mrsapalm
<font color=FF0099>WDWWDS COO & Senior Exec. VP<fo
- Joined
- May 10, 2002
Cast:
Me - MrsAPalm
DH
29 August:
Flew in to MCO from IAH... landed around 10:20. Dennis from Yourride was there to greet us. We arrived at CBR, check-in was quick and painless. We were then driven to our destination, Jamaica 42, and we were then able to really settle in for our vacation. The first thing I did was turn on the tv to get our Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah-Tip-For-Today. We set the sleep timer on the tv, and fell asleep to that channel. That would come to be our nightly routine.
30 August:
Our first full day! We awoke at 7:00 (would come to be our usual wake-up time), and was out the door by 7:55. We journeyed to our bus stop (taking the long way I found out later) and sat down to wait for our bus to DAK.
We finally arrived at DAK at 8:40. Redeeming our AP vouchers was a breeze... so we headed to the lines at the gate. The talking potted tree was entertaining the crowd to our left, so that was our first taste of Official Disney Amusement. Then, the crowd was officially welcomed to the park, the characters came dancing down the lane, and the gates opened at 8:50.
We strolled over to the Dinoland rope, and videoed the wee primates that are in one of the animal "islands" on the pathway to Dinoland. The rope dropped at 9:00, and at that we made a beeline for Dinosaur. We hadn't ridden Dinosaur since our honeymoon in 2000, so it was neat to experience this again "for the first time." It's an exciting ride, but way too short.
We then headed to Dinorama and walked on to Primevil Whirl. It was a fun ride... the second drop is the best part... but we were both a bit dizzy when we exited. It's a doozy... don't ride if you've just eaten! We also took in TriceriTop Spin for giggles... short ride - left me feeling sort of "blah," meaning I could've done without it.
After having our Dino adventure, we made our way to Africa, where we walked onto the Safari (i.e. no long wait - maybe 10 minutes). I filmed the various wildlife, including the lovely shots of a particularly hairy man sitting to my left. Of course we were able to save Little Red, but things were touch-and-go for a while there!
We then walked through the Pangani trail and videoed some more wildlife. Not much to say about this portion... the gorillas are lovely and very interesting to watch, and the meerkats were pandering to the camera, much to my delight.
At this point, we decided to make our way to Camp Minnie-Mickey to take in the Festival of the Lion King. There was a 5 minute wait from the time we sat down (they had already begun seating when we arrived). We ended up in the Elephant section (aroooroooo). I, having earned a degree in Theatre, was awestruck at the staging and movement of the show. It was very beautiful. I think I sat there with my mouth open the whole time, just taking it all in. Lovely picture, I'm sure!
From there, we took advantage of the AP Lounge, refilling our water bottle and enjoying the breezy fans and cooling atmosphere. Well worth it, in my opinion. It cooled me off plenty, so I don't know why others are finding fault with it. DH played the racing game for a bit, then we were off again...
To lunch! We ate at Flame Tree Barbecue. DH had the ribs, I had the pork shoulder sandwich. DH declared his plate to be delicious, while I wasn't so confident about mine. But let me explain... I am not too fond of pork as a food product, so I don't tend to enjoy pork dishes too much. I did want to try this, so I knew there was a chance I wouldn't like it. The beans were quite enjoyable, so my lunch wasn't a bust by any means. We sat in one of the waterfront terraces and were entertained by the music from Tarzan Rocks while we dined. When we were finishing up, another guest was remarking to her parents on the presence of an alligator in the water. At first, I didn't believe her, but then, as I gazed into the water, I saw it too! It was a wee one (probably 3 feet in length) and it looked as though it were begging for food! I took a picture of it, and also noticed the school of fish swimming close to it. Don't tell me that some wildlife around there don't know where to get "the goods!" I didn't see anyone around us actually feeding it, though, but I hope it was able to find respite somewhere!
Next was the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We spent lots of time with the tigers and the bats... both very beautiful and graceful creatures. We then braved the Kali River Rapids. Now, the wait time was advertised as 10 minutes, but we waited double that amount of time. We decided to be brave and go poncho-less, a decision which immediately bit us in the bum. The first splash was more like a full-on shower, and from that point on we were soaked to the bone. We squelched off the ride, found a corner in the path, and wrung out our clothes the best we could. Big frowny-faces from me, but then again, we didn't wear our ponchos like my conscience told me we should.
