It's our Date-A-Versary with Deluxe Dining, DVC and MNSSHP!! 11/13 UPDATE!

[NYmickey]

Thank you so much To be completely honest, I did not use a tripod for any of my pictures. I know it would have made them look a lot better, but I just didn't want to carry it around all the time For the fireworks pictures at Epcot after our dinner at Teppan Edo, I did rest my camera on the ledge of the balcony. For the other night pictures, they were all handheld. The trick is to take lots of shots and delete the bad ones so that nobody every sees them I also do all my night/fireworks shots with the flash off. I would highly recommend my camera (Nikon D5000) to anybody who was interested in a DSLR; it is quite simple to use and does some amazing things! If you have a Costco near you or a membership to shop online they have an amazing package on the camera right now. You can get the camera, 2 lenses (they are 2 of the 4 I own), a carrying case, a memory card, a battery and an instructional DVD for around $850 - that's less than I paid when the camera came out for the body and 1 lens

UPDATE!!!!! I GOT THE CAMERA. love it so far but it will take me forever to figure half of the tricks it does. I have to "practice" and get comfortable with it before our trip in August. We bought it at sam's club, it came with bag, DVD, and 1 lens for $780 including tax. Happy Anniversary to me!!

 

[ariel1025]

Great update! I especially loved all your Backlot Tour pictures since DBF and I missed it this past Friday. I didn't realize it closed at 7pm (park was open until 10pm), so we were all the way on the other side of the park when we saw it on the times guide.

And how cute is that pic of your hug with Sulley!

Thank you! I had no idea that Backlot closed early either

UPDATE!!!!! I GOT THE CAMERA. love it so far but it will take me forever to figure half of the tricks it does. I have to "practice" and get comfortable with it before our trip in August. We bought it at sam's club, it came with bag, DVD, and 1 lens for $780 including tax. Happy Anniversary to me!!

WAAAAAHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOO

How are you liking it so far? That's such a great deal, I was impatient and bought mine on the first or second day it came out so I paid more than I would have liked for mine. Oh well! It's been an AWESOME camera and I have no complaints so far!

You will have to show me some of your favorite shots you take with it - I love seeing pictures from other people's perspectives

 

[ariel1025]

Well, after walking all over Hollywood Studios for a couple of hours it was finally time for our Sci fi reservation

We checked in and were told there would be a small wait. So far, I loved the theming of the restaurant. While we were waiting I heard the hostesses talking to a group of guests and informing them that not all guests get to sit in cars during their meal ..... WAIT! WHAT???? Ok, Ok, call me crazy, but this really broke my heart and I started to panic a little bit. This reservation was based purely on atmosphere and sitting at a regular table was like taking the atmosphere away for me. I occupied myself by talking to Candi and held my breath slightly when we were led to our table.

Our hostess was very friendly and must have seen the fear in my eyes, because she quickly told me "I hope you don't mind but ....."

Oh no, this is not good, not good at all

Oh wait, she hasn't finished her sentence yet, guess I better pay attention. "....you will be hitchhikers for the afternoon" I seriously wanted to give her a great big hug right then and there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All panic aside I started absorbing the atmosphere

I have to say, I truly miss the old Drive-In theaters. We used to go a lot when I was little and it is one of my favorite memories!

It took a few minutes for our waitress to come around .... the place was PACKED! So we killed some time by doing ... what else? .... taking pictures

Once our waitress made it to us we were ready to place our full order, and asked if she could space it so that we didn't receive everything at once.

I had a chocolate milkshake as my "drink" but it was way too think to drink out of the straw.

For our appetizers we had the spinach and artichoke dip which was "ok," nothing great but nothing bad and the 7 bean chili which was phenomenal!

Our main courses were a cheeseburger with bacon and swiss cheese, it was good. Again, not bad but not especially memorable either.

Candi ordered the ribs and said they were really good, but he wasn't hungry enough to actually finish them all. At this point, we were really starting to become overly full from all the food we had been eating.

For dessert we had an apple crumble/pie type thing and fresh fruit. The apple dessert was very good, but the fruit was nice and refreshing and much needed.

