Happy Birthday, Dear Dude - A Sept 2010 PTR - 9/22 Trip Report Started p34

[swwake]

Part III, Chapter 4
Getting Very Dizzy, Not Once, But Twice
Sunday, August 10
​

We left off at the fun house mirror. Next, we decided to try Primeval Whirl. It looked to us a bit like Tony Hawk's Big Spin at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. The sign said the wait was 20 minutes. We waited only 10.

Waiting in line, Chris shows off Mom's Baggalini, which she bought just for this trip. It was a focal point the entire week.

Here's a picture of the girls getting ready to go:

Hard to take pictures on that ride.

I don't remember just where this was on the ride. Maybe one of you can help me.

Here....we....go....

It's hard to get the full effect when the spiral isn't spinning.

We had so much fun, we decided to ride again. This time, on the other side. Again, the sign said 20 minutes but we only waited about 10. I think the lesson learned here is that Disney tends to overestimate wait times. Probably a good thing, as to keep the guests happier.

After getting very dizzy, not once, but twice, we relaxed with some shopping in Dinoland. Then we decided to ride Dinosaur. (The last time we were here, this ride was called Countdown to Extinction.)

Here's the bootlegged photo:

After the ride, guess what? If you guessed MORE SHOPPING, you were correct!

I think we had a bathroom break about this time, and while we were waiting, out came Pluto. So Mom and I took a couple of Photopass pictures with him.

Next, we all headed to Expedition Everest to use all of our Fast Passes. Here are the bootlegged photos of that one:
Katie and Caitlin in the back

I should have reported this guy in front to CPS. That child obviously did not want to be on this ride.

A little better quality with Chris and me in the back, and Mom in the front

After that ride, Mom got a snack, and Katie and I hung out with her, while Chris and Katie used our Fast Passes from earlier in the day. Mom and I had already ridden twice, and Katie had been earlier in the year with her step-sister (so-to-speak), Paxton.

Mom got a frozen orange bar.

After Chris and Caitlin's EE ride, we had the obligatory Everest Photopass picture made.

I kinda like the black-and-white version. Isn't it fun to play with the Photopass pictures?

And one with Mom's frozen orange bar, for good measure

Whew, now it was time to decide what to do next.

Answers to questions:
• What did we ride twice with no wait? Primeval Whirl - does nobody like this ride?
• What was a favorite time-waster? Shopping! Everyone seemed to get into this one!

Next up: The Meaning Behind the Name of the Trip Report

• Why is this Trip Report named "Do You Mind?"?
• What Disney staple did Katie refuse to participate in?
• What ADR did we cancel?
• What did we replace it with?

 

[Flossbolna]

Great update! I am not a huge fan of PW, but it is a fun little coaster! I like all those over the top signs about "the end is near" etc.

Where in Europe are you going to be? I must have missed you writing about that!

Good to hear that your mother is getting better! I am sending some pixie dust for her:

 

[Dancegrl624]

Great update! I love all of your "bootleg" pictures! That little girl in the EE picture reminds me of my DD on Splash. Back in Jan 09, she really wanted to go on it. Well.....after the first little mini dip, she immediately wanted off. I felt so horrible! So when it comes time for the big hill, I held onto her real tight and just pressed her into my shoulder. The picture at the end nearly broke my heart! I felt so bad, so we bought her one of those huge lollipops!!! That made everything better. She now says that she will never go on Splash Mountain ever again!!!

For my trips, I usually buy a Vera Bradley mini notebook. It fits perfectly inside my VB hipster. I try to write things down while we're eating, waiting in line, on the bus, etc. I also jot some things down when we get back to our room at night.

 

[Flossbolna]

I just read all your old updates and wanted to comment on two things:#

first, do you know that it is also possible to rent a car from the Car Care Center (I think Alamo is there)? They provide a courtesy shuttle and come and pick you up and bring you back as well. This might be more convenient than going to the Swan/Dolphin.

And for your day on your own: I can highly recommend having tea at the GF! We did this in February and it was lovely! There were quite a few ladies there on their own and it seemed such a nice thing to do on a solo day.

 

[swwake]

Great update! I am not a huge fan of PW, but it is a fun little coaster! I like all those over the top signs about "the end is near" etc.

Where in Europe are you going to be? I must have missed you writing about that!

Good to hear that your mother is getting better! I am sending some pixie dust for her:

We did love PW. It's neat how that coaster has you spinning and going up and down.

