Go with the Flow....A Summer Trip to Remember! July 2012~ **Completed**

[Angies1274]

Yay for getting seats so close to the front of the Nemo show stage! As you may remember, it's not our favorite show so it's been a while since we've seen it.

Isn't it neat to hear others' conversations before and after they ride a new attraction! I love hearing the comments.


Ummmmm Ummmmm, I could go for some Pizzafari right now.

We were so happy to finally get a front seat at the Nemo show! I'm glad that we gave Pizzafari a try. We were really impressed!

I love hearing other people's reactions to first times on rides. Almost makes it new again for you too Nice seats for Nemo!

Oh and yeah, if you're taking orders.... I could go for some Pizzafari right now too

I completely agree about other people's reactions! We were laughing right along with them. It made the ride even more enjoyable!

Yum! Pizzafari....I wish! Although...I am making homemade pizza tonight. Just talking about it made me hungry for some pizza.



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I have my next update ready to go and was so proud of myself! Two days in a row.......except photobucket isn't cooperating and my images aren't showing up. Ugh! I'll try again later. Off to pick up the boy's from school.
​

 

[Angies1274]

“There's far too much to take in here….More to find than can ever be found.” Lion King



When I left off, we had just conquered EE, watched Noah get almost eaten by Bruce, grabbed fastpasses for the safari and made our way over to Pizzafari.

I can’t begin to tell you how happy we were to see that sign for Pizzafari and even happier to walk inside and feel the blast of cold air hit us in the face. The CM handed us a menu as we got into line. DH decided to try the Hot Italian-style sandwich with chips and a strawberry parfait. Nick and Noah decided on the Pepperoni Pizza w/ Caesar salad. Noah was very happy when they told him he could have the regular size pizza instead of the small pizza that comes with the kid’s meal. Lastly, I chose the Vegetable pizza with the salad and chocolate mousse for dessert.

After getting our meal, we made our way into the upside down room. The boys…being boys loved this room. The walls were covered with monkeys, snakes, and bats hanging from the ceiling. I thought for sure that I had gotten a picture but apparently I didn’t because it’s not on my camera. It was a very cool restaurant though. We really enjoyed our meal. DH loved his sandwich and how can you go wrong with kids and pizza. The boys gobbled their meal right up! All and all we were very happy with our choice to dine here.

Once we were finished eating, it was time to head back to Africa for the safari ride. Everyone was in a much better mood this time around! As we walked over to the fastpass entrance, we were happy to see that they were ready for use! Perfect timing!


Let the safari begin….

Hippos!

It was about this time in the ride, that Noah started becoming really frustrated with taking pictures. Honestly, I love the challenge of trying to get pictures on this ride but I’ve done it on every trip and this was his first time. I could definitely see how it could be frustrating for him because he was trying to get the perfect picture and then the truck would move and he would miss it. Anyway, he got so mad that he gave the camera to Nick and told him that he could do it.

He sat and pouted for a few minutes until he saw these.

They definitely perked him back up. He was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the ride.

I spy……..

A giraffe! My favorite! Unfortunately, they weren’t very close today and this is the best picture I could get.

The elephants were out though…..

I don’t know why I always get this angle…

A little better….

Nick did much better than I did

I got this one though….Aww….love this picture!!

I think this one is definitely my favorite though….I got the mickey shaped island, the birds and an elephant in the background.

Nick got this at some point. I’m not sure when.

And that was the end of our safari ride. Sadly, the Lion wasn’t out but it was still a great ride. The one thing we missed very much though was the “little red” storyline. It just wasn’t the same. It was the first thing Nick commented on while we were getting off the ride. “Mom, they forgot to rescue the little elephant.” He was sad when I told him they weren’t doing that anymore. But, on the bright side…we are looking forward to seeing the zebras on our next trip!

After our safari ride, we decided that we were going to head out for the day. We had accomplished everything that we had wanted to do this trip at AK. (with the exception of the parade…which we will get to one of these days!)

We wandered through a few gift shops and then made our way through the oasis.

