Doin' Half the World with the 'Rents: An Adult TR

[tiggrbaby]

Hello! This is my very first attempt at a trip report. I've enjoyed reading them, and I hope that I can help others with info. and I have to do something with all of the pics I took as no one in my house is interested in them!

First, cast of charaters:

Me: 51, teacher, mother of 3 sons, a real Disney nut! No one in my house is interested in the World anymore, so I need to find other partners in crime!

DS: My younger sister is single but has been with the same guy for over 10 years. She likes Disney, but is not quite over the top. She has spent many years travelling with my family; the six of us all went on the EB Panama cruise last year, and she and I spent four days at AKL in '06. she is a real animal lover!

DM: Retired, loves to knit and makes beautiful items. She has wanted to stay the Lodge ever since she saw our pics.

DF: My dad is also retired, and is a 3-time cancer survivor. He has a fab sense of humor.

The trip started when my DH and 16YO son didn't want to go with me Jersey Week. My mom mentioned that she and dad were thinking about going to AKL for one night before they started their annual winter month in Florida. HELLO!!! They wanted to go to my favorite place!!! I suggested they go in November instead, and they agreed! Whoo hoo, was I in planning gear! My sister said she would come, too, and it suddenly became even more cost effective! We knew my parents would not want to pay for the total treatment, so we talked them into splitting to pay for one night each, and we gave them the safaris for their birthdays and an early Xmas present. We wanted them to do it up right!

My dad cannot walk long distances, so we needed to limit the parks. They both wanted to go to Epcot, and the sunrise safari ends in AK, so that made the decision for us. AND we were going to be there during F&W, so even better!

I will skip all the planning details so I can into the important part: pics! But I will say that we ended up getting the free dining deal with our CL room - lots of snack credits!

I apologize in advance if it takes me a long time to go beyond the first day; it took me about an hour to upoad the pics to photobucket, and I don't know how well I will do during the week.

 

[tiggrbaby]

We flew in late Wednesday night and stayed off-site with a senior discount provided by my parents. But that is not important: arriving at the world is! So as soon as I could get everyone organized, we left and drove to AKL. I was soooo excited and took video and a pic as we drove up.

We went in and dropped off our luggage as they said our room was not ready. We signed out a wheelchair for my dad, and were ushered upstairs!

We were able to check in, and they said our room was ready! So we grabbed a second breakfast and headed into the room. They put us in the first room on the 4th floor, Zebra Trail, so we would be close to the elevator for dad.

Isn't this the most beautiful sight?

The towel Mickey was the only one our entire stay, but we didn't care 'cause we were IN DISNEY! And a savannah view!

We were able to see the fire pit to our left, and had to peek around a supporting pole to see the savannah, but it was beautiful! We only stayed a short time, and then headed to the bus and on to Epcot!

 

[tiggrbaby]

We arrived to Epcot around 11AM. There was not much of a line, so we got through quickly. I stopped for a quick pic:

I then grabbed all the passes and flew to Soarin'. The return passes were for 2:24. I walked out and met the others at the bottom. They talked about the Jamminators as they saw a bit of the show on the way over. We decided to go see them later. We headed over to the Seas:

Now, I had to have taken about 10 shots of that until I was pleased with the water! So we (OK, I) skipped off to the Clamboats and Nemo. They were kind enough to slow down the belt to make it easy for my parents to get on/off. I tried taking some pics and this one was not bad:

I then went to see what the wait was for Tutle Talk, but we had just missed the show. My sister took my dad over to the manatee tank, and mom went to get a small snack in the gift shop.

We decided not to wait for the show, and went out to catch the Jamminators. Photo op on the way!

My brother is a chef, so my parents wanted me to tape the show. In goes the still camera, out comes the camcorder (that takes stills, too!):

What a fun and amazing show! And how cool that they spice it up for F&W! When it was over, we headed over to imagination for my mom; she looooves Figment!

We were able to walk right through:

My mother was disappointed as it was not the same as the last time she was there (1995). We browsed a bit in the gift shop, then headed towards the World Showcase:

Next stop, what we've been looking forward to: Food and Wine here we come!!!!

(But I will have to do that tomorrow; I'm beat and have to put away laundry before bed!)

 

[Nutty4Disney]

Looking forward to hearing more. We are staying at AKL CL in October, so we will be there for Food & Wine too. No free dining as we are DVC.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Hooray, what I've been most looking forward to:

We had poured over the lists and reviews, and came up with a few must-have items. First stop, Canada!

