For the First Time in Forever-

[mdsouth]

I wouldn't wait in line for 6 hours to meet a real queen and princess.

Exactly! I was totally shocked at how many people were actually waiting in that long line. I can't imagine wasting that much of my precious Disney park time standing in a line to get a photo taken with someone.

I plan to post the pictures and a bit more tonight or tomorrow on that line. I did get a photo of Elsa while she was in between guests. So, I will be posting that picture.

 

[ariane37]

Weren't those EPCOT A&E lines CrAzY ??!! I head read the reports before going but still couldn't believe it. I have to say, Norway is my favorite pavilion & I did not like the crowds that M & G brought there However, it didn't stop me from sneaking a peak at them from inside the gift shop lol!!!!
I was much happier when we returned to the World in Aug. and the girls had moved to MK.

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 16 – Dining with Royalty

http://i594.photobucket.com/albums/tt21/mdsouth/WDW Feb 2014 Trip/Epcot/akershus-royal-banquet_zpse647da0e.jpg


We were escorted inside and first had our picture taken with Cinderella. I think Belle must have been on break. I was disappointed since we already have pictures with Cinderella and I wanted to get our photo with Belle in her yellow dress. I noticed later when we were eating and leaving, Belle had returned. So it was just our luck we missed her. I wish I would have asked to get our picture with her when I saw her. They might have allowed us to switch photos or even by the other ones.

After the photo, we headed to the buffet line to get some food before the princesses began to circulate around the room. At the buffet line, we found some cheeses and different meats for Haley to try. One of the things I had Haley try was Salami. Haley actually liked it! It was part of the Disney magic!
Our interactions with the princesses were wonderful! I am so glad I booked this reservation. Each princess took time with Haley to talk to her. They interacted with us and talked to us before posing for photos and moving on. It was a very magical beginning to our trip.
First to our table was Belle. We talked about our love of books.

Then Milan stopped by our table. She was thrilled to hear that we were having a girls’ bonding trip and girl power! She showed Haley had to pose.

Snow White was just so sweet. She had a beautiful smile to fit her personality.

Ariel was next.
We also took the time to visit with Susanne, a CM from Norway.
It was a fabulous lunch.
Next up, we explore the little shops in Norway and get a glimpse at Anna and Elsa and Elsa poses for a photo for me!

 

[mdsouth]

Weren't those EPCOT A&E lines CrAzY ??!! I head read the reports before going but still couldn't believe it. I have to say, Norway is my favorite pavilion & I did not like the crowds that M & G brought there However, it didn't stop me from sneaking a peak at them from inside the gift shop lol!!!!
I was much happier when we returned to the World in Aug. and the girls had moved to MK.

I agree! I am really glad they have moved their meet and greet to MK in the Princess Hall. It took away from the quaint Norway setting to see the crazy lines weaving in and around the buildings.

In my next update, I have a couple of photos I took inside the little gift shop of Anna and Elsa.

 

[DynamicDisney]

Thanks for joining in! Hopefully you did not pay for the pool room! We may have run into each other while were there. What parks did you go to?

Tuesday I went to Epcot in the morning, MK in the afternoon/evening, then Wed I did MK in the morning, EP in the afternoon and eve (in the POURING rain), AK Thursday morning, and HS in the afternoon.

 

[mdsouth]

Tuesday I went to Epcot in the morning, MK in the afternoon/evening, then Wed I did MK in the morning, EP in the afternoon and eve (in the POURING rain), AK Thursday morning, and HS in the afternoon.

It looks like we were at Epcot at the same time, Tuesday morning. We didn't have park hoppers so only one park per day.

We got caught in the downpour as we wee headed to the Grand Floridian for our dinner at 1900Park Faire. It was crazy. We had caught a bus and were at the Transportation Center waiting for a bus for the GF bus since the monorail was not running. People just poured out of MK when it started raining.

 

[DynamicDisney]

It looks like we were at Epcot at the same time, Tuesday morning. We didn't have park hoppers so only one park per day.

We got caught in the downpour as we wee headed to the Grand Floridian for our dinner at 1900Park Faire. It was crazy. We had caught a bus and were at the Transportation Center waiting for a bus for the GF bus since the monorail was not running. People just poured out of MK when it started raining.

How fun that we were there at the same time!

Yes, that rain was miserable! I ducked out of most of it during my dinner at Biergarten Wednesday evening, but then it was just flooding in Epcot, and rain until just before Illuminations started! But, I had my poncho on, and it was still better than a sunny day anywhere else! Plus, I was in shorts and Keens, and my hubby and kids were at home in upstate NY in -10s weather, and lots of snow!

Here I am in one of the Germany gift shops:

 

[Newsies]

Subbing!

You and your daughter look like you're having such a fun time. It's so sweet to see mother/daughter trips to Disney World.

