3,298 miles, 10 breweries, and 1 Mega Meet - a July '16 Trip Report *New 6/5/17 - Link to new TR!*

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm so glad you had a great Chef Mickey's experience! Your welcome picture came out so nice and I love all the character pictures!

Nice being able to squeeze in some more MK fun before calling it a day!

Overall CM definitely exceeded our expectations - actually, it is kinda funny in that the food way exceeded our expectations and the characters were definitely good - but not "OMG AMAXING!!!" or anything - which going in, if I was going to feel positive about CM, I would have guessed it would have been that the characters were amazing. (again, they were definitely good - just not above and beyond)

I love all the parks at night so good to get some more time there then!

Glad you enjoyed Chef Mickey's and it's nice to see a positive review. We've eaten there twice, although it's been quite a few years. Neither time was bad and the kids were young so enjoyed the characters; we just quickly found other character meals we preferred. Now they aren't really into the characters and if anyone asks me for a character meal suggestion I do usually say Tusker over CM, but we have friends who do CM every summer and love it. I guess the important thing, especially when it's your first time there, is that the kids enjoy it and the character experience is good, since that's what you're really paying for!

I think that is how we felt about it - that we enjoyed CMs - just there are other places we liked better. But I am glad we went and got to experience it and if someone really wanted to go there again a few trips down the line I wouldn't' object

Definitely getting to see the full "Fab 5" is a selling point for the meal and the characters are definitely good there

I feel like people either love or hate Chef Mickeys. While it's not my cup of tea (just too expensive for the quality served) I'm glad to see you enjoyed your meal. That drink Judi got looked tasty, and all the pictures of the kids were great. Even Emma not wanting to get too close. Her happiness over the cupcake was great.

Hey, a ride on 7Dwarves to end the evening. And the teacups. See, you ended up on more than just Thunder. (My first trip with a baby, I only rode 3 attractions a day, so I started judging a parenting trip to Disney as a success if 3 rides were accomplished.)
Olivia's reaction on 7DMT is awesome. She seemed to be having a blast.

I think I am one of the odd ones that is a bit in the middle on CMs. The food definitely was better than I expected - but it still is very hectic and very expensive. So I am glad we did it and would be willing to do it int he future - but there are definitely places (including other character meals) we like better

haha, yeah, did get on 3 rides so not too bad! Olivia had a great time - she definitely felt a lot of the roller coasters were her favorite rides this trip

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed Chef Mickey's! I've definitely read mixed reviews, but the food looks decent, and I'm guessing that the characters are what make the meal truly special.

Looks like you guys had a fun night at MK. Olivia certainly looks like she was having fun on Mine Train. I'm glad you were able to get rider swaps so that Peter would get a chance to ride during the day!

I think it is the characters and being in the main atrium area of the Contemporary that make CM so popular ... just feels very "Disney" to be eating with the Fab 5 while monorails going by, etc. Food ws definitely decent - I'd say even above that as there were some unique items for a buffet and everything was warm, etc. Not the greatest ever but certainly better than I was expecting

Olivia had a great time on Mine Train! And definitely appreciate having Emma so we can get rider swaps - hopes with some of the big rides and getting on them more than once

I'm so excited to try Chef Mickey's for dinner! We did breakfast, but this is the 2nd report I've read tonight with dinner, and it looks great!

I've read a lot of positive - but also a lot of negative - reviews of CM's so I had fiarly lowe expectations (at least as far as the food) - but I really thought it was pretty good - really hope you enjoy it!!!

What a fun ending to your day! I love how thrilled the kids are to meet Pluto in that video-mine are now entering a "no character" phase and I miss that excitement. We also like to take the train as a way to avoid crowds-- fun AND efficient! Your evening on Mine Train looks like so much fun-- hope Peter gets to enjoy a ride in the daylight!

I am glad they are still happy about the characters and it was fun to come across that video when putting this update together. Hopefully I can eek out a few more years of them being into the characters (Olivia did comment to us yesterday that she isn't sure if Santa is real or not - so I think the end is in sight)

We love the train - and Peter loves trains and my Dad was really into them so I feel like this almost connects them a bit (my dad passes away before any of my kids were born) - and spoiler alert, but Peter did get on the Mine Train in the day time and really liked it

 

[khertz]

The podcast taping was so much fun! I really loved seeing the podcast crew doing their thing in person instead of just listening in my car while driving to work. Those videos they showed while waiting were fantastic. I still laugh when I think of the one of Corey, Will, and Craig riding Mater's Junkyard Jamboree!

