Coffee on the Verandah -The Last Slide, Recap & Souvies 5/29 - Link to Aulani TR 5/31

Just checking in !!! I am finally starting to feel better !! Have to be well for my Cruise which by the way I will be on this time next week !!!
 
I can't believe how I have missed the jungle trek al these years! I'm going to make it a point to walk it next trip. The paintings of the animals on the ruin walls are really cool. Great photos!
 
It took our family a few trips before we made it to the AK trails, too. The kids do need to be a smidge older to really appreciate them!

Ugh, those bats! :scared: They give me the creeps!

Fortunately the gorgeous tigers make them go away!

Looking forward to more...

Kathy
 
Just checking in !!! I am finally starting to feel better !! Have to be well for my Cruise which by the way I will be on this time next week !!!

Good! I am glad you are feeling better, did you visit the doctor yet? I'm so excited for you Rosie!

I can't believe how I have missed the jungle trek al these years! I'm going to make it a point to walk it next trip. The paintings of the animals on the ruin walls are really cool. Great photos!

I missed it for all those years too and apparently we are not alone, it's a recurring comment which made me feel a lot better. It is so beautiful back there. Thanks!

It took our family a few trips before we made it to the AK trails, too. The kids do need to be a smidge older to really appreciate them!

Good point on the kids, I'm not sure at what age they get into it but it is nice once they actually start to appreciate the theming as much as the animals.

Ugh, those bats! :scared: They give me the creeps!

You don't seem to be alone in that feeling!

Fortunately the gorgeous tigers make them go away!

Looking forward to more...

Kathy

They are gorgeous, aren't they!
 


By the time we finished with Kali, it was noon. Jeff and Kendall were due to check in for the Backstage Safari at 12:45. We needed to eat! And, given our rush I did not take any pictures of the drowned rats. Suffice to say though, we got wet. It IS Kali after all!

We did survive and apparently I did take one more picture before we took off



Yeah, that tells you a lot doesnt it!

For lunch we debated between trying Picnic in the Park, Flame Tree, or Y&Y Local foods. Of those, we had done Y&Y before but as we were considering the sit down for dinner, that didnt seem wise. The picnic sounded good but we were a little unclear as to where to get it and Jeff (and the boys) can always go for some BBQ so Flame Tree it was. Problem was, wed never been there. Now that we have I cant see how we had a hard time finding it but..we did.

Finally we made it, ordered, found seats and got busy eating. I argued for splitting meals but everyone insisted they wanted their own.

For Eric and I, the half chicken



Kendall, a Turkey Sandwich



Evan, Ribs



Jeff, Pulled Pork Sandwich



Most of the gang got the chocolate mousse and Evan I think tried the Key Lime Mousse. The verdict? We liked it but I can't say we loved it. Jeff and Evan felt their meat was a little dry. Mine was good but on the charred side (and should have been split with Eric, it was ridiculous). Kendall may have liked hers the best of all but it was a turkey sandwich. It all hit the spot though and mostly got eaten. The dessert however was another story, as were the sodas. I don't know why I let the kids get soda. We were on the DDP so it was included but they barely drank any of it and bottled waters would have been SUCH a better use of the drink portion of the meal. The desserts were...ICK. And all went in the trash. Very wasteful. Id go there again but its not at the top of my list (not that there is something higher up though for AK CS), I would like to try and find the whole picnic in the park one of these days.

Bellies full, finally with some protein at least, it was time for Jeff and Kendall to head off on their adventure. They had to go outside the park to check in and we went to watch just to make sure there werent any issues.

As they got to the check in point, I get a text.

Kendall forgot her ID

What?

Oh crap.

I hadn't remembered at ALL either. Even though I had put it in trip it as to not forget, I had. Kendall had just turned 16, the minimum age for the tour and was required to have her ID on her. Oddly enough (because I am paranoid like that) I did have a picture of her BC on my phone and TEXTED it to Jeff in case he needed it, hoping that it would work. It was hard to read.

Would they let them check in?



Jeff trying to negotiate



Will it work?



We have a smile!



WHEW!

And as far as the E's were concerned&

ABOUT TIME!

LOL

They had been patient, I will give them that.

Where to?

Well, like any parent intent on torturing their child my first idea was...

PHOTOPASS!

LOL



Does this give you a clue?



What about this?



No?

What about this?






Ah yes, finally!



It was 1pm. You didn't really think we were going to wait until 3 to ride did you?