Looking every bit the part of drowned rats, we secured seats for Tarzan Rocks. Parts of this show are very, very good, but the "concert-only" parts are boring to me. But, that's the concept of the show, so I guess this show doesn't rate well with me. From there, we squelched back onto Dinosaur for one more ride (again with no wait time), and exited the gift shop to find it was raining steadily. Now, picture this moment of futility... we Put On Our Ponchos (still fully soaked from Kali)!! We made our way back to the AP Lounge to refill the water bottle, and decided that wet underlovelies were making me miserable.
So we caught a bus back to CBR to change clothes. We then decided to hit MGM.... where we arrived right before parade time. We wound our way through the throngs of strollers to the 50's Prime Time Cafe. Aunt Carrie took care of us, made sure we had completed our homework, and had us set our table. I had the Clam Chowder appetizer, DH had the salad. I had a glass of Pinot Grigio, DH had Amstel Light. We both had the meatloaf, which neither of us were particularly fond of. I don't like black pepper, with which the loaf was loaded, and DH didn't like the processed texture. DH then decided to tell on me to Aunt Carrie, since I didn't want to finish my meal. Aunt Carrie took sympathy on me, and told me I could have any dessert I wanted, and DH Could Have None! So, I had Dad's Super Sundae.... deeeeelish! I couldn't finish it, but it was soooooo good... topped with M&M's and Caramel Corn! Yum!!
We took in One Man's Dream (very moving exhibit) but in the middle of the film I had to pee so bad I thought I was floating! I was so happy when the lights came up, I bolted for the door, DH following reluctantly. After visiting the Ladies Room, we made our way to the Fantasmic Theatre, where we secured seats in the Scar section, not too far from the front row.
We donned our ponchos again as the weather gave forboding signs of unpleasantness. It rained, and rained, and rained. The thunder and lightening did nothing to lift the moods of those around us, and I tried my best to bargain with the Weather Elders to lend us a reprieve. It again didn't bode well when the Stage Manager had the Entire Crowd move to the BATB theatre, to keep us "safe from the lightening." After about 10 minutes of this cacaphony, it was announced that they would not be performing tonight's production of Fantasmic. We all sort of knew it, but we wanted to hear it from the mouths of Those In Charge, just to be sure.
We trudged back to the bus stop, my lower lip jutting out, matching my long face. A small bright note, however, emerged when we turned on the tv when we got back to our room. The Texans-Bucs game was on, so we watched that until bedtime.
Our first day was a long one, but we got off to a wonderful start despite the weather. I went to bed with hopes for a dry tomorrow, as it would be my birthday.
-MrsAPalm
Me - MrsAPalm
DH
29 August:
Flew in to MCO from IAH... landed around 10:20. Dennis from Yourride was there to greet us. We arrived at CBR, check-in was quick and painless. We were then driven to our destination, Jamaica 42, and we were then able to really settle in for our vacation. The first thing I did was turn on the tv to get our Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah-Tip-For-Today. We set the sleep timer on the tv, and fell asleep to that channel. That would come to be our nightly routine.
30 August:
Our first full day! We awoke at 7:00 (would come to be our usual wake-up time), and was out the door by 7:55. We journeyed to our bus stop (taking the long way I found out later) and sat down to wait for our bus to DAK.
We finally arrived at DAK at 8:40. Redeeming our AP vouchers was a breeze... so we headed to the lines at the gate. The talking potted tree was entertaining the crowd to our left, so that was our first taste of Official Disney Amusement. Then, the crowd was officially welcomed to the park, the characters came dancing down the lane, and the gates opened at 8:50.
We strolled over to the Dinoland rope, and videoed the wee primates that are in one of the animal "islands" on the pathway to Dinoland. The rope dropped at 9:00, and at that we made a beeline for Dinosaur. We hadn't ridden Dinosaur since our honeymoon in 2000, so it was neat to experience this again "for the first time." It's an exciting ride, but way too short.
We then headed to Dinorama and walked on to Primevil Whirl. It was a fun ride... the second drop is the best part... but we were both a bit dizzy when we exited. It's a doozy... don't ride if you've just eaten! We also took in TriceriTop Spin for giggles... short ride - left me feeling sort of "blah," meaning I could've done without it.
After having our Dino adventure, we made our way to Africa, where we walked onto the Safari (i.e. no long wait - maybe 10 minutes). I filmed the various wildlife, including the lovely shots of a particularly hairy man sitting to my left. Of course we were able to save Little Red, but things were touch-and-go for a while there!
We then walked through the Pangani trail and videoed some more wildlife. Not much to say about this portion... the gorillas are lovely and very interesting to watch, and the meerkats were pandering to the camera, much to my delight.
