Celebrating w/D23 as they turn 1! March 10: TR finished! Relive the Magic! updt 11/18

[kswm30b]

Another time when our trips overlapped (maybe one of these days we'll actually meet! ) Love the Pop pics, we stayed there at the beginning of our December trip & it was lots of fun.

 

[jenseib]

Yay!!! off to a great start!

 

[If U Had Wings]

You got so many great safari pics! I'm terribly jealous.

 

[MyMuse]

Another time when our trips overlapped (maybe one of these days we'll actually meet! ) Love the Pop pics, we stayed there at the beginning of our December trip & it was lots of fun.

Sure! All thngs holding steady, I should be back in October.

I'm a hotel snob (sorta) and thankfully, did end up liking POP alot. It didn't seem to be overly filled, so no thousand kids running around, family arguments, etc etc. I was a little scared for that.

Yay!!! off to a great start!

Thank you!!

You got so many great safari pics! I'm terribly jealous.

I have taken alot more in previous TRs, but I took different ones this time. I can never resist if the animals are close or if they are cats.


I'm hopng to get more done today and tomorrow.

 

[MyMuse]

The last I left you was heading into the Pagani Forest Trail.

wow! pagani forest trail is PACKED....
3:20 PM Mar 3rd

At the front, it did seem very packed. I got some nice animal & nature pics. Hopefully, a bit different than December's TR pics.

okapi

Then off to the office! do i spy....???

yup, an HM on the desk!

Then I glance in the corner....

..and there's another one...hidden!

Interesting...well....

off to prettier animals - time to leave the office!

duck *on top* of water?

There was only 1 meerkat out & I missed the hippo. I have some cool pics of hippos on previous TRs.

how neatly written is this?

The greatest was finally a glimpse of the new baby gorilla, plus both her parents. CM was BEYOND excited since this is the first time mommy gorilla came out!!!! The CM was able to tell us it was a girl; she only found out 5 minutes ago when she came on her shift when others told her! The vets have been unable to actually see the baby since momma is not letting go. They were able to tell it was a girl from afar / video surveillance.

I think I was the first to break it on Twitter! I believe her name is Lily. Even new daddy gorilla was out.


disney new flash: new baby lowland gorilla is a little girl!
3:37 PM Mar 3rd


Mommy & Baby

she's not letting her go

time for a nap

Video of Mommy & Baby Lily



Big Silverback Daddy

Short video of Daddy



I spent quite some time here since the excitement was so high. Even the CM was surprised momma gorilla was out for so long.

 

[dawnbu40]

We had hoped to see the baby that day but our timing was off! We were so jealous when you told us you had seen her

 

[MyMuse]

After the excitement of the new baby lowland gorilla, I head off to the rest of Pagani Forest, hoping to get more HMs...

(different HMs from December trip! if you want to see those, please visit Dec TR, there are many many!)

totally didn't see this last trip, but it's a HM of Jafar at the bridge

serene area pics

monkey!

back to school already??

pagani forest trail ! i have found all your hidden mickeys! ha!
3:45 PM Mar 3rd


After Pagani, I got a picture of animals in the Tree of life and headed to Maharajah Jungle Trek. Kali River Rapids was at 5 minutes! I was thinking to do this when it went dusky for a different feel.

Onward to my Jungle Trek! how will I do on this hidden mickey trek?

i need to venture into a giftshop and get a prayer flag

relaxin' cat

ok, I won't

sign belongs to this tree

pretty mural...

...a little closer...

..and a bit closer...can you see the HM?

I almost didn't either! that is a truly hidden mickey! There are other HMs in this mural, which I have already posted in the December TR.

This mural is part of a much bigger one; so pretty!

..but it also holds a hidden secret...

I also missed the above last trip. It getting harder to look for! The HM continues through the panel as well.



I know it looks a bit worn (gotta love Disney detail!)

..but in there....is a special surprise!

There is such lovely detail and photo ops in Jungle Trek

but before I walk under those cool prayer flags.....

 

[MyMuse]

....check out the panels!

our dancin' man has extra magic!

I head under the prayer flags to continue my trek. No animals out for me to linger and watch.

There's supposed to be a waving hidden mickey here...

...but after staring at it for many minutes, I had to admit defeat. I just couldn't see it. Later, I found that it was taken out, but it has since re-appeared. Though the white flower (vs the yellow ones) looks like a HM.


mahajarah jungle trek! i have found all but 1 of hidden mickeys! damm u waving mickster, can't see u
4:57 PM Mar 3rd


I saw them! well, everything but the dragons

After, I headed to Bug. On the way, I did stop back at Kali to ask whether it would be running during late Magic Hours. It is, so I'm happy. Always should check, just in case! I don't like my plans messed up. LOL!

