Coast to Coast and Back Again: A runDisney Journey

[Mimsy Borogove]

Monday, 4/24 – How You Doing, You Old Pirate?

At this point, I think we didn’t have another FP for at least an hour, so we headed towards Adventureland, checking on the Haunted Mansion standby wait along the way (30 minutes, meh). DH wanted to do POTC, and so we headed there. Wait time was 25 minutes, not too bad and at least you’re inside and cool for it. We wound around the queue in the outdoor portion and finally were inside the fort and were at a standstill for about 10 minutes. Then an announcement that the ride was temporarily delayed blah blah blah. We’d already waited 20 minutes by this time, so we decided to just stick it out since what else were we going to do? A few minutes later, the line began moving again, and kept going for a little while and then…standstill again. All told, I think we waited 50 minutes for POTC, but whatever. We don’t often encounter problems at the parks, so we just rolled with it.


Just a couple of pirate ships (turns out it’s really difficult to take a photo of a medal that’s around your neck!)



Even with the delayed POTC gratification we still had a little time to kill before our Big Thunder Mountain FP, but we decided to head over there anyway and just look at some of the scenery. So we walked up to the overlook and watched the ride for a bit.



I was also looking at the landscaping and watching a couple of lizards sun themselves on rocks and guard their respective territories. After a few minutes I realized that these were not the typical anoles running around in an urban setting. Nope, these were fence lizards, so cool! I went to grad school at UCF in Orlando, so I became extremely familiar with a lot of the wildlife in central Florida, especially since my coursework included herpetology (amphibians and reptiles) and ornithology (birds) with accompanying field work. Anyway, these little fence lizards are so cool because they have brilliant blue markings on their belly/sides under their front legs, such a pretty shade of blue, too. I had fun watching them for a few minutes and then DH said it was time for our FP.


Just a wild cactus flower…

We got into the FP line behind a party of 6 who apparently had difficulty with their FPs (the paper universal kind) but the CM sent them on ahead up the line and the whole time we were walking up to the ride, they’d stop and selfie or stop and chat with each other for no apparent reason. It was a man accompanying 4 teenaged girls and a boy, so we tried to be patient. When we got up to the final FP checkpoint, the CM became aggravated because the universal paper FP only allows for the person with it and up to 3 guests. He had 5 with him and argued with the CM who basically just said, “we’ll let you do it this time, but next time you can’t.” and was obviously annoyed by the whole interchange.

We walked down the ramp where the path splits into two – if you haven’t gone on BTM, you can choose either side, it really doesn’t matter – the group went one way and DH and I went in the other. But while walking down the ramp, the man jumped the railing in front of us and then basically ordered the girls to do the same. They argued that it didn’t matter, but he yelled back that he was in the proper FP line yadda yadda, back and forth, until he got to the front of the line and the girls still weren’t with him. The CM directed him to a car and the girls were still in the other line, so he made his way down, we were behind him, and then he turned around and went back to meet up with the rest of his party. A lot of annoyance and rudeness for what? Sometimes I just don’t understand people. But we were finally boarding our crazy train and on our way to the West! Round and round we went, up a hill and cccccccrreeeaaaak. Dead stop up top.


Stuck on top of BTM selfie!

We soon got started again and finished up the ride and since my phone was already out, I tried a few action shots along the way.


T. rex!

We were still a little annoyed by the rudeness just foisted upon us so we decided to take a slow ride on the WDW Railroad. Sometimes it’s nice to just take things easy to refresh your mood.


BTM from WDW RR

Unfortunately, we missed a lot of the story narration because people apparently still don’t get that you must keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times – the CM kept having to make this announcement, which effectively interrupted the storyline. We disembarked at the Main Street, U.S.A. stop so that we could go ride the People Mover instead – also a solid choice for taking it easy. But first a quick photo op.


This is what DH likes to call a "Chamber of Commerce Day."


Castle/medal shot



I really enjoy riding the People Mover, and so does DH. I’m always a little bummed when it’s over and we have to get out, but it is a nice opportunity to just people-watch and take a break from the crowds. We almost always ride it when we’re in MK.

