What's the Big Deal With Staying On Property Anyway? *Goodbyes* 12/17 p.114

[carissanboys]

I find that there is no better ride to get stuck on than the safari! Can't wait for your review of Tusker House. I have an ADR for there in October

I'll probably get it up in the next few days. Now that I'm getting closer to the end and because I've taken so long to get this far, I'm feeling anxious to finish it up.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I just read about your visit with the gorillas. In fact, I think we posted on each other's TR at EXACTLY the same minute!

I think so, too!

 

[DisneyMomLiz]

Great pictures. We love KS, pretty much our biggest must-do at AK.

Looking forward to your review of Tusker House too, we'll be trying it in September!!

 

[cjackearl]

Great safari close ups Carissa! And welcome home, glad you had a nice trip.

I like your Grumpy shirt, BTW.

 

[winkers]

You really got great shots from the Safari!
Mine are always a little blury from all the bouncing around!
we seem to miss the trails every time and I don't think I even knew they did kidcot there.

 

[mousescrapper]

Hi Carissa,

Nice AK update...your day is starting our alot better than mine (we went 2 days before you) your Day 7) was our Day 8) and I was probably checking out of my room when you were watching the opening show...

We have never completed an AK passport either...

looking forward to your next post and glad you, Chuck and the boys had awonderful weekend away together. The pictures from your Blog are great too!

J-

 

[eandesmom]

Great Safari pictures!

It's funny, I can't remember seeing elephants but can't remember NOT seeing them either! Same thing with the Giraffes...which makes me wonder. Did I/ Didn't I? Or was it more missed shots that I just deleted making my memory fuzzy!

The E's would love the passports but E2 would get completely hung up on completing it so I guess it's good we skipped it. Still, looks fun!

 

[carissanboys]

Great pictures. We love KS, pretty much our biggest must-do at AK.

Looking forward to your review of Tusker House too, we'll be trying it in September!!

KS is even better when the animals are really active. Cool - the review should be coming up in a day or so.

Great safari close ups Carissa! And welcome home, glad you had a nice trip.

I like your Grumpy shirt, BTW.

Thanks! I liked the color and style, but am not really loving it now. I just don't like the way it fits.

You really got great shots from the Safari!
Mine are always a little blury from all the bouncing around!
we seem to miss the trails every time and I don't think I even knew they did kidcot there.

They have these cute little passports. And once you fill them all in, you're supposed to be able to turn it in for something. Not sure what?

Hi Carissa,

Nice AK update...your day is starting our alot better than mine (we went 2 days before you) your Day 7) was our Day 8) and I was probably checking out of my room when you were watching the opening show...

We have never completed an AK passport either...

looking forward to your next post and glad you, Chuck and the boys had awonderful weekend away together. The pictures from your Blog are great too!

J-

Thanks Julie! I need to get caught up on your TR.

Great Safari pictures!

It's funny, I can't remember seeing elephants but can't remember NOT seeing them either! Same thing with the Giraffes...which makes me wonder. Did I/ Didn't I? Or was it more missed shots that I just deleted making my memory fuzzy!

The E's would love the passports but E2 would get completely hung up on completing it so I guess it's good we skipped it. Still, looks fun!

I think giraffes were the ones crossing the road and holping us up. And in order to get a stamp at each station, the kids have to do some sort of activity first.

 

[jmskinner]

All caught up. Sorry you didn't get to do Kim Possible, but I would have been the same way. I wish they had it where you could just walk up and get a communicator. I understand how they are trying to keep it so you don't overlap with other people, but that isn't working either. I'll have more on that in my TR.

I like the before rope drop photopass pic. We surprised the photopass CM that time we got the pic in front of the drawbridge. I like the pics you don't see very often.

The video's were great. I need to try to get one there at the hippos, can never get a picture of them.

I think I would feel lonely riding the boat over to DTD by myself also. I'm sure there was more I wanted to comment on, but the brain seems to be taking a break at the moment.

 

[liznboys]

Awww, that's a cute picture of you all in front of the tree of life!

You guys had a fun safari! I was amused by that bird standing on the hippo in the water too. lol

Sully was funny..."I have no idea what's going on right now..no idea."

You know when we did the AK passport thing, there was one of the stops that had closed already for the day (I think it was Discovery Island) by the time we were going to head to it. But the lady at the last stop we went to gave us the final stuff (I can't even remember what it was, stamp, sticker??) So that was nice.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Great safari pictures!! I always hope we get stuck on it . Now you make me want to check out the kidcot stuff in AK, now I have to research!

 

[Native NYer]

It's so great that you got to see so many animals.

How did your boys like the Kidcot stations?

 

[MagicShell]

Sorry that you didn't get to see Off Kilter or do Kim Possible. There is just so much to do. I really wanted to see the American Adventure, but just didn't have time. We have never explored much of the World Showcase at all. I know that we will see Japan when we go back because my son had just begun his fascination with Pokemon. He can't wait to see the store in Japan.

I am so glad you all got to see Chuck. I bet that was even better than Disney World!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great safari pictures!!

