GeorgiaAristocat
<font color=purple> Côôl DIS Veteran <img src=htt
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- Feb 23, 2005
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A Whole New World Trip Report, Day 3, Its wild out there!
Whos involved (you notice I do not say who went!)
Me (GeorgiaAristocat), 35, obsessive planner who hasnt been to WDW since 1976 its a whole new world!
DH ( ), 33, hasnt been to WDW since @ 1988 and then for only a few hours
DD (FearlessOne), 3, rocks between being a fairy princess, drama queen, and tomboy, not afraid of anything (unless she feels like screaming).
DS (SnuggleBuddy), 15 mos old, umbilical cord is about 1 mm long total mamas boy, also likes to scream and doesnt require fright to do so.
Nana keeper of FearlessOne and SnuggleBuddy while Mom and Dad play at the world!
Tuesday, September 27
Today we were headed to the Animal Kingdom. I was looking forward to Animal Kingdom as I suspected that it would be one of my favorite parks. I woke up at 6 a.m., got up to take a shower and woke Slowpoke up. He decided to get out of bed, too, made coffee, and turned on the news. After a while he asked what time we needed to leave. Now, I remember yesterdays experience, so I added an extra 15 minutes to our leave time. I told him that AK opened at 9, so I wanted to leave at 8:15. Needless to say, we left later than 8:15. We called home that morning to check on the kids and Nana. We had called the first night after supper, but the kids were already in bed. This morning, by the time we called Nana had already dropped them off at daycare and was at work. She said they were doing fine, no problems. We promised to call that evening so that we could speak with them. I, still in obsessive planning mode, grabbed the touring plan and map. Again, the map was helpful, the touring plan was unnecessary.
Caught a bus to Animal Kingdom, the park had already opened by the time we arrived, but only by 10 minutes instead of 30. We headed straight back to the Safari (after a stop at a bathroom). The wait was 10 minutes, but the ride was worth the wait. We saw A LOT of animals and the guide was fairly entertaining. There were lots of elephants out, we also saw lions, giraffes, rhino, crocodiles, and hippos, along with the grazers on the savannah. We skipped the Pangani trail, intending to come back. But we hit a bathroom.
We were headed to Asia (I dont know what I thought I was headed to, maybe I was really headed to Dinosaur?), and saw DeVine on the bridge from Africa to Asia. It was funny seeing the people walk past who had no idea what the rest of us were looking at. It was even funnier watching/listening to the Mom trying to get her 4-5 year old to SEE DeVine. Right there cant you see her? I lost sympathy for the Mom when she then turned to the CM/handler and said, Cant you get her to move so that he can see her? Uhh, thats kind of the point, isnt it? That she blends with the surroundings? Sheesh.
Flights of Wonder was starting in @ 10 minutes when we walked past the auditorium, and I wanted to see the show, so we hung around and watched the CM up front with the great horned owl. We also looked at the traveling merchandise stand just across from the entrance. Slowpoke found a hat that he really liked, but balked at the price. Come on, its hot, just buy it. No can do. It was kind of cool to see the owl (such a beautiful creature) so close up. The show was good, if a little cheesy, but the birds were beautiful. I know my kids will like this one.
On to Asia and another bathroom. We walked through the Maharajah Jungle Trek and saw the Tigers. I thought the Tigers were cool, as did DH. We both decided after wandering through the jungle that we werent quite up to getting wet on Kali River Rapids, but that we were kind of hungry. So, given the proximity, we went to Flame Tree BBQ. Yummmm.
After lunch (and a bathroom break) we decided to see Its Tough to be a Bug, and then do Kali. As an adult, I have to say I sort of enjoyed ITTBAB. However, DH and I agreed that the show was OUT OF THE QUESTION for our children, especially once the giant spiders dropped from the ceiling. JMHO, but dont take any kids under the age of 8 unless the LIKE to be scared by bugs. Show them the second Harry Potter movie and see how they react to Aragog while throwing fake spiders at them. If they freak out, they will definitely not handle this show very well. However, as an adult, it was fun!