Overall, our meal was enjoyable and we loved the atmosphere so we will definitely be back in the future.

 

[ariel1025]

After lunch we decided to go ahead and stay in Hollywood Studios until we were ready for our "nap time"

As we were walking we realized the Block Party Bash was about to start and there were plenty of spots along the walkway open, so we decided to stay and watch it.

Hmmmm ..... not exactly what I was expecting it to be. I thought it was going to be like the parade we saw at California Adventure earlier that year. We quickly realized it was not, it wasn't our type of entertainment so we moved on. We stumbled upon "Voyage" and since "Little Mermaid" is one of my all-time faves Candi said we should go watch it. We had just missed the start of the show so we sat along the wall to wait for the next one. After about 2 minutes a CM came in and told us she had some bad news. Of course, I thought she was going to say they weren't doing the next show or something. Actually, she told us that we were not allowed to sit in the waiting area About 2 minutes before they let us into the show it got so crowded in the waiting area. We were all seriously crushed in there like little sardines. Luckily, we were quickly allowed in to find seats for the show!

Now, I know that this show gets a lot of bad feedback, and I can understand due to all the other shows that go on at Hollywood Studios. However, I still quite enjoy it and will keep going back to watch it!

After we became part of Ariel's world we decided to immerse ourselves in the movies once again and check out The Great Movie Ride. The line was non-existent and we were in our car within 2 minutes. We got to ride up front with the "guide" which was a neat experience.

I was secretly hoping for the Old West scene because I have never seen it. However, we got the gangster scene ... oh well, maybe next time!

Ahhhh, Wizard of Oz, my favorite scene. I'm from Kansas and loving Dorothy and the gang is a must!

Again, I know a lot of people don't like this ride, but I think it's fun in a super cheesy sort of way. I will keep riding it ..... at least until I experience the Old West scene

After exiting the movies I remembered about the Lights! Motors! Action! Stunt show and we hightailed it over there. This would be the first of the leg cramps I would get on this trip. I am not exactly the most fit person and although we had walked every night leading up to the trip, my muscles are not used to running. Let me say, they were ANGRY that I was running to the show

We made it with a few minutes to spare and I asked Candi if he had any cash for a Sprite to re-hydrate me from our sprint He said he didn't and offered to run to a snack place to use some snack credits. I declined and a super nice man let us know the vending machine takes credit cards .... super smart move Disney!!

Alright, Sprite in my hand and ready for the show. Candi was grinning from ear-to-ear as we had missed this last time and he was super bummed about it.

All of a sudden, in typical Florida fashion, the heavens opened up and it started to pour!!! And, I don't mean pour, like it was all sunny and then started to rain ... I mean it was POURING to the point they shut down the show and people ran for cover.

Luckily, we were already sitting under the little awnings so us (and my camera) were safe They said when the rain calmed down they would re-start the show. We didn't want to get wet so we just waited it out. It was probably 15-20 minutes before the rain stopped, but they did in fact continue the show once the sun came back out for a few minutes.

Overall, it was a fun time, and I'm glad that Candi got to do something he had been wanting to do. At points it kind of dragged on, but I'm sure this is in part due to having the lengthy timeout from the rain. It also stops and go's because they explain how they do all the different stunts. This was super cool, but also takes some of the thrill out of it .... purely my personal opinion though

Once the stunt show ended, we decided to head back to the resort. It was super humid from the rain and we were both tired AND super excited to see our new "home" for the next few days ........

 

[ariel1025]

Ok, so I have 3 1/2 days of this trip report to write about and I am right here and now making a vow that I will have it completed before we leave on our next trip .... in 12 days

So, without further ado .... let's get this show back on the road!

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We left a semi-rainy and majorly humid Hollywood Studios with a bit of a flutter in our tummies. If you recall, we had checked out of our "home away from home" - The Wilderness Lodge (Villas, this time) - in order to try out our DVC "home" resort - Animal Kingdom Lodge. We were both excited and scared at the same time. We were excited because we had scored a room at the Kidani Villas, which were not only our home resort, but had just been completed 4 months prior to our check-in! We were scared because we absolutely adore Wilderness Lodge and we weren't sure if we would regret our decision to try somewhere new.

