Yetis, Cannolis, and Mango Green Tea-A WILD NIGHT AT ANIMAL KINGDOM PAGE 38 NEW 1/16

[WDWHeather]

Ah... Day 2... Sleeping in... Until 7:00 am that is.
RING....RING....
Man, I hate that telephone! Of course Ladle doesn't get up to answer it. I jump out of bed and pick up the phone. "Hello," I say, but nothing comes out. My voice is still asleep! So of course there is no Mickey, or at the very least, Stitch. ::clears throat:: "Hello!" I say again, this time getting some actual sound out. Still nothing! "HELLO!" I said one more time still with no answer. If I didn't want to hear Mickey Mouse wake me up every morning, I would just set the alarm on my own cell phone and wake up to some catchy tune! I think me and the wake-up call are going into battle. "Until tomorrow, wake-up call!"

Why didn't we get up at the crack of dawn today? Well, there were no parks open early! ::gasp:: I know, I know! However, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon are open early beginning at 9:00 am. Our target this morning: Blizzard Beach. Ladle and I get up and dig out our swimsuits. Upon putting them on, we realize we really should have worked out before we left home... We throw some clothes on over our suits and all head down to breakfast. I again went with the Rice Krispies/banana option. The rest of the family had hot food options since it was past 7:00 am. You'll notice a trend here, I don't do well eating a lot of food so early, hence my cereal mornings.

After breakfast, we went back to the room to drop off our POP mugs and to slather that protective tanning oil on. It was not looking good outside. It was kind of grey, a little windy and not exactly a HOT morning. I was concerned. We got in line for the bus and decided that if it was really miserable when we got there, we'd come back and change our plans. Well, on our way there, the sun came out and it was looking up for us. There were so few people there that day that it was very easy to find lounge chairs on the "beach." For those of you who have gone to the water parks when they're crowded, you know how difficult this can be. We staked out a place and left our towels there. We shoved our clothes in a locker and we were off.

Let me digress just for a moment so that I may talk about our footwear. Now, in the past, we have burned our feet walking across the extensive water parks to try to get to certain slides and rides, etc. Not only that, but there are always treacherous objects on the ground such as bugs and spiny bush branches. This year, we decided to invest in some water shoes which we found at Target for $5.00 each. Yes, for a mere $5.00, you too can protect your feet from the elements. Mine were a lovely shade of hot pink, of course. These are not a new invention, but here is a picture so you can be familiar with it.


Now, it was time for the most frightening part of the entire vacation: the ski lift ride up the top of Mount Gushmore! That life is positively frightening! However, you must ride it to ride some of those great rides up there. Well, you could take the stairs, but I did that once, and I would not recommend it. Anyway, we made up there safe and sound and headed over to Teamboat Springs. This is a great ride! It's one of the world's longest raft rides and the whole family can ride. The water was a little chilly, but it was still fun. We got to the bottom and got back on the life so we could ride it again.
This image is borrowed from the DisneyWorld website:


For some reason, we have always had a hard time navigating around BB. This time, we decided we'd find some of those slides we've been looking for. Well, we followed the signs, novel concept I know, and ended up at the Toboggan Racers. This is where you grab a purple raft and race face first down the hill. Man, this was so much fun! You really pick up some speed on that puppy! We did that a couple times because it was so much fun. Then Ladle and I headed to the wave pool while Sally Shine and Garco decided to ride the toboggans another time before laying in the sun.

The wave pool is really where those water shoes, or beach socks as they are called at Target, came in handy. I'm always worried about tearing my feet to shreds in those wave pools because they texture the bottom of the pool so no one slips. Well, once again, our water shoes saved our feet! Ladle and I had so much fun there. Although, we did end up at the very back where the wave originates, got caught in between two waves crashing against each other, and couldn't stop laughing, therefore swallowing a lot of water, and upping the drowning potential. But, it was okay because we were able to get back to where our feet fully touch the bottom and everything was just fine. We got out and laid in the sun for a little bit, but we were getting hungry so it was time for us to go.

Back at POP, we changed into some dry clothes and went down to eat. We had never had any other meal at POP except breakfast before this. Strange? Yes. So we wanted to try it. Ladle and I split the Mediterranean Flatbread and a Sun Dried Tomato Calzone. The Flatbread was very tasty with a light marinara sauce, artichoke, kalamata olives, chicken, feta cheese, and I think I saw and tasted capers. It was quite tasty and very strong. The calzone was much milder with a tomato cheese blend inside and some marinara sauce on the side. Also very tasty. Sally Shine had a big bowl of chicken soup which was chocked full of vegetables and she said it was very good. Garco had a huge Caesar Salad which he said was also very good. We were pleased over all.

