Escape from the North - A Week at the Yacht Club - April 2015- Complete* 1/5

[ashw100]

Hey! Aren't you supposed to be packing? I can't stop thinking about Disney so might as well write the report while it's fresh. See I look back and I don't really think about the complaining. I bring it up in the trip report because it was funny (animals going extinct) or it caused me to tweak my plans (you'll see this more in the next update) but it's not something I focus on as a negative. Those gorillas are amazing! I still get giddy just writing about it.

I'm all packed . I totally agree we certainly had some not so pleasant moments on our last trip but I don't think about it either. But it does make for an interesting TR. Keep the updates coming so I can procrastinate more

 

[Elevationist]

How on earth did I get 4 pages behind here? I'm an awful DIS friend!

Just as I was about to take the long walk back to the lobby Jamie's band opened the door. I don't know if they hadn't activated right away or we were doing it wrong but once they opened the door we didn't have any trouble with the bands the rest of the trip. They worked perfect for Fast Passes, paying for items or meals, and using Memory Maker.

You know, now that I think about it, on both of my trips since the MagicBands, I've experienced similar! Upon first approach, my hotel room door was super stubborn about unlocking, but once I did finally get it to go, everything was perfect after that!

There wasn't much of a current so you really have to kick to keep moving. So not all that lazy after all.

That would upset me. Theonly reason I even like lazy rivers at all is for that key word: "lazy."

It was pretty hot so Jamie and I split a margarita from Hurricane Hanna's. The bartender was kind enough to give us two cups.

I am a fan of bartender!

But the fact that I can be in the picture is priceless

This is EXACTLY the point I was about to make in favor of Memory Maker! You need to be in the photos too, lady!

It's a beautiful weekend and I should be outside doing yard work but all I want to do is work on my TR.

My life.

I was tempted to tell them it was because I burned my fingerprints off that time I robbed a bank.

I hadn't planned it that way but it was perfect to be at AK on Earth Day.

I'm jealous! Was there any special stuff going on for Earth Day? I missed it by just a few days myself, I was there on April 26th.

I don't think I really appreciated all the detail on this tree during past visits.

If it makes you feel any better, some of that detail is brand new within the last 6 months or so, including the things in this photo, I believe. I know when I was there in September, there were constructions walls all around the front of the Tree of Life, and as some point after I got home, the Disney Parks Blog revealed that the walls were down and that they had added a whole bunch more in the way of sculpted tree "roots" to the this little area.

We liked this guy:

What a curious little fella!

And so begins the downward hair spiral.

A spiral that I know all too well. Wait until you see my Epcot photos... It's a hoot.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE SO MUCH!!!!

I have mixed feelings about bats. I love seeing them come out at dusk in the summer to eat mosquitoes. But up close they are really creepy. We had one in our house when Aidan was a baby. At first I thought it was a bird but when Jamie said it was a bat I ran out of the house in terror completely forgetting the baby. Jamie came out and was like, "Are you forgetting something?" He handed Aidan to me and went back in the house to shoo it out. I appreciate bats from afar.

This story has me cracking up.

Then we were lucky enough to see this guy:

My babies!!! I feel about the tigers like you feel about the gorillas.

Jamie mentioned that the smell of the antelope must be driving the tiger crazy. The CM told us that they installed a - I can't remember what he called it - system to prevent the tiger and antelope from smelling each other. If it wasn't for that, they wouldn't be as relaxed as they are. I found that fascinating.

And this is why Animal Kingdom kicks the crap out of a regular zoo. Only at Disney, man!

We passed Flights of Wonder on our way:

I've never seen Flights of Wonder myself, despite continuing to tell myself that I will make time for it. My aunt is a big bird person, so I'm going to make sure to do it in December with her!

I'll just reserve judgement on this and some of the other stuff they're planning at AK until it's complete.

I'm sittin' on that fence with you, sister.

We drove past the hippos but I didn't manage to get a good pic. It's not very exotic but I loved this pelican with its baby:

I saw the baby pelican too! I was freaking out! IT'S SO FLUFFY!!!!!

The lion was conducting himself like any old house cat:

Dat lazy ol' cat.