I'm not going to lie, when we first pulled up to AKL - Kidani, we weren't overly impressed. They are made to look like an African type hut and it was cool, but it just didn't blow us out of the water the way the log cabin look of WL does. We walked inside the lobby and, to be honest, I don't even recall remembering what it looked like at first We were greeted with a warm "Jambo" and "Welcome Home" and immediately helped at the front desk. I apologize as I do not remember the CMs name, but she was super friendly and helpful. We had originally planned on staying one day extra and then changed plans, but I forgot to shorten our stay and our dining plan The CM was more than helpful in taking care of both - the only bummer was that our points were now lost, because we were at the end of our use year. Not her fault and no point in dwelling over now though She also took care of shortening the dining plan for us; in fact she even made sure we wanted to remain on the deluxe dining plan. We had discussed the night before switching to the regular dining plan if it was an option, but in the end remained on the deluxe plan.

We were given our portfolio of information about the resort, a calendar of events going on during our stay and a map highlighting where our room was located. The AKL is set-up a little odd and although I don't remember what level our room was on (I believe it was third floor) we were informed that it was actually the floor we were on now

After we had completed all our changes and received our key, we set off for the hike to our room. And, I do mean hike. My goodness, the resort just keeps on going and going and going ....... In hindsight, it was probably the same distance as walking from the main lobby at WL to the DVC villas and then down the hallway to our room but boy it felt like a long walk to that room.

We had booked a Savannah view and we couldn't wait to see it .... so, immediately upon opening the door we, of course, ran out to the balcony

breathtaking! But where are all the animals

Ok, remember how the outside of the resort didn't really "WOW" me, well the looks of the room sure did

I love all the colors on the balconies and the subtle artwork towards the bottom and the wood posts. Maybe I was just in "doubt" mode when we first pulled up, but, at any rate, I was starting to really love the look of AKL.

After sitting out on the balcony for a while we went inside to see if our luggage had been delivered over from WL yet. Remember how they said it would be absolutely no problem .... you see where this is going right?

Well, we called the front desk for our luggage and they said that there wasn't any luggage brought over. We gave them a listing of everything we had checked at WL including the ticket claim numbers and kindly asked them to check again. They called back without any success, but said they were currently contacting WL and would make sure to make everything right. I kept telling myself not to stress out and within 20 minutes (that felt like 2 hours ) they arrived with our luggage. Even though the claim tickets were marked with "Kidani" they had been delivered to "Jambo." Oh well, all was good in the world and I had clothes to wear

After we had gotten unpacked we decided to take another glance on the balcony we had "paid" for and sure enough there were some animals out now

*** Quick backstory .... Candi grew up on a Ranch; his Dad now co-owns and Manages a Ranch; both ranches were for raising cattle for ... well, we all know what it was for so I just won't say it .... but, Boy Oh Boy do we love to have ourselves a BBQ after what is done

So, we walk back out to our balcony to relax before dinner and what do we see

Ankole cattle

Candi's response? "I came all the way to Florida for a view of cattle?"

It was by far one of the funniest moments of the trip ... and if it isn't funny reading it ... trust me it was hilarious when it was said!

After a while Candi decided that he wanted to take a nap and I wanted to wander around the resort. We agreed that he would wake up in 2 hours and I would meet him in the room so we could get ready for dinner. He asked me if I would grab him a water while I was out and within seconds he was "out"

At certain spots around they they have these outdoor seating areas. The rocking chairs are very peaceful to me and I love the detailing of the wood carvings in them!

My "artistic" shot of the AKL

I apologize, but I didn't take too many pictures, I was really just on a mission to explore and (I can't lie) compare Don't worry, I took lots of pictures on a different day!

I made sure to grab Candi his bottle of water. They were out of the size that you can use a snack credit on, so I just bought the 1.5 liter instead of going over to Jambo house to check their gift shop. I wanted my first trip over to Jambo to be with Candi, but, sadly, we never made it over there

In what seemed like no time at all my phone was buzzing which meant it was time to meet Candi back in the room. Just like he promised he was awake and getting ready for dinner. Might have something to do with the fact that we were heading to Le Cellier, which he had been "dreaming" about since we made meal reservations

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST

 

[ariel1025]

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST ON PREVIOUS PAGE

Our luck with the buses continued, as there was an Epcot bus pulling up right as we walked outside!

