Minnie_Moo
Moos-keteer
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DTD, 
the pic of the two Donalds!!!
Hmmmm, never heard of the YUM! restaurant chain
the pic of the two Donalds!!!Hmmmm, never heard of the YUM! restaurant chain
Half a Ton of Big Guys Take on the World
- Thread starter DonaldTDuck
- Start date
UtahMama
Wakey, wakey, Eggs and Bakey<br><img src=http://ww
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Get Smart Reference: "Missed 'im by that much" What do I win???? 
Plus, don't think I didn't notice the capitalized "DIET COKE" Uh Huh!
You are a brave, brave man! Your punishment is a time-out in the Cone Of Silence. 
Did any of you toss-your-cookies from riding Orange? I prefer the Green side, being a semi-wussy and all.
Plus, don't think I didn't notice the capitalized "DIET COKE" Uh Huh!
You are a brave, brave man! Your punishment is a time-out in the Cone Of Silence. Did any of you toss-your-cookies from riding Orange? I prefer the Green side, being a semi-wussy and all.
monymony3471
DIS Veteran
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- May 17, 2005
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Get Smart Reference: "Missed 'im by that much" What do I win????
Plus, don't think I didn't notice the capitalized "DIET COKE" Uh Huh!
Did any of you toss-your-cookies from riding Orange? I prefer the Green side, being a semi-wussy and all.
I'm afraid I'd toss my cookies on the Green side.
DonaldTDuck
DIS Veteran
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We didn't mind the wait, the bar is a blast. And finding a new beer like Yuengling was a treat. Does hubby qualify as a Big Guy? We'll take him along next time.
Yum is the umbrella for Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silvers and A&W.DTD,
Hmmmm, never heard of the YUM! restaurant chain
Would you believe you've won an all expense paid 10 day Disney vacation? Would you believe a 5 day Park Hopper? How 'bout an expired fast pass?Get Smart Reference: "Missed 'im by that much" What do I win????
Plus, don't think I didn't notice the capitalized "DIET COKE" Uh Huh!
Did any of you toss-your-cookies from riding Orange? I prefer the Green side, being a semi-wussy and all.
No cookies tossed, but general quesiness.
I wore a Donald shirt 5 of our 7 days. First day I wore a lime green Mickey head tshirt(tradition), and not one comment. The last day I wore, well, you'll have to wait on that. I picked the tiger pick for abuddy that's a Bengals fan.
DonaldTDuck
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We left (the real)Donald behind and called Pluto and Mickey, but they were still eating. We said to meet us at the American Pavilion. I love this place. If I ever lose my mind completely and plan a Disney vacation in July, it would have to center around the Fourth and the American Pavilion at Epcot. I've celebrated Independence Day lots of ways, but none of it has held a candle to the patriotic feeling I get at Epcot. Only two other events have done this; the show at Opryland called For Me and My Gal, the story of George M. Cohan had a patritic finale(of course) that was wonderful, and the first time I visited Pearl Harbor I became one giant goose bump.
Goofy(our veteran in the group) and I arrive just moments before the Fife and Drum Corps arrives. The picture doesn't do them justice. They are a precision drill team that provide their own musical accompaniment. I swear the leader, with his long ponytailed wig, always gives me a look like he thinks I need a haircut. Bless his heart.
The F&D Corps finishes their all too brief show and Pluto and Mickey are still no shows, so Goofy, who was enthralled, and I go in to see the Voices of Liberty. I could listen all day. The shows are timed so that there's about 10 minutes between the end of Fife and Drum and the start of VoL, then about 10 more until The American Adventure begins, so it takes about 1 and a half hours to see it all. More than a rite of pasage, it's like a perk for being an American. Anyway, just after VoL begin singing, Mickey and Pluto show up. Both are disappointed in missing part of this trilogy, but make the best of it. VoL do their usual fantastic job, then we walk upstairs, past all those cool statues representing American values. Then Ben and Mark come out and review our history with us. I love that our nation has such historical 'characters' that can tell the story without a political overtone. And the multimedia show changes quickly and is not nearly as condusive to sleep as HoP. Although I have napped in the past.
We decide to start back toward the entrance and see the acrobats at China.
These tiny athletes amaze me. Of course, balance has never been my strong suit. Walking and chewing gum is always an adventure. This is just out of the question.
