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

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I knew it at one point....it's somewhere in my December TR.

 

[Nicole786]

It's always the worst when you start counting down the hours, minutes and seconds to leave WDW

Luckily, you'll be back very very very soon!!! Is it friday yet??

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I'm glad to hear that Charles had a good time. Not so much for his sake but for yours. If he really disliked WDW then it would be harder for you to go.

Remind me about the details of your trip this weekend.

And when you referred to "mixing things up" for the next family trip, does that mean DVC? offsite (like the Nick Hotel?) or perhaps Disneyland? Pretend we're Nala and throw us a bone.

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Aw! What a great way to bring your wonderful trip to an end! A great dinner, good company, good CM and a nice drink and swim. I always hate the pack up at the end...makes it real that it is all over! But, I love the thought that there will be a next time!

 

[DWGal210]

I'm sad your TR is almost over, but it sounds like you guys had a great time! I love meeting new people and chatting - that's one of the fun things for me about vacation.

The last day is so bitter-sweet; I think that's why I am constantly planning the next trip, even though we haven't even gone on this one!

Have a great week!

 

[jillyb]

The Norway comment and the chef's comment had me !
Chelsea did a good job on the food porn pictures. I can't believe how big Nala is now! She's a beautiful dog.

 

[LISAMWDW]

Great update! I can't believe it's your last day! I definitely have to try Teppan next time!

Good stuff!

 

[cjackearl]

Charles IS the ruler of Teppan Edo! All hail Emperor Charles!!

Oh my, 3 glasses of lemonade would not feel good. Poor boy. Maybe he was afraid of dehydrating and hallucinating again.

I loved your goodbye pictures. And so, so soon you'll be saying hello!

 

[manntra]

What a great last day and dinner! for making it all the way around WS!!
I already have all of my ADR's in place for my next trip...well it's next week so I hope so!! However, I really have to try Teppan Edo.....your raves as well as Tammy's have convinced me I have to try it!

Nala is adorable....what long legs she has!! Ziggy's girlfriend's name is also Nala! She is much smaller though...smaller than Ziggy!

It's too bad that I will miss you by a day... It would have been nice running into you and to say hi in person

Tracy

 

[MagicShell]

I am glad to hear that everyone likes Teppan Edo. We have reservations there for Nov. I hope we get a good waiter. It is sad to hear that you trip report will be ending soon, I will miss reading it.

 

[disney<333]

Only 3 days until walt disney world!! How can you sleep at night?

I didn't know the kids weren't coming; now you can really pixie dust food and wine, but Charles is going to have to step up to the plate with the hats through WS.

If I don't talk to you before you leave have a magical, safe trip. Have lot's of fun for me, and take lot's of pictures, but I don't want to see food pictures if your not sending me anything

 

[Charleston Princess]

Chelsea did great with the food porn! I am soo eating their next time at Epcot! I can't believe I have missed that you are going back this week!! Is it just you and Charles?? where are you staying... I soo missed that info!

Glad to finally see some sun here!

Thank you! Yes, we were quite excited to see the sun yesterday, too!

Charles and I are headed back in three days for a long weekend for Food and Wine -- we are pretty excited!

What a great night at Teppan Edo. Chelsea did a great job with the food porn pictures. I always hate the last night in Disney. I can't believe you are going to be back there this week! I am jealous!

Thank you! The last night is always the pits!

I can't quite wrap my mind around the thought that we are leaving in less than three days -- I have piles of stuff to pack everywhere right now.

Ok, I haven't posted in a while but I definitely have been reading along. Grad school is seriously taking up all my time Anyway, I keep hearing about the flooding in Georgia and thinking of you and Heather. Hope everythings clearing up for you guys down there and everyone you care about is safe!

I'm so sad your report is almost over Teppan Edo was a great way to end your trip though, that place is yummyyyyy!

Thank you for thinking of us! It has been sunny the past two days which has been such a welcome change!

Ending our trip with Teppan Edo seems to be a winner for us!

A few things I forgot to respond to in the prior post this morning:

We have had this same conversation before about not riding SSE before an ADR.

I would hate to be hanging there waiting to move while my ADR time came and went.

You should have seen me going up those steps this summer. I bet some laughing teenager has it on video somewhere out there. One leg, drag up the bum knee, one leg, drag up the bum knee...over and over until I made it!

That must have been murderous!

