Day Eight: Why It's So Cold, Nobody Knows

[Miffy2003]

Wednesday 15th December

Today we have another lie in (the shame! Two days in a row) due to our late night last night. We have problems getting the girls up and eventually we are all ready at about half past ten and set out for the Animal Kingdom.

A new experience for me – driving in America. Well, I found the roads easy and the other drivers fine. What I struggled with horribly was not having a clutch! I kept going to put the clutch down (which of course was the brake) so you can imagine how smooth the ride was. Oh well at least I’ve done it now but to everyone’s relief I tell Jon he can return to his position of Designated Driver for future journeys.

Having had a photo opportunity with Baloo and Rafiki, we head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris though the senior members of our party keep wandering off and we have to send out many rescue parties. We are tempted more than once to carry on without them but decide the challenge of being able to catch the bus back to ASMo will be too much for them.

We only have a five minute wait for the Safari and are soon enjoying the wildlife and the ride. I have to agree with the moral majority here, and I wish Disney would get rid of the lame storyline and instead recreate the ride simply focusing on the beauty of the animals, which after all, are very impressive.

We took a stroll around the Pangani trail, which we enjoyed. The themeing has an incredible level of detail. The girls particularly enjoy the area with birds (I hesitate to refer to it as an aviary) and have fun naming them with the card they are given. We realise that if we get our skates on we can get to the next showing of the Festival of the Lion King so we speed off here. At this point, Julie decides to vanish for ten minutes to buy a hat. We had no idea where she had gone so had no option but to wait for her – by which time we had missed the show. Through somewhat gritted teeth we instead decide to head over to Dinoland and catch the next showing of Tarzan Rocks. I have never seen this before and I must be honest I would personally rename this Tarzan Sucks. Even the presence of the toned, scantily clad babe that was Tarzan was not enough to make this an enjoyable show. It felt very disjointed to me and although there was nothing wrong with the music and performance I just found myself very underwhelmed.

We then proceed to Chester & Hester’s Dinorama and I know this place gets slated as being completely un-Disney but I personally love it here. Yes, it’s totally tacky, but surely that’s the point? Jon, Julie and I indulge in a little Primeval Whirl (which was great fun; I laughed all the way round. Julie said she feared she would lose her teeth so kept her mouth firmly closed for the duration). The girls go on Triceratops Spin (are you surprised? This is the height of adventure for them) and then manage to talk Grandad into throwing some money away at the fairground stalls. The first game is successful as they are the only players, so the law of averages states that one must win, which Amber did. Of course, now that Amber was resplendent with new dinosaur cuddly toy, Erin had to have one too. Unfortunately all the stalls were now quite busy and the odds of winning greatly reduced. If I could have resorted to buying a toy I would have done but she was insistent she wanted to win one. Many dollars later I am happy to report that she is the proud owner of a cuddly lizard (? Is this possible? Can a lizard be cuddly?) Which we probably could have purchased for $2 but instead has cost far more (I can’t bring myself to calculate exactly how much!)

Amber and Erin discover the Boneyard and have a whale of a time in here. They would be happy to spend all day in here I think but we manage to persuade them to leave after an hour or so. This is a great play area for children of this age! Far better than HISTA at MGM, although that is good too.

It’s now time to head for Festival of the Lion King though we do stop and see Lilo and Stitch on the way. This pair are great fun and steal Erin’s hairbands and only gives them back when the CM tells them off!

As always, the wonderful spectacle of the Lion King completely overwhelms me. The combination of uplifting music, spectacular costumes and acrobatic feats is as fantastic now as when I saw it the first time. The theatre’s only half full but the audience participate fully and I feel swept away by the beauty and artistry of this show. I can’t recommend this enough; for me it’s worth coming to the Animal Kingdom for this alone.

We decide to shoot back to the resort for an hour before leaving to meet Allie & family for our Wishes Cruise. Jon drives



continued...

 

[Miffy2003]

It is extremely cold by now and we bundle up in many layers. We catch a bus to Epcot simply because it comes along first and we plan to ride the monorail from Epcot to the Poly, which we do. It’s dark by the time we reach the resort and the torches are lit throughout the tropical gardens. What a wonderful atmosphere they create! We go to the wrong boat dock initially but soon locate Allie & Neil. Unfortunately their children aren’t feeling too special and because it is so cold Allie thought it was a good idea to leave them at home with her mum. A very wise decision, as it turned out!

There was no sign of the boat and we were slightly concerned as it was getting close to Wishes. There had been some sort of snafu but in the end they found us a boat and sent it over from Fort Wilderness. The upshot was that it was a Birthday Boat! It was festooned with balloons and complete with cake and drinks. Unfortunately they weren’t hot though and already we were all feeling extremely chilly! The boat refused to start for quite a few attempts and when it finally did we had to head straight to the middle of the lake in order to get a spot for Wishes. What an incredible view you get here! You really see the entire panorama of fireworks and at one point a firework goes off that draws the Evil Queen’s face! How on earth do they do that? We had not seen that in the park. Even better, one of the boats around us (clearly an upmarket vessel) had the music and narration piped in so we could hear everything. A wonderful experience.

