Brave teacher
DIS Veteran
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- Feb 17, 2006
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I'm glad to hear you had such an amazing trip Abby. I look forward to hearing all about it!
Abby and Estelle's Birthday Wish: A Food-Centered Disney Trip!
- Thread starter cbg1027
- Start date
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
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Originally, I had class from 12:20 - 2:15 this day and we were going to leave when I finished. Well, lucky me, my 2nd class got cancelled, so we got to leave an hour earlier than planned!
I pretty much know the way, but depending on which resort you're going to, the shortest way in can differ. So I printed out directions from Google Maps, the same place I got directions from when we went 7 months ago. These directions called for turning off I-75 on to "FL 91". So I passed the Turnpike - which is what I thought we would normally use. I have a good sense a direction, and the farther we got away from the turnpike the more and more I was beginning to doubt where I was going. Twenty minutes and a few exits later, I pulled off the highway and bought a map. Well turns out FL-91 is apparently another name for Florida's Turnpike. Seems like Google would have mentioned the turnpike name somewhere in there....I swear they did 7 months ago! I also remember I had a FL road map in the car...after I spent six bucks buying another one. Oh well.
So we get back on 75 going North and I have this feeling that there isn't an exit on the the Turnpike from 75 North, since the Turnpike basically goes North/South. I was right....so we had to drive to the next exit and then turn around and get back on 75 South before we could finally get on the Turnpike!
So by then I had wasted an hour.....so much for leaving early! There are NO signs for the Turnpike that mention the name FL-91. It's all just "Florida's Turnpike". So fyi for anyone driving!
We decided to just head straight to DTD and pulled in around 8pm. Boy was that place hoppin'! I was surprised we found a parking spot! The weather was absolutely gorgeous then - 75 degrees and breezy. They were hosting a trick-or-treat event so it was cute seeing all the kids (and some adults!) in Halloween costumes. We parked over on the West Side because we were planning to go to Guest Services to exchange our ticket vouchers. Well another fyi - Guest Services has moved. They used to have their own little kiosk, but that location is now the ticket booth for Characters In Flight, the hot air balloon. Luckily, they didn't move far and are now located in the Disney Quest building. There are windows on the outside of the building that you can walk up to. So we went there and exchanged our vouchers and I bought a Tables in Wonderland card for $75 since I am now the proud owner of a Seasonal Pass, good through February 1, 2011 with the 15 month deal!
After we picked up our tickets, we walked right across the way to Wolfgang Puck Express for dinner. Review here - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34209996#post34209996
We sat outside and it was cute watching all the costumed people go by. My award for best costumes of the night went to a family that had 3 kids dressed as the Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, and Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I thought that was creative and original!
After we ate we walked down by the water side to see Characters in Flight. They were just sending it up as we approached - it goes up really fast!
We wanted to get a good night's sleep so we didn't do any shopping then. We went back to the car and drove to POP. We did online check in and waited maybe 30 seconds. They had our package all ready and gave us our Birthday Pins. We were assigned room 2144 which was exactly what I had requested - a ground floor room in the 50's close to the parking lot. It was in building 2, the Jukebox building and we were right exactly in the middle between the bowling pin pool and the parking lot. This is a great location if you're bringing a car and want to use it to commute to the parks. It is pretty much as far as you can get from the Main Building, but even so, it's only a 5 minute walk, if that. Seems far at the end of the day though!
Noise wise we were ina good location. The bowling pin pool is supposed to be a "quiet" pool so it was pretty low-key. We lucked out and didn't get any noisy neighbors or people running by the room at 2am.
I saw a lot of rabbits at POP which I thought was unusual because I've never seen them at any of the other resorts. My Grandmother is convinced they were Audio-Anamatronics that Disney put there!
The bowling pin pool area:
A Stairwell on Building 3:
Sorry no photos of the room - it was pretty unexciting. It was clean and comfortable enough for the 2 of us. It's small so don't know if I would stay at a Value with more than 2 people in a room, but for just me and Gram it's perfect. We don't really use the resort for anything other than showering and sleeping so it's a good option for us while still being on property, which I much prefer.
Once we reached our room, I called Luggage Services to get the fridge I had signed up for on a swap here on the DIS Boards. After a few minutes they told me they had nothing with my name on it.
I was pretty disappointed because we were counting on having a fridge. I tried calling the swapper who was there before me to ask if she had any info, but she didn't answer and never called me back, even though I left a message. I thought that was very un-DISer like!
I tried calling Luggage Services again the next morning because I thought maybe a fresh pair of eyes might see something different. They still couldn't find anything with my name but they did tell me they had a random fridge that had been sitting there with no label for ages. So I had them bring it to me and they said I could use it, so we did! When I got home I discovered the fridge from my swap had gone missing...I'm not quite sure what the whole story was, I couldn't follow it, but we had a fridge for most of our stay, so no biggie.
Next up: Halloween at Epcot with F&W Festival Activities!
I pretty much know the way, but depending on which resort you're going to, the shortest way in can differ. So I printed out directions from Google Maps, the same place I got directions from when we went 7 months ago. These directions called for turning off I-75 on to "FL 91". So I passed the Turnpike - which is what I thought we would normally use. I have a good sense a direction, and the farther we got away from the turnpike the more and more I was beginning to doubt where I was going. Twenty minutes and a few exits later, I pulled off the highway and bought a map. Well turns out FL-91 is apparently another name for Florida's Turnpike. Seems like Google would have mentioned the turnpike name somewhere in there....I swear they did 7 months ago! I also remember I had a FL road map in the car...after I spent six bucks buying another one. Oh well.
