Show Me Your Smolder! October 2012 B-Day TR NEW 4/1 Trip Wrap Up & NEW PTR LINK!
- Thread starter khertz
- Start date
khertz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2008
I just checked out your most recent posts, and we really do post on a bunch of the same TR's! How funny. So anyway, welcome & I hope you enjoy the TR! I'm about to update again, then heading off to your January TR.
khertz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2008
Day 7 Continued: Friday October 26th
After our nap and some lunch at Bonnet Creek, DS woke up and we got our stuff gathered up to head to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon. Luckily, our soaked stroller had finally dried out enough to use from the day before, so we were all set to go.
After MK, DHS is my favorite park entrance. I love that old Hollywood feel of the shops lining the street, and the Citizens of Hollywood that are sometimes roaming around. And not gonna lie, I don't hate the big Sorcerer hat either! In fact, we stopped for a picture in front of it.
We weren't really planning to try to ride anything just yet, so we made our way over to the Animation building to check for any characters and stopped for a Photopass photographer along the way. DS did not feel like taking pictures, but after some stickers from the photographer he came around...for a little while anyway.
I am kind of sad that I realized at that moment, I have never taught my child to do thumbs up! What a horrible mother I am, please don't call CPS on me! lol
Once inside the Animation building, we didn't see any characters that we felt like standing in line for, so instead we checked out the little room with all of the Wreck-It Ralph memorabilia! Of course at that point, we had not seen the movie yet, but we have seen it a couple of times since, and I really loved it! So adorable. And I'm really hoping we can meet Ralph & Vanellope in October since we missed out on the opening of their meet and greet by only a couple of days.
By then, it was 3:45 pm or so, and we wanted to catch the 4 pm Beauty & the Beast show, so we made our way over to the theater. BatB was really the first movie DS ever sat through with any interest, so I thought he would really love this show. He was interested in the beginning, but halfway through his attention went elsewhere, like to the half-empty Coke bottles and other trash people had left behind under the bleachers. I usually love this show myself, but Belle's singing voice was absolutely terrible! It made the show a little harder to enjoy since it is almost entirely singing.
Once the show was over, we started walking down the exit ramp and had to stop short when DS found the most interesting thing ever in a Disney park...a pile of leaves!
I got in touch with my parents and we agreed to meet back over at the Animation building for the "something" I hinted to at the end of my last update...it was almost time for Characterpalooza! I had been doing all my research on this "event" prior to our trip because we had never done it before and I wanted to get it just right.
We still had some time before it was supposed to start, so we goofed off in there for a little while.
Took some explaining, but we got DS to do it too!!
We played some of the voice games with DS, and I tried numerous times to explain to my mom why exactly we were there and what we were waiting for, but she didn't really get it until it actually started. I wasn't even really sure where the characters were going to come from. But we happened to be in the right place at the right time, because just to our left, the door opened and the characters started pouring in! Some chick in there obviously was not prepared for that to happen because she actually screamed when the characters started coming through the door! lol
What else to do but follow the characters around?
Continued in next post...
After our nap and some lunch at Bonnet Creek, DS woke up and we got our stuff gathered up to head to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon. Luckily, our soaked stroller had finally dried out enough to use from the day before, so we were all set to go.
After MK, DHS is my favorite park entrance. I love that old Hollywood feel of the shops lining the street, and the Citizens of Hollywood that are sometimes roaming around. And not gonna lie, I don't hate the big Sorcerer hat either! In fact, we stopped for a picture in front of it.
We weren't really planning to try to ride anything just yet, so we made our way over to the Animation building to check for any characters and stopped for a Photopass photographer along the way. DS did not feel like taking pictures, but after some stickers from the photographer he came around...for a little while anyway.
I am kind of sad that I realized at that moment, I have never taught my child to do thumbs up! What a horrible mother I am, please don't call CPS on me! lol
Once inside the Animation building, we didn't see any characters that we felt like standing in line for, so instead we checked out the little room with all of the Wreck-It Ralph memorabilia! Of course at that point, we had not seen the movie yet, but we have seen it a couple of times since, and I really loved it! So adorable. And I'm really hoping we can meet Ralph & Vanellope in October since we missed out on the opening of their meet and greet by only a couple of days.
