A Halloween Adventure in Autism (11/7) Prayer Request for Catie (p.129)

[IluvXU]

So sorry the ticker moved again...

 

[joy13]

Sometimes it's so hard to be practical But - you know how time flies -February 2012 will be here before you know it

 

[KathyRN137]

....Not to mention, I read the other day that Fantasyland is supposed to be completed by 2012! You'll be just in time!

Oooh, that's a good point! Thanks!

I think it makes sense to move it from Christmas week. I personally would be really overwhelmed MYSELF with that crowd level

The thought of those crowds just haunted me!!

Oh Kathy... So sorry you had to change your ticker.

But I totally get the reasons why! I would love to see Disney at Christmas, but I don't think I'd want to be there during the busiest week of the year!

Thanks for the hug; I needed it!

Oh Kathy, what a bummer. Don't you just hate it when that little voice creeps in. All your reasons are good ones though and will probably make the trip better once you get there.

I think so, too. Thanks!

As beautiful as it is at Christmas, February is a good time to visit as well.

Seems like everybody FROZE this past Christmas Week! I think the Feb weather is much more dependable!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

...So I am thinking maybe Kidani, because a 2-br would sleep nine of us and I think my niece and nephew would love having the animals right outside.

And don't forget, with a 2-BR at Kidani you'll have 3 bathrooms!! Watching animals on the savanna was a real highlight for my kids.

Get well soon!

kathy,

I'll give Mickey and big hug and Minnie a big kiss...

Have a great time!

Ah man, I am sorry Who knows, maybe it will change or maybe it will be the right time.

Thanks, there are so many pros and cons to every time of the year... no one time is "perfect" but we all want our trips to be as perfect as possible, right?!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Awww, Kathy, sorry you had to change your ticker. But remember, that things can change overnight, .....you could win a big- all-expenses paid trip to disney...

Ahhh, that would be a dream come true!

Like the others have already said, your reasons for changing are good. Those two extra months will fly by!

Yes. I think that I'm bemoaning the two years more than the two months!!

Sorry you had to change your ticker....but that's what tickers are made for....sometimes they move forward and sometimes they move backward. What goes around, comes around. President's week will be fun.

At least I am lucky enough to have a ticker... we all need our dreams!

....I can tell you that we went President's Week in 2009 and had the best time. I think that the crowds were much less then I had feared and while I may have been a little partial being that it was my honeymoon, we did have the best time and on our first MK day either walked on or had very very little wait time on everything and we were even able to do the mountian trifecta before 4pm.

Congratulations on your marriage! And thanks for the encouraging comments about Presidents' Week crowds!



Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Boo for having to change your ticker! I agree though that your reasons are VERY good ones.

So sorry the ticker moved again...

Sometimes it's so hard to be practical But - you know how time flies -February 2012 will be here before you know it

Ah well, ladies, what can you do?? It's hard to be an adult and be practical about these things! Thanks for popping in and lending me your support!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter Sixteen: Asian Studies


Sunday Morning
November 1, 2009
Kidani Village/Animal Kingdom



So….I really had you going there, huh? Come on, DISers, did you think I would schedule a rope drop the day after our crew was up so late at the MNSSHP? Well, it’s true that I did make a few party boo-boos, but planning to get up early the following morning was not going to be one of them! We went to bed that night without even setting the alarm. Ahhh!



As usual, Billy was the first one up… I want to say that it was around 8am when he woke me by calling out in a loud voice, “It’s morning! Time to get up!” It would’ve been nice to bring him into bed with Ed and me for a little snuggle time, but darn! He was wet again! Pajamas, sheets and pads… back you go into the washing machine! Laughing happy boy, off you go into the shower! After getting washed and dressed there was no way he was going to go back to sleep. His sister and his cousin, however, were still snoozing away in the darkened living room so I poured him some Cheerios and let him watch a little Stacy in our bedroom.


Laundry… separate sleeping areas… DVC villa, I love you!


Eventually I began rousting the rest of the family out of bed and got myself showered and dressed. Our plan for the day was to hit Animal Kingdom with the primary goal of introducing Catie to Expedition Everest. She adores coasters and was very excited. While we ate our breakfast of champions (cold cereal and milk) she called her mom and told her all about the party the previous evening. Once more I felt so bad that my DSis could not have come with us… she loves WDW. I chatted with her for a few minutes and was happy to discover that Catie had unlimited calling on her cell phone which made me feel a lot better… I would be borrowing her phone as needed until my charger arrived from New Jersey!