POFQ looks beautiful! I've never stayed at any of the moderate resorts, I'm going to have to look into POFQ for our next vacation

Ooh, I love the Crystal Palace. I've never had dinner there- it's always our first breakfast when we get to MK Have you had breakfast there? How do the two meals compare?

Wait, if Belle was meeting in her blue dress at Akershus, who did you take your photo with at the beginning of your lunch?

 

[ariane37]

Wait, if Belle was meeting in her blue dress at Akershus, who did you take your photo with at the beginning of your lunch?

I'm curious too! We've done lunch there 3x and Belle was always meeting in the beginning in her gown, and we've had our picture taken with her. I do like the idea of switching up the princesses - for instance, we've never met Mulan there, always Belle in gown for pictures, then Snow, Cinderella, Ariel and Aurora

 

[jwwi]

Looks like you are really moving around Epcot, I would love to try a meal at Akershus. The princess interaction looks really good there.
Hmm, favorite breakfast? I love Crystal Palace, but it is hard to get a reservation for early am. We used to go to Kona for the Tonga Toast, but they serve it at the counter service at the Poly, it is very rich, and best shared. At home left over cake is best in the morning.
We loved POFQ, even without getting our room request. Corner room, connecting. Our rooms were about 5 rooms apart, but it really did work out ok. We saw Bob briefly, and had a nice boat ride to DTD. Unfortunately it rained while we were at Epcot and AK. I always take an umbrella, so it worked out ok. I was disappointed, as walking around the WS in the sun it so nice.
I have not done a trip report, but I do enjoy reading other TR.

 

[Newsies]

I'm curious too! We've done lunch there 3x and Belle was always meeting in the beginning in her gown, and we've had our picture taken with her. I do like the idea of switching up the princesses - for instance, we've never met Mulan there, always Belle in gown for pictures, then Snow, Cinderella, Ariel and Aurora

I mean- I'm NEVER opposed to meeting Belle in her golden gown, especially since it has become LOVELY since they "refurbed" it from it's neon yellow days but you're right- I've always seen the same pricesses at my breakfast, but somehow I keep hearing about others catching Mulan and even Mary Poppins???? How???? Lol.

 

[mdsouth]

How fun that we were there at the same time!

Yes, that rain was miserable! I ducked out of most of it during my dinner at Biergarten Wednesday evening, but then it was just flooding in Epcot, and rain until just before Illuminations started! But, I had my poncho on, and it was still better than a sunny day anywhere else! Plus, I was in shorts and Keens, and my hubby and kids were at home in upstate NY in -10s weather, and lots of snow!

Here I am in one of the Germany gift shops:

You are exactly right, being at Disney in the pouring rain is better than anywhere else on a sunny day! So, did Epcot clear out a bit with the rain?


You look cute in your poncho. For anyone wondering, the Disney ponchos are pretty sturdy and hold up pretty well in a downpour. In a previous trip, I had brought with us the cheap one dollar ponchos from the Dollar Tree. They worked in a pinch but were one time use only. They are very flimsy and rip easily so you have to be careful with them.

On a later trip we bought the Disney ones. They are made of thicker plastic and really hold up well. We still have them years later and have used them repeatedly.

Here is a photo of my hubby and Haley when she was smaller in the cheap ones.

 

[mdsouth]

Subbing!

You and your daughter look like you're having such a fun time. It's so sweet to see mother/daughter trips to Disney World.

POFQ looks beautiful! I've never stayed at any of the moderate resorts, I'm going to have to look into POFQ for our next vacation

Ooh, I love the Crystal Palace. I've never had dinner there- it's always our first breakfast when we get to MK Have you had breakfast there? How do the two meals compare?

Wait, if Belle was meeting in her blue dress at Akershus, who did you take your photo with at the beginning of your lunch?

Thanks for joining in! It is fun having readers to share and talk about things about trips we have had or are planning. You should try ti stay at PORFQ if you can. I would love to go back. Realistically, I will not be back for a trip for at least a few years down the road. But I am already planning my next Disney trip in my mind! What Diser isn't!! I would love to go back to PORFQ again. But the values are tempting because of the price.

This is the first time as an adult that I have eaten at Crystal Palace, so I cannot compare the meals with you. I am sure there are others that can though. I have always heard everyone say they really like the breakfast there. I would like to try it someday just so I could get a few photos of MK without a ton of people that are not taken at night. But everyone else in my family are not morning people and so it is always a chore to get them up and out the door in the morning EVEN on VACATION!!!

We had our picture taken with Cinderella at the beginning in her blue ball gown. It looks exactly like the one we had taken with her at our dinner at Cinderella's castle back in 2009.

I actually was disappointed not to get a photo taken with Belle in her yellow dress. We have only seen Belle in the parks in her blue dress and then times we have seen her at a princess meal she was in her blue dress.

