3,298 miles, 10 breweries, and 1 Mega Meet - a July '16 Trip Report *New 6/5/17 - Link to new TR!*

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 57: At Disney - Day 6: EPCOT
Frozen Ever After ... with no wait!​

So, part of my plan was aiming to finish up with the Akershus breakfast a bit before the park opened so we could try and get in the standby line for Frozen Ever After with not too much of a wait. We did have FP+ for later in the day but knowing that the ride had a habit of breaking down and closing for periods (or for the day) at this point I wanted to have multiple chances - and figured if it didn't work out, not big deal.

Well, when we go out we saw the line and figured it was short enough to get in - this was at 7:49am and we were about the 5th family in line - so not bad! And they opened the doors just a few minutes later so we were entering the queue proper at 8:52am ... probably not a lot of chances to see FAE listed with just a 10 minute wait!

​

And the wait wasn't even that long - we just had to get through all the twists and turns of the line as quick as we could walk with no wait. So, didn't get a chance for many pictures of the queue but did get a quick (slightly blury, as we were moving) one of the Sauna door and then one of the end of the queue just to show how empty it was

​

Then a picture of Olivia with the poster that explains the story of the ride (I know some people have complained that the story isn't clear while riding - but the sign tries to explain that this isn't a retelling of the story of the movie, but rather a celebration taking place after the fact). Also a shot of the wait line numbers on the ground as I have a weird fascination with them and how Disney often themes them. (Also, I know I don't get in a lot of the photos, but my feed made it into this one! )

​

And then we were off on the ride! First up was the Olaf and Sven animatronics. The Olaf one has some great movement (I read some reports of early on this one wasn't always working, which would be a bummer as it was a great animatronic)

​

Then Anna and Kristoff help explain the story ... and Sven has his tongue stuck to a post

​

Then the Elsa scene, and then towards the end with Anna and Elsa welcoming you to the celebration ... along with Stoner Olaf, apparently

​

And our ride photo .... Olivia is just loving life and Peter is scared out of his mind - so fairly typical for us. Side note, that little girl behind Peter looks pretty intense!

​

So what did we think of the ride? Overall we really liked it - considering it is really just a glorified overlay of an existing ride I think they did the best they could and it is a really solid dark ride with some great animatronics. One weakness I feel is the part where you are getting close to the Ice Palace everything is pretty static and I feel like they could have done more with that.

Now, does it belong where it is? Not really, I think it would have been better to have a Frozen area of Magic Kingdom or in DHS rather than put a fictionalized story into a real work pavilion of Norway. But, that is a separate question.

In typical Disney fashion the exit to the ride goes to a dump shop where the kids explored for a bit but held off on buying things for now knowing we would be back later. We did stop for a picture of the kids with the large Troll. This picture was taken at 9:09am - so doing pretty well!

​

Coming up - more fun with Anna and Elsa!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 58: At Disney - Day 6: EPCOT
Meeting Anna and Elsa​

After getting through the ride and the dump shop, we headed over to the line for the meet and greet with the Snow Queen and her sister. There were a ton of details in the queue but for some reason I didn't take too many pictures (I think partly because the line was moving pretty good so not a lot of time to stand still). I did get this one which has their nod to Maelstrom and hey, I am actually in a photo!

​

We then were called ahead to enter a door and meet Anna and Elsa ... at least I hope so, there were multiple doors and no way they could all lead to Anna and Elsa

​

First up was Anna who, as always, had a ton of spunk and was very engaging and fun. I love the first photo as it looks like Olivia and Anna are engaging in a very serious conversation. Then a PP picture of the family with Anna

​

Then it was to be our turn to meet Elsa ... but then the family that had just finished came back and said they had looked at their phone and thought the picture taken of them with Elsa was not good enough and wanted another. The CM wasn't quite sure what to do but eventually I think everyone just decided it was easier to just let them take another rather than continue the discussion if the first one was good enough or not. Made it a bit awkward for us as we were like half way to Elsa and then had to stop. Oh well.

Eventually we were summoned by the queen and had a really nice meet with her. She was one of the more engaging Elsa's we have met (and I always love how Olivia bounces up and down at the beginning of a meet)

​

And then the meet leaves you in another a dump shop. I want to mention that we met a number of CMs in the various Norway shops and they were all super nice and very engaging. One thing I love about World Showcase is all the CMs from those countries that are excited to be working in Walt Disney World - and these were some of the best! Here is one who spent close to 5 minutes chatting with Olivia and Peter

That was it for our Norway, er, Arendalle fun - and we were done with all that and it was only 9:24am - so not bad! At this point Judi looked at me and said "Ok, I guess you did pretty good with all your planning" - a top five proudest moment for me! ​

Coming up, we head towards Future World ... with a brief layover in Mexico

TTFN

 

[missangelalexis]

Love that photo of Peter hanging on the balcony, not a bad view to enjoy!