We've worked up a sweat, so I suggest a boat ride. One starring these guys.
This ride is just what it is. Others have complained about the changes, but most of what left was ancient film of stereotypes and nothing special. Now there's a story of sorts and of course, Donald and his buddies Jose and Panchito. I suppose most have not seen the movie, but I found a copy and watched before we went, and it is terrific and the ride is true to the film. Daisy would not have been amused by Donald's behavior in either. What a skirt chaser! Did I mention he's my hero? They still end the ride with the fireworks show, and it's still cheesy and fun.
Back outside, it's getting hotter. I decide it's time to start the drinking around the world, and opt for the margarita. The 2 lovely senoritas poured one that was like an icee in that it was over the top of the cup. And was this thing strong! And goog. I sipped on it as we walked and as we went by Norway, Spelmanns Gledje began to set up.
We grabbed some wall and sat and watched. This is supposedly traditional Scandinavian music, but it looks and sounds a lot like goog old country music to me. A very nice show. About 15 minutes in, the margarita is about gone, and the brain freeze is on with a vengeance. So we head out of the sun to the surprisingly long line for Maelstrom. I like this ride, but a twenty minute wait on a slow September day? Well, at least it's air conditioned. And the ride is cool, if not a thrill ride. Upon exiting, I say to Mickey, I think you need to go to church. Huh? I take them to the replica Stave Church. Funny how in the middle of WDW, you can get reverent in about a nanosecond. We only stayed a few minutes, but I like that calm moment.
On to Canada. They had just reopened O Canada with a new movie featuring Martin Short. I always liked the old movie, but it was time for a change. And Short is hilarious. Parts of the film are unchanged, and his commentary over it is priceless. The scenes of Pee Wee hockey he claims is of him, and how lucky Disney was that someone had a Circlevision 360 camera handy to record the moment.
Time for another drink, and back to beer. We're in Canada, so it's LaBatt's time. And how better to enjoy that brewski but to grab some bench and watch Off Kilter. Now, all this catching shows 'just in time' was not left up to chance. I had a notebook with showtimes from Steve Soares, so we were always a few minutes ahead of the crowd. We got great seats. This show only gets better every year. We knew we'd return for a few minutes on Friday. It's now the heat of the day, so we head to the pub. Guinness, please. The others had Stella, except Goofy, who asked me what he should order since he is a lager drinker that doesn't like a lot of other beers. I point him to Harp, and it was love. The prospects of drinking around the world always dies here because of the wonderful beers, ales and stouts here and the atmosphere in the bar. We finish one and get one to go; it's time for The British Invasion. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Do You Want to Know a Secret? I love the Beatles. And HELP was on the way.(I could make these bad jokes all night, but I'll Let It Be)
After the show, we head around to the front where the World Shwcase Players are entertaining. This version was mostly to the half dozen kids in the audience, about the first time I really noticed kids all day. It is September, and Tuesday, but still. You'd think you'd see preschoolers anyway. We decide to split, but the street and sidewalks are full, so we head back to the stage to go around and run into Alice, but no one was ready with a camera. She had two kids with her. Maybe the locals had shwon up after school. But we saw lots of kids the rest of the night.
It's now almost 6 and we have a 6:25 ADR for Biergarten, so we hustle over to Germany.
We get there and have a short wait, so Goofy strikes up a conversation, as he always does, with strangers who it turns out, are from Louisville. We have a few minutes of old home week, then get called and go in. We're seated with 2 young couples. One pair is 'in love', the other is married. The first may have been, but they were in their own world. The other were Disney vets and offfered suggestions on what to get. Two words for future reference; pork schnitzels. German for chicken fried pork. Pretzel bread, cold sausages, roast chicken, all goog. I knew someone would say it, Goofy did. "The wurst salad is the best." Everything was great,... except the beer. It was Spaten Optimator, a dark beer. I love dark beer, but this stuff stunk. It was bitter with no bite. I had had Beck Dark here before, but alas, it was off the menu. Oh well, I'd had enough already, so no great loss. But next time, I'll likely play it safe. Not what I like to do with beer. Oh yeah, the dance floor was littered with kids.
