"One Step Ahead of the Slowpokes!"- A Dec '10/Jan '11 Trip Report! FINISHED 3/9 pg 38

[therussells08]

As a result of our hugely productive morning we still had plenty of time before our Tusker House ADR. Before we went to ride Kilimanjaro Safari John went ahead and got us some more FPs for Expedition Everest. Then it was time for our two week safari!

Here comes our ride!

One good thing about the cool temperatures is that the animals were on the move this morning! We got so many great shots. The pictures turned out pretty nice, even with my cruddy camera!

(Imagine I'm doing the following commentary in a Steve Irwin Australian accent)

Crikey! There's a rare white rhino!

This would have been a great shot if the giraffe hadn't looked away at the last second. Jess and Kristen, is it safe to say this big guy is a frump?

I was really proud of this elephant picture until I realized he had just...um...made a poopsie.

DOUBLE CRIKEY! A whole family of rhinos!

Even the lazy lions were up and moving around this day! What luck!

PUMBAA!

After I took this picture the craziest thing ever happened. We had to chase down some poachers and save a baby elephant! It was intense and we barely made it. Unfortunately they had to cut our safari short. Weird, huh?

Aaaanyway...here's a little known fact about safaris: they make me HUNGRY! Thankfully it was almost time for our breakfast ADR!

Look who it is!

I was super excited to meet Donald and get our PP picture on my card. I figured since I had preordered the CD I would automatically get it. Well, I was wrong. Apparently it didn't matter that I had preordered the CD, because I had to order a print of our photo with Donald in order to get the picture put on my PP card. Now, it's a very rare occasion when I feel like Disney is ripping me off, but this was one of those times. I still didn't want to miss out on having the picture, so like a sucker I bought the print. So basically I paid $17 (on top of the $100 I'd already paid for the CD) to get this picture:

Ah well, c'est la vie. Despite this glitch nothing could damper my mood. Why's that? Because I had this in front of me...

Is that a mirage on the African savannah? No, it's a breakfast buffet!

We got our seats, ordered some jungle juice, and I basically sprinted to get my carb-loaded goodness!

Here's my first plate. As you can see, it's basically starch, carb, carb, starch, fat, carb, carb. YUM. Unfortunately this is the only plate I took a picture of because the characters started rolling in immediately!

I thought that Daisy was going to be first because I saw her at the next table, but right before she got to our table she went in the back. You could totally tell they switched Daisy's because when she came back the new Daisy was WAY shorter. You'll be able to tell. Look at the first Daisy's legs, then scroll down and look at the next Daisy's.

The big cheese himself!

Mickey and I are the same height!

After Mickey, Daisy came back!

See? Short little legs. Bless her heart.

She's so adorable next to John! I love Daisy.

Our best interaction by far was with Goofy. He's always so sweet!

And he always manages to get the best responses out of John! Remember the huge hug he gave Santa Goofy? Now check out the big grin on his face! I love this picture!

We were periodically scarfing down our food between characters, and unfortunately I ate so fast that I got full really quickly. I think I had one more croissant but stopped after that. Overall it was pretty good breakfast, even though I had to pay for the extra picture. The character interactions were fun, but not nearly as good as the surprise interaction we would have later that morning!

Up Next: We enjoy some more empty AK and John makes a new best friend!Stay tuned!

 

[JessicaFaye508]

OH MY GOD ANOTHER UPDATE!? This is my lucky day!
I definitely read that in a Steve Irwin voice. Just so you know.
YES. DEFINITELY A FRUMP.
HAHAHAHA The elephant. I just laughed out loud. I would totally do that and be like "OH MY GOD!! SUCH A GOOD PICTURE!!" And then I'd be like "...oh shoot. How embarrassing."
Wow that is AWESOME that you got to see the lions!! They are NEVER out when I'm there! Maybe next time.
It is a nice picture! So even though you had to pay for it, it was a nice one
Disney Breakfast Buffets = CARB CITY!!! I seriously wish I had the mindset of myself when I was little again so I could just enjoy it all without feeling so guilty!
Very cute character pictures! Nice update!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yay on getting EE FPs and being able to ride again later in the day!

Wow you sure lucked out on the safari with so many great photos! Lol at the Steve Irwin commentary and the elephant making a poopsie - it must have realised you were taking a photo!

Love all the character photos and you sure are right about Daisy having shorter legs in the second pic.

 

[RachelNinja]

Haha, I'm all for finishing trip reports that were about trips from ages ago. I'm doing the same exact thing!

Wow, that is one empty park! I'd love to be able to experience AK that empty. I'd love to experience any park that empty, but we're always there during those darn holiday breaks!