On to Kali. I was determined to not spend the rest of the day walking around with a wet behind, so dragged out the very thin, but cheap ponchos that I had purchased from Target. They were a pain to put on, and the day was warm enough that even though we practically walked on to this ride, and didnt put the ponchos on until we were on the round moving platform, we were ROASTING inside the ponchos. Once the water got dumped on us on the ride, however, we got cooled down, and my bottom was still dry. We discarded the ponchos after the ride. The ride was really short, by the way. I was expecting something longer. I think every raft ride I have been on at other parks has been longer.
Leaving Asia, we went to Dinoland, walking past the Expedition: Everest build site (and stopping at a bathroom). Looks like a very cool ride. I think we will have to do child swap on this next year. Either that or Slowpoke will have to watch the kids. I want to ride! People were lining up for the next showing of Tarzan Rocks!, but the show was still at least 45 minutes away. We walked past and proceeded to Dinosaur, where we spent a few minutes in the room with the dinosaur bones before going in to the preshow. Then on with the ride. This was good fun, not too scary (even my 3 yr old could handle this, but she is fearless), and I didnt think it was really THAT jerky and bumpy. Anywho
We left Dinosaur and went back to see Tarzan Rocks! Good show Id go again. Tarzan is, well, almost as yummy as the free dining plan! Id be willing to volunteer to fling myself around on dangling rope if I got to dance with him, too. I figure that must be the incentive for the girl playing Jane. From there we headed over to Camp Minnie-Mickey because we both really wanted to see Festival of the Lion King. When we got there it was going to be several minutes before we needed to gather to go in the theater, so I decided we should get some character pictures, if possible. Turns out that Goofy had no wait, well, no wait as I was walking up the path, until some kids saw that there was no wait, then I was fourth back. Now, please understand that I TOTALLY DIDNT MIND since Disney is for kids, and my patience is much more developed than a four year olds. It was wonderful seeing how delighted those kids were to meet Goofy. We offered to take a family portrait since there was no photopass person there. I finally insisted on my turn, and DH took my picture. There are lots more pictures of me with characters than with him. He thinks the characters are just people dressed up. What does he know? I know that they are the real deal (although it is somewhat troubling to me that all of the characters can be in all of the parks every day, they must be exhausted!) (I think I missed about three bathroom breaks in there someplace, too.)
All the other characters had long lines that looked like they would exceed my 10 minute maximum wait time, so we wandered back to the waiting area for Festival of the Lion King. I confess, despite our very good and filling lunch, I was gazing longingly at the soft serve ice cream stand. As it turns out it was a good thing that I didnt get any, since you cant take it in the theater. I would never have finished in time.
What a good show! We really enjoyed ourselves here. I happen to love the Lion King movies and wish I could have had my picture taken with Simba, but no such luck. We were elephants. This is my favorite animal. (Really, I have been collecting elephant stuff since I was in grade school.) It was fate that led us to that third row seat. Fate. And a pushy attendant.
We left the show and felt sorry for all the parents who were now scanning the many rows of strollers to find their own. Note to self: make sure to take something very obvious and identifying next year in order to find your stroller. Solicitation for opinions from others: should I rent a double stroller or invest in a double jogging stroller? My kids really like to go for walks anyway, and the Graco duo-rider is fairly heavy and bulky and difficult to navigate. Oh, wait, this is a trip report! (give me your opinions anyway, just use some kind of code)
Brian wanted to go on the Safari again, so we headed back to Africa for our second ride. We had a fastpass, I must have picked it up right after we rode the first time. The wait was about the same the second time through as the first, even with the fastpass. The second ride was not as good as the first. The guide was not nearly as entertaining or polished and not as many animals were out. We did have to stop, though, because the giraffe decided to cross directly in front of us. He regarding us curiously and asked for food. Wait, no, that was DH when he saw someone with coffee.
Despite the fact that this was an evening EMH day and we could have stayed much longer, we ended up leaving at that point, sometime between 4:30 and 5:00. There were things here that I didnt get to do that I would like to do, such as explore the Oasis and Discovery Island, walk around the Tree of Life more, the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, and Rafikis Planet Watch, but I knew we would be returning and that the kids would totally love this place. I know that some people love Animal Kingdom while others say there isnt enough to do. We are lovers already, and could see spending more than one day here (amazing, eh?)