When we left, it was time to find a goog viewing spot for Illuminations. Where did all these people come from? And all with kids. did we miss something? We ended up near the dock by Mexico. We were behind the wall that's too high for many. It started to drizzle. But the show went on. And the view we had turned out to be excellent. I usually am in front of Germany or over by France, so I saw things a little differently this time. Still my least favorite of the evening extravaganzas, but quite worthy. With the finale, we head to the front ahead of the crowd and get the second bus back and have a little impromptu party in the room. I just had Diet Coke and Gatorade(not mixed). I'd had enough alcohol for one day.
Next, breakfast with Donald and Animal Kingdom
Goofy(our veteran in the group) and I arrive just moments before the Fife and Drum Corps arrives. The picture doesn't do them justice. They are a precision drill team that provide their own musical accompaniment. I swear the leader, with his long ponytailed wig, always gives me a look like he thinks I need a haircut. Bless his heart.
The F&D Corps finishes their all too brief show and Pluto and Mickey are still no shows, so Goofy, who was enthralled, and I go in to see the Voices of Liberty. I could listen all day. The shows are timed so that there's about 10 minutes between the end of Fife and Drum and the start of VoL, then about 10 more until The American Adventure begins, so it takes about 1 and a half hours to see it all. More than a rite of pasage, it's like a perk for being an American. Anyway, just after VoL begin singing, Mickey and Pluto show up. Both are disappointed in missing part of this trilogy, but make the best of it. VoL do their usual fantastic job, then we walk upstairs, past all those cool statues representing American values. Then Ben and Mark come out and review our history with us. I love that our nation has such historical 'characters' that can tell the story without a political overtone. And the multimedia show changes quickly and is not nearly as condusive to sleep as HoP. Although I have napped in the past.
We decide to start back toward the entrance and see the acrobats at China.
These tiny athletes amaze me. Of course, balance has never been my strong suit. Walking and chewing gum is always an adventure. This is just out of the question.
We've worked up a sweat, so I suggest a boat ride. One starring these guys.
This ride is just what it is. Others have complained about the changes, but most of what left was ancient film of stereotypes and nothing special. Now there's a story of sorts and of course, Donald and his buddies Jose and Panchito. I suppose most have not seen the movie, but I found a copy and watched before we went, and it is terrific and the ride is true to the film. Daisy would not have been amused by Donald's behavior in either. What a skirt chaser! Did I mention he's my hero? They still end the ride with the fireworks show, and it's still cheesy and fun.
Back outside, it's getting hotter. I decide it's time to start the drinking around the world, and opt for the margarita. The 2 lovely senoritas poured one that was like an icee in that it was over the top of the cup. And was this thing strong! And goog. I sipped on it as we walked and as we went by Norway, Spelmanns Gledje began to set up.
We grabbed some wall and sat and watched. This is supposedly traditional Scandinavian music, but it looks and sounds a lot like goog old country music to me. A very nice show. About 15 minutes in, the margarita is about gone, and the brain freeze is on with a vengeance. So we head out of the sun to the surprisingly long line for Maelstrom. I like this ride, but a twenty minute wait on a slow September day? Well, at least it's air conditioned. And the ride is cool, if not a thrill ride. Upon exiting, I say to Mickey, I think you need to go to church. Huh? I take them to the replica Stave Church. Funny how in the middle of WDW, you can get reverent in about a nanosecond. We only stayed a few minutes, but I like that calm moment.
On to Canada. They had just reopened O Canada with a new movie featuring Martin Short. I always liked the old movie, but it was time for a change. And Short is hilarious. Parts of the film are unchanged, and his commentary over it is priceless. The scenes of Pee Wee hockey he claims is of him, and how lucky Disney was that someone had a Circlevision 360 camera handy to record the moment.
Time for another drink, and back to beer. We're in Canada, so it's LaBatt's time. And how better to enjoy that brewski but to grab some bench and watch Off Kilter. Now, all this catching shows 'just in time' was not left up to chance. I had a notebook with showtimes from Steve Soares, so we were always a few minutes ahead of the crowd. We got great seats. This show only gets better every year. We knew we'd return for a few minutes on Friday. It's now the heat of the day, so we head to the pub. Guinness, please. The others had Stella, except Goofy, who asked me what he should order since he is a lager drinker that doesn't like a lot of other beers. I point him to Harp, and it was love. The prospects of drinking around the world always dies here because of the wonderful beers, ales and stouts here and the atmosphere in the bar. We finish one and get one to go; it's time for The British Invasion. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Do You Want to Know a Secret? I love the Beatles. And HELP was on the way.(I could make these bad jokes all night, but I'll Let It Be)
After the show, we head around to the front where the World Shwcase Players are entertaining. This version was mostly to the half dozen kids in the audience, about the first time I really noticed kids all day. It is September, and Tuesday, but still. You'd think you'd see preschoolers anyway. We decide to split, but the street and sidewalks are full, so we head back to the stage to go around and run into Alice, but no one was ready with a camera. She had two kids with her. Maybe the locals had shwon up after school. But we saw lots of kids the rest of the night.
