A slightly delayed Oz TR....

[GrazingGoat1966]

I write this somewhat delayed and massively incomplete TR from the desk of our Vacation Club 2 bed villa at AKL Kidani. Have been here a week already , still with three days to go and so much to go through. As anyone who has been through WDW knows, there is just so much to do, getting a couple of hours to try and update a TR is almost an impossibility, so I wont even try. Will post a more thorough day by day blow when I get back to reality next weekend in Perth, but will give a brief overview for those who may be interested.

We purchased an interest in Vacation Club on our last trip here in 08. And the accommodations are of such a high quality that we are absolutely completely happy with our purchase and are in fact going to look at some resales with a view to adding another 150-200 points. We have the wife and 3 year old daughter along with myself, the in-laws, and an uncle along for the ride. 3 seperate family groups in the 2 bed villa at Kidani, inc 3 bathrooms, 3 flat screens TV's (not that you have much of a chance to watch the tube!!), full kitchen, and a balcony running the full length of the villa as it is a dedicated 2 bed.....those in the know will understand what I mean . Even though we decided not to go with a savannah view in order to save some points and have a longer stay, there are a plethora of viewing points that you can view the animals from.
The food is spicy at Kidani.....make no bones about that. African inspired means spices and plenty of them. Come to think of it those 3 restrooms have come in handy!! Jambo House, the sister property to Kidani, is a short ten minute walk away and has a much larger gift shop and selection of eating options. The pool area here at Kidani is freakin' awesome...and IMO much better than Jambo's. Slides for the kids, a seperate water playground area for the younguns, and a zero walk in big pool for all ages means you don't necessarily have to venture to the Water Parks to cool down. And trust me you need to keep cool.
Those from the more humid climes may be used to the humidity, but Good old Perth doesn't get humidity anywhere near the levels that you get here. Even though we have clicked into autumn (or fall as the Yanks love to say!), trust me it's still warm and humid. We played Golf yesterday morning at Oak Trail, which is a minor park option on your WPF and More pass, and just about died. No carts, walking only and 9 holes just about saw 2 less Aussies making the trip home. Deadset the hardest thing physically I've done in years. And the golf cart from the clubhouse was flat chat trying to replenish the few idiots who had decided to test their golfing prowess, with fluid. But typical Disney their service was magnificent. Free cab vouchers for the trip there and the trip back. Anyone who is familiar with the drive from the golf courses up near the Grand Floridian to the Animal Kingdom at the southern edge of the property, will know that it is a fair old drive, but free taxi vouchers, when we had payed the big doughnut for the round was a bonus.
Will update later with more details and photos (have just broken over 500 in 3 days), but let me re-assure anyone who is heading here for the first time, you will have an absolute blast. This is our 3rd time and we keep discovering things that we haven't done the previous times. And if you have kids, it IS magical. For those returning, you will have an even better time than before...trust me. And for those who are umming and aahing as to whether to come.....to quote Walt Disney..."..time to stop thinking....and time to start doing".

Until next time.....

 

[ehsmum]

Sounds like you're having a ball, except for the humidity! Can't wait to hear more!

Spring has kicked in here in Perth so you'll be coming back to much nicer weather .

 

[Jade+3]

Glad you are having a great time! We struggled with the heat at the end of October, and we are Queenslanders so thought we would be ok. Thankfully there was no humidity.

Looking forward to seeing your pics.

 

[Mum from oz]

SOunds like you are having an awesome time. Reading about it makes me even more excited to go. I can't wait till you're back to hear the full trip report!

 

[aussietravellers]

Loved reading your report! It has built the excitment that is already whirling around at the moment for us, we will be at AKL in two weeks (after a week in NY). We LOVE AKL so can not wait to get back there.

Looking forward to seeing some of your photos too.

 

[PrincessInOz]

GrazingGoat - I'm glad you're having a great time! Eagerly awaiting your photos and I hope you'll post your shots of the NP you've visited as well.

Safe trip home! We might actually know who won the election and have a Prime Minister by the time you get home!

 

[shushh]

Yay! Another Aussie trip report. You can never beat hearing the Aussie take on things. Was really interested to hear about the gold as DH is a keen golfer. Hoping that it won't be as bad in January.

 

[kyl]

Thanks for the trip report, really looking forward to seeing your photos. First visit to WDW for us in 12 days! Can't wait you have made me that little bit more excited. YAY.

