12/24
Epcot with Akershus breakfast, Biergarten lunch, Monsieur Paul dinner also
Candlelight Processional.
Today we had to get up early, get ready, went down
near the front where the luggage is and then ordered a LYFT to take us to Epcot
for our 8:05am ADR Akershus breakfast.
Park rope drop is 9:00am. We were
dropped off near the front but off to the side but a great spot.
Our plan was breakfast in Norway, FEA right after,
then off to Future World. While there do
a few things and then back to World Showcase where we would spend most of the
day between Mexico, Norway and China.
We go thru security and then to the right where you go
for ADRs. We had to wait as they weren’t
letting anyone thru just yet. We were
finally let thru and then we moved with a purpose. We passed by this party of 5 and just kept
going, then shortly before Akershus, 2 of the guys moved in front of us and to
check in. When asked where the rest of
their party was, they said they are right back there (the others had just made
it into Norway. We had to wait until the
rest of their party got up in front of us and they let them in. I was always told that you don’t check in
until everyone in your party is with you.
This was not right that they could do that but we weren’t going to let
it get to us and ruin the start of our day.
We checked in and then were led in to have our picture taken with Belle,
then led to our table. Silja was our server, she explained about the buffet and
how the princesses would be coming around, then she took our drink order. We
then went to the buffet and each of us selected a variety of items. Andrea tried
some fruits, pastries, a few meats and cheese.
I got a variety like her. There
also was a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and a bread pudding type
dish.
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The princesses came to the table
in this order – Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White and then Ariel. You can see what all was offered in the
pictures I had included.
So, the cost
was $100.11 (2 TS credits) and a tip of $17.20 for a total of 117.31. Was this
worth it, No not for just the food. It was worth it to be in the park and to be
able to come out of our meal and walk right over to FEA. Will we go back, No, we don’t plan on doing
it again. If we had girls who loved the
princesses, yes, we would do it again.
So now we left Akershus and we walk over to FEA, there
was a line but just a 20-minute wait, we were not passing up on this chance to
ride it, along with what had been hearing about the ride going done on other
days. TP said it was a 22-minute wait,
and well it was more of a 32-minute wait, but that is still ok as we didn’t get
stuck in line and the ride break down. It was crowded but you could still see the que, which was amazing. The ride,
hmmm well we enjoyed it but still haven’t figured out the part of getting turned
around, then going backwards then turned back around. Just weird.
We were going to go to Future World to see The Seas with Nemo and
Friends but noticed that there was only a 10-minute wait for the Meet &
Greet with Elsa and Anna.
We enjoyed it
but thought that Anna was much better then Elsa. We also meet a family who had a little girl
that loved her picture being taken, and it was her birthday. We found out who her favorite princess was,
Anna, and we let the parents know what we wanted to do, and then we gave her an
Anna trading pin. She wanted it on her
dress, but then after, she wanted it off.
It was fun. After this, we walked
out and FEA had a 60-minute wait and the Meet and Greet was up to 25 minutes. We are glad we did those 2 when we did and
not later that day, also was hearing people talking about how FEA was down when
we were in other areas. We headed off to
Future World for our first FP at The Seas with Nemo and friends. This was a cute ride, we both enjoyed it.
Then to the Seas Main Tank and Exhibits but headed to Turtle Talk with Crush FP. This was a lot of fun, lots of good
interaction with the kids and crush. On
our TP, we a FP for Test Track but since we did that earlier in the vacation
and we wanted to get back to World Showcase, we skipped it and headed to Mexico.
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| What the students see in her class |
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| Keeping an eye on the students |
So we bought it and had them wrap it up well,
since we would be flying and had them send it to the resort to pick it up the
next day. I promised her that we would get a after Disney, well looks like she now has a cat. (I'm just kidding, we will be getting a live cat sometime over the next few months) It’s hard to believe that it
was already almost Christmas, and we were already on our 8th day,
with just 3 days to go. Well we didn’t
dwell on that, we were now off to China.
Walked into China and the Holidays Around the World:
the Chinese Lion Dancers were just coming out.
