Day 5 ~ Akershus, Epcot, Chef Arts Homecoming and Disney Springs ~ 31st Oct 18

[caitlinsmummy]

Find the previous day HERE

So this trip consisted of:

Myself (Kelly) - Chief planner and organiser ... none of the trip would have happened without me

Husband (Chris) - The laid back photographer one ... I guess it wouldn't have happened without him paying for it so I have to give him some recognition there

Caitlin (Turned 12 when we were out there) - total drama llama and pre teen one.

Thomas (9) - the cheeky brain box one.

Noah (5) - the cute one (He was recently diagnosed as autistic, so it was a big challenge for us all to ensure we kept meltdowns to a minimum)


Day 5 ~ Akershus, Epcot, Chef Arts Homecoming and Disney Springs ~ 31st October 2018

Everyone slept till the alarm this morning, 6.30am. We had an early morning ADR at Akershus at 8.10am so we all got up and sorted and headed to the bus stop at 7.20am. It was then Thomas said he’d lost his magic band Chris and Thomas went back to the room to look for it but couldn’t find it. We agreed to just get him a card on the way in. In that time we had a bus go past for Epcot This set our morning off in a bad mood as it was going to be ANOTHER ADR we were going to be late for. We arrived at Epcot for 8.15am. I managed to get Thomas a card sorted then we hotfooted it to Akershus … well I did … Chris trailed behind taking photos

We arrived at Akershus at 8.30am. Noah asked me to read the scroll outside.

We had no problem checking in and we were called in at 8.35am. First up was a picture with Belle. I managed to bribe Noah to get a photo by saying he could hold Thomas’s hand and not stand next to Belle

Akershus is a character breakfast with Aurora, Snow White, Belle, Ariel and Cinderella. It’s one of the cheaper character dining if paying OOP. We were seated inside to the left near the buffet. Our server explained that we could help ourselves to food at the buffet and that they would bring out trays of Mickey waffles, bacon, sausage, potatoes and egg.

My plate

Noah's plate

Notice the cheese again

Caitlin's

Yes that is just pineapple ... told you my kid's were fussy!

For some reason I must not have got a photo of Chris's and Thomas's plates. The servers bring the drinks to the table and this morning I opted for a mimosa I was also offered a soft drink which was nice, I had diet coke. Chris and Thomas had orange juice, Caitlin apple juice and Noah water (with our mini Robinsons squash added in)

The princess came round, we had Aurora, Cinderella, Ariel and Snow White. All fab interactions and all included Noah even though he wouldn’t look or speak to them.

We ate all the bacon and sausage and the server brought more out. The food here was nice I particularly enjoyed the granola and yoghurt, as sad as it sounds

At home I don't eat breakfast and I think all these breakfast's were starting to catch up on me! It was a nice refreshing change. I still had some bacon and mickey waffles though

We settled up and headed to Frozen Ever After. As I had planned to be out before 9am I didn’t book a FP. We didn’t leave till 9.25 so we headed to the CM to ask for a return time for the DAS pass. If I remember correctly, I think the wait time was about 15 minutes but I didn’t want to risk it after the ’15 minutes’ for Enchanted Tales with Belle. The CM let us straight through the FP line which was great.
We decided to start applying suncream in the queue … big mistake … the queue went a lot faster than we thought it would luckily we had wipes in the bag so we quickly cleaned up and said we’d finish up after the ride. We all really enjoyed this, Caitlin didn’t enjoy the ‘wet’ part For some reason our Magic Band doesn’t seem to have worked on here so we have no ride photo ☹

The kid’s decided they wanted to spend some money in the shop as we left. Noah came to me with dad asking for these

I compromised with him and said he could get Sven but the others were too big to go in the case Bad mummy. He also got an Olaf pez dispenser. I didn’t realise at the time but we could have used snack credits for the pez dispensers! Could have saved the kid’s some spends. Never mind.