It's now almost 6 and we have a 6:25 ADR for Biergarten, so we hustle over to Germany.
We get there and have a short wait, so Goofy strikes up a conversation, as he always does, with strangers who it turns out, are from Louisville. We have a few minutes of old home week, then get called and go in. We're seated with 2 young couples. One pair is 'in love', the other is married. The first may have been, but they were in their own world. The other were Disney vets and offfered suggestions on what to get. Two words for future reference; pork schnitzels. German for chicken fried pork. Pretzel bread, cold sausages, roast chicken, all goog. I knew someone would say it, Goofy did. "The wurst salad is the best." Everything was great,... except the beer. It was Spaten Optimator, a dark beer. I love dark beer, but this stuff stunk. It was bitter with no bite. I had had Beck Dark here before, but alas, it was off the menu. Oh well, I'd had enough already, so no great loss. But next time, I'll likely play it safe. Not what I like to do with beer. Oh yeah, the dance floor was littered with kids.
When we left, it was time to find a goog viewing spot for Illuminations. Where did all these people come from? And all with kids. did we miss something? We ended up near the dock by Mexico. We were behind the wall that's too high for many. It started to drizzle. But the show went on. And the view we had turned out to be excellent. I usually am in front of Germany or over by France, so I saw things a little differently this time. Still my least favorite of the evening extravaganzas, but quite worthy. With the finale, we head to the front ahead of the crowd and get the second bus back and have a little impromptu party in the room. I just had Diet Coke and Gatorade(not mixed). I'd had enough alcohol for one day.
Next, breakfast with Donald and Animal Kingdom
monymony3471
DIS Veteran
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- May 17, 2005
- Messages
- 7,027
My hubby is half a big guy at times, but put some meat in front of him and he can put it away. Likes him some beer too.
We ate at Biergarten last time too. My son fell in love with the pork schnitzels. He piled his plate with them. He just cracked me up. It was the one rest. he could eat something totally off his usual kid fare crap that he wasn't allergic to. Amazing. He's a half pint working his way to a big guy.
Actually the skinniest runt you'll ever see.
Those singers are amazing. I spoke highly of them in my report too. You took me back.
Did you get to see them play those long horn thingies?
We ate at Biergarten last time too. My son fell in love with the pork schnitzels. He piled his plate with them. He just cracked me up. It was the one rest. he could eat something totally off his usual kid fare crap that he wasn't allergic to. Amazing. He's a half pint working his way to a big guy.
Actually the skinniest runt you'll ever see.
Those singers are amazing. I spoke highly of them in my report too. You took me back.
Did you get to see them play those long horn thingies?
/
UtahMama
Wakey, wakey, Eggs and Bakey<br><img src=http://ww
- Joined
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- Messages
- 9,743
I really love World Showcase! I never make the shows on time so I need to have a schedule next time!
Being full-on German, I do love Biergarten and it's pretzel bread. Everything is good there or at least f[I]un[/I] to try. Germany is our IllumiNations spot too...at the dock-like places with tables.
I had to excuse myself from the American show with a screamer-3 year old, so I have yet to see this!
My boys liked it though.
Great chapter Donald! You skirt-chasing-Beatles-lover, you!
Being full-on German, I do love Biergarten and it's pretzel bread. Everything is good there or at least f[I]un[/I] to try. Germany is our IllumiNations spot too...at the dock-like places with tables.
I had to excuse myself from the American show with a screamer-3 year old, so I have yet to see this!
My boys liked it though.
Great chapter Donald! You skirt-chasing-Beatles-lover, you!
