2 Redheads and 1 Brunette take on Disney, with pics!! FINISHED!!

[Kimberly815]

I am so glad that everyone is enjoying the report! I highly recommend taking a "Friend's Only" trip if you can manage it! It rocked!!


The next installment will be up soon!

 

[Kimberly815]

Day 2 September 1st Animal Kingdom

'Zip-a-dee-doo-dah'- the alarm goes off.

I spring out of bed and hop into the shower (okay. . maybe I didn't spring and hop, but I did get up reasonably quickly). . . with barely even a stir from the other two ladies. . . . I guess it was a good thing that they showered last night.

The plan was to be ready to go to the park by about 8-8:15 AM. We wanted to hit every opening we could this trip.

We were ready by 7:30 AM.

Oops, my bad. I guess I overestimated the wake up time!

We put good use to our extra time, by walking around the All Star Movies Resort a bit and take some photos. We walked from the Mighty Ducks building, through the Dalmatians area, and over to the main building.

On our way, we came across a room that likely belonged to another Diser. Dalmatians Room 7910 with the green Mickey's in the window. . . we saw you!! We meant to take a picture of your room on the way back to the car, but we forgot. Sorry.

We poked in the store and picked up a few souvenirs. Then we hopped in the car and headed to Animal Kingdom.

As we were waiting in line, for the gates to open, we came across Wes Palm (the talking palm tree). He was keeping the crowd company with his silly antics. The kids in line loved it, and it was entertaining to watch him make his way through the crowds. This was the first time I have seen him, and he really is neat to watch.

Finally, they opened the gates and let the crowd into Discovery Island . . . to wait for the opening ceremony. The ceremony was very cute, but we really couldn't see too much from where we were, there were too many people in front of us. Here is a little look with Jen's zoom:

No matter- we were on a mission . . .a mission to climb to the top of Expedition Everest. . . as fast as our feet would take us.

Finally, the rope dropped (Does it actually drop? I have never been close enough to the front to really see it?). . . and we were off, running to the mountain. . . .(and by running, I mean that we slowly and safely followed the CM's at an appropriate speed).

When we got to Expedition Everest the wait time said '15 minutes'. Michelle and I hopped in line (which was currently out the door and not moving- they weren't letting anyone into the 'real' part of the queue yet) while Jen ran to get Fastpasses. Jen joined us back in line just as they were starting to let people in the door.

I was so excited for this. I have been on Expedition Everest already. I was lucky enough to come to WDW in May with my fiancé and soon to be MIL, and we rode it . . . twice. And I couldn't wait to hear the reaction from my two best friends!

We walked right onto the ride. I offered to ride alone, since I have been on the ride before. And we were off!

They loved it! The ride photo was PRICELESS! Michelle and Jen screaming in the front seat, with me just smiling in the back. This was the one photo all weekend that we wished that we had bought.

The safari was a must do for all of us (and Michelle had kept asking me for the weeks leading up to the trip, that we make sure to ride it) so it was over to Africa next. The wait time said 10 minutes, but we walked right onto the ride. The animals were pretty active, however, our driver really didn't seem into the routine. He was soft spoken, mumbled, and didn't really seem into saving Big Red and Little Red, but we managed to get those poachers without his help.

We started heading back to Expedition Everest to use our Fastpasses. Along the pathway, we came across Devine, hiding herself among the trees. We stood there for a little bit and watched. She really is mesmerizing, and just amazing to watch. As time went on, a few more people joined us in watching her. However, most of the crowds zipped by, looking at us funny. I think I even heard someone ask why we were staring at the trees.

We walked right onto Expedition Everest again with our fastpasses, for a second great ride. Gotta love that Yeti!

All three of us were hungry, so we decided to eat lunch. I have only ever eaten at the Flame Tree Barbeque at Animal Kingdom in the past. I would have liked to eat there again today. It is delicious.

But it was hot out. Too hot. Way to hot. Unbearable, insanely, HOT. My one request- I don't care where we eat, as long as it has seating indoors with air-conditioning.

We decided on Pizzafari, and had a great leisurely free lunch there. I haven’t really had pizza at WDW since my first trip, when I had the pizza at Pizza Planet in MGM. It was gross that time, so I have been reluctant to order pizza again. Today, the pizza was nice, fresh, hot, and delicious.