In no time at all, we were back at my favorite place

Just in case anybody forgot what the ball looks like

We were actually cutting it kinda close to check-in time so we hightailed it over to Canada.

Upon arrival the waiting area was full of people and I couldn't tell if it was because it was so tiny or if there were really tons of people waiting We were told that our wait time was going to be at least 20 minutes so we grabbed the last two spots on one of the benches and watched how many people got turned away. We did, in fact, wait 30 minutes for our table and counted 13 people that tried to walk up for a seat! Also, while waiting we found we weren't the only people counting - a family next to us decided to count backwards from 1000 over and over until they were seated. Chalk it up to me being slightly cranky from being tired, but this annoyed me to no end after the second round

Once we were seated I felt slightly guilty because we were seated at a table meant for four. It didn't make sense to me, because we saw 3 sets of tables for 2 and they remained open our entire meal

Our waiter arrived relatively quick and then disappeared for the majority of the meal

We both had the cheese soup to start

It was really good, but didn't exactly prove to me what the hype was all about

For my entree I had the Filet Mignon, but I substituted the mushroom risotto with cream cheese mashed potatoes

The mashed taters were divine .... the filet mignon? Not so much!

Candi chose the entree he had been dreaming about for months; the salt encrusted prime rib

Sadly, he was slightly disappointed in his meal. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. He wasn't sure if it was because he overhyped it, because he was so tired or if it just wasn't that good Either way he was pretty bummed!

For dessert I had the chocolate "moose" and Candi had the maple creme brulee

The mousse was the better of the two, and my favorite part of the whole meal .... especially the maple cookie antlers YUMMY!

We left Le Cellier slightly confused and not certain we would be returning. Like I said, we may have just hyped it up too much, or maybe it was an off night. But, it is not on our "must do" list I know this is like a sin in the Dis world ... hopefully I can redeem myself later

 

[ariel1025]

After dinner we decided to just slowly make our way out of Epcot. We both think it is absolutely breathtaking at night and wanted to take it all in. Even though neither of us were willing to discuss it, we were both feeling a slight bit bummed that our vacation was officially half over

During our stroll out of the park Illuminations was beginning so we stopped where we were a took in some of it.

And with the end of Illuminations and knowing the park was officially closed, we took one last look at a nighttime Epcot

before realizing we really had to start exiting the park ... for real!

Overall, it had been a great day. We had got to try some new things at Hollywood Studios, checked-in to a new hotel, tried a new (not-so-great) restaurant and wrapped up the day at our favorite park!

As expected, the lines back to the resort were horrendous ... they always are when leaving Epcot. So we just continued to slowly stroll towards the bus stop, knowing that it would be a few buses before we would get on anyway.

It was on the bus ride back that Candi finally admitted that his feet were so far past the point being in pain, that he didn't know if he could handle it much longer.

When we got back to the hotel I walked with Candi back to the room to evaluate the foot issue. I won't post the pictures or go into too much detail, but I couldn't believe he was actually walking at this point. He had a blister the size of a half dollar around and stood almost 1/2 an inch tall on his big toe I broke down crying, because I felt like it was my fault for forgetting his extra pair of shoes in our friends car at the airport He assured me that he knew it was just an accident and calmed me down before asking me to run to the gift shop for him.

I was worried about not getting there before they closed so I literally ran down the hallway to get the stuff he needed .... yep, my leg muscles were angry again after that

But, I made it to the gift shop with 10 minutes to spare I grabbed some Aleve and nail clippers (I won't tell you why ) along with a bottled Nestea for me

And, I made sure to take a moment to look at the lobby this time

As I made my way back to the room I was wished a "good night" by 3 different CMs ... and I fought back the idea of liking the AKL as much as WL

When I got back to the room Candi was on the balcony soaking his foot in hot water and epsom saltsplaced in a bowl from the kitchen .... we "accidentally" threw it away after because the thought of somebody having to eat out of it afterwards grossed me out so I took the time to take pictures of the room.

