Oh, Just A Few GALLONS of Pixie Dust! - A July/August 2012 TR

[marDgreen88]

I too adore the Three Caballeros. Was my favorite movie when I was a kid (Donald obsession began early). It's always a fun ride! And I too sing along loudly.

Donald is just the best ever! Seriously. He has the best voice, the best laugh (like the one he uses in Philharmagic? I die!). Your tangent is okay with me.

The Maelstrom. Epcot's best ride.

Hahahahahaha. There's a boat Jack. Oh Rose.

What would the Gran Fiesta Tour be without riders singing too loudly? Well, some may argue that it would be better... but whatever.

I'm glad! YES. He has the best laugh! He has the best EVERYTHING! Love him so much.

Oh, without a doubt.

If Jack hadn't been quickly freezing to death, he might have said, "Let's wait for another one... trolls don't like me."

Or, maybe he would have just taken his chances with the trolls.

Yay for an update !! It is late and I am tired, so I don't have anything exciting to say about it except how cute Jacob looks running up to you. How can that not make you smile ?? I predict you dined at Akershus.

I agree. He's the cutest! Yes, we were going to Akershus!

 

[amandaw]

Y'all were off to a great start that day! Looks like you and your sister had fun in DHS! Although, I was scared for your shoe on RNRC! I would have freaked out the rest of the ride.

Love the box of candy - too cute!

And since World Showcase was the goal at EPCOT - that's awesome that y'all made it in time for opening!

And you're not alone - Donald is Ed's favorite character, too.

I'm interested to hear about lunch......

 

[marDgreen88]

Y'all were off to a great start that day! Looks like you and your sister had fun in DHS! Although, I was scared for your shoe on RNRC! I would have freaked out the rest of the ride.

Love the box of candy - too cute!

And since World Showcase was the goal at EPCOT - that's awesome that y'all made it in time for opening!

And you're not alone - Donald is Ed's favorite character, too.

I'm interested to hear about lunch......

Definitely! It was a fun morning, despite the long lines! Omg, I was so nervous that I would have to walk around shoeless that entire day!

Me too! I want one hahha.

Yeah! That was a funny coincidence, we didn't even do it on purpose but it worked out very well!

YAY! He's awesome.

It was a fun meal!

 

[marDgreen88]

I just wanted to give a special shout out to Mr. Walter E. Disney! Today is the celebration of his birth 111 years ago! What a special day in history that turned out to be!

 

[rachel09985]

Hahah i love your brother running towards you guys!!

I must check out those bathrooms because I love Leila! I am actually getting it for Christmas. I am not even sure if it will smell that great on me I just love the smell.

 

[marDgreen88]

Hahah i love your brother running towards you guys!!

I must check out those bathrooms because I love Leila! I am actually getting it for Christmas. I am not even sure if it will smell that great on me I just love the smell.

Thanks!! He is just precious.

Hahah definitely! I mean, I could be wrong, but I think that's what it was! Either way the bathroom smelled amazing. Cool that you're getting some for Christmas! It smells SO GOOD.

 

[emma212010]

That Test Track area is creepy!!

I love bathrooms that smell good! LOL! It's just a great surprise!

Happy belated birthday Walt!!

 

[amazingact21]

TT being closed was so sad. I'm happy THAT ordeal is over with. Because, I agree, not hearing the cars fly by was so weird. You could tell something was missing from Future World. Epcot just wasn't the same...


WS at opening is so fun. Most people are still in Future World, so you can walk around or hit the attractions without waves upon waves of people.


A good smelling bathroom....hmm. That's a new one. I might have to check that out in the future. Which sounds weird, but I'm curious.

 

[marDgreen88]

That Test Track area is creepy!!

I love bathrooms that smell good! LOL! It's just a great surprise!

Happy belated birthday Walt!!

It actually really was. I'm so glad it's open again, as of yesterday!!!

Haha I totally agree! It messes with your mind a little bit, though.

Yes indeed!

TT being closed was so sad. I'm happy THAT ordeal is over with. Because, I agree, not hearing the cars fly by was so weird. You could tell something was missing from Future World. Epcot just wasn't the same...

WS at opening is so fun. Most people are still in Future World, so you can walk around or hit the attractions without waves upon waves of people.