I haven't gotten to the Akershus portion of my TR but spoiler alert, we ordered extra potatoes too! Wow were those things good!

Sounds like a successful breakfast! Weird that you were missing a princess though.

Nice work getting on FEA with no wait!! Glad you all enjoyed it. And nice pics with Anna & Elsa! You really were making great on time (and even better when someone takes notice )!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

My family loves Akershus for breakfast. It's one place we go every trip. We've always found the princesses to be very good and we enjoy the variety on the buffet. Interesting that you guys liked the potatoes though. I've read a few reports saying the same thing, how much they loved the potatoes. My family didn't like them much. I thought they were OK, the girls not so much. I seem to remember them being heavy on onion, and none of us like onion, so maybe that's what it is.

I like your Akershus - FEA stand by strategy. DW & DD have a trip to WDW in July with dance school (I'm not going, work commitments). I have her booked at Akershus for 8:30am so I'm going to suggest trying FEA stand by after. I'm hoping it's not too late, I didn't see an earlier ADR.

 

[annie170]

Your resort look really nice. I don't mind staying off property now and then for a better deal.

In and out of Akershus in 35 minutes?! You made excellent time!

We'll be having lunch in six days(!!!) at Akershus. I'm looking through my 2012 photos from there and we saw six princesses that day: Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, and Cinderella, as well as Belle for the photos. I guess they've cut back.

I agree with you regarding the placement of FEA. I think it would be better suited in MK and it kind of messes with WS in general. I know a lot of people with young kids skip Epcot, so this helps bring them into the park.

Glad you had good meets with Anna and Elsa. Your kids are getting so tall!

 

[rteetz]

Love that photo in front of SSE!

I have never done Akershus, even with two sisters. It sounds like you enjoyed it though.

Great pictures with Anna and Elsa! Believe it or not I have never met them.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

At this point Judi looked at me and said "Ok, I guess you did pretty good with all your planning" - a top five proudest moment for me!

Way to go! Totally something my husband would say...

 

[SarahDisney]

We did Akershus dinner last January and there were 4 princesses (Cinderella + the three you saw). Weird that there were only 3 - I don't know if that's a breakfast thing or if Cinderella was just having trouble with her mice that morning.

Awesome job getting in FEA and A&E with minimal lines - that's some A+ planning (and execution) there!!

 

[khertz]

I'll have to come back to read the updates, but LOVED the video!!! Another great one!!

 

[Dugette]

Cool picture with the monorail and Spaceship Earth in the background.

We got through security - I think this was the morning both Judi and I got selected to have to go through the metal detectors (normally it was just one or the other while the one not picked could stay with the kids). The security guard just told us to leave the kids and I responded with "um, no - I am not leaving my kids" - so we had to take more time with first Judi going, then back to get the kids, and then me going through - a bit annoying.

Huh, they always had both of us "selected", never just one. Maybe having three kids makes that less likely than with only one? I also found it really weird that they encouraged parents to leave their young kids.

Peter.

And speaking of the foot platter - here it is! We love the cheesy potatoes (we wound up ordering extra of these)

​

"Foot platter" is a great typo. Yummy food, though.

We only noticed 3 princesses out (I feel like we had 4 come by in the past) but everyone had eaten plenty (like I said, extra potatoes) and was ready to leave so we were good - it was a bit past 7:45 at this point

We had Cinderella in addition to the ones you saw. Maybe she was just lagging behind. I think we did have one that took longer to get to us?

probably not a lot of chances to see FAE listed with just a 10 minute wait!

Not bad, but this was our wait after doing the same thing:

That was it for our Norway, er, Arendalle fun - and we were done with all that and it was only 9:24am - so not bad! At this point Judi looked at me and said "Ok, I guess you did pretty good with all your planning" - a top five proudest moment for me!

Yay, proud DIS-er moment!

 

[afwdwfan]

We got through security - I think this was the morning both Judi and I got selected to have to go through the metal detectors (normally it was just one or the other while the one not picked could stay with the kids). The security guard just told us to leave the kids and I responded with "um, no - I am not leaving my kids" - so we had to take more time with first Judi going, then back to get the kids, and then me going through - a bit annoying.