He also talked about the 4 Northern White Rhinos left on the planet who are under armed guard 24 hours a day. It is so sad.

Whaaaaaaaaat?! Okay, I need to go Google this now.

So we raced past the birds, naked mole rats, monkeys, lizards until I finally caught my first glimpse:

Soooo your first gorilla glimpse was of of gorilla butt? Nice, dude.

And then this happened:

D'awwww! BABY! I got to see the baby too, but not all close up, he was just chillin' out up on one of the hills towards the back. You're so lucky! And it's SO CUTE.

 

[ursalita]

Day 2
Animal Kingdom Part 5

Another day, another update. Where were we?

We'd just met some gorillas and we were ready for lunch. Sam was still unhappy.
My original plan was to do Flame Tree BBQ if opened or Yak & Yeti. Flame Tree was still closed so we stopped in the line at Y&Y. Sam was whining at this point. Loudly. I was a little embarrassed but I knew if we could get some food and sit down in the A/C he'd calm down a little.

The main reason for choosing Y&Y was the food. I thought Aidan would love the Honey Chicken with the white rice. This is the kind of meal he will devour at home. But when we were standing there and looking at the menu he asked for chicken tenders.

At that point it felt like were standing there in line for nothing if Aidan wasn't even interested in the cuisine. DH was fine with it but I wasn't really feeling it so we left the line and continued on our way to DinoLand. We began to reevaluate. Our choices were to leave the park for the day or try to salvage what was left of it. We walked past EE and I said goodbye to my chance to ride it solo. Oh, well. Another time.

I think the walk gave everyone a chance to cool off a little and by the time we got to DinoLand we were ready to eat so we tried Restaurantosaurus. This place hadn't even been on my radar but it was fine. You can read more at my DR if you're interested. Although busy we got our food and found a table pretty quickly. We all liked the food and I think it gave Sam the energy he needed to keep going. He was also happy that his food came in a pail and shovel that our pack mule, uh Jamie, got to lug around all day.

After lunch it was time for our FP to ride:



None of us had ridden this ride before and we were all looking forward to it. We were quickly inside:



I took a pic of Sam with the purchase he'd made earlier when Aidan got his goofy hat. IIRC, one of the things that set him off was that he wanted a little key chain light saber that Stitch could hold. He wanted to go back for it but we wanted to get it on the way out instead of backtracking all the way to the entrance of the park.



I loved this ride. I was laughing the entire time but the boys and Jamie were not fans. Poor Aidan was terrified. When we got off the ride he said, "When I saw that big dinosaur my mouth went completely dry." I felt bad that he was scared but it was funny. Here's our ride photo:



Poor Aidan looks scared stiff and you can't even see Sammy. I'm the only one enjoying it.

On our way out of DINOSAUR we went through a gift shop where they spotted Oswald stuffies:



This was taken during the wait to meet Goofy and Pluto. This meet was really fun. Goofy offered to sign Aidan's hat which we hadn't thought of but it kicked off a hunt for signatures.







The last picture is a MM photo but I mostly prefer my photos from this meet. After this I headed over to get another FP. I considered FOTLK but I didn't think the boys would last so I got the Mickey and Minnie since the Goofy and Pluto meet had just gone so well. Well, Sam didn't really want to do either of them (shocking, I know ) but Jamie said that since I'd really wanted to see a show we should go to FOTLK and the boys could just deal with it. Gotta love that guy.

To kill a little time before the show started we grabbed an Iced Mocha for us (so good) and these for the boys:



That put a smile on Sam's face and we made it through the longish wait to get into the FOTLK theater. Our seats were fine, there probably aren't any really bad seats.

I followed the pre-show instructions and didn't take any pictures. I had my flash off for the entire trip because I prefer the natural lighting but there was an external light that went on. At the beginning of the show they asked that we don't use cameras with external lighting. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how to turn off the light. See, I told you I was helpless with my camera. So there are no pictures of the show. Sorry. I got a little more relaxed about this and took more pictures as the week went on.

We really enjoyed the show and I was happy we got to see it. That made it easy to call it a day at Animal Kingdom and head back to the hotel. It was around 3:30 and we dinner reservations at 6:15 so the timing was perfect. As we were leaving the boys made some more trades:



We didn't wait long for a bus and we were on our way back to the Yacht Club. The boys took a run down to the quiet pool - I loved our room location - while I showered for dinner.