By then, it was 3:45 pm or so, and we wanted to catch the 4 pm Beauty & the Beast show, so we made our way over to the theater. BatB was really the first movie DS ever sat through with any interest, so I thought he would really love this show. He was interested in the beginning, but halfway through his attention went elsewhere, like to the half-empty Coke bottles and other trash people had left behind under the bleachers. I usually love this show myself, but Belle's singing voice was absolutely terrible! It made the show a little harder to enjoy since it is almost entirely singing.
Once the show was over, we started walking down the exit ramp and had to stop short when DS found the most interesting thing ever in a Disney park...a pile of leaves!
I got in touch with my parents and we agreed to meet back over at the Animation building for the "something" I hinted to at the end of my last update...it was almost time for Characterpalooza! I had been doing all my research on this "event" prior to our trip because we had never done it before and I wanted to get it just right.
We still had some time before it was supposed to start, so we goofed off in there for a little while.
Took some explaining, but we got DS to do it too!!
We played some of the voice games with DS, and I tried numerous times to explain to my mom why exactly we were there and what we were waiting for, but she didn't really get it until it actually started. I wasn't even really sure where the characters were going to come from. But we happened to be in the right place at the right time, because just to our left, the door opened and the characters started pouring in! Some chick in there obviously was not prepared for that to happen because she actually screamed when the characters started coming through the door! lol
What else to do but follow the characters around?
Continued in next post...
khertz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2008
Day 7 Continued: Friday October 26th
We followed the characters up the walkway as they dispersed to different meeting areas and were first up to meet Captain Hook & Mr. Smee!
DH noticed that one of the Green Army Men had sat down to color with some kids at the table. How adorable!
Next we met the Evil Queen, and DS was not a big fan!
Then it was time to meet Pinocchio, who received a much warmer reception from DS than the Evil Queen did.
We spotted a Green Army Man coming down the hall as we headed up the steps to check out more characters and stopped for a handshake.
In the room at the top of the steps, Minnie was meeting in one corner with Goofy & Max meeting in the other. We decided to get in the short line for Goofy & Max since Max was a rare character and we had already seen Minnie in Epcot. But something really great happened just as it was our turn...Minnie's line ended so she came over to take pictures with Goofy & Max!
I love how he looks like he's hiding from them.
We stayed hanging out in that room since the only other characters out were Chip & Dale and we had already met them, and DS had some fun trying to play Fix-It Felix.
As the event was ending and the characters started to leave, DS was following Minnie and when she noticed him, she turned to give him a kiss! This was the best photo any of us got of that moment because it happened so quick.
Our first Characterpalooza was a total success! I had been hoping for other characters like Bolt and Meeko, but overall I was pretty impressed that we had been able to get pictures with every character except Chip & Dale in that little 20 minute set. I'm really excited to give it a try again in October and see what different characters we can get.
Nonni & Poppi agreed to take DS to get some dinner while DH and I went off for a few minutes alone. We directed them to the one place we knew had hot dogs since that was about all we had gotten him to eat well the whole week, and off we went for Sunset Blvd.!
Tower of Terror had a 30 minute wait so we pulled FP's for 6 pm. It was about 5:10 at that point, so we decided to spend the time until we could use our FP's riding Rock'n'Roller Coaster through the Single Rider line.
The SR line only took us about 15 minutes and we were only 1 train apart, so it didn't take us long to meet up in the gift shop. While in there, we used our AP discount to get the shirts my parents had asked us for earlier since they had them in the correct sizes this time.
We checked on ToT which still had a 30 minute posted wait, and we'd have to wait 25 minutes to use our FP's so we decided to just get in line. If you recall, we tried this with the Princess meet with negative results, and tonight was no different! We walked maybe 10 steps before we got to the end of the line and stopped moving. Nevermind! We got out of that line quick and decided we'd rather waste 25 minutes in the shops than standing in the standby line. After browsing the shops, we stopped for a Photopass session.
Our "Awwww, isn't Chip so cute?" faces.
