Feeling Hot Hot Hot! The Rain Curse is Broken! Two Weeks of Fun in the Sun! COMPLETE

[Lidian]

Everytime I see your PP pictures with your brothers... I wonder what the photographer is thinking while snapping the pictures.

That Shrimp Po Boy looked really good. I kind of want it now ... but it won't be on our next trip.

 

[Moira222]

May 20th continued

was this not the biggest frog you have ever seen??? Katie and I spent quite a while in this area that week as well. We were watching the naked mole rats move food from one hole allllll the way to the other side to the "dining room". it was very cool. I think maybe most people just skip through to see the birds, and they are really missing the chance to talk with some of the animal care takers there.

great shots! the fish and birds are so beautifully colorful!

May 20th continued

There were tons of animals roaming the savannah

Did you take all these with your water proof camera? it must have a great zoom feature if you did. I have the Playsport video camera --its waterproof and takes photos but I don't think I have a great zoom like you have here.

ooooh this would make such a pretty wallpaper on your desktop

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Pretty!

Very pretty!!

They all decided to partake in the time honoured tradition of picking through each others hair to groom each other and get rid of bugs.

Behind the Rafiki meeting spot there are a bunch of dark rooms you can go into that have headsets that allow you to listen to the sounds of the rainforest. We went into one for a few minutes, it was very relaxing, nice padded seats, comfortable temperature and no noise except the beautiful sounds of the rainforest. A great place to take a break.
.....

Overall I enjoyed Rafiki's Planet Watch. There are several things to do and it was a nice way to mix up our usual Animal Kingdom routine. I don't know if I would visit every trip but it is something I would do again.

wouldn't you just love to hear the "locker room" chatter of characters after they have interacted with two real characters (ie. Erich & Alex!)

May was our first visit to Rafiki's Planet Watch as well. I will go again in June, knowing that this time I can skip the petting zoo and spend more time watching all of the exhibits. We didn't have our autograph book when we went there, so Katie would not wait in line to see anyone for "just a picture". pooh! Lesley will wait in line with me I know.

 

[marDgreen88]

What a cool angle of the Tree of Life! I've never noticed that elephant before OR the lion. Awesome.

I've never seen someone so proud to be a conservation hero. hahaha.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Everytime I see your PP pictures with your brothers... I wonder what the photographer is thinking while snapping the pictures.

The photographers actually seem to rather enjoy the boys. Probably a bit of a change of pace from their usual clientele.

What a cool angle of the Tree of Life! I've never noticed that elephant before OR the lion. Awesome.

I've never seen someone so proud to be a conservation hero. hahaha.

Yes, they were very proud of their status as conservation heroes. Just wait until later...

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

was this not the biggest frog you have ever seen??? Katie and I spent quite a while in this area that week as well. We were watching the naked mole rats move food from one hole allllll the way to the other side to the "dining room". it was very cool. I think maybe most people just skip through to see the birds, and they are really missing the chance to talk with some of the animal care takers there.

I agree, I think people rush past a lot of stuff in the AK while on their way to the rides. It is surprising to me that people go to ANIMAL Kingdom and yet they do not explore the trails to see the animals.

I actually think that happens lots in all the parks, everybody is in such a hurry to get to the big ticket rides that they miss the small details or little known but still very fun attractions.

Did you take all these with your water proof camera? it must have a great zoom feature if you did. I have the Playsport video camera --its waterproof and takes photos but I don't think I have a great zoom like you have here.

The pictures I post are a mix from three different cameras. If they look really zoomed in they were probably taken with Erich's camera which is a 10x zoom. My waterproof is only a 3x zoom although I do sometimes use the digital zoom which takes nice pictures as well.

wouldn't you just love to hear the "locker room" chatter of characters after they have interacted with two real characters (ie. Erich & Alex!)

It would indeed be interesting to hear what they think after encountering my family.

May was our first visit to Rafiki's Planet Watch as well. I will go again in June, knowing that this time I can skip the petting zoo and spend more time watching all of the exhibits. We didn't have our autograph book when we went there, so Katie would not wait in line to see anyone for "just a picture". pooh!

Lesley will wait in line with me I know.

Kids and their autographs.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I always forget about those trails behind the tree of life- but I do agree that you get some lovely views from back there.

I used to be a die-hard Flame Tree girl, but lately I've been feeling the love for Restaurantosaurs I do enjoy that shrimp Poboy, and the decor is just so awesome!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I always forget about those trails behind the tree of life- but I do agree that you get some lovely views from back there.

I used to be a die-hard Flame Tree girl, but lately I've been feeling the love for Restaurantosaurs I do enjoy that shrimp Poboy, and the decor is just so awesome!

