Hettie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2001
- Messages
- 507
Dates: September 16-22, 2001
Resort: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Cast:
Heather (me)25Marketing Support Rep, Graduate student. Former WDW and
Disney Store Cast Member, obsessive vacation-planner.
Chad26Network systems programmer. Made fun of my obsessive vacation-
planning, but acknowledged the importance and appreciated the work.
Day 2, or I sure do like the lanky long-necks!
September 17,2001
Mickey called at 6:45 am. Not too hard to get up so early, I was excited about going to Magic Kingdom today. I went down to Mara to fill our mugs with coffee. I think I was only the second or third person to get there that morning. We drank our coffee in the room and checked the weather. The local weather guy was very excited about announcing that we would be experiencing record lows and no chance of rain. Talk about an awesome weather forecast. We were on our way to the bus stop at 7:30 and after a short wait and bus ride we arrived at Magic Kingdom around 8:00. We headed straight for Fantasyland since we would have a chance to do most of the Tomorrowland attractions during E-Night. First was the Pooh ride since it was new for both of us. We thought it was very cute and nice. The Tigger part was especially fun, as were the Heffalumps and Woozles. Next was Snow White, followed by Peter Pan, which is one of my favorites. I wanted to ride Dumbo but felt guilty about taking up an entire Dumbo for just me, since Chad didnt want to ride. So we skipped it and went over to Tomorrowland and went on Buzz, which was also a first for us. My score was terrible. Chads was great figures. We headed over to Alien Encounter. I dont like this attraction much, but wanted to see Chads reaction. Its a bit embarrassing, but this attraction actually scares me. I sit forward with a hand over my neck so that I cant feel the breathing. How ridiculous is that?
Chad decided that he must have some food before we went on any mountains so we wandered over to the Main Street Bakery to grab some breakfast. I had a cup of the yogurt parfait and it was good. Chad had the veggie sandwich with portabella mushrooms, also good, and an orange juice. Though it was past 9:00 when we left the bakery, there were hardly any people on Main Street. We did Pirates, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Haunted Mansion. All were walk-ons. I wanted to make sure and get to Carousel of Progress before we left for our lunch PS. I figured it was our last chance to see it, so we did for the sake of nostalgia. Then it was time to head to the Poly for our lunch at Kona Café.
We took the monorail over to the Poly. The restaurant was completely empty. We ordered the crab cakes and the pot stickers for appetizers. We decided that they were the best pot stickers wed ever had, and the crab cakes were delicious. I liked the marinated cucumbers that came with the pot stickers and the ginger with the crab cakes. I had a small Caesar salad and Chad had the mushroom ravioli. Both were very tasty. The ravioli was a huge portion and the ginger flavor went really well with the mushroom-stuffed pasta. I had deliberately saved room for dessert and decided on the KoKo Puffs. It was a tough decision because they also had a banana mousse. I really liked the KoKo Puffs. They had a light texture and werent too sweet, although quite rich. Its a big dessert. I could only eat two puffs and Chad ate one, leaving one left over. It was a great lunch and we would definitely eat there again.
After lunch we went out to the Poly beach and claimed a hammock. Now I really felt like I was on vacation. We stayed out there relaxing for quite awhile and didnt really want to leave, but finally forced ourselves to get a move on. I think the lady next to us was afraid we might steal her baby because we couldnt get over how cute it was sleeping in a hammock. I wanted to go by the Studios just to ride Rockn Roller Coaster before it was closed for rehab. We took the bus over and went straight to RnRC. No wait here either. I could get used to this. We loved it and got back in line for a second go. Very fun coaster and very smooth. We were in the back the first time, which whips you around more, and the second time we waited for the very first car. You can see more in the front. Everyone should try both.
Since we were coming back to the Studios on Thursday, we took the bus back to AKL for some swim time. The water was very warm today, so we had experienced a fluke the day before. I got a pizza from Mara because I wanted a snack. It was pretty good, but huge. I ate half and tried to convince Chad to eat the other half, but he only had a few bites. He wanted to save his appetite for sushi at Epcot. After awhile in the sun we decided to shower and go to Epcot, as we were both anxious to get there since its our favorite park. While I was getting ready Chad was watching the animals. He was trying to describe something that the eland did, but we hadnt studied the animals names at this point and he called it the bearded floofy-tail. I thought this was hilarious, so Chad went on to give all the animals silly descriptive names, which stuck for the rest of the week. See if you can identify the animals: stripedy donkey, lanky longneck, painted-face floofy tail, and horny bulls. LOL. I really shouldnt encourage him by thinking hes so funny, but I guess we just both have a strange sense of humor.