We got the salmon and cheese soup to share:

It was easy to share as I don't like cheese soup, my dad doesn't like salmon, and my sister doesn't like lentils! We thought this was a fab stop. The salmon and soup did not diasappoint, and the lentils were surprising delish! They had a tart dressing that made me scrape until it was all gone!

Next up, New Zeland:

Here we got two lamb sliders as they were REALLY teeny-tiny:

I cut each sandwich into two, and I think that was about how many bites it took me to finish it! I thought it was very tasty with the tomatoes on top; my parents thought that it was not quite as good as the ones my dad makes, but still good. I think you have to like lamb to eat them, though.

This was the perfect place to slip over to Ireland ...

...for the number 1 choice on all our lists: Fisherman's pie!

I picked up two as this was something we all wanted. We waited a bit for them to cool, then dug in. MMMMMMMM! It was so creamy, and seafood-y, and swirly potato-y! I could have eaten another right away! But there was something else that we needed:

Warm Bailey's chocolate cake!!!! I had seen how small they were, so I got three as my sister did not want to have something chocolatey. And was it ever!!! And the sauce was caramely and tinged with the taste of Bailey's and so gooey and fantastic! i couple seated near us had to go and get some after seeing our reaction! I scraped the plate to get all the sauce as I did not want to lick the plate in public!

My sister decided she wanted somje creme brulee, so I took some pics while she went in search:

She came back with the brulee:

I was very smooth and creamy; she was glad she choose that! I took a few more pics:

Then we decided to head around so my parents could see the drum and fife.

I thought this was a cool shot:

Onto the American Adventure, where we parked my dad and my sister went and got him a beer; he was one happy fella!

The fife and drum corp was really neat, and they did a tribute to the military and veterans:

(I have about 12 pics, but I thought one would do!)
Then it was time to go in and see the Voices of Liberty. Since my dad was in a wheelchair, they had us move upstairs. It got a little confusing as they would not let my mother and sister on with us, but let the special family in instead. But it was a really grat view and my parents really enjoyed it!

I thought the guy in the salmon jacket looked like Matthew Broderick in "The Producers." What do you think?

At that point, we decide not to stay for the show as it was time for our FP to Soarin', and we wanted to go back and rest a bit before going to dinner. I thought this was a cute scene outside France:

Then we made it!

The wait was very short. We were in the second row. Even though I am a coaster gal, I really love this ride for the scenes, scents, and the way it was designed using an erector set! My parents LOVED it and my father said that was his favorite theme park experience! He kept trying to lift his legs during some of the scences!

Now it was time to head back to the Lodge. I took this shot on the way out:

Look familiar? Strangely enough, we did not get to go inside this time! Another shot that I loved:

I thought it was cool that I was able to get the monorail!

 

[tiggrbaby]

We admired some of the lobby before heading to the room:

We stopped at the lounge, and they had the evening snacks out:

They also had out two red wines and a white. I had the white and some African smoothie. Every thought it was super, and was surprised we could manage after all we at at the F&W!
A view of the lobby from the CL lounge:

We headed back to the room, and were greeted by our turn-down:

Now was the moment of truth: would there be critters? My mother was disappointed in the morning, but we told her that it was probably due to the fact that they need to go to the barn. We anxiously opened the door to the balcony, and...

CRITTERS!!!! We were all so excited! I snapped away like crazy. It was silly as we were going on the safari the next night, but I got carried away. Just two more for now:

As you can see, it was getting dark. It was time to head back to Epcot at the Rose and Crown. the fountains were doing their thing, so I snapped a few (dozen!):

Then we arrived:

We got there early for our ressie, and I pleaded with the guy to get us a table on the patio so my parents could see Illuminations. He said that he would try, and we waited patiently. It was very crowded and they were turning people away who did not have ressies. I took a few shots (of course!) while waiting:

Everything was so beautiful, all bright and sparkly. Our buzzer went off; would we be out on the patio? We were!!! Down the farthest end, on the closest level! Hooray! A great view!! But the downside was the wind off the water: it was COLD! Even my father was cold, and he doesn't even wea a heavy jacket in the winter. They all ordered coffee, but I stubbornly insisted upon a drink in a souvenir glass. I don't actually remember what it was called, but it had rum and was tasty! While waiting for our meals, we ate the bread, and dad broke an old filling! Fortunately, it did not ruin anything, and he was able to eat the rest of the trip, just not anything hard. then our meals came out.