By then, we could use our FP's, and the standby line had a more appropriate posted time of 40 minutes. We went right through to the library! Sorry poor saps waiting in the long line.
We waited maybe 10 minutes in the boiler room before we loaded onto an elevator, so not bad at all! I don't remember what was so special about it, but I did note in my trip notes that we had a really fun drop sequence.
I bought this shirt on clearance in the gift shop on the way out!
And I randomly have this Photopass picture, but I have no idea at what point we had it taken.
After the ToT ride, we met up with my parents and DS, and they said DS had been a terror while with them. And he was still working on that hot dog from over an hour ago! The weather was starting to look nasty, and DS was restless so we decided to call it quits and left the park. We made it back to Bonnet Creek by 7 and had some dinner, leftover Via Napoli pizza for me and leftover tacos for DH, plus some ice cream cake for dessert!
It was Nonni & Poppi's last night with us, so they started packing up all of their stuff and we packed a suitcase full of our stuff for them to take back with them in their car so we wouldn't have to take as much with us on the plane. That was a nice perk of having them come spend part of the vacation with us! Then we all fell into bed at a decent time that night.
UP NEXT: Here Comes Hurricane Sandy
We followed the characters up the walkway as they dispersed to different meeting areas and were first up to meet Captain Hook & Mr. Smee!
DH noticed that one of the Green Army Men had sat down to color with some kids at the table. How adorable!
Next we met the Evil Queen, and DS was not a big fan!
Then it was time to meet Pinocchio, who received a much warmer reception from DS than the Evil Queen did.
We spotted a Green Army Man coming down the hall as we headed up the steps to check out more characters and stopped for a handshake.
In the room at the top of the steps, Minnie was meeting in one corner with Goofy & Max meeting in the other. We decided to get in the short line for Goofy & Max since Max was a rare character and we had already seen Minnie in Epcot. But something really great happened just as it was our turn...Minnie's line ended so she came over to take pictures with Goofy & Max!
I love how he looks like he's hiding from them.
We stayed hanging out in that room since the only other characters out were Chip & Dale and we had already met them, and DS had some fun trying to play Fix-It Felix.
As the event was ending and the characters started to leave, DS was following Minnie and when she noticed him, she turned to give him a kiss! This was the best photo any of us got of that moment because it happened so quick.
Our first Characterpalooza was a total success! I had been hoping for other characters like Bolt and Meeko, but overall I was pretty impressed that we had been able to get pictures with every character except Chip & Dale in that little 20 minute set. I'm really excited to give it a try again in October and see what different characters we can get.
Nonni & Poppi agreed to take DS to get some dinner while DH and I went off for a few minutes alone. We directed them to the one place we knew had hot dogs since that was about all we had gotten him to eat well the whole week, and off we went for Sunset Blvd.!
Tower of Terror had a 30 minute wait so we pulled FP's for 6 pm. It was about 5:10 at that point, so we decided to spend the time until we could use our FP's riding Rock'n'Roller Coaster through the Single Rider line.
The SR line only took us about 15 minutes and we were only 1 train apart, so it didn't take us long to meet up in the gift shop. While in there, we used our AP discount to get the shirts my parents had asked us for earlier since they had them in the correct sizes this time.
We checked on ToT which still had a 30 minute posted wait, and we'd have to wait 25 minutes to use our FP's so we decided to just get in line. If you recall, we tried this with the Princess meet with negative results, and tonight was no different! We walked maybe 10 steps before we got to the end of the line and stopped moving. Nevermind! We got out of that line quick and decided we'd rather waste 25 minutes in the shops than standing in the standby line. After browsing the shops, we stopped for a Photopass session.
Our "Awwww, isn't Chip so cute?" faces.
By then, we could use our FP's, and the standby line had a more appropriate posted time of 40 minutes. We went right through to the library! Sorry poor saps waiting in the long line.
We waited maybe 10 minutes in the boiler room before we loaded onto an elevator, so not bad at all! I don't remember what was so special about it, but I did note in my trip notes that we had a really fun drop sequence.
I bought this shirt on clearance in the gift shop on the way out!
And I randomly have this Photopass picture, but I have no idea at what point we had it taken.