Pizzafari total of free food: $37

We sat in the cool air-conditioning to decide our tactic for the afternoon. The only other MUST DO on our lists was Festival of the Lion King.. . . and we were in luck. Not only were we nearby, but there was a show that started in just 20 minutes.


Next time: The Festival of the Lion King, and some rain to cool off our second safari!!

 

[Jennifer48]

They loved it! The ride photo was PRICELESS! Michelle and Jen screaming in the front seat, with me just smiling in the back. This was the one photo all weekend that we wished that we had bought.

Yup, the only thing I wish I had bought. We actually wrote down the photo number to go back later and we lost it...d'oh! Guess the Yeti was too much excitement for these redheads!

 

[The_Grim]

Great pics of EE!

I was up near the front of the line at the opening at Epcot once (to get some fastpasses for Sorain') from what I recall, there is an actual rope drop, but then you have to stay behind the castmembers as they walk into the park, you can't just make a mad dash...if you could, I would run to Ice Station (*cough* Club ) Cool, and then onto Soarin'....I could be mistaken about the rope though....

 

[NurseJamie]

Great TR! Sounds like you girls had a lot of fun... plus you hafta be OK cuz at least one of you is a Red Sox fan!

Keep the report coming!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

Great TR! Sounds like you girls had a lot of fun... plus you hafta be OK cuz at least one of you is a Red Sox fan!

Keep the report coming!!!

Take a look at my avatar...we all are!

 

[Kimberly815]

We made our way over to Camp Minnie-Mickey, and were seated in the warthog section and snorted our way through an excellent show.

Timon was right next to us, and was VERY animated while singing along with the show. Next time you are there, and sitting nearby him. . .check it out. He just can’t help but get in the groove of things! It is hilarious!

We had accomplished all the things that we wanted to do at Animal Kingdom (which really wasn't too much), we decided to do one more circle of the park, doing anything else we might want to do, and then head out.

We made our way back to Africa, and picked up a fastpass for the Safari, to make sure that Michelle got enough of a Safari fix. We strolled back to see the gorillas to kill a little bit of time waiting for our fastpass to be good to use.

The gorillas were right next to the observation glass today, sleeping. . .giving us a lovely view of their big hairy behinds.

Then Jen got a call from her boyfriend. Rain was coming. And a lot of it.

The first sprinkles started to come down. We decided that a trip to the Conservation Station would be the perfect way to get out of the rain.

As we waited for the train, the rain got steadily heavier . . .and I got a phone call from my fiancé.

Fiancé: I normally wouldn't bother you when I know you are having fun at Disney but. . .
me: Is everything okay? No one's hurt right?
Fiancé: Everyone's fine. But I had to tell someone!!
Me: Well, what is it already!?!?!
Fiancé: My sister Kathleen is pregnant! (He has three sisters; all older and married; but only one so far with one child)
Me: That's great!

He sounded so excited to be becoming an uncle again.

We hopped on the train, and poked around the Conservation Station for while. . . and it was still raining. . . and for a while more. . .it was still raining. . . .We took over on of the benches nearby the butterfly room and people watched. . .it was still raining. . . .We watched one couple stare at the cocoons for an absurdly long time . . . it was still raining . . .and the cocoon people became our obsession.

The cocoon wasn't even moving or anything. . .but they just kept staring. It’s not like the butterfly might crack its way out of the cocoon today. But still they stared. Fascinated. For a very, very long time.

They looked like they might be honeymooners. And they were wearing pins of some kind. Pins that we could not read from our bench.

They kept staring at the cocoon.

So Michelle investigated . . .and pretended to be looking closely at the cocoons as well. . . . Until she realized she couldn't read a darn thing without her glasses on.

They kept staring at the cocoon.

But now we needed to know what those pins said! We couldn't live without knowing. Our investigation became more and more obvious with every minute.

Michelle put her glasses on and went back to look , still squinting through the glass.

How they didn’t notice us giggling and staring at them is beyond me!

They kept staring at the cocoon.

