Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho! It's Off to Celebrate We Go!--LAST UPDATE!!! PG 62 ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

[MegansMom]

I am such a chicken at heart, that I would be one of the terrified adults!

Yes my dear Jackie, I am quite sure you would be terrified!!!!! It is quite overwhelming still to me, but at least I know who is underneath the mask!

That's just not even right, is it?!?!?

Sweet little Snow White and then...

That would be my hubby......just a little "not right!" I love him anyway though!!!!

I will try to get some pics for you all!

 

[kschafer]

Hi Jen!

I don't know where I have been that I have missed everything so far. Luckily, it looks like I'm not too far behind since you just finished Day 1

Sounds like a perfectly wonderful start to your trip. I must confess, I am one of the minority who love IASW! It brings back so many childhood memories and riding it with my kids for the first time was truly magical to me

Can't wait for more!

 

[MegansMom]

Hey Katie!!! Glad to have you here!!! I hope you have enjoyed so far! Another update is in the works.....hopefully it will be on here soon!!!

 

[MegansMom]

Hey gang!!! Sorry for the delay in the next update.....had some computer issues last week, but now that they are resolved, I am working on it, and hope to have it posted here later today!!! I hope you all are having great Mondays until then!!!

 

[lmillercrew]

I'm glad there was a delay! I was in Mexico for a week and it's taken me a week just to get to my emails and catch up. Can't wait to see a pic of your little Snow White.

 

[MegansMom]

Okay......where have I been?!?!?!?!?!?!? Sorry gang....major computer malfunctions!!! But to make up for all the time missed, I am posting as big an update as I can make today for you.....give you a little something to curl up and read while we all "suffer" through our food comas this week!!! It will be posting shortly!!! ENJOY!

 

[MegansMom]

After a great night's sleep---how do you NOT sleep good at WDW right?!?!---we were up and at it early due to our early AM ressie at Tusker House. So once we were all dressed, packed up, and ready to go, we made it out to the bus stop by 7:45. Our AK bus arrived pretty quickly, and then we were off..........................to POR! Since it was the "Breakfast Bus," we had to loop through the four bus stops at POR before heading to AK, but since there was no one to pick up, we quickly circled through there and then were making a straight beeline towards Animal Kingdom!!! We were at the park and walking back to TH by 8:15!

Of course we had to stop and take some photos along our way---since there was NO ONE around!!!

See what I mean about there being NO ONE there!!!!! AWESOME!

She was all "Mickey-fied" for her breakfast with the Big Cheese!

We found Tusker House, checked in, and were seated pretty quickly for our 8:35am breakfast. Our server was JW, and he was very sweet! He brought our Jungle Juice (YUM) right away and made sure we never went dry! Since there was no sight of any of the characters yet, we hurried to fill our plates and dive into our meals! My favorite was this amazing omelet and this really good quiche I had---YUMMY!!!! Right after we sat back down from filling our plates, JW brought Megan a little surprise......

It also came with a card signed by the gang and wishing Megs the best birthday!!! She was tickled pink! The only "bad" thing was that Tom missed its' arrival because he was up at the buffet! Oh well! She dug into that cupcake right away---hey, it was breakfast, but it was vacation and her birthday......so ANYTHING goes!!!!

Not long after digging into her cupcake, the characters began to arrive!!! Our pal Donald:

Then Goofy wanted to dance with the Birthday Girl!

I think Tom was next to dance!!! (Ha ha ha ha!)

Then our Gal Daisy!

And finally Her Main Squeeze....I mean Cheese!!!

And once the Head Mouse left, we wrapped up our breakfast and headed out---we were out of the TH just a little after 9am, so we missed beating the rope drop gang, but still made it out very early!

We went straight back to get a FP for the Safaris, but their machines were broken, so they just handed out FP manually to us. Since we were so near the entrance to the Wildlife train, we decided to wait for it to open. Then Tom realized something---they handed us FP, so we could still use our KTTW cards to get another one! So Tom told us to stay there, and he ran all the way over to EE to get FP for us for there for later on!!!! SCORE!!!!

While we were waiting for the train to open up, Megan and I began talking to the lovely CM, Dolly, who was standing at the train gates. She saw Megan's birthday button, and revealed that it was her birthday as well!!! Since I am also a September birthday, the three of us gals sat and chatted about how AWESOME September birthdays are! She then gave Megan a special birthday card--it was animal themed of course! Megan was so thrilled!

Then Tom came back and it was time to board the train! By 9:30 am, we had already eaten, seen 4 of the main characters, obtained FP for both the Safari and EE, and were on our way on the train out to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We had never done either the train or the RPW, so we were excited about what we were going to get to see! We spent about a half hour out there---looking at exhibits, meeting some familiar faces.......

and petting some sheep............