Anyway, we left early and went back to the resort intending to swim and maybe head to either Downtown Disney or the Outlets. (Slowpoke had decided he wanted a hat.) We went swimming. I gazed longingly at the water slide that I really wanted to try. I simply didnt have the courage to shove aside the half dozen or more children all under 6 years of age to muscle my way to the slide. I couldnt deprive them of their fun, or expose their parents to the tidal wave that would have occurred when I hit the bottom of the slide. Sigh. Then we spent 5 minutes in the hot tub warming up after the cool pool water. We went back to the room and changed, ate supper at the food court (very yummy and huge servings), and decided to go to the Outlet. I was in charge of navigation, and got us to the correct exit, but then turned instead of going straight at the crucial stoplight. 10 minutes later we arrived at the outlet mall (after turning around), and circled the mall to see if we could locate the Disney store without walking the entire structure. Amazingly, when I did finally get out to see if I could locate a directory, low and behold, the Disney Store. DH has the Moses effect for parking spaces, so we were only in the second parking space, which was good because it started raining (a common side effect of using the Moses trick). We ran in, wandered around for a bit, found a couple of Mickey plates to take to the kids, a t-shirt each for FearlessOne and myself, a couple of pins on clearance, and a pressed penny book (and was REALLY glad I hadnt spent the $6 on it the day before.) I made DH pay for everything since I couldnt charge this to the room. I took pictures of the kids with their souvenirs and someday Ill manage to send them to my computer so that I can show them to you. My kids are really cute. Here are some pictures (not of souvenirs) to prove that Im not lying (plus, Im really proud of how cute my kids are, since I know they get it from me!)
These are of SnuggleBuddy and Me and of FearlessOne
We were back at the resort **relaxing** in bed by 10.
Oh, the others: we called home after swimming, everyone was still okay. Actually spoke with FearlessOne about her day, she was having a good time with Nana. SnuggleBuddy was demanding snuggling in the mornings, so Nana was getting up at 5 to get her shower before he woke up. Good idea.
Tomorrow: Oh, the magic of the Magic Kingdom!
Here are the links to the other portions of this report:
A Whole New World Dining Report
A Whole New World Trip Report (Short Version)
A Whole New World Trip Report, Long Version, Day 1 Part 1, Getting There . . .
A Whole New World Trip Report, Day 1 Part 2, Checking in and California Grill
Day 2, Part 1, Soarin' into our Trip!
Day 2, Part 2, Bathrooms Around the World
Whos involved (you notice I do not say who went!)
Me (GeorgiaAristocat), 35, obsessive planner who hasnt been to WDW since 1976 its a whole new world!
DH ( ), 33, hasnt been to WDW since @ 1988 and then for only a few hours
DD (FearlessOne), 3, rocks between being a fairy princess, drama queen, and tomboy, not afraid of anything (unless she feels like screaming).
DS (SnuggleBuddy), 15 mos old, umbilical cord is about 1 mm long total mamas boy, also likes to scream and doesnt require fright to do so.
Nana keeper of FearlessOne and SnuggleBuddy while Mom and Dad play at the world!
Tuesday, September 27
Today we were headed to the Animal Kingdom. I was looking forward to Animal Kingdom as I suspected that it would be one of my favorite parks. I woke up at 6 a.m., got up to take a shower and woke Slowpoke up. He decided to get out of bed, too, made coffee, and turned on the news. After a while he asked what time we needed to leave. Now, I remember yesterdays experience, so I added an extra 15 minutes to our leave time. I told him that AK opened at 9, so I wanted to leave at 8:15. Needless to say, we left later than 8:15. We called home that morning to check on the kids and Nana. We had called the first night after supper, but the kids were already in bed. This morning, by the time we called Nana had already dropped them off at daycare and was at work. She said they were doing fine, no problems. We promised to call that evening so that we could speak with them. I, still in obsessive planning mode, grabbed the touring plan and map. Again, the map was helpful, the touring plan was unnecessary.
Caught a bus to Animal Kingdom, the park had already opened by the time we arrived, but only by 10 minutes instead of 30. We headed straight back to the Safari (after a stop at a bathroom). The wait was 10 minutes, but the ride was worth the wait. We saw A LOT of animals and the guide was fairly entertaining. There were lots of elephants out, we also saw lions, giraffes, rhino, crocodiles, and hippos, along with the grazers on the savannah. We skipped the Pangani trail, intending to come back. But we hit a bathroom.