Next up we decided to go see Anna and Elsa as the queue was only 10 minutes. The kid’s really enjoyed this, Anna kept talking about chocolate cake and asking the kid’s if it was there favourite too, she wasn’t impressed when they said no

We had a FP for Test Track at 9.45am and it was almost 10.30am so we rushed there. Chris sat with Thomas and I sat with the Caitlin and Noah … I let them design the car it looked like it was on steroids! I forgot to take a photo but Chris and Thomas took a photo of theirs.

We all loved the ride, the kid’s asked to go straight back on again as soon as we got off but we had a FP for Mission Space but we promised we’d go on again in the holiday sometime.

As both I suffer with motion sickness we opted for the Green Mission. Chris had Caitlin and I had the 2 boys. Now Noah suffers with motion sickness so I got the sick bags ready I needn’t have bothered as both the boys loved it and didn’t feel sick once … it wasn’t as bad as I remembered but I still felt a bit iffy when I came off, Chris and Caitlin were the same too Thomas wanted to go back on and do the Mars mission! Maybe later in the holiday if we get time son

The kid’s loved the games and soft play after the ride. We let them play for about 20 minutes as we were waiting for our next FP to open up. They loved it. This is what I love about the Epcot rides. Next up we had our final FP which was Spaceship Earth.

None of us really liked this, we found it quite boring and outdated, I have heard they’re going to update it soon and I think it really needs it. I rode with Caitlin and Noah and Chris with Thomas. After this everyone was really thirsty we decided to head to Electric Umbrella, which then ended up turning into lunch


The kid's didn't eat much this morning so we got something to eat. Queues in here were pretty much non existent. We ordered:

1/3 lb Angus Bacon Cheeseburger -Flame-broiled Angus Burger topped with Bacon, melted American Cheese served with French Fries - $11.99

Sorry I'd taken a bite before remembering to take a photo

Turkey on Goldfish Honey Wheat Bread- served with Dannon® Danimals® Smoothie, Apple Slices and choice of small Lowfat Milk or small Dasani® Bottled Water. Meets Disney Nutrition Guidelines for Complete Meals without substitutions - $6.99

Three-Cheese Flatbread - Individual Flatbread topped topped with fresh Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan and Arugula - $10.49

Chris and I shared the burger, Thomas had 1 of the turkey sandwiches (minus all the garnish ) and Caitlin had a turkey sandwich and shared the pizza with Noah. Noah had the pizza and Caitlin's fries.

We all really enjoyed this meal for what it was, the kid's weren't too keen on the pizza but Chris and I both tried it and it was nice enough. We got 4 fountain drinks with these meals too. Chris and I hadn't planned on eating much as there were some snacks around the World we wanted to try. Chris hates seeing food go to waste so he had to eat the pizza the kid's left

It's not somewhere we'd rush back to but there's nothing wrong with the food, it's just general QS food. While we’d been eating I managed to secure a FP for Figment so we headed over there.

On the way I seen Active Eats and I remembered there were some snacks we wanted to try here. I got.

Loaded Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Nueske’s® Pepper Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers and Green Onions (KA) – $5.00

Neither of us liked this, I'm not sure why we choose to try it as neither of us like peppers I found it quite spicy and could barely manage a mouthful, Chris didn't like it either plus he was too full to eat! A bit of a waste really but at least it was only a snack credit.

When we got to Figment there was a CM with pins so the kid’s traded some of their pins before we went on. It was pretty much a walk on. We all enjoyed the ride, although the kid’s preferred the games after. We stayed here quite a while as Noah was in his element with the games … plus it was in the air con

I managed to get a FP for the Disney and Pixar shorts too which we all enjoyed. When we got out I found a FP for Turtle Talk with Crush so we headed over there, we accidentally tried to get into Nemo the CM pointed us in the right direction for Turtle Talk.
We all LOVED this, it was one of the highlights of the holiday. Noah wanted to sit on the floor with Thomas which was great as normally in big groups like that he won’t leave my side. He did amazingly, he sat the whole time. I won’t spoil it but the kid’s loved how he knew everything and how quick witted he was.

After this we got some photo’s done by Nemo.