I am glad we did this finally....glad we took the time....but we could do most of this at home at our zoo, so I am not sure how often we will actually take the time to go back there in the future! BUT, no time is wasted when you are at Disney.....every moment is FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!!

Of course, we got back on the train, and headed back to Africa!

(Continuing on next post!)

 

[If U Had Wings]

I love the pics of the characters in their safari gear. Megan looks like she was having a wonderful breakfast with them. The smile on her face is priceless!

 

[jenjolt]

Loving the first part of your update Jen!!! I have missed you being around and I'm so glad that you are back YAY!!!!!!!! Can't wait to hear more about your AK day!!

Love the shots of her with the characters...Meg is so cute!!

 

[MegansMom]

So we came back to Africa and boarded our Safari using our FP!

There was something in those trees that she was infatuated with, but I can't remember what!

All the hippos huddling together....

Here's the cutest "monkey" I found.....

We enjoyed our "two week" trek so much! We then decided that we wanted to make sure we saw FOTLK this year, so we made a trek of a different kind all the way over to see that show! BOY WAS THAT WORTH IT!!!!! I am so sorry now that we have missed it on all our past trips---never will we miss it again!!!

Tom and Megan waiting for the show to begin.....and yes, we were in our matching Mickey Gear that day!

Me and my bugs (and my Vera) waiting for the show to start!

We were in the Elephant section, and Megan had so much fun making that noise ALL DAY LONG!!!! Our favorite part was the acrobatic monkeys though---they were amazing!! I know I gasped out loud a couple times, but they were SO darn good!

After the show, we decided to make a stop at It's Tough To Be a Bug! We walked right in, but did try to find as many animals in the tree as we could as we walked through. I prepped my hands with my hand sanitizer to help her through the stink bug attack, and luckily that allowed us ALL to enjoy that show one more time!

We then decided to head to Dinoland--and of course our first stop was the Tricera Top Spin! Megan and I immediately boarded our dinos, and Tom decided that he would head back to EE to grab some more FPs!

Megan and I rode it three times in a row---with really no wait at all! BUT after baking on that ride for three trips, we all decided that it was time for a much needed break! We got some water and frozen cokes at the nearest stand, and sat beneath the huge dinosaur for some much needed shade!!!! It REALLY helped!

(But of course we had to take some photos too!)

Fully refreshed, we decided that we would head back to EE for my first ride on Everest with my now tall enough daughter! I was SO excited!!! Tom of course can't ride this due to his motion sickness, but he walked through the queue to try to get a picture of the two of us as we boarded.......yeah........that DIDN'T HAPPEN!!!! He kept explaining to the CMs that he was just going to take a picture of us as we boarded and would then leave, but they wouldn't let him anywhere near the boarding area. This was one of those very rare and unreal, unDisneylike moments that we all experience from time to time. Tom finally gave in, and exited without our picture. And not long afterwards, Megan and I boarded and were off to go find a Yeti!!!! I love this coaster so much, and she did too............................................................................................................................until we started going backwards. The poor thing must have a little Daddy in her, because I think that backwards motion made her a little sick. She squealed with joy for most of the ride, but as we were exiting and I was asking her about it, she said one of our now favorite Megan lines: "I like it......BUT I NEVER WANT TO DO THAT EVER AGAIN!!!" It made me and all the other exiting riders laugh out loud! SO SWEET!!!! I was just so proud of her for trying it!

To try to cool her off and make sure she wasn't going to get sick, we decided to head back to take in the 2pm Nemo show. WE WERE THE LAST THREE PEOPLE LET INTO THE LINE!!!! We JUST made it!!! We were so thrilled, but also a little worried what that would mean about seating! Luckily, this very nice family who had one of the last rows of seating with a back on it, saw us and made eye contact, and rearranged themselves in the row so that we could share the row with them! It was SO kind! We were GREATLY appreciative of their gesture. Since we had four EE FPs left from the stash that Tom had collected, and they had four adults in their party, we gave them our remaining FPs for sharing their row with us---I was surely not going to take Megan back on it again, and didn't really want to ride it by myself either, so it was a happy moment that worked out just right!!!! They were ecstatic with the FPs! We loved that show---so sweet and endearing, and always leaves me with a little lump in my throat!!!

After the show we decided to discuss what we wanted to do.....I didn't really care since we actually had made it past our normal 2 o'clock "MUST LEAVE AK" breaking point. Our options were to stay and do AK for a little longer, or go back to POFQ for a nap or swimming. Since we were all refreshed from our A/C fix in Nemo, we decided to stay!!! I was so surprised, but SO glad we did!

