Flying 2 days for 3 days at WDW is a SNAP! Final Thoughts 01/02

Thanks for posting more great photos. Scifi diner is also on my to-do list. We won't have time unfortunately to do it this time around so very happy to see your photos and your thoughts on it.

You are making the Disney transportation sound like a dream!
 
Thanks for posting more great photos. Scifi diner is also on my to-do list. We won't have time unfortunately to do it this time around so very happy to see your photos and your thoughts on it.

You are making the Disney transportation sound like a dream!

Disney transport was a dream for this trip! But then I was only there for 3 days; and I only used it mostly at peak period where the service is pretty regular.
 
The Plan

Tue 26th: Go with the Wind day

The only not-plans I have for the day is dinner at Liberty Tree with Firefly and LuvChef Mic and attending MNSSHP again.

Tuesday night is the convention dinner (for DH); so he will definitely NOT be going to Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner with us; but the schedule seems to indicate that he could be finished by about 7.30 pm.
I also purchase a MNSSHP ticket for Tuesday 26th October (standard retail price) for DH and he's now all set for park entry.


The Reality

I waited at the bus stop for a MK bus to come along. I think this is the longest I ever waited…15 minutes! But still pretty good by way of Disney Transport standards.

I got to MK shortly after 4 pm and the boards were already out for MNSSHP. After bag check, I headed across to the right hand side of the entry and got my wrist tagged for the night.

I hung around the entrance to take some photographs..


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I took some time to take some pictures of the pumpkins…In particular, the ones at Tony’s.


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LuvChefMic loves Lady and the Tramp; so I thought I’d get the set to let her know that I was thinking of her. Given the way the week had turned out, I was not expecting to see her tonight.

I then took a slow walk down Main Street and saw these CM. They were farewell-ing the day visitors who hadn’t bought tickets for the Party. I loved their costumes; and took a shot of them.


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One of them noticed me, and they graciously posed for this photo.


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And then turned their signs round for the reverse view.


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And then swapped signs for the right message…it took them a while to realise that they had them round the wrong way.


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For me, this was such a classic Disney moment and I just love my third photograph in the series.

I didn’t really have a destination in mind and so I just wandered down Main Street taking random photos.


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I also grabbed a few of the castle.


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When I got to the hub, I sent Firefly a text to let her know that I was in the Park.

I kinda knew where Liberty Tree was but wanted to know the exact location; so I headed over to Liberty Square.


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And easily found the exact spot for the restaurant.

I decided that I should head towards Adventure Land.


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I toyed with the idea of getting in the Tiki Room; but something else caught my fancy instead…


Up Next: Pirate time!


princess::upsidedow
 
I love the pumpkin shots and I especially loved the shot of the lamppost close up with the castle in the background. Gorgeous!
 


I’d decided to put the Prime lens back on and thought that it was time to check out another dark, no flash ride.


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Yup. Time to go hang out in Davy Jones’ locker.


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The ride was walk-on and there was no queue. So, I headed in the building and started to take some shots of the inside theming…


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…when I got a text from Firefly. I told her I where I was and we arranged to meet outside.


I was turning that Prime lens into a new BFF…


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I tried to snap a shot of Davy Jones


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Hideous, isn’t it? I need to work on this shot.


But some of the other shots worked.


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And some just didn’t.


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When I got out, Firefly was waiting for me. She had this to give me…and it glowed really well for the night.


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Then it was time for our ADR.....


Up Next: Liberty Tree Tavern


princess::upsidedow
 
I’d just finished riding Pirates of the Caribbean and Firefly was waiting outside the ride for me. It was getting close to the time of our ADR; so we decided to walk back towards Liberty Square.


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It was still pretty hot and humid, so Firefly took a short cut through one of the air-conditioned shops in AdventureLand.


“Oooh. Can I stop to take a photograph?”

This time, both of us stopped to take a shot of Figment.


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We arrived at Liberty Tree Tavern in good time.


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Both of us had figured that we were unlikely to see LuvChefMic; but we waited until the allocated time before heading inside to check ourselves in. Sadly, she did not show up.

Firefly got handed a buzzer and we settled in to wait for it to go off. The waiting room was busy, so we figured we were in for a long wait. To our surprised, the buzzer went off within 5 minutes; not too bad a wait.

We got taken to our table and our server explained how the meal was going to unfold. She also took our drinks order and returned with our goodies!
We were seated in this area and this was my view for the night.


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Our dinner menu.


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We started with the bread rolls – warm from the oven. Just how I love them!


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And the Declaration Salad…I loved the salad; but Firefly wasn't too enamoured with the dressing.


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I bet mini Pooh and mini Eeyore were jealous that we could eat!


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The meats for our Patriot’s Platter – Roast Turkey and Beef on this side were delicious.


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And the other side of the plate with the Smoked Ham. I didn't care much for the smoked ham.


