Divas, Zebra Domes, and Pixie Dust! A Week in an African Paradise! New TR Link Pg.145

[floridascgirl]

Thanks for posting your tiger & bat pics. Somehow, we've never been down this trail, but now I'll definitely put it on our list for December.

 

[MeMom]

Before we entered, Connor showed us what he expected to see the bats doing:

Then it was time to see the kitty cats.

I know I have said it before, but I just love the theming at Animal Kingdom.

That's a great reenactment of a bat, Connor!

The tigers are such beautiful creatures. I love pictures where you can see their beautiful fur up close.

I love to hear others talk about loving Animal Kingdom. For so many, it's a 'take it or leave it' park or a half-day park or whatever, but I enjoy it so much that it's way more than that to me.

 

[TarzansKat]

I love how outgoing Connor has become with the CMs. Am I wrong, or is that a change from last year?

What a great morning, huh? You got some amazing photos of the tigers, I'm really impressed! I know my husband loves the bats. As he loves Batman...and all things to do with bats...so I'll have to make him look at those pictures. And I, of course, love Connor's imitation.

Looks like Chelsea knows how to pose! That's your girl!

You have great kids. I feel lucky to get to watch them grow up in these photos and through your reports.

 

[stace208]

Great pics. I really want to have a day at AK when it is not hot and I can just explore... you notice so much I miss!

I feel this same way reading her report and looking at her pictures. While I saw more this year than ever before, I still missed so much!

 

[jillyb]

I think I have almost that same bat picture coming up in my trip report. When Baylor saw it he accused my of taking "indecent" photographs of bats! Reading the book "Stelluluna" has caused me to love fruit bats. When I read it I always cry and the illustrations are just so cute!
I knew I was on the look-out for you that morning as I zipped over for our fast passes for EE, but I was just so shocked to actually run into you, there were so many people in the park! Connor was a hoot, he was worried that the Jungle Trek would get crowded, so he wanted to get right over there, who could blame him? Anyway it was fun to run into you guys and visit for a minute!

You really take the best pictures, you notice every detail, I don't have a clue what I must be looking at!

Hannah loves "Stellaluna". She discovered it in the school library when she was in Kindergarden. She found it again this past year and I swear she brought that book home about 4 times. She loves bats; which is funny because I HATE them.

We used to live in an old house. One night I went to bed before Clay. He came to bed later and in a few minutes he said "What's that noise?" I didn't hear anything. He hears the noise again so he gets up to check it out; turns on the light and there's a freakin' bat flying around in our bedroom!!!! I jumped out of bed, ran low to Hannah's room across the hall and closed the door! LOL Clay thought it was pretty funny. All I could think about is that thing getting in my hair and biting me. He managed to get it wrapped up in a towel and threw it outside.

Then a few months later, Hannah was upstairs playing in the spare room. I go upstairs to get her and there's another freakin' bat flying around...and it was flying very close to her! I'm calling her name, but trying not to be too loud. She's just sitting there and that nasty bat is flying all over the place. I ended up crawling in there on my hands and knees, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the room and slamming the door shut. LOL I'd already called the landlord about the first bat encounter but he'd done nothing. The second time I called him he got somebody out there.

We had a closed off fireplace in our bedroom but think there was an opening in the cover over the front of the fireplace that was just big enough for them to get in. Once they sealed it we never had that problem again.

 

[jillyb]

Love the tiger pictures! We missed doing that trail on our trip and, even though there are bats, I really want to do it the next time we go. How cool you ran in to Wigd earlier than planned!

 

[MEK]

I am soooooo late for this update, but I love it. The pics are fabulous and I am definately doing this jungle trek when I visit AK in September. I haven't walked on this path in years and I need to rediscover it. My plans for AK: EE FP, Nemo, Birds of Flight, Jungle Trek, and FOTLK. Oh ...... and lunch!

Jackie - I hope you realize that Chelsea is going to look like/be a teenage girl by next year this time. She is right on the verge of maturing into a beautiful young lady. You are going to wake up one day soon and look at her and say, "OMG!" Can't wait to see her pic next year!

