Hiding the check from my hubby! Dining TR 8/27-9/1 UPDATED 9/7- Via Napoli Lunch

[mommys3]

Hello, and thank you for joining in! My name is Helen and I am a stay-at-home mom to my 4 beautiful children!

My husband, Larry, and I have been married for almost 12 years (we will be celebrating our anniversary during our vacation- it's actually on 9/9, but close enough ). We will be taking our umpteenth trip to WDW from 8/27 to 9/1. Joining us will be my SIL sister-in-law and her family (husband and 2 boys). We will be staying at ASMovies 8/27-31 and then the Polynesian CL for one night (anniversary present ).

I have had 6 months to make ADRs, cancel ADRs, change times on an ADR...you name it, I've done it. Only a couple of weeks to go and I think that I am finally settled on a solid dining itinerary Oh wait, I lied. Akershus was supposed to be a "girls only" (my 2 daughters and I) breakfast, but Larry has informed me that he does not want to miss the look on our daughters' faces when they meet the princesses. My boys, on the other hand, could care less So now I have to change our ADR from a party of 3 to party of 6 (keeping my fingers crossed that something opens up soon!).

Anywho...on to my ADR list

Monday, Aug. 27

B- Akershus
L- Via Napoli
D- Cape May Cafe

Tuesday, Aug. 28

D- 50's Prime Time Cafe

Wednesday, Aug. 29

B- Crystal Palace

Thursday,Aug. 30

B- Hollywood & Vine (Play n Dine)
L- Sci-Fi
D- Hollywood & Vine (F! dining package)

Friday, Aug. 31

D- 'Ohana

Saturday, Sept. 1

L- Kona Cafe

The restaurants in pink will be the ones we are trying for the first time My youngest daughter and I have been to 50's PTC before, but just for a snack (PB&J milkshake and onion rings ). I can't wait for the rest of the family to try it, and am really looking forward to try the fried chicken! We have been to H&V before, but this will be the first time for breakfast.

I think I have settled on where we will be eating for counter service, but that is always subject to change- especially with 4 picky children After spending a few hours calculating and re-calculating, we will not be on the DDP. Just didn't seem to be the right route to take with the numbers I was coming up with. But we will be using the TIW card. Larry had me take care of the all the ADRs, but he does not want to see how much we will be spending. He knows it will be a lot of money, but ignorance is bliss- right? Hence, the title of my PTR

Next up: Snacks, drinks, and CS choices

 

[mommys3]

Table of Contents

CS, snacks and drinks...oh my!
Akershus Breakfast
Via Napoli lunch

 

[blancah76]

We will be trying 50's and Kona for the first time as well. Looking forward to tour reviews.

 

[Tracerr00]

My DD and I will be there the exact same days that you and your family are there! You have a beautiful family and I can't wait to read your reviews!

 

[Chuck65]

50's Prime Time is a very good place to eat. Watch your manners though or else it can get very entertaining. I actually saw them put one lady in the corner for something.

 

[mommys3]

We will be trying 50's and Kona for the first time as well. Looking forward to tour reviews.

Awesome! Thank you for reading along...I'm hoping to take LOTS of pictures of all the yumminess!

My DD and I will be there the exact same days that you and your family are there! You have a beautiful family and I can't wait to read your reviews!

Thank you for your kind words 12 more days for us I bet your dd is ecstatic...I know my kids are!

50's Prime Time is a very good place to eat. Watch your manners though or else it can get very entertaining. I actually saw them put one lady in the corner for something.

I'm hoping to get someone that will give my husband a hard time! Or maybe even my 11 year old ds who thinks he's too old for WDW

 

[mommys3]

Epcot- Monday, 8/27

We will be eating at a TS restaurant for every meal this day. I refuse to step on a scale after this vacation

Snacks: Kaki Gori, goodies from Karamell Kuche and Boulangerie Patisserie, I was hoping to try School Bread but my waist is expanding just reading all of this

Drinks: Welsh Dragon from Rose and Crown Pub, Grand Marnier Slush (France)

Animal Kingdom- Tuesday, 8/28

CS: breakfast at ASMovies food court, lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue

Snacks: Jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel

Drinks: Triple Yeti Blast

Magic Kingdom- Wednesday, 8/29

CS: lunch at Columbia Harbour House for everyone but me (nothing on the menu appeals to me ) so I'm hoping to grab a sweet & spicy chicken waffle sandwich from Sleepy Hollow. Dinner at Cosmic Rays.