Welcome my children to SINGLE RIDER LINE! Yes, your mom rocks for knowing it exists.



Yeah, they are sweaty. Or still wet from Kali. Or both.

Follow the rules even if I'm not with you, ok?



Guess who decided she should try to take pictures on EE?

Me, that's who!







Shall we head up?



Clearly I was not in the front.





Heres what you get when you are trying to take pictures form the back of EE and avoid everyone's head




Continued in next post
 
Continued from previous
Mandatory broken track pictures









Gotcha!












How did we all do? Well we found each other at the end and went to see.

Eric seemed to survive...barely





I did too



And Evan?

No clue, I missed his red neck shot.

Eric's live verdict went something like this



Oh wait, I think that was his reaction to, let’s go on it again!

Would I get some different or better shots this time?





Up again!



That tree looks pretty far away from here



Yeah, still far



Pretty cool how far you can see



It’s...the blob! I mean, the Yeti



That’s better



After 2 rounds with the Yeti we decided to take a small break, the boys wanted to do a little bit of shopping. Evan was on a mission. The mission for the perfect necklace. I was on a different one; I wanted to get closer to the Tree of Life. I keep trying this every trip and either have ended up in It’s Tough to be a Bug, or haven’t been able to find the trail. We headed that way, peeking in shops as we went looking for that elusive cool necklace.

As we walked, I heard the dreaded words

My feet hurt

Sigh.

Really?

Really.

I looked.

Sure enough…Eric had a blister

I found it odd it hadn't happened until the last full day of the trip. He’d brought 2 pairs of shoes on the trip, tennis shoes and crocs and had worn both. Granted it hadn't been a power walking trip but then again, in my mind a half day at the park that included a lot of sitting on rides really wasn't either. Didn't much matter what I thought, he had a blister on one side and the other side was red and a bit angry as well. Personally, I can’t stand crocs. (sorry in advance anyone!). I think they are ugly and the idea of hot rubber on my feet just sounds like a recipe for sweaty feet…and then blisters as a result. My kids would not own them were it not for my mother in law buying them several years back before they'd even hit Seattle as they were the next cool thing and she thought they'd love them. The E's took to to them for a bit, so far as to actually outgrowing the firs pair and wanting a second. Eric was the last holdout and wore them as beach shoes generally, not liking flip flops all that much and often preferring them to sandals (though as I type this I am realizing he probably needs new sandals for the summer). The good news is we were on Discovery Island and near a first aid station.

I had managed to avoid first aid stations on every trip until this one. First the one at Universal City walk with Kendall and now this. I have to say, I was impressed! They had moleskin! Eric's feet all bandaged up, protected with moleskin and extra supplies in my bag we were in and out of there in maybe 10 minutes and headed back to my Tree of Life mission. Lucky for me the TOL is near all those shops on Discovery Island. Evan could peek and so could I!

Turning in at one spot, we saw this guy







And wondered if he was related to our Vero Friends. Given that the water was different, we didn't think so but then again, we aren't turtle experts by any stretch of the imagination.

This guy sounded fascinating



But proved elusive



Continued in next post
 
Continued from previous

The Tree!


















For some reason, the boys liked this guy and wanted their picture with it.






Hey, there he is mom!





And that’s all we saw. The rest of the tree and trail, as best we could tell was roped and netted off. Foiled again!

Fine, let’s go look for a necklace! Africa, Africa might be the place don’t you think?



















I don’t know what it is about Mombasa Marketplace but we always have good luck there!



And look, a boy and his new treasure!

Boy Bling





Several things knocked out on our “to do” list we still had almost an hour and a half before we were scheduled to meet back up with Jeff and Kendall.

What should we do next?
 


Great Updates Cynthia !!!Pix on E.E. are something I will never get cuz I am NOT ever as EVVVVAAAAHHHH!!:rotfl2:We are trying FTB again this October , I was not overly imopressed with the ribs there, BUT I loved the Lime dessert!! I have to say Kendals sandwich looked goodI saw someone with it last tiem and thought I wish I had gotten that!!!:thumbsup2
 
Now that we have I cant see how we had a hard time finding it but..we did.
:rotfl::lmao:

I really think it is pretty simple to find. Just follow the smell...