We were headed to Asia (I dont know what I thought I was headed to, maybe I was really headed to Dinosaur?), and saw DeVine on the bridge from Africa to Asia. It was funny seeing the people walk past who had no idea what the rest of us were looking at. It was even funnier watching/listening to the Mom trying to get her 4-5 year old to SEE DeVine. Right there cant you see her? I lost sympathy for the Mom when she then turned to the CM/handler and said, Cant you get her to move so that he can see her? Uhh, thats kind of the point, isnt it? That she blends with the surroundings? Sheesh.
Flights of Wonder was starting in @ 10 minutes when we walked past the auditorium, and I wanted to see the show, so we hung around and watched the CM up front with the great horned owl. We also looked at the traveling merchandise stand just across from the entrance. Slowpoke found a hat that he really liked, but balked at the price. Come on, its hot, just buy it. No can do. It was kind of cool to see the owl (such a beautiful creature) so close up. The show was good, if a little cheesy, but the birds were beautiful. I know my kids will like this one.
On to Asia and another bathroom. We walked through the Maharajah Jungle Trek and saw the Tigers. I thought the Tigers were cool, as did DH. We both decided after wandering through the jungle that we werent quite up to getting wet on Kali River Rapids, but that we were kind of hungry. So, given the proximity, we went to Flame Tree BBQ. Yummmm.
After lunch (and a bathroom break) we decided to see Its Tough to be a Bug, and then do Kali. As an adult, I have to say I sort of enjoyed ITTBAB. However, DH and I agreed that the show was OUT OF THE QUESTION for our children, especially once the giant spiders dropped from the ceiling. JMHO, but dont take any kids under the age of 8 unless the LIKE to be scared by bugs. Show them the second Harry Potter movie and see how they react to Aragog while throwing fake spiders at them. If they freak out, they will definitely not handle this show very well. However, as an adult, it was fun!
On to Kali. I was determined to not spend the rest of the day walking around with a wet behind, so dragged out the very thin, but cheap ponchos that I had purchased from Target. They were a pain to put on, and the day was warm enough that even though we practically walked on to this ride, and didnt put the ponchos on until we were on the round moving platform, we were ROASTING inside the ponchos. Once the water got dumped on us on the ride, however, we got cooled down, and my bottom was still dry. We discarded the ponchos after the ride. The ride was really short, by the way. I was expecting something longer. I think every raft ride I have been on at other parks has been longer.
Leaving Asia, we went to Dinoland, walking past the Expedition: Everest build site (and stopping at a bathroom). Looks like a very cool ride. I think we will have to do child swap on this next year. Either that or Slowpoke will have to watch the kids. I want to ride! People were lining up for the next showing of Tarzan Rocks!, but the show was still at least 45 minutes away. We walked past and proceeded to Dinosaur, where we spent a few minutes in the room with the dinosaur bones before going in to the preshow. Then on with the ride. This was good fun, not too scary (even my 3 yr old could handle this, but she is fearless), and I didnt think it was really THAT jerky and bumpy. Anywho
We left Dinosaur and went back to see Tarzan Rocks! Good show Id go again. Tarzan is, well, almost as yummy as the free dining plan! Id be willing to volunteer to fling myself around on dangling rope if I got to dance with him, too. I figure that must be the incentive for the girl playing Jane. From there we headed over to Camp Minnie-Mickey because we both really wanted to see Festival of the Lion King. When we got there it was going to be several minutes before we needed to gather to go in the theater, so I decided we should get some character pictures, if possible. Turns out that Goofy had no wait, well, no wait as I was walking up the path, until some kids saw that there was no wait, then I was fourth back. Now, please understand that I TOTALLY DIDNT MIND since Disney is for kids, and my patience is much more developed than a four year olds. It was wonderful seeing how delighted those kids were to meet Goofy. We offered to take a family portrait since there was no photopass person there. I finally insisted on my turn, and DH took my picture. There are lots more pictures of me with characters than with him. He thinks the characters are just people dressed up. What does he know? I know that they are the real deal (although it is somewhat troubling to me that all of the characters can be in all of the parks every day, they must be exhausted!) (I think I missed about three bathroom breaks in there someplace, too.)
All the other characters had long lines that looked like they would exceed my 10 minute maximum wait time, so we wandered back to the waiting area for Festival of the Lion King. I confess, despite our very good and filling lunch, I was gazing longingly at the soft serve ice cream stand. As it turns out it was a good thing that I didnt get any, since you cant take it in the theater. I would never have finished in time.