I just think Bug is super cute. I get such a kick out of it. It was now late Magic Hours and indeed, CMs were checking room keys and did see people arguing. Sad. I can never see the HM at Bug, though I did get more Tree of Life animal pictures.

david greybeard

It's Tough To Be A.....
5:26 PM Mar 3rd

the grandest tree in the land

After Bug, I decided it was time to tackle Dinosaur.

going to try Dinosaur again; it scared the bejesus out of me the first time...
5:34 PM Mar 3rd


My waiting time pic didn’t come out, but the wait time was 5 minutes & it did hold true. It was a walk-on. I was still a bit scared, but I made it through and it was definitely easier the 2nd time around on this ride. I just don’t like things popping up at me. I was fine with the ride itself. I took a redneck photo, but blurry as usual. They really need to add ride photos to Photopass.

line queue at Dinosaur

waiting for big dino head to come at me! loved the dad next to me!

ok Dinosaur still scared me but not as bad; 8 yr olds fared better than I. sigh. bit embarassing...now time to tackle primeval whirl
5:53 PM Mar 3rd

How do I like Primeval Whiiiiirrrrlllll????????

 

[MyMuse]

We had hoped to see the baby that day but our timing was off! We were so jealous when you told us you had seen her

..but there are plenty of photos & vid to look at. I don't know how long she stayed out afterwards.

I think you guys were a few steps ahead of me all day! I did cast my eye around, just in case, I spotted you.

 

[MyMuse]

After Dinosaur, I decided to try another first, Primeval Whirl. This had a bit of a wait, about 15-20 minutes. It turned out to be fine, a bit jerky, but you certainly get a different view of the park!

I took a few more area pics of Dinoland before departing. Later on, I did read there were a few HMs on Primeval Whirl, next time!

Finally, it was getting dusky, so I made my way to Kali River Rapids. Only to find out, that the ride was shut down! It was just too cold to run. I guess I should have went on when it was a 5 minute wait. Ah well, we’ll see about tomorrow. And it was getting quite nippy. The CM there was really great about it and explained so diplomatically that I had to give him one of my CM thank yous.

Time to catch up on...some are replies to people....

pagani might have been packed b/c safari was....new baby gorilla is a girl! comfirmed by cast member..got lots of pics!
5:56 PM Mar 3rd

for those who asked..my lunch was excellent..tie dye cheesecake super yummy..hoping to have beaches & cream for din din
5:59 PM Mar 3rd

okaayy not sure what i think of primeval whirl...i want to ride kali river rapids in dark & it's NOT DARK YET! argh.
6:17 PM Mar 3rd

went to Kali to ride & they closed it! It's too cold to operate. which does make me giggle.
6:32 PM Mar 3rd


I decided to stroll about - soak the atmosphere & take pictures since there weren’t any other rides for me to go on. I’m not brave enough for Expedition Everest. I also missed the evening showing of Lion King.

this makes me laugh

the world famous....

In my strolling, it seemed like a good idea to take advantage of a near empty park and find the HMs in the Harambe area, which is typically busy and the HMs are in weird places.

betcha never noticed this one! on the ground, in front of refreshment place

After finding my first HM, a bunch of CMs joined me in my HM hunt! They noticed I was looking for something and asked if I needed help, so I proceeded to tell them what I was doing. They were all super excited and helped me move a table for a better picture. LOL!

I cannot tell you how awesome & grand this was! I gave them all one of my CM thank yous. My main CM who was with me, said it was the most fun she ever had. Even though the park closes at 8pm, the CMs do not leave until 9:30pm. They get a little bored. They even showed me another HM that was a super-secret! sshhh

very large ground HM in the sitting area; CM is standing in front of it

closer look

another one on the ground in sitting area

characters on the wall...Hidden Scar and a lioness

there is supposed to be a HM of Baloo, but I couldn't find it.

and, the super secret one! on the side of Tusker House

a bunch of cast members & I just went on a hidden mickey hunt!! awesomesauce! #akatniteismagical
6:56 PM Mar 3rd


After this wonderful magical time, I took my sweet time strolling through and taking pictures .....

 

[MyMuse]

After the excitement of the cast member hidden mickey hunt, I slowly strolled through to the exit taking more pictures & enjoying myself.

you know I had to get a letterbox! do this work? hmm

Safari Mickey & Minnie!

a solo disadvantage to character meets when there is no PP CMs.


bird in trees - super cool

of course, a night pic..

and, you know, that I was not going to leave without my precious PP!

At this point, my strolling was turning into sprinting as I was going to be late for a very important date at the Boardwalk! Day 1 continues!

 

[praisehisname]

Oh my goodness, I had a lot of updates to catch up on! I am so amazed at how much you are getting done after having been up for over 28 hours straight! The night pictures of AK are so beautiful!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I love all the night pictures from AK. All the details look so much more real. It's just gorgeous, and how much fun having HM searches with the CM's.

 

[MyMuse]

Oh my goodness, I had a lot of updates to catch up on! I am so amazed at how much you are getting done after having been up for over 28 hours straight! The night pictures of AK are so beautiful!

Yes, I wanted to get it rolling. I hope to do more this weekend.

I think it may even be more than 28 hours at this point! I never went to bed the night before, so it's probably more like 36.

Isn't AK at night cool? I'm so happy, I was able to do a EMH PM.

I love all the night pictures from AK. All the details look so much more real. It's just gorgeous, and how much fun having HM searches with the CM's.

Thank you. I seemed to have a lamp fetish that night. The illumination was so pretty. Can't even really capture it with a camera.