The girls took turns showering and of course, they wanted to spend some time out on the balcony looking out on the savanna. I gathered up all our pirate paraphernalia and boxed it up again to mail home. We really must’ve been puttering around that morning because camera evidence shows we did not arrive at Animal Kingdom until one o’clock! Hakuna Matata…no worries… I hadn’t one thing scheduled for the rest of the day, not even an ADR for dinner. For the next five hours we could explore AK as we wished and eat whenever we pleased. It felt rather good. Strange, but good!


Admiring more artwork and the lobby on our way to the resort bus stop:

We arrived at Animal Kingdom, negotiated the bag check, and stopped at the ticket window to purchase our park tickets for the week. The kids were really getting revved up for EE, aka “Snow Monster Ride!” per Billy.


Ed and Billy, sporting their Yankees American League Championship tee-shirts:

Before we had a chance to go through the turnstiles, however, Ed and I suddenly realized that we had an important phone call to make and it wound up taking us a little longer than we had planned. The kids were just sitting there in the hot sun looking bored, so I sent them over to meet some of the characters that were there doing meet ‘n greets outside the park.


Billy loves Baloo! He kept rubbing Baloo’s tummy!

He wasn’t quite as enchanted by Rafiki; he seems to be pulling away from him just a bit:

For some unknown reason Billy decided he did not want to meet Timon. Perhaps he was just restless and wanted to get going. Timon pantomimed that he was feeling sad and left out and motioned for the kids to come on over. The girls shook their heads “no” but tried to take his picture anyway. Well, Timon then pantomimed that he wasn’t going to let them take his picture and proceeded to duck every time the girls tried to capture him with their cameras, which of course made them laugh. Eventually they got him!


Tricia calls this her “stalker picture!” LOL.

Finally our business was concluded and we ushered the kids through finger-scan. What a beautiful day it was… sunny and warm, but not quite as humid as it had been the day before. I would have liked to linger a bit in the Oasis, but the kids were on a mission to get over to Asia and ride Expedition Everest! I did manage to get them to stop for some photopass pictures along the way:

I never get tired of seeing that magnificent tree come into view!

Come on, Mom! Enough pictures…we want to see the Yeti!

Entering the village of Anandapur (Sanskrit for “place of delight).

Ed always sits this one out, so the kids and I utilized the GAC to enter the FP queue. I was surprised to find that we were able to get as far as the final room before the queue ended, and that was at 1:30pm! Hmmm. We’ve been coming to the AK on Mondays in the past… perhaps Sundays were even better! Tricia was so excited that she and Catie were going to ride together. (Usually I sit with Billy and she sits by herself, unless she gets partnered with someone from the single-rider queue.)


Look at Catie, anticipating her first-ever ride on EE:

Billy was all smiles as we prepared to depart, but when the camera came out he reverted to his “cheesy” face!

The entire train took off with a loud cheer and we were soon on our way up the mountain!

….and then down the mountain, backwards! I tried to get a picture of the elusive Yeti, but it didn’t come out. Harrumph! We pulled into the station and, as expected, Catie’s reaction was a big two thumbs way up!! “Again! Again!” screeched Billy, so we rode again with the same partners. This time I put my camera away and simply enjoyed the thrill!


Someday I hope to persuade Ed to try this ride! You may recall from previous reports that he has an inner ear thing that makes him nauseous on rides that spin or go backwards. I think that the backwards portion of EE is so very brief… it probably wouldn’t affect him as much as he thinks it would. Nevertheless, I agree with him that no one ride is worth the possibility of being nauseous for the next couple of hours, so I won’t push it.


We met up on the path outside of EE and decided to walk the Maharaja Jungle Trek. The girls had their cameras ready… they were really looking forward to seeing the majestic tigers. I love the illusion of walking through a tropical paradise (without the threat of bugs or snakes!)

We spent a good deal of time here and it felt so good to be able to leisurely walk along the paths through the lush jungle vegetation. It’s much easier to do this when your children are a bit older… they really appreciate it more.


Before we could get to the tigers, however, we needed to enter the tin-roofed shack and have our encounter with the fruit bats. I like to watch them from behind the glass, although some of the viewing areas are open. I braved one for a picture and then went back to the safety of the glass partition!

The kids watched them for a long time and a CM was there to give little tidbits of bat info. We moved on to the aviary and Tricia told Catie the story of Aunt Rae and the “dirty bird.” (Sorry, Aunt Rae, love you!) The birds proved to be less interesting than the bats, however, and we soon moved on.


Continued in Next Post!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter Sixteen, continued:


We were viewing deer and antelope on a large expanse of “open” land and it was a lovely, peaceful scene until a huge crane with a long neck and even longer legs came running over the hill and dashed across the meadow with a loud, “Honk!!” It was a bit startling and everybody laughed.