Since we were staying, we decided to get a cheeseburger from Restaurantosaurus. The food and the A/C once again hit the spot! While I was ordering the food, Tom had run to get a FP for himself for Dinosaur--a ride HE thoroughly enjoys! We ate our lunch, and then it was time for him to use his FP. That ride is too intense for Megan, so we decided to just hang out by the ride until he returned. And that is when we met Leslie.......and her VERY big friend!

Leslie was a CM who was by this Dino telling the kids all about their bone structure. She and Megan quickly became friends, and chatted it up quite a bit about Dinos!

She even convinced her to hold one of its' teeth!

Megan couldn't believe it was as long as her arm!

By that point, Tom made it back from the ride, and it was time for our travels to continue on........................................


(More in next posting!)

 

[stacikristine]

What a great AK day!! That's so exciting that you made it longer than you ever have in there! Such fun. I love how AK feels so different from any other Disney park. It's like you're in another place altogether. Isn't FotLK SOOO great?!?! We just love it. And that's so sweet that the family in Nemo moved over to make room for you. Nice people are the greatest. Megan's facial expressions are priceless, and how sweet about her EE comment. She sounds like such a positive little girl. I'm glad you had a great AK morning and afternoon!

 

[BippityBoo]

What a great day!! I was having trouble scheduiling our AK day for our upcoming January trip. After reading your TR, it helped a lot!! I loved the pics from Tusker House. I think we need to try that out, looks fab (and food looks good too!!) I am SO impressed your daughter tried EE

How do you guys like Restaurantsaurous?? (spell?) I am trying to decide between that one and Pizzafari. I have a 6 year old girl and 2 year old boy. What do you think? Cant wait to see Nemo as well. I am so happy you posted that it was a 2. That is right about where I had it in our schedule!!

Cant wait to read your next post!!

 

[MegansMom]

Since we were all wound up with Dinosaurs, we decided we need a little extra dose of them, and headed back into Dinoland to the Triceratop Spin once again..........................but this time with a new passenger:

Although circular rides usually make him ill, he felt that he could handle a small dose of them since we were so near the end of our day anyway. Daddy did so well that we rode it two more times!!!! And no one got sick!!!! YEAH!!!!

At this point, it was after 4pm, and we knew that we did not have much time left in the park since it closed at 5pm. We conferenced for a little bit and decided we did not want to do the Kali Rapids this year because none of us wanted to get that wet. (That really surprised me, but it was still okay!) SO, we headed into the Boneyard for Megan to run off some energy and have fun on the slides! We stayed there until the park closed! On our way out, we decided to get a few shots at the entrance since we passed on that in the morning:

And then my very humorous hubby decided that he needed his picture at the "perfect" picture spot..................................

Um...........................yeah...................................I don't think he QUITE gets the idea behind the Picture Spot......................

REALLY...................................DOESN'T...............................GET..........................IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He became quite the "fan" of the Picture Spots! This picture was his Facebook profile for the longest time............yes, the days around my house are quite entertaining!!!!

We boarded our bus, headed back to POFQ for some relaxation before our Chef Mickey's ressie that was later that night.

We were welcomed by a new roommate:

Megan was so thrilled!!!

We relaxed, showered, changed, and eventually headed out a little after 7 for the bus to take us to MK. We quickly boarded and were transported to that magical place, only to have to walk by it to board the Monorail to the Contemporary. SO SAD!!!! BUT I did snap a quick pic since MNSSHP was in progress:

We checked in, and walked around the lobby a bit while we waited for our table. Soon, we were escorted into Chef Mickey's and to our table.

It was not long before we were greeted by this fine "lady:"

We then filled our plates and started in on our fine cuisine. It was really good this night!

Then we got to see this Goofy guy one more time....

And another hug from our pal Donald...

And once again Megan was surprised by another birthday cupcake!!!

Then our Pal Pluto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

And finally our Chef came by to see how our meals were.......SO GOOD!!!

We were all finished, so we left the gang at Mickey's and took some time to walk around the lobby, shops, and arcade of the Contemporary. We really enjoyed it.......and I even caught Tom snooping over at the BLT DVC desk!!!! He couldn't believe the proximity to MK....I guess he never has really paid much attention! We boarded the monorail, rode it back to the MK station, and then found our bus to POFQ. I have nothing written down about the wait for a bus, so I am assuming, we must not have had much of a wait. We returned "home," and quickly climbed in bed, ready for our next day!