 

[MinnieNurse]

Awesome update. I love all the animal pics. We have visited every drive through animal park and zoo within our reach. DS just loves animals so much. We have never walked the trail, I just added that to my list of things to do.

 

[hlrababy]

Awww, I would sit there all day and watch the tigers!!!!

But, the bats!! They freak me out!!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Hannah loves "Stellaluna". She discovered it in the school library when she was in Kindergarden. She found it again this past year and I swear she brought that book home about 4 times. She loves bats; which is funny because I HATE them.

I think fruit bats are sooo cute! We have them at our zoo...
We used to live in an old house. One night I went to bed before Clay. He came to bed later and in a few minutes he said "What's that noise?" I didn't hear anything. He hears the noise again so he gets up to check it out; turns on the light and there's a freakin' bat flying around in our bedroom!!!!

That would scare me too! Yikes!
We had a closed off fireplace in our bedroom but think there was an opening in the cover over the front of the fireplace that was just big enough for them to get in. Once they sealed it we never had that problem again.

So glad they got that taken care of!

 

[BigEeyore]

You must be such a proud mommy to have such a bright little boy asking the CM's all kinds of questions about the animals and such!
Great tiger pics - they are so fascinating, and you are right about how they really act just like huge house cats!

 

[MeMom]

Jackie - I hope you realize that Chelsea is going to look like/be a teenage girl by next year this time. She is right on the verge of maturing into a beautiful young lady. You are going to wake up one day soon and look at her and say, "OMG!" Can't wait to see her pic next year!

That makes me cry. She is becoming a beautiful young lady, for sure, and her dad and Connor better be prepared to keep all of her gentlemen callers at bay through her teenage years.

I don't want to fast forward in time, but speaking from experience, I already know that there are going to be some rockin' awesome mother-daughter Disney trips in the future where the two of you just get to spend girl time enjoying each other's company. I can't say enough how much I LOVE our girl trips!!!

Chelsea, like Jill, is going to be a beautiful young lady all the way from the inside out. She is a very fortunate girl to have her loving family, and you are a blessed mom to have such a sweet girl! In these next few years, she is going to change from being your sweet little girl to your roller coaster teenager to a sweet and special friend like none you have ever known!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I have never been down that path in AK. I would love to see the tigers. The bats... not so much. Or not at all. You can bypass them and just see the tigers, right?

I felt the same way about the bats until I saw them -- their faces are just so precious, and they cracked me up just hanging their by their feet. However, if you really don't want to see them, you can bypass them -- you actually have to go into a little building, so if you want to skip them, you just walk right by the building.

Good for Connor asking questions of the CM's!

This happened several times over the course of the trip -- he is very chatty.

Love the bat and the rickshaw poses - reminds me of last year!

Me too!

How cool that you had an unexpected DIS meet!

It was very neat to finally meet Anita face-to-face after talking to her for so long.

Still not sure about Everest but I *might* try it this year...

So, hmm... where will you go next?

You should try it at least once -- I have tried all the thrill rides at least once except for RnRC (which I may never try). If I can do it, so can you!

We went somewhere we had never been!

Your pictures are so great! I love the tigers!

They were so gorgeous!

I am so glad that Connor is so comfortable at Disney and chats up the CM's. My DH and I are starting to think that our kids are getting too comfortable with Disney!!!!

I think my two are getting too comfortable at Disney as well, but since they are getting older, that is probably a good thing.

Your TR is great...where's Charles in the pics??LOL

Thank you! Charles was probably dreaming away!

Great update! That is my favorite path in AK. I LOVE the bats and could stay in there for a while just watching them. I have a picture of me by that same tiger mural and my pose is very similar to Chelsea's...she's just much cuter!

It was the first time we had done that path, but it certainly won't be the last -- we loved the tigers and bats!

The murals were so pretty -- it was easy to pretend we really were in Indian temple ruins.

THANK YOU FOR THE BAT POSE! It is just super cute. I think I need to do my own bat pose at AK in September. I love looking at those bats, they are amazing. I haven't made my way over there since 2005 though, I think it's time to go again.