I love the trail behind the tree. It is almost always deserted so it is a nice break from the crowds and also makes for a nice "short cut" on a busy day.

 

[GeminiAngel]

You found nothing at Flame Tree?!! I love that place!
Very nice shots of the tree of life. I'm one of those people who really haven't done the trails around the tree.

Last time I looked around there was when the park opened in 1998!

 

[englishrose47]

The Shrimp Po Boy is great !!I go there just for that!!I have to remember the PATH you took I think the "Guys" would enjoy that and Carol too !!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

You found nothing at Flame Tree?!! I love that place!
Very nice shots of the tree of life. I'm one of those people who really haven't done the trails around the tree.

Last time I looked around there was when the park opened in 1998!

Nope, Flame Tree wasn't appealing to us that day.

Do you go on the other animal trails in Africa and Asia?

The Shrimp Po Boy is great !!I go there just for that!!I have to remember the PATH you took I think the "Guys" would enjoy that and Carol too !!

 

[KatMark]

Lessa, I never knew about that path behind the Tree of Life...I'll have to look for it next week.

Nice picture of you by the waterfall, despite Alek's lack of enthusiasm.

 

[PopArtGal]

People stop reposting the frog pics! eww! lol

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Lessa, I never knew about that path behind the Tree of Life...I'll have to look for it next week.

Nice picture of you by the waterfall, despite Alek's lack of enthusiasm.

It is a nice quiet path, not terribly exciting but something different and away from the usual path.

People stop reposting the frog pics! eww! lol

 

[UGAFan0829]

Lessa, count me in as another one who didn't know about the trails around teh ToL! We'll definitely have to try and make time to check them out next time...especially since you can get some awesome views from there. Thanks for pointing it out!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Lessa, count me in as another one who didn't know about the trails around teh ToL! We'll definitely have to try and make time to check them out next time...especially since you can get some awesome views from there. Thanks for pointing it out!

Oh no! Now everybody knows about the trail and it won't be a hidden oasis anymore!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 20th continued

After lunch I convinced Alek and Erich to go see Finding Nemo. We had all seen in on our 2007 trip and didn't like it but Mom and I saw it again in 2009 and enjoyed it much more. I decided that Alek and Erich should give it another shot and see if their opinion had changed.

Near the Finding Nemo theatre there were Steel Drums/Pans being played. I love Steel Drums although I associate them the Caribbean, not with Africa!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgXb15ErfLw

We arrived right before the show was going to start so we were seated in the far back on the right side of the theatre.

I just love the bubbles that are lit up on each side of the stage. If you pay attention you will see Nemo swim through them every now and then.

Well, Alek and Erich did not change their opinion, they still don't like the show.

For some reason we went back into Dinoland, maybe for a pee break?
While there we saw the characters come out for pictures but the boys were not enthused about stopping so I just snapped a picture.

Next up was Asia.

There was a photopass photographer on the bridge beside Everest so I stopped for a picture. Alek made Erich take the picture with me since he had to do it last time.

Mom's picture of us getting our picture taken

We grabbed fastpasses for Everest and went to see how long the line for Kali was as it was stinking hot out! We were melting. Unfortunately the posted wait time was 40 minutes and the line was pretty much up to the queue entrance so it was likely even longer than that. No way we were standing in that line so we skipped Kali and decided to explore the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

Those of you who have followed my previous reports will know that I hate bats and what is the very first thing you encounter on this trail? The bat house! Well, I decided to face my fear and went in the bat house for the very first time and I didn't scream once.

I still think they are nasty creatures.

I didn't stay in there long and waited for the others outside so we could continue on to the main attraction, the tigers! Who doesn't love a cute cuddly kitty cat?

I love the theme of the trail. It is so pretty and detailed.

Awww!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Erich's pictures of the tigers

He got really excited as one of the tigers came right up to the glass near him.

Oh yeah, there are other animals to see along the trail.

Pretty!

As reached the end of the trail I noticed this beautifully coloured bird in the bushes. Unfortunately I couldn't get a very good picture of it, he didn't want to come out and pose for me.

Erich's pictures of the other animals

Needless to say I highly recommend walking this trail. Not only do you get to see some magnificent animals but the theme itself is lovely in its own right.

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[ddstratton]

Lovely animal pics!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Lovely animal pics!

Thanks!

 

[marDgreen88]

I Finding Nemo the Musical!
For some reason I've never done the Maharajah Jungle Trek! I don't even know why because I LOVE LOVE LOVE tigers! I'm a cat person, big or small hahaha.
That picture with the tiger with its tongue out is hilarious. The animals look like they must have been hot though! Aww