145 Middle Schoolers: Wicked Awesome or Epic Fail???DeParting-Such Sweet Sorrow p. 76

[jwwi]

"The end", "cheeky comment"

I overheard a conversation between a guest and CM at DHS TSM FP kiosk last week. Guest: "my tickets are not working for FP" CM "these tickets have not been used to access a park today, a guest must use the ticket before you can get FP" Guest: "but the rest of my family is back at the resort, packing and checking out, we leave later today for our flight home" CM: "the ticket must be used before you can get a FP" Guest: "well, what can we do about this?"(sounding quite entitled to special treatment) CM: "nothing, until the ticket is used to access the park"................. Was that other father from your trip at WDW last week?

 

[Queila]

great pictures of the safari and pangani trail. i love the trails but did not get to do any this time. were the kids in your group excited to see the animals too or were they mostly into the rides? there is so much to see at AK!!

Q

 

[JanetMom]

"cheeky" Nice!

 

[natebenma]

"The end", "cheeky comment"

I overheard a conversation between a guest and CM at DHS TSM FP kiosk last week. Guest: "my tickets are not working for FP" CM "these tickets have not been used to access a park today, a guest must use the ticket before you can get FP" Guest: "but the rest of my family is back at the resort, packing and checking out, we leave later today for our flight home" CM: "the ticket must be used before you can get a FP" Guest: "well, what can we do about this?"(sounding quite entitled to special treatment) CM: "nothing, until the ticket is used to access the park"................. Was that other father from your trip at WDW last week?

Could have been him. Or his friend.

Thanks for sharing that with us!

great pictures of the safari and pangani trail. i love the trails but did not get to do any this time. were the kids in your group excited to see the animals too or were they mostly into the rides? there is so much to see at AK!!

Q

I would have loved to spend more time, but the teens were going through fairly quickly. I think they liked the rides the most. I did ask Nate today, "So what did you and your friends like of the safari? Did you like it? " He said he and his friend were looking for animals, looking for lions. So I guess they thought it was ok.

"cheeky" Nice!

Thanks for setting me up!

 

[DrMomof3]

Great Safari pics!!! I like the Safari and the Trails but... I guess we're spoiled. We live 15-20 min from the Bronx Zoo and we're members. And while the Bronx Zoo doesn't have the spectacular theming of AK, it is pretty awesome. We've seen lion cubs and baby giraffes and baby monkeys. I haven't seen the new tiger cubs uet because they were only recently introduced to th public. There's a monorail which is somewhat similar to the Safari (without the story but the ride is still narrated and has cool animals). My point is that I haven't learned to love AK as much as I love the other parks.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Oh... As slightly higher than basic family members, we got to attend an early morning at the Congo exhibit this summer. We went an hour before Zoo opening and spent time at the Congo exhibit with the animal handlers. We asked tons of questions about gorillas and were fed breakfast at the same time! Gorillas are awesome!

Amanda

 

[jenseib]

Now you have that song in my head..."And I just Can't wait to be king".....

 

[jmskinner]

Love the pics from the trail. That is one of my favorites also.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Gorillas are amazingly cool! Love watching the social interaction where there is some. When we were at the Franklin Park Zoo (Boston), there was a silverback who apparently disliked to one of the guys watching him and he kept banging up against the window.

There is or was one at the Toronto Zoo, one of the younger ones. The silver back we have Charles is one of the oldest animals at the Zoo he came here to Toronto from Gabon when he was about 3 years old. He is very protective of all of the Gorillas at the zoo though and is apparently a great father to them all.Despite the fact that he sits back a lot of the time when they are out

 

[emmysmommy]

Now you have that song in my head..."And I just Can't wait to be king".....

Ha! I was singing that in my head as well!

Dee: I love the gorillas and I agree they are fascinating to watch. It was cool to have the CM explain the ages of some of the gorillas that were out. Did you ever notice the .... ahem... smell that was so pervasive in the area? A very musky smell that the CMs explained were from the adolescent males I believe.

