ice cream social at epcot?

[2minny]

Is the ice cream social at epcot? That sounds really fun, I already have reservations for the storybook princess breakfast at epcot and only plan to stay at epcot for one day. Should I change my reservations from breakfast to ice cream social, do both and just stick with the breakfast?

 

[ohMom]

i haven't done the princess breakfast but I can comment on our experience on ICS

I read mixed reviews on this and thought "how can it possibly be a bad experience?" Well -- I think we experienced what some consider "bad"

We arrived at the rest. and didn't wait at all with our PS. We were sat and realized there was only maybe 2-3 other tables with people. Service was very prompt and our ice cream arrived quickly and was delicious. We were also served water in a souveneir EPCOT cup with lid/straw. (This was the only time I thought the water was yucky) The sundae were "presented" and included chocolate drizzlings on the plate and hidden choc. pieces - but all and all we were disappointed. Characters included Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale and Pluto (dressed in farm attire). When they did come by there interacted very well with our children; but they didn't come by much. In fact when the server stopped to ask how things were I made a point to tell him we needed more character appearance. That did bring results, but by then the "magic" was spoiled.

In short - the ICS is a nice ice cream break - I wouldn't recommend counting on it as your character "meal" as the lack of guests made for a very "blah" atmosphere and lack of excitement and magic from the characters. We went during the value season - maybe it's better on more crowded days.

 

[2minny]

great, thanks for the details! What did it cost? Maybe we can just do it as an ice cream break later in the day. We need many breaks at epcot, my girls get bored there after 1/2 day and we usually stay most of the day.

 

[WhispyPixie]

We have done the ICS 2 times and BOTH times it was fantastic. We always book the 3:15 one. It is $6.99 for both children and adults. It does come with water or sofa drinks as well. The characters are dressed in "farm attire" and they always have spent a great deal of time with us and the kids. They even have come around several times. Once Mickey even came and sat with us at the table just to look at himself on the icecream! It is a wonderful break, the kids love the icecream and we have a great time.

Pixie

 

[kapica3]

Whispie,

You mentioned in your post that "It does come with water or soft drinks as well". Is that included in the $6.99 price?. or is there an extra charge for soft drinks?

Thanks

 

[WhispyPixie]

It is included in the price......I always thought it would be extra, but both times we have done it, there was never additional charges for drinks. We always have a party of 6, so a 15%gratuity is always added in for us, but if we are happy with the service we always like to up it to 20%. These people work hard to make our family have special Disney moments!

Good Luck!

Pixie

 

[patsal]

Water is free, but soft drinks are extra. It was well over $45.00 for my family of 4 with beverages, tax and tip. I was one who had written about a less than stellar experience. We had really poor character interaction as well! They only have seating for this once per day now--though during the busy time they may add a second seating for it. I would not do this again, but for larger families that would have difficulty with the cost of a full character meal this might be a good alternative.

 

[mgpan]

We just reserved this for this coming Feb. 1 yesterday. We were offered three seating times (we chose the earliest as it can get crowded and sometimes people will stay so long they have to eat the ice cream with a straw making you wait). We did this on the last trip last October and the server told us soft drinks would be extra. Maybe it depends on who you get. The characters gave us great interaction even though we were two adults alone. Perhaps they made some changes after many bad reports (many here on the dis and other sites). The only thing we noticed that may be a drawback was that the characters would only be at one table at one time. You couldn't take pictures with more than one at a time. Even so, we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great break from all the walking at Epcot.

 

[WhispyPixie]

Perhaps they have changed for the new year with the amount of times offered. We were offered 3 times this past Thanksgiving and we selected the 3:15 time for a party of 11. It was great and I am guessing the soft drinks just happened because of the server, I checked my bill thinking i made a mistake, but we were not charged for drinks this trip. Many times there are inconsistencys with servers. We have always had a great time here!! Great interaction and Great icecream. Love the way they print a golden Mickey on the chocolate!!

Pixie

 

[minnieluvzmickey]

What are the three times that it is offered?

 

[MissMagnolia]

I just booked this for 1/12. They gave me the options of 2:50, 3:00 or 3:10.

 

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

Ditto:
I just booked for early March and was told 3:10 was the latest seating.
I got a tip to book the last seating for maximum charcter interaction and so as not to be rushed out. My DD5 eats like a snail.