We waited for Noah to get a picture--

Then we made our way out--

One last picture...since I didn't get it on the way in.

Good-bye until next time....

We made our way over to the bus stop and hopped on the first bus that pulled up which happened to be a POR bus. Although, it would have been nice to visit there especially since we are seriously thinking about trying it for our next trip. It wasn’t our destination on that particular day.

The plan was to head to Disney’s Winter Summerland to play some miniature golf!

Up Next- A little bit of rain, a little bit of sun and a whole lot of fun!!!

​

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Wait... they didn't replace the rescue of the baby elephant with another story? I was looking forward to hearing what the new story was!

You got some very nice safari pics... I like the one where the giraffes are trying to blend in to their surroundings

 

[solana131]

Yay! For Pizzafari....love that place.

I agree with you that the safari is just not the same without the whole "little red" story line. It is still great and all, but it is just like any other zoo safari (Busch Gardens, etc). What Disney does best is tell a story with their rides. It just wasn't as good. I think they could've found a way to incorporate the Zebras without taking the story out of the ride .

 

[TinksThree]

I am a little behind...okay a lot behind but I can't say much on your July 12th and July 13th days because...Holy Cow!!!!! We were practically in each others footpaths!!!!!! I looked and searched and can't believe we aren't in your pictures!! If I ever get to those days look hard in my pictures for your family! I mean seriously we were step for step at least in portions!!

I love EMH at Mk because the crowds are so low and you can accomplish so much! I loved the TSI pictures because I have not been there since I was 12 so I hope to make it in October!! Sorry Ohana got mix reviews but like we discussed before...I have got to get that recipe out and try making that dessert!!

Weren't the tour groups grand!? My TR is about to take a turn towards those lovely crowds!

I loved your pictures!! You have some beautiful ones of the castle! I was so far behind that it is kind of hard to not miss something I read!! Maybe I can keep caught up now!

 

[Angies1274]

Wait... they didn't replace the rescue of the baby elephant with another story? I was looking forward to hearing what the new story was!

You got some very nice safari pics... I like the one where the giraffes are trying to blend in to their surroundings

They hadn't replaced it when we were there. Of course, we loved seeing all the animals but it just wasn't the same without the "little red" storyline. We did get to see the new zebra habitat though which was really cool. I think that is supposed to open sometime this fall...right?

I was a little disappointed that I couldn't get any good close-ups of the giraffes. But, I'm still so happy that we got to see them.

Yay! For Pizzafari....love that place.

I agree with you that the safari is just not the same without the whole "little red" story line. It is still great and all, but it is just like any other zoo safari (Busch Gardens, etc). What Disney does best is tell a story with their rides. It just wasn't as good. I think they could've found a way to incorporate the Zebras without taking the story out of the ride .

Exactly! It was still a great ride but it was like any other zoo safari. We really missed that storyline within the ride.

I am a little behind...okay a lot behind but I can't say much on your July 12th and July 13th days because...Holy Cow!!!!! We were practically in each others footpaths!!!!!! I looked and searched and can't believe we aren't in your pictures!! If I ever get to those days look hard in my pictures for your family! I mean seriously we were step for step at least in portions!!

I love EMH at Mk because the crowds are so low and you can accomplish so much! I loved the TSI pictures because I have not been there since I was 12 so I hope to make it in October!! Sorry Ohana got mix reviews but like we discussed before...I have got to get that recipe out and try making that dessert!!

Weren't the tour groups grand!? My TR is about to take a turn towards those lovely crowds!

I loved your pictures!! You have some beautiful ones of the castle! I was so far behind that it is kind of hard to not miss something I read!! Maybe I can keep caught up now!

Hi!

Wow! I'm so excited to read your updates on the 12th and 13th now. I'll definitely keep a look out to see if we're in any of your pics.

I completely agree about EMH at MK! We love them! You can get so much done in that first hour.

I'm glad we tried Ohana. Although, it didn't get rave reviews from the boys, I think they would be willing to go back even if it's just for the dessert! Which I finally made last night and it turned out so good! The only thing I was missing was the spiced rum but even without it, it still tasted just like the bread pudding at Ohana. It makes a lot too! So, I'll probably pull it out again tonight for dessert.