It was just great to have a HM hunt with the CMs! I was talking with them for awhile. There was quite a few HMs, we couldn't seem to find. I just love that about Disney - the spontaneous stuff.

 

[jenseib]

What a busy day.
I must admit, I cannot see the spuer hidden Mickey the CM's pointed out to you? Where is it?
You look lovely, but I think you do looked tired in the last photopass pics, like you are running on pure adrenaline. I have alot of pictures like that too. LOL! Can't sleep. I'm at Disney. Sleep when I get home!

 

[MyMuse]

What a busy day.
I must admit, I cannot see the spuer hidden Mickey the CM's pointed out to you? Where is it?
You look lovely, but I think you do looked tired in the last photopass pics, like you are running on pure adrenaline. I have alot of pictures like that too. LOL! Can't sleep. I'm at Disney. Sleep when I get home!

It's on the door, going sideways. I think they scratched it in.

I was doing ok at that point. When I stopped moving, that's where I got in trouble. and it's started to get C-O-L-D-E-R!!!!

 

[MyMuse]

Ok, so I left you at the entrance of the park where I got my mug on a couple more PP pics.


I’m heading out to meet my BFF and her mom at Beaches & Cream, where I really wanted to have dinner! Thankfullly, they agreed and made the drive down. She was calling to let me know that they are there waiting for me.

So, I think, ok, hop on a bus and get to a deluxe resort. Bam, I’m there. I see an Epcot resorts bus loading up people and a run to meet it, got in and proceeded to go to every place on earth except the where I needed to go. Why did I think deluxe resorts have decent bus service? It was just awful!

My BFF has been calling and she had no idea whether she was in Yacht or Beach club (and I totally blanked out where Beaches & Cream was). All she knew was that she parked at Boardwalk and walked over to B&C (as we went visiting December).

So, I got off at Beach Club and got totally lost, but finally managed to find Beaches & Cream. My BFF & her mom were sitting at the counter waiting for me and even the CM greeted me with “Hey! You made it!”. LOL! We ordered dinner – me a turkey sandwich and a shake called Frozen Sun – it was goooood. No kitchen sink this time, there was NO WAY even the three of us could manage a dessert like that! Holy Buckets! One day maybe.

inside Beaches & Cream

For some reason, I only took one picture of the place! It was probably because I was beyond frustrated how long it took to get there.


We then froze our collective gluteus maximuses off by walking back over to the Boardwalk to indulge in some Jellyrolls fun. I always wanted to try this and was glad I was finally able to. It was $10 cover charge and in we go. It a place with alternating sets of dueling pianos and you can write your song on a napkin with a tip and they will try to see if they can play it for you. We stayed on the upper level and had a good time singing along. I was taking pics and got yelled at! Maybe they thought I would sell it to the Russians. Jellyrolls might be on Disney property, but it is not owned by Disney. I did sneak in a video of a song as well. We stayed until 11pm!

I really liked the one set of guys playing, not so much the other set. However, both really played to the crowd well and it was a very enjoyable time. Soooo, doing this again!

a not so good self-portraits

video of Jellyrolls




I just couldn’t go anymore – I was draining fast at 11pm and they had a 40 minute ride home too. At this point, I was up for almost 41 hours. Thankfully, Jennifer drove me to POP as it was FREEZING. I mean teeth-chattering freezing and for some reason, my right knee was killing me. Jennifer drove her two-seater, so she had to go back and get her mom, but it was a very quick trip and I didn’t have to wait for a round of buses. Literally, she was back at the Boardwalk within 5 minutes.

When I got to my room, I was horrified to see purple/blue color under my eyes and my eyes have literally turned red. I must have looked a fright! Thank goodness for dark clubs.

I unpacked (remember, it’s still my first day!), got ready for tomorrow and finally headed for bed after being up for almost 42hours. Pretty safe to say, that I immediately fell asleep!

Late-night tweets while phone charging; it died when I got to Beaches & Cream. I'm also missing a few, so I guess they never made it...

..i finally met my peeps at beaches & cream at beach club & had lovely dinner, no dessert as i will still stuffed from lunch! went to ....
12:29 AM Mar 4th

I should have sent a tweet out that I went to Jellyrolls & had a great time...


...at my resort, i finally unpacked quickly as i am completely drained. i now have been up for almost 42 hrs. my eyes have turned red....
12:33 AM Mar 4th

...& now i have purple/bluish bags under them! join me 2morrow for backstage safari & lunch at tusker house! nites!
12:35 AM Mar 4th




Yes, tomorrow is another AK day with the Backstage Safari Tour!!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I loved Jellyrolls when I went back in December. It was so much fun, even if it made me realize that I'm getting older. I just don't have the stamina to stay out late anymore.

 

[dawnbu40]

So glad to hear you enjoyed JellyRolls Looking forward to hearing more about the tour

 

[praisehisname]

So glad you had fun at Jellyrolls; I'd love to try it! Question: we have been to dueling piano bars where they change the words to the song to make it more "adult." Do they do that at Jellyrolls (i.e. would I be embarrassed to be there with my parents)?