We so, so, so do the goodbye everything as we leave the parks for the last time!

And soon we will both be saying hello to everything again!

Nala is a doll!

Thank you! Don't be fooled though -- she is an absolute beast.

What a lovely evening at Teppan Edo (those stairs are killer though), Chelsea did well with the food porn.

I was about your Norway comment.

Poor Connor...three glasses of lemonade!

How fun to be recognized! What a celebrity you are! And rightfully so.

What a wonderful last evening and great end to the trip.

Thank you! We had such a wonderful time at Teppan Edo (except for Connor and his overindulgence of lemonade), and it was a great way to wrap up our trip.

I'm so glad you mentioned the stairs at Teppan Edo. I had no idea and we're going with two women who have trouble walking! I will have to allow extra time for that!! Thanks!

Yes, allow extra time -- the steps are pretty steep. There may be an elevator somewhere, but I am not sure where it would be.

Great update Jackie! I don't mind people watching if there's blond gorgeous guys walking around!! In all our trips we have never tried Teppan Edo. We will have to try it one of these days. Your Nala is adorable. Cannot wait to hear about your upcoming trip!!

Thank you! We were cracking up over our people watching.

We are pretty excited about this weekend -- hopefully we have a good time down there.

Awww...Jackie...I decided to take the afternoon and just relax here in my room at the resort...I had a great time at MK today and I was excited to catch up on your update!! Love the dinner at Teppan Edo...what fun!!!! The food also looks so yummy!!!!! I'm glad you guys had such a great dinner!!!

Hi, Jen!!! We did have a great dinner at Teppan Edo!

Awww...I always hate the last day, but thankfully your return is only mere days away!! I can't wait to see you!!

I am having a hard time believing that we are only three days away from being there!

BTW Chelsea took some great food porn pictures...good for her!!!!

I may put her in charge of food pictures from here on out!

The next few days will fly by and you'll get everything done But work definitely gets in the way of Disney trip planning. I should just teach my 3rd graders fuzzy Disney math

My to-do list is indeed shrinking which is a good thing!

Navigationally challenged Charles strikes again! (We had a few Directionless Denny moments last week, too!). Of course, you will just have to wait to read about them.

And when will you be starting that TR??? Soon, right?

Charles asked me why he needed to bring his cell phone if we were going to be together the whole time -- I believe I said," In case you go back to the room to nap, and I stay at the parks...how will you know where to find me???" This should be an interesting trip to say the least!

What a great choice of a restaurant for your last night. So fun and festive. I love Chelsea's pics. She did a great job. I suspect you will give her more camera duty on your next trip.

Yes, she will definitely have more duties next year!

When do you leave???? Thursday, Friday??????? I'm so confused!

Thursday.

Oh....by the way......the Storm Chasers attraction is neat and certainly nothing to be afraid of. They do a simulated storm in the beginning, but its all on the screen. Then the audience answers questions about ways to better prepare for a storm. Then the answers are implemented and the audience sees how those changes hold up in a storm. It was actually more educational than anything else. Since you are a teacher you have no excuse. You must go.

OK....so I told you about Storm Chasers, but I AM NOT going to tell you what happens when you photograph the wall opposite the cavemen on spaceship earth. You will have to figure that out yourself. Don't forget your flash!

Okay, we will put Storm Chasers down to do -- I need to make a note about the cavemen -- I will forget otherwise.

Love the update!! I so have to check out Teppan! We have a couple of restaurants like that where I live and we frequent them often.

So happy that your DH enjoyed himself so much

I can not believe the vacation is coming to an end!! Looking forward to reading about your last day.

Thank you! We always have a good time at Teppan Edo.

Last day coming up tonight so I can wrap this up before we leave on Thursday.

 

[Charleston Princess]

So Jackie, what did you get done today?

Let's see -- I finished laundry, did the last of the trip shopping, made lots of piles of stuff, went to the bank, had my dad check out my car -- I don't have much more to do before we leave.

I knew it at one point....it's somewhere in my December TR.

I need to do a better job of writing down names.

It's always the worst when you start counting down the hours, minutes and seconds to leave WDW

Luckily, you'll be back very very very soon!!! Is it friday yet??

You are so right about the leaving part -- I know I will feel like that again on Sunday!

I'm glad to hear that Charles had a good time. Not so much for his sake but for yours. If he really disliked WDW then it would be harder for you to go.

