Dopey, 45, single Mom to Sleepy, annual DW trip since Sleepy was 4
Doc, turning 40 during trip, my SO, 5th trip
Sleepy, my 17 year old son
Happy, 18, Sleepy's girlfriend
Old Key West Resort
Day 5, Sun 2/18, beautiful day, sunny 70-80
Today we were originally supposed to go to Universal Escape. However, after waking up, we all decided to postpone that a day; and instead head over to Animal Kingdom, then go to MGM. I called and changed our Mears transportation reservations for Universal to the next day; and then called WDW Dining and arranged priority seating for Sci Fi at MGM for 2:00.
We headed to our bus stop, and caught the bus for Animal Kingdom. The last time Doc, Sleepy & I had been to AK was the day before its grand opening in April 1998. It was hot, mobbed with people, and not fun. So, we had not been too anxious to get back there. But we wanted to give it a try for a few hours, and it turned out that we were glad we did. When we first entered AK, we did what everyone else does: we headed to the Safari. We picked up fast passes, and then did the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Wow, we actually saw gorillas! When we had been here in '98, I asked a CM where the gorillas were and his answer was, "Gorillas don't like people, so they avoid them." I remember looking around at the masses of people surrounding me and thinking "You have GOT to be kidding me".
Anyway, we saw gorillas, we saw hippos, we saw fish, and we saw birds. Within a ý hour of being in AK this time, we had seen more animals than we had in 5 hours in 1998. After the trail, we went into one of the shops, and Happy bought one of her friends a neat candle. Then it was time for our Safari. We turned in our fast passes and walked right on. (What a great feeling walking by all the poor souls waiting in the standby line.) The Safari was great. We saw lots of animals, but I'm not too crazy about that hokey poacher story.
Next, we decided to do Dinosaur. We were walking that way to get fast passes, when I smartened up, and asked Sleepy & Happy if they'd like to go get the fast passes, and Doc & I would get seats for the Festival of the Lion King. They said sure, and they were off. Doc & I waited on a bench just outside the theatre, where I spotted ice cream for sale just across the path. Off I went to get a chocolate soft-serve in a waffle cone and bottled water. Doc & I shared the ice cream - it was delicious.
Happy & Sleepy got back just as people were allowed to go into the Lion King. We were seated right in front of a huge tour group - and they were really hurting my ears with all their yelling before the show began. The show began and I finally saw for myself what all the fuss is about ⦠it's a great show.
Next, it was to Dinosaur with our fast passes. There was a little bit of a wait - maybe 10 minutes, and then we were on. What fun! I really liked this ride a lot! After the ride, we realized that we were closing in on our ps time for Sci Fi at MGM. I suggested that the kids go ahead of us and try to catch a bus before us; then we would catch up at Sci Fi. They thought that was a great idea and they were off. This gave Doc the perfect excuse to stop and buy himself a beer.
We moseyed on out of AK, looking at various birds on the way out. We walked over to the MGM bus stop just as a bus was pulling up. On we went, and we were sitting there as other people were boarding. Suddenly I looked up & realized that 2 familiar faces were in front of us ⦠Sleepy & Happy! They had taken a few wrong turns! (just a few???)
At MGM, Sleepy & Happy went ahead, and when Doc & I got there, they were waiting out front and said it was OK - the CM told them it would just be a 10 minute wait. But right then, our name was called and inside we went. We all had delicious meals - the kids had prime rib sandwiches, Doc got a cheeseburger, & I had a chicken sandwich.
After Sci Fi, we went and got fast passes for Star Tours. We checked out Tatooine Traders, and Doc & Sleepy got souvenirs for some friends. We then walked over and did Muppet Vision - how I love this show, and how I love Beaker. He makes me laugh so much. Next we went back to Star Tours - it was a walk on with our fast passes. Then we walked over and did the Great Movie Ride. I had never had to wait for this one like we did this time - we waited about 20 minutes. After that, Sleepy & Happy took all our passes and walked down to Rock & Roller to get fast passes. Doc and I waited out front of the Chinese Theatre.
