Florididdypop Volume 2 - Day 22: Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Akershus

[moosha]

Day 22: Thursday 8th May 2014

I had given up writing notes at this point in the holiday, so the last few days reports are going to be short and basically pieced together by photos .

We took the boat over to the Contemporary from the Wilderness Lodge.



It was Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom and we wanted to get there as early as possible. From the WL you can get boats to both MK and the Contemporary and we would always get on which ever one came first. The boat for the Contemporary came at 7.15 and we were one of the few parties to get on. Everyone else was waiting for the Magic Kingdom boat which wasn't due to start running until 7.30 am. We were at the gates by then after walking from the Contemporary boat dock to the MK entrance and getting a good spot at the front as it was pretty quiet.



We spent the Extra Magic Hour in Fantasyland and did Peter Pan, Winnie The Pooh, Dumbo and probably some other rides I can't remember.



We then left the park and went over to Epcot. I think we took the monorail. 'The Book' we had with us with all our plans written in says we had FastPasses for Spaceship Earth from 10 - 11 am, then Test Track from 11 - 12 pm...





... and Living with the Land from 12 - 1 pm.

It was another very hot day and the girls cooled down at the Cool Wash.



Then we headed towards World Showcase, taking some photos of the topiaries:





and stopping in at the butterfly garden which last year was TinkerBell and the Pirate Fairy themed.















The girls met Duffy as there was no line.







Then we checked in for our 1.25 pm ADR at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.

Seren and Freya met Belle...



...and then we were seated. We had a better table than we'd had in 2012, in the room that doesn't have the buffet in. We all hit the appetiser buffet and enjoyed salad, bread, cheeses and fish. Then our entrees arrived. I don't have a photo of the girls' meals so I don't know what they had but I had salmon and potatoes which I seem to remember was pretty tasty.



Mat had the vegetarian ravioli (excuse the half eaten pic) and again, I seem to recall that he enjoyed it.



Dessert was a sharing plate of three desserts. I'm not a fan of these dessert sharing plates that you don't even choose, especially the idea of three desserts between four people. In the event, I don't think any of us actually really liked them so we weren't exactly fighting over it.



We saw Cinderella





Aurora





Ariel, who asked the girls if they'd tried seaweed ice cream which made them laugh.





Snow White





And the girls did the little parade around the restaurant.



We then lined up for about 20 minutes to meet Belle in her blue dress in France. It was really hot and we kept taking turns to have 'shade breaks' while we waited. It was worth it though as she was very good and Seren decided she was 'the real one.' Belle is her favourite princess.





Then we queued up again, this time to meet Mulan. Again, it wasn't much fun as it was so hot and although this line was shorter, Mulan was spending lots of time with each group so it took longer than we thought it would for the girls to finally get to meet her.





Seren then did some Agent P missions (I think she did Norway, Mexico and Japan.)



Freya did a Duffy Bear, which she loves colouring and taking around each Kidcot station to get stamped.

I don't think we visited every country today, but we definitely went to the USA where I treated myself to a delicious American Dream (snack credit.)

We also went to Morocco, one of my favourite pavilions.





And Japan, although this is the only photo I have from there. I bet Freya and I spent ages mooching around Mitsukoshi as we love that shop.



Then we went back to the USA so the girls could have the pasta with tomato sauce from Liberty Inn for their dinner. We sat at an outdoor table.





Mat then went off to get his dinner from Tangierine Cafe in Morocco and we walked round to meet him. He had the vegetarian platter and enjoyed it.

I was planning to have the fried shrimp and fries from Refreshment Port right on the edge of World Showcase. When we got there I found it had been taken off the menu and replaced by chicken nuggets. So we walked back round to the UK so I could get fish and chips from Yorkshire County which I ate as we walked back to Future World. I really like the fish and chips from there even though it's not the same as at home.

We had another go on Test Track which I love in the dark...







...and Spaceship Earth







...and then caught the bus back to the Wilderness Lodge, getting home at around 9.30 pm.

[collybird]

That's a great tip about getting on the Contemporary boat if it comes first, thank you.

I actually really liked the dessert platter at Akershus (the one at Mama Melrose - not so much), the chocolate mousse is yum but we didn't really touch the apple cake. The food at Akershus is gorgeous, the mushroom ravioli is to die for. (I'm guessing Matt's veggie one is the same pasta but with a different sauce than the one on the menu).

It looks so hot today, hard to believe May can be so gorgeous somewhere when it's pouring with rain in the UK and we still have the heating on!

[Lisa29]

Seems like you had a really relaxed day but still got a lot done. 3 desserts for 4 people? That is rather odd.

Auroras dress seems like a really difficult costume to wear, none of them ever look very good in it!

Looking forward to reading more x

[mick]

A good day
Joan

[Guest]

Another great day - looks like another scorcher! I'm always amazed at how you pack so much in.

I'm not sure about that dessert plate at Akershus ... I agree with Lisa that it looks a bit odd for 4 people?!

Test Track's one of our favourite rides but we've never ridden in the dark - sounds like fun and another one for the 'to do' list.

Thanks for sharing!

[moosha]

Originally Posted by collybird

That's a great tip about getting on the Contemporary boat if it comes first, thank you.

I actually really liked the dessert platter at Akershus (the one at Mama Melrose - not so much), the chocolate mousse is yum but we didn't really touch the apple cake. The food at Akershus is gorgeous, the mushroom ravioli is to die for. (I'm guessing Matt's veggie one is the same pasta but with a different sauce than the one on the menu).

It looks so hot today, hard to believe May can be so gorgeous somewhere when it's pouring with rain in the UK and we still have the heating on!

See more...

Thanks Colette. I agree, the food is very good at Akershus. Currently weighing up whether to do Akershus, CRT or both next year. Food wise, Akershus definitely wins.

I know, it's now nearly June and I'm still in a jumper and cold .

Originally Posted by Lisa29

Seems like you had a really relaxed day but still got a lot done. 3 desserts for 4 people? That is rather odd.

Auroras dress seems like a really difficult costume to wear, none of them ever look very good in it!

Looking forward to reading more x

See more...

Thank you Lisa.

I agree about the Akershus dessert platter .

Poor Aurora, she really gets the short straw with the dress , doesn't she? xx

Originally Posted by mick

A good day
Joan

See more...

Thanks Joan .

Originally Posted by TheBeast

Another great day - looks like another scorcher! I'm always amazed at how you pack so much in.

I'm not sure about that dessert plate at Akershus ... I agree with Lisa that it looks a bit odd for 4 people?!

Test Track's one of our favourite rides but we've never ridden in the dark - sounds like fun and another one for the 'to do' list.

Thanks for sharing!

See more...

Thank you Terry. Ooh, you have to try Test Track in the dark. It's so much fun, and great not to be blinded by the sun after being in the dark if you've forgotten to keep your sunglasses handy like I always do .