The dining room / living room area

Master bedroom area

Master bathroom

Rest of the master bathroom

I apologize as I didn't get pictures of the kitchen, laundry room or the extra bathroom

After my pictures were complete I helped Candi mend his foot and then we sat on the balcony until we were too tired too keep our eyes open any longer

MONEY SPENT DAY FIVE:

Sci Fi Dine-In - 2 table service credits used - $84.90 if paying in cash not including tip

Vending Machine 20 oz Sprite - Approximately $2.50

1.50 Liter of Dasani from Johari Treasure - $3.50

Le Cellier - 2 table service credits used - $95.34 if paying in cash not including tip

Johari Treasure - 20 oz Nestea, nail clippers, 24 count bottle of Aleve - 1 snack credit used for tea and $9.03 in cash - $11.54 if paying all in cash

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Wow... I just avoided doing laundry reading your entire TR... I'm late to the party, but I'm in.

DH and I had the same reaction to Le Cellier. It was nice, but we still can't figure out what all the hype was about.

Kidiani is our "Home" as well, and we're staying there for the first time in December, so I was interested to hear your opinion of it.

Can't wait for the last 3 days. And how exciting your next trip is right around the corner! I'm so jealous

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

ugh - duplicate post - sorry!

 

[jlindemer]

I just read your report start to finish! It's 2:25 AM now! I absolutely love the WL as well! We stayed there for 2 nights in March. At first we thought it wasn't going to be so great. The room they gave us was not completely clean when we were told it was ready. However, Disney upgraded us to a Woods View, and when the guy brought our luggage, he said, you know, you can see the castle from the balcony! What?! I bulldozed my way to the balcony (sorry kids!) and made that guy show me where it was. Yup! There it is! In that moment it felt like all of my Disney dreams had come true!

We spent a day at the pool, and enjoyed watching Wishes from our balcony. I wish we were staying there again in November/December, but I just couldn't afford it this time.

I am debating between Le Cellier and Rose & Crown for our Epcot Lunch. Have you ever ate at R&C? I would love to hear your opinion.

I hope there is more to come. It seems that this report is a tad unfinished. I need closure!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[ariel1025]

Hey Everyone, sorry I've been MIA lately .... I swear upon swear I have good reason for it this time .....

First we recently celebrated our two year Anniversary ....

Let's take a trip down memory lane shall we?

September 13, 2001 - Our First Date (don't worry, that's not what we wore )

May 24, 2008 - We finally say "I Do"

May/June 2008 - We celebrate our honeymoon at Disney World and aboard Disney Wonder

May 24, 2009 - We Celebrate our one year Anniversary at Disneyland

May 24, 2010 - We Celebrate our two year Anniversary at ........ Target & Hooters!

Yep, you did not misread that .... we did in fact celebrate the day of our Anniversary enjoying some hot delicious wings and shopping at Target

Let me back up just a bit here ......

Originally the plan for our Anniversary was to cook dinner together at home, light some candles and enjoy a romantic meal for two.

Then, our Boss' offered to let us leave work early in honor of the big day and so we made reservations at my favorite place ever - The Melting Pot

So, we came home to change into our "fancy clothes" before heading out to dinner. As usual, we stopped at the mailbox to collect all the fun stuff the mailman has delivered. As Candi pulled into the garage I flipped through the mail .... bills, junk, bills, junk, bills, bills, junk, card from parents. Oooh, mail that really is fun! Inside the card was a check for our Anniversary, so I told Candi to turn around and go to the bank to cash it - Thank you Mom and Dad!! Well, while sitting in line at the bank we were talking and realized that neither one of us really felt like getting dressed up. We were both just doing it because we thought that's what the other one wanted to do.

Ok, plan one thousand .... pick up some movies, snacks and dinner to-go and have a movie night! Now that that's settled let's head over to the movie store first ... but wait, I see a Hooters and I suddenly want wings BAD! Of course, we can get them to go, but then you miss out on the "atmosphere" Besides, I love the cheesy tots and they only taste good nice and fresh! So, after a million changes to the plan we ended up eating a nice hearty and romantical second Anniversary meal at good 'ol American Hooters!