The bartender told us one story from the Adventurer's Club where someone contacted them about proposing during one of the late night shows - so they had it all set up and she and other servers were set with confetti, etc. During the process the girl realized what was about to happen and started shaking her head no at the guy but he didn't pick up the signal and went forward with the proposal but the girl said no ... so the staff had to figure out how to move the show along, etc.

Not good, not good.

What a great evening after the taping! Lots of MK time, and a great meal at Chef Mickey's. We haven't eaten there since breakfast on our first trip with DS. Never done dinner, but the breakfast was good. Lots of variety on the buffet and great character interaction.

 

[Imagineer5]

So glad you had a great experience at CM!! It was Dugette's first time at CM this trip and I think we all really enjoyed it (well minus Maya). Food was good and lots of options (I don't think we saw sushi though?). Loved the pic with Minnie!

fun time back in MK and good idea to hop on the train to Storybook area. We have a story to tell you on 7DMT and it involves Aria & Izzy riding together!! haha. Speaking of that, I don't remember seeing that ride photo in photopass? I'll have to look for it.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The podcast taping was so much fun! I really loved seeing the podcast crew doing their thing in person instead of just listening in my car while driving to work. Those videos they showed while waiting were fantastic. I still laugh when I think of the one of Corey, Will, and Craig riding Mater's Junkyard Jamboree!

Not good, not good.

What a great evening after the taping! Lots of MK time, and a great meal at Chef Mickey's. We haven't eaten there since breakfast on our first trip with DS. Never done dinner, but the breakfast was good. Lots of variety on the buffet and great character interaction.

It was fun to be at the taping - I enjoyed watching the production team do their thing too ... even Ryno having to craw under the table to get some wires working properly (and of course Pete commenting that this is so Ryno can be his footstool)

Yeah, definitely not good - and the way she was describing it was the CMs could see her shaking her head during it signalling him to stop but he didn't notice or ignored so it was almost like knowing a car was going to crash and then watching it crash

Definitely a fun evening! The buffet area itself wasn't huge but I did think there was good variety and not just the typical buffet stuff so that was nice. Definitely glad we we tried CM!

So glad you had a great experience at CM!! It was Dugette's first time at CM this trip and I think we all really enjoyed it (well minus Maya). Food was good and lots of options (I don't think we saw sushi though?). Loved the pic with Minnie!

fun time back in MK and good idea to hop on the train to Storybook area. We have a story to tell you on 7DMT and it involves Aria & Izzy riding together!! haha. Speaking of that, I don't remember seeing that ride photo in photopass? I'll have to look for it.

I too am glad we had a good experience at CM! Glad you all (minus Maya) enjoyed it as well - I am sure it is a bit nerve rackign suggesting a place to someone and fearful they might not like it ... so very glad Duggette did enjoy it. The sushi was probably the weakest part of the buffet so you didn't miss much there. Especially with the great sushi they have at California Grill or Kona

Interesting about Izzy and Aria riding together - definitely want to hear that story!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 47: At Disney - Day 5: Animal Kingdom​

Tusker House Breakfast​

After another full day at Disney we were up earlyish again for a pre-park opening ADR - this time at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom. After we got them ready Peter and Emma decided they needed a bit more beauty sleep and weren't quite ready to head out:

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But we did get up and going and were at the Animal Kingdom Parking lot at about 7:45am. As we got out of the car the CM parking attendant directed us to the walking path in the parking lot and invited us to see our first attraction/animal - the Cranes!

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It was pretty cool to see the construction going on and even then Pandora was coming along nicely (well, at least the floating islands, couldn't speak to the rides/inside parts). One thing that struck me was how you could see the show buildings from the parking lot ... not sure if they will cover them with rock work/plant work or something before it officially opens or not

One reason we like the pre-park opening ADRs is to get some family photos done with little to no crowds. So we were a bit bummed that there weren't any photopass photographers out. Fortunately another family was taking pictures by the Tree of Life so we traded off taking pictures so we each got full-family pictures.

Peter was still a but grumpy at this time

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After this we headed towards Tusker House and checked in. Still a little bummed that they took away the picture with Donald out front - but at least he still comes around to the tables.