We both loved the show and both dancers involved in the lion are
amazing. We had watched this and it was
one of the main Holiday Around the World events we were looking forward
to. Now of to see Reflections of
China. We checked out all the things for
the Shanghai Disney. It looks amazing,
and then went in to see the movie. Reflections of China was informative but
dated. We don’t plan on seeing this
again.
Now it was time for lunch at Biergarten. Our ADR was for 1:30pm. We had a short wait but were seated in about
5 minutes. Our table was on the 2nd
level from the stage to the right. At
our table was a party of 5, a party of 1 and then our party of 2 for a total of
8. The seating arrangement was different
from any others we had, but we knew about it before going there. It was ok, the lady that was next to us was
nice and we talked with her. The party
of 5 seemed to be in their own world. 
Since it is a buffet, we have pictures of our food and of the
buffet. I tried my first wine flite, the
White Wine Sampler Flite. I enjoy wines but was didn't like these much and woudln't do it again..
Our cost was $83.07 (4 TS credits because this was a
Candlelight Processional package). White
Wine Sampler Flight for $15.08 and the tip was $14.98 for a grand total of
$113.63 Was it worth it. Well for the normal price, it is a good value and if you leave hungry, you have no one to blame but yourse;. We would not do this again and
use the dining plan, unless we were doing just a regular TS credit, and then
maybe but still might do it out of pocket.
As far as doing it for the Candlelight Processional dinner package, yes,
out of pocket. Our main reason for
eating here was the Candlelight Processional package for the 6:45pm show. Was it worth it. For the food, maybe, but was a very bad use
of the TS credits if you go only on the dollar amount, however with the
Candlelight Processional package included, YES, it was worth it. Anyone that has seen what we spent and how
much we saved using the Deluxe Dining Plan, knows that we managed to get a
great value for our money, even with this meal.
It was interesting, we had a chance to try a variety of things and the
desserts were good.
We left and headed to Norway and checked out the Stave
Church Gallery but never did find Sigrid and Julenissen. I enjoyed the Stave Church more the Andrea
but I can’t see doing it more than once.
We checked out Norway. We were
going to do snacks at several locations but changed our mind because we were
still pretty full from Biergarten.
We
headed back to China to watch The Jeweled Dragon Acrobats. This was one of the best shows, especially
the opening act, which I will call the King of the Masks. It is truly amazing to watch, and even if you
understand what is happening, to watch something that has amazed people for
over 300 years, that is incredible. The
rest of the show was wonderful to and we will go back to watch this every time
we do there. We then started walking
toward America but first stopped at Germany and stopped at Glaskugel where had
a special glass ornament made and engraved with our engagement on it. We headed to The American Heritage Gallery
and enjoyed it. Now the fun begins. We both were a bit tired but we also need to exchange
our Fuel Rods. So, we decided to split
up. Andrea went to the American Adventure and watched, well ended up having a
nice little nap. I went over to the
front of World Showcase and exchanged the 2 Fuel Rods, then needed to make one
stop to make a request for our dinner, I stopped at Monsieur Paul and let them
know we were celebrating our Engagement on this vacation and would like, if
possible, a window table. They said that
they would do what they could and I headed back to the line for the Candlelight
Processional Package line. Well I got
over there but I could not get in line because Andrea had the sticker
voucher. I waited and when the show she
was in should be done, I texted her and asked her where she was, she said they
had just been let out. I told her to
walk past Japan and I was on the right side along the long line for the
Candlelight Processional. She found me,
we put on the stickers and got in line.
We had about a 20-minute wait before the line started moving. Once it started to move, it went
quickly. When we got to the front of the
line, we asked if we could sit over on the far side where there was almost no
one and we were directed over there. 