After the ToT ride, we met up with my parents and DS, and they said DS had been a terror while with them. And he was still working on that hot dog from over an hour ago! The weather was starting to look nasty, and DS was restless so we decided to call it quits and left the park. We made it back to Bonnet Creek by 7 and had some dinner, leftover Via Napoli pizza for me and leftover tacos for DH, plus some ice cream cake for dessert!
It was Nonni & Poppi's last night with us, so they started packing up all of their stuff and we packed a suitcase full of our stuff for them to take back with them in their car so we wouldn't have to take as much with us on the plane. That was a nice perk of having them come spend part of the vacation with us! Then we all fell into bed at a decent time that night.
UP NEXT: Here Comes Hurricane Sandy
disneybarbie
Disney Princess
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2006
That character meet looks like fun! I would love to meet Max from Goof Troop one day.. I used to love that show, and also the Goofy Movie! 
Emma
x
Emma
xDaveinFallsChurch
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2011
Loved your updates on characterpalooza! We haven't had a chance to try it yet but it looks like you scored big with the Evil Queen! And always fun to meet up with Hook and Smee. We're actually thinking about trying the Pirates and Pals Cruise for our next trip to meet up with Hook, Smee, and Pan.
Awesome pics with the Wreck It Ralph poses. And I loved how Disney actually created a beat-up looking arcade game machine for Fix it Felix Jr.
Awesome pics with the Wreck It Ralph poses. And I loved how Disney actually created a beat-up looking arcade game machine for Fix it Felix Jr.
afwdwfan
DIS Dad #460
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2010
If that stupid hat just wasn't in the way of that old Hollywood atmosphere...
You're wrong.
Yeah, I can see where a bad Belle could really ruin the show. I'm sorry it wasn't the best performance.
That's really cool! The worst part about those spontaneous moments is that they're too spontaneous to get good pictures.
I'm glad you were able to fit it in! I've read about it, but it is one of those things that we've never made our way over to check out.
Well, it's about time.
Leftover Via Napoli pizza and ice cream cake. Nice way to end a day.
Holly324
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2010
We managed to get into the charaterpalooza on our last trip on 2 different occasions...it was AWESOME! We met chip and dale, pinocchio, goofy and max, jafar, capt. hook and mr. smee, the incredibles, minnie mouse, the genie from aladdin, meeko, and a couple more. The second time it was raining, so we also got to meet all 4 little einsteins and Handy Manny. My kids LOVED Handy Manny. Most of the time, he had no line, so as they were zipping from line to line, they would stop and get a hug or a high five from him. So great!! Glad you guys got to get in on that! Btw, I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I love your Mickey Mouse tshirts. Super cute! 
Chelley00
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2005
We had the same Belle. She was terrible.
Your Characterpalooza was so much better than ours. Our lines were so long and they were mostly characters you could see anywhere, other than Meeko who just ran back and forth and didn't stop for pictures at all. We were disappointed and left before the second group came out.
Your Characterpalooza was so much better than ours. Our lines were so long and they were mostly characters you could see anywhere, other than Meeko who just ran back and forth and didn't stop for pictures at all. We were disappointed and left before the second group came out.
khertz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2008
That character meet looks like fun! I would love to meet Max from Goof Troop one day.. I used to love that show, and also the Goofy Movie!
Emma
I was never a big Goofy Movie or Goof Troop fan for some reason, but it was pretty cool to meet Max since he is so rare!
I really want to do the Pirates & Pals cruise too, but I'm thinking it just may be too expensive and Paxton still a little too young to really appreciate it. He is crazy about pirates though, which was why I wanted to do it in the first place. Hopefully by the time we plan our next trip after this one, it will still be around and we can check it out. It seems like fun! As consolation, he's getting Peter Pan on Blu-Ray in his Easter basket because he really loves Peter Pan.
I appreciate the Ralph fixtures more now that I've seen the movie.
That was a pretty awesome thing for them to put in there although bummer it doesn't actually work.If that stupid hat just wasn't in the way of that old Hollywood atmosphere...
You're wrong.
Yeah, I can see where a bad Belle could really ruin the show. I'm sorry it wasn't the best performance.
