Wednesday, June 22 Animal Kingdom, Whispering Canyon, and more Magic Kingdom
Cast:
Me, the Disney-fanatic
DH, Craig, who puts up with my Disney obsession
DD, Jessica, age 10, part fish, goes with the flow for just about anything
DS, Ryan, age 6, also part fish, would prefer to always have his way
Part 1
Part 2
We were off to Animal Kingdom this morning. We had a pretty short list of things we wanted to do here. We took the bus and arrived shortly after opening. We headed straight to Dinoland to see Lucky. Is it me, or is Dinoland 10 degrees hotter than the rest of Orlando? We stood around melting on the tarmac waiting for Lucky. He made his walk though Dinoland, and we saw him interact with a few kids and laugh and sneeze. I thought it was cool, but the kids werent all that impressed.
The Boneyard was at the top of Ryans list for this park, so we went to do that while it was relatively cool. We lasted about 15 minutes in there and drank 2 bottles of water. Whose idea was Florida in June, anyway? There was no one else in Dinoland (or they had all melted), so we took 2 spins on Triceratops Spin and then got the heck out of there.
We stopped to see Tarzan on our way out. This show needs more Tarzan
(and more rollerbladers, according to Ryan), and less rock band. Ryan kept asking when Tarzan was coming out.
Jessicas favorite thing here is the bird show, so we headed to Asia. We stopped to look at the progress on Expedition Everest on the way. It looks very cool. We also grabbed fast passes to Kali. Ryan was already in I dont want to do that whine mode. Sigh.
Despite his protests, we saw Flights of Wonder. I love this show too. Its very funny. I had the big camera with me today, so I was able to get some good pictures of the birds.
We went back to ride Kali, with Ryan grumbling all the way. Fortunately he grumbles pretty quietly its more of a pout. Ryan rode next to me, and Jessica rode next to Craig. Craig and Jessica were lucky enough to go over the falls backwards and got a big wave over their heads. Ryan thought that was hysterical and loved the ride even though he got rather wet as well. It was so hot, I was sorry I didnt get wetter than I did.
There really wasnt anything else we wanted to do in AK, so we sloshed over to Pizzafari for lunch. We bought the meal deals with the intention of grabbing ice cream and water on the way out. The line was short, so I told Craig what to order and hung back with the kids to watch for a table in order to avoid having to wander around with our food for 15 minutes like we did yesterday. Either I read the menu wrong or it isnt clear, but I didnt realize that even though this was a pizza place, the kids meal deal didnt include pizza. So we ended up with 2 uncrustables, which the kids dont like, and 3 pizzas. So the kids ate pizza, and I had PB&J. These things are actually pretty good they remind me of grade school PB&Js for some reason.
When we finished eating we looked outside and it was pouring.
We hadnt dried out completely from Kali yet, so as soon as the rain got a bit lighter, Craig and Ryan (who was in full-blown whine mode now over his wet clothes) headed out. Jessica and I got a bit of shopping time in before we headed out too, grabbing our meal deal waters and a frozen banana and chipwich on the way to the bus. The sun was shining again.
Back at the hotel, Ryan crashed for a much-needed nap. This boy still likes his naps. First grade is going to be interesting.
Jessica and I went to the pool and spent an hour trying to find the sinking sands. We found one spot near the bottom of the big slide, but I was sure there had to be more than that. Anyone know? We never did find any more.
We got ourselves and the now well-rested and much less cranky boy ready for dinner. Resort to resort transportation being a bit spotty, we decided to drive to the Wilderness Lodge. We had used valet at the Beach Club, so we knew we could valet at the lodge for no additional cost. We checked in at the Whispering Canyon and were seated quickly. We had a table against the back wall, which felt kind of removed from much of the action, but we still had a good time here. We made the mistake of asking for ketchup. Jessica was hysterical. Were still tempted to yell We need ketchup! in other restaurants.
Craig and I had the skillet dinner. The ribs and pulled pork were wonderful. The kids did the pony race and took the pledge to whine constantly (Ryan has that one down), ask for everything they see, (they both have that one nailed), and never to go to Universal Studios (hopefully they crossed their fingers for that part!). It was a rowdy, fun place to eat.