How funny that you just came across Anita!

I will ride EE this next trip, I will do it!

I knew you would appreciate the bat pose -- I thought of you when we took the picture!

It was fun running into Anita ahead of schedule!

Yes, try EE -- it's worth it!

Another wonderful update Jackie!! I loved it!!! Okay love the bat pose by Connor way to cute!!

YAY to a DIS Meet that is too fun

What a great trail I really enjoyed walking on it and I'm going to enjoy walking on it again YAY!!! Loved that the tigers were awake!!!

Thank you! We were excited to see them awake and roaming. I was afraid they would be asleep.

Great update Jackie! I have yet to have a Dismeet... I've never walked that trail - Zachary checked out the animals with his Gramma in 2007 when he was too small for EE but this year we skipped it, again.

Your kids are so photogenic! I love how they ham it up for the camera.

Can't wait to hear where you guys head next.

Thank you! You should definitely walk the trail -- it's not too long and seeing the animals was very neat. They are huge hams anytime a camera comes out. We went to a new place for us!

Great pictures! I love seeing the bats. I had never been real fond of them growing up, but then I taught a unit on bats in school and have been fascinated with them ever since.

I have never thought much about bats one way or another except for Halloween decorations and cookies, but they were so cute to watch. I could have stayed there much longer.

We liked the bats also. You got some great pictures of the tigers!

Thank you! Seeing both the bats and tigers was one of the highlights of the morning.

EE is a no for me, but I'd love to just walk through the que once to enjoy the theming and then leave via the chicken exit.

You should! I bet lots of people do that.

I can just see you considering making a ressie at the Yeti Palace Hotel!

You know I would, too -- I would be all about the theming of the Yeti Palace!

it looks like he's doing stomach crunches!

He does! Especially when he would curl up to take bites out of his melon.

i think it's constantly nap time for them! i've only seen one up and walking around once....ever!

I have heard that a lot so we were super thrilled to see one playing in the water and washing himself.

speaking of keeping tigers as pets, apparently someone in hall county decided it was a good idea to have a "large exotic cat" as a pet. read below.....

http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=221077

and it looks like it's starting to head my way. we live in jackson county (read below).

http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=221386

Yikes! That's super scary! I hope they catch it soon -- people who try to keep wild cats as pets are lacking common sense for sure!

It amaze me how the tigers are so much like my cats at home. I love watching them.

That was the neat part -- we have two cats and they drink water and wash themselves just like those big tigers. It was funny!

I love all of Connor's different poses, he seemed to be really into animals that day.

He was into the animals -- he was fascinated by them.

It is great that you had your first Dis meet this trip, with wigdoutdismom. Connor I am sure was just getting ready for the bats.

It was very fun running into Wigd! Connor is my impatient child for sure!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I love the big cats -- it's hilarious how they are sometimes JUST like pet cats only many times bigger. My mother one time saw one sneak up to another and then pounce on it.

Our cats do that, too. It would be funny to see the tigers playing like that.

I like the bats too; I thought I was the only one who found them kinda cute. I was cracking up at all of Connor's pictures -- especially the bat pose and the one in front of the tiger forest.

I was won over by their fuzzy furry little faces -- and their little feet all curled up on the branches.

Connor is such a ham!

I think I have almost that same bat picture coming up in my trip report. When Baylor saw it he accused my of taking "indecent" photographs of bats!

That's funny that Baylor said that -- I don't think Chelsea and Connor really noticed, but I did. I was telling my mom how that was what reminded me that bats are really mammals, and I kept trying to get shots that were tasteful!

Reading the book "Stelluluna" has caused me to love fruit bats. When I read it I always cry and the illustrations are just so cute!

I love Stelluluna as well -- I remember reading it to Chelsea and Connor when they were little.

I knew I was on the look-out for you that morning as I zipped over for our fast passes for EE, but I was just so shocked to actually run into you, there were so many people in the park! Connor was a hoot, he was worried that the Jungle Trek would get crowded, so he wanted to get right over there, who could blame him? Anyway it was fun to run into you guys and visit for a minute!