Up next is date night at bluezoo while the boys check out Camp Dolphin.​

​

 

[Elevationist]

He was also happy that his food came in a pail and shovel that our pack mule, uh Jamie, got to lug around all day.

Poor poor Jamie.

Poor Aidan looks scared stiff and you can't even see Sammy. I'm the only one enjoying it.

Guuuurl, you need to plan a solo trip or at least a solo day with me during a family trip. We'll run around together and ride all the stuff that's "too scary" for the rest of your crew!

So there are no pictures of the show. Sorry.

I didn't take any pictures either of FotLK. With shows, sometimes I'm a total shutterbug, and other times I just want to chill out and relax and enjoy it and not worry about photos. FotLK was one of those times for me. I do think I might practice videos and do a video of it next time, though!

 

[ursalita]

A lot of people feel the same way!

Really? I thought everyone loved AK.

But... I find that ridiculously funny!

I did, too. But I didn't think most of the AK visitors would like it very much.

Okay here's what I thought.
"Cool! There's the Gor....
You can see his butt...
If you can see that, then why do the characters wear pants?
Wait. Donald doesn't.
So I guess it's okay then."

Great shots!

Thanks.

Constipated.

No wait. That's my border guard face.

Yeah. You should see the pictures I didn't post.





Nothing to see here...

Poor guy. If I think about this stuff too much I start to hate zoos.

Keep the updates coming so I can procrastinate more

Next one's up.

 

[401Disney]

I've never done FOTLK but I think we might give it a shot this trip. I've also never done Flights of Wonder either which I really want to try and squeeze in on our AK day this trip too. The Mickey bar that you gave your son to keep him happy while waiting was a great idea too. I'm a firm believer that a Mickey bar can solve all problems

 

[irene_dsc]

I was the only one in my family who liked Dinosaur, too. At least mine weren't scared, they just didn't like it that much.

I still haven't seen FOTLK. We keep watching FOW instead. Maybe someday.

 

[SarahDisney]

Okay, I'm catching up on quite a bit ...

This update and several of the posts for the first half of this day are going to be pretty heavy on the animal photos. I hope it's not too boring.

Yay! Animal pictures! I'm not a huge animal person, but I still love seeing the animal pics in TRs.

It was about this time of the day that Sammy started getting really cranky, a state he settled firmly into for most of our day at Animal Kingdom. He's really a homebody at heart. He much prefers to be at home and will often resist going out and experiencing things. He was happy at Disney but he often wanted to go "home" to the hotel. Since this was the first day of the trip I think it hit him pretty hard on this day. He did get into the routine and after a couple days he was much happier. But this day was tough.

First day of vacation is always hard because it's a change in your routine. I'm glad the got better after a couple of days!

I have mixed feelings about bats. I love seeing them come out at dusk in the summer to eat mosquitoes. But up close they are really creepy. We had one in our house when Aidan was a baby. At first I thought it was a bird but when Jamie said it was a bat I ran out of the house in terror completely forgetting the baby. Jamie came out and was like, "Are you forgetting something?" He handed Aidan to me and went back in the house to shoo it out. I appreciate bats from afar.

There's a bat ... why are you supposed to remember the baby?
I'm terrified of bats ... we skipped them last time we were there.

Jamie mentioned that the smell of the antelope must be driving the tiger crazy. The CM told us that they installed a - I can't remember what he called it - system to prevent the tiger and antelope from smelling each other. If it wasn't for that, they wouldn't be as relaxed as they are. I found that fascinating.

Thank you for sharing - that's really interesting! I never knew that, and it's pretty cool!

The birds were pretty but a couple of them dive-bombed my giant freak head.

That's one of my greatest fears about birds ... so I totally feel your pain. Birds are okay from afar ... but sometimes they just get too close!

At this point he was loudly stating his wishes for all animals to go extinct. I was mortified but also kind of happy that he used the word in the proper context.

Parenting ... it's all about seeing the silver lining.

Yay! Gorilla butt!

So cute!

On the way out I saw this guy. When he looked over at us he scooted back along the wall and crossed his arms like this.