Yum, your breakfast plate looks delicious. Are those tots?!?

 

[Nermel9]

Haha, love the elephant picture!

Ugh, that's obnoxious about the PP cd and the Donald picture. I think that should be included on the CD, and I also think all the ride pics should be included. But what do I know.

You got such cute pics with the characters at Tusker House! Daisy is adorable! She's definitely one of my favorites!

 

[stephielela]

I felt the same way about the Donald picture. We just made them take it with our camera and didn't buy their picture. It's so silly, but oh well. At least it was a good picture of you guys!! You guys were super prodcutive!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Yay for updates! That's crazy how empty the park was.

 

[therussells08]

OH MY GOD ANOTHER UPDATE!? This is my lucky day!
I definitely read that in a Steve Irwin voice. Just so you know.
YES. DEFINITELY A FRUMP.
HAHAHAHA The elephant. I just laughed out loud. I would totally do that and be like "OH MY GOD!! SUCH A GOOD PICTURE!!" And then I'd be like "...oh shoot. How embarrassing."
Wow that is AWESOME that you got to see the lions!! They are NEVER out when I'm there! Maybe next time.
It is a nice picture! So even though you had to pay for it, it was a nice one
Disney Breakfast Buffets = CARB CITY!!! I seriously wish I had the mindset of myself when I was little again so I could just enjoy it all without feeling so guilty!
Very cute character pictures! Nice update!!

Hahaha so glad you used the Steve Irwin voice! It makes it so much more entertaining!

Yay! I correctly identified a frump!

I was so mad at that elephant. Didn't he know that's not appropriate when people are photographing you?

I was so excited to see the lions!

Thanks! I was so grumpy about paying for it, but I'm glad I did.

I love Disney breakfasts. I wish I could eat them everday but I don't think my waistline would appreciate it!

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed!

Yay on getting EE FPs and being able to ride again later in the day!

Wow you sure lucked out on the safari with so many great photos! Lol at the Steve Irwin commentary and the elephant making a poopsie - it must have realised you were taking a photo!

Love all the character photos and you sure are right about Daisy having shorter legs in the second pic.

That really was one of the best safaris we have had! So many critters!

Thanks! I couldn't help but notice the major difference in her leg length!

Haha, I'm all for finishing trip reports that were about trips from ages ago. I'm doing the same exact thing!

Wow, that is one empty park! I'd love to be able to experience AK that empty. I'd love to experience any park that empty, but we're always there during those darn holiday breaks!

Yum, your breakfast plate looks delicious. Are those tots?!?

Hahaha I just can't seem to finish this thing!

I know what you mean, we always have to go during holiday breaks too. I would love to go during the off season once!

They are tots! Only at Disney!

Haha, love the elephant picture!

Ugh, that's obnoxious about the PP cd and the Donald picture. I think that should be included on the CD, and I also think all the ride pics should be included. But what do I know.

You got such cute pics with the characters at Tusker House! Daisy is adorable! She's definitely one of my favorites!

I think they should be included too! I mean sheesh, for $100 bucks I think we deserve them!

Thanks! She is adorable. I love her and her little legs.

I felt the same way about the Donald picture. We just made them take it with our camera and didn't buy their picture. It's so silly, but oh well. At least it was a good picture of you guys!! You guys were super prodcutive!

I thought that was seriously unfair. Thank you! I was pretty happy with it too. I almost wish I would have blinked or something so I wouldn't have been tempted to buy it!

Yay for updates! That's crazy how empty the park was.

It was so great! We loved having the place almost to ourselves!

 

[therussells08]

When I left off we had just finished our breakfast at Tusker House! My notes get a little foggy here, but I'm 99% sure we went back and rode Expedition Everest again.

I do remember taking a picture of this cool truck.

Ahh the Disney details. Gotta love 'em.

After another ride on EE (yeah, I'm sure of it...we rode it again) we headed back to use our FPs for Kilimanjaro Safaris! If you're keeping count that means we would have ridden the two biggest rides at AK a combined total of six times before 10am! That's how we roll.

This safari was pretty good, but not as good as the first one. We still saw our fair share of animals, though!

I loved that bird. He's just chilling on the mud tracks like it's no big thing to live at Disney. Plus, check out how he's sitting on his legs. I'm not sure if all birds can do that, or if this guy was just special.

Since it's almost Christmas I can't look at this picture without singing, "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas! Only a hippopotamus will do..."

Here's a giraffe next to a very frightening looking tree. I hope he didn't get his big neck caught in there.

Elephant backside!

Okay in retrospect it looks like the only pictures I got on this safari were of fat animal butts.