It was 3pm by now. We had planned on heading back to the Port Orleans before Disney Springs to get a quick change but I knew it would be pointless given the time. We managed to snag a FP for Character Spot, I thought this was the one with Baymax and Joy and Sadness but it was the one with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. We decided to just stay as we had time to kill before we left anyway.
First up was the main man himself, Mickey.

Next up was Goofy, there ended up being a photopass swap over so we only got 3 pictures which I was a bit disappointed with.

Next was Minnie, this was a lovely interaction, she made a fuss of Caitlin and Noah … Thomas wasn’t too fussed Then Caitlin opted to have a photo on her own with Minnie.

We headed over to the other Character Spot and got in line for Baymax. We all found it really funny how the poster on the wall said Caitlin Film it’s the small things!

The meet with Baymax was fab, the kid’s loved trying to cuddle him The best part was the end when they were doing the Baymax handshake, Caitlin and Thomas did it fine … Noah gave him a high five Baymax found it funny and tried to get him to do the Baymax one .. he eventually did bless him.

To be continued

[caitlinsmummy]

Continued

We were all thirsty so we headed back to Electric Umbrella to get some free iced water. It was now 3.50pm so we headed to the bus stop for the bus to Disney Springs. We knew they didn’t start till 4pm and we thought we’d have plenty of time to get there … yeah our ADR timings still haven’t improved!

The bus didn’t arrive till about 4.10pm. We eventually got the Chef Arts (after getting lost) at 4.35pm … only 15 minutes after our ADR … we’re getting better!

Now I was really looking forward to this after the reviews. Before the trip I had extensively read the menu's of places were had booked so I knew what I wanted. When I arrived I had no idea what I wanted to order

We ordered drinks first:

Florida Crush - Tito's Handmade Vodka muddled with orange and strawberries, a splash of fresh squeezed Florida orange juice and agave syrup - $12

We both ended up with these, I'd ordered first then Chris asked for the same, I told him we needed 2 different drinks to make the report more interesting ... he didn't care We both enjoyed these, they were nice and fruity and although I did find the alcohol quite strong! Luckily we'd ordered water too.

Thomas ordered diet coke, Caitlin diet coke and Noah water

Our servers had a switch around and it ended up taking a while to get our drinks. Caitlin suddenly decided she didn't like diet coke anymore and swapped it for my water. When the server came back we ordered mains:

Me and Chris:

Art's Famous Fried Chicken - Buttermilk-brined for 24 hours then perfectly fried and served with creamy mashed potatoes, a cheddar drop biscuit and love - $28

Our server told us they could do an adult version of the kid's chicken tenders. Thomas opted for his with mash and Caitlin opted for hers with plain noodles (pasta)

Caitlin and Thomas:

Fried Chicken Tenders -(grilled upon request) served with a veggie and a starch - not sure on $ as it wasn't on the adults menu

Noah:

Kid's Fried Chicken Tenders - (grilled upon request) served with a veggie and a starch - $9

None of the kid's really liked the chicken at all, they did eat some of it though, there was nothing wrong with it they were just fussy! We'd already ordered mash for Noah as we didn't realise they did fries, Thomas had fries with his which caused a kick off with Noah 🙄

Chris and I got the same, however, just before we ordered we agreed to get one mashed potato and one mac n cheese and share them. When they came turns out Chris ordered the same as me I was so looking forward to trying the Mac n Cheese too!

The chicken was nice and crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside. The cheddar drop biscuit is basically a cheese scone and it was actually quite nice, if a little dense. The mash was lovely and creamy too ... again there was just way too much food! We felt awful leaving so much

Next up was desserts. The kid's didn't want any, I knew I wanted the chocolate cake. Chris wanted to try it but didn't want the pecans on it 🙄 In the end we ordered:

Auntie's Chocolate Cake-With Candied Pecans - $10

We ordered 2 of these and Chris got the pecans taken off. It was lovely. The cake wasn't too chocolatey and it was moist and not dry. Again it was just too big, Chris and I should have got one to share!

