A Fantasy Holiday - our first Disney Cruise, WDW, UOR, New York and DLR - COMPLETED 4/9

[RachelleBeaney]

Day 15 - Part 2 - Exploring the Alley

By the time we had walked back to Diagon Alley we were a little worried we were behind the crowds (it was past 9am at that point). Escape from Gringotts only had a 30 minute wait but we decided to try the single rider line again. This time we pretty much walked straight on as single riders (YAY) and did the ride again straight after our first ride with a similar wait (5 minutes at the most!). And of course, then it was time to explore the alley and take more photos!













We had fun looking at all the little details around the shops and the street! No detail was spared!



























I tried my hand at a few more spells too! I was getting better!











Finally we said goodbye to the wonderful Diagon Alley for what would be our last visit there!





Continued in Next Post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Day 15 - Part 3 - Goodbye Universal

We headed out into London to do my last must do activity before we left Diagon Alley, a visit with the Knight Bus conductor. I still hand my wand out too! When he saw my wand he surmised that I was a student at Hogwarts and so I told him, yes I was, a 3rd year in Ravenclaw (based on my ability to get the spells around the park to work!) - he was lovely and cordial and fun to meet, though the shrunken head was having a nap and didn't chat with me.













We headed to the one ride at Universal Studios we hadn't done yet next (other than Despicable Me of course) and that was Men in Black. I actually scored well this time, 120 000 - but only because Jared let me push the red button at the end which gives you an additional score of 100 000 points. He still beat me even without pressing it scoring 180 000 (seriously I so suck at laser shooting rides!). We were so hungry after that we decided to get a hot dog and sit in London relaxing while we ate it. It was so cold that day too, the weather was only 6 degrees at 11am (42 in Fahrenheit) as Orlando was having an unusual cold snap!

After that we caught the Hogwarts Express back over Islands of Adventure to visit Forbidden Journey one more time.











We did Forbidden Journey again with single rider (we didn't actually get to go in the proper line the entire trip I just realised) and were on in about 15 minutes as oppose to 45 minutes.

We had planned to spend another full day in the parks but by this time we were exhausted. We decided to grab some lunch at the Bread Box in City Walk and then get our luggage and leave. We were heading down to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for our stay at Walt Disney World and we were so excited to be staying at our very first deluxe Disney World resort!

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[wiscbugs]

Thanks for the all the Universal pics! We are going to be there in 3 days and my son is super excited to do all the Harry Potter wand experiences so I am hoping they work well!

 

[starousse]

Great reviews, and what amazing pictures. Can I ask what camera you're using?

 

[LivingforDisney]

Love the photo of you going through the platform. It looks so real. Does everyone get to do that while lining up for the ride?
I am hoping we can get photos of doing this.
Sounds like you had a great time at Universal, now for Disney lol

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Thanks for the all the Universal pics! We are going to be there in 3 days and my son is super excited to do all the Harry Potter wand experiences so I am hoping they work well!

Ah I'm jealous - have an AMAZING time! RE the wand experience, find the 'magic' areas that have cast members near them (dressed like witches and wizards) as they can help teach your son exactly how to move the wand to get the magic work. And I would prepare him for the fact it may not happen his first try (I rarely saw anyone get it on the first try). He will have a great time trying though I'm sure!

Great reviews, and what amazing pictures. Can I ask what camera you're using?

Thank you - I'm glad your enjoying the pictures! We use a Canon EOS 700D (I believe in the US it's called a Canon Rebel T5i) but the key to the great pictures is our Sigma
f/1.8 18 - 35mm lens (It's an amazing lens in low light and great for night shots and dark rides). We also used the Canon kit zoom lens 55-250mm which came with the camera. Additionally we used a tripod for the night shots (so we could lower the ISO and have less grain and keep the aperture higher so everything was more in focus). Lastly Jared using a photo editing program called Adobe Lightroom. I hope this is helpful

Love the photo of you going through the platform. It looks so real. Does everyone get to do that while lining up for the ride?
I am hoping we can get photos of doing this.
Sounds like you had a great time at Universal, now for Disney lol