Minnie_Moo
Moos-keteer
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2006
- Messages
- 5,760
Mmmmmm, gotta love those margaritas at Mexico!!! I still can't believe I waited until this past trip in September to try them 
Here is my big guy enjoying one . . .
Nice installment, DTD!
Here is my big guy enjoying one . . .
Nice installment, DTD!
monymony3471
DIS Veteran
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Ya, don't be like other TR writers we know.
DonaldTDuck
DIS Veteran
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I've tried all day to write and it all sounds so blah. I've started over twice. I promise my next post will be a report. Notice the number, it should be something worthy.
Mony- maybe your dh could go with us and because he's so tiny, we can convince Disney he's a child. Probbly not. NO long horn thingies at the Biergarten this time, although my first trip there back in '86 they used them. It was one long continuous show then and my buddy danced for an hour with one of the showgirls.
DL55, you've got to see Off Kilter. It's a great sound and they play some terrific music. Plus, they're total loons.
Moo- Our marguerita maid was named Ale, I should have taken the hint.
Uma-Steve Soares made me look like a genius the whole trip. We 'wondered' right into the start of shows several times. I just jotted likely times down on my ADR sheet for each day.
Mony- maybe your dh could go with us and because he's so tiny, we can convince Disney he's a child. Probbly not. NO long horn thingies at the Biergarten this time, although my first trip there back in '86 they used them. It was one long continuous show then and my buddy danced for an hour with one of the showgirls.
DL55, you've got to see Off Kilter. It's a great sound and they play some terrific music. Plus, they're total loons.
Moo- Our marguerita maid was named Ale, I should have taken the hint.
Uma-Steve Soares made me look like a genius the whole trip. We 'wondered' right into the start of shows several times. I just jotted likely times down on my ADR sheet for each day.
monymony3471
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 17, 2005
- Messages
- 7,027
Oh DTD you are so close to 1000!
Oh where will your next post be?
HMMMMMMMMMMMM......
You are always funny. Just start typing, be the fingers, it will come.
Oh where will your next post be?
HMMMMMMMMMMMM......
You are always funny. Just start typing, be the fingers, it will come.
DonaldTDuck
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2006
- Messages
- 3,541
Sorry for the long delay. Christmas, new great nephew, etc. Oko. I got lazy.
Wednesday morning we were up early to head to Animal Kingdom. We're up by 6:45 and at the bus stop by 7:15. The bus arrives at 7:30 and we're at the park in 10 minutes. No snags at the front, and we're at Donald's Breakfastsaurus with 10 minutes to spare. This is one of the places that insists on a premeal picture, so we lined up, took it and mooved on. No way big hairy guys are paying 20 bucks for one of those.
The food was excellent.
The characters were ---meh. They came around at full speed, one after another. Last year we had so much fun, but this year it was hug, snap a pic, move on.
So I'll tell ya about last year. I was sith the ex-dgf and I was ready with my Donald tshirt, Donald hat and vintage Donald watch. When Donald came in, he saw my shirt and gave me a thumbs up. Then he came over and took my hat. Well, at this point I told him to check out my watch, and he went nuts. Ran and got Goofy and Pluto to show them. they acted impressed. That mouse guy wasn't there yet, wanted to be fashionably late and get the star treatment. When he came in, Donald ran up to him, pointed at me, then madee motions about my shirt. Then he pointed at himself. Mickey shook his head. Then he pointed at my hat and at himself. Mickey nodded. Then Donald pointed at his wrist, then at mine, then at himself. Mickey put his hand over his mouth and acted horrified. Then he walked by us with his nose in the air and his head turned. He never visited our table, but made sure to walk by several times, always with his nose up. And Donald strutted all over the restaurant as only Donald can.
We finished our delicious but unmemorable meal and headed to Expedition Everest. We rode and got right back in line. Our Mickey said we had to ride this many times. Everyone was on board with that. When we got on the second time, I got in the back of train line. This is the best seat in the house. During the backward part, you are in front and get the full helix effect. And on the way out, you feel like you might bounce right up to the Yeti. The line is starting to grow, so we get fast passes and head to the Safari.
When we got in line for the Safari, there was no one in sight in the line, so we jumped in. The sign said 15 minutes. This is the only sign that said the wait was shorter than actual all week. We went around the first bend and wall to wall humanity.