I was one of those people stalking the Rivers of Light Dining Package thread with hopes of booking a package so we could get guaranteed seats for the show, knowing we would be eating at Tusker House anyway. Well, we obviously know that the show did not open in time for our trip (and I can't believe it is now December and we still don't know when it will open). We decided to go ahead and do the dining package for the Jungle Book: Alive with Magic show - again, since we were eating here anyway figured why not. One piece of evidence that this truly was viewed as a temporary show is that they stamped our receipt with "ROL" to use as our pass for the dining package seating for the show. Come on Disney, you can't even afford $3 for a "JB" stamp? #ThanksShanghai

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We were seating in the back of the room around to the right as you come in - it worked out as we could see when the characters were coming, though it would often take them a while to get through all the tables before us (sometimes having a break in-between entering the room and getting to our table). But overall it was fine. There weren't any characters close so we decided to get food first - and this is our favorite buffet so lots of good stuff to get!

First the kids plates- Peter and Olivia's and then Emma. Peter does love hard-boiled eggs so he was excited they had those. Emma made the smart decision to focus on the Krispy Kreme Donut Holes

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Then Judi and mine. I really love all the options here especially some of the more unique African-themed items. I am not a huge ham person but I love the ham with the spicy sauce they have here

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Then the characters started to come and we had some fun interactions - and Emma was much more open to meeting them. First was Donald ... and then they did one of the conga line party things, so that delayed the rest of the characters a bit - but Olivia and Peter were into the party part so that was good ... Peter seems to be doing some sort of interpretive dance in this picture

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Ah, nothing better than seeing your kids hug each other at Walt Disney World - and people wonder why we keep coming back!

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Then Daisy came by and the girls loved meeting her:

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Then Mickey came by and he was great - even got a high five from Emma! Then it got a bit funny (and sort of frustrating at the time) as our server asked to take a picture of our entire family with Mickey which was great - except she just could not get a picture she was happy with so she kept trying different options with the camera and asked us to move to avoid glare, etc. Mickey was playfully getting frustrated at her with how long it was taking (at least I think it was playful). So after I checked and we had about 20+ pictures taken with Mickey. Definitely nice to have a good one though and I am appreciative that she didn't just take a quick one and not check if it was good or not

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We hadn't seen Goofy yet, but we saw him last night and I think we were all ready to go (and we wanted to get to the Safari early) so we decided to head out - very full and ready for the day. We all had gotten Jungle Juice to drink and Judi and I also got coffee. We were loving our server as she brought us "to-go" cups so we could take some coffee with us as we left (so we could be even more ready for the day )

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Coming up - a solid safari trip!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 48: At Disney - Day 5: Animal Kingdom​

A Miscast Safari Driver​

In the past we have used one of our FP for the Safari for early in the morning as we have had good experience with the animals being active early. This was our first trip since they had started the evening safari and we wanted to check that out and ensure we could still get to our viewing of the Jungle Book show. Plus I had read that the best time was right at about actual sunset so we booked a FP for that time. But we still wanted to do the early safari so we went right there after finishing up breakfast and encountered only a 10 minute wait, so not too bad

The wait actually took a little longer than that just because the trucks seemed to be coming in packs and there was a decent gap between those packs (not sure if this was just because it was early or because an animal had been on the trail that created the gap or what). But it wasn't too bad. First a quick selfie before we were off!

So I am sure everyone has seen a million pictures from the safari so I figured I would just post a few that I liked and/or were of new animals to us ... don't worry, will include a picture of a giraffe as is required by Disney law

So first good picture of was a bird and then we saw the painted dogs which were new to us - didn't get any great pictures but they are definitely cool to watch and they were very active

And then the required giraffe picture. I know I joke about it but I think the giraffes are the consistently one of the highlights of the safari - they are just so neat to watch and very often get close to the trucks so you can get a good view of them

Then a Wildebeest and and an Elephant

I always try to get a picture of where the flamingos are as the island they hang out on is a hidden Mickey (didn't get the best shot this trip)

Didn't get the best lion pictures this trip - but one decent shot of the male lion with his head up at least. And then one of the white rhino - we would have a much more interesting encouter with him on our second safari ride (how's that for a tease?!?!?)

So I should explain about the title of this chapter. Our truck driver for this safari was ... interesting. While he said he had been driving on this attraction for years it really seemed like he would rather be driving a boat in the Jungle Cruise over in Magic Kingdom and he made a ton of jokes (including some puns that they use on the the Jungle Cruise). As someone who has done the safari before and also someone who really enjoys the jungle cruise I found him entertaining and just gave a different spin to the safari. However, at times he would use the same tone with the puns as he did with actual facts so I could see being a bit confused if this was your first time on the safari.