That's really cool! The worst part about those spontaneous moments is that they're too spontaneous to get good pictures.
I'm glad you were able to fit it in! I've read about it, but it is one of those things that we've never made our way over to check out.
Well, it's about time.
Leftover Via Napoli pizza and ice cream cake. Nice way to end a day.
I know the Hat is not popular, but I like it! Can't help it. I sometimes wish we could just have a camera crew follow us at all times in Disney so we don't miss out on capturing those quick but special moments.
Maybe I need my own reality show or something? Characterpalooza was SO fun, and you should try it out the next time you go! It was fun running around to all the different characters!
Leftover Via Napoli, only slightly less delicious than fresh Via Napoli!
We managed to get into the charaterpalooza on our last trip on 2 different occasions...it was AWESOME! We met chip and dale, pinocchio, goofy and max, jafar, capt. hook and mr. smee, the incredibles, minnie mouse, the genie from aladdin, meeko, and a couple more. The second time it was raining, so we also got to meet all 4 little einsteins and Handy Manny. My kids LOVED Handy Manny. Most of the time, he had no line, so as they were zipping from line to line, they would stop and get a hug or a high five from him. So great!! Glad you guys got to get in on that! Btw, I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I love your Mickey Mouse tshirts. Super cute!
I really hope that next trip we can see it more than once and check out different characters! It was a lot of fun, and since Paxton loves meeting characters, he was a big fan! That is cute about Handy Manny.
Sometimes just a high 5 is all Paxton needs from the characters to make him smile! Thanks! That was our version of matching shirts from the Soda Fountain Shop since they didn't have one like ours to match Paxton, but we did get him a different style one to wear.
She was really awful! I don't understand how she has kept that position...surely we are not the only people who realize she can't sing?
She makes a good Belle in looks, but that voice is a big no-no.Oh, that really stinks about your Characterpalooza experience. It is not nearly as good when it's all characters you can see in the parks! Truth be told, I was a little annoyed that Minnie, Goofy, and Chip & Dale were included for that reason. It was fun seeing the other more rare characters, but I would have preferred to see more rares in place of those 4.
DaveinFallsChurch
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2011
I really want to do the Pirates & Pals cruise too, but I'm thinking it just may be too expensive and Paxton still a little too young to really appreciate it. He is crazy about pirates though, which was why I wanted to do it in the first place. Hopefully by the time we plan our next trip after this one, it will still be around and we can check it out. It seems like fun! As consolation, he's getting Peter Pan on Blu-Ray in his Easter basket because he really loves Peter Pan.
I appreciate the Ralph fixtures more now that I've seen the movie.
Oh no.....I thought the video game actually worked! Ok, it's still cool but slightly disappointed!
We bought the Peter Pan release digitally and the kids loved it.
arbolita
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2008
I've never managed to make it to Characterpalooza (was hoping to do it during our recent trip, but it wasn't occurring that week). How cool that you got to meet Max! And I love the picture of the Green Army Man coloring with the kids - what a great memory for them to have!
MEK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 8, 2005
Absolutely adorable picture! Needs farm!
[/CENTER]
This is another really cute PP shot!
OH NO! I guess Paxton was just done for the done. So nice of your parents to tag along and allow you guys a little alone time in the park.
Sometimes leftovers make the best dinner!
debrapagliasotti
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2011
I will also admit, I too like the hat at HS 
I love the Characterpalooza posts! I would love to do this in Oct -- just a matter of timing since its such a short trip.
That pic with Paxton, Goofy, Max & Minnie -- ADORABLE!!
I love the Characterpalooza posts! I would love to do this in Oct -- just a matter of timing since its such a short trip.
That pic with Paxton, Goofy, Max & Minnie -- ADORABLE!!
AGPrincess
Princess at heart
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2006
Sounds like a super fun afternoon at Hollywood Studios. Characterpalooza is so much fun - I love that the lines are often pretty short too! I've never seen the photopass shot with Chip before - so cute!
Characterpalooza is so much fun - I love that the lines are often pretty short too! I've never seen the photopass shot with Chip before - so cute!
wdwgirl03
<font color=red>I'm just a big Disney Freak! :-)<b
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2004
Oh, that's awesome you made it for Characterpalooza! I think we might've been there once for that but I had no idea there was a name for it. haha!