And then, of course, we had our Anniversary Cruise for the next week, which I won't go into on this board since it's for a completely different vacation

Last, is the biggest reason of all for the delay in updates ......

Yep ... that's right .... the best Anniversary gift we ever could have hoped for ... WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Now, I know that many people don't tell people this early (I am only about 7-8weeks along), especially with their first, until they are past their first trimester. But, I am so excited I can't keep it in any longer. We already told both our parents and a couple of friends plus a whole lot of strangers on the cruise that asked if we had any children Besides, the best thing for the baby (in my opinion) is a lot of support and prayers, and what better place to receive both right

Needless to say, we were (and still are) beyond thrilled!

 

[yourMaire83]

Congratulations!!!! I don't really know you, but I am REALLY excited for you, LOL.

 

[Lisa29]

Congratulations, that is great news!! I have one daughter and remember how excited I was when I found out. Hope all goes well and will let you off if there's a delay between updates! Hope you get to finish it though as I am really enjoying it.
Thoughts and prayers are with you.
Congratulations again x

 

[RachelNinja]

Oh WOW! Congratulations to you and Candi!!! I will definitely keep you, your DH, and baby in my prayers. Yay for another DIS baby!!!

 

[kaylajr]

Back on the TR board so you can continue...

 

[ariel1025]

Congratulations!!!! I don't really know you, but I am REALLY excited for you, LOL.

Thank you so much ... all the thoughts and well wishes are truly appreciated

Congratulations, that is great news!! I have one daughter and remember how excited I was when I found out. Hope all goes well and will let you off if there's a delay between updates! Hope you get to finish it though as I am really enjoying it.
Thoughts and prayers are with you.
Congratulations again x

Thank you! How old is your daughter? I have a couple of updates all ready to go, just waiting on pictures to upload

Oh WOW! Congratulations to you and Candi!!! I will definitely keep you, your DH, and baby in my prayers. Yay for another DIS baby!!!

Thank you for the prayers So far everything is going perfectly and we couldn't be more grateful or excited!

Back on the TR board so you can continue...

Thanks, promise to wrap it up quickly

 

[ariel1025]

When I last left you several months, one Disney cruise, one WDW stay and one trimester ago we had just headed back to our beautiful room at Kidani after an average meal at Le Cellier and wrapping up, yet another night, at Epcot ...

The next morning was meant to be an early start with a pre-park opening breakfast reservation. Well, tiredness had gotten the best of us and we hung up on Stitch, followed by hitting snooze on our cell phones at least three times before crawling out of bed and deciding to see if we could still make our breakfast reservation.

Before dashing out the door we decided to take a gander at what animals called themselves at home outside our balcony that morning

Yep, Candi's good friend, the cattle, were still there With a "good day" called out to the Ankole we dashed out the door in an effort to reach our destination in time.

This morning had us back at Epcot .... this time for breakfast at Akershus. We were already in love with Cinderella's Breakfast and were interested to see the differences in this princess meal. As with our last Princess breakfast we had a reservation at 8:30 a.m., which was before park opening. Now, if you will remember correctly the pre-park opening breakfast at MK left me desiring something more as far as VIP treatment went, so I wasn't expecting too much out of this one after that ...

This is how close we were cutting it to making it to breakfast on time .... 7:43 a.m. when we loaded the bus Luckily, the only other stop the Kidani bus makes is at Jambo House before it heads to its destination. Even so, I was slightly frustrated at myself for allowing us to get a late start that morning. I hate the "being rushed" feeling and that is definitely how I was feeling at that moment.

I was in too big of rush to take a picture when we arrived, but it was about 8:20 - talk about cutting it close! There was already a line to get through bag check and this did not help my frustration over getting a late start at all. Once we got through there we realized that there was a separate line for those with early reservations .... difference one between Akershus and Cinderella's! We got in line and had to provide our last name and our reservation number with the super sweet CM .... difference two between Akershus and Cinderella's! Once we were let through the turnstiles we stumbled upon a completely empty Epcot

Mark that as difference three between Akershus VIP and Cinderella's VIP pre-park reservations!!! This alone caused my frustrations to disappear. This was the entire reason that I wanted such early reservations and Epcot was able to provide this for me!!!