There were a ton of people in the park that day! I couldn't get a good picture of the Tree of Life on the Asia/Africa path because there were so many people! Connor is always in a rush to get places when we are headed somewhere.

You really take the best pictures, you notice every detail, I don't have a clue what I must be looking at!

Thank you! I do really well at Animal Kingdom taking pictures, but I need to work on doing the same thing at other parks.

You know that had me laughing out loud! That hotel is in a good location and I bet the rooms will be nice because it's a new hotel.

My thoughts exactly! Steps from several eating choices, lots of animals, great Nepalese theming. Right up my alley!

Too cute!

Chelsea cracked me up when she said that about the lizard -- I just had to get his picture.

I love those bats. Their wings are just the coolest looking things. I actually love that we have bats in our yard because they eat bugs...I'll thinking of putting up a couple bat houses just like Martha Stewart

They were so darling, and their wings were very neat -- so intricate!

I love your update because I'm seeing a bunch of things we were unable to see the day we were at AK because it poured the entire day! How fun!!

Thank you! Oh, Animal Kingdom would not be fun in the rain -- almost everything is outside .

I have to admit it surprised me too, Jackie..........I would have just KNOWN it would have been SHOCKER running for FP's and not Wigd.??? I am really as SURPRISED as you were Jackie!! What was Shocker thinking??? I mean he comes on here and talks about how he just wants to please Wigd. and make her trips truly Magical and then he LETS her be the FastPass Runner??? OH, were you surprised that you actually bumped into her at a crowded Animal Kingdom?? I thought you were like me and surprised at Shocker falling down on his duties!!

I never thought of it that way!

Now, now, don't you even get started on Connor.........he is FINALLY at a Park where he is going to get to do somethings HE WANTS to do and not just be forced to go where somebody ELSE is dictating, or gently persuading him to go and you stop to VISIT, with someone he doesn't even know???? I just love how our kids can make us feel!!!! It is never funny when it is happening, but when you look back at "those" moments, you realize how smart and innovative they really are!!! Besides you women may ROAR, but us from the "male" species are still animals!! Though I wouldn't consider "most" of us strange animals, it may be true that we can make strange noises at times!!

Yes, Connor was ready to go do something he wanted to do -- I guess he was so overcome with excitement at the prospect of seeing tigers and bats his speech degenerated into grunts and growls. LOL!

It should also be noted that you said "FINALLY, Connor got his way".......which means it took work on his part, he should be praised for his tenacity to stay at something until his goal is accomplished!! YEAH CONNOR!!

He is very persistent. I should admire that...I guess.

You do take great pictures Jackie and I am truly enjoying your trippie. I also think it's wonderful how you let your kids be kids in the pictures you take. You allow them to pose however they want too and it truly should bring many great times together looking back at them years from now!! Way too often, many of us (myself included) want to pose our children a certain way, instead of letting them be themselves..........Kudos to YOU!!

Ah, thanks! Chelsea and Connor are very spontaneous when it comes to posing, and I am always trying to capture their natural goofiness. I know that too soon they will become teenagers and won't think it's cool to do fun poses anymore (I hope they don't do that but I am preparing myself for it ).

GREAT pictures! I have never walked that trail. Or sadly, if I did, don't recall. I want to have a non-rushed day at AK next time. We seemed to look at monkeys our whole day there. I like monkeys but I wouldn't have minded a bat.

It was our first time doing the trail after visiting AK multiple times. Well worth it -- there isn't too much walking involved either which was nice.

We always see lots of monkeys, too.

While we had a lovely day we were dodging parades and getting there late and though we did see quite a lot...I missed the bats! What a great pic.

Love the tiger poses, all of them. Your kids are just adorable!

Thank you! I had the camera out a lot that morning.

Great pics. I really want to have a day at AK when it is not hot and I can just explore... you notice so much I miss!

Thank you! It's the heat that does us in everytime! I would so love to be there when it is cool, and we can last longer.

I love all the little details at Animal Kingdom so I just snap away -- I don't do near as well at the other parks.

That is so great that you had an impromptu DISmeet!!