What do you want from me??

Even though I didn't comment on every single picture, I loved all the animal pictures, and I'm glad you shared so many!

He was also happy that his food came in a pail and shovel that our pack mule, uh Jamie, got to lug around all day.

Well, sure, that's what dads are for!

To kill a little time before the show started we grabbed an Iced Mocha for us (so good)

Since I'm always on the hunt for good coffee, I gotta ask ... where was it from? Is there a kiosk near FOTLK I should be looking for?

That put a smile on Sam's face and we made it through the longish wait to get into the FOTLK theater.

Yay! Mickey Bars do solve all problems.

I had my flash off for the entire trip because I prefer the natural lighting but there was an external light that went on. At the beginning of the show they asked that we don't use cameras with external lighting. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how to turn off the light. See, I told you I was helpless with my camera.

When I first did FOTLK, I had just gotten a new phone, and I'm pretty sure there was a light on that I didn't know about pretty much the whole time (I took pictures & video). So you're a much better person than I am . But yeah, cameras are really complicated these days!

 

[pkondz]

Back in a minute... but

Yeah. You should see the pictures I didn't post.

So... NOT constipated.
Well... good for him, I guess.

 

[pkondz]

Another day, another update. Where were we?

My God woman! You're a machine!

We'd just met some gorillas and we were ready for lunch.

You're braver than I am.
I don't think I could go to lunch with some gorillas.
I'd be worried they wouldn't pay their share of the bill.

Sam was still unhappy.

Too bad.
Did you not tell him there was no crying in Disney?

Perhaps he didn't get the memo.

I was a little embarrassed but I knew if we could get some food and sit down in the A/C he'd calm down a little.

Food usually does have that affect.

But when we were standing there and looking at the menu he asked for chicken tenders.

We walked past EE and I said goodbye to my chance to ride it solo.

Aw, too bad.

He was also happy that his food came in a pail and shovel

Who wouldn't be?!?

a pail and shovel that our pack mule, uh Jamie, got to lug around all day.

Pack mule.
Yup. That's a dad.

IIRC, one of the things that set him off was that he wanted a little key chain light saber that Stitch could hold. He wanted to go back for it but we wanted to get it on the way out instead of backtracking all the way to the entrance of the park.

They don't understand "later", they only understand "now".

So did you pick it up on the way out?

Poor Aidan was terrified.

Awww...

"When I saw that big dinosaur my mouth went completely dry."

I'm really trying not to laugh here....

Yeah. Failed.

Poor Aidan looks scared stiff and you can't even see Sammy. I'm the only one enjoying it.

Sorry about that.

On our way out of DINOSAUR we went through a gift shop where they spotted Oswald stuffies:

Gotta get those.
I mean it's got to be some kind of rule in your household, right?

Jamie said that since I'd really wanted to see a show we should go to FOTLK and the boys could just deal with it. Gotta love that guy.

Atta boy.
Kids can suck it up once in a while.

Plus, I'm betting that they enjoyed the show, too.

That put a smile on Sam's face

I bet!

The boys took a run down to the quiet pool - I loved our room location - while I showered for dinner.

Ah, yes. Kids and pools.
Like metal and magnets.

Up next is date night at bluezoo while the boys check out Camp Dolphin.

Never heard of either. Should make for an interesting read!
Thanks for the update!

 

[KathyM2]

Poor Jamie...I am usually the one that gets to be the pack mule on our trips lol. I totally feel your uselessness with the camera lol...that is so me! But you did get some good pictures of animals! Your reviews gave me mixed feelings about trying Dinosaur with my DD...does it actually move a lot or is it just the dark that freaked yours out?? Mickey bars always help the situation though...Kids can be so single minded when they want something...ie: the mini light saber...it's like nothing else matters until they get it...sigh.

 

[kastoney]

Babies (cute), Gorillas (cute), BABY GORILLAS - Cutest thing over. So happy you got to experience that. Makes me itch for a visit to the zoo soon.

And love this guy

Perhaps he was reacting to Sammy's message of extinction ; )

 

[pkondz]

Perhaps he was reacting to Sammy's message of extinction ; )

 

[ursalita]

How on earth did I get 4 pages behind here? I'm an awful DIS friend!

