A breakfast fit for Queen Alaska. Florida September 2025: Day 5

Well…if I thought yesterday needed coffee…today, I need something a little more potent. Starbucks…fetch me the purest beans you have; don’t bother grinding them, I’ll take the whole. The staff look at each other as the managers give each other a simultaneous nod, pull out a key each, and unlock the forbidden beans…’only to be used in case of knackered theme park Dads’; perfect. Dry ice ascends the now open tomb of beans, a godly light shines down as they reach in and hand them over. “Godspeed old man”…hey, I’m not even 40 yet; Grayson…tell them!!

Ahhhh, unfortunately no such super duper wakey wakey beans existed…Starbucks were useless, and in fact…I didn’t even get chance to go this morning; we had a date with the princesses in EPCOT at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.

Bit of a mad rush this morning, we’d spent the night at HHN (absolutely brilliant), and by the time we’d done a reverse kid swap and were settling down…it was 3am. 3am??!! Madness I know…no rest for the wicked ey?…worth it just for the surreal experience of watching water dance at 1am at Universal.

Bugger…we’re going to be late; sound the alarm, jaw the living dead…THIS IS NOT A DRILL…EVERYONE AWAKE!!!

A half asleep Grayson’s and Alaska are thrust into the shower before they even open their eyes. I swear Alaska was still snoring as I was towel drying her off. Lazy little bugs. Quick, quick…no time for makeup Jo…you look fab (listen…we were late, I had to do something drastic).

Car loaded, kids dressed (well…kinda; their shirts were back to front, shoes on the wrong feet and I’m pretty sure Alaska was wearing Grayson’s pants…), let’s go! I’m not missing another character breakfast. Missing Pooh and his mates still stings from last year.

Driving at a speed Doc Brown would be proud of, we swiftly make it to EPCOT, pay the extortionate parking fees and settle. Phew; just in time…90 minutes early; you can never be too careful though right?

Think everyone was absolutely fuming with me (trust me, I’m angry at myself too…I’m functioning on 4 hours sleep, and my made up coffee story didn’t even help me). Just think of the princesses Gray; “I’m not even looking forward to meeting them”…yeah? Well I am; I’m not wearing this princess dress for nothing!

Finally in EPCOT after a few minutes of Grayson remembering which finger grants him entry…your left hand Gray, left hand…left hand; just give me your hand, I’ll do it for you. Absolutely knackered, can’t even remember his one of these left handed strange folk…

Right…got time to spare, quick Photopass pic by the globe (guess in dropping the £200 on photopass then). Lovely guy taking the pics; “HEY, YOU’RE IN THE PICTURE GET OUT IF THE WAY!!”…yeah; get the hell out of the picture (Jordan took full advantage and joined in of course). Between then they to clear EPCOT forecourt for some beautiful pictures of Grayson closing his eyes and looking like he was being strangled. Bloody hell Gray; is it so hard?…apparently so. The quintessential EPCOT photo…

Right; 10:25 reservations for breakfast, let’s make our way to the World Showcase; Mexico first; where else? Enter the pyramid, blast out a few verses of ‘Remember Me’ whilst adoring crowd surround me throwing handfuls of flowers and tortilla chips at me…sorry guys; have got time for this; it’s Gran Fiesta time!!

This pavilion blows my mind every time I walk in. Taking in the awe, we lose Grayson to the hugely overpriced wood carvings as his OCD ensures he must touch everything; even the small $120 lizard; Grayson…please; we need this money for HHN merch, I can’t afford to pay for stuff you drop and break.

Finally talking him down (my prowess in negotiation had me thinking about a new career path), we board the Grab Fiesta tour and chase Donald Duck around Mexico. Terrible ride, like absolutely awful; but you have to get on board with the Disney Magic…who else is going to find Donald if not us ey?

Quick, best move…”ooo, can we meet Elsa now Dean?”; no Jordan…did you not participate in this mornings rush? We have a princess party to attend. In reality, we were still over 30 minutes early, so could have; but we won’t tell Jordan that (she doesn’t read these anyways…)

“Now entertaining The Royal Fletcher Family”…nah; definitely not us. Speak for yourself, Alaska the Queen had began making her way inside, waving to the masses there to see her majesty. “Farewell peasants, for I am Queen Alaska”…umm, sorry guys.