A good smelling bathroom....hmm. That's a new one. I might have to check that out in the future. Which sounds weird, but I'm curious.

I know, I'm so glad it's opened again! I can't wait to ride the new version.

Hahah I had no idea they did a little countdown. It was so cute.

I fully support your decision to smell the bathroom.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

I can't ride the Gran Fiesta Tour without yelling FIESTA HOY in my best six-years-of-Spanish-classes accent when I see that sign. Then I just repeat Pan-CHI-to over and over again until the ride's over. It's not annoying at all.

Ah, NorVay. Magic bathrooms and the greatest attraction in the history of theme parks. It's a beautiful place.

 

[marDgreen88]

I can't ride the Gran Fiesta Tour without yelling FIESTA HOY in my best six-years-of-Spanish-classes accent when I see that sign. Then I just repeat Pan-CHI-to over and over again until the ride's over. It's not annoying at all.

Ah, NorVay. Magic bathrooms and the greatest attraction in the history of theme parks. It's a beautiful place.

I mean, I really can't see how it would be annoying. FIESTA HOY!!! Not annoying at all if you ask me!

Oh yes, it is beautiful indeed, for many, many reasons (some of which you don't know yet).

 

[danimaroo]

EEEE FINALLY CAUGHT UP AGAIN! YAY!

Okay, so about your last day at HS. Those crowds sound insane! And that heat, wompwomp. You and I are on the same wavelength because again, I can't stand that darn marble door either! I just want to tell people PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH! Number one, the germs on that thing are probably horrifying and number two, I do not need to hear that noise for the 50th time.

I remember when we went on after a Brazilian Tour Group was in front of us and every single one of those kids needed to touch it. AAHHHH it was torture, hahaha.

OMG I could just picture you losing a flip flop on RnRC! That would be so terrible though. Funny, but terrible.

UGH I know I'll be there in like 38 days but I just want to be at Disney NOW. Disneyland was wonderful but Disney World is home and I can't wait to go back. All of your Epcot photos are making me miss it like crazy today! Doesn't help that today is Monday, which is naaaht my favorite day of the week.

OH BEACH CLUB! I think that actually might be Beach Club Villas, since they're the closest to Epcot! Plus I could always hear the music from England in our room, so yeah!

Cutest photo of Jacob running at you! He must have missed you guys!

I think I know where you guys are going based on your mini-PTR, but I'll keep quiet so I don't spoil it.

 

[marDgreen88]

EEEE FINALLY CAUGHT UP AGAIN! YAY!

Okay, so about your last day at HS. Those crowds sound insane! And that heat, wompwomp. You and I are on the same wavelength because again, I can't stand that darn marble door either! I just want to tell people PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH! Number one, the germs on that thing are probably horrifying and number two, I do not need to hear that noise for the 50th time.

I remember when we went on after a Brazilian Tour Group was in front of us and every single one of those kids needed to touch it. AAHHHH it was torture, hahaha.

OMG I could just picture you losing a flip flop on RnRC! That would be so terrible though. Funny, but terrible.

UGH I know I'll be there in like 38 days but I just want to be at Disney NOW. Disneyland was wonderful but Disney World is home and I can't wait to go back. All of your Epcot photos are making me miss it like crazy today! Doesn't help that today is Monday, which is naaaht my favorite day of the week.

OH BEACH CLUB! I think that actually might be Beach Club Villas, since they're the closest to Epcot! Plus I could always hear the music from England in our room, so yeah!

Cutest photo of Jacob running at you! He must have missed you guys!

I think I know where you guys are going based on your mini-PTR, but I'll keep quiet so I don't spoil it.

Aww, yay! I'm so glad!

Hahha I mean, the heat I can handle. But the crowds were completely insane for how early it was! The park hadn't even been opened for 30 minutes! Craaazy.

I'm glad you understand the marble thing. I mean, nothing is worse than the actual Everest bells, but man. Those marbles.

I know! What a story that would have been if I HAD lost it on the ride! I'd have to go up to a CM like, "oh hi... um... I lost my shoe?" They'd probably just be like, "Yeah. Too bad."

I MISS IT TOO! I want to be there SO BADLY! This is the first December that I'm not going after two years in a row. I bet you understand that since you've been twice now in January. Not going stinks! Hahah. But that 38 days will be over before you know it. I mean, after Christmas, it will only be like three weeks!!!