By this time, our last FP window is up and so we headed back to Fantasyland.

Next: You Think of a Wonderful Thought

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Monday, 4/24 – You Think of a Wonderful Thought


People Mover medal shot.

We don’t always ride Peter Pan’s Flight, but when we do, we FastPass it. It’s crazy how quickly the queue fills up and becomes a 60+ minute wait. On a good day. But it’s always fun to glide over London and pretend to go on adventures with Peter and Tink et al. for those few moments.



By this time, it’s mid-afternoon and we are feeling a bit hungry so we head over to Liberty Tree Tavern – I’ve got fried shrimp on the brain for some reason (this is odd because I don’t really care for deep-fried things, and no I am not pregnant) and since it’s mid-afternoon there is almost no line and we have our choice of seats. Yay! We head upstairs to a window seat because it’s kind of fun to watch passerbys unwittingly entertain us. Hee! The meal was yummy, as usual.



Once finished with our meal, we head outside because we are ready to go back to the hotel room for a mid-afternoon respite. But we get out and fall victim to a huge throng because it’s time for Festival of Fantasy! OK, true confession here: I have never seen this parade. We typically don’t spend afternoons in Magic Kingdom just because of the higher propensity for meltdowns (literal and figurative because it’s usually also very hot) and seemingly larger crowd sizes. We typically like mornings and evenings in this park. So yes, I’m a terrible AP Holder.

And while we’re on the subject of true confessions, the one and only time I’ve seen Wishes in its entirety was from the balcony of the Contemporary Resort. It’s not that I don’t enjoy parades and fireworks, it’s just that those things in the Magic Kingdom can be miserable because of the crowds and rudeness that goes along with that. Also, when you’re an AP Holder, you can fall into the trap of, “oh, I can always do that later.” And then Wishes gets replaced. Oh well!


Merida float

We stay to the end of the parade in Liberty Square, and then make a beeline for the exit, where guess what? We get to see it all again! And this time, the dragon was breathing fire (very cool), which we didn’t see in Liberty Square because I think the wind direction in that area.



Peter Pan float from the back – I remember seeing this backstage during the half marathon or marathon in 2016 which was cool.


Fantasia float!


Parade royalty: Mickey and Minnie

We waited for the ropes to drop so we could be released into the wild and head back to our resort for a little while. It was about 3:30pm at this point, so maybe an hour or so.

Next: #allthefood at Flower & Garden Fest

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Monday, 4/24 - #allthefood at Flower & Garden Fest


Figment!

Having rested for a little while in our hotel room, freshened up and rejuvenated, we arrived at Epcot around 6pm for my favorite festival! I managed to convince DH to take a photo at the entrance because the decorations are so lovely.



I was also wearing my handmade Minnie ears, I’d found a tutorial online for making them and since you don’t need a sewing machine to make them, I gave it a shot, and I think they turned out OK. I used tropical flowers (silk hibiscus, plumeria, Dendrobium orchid) to decorate for F&G Fest. Originally, I’d gone looking for some tiki-themed material at JoAnn’s and Michael’s and even some local craft stores, but had no luck. I’d wanted to make an homage to The Enchanted Tiki Room, but since I couldn’t find appropriate material in time, I ended up using some sparkle material I had on hand and since it was silvery, I reasoned that it could represent Spaceship Earth.

Our plan for the rest of the evening was to wander around Epcot for a little while, do some sampling at the F&G kiosks and then walk over to Hollywood Studios for the Star Wars fireworks. We hadn’t yet seen the most recent version, though we both loved Symphony in the Stars during Star Wars Weekends and also the Star Wars fireworks dessert party after I completed the Dopey Challenge in 2016 (two post report starts here). Our first mission at F&G was to obtain everyone’s favorite Instagram beverage, violet lemonade!