No, you're busy. No worries.

You need to be in the photos too, lady!

I know. It's a mom thing, we put everyone else first. It doesn't set a good example so I'm trying to put myself, not first, but at least in the photos.

Was there any special stuff going on for Earth Day?

I don't know. I don't know that much about the everyday happenings but the only mention I heard about Earth Day was that time at the entrance.

If it makes you feel any better, some of that detail is brand new within the last 6 months or so, including the things in this photo, I believe.

It does make me feel better. I wondered why I didn't remember that.

A spiral that I know all too well. Wait until you see my Epcot photos... It's a hoot.

I can't wait to see them. It hasn't even rained yet in my TR so the best is yet to come.

And this is why Animal Kingdom kicks the crap out of a regular zoo. Only at Disney, man!

I can't even imagine the cost of an invisible smell fence. What does that even mean?!?

I've never seen Flights of Wonder myself, despite continuing to tell myself that I will make time for it. My aunt is a big bird person, so I'm going to make sure to do it in December with her!

It's a fun show. I hope you get a chance to do it with your aunt.

Whaaaaaaaaat?! Okay, I need to go Google this now.

I don't know if you've had a chance to google it but here's a photo:



He's the last male of the species on earth. As far as I know reproductive efforts have not been successful so I guess that's that.

Soooo your first gorilla glimpse was of of gorilla butt? Nice, dude.

Everyone's noticing the butt, I didn't even think about that. I just saw gorilla and baby.

D'awwww! BABY! I got to see the baby too, but not all close up, he was just chillin' out up on one of the hills towards the back. You're so lucky! And it's SO CUTE.

I know!! I am lucky.

Guuuurl, you need to plan a solo trip or at least a solo day with me during a family trip. We'll run around together and ride all the stuff that's "too scary" for the rest of your crew!

We totally should!

 

[ursalita]

I've never done FOTLK but I think we might give it a shot this trip. I've also never done Flights of Wonder either which I really want to try and squeeze in on our AK day this trip too. The Mickey bar that you gave your son to keep him happy while waiting was a great idea too. I'm a firm believer that a Mickey bar can solve all problems

They are both great, maybe you can make at least of them. I'd heard so much about Mickey bars and thy definitely did the trick for us.

I was the only one in my family who liked Dinosaur, too. At least mine weren't scared, they just didn't like it that much.

I still haven't seen FOTLK. We keep watching FOW instead. Maybe someday.

We were happy with FoW, we just wanted to try something different. Either way you can't go wrong.

I'm not a huge animal person, but I still love seeing the animal pics in TRs.

Thanks for saying so. I was worried that I included too many animal photos.

First day of vacation is always hard because it's a change in your routine. I'm glad the got better after a couple of days!

It really is, thank you for noticing. He's only six and it was a big change to his routine considering he's a homebody. He did well considering.

There's a bat ... why are you supposed to remember the baby?
I'm terrified of bats ... we skipped them last time we were there.

I know, right?

That's one of my greatest fears about birds ... so I totally feel your pain. Birds are okay from afar ... but sometimes they just get too close!

I feel that way about squirrels.

Parenting ... it's all about seeing the silver lining.

So true.

What do you want from me??

Even though I didn't comment on every single picture, I loved all the animal pictures, and I'm glad you shared so many!

That's why I love them so much. That expression is so "human." It seemed like he saw us and then copped an attitude. E]

Since I'm always on the hunt for good coffee, I gotta ask ... where was it from? Is there a kiosk near FOTLK I should be looking for?

We grabbed the iced coffee from Kusafiri Coffee Shop. The Mickey Bars were from a nearby cart.

Yay! Mickey Bars do solve all problems.

They're magical!

So you're a much better person than I am .

Not really. I stopped caring as the days went on.

 

[ursalita]

My God woman! You're a machine!

I just really love writing about Disney. The kids are fine. I'm pretty sure.

You're braver than I am.
I don't think I could go to lunch with some gorillas.
I'd be worried they wouldn't pay their share of the bill.

Did you not tell him there was no crying in Disney?

Perhaps he didn't get the memo.

He was beyond that.

They don't understand "later", they only understand "now".