 

[GrazingGoat1966]

....and back with another instalment of the bi-annual trip to the world. My apologies for the delay since the bug that my darling 3 year old picked up on our last day in Vegas has been successfully transferred thru Mummy and Daddy in the past 2 weeks and has laid us very low. Trust me to end our trip in "Sin City"!!

Day one was arrival in Orlando at 5pm on a typically humid Orlando evening. An interminably long wait for Disney's Magical Express (over 45 minutes of queueing ) was hopefully not an indication of the holiday ahead. As it turned out, the incompetence by the cast members at the airport was NOT repeated for the rest of our trip. If anything the service for the next 10 days far exceeded our wildest expectations. Saying that though, our bus driver decided to sit on 40mph the whole trip, and with the on board video player not working on the world's slowest bus ride, it just about resulted in a certain bus driver getting (figuratively speaking of course) thrown under the bus. Happily when we arrived (finally!!!) at Kidani, within 5 minutes our previous dismay was replaced by excitement at seeing our 2 bedroom villa which was going to be our "home" for the next week and a half.
As we were picking up our hire car the next morning, and so hadn't had a chance to stock the fridge, we opted to take the bus to Downtown Disney and grab a bite down there. For those of you who havent been to Downtown before, it really does give you some fantastic shopping and food options for either a snack or a full sit down meal. After the 20 minute bus trip, we opted for a bite at the Rainforest Cafe. Have been there many times in the past for a wander around, but have never ever eaten there before this trip.....but boy was it good! We all opted for various combination dishes of Shrimp (coconut, garlic, kebabed) steak, veges and fries. However beware of one rort that ALL restaurants at Disney World partake in. If you book for a party of 6 or more, an automatic gratuity of 18% is added to your bill. Now for those unfamiliar with tipping 18% would be considered at the absolute upper echelon of what is considered acceptable. The big danger is if the service isn't up to scratch, you are still compelled to pay what we considered an excessive amount....and the in-laws are both Yanks so it wasn't an ignorant overseas tourist reaction (especially when the bill for the table is already tracking at close to $200!).
Some ice cold beverages and a great first night was completed with a walk through World of Disney which (guys beware) will melt the credit card of ALL avid shoppers (especially of the female variety!!!). The biggest Disney store on earth has every conceivable bit of Disney merchandise that you can poke a stick at with prices ranging from $1 to many hundreds of dollars. Thank God we live in Australia and the suitcases are only SO big......but Disney does internationally ship as well so beware!!!

Day 2 dawned bright and early as we ventured (thanks to a complimentary shuttle) to the Alamo rental car pick up, on property, near the Magic Kingdom to pick up the hire car for 3 days. One thing to beware of if you go this route (and trust me plenty do) is the time factor. There are only 3 staff (at best) serving those waiting to pick up and so you can be in for a wait of well over an hour before you even get served. No drama, because they are very efficient and helpful (and there are old Disney cartoons playing on the TV in the corner of the waiting area), but warn your loved ones that if you aren't back in a week to forward your mail. Upon leaving we headed back to the hotel (via a Publix supermarket to stock up for the week and a half ahead) as we had booked in for our first character meal. We booked the Winnie the Pooh lunch at the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom. What a highlight especially for the 3 year old DD! If you have children then make sure you do at least 1 character meal whilst you are at the world. The $25 a head was well and truly worth it. Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet all go from table to table taking time to give everyone a hug or a high five and having their photos taken with all and sundry. The buffet lunch was of a terrific standard as well, so it was money well spent. As we had already used an admission to have the meal, we decided to hit the park in earnest. Various family members went their own way as we agreed to meet up at Main Street for the Mickeys Electrical Parade and Fireworks display afterwards. Now it's a bloody long day to spend it all at the Magic Kingdom. Make no bones about that. And with Fantasyland being refurbished (make that razed to the ground and they're starting again), it forces the same amount of people onto less attractions, thereby clogging the lines even more than usual. Those with youngsters who want to do as many rides as possible have my admiration for their patience. We were lucky in that the grandparents were happy to take the daughter back to the hotel in the middle of the day for a sleep whenever we didn't. Fastpass is a terrific breakthrough, but you are limited in the amount that you can have at one time. There are some all time favourite rides at MK, such as Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad etc etc, but because of the intense crowds ALL the time, it is probably my least favourite park.
The Electrical parade which kicked off at 9pm was absolutely fantastic. A little later than usual due to extra magic hours. The attention to detail was as usual flawless and everyone, both young and old, could not fail to be impressed. The parade went for just over half an hour upon which at least half the crowd headed for the gates. BONUS!! Either they were unaware that the fireworks were going to be held at 10pm or they just wanted to get out and avoid the crowds at the end. Regardless, it was a pleasure to have a little more room to stretch out and take in the fireworks. You can easily see where Disney's $25000 a night for the MK fireworks are spent. One of the signature Disney World sights awaits as the fireworks break over Cinderella's castle. DO NOT MISS THIS DURING YOUR TRIP TO WDW. It would be a crime.
The crowds then dispersed faily quickly and we were back in the room by 11pm imbibing of some of Bud's finest.