We had a scream at the back of the boat; I laughed practically the entire time (particularly when Allie kept being attacked by the Birthday Balloons) but let me tell you it was absolutely freezing. I think Disney usually supply blankets for this but there were none on this boat (maybe this had something to do with the boat being a late entrant into the night’s activities?) but happily I had brought some from ASMo (ssssh, don’t tell anyone! We did put them back). We donated the blankets to the front end of the boat, as Allie, Neil and I were somewhat sheltered at the back. We had a nice tour around Seven Seas Lagoon with some information from the driver (though I got the impression he didn’t do it very often as Allie & I seemed to know stuff he didn’t). Problem was, it was simply absolutely freezing. We’d lost all feeling in our extremities! You probably think I’m jesting but really I’m not, it was extraordinarily cold. We wondered if Disney had ever had a hypothermia case brought against them

Back at the Poly, Neil and Allie rushed off for their PS to ‘Ohana. We rushed off too, to get inside and thaw out! Jon was not feeling very well; he said he felt nauseous, similar to seasickness. Can it be possible to become seasick on Seven Seas Lagoon? Jon must be some sort of medical phenomenon as shortly after getting his land legs back he was fine. This made us reconsider the idea of a Disney Cruise though!

We had a lovely drink in the Tambu Lounge while waiting for our table to become free at 'Ohana. It seemed pretty busy in ‘Ohana tonight and there was lots going on in the Poly, with dancing and singing from the CMs. It was a lovely place to relax and soak up the atmosphere and the pain from the cold was beginning to numb now! This may have had something to do with the rather strong cocktail I sampled, however.

We were called to our table and it was a lovely one, with views of the Poly gardens (complete with torches) and with the castle in the background. What better setting could there be for a meal?

The food was amazing. The appetizers were wolfed down and soon we had the skewers (can something this big be called a skewer?!) of juicy, tender meat. We had turkey, steak, pork and prawns and the dipping sauces made the perfect accompaniment. The atmosphere was buzzing in here (read: Loud) with applause for birthdays and lots to look at. The girls had a ball with the coconut race and I must confess we had a go too! I’m sure I would have won if I were allowed to use the broom end of the stick It was a bit of a melee when the adults raced, with brooms and coconuts going in all directions. This is definitely not the place for an intimate meal for two but we thoroughly enjoyed it. The pineapple with caramel dipping sauce was a nice ending to the meal.

The thought of going out in the cold again now we were all nicely warmed up was quite horrible so I made the audacious suggestion of getting a taxi. I felt that having spent nearly $200 on a lovely meal an extra $20 to finish the night nicely wouldn’t be too extreme. When we got outside again we were glad we took this decision as it was even colder now and the thought of waiting for a bus wasn’t a good one. The fare was only $12 plus tip and worth every penny.

 

[debbyLL]

enjoying your trip report, we did the boat trip at escot for dh 40th, what day did you choose for ohana we are hoping to go in august but last time we went it was lackin in atmosphere and we were placed in the front as you go in so didn't feel partof it
debby ll

 

[florida sun]

Karen, Great report and pics, I know how jon feels about boats, I cant even ride the small rowing boats in our local park without feeling sick, but I was fine on the Disney cruise, I dont know if that was down to the ginger tablets I took or the half bottle of wine with dinner lol.


Sue

 

[Miffy2003]

enjoying your trip report, we did the boat trip at epcot for dh 40th, what day did you choose for ohana we are hoping to go in august but last time we went it was lackin in atmosphere and we were placed in the front as you go in so didn't feel partof it
debby ll

We were in the main room Debby, I'm not sure I would've felt part of it in the front either.

Sue! I will pass on your message to Jon

 

[SusanEllen]

You're really good at this, Karen, which actually goes for two things, now that I think of it--both getting the most out a day at WDW and then telling all about in a way that makes it come alive for us. Extra fun to see pictures of happy people--and well fed. It would be nice if we saw YOU in a picture every now and then, though.

 

[MsPennieLane]

A great day to be had Can't wait to try Ohanas. Shame itwas so cold though

Anz

 

[AlanUK]

Sounds like you had another great day Karen

Wishes is a great display, much better than fantasy in the sky IMO

Alan.

 

[KayleeUK]

Wonderful report again

 

[Miffy2003]

Susan, my policy is to be the picture taker so I'm not in them, but just for you:

Meeting Lilo & Stitch (had to get my picture taken with these guys!)

Me at the Kona Cafe (why is my face so shiny?!!)

And me at the GF.....

 

[SusanEllen]

Good to see you so happy in such wonderful surroundings. How brave of you to stand that close to Stitch.

 

[WDWfan uk]

..... oh dear - that sounds way too cold to be out on the water. It's a shame as imagine how wonderful it would have been without the iced up extremities!

Still, a great day

 

[allie5]

Ah, memories!! I still have the frostbite to prove it!!

As much as it was VERY COLD, it was still a great night, and one we wont forget in a hurry!

Karen if you do this in August when its WARM I bet no one will believe you if you tell them about the Night We Froze On The Seven Seas Lagoon!!

Wonder if the Boat Crew enjoyed the cake??

 

[Ron from Michigan]

You are so right,the Lion King show is so fantastic. We have to see it at least once on every trip.

I sure can tell that you were really cold..... on the boat to watch Wishes.

We have never eaten at O'Hanas, so I think we will have to give it a try on our next visit.

Thanks for all the hard work on the reports & pictures you are doing.

 

[MazdaUK]

We loved Lion King and were underwhelmed by Tarzan (maybe because there's not enough Tarzan - if you see what I mean )

Boats are funny things - I can cross to the Isle of Wight just fine, but I had a works do in the Thames the other day and was feeling rather queasy at one point.....even though the boat was MOORED TO THE BANK THE WHOLE TIME!!!!!

 

[wicket2005]

Lovely report. Thank you.

 

[udnylad]

Thanks for the report. we are booked up for Ohana's too!!