So we get back on 75 going North and I have this feeling that there isn't an exit on the the Turnpike from 75 North, since the Turnpike basically goes North/South. I was right....so we had to drive to the next exit and then turn around and get back on 75 South before we could finally get on the Turnpike!
So by then I had wasted an hour.....so much for leaving early! There are NO signs for the Turnpike that mention the name FL-91. It's all just "Florida's Turnpike". So fyi for anyone driving!We decided to just head straight to DTD and pulled in around 8pm. Boy was that place hoppin'! I was surprised we found a parking spot! The weather was absolutely gorgeous then - 75 degrees and breezy. They were hosting a trick-or-treat event so it was cute seeing all the kids (and some adults!) in Halloween costumes. We parked over on the West Side because we were planning to go to Guest Services to exchange our ticket vouchers. Well another fyi - Guest Services has moved. They used to have their own little kiosk, but that location is now the ticket booth for Characters In Flight, the hot air balloon. Luckily, they didn't move far and are now located in the Disney Quest building. There are windows on the outside of the building that you can walk up to. So we went there and exchanged our vouchers and I bought a Tables in Wonderland card for $75 since I am now the proud owner of a Seasonal Pass, good through February 1, 2011 with the 15 month deal!
After we picked up our tickets, we walked right across the way to Wolfgang Puck Express for dinner. Review here - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34209996#post34209996
We sat outside and it was cute watching all the costumed people go by. My award for best costumes of the night went to a family that had 3 kids dressed as the Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, and Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I thought that was creative and original!
After we ate we walked down by the water side to see Characters in Flight. They were just sending it up as we approached - it goes up really fast!
We wanted to get a good night's sleep so we didn't do any shopping then. We went back to the car and drove to POP. We did online check in and waited maybe 30 seconds. They had our package all ready and gave us our Birthday Pins. We were assigned room 2144 which was exactly what I had requested - a ground floor room in the 50's close to the parking lot. It was in building 2, the Jukebox building and we were right exactly in the middle between the bowling pin pool and the parking lot. This is a great location if you're bringing a car and want to use it to commute to the parks. It is pretty much as far as you can get from the Main Building, but even so, it's only a 5 minute walk, if that. Seems far at the end of the day though!
Noise wise we were ina good location. The bowling pin pool is supposed to be a "quiet" pool so it was pretty low-key. We lucked out and didn't get any noisy neighbors or people running by the room at 2am.
I saw a lot of rabbits at POP which I thought was unusual because I've never seen them at any of the other resorts. My Grandmother is convinced they were Audio-Anamatronics that Disney put there!
The bowling pin pool area:
A Stairwell on Building 3:
Sorry no photos of the room - it was pretty unexciting. It was clean and comfortable enough for the 2 of us. It's small so don't know if I would stay at a Value with more than 2 people in a room, but for just me and Gram it's perfect. We don't really use the resort for anything other than showering and sleeping so it's a good option for us while still being on property, which I much prefer.
Once we reached our room, I called Luggage Services to get the fridge I had signed up for on a swap here on the DIS Boards. After a few minutes they told me they had nothing with my name on it.
I was pretty disappointed because we were counting on having a fridge. I tried calling the swapper who was there before me to ask if she had any info, but she didn't answer and never called me back, even though I left a message. I thought that was very un-DISer like! I tried calling Luggage Services again the next morning because I thought maybe a fresh pair of eyes might see something different. They still couldn't find anything with my name but they did tell me they had a random fridge that had been sitting there with no label for ages. So I had them bring it to me and they said I could use it, so we did! When I got home I discovered the fridge from my swap had gone missing...I'm not quite sure what the whole story was, I couldn't follow it, but we had a fridge for most of our stay, so no biggie.
Next up: Halloween at Epcot with F&W Festival Activities!
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5,084
I got up before Gram this morning to make the 9am RD at Epcot. I decided to take the bus since I was closer to the bus stop than my car after eating breakfast at Everything POP (review here - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34212209#post34212209)
I walked out of Everything POP at 7:54 and there was a bus waiting for me! I was the first person to board, and after a few more people joined, we were off to Epcot! I got there a lot faster than I thought, I was literally waiting at the turnstiles by 8:15.
I was the second person in my line. About 30 seconds after I got there, a family got in line behind me and the Mom started asking me if I had been here before, and the fastest way to get to Soarin'. She saw my LGMH's and said "Ooooh I love the DISboards! I got so much great information off there!". So we talked while we were waiting and I told them what would happen once they let in us and that they could follow me (and everyone else!
) to Soarin'.
The CM's let started letting people in the turnstiles at 8:45. I was right up against that rope, wearing my Birthday pin, when a CM approached me and asked if I was with anyone else. I said "No, not right now", and she was like "Well you know what, it's your birthday so come on, you're my family of the day!". I was shocked and in awe that she picked a single person!
I Call This the "Family of the Day View of RD" -
I then had my meet and greet with the characters....all to myself!!!!
Man I remember when all of these guys TOWERED over me....now Goofy is the only one taller!