When Sleepy & Happy got back, they told us that R&R was out of fast passes, so they ended up getting them for Tower of Terror. By this time it was close to 6, and I suggested we watch the early Fantasmic, because the wind was picking up a little, and with the sun going down, it might get a little chilly. (I had brought my sweatshirt with me, after what had happened the night before, but no one else had.) We ended up shopping on Hollywood Boulevard for a while where Doc bought himself a sweatshirt. Then we all headed up towards the T of T. Doc & I went ahead to Fantasmic to save seats, while the kids did T of T twice using the 4 fastpasses.
We got great seats 5 rows from the top, one section from the center. We sat for a little while, and then I went and waited up at the top. I called my mom, and then watched for the kids. Soon, they came, having used their 4 fast passes. Although we preferred the bellhops as a pre-show, the one they had wasn't bad, and kept us amused. The little boy from our section who was chosen to tell a joke was a big hit. His joke was: Why did the cow go to Hollywood? Because he wanted to be a moooooooooooooooooo-vie star! He told it so good! Also, I really couldn't imagine a "slow motion wave"; but that looked really great! Fantasmic started, and unfortunately, the wind picked up. We were near the top, yet we kept getting sprayed with water! We were really getting wet; and I felt bad for Happy in her tank top. Doc gave her his sweatshirt for a while, and then Sleepy tried to keep her warm. The show was great as always, but a lot of people got up in front of us and left before the show ended.
Sleepy & Happy took off ahead of us because they were cold, and Doc & I stopped and got a hot dog. We stopped off at the General Store back at OKW for milk and while in the Store, we saw the CM from 2 nights before and Doc thanked him for what he'd done for him for his birthday. His response? He gave Doc another pin! We got back to our room at a decent time - by around 8:30. Tomorrow is Universal Escape & Cirque du Soleil.
Doc, turning 40 during trip, my SO, 5th trip
Sleepy, my 17 year old son
Happy, 18, Sleepy's girlfriend
Old Key West Resort
Day 5, Sun 2/18, beautiful day, sunny 70-80
Today we were originally supposed to go to Universal Escape. However, after waking up, we all decided to postpone that a day; and instead head over to Animal Kingdom, then go to MGM. I called and changed our Mears transportation reservations for Universal to the next day; and then called WDW Dining and arranged priority seating for Sci Fi at MGM for 2:00.
We headed to our bus stop, and caught the bus for Animal Kingdom. The last time Doc, Sleepy & I had been to AK was the day before its grand opening in April 1998. It was hot, mobbed with people, and not fun. So, we had not been too anxious to get back there. But we wanted to give it a try for a few hours, and it turned out that we were glad we did. When we first entered AK, we did what everyone else does: we headed to the Safari. We picked up fast passes, and then did the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Wow, we actually saw gorillas! When we had been here in '98, I asked a CM where the gorillas were and his answer was, "Gorillas don't like people, so they avoid them." I remember looking around at the masses of people surrounding me and thinking "You have GOT to be kidding me".
Anyway, we saw gorillas, we saw hippos, we saw fish, and we saw birds. Within a ý hour of being in AK this time, we had seen more animals than we had in 5 hours in 1998. After the trail, we went into one of the shops, and Happy bought one of her friends a neat candle. Then it was time for our Safari. We turned in our fast passes and walked right on. (What a great feeling walking by all the poor souls waiting in the standby line.) The Safari was great. We saw lots of animals, but I'm not too crazy about that hokey poacher story.
Next, we decided to do Dinosaur. We were walking that way to get fast passes, when I smartened up, and asked Sleepy & Happy if they'd like to go get the fast passes, and Doc & I would get seats for the Festival of the Lion King. They said sure, and they were off. Doc & I waited on a bench just outside the theatre, where I spotted ice cream for sale just across the path. Off I went to get a chocolate soft-serve in a waffle cone and bottled water. Doc & I shared the ice cream - it was delicious.