Looks like a great time at DHS. Tower of Terror and RNRC are always fun. And the pictures of you and your DH are very cute! My sister got one of those Chip magic shots at the Magic Kingdom!
Looks like a great time at DHS. Tower of Terror and RNRC are always fun. And the pictures of you and your DH are very cute! My sister got one of those Chip magic shots at the Magic Kingdom!
khertz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2008
Oh no.....I thought the video game actually worked! Ok, it's still cool but slightly disappointed!
We bought the Peter Pan release digitally and the kids loved it.
It would be cool if it actually worked!
He really loves all things pirate right now, and every time we are in the car listening to my Disney music mix, one of the clips from Dream Along With Mickey may come on and when Peter Pan starts talking, he gets very excited about it!
I was so glad we had made time for it this past trip because it was so fun running from character to character, and Paxton LOVED it! I'm really hoping we can get to it at least once if not twice on our upcoming trip.
DH pointed out the Green Army Man coloring with the kids to me, and I just thought it was the cutest thing ever! I bet it really surprised those kids who were just minding their own business coloring.
Thanks! I really loved that pic of Paxton with Minnie, Goofy & Max too, despite how serious he looks.
It was really great to get those little short breaks from pushing the stroller and being able to ride those big rides together instead of having to take turns. Part of Paxton's displeasure I'm sure came from the fact that we had ditched him.
Most kids don't want anything to do with their parents when the grandparents are around, but Paxton was surprisingly just the opposite during the trip! My parents would be begging to hold him but he only wanted me or DH. I will also admit, I too like the hat at HS
I love the Characterpalooza posts! I would love to do this in Oct -- just a matter of timing since its such a short trip.
That pic with Paxton, Goofy, Max & Minnie -- ADORABLE!!
Another fan of the hat!
We are few & far between, I think. I also liked the want over Spaceship Earth. 
Hopefully you get some time to check out Characterpalooza, because it was a lot of fun! I like the surprise element of not knowing who is going to be coming out to meet with.
I can see how with a shorter trip it might be hard to fit in though.Thanks! One of my favorites too.
Haha I rode in Endymion and happend to be stopped there during sweet Caroline I was unloading glow sticks beach balls and stuffed animals to the kids on the ladders so I may have reached y'all
Small world!!!
I do remember glow sticks abounding around that time too! What a fun parade. It was only my second time seeing Endymion (as a kid, my parents didn't take us to the Uptown parades, just the Metairie ones), and it was so much fun!! I'm hoping we will be able to do the same next year if I am off the weekend of Endymion!Sounds like a super fun afternoon at Hollywood Studios.
The lines were really short at Characterpalooza, which was great for people like us who had been kind of waiting around for it to happen. I felt bad for a few people who obviously stumbled upon it right in the middle of the event and didn't make it into a lot of the lines before they were cut off.
We had never done the PP with Chip before either, but it was a cute alternative to Tinkerbell!
I think that name for it is only DISboards official.
ToT and RnRC are two of my favorite rides, so it was fun getting to ride them together for a change instead of having to take turns! I didn't know they did Chip at MK, I'll have to ask for it next time. Fun alternative to the standard Tink shot!
khertz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2008
Day 8: Saturday October 27th
We were up a little too bright and early Saturday morning after listening to DS coughing his poor little head off since 4 am. Our alarms were set for 7 am, so we dragged ourselves out of bed to start getting ready. After bidding Nonni & Poppi farewell and safe travels, they hit the road for New Orleans and we left for our park of the day.
I had been so worried watching all of the weather reports since bad weather from hurricane Sandy was supposed to make our Saturday plans a washout, especially because it was our only big chunk of time at AK aside from the couple of hours we had spent Thursday afternoon. However, I can happily report that the weather was great all day, and for the rest of our trip really!
We got through bag check and found CM's handing out the paper pirate/princess hats that we had gotten on our arrival day at Cypress Palms, and even though DS already had one, he was more than happy to take a second one!