I thought the frozen lemonade was very refreshing and delicious, but I don’t think I could drink more than one myself. In fact, DH and I split this one and it was a nice portion size then. This is our basic strategy during any Epcot festival so we can try a bunch of different things without getting obscenely full. Our next food stop was in America, where we flouted this long-held tradition of ours because I was not going to share this particular meal:


Mine is the pulled pork BBQ with coleslaw and Carolina sauce, DH ordered the brisket. Both were delicious!

We consumed our food at one of the picnic tables in America and listened to the featured band warm up. The F&G Festival has a tradition of featuring musicians/bands from the 60s and 70s and it was once called the Flower Power series (now called Garden Rocks, hee hee hee) and Davy Jones used to close out the series, but when he died a few years back, Micky Dolenz filled in for him and performed a fantastic show that DH and I caught, along with my parents who’d been visiting at the time. It was kind of neat because my mom has a number of Monkees records. Anyway, the featured band for this weekend was The Orchestra (basically ELO without Jeff Lynne) and they opened up with Mr. Blue Sky, which is featured in the Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 soundtrack. Synergizing all over the place here!!



We listened to a few songs, but then decided to head to France for dessert. On race weekends, I try not to worry about calories too much because between running the races and walking Disney (I easily hit 20,000 steps on an average Disney day), I figure I can offset them. So I ordered myself a macaron ice cream sandwich (so delicious!) and DH ordered a cone of chocolate orange (I tried it and it was surprisingly good) ice cream.



In addition to Belle and the Beast on display at the front of the France pavilion, we ran into two familiar faces a little further back:



I’m still trying to convince DH that we need the Cogsworth working clock and the Lumiere candlestick that are sold in New Fantasyland. Someday… And then I wanted to get some photos of my Kessel Run and Dark Side Challenge medals (I only brought these two along for the evening) with Spaceship Earth.



And then it was time to start walking over to DHS. We walked back to World Showcase and veered right towards Canada (eh?) and then the UK to exit through International Gate. We walk by Boardwalk, and then along the path to DHS.


Beautiful sunset at Yacht Club.


The ducks wandered about, oblivious to the danger signs posted along the water.

Next: Kaboom!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Monday, 4/24 – Kaboom!

What can I say about the Star Wars Galactic Spectacular? I liked it, but not as much as Symphony in the Stars. The projections on the Chinese Theater were really cool, especially since the projection extended onto adjacent areas/buildings, but it didn’t have the emotional “oomph” that the John Williams music evoked (I teared up during Symphony in the Stars at several points). But I am glad we did it.


I just think the Chinese Theater is a lovely focal point – I was never a fan of The Hat – and especially at nighttime when it’s lit up.


DH and I also grabbed a PP shot in front of Tower of Terror because again, I love it when it’s lit up at night.


Trying to get a decent medal/fireworks photo is harder than you might think!


Vader projection.

Next: There’s No Crying in Science!

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I'm loving your TR, all of the pictures are awesome!! It was great meeting you before the half I was sad we didn't get more chance to chat, that corral situation was crazy.

I totally get what your saying about not seeing Wishes and FoF parade. We are APs too and I didn't see either of those until last year because I was always going to come back one day. And when we did finally see Wishes it was exactly what you said crowded with rude people. DH almost got in a fight with someone trying to trample our kids to get a last minute spot. So not worth it!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

I'm loving your TR, all of the pictures are awesome!! It was great meeting you before the half I was sad we didn't get more chance to chat, that corral situation was crazy.

I know! I felt like I just got there, was having a nice chat, and then had to leave. So nice to meet you as well!

I totally get what your saying about not seeing Wishes and FoF parade. We are APs too and I didn't see either of those until last year because I was always going to come back one day. And when we did finally see Wishes it was exactly what you said crowded with rude people. DH almost got in a fight with someone trying to trample our kids to get a last minute spot. So not worth it!

Ugh! That's the worst! Why do people have to do that? If you want a good spot, you come early, you don't get to trample over everyone else so that YOU can see. So rude. DH and I used to have a song about that sort of behavior (the me first kind) when we had to commute on I-4 each day, it was called "I'm More Important Than You Are" and it was a passive-aggressive way to deal with the rudeness on the road.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Tuesday, 4/25 – There’s No Crying in Science!