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Light as a feather Mashed Potatoes. Another yummy hit!


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The seasonal greens; a touch over cooked for my tastes but still good.


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The Herb Bread stuffing, which was only adequate.


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Mac and Cheese – in my opinion – a stand out!


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And surprisingly gloopy glugy gravy. Just too dense and heavy. And it progressively resembled dry cement as it cooled.


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Our Dessert was Apple Crisp. The Apple tasted like it was straight out of a tin...


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But I think you’ll work out what I thought of the dessert; it was incredibly delicious!


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I pretty much rolled down the stairs and out of the Tavern after dinner.


All the way back to Adventure Land.


Up Next - This is NOT Animal Kingdom


princess::upsidedow
 


Your post is timely, as I am trying to pick 13 TS meals, and Liberty Tree is the current one I am considering - and based on your photos I actually think I could find something that all 3 of my kids will eat.

Just a question, do the vegetables have butter on them? I am the fussy one with my vegies as I hate melted butter.
 
Your post is timely, as I am trying to pick 13 TS meals, and Liberty Tree is the current one I am considering - and based on your photos I actually think I could find something that all 3 of my kids will eat.

Just a question, do the vegetables have butter on them? I am the fussy one with my vegies as I hate melted butter.

Jade - if there was butter on the vegies, I either don't remember or couldn't taste it. I'm pretty sure that they were boiled, and might have had a little bit of oil in the water to keep them "green".

Glad the post helps!
 
Thank you both for your replies. I have this weird thing about melted butter. I can't even bake anything that requires it.
 
Nice update! (Of course, because it was all about food!) I LOVE :love: Mac-n-Cheese, funny thing is I had it scheduled for dinner, and I didn't feel like it tonight! :lmao:

Fran is at the store organsing something else!
 
Nice update! (Of course, because it was all about food!) I LOVE :love: Mac-n-Cheese, funny thing is I had it scheduled for dinner, and I didn't feel like it tonight! :lmao:

Fran is at the store organsing something else!

Hope you enjoyed your dinner...whatever you ended up with! ;)
 
Firefly and I had just eaten the most enormous meal at Liberty Tree Tavern. We figured it was time for a more sedate ride and the Jungle Cruise fitted the bill to the 'T':
  • It was close to LTT, where I rolled out the door
  • It had neither major drops nor sharp turns; and
  • We needed a dose of corny humour.
The other bonus for me was that this was probably as close to Animal Kingdom as I was going to get on this visit (sorry – the corny humour rubs off!)


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Our tour guide. “I get paid for the number of people I take out... not the number I bring back!”


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Pictures from our cruise. I figured we must be in Africa.


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The monkeys were pretty smart. I think someone asked them to name one of their relatives, which is why they were going ape!
"Why did the ape get a job? He was tired of monkeying around."

Somehow, I think the apes and monkeys at AK are better behaved than this.


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And the African Elephant..
“Do you know how you can tell that that's an African elephant? It's because we're in Africa”
“See that elephant right there, that's the richest elephant in the whole jungle. Yeah - it's 'Donald Trunk'.”


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“We're about to enter the Africa veldt, an immense grassland home to an endless variety of wildlife- baboons, wildebeests, giraffes, gazelles, gnus, g-lions, g-zebras.”


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“There's that lost safari we've been looking for. Obviously mixed up in some kind of native uprising. That rhino seems to be getting his point across, and I'm sure that guy on the bottom will get the point in the end!"

Hey - Maybe these are them pesky poachers that keep interrupting the 2-week safari at AK!


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I’d forgotten that there was an Asian section at the not AK in the World.


“As we leave the last outpost of civilization, we travel deep into the mouth of the Irrawaddy river of Asia into a tropical rain forests, where it rains some 365 days a year.”


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We headed into a dark temple…I'm pretty sure Animal Kingdom doesn't have that many dark temples....


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And came out to the Elephant pool.

“And look at all the elephants out here today! This comes as a complete surprise to me cause I had no idea these guys were going to be here. If you want to take pictures go ahead- all the elephants have their trunks on.”


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“And now, probably the most dangerous part of our journey- the return to civilization! I certainly hope you've enjoyed our cruise. However, if your in-laws are still with you, you've missed a golden opportunity. However, bring them back later tonight for our "in-law" special... halfway for half fare, no questions asked.”

We were pretty much herded off (I did say the corny humour rubs off).



We were near the Magic Carpet at this stage and there was a very short queue. I’m not sure Firefly wanted to get on this ride; but I figured that there was no way I was queuing for Dumbo so this would have to substitute this trip. Plus, I had not yet been on this ride at WDW and wanted to tick it off my NOT list.

We waited and got allocated to position 13 – just perfect for Halloween!


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And then we were off and away.


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And looking down at Agrabah!


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And all too soon, we were drifting back down to earth.


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Funny – I’m sure that this is not Animal Kingdom either!