The warthogs were very active on this day. Random story, our local baseball team used to be called the Winston-Salem Warthogs. They were awesome and had the cutest mascot ever, but last year they got a new stadium and they renamed the team "The Dash". As in, the "dash" between Winston and Salem. This upset me so much. First of all, it's not called a dash, it's called a hyphen. So why not call them the Hyphens? Second, what kind of mascot are you going to have for a stinking hyphen? A horizontal line with legs and angry eyes? No. I miss the Warthogs. Just sayin'.

Aaaanyway, after we finished our second safari John and I decided to do some wandering around. We hadn't wandered very far when John saw a couple of characters with no one in line to meet them. He practically dragged me over, and I figured out why pretty quickly.

It was King Louie and Baloo! John loves monkeys of any kind, so he was super excited to meet a Disney monkey.

As it turns out, this meet-n-greet with some obscure characters was one of the best of the trip! As soon as we walked up Louie noticed John's tattooed arm and started freaking out and pointing at it over and over.

Then he started pointing at his face and then back at John's arm. It took us awhile to realize he was saying he wanted John to tattoo his face on his arm. John was cracking up the whole time and he (jokingly) told Louie he would do it. Then Baloo started motioning to me, asking me to get his face tattooed on me. I had to respond with a very kind "um, no". It took me years to get my first tattoo and my second sure as heck won't be Baloo's face!

It was such a fun interaction. I still think our time with Woody was the best, but John left Louie and Baloo so excited. Seriously, he talked about it the rest of the day. Now if you ask him he will always say his favorite character is King Louie. Plus, I think he might seriously be considering getting a Disney tattoo!

Up Next: More adventures on our last full day in Disney! Plus a new dining experience and my first DIS meet! Stay tuned!

 

[Nermel9]

Woo hoo, an update! I always get so excited when I see you update, it's so rare these days!

I love that truck at AK too!

Huh, I don't think I have ever even considered doing 2 safaris in one day. You did get a lot of great pictures of fat animal butts on this one!

Awww, love the pics with the monkeys! You should totally get a Baloo tattoo!

 

[Disneybuckeye]

Great update. Six rides before ten on EE and the Safari had got to be some kind of record. You are my hero. Loved the pictures with King Louie and Baloo. Looking forward to more!

 

[therussells08]

Woo hoo, an update! I always get so excited when I see you update, it's so rare these days!

I love that truck at AK too!

Huh, I don't think I have ever even considered doing 2 safaris in one day. You did get a lot of great pictures of fat animal butts on this one!

Awww, love the pics with the monkeys! You should totally get a Baloo tattoo!

I know, my updates are so rare! I'm sorry for leaving you hanging!

It's such a cool truck!

2 safaris can be good, but it can also be bad if the second safari is less exciting!

Hahaha I don't think I'll be getting a Baloo tattoo anytime soon. If I was going to get a Disney bear it would have to be Pooh!

Great update. Six rides before ten on EE and the Safari had got to be some kind of record. You are my hero. Loved the pictures with King Louie and Baloo. Looking forward to more!

Thanks! I was so excited that we got to ride them so much. I was so proud! That photo op was so much fun. I am posting another update now!

 

[therussells08]

I realize now that the update I just posted was a little weak, so I'm going to post another one! I have seriously got to get through this TR if I'm going to finish it before my next trip!

After our adventures with King Louie and Baloo, we decided to do some exploring. Our next stop was the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail!

I always love seeing all the animals at AK because it's like a million billion times better than the zoo we have back home. So, what was the first animal I deemed interesting enough to be photographed?

This ridiculously fat frog who was hanging out in his water dish.

I was noticing a theme with fat animals at Animal Kingdom. It's good to know that they are well fed.

It appears that even meerkats fall victim to an expanding waistline during the holiday season. Who knew?

Next it was time to see John's favorite: the gorillas. Usually I try to rush through this part because if I don't he will stay there forever, but on this day two very interesting gorillas caught my eye.

First, the pregnant one. I mean she was REALLY pregnant. She was pretty interesting, but not nearly as much so as the next one.

Can you tell what he's doing? If you can't, he's EATING OFF A PLATE. I know this probably doesn't seem like a big deal to most, but you just had to be there. This guy was sitting there holding his purple plate and eating off of it like it was no big deal. He's a gorilla! I know they're almost exactly like humans except for one chromosome or whatever, but still. He's a gorilla. Eating off a plate. My mind is still blown.

Anyway, after this exciting/disturbing sight, we decided to leave the forest and head to the jungle!

On our way I took this lovely picture of the Tree of Life!

We were so excited for the jungle trek, because up until this point we had never been able to get a good view of the tigers. We were hoping the cool weather would make them a little more active!