Today we had no plans or FPs until the afternoon so we could take a leisurely morning. Of course, we both woke up early anyway. What are you gonna do?! We decided we’d do breakfast at POFQ because we could drink coffee while eating and then fill up our handy-dandy resort mug to go afterwards. After getting ready for the day, we walked outside and immediately shivered. YES. It was chilly that morning. After Sunday’s humidity, it felt like a literal slap in the face from Mother Nature. If only we’d had those temperatures (in the 50s, friends and neighbors) on race day it would have been a very different experience. Of course!

Anyway, we headed to Sassagoula Float Works once again, where I’d already decided on beignets (where else can you get good ones?) but also wanted something a little more substantial with protein but I didn’t want a full adult breakfast. So you guessed it, I ordered the kids’ breakfast thinking the portion size would be reduced. What I didn’t realize (because I don’t have kids) is that the kid breakfast also comes with grapes and milk. I declined the milk (DH was a little upset about this but he didn’t tell me he wanted it), we paid for our breakfast and set about to fuel up for the day. It was going to be another busy one!


Can you believe that this is a small breakfast?!

Fully fueled and caffeinated, we were soon on our way back to Epcot. Sure we’ve been there twice already this weekend, but only an hour or two each day, so we wanted to spend a little more time there. We also had the chance to use the AP Holder special entrance! As someone who’s been an AP Holder for many, many years, I’ve often lamented that we’ve had to wait in line behind people who are obviously there for the first time and don’t understand how the ticket/biometrics system works. It’s not their fault and I’m not insinuating that they’re stupid, it’s just that those of us who do it a lot tend to get annoyed when precious park time is eaten up by this sort of preventable thing; I’ve long thought that “regulars” should get their own entrance (sorrynotsorry) and now we do!


Especially when you juxtapose it with the regular line:



We entered the park and Spaceship Earth had a minimal wait, so DH suggested we ride it. I let him take total control of our future at the end and it was a very funky future indeed. Who is this even? I managed to snap a photo of us on the giant globe on the way out.



I’m not sure what we had on our agenda, if anything, but on our way in we spotted a crowd standing around the Muppets Mobile Lab! It was Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker! It was a cute little performance and one of my favorite bits was Dr. Honeydew telling Beaker that there was no crying in science. Hee hee hee! I love the Muppets, I love science, it’s all good. And it was interactive! Meaning, that they ask for volunteers, the volunteers give their names and Dr. Honeydew addresses them by their name when speaking to them. Very cool!



We’ve now come to the “Treat Yo-self” portion of the show. I wanted to go into Mouse Gear to check out the Alex & Ani bracelets, something I’ve started collecting recently and wanted an Empire symbol bracelet. Unfortunately, they didn’t have it (I’ve since spotted it on the Parks app) so I purchased one that says, “May the Force be with you” on it to commemorate the weekend.




Pure evil. I loathe these stupid bubble guns with a fiery passion. Mostly because I don’t enjoy being shot with them while waiting in queue. That happened to us far too many times during the race weekend. Kids, it’s fine if you play with them. It’s NOT fine to involve other people in your fun.


F&G Fest Dooneys. I like the pattern, but not any of the styles offered, so my wallet was safe!

After this, DH actually suggested we go to The Seas. I say “actually” because typically it’s me dragging him there to look at all the aquaria and critters. So who was I to argue with such a plan?


Lionfish are really cool animals and pretty as well, but they’ve become quite a problem in Florida because people dumped them in our waterways here and they have no natural predators. There are fishing competitions where divers try to capture as many as they can and there are all sorts of rewards. I’m told they’re delicious to boot.


Do you see the pipefish?

Next up: “Optical orbits up front, and remember, we keep our subesophageal ganglion to ourselves.”

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Tuesday, 4/25 - “Optical orbits up front, and remember, we keep our subesophageal ganglion to ourselves.”