We are going to London, then Athens, Santorini and Mykonos, then back to London in June. This is Katie's graduation trip. She picked Greece/Greek Isles for our vacation this year. (We have allowed her to choose our trips each year of her high school, since she's an only child - thus, Disney in 2008.) We have to go to London, because my husband's main supplier for his business is in Dorking, so we will meet them, tour the factory, etc. And we decided while we are there, we'll do a bit of sight-seeing in London. Plus, it's cheaper to fly from here to London than Athens, and the round trip flight to Athens from London is around $250. Nothing is set in stone, so if you have any ideas, please let me know.

Great update! I love all of your "bootleg" pictures! That little girl in the EE picture reminds me of my DD on Splash. Back in Jan 09, she really wanted to go on it. Well.....after the first little mini dip, she immediately wanted off. I felt so horrible! So when it comes time for the big hill, I held onto her real tight and just pressed her into my shoulder. The picture at the end nearly broke my heart! I felt so bad, so we bought her one of those huge lollipops!!! That made everything better. She now says that she will never go on Splash Mountain ever again!!!

For my trips, I usually buy a Vera Bradley mini notebook. It fits perfectly inside my VB hipster. I try to write things down while we're eating, waiting in line, on the bus, etc. I also jot some things down when we get back to our room at night.

Poor Madison. Hopefully she'll decide to go on Splash Mountain sometime in the future.

Everyone on these boards seems to do VB! (CP, dddisrunner, etc.) Maybe I need to get with the new century!

I just read all your old updates and wanted to comment on two things:#

first, do you know that it is also possible to rent a car from the Car Care Center (I think Alamo is there)? They provide a courtesy shuttle and come and pick you up and bring you back as well. This might be more convenient than going to the Swan/Dolphin.

And for your day on your own: I can highly recommend having tea at the GF! We did this in February and it was lovely! There were quite a few ladies there on their own and it seemed such a nice thing to do on a solo day.

I found out about the Car Care Center after reading a couple of books. So that's what Chris will be doing. I also found out the rental will only be $30 for the day.

Oh, the high tea! Great idea! I may go for my massage, then go for the tea afterward. Thanks so much for the idea. I've never been to GF.

 

[swwake]

Southwest published their fares through October today. I was very excited to be able to book our return flight. (Remember, we booked the outbound flight earlier using Amex points.)

I wanted to wait to book the Southwest flight because, based on what I was seeing through August, we could get a non-stop return flight leaving at 3:05pm and arriving at 4:45pm.

Well, Southwest made some schedule changes, and there is no longer a non-stop in that time frame. They now have one that departs at 3:50pm, stopping in Houston with a gate/plane change, arriving at 6:30 in Austin. It's only $117 per person, so it's not a bad price. And it's a little better for our last day, in that it gives us almost another hour before leaving for the airport.

I checked Expedia to see what's available on other airlines. In comparison, I don't want any flights that leave before 3:30 (since we can depart close to 4 on the Southwest option). With one exception (JetBlue), there are no non-stop flights, and the flights with stops have longer travel times and don't get us home until around 8pm or later, still leaving around 4.

JetBlue has a non-stop leaving at 2:55pm and arriving at 4:36pm. Very similar to the old Southwest flight. It is also the same price as the Southwest flight.

So now I have a decision to make. Here are the options:

1 - We have Southwest vouchers we can use to book the new flight with a connection in Houston. (But I think I'd rather get credit for this trip and save the vouchers for more expensive flights.)

2 - I could pay for the flights on Southwest. This would be about $275 for both of us. The benefit to this flight is that it gets us back to Austin after rush hour.

3 - I could pay for the non-stop on JetBlue. This would also be about $270. It gets us in right at the peak of rush hour.

4 - I could (possibly) use Amex points to book the JetBlue flight. Their membership rewards system is down, so I can't tell if it's possible or how many points it would cost.

I lost my Amex card the other day and had to order a new one. It will be in today, and they've changed the number, so I can't use it until I get it. So that gives me some time before I have to make this decision.

Any suggestions?

 

[lildamo]

Southwest published their fares through October today.

Too funny, Southwest's new schedule has caused a complete revamp of my trip schedule as well. The flight I thought we'd take now doesn't exist, so to fly nonstop we would have either had to leave later and miss our dinner ADR or leave bright and early -- so we're leaving bright and early and adding another day's park tickets to the trip!

