PrincessTToo
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 11, 2003
- Messages
- 159
I hit the snooze button twice after it went off at 5:00 AM. But I was up at the AKL Concierge Lounge by the appointed 6:45 AM check in time for the Sunrise Safari. I couldnt find my Scottish friends from the previous night. When we last spoke, they seemed none too excited at the prospect of getting up so early.
I was surprised to see some people with Sunrise Safari name tags eating the Concierge breakfast. Didnt they know we were going to get a huge buffet after the safari?
Eventually we were all gathered up and then guided down to the Sunset Lounge where we waited even longer. I had never been on a WDW Tour with young children before and started to get anxious the more restless they became. But then even I was getting restless despite being full of decongestants and aspirin.
I found my Scottish friends as we were finally being gathered up again and herded out to the buses. We were driven through the behind the scenes part of the AK. It was fascinating especially seeing the bicycles that the CMs use to get from the parking lot to their work areas. And the buildings that house the different animals were equally interesting. You should see the huge steel poles inside the rhino building. Wish I could have taken pictures but we were asked not to take any behind the scenes pictures. Our tour guide on the bus was great. He told us he had been at the San Diego Zoo for 20 years before being recruited by Disney to help build the AK savannas.
We were dropped off very close to the entrance for the Kilimanjaro Safari. I was so lucky. I got the very last row of the vehicle all to myself with my Scottish friends in the row in front of me.
I had taken still pictures on the Sunset Safari so I decided to just try our digital camcorder on the Sunrise Safari. It turned out absolutely fantastic. The sunlight was just perfect. And Ive never seen so many animals out and so active before. The lion and lioness started to cuff and tumble. Everything was just wonderful.
After I got home I showed the video to my DH and he says that it really felt like youre there. The audio turned out great and you can hear everything the guide (the same one as on the bus) said. This was literally a dream come true. Ive always been so frustrated on the Kilimanjaro Safari at how fast it goes. Just when you spot something they take off again. I understand why they do that but its frustrating none the less.
The two safaris turned our so well. I am so happy that I decided not to skip this trip despite how sick I was. It was well worth the trouble and expense. I honestly didnt care about doing anything else the rest of the trip.
It was 9:05 AM when were ended our safari and headed to our breakfast buffet at Tusker House. It was really good and I was one of the first to go back for seconds. We had assigned seating so I didnt get to sit with my Scottish friends. I sat across from a young child who was still learning how to talk to strangers. Then one of the other CM guides sat down next to me. He was great. He works with the pigs (i.e. wart hogs) and his wife works with the tigers. Ah, my dream come true to work with the big cats. He said he loves working with the pigs because they are so incredibly intelligent. And like all the CMs he just hates the Ostriches. I guess its bad enough that they are so stupid (their brains are smaller than their eye) but they are also mean. The young child kept interrupting us with long, disjointed, babbling talk so I didnt get to ask all the questions I wanted to. The CM was very polite with the child as was I. But I could tell the CM was trying to decide if the child was on his way to becoming an ostrich or a pig.
During breakfast they handed out FPs for Kilimanjaro Safari, but I decided that Id already seen the best the Kilimanjaro Safari had to offer. I kept looking for someone to give the FP to but couldnt find anyone by themselves.
I wandered over to the Maharaja Jungle Trek and spent a long time with the bats. There was one quite active one out and eating fruit. I was there so long that I heard the spiel from the CM several times. Especially the part about how they cant fly through the bars and dont have ankles so they cant land on the ledge.
Then I walked over to the tigers and they were both sleeping. No one else was there so I had them all to myself. I kept looking at their beautiful markings and wondering where their kiss spot was. Every animal has a kiss spot. My kitties have kiss spots on the tops of their heads and my dog has a kiss spot on his cheek.
