Epcot

One of the best character meals is in Epcot at Norway's Akershus.  We had reservations for breakfast with the princesses on Saturday morning. 

Princess Belle was our official hostess and she was all decked out for winter.  I think she has the best dress of all the princesses.  I know it's one of my favorite costumes on Tessa. 

As we ate our family style breakfast the princesses visited our table.  Jack Ryan isn't sure what to make of all the excitement.  But he went with the flow as I held him up to the different girls for pictures.  This is an especially pretty Aurora.   

Even though Anna and Elsa seem to have taken over the kingdom, Ariel is probably still Tessa's favorite.  I love Jack Ryan's expressions, he's pointing at Ariel like "What's up with her?" and staring at Cinderella like "Who are you Blondie?" 

Snow White spent extra time at our table and played with Jack Ryan.  Tessa did a sweet little pose with her for the pictures. 

We had Fast Passes for Soarin' next so we crossed the park to catch this ride.  We flew over California, smelled the oranges and evergreens before finishing on Main Street Disneyland in the middle of the fireworks show.  It's a very cool ride and since Tessa was prepared for the fireworks this time, it didn't scare her.  Next was The Seas with Nemo, an easy one that even Jack Ryan could ride.  Then we went to Mission Space a very intense flight simulator.  It's so intense that you have to read a legal waiver before boarding.  My mom watched the kids while Ryan, Gampa and I rode.  I've never been on it before and it was pretty cool.  Not sure I feel the need to do it again anytime soon though. 

 

Epcot was all decked out for Christmas with storytellers from around the world performing in each country.  We listened to Pere Noel reading a letter from a child and I was thoroughly entertained.  Jack Ryan napped. 

We had early dinner reservations at Chefs de France and then planned to attend the Candlelight Processional show afterwards.  Dinner was delicious and pretty darn authentic.  Our waitress was brand new and, bless her heart, we kept confusing her with our orders.  Ryan, thanks to his usual dealings with French people, was able to straighten everything out.  We ended up with extra champagne as part of the deal, always nice.  Unfortunately, Tessa got sick about halfway through the meal.  It's just not a trip until someone throws up.  I took her back to the hotel room while Ryan managed to get our money back for the show tickets.  He's really good at that kind of thing.  So it ended up being an early night and we were all okay with that.