Once at Epcot, we did the mandatory Spaceship Earth first. It was just as fun as ever. The fountain was still off, by the way. I was excited to try the sodas in Ice Station Cool, so we went there next and had a good time talking to a nice older man about the ginger ale. We did try Beverly and it was pretty bad. I liked all the others though, especially the apple flavor. After the taste testing we tried to go on Living with the Land, but something was going on and there were no boats, so we decided to try again later. We then went over to try the new Imagination ride. Neither of us was impressed. I think changing it again is a good idea. I couldnt wait any longer to try Test Track. No wait again. I hope this low attendance thing doesnt spoil us for future visits. We enjoyed Test Track and like most people, wish the fast part was longer.
It was time to start making our way to the Japan pavilion. Our plan was to eat some sushi and catch Illuminations from Matsu no Ma lounge. The lounge was empty and we chose a window table. The service was very fast. We ordered the edamame (lightly boiled and salted soybeans in the pod) and our usual sushi selections: tuna, eel, octopus, salmon, and a spicy tuna roll. The sushi was delicious and very fresh. The eel tasted just as good as the eel in Japan (the real one) in my opinion. We also had the Kirin Ichiban beer; you simply cant have sushi without beer. LOL. We had just finished our sushi when Illuminations started. We felt like rock stars with our private room, as everyone else had left. I would recommend the lounge as a viewing spot. The red torii gate may obstruct your view a little though. I actually enjoyed its silhouette because Ive visited the real one at the Itsukushima shrine in Japan. This brought back some memories.
We watched all of Illuminations from the lounge, but Chad said the servers kept peeking out from the back and he felt uncomfortable. I dont know why they would mind us sitting there, unless they had to lock up or something. I guess there arent many people who watch the show from there. Leaving the park after Illuminations was a piece of cake. The park was that empty. We were tired by the time we got back to the Lodge, so we just watched some TV and went to sleep. Tomorrow would be more firsts for usDisneys Animal Kingdom and E-Night.
Coming soon Day 3, or -I havent come up with a title yet!!!
Resort: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Cast:
Heather (me)25Marketing Support Rep, Graduate student. Former WDW and
Disney Store Cast Member, obsessive vacation-planner.
Chad26Network systems programmer. Made fun of my obsessive vacation-
planning, but acknowledged the importance and appreciated the work.
Day 2, or I sure do like the lanky long-necks!
September 17,2001
Mickey called at 6:45 am. Not too hard to get up so early, I was excited about going to Magic Kingdom today. I went down to Mara to fill our mugs with coffee. I think I was only the second or third person to get there that morning. We drank our coffee in the room and checked the weather. The local weather guy was very excited about announcing that we would be experiencing record lows and no chance of rain. Talk about an awesome weather forecast. We were on our way to the bus stop at 7:30 and after a short wait and bus ride we arrived at Magic Kingdom around 8:00. We headed straight for Fantasyland since we would have a chance to do most of the Tomorrowland attractions during E-Night. First was the Pooh ride since it was new for both of us. We thought it was very cute and nice. The Tigger part was especially fun, as were the Heffalumps and Woozles. Next was Snow White, followed by Peter Pan, which is one of my favorites. I wanted to ride Dumbo but felt guilty about taking up an entire Dumbo for just me, since Chad didnt want to ride. So we skipped it and went over to Tomorrowland and went on Buzz, which was also a first for us. My score was terrible. Chads was great figures. We headed over to Alien Encounter. I dont like this attraction much, but wanted to see Chads reaction. Its a bit embarrassing, but this attraction actually scares me. I sit forward with a hand over my neck so that I cant feel the breathing. How ridiculous is that?
Chad decided that he must have some food before we went on any mountains so we wandered over to the Main Street Bakery to grab some breakfast. I had a cup of the yogurt parfait and it was good. Chad had the veggie sandwich with portabella mushrooms, also good, and an orange juice. Though it was past 9:00 when we left the bakery, there were hardly any people on Main Street. We did Pirates, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Haunted Mansion. All were walk-ons. I wanted to make sure and get to Carousel of Progress before we left for our lunch PS. I figured it was our last chance to see it, so we did for the sake of nostalgia. Then it was time to head to the Poly for our lunch at Kona Café.