I love that photo too - As a Harry Potter nerd I really wanted to 'disappear' onto Platform 9 3/4! Everyone gets to walk through the Platform 9 3/4 but while you are walking through the part where the mirror that creates the effect is, all you see is a hallway. If you want a picture walking through the Platform one of your party has to hang back in front of the mirror that creates the illusion to take the picture. This isn't realistically possible when the line is busy as people just keep streaming through that area as the line moves and if you stop in front of the mirror or if the person you are taking a photo of stops in front of the hallway and walks slowly in to take a picture it holds up the line and people usually just walk right past you (it's a wide hallway). It's not impossible to get the picture when it's busy but just harder. However, when we went in early in the morning there was almost no one in line so we could take our time and so if you want the picture I would recommend doing the Hogwarts Express within the hour of the park opening.

We had a wonderful time at Universal but we had an even more wonderful time at Disney - I'm excited to start writing about that part of the trip now

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Day 15 - Part 4 - Arriving at the Animal Kingdom Lodge

At about 3pm we started making our way to the Animal Kingdom Lodge where we would be staying for the next 5 nights. We were so excited as this would be our very first stay at a Walt Disney World deluxe resort. We were additionally excited as we had booked a Savannah View room. All Jared wanted was to see a giraffe walk past the window! Now, generally the deluxe resorts are NOT in our price range (when you add the extra cost with the exchange rate it is just SO expensive) but this time we discovered DVC rentals. Now I had got it in my head that you had to be a US citizen to use DVC rentals, but that turned out to be incorrect. Through a DVC rental site (I don't remember which one but I believe the link is in my pre-trip report) we were able to rent someone else's DVC points and the cost per night for the Savannah View room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was about $280 USD per night. So still expensive but reasonable, as oppose to the rack rate which, for that time of year, was $550 - $600 USD per night! All in all it made this little bit of luxury possible on this trip and I'd always wanted to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (my other deluxe resort dreams are the Beach Club, the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian) and finally we were going to be able to. Jared was super excited because I had asked him where he wanted to stay at Walt Disney World if money were not an object and he said 'the Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savannah View, and I was able to make it happen!

Anyway we arrived and it was so lovely to be back in the Disney bubble again. We had a lovely CM check us in, she was so friendly, wishing Jared a Happy Birthday (it was noted on the reservation) and upgrading our room to a better room with a better Savannah View (YAY). We were then very easily able to upgrade our tickets (we had only bought 2 day park hoppers but then changed our plans (adding EPCOT instead of a trip to Discovery Cove) and required 3 day park hoppers but we ended up purchasing 4 day park hoppers to take advantage of the Magic Kingdom the night it would be open to 1am!). Sometimes I really wish I was an annual passholder - that would be awesome!

Anyway we arrived at our room and were so excited by the beautiful theming and the wonderful view!



Ok now it may just be me but I really believe Queen beds in the US are smaller than those in Australia (or at least the ones at Disney are). Jared and I really struggled our first night in this bed (we have a King bed at home!) and he ended up sleeping on the pull out sofa so we could be comfortable (what a lovely man - I offered to stay on the sofa but he wouldn't let me!). That was literally my only complaint about the room as I think a King bed could have fit in there easily enough.















Our Savannah View!





Pretty soon we spotted some animals, including these goat like creatures that we always near our window. We called them our goat friends.



Most of the animals that day were hanging out by the main lobby viewing platform



So Jared walked around there to take some pictures (it was quiet a hike - for those who have stayed at Kidani Village before we were in the Pumbaa parking section (which is the last parking section) about 10 rooms from the view end of the curved building surrounding the Savannah and the lobby was all the way at the other end (luckily we only had to catch a bus once as we had the car!)















No giraffes just yet - but don't worry - Jared got his wish to have one walk past the window - and then some!

Continued in Next Post...

 

[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 1 - Magic Kingdom under construction

We were up early today so that we could make it to the Magic Kingdom by 8am for our 8:20am Crystal Palace reservation. I wanted to be able to get into the park early for photos with an empty Main Street and castle.