We wandered around in The Seas, which is really showing its age. I used to work in aquaria and this exhibit needs some work, which is kind of sad because it has awesome potential. Trivia: The Seas (which I still call The Living Seas) was used to film a mid-90s show called seaQuest DSV, which was a really fun show, kind of like Star Trek but underwater. Roy Scheider (the cop from Jaws) played the captain of the underwater vessel. I think the show only lasted a couple of seasons.

Anyway! We spent some time standing in the large windows along the exhibit just seeing what would swim by and we saw sea turtles, sharks, a few species of fish (not as many as there used to be), and we saw one of the dolphins but didn’t stick around for the show.


Leopard whipray resting on the tunnel. Such a beautiful creature!


seaQuest DSV relic

Then it was on to the aquaculture room where one of my favorite sea creatures lives. Cephalopods (octopus, squid, nautilus) are such cool animals, they’re so smart and here’s a cool story about octopus living in an aquarium: you have to put a solid lid up top with a vice grip or they’re going to get out. So anyway, there was this aquarium where they had an octopus in one small aquarium in a gallery of aquaria. And the aquarists would come in the morning to fewer and fewer fish in all the little exhibits. They couldn’t figure out what was happening to all the fish, so they installed a security camera and found out that at night, the octopus was sneaking out for a sushi feast. Seriously, SO smart. And cool. And dexterous.


Flamboyant cuttlefish. “Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire.” Bonus cool points if you know where that quote came from!

DH said that they had a lovely bunch of coconuts. Deedly-dee.


Finding Nemo: Extreme Edition!


I decided to give Mr. Ray’s pop quiz a go, and selected the hardest level.


5 for 5! Though I may have a bit of an advantage. There actually were some pretty difficult questions for kids. But I'm sure that my parents are relieved that my education came in so handy.

We spent a good half hour in The Seas, and – after DH talked me out of purchasing Destiny (I already have a Hank) plush – we decided to head somewhere we don’t always go while at Epcot. Club Cool!


Oh, yes, I did!

We had fun sampling the various flavors, though I will admit to chasing the Beverly with a pineapple Fanta – it’s the aftertaste that gets you. Or at least that’s when the Beverly bitterness hits me. DH also suggested I chase the chaser with a G&T, which meant one thing: Rose & Crown!


This duck was sleeping in because it was midday by this time.


G&Ts just taste better when made by a British person. Or Scottish in this case. It also didn’t hurt that he kept calling me “my lovely” in HIS lovely Scottish brogue.

We then strolled along World Showcase, and there was a holiday happening in Italy. I love that WS does this, celebrating the cultures and traditions of each country that is housed there. For instance, we used to make a point of visiting Norway on May 17 because it’s Constitution Day (basically their Independence Day) which is a big deal in my home state as well, and definitely with my Norwegian family.



Next: Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Tuesday, 4/25 – Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

We continued on our journey around the world, and one of my favorite things are all the different topiaries that Disney puts out: from Peter Pan high atop the UK shops (and by the way, I didn’t see the crocodile this year, did any of you?) and also the educational elements scattered about. For instance, near the Odyssey building, there is a planter with the Three Caballeros and pots of various peppers. I learned the scale of hotness in peppers is based on a unit of measurement called Scoville units, and it was interesting to see how the various peppers ranked on that scale. For instance, bell peppers are zero units, which makes sense because they don’t taste spicy. Banana peppers are slightly higher at 900 units, and serrano peppers are 20,000 units! By looking at the various measurements, I’ve since conclusively decided (there was little doubt previously) that I will never try a ghost pepper. Never, never, never!


Those three happy chappies with snappy serapes!






After our educational and informative hot pepper interlude, we were suddenly craving spicy food, and we were in luck because there was a Caribbean kiosk mere steps away! We ordered a Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with Steamed Rice and Coconut Lime Sauce, as well as the Caribbean Conch Salad with Avocado, Mango and Onions. We split the two dishes and both were delicious!


If you look at all the small round things, that’s not barley or rice or pasta: that is conch, my friend! And it was fantastic.