Yeah, that really is frustrating. I wish they'd make that whole security process more streamlined. Either not take both adults from the same group for a "random" walk through the metal detectors or invest in their security system and put in enough metal detectors that they can just send everyone through them.

And speaking of the foot platter - here it is! We love the cheesy potatoes (we wound up ordering extra of these)

Those potatoes... I'm telling you, I never thought I'd be so excited about a potato dish.

Well, when we go out we saw the line and figured it was short enough to get in - this was at 7:49am and we were about the 5th family in line - so not bad! And they opened the doors just a few minutes later so we were entering the queue proper at 8:52am ... probably not a lot of chances to see FAE listed with just a 10 minute wait!

Nicely done!!!

Then the Elsa scene, and then towards the end with Anna and Elsa welcoming you to the celebration ... along with Stoner Olaf, apparently

In typical Disney fashion the exit to the ride goes to a dump shop where the kids explored for a bit but held off on buying things for now knowing we would be back later. We did stop for a picture of the kids with the large Troll. This picture was taken at 9:09am - so doing pretty well!

So is the store here now full of Frozen stuff or does it still kind of the traditional Norway shop that we had after Maelstrom?

(and I always love how Olivia bounces up and down at the beginning of a meet)

Moments like those are why we do it, right?

That was it for our Norway, er, Arendalle fun - and we were done with all that and it was only 9:24am - so not bad! At this point Judi looked at me and said "Ok, I guess you did pretty good with all your planning" - a top five proudest moment for me!

Yep, date, time, you've got all the pertinent details of when those words were spoken. You didn't get it recorded by chance, did you?

 

[Imagineer5]

That was almost exactly our experience in December! Glad you had a smooth morning with breakfast going well (Emma leaning into Judi for the pictures is so sweet). I really wish they'd add some things to the buffet to start, as nothing really appeals to me (nice to have the fresh fruit, but I don't really like the cheeses and def not the fish, and I feel like the pastries are all really blah, not homemade or particularly good). The cheesy potatoes are definitely the best part of the meal though! So glad you got seconds lol!

And yay on walking through the queue- i thought it was super cute, but we basically ran through too! And the queue to meet the sisters was SO so cute I thought!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Love that photo of Peter hanging on the balcony, not a bad view to enjoy!

I haven't gotten to the Akershus portion of my TR but spoiler alert, we ordered extra potatoes too! Wow were those things good!

Sounds like a successful breakfast! Weird that you were missing a princess though.

Nice work getting on FEA with no wait!! Glad you all enjoyed it. And nice pics with Anna & Elsa! You really were making great on time (and even better when someone takes notice )!

I guess it was just something different (or just the fact we didn't want them out there alone so of course they want what we don't want them to have) but the kids got such a kick out of the balcony

Always get extra cheesy potatoes! (hmmm, that saying would make a good shirt for a future trip)

I am glad it worked out - I was trying not to stress too much knowing we had the FP+ for later and this was jut one of those "if it works out great, if not, no biggy" ..... but I really wanted it to work out

My family loves Akershus for breakfast. It's one place we go every trip. We've always found the princesses to be very good and we enjoy the variety on the buffet. Interesting that you guys liked the potatoes though. I've read a few reports saying the same thing, how much they loved the potatoes. My family didn't like them much. I thought they were OK, the girls not so much. I seem to remember them being heavy on onion, and none of us like onion, so maybe that's what it is.

I like your Akershus - FEA stand by strategy. DW & DD have a trip to WDW in July with dance school (I'm not going, work commitments). I have her booked at Akershus for 8:30am so I'm going to suggest trying FEA stand by after. I'm hoping it's not too late, I didn't see an earlier ADR.

We've always had good experiences at Akershus - especially the breakfast but other meals too. I definitely think it might be an onion factor with the potatoes

Can't hurt to try for the standby and they can try to arrive early and hope for the best (remind them to get the check right away)

Your resort look really nice. I don't mind staying off property now and then for a better deal.

In and out of Akershus in 35 minutes?! You made excellent time!

We'll be having lunch in six days(!!!) at Akershus. I'm looking through my 2012 photos from there and we saw six princesses that day: Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, and Cinderella, as well as Belle for the photos. I guess they've cut back.

I agree with you regarding the placement of FEA. I think it would be better suited in MK and it kind of messes with WS in general. I know a lot of people with young kids skip Epcot, so this helps bring them into the park.