The verdict? We liked it but I can't say we loved it. Jeff and Evan felt their meat was a little dry. Mine was good but on the charred side (and should have been split with Eric, it was ridiculous).
That's a shame. Hopefully you just caught a bad day. I always love it there, both for the quality of the food and the quantity. :rotfl2:

Totally agree with you about the dessert though. I can overlook it for the ribs and chicken. :thumbsup2

I'm glad it worked out. WOuld have been awful if she had to miss it at that point. :crazy2:

Welcome my children to SINGLE RIDER LINE! Yes, your mom rocks for knowing it exists.
Did they actually say that or are you putting words in their mouths? :confused3 :rotfl:

After 2 rounds with the Yeti we decided to take a small break
2 rounds with the Yeti makes for a great afternoon! :thumbsup2

Personally, I can’t stand crocs. (sorry in advance anyone!).
I can't either... but I do have some Crocs flip flops. They're actually the most comfortable flip flops I've ever had. I wore one pair until there was no tread left on the bottom.

They had moleskin! Eric's feet all bandaged up, protected with moleskin and extra supplies in my bag we were in and out of there in maybe 10 minutes and headed back to my Tree of Life mission.
Good call to stop in there. We've only used a Disney first aid station once, but they are definitely great about getting you what you need and sending you off with extras.

Several things knocked out on our “to do” list we still had almost an hour and a half before we were scheduled to meet back up with Jeff and Kendall.
Definitely a productive afternoon so far. I'm glad you got to investigate some of the carvings and the shopping trip was a success.
 
You do Rock!!!


You remembered a picture of Kendall's BC so she could do the tour.

You were able to ride EE twice using the elusive Single Rider line.

You used first Aid and had great success

You found the path around the tree of life and explored as much as you could.

I hope Jeff and Kendall had a great tour.
 
Great Tree of Life shots!

I generally dislike Crocs also, I have a pair I got from Costco (cheap) that I use for gardening (I think that's originally what they were intended?) because they're so easy to hose off! My son also preferred Crocs over flip-flops for a long time, now he's OK with flip-flops - plus they pack smaller than Crocs!

We seem to end up at a first-aid station every trip, no matter how broken-in your shoes are, WDW is a LOT of walking! Even the best shoes can rub. But, I like the air-con in there on a hot day!!
 


Great picture!

Woo hoo to the single rider line! :cool1: You got some great pictures.

I'm so glad that Kendall was able to take the tour without her ID. I can't imagine them not letting take the tour for that. Seriously? What kid carries around their license at WDW?

Yeah - lunch just looks kind of "eh" and I think the QS desserts keep getting worse and worse.

Great mega update.

That fish is HUGE!
 
You are a brave woman!

It would take everything I have in me just to go on EE, never mind actually hold my arms up and take pictures. SCARY!

Actually...not so much scary, as motion sickness. :lmao:

So, here I am, delurking again! Have I commented already? I can't remember. Anyway, I'm loving your trip report! It's a pleasure to read. I can't believe how big the boys are! That photopass picture of them standing next to you, oh my goodness, how they've grown!
 
I love Crocs and have like a million pairs but some are better than others and have ones i've worn once and then never again because of them rubbing.

Must remember about going to first aid for blister plasters I would never have thought of that.

Glad they accepted K's ID via phone, on our first WDW trip I took a scan of my passport laminated as ID to the Comedy club but they wouldn't fully accept it, they said they'd let me in but I couldn't drink alcohol.
 
Hi Cynthia!:goodvibes

I was so behind but I'm all caught up!:thumbsup2

Beautiful pictures at AKL and Yay for the surprise!!

The kids posing in front of Dinosaur....too cute!!

Love the safari pics...especially of the giraffes! They are my favorite!

It's been a while since we've walked the trails at AK. We'll have to make it a priority next time! Great pics!!:thumbsup2
 
For lunch we debated between trying Picnic in the Park, Flame Tree, or Y&Y Local foods. Of those, we had done Y&Y before but as we were considering the sit down for dinner, that didnt seem wise. The picnic sounded good but we were a little unclear as to where to get it and Jeff (and the boys) can always go for some BBQ so Flame Tree it was.

I've always wanted to try Flame Tree, but we always seem to take food in at AK. After your review, I'm not as sorry that I've missed it. :laughing: But I'd still like to try it.

For Eric and I, the half chicken

Each? Oh boy, I hope you're hungry. ;) I know, it's so hard to split -- half a meal doesn't sound like much. It'd be better if you could order 4 (or maybe even 3) meals for 5 people, but we can never all agree on what to get so that idea goes right out the window!

As they got to the check in point, I get a text.