And while the Caribbean fare was delicious and tropical, it wasn’t quite hitting the heat craving we had, so on to the Jardin de Fiestas kiosk for some more adventurous menu items, notably the Brocheta de Pollo con Salsa Morita (Grilled Chicken with Red and Green Bell Pepper served with Salsa Chile Morita and Garnished with Micro-Cilantro and Edible Flowers) and this one, ladies and gents, brought the heat! We really should have started with this and then gone to La Isla Fresca for the Caribbean food. I also ordered a Hibiscus Margarita, but I was not a fan of this drink. It was OK, but since I’m limiting my intake these days, I’m sorry I wasted a drink choice on that one. Boo.



Back around the world we went, but in the “wrong” direction, starting with Canada. We figured that this would be our last trip around the world before heading back to the resort for our mid-afternoon respite, and so we stopped in the UK to pick up some tea – DH has become quite the tea connoisseur – and I’d also spotted something that piqued my curiosity earlier in the day. As a kid, I devoured The Chronicles of Narnia, reading all seven books many, many times (and it continues to be somewhat of a tradition since I try to pull them out every other year to reread) and if you recall one of the key plot points was the White Witch tempting Edmund with Turkish Delight. I’ve been wondering what this irresistible treat is since I was about 9 years old and here was a neatly packaged version in Epcot’s UK! So we made our purchases and headed back outside, where I caught sight of this beauty:


A pixie house! There were several situated within the gardens in front of the UK pavilion. Super, super cute!

The rest of our world travels were quite uneventful but there was one more stop we wanted to make before heading out. You may have noticed we didn’t get dessert, and so we stopped specifically for the one thing you absolutely must try when at Disney: a Dole Whip! Or, I guess they’re called Pineapple Soft-Serve now. Very catchy name.


Dole Whip selfie! They can change the name but I won’t!


Flower and Garden Festival is my favorite.

We then made our way back to the front of the park and caught a bus back to POFQ. I was really curious about this whole Turkish Delight business, but since it was chocolate, it was a bit melty when we got back. A little time in the room fridge fixed that and it was now our moment of truth!



All I’m going to say is that this was totally not worth selling out your brother and sisters, Edmund. Poor show, old chap. The chocolate was fine, but then it was filled with a gummy-like substance that had an unexpected flavor. I’m not really sure what it was, but curiosity is sated! And probably won’t be repeating that again!

Next up: The Dark Continent

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Tuesday, 4/25 – The Dark Continent

After rinsing the taste of Turkish Delight from my mouth and resting a bit, we headed back out for our FastPasses at DAK, where we again took advantage of the APH entrance even though there wasn’t much of a line to get into the park.



Then we trekked over to Asia so we could trek even further up into the Himalayans and the Forbidden Mountain.


Ah, Forbidden Mountain, we meet again.


We’re going up!

I love this ride, but I think I’ve decided if I ever run the WDW marathon again, I won’t be stopping midrace to ride this – the going backwards kind of made me a bit nauseated. Though it could have been the Turkish Delight. As usual, we ham it up for the attraction photography:



Then onwards to the safari. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m so glad that Disney ditched the whole “elephant poaching” storyline because while it’s an important conservation issue and it’s great they were promoting awareness, I think people mostly go on that safari to chill out and watch some animals. So it’s nice that that’s how things are done now. DH and I did the Wild Africa Trek a few years ago, where you get to go behind the scenes and witness some of the animal enrichment sessions (we saw a hippo training session) and you get a really personalized tour, complete with a meal on the savanna. I highly recommend it if you enjoy DAK and animals. Anyway, I’d been hoping our FastPass was late enough where it would be darker, but no such luck. So it was a typical safari, and there’s nothing wrong with that.


Hungry, hungry hippos!


The best view, the African savanna.


Baby giraffe!! He was so close, I could have tickled his chinny-chin-chin. But I didn't.


My favorite: the cheetahs. I’m not sure why this fencing was up, and it was only up around the big cats, so I’m hoping improvements are being made so that you see more of the cheetahs/lions.

Then it was on to the tour by foot. I like wandering along the Pangani Trail, especially when you encounter beasts I’d rather not in the wild:


Hippo! Look at the tusks on that thing. Honestly, I’d rather swim with sharks.