I'd keep watching Southwest, their prices seem to change fairly frequently and I'm keeping an eye on the flight I want heading home as I want it to drop at least $20 before booking! For a flight that cheap I agree it makes more sense to spend the $$ and use the voucher on something more expensive if you think you'll be using it!

 

[swwake]

Too funny, Southwest's new schedule has caused a complete revamp of my trip schedule as well. The flight I thought we'd take now doesn't exist, so to fly nonstop we would have either had to leave later and miss our dinner ADR or leave bright and early -- so we're leaving bright and early and adding another day's park tickets to the trip!

I'd keep watching Southwest, their prices seem to change fairly frequently and I'm keeping an eye on the flight I want heading home as I want it to drop at least $20 before booking! For a flight that cheap I agree it makes more sense to spend the $$ and use the voucher on something more expensive if you think you'll be using it!

I will definitely keep watching Southwest. I need to talk to Dude about whether he'd prefer the non-stop. I have a feeling that we'll be ready to get home to our house and doggies, so the non-stop may take precedent over the extra hour at WDW. Plus, with Jet Blue, we'd get TVs!

 

[swwake]

Part III, Chapter 5
No Baby Simba for Katie...
Sunday, August 10
​

We all decided that we'd like to see Finding Nemo - The Musical next. It was very hot, so we grabbed some bottled waters on the way over to the Theater in the Wild.

We arrived at the theater at 5:40pm, and the next show was at 6:15pm. We were warned by a Cast Member that the line might cut off due to the theater being at capacity before we were allowed in. We were just on the cusp, but decided to wait.

We also had to make a decision at this point. We had a 7pm ADR for Jiko - The Cooking Place at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and I had planned in our itinerary to leave wherever we were at 6pm, in order to make it on time. That left us having to make a decision between Nemo and Jiko. Nemo won, and I (reluctantly) called to cancel our reservation.

Once inside, it was really refreshing to relax in comfortable seats in the air conditioning. These bubbles were really neat.

If you watch closely, you might see Nemo swim past in one of the bubbles. I kept trying to catch him on my camera.

I got closer and closer each time, because the kids in the audience would yell out every time he swam by. It was lots of fun and the whole place was filled with anticipation.

Finally, I caught Nemo!

The show itself was really well done. We all loved it. I don't have any pictures, either because they didn't allow flash or because I was so into the show.

Katie, Caitlin and I just LOVE Dory. There were many times in the show where Dory was off to herself, not paying attention to her surroundings, and she would bump into someone else. She sang a little ditty:

La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
Do you MIND?!?!

(Now I have this song stuck in my head for the rest of the night!)

This became our theme song for the rest of the trip. It was mostly Katie and Caitlin who would sing it to each other. It was fun to hear them sing the song when they were bored, we were waiting in line, on buses, boats and monorails, and especially when those silly tourists who never pay attention to anyone around them would stop walking right in front of us.

Before we leave Animal Kingdom, I thought I'd leave you with a few quotes we overheard from other park guests.

At the EE entrance, a Mom to her child: "Are you sure you're ready for THAT?!"

Another Mom, mid-afternoon, in the sweltering Orlando summer sun, after what I'm sure had been a long morning: "I'm not arguing with you anymore. I will leave the park!!" (I'm sure her kid was thinking "I wish you would!")

I have one more Photopass picture to share. I think it was taken shortly after Chris and the girls arrived. It was one of those where the photographer asks you to hold an awkward position and you have no idea what the heck is going on until you see the picture later.

The photographer actually approached Katie first, but she refused to have a picture taken in a strange position (this was her first encounter with a Photopass photographer). We begged and begged and she got more and more obstinate and finally threw a temper tantrum reminiscent of her 2-year-old self in Wal Mart 14 years ago.

Oh, well, no baby Simba for Katie...

Answers to questions:
• Why is this Trip Report named "Do You Mind?"? Little ditty sung by Dory and adopted as our theme song for the rest of the vacation.
• What Disney staple did Katie refuse to participate in? Photopass awkward poses that turn really cool with the finished product.
• What ADR did we cancel? Jiko

Next up: One of the best dinners of the trip

• What did we replace the Jiko ADR with?
• What favorite pastime did we participate in?
• Who was one of the most fun Cast Members we met, and why?

