The Good, The Bad, The Cancelled and The Surprising ... Our Take on Deluxe Dining!!

[Gouden Leeuw]

Hey everyone!! I'm so excited to have so many readers - it makes me feel like this report serves an actual purpose Sorry to have left ya'll hanging for a couple of days, work has sent us into overload with all this state stuff coming up

Anywhoooo......

After our AMAZING first meal of the trip we decided to wander around Downtown Disney for a while so we could let all of our food settle. Now, if you recall we did not order dessert at dinner. This is not because we are crazies who dislike dessert it's because we HAD to go to Goofy's Candy Company

I had read so much about the create your own treat stuff that I just knew I had to make one for myself. Originally Candi said he was just going to get a plain 'ol caramel apple - his favorite guilty pleasure - but after we got there he said he felt left out Needless to say, he joined in on all the ooey gooey sugary fun!!

It was crazy crowded in there, I'm guessing this is normal and when we placed our orders we counted 15 ahead of ours We decided to take the time to roam around and check out all the yumminess <-- that's a real word just so ya know

After a little while we headed back over to the little create your own station to watch them make everybody's treats. Soon enough they got to ours

No no no, not the girl actually making something - the girl on the OTHER side reading the order - the poor thing got told off so bad right after this because they don't dip their apples in caramel at the time of the order No worries, I promise we were not the ones who yelled at her.

After letting everything soak up all the chocolate one piece of food could possibly soak up, they boxed it up for us to take back to the hotel.


MMMMMM, yummy little treat that I wish I could have right now!!

We took them around to the cash register to pay and were told that neither one qualified as a snack credit. WHAT I mean, I knew the apple wouldn't count because it costs like, a bazillion dollars. But, I could have sworn that every report I ever read said that my treat counted. Oh well, here's some more money for ya Disney

When we got back to the room we popped in a movie and enjoyed the best dessert ever

Mine - three pretzels rods dipped in milk chocolate, coated in peanut butter chips and drizzled with more milk chocolate - $3.50.

This was absolutely divine. It was the perfect combination of salty and sweet which is exactly what I was hoping for and the peanut butter chips gave it that little something extra. Candi also tried a bite and said it was good but that it had too much chocolate . I wasn't able to finish them all that night but I did wrap up the remaining two and finish those another night!

Candi's - red caramel apple dipped in white chocolate (the only kind of chocolate he will eat), coated in nuts and drizzled with more white chocolate - $8.95.

He said he was actually nervous to taste this because he was afraid he had ruined a perfectly good caramel apple In the end he said it was very good but that he still prefers the original. I had a bite and thought it was just ok, but then again I don't like white chocolate.

Overall, I would most definitely go back to Goofy's Candy Company for more treats. Candi said he would try something different or just buy a plain old caramel apple but I really want to do a rice krispy treat and marshmallows and a gingerbread man - ok, ok, I really want to try one of everything . Even though they didn't count as a snack credit I still really enjoyed it and didn't mind paying for it out of pocket.

Total Spent: $14.33 after tax. After they rung us up I found out that they charged me $1.00 for an extra topping I'm not sure why but since it was only $1.00 I didn't say anything about it.

No snack credits were used since neither counted as a snack. I guess it only counts if you get one pretzel rod or the marshmallows. Somebody please correct me if this is wrong.

** Completely off topic, but can somebody explain to me how I can put links on my front page to where I can put the name of the restaurant but that is the link for the page where you can read the review? Thanks so much

A little late....... but signing on!

OMG I am drooling over the pretzels...again....I saw a review for Goofy's Candy Company the other week and I told my DBF we have to go to this on our upcoming trip. I was not aware that they also had candy apples... they are my downfall too...there might be a few visits to this store.....

Cant wait for more reviews!!!

Cheers

 

[ariel1025]

So I'm very late joining in, but I've really enjoyed it. I make my ADR's in a little over a week so your review has been great for jogging my memory. We're taking my best friend for her first trip, so I'm planning a little differently than normal.

I'm so sorry you had a so-so experience at Le Cellier. We've been twice and enjoyed it both times. We both agreed, however, that we had a much better experience there with lunch than dinner.

The first time I was dying to try the mushroom risotto, but have an allergy to one specific type of mushroom. The chef was awesome, but because it was a mix of mushrooms and he hadn't roasted them first thing that morning, he couldn't guarantee my no-go one wasn't in it. So no risotto for me. DH ordered to for himself though (the mean man!) and the smell... oh my lord, the smell alone was heavenly. I decided to risk it and stole a single mouthful from his plate. : And it MORE than lived up to the hype! Unfortunately, it must have had crimini's in it because I paid the rest of the day (oh, how I paid!) but it was worth the price!! It was by far, my favourite food of the entire trip. I'm a well done steak girl myself, and it was the only one I had where it was well done, yet still melted in my mouth.