We also saw the gorilla troop gather together for the night. At one point, I think there were six or seven of them right in front of us, interacting and trying to pretend that the OTHER hominids didn’t exist.



Next: Waiting for the River

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Tuesday, 4/25 – Waiting for the River

For dinner, we’d decided to just wing it, depending where we were in the park when the mood struck us. We had one remaining FastPass for the night: Rivers of Light. Unfortunately, we also had a lot of time to kill. We walked past Yak & Yeti, but it looked like there was a bit of a wait, so we decided to try the quick service version next door.





I ordered the honey chicken and DH ordered the evening special, Korean BBQ. We found a place to sit in the back and tried the food.



DH’s barbeque was good, but the sauce was on the thick side for my tastes and the honey chicken was just meh. Honestly, I’ve microwaved better Lean Cuisine meals (and the vegetables had that nuked texture to them). We probably won’t try this place again given the many other options at DAK. And we still had time to kill so we basically just sat there for a bit and I was approached by some of the world-famous Disney ducks.


Have you any food? I like food.

We then decided to wander around a bit, but not wanting to stray too far from the FastPass entrance area. Since Rivers of Light was a pretty new show, lots of people were wanting to see it and I’d heard stories of people being turned away even with FastPasses. So we wandered over by Kali River Rapids. True confession: we’ve never done this ride. I think it goes back to my youth and doing the river rides and getting soaked and I’m not a fan of walking around theme parks soaked. So we’ve just never tried it. Is there a story involved along the way, or is it just “wait and get drenched” type? We also decided to watch the gibbons, who even defend their territory against errant ducks! And the Asian walkabout continued.






FP entrance

We walked over to DinoLand USA so I could pay my respects to my favorite Cretaceous Period predator, SUE the T. rex. This skeleton is a replica of the most complete T. rex skeleton found, which is now housed in the Field Museum in Chicago. SUE is also hilarious on Twitter if you’re a science nerd.




Eek!

And then it was time to head back to Rivers of Light!

Finally: And At Last I’ve Seen the Light

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Tuesday, 4/25 – And At Last I’ve Seen the Light

We made the cut in the FastPass section and boy howdy, the CMs were cramming us in there like sardines. They also made it clear that if you left, you might not get back in. Somehow, I think that the seating area could have been designed a little better, but whatever.




selfie time!

We waited for a bit, amusing ourselves by taking silly selfies and catching up on social media like we’re millennials or something! Ha. Joke. I’m joking. Finally, the pre-show music started to play and we both really enjoyed it. Lots of sitar music, and since I’m a lifelong Beatles fan, this was good. By the way, if you like George Harrison’s Beatles songs and solo works, Eric Clapton organized a concert in his honor a year after his death, played in Albert Hall and recorded on film. It’s really excellent and the first half of it is focused on the Indian music that so influenced George’s compositions. But back to the subject at hand!


The lotus flowers began to appear…


The show incorporates elements of water, projections, lights, and music. It’s a lot like World of Color but with a really heavy-hitting conservation message.


Animal floats - elephant, owls, tiger, tortoise. I wish I knew the significance of this combination.


Finale!

All told, I’m glad we saw it because it was beautiful and well-done, but I don’t think we’d go out of our way to see it again. I’m a biologist who has an advanced degree in conservation biology and even I found the message a little too smack-you-over-the-head that can have the tendency to turn people off your message. I think it’s great that they do try to encourage people’s interests in conservation and taking small daily actions that can make a difference in environmental impact, but doing that takes a little finesse – sometimes it’s good to let people think that it’s their idea to save the planet. That’s just my opinion and I’m interested to hear others’ takes on this show.


Everest at Night


Tree of Life

And that, my friends, was that! We got up super-early the next day and departed for home, getting stuck in traffic on the turnpike for longer than expected but DH made it to work on time. Thank you for following along, for liking posts, for commenting and having a conversation, and I hope that you enjoyed our little trip report from WDW to DL and back again!

Fin.