Unfortunately after that was all planned I discovered that the hub renovations would still be ongoing while we were at the Magic Kingdom and that that annoying crane would be up too! Additionally they had blocked out the partners statue and part of Main Street was under scrims, so all in all, it was pretty ugly walking into the Magic Kingdom that morning. Still - we got our pictures with not many people in them (they just aren't the prettiest!). I should also note that it was around 4 degrees (39 F) that morning (Orlando's cold snap was continuing - I think we had a high of 7 degrees (44 F) that day) and yes, I had to wear a scarf and a beanie.

A very empty Town Square



Ugly scrims















And here are the photopass photos we had that morning!









Ugly Ugly Ugly! I was hating all the construction walls!







Fun photo- but still - so ugly!





I understand Disney has to improve things and that inevitably winter is the time when that kind of thing happens but it was just so ugly! I can't imagine how I would have felt if that was my first trip and I was seeing the castle and Main Street that way for the first time! The construction walls were so, well ugly, and from what I could see there was no reason to have the partners statue blocked away! Anyway I try not to think about it because the rest of the park was as lovely as always and we were soon heading off it to see it! But first, some breakfast.

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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 2 - Back in the Disney bubble

Our Disney bubble had somewhat been popped by the ugliness of Main Street and the hub so we were glad to enter the Crystal Palace to see it was just as beautiful as always. And the castle views from here were better too!





Wanting to beat the crowds rushing to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train we had a quick breakfast and only met one of Pooh's gang - but he is my favorite so that's all good. Sorry for the next photo where I am not in focus. Tigger was a camera hog!





Jared loves to bounce along with Tigger! They did - but this time they stopped to let me take a photo (Tigger and Jared got told off the last time because they wouldn't stop bouncing when I wanted to take the photo! Yes I am so mean!)


Jared was bought a beautiful birthday muffin and some Mickey scatters and we had fun with those!







Is that an earring, or a scatter!



Oh and a card from Winnie the Pooh and friends.

However we were on a mission to beat the crowds to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train....and we ...didn't really! We got out of the restaurant at about 9 with people streaming towards Fantasyland and by the time we got to the ride the wait time was 30 minutes already. However the line was still moving quickly so we hopped in it. The wait really didn't feel to long either as there were so many beautiful things to look at in line!













The spinning jewels were so pretty!







Finally we were on the ride and I loved it!! Seriously loved it! Sure its short and it's not overly thrilling but its so beautifully done. It rivals Big Thunder Mountain in my book (maybe Big Thunder is a smidge better but the dark ride parts of this ride make it my favorite!)



Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho!









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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 3 - A Zip A-De Doo Dah - wait why are we riding Splash in this weather!

It was a beautiful day for a stroll through the Tangled Toilets.















This area is so so so beautiful! I wish there was a little more to it than bathrooms (a ride or shop or restaurant would be good!). Still its a lovely quiet place to sit and relax and I guess the lack of a real attraction in the area is what makes it so peaceful!

We made our way over to Splash Mountain next. You may think we were crazy, I mean I think it was 5 or 6 degrees at that point (41 - 43 F), but we knew Splash wouldn't be open at Disneyland while we were there and it's Jared's favourite Disney ride, so we had to do it. We donned our trust Tokyo Disney ponchos (we bought them on our last trip and they are really good quality not just thin plastic like the ones you buy at Disney World!) and hopped on the ride.





Jared was even brave enough, with the poncho on, to keep his camera out for some fun pictures on the ride!

















After we rode we already had our ponchos on so we went back on straight away and rode again. Funnily enough the ride was a walk on both times (it was too cold for anyone but crazy people like us to be riding!).

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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 3 - A Dream is a wish your heart makes....

All these photos we took of the castle on our way into Tomorrowland make me want to hum 'A dream is a wish your heart makes, when your fast asleep'. It is the Cinderella Castle after all! Jared and I remarked at how wonderfully un-rushed we felt at that point of the morning, knowing we had Fast Passes booked for later in the day, and how easy it was to slow down and smell the roses, which is one of my very favourite things to do at a Disney park. So we did - and took lots of pictures of the castle as we did (even though parts of it were hidden by ugliness!). We found another good angle though! Love these reflection shots!









Close up photos hid the ugly construction walls!











We then found some photopass photographers on the bridge into Tomorrowland - it was a really good angle for a picture (and look at my jumper sparkling in this next shot!)








Further around we found another Photopass photographer in what I believe is called the Rose Garden.