So Jen investigated . . . . And was able to read the pins. . . and on the pin was. . . . . Mickey and Minnie and underneath it said congratulations.

That’s it?!?! Seriously!?!? All that work for that!! I mean, it was cute, but a little bit of a let down after all that work! Especially since we already figured out they were probably honeymooners.

Our shenanigans did have one upside- While we were watching the them stare at the cocoon it had stopped raining.

They were still staring at the cocoon when we left.

So we made our way back to use our safari fastpasses. We saved Little Red, again. The animals were very active just after the rain, and our safari guide was much more lively than the one this morning.

We walked through Asia and down to Dinosaur. Michelle and I decided to go for the ride, while Jen opted to sit this one out.

The wait time said 20 minutes, but it wasn’t. We walked right into the preshow, and right onto the ride, into a half empty time rover.

We finally started to make our way out of the park, with Jen and I stopping to enjoying It's Tough to be a Bug, while Michelle did a little shopping; and eventually made our way back to the car.

It was only about 3:00 PM when we arrived back at the All Star Movies, and we didn't have any plans until our 7:00 PM reservations at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. One look out the window and we knew it: The pool was calling our names!

Next time: The pool and the hunt for towels!

 

[Jennifer48]

Timon was right next to us, and was VERY animated while singing along with the show. Next time you are there, and sitting nearby him. . .check it out. He just can’t help but get in the groove of things! It is hilarious!

He was making me cry I was laughing so hard!

He sounded so excited to be becoming an uncle again.

Awwww The_Grim

We hopped on the train, and poked around the Conservation Station for while. . . and it was still raining. . . and for a while more. . .it was still raining. . . .

For some reason this is making me sing "...the rain, rain, rain came down, down down...."

We took over on of the benches nearby the butterfly room and people watched. . .it was still raining. . . .We watched one couple stare at the cocoons for an absurdly long time . . . it was still raining . . .and the cocoon people became our obsession.

Now for those reading this, this was maybe one of those things ya had to be there for. We have no idea why but they kept diligently staring at those cocoons! They would whisper something to each other every now and then but rarely taking their eye off the cocoons. They had no idea that we were obsessed over their pins. I guess we could have just asked but we didn't want to disturb their concentration!

We walked through Asia and down to Dinosaur. Michelle and I decided to go for the ride, while Jen opted to sit this one out.

I had come up with a pretty good headache and I knew the bumpiness that was to come on Dinosaur! Hence why I opted out. I sat in a nice shaded area under an awning where the exit queue dumps you out. She's not kidding about how quick either! I felt like I had just sat down when they came walking out. I figured they opted out too!

 

[Jennifer48]

Man we look hot in this photo, don't we?!
Now I like the heat, but after that afternoon thunderstorm, the humidity level elevated to something like "obscene." I don't know how that CM who took our picture was still alive in her long pants and vest!

 

[Cass]

You girls didn't take a pic of that cocoon??

 

[Kimberly815]

You girls didn't take a pic of that cocoon??

Good point! I have no idea how we didnt' take a picture of our cocoon friends, or their cocoon! I think we were too giddy to even think of it! Darn it! Now I wish we had!!

 

[Cass]

I'm dying to see it now... them crazy honeymooners

 

[Jennifer48]

how did we not even think of that?! I should have at least take a picture of them from behind to prove the intensity of their concentration. We couldn't really take a good picture of the cocoons since they were standing directly in front of them the whole time. Taking a picture of them through the other side of the glass might have looked a little suspicious

 

[The_Grim]

You girls didn't take a pic of that cocoon??

Yeah, where are the cocoon pics???

I can't wait to hear all about the Whispering Canyon Cafe! We're going there in January! I'm gonna get me some skillet!

 

[Kimberly815]

We changed into our suits and headed out to the Duck Pond Pool (in the Mighty Ducks section) with just a key card in hand.

We walk around. Looking for towels.

There are no towels.

We search every side of the pool. . . still NOTHING. Now we have been walking around for a while, in our swimsuits. People are starting to stare.

So we walk to the Sorcerer Mickey Pool, looking for towels.

There are no towels there either.

But we can smell the World Premiere Food Court. And it smells good. . . .So we have a snack to tide us over until dinner. $12 more of free food.