However, the fact still remained that we were running late so, we hightailed it over to Norway to check-in.

Now, it may be due to the fact that we were a tad late checking in for our reservation, but after doing so we had to sit around and wait

and wait .... and wait ... and wait ... and wait for our name to be called; difference four between the two Princess meals

We tried to pass the time with smiles on our faces, and I, of course, took many pictures to document the meal. Like Cinderella's breakfast, you enjoy dining with the Princess' in a castle.

Obviously much more quaint, but still charming in it's own right!

About 25 minutes past our ADR time (5 of which were us being late ) our names were called and we were escorted inside. Immediately upon entering the restaurant you stand in line to wait your turn to take pictures with Belle in her yellow ball gown. I've heard that Belle is not always the picture package Princess, but since she's one of my favorites I was uber excited we got her!

As with Cinderella's you get a photo package which is included with the cost of your meal that includes an 8x10 and several 4x6s. If you are buying the photopass CD make sure to get your photopass number off the large picture to add all the shots they took to your CD!

After our picture, we were seated and our waitress came immediately to get our drink order and explain the process. At Akershus they have a buffet of "cold" items and pastries that you, of course, serve yourself. The "hot" items, referred to as the skillet are brought to your table - all items are all you can eat. Our waitress was Merethe and she was fantastic from start to finish!

Once she left to fill our drink orders we made our way over to the buffet

Can you guess which plate belongs to who

The buffet had several types of pastries, fruit, fish, and other meats. Overall, it was really good and everything tasted very fresh.

Merethe brought us our drinks immediately and allowed us to enjoy our current plates before brining us the skillet, which we both appreciated. Once she could see that we were about halfway through those plates she brought out the rest of our food

Sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs and cheesy potatoes.

All the food was good, not great, but good!

It was about this time that the Princess parade began - there was some music that started playing and then they all began to come out. As soon as the first visited two or three tables, the next one would come out. There wasn't a big production that went along with it like there was at CRT.

They all came around rather quickly and we didn't get a chance to really eat during this time.

First up was Princess Aurora.

We were seated by the check-in podium and the CM up there noticed we were doing separate pictures and jumped in insisting we get a group shot as well which we were both very grateful for. As noted previously, one of the hardest parts of traveling with just the two of us is the lack of pictures we get of us both. This is why we are ever so grateful for the Photopass photographers around the parks!

Princess Aurora did not converse with us at all other than to ask if we would like a picture.

Next up was Cinderella

She actually almost completely skipped our table and then Merethe came by and said "don't forget about our lovely couple over here."

Following Cinderella was Snow White

She was more interactive asking us about our trip and how long we had been married etc.

The last Princess of the day was Ariel .... my absolute favorite of all ... ever since I went to see Little Mermaid for my 7th birthday I have been in love with her!

She was the most into her role - telling Candi that he looked just like Prince Eric, only her Prince didn't wear such peculiar "thing-a-ma-bobs" on his head

The entire interaction from start to finish lasted about 10 minutes. I did notice that they were definitely interacting a lot more at tables with children, which is fine, but is also difference number six.

After the Princess' had finished with our table we finished up our meal and then headed out to begin our day. Overall, we are glad that we tried Akershus, but I'm not sure we will do it again in the near future. Epcot did give us that VIP experience I had been anticipating with the pre-park opening reservation. However, the meal was only average and I much prefer the food and interaction at CRT.

So, with full bellies and real smiles on our faces we headed out for our next adventure ....

 

[Lisa29]

Thank you! How old is your daughter? I have a couple of updates all ready to go, just waiting on pictures to upload

She will be 2 at the start of October - a very lovely and sometimes frustrating time! She is talking loads but there are the words we can't understand and she gets frustrated because we don't know what she wants!

Being a parent is absolutely amazing. I hope the time goes quickly for you and that you reach the counting down part (eg, 19 weeks to go rather than 21 weeks pregnant!) soon.

 

[ariel1025]

She will be 2 at the start of October - a very lovely and sometimes frustrating time! She is talking loads but there are the words we can't understand and she gets frustrated because we don't know what she wants!