So did you pick it up on the way out?

Of course. We're not complete idiots.

Gotta get those.
I mean it's got to be some kind of rule in your household, right?

We love Oswald. The boys love the story of how he got stolen from Disney.

Atta boy.
Kids can suck it up once in a while.

Plus, I'm betting that they enjoyed the show, too.

They did. I try not to give in to ever little thing.

Ah, yes. Kids and pools.
Like metal and magnets.

Poor Jamie...I am usually the one that gets to be the pack mule on our trips lol. I totally feel your uselessness with the camera lol...that is so me! But you did get some good pictures of animals! Your reviews gave me mixed feelings about trying Dinosaur with my DD...does it actually move a lot or is it just the dark that freaked yours out?? Mickey bars always help the situation though...Kids can be so single minded when they want something...ie: the mini light saber...it's like nothing else matters until they get it...sigh.

It moves a lot in addition to being dark.

Babies (cute), Gorillas (cute), BABY GORILLAS - Cutest thing over. So happy you got to experience that. Makes me itch for a visit to the zoo soon.

And love this guy

Perhaps he was reacting to Sammy's message of extinction ; )

I love them so much, especially their human characteristics.

 

[pkondz]

I just really love writing about Disney. The kids are fine. I'm pretty sure.

Oh, yeah. They're fine.

Keep writing.

Of course. We're not complete idiots.

I try not to give in to ever little thing.

Like trying not to give in to throttling the children?

 

[ksl5f123]

Wow! I missed so many updates!! So, let me go back -
Sorry about the sunscreen. I hate wasting money so I would have been very upset. The strange things they have decided are "liquid".
Your room looks gorgeous and such a nice view too!
LOL about the "rule breaking" at the pool. We have broken plenty of Disney rules in our day. Oops.
I think you can feel the fire at Illuminations all around WS but it looks like you got a nice clear view from the FP location. What a nice way to start your vacation!
So happy that your boys liked Kali! I wish I could get all of mine on it.
Great safari pictures! It looks like lots of the animals were out for you.
There is a baby gorilla? How did I not know that? Great pictures!

I can't wait to hear how you felt about bluezoo. I might need to go find your dining report.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

oh no - sorry they didn't like Dinosaur either ... but at least lunch worked out. I do like the idea of the kids meals coming in the sand buckets. I think a lot people get that and then go use them in the bone yard dig site

The Oswals plushes are cute and that is cool that you got Goofy's signature on a Goofy hat

Probably didn't go exactly as you planned but seems like you got in what you wanted at AK and had a nice afternoon before your dinner

 

[ursalita]

Day 2
Animal Kingdom Part 6

At about 5:30 we started heading out for our dinner date at bluezoo. It was a beautiful night and I'd just straightened my hair so I wanted to get a picture of just Jamie and me. I was trying to figure out who I could ask to take our picture when it occurred to me.

Aidan could take our photo.

So I found a good spot and handed the camera to Aidan. Jamie and I got in position and I was trying to teach Aidan how to use the camera. It sounded something like this: "Turn the thingy and then press that doohickey right there."

A nice man walking by overheard my word vomit, took pity on us, and offered to take the photo. Aidan had pretty much figured it out so we let him take it. The man stepped in and took his photo taking the time to get the boat in the background. He was really nice, saying Aidan's photo would be just as good. What do you guys think? I like both of them.





Aidan's is my favorite.

We continued our walk over to the Dolphin. I took some photos along the way.





It really doesn't look like a dolphin at all. These buildings are just so ugly. The giant clam shell fountains are ridiculous. Maybe it's because I was coming from the beautiful and tastefully themed Disney resort but I didn't like it at all.

We explored the inside of the hotel a little because we had some trouble finding the camp. We went up the escalator and followed signs to Guest Services so we could ask someone. There were large desks with spots for several employees to assist people but there wasn't anybody at the desks. It was a ghost town. We finally found someone with a name tag who directed us.

Despite a few complaints from Aidan about having to play with babies both boys immediately found something that interested them (video games ). I filled out some paperwork and they gave us a card to show the server so we would get credit for ordering entrees at bluezoo. We received two free hours of babysitting for each meal so the babysitting was FREE! Plus they took the boys over to the quick service restaurant Picabu for dinner.