We took the monorail over to the Poly. The restaurant was completely empty. We ordered the crab cakes and the pot stickers for appetizers. We decided that they were the best pot stickers wed ever had, and the crab cakes were delicious. I liked the marinated cucumbers that came with the pot stickers and the ginger with the crab cakes. I had a small Caesar salad and Chad had the mushroom ravioli. Both were very tasty. The ravioli was a huge portion and the ginger flavor went really well with the mushroom-stuffed pasta. I had deliberately saved room for dessert and decided on the KoKo Puffs. It was a tough decision because they also had a banana mousse. I really liked the KoKo Puffs. They had a light texture and werent too sweet, although quite rich. Its a big dessert. I could only eat two puffs and Chad ate one, leaving one left over. It was a great lunch and we would definitely eat there again.
After lunch we went out to the Poly beach and claimed a hammock. Now I really felt like I was on vacation. We stayed out there relaxing for quite awhile and didnt really want to leave, but finally forced ourselves to get a move on. I think the lady next to us was afraid we might steal her baby because we couldnt get over how cute it was sleeping in a hammock. I wanted to go by the Studios just to ride Rockn Roller Coaster before it was closed for rehab. We took the bus over and went straight to RnRC. No wait here either. I could get used to this. We loved it and got back in line for a second go. Very fun coaster and very smooth. We were in the back the first time, which whips you around more, and the second time we waited for the very first car. You can see more in the front. Everyone should try both.
Since we were coming back to the Studios on Thursday, we took the bus back to AKL for some swim time. The water was very warm today, so we had experienced a fluke the day before. I got a pizza from Mara because I wanted a snack. It was pretty good, but huge. I ate half and tried to convince Chad to eat the other half, but he only had a few bites. He wanted to save his appetite for sushi at Epcot. After awhile in the sun we decided to shower and go to Epcot, as we were both anxious to get there since its our favorite park. While I was getting ready Chad was watching the animals. He was trying to describe something that the eland did, but we hadnt studied the animals names at this point and he called it the bearded floofy-tail. I thought this was hilarious, so Chad went on to give all the animals silly descriptive names, which stuck for the rest of the week. See if you can identify the animals: stripedy donkey, lanky longneck, painted-face floofy tail, and horny bulls. LOL. I really shouldnt encourage him by thinking hes so funny, but I guess we just both have a strange sense of humor.
Once at Epcot, we did the mandatory Spaceship Earth first. It was just as fun as ever. The fountain was still off, by the way. I was excited to try the sodas in Ice Station Cool, so we went there next and had a good time talking to a nice older man about the ginger ale. We did try Beverly and it was pretty bad. I liked all the others though, especially the apple flavor. After the taste testing we tried to go on Living with the Land, but something was going on and there were no boats, so we decided to try again later. We then went over to try the new Imagination ride. Neither of us was impressed. I think changing it again is a good idea. I couldnt wait any longer to try Test Track. No wait again. I hope this low attendance thing doesnt spoil us for future visits. We enjoyed Test Track and like most people, wish the fast part was longer.
It was time to start making our way to the Japan pavilion. Our plan was to eat some sushi and catch Illuminations from Matsu no Ma lounge. The lounge was empty and we chose a window table. The service was very fast. We ordered the edamame (lightly boiled and salted soybeans in the pod) and our usual sushi selections: tuna, eel, octopus, salmon, and a spicy tuna roll. The sushi was delicious and very fresh. The eel tasted just as good as the eel in Japan (the real one) in my opinion. We also had the Kirin Ichiban beer; you simply cant have sushi without beer. LOL. We had just finished our sushi when Illuminations started. We felt like rock stars with our private room, as everyone else had left. I would recommend the lounge as a viewing spot. The red torii gate may obstruct your view a little though. I actually enjoyed its silhouette because Ive visited the real one at the Itsukushima shrine in Japan. This brought back some memories.
We watched all of Illuminations from the lounge, but Chad said the servers kept peeking out from the back and he felt uncomfortable. I dont know why they would mind us sitting there, unless they had to lock up or something. I guess there arent many people who watch the show from there. Leaving the park after Illuminations was a piece of cake. The park was that empty. We were tired by the time we got back to the Lodge, so we just watched some TV and went to sleep. Tomorrow would be more firsts for usDisneys Animal Kingdom and E-Night.
Coming soon Day 3, or -I havent come up with a title yet!!!