Ugh! Tour groups. We noticed them so much on our MK days especially in the areas of the park that can get really congested like Frontierland. It was so hard to get around them!

 

[TinksThree]

I'm glad we tried Ohana. Although, it didn't get rave reviews from the boys, I think they would be willing to go back even if it's just for the dessert! Which I finally made last night and it turned out so good! The only thing I was missing was the spiced rum but even without it, it still tasted just like the bread pudding at Ohana. It makes a lot too! So, I'll probably pull it out again tonight for dessert.

Ugh! Tour groups. We noticed them so much on our MK days especially in the areas of the park that can get really congested like Frontierland. It was so hard to get around them!

I feel like a slacker! My recipe is still tacked on the fridge just waiting on me! Maybe you will inspire me to attempt it real soon!!

The MK tour group situation in Frontierland gets a focus in my TR!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Oh man....I'm playing catch up again!

But..I'm back on track now and so excited that you were able to spend the whole day at AK!

WOW...this was a trip of firsts! I'm so glad you loved Tom Sawyer Island! It is one of my boys' favorite places at the MK and it always surprises me when people say they don't go there. It's a little boy's dream...and with all the princess and fairy themed stuff everywhere else, it's a no brainer for us to visit there each trip.

Good for Noah for riding HM and Dinosaur! He was quite the daredevil this trip.

Oh...and do I even need to comment about the Carousel of Progress!! LOL! My boys surprised me too and it is now a MUST do on any MK day.

Really looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi Angie . I know I haven't posted any comments on your report, but I still am here, reading right along!! Love your safari pictures, but I also get frustrated with trying to take the best shots! I know exactly how your son feels and I, too, can pout with the best of them. I just wanted to let you know I'm still here!

 

[eandesmom]

great updates! What a wonderful time at Nemo, glad Noah didn't get eaten by Bruce!

Growly tummies make for cranky people and it's always worse when you are hot. Glad you found it and it had AC, and everyone liked their meal. Winner winner!

I didn't miss the little red storyline to be honest but didn't love seeing the construction, it was kind of an ugly end to the ride, visually. I"ll be curious to see how it looks in Oct. YAY for a double dip on EE!

 

[ellajeansmom]

Caught up again! Back to your MK day...glad that the swim revived Nick, the heat can really hit you harder than you expect - I was like that as a kid and Ella seems to be that way too. And he made it through HM too, good for him

Good for you to keep ahead of those tour groups, we ran into a huge school group one day on our last trip and they can really slow the lines down. We have yet to try Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl, both look fun. Although PW makes me nervous since I don't do well with spinning

Love the Nemo show, I was sad that we didn't get to it last time. A friend at work brought her 4 yr old in for a visit today, they were at WDW in May, and he was telling me all about the show and how big the puppets are and that Bruce would not eat me if I was a fish because fish are friends not food! It was too cute

Looking forward to hearing about mini-golf

 

[Angies1274]

I feel like a slacker! My recipe is still tacked on the fridge just waiting on me! Maybe you will inspire me to attempt it real soon!!

The MK tour group situation in Frontierland gets a focus in my TR!

I was the same way. I had that recipe hanging around just waiting on a couple ingredients. Finally, I just decided to make it one night and I'm so glad I did. (I think the boys were pretty happy too....since there isn't any left.) It was so yummy!! I took a picture so I'll try and post it really soon.

Oh man....I'm playing catch up again!

But..I'm back on track now and so excited that you were able to spend the whole day at AK!

WOW...this was a trip of firsts! I'm so glad you loved Tom Sawyer Island! It is one of my boys' favorite places at the MK and it always surprises me when people say they don't go there. It's a little boy's dream...and with all the princess and fairy themed stuff everywhere else, it's a no brainer for us to visit there each trip.

Good for Noah for riding HM and Dinosaur! He was quite the daredevil this trip.

Oh...and do I even need to comment about the Carousel of Progress!! LOL! My boys surprised me too and it is now a MUST do on any MK day.

