5 Days, 4 Parks, 3 DIS-meets, 2 ADR’s, and 1 Solo DISer! Done! Finished! Completed!!

[MRYPPNS]

Hey Heidi- Been awhile since I've mosied over here. But, I do love what I looky-see here!! 9:27 and you've already done EE twice!! You were cruisin!

Missed you over on the PTR side lately! DId the holidays keep you busy??

Hi! The baby is so active now it's hard to get a chance to DIS. Your report is one that I have to get caught up on....please tell me there are links!?! I did catch up with your blog the other night.....LOVE the quilt on the title!

I love your AK pictures. The theming is so immersive there. It really is a park to be taken slowly and savored.

I also think it's a park that has a lot of back story that we don't know.

Solo traveling, gotta love it.

EE so good and yet, still so Disney.

The theming at AK can not be beat.

I'm going to have a hard time waiting on the family for pee breaks next trip!

Agree with Jordan...AK theming is stunning...

I love the dump shop at EE...helps me get my land legs back...-in addition to the merchandise...

I love your morning show at AK photos-we always have missed that because I've scheduled Breakfast ADRs but I do love the afternoon parade there...

I have always been curious about school bread...is it donught like? & is that coconut & custard?

I tried in vain for a couple months to score an 8am breakfast ressie for that morning.

Schoolbread is like a fancy donut - yes coconut on top and a custard inside. My goal is to someday eat one the same day I buy it!

 

[jordanyosh]

That school bread sounds delicious.

 

[praisehisname]

You must have been right up against the rope--I've never seen such close pictures of the show!

Expedition Everest! I'm glad you liked it!!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Wonderful pictures from the opening show! You must have been right up next to the rope?

So glad you loved EE! Isn't it a fantastic ride?!! Love the queue too - especially when it's empty.

 

[TarzansKat]

I love quotes like this...

"I was now heading to Africa via Asia"

Don't you just love the Animal Kingdom? And you thrill seeker, you, I had no idea you were the Expedition Everest maverick! That's cool that you have the Yeti on your fridge to remember it by. I like little reminders like that in daily life.

 

[MRYPPNS]

That school bread sounds delicious.

I'm surprised you've never tried it Jordan.

Hey- did your PTR close or something? I'm just now realizing I haven't see it in my CP list lately.

You must have been right up against the rope--I've never seen such close pictures of the show!

Expedition Everest! I'm glad you liked it!!!

I think I had one child in front of me.

Wonderful pictures from the opening show! You must have been right up next to the rope?

So glad you loved EE! Isn't it a fantastic ride?!! Love the queue too - especially when it's empty.

This may sound weird but sometimes I would like a que to take longer so I could read the stuff and take better pictures. In some ques I actually told people to go ahead of me so I could look at the detailing.

I love quotes like this...

"I was now heading to Africa via Asia"

Don't you just love the Animal Kingdom? And you thrill seeker, you, I had no idea you were the Expedition Everest maverick! That's cool that you have the Yeti on your fridge to remember it by. I like little reminders like that in daily life.

My house is full of hidden disney stuff....DISers would spot it in seconds but I bet most of it goes unnoticed as being from Disney.

 

[MRYPPNS]

Day 3 Morning at AK continued…

I was headed to the Safari after my time in Asia.

Normally we go to KS first thing at rope drop so I didn’t know what to expect for a que. Well it seemed that everyone that wasn’t on EE was in line for the Safari so I grabbed a FastPass for later and headed to the Pangani Forest Trail.

Naked mole rat:

I must have 100’s of pictures of the Meerkats from all of my trips to AK.

Now here’s where solo touring gets even better. First off I love the Gorillas. Even when I’m there with my DH we spend more time than average watching the gorillas and it has paid off with seeing some fascinating behaviors. This trip after watching the Gorillas for a while I started asking the CM (Elise was her name) questions. Another woman-solo-traveler joined our discussion and we all must have talked about the Gorillas for at least 20 minutes. I wish I could remember all the interesting things Elise was telling us. It was very obvious that Elise loved her job and those Gorillas. Here’s what I remember: the male gorilla that is in with the females has a couple “kids” from prior “relationships” when he lived at a zoo. And Elise was hopefully that one of the females at AK was pregnant but they didn’t know for sure yet. We talked about how the animals are fed throughout the day and how those CM’s put the food in different places and containers so the Gorillas have to search it out. And so much more. I only left because the discussion turned to England (where the other woman was from). It was a wonderful experience!

After that I high-tailed it to the 1030am showing of Nemo….and I just made it in! DH and I had seen it the month that it had originally opened and I did see that they made some changes…all for the good. I can’t wait for Liam to see it….he’ll love it on our next family trip.

I decided it was time for lunch and wanted to try Flame Tree for the first time.