 

[swwake]

I just bit the bullet and booked our return flight on JetBlue through Amex using points. I could wait for prices to drop, then use fewer points, but I figure free is free, right?

Whew! It feels good to have that taken care of. The only things left on our to-do list are:

- book surfing at Typhoon Lagoon around June 24th (IPO should do this for us).
- reserve a rental car for Chris's "business day" (which at this point sounds like it will be Friday).
- book a spa appointment for myself for that day, and maybe tea at the GF
- research transportation from MCO to HRH and from HRH to AKL
- buy tickets for MNSSHP when they become available
- figure out our costumes (if any) for MNSSHP
- I might tinker with adding some new ADRs at some point.

Announcements we are waiting for:
- free dining (fingers crossed)
- MNSSHP dates
- WWoHP opening dates (I'm sure it will be open by the time of our trip, but the big announcement comes tomorrow at noon Eastern time!)

I think that will just about do it for planning on this trip!

Chris was saying last night that he's getting really excited about this trip for us!

 

[lildamo]

- WWoHP opening dates (I'm sure it will be open by the time of our trip, but the big announcement comes tomorrow at noon Eastern time!)

June 18th is "grand opening" - who knows how long before that it will actually be open though!!

 

[swwake]

June 18th is "grand opening" - who knows how long before that it will actually be open though!!

I saw that this info was leaked on the media site earlier today, then immediately taken down. (Did you see the pictures of the Room of Requirement?)

I think that June 18th will probably be the Grand Opening that they announce tomorrow. But I think it will be fully operational by May 28th and quite possibly before. I expect soft openings right after Easter. But that is just my speculation, based on what I'm reading on the thread here on the DIS board.

Either way, it's SO exciting!

I need to add to my to do list to watch all the HP movies before we go. And also Jurassic Park, I guess.

 

[lildamo]

Agreed re: WWoHP. I'm sure it will be open for at least a month and probably longer before the grand opening. And the room of requirement photo looks amazing! I can't wait.

We paid $20 for the Jurassic Park box set the other day with all 3 movies and have been watching them alongside the rest of our Disney and Universal movie pile. Such classics

 

[Charleston Princess]

Cool news about Harry Potter -- I will have to peek at the DIS tomorrow to see the "official" announcement.

 

[swwake]

Agreed re: WWoHP. I'm sure it will be open for at least a month and probably longer before the grand opening. And the room of requirement photo looks amazing! I can't wait.

We paid $20 for the Jurassic Park box set the other day with all 3 movies and have been watching them alongside the rest of our Disney and Universal movie pile. Such classics

I was surprised that the WWoHP thread was relatively quiet today - especially from the regulars. I guess everyone got all the news they needed today. The photos and details are very exciting. I'm not sure I want to know much more about the attraction - would like a few surprises. But I will be sure to watch the movies again before we go.

Have you been to IOA before? Would you recommend watching all JP movies, or maybe just the first one? It has been so long for me.

Cool news about Harry Potter -- I will have to peek at the DIS tomorrow to see the "official" announcement.

It's pretty neat. They have incorporated so many cool features into the attraction. A lot of it is on the Universal site now. Jackie, I hope you're doing a little better...

 

[lildamo]

Have you been to IOA before? Would you recommend watching all JP movies, or maybe just the first one? It has been so long for me.

We stopped going to Disney about 10 years ago and switched to Universal and IOA, my brother is a roller coaster freak so it made more sense for us (we've been bringing Disney back into our lives slowly over the past few days with day trips on our Universal trips!) - really all you need to know for Jurassic Park are that there is a park and there are dinosaurs.

We're watching the second one tonight, but you won't enjoy it any less without seeing them. That being said, Jurassic Park is a classic and always fun, no matter the reason!

 

[swwake]

Part III, Chapter 6
Get Ready For the Lights
Sunday, August 10
​

Since visiting the Animal Kingdom Lodge had already been in our plans for the evening (remember the failed Jiko reservation?), we all agreed that we wanted to go ahead and head over there. So we took a bus over to AKL.

One of our goals for this trip was to visit a few of the resorts we hadn't seen before. These included the Contemporary, Poly, Boardwalk, Fort Wilderness and Animal Kingdom Lodge. We didn't quite make it to all of them, but I'll save those stories for later in the Trip Report.

When we got to AKL, we were astounded!! This place is really amazing. The first thing we did was just walk around the resort. We took the elevators to a higher floor (you enter on the 3rd floor), and walked the full length of the hallways, looking out some of the observation windows.