Hopefully this was a sign of things to come!

Before we got to the tigers we had to stop and see the bats. I remember being so freaked out at this part on my trip in 2007. I couldn't believe the bats were just hanging there with nothing between them and the people! I still don't know how they keep them in there. Is there some kind of caging I can't see, or are the bats just naturally very calm and non threatening? Either way, it still creeps me out!

Finally after the scary bats it was time to see if we would have any luck with the tigers!

Well, did we have any luck? I'll say we did! I have never seen the tigers this up close and personal before!

I think this tiger was seriously hungry for some tourist flavored lunch. It kept coming right up to the glass and sticking it's head up and sniffing the air very purposefully.

I am fully confident that if the glass hadn't been there we all would have been tiger food.

John was so excited to see the tigers! He kept getting inches away from the glass to see them. How cute!

Beautiful!

After we saw our fill of tigers we were off to other adventures. First, however, we had to go through my least favorite part- the aviary! As much as I love to look at birds, I hate to be in the same vicinity as them. They just freak me out. I'm always afraid one is going to fly into my hair.

I tried to rush through this part, but I did take a couple of pictures.

Now that's what I call a bird house!

After our adventures through the forest and the jungle we decided to see what else we could accomplish at AK!

Up Next: Where would we go next? Would we manage anymore rides on Expedition Everest? Stay tuned!

 

[JessicaFaye508]

YAY AN UPDATE!!!

Those are great safari pictures! Even though they're all of animal butts.

And that's really weird about the baseball team! Their mascot is gonna be stupid now.

Cute picture with Baloo and King Louie!! I love them! And that's a funny story! I love when characters interact like that! They're so fun!

AHHH YAY Another update!!!

I keep seeing all of these Gorilla pictures and it makes me REALLY want to go to animal kingdom and walk through the Pangani Trail! All of the animals are just BEAUTIFUL!

OH WOW your tiger pictures are UNBELIEVABLE!! WOW!!!

I want to go to Animal Kingdom now.

 

[DisneyFirefly]

I somehow got unsubscribed! What the heck?

Anyway, your updates look like you guys had a blast! I loved the picture of the pregnant gorilla

 

[stephielela]

Two updates! Wow today is my lucky day!!

Those are great animal pictures, even if there are a lot of butts there! I am deciding to devote more time to AK next trip, every TR I read has fabulous days there!

 

[therussells08]

YAY AN UPDATE!!!

Those are great safari pictures! Even though they're all of animal butts.

And that's really weird about the baseball team! Their mascot is gonna be stupid now.

Cute picture with Baloo and King Louie!! I love them! And that's a funny story! I love when characters interact like that! They're so fun!

AHHH YAY Another update!!!

I keep seeing all of these Gorilla pictures and it makes me REALLY want to go to animal kingdom and walk through the Pangani Trail! All of the animals are just BEAUTIFUL!

OH WOW your tiger pictures are UNBELIEVABLE!! WOW!!!

I want to go to Animal Kingdom now.

Haha thanks! I'm glad you liked my animal butt pictures!

I know! I haven't even seen their mascot since they changed their name, but I'm sure it's dumb!

I love when characters are like that too! It makes the experience so much better!

I love seeing all of the animals. They seem so happy and well adjusted!

Thank you! I am so excited still about those tiger pictures!

I somehow got unsubscribed! What the heck?

Anyway, your updates look like you guys had a blast! I loved the picture of the pregnant gorilla

Maybe it's because they moved this TR to the completed TR section for awhile? I'm not sure if it unsubscribes you when that happens!

Thanks! We did have a blast. I love AK!

Two updates! Wow today is my lucky day!!

Those are great animal pictures, even if there are a lot of butts there! I am deciding to devote more time to AK next trip, every TR I read has fabulous days there!

I'm getting ready to post another update now! I'm on a roll!

Thank you! I was proud of my pictures. We usually neglect AK, but I like to go there at least once every trip. John loves it so much!

 

[therussells08]

After we finished checking out all of the animals we decided to wander over to the Tree of Life.

Ahh, the joy of Disney World. Which way will we go next? All directions lead to fun!

On our way we saw some beautiful parrots.

I love to look at parrots, but like most other birds, they terrify me. There's a pet shop near my parent's home that has a pet parrot. Its name is Rocky and it lives in the store. Once when I was around 16 my sister and I went into the store to look around. She wandered over to Rocky and he just completely freaked out and jumped straight on her back. He hooked his talons into her tank top straps and started flapping his wings like crazy. It looked like he was trying to fly off with her! It didn't even happen to me, but this experience scarred me for life. I will never forget the look of sheer terror on my poor sister's face! Long story short, I like to look at parrots, but it's got to be from a distance.