Everyone wanted to ride the Safari early. And no wonder, with the Dis telling everyone to. But there are tvs with all the usual man is bad, animals are great carp, but with great footage. We had a goog guide and the ride great. The story line has been toned down quite a bit, but as Western Kentucky grads we would have been bitterly disappointed has we not seen Big Red. Although we usually think of his as looking more like this.
As you exit the ride, the start of the Pangini trail greets you, and since I'd never done the trails, we hit it. Many of the animals were no shows, but those dang birds were there. We did get to watch Meerkat Manor Live and the biggie, the gorillas were up and about.
As noted above, I don't care much for birds. Blame Alfred Hitchcock. But everyone wanted to see the Wonders of Flight, so I sucked it in. I'm glad I did. I knew Disney would do it well, but didn't think it would be that funny. Our very confused tour guide tried to lead us to safety, but the guys wouldn't follow him. The surprise of the show was that it wasn't all man's fault. The bird handler cm talked about what man had done to the bird's habitat and what he'd done to restore it. And we and our guide learned oh uh, well, I'm sure we learned something.
Dang, it's hot. Hot enough to convince Mickey to ride Kali? Gotta try. Hey Mick, there's no line! Mickey hems and haws, but we get in line. I was sweating and ready to get soaked. Goofy and Pluto were up for it. Mickey was not thrilled with the idea. Need I tell you who got soaked.
Mickey after the first ride
I was dry as a bone. Of course, during the ride we learned it was all man's fault.
As we exit, Mickey says we may as well do it again. So we hop the rope and are back on it 2 minutes.
We get in and my seatbelt won't fasten. We yell at the cm, but he doesn't understand what we're saying. So I ride unbelted. No safety system check here. I kept waiting for them to stop the ride and chew us out or toss us
but no one noticed. Or they're shy about stopping the ride now. We get to the spot where the water gets rough and I spin right to the back, the high spot that misses the water. I did get a little on my pants, right where folks would wonder if I had a problem. This time Goofy and Pluto got as wet as Mickey. Twice in a row was enough, for now.
We decide that we won't be going to Rafiki's Planet Watch'we already knew it was man's fault- so we decided to do the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We had seen that they were doing some construction on the monkey areas, but we still saw plenty. Those really loud monkeys were feuding with the construction workers. The Komodo Dragon was actually awake, but still moved very little. The bats were interesting, but disgusting. I know, they're not birds, but does that really help? But the highlight was the big cats. Especially the panthera tigris. A friend uses that in his email address, so that caught our attention. He's a Bengal's fan and these cats are definitely kin. There were deveral kinds of deer, but they won't let you eat them, so what's the point? There were no guide sheets available for the birds at the end so we don't know what we saw. But I'm sure it was man's fault they were missing.
Why, look where the Trek ends.
Within sight of Everest. We go to use our fast passes, but there is no line. I mean NO line. We walk on and I walk right to the front and get the front seats. You could literally pick your seat, although some think you shouldn't in public. The front, the Holy Grail of roller coaster seats. There for the taking.
The front seat offers a unique and scary view of the bridge crossing,
but that was nothing. We get to the broken track, and come to a stop. For about 10 seconds. And in front, you can see almost straight down. Not a highlight for moi. then you go backward, but now you're in back and it seems so much slower. Then you go forward and you are that close to the Yeti. That made it worth it to ride up front. But I far preferred the back. We rode again, then spent some time in the gift shop. No we weren't shopping; Mickey needed a new camera stick thingie. After 20 minutes it was determined that they didn't carry the one he needed.
So we headed on. It was time for Nemo. But when we arrived, the line was all the way to Dinoland. We got in line, but after a few minutes, a cast member told us we were about 100 people from the cutoff point. So on to Primeval Whirl. Mickey chose to sit this out, I made fun. We rode, and it was 10 times rougher than I remembered. I'll do it again, but I hope it's in a less weighted down car. And some of the less weight is mine.
We find Mickey, and he had found his camera stick at the kiosk between PW and Triceratop Spin. We decided TS was enough like Magic Carpets, so we skipped it. On to Dinosaur. This is a ride whose thrill alludes me. It's all right, but other than a lot of volume, it's like riding in a '67 Corvair. Bumpy and seemingly on the verge of breaking at any minute. The dinosaurs seem like audioanimatronics. The ones at Ellen's are scarier. I shouldn't be so negative, I really like the preride show. And the ride is fine, just not exciting for me. The guys liked it though.