Favorite Moments/Memories of Day Two:

--Megan dancing with Goofy at TH in the morning.....they were good enough to be on Dancing With the Stars!!!

--Megan couldn't blow out her candle on her first cupcake....it was so much fun watching her try over and over again until she got it out!

--Watching Megan pet and talk to the sheep. She was very hesitant at first, but I think she would have sat there and pet them all day if she could!

--Riding EE with her for the first, and possibly last time!!!! I hate that it made her belly a little queasy, but we had so much fun holding on to each other and squealing through the twists and turns. It was a great thrill to finally be able to share that with her!

--Every time we rode TriceraTopSpin, she would refer to herself as my "Driver" and would ask me where we were heading to.......oh how I don't look forward to those days when she will be driving more than a flying elephant or dinosaur!

--All the SHOWS!!!! They really were so enjoyable and memorable.....we will definitely make sure we take them all in again!

--Watching her talk with Leslie about Dinosaurs. She was so excited to hold that tooth!

--Getting all dressed up with her for Chef Mickey's. I don't have a picture of all of us, but she wanted us to all look "fancy" to see Mickey, so we "dressed up" for the evening. We looked SO pretty.......it is a shame that we didn't get a picture though!

--Making it past 2 o'clock in the afternoon at AK.....never has happened before!!!!!

--Having a very nice, relaxed, enjoyable day at AK! We really had a great day!!!


Here's what to look forward to..................DAY THREE at EPCOT!!!!!! SO much to share with you on that one!!!! STAY TUNED!

 

[MegansMom]

I love the pics of the characters in their safari gear. Megan looks like she was having a wonderful breakfast with them. The smile on her face is priceless!

She had so much fun with them....I just want to keep that smile forever!

Loving the first part of your update Jen!!! I have missed you being around and I'm so glad that you are back YAY!!!!!!!! Can't wait to hear more about your AK day!!

Love the shots of her with the characters...Meg is so cute!!

Thanks for the warm welcome back.....I have missed you too!!! She loves those characters......and this was definitely a character overdose day!

What a great AK day!! That's so exciting that you made it longer than you ever have in there! Such fun. I love how AK feels so different from any other Disney park. It's like you're in another place altogether. Isn't FotLK SOOO great?!?! We just love it. And that's so sweet that the family in Nemo moved over to make room for you. Nice people are the greatest. Megan's facial expressions are priceless, and how sweet about her EE comment. She sounds like such a positive little girl. I'm glad you had a great AK morning and afternoon!

It really was the best AK day we have ever had! We were so glad to be able to stay there longer! I love FOTLK SO much!!!! I can't wait to see it again! I really was so overwhelmed that those people moved over for us...you don't always see that! She is such a sweet, and yes, very positive little girl. The fact that she said what she did after EE made us laugh so hard---I could tell she wanted to show Mommy that she was a trooper because she knew how excited I was, but obviously the ride did not agree with her! SO MUCH FUN!!!

What a great day!! I was having trouble scheduiling our AK day for our upcoming January trip. After reading your TR, it helped a lot!! I loved the pics from Tusker House. I think we need to try that out, looks fab (and food looks good too!!) I am SO impressed your daughter tried EE

How do you guys like Restaurantsaurous?? (spell?) I am trying to decide between that one and Pizzafari. I have a 6 year old girl and 2 year old boy. What do you think? Cant wait to see Nemo as well. I am so happy you posted that it was a 2. That is right about where I had it in our schedule!!

Cant wait to read your next post!!

Feel free to borrow whatever notes you need from our plans....I would highly recommend the route we took! I loved eating at TH.....I will try for an even earlier ressie next time though, but it all worked out so well for us! Our burgers were good at Restaurantsaurus----the biggest plus was the A/C. We love Flame Tree BBQ, but it does not have indoor seating. I have not tried Pizzafari, but if it is anything like the pizza around the rest of the "world," I would just go with Restaurantsaurus.....WDW pizza is definitely not the best. BUT if both have A/C, I would go with whatever is closest to you at the time you want to eat---you will do enough walking around AK without having to trek around to eat!

 

[BippityBoo]

She had so much fun with them....I just want to keep that smile forever!



Thanks for the warm welcome back.....I have missed you too!!! She loves those characters......and this was definitely a character overdose day!



It really was the best AK day we have ever had! We were so glad to be able to stay there longer! I love FOTLK SO much!!!! I can't wait to see it again! I really was so overwhelmed that those people moved over for us...you don't always see that! She is such a sweet, and yes, very positive little girl. The fact that she said what she did after EE made us laugh so hard---I could tell she wanted to show Mommy that she was a trooper because she knew how excited I was, but obviously the ride did not agree with her! SO MUCH FUN!!!