On the way out, I chatted with a lovely older couple whose son works at the park. Then I walked to Pocahontas but just missed her. Then I walked on to Lion King. I was third row center in the Giraffe section. The preshow is very cute but I was too drugged up with those darn decongestants to be able to do the hand jive. I also realized how much I missed my DH when I caught myself starring at the monkey rear ends a little too long. Those monkey men sure are in good shape!
It was very long and slow process to get out of The Lion King. I was really starting to fade so I just caught the bus back to AKL. It only took about 10 minutes. I grabbed some mango juice in the Concierge Lounge and headed back to my room to catch up on my journal.
After a short break I decided to head to DTD. I drove in on the opposite end than I was expecting and ended up having to cross over several lanes of traffic to get to the Marketplace parking lot. I also wrote down specific directions back to the car . Turn at Ursula and dip under the tree and then 50 paces to the car. I was finally winning the hide and seek game with the rental car.
I wandered around WOD but couldnt find anything. I really wanted the AK Park CD but they didnt have it. Then I went to Goofys Candy Shop. Ghirardellis used to be my favorite but now Goofy has stolen my chocolate loving heart. I got two chocolate pretzels and 1 peanut butter cup and a 20 oz bottle of Diet Coke.
I wandered around a few more DTD shops without buying anything and then drove back to AKL. I know I should have gone back out to the parks but it was so wonderful to sit out on my balcony and read and enjoy the breeze and the animals. I promised myself that I was going to take it easy again today and then do a super-commando day tomorrow.
I went down to the Zawadi Marketplace and got some popcorn. The CM asked did you find everything? and I explained about the AK Park CD. Surprise, surprise... they had it. I just love it. It is so relaxing. And it turned out to be the only souvenir I purchased on this trip.
The rest of the evening was spent reading, watching animals and watching TV. As I went to bed I made the horrible mistake of taking two Actifed tablets which is twice the recommended dosage. I had the weirdest reaction. I started seeing twinkling lights like Tinkerbell was in my room or like I was getting a weird migraine. If I had been thinking clearly (or at all) I probably should have called 911 but I literally couldnt even reach out for the phone. All I could think was what better place to die than in this beautiful room in this lovely resort. I fell asleep with a big smile on my face.
I was surprised to see some people with Sunrise Safari name tags eating the Concierge breakfast. Didnt they know we were going to get a huge buffet after the safari?
Eventually we were all gathered up and then guided down to the Sunset Lounge where we waited even longer. I had never been on a WDW Tour with young children before and started to get anxious the more restless they became. But then even I was getting restless despite being full of decongestants and aspirin.
I found my Scottish friends as we were finally being gathered up again and herded out to the buses. We were driven through the behind the scenes part of the AK. It was fascinating especially seeing the bicycles that the CMs use to get from the parking lot to their work areas. And the buildings that house the different animals were equally interesting. You should see the huge steel poles inside the rhino building. Wish I could have taken pictures but we were asked not to take any behind the scenes pictures. Our tour guide on the bus was great. He told us he had been at the San Diego Zoo for 20 years before being recruited by Disney to help build the AK savannas.
We were dropped off very close to the entrance for the Kilimanjaro Safari. I was so lucky. I got the very last row of the vehicle all to myself with my Scottish friends in the row in front of me.
I had taken still pictures on the Sunset Safari so I decided to just try our digital camcorder on the Sunrise Safari. It turned out absolutely fantastic. The sunlight was just perfect. And Ive never seen so many animals out and so active before. The lion and lioness started to cuff and tumble. Everything was just wonderful.
After I got home I showed the video to my DH and he says that it really felt like youre there. The audio turned out great and you can hear everything the guide (the same one as on the bus) said. This was literally a dream come true. Ive always been so frustrated on the Kilimanjaro Safari at how fast it goes. Just when you spot something they take off again. I understand why they do that but its frustrating none the less.
The two safaris turned our so well. I am so happy that I decided not to skip this trip despite how sick I was. It was well worth the trouble and expense. I honestly didnt care about doing anything else the rest of the trip.