Something pork for dad:

A shepard's pie dish for mom and sis:

Steak and fish for me:

I really loved my meal; I never would have ordered it if I wasn't on the dining plan as I would have considered it to be too expensive. I'm glad I was able to get it! Right after we ordered dessert (and more hot beverages!) Wishes began:

It is such a beautiful and moving show (but you all know that!). Our desserts were delivered and we dug in!

Dad ordered a chocolate cake:

(We wouldn't let him eat the cute, but hard, Mickey!)

The rest of us had stickey toffee pudding:

I just LOOOOOVE stickey toffee pudding! I fell in love with it in London years ago, and have it every chance I can. This did not disappoint!

Then it was time to head back for the night. What a beautiful sight as we left the park:

Coming soon: Day 2: Some park, some resort, and Sunset Safari!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Looking forward to hearing more. We are staying at AKL CL in October, so we will be there for Food & Wine too. No free dining as we are DVC.

Oh, you will soooo love it! It is magical to stay CL, and the F&W was so much fun! You are very lucky to own DVC! I can't even convince DH to stay overnight!

 

[BenA81]

He sure looks like Broderick! Great pics so far, looking forward to reading more!

 

[tiggrbaby]

He sure looks like Broderick! Great pics so far, looking forward to reading more!

Thanks! I had a great time taking pics; I came back with about 1500!

 

[RunningGirl]

Great photos - this is my favorite! Sounds like lots of fun and a great group to travel with!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Great photos - this is my favorite! Sounds like lots of fun and a great group to travel with!

Thanks! My sister is my best friend; we say that we are one soul in two bodies! My parents took us on magical Disney vacations in '72 and '75, so we wanted this to be magical for them, too!

 

[tiggrbaby]

We slept until about 8 AM, which is heaven for me! Went out on the balcony for the views:

We got dressed to go upstairs for breakfast. We were greeted by this guy around the corner from our room:

Then we went upstairs to eat a fantastic breakfast:

Everything was soooo good! I think the quiona was interesting, and I loved the chocolate croissants. The fruit was very good, too.

I took a few pics on the way back to the room:

Then I went out on the exterior stairwell to get an inside shot:

And a few more outside views:

Then we went back to the room to wait for my sister's friend. MF was staying in the area alone, and had never been to Disney (I couldn't believe it!). So she wanted to go to Epcot. I was torn between going and staying at the resort, but my sister really wanted me to go. She thought I would really like MF, and I did! My parents had been planning on hanging around anyway, and it wouldn't require my dad to walk long distances, so he was OK without the wheelchair, which could have been tough for my mom to push. I explained the dining plan to them so they could get lunch in Mara. Then off we went!

Next: Epcot morning

 

[tiggrbaby]

We arrived at Epcot about 11:30. I again ran to get Soarin' FPs. There were a lot more people here today (Sat.) than yesterday around the same time. The return time kept getting later and later as I waited. Our return time was 2:50. We had promised mom we would be back by 3:00 so we could get ready for the safari. This was going to be close!

Next we headed off to Imagination to see HISTA:

The preshow is different than it was last time I was there, but I remembered the Eric Idle part! I had been rattling off the "Safely put your safety googles safely..." while we were waiting, and when he said that part, my sister turned to me and said that it was a little scary that I was able to remember it! It was a blast as MR was experiencing it for the first time, and she screamed through it all!

Next we decided to go for lunch at Mexico. MR heard that she should make a point of eating there. I think she was talking about the restaurant, but we said that we needed to do CS. But on the way, I HAD to stop for something I didn't get yesterday:

OOOOOOOH! WOW! That was sooooooo delish! I read about it on CP's TR, and knew I needed one! My sister thought it was ridiculously expensive for the size, but I used Disney Rewards Dollars, so I reasoned it was free money! Everyone took a taste and I polished it off, so I really needed food now!

A view before the Cantina:

Lunchtime!

Since we had CS credits, my sister and I got meals, and MF got nachos. Check out the size of the churro:

I thought it was a large amount of food, and had we not needed to use our CS, I think we could have shared for all of us.

Next we headed into Mexico to try the boat ride:

I took this pic as we were going in; it doesn't look real!