Akershus: this was a fantastic breakfast. Served family style (which you know is a food free for all), and the home of real magic; the pure joy and excitement on the kids face as Ariel, Cinderella, Tiana, Aurora and Snow White joined us for breakfast. The beaming smiles, the little giggles…aww, Jordan was so cute; oh yeah and so was Alaska. Between stuffing her face with the delicious food (Alaska, please don’t get the jam on you…), Alaska would quickly wipe herself down and prepare to meet fellow royalty….awww, see Gray magic does exist, just look at Alaska; beaming with excitement. Mind you, surprised Gray could see anything with the mountain of bacon he’d amassed…”give me all the bacon!!!”…had no idea you were such a connoisseur   Gray; any chance I could have a bit? No? Ok then…bacon did backfire eventually (I think you can probably guess how…).

Akershus was soo good, and often missed in favour of Magic Kingdoms princess dining, but this was great. Food was amazing, the interactions were great and seeing the smiles and giggle from Alaska was worth everything…and, even Grayson admitted defeat and absolutely loved meeting all the princesses. You can act like you hate it, but as soon as they arrived, he’s the first to dive in and give them hugs with a big beaming smile. Amazing!!!

Now for the royal payment…how will you be paying sir? Cash, Credit, or the sacrifice of your first born? Holy hell…this place was expensive; I royally pay the $250, have a little cry to myself and move on…

Where else to go after being full of breakfast…Test Track of course. Back open as version 3.0, this ride was exactly the bloody same with a few ‘Hi Tech’ scenes added. Queue was boring (I miss the crash test dummies of v1), so morning the kids made their own entertainment…‘The Walking Blind’…oh, no they’re not walking anymore…they’re lying on the floor, and so is Jordan; umm…I’m not with them…honest. Right, get up kids…the 3 of you, you know what they say…’Dickheads’ don’t get presents. No idea why Jo got up so quick…she’s not getting anything. Test Track…completed it mate; Alaskas first go, and she absolutely loved it; not the indoor part, that’s just a Disney exec legally battering guests…the outdoor portion though; blood brilliant.

Quick stop at Club Cool for Grayson be get a gulp of his favourite soda…Beverly. That right kid, smile for the camera…no don’t bloody throw up. Ahhh the joys of Beverly ey? (If you know, you know…if you don’t?…well…). Love Club Cool…you don’t get much free in Disney these days, so got to take advantage. Fully refreshed; well…half refreshed…actually, not refreshed at all…next stop, let’s Guard the Galaxy!!

Churro lattes first though…got to wash away that Beverly taste…sorry Gray, just deal with it 🙄. To be fair, he’d already chased it down with about 20 cups of anything else, bringing out his inner mixologist and creating all manner of terrible flavours…

Cosmic Rewind…30 minutes?? Hell yes!!!Alaska is tall enough this time so we all hop aboard to save the Galaxy from some bloke that nicked something that belonged to someone else…naughty naught extra terrestrial…bet he’s mates with that bloody ET!! Love this ride, even if we did get the worse song (Blondie)…there’s only one winner and I won’t hear otherwise…’I Ran’; still eluding us though…guess we’ll just have to try again…

Oh, 50 minutes now…Ok, maybe later…

Club Cool calls Grayson back like a polar bear shaped siren…’try the Beverly…you’ll learn to love it’; don’t get dragged in Gray…it’s a trap!! Like Monterey Jack to cheese (you all remember Rescue Rangers right?), Grayson starts floating toward the Club just before we divert him to the shop instead…

Ooo, snapped out of that pretty quickly when you see things to buy don’t you Gray?? Resisted the urge to buy all the unessecary Food and Wine Merch…new silly hat for me, new ears for Alaska…we done? Crikey; didn’t think I’d make it out of there so lightly.

New hats…acquired…time for the best ride in the park; Living with the Land. Why am I obsessed? No idea…is it good? Not really…but it gives all the nostalgia, and a greenhouse tour. I bloody love it!!! Why don’t you love it too guys??