Zebras from the windows:

Giraffes

Another giraffe (and I think maybe a couple of other animals hiding in there)

Next we walked out to the back, by Arusha Rock (I didn't know that was what it was called at the time.).

A picture of the outside, back of the lobby, from Arusha Rock

This photo of the ceiling of Jambo House is a little dark.

We shopped at the gift shop for awhile. Lots of very unique items there.

Starting to get hungry now, we decided to see if we could get in at Boma without a reservation. There was a wait, but I don't remember it being too long (maybe up to 45 minutes?).

While we were waiting, we went to the Victoria Falls Lounge (overlooking Boma, a very cool bar area) and got a couple of cocktails for the adults.

I don't remember the name of this, but Mom and I each got one, and we had to have the glow cube!

I may not remember what it's called, but I do remember it tasted fabulous!

Mom with hers. I think I'll call it a Glow-tini. That may have been the name.

Maybe it's Disney's illusionary way to add less alcohol - putting the large glowing cube in the small glass.

The girls loved the glow cubes and recycled them.

At the table at Boma

Bonnie is feelin' the Glowtini.

We thoroughly enjoyed exploring and sampling nearly everything on Boma's buffet. I don't have any pictures of the food (not even the zebra domes!). But this ended up being among our Top 2 restaurants of the trip. I am very excited to go back in September!

After dinner, we caught a bus to go back to our hotel. We weren't quite sure the best bus to take, since of course there are no direct buses between resorts. We decided to take an Epcot bus, since Epcot is the closest park to Beach Club.

Well, we hopped on that Epcot bus and we were the only passengers. The driver asked where we were going, and decided to take us directly to our resort! A little pixie dust at work for us! Or maybe just an overly friendly CM.

Not only was he nice enough to take us directly to our resort, he was really lots of fun. He picked up quickly on our teens' outgoing personalities. Katie has a natural talent for creating raps (as in rap music). And Caitlin is quite the back-up beat box to Katie's rap. Running on their caffeine highs from Cokes at dinner, Katie and Caitlin were a rappin' fury on the bus that night, and it wasn't lost on the bus driver.

As we approached the Beach Club, the driver came over the intercom on the bus and rapped "Get ready for the lights... Get ready for the lights... Get, get, get ready for the lights". (You know how they turn on the lights at night before you get off the bus?) We laughed so hard and had so much fun with that driver. I wish he'd been driving every bus on our vacation!

Back at the Beach Club, Mom went to bed. Caitlin and Katie decided to take a swim in Stormalong Bay, then went over to Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours. They said that they only got to ride Peter Pan. Chris and I went down to the bar at the Yacht Club and picked up a drink and then sat out by the pool for awhile.

A great ending to a long, and fun-filled Disney day!

Answers to questions:
• What did we replace the Jiko ADR with? Boma, and it was wonderful!
• What favorite pastime did we participate in? Shopping! (at the AKL market)
• Who was one of the most fun Cast Members we met, and why? The driver on our return bus to our hotel. (Get ready for the lights...)

Next up: Recap of our Sunday

• What souvenirs were purchased?
• What were the best and worst of the day?

 

[swwake]

We stopped going to Disney about 10 years ago and switched to Universal and IOA, my brother is a roller coaster freak so it made more sense for us (we've been bringing Disney back into our lives slowly over the past few days with day trips on our Universal trips!) - really all you need to know for Jurassic Park are that there is a park and there are dinosaurs.

We're watching the second one tonight, but you won't enjoy it any less without seeing them. That being said, Jurassic Park is a classic and always fun, no matter the reason!

You are inspiring me. I might have to go on Amazon tonight and order the box set! Hmm...what else can I order? Maybe some Disney books?

Katie really wanted to go to US last trip, and in hindsight, I wish we had extended our trip and added a couple of days for US/IOA. I want to take her back in a couple of years, especially with HP, so hopefully we'll make up for it.

 

[Flossbolna]

Another great update! I can now see why you want to stay at AKL during this upcoming trip! It is funny how may AKL fans first came to eat at the restaurants and then fell in love with the place.

 

[swwake]

Another great update! I can now see why you want to stay at AKL during this upcoming trip! It is funny how may AKL fans first came to eat at the restaurants and then fell in love with the place.

Thanks! It really does make you want to come back and stay awhile