Up next: Well, I don't remember... that's why we keep itineraries, people!

[Disneyolic]

Fun day! Yes, everyone has water moccasins here so we're all set. Although I'm not going to BB but DH and boys are.

I just love your pictures from this day....such lovely shots! You better watch out or we may need to "spice up" this thread....

[DisneyJo]

BB is our favourite waterpark especially the family raft ride and we are so buying those water shoes this year as in August you have to walk up all those steps or wait about an hour to ride the chair lift Great day

DM this thread is fine as it is thanks

[WDWHeather]

Originally Posted by Disneyolic

Fun day! Yes, everyone has water moccasins here so we're all set. Although I'm not going to BB but DH and boys are.

I just love your pictures from this day....such lovely shots! You better watch out or we may need to "spice up" this thread....

I don't know why but I'm seriously lacking in pictures from the first few days of our trip. Usually I'm a picture taking maniac but not this time. So strange. I'm worried about your idea of "spice."

[WDWHeather]

Originally Posted by DisneyJo

BB is our favourite waterpark especially the family raft ride and we are so buying those water shoes this year as in August you have to walk up all those steps or wait about an hour to ride the chair lift Great day

DM this thread is fine as it is thanks

Ooh, those shoes would really help! And you can wear them on the raft ride and the toboggans. I don't know about the others, but I'm guessing it's allowed there too. That way, you don't have to hold them while you're on the ride or anything.

Yes, we don't need hillbillies on this thread too!

[puggymom]

I love water shoes/socks. WOn't go to a water park without them. But an FYI, on slides like summit plummet you have to hold them when on the slide. I had that happen to me at TL this trip.

Anywho, a great update. The POP food court sounds pretty good. You are making me hungry.

And DM, I agree with Jo, this thread is fine the way it is.

[WDWHeather]

Originally Posted by puggymom

I love water shoes/socks. WOn't go to a water park without them. But an FYI, on slides like summit plummet you have to hold them when on the slide. I had that happen to me at TL this trip.

Anywho, a great update. The POP food court sounds pretty good. You are making me hungry.

And DM, I agree with Jo, this thread is fine the way it is.

I'm too chicken to go on summit plummet! If I ever do brave it, I'll remember about the shoes though.

I think I made myself hungry talking about it!

Yes! Another vote that my thread is a-ok!

[Disneyolic]

Originally Posted by WDWHeather

I don't know why but I'm seriously lacking in pictures from the first few days of our trip. Usually I'm a picture taking maniac but not this time. So strange. I'm worried about your idea of "spice."

Just to set the record straight...I was just joking! I would not do that to your thread. I love it the way it is (except more pictures please ).

[WDWHeather]

Originally Posted by Disneyolic

Just to set the record straight...I was just joking! I would not do that to your thread. I love it the way it is (except more pictures please ).

Oh I know, but what's some good natured joking without some given right back!
There's more pictures on the latter half of the trip, so you just sit tight!

[Disneyolic]

Originally Posted by WDWHeather

Oh I know, but what's some good natured joking without some given right back!
There's more pictures on the latter half of the trip, so you just sit tight!

You see here..the thing is that I can dish it out but can receive it!

[WDWHeather]

Originally Posted by Disneyolic

You see here..the thing is that I can dish it out but can receive it!

Okay, well, I'll keep that in my mind so I remember.

[Spartangirl]

Great update! I think we're going to have to get water shoes for our next trip.....smart idea!

The food doesn't sound too bad at POP........we've only tried it during breakfast time.

[WDWHeather]

Originally Posted by Spartangirl

Great update! I think we're going to have to get water shoes for our next trip.....smart idea!

The food doesn't sound too bad at POP........we've only tried it during breakfast time.

They really did have a lot of options at lunch. We were surprised. Everything we ate was tasty. They had the popular stand-bys like hot dogs and such, but we wanted to try something different. Now we know that we wouldn't go hungry if we were stranded there.

[englishrose47]

Pop's Food Court was great we also tried the chicken mediteraneam flatbread1 The steak wraps were good too! My fav. was the crusted chicken which you could either get with a salad or alfredo both with breadstick!

[pooksma]

More please! I NEED to know about the line!