I was now very happy because we had some nice castle photos that didn't obviously feature construction walls!

Making our way into Tomorrowland our plan was to ride Space Mountain, but it was down so we decided to do a classic attraction we had never done before - the Peoplemover. I now see why people love this ride so much. It is relaxing and fun and gives you great views over Tomorrowland.



















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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 5 - Three, Two, One...Space and then, crowds

With Space Mountain back up and running again we were able to use our first Fast Pass of the day and have a ride. The wait for Space at the point was 80 minutes so we were very happy to have a Fast Pass booked. Jared didn't have his camera out during the ride, but I did have my iphone so I got a few photos with that.







As you can see, I was lucky enough to be at the front of the ride vehicle - which was really really fun. It's so much better when you don't even have the slightest inkling which way the car might turn!

Back out in the park we stopped by the Rose Garden again. It was so pretty.















Finally it was time for our 12pm reservation at The Plaza. We enjoyed a chat with the table next to us who loved my Marie beanie (it is really cute). I actually got lots of comments about it every time I wore it (well anything that has ears on it is always well loved). It was also fun to tell people it came from Tokyo Disney. I really love Marie as Aristocats was one of the first Disney movies my sister and I owned on VCR (in the days when there were still VCR's!). Lunch was good - very basic offerings but still, at least we got to sit.

After lunch was done it was time for our Big Thunder Mountain Fastpass so we headed to Frontierland.







Try as we might we only got one photo on the ride which turned out ok (and a few others before and after).



I think Jared purposely put the camera away at this point so he could just take in the park. And this seems like a good time to tell you a little about the crowd levels that day. They were INSANE. Wait times were between 60 - 90 minutes for most attractions and the Fast Pass lines were also massive because so many attractions went down throughout the day. Big Thunder Mountain was down all morning so when we showed up the wait for the Fast Pass line was about 30 minutes! The actual wait was about 90 minutes so Fast Pass was still better than that - but still - with everyone who had a Fast Pass for Big Thunder when it was down that morning coming in the afternoon it didn't exactly work like Fast Pass should! Here is a list of the rides that went down (for serious periods of time) that day: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!

Anyway it was about 45 minutes before the Festival of Fantasy Parade so we went to find a good spot for pictures. While I waited sitting on the edge of Main Street, Jared wandered about taking some pictures.

First he went up to the Train Station.









The he came back to where I was sitting and we passed the time looking for fun things to photograph.













While we were waiting I started to get a thumping headache but it was soon fixed when the lovely Dapper Dans came over to where we were sitting and asked what we were waiting for. Jared's response was 'you' which made them very happy and they then noticed his birthday badge so they sang him Happy Birthday! After that they asked if anyone knew who they were and when I answered 'The Dapper Dans' one of them commented I must be from the South. I said, well yes I'm from the South but not the South of the USA! After our cute little interaction they sang Mr Sandman using the fun bell things they sometimes carry around. Jared got lots of birthday muffins, cards and happy birthdays throughout the trip but that was by far his favorite - being sung Happy Birthday by the Dapper Dans. Unfortunately we had the zoom lens on ready for the parade so we couldn't get any photos when they were close up to us without the hassle of changing lens but when they moved away to sing to the next group of people we got this fun shot of them from behind!



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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 6 - Festival of Fantasy - Part 1

After a long wait the parade finally started - and boy was it worth waiting for! The best day-time Disney parade I've ever seen - everything was so beautifully done, from the costumes to the floats. But rather than talk about it I will just show you!










We finally saw the Frozen sisters









The costumes for the dancers were stunning!











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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 7 - Festival of Fantasy - Part 2

Then the much lauded dragon appeared! She was magnificent (or should I say Maleficent - bahaha - sorry bad pun I know!).















The parade was so fun and colourful!





















And at the end of the parade was the mass of people trying to escape the park behind it and of course, the balloon man!