Snacks: Dole Whip, churros, popcorn, Mickey ice cream bar

Hollywood Studios- Thursday, 8/30

No CS: all TS restaurants again

Snacks: a cupcake from Starring Rolls

Drinks Orbiting Oreos from Sci-Fi

Friday, 8/31

CS: ASMovies food court for breakfast, maybe Earl of Sandwich for lunch

Snacks: something from DTD

Drinks: Island Sunset from Tambu Lounge


Nothing set in stone, just an idea of what I would like to accomplish I came across something interesting online called "100 Disney Foods to Eat Before You Die Challenge." I wrote about it in my PTR. I'm at 20, but that will soon change

 

[tinkluvr23]

Hehe I love your title I feel you on that! Except he is not my hubby yet. Can't wait to read your report!

 

[mommys3]

Hehe I love your title I feel you on that! Except he is not my hubby yet. Can't wait to read your report!

Thanks for joining in

4 more days I have my camera charged and ready to take lots of pictures...get ready for some major food porn

 

[jabead]

Hi Helen! Only 2 more days until your trip...how exciting! Count me in on your reviews and hopefully you won't mind if I add you to my list (see my signature for link).

 

[mommys3]

Let's get this dining TR started, shall we?

AKERSHUS

We arrived at WDW a little after 7:00 am on Monday, August 27. We checked in at ASMovies and the girls and I quickly parted ways with DH and their brothers. They were going to eat breakfast at the food court while we dined with the Princesses Our ADR was for 8:20 am. We checked in at Akershus around 8:10 am. We waited about 15 minutes before our party was called. We were greeted by Belle

The girls brought their autograph books but silly mom forgot a pen One of the CMs saved the day and gave us 2 to keep

We were seated right after their picture was taken. Our server (I was horrible on this trip and did not remember any names, and cannot find most of the receipts ) took our drink orders and said we could head over to the buffet. As we made our way to grab something to eat, they announced that the Princess Procession was going to begin in a few minutes. I grabbed a few things

Sadly, this is the only trip I made to the buffet. I was a bit overwhelmed with just arriving, trying to make sure the girls had seen all the princesses, and then hurrying to finish in time to meet DH, the boys, and SIL and her family! The fruits were nice and fresh. The salami was absolutely delicious. I wish I would have grabbed more (I only had about 4 slices). I was looking forward to the lingonberry pastry and it did not disappoint...it was very good. The pastry in the back had some sort of chocolate filling that my DD really enjoyed (she had a couple!).

My younger DD had Princess Aurora all to herself as they made their way around the restaurant with the other princesses and little guests

This is the plate the server brought out for us. I ate everything but the sausage. My favorite was the potato casserole. I ate about 3/4 of it and my older DD had the rest. The eggs were nice and hot. I wasn't too impressed with the bacon, but I'm a bacon snob. I also like it crispy, which these were a little too chewy for my liking.

Four princesses came to visit us at our table

Cinderella

Aurora. She went up to my younger DD, said "There is my little friend!" and even called her by name. It was adorable.

Ariel. She seemed in a hurry and interaction with her was minimal.

And last but not least, Snow White. She was very much in character and asked my younger DD if one of the dwarves shrunk her dress since she was wearing a Snow White costume

It was our first time here and we enjoyed ourselves. I think next time I will bring DH and the boys along so I can enjoy the food a little more I was so worried about the girls missing one of the princesses that I did not each as much as I would have liked. I definitely would have made another trip to the buffet! Our waitress was very attentive and made sure that our drinks were filled and that we were good on food. The character interaction was great (with the exception of Ariel), and they made sure that they spend a good amount of time with each child. I think we will be returning on our next trip!