So while it wasn't our best experience with active animals, it was a memorable ride.

After the ride we did take a walk over to see the gorillas - I find them very fascinating to watch

We then headed towards our next destination/next FP. On the way I made sure to get a picture of the "Hidden Fellow" (apparently "Fichwa" translates to "hidden" - so I love how there is a sort of "hidden Mickey" where the word "hidden" is hidden by being in another language .... I just love all the details to Animal Kingdom). The kids also had fun playing on the little car they have set up (I find these vehicles interesting as they are apparently very dangerous but extremely inexpensive so that is why people use them. I work in insurance and we had a team do a project on finding a more safe alternative that we could fund a bit to make them competitively priced and then would make up the savings by the insurance losses being much lower)

Coming up next - does Olivia enjoy Expedition Everest more this time than last trip? Oh, and lots for food and drinks!

TTFN

 

[SarahDisney]

One piece of evidence that this truly was viewed as a temporary show is that they stamped our receipt with "ROL" to use as our pass for the dining package seating for the show. Come on Disney, you can't even afford $3 for a "JB" stamp? #ThanksShanghai

I actually laughed out loud at this. Apparently Disney can't afford anything anymore. #ThanksShanghai

I love your pictures from Tusker House! It definitely looks like the kids were having fun, and I love that the CM made sure to get a good picture with Mickey!

Even without so many animals being active, you got some good pictures. And your legally required giraffe picture is excellent.

I'll have to hunt down that "hidden" Mickey on my next trip - I don't think I've ever seen it (we tend to not spend much time at AK). Animal Kingdom is definitely a good place for them to use other languages to have hidden Mickeys /

 

[rteetz]

Avatar construction has come so far. Both cranes are now gone.

Anyways great photos in front of the tree!

I really enjoy Tusker House, it's probably my favorite character breakfast. That ROL stamp is pretty funny. You'd think with all the add ons they could afford a stamp.

Looks like you had a great safari. I'm not sure if you can really have a bad safari.

 

[Imagineer5]

We loved the sunset-timed Safari, as we always do it first thing in the morning too. Nice breakfast at Tusker (did they not even do the outside photopass pic anymore?). This is the 2nd report mentioning no Photopass early in the morning at AK, boo! Interesting about those cheap cars. I was sad to miss the Pangani trail this trip and not see the gorillas

 

[missangelalexis]

Nice pictures in front of the tree! That does stink that there were no photographers out.

Sounds like a great breakfast, love all the character pictures! And I love the jungle juice they have there..so good!

Great safari pics! I agree, you can always count on seeing the giraffes on the safari! I think your lion shot came out great!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I actually laughed out loud at this. Apparently Disney can't afford anything anymore. #ThanksShanghai

I love your pictures from Tusker House! It definitely looks like the kids were having fun, and I love that the CM made sure to get a good picture with Mickey!

Even without so many animals being active, you got some good pictures. And your legally required giraffe picture is excellent.

I'll have to hunt down that "hidden" Mickey on my next trip - I don't think I've ever seen it (we tend to not spend much time at AK). Animal Kingdom is definitely a good place for them to use other languages to have hidden Mickeys /

It took my by surprise that they used the ROL stamp - really showed me how they fully expected the real show to have been ready by then and that Jungle Book was just a placeholder ... but seriously, the optic were just bad - if you don't want to spend the $3 for a new stamp then just have the CM use a sharpie and write "JB" on it or something

We all enjoy Tusker House for breakfast. I love that they have the unique food options but also plenty of the the standard fair so the kids definitely get enough to eat and it is fun seeing Mickey, Donald, etc. in their safari gear - one of our favorite Character Meals!

Thank you - I do try with my giraffe pictures!

I love AK as there are so many details to it. Along with World Showcase it is my favorite to just walk around and enjoy the scenery. I just though it was a fun take on the "hidden Mickey" idea (might also be because this trip Olivia really got into the Hidden Mickey thing)

Avatar construction has come so far. Both cranes are now gone.

Anyways great photos in front of the tree!

I really enjoy Tusker House, it's probably my favorite character breakfast. That ROL stamp is pretty funny. You'd think with all the add ons they could afford a stamp.

Looks like you had a great safari. I'm not sure if you can really have a bad safari.

I saw your link about that with the cranes gone - that is definitely exciting to read about. I am very excited for Pandora!

We too love Tusker House - just good food (both exotic and domestic) and good characters and just a fun vibe

I think you can only have really amazing and lesser amazing safaris (I think our evening one was a bit better - definitely a bit more memorable!)