Once they were settled in we headed here:




Dinner was amazing. I wrote more about it in my DR (link in my signature). Our server Greg was a lot of fun and the food was delicious. I told Jamie I wanted to ask Greg to take our picture since I was still feeling good about the hair and we don't have any recent photos together. He wasn't into it because he thought it was too touristy and I didn't push.

At the end of the meal I saw another server taking a photo of the couple at his table. So I turned to J and said, "I understand not asking for a picture if we were dining in Providence but this is Disney World. Everyone here is a tourist." He consented and Greg snapped this photo:



I love it!

After we finished we headed over to grab the boys. The walk over took us past Picabu and we saw the group of kids still having dinner. They didn't see us and they seemed to be enjoying themselves so we took a walk around the hotel. We passed by the bar and decided to have a quick drink. When I sat down I heard a strong Boston accent at my left and we ended up talking to them about the miserable winter we had.

Then Jamie realized he hadn't gotten the itemized receipt. He'd shown the card to Greg in the beginning who'd told us to give it to him when we settled the bill but we forgot. He went down to get the receipt while I continued to chat with the couple we'd met. It seemed like almost everyone at Disney this week was from New England. I saw so many Red Sox caps and Patriots shirts if it wasn't for the weather I'd have thought I was still in Rhode Island.

When Jamie got back we headed back to the camp and by this time they were finished with dinner. Just as we were walking up to the door Sammy burst out. It was clear he was really upset. Jamie went running after him while I settled up with the staff at the camp. As expected it was free but I was sure to leave them a generous tip. Aidan didn't want to leave so I knew it was a successful night.

I was slightly concerned that Sam had run out before any of the camp staff had noticed him. I knew that the door was locked to prevent anyone from entering but he was able to slip out the door quite easily. If we hadn't been there Sammy probably wouldn't have gone far and someone would have caught up with him but you never know. He's not cautious and he often ventures further out on his own than I'm comfortable with.

Aidan and I met up with them outside and we got the story of his hasty exit from Camp Dolphin. This will forever be known as the "Jim" incident. Apparently there was another little boy named "Jim" who Sammy was playing video games with. It sounds like Sam was winning all the games and then "Jim" won one so Sam ran out of the room in hysterics. The whole way home we listened to Sam tell us how he was supposed to be the winner and how much he didn't like "Jim" anymore.

It was so funny listening to Sammy's tale of woe and Aidan trying so hard to make him feel better. This was just a tired kid who had reached his limit for the day. I did manage to take some photos during our walk back. I know I wasn't kind when I described the look of these hotels but I liked this view at night:



I still prefer my Yacht Club.






We headed up to the room and the boys changed into their suits and headed down to the quiet pool for a dip. I sat on the balcony and wrote up some notes about the day. I could hear Illuminations in the distance and the boys down at the pool talking about the animals they'd seen at Animal Kingdom that day. It was a beautiful night and I wrote at the end of my notes for the day, "I am so happy!" I wish I could bottle that feeling.

I got this picture of the boys as they headed in for the night:



What a great way to end the night!

Here is where I compare the day to the plan before the trip. From my PTR a few days before we left:

Wednesday, April 22 - AK

We are going to try to get to the park as early as possible because they have EMH at 8am. I have FP for Kali River Rapids at 9:05, Safari at 10:40, and Dinosaur at 12:30. I'm hoping to grab some coffee and a bite to eat and hit the safari first thing before our first FP. We were hoping to have lunch at Flame Tree but it looks like it will still be closed so we'll probably do Yak and Yeti. Some things we want to accomplish on this day: Flights of Wonder, all animal trails/treks, FOTLK, and Finding Nemo. We'll do as much as we can but will have to leave the park fairly early because we have dinner reservations at bluezoo and plans for the boys to spend that time at Camp Dolphin.

Not as good as day one but I was pretty close considering Sam's mood. We didn't even try to get in the extra safari between breakfast and Kali. Lunch was not where we planned but we enjoyed it. We missed FoW and Nemo but I think I meant to say FOTLK or Nemo so really we just missed FoW.

Tomorrow we go to Magic Kingdom.

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