Day 3 saw everyone head for different parks. We chose to stay close to home and hit Animal Kingdom. Now as I've posted before it's not as if Orlando isn't humid enough already, but then Disney decide to construct a 500 acre theme park/zoo in the middle of it, and plant over 4 million new trees and shrubs to make it look like an African Savannah!!!! But as per everything that Disney do, they do it bloody well. Some highlights are Dinoland (especially for those with kids), Expedition Everest for the thrillseekers, Kilimanjaro Safari-a bus ride through a savannah area complete with exotic beasts of all shapes and sizes (real not imagineered) and to top it all off, the surprising highlight for me being The Lion King show. A solid half hour plus stage show style performance complete with singing, dancing, acrobatics and lavish sets equals the type of entertainment that you pay big dollars for to see on stage in a concert venue elsewhere. Yet here it is, free, half a dozen times a day in a 2500 seat auditorium that anyone is welcome to walk up to at AK. Brilliant and an absolute must do......unlike Nemo the Musical which is a boring debacle....... but thats another post!!. Plenty of photo ops abound as usual with the various Disney characters around the park and extra magic hours led to an 830 departure back to the ranch for a late in room dinner and kip.

I promise to post photos as soon as possible, but my new camera is a Canon 5D Mark11 which is a 21 megapixel beast which even in a jpeg format is too big for this site to handle. So I am having to wait for software to compress my files, or having to transfer some files from the bosses Fuji point and shoot. As soon as I get these up and running I will definately post some photos.

Next post day 4 and on.......

 

[PrincessInOz]

GrazingGoat - loving the more detailed account of your time at the World. *Thanks* for letting me know that the World of Disney ships internationally...I thank you ; but I'm pretty sure DH would not feel the same way!

The service for Alamo DROP off seems to be a tad better than pick up....we dropped off at the Swan/Dolphin and as there was NO ONE manning the stand, we parked and left the keys with concierge . I wonder how they deal with pick up at that location?

Can't wait to see your photos and I'd love to know how you found the 5DMII camera....if all else fails, open the jpeg files in Paint and save them as a separate file at 50%/50% image re-sizing.

 

[heidispidi]

GrazingGoat, you write so well. It is a pleasure to read your trip reports as they come in! I too can't wait to see your pics when you get them sorted.

 

[GrazingGoat1966]

....and to day 4 and the first (of many) visit(s) to a water park, Blizzard Beach, which happens to be our more favoured water park out of the two. Has a much better kids area which is important for us, and the missus just loves to get the adrenaline going on Summit Plummet. There is something incredibly relaxing when you grab a few of those cream coloured inner tubes and just chuck a few laps of the lazy river. It really is the ideal way to get started at the park. It takes a good 3/4 of an hour to wind your way around the outskirts of the property just taking in the sights and sounds. Bloody magic. From there the whole party went in divergent directions as the more adventurous tamed the faster, bathing garment removing style thrill rides (on the green slopes), some of us went for the mid range more genteel options (the purple slopes of Toboggan Racers, Snow Stormers and the downhill double dipper), whilst DD was watched over by the Grand folks at Tike's Peak, where she spent close on 4 hours running amuck through the slides, fountains and pop jets. To finish off, we all did Teamboat Springs which it is claimed is the world's longest family ride. And if it isn't, then I'd like to see what beats it! The bus back to AKL was undertaken before an afternoon shopping spree to the Prime Outlets at the top end of International Drive. We have found these to be the best outlet shopping in Orlando. All the usual suspects and for the women, it contains one of the few, rare Victoria's Secret outlets in the US. A quick pass thru the Publix supermarket to get the couple of things that the blokes had missed on the original shopping excursion a couple of days earlier ($120 worth.....didnt think we missed that much!!!), and we were back for dinner in the rooms. A late evening trip back to Downtown Disney for Mum and Dad whilst the grandparents looked after the youngster (with the obligatory Design Your Own T/Shirts), and kip by midnight.