 

[mdsouth]

I'm curious too! We've done lunch there 3x and Belle was always meeting in the beginning in her gown, and we've had our picture taken with her. I do like the idea of switching up the princesses - for instance, we've never met Mulan there, always Belle in gown for pictures, then Snow, Cinderella, Ariel and Aurora

I mean- I'm NEVER opposed to meeting Belle in her golden gown, especially since it has become LOVELY since they "refurbed" it from it's neon yellow days but you're right- I've always seen the same pricesses at my breakfast, but somehow I keep hearing about others catching Mulan and even Mary Poppins???? How???? Lol.

At our lunch, it was Cinderella for the package picture, and then
Mulan, Belle, Snow White, and Ariel came around to the tables. Aurora was not there and neither was Mary Poppins.

I have only seen Mary Poppins in England posing for photos. Here is the one we got with her later.

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 17 – Anna and Elsa in PERSON!

After our wonderful lunch at Akershus, we wandered around Norway for a bit. We rode Maelstrom and stopped into the shop at the end of the Maelstrom ride and took Haley’s picture by the troll.


We also popped into the little shop
We went to the back of the store and where looking at the Frozen merchandise when I realized you could actually see into the meet and greet section with Anna and Elsa. I took this photo of them as they ended a session with a family.

The family finished with Anna and Elsa and headed out. I was getting ready to put my camera away when Elsa noticed me and turned my way and gave me a big grin and posed for me! I zoomed in to get the photo. It was such a sweet gesture on her part. She was waiting for the next family to be ushered in and she took the time to spread a little Frozen magic!



Here is the great shot I got of her! Her dress was beautiful! I am so glad we got a glimpse of them in person since this was before Disney had added them to any parades.

 

[mdsouth]

Kaitlyn "Newsies",

I am late to the party of your TR while in the process of writing it. I have just finished reading Chapter 1 and I love the style of your writing . You really did a nice job of sharing tidbits about travel through the south to Disney.

I look forward to reading the rest! Thanks for sharing it! I found it from your link in your signature.

__________________

 

[ariane37]

I mean- I'm NEVER opposed to meeting Belle in her golden gown, especially since it has become LOVELY since they "refurbed" it from it's neon yellow days but you're right- I've always seen the same pricesses at my breakfast, but somehow I keep hearing about others catching Mulan and even Mary Poppins???? How???? Lol.

Belle's gown is my fave of all the "refurbed" ones

 

[mdsouth]

As we were leaving our lunch, we saw Belle in her yellow dress posing with the people just coming in. I wish we could have a least taken a photo with her with our own camera. But there was a long line and I didn't think to ask at the time.

It just left me confused why she came around the tables while we were there in the blue dress and was not in her yellow dress at the beginning of our lunch.

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 18 - Soarin’ in Epcot

Let me start off this chapter by saying my notes are really sketchy for this portion of our trip. I just remember heading back to Future World since we wanted to check out Living Seas and we had a fastpass for Soarin’. The afternoon really flew by. It was nice to wander through the Living Seas and get to actually view the sea creatures without elbowing your way to the front or trying to catch a glimpse through other people. This is normally the case when we have gone before during the summer months. We had a fastpass for Turtle Talk with Crush but did not have to use it since the crowds were so light.
I was glad that we had a fastpass for Soarin since the stand-by line was around sixty minutes. We ended up in the front row so we got to experience the rides without seeing any dangling feet above us! Haley enjoyed the experience. She had been seven on our last trip and rode it then but she did not remember a lot about it.


Up Next: Dinner with Mickey in the Gang at Garden Grill (with photos)

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 19 – Disney Works its Magic on a Picky Eater
After Soarin’ we went on the Living with the Land boat ride. I always like this ride. I enjoy seeing how creativity can be mixed with practicality to create solutions to problems in everyday life. Haley and I were both impressed with the huge lemons and other fruits and vegetables that Disney grows with soil. As a part of the tour, the CM shares how a lot of the food Disney serves in its restaurants is actually grown and produced by Disney.
After the ride it was time for our dinner. We headed up to the Garden Grill restaurant. It is one that I have read a lot about on the Dis but had never been to before. This trip was all about trying new things at Disney. So for the first time in forever, we stepped up to the podium and were immediately seated.
We had a nice table on the bottom row. I didn’t tell Haley about the restaurant rotating so she was pleasantly surprised when it did! We got a kick out of seeing the scenes and people on the ride below us that we had just recently been on ourselves.
Mickey was the first to stop by our table! He was really cute in his bib overalls.

Next was Pluto. Pluto was in a playful mood. He danced with Haley and played some sort of hand game with her before he headed to the next table. We just love Pluto!



Chip and Dale stopped by the table next. They are always a treat!


What amazed me with this dinner is that Haley tried a lot of new foods that she would never try at home. This was thanks to the Living with the Land tour that she had just experienced. She remember that the tour guide had told us that a lot of the food served at the restaurants were grown by Disney. So, she tried the vegetables and found out that she actually liked cucumbers! She also ate some of the Taipai fish and liked it too! THANK YOU, DISNEY!