The CM who picked me out (don't remember her name, she works at Mission Space) then gave me 3 special Fastpasses I could use to admit up to 4 people on ANY attraction. She also said I could have special priority seating in Italy to watch Illuminations but I had to say no thank you to that since my Grandma and I had a dinner ADR at 8:20.
Then my chauffer arrived:
They drove me over to Test Track where I was the first person of the day to ride it! I had a car all to myself! After my first ride I was getting out when a CM told me I could stay on and ride again, so I went for round two!
Test Track about 2 hours later:
Pretty amazing start to my day.....I was so disappointed my Gram missed it though!
After my double round on Test Track, I headed over to Mission Space.
I walked right on (Orange More Intense Training, of course!) and literally had no wait...unless you count the briefing room!
I saw the CM who picked me as Family of the Day working and said hello and thank you again.
After I got off, I called my Gram to see where she was and told her what happened. She had just gotten on the bus so I went for another round on Mission Space and had to wait a whole two minutes!
After I got out, Gram and I met up at the Fountain -
Then since it wasn't quite 11 yet, we decided to give The Universe of Energy a try:
Neither one of us had ever been on this before, but we both liked it. Perfect attraction for a hot day since you get to spend 40 minutes inside the AC! Ellen was a great choice as a host and I loved the Jeopardy stuff.
After our Energy Adventure, we headed over to the WS and purchased one of those wrist band gift cards. We sampled foods from Greece and Canada for our lunch - more on that here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34260387#post34260387
I will continue this day in the next post!
I walked out of Everything POP at 7:54 and there was a bus waiting for me! I was the first person to board, and after a few more people joined, we were off to Epcot! I got there a lot faster than I thought, I was literally waiting at the turnstiles by 8:15.
I was the second person in my line. About 30 seconds after I got there, a family got in line behind me and the Mom started asking me if I had been here before, and the fastest way to get to Soarin'. She saw my LGMH's and said "Ooooh I love the DISboards! I got so much great information off there!". So we talked while we were waiting and I told them what would happen once they let in us and that they could follow me (and everyone else!
) to Soarin'. The CM's let started letting people in the turnstiles at 8:45. I was right up against that rope, wearing my Birthday pin, when a CM approached me and asked if I was with anyone else. I said "No, not right now", and she was like "Well you know what, it's your birthday so come on, you're my family of the day!". I was shocked and in awe that she picked a single person!
I Call This the "Family of the Day View of RD" -
I then had my meet and greet with the characters....all to myself!!!!
Man I remember when all of these guys TOWERED over me....now Goofy is the only one taller!
The CM who picked me out (don't remember her name, she works at Mission Space) then gave me 3 special Fastpasses I could use to admit up to 4 people on ANY attraction. She also said I could have special priority seating in Italy to watch Illuminations but I had to say no thank you to that since my Grandma and I had a dinner ADR at 8:20.
Then my chauffer arrived:
They drove me over to Test Track where I was the first person of the day to ride it! I had a car all to myself! After my first ride I was getting out when a CM told me I could stay on and ride again, so I went for round two!
Test Track about 2 hours later:
Pretty amazing start to my day.....I was so disappointed my Gram missed it though!
After my double round on Test Track, I headed over to Mission Space.
I walked right on (Orange More Intense Training, of course!) and literally had no wait...unless you count the briefing room!
I saw the CM who picked me as Family of the Day working and said hello and thank you again.
After I got off, I called my Gram to see where she was and told her what happened. She had just gotten on the bus so I went for another round on Mission Space and had to wait a whole two minutes!
After I got out, Gram and I met up at the Fountain -
Then since it wasn't quite 11 yet, we decided to give The Universe of Energy a try:
Neither one of us had ever been on this before, but we both liked it. Perfect attraction for a hot day since you get to spend 40 minutes inside the AC! Ellen was a great choice as a host and I loved the Jeopardy stuff.
After our Energy Adventure, we headed over to the WS and purchased one of those wrist band gift cards. We sampled foods from Greece and Canada for our lunch - more on that here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34260387#post34260387
I will continue this day in the next post!
I remember when the characters were taller than me too. LOL!
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5,084
Yeah I always make that mistake with food reviews. Then I go to look in my fridge and am so disappointed because I'll be craving Disney food!
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5,084
So....I'm taking the shortcut on this entry and referring you over to another entry in my food review. Same exact thing I would put here...so read it!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34318891#post34318891
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34318891#post34318891
Brave teacher
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
- Messages
- 3,122
HOW AWESOME FOR YOU!!!!! I am glad you were picked. I always wondered if they would pick solo travelers to be the family of the day. Too bad Gram couldn't be there with you to enjoy the moment. I still need to go check out all of your food reviews. I'll have to do it after lunch though. I am hungry right now and don't want to over eat.
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5,084
I learned the hard way not to look at food reviews before meal times. It makes me hungry, but worse, it makes me so disappointed with whatever it is I have to eat then.
Brave teacher
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
- Messages
- 3,122
I know what you mean. My food is never as good as some of my favorite Disney food.
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
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- 5,084
After the demo was done, Zimmern and the crowd moved immediately over to the front of the pavilion where there was a book signing. I had to wait about 10 minutes, but got my little meet and greet! I had bought Zimmern's book before the trip since I knew it would be cheaper on Amazon.com than at WDW. It's a good thing I did because they were totally sold out at the Festival Center.
