Bon Voyage: Breakfast at the Boardwalk
Our Epcot fastpasses began at 9am, but I had an "if we get there, we'll get there" attitude. T was exhausted when I woke up around 8am — we did not make the first two. Instead I lounged and read while T slept in, before we headed out around 10am for our 10:30am ADR at Trattoria al Forno. The new plan was to eat breakfast, see if we had enough time to make the last FP for Soarin', see some of Flower & Garden, then go to Publix.
I was surprised how simple it was to have a rental car at WDW. I've read many opinions on how it's a huge hassle to drive and park around property, but it was really nice. We had ice cold air conditioning all to ourselves, I could leave my hat or umbrella or shopping bags in the car, we didn't have to wait or stand on a bus, when we had resort ADRs we went directly to the resort, and we didn't need to leave early to allot for Disney bus issues... it was really quite convenient and we both enjoyed ~personal~ transportation. That said, I'm rarely unhappy using Disney transportation and/or Lyft to get around, but now I know firsthand that a rental car (for us) is a good option. Also, I avoided parking at the TTC for Magic Kingdom because that *did* sound like more of a hassle than taking the bus. The other 3 parks, Disney Springs, and resort parking were all super easy.
I feel like I have to insert "room info" somewhere in this report, but we didn't take any room photos because this was my third, T's second, time in the new Pop rooms. So... OOTD photo it is!
We were in a room in the 70s overlooking the lake. I really like the new rooms. It feels like a DisneyxIKEA collaboration: modern, clean, and cozy. They're perfect for just the two of us on "busy" trips when we're not planning on much resort time.
Anyway! In seemingly no time (really, maybe 6-7 minutes) we had gone from Pop to the Boardwalk's parking lot. I had us dawdle for a bit so we could admire the Boardwalk's lobby.
We checked in at Trattoria al Forno and waited just a few minutes before being seated. When the hostess led us to our table she asked what we were up to that day; I said we were going to a wedding that night. She promptly responded with "oh, you're brave, I never eat before a big event like a wedding so I look good in pictures!"
(The dress I brought was very forgiving, so I wasn't worried about bloating.)
Our table had a nice view of the open kitchen, or at least I did from my side of the table. You can't tell from this mediocre photo, but it's nice
We ordered, and our server brought over pastries for the table and fruit bowls.
I liked the clamshell turnover (I think it was cherry) and maybe the Tangled sunburst?, but wasn't enamored with the rest. T ate the majority of the pastries. They were just of average quality, though all were pretty. The fruit bowl was actually noteworthy because it was super fresh, which is the opposite of the fruit salads I've so far had in Disney restaurants.
Before long, Flynn Rider appeared in a smoldering blaze.
Rapunzel stopped by. I like that the little girl behind her is kind of side-eyeing T.
Here I'll stop to note that I had a hidden agenda for this breakfast, and like all of my "in hindsight" mentions, I'm just appalled at my choices.
I really wanted to get the Pascal glow light at this breakfast, and that is the sole reason I booked it. I was interested in the food (it had great reviews) but not at all interested in the character aspect. Should I have just stopped here sometime and asked if I could buy the glow light? Probably.
Anyway, our entrees made an appearance next.
Obligatory trident photo. You can also spot my precious Pascal glow light, which I carried with me for the rest of that trip and sometimes attach to cocktails at home.
King Triton's Shipwreck al Forno: Calzone with Scrambled Eggs, Bell Peppers, Salumi, Bacon, Sausage, Blend of Cheeses, and Sunday Gravy.
So, another "in hindsight" part, which I know is super fun to read...
I asked when ordering if I could get the calzone without sausage. Everything else was fine, but I don't like sausage. The server said they couldn't leave out just one meat, but they could do the vegetarian version. I said okay to that, but I should've just taken the normal version and picked out any sausage when I came to it. This had no cheese and no egg! It was completely vegan. I recently saw a review of this calzone and they had what looked like delicious butter and garlic on the outside, so I really did miss out.
However, I have to say, this was one of the tastiest vegan meals I've ever had. It was still quite satisfying because it was huge and absolutely stuffed with vegetables: broccoli, squash, I think bell pepper?, roasted potatoes, onions?, possibly string beans, and others I've since forgotten. It was well seasoned and tasty, loved that it was charred and flavorful, and the tomato sauce was good. But I missed out on a garlicky buttery exterior! Oh well, I felt ~healthy~ because I was mainly eating vegetables.
Utterly failed to get a photo of T's meal, the
Royale Breakfast: Oak-grilled Steak, Cheesy-Egg Torte, and Fonduta with Breakfast Potatoes and crispy Onions. I asked him to take a photo and he just took this close-up of his steak cooked to order.
You can kind of see everything in the background of the trident photo. He enjoyed this, and I sampled bits of it and agreed all were good. The "cheesy-egg torte" is actually a
Spanish omelette, and it was delicious; it also had some grilled asparagus spears on top. The roasted potatoes and crispy onions were flavorful, the steak was great. This portion was plenty, too.
Prince Eric was a perfect gentleman. I love his royal costume.
And now for the namesake of this dining report! Ariel was the last to visit and the most fun to meet. When we were ready for the photo she sidled up to T and said,
"aw yeah, lemme get you by your fishy fin!" and took his arm for the photo.
I actually didn't hear that at the time and T told me after breakfast, which we both found just hilarious. We now say the same thing when we walk arm in arm together. We used to say "grab me by the elbow!" because that was an old joke, but we've happily moved on to fishy fin.
Overall, this was a nice breakfast. It was expensive (I think with Tables in Wonderland it was still around $80 total, but part of that was my $6 Pascal glow light) but less expensive than other character meals. Then again, those are almost all buffets, and that somehow makes their price gouging less egregious.
If you don't care about the characters they offer a non-character option, where you sit on the outside patio and entrees are significantly cheaper. Had I known that was an option at the time, I definitely would've done that. Still, it was nice to do it once, and at least I learned we don't care about character experiences. It was very busy and loud inside, which is to be expected, and the service was typical of Disney restaurants where they assign too many tables to each server. If you or your family love character meals and you're sick of buffets, this is a nice option to consider.
On the other hand, when we left we randomly started chatting with this woman part of an (all adult) family who had also just left the character breakfast. She said since they loved it so much and were semi-local (an hour or two away) they drove up sometimes just for this breakfast, like on Valentine's Day or her birthday. Good for her, not for me. I didn't think the food or experience was special enough to warrant repeat visits.
After this, we made our way through the International Gateway where we found massive Flower & Garden crowds! We got on Soarin' during the 15 minute grace period, rode, then went back to the car.
Coming up next: T experiences his first Florida downpour, and we attend a wedding.