Really looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

Hi Missy!

We accomplished a lot of firsts this trip and for the most part really enjoyed all the new stuff we tried. Of course, with Tom Sawyer Island being at the very top. The boys were just talking about it the other day. I don't know why it took us so long to get over there though. Well...actually I think it was the fact that I thought it would take a huge chunk of time out of our day and it really didn't. It was a nice break from the busy park.

Carousel of Progress is definitely a must-do for us from now on. I was so surprised that the boys enjoyed it so much especially Nick. He still says it was one of his favorites.

Hi Angie . I know I haven't posted any comments on your report, but I still am here, reading right along!! Love your safari pictures, but I also get frustrated with trying to take the best shots! I know exactly how your son feels and I, too, can pout with the best of them. I just wanted to let you know I'm still here!

Hi Ann!

I'm glad you're reading along. I love the safari ride but I completely understand about trying to get the best shot and some of those drivers rarely slow down so it's very difficult. Poor Noah...I felt so bad for him. He loves taking pictures so for him to hand the camera over to Nick meant he was pretty upset about the whole thing.

Yay! I see that you started a new PTR! I'll have to make my way over to check it out.

great updates! What a wonderful time at Nemo, glad Noah didn't get eaten by Bruce!

Growly tummies make for cranky people and it's always worse when you are hot. Glad you found it and it had AC, and everyone liked their meal. Winner winner!

I didn't miss the little red storyline to be honest but didn't love seeing the construction, it was kind of an ugly end to the ride, visually. I"ll be curious to see how it looks in Oct. YAY for a double dip on EE!

I know! It was so funny to see Noah's reaction to Bruce coming towards him.

We always enjoyed the little red storyline especially the boys. However, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad for us if they had replaced it with something else. I agree on the construction! It really wasn't very pretty to look at.

So happy that I was able to ride EE twice in a row!!

 

[Angies1274]

Caught up again! Back to your MK day...glad that the swim revived Nick, the heat can really hit you harder than you expect - I was like that as a kid and Ella seems to be that way too. And he made it through HM too, good for him

Good for you to keep ahead of those tour groups, we ran into a huge school group one day on our last trip and they can really slow the lines down. We have yet to try Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl, both look fun. Although PW makes me nervous since I don't do well with spinning

Love the Nemo show, I was sad that we didn't get to it last time. A friend at work brought her 4 yr old in for a visit today, they were at WDW in May, and he was telling me all about the show and how big the puppets are and that Bruce would not eat me if I was a fish because fish are friends not food! It was too cute

Looking forward to hearing about mini-golf

I'm so glad that Nick finally tried the HM. Although, I'm not sure he'll do it again...maybe? It just wasn't his thing. He'd rather take another ride on BTMRR if he had the choice.

The tour groups definitely made this trip a bit more stressful for us but we made it work.

I really don't do well with spinning rides either...especially the Mad Tea Cups. But, for some reason Primeval Whirl doesn't bother me too much. Well, except the fact that at some points it feels like you are going to go right off the track as you are turning around.

We missed Nemo too last trip which is why I wanted to make sure and catch it this time. Although, we love FOTLK as well. We never are able to hit both in the same visit. Too cute about the little boy at your work.

 

[DisMomAmy]

All caught up! Sounds like a fun night at MK (I love MK at night) and a nice morning at AK. Can't wait to hear about mini golf... that's something we've never done at Disney. Well... Tim & I did it back in 1997 but I can barely remember that!

 

[Angies1274]

All caught up! Sounds like a fun night at MK (I love MK at night) and a nice morning at AK. Can't wait to hear about mini golf... that's something we've never done at Disney. Well... Tim & I did it back in 1997 but I can barely remember that!

It was such a fun night at MK! I'm so glad that we were able to try so many new things this trip!

Mini golf update coming up next!

 

[Angies1274]

“We wish you a sizzling Christmas!”
(sorry I couldn't think of Disney song for this update and this is the first thing that came to mind when I remembered this day!)