Soarin’ Around the World gives us all a new fear of flying…who knew you could travel the globe on a hang glider? Disney magic!!

Tour the land before heading to sea…Tiger sharks and unicorn fish line one of the largest aquariums in the US…ummm, no they don’t kids; stop telling people that. Some great species here though, am the kids had a great time exploring and taking part in The Seas Scavenger Hunt, seeing the Manatees (yes Jordan, we know you’ve kissed one of these…we hear it every time; did you guys know…Jordan once kissed a Manatee?). Great fun…not for Jordan though, her lost love of the Manatees coupled with a real life hunt for a hat that Grayson had left behind on a ride, cut short her journey 🎶 Under the Sea 🎶 (thanks Sebastian, not the appropriate time though).

Gray and Jordan go off like little Hobbits on a cross park adventure to guest services whilst I watch Alaska partake in Aquarium Parkour, and take in her uncanny ability to spot a hidden Mickey a mile away. “Hidden Mickey…” ahh cool, a Sea Urchin with a hat…very cute.

And now…it’s that time in the vacation we talk about Disney toilets…small doors, big gaps…who doesn’t love watching people poo ey? Apparently it was Walt Disneys vision…and now technically the vision of everyone else. DON’T LOOK AT ME!!

Finally exit the aquarium after Alaska has viewed every tank, played every interactive element and even quizzed one of the cast members on Turtles and Manatees…oh no; the gift shop…

Like a moth to the flame…Alaska made shire she tried on m every hat in the shop, completed with a new song for each…damn she’s cute, and super creative…”I’m a Squid, I’m a Squid…Ink Ink Ink”.

“Hidden Mickey”…no that’s a balloon Alaska; it’s supposed to be obvious…let’s go find your mother and brother…

Hat…found!! Thank god, couldn’t deal with Jordan being any grumpier…time for a bit of food then? Festival foods look great, but costs a kidney to pay for them…I’ll take a bit of Swiss cheese melted on potatoes please…hmmm, the appetising smell of feet…I did wonder why this booth was lacking a line. Delicious mind.

The pretzel bread pudding may have caused a small scuffle amongst us…it’s mine guys, stop taking it from me!! This was bloody lovely mind, should have got 2; 1 for me…1 for the rest of them. Just take it Grayson…I’ll starve!!!

Ok, I may have been hangry…

Popcorn time at the Karamel Kuche; resist the urge to buy everything in the shop (I’m gaining weight pretty swiftly and I have a costume to fit in to tomorrow night…ey…minds out if the gutter please). Manage to leave with just 2 items…that is what we call restraint!!

Alaska fast asleep, but made me promise her Ice Cream before she drifted to the land of nod…ok babes, next stop…

Alaska…wake up, it’s Ice Cream time. Probably a bad idea; or was it? Her ice cream was “too cold”, so it defaulted to me. You want me to warm it up Alaska? “No…it will be too warm then”….you can’t please some people. Meanwhile…Grayson is tucking on to a Croque Glace, swiftly losing the ice cream filling and ultimately also giving jo ownership of it to me…great; delicious though…glad I spend $20 on these.

Finish the night at the Terrifier HHN house (or so you’d have thought with the way Gray was hyping it up)…’The Journey of Wated’…Alaska, you want the wet or the dry path; it’s not terrifier Gray, mind you, they didn’t get absolutely soaked. This was an awesome experience, even if I failed to control the water as well as Jo and the Kids…bloody great addition to the park and amazingly picturesque at night. GET OUT OF THE WATER ALASKA!!!

Exit gift shop for Gray to get a present (he’d been deprived thus far apparently)…Chip and Dale hats? HELL YES!!! Way to willing to throw $65 at these; just wish I’d found these before I bought my hat…fuming; but now Grayson can fully take on the Dale the snail mantle…

Find the car, Maccas for tea and back to the room earlyish…I am absolutely ruined and have no idea how I made it through the day…bed please…’zzzzzzzzzz’.

Chill day tomorrow, morning lie in…Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party tomorrow night…can you guess what we’re dressing as this year??