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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 8 - A new kind of Fantasy

So after the parade it was getting even busier in the parks and my headache had reached the peak of it's throbbing. Stupidly, I hadn't bought my dissolvable aspirin into the park with us that day (I usually carry it everywhere with me as I can't swallow tablets) but we were able to find crushable pain killers at the Emporium so pretty soon my head was back to normal. The next thing we did made my head even better - we went and purchased my Swarovski of the trip, Cinderella! I collect Swarovski figurines (I love love love them) and now have about 32 at home, but had been waiting since the end of last year to get Cinderella in the US (they are cheaper in the states). When I first saw her on their website I squealed in excitement for about 20 minutes (really, ask Jared) and become super excited to buy her at the Magic Kingdom (because what better place to buy a Cinderella figuring!). I don't have picture of her so I stole one off the interwebs!



Isn't she pretty! Her dimensions are 13cm x 10.2cm x 8cm (5 1/8 inches x 4 inches x 3 1/8 inches) so she is now one of my larger pieces.

After we sent my pretty pretty Cinderella back to our room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge we decided to head into New Fantasyland and just take lots of pictures. On our last trip we hadn't really been able to get the full experience of New Fantasyland as the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train wasn't finished, but this time we enjoyed looking around.





We wandered into Storybook Circus first (past the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train). Jared decided to try some panning shots to get Dumbo's movement. A few worked!









Then we walked past the currently closed Little Mermaid ride.





And past Gaston's Tavern.







More of the Mine Train



Finally we ended up resting on some rocks next to our next port of call - Be Our Guest Restaurant....













We checked into Be Our Guest a little early for our 5pm seating, which gave us some time to enjoy the bridge area and take pictures (I wanted an early reservation so I could get pictures outside while it was still light!).





I love the gargoyle's















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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 9 - Hello Bruce - I'm back from more Grey Stuff!

Not long after check in we were called to enter the Beast's Castle.

On our way in we saw Bruce and whats his name (I can never remember the other gargoyle's name!). I only remember Bruce because that is Jared's Dad's name! This is Bruce.







Jared decided since he was once again celebrating his birthday during this meal he would have a glass of champagne.



We were seated in the Ballroom (YAY) and it was all just as beautiful as I remember!













I food was also very good. We both had the potato and leek soup for appetizers (yum) and I had chicken for my entree and Jared had lamb. Then came the part I had been waiting for for over a year, the grey stuff. I love love love the grey stuff. It tastes like cookies and cream mousse (all things I love to eat) and I had been waiting to taste it again for the longest time. Jared got his free birthday grey stuff (which I ate most of - sorry I really love it!) and I of course ordered the chocolate cake thing covered in the grey stuff for dessert, while Jared ordered a profiterole type thing. After dinner we wandered the rest of the castle taking pictures.

The West Wing











Finally we lined up to meet the Beast and thank him for hosting us. Of course, because we always have the worst timing, when we walked in he had just headed off to announce himself to the guests in the dining room (I love when he does that - with the grand music that accompanies him) so we waited for a while and he was soon back to greet us!









After a few more pictures of the castle we headed out into the now dark park...















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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 16 - Part 10 - One more Fast Pass to use...

The other motive for booking dinner so early was so we could book a Fast Pass for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train after dinner when it was dark and experience the ride during the day and at night. Of course, because it seemed to be the pattern that day, we waited about 20 minutes in the Fast Pass line due to a breakdown earlier in the day and the influx of additional Fast Passes being honored when we showed up. Still it was better than the 80 minute posted wait time! The wait also went quick as we chatted to a lovely couple in front of us about our travels, their work and our love of Disney. Disney people are the best! Jared once again tried a few shots in the dark ride part of the ride.







They are hard to get sharp with the cars constantly rocking so I reckon we did ok!

We had planned to head straight out of the park after our last Fast Pass but the night-time atmosphere of the Magic Kingdom is so invigorating (which is why I was glad we would be spending a whole late evening there the next day) so we decided to wander around, through the Tangled Toilets (which are so magical at night) and ended up at the Haunted Mansion.





The wait for the Haunted Mansion was down to 25 minutes (as opposed to the 50 - 60 minutes it was every other point during the day) so we decided to ride. And here are a few shots inside the ride (it is a HARD ride to photograph).







Finally we were ready to head out of the park, excited that we would be back the next night for some more fun and some more photos (with the tripod this time too!)





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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 17 - Part 1 - Flying over Orlando - Part 1

Today we had booked what we thought was a helicopter tour over Orlando. It turned out to be a small plane tour, but either way, was it fun!