We went to Hester and Chester's, probably the best shop at WDW. Candies of every type! I believe the fact that we all had to get some was a clue it was time to head out of Dinoland the other way, and head for lunch. And there's only one place for lunch at AK for me.
Next time, we get flamed and bugged.
Wednesday morning we were up early to head to Animal Kingdom. We're up by 6:45 and at the bus stop by 7:15. The bus arrives at 7:30 and we're at the park in 10 minutes. No snags at the front, and we're at Donald's Breakfastsaurus with 10 minutes to spare. This is one of the places that insists on a premeal picture, so we lined up, took it and mooved on. No way big hairy guys are paying 20 bucks for one of those.
The food was excellent.
The characters were ---meh. They came around at full speed, one after another. Last year we had so much fun, but this year it was hug, snap a pic, move on.
So I'll tell ya about last year. I was sith the ex-dgf and I was ready with my Donald tshirt, Donald hat and vintage Donald watch. When Donald came in, he saw my shirt and gave me a thumbs up. Then he came over and took my hat. Well, at this point I told him to check out my watch, and he went nuts. Ran and got Goofy and Pluto to show them. they acted impressed. That mouse guy wasn't there yet, wanted to be fashionably late and get the star treatment. When he came in, Donald ran up to him, pointed at me, then madee motions about my shirt. Then he pointed at himself. Mickey shook his head. Then he pointed at my hat and at himself. Mickey nodded. Then Donald pointed at his wrist, then at mine, then at himself. Mickey put his hand over his mouth and acted horrified. Then he walked by us with his nose in the air and his head turned. He never visited our table, but made sure to walk by several times, always with his nose up. And Donald strutted all over the restaurant as only Donald can.
We finished our delicious but unmemorable meal and headed to Expedition Everest. We rode and got right back in line. Our Mickey said we had to ride this many times. Everyone was on board with that. When we got on the second time, I got in the back of train line. This is the best seat in the house. During the backward part, you are in front and get the full helix effect. And on the way out, you feel like you might bounce right up to the Yeti. The line is starting to grow, so we get fast passes and head to the Safari.
When we got in line for the Safari, there was no one in sight in the line, so we jumped in. The sign said 15 minutes. This is the only sign that said the wait was shorter than actual all week. We went around the first bend and wall to wall humanity.
Everyone wanted to ride the Safari early. And no wonder, with the Dis telling everyone to. But there are tvs with all the usual man is bad, animals are great carp, but with great footage. We had a goog guide and the ride great. The story line has been toned down quite a bit, but as Western Kentucky grads we would have been bitterly disappointed has we not seen Big Red. Although we usually think of his as looking more like this.
As you exit the ride, the start of the Pangini trail greets you, and since I'd never done the trails, we hit it. Many of the animals were no shows, but those dang birds were there. We did get to watch Meerkat Manor Live and the biggie, the gorillas were up and about.
As noted above, I don't care much for birds. Blame Alfred Hitchcock. But everyone wanted to see the Wonders of Flight, so I sucked it in. I'm glad I did. I knew Disney would do it well, but didn't think it would be that funny. Our very confused tour guide tried to lead us to safety, but the guys wouldn't follow him. The surprise of the show was that it wasn't all man's fault. The bird handler cm talked about what man had done to the bird's habitat and what he'd done to restore it. And we and our guide learned oh uh, well, I'm sure we learned something.
Dang, it's hot. Hot enough to convince Mickey to ride Kali? Gotta try. Hey Mick, there's no line! Mickey hems and haws, but we get in line. I was sweating and ready to get soaked. Goofy and Pluto were up for it. Mickey was not thrilled with the idea. Need I tell you who got soaked.
Mickey after the first ride
I was dry as a bone. Of course, during the ride we learned it was all man's fault.
As we exit, Mickey says we may as well do it again. So we hop the rope and are back on it 2 minutes.
We get in and my seatbelt won't fasten. We yell at the cm, but he doesn't understand what we're saying. So I ride unbelted. No safety system check here. I kept waiting for them to stop the ride and chew us out or toss us
but no one noticed. Or they're shy about stopping the ride now. We get to the spot where the water gets rough and I spin right to the back, the high spot that misses the water. I did get a little on my pants, right where folks would wonder if I had a problem. This time Goofy and Pluto got as wet as Mickey. Twice in a row was enough, for now.
