It truly is a small world after all Part 1
About five minutes after my ADR time, I went back to Cape May Cafe.
I was escorted to a booth towards the back of the dining room by the same friendly and welcoming CM who I met earlier. As I was entering, I was hoping to see some CMs who I previously met at Cape May Cafe on my 2014 trip, like James, my waiter when I dined at Cape May for the first time and Genesis, another waiter. I knew I would see Chef Robert, as I had spoken to a Manager before this trip who told me he would be working that night as well as from the CM, who told me that he would come to my table to help me. Once I was seated I had the pleasure of meeting Rachel from Orlando, a very kind and polite middle-age waitress who would be serving me. I placed my order for a Diet Coke to drink and since she also knew about my food allergy, she offered to bring out Chef Robert. As promised, Chef Robert came out and he actually remembered me by face, which was amazing! We were happy to see each other again and just like last time, I found him to be welcoming and very conscientious as he escorted me around the buffet, pointing out what I could and could not eat. He told me that the salads and cheeses were fine, but the bread was off limits for obvious reasons. The meats, shrimp, crab, paella, and most of the sides were fine, but the salmon on the buffet contained bread crumbs, so he offered to make me as much salmon without bread crumbs as I wanted. Also, the brussel sprouts on the buffet contained a derivative of eggs, so he offered to make me a fresh batch that I could eat
. All in all, I was ready for an excellent meal once again! After Rachael promptly returned with my Diet Coke, we chatted for a bit and since I was curious, I asked her if she knew James, the waiter who served me on my previous trip? She said that she indeed knew him, but he was no longer working at Cape May, as he received a transfer for his position to Cinderella's Royal Table in the middle of 2014 and later left Disney for a job as a Registered Nurse at a hospital in Orlando. I told her how wonderful that was and that made her happy
. However, Rachel would not disappoint and proved to be a fantastic waitress throughout the evening, as she was very kind, personable, attentive as she made sure my Diet Coke never went empty and my plates were cleared in a timely fashion, and was on point!
After chatting with Rachel for a bit, I started with my first course, which included an assortment of cheeses which made for an excellent start. My plate included (in a clockwise direction) a spicy and buttery pepper jack cheese, four sticks of a salty Italian cheese that I did not recall the name of, mild and creamy goat cheese, nutty swiss cheese, mild Colby Jack Cheese, and sharp cheddar cheese.
Next, I had some salads, which were all delicious. I had a Watermelon Salad with Feta, which worked well as the sweet and delicate watermelon cubes meshed well with the briny and salty Feta Cheese. I also enjoyed a wild rice based salad with tomatoes, which had nutty and filling grains of wild rice and sweet, ripe, and pleasantly acidic grape tomatoes. Also, I enjoyed some salty and piquant olives
.
I then enjoyed some more salads, including a Greek Salad with crisp greens, cool and refreshing cucumber, ripe and sweet tomatoes, salty and briny Feta, and a vinaigrette dressing as well as an Ambrosia Salad, with mild field greens, tangy and sweet dried cranberries, mild goat cheese, and crisp walnuts.
Remember I said that there would be a surprise? Well, as I heading to scope the buffet for some more items, a tall, young male with short dark hair wearing a plaid button-down shirt and jeans called my name and said hi. While I did not remember him at first as it was out of context, but it turns out it was Scott, who I knew well as he almost always delivered pizza from Lontza Pizza in Greenvale, NY to the LIU-Post College Republicans, where I was the Public Relations Person during my Senior Year of college and always provided us with fantastic service. We were ecstatic to see each other again and to my surprise and delight, he invited me to join his family, including his Aunt and Uncle along with his Cousin and her daughter at their table. I was very thankful and excited, as I got to meet a face from the past and I would not have to dine alone
. In addition, Rachel, my waitress, was happy to accommodate me and moved with me so she would be able to serve me there. Before we went to the table, we took this awesome picture!
After going to his table, I had the pleasure of meeting his family, including his lovely Aunt and Uncle from Port Orange, FL, outside of Daytona Beach and his very nice Cousin and niece. After first meeting them, we conversed about a variety of topics throughout the meal. We chatted mainly about Disney, living in Florida, conservative politics (it worked as everyone at the table, except for Scott's cousin and niece, had conservative political views), and more topics, making for a fun and interesting meal!
Rachel then brought me Salmon, which was fantastic as it was moist, flakey, slightly zesty from the added herbs, and cooked to the right doneness, as it was not overcooked.
Rachel then arrived with some Brussels Sprouts and Stewed Tomatoes. At this time I also met Patsy from Orlando, a middle-aged waitress with glasses and blonde hair who was very sweet and like Rachel, also provided excellent service to our table. This Brussels Sprouts and Stewed Tomatoes were excellent, as I enjoyed the earthy and smokey Brussels sprouts meshed with the sweet and pleasantly acidic tomatoes.