 

[natebenma]

Great Safari pics!!! I like the Safari and the Trails but... I guess we're spoiled. We live 15-20 min from the Bronx Zoo and we're members. And while the Bronx Zoo doesn't have the spectacular theming of AK, it is pretty awesome. We've seen lion cubs and baby giraffes and baby monkeys. I haven't seen the new tiger cubs uet because they were only recently introduced to th public. There's a monorail which is somewhat similar to the Safari (without the story but the ride is still narrated and has cool animals). My point is that I haven't learned to love AK as much as I love the other parks.

Amanda

Oh... As slightly higher than basic family members, we got to attend an early morning at the Congo exhibit this summer. We went an hour before Zoo opening and spent time at the Congo exhibit with the animal handlers. We asked tons of questions about gorillas and were fed breakfast at the same time! Gorillas are awesome!

Amanda

The Bronx Zoo sounds awesome and the early morning Congo visit sounds amazing! What a nice way to get up close and personal with the animals and the handlers.

I think one of the problems with Animal Kingdom is that guests are so focused on riding the rides they don't spend as much time just enjoying the animals. I know that is the case with us. I love the trail in Asia with the Tigers, Fruit Bats and Komodo Dragons, but we never spend enought time there.

Now you have that song in my head..."And I just Can't wait to be king".....

That is my favorite song from The Lion King. I have never done Karaoke, but I have always wanted to do this song with one of my boys.

My second favorite is Scar's song: Be Prepared

"Yes, our teeth and amibitions are bared! Be Prepared!" Maybe not quite as catchy as some of the others, but the lyrics are killer!

Love the pics from the trail. That is one of my favorites also.

Can't wait to see your pictures if you made it over to AK on your recent trip.

There is or was one at the Toronto Zoo, one of the younger ones. The silver back we have Charles is one of the oldest animals at the Zoo he came here to Toronto from Gabon when he was about 3 years old. He is very protective of all of the Gorillas at the zoo though and is apparently a great father to them all.Despite the fact that he sits back a lot of the time when they are out

Gorillas have such distinctive personalities. Thanks for sharing the story about Charles.

Ha! I was singing that in my head as well!

Dee: I love the gorillas and I agree they are fascinating to watch. It was cool to have the CM explain the ages of some of the gorillas that were out. Did you ever notice the .... ahem... smell that was so pervasive in the area? A very musky smell that the CMs explained were from the adolescent males I believe.

"Unfortunately" I did not notice the smell.

Um, did you miss my chapter titled "The Showering Habits of Teens?" I had my own issues with aromas from adolescent males to deal with!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

HI Dee-I finally have access to a computer again (for a wee while at least). Mine has packed up and gone but my daughter has gone out tonight so I pinched erm borrowed hers (what she doesn't know doesnt hurt).
I love the trails/animals at AK but it is my families least favourite park (and lets just say that makes them less than delightful to tour with!!) Enough said

 

[AnjieNet]

What great photos of the safari and trail. We've been lucky at times and unlucky other times. Our best safari was in the rain about a half hour before closing. All the animals were out and standing around. I'm curious to see if you saw the tigers outside of the glass on the other trail (not going to attempt to botch the spelling of that one!). We haven't yet and I'm bound and determined to catch them moving about someday!

So happy Flat Ben is having a good time. We are looking forward to his stay with us. Hope he doesn't mind a trip to Universal/IOA before heading to WDW and MNSSHP.

 

[natebenma]

HI Dee-I finally have access to a computer again (for a wee while at least). Mine has packed up and gone but my daughter has gone out tonight so I pinched erm borrowed hers (what she doesn't know doesnt hurt).
I love the trails/animals at AK but it is my families least favourite park (and lets just say that makes them less than delightful to tour with!!) Enough said

Good to have you back. Sorry about the loss of your computer. That would send me into fits!

AK is my family's least favorite park, too. We are good for about 1/2 to 3/4 of a day there during a week long trip.