It was very neat and my first DIS meet ever!

I too find the bats very fascinating. Last year I had my camcorder with me and took quite a long video in that little hut! They were swinging and eating and stretching out their wings. Very neat to watch and I swear their bodies are the same size as my dog (miniature pinscher!!)

That's what the bats were doing while we were in there. I loved how they stretched out their wings -- like they were trying to get cool in the heat!

Are they on the same trail as the gorillas? I can't remember. I have a lot of good pictures on facebook from January. One of the gorillas was being (well probably a gorilla!) and throwing dirt and stealing blankets from the others.

The bats are on the Asia trail with the tigers -- the gorillas are with the meerkats over in Africa. Unfortunately, the gorillas were all asleep when we saw them -- I bet it was a hoot watching them interact with each other!

Thanks for posting your tiger & bat pics. Somehow, we've never been down this trail, but now I'll definitely put it on our list for December.

It was our first time doing the trail, and I was so glad we did!

That's a great reenactment of a bat, Connor!

Only he isn't upside-down. He hasn't mastered that part of it yet. LOL!

The tigers are such beautiful creatures. I love pictures where you can see their beautiful fur up close.

I just wanted to pet that silky fur! Of course, I probably would have lost an arm in the process.

I love to hear others talk about loving Animal Kingdom. For so many, it's a 'take it or leave it' park or a half-day park or whatever, but I enjoy it so much that it's way more than that to me.

Oh, it's my favorite -- well, one of my favorites -- I think it might be my favorite -- maybe tied with the Magic Kingdom. Anyway, I love spending time there -- we did two days this year.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I love how outgoing Connor has become with the CMs. Am I wrong, or is that a change from last year?

Oh, he has always been pretty chatty with them. More so this year in that he had a lot of questions.

What a great morning, huh? You got some amazing photos of the tigers, I'm really impressed! I know my husband loves the bats. As he loves Batman...and all things to do with bats...so I'll have to make him look at those pictures. And I, of course, love Connor's imitation.

It was a great morning! I actually had more fun watching the bats than the tigers.

Looks like Chelsea knows how to pose! That's your girl!

Oh, yes, definitely! LOL!

You have great kids. I feel lucky to get to watch them grow up in these photos and through your reports.

Ah, thank you! It is always so stunning to me to see the changes from one year to the next.

I feel this same way reading her report and looking at her pictures. While I saw more this year than ever before, I still missed so much!

I am just camera happy at Animal Kingdom!

Hannah loves "Stellaluna". She discovered it in the school library when she was in Kindergarden. She found it again this past year and I swear she brought that book home about 4 times. She loves bats; which is funny because I HATE them.

We used to live in an old house. One night I went to bed before Clay. He came to bed later and in a few minutes he said "What's that noise?" I didn't hear anything. He hears the noise again so he gets up to check it out; turns on the light and there's a freakin' bat flying around in our bedroom!!!! I jumped out of bed, ran low to Hannah's room across the hall and closed the door! LOL Clay thought it was pretty funny. All I could think about is that thing getting in my hair and biting me. He managed to get it wrapped up in a towel and threw it outside.

Then a few months later, Hannah was upstairs playing in the spare room. I go upstairs to get her and there's another freakin' bat flying around...and it was flying very close to her! I'm calling her name, but trying not to be too loud. She's just sitting there and that nasty bat is flying all over the place. I ended up crawling in there on my hands and knees, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the room and slamming the door shut. LOL I'd already called the landlord about the first bat encounter but he'd done nothing. The second time I called him he got somebody out there.

We had a closed off fireplace in our bedroom but think there was an opening in the cover over the front of the fireplace that was just big enough for them to get in. Once they sealed it we never had that problem again.

I would have been completely freaked out as well -- I like most wild animals from a distance, but I don't want them living with me!

Love the tiger pictures! We missed doing that trail on our trip and, even though there are bats, I really want to do it the next time we go. How cool you ran in to Wigd earlier than planned!

Thank you! You can bypass the bats without even catching a glimpse of them and head straight for the tigers!