After I got my book signed, Gram and I headed over to the Land Pavilion. I still hadn't used any of my Family of the Day FP's yet, so I wanted to go ride Soarin'! This is another ride Gram can't do, but I'm glad of the location because she can sit at Sunshine Seasons, in the shade and AC, while she waits. She grabbed some sort of pastry to eat while she waited because she didn't really eat any of the quail at the demo since she's not a fan of Thai food.
Knowing my special FP's would admit up to 4 people, I stopped a family of 3 on their way in to the standby line and asked them if they wanted to come in the FP line with me. They said yes of course and thanked me profusely. I think they said they were from GA and the mom was a sometime lurker on the DIS Boards. They were really sweet and had a son who was probably 11 and he kept asking me "Have you ridden ___? Did you like it? Was it scary? How about ____?" He was funny and I enjoyed having people to chit chat with while in the line. Since it was mid-afternoon, even with a FP we had to wait about 15 minutes to ride Soarin'.
After the ride I said goodbye and met back up with Gram at Sunshine Seasons. We decided to go to one of her favorites, Living with the Land. I was thinking we could use one of my FP...but we didn't have to, we literally were able to just walk right on! My Gram has a greenhouse and is in to tropical plants mostly, but anything gardening related she loves. Lately I've been developing some of that green thumb so I like plants and gardening as well. I took a TON of photos on the ride, but I'll just share a few of my favs:
This plant has got to produce several thousand dollars worth of vanilla!
They said you can make a gallon of lemonade from one of these fruits:
Oh I wish I could have a tomato tree! This is mainly what I *try* to grow at home.
Mmmm, English Cucumbers....I wonder why they don't break off the vine...Disney magic in gardening!
After Living with the Land, we stopped in at Club Cool. I tried to pull the Beverly trick on my Gram and this was the height of her reaction:
She didn't make a face at all! I asked her "So what did you think of that?" And she took another sip and was like "That's not very good." Then poured the rest out like it was just a flat Diet Coke!
We headed towards the exit after our soda sampling and since there was no line, decided we could squeeze in a ride on Spaceship Earth. This was our first time on it since the recent refurbishment and we both loved it! Gram got a huge kick out of the photos we were able to email to my Aunt at the end.
As we left Epcot, I got the obligatory shot of the Sphere:
We took the bus back to POP for a rest before heading out to dinner. Gram took a nap and I went for a dip in the Bowling Pin Pool. We got ready and left for dinner at Kouzzina.
We took the car to the Boardwalk and valet parked (first time in my life!) since you get it for free with TIW. We walked down to the actual Boardwalk area and they were having some Halloween festivities with a DJ and games for the kids.
We were a bit early so we strolled along the Boardwalk a bit and enjoyed the wonderful views of the other resorts.
I will now lead you over to my review of Kouzzina - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34349290#post34349290
There's a shop called Seashore Sweets next door to Kouzzina. WE stopped in to see if there was anything that rang Gram's bells for dessert. I saw these Marshmallow pops and thought they were too cute!
We headed towards the valet stand and while we were waiting ran in to some rock stars!
It was Halloween after all! I wish this photo showed their shoes! They were all seriously wearing 6 inch high platforms!
After I got my book signed, Gram and I headed over to the Land Pavilion. I still hadn't used any of my Family of the Day FP's yet, so I wanted to go ride Soarin'! This is another ride Gram can't do, but I'm glad of the location because she can sit at Sunshine Seasons, in the shade and AC, while she waits. She grabbed some sort of pastry to eat while she waited because she didn't really eat any of the quail at the demo since she's not a fan of Thai food.
Knowing my special FP's would admit up to 4 people, I stopped a family of 3 on their way in to the standby line and asked them if they wanted to come in the FP line with me. They said yes of course and thanked me profusely. I think they said they were from GA and the mom was a sometime lurker on the DIS Boards. They were really sweet and had a son who was probably 11 and he kept asking me "Have you ridden ___? Did you like it? Was it scary? How about ____?" He was funny and I enjoyed having people to chit chat with while in the line. Since it was mid-afternoon, even with a FP we had to wait about 15 minutes to ride Soarin'.
After the ride I said goodbye and met back up with Gram at Sunshine Seasons. We decided to go to one of her favorites, Living with the Land. I was thinking we could use one of my FP...but we didn't have to, we literally were able to just walk right on! My Gram has a greenhouse and is in to tropical plants mostly, but anything gardening related she loves. Lately I've been developing some of that green thumb so I like plants and gardening as well. I took a TON of photos on the ride, but I'll just share a few of my favs:
This plant has got to produce several thousand dollars worth of vanilla!
They said you can make a gallon of lemonade from one of these fruits:
Oh I wish I could have a tomato tree! This is mainly what I *try* to grow at home.
Mmmm, English Cucumbers....I wonder why they don't break off the vine...Disney magic in gardening!
After Living with the Land, we stopped in at Club Cool. I tried to pull the Beverly trick on my Gram and this was the height of her reaction:
She didn't make a face at all! I asked her "So what did you think of that?" And she took another sip and was like "That's not very good." Then poured the rest out like it was just a flat Diet Coke!
We headed towards the exit after our soda sampling and since there was no line, decided we could squeeze in a ride on Spaceship Earth. This was our first time on it since the recent refurbishment and we both loved it! Gram got a huge kick out of the photos we were able to email to my Aunt at the end.