Day 5 saw the group head off in different directions again. The 60 year old uncle on his first visit to the states, left for Epcot at 830am and didnt get back until 1030 that night....a truly marvellous performance. And that is the magic of WDW. Here was a bloke going through his second childhood for 10 days. He absolutely loved every minute he was at the world, and has already started planning a return visit. While he was "Soarin" and taking in all the learning attractions as well as visiting the 11countries in World's Showcase, the three females headed off to finish off the few rides that they didnt get to at MK on the second day. I dropped the hire car off and took time getting back to AKL via the monorail from MK, and the buses from the transportation centre. The afternoon was spent lazing around the pool at the resort. This really is an underused option by a lot of punters. The pool at Kidani is called the Samawati Springs and it really is first class. A separate kids area, a zero entry pool for the youngsters, 2 slides of differing lengths, a pool bar which also serves food called Maji, and poolside entertainment at various times of the day really adds to the experience.
Dinner back in the room followed by the boss heading out to Hollywood Studios to do all her "big" rides, whilst Dad kicked back at the resort with the littleun. Being able to wander down to view the Savannah at any time of the day or night really is a major plus of staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. There are excellent viewing areas located all over the resort which can lead to viewing of all types of weird and wonderful animals. The staff (cast members) are all very knowledgeable about the various animals and it really does add to the whole experience. Bed by 11pm.

Day 6 was a little bit of a rerun of the previous day after a character breakfast start. Took the bus from Kidani to Hollywood at 730am before hopping on board the ferry at 810, and before you knew it we were at the Beach Club before 830 in plenty of time for our 9am reservation. We booked the Mickey and Friends breakfast at the Cape May cafe. Now for those who haven't passed through the Beach Club before, let me start by saying what a beautiful property it is. A magnificent pool area as well for the whole family awaits those lucky enough to stay there. The breakfast at the Cape May cafe was brilliant. The food selection was first class, the service was as always top drawer, and the interaction with the characters was fantastic. Minnie, Goofy and Donald were on the "job" that morning and as DD had dressed up in her Minnie outfit, she was the recipient of some extra special attention from Mickey's defacto. Really a pleasure. We then all ventured off in different directions as the various parks all got visits from the touring party at various stages. The girls headed off to AK again to visit a few of the rides that they hadn't had a chance to do with DD. Grandpa dined at Sanaa (at Kidani) for lunch which he highly recommended, especially as the steak he consumed was seasoned to the heavens with all types of exotic spices, which he loves. The mad uncle's aversion to the only ride he wouldn't have a go at in 11 days (Hollywood's Tower of Terror) was maintained, whilst I was reminded why Soarin at Epcot is my favourite ride at all the parks. Unfortunately a bit of unscheduled heart surgery a couple of years ago has curtailed my participation on some of the more extreme rides, but Soarin' is one that I could do over and over with no problems at all. If you haven't done it before then it should absolutely go on your bucket list. After a relaxed day at the parks we all convened for dinner at the room in preparation for our big day of golf the next morning.

Day 7 and we had a 910am booking at Oak Trail for the 9 hole walking round of golf which is one of the minor park options on your WPFand M add-on. As I outlined in my first post, trust me when I say this was bloody hard work. Whilst I'm not the most svelte of characters, I push a lawnmower around for a living so I could hardly be classified as unfit. But believe me when I say, that after 9 holes of absolute sweat and torture, the clubhouse couldn't come fast enough. I'm not sure whether it was sweat, or tears, or a combination of both, but putting out on the last hole for my score of 50 was one of the highlights of my life.....one which I thought was going to end at any one of the previous 8 holes. Think of a combo of Happy Gilmore and Caddyshack and a washing machine on full cycle....that summed up our round. Glad we did it but equally as glad to get back to the hotel and replenish the fluids with some more of that good old Bud. It was decided by one and all (including the girls who were in fits of laughter when they arrived home to see their men in various stages of undress and partial unconsciousness), to give Typhoon Lagoon an absolute hiding for the afternoon. And we did by goodness. The lazy river was the victim of at least three laps before we attempted anything else. By closing though, we had all managed to partake of all the rides and slides that we wanted to. The real highlight at Typhoon is Crush'n Gusher. The best way to describe it is to quote from the park map.....Prepare for uphill climbs and drops on this intense water coaster. 3 different routes give you 3 different experiences and a guaranteed great time. Closing time at 6pm came all too soon, and we headed back to the lodge refreshed. Dinner in the room with some more Buddy's on hand.

Day 8 and onwards next post........

 

[PrincessInOz]

GrazingGoat - Really loving your TR. You've made me wish I had extra time to go visit the water parks!

