Shortly after arriving at the station, the Wildlife Express came to take Buzz and I to Rafikis Planet Watch. I was a little disappointed in the ride over. It seems like they did less talking about the behind-the-scenes aspects of the park and more wishing happy birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, family reunions etc. just in case anyone on board was celebrating anything. The second half of the trip was interesting though while we passed the animals night quarters.
My main reason for this trip to Planet Watch was to look for characters, especially Jiminy Cricket. Last time that we were here, I missed Jiminy because we came too late in the day (one of the CMs there said that Jiminy sometimes leaves early so he can help out in the parade), so I wanted to be there early this time. Buzz wasnt interested in any of the characters there, so he decided to take the time and do a Hidden Mickey search in the mural at the entrance of Conservation Station and found a bunch of them. Theres a lot hidden in there if you look!
Once we got to Conservation Station, I found Jiminy right away. Its great to see such a classic character like Jiminy out, but I wish they could put him in a more accessible location so you wouldnt have to take the train there and back to see him. I thought I was great when he was in Town Square with Pinocchio on Main Street a few years back, but at least hes out at all.
Rafiki was nearby, so I went to see him too.
While Buzz finished up his Hidden Mickeys search, I took a look around Conservation Station.
The frog on the pandas head struck me as funny for some reason.
A quick shot of one of the Rafiki Statues as we made our way back to the Wildlife Express.
When we got to the station, the Wildlife Express was just pulling out. I thought that we would be in for a wait, but in less than 3 minutes another train pulled into the station. I guess there must be more than one Wildlife Express!
Im not sure who Dave is or why his chair is on the top of the train.
After successfully finding some characters at Conservation Station, I headed off to see if Id have the same luck at Camp Minnie-Mickey. This was our first time going since Thumper and Miss Bunny started appearing in the park, and I was really hoping that they would be out today.
When I arrived, there was a whole bunch of characters out. Since I hadnt met Thumper and Miss Bunny yet, I started with them. Again, it was great to see some of the more rare classic characters out doing meet-and-greets like this.
Thumpers autograph.
Miss Bunny does a few poses.
Miss Bunnys autograph
These two were seriously adorable.
After a great meet-and-greet with the bunnies, I headed over to see Brer Bear. It had been a while since I had seen any of the Brers out.
Over by the old Pocahontas theater was Pocahontas herself and one of my favorites- Meeko. I hadnt seen Meeko out since the Pirate and Princess Party at MK years ago, so it was great to get a chance to see him again. Plus, Im pretty sure this was the first time I ever got pictures of him with Pocahontas, so that was a plus too.
Of course, I had to get a few photos of Meeko by himself too.
All in all, it was a very successful morning for characters- seven different character, all of whom were either new to me or characters I dont see out very much, in less than an hour! However, while we were in Camp Minnie-Mickey, there was still one more character that both Buzz and I wanted to see.
Next chapter: Christmas in Camp Minnie-Mickey
All caught up now.