At this point, we decided to make our way to Camp Minnie-Mickey to take in the Festival of the Lion King. There was a 5 minute wait from the time we sat down (they had already begun seating when we arrived). We ended up in the Elephant section (aroooroooo). I, having earned a degree in Theatre, was awestruck at the staging and movement of the show. It was very beautiful. I think I sat there with my mouth open the whole time, just taking it all in. Lovely picture, I'm sure!
From there, we took advantage of the AP Lounge, refilling our water bottle and enjoying the breezy fans and cooling atmosphere. Well worth it, in my opinion. It cooled me off plenty, so I don't know why others are finding fault with it. DH played the racing game for a bit, then we were off again...
To lunch! We ate at Flame Tree Barbecue. DH had the ribs, I had the pork shoulder sandwich. DH declared his plate to be delicious, while I wasn't so confident about mine. But let me explain... I am not too fond of pork as a food product, so I don't tend to enjoy pork dishes too much. I did want to try this, so I knew there was a chance I wouldn't like it. The beans were quite enjoyable, so my lunch wasn't a bust by any means. We sat in one of the waterfront terraces and were entertained by the music from Tarzan Rocks while we dined. When we were finishing up, another guest was remarking to her parents on the presence of an alligator in the water. At first, I didn't believe her, but then, as I gazed into the water, I saw it too! It was a wee one (probably 3 feet in length) and it looked as though it were begging for food! I took a picture of it, and also noticed the school of fish swimming close to it. Don't tell me that some wildlife around there don't know where to get "the goods!" I didn't see anyone around us actually feeding it, though, but I hope it was able to find respite somewhere!
Next was the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We spent lots of time with the tigers and the bats... both very beautiful and graceful creatures. We then braved the Kali River Rapids. Now, the wait time was advertised as 10 minutes, but we waited double that amount of time. We decided to be brave and go poncho-less, a decision which immediately bit us in the bum. The first splash was more like a full-on shower, and from that point on we were soaked to the bone. We squelched off the ride, found a corner in the path, and wrung out our clothes the best we could. Big frowny-faces from me, but then again, we didn't wear our ponchos like my conscience told me we should.
Looking every bit the part of drowned rats, we secured seats for Tarzan Rocks. Parts of this show are very, very good, but the "concert-only" parts are boring to me. But, that's the concept of the show, so I guess this show doesn't rate well with me. From there, we squelched back onto Dinosaur for one more ride (again with no wait time), and exited the gift shop to find it was raining steadily. Now, picture this moment of futility... we Put On Our Ponchos (still fully soaked from Kali)!! We made our way back to the AP Lounge to refill the water bottle, and decided that wet underlovelies were making me miserable.
So we caught a bus back to CBR to change clothes. We then decided to hit MGM.... where we arrived right before parade time. We wound our way through the throngs of strollers to the 50's Prime Time Cafe. Aunt Carrie took care of us, made sure we had completed our homework, and had us set our table. I had the Clam Chowder appetizer, DH had the salad. I had a glass of Pinot Grigio, DH had Amstel Light. We both had the meatloaf, which neither of us were particularly fond of. I don't like black pepper, with which the loaf was loaded, and DH didn't like the processed texture. DH then decided to tell on me to Aunt Carrie, since I didn't want to finish my meal. Aunt Carrie took sympathy on me, and told me I could have any dessert I wanted, and DH Could Have None! So, I had Dad's Super Sundae.... deeeeelish! I couldn't finish it, but it was soooooo good... topped with M&M's and Caramel Corn! Yum!!
We took in One Man's Dream (very moving exhibit) but in the middle of the film I had to pee so bad I thought I was floating! I was so happy when the lights came up, I bolted for the door, DH following reluctantly. After visiting the Ladies Room, we made our way to the Fantasmic Theatre, where we secured seats in the Scar section, not too far from the front row.
We donned our ponchos again as the weather gave forboding signs of unpleasantness. It rained, and rained, and rained. The thunder and lightening did nothing to lift the moods of those around us, and I tried my best to bargain with the Weather Elders to lend us a reprieve. It again didn't bode well when the Stage Manager had the Entire Crowd move to the BATB theatre, to keep us "safe from the lightening." After about 10 minutes of this cacaphony, it was announced that they would not be performing tonight's production of Fantasmic. We all sort of knew it, but we wanted to hear it from the mouths of Those In Charge, just to be sure.
We trudged back to the bus stop, my lower lip jutting out, matching my long face. A small bright note, however, emerged when we turned on the tv when we got back to our room. The Texans-Bucs game was on, so we watched that until bedtime.
Our first day was a long one, but we got off to a wonderful start despite the weather. I went to bed with hopes for a dry tomorrow, as it would be my birthday.
-MrsAPalm