Kendall forgot her ID

What?

Oh crap.

I hadn't remembered at ALL either. Even though I had put it in trip it as to not forget, I had. Kendall had just turned 16, the minimum age for the tour and was required to have her ID on her. Oddly enough (because I am paranoid like that) I did have a picture of her BC on my phone and TEXTED it to Jeff in case he needed it, hoping that it would work. It was hard to read.

Whew! Thank goodness for smartphones with dropbox or whatever app you were using. I'm glad they took it, that would've been a huge disappointment.

PHOTOPASS!

LOL


I know there've been pictures of the boys all throughout this TR, but for some reason when I looked at this picture I realized how much taller they've gotten since I've been following your TRs.

Guess who decided she should try to take pictures on EE?

Me, that's who!

:cool1:


Sheesh, those prayer flags have given their all! Time to replace 'em Disney. ::yes::

How did we all do? Well we found each other at the end and went to see.

Eric seemed to survive...barely


He looks scared, but he's got his hands off the lap bar. I'm impressed! :thumbsup2

I did too


I like the expression of that girl in the front/left of the picture. :laughing:

Sure enough…Eric had a blister

I found it odd it hadn't happened until the last full day of the trip. He’d brought 2 pairs of shoes on the trip, tennis shoes and crocs and had worn both. Granted it hadn't been a power walking trip but then again, in my mind a half day at the park that included a lot of sitting on rides really wasn't either.

Wet shoes from Kali could've contributed.

Hey, there he is mom!


Cool! He's a big 'un. I've never seen one of those.

I'm glad that you got to see at least some of the Tree up close.
 
For lunch we debated between trying Picnic in the Park, Flame Tree, or Y&Y Local foods. Of those, we had done Y&Y before but as we were considering the sit down for dinner, that didnt seem wise. The picnic sounded good but we were a little unclear as to where to get it and Jeff (and the boys) can always go for some BBQ so Flame Tree it was. Problem was, wed never been there. Now that we have I cant see how we had a hard time finding it but..we did.

I've never heard of Picnic in the Park.:confused3 You learn something everyday on these boards! But I do love me some Flame Tree.

The verdict? We liked it but I can't say we loved it.

Wow, that's my favorite CS place. I guess it wasn't their best day.

Kendall forgot her ID

:scared1:

Oddly enough (because I am paranoid like that) I did have a picture of her BC on my phone and TEXTED it to Jeff in case he needed it, hoping that it would work. It was hard to read.

Now that is world-class Mom work.:thumbsup2

They had been patient, I will give them that.

Where to?

Well, like any parent intent on torturing their child my first idea was...

PHOTOPASS!

LOL

:rotfl2::rotfl2: Torture!

It was 1pm. You didn't really think we were going to wait until 3 to ride did you?

Welcome my children to SINGLE RIDER LINE! Yes, your mom rocks for knowing it exists.

::yes:: I've lost count of the Bonus Mom points earned in this chapter.

Oh wait, I think that was his reaction to, let’s go on it again!

Best idea yet!

Pretty cool how far you can see

::yes::

Several things knocked out on our “to do” list we still had almost an hour and a half before we were scheduled to meet back up with Jeff and Kendall.

What should we do next?

Photopass! :rotfl:
 
Lost zebra?
LOL. It was way in the back instead of being in the new area.
Nice Komodo Dragon pics. He always hides when we go.
Flame Tree is alright. Not many choices there to choose from.
Nice pics from EE.
Hey! I love my Crocs. LOL. Really your feet do not sweat. I guess because it is ventilated. I only wear them at Disney as they are the only shoes my feet do not hurt from after walking all day.
They are ugly though. LOL
Awww. What a cute turtle.
All caught up again.
 
Flame Tree used to be our favorite AK counter service, but after a few times of tough ribs, we have not been there too much lately. I've found the turkey sandwich and the BBQ sandwich to be good. Totally agree on those desserts. I've tasted some of those that Jill has had when they've been on the dining plan before. I certainly would not pay out of pocket for them!

Those boys are lucky to have a rockin' Disney mom - and not one that is leading them around Animal Kingdom with a map in hand looking lost and overwhelmed. :goodvibes

I am very much a Croc person. I have huge feet - terrible feet - so Crocs give me plenty of room for bones to stick out and toes to wiggle, and they still fit after the swelling starts. Sounds fun, huh? Anyway, for abnormal feet people like me, they are the best. :thumbsup2
 

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