I thought these were pretty:

I took some pics on the ride. It was difficult with the motion and the camera speed, but these weren't too bad. I thought the dolls were like IASM:

Another shot of the pretty fountain on the way out:

We spent some time in the shop, trying on hats and taking silly pictures. I won't purposely post any pictures of the gang as my family didn't like how they looked, and I don't feel right posting pics of MF without her permission. I think I ended up alone in only one pic as I was the crazy camera lady!

Since MF doesn't like fast rides, TT and MS were out. We decided to do Ellen's ride instead. On the way over:

(Boy, that one came out really crooked!)

We arrived at the pavillion:

I tried to take pics on the ride, but none of them came out except this one:

It was a fun time, and didn't seem as long as it really is. We had some time to kill, so we went over to the old life pavillion to look at the merchandise. I wanted to get a T-shirt. I turned out that the logo items were 1/2 price! What a deal! I got my shirt, one to give mom for Xmas, a pin, and a hat that mom wanted to buy for my brother, but she thought was too expensive. On the way out these were growing by the ramp:

Cute, huh?

By then it was time to use the FPs. We went over, showed the FP, and walked down the ramp...

...and got stuck in a LINE!!!! There was a stinkin' line for the FP!!! What were we going to do? We were supposed to be back at 3! Our parents didn't bring their cell phone since they could use ours. This was MF's first time here; we couldn't make her leave without going on Soarin'! We finally made it down to the queue. It was now after 3! We had a quick consultation, and decided that when they opened the doors, MF would be seated for the ride, and we would walk out with the guests from the previous ride. We explained to MF how to get to her car, and told her to call if she needed help. We power-walked to the front. We were going to be late! We decided to spring for a cab if the bus was not there.

Got to the stop, no bus and an empty line. We sprinted over to the cabs, and got right on one. We made it back just after 3:30! My mother was up at the lounge getting the tea snacks, so she wasn't worrying about us. Disaster averted! We freshened up and changed to go down for our Sunset Safari.

Next up: Sunset Safari and Jiko dinner

 

[tiggrbaby]

We arrived at Jiko early, so our parents sat down on the benches near Boma while my sister and I went out so I could snap more pics:

The flamingos were all up in arms about something!

We headed back in and people were starting to assemble in Jiko. We grabbed the bottle of water that was for each member of the safari and took a few pics of the empty restaurant:

When the group was assembled (10 people) we went out front to get on the vehicle:

We headed over to the Kidani savannah. We first saw the red river hogs. they are currently being kept separate, but they are trying to acclimate them to the general savannah.

Our official greeter to the Kidani:

Warning: Many, many giraffe pics ahead!

The magestic ankole cattle:

Share nicely!

The Kidani Village:

 

[tiggrbaby]

Zebras!

View of building:

Lots of critters!

They passed around a real (but empty) ostrich egg:

They said that they only have females at the Lodge, so none of the eggs they lay are fertilized. They collect them when they find them, and blow the insides out and bleach them. They are sold for craft items at the Lodge at the holidays, and some of the money goes for the animal fund.

This is the pen for the red river hogs to play in between the KV JH:

First friend at Jambo House!

We were to the right, 4th floor behind the trees:

These dirt hills were created during the construction. It was intended for them to be temporary, but the animals used them like a playground, so they left them there!

Road block ahead:

You lookin' at me?

The last critter before leaving the savannah:

Coming up next: dinner at Jiko

 

[Flossbolna]

Sounds like you had a great trip so far! Thanks for all the wonderful pictures, I think those are some of the best I have seen in a long time. I love all the AKL pics, but your Epcot pictures are spectacular as well! Looking forward to more!!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Sounds like you had a great trip so far! Thanks for all the wonderful pictures, I think those are some of the best I have seen in a long time. I love all the AKL pics, but your Epcot pictures are spectacular as well! Looking forward to more!!

Thanks! I have a new DSLR camera and I was having so much fun with it! Of course, you are only seeing the better pics, and I can't tell you how many I dumped!

 

[praisehisname]

Love your report so far!

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Thanks for posting so many pics, they are just wonderful!!! I had this on when DD3.5 walked in, she is still kind of under the weather and crabby...and your pics did the trick She loves EPCOT..THREE Caberellos and animals....ok, so do I

What a trip you had Cant wait to see more

 

[iloveeeyore]

I'm especially loving your photos of the Wanayama. We are looking forward to doing this in August, and your report is getting us even more excited. Can't wait to hear about Jiko!

Thanks for your report!