Glad you had good meets with Anna and Elsa. Your kids are getting so tall!

we just like the space for the $ you can get staying off site, especially now that there are five of us ... I would like to stay onsite a bit more often but is what it is

I have to say, we really didn't feel like we were rushing or anything at Akershus - I wanted to get out quick but didn't want to race through the meal to the point we didn't get the full experience, but we were good with what we did and were ready to go so overall very happy with how things worked out

We always had 5 total (Belle and then 4 coming around) - maybe one was just running late? Either way, we were fine so that was good. I think Ariel and Snow White are our favorites so the fact we met both of them made it ok for us

I definitely get the logic of having FAE in WS - but I am in the camp of wanting to preserve the original goals of WS (and EPCOT in general) - though I know things need to change and evolve

Love that photo in front of SSE!

I have never done Akershus, even with two sisters. It sounds like you enjoyed it though.

Great pictures with Anna and Elsa! Believe it or not I have never met them.

Thanks so much - I love getting candid shots like that (along with a few nice ones of course)

We like Akershus - the food is a bit different but not crazy and we always have good character interactions ... and it is a lot cheaper than Cinderella's Royal Table!

Thanks! Wow! Thought one of these trips you would have met them ... with the new set up the wait seems to always be not too bad

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Way to go! Totally something my husband would say...

Thanks! Hey, I'll take it when I can get it that the time I put into planning and research isn't a total waste!

We did Akershus dinner last January and there were 4 princesses (Cinderella + the three you saw). Weird that there were only 3 - I don't know if that's a breakfast thing or if Cinderella was just having trouble with her mice that morning.

Awesome job getting in FEA and A&E with minimal lines - that's some A+ planning (and execution) there!!

That is what we usually have - not sure if one was just running late or something. Either way, we saw Snow White and Ariel who are our favorite so it was good enough for us and we were ready to go

Thank you! Gotta love the DIS!

I'll have to come back to read the updates, but LOVED the video!!! Another great one!!

Thank you so much!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Cool picture with the monorail and Spaceship Earth in the background.


Huh, they always had both of us "selected", never just one. Maybe having three kids makes that less likely than with only one? I also found it really weird that they encouraged parents to leave their young kids.

Thanks! EPCOT is great for getting pictures with the Monorail and other stuff ... and just in generally is a very photogenic park

Oh wow - no, it was definitely just this once that we both got selected. I just found it odd how they said to leave the kids and stuff (it wasn't a football field away or anything but was like a good 15-20 feet they wanted us to leave them) - hopefully they can improve the security in the future to make it easier for families

Peter.

"Foot platter" is a great typo. Yummy food, though.

We had Cinderella in addition to the ones you saw. Maybe she was just lagging behind. I think we did have one that took longer to get to us?

Not bad, but this was our wait after doing the same thing:
View attachment 215341

Yay, proud DIS-er moment!

usually Emma is the one for great faces, but Peter gives 'em sometimes too

Yeah, I am thinking one was just a little late or something - but I was keeping an eye out and we definitely didn't see a fourth.

Look, it's not a competition (especially since I am not winning). 5 or 10 minutes I will take it compared to the 2 hours they said the wait was as soon as we got off!

Absolutely -

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yeah, that really is frustrating. I wish they'd make that whole security process more streamlined. Either not take both adults from the same group for a "random" walk through the metal detectors or invest in their security system and put in enough metal detectors that they can just send everyone through them.

Those potatoes... I'm telling you, I never thought I'd be so excited about a potato dish.

Nicely done!!!



So is the store here now full of Frozen stuff or does it still kind of the traditional Norway shop that we had after Maelstrom?

Moments like those are why we do it, right?

Yep, date, time, you've got all the pertinent details of when those words were spoken. You didn't get it recorded by chance, did you?

Yeah, I agree - something to make it easier for families - have a 2 lane process one for the stroller next to the machine or something I don't know ... but just didn't feel comfortable leaving my 3 kids 20 feet away from us or whatever it was (it wasn't that far but definitely more than a few feet)

I know! Only thing that rivals those potatoes are these ones Judi makes that uses duck fat

Thank you!

So the store you come out of after the ride has Frozen stuff that you first come to and then regular Norway stuff. The store you go to after meeting A&E is all Frozen stuff

Exactly right! Those moments when your kids are that happy is definitely a reason we keep coming back!