Remind me about the details of your trip this weekend.

And when you referred to "mixing things up" for the next family trip, does that mean DVC? offsite (like the Nick Hotel?) or perhaps Disneyland? Pretend we're Nala and throw us a bone.

It would be harder for us if Charles really hated WDW.

It's just Charles and me this weekend for the Food and Wine Festival. We have never been and are pretty excited about trying some of the stuff.

If you are like Nala, you will almost take my hand off when I get out the dog biscuits. Shaking it up may include doing some stuff that we have never done before...time of year may change, too...

Aw! What a great way to bring your wonderful trip to an end! A great dinner, good company, good CM and a nice drink and swim. I always hate the pack up at the end...makes it real that it is all over! But, I love the thought that there will be a next time!

Thank you! Yes, knowing there will be a next time always makes it a little bit easier to leave.

I'm sad your TR is almost over, but it sounds like you guys had a great time! I love meeting new people and chatting - that's one of the fun things for me about vacation.

The last day is so bitter-sweet; I think that's why I am constantly planning the next trip, even though we haven't even gone on this one!

Have a great week!

Hi, Katie! Thank you! We enjoyed meeting new people but were very sad to be saying good-bye to Epcot.

The Norway comment and the chef's comment had me !
Chelsea did a good job on the food porn pictures. I can't believe how big Nala is now! She's a beautiful dog.

Thanks! We were cracking up at Teppan Edo.

Great update! I can't believe it's your last day! I definitely have to try Teppan next time!

Good stuff!

Thank you! I can't believe it is my last day either.

Charles IS the ruler of Teppan Edo! All hail Emperor Charles!!

Oh my, 3 glasses of lemonade would not feel good. Poor boy. Maybe he was afraid of dehydrating and hallucinating again.

I loved your goodbye pictures. And so, so soon you'll be saying hello!

Thank you! Yes, Charles is our ruler at Teppan Edo. LOL!

Connor was certainly not thinking about how that much lemonade would make him feel.

What a great last day and dinner! for making it all the way around WS!!
I already have all of my ADR's in place for my next trip...well it's next week so I hope so!! However, I really have to try Teppan Edo.....your raves as well as Tammy's have convinced me I have to try it!

It's a fun place!

Nala is adorable....what long legs she has!! Ziggy's girlfriend's name is also Nala! She is much smaller though...smaller than Ziggy!

Thank you! She still has some of that lanky adolescent look about her.

What kind of dog is Ziggy? Is he the one in your picture? He looks a lot like a Manchester Terrier which is the kind of dog my parents have (actually they have three).

It's too bad that I will miss you by a day... It would have been nice running into you and to say hi in person

Tracy

It would have been fun to meet!

I am glad to hear that everyone likes Teppan Edo. We have reservations there for Nov. I hope we get a good waiter. It is sad to hear that you trip report will be ending soon, I will miss reading it.

Thank you! Don't worry, there will be another trip report following on the heels of this one when we return Sunday night.

Only 3 days until walt disney world!! How can you sleep at night?

I am sure I will be sleeping less and less as the week goes by.

I didn't know the kids weren't coming; now you can really pixie dust food and wine, but Charles is going to have to step up to the plate with the hats through WS.

I will see what I can do! LOL!

If I don't talk to you before you leave have a magical, safe trip. Have lot's of fun for me, and take lot's of pictures, but I don't want to see food pictures if your not sending me anything

Thank you! I will have lots of fun and try lots of food just for you! LOL!

 

[Charleston Princess]

My original plan for our last day at Disney was to go to one last park. When I woke up, I was dismayed to discover that I had a mosquito bite on the side of my foot that was so big, it was downright painful to walk on it. I knew I would be miserable if I attempted to walk around a park. It was best to just pack up and head out.

After finishing the dreaded filling of suitcases, we headed down to the Mara for breakfast. The kids and Charles got croissant breakfast sandwiches, and I got a cinnamon roll. We are, and I was very sad thinking about leaving Animal Kingdom Lodge and going home. I was super cranky. Before we left the Mara, we spent our last nine credits on snacks for the drive home. We loaded the car, I checked us out, we stopped at the Hess to fill up the car, and we were on our way on the long, depressing journey away from the magic.

Once home I began the massive unpacking, taking pictures of our souvenirs as I did so.

