu, but was just the right amount of food to start the meal. It's no Sanaa bread service, mind you, but worked perfectly for an appetizer. The pomegranate olive oil was crazy good!
John ordered the Wagyu strip loin and braised short rib and I had the swordfish; we split the Brussels sprouts. Everything was really tasty, albeit a tad salty (and I love salt).
Even though the park was technically closed, we never felt rushed, and our server was very nice and knowledgeable. We told him about Will and how we were on a date night. He talked about his family.
At the end of our meal, he brought us out a small bag of chocolate bark. It was incredible and we snacked on it for a few days after.
We left Tiffin's at 10:00 and walked out to a completely empty park. We maybe saw one cast member on our way out- it was quiet, dark, beautiful.
Our following date night didn't end so peacefully (think: a phone call from Nana telling us Will had vomited all over, which ended up being a stomach virus that my mom and I also picked up), but that's a story for another day.
Thanks for reading! Kwaherini!