We figure that the Concierge Desk is our best bet for some more towels, so we stop by and pick up plenty of them and head back to the Duck Pond Pool. (Please note, that on our checkout day, we finally found the little card asking us to please bring our room towels out to the pool- apparently we moved it when we arrived, and never gave it a second glance! )

I always forget how refreshing a swim is in the middle of or after a long hot day. After about a half an hour, we start to towel off and head back to the room.

There was a cute British family that had just showed up to enjoy an afternoon swim themselves. Mom was sitting on a lounge chair nearby while Dad and the teenage kids start playing in the water. There were some water noodles floating around, so Dad picked one up and started slapping the water with it. . Making a very loud noise.

BritishMom: Dear, you are scaring the little children with that, please stop.
BritishTeen: Yeah, Dad. You are scaring the kiddies, but not as much as when you are wearing your Speedo!

On that note we headed back to the room.

We quickly showered and changed and headed over to the Wilderness Lodge. This Resort is beautiful! We enjoyed the lobby, the grounds, the shop.

Finally, we checked in for our ADR at the Whispering Canyon Cafe about 30 minutes early. We were seated immediately.

Charles brought us to our table, and gave us some pictures to color. I got Belle, Michelle got Tink, and Jen got Tow Mater . He must have thought had three princesses! Jen started to hers in anyhow (she happens to like Tow Mater very much, so it worked out okay) and just a few minutes later Charles brought us even more pictures of princesses, to make up for Tow Mater. So thoughtful!

Kate was our server, and she felt like a great aunt that we had known forever. She was fantastic. We didn't get too involved in the antics. . .but we twirled our napkins, cheered on the horse trot, and did the hokey pokey (actually, I think Jen might have been the only one who can honestly say she hokey pokey-ed ).

There was one particularly memorable moment at dinner though. Mom and Dad of one family, sent Suzie and Billy to 'borrow' a bottle of ketchup from another family (that had about 20 bottles on their table), instead of asking for ketchup like they were supposed to . . . and got CAUGHT RED HANDED!!!

It wasn't Billy and Suzie's fault, so Mom and Dad got in trouble. Their waitress announced to the entire restaurant to "hold onto your watches and purses, folks! We've got thieves in the building!" She had us shake our fingers at Mom and Dad and tell them never to send their children to do their bidding again! Billy and Suzie looked like they were in HEAVEN watching their parents get scolded!

Our Dinner:

We proceeded to not pay our bill of $127 and were about to head out when Charles came back over to check on us. Jen was the only one who finished coloring her picture (the one of Tow Mater) , and Charles took it to hang it up on the wall.

We headed back to the hotel to make it an early night, since we wanted to be fresh the next morning for the Magic Kingdom!!!



Up next: Magic Kindom day! FINALLY!

 

[DisneyObsession]

OOOHHH that food looks good! Sounds like you gals had alot of fun!

So what happens next?!?

 

[Cass]

mmmm those desserts! yummy. How was the food quality? that steak looks huge. Did you try and good drinks?

 

[Jennifer48]

We didn't get too involved in the antics. . .but we twirled our napkins, cheered on the horse trot, and did the hokey pokey (actually, I think Jen might have been the only one who can honestly say she hokey pokey-ed ).

Thats right! I was the ONLY one of the crew to actually get up and Hokey Pokey.

That S'Mores cheesecake was to DIE for!

We proceeded to not pay our bill of $127 and were about to head out when Charles came back over to check on us. Jen was the only one who finished coloring her picture (the one of Tow Mater) , and Charles took it to hang it up on the wall.

Can you see my pic hanging behind us?? I wonder if its still there?!

 

[Kimberly815]

OOOHHH that food looks good! Sounds like you gals had alot of fun!

So what happens next?!?

You'll just have to wait and see!

 

[Kimberly815]

mmmm those desserts! yummy. How was the food quality? that steak looks huge. Did you try and good drinks?

Jen's is right.. the desserts were delicious. We really liked the skillet a lot. Michelle had the steak, and if I remember correctly, it was big, but she didn't like it that much- and left a lot of room for those yummy desserts. The only drinks we had that night were sodas. . . we will have to try the other beverages next time!