 

[Jade+3]

You make me wish we had visited the water parks too. Will have to make time for that next visit.

 

[ehsmum]

I agree about Soarin', it's really a fantastic ride!

I guess I committed a crime because we never saw the MK fireworks . We attempted it twice but both times it was raining and threatening thunderstorms and they couldn't guarantee that the show would go ahead. I wasn't prepared to wait around till 10pm just to be disappointed if they were cancelled, so we gave it a miss. Oh well, yet another reason to go back!

We also plan to do the water parks next time. Sounds like you really enjoyed them both .

 

[GrazingGoat1966]

Day 8 at the world was in some respects a lazy day for some members of the travelling party. The mad uncle was out and about revisiting Hollywood and trying out Rockn Roller coaster amongst others. It's a pity that Walt Disney's One Man's Dream is closed and under refurbishment because for anyone interested in the bloke whose vision started the whole shebang that attracts multi-millions of visitors each and every year, it is an absolute must do. But refurbs happen!!!! The rest of the crew spent a day by the hotel pool and deciding how to pack a crapload of shopping into roughly half the space that the aforementioned shopping occupied when layed out on the beds. Jeez women are worth their weight in gold when it comes to packing!! The embarrassing thing was when the initial pack was completed, the women collectively decided that there was definately more space for some extra shopping!! Who'd have thought!! My day encompassed a regular pasttime for me and that is resort hopping. Trying out the new toy, I caught the bus from AKL to the Magic Kingdom and hopped on the loop monorail that took in the Grand Floridian, The Contemporary Resort, Bay Lake Tower and the Polynesian resort. Arriving back at the MK I took a ferry to the Wilderness Lodge. From there a bus to Hollywood where I boarded the ferry which takes in the Swan and Dolphin resorts, The Boardwalk, The Yacht and Beach Club resorts. From there I caught the ferry back to Hollywood where I passed via Fort Wilderness and the Port Orleans and Riverside hotels. Finishing up at Downtown I hopped a bus back to AKL by 230pm. 15-20 minutes at each stop taking a few happy snaps at each resort and I was satisfied with my days work. It really is a pleasant way to spend a day just browsing the different hotels that Dis has put together so well. Each is themed to within a millimetre of it's existence to really provide the public with a unique experience wherever you may wish to stay. For what it's worth, I was only mildly warmed by Port Orleans, whilst the Beach Club really is a cut above most others....besides of course the Grand Floridian, but with a DVC membership, there is no way this puppy is forking out $4-600 a night for the GF!!
That night the old fella started to feel the effects of a flat strap week and started to come down with some sort of lurgy. Luckily the Grandma works as a receptionist at a doctors surgery so she carries around enough tablets and pills to cure a new strain of Ebola. A couple of magic tabs and the uncle settled in to his double sofa in the loungeroom and lala land.

Day 9 dawned with all except the flu ridden one heading out to breakfast with the Little Einsteins, Handy Manny and JoJo at Hollywood and Vine at Hollywood Studios. This was easily the most interactive feast with the characters that we experienced. Besides the ubiquitous meet and greets at each table, they all lined up at different times to lead a conga line of youngsters around the restaurant dancing to the theme songs of the different shows. DD dressed up in her June costume (from Little Einsteins) and this provoked an understandably great response from said June. Made our little Princess' day!! After the meal, we headed over to the Playhouse Disney performance at Hollywood, which is another must do for anyone whose youngsters watch Einsteins, Handy Manny, My friends Tigger and Pooh or Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse. Really a fun interactive show for the kids. A few character photos with various different "stars" and the morning was a success. Upon finishing at Hollywood Studios, we headed for Animal Kingdom where the boss had decided that she'd heard good reports as to Nemo the Musical. Well all I can say is if you want to waste an hour of your life which you will never get back, and your idea of entertainment is watching people running around with broomsticks with fish and other seas creatures on the end of aforementioned broomsticks, then you will love Nemo the Musical. If on the other hand you are the purveyors of good taste (as I'm sure that all Disboards posters are!!), then give this abject disaster a wide berth.
However the one other "attraction" that gives Nemo a close run for mind numbing "boringness" (good word that), then Rafiki's Planet Watch is it. If your other half suggests it.....then run....fast....in the other direction. What an abysmal load of pap. Thankfully some characters that DD hadnt been photographed with were spotted around AK before we left and we headed back to Kidani around 730pm. As we were into our last couple of days, and the amount of food left in the fridge would have fed the average film crew for a week, dinner consisted of quite a few courses which wouldn't have normally seen the light of day. There were plenty of Buds left and they were never in danger of not being consumed.
Day 10 and our last full day dawned upon us. The uncle's Ebola had long disappeared and he was off to" hit" any ride he could so he could go out with a bang. The rest of us spent a morning at the resort pool whist the boss was organising our Magical Express pick-up for the next day. She also added the no expire option to her and the daughters pass as they both had 5 days left on their 10 day hopper and WP and M tickets, with 8 minor park entries left. I had already added the no expire to mine so that even with the memorable golfing excursion I still had 5 full day and 7 minor parks left. We decided that an afternoon trip to Blizzard Beach would round out our park visits. As usual 6pm came too early as an afternoon approaching storm nonetheless hastened our exit. A last dinner at Rainforest Cafe for our last night, was enjoyed by all as the realisation that our trip was about to end started to hit home. Reality sucks.