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Up next: Once is NOT enough and Once is DEFINITELY enough!



princess::upsidedow
 
We ended up with a wondrful beef stew and slices of buttered bread. A wonderful American dinner, well as far as I'm concerned!
 
Oh, c'mon princess - they're not tour guides...they're Skippers!

But kudos for adding all the jokes...my all time favorite:
"You may think that's water coming out their trunks...but it'snot."

We had a JC cruise last trip where just after the elephant bathing pool the skipper noticed this giant spider hanging off the boat. (I mean BIG - like 3-4 inches long.) And she sort-of half flipped out and totally broke character for the rest of the ride. I have video of it, but the spider itself is "barely" seen in the shot. I was debating about posting it on my TR thread - we'll see if I can manage.
 
We ended up with a wondrful beef stew and slices of buttered bread. A wonderful American dinner, well as far as I'm concerned!

Nothing beats a good stew in winter! :hug:

Oh, c'mon princess - they're not tour guides...they're Skippers!

But kudos for adding all the jokes...my all time favorite:
"You may think that's water coming out their trunks...but it'snot."

We had a JC cruise last trip where just after the elephant bathing pool the skipper noticed this giant spider hanging off the boat. (I mean BIG - like 3-4 inches long.) And she sort-of half flipped out and totally broke character for the rest of the ride. I have video of it, but the spider itself is "barely" seen in the shot. I was debating about posting it on my TR thread - we'll see if I can manage.

Skippers....I'll have to remember that! :goodvibes

Your video sounds hilarious....go on....post it on your TR! Can't wait to see it.

They didn't show you the back side of water? Or is that a DL thing?

I was surprised that we didn't get to the back side of the water. It is a DL thing. But then DL doesn't have that 'tunnel of love' that WDW has.
 
We were having a great time at MK when I got a text from DH. He had finished with his conference activities and had made it over to the park. So, we arranged to catch up at the Hub.

And then headed back to Adventure Land.

I took another shot of the Tiki Room..this time at twilight with the lights on...


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...Whilst mini Pooh and mini Eeyore took a well earned rest. I’m not sure if Iago saw them but they were pretty safe from that hammer.


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DH likes Pirates and I didn’t think that Firefly had been on the ride that afternoon; so we headed back there.

I’d worked out why a theme park is such a great place for photographers to go to; particularly when learning how to shoot in low light conditions. It’s the fact that you get to shoot, check out your shot, determine what to do differently next time, go on the same ride and make your adjustments.

I’d taken a look at my Pirates shots from earlier and I was keen to go on Pirates a second time; once was not enough; to see if I could learn from my mistakes. Sometimes it just takes a shift in seat position to make the shot….I’d sat on the left side of the boat the first time round and this time I sat on the second.

I didn’t take a lot of shots; just the ones that I wanted to correct.

Whilst still not perfect, Davy Jones was more distinguished in this shot. I still need to work on this shot. Maybe in the next trip!


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I also got this shot of the sword in the stone … via the skeleton


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And whilst the dog didn’t get in the picture the second time round, I think I managed to snare the Hidden Mickey!


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And this shot definitely turned out much better than the first time round!


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I figured that if you ever want to learn how to shoot something, then a theme park is the perfect place to practise. Repeatable, predictable and completely consistent!


Up Next: Once is DEFINITELY enough!


princess::upsidedow
 
DH had just joined us at MK and the MNSSHP festivities were running at full swing. He was amazed at the costumes and the effort that the Disney guests had gone to and was just soaking up the atmosphere.

Firefly and I took him round to have a look at some of the theming and special photo spots. We headed towards Fantasy Land.

Poor Firefly! Unfortunately for her, she got roped into an attraction that DH and I traditionally go to…but sadly, is not one of her favourites.


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Yup! We headed into the American Girl Doll shop masquerading for a Disney attraction.

Mini Pooh and mini Eeyore settled down safely to enjoy the ride.


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We didn’t have anyone else around in our boat.


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I started to take shots of the different dolls in their various costumes.


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DS would probably have liked me to bring home a couple of these. But I couldn’t find the check-out counter.


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I always like to see a man (or doll) in a skirt!


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And I know we’re on a boat and I easily get seasick…but at least I wasn’t as green as these guys!


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I then spied a doll that I would love for myself…sadly, still no check-out counter in sight!


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The costume on some of the dolls were just beautiful! Especially in the Asian section.


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Firefly pointed out the Hidden Mickey here.


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And I thought that this could have been the Magic Mushroom.


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My prime lens was working a treat in here.


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And we got to the end of the ride.


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I’m glad that I managed to lock focus on the dolls; as I did not want to go through this ride again. I seem to recall them having a problem with their sound system in May with the music being stuck on the same song, when I was last at the park. It would seem that they have not fixed it in 5 months as the same music was still playing. Once is definitely enough for this ride!


Up Next: HalloWishes second time round


princess::upsidedow
 

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