As we left Epcot, I got the obligatory shot of the Sphere:
We took the bus back to POP for a rest before heading out to dinner. Gram took a nap and I went for a dip in the Bowling Pin Pool. We got ready and left for dinner at Kouzzina.
We took the car to the Boardwalk and valet parked (first time in my life!) since you get it for free with TIW. We walked down to the actual Boardwalk area and they were having some Halloween festivities with a DJ and games for the kids.
We were a bit early so we strolled along the Boardwalk a bit and enjoyed the wonderful views of the other resorts.
I will now lead you over to my review of Kouzzina - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34349290#post34349290
There's a shop called Seashore Sweets next door to Kouzzina. WE stopped in to see if there was anything that rang Gram's bells for dessert. I saw these Marshmallow pops and thought they were too cute!
We headed towards the valet stand and while we were waiting ran in to some rock stars!
It was Halloween after all! I wish this photo showed their shoes! They were all seriously wearing 6 inch high platforms!
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5,084
Today I told Gram she had to join me for RD since were going to AK and I wanted to do Kilimanjaro Safaris first thing.
We got up and had breakfast at Everything POP and then took the bus to AK.
We arrived at the gate around 8:20 so we didn't have to wait too long. They let us in at 8:45 and then did the opening ceremony. I think this is a really cute RD show. They even work in a sunscreen reminder!
Here are some photos:
After they let us go at 9, Gram and I participated in the "Safari Sprint", along with several hundred other people.
We only waited like 10 minutes before boarding and then we were off! We did see more animals than the last time we went, which was in the early afternoon. I didn't get many good pictures though....I haven't figured out the right setting for motion on my camera...and we were going pretty fast for photos.
Our first sighting was the Hippo Pool....and they were all completely submerged!
There were lots of birds striking a pose for us though...
Then of course we saw the crocodiles....which all seemed to be out of the water! I'd prefer them IN the water! They just look super scary!
Then we came up to a pair of Cape Buffalo:
The giraffes were busy with breakfast....who doesn't love a good tree?
Look, an Impala! No, not the car...
Thomson's Gazelle
The Baboons apparently had not applied their makeup yet...
Trusty old elephants, always good for a sighting:
White Rhinos:
Look hard and you can see some fuzzy cheetahs! I had never caught them out before so that was pretty cool.
King and Queen of the Jungle.....or maybe just a nice rock:
So a nice safari, all in all.
After the safari we went right on to the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail for more animal viewing. I LOVE the way Disney designed these trails. They are so much more than a zoo.
Forget the name, some kind of Monkeys. They were funny. The adult was trying to groom the kid, and he just was NOT having it!
Dont recall the name of this but he wasn't around for long...
The Okapi
continued in next post....
We got up and had breakfast at Everything POP and then took the bus to AK.
We arrived at the gate around 8:20 so we didn't have to wait too long. They let us in at 8:45 and then did the opening ceremony. I think this is a really cute RD show. They even work in a sunscreen reminder!
Here are some photos:
After they let us go at 9, Gram and I participated in the "Safari Sprint", along with several hundred other people.
We only waited like 10 minutes before boarding and then we were off! We did see more animals than the last time we went, which was in the early afternoon. I didn't get many good pictures though....I haven't figured out the right setting for motion on my camera...and we were going pretty fast for photos.
Our first sighting was the Hippo Pool....and they were all completely submerged!
There were lots of birds striking a pose for us though...
Then of course we saw the crocodiles....which all seemed to be out of the water! I'd prefer them IN the water! They just look super scary!
Then we came up to a pair of Cape Buffalo:
The giraffes were busy with breakfast....who doesn't love a good tree?
Look, an Impala! No, not the car...
Thomson's Gazelle
The Baboons apparently had not applied their makeup yet...
Trusty old elephants, always good for a sighting:
White Rhinos:
Look hard and you can see some fuzzy cheetahs! I had never caught them out before so that was pretty cool.
King and Queen of the Jungle.....or maybe just a nice rock:
So a nice safari, all in all.
After the safari we went right on to the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail for more animal viewing. I LOVE the way Disney designed these trails. They are so much more than a zoo.
Forget the name, some kind of Monkeys. They were funny. The adult was trying to groom the kid, and he just was NOT having it!
Dont recall the name of this but he wasn't around for long...
The Okapi
continued in next post....
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5,084
I think this is a Kookaburra
I love this photo...
The bird look so perfect you'd think it was fake!
Mr. Ducky
Let your eyes adjust and you can see the Hippo:
I love the Meercats! They are so cute. I used to have a pet rat, so they remind me of her and make me want to take them home!
The Gorillas rounded out the end of the trail for us.
After we finished Pangani, we were making perfect time to catch the 10:30 Flights of Wonder.
On the way over we ran in to something very peculiar:
A walking vine!!! DeVine that is.
This was the first time either one of us had seen her, and she is soooo cool! I took a video but I haven't uploaded it to photobucket.
When we got over to FOW they hadn't opened the theatre yet, but they had this guy out:
He's a Great Horned Owl. They're very cool creatures - I do petsitting for a lady who keeps injured Birds of Prey that can't be released back in to the wild. She has one of these guys and he only has one wing.
Someone "accidentally" shot him and they had to amputate his wing. So obviously, he can't hunt anymore. So I like the FOW show since it educates people that these birds are not to be feared - they're an important part of ecosystem and we need to preserve them and their habitats!