Feel free to borrow whatever notes you need from our plans....I would highly recommend the route we took! I loved eating at TH.....I will try for an even earlier ressie next time though, but it all worked out so well for us! Our burgers were good at Restaurantsaurus----the biggest plus was the A/C. We love Flame Tree BBQ, but it does not have indoor seating. I have not tried Pizzafari, but if it is anything like the pizza around the rest of the "world," I would just go with Restaurantsaurus.....WDW pizza is definitely not the best. BUT if both have A/C, I would go with whatever is closest to you at the time you want to eat---you will do enough walking around AK without having to trek around to eat!

Thank you!! It is our last day in the parks when we go to AK this January. During our last trip, we were only able to see Tree of Life, Africa and some of Asia (ride EE!!). My son was very young, so we had to call it a day (hey--like you!!). SO--our plan this time is to get there kind of late, around 11. We will utilize the morning time for packing since we are leaving the next day. When we get to AK, we are going straight to Dinoland to ride the T.Spin, Fossil dig, Dinosaur (just my DH and me) then lunch @ Restaurantsaurus. We will head to Nemo musical (probably around 2 like you) then to EE for my DH and I to ride while the kids get popsicles from the cart in front of EE while we wait. We will see more of Asia that we had to rush through last time. Then, we will watch the parade (love it!!) Last, we want to take a bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have always wanted to see it and we will eat at the CS there (we have CS dining). Sorry to unload our entire day on you...just wanted to see what you think?

 

[Trentmom]

Looks like you all had a blast at AK

I so looking forward to trying that this trip, not in that extreme heat that normally makes it so miserable there

yay for 2 birthday cupcakes

adorable pics of Megan with characters

 

[redsox721]

What an awesome day you had. I am so proud of Megan for going on EE. That's one ride I still haven't done. I love the matching shirts.

She looks very beautiful in her "fancy" clothes for Chef Mickey's. I can't believe how grown up she is. Boy a year makes a difference. She's such a cutie.

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more.

 

[IluvXU]

Great update Jen. Megan is just too sweet at the Tusker House. I love her response to riding EE!

 

[MegansMom]

Thank you!! It is our last day in the parks when we go to AK this January. During our last trip, we were only able to see Tree of Life, Africa and some of Asia (ride EE!!). My son was very young, so we had to call it a day (hey--like you!!). SO--our plan this time is to get there kind of late, around 11. We will utilize the morning time for packing since we are leaving the next day. When we get to AK, we are going straight to Dinoland to ride the T.Spin, Fossil dig, Dinosaur (just my DH and me) then lunch @ Restaurantsaurus. We will head to Nemo musical (probably around 2 like you) then to EE for my DH and I to ride while the kids get popsicles from the cart in front of EE while we wait. We will see more of Asia that we had to rush through last time. Then, we will watch the parade (love it!!) Last, we want to take a bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have always wanted to see it and we will eat at the CS there (we have CS dining). Sorry to unload our entire day on you...just wanted to see what you think?

Feel free to share whatever and whenever you like! Your plans sound good! I think you have really planned your day well! You will love walking around AKL---it is FABULOUS!!!!

Looks like you all had a blast at AK

I so looking forward to trying that this trip, not in that extreme heat that normally makes it so miserable there

yay for 2 birthday cupcakes

adorable pics of Megan with characters

I know what you mean about the extreme heat there---it ALWAYS feels hotter there than anywhere else!!!

She was such a happy girl with all her cupcakes......and let me just say that they just kept coming!

She loves those guys so much!!! I love watching her excitement each time she sees them!

What an awesome day you had. I am so proud of Megan for going on EE. That's one ride I still haven't done. I love the matching shirts.

She looks very beautiful in her "fancy" clothes for Chef Mickey's. I can't believe how grown up she is. Boy a year makes a difference. She's such a cutie.

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more.

That is the best trip to AK we have ever had! I was so proud of her too, and couldn't stop laughing when she shared her opinion afterwards! Now come on dearie, you can do it!!!!

She is so pretty in that dress! We all looked so pretty that night...shame I didn't get a group photo of us! She has grown into such a big girl this year---baby face all gone! Makes her Mommy so sad sometimes! I agree....a cutie indeed!

Great update Jen. Megan is just too sweet at the Tusker House. I love her response to riding EE!

Hey sweetie!!! It was so funny Laura---most of the exiting riders heard it too, and we all laughed on our way out......so much fun! A good memory nevertheless!

 

[kschafer]

Wow, looks like a wonderful Ak day and a delicious dinner. Megan looks so happy