I was tempted to record it, trust me

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Thank you so much for sharing!

thanks so much and for commenting!

That was almost exactly our experience in December! Glad you had a smooth morning with breakfast going well (Emma leaning into Judi for the pictures is so sweet). I really wish they'd add some things to the buffet to start, as nothing really appeals to me (nice to have the fresh fruit, but I don't really like the cheeses and def not the fish, and I feel like the pastries are all really blah, not homemade or particularly good). The cheesy potatoes are definitely the best part of the meal though! So glad you got seconds lol!

And yay on walking through the queue- i thought it was super cute, but we basically ran through too! And the queue to meet the sisters was SO so cute I thought!

Glad things worked out for you all as well with Akershus/FAE

I can see the buffet not being for everyone (or at least the elements of the buffet that are unique) - for the most part we really like it though ... but like you said, the cheesy potatoes are definitely the best part!

They did a great job with the queue ... though I didn't mind not being able to full appreciate it

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 59: At Disney - Day 6: EPCOT
Donald's Boat Ride​

At this point the plan was to head back towards Future World as the majority of World Showcase still wasn't open ... but on the way (and as we were doing good on time) we were lured in but the siren song of the Gran Fiesta Tour!

​

We first hit up the Kidcot section - and as the kids were very seriously into their coloring and Judi seemed to have things under control I wandered a bit and took some pictures around the pavilion - which is one of my favorite!

​

They have some of the best items for sale here I think

​

Also saw this sign from the original ride (always love the nods to Disney past):

​

And the finished works of art:

​

And then Peter tried on a hat .... but we then figured we should get on the ride at some point:

​

Always love how you go past the pyramid first (love the idea of entering the Pavilion that is a pyramid and then there is a smaller pyramid inside the bigger pyramid). Also, I have a weird need to always take a picture of the kids hitting the Donald Pinata that is on the Donald themed ride

​

This was our first time riding since they added the animatronics at the end. I love that these were originally in the old Mickey Mouse Review attraction (again, love nods to Disney's past)

​

Up next - we actually make it to Future World!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 60: At Disney - Day 6: EPCOT
The Seas with Nemo ... and Bruce​

First up in Future World - a picture of the Fountains and Spaceship Earth!

​

Then we headed over to the Living Seas as the wait times were low and we had time before our first FP of the day. First up was the Seas with Nemo and Friends .... after we make it through the 27.1 mile long queue. All my pictures of the actual ride came out terrible, but Judi did get one of me with the girls before the ride really got going

​

It's definitely a cute ride - love the part at the end where they project the characters on the actual aquarium tank

Then Judi went to use the restroom as I kept track of the kids in the Bruce the Shark room - it took some wrangling but I eventually got an ok picture of all three kids in Bruce's mouth

​

We then went to do Turtle Talk with Crush - this got a bit stressful as we had just missed the start of a show so had to wait for the next one and the kids were getting antsy (I don't know how people do some of those 2 hour waits for rides with kids). At least the fish tanks distracted them a bit

​

Turtle Talk with Crush was great as always. This is the first time we had seen it with the Finding Dory characters added - which was a fun touch

​

We struggled a little as for what to do for all of our FP as we were doing 2 EPCOT days and obviously they have the tiering there, limiting the options. People weren't up for the Character Spot both days so last minute we changed the one to the Pixar Shorts as it was one of the few available and was a new attraction for us ... so off to the Imagination pavilion we went. Man, I realize I am blocking out how hot it was, but those blue skies look really appealing right about now with the cold and dreary day we are having in NY.

​

For those that don't know - this attraction takes place in the old Captain EO theater and shows 3 Pixar shorts in 3D and there are a few 4D effects to (squirting water at you, etc.). I took a few pictures holding the camera up to the 3D glasses to try to get a good shot of the film - came out ok I think

​

Overall we really enjoyed this! The films are all really fun and beautiful animation and the 4D effects (while not many) add a bit to it. Only negative is that it does take a little while and there is only one theater so if you just miss the start of a show (as we did) it is a fairly long wait - they do have screens on in the waiting area with clips from Pixar shorts and interviews with people like John Lassater about the Short format, etc.

After this we were going to head back to World Showcase for lunch, but first - gotta take a picture of a monorail passing by Spaceship Earth when the opportunity presents itself:

​

Coming up - a new Counter Service meal ... at least for us

TTFN!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a good morning, pretty laid back! Turtle Talk and the Pixar shorts- 2 things I've never done! Love that last picture in the update!