We walked around the lodge grounds for a bit this hotel still feels like home. We have to come back someday. We took the ferry to the Magic Kingdom, and since we promised Ryan a trip to Toontown, we headed there first. The wait for Barnstormer was 45 minutes, so we had to talk him out of that since we only had a couple hours until the park closed. We settled for visits to Minnie and Mickeys houses and some time running around Donalds boat, which actually had the water on for the first time (that weve seen) in years.
We headed for Fantasyland next. Most of the crowds had moved out to watch the first Spectromagic Parade, so Fantasyland wasnt too bad. We were able to see Philharmagic, ride the carousel, and ride the newly cleaned up Small World in quick succession. As we came out of Small world, Wishes was going on, so we stood and watched some of the fireworks. Its not the best vantage point behind the castle like that, but wed seen the show before and didnt want to join the masses on Main Street.
When the fireworks ended, we walked right on to the Haunted Mansion. I was glad to see Ryan get past his fear of these types of rides and enjoy himself on this one. If you ever want your child to go on Disneys Haunted Mansion, I suggest you steer clear of the ride with the same name at Knoebels amusement park in Pennsylvania. We made the mistake of taking him on there 2 years ago and he hasnt been willing to go any type of haunted ride since then. Poor kid.
We thought wed try our luck on the Jungle Cruise again in the hopes of getting a better skipper. This skipper had better English, but I think she was tired as it was a pretty uninspired narration. I dont think well ever top our skipper from our October girls trip. Someday well find her again so the boys can laugh their heads off like we did.
No one wanted to stick around for the late Spectromagic parade, so we thought wed beat the crowds to the docks. Unfortunately, a few hundred other people had the same idea. The longest wait of our entire summer trip would prove to be the nearly hour long wait for a ferry back to the Wilderness Lodge. We considered walking to the Contemporary, but I wasnt sure how late the Contemporary Lodge ferry ran and it was nearly 11PM. We even thought about abandoning our car at the Lodge and taking a bus straight back to the Beach Club. But we stuck it out. By the time the parade ended, the line for the ferry was all the way back to the turnstiles. I think they need a bigger boat
It was after midnight when we got back to the Beach Club. And we had an early fishing excursion in the morning. I dont know what I was thinking when I booked that after the Magic Kingdom night. It would be a short nights sleep!
Cast:
Me, the Disney-fanatic
DH, Craig, who puts up with my Disney obsession
DD, Jessica, age 10, part fish, goes with the flow for just about anything
DS, Ryan, age 6, also part fish, would prefer to always have his way
Part 1
Part 2
We were off to Animal Kingdom this morning. We had a pretty short list of things we wanted to do here. We took the bus and arrived shortly after opening. We headed straight to Dinoland to see Lucky. Is it me, or is Dinoland 10 degrees hotter than the rest of Orlando? We stood around melting on the tarmac waiting for Lucky. He made his walk though Dinoland, and we saw him interact with a few kids and laugh and sneeze. I thought it was cool, but the kids werent all that impressed.
The Boneyard was at the top of Ryans list for this park, so we went to do that while it was relatively cool. We lasted about 15 minutes in there and drank 2 bottles of water. Whose idea was Florida in June, anyway? There was no one else in Dinoland (or they had all melted), so we took 2 spins on Triceratops Spin and then got the heck out of there.
We stopped to see Tarzan on our way out. This show needs more Tarzan
(and more rollerbladers, according to Ryan), and less rock band. Ryan kept asking when Tarzan was coming out.
Jessicas favorite thing here is the bird show, so we headed to Asia. We stopped to look at the progress on Expedition Everest on the way. It looks very cool. We also grabbed fast passes to Kali. Ryan was already in I dont want to do that whine mode. Sigh.
Despite his protests, we saw Flights of Wonder. I love this show too. Its very funny. I had the big camera with me today, so I was able to get some good pictures of the birds.
We went back to ride Kali, with Ryan grumbling all the way. Fortunately he grumbles pretty quietly its more of a pout. Ryan rode next to me, and Jessica rode next to Craig. Craig and Jessica were lucky enough to go over the falls backwards and got a big wave over their heads. Ryan thought that was hysterical and loved the ride even though he got rather wet as well. It was so hot, I was sorry I didnt get wetter than I did.