 

[carissanboys]

All caught up. Sorry you didn't get to do Kim Possible, but I would have been the same way. I wish they had it where you could just walk up and get a communicator. I understand how they are trying to keep it so you don't overlap with other people, but that isn't working either. I'll have more on that in my TR.

I like the before rope drop photopass pic. We surprised the photopass CM that time we got the pic in front of the drawbridge. I like the pics you don't see very often.

The video's were great. I need to try to get one there at the hippos, can never get a picture of them.

I think I would feel lonely riding the boat over to DTD by myself also. I'm sure there was more I wanted to comment on, but the brain seems to be taking a break at the moment.

I'll be curious to see what you have to say about KP.

Awww, that's a cute picture of you all in front of the tree of life!

You guys had a fun safari! I was amused by that bird standing on the hippo in the water too. lol

Sully was funny..."I have no idea what's going on right now..no idea."

You know when we did the AK passport thing, there was one of the stops that had closed already for the day (I think it was Discovery Island) by the time we were going to head to it. But the lady at the last stop we went to gave us the final stuff (I can't even remember what it was, stamp, sticker??) So that was nice.

That's cool. I thought about explaining the situation to the CM at our last stop, but didn't for some reason.

Great safari pictures!! I always hope we get stuck on it . Now you make me want to check out the kidcot stuff in AK, now I have to research!

It's very educational!

It's so great that you got to see so many animals.

How did your boys like the Kidcot stations?

They enjoyed them since my boys are big science fans.

Sorry that you didn't get to see Off Kilter or do Kim Possible. There is just so much to do. I really wanted to see the American Adventure, but just didn't have time. We have never explored much of the World Showcase at all. I know that we will see Japan when we go back because my son had just begun his fascination with Pokemon. He can't wait to see the store in Japan.

I am so glad you all got to see Chuck. I bet that was even better than Disney World!

Well, I don't know if I'd go that far!

Great safari pictures!!

Thanks Amy

 

[carissanboys]

We made our way over to Tusker House for our late breakfast/early lunch. We checked in and received our pager and had a seat. After a few minutes they called all of us to the back seating area where we sat for a bit longer. Then it was time for our family picture, which came out pretty well and I did purchase.

I believe our meal was around 10:30 and the restaurant was crazy busy and loud. That's really our only complaint about the whole meal. It was just too loud for us. I much prefer a quieter meal. I know - most character meals aren't what one would call "quiet" but this one was probably the loudest we've been to.

After we were seated we began the shuffle to get our food and still be at the table to greet characters. The food was excellent!

I tried to get a picture of Connor hugging Daisy, but I was too slow.

A nice CM offered to take this for us (not our server, but a man taking care of a table near us). The servers at the restaurant were great.

Parade time! My boys didn't want to join in.

Shorly after we had arrived at the restaurant, our waitress quietly asked me who's birthday it was. When I told her it had been mine a few days ago, she said, "Oops! I asked the wrong person!"

So, after we finished eating, look what came my way.

Let me tell you - that cupcake was super yummy! I can't remember if I shared or not.

She even sang Happy Birthday to me (and made the boys sing along)! And she also gave me a birthday card signed by all of the characters - sweet! This meal more than made up for my lacklaster birthday celebration at Kona.

One more character to see before heading out - Goofy!

Before we left, two twin girls who were sitting near us came over and said, "Happy Birthday!" I thought that was the sweetest thing!

Overall, I'd say we were pleased with the food and service at Tusker House. Just not sure we'd go back (we tend not to repeat character meals anyway) due to the loudness factor. If you want to try it out, but have little ones who might not do well with so much commotion, I would suggest trying for the first seatings of the day. Ours was the last seating and it didn't help any. But, I've seen a review or two where they were there right at opening and it seemed much less chaotic.

We headed out and took some pictures along the way.

The blossoms on this tree were so pretty.

So, where were we headed? We were headed to an attraction that Chuck and I had done on our last trip, but the boys had never experienced. Any guesses??

Up Next - The Tree of Life - Up Close and Personal

 

[DisMomAmy]

That's funny... I just posted about our Tusker House breakfast!! We were there for the 1st seating and we were in the little room off to the side of the main room (separated by a half wall so not a totally separate space) against a wall so the commotion wasn't too bad. We felt rushed by the characters though... which I thought was odd for the 1st seating of the day. Maybe they didn't want to get behind??

 

[carissanboys]

That's funny... I just posted about our Tusker House breakfast!! We were there for the 1st seating and we were in the little room off to the side of the main room (separated by a half wall so not a totally separate space) against a wall so the commotion wasn't too bad. We felt rushed by the characters though... which I thought was odd for the 1st seating of the day. Maybe they didn't want to get behind??

I'll have to go check yours out. We were seated in that same area, but it was still crazy. It definitely got a bit quieter towards the end of the meal as everyone was leaving and no new customers were being seated.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Great installment, I keep telling Bill I want to go to Tusker House, he has no desire at all to go . I loved your pictures. I have no idea where you are going next but can't wait to read about it!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

You are right, the first seatings are much quieter. We ate right at 8:05 last year and the place was only half full and very calm and quiet.