After FOW, I ran and got myself some Fastpasses for EE. Gram waited for me on a bench by Yak and Yeti. It was 11 when I got back and I noticed the restaurant was empty. I like to eat lunch early at the parks in order to avoid the noon time rush so I asked Gram to take a look at the menu. It was still pretty hot out, so I was loving the idea of lunch in AC. We were originally planning to try Flame Tree BBQ....but I went it and asked if they could seat a walk up...and they did right away!
Here's my dining review - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34391662&posted=1#post34391662
In a nutshell, Yak and Yeti far exceeded our expectations. We really enjoyed it, and that's saying something, because Gram isn't even a fan of Asian cuisine!
After our wonderful lunch, my FP return had opened up for EE. So Gram found a shady bench nearby and I went for not one, but two rides!
I absolutely LOVE EE! It is one of my top 3 favorite rides in all of Disney. I've never seen the Yeti operating in "A" mode with the sweeping arm, but she still scares me.....so I'm ok with the "B" mode!
After I rode EE, we walked over to Dinoland for Finding Nemo: The Musical. We were quite early, but I didn't think we had time to go do something else and still come back and get seats. We sat on the benches outside for a little while and I saw this little guy:
I loved our view:
We finally got in line and they opened the theatre doors shortly afterward. We had really good seats since we were some of the first people in the theatre. We did have to wait a half hour, but hey, we were seated in the AC, and that was longest wait of our entire trip!
Neither one of us had ever seen this show before, so I was excited since people rave about it here on the DIS. Boy, were they correct! Gram and I both LOVED the show. If someone told me about it, and described how the actors are visible, in addition to the puppets, I would say that sounds stupid and it wouldn't work. But it does work.....really really well. I can't believe how talented these people are....to be acting, singing, dancing, operating a puppet, and flying through the air on a wire!!! Too cool!
I took some photos but they're all pretty blurry. I do have a video I will post at some point though. Again, still haven't uploaded it.
After Nemo got out, we went to see Festival of the Lion King. We were kind of early, but again, didn't have enough time to go do anything else and still make it back. We snacked on a Mickey Rice Crispie Treat while we waited.
continued in the next post....
I love this photo...
The bird look so perfect you'd think it was fake!
Mr. Ducky
Let your eyes adjust and you can see the Hippo:
I love the Meercats! They are so cute. I used to have a pet rat, so they remind me of her and make me want to take them home!
The Gorillas rounded out the end of the trail for us.
After we finished Pangani, we were making perfect time to catch the 10:30 Flights of Wonder.
On the way over we ran in to something very peculiar:
A walking vine!!! DeVine that is.
This was the first time either one of us had seen her, and she is soooo cool! I took a video but I haven't uploaded it to photobucket.
When we got over to FOW they hadn't opened the theatre yet, but they had this guy out:
He's a Great Horned Owl. They're very cool creatures - I do petsitting for a lady who keeps injured Birds of Prey that can't be released back in to the wild. She has one of these guys and he only has one wing.
Someone "accidentally" shot him and they had to amputate his wing. So obviously, he can't hunt anymore. So I like the FOW show since it educates people that these birds are not to be feared - they're an important part of ecosystem and we need to preserve them and their habitats!
After FOW, I ran and got myself some Fastpasses for EE. Gram waited for me on a bench by Yak and Yeti. It was 11 when I got back and I noticed the restaurant was empty. I like to eat lunch early at the parks in order to avoid the noon time rush so I asked Gram to take a look at the menu. It was still pretty hot out, so I was loving the idea of lunch in AC. We were originally planning to try Flame Tree BBQ....but I went it and asked if they could seat a walk up...and they did right away!
Here's my dining review - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34391662&posted=1#post34391662
In a nutshell, Yak and Yeti far exceeded our expectations. We really enjoyed it, and that's saying something, because Gram isn't even a fan of Asian cuisine!
After our wonderful lunch, my FP return had opened up for EE. So Gram found a shady bench nearby and I went for not one, but two rides!
I absolutely LOVE EE! It is one of my top 3 favorite rides in all of Disney. I've never seen the Yeti operating in "A" mode with the sweeping arm, but she still scares me.....so I'm ok with the "B" mode!
After I rode EE, we walked over to Dinoland for Finding Nemo: The Musical. We were quite early, but I didn't think we had time to go do something else and still come back and get seats. We sat on the benches outside for a little while and I saw this little guy:
I loved our view:
We finally got in line and they opened the theatre doors shortly afterward. We had really good seats since we were some of the first people in the theatre. We did have to wait a half hour, but hey, we were seated in the AC, and that was longest wait of our entire trip!
Neither one of us had ever seen this show before, so I was excited since people rave about it here on the DIS. Boy, were they correct! Gram and I both LOVED the show. If someone told me about it, and described how the actors are visible, in addition to the puppets, I would say that sounds stupid and it wouldn't work. But it does work.....really really well. I can't believe how talented these people are....to be acting, singing, dancing, operating a puppet, and flying through the air on a wire!!! Too cool!
I took some photos but they're all pretty blurry. I do have a video I will post at some point though. Again, still haven't uploaded it.
After Nemo got out, we went to see Festival of the Lion King. We were kind of early, but again, didn't have enough time to go do anything else and still make it back. We snacked on a Mickey Rice Crispie Treat while we waited.
continued in the next post....