There really wasnt anything else we wanted to do in AK, so we sloshed over to Pizzafari for lunch. We bought the meal deals with the intention of grabbing ice cream and water on the way out. The line was short, so I told Craig what to order and hung back with the kids to watch for a table in order to avoid having to wander around with our food for 15 minutes like we did yesterday. Either I read the menu wrong or it isnt clear, but I didnt realize that even though this was a pizza place, the kids meal deal didnt include pizza. So we ended up with 2 uncrustables, which the kids dont like, and 3 pizzas. So the kids ate pizza, and I had PB&J. These things are actually pretty good they remind me of grade school PB&Js for some reason.
When we finished eating we looked outside and it was pouring.
We hadnt dried out completely from Kali yet, so as soon as the rain got a bit lighter, Craig and Ryan (who was in full-blown whine mode now over his wet clothes) headed out. Jessica and I got a bit of shopping time in before we headed out too, grabbing our meal deal waters and a frozen banana and chipwich on the way to the bus. The sun was shining again.Back at the hotel, Ryan crashed for a much-needed nap. This boy still likes his naps. First grade is going to be interesting.
Jessica and I went to the pool and spent an hour trying to find the sinking sands. We found one spot near the bottom of the big slide, but I was sure there had to be more than that. Anyone know? We never did find any more.
We got ourselves and the now well-rested and much less cranky boy ready for dinner. Resort to resort transportation being a bit spotty, we decided to drive to the Wilderness Lodge. We had used valet at the Beach Club, so we knew we could valet at the lodge for no additional cost. We checked in at the Whispering Canyon and were seated quickly. We had a table against the back wall, which felt kind of removed from much of the action, but we still had a good time here. We made the mistake of asking for ketchup. Jessica was hysterical. Were still tempted to yell We need ketchup! in other restaurants.
Craig and I had the skillet dinner. The ribs and pulled pork were wonderful. The kids did the pony race and took the pledge to whine constantly (Ryan has that one down), ask for everything they see, (they both have that one nailed), and never to go to Universal Studios (hopefully they crossed their fingers for that part!). It was a rowdy, fun place to eat.
We walked around the lodge grounds for a bit this hotel still feels like home. We have to come back someday. We took the ferry to the Magic Kingdom, and since we promised Ryan a trip to Toontown, we headed there first. The wait for Barnstormer was 45 minutes, so we had to talk him out of that since we only had a couple hours until the park closed. We settled for visits to Minnie and Mickeys houses and some time running around Donalds boat, which actually had the water on for the first time (that weve seen) in years.
We headed for Fantasyland next. Most of the crowds had moved out to watch the first Spectromagic Parade, so Fantasyland wasnt too bad. We were able to see Philharmagic, ride the carousel, and ride the newly cleaned up Small World in quick succession. As we came out of Small world, Wishes was going on, so we stood and watched some of the fireworks. Its not the best vantage point behind the castle like that, but wed seen the show before and didnt want to join the masses on Main Street.
When the fireworks ended, we walked right on to the Haunted Mansion. I was glad to see Ryan get past his fear of these types of rides and enjoy himself on this one. If you ever want your child to go on Disneys Haunted Mansion, I suggest you steer clear of the ride with the same name at Knoebels amusement park in Pennsylvania. We made the mistake of taking him on there 2 years ago and he hasnt been willing to go any type of haunted ride since then. Poor kid.
We thought wed try our luck on the Jungle Cruise again in the hopes of getting a better skipper. This skipper had better English, but I think she was tired as it was a pretty uninspired narration. I dont think well ever top our skipper from our October girls trip. Someday well find her again so the boys can laugh their heads off like we did.
No one wanted to stick around for the late Spectromagic parade, so we thought wed beat the crowds to the docks. Unfortunately, a few hundred other people had the same idea. The longest wait of our entire summer trip would prove to be the nearly hour long wait for a ferry back to the Wilderness Lodge. We considered walking to the Contemporary, but I wasnt sure how late the Contemporary Lodge ferry ran and it was nearly 11PM. We even thought about abandoning our car at the Lodge and taking a bus straight back to the Beach Club. But we stuck it out. By the time the parade ended, the line for the ferry was all the way back to the turnstiles. I think they need a bigger boat
It was after midnight when we got back to the Beach Club. And we had an early fishing excursion in the morning. I dont know what I was thinking when I booked that after the Magic Kingdom night. It would be a short nights sleep!
