Today was the meal we’d all been waiting for, Topolino’s Terrace breakfast. We’d heard so many good things about it, and I was looking forward to a standard holiday steak breakfast. However, when the girls woke up, we saw that Polly’s face was really swollen up. She’s had a rash on her face for a few days which isn’t unusual as she takes after me with her allergies to all things unknown, but until now there’s been no swelling. She said she felt fine though, and had no other symptoms, so after an antihistamine and some ibuprofen (anyone else take a full pharmacy inventory with them on holiday, just in case?) we got ready to leave.
We’ve never been to Riviera before, so it was lovely to visit a new hotel. It is very beautiful and has lots of lovely touches with some gorgeous artwork (Steve was more impressed by the coffee shop), but I would say it didn’t feel all that Disney to me. I don’t particularly think that’s a bad thing. The Yacht Club is one of my favourite resorts and that doesn’t even have a hint of Disney about it. It was also an incredibly foggy morning so we couldn’t really see the setting which may well have made a difference. Anyway, we headed straight up to the restaurant as just before we left, I’d managed to modify to an earlier time (I always try and do this is we are ready earlier than expected and its surprising how often time pop up). We checked in and were told to go to the waiting area which was completely full as the restaurant hadn’t quite opened, but it didn’t matter as we were seated straight away.
Our server was called Jenn and she was fabulous. She bought us a selection on pastries then talked us through the menu, and whilst she didn’t outright say that we could order more than one dish, she did tell us quite definitely to tell her anything that we wanted (because, in her words, when you’re paying $40 each for breakfast, you can definitely order whatever you like!) I ordered the steak; Steve had some sort of breakfast hash thing and the girls had waffles with bacon and eggs. I asked to swap the polenta on my dish for potatoes, but she said she’d bring both, and I’m glad as they were both delicious.
Whilst eating the meal, the characters came round to visit the tables. They were distanced but still interacted with each table individually and made such a fuss of the girls. Jenn kept coming over telling them how Daisy and Minnie were chatting about them backstage, and that they were the celebrities. They loved it and I think it helped to take Polly’s mind off of allergy. The characters also did little intermittent dances, which were really cute.
I’ve seen stories of people ordering 2 meals each here, but there was no way I’d have been able to fit another meal down after that steak (and I have a big appetite), and I hate to waste food, so we decided we’d had enough. The girls however did ask for an extra muffin as they loved them when they ate the pastries. I think it’s lovely that you can try more if you want to, but the meals are definitely substantial enough as they stand.
Overall, it was a fabulous experience, and one we’ll definitely be doing again. Food, setting, service and characters were all fantastic. I think we may try the evening meal on the next trip too as I bet it is beautiful at night.
As we were leaving the lady from the shop came out to show Polly the Topolino’s Daisy Duck toy, and as Donald and Daisy are their favourites, they decided to buy them with their gift cards (cue Winnie doing more maths to see how many toys she could still afford!!)
We then headed back to the hotel for a bit and the girls went in the pool whilst I tidied up the room and packed a few bits. We were moving to a new room on New Year’s Day and as NYE was going to be a completely full day at the park, it was a good chance to get organised.
Around lunchtime we decided to head to Epcot for a few hours to try and do Living with the Land while it still had a Christmas overlay and see the Christmas performers in some of the countries around the world.
When we arrived, we immediately saw Pooh Bear in his Santa hat. Even though he was a long way away he spent ages interacting with the girls which they loved (especially as we were waiting for Daddy who was queuing for his Starbucks!)
We then decided to go on Soarin’ seeing as it is right next to Living with the Land and Polly’s favourite. We never get sat in the middle though, so leaning Eiffel Tower it was. We then did Living with the Land, which was really sweet, before heading to check off a few of the 50th golden statues and walk around World Showcase.
Now, in August World Showcase is always hotter than the centre of the sun, so we were excited to try it on a cooler day. Except it wasn’t cool at all. It was blisteringly hot and busier than the Next Sale! When the queue for the 3 Caballeros ride is out of the Mexico pavilion door, you realise you may have made a bad choice!
Still, we decided to go ahead and start the cookie stroll (you basically get a card to stamp at set locations around the world when you buy a Christmas cookie there, and the last cookie is free) bribing Steve with the offer of each time the girls had a cookie, he could have a beer. We only made it as far as 3 cookies in (much to his disappointment!) before the heat became too much, so after a quick story from Papa Noel in France we decided to head over to Magic Kingdom so we could cool down on the monorail and come back to finish the stroll later than evening.
We didn’t have any plans other than to cool down, so we set ourselves down in the shade under the train station and saw two different lots of characters come out.
his was one of the girls’ favourite things, especially seeing the Pooh gang (including Rabbit!) as they’re Polly’s favourite. The character timings are a bit random but the 50th characters tend to come out about 10 minutes after each of their cavalcades which could be a useful tip if anyone wants to catch them.
We then stayed put to watch the Christmas parade again as it was lovely and cool (and as Polly says, the Christmas parade never fails to be magical) with the traditional ‘make sure you have wet wipes to hand’ parade lollipop, before heading to watch Carousel of Progress and give Steve chance to grab a much-needed Nana nap.
By this time, we were all pretty tired, and decided we really couldn’t face the crowds back at World Showcase. Polly still really wanted to see the Gingerbread Carousel at the Beach club which we were planning on doing after leaving Epcot, so we hopped on a Yacht and Beach Club bus and popped in to see it before grabbing an Uber back to our hotel to share a flatbread from the Mara in the room.
New Year’s Eve tomorrow and a big day at the parks so another early night all round (and another 11 hour Disney sleep for Steve!)
Doodle & Peg Do Disney 