Florida 2019 - Tell Me This Isn't The Last Time - Day 04 AK and Teppen Edo

[Mightyfraz]

The index is here.

Tuesday 30th July 2019

The plan for today was AK, DW brilliantly managed to get a FP for Avatar Flight of Passage and I wanted to see Pandora and have lunch in Satu’li Canteen. We also had FPs for Dinosaur and Expedition Everest. Again, the plan for the afternoon was to chill before heading to Epcot for dinner in Teppen Edo where DW wanted to go on the last two trips but we never got there.

We started to adjust to Floridian time now as we all woke up later than previous days; the aim was to get to AK for rope drop so we could go on Kilimanjaro Safari before it was too hot. Breakfast was in the lounge again and we topped up our water bottles and headed to the bus stop.

The entrance to AK wasn’t that busy, so it allowed for the obligatory photos

One of our favourite parts of AK is when you walk over the little bridge and you can see the Tree of Life; it always brightens up our day; it’s such as beautiful piece of work.

We made our way to rope drop; as there was about 30 mins before the park opened, we grabbed some drinks in Starbucks; DD2 had Very Berry Hibiscus, I had Cold Brew (which wasn’t what I thought it was ) and DD1 had Peach Green Tea. 3 snack credits or $16 (£13.22).

I can’t remember why DD1 had Mickey written on her drink? (DD2 just corrected me, it was DW and her name is Nikki, the cast member must have misheard ). We walked up to the safari and I think we got on the second truck. The safari was good, there were quite a lot of animals about but you could tell they were already trying to find shade as it was getting hot.

Even though we had Expedition Everest as a FP later in the day, the wait time was around 10 mins and it’s one of our favourites, so we headed over there. On the way we met Kevin.

Expedition Everest never fails to impress, we love the ride so much, DD1 looks like she was having fun!

Next was Dinosaur for the first FP as DW loved this ride on the last trip. This time not so much, she said she didn’t realise it was so dark in there.

DDs felt like having a snack so stopped at one of the carts; DD1 had a chocolate covered banana and DD2 had frozen lemonade. We used 2 snack credits or it would have cost $13.25 (£10.95).

DD1 is rocking her new WDW t-shirt she picked up yesterday (nope not the one we’re still looking for ) and DD2 is wearing a Banksy inspired “girl taking an AT-AT for a walk” that DW bought her

Fuelled up we went to watch It’s Tough to Be A Bug, then headed over to the Jungle Walking Trail, on the way DW grabbed a pretzel with cheese for 1 snack credit ($6.59 (£5.45)). After walking around the trail, it was time for our Expedition Everest FP.

When we got there, the line was huge. I guess it had stopped for a while but it took about 45 mins in the FP line.

Then it was time to go to Pandora and FoP. I’m the only one in the family who has seen Avatar and I was truly blown away with Pandora; the theming is amazing and the detailing incredible. We had a quick look in the shop where DD2 added to her pin collection.

It was time for FoP; we’ve spent so much time on YouTube before the holiday watching vloggers such as Tim Tracker, Adam Hattan, Gary C, L&R Dreaming to name a few (if you haven’t watched these, go and look them up); if anyone one of them showed FoP we skipped through so we could have the pleasure of the ride first hand without knowing about it first. DD2 trying the seat for size.

We loved the queue and everything that is going on; personally, I think the loading takes far too long. I did struggle a little bit fitting into the seat but managed to squeeze myself in; then we were off. The concept of it was brilliant but maybe because I wear glasses I struggled to focus on everything coming to me at pace. Don’t get me wrong it’s a brilliant ride but I liked it rather than loved it

Next stop was Satu’li Canteen which we’d all been looking forward to. I had the Chicken and Beef pot, DW and DD2 had the Beef pot and DD1 had Quesadillas; obviously we had to order a side of Cheeseburger Pods

The food was to die for and yes, the cheeseburger pods taste like a Big Mac; it will definitely be on our list to do again. We used 4 QS credits but would have been $51.46 (£42.53) which was fantastic value for money in our view.

We’d pretty much done everything we wanted to do in AK so thought about heading back to Beach Club but DDs wanted to get henna tattoos.

We caught the bus back to Beach Club but as DDs hadn’t look around Yacht Club yet, we got off there and had a look around. Also spotted a not so hidden Mickey.

After a look in the shop, DDs wanted to go back and relax in the room, so DW and I decided to walk around the Boardwalk. It was such as beautiful afternoon for a relaxing walk.

We had a look in the shops, thought about spending too much in the galleries and then stopped for a cheeky beer in ESPN.

We got back to the room and DDs still wanted to relax so DW and I did some laundry, oh how the other half live on holiday Actually it was quite nice sitting there listening to some podcasts for an hour; I also found a much quieter, smaller swimming pool.

Laundry completed and DDs relaxed, we got ready and walked to Epcot; the Skyliner was doing test runs.

We arrived slightly early for our reservation so had a look in the shop, DD1 loves the culture and knocked up a quick shopping list for food and drink to buy later. We walked up to Teppen Edo, DW wanted to eat here for some time and was disappointed that we didn’t eat here on our last trip. I was slightly apprehensive as felt it may not be as good as DW hoped.

The first thing to note is that the Hibachi grill table seats eight, so if you there is fewer than eight in your party, you may be sat with another family which could be hit or miss! We were sat with a family who had two young children, the parents were both teachers and we struck up a conversation; the family were lovely and the children very well behaved. The chef made sure he kept them engaged so they weren’t bored.

The server saw DD1’s birthday badge so she was given a chef’s hat

The chef started chopping up vegetables, laying them on the grill to make a Mickey

DD1 had the Chicken and the rest of us had Filet Mignon

The food was superb, the meat was cooked to perfection and the sauces added to the noodles and vegetables were very tasty. I can’t remember what we all had for dessert and I only have a picture of the cheesecake, which I had and it was lovely. DD1’s birthday badge received another free dessert

DW was absolutely right, we should have eaten here on the last trip; this is definitely a must on any future trip and would recommend it thoroughly. The server came over and said that Illuminations was due to start, so if we wanted to watch them we should head to the balcony. The view was really good and Illuminations is fantastic. After illuminations we paid using 4 TS credits, the cost was $220.35 (£182.11) and the tip was $41.38. As an experience and food wise, I would put this ahead of both California Grill and Biergarten.

DD1 went back to the shop and picked up some sweets and drinks; we then headed back to BC. Again, another brilliant day; AK is always good and we love Expedition Everest. Pandora is amazing although we liked rather than loved FoP. The food in Satu’li Canteen was superb but the highlight of the day was Teppen Edo.

DDP
• Snack Credits – 30 start – 6 = 24 left (behind by 8)
• QS Credits – 12 start – 4 = 8 left (on track)
• TS Credits – 10 start – 4 = 6 left (on track for the plan)
• Daily Saving $307.65 (£254.27)
• Total Saving $964.07 (£797.14)

Tomorrow is MK as we have FPs for Haunted Mansion, Seven Dwarves Mine Train and Jungle Cruise. We had an ADR at The Boathouse so planned to look around Disney Springs. Day 5 can be found here

[mick]

Another great day and more good food

Joan

[Florida1972]

Nice that you relax in between parks, we tend to do that as I like to feel I’m actually on holiday. Can’t beat a beer in the ESPN it’s a must do for us each trip, we like to sit outside but it does depend on the heat as we visit in July/Aug. Great day, thanks for posting 👍