Small plane is also not an understatement - look at that thing!





I went to sit in the front of the plane and the pilot asked if I had booked some kind of executive package. I told him no, I think it was just a 30 minute flight over Orlando and he said 'that's ok, I'll let you fly the plane anyway'. That made me do a double take and I quickly asked if I could let Jared in the front seat because there was no way I was going to fly a plane!

We also got to wear these fun headphones so we could talk to each other!





Once the seating was sorted out we set off. Our first views were over Downtown Orlando. Pretty soon though we were over Universal Orlando Resort. The driver told us we were lucky to have such a clear and calm day, one of the best conditions he had had in a while!



Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure!





Just Islands of Adventure



Diagon Alley from above!



Universal Studios





Hogsmeade, Jurassic Park and The Lost Continent





The new Cabana Bay resort



The parks with the Hard Rock Hotel in the background




Hard Rock and Portofino Bay hotels



Next we made our way over SeaWorld







Our pilot told us he'd turn low of the Shamu stadium so we could spot the Orcas! And we did! But I didn't get a photo of that!



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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 17 - Part 2 - Flying over Orlando - Part 2

And then we were on our way to Disney. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the Magic Kingdom as I was a little distracted when we were flying over it - but more on that later.

The first thing we saw was Downtown Disney.



Next we flew over Typhoon Lagoon



The we made our way to EPCOT!



Check out World Showcase from the air!







Next was Hollywood Studios





This one is a good shot of the hat being taken down - it was almost completely gone when we were there.



Sunset Boulevard



Our next sight was Blizzard Beach (which I believe, like Typhoon Lagoon, was shut for the season)



And then it was onto Animal Kingdom and the backside of Expedition Everest







We even few over Kidani Village at the Animal Kingdom Lodge



While we were flying up near the Magic Kingdom I was distracted by the fact Jared had taken over the planes controls! The pilot even took pictures of Jared flying and a video proving that he was not using his hands!







Here is the video of Jared flying the plane!

The pilot let Jared fly for a little bit, then turn the plane and then do a dive move which completely completely freaked me out! But Jared had a BLAST. It was one of the highlights of his trip.

After the pilot was back in control we continued over some of the swamp marshlands throughout Orlando.



In no time at all we were heading back into Downtown Orlando and the airport





The I4




Downtown Orlando



We landed without a hitch (funnily enough the pilot didn't let Jared do that) and our trip was over. I'm so glad we took the time to do this though. It's such an interesting perspective, seeing the parks from the air. Also Jared loves it when he gets to drive/fly unusual things and he had now done two such things on this trip (driving an ATV and flying a small plane) so he was very happy!

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[RachelleBeaney]

Day 17 - Part 3 - Jared found Giraffe friends - Part 1!

After the plane tour that morning we were supposed to be heading to Beaches and Cream for lunch at the Beach Club resort. However, after a few too many days of too much wheat (I am a little gluten intolerant) I was starting to feel bloaty and gross so we decided to skip lunch at Beaches and Cream in favor of a nice Asian salad from room service and a nap in our room until our 7:00pm reservation at California Grill. As sad as I was to miss Beaches and Cream (next time we will visit it) this was much better for my energy levels that evening and my stomach!

On our way back to Kidani Village we stopped in at Jambo House to visit the main lobby and take some pictures.













As you can see, the Jambo House lobby was beautiful and grand (I'll post pictures of the Kidani Lobby, which was smaller, later). We really enjoyed visiting it and we did a little shopping while we were there.

Then it was back to our room for a rest, but before that we wanted to check out some of the wild life out on the Savannah.

Finally we saw some giraffes (though they were quite far away at this point).





And here is the 'dead' zebra (he wasn't actually dead - he just looked it!)



The giraffes soon started leaving (Jared kept calling them but they wouldn't stop heading into their little shelter house)



These buffalo were just outside the window though







I decided to head in for a nap and about an hour later I was shaken awake by a very excited Jared, he told me I had to come back out on the veranda. So I did (sleepily) and there right out the front of our window was Jared's giraffe friends, just as he had wished for them to be (good giraffes, creating Disney magic for Jared for his birthday!).

Our goat friends were frolicking around too!



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