Anyway, soon we were arriving here!

I always try to take my time and admire the animals carved into the Tree of Life, but I still end up rushing to the end. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I have this incessant fear that I will miss the next show by seconds and then I will be forced to wait another twenty minutes.

Nevertheless, I managed to do a little better this time and stop for some pictures!

What is that thing? I have no idea.

These elk look like they have Silly String on them. I guess it's a vine, but I'm not entirely sure.

I love this chimp carving, but I really wish they would have given his eyes some pupils. He's so realistic, but his ghost eyes freak me out!

Once we got our bug eyes we had to wait a few minutes. We killed the time by being silly. I love A Streetcar Named Desire (Marlon Brando...'nuff said ) so I posed for a picture with the bug version!

It's Tough to be A Bug was fun as usual, but I still wimped out at the end and slid forward in my seat so I wouldn't feel the "bee sting" in my back! I don't know why I always do that. The first time I ever saw this show it completely surprised me, so I guess I still get a little weirded out by it. John and I always crack up during this show because you can always tell the first-timers who don't know what to expect. They bring their small children inside thinking it will be fine and dandy, and then total chaos breaks out when the spiders descend from the ceiling. Seriously, the screaming makes me feel like I'm in a horror movie!

Next up it was time to use some FPs that I forgot to mention earlier. That's right...we had MORE Fast Passes to Expedition Everest! That means we rode it six times that day! Is that some kind of a record? I know it is for us, at least!

It wasn't quite 12:15 yet, so on our way back we decided to stop for some PP pictures!

I love pictures in front of EE! It always looks so cool in the background and the lighting is usually pretty good!

Alright so technically it wasn't 2011 yet, and it wasn't our anniversary either, but I put this border on anyway! I just thought it was fitting!

I had never done this Tinkerbell pose before so I was pretty excited about it!

That PP photographer turned out to be really nice, and since there was no line he spent about ten minutes with us. When we finished up it was time to ride EE one more time!

After we rode John decided to buy a t-shirt he had be eyeballing on our five previous rides. I had been telling him to get it all morning, but I guess it took six tries to convince him!

Once his purchase was made we took a break to decide what to do next. I was pretty burned out on riding rides, but since I ate a relatively light breakfast I was STARVING. We decided to grab some lunch!

The line inside was pretty long, so I left John in charge of getting food and I went to find a table. Since it was so warm I decided to sit outside, and I found a really secluded table on a balcony to the side of the restaurant. There were five or six tables there, but they were all empty. Plus it was kind of hidden by vegetation, so it was the perfect spot for a private and relaxing lunch.

John soon arrived with this plate of deliciousness...

We each got a cheese pizza, a side Caesar salad, and a chocolate mousse. Everything was delicious and I pretty much finished it all. John isn't a big fan of salad in general, but he gobbled up his pizza and chocolate mousse. While we ate we talked about the rest of our day and pretty much agreed that we were finished hitting the rides. I said that I really wanted to meet some more characters, so we decided that would be our next plan!

We figured this would be a good place to start:

Unfortunately, Camp Minnie Mickey turned out to be the most crowded spot we had been to all day. We found an area where there were some pretty obscure characters playing around with a bunch of kids, but I didn't want to interrupt their games to get a PP picture, so I just watched them goof off a little. They were even trying to hula hoop!

Next we wandered over to the greeting spots for Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald. The lines to meet them were super long. I didn't even stop long enough to take my own pictures of them, but I did notice something really cute. At each station, the character greeting people had his or her own specially decorated Christmas tree set up! It was so cute! I had to take a picture of Goofy's before we moved on.

Up Next: We didn't meet any characters at Camp Mickey Minnie...would we see anyone before we left AK? Stay tuned!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Woah I am seriously behind here! I gotta catch up! ASAP!

 

[Nermel9]

Haha, I love parrots, but I have to look at them from a distance too! They freak me out...my ex bf had a parrot that his mom kept just sitting out, on a perch, and it was such an angry parrot, and once in a while, it would randomly fly throughout the house...every time it did that, I would scream and duck...and get laughed at!

Ok, I've never done ITTBAB, and now I'm never going to! It feels like a bee stings your back??? Dude. There's nothing more terrifying than bees. No freakin way. I'm glad you mentioned that, you pretty much just saved my life!

Aww, your PP pictures are too cute!

Camp Minnie Mickey is so adorable, all decorated from the holidays! Yum, Pizzafari...we've only eaten there once, but I really liked it! People complain about Disney pizza, but I think it's so good!