Akershus Pre-Rope Drop ADR or Garden Grill?

Walt Disney World
1

I am at a crossroads as to what we should do for our Epcot day on 1/17/17. Crowd level is listed as a 5. We are doing DDP for the first time ever, and because I want to maximize the value, we will take advantage of as many character dining experiences as possible. We currently have 8:05 pre rope drop breakfast reservations at Akershus, and the plan is to have breakfast, see the princesses, and hop into the Frozen line before the stampede gets there.
We would then fastpass either soarin or TT and do the rest of Future world.

The alternative is to get early ADR for Garden Grill at 8:20 and be the first in line for soarin, then hit TT and the rest of FW. We would use FP+ for Frozen instead, late morning/early afternoon, and continue to world showcase for the afternoon.

We’ve done the dinner at Akershus in the past, so it is not a new experience for us. However, I know my granddaughter really likes it. We have not done Garden Grill before, and I see what are generally good reviews for it, along with high success at the early Soarin strategy.

So, do I keep the Akershus which are hard to get, or do I do Garden Grill? My biggest concern is starting the morning in world showcase and having to go back to FW with the crowds having a leg up on us. I am a firm believer of get there early and have a solid tour plan.

2

One question is whether you have another meal with princesses or some GG characters already. My girls (4&7) stopped getting excited for Mickey type characters after meal 2.

I might also lean toward Akershus if there was risk of not getting a Frozen FP. You could do Frozen, walk to Soarin and still not have that long of a wait with the 3 theatres.

3

I had the same dilemma with I think the exact same possible reservations times. My concerns with Akershus breakfast were some recent negative breakfast food reviews and not wanting to rush my DD with the princesses. We were able to get a FEA Fastpass+, so we changed Akershus to dinner and did the Garden Grill pre-RD. It was our best meal of the week in both food and characters.

4

Thanks

We do have other ADR’s as well. Cindy’s Lunch the day before. Tuskers the next morning, and Chef Mickey’s later in the week. Just to name some.