What a good show! We really enjoyed ourselves here. I happen to love the Lion King movies and wish I could have had my picture taken with Simba, but no such luck. We were elephants. This is my favorite animal. (Really, I have been collecting elephant stuff since I was in grade school.) It was fate that led us to that third row seat. Fate. And a pushy attendant.
We left the show and felt sorry for all the parents who were now scanning the many rows of strollers to find their own. Note to self: make sure to take something very obvious and identifying next year in order to find your stroller. Solicitation for opinions from others: should I rent a double stroller or invest in a double jogging stroller? My kids really like to go for walks anyway, and the Graco duo-rider is fairly heavy and bulky and difficult to navigate. Oh, wait, this is a trip report! (give me your opinions anyway, just use some kind of code)
Brian wanted to go on the Safari again, so we headed back to Africa for our second ride. We had a fastpass, I must have picked it up right after we rode the first time. The wait was about the same the second time through as the first, even with the fastpass. The second ride was not as good as the first. The guide was not nearly as entertaining or polished and not as many animals were out. We did have to stop, though, because the giraffe decided to cross directly in front of us. He regarding us curiously and asked for food. Wait, no, that was DH when he saw someone with coffee.
Despite the fact that this was an evening EMH day and we could have stayed much longer, we ended up leaving at that point, sometime between 4:30 and 5:00. There were things here that I didnt get to do that I would like to do, such as explore the Oasis and Discovery Island, walk around the Tree of Life more, the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, and Rafikis Planet Watch, but I knew we would be returning and that the kids would totally love this place. I know that some people love Animal Kingdom while others say there isnt enough to do. We are lovers already, and could see spending more than one day here (amazing, eh?)
Anyway, we left early and went back to the resort intending to swim and maybe head to either Downtown Disney or the Outlets. (Slowpoke had decided he wanted a hat.) We went swimming. I gazed longingly at the water slide that I really wanted to try. I simply didnt have the courage to shove aside the half dozen or more children all under 6 years of age to muscle my way to the slide. I couldnt deprive them of their fun, or expose their parents to the tidal wave that would have occurred when I hit the bottom of the slide. Sigh. Then we spent 5 minutes in the hot tub warming up after the cool pool water. We went back to the room and changed, ate supper at the food court (very yummy and huge servings), and decided to go to the Outlet. I was in charge of navigation, and got us to the correct exit, but then turned instead of going straight at the crucial stoplight. 10 minutes later we arrived at the outlet mall (after turning around), and circled the mall to see if we could locate the Disney store without walking the entire structure. Amazingly, when I did finally get out to see if I could locate a directory, low and behold, the Disney Store. DH has the Moses effect for parking spaces, so we were only in the second parking space, which was good because it started raining (a common side effect of using the Moses trick). We ran in, wandered around for a bit, found a couple of Mickey plates to take to the kids, a t-shirt each for FearlessOne and myself, a couple of pins on clearance, and a pressed penny book (and was REALLY glad I hadnt spent the $6 on it the day before.) I made DH pay for everything since I couldnt charge this to the room. I took pictures of the kids with their souvenirs and someday Ill manage to send them to my computer so that I can show them to you. My kids are really cute. Here are some pictures (not of souvenirs) to prove that Im not lying (plus, Im really proud of how cute my kids are, since I know they get it from me!)
These are of SnuggleBuddy and Me and of FearlessOne
We were back at the resort **relaxing** in bed by 10.
Oh, the others: we called home after swimming, everyone was still okay. Actually spoke with FearlessOne about her day, she was having a good time with Nana. SnuggleBuddy was demanding snuggling in the mornings, so Nana was getting up at 5 to get her shower before he woke up. Good idea.
Tomorrow: Oh, the magic of the Magic Kingdom!
Here are the links to the other portions of this report:
A Whole New World Dining Report
A Whole New World Trip Report (Short Version)
A Whole New World Trip Report, Long Version, Day 1 Part 1, Getting There . . .
A Whole New World Trip Report, Day 1 Part 2, Checking in and California Grill
Day 2, Part 1, Soarin' into our Trip!
Day 2, Part 2, Bathrooms Around the World