Our magical express was booked for an 11am pick up the next morning, well in time for our 2 am flight to Vegas. Final bags were packed and we were able to check in our bags at the hotel airline desk. This is a great time saver and a great convenience. All your bags are tagged and ticketed as they would be at the airport, so all you have to worry about is getting you and your hand luggage onto the Disney bus for the Airport whilst your baggage is bound for the sirport in a dedicated luggage truck. Tears were shed (mainly by the male members!!) as our last glimpse of Disney disappeared into the rear view mirror and we headed for our flight home.

Our 11 days really were a great relaxing holiday for all concerned. There is so much to do that you really need 2 plus weeks to hope to do it all. As we are DVC members on our 3rd trip, and with the prospect of many more to come, we decided to pace our holiday as we saw fit. Each individuals expectations are different and the amount that you do each day will vary greatly as well. The great thing about Disney World is that there IS no right or wrong way of going about your holiday. Even after 3 trips I still havent tried out the jetskiing or para gliding on the seven seas lagoon. There are rides that for one reason or another I've never tried. Epcot for example has a heap of learning attractions that some people wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole because it wouldn't interest them. The golf courses were running a $59 all you can play special for the long weekend that we stayed over. Now $59 for all the golf you can play (inc Carts) is a terrific deal in anyone's language, so those who love their golf might hit the courses for 3 days straight.
Take advantage of Disney's Photopass at all opportunities. It costs you nothing and you have 30 days to decide if you wish to purchase any or all of your photos. Besides the close to 1000 photos that we took our photopass contained 290 photos which we purchased on the available CD. A couple of extra copies for the Grandparents and uncle at $20 each eased the pain of the $120 initial cost (inc our 20% DVC discount).
And take in all that WDW has to offer from the service to the sights and sounds of the parks and resorts. It really is a magical place that embraces all that visit. If you fail to be entertained by Walt Disney World in Florida, then you are a very, very hard person to satisfy.

Now if only I can get those photos to work.............

Thanks for the kind comments. Hope it has been an entertaining trip report!!

 

[Caroline NZ]

What a fantastically entertaining read ( if a more than a little overwhleming for someone who knows nothing about WDW). It sounds like you had an absolute ball.

 

[GrazingGoat1966]

Thanks Caroline...we sure did have a great time, and as I said on another thread, if one person decides to go the extra mile and try to get to see WDW after reading my thread, or even decides to have a go at something we tried out, then maybe I have contributed in an infintisemally small way.

Thanks for your kind words heidispidi. I try to entertain where possible!! You've got to have a laugh as you meander through life because it can sure change in an awful hurry.

And thanks for your suggestions re my photos PIO. Will give it a go asap. The 5d Mk11 is a peach of a camera. So much to learn from someone coming from an amateur background, but if you want to try and improve your photography, then you may as well go down in a screaming heap with some quality gear. Spent some time at the Ansel Adams gallery at Yosemite....be the closest I get to achieving anything like that geniuses standard!!

 

[ehsmum]

I didn't mind Nemo but I agree with you about Rafiki's Planet Watch, that was a huge waste of time!

Sounds like you all had a great and very relaxing time .

 

[PrincessInOz]

GrazingGoat - I've thoroughly enjoyed living your 11 days at the World. Thanks for taking the time to share.....now if only you could get the technology to work....

I'm in total agreement for Nemo. I thought it was a little bit boring and I was comparing it to Tarzan Rocks! If they turn Nemo into a broadway musical, I won't be paying money for it. But it was a good show to take my DS to.

If you have time, I'd love to read about the non-Disney parts of your vacay....