When I left off, we had just enjoyed Kilimanjaro Safari and explored the Oasis before leaving Animal Kingdom for the day. Although, the original plans were to hang around for the parade, we decided because of the heat and the crowds that we were going to do something completely different that afternoon. Well….at least for us, since we had never tried this at Disney before. Mini-Golf!

Let me start out by saying how much my family enjoys playing miniature golf. We usually find a course to play no matter where we vacation. We love it! It’s actually surprising that it took us 5 visits to Disney before we decided to try Winter Summerland.

After leaving Animal Kingdom, we made our way over to the bus stop and hopped on the first bus that pulled up which happened to be a POR bus.

A short bus ride later, we were pulling into Blizzard Beach/ Winter Summerland. Since we had never been here before I was a little worried about the walking distance between the two places but we were delighted to find that it was right next to it and so easy to find. We saw it as we got off the bus!

A little background information on the place from the Disney website.....​

"Late one moonlit Christmas Eve, as Santa was flying over Florida on his way back to the North Pole, he glanced down and discovered snow in a place that is usually hot. After surveying the strange location, he decided to build a vacation destination for his off-duty elves—a Winter Summerland.

Seeing that the only thing Winter Summerland lacked was a golf course, the Santa Claus and his elves divided into two camps, one that enjoyed the warm Florida sun and another that preferred the snow and cold of the North Pole. The elves then built two distinctly different 18–hole golf experiences — a sand course and a snow course."​

We had talked about it before the trip and decided that we wanted to do the summer course. Although, I’m sure the winter course was really cute as well. Being from the north, we try to avoid all mention of winter or snow during the summer months.

The castle on the winter side looked pretty cute though…..

Santa looks ready for some fun in the sun

We got our golf clubs and chose the color of our golf balls and made our way over to the course.
Noah was up first….

Followed by Nick….

There were different interactive features around the course that were so much fun.

Another castle….so cute!

It was about at this point that the heat was really starting to get to us. It was so hot that afternoon and although we got a little bit of rain when we first started playing (well…actually more like a sprinkle) it wasn’t enough to cool things down. At the park, you can always duck into an air-conditioned building but there was no place to go here and there was very little shade. But, we continued on…..

Overall, mini-golf was a lot of fun and I’m so glad we gave it try. However, if we decide to go again we’ll probably plan it for an evening activity because it was so hot in the afternoon. The one good thing about the afternoon though is that it wasn’t that busy. I think we were the only ones doing the summer course so we didn’t have to hurry.

If you are looking for something fun and inexpensive to do while at Disney, I would definitely recommend this course. After using the discount that came with our vacation package it was about $30-35 dollars for all of us.
After our game, we decided to grab something to drink and sit on one of the benches to relax a minute. The boys spotted a penny press and wanted to get one since we had started collecting them at the beginning of the trip. Our goal for this trip was to get one from every park we visited. Our plan is to keep adding to the collection each trip.

Anyway, after our short rest we made it back to the bus stop for Pop Century. The plan for the evening was to RELAX! Also, maybe do some shopping, let the boys play in the arcade and walk around the resort.


Up Next—My attempt at the 'Ohana bread pudding recipe (real life update) and a walk around Pop Century…..​

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Yay for mini golf! Demetri remembers the fun he had mini golfing with Alex in 2010 and asked to go it again this trip, but we couldn't fit it in. I've never been (in Disney) and I'd love to squeeze it into next year's trip but DH wants to go in August so I'm really liking your evening suggestion.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm so glad that you posted this last installment! I've always wondered what the Winter Summerland mini-golf course looked like. In all of the years that we've gone to Disney, we've never played one of the Disney mini-golf courses. After looking at your pictures, I've decided we need to give it a try. It looks like fun!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Yay, glad you finally got over to Winter Summerland! I've always thought the winter course was easier-it seemed like they funnel your ball into the hole. LOL. So maybe it was good you did the summer one.

Collecting the pressed pennies is a lot of fun too. Did you get one of the little books to keep them in?

 

[solana131]

That course looks really fun! But I can see how it would be super hot in the afternoon. We are going next time in Nov, so maybe it will be cool enough then for us to try it out