ETA: I found the receipt from this meal! Our server was Camilla, and the price of an adult for breakfast is $34.99, child $20.99.

Ratings:

Atmosphere: 9/10 We didn't miss not eating at the castle. I think I actually think I liked the theming at Akershus just as much as CRT. And pictures are included in the price, so that is always a bonus! It was just a little difficult for my DD to get to the cold buffet from where we were sitting.

Server: 9/10 She was on top of everything! I just took 1 point off- at the end while we were waiting for our bill, she took a little bit longer than expected.

Character interaction: 9/10 As previously mentioned, all the characters were wonderful. Ariel just seemed so rushed.

Food: 8/10 I think I would have rated it higher (or maybe lower ) if I would have tried more of the cold buffet. But everything I tried I absolutely enjoyed (other than the limp bacon ).

 

[ShortStuff]

Your children are adorable!! I love your younger daughters expressions when she looks at the characters!! :

Looking forward to more of your reviews!!

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Absolutely adorable.

 

[Trish.Glenn]

Great review!! Dh and I went there last year with no kids and his interaction with the princess was hysterical!!!

 

[butiflfeet]

Such cute kids! Looking forward to more of your reviews

 

[mommys3]

Your children are adorable!! I love your younger daughters expressions when she looks at the characters!! :

Looking forward to more of your reviews!!

Thank you She absolutely loved all the characters she encountered and would end each visit with a hug

Absolutely adorable.

Thank you!!!

Great review!! Dh and I went there last year with no kids and his interaction with the princess was hysterical!!!

I love how the princesses played their character perfectly And I love how they just know how to interact with the guests, both young and old!

Such cute kids! Looking forward to more of your reviews

Thank you!!!

 

[mommys3]

We had an ADR at Via Napoli (in Italy at the Epcot World Showcase for those who are not familiar with the restaurant) for 12:45 pm. I had originally booked the ADR for a party of 6, but SIL and her family decided to join us for lunch, so I asked the check-in counter if they were able to accommodate 4 more people (well, 3 and a half her youngest son is 6 months old). It was not a problem and we were seated a few minutes later. We were seated at the long table in the center of the restaurant and right beside the ovens

Our server, Alessandro, took our drink orders. Nothing special, just coffee, soda and chocolate milk for the little kids. SIL and my DH shared the house salad ($7.00/person, 2 person minimum). I did not taste it, but I did eat their mushrooms since they were picking it out. From what I can tell, it was delicious! The dressing was nice and tangy. For our meal, we ordered the Metro Pepperoni ($41.00). This pizza was huge!

The adults and kids shared this. There was plenty to go around. I only had a few bites since I ordered the 4 Formaggio personal pizza ($19.00)

This was a delicious pizza! The best I've ever tasted? Probably not, but it was good! I was kind of worried since it did not have pizza sauce, but I think that would have ruined the taste for me.

My youngest dd had the kids spaghetti and meatballs ($9.50)

She loves her spaghetti and this was no exception! The meal was too big for her to finish though, so I think one of the other kids finished it off for her. Alessandro was a great server and made sure that we were having a good meal. As a matter of fact, looking back at the receipt- he did not charge us for any of our beverages I don't know if that was Disney magic, or maybe he just forgot

We had a super enjoyable meal and will definitely be back. I think I am almost certain when I say this has replaced Le Cellier for us I know, apples and oranges...but I guess we are more pizza people than steak people!

My girls after the meal (Via Napoli in the background)

Ratings:

Atmosphere: 9/10 I felt like I was in Italy (no, I have never been ). There was plenty of room for the entire family. My kids had a few issues with the super tall chairs, but that won't stop us from coming back!

Server: 10/10 Alessandro was always there when we needed him. Made sure that we were enjoying our meal, that our drinks were filled, etc. And we didn't pay for our drinks...SCORE!!!

Food: 9/10 Everything was delicious. For some reason though, my pizza got cold super fast and I am not a slow eater.

 

[dixonsontour]

What a great way to start your trip - your little girl's face is so expressive - love all the pics with the princesses and with the spaghetti.