We
had seats that were in the 3rd row back, and the person who does the
signing was right up in front where we were, amazing seats and show. Our guest Celebrity speaker was Ming Na Wen
(voice of Mulan). We both loved it and know
that next year, on Christmas eve we will be right back there watching it again. For us, it was like going to the Christmas
eve service at church, only a much bigger church and production but so worth
it.We exited to the left side of seating as you face away from the stage. Now the fun began as we had an 8:00pm dinner at Monsieur Paul. First up was to get to a restroom so that we could change. We felt like fish swiming upstream as we made our way along the walkway but it seemed that most people were going the other way. A quick stop at the restrooms at the end of Morocco. I put on a long sleeve shirt and tie and Andrea put on a nice dress shirt. We then were off to dinner.
We arrived at 7:50pm for our 8:00pm reservations, 10 minutes early and checked in then stood for a
bit, then sat until we were called and we went upstairs. Our wait time was just over 15 minutes
We were seated at a window table, but it was
on the side that overlooks the streets of France and not that you could see Illuminations. Note to self and anyone reading this, next time, make sure to request
a window table that overlooks the water.
Don't get me wrong, the window table we received was very nice, the view outside was like sitting in Paris on the 2nd floor of a beautiful restaurunt and being able to see the see a street near the Siene River, with the lighted streets and buildings below.
Our waiter was Mickel (in English it is Michael) He was great. First server at any location, in fact only
server at any location to ask if there were any allergy issues. We let him know
that there were none, and then he started to explain about the menu. He knew
the menu and made recommendations based on our talking and our likes. We followed his recommendations and were not
disappointed.
To start off Andrea
ordered a coke and asked for grenadine and he said that they didn’t have that
but he could put some cherry in it. The
2nd coke he brought he forgot to have the cherry added. He appoligized and said he would be right back. When he came back he placed a small glass with the cherry juice in it on the table infront of
Andrea, she loved that. I ordered a Sprite, but also a glass of
Vouvray, a white wine to be brought with the entrée.
There was a female server who brought over a basket of
bread and then we had to select just one out of it, we both selected a cheese
bread. It was good, however, they could
really just leave the bread basket or even come back and ask if you would like
more. I would say that is the one main
complaint we had.
For Hors d'oeuvres (Appetizers), Andrea ordered the Salade au Rupuefort, poire et noix de pecan caramelisees (Romaine lettuce with Roquefort cheese, pears and caramelized pecans) This was interesting when it arrived, as it came on one large and one small plate. The Roquefort cheese was on a saucer. The
lettuce seemed to be Romain hearts.
The pears were on the tart side, which was a surprise to us both. Interesting flavor combination but very flavorful in a good way. You will notice that this is not a very big salad, in fact it is very small. That being said, it was the best salad we tasted.
David ordered the Soupe aux truffes V.G.E. (Oxtail broth with briased beef, vegetables and black winter truffles covered in puff pastry) (as I type this I am saying it with my French accent). Andrea didn't like this, but then she doesn't like truffles or mushrooms either. I enjoyed it. The puff pastry on top was so flacky and tender. The top was like a puff pastry, so flaky and
tender, the broth was not thick but full of flavor. The braised beef, that was the one part that was just okay, other than that, this was very good. flavorful.
Plats principaus (Main courses) we both ordered the Filet de boeuf grille et sa croute de parmesan, pommes rustiques, champignons sauvages sautes, sauce Bordelaise (Grilled beef tenderloin, topped with parmesan crust, roasted fingerling potatoes, wild mushrooms, parmesan shavings, Bordelaise sauce). The only difference between our main course was that Andrea asked for no mushrooms with her potatoes. The roasted fingerling potatoes came in a small bowl. Not much flavor, in fact we added salt to this. This was, I think the first time either of us used salt on any dish. I enjoyed them more then she did, but they did lack in flavor. Now to the filet.First things first, The steak we had yesterday at Chefs de France and the steak we are having here are both called Filet de Boeuf grille (Grilled tenderloin) The only things they had in common were the name, and that they were steak and grilled. That is it. Chefs de France cost $34.99 and here it was $44. Worth the $9 extra and much more. The Filet here was a filet mignon and cooked to prefection. We both asked that they be cooked Medium and they came out just as requested. The parmesan crust was a good addition to the steak, however the steak was only, just warm at best. The Bordelaise sauce that came with it, that was wonderful, full of rich flavor and added so much to this dish. The steak is not a large piece as you can see from the pictures, however it was far and above much better then what we had at Chefs de France last night. Even though the steak was just warm, it was still one of the better
steaks we had while at Disney World. No, it wasn't better then Jiko, or the Yachtsman. It was more tender then the Yachtsman, but not better. Maybe if it had been hotter, it would have given the Yachtsman and possibly Jiko a run for the money, but it didn't. To be fair here, the 2nd time at Jiko, the steak was even better then the first time.