Happy & Sleepy got back just as people were allowed to go into the Lion King. We were seated right in front of a huge tour group - and they were really hurting my ears with all their yelling before the show began. The show began and I finally saw for myself what all the fuss is about ⦠it's a great show.
Next, it was to Dinosaur with our fast passes. There was a little bit of a wait - maybe 10 minutes, and then we were on. What fun! I really liked this ride a lot! After the ride, we realized that we were closing in on our ps time for Sci Fi at MGM. I suggested that the kids go ahead of us and try to catch a bus before us; then we would catch up at Sci Fi. They thought that was a great idea and they were off. This gave Doc the perfect excuse to stop and buy himself a beer.
We moseyed on out of AK, looking at various birds on the way out. We walked over to the MGM bus stop just as a bus was pulling up. On we went, and we were sitting there as other people were boarding. Suddenly I looked up & realized that 2 familiar faces were in front of us ⦠Sleepy & Happy! They had taken a few wrong turns! (just a few???)
At MGM, Sleepy & Happy went ahead, and when Doc & I got there, they were waiting out front and said it was OK - the CM told them it would just be a 10 minute wait. But right then, our name was called and inside we went. We all had delicious meals - the kids had prime rib sandwiches, Doc got a cheeseburger, & I had a chicken sandwich.
After Sci Fi, we went and got fast passes for Star Tours. We checked out Tatooine Traders, and Doc & Sleepy got souvenirs for some friends. We then walked over and did Muppet Vision - how I love this show, and how I love Beaker. He makes me laugh so much. Next we went back to Star Tours - it was a walk on with our fast passes. Then we walked over and did the Great Movie Ride. I had never had to wait for this one like we did this time - we waited about 20 minutes. After that, Sleepy & Happy took all our passes and walked down to Rock & Roller to get fast passes. Doc and I waited out front of the Chinese Theatre.
When Sleepy & Happy got back, they told us that R&R was out of fast passes, so they ended up getting them for Tower of Terror. By this time it was close to 6, and I suggested we watch the early Fantasmic, because the wind was picking up a little, and with the sun going down, it might get a little chilly. (I had brought my sweatshirt with me, after what had happened the night before, but no one else had.) We ended up shopping on Hollywood Boulevard for a while where Doc bought himself a sweatshirt. Then we all headed up towards the T of T. Doc & I went ahead to Fantasmic to save seats, while the kids did T of T twice using the 4 fastpasses.
We got great seats 5 rows from the top, one section from the center. We sat for a little while, and then I went and waited up at the top. I called my mom, and then watched for the kids. Soon, they came, having used their 4 fast passes. Although we preferred the bellhops as a pre-show, the one they had wasn't bad, and kept us amused. The little boy from our section who was chosen to tell a joke was a big hit. His joke was: Why did the cow go to Hollywood? Because he wanted to be a moooooooooooooooooo-vie star! He told it so good! Also, I really couldn't imagine a "slow motion wave"; but that looked really great! Fantasmic started, and unfortunately, the wind picked up. We were near the top, yet we kept getting sprayed with water! We were really getting wet; and I felt bad for Happy in her tank top. Doc gave her his sweatshirt for a while, and then Sleepy tried to keep her warm. The show was great as always, but a lot of people got up in front of us and left before the show ended.
Sleepy & Happy took off ahead of us because they were cold, and Doc & I stopped and got a hot dog. We stopped off at the General Store back at OKW for milk and while in the Store, we saw the CM from 2 nights before and Doc thanked him for what he'd done for him for his birthday. His response? He gave Doc another pin! We got back to our room at a decent time - by around 8:30. Tomorrow is Universal Escape & Cirque du Soleil.