Brave teacher
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
- Messages
- 3,122
Abby, everything looks so much fuun and peaceful at the smae time. Keep it coming!
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5,084
We got seats in the Lion section for FOTLK. We had seen this show back in 1999 and I didn't remember much, but I remembered liking it.
Took some photos, but they didn't come out too well:
While the show was good, it was kind of a let down after the amazing-ness that is Nemo. Gram also thought it was waaaay too loud. It was a lot louder than Nemo, but I expect these things to be at an annoyingly high volume. I guess it bothered her more than me though.
After FOTLK, we decided we were done for the day. We slowly made our way out, making the obligatory stops in the gift shops on Discovery Island. I didn't get anything, but Gram FINALLY sprung for a package with Minnie and Mickey socks she had eyed on our last trip in April.
Au revior, Tree of Life!
We took our time exiting the Oasis, because we ran through it so fast in the morning. I think the Oasis is one of the best theme park entrances anywhere. It really sets the tone for AK - slow down, look in unusual places, and go off the beaten track. You can't just shoot straight back like you do at MK or HS. Of course, going at RD, I never do that in the morning! But it such a gorgeous area. My Gram and I both love tropical plants, so walking through there is like being at a Botanical Garden - but better because there's animals and it's Disney!
Cute little orchids:
These Macaws were SO OBNOXIOUS! I guess there were bidding everyone farewell in bird.
My Gram has a greenhouse, and she'd like it to look something like this:
I told her not to hold her breath.
More Macaws:
Roseate Spoonbills (native to FL) and their African cousins:
I'd like to take home those Orchids please:
We had originally planned to go to another resort for a CS dinner this evening, but we were so tried at this point we just took the bus straight back to POP. We stopped in at the food court before heading back to our room. DR here - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34489157#post34489157
After some food and a dip in the pool, I felt much rejuvenated and decided to hit up HS EMH. I had a little "research" to do! Gram stayed behind and relaxed at POP.
HS EMH Continued in next post.....
Took some photos, but they didn't come out too well:
While the show was good, it was kind of a let down after the amazing-ness that is Nemo. Gram also thought it was waaaay too loud. It was a lot louder than Nemo, but I expect these things to be at an annoyingly high volume. I guess it bothered her more than me though.
After FOTLK, we decided we were done for the day. We slowly made our way out, making the obligatory stops in the gift shops on Discovery Island. I didn't get anything, but Gram FINALLY sprung for a package with Minnie and Mickey socks she had eyed on our last trip in April.
Au revior, Tree of Life!
We took our time exiting the Oasis, because we ran through it so fast in the morning. I think the Oasis is one of the best theme park entrances anywhere. It really sets the tone for AK - slow down, look in unusual places, and go off the beaten track. You can't just shoot straight back like you do at MK or HS. Of course, going at RD, I never do that in the morning! But it such a gorgeous area. My Gram and I both love tropical plants, so walking through there is like being at a Botanical Garden - but better because there's animals and it's Disney!
Cute little orchids:
These Macaws were SO OBNOXIOUS! I guess there were bidding everyone farewell in bird.
My Gram has a greenhouse, and she'd like it to look something like this:
I told her not to hold her breath.
More Macaws:
Roseate Spoonbills (native to FL) and their African cousins:
I'd like to take home those Orchids please:
We had originally planned to go to another resort for a CS dinner this evening, but we were so tried at this point we just took the bus straight back to POP. We stopped in at the food court before heading back to our room. DR here - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34489157#post34489157
After some food and a dip in the pool, I felt much rejuvenated and decided to hit up HS EMH. I had a little "research" to do! Gram stayed behind and relaxed at POP.
HS EMH Continued in next post.....
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5,084
I had not set foot in HS in over 10 years, so there is sooooo much I had not experienced there. I mainly wanted to experience the thrill rides so I could report back on them to my friend Mark, who I'm going back to WDW with soon.
I arrived around 7:15 at walked to TOT. There were no FP's! EMH didn't start until 8, and I guess all the FP's were out for regular hours. But luckily, the crowds were low, and/or everyone was in line for Fantasmic, so the posted wait was only 20 minutes. I've been so spoiled on my last two trips with wait times that I was thinking "OMG, 20 minutes! That's forever!"
But I decided to "tough it out" and the actual wait was maybe only 15 minutes. I was pretty nervous going to the ride, but I wanted to try it since I usually love thrill rides. I got on to my freight elevator and thats when the panic began! There is NOTHING to hold on to! You're just on a bench with a lap belt - no bars or handrails or anything! But I was brave and stayed because my curiosity got the best of me. The ride starts out calmly enough....I loved the special effects but I kept getting more and more nervous because I had no idea when the drop(s) would come. I was sitting there with my hands clenched on my seat belt sweating like a pig! First, we shot up really fast, but not that far. Sometime shortly after that, the doors opened and I could see all of HS for about...ooh 1/4 of a second! Then we fell...... I'm sure it was only for about a 1.5 seconds but it felt like forever! The actual fall wasn't so bad to me. But after it, I knew there was a possibility of another one, and that really scared me. I get more worked up about something when I don't know it's coming. So I was just shot at this point and sooooo happy when our doors finally opened and we could exit! So TOT won't be a happening again for me anytime in foreseeable future! It's the terror of the unknown that really freaks me out. If TOT was like it used to be and only had one drop sequence, I might be willing to ride again since I know what's coming. But knowing that it's a random program now......no way!