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| Medium, last bite |
Desserts, we didn;t like them at all....... We LOVED THEM!
David ordered Le vacherin: meringue, crème glacee
vanilla, sorbet framboise, Chantilly a la Vanille, coulis de framboises
(Meringue, vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet, vanilla Chantilly,
raspberry coulis) I loved this and would have eaten more if they had giving me
more. The combination was perfect. The Raspberry sorbet was a bit tart but the
rest of it offset that. The meringue was
crunchy which was different then I am used to on a dessert but very good.
There was another dessert that we both had looked at and thought about ordering. The family of 4 at the table next to us, 2 of them ordered it. It is called La sphere: sphere de chocolat au lait, gateau de chocolat et amandes, creme au praline et chocolat, biscuit leger aux noisettes, glace au chocolat et oranges confites, sauce tiede au chocolat et Armangnac (Milk Chocolate sphere, chocolate almond cake, praline and chocolate cream, light hazelnut biscuit, chocolate with candied oranges ice cream, warm chocolate and Armagnac sauce) This comes looking like a big ball (sphere) of chocolate, then the warm chocolate and Armagnac sauce is poured slowly over it and it causes the chocolate sphere to seem to open up by melting it. It looked so good. I would be willing to try it even thought there are 3 things in it that I don't like - Almond cake, praline, and hazelnut. Maybe next time, or maybe we will order 1 extra dessert, La Sphere.
We were never rushed at all during our time here. Very relaxing.
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| If we thought we could have gotten away with it, we would have licked the bowl and plate clean |
Our
cost $188.44 (4 TS) along with $12.73 for a glass of wine, and the tip was
$35.39. The total for everything was
$223.83. Was this worth it, Oh Yes, and we are already planning our return
visit here.
The service was great Mickel was great.
We made sure to have the manager come over and we explained how
wonderful the whole evening was here, that it was the only place that asked
about allergy’s. We gave Mickel a Thank You card
and also one to the manager for the restaurunt. Mickel told us he would be leaving on January 2nd to reture to his hometown in France.
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| This is a look of complete satisfaction with our experience and the food here at Monsieur Paul |
As we walked down the stairs, we saw one of the managers and he asked us how was our night upstairs. I shared what we talked about yesterday in the review of Chefs de France. We left Monsieur Paul and slowly made our way to the
front of World Showcase, then slowly thru Future World.
We stopped and had our picture taken at the
front of the park. It was nice and not
rushed as it would have been in the morning.
Now off to the bus stop. A short wait and we were on a bus, able to sit
down and relax on our way to POP as the bus is only about 1/2 full. When we arrived at POP, we casually strolled thru the gift shop, then outside near the pool, to the left and up to building 6, room 6222 where we changed for bed and had a very peaceful nights sleep.
(Sorry that this took so long to get in, lots of things going on and getting the pictures in was a struggle for some reason.)
(Sorry that this took so long to get in, lots of things going on and getting the pictures in was a struggle for some reason.)
Tomorrow, 12/25, Christmas. I had heard it said that only a crazy fool
would try to be in Magic Kingdom on Christmas day. We will find out as we decided to brave Magic
Kingdom all day without leaving it. BOG breakfast, lunch/early dinner at
Liberty Tree Tavern, late dinner at BOG, snack at Plaza Ice Cream Shop.
Hope everyone is enjoying our reports and the pictures, but also that it has and will be helpful to liners and guests in the future.
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