After enjoying my Salmon and Brussels Sprouts with Stewed Tomatoes and having a wonderful time with Scott and his family, Rachel then came back to see if I wanted anymore Salmon and Brussels Sprouts? I thanked her, but told her that I was fine, as I was planning to enjoy some other foods. I went up to the buffet and as I was going up, I said hi to Genesis, a waiter who I met on my January 2014 trip. We were both happy to see each other and he even remembered me a little bit, which was very nice
. We did not chat long as he had to serve his tables, but it was cool nevertheless. After that, I got a plate of pleasantly sweet and meaty Crab Legs, earthy and well-cooked Red Potatoes, and slightly spicy and tomatoey cocktail sauce.
I was stuffed, but Rachel still had a surprise in store! Not unlike the last time I dined here, Rachel offered me an assortment of desserts from Babycakes, which worked out well as I could not eat the desserts they had on the buffet. I was very thankful, as Disney definitely keeps their diners with allergies in mind and having Babycakes desserts at many of the restaurants is no exception! Sadly, Scott and his family had to head back before I received my dessert, so I thanked them, wished them well, and agreed to keep in touch as we had exchanged contact information. I hope they are doing well and who knows, maybe our paths will cross again soon? Anyway, I received my Babycakes, which came in very nice packaging, as I told Rachel that I was very full! This worked out perfectly as I was able to take home all of my treats, which included a Cinnamon Sugar Donut and four Mini Brownie Cupcakes, which were gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, and kosher.
Before I received the check, I had the pleasure of chatting with Rachel for a bit. She inquired about my trip and I told her that I had an amazing time, but would be heading home the next day. Rachel was happy that I had an amazing time, but also curious about how I would be getting home. Since I believe getting there is half the fun, I told her that I would be flying home to New York-JFK, on jetBlue and also came in on jetBlue. She said that she had never been on jetBlue, but heard good things about them and hoped to try them one day. I told her they were very good and that she would like them for their legroom, free entertainment, free snacks/beverages, and friendly service. She said that she had flown to Newark Airport in New Jersey and Atlanta and found them both to be very busy! As for airlines, she used Delta (I also like them) and United (never used) and she told me that she found both airlines to be fine. She advised me to allow plenty of time flying home, as she said that Orlando is notorious for long security lines! I told her not to worry, as I arranged for a 1:30PM pick-up for my 5:30PM flight, just in case things go awry. Rachel told me not to worry and that I had more than enough time. We also chatted about her employment with WDW and she told me that she had been with Disney since the 1990s, working mainly at Cape May Cafe. Out of curiosity, I asked her if there were any major differences with Cape May Cafe then and now? She said no, save for the fact that in the early-1990s, they had soft-serve ice cream available at dinner. I said that while it would have been nice if they still had ice cream, we both agreed that we understood Disney's rationale, as Beaches and Cream is not far away and I guess they were worried about competition. Who knows? After our great conversation, I took care of the bill, which came out to about $50 in change with a well-deserved tip, as once again, the service at Cape May Cafe was fantastic!
As I left, Rachel and Patsy thanked me, wished me a magical evening, and a safe trip home. Once again, Cape May Cafe was fantastic and I would definitely return again!
After leaving Cape May Cafe, I walked around the hotel for a bit just taking in the atmosphere and at about a little after 10:00PM, I boarded a bus for Disney Springs, arriving there at about 10:30PM. I walked around Disney Springs for a bit and then crossed the pedestrian walkway over Buena Vista Drive, arriving at my hotel at about 11:00PM. Before I went to my room, I stopped at the BoardEZ airline boarding pass computer in the lobby, where I was able to print my boarding pass. I got ready for bed and then called my mom to chat with her for about half an hour. Also, along with
@SarahDisney and her sister (we did not get to meet as our paths did not cross, but I thank them for being active readers of my TR!
), I was hoping to meet another DISer, who was a young female from Wisconsin if I am not mistaken the next morning at Epcot. Sadly, I realized that this was not going to work out as planned, as I still had some packing to do and because I was out later than anticipated, I was tired. With this in mind, I sent the DISer I was supposed to meet a text, put in my phone to charge, and then canceled my FP+ reservations for that day, as I needed to get a little more sleep.
While I was a bit sad to be leaving Disney World, I was looking forward to coming home to my mom, my then two (now three) dogs, and my guinea pigs
. I then drifted off to sleep, wondering what the next day would be like? What surprises will await on my day of travel? Find out in my next installment.