Being a parent is absolutely amazing. I hope the time goes quickly for you and that you reach the counting down part (eg, 19 weeks to go rather than 21 weeks pregnant!) soon.

That's awesome! I'm sure the frustration is worth it when she says words you do understand!

Monday I reach 20 weeks ... the halfway point so I'm sure I will start the counting down soon!

 

[ariel1025]

After a late start that morning and a filling breakfast we decided we would hang around Epcot and explore Future World for a while. We are always spending so much time in World Showcase that we tend to overlook what the rest of Epcot has to offer...

On our walk over to our destination Candi became fascinated with yet another bird friend.

This guy was hilarious ... he would let Candi get within around 3 steps of him and then he would walk a step away. Candi would take a step and he would take a step, all the while leaving his eye on us.

We probably spent a good 5 minutes laughing and playing around with him before heading off to our first ride of the day.

Test Track!

Now we had both ridden this before, on our honeymoon, but Candi didn't exactly enjoy it. Not sure what it was about it, but he didn't even really want to ride it again today. I pointed out that the wait was only 10 minutes and we should just take advantage, so he agreed. Well, the line was way less than 10 minutes. In fact, they had us walk right past the video area and into a car

I'm not sure if it's the lack of waiting, the lack of watching the video, or having a car to ourselves, but Candi absolutely loved Test Track this time! In fact, it's one of the rides he still talks about now. Men .... geez

After testing out our little yellow convertible, we decided to hit the gift shop ... and not just because they "dump" you into it after the ride We were in need of a souvenir for my Dad and his Brother. Since they are both huge car junkies, we figured this would be the best place to find something they would both love. Upon entering the gift shop I immediately headed over to the Corvette section, my Dad's favorite type of car. It only took me about 2 minutes to locate the perfect item

It is simple, which is definitely his taste, and as soon as I saw the back I immediately started singing that Bruce Springsteen song (who my Dad is a fan of). Come on, you know the one .... "Booooooorn in the USA, I was boooooorn in the USA ...." Ok, fine, laugh at me, I don't care, but you know you're singing it now too

Once I had found my item, I checked in on Candi, who was still searching for something for his brother. I love the man to death, but he takes forever to make a decision sometimes. Especially, when he is trying to find something for somebody else. He wants it to be perfect and special and meaningful ... bless him! I decided to help him with his search and we finally decided on a T-shirt for him as well

Simple, manly and slightly tough looking .... exactly like my Brother-in-law

Once we had filled out the paperwork to have the shirts delivered to our hotel ... making sure it was marked Kidani and making a mental note to ourselves to check up on our lost Aersomith T-shirts we headed out for our next piece of fun.

Misson:Space, of course! This is another ride that Candi had decided last time he could do without. I'm always teasing him saying he just can't handle the motion, but he swears he just doesn't "get it." We grabbed our passes for the intense side and, once again, walked straight through the queue and were lined up to be next on board.

Well, unlike Test Track, Candi is still not a fan of Mission Space. He says he will always ride it if I want to, but he just doesn't find it enjoyable. Oh well, can't agree on everything right

Since we were already in the area, we decided to take a ride on something new for both of us

Now, I know what ya'll are thinking .... we had to be filled with regret for making that decision. Well, call us crazy, but we didn't mind it. Was it long? Yes! Was there some dry humor? Yes! Does it need to be updated to include new versions of energy sources? Yes! But, all in all, we liked it and even found parts of it to be pretty funny to us. We may not always run and do it each trip. But, we aren't adding it to our "never again" list either.

Once we had enjoyed our trip our the Universe with Ellen and Bill Nye, I needed to make a "girly stop" and Candi said he would wait outside for me. Luckily, there was a restroom right across the way .... I absolutely hate when you have to go on a journey to locate a restroom I handed off my camera to Candi while he waited

When I came out he was waiting for me with my favorite snack in the whole wide world .... a chocolate covered frozen banana!!!

We decided that the lines were starting to get pretty long and there wasn't really anything else we wanted to do in Future World, so we made a plan for the rest of the afternoon ....