Oh, maybe it is BCV! I actually don't really know the difference in which part is just Beach Club and which part is BCV...

Hahah thanks! He's precious. He did miss us, even though we were only separated for a couple hours!

Yay! Hahha that's okay, you can spill if you want! I think a lot of people know.

 

[MeMom]

I just wanted to give a special shout out to Mr. Walter E. Disney! Today is the celebration of his birth 111 years ago! What a special day in history that turned out to be!

I am very thankful for what he created and how much happiness it has brought to our lives.

 

[marDgreen88]

I am very thankful for what he created and how much happiness it has brought to our lives.

Me too! I can't imagine life without Disney!

 

[marDgreen88]

The One With Princess Storybook Dining
Part 1!

August 2, 2012

In case you didn’t realize, we were going HERE.

We checked in at Akershus at 12:00, which was our exact ADR time, and were pretty much immediately led into the restaurant and into the line to get our picture with Belle.

Storybrooke. (I mean, 'book.')

We always skip the pre-meal picture thing, because normally they just try to sell it to you. (I'm looking at you, Chef Mickey's.) However, at Akershus, they give it to you for free!

We had to wait while a few other families took pictures with Belle, so I took random pictures of things. (When I say random, I mean it.)

I’m sure you’ve been waiting forever to see pictures like those.

After a few minutes, it was our turn to meet the princess! She was so sweet! Anna was so happy to meet her. She’s been her favorite princess forever!

This is the picture from our camera. Thankfully, in the ones they gave us, my mom had her eyes open.

Almost immediately after we said goodbye to Belle, we were seated in a little corner table. It felt nice and private and it was a great spot!

I became oddly obsessed with the ceiling in that place.

I thought it was pretty, okay?!

I was starting to record a little video, but our waiter came over. I wasn’t mad though. He was honestly one of the most attractive men I've ever seen. Yes, the Hot World Showcase Waiter phenomenon is indeed a reality, and not an urban myth. I usually hear about the attractive Italian or French cast members, but I'm here to blow your mind: Norway is where it's at, yall.

Kim (yes, a male… must be a Norwegian thing) is the waiter you want at Akershus.

Not only is Kim the waiter GORGEOUS, but he was also very attentive, polite, friendly, personable, and just an all-around gentlemen. (And you could tell he wasn’t putting on a show to get a good tip. He was genuine.) Now, before you get angry with me for not taking a picture, KNOW THIS: I captured his beautiful face on video camera. YOU’RE WELCOME.

Okay, so by now I'm sure you're all well aware of my love for Kim the Norwegian waiter. Let’s move on.

Kim told us we could head to the cold buffet any time we wanted, so we did! At the cold buffet, there are a lot of Norwegian cheeses and deli meats, as well as bread, pasta dishes, fish, and fruits. Keep in mind that all of the food there is cold. (That's why they call it a cold buffet. )

Here's what I got.

Now, don’t go thinking I was slacking off and just took a picture when I was done eating. Nope. That’s really how much I got.

Pathetic, no? Hey, at least I got something. I was trying to save room for my actual meal.

We ate our cold items, and I enjoyed almost everything I put on my plate. The honeydew wasn't great. It wasn't sweet enough and it was too soft. But that's okay, I didn't go to Akershus for the honeydew. (Does anyone go anywhere for the honeydew? Unless maybe there was a restaurant called The Honeydew Factory or something. But that would be weird.)

Everyone else seemed to enjoy their cold items. Here are two of their plates. I really can’t tell you why I didn’t go ahead and photograph everyone’s plates, but at least it’s something. Bahaha.

See? Much less pathetic than mine. Good for them.

Kim came back to take our orders while we were eating from the cold buffet, and as soon as he left, another waiter came to drop off our souvenir pictures!

They brought it to us in a Disney bag. They actually gave us two sets: each set came with one larger one in a souvenir holder, and two smaller ones. (I can’t tell you the sizes, I’m not good at that sort of thing.) In total, we got SIX different pictures. That’s a great deal, if you ask me! They were so cute!

Doin' the creep on Belle.

Because everyone needs a picture of a Disney napkin.