I'm so glad to hear that you're experiences with Le Cellier have been good ones That's too bad that you're allergic to a food that you love ... mushrooms are one food I could live forever without

Yay! Eagerly awaiting the next installment!

Thank you for being patient

Great Reviews - looking forward to more!

Thank you very much!

A little late....... but signing on!

OMG I am drooling over the pretzels...again....I saw a review for Goofy's Candy Company the other week and I told my DBF we have to go to this on our upcoming trip. I was not aware that they also had candy apples... they are my downfall too...there might be a few visits to this store.....

Cant wait for more reviews!!!

Cheers

Oh my goodness, you most definitely have to go to Goofy's .... it is like heaven built in a store

 

[ariel1025]

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, so I wasn't expecting too much out of this one after that...

Now, in order to be fair, you guys need to know that this morning did not get off to the best start. We were getting towards the end of our trip and were just downright tired so we got a late start.

This is what time we boarded the bus to get to Epcot from Animal Kingdom Lodge .... 7:43!

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 .... difference three between Akershus and Cinderella's!!! This fact alone made my frustrated attitude 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, I guess we overreacted a little too much about running late because after checking in we had to wait

and wait .... and wait .... and wait .... difference four between Akershus and Cinderella's To be fair, this could be because we were a little late checking in; about 5 minutes to be exact.

Here is a look of the castle/banquet hall where you eat

We were finally called up to be seated and proceeded to stand in a line to wait our turn to take pictures

This was immediately upon entering the hall

This was the seating area directly in front as you entered and a look at the costumes all of the male CMs wear there.

After about 5 more minutes it was our turn to take our picture and much to my delight it was with Belle in her yellow ball gown!

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. The image above was actually the one taken with my camera, because I did not like the way our faces looked in the ones that they took. However, the ones they took were much more centered and full length shots!

After our picture, we were seated (in a different seating area than the one shown above) 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 belonged 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 .... difference five.:

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

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

Our Overall Thoughts on Akershus:

Epcot definitely provided more of a VIP feeling when having a "before park opening" reservation. They were very strict about not letting anybody in who didn't have a reservation before the park opened. Once you got inside the park they also didn't push you along or make you rush to your destination; which we had been worried about for both early reservations. Akershus itself provides a very quaint atmosphere and is charming in it's own right. The service was beyond exceptional, both from our waitress and the host at the front podium. We were slightly frustrated that we had to wait so long to be seated, almost 45 minutes, but again it could have been our own faults for being late. We are slightly spoiled from all the food being brought to your table at Cinderella's, so didn't much enjoy the buffet stand. Speaking of which was a very tight space with so many people pushing and shoving to get through. The food itself was enjoyable but nothing exceptionally memorable. If I had to choose between the two Princess meals than Cinderella's would win hands down. However, if you are looking for a less expensive alternative than Akershus is not a bad option.

Starting Credits:

Snack - 18 (9 each)

Meal - 22 (11 each)

Credits Used vs Cost:

Diet Coke, Iced Tea, buffet and hot skillet - 2 table service credits used - $61.46 including tax

 

[Princess654]

When we go in december we are doing BOTH CRT and Akershus. I loved your review. I am looking for all princess and character meals since we will be traveling with out 5 year old birthday girl. I am going to have to arrange my ADR's so that we get into all the parks pre-opening :giggle: Did you see Princess Tiana at any of the meals? Since it was the first movie that DD was old enough to see in theaters she is very excited when she sees tiana stuff.

 

[englishrose47]

I too am thinking of trying Akersus one day !!! I really liked the look of the buffet items !!!

 

[Disney71]

Just found your trip report... and DH and I are enjoying your dining reviews!!

 

[englishrose47]

 

[vettegirl]

Great breakfast review.

 

[ariel1025]

When we go in december we are doing BOTH CRT and Akershus. I loved your review. I am looking for all princess and character meals since we will be traveling with out 5 year old birthday girl. I am going to have to arrange my ADR's so that we get into all the parks pre-opening :giggle: Did you see Princess Tiana at any of the meals? Since it was the first movie that DD was old enough to see in theaters she is very excited when she sees tiana stuff.

Thank you for reading. We did not see Princess Tiana at any of our meals; just the "originals" - Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White ... I'm sure there will be awesome photo spots for Tiana at the parks though I hope you and your family have a fantastic vacation!

I too am thinking of trying Akersus one day !!! I really liked the look of the buffet items !!!

The buffet was quite enjoyable

Just found your trip report... and DH and I are enjoying your dining reviews!!

Thank you so much for reading!!

Thank you, I hope you had a wonderful Easter

Great breakfast review.

Thank you!

 

[angelsmith52]

Great reviews! We went to Akershus last May for my little girl! She is a princess herself and enjoyed all of them coming to the table "just to see her" even though we had 3 other children with us. LOL!!!

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Another wonderful update!