This guy really stole the show:

The antelope are not amused:

On our way to the tigers… a themed drinking fountain that I love:

More beautiful surrounds:

Eventually we came to the ancient ruins where several tigers lounged in the sun. The girls went crazy over them and took tons of pictures. This one beauty came right up to the glass and paced back and forth within an arm’s reach of them. “Oh, I wish I could pet her!” Tricia gushed. She was a gorgeous animal.

​

Next up: Another "close" bird call!


Kathy

 

[jcc0621]

What a great AK day.

Yeah, Tricia would like to pet the tiger, until he ate her arm

Poor Timon

 

[moparop]

What an awesome day at AK! The crowds seem low even for arriving so late in the day.

It's unvelievable how close that tiger is to you guys!

 

[carissanboys]

I could really go for some of that beautiful weather right about now.

Sometimes having a park day with no plans is the best. Love your pictures while on EE! I think I'm going to try it in January. I think it's the only rollercoast I haven't done at WDW.

 

[MEK]

What a great AK day. It's so nice that you didn't feel the need to rush and you just went with the flow. You got some great pictures of the tigers. And EE.....I love that ride! Kudos to you for holding on to that camera and taking pics.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Great Update!

I think Ron and Abby were riding Everest around the same time as you guys were. I was sitting with Ethan in the shade. We had just finished up lunch at Yak & Yeti.

Can't wait to read about the rest of your day. I need to update my report, maybe after my workout.

 

[KathyRN137]

What a great AK day.

Yeah, Tricia would like to pet the tiger, until he ate her arm

Yeah, they're not exactly overgrown house cats!

What an awesome day at AK! The crowds seem low even for arriving so late in the day.

It's unvelievable how close that tiger is to you guys!

She kept pacing back and forth in front of the viewing window... we really felt as if we could reach out and touch her!

Yes, the crowds did seem low... the calm before the Jersey Week storm!

I could really go for some of that beautiful weather right about now.

Sometimes having a park day with no plans is the best. Love your pictures while on EE! I think I'm going to try it in January. I think it's the only rollercoast I haven't done at WDW.

Oh, you should! EE is so much fun and the queue is amazing... what a sensory experience!

What a great AK day. It's so nice that you didn't feel the need to rush and you just went with the flow. You got some great pictures of the tigers. And EE.....I love that ride! Kudos to you for holding on to that camera and taking pics.

Thanks, it's lovely to just roll along and see whatever you feel like seeing at the moment!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Great Update!

I think Ron and Abby were riding Everest around the same time as you guys were. I was sitting with Ethan in the shade. We had just finished up lunch at Yak & Yeti.

Can't wait to read about the rest of your day. I need to update my report, maybe after my workout.

Our paths seemed quite similar that week!

Good, I hope you can update; I'd like to read more!


Kathy

 

[disneylovin24]

Another great update. The timon "stalker" picture is too funny

 

[KathyRN137]

Another great update. The timon "stalker" picture is too funny

Thanks!

Hey, I hope you're planning to write a report about your trip that you're taking in three days!!
I want to hear all about BLT!


Kathy

 

[melk]

Someday I hope to persuade Ed to try this ride! You may recall from previous reports that he has an inner ear thing that makes him nauseous on rides that spin or go backwards. I think that the backwards portion of EE is so very brief… it probably wouldn’t affect him as much as he thinks it would. Nevertheless, I agree with him that no one ride is worth the possibility of being nauseous for the next couple of hours, so I won’t push it.



Kathy

One year we took my MIL and after seeing my (then) five year old ride multiple times, she decided she would conquer Everest. Well as soon as she came off she thought she was going to be sick. The first thing she said was "Is there a bush I can throw up in?" I was just imagining the posts on the DIS if she had done that?!?! She tried to rally but ended up having to go back to the room to lie down So tell Ed to go with his instincts!!!

Enjoyed the pictures...beautiful!

 

[DisMomAmy]

We really must’ve been puttering around that morning because camera evidence shows we did not arrive at Animal Kingdom until one o’clock! Hakuna Matata…no worries… I hadn’t one thing scheduled for the rest of the day, not even an ADR for dinner. For the next five hours we could explore AK as we wished and eat whenever we pleased. It felt rather good. Strange, but good!

I love that you had a day to explore AK without anything scheduled. We have a day similar to this scheduled for April. Tim & I have a date night that night, but that is our only plan for the day other than AK. Since AK is a half-day park, we usually have plans to hop somewhere else for the afternoon/evening. It'll be nice to get there when we feel like it, eat where we want & leave when we're ready.

Billy looks so old in this picture!

 

[joy13]

I rode Everest for the first time this last trip and I LOVED it! SIL did get dizzy though because of the backwards part - so Ed is probably wise to avoid it unfortunately. Doug doesn't do coasters anymore either - so I hope Maddie will be my ride buddy!

I love the tigers too, I always wish I could pet them too.