I am soooooo late for this update, but I love it. The pics are fabulous and I am definately doing this jungle trek when I visit AK in September. I haven't walked on this path in years and I need to rediscover it. My plans for AK: EE FP, Nemo, Birds of Flight, Jungle Trek, and FOTLK. Oh ...... and lunch!

Have you done Nemo before? We have yet to see it.

Lunch is always a good thing!

Jackie - I hope you realize that Chelsea is going to look like/be a teenage girl by next year this time. She is right on the verge of maturing into a beautiful young lady. You are going to wake up one day soon and look at her and say, "OMG!" Can't wait to see her pic next year!

Ah, thank you! I think she is going to be absolutely gorgeous, but all moms, I am sure, think that about their girls. I can see her becoming a teenager although it is hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that she will be in 7th grade this year.

Awesome update. I love all the animal pics. We have visited every drive through animal park and zoo within our reach. DS just loves animals so much. We have never walked the trail, I just added that to my list of things to do.

Thank you! Yes, add Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Pangani Walking Trail (it has the gorillas and meerkats). DS will be fascinated by all of the animals he will see.

Awww, I would sit there all day and watch the tigers!!!!

But, the bats!! They freak me out!!

Both the tigers and bats were hard to pull ourselves away from.

You must be such a proud mommy to have such a bright little boy asking the CM's all kinds of questions about the animals and such!
Great tiger pics - they are so fascinating, and you are right about how they really act just like huge house cats!

I am glad that Connor likes to chat up the CMs -- Chelsea is actually my shy child when it comes to talking to people she doesn't know.

That makes me cry. She is becoming a beautiful young lady, for sure, and her dad and Connor better be prepared to keep all of her gentlemen callers at bay through her teenage years.

It made me teary-eyed, too.

She is so snippy with boys in general that I doubt any of them are going to come calling. I know that will change though.

I don't want to fast forward in time, but speaking from experience, I already know that there are going to be some rockin' awesome mother-daughter Disney trips in the future where the two of you just get to spend girl time enjoying each other's company. I can't say enough how much I LOVE our girl trips!!!

I can't wait -- we will have so much fun together!

Chelsea, like Jill, is going to be a beautiful young lady all the way from the inside out. She is a very fortunate girl to have her loving family, and you are a blessed mom to have such a sweet girl! In these next few years, she is going to change from being your sweet little girl to your roller coaster teenager to a sweet and special friend like none you have ever known!

Ah, thank you, MeMom! In a lot of ways I feel like we are at the part of the roller coaster that is inching up the incline right before it goes over the first hill!

 

[TarzansKat]

Oh, he has always been pretty chatty with them. More so this year in that he had a lot of questions.

That's great, he's so inquisitive!

It was a great morning! I actually had more fun watching the bats than the tigers.

Ha! I'll tell my DH.

Ah, thank you! It is always so stunning to me to see the changes from one year to the next.

I feel the same way about my son. Especially when we take photos in the same area of the park, or the same attraction, it's really amazing to see the changes.

 

[wsushocker]

I hope you are working on another update soon CP, I think I hear Shocker tossing stuff around out there in the wagon????

I just know that stuff is still in here......

​

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I'll just apologize for him right now.........
You know I don't let him keep that wagon parked at home!

 

[wsushocker]

I am sure that if this were really a hotel, I would have dithered around about staying here, too.

Is this Southern?

I used some context clues to try to determine the meaning but decided to go to Webster to be sure.....

Verb: dither - act nervously; be undecided; be uncertain fret - be agitated or irritated

 

[wsushocker]

I have to admit it surprised me too, Jackie..........I would have just KNOWN it would have been SHOCKER running for FP's and not Wigd.??? I am really as SURPRISED as you were Jackie!! What was Shocker thinking??? I mean he comes on here and talks about how he just wants to please Wigd. and make her trips truly Magical and then he LETS her be the FastPass Runner??? OH, were you surprised that you actually bumped into her at a crowded Animal Kingdom?? I thought you were like me and surprised at Shocker falling down on his duties!!

Brother, you have to know the whole story.....

but of course you will have to wait until Wigd gets to that day in her TR!