What great photos of the safari and trail. We've been lucky at times and unlucky other times. Our best safari was in the rain about a half hour before closing. All the animals were out and standing around. I'm curious to see if you saw the tigers outside of the glass on the other trail (not going to attempt to botch the spelling of that one!). We haven't yet and I'm bound and determined to catch them moving about someday!

So happy Flat Ben is having a good time. We are looking forward to his stay with us. Hope he doesn't mind a trip to Universal/IOA before heading to WDW and MNSSHP.

I think time of day, and more importantly weather play a huge factor in how many animals are out and about. Cool and overcast/rainy seem to be the key.

Spoiler alert. We didn't spend any time on the trails in Asia, so we didn't see the tigers, Komodo Dragons or fruit bats. I think I have only seen the tigers against the wall, behind the glass, never out and about. We have always been on that trail in the late morning or early afternoon, in the summer = HOT!

Flat Ben will LOVE going to Universal/IoA! He is a real Gryffindork. I'll have to make a special version of FB for the occasion. Don't forget your Gringotts ATM card though, FB drinks his weight in Butterbeer. I'll get in touch with you by PM in the next couple of days to make the arrangements to get him to you, or you can email me at beachclubdee@yahoo.com

 

[MHTeacher]

I had some catching up to do. Looks like you got some great pictures on the safari--I can't believe you saw three lions!

Your trail pictures are great too. I'm not prudish--just sort of grossed out by the naked mole rats. They're just a little too rodent-y for me! Love the gorilla pics. They are my favorite! I could watch them for hours!

 

[natebenma]

After we exited the trail, some of the kids went over to a gift shop while waiting for others to return from their bio breaks. Once we were all assembled (Count to 14), we walked from Africa to Asia to use our FP at Expedition Everest.

Looking at the time stamp on my photos, we left Africa at 10:27, got into the EE queue at 10:37 and boarded the ride at 10:43.

2 kids and 1 adult sat out the ride and waited for us.


Here’s some pictures as we buzzed through the FP line:

Let’s ride!

Next up: Who Gets Wet on Kali and Who Doesn’t?

.

 

[natebenma]

I had some catching up to do. Looks like you got some great pictures on the safari--I can't believe you saw three lions!

Your trail pictures are great too. I'm not prudish--just sort of grossed out by the naked mole rats. They're just a little too rodent-y for me! Love the gorilla pics. They are my favorite! I could watch them for hours!

I imagine things have been time consuming at school this year with some of the new curriculum you have. Hope it is going well!

I was so excited to see 3 lions. And actually get a picture of them.

Lions were Nathan's favorite animals when he was young and so they will always be a special animal to me. Hint, hint, sniff- my avatar is Nay Nay Roar, Nathan's favorite toy from the time he was 18 months old until, well, quite a while!

I agree with you- the naked mole rats just ain't right. But my pictures came out good!

The gorillas are so interesting. I got way behind my group because I spent a teeny bit too much time watching them...

 

[333disneymom]

Dee- love your ride pics. That's one thing I never seem to get - I am always afraid of dropping my camera. You got some really good ones on Expedition Everest.

 

[MEK]

Now that looks like one fun ride on EE. Great pictures. Everyone on your train looks like they are having a blast!

 

[natebenma]

Dee- love your ride pics. That's one thing I never seem to get - I am always afraid of dropping my camera. You got some really good ones on Expedition Everest.

Thank you!!!

I love taking pictures on rides. The only close call I have had with dropping my camera was on a zipline in Mexico as we were traveling over enclosures with cheetahs and alligators. I had the camera strapped to my wrist, but somehow I lost my grip on the actual camera and it flew up and hit me in the face.

We have a second ride on EE later that day, so I have a few more photos coming up.

Now that looks like one fun ride on EE. Great pictures. Everyone on your train looks like they are having a blast!

Yes, very fun ride!

For the record, none of the people in the photos on EE were part of my group. I believe I was at the end of our pack. Some of the arms in the air belonged to our teens, though.

Did I notice a recent visit from the Tag Fairy???