Soon enough, the princesses started coming around! They take a certain route, so we would see them as they came out, but they would walk past us first because they had to start in the back room. I didn’t care though because our food came out around the same time as the princesses!

A really great thing about Akershus is that even with all the different elements (buffet, ordering main courses, princesses, etc.) it was a quick process, but never rushed. Everything went at a nice, relaxing pace.

Once again, I only took pictures of my food and two other plates. I have no idea why that was the theme of the meal, but what are you gonna do?

I got the Open-face Chicken Sandwich. It certainly isn't the most adventurous meal ever, and it doesn't exactly scream ‘authentic Norwegian cuisine’, but what can I say, I'm picky sometimes. I had planned on getting something a little more authentic, but I just wasn’t feeling it that day.

I don't think it should be called a sandwich. I don't know. The fact that there isn't a top bun makes it a little awkward to eat. I basically ended up leaving a lot of the bread on the bottom. It was toasted sourdough, so it never got soggy, but I didn't really care to eat it once I was finished with the chicken breast. The chicken breast itself was really good though, and the bacon was good, thick, REAL bacon, a rare occurrence at Walt Disney World. I really enjoyed my meal, even though I probably made it sound like I didn’t! It was just a little awkward to eat, that’s all! Jacob got the same thing as me, and enjoyed it as well! I don’t think he had a hard time with it at all. In fact, I think he put a roll on top and made it an actual sandwich! He’s a smart cookie, I’m tellin’ ya.

OH, and the soup! I am a freak of nature and I don’t like soup (except for broccoli cheddar), so I gave mine to my mom! I tasted it to make sure, and yeah, I didn’t like it. My mom did though, so that’s all that matters!

My mom and dad both got the Mushroom Stuffed Pasta. They both really liked it! In fact, it was my mom’s favorite meal of the trip!

(Please excuse the roll and the cheese. Those are from the cold buffet. Hahaha.)

Anna got the Oven-roasted Chicken Breast, which she said was really good!

While we were eating, ROYALTY visited us!

Continued in Next Update​

 

[marDgreen88]

The One With Princess Storybook Dining
Part 2!

August 2, 2012

The first princess to visit our table was Cinderella! It was my first time meeting her! My mom was actually surprised that she showed up in someone else's castle.
I told her she liked visiting Epcot too.

Side note: The entire time we were there, I was expecting to meet Jasmine. However, I didn’t realize that she didn’t meet there! The funny thing is, apparently Cinderella doesn’t meet at Akershus anymore, and Jasmine does instead!

Cinderella was nice, but she didn't say anything too memorable. Eh, it’s alright, I still liked meeting her! Her movie has always been one of my favorites.

You'll notice that in pretty much every picture of someone with a princess, at least one of us is looking at the wrong camera. One camera at a time, people! Sigh.

Cinderella is Jacob’s favorite princess.

Soon after Cinderella left, Snow White came! She was seriously too cute. She asked where we were from, and when we told her, she said, “Oh, Virginia! That must have been a long journey on horseback! I hope you're not too sore!” Seriously, so adorable. I loved her.

At that point, we were finished eating. I had added my mom’s birthday as a celebration on the ADR, and Kim brought her a cute little cupcake! Her birthday was in mid-July, so I thought it would be special to give her an extra little birthday surprise at Disney. She thought it was so cute!

Next up was Aurora! She saw my mom's birthday cupcake and said, “Oh, it’s your birthday! You know, it was on my birthday that I pricked my finger, so be careful to not touch any spinning wheels!”

My mom told her not to worry, since she hadn’t seen any spinning wheels around. Aurora seemed very relieved.

This may come as a shock to everyone, but I’m the ONLY person in my family who has EVER seen Sleeping Beauty! Even weirder is the fact that it’s only been about four years since I first watched it! I bought it when it came out on Platinum Edition DVD back in 2008. I think my parents thought it would be too scary for us when we were younger, and they were probably right. I love the movie now though! It’s so beautiful and such a classic.

As if I had planned it myself, the last princess to visit our table was…

Ariel!!!

She has literally been my lifelong favorite, but up until that point I had never met her! I know, how is that possible? I don't know either, but I was SO excited to finally be meeting her. I wore my Ariel headband just for the occasion (child) and she loved it, of course!

I told her she was my favorite, and she told me I had good taste in princesses! It’s true!