I ordered a large diet coke, a side of Onion rings and a Half Chicken only (meaning I didn’t want those nasty beans that comes with the meal).

The meal was good….a nice option instead of something in a stale wheat bun.

Since I had never eaten there before I didn’t realize how much seating was back there….and how beautiful it was.

The view from my table:

I just love all the art on the buildings.

Next stop….Dinoland. And you will see what happens when I read a Jack Spence (allears) article about Dinoland prior to my trip.

 

[jenjolt]

Another great AK update Heidi!!! The Pangani trail was the one P and I didn't make it too instead we headed over to the tigers and had a lot of fun watching their antics in the morning. It really paid off getting there early!!!

Hmmm...Flame tree looks so good and your view was amazing!!

Can't wait for more!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Love the pictures! It seems like your really got to enjoy all the little details around the AK. I'm still hoping to do that one of these days.

Flame Tree is a favorite of mine. I always end up with a seat right near that fountain. It's so relaxing just hanging around down there.

I can't wait to hear about Dinoland. I listened to a podcast awhile back all about it. I'm not sure if it was by the same person who wrote that article, but it was fascinating about the back story and detail over there.

 

[Charleston Princess]

How lovely that you were able to chat with the CM about the gorillas for so long.

We have never eaten at Flame Tree and would love to do so in July -- those onion rings would really hit the spot right now. Was there a lot of covered seating? I don't want to roast while I eat my ribs.

Love that cart you took a picture of on the way to Nemo!

 

[eandesmom]

Great update! How wonderful that you were able to hang out and chat Gorilla!

Flame Tree looks yummy! I'd love to eat there but am worried the food will be too heavy for the August heat.

 

[Charlefours]

Great AK updates! Love how close you were for rope drop. I think I would really like to do an adults only trip and especially a girl's only trip. I love DH and my DD, but the experiences you have enjoyed definitely make me want to experience it too!

 

[Mommy2LittleVols]

Another great update Heidi! I love the gorilla pictures, and that's awesome that you were able to get so much interesting info from the CM! Reading this TR has made me realize that a solo trip, though something that I never thought I would be interested in, is definitely in my future.

 

[DisMomAmy]

All of the little details at AK are great!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I apologize if this ends up as a double-post, having computer problems today!

Beautiful pictures of the gorillas!!!

Looking forward to your Dinoland exploring. I remember the article you mention, it really made me want to go and explore all the little details there!

 

[Native NYer]

Love your animal photos. It's so nice that you had the opportunity to talk to the CM about gorillas.

Your lunch looks so good and the view from your table is beautiful. I'd love to try Flame Tree BBQ in August.

 

[mousescrapper]

Day 3 Morning at AK continued…

to the Pangani Forest Trail.

are the pink sunglasses part of the display

is the bottom line on this crate say something?

This trip after watching the Gorillas for a while I started asking the CM (Elise was her name) questions. Another woman-solo-traveler joined our discussion and we all must have talked about the Gorillas for at least 20 minutes.

It was a wonderful experience!

this sounded great and love the pictures...



Since I had never eaten there before I didn’t realize how much seating was back there….and how beautiful it was.

isn't it so nice back there... Matt really liked it back there too and we have lots of pictures from our 08 trip!

Next stop….Dinoland. And you will see what happens when I read a Jack Spence (allears) article about Dinoland prior to my trip.

looking forward to it...

I usually always full so rushed sometimes in the parks getting from one thing to another...but I think from being there many times and reading more about all the hidden magic and wonderful detials especially here in AK...I really want to slow down and see the MAGIC!

I think I would really like to do an adults only trip and especially a girl's only trip. I love DH and my DD, but the experiences you have enjoyed definitely make me want to experience it too!

Reading this TR has made me realize that a solo trip, though something that I never thought I would be interested in, is definitely in my future.

You've started a trend Heidi...I would have never thought of a solo/friends trip if it wasn't for you!

Scrappie

 

[MRYPPNS]

Ok I had to google it.

Nyani - seems just to be a south African name (person/place)
Falls - English meaning Falls
shule - Swahili for school
ya hifadhi - (seems that Disney spelled it wrong on the crate) Swahili for reserve
ya wayama - Swahili for animals

That part of the park is suppose to be in Tanzania and Swahili is a language spoken in TZ so it makes sense

 

[DisMomAmy]

Ok I had to google it.

Nyani - seems just to be a south African name (person/place)
Falls - English meaning Falls
shule - Swahili for school
ya hifadhi - (seems that Disney spelled it wrong on the crate) Swahili for reserve
ya wayama - Swahili for animals

That part of the park is suppose to be in Tanzania and Swahili is a language spoken in TZ so it makes sense

Disney spelled it wrong!

 

[TarzansKat]

I absolutely love the gorillas, and didn't make it to AK on my last trip, so thanks for the photos!