Connor’s Bowl of Ramen:

Connor’s Naruto Patch and Chelsea’s Lucky Cat:

Connor’s Safari Eeyore (Chelsea bought the Safari Minnie but I must not have taken a picture of it):

Connor’s Little Green Men Taking a Ride on the Time Rover:

Mickey Soap from Basin:

Four Parks One World CD (This has gotten so much use in our car):

New Magnets:

New Keychains:

Wooden Giraffe from Kenya, Kikuyu-made Christmas Ornament, and Zimbabwe Pottery:

Close-up of Zimbabwe Pottery:

Animal Kingdom Lodge Coffee Mug:

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Animal Kingdom Lodge: I loved this resort before we even checked in. It was everything I imagined it would be and more. The rooms, views, pool, restaurants, activities, and animals all were amazing. I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

Divas: Every single one of us had a diva moment. I guess that is to be expected when four people have to spend almost every single second together for a week (except for Charles). He has been pretty contrite about his behavior on the trip and has promised to never act like that again. Let’s all hope he means it.

Zebra Domes: Truly one of the most ingenious food creations of all time.

Pixie Dust: Despite MIA family members, Kim Possible missions that never ended, and unbearable heat, we all still love Walt Disney World. It is truly our favorite place.

Never-Dones: My big goal for the trip was for my family to experience things we had never done before -- I even had a list in my trip planner. What did we manage to check off?

Magic Kingdom:
Liberty Belle Riverboat
The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh
Tomorrowland Indy Speedway

Epcot:
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush
Living with the Land
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
Impressions de France
Illuminations
Kim Possible Mission (x4)

Animal Kingdom:
It’s Tough to be a Bug
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
Rafiki’s Planet Watch
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Festival of the Lion King

Looking at the list, I think we did pretty good trying new things.

So, what’s on store for the coming year? Charles and I leave soon for a long weekend experiencing the Food and Wine Festival, and next summer there may be some surprises in store for us…

UP NEXT: The Shortest Pre-Trip Report Ever!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Sounds like through everything you had a great vacation. Hope you and Charles have a great weekend getaway!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I thought I had posted here, but apparently the DIS ate my post or something...!

I was laughing out loud at "Your Highness" at Teppan Edo - how appropriate!!!

Sorry to hear about your mosquito bite, that just stinks! Love all our souvenir pictures-all the AKL stuff is so beautiful.

You guys covered a lot of new stuff! Did any of them become "must do's" for future trips? (aside from Kim Possible for Connor )

and next summer there may be some surprises in store for us…

Are you going to clue us in at all????

Looking forward to the PTR stuff-and of course another CP TR!!!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Dh and I are heading off for a weekend to try the food and wine festival too. Too bad it's not the same weekend. But then again perhaps having Charles and my Dh in the same room wouldn't be such a great idea. They might teach each other too many tricks.

Enjoyed your report. You set the bar high.

Congrats on finishing it up on time and have a lovely weekend together!

 

[lori1043]

Funny, we had a similar pre Teppan Edo day- we TRUDGED across the world and were pooped only to find ourselves having the BEST time at Teppan Edo!!!

Loving the TR!! Cannot beleive you are JUST finishing!! It's the end of September!!

Mine will probably be faster than that b/c I am afraid I will forget all the details. Love the pics Chelsea took- Ashton was my food porn girl this past trip.

I am excited b/c i can get to my photopass pics tomorrow!!!
My friend who went the week after us is finally home and we shared one. She is bringing her photopass cards to me tomorrow.

Talk to ya soon!

Lori

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

The Norway comment and the chef's comment had me !
Chelsea did a good job on the food porn pictures. I can't believe how big Nala is now! She's a beautiful dog.

I had to do a double take when I saw your names...I have a cousin w/ a daughter named Alison in NC. I was like what!?

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

You bought some cute stuff! I love the Basin! I forgot to buy my bath bombs this time. I'll be back soon. <note to self - bath bombs>

The CD's from WDW including this one you bought....my husband listens to them daily! OMGosh you would not believe it! The one that gets the most play....Halloween. (And this red one of course) Plus he does this trivia stuff with us and we havee to get it right or O M G! The World stops! That's why I LOVE him! Sweet silly things like that....

Gorgeous artwork! I looked at that stuff too. If I had a place for it I'd be buying too.

Well have fun girly! I wish you guys a fun safe romantic getaway filled with lots of good foor and tasty wine! Take a lot of pictures! K?