Everyone had to get their pictures taken with Ariel. Of course.

(The guy in the background of that picture is NOT Kim. FYI.)

When Jacob and Ariel were chatting, he told her that he loved his Daddy. (He tells a lot of random people how much he loves the members of his family. Even if they didn’t ask! Hahah, it’s precious.)

Ariel said, “I love my Daddy, too! I’ve been known to get in trouble with him, though. Do you ever get in trouble with your dad?”

And Jacob said, “Of course not!”



Good answer, Jacob, but I beg to differ!

This meal honestly worked like clockwork. As soon as we were done with our meal and had met all of the princesses, it was time for the little princess parade!

Just some BFFs ready to parade around the restaurant.

Oh my goodness… if you have ever been to Akershus, you know what happens, but this was the sweetest thing ever. All these little girls in their princess dresses were following the princesses around and you could just see the admiration in their eyes. Let’s be real here, I definitely had tears in my eyes. It was just the epitome of adorable.

I think my dad thought so too, because he said, “Oh, we’re definitely coming here with our grandkids.” Way to be optimistic, father.

When the princess processional was over, dessert was served! At Akershus, it comes family style, and they give you three different kinds of dessert to try!

Just like at ‘Ohana, I wanted to try a little of everything to see what I liked best.

The rice pudding was just… bleck!!! I was not a fan. At all. I'd never had it before and I just feel like rice doesn't translate well to dessert. Ick. I honestly could barely swallow the one little bite I had. Hahah, so clearly, I wasn’t a fan. However, if you’re a fan of rice pudding, you would probably love it! My mom did!

The puff pastry with berries and marscapone was really good and came highly recommended by Kim.

My favorite, however, was the chocolate mousse cake. Oh yum. It was just amazingly good. It was everything it should have been. The mousse part was delicious, and it didn’t make the cake part too soggy or anything, and it was wonderfully chocolaty. I think they sell this at the Kringla bakery too, so basically I’m going to need to stop there on my next trip.

While we were having our dessert, my dad paid the check. After Kim came around for the last time, I couldn't bear the thought of saying goodbye to him just yet. So naturally, I decided to ask him how to pronounce the word Akershus. Unfortunately I don't even remember because see, Kim was really good at eye contact, and I was really good at being mesmerized. I feel like he said it was... ock er shoos. Works for me. Then Kim started talking about how the real Akershus castle looked very similar to this on the inside, but obviously they changed it a little bit to make it a fully functioning restaurant. Then he told me (yes, me. At that point I was completely unaware that anyone else existed) about how he moved from Norway and how much he loves working for Disney. He misses his family, but he gets to go back to Norway for Christmas this year! (AW! That’s soon! I hope he has a safe trip.) He also said that since the cost of traveling to Norway is so expensive, that sometimes his family will come and stay with him and his... wife.



(Imagine the sound of glass breaking, like on How I Met Your Mother. Illusion OVER.)

Wahhh. Back to reality, yall. Oh well, my chances were slim anyway. The best part was that he met his wife at Disney because she works there too, so that made me happy.

Overall, our lunch at Akershus was wonderful! We all really enjoyed it, and it ended up being Anna’s favorite! Hooray!

Where to next? We had a great big beautiful World Showcase to explore!

Continued in Next Update​

 

[MEK]

....his wife.


(Imagine the sound of glass breaking, like on How I Met Your Mother. Illusion OVER.)

Wahhh. Back to reality, yall. Oh well, my chances were slim anyway. The best part was that he met his wife at Disney because she works there too, so that made me happy.

​

I am sorry - that is too funny.

Please know I am not laughing at your expense, but I definitely heard the record screech before the "his wife" part.

Maybe they should tell Kim to keep the "wife" part on the low-down. At least he waited until the end of the meal.

OK - then - getting back on track - great pictures. Yummy looking food. Fun update. I have always wanted to eat there, but I definitely need to take a girl child with me and there are none in my family. Boo!

 

[jecskc]

We really loved our breakfast at Akershus and wondered if lunch or dinner would be just as good.

Didn't you just love Ariel's dress ?? It was so pretty.

I am so sorry that when you finally found your dream man ..... that you found out he was married. Life is hard.

 

[dara00]

Haha too bad Kim is married! I love Jacobs conversation w Ariel!