We decide that we won't be going to Rafiki's Planet Watch'we already knew it was man's fault- so we decided to do the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We had seen that they were doing some construction on the monkey areas, but we still saw plenty. Those really loud monkeys were feuding with the construction workers. The Komodo Dragon was actually awake, but still moved very little. The bats were interesting, but disgusting. I know, they're not birds, but does that really help? But the highlight was the big cats. Especially the panthera tigris. A friend uses that in his email address, so that caught our attention. He's a Bengal's fan and these cats are definitely kin. There were deveral kinds of deer, but they won't let you eat them, so what's the point? There were no guide sheets available for the birds at the end so we don't know what we saw. But I'm sure it was man's fault they were missing.
Why, look where the Trek ends.
Within sight of Everest. We go to use our fast passes, but there is no line. I mean NO line. We walk on and I walk right to the front and get the front seats. You could literally pick your seat, although some think you shouldn't in public. The front, the Holy Grail of roller coaster seats. There for the taking.
The front seat offers a unique and scary view of the bridge crossing,
but that was nothing. We get to the broken track, and come to a stop. For about 10 seconds. And in front, you can see almost straight down. Not a highlight for moi. then you go backward, but now you're in back and it seems so much slower. Then you go forward and you are that close to the Yeti. That made it worth it to ride up front. But I far preferred the back. We rode again, then spent some time in the gift shop. No we weren't shopping; Mickey needed a new camera stick thingie. After 20 minutes it was determined that they didn't carry the one he needed.
So we headed on. It was time for Nemo. But when we arrived, the line was all the way to Dinoland. We got in line, but after a few minutes, a cast member told us we were about 100 people from the cutoff point. So on to Primeval Whirl. Mickey chose to sit this out, I made fun. We rode, and it was 10 times rougher than I remembered. I'll do it again, but I hope it's in a less weighted down car. And some of the less weight is mine.
We find Mickey, and he had found his camera stick at the kiosk between PW and Triceratop Spin. We decided TS was enough like Magic Carpets, so we skipped it. On to Dinosaur. This is a ride whose thrill alludes me. It's all right, but other than a lot of volume, it's like riding in a '67 Corvair. Bumpy and seemingly on the verge of breaking at any minute. The dinosaurs seem like audioanimatronics. The ones at Ellen's are scarier. I shouldn't be so negative, I really like the preride show. And the ride is fine, just not exciting for me. The guys liked it though.
We went to Hester and Chester's, probably the best shop at WDW. Candies of every type! I believe the fact that we all had to get some was a clue it was time to head out of Dinoland the other way, and head for lunch. And there's only one place for lunch at AK for me.
Next time, we get flamed and bugged.
UtahMama
Wakey, wakey, Eggs and Bakey<br><img src=http://ww
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2006
- Messages
- 9,743
I kinda prefer the front for thrill, but it's the least flattering spot for the picture...I have priorities.
Did you go to Flame Tree? Pulled Pork, BBQ beef, or ribs?
Great Pictures but my favorite part was the description of last years Breakfastasaurus! I love when the characters are "ON"!
Did you go to Flame Tree? Pulled Pork, BBQ beef, or ribs?
Great Pictures but my favorite part was the description of last years Breakfastasaurus! I love when the characters are "ON"!
monymony3471
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 17, 2005
- Messages
- 7,027
My kids and I were at Camp Mini Mickey getting Donalds autograph and the only pen we had had Mickey Mouse on it. He wouldn't sign the books with it. I had to go down the line and ask for a pen with no character on it.
He just stood there with his arms crossed waiting for us.
Pretty funny when they are "on" like UM said.
He just stood there with his arms crossed waiting for us.
Pretty funny when they are "on" like UM said.
I enjoy Kali but I'm the one who always gets soaked.
camelotcats
the DUDE has returned
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2007
- Messages
- 2,196
abut Donald and Mickey. I lpove when the characters are "on" too. We went to PSBD at akershus, and dd who was 3 at the time was waring a snow white dress. Snow White dragged her over to CInderella and Jasmine (who each had a little girl dressed like them) and they started asking for pictures with the "princesses" from the wait-staff. It was really cute. 
Thanks for the installment!!
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