We were first at our turnstile, and we still had a bit of time to wait until 8:40 am when they opened them, so we ate our breakfast while we waited. I was so excited when they had let us in early, thinking it was the same opening procedure as Epcot and DHS as we walked down this empty pathway.
Wrong! We ran smack into a rope and had to stand there and wait until precisely 9 am. At least we had a nice view.
There were a couple of CM's out getting us amped up, and they chose a family right beside us to be the first on the Safari, I think. DS was getting a little antsy just standing there waiting. But finally, the rope was dropped and we walked over to our first stop of the day, the Kilimanjaro Safari!
Hey Everest, we will be coming to visit you soon!
We walked right onto the Safari and were in the middle of our truck, which was pretty perfect. Since we had a row to ourselves, DH could get some good photos of the animals, and it wasn't too bumpy. DS for some reason wanted to sit facing me for a good portion of the ride, but he did enjoy seeing the animals.
Ready to go on a Safari!
It was one of our best Safari experiences yet, with the big cats being the most active we had ever seen them, especially the cheetahs. Usually I forget there are even cheetahs to be seen on this ride because I can't find them or they are hiding in the shade! I only slightly missed the poacher storyline though, because the zebra enclosure was a really cool addition!
After getting off of the Safari and gathering up our stroller, we decided to take some time strolling through the nearby Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.
Too many Safari pictures so, Continued in next post...
We were up a little too bright and early Saturday morning after listening to DS coughing his poor little head off since 4 am. Our alarms were set for 7 am, so we dragged ourselves out of bed to start getting ready. After bidding Nonni & Poppi farewell and safe travels, they hit the road for New Orleans and we left for our park of the day.
I had been so worried watching all of the weather reports since bad weather from hurricane Sandy was supposed to make our Saturday plans a washout, especially because it was our only big chunk of time at AK aside from the couple of hours we had spent Thursday afternoon. However, I can happily report that the weather was great all day, and for the rest of our trip really!
We got through bag check and found CM's handing out the paper pirate/princess hats that we had gotten on our arrival day at Cypress Palms, and even though DS already had one, he was more than happy to take a second one!
We were first at our turnstile, and we still had a bit of time to wait until 8:40 am when they opened them, so we ate our breakfast while we waited. I was so excited when they had let us in early, thinking it was the same opening procedure as Epcot and DHS as we walked down this empty pathway.
Wrong! We ran smack into a rope and had to stand there and wait until precisely 9 am. At least we had a nice view.
There were a couple of CM's out getting us amped up, and they chose a family right beside us to be the first on the Safari, I think. DS was getting a little antsy just standing there waiting. But finally, the rope was dropped and we walked over to our first stop of the day, the Kilimanjaro Safari!
Hey Everest, we will be coming to visit you soon!
We walked right onto the Safari and were in the middle of our truck, which was pretty perfect. Since we had a row to ourselves, DH could get some good photos of the animals, and it wasn't too bumpy. DS for some reason wanted to sit facing me for a good portion of the ride, but he did enjoy seeing the animals.
Ready to go on a Safari!
It was one of our best Safari experiences yet, with the big cats being the most active we had ever seen them, especially the cheetahs. Usually I forget there are even cheetahs to be seen on this ride because I can't find them or they are hiding in the shade! I only slightly missed the poacher storyline though, because the zebra enclosure was a really cool addition!
After getting off of the Safari and gathering up our stroller, we decided to take some time strolling through the nearby Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.
Too many Safari pictures so, Continued in next post...
khertz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2008
Day 8 Continued: Saturday October 27th
More Pangani Trail...
Trying to see the hippos in the water
DH's favorite, the meerkats
Baby gorilla!
After finishing up on the trail, we decided to do something brand new for all of us and take the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Mostly this was prompted by the fact that DS is crazy about trains, but also because we had never been there and thought it might be an interesting area to check out.
It wasn't long before we were boarding a train and on our way. I definitely didn't expect the train to be configured that way that the benches face the side of the cars instead of facing the front, so that was a really interesting perspective. And you can see backstage areas of the park where they house different animals and stuff.
In just a few minutes, we made it to our destination!