We loved the sunset-timed Safari, as we always do it first thing in the morning too. Nice breakfast at Tusker (did they not even do the outside photopass pic anymore?). This is the 2nd report mentioning no Photopass early in the morning at AK, boo! Interesting about those cheap cars. I was sad to miss the Pangani trail this trip and not see the gorillas

I knew I wanted to try the evening/night safari just as it was something new to do - but glad we got the morning ride in as well.

I forget exactly when they stopped, I think at least a year ago though, but definitely no picture out front of TH anymore.

I was a bit bummed about the no photopass photographers - very glad there was that other family there that we could take turns getting pictures of each other!

Bummer about no gorillas!

Nice pictures in front of the tree! That does stink that there were no photographers out.

Sounds like a great breakfast, love all the character pictures! And I love the jungle juice they have there..so good!

Great safari pics! I agree, you can always count on seeing the giraffes on the safari! I think your lion shot came out great!

Thanks! I was a bit bummed about not Photopass photographers being out as getting those photos is one reason we book the pre-park opening ADRs

The juice is excellent at Tusker House! definitely one of our favorite breakfasts!

Thank you! I got a fun lion pick during the sunset safari .... ooh, another tease!

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I still think your kid are the most adorable on the planet! Still very much enjoying your report!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I still think your kid are the most adorable on the planet! Still very much enjoying your report!

Thanks so much Heidi!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 49: At Disney - Day 5: Animal Kingdom
Does Olivia re-conquer Expedition Everest?​

After our Safari we headed towards our next FP+ destination ... on the way we stopped for a family picture at one of my favorite spots (peter still wasn't feeling pictures - I think he was starting to get a bit hot and cranky. I then tried to get a picture of the shrine matching up directly with the Everest Peaks

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We then walked towards Everest and this gave us our first real view of the new stadium that was to be for Rivers of Light but at this time was for the Jungle Book Show. I did notice they had some of the Lotus Flowers for Rivers of Light out for testing (silly me, thinking that meant that Rivers of Light must be opening soon then! )

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We then arrived at our destination!

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Some of you may remember from my August 2014 trip report that Olivia was just tall enough to ride this and gave it a try, but decided that she didn't really like it because it made her cheeks shake too much:

(Olivia - Aug 2014)​

So we weren't 100% sure if she would be willing to ride it again but she was very excited to try it again. I went with her first, and then Judi rode with her using Peter's MB

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There doesn't appear to be any more track!

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So the verdict? She loved it! I look a bit board and Judi of course takes the best ride photo of all of us

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While Judi was riding with Olivia I took the opportunity to get some drinks by the nearby stand (the Thirsty River Bar & Trek Snacks) - as it was starting to get pretty hot. I got myself a beer (Kingfisher) and for Judi got the Himalayan Ghost (Snow Leopard Vodka, Guava, and Odwalla® Lemonade). Once Judi got back and saw the options, apparently I picked wrong so we went back and got her a Khumba Icefall (Cruzan Guava Rum blended with Coconut and Raspberry Pureé) and also a non-alcoholic drink for the kids - a Flying Yak (Mango Pureé blended with Coconut Water and Pineapple Juice)

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Judi wasn't going to let that first drink go to waste though:

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Emma was in a good mood too

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Coming up ... a family tradition conditions with regards to our kids getting wet

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 50: At Disney - Day 5: Animal Kingdom
We all get wet!​

We had one more FP+ for the morning which was for an attraction which was a favorite of Olivia's last trip - Kali River Rapids. And Peter was super excited as he was tall enough to ride! So we got rider swaps so he and Olivia could each ride twice - once with myself and once with Judi. We didn't bring our camera or phone with us so you'll have to trust us this happened (I know, pics or it didn't happen). Both kids really liked it (Peter did have to ride in the special seats with the lap bar that comes down) and Olivia loves that ride as you ride with other people and she always chats them up

While Judi and I traded off for the ride the other watched Emma - and in keeping with family tradition she very much enjoyed the water feature they have over near the lockers by the exit to Kali River Rapids. First Judi watched her and got lots of cute pictures and video:

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When I watch her she does this:

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Eventually she was showing signs of being tired so I took her and pushed her in the stroller over to where Judi and I had arranged to meet for lunch when they were done - the Harambe Market ... which was new to us. By the time we got there, Emma was passed out:

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I was getting hungry so I decided to check out the various stands to see what the options were - One thing I did like was they had hand held menu's available to look at which listed what was available at each of the stands. Ultimately I decided on the the Beef and Pork Sausage (Fried in Curried Corn Batter served with Green Papaya Slaw and Black-eyed Pea Salad) and a beer (Reef Donkey APA).