Thomas just got ice cream, Noah didn't want anything and neither did Caitlin. The server insisted Caitlin have her donuts to takeaway as it was her birthday (birthday badge) and she could eat them later. She was too polite to say no ... they later got thrown away

Looking back at the receipt I have no idea why we were charged for 1 moonshine and not the other? Also not sure why there's 3 chocolate cakes on there when we only ordered 2 ... never mind.

We would go back here again (maybe take the kid's elsewhere for food first) and we would possibly maybe share a meal between us as the portions are huge. Service was ok, we barely saw our server and by the time we managed to catch him for a refill it was time to leave so we left it.

It was now 6.05pm and there was a DIBB meet organised from the October 2018 group at Starbucks for 6.30pm. We headed over that way and Caitlin and I got a chocolate chip frappuccino which Caitlin shared with me whilst the boys went to the Lego Shop.

I had received a couple of messages from some of the members coming to the meet cancelling, it ended up just me and Caitlin so we just had a wander round Springs with no boys. Caitlin used some of her money and got a dress in Uniqlo. We then headed back to meet Chris and the boys. Chris had been on a photo taking mission

We met back up with the boys and headed to Pandora as I wanted to get a Disney Exclusive bracelet and charms.

Total was $234.31.

We decided to get the boat back to Port Orleans so headed round to the dock, it was a lovely walk and nice to take in Disney Springs. When I came last it was Downtown Disney and I honestly can’t remember it much at all.

We arrived back at 8.40pm. As it was Halloween there were Trick or Treat stations all around the resort as well as a party. I went to reception to get a new magic band for Thomas whilst Chris took the kids back. I got back in to this photo, it totally melted my heart.

STEPS: 18,232
Snacks: 2 USED – 119 LEFT
QS Credits: 4 USED- 47 LEFT
TS Credits: 10 USED - 50 LEFT

[DISNEYLIZ]

Great photos, you did well with the fastpasses

[Kat11]

Another great day Kelly. I’m really enjoying following along. I fancy trying Homecoming on our next trip. Although the food looks pretty plain all these rave reviews are persuading me to give it a go.

Kat x

[Milpston]

I'm really enjoying reading along.

I really like the look of Akershus for breakfast so will add that to our shortlist for any future trips.

[MrsBC]

We love Homecomin' too, but we tend now only to have 1 TS meal, share a QS meal and a snack each through the day or we're just too full. We use more QS up on the days when we do Signatures - usually 4 days.

[caitlinsmummy]

Originally Posted by DISNEYLIZ

Great photos, you did well with the fastpasses

See more...

This was an awesome day for Fastpasses I was so impressed with how much we managed to do!

Thanks for reading x

Originally Posted by Kat11

Another great day Kelly. I’m really enjoying following along. I fancy trying Homecoming on our next trip. Although the food looks pretty plain all these rave reviews are persuading me to give it a go.

Kat x

See more...

Thanks Kat. You definitely should, I know it looks plain and dry but honestly it's so tasty. The cheddar biscuit wasn't too cheesey or dry, the mash was so creamy and filling and the chicken was crispy on the outside but soft and juicy on the inside. I didn't expect much apart from KFC but it's so much better. Definitely try it next time.

Thanks for reading xx

Originally Posted by Milpston

I'm really enjoying reading along.

I really like the look of Akershus for breakfast so will add that to our shortlist for any future trips.

See more...

Definitely add it, Emma would love the princesses and the foods nice too xx

Originally Posted by MrsBC

We love Homecomin' too, but we tend now only to have 1 TS meal, share a QS meal and a snack each through the day or we're just too full. We use more QS up on the days when we do Signatures - usually 4 days.

See more...

I don't blame you, they're so huge ... you should have seen our faces when the server brought them out he said 'Yeah the portions are huge here by the way!'

I guess when you've been a few times you know how to optimise the plan, I definitely don't feel we got the benefit of the plan, but at least we know for next time.

Thanks for reading xx

[Palm trees]

What a lovely sounding day with some great photos

[Cinderella]

Cute photo at the end.

[dixonsontour]

Lovely day, sounds like you all loved Epcot. Love the photo at the end.