I have a reservation for Akershus Breakfast for my DD's 7th birthday in May. We have also been to the Castle but for dinner. We weren't very impressed, but it was nice to eat dinner inside the castle on our last day of our trip.

I'm hoping my DD will have a good birthday breakfast.
Our ADR is for 8:20AM so hoping for a empty epcot too.

Waiting for the next installment.....

 

[WAHMto5]

Great reviews!! Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[ariel1025]

Great reviews! We went to Akershus last May for my little girl! She is a princess herself and enjoyed all of them coming to the table "just to see her" even though we had 3 other children with us. LOL!!!

That is too precious, I can't wait until I have my own children to experience Disney with

Another wonderful update!

I have a reservation for Akershus Breakfast for my DD's 7th birthday in May. We have also been to the Castle but for dinner. We weren't very impressed, but it was nice to eat dinner inside the castle on our last day of our trip.

I'm hoping my DD will have a good birthday breakfast.
Our ADR is for 8:20AM so hoping for a empty epcot too.

Waiting for the next installment.....

I've heard a lot of people state that they were disappointed with the dinner. If you ever want to give it another try, I highly recommend breakfast

Great reviews!! Thanks so much for sharing!

Thank you for reading!!

 

[KarBear]

Ok, I know I am joinging in late....really late...but love your reviews and all your details.
Great job!

 

[cdotla]

Another great update!

We are also doing both CRT (although for supper, not breakfast) and Akerhaus. I have done both in the past, and much prefer CRT, although we have never tried Akerhaus prior to park opening. We have an 8:05am ADR and I can't wait for the early entrance!

 

[ariel1025]

Ok, I know I am joinging in late....really late...but love your reviews and all your details.
Great job!

Welcome Better late than never I'm glad you are enjoying the report!

Another great update!

We are also doing both CRT (although for supper, not breakfast) and Akerhaus. I have done both in the past, and much prefer CRT, although we have never tried Akerhaus prior to park opening. We have an 8:05am ADR and I can't wait for the early entrance!

I hope you have just as much luck with an empty Epcot as we did

 

[ariel1025]

I don't have a full meal update ready to post, but I wanted to stop and fill you in on some more snack credits. We were constantly forgetting that we had the snack credits and so we were quite proud of how many we used that afternoon

The first set we used after our after breakfast nap back at the hotel. One of my most favorite treats that I never eat unless on vacation are frozen bananas. I stopped for a restroom break and when I came out Candi had bought me one!

He also purchased a Sprite with another snack credit. He really wanted a water but, I guess they had just put the water bottles in the cooler and they weren't cold yet

Frozen banana $3.25 / 20 oz Sprite $2.50

We also spent the day touring World Showcase and made a stop at the French Bakery - Boulangerie Patisserie. This was another stop that I didn't think about, but Candi remembered and took me into. Oh my goodness, this place was like a small piece of heaven. It smelled great, it looked great, the people were great ..... definitely try it out!

For our snacks we had the

$3.85

and we also had another treat, which I don't have a picture of in the case. I think it may have been the napoleon $3.70

I got a fountain sprite ($2.39) and Candi got a bottled water ($2.00).

We took our tasty looking treats outside and enjoyed a relaxing break at a really cute seating area

It was nice and shaded and just secluded enough to give us the privacy that we were wanting at the moment.

This was originally Candi's choice of snack, but it was too sweet for him and in the end we traded. I enjoyed it, but it was way too large for me to finish. It was a little on the sweet side, but if you have a sweet tooth it wouldn't be too much to handle.

This was the snack I traded Candi for and he had no problem finishing it off. It was nice and flaky on the outside and just creamy enough on the inside. It was very enjoyable and I would not hesitate to order it again.

Starting Credits:

Snack - 18 (9 each)

Meal - 20 (10 each)

Credits Used vs Cost:

Frozen banana, 20 oz bottled Sprite, 2 treats from the French Baker, Large fountain drink, bottled water - 6 snack credits used - $17.69 if paying in cash

Coming up next .... A change in plans....

 

[daisygirl902]

Great reviews - just joining....I think I may be able to solve the mystery of the "snack credit at Goofy's" dilemma...I believe (this may have changed since last year) - they will let you get one of the pretzel sticks for a snack credit...that's how it worked on our last trip.

Many of the places you've reviewed I'm trying for the first time on our upcoming trip...thanks for the reviews and the pics!

 

[disneyfan61]

When will you be there in May? We will be there in May and staying at the Beach Club as well. Great minds think alike huh We will only be celebrating our 2 year anniversary. Major congrats on such a big anniversary!!!!

We will be there the first week of May. We have always wanted to stay at BC & cannot wait!! I see from your ticker you will be there a little bit later. Congrats on 2 years Still enjoying all your reviews

 

[princessjv]

Great job! I look forward to reading the rest of your reviews!