We walked inside and immediately I spotted what I had been hoping to see, a vet procedure! They were in the middle of doing a dental exam on a kangaroo that had had a tooth pulled recently.
DH and DS were not interested in the procedure the way I was, so they wandered off to look at the reptiles and other creepy crawlies in their tanks nearby.
I stopped for a few minutes to chat with the CM mixing up fruit for the birds, and DS spotted a little table to sit down and color.
Since Rafiki was right there meeting & greeting, I got in line while DS finished coloring his spider, and then they joined me in the line as it got closer to the time to meet Rafiki. I was unsure how DS would do since Rafiki can look kind of scary, but he wasn't shy at all! In fact, he ran up holding out his coloring sheet and the Photopass photographer if we wanted Rafiki to sign his paper.
Showing Rafiki his artwork
DS got a huge kick out of Rafiki being scared of the spider on the page!
After having Rafiki sign his book, we went to look around some more inside. We tried one of the little sound booths, but DS was not crazy about being in the dark booth with rainforest noises going on around him. We went to look around at the different spiders and stuff in their cases, and had a HILARIOUS (but maybe you had to be there) moment when DH picked up DS to show him a HUGE spider in one of the glass cases and there was a little pause before DS absolutely shrieked as loud as humanly possible when he saw that spider!!! I still crack up laughing when I think about that shriek because it was so unexpected! And then he was fine and we moved on. lol
(Note: Not the gigantic spider)
We decided to skip the petting zoo this time around and made our way back to the train station. We just missed the next train, so I grabbed a bench to sit and wait for the next one. DS was having fun climbing on and off the bench when a CM came around the corner, saw DS, and handed him about six or seven little rubber finger puppets. It was a little random, but sweet and it helped pass the time until the train came in.
There's our ride!
UP NEXT: Everybody walk the dinosaur!
More Pangani Trail...
Trying to see the hippos in the water
DH's favorite, the meerkats
Baby gorilla!
After finishing up on the trail, we decided to do something brand new for all of us and take the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Mostly this was prompted by the fact that DS is crazy about trains, but also because we had never been there and thought it might be an interesting area to check out.
It wasn't long before we were boarding a train and on our way. I definitely didn't expect the train to be configured that way that the benches face the side of the cars instead of facing the front, so that was a really interesting perspective. And you can see backstage areas of the park where they house different animals and stuff.
In just a few minutes, we made it to our destination!
We walked inside and immediately I spotted what I had been hoping to see, a vet procedure! They were in the middle of doing a dental exam on a kangaroo that had had a tooth pulled recently.
DH and DS were not interested in the procedure the way I was, so they wandered off to look at the reptiles and other creepy crawlies in their tanks nearby.
I stopped for a few minutes to chat with the CM mixing up fruit for the birds, and DS spotted a little table to sit down and color.
Since Rafiki was right there meeting & greeting, I got in line while DS finished coloring his spider, and then they joined me in the line as it got closer to the time to meet Rafiki. I was unsure how DS would do since Rafiki can look kind of scary, but he wasn't shy at all! In fact, he ran up holding out his coloring sheet and the Photopass photographer if we wanted Rafiki to sign his paper.
Showing Rafiki his artwork
DS got a huge kick out of Rafiki being scared of the spider on the page!
After having Rafiki sign his book, we went to look around some more inside. We tried one of the little sound booths, but DS was not crazy about being in the dark booth with rainforest noises going on around him. We went to look around at the different spiders and stuff in their cases, and had a HILARIOUS (but maybe you had to be there) moment when DH picked up DS to show him a HUGE spider in one of the glass cases and there was a little pause before DS absolutely shrieked as loud as humanly possible when he saw that spider!!! I still crack up laughing when I think about that shriek because it was so unexpected! And then he was fine and we moved on. lol
(Note: Not the gigantic spider)
We decided to skip the petting zoo this time around and made our way back to the train station. We just missed the next train, so I grabbed a bench to sit and wait for the next one. DS was having fun climbing on and off the bench when a CM came around the corner, saw DS, and handed him about six or seven little rubber finger puppets. It was a little random, but sweet and it helped pass the time until the train came in.
There's our ride!
UP NEXT: Everybody walk the dinosaur!
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