However, I will say that TOT is one of the most excellently themed and executed ride at WDW. The building, the hotel lobby, the library, the boiler room loading area......so cool. Any old theme park has a shoot you up and drop you down ride, but they're just the ride....they're not an EXPERIENCE. This is why I love Disney - they put so much more thought, time, money, and effort in to things.
Hoping for an attraction more up my alley, I went over to RnRC.
They still didn't have FP's up and the standby wait was 30 minutes. But, they did have a single rider line, so I decided to take my chances with that. After 20 minutes, I got in to my "Limo". And shortly thereafter, shot out of the "parking garage" like a bat outta you know where!
Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Is my first reaction to RnRC. The takeoff is AMAZING! I don't own a Porsche, so I've never gone to 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. I bet it feels better on RnRC anyways since you get the wind and music! This ride was awesome. I love the theme, I love how fast it is, and I love a good coaster. Plus, Aerosmith is one of my favorite Rock and Roll bands.....so I think I was bound to love this ride form the beginning. My only complaint is that it's waaaaay too short!
After RnRC, I headed over to TSM. EMH has started by then, but they still didn't have the FP's machines running! I was so disappointed. The standby wait at TSM was posted at 30 minutes, and after much deliberation, I decided to skip it. I am now kicking myself, because I realize the actual wait probably wasn't even that long.
So instead I went over to check out the Great Movie Ride. I waited like 10 minutes for this. We had 2 really great CM hosts for this ride. I liked it enough, but I have no plans to do it again when I go back in 10 days. I think it's time the GMR had a rufurb!
I decided that was enough for me that evening and shopped my way out of the park. There was a shirt I really wanted to get, but it only came in a long sleeved version, and living in FL.......I only wear long sleeves maybe 10 days out of the year. So I decided to skip it. After I got back to POP that night and told Gram about it, she said to me "Well why don't you just hem the sleeves?" DUH Abby. Oh well!
I arrived around 7:15 at walked to TOT. There were no FP's! EMH didn't start until 8, and I guess all the FP's were out for regular hours. But luckily, the crowds were low, and/or everyone was in line for Fantasmic, so the posted wait was only 20 minutes. I've been so spoiled on my last two trips with wait times that I was thinking "OMG, 20 minutes! That's forever!"
But I decided to "tough it out" and the actual wait was maybe only 15 minutes. I was pretty nervous going to the ride, but I wanted to try it since I usually love thrill rides. I got on to my freight elevator and thats when the panic began! There is NOTHING to hold on to! You're just on a bench with a lap belt - no bars or handrails or anything! But I was brave and stayed because my curiosity got the best of me. The ride starts out calmly enough....I loved the special effects but I kept getting more and more nervous because I had no idea when the drop(s) would come. I was sitting there with my hands clenched on my seat belt sweating like a pig! First, we shot up really fast, but not that far. Sometime shortly after that, the doors opened and I could see all of HS for about...ooh 1/4 of a second! Then we fell......
I'm sure it was only for about a 1.5 seconds but it felt like forever! The actual fall wasn't so bad to me. But after it, I knew there was a possibility of another one, and that really scared me. I get more worked up about something when I don't know it's coming. So I was just shot at this point and sooooo happy when our doors finally opened and we could exit! So TOT won't be a happening again for me anytime in foreseeable future! It's the terror of the unknown that really freaks me out. If TOT was like it used to be and only had one drop sequence, I might be willing to ride again since I know what's coming. But knowing that it's a random program now......no way!However, I will say that TOT is one of the most excellently themed and executed ride at WDW. The building, the hotel lobby, the library, the boiler room loading area......so cool. Any old theme park has a shoot you up and drop you down ride, but they're just the ride....they're not an EXPERIENCE. This is why I love Disney - they put so much more thought, time, money, and effort in to things.
Hoping for an attraction more up my alley, I went over to RnRC.
They still didn't have FP's up and the standby wait was 30 minutes. But, they did have a single rider line, so I decided to take my chances with that. After 20 minutes, I got in to my "Limo". And shortly thereafter, shot out of the "parking garage" like a bat outta you know where!
Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Is my first reaction to RnRC. The takeoff is AMAZING! I don't own a Porsche, so I've never gone to 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. I bet it feels better on RnRC anyways since you get the wind and music! This ride was awesome. I love the theme, I love how fast it is, and I love a good coaster. Plus, Aerosmith is one of my favorite Rock and Roll bands.....so I think I was bound to love this ride form the beginning. My only complaint is that it's waaaaay too short!
After RnRC, I headed over to TSM. EMH has started by then, but they still didn't have the FP's machines running! I was so disappointed. The standby wait at TSM was posted at 30 minutes, and after much deliberation, I decided to skip it. I am now kicking myself, because I realize the actual wait probably wasn't even that long.
So instead I went over to check out the Great Movie Ride. I waited like 10 minutes for this. We had 2 really great CM hosts for this ride. I liked it enough, but I have no plans to do it again when I go back in 10 days. I think it's time the GMR had a rufurb!
I decided that was enough for me that evening and shopped my way out of the park. There was a shirt I really wanted to get, but it only came in a long sleeved version, and living in FL.......I only wear long sleeves maybe 10 days out of the year. So I decided to skip it. After I got back to POP that night and told Gram about it, she said to me "Well why don't you just hem the sleeves?" DUH Abby. Oh well!
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