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Overall I found this to be quite good and also a large portion. At $9.99 I thought this was a pretty good value for being at WDW. The one complaint I have is that the sausage really needed a dipping sauce and as you can see in the picture I was able to get some sauce, but it was just regular Heinz BBQ sauce - I think if they had something more unique as an option it would be nice. Also, I found there wasn't enough seating - or at least hard to find seats as it was a lot of large tables so there would be a chair here and there but hard to find room for families - at least I found that at this time. I eventually found a spot in-between two families and hoped we could make room (or find another option) once the rest of my family showed up

Judi, Olivia, and Peter eventually made their way over (I believe they had a little longer wait than I had) and one of the families was able to rearrange and make room for us all - we even wound up chatting with them a bit so it worked out. I showed them the menus and the kids were a bit indecisive, but eventually they picked something and I went to get it.

Olivia got the kids ribs and Peter got the kids corn dog which came with the typical sides (though I do like that you get things like a bag of grapes so you can save it for a snack later if the kids don't want it right then). Judi got the Tikka Masala Chicken (served with Basmati Rice and Black-eyed Pea Salad). I also went to get drinks - one for adults, the Leopard's Eye (Snow Leopard Vodka blended with Kiwi-and-Mango Flavored Bibo) and one for the kids, the Frozen Flamingo (delicious non-alcoholic frozen concoction with flavors of Strawberry and Passion Fruit served in an ocarina musical sipper ... though we got it not in the souvenir sipper)

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The kids enjoyed their meals and with the sides it was plenty of food. Judi thought her chicken was good - but not the best she has ever had (could have used a bit more flavor). On the plus side she (and I) loved the drink.

Overall I think we liked Harambe market as a good option for lunch while in Animal Kingdom - some different choices and the portions were good for the price. Everything could have been a bit more flavorful (as mentioned, my sausage really needed a sauce) so probably not a "must do" but a solid addition to the park I think.

After this we headed out of the park for an afternoon break (it was about 1:15pm at this point). On the way out I noticed the logo printed on the trashcans - not sure why I never noticed it before but I did love how detailed it was ... definitely fits the park

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Coming up - back to Animal Kingdom for another "new to us" dining location and several shows and some nigh time rides at Animal Kingdom

TTFN

 

[mousehappync]

So many updates I've missed! I love this park-- not like I love MK, but it's just so comfortable and homey. We love to hit Tusker right around 10-- best of both worlds, breakfast AND lunch! I love that ham and sauce....and #imwithemma #teamkrispykremedoughnutholes! Your safari looks great-- I think the safari ruined zoos for me--what? Walls and enclosures? Pshaw! Can't wait to see the rhino story!

We have never ridden Kali-- we tend to go when it's cooler, and it just seems too wet! We tried Grizzly River Rapids at DL this fall--WET!! I'm very eager to check out the changes at AK in a couple of weeks--we have not been since 2015. I, too, had a silly dream that PANDORA (hahahaha) would be open for our Jan 2017 trip. The fact that even ROL is still not a reality... Well, I guess that's how they keep us coming back!

 

[rteetz]

Great family photo with Everest in the background!

EE is just so much fun. I was so nervous to ride it when I was younger. Now it's one of my favorites and it looks like your daughter loves it too!

I have yet to eat anything from the Harambe Market, I walked through there to check it out but nothing caught my eye. Glad you thought the food was good. I might actually get something in January.

 

[annie170]

Tusker House is my favorite character buffet. I just love the variety from the usual buffet food. We always book our adr around 11:00-11:30ish, so our first plate is breakfast and the second has the lunch options. I can understand wanting to get in early, though.

The safari and EE are a great way to start a day at AK! Olivia's turning into quite the daredevil!

Can't beat getting an adult beverage on a hot day at a Disney Park! Judi's looked great. Both of them!

Your lunches at Harambe Market looked good Didn't that open about a year ago? I don't think I've read a review of it on any other trip report. Or just the ones I read!

 

[missangelalexis]

I love that photo spot. Was dissapointed that we never encountered a PP when we were there in November!

I'm glad Olivia enjoyed EE! I love how she is grasping onto you in your ride photo

Glad you were able to try out the new market!