It was 9:05 AM when were ended our safari and headed to our breakfast buffet at Tusker House. It was really good and I was one of the first to go back for seconds. We had assigned seating so I didnt get to sit with my Scottish friends. I sat across from a young child who was still learning how to talk to strangers. Then one of the other CM guides sat down next to me. He was great. He works with the pigs (i.e. wart hogs) and his wife works with the tigers. Ah, my dream come true to work with the big cats. He said he loves working with the pigs because they are so incredibly intelligent. And like all the CMs he just hates the Ostriches. I guess its bad enough that they are so stupid (their brains are smaller than their eye) but they are also mean. The young child kept interrupting us with long, disjointed, babbling talk so I didnt get to ask all the questions I wanted to. The CM was very polite with the child as was I. But I could tell the CM was trying to decide if the child was on his way to becoming an ostrich or a pig.
During breakfast they handed out FPs for Kilimanjaro Safari, but I decided that Id already seen the best the Kilimanjaro Safari had to offer. I kept looking for someone to give the FP to but couldnt find anyone by themselves.
I wandered over to the Maharaja Jungle Trek and spent a long time with the bats. There was one quite active one out and eating fruit. I was there so long that I heard the spiel from the CM several times. Especially the part about how they cant fly through the bars and dont have ankles so they cant land on the ledge.
Then I walked over to the tigers and they were both sleeping. No one else was there so I had them all to myself. I kept looking at their beautiful markings and wondering where their kiss spot was. Every animal has a kiss spot. My kitties have kiss spots on the tops of their heads and my dog has a kiss spot on his cheek.
On the way out, I chatted with a lovely older couple whose son works at the park. Then I walked to Pocahontas but just missed her. Then I walked on to Lion King. I was third row center in the Giraffe section. The preshow is very cute but I was too drugged up with those darn decongestants to be able to do the hand jive. I also realized how much I missed my DH when I caught myself starring at the monkey rear ends a little too long. Those monkey men sure are in good shape!
It was very long and slow process to get out of The Lion King. I was really starting to fade so I just caught the bus back to AKL. It only took about 10 minutes. I grabbed some mango juice in the Concierge Lounge and headed back to my room to catch up on my journal.
After a short break I decided to head to DTD. I drove in on the opposite end than I was expecting and ended up having to cross over several lanes of traffic to get to the Marketplace parking lot. I also wrote down specific directions back to the car . Turn at Ursula and dip under the tree and then 50 paces to the car. I was finally winning the hide and seek game with the rental car.
I wandered around WOD but couldnt find anything. I really wanted the AK Park CD but they didnt have it. Then I went to Goofys Candy Shop. Ghirardellis used to be my favorite but now Goofy has stolen my chocolate loving heart. I got two chocolate pretzels and 1 peanut butter cup and a 20 oz bottle of Diet Coke.
I wandered around a few more DTD shops without buying anything and then drove back to AKL. I know I should have gone back out to the parks but it was so wonderful to sit out on my balcony and read and enjoy the breeze and the animals. I promised myself that I was going to take it easy again today and then do a super-commando day tomorrow.
I went down to the Zawadi Marketplace and got some popcorn. The CM asked did you find everything? and I explained about the AK Park CD. Surprise, surprise... they had it. I just love it. It is so relaxing. And it turned out to be the only souvenir I purchased on this trip.
The rest of the evening was spent reading, watching animals and watching TV. As I went to bed I made the horrible mistake of taking two Actifed tablets which is twice the recommended dosage. I had the weirdest reaction. I started seeing twinkling lights like Tinkerbell was in my room or like I was getting a weird migraine. If I had been thinking clearly (or at all) I probably should have called 911 but I literally couldnt even reach out for the phone. All I